WELCOME
Welcome back to Seven Sins, As always I begin by stating that I do not own Naruto.
THANK YOU
A special thanks to those who reviewed my previous chapter: MyHikari; Konoha's Crimson Fox; Inuyonas; shadowknight1998; Maria; narp73; The portalmaster; MadMan26; TMariee; Black-Rabbit2165; xXNaruto-NamikazeXx; mr grimjaw; sasori521; inblockabletree4 & BigPac09.
MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR
Okay, so I guess the first thing I should say is that one of my readers has urged me to stop placing my responses to reviews in the chapters. They informed me that this might be seen as being "interactive" and I could have my story removed by the MODs as a result. No one wants that. So, for at least the time being, I will be responding the traditional way through PM until I can figure this out as I love posting the responses prior to the chapter. It's kind of a highlight of my week.
Anyway, on a happier note, here is the latest chapter. I hope you enjoy and please remember to leave a review at the end of the chapter. Thanks! Next week will be a new chapter of Chronicles of the Seventh.
Seven Sins
Chapter XXI
"What in the world?" Shinnō remarked as he looked at the two strange weapons. Temari immediately began to swing the fans about, creating massive torrents of wind, blasting away the pirates in her way.
Several more pirates seemed to pause, unsure of how to proceed. "Don't just stand there ya bloomin' yellow bellies!" Shinnō bellowed. "She's a long range fighter! Close the damned distance!" Shinnō looked back to Shikamaru but was surprised to find him gone. He looked around and quickly spotted the young man who was now standing by the other blonde stranger.
Naruto stumbled back just out of the way of a sword that swung down towards his head. "Can't we talk this through?!" Naruto yelled frantically. "I'm not even supposed to be on this ship!"
"What the hell are you doing, mate?" Naruto looked to his left and saw Shikamaru standing next to him. "How long you think you can survive by dancing around like that?"
"Hey! This is all your fault!" Naruto yelled.
"You think?" Shikamaru replied. "Allow me to rectify it then." Shikamaru quickly grabbed Naruto by his waist with one hand and with a flick of his finger, unbuckled Naruto's belt and pulled it free. "Can I borrow this?"
"Hey!" Naruto yelled as he grabbed his pants to keep them from falling.
Shikamaru held the belt by both ends and raised it over his head just in time to block the blow of a falling sword. "As I correctly surmised. This is made of thick cowhide leather." Shikamaru said as he sidestepped the attacking pirate and swung the belt, striking the man in the head with the buckle. "I'd expect nothing less from a farmer."
~~~Meanwhile~~~
Temari blasted away four more attackers before she began sprinting towards the large group of pirates running towards her. "Kill her!" They screamed with their weapons drawn. "Skin the bloody wench!"
Just as she was about to run into the mass of bloodthirsty warriors, Temari leapt up and landed with effortless grace on the head on the nearest pirate. And with quick, light steps, she began to run atop the heads of one pirate to another, moving faster then they could react to her. Temari made her away over the heads of her assailants towards the far side of the ship.
Reaching the last pirate, she jumped off his head and landed at the edge of the ship, leaving the group of bewildered men behind her. Without hesitation she leapt off the edge of the ship and flipped one of her fans as she crouched and placed the fan under her feet as though it were a surf board. She then used the other fan and released a blast of air behind her to propel herself towards the enemy ship that was latched on below.
As she closed in, Temari moved the fan from underneath her and tucked and rolled to a stop on the top of the enemy ship. "There she is!" Someone yelled as she jumped to her feet.
Three armed pirates quickly surrounded her and approached quickly. One pirate swung his sword at her face, but she quickly bent back to duck under the attack. She immediately knocked the sword out of his hand using her closed fan, hit another pirate with the other closed fan, knocking him to the ground and finally kicked the last pirate with a roundhouse. Before any of them could recover, Temari opened on of her fans and blew them all off the ship to their deaths.
Without hesitation, she looked around the surface of the ship, located her target and sprinted towards it as more pirates tried to intercept her. Temari leapt over two kunai that were thrown with deadly precision in her direction, slammed her closed fan on the head of a pirate that was below her, crushing his skull and killing him instantly. She used her other fan to block the sword of another pirate and kicked him away. Two more moved in and she quickly opened one fan and blew them away with a single swing all without breaking stride.
