Disclaimer: Naruto, Temari, Shikamaru, and all characters mentioned here aren't mine. I'm just borrowing them, and making them do what I want. Nobody's making money out of this. It's just honest, good fun.

Notes: I probably won't be able to update for a couple of weeks. I've got ideas, it's just that I probably won't have time to flesh them out as properly as I want to. But I'll definitely find the time. For now, I'll just leave you guys with this.

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Sixth Move

It was a beautiful day, and the leaf village of Konoha was living up to its namesake. Verdant trees sashayed in the wind, apparently showing off their thick foliage to any passers-by who would care to look. Fortunately, a lot of the people were preoccupied with the sort of thing people do during beautiful days, which generally involved taking in the fresh air, basking in sunshine, and admiring the scenery.

Temari was all for beautiful scenery, having spent most of her life in the desert, and always appreciated a change of pace. She wasn't like a tourist, though, as that type of person tends to read about the different sights and experiences a place has to offer, then makes plans to go there sometime, and commits himself to the experience by making the necessary travel arrangements months in advance. When it came to traveling, she took opportunities as they came, and made the most of them, no matter who she had them with. She had traveled with Kankurou and Gaara many times, and had willed herself to have a pleasant time--or, in Gaara's case, not to cringe in fear of what could happen--so one could say that she can travel with pretty much anyone, as long as she was merely expected to be civil.

However, today she was finding it very hard to be civil. The shadow-bending twit had burst in on her, forced his way into her room, and told her that he, a kid who was three years younger than she was, was to be her official guide in Konoha. This is a test, she thought. It has to be. She's trying to see how diplomatic I can be.

So even though the way he had announced himself was highly unusual, and he was unable to produce any kind of proof to back up his claim, she went along with it. Shikamaru had offered to take her to the best ramen house in Konoha. "It's not too far from here. It's not too fancy, though, but it should be all right. There's nothing like actual neighborhood cuisine to introduce yourself to a new place."

"Baka. I've been here before, you know," she had snapped. "Can't you just admit that you're too cheap to treat your diplomats with the respect that they deserve?"

"Shut up," he replied testily. "The place I'm talking about is a good place. And it's clean, too. I know for certain that they wash their dishes there."

This was true. He had seen Naruto, their best customer, wash enough dishes to pay for a hundred bowls several times before. The place had to be nice too, he judged, since any place that would call Naruto their best customer would have to belong to a very kind and generous man.

"Anyway, the last time you were here you were planning the destruction of Konoha. Not exactly the best circumstances for touring."

Temari bristled at this. "You know that we were tricked into it," she growled. Her stomach did the same.

Shikamaru glanced down, and, noting Temari's humiliation, decided to speak first. "Look, a free meal's a free meal, right? Don't fight me on this. Or you and your stomach can keep on whining. But I say we're going to that noodle house."

And here they were, walking under the trees, making their way to Shikamaru's beloved Ramen House.

"You're wrong, you know." She said, as the wind blew leaves around their feet, green dancers performing a complex, arrhythmic tattoo.

"Oh, what now?" He muttered, lazily kicking some errant leaves out of his way.

"The last time we were here, we saved your ass."

They walked on. Shikamaru was getting irritated: he was under enough pressure pretending to be this woman's official guide without her turning every conversation into an exercise in Barbed Words 101. He should be used to it, though. In fact, he had rather missed it. "No, you're wrong," he replied somewhat testily. "Last time you were here, we had just saved your asses."

Temari stopped. Damn it, I'm not going to get sucked in. "Yes, you're right. I'm sorry. And thank you," she added, trying not to make it sound forced.

"That's better," said Shikamaru, who was too worried to wonder how he had won so easily. "And you're welcome," he added, remembering that he was supposed to be diplomatic. Yeah, now's not the time to fight her. Got to remember that I'm her official guide, so I've got to be cordial. Still, I wouldn't have to put on this stupid charade if she had just opened the damned door in the first place.

Damn damn damn, he swore internally. Why'd she have to be so resistant back there? Sure, she had just taken a bath, but is a simple "just a minute" too much to ask? Put someone in a fancy suite, then they act like it's supposed to shut out the whole world...

He was just ranting. What really pissed him off was that the plan had not worked, and now he's in a situation he was totally unprepared for. He had lied, and that bought him some time with her, but this went beyond the ordinary bluff. He was misrepresenting himself--specifically, he was claiming a duty and position that wasn't bestowed on him. He was Putting Words In Tsunade's Mouth.

There had to be a law against that, and he wondered how heavy a penalty this would incur in his case. Even if he said that he was just showing initiative, that usually involved the proper consent first. Besides, him showing initiative? It was a bald-faced lie that would wither and die as soon as it squeezed past his tightly pursed lips. All those years of keeping his head down, watching what he did, gone to waste. They'd find out soon. He would surely be punished for this.

He had to stop thinking. He can't handle the ideas that followed.

"So," he said, in an effort to make conversation, "how do you like Konoha?"

She was about to say "what do you care", but stopped herself. Diplomacy, diplomacy...

