We made it guys we did it!
I'm not saying nothing, its 12k words
Enjoy!
Edited 5/4/2022
They had managed to keep the battle of Team seven and Kurostuchi from acquiring more units to aid the enemy in her battle, her numbers evening out to match her opponents, her back to the cliffside against the combined attacks of the fourLeaf shinobi. Shikamaru's team and Temari's still missing after they earthquake had split them apart, though at least they had succeeded to stay near one another, each calculating how and when to strike to keep they enemy at bay, their backs towards one another, the leaders of Sand and Leaf protecting one another.
The swing of a steel fan, the three moons flashing, the furious shout to accompany all of it, sent the advancing three rock shinobi tumbling back under the harsh unforgiving wind that crashed into them, the corner of her lips rising with her successful strike. Shikamaru only took a second to admire the save, before turning to his own scene, the battles in the distance the least of his concern, he focused on the Sand shinobi, watching each and every one, to be the first to see the start of the betrayal. Their order to attack not given by the looks at their valiant efforts to attack the Earth shinobi without mercy, Leaf shinobi coming to their aid if need be, they almost looked like true allies, but the suspicion still stood, the shout behind him quickly turning his attention back, ready.
"My Lady!" Temari whipped her head around the shout for her name coming from Daizen, the eldest one from her unit, a loyal or rebel Shikamaru couldn't tell yet, though man looked to kind to hurt a fly with the relieved smile he gave his Captain.
"Daizen, your made it past the earthquake?" Temari looked surprised for a fleeting second and shot the man a pleased grin, like that to an old friend.
"Of course, I did" he huffed taking a second to give her a wide grin and put his fist into his chest "I'm not that old yet you know" he composed himself and looked between then, now concerned "Are you two alright? I saw that you had made it to this side and got here as fast as I could"
"We are fine" Temari confirmed, Daizen breathed a sigh of relief "what about the others?"
"When the earthquake started, I lost sight of almost everyone, but I did see Saku with the Yukata and Matsuri they managed to make it across the other side" he looked to Shikamaru holding the stare he knew he'd been set on casting to the older man "I also saw your squad over there as well, everyone looked uninjured from the attack" Shikamaru nodded, a brief glance at Temari, her sights set away from them.
"Alright from here on out keep anyone else from entering the battle between the jinchuriki and Kurostuchi" Temari turned back into the crowd, her order given, her focus returning.
"Yes Ma'am" he nodded firmly and looked to Shikamaru, the dark glare watching him carefully, calculating Daizen, when he nodded to him the once mistrustful dark eyes widened and slowly shut easing his suspicion, before Daizen turned away raising his own pale cream fan to the crowd, both ready to protect. The instance the three created their barrier to keep the unwanted from entering the battle behind them, it seemed that those closest had seen the blast of a powerful rasengan connecting with the end of the cliffside, the explosion of dust and rocks flying into the air like a single, their enemy noticed it just as they did.
"Get to Kurostuchi!" one of the rock shinobi called out, those who heard followed at the sides as they rushed towards their leader to aid her, the barrier that stood in their way readied to strike. The simultaneous kunai thrown quickly noticed.
"Duck!" Daizen shouted, his cream-colored fan shifting beside him, ready to attack, the kunai connecting with the air current thrown towards him, and the eruption blasting into the attack before him, the paper bomb that had been attached creating a blurry haze in the air, blocking their view of the Rock shinobi advancing. Shikamaru looked past his arm to the cloud of smoke, the shout of a justu, the rock shinobi had created a diversion to blind them, the shogi pieces shifting on the board, spurring his instinct to move, to think on his feet. His gaze quickly catching the sight of the earth shuddering under them, almost groaning at the thought of another troublesome earthquake, but it wasn't as he'd expected.
The rock pillars Kurostuchi had managed to make earlier rushed towards them, this version smaller than hers and shooting out in a straight line headed for the two wind users. Daizen and Temari dodged the earth rising before where they had once stood, each moving lightly on their feet, as if they barely touched the ground when they moved to either side of the rock barrier headed towards the one who had produced it, fans carried at their sides in the merciless united strike they gave to the shinobi at the end of the barrier, their combined efforts sending the unsuspecting shinobi into the crowd with a echoing cry. Temari looked through the haze, and with further disinterest in fighting blind, shifted her fan to the side.
"Dazien clear the area" she called to him, Dazien shifting on command to mimic her as they threw a united current of wind around themselves, a few surprised shouts at the sudden push of the wind and the dust settled. The area now able to be seen, things began to shift, the sides began to blur, and she had been prepared for this, they had been prepared for this. Looking over to Daizen, she heard him gasp the rock shinobi who had once been on the attack, weren't there, before them stood a squad of six Sand shinobi weapons raised, rock shinobi dropped onto the ground, pools of blood laying under them.
"Lady Temari?" Daizen glanced cautiously at her, the darkened teal gaze staring past the edge of her fan at her own Sand shinobi, the diversion made by the Earth taken advantage of from the rebels, she'd been watched since the start of the battle, the inevitable has begun.
"A little early for this don't you think?" scanning the six before her, she glanced back to Daizen, the sudden wariness washed away at his own surprise, he didn't know about the rebellion, but when he looked to his leader the look of fierce determination casted on his expression, reassured her.
"Should have suspected this sooner with Lord Gaara's injury" he murmured to her "This is how things started with your father" Temari tensed at the mention, it wasn't exactly surprising news that her father had his fair share of disloyal shinobi after what happened with Gaara's loss of control thirteen years ago "one by one they tried to come at him, but none could get past us" Daizen shot her a encouraging grin "I failed once to protect our Kazekage, but I'm not going to let the same happened to you or your brothers my Lady"
"Look at you, being a gentle old man Daizen, one might think that you cared" she called back to him, the taunt answered with a chuckle.
"I'm not that old yet young lady, I've still got some fight left in me and a duty to my village to uphold" he smirked "just wait for it" he said expectantly. The sand shinobi shifted their weapons and in unison rushed forward, the start of the hell she knew all too well, betrayal coming back to rear its ugly head.
"Get down!" the shout a command, so familiar as she's been told this before a couple of weeks back, so close by. Daizen moved before her digging his fan into the ground in defense, Temari looking from the traitors towards him in confusion. The shine of metal flying over their heads, the sight of a paper bombs attached to it. Looking towards the thrown weapon was the last thing she saw before someone grabbed her from behind, her arm captured under a firm grasp as she was pulled back into something rough. She caught a glimpse of the rock barrier that had been behind her and soon shut her eyes to the noise pressing into a vest during the attack. The sudden smell of forest and smoke distracting her from the chaos the ensured, the flash of light and smoke lifting into the air, the deafening sound the earth shaking and breaking under the blast, and her hidden behind something, trapped in a familiar embrace.
Two months ago
That lazy man.
