Prologue

"I command all those who have advanced to the finals for the third level of the Chunin Exams to step forward," Hayate spoke in his dull, monotonic voice. All of the participants who had survived the most recent trial of the moved on cue and formed a semi-circle surrounding him, Sarutobi, and Anko. "Well, there's one person missing, but still, congratulations."

The silence settled at his words as the anticipation began to build within the room. The ground beneath them crumbled under their feet whenever their weight shifted, not only the Lee versus Gaara battle, but also the debris Choji's Human Boulder had produced.

Shikamaru already had had enough of the excitement today and he was feeling the exhaustion settle over his apathy. A lot of it was overwhelming; although he had been exposed to various ninjutsu at an early age, he was taken aback but the kinds of techniques dwelled in other Village's, especially the Sand Village were not ones to be underestimated. The mystery of Gaara's powerful gourd, Kankuro's finite skills with his puppets, and Temari's wind controlling ability with her fan made him anxious.

Shikamaru's eyes wandered over to Suna Kunoichi briefly, as discreetly as possible. He noted her rough demeanor and hardened face; she was tough for a blonde and she had her work cut out for her

Her blonde was natural and sandy and could be considered coarse. Her eyes were deep emerald green and reminded him of an envious color. Her bronze tints and undertones were likely results from living in the she wasn't bourgeois and "prissy", she seemed to have some femininity hidden in there somewhere.

Shit, I got distracted... Shikamaru averted his eyes back to Gekkou. He couldn't allow himself not to focus at this point. He was one of the

only ones to make it this far and he had to show something for it. If he didn't, there would be hell to pay. The Nara Prince withheld a shiver at the thought of his mother's rage if he threw the last task.

At the tip of his visor, Sarutobi smirked.

"And now, I will begin the explanation of the final rounds."

Temari rolled her eyes, figuring there was gonna be some kind of bullshit that they didn't plan for. He remembered how little information they had received about this mission and it was draining. Before her eyes found their way back to their focal point, they traced down the line as she took note of her fellow genin.

Being unsure of the next task, she strategically started to determine in her own mind whether they could be a potential ally or foe. First, she came to Dosu; she was not a fan of the mummified bastard. She passed her eyes over Kankuro and Gaara; she only hoped he wouldn't notice her looking at him, that kind of confrontation never went well.

Looking at the Konoha nin, and first in line was Naruto.

Next.

She passed the one known as Shino and shuddered from the thought of how many insects were within his jacket. Neji, despite being pretty, was too pretty. She came across Shikamaru and found herself hesitate unconsciously.

Gosh... He doesn't have a lot of meat on him. Why's he so scrawny?

His hair looked like it hadn't been brushed in months. Just by the manner of which he carried himself, she figured he probably was too lazy to bother with it because he didn't know what he wanted to do with it.

He was still young in the face, much like her brothers. Following the angle of his jaw, she found herself drawn to his eyes. His narrow eyes. She found herself idly admiring their shape and focus. It was almost like his eyes hid a different person behind his physical persona.

Within the moment, those narrowing eyes looked and somehow caught hers and their gazes connected. Both in shock from what happened, there was a slight delay before each set of eyes darted away into the opposite direction as fast as possible.

I can't believe I just did that, they both thought. Their interaction was so sudden and unintentional that they hadn't realized they both had been caught observing the other. In an attempt to ignore the embarrassment from the incident, it was easy for their attention to refocus when they heard the Sarutobi speak.

"In the final rounds, each of you will put your battle skills on display," He explained. "You'll demonstrate the power and control that you've achieved in your respective disciplines. Accordingly, the final rounds will commence one month from now."

"Wait, we're not going to do it right here and now?" Naruto barked in the rudest tone. He didn't seem the most enthused about waiting. Temari rolled her eyes once again and Shikamaru just shook his head.

"This is to provide a suitable period of preparation," he explained. Neji's eyebrow seemed to have quirked, piquing his curiosity.

"What do you mean by that?" he questioned.

"Simply this. In addition to announcing the conclusion of the preliminary matches to each country's leaders, we must also have some time to prepare and distribute the summons for the final selection. Not to mention that you examinees are going to need time to prepare for something this important. "

"Look, I don't really get what you're trying to say. What's the point of this?" Kankuro barked in an annoyed tone. Great, now Kankuro's starting to get anxious.

"I mean, that to know your adversaries and prepare yourselves, you will need time. Even though up to this point, all of the battles have been real battles, as I'm sure you can all attest. They were conducted on the premise that you were fighting an unknown enemy, but that is no longer the case now that you have battled each other," he explained as Shikamaru's eyes darted towards Gaara.