"I think it's a great place," she said, unveiling a brilliantly engineered smile. "The people are very friendly, and everyone I've encountered so far has treated me well." Except you, pineapple-head, but you won't hear that from me. "Even Lady Tsunade was extremely helpful and supportive of my cause. That must be why she sent you," she added, vaguely remembering that flattery was one of the basic tools of the diplomat.

Shikamaru regarded her smile and sudden pleasantness with suspicion. You should know by now that I'm impervious to sarcasm, Shikamaru thought automatically, although he didn't say it. Diplomacy, diplomacy...

He picked out his most pleasant smile, and tried it on. "Well, that's nice of you to say, and I hope you like the rest of Konoha just as much. But tell me, Ambassador Temari," he said, remembering that using someone's name and honorific to address them was a basic skill in being diplomatic, "what does your country hope to gain from being friends with us? Everyone says you need our help in matters concerning education and training of your people in warfare, but I'd like to know: what exactly do you need us to help you with?"

She looked at him, and his smile. He's supposed to be testing me, isn't he? Why would he be interested? "Our country is interested in becoming strong," Temari said. "Our previous leader had thought that power would be most useful if it were invested in only a few elite individuals: Gaara, Kankurou and I were trained under that philosophy. But the phrase 'power at a point' only makes sense if you're talking about attacking the enemy. When it comes to defending and holding your own, it's pretty stupid. We've learned that cooperation is necessary for survival. Now, we want to live without fear. And for that to happen, our people must stand on their own feet."

"I didn't think that you were the diplomatic sort, though."

"I'm not. But there's no one better. Kankurou's too suspicious, Gaara's too intimidating. They picked me because I was a woman, which makes me not very threatening." She scoffed.

"Don't you feel used, though? Normally, you'd take that sort of thinking as an insult."

"Of course I'm insulted. But if swallowing my pride is what it takes to get you guys to help us, then I'll do it. Beggars can't be choosers, and someone has to beg. I guess it just happens to be my turn to do it."

"I see." He reflected on this. She cares. That's why she's here. Despite all her big talk, put-downs, and I'm-a-badass-warrior-woman posturing, she has a big heart. Why does she hide it?

"Seems like you really care about Sunna," Shikamaru remarked.

"Of course," Temari replied simply. "I'm not just tough, you know. Maybe you'd have learned that sooner if you listened once in a while."

In that instant, Shikamaru fell a little further.

"If you talked like this all the time, I would've started listening long ago."

Temari grinned knowingly. "Well, I never had to be diplomatic before. Anyway, let's walk a little faster."

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Ino stared at space, wondering how Shikamaru was doing. He had to have done well; a blue rose was something that any girl would find meaningful. And it was beautiful. She'd have to be a real bitch not to be blown away by that.

Still, Shikamaru might screw it up. No matter how good a strategist he is, he's pretty unmotivated. Being declarative and forward isn't his strong suit. He won't force anyone to do anything, even if he has to to get what he wants. That's the thing with Shikamaru: he's got lots of patience, and the prospect of waiting for opportunities is something that he's comfortable with. Creating opportunities isn't his forte. He'd rather not, and would exert minimum effort if there was no guarantee that he'd win.

He should've won the match back in the Chuunin exam, she thought. What a waste. He didn't even think of himself as the last remaining member of the Ino-shika-Cho combo. He could've gone further. But no, he had to reason it out. He had to think rationally. And he'll never look back and ask himself "what if?" He'd just remember things as they were, not as they could have been. He was infuriatingly literal and single-minded, even if he could think in circles.

"Intelligence!" she spat. "Why can't he use what he has?" She went on thinking while puttering around the shop. If he was really serious about that girl, then he'd have to try a lot harder than this. He has to realize that people aren't books, that when it comes to feelings, putting yourself out there isn't so unusual, and is actually expected. Men are supposed to be tough, and they're supposed to be able to handle it. If he doesn't understand that, then he'll just go through life assuming that everything's a game, that people are programmable, and everyone acts in utterly predictable and straightforward ways.

Why couldn't he understand that people think in circuitous ways because they have to? If they just went around saying what they meant, then they're setting themselves up for a life of loneliness. Take women, for instance. We're expected to be kind, gentle, loving, nurturing, and forgiving. And if we don't live up to that, then we're just bitches. But sometimes, things just gather, the weight adds up, and there's no way for it to be released. The only way to cope is to know that there's someone who understands what we feel, who's willing to listen, and who, because of that understanding, will let us act like bitches every once in a while.

She swept the dust outside the door. Now the next step was to water the plants. There were many different flowers, and you had to know what each one of them needed so that you could care for them properly. Ino was very conscientious about her plants. She spent a lot of time with them, and had invested a lot of emotions in learning about them. She remembered how many of them she had killed over the years, and was terribly upset over each one. Men aren't good at being sympathetic, she reflected. They wouldn't care about a dead plant, they'd just look at how many of them were left alive. It's just as well that women are the ones who are expected to be caring, nurturing, and perceptive when it came to what other people needed.