Temari shook her head, almost disappointed, to see him napping on that hill he liked so much. She might have been secretly envious that he always found some peace away from camp, so easily relaxed that it frustrated her. Her rival was definitely an unusual man, one side a challenge who could win a fight with a single move the other side simply lazy and a coward, though that seemed to be replaced with a certain smugness lately. She found herself dropping from the branches and coming to stand behind his head, the opportunity to good to pass up. Leaning down she rested her hands on her knees and observed the arm draped over his eyes, the steady rise and fall of his chest, he really was asleep, thinking to herself how much of a kick she was about to get out of this.
"Hey Shikamaru" Temari whispered, her voice seemingly to quiet to wake him as he continued to sleep "Shikamaru wake up" she tried louder, but nothing "I said" she leaned down further "wake up!" when she finally shouted he jerked and sat up looking rapidly from side to side only looking back when Temari breathed a mocking giggle of amusement at his sudden alertness, and leaned back to put her hands on her cocked hips "I could have killed you just now, and you'd probably sleep through the whole thing"
"Temari" he quickly stood, not in fear but more in defense, he looked ready to fight, probably because when he did see her it usually ended up being a quick match, fans shadows and words all good weapons "what are you doing here?" he asked warily.
"Wanna fight?" Temari straightened, though sounding disinterested in her own question.
"Not really" he said cautiously, the invitation eating at his confusion.
"Good" Temari unclipped her fan "I'm not in the mood either" sitting back on the grass, she set her fan to the side, leaning against her palms, and crossing her legs at the ankle, shutting her eyes as she relaxed. No wonder he'd been napping, the breeze was nice, the sun was just right, not to hot not to cold, the feel of the grass was like a soft blanket, no rough sand.
"Then why did you ask?" he looked down to her, the uncertainty of her actions and calm demeanor burning through his mind as he tried to read into her, though he seemed to loosen up when she shrugged.
"Thought maybe you finally got the courage to fight me for real" she opened her eyes slightly, dragging her gaze over him deliberately slow in the manner and smirked when the nervous energy began "but guess not"
"Then what are you doing in Fire country?" his question hid his unease well enough.
"What are you doing napping?" she shot back, teasing for fun, instead of the usual need to throw him off his game during a match.
"It's called a break" he moved from his position finally, bringing a hand to his neck and rubbing it as he stepped forward "ever heard of one?" he muttered and moved to sit back down keeping his distance from her, still tense, as if she'd strike at any moment.
"Looks more like slacking, captains don't take breaks we should always be ready and alert for anything" she glanced away from him and scanned the silent forest, they were alone, but true to her word she didn't want to fight him, not now at least. She had her mind focused on the recent problems in Suna since what had happened to Gaara, from the assassination attempts to the recent suspicions and for some reason she chose to leave camp, in search of something to escape from it.
"Are you going to start lecturing me again like last time" he groaned, glaring over at her.
"You want me to?" she looked at him, his annoyance sparked without her even trying "I can always give you some more advice seeing as you're not as experienced as me" He grunted and slowly began to reach into his vest, the familiar clink of metal she'd heard before "I was patrolling" she muttered, hearing the surprised shut of the lighter.
"Any reason?" he gave her a suspicious look, the cigarette clinging to his lips as he began to analyze her again.
"Not really" she shrugged "I like to go off on my own sometimes, see what kind of rumors I can hear from the nearby villages" She flashed him a smug grin, teasing, though truthful about what she did on occasion "or from your camp" his eyes narrowed "You'd be surprised what your shinobi talk about"
"How exactly do you do that without being noticed?" He held her eyes for a second, before she looked away with a shrug.
"Why should I share that with you?" she hummed leaning back into the grass and crossing her arms behind her head, taking a deep breath and releasing a content sigh looking up into the clear blue sky, cloud watching "I've been doing it for years now without being noticed" She knew he'd never strike first, and he would never take an advantage as easy as this to kill her, to gentle, too much of a coward she thought "Some secrets are better left unsaid Shikamaru, so don't push your luck in trying to ask how I do it"
"You're the one who decided to come here and talk to me like were friends" the irritation in his voice, a drag from the cigarette, quickly melting when she started chuckling gradually coming to a soft laugh by the time he finished speaking.
"How cute you think were friends" She faced him, still lying back, and pulled at her lips flashing the wide toothy smile, the one where he stared for a moment to long, before looking away quickly and burning red, she had been using that move since day one. Something about his reaction made her pleased inside, sure, she could steer a smile to any other man and get the same reaction, but when she first saw it on him it just became something she couldn't pass up, every match from then on had the smile, whether to unnerve him or just simply see him stare she never quite thought on it. The lines between the arts of seduction and deception always seemed to blur in the kunoichi book, or some other artform she couldn't quite figure out "Think of this conversation as an interrogation, just with less effort on the torture part of it" There was a brief moment where they just sat in an almost comfortable silence, eyes to the sky, before he spoke, slow and wary.
"So" he kept his gaze up picking his words carefully "your bored and came to pick on me again?"
"If it makes you feel better then sure that's why I'm here" she shrugged, casual as she kept a firm gaze at the floating cloud above, relaxed.
"This isn't exactly normal you know, you just showing up to talk" another cautious attempt to gage her mood "You usually make me fight you, or you yell at me"
"You prefer it when we fight and I kick you ass every single time?" she didn't look at him, but could sense the roll of his eyes, she was known to cover her threat under a coat of sweetness but being blunt still did its job.
"No not really" he grumbled, she sighed and explained.
"I have no reason to kill you" she casted him a quick glance "yet, but it's only a matter of time before you do something stupid and then I'll have no choice but to end your life like the others, I've said it before and you know I don't like repeating myself Shikamaru"
"You are a troublesome woman Temari" he rolled his head back and groaned, at least she did her part in messing with him for her own fun.
"Thanks Crybaby" she glanced over at him, a prideful smirk growing on her lips.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" The annoyance returned, another drag, but she knocked it down quick with the memory.
"Where do I began" she groaned, ready to call him out and he sighed regretting asking instantly as he head sank down "you're barely motivated when you need to do something, and sometimes you need a good kick to get you to complaining about every little thing" she looked at him "And the giving up, I mean I kinda make you do it most of the time, but it's still annoying because I know you're better than that" she rolled her eyes and settled her voice even and striking the last remark in a unexpected direction, covering her compliment "And I've seen you cry before" she felt him tense, uneasy suddenly in a new way she thought this was new territory with him "thought Crybaby was a fitting name for you" the tease was more of a statement rather than a purposeful attempt to make him uncomfortable, attempting to read into him now.
"You have?" he looked instantly embarrassed; the notion of a man crying was always that they weren't supposed to do it. A moment meant for privacy, and she had witnessed it, she was surprised when she saw it, but continued on her curiosity spurred.
