Hi! I just realized that some of you guys might think all of the new characters were brought over from Samurai Warriors. I guess I should note that my fanfic is also heavily based off events from Shikamaru's, Gaara's, and Konoha's story (For example: Shikamaru's date in the anime was supposed to be their second but comes off like their first one). I guess my fanfic contain spoilers from the novel for those who still have yet to read them.

For those who are not familiar with Gaara's story, Tojuro is actually a real character and I will be writing him as close to how is was portrayed in the book as possible. Ebizo is real of course… not sure if anyone remembers him since his appearance was so brief.

Yukimura, Mitsunari, and Katsuie are borrowed from the game. I mean, technically they're real historic people but I'm using the game's design and portrayal of them.

I do not own Naruto's or Koei's Characters.

Liquid Courage

Kiba's family often trained with their ninken in the woods, so they invested in a rather grand cabin just on the outskirts of Konoha. It was tucked away behind some hills, making it the perfect secluded environment to contain the howls of shinobi dogs. It didn't take very long for Kiba to take advantage of the isolated area for his infamous parties.

"You're here!" Ino beamed when she saw Shikamaru and Temari stepping onto the property. The purple crop top that she had paired with her leather mini skirt looked more like a high neck sports bra as it struggled to cling on to her waist when she stood up to wave them over. Sitting next to her was Sai, who as per usual, was dressed in a similar fashion as she was. He traded his shinobi gear for a plain black fitted t-shirt that ended just right above his navel and an even more fitted pair of black pants. He turned in the direction she was looking at and smiled when he saw the pair approaching.

Ino's stomach fluttered at the sight of the two walking towards her. They were together so often throughout all these years that it was weirder to see Temari without Shikamaru whenever she was in Konoha. Because of this, no one even batted an eyelash at the fact that they've been arriving and leaving together the entire week… except for her.

Shikamaru had never once expressed any interest in girls since they were born, so Ino was ecstatic for her life long friend when she found out about him and Temari. The more she thought about their dynamic, the more his lack of interest in other women made sense to her. She was sure every girl paled in comparison to the Suna kunoichi from the moment he was rescued by her.

Her mind quickly flashed back to the time she accompanied Shikamaru in returning the favor to the Sand Siblings. She had never seen him take on a mission with so much urgency before. She remembered complaining that she was exhausted from the speed they were traveling at and the way Shikamaru unintentionally ignored her because of how focused he was. The whole thing was so bizarre to her until they finally arrived at Temari's side. That was when she witnessed the undeniable chemistry between the two. Both of them might have been intelligent enough to be respected political members, but she reveled in the fact that she was the first one to pick up on the spark between the two.

Choji was digging in his red track jacket for a chocolate bar until the familiar presence made him look up. "Shikamaru!" he exclaimed happily before coyly shifting his gaze to the blonde he was with. "And… Lady Temari I see…" he snickered as he continued to dig for the candy.

Shikamaru bashfully rubbed the back of his head and looked away towards the the fire. He saw that Choji was already roasting 6 marshmallows on one stick and a fish that looked fresh from the river next to them on the other. Shino sat next to him, hiding under the same coat he always wore. He was silently staring at the fire with so much intent that it made the very nervous Akamaru whine in concern. Kiba and Naruto were sitting on a log across from them, obnoxiously slamming their beer bottles on top of each other's. The goal was to bring down a swift strike that would cause the carbonated liquid to erupt out of the bottle, forcing the loser to chug their entire drink.

"Quick! The girls are taking a picture. Let's go join them," Ino squealed. She grabbed Temari's hand and excitedly dragged her to the other girls further down the river. The Suna kunoichi shot Shikamaru a nervous look as they darted past him.

He just shrugged at her and smiled at the way his best friend was interlocking fingers with her. Ino was the type of person who always showed her affection for her friends through physical contact. She always held onto their arms whenever she'd walk with him or Choji. He used to think the three of them looked ridiculous marching through town with their arms laced together. Because he was very adamant about his personal space, it took him several years to get use to her growing up. Now, he found the gesture a little comforting. It wasn't anything unusual to see Ino hanging off someone she was close to or holding hands with one of the girls around the village. It was something girls commonly did when they didn't want to lose each other in crowded places, but Ino was the type of person to simply do it out of endearment. After seeing the positive reaction garnered from their peers, Sai started to imitate his girlfriend's behavior. Unfortunately, the boys didn't appreciate his attempt to hold their hands, much to his confusion. Naruto was the only one kind enough to humor him.

