Summary: In chapter 3, Shikamaru left Temari in tears; telling her to reconsider moving in with him. She is confused by his cold behavior. Shikamaru is now going to explain what happened during his last visit in Suna. (Get ready for some drama!)

Inspiration: All of the slow songs off the Naruto OST, Winkipedia - to get my facts straight, and more AMVs off of YouTube.

ATTENTION all Kakashi fan girls - I found a really good pic of a mask-less Kakashi on YouTube. Search for Naruto Chicken Dance (really silly) You don't need to watch it, but at the end of the credits get ready to drool. Ardenilia and I did. I know it is edited in Paint but it's a damn good pic! Ok, on with the story.

The others wait patiently for Shikamaru to explain his situation. They can all see the pain and frustration in his eyes.

Flashback to that once blissful night…

The Shadow Warrior was panting trying to catch his breath and his sense logic. "I just remembered that I need to pick up something before I leave."

"Oh…Can I come with you? We can play outdoors, just like in Konoha." The Sand Goddess suggested.

"Not this time. It's official ANBU business."

"I understand." She replied in disappointment.

"I'll be back in half an hour at most." He tilted her chin up gave her a soft kiss. "I promise."

She lifted her divine figure to release him. Shikamaru rose off the chair to dress himself and tying his hair back into a pony tail, he watched the nude Sand Goddess approach the bed sitting cross-legged on the bed. Temari observed his every move, she shut her eyes as he walked to the door. He slyly smirked as the door shut behind him.

CLICK.

Shikamaru stealthily blended in with the shadows; making sure that he was not followed, especially by her. Through the desert wind, he leaped on the rooftops of the Sand Village energetically. This particular package was destined to change his life forever.

The Shadow Warrior soon reached his destination. He placed his hand on the handle of the door, he quietly slipped inside. A short bald-headed man with a white beard greeted him.

"Look what the wind blew in. How have you been Nara Shikamaru?"

"Good Evening, Jueru-san." Shikamaru gave him a polite bow. "Is it ready?"

"Yes my boy, it's a beauty. Crafted to your specifications. Come and see."

Shikamaru approached the counter to view Jueru-san's work, the old man opened the small blue box for the warrior. The contents had a flawless luster .

"It's absolutely perfect."

"Well Shikamaru-san, you're the one who found it. I just set it in place. By the way, where did you say you found this? I've never seen anything like it."

"I picked it up during a mission in the Earth Country. It's Moissanite, very rare and hard to find naturally; the element comes from meteorites. "

"That's the best place to find these, especially after that meteor shower almost a decade ago in the mountains. Did you happen to stop by Iwagakure? (Hidden Rock Village). I hear that it is beautiful this time of year, it's an excellent vacation spot."

"Yes I have, I would love to visit it again some day."

Shikamaru continued to inspect the article. "You did an incredible job on the engraving."

"That almost took me a month to create the fine details. You have impeccable timing picking this up tonight. Are you ready?"

"No… but is anyone?"

Jueru smiled. "I'm sure that you'll be fine. You survived countless missions. This experience won't kill you, it's just a delivery."

"You're right. It's just another mission, one that changes everything." Shikamaru placed the article back in the box sealing it tightly with string. "Thank you Jueru-san. If everything goes well, I'll need two more."

"Good luck Shikamaru-san. It's a pleasure doing business with you."

Shikamaru slipped out of the door rushing back to the apartment. 'Tonight…'

The Shadow Warrior's running was suddenly halted by two Jounin that appeared in front of him. "Nara Shikamaru!" One of them called.

Shikamaru looked at the two Sand-nin sternly "What do want?"

"The Kazekage needs to see you immediately. Follow us!"

Shikamaru followed his escorts to the Kazekage's tower. They guided him through the hallway leading towards Gaara-sama's office.

Knock. Knock.

"Come in."

The Jounin attended to their own business once Shikamaru shut the door behind himself. He looked up to see Gaara dressed in the traditional blue and white Kage robe was behind his desk, signing his final scroll. A make-up free Kankurō was beside him organizing the paperwork.

"You wanted to see me Gaara-sama?"

"Yes, have a seat. Help yourself to some tea if you like."