"It was right after you started smoking" the shift was subtle at first, he knew instantly what she was talking about "I'm guessing you picked that up from that shinobi, the one you got that lighter from" his shoulders raised "I believe he was your sensei?" she waited, her eyes firmly set on him, his turned down, avoiding her.
"Asuma" Shikamaru muttered looking away, biting the cigarette for a second, the name was enough to suddenly darken his mood, she watched him through the corner of her eye. This was definitely a man he knew and cared for, he missed him, he had cried for him after all. That silent rage he had developed almost two years ago, she remembered that as she began speaking solemnly keeping her tone even and free of the harsh edge, still an edge but smoother, she could even call it concerned it you tilted your head and squinted really hard.
"He died" the blunt statement a fact, needing no response to know she was right, she softened her glare at him for moment and sighed "I see it still bothers you" Sitting up she glanced back over at him, keeping her face impassive and her arms hanging off her knees as she tilted her head down to look at his face, words true but firm "Shikamaru shinobi are always prepared to die you know this, it's one of the first things we learn" He didn't meet her gaze, clearly the subject bothered him, too soft she thought, but she couldn't help speaking in quieter tone, one where you'd have to really listen to see she knew how this feeling felt, and knew how to hide her take on it better than he could "Well don't start bawling when I leave, shinobi don't cry you know it is a weakness too easy to manipulate" He sighed, eyes still turned away, his interest seeming to waver in the conversation, she was being ignored and she found it frustrating when he did this during battle, avoiding her, giving up like he usually did "You're overthinking it, you'll get a headache you know" with a huff faking a normal conversation again she spoke to change the subject as comfort wasn't much her thing, so she might as well push him off the cliff so to speak and force his attention "I've got business in Suna for the next few days" maybe she'd give him a reason to listen to her "and Kankuro will be in charge while I'm gone, so don't let me hear that you tried to sneak into our territory" he was listening now with her simple hint of a upcoming battle, but it was forced on his part. There were only two reasons they left the front, to either get a direct order from their Kage or attend a meeting with their war councils "not that you would actually take that advantage" she finished feigning the knowledge that he knew what was to come.
"You've been gone for nearly two months" He muttered, of course he'd notice her absence, did he know why though "and the first thing you decided to do was drop on by ask me to fight, tell me you're leaving, and threaten me for what? The fun of it?" she hid her grin poorly, biting her lip to try and dim it, when he glared back over to her, annoyed so easily, the suspicion as to why she had been gone fueling the question, she knew why, and he didn't, and it bothered him.
"See this is why you're fun to have you around, as lazy as you are you're a challenge when your motivated long enough" she allowed the smile to widen slightly "and you've actually listened to my advice" he scoffed, his mood seemingly better than before.
"Kinda hard not to listen to you when you have a giant fan crushing your chest" he muttered keeping his eyes on her now, relaxed and staring, she looked innocently at him, slowly pulling the smug smile while she spoke.
"Consider it motivation, I've done worse with my fan than just use it to pin you down Shikamaru" he grimaced slightly at the dark words when she turned back smirking at him "a lot worse" she repeated for effect and he let out a sigh, cruel being an understatement for the woman. Changing her tone to the edge, a warning for him she continued "Listen you know how Kankuro gets around the border when I'm gone" She huffed, her brother was known to disturb the patrols just for kicks, if he wasn't occupied which she'd make sure to keep him out of trouble while she was gone. Gaara came first, so the less trouble outside of Suna the better "he likes to pick a fight every chance he gets, so consider yourself lucky he hasn't gotten a real chance to fight you alone"
"That's because you always come after me" he muttered, looking at though he was sulking at the idea.
"Rivals always fight each other and you don't seem to mind it when it's just us" she stated as a fact, a mock making him tense and she flashed him a short, amused grin in making him uncomfortable in a familiar way "besides I prefer my battles to be with you rather than the others, keeps things quick when you give up on me" he looked up to her, a moment of silence before he sighed, back to giving up on the conversation. She took the silence as her chance to leave and stood clipping her fan behind her, the movements watched quietly on his part before he spoke.
"Don't worry we both know I haven't stepped on Sand territory since I got here" he reassured her, not that she needed to be comforted by the obvious "and I don't plan to do it anytime soon" she looked over to him, moving a step closer.
"See you around" she leaned down and flicked his forehead with a smirk "Crybaby" the action causing him to wince, whether in surprise or unease at her sudden touch, she didn't stay to see as she made her way towards Suna, a calm smile following her.
Pulling back from her hair, he briefly looked through the hazy dust filled air, the save unseen by the ones around them, distant shouts and groans heard, but nothing seen through the smoke and dust around them. His arm held her tightly against him, the embrace almost familiar, the other wrapped between her sandy tuffs holding her head firmly into his chest, the reminder that this hadn't been the first time he'd done this almost making him grin when he looked down at her, the teals meeting his eyes, as suspected angry.
"You alright?" he looked down to her only to be met with the most irritated look she could muster, blushing though, possibly by the arms wrapped around her waist holding her to him, his fingers just brushing the bag at her hip.
"Not this again!" she pushed away from him, his arms loosening under her demand, so much for that wide eyed stare he'd gotten the first time he'd saved her. Frustrating really to save someone who clearly was thankful for it, even though it was deep inside, like, so deep down he'd have to really put effort into seeing it past her glare.
"You're welcome" he stated, keeping a firm gaze to her uncomfortable red cheeks.
"Why do you insist on saving me, I can do it myself" she turned away form him squinting to see through the hazy dust, unable to see anyone, but the distant shouts still rang on.
"Only you would get mad at something like this" he muttered looking around with her before catching her eye and the frustration took over "you know most women would be glad to have a man save them"
"Well, I'm not like most woman" she shot back and turned to glare at him, the control in her voice back, the harsh edge she had, he was completely unfazed.
"No you're not, you know you're the most troublesome woman I've ever met" his tone returned to a calm, the instant he finished she snatched his collar with both hands and proceeded to get close and yell at him. He bit back a grin, she was nervous, or uneasy really, back to freaking out like he'd been noticing from her as of lately.
"I thought I said not to do anything stupid" she bit back her shouting words for a second and glared to the side of his head, pushing him back into the barrier behind him and let go of the collar. He furrowing his brows as to why she wasn't looking at him now "Great you're bleeding again, happy now you idiot" she muttered and reached down ripping the end of her scarf, not thought behind the motion, in a single swipe to put it to the side of his head, the wince away from the sudden touch to the gash on the side of his head, met with a hiss at the sting of the not so gentle touch when she wiped at the cut "It's like you're doing this on purpose"
"Why is it I find myself getting hurt every time I'm near you?" she scoffed, and once again alert looked away, gaze set to find the next target.
"Will you stop complaining, we have to get moving, if they already started now there will be more waiting for us when this settles" seeing her point he grabbed her wrist, the motion turning her attention to him, as he pushed her hand from the wound.
