It wasn't long before Shikamaru, Temari, Ino and Chouji reached Rice country. In fact, the whole trip had hardly taken them two days, and it was mid afternoon when they walked through the gates of the small, but prosperous, village that they were to escort the rice wine merchants from.
"I'm so glad we're finally here," sighed Ino, fanning her slightly pink face. "It's gotten really humid and I hate feeling all sweaty like this."
"The humidity is why the rice grows so well here," said Shikamaru as he looked at the various inns.
"Well, I can't wait until we find a place to stay. I'm heading straight to the baths."
"Me too," agreed Temari, shaking her short bangs out of her face. "Heat is so much easier to deal with when the air is dry."
"Well, this is the inn we're staying said," said Shikamaru as they walked into the small inn.
The decor was simple and plain, the kind that a family owned place would have.
"Hello," said the girl behind the reception desk. "Can I help you?"
Chouji stared at the girl in awe and even Shikamaru was taken aback by her beauty. Her sleek hair was a rich brown and reached to her lower back, and her deep green eyes were guarded by the thick, fluttering eyelashes.
"We need two rooms for the night," said Temari, trying not to appear angry, but was obviously defensive.
"Oh, okay," replied the girl cheerfully, oblivious to Ino's glares as Temari shoved her away from the desk. "Rooms three and four are available, and they're upstairs on your left. Just hand us your room key tomorrow morning after breakfast and you can pay before you leave."
"Alright, thanks," Temari took the keys from the girls and frog-marched Shikamaru and Chouji up the stairs, Ino running after them.
When they had reached their rooms, Temari handed Shikamaru, who was startled at her sudden take of control, his and Chouji's room key, while her and Ino silently went into their own.
"The nerve of those two," hissed Temari once she was sure Shikamaru and Chouji were inside their own rooms. "Making eyes at that girl while on a mission!"
"I know," growled Ino. "Especially when they know how we feel about them!"
Temari stopped with her shirt half off her head. "What?!" She threw her shirt onto the floor next to her things and looked at Ino like she was crazy. "What the devil are you talking about?"
"You don't have to pretend that you don't like Shikamaru, Temari." Ino tossed of her shirt as well and continued to change out of her travel clothes. "I'm not stupid, I know how girls act around him."
Temari shook her head. "I still don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't tell me you've been fed that 'shinobi shouldn't feel because it complicates things' crap!" Ino wrapped a large, white towel around her body. She was so thin, it went around twice. "That's not true at all."
"It does complicate things, Ino," Temari sighed as she removed her skirt. For the first time ever, she felt very insecure about herself in front of Ino. Temari'd never before felt that she was larger than most girls. She was from Suna after all, and everyone there was a bit broader shouldered, at least the women were, but Ino was so thin. Temari had a hard time getting the towel to go around her body once, although she had a feeling that the reason was more due to her chest size than anything else. She might be bigger than the other girls, but she was more fit, and very well toned.
"I can't see how. I mean, we got here somehow didn't we?"
"Yeah, and both of my parents are dead now, in case you haven't noticed. Suna isn't as well developed at Konoha. We might be at peace with you guys, but that doesn't mean we don't have other problems. That war effected us really badly."
Ino nodded. "Sorry, Temari. But I can tell that you like Shikmaru anyways, you just aren't acting on it."
"For very good reason." Temari opened the door as her and Ino walked down to the bath not far from their room. It seemed that the hot spring was on a hill, so people staying on the second floor had easy access to it. "It's hard enough to keep a stable relationship as a shinobi. Long distance would be too much."
Temari and Ino put their bathrobes, towels and slippers inside the little cubbies before they went outside.
"Well, what would be wrong with a little romance while you're here? You've been in Konoha for two weeks now."
"I know, but-" Temari was cut off as Ino shushed her. Temari glared at her, but kept quiet. Ino pointed to the bamboo fence that separated the mens bath from the womens and Temari could hear Chouji and Shikamaru talking.