Shikamaru stole another glance at the girls as they huddled together to fit in front of Tenten's camera. He secretly laughed under his breath when he saw the stiffness in Temari's posture. Ino was still holding her hand as they squatted down to fit in the shot. She was exactly like him when it came to her personal bubble and he was willing to bet that she was nothing less of confused on how to feel about the way Ino was lacing their fingers together.

"Fuck yeah!" Kiba roared and erupted into a fit of laughter, sloshing some of his beer onto his maroon pullover sweater and grey pants. He had successfully gotten Naruto's beer to foam over the neck of the bottle. Panicked, the jinchuriki scrambled to empty the contents of the bottle in his mouth, but not before spilling at least a third of it on his orange long sleeve shirt. "Atta boy," Kiba praised him before doing the same himself. His wiped the beer dripping from the corner of his mouth on the back of his sleeve and belched.

"You're an animal, Kiba." Neji said sarcastically as he approached them. Hinata sprung from his side over to Naruto after seeing the look of discomfort on his face. She knelt over and rubbed his back to soothe him. It apparently worked because he opened his mouth to let out a drawn out burp and dropped his head back as he slumped into Hinata's arms.

"Thanks!" Kiba grinned back at Neji. The cooler next to him creaked loudly when he opened it and squatted down to fish out two new beers.

"That wasn't a compliment," Neji rubbed his head and sighed, but was unable to hide the smile that crept on his lips. Despite his immature antics, Kiba seemed to have this certain charm that made everything he did hilarious… for the most part.

"Sorry, Neji. I guess I'm just used to hearing that from the ladies. It's usually a compliment when they tell me that," Kiba shrugged. He cracked opened the beers and handed one to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru laughed at the death glare Neji was now giving Kiba as he accepted the drink. He rotated the bottle around to read the label. "Hitachino Nest White Ale. Nice."

"Of course, your highness!" Kiba exclaimed in a high-pitched voice as he pretended to curtsy in a dress. "Can't forget your fancy-shmancy craft beers."

"Tch," Shikamaru grunted. "Don't act like you're not a connoisseur yourself."

Kiba shared a laugh with him before going tapping their bottles together for a cheers. After taking a long swig, he cupped his hand around Shikamaru's ear and quietly asked, "Do you still carry those cigarettes around with you?" When Shikamaru nodded at him, he motioned his beer at the path that lead to the back of his giant cabin.

Once they were an earshot away from the group, Kiba scrunched up his nose and obnoxiously sniffed the air around him. "Damn, dude. Again?" he asked and jokingly shoved his nose into Shikamaru's hair to take a hard whiff.

"Get out of here!" Shikamaru laughed. He shoved Kiba hard enough to make him stumble off the pathway.

"You guys just can't keep your grubby paws off each other, eh?" Kiba asked, still snickering as he wandered back next to Shikamaru's side.

"No. It's pretty great," Shikamaru half-jokingly admitted. He smiled and brought the bottle to his lips for a quick sip.

"My man!" Kiba declared loudly. His laugh echoed through the trees as he gave Shikamaru a few firm pats on his back. The young men continued to chuckle amongst themselves as they ascended the stairs to the large deck behind the cabin. Shikamaru placed his beer on the railing Kiba was leaning against to dig in his back pocket for the little cardboard box. He flipped the lid open with his index finger as he held it up for the other shinobi before grabbing one for himself. Then he reached into the front pocket of his shirt for Asuma's lighter. After flicking up open and igniting it, he watched as Kiba leaned in the flame and puffed on his cigarette to light it before bringing it to his own face to do the same.

"Don't stare at me while I suck on the stoge," Kiba joked, his voice strained from keeping in the smoke. Leaning against the railing again, he tossed his head back and released the poison from his lungs. "People might think we're gay for each other," he laughed.

Shikamaru lowered the hand that was holding his cigarette and scoffed. "What's wrong with being gay?" he smirked.

