Author's note: First, I want to apologize to those who are avid fans of Naruto and were bothered by the fact I made Shikamaru a smoker. I felt like with the time skip it was something that could possibly have happened. But then I got to a point in the show where he made it clear he doesn't like it… oops. Hopefully that falls under the creative liberties offered to fan fiction writers. Second, I know I've been inconsistent with capitalizing/not capitalizing Leaf/Sand adjectives and nouns. I'm making them capitalized from here on out, but I don't feel like going back and changing all previous references. Again, I apologize.

Thanks to all who have read, favorite, followed, and reviewed. It means a lot. I hope you like these next few chapters, which are still a bit of a softer plot and just laying groundwork and developing characters :). Next chapter should be done in a few days!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, its characters or its storyline, as much as I wish I did.

"Choji! Shikamaru! Ino!" Kankuro called out. I let him take the lead, as three pairs of eyes turned in our direction. The sharpest of them all settled on me only for a second, and I couldn't catch a glimpse of anything more than mere recognition.

"Kankuro! Temari!" A high-pitched squeal met my ears, making me grimace. I didn't find much friendship among the female gender as it was, but Ino was a particularly unappealing one that could do nothing but irk me with her immature mind and boisterous personality. However, I knew that it wasn't her fault – people are born with different talents, and hers was … something. I also had to account for the three years in our age difference, as well as the fact that I hadn't had the chance to see what improvements she'd made over the past few years. It probably would be worth it to give her another chance.

"It's SO good to see you guys," she rushed over to give us hugs, displaying affection much too intimate for our years of friendship, but I hugged her back for a second, and then watched with slightly repulsed eyes as she clung onto my brother's muscular build a second too long.

She began to speak rapidly about this and that, her hands gesticulating wildly, and the other two approached us with smiles. I focused on Choji and did not give much mind to the man beside him. I didn't know why. I just couldn't look at him. I just wasn't prepared. And besides, there was no "real" reason why I needed to show him individual attention, although my heart was desperately trying to nudge my body and get it to fall into his arms. But he hadn't even acknowledged me. Well, not really. Not in the way I wanted … or feared? But why would he particularly acknowledge me? We couldn't act too close or people would know we did it. Or maybe not. Maybe avoiding each others' eyes was worse. These and more thoughts zipped through my head at lightning-fast speed, sending my brain spinning. "Stop it!" I commanded myself sharply. I felt like my mind was on a wild and dizzying merry-go-round, and I just wanted to get off. "Just act normal."

"Hey, Kankuro," Shikamaru interjected as soon as Ino stopped to take a breath. His voice met my ears like hot liquid, making them burn and sending a warmth trickling through my body on impact.

"It's good to see you, Shikamaru. You leading these things this time, huh? That's a pretty big deal!"

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head almost sheepishly, but grinned lazily in perfect balance, "Yeah, yeah. You know. It's whatever. It's actually kind of been a big pain. But I get to watch my teammates compete, so that's pretty neat."

I used the few seconds he was speaking to feast my eyes, consuming every last morsel I could and even snatching a bit to parcel away for later. Damn, I forgot how hot he was. I felt my stomach tighten and I looked away, feigning disinterest. It probably made me look like a jerk, but seeing him was doing odd, uncomfortable things to my body.

"You here on business as usual, Temari?" Ino asked sweetly as she turned to me.

"Hn," I nodded. "I had a meeting with the Hokage. And I'm staying for the exams now that my brothers are here."

"Oh that's wonderful. I really believe this will be the time I pass," her crystal-blue eyes were bright and hopeful.

"I'm sure it will be, Ino," Kankuro smiled down at her. "You, too, Choji!"

The four of them talked on and I tried to act as normal as possible and not mind that Shikamaru was acting so professional toward me, a behavior I couldn't fault him for.

And besides, I actually was enjoying the opportunity to see him interact with Ino and Choji, with whom he was so comfortable after having been on a team with them for so long. It was obvious they were excited about the exams, and by the increased level of interest he was showing in the conversation, I knew he was excited for them. That was just the kind of guy he was. He didn't like getting involved in drama or fights, but he had no problem caring for others.

