Authors note: Has it actually been a couple weeks? I'm so sorry! I've been getting ready for a fight so I've been putting in extra hours at the gym and my writing has suffered for it. Also if you haven't played spotlight, then you're missing out for sure. It was one of my favourite games as a kid and would still jump at any chance to play today! We used to be hardcore and wear all black and play at the campground woods in the dead of night. Shoot me a dm about your best games of spotlight if you've got one! Anyways here's chapter 5, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters

After dodgeball, Ino, Sakura and Kiba had corralled everyone into the residence commons to play cards against humanity. Some of the boys had flasks hidden and they were passed around the table as the night went on. Shikamaru gagged at the strong smell of vodka as the flask came around to him. He shook his head and leaned as far back in his chair as he could as Ino passed the flask on to Kiba on the other side of him. As his friends grew more and more intoxicated and the game seemingly became more hilarious with nobody really caring what they put down anymore, Shikamaru felt truly happy to be surrounded by so many of his friends. The problem was Choji was missing and his absence was like a cold presence standing too close. He was staring intensely at his cards before Ino broke him from his reverie.

"Shika, you gotta pick a black card." She placed a hand gently on his arm and smiled at him sweetly, cheeks flushed slightly pink. He nodded and picked a card from the deck and read it out loud. Immediately cards came flying at him from all around the table. Laughter and howls filled the room as he read off each one and decided a winner based on which card had gotten the loudest reaction. Sakura gave a sinister grin as she snatched the black card from Shikamaru as she had won another round. Naruto gaped at her as she added it to her growing pile of winning cards. Shikamaru excused himself and walked to the cafe that only had ten minutes left to open before it closed at midnight. He made himself a coffee and bought a pack of cookies to go with. He figured it would be awhile before he was going to sleep anyways so he might as well try and keep up. He rejoined the table to a very confused Lee reading out cards and asking quite loudly What's Bukakke? His question was met with laughter and a very red-faced Tenten trying to sink down into her seat next to him. It didn't take long to finish the game after that. Sasuke left as soon as the game finished, mumbling something about homework and Sakura left shortly after.

"Hey Shikamaru, do you remember spotlight?" Ino was being quite loud and was glowing from the alcohol.

"Isn't that just tag with a flashlight?" Shikamaru actually remembered the game quite fondly.

"Yeah! We used to play all the time as kids!" Ino beamed back at him.

"Hey I remember that! I have a flashlight in my room if you guys want to play!" Naruto jumped up excitedly. Tenten explained the premise of the game to Lee excitedly while Shikamaru and Kiba collected the cards and made their way back to residence, following Naruto. At the entryway Naruto stopped everyone and told them he wanted to go alone since Sasuke might be sleeping or studying and would be extra pissed off if they all came in making noise. Shikamaru stood with Ino, Kiba, Lee, and Tenten and let their casual banter fill the warm night air. Their presence and good mood was rubbing off on him, killing the last lingering hints of his hangover and it was about time too. The door behind him opened and he turned to see Naruto emerging, flashlight in hand and a pinched look on his face.

"You okay Naruto?" The group shifted their attention to Naruto as Shikamaru called to him.

"Yeah I'm fine, let's play some spotlight!" His expression lifted, erasing any hints of the look Shikamaru had seen. He walked slowly behind the group, following them to the now empty fountain that took residence in the centre of campus. He heard the door open once again from residence and turned to see if someone was looking to join their game. He caught the eye of Temari as she zipped up her black sweater as the door slowly closed behind her.

"Did you want to play spotlight?" She raised an eyebrow and shoved her hands in her pockets and took the three steps to close the distance between them.

"Spotlight.. Isn't that a child's game?" She scoffed and blew the longer strands of her bangs out of her vision. Shikamaru scratched his chin and shrugged then turned around to rejoin his friends.

"Wait! I – I'd like to join in, if the invite's still open." He glanced over his shoulder and shrugged again.

