Shadows, casted onto the dull stone, flickered every so often. The lights that caused them to do so dimmed for brief moments, before shining with their full brilliance half a second later. The inconsistent pattern irked Shikamaru. His brow creased as he tried to shut out the annoyance, but it was a failed endeavour. Instead, he attempted to focus on the other details of the room.
A long, black table served as the centrepiece of furniture in the expansive room. Five chairs were dotted around the wood structure which, from personal experience, Shikamaru hated as his back became sorer and sorer against the stiff oak. Even with the carved armrests, Shikamaru couldn't find a position that offered him any shred of comfort. Draughts of air, coming from somewhere he couldn't see, conditioned the room to an autumn cool that reflected the outside world.
His lazy squint came across a hateful glare. Never struggling to place the owner of those dark pupils that could have easily been mistaken for bottomless pits, Shikamaru looked away from eternally angsty Sasuke across the table. When Shikamaru eyed him in the corner of his vision, Shikamaru noticed he was still staring daggers at him.
"What do you want?" Shikamaru asked, finally breaking the heavy silence. Unfortunately, his sarcastic tone only served to further annoy Sasuke.
He muttered something under his breath. From what Shikamaru could tell from his lips, he definitely didn't think that Sasuke was giving him any kind of praise. Sasuke's gaze switched from Shikamaru to the door far behind him. "He should be here by now" he gritted his teeth as he seethed in his, barely contained, internal rage.
Shikamaru cocked his head towards the other seat on the side of the table opposite him. To the left of Sasuke were two more chairs, the one closest to him and in the centre of the three was empty. But the one furthest from Sasuke, on the other side of the empty chair, was occupied by the elegant Hinata. Even as she looked entirely bored out of her mind, she still kept her graceful posture. Chalking it up to her upbringing in the Hyuga clan, Shikamaru couldn't help but be impressed by her elegant poise at the table. When he turned his head to the side to look at Temari, he compared their differences and noticed that even if they were both raised as, essentially, princesses, Temari was still slightly laxer with her etiquette in favour for her more challenging personality.
"So where is he?" Shikamaru asked.
When she heard his question, Hinata simply smiled. Humming a quiet tune to herself, she seemed lost in thought. But Shikamaru found that the dreamy look in her eyes frightened him more than Sasuke's murderous glare. Temari looked at her questioningly, wondering why she wasn't answering. Her only guess was that Hinata knew, yet it wasn't an answer that Temari wanted to hear.
Just before she was about to give in to her curiosity, the door behind her and Shikamaru swung open. Everyone turned to the loud slamming at the entrance, and easily recognising the large blond jinchuriki that strutted in. His bright smile only managed to annoy the majority of the room's occupants. Except for Hinata, whose smile grew even wider at Naruto's appearance.
"Hey guys!" his voice reverberated around the walls. Walking around the table, he took his seat in between Hinata and Sasuke. Looking around, he gave a confused frown. "What's wrong?" he asked innocently.
Shikamaru interrupted before Temari, next to him, snapped at Naruto. "It doesn't matter, let's just get on with this" he gestured to what was on the table.
Naruto nodded. "So what's the next part of this plan of yours, Shikamaru?"
They all looked towards where Shikamaru was pointing. The sheet of paper crinkled over the wooden tabletop. It clearly had been studied meticulously, with many sections labelled and covered with notes. Temari looked over it curiously. She'd seen this map previously; Shikamaru was usually staring at it in his spare time. But when she carefully read over his notes, their accuracy shocked her. Squinting to fully make out his awful handwriting, Temari realised that Shikamaru was even scarier than she thought. Over each nation were essay long evaluations of tactics, strengths and weaknesses of their Hidden Village's shinobi. When she sped through his notes on the Hidden Sand Village, she was surprised to see that he had managed to estimate a terrifying amount of the village's vulnerabilities and its most powerful strategies. Temari had never told him anything about the Sand outside of their work, but he apparently didn't even need to hear it. The only solace she could take, was that he could only guess, and Shikamaru definitely preferred to be cautious so he wouldn't act unless he was quite certain of the facts.