I smiled at them, making sure to encompass Ino and Choji in my warmth so it wouldn't just be Shikamaru and I alone in a dangerously intimate glance.

A few of the Sand genin, who were strolling down the road, saw our group and came over to say hi.

They all were about 16 and had become proficient ninjas, which made me nothing but anxious for them to have them pass the exam. It seemed past due by now. We had a team of three younger students and I was much more sympathetic to the significance of the Chunin Exams to them, as it was their first time. If you couldn't pass your first year, then you already were falling behind, in my opinion.

"Temari! Kankuro!" Called out one named Azami, the epitome of my antithesis: Stick-thin, bubbly, vivacious and a little dim-witted. However, I had seen her around our village with more than her share of moony-eyed male teenagers and I was left to speculate with incredulity that somehow guys found that appealing. I had always treated her the way I believe someone in leadership should treat an inferior who had never blatantly disrespected them: with humble acknowledgement and a limited degree of geniality.

'We just got done practicing! I think we're ready for the exams tomorrow for sure! But, boy, I'm exhausted. You have no idea how hard we've been working today. I think we'd make even you proud, Temari," she rattled off, almost surpassing Ino's speed of small talk.

'Well, it's almost night. You should be about done for the day," I replied, subconsciously trying to contrast her lengthy speech with briefness.

Kankuro began talking to the three of them, going through a list of techniques he had instructed them to practice and problems to work out for the written portion of the exam. He was a lot better at leading the younger ninjas than I was. Meanwhile, Shikamaru was talking with Choji and Ino, who obviously were trying to hide the fact that they were sizing up their competition. Being part of neither conversation and watched by no one, I released the restraint I had on myself just a notch. My eyes traveled over Shikamaru's relaxed form, leaning against the side of the arena, his hands in his pockets and his voice slow and steady. I was a little perturbed by the fact that he seemed completely unaffected by my presence, although, honestly, what did I expect? That he would fall all over himself at my sight? No. That wasn't him at all, and I was pretty sure I wouldn't want someone like that anyway. But the complete absence of affection in his manner toward me had my mind tied up in a knot as it tried to pull at this and that idea and come up with a justification. "You're not acting any differently toward him either, you know," a part of me was quick to point out in an unsympathetic tone.

"That's different," I answered. I flippantly tried to brush the matter aside, ridiculously claiming that it was better this way. We hadn't spoken about what would happen after our night of lovemaking and I had decided I didn't want anything to change. ... So why were my spirits so dampened by his demeanor? I was irritated with myself and I didn't know what to do about it. About him. About any of it.

"Hey," Azami's quick, confiding voice brought me back outside of myself. "He's kind of cute, isn't he?"

It took several seconds for me to register who exactly she was talking about. At first I assumed it was Kankuro. Much to my disgust and disbelief, people were often divulging to me in hushed confidential tones their overly gushing opinions of my little brother, from his physique to his talent, always leaving me left wondering, "Why the hell do you think I want to know how sexy you think my brother's six-pack is or how gorgeous he is when he takes off his puppeteer makeup?"

But it wasn't him. Azami had known Kankuro for a long time, and it wouldn't make sense for her to just down be confiding her positive opinion of his physicality. It slowly dawned on me that her eyes had glanced furtively at the lazy dark-haired Leaf ninja whose face was alight in a rare full smile, induced by something his best friend, Choji, had said.

"Shikamaru?" I asked, keeping my voice low but no-nonsense. I couldn't explain it but I suddenly felt an eruption of displeasure deep within me, spreading irrational anger through my body, along with a gripping, razor-sharp emotion I had never experienced ... jealousy.

"Yeah. He's really, really sexy."

"You fucking watch your mouth!" Something screamed inside of me. I pretended to be casually considering her words on the surface while underneath my insides were raging. I shrugged, "Eh. I suppose." I couldn't think of anything else to do or say. My tongue was tied and my body was frozen, which seemed odd, because it felt like I was filled with boiling water: raging, bubbling and completely out of my control.

"You know him don't you? You come here all the time. You must know him. I can't believe you never talked about how cute the boys are in the Leaf village!"

