A/N: Okay, so this chapter is going to set into motion a sequence of events that may anger some of you, but I want you to bear with me. I promise it all serves a purpose. Regardless, this one will be more flatly important than the last chapter.

Time for Chapter 39

Enjoy!


Kankuro looked on with slightly narrowed eyes as he laid back against the backboard of his motel bed. His stay in Konoha had been rather uneventful for the most part. Little out of the ordinary had happened. He and his team had passed through the first two phases of the exam with ease, and had all pulled through their preliminary matches with only a single scare between the three of them. Gaara's nightly bloodlust was as surprising as a heatwave in the summer to the puppeteer. It was part of who he was, for better or worse. Usually the latter.

Among the normalcy of their journey, a single nagging disturbance remained. Shikamaru Nara was far and away the most unruly aspect of their current situation, though the word hardly suited the Nara himself. He was nothing if not organized. Everything he did, small or large, served a purpose. Every word he spoke, every action he took. It made him intimidating in a very specific way. He was completely unpredictable.

'You came willingly this time. Temari didn't even have to heckle you.' Kankuro thought as he stared at Shikamaru, who was seated on the floor of the motel room. He was engaged in a game of chess with Temari. The fan wielder had gone out of her way to purchase a board and practice after having been thoroughly thrashed by the leaf genin four days prior. They were neck-deep into their seventh match that evening, and Shikamaru remained unbeaten.

'You're here for something. You don't even like her much. Or me, for that matter. You came for a reason.' the puppeteer silently projected to his sister's opponent. Two hours before the present moment, Kankuro and Temari had encountered the shadow user in Konoha's town square. Predictably, Temari had immediately struck up a forward-leaning conversation with the boy. Unlike every other encounter the group had shared with him, Shikamaru had been agreeable. He had accepted the inevitable invitation Temari had sent his way without a second thought. Stranger yet, it had almost seemed as though he was waiting for them.

If he was indeed angling for something specific by joining them back at the motel, his patience was admirable, as Temari had given him no time to settle before challenging him to chess. Shifting on his bed, Kankuro crossed his legs and sat up straighter. Observing the current state of Shikamaru and Temari's game, he found a familiar sight. His sister was on the attack, and the Nara was playing the role of matador.

'He's a bad matchup for her. She's too eager, and he's reading her like a book.' Kankuro thought to himself analytically. A quick glance at Temari's face revealed a new wrinkle, however. She didn't look frustrated in the least, despite her numerous losses. If anything, she looked rather enthused by what was unfolding before her. Furrowing his brow, Kankuro stole a look at Shikamaru's expression. As expected, his face bore a look of sluggishness that belied his frightening intelligence. As the minutes ticked away, something unexpected began to take shape.

Slowly but surely, on the back of the most minor adjustments, Temari found ways around Shikamaru's defensive shell. Through a clever, albeit risky, combination of throwaways, false entries, and unorthodox piece-placement, the fan wielder wormed her way behind enemy lines. Then, in an even more shocking twist, it all ended in a flash.

"Checkmate." Temari announced proudly. Shikamaru stared at the board, a look of genuine surprise on his face for perhaps the first time Kankuro had known him. The flash of disbelief didn't last long, as the Nara composed himself quickly.

"Huh. That's a first." he said blankly. Temari, who was visibly quite proud of herself, smirked and tilted her head off to one side.

"Never lost before? That sounds dull." she inquired. Shikamaru shook his head and scratched his cheek absently, his eyes fixed on the board on which he had been beaten.

"No, my dad beats me all the time. You're the first other than him." he clarified. Temari reached out and rubbed the top of his head mockingly.

"Better get used to it. We should make bets next time." she suggested. Shikamaru gave her a bored look and shook her hand from his head.

"I'll pass." he said bluntly. Kankuro suppressed a sympathetic chuckle. For all that he was personally unsure of what he thought of the leaf genin, Temari's antics were relentless. Finding that he was quite bored despite the shocking upset that had just occurred, Kankuro began to volunteer for a game. He hadn't even spoken a single word when the door handle began to twist.