"Nothing," Kiba said before taking another swig from his beer. "I adore the gays. I just don't need girls thinking we're gay. It'll ruin my game with the ladies."

"Of course," Shikamaru chuckled. He brought his arm over the railing and flicked on the end of his cigarette, watching as the ashes fell into the bush behind them.

"But you don't have to worried about that now," Kiba began. "Right? You going steady with Kankuro's sister?"

"Hn," Shikamaru grunted. He carefully folded his arms in front of him, avoiding the embers at the end of his cigarette. "Not quite."

"Just sex then? Damn. I knew it! You guys spent so much time with each other all these years," he laughed before taking another sip. He placed a foot on the railing behind him sagged his weight against it. "Sooo, fuck buddies?" he asked before bringing his hand up to take another drag.

"No…" Shikamaru said. He rubbed his palm against one of his eyes and sighed. "We're just going to see where it goes for now."

"That's cool. Nothing wrong with that," Kiba smiled. "But are you not afraid of Gaara, man? He literally has a jutsu that creates personalized coffins! You'll die. Painfully."

"I'll hide behind Naruto if he comes for me," Shikamaru joked. He reached for his beer and drew out another hit of the cigarette before drinking it. It soothed the burning sensation in his throat.

Kiba snorted. "But, dude. Are you even allowed to date her? Don't they still have a monarchy system or whatever over there? I mean, Tsunade-hime got to date whoever she wanted but our politics are a bit different here."

"Hmm." Shikamaru wasn't exactly sure what to tell him. This wasn't something he hadn't already reviewed a million times in his head. Suna kept their internal affairs very private, and he wasn't exactly sure how they would handle a situation like that. He wanted to bring it up to her, but decided the topic was too serious considering they've only started to see each other outside of work. "I've been meaning to find out," he shrugged.

"As you've always said, 'girls are just troublesome' man," Kiba laughed, trying to promptly change the subject. He had just picked up on the girls' scent and realized that they were rapidly approaching, albeit a lot later than he usually would have due to his buzz and the smell of the burning tobacco.

Being a personal bodyguard for the Kazekage, Temari had what Matsui referred to as "hypersensitive hearing." Both her and Kankuro can hear a pin drop in a different room. It was a skill they've developed in training in order to protect Gaara. She had heard their entire conversation over the girl's giggling, and Kiba was asking all of the right questions. Getting married and preparing for the next generation is a delicate procedure in Suna. She knew she had been irresponsible by ignoring these facts as she continued get swept up by whatever was going on between her and Shikamaru. "Sober Temari's problem, "she kept telling herself. "Worry about it once you leave" and "Live in the Now" were the other mantras she continued to recite to herself. She had devoted her entire life to fighting for her village and desperately wanted just this one thing for herself, even if it turned out to be temporary. Believing that she could handle it, she decided to give into her impulse just for that week.

"Oi, it stinks!" Tenten yelled as she walked towards the boys. She pulled her white tank top up to cover her nose as she dug into the side pocket her brick-red cargo pants for a small folding fan.

"Sorry, ladies!" Kiba apologized. Keeping his back to the railing, he turned and look over his shoulder at them. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Sakura needs to pee!" came Ino's voice as she emerged from the path with Temari and Sakura behind her. Sakura's white high-waisted pleated skirt bounced from under her burgundy sleeveless button up shirt as she was fidgeting nervously to ease her full bladder.

"That–a–way," Kiba said, pointing the cabin.

"Thanks!" Sakura quickly yelped and rushed inside.

The remaining girls joined them on the deck while they waited for her. Ino smacked Shikamaru on the back of his head as they walked past them to the opposite end to get away from the smell of their cigarettes. She hated that he smoked, even if it was only an occasional thing. She kept telling him that their sensei didn't die so that he could kill himself with lung cancer.

"Hey!" he snapped her.

"That shit's gross," she declared and stuck her tongue out in disgust.

"That's why we're back here and not out there," Kiba retorted. He took an extra long drag and blew the smoke in their direction.

Temari could see the vein on Ino's forehead twiching as her body shook with anger when Kiba laughed. She smiled to herself before placing her arm in front of her, gesturing her to stand back. "Don't worry," she assured the girls. "I got this." With that, she reached grabbed the smaller tessen that Tenten was using to fan the air.