"The bomb didn't get them all, it was meant to give us time to direct them somewhere else" as he said it, she slowly furrowed her brows, thoughtful before nodding "We need to keep them away from Naruto and Kurostuchi"
"You didn't tell him?" she looked surprised for a second, eyes widening.
"No, he needs to focus on his own battle, this attack is between your people and us" He pulled away from the barrier behind him, closer to her, the moment to brief as he pushed up to stand pulling her up with him, his hand still on her wrist. She rose to stand beside him, eyes shifting down to her wrist before turning away, almost hastily, her arm following, his grip gone.
"We have to find them first" she looked back to him, his gaze set to the sky, squinting slightly to make out the shape of a painted bird, she followed the birds' movements for a moment before it dipped out of sight. Shikamaru shifted slightly and turned to her.
"We have to get out of this, Sai gave the signal" he called back to her.
"That being?" she waited expectantly.
"His job was to let us know where they were" he glanced back, the main battle behind him "We have to move forward, think you can clear the way?" Temari scoffed, almost insulted by the question.
"Honestly Shikamaru, it's like you don't even know me at all" She rolled her eyes and gaged quickly where she had been before, her fan was just out of reach she knew that, first she'd need to get to it. Following the barrier back to where she had been, he followed beside her, the dust beginning it's decent during their conversation, it began to clear, the scene somewhat easier to see through. They used it as cover for as long as it lasted and by the end of the barrier, she could see her weapon lying alone, the marks in the dirt where Daizen's fan had been, gone. The sense of being watched sparking her caution as she grabbed her fan and looked around the clearing field, bodies, some Sand some Earth lying limp, some groaning, still alive. When she turned her gaze to the side, the feeling returned, the dust was clearing.
"Temari" She looked back to Shikamaru at the call of her name, his hands coming to grip her shoulders, his face set in a serious concern "Don't get into trouble" his grip dragged down to her arms, tightened for a second, her sudden confusion her only response.
"What?" She managed before Shikamaru looked past her and without hesitation pushed her aside his hands coming back to quickly throw out a sign for his shadow possession, towards a man, face wrapped and sudden gasp snapping her attention to him. Temari didn't waste time as she shot a sneer towards him, the bloodied tip of the blade that would have jabbed into her back shuddering under a shadow, the body laying behind him, laying behind his cream-colored fan.
"Figured you'd be one of them, what still mad about the nose?" with a short laugh she looked to Shikamaru as he kept his focus on Kenji, the man's blue gaze turned from him to her when she spoke.
"Stop bringing it up" he snapped, narrowed his eyes at her "it's still crooked because of you"
"Learn to keep your hands to yourself next time" she found no amusement in saying it, her gaze firmly set on the cream-colored fan behind him.
"Yeah, next time" Kenji grinned under the wraps and looked past her, the gesture guiding her to quickly move and jump aside, further from Shikamaru, as Hiro narrowly missed stabbing her from behind, why was everyone trying to stab her in the back, the thought sparking her fire to fight even more. "Hiro the shadow!" Hiro rushed towards her, narrowly missing the shadow that had shot out towards him, the warning from Kenji his save. Shikamaru looked from where he had been watching Hiro to Kenji. Hiro with no hesitation began swinging the kunai down towards her, the widen of his eyes causing him to gasp mid strike as the fan slipped open, to fast, the ruthless smile accompanying it, and before he knew it, he was thrown back into the cliffside in a current of wind, the sound of his cry echoing around them, but the ongoing battle around them quickly drowning out Hiro as he fell to the ground, still.
"Was that it?" She called out to Kenji, sounding disappointed, his gaze firmly set on the blue gaze looking at her, as best as he could under the shadow, but Kenji chuckled.
"A distraction my Lady" he called out, the mention only giving enough time for the two to see the shadow behind Shikamaru, the tip of the blade glinting behind the rock barrier, before they could move, it hit its mark.
"Shikamaru!" Her shout to warn him seemed to deafen the noise around her, she felt her body move, but as Saku drew the blade of the weapon into Shikamaru's lower back, she froze, the shock of the hit causing his teeth to bare into a pained gasp, a hit so sudden even he couldn't predict it. Shikamaru's hands pulled apart, the shadow retreating instantly, Kenji before him snickering as he straightened and turned his gaze from the reddened blade tip to Saku, his hold on the blade firmly pushing into his target.
"Well, that could have gone better" Kenji chuckled, looking form Saku to Temari, her shock enough to amuse him further.
"Shut up will you" Saku pushed a hand off Shikamaru's back, pulling his blade with a harsh jerk, the motion forcing Shikamaru to put a hand over the bleeding wound and fall to his knees with a hiss "You failed your part, she's still alive, how hard exactly is it to stab someone" Saku narrowed his eyes at Kenji, clearly disliking the man, who looked over at Temari gaze wide and focused on Shikamaru, the blood from the side of his mouth beginning to drip down his chin the only thing she could focus on, yet he looked so damn annoyed by the whole situation.
"Well, her ally here just got in my way is all" Kenji turned to blade to Temari, the motion, the glint of the metal awaking her as she pulled her eyes away from the blood to the blue stare pointed her way "No offense my Lady, but you get it don't you? You can blame Rasa for all of this and I'm sure your brothers are probably dead by now and your little savior here is also going to die just like all your other loyal followers" she gripped her fan closing it with a harsh metallic slam, fearless, vengeful, pissed. There was no sneer, no smirk, no taunt as he rushed towards her, the blade connected with the edge of her fan, in the same motion, she pushed his weapon from her and swung her clenched fist into him, like she did years ago, the hit connecting with his nose a second time, forcing his head back as he shouted out in surprise and fell backwards onto the ground, the fan coming down to push into his chest, holding him still.
"I said I'd show you mercy once" the might of her calm rage now a storm, her fan rose and swung forward landing a solid hit into his head, the details of the hit so vague she didn't notice the blood splattered over her when she looked back to Saku who winced, but seemed unfazed by her gaze pointed at him, no shudder, no stammer as he spoke, looking from the body to her.
"That's gotta hurt huh?" He chuckled and in raised his hand, two fingers ready to call out his attack, the same move her sensei knew, her advance stopping the instant the threat was clear cautious now to make a move to rash, his other hand other holding the tip of the blade to Shikamaru's back, digging into the vest in further warning, him pushing past the pain from his previous hit, to look back with an annoyed glare at Saku, there were two threats now, even if she took one out the other would strike "so how long have you been consorting with the enemy my Lady?" He waited her response, that being her own annoyance, though still royally pissed at the vulgar suggestion.