~~~Meanwhile~~~
"You bastard!" Shinnō yelled as he ran in and wildly swung his cutlass down at Shikamaru, hoping to cleave him in half. Shikamaru stepped back and out of range with little effort as he held Naruto's belt in his right hand and kept his left hand in his pocket. "Do you really think you and that bitch of yours is enough to defeat me and my men?!"
"Is that a serious question mate?" Shikamaru asked as he jumped over Shinnō's blade that was swung at his legs.
"I'll have both your heads for this offense!" Shinnō barked as he suddenly swung his sword at Naruto who was still nearby.
Shikamaru immediately used the belt and swung it towards Naruto, wrapping it around his arm and pulling Naruto towards him and out of the range of Shinnō's deadly attack. "Son of a..!" Naruto yelled in shock as Shinnō's cutlass cut two strands of his hair away.
"If you want to stay alive, you might want to move a little faster." Shikamaru said to Naruto as he grabbed him by his arms. "Follow carefully." Standing behind Naruto, Shinnō swung his blade at their necks only for Shikamaru to pull Naruto down. "Down!" He yelled in unison to their movements. "Up!" Shikamaru yelled as he jumped up, pulling Naruto with him as they both leapt over Shinnō's cutlass that now swept low. "Left! Right!" Shikamaru yelled as he pulled Naruto to the left then right to avoid two more attacks. "You see?" He asked Naruto with a smile. "This isn't too difficult at all, now is it?"
Increasingly frustrated, Shinnō jabbed his sword at Naruto's back, planning to run him through. "Whoops." Shikamaru said as he spun Naruto out of the way, causing the blade to miss and stop an inch from his own chest. "You almost touched me that time, old man." Shikamaru said as he looked down at the tip of the blade. He then looked up at Shinnō with a smirk. "Bravo."
Shinnō screamed in frustration as Shikamaru spun the belt around his own right hand, deftly wrapping it around so that the metal buckle was over his closed fist. Shinnō's face was flushed with throbbing veins. Throwing caution to the side, he began to attack with wild lunging attacks. Shikamaru held on to Naruto with his free hand as he effortlessly dodged Shinnō's clumsy attacks while pushing and pulling Naruto out of the way of any attack that threatened to land. Any attack Shikamaru could not avoid, he blocked with the metal buckle on his fist.
"This is you last chance, old man." Shikamaru yelled as he blocked another attack. "Take your men and get off my ship!"
"Shut up you little shit!" Shinnō barked. "All you can seem to do is dodge me! My men and I will take this ship and kill you all! There's nothing you can do to stop us!"
"Perhaps not. Unless, of course, if I was to take out your ship first!" Shikamaru replied as he and Naruto continued to step back out of the way of Shinnō assault. "But how would I do that? I mean that ship of yours is what? A class 3A dreadnought, no? A very powerful ship with heavy armor. You could shoot at it all day and it wouldn't fall. But what if you got inside and knew where the engines were?"
Shikamaru and Naruto kept backing up as they continued to avoid Shinnō's sword. Shikamaru glanced back and noticed they were reaching the edge of the ship. "Even a single person could bring your ship down if they knew where to strike once inside, right?" He asked as he backed out of the way of another attack before finally reaching the precarious edge that led to nothing but open air and the earth miles below. "You'd still need to know where that exact spot is, wouldn't you old man?" Shikamaru asked Shinnō with a smile.
Shinnō grinned as he realized they had no where left to run. He was about to attack when he glanced over the edge to his ship. Sprinting along the surface was Shikamaru's woman, dispatching Shinnō's men without even slowing down. Shinnō's eyes moved further along the path she was running when they came to a stop at a kunai that was pierced down into the surface of his ship. It took only a second for him to recognize it as the kunai Shikamaru threw at his head and missed.
Shinnō looked back at Shikamaru who had a cocky smile on his face. "Told ya I didn't miss, mate." He said.
"Stop her!" Shinnō screamed down to his men. But it was too late. Temari sent three more pirates flying off the ship and quickly leapt over the four that stood between her and the kunai. While airborne, she opened both of her fans and swung them both, firing off two sharp blasts of wind and cut the top of the ship in the shape of an x with the kunai still in the center.
With both feet, Temari landed on the kunai with all the force she could muster, tearing a whole in the ship just large enough for her and dropped down inside.
