The next Chapters are dedicated to Jimu whom has been my biggest supporter on this story. Thank ye so much for all your nice comments Jimu! Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it: 3 (hope you enjoy the ones to come as well : 3)
This chapter is extra long since I delayed so much on it. Hope it turned out well!
-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-
Temari
"Do you just enjoy the hospital that much?"
"… Che."
"Hehehe, it's got to be the food!" I giggled and shook my head at Choji then looked over at Shikamaru whom was back in the hospital yet again.
"Oh shut up Choji." Shikamaru growled. Choji placed his hands up.
"Heh sorry Shikamaru." Choji sat down sighing. Even though that had been funny what had just happened about two hours ago hadn't been. Shikamaru had had another remembrance and his shoulder had started bleeding again. When I saw him suffering in pain my heart had been torn apart. I hadn't been able to help him at all.
And I still can't. I thought staring at the ground. Kankuro touched my shoulder gently making me look up at him. He was smiling and had a look in his eyes that said "it'll be alright so don't' worry". I smiled back at him then hugged him gently. I turned my head back over to Shikamaru and Choji; they were playfully hitting each other. At least Shikamaru's happy. Choji's hand slipped and hit Shikamaru's left shoulder, which made him wince painfully. Immediately Choji stood up to apologize, but he tripped over the bed sheets and hit the floor making everyone laugh even Shikamaru.
"Well, it looks like you're all happy." We looked up to see Tsunade-sama, immediately we became quiet and focused our attention on her. She blinked at us then shook her head sighing. "Does everyone have to go silent when I come in?" She asked out loud.
"It's polite to be silent when the Hokage enters a room." Gaara responded to her. She stared at Gaara then shook her head. Her attention turned to Shikamaru.
"Are you feeling better?" She asked him he nodded to her. "Good that means you can go back to cleaning the library." Shikamaru gave her a sour look making her laugh. "It's got to be done and Choji, Ino, you help out as well."
"What?" Ino and Choji yelled at the same time. "But Hokage-sama-" Tsunade-sama placed a finger up making them stop talking.
"No buts, you are to do it." Tsunade-sama turned around and left the room. Silence filled the room then we all sighed greatly. Gaara started to leave making us look at him.
"Gaara...?" I asked making him stop. He turned his head and looked at me.
"I'll be at the library." Then he turned away and left. Ino shook her head slightly.
"Who actually wants to do that kind of stuff?" We shrugged then I stood up stretching. Ino looked at me then stood up as well. "Sigh there's no helping it is there?" Shikamaru nodded as he got out of the bed. Choji grabbed Shikamaru's arm and placed it over his shoulder. We nodded to them then left for the Konoha library, again.
-oO0-o)
"Aaaaah! There are bugs in here!" Ino screamed and backed up almost running into me.
"Watch it!" I growled at her already ticked off. Ino turned to me and placed her hands up.
"I'm sorry!" I glared at her then went back to work.
"It's just a few bugs, Ino."
"I know… I just don't like bugs much." I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Grabbing a quite a few books of the shelves I turned and handed them to Ino. She stared at me then sighed and walked toward where Kankuro and Choji were cleaning the books.
"Temari." I turned around and looked through the bookshelves to see Gaara staring blankly at me.
"Yes Gaara?" I asked him placing books in my hand.
"I'm concerned about what will happen to Shikamaru." I stopped and blinked at him. It was rare for him to be concerned about other people besides Kankuro and me.
"What makes you concerned?" I was concerned as well of course, but seeing Gaara worry like this meant he had been thinking about this for a while. He stared at me for a second before turning his head away.
"I'm just concerned for his well being and for how things are turning out for him. I'm also worried about-" he stopped himself then turned to walk away. I reached through the bookshelves, dropping my books, and grabbed his arm turning him back around. I looked into his eyes. I wanted to ask what he meant but I let him go and he walked off without saying anything.
The look in his eyes that he had, it told me that he wanted to tell me what was going on but couldn't. I sat on the ground and stared at it. He was protecting me somehow; he didn't want me to get hurt. I shook my head and picked up the books I had dropped. Gaara, I know you care and I know this could get dangerous, but please you've got to let me help. I nodded to myself getting up. I headed over to Kankuro and Choji. When I'm alone with Gaara again I'll tell him that.
-oO0-o)
It was late, probably around midnight. We had cleaned all of the books, or the ones we had in the "to clean" pile, and we also had started to organize a few of them as well. Tsunade-sama came up to us waving, we all glared at her and she sweat dropped.
"You five have to do this tomorrow too!" She said handing a key to Shikamaru. "That's the key to lock up the place."
"Huh? Why lock it up, it's not like anyone's going to steal some book." Tsunade-sama glared at Shikamaru and he sweat dropped. "Fine, fine I'll do as you say."
"Good, now if you'll excuse me I've got some sleep to catch up on." She waved and walked toward the Hokage Mansion. We all sighed and stood there as Shikamaru locked the door. He placed the key in his pocket then came up to me, yawning.
"Time to go home." He started walking and we followed him, he looked back at Choji and Ino. "Get some rest; come back here around ten or so okay?" They nodded to him. I stared at the ground for a minute then turned to him.
"Shikamaru." He looked at me yawning again. "Can I ask you something?" We both stopped and I placed my hands in front of me.
"Ask me what exactly?" I smiled and leaned forward slightly.
"Can I hold your hand on the way home?" He blinked then blushed slightly; I heard Ino giggle and Choji chuckle slightly behind us. Shikamaru turned his head away from me.
"Why would you want to do that?"
"Please Shikamaru?" He turned his head back toward me then placed his hand out.