"You should say something to her, Shikamaru," said Chouji. "What if you never get the chance to again?"
"Then what would the point have been in even telling her?" replied Shikamaru.
Ino and Temari swam closer to the fence and sat quietly, listening to the boys. It was rare that Temari took part in such girlish acts, but since when had she ever actually had another girl relatively close to her age to hang out with?
"I mean," continued Chouji. "I told Ino I liked her, and she didn't flat out reject me."
"You're silly if you can't tell that she likes you, Chouji."
"But I wanted her to say it, that way I don't feel like crap when she says she doesn't."
"That almost made no sense," sighed Shikamaru.
"Look, Shikamaru, just tell Temari you like her. See what happens, you know? At least be relaxed for a little while."
Temari and Ino could hear Chouji and Shikamaru leave the bath, and when all was silent, they looked at each other with slight surprise. Temari, in spite of herself, let out a girlish giggle.
"Okay, so I wasn't imagining things, then," she said.
Ino laughed and shook her head. "Nope, I told you. I've known Shikamaru all my life. His, Chouji's and my families are really close."
"Well, why didn't you tell Chouji you liked him then?" asked Temari.
Ino flushed. "Because at the time I really wasn't sure if I did or not. He's one of my best friends, so I couldn't say I liked him and then change my mind."
Temari nodded and looked at the night sky. "I think I like it here."
"Why's that" asked Ino, floating on her back, also looking at the sky.
"Because in Suna, there's hardly any trees and not much light at night, so you can see the sky so perfectly. It's like that here too."
"It's too light in Konoha for good stargazing sometimes," sighed Ino. "It's not always though. Some nights, it's amazing how many stars you can see, especially once you go into the forest."
"Ino, how did we go from talking about guys to stars?"
Ino laughed. "No idea. Maybe the heat from the bath is effecting our brains."
Temari rose out of the bath, grabbed her towel and dried off. "Well, I'm going to go up to the room and get dressed. I'm feeling hungry, actually."
"We should talk to guys into going out to eat!"
Temari's stomach rumbled at the thought. It had been so long since she'd actually sat down and had a good hot meal. "That does sound nice."
It had been relatively easy for Temari and Ino to ambush the boys and convince them to eat out. None of them had ever been to the Rice country, so Ino used the idea of new foods to sample to convince Chouji, who easily convinced Shikamaru into going.
"I'm so excited," squealed Ino as she linked arms with Chouji and they rushed ahead of Shikamaru and Temari, looking for a good place to eat.
"Are they always like that?" asked Temari curiously.
Shikamaru nodded. "Ah, well, I must admit, it would be nice to try something new."
A short while later, Ino and Chouji had decided on a small, what else, barbeque place.
"Everything here smells so good," sighed Chouji as he looked over the menu.
"And everything seems to be marinated in rice wine," pointed out Temari.
Each of them ordered something different and promised to share. Ino got chicken, Shikamaru got beef, Chouji got pork, and Temari ordered fish.
"We don't have much fish in Suna," she said as she placed a piece of fish on the grill. "It's very expensive there."
Everyone was rather silent as they ate and drank, and it didn't take long before they were all full and feeling sleepy, although Temari had a feeling that drinking rice wine with their meals hadn't helped with that factor.
"We should," Ino hiccuped. "Head back now."
Shikamaru and Chouji nodded in agreement and they all somehow managed to make it safely back to their rooms, where they collapsed on their beds and fell into a deep, but happy, sleep.
Author's Note: Hey everyone! I know, it's been forever since I updated. Sorry it's taken me so long. I am also sad to inform everyone that next Monday I start college, so I'm not sure how my writing will keep up. Forgive me if it takes a while for me to update. I hope everyone's enjoying my fic thus far. Please keep reviewing! I update faster the more people review, I swear. Lets me know that people enjoy the story, you know? So, what's the pairing people want to see more of? Tell me in your review!
Aeorith