"Woaaaaah," Kiba said sarcastically. "Are you going to fan the smoke away while cooling me off at the same time? So nice of you!"

Shikamaru immediately tensed up. Remembering the vacuum of air she had put him in earlier with just the wave of her hand, he quickly put out his cigarette and reached for his beer to make a run for it.

Temari opened the fan with a flick of her wrist and brought it across her body. She held it flat against her hip and flashed them a dangerous smile.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

He knew he couldn't outrun her. He ducked to the ground and covered his head just as Temari gracefully yanked the tiny fan upwards. A powerful gust of wind shot out from the fan and blasted right through them. It caused Shikamaru to fly back and hit the railing, which he hung on for his dear life. A look of pure terror appeared on Kiba's face right before he was flung over the railing and into the bush below them. Her wind went on to rattle the trees in their direction for several kilometers. Once the breeze finally settled, she slapped the edge of the fan against her palm to close it with a content smirk on her face.

Ino was speechless as she examined the scene before her. She wanted so desperately to laugh and be impressed, but she was too terrified to feel anything else.

Tenten, on the other hand, began to snicker at the boys from behind her hand. "Thanks," she beamed at Temari as she accepted the fan back. "The smell is all gone now!"

"What's going on?!" cried another female's voice. Temari immediately recognized who it was. She watched as woman with blonde hair as fair than Ino's, though with an odd green tint, rushed up the stairs to the deck. Her oddly round-shaped glasses almost fell off her nose when she sprang to Shikamaru's side. "Shikamaru! Oh my god! Are you okay?!" She frantically held on to his bicep to stand him up, "Let me help you!"

"I'm fine, Shiho." Shikamaru muttered. He pretended to dust off his shirt so that he could push her hands off, but she just tightened her grip. He couldn't help by find the irony in the situation. There, next to him, was a simple girl who was desperately concerned about his wellbeing. Yet, the owner of the smile he was so fond of was standing across the deck and admiring the damage she had inflicted on him.

"Over here. I need help…" Kiba squawked from the bushes, but Shiho simply ignored him and kept her gaze on Shikamaru.

Ino's eyes nervously shifted between Temari and Shiho. The Suna shinobi looked completely unfazed. In fact, Ino could have sworn that she was trying her best not to laugh. How could she not be infuriated? I would have murdered the girl if that was Sai, she thought to herself. Maybe she's just really good at maintaining her tough exterior… She tried to diffuse the situation. "O-oi, Shiho!" she waved at her. "You're here too?"

"Mhmm," Shiho replied without looking away from Shikamaru.

"I think the girls are doing another round. Why don't you come with us?" Ino asked in attempt to pull her away from Shikamaru. She started to loop her hand around Shiho's arm to walk with her, but Shiho just slapped her hand away.

"H-hey!" Ino snapped as she pulled back her hand.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked when she walked outside to the commotion.

"Shots!" Tenten cheerfully answered as she pumped her fist in the air. She grabbed Temari's hand before running to Sakura to do the same and dragged them back to the front of the cabin. Shikamaru's eyes met Temari's as she was hauled away for the second time that night. He wanted so desperately to hate the way they sparkled with mischief, but couldn't bring himself to when he saw the playful smile on her lips.

I tried, he heard Ino's voice when she placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

Thanks, he thought back. He watched her shrug at him before trotting off to join the other girls.

"Hey! Help me!" Kiba cried wearily. The bush next to the patio started to shake violently as he thrashed around. Akamaru came running when he heard his master's cry. Shoving his face into the bush, the pup fished around until he was able to latch to the hemline of Kiba's pants to drag him out.

Shikamaru sighed and rubbed him temples. "How troublesome…"

About an hour later, the guys were watching a pushup contest between Kiba, Naruto and Lee with great amusement by the fire. Shiho was still looming over Shikamaru in concerned while he was discussing something with Neji. Next to her cheering on the pushup competition were two girls that Sakura had invited from her hospital.

The rest of the girls were all gathered under a large tree that had string lights wrapped around the trunk and branches. Ino, Hinata, and Tenten were discussing the floral arrangements for the wedding while Sakura filled Temari in on her busy schedule at the hospital since the war.

