Chapter 4
Encounter
Falling… falling"Hu…? That's strangewhy do I feel like I am falling? Am I still sleeping? What! Now I am falling even faster!" Shikamaru's eyes shot open, it was too late. He was already slipping off of the branch and careening face first to the ground. Inches above the forest floor he felt a thin line of pressure spread across his stomach as he triggered one of his trip wires. He hit the ground with a thud. Seconds later he heard the barely audible sound of a kunai flying towards his head. With an undignified yelp he got his hands under himself and pushed himself up to his knees, his hands flying up horizontal to his head, fingers spread wide.
The kunai had buried itself deep in the ground were his head had been. Shikamaru gulped nervously, he glanced around to assess his position. He had landed at the base of the tree were his trip wires were the most concentrated. It would take some very careful footwork to get out of this situation.
He stood and began making his way to safety. "Ya, that's just great Shikamaru." He chided himself. "Now look what you've gotten yourself into! You managed to fall out of the tree because you moved around too much in your sleep!Maybe next time I should just wire myself to the tree!"
Finally he made it to safety on the other side of all the wires. "I really should take those down before I leave. I wouldn't what to kill something" He snorted "Ha that's ironic" Shaking his head he turned to take down the first of the wires.
It took the good part of an hour to collect all of the wiring and kunai. Once he had organized and put it all away he jumped up into the tree to get his bag. Taking the canteen out his pack and slinging his bag over his shoulder, he jumped down from the tree and walked over to the nearby stream.
Shikamaru dropped his pack beside him and squatted on the streams bank to fill his canteen. The water was crystal clear and pleasantly cool to the touch. With his canteen filled he reached into the bag and grabbed a mission ration bar. Ignoring the irritating picture of Lady Tsunade he opened the package and began eating.
As he absent mindedly chewed on his breakfast, random thoughts began to pop up in his head. "Aw man, I forgot to take the plant next to my alarm clock over to mom's so she could water it for me. It will probably be dead by time I get home. Come to think of it, it will definitely be dead. Seeing as I didn't water it for a week. My mom gave me that thing, when she finds out she's probably going give me a lecture on how irresponsible I am.What a drag."Sighing, he bent over and picked up his bag. Then, remembering his alarm clock, he thought. "I wonder what time it is I should probably get going soon if I want to try to get to the rendezvouspoint by mid morning tomorrow." Donning his pack, and with canteen and bar in hand, Shikamaru jumped up into the nearest tree and made his way to the top.
Once at the top, he swept a lazy gaze over the surrounding landscape. Taking another bite out of the ration bar he turned his gaze toward the sun and squinted at it. It was high up in the sky, well past the ten o'clock position.
Shikamaru's mouth dropped open and his head jutted forward a little in disbelief. The chunk of ration bar he'd been chewing on fell out of his mouth and he nearly dropped his canteen. He stared at the sun. "What! It's already one o'clock! I was supposed to leave at least four hours ago! Now I will never get to the dessert by mid morning!"
Scarfing down the rest of the bar and getting a quick drink he shoved his canteen into his bag. Then he climbed down to a lower part of the tree and began running in the direction of the rendezvous point.
Man I hope that ninja I am going to meet tomorrow doesn't realize that it took me longer than it was supposed to to get there." Shikamaru was beginning to feel frustrated. "I can't believe how stupid I am! How can I expect to successfully complete this mission if I am not even at the top of my game! I couldn't even get up on time, how lame is that?"
Shikamaru glared at himself. That little voice in his head began to nag at him. "What would Temari think of you? Do you really think she would want anything to do with a guy who is as irresponsible as you? She will only see you as unwanted baggage that will just get in her way." The voice was beginning to sound smug. It was really starting to irritate him. "You should just stop fantasizing about being with her, she's too good for you and you know it!"
Shikamaru shook his head violently to clear his mind of the vicious mental onslaught. "No! I won't think like that! Maybe she is too good for me and I don't have a chance of being with her But I am tired of not having someone to love and cherish, I am tired of not having that special bond that you could only share with your soul mate.Shikamaru closed his eyes for a moment. He had avoided these thoughts for so long. They hurt too much to think about, but now he was at his breaking point, he couldn't take it anymore. "I am just tired of being alone. I thought I would never meet the woman who would be able to fill this hole in my heart. I am not even sure why I think Temari's the one who could. I can just feel it. Maybe these feelings began clear back when I fought against her in the Chunin Exams.I am not sure, but I am sure of what I feel. I love her and maybe, just maybe, she will eventually love me to.
