Shikamaru ambled down the corridor of the hospital. He had been in a good mood since returning from the mission but being in the hospital made him remember that time, when he had been waiting for news as to whether any of his friends would survive. Since then, the hospital always soured his mood. At least this time no one was in danger of dying but Kankuro's arm would take a few days to heal enough for him to make the journey home. He half smiled as he thought about that, as it would also mean that she would not be leaving for a few days yet either. She could be infuriating but as long as she was around he was never bored.
"Feh! I'm becoming nearly as foolish as my old man." He smiled to himself, his mood momentarily lifting again.
As he approached Kankuro's room Shikamaru began to make out voices. He recognised the woman's voice straight away. He should have realised that she wouldn't miss an opportunity to make her brother squirm.
"It's just too careless. To become badly injured on such a simple mission, and by a muscle brained tank like that! Huh, you must be slipping."
As Shikamaru reached the doorway, he saw Temari leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. A playful smile took the sting from Temari's words but her brother had still turned red with embarrassment and irritation.
"As if you were doing any better before prince charming arrived and saved you." He said grumpily. Needless to say, this had Temari spitting mad and Kankuro was looking like he might want the words back before he spotted Shikamaru frozen in the doorway. An evil smile spread across his face as he saw his way out. "Speaking of whom..."
Temari whirled to face the doorway, her face flashing crimson in embarrassment before she managed to regain her composure. The momentary show of emotion was quickly replaced by her usual haughty mask though and the cold smile she turned on her brother was enough to make Shikamaru shiver.
"I'll see you later, 'Cry-Baby' Kankuro."
Kankuro winced at the nickname as Temari stormed out.
"'Cry-Baby' Kankuro?" Shikamaru said, a wry smile on his face.
Kankuro put his good hand over his face. "Please, I'd rather not talk about that now. Ugh, that girl drives me nuts!" He dropped his hand and looked at Shikamaru. "You don't have any sisters do you?" Shikamaru shook his head. " Huh, lucky." He sighed. "She'll never let me forget this you know. I mean, what was I supposed to do? The guy had rock for skin! Literally!" He let his head fall back while letting out another big sigh.
"How's your arm now?" Shikamaru asked, mercifully changing the subject.
Kankuro brightened at this. "Good! I had heard that Tsunade Samma was a great medical ninja but I had expected to be out of action for weeks. In stead it looks like it will only take a few days. Also, it really helped to have Sakura on hand to treat it."
"Here, I got you something." Shikamaru tossed a small pouch onto the bed. It clinked as it landed.
Kankuro picked up the bag and looked inside.
"They're rock-drilling darts. I figured you would want to be prepared next time." Shikamaru had a sly grin on his face.
Kankuro laughed and thanked him before Shikamaru left him to puzzle over the best way to incorporate them into his puppets.
As he left the building, he was surprised to see Temari leaning against the wall by the door. When she saw him she stepped away from the wall, her arms still crossed over her chest.
"While my brother is recovering I'm going to need a new training partner. I figured that since you so desperately need to work on your chakra stamina you could use one too."
Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. Gah, this was troublesome. Her Idea of a training session would probably be fatal. Still, if he said no then she would get pissed at him, and next to Hokage Samma and his mother she was the most troublesome woman he knew...
"Ah, sounds like a good idea." He said, trying to sound more enthusiastic than he felt. Making it look like he was doing her a favour would only make her even madder than if he had refused. "I have a place I like to go for training so if I meet you here tommorrow..."
"What's wrong with right now?" The challenge in Temari's eyes quashed any hopes Shikamaru had of a quiet afternoon.
Shikamaru knew when he was beaten.
"Sure, why not?"