Yeah...Seriously. I would have never dreamed that this guy could turn sand into a weapon. The way he had taken down Rock Lee left everyone speechless, even with how hard of a fight Lee put up.

"So in order to make the finals fair and just, we're giving you one month. Each of you must embrace the opportunity to practice hard and learn some new tricks. Because by now, everyone knows your techniques, so using your old tricks is a sure way to lose in the finals. And be sure to get some rest as well," he added.

"Now with all of that behind us, I'd like to begin winding things up. But before we can bring this to the end, first there is one more important matter to take care of for the final round," he decided.

"Let's get on with it! I mean, come on! How long do we have to wait before we start training?" Naruto nagged. Everyone at this point seemed to be tuning him out.

"In a calm, orderly fashion, all of you are going to take one slip of paper from the box that Anko is holding," he explained as Anko stepped forward with a brown box with a hole in it big enough to put your hand in. No one had a chance to move, she sort of barked an order.

"Everyone stay where you are, I'll come to you," she commanded as she started at the end of the line, everyone taking a slip of paper. "Just take one."

"Good, now everyone has one. Going from left to right, tell me the number that is written on your slip of paper," Ibiki stated.

"I've got eight," Dosu drawled.

"Number one of course," Naruto said in a sarcastic tone.

"Seven," Temari simply stated.

"Five," Kankuro muttered.

"Three," Gaara whispered in a morbid tone.

"Nine," Shikamaru dragged.

"Two," Neji said properly.

"Six," Shino mumbled.

"And that means that Sasuke will be number four," Ibiki stated obviously as the Third acknowledged.

"Very good. Now I'm going to tell you about how the final selection tournament is going to work," the Third exclaimed. Around the room, gasps and mutters scattered at the realization that Sarutobi's rhetoric changed.

"Ehhh?" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief as everyone's eyes in the room focused on Shikamaru when he spoke, pointing out what the point of the numbers was for.

"Is that what these numbers are for? Drawing lots?"

"Ibiki, you may reveal which ninja have been paired up," he commanded respectfully. Ibiki nodded as he finished scribbling down everyone's names on the paper he held on the clipboard.

He turned it around and different reactions filled the room at the pairing options. The first four rounds were already planned.

Everyone's eyes were first drawn to Naruto and Neji. Naruto was going to put in a lot of work to even stand a chance against the Hyuga. He was not only a prodigy in when it came to Hyuga Style Taijutsu, but his Byuakugan was also something that couldn't be taken lightly.

Then there was Gaara versus Sasuke. After witnessing what Gaara was capable of with his fight with Lee, Gaara's strength had easily intimidated everyone. The concern for the Uchiha's life was bigger than him winning.

Then it was Kankuro versus Shino. Kankuro rolled his eyes, realizing that he had to "fight" this "Bug" guy. Even though Gaara was going to initialize the plan before he had to fight, he dreaded the idea of having to do it.

Shikamaru groaned out loud. He had to fight Dosu.

His groan drew her attention.

Her eyes glanced this time; her attempt to be subtle was may not have been as elegant as she would have liked, but he didn't seem to notice. He didn't look that excited about the tournament news either. Her eyes faced towards the front again, hoping to get the little punk out of her mind. Perplexed about how he had captured her attention was something she'd decipher later.

I may have to fight an extra round? I'll probably be expected to redeem Choji's loss. Like that'll work. If I use all my chakra trying to beat down Dosu, I'm going to be completely burned out when I fight Temari if I win...

Temari... his eyes averted towards her again, looking at her reaction to the tournament news and line up they had gotten. Her facial expression revealed that she was just as agitated as everyone else.

Shaking his thoughts from his head realizing that everyone was working up the ladder. Sudden a thought came upon him and he felt the need to ask it for the sake of everyone else, even if he was the only one who noticed.

"May I ask a question?" Shikamaru spoke up as Sarutobi nodded. "If this is a tournament, does that mean there's only going to be one winner? I mean, is only one of us going to be able to become a Chunin then?"

Temari's eyes shot a glance over at the Nara boy at his question. I didn't think of it that way...

"Actually, it's quite the contrary. There's going to be several judges for the final round. Including myself, the Shinobi Leaders, the Kazekage and the other Lords of the countries," he explained as Naruto's head began nod affirmatively as if he knew what was going on. "Through this tournament, these judges will be able to make a thorough evaluation of your abilities. They will then decide if any or all of you possess the qualities required of a Chunin. Even if someone loses the first round, they can still become a Chunin."

"So there's a chance that every one of us who competes in the final selections could be a Chunin?" Temari asked to clear up everything as the elderly man nodded.