Shikamaru chuckled. "I wonder what she's planning to do in there." He said mockingly.
Shinnō gritted his teeth in frustration. "Damn you!" He roared as he lunged forward with his sword over his head. Within a blink, Shikamaru seemed to sidestep Shinnō's awkward attack while pulling Naruto behind him. A moment later, Shikamaru had gracefully found himself standing behind Shinnō who was barely able to keep himself from falling over the side.
"What the..?" Naruto said in shock as he looked about. "How the hell did you do that?"
Shikamaru smiled as he pulled Naruto along. "I learned that move in the circus mate."
"The circus?" Naruto asked.
"Aye." Shikamaru replied as he looked about. "Working with lions. You wouldn't believe it. But they're as graceful as cats."
Naruto looked at Shikamaru dubiously with a raised eyebrow. Despite the fact Shikamaru had said that with a straight face, Naruto was sure it was a lie.
~~~Meanwhile~~~
Temari dropped into the darkened room below that was lit only by a few lights and the sunlight that streamed in from the hole she tore in the ceiling. The strong aroma of mint permeated the air and there was an odd electrical sensation, as though she were standing too close to lightning bolt, all around her. The hairs on her arms and back stood up signaling she was definitely in the right place. There was a massive engine, made of metal and stone than hummed loudly nearby.
Temari opened both fans as she faced the hulking machine. A second later she heard movement behind her. A large, barrel chested man, with arms the size of cinder blocks and covered in grease stains and with a massive scar covering the his deformed left eye and bald head, lunged towards her with a large metal rod.
Temari quickly rolled out of the way and twisted round to face the massive man. He growled as he attacked her again, putting all of his power into each blow. Again she rolled out of the way as the iron rod struck the floor sending the sound of metal on metal reverberating through the ship. Sparks flew his weapon struck the ground. As she rolled once more, the man swung at her head, forcing her to leap over the attack.
As she moved, a smirk appeared on her face. His attacks, though clearly powerful, were clumsy. He was giving no thought to defense or maintaining his balance. Despite his size it was obvious this man wasn't a trained warrior. From the looks of it, he was the ships engineer, tasked with maintaining the engine.
Temari landed just outside of the man's reach with both of her fans down by her side. Any fighter worth his salt would know that she was baiting him. Despite this, the man lunged forward with the large iron rod crashing down. Too clumsy. Temari thought as she expertly sidestepped the attack and leapt up, smashing her knee into the man's nose, she could feel the cartilage in his nose shatter on impact. Blood gushed from his shattered nose as he made gurgled incomprehensibly. A moment later, Temari saw his eyes roll up into the back of his head as the behemoth crashed face first to the ground.
Wasting no time, Temari stepped over the fallen giant and opened both her fans as she faced the humming engine. She extended her arms out behind her and with a strong swing of both arms, released two massive arcs of wind that cut into the engine. A second passed before the engine began to sputter and began to belch smoke. Small bursts of flame shot out of the hulking machine. Temari closed both fans and sighed.
"This way!"
Temari looked back at the door on the other side of the room. She could hear the sounds of footsteps over the sound of the dying engine. They're coming. She quickly ran up to the floor just below the hole in the ceiling. Time to go.
~~~Meanwhile~~~
"Get your bloody asses down there you yellow bellied jackasses!" Shinnō raged at his men who cautiously approached the hole Temari made. "Get down there or I'll have the lot of ya tossed off the side!"
As the men closed in close to the hole, Temari suddenly flew up surrounded by a vortex of wind. Both fans were open and she quickly swung them, knocking all of the surrounding pirates away and over the side of the ship, screaming as they fell. As Temari landed on the surface there was explosion in the engine room followed by a plume of fire and smoke out of the hole. Immediately the ship began to lurch and list to the side.
Shinnō bit his lip so hard that it began to bleed. He turned to see Shikamaru and the Naruto running through the crowd of startled pirates, dodging and blocking any attack that came their way. "NARAAAA!" He roared at the top of his voice over the sounds of the explosions coming from his ship's engine. As he screamed he ran though the crowd of his men, knocked away and even cutting down any of them in his way as he made his way towards Shikamaru.
~~~Meanwhile~~~
Shikamaru and Naruto made their way through the marauding pirates. Naruto couldn't help but marvel at the ease at which the young captain danced around every attack and countered every murderous swing of a sword with nothing but a belt buckle. "This is getting tedious." Shikamaru said as he blocked another attack and swung.
