Temari and Shikamaru headed out of their hotel room, the plan was to get their bearings of the town because neither of them could remember even arriving. At the hotel lobby, where there was a woman behind the reception counter.
"Oh hello, Mr and Mrs. Nasu, did you enjoy your night? Please, will you have a drink before you go out?" She asked them, offering them two cups of some pink drink in their direction. "Freshly squeezed juice!"
Temari kindly declined, saying they'd stick with water after last night's celebrations. "And we just really want to see the beach!" She giggled, her voice higher pitch than usual. Shikamaru glanced in her direction, what on Earth was that. He felt her grab his arm hard as she dragged him out of the hotel.
"Phew," Temari relaxed once outside the hotel.
Shikamaru looked at her hard. "What was that? I've never heard you ever speak like that. Let alone... giggle."
"Oh shut up- it's a cover. We need people to think we're a couple on holiday, who are stupidly in love."
"Well, alright then," Shikamaru said putting his arm around her waist, pulling her in close to him.
"Watch it. We're working," Temari said, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.
"I am working. We're stupidly in love, remember," he leaned into her ear and whispered, "Also, everyone is watching. So we need to sell it."
Temari looked around, he was right. Everyone in town seemed to be watching them, stealing glances, whispering about them. Guess they recognised them from the front page.
"Fine. But no funny business." Temari chided him.
"Alright, fine fine," Shikamaru assured her. He brought his hand from her waist and pinched her ass. She yelped in response. "Now let's go to the beach, dear."
They walked all around the town centre which wasn't very big. It was really a quaint little beach town, newly built following the Shinobi war- filled with clean, happy citizens. It looked done up, ready to welcome tourists. Temari wasn't sure where their target could be hiding or even who could be harbouring him.
They reached the beach, a long stretch of white sand with rushing waves of the ocean. He noticed Temari staring at the waves. "Once this mission is over, maybe we should come back. It's really beautiful here," she told Shikamaru, holding onto his arm.
The sun shined brightly in a cloudless sky. It was really hot in this town. Shikamaru was sweltering - he glanced at Temari who looked perfect as always - she was barely sweating.
"Anything you want, dear. Right now your dear husband is melting in the heat," he told her. Eyeing a drink stall on the sand, Shikamaru led her to the beach.
The stall was operated by a man and a woman, the latter who had a baby wrapped in a cloth around her chest. They recognised Shikamaru and Temari immediately.
You're the couple from last night! The one with a picture in the newspaper. A buddy of his had been there for the ceremony! Did you know the mayor was there! The Mayor is newly elected, don't cha know. They got a loan for this stall because of all the laws that the new Mayor passed. They loved the mayor! Almost as much as they loved true love!
Shikamaru was getting annoyed at how perky and chatty these two were.
"Hey sir, you're not looking too good in the heat there. Our new Mayor is a doctor, don't cha know?! He could check you out at the hospital."
"I'll take a water. Ice cold, please." Shikamaru ordered, half listening.
"How bout some juice?" the lady with the baby offered. "It's fresh, local and cold!"
Shikamaru looked down at the cup of pink liquid. it had that sickening sweet smell again, that made his stomach churn. "Just some water, if you have some."
"Of course dear! We have everything you need right here," the woman told her, reaching under the counter. Their stall was a little hut on the beach, it had beach gear, surfboards, water floats, first aid kits, swimsuits and a large freezer.
"How bout some home made ice cream?!" The man exclaimed, taking some out from the freezer.
Temari took one happily, as Shikamaru expected. It wasn't known to many people, but Temari had a huge sweet tooth.
"Just water." Shikamaru told the man. The man told them the price of water and both their eyes went wide.
Temari handed them some cash. Shikamaru started grumbling about how the water was more expensive than juice. It was criminal.
Temari had her popsicle. It melted right on her tongue. She took a large bite, crunching the ice in her teeth. It was refreshing, with a tinge of sweetness- like mango. She finished it in two bites. The icy coolness washed over her, leaving a surge of comfort. It was her first 'meal' of the day and she hadn't drank any water yet so this was a real treat.
The rush of waves hit her ears again. Her eyes fell back onto the ocean. Despite being a woman of the sand, Temari always felt deeply connected to the ocean. It's vastness. It's glittering calmness. The unbroken ferocity of the water. She watched the waves rise and fall. How she wished she was on a real holiday. How she wished she could jump in right then and there. How she wished so badly that she could surf.
"This town is cute but it's a real tourist trap. That much for water? They probably push their local juice so hard because they want their tourists on a sugar rush their entire trip. Dehydrate the visitors and then make them pay exorbitant amounts on water - which really ought to be free," Shikamaru was grumbling.
"Hey! Wait- you have to pay for that!"
He turned around, to find Temari missing. A clean popsicle stick of water sat on the counter. And a blue kimono was on the floor in the pile. The woman with the baby on her chest ran out from hehind the counter.
Shikamaru's eyes followed where the woman was headed. A short haired blonde woman was running to the ocean with a bright red surfboard. Shikamaru's mind began to race, What was this woman doing? Was she mad? He picked up her dress from the sand. Did she just strip down to her underwear and jump into the ocean?
He watched as she waded into the water and climbed up onto the board. She started to paddle out further to the waves.
No way. Shikamaru thought.
The water began to rise as a tall wave approached, curling toward the coast. Temari jumped on her feet, trying to gain balance.
No way, can this woman from the desert... surf.
Shikamaru watched as the first wave came and she was thrown off her board. He wished he wasn't right, but he also knew better than to underestimate this troublesome woman.
Her blonde head popped up again, sticking out against the blue of the water. Shikamaru watched as she paddled back and prepared for the next wave. This time the wave came and Temari got up and leaning forward, she rode the wave in fierce speed. He stood there for the next few minutes, watching Temari master the waves. He saw her face light up, her laugh carried in the air.
Shikamaru noticed the crowd picking up, to watch the only surfer in the water. No time at all, he thought, watching her pick up speed and then do a flip. Show off.
He sat on the sand, below a tree sipping his water. She was as diligent as she was naturally talented, he thought, wondering how long she'd take to be a pro.
After a few more waves, Temari started paddling back to the coast. She stabbed the board into the sand and pushed past the crowd to where Shikamaru was. Her face was full of emotion with a huge smile, her eyes wide with excitement. She ran toward him and tackled him to the ground, wrapping her arms around him. She sat on his hips, pushing his chest against the ground and began talking really quickly, "Did you see me?! Did you see the water was about 8 feet tall and then when I flipped, the water-"
"Temari?"
She was still rambling, barely taking the time to breathe. Every word from her mouth shot out with terrifying speed.
"Temari!"
She didn't stop talking.
Shikamaru was shocked at her behaviour, he knew Temari could be excitable but this was plain erratic. He grabbed her face and looked in her eyes. Her pupils were dilated about three times their size. Her pulse was running a mile a minute.
"Temari, are you okay?" He said, finally able to get her attention.
"Huh? What? Do you feel like the ground is moving, Shikamaru? I feel so happy and so excited I think- I think-I think," Temari looked at him, taking a sharp inhale. The expression on her face changed.
Unfortunately, Shikamaru knew that expression. He'd seen often when the Konoha boys had their night out.
Shikamaru pushed her toward the grass, where Temari retched hard. There was a lot of liquid, most of it was a bright shade of pink. It had that sickening sweet smell. Shikamaru would have been totally grossed out if he wasn't concerned for Temari. Then she passed out stone cold on the ground.