without word
In a room there were two men who were busy working. More like just someone. The younger man continued to babble non-stop despite getting no response from his colleague who was busy researching the documents. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
"Where's yesterday's report?"
"Oh, Hokage-Sama," Yurito, the man who had been chattering greet the Hokage, Kakashi Hatake, who was standing at the door.
"Third pile from left, second row," answered the other man who had been busy working, Nara Shikamaru.
"Oh found it. Doesn't this report have an attachment?" Kakashi opened the report in his hand.
"Second pile, third row," Shikamaru answered quickly.
"Your presence is really helpful, Shikamaru." Kakashi looked at the young man in amazement in front of him.
Since the fourth Shinobi world war ended, Shikamaru made a request to the Hokage to appoint him as one of the assistants. He wanted to practice his abilities and prepare himself before becoming Naruto's right hand, when his best friend occupied the Hokage seat. And Shikamaru proved his ability, he can handle almost all problems, both internal Konoha problems and diplomatic relations with other hidden villages.
"You guys don't forget to rest, if you are tired then your performance will decrease. Especially you, Shikamaru. Go home today," said the Hokage before leaving the room.
Shikamaru sighed. He also wanted to rest if he could. But the work is piling up, especially because of the upcoming Shinobi alliance meeting. Shikamaru who was appointed as the leader of the alliance representatives has a big responsibility. Not to mention his daily duties as the Hokage's assistant. And again, he had to make time to keep practicing. To be honest he felt a little tired.
"Senpai, you're not coming home?" Yurito asked breaking the silence.
It was already 8 o'clock in the evening, it was time for them to return home. Shikamaru shook his head, "You go home first. I still have work to do," he said.
Shikamaru couldn't possibly force an assistant apprentice like Yurito to help him through the night. Therefore, like it or not, want it or not, he has to finish the job himself. Shikamaru looked tiredly at the pile of documents in front of him that seemed to never decrease. He began to move to select the existing files, while occasionally yawning.
Meanwhile elsewhere, a blonde girl with four pigtails was standing at the door of the Hokage's office. Her hand holding a scroll, the girl slowly knocked on the door. After being allowed in, she met the Hokage who was sitting at his desk.
"Hokage-sama," said the girl while looking down slightly.
"Ah, Temari-San. It's you. What's wrong? I didn't hear about you coming here," Kakashi said.
"This is sudden so I didn't have time to inform you, after all I'm only here to deliver this," Temari handed the scroll in her hand, "A message from Gaara, regarding the document of cooperation between villages. This document must be reviewed by all the Kage before being discussed at the next meeting," Temari explained.
Kakashi nodded in understanding.
"You must be tired, should I ask Shikamaru to take you to the inn as usual?" asked Kakashi.
Usually, Shikamaru is always assigned to accompany this girl when she comes to Konoha and that hasn't changed until now, even though Shikamaru has become the Hokage's assistant. \
"Ah, that's not necessary. I can find inn by myself. Besides, I'll be right back tomorrow morning," Temari said politely.
"I see, sorry to trouble you but can you help me check on Shikamaru?" said Kakashi with a small laugh.
"What's with him?"
"It's been 2 days he hasn't come home, I told him to rest but he refused, I thought maybe you could try 'persuading him'" Kakashi said.
Of course if it was Temari that was being talked about, it definitely wouldn't be the normal way of persuading.
"Okay, then I'll excuse myself," once again the girl bowed and left the room. "
Hopefully Temari can persuade Shikamaru, he's been pushing himself too much lately" Kakashi muttered.
Everyone already knew how close Shikamaru and Temari were. They always work together at every opportunity. Only Temari can control Shikamaru's character, and vice versa. You could say their match is almost 100%. Temari opened the door to the room where Shikamaru usually was. The room is right next to the Hokage's room, the place where the Hokage's assistants complete their tasks.
"Shikama-" Temari's words stopped when she saw the scene in front of her.
Shikamaru looked asleep on top of the pile of documents. His hand was still holding the pen. Beside him were several cans of drinks. Temari moved to the side of the table, lifted one of the drink cans and examined it. Temari recognized it as an energy drink that ninjas usually used when they needed days of reconnaissance or other urgent tasks. The drink can indeed make a person stay awake and also increase his energy. But still, the purpose of the drink is not to replace sleep. Seeing the number of drink cans in that place and the position of Shikamaru who was currently sleeping. Temari could conclude that Shikamaru was pushing himself beyond his limits.
Temari smiled when she saw Shikamaru squirming from his sleep, it seemed that the young man felt cold. Temari took her robe and covered Shikamaru. At first she planned to wake the young man, but she changed her mind. She knew, Shikamaru would definitely be forced to work when he woke up. After all, Shikamaru was similar to her. Both of them would not allow themselves to rest if there was still a pile of work waiting.
