Exhausted, Shikamaru slumped into the soft recesses of his constant desire that was his mattress. He didn't even bother to take any of his clothes off, as long as he could sink into the ocean of covers and wrap himself in wave after wave of midnight silk.
Heavy steps rung throughout the room following the noise of the door slamming shut. Shikamaru mustered up the effort, from somewhere, to open his eyelids. Although, he couldn't stop the sigh from escaping his lips, he hated just the thought of moving. Yet, for all his sloth mimicry, Shikamaru found himself smiling at the sight he was treated to.
Following him into the room was the breath-taking form of his most trusted comrade, someone who he would fight, against his usual nature, tooth and nail for. It maybe should have worried him that her visage was dotted with dashes of blood, but somehow he found himself having to fight against his body in order to regain control over his breathing. The serious look on her face sent shivers down his spine, accentuating the glittering diamonds that shot him with a piercing gaze.
In the minimal light of the room, her blonde locks almost glowed, casting shadows across her sharp and regal features. With an eternal confidence, she strutted towards the bed, setting down next to Shikamaru. He leaned upwards, hunching over with a groan.
"So…" Shikamaru began, taking note of her clenched fists.
Temari cut him off. "What's next?" she turned towards him, searching for an answer.
Shikamaru almost choked on his forgotten words. He chided himself for sinking so low as to almost do something as asinine as making small talk with Temari. If there was anyone who felt as similar to him with regards to the superficial, it was the foreign kunoichi. However, the two of them went about getting straight to the point in ways that couldn't be further from each other. She used her intimidating presence and demeanour to cut through any useless information and force anyone unfortunate enough to cross her path to spill the point of their conversation as opposed to Shikamaru who decided to just ignore any pointless speech until the speaker understood his lack of care for insignificant words.
He stopped himself from going further into his thoughts on the matter, worried that he'll anger her if he didn't respond fast enough. Without realising, his hands had formed together into a strange sign that was unique to his habits. Now that the Akatsuki had their hands on the Eight Tails, the Five Great Nations could assemble the power of the other six which wouldn't be enough to rival the power of Naruto and his Nine Tails. On top of that, the Five Kage were weaker than ever. With the Raikage dead, along with any realistic prospect for his replacement, and the Mizukage under Sasuke's control, it left the ancient Tsuchikage, the young Kazekage whose sister was one of his opponents, and the veteran Hokage.
Although, Shikamaru knew full well that the Hidden Leaf Village still contained a few impressive shinobi. Chief among them, Kakashi was wildcard that Shikamaru couldn't underestimate. After all these years and an entire war, Shikamaru still wasn't able to get a good read on Kakashi's abilities. All he had were rumours, his sensory powers that were as strong as the Inuzuka clan's shinobi, his formidable taijutsu that could rival Might Guy and Rock Lee all along with the innumerable amount of ninjutsu that he has copied from every shinobi that had the misfortune of crossing him whilst he wielded the infamous Sharingan.
It was all summarized by the mask that he was famous for wearing, hiding any and all of his secrets. Even if Sasuke had defeated him in battle twice in recent weeks, Shikamaru wasn't going to write him off anytime soon. Aside from the Copy Ninja, Yamato could provide an adequate threat to them with his Wood Style jutsu, though it wasn't anywhere near what the First Hokage's power was rumoured to be. If Lee decided to sacrifice himself in order to utilise the entirety of the Eight Inner Gates Technique, then he might be able to compete with Naruto or Sasuke in a one-on-one scenario.
And, more concerning was Kiba. That power that he had gained in such a short space of time was worrying. Yet, it didn't seem as if he had any control over the power, which made it even more dangerous in Shikamaru's eyes.
"We should be going to the Land of Earth next" he revealed his thoughts to her. When she heard the location, Temari let out a long exhale. Shikamaru understood her relief. Now more so than ever after seeing Kurenai again. When the time came to attack the Hidden Leaf itself, would he be able to do what was necessary?