"Doesn't bother me. Just hurry up and get in here." He kept walking as she matched his pace a couple strides behind and joined the group huddled in a circle next to the fountain. Naruto and Kiba marked out boundaries with the faces of buildings and it was agreed by everyone that you would have to touch the fountain to make it 'home-free'. Everyone put in a number of fingers and Ino counted down from 21 until Kiba was chosen to be 'It' for the first round. He sat on the edge of the fountain and buried his face in his hands with only little complaint before beginning a count down from a hundred. Everyone sprinted in opposite directions, even Shikamaru took off at a steady pace looking for a place to hide.

"Ready or not here I come!" Shikamaru quieted his breathing from his perch in his tree as Kiba shouted out his intent to search. He saw the light sweep over the area and flash shadows between the leaves of the branches he had rested himself between. He had planned on waiting it out until Kiba had decided to search the opposite end of the fountain before making a run for home base. He wished he had a cigarette to pass time as Kiba started to make his way towards the tree line he was hiding in. It wasn't that Shikamaru hadn't necessarily smoked before, but it was something Ino was strongly against and he only got away with when he was either on his own or with Choji under sworn secrecy. He only ever craved one after a bad hangover or just a particularly bad day. The light flashed briefly as it swept the area slowly again before he heard rustling at the base of his hiding place. He remained quiet, unsure if Kiba had decided to take a closer look. He heard heavy breathing and leaves jostling quietly as someone made their way up his tree. Shikamaru held his breath knowing for sure that it wasn't Kiba, but also not knowing who was trying to steal his spot. He felt a warm presence emerge between his legs and awfully close to his chest. The glint of light eyes glowed in the darkness in front of him and he decided he ought to make himself known.

"Seriously, you had to pick my tree?" The person gasped and reached out in surprise cupping their hand around the side of his head and grasping his ponytail, probably in a weak attempt to hit him. He leaned in and knocked his forehead against the newcomers.

"Ow dammit, stay still!" The hushed voice was recognizably feminine.

"Temari?" It went quiet and still for a moment with only the retreating footsteps echoing and the flashlight lighting up the distant walkway.

"Nara. Of course you're in the damn tree." Her voice was annoyed but she still held her hand out, letting it slide to the top of his shoulder, gripping him to steady herself. He leaned into the sound of her trying to squint in the darkness. He made out the shape of her as she remained perfectly still watching Kiba leave. She was so close that he could feel her breath like a gentle breeze against the base of his neck. He swallowed away the thought and followed her line of sight to a retreating Kiba.

"If you're ready to run, we can make it once he passes the residence building." Her voice was even more sultry than usual as she whispered and it sent chills through Shikamaru's spine. Something about her picked the edges of his memory in a way that sent his stomach in nervous knots and left a pressing weight on his mind. He reached up and covered the hand she had gripping his shoulder with his own. She sucked in a breath but otherwise hid her reaction.

"Temari. Do I...?" He paused and looked into the slight glint of light he could see reflected in her eyes. She was staring right back at him with the same defiant expression as always. "I swear I know you from somewhere."

"Whatever loser. Do you want to win this damn game or not?" She slipped her hand back and dropped from the tree before Shikamaru could answer. He followed her instinctually and dropped into a low crouch behind the trunk where she was watching Kiba walk further and further away. Shikamaru opened his mouth to ask again what he'd been dying to ask but she slapped a hand over his mouth and pressed a finger to her lips, now that he could see her more clearly in the lights emanating from the nearby building. She lifted up three fingers and slowly put them down one after the other. As she dropped her last finger they both took off at full sprint towards the fountain that was less than 50 meters away. The flashlight swung back around in their direction as they made a dive for the fountain. Shikamaru tagged the base first with Temari a close second as they called out their names in unison declaring they had won this round. Shikamaru collapsed on the ground a laughed a little. Temari sank down next to him and caught his eye with a huge grin on her face. She stifled a laugh before Shikamaru broke out into laughter again and she joined in, the two of them barely holding back tears as they laughed into the dim light that surrounded them.

