Chapter 61

"Here's a letter from the Kazekage." Shikamaru approaches Tsunade's desk, giving her a scroll protected by a jutsu—only the person it is intended for can open it.

"It says here that you and Temari are already married…" Tsunade raises surprised eyes at Shikamaru before continuing to read, her eyes tracing the Kazekage's words before frowning. "He has conceded for the two of you to stay here until the time comes and he expects my full cooperation."

"My father—no—the Kazekage is using the marriage as a leash while he plots something. He probably allowed Temari to stay here in Konoha for us not to discover his plans until it's too late. All I know is it involves the baby and—"

"The baby?"

"Temari's pregnant with my child." Shikamaru figures Temari would not want it known that Sasuke is the father and he has a feeling that lady Tsunade would be more dispose to help in case war is inevitable if she believes the baby is his.

Lady Tsunade watches the man in front of her. Shikamaru, with his eyes, appears imploring to her, asking for her badly needed assistance. Finally, Lady Tsunade announces clearly, "Of course I will help."

"Thank you." Shikamaru bows down, bending at his waist, to show his gratitude. "And maybe the Kazekage won't act for now if he feels unthreatened by the secret…" Shikamaru raises his head and meets Tsunade's eyes. "I have implied that the new Hokage doesn't want her secret exposed."

"You have done right, Shika—"

"Didn't you hear the child, Tsunade? He wants the secret of his birth to remain a secret—if you keep calling him Shikamaru and with people recognizing the resemblance to Shikaku, people will eventually guess it," Jiraiya points out as he enters the room from the open window. That window of the Hokage's office opens directly to the roof. Jiraiya just blatantly admits that he has been eavesdropping from there all this time.

—o0o—

"Kamaru told me that you agreed to help us protect our child?" Temari asks Lady Tsunade as she finally lays eyes on the medic in a secret meeting called forth with only the people directly involved knowing that it's occurring right at the moment in one of the caves, deep in the Nara forest, protected from any piercing eyes by a powerful jutsu and by the creatures in the area.

However, Yoshino had put her foot down and was adamant not to grace the event with her presence. Shikaku, recognizing that it is best not to force his wife, had come alone, consoled by the thought that he is less conspicuous without his wife openly nagging him along the way.

Shikaku can only sigh. He hadn't seen his daughter for weeks and then as soon as she arrived home she announced she's married and pregnant. Her poor mother was in shock. Good thing Kamaru did not accompany Temari back home. The poor boy would have been skinned alive by Yoshino. Then amidst all the shouting that ensues, someone arrived with a message from the new Hokage about this meeting, asking also for Shikaku's assistance to secure an area.

The news about Temari's marriage and pregnancy has obviously broken her mother's heart …or maybe not quite... Shikaku slyly smiles. A baby is on the way. No matter what, that kid is his and Yoshino's grandchild. Later, his wife is bound to realize that and be pleased.

But at the moment is not the time to play the happy grandparent…

There's a reason why this meeting is a hush hush affair. After all, there is no assurance that the Kazekage has not already sent a spy to watch their every move.

Shikaku looks on at lady Tsunade. The new Hokage has worked fast and efficiently in organizing this meeting. The previous Hokage has come too. The silver-haired man is silently scribbling something on his small notebook, sitting cross legged on the dirt near one of the torches on the left side of lady Tsunade.

While his daughter, Temari, appears calm as she faces the older woman. Shikaku continues to simply observe. He has expected his daughter to be angry at the medic. But obviously, she's now a mature woman.

Lady Tsunade smiles as she reaches for Temari's hand, clasping it tightly within her grasp. "I don't regret my decision eighteen years ago and I would do anything once again if I have to, to save your child, Temari."

"It was mother—my real okaasan— who asked you to do it?" Temari pauses, deep in thought visiting the past. "As a mother, I now understand. I too would do anything to save this infant." Temari touches her stomach with her free hand while squeezing Tsunade's own clasp with the other.

"Good!" Jiraiya bursts happily, infusing some light-heartedness into their talk. "The first step that we should do is to ensure that the birth switch isn't discovered by anyone—not in the meantime anyway. As Kamaru pointed out, it will buy us time, which we will use to discover the Kazekage's plan."

"So far the only people in the know are you two, Shikaku, Yoshino, me, my wife, Inoichi and Choza. Shikaku has already talked to his friends before and have gotten them to swear that they won't tell, not even to their families. So we don't have to worry about Inoichi and Choza," Shikamaru points out to Jiraiya from his position near the opposite cave wall. He has been leaning on the rough surface since the meeting begun, almost out of reach by the torch's light.

Shikaku has to twist around to see Kamaru slouching on the cave wall behind him. The shadows cast by the light from the torch play on his son's face, giving him a more sinister look.

Temari glances too at Shikamaru. He is always, it seems, several steps ahead in trying to protect her. He tried to kill her once, making it appear like he is loyal to his father. But he did it so the Kazekage wouldn't be forced to lift his own hands against her. Next, Shikamaru proposed to her, manipulating her to say yes. Only after the wedding did she discover the threat the Kazekage posed on her child.

Temari scowls at the deceitful ass. It wasn't because of the baby or even because he wanted to get close to Yoshino—that's not why he married her. Shikamaru married her because he had no other choice, if he wanted to stop his village, Suna, from waging a war against Konoha. That is always his primary concern.

She's so fucking right. Despite appearances, the lazy ass does take his responsibilities far too seriously, even to the point that he ignores his own self. That's why he lied to get her to marry him. He made sure she won't be able to say no. He used her guilt regarding Yoshino and manipulated her. He wasn't protecting her or their child. He was merely doing his responsibility as a Suna shinobi. He was just trying to prevent a pointless bloodshed by sacrificing himself.