"Sigh, fine whatever." I smiled greatly then took his hand and intertwined our fingers together. He blushed a bit more then we started walking again. I looked back at Ino who smiled at me. I smiled back at her and stopped, which forced Shikamaru to stop as well, and waved to her as she entered her home, the flower shop. Choji nodded to us then ran off in his direction. Shikamaru waved then started to walk again. I walked right next to him smiling the entire time. I could tell that he was still blushing.
When we arrived home Shikaku was standing in the doorway waiting for us. Shikamaru came up to him and nodded.
"Home late I see. I heard from Lady Tsunade that you guys were to clean the library." We nodded to him. "I feel sorry for you. I would hate to do that; it'd be a real drag." I giggled slightly and Shikamaru sighed. Shikaku opened the door and we followed him in. We slipped out of our shoes and we were about to head up to Shikamaru's room when we noticed that Shikaku was staring at me and Shikamaru. Shikamaru realized why and let go of my hand. I laughed slightly then started to head up to his room with my brothers. "Hey Shikamaru, can I talk to you for a sec?" I stopped.
"Can't it wait till the morning?" Shikamaru mumbled. Shikaku shook his head. "Fine, fine what is it you want to talk to me about?" Shikamaru and Shikaku walked off to the kitchen. I smiled then ran up to my brothers and entered Shikamaru's room. I looked around and realized that we've only been in his room about three times now out of about the four weeks we've been here. I stood in the center of his room taking a full look around.
His room wasn't that decorative actually. There were few things on the wall; the only things up really were pictures of his family and friends. I walked over to a desk and picked up the picture in the frame. It was of him, Ino, Choji, and Asuma-sensei: Team 10, his team. I placed the picture down and turned around, I stopped and blinked. Gaara and Kankuro were watching me.
"You seem quite happy." Kankuro said smiling. I smiled back at him and placed my hands behind my head.
"Of course! Wouldn't you be happy as well if you got to hold the hand of the one you loved?" They both stared at me with strange expressions on their faces, which made me laugh. "Not that you two will get any girlfriends." Kankuro glared at me and placed his fist up.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what I said."
"Temari what makes you think I can't get a girlfriend?" He said crossing his arms. Gaara remained quiet and watched us. He knew it was hard for him to get one since everyone seemed to be afraid of him. I grinned at Kankuro and walked around him.
"Let's see, you're not that funny, you seem to be unable say the right things in front of a girl you like, you are anti-social when it comes to talking to a girl, oh and what else?" He was twitching greatly and his hands were at his side now being clenched tightly. I grinned even more as I enjoyed this greatly; I loved teasing him. "Oh and who wants to date a guy who wears face paint all over his face?"
"Excuse me? Tch, what's that got to do with anything? What about Kiba? He's got face paint on him!"
"He looks good like that, you on the other hand don't." Kankuro twitched greatly and lunged at me. Gaara grabbed the back of Kankuro's shirt without moving and sighed. I stood there holding my stomach from laughing so hard that I was unable to breathe. Kankuro was yelling at Gaara and trying to reach me. I looked up, still laughing, to notice Shikamaru in the doorway staring at us. I laughed even harder when I saw the expression on his face. He coughed slightly making Kankuro and Gaara look at him. Kankuro stared then stopped feeling embarrassed. Gaara let go of Kankuro and sat down on his bed. I stopped laughing and fell to the ground panting slightly.
"Uuuuh, are you okay?" Shikamaru asked me coming over. I nodded to him. He scratched his head. "Did I miss something?" I was about to say something when Kankuro grabbed my mouth. He glared at me then half-smiled at Shikamaru.
"You missed nothing, nothing at all." He glanced back at me still glaring. Shikamaru stared then sighed greatly. He walked over to his bed and took out his hair tie. Kankuro and I blinked and stared at him. He looked at us and blinked back.
"What?"
"This is the first time I've seen your hair down fully." I said slightly smiling. He stared then made a face turning around. He climbed into his bed and pulled the covers over himself. I watched him for a second then got up pushing Kankuro over. I grabbed my things and went to change. I stopped at the doorway and looked over at Shikamaru. I smiled as I noticed he was sleeping. "He really is lazy, isn't he?"
-oO0-o)
Shikamaru
There was darkness everywhere, and tunnels that seemed to lead nowhere. The only light source that was around was a couple of candles lanterns hanging on the walls. I ran through the tunnels making loud splashing sounds because of the water at my feet. Behind me was a girl, the same girl from all my dreams. I looked around as I ran gripping the girl's hand more tightly. She fell to her feet suddenly making me stopped.
"Shikamaru…" I made a grim face then helped her to her feet and ran down a tunnel that was to our right. I stopped and held her close to me. We needed to rest for a minute before running again. I looked around and realized that this was a dream, another nightmare. I looked at the girl who had her head in my chest making it impossible for me to see her face.
Will I ever find out who she is before she dies as always? I thought grimly as I started to run again. I skidded to a halt when I realized we had hit a dead end. We turned around to go back, but sudden splashing from up ahead made me decide otherwise. The girl turned to me fully and I looked at her. My eyes widen greatly when I saw who it was.
Temari.
All this time, the girl from my dreams, it's been you? My heart ached when I realized she was going to die yet again. I turned my head when I saw about five shinobi, whom seemed to be from unknown village, approach us. I held Temari close to me and glared at them. I didn't have enough Chakra left to use Shadow Neck Bind; if I did we could get out of this.
I held Temari closer as I saw them lift up their kunai. I closed my eyes and waited for the dreaded moment of the kunai hitting us. When the kunai did hit, we fell to the ground and skidded slightly. I looked over at Temari and saw her crying making tears fill my eyes as well. I reached out for her and tried to open my mouth to say something, but nothing would come out. Then I flew up in my bed.