Shikamaru approached the end table beside the chair, on the table top was a small one serving teapot and a tiny cup. He poured the contents in the cup and sipped it slowly.

Gaara glanced up to see Shikamaru finish the drink in its entirety then taking a seat.

"Thank you Gaara-sama." He looked at Kankurō to give him a nod acknowledging his presence.

"Kankurō."

"Shadow Boy."

"I have a name, you know."

"Yeah, and I don't like it."

Nara rolled his eyes at him. 'Troublesome prick.' Kankurō had a murderous intent in his eyes, thinking of new ways to skin Shikamaru into a human puppet.

Gaara just finished his report. "Let's get to business." Shikamaru focused his attention to the Kazekage. He played with a thick scroll within his right hand.

"ANBU forwarded this message to me to give to you; it seems like you have another mission on your hands. At first I thought it was a mistake that they sent it here instead of Konoha, until I asked Kankurō if he has seen Temari lately. "

Kankurō picked up on the last statement.

"Temari just returned from a mission two days ago and she has never left her apartment. She has a pretty busy lifestyle, always up and about. That is… when you're not around."

"That's why I asked my assistants find you; Nara Shikamaru and they did. You're quite a difficult man to track, as expected from an ANBU. But before I hand this over, I have a few questions to ask you."

Gaara had a dead serious look on his face, giving Shikamaru a chill down his spine as he stared into his cold cyan eyes.

"Do you love her?"

"More than you will ever know."

"Love? That's bullshit. How do I know that you're not using her for your own devious pleasures? Probably because you can't get laid in Konoha!" Kankurō insulted.

"What Temari and I share is deeper than your one-night stands with your brother's fangirls. "

Gaara darted his eyes toward his brother then back to Shikamaru.

"Tell me what happened in mission 6062."

"You don't have the clearance to ask me about that."

"When it involves my family I have every damn right!" Gaara threw a scroll at Shikamaru, which he caught. He opened it and read the passage.

"What does this consent form have to do with me?"

"I'm the one who's asking the questions not you. That was note was for me, it was attached to your mission file. I'm going to tell you this once; if you lie to me, I will kill you. "

Although Shukaku has been extracted from Gaara's body, he was still a serious intimidator who kept his word.

Shikamaru began to explain. "I led a five man team to escort a Tsuchikage (Earth Shadow) nominee to Earth country. He received several death threats from rebels and requested our protection. We didn't have a problem until we crossed 60 km past the boarder. We were followed and attacked, the rebels were easily defeated. Rock Jounin met us halfway through our journey and assisted us during the escort. The future Tsuchikage made it to the village unharmed. We completed our mission and decided to return back to headquarters."

What time did you decide to leave?

"5:00 PM, just before sunset."

"Temari and two of her subordinates were returning home from a mission in Iwagakure. Did the two of you encounter each other that day?"

"Yes we did."

"Tell me what happened."

"It was around 7:30, I knew that we were being followed once again, so we all kept a closer eye on our threats. In the corner of my eye noticed a quick moving shadow. The next think I knew, two of my teammates were dead. One of them was my medic. Shurinkens were used to slice them across the throat. The problem was there wasn't a shurinken in sight. "

"The survivors and I split into three to find the killers of our comrades. I soon discovered that their skills in taijitsu was a weakness but formidable diversion. Once I killed my opponent, I was struck by what I thought was a shurinken in my upper left arm; I reached around to remove it, but when I looked at my arm there was nothing to remove. All there was a deep puncture that bled heavily. The rebels used a weapon that I have never seen before. The best I could describe them as "stealth shurinken".

"Stealth Shurinken?"

"Very similar to Shadow Shurinken but without a primary to follow. You cannot hear or feel it coming, you're dead before you know it. I felt like I was attacked by my own ability."

"I tore the pant leg of my uniform and used it as bandage to stop the bleeding. Then I heard a strong familiar voice…"

Flashback to that moment…

"Daikamaitachi no Jutsu (Great Cutting Whirlwind Technique)!"