He thought that he would have come to terms with it by now, but it seemed like he was still struggling with the idea of facing his own mother wearing the robe of the group his own father fought against. He knew that she understood why he was doing something like this, but that didn't make it any easier.
Glancing to his side, he could see the same thoughts cross through Temari's eyes. The conflict she was dealing with, regarding her brothers, was revealed to him by the gnashing of her teeth.
Seeing her toil with her mental struggle, Shikamaru was tempted to just grab her wrist and take her with him, running away from all this. They could live somewhere nicer, an open field with a comfortable home and lazy clouds floating overhead. Free of all this strife that came with someone else's war on the shinobi world. No fighting, no killing, no pain. Would it be so wrong to just give in to the temptation of it all?
His idealistic thoughts were stopped by Temari as she leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder. "Are you alright, Shikamaru?" she asked, staring down at his hands which had begun drumming on his thighs.
He mulled over her question for a few moments, seconds that felt like they stretched on for days. "I… I don't… know" he scratched at his leg.
Temari rested her palm on top of his, trying to support him. She heard his answer, but comprehending it was almost impossible. The prospect of Shikamaru not knowing something was unbelievable. He was a genius, eclipsing the entirety of her own intelligence and the stores of knowledge she had worked hard to build up over her life. So, if he wasn't able, what hope did she have?
She shifted her gaze, resting her chin on his shoulder as she stared into his shadowy eyes. When she noticed his frustration, Temari chided herself for thinking of just herself. Her heart panged seeing the lost expression on his face. The unknowing frown that curled his lips crushed her emotions. It hurt to see him like this, but in a strange way, she was glad that she could witness it. She took a small bit of delight in seeing Shikamaru trust her enough to show her his weakness.
"It's fine to not know" she spoke her words of encouragement, knowing full well that she didn't believe them herself so there was no reason for him to do so.
"Is it? Because I know that I'm able to do this, but what I don't know is if I could be heartless enough to destroy the shinobi world and hurt all those people" he complained, turning towards her.
Temari pinched his cheek. "Good! You shouldn't be heartless, because a lot of people are depending on you even if they aren't aware of it"
"Right" he sighed in defeat. Yet, Temari wasn't convinced. Shikamaru could be a stubborn guy at the best of times, so Temari knew that she would need to give him more in order to help him pull himself out of his depressing thoughts.
"Shikamaru" she curled her fingers around his collar and wrenched his face towards her own. She pressed her forehead against his, her unwavering stare bore into his widened eyes. "If you ever become some cold and cruel monster… then I'll kill you"
His Adam's apple bobbed in tandem with the choked gulp he let out. Although, that didn't stop his lips from forming into a smirk. "Thanks, Temari"
"No problem, cry-baby" she teased him with her own mischievous grin.
He rolled his eyes. "You're such a troubleso—" his retort was cut short as she pressed her lips against his in a quick kiss. There wasn't any underlying hints of lust or sexual desire, just a snog overflowing with all the passion she held for him. Their noses brushed against each other as they deepened their connection. But, their affectionate nuzzling was just the prelude to the eventual use of their once idle hands.
Temari's nails raked along his jaw, the trio of violet, onyx and crimson shades threatened to pierce his ghostly tone. Her other hand occupied itself with his chest, squeezing his pectoral muscles in fistfuls of his robe.
Escaping between their connected lips, Temari moaned at the sensation of Shikamaru's palms tracing her sides. When they came close to her rounded hips, his fingertips gave her a tender squeeze. On and on they went, the combined warmth of their bodies rose in tandem with the pace of their heartbeats' rhythms. Soon enough, their breathing grew heavier as their bodies began to perspire with the lustful heat that burned between them.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Heavy impacts crashed against the door in an impatient beat.
"Shikamaru!" an irritating voice boomed through the doorway as a giant figure barged into the room.
When he laid his eyes on the scene in front of him, he stopped in his tracks. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked, his cluelessness seeping into his raised brows.
"Well, what does it look like?" Temari barked at him, baring her teeth.
