A/N: Sorry for neglacting this fanfic for so long. The poor adaption of Shikamaru Hiden, had me raging for a while. XD

Thank you nicallrenner for reminding me about this fiction though. And with the preview on episode 496 I am hyped again! Finally Temari will get to show her feminine side the anime had refused her!

Chapter 4: Standing here

… invisible to you.

The rain poured down on the windshield. The wipers made space for a little sight every turn they crossed the glass. Temari thought about her childhood. When her head had begun to ache at rainy days, sitting in the back of the car and watching her father staring at the street while driving. She always had had to stay silent for her father couldn't accept senseless talks. So she had watched in silence.

Now, while she was driving, her head began to ache again. Only this time it wasn't because of the bad weather or the stress of shutting up. It was for a different reason. This time the memory of it pulled at her nerves. Funny how the past becomes a matter of the present.

But she couldn't dwell on it too much. She had to focus on her task. The bastard, who everyone called Shadow, had dared to kill somebody on her first day at the case.

He would regret this. Temari felt like being more challenged than ever before. She will get control of the steering wheel driving her to the solution of the case.

Finally Temari reached the parking lot at the police department while she still mused about the events of the past night. The next victim had been someone only known as Gantetsu. The question was, what had this person to do with Shadow? What were the connections? Why did he care about the drug scene so much? Temari figured, it would be the most sensible to work with the drug commission of the Konohagakure Police Department first to get an overview of the drug scene in this city.

Grabbing her bag, she searched for her umbrella.

After she left her car, Temari watched out for a nice place to buy a coffee somewhere near. Studying the case files at night, had left her with only a few hours of sleep. She spotted the place she had been with Shikamaru yesterday and figured it wouldn't hurt to grab a cup of coffee there. The place was nice enough with his oldschool wallpaper and mint green counter. When she arrived, she was surprised to see the place filled with people already at seven o'clock in the morning. Many of the customers were policemen. Still the man behind the counter reacted directly to her. Somehow he looked like Rock Lee but older and wore a more serious look in his eyes. Weird.

"Hello there. How can I help you? Want a little youth?" He grinned at her showing his full set of white teeth.

Flabbergasted Temari wondered, if she misunderstood him. "A little what?"

It was almost impossible but the man's grin grew even brighter and showed her a thumbs-up. "You seem to be stressed. I can see that. The spirit of youth will help you restore your power."

Temari snickered. As if you could give someone a dose of youth. "I believe a coffee will do just fine."

The man looked startled at her rejection. "Oh but -"

"Miss Sabaku nice to meet you again." The interference came from behind the man.

Leaning to the side, she spotted the guy from yesterday, Rock Lee, and wondered who copied whom in this abnormal duo. They had the same outfit, the same haircut and both had big eyebrows. "The pleasure is mutual. What do I have to do to get a decent cup of coffee?"

The older version flinched and started for the coffeemaker, eager to please his customer. "I'll get you one."

Temari smiled. Some people were just as active at seven o' clock in the morning as they were the whole day onward. For her this wasn't the case. Without coffee she was not working. At least not this early in the morning. But today promised to become a great day because she was already able to crack a smile. Although those people here were weird – she couldn't say she already met anyone normal around this place – they were nice nevertheless. "How are you doing?"

"I'm bristling with youth. By the way, where is Shikamaru?" He looked at the empty seat beside hers.

"Well, I wasn't at the police station yet." She slipped a gaze at her watch, musing it was time to get on with her business. "He could be there."

Lee sighed. "He is never on time. Often he comes here before work to buy a coffee and then goes off. I just thought with you in the picture, he would be a little more anxious."

Temari raised an eyebrow being more on alert. "And why would that be?"

"Ever since he started the case – It wears him out. He seems to try hard but can't accomplish anything. This must be eating him up, since his foster father died at the hand of one of the drug bosses." He cleaned the counter absentmindedly.

Temari hummed at this new piece of information. So it hadn't been just a car accident that killed Sarutobi Asuma.

Lee stopped cleaning. "I'm sorry, I probably told you more than I was supposed to."

"No problem." Temari nodded towards the other guy placing the coffee in front of her. "But why is this wearing him off? Shouldn't he be more or less constantly working, if it means so much to him?"

Lee crossed his arms. "He did at first. After being suspended for a while, he worked like a madman to find the one who murdered his foster father but when Shadow came into the game, he seemed to have lost motivation. I mean he had always been a little lazy but now he seems to have depressions for he gets more and more tired."