Blonde hair caught the light as Naruto made a sprint for the fountain. Kiba's light shined on him as his name was shouted out from the distance. Naruto stopped mid sprint with a look of despair and Ino came crashing in from the opposite direction while Kiba was distracted. Lee and Tenten had made a dash shortly after Temari and Shikamaru had claimed victory and Kiba now passed the flashlight to Naruto for a second round.

"We'll play till one then call it a night, sound good?" Everyone nodded in agreement with Naruto and got ready to hide again as he started counting.

1AM came and passed before anyone noticed the time. Shikamaru felt himself getting drowsy as he waited for another round to end, not having been caught the whole game to be 'it'.

"I'm so ready for bed." Shikamaru yawned into the night. Naruto was lying on the ledge next to him tracing fingers into the collecting dirt inside the empty fountain. Shikamaru stared at the half overcast sky, searching for stars peeking through.

"Shikamaru, would you stay up with me for a bit?" Shikamaru nodded but Naruto's attention remained on the patterns he had traced beneath him. Temari and Kiba came racing in from opposite directions as Lee swung his flashlight around at the sudden footsteps.

"KIBA! and.. AND? INO?!" Temari slapped her hand on the fountain and turned to Lee with a grin.

"Temari. Sorry to disappoint you Lee." She pulled one of her four ponytails tighter and sat down with a sigh of content.

"That's not fair! He doesn't know your name!" Kiba was outraged at being caught for the fifth time. He sat down hard on the cold ground in front of everyone and shoved his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie.

"Not my fault he didn't ask for it before the game started." Temari wiped a bead of sweat from her brow and crossed her legs nonchalantly. "Isn't this the last round anyways? I've got rounds to do in half an hour." Ino called her name from the opposite side of the fountain and walked around to see the others waiting. As she did Lee gave her a shrug and turned his attention to a quivering bush just at the edge of the residence building. Tenten jumped out and pounced on Lee, knowing his flashlight out of hand and making a dash for the fountain. She managed to make it safely before Lee recuperated and tried to tag her.

"Okay that's it let's go to bed." Ino stood up and brushed herself off. "Shikamaru, you can crash on my couch if you want." Shikamaru gave her smirk and a nod in acknowledgement before turning to Naruto.

"I'll be there in a bit, leave the door unlocked for me." Every one began to part ways, with Lee and Tenten whispering and holding hands as they took the lead.

"See you around Nara." Temari gave him a little wave and a smile before heading to residence with the others. Shikamaru and Naruto were soon left alone on the fountain in the cooling night air.

"So... what's up?" Shikamaru waited as Naruto shifted awkwardly in the following silence, folding his arms across his chest.

"Sakura was with Sasuke when I went back to get the flashlight." Shikamaru frowned unsure how to follow up on that.

"Well are you sure.. it could have just looked like.."

"I'm not an idiot! They were clearly making out or something and I interrupted. I – I panicked! I grabbed the flashlight and left as fast as I could, and may have also slammed the door.." Shikamaru dropped his head from the sky and waited for Naruto to calm down a bit.

"It's definitely a surprise but you're wasting your time and you know it." Naruto gasped and shot his head towards the man speaking to him. "She already shot you down and you can't expect her to change her mind at this point. What's the point of torturing yourself? I mean, there's definitely other, cuter girls that.." Shikamaru stopped as he saw tears streaming silently down Naruto's face.

"Yeah I know, but could you just be a little more sensitive, just for once." Shikamaru stood and grabbed Naruto's shoulder firmly.

"It's gonna be okay." Naruto sniffled and grabbed Shikamaru in a full hug and cried quietly for a few minutes. Shikamaru awkwardly patted his back and tried not to move in fear of upsetting Naruto any more. He let Naruto spill his heartbroken thoughts before he eventually grew quiet and they both sat side by side on the pavement outside of residence. Naruto shivered then stood up, stretching a hand out for Shikamaru.