A cold chill ran down Naruto's spine as he heard the blood curdling scream of the pirate captain several yards away. Like a man possessed he charged through the pirates standing between them, even cleaving in half some his own men as he rampaged towards them.
"Like a lamb to slaughter." Shikamaru said in a low voice that even Naruto, despite standing next to him, barely heard. He looked to Shikamaru who sported an odd smile on his face. He looked like a wolf whose prey was actually coming to him. A massive explosion erupted from the other ship as their ship suddenly lurched to the side throwing everyone into panicked chaos.
"Get back to the ship!" One of the pirates yelled over the mob. "We need to save 'er!"
Shikamaru then looked to Naruto and smile. "Well it seems our little tango's come to an end." Shikamaru spun the bewildered Naruto around all while slipping his belt back through the loops on his pants. Naruto came to a sudden stop when he hit a long metallic pole that jutted out of the surface of the ship. It was one of the ships antennae's that was used for long distance communication and was the length of a small tree but was very slender. Shikamaru deftly fastened Naruto's belt buckle. "This was fun mate. We should do again sometime. Maybe you bring some wine next time?"
A moment later, the enraged Captain Shinnō arrived and swung his large sword down intent on cleaving Shikamaru in half. "Die you little shit!" He screamed. But once again, Shikamaru was too fast and hopped out of the way while suffering only a small cut to his shirt sleeve.
"Hey, this shirt cost me four hundred ryō!" Shikamaru yelled as he inspected his partially torn sleeve. "I demand reimbursement!"
"Argh!" Shinnō screamed as closed in to continue his onslaught.
"Very well then." Shikamaru said as he continued to dodge with seeming effortlessness grace. "I'll accept a sincere apology."
Naruto watched in disbelief before trying to move to help only to find himself unable to move. It was though someone was pulling him back every time he attempted to move. Naruto again tried to pull himself forward to no avail. Finally looking around, he realized that his belt was wrapped around the pole he was leaning against. Shikamaru, while replacing his belt, had wrapped it around the antennae, effectively tying him to it. "W-What the..?!" He yelled as he tried to pull himself free. He tried to unbuckle the belt but found that an additional pin was placed in it, locking it into place. "Shit!" Naruto yelled just as the ship suddenly began to tilt to its side.
~~~Meanwhile~~~
"Holy shit!" Tenten screamed as she grabbed onto Lee as he held firm to the captains' chair as the ship began to tilt to the side.
"Everyone, grab onto something!" Guy yelled as they all began to cling to the walls or any furniture that was nailed down.
"Hold on!" Shizune yelled as she grabbed the helm and turned it all the way to the right, forcing the ship to pull against force of the enemy ship that threatened to drag it down as well.
"What the hell is going on down there?!" Sakura yelled.
~~~Meanwhile~~~
"Get back to the ship!"
"Back to the ship!"
"We have to save 'er!"
Temari heard the panicked screams of the pirates as they tried to get back to the ship. Most of them were on the Blue Jasmin while others were now running back across the ropes that hooked the two ships together. Massive plumes of smoke billowed out of the windows and exhaust ports as it began to lose altitude and drag the other ship down.
Temari continued to use her war fans to blow enemies aside, most of which were knocked completely off the ship while at the same time she would slice each rope, sending dozens of men plummeting to their doom, their futile screams echoing up as they fell.
As Temari kicked one more pirate off the ship and used her fan to blow three others away before reaching the final rope connecting the two massive airships. She immediately ran up the rope, swinging her fan to release numerous blasts of wind ahead of her to knock off all of the pirates in her way.
The Blue Jasmin groaned under the strain of the other ship pulling it down and finally it turned completely on its side, causing everyone to begin tumbling off, screaming to their deaths. Temari leapt up and kneeling on the face of one of her open fans and using the other to propel herself with large gusts of winds, she glided away.
~~~Meanwhile~~~
"This must be frustrating for you Shinnō." Shikamaru said he dodged yet another of Shinnō's increasingly clumsy strikes. "Your favorite ship has been stolen, your second ship is close to utter ruin and your army of blood thirsty pirates have been reduced to stains on the mountaintops below." Shinnō roared as he swung at Shikamaru's head.