Temari nodded. She understood this feeling. If you struggle hardly without any noticable result, your ambitions and powers grow weaker – not only physically. She had been there, done that. But she had always had the will to fight and if it wasn't for hope than because of her stubbornness and pride. Her father was murdered, too. She didn't care if she knew who did it. Yet, she still could understand Shikamaru.

"I believe it is better, if you heard it from him." Rock Lee nodded to the direction of the door. "And here he comes. I told you, he got more hope, now that you are there to help him solve the case."

She turned around to the entrance, smiling at Shikamaru. "It seems so."

His eyes scanned the room. He seemed to search someone and when his eyes skimmed over to her, they rested there.

Her fingers began to tingle under his gaze. She grabbed her cup of coffee and wondered what was going on inside his head. His dark eyes seemed to pierce through her.

After a few seconds he slowly nodded towards her and the guy behind the counter. Walking to her side, he grabbed onto the cup of coffee that Lee instantly served him. "Thanks" He mumbled.

Someone didn't seem to be the morning person. Perhaps that was also the reason for his annoying stare. But whatever it was, they had to stay focused on the case.

'At least', she thought, 'he was no dumb asshole who tried to sabotage her in the case. There had been such incidents, when policemen were set on one big case they couldn't solve. Pride and fear of reputation gave them silly ideas. Nevertheless, Temari had always solved the cases. It probably wouldn't have taken as long as it had taken without the police interfering, but she still had finished her job each and every time.

"Shikamaru, you know this youthful lady?" The older one of the duo interrupted Temari's inner thoughts. He looked at Shikamaru sipping his coffee.

The younger one, Lee, whispered something in his ear which seemed to amuse the older one.

Temari turned to Shikamaru. "Who is the older one?"

"You weren't introduced yet?"

Temari shook her head, whereupon Shikamaru responded with, "Well, you have been lucky then. This is Might Guy."

Temari blinked. Had he just called him Might Guy? She looked again at the guy at the counter arguing with Lee, about whatever they could possibly argue about. Perhaps who was the more youth spirited or something. But whoever wanted to be called Might Guy? What psychological problems could he have to name himself like this. His parents – hopefully – didn't name him like this. But watching him making weird poses he seemed to be anything but mighty.

She couldn't help it but smirked. The people in Konoha all seemed to have their very own flaws. She felt his eyes again, burning a hole into her head. Turning around Temari faced Shikamaru. What had she done that he was watching her this intensively?

He broke his gaze away from her and emptied his cup. "We have work to do, don't we?"

She snapped out of her daze, "Yes, we do."

When they left the place, Temari examined him from the side. Nothing. He didn't even smile. Instead of wondering about him she chose to break the silence. "So what are those guys exactly? They look alike but only by style."

He looked at her from the side, his hands in his pockets. "Well, it's a mentor and student thing, so to say. Guy worked for the police when they met. Lee was a lost boy. An orphan without perspective. He was found at the harbor by Guy. He seemed to instantly like, what Guy called his spirits. He wanted to give him a perspective and bought the Diner here. So they both are somehow a part of the police here. Every policeman knows them and respects them for what they accomplished."

Arriving at the entrance of the police station he opened the door and held it open for her. Following he began to smile absentmindedly. "Somehow Lee was so into Guy that he adapted his style."

Shortly she wondered about the smile he wore. Maybe he was reminded of his own foster father. Before she could muse more about him, her trail of thoughts was interrupted by his voice again.

"It's probably the best that could have happened to both of them." He sighed audibly. "But we shouldn't dwell on this matter. I think we have a case to solve."

This Temari knew. It was her most important goal to solve this case and by that save her chance to be promoted. Nevertheless, she could not help but wonder about these people. They behaved around each other like a big family or what was supposed to be the typical family image. They helped and cared for each other. Temari herself never experienced of such tight bonds. So when they crossed the hall they were met by greetings and friendly smiles, she felt misplaced. It was different to what she was used to. But maybe this closeness was also the reason, why the investigations weren't taken seriously enough and murderers such as Shadow run free longer than necessary.

In his office Shikamaru lifted the blinds and stripped off his coat. She did the same going through the case again in her mind. Temari went to the board looking at the structure. It did not make sense to her yet. But there was one more trail to the new victim to add. The bigger the puzzled picture, the easier it was to understand.

As if she had spoken this aloud, Shikamaru stepped to her side and pinned the photo of Gantetsu onto the board. Temari noticed two things when he stood at her side. First thing was, that he was a bit taller than her and the second was the obtrusive smell of his aftershave. Temari tapped with her fingertips on her arm. "Any ideas who did it?"

She heard him chuckle and knew, he would shake his head before she noticed his vague reflection on the board. "Not a clue."