Sasuke Uchiha. Now there was an interesting case. He was cool, in a solitary, brooding kind of way, and you just felt like he needed to be understood. And he was so guarded all the time. It was so hard to read him. He mostly kept to himself, and nobody knew anything about him. Sure, there was the Sharingan Bloodline limit, but that was something that he got from his family. It's not uniquely his. What was important to him--his feelings, his emotions, his personal history--no one knew much about that, and he didn't seem particularly interested in sharing. Finding a way to reach out was a challenge. It would take a woman of great patience and love to do that, and that was his appeal. If you can unlock Uchiha Sasuke, then you can win over any man in the village.

And he's pretty handsome. There, I said it. Who says women can't be shallow and superficial, too?

Sakura Haruno. My rival. Yes, she had to admit that Sakura had probably beaten her in that respect. It was hardly a fair contest, was it? She had been teamed up with him, so she spent long hours, days, weeks, and months training with him and seeing him. She most likely knew about him intimately by now, so she probably would be the girl who was closest to understanding him...

...the closest to deserving him.

Come to think of it, she had known Shikamaru all her life. They'd grown up together, what with their fathers having been tight friends, and so they were friends too. She's seen him as a whiney baby, as a quietly observant toddler, and now knows him as a lazy, unmotivated adolescent. She's seen every stage of his life, and so she had to be the only woman to really understand him.

Her father was right about that, at least. She was in the best position to help him. Why her father wanted to help Shikamaru was beyond her, but she didn't have to know all of his motives all the time. She trusted her father. Some people couldn't do that, though, and she wondered why. It was so easy. All you had to remember is that if you didn't know something in your head, then you looked at what you knew in your heart. There was no analysis involved.

You'd think someone as smart as Shikamaru could grasp the concept. But no, he won't even tell her who it was. How long have we known each other? Doesn't all that time mean that I'm entitled to know just one little secret? I just want to help, and you obviously need it. It would be better for us both if you simply trusted me, and told me who the hell she is. Is she so important to you that you're forgetting who I am?

She finished watering the plants. She had years of experience taking care of plants, and knew what they needed. That's what women are good at. The more time they spent with something, the more they learned about it. I know him well enough to help him. Doesn't he know me well enough to trust me?

She gave up. There was no use getting worked up over it. Shikamaru won't even react if she told him. He'd just note that she's upset, and with a resigned sigh, would figure that he has to find a way to make her feel better, so she wouldn't be so troublesome. He'd ask her what she wanted him to do, and she'd tell him, and he'd give her what she wanted, but he just wouldn't get it. He had to understand what he was doing, otherwise it would be meaningless. He has to feel like she deserved to know; she didn't want pity or submission. I'll just keep on helping him. He doesn't trust me yet, so I'll just have to give him more time, during which I'll earn his trust.

She pursed her lips, humming tunelessly to her little friends. This girl had better be worth it, Shikamaru. When I find out who she is, she'd better be someone you deserve, and someone who deserves you.

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A little later, they made it to the Ramen House. It was a nice, friendly place: not nice in the Fun-For-The-Whole-Family way that most fast food chains want to represent themselves, but in the way that neighborhood pizza parlors or coffee shops was nice. Waitresses passed by with a smile, and returned immediately to their current tasks of serving loyal customers--Temari had no idea how long the people who were eating had known about the place, but she knew that they had to be faithful. It was just that kind of establishment.

The smell of freshly-concocted ramen hung like a light mist, and penetrated her senses as soon as they entered. Temari's stomach grumbled even more loudly. "Let's sit down, and order, shall we?" Shikamaru said, leading Temari to a table for two.

He pulls out a chair for her. She sat down, expressing her thanks as nicely as she could, and throwing in a smile. He threw one back at her.

Just as he was taking his seat, a voice thrust into his ear. "Shikamaru! What are you doing here?"

He look around; Naruto was there, at the next table, making short work of what seemed to be his twelfth bowl of gyudon. It must be time for him to wash dishes again, Shikamaru thought; Naruto has a standing arrangement with the owner of the bar to let him wash dishes one weekend a month in exchange for bowls of gyudon. Instead of slowing down his consumption, however, he tends to get in as many bowls as he can before he has to do his deed. He didn't think of it as a work day so much as a deadline.

"Fancy meeting you guys here!" He stood up and walked over, giving Temari a little wave.

"Yeah, same to you. Temari here hasn't eaten lunch, and neither have I, so I decided to take her here. What about you, Naruto? It's two o' clock. You don't usually eat lunch this late."

"I know. It's frustrating, but I had wasted the morning and noon sweeping the village."

"Sweeping?" He's doing community service?

"Yeah, you know! Looking around, exploring! I made twenty shadow clones of myself, and fanned out in different directions from Old Lady Tsunade's office. By the way, the welt on your forehead looks really painful. You probably should get that looked at."

Temari winced at Naruto's forceful familiarity. "It's fine," she said.

"Yeah, just a little mishap. It'll be gone by tonight." Shikamaru shook his head, giving her a little shrug. You'll get used to it.

"What were you doing at Tsunade's office?" Temari asked.

Naruto beamed like a loud, bouncy sun. "She told me that I'm to be your official guide to Konoha!"