"And yet all you've been to accomplish in your search for revenge is to give work for my tailor." Shikamaru continued with a smirk as head bent out of the way of the blade. "I pity you, old captain. And so I will give you this one last chance. Fly back to your ship and try to save her. No one would blame you if you did so."
Shinnō gritted his teeth and gripped his sword so tight, his knuckles turned white. "I know not what this chill is that I feel upon me now. Perhaps it be the cold breath of fate I feel down my nape. But by God, I'll see you dead before I leave this ship!"
"Whether I be dead or not old captain, you shall take your leave regardless." Shikamaru answered with an ice cold glare.
Shinnō raised his sword, ready to attack once more when the ship under their feet began to groan under them. Suddenly the ship jerked back and began to tilt onto its side further and further. "Shit!" Shinnō yelled as he suddenly began to lose his footing. Dozens of his pirate army that were still on the ship began to scream as they began to fall down to the ground miles below them like drops of rain.
"Son of a bitch!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs as the ship began to tilt more and more. Luckily, his belt was still fastened tight to the antennae and Naruto suddenly found himself hanging like a worm on a hook. "Hey! What the hell?!"
Shikamaru slipped forward as the ship began to tilt fully onto its side. Using that opening, Shinnō grabbed the young captain and dragged him down as the two fell with nothing between them and the vague outline of the ground they could see through the clouds below them. "It appears we are both fated to be nothing but stains on the mountaintops this day!" Shinnō smiled bitterly.
Shikamaru smirked. "Once again old captain, you find yourself the victim of being excessively presumptuous." Almost immediately, one of Temari's large, open fans was flung through the air. The bladed edge sunk deep into the hull of the Blue Jasmin just beneath Shikamaru as he fell, allowing him to land on it like a platform.
Shocked, Shinnō lost his grip on Shikamaru's sleeve and continued his decent as Shikamaru, now saved, saluted with a smile as the old man fell. "I said that I wouldn't leave this ship without your life!" Shinnō yelled as he suddenly stabbed his blade into the hull. The sword began to cut into the metal as his decent slowed and finally came to a halt. Shinnō now hung on the hilt of his sword. "This isn't over!" He screamed as he prepared to climb back up.
"My, such perseverance!" Shikamaru yelled down mockingly. "Any chance I could convince you to join my crew?"
As Shinnō was about to pull himself up, the second of Temari's fans came flying in and buried itself into the metal hull, just above him much to Shinnō's surprise. "What?!" he yelled as he saw Temari herself, using the fan now as a platform, peering over the side at the old captain.
Temari knelt on her fan as it remained firmly buried in the side of the ship. Slowly she pulled out a kunai. It was the same one Shikamaru had previously used to mark the engine room of Shinnō's now destroyed ship, whose, flaming remains now dragged their own ship down while hanging precariously on to the last metallic anchor. Temari flipped the kunai in her hands once before reaching down and placing the blade just over Shinnō's fingers that was wrapped around his sword. "The Captain has requested that you leave this ship." She said.
Shinnō looked down at the flaming wreckage of his ship and the ground that beckoned to him miles below. He then looked up at the blonde girl who looked at him without an ounce of emotion. She looked at him as would a person look upon a dead fly. Shinnō smiled a venomous grin in defiance. "I shall be waiting for you in hell woman." Without a word in response, Temari sliced off Shinnō's fingers. Silently, sporting only the same smile full of hate, Shinnō fell to his death. His eyes remained fixed on Temari till he fell from sight.
Once he was gone, Temari stood up, spun the blood stained kunai on her finger and then threw the small weapon towards the last anchor that connected the two ships. The blade sliced through the fraying steel rope allowing the flaming remains of the enemy ship to finally fall like a comet to the earth below.
~~~Meanwhile~~~
"Pull it up!" Guy screamed as he saw the wreckage fall away. Shizune groaned as she turned the wheel and finally righted the ship causing everyone to fall to the ground among all of the scattered debris. "Everyone okay?" Guy asked as rubbed sore arms.
"Never want to do that again." Amaru muttered.
"I don't know. That was pretty fun." Konohamaru said.
"Are you nuts?" Moegi asked as she slapped the back of his head.
