He was sitting there, waiting for her.
She called him right after his lecture this morning, and told him to wait at his apartment.
He watched as the digital clock flashed 16:00.
At that split second, he heard his doorbell rung.
Standing up, he walked towards the door and opened it.
Instead of Temari, he saw an unfamiliar face.
He saw a woman, wearing a pair of swirling glasses; her blonde hair was of a lighter, greenish shade. Her skin was visibly paler, and she smiled at him timidly.
"Ho do I look?" An unfamiliar voice, much more repressed, timid; he quirked an eyebrow, scratching the back of his head.
"What…wait, who are you?" He asked, a little startled, his eyes scanning her up and down.
"Just let me in first, you dumb ass." Her familiar voice emitting from this strange face was a confusing scene to behold.
He moved aside and she walked in.
Closing the door behind him, he arched an eyebrow and stared, demanding an answer.
"Pretty good eh?" She grinned at him, slowly removing her glasses; beneath it he saw her eyes were brown, like dark espresso coffee he sometimes drink on Monday mornings. "Don't look so surprised, I told you that identities are nothing to people like me."
"So it seems," he said, his face relaxed back into his usual lazy expression. "Brief me on the details."
"Alright." Temari nodded. "I am your date for tonight, my name is Shiho." She put her glasses back on. "I am your research partner, and we are working on a new project recently."
He nodded as he studied her face – there was barely any thing that would lead anyone to think that she was someone else. More importantly, it was a forgettable face – ideal for an infiltration mission.
"So we would mingle for a while, I would sneak into the Mayor's office upstairs and get the files we need."
"And my job?" He arched an eyebrow.
"Just charm your way through everything, and make sure I don't get caught." Temari chuckled. "More importantly, use that smart head of yours to get us out of sticky situations."
He never liked a room full of people, especially with people who hung fake smiles and judgmental eyes on their faces.
Temari, no, her name is Shiho, he had to remember that.
Shiho hung onto his arm, looking timid and nervous – she was shivering in a way he was not sure whether it was Shiho who was nervous, or was it the real Temari who was shaking right now.
"You okay?" He turned his head at her and asked.
She nodded. Dressed in a plain black dress, she truly looked forgettable, someone you would pass without a second glance on the street.
He fixed his bowtie with his free hand, eyeing around, trying to recall the faces.
All he had was a blurred image, when suddenly a sharp pain emerged from his head.
He pressed his hand hard against the side of his head, gritting his teeth in pain.
He felt his knees softening, almost crashing onto the ground.
"Are you okay?" Temari helped him gain his balance.
"I am okay." He stood back up and straightened himself.
They walked towards the buffet table and got themselves glasses of champagne.
"Ah Shikamaru! I was not expecting you to come, imagine my surprise when I saw your RSVP!" The Mayor approached him, his white hair spiky and he grinned at him. Normally, he would proceed to greet his date – but Shiho was not exactly attractive, being forgettable the way she was, Jiraya proceeded without talking to her. "So how has your research been going on?"
"We are exploring new projects," he replied, trying not to sound too irritated.
"Good, good," he grinned back at him. "Lovely to hear that, if you would excuse me."
Shikamaru nodded, as the white haired man left their sight.
"I am going to go up now," Temari said, as she left his side and disappeared into the crowd.
Temari immersed herself into the crowd; no one has noticed her so far, and she found no resistance as she snuck upstairs into the Mayor's study.
Apprently the guards were having their own fun, so she agilely crept into the room and approached the computer, using the darkness as her cover.
Fishing a device out from her stockings, she plugged it in and quickly decoded the password, with a few taps on the keyboard.
With a gloved hand, she clicked on the mouse and browsed.
Her target sat in the documents folder, encrypted.
She smiled at herself, as she downloaded the documents.
Her heart started to race as suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching; she stared at the progress bar – 56, 57….
Immediately she withdrew the device, and snuck under the table as she heard the door opening.
She heard muffled voices, coming from a short distance; short, rapid breaths, and the sound of clothes ruffling – someone was having a good time.
She dared not move, she dared not take a deep breath, it was too precious a time to be caught.
Things on top of the table was being swept down next to her feet like leaves in a gust of wind. She could hear the moan of a woman, and following, a dark red dress descending onto the ground.
"Mr. Mayor…" She was disgusted by her honey coated voice, even more by his pervy, horny laughter.
"No one will see us here, my dear." He replied as slurping sounds replaced his disgusting voice. She moaned in response, then Temari heard a light slap, probably on his chest, since there was no sudden shift of movement or wince of pain.
"Really, let's go to your bedroom," she suggested, pausing his advances.
He muttered illegible sound as she picked up the dress from the ground.
Temari sighed in relief as she heard the couple left the room.
She crept out from beneath the table; making sure there was no one, she walked silently and closed the door softly behind her.
She walked down the staircase, bumping into two guards who just so happened to walk up the stairs.
"I am sorry, Miss, but upstairs is off limits." They scanned her up and down.
Temari tried to look as embarrassed and surprised as possible. "I…I am so sorry, I was looking for the washroom." She said, her voice shaking, as vulnerable as she could.
The guards looked at each other skeptically, as suddenly one of them jerked his head around to see a lazy looking man with a firm hand.
"She is with me, I was just looking for her," then he turned ar her, looking very concerned. "Honey, I was just thinking where you went, we were just talking to the Commissioner of Police."
"I…I…" Temari was about to reply when Shikamaru reached out and pulled her hand. He turned to the guards as he pulled her towards his back. "Sorry boys."
"No harm done, sir." They said hesitantly as Shikamaru held her hand and led her back into the crowd.
Temari said nothing, as Shikamaru placed his hand on her waist and pretended they were dancing, just like everybody else. She put her hands on his shoulders.
"What were you thinking?" she asked, a strange shade of pink creeping up her face.
"Getting you out of trouble," he replied. "I am supposed to do that, aren't I?"
"I…I could have gotten out on my own." She muttered, staring at their swaying feet.
"Troublesome." He smiled as they moved along with the gentle music.
He moved forward and whispered into her ear. "When are we leaving?"
"We can do it now, take me to the side of the crowd." Shikamaru nodded and led her to the edge of the crowd, as Temari placed a hand on her head and began to lean onto him.
"Are you okay?" He knew she was pretending to faint. She did not respond, and as the concerned date he was, he held her up like one would hold a princess, and began to walk out of the ballroom.
He put her in the back of the car, and walked to the driver's seat.
"You know, I can have shotgun," she said, eyes still closed, her body curling up at the back.
"Best do the whole set." He smiled as he started the car and began to drive. "So what have you got?"
"Something I wanted to get for a long time." She smiled. "Important files."
"About what?" He arched an eyebrow.
"Project Six Paths." She replied.
Shikamaru frowned.
That name was strangely familiar, but something went blank in his mind.
He could not remember.
He did not understand.
All he could do is wait for an explanation from the mysterious blonde woman, lying on the backseat of his car.
But he barely knew who she is?
Does he?
Author's note:
Here is another chapter! Sorry for the late update:3
The story is about to get more exciting (and unfortunately, more confusing); more shikatema moments to come, so stay tuned!
Enjoy!
V.S.V xoxo