Temari scanned the pile of documents. Apparently the document is related to village data that will be discussed at the alliance meeting. Temari herself had worked on the data before, and several times she had also helped Shikamaru with the data. So more or less, she knew how to solve it according to Shikamaru's wishes.
'Looks like it's going to be a long night' Temari thought 'Hey, crybaby. Be grateful you have a friend like me' Temari said to herself.
The girl took a stool and started working on the documents, ignoring the fatigue from the long 3 day journey from Suna. Temari decided Shikamaru's condition was more urgent than hers, and she couldn't let the young man die of exhaustion in front of her eyes.
After a while of working, the document was finally finished and was piled neatly on the desk. Temari glanced at the clock in the room, it was already four in the morning. Apparently she worked longer hours than what she planned. At this rate, she would not have time to return to the inn, she had to go home immediately.
Temari stood up and stretched her body. Her eyes glanced at the energy drink can that was still untouched. She took a piece of paper and wrote a message and stuck it on the drink can. Having done so, she walked out of the room towards the village gate.
A few moments passed. Shikamaru finally woke up to the sunlight shining on his face. He glanced at the clock, it was already 7 in the morning. Since when did he sleep?
When lifting his body, a piece of cloth fell to the floor, Shikamaru picked it up. 'Robe? Who did it?' he thought. Shikamaru examined the robe, he seemed to have seen it before. Ah, Shikamaru finally remembered. He had seen Temari wearing this robe at a meeting in Tetsu village before. His cheeks blushed a little. 'Did Temari come to Konoha? Why didn't she call? It's nothing, isn't it my duty to be her escort?' the thought swirled in Shikamaru's mind.
His attention was distracted when he saw a pile of documents that had been arranged neatly. He picked it up and examined its contents. Everything was done perfectly, even according to what he thought. This must be Temari's job. In his heart he felt very grateful to the girl for saving him from the document that almost drowned him.
"But where is she?" Shikamaru muttered, looking for the girl's whereabouts.
But he didn't see Temari anywhere, at least in the room. Finally he decided to look for Temari elsewhere. Maybe Temari was visiting the Hokage's office, or maybe the girl was looking for breakfast. Shikamaru stood up and moved his stiff body, he lifted the empty can and threw it in the trash. As he did so, he noticed a slip of paper stuck to an unopened drink can. Shikamaru took the paper and read it.
For the crybaby and the lazyboy,
Why are you drinking this?
I wouldn't be surprised if you died.
It kills you faster than smoking, you know?
Shikamaru didn't take long to guess who the anonymous messenger was. There is only one person who has faithfully called him lazy and a crybaby since he was little, who else if not Temari.
"What a troublesome woman..." Shikamaru muttered in annoyance, but he couldn't help but feel a little happy knowing that Temari was worried about him.
Temari does have a unique way of showing her concern for others. She doesn't necessarily say directly that she is worried about someone, but she prefers to show it with actions. Attention doesn't always have to be in the form of words, right? Sometimes Attention can come without words, as Temari did.
He stepped out, after checking the Hokage's office and its surroundings. Shikamaru couldn't find Temari either.
"Shikamaru? What are you doing?" Kakashi greeted Shikamaru who looked confused and was looking for from something. In the young man's hand was a robe. Kakashi knew it was Temari's robe. He saw the girl wearing it yesterday.
"Ah, I-"
"If you're looking for Temari, you'd better try looking at the village gate. Although I think it's too late if you look for her now since she said she'll be back in Suna early in the morning" Kakashi said before Shikamaru could finish his sentence.
"Thank you," Shikamaru bowed and ran to the village gate leaving a smiling Kakashi behind his mask.
Arriving at the village gate, he saw no sign of Temari's presence. He approached Izumo and Kotetsu, the two Shinbi gatekeepers.
"Are you guys-"
"Temari-San has been back in Suna since 5 am, Shikamaru. You're late," said Kotetsu.
Again they answered before Shikamaru finished his question. 'What's with these people?' Shikamaru thought. How did they know he was looking for Temari?
"Ah, I-Is that so..." Shikamaru said.
He felt a little disappointed because he didn't meet Temari. It had been a long time since they had seen each other and without realizing it, Shikamaru had missed her. They would only meet again at the alliance meeting. And that's still a month away. Shikamaru walked back to the Hokage's office listlessly. Izumo and Kotetsu smiled at that.
"She should have just woken me up..." Shikamaru muttered
Elsewhere, Temari was walking towards Suna village.
"Shouldn't I just wake that crybaby, huh?" Temari muttered.
Apparently Temari also didn't realize that she actually missed talking to Shikamaru.
It seemed like it would take a long time…a very long time for both of them to realize and admit their feelings for each other.
But, could it be sooner than expected? Nobody knows.