One of the more recent markings was centred around the Land of Waves. To the east of the large tick he had made, Shikamaru had circled what looked to be the Akatsuki's next target. The Land of Water, and its own Hidden Mist Village.
"The Blood Mist Village" he said. The old nickname chilled the room by a few more degrees.
Sasuke scoffed. "That name lost its meaning long ago, we won't have much trouble taking the Hidden Mist"
"You're probably right" Shikamaru responded, much to Sasuke's surprise. Taking advantage of Sasuke's bewilderment, he pointed to a familiar place on the map. "But this is the way we can make it easier on ourselves"
Following his fingertip, Naruto read the name. "The Hidden Leaf Village?" his voice gave away his confusion.
"With all the commotion in the Land of Waves, I'm guessing that we'll have stirred the Five Great Nations into taking even further action" Shikamaru explained.
Sasuke interrupted before he could say anything more. "You're guessing" his tone perfectly matched his glare.
Choosing to ignore him, Shikamaru continued. "After having her most reliable shinobi badly wounded in battle against Sasuke, I'd bet that the Hokage has called for another Five Kage Summit to ask for cooperation from the other Hidden Villages"
"So we attack the Hidden Mist Village whilst the Mizukage is attending the summit?" Temari assumed. The others looked towards Shikamaru for his confirmation.
But Shikamaru shook his head. "No, we are going to aim for the Mizukage herself" he said. "With her, we'll pretty much have full control over the Land of Water"
He could tell that they weren't expecting that kind of answer. But they seemed to be intrigued by his plan, as all of them leaned in closer. Along the map, Shikamaru had drawn three dotted lines that connected the Hidden Mist to the Hidden Leaf.
"And, how do you know that the summit will be held in the Hidden Leaf Village instead of a neutral location?" Hinata asked.
Thinking about his answer for a moment, Shikamaru tapped the map. "Because the bonds between the Five Great Nations have only strengthened since the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War, so the four other Kage won't mind visiting the Hokage in the Land of Fire" he explained.
"Fighting Granny Tsunade sounds like fun!" Naruto exclaimed as he licked his lips at the thought.
Temari raised her finger interruptingly. "But we won't be fighting the Five Kage, will we?" she turned back to Shikamaru.
He nodded. "No, we'll be taking on the Mizukage and her guards only, by intercepting them before they even reach the Hidden Leaf Village"
Becoming even more interested in his plan, Sasuke leant forward. He propped himself up by his elbows, his hands clasped together. "How do you know what route they'll take?"
"It would have been between these three, but with our recent activity in the Land of Waves, I'm sure the Mizukage will avoid the route that takes them through it, so…"
"… So, two teams can cover a route each" Temari finished his strategy.
They stared at Shikamaru, impressed by his tactical mind. Dumbfounded, Naruto let a goofy grin spread across his face. Hinata mirrored his expression with her own excited smile. And even Sasuke smirked as he saw the next step towards their goal coming to fruition.
"Now, the problems we'll have to deal with first, however, would most likely be two very different things" Shikamaru continued whilst he still had everyone's attention. "First, the Mizukage's bodyguards. Ao, an ex-ANBU shinobi, has incredible sensory capabilities. Avoiding his Byakugan will be a pretty crucial task if we ever hope to lure the three of them into an ambush"
"Then that sounds like the perfect job for me" Hinata clasped her hands together excitedly. "His stolen Byakugan should be no match for mine, after all" she bragged.
Shikamaru seemed pretty content with that. With one problem now solved, he moved onto the next issue. "And the other would probably be… Chojuro, the last of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist; something about his weapon bothers me, so we should aim to take him out quickly. After he's been dealt with, we'll be free to grab the Mizukage herself" Shikamaru explained.
"Then I guess you want me to fight him, sword on sword?" Sasuke asked, patting the hilt of his Kusanagi which he had leaned against the table leg closest to him.
Then he frowned, questioning the awkward look on Shikamaru's face. "Uh… no" he turned towards Naruto. "You should be the one to go against Hiramekarei" he announced.
"Hirame-what?" Naruto looked confused.
Temari sighed. "The sword that Chojuro wields" palming her face.
