Cloudless Sky

Chapter 6: Strangers or Friends?

The tears fell down the smooth rock as she through her hands around it, sobbing freely. Ino and Sakura were there with her. The black creases of her dress shook in the wind, and soon rain was pouring down from the darkened sky. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen the clouds—they seemed a distant memory now.

Sakura's hand softly touched her shoulder. "I need...to...be...s-strong." Temari said, clenching her fists and looking down, her knees bent underneath her. "But...how could they?" Temari said, her hand wavering toward the monument.

The names on the rock glared back at her, but one more than others.

Shikamaru Nara.

The name on the rock glared back at her.

It had been two months, maybe even more, since the day she had heard from that strange Akatsuki that Shikamaru had been killed. She had told no one—only stayed in her room and refused to leave tearfully. Everyone was worried, and Gaara even sent messages asking if she was alright (obviously Tsunade told him about Shikamaru). But it had been decided that there was no more to do, and that Shikamaru should have a proper place in Konoha's history.

His funeral was that day—no body had been found, but a service was being held. The Jounin teachers, especially Asuma, had been quiet and reserved, obviously mourning their lost student and friend.

But as much as Temari was staring at the rock intently, she could not believe he was dead.

Ever since she had been told it, her heart had told her that he was still there, somewhere, but she believed it was wishful thinking.

Sakura frowned. Ino's face was stained red, tears still falling.

"It's okay, Temari. If shinobi didn't feel...they would not feel courage or determination. They would wither away, dead inside." Sakura said. They were in their black dresses, heading to the funeral. The moment Temari had seen the rock, she had burst out crying.

"But...he..." She said, lost for words. 'What was he to me? He was a friend...but so much more...Get a hold of yourself! You don't...like...SHIKAMARU?! Pshaw. Crazy talk. He's just an idiot, remember the Chuunin exams!'

Flashback

"I lose. I give up." He said with a hint of a yawn. Temari gaped. 'What's up with this guy? Is he crazy? He had me. Even I can admit that. This guy...'

"What?" She gasped. He looked at her, obviously bored.

"I thought of about 200 possible moves...but time's up." He said with a sigh. "It's too troublesome to do more." He said with a small shrug, his hands in the air. The examiner smirked.

"Winner: Temari." He said. The guy released the shadow, letting it crawl back to him. Suddenly the blonde kid jumped down and started bombarding him with insults. She still stared at him in shock, eyes wide, mouth slightly open. He looked extremely bored with what the blonde kid was saying, and sent her a sidelong glance. Catching her eye, he smiled slightly, not that smirk he had had in the exams. She could feel red coming to her face and just turned away to leave.

"What's with that guy?" Kankuro asked. "No offense, but he totally had you!" He exclaimed. Temari shrugged, looking at the ground as they walk.

"I guess he's just stupid." She said with a shrug. He smirked at her.

"Or maybe he liked you and let you win!" Kankuro teased, wagging a finger in front of her face. She growled, her face growing a deep shade of red.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! YOU'RE SUCH AN INSOLENT MAN!" Temari cried, giving him a fierce look. He backed off, hands up.

"Whatever."

End Flashback

But now that she thought about it...Shikamaru had a lot of chakra and could hold shadows for several minutes before running out of chakra. 'Did he really let me win? But...he's a mystery.' She thought, shaking her head. Ino held out a hand to help her up and she took it gladly. She stared up at the sky, the rain falling fast, covering her tears.

"Alright. Let's go." She said, following them in silence to the funeral.

---

Shikamaru scowled slightly under his hat. Deidara stared at him, the leaves crunching beneath them as they ran through the forest.

"You alright, un?" Deidara asked. Shikamaru nodded after a moment's hesitation.

"Yeah. I guess. So we're going to take out the commander of the ANBU?" Shikamaru said, his eyes lost in the wavering trees of the forest. The rain poured down on them. Deidara nodded.

"Yes, Shikamaru no Danna. And to get away without them seeing you, so just stick to ninjutsu and kunai, un." Deidara said. That was right. They didn't want anyone to see his shadows. Shikamaru nodded.

"Alright. We'll assess the situation further when we see what kind of day Konoha is having." He said, the silver of the line across his forehead protector glinting.

---

The service began slowly. Too many people were crying to count. Asuma, all of the rookies, the Nara Clan, herself. Even Tsunade cried a small bit. His team was the one who looked the most pained though, beside her. Ino was staring at the ground being perfectly quiet, and Chouji hadn't eaten all of that day. Asuma was being comforted by Kurenai, who had a hand on his shoulder. Sakura had a far-off look in her eyes. Soon everyone took a white rose and placed it on the tombstone that had a picture of Shikamaru taken on one of his Chuunin missions on it. Temari took hers, stepped up, closed her eyes, and set it down.