All eyes shifted to the door, which promptly opened. Standing on the other side of it was perhaps the last person Kankuro wished to see.

"Well, this saves me the trouble of searching." said Gaara, who stepped through the doorway and swept his icey eyes across the room. Kankuro had long since grown used to his brother's natural aura of menace, but something about him was off. Though he always radiated a subtle hint of stability, it was more severe than usual. He was slipping, somehow.

"For me, I'm guessing?" Shikamaru asked while rising to his feet. In comparison to both Kankuro and his sister, the Nara was shockingly calm. As though he had been expecting his current situation all along.

"What tipped you off?" Gaara asked, slowly encroaching on Shikamaru's personal space with every word. The leaf genin shrugged his shoulders and stood his ground.

"You've been sulking around my house the past few nights. You're not all that subtle." he said calmly. Kankuro pursed his lips and shifted about uncomfortably on the bed.

'Don't talk back to him. You're gonna get yourself hurt.' he silently begged the leaf genin. Gaara's expression remained as sullen as it had been upon his entrance. For once, he wasn't bothering to put on airs.

"I don't need to be. You already know what this is about." the redhead said, a threatening undertone clinging to his words. Shikamaru slid his hands into his pockets.

"We already talked about this back in the lobby. If you had something to say, you should've told me when you had the chance." he shot back. He was unafraid, or so it appeared. Gaara gave a derisive snort.

"You're in no position to be snippy with me." he said. Tensions were rising, and quickly at that. Glancing over at Temari, Kankuro saw that his sister was as unnerved as he was. She was still seated, and her hands were clenched into white-knuckled fists.

"You're not much better off, I'd say." Shikamaru said testingly. Gaara advanced a few more inches. The Jinchuuriki had never much enjoyed being challenged, but his composure was visibly cracking far more quickly than usual.

"I think you'll find that circumstances don't mean much to me." he countered, his voice dropping a half-octave. The Nara boy held eye contact unflinchingly.

"If that's the case, why'd you wait for Haku to be out of the picture before stalking me?" he countered. Gaara's left eye twitched ever so slightly. Kankuro could hardly breathe. The rare occasions on which somebody had dared to give his brother such brazen pushback nearly always ended in bloodshed.

"You've got a few screws loose, but the one thing you always like to keep in mind is visibility. Do I have that right?" Shikamaru continued, pressing the redhead with another question. A low humming sound began to reverberate throughout the room. It was a sound the puppeteer had seldom heard, but knew the implications of all too well. Gaara was angry.

"You run your mouth an awful lot for somebody in such danger." the Jinchuuriki said darkly. Shikamaru's eyes drifted to the gourd on Gaara's back, seemingly to ensure that it was still sealed shut.

"I wonder about that, honestly. Couldn't help but notice that they still haven't found another body since you were interrogated. You've been quiet lately." he pointed out. The Jinchuuriki hesitated for just a moment. It was subtle, only a half-beat off, but it was noticeable.

"Maybe I've just been more thorough." he suggested. The Nara shook his head and stepped forward.

"I think you're feeling just a bit exposed for the first time in a while." he said, stopping toe-to-toe with the redhead. Kankuro's mouth hung open slightly at what he was witnessing.

'This is suicide. What the hell are you doing?' he balked within his mind. If the conversation at hand ended in anything other than Shikamaru's corpse twitching on the floor, it would be an anomaly.

"I could snuff you out before you even have the chance to blink. You're making a mistake." Gaara warned, straightening his posture to his full height.

"You could, but you won't. Not a whole lot matters to a bastard like you, but you seem like you value your freedom. Touch me or either of my teammates, and we've got probable cause to make you a suspect." the leaf genin said. He then leaned forward, his forehead tapping against Gaara's.

"One step out of line, and you're done. We've got a profile on you. Hurt anybody at all, and the walls close in." he said. He was openly threatening him. No hesitation, no qualms. It was a shocking sight to behold. Most jarring of all, a small bead of sweat slid down Gaara's forehead.