I was breathing hard and sweating all over. I placed my hand over my heart as I felt it ache greatly. I closed my eyes trying to go over what had just happened.
"Shikamaru?" I turned my head quickly to see Gaara staring at me. I blinked at him then hung my head. "Is something wrong?" I shook my head slightly.
"Just… a bad dream."
"… … A… nightmare? Tell me about it." I looked up at Gaara surprised then nodded to him. I turned toward him more and explained to him about my dream. I decided to tell him fully about my dreams starting from the very first one I had. I could see that he was listening intently and that he was letting me explain before he asked any questions.
When I got to the dream I just had his eyes had widened slightly and he looked at the ground.
"Interesting." He said after I was done.
"What's interesting?" I asked him as I rubbed my left shoulder.
"Well, most of the time you shouldn't be able to remember your dreams, much less know that you are dreaming." I nodded to him slightly and stared at the ground. "You said this started about a year or so again, correct?" I nodded again. "Right after you lost your memory. Perhaps your subconscious is trying to make you remember someone, but in a difficult way. You said Temari was always dying, so let's say that your subconscious is making you remember someone important to you; someone that you lost." I looked up at him trying to think about what he had just said then I closed my eyes to think.
"So what you are saying is that my subconscious is making me remember someone that I missed dearly?" I opened my eyes and he nodded slightly to me. "But why make her die? If I missed someone that much, wouldn't I rather want to see them alive then see them dead?" He looked down thinking about it then shook his head not knowing the answer to that. I sighed and laid down in my bed. I stared at the ceiling as silence filled the room. So many questions filled my head that I couldn't answer. Why is this happening to me? How come I'm the one that must suffer like this? Is there something going on here that I don't understand? Perhaps… perhaps it's connected to that book I found.
"Shikamaru, do you love Temari?" I bolted up in bed and stared down at Gaara, the question had caught me off guard.
"Wh-what?" I said starting to blush.
"Do you love Temari?" He said again. I looked away from him and felt my face warm up more. Gaara kept silent as he waited for my reply. I looked at him then over to Temari. I watched her as she slept soundly, images from my dream appeared in my mind. I grabbed my chest and clenched it; my heart was hurting again. I placed a hand over my face then looked back over to Gaara. He stared at me then nodded slightly. "I'm sorry, that question was inappropriate to ask."
"No," I said shaking my head, "I'm just not ready to answer it yet." He nodded again then turned around to sleep.
"I understand." I nodded slightly then laid down in my bed once again. I stared at the ceiling. I placed my hand up in the air and stared at it.
Do I love Temari? I asked myself before drifting off to sleep.
-oO0-o)
"I brought the food!" I looked up as Ino came running over to us. It was around noon and we were taking a break from organizing. Lucky for us the library was small meaning we'd finish around three or so. I thanked Ino as she handed me a rice ball. Placing the rice ball in my mouth I started to organize the books in front of me.
"Jeez, you still work even when we are taking a break. That's so unlike you Shikamaru." I looked over at Ino who was shaking her head at me. I shrugged and continued to work. "You just want to get this done with don't you?" I nodded to her then looked up to see Kiba, Akamaru, Shino, and Hinata walk up to us. I waved to them and they waved back.
"What are you guys doing in here?" Kiba asked as he knelt down in front of me.
"Cleaning the library." Ino answered him. Kiba looked at her and blinked.
"Why?"
"Hokage-sama told us too." Kiba looked over at Gaara whom had answered him.
"Man do I feel sorry for you guys." Kiba stood up and grinned slightly then petted Akamaru.
"How on earth did you get Akamaru in here without making a mess?" Temari asked looking over at them. They looked at her then each other. Akamaru barked at her and Kiba smiled.
"He said 'I'm just that good'." Temari twitched and made a face. Ino and I sighed shaking our heads. I could understand why Temari thought Akamaru would make a mess; he's quite a big dog. His head was just a little over Kiba's waist and his body reached up to a least Kiba's thighs. Kiba himself was probably around five foot nine or so.
"K… Kiba maybe we should… help." I looked up at Hinata then at Kiba to see his response. He glanced at Hinata then scratched his head to think.
"Why?"
"Well… if we helped… they wouldn't have to be in here… for so long."
"Hmm… I don't know…"
"Let's help." Shino bent down and started to help me. I nodded to him then glanced up at Kiba who had a weird expression on his face.
"… Fine then, if Shino thinks we should help then I guess we should." Hinata smiled then walked over to Ino to ask what she should do. Kiba bent down and started to help me with the organizing.
-oO0-o)
We worked through the day and eventually got more people. It seemed that everyone stopped by to help, how annoying. Temari sent Akamaru out after he knocked over a shelf that we had just gotten done organizing. She almost went to get her fan and beat Kiba with it, Gaara had to restrain her.
After awhile I looked up to see that every Genin team was in here: Team 7, Team 8, Team Gai, my team, and Gaara's team. I still don't know how we convinced them all to help, but I do know how they could all possibly be here. Tsunade-sama did say that all four Genin teams and the Sand team weren't allowed to do missions for a while.
I smiled slightly to see how much fun everyone was having doing this. It really is fun to be with all your friends. I yawned and looked at the clock to see it was around seven or so. Wow, it's that late already? Time sure flies by. By this time we had pretty much finished doing all our work and now where either reading or playing some random game board we found while cleaning.
I got up from where I was sitting and walked around. Naruto, Kankuro, and Kiba were playing a card game, while Hinata and Shino watched them. Tenten and Neji were reading a book or trying to. I could see that they were watching Naruto and company as well. Lee, as always, was doing some weird training exercise. I'll never understand that boy. Ino, Choji, Sakura, and Sasuke found a board game and were being very loud about it. I believe Gaara and Temari walked off to talk alone about something. I shrugged and went outside to see how Akamaru was doing. He was curled up and looked kind of sad; I sighed and went over to him.
