Chapter 5:
Makoto took the stage and sat down on a wooden chair to observe the dancers. Guests grabbed their partners and scrambled to the floor as the band began the waltz. The dance competition had begun.
"What are you waiting for?" asked Naruto. "Get out there."
Shikamaru knew they were supposed to participate. It was for the mission. They had it all planned out. They knew what they were supposed to do. So why was he so nervous? Why was this so hard for him all of a sudden?
Shikamaru told himself to ignore it for now and go into mission mode as before. It didn't matter that it was Temari and their first dance in front of so many people. This was a mission. They had to figure this out. What if she was the next woman to vanish?
Shikamaru took Temari by the hand.
Temari turned her head to look at him, blushing.
He wasn't looking at her to notice when he said, "Let's go."
"W- wait-" Temari could barely get out the words as Shikamaru pulled her to the dance floor. She couldn't believe she was allowing him to lead her around like this. She must have been in a state of shock to allow this to take place.
Shikamaru stopped and faced her. He put his hand on her hip and the other he used to elevate her hand. Temari was frozen. Unable to move or speak. Her face kept getting redder.
"Put your hand on my shoulder," he whispered to her, looking away.
She clenched her jaw, lifting her hand to his shoulder as instructed. "At least have the nerve to look at me when giving me commands," she muttered. Though part of her was glad he was looking the other way so he wouldn't notice her red face.
Still facing the other direction, Shikamaru confessed, "I might be a good dancer, but I've never done this before. I'm trying not to get any more nervous than I already am."
Temari looked at his face, seeing the pink hue on his cheeks. He was just as nervous as she was.
"If it makes you feel any better," she told him, "this is my first real dance."
He looked at her. "Really?"
She didn't answer, keeping her lips tightly pressed together.
He smiled. "Well… Then I guess we're in the same boat. Let's try not to let it sink before we get to shore, huh?"
"Mm."
He moved closer to her, placing his hand on her back instead of her hip. "Do you know how to waltz?"
She shook her head. "I don't really know how to dance. Not stuff like this anyway."
"Not your style, huh?" He smiled calmly at her. "It's ok. I'll talk you through it. You basically move your feet in a box formation. One-two-three kind of thing. How about you just follow my lead?"
"You can waltz?"
He chuckled nervously. "Never publicly. I thought it might come in handy one day for a mission like this. Honestly, I'm better at dancing to other styles."
"Maybe that can work in our favor," she whispered to him. "Add some flare to our moves and make us stand out."
Shikamaru was about to respond when someone bumped into him from behind. The dance had already started and they were still discussing strategy. Shikamaru took the lead, spinning with Temari away from the other dancers, her feet flying to keep up.
Sakura clenched her fists under her chin, watching them from the refreshment table. "Come on, you guys…"
Naruto stuffed a finger sandwich into his mouth. "Shouldn't we be watching the people who aren't dancing?"
It was an awkward start but finally Shikamaru and Temari were able to get into the rhythm of things. As far as dances went, this wasn't so bad. It was nerve-wrecking and comforting being held in each other's arms like this.
Feeling the host's eyes upon them, Shikamaru and Temari looked into each other's eyes, communicating silently. They needed to get the host's attention on them so they could win. Temari had the right idea about adding some flare to their dance moves.
"Go left," Shikamaru whispered.
As she did, Shikamaru went right, resulting in them spinning with their chests together.
"Let go and spin outward."
Temari spun to the full length of their arms and Shikamaru coiled her back into his chest. They continued their waltz, hearing the pleased murmurs of the onlookers.
Temari smiled. This was fun.
Seeing her smile, Shikamaru was inspired to do more. He spun and stopped to dip her. Temari bent backwards, Shikamaru's hand on her back for support. He lifted her back up and Temari's smile was wider. Shikamaru smiled back, pleased.
This was so much fun. He loved seeing her happy. Temari had a nice smile.
He tried to lift her off the ground, but, given the lack of warning, he nearly dropped her. He recovered by spinning, acting like it was part of their routine. He didn't try lifting her again, but Temari was having a wonderful time. Shikamaru was holding her so closely after nearly dropping her as if trying to protect her from falling. This close, she could easily rest her head on his shoulder, which she did.