Cases like this always stirred her stamina. She felt eagerness rushing through her as she looked at the various faces of the victims. She believed in justice. And even a jackass like Shadow would sooner or letter feel the weight of the scales.

Whether or not he was a psychopath, she knew there had to be a pattern. "Ever tried to reconstruct his procedure? He has to have a plan. Someone who kills in a professionally and confident way, always has a plan. He is not a madman running around killing without focus."

Temari held her hands in the air as she made circling gestures. Turning around she found Shikamaru staring at her. It made her feel uncomfortable.

"Well, we tried to see through his course of action but the traces always ended into nothing. Like he wants to prevent us from understanding his plan. His actions, the way he picks his victims seems to be arbitrary."

Instead of being tired, his voice seemed steady and professional to her. That was good. She would hate to drag him along all the time. And what he'd said, well, it seemed right but still –. She shook her head. "But it isn't. It can't be."

Shikamaru sighed and shrugged a shoulder. "Whatever you say."

Temari raised an eyebrow at his shrug. "Look, they send me to help you. I'll help you. Whether you like it or not."

"Maybe this isn't important. What if Shadow is ignorant to the fact that Orochimaru plotted against Akatsuki?"

"So Ryūdoin was working for Orochimaru? Shadow killed him and then one of the Akatsuki. This doesn't make sense, if he doesn't have a plan. Either that or Gantetsu was a mole." She crossed the room while she considered another option. Maybe the last kill was a mistake. Or maybe Shadow wanted to distract them from his plan.

"What do you mean? If he killed randomly he would be a madman, right?"

She turned again to him, smiling. "Or pretty clever, knowing we would try to follow his traits of thoughts."

Shikamaru shook his head. "You're saying he kills randomly, so he will not be detected? I say he just kills because he can."

"But what if he has a goal?" She could not believe this guy. He turned every possibility down.

"A goal?" He went to the coffeemaker on his table and started to brew fresh coffee placing too cups under it.

"What if he came to know that Orochimaru split apart from Akatsuki? Maybe he does not kill drug dealers but wants something from Akatsuki so that he now ignores Orochimaru's folksmen."

Shikamaru listened attentively. Temari took this as a sign, that he thought her idea over.

She waited for the sizzling of the coffeemaker to stop. "When we figure out who could be his next victim we can be faster than him and catch him in the act."

He added some milk to one cup and handed it to her. Obviously he had remembered how she preferred her coffee. "Well, I know that. But he seems to know more than we do. That strategy hasn't worked."

"Now I am here. It will work." Temari brushed over her sleeve. "It has to."

"Okay, what if you are right? Does this mean Shadow will now stay away from Orichimaru and his ring. But what for? So they can defeat Akatsuki?" He blew on his coffee. She noticed he had not shaved himself very neatly this morning. With stubs left on his chin he looked older.

Holding her cup in her hands, she went to the board again. "I don't know. We have to figure out his motive."

"Which is not easy because in this milieu, there are many enemies within the rings and connections we do not know about. This is a great network and I couldn't figure out something so far."

"Shadow must be connected to them somehow if he knows more than we do."

"A former member?"

"Could be." Temari bit her lip in concentration. Without any traces left at the crime scene and a bare insight in the structures of the drug rings made this case really complicated. Shikamaru was right but there was always a hidden hint. She looked at him over her shoulder. "Maybe it's time for you to introduce me to the Konoha drug department."

He nodded taking a sip of his coffee. Before he placed it on the table. "Okay, let's go then."

The Konoha drug commission of the Konoha police department had its own bureau. There were not many people but it looked crowded nevertheless. There were noises everywhere: Typing on keyboards, rustling of paper and some phones ringing in a nasty ring-tone one could not ignore. Temari followed Shikamaru who made his way between the many desks and nodded towards some people, winked at a few women and stopped only for a short, "How are you?"

She appreciated the way he would be distracted. It meant he cared about something. Sometimes she wondered, how serious he was about this case because of his I-don't-care-attitude. But then again she remembered, what Rock Lee had said. It was probably not as easy as it seemed to figure this guy out. Maybe what seemed to be indifference covered an hidden will to solve this case. Well, she was not sure and it was to early to draw any conclusions on the man called Nara Shikamaru.

After they had crossed the room, they stood before the enclosed bureaus. On the door stood the name "Inspector Hatake Kakashi". Shikamaru knocked onto it and entered without waiting for an answer.

When they entered, she saw a gray haired man who sat behind his deck reading a book that covered half of his face. He did not look once up from the book which – as Temari discovered with a shiver – was a spinoff of the "Icha-Icha-Parady" book series. She did not mind people to read books with erotic content, but did not think it was right to do so in public, and especially not at work.