Naruto didn't even take a second to think, giving her an honest answer. "It looks like you two were about to get down and dirty" he snickered. Temari growled, her fists trembling at her sides.
Her heels dug into the stone beneath her soles, ready to pounce.
"What do you want, Naruto?" Shikamaru interrupted, drawing attention to himself.
The jinchuriki scratched the back of his golden head. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be starting the extraction of the Eight Tails which might take a day or two, so you don't have to rush any new strategies you're working on"
Shikamaru quirked his eyebrow. "Um, thanks?" he asked, confused by the fact that Naruto needed to ask. He already had a wide variety of ideas for their next move, but he wasn't going to pass up on the opportunity to take it easy for a day or two. At least one entire day of doing nothing, there weren't many things more enticing to Shikamaru than that.
"That's all I had to say" he backed away with an extravagant bow. "Oh!" he spun back around on his heel. "And, Hinata said that she wanted to talk to you, Temari" he reported what Hinata had mentioned to him when he had returned to their room. With that he slipped out back into the hallway, cackling to himself.
With the mood between them ruined with the return to their current situation's depressing nature, Shikamaru stretched backwards, groaning as his muscles relaxed a little for the first time in a while.
Temari stared at her feet, thinking about what Naruto had said. Why would Hinata want to see her? It wasn't like they were friends. They didn't gossip about the guys they were with, or chitchat about their lives. In fact, Temari might have said that the relationship between them was the furthest apart than even Shikamaru and Sasuke's tumultuous relations. Aside from the favour that Hinata had asked of Temari before they left for the mission of capturing the Mizukage, the Hyuga had been pretty antagonising towards the foreign kunoichi.
"You should go and see her" Shikamaru suggested. Temari glanced over her shoulder at him, with his arms crossed to support his head on the soft covers.
She took a deep breath. "But, what about you?" she asked.
"I'll be fine" he waved her off. "I'll be right here"
Temari stood up off the edge of the bed. Looking at his face, Temari was impressed at how he could keep his eyes closed, since his expression gave away the conflicts that occupied his incredible mind, pondering how he could go about resolving them. Temari knew that the chances were high for Shikamaru to be able to come up with a better plan on his own than together with her. She just had to accept that he was better off by himself right now.
"Don't think too hard, cry-baby" she shot him a teasing smirk before strutting towards the door.
"Just…" Shikamaru's yawn stopped her midstride, at the door. "be careful" she scoffed at his words but she stopped when she met his eyes, half-lidded, revealing the severity of his warning. Her last sight of him was worrying if not for her prior knowledge of his personality as he lay there still, almost lifeless.
Down the hallways she went, relying the on the mental map that she'd memorised over the last few weeks. Still, she had to double check when she came to a few identical corners. It didn't help that she found her mind harping back to Shikamaru's warning. She knew what she was getting herself into, so why did he bother warning her. Was it because he thought that Hinata posed a dangerous threat to her? Even if Hinata had more chakra and better taijutsu skills, Temari was stronger in a physical sense, dwarfing the Hyuga's tiny stature. But, what was worse, was the thought that Shikamaru mightn't have thought that she could have come up with an adequate tactic to defeat the kunoichi if it came to it.
All these thoughts bubbled in her mind until they culminated in Temari pounding her fist into the wall. It took a moment longer for her to notice her arm trembling. Relying on a calming strategy that she had once read up on, she counted until her frantic breathing fell into a steady rhythm, Temari composed herself.
Rounding the corner, she stood at a door identical to that of her and Shikamaru's room. There was just one difference between them. Carved into the wood, both the names of the room's owners were shortened. She wasn't certain why, but seeing that Hinata was represent alongside Naruto on the door bothered her more knowing that on the door to her room, Shikamaru's name, albeit shortened, was all that indicated its occupancy.
Against the thick planks, she wrapped her knuckles before waiting. "Hey! Hinata?" she called out after receiving no answer for a few moments. She repeated her actions, stepping back away from the door and tapping her foot to an impatient beat. When she didn't receive an answer for the second time, Temari abandoned her manners.