"Okay, I'm good now." Shikamaru took his hand and let himself be pulled up. They walked up the first flight of stairs and Shikamaru held open the first floor door for Naruto before continuing up to the third. He went to Ino's door and twisted the knob. It was locked. He banged on the door not sure if anyone would still be awake, or if Tenten was home since he knew that if Ino was asleep she wouldn't be waking up. After several moments there was still no answer. He pulled out his phone and cursed at the gods for his phone being only at 2%. He pressed the call for Ino but immediately got her voicemail. He backed out of the call log and opened up his messenger only to have his phone die as it loaded. He jammed it into his pocket in frustration and banged on the door again waiting for a couple moments before sinking to the floor with his back against the door. He closed his eyes and gently knocked his head against the door in a slow rhythm, unsure if he should find a way to call a cab or not. The hallway was eerily quiet for a Saturday night, with only the distant sounds of partygoers emanating from the floor above. Shikamaru began to hum to himself, an old 90's song his dad used to always turn up whenever it played on the radio. The melody drifted back to him from the end of the hallway and he opened one eye to glance at the source. Bronzed legs in a long pyjama shirt rounded the corner and Shikamaru had to force his eyes to her face.

"Her pervert, you locked out?" Temari pulled on the door next to Ino's, ensuring it was locked before kicking Shikamaru out of the way with one of her legs to check Ino's.

"Pervert? Seriously." Shikamaru grumbled and folded his legs up to his chest.

"I've caught you looking a couple times now, so yeah. Pervert is fitting." She continued to the end of the hall, checking the other two doors before stopping at the corner. "Are you coming or what?" Shikamaru frowned but still got to his feet and followed her around the corner.

"You could just let me in you know. You do have a key right?" Temari tsk'd and continued checking the doors.

"That would be violating the residence code of conduct! I can't let a strange man into a random girls' apartment. Do you have any idea how much paperwork I would have to fill out?!" She punched him playfully on the arm as she rounded the last turn.

"Yeesh, I get it, I'll just call a cab." Temari stopped in the hallway in front of Shikamaru and yawned with a stretch, making her already short pyjama shirt ride up to reveal the slightest hint of her blue underwear. Shikamaru blushed and reached for his phone and immediately groaned in frustration remembering it was dead. "Do you have a charger I could borrow by chance?" Temari turned around and reached for his phone. She studying the port and shook her head.

"Sorry but I don't have one for that kind of phone." Shikamaru slapped a hand to his forehead and started to make his way back towards Ino's room. "Besides, the cabs won't come out this far after 1am. Hey, where are you going?"

"Well Ino is the only friend I have here with enough room for me to stay so I'm just going to bang on the door till she lets me in." Temari frowned and unlocked the door to her room.

"You can stay here. It's not – I have the extra room." Temari shot Shikamaru a challenging look as he gaged his options.

"And that's not awkward at all? I mean we hardly know each other but if you.."

"You pervert I have an extra room." Temari's face was fully coloured now as she continued to hold the door open. "Take it or I'll let you sleep in the damn hallway." Shikamaru contemplated the option but had a feeling that if he refused her, she would hold it against him, and he was interested in her. He stepped into the dorm room, an exact mirror of Ino's apartment, as Temari gently closed the door behind him and locked it.

"You can take the room on the left. The bed is made but no one lives here besides me." Shikamaru traced a hand over the exact same couch Ino had before turning his attention to the left door. The room was bare save for a painting mounted on the wall above the couch. It was an abstract piece of whites, blues and greys with a hint of silver. It made him feel lonely and he had to force his eyes away from it.

"Thank you, you don't have to house me if you don't want to."

"Shut up and go to bed." She walked into her own room and slammed the door behind her, leaving Shikamaru alone. He entered the empty room and found that Temari had not been lying. The room was immaculate and looked like it had recently been evacuated save for the dark green bedsheets that remained on the bed. Shikamaru cracked the window open before stripping to his boxers and climbing into bed. The sounds of crickets and distant laughter chased him into sleep as he tried not to think about being in a strange girl's apartment.