Each stride he took felt longer than the last and with every breath his heart grew heavier. Now, feeling thoroughly dejected, he cleared his mind from any thoughts. He would make it through this mission with or without his heart intact.
Temari reached the top of the dune and scanned the horizon. Nothing looked different or out of the ordinary. It was the same old hot, desolate, sun baked dessert it had always been. She saw a not to distant shadow making circle patterns on the ground. Shielding her eyes with her hand, she looked up. Temari quickly spotted the silhouette of the messenger hawk high up in the sky.
"What a loyalbird. The only time it leaves me is when it flies off to hunt. If only men were just as dependable. That would make my life much easier. Just about the only people I can really trust are Gaara and Kankuro"Temari dropped her hand to her side and continued walking down the other side of the dune.
She had not had good luck with men it the past. Most of the men she'd come across were complete idiots or total jerks. Occasionally she would meet someone who had better qualities going for him, but they were generally already in a relationship, and so she'd not dated much.
"I can't even really think of any one guy whose really caught my attention or who I felt comfortable aroundTemari reached the bottom of the dune. The land was beginning to level out and become rockier. She was getting closer to the edge of the dessert.
Well there was that one ninja from the Leaf Village. He was my guide when I was visiting there as the ambassador for the Sand. What was his name?" Her eyebrows knitted together as she tried to recall. "Aw, that's right his name was Shikamaru. I don't know how I could forget. I really enjoyed seeing him every day. It was easy to feel comfortable around him and so I felt like I could be myself when I was with him. I didn't have to put up my tough girl front…" She paused for a moment as the thought began to sink in. "Come to think of it, he showed up to follow me around more often than was necessary… did he like me?" A dreamy little smile spread across her face. "He was pretty handsome and not to mention smart. Even if he did act lazy and putout, I could tell he was just trying to act indifferent. I should ask Garaa to send me on a mission to the Leaf Village. Maybe I could see Shikamaru…whowaaaa!! Umph." Temari stumbled over a rock and fell to her hands and knees. She had barely caught herself before her face went crashing into the ground. Her girlish fantasies took over. She could just imagine Shikamaru standing next to her. His hands shoved in his pockets. A qwerky smile appeared on his face as he tried not to laugh. She turned bright red with embarrassment. She gave a little gasp and imagined slapping herself across the face.
She quickly got to her feet and brushed the sand from her cloths. She banished the illusion of Shikamaru and continued walking. But she couldn't help herself, she imagined his handsome face. "I wonder what he looks like when his hairs down…or when his shirtis off…"She thought with a wicked grin. She imagined his muscled chest; it was well defined from years of training. The muscles of his lower stomach formed into a v and disappeared beneath the waste line of his pants. She couldn't help but look down father... She gasped again, her chin dropped and her hands flew to her mouth. "What am I thinking? Temari this isn't like you!Am I so deprived of male attention that I'm thinking like this now! Oh what is wrong with me I need to snap out of it."
The sun was beginning to set. It's colored rays casting the sands in hues of pinks and reds. Temari stopped to set up camp for the night. There was no wood for a firer so she set up her tent. The dessert got pretty cold at night so she would need it. She crawled into the tent and zipped it up, she unrolled her sleeping bag and got inside it. It was nice and warm and she felt secure inside it. Before she knew it she was fast asleep.
Shikamaru awoke much earlier the next morning. He had set up camp in the same manner he had the previous night and he had also taken down the trip wires in much the same way. Now he was well on his way to the rendezvous point, he would be there in less than an hour.
He had arrived at a small clearing a little brook flowed through it. He didn't think anything of it. He ran strait through the meadow and jumped over the stream. He landed on the other side next to a bush and took one more step forward when suddenly he was hit hard in his left shoulder. His arm went limp and he flew backward and landed on his back in the water.
The pain was so intense it was almost depilating. His hand shot up to the source of the pain. Just as he looked down he felt the cold steel of a kunai. It had all happened so fast that he hadn't even seen were the weapon had come from.
"I can't move my arm. The kunai must have hit a pressure point." He groaned in pain. He managed to get to his feet. He looked in the direction of where he had last stood. His hand clutching his shoulder he walked over to the spot. He looked down and saw the no longer taunt line of a trip wire. Shikamaru reached down and picked it up. It appeared aged as tough it had been there a long time.
Shikamaru was livid with anger. "This is exactly why I don't leave mine up!" He gathered it up best he could and shoved it in his pocket.
