Title: Holiday

Characters: Nara Shikamaru, Tenten

Song artist: Vampire Weekend

Summary: Shinobi and kunoichi looked up at the clouds, just like they used to, when times were still relatively peaceful, and they were not required to lay their lives on the line for a war that would decide the future of the world.

Shikamaru was strategizing.

But it was really more of figuring out a way to get Tenten to wake up, without causing the bun-haired kunoichi to snap, and possibly throw sharp, pointy objects at his direction.

Not that her current chakra-depleted state was promising, but Shikamaru had always liked to play it safe, in and out of the battlefield.

Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck as he warily studied the sleeping kunoichi's face. It had been half an hour since the Sand shinobi carried her to the outfield of their joint divisions' area of responsibility, after she had used up too much chakra from using that weird weapon she probably got from one of their stronger enemies. Tsking, Shikamaru glowered unhappily at his charge, wanting to scold her for being careless, to the point that she almost died.

But they were in the middle of a war, so was it really his place to worry about her safety? Weren't the others risking their lives to fight for what they believed in too?

"Bah," the shadow manipulator muttered under his breath, before deciding to finally wake the sleeping kunoichi up. They were both needed back in the battlefield as soon as possible, and he knew he was already breaking protocol by leaving just so he could watch over Tenten, when he was supposed to be the acting commander of his division.

Poking the kunoichi's forehead, he whispered her name cautiously.

"Tenten."

The aforementioned weapons mistress stirred, and hummed a soft hmm in return.

He repeated the gesture, increasing the volume of his voice.

"Tenten."

The kunoichi responded by wrinkling her nose, eyes still closed, as if being woken up from a nice dream.

Shikamaru sighed. "Such a troublesome woman."

"Huh?" And hazelnut brown eyes snapped open, and Shikamaru found himself staring at her, relief, worry, and mild consternation swishing and sloshing in his gut. "Pineapple head?"

The Nara heir couldn't help the tch that escaped his mouth. Raising his left hand to clean imaginary earwax with his pinky finger, he muttered, "Like I said, you're such a troublesome woman."

"I am most certainly not!" Tenten exclaimed, trying to get up, only to realize that she could barely move a muscle.

Gentle hands kept her in place, and when she stopped resisting, Shikamaru pulled his hands away, missing her warmth almost immediately.

Shinobi and kunoichi then looked up at the clouds, just like they used to, when times were still relatively peaceful, and they were not required to lay their lives on the line for a war that would decide the future of the world.

"What happened?" Tenten whispered, after a few seconds of quiet.

"You used up too much chakra, you troublesome girl," the lazy chunnin answered, poking his index finger against Tenten's forehead protector once again. "You could have died."

Tenten smiled in response. "Ah. It's that weird-looking fan, isn't it?"

Another tch. "And you don't even sound apologetic about it. Whatever am I going to do with you?"

This time, the weapons mistress grinned. "Continue to worry about me, I guess."

"Tch."

Tenten chuckled at that. And then, "Are we winning?" she finally asked, softly.

Shikamaru shrugged beside her. "Who knows?" He most certainly didn't, and he doubted anyone did.

Silence once again.

"Pineapple head?"

"Hm?"

"Are you . . . okay?"

Shikamaru heard her silent question. Did fighting with your former sensei hurt like hell?

The proxy commander remained silent, not really sure how to respond to the query. Did it hurt? Maybe it did. He and Asuma had never been at opposing sides before, not in a battlefield, at least, but it was not as if he did not expect to see his former sensei again. He knew what Edo Tensei could do, so of course he knew there was a possibility that the enemy would use their former comrades to shake their resolves.

"No, don't answer that," came Tenten's soft response to Shikamaru's silent answer. Lifting her left arm, she reached for the shinobi, and tapped his nose with her index finger. "Say, pineapple head," she continued. "Do you want to go on a vacation when all of this is over?"

If he was surprised by the weird question, he most certainly did not show it. Instead, he returned the gesture by tapping Tenten's nose. "A vacation sounds like the best thing in the world right now."

He knew he sounded so tired, but somehow, he was smiling. He realized that despite the raging war around them, he felt at peace, sitting there beside Tenten, quietly wondering what their lives would be afterward.

The fact that both of them were considering a life after the war meant that they both believed they would survive in the end.

And that was enough to make him continue hoping.

An alternative version of "Holiday" from my Beginnings series. I know it's an old series, and it ended as NejiTen (cough, cough), but hey, it was a good interlude chapter so I'm reusing it. Plus it makes sense, chronological-wise, since we're in the Fourth World War period anyway.

Thank you to Animefangirl95 and anthropomorphychan for reviewing the last chapter. And to my Pinoy readers, I hope you are all okay, despite the onslaught of typhoon and monsoon rains this week. Be safe, guys!