Sunlight gathered in a warm pool across Shikamaru's chest and woke him up to golden light filling the unfamiliar room. He lay still for a moment watching dust particles dance in the slight breeze before remembering where he was. The heat eventually grew uncomfortable as the sun rose higher, forcing him to kick off the blankets and get up. He could hear movement coming from the common area. He made the bed before pulling his khaki's back on and opened the door to Temari in her pyjamas eating toast on the floor with her laptop on the coffee table in front of her.

"Good morning sunshine." She grabbed toast out of the small toaster she had plugged into the wall and set it on a plate before pushing it towards him. She pointed at the jam before refocusing on the show playing on her laptop. Shikamaru sat across the table from her and reached for the jam.

"Are you watching Anime?" He took a bite out of his makeshift breakfast and tried not to cringe at the overpowering sweetness of the strawberry jam. Temari shrugged and took the last bite of her toast.

"You got a problem with that?" She turned to him and raised an eyebrow menacingly. Shikamaru raised both hands in submission. "That's what I thought. Besides, if you tell anyone. I'd have to kill you." Shikamaru mumbled nonsense to himself and tried to figure out what she was watching. Something about high schoolers confessing their love. He ate in silence while she finished her episode of cheesy anime. Once it finished she closed the laptop and turned to him with a piercing look. "So, Shikamaru, let's figure out how you know me." Shikamaru choked on the last crumbs of toast and reached for the coffee mug that rested on the table, desperate for a drink. He took a swig of the coffee and almost spat it out at how ridiculously sweet it was. He forced himself to swallow then pushed the mug back to her. "What, you against sugar or something?"

"Too. Much." He tried to compose himself and gently snapped his hair tie against his wrist, remembering that his hair was not currently in its usual ponytail. Suddenly self-conscious, he reached up pushed it back out of his face. "I swear you look familiar, but then again, I am from a small town so anyone passing through would be considerably memorable if they were to have the kind of hairstyle you do."

"Hey! What's wrong with my hair jackass!" Temari reached up to touch her ponytails protectively.

"Nothing! It's just.. unique?"

"Whatever. Anyways you're from The Leaf right? I competed there a couple times for Judo as a kid. So you might recognize me from there."

"Judo?" Shikamaru's eye's widened as he recalled a certain blonde haired girl dominating a tournament at ten years old, traumatizing the other kids in her category. "You were the hurricane!?" Shikamaru pointed at her in horror.

"My legend precedes me." She delicately sipped on her coffee before eyeing it suspiciously and placing it back down on the table. "It's funny I remember not being invited back after that because no one wanted to go up against me and my father was very against me competing against boys."

"You're a legend by the way. I can't believe I forgot about that, and I can't believe I didn't recognize you either."

"Yeah well a lot can change in twelve years." Shikamaru stared at her not wanted to say anything to ruin the moment of her genuinely smiling. She had been scowling every time he had seen her and he was now witnessing her really smile for the second time. "What are you staring at perv."

"Listen I am not a pervert! I just thought… Never mind." Shikamaru reached up to put his hair in a ponytail to hide his blush. No way was this girl going to get under his skin, no matter how pretty and how distracting she was. He knew she was trouble simply by the fact that she could take words away from him before he knew he had lost them. She gulped down the last of her coffee and slammed the mug on the table.

"Do you still do Judo? I mean, assuming you even did." Shikamaru thought back to competing in the boys division a year under her and also having won gold that year.

"I haven't since I left home so I'd be a bit rusty."

"I heard you were the best, undefeated in fact." Shikamaru frowned at her knowledge of his stats, wondering how long she had known who he was. "If you want to practice some time, I could throw you around a bit. You know, get you back in shape." Shikamaru frowned and looked down at his bare chest. He had admittedly gotten quite skinny with his bad eating habits and lack of exercise.

"Okay, but where are we going to train?" Temari jumped up and dashed into her room, letting the door shut behind her. Shikamaru sat quietly for a moment before the door blasted open again. Temari emerged in gym shorts and a tank top with her bag over her shoulder.

"Get dressed, I'll show you."