Chapter Two

Troublesome woman…

Shikamaru was sitting at the guard station near the gates of Konoha, his head placed on the palm of his hand as he stared out towards the thick expanse of forest which marked the borders of the village. The sun was shining down upon the dusty ground to such an extent that Shikamaru was able to see the evaporation of tiny water droplets before his eyes. He removed his head from his hand and leaned back into the shade of the station, placing his arms behind his head in order to get more comfortable.

As tempted as he was to simply lie there and sleep, he knew that it would be wrong to do at a time like this. He was put on guard duty for the day, and as much as he detested it he had no choice but to obey the Hokage's orders. He didn't know why he had to do it today…there were plenty of other ninja that she would be able to ask, but no, apparently today he specifically had to be the one on guard duty. He was allowed to be off in an hour or two, at exactly noon, when the other guards would take over, and he impatiently looked up at the sun to determine the time.

Highly unsatisfied with how long he still had to wait, he leant back and resumed his gazing out of the gates, waiting for something…anything…to happen. Why was everything he was told to do so troublesome…that damn Tsunade, always giving him missions that he didn't really want and grinning evilly when he objected. He'd learnt a long time ago not to try and fight back or protest, because once she gave him that evil glare, with flames residing in her eyes, he knew he'd have to run in order to avoid a thrown object or a massive outburst which was so…troublesome.

He gave a large yawn and leant back still further in his chair, balancing himself on the two back legs and placing his feet onto the counter before him. Why were all the women in this village such a hassle? If it wasn't Tsunade giving him trouble, then it was him getting involved with one of Sakura and Ino's huge fights, or else he was dashing away from Ten-Ten who insisted on using him as target practice. The only girl in the village who he had no trouble with, because she was quiet and shy and sweet was Hinata, although her Naruto obsession did creep him out a bit.

Shikamaru chuckled to himself as he swayed backwards and forwards in his chair. The fact that Naruto was unable to realize that Hinata was in love with him was beyond Shikamaru's range of understanding. If a girl were that much in love with him he was certain he would realize it…but then, he was a genius after all. Shikamaru went back to thinking about Tsunade and the troublesome missions she was assigning him to lately. The next one after this would be an escort mission, she had told him, and he was required to take special care of the guest who would be visiting the village. It would be an ambassador, and Shikamaru was highly unenthusiastic about spending time with an old man who thought only of himself and gave ninja's very little respect. At least, this was the picture he had in his mind of the ambassador.

"Troublesome woman," Shikamaru muttered , and glanced out of the gate gain, seeing nothing but the dusty track and the vast expanse of trees, "How tiresome…" he complained, and leant back again, wobbling dangerously on the hind legs of the chair. The only woman he knew who was even more troubling than the Hokage, as well as more frightening and yet more beautiful was…no. Shikamaru shook the thoughts out of his head as his mind strayed to the Sand village. What was he doing thinking about that woman now? That troublesome, troublesome woman…

He glanced out of the gate again, and spotted a distant figure that was coming closer and closer, walking at a comfortable pace. He squinted his eyes to see who it was, but he was barely able to make the person out due to the sharpness of the sun in the background. All he could see was the dark silhouette, and after observing it for a few more minutes, he was able to make out that it was a woman coming his way.

She walked with an easy grace, with the pride and elegance of a tigress, and he was able to make out a large, long object on her back. She was curvy, he noticed, and had a head of blonde hair which was tied into four elegant buns. She swayed her hips as she walked, and as she grew closer he was able to make out her attractive clothing. The closer she came, the faster his heart beat, as he began to realize who this person was.

'No…it couldn't be her…could it?' he asked himself, shading his eyes with his hands and cursing the sun for being so bright. Only when the woman was right before him could he finally see her.

"Hey there, Nara," she said matter-of-factly, and Shikamaru was so shocked to hear her voice that he lost his balance on the delicate chair legs and toppled backwards, straight onto his back as the Sand ninja burst into laughter.

"Aw damn it," Shikamaru muttered as he placed a hand on the counter and pushed himself up as he rubbed the back of his head lazily.

"Oh, ouch…" said Temari in a mock attempt at pity, "That looked painful."

"Well, it was!" said Shikamaru, looking up at her with a defensive glare. All she did was stand there and smile, her arms crossed against her chest. The two of them said nothing for almost two whole minutes; all they did was look at each other; Shikamaru with a slight look of embarrassment and Temari with an amused smile, yet both their eyes were welcoming and friendly. Eventually, Temari broke the silence.

