Here's the new chapter! I hope you enjoy it. I know, I know, there's some action on this one, but It's all for the sake of romance. Here we go!
Chapter 3: Acceptance
Shikamaru stared at the Hokage with a lazy expression in his face.
"Well done Shikamaru you're on time for the second time today. Unfortunately seems like some of the persons the other villages sent are running a little late. We can't have this meeting without them obviously, so we'll reschedule for tomorrow"
"But… what am I suppose to do with her?" Shikamaru looked at Temari with a troublesome face
"Your assignment now is to take care of the accommodations of the person you're escorting. Your name is Temari right? From the sand? Oh! the Kazekage's sister correct? Shikamaru will take good care of you, even more now, otherwise just tell me and he'll be disciplined".
"Hai" Temari replied with a smirk on her face.
"But Hokage-sama, I don't have enough money to -" Shikamaru said but couldn't finish.
"I'm sure you'll figure out how. After all you're the smartest chunnin in our village." Tsunade-sama interrupted him while putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Hai" Shikamaru replied with an irritated look on his face.
-
"The Kazekage's sister?" Shikamaru asked keeping his sight on the road
"Yes, Garaa is now the Kazekage" Temari replied.
"I'd never imagine…" Shikamaru said with a surprised look.
"Me neither, until the chunnin exam 2 years ago. He changed drastically since then…"
"So where am I staying? I'll settle for nothing for the best" Temari asked Shikamaru
"I can't afford the best. You'll be staying in my house" Shikamaru replied
"In your house?" Temari said with an angry voice tone
Then again she knew there was probably no other choice. Besides… she'd be close…
"What am I thinking!" Temari shook her head trying to clear her thoughts
"What's wrong?" Shikamaru asked
"Shut up" she replied "Anyways, I suppose that I'll stand it, since it'll only be a night. But, it's too early to go to sleep. Show me interesting places of your village"
"Mmmmmmm no. I'm not your tourist guide. You're here for business and I'm not doing anything outside that" Shikamaru told her almost with an angry voice
"So… you don't want to spend time with me then…" Temari said whispering while looking down changing her attitude completely.
"What?" Shikamaru struggled to believe his ears, not even knowing what to reply
"Nothing" Temari replied regaining control
"Damn, it happened again" she though.
"If you won't do it then I'll go alone" Temari said to then start running away from him
"Wait! You don't even know where I live!" Shikamaru yelled, but he was ignored.
"What was that? Does she want me to spend time with her? That face… that voice tone… It's not like her at all… it's like that time…" Shikamaru wondered "I think I was too rude though…damn, I can't just let her go, if the Hokage finds out I'll be in trouble" he realized, so he decided to look for her immediately.
Before he had a chance to leave his thoughts were interrupted.
"Shikamaru" a familiar female voice behind him said "you're alone at last..." A thin blond girl said to him.
"Ino…"
"Can we talk now?" she asked
"I'm sorry Ino, I can't… right now I have to do something"
"Shikamaru it's really important that I talk to you, please" she seemed a bit desperate
"I'm sorry Ino, we'll do it later" ignoring her request Shikamaru started looking for Temari.
"What's going on… this two women I though I knew... are acting so strange... well, it's not time to think about that" Shikamaru though while looking around for Temari
-
It was after 11 and Shikamaru could not find Temari. It was getting late and his worries started to grow. He'd been on most of the places she could be, but had no luck in finding her.
Then suddenly out of nowhere he was surprised to hear a familiar voice
"Hello sensei!" the familiar voice yelled. He turned around and found Konohamaru staring at him with a smile.
"Ko- Konohamaru what are you doing here this late?" Shikamaru asked surprised
"I was just going home but I spotted you in my way and decided to say hi"
"You were just going home…? Listen Konohamaru, do you remember Temari the sand Kunoichi from 3 years ago?"
"Temari-chan? The sand Kunoichi?... yes! I saw her today"
"You saw her here today? Where is she?"
"Yes sensei! I recognized her immediately. She was going towards the gates like an hour ago I think… it looked like she was going outside...
Shikamaru was shocked.