"Oh… okay!" he smiled, now with his new understanding of the situation. Although Hinata didn't look so happy, shooting a death stare at Temari.
"Which leaves you and I to fight the Mizukage" Sasuke said.
Shikamaru nodded. "Well, you have fought her before haven't you?" he matched Sasuke's smirk with his own smug look.
"So what's the second problem?" Hinata asked. Amid his back and forth with Sasuke, Shikamaru had almost forgotten that he had said there were two problems. The bodyguards were one. And the second was…
"The Hidden Leaf Village" he declared. "Whilst travelling around the Land of Fire, we'll need to be cautious with our movements, in order to stop the Mizukage and her entourage from receiving any surprise reinforcements"
"I'm assuming that you have some sort of strategy for this" Sasuke said.
Pointing at a spot where the two routes intersected, Shikamaru explained. "With Naruto's Shadow Clone jutsu and a few dozen or so well-placed paper bombs, we should be able to cause enough confusion to make the group scatter into these two routes, one for the bodyguards with Naruto and Hinata. And the other for the Mizukage with Sasuke and myself. They'll be too close to the Hidden Leaf to turn back for the Land of Water, but they'll still be far enough that we can act without much interference"
As he went into the finer details of his idea, Temari ran the numbers in her head. Something seemed off, but she couldn't be sure what. It was a well thought out plan, there was no doubt about that. The way Temari saw it, she could have easily been convinced that Shikamaru had worked at it tirelessly on his Shogi board. She imagined that he had managed to beat his impromptu opponent without them knowing what was going on. Like prey caught in the spider's web.
Then it all clicked. "So… what part do I have to play in this tactic of yours, Shikamaru?" she asked, a hint of nervousness creeping into her tone.
And her suspicions were confirmed as Shikamaru darted his eyes around the room awkwardly. "Umm… well it's better if we only travel in pairs, so I thought that, you kno—" he tried to get out his suggestion, but Hinata beat him to it.
"It looks like you'll be staying here, Temari" Hinata snickered at the face that she received. She stuck her tongue out as Temari stared daggers. Temari looked around, searching for any signs of support. But it seemed that everyone had made up their mind and fully agreed to this plan of action.
They all decided to leave later that day, so as to not leave any chance of missing the chance to ambush the Mizukage and her entourage. And their war meeting came to its conclusion. When they reached the corridor, Shikamaru split from Sasuke and Naruto. He headed towards his room, looking as if he was still deep in thought. Sasuke walked with a maleficent aura about him, barely noticing the gallivanting Naruto next to him. Temari moved to follow Shikamaru, slightly down after the meeting. But when she heard the door slam shut behind her, she felt a small tug on her shoulder. Pulled around, she was met with piercing clear eyes.
"Aww, is someone sad that she was left out?" Hinata pouted at her.
Temari was really starting to get annoyed by Hinata messing with her. Her blood boiled, and something finally gave way. Before she had realised what she was doing, Temari had pinned Hinata up against the wall. The difference in their heights was apparent, as Temari towered over Hinata. The smaller kunoichi didn't seem to be bothered by this, however, as Hinata simply smiled up at Temari. The more Temari seethed at her, the more pissed off she would get. Her grip tightened on her shoulders.
"What… do you want?" she hissed. Hinata giggled smugly. Even if she was enraged by her, Temari still noticed just how cute she looked when she laughed. Temari wondered if that's what Shikamaru thought whenever she laughed, but she doubted those hopes.
Hinata placed a finger to her lips as she smiled innocently. "I just wanted to ask you for a favour" she said.
"A favour?" Temari was taken aback by her response.
Humming her confirmation, Hinata licked her lips, sending a shiver down Temari's spine. She retracted her grip and crossed her arms, waiting for Hinata's request impatiently.
"While we're gone, do you mind… looking after the girls for me?" she asked, jutting out her lip.
"They're not your damn pets, Hinata!" Temari spat.
"Really?" Hinata leaned in close. Standing on the tips of her toes, she whispered directly into Temari's ear. "I beg to differ" her smirk was practically audible.
"What have you done to them?" Temari asked angrily as she pulled away.