"Good to see you," she said, tilting her head a bit to the side, not taking her eyes away from his. Shikamaru felt exposed beneath her stare, as if she was looking for something that she was unable to find, and he tore her gaze from his, ignoring the small tug at his heart which encouraged him to look further.

"You too," he mumbled, and righted himself back on his chair; "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yup," she said, smiling at him as if there was an untold story hidden between the lines that these two had created, "Far too long…"

He gave a slight 'humph' in her direction and crossed his arms over his chest, "Missed me then, have you?"

"Ha!" she exclaimed, dropping her touching tone of voice and turning back into the old Temari, "You wish! As if I would miss a lazy ass guy like you who only complains and can barely handle a fight by himself!"

"That was the old me!" he shouted right back at her, "You just wait until the next one we have, I'll show you who can't handle a fight! You fan girl!"

"Shadow ass!"

"Dust bunny!"

"Leaf midget!"

The two of them stared daggers at each other until Shikamaru finally sighed and turned away, muttering to himself.

Temari swore she heard the word 'troublesome' somewhere in the muttering, and she chuckled to herself, taking her fan from her back and placing into the ground beside her, leaning against it in a relaxed manner.

"So, what brings you to Konoha?" Shikamaru asked lazily. He had placed himself back on the chair and was leaning back on it again, his feet propped up on the counter, eying her from over his toes. Temari smiled to herself again, admiring the little bit of arrogance he showed, but she knew that deep down he was the perfect gentleman…one who was difficult to match. She was now almost twenty years old, and had experienced relationships with many men from the Sand Village, but for the last few years she had found it difficult to find anyone who really suited her likings. There had been many handsome men who had taken interest in her, but they were all dim-witted and had ego's twice as large as their I.Q's.

Over the past few years there was only one man that she could ever picture herself becoming romantically involved with, and that man was sitting right in front of her, watching her hungrily from beneath his furrowed brow, and she knew that he was just as attracted to her as she was to him, even though they both never showed it. Never.

"Work, of course," Temari answered, leaning heavily on her fan and folding her arms once more, "I'm here to observe the teaching methods of Konoha and to take as much details back to my village as possible. We've begun a new teaching regime, but our ninja's are highly untrained in the art of teaching, therefore I've come to find out as much as I can."

"Excellent," Shikamaru sneered, "Are you also going to be one of these teachers then?"

Temari blushed slightly and thrust her nose into the air, saying matter-of-factly: "There's nothing wrong with being a teacher, Nara. I find it a wonderful opportunity to share my skills with the students and children of our village. I feel that I have a lot to give."

"That's for sure," said Shikamaru, stretching his arms over his head, "Just don't rough them up too much, ok?"

Temari smiled at this and winked at him, causing Shikamaru to almost lose his balance again, "I can't guarantee anything…"

"Anyway Nara, I've got to get going…I told the Hokage I'd report in as soon as I'd get here and she said she'd assign me an escort."

Shikamaru nodded towards her as she pulled her fan out of the ground and lifted it onto her shoulder.

"Be a good boy while I'm gone, k?" she said in a sweet, sexy voice, and winked at him again as she turned her back on him and made her way towards the Hokage's mansion.

With that last wink and sexy tone Shikamaru really did lose his balance, and he fell to the side this time with an almighty crash as one of the chair legs below him snapped, and Temari smiled as she heard the crash behind her, knowing exactly what had happened.

"Ouch," Shikamaru stated, as he lifted himself up for a second time, this time rubbing his side, "That troublesome woman…"

'Why does she have to be so damn attractive!' he thought to himself, and this time rested his back against the wall seeing as there was no longer a chair to sit on. He watched her retreating back and felt a slight warmth and rushing of blood to an unmentioned area, and he shifted uncomfortably, tearing his eyes away from her and focusing instead on the gate again, from which a new figure with dark hair and a ruggedly handsome face appeared with his large companion at his side.

--

Hello everybody!!

My name is Nicole, I am the author and I would like to know what you guys think of my fan fiction so far…

I wouldn't say it's the first I've written, but it's one of the first that I've posted and I'm very enthusiastic about it, and would like to know if you all are too!!

I have a rule…I don't update until I get at least one review. I like to know that people are at least reading...he he…so if you do like the story, please tell your fan fiction and Naruto buddies to come and read it so that I can update?? I kinda broke my rule by posting the first two chapters without any reviews on the first, but I thought I'd be nice. He he…

Anyway, that's all you'll hear from me for now! Evil Grin

Luv Nix