"Akamaru, you can come in as long as you don't cause a mess." He looked at me and stood up wagging his tail. He barked once, licked my face then went inside. I wiped my face off, doggy slobber, and went back in. I heard Kiba talk to Akamaru and some of the others freak out slightly. I shook my head and was about to head in when I heard someone approach; I turned around then frowned when I saw whom it was.
"Hey Shikamaru!" Anko Mitarashi said waving and smiling. I raised an eyebrow at her then crossed my arms. "What? Not happy to see me?"
"I know the Fifth said for you to watch over us, but isn't it kind of late for you to be here- Hey! Where are you going?" Anko had pushed past me and went inside. I went in after her.
"Hey everybody!" She waved to everybody smiling. That got everyone to stop what he or she was doing and look at her.
"Anko-sensei? What are you doing here?" Sakura asked her as Anko looked around for a place to sit.
"Just doing what the Hokage asked me to do."
"What was that exactly?"
"To look after us." We all turned to see Gaara and Temari walking up to us. Anko smiled and nodded.
"Yup!"
"Eh? Since when do we need someone to look after us?" Naruto piped up glaring at Anko. Anko grinned at Naruto.
"Since the Hokage said so." Naruto twitched then placed his fist in the air at Anko.
"Well tell Granny Tsunade to k-" I grabbed Naruto's mouth and held onto him. He struggled in my arms and tried to rip my hands off his mouth. I sighed greatly and rolled my eyes.
"You're such a drag to take care of sometimes." I mumbled under my breath then I whispered in his ear. "Naruto, settle down, we have to follow Tsunade-sama's orders, okay?" Naruto took my hands off and turned to me.
"Why? She just suddenly announced that none of us are going to be doing any missions! I could care less to what she tells us." He crossed his arms and pouted. I sighed again and shook my head. I looked over to see Anko still grinning at Naruto.
"So, why are you here this late anyway?" I asked her. She stood up and got in the middle of us.
"To announce you guys are getting a mission." Naruto's eyes lit up and he turned to Anko.
"What? Really! What kind of mission!" We all sighed and shook our heads; he sure changes moods fast.
"It's S-Rank so listen well." S-Rank eh? Everyone mumbled for a bit about that then focused on Anko whom was grinning. "And you know that being S-Rank you have to do it. Well anyway here's what the mission is." Naruto eyes were still gleaming and he looked like he was about to bounce around like a little boy. I grabbed his head to make sure that he wouldn't. "Your mission is… to go swimming." I coughed while everyone stared at her dumb-folded. Naruto's eyes stopped gleaming and he gave Anko a strange expression. I sighed and shook my head.
"This isn't a mission, is it?" Anko looked at me and sweat dropped.
"Well not really."
"Sigh, what is she planning now..."
"Hehe, well that I can't tell you, but I can tell you that you have to do it so that's why I called it S-Rank." I sighed again.
"You're kidding me? We're FORCED to go swimming?" I looked over at Kiba who placed his hands up in the air. "Yahoo! This is the easiest thing I've ever been told to do!" Anko raised up her hand at Kiba.
"That's the spirit!" Everyone started to get excited about it. I hung my head and placed a hand over my face.
This is just ridiculous.
-oO0-o)
Gaara
I leaned against a wall and watched as everyone left the room, fortunately for me Kankuro and Temari were distracted enough that they didn't notice I wasn't going with them. I closed my eyes and waited for silence. When it finally came I walked to the back of the library where Sasuke Uchiha and Neji Hyuuga were waiting for me. They nodded when I came up and I leaned against the wall again.
"Is everyone gone, Gaara?" Sasuke Uchiha asked me. I nodded to him. "Good, then we can talk about the situation." Neji Hyuuga looked at me then down at the ground.
"How is Shikamaru? Any changes from the last time?" Neji Hyuuga asked me. I closed my eyes to think about it.
"So far from the point of catching the spider creature to now there hasn't been much change, but," they both looked at me, "he's gained that mark on his left shoulder. I'm not sure what it does, but I think we should ask Hokage-sama about it." They nodded to me.
"Anything else?" I opened my eyes and looked at Sasuke.
"Not really, though recently his shoulder has been hurting again, it might be a sign that the mark isn't just there for nothing." We all closed our eyes to think about this. It was hard to get much information since it has only been about a week since that spider attacked us.
"Hey guys." I opened my eyes and looked at Neji Hyuuga. "Do you remember what Lady Tsunade was telling us earlier?"
"… You mean about Kumo Konjou?" Sasuke Uchiha asked. Neji Hyuuga nodded. "Yeah, hard to forget that conversation."
-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-
"You three, I want you three do to something. Protect Shikamaru Nara."
"From what, Lady Tsunade?"
"From Kumo Konjou."
"How do you mean? If it's a spirit within the marsh lands, then there's no worry."
"If this spider, as you have stated Gaara, is protecting Shikamaru then we have a problem. Kumo Konjou is very dangerous; it can talk to people from long distances away. It talks to them through their mind and can convince them to do things that they do not wish to do."
"Why would it want Shikamaru?" Tsunade-sama looked at us then out the window.
"For Kumo Konjou is a creature that possesses the Shadow Possession ability just like Shikamaru." We all gasped. "He needs a new host body. Kumo Konjou has two people to choose from, Shikaku and Shikamaru. Shikamaru is a perfect fit for him since Shikaku is too old now. That's why you are needed to protect Shikamaru. If Kumo Konjou gets possession of his body just think what could happen." She turned to us and we stood up straight. "Gaara, Neji Hyuuga, and Sasuke Uchiha. I want you three to watch Shikamaru closely, if he decides to leave the village without my order or anyone else's you are to take him down and bring him here. Understood?"