"You hide behind your schemes and plans. All because you're too weak to make things happen head-on. You're a rat. You're frail." the redhead growled. Shikamaru refused to budge at his scathing words.

"And you fall to pieces the minute somebody takes your toys away. If I'm frail, then you're a brat." he retorted. The room fell to a deadened silence. It was painful to breathe, as any action at all felt bound to set off an explosion. Then, just as the pressure was becoming truly unbearable, Gaara backed up a step, took a deep breath, and turned towards the door. As he turned the handle, Shikamaru spoke up once more.

"They also know who gave me the information. So, don't hurt your siblings. Same result if you do." he called out the Jinchuuriki. Gaara did not respond. He simply opened the door, exited the room, and shut it behind him. Kankuro stared at Shikamaru with wide eyes. He had not only survived challenging Gaara directly, but he had flatly shut him down.

For a time, the Nara stared at the door silently. Neither Kankuro nor Temari dared to speak. Shikamaru then made his way to the wall and placed his hands on it, leaning forward and taking a deep breath. Upon closer inspection, he was shaking slightly. He had indeed been afraid. He had merely been suppressing it.

'He's the best goddamn actor I've ever seen.' Kankuro thought to himself, shaking his head slightly. Temari slowly stood up to her feet. In a rare moment of softness from the fan wielder, she gently wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him from behind. Kankuro allowed the pair to share the awkwardly tender moment. When Shikamaru eventually stepped away from the wall and carefully freed himself from Temari's grasp, the puppeteer threw his legs over the side of the bed and joined them on their feet.

"If that worked, you're a hero. I hope you know that." he said directly, looking the Nara in the eyes. Shikamaru's mouth tightened into a thin line.

"Feels like a big if with him." he muttered. Kankuro shook his head and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"You did good. Breathe easy for now. You made him angry, but he's not dumb." he assured the leaf genin. Allowing himself to relax, Shikamaru cracked his neck and glanced up at the clock.

"I should probably get out of your hair." he said, looking back toward the door. Temari took a grip on his wrist.

"Don't think for a second that you're safe out there, even after what you just did. You're staying here again." she said adamantly. Shikamaru tugged against her, though it was clear he lacked the energy to try particularly hard.

"I appreciate it, but my mom would kill me. She scares me more than Gaara ever could." he said, his tone sounding only half-joking. Kankuro sighed.

"Let him go, Temari. He's got a life." he said in agreement with the leaf genin. His sister began to refute his words, but stopped.

"I'll walk him home." she reiterated. Surprisingly, the shadow user did not argue. Instead, he opened the door and stepped out into the hall. Temari promptly followed suit. The door then shut again, leaving Kankuro alone. Standing in silence, the puppeteer walked back to his bed and flopped down on the mattress.

'I…hope you survive where this is all headed, Shikamaru.'


Never before had a walk felt so utterly exhausting.

The distance between the motel and the Nara residence was far from daunting. Only a mile and a half or so. Yet, despite the rather small distance, Shikamaru found himself feeling sluggish less than halfway through. He was mentally shot, both on an emotional and intellectual level. The amount of willpower it had taken to control his fear in the face of Gaara had been staggering, as had been the trust he'd placed in his wit to carry him through the conversation. He felt drained, and slightly fearful.

The lone positive aspect of where he now found himself was the fact that he was not walking alone. Temari of the Sand would not have been his first choice of company, but she was certainly better than nothing, and truth be told, he found her far more captivating now that she had beaten him fairly in a pitched game of chess. Shikamaru Nara did not lose often in duels of intellect, and never to any other than his father. That was, before their seventh match of the evening. Shelving his mild frustration at the loss, the Nara boy glanced to his left, where Temari was walking at his side.

He said nothing initially, preferring to study the brash girl in silence. Her eyes were hard and focused, and her posture was rigid. She was on high-alert, and understandably so. As he began turning his attention back to the road ahead, Temari caught his eyes with her own.

