Chapter 71

It just starts as a soft drizzle when all of a sudden water pours heavily from the heavens. Seeing another shinobi, his dark disarrayed hair peeking underneath his hood and his cheeks sporting red fang-like markings, waving at her from the protection of a shed Temari then runs towards that other shinobi.

The shed, a small infrastructure with four posts holding up a roof but having no walls on its sides, is strategically positioned. It isn't big but it offers shelter and an area of rest for any passers-by along this long, winding alternate trail to and from the training ground. The dirt track that leads to it remains in constant battle against the thick greenery that surrounds and continues to try to reclaim it.

Finally under the protective shade, Temari shakes off the water from her quad ponytailed hair and from her yukata as she mumbles a cursory thank you to Inuzuka Kiba, a former academy classmate.

"Where's Akamaru?" Temari asks, starting small talk. The rain is still going on full onslaught, each drop a painful projectile on anyone willing to brave its torrents. Experience has taught her that it will take a while before it will abate; seeking shelter is the best course of action when the weather in Konoha is like this.

"At home. We know it's going to rain this hard," Kiba answers, referring to his dog.

Temari's lips curl into an amused jeer. "Didn't know Akamaru's afraid of getting drench."

"Be thankful he's not here," Kiba grumbles, "otherwise you wouldn't be able to fit here with us."

"So he's not here out of bloody consideration," Temari scoffs, raising a well-outlined brow.

Kiba grins, retorting eagerly, "No! He's just busy watching his pups!"

"Aw!" Temari raises a hand, enthusiastically patting Kiba on his shoulders on the good news. "Congratulations," she adds when simultaneously she hears her name being called by a familiar voice from somewhere off the distance.

Amidst the thick vegetation all around and being unfamiliar with the place; even the rain is now working against him, muddying the dirt track and erasing its trace. Furthermore, growing up in Suna, the heavy downpour must be unusual for him, making her chakra harder to pinpoint. Temari then smirks with her realization when suddenly a wild idea pops in her head.

An opportunity has seemed to present itself…And well didn't she promise to herself that she'll get her revenge?

Why not show him how little regard she has for him. Let him see her now.

Her hand that tapped Kiba's back then travels caressingly to his toned biceps before trailing down gently to his forearm. Upon reaching his hand, Temari intertwines her fingers with his. However, she has to tightly clamp her hold on his hand in view of Kiba's mounting reluctance.

"Temari, what are you doing?" Kiba looks confused, his eyes darting behind the kunoichi, towards the direction of the male voice shouting from a distance.

"Shhh. Just smile at me. You do flirt with all the girls, why not with me," Temari utters coyly but her eyes shot him a fiercely intimidating look before sneaking a peak sideways behind her.

Kiba swallows. "Oh shit! That's your husband, right?" Kiba agitatedly shakes off Temari's hold on his hand—unsuccessfully—as he looks again over Temari's shoulder. The unfamiliar voice is getting louder. "Crap Temari, you're going to get me in trouble. He's from Suna. I hear those bunch of shinobis are cruel! "

"Trying to make him jealous?" suddenly, dripping with ill-concealed mockery, another familiar male voice intrudes.

Temari, calculating her strategy for Shikamaru's coming while subtly forcing Kiba to go along with her plan, has unheeded the approach of the non-suspicious shinobi. Now, she wishes she didn't as she takes note of the sneering line on the new arrival's face. Immediately, Temari throws off the hand she's holding as if burned as she grunts loudly, "Why are you here?"

Sasuke tilts his head backward to look up pointedly at the roof of the shed. "Same as you."

While Kiba scrambles as far away from Temari as possible without getting drench, the shed is filled with heavy silence as Sasuke's allegation hangs in the air. Finally, the kunoichi grits her teeth as she rasps, "I'm not," grumpily denying Sasuke's words. Damn it! She was just going to show the asshole how inconsequential he is to her, nothing else.

"I just saw him." Sasuke's eyes move indicating the direction where he last caught a glimpse of the Suna shinobi. "He should be here unless he's avoiding—" the new arrival pauses challengingly, "—me."

"Stop being so full of yourself," Temari snaps. Seriously, the world is not divided into nins waiting to challenge Sasuke and those that run in fear away from him.