"Understood, Hokage-sama!"
-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-
"Hehe, this could get ugly if we aren't careful." I nodded to Sasuke Uchiha then sighed.
"We'd better go to Hokage-sama and ask her about that mark." They nodded to me and we started to head out of the library. When we got out we stopped to see Temari, Kankuro, and Shikamaru waiting for us. I glanced at Temari and saw that she was angry, I looked away not ready to face her.
We had talked earlier and she told me that she could handle this and that she wanted to help. I had told her it was dangerous, but she shook her head already knowing that. I also told her that I couldn't tell her what was going on, but she wouldn't accept that; she wanted to help Shikamaru. I had said that I would tell her when the time was right. She didn't like that but she didn't argue.
Neji Hyuuga and Sasuke Uchiha looked at me then waved and started to walk off. "Let's do this tomorrow then, Gaara." I nodded to them then turned to Kankuro and Shikamaru; I refused to look Temari in the face.
"Shall we be off then?" Shikamaru nodded to me and started to walk. Temari came up to him and grabbed his hand. Shikamaru made a face at her but didn't argue. I was glad that she was able to be with him. Hopefully we can make sure she stays with him. I started to slow my pace unconsciously because I was deep in thought. Kankuro slowed down as well and watched me worriedly.
"Gaara? Is everything alright?" I looked at him blankly, then down at the ground.
"I'm not really sure, Kankuro, but I have a bad feeling that something terrible is going to happen."
"Something… terrible? Such as what?" I looked up ahead at Shikamaru then at Kankuro.
"Something that deals with him." He nodded to me. "But I don't want to involve Temari. It'll hurt her too much."
"I understand, Gaara. I'll ask Shikamaru to keep her distracted for you if you want." I looked at Kankuro and gave a very small smile.
"Thank you, Kankuro. That probably will be best." He smiled back then ran up to where Temari and Shikamaru were leaving me behind to think.
-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-
"So you want to know about the mark that is on Shikamaru's neck?" Neji Hyuuga, Sasuke Uchiha, and I nodded to Tsunade-sama. It was the next day and we were in her office with Shizune-sama.
Tsunade-sama looked around then nodded to Shizune-sama who went over to the door and made sure no one was in the hallways. She locked the door and stood again by Tsunade-sama. We waited for the Hokage to speak.
"I probably should have talked to you guys about this before since we didn't know about the mark till after that conversation. That mark is proof we are very short on time." We looked down at the ground; I clenched my fist slightly upset that this was moving too fast. "The mark is a symbol from Kumo Konjou, though I am unsure on how Shikamaru got it since a spider from Kumo Konjou has to directly bite into him in order for the mark to appear." Sasuke Uchiha's eyes lit up and he stepped forward.
"Hokage-sama, I think I know." We all looked at him; Tsunade-sama raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"After the capture of the spider, you had told me to tell Sakura to keep an eye on Shikamaru daily. When I entered the room he had a sudden panic attack and was screaming in pain. At that time his shoulder started to bleed, perhaps…"
"Perhaps a spider of Kumo Konjou's bit him in a dream." Neji Hyuuga finished. "You did say that Kumo Konjou is able to communicate to Shikamaru through the mind." Tsunade-sama's eyes widened.
"I think to conclude this is to say that not only can Kumo Konjou contact Shikamaru through the mind, but he can also appear to him physically inside dreams." I finished off with our explanation.
"If what you conclude is true then the situation has worsened! Neji, Sasuke, Gaara, when you guys go swimming tomorrow keep a close eye on Shikamaru. If the mark does not grow then we still have time, but if his eyes happen to change I want you three to bring him here immediately." We looked at her slightly confused.
"Change how?" Sasuke Uchiha asked. Tsunade-sama's eyes grew serious.
"If his eyes become that of a spider." Our eyes widened then we nodded to her.
"Understood, Hokage-sama." We bowed then left her office and started to walk out.
"This is just getting worse and worse by each passing moment." I glanced at Sasuke Uchiha. "I can't believe that such a thing has happened, I never knew that there were such creatures that needed host bodies to exist. I couldn't even believe it when Tsunade-sama talked about it earlier. "I stopped and stared at the ground. They also stopped and looked at me.
"Gaara?"
"There have been such things for a long time." I looked at them then walked past them. Shukaku, the one-tailed demon, had lived inside of me once so I understood more than them what Kumo Konjou really was. Naruto Uzumaki understood this as well since he had the Nine-tailed demon fox, the Kyuubi, inside of him.
I looked up at the sky as I went down the stairs on the side of the Hokage Mansion.
I think Naruto Uzumaki should know about this. He would understand and be able to help. I stopped then turned around and grabbed Neji Hyuuga and Sasuke Uchiha as they came out of the door. They looked at me in surprise then turned around and decided to follow me.
"Gaara? Something wrong?"
"I need to ask Hokage-sama one more thing and you two should listen as well." I knocked on the door and waited to go in until she said "Come in". When we walked back inside she looked at us in surprise.
"Hmm? Is there something else you need to tell me?" I stopped in front of her desk and bowed.
"I would like to ask a request." She lifted an eyebrow at me. "I believe Naruto Uzumaki should also know this information."
"What?" Everyone stared at me, surprised. Tsunade-sama sat down and placed her hands on her chin.
"And what makes you think Naruto should know this?" She asked me.
"Since, like me, he is a holder of demon spirit, so he would understand what is going on and would be able to help the situation." Her eyes widened and she glanced at Neji Hyuuga and Sasuke Uchiha whose eyes were also widened.
"Naruto's a holder… of a demon spirit?" I looked at Sasuke Uchiha then at Tsunade-sama whom sighed greatly.