"The work is a lot less chakra intensive, but my schedule is so much more hectic. I'm exhausted by the time I get home so I just knock out," she explained. Her green eyes squinted at the remaining alcohol in her cup before she brought it up to her lips to polish it off.

"Yeah, the war did keep things interesting…" Temari sighed, looking down into her own cup of gin and ice. She was usually a tequila drinker. However, since the agave plant was native to Suna, it was rare to find a decent one when she was traveling. She often settled for the gin they carried in Konoha for its herbal and floral taste. "All we seem to talk about now is money and where to allocate it," she continued. "But hey, I'm sure staying busy keeps your mind off Sasuke."

"Yeah, it does." Sakura blushed.

Temari gave the girl credit for being so loyal to the Uchiha. She had just learned earlier that Sakura only saw him a few times a year, which wasn't even a fraction of how many times she met up with Shikamaru simply for work. "Sakura, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure," she answered as she walked a few paces over to the table that held all the alcohol.

"How do you handle practically never seeing him?" the Suna kunoichi asked as she watched Sakura refilled her cup with a pink premade concoction.

"Temari-san…" Sakura began as she swayed back to the bench they were at. A few drops of her drink sloshed out of the cup and onto the ground as she turned around to sit down.

Temari examined the medical-nin's face. Sakura's cheeks were rosier than her hair at this point. She was drunk.

"I know a strong woman like you might think it's pathetic of me to wait on Sasuke-kun, e-especially after everything that happened between us," she continued. "But I can't help the way I feel… even though we've both tried to assassinate each other…" she paused and chuckled to herself. "We were separated for years, but I never stopped caring for him. People still tell me that I… I deserve better. A lot of people in town still resent him for everything that he did… But even if I were to leave him and fall in love with someone else, I would never love them the way I love Sasuke-kun. It just wouldn't be fair to the other person." There was a sudden sadness in her eyes as she looked down at the floor. "I know it's hard to understand… but I will never love anyone the way I love him."

Temari reached out and placed a comforting hand on Sakura's arm. She had developed a small affinity for the leaf kunoichi ever since she saved Kankuro's life. "Sakura," she began. "You don't have to explain your feelings to me, or to anyone for that matter. That is your business and no one else's. Besides, have you forgotten who my brother is? I'll be a hypocrite if I didn't believe that everybody deserves a chance at redemption."

Sakura's face slightly scrunched up as if she was about to cry. Despite having the support from a few of her friends, the majority of the village continued to criticized her devotion to Sasuke. She had totally forgotten about Gaara and was glad there was someone out there who could empathize with her. "Thank you, Temari-san…" she whispered.

"Please don't tell me you're an emotional drunk," Temari said as she pretended to pull away nervously. "I don't do tears."

Sakura looked up at to sky and took in a deep breath before turning to grin at her, "I'm good!"

"Good," Temari smiled. "But you tell me if the asshole tries to kill you again. 'Cause then we'll have a problem."

"Alright!" Sakura beamed and laughed. She took another sip of her drink before saying, "You know, they say home is where the heart is, and the fact that he comes home to me is more than I can ask for."

Temari smiled back at her as she thought about it. Her mind quickly flashed to her brothers, causing her to feel homesick for the first time that week. Turning her head back to watch the boys around the fire, she started to ponder. Would loving from afar work for her and Shikamaru the way it did for Sakura and Sasuke? She sat there for a few minutes until a very still kunoichi on the other bench caught her peripheral vision.

She looked over to see Tenten staring in the direction of the bonfire as well while Ino was cheerfully chatting away with Hinata next to her. Temari traced her gaze and saw that she was staring at the other Hyuga shinobi. He was sitting next to Shikamaru in white v-neck shirt with sleeves that ended just right below his elbows. His hair was pulled back into the usual tidy low ponytail that stretched all the way down to his dark brown cargo shorts. Temari found it amusing how Neji always managed to look so prim and proper that it made even her, out of all people, self conscious about her appearance. Turning her attention back to Tenten, she asked, "See someone you like?"

"H-huh?!" Tenten turned her head to see both Temari and Sakura looking at her.

"You should just go talk to him," Sakura edged on. She had noticed Temari looking back and forth between the guys and Tenten, and was quick to figure out what the blonde was examining when she spoke.