Massive gusts of wind sliced through the dense forest. Men screaming in pain and agony followed. Footsteps ran in the opposite direction of the screamer. Shikamaru blocked the wind by placing his arms across his masked face. Once it died down, he headed towards the powerful voice. He soon reached the area of demolished forest and there she was, the graceful, angry beauty holding her giant war fan.

"Serves you right for calling us bitches!"

She swung her fan again once more, another gust of wind followed the last destroying more of the landscape. Shikamaru saw the minute deadly shadows heading towards her backside.

"MEGAMI GET DOWN!"

Shikamaru jumped on her, using his own body as a shield he protected his Sand Goddess. He gripped her body tightly close to his, his strong hands shielding her head when they hit the ground. The Shadow Warrior dodged the Stealth Shurinkens in the nick of time. Temari opened her eyes to the memorable white and amethyst mask.

"Kagemusha?"

"We have to move now!" He lifted her by the hand and started running through the forest floor in search of a secure location. With the light of the moon, they found a secluded cavern. Once they were settled had a chance to catch their breath.

"Are you alright Megami?" The Shadow warrior reached to touch her face.

"Yeah." She was still attempting to catch her breath, Megami noticed the blood drenched bandage around his arm. "Kagemusha you're bleeding!"

"It's going to stop anytime soon. Ahhrrgg!" He gritted his teeth in pain attempting to apply pressure to his wound, slumping against the wall of the cave. They sat down together.

"Let me help you." Megami used a kunai knife to tear the bottom of her black cotton yukata. She changed the soaked bandage with hers, using the old one to wrap and reinforce the new one, adding more pressure to slow down the blood flow.

"What happened to you?"

"I was hit by a shadow shurinken."

"You of all people can see them better than anyone else."

"But these were different; you can't hear or sense them coming, just a small quick shadow. It's like an advanced version of my Kage jutsus, you're injured or dead before you realize it. I just lost two of my men, one of them was my medic. The others split up to find the rebels who are using them. I just hope they're still alive or at least retreated."

"Let me go with you. I can help, my mission is completed."

"Don't. I'll feel a lot better knowing that you safe. I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

"Kagemusha, you'll never lose me I'll always be by your side."

"Not this time Megami .Your mission is completed, this is mine. For the life of me please don't get involved. They want me not you. If they ever find out who we really are-"

"They'll take advantage of it. I know."

"Exactly. Megami run for it. Find your subordinates and don't look back, just run. Watch your every step, because your abilities cannot evade what they have. Use that new jutsu I taught you, it can save your life. Do you still remember it?"

"Yes. Kokuei Teikan Jutsu (Shadow Vision), the ability to see shadows within shadows."

"Right. What ever you do, don't overexert yourself, it has a time limit. Save your chakra as much as possible, use it when he time is right."

Kagemusha rose to his feet "We should get going, I sense something coming our direction."

Megami followed him near the outlet. "Please let me stay with you." Her hand reached out for his. She placed a soft kiss on the side of his neck, feeling his pulse between her lips. Kagemusha embraced her in return.

"Do you trust me?"

"With my life."

"Then run."

The Shadow Warrior disappeared in a black flicker, leaving the Sand Goddess on her own. He hid behind a distant boulder confirm her departure. Once she left, he continued to search for his teammates.

Back in the Kazekage's office…

"Is that all?"

"Yes. Temari and I parted ways, I found my other teammates; we had our wounds healed by a dispatched medic and returned to headquarters. Hunter-nin picked up the bodies of the deceased. Last time I checked, Temari is perfectly fine."

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"No. I explained everything that happened in 6062."

"Fucking Liar."

"Kankurō, I have nothing to hide. So stop your assumptions, you're making yourself look like an ass. "

The older brother took a step towards Shikamaru.

"Kankurō…" Gaara raised this index finger in the air warning him. "If you kill him now, we won't get our answers."

He then took a step back, placing himself behind the desk.

Gaara glared into Shikamaru's eyes. "Kankurō and I were waiting for Temari and her team to return to an inn that we rented in Yochi (Earth) City, which is an hour south of Iwa. Her two subordinates returned, but not Temari. When I asked them where she was, they answered…"

Flashback to that night in Youchi…

"Temari-sensei ordered us to return without her."

"She said that there was something she needed to do alone."