Only when Shikamaru cleared his throat, the guy seemed to notice them. He raised his head. His face was still covered. It was not by the novel anymore but by a scarf wrapped around half of his face. Openly hiding his identity in a police department? Temari figured, nobody cared about rules in this police department.

"Shikamaru, hello." The gray haired man opened a drawer and put the book into it. "And who is the lady at your side?"

"This is Special Agent Temari no Sabaku. She is here to help solving the Shadow case."

The polite glance of the man turned into an hard one. "I see."

Shikamaru shrugged. "I was hoping ,you could provide her with enough background information."

"I will certainly do so. I heard, they found a new one yesterday?" His gaze switched been her and Shikamaru.

Temari crossed her arms mustering this guy cautiously. "Yeah again. Only this time the victim was working for Akatsuki."

"Hm. Well, you should probably learn about the relationship between both drug rings."

"Then tell me." She took a seat in front of Kakashi's desk while Shikamaru did the same besides her.

"Well-"

Suddenly the door burst open. The noise made Temari turn around in alarm. In the door frame stood a grinning blond man with an angry looking woman trailing behind him. The funny pair entered the room while the pink haired woman smacked the guy's head. "Kakashi, you know I thought we wanted to go eating together. Have you forgotten us?"

"Well, I just wanted to leave when those to showed up." He pointed to her and Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru, long time not seen." The man grinned at him earnestly.

"This is Temari no Sabaku. She is a Special Agent assigned to the Shadow case. Miss Sabaku, these are Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno, my team members," Kakashi introduced.

Temari had already assumed such a connection, seeing the way they dealt with each other. "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah you, too." The blond one grinned again. She wasn't sure if he was one of the naiv kind or just one of those people who were smiling all day for no clear reason.

The girl on the other hand, smiled nicely. Perhaps it was earnest but Temari wasn't sure about it. In her field of work she often discovered woman to be often the backstabbing kind. "Nice to meet you."

Kakashi interrupted the silence that began to emerge. "Well, I think we have to reschedule the meal. But you could stay and help me to inform Miss Sabaku about the underground."

Naruto leaned on the cupboard at the left side of the room. "What did you tell her so far?"

"Nothing. Before I could tell her anything you two showed up."

"Well, then it is easy. There are two drug rings. One around Orochimaru and the other one around Akatsuki."

Temari interrupted him crossing her arms. She could not stand time to be wasted. "I know that already."

At her side Shikamaru cleared his throat to draw attention. "Moreover the last victim was not a part from Orochimaru but Akatsuki. It gives us a new riddle to solve."

The three of the drug commission shared a glance that Temari didn't understand. But Kakashi seemed to be aware of her noticing this. "You have to know that we had infiltrated a member of our team as a mole years ago. But he never returned to us. This happened six years ago."

Naruto and Sakura stared of into space. Obviously the special bond in this team had a catch. Temari hoped this would not lead to further complications for the case. She knew it was likely, that they withhold information. Before she could form a word of protest, she sensed Shikamaru's gaze and turned to him.

As if he read her thoughts, he shook his head. She couldn't put her finger on it but she trusted his judgment. It irritated her. She never trusted anyone. Something she learned in early childhood, when her father told her his work was more important for him than her. There was no tie that could justify blind trust. She learned that the hard way.

Kakashi shook his head slightly. "He infiltrated the ring around Orochimaru which was at that time was our greatest case. However, in the last years Akatsuki got more and more into our focus. Sadly, we do not know much about them. The ring is structured between a few different members, approximately ten people. They don't have as much henchmen as Orochimaru has. This is also why it is difficult to get information."

Something irked her. "But there has to be a way to get intel. Otherwise this department doesn't make much sense." She was prepared for the death glares she received from Naruto and Sakura.

"Well, we know Orochimaru was once a member of Akatsuki but we cannot obtain the information. We cannot contact Sasuke. Neither can we send another mole without Sasuke noticing." Kakashi sighed laying back in his seat.

The case wasn't becoming easier as she hoped it would by exchanging information with the drug department. Definitely not easier. "Wow, this seems a tough situation for the department."

Her cell phone started ringing but she ignored the incoming call.

Suddenly the door burst open and a pale looking guy with dark eyes and black hair stood in the entrance with an indifferent look on his face. Kakashi got up in a jolt. "Sai, what you're doing here?"

The guy took a deep breath before he told them what happened in a awkwardly calm way. "Big news! Orochimaru is dead. Sasuke killed him."

A/N: I hope, the story isn't too difficult to follow.^^