Clutching his shoulder he began walking again. "I can't remove the kunai or else I might not be able to stop the bleeding. It's a good thing I am almost there. I can have that Sand ninjahelp me" Shikamaru continued on, murderous thoughts filled his mind. He only wished he could meet the ninja who did this to him.
Temari arrived at the rendezvous point. There was a giant bolder that rested on the border between the Land of Wind and the neighboring country. That is where she expected the Leaf ninja to be. She jumped to the top of the bolder. The leaf ninja hadn't arrived yet. "I was even a few hours late, I should think that he would be here any time soon.The faster he gets here and the sooner we leave the better. I shouldn't stand out in the open I need to find a place to hide until he gets here." She moved off into the tree line and perched herself in a tree.
Temari had only been sitting in the tree for twenty minutes before someone walked out of the forest. He was hunched over, his right hand holding his shoulder. Temari looked intently at the figure. "Is that the Leaf ninja? It must be he's wearing a uniform from that village."The leaf shinobi walked slowly over to the boulder. He leaned his back against it and lowered himself to the ground. He stretched out his left leg and left his right leg bent upward at the knee.
Now the he was sitting, Shikamaru leaned his head back against the rock. He had tried to apply pressure to his wound but it wasn't enough. He had lost enough blood that he was beginning to feel lethargic. "Man it would be embarrassing if Temari showed up. I would die if she were to see me like this."
When he had turned around to sit down and she could see his face better, she recognized him immediately "That's Shikamaru! Oh no he must be hurt. He looks really exhausted. I wonder what happened to him? Was he attacked? He obviously needs help." She jumped down from the tree and ran over to him. She knelt by his left side so she could inspect his wound.
He hadn't even known someone was beside him until she said his name. "Shikamaru, what happened to you?" His eyes shot open and meet with those of the one he wanted to see the least right then. "Oh no its Temari! What do I do! What do I say?"
Temari repeated herself, she was worried he wouldn't be able to respond. "What happened? How did you get this wound? Can you move your arm?"
Shikamaru swallowed nervously. "Great now I have to tell her what happened. Thenshe will know how foolish I am. She's going to hate me!" He hesitated and then began with a projected air of confidence. Although he didn't feel any of it. "While on my way here I accidentally ran into some one's old trip wire and as you can see, I was inadvertently attacked, and it hit it's mark. It happened so quickly I didn't have time to react." He waited to see her reaction, to his immense relief she wasn't angry with him.
She closed her eyes for a moment to help cool her anger. "That really me pisses me off, now because of someone's irresponsible actions your hurt and by the looks of it we won't be able to leave until tomorrow. Now let me see how bad it is." He put his hand down so she could see it. Temari inspected the wound. "Well I am clearly going to have to remove the kunai fist. Hopefully then you will be able to move your arm, at least a little. Now brace yourself because this is going to hurt."
Once he had braced himself, she placed her left hand on his shoulder so that the hilt of the kunai was between her thumb and pointer finger. Then she gripped the kunai with her right hand. She watched his breathing and she waited for him to inhale. Then with one swift movement she pulled out the kunai and immediately applied pressure to the newly open wound.
Shikamaru closed his eyes and sucked in a shocked breath as the pain in his shoulder intensified tenfold. It took a couple minutes, but finally he began to relax a little as the pain started to recede to a dull throbbing ache.
Temari continued when she saw him relax. "Now I need to bandage you up. So let's get these cloths off." Her inner self grinned delightedly. "Oh yes, let's get those cloths off and see just how accurate my imagination can be!"
Eventually she managed to help him get his vest, shirt, and chainmail off. She beamed with pleasure once she had swept her gaze over his perfectly sculptured torso. Oh how she longed to run her hands up his chest and look up into those gorgeous dark eyes. Oh and those abs! And those lovely muscles that lead down into a v at his waist… and…and.
And she was brought back to her senses by Shikamaru's puzzled voice. Temari? Temari, are you all right? What are you starring at? Why do you have your hands on my chest?" "Not that I don't mind." He thought to himself.
"Hu…what? Oh!" She ripped her hands away from his chest as if he had burned her. "I…I was just thinking of the best way to bandage you up. Then she remember his wound. She wasn't holding pressure to it anymore! She had totally forgotten about it. When she glanced at it, Shikamaru's hand had replaced where her's had been. "Temari stop daydreaming and get him bandaged up. I am sure he is tired and he needs to eat."
Hastily she set her backpack on her right next to Shikamaru's wounded arm and took out the necessary rolls of bandages and other anti-bacterial ointments. Setting them next to her on the ground, she took her canteen and dampened a piece of cloth. Once Shikamaru had removed his hand, she then preceded to wipe off the dried blood from around the wound. Next, she applied the ointment and began wrapping the bandages around his shoulder, the upper part of his arm, and his chest.