I just wanted her to shut up, but I pressed my lips together tight and letter her continue to babble.

"You could talk to him for me, couldn't you?"

I almost scoffed. She couldn't be serious. My anger was boiling faster and harder. I was scared the pressure would soon cause my body to explode. My hand almost reached instinctively for my fan, a movement that was the habitual response for the times when I was provoked to this degree.

"Ummm ... well .. I don't know. That seems a little odd," I answered slowly, using every last ounce of energy to make my voice sound even. There was a lot more I wanted to say to her but I held it in, folding the harsh hidden words into the secret confines of my mind. I would binge on them later when I was free to shout and swear as much as I wanted. "I don't know him that well, so it could be kind of uncomfortable."

"Oh come on! Please! Please, Temari!" Her voice was high-pitched and whiny, her eyes misted with ludicrous tears. She always had a way of carrying out actions and behaviors that were entirely disproportionate to the situation she was in.

"What's this?" Kankuro joined our group, as the other two genin, both boys ... nice, predictable, dull boys ... had gone off to get some rest.

"I want Temari to talk to her Leaf friend about me, but she won't do it. She says she's not comfortable with that," Azami pouted.

"Her Leaf friend?" Kankuro glanced behind him to see who she could mean. "You mean Shikamaru? Yeah, he and Temari have been good friends for a long time. Like more than five years."

"Damn you, Kankuro," I seethed, longing to fix him with a withering glare. But I knew it would seem suspicious. And Azami was already looking at me with hurt eyes, having picked up on in the discrepancy in Kankuro's evaluation of the length of my friendship with Shikamaru.

"He like saved your life a while back, right?" Kankuro asked.

I shrugged. "Minor detail. And it was only after I saved his."

"Please, please, Temari!" Her voice was annoying when it begged and I was anxious to have it aborted. "Please! I promise I'll work even harder for the exams! Please?"

"I mean, I don't know," I sighed, sounding entirely exasperated. "I guess I can see what I can do."

"Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you," she gushed. "I should go introduce myself!"

She ran off to the trio of Leaf nin standing several yards away in the early evening shade cast by the arena. Kankuro laughed and I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth.

"She really is out of control," he chuckled. "Oh well. Wouldn't hurt, right? Shikamaru's a good enough guy. We can give him one of our own."

"Shikamaru is a genius. I doubt very much that he could put up even for a second with someone as ridiculously immature and altogether vapid as Azami," my voice was flat and sounded disinterested, but I knew the words themselves probably went too far in revealing how personally I was taking this turn of events. They were just a degree too harsh.

Kankuro looked at me curiously, but pushed on, "Yeah, maybe. She's always good for a romp though, you know."

I knew he was probably trying to lighten up a mood that was coming off as oddly tense, but I did not know, nor did I want to know, or think or imagine Azami 'romping' with the love of my life, so I forced myself to simply shrug.

My eyes wandered over to where the 16-year-old was talking with the Leaf teammates, her body continuously moving as she spoke, her hands marking every end of a sentence with a gesture. She was standing a little too close to Shikamaru and laughing a little too loudly at whatever he was saying, which I knew was a ruse because his dry humor never was laugh-out-loud funny. I hoped that I was maintaining a cool demeanor. Kankuro was strolling over to where they were, and I knew it would only make sense for me to follow, even though my mind was screaming a revolt. I didn't understand what had happened in the past two days that was making it increasingly hard for me to keep those two entities aligned. I was a master at holistic control ... at least I used to be. Before I had let my guard down and allowed myself to acknowledge feelings for Shikamaru which were now screwing with me in more ways than I had anticipated.

I told my legs to move in the direction that Kankuro was and I noticed that they were obeying.

"Ino, Choji and Shikamaru are going to go get some dinner with!" Azami said excitedly as we approached.

"Oh awesome!" Kankuro smiled. "You all can show us where the good places to eat in town are."