"Whatcha starin' at?" she inquired humorously, her expression lightening somewhat. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and kicked a stone along the asphalt.

"You were actually being quiet for once. I thought there might be something wrong with you." he replied dryly. Temari let out a short laugh and stepped on his toes. The Nara stumbled forward, but caught his balance before falling.

"Didn't know you liked the sound of my voice so much." the fan wielder said, grabbing his arm to stabilize him as they walked along. Shikamaru sighed tiredly. He had poked a bear, and it had awoken.

"I've heard worse." he said. Temari blinked twice, clearly quite surprised to have received something resembling a compliment. She then smiled and fixed her gaze straight ahead. For a minute or two, they walked in neutral silence. Just as it seemed that the remainder of the walk would take place in peace, Temari posed a question.

"You came home with us because you thought he'd follow, didn't you?" she asked. The Nara boy nodded and swatted a gnat on his arm.

"Like I said, he's been stalking around my house at night lately, and I figured he was probably following me around in general. It was just a guess, but I got it right." he explained. An inward breath.

"I wanted to get him isolated somewhere. Doing that out in public would've gotten somebody hurt. I also needed to wait for Haku to be back on active duty. There's no way she would've let me play it so risky without jumping in and ruining it." he added. Temari whistled and raised an eyebrow.

"You really thought this through. I'm not surprised, but still." she said. Shikamaru stared up at the moon overheard. It was a sharp crescent.

"Getting him arrested was never going to work. It was a gamble, but I figured that scaring him was my best bet. He already knew most of what I told him, but reinforcing his doubts was the entire point." he said. They then turned onto another street, where the Nara residence was visible down at the end. At the sight, Temari stopped walking. Shikamaru halted alongside her.

"People really matter to you, don't they?" she asked. For once, there was nothing mocking or joking about her tone. The leaf genin looked to the ground.

"I have a lot of selfishness to make up for." he said honestly. He had done his best to leave the answer vague. He was far too tired to delve into his own personal mistakes. Thankfully, Temari made no effort to pry.

"Kankuro was right, you know. You probably saved lives tonight. I don't know your story, but that's gotta be a step in the right direction." she said encouragingly. Shikamaru looked up from the asphalt. The fan wielder's gaze was supportive, if still a tad invasive.

"Yeah, I think you're right." he said with a simple shrug. Temari grinned and punched him with a middling force in the chest.

"Hey, at least you've got something to be happy about after I kicked your ass at chess." she said jabbingly. Shikamaru scoffed at her comment.

"You went one and six against me. I've still got the winning record. Not that it matters anyway. I'll right that wrong." he said. Temari leaned in and folded her arms across her front in a way that very obviously accentuated her chest.

"Oh yeah? Does that mean you're gonna come see me on your own?" she asked. The Nara shifted his eyes elsewhere to avoid falling into her trap.

"Maybe I will. I don't like losing." he said. Temari reached out and grabbed him by the chin, turning his head to face her again.

"Sounds like a date. Just come looking one of these days. I'm not hard to find." she said with a smirk. Shikamaru wiggled his jaw free from her grip and rubbed his cheeks, which her nails had dug into inadvertently.

"I still don't get why you say crap like that to me. You said it yourself. You don't know me." he grumbled. Contrary to his assumptions, Temari's response was direct and without any clear ulterior motive.

"I just think you're pretty neat." she said, gesturing for him to follow her for the final stretch of their journey to his front door. Forced to jog in order to catch up, the shadow user fell into step with her again just as they were about to reach his mailbox. Within moments, they were standing at his front steps. Ascending them slowly, Shikamaru turned around to face her once he was at his door.

"You're a little weird, but…you're alright." he said, finding no reason not to be friendly at the very least. Temari smiled, far more genuinely than he had seen up to that point.

"I'll take it." she said happily. Sensing that the conversation had drawn to a close, the Nara boy turned around to enter his home. Before he could, he was interrupted one last time.

"Thank you for trying to protect us from him. That was sweet of you." came the voice of Temari. Looking back over his shoulder, Shikamaru saw that she had backed up several feet.