The door let out a high-pitched creak before thumping against the wall, its hinges quivering under the force of Temari will. She stomped into the room, expecting to see Hinata with the other girls, maybe toying with their sumptuous bodies. So, it was pretty surprising when she walked further into the room, devoid of life. The dominating centrepiece of the room was unoccupied. The bed was made up in a neat fashion, a shock considering the loud and obnoxious owner.
From wall to wall she checked, but no one was there. But the more she searched, the more details she discovered and pieced together their perverted purpose. Small piles of underwear were strewn about the floor, almost all of them were darkened to some degree, reminding Temari of how much the girls could reach climax.
A soft humming drew her attention away, to the door. She stalked towards it, catching the splashing of water as she came closer. Almost knowing for certain that someone would be inside, Temari didn't bother knocking.
As soon as she barged inside, she took in the view. A lustrous bathroom, similar to one she and Shikamaru had been using, was dripping with precipitation. Small clouds of heated mist obstructed her vision a little, but not enough to obscure the relaxing bat. More akin to a pool, the bath was embedded into the stone tiles, about four foot deep.
Reclining at the end opposite to herself, the source of the melodic tune bathed herself with elegant movements. In one breath, she noticed her visitor and welcomed her with open arms. "Temari! It's lovely to see you! How was the Land of Lightning?"
Temari raised an eyebrow, impressed by how sincere Hinata sounded. She was speaking as if they were passing each other in back in the Hidden Leaf Village. "What do you want, Hinata?"
The Hyuga giggled. "Nothing much, I just wanted to catch up with the one other kunoichi in the Akatsuki" she smiled. "Us girls have to stick together now, don't we?"
Temari huffed, crossing her arms as she waited for a real answer.
Deciding she'd had enough fun at her expense, Hinata took note of the patches of blood that dotted Temari's cheeks. "Why don't you join me? The water is quite calming and, to be honest, it looks like you could use a wash"
Looking unimpressed with her offer, Temari kissed her teeth. "Yeah, no thanks, I'll wash up when I get back" she spun on her heels and headed for the exit.
"Oh! Come on, Temari! Don't tell me that you're scared of some one-on-one time with me"
When Hinata's sarcastic tone reached her ears, Temari stopped in her tracks. As if she would be afraid on something so casual as bathing with Hinata. She didn't need to even think about such an obvious ruse, let alone respond to it.
Be careful.
Temari chided herself for acting without a rational thought before turning back and heading to the edge of the bath. Celebrating her triumph, Hinata eyed Temari's clothed body.
Shaking her head, Temari picked at the buttons of her cloak, undoing them and letting the two sides fall away. Slipping it off, she folded it into a neat pile near the door. Soon after, her blouse and skirt were removed, leaving her in just her underwear and boots.
Temari was not one to be shy around most people, except for him maybe, but something about the way that Hinata's milky eyes roved over her almost naked body unnerved her. Deciding that her best course of action was to use the water to stop the Hyuga's perverted gaze, Temari stepped out of her boots, letting her panties slide down her muscled legs. Before she dropped into the bath, she unclipped her bra and threw it onto pile as she sunk into the heated water.
In order to cover the majority of her body, Temari had to slink into the full depth of the water, her shoulder blades resting against the side. Straightaway, Temari felt the effects of the water on her body.
"Better?" Hinata asked.
Temari gave her answer in the form of a satisfied moan accompanying her lazy nodding.
"It sounded like you had a lot going on in the Land of Lightning, so I thought that a bath would be good for you" she explained.
Massaging her neck, Temari smiled at the sensation of all the knots that plagued her muscles beginning to dissipate.
"The girls seemed pretty worried about you" Hinata began to induce a simple conversation to the more at ease Temari.
Temari acknowledged her comment, but it did pose a curious thought. "Where are they? I'm surprised they weren't with you in the bath" she looked to the Hyuga for an answer.
