A/N:
NGT-chan, this chapter's dedicated to you, darling! *HUG* You're an amazing, awesome, remarkable, extremely dear, close friend! :D I'm sure you'll be able to relate to some incidences and images in this chapter ;) Love you tonnes, dear! 3 Hopefully you'll read this no earlier than 2 weeks from now; you know what I'd have to say about your reading it before that…
Chapter 9: Plans Backfire!
'Come out, Nara.'
Shikamaru obliged.
'You called, Temari-sama?'
She turned to let him face her unhindered golden locks, swishing gently in the wind, hiding the smug look on her face.
So he wasn't angry…
She pretended to ignore him.
'Look, I know I should've explained it to you in that letter. But if you'd known, you'd have insisted on coming.'
'You don't want me here, Nara?' she responded instantaneously.
With a brain like his, surely he'd have no problems coming up with something that he knew she'd have liked to hear?
.
'No. Of course I'd have invited you over. It's just…'
'.. it didn't cross my mind. I'm sorry.'
.
Temari was taken aback for a fleeting moment.
Others might've pulled the 'I didn't want to tire you out after your long journey here.', or 'I didn't want you to make a wasted trip if it wasn't tonight.', or perhaps even the 'There wasn't time' line on her, and though she'd have been willing to accept his apology for any of the other reasons, she was glad he hadn't used them. He had chosen to be honest with her, rather than think up excuses that exempted him from blame.
But still, she had to make sure.
She spun round slowly to observe him.
.
'Who's Hana to you?'
He made an audible sigh.
'Hana-senpai's a vet. She's also Kiba's sister. I invited her over to help with Kumo, the doe you met earlier.'
.
Temari could've laughed out loud at Shikamaru's approach to the question, but her disciplined senses allowed her to keep a straight face during the interrogation.
If troublesome was an expression, it was surely written all over his face now. Sometimes, he could be so transparent. It was amusing to behold.
She was having too much fun! Now that he was at her mercy, she'd mentally torture him…
.
'So you decide to invite your little harem and conveniently leave me out?'
He scratched his head and raised his eyebrows at her.
'Harem? You mean the doe? This is their home.'
She nearly snorted in sadistic elation at his seriousness. This was definitely better than whacking him with her Tessen!
.
'I meant your darling Ino...' she stated, trying to sound as unconcerned as she could.
'Ino's here? She should've told me she was coming; I could've walked her here.' Shikamaru accidentally let slip, observing her from the corner of his eye.
Tired or not, he was sharp, that Nara. She'd been playing him; now her plan was starting to backfire…
.
'Why'd you leave Kumo? Isn't she much more important to you than troublesome shinobi duty?'
'Oi, woman. You're not jealous of Kumo are you?'
His expression switched from bemusement to seriousness in an instant, and his tone softened.
'Kumo's a first time mum. She's… special to me because I watched her grow up; she's always getting into trouble… I always have to get her out of it.' he held his head with a long sigh, and took a deep breath.
'You're much more than just shinobi duty to me, Temari. Please, don't ever doubt that.'
That was all the assurance she needed.
She let his words sink in slowly, and patted the grass beside her. Shikamaru dropped beside her soundlessly.
O-O X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X. X O-O
.
'You're good at stealth, Nara.'
'When you're on familiar territory, it's easier to sneak around.' he shrugged nonchalantly.
'If you hadn't prodded me with that spiky, offending leaf, I'd have had a very peaceful evening enjoying the breeze. You didn't do a good job. I managed to trace it to you.', accused Temari.
.
That'd been his true intention. He'd deliberately separated that lone leaf from its companions. Nobody knew the wind like Temari. She'd have sensed the abnormality at once.
And they both were distinctly aware of that.
.
'Guess I need more practice in concealment.' he noted.
She gave in.
.
'You win, Crybaby. You won the moment you used your shadow.'
The corner of his lips stretched slightly, as he watched her doing a version of a pout.
.
'With that level of stealth and skill, you should already be on your way to Jounin promotion.' she muttered grudgingly.
'I didn't manage to catch any sight of your shadow…' she admitted.
'… you beat me fair and square.'
He scratched his head in embarrassment; he'd never been comfortable with receiving compliments.
.
Before he knew it, Temari had draped an arm around his neck, and had proceeded to tousle his hair like she might've done to a five year old. He got the distinct impression that this was her first time ruffling somebody's hair; her hand felt clumsy yet gentle in a rough way on his head.
When he scowled at her, she tugged and his hair tie came loose. He groaned. Without the hair tie he'd have to continually push his long fringe out of his eyes… Now that was troublesome, and also the reason why he bothered tying his hair up in the first place.
He was then subjected to discomforting gawking for some troublesome minutes.
The woman hadn't even bothered being subtle about it.
.
When she was satisfied that he was still him, she let her head rest on his shoulder, and heaved a sigh of contentment. His gaze fell on the top of her head, and he threaded his fingers through her hair. Her locks were as strong-willed as their master; they each seemed to have a mind of their own. He wondered if that was why she kept them in four bunches instead of two, so they'd be easier to handle.
Thinking of her in two mini-ponytails conjured a ridiculous image in his mind, and he chuckled softly to himself at a poodle-like, childish, innocent, dazed-looking Temari who belonged in his imagination.
She lifted her head, and when their eyes met, a burst of uncontrollable laughter escaped his lips.
Despite her curiosity, she didn't demand to know why he'd been laughing, though she strongly suspected it was at her expense.
That was one of the lovely things about Temari. She always gave him an alternative.
He told her anyway, without any prompting, and their laughter echoed melodiously throughout the forest.
.
-End of Chapter 9-
A/N:
This chapter is special to me. I shan't elaborate, but I'd love to know if it managed to work its way into your heart. Please let me know!
I couldn't post this chapter earlier because of my workload and time constraints, despite the fact that my dear friend had already reviewed much earlier than expected... Thanks for waiting with me! The next chapter should take about two weeks to be posted for the same personal reasons.
Many thanks to hikari107, Kag3nui, .Temari .no. Sabaku., myhiddenlove08, NGT-chan, jokerstrikesback, Coelha-chan, Shikamaru's Destiny (Sand-Jounin-Temari), InosBane, etimaru, seki216, AngelRain61, YamiTai, roxas-kh for letting me know what you thought of Chapter 8!
Special thanks to NGT-chan (again) and Midnight Memories for their pleasant surprises in the form of reviews to Chapter 7 despite their extremely hectic schedules, as well as to InosBane who hasn't forgotten about 'Beyond the Shadows', and who has greatly encouraged me in her reviews of two earlier chapters! :D