"What direction did you come from?" Gaara asked.

"Temari-sensei told us to head southeast, therefore you should go northwest."

Kankurō and Gaara look at one another, a gnawing sensation turned in their stomachs. They began to put on their sandals then grabbing their infamous weapons. The heavy sand gourd and a mummy-wrapped puppet waited by the door.

"The two of you stay here until we return. If we're not back by sunrise, contact a medic team and return to Suna." Kankurō ordered.

"Hai! Kankurō-san. Gaara-sama."

The brothers paced out the door, which then turned into sprinting through the city.

"It's not like her to stay behind for anything. Regardless of the situation, she always guides those girls to safety." Kankurō commented.

"I know." Gaara replied. 'Temari-san. What have you done?'

Their half hour race led to the forest that Team Temari crossed through. They searched the ground from the tree tops, attempting to find any evidence of their sister's whereabouts. They found just that, a very obvious clue. Their eyes widen in surprise.

Temari's battered war fan laid powerlessly in the dirt. The metal ribs were deeply scratched and dented; the waved leaves were tattered and torn, covered with blood. Gaara touched the rich, red substance with the tips of his fingers bringing it up to his nose to inhale the fragrance. His childhood obsession with blood proved to be useful in this situation, a decent parting gift from Shukaku.

"It's freshly spilt, and it's Temari's mixed with several others."

Kankurō trembled. "We gotta find her." He quickly folded the fan closed, and followed Gaara who was trailing the scent of their sister's blood.

About 60 meters away, they encountered several blood covered corpses laying on the forest floor, at least thirty. The Sand-nin searched for any sign of Temari's life. Kankurō heard a struggling breath nearby.

"Shhh." - Kankurō

"What?" - Gaara

"Listen." - Kankurō

Gaara also heard the noise, it suddenly became a choking cough. As they approached the sound it became a hoarse gurgle. More of a surprise was who the noises were coming from. They came close to the pale blood coated body, holding down the bleeding gash in his abdomen that stained his padded white vest and navy undershirt. The crimson fluid streaked across the white and amethyst mask. The Sand-nin easily identified the body.

"Shikamaru." Kankurō kneeled over him to lift his mask to only discover the Shadow Warrior choking on his own blood, dripping out the sides of his mouth.

Gaara applied firm pressure over the gushing puncture. He looked into Shikamaru's fading eyes which were rolling to the back of his head.

"You're going to be alright, stay with us." Shikamaru placed his hands over Gaara's and tried to speak, which came out as wet burbling. "Don't speak. We're going to try to help you."

Kankurō was about to leave the scene to find help, but instead the help came to them. Two medic-nin dressed in a ivory jumpsuits appeared to aid the near death ANBU.

"We were dispatched a distress call ten minutes ago, is the victim breathing on his own."

A hissing sound of sand crept up behind one of the medics, creating a sand hand around his throat. Kankurō held a kunai knife against the other medic's jugular. They didn't want to take any chances.

"Before you think about coming near him, I want to see your registration ID now!" demanded Gaara.

The medics complied, throwing their identification cards on top of Shikamaru's chest. Gaara read the information off of them. "They're legit, Kankurō. "

The puppeteer released the medic as the sand retreated back into the gourd.

"Yes, he struggling to breathe on his own."

The medics kneeled over the victim. "Can you please move you hands, we need to seal the wound to stop the bleeding."

Gaara promptly removed his hands, once again the blood began to overflow. The medics summoned green healing chakra to their palms. The gash began to seal on contact, Shikamaru's breathing returned to a steady flow. He shut his eyes from the intense exhaustion. The medics placed his frail yet stable body on a travel sized stretcher.

"Do you know this man?"

"He's our sister's boyfriend. If he's injured, that usually means she's safe." Kankurō replied.

"Where are you taking him?" Gaara asked.

"Iwa Medical, it's an underground medical facility. It's he closest hospital we can get help from and it's less that ten minutes away."

The Sand-nin followed the medics to the secretive hospital. By its outward façade, many believed it was a sheltered cave; but once inside, it was a full functioning hospital. The medics transferred Shikamaru on to a new rolling stretcher. Doctors surrounded him checking his stats and injecting IV into his veins to replace some of the fluid loss.