A dreamy smile appeared on Hinata's face when she heard the question. "Oh, you know, just some collars and chains and the like. In fact…" she broke eye contact and her gaze dropped to Temari's tanned neck. "I wonder how long it'll be before you're all leashed up, on your knees"
Temari's face reddened as her blood bubbled at Hinata's words. She grit her teeth. "Are you threatening me?" her nails dug into her palms as she clenched her fists.
She gasped dramatically. With her hand covering her mouth, Hinata darted eyes side to side. "I. Would. Never" she turned and began down the hallway after Naruto. Swaying her wide hips, Hinata looked back at Temari and gave her a wink. "A word of warning, Temari! Do try your best to keep up with Ino, because she can be quite energetic. So have fun!"
And Temari watched as she skipped down the corridor, bouncing excitedly on her heels. Shaking her head, Temari spun and went the opposite direction to find Shikamaru.
She swung the door open. Looking around, Temari spotted Shikamaru. He was sat on the edge of their bed, with a cigarette in his mouth. At his feet, all of his different pouches were scattered between his legs. It seemed as if he was packing for his upcoming journey. Deciding to help, Temari plopped herself next to him. They were quiet for a while. She handed him different kunai, shuriken and paper tags for him to pack. The air between them felt awkward. They had always awkwardly conversed ever since they had begun to suspect each other's feelings for the other. But this felt different, almost as if Shikamaru was purposefully avoiding conversation with her. He had done something like this before, after the Fourth Great Ninja War. At that time, Temari had to pry the answers she wanted out of the mumbling and muttering Shikamaru.
"Shikamaru?"
He turned towards her, frowning at her worried face. "What is it, Temari?" he asked. After stopping everything that he was doing, he placed a hand on her knee.
"I'm sca… I mean, I'm worried" she caught herself before she said something so revealing. "The Mizukage isn't someone to just take so lightly" she warned.
His eyes dropped from her concerned face for a moment. "It's a good thing I'll have Sasuke to do all the work then" he snorted as he tried to lighten the mood.
She gave a little nervous giggle in response, putting him slightly more at ease. "Just… be careful, Shikamaru"
"I wi—"
He was cut short by Temari grasping his clothed chest in her clenched fist. "And, just so you know, you do owe me one for leaving me here"
And before he could respond, she yanked him towards her, pressing her lips against his. Moulding her soft lips to his mouth, Temari dominated the kiss with the surprised Shikamaru. Every muffled groan that he let out only served to add to Temari's confidence. After massaging his lips first, she prodded them with her tongue. He parted them, allowing her to slip her velvet muscle inside. Shikamaru wasn't sure why he was so surprised by Temari's ferocity, but the passion that she explored his mouth with was mind-blowing.
When they finally broke their kiss, Temari latched her teeth into his bottom lip, making sure to drag it towards her until she heard Shikamaru wince at her cruelty. She gave him a devilish grin as he rubbed his lip. Their enraptured staring was interrupted by a knock at the door. Shikamaru looked towards the entrance, then back at Temari. His coffee brown irises seemed hesitant to be deprived of seeing Temari for countless moments. But he gave in to his sense of duty, sighing as he got up from the bed.
Temari watched longingly as he opened the door, revealing the intimidating stature of Sasuke in the hallway. With one last look at her, Shikamaru followed Sasuke to the entrance of the hideout, where Naruto and Hinata were waiting for them. When she heard the stone shift far away from her, Temari knew that they had left.
Uhh-hhaaa!
Temari's yawning broke her out of her overthinking trance. She looked at the clock and her eyes widened at how late it had gotten. Crawling into bed, she tried her best to snuggle closer to Shikamaru's pillow, hoping to gain some sort of replacement for his warmth, no matter how little. His warm musk filled her nostrils, and her eyelids grew heavy. In moments, she was dozing calmly.
The silence of the empty halls crept up on her. It was a feeling that she was familiar with. After their long days of hard work back in the Hidden Leaf Village, Temari had often ended up accompanying Shikamaru to one of his favourite spots in the village. A small park, that overlooked the village's empty streets, sat opposite the Great Stone Faces of the Hokage. Shikamaru always leant over the railing and popped a cigarette between his teeth. They would always take in the view in silence. Only sometimes would they actually discuss anything.