Choji announced that he would be the man for that job and decisively took the lead of our little group. Ino, being her extremely friendly self, had started talking exclusively to Azami. Why didn't it surprise me that the two of them hit it off? While Ino darted from subject to subject, somehow jumping from the exams to makeup in a matter of seconds, Azami continued to glance at Shikamaru and give him flirtatious smiles. He was walking alongside Kankuro and was at the wrong angle for me to see if he was responding with any particular facial expressions.

Kankuro, who serves as Gaara's bodyguard and head of security, was busy explaining to Shikamaru some of the tactics he had learned during his time in that position. It struck me as interesting how well the two seemed to be getting along. I brought up the rear, taking my time and enjoying the solitude. That is, until Kankuro turned to yell at me, "Come on, fatty. You don't have to be by yourself all the time."

I bristled a little at his affectionate nickname for me, knowing it was only due to the obvious smirk that took over Shikamaru's face the second he heard it. His eyes were blatantly laughing as he at last turned them in my direction.

"Damn it. He's going to start calling me that, too," I was brooding in my head, and outraged that mockery was the first emotion Shikamaru had decided to dish out to me with.

"Fatty, huh?" He turned to Kankuro. "Good nickname."

Kankuro laughed. "She's always been the chubby one in the family. You should have seen her when she was little."

I had never wanted to inflict physical pain on my little brother as much as I did in that moment.

"But then she started training really hard, and stopped eating everything in sight and now she's just a little thick." Kankuro winked at me, apparently not sensing how close I was to slapping him square in his face. I swallowed my humiliation, gathered what few scraps of pride I had left and forced a smile, so I could appear like I was all fine and dandy with the nature of this conversation.

"Well, Kankuro," I said with ice in my voice, turning to grin viciously at my brother, "I guess having a little extra thickness is preferable to being so unimpressive anatomically that you need three full puppets to compensate for what you lack."

"Wow, Temari," Kankuro feigned being appalled. "Too far. Why don't you just go cool off with a tub of ice cream?"

Shikamaru chuckled and I knew that I was not going to get a leg up in this conversation now that they apparently had decided to team up against me.

I was fuming and also just disoriented, completely unsure how to handle this situation, but I managed to keep my countenance in check and merely roll my eyes. "Whatever. You're both jerks and too immature for me to handle right now."

"Ah, come on, Temari," Kankuro pulled me to his side roughly. "There's no need to be upset."

I shook my head in exasperation and pulled away, but stayed in step with them as we went a few more yards to a ramen shop.

Choji rushed inside, followed by the other two girls, still speeding through a variety of topics, and then Kankuro pushed through the door. As he walked through, Shikamaru turned to hold it open for me - a hallmark of his true nature and the gentlemanly habits he had inherited from his father. I smiled politely at him as I walked through the door and for a mere instant I could swear I saw a look within his eyes that said more than he was with his voice. A look of longing and adoration. But I couldn't be sure. And it was gone before I could confirm its existence. My hand accidentally brushed his as I walked past and mumbled, "Thanks, Shikamaru."

It was the slightest of grazes, but it sent a shot of electricity through my body and I could feel the goose bumps forming on my skin. It's odd how sometimes small, vague touches can be so much more arousing than abrupt, obvious gropes.

"Shikamaru! I saved you a seat by us," Azami cried out, waving toward the seat in between her and Choji. Shikamaru's brows drew together for a split second, but he went to taken the proffered seat. Trying to push down my rising temper, I casually drifted toward the seat between Kankuro and Ino, which was situated across the table from Shikamaru.

"This can't possibly get any worse," I thought, as my eye caught Azami's arm bump Shikamaru's, a 'mistake' for which she apologized so profusely and giddily that no one could believe she was actually sorry.

We all ordered ramen, and the tantalizing scents wafting throughout the small shop were making me hungry. I hoped that eating might calm me down and I dedicated myself to wolfing down the food when it came if for no other reason but to keep myself mildly preoccupied.

The rest of our dinner was rather uneventful, but altogether unpleasant. We sat around, sharing stories and talking about recent missions and the exams, nothing too heavy or personal. That part wasn't irritating. It was actually enjoyable. What wasn't was that Azami was openly flirting with the shadow possessor. He was being polite to her. A little too polite? For some reason I couldn't seem to remember what his normal level of geniality was when talking to the average person. There was no memory in my head of his average behavior by which I could measure his current interactions with the Sand genin. There was a hint of boredom in his dark-brown eyes, but wasn't there always?