Once the brothers were in the light, they were easily recognized by the medic-nin.

"Kankurō and Kazekage-sama no Sabaku?"

"Now is not the time. Is Nara Shikamaru going to be ok?"

"I believe he will be Kazekage-sama. Nara lost several units of blood and he desperately needs a transfusion. Do you know his blood type? "

"AB just like mine. I'm willing to donate a unit." - Gaara

"Same here, type B." - Kankurō

"Thank you, we can take all that we can get."

"Shit! Doctor, he's going into shock!" His abdomen was slightly swollen a sign of internal bleeding.

Shikamaru's body twitched and convulsed on the stretcher, a puff of smoke surrounded the body. When the cloud lifted, everyone stood open-mouthed. The true identity of the victim was revealed; long shapely legs, a torn black blood-saturated yukata. A gold haired kunoichi with a blood stained hourglass headband, life in her dark green eyes dimmed.

Kankurō froze. 'Temari?'

"NO! TEMARI!" Gaara yelled.

"Take her to O.R.4!" The doctor ordered.

"Let's move!"

The medical team rushed Temari's body to the available operating room. Gaara chased after the staff, Kankurō ran after his distraught brother.

The team pushed the trauma patient through the light-weight doors. Gaara was right behind them watching their surreal actions. The room glowed with green chakra making every possible effort to save her. The erratic bleeps of the EKG monitored her heart rate, her heart raced elevated with each passing moment.

"Her blood pressure's dropping!"

Temari screamed in agony behind her oxygen mask, the wound beneath her flesh reopened. Her blood poured onto her other internal organs; the swollen belly started to grow in size filling it with fluid.

Gaara stood speechless in the operating room, tears welled in his eyes. Kankurō caught up to his little brother. They watched their sister undergo the excruciating pain; the brothers stood there helplessly.

Kankurō stood in front of Gaara to pull him into a hug; placing his head against his shoulder, shielding him from the traumatizing scene. Choking on his tears, "You shouldn't be watching this."

Gaara continued to cry. "We can't help her. We can't even give her our own blood."

"Temari!" He looks up to the ceiling. "Don't take her away. Save her please! Save her!"

"Nurse, get them out them out of here! They're contaminating the room!"

The nurse approached them "Sorry. You can't be here." and escorted them into the hall. She rushed back in the O.R. to provide her assistance.

Kankurō gripped his brother tightly, he finally broke down. "DAMMIT NARA!" The flowing tears causing his make-up to smear.

The Sand-nin comforted each other for the moment. They soon broke their arm lock from the doctor's hollering.

"I need twelve units of type O STAT!"

"Doctor, we only have seven."

"Contact the bank, emergency donors, and Main! Fuck, pull a bum off the street! We need it NOW!"

"I never lost a patient before, I'm not going to lose her!"

Back in the Kazekage's office…

"This is bullshit!"

"Are you calling me a fucking LIAR!" The Kazekage angrily threw a medical file at Shikamaru.

It slipped out of his hands and onto the ground. Papers spread face down on the floor, except for one. He rose out of his chair to retrieve them he perceived a disturbing black and white photo. Shikamaru picked it up and released an audible gasp.

A pallid, weak Temari laid in a bed attached to multiple tubes and wires; making her a lifeless human puppet.

Shikamaru flipped through the pages; several more photos displayed the same alarming image in different angles, even a photo of the blood drenched sheets and medical equipment.

'Oh God!' His hands quaked as every photo burned an image into his brain, provoking heavy tears to stain his cheeks. "Temari, no!" Shikamaru began to hyperventilate, a sharp pang wretched into his heart. The salty tears fell on the pictures.

Kankurō and Gaara watched the heartbroken shinobi bawl like a baby. Sadistically enjoying his pain in secret.

"After the surgery, Temari slipped into a coma for a week. She was hooked up to life support because she couldn't breathe on her own for three days. Our sister just kept choking on her own blood." Gaara explained.

"We watched Temari suffer, waiting for blood donations." Tears welled in Kankurō's eyes recollecting that memory. "All because you're not man enough to fight your own battles, you weak cunt."