Shikamaru stiffened and blushed. Then he relaxed, knowing she felt comfortable around him enough to do this. He lightly caressed the top of her head with his cheek. Fearing she wouldn't like that, he turned his head away so she would think he brushed against her by accident.
She felt his face on the top of her head and believed it was done deliberately. Not that she minded. Shikamaru's choice of affection didn't annoy her. She felt a little humbled to know he felt comfortable enough around her to do that.
"Another spin, maybe?" he suggested.
"Better than trying to lift me."
Shikamaru bit his lip. Did she know what he had intended and proceeded to mess up? He didn't say anything just in case he was mistaken.
They spun several times towards the center of the dance floor. Another couple were attempting the same thing and Shikamaru halted to avoid hitting them. Temari seemed intent on shoving them out of the way and kept going. Her foot hit the side of Shikamaru's and she started to pitch sideways. Still holding her hand, Shikamaru pulled her up and into his chest and spun away to avoid the other couple.
Temari looked up at Shikamaru and he looked down at her.
Her eyes sparkled under all the gleaming chandeliers.
She had never seen anyone look at her this way before. She wasn't sure how to interpret it. She looked away, blushing. She felt embarrassed. He could have been looking at her that way because she had done something wrong and was taken aback, or he could have been looking at her like she was an adorable puppy he wanted to cuddle. It could have been something else and not knowing what it was had her angry and frazzled.
"Your first time dancing is going pretty well," he said. "You're pretty good."
"Really?" She looked at him.
He was smiling at her. "Yeah."
She looked away again. "Ah, shut up." The complement did make her feel good, though, even if it was embarrassing.
Shikamaru attempted to continue the dance but only managed two steps before the band wound down and the guests applauded. The dance was over.
Their host Makoto was clapping and giving praise to the dancers.
Shikamaru and Temari looked at each other. Temari was the first to pull away.
"Well, thanks for the dance. Let's hope it was good enough for a prize."
"Uh, yeah. Yeah."
Shikamaru felt a tug and looked down. He was still holding her hand.
Temari noticed this, too, and gave him an expectant look.
"Oh, uh. Sorry." Shikamaru let go and looked away awkwardly. "Do we stand here to hear the winner or should we go over...?"
As he spoke, he attempted to walk back towards Sakura and Naruto. Not paying attention to where he was going and feeling warm after their dance, Shikamaru tripped over a man's foot and started to fall. Temari grabbed his wrist and kept him from hitting the floor.
"So uncool, Shikamaru," she told him with a smirk.
He stood up, brushing it off with a chuckle. "Ah, well, you know… All these lights and people…"
"Pfft. Excuses, excuses…" She put her hands on her hips.
"What can I tell you? You distract me."
She raised her brow.
"Not in a bad way. I…" Shikamaru forced himself to stop talking, fearing he would make things worse. "Want some punch?"
Temari laughed. "You are a nervous wreck tonight."
He rubbed the back of his head. "That obvious, huh?"
She patted him on the back. "It's fine. You're human."
Honestly, Temari knew she wasn't herself tonight, either. She would have given Shikamaru more of a hard time if she hadn't been distracted by her own anomalousness.
Sakura sighed, watching the two interact with each other. "I saw love blooming and now they're being all awkward. Who knew Shikamaru could be so weird?"
Naruto stuffed some cheese into his mouth from the table. "I know he's a better dancer than that. Maybe Temari made him nervous."
"I'm not talking about his dancing, you idiot. Though I've never seen him waltz before. That was pretty cool. Who knew he had style?"
Naruto drank from the champagne glass Shikamaru had refused to take earlier. "You know, while you were watching them, that one guy took off."
"What guy?" Sakura asked, turning around.
"The wine aficionado. That guy." Naruto pointed to the man coming back into the ballroom through the large wooden doors. "He took off during the dance and just came back."
Sakura reprimanded herself for not paying more attention. Naruto, of all people, noticed before she did. Seeing Shikamaru and Temari in such an unfamiliar setting distracted her. To make up for it, she hurried over to speak with him, thinking she could gather information.