Tenten knew she was caught staring at Neji from the way both the pair of green eyes were intensely staring at her. "I wouldn't even know where to begin… He's not a very romantic guy," she admitted.

"Hey. I know," Temari declared and stood up. Ino and Hinata paused their conversation turned their attention to the confident voice. "I'm going to get you some liquid courage."

"What's that?" Tenten blinked at her in confusion.

Temari waltz over to her and took the plastic cup she had in her hand. She brought it to her nose. Yuck, fruity vodka… and she still mixed it with juice… she thought to herself when she sniffed it. She playfully stuck out her tongue in disgust and dumped it in the bush nearby.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Tenten called after her.

The blonde kunoichi ignored her and made her way over to the table with the alcohol. Her eyes scanned the selection until it found the 190 proof vodka that someone had surprisingly already gotten into and poured just about a shot worth of alcohol in the cup. Knowing well that even a seasoned drinker would have trouble with shooting this particular strong liquor, she grabbed a soda from the cooler before shoving the drinks into Tenten's hands. "There you go. Liquid courage. Just drink that and we'll go join the boys."

"But what would I even say to him?!" Tenten protested.

"Just be yourself," Temari smiled. "A boy's not worth it if you have to pretend to be someone you're not. That shot should be juuust enough to help you be a little more forward than usual."

Hinata smiled when she pieced together what was going on. Tenten's excessive concern for Neji during their prior conversations gave her secret crush on him away quite some time ago. "Neji nii-san has always enjoyed spending time with you," she chimed in. "You were the only one he requested to help him prepare for the chunin exams, remember?"

Tenten turned around to the voice that joined in on their conversation. When she saw Hinata's reassuring smile, she looked forward in the direction of the fire with a new determination in her eyes. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Alright," she said when she opened them again. "Let's do this."

VERY LONG AUTHOR'S NOTE(S)…

Hi lovelies!

Thanks for being so patient! Here's part one for ya! Do you like seeing the other characters? Temari's interaction with them is crucial for the serious scenes several chapters down the road (way, way down).

I wanted to throw in a description about the music that's playing at the party but I wasn't sure if it was going to fit the setting or not so I deleted it… The Narutoverse is suuuuuuch a weird mix of feudal japan and the modern world. You have the old Japanese architecture and then you have VCRs and refrigerators… Then there's Killer B so rap music exists… So… Is it safe to assume that the kids listen to rap and hip-hop and rock and pop in the Naruto universe? The entire time I wrote this chapter, I had Foster The People's Pumped Up Kicks playing in the background for me. Not so much for the lyrics, but for the upbeat tune. What do you think?

I have plans for new ShikaTema fics. I wanted to do a Vampire/Werewolf/Witch/whatever one because Halloween is around the corner and no matter how many corny vampire movies/shows the world continues to spit out, I'll always be in love with the lore. However, this one will take a lot of planning because I will have to put a shit ton of thought into who is what and then lineages and then the plot itself.

The other one I have in mind is an AU world where they're all young professionals in New York City. Like, Sex and the City meets Gossip Girl meets How I Met Your Mother. Writing adult humor and drama is a lot easier than creating my own mythical universe.

I'm still heavily focused on this fanfic but my momentum might slow down soon. The next few chapters include a lot of realizations and reflections and most likely another lemon (which I struggle with because I'm still verrrrry uncomfortable/shy with writing them!) and will be a lot harder for me.

Thank you everyone else for your kind words and support. I'm so, so, so excited to write this for you. I would update even faster but I can't find enough time in the day to get shit done. (I'm literally away from home 9AM-9:30PM on weekdays and all I wanna do is write everything doooooown. I have the entire plot planned out already!)

PS: Anyone got a friend like Ino? I based her off my very best friend who is exactly like this (though calmer than Ino in demeanor). I'm huge on my personal bubble and only allow very specific people in and I kinda see that in Shika and Tema. I really wanna capture the relationship of Ino-Shika-Cho and the Sand Siblings in this fic.

Wiceriene – Teehee... Are you glad there's some characters that hate the smoking too?

Whattadragg – Hahaha, if the new antagonists got you riled up then does it mean I did a good job with them? You detected right about the next chapter. ;)

Stay Tuned…

Temari vs Kiba II

And…

Shikamaru's Epiphany