In other ways, Shikamaru was the essence of propriety, addressing me casually when it was appropriate but not expressing even the slightest change of interest when he switched from speaking with Kankuro or Choji to me. I knew this was the way it should be. We obviously had to uphold an impeccable standard of professionalism, which meant I wasn't allowed to be upset about this. Especially since my interactions with him mirrored his exactly, making me wonder whom exactly was mimicking whom. This was perfectly natural behavior for our positions and ranks. He was even treating me with mild respect, which seemed a stark contrast from the way he talked with me when we were alone. "I guess I just should be happy about that." I sighed quietly and rebuked myself internally for how frustrated I was letting this make me. I focused on calming myself down and turned my attention to finishing the bowl of delicious pork-flavored noodles in front of me.

At last, Ino announced that she should be going, as it was getting late. I glanced out the window, taking pleasure in the fact that evening was beginning to give way to night. I liked night best.

Choji wasted no time in jumping up and telling her that he'd walk her home, just to make sure she stayed safe. She rolled her eyes and laughed, but agreed, which seemed to make Choji surprisingly happy. "Maybe not so surprising," I corrected myself, as I caught sight of the eyes with which he watched her as she turned to grab her things. They were full of outright adoration and tenderness. "How did I not realize that before?" It was actually rather endearing, although the look was safely stowed away by the time she was finished and had turned back to him.

"I think I'll go with them. I have a few things I need to speak with them about before tomorrow," Shikamaru said lazily, slowly pulling himself up from his leaned back position in his chair.

"Oh, are you sure?" Azami pouted. I couldn't believe how pushy and simpering she was being. It was almost entertaining ... almost.

Shikamaru more or less ignored her, saying to all of us with a yawn, "I'll see you all tomorrow for these troublesome exams. 'Night."

His hands went into his pocket and he took his time following his teammates out of the restaurant.

"Well, I think that went well!" Azami announced eagerly with a giggle. She turned to me, "You'll talk to him right? Just find out if he likes me. I think he does. I was definitely picking up on something. He's just SO cute."

I didn't reply, figuring she wasn't really interested in hearing my voice as much as her own anyway. Her words were grinding into me, and I was beginning to feel utterly suffocated. I tried to zone her out as she went on and on about the Leaf chunin whom she didn't even know. At last I could take it no more.

"Well," I interjected a little too severely. "It's getting late. You really should be getting back to get rested up for tomorrow."

"Oh fine," she huffed. "I guess you're right. I'm not too worried, though."

I tried to expedite the process of getting her the hell out of my sight. "Kankuro? Can you make sure she gets back alright? I know it's pretty late. I'm going to stay for just a few more minutes and have some tea."

Azami laughed. "You're such a cranky old woman, Temari."

She was getting dangerously close to the worst things she could say, but I bit my tongue, taking solace in the fact that she would be gone in a few seconds and I could enjoy peace and quiet at last. Thankfully, Kankuro knew how to be more than just a pain, and he could read my moods fairly well. I'm pretty sure what he was picking up from my tense shoulders and dangerously inexpressive eyes was, "Leave me the fuck alone."

He studied me for a second longer, gently squeezed my knee under the table, and then stood up, stretched, and said, "Yeah, for sure. Come on, Azami. See you later tonight, Temari."

I kept my body as still as a rock until her prattling voice, talking Kankuro's ear off, had slowly diminished and then disappeared.

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, my eyes shut. I ordered tea and simply took the time to enjoy the warm, aromatic beverage, savoring the feeling it made as it trickled down my throat, pooled inside me and sent a calming sensation throughout my body. It was nice to be alone. With no one here irritating me, I didn't have to exert effort to remain placid and unprovoked. I just wasn't anymore. Well, not really. There were those few ashy remnants of my past jealousy and anger that remained in my mind, making me feel a little bitter. I let myself enjoy the solitude for ten more minutes and then regretfully stood to go home.