Before she could reach him, their host nearly bumped into her, in a hurry from the stage. "Oh, sorry, young lady. You'll have to excuse me."
"It's ok," she said hurriedly, trying to keep her eyes on Sam. She moved around the host and over to the man with gloves avoiding the crowd by hugging the walls. Sakura did the same.
Sam turned around. "What are you doing?" he asked her, annoyed.
Sakura stopped. "Oh. Um…"
"Are you following me?"
"Uh…" Sakura tried to think of an excuse. Realizing something about the man, she said, "I was wondering if you wanted to dance. I haven't seen you with a partner, so I thought you'd be available."
None of the shinobi had seen Sam with anyone that evening and the party was couples only. This was highly suspicious.
"Sorry, I'm busy right now. Ask your own partner."
"Ok. Sorry to bother you." Sakura moved away but didn't leave, knowing she had to spy on this man. He was up to something.
Meanwhile, Naruto was complementing Shikamaru on his dance skills as Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "I doubt we did well enough to win anything, but hopefully we'll see the winners and their prize."
"That Makoto guy disappeared right after the dance." Naruto looked around. "I don't see him anywhere."
"He might be going to fetch the prize," said Temari.
Shikamaru handed Temari a glass, holding one himself. Neither of them drank but just holding them made them feel like part of the party. Some dancers were drinking deeply from their glasses, thirsty after all their exertion.
Along the wall, Sam moved back towards the refreshment table, Sakura not far behind. He started to fill a plate with shrimp and fruit, stopping only when he saw Sakura standing across the same table. She took a piece of shrimp and ate it, pretending to be there only to fill her stomach. He ignored her after that and walked away with his plate and no drink.
Sakura returned to her friends and told them what she found. "I still haven't seen him with anyone and it's couples only. Who's he with? Why's he here? Must be up to something. He disappeared from the dance not too long ago while the host was distracted watching the dancers."
"If he left the building, the shinobi outside would have seen him. But we know there's a wine cellar and he's interested in one of the products."
"Does he know where it is?"
"He might have been trying to look for it. Remember, I saw him in the hall before and Haru stopped him. Sam must have been trying to find the cellar."
"Sounds about right."
Makoto moved quickly towards the stage and the band stopped playing, drawing everyone's eye to the front of the room. "After much consideration, I've decided a winner," he announced.
The shinobi listened, keeping their eyes on the party guests as they did so, curious about their reactions.
"The winning couple for our glorious waltz is… you two. The gentleman in earrings and the young lady in the red strapless dress."
Temari took her lips away from the glass she was about to drink from in shock. Shikamaru for a moment had to look and see the color of Temari's dress, unsure if they were the winners. The parting crowd and applause left no doubt that they were the victors.
"I don't believe it."
Makoto waved them forward. "Yes, you two. Please, come collect your prize."
Temari left her glass on the table beside Shikamaru's and walked alongside him towards the stage. Makoto greeted them warmly and congratulated them once again.
"Just out of curiosity," Temari said to Makoto, "why us? There must have been better dancers out there. I wasn't even sure what I was doing."
"True, but I wasn't necessarily judging the quality of your dancing," he told her. "You had excellent compatibility. You also looked like you were genuinely enjoying yourselves. I was looking for that. The other dancers were so stiff or lacking in some way. I was fond of you two."
"Really?" Temari wasn't flattered but surprised. Their host was certainly an odd man.
"I can tell," said Makoto with a smile. "Your passion for each other shined through in your dancing."
"Uh…" Shikamaru resisted the urge to correct the man, but he doubted anything he said would sway the man after seeing him blush at those words.
Temari looked more insulted than embarrassed. Another reason Shikamaru chose to keep his mouth shut.
"And for such a lovely couple, I have a very special prize for you." Makoto reached behind his back to grab a wooden box with intricate carvings. It was about the size of a shoebox- big enough to house a bottle of wine.
Shikamaru and Temari leaned forward to look at their prize as Makoto lifted the latch.