Shikamaru unleashed the Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu "Shadow Neck Bind Technique". The shadow hand seized Kankurō's throat, squeezing the oxygen out of his esophagus. The puppeteer gasped for air, his face turning red from the struggle.

Gaara intervened using a sand hand to push Shikamaru back into his seat; causing his jutsu to recoil, releasing his brother. Kankurō coughed continuously as his air flow returned to normal.

"Kankurō, that's enough." Gaara's cold eyes turned to Shikamaru.

"What are your real intentions with Temari? Did you order her to transform into you, so you can make a run for it? You really are a coward; I expected more from you."

"Why didn't she tell me? Why?"

"So you admit that you told her to change herself!"

"NO! I want to spend the rest of my life with Temari. We're in love, I would never put her in danger. I learned that lesson a long time ago. That's why I told her to run. I told her to go and not look back!" Shikamaru sobbed. "If anyone was supposed to die, it should have been me! Why, Temari?"

"The reason why she couldn't tell you is because she can't remember and we knew you would." Kankurō stated still coughing.

"What do you mean she can't remember?"

"Since she lost so much blood, her brain was starving for oxygen. Temari suffered some brain damage from the waiting. She doesn't remember that mission or that entire week. When she came to, she cried out your name. Temari was worried sick about you and couldn't figure out why. She woke up confused about why she was in the hospital. She thought she was injured during training again, convincing herself it was déjà vu. When we explained the situation she didn't believe us." Gaara clarified.

"He loves me, Shikamaru would never do that."

Shikamaru tears stopped at that last statement. "She still could have told me."

"Who knows the reason. Temari didn't want to see you like this. Possibly because she loves you too much."

"Your love makes her weak! You want to spend the rest of your life with her? What makes you think you're good enough to be a part of this family when you're not even worthy of our sister. " Kankurō asked

"I may not be worthy of Temari, that's true. But our love made us survive through the worst situations. She's the main reason why I didn't quit being a shinobi."

An awkward silence took over the room for about a minute.

Gaara walked toward the seated Shikamaru with the scroll in hand. "Here's your mission. You may leave now." The Kazekage returned to his chair.

Shikamaru paused for a moment to allow the night's events to sink in.

"What are you waiting for? Get out of our village, the sight of you makes me sick!"

Kankurō's final insult made him snap. Shikamaru marched towards the door opening it roughly, then slamming it behind him. The hinges broke off the frame, the loose door fell to the ground.

CRASH!

The Sand brothers looked a the damaged property and then at each other.

A shinobi ran to the gaping hole in the wall armed with a kunai knife. "Kazekage-sama, are you alright!"

"Everything's fine. Can you find a carpenter to fix that please."

"Hai!" The shinobi left to fulfill the order.

"I still think that the son-of-a-bitch is lying"

"No he wasn't. Those tears are real, you can't fake those. I didn't even need to use Chiyo's truth serum to see that."

"You put that in his tea didn't you?"

"I really didn't want to kill him. Spending his life without Temari might."

Back to the present time…

"Right before I left, she called me a coward. The pang in my chest returned, I never thought it would hurt so much coming from her. I left her in tears, and I just ran as far as I could so that I didn't have to listen to her sobbing. That's why I wanted to see her before we left Suna, to clear things up. When I got to her place my key didn't work. Temari changed the locks, an evident sign that she doesn't want anything to do with me."

The others have a concerned look upon their faces.

"Damn Shikamaru, I'm really sorry." - Neji

"Yeah, me too." Shikamaru swallowed the last bit of froth from his mug.

"We're here for you. Let us know if you need anything." Sasuke placed his hand on his shoulder for a moment.

"Shikamaru, you can have anything you want on me." - Naruto

"Thanks guys." Shikamaru eyes searched for the bartender. "Hiroshi! A bottle of warm sake please. Better yet, make it two."

"You got it!"

'I really don't need this. But I'll give anything to have her right now. Temari…my Sand Goddess.'

Wow! This chapter wore me out, I forgot how much effort it takes to put in so much detail. My next chapter will be posted ASAP, so add this story to your alerts if you want to be posted. Review wouls be highly appreciated. Thank you readers!