"Thank you Konohamaru, go straight to your house now!" he said as he ran towards that same direction"
"Shikamaru-sensei! Where are you going?" Konohamaru asked yelling, but got no reply
"Damn it… outside... what is she thinking…" he ran desperately towards the gates knowing the dangers of being outside at these hours.
From a distant hidden spot a women spied on Shikamaru, as she'd done the past few hours. It was Ino that watched him running at the gates with a determination she'd seen very few times in him… it seemed like he was… motivated. Not thinking it twice Ino ran behind him, without being spotted, she needed to know what Shikamaru was up too. She'd been acting strange since he refused to talk to her earlier.
-
Shikamaru'd been looking for Temari in the forest for about 30 minutes with no success. His desperation was already taking over. His tactical skills and intelligence started to weaken at a concerning rate.
But he couldn't give up… he started to wonder if this was just about business… the little scene… that mood change a while ago had moved something in him… but this was no time to think about that. Just as he was submerged in his thoughts the sound of sobbing caught his attention. Not to far away he could hear, like someone was crying. It didn't take too long for Shikamaru to find the source. Sitting on the grass with her head supported by her legs, and her back against a tree Shikamaru could see Temari… crying.
At first he wasn't sure how to approach the situation. Off course he was relieved she was safe, but what was he going to do if he approached? If he even asked she'd probably just told him to shut up or mind his own business. There wasn't much choice though… he had bring her back as soon as possible, it was too late already and he'd be in trouble if someone spotted them coming back at this hours from the outside. No, he'd rather not go trough that. Not hesitating any further on one jump he appeared before the sand Kunoichi, scaring her a little.
"Temari…" he said with a low voice tone "Let's go to the village… it's too late to be outside" making his voice stronger and giving her his back.
"You don't even care why… I'm crying?" Temari said sobbing
Shikamaru was too surprised to react "how… how am I supposed to handle this? Should I ask what's going on? Or just -" Temari interrupted him in the middle of his thoughts.
"That time at the hospital… 3 years ago… the worst thing that could happen to me happened" Temari said almost whispering looking at the ground "for the first time… I felt the dependence and the impotence of… being attracted. I was so confused… I've never felt like that. It was a side of me I refused to open up… it would be against what I am to feel that… but you opened it. You created that confusion… I though I could just ignore these feelings, forget that ever happened… but yet, when they told me I was going to see you again I couldn't help to feel happy… I though maybe seeing you again could drive the it away… could wake me up but… when I saw you walking towards the gate earlier today… with a concerned expression on your face… I felt it all over again, even stronger than before... I really don't know wh-" Before Temari could finish she was cut off by someone using a sarcastic voice tone.
"Ohhh, how sweet. I'm sorry to burst your love talk but I have to ask you a few questions" a mysterious man appeared in the top of a tree.
"Who are you?" Shikamaru asked while pulling out a kunai
"My master is a member of the Akatsuki. I heard they are looking possible locations for the Kyuubi so I figured I'd look good and do some research on my own. I'm sure my master will be happy if I get any results" He said with a confident smile on his face
"I did some research on that Naruto kid, and found out who are the most likely people to know his location. I was lucky to find you here Nara Shikamaru, you were my first target" He said looking straight at Shikamaru "I need to know his location, tell me now"
"I don't know where Naruto is, but if I did it'll be too troublesome to tell you" Shikamaru replied returning the confident smile to him.
"Troublesome ha? Oh well, I'll try luck with your other friends then, right after you finish you off" His voice tone changed to a more threatening one.
Temari stood up quickly and grabbed her fan, amazingly regaining her control and strength
"Aren't you confident, well then we shall fight, stand back dimwit I'll handle this"
"I'm the one who's supposed to look after you"
"Shut it, I'm not asking"
Without hesitation Temari used her fan to launch a wind attack towards the unknown man" he was able to dodge it, but was not expecting such attack from the look of his face.
"Damn it I didn't expect no one else. I have no idea who this woman is… she looks strong though… I'll have to catch her with my Genjutsu as soon as possible, I don't think I have a chance on close combat" he though hiding behind the tree. "Bunshen no jutsu" he whispered while making the seal to do a replication. "I hope she falls for this. She's probably underestimating me for the way I dodged the attack… I only need to distract her a second".
Temari saw the man come out of his hideout apparently trying to run away.