Sasuke remains standing with his arms crossed, the slant of his eyebrows not looking good while Temari's stance is not any better.

Hastily, Kiba from the corner of the shelter moves closer to butt in, "Good thing you arrived, man. She almost had me pulverized by her mad husband."

"Yeah, that's true." A corner on Sasuke's lips unexpectedly tilts upward in an evil grin. Addressing the blonde kunoichi, he taunts, "You almost have Kiba killed."

The rain continues to patter heavily on the roof and soak the landscape but the voice that calls her name has stopped shouting. "Hmp. Obviously that's not going to happen," rasps Temari as she frowns.

"Tem, that sounded like you're disappointed," Kiba complains.

"Oh, shut up!" Temari growls; actually she feels deflated but she doesn't care to examine her reasons why.

—o0o—

After his talk with Temari's fat friend, Shikamaru has dashed all across Konoha searching for the troublesome woman. He shouts her name as the rain starts to pelt the earth; the haste of before fuelled farther by concern that she may get cold from the unholy deluge.

The thick greyish clouds he admired just a while ago have really opened up and seem, all at once, dump everything they contained. It's really bothersome. His untied dark hair sticks and moulds closely to his scalp and he can feel goose bumps rising all over his body. He doesn't think he has seen this much water in the whole of his life and his clothes, chosen for keeping him cool, doesn't offer sufficient protection against the cold.

Actually the rain isn't so bad. He can actually appreciate it on any other day considering such occurrences are rare in Suna. But then exposure to this kind of weather is bad for pregnant women. And Temari's yukata is thin and—

Tch, he need not have worried. Of course, the troublesome woman can take care of herself.

Shikamaru mutters something unintelligible under his breath as ahead he sees the shed and its occupants.

He then witnesses, despite the distance and heavy curtain of falling water, Temari clasping the hand of the hooded nin, his wild brown hair peeking out and the red markings on both cheeks prominent. But it isn't that that stops him from his tracks, still concealed from the other's eyes. Shikamaru's also aware that a dark-haired prick is about to join the pretentious couple in the shed.

Obviously, Temari's action is a blatant attempt to make Sasuke jealous but it backfires as the wild-looking nin is not willing to cooperate. Tch with the nin visibly trying to shake off the woman's hold on him even before she can throw his hand away, nobody's bound to believe her stupid show.

Of course, Sasuke won't buy into her farce.

Words are being exchange but with the distance that separates Shikamaru from them the only words he can actually understand is when Temari finally yells loud enough, "Oh, shut up," at the wild-looking nin.

Shikamaru shrugs. There's no point joining the group under the roof of the shed. He's already drench to the bone. His priority is to get a hot bath and he can do so sooner if he goes back to Yoshino's house.

Trudging back to the sprawling house with the mud caking his sandals, he has taken several steps when suddenly he feels Temari's presence behind him.

Abruptly turning to face her, easily hiding his surprise as he protests, "Get back to that shack, woman."

"I'm going home!" Temari snaps, giving Shikamaru a fierce look before sidestepping him, marching in the direction of the house.

Shikamaru hunches his shoulders and deposits his hands deep inside his pockets as he follows quietly the obviously pissed Temari. The walk back is done in silence while sleets of water pummel them.

After a while, addressing Temari's stiff back, Shikamaru mutters, "If you wanted him jealous, I would have made it more believable than that dirty looking nin."

Slowly, Temari pivots around disbelief written on her face. Ignoring the rain whipping her body, she can only stare unblinking at Shikamaru; opening and closing her mouth as words fail her in her incredulity.

Finally, moving her foot then the other, she takes a step towards the ass.

Shikamaru takes a step back to every step Temari takes towards him. Eventually stopping himself from cowering, he stands his ground. Only Temari doesn't stop, sidestepping him again only to proceed back to the shed.

Expecting to receive a whack on his head, Shikamaru whips around watching the woman's back, puzzled. Following at a slower pace as she dashes back to the protection of the shed, he calls her name, "Temari." But she gives no indication that she hears him.

Apparently, the incident at shed had distraught her; instead of acting violent she's giving him the silent treatment. Women. He should just leave her alone but it's getting cold and with her soaked through they should really be heading back to the house.