"Tch, Gaara, I guess you don't understand that the information about the Kyuubi is S-Rank information." I blinked at the then bowed.
"Then I'm very sorry for saying that without thinking." She waved her hand at me.
"No biggie, I think it was about time Neji and Sasuke learned the truth." She looked at them and blinked. Her eyes were focused on Neji Hyuuga. I glanced at him as well.
Neji Hyuuga was deep in thought thinking about something. I watched him carefully and waited for him to say something. Everyone remained quiet as well.
"I see." He finally said. "So that's why he has such enormous Chakra." Tsunade-sama nodded to him. "Alright, I agree with Gaara then and I will also keep this a secret." Tsunade-sama smiled then looked at Sasuke Uchiha whom nodded to her.
"I'll do the same."
"Alright then you three go tell Naruto about this, but no one else, understood?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama!" We bowed and she dismissed us with her hand. We left and went off to locate Naruto Uzumaki.
-oO0-o)
We had caught Naruto Uzumaki right before he entered the Ichiraku Ramen Bar; we had to pull him away so no one else would hear this information. After we told him he put on that serious face of his and told us he understood. We had nodded and told him to be prepared for tomorrow. This was a mission for us and we weren't about to go into it without being prepared for the worst.
-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-
Temari
"Kankuro, seriously just take the face paint off. It's going to get washed off anyway so you should just do it now." Kankuro glared at me and I glared back. Gaara and Shikamaru watched us quietly and stayed out of this. Today was the day we were going swimming and I was yelling at Kankuro about all the face paint yet again.
"Who says I'll go swimming then?"
"What? Not go swimming? That's ridiculous! I know Gaara's afraid of the water, but I didn't know you were too." He glared at me then got up and went upstairs. I smirked then turned to Shikamaru and Gaara. Both were looking at me with sweat dropped faces. I blinked then sweat dropped myself. "Hehehe, sorry Gaara didn't mean to say that out like that." He shook his head at me then continued to eat breakfast. Shikamaru mumbled his breath, probably saying "how annoying". Shikaku came over to us and sat down.
"What's this I hear about going swimming?" Shikaku asked us.
"It's annoying, but the Fifth is forcing us to go swimming since she isn't allowing us to do missions." Shikamaru answered him.
"Hmm, hope you have fun with that."
"Che."
"Hehe, you've got to know when to relax, Shikamaru. I think Lady Tsunade is doing you guys a favor, so just follow what she says and relax." Shikamaru "hmphed" at Shikaku then started to eat his food. I stood up and brushed myself off then I grabbed my bowl and placed it in the sink.
"Is it alright if I clean the dishes, Senpai?" I asked Shikaku who blushed and waved his hand at me.
"I'll do them Temari, and I thought I told you guys to just call me Shikaku." I smiled at him and shook my head; he sighed then looked up when a knock came to the door. He got up and left the kitchen then came back about a minute later. "Hey Temari. Ino, Sakura, and Tenten want you to come with them. They also said for you to bring your stuff for today." I blinked at him then nodded.
I waved bye to Shikamaru and Gaara and told them I'd see them there then I ran upstairs. I went inside Shikamaru's room to see Kankuro packing his things. Grabbing my stuff and fluffing his hair, which made him mad, I ran out the door yelling,
"Don't wear your hat either, Kankuro! Just go without it!" I ran down the stairs and grinned when I heard him yell. I waved to Ino, Sakura, and Tenten when I got to the door.
"Hey Temari!" Tenten waved to me. I walked out and shut the door behind myself.
"So what do you guys want?"
"Oh, I think we should get you a cute swimming suit!" I blinked at Ino.
"What? I don't need one… Well… now that I think about it, I actually do." I said sheepishly. Ino smiled at me.
"Alright girls! Let's get Hinata then head over to the store!"
-oO0-o)
I was sitting in a tree, the same one where I had almost kissed Shikamaru. I felt my face warm up at the memory then it made me think how I was going to kill Ino, Sakura, and Tenten later. Of all the swimming suits to buy they bought me a bikini! I kept thinking on how I was going to face Shikamaru wearing something like that; I wouldn't even be able to face him. Fortunately for me Hinata had a tie around skirt that I could wear.
I sighed greatly and rested my chin on my hands. We were waiting for the boys to arrive. Anko-sensei was sitting on the other branch next to me sleeping.
"This is ridiculous, boys always come late!" Ino pouted, Sakura giggled.
"Don't worry about it so much! Boys will be boys after all." Ino "hmphed" at her and made a pouty face.
"But they're making a girl wait!"
"If you're so bored then let's play a little game while we wait for them." Ino looked at Sakura curiously whom grinned at her. Then she looked up at me. I shrugged then jumped down and sat next to Hinata.
"So what's this little game of yours, Sakura?" Tenten asked sitting next to me. Sakura looked at the sky then to us.
"Well, how about some question trivia?"
-oO0-o)
"Tenten, do you like someone?"
"What? How dare you ask me that!"
"Just answer the question."
"Hmph, fine." I smiled as I watched Tenten think about. I wonder whom she does like. Sakura and Ino looked like they really wanted to know. "Uh, well." Tenten blushed slightly. "It's…" She shook her head violently. "No I refuse!"
"Oh come on it can't be that bad…" Ino poked her in the side grinning.
"No I won't!"
"Yeah Tenten." We looked at Anko-sensei. "Just tell us." She leaned slightly in at Tenten's face making her blush more.
"Yo! We're here!" Shikamaru came running up to us with the others.
"ALRIGHT IT'S KANKURO!" Everyone turned to her and stared blankly. We, meaning us girls, burst out laughing. Tenten's faced gloomed up and blushed more when she realized that even the boys heard that. Kankuro came up behind us probably wondering why his name was suddenly mentioned.