If she moved now, he'd strike before she could make it, her fan wouldn't help much either as he'd simply counter it, plus Shikamaru would get hit, and he already looked pretty beaten. After all, Saku had been on her main unit for nearly seven years, he knew every move she had, but she also knew his, they were at a standstill, she was still the stronger user though, but like any coward he hid behind his target, her only reason to hesitate. Her mind searched on as he spoke finding a way to avoid the inevitable, the jutsu would kill for sure, the blade could wound, unless hitting the right spot. Shikamaru looked to her, his thoughts seeming to match her own, it wasn't exactly an easy situation to figure out so simply without someone getting seriously hurt or worse dead, so much for watching your backs when one of them had two blades pointed at it.
"You know I've wondered" As he continued Temari caught the shut narrowed eyes and bloodied hands quietly linked, Saku to busy talking to notice Shikamaru was in thought, forming a plan in his advantage of being unwatched "for a couple of years now why you hadn't killed him, turns out you're just a traitor in a different sense" she sighed with disinterest, this conversation didn't deserve her respect and she made it clear, yet he went on "Looks like we had been right to get rid of your clan, the whole lot of you Subakuno members have done nothing but harm Suna since the Fourth Kazekage began going mad after Gaara was born" He went on, her brows furrowed in impatience and she leaned her elbow against her fan casually waiting for him to stop talking, for him to stop thinking, for her family history to stop being revealed. Her clan wasn't exactly a short chapter in Suna's history, there was a fair share of good and bad things to be said, and there were more bad things to be said than good at this point, no wonder some nations questioned them "took us seven years to get to here and it helped me piece some things together, why do you think I pushed to get to your unit in the beginning? So that when the time came, I could strike you down" the nervousness entered his voice and he stammered for a moment as if confessing "I can't help that I liked you, you could be so nice, I mean you are a very bea-" he stopped abruptly as Temari shouted over to him, her willpower to listen further, gone.
"Your point Saku?" Temari snapped her fingers interrupting him "Stop rambling about nonsense it's rude and quite frankly it's annoying to keep listening to you" uninterested in hearing what he had to say and demanding he finish speaking on the issue at hand. Her gaze shifting down to the bored look of Shikamaru as he'd finished thinking, whatever he planned to do she'd be ready, that blade to his back jabbed in slightly.
"You're so cruel, why can't you-" Saku began his nervous shout returning, but remained in his threatening stance.
"Either finish talking or stab me already, man this is such a drag" Shikamaru grumbled looking back at Saku when he cut him off, the blade to his back pushed in to quiet him, the tip pushing into the vest enough to pierce skin, but not go all the way through.
"You two are very-" Saku tried again, unaware that Temari had pulled away from her casual pose and straightened, the threatening shout more than enough to catch their attention.
"You're wasting our time here" Temari called out again forcing her eyes away from the blade as she moved her weapon to sit closed in her arm, Saku looked between them with frustration the hesitation to speak prompting Temari to shout now annoyingly "and I hate waiting" the threat made Saku grin slightly, giving up on his speech, he'd heard that warning more than once from her it seemed.
"Always so impatient, no wonder they call you the cruelest" he sighed "my point is you're about to get very messy my Lady" he warned in a such a calm all-knowing voice yet was met with a dark teal glare and a wary question.
"Is that so?" when she spoke, he chuckled.
"Did you forget who was there when Kankuro was poisoned and Gaara died?" Temari faltered, the subtle shift in her gaze, widening at the reminder, caught by Saku and Shikamaru "We all saw what happened to you Temari" with a smirk to her further silence he finished "guess you have a weakness too" before finishing his words Shikamaru rose from one knee leaning back into the blade, forcing it to push into his shoulder, through flesh, as he turned to throw a shadow. One mistake was all it took, the shift of her eyes to him as he fell to his back was all Saku needed to call upon his now opened palm in her rare hesitation, the shadow that caught Saku too late to stop it, and the force of the sudden wind pushing her backwards towards the other side of the ravine.
She had hesitated again, and it had cost her.
The night before the battle.
Ino stared back at Shikamaru her eyes widened and mouth gapping as she fought her mind to speak but her body was frozen, the shock of his words, his orders, to unreal to believe. He remained calm as if what he said didn't bother him, as if he'd accepted it all already, possibly he was just as in shock as she was or to bored to care to show it. Yamato glanced from Ino to Shikamaru, his eyes narrowed the only sign he'd listened to the order before he spoke.
"You want me to be by Naruto the entire time to make sure he doesn't change?" Yamato asked, clearly, he knew the order, but seemingly everyone was attentive to what could happen, what their commander had predicted and was ready for. Shikamaru nodded speaking as he rubbed his shoulder eyes shut as if he was in thought while doing so.
"Someone has to watch Naruto, since the last time he turned it's been easier on him to watch himself, but it's still a risk if he releases to much of the nine tails chakra, it'll be dangerous for everyone if he loses control" he muttered a cloud of smoke escaping the corner of his mouth, the possibility of what could happened still there to concern everyone "he can't know anything about this right now, he talks a lot" He sighed "and he can be loud, so we need him only focused on getting past the army to Kurostuchi, she won't be an easy opponent for him, but he'll have us behind him helping unless we get separated somehow, in which case my team will have to stay beside Temari" Choji and Ino exchanged a look.
"But Shikamaru" Choji spoke his hand having been resting on Ino's shoulder as if to hold her back when she finally moved, finally began to ask her questions, lining them up like shuriken ready to be thrown at their captain "Why would we be protecting Temari, shouldn't we be helping Naruto?"
"Listen Choji, the revolt will be our main priority, because it will only happened when no one suspects it, that being during the battle, Team seven will be in charge of taking on Kurostuchi, Neji's unit will take to the middle for something we have planned, he'll also be the backup and attack at the end of the battlefield to push them to retreat, and our position will be to keep Temari from getting attacked by her own shinobi" Ino slightly furrow her eyes at him when he exhaled heavily, the thought of not knowing every detail frustrating him "the Sand shinobi who are against the Kazekage will be striking their own and ours during the battle so they don't get noticed as easily in all the fighting, I've already got things planned out if the worst happens, since we'll be with the majority of the Sand's forces, Temari will have more of them around her so that leaves me, Ino, and Choji as her only backup, I wouldn't even trust her own unit at this point" he shut his eyes as he continued "I need to be able to count on you guys to keep her safe, so we all have to do our parts to keep things from getting worse" He glanced over at Ino when she scoffed, the idea not sitting well with her.
"It's their rebellion not ours, why are we getting involved in something that isn't our problem Shikamaru, we should be focused on taking on Kurostuchi right?" Ino finally spoke, her tone annoyed and bitter at the thought. Shikamaru looked to Yamato who nodded and left the tent, leaving Ino, Choji and Shikamaru, Team Ten, alone.
With a tired sigh he took a drag from the cigarette and began to explain.