"Correct. But there's also the possibility that none of you become a Chunin. The advantage in fighting more rounds in the tournament is a way of displaying more of your talents to persuade the judges who decide your fate," he answered to Temari. His gaze was then turned to the Shadow Possessor. "Does that answer your question, Shikamaru?"

He didn't respond aloud, but they made eye contact acknowledging that he understood. This is probably the biggest pain ever. I'm pretty sure of it. This is too much work. In front of everyone, the Shinobi leaders, the proctors...Is it is even worth it...

"I thank you all for your patience. Now let us adjourn until next month."

The Sabaku siblings exited out of the arena together, heading onto the dirt road that would take them to their inn within the city. The tunnel they traveled through opened up and they were greeted with a bright, sunny afternoon. The Arena for that portion of the Chunin exam was closer to the grassland of the Leaf Village. They had quite a distance to walk before they got home. Kankuro let out an exasperated groan.

"That old man had us standing for way too fucking long. Like I didn't just fight my way through the Forest of Death before fighting that dickhead Misumi," he complained as Temari rolled her eyes. She took a peek at Gaara and saw his usual morbid look and blank stare; he was ignoring both her and Kankuro.

"Shut up, you moron. You act like you're the only one who was standing there after all that. We all were dealing with it," Temari muttered as Kankuro shot her a glare. He didn't have a retort for her since he knew she wasn't wrong. As they continued down the dirt path towards the city limits, there were a few peach trees lining the grassy area that separated the land from a winding river. As they approached the trees, Kankuro and Temari both looked up at to see something on a limb. As the came closer, they saw the lazy Nara himself, engulfed in his slumber.

"And look at this guy..." Kankuro muttered as they walked by. Temari stopped while her brothers continued on, her eyes fixated on his unconscious face. His face looked peaceful, content...even...

"Temari? What are you doing? Get over here!" Kankuro called as Temari's gaze averted to her younger brother who had stopped when he realized she wasn't close behind. Gaara had kept walking without his siblings, unbothered by the idea of continuing the walk back alone. Kankuro approached her, backtracking his previous steps, clearly agitated that they were wasting time.

"We need to go ahead and get to the inn. The sooner we're there, the sooner Baki can go ahead and get these stupid instructions down," he sneered as Temari slapped him on the side of the head before pointing a finger at Shikamaru.

"Do you not see this Leaf Genin?" she whispered fiercely as he grabbed his head in pain and swung a length of curses. The sound of Temari's hand meeting Kankuro's ear abruptly woke the Shadow Possessor from his nap. He blinked twice and attempted to turn over; unknowing to where he had chosen to take his nap, he fell face first to the ground.

Kankuro couldn't withhold the laughter that rang out from his chest. Temari scoffed and rolled her eyes at her brother's enjoyment of slapstick humor. From where he had fallen, it could have hurt him; hell, it looked pretty painful to watch. Getting himself up, Shikamaru stood and dusted his body off, an icy glare in his eyes and a scowl fixated on his face.

"That had to have hurt...you okay?" she asked in a tone that made it sound like she wasn't unsure of how to check on him without being judged by her brother. He shot her a personalized glare as he turned his heel and dragged himself down the road in the opposite direction of town. Temari shoved Kankuro, stopping his laughter suddenly.

"What the hell?" he asked, his voice edging towards a yell.

"You shouldn't be laughing like that, it's rude!" she yelled, beating him to the tone before he could make it. He scoffed and rolled his eyes before folding his arms across his chest.

"And why do you care? You barely care about anything's wellbeing other than your own," Kankuro sneered. He paused before a smirk slid onto his face. "... You like the little snot, don't you?"

Temari's cheeks flared up from the slight bit of curiosity in his tone and the way he blurted it out. She shook her head frantically, trying to convince her brother that he had the wrong idea before he started to howl with laughter all over again.

"No, I don't!"

"You probably just wanna swap spit with him, don't you? Come on, Temari, corrupting little boys is a bit low, even for you," Kankuro teased as her cheeks continued to grow a darker red each passing moment. The thought crossed her mind of her kissing the boy and her cheeks only grew darker.

"Kankuro, that's gross and you know it! I was just worried about him! You heard the old man! He said that we need more opportunities to showcase our skills for promotion to Chunin!" she pointed out as Kankuro's laughter quickly came to a halt.

"You can't be serious. You know why we're here. Not to become Chunin, but-"

"I know, I know. Aren't I supposed to be the one who reminds you?" she asked, relieved that that conversation managed to conclude quickly. Kankuro shrugged before turning his heel and heading towards their initial destination once again. Sighing, Temari started to follow him but hesitated, She recalled the direction Shikamaru had gone, but he had disappeared from view at that point.