Sakura groaned as she rubbed her side. When the ship righted itself she'd landed on some debris as she fell, further damaging her still sore ribs. A moment later her eyes widened as she felt as though her heart was about to stop. Ignoring the pain in her ribs she jumped to her feet and looked out the window down at the expansive outside platform. She quickly scanned the area until she finally saw what she was looking for. She saw his blonde hair whipping about as he struggled to loosen the belt that was still wrapped around the antennae. Sakura took a big sigh of relief when she saw him before falling back onto her butt. She grimaced from the shock of pain as she landed.
"Damn. It'll take weeks to fix all that." Kotetsu said as he and Izumu peered at the damage outside.
Konohamaru laughed as he looked at the damage the ship. "You guys will never be able to get all that done!"
Izumo punched the top of the boy's head. "What are you saying?! We can fix anything! Plus you and your team will be helping us!"
"What?!" Konoahamaru yelled. "But we're just kids!"
"Like hell!" Kotetsu yelled as he hit Konohamaru again.
"Yo!"
Everyone turned to see Sasuke leaning against the door. He was pale and still held a half bottle of rum. "I-I got one question." He said. His speech was slurred. "Was this ship on its side a little while ago? Or am I just really drunk?" Everyone looked at him and then at each other in annoyance. "What?" Sasuke asked as he saw their expressions. A moment later he threw his hand over his mouth before sticking his head back out the door to throw up.
Guy walked up to the window and looked at all of the damage to the ship. He could also see Naruto, who seemed to finally free himself and stumble forward as he pulled free. Several feet away was Shikamaru, who stood stoically with his arms folded as he stared at Temari who was standing at the edge of the ship, kicking away some of the remaining weapons that were still scattered about. "That girl." He said as he looked at her. "Who is she?"
Izumo, Kotetsu, Konohamaru and his friends all looked at guy and smiled. "What do you mean who is she?" Kotetsu asked.
Guy watched the young girl as the sun reflected off of her and it seemed to envelope her. There was something about her he'd not noticed till now. Something that felt almost regal. "I mean what…is she?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Shizune replied as she steered the ship behind them. Guy, Sakura, Lee, Tenten and Amaru all looked to her, along with the remainder of the crew. Shizune smiled. "She's the first mate."
~~~Meanwhile~~~
Shikamaru stood looking at the mess that had become of his ship. He loved the feel of the wind in his face. "Damned pirates." He said to himself. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Naruto walk up next to him. He was holding up his pants with one hand.
"I can't believe what just happened." Naruto said. "That was incredible." Naruto's eyes fell upon Temari. "She's incredible."
Shikamaru smiled a little. "Is she?" He asked before he began to walk towards her. "Hadn't noticed."
"Thank you." Naruto said which caused Shikamaru to stop walking.
"What for?" Shikamaru asked.
"You know what. You wrapped my belt around that pole back there. You knew what she was going to do, didn't you? You pretty much saved my life."
Shikamaru looked back at Naruto who stood smiling at him and shrugged indifferently. "I just got tired of lugging you around, mate." Naruto looked at the young pirate captain in disbelief. "You stink something awful, you know?" Shikamaru said as he begun to walk away again. "I have a policy about bad smells on my ship ever since Izumo and Kotetsu went on a drunken bender for a week last year without bathing. You might want to wash yourself if you wish to stay aboard my ship. And find yourself a damned belt. You look ridiculous standing like that." Naruto merely looked about in confusion before he saw the door on the far side and headed towards it.
Temari kicked a small knife off the side of the ship nonchalantly as Shikamaru walked up next to her. He continued to look out at the horizon as the ship flew high above the clouds. "Excellent work first mate." He said without looking at her.
"Thank you captain." Temari answered.
"I trust you'll oversee the cleaning and repair of the Blue Orchid?"
"Aye, captain." Temari replied.
At that moment Shikamaru noticed a deep slash across Temari's arm that was dripping blood. Despite the pain it must have caused, she seemed to be ignoring it completely. He cleared his throat as he spoke again. "I trust you'll have yourself looked at first of course."
Temari glanced at Shikamaru briefly. "Aye, captain."
"Right then." He said as he turned to leave. "Oh. Incidentally, you should know that when I instructed you to 'do the thing', this wasn't the thing I had in mind." Temari again glanced at her captain in silence. "But it'll do." Shikamaru continued before walking away.
Temari watched as her captain walked towards the door and blew away several strands of hair that was hanging over her eyes in seeming annoyance.
~~~To Be Continued~~~