"Oh so you are Suna's representative here," the long-haired man said as she sighed in relief, putting the bundles on her desk.

"Yes," Temari smiled at him. "So basically I will be here irregularly."

"I see, if you want to go around the city, I can show you around." The man offered with a smile on his face, he turned around as he heard a sound behind his back.

"Good morning," Shikamaru placed his briefcase on the desk, he glanced at Temari quickly, before turning at Neji. "Haven't see you for a few days, Neji."

"Just got back from a business trip in Kiri." Neji said. "I was just helping Temari-san here with her bundles of documents."

Temari saw the blonde girl behind him, although she could not see her eyes, she was pretty sure that she was staring at her behind those swirling glasses.

"Yes, and Neji offered to show me around town sometime." Temari smiled at the him.

Something irritated the brown-eyed man.

What is this weird feeling?

"Ahh," he replied absentmindedly.

"And you are?" Neji smiled at the girl behind Shikamaru.

"Ah, this is Shiho, she is new here." He introduced her, the girl nodded at Neji. "Computer department."

"Nice to meet you," she said meekly, pushing her glasses that rested on her nose.

"Hyuga Neji," he offered her a warm hand and she shook it hesitantly.

All three of them turned at the other blonde woman.

"Temari," she offered bluntly. No handshake, no smile. "Excuse me, I still have work to do."

The girl shuddered at the sudden coldness offered by her.

"Then I will go back to my department, Shikamaru-kun." She waved a little, and left them.

Neji smiled at Shikamaru and was just about to turn around.

"Neji?" He turned towards the woman who was sitting down. She looked up from the papers and smiled at him. "Could you show me somewhere nice for lunch?"

"Sure thing." He returned the same smile, turning his gaze at the dark-haired man whose pupils dilated in surprise. "I will come find you at twelve thirty then."

Temari grinned at him, and he left.

Shikamaru said nothing, rather, he could not think of what to say.

His mind was blank when Temari's phone vibrated.

She picked up the device and glanced at it.

Shikamaru waited for her to put down the phone.

She looked at him, her eyes staring deep into his.

"I am leaving Konoha, need to go back to Suna to follow up some matter."

"I see." He replied. "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow, gonna catch the morning flight." Temari stretched her arm. "Good thing we did finalize the papers, I can give them to Lady Tsunade after checking."

"…yeah." He replied, still looking at her.

"Do you have anything you want to ask me?" She arched an eyebrow, lips pursing together.

On his mind, was that grin she flashed at Neji.

"Yeah, you free tonight after work?" The question escaped his mouth.

"…Yes." She replied hesitantly.

"I was thinking we should go get dinner before you go," he scratched the back of his head. "You know, don't know when you'll be back."

"Might be a while, but I will be back." She smirked. "Already missing me, aren't you?"

He looked away, scratching his head sheepishly. "Troublesome."

She laughed a little.


He felt something burning when Neji walked towards her desk and led Temari away to lunch.

He wanted to jump when Temari accidentally tripped, and Neji held her by the waist.

He wanted to stab himself blind, or Neji, he wasn't sure, when she grinned at him, slightly blushing.

What is this feeling? So weird …

It almost felt like…

It almost felt like back in high school, university when he saw Ino clinging onto other guys …

Almost.

His brain was bobbing in his head, stretching to its full capacity within his skull, pressing on all sides.

He liked her, for some weird reason – she was exactly the opposite of what he wanted.

To be fair, Ino was not what he wanted too, but he just assumed that since they grew up together, it is only logical that he would be attracted to her somehow.

To be honest, Shiho was cloest to what he wanted- not too pretty, not too ugly, definitely not troublesome – that girl barely spoke, all she does was stare at him.

Temari on the other hand – she was beautiful, bossy, loud – everything Shikamaru would define as troublesome. In a way she resembled Ino, in another way she was even more troublesome than Ino.

He supposed that it is only logical that he would be attracted to her too, since they were similar.

But that was not all.