Am I really about to do this...?

"Kankuro!" he stopped once more after letting out an exaggerated groan of impatience. Temari's eyes cut at his as he turned around and threw his hands in the air.

"For God sakes, what?" he asked in an agitated tone.

"I've gotta...go pick up some medicine from the medical corp. Just something for a headache, I'm getting one," she lied, biting her fingernail promptly. Kankuro sighed and shrugged before turning around and continued his journey back to their inn alone.

"I'll be sure to tell Baki. Gaara's already left me, so I've gotta catch up with him. I'll see you back at the room," Kankuro told her as she nodded before she turned around. Gaara was so far gone, Kankuro disappeared in a poof of smoke in hopes to catch up. Temari let out a relaxed, deep breath before turning around and walking in the exact opposite direction.

"Why the hell am I doing this?" she asked herself aloud. For some reason, she couldn't help herself and somehow she was unsure of what she expected to follow her deed. The Shadow Possessor wasn't even on the trail anymore, he'd disappeared into thin air. It was then that a figure jumped down in front of her. Although it caught her off guard, her innate shinobi skills had her on the defensive with a kunai between her fingers.

"Why are you doing this?" She loosened up and dropped her guard once she saw that it was the one she had been attempting to follow. Shikamaru Nara was standing directly in front of her, his scowl and glare from his face first debacle still very present. "Why are you following me?"

"I uh, I, you need to go the infirmary. You might have hurt your neck or collarbone from that fall-"

"You don't even know yourself, do you?

"... I was heading back to the Medical Nin inside to ask for something to cure my headache that's coming on," she said, reusing the lie she had told her younger brother. "I thought you were heading that way because you fell. I don't know exactly where it is."

There was tense silence between them before Shikamaru sighed and turned around, pointing her down the road. Her surprise was not shown on her face, but she was relieved he believed her lie.

"Go down that road until you come to a fork. Then split to the right and you'll see the building for the Konoha Hospital. Show them your traveling documents and they'll give you whatever you need," he explained in his drawl before turning around, attempting to leave.

"W-wait!" He stopped and looked at her, his eyes piercing through hers. He was still annoyed even though he helped her out.

"What now?"

"You're not going to the hospital? You might want to check yourself out before you start training," she offered as advice as he shrugged.

"I really don't care. This is too much work to be promoted one rank. If I do get promoted, I'm gonna stay a Chunin for a while. I don't even want to think about how much effort it will require to become a Jonin," he mumbled as he kept walking. She rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

"Well, aren't you ambitious? Besides, if you think you're going to get to Chunin, you have to put in a lot of work and effort in as you can for that kind of change in rank," she said in an arrogant tone. Shikamaru scoffed. He didn't really have anything to say to her, he had planned on just removing himself from the conversation. He started to walk away, but she continued to walk beside him.

"God, you sound just like my mother," Shikamaru stated in his opinion. Temari's jaw dropped.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked in a heated tone as the corners of Shikamaru's mouth went up into a smirk.

"Oh nothing, just that it's sad that you're so young already sounding like a hag."

"Who do you think you're talking to, you little scrawny punk!?" she yelled as stomped up to him, closing the distance between them. She snatched the collar of his shirt, yanking him towards her. His piercing hazel eyes were digging through her emerald green ones.

"Temper, temper," he teased with a slight smirk. This was his form of payback for her brother cackling in his face for him falling out of that Peach Tree. Although she hadn't done anything to him, it was making him feel a bit better about his blunder.

Temari released him with a shove as he stumbled backward, catching himself before he could trip.

"Don't try me, pipsqueak. I've taken lives before, yours wouldn't be a difficult one to claim," she seethed. Shikamaru could tell that her temper was not a plaything just by how fast she went to a death threat. He wouldn't dare admit that he felt rather intimidated by that comment and he did not feel confident calling her bluff.

They were not on good terms to start with.

"Hey, hey, take it easy. I was just joking, I promise," Shikamaru said with a sly smile. He managed to hide his nervousness fairly well. Temari's eyes were studying his facial expressions to see if he was actually being sincere or plotting something more conniving than his words. When she felt confident there was no funny business, she smiled back before offering her hand to his to represent a truce.

"You're really not that bad, I suppose," she said with a slight smirk of her own. He grabbed her hand and shook it, smiling at her reaction to his peace offering. Their eyes made another connection when their gazes met. Although it was brief, something happened.

Something...