"I'm keeping the peace between out nations, Ino, we are going to finally end this war between Fire and Wind, that's what my order has always been, that's why I never let things get out of hand, that's why I'm telling you guys all this right now" he ignored the shocked silence of the room and continued with some hesitation, guilty in hiding this for so long "I've just been waiting for the right reason to start the alliance, took four years, but it was worth the wait, because now we knew why this war started in the first place" Their eyes widening at Shikamaru but he didn't stop his explanation "the alliance they tried for years ago could have been tampered with from either of out nations, someone inside that didn't want us allying with the each other again, why do you think they are rebelling in the first place? They plan to kill them out there to cover their tracks, that and they are the only ones left from the Fourth Kazekage's bloodline" though shocked Ino managed to cut in, confused.
"Hold on" Ino stopped him raising her hand "What does their bloodline have to do with the alliance?"
"Think about it" he looked to her, Ino crossed her arms as she waited for him to clarify "with no heirs from their clan to the title, a new Kazekage, from a different clan, will have to be appointed if they all die. They would have done it sooner but they couldn't get past Gaara before, because he was a jinchuriki, too strong to take on alone, but with the one tails gone they think he's weaker and that's why they are choosing to strike now, to make it look like they died in battle and not by the hands of someone who wants to betray them, it's a good tactic if you're looking to win sympathy with the people who respect their clan" he pulled at the cigarette, his teammates eyes set firmly at staring at him "Gaara told us they tried for peace, but they got denied by our Hokage three times, we'll know how the scrolls got tampered with when Tsunade decides to tell us, I have a feeling she and my dad have something to do with this" at the mention of Shikaku, both Ino and Choji looked to each other then back quickly
"but until then I've got an idea how to warn Gaara before he leaves tomorrow" Shikamaru paused the silent observations he'd seen, heard, everything coming together for him all from a simple exchange with Gaara, from his father over the years, from Temari, from everyone, and to think he never had to say a word to figured it out, he was just observing like he always did "I know, for sure" he sounded so serious, inside furious however "it wasn't them who declared war, someone else did, someone else suggested it was their only option, you guys remember Gaara wasn't appointed Kazekage until after they sent the declaration to the Leaf, he became Kazekage when he was sixteen he was a year into the war before he was allowed to make any real decisions. They had no say in the matter before that, so it's only possible that during their time without a Kazekage their council had been able to manipulate what Suna did, every decision made was made by them" he looked to Ino when she grimaced
"Geez you remember all that, that was like what, eight years ago when they told us about the start of the war between our villages?" Ino raised her brow in question, her curiosity keeping her quiet for the most part.
"My dad made me attend the meetings on it, said it'd do me some good to listen to the war council since I was a Chunin and you guys weren't, it was troublesome at the time" Shikamaru groaned tone taking to one of irritation "Until I figured out he was just training me to lead the front as soon as I turned eighteen that's when Tsunade could appoint me commander of the front, it was a drag but orders are orders, I didn't think much about it until the better part of this year" he paused looking between his teammates and rubbed the back of his head "They also" he looked down the guilt of hiding something from his friends making him uneasy "made it clear I couldn't kill Temari or Kankuro, so that's why I've been keeping things as peaceful as I could, I was protecting them from getting killed just like I am now" Choji and Ino exchanged a look of shock, met with a shameful look from Shikamaru having hidden this for years from them "Sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner, but I wasn't supposed to share it with anyone until I was sure we could start the alliance without any trouble" he pressed on avoiding the questions Ino seemed to want to ask "If any of them die, it'll be hell for every nation with whoever takes over and we can't let that happened. That's why I need you guys to help me protect her tomorrow ok?"
"So, if they got played by someone on the inside" Ino began "Why didn't we just go in and tell them sooner?"
"It's not our nation, so it's not our place to tell them, my dad made that clear" He muttered, the feeling of regret sinking in slowly, so much for keeping peace when you couldn't warn your enemy who really betrayed them.
"Then why would we let it go on this long?" Ino looked like she was pleading for an answer, the war hadn't been kind to anyone who saw the front, the memories to come with it an awful reminder of true horror.
"Tsunade didn't push for war in the beginning, why?" he shot them a thoughtful question but answered it before they could think about it "She was trying to avoid it, but every time they declined it just brought us closer to the inevitable. She knew the fourth Kazekage was murdered, she knew Orochimaru was the one who did it, and she knew that their village had no knowledge of it until after the attack on the Third Hokage"
"Why didn't she just ask for another alliance when she knew?" Ino pressed on.
"That I don't know, but I'm sure they had been keeping it secret, why else would he tell me not to kill our enemy if not to buy more time to figure out why they declared war?"
"Well I mean I thought it was you who just didn't want to fight, you know lazy and all that, plus you and Temari were always-" Ino began nonchalantly speaking, as if what she was just fact, Shikamaru quickly cut her off.
"Not this again Ino" Shikamaru groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose "I thought I told you not to bring it up"
"Come on Choji already knows" Ino protested and with a look of irritation continued "it's not that hard to figure out Shikamaru" Her face went deadpan "you kinda make it obvious"
"Make what obvious?" he looked between them; brow raised in confusion.
"I thought you were just making sure she didn't come after you when we fought" Choji began eyes turned to him, he grinned slightly "but you always ended up against her on your own and you always froze when she started talking, looks to me like you got nervous around her" he raised his brows to him, spurring a annoyed tone from Shikamaru
"No that's not it, it's like you guys have never met that troublesome woman. She makes it impossible to avoid a fight, she's pushy and bossy and loud" He paused shut his mouth and groaned when Choji started laughing, Ino only shook her head, unconvinced.
"My point exactly, men go stupid when they like someone" Ino flipped her hair and grinned smugly "I figured that's why you always retreated she got to close and you went blank, and she liked that"
"Did she really push you off a cliff?" Choji asked, Shikamaru quick to shoot a glare at Ino for sharing what he had told her in secret but turned away crossing his arms irritably, the laughs behind him hard to ignore.
"you guys are the worst" he grumbled looking away from them "I don't like her she's just very"
"Troublesome" Ino offered
"Can we just focus back on the plan" He quickly shot her way, frustrated but pressing on to change the subject as fast as he could before he felt anymore humiliated
"Alright fine we'll stop" Ino stifled her laugh "How long did it take you to come up with this anyways?"
"A couple of hours" he muttered, thought sounding thankful that the pestering had stopped.
"So, you solve this whole ten-year war in hours, from one meeting with their Kazekage?" Shikamaru nodded
"That's why I said if something happened out there you guys have to watch over her, she might not trust us entirely but she also knows we won't turn on them, it would just go against the plan" at least she will know soon, those details kept to himself "I've already got Kankuro protected and since Gaara isn't going to be in the battle" he paused and grinned "at least not in the beginning it's safe to say I've got this one planned out pretty well" he finished with a grin, proud of himself for coming up with the perfect plan, at least hoped it was going to work out well, sure he could plan it but what would really happened.
"You're a little full of yourself you know that?" Ino's wicked look and smirk made him uneasy instantly when she spoke "hmm I wonder who you got that from" Ino gave him a smug grin, all knowing as she nudged Choji's arm, both snickering. He shrunk back for a moment, more embarrassment great, composing himself quick and finished his last words, as he had somewhere to be, and it wasn't in camp.