It is unfair to Temari.

It is not fair when he still could not let Ino go, he go and mess around with her feelings.

Especially not when he knew that she was scarred too - by Hidan or even some reasons unknown to him. Something about her gives him the impression that the scars she bore is more than just that.

Sometimes he thought it would be better for him to just walk away – Shiho seemed like an easier option for everybody. He would get what he always wanted, and Temari could go on with her life.

But there is something about her that drives him crazy, something that even Ino had not make him feel before.

When he saw Ino with other guys, he wanted to run away – deny, deny until she returns to his arms. Then she would run off again, ripping his heart into shreads each time she falls into the arms of another.

When he saw Temari with Neji, he wanted to yank her away from him.

When he saw Temari with Hidan, he wanted to punch him in the face for whatever he had done to her.

Something about this strong, troublesome woman stirs a hidden beast within him. Out of all the feelings he could have for her, the strongest feeling was that …

He wanted to protect her.

"How troublesome," he muttered. He shook his head as an attempt to clear up his head. Digging into the lunchbox he bought at the company canteen, the taste was bland – perhaps his tongue was not functioning, perhaps it was his mind, he was not sure.

The rice was sticking to his throat; it was stuck there, making him uncomfortable.

He sighed as he stood up, taking his half-eaten lunchbox to the pantry.

As he returned to his seat, he was just in time to see Temari returned with Neji.

The two of them were laughing – it was quite rare for Neji to laugh like that.

At least not when he was sober, that is.

And her.

Temari looked extraordinarily radiant when she laughed, the teal green eyes thinning into a fine line, eyebrows rising in amusement; her tall nose gently wrinkling a little.

It was the face of genuine laughter.

She looked like she belonged in a movie, too good to be true.

He shook his head to snap out of his awkward gaze.

Only to realize that Neji was gone, and this troublesome woman stood in front of him, raising one of her eyebrows at him.

"What were you looking at?" She demanded, poking his chest with her finger.

"Not-nothing." He replied, slumping onto his chair.

She smirked and returned to her seat. "You better start thinking where you are bringing me tonight, but first we would have to get these to Lady Tsunade."

He nodded and collected the binders from her desk. "Let's go."


"Oww Shizune! There is so much work!" They could hear a loud scowl as they approached the officer at the top floor of the building.

Shikamaru knocked, and the door opened.

A woman opened the door - she was dressed in a dark business suit, her short hair neatly combed, framing her face. "Please come in, Shikamaru-kun, Temari-san."

In the middle of the neatly decorated office, sat a woman and gingantic stacks of documents.

She tied her long light blonde hair in two ponytails, each dangling next to her face. She sighed again, as she leaned forward, her large bosom landed on the desk; she sighed in exhaustion.

"Oh, here you are, Shikamaru." She said. "How's everything? And hello to you, Temari."

"Here are all the documents required at this stage, Tsunade-sama." Temari smiled at the older woman, putting the documents on her desk.

The older woman sighed again. "Thanks," she muttered, frowning. "I read the email from Gaara, you are returning to Suna tomorrow?"

"Yes, I need to report to Gaara about the initial stage of the projects."

"Good," she smiled, eyeing Shikamaru. "Did our associate do a proper job?"

"He was a great help." She grinned, glancing at the dark haired man standing next to her, shoulders slumping and looking bored.

"I suppose I won't see you until a few weeks later," said Tsunade. "I will make sure to send for you if there is anything."

"Sure." Temari returned a confident smile.

With a dip of her head she left the room, followed by a shrugging Nara.


"This place is fancy," Temari commented as they entered the restaurant – they were greeted by a gigantic crystal chandelier.

"Better than where Neji took you, eh?" He shrugged and said mindlessly, almost regretting saying it a second later.

She smirked. "Jealous are we?"

He said nothing in return.

"We will take the specials." He sat down and spoke to the waiter, giving the menus back to the mustached man.

Temari said nothing, taking a sip from her glass of water.