Shikamaru watched her carefully as she had bandaged him up. "She had a dreamy look on her face when she had placed her hands on my chest. Then when I asked her what she was doingshe had blushed and took her hands way like it hurt to touch me. I wonder what she was thinking…" Then it hit him. "Sh… She must think…" Just as Temari had finished with the bandagesShickamaru reached over and cupped her chin in his hand and forced her to look up at him.
Shocked by the unexpected contact. Temari couldn't help but comply. Their eyes met. A cocky boyish grin had spread across his face. Then, to her utter amazement he said. "You think I am handsome don't you?"
Her eyes grew wide and she stuttered. "Wh… what are you talking about I..I." She had given herself away and now she had no idea how to react. "Oh he can read me like an open book! What do I do!"
Stroking her cheek gently with his thumb and looking deep into her eyes, Shikamaru said. "If it makes you feel any better, I think you're the most beautiful woman I have ever met."
She could see the look of sincerity on his face. She jumped and screamed with joy inside herself. "He likes me! He thinks I am beautiful! Oh but this is all happening so fast, I haven't even seen him in five years, but it seems as though I saw him just yesterday" She struggled with what to say next.
Shikamaru's hand had moved to cup her check. His thumbed lightly tracing the line of her bottom lip. He loved her lips, they were just as sinfully lush in person as they had be in his dream, and her eyes, he could stare into their blue green depths forever. "Temari, do you think that you could ever like me?"
Temari brought her hand up to her face and rested it on top of Shikamaru's. Then without another moment's hesitation she said in a soft voice, "I already do."
Shikamaru's heart overflowed with joy and relief. The emotions were so overwhelming he could barely think. Finally he was able to clear his mind enough to form coherent thoughts again, but before he could say anything they were enveloped in a thick green fog.
Temari had already breathed in some of the gas. Her throat was beginning to constrict and she couldn't breathe. Shikamaru had moved his hand to grip her arm as soon as the fog had appeared but her body was growing numb and she could no longer feel him. For that matter she couldn't even see him. The fog was so thick she could only see two inches in front of her nose. She didn't even feel her body hit the ground as she blacked out.
Sometime later Temari woke up with a pounding headache. She barely had the strength to move. She was so disoriented that she couldn't tell where she was. Once she managed to prop herself up and get a look around, she remembered what had happened.
Suddenly she was hit by a wave of fear. She looked around again this time more frantically. "Oh no, where is Shikamaru! Did they take him! I never even saw who attacked us! We were so engrossed in each other that I let my guard down. It's no wonder they were about to take him so easily! But why didn't they take me, or kill me? She just couldn't figure it out. "They must be taking him to Orochimaru. That's the only reasonable explanation. I need to send for help.
"Where's that darn bird I completely forgot about it until now." She spotted it on top of the boulder, staring at her. She gave a little whistle and it flew over to her and landed by her side. Removing the blank scroll and a marking tool from the little case on the hawks back, she wrote down a short message and put the scroll and pin back it the pouch. She told it fly "home". It took off quickly and was soon out of sight.
Now exhausted again Temari laid her head on the ground. "Shikamaru please be all right. Help will come soon and then we will find you." She whispered as her mind slipped back into the darkness.
The sound of voices pierced the darkness in Shikamaru's mind and brought him out of his chemical induced sleep. He was sitting on the ground propped up against a wall. He looked up in the direction of the voices. There were two men staring down at him.
"Oh would you look at that he's finally awake. Long time no see Shikamaru." The man who addressed him had gray hair pulled back into a pony tail at the base of his neck, he also wore glasses.
It took him a minute to recognize who it was. "Kabuto" Shikamaru said weakly.
Kabuto smiled "You remember me but I know you don't know who this is." He gestured to the cloaked man standing next to him. Shikamaru couldn't see his face because he was wearing a hood. "This is Semteru, he's the one who brought you here."
With a burst of energy fueled by his anger Shikamaru got to his feet and took a few steps toward them "So you're the one who ambushed us! What have you done with Temari!" The sudden movement caused pain to shoot through his wounded shoulder. He hunched forward a little and his hand came up to grip his shoulder. The pain sapped his energy and he fell to his knees.
A deep, menacing voice rose for the shadows. "Aw, even in his weakened state he's fierce."
Shikamaru looked up over in the direction of the sound just as Orochimaru stepped out of the shadows.