The main reason for their mutual understanding came from Temari being discouraged by the stern look on his face. His hard stare across the Hidden Leaf rarely ever wavered, even long after his cigarette dissolved into ash. So Temari always tried her best to busy her mind with other things. She always felt a nostalgic solace whenever the wind was particularly strong some nights. It reminded her of her old home. She'd always smile whenever the familiar image of the strong winds rolling over the sand dunes flashed in her mind.
Temari had gotten so used to the face that Shikamaru would make. She'd deciphered it almost the first time she had seen it. In his dark pupils, thousands of distinct thoughts, ranging from conservative to radical ideas, flashed brightly. They glinted like star in the night sky. Even if they were so far away from her present reality, Temari couldn't help but be infatuated by their possibilities.
There was only one other view in the Hidden Leaf Village that compared that quiet park. After Sakura had been taken by the Akatsuki, the Leaf's higher ups went crazy. The burden of work fell heavily on Shikamaru, and Temari was forced to help out past her ambassadorial responsibilities. One night, she suspected that Shikamaru was coming close to his breaking point and suggested that they took a break. He thought about it for a moment and an idea seemed to pop into his head. Leading her through the streets and eventually through the Nara clan's district. Their path confused Temari, suspicions of Shikamaru bringing her home to meet his mother began invading her thoughts.
But when they arrived, Temari's mind cleared instantly. Stood in front of her was a wall of sturdy, tall trees. A thick canopy of dark verdant shades blocked many of the brilliant rays of moonlight. She stopped herself when Shikamaru strolled inside, remembering the stories of the Nara clan's forest. It was forbidden to outsiders, unless invited. When Shikamaru finally noticed, he smirked before beckoning her to come inside.
Aside from the dirt paths that had been traced through the woods, the entire forest was overgrown with nature in its purest form. Through the bushes, Temari spotted dozens of pairs of eyes staring at her like a deer in headlights. Then Temari jumped when she realised that they were deer, entire herds of them just watching her every move. She stuck closer to Shikamaru. Even if they were herbivores, the deer actually creeped her out in the silence of the woods. The sound of running water flooded her ears. And the trees seemed to part, opening into a clearing. A gushing river had carved its way through the clearing, dipping into a small pool at its end. The waterfall thundered as thousands of litres of water splashed against the rippling pool.
Looking at it closely, Temari immediately understood why Shikamaru had brought her here. The drops of water that sprayed off the waterfall's surface refracted the beams of moonlight and the mini rainbows that formed above the pool were mesmerising. When she turned towards him, to thank him for the invite, she found Shikamaru sat with his legs spread on the patch of grass next to her. With a smile on his face, he watched the clearing with his own clear expression. Deciding to just stay quiet, Temari plopped herself next to him, crossing her legs as she let herself become infatuated with the view.
A sound shocked her out of her hypnotised trance. A very familiar sound, but one that surprised her all the same. It was the sound of Shikamaru's voice that broke the natural silence between them. She turned to find him grinning at her, before repeating his question. It was a relatively superficial question, one that the two of them always tried to avoid asking. "How was your day?" he had asked.
But instead of teasing him for his pointless question, Temari found herself answering it. She talked about her entire day, from the early morning all the way to the late night that they had walked out into. With all her opinions, she let him add his own thoughts to the pieces of work that they had both been assigned. Workplace gossip made the two of them laugh and joke at the ridiculousness of the common rumours that had been circulating recently. The scene felt peaceful in Temari's mind.
Knock! Knock!
Temari's eyes snapped open at the sound of knuckles rapping against the door.
Creeeaakk!
"Temari?" she lifted her head off her comfy pillow and turned to the soft voice that had called her name. "Can we stay with you tonight?"
A/N- Hey guys, this chapter was just a short one but hopefully it gives you an insight into the direction that the next few will take. Let me know what you thought because I always like to hear your ideas. So, I'll see you next time and I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading.
Yours truly,
Signing off