"So, " he began as their wine arrived. "How long will you go back to Suna?"

"Depends, if the board thinks that the progress is ok, I think I would be back in a few weeks."

"I see."

"Afraid that I won't be back?" Temari grinned at him, taking a sip of wine. "Don't worry, I will always be back to haunt you, at least for the time being."

Shikamaru smiled at her, taking a sip from his wine. "Don't drink too much, you might miss your flight."

"The same to you," she retorted with a playful smirk. "You might drunk-fuck someone else tonight if you down your wine like that."

"Nah," he said with another gulp of wine.

Temari raised an eyebrow. "Huh." She said with a smirk on her face.

Their food arrived, and they began eating silently.

The awkward silence lingered as they left the restaurant, some drinks later.

He stole occasional glances at the woman as he drove her in his car, she stared blankly out of the window – the cars dashed fro and back on the roads, like bustling lines of lights, against a continuous skyline of buildings and streetlights, illuminating the dark skies of midnight.

He found himself outside her door, as she unlocked the entrance to her apartment.

"Well, I guess I will see you later then?" Temari was not looking at him, her gaze was at the bottom right of her vision, staring on the marble flooring of the corridor – he was barely within the frame.

"…Yeah." Shikamaru muttered.

Come on.

Something rang in his brain.

You can't mess this up. This is a golden chance.

He tried to look away.

"So, good night," she smiled a little at him; he smiled back at her involuntarily.

Go on, do something.

"Good night." He turned around, and tried to walk away.

He found his feet hammered to the ground, unwilling to make another move.

Don't mess this up, Nara Shikamaru.

"Fuck it," he muttered under his breath, and turned around.

Temari was still standing there, looking at the awkward, perplexed expression on his face.

"Temari, I…"

She folded her arms in front of her chest, leaning at the doorframe. "Well?"

He stepped forward – one step, two step…

She became shorter in his eyes, raising her head and stared at him with her emerald-like eyes.

He took a gulp. "I…"

She said nothing.

"What a drag," he muttered.

He leaned forward, gently cupping her face with one of his hands, caressing her cheek with long, slender fingers; his other hand snaked itself onto her waist, pulling her closer.

She did not struggle – allowing him to pull her close, he planted his lips onto hers, softly touching each other.

Their tongue slid past teeth, entwining each other. He sucked greedily, as if the more he kissed her, the stronger the affirmation he held towards his feelings.

Temari broke from the kiss abruptly, gasping for breath.

Something changed in the way she looked at him.

As he backed off, his hand still on her face, she looked at and stared in his dark eyes.

Raising her hand, she pressed gently on his lip with one finger.

"Shikamaru, before anything else happens," she began, with a melancholic look in her emerald eyes. "I am not Ino, I never will be."

She lowered her hand, leaving the man dumbfounded.

"I know," he muttered. "All I need is time to forget her, you have to give me some time."

"I can't do this," she said, her lips trembling a little. "I won't do this."

"What do you mean?" He held her hand in his with his other hand. "You are not Ino, I know."

She shook his hand off hers.

"I don't want to feel unwanted!" She shouted in his face, staring into his eyes with desperation and sadness. "I am done waiting for someone who would never truly be mine to return, I don't know how you do it, but it definitely would not be me."

She took a deep breath, and sighed deeply.

"I am not going to be like you."

Shikamaru stared at her, his mouth slightly gapping.

"I…"

At this moment, his phone decided to ring again. Perfect, he thought. Who the fuck would call at this hour?

He took it out and attempted to silence it, but the name that popped up on its screen made a vein pop at the side of his head.

A name he never expected, at least not at this crucial moment.

Yamanaka Ino.


Author's note:

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

To those who are confused: this story is basically a modern day love story - it is going to be complicated and not necessarily straightforward - all of them have their own story; roses are not as beautiful as they are without thorns, the same goes with this story.

Because this is an AU so I can do whatever I want hahaha (I am having fun doing that too)

Anyway, enjoy and do review!

V.S.V xoxo