"Don't even think that!" Temari yelled while swinging her fan against him.
"Behind you!" Shikamaru desperately tried to alert the sand Kunoichi. In a second he appeared behind her, Temari turned around to face him "Damn it a replication" he was holding a mirror of the size of his hand aiming at her face reflecting her eyes. In a flash Temari fell into a trance-like state. "Damn it" Shikamaru didn't expect her to have any trouble… since he barely dodged her first attack but he apparently caught her on some kind of Genjutsu.
"I'll have to fight" he told himself.
"Kagemane no jutsu" thanks to the moon light Shikamaru was able to launch his shadow towards the unknown ninja.
"Ah the shadow imitation, I know about this too. You try to take control of my body using your shadow. You don't have the element of surprise, you'll never caught me"
"Damn it" Shikamaru said while looking at the static Temari. What's she going trough…
-
Inside Temari head -
"Huh? Where am I? Temari opened her eyes. She found herself lying in the ground injured, but not badly.
"What happened… with the enemy…" she whispering feeling a little dizzy "where is… where is" suddenly Temari's eyes widened "Shikamaru!" she stood up quickly desperately looking for him with her sight. "Shikamaru" she yelled once again.
She took a few steps back fearing Shikamaru could have been captured… but she almost fell. Her foot touched something. She was scared to look but at the same time she couldn't help to do it… and found what she feared the most. Shikamaru's body layed there, lifeless.
She fell on her knees and then she stopped herself from falling to the ground with her hands. She held in her face a mix of desperation and confusion…
"Idiot, what… what are you doing" she smacked him trying to fool herself "wake up!" she yelled "I order you to wake up!" tears started streaming down her face. Then she began screaming.
-
"Damn it what's going on!" Shikamaru though
Temari was still standing in the same place but she seemed to be suffering. she had just started screaming and crying, holding her head desperately.
"Damn… the illusion this guy is using must be strong. I have to break it before it's too late… but how… there's no way I can surprise him… damn it I can't think clearly anymore" Shikamaru was afraid of that. Whenever he fell into desperation and he couldn't keep his calm it seemed like he was doomed. There was nothing else he could do.
"What are you thinking!" the enemy yelled throwing a kunai at him.
"No!" Shikamaru returned to the fight but it was too late. He managed to avoid a critical hit but the kunai got him in the arm, badly enough to prevent him from raising his arm without experiencing strong pain.
Looks like you can't move your arm anymore. That means you're finished. I guess I'll do it quick and save you from more suffering. You should be thankful.
"Damn it… is this… it?"
The man stood up in front of Shikamaru raising his kunai to the air.
"Die!" he screamed.
Shikamaru closed his eyes awaiting the impact but after a few seconds, realized it wouldn't happen.
"What-t?" he opened his eyes looking up at the man. He was still standing there.
""Shikamaru…" the man said. Shikamaru was unable to see his expression.
"Hi!" he showed him a big smile.
"Huh? What's going on?"
"Good thing I was around, you could have died here"
"I-Ino!"
The man smiled again.
Shikamaru flinched when he heard a loud scream by the sand Kunoichi.
"Temari!" without even thanking Ino, Shikamaru ran towards Temari as quickly as he possibly could.
He shook her trying to wake her looking for her reaction; at the same time he felt an intense pain coming from his arm. He had wasted too much charka as too, and he felt as he was close to collapse. He suddenly felt relived, Temari seemed to be sleeping. Apparently she managed to brake out of the Genjutsu but fallen asleep.
"Ino, thank you. You really saved us this time" Shikamaru said, standing up.
"Shikamaru!" a strong male voice yelled approaching them. It was Asuma-sensei.
"Asuma-sensei, what are you doing here?" Shikamaru said surprised, but with a weak expression.
"I ran into one of your students earlier. He told me you went outside, and I came here looking for you. What are you doing out here at this hours idiot?" he scolded him with a wondering expression.
"Shikamaru are you alright?" Ino asked Shikamaru who looked pale.
"Please… take care of Temari… take her to my house" after saying that Shikamaru collapsed to the ground and his consciousness went away.
Well, that's it, thank you for reading. I hope you liked it, I'll try update within a week this time, since my admission exam to college is in a month and I want to have at least 3 weeks to study. See ya.