"Uh, Temari, what's going on here?" I looked up at him still laughing but stopped when I saw his face. I smiled then patted Tenten's head.
"Nothing, Kankuro. Oh and see you do look better without all that face paint." He made a face at me making me laugh. Tenten turned around and looked up at him, which immediately made her turn back around. Kankuro stared at her with a confused expression on his face.
Anko-sensei stood up and made a fist.
"Alright! Time to swim!"
-oO0-o)
"Aaaaaaaah!" A huge splash exploded from the water making me look over. Looks like Kankuro threw Naruto face first into the water. I frowned and shook my head thinking about how much force Kankuro used in that.
"Kankuro! Lighten up!" He looked over at Gaara then hung his head.
"Sorry Gaara. I guess I was having too much- AAH!" Kankuro went under the water suddenly. I laughed when I realized Naruto was having payback. I looked around to see what everyone else was doing.
Gaara and Shino were watching everyone while leaning against a tree. I frowned when I saw that both of them weren't in swimming suits. Scaredy-cats. Neji, Lee, and Sasuke were having a sparring match on top of the water. I shook my head at them. Don't know when to relax do you… Choji, Kiba, and Akamaru were sneaking up on Kankuro and Naruto whom just got out of the water. I watched as they jumped on them making them go back under. Sakura and Ino were trying to get Tenten to go talk to Kankuro. Hinata was standing next to me smiling. I looked in direction of her gaze and smiled. She was watching Naruto, how cute. Anko-sensei looked like she was plotting something evil behind that tree. I sweat dropped and was glad I wasn't in the water.
I got up and looked around for Shikamaru when I spotted him I got up and went over to him. He looked up when he saw me.
"Yo." He said as I sat down next to him.
"What are you doing over here you lazy-bum?"
"Che, that's not nice and I'm watching the clouds."
"Don't you ever get bored of watching those…" I said frowning at him, he only shrugged. I sighed and shook my head then stared down at him. He closed his eyes and relaxed. I bit my lip and looked away from him. I really wanted to kiss him, but I'm not sure if he'd like that.
I was about to get up when suddenly a soaking wet Kankuro came up to us holding a wet Naruto in his hands. He looked really frustrated and angry. I laughed at him as he dropped Naruto on the ground. Naruto sat up and rubbed his head.
"Alright, I'm sorry for assaulting you like that."
"Assaulting me? You nearly killed me!"
"I did not!"
"You did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Che, shut up, you two are annoying." Naruto and Kankuro stopped fighting and looked at Shikamaru who sat up and glared at them. Naruto sweat dropped then his face lit up. Grabbing Kankuro by the arm he ran off to the side. Shikamaru and I looked at each then at them wondering what they were doing.
At first Kankuro struggled but then his face too lit up. He and Naruto turned away from us probably so we wouldn't be able to read their faces. Hinata and Tenten, who managed to get away from Sakura and Ino, walked by Kankuro and Naruto. They watched them for a minute then grabbed the both and started to say something them. It's ironic that the ones Kankuro and Naruto grab are the two girls that like them.
I stood up and started to walk off not wanting to be part of their plot. About a minute or so later I heard Hinata and Tenten run up behind me. They came up in front of me smiling then they turned me around and dragged me over to the shallow end of the water. It was a little bit off from everyone else, which made me think about that plot of theirs… Apparently I'm part of it.
"What are you two doing exactly?" I growled at them and they let me go. I faced them fully and crossed my arms.
"Nothing really Temari! Just… getting some payback." I raised an eyebrow at Tenten then she and Hinata turned me around and jumped off just as Shikamaru suddenly came falling atop of me. I looked up at him surprised and he looked down at me just as surprised. Both of our faces flushed up greatly. I gulped when I saw how close his face was to mine, inches apart.
"Uh... Uh… Te-Temari… I… I'm so sorry!" Shikamaru stuttered as he tried to lift up. I looked away from him.
"N… no… it wasn't y-your fault." Wait, if it wasn't his fault then whose fault was… I twitched when I realized.
"KANKURO!" I looked to my right to see him and Naruto laughing their heads off. Shikamaru was glaring at them and was as mad as I was at them. I heard giggling and looked behind me to see Hinata and Tenten. How dare they… Oh I'll get you for this… I looked up to see Shikamaru wincing slightly from pain. He sat up quickly and placed a hand over his left eye. My eyes widened and I sat up as well. Kankuro, Naruto, Hinata, and Tenten stopped laughing when they saw Shikamaru in pain. I glanced toward them and noticed that Naruto got a serious face. He said something to Kankuro and was about to jump away when suddenly he froze.
I blinked then realized that he was caught in a jutsu, Shikamaru's jutsu! I looked at Shikamaru to notice he wasn't in pain anymore, but his hand was still over his left eye. Sudden fear jolted through my body when I realized something wasn't right. I glanced back over at Naruto who was trying to move.
"S… Shikamaru what are you… doing!" He yelled at Shikamaru. Shikamaru's expression went blank then he removed his hand from his face and my eyes widened at what I saw.
His entire left eye had changed. It was now a purplish/green color and it had bug-like features. Naruto, being in view, gasped loudly but I couldn't rip my eyes away from Shikamaru's to see why. It was almost as they were hypnotizing me, like a genjutsu. I heard a sound and forced my eyes to see what it was. A kunai was in Shikamaru's hand and it was about to come down on me.
"Shikamaru! NO DON'T!" Kankuro raced forward but was stopped by Shikamaru's shadow, the same happened to Hinata and Tenten.
But how? He didn't even do any hand signs! I stared at Shikamaru's expressionless face.