"SHIKAMARU!" the Prince groaned, turning to see his platinum blonde teammate heading towards them.

Her voice is obnoxious.

"What are you doing? You know Asuma-Sensei said that we were going to meet at the barbeque shop so we can reward Choji!" she scolded in her high-pitched voice. Temari let out a slight giggle as Shikamaru smirked.

"What's your friend being rewarded for again?" Temari whispered for only Shikamaru to hear. He let out a chuckle before grinning. She did have a point; so there was a sense of humor in there somewhere. Ino's icy blue eyes darted towards Temari; this girl was a nobody and somehow gotten friendly with Shikamaru and she didn't care for it very much.

"Oh. You're that...Sand Genin girl," she stated tartly in a disapproving tone before she looked back at Shikamaru. "Why are you socializing with her? Don't you have to compete against her? "

"What's wrong with having a passing word? Get over yourself, Ino. It's called having manners," Shikamaru spat back in response. Temari started to laugh but hid it with a snicker before she covered her mouth in surprise. She didn't expect Shikamaru to snap a retort back that fast. Ino's cheeks turned a tinted pink color before she shot a glare at Temari.

"What are you laughing at? I don't see anything funny!" she objected as Temari folded her arms across her chest, her nonchalant mannerisms evaporating into challenging ones.

"You should watch your tone," Temari responded curtly as Ino's jaw dropped and balled her hands up into fists. She wasn't used to anyone not backing down to her, especially not any other girls. Sakura was the only consistent rival she had had and still, their relationship wasn't seriously hostile.

"And why should I?"

"I'm older than you. And since we're the same rank, that means by default, my age means that you need to show a little more respect," Temari said with a poke at Ino's chest. Shikamaru's eyes brightened. He had known that she was a bit older, but he wasn't sure by how much. Her dominating features were showing.

"Well, Ms. Hag, go and find the weird creature you call a brother and convince him to go fall off a bridge," Ino snapped harshly as Temari's eyes widened. Shikamaru's widened; his body moved before his mind had a chance to react.

"Ino, you dumbass!" Shikamaru yelled as he shoved her out of the way. The head of Temari's fan was lodged almost into the crater it created. The overhead swing would have taken the Yamanaka's life if the Nara hadn't intervened.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" she whispered as she yanked the fan out of the crater. Shit, she's stronger than she looks...

Shikamaru stepped between the two women and attempted to calm Temari down.

Ino, realizing the severity of her words and how quickly she had endangered her life, fled the scene as quickly as possible and disappeared in a poof of smoke. Shikamaru, on the other hand, was convinced he could help calm Temari's temper. He managed to brace her shoulders and pull her to the side off of the road in an attempt to get her to focus solely on him and the nasty words that Ino had spewed.

"Get out of my way!" she demanded as she continued to free herself from Shikamaru's blockage despite not having any clue where Ino could have gone. It didn't particularly matter anymore, but her rage needed an outlet. Shikamaru did not budge.

"Hey, Ino's off limits, you hear me?" he said in his own threatening tone. Temari's eyes cut back into his, as the sound of small children approaching rang in both of their eardrums.

"Or else what?" she threatened back as Shikamaru's own eyes narrowed.

"Hey, mister! Watch out!" a child called out as a rubber ball made contact with the back of Shikamaru's head. He would have been able to turn around and rant at the children for adding to his agitation if his lips hadn't made contact with Temari's.

The serious, threatening moment had changed into an awkward, unexpected one. The split moment that their eyes were connected in what was a standoff melted into something desirable for both of them. The battle of dominance became something that seemed almost magnetic. The kiss lingered longer than anticipated, but it wasn't anything regrettable.

"Whoa." They jumped away from each other when they heard an older, more recognizable voice speak. Sakura had been standing there and witnessed the entire thing, a shocked, confused look upon her face. Both of them started to turn a dark red color simultaneously.

"S-Sakura, I-" she held up her hand to Shikamaru and shook her head.

"I won't say a word." He exhaled out of relief.

"Thank you." She walked on and Shikamaru turned back and faced Sand nin before him, only to realize that she had disappeared. The disappointment on his face was inevitable as he felt his heart drop in his chest a bit. Shaking his head, he had to pull himself together before he headed to meet up with his Squad members. A smile still managed to grace his own face at the thought as he reminisced. He disappeared in a gust of smoke as well.

Temari was in the same tree he had fallen out of about half a mile away from where their kiss had occurred. She touched her lips briefly, still baffled by the stirring emotions that surrounded it. She found herself smiling, something that she didn't experience often. She sighed before, hopping down and heading back towards the inn.

She was not telling her Kankuro about what just happened.