"Just remember Temari is a very angry woman so don't get in her way when she finds out, it's gonna be a drag to explain all this to her later" he grimaced at the next thought "she'll probably try to kill me again" with a sigh he glanced over to the green scarf he had set aside before speaking to his friends.
The reminder of her takedown from the Leaf's jinchuriki quickly flashed in her mind, the pain the headache returning, he sudden ache to her shoulder and back, the one that had connected into the ground, in her hesitation. Why did she hesitate? Cursing every bad thing that had ever happened to her in that instance, that being more than she could count, when she dropped to the ground, every training exercise with her sensei coming back to her a painful reminder to get up, every battle she'd ever gotten beaten in and she refused to stay down no matter how hurt she was, inside the fire fueling her to push to her shaking arms.
Although injured, Temari forced her body to respond to her, demanding as she was, her legs still shook as she pushed herself to kneel, one hand pushing from the ground the other using her fan to steady herself, easier said than done. Her chest heaved and she bent forward coughing, the taste of blood, dripping to the corner of her mouth, great way to go down, she thought sarcastically, scolding herself for the hesitancy when she saw the blood dripping off the blade, from the corner of his mouth, although almost amused when he looked annoyed to be in his situation, unexpected delay to the plan was all this was after all, didn't hurt to add she was more than pissed about it.
Looking up, her vison blurry, she glared ahead, the action weaker now as the headache began. She saw him, dark eyes turned up to Saku, noticing quick that he had him in his shadow when he turned to glare down at him, but unable to move, at least she had some time to figure out how to get over there. The image of Gaara coming to mind, she had been to late to save him, she couldn't fail now he had once again saved her, damn that man she thought furious as she tried to get up, but her body failed her, back aching her breath coming out in rasp when she coughed, the taste of blood returning.
"Damn it" she hissed and attempted again to determined to stand to watch his back like he had for her, she owed him, and she hated owing people. Another feeble attempt to stand and then a thud beside her, teals turned quickly, almost feral, ready to fight and protect herself from the traitors. Only the presence wasn't a foe, she looked up to the wide blue-eyed stare of Ino as she rushed to her side, worried pushing past the furious look she got from Temari.
"Hold on Temari I got you!" Ino's shout seemingly stilling Temari's body, possibly shocked to see her, and she almost sighed, relieved, but she was still pissed, and the fire was burning heavily in her core. Stubborn as she always was, she tried to stand again, but the grip to her shoulders settled her down, forcing her to still much to her efforts to get up, to show no weakness.
"What are you doing?" Temari warned but winced as Ino's hands gripped her shoulders tighter keeping her down, the faint glow behind her causing her to relax, Ino was healing her, but her teammate was down and despite knowing she was hurt and couldn't move she shouted back to her harshly giving her an order "Don't help me go to Shikamaru he-" she demanded, but another cough interrupted her, and she hastily wiped at her mouth glaring down at the blood on the back of her hand, fueling the rage inside at her takedown, the hesitation.
"Will you just let me help you, stop trying to move" she groaned annoyed as Temari tried to push away, the motion paining her gripped shoulder with ever attempt to stand "it's bad enough that both of you got hurt, and I'm sorry we got here too late. When that earthquake split us apart I lost sight of you two but I was able to find Choji, and then we saw what happened and" Ino paused and sighed calmer now as she was focused on healing, one hand still holding Temari down having finally stopped moving as Ino spoke, teal glare turning away from the scene ahead to her healer "my orders are to stay and protect you Temari, so stop trying to move will you, everything will be fine" She felt the grip loosen light hands working on healing and the body aches seeming to lessen with her efforts, she was almost grateful as the pain subdued, her breathing becoming even with each passing second, although now curious as to why she was helping her and not her teammate.
"But why aren't you helping him?" she found her voice, calmer and easier to speak, having felt like she was out of breath before. Around them Choji had taken to defending the two, keeping anyone who saw, Sand and Rock, from getting attacked.
"Don't worry about Shikamaru, he's got everything planned out, just stay still so I can finish this" Her eyes widened, what plan did he have except dying from the looks of the frozen standstill she saw in the distance "nothing broken so it'll be an easy fix, but you're going to feel it if you move to much right now"
"Ino, Thank you" her words kind, her tone quiet, she was lost in thought trying to figure it out.
"Hey, you had my back earlier, and I've got yours it's what allies do" She grinned down to her "But you may need to work on how you save people, I'm going to be bruised for days"
"You're alive, aren't you?" They glanced at one another and Ino huffed, seeing her point "we still need to get over there, he doesn't have enough chakra to keep him held back for long"
"Did I not just tell you to stop worrying geez looks to me like you might-" She began until Temari interrupted her.
"You finish that sentence and I'll knock you back into the cliff" Temari shot back with a warning, Ino continued on with her smug grin, all to knowing, cocky, Temari always did find his teammate amusing when she got like this.
"There she is, the cruelest kunoichi I've ever met" Ino chuckled and gave her a reassuring smile "hey he's got a plan ok just let it play out"
"What do you mean plan?" Temari demanded, thought she couldn't help the confusion "What did he do?"
"You'll find out, just don't get to mad at him after this" She paused and lowered her head to her side to make sure she heard "And he told me to tell you to check your bag if you two got separated" Temari glanced back at Ino, the smile to smug, the plan almost flawless, the irritation for not knowing casted on her face "Trust us Temari" Ino turned her blue gaze up to Choji as he stepped back his arm returning to normal, the shinobi that had once been before him now knocked back somewhere in the crowd, having been protecting the two while Ino was healing.
"How many of these guys are there?" he looked back warily at the two "I keep getting attacked by Sand and Rock shinobi I'm starting to get confused on who to hit"
"I didn't think there would be this many turning, it's like half you army was against you guys" Ino added.
"We didn't think there would be this many either" Temari pushed off her fan standing as she observed the battles around them, the motion made easier by Ino "But it's not my first time killing one of my own" Loyal shinobi now turned against them, her fathers mess, her obligation to clean it up. At one side Choji readied, at the other Ino coming to stand and looked between the targets that stood in their way to Shikamaru, now sitting up and grinning smugly, his plan she thought furrowing her brows. Her hand slipped towards her side pack fingers grazing the cold metal, the other chakra blade, and smiled, no she laughed, there it was, the reason why she had always respected him, he always was a step ahead, but she wasn't very far behind "Oh I'm going to kill that man after this" she's been outsmarted once again, led into a trap, but not a trap she needed to escape from, no this was his plan, and she needed to get to him as soon as she could.