When Temari finally reaches the shed, Sasuke and Kiba are still there. The later is about to say, "Oi, Temari!" in surprise upon her unexpected return when the blonde kunoichi just suddenly grabs Sasuke's head and puts her mouth over his mouth.

Sasuke's arms, crossed on his chest, remain trapped between him and Temari. Not even a flicker of his eyes betrays any of his emotions and just as suddenly as he is kissed, the kiss ends.

But for the foreign shinobi frozen several feet away the kiss seems to have lasted a lifetime.

Without saying anything to Sasuke, Temari faces the man who due to an official scroll people now label as her husband and roars fumingly at him, "There. Just draw your own conclusion, asshole!"

Then Temari hastily mumbles an apology to Sasuke, too low to be heard by anyone except him, before she marches towards her husband, angrily bypassing him as she hurries on her way back home.

Shikamaru doesn't bother going after her this time. He can't breathe, it seems his throat has closed up and won't accept air. His body feels numb and he simply can't move.

The wild-looking nin is waving energetically at him asking if he's okay while Sasuke meets his eyes, not a spark of guilt seen.

Deliberately, Shikamaru slowly flexes his fingers, commanding them to move. He has done this a lot of times. He has told himself before that he doesn't care. This time is no different. It's nothing. He can also shrug this one off—Temari's deliberate admission that she likes Sasuke. It's not like he didn't know.

Whatever the woman had said to Chouji was meant for Chouji's benefit and Ino's. Shikamaru should have figured that out before rushing like a stupid fool all over Konoha. Of course, Temari just couldn't have her teammates continue believing she likes Sasuke now that the prick's married to someone else.

Finally seeing the two kiss is worse than just imagining it.

But then…Damn it he brought it to himself. It's his fault for coming here.

However, there's one fact that is in his favour. The troublesome woman is his wife. Not that cold prick's.

Clenching his hands at his sides, Shikamaru slowly stoops down at his waist, bowing in apology to Sasuke. "I will control my wife next time. You don't have to worry about her doing it again."

"I'm not, Sabaku," Sasuke answers; his haughty gaze following the foreign shinobi's movement.

Shikamaru, standing straight, controls his urge to rearrange the cold bastard's face. Donning his mask of nonchalance, he puts his hands back inside his pockets as his eyes appear almost bored.

Kiba, sniffing the air, suspects that the Suna nin must be angry beneath the uncaring surface. Man the lucky bastard has Temari as his wife; the blonde bombshell is scary but she's sexy as hell too. The foreign nin must feel something aside from boredom otherwise he's not a man.

Furthermore, he has heard of the rumour that Suna shinobi's are cruel and treacherous. That's it! Kibagrowls, his formidable canines showing, "Tem will kick you in the balls if you're planning on beating her for that one lousy kiss."

Shikamaru just shrugs his shoulders.

The foreign nin, with his black hair sticking to his head and nondescript clothes, he doesn't look much…but look at Naruto and how awesome he is. Kiba hurries to add, "It may be normal in your village but here abusive husbands are highly illegal."

"Tch, that's too troublesome," Shikamaru replies meeting Kiba's distrustful eyes, "We haven't met. I'm Sabaku Kamaru and you're—"

"Inuzuka Kiba. This is Uchiha Sasuke." Kiba gestures at the unfriendly nin standing beside him as he grins slowly. Somehow, he now understands Temari trying to make her husband jealous. The lucky bastard is either not jealous which is such a lie or too good at hiding it. Rubbing his hands together, Kiba can't wait to tell the others about this piece of news.

"I know." Shikamaru nods his head. "I better get going."

"It's good to meet you!" Kiba shouts at Kamaru's departing back, his grin further splitting his face. Of course, the supposedly indifferent foreign husband knows the village heart throb. That put the nails on the coffin, man!

Shikamaru answers back by a simple upward flick of his hand, trudging back on the muddy path as the bad weather continues.

"He seems okay," Kiba can be heard saying to Sasuke from the safety of the shed.

Sasuke's reply to that, however, Shikamaru can't overhear anymore.

He clenches his teeth, stopping them from clattering due to the cold. Whatever Sasuke's answer doesn't matter because he'll see to it that Temari is his until his time is up.

TBC

~12 28 12 A 13~

A/N: Whew finally reached 100,000 words…how did it get so long?

Review…it lets me know you guys are still there :)