Temari feels her blood boil again as she continues to watch her husband as he discusses strategies with the two sannins and Shikaku. She can feel the rage swallowing her up. She badly wants to tell him, to shout that she doesn't need his help; that she's disgusted that he could believe the baby is not his but most of all she wants to throw it in his face that she hates him. She hates him for doing all these things out of a sense of duty.

Only, if she tells him all that, wouldn't she be revealing something more…

No, Temari shakes herself mentally. She won't say anything. She will just continue to allow him to protect her and their child…She won't expect anything more than that from him. To expect more is a sure way to get hurt.

—o0o—

"Wait 'til you hear this...In my next issue, called Icha Icha Jutsu, the male protagonist absorbs the family jutsu of the woman he has sex with. As propaganda, the reader will later believe that I based my story on you and won't question the similarity of your jutsu to that of the Nara's. After all, we can't know in advance when your jutsu will be revealed. By doing this we have already provided an alibi." Jiraiya pats Kamaru on the shoulder, openly pleased with his own cleverness.

"That's stupid! People already know that I can't manipulate the shadows since I was a kid," Temari protests. "So nobody would believe that Kamaru got the jutsu by simply having—" Temari seems to be stuck with the word, "—having sex with me!" she growls, her cheeks appearing flush.

"Correction. People haven't seen you use the shadows, it doesn't mean you can't," Jiraiya contradicts, ignoring the younger woman's uneasiness.

"It's a lame cover-up," Temari snaps.

"True. But actually it's easier to make people believe the unbelievable." Jiraiya smiles, enjoying himself, looking much like the pervert he is, as he continues to recount, "The woman in my story will lose her bloodline limit once she has sex—ahem—with the male lead. Of course, the only drawback of my ingenious plan is that people will assume that you two are already sleeping together for years. It will start them speculating on the last time someone saw you bend the shadows to your will. As nobody will come and claim an exact date, they'll just assume you two did it early on." Jiraiya's eyes are twinkling with mischief as he covers his chuckles with a loud fake cough, openly enjoying Temari's discomfort.

"So to cover up—I become a slut?" Temari glowers at the old man, looking at him furiously while he continues to now blatantly laugh.

Jiraiya-sama finally manages to control his mirth, as he asks trying to look serious, "Do you have a better suggestion that could later explain Kamaru's jutsu?"

"No," grumbles Temari. "But he has that—the one he's been using that fooled even me. He can continue using that jutsu alone!"

"It is a technique that works best in the desert, Temari. It's easier, if I use the shadow in its visible form here," Shikamaru clarifies.

"Hmn hmn," Jiraiya agrees to Temari's irritation.

"That settles it then?" Shikamaru enquires calmly at Temari, wanting to know her answer, if she agrees.

"I'm not a slut!" suddenly, Temari shouts furiously as she transfers her attention from Jiraiya to Shikamaru, her eyes glittering with suppressed anger.

"Nobody said you are," Shikamaru replies steadily, at a lost to understand Temari's outburst.

Nobody? Temari wants to punch Shikamaru in the face. The ass already forgot what he himself implied, saying the kid is not his! The jerk! Temari's eyes sharpen, meeting Shikamaru's with all the disgust she could muster.

Shikamaru clears his throat as he slouches more into the rough cave wall. Unable to face Temari's wrathful gaze, he swivels his eyes towards the nearby outcrop of rock…He should have known. The very thought of her sleeping with him for years is downright sleazy and too filthy to consider for Temari.

Lady Tsunade, who happens to glance up at Kamaru, watches covertly as the young man focuses a little too much on the inanimate rock. She doubts he's that interested on the brown solid outgrowth that littered the cave floor. More likely, the ground is a much safer place to look at rather than meeting Temari's glower.

Tsunade can only hide her smirk. Yes, it would be fun watching the Nara's boy feigning disinterest. If only their situation isn't so damn uncertain, with the danger just lurking.

Shikaku sighs and loudly interrupts everyone's thoughts. He slowly concedes to the plan as he proclaims, "Yoshino might not like it but since she's not here, she can't really complain."

Lady Tsunade nods her head towards the older Nara before she finally decreed authoritatively to Jiraiya, "Your plan will do for now. It will deter the gossip-mongers from the truth. If the Kazekage believes that we are doing all these things so that the matter of the birth switch is not revealed, he would think that I, the Hokage, is scared of the truth and desperately will do everything to keep it a secret. He will then decide that he can manipulate me with it, it will give us an edge later once he declares his intention with the child."

"Aw Tsunade, first you have to praise me my brilliant plan—"

"We're not going to keep Kamaru under lock and key. The people will become more suspicious if we do— like we are hiding something. With this Kamaru can join missions and do rounds without fear of his jutsu getting revealed and shocking people. I just hope it's enough to squash those inquisitive people in the meantime."

"I accept the high praise, Tsunade," Jiraiya cackles.

"I hate to burst your bubble but how about his looks?" Temari frowns at Jiraiya.

"You yourself saw the resemblance, Temari, but think nothing of it until…Anyway if he keeps wearing his hair down it should be okay," Shikaku answers. "Wearing a mask like Kakashi would only make the people more curious. Remember the number of ambush Kakashi had experienced so far—all trying to reveal his face?"

"Who's Kakashi?" Shikamaru asks.

"You'll meet him soon, son, as well as the others. You'll like them. You'll like Konoha."

Temari snorts. The lazy ass liking Konoha? Kankuro predicted he won't. His otosan said he would. She…she just doesn't care anymore.

TBC

~12 13 11, 8 31 11AF~

A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! Wah I'm so into this series I forgot to write a Christmas fic ~my bad~