"Shikamaru told us you'd say that" Ino chimed in with a chuckle. Temari shook her head as shut her eyes for a moment the sudden breeze speaking in the silence, the air stilling around her. The sand shifting. Her smile failed and she looked back at Choji and Ino when she heard the gasp, she didn't need to show her shock as she knew who was coming, who he had planned to enter the battle, angry or relieved she'd decide later.
"No way" she saw the awestruck stare from Ino, all three turning to look at the edge of the ravine where the fading sun began to be blocked out by the wave of sand rising above the edge of the desert, the battles around gradually starting to stop as the shadow began to envelope the ravine. Three forms came to the edge of the cliff, the golden sand framing their silhouettes, the one in the middle crossed his arms ghostly blue gaze turned down into the silenced battlefield, searching.
Annoyed, he was more than it, when he purposefully stabbed himself the second time, it hurt, it was expected to hurt after the first hit to his lower back, but what hurt more was trying to move to use his shadow possession, but Shikamaru managed. To late unfortunately as Temari had been hurt, that hadn't been a part of the plan and now that frustrating fury for his misstep, on her unexpected hesitation, he had to quickly burn through the feeling of pain and the taste of the blood in his mouth to be able to hold his shadow. Guess that woman's anger had begun to rub off on him, how troublesome he thought. To top off this whole mess of a situation as soon as he had fallen back, the familiar howl, the cry from the nine tailed beast, Naruto had seen and had changed, a part of the plan, but a more than upsetting scenario. One problem after another.
He knew this guy, Saku, had something to do with the rebels the moment he caught his eye when he was leaving the Sand's camp, it helped with setting everything in motions, this mistrust had been different than before, it was suspicion, he knew about the tampering he was sure of it. All he had to do now was buy his time, until they got here.
"You know" he caught the attention of Saku who had been staring off towards where Temari had landed, he could almost see the signs of regret, but they were to faint to notice when he shifted his eyes back to his captor, unable to move under the shadow "she's gonna kill you when she gets here" Shikamaru groaned forcing himself to sit up and look at Saku, his jutsu holding him still, but not for much longer.
"She can try" Saku began slowly almost too quiet to hear then he sighed speaking louder "but she messes up when she's mad like that" the green glare turned down to him "or in this case distracted by you"
"What makes you think I distracted her?" faking the obvious, Saku saw right through it.
"Don't think I haven't seen her favor you" Saku began bitterly, jealous at what he had seen, he could tell as soon as he'd spoken earlier, he wasn't wrong entirely, but it was such a insolent suggestion he had almost knocked himself back into the blade to attack in the beginning without thinking, for saying that about her. He had waited letting him drone on and kill time, the speech fueling both him and Temari to think how to get out of the situation "she might be one of the greatest kunoichi I've ever seen in battle but as soon as you show up the whole damn plan fails, whether it's you who outsmarts her or her taking those withdraws, either way you two have been failing your nations" He almost felt flattered for a second for his part in frustrating him, people with too many emotions always messed up, eventually. Seeing as Saku was still trapped and focused on venting, much to his annoyance to have to strain to hear him over the distant noise, he relaxed slightly, the pain to his shoulder creeping back up, the blade sticking through an afterthought, but he kept the discomfort unnoticed. He'd been stabbed the second time through flesh in his shoulder, mentally noting Sakura would kill him for it, he could breathe easier from that wound, though the one to his back was more than painful to move with and still bleeding even with his hand to it, the other raised to hold Saku still.
"The council isn't happy with her recent demands, and neither are we, those who want to restore Suna for the better after what our fourth Kazekage did by creating Gaara. When he was killed by the Akatsuki, it was the perfect time to strike their clan down to get rid of Rasa's bloodline for good" Just as he'd predicted Shikamaru noted to himself, a civil war because of noble titles and clan disputes, something his father told him a few years back coming into play after all this time, knowledge that only became known when it needed to be, how had he not figured it out sooner, this is why he'd been sent here.
Secrets hidden in the villages of Enemies that were once Allies
"We would have done it sooner, but they had been much too cautious about us lately and Temari well she has been very distracted since the death of Gaara, it would have been better had he remained dead, maybe she would have listened more. I'm only assuming it had something to do with you and all the sneaking around she's been doing lately" Saku snorted but looked almost hurt by admitting it, this woman sure did tug the hearts of men to well it seemed "I've never seen her so adamant to disobeying the council than when she looked for the alliance with your nation, she's always been difficult to convince when she set her mind to something, and when Gaara agreed with her, saying it would benefit our nations, we had to follow the order, they left us with no choice but to start our revolution against them earlier than expected" Saku speech finished he looked down to him, Shikamaru came back into focus, having been listening, but scanning the barren area around them.
"Sounds like her" he stated simply, thought a bit surprised she pushed for the alliance in such a way, woman did always get what she wanted.
"Surprising that she'd like you, you always seemed like a coward, maybe she pitied you" Saku glared down at him analyzing his annoyed opponent.
"What is it with everyone and thinking she likes me" Shikamaru groaned, he was sitting here with a blade in his shoulder and a wound to his back for that woman after all, "you do realize she's been trying to kill me for the past four years right?"
"Why do you think your still alive?"
"I know when to give up" Shikamaru shrugged, the action causing him to wince.
"I can see that" Saku muttered before continuing on almost distractedly "but Temari is two things, a cruel kunoichi with no remorse for the lives she takes, and a caring woman who will go out of her way for someone she deems worthy of her kindness but she's crueler than caring most days"
"You're not about to start some long-drawn-out love confession, are you? That would just be a drag to listen to?" With complete disinterest he looked up at him, just a little more time he thought.
"These are your last words?" Saku looked at him confused.
"If you think about it there's not much to say" With a grin he continued noticing the rising irritation from Saku "I already figured everything out anyways"
"I'm going to enjoy killing you" He stated almost smugly, like he had won already.
"You sure you'll be able to do that?" Shikamaru shot back, just a little more.
"What kill you? I'm sure" Saku looked at the shadow below him "Your shadow won't hold much longer; you've used up enough chakra already"
"Well, you're right about that" he released the shadow and brought a one hand down to his wound and another to the handle of the blade at his shoulder, with a strained painful grunt, he pulled the weapon from his back, swallowing the cough and blood down quickly "Can't really stop you now" he strained, the thought of a cigarette coming to mind, one last drag before he died.
"Why are you so calm about this?" as he spoke, he unclipped his fan from his back, glaring down at him.
"Shinobi are always prepared to die" He grinned, a thought of what Temari had told him a while back coming to mind "as long as she's alive I've done my mission" Saku furrowed his brows at him, seeming to want to question what he meant by mission, but he shook his head, looking disappointed.
"Then so be it" he raised his fan to him, intended to kill what a familiar move that was, Shikamaru smirked and shut his eyes, the sudden gasp the end of the fan dropping to his side, all he could hear over the silence forming in the battlefield, the shock of every shinobi, the swift shadow coming to darken the battlefield around them.
Gaara was here, just like he planned.
*Mic Drop*