Chapter 3

The mission Begins

Shikamaru awoke to the irritating ringing of his alarm clock. He reached over to his night stand and turned it off. Then he dropped his hand and allowed his arm to hang over the side of the bed. He had his face buried in the pillow and most of the comforter had ended up on the floor while he had slept.

Shikamaru rolled over onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. "Man, I could hardly sleep last night. I kept having these crazy dreams." At first he couldn't really remember what he had dreamt about. Then it all came flooding back. The next thing he knew he was blushing furiously andwas grabbing his blanket and piling it into his lap to cover up his embarrassing arousal. Although there was no one else in the room to be embarrassed in front of, it still bothered him. He wasn't used to having random boners."Where the hell did that come fromWhy did I dream about Temari?" They weren't just normal dreams. These dreams were hot and passionate and caused Shikamaru to feel things he had never felt before.

Shikamaru sat up and leaned against the wall at the head of his bed. He was beginning to feel frustrated. "Why is Temari having such an effect on me? I haven't even seen her in five and a half years This shouldn'tbe happening! I shouldn't be feeling like this."He couldn't get her out of his mind. Shikamaru closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the wall. He kept picturing her in his dream.

They were standing in front of a fireplace, its flames warming their naked bodies. Her body was pressed enticingly against his. She had an hourglass shape and she was perfectly proportioned. Her breasts were firm, yet supple in his hands, her nipples rising to firm peaks under the gentle ministrations of his thumbs. She moaned gently and tilted her head upwards. He couldn't resist. He bent his head to the hollow of her neck and began kissing her gently, one kiss after the other running up her neck and finally making his way to her lusciously full lips. Their lips met and a tingle ran up his spine. He began kissing her hungrily and she responded just as willingly. Her lips parted and he slid his tongue into her warm mouth. It felt so right, she just had to stay with him. He would make her his forever. His hands began to explore the curves and gentle planes of her body. He reached down to cup her buttocks possessively…

A painful throbbing between his legs brought him back to the present. His eyes shot open. "I need to snap out it. I shouldn't be thinking of her right now." He sighed. "If I don't get me head on straight…both of them, then it could seriously jeopardize this mission. And I do not want to be responsible for the destruction of this village. Oh but how he longed to linger in his lustful thoughts of Temari. He was beginning to like the idea of his hands running over her body. Exploring every inch of her while at the same time imaging all of the different ways he could pleases her.

Or at least all of the ways he had read about. He didn't have any sexual experience himself although he had purchased some "about" and "how to" books on sex, that were beautifully illustrated and very detailed.

He had been teased about his inexperience by his comrades but he didn't think that having intercross was something you should just do on your spare time with just anyone. He believed that sex should an experience that was cherished and not given lightly. It should be an experience you have with someone you really truly care about and love.

Shikamaru side. "Someday thoughts guys will know what I am talking about. I don't care what they think I respect women and won't use or abuse them the why some of thoughts guys do." Whether or not he wished to admit it he was a very sensitive deeply caring guy who didn't throw his love at the first kunoichi he saw. That was partly why he had had issues with dating in the past. He was ready for a relationship that was on a deeper level and the women he had dated were not.

Shikamaru looked over at his clock. He only had an hour until he had to be out of the village and on his way. He got up, put on his cloths then headed for the kitchen. He had a quick breakfast and put on his backpack on his way out the door.

Soon he was well on his way to the village gates. Because of the early hour there weren't very many people on the streets and so the going was easy.

When he finally reached the gates he checked out with the ninjas on guard duty. Then he was out on the open road. His mind began to wonder but now that he was finally out of the village he had to keep his guard up. He didn't allow himself to think too deeply.

"What if Temari came back to the Leaf Village? I wonder if she could ever like me. What if she already has a boyfriend?" A twinge of jealousy shot through him. No he wouldn't think about that, he wouldn't think about her, not now.

Shikamaru moved into the trees and was careful not to leave any evidence of his passing behind. He created a clone of himself and sent it off to head to the rendezvous spot at a different point along the village wall. Hopefully if there was someone out there the clone would distract them away from him.

Shikamaru began running through the trees, jumping from branch to branch. He needed to try and cover as much ground as possible before he had to stop and camp for the night

Temari stood at the entrance of The Village Hidden in the Sand. She was facing her younger brother Gaara, who supported a message hawk on his arm.

Over the last several years he had gained the support of the village and had opened up considerably. It was a relief to Temari. She really enjoyed this side of him. He was caring and thoughtful and showed compassion for their small family.

Gaara looked at his sister. "You already have your orders; you know how important this mission is. If you fail to bring back the Leaf's shinobi it could mean the end of not only our allies, but the Sand as well."

Temari knew what this mission meant for the villages. She just hoped that the ninja she was supposed to meet would be able to make it to the rendezvous point without trouble on his tail. "I will be pissed if I have to save this ninja's ass. But this isn't about me. I will just have to do the best I can." One of the things that irritated her the most was when someone couldn't pull their own weight. A week member in the group could mean the destruction of the entire squad. She had seen the results of this several times before in young groups. Now that she had her own three man group of genin fresh from the academy, her main concern was to train them to overcome each other's weaknesses and to use other's weaknesses to their advantage.

Gaara cleared his throat, "Temari, this messenger hawk will accompany you and when you contact the ninja, or something unexpected happens, send the hawk back with a message and if I need to I will send you aide."

She tilted her head in acknowledgement. Gaara gave the hawk a firm command to fallow Temari, and then he launched it into the air with his arm, it flew high above and began circling, waiting.