"Sakura is examining the Hidden Cloud girl that Naruto brought back with you, Ino and Tenten are helping her"
"What's with her by the way? It sounded like Naruto had met her before" Temari asked, remembering Naruto's weird teasing whilst Shikamaru had the Hidden Cloud kunoichi trapped. Watching it, Temari couldn't help but pity her. Naruto's form was demonic, his crazed eyes attesting to the image. His hulking figure was just as terrifying as well, but none of his physical traits could hold a candle to his unpredictability.
"According to my beloved, she took out her anger for Sasuke's crimes on him" Hinata explained with a clear scowl marring her cute face.
And it didn't take Temari too long to work out what he had in mind when he took her back to the hideout with them. She would have thought that having to wait until the jinchuriki was done extracting the Eight Tails would be just excruciating.
"But, that'll be dealt with soon enough" Hinata scooted into the spot next to Temari. "I heard that you came across someone very interesting out there" her vibe carried a different intensity to the previous one.
Temari raised an eyebrow, searching for who Hinata could have meant. "And who was that?" she turned to meet Hinata's gaze.
The Hyuga giggled, covering her mouth with her dainty palm. "My old sensei, Kurenai Yuhi"
Her irritation must have been pretty clear on her face as Hinata burst into another fit of laughter. Temari grimaced at the images resurfacing at the forefront of her mind. Memories of Shikamaru's reactions to hearing her voice for the first time in a while. That wasn't the worst part however, it was the desperation in her voice when she saw him. And after Temari beat Sai, she had to witness Kurenai clinging onto Shikamaru like some lost puppy. What right did she have to do such a thing? He belonged to her, not some retired kunoichi.
Through gritted teeth. Temari tried to play it cool. "Oh, yeah… her" she muttered. Although, Hinata mentioning the Leaf kunoichi brought an interesting query from the back of Temari's mind. "So, if she is your old sensei then who is she to Shikamaru?" Temari asked, her shaky voice cautious in tone.
"Well, before he died, Kurenai became pregnant with Asuma's child a—"
Temari finished, working out the rest of the details. "And, Shikamaru took care and helped out during her pregnancy" she guessed, earning a soft nod from the Hyuga.
"Kurenai-sensei relied a lot on Shikamaru to watch Mirai" Hinata finished her explanation.
Scenes of Shikamaru babysitting Kurenai's child crowded Temari's thoughts. She couldn't stop the thoughts of the mature kunoichi thanking him for taking care of her daughter for her. What if her daughter saw Shikamaru as some sort of father figure? And if she did, then what was stopping Kurenai from seeing him as something similar? Maybe that was why she bothered Temari. It was almost like how she felt with Ino, but still it was different. She couldn't put her proverbial finger on why, but it wasn't the exact same.
"Temari?" Hinata's angelic voice interrupted her mess of thoughts. "Are you listening?"
The foreign kunoichi reset her focus on the current conversation. "Yeah, what were you saying?" she rolled her neck, trying to get one of the kinks out of her shoulders.
Her companion pouted. "I was trying to ask you about that favour you did for me"
"Favour?"
Clear eyes lit up with a glimpse of excitement, but there was also something dangerous about them. "That night with the girls, I'm sure you remember that" she nudged Temari's elbow.
Temari nodded. "What about it do you want to know?"
She came closer, resting her body against Temari's larger form, her soft shoulder brushing against Temari's muscled arm. "I want to know everything that you did to them that night" her breath hitched as she relayed her desire.
"And why do want to know that?" Temari asked, nervous about what answer she would receive.
"Because it seems like you made quite the impression on them" Hinata slipped into her lap, perching herself up on Temari's thigh, rippling with muscle. "And I need to know if you're the real deal or not" her palm caressed the foreign kunoichi's cheek, her stare roved over her face as if trying to memorise all the complex details of her features.
And before Temari could react, Hinata leaned in, pressing her lips against hers in one smooth motion.
A/N- Hey guys, how have you been? This chapter was kind of dialogue heavy but I think it's nice to have these to lead into the smut chapters. Anyways I hope that you've enjoyed and I'll see you next time.
Yours truly,
Signing off