"Shikamaru stop! Stop it now! Don't let that thing take control of you!" Naruto kept yelling out to him. "SHIKAMARU!" He pushed me down with one hand and held me there, I tried moving my arms but he quickly grabbed them and held them over my head. I struggled but he was holding me down with such force that it hurt to move. I bit my lip as tears started to form.
Is this the end? I waited for kunai to strike. His hand rose up then moved down in a fast motion. I closed my eyes at that moment missing the other kunai that flew out. It hit the one in Shikamaru's hand, which went flying. I opened my eyes as a familiar sound was swirling around us. Sand wrapped around Shikamaru's body and lifted him off of me. I sat up quickly and looked around to see Shikamaru's jutsu end. Kankuro quickly raced to my side and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Temari are you alright?" I nodded barely at him, my attention was on Shikamaru. Gaara came up with Neji and Sasuke whom ran over to Shikamaru and grabbed him. Gaara released the sand and Neji hit Shikamaru in the face. Shikamaru winced then hung his head. We waited in silence as Sasuke and Neji placed Shikamaru on the ground then Shikamaru groaned and slowly opened his eyes. Neji grabbed his arm and helped him sit up. Shikamaru looked around at us confused his hand went up to his head and he held it tightly.
"W… what happened?" My eyes widened.
He… he doesn't remember? What's going on here? I looked over at Gaara but his attention was on Shikamaru.
"Neji Hyuuga, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki. We need to take him to the Hokage." All three of them nodded to Gaara. Sasuke and Neji got on opposite sides of Shikamaru and grabbed his arms placing them on their shoulders. They jumped off with Naruto following them. I immediately got up and went to follow them but Gaara grabbed my arm. "Temari, wait." I shoved him off.
"What the hell is going on here Gaara?" I yelled at him. He stared at me then looked at the ground. "Don't say you can't tell me either!" He avoided my gaze and ignored me by looking over at Kankuro.
"Kankuro, tell the others that we won't be back for a bit." Gaara looked over at Tenten and Hinata. "Please keep Temari here." They nodded to him then he jumped off. I went to run after him but Tenten and Hinata grabbed me. I struggled but finally gave up and fell to my knees. I put my hands to my face and started to cry. Kankuro quickly ran off to tell the others, while Tenten and Hinata tried to comfort me. I felt helpless all over again.
-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-
Shikamaru
I stared at the cold floor and wondered what was going on. I had been taken quickly to Tsunade-sama who had examined me on my arrival. Then Neji and Sasuke took me to an isolated room and set me down in there. Tsunade-sama had told me that my body was being taken over and I needed to be isolated. At that time I had only nodded to her, trusting her. Now I wish I hadn't.
I curled up and sighed greatly. Wow, I got taken over and didn't even know. I closed my eyes and tried to find out what had happened. All I remember is being dragged by Kankuro and Naruto only to be pushed on top of Temari. We had an embarrassing moment then I felt pain in my eye and I blacked out. I woke up with a hurting cheek and Neji holding onto me. Che, even concluding all that got me to know nothing.4"
"Do you really want to know what had happened Shikamaru?" My eyes flew open and I looked around.
"Not you again…" I groaned. I heard a strange laugh that made my spine shiver.
"You're never happy to see me are you? Well that's okay, not many people would be." The shadows in front of me suddenly dance and started to form a figure. I scooted back until I hit a wall, my eyes widened when the figure was formed. It was me but only as shadows. "Hehe, scared? This makes it easier for me to talk to you." I twitched slightly then sighed knowing there was no way I could take this guy whose been tormenting me on.
"What do you want…"
"I'm going to tell you what really happened. Now watch." The shadow me before me vanished then reappeared with the scene of me over Temari. I blinked and stared blankly at this. Then the scene erupted before me. The shadow me raised a kunai over the shadow Temari and flew it down, then the shadows merged into one. They swirled over to me and came next to me. It became my shape again. "That's what happened, you almost killed Temari."
"No… I… I don't believe that."
"Believe it Shikamaru because you did." I stared down at the ground clenching my fists. I knew that to be true I just didn't want to believe it. I sighed and held my head. I felt arms wrap around making me look up. "Shikamaru, Shikamaru. It's okay; I can help you from killing her. Cause you know that if you stay like this you'll eventually start killing recklessly." I looked at him then turned away.
"How can you help me…"
"Hehe, if you come to where I am, I can prevent you from changing any further. Such as from your eye becoming more of a spider." I gasped then looked around for a mirror, he moved away from me and made himself into one. I looked at him and saw my eye, my hand slowly touched it.
"What… what is this?" I scooted away from the mirror. He turned back into me and came by my side.
"That's the curse that flows through your veins, Shikamaru. It'll only get worse if you stay like this, so let me help you." I glared at him.
"Why would I want you to help me? You did this to me didn't you!"
"Hehehehe, Shikamaru, I'll give you a choice. If you want to come to me for help then stand on top of the Hokage Mansion. When you do think of two words, Kumo Konjou, but," he scooted away from me then started to disappear, "if you don't want to you'll continue to change and you know what will happen. Make the right choice Shikamaru, especially if you love that girl. Oh and don't take more than three weeks to answer or else… Hehehehehehe." He suddenly vanished leaving me alone in the dark. I stared at the empty space then at the ground. I clenched my fist tightly then threw it at the wall.
"What the hell am I supposed to do!" I sighed and stared at it, the door behind me opened and Tsunade-sama rushed in. She looked at me seriously and I stared blankly at her. We stared at each other like that and I saw her have some hatred in her eyes when she glanced toward my mark. She helped me to my feet and started to lead me off.
"We're sealing this mark."
After she sealed the mark on my shoulder, which was very painful, I came to realize what I was going to do. I clenched my fist as I slowly started to pass out from the pain.
I'm not going to let Temari die.