"I will not disappoint you and I will at the least come back with the message." There was silence for a moment, and then Gaara said with a regretful voice. "The only way you can bring me the message is if you bring the shinobi. He is unable to reveal the message until I release the seal that was placed on him to keep the information a secret."

"Well that complicates things considerably" She knew that this precaution was necessary but she couldn't help voicing her irritation. They looked at one another for a time, and then Gaara smiled. "I thought you might think that." Reaching out his arms he embraced his sister in a hug. "I know you will do well, you're the best shinobi for the job, I should know I am the one who assigned you!" he stepped back. "Now go and good luck."

Temari smiled. Then without saying a word she turned toward the open dessert and disappeared. "I never have been good with goodbyes."She was running at a steady pace, the hawk flew high above her. "It will take me two days to get there so Ihad better get a move on, Iwouldn't want to be late"

It was well after sunset before Shikamaru decided to stop for the night. He only had half a day's journey left before he reached the border of the small country that ran between the Land of Fire, and the Land of Wind. He was making good time and expected to arrive at the rendezvous point by mid morning on the third day of his trip.

When Shikamaru decided to stop for the night he went a ways off his chosen path and set up camp next to a stream. He didn't set up camp in the traditional sense. He had no need for a fire or a tent, but instead he set up trip wires at the base and in the branches of a large tree. Shikamaru had decided it would be safer to sleep in the tree, were he would be well counseled by branches thick with leaves, instead of on the ground where he would be exposed.

Once Shikamaru had settled himself on a branch were he could easily see his surroundings, he slipped his backpack off, leaned against the trunk of the tree, and lowered himself into a sitting position. With his backpack in his lap he allowed his body to fully relax for the first time sense he left the village.

"Man I am exhausted and my feet hurt." He hung his head in dismay. "But I guess there is no use in complaining even if it is just to myself." His stomach growled in accordance to his discontent. "And on top of it all I am hungry. That means I have to eat one of Lady Tsunade's mission ration bars" The though almost triggered his gag reflex.

Mission ration bars were hard, dry, stale, and tasted about as good as cardboard. When Lady Tsunade developed the recipe she wasn't worried about the taste, she was only concerned about the effect. These bars were chock full of vitamins and other nutritionally enhanced things that provide a ninja with a third of their daily nutritional requirement. Three a day was all he needed to stay energized and alert.

Shikamaru reached a tentative hand into his bag. He cringed as his fingers brushed the wrapper of a mission ration bar. Holding his breath he snatched the bar from his pack and brought it to eye level so he could toughly inspect it. Shikamaru's eye began to twitch. "The color of the wrapper has changed; it used to be white now it's pink!" Shikamaru flipped it over in his hand to look at the front. Imprinted on the upper right hand corner was a cartoon face of Lady Tsunade. Her eyes were closed and her tongue was sticking out in a "ha ha loser!" kind of manner.

Shikamaru lowered his head to his chest in disgust. "She knows everyone hates theses dumb bars and now she making fun of us for it! Sometimes I hate that woman. He briefly considered foraging for food. He knew that there were some edible mushrooms and berries in the area, but he decided against it. Leaving his hiding place would only increase the chances of his being discovered if someone were in the immediate vicinity. "I guess that means I will just have to man up and eat the dumb thing."He could just imagine Temari saying. "What's wrong Shikamaru? Don't you have the balls to eat that?" He snorted "Ya, I bet she would say something like..." He caught himself in mid thought. "Now I have even begun to think of her as casually as if I see her every day. I don't understand why this is happening, I have never liked a women so much before…" He caught himself again. There it was, he finally admitted it to himself. He liked Temari. He began to entertain the thought that just maybe she would be the ninja he was to meet at the edge of the desert. A downcast look spread across his face. Unfortunately he knew that he couldn't get his hopes up. There were so many other shinobi that Gaara could have assigned to this mission that the possibility of Temari being the chosen one was rather small.

Suddenly he rememberedthe opposing bar in his hand. Muttering a slightly childish "I hate you" at it, he ripped off the wrapper and ate it as fast as he could. Grabbing his canteen he guzzled down it's contents to the very last drop. He could hear Lady Tsunade laughing as he did so. "I can't believe I have to eat those almost every day until I get back to the village. What a drag" Finally, after his stomach began to settle, he moved his body into a sleeping position using his pack to cushion his head from the hard surface of the tree. He began to drift into a light sleep. Tomorrow would be a very interesting day. Tomorrow he would get to see just how fate dealt her cards.

The Sound ninja looked down at the remains of a replacement jutsu. The log was toughly riddled with kunai. Had it been a real person, that attack would have killed him. The clone had been heading in the direction of the Sand Village when he had come across it. As its head band and cloths had suggested, it had come from the Leaf Village. He had chased the dame thing for quite some time before he had gotten close enough to realize it was not a real ninja and finally destroyed it.

The clocked man sneered and said to himself in a raspy voice, pulling his hood farther down over his head it casted dark shadows over his face. " You will not survive for long, ninja. I will find you and when I do I will take you to Orochimaru. He will be very pleased. He's been wanting a Leaf ninja to play with ever sense the last one died unexpectedly." He snickered and began to wheeze and hack violently. Flecks of spit shot out from his mouth and drool dripped down his chin. "The master should know better, he knows that when he plays to rough with his toys they don't last long. I guess he just hasn't captured a shinobi strong enough to withstand his strong sexual desires."

The man turned toward the direction of the Sand Village and slipped back into the darkness of the forest.