"You guys helped me, so I returned the favor. Besides, you're people too." he said. The fan wielder's expression briefly took on an emotion he couldn't quite catch, as it vanished without a trace quickly.

"Goodnight, Shikamaru." Temari said, turning her back and waving as she spoke. The shadow user watched her retreat into the night for several moments.

"Goodnight, Temari."


Satsuki dragged the eraser of a pencil across her lower lip as she stared at the half-completed sketch on the page in front of her. It was a horrid hour, half-past two in the morning, and she was nowhere near asleep. She had attempted to turn in for the night three hours prior, but had quickly discovered that her mind was too cloudy to be taken by sleep. As such, she had taken to several different activities in order to tire herself out. Initially, she had begun doing pushups, but upon reaching two hundred without so much as a crack in her consciousness, she had scrapped the idea.

Eventually, after a botched attempt at writing a story down, she had settled on drawing. She had never been much of an artist, but it was easy and time-consuming. Precisely what she needed. Currently, her perfectionism was slowing her progress to a crawl. Every single detail needed to be precisely as she had imagined it. The image she had chosen as her mental reference for her sketch was far from a conventional one, and putting it to the page was bound to become somewhat uncomfortable as the image formed, but she had come too far to quit.

Filling in lines, shading, and connecting certain shapes, Satsuki worked away. It was a slow process, with every minute of active work being interrupted by five of inertia. Despite the sluggish pace, the Uchiha girl hardly felt frustrated. In fact, she rather enjoyed the slow metamorphosis of aimless scratches of a pencil to a comprehensive picture. As the details came together, the Uchiha girl felt herself growing rather proud of her work. It was far from flawless, but things were clicking well.

'I should do this more often.' she thought to herself, a slight smile forming on her lips as she shaded a region of her sketch. She was hardly following a set plan anymore. She was drawing purely on feeling. It almost felt freeing. It was open expression, something she was desperately poor at most of the time. With each stroke of her pencil, the closer she came to completion, when she could look upon her art objectively. She was genuinely enjoying herself.

As she worked away, the girl's mind drifted to other topics. Come the next morning, just a day over a week remained until the final round. Her preparation was nearing completion, and she felt more lethal than ever. She was in phenomenal shape physically, and her technical proficiency across numerous modes of combat was as sharp as could be. She had even picked up a fair few new tricks during her sessions with Kakashi.

'I've gotta be up early tomorrow.' she thought to herself. Technically speaking, it was the earliest hours of Thursday morning, her first weekly day of training with Kakashi. At the rate she was going, she would be finished with her sketch within fifteen minutes. After a brief internal debate, Satsuki chose to see the miniature project through to its conclusion. Upping her work rate slightly, the raven-haired girl tightened her focus.

In silence, with minimal light from her dull lamp, Satsuki put the finishing touches on her sketch. As she drew the final line, and shaded the final section, the Uchiha girl let out a sigh of satisfied relief. Holding the drawing up to the light, Sastuki took in its entire image for the first time. She had not paid particularly close attention to the product she was creating during the process itself. As she looked upon the completed art, the genin felt a sinking feeling take hold of her. The longer she stared, the more powerful it became. Setting the paper face down, Satsuki shut off her lamp.

'I really need to sleep.' she thought tiredly, making her way over to her bed from the desk she had been occupying. Slipping under her covers, Satsuki shut her eyes. Though she did drift off to sleep successfully in time, a snapshot of what she had drawn remained burned into her mind.

A man with an Uchiha-branded shirt, facedown in the water, being torn apart by a swarm of birds.


A/N: I'm unsure of how this one turned out. Part of me thinks it was pretty good, but at the same time, I feel like I *definitely* need to work on character motion. Either way, I hope this was enjoyable.

Shikamaru got to be cool this chapter, which is great. He and Temari kinda bonding was fun to write as well

And yeah, Satsuki continues to be massively ill in the head.

Leave me a review if you're able :)

I love you all

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