'I know you're still there, somewhere, Shikamaru. And I'll find you...'

---

Shikamaru stepped onto the mountain, staring down, the hat covering him from the rain. Deidara caught up to him a few minutes later.

"You okay, un?" Deidara asked again, cyan eyes boring into his hat. Shikamaru nodded again, narrowing his eyes at the grassy plains beneath their lookout on the mountain. A great blur of black was moving across the fields in one spot. Suddenly Shikamaru saw that it was the cemetery—the area for the fallen shinobi's services. His eyes widened. Everyone seemed to be there, save a few in the marketplace.

"We attack straight on." Shikamaru said hoarsely, knowing the decision was correct, but not exactly the right thing to do. Deidara nodded, and began running down the hills, jumping on the occasional close by rooftop.

Soon they had a good view of the funeral from behind a building. His eyes widened as he stared at the people there. 'Asuma? Ino? Chouji? ...Temari? Who's is this? Did Deidara kill someone that I knew?' He thought, suddenly frightened. The rain started falling harder, although no clouds were seen in the sky. Everything looked grey. Suddenly Shikamaru shifted to get a better position of the coffin, and looked into a picture of the dead to...

See himself, smirking back.

---

Temari watched as the rest of the people walked up tearfully. His father was staring off, eyes glazed over as his wife clutched his arm sobbing. Tsunade sighed, laying a white rose down. Her hands found each other as angry tears filled her vision. 'Shikamaru...you promised me you'd never die. That you were too lazy, that no one would care to kill a useless fool. I thought you were a genius. I thought you were always supposed to be right.'

---

Shikamaru clenched his hands together into fists, red seeping into his face. Deidara stared at him, shocked.

"Shikamaru no Danna...this is...your funeral, un!" He said, gaping.

"Of course it is! It was too troublesome to remember me, I'm sure." He snarled, his anger fueling him to be very much unlike his old self.

"We can attack when this is over...Shikamaru no Danna, un..." Deidara said, suddenly frightened of Shikamaru's sudden change of personality. Shikamaru gave him a cold look that could be seen beneath his hat.

"Oh no. We'll just have to be so troublesome as to crash their party." He said with a genuine smirk. He threw a kunai, landing straight in the center of the photograph of himself.

The glass cracked and pieces shattered, hitting the rain-beaten ground. Gasps were heard all around, and soon the attention was turned on the two, who had stepped out of hiding nonchalantly.

Temari's eyes widened as she recognized the strange Akatsuki who had done her no harm before. Deidara snickered.

"We hate to interrupt, but we have some unfinished business...un." He said, smirking. Shikamaru just stood, feeling eyes plastered on him, eyes wide. 'Damn, there are too many! What the hell were we thinking? I'm smarter than this...wait...' Shikamaru thought, a plan forming. He smirked. Suddenly Tsunade walked up, getting ready to strike.

"You seriously think you can defeat Konoha with just the two of you?" She said, glaring furiously. Neji walked up.

"I used my Byukagen. They're alone." He said, obviously underestimating them. Suddenly Deidara spread his hands out, the mouths on his hands smiling with hunger.

"Kibaku Nendo!" He said curtly, clay molding together with his chakra. Shikamaru stood there. Suddenly ANBU began to bombard them with attacks.

"Katsu!" Deidara hollered, an explosion starting from the clay.

It was a huge blur of grey and chakra. Shikamaru stepped back, bringing kunai to his hands, blocking anyone who tried attacking him. Suddenly he found himself face to face with Temari. He stared to the side of him, his glance flickering to the wounded body of Deidara, among other shinobi. He quickly shifted his position so a kunai was at her throat. Other shinobi didn't notice him, for they were too busy paying attention to Deidara.

"We'll leave if you distract them from my partner." Shikamaru hissed. He felt Temari tremble underneath him.

"That doesn't seem like a fair trade, Akatsuki." She said, shaking harder. He narrowed his eyes.

"You want to know about the Nara boy. I'll meet you in the forest." He said. Suddenly she stopped shaking. She was listening. "What if I told you he's not dead." He continued. She gasped.

"No." She said. "You're lying, you're a lying Akatsuki! You're evil! You've betrayed all your life." She stated.

"He's still alive. Think about it." He said, releasing her. Temari sighed, and turned to the others.

"THE OTHER ONE GOT AWAY! HE'S HEADED THAT WAY!" She hollered in a desperate voice. All of the disorganized shinobi left Deidara and scattered to where Temari pointed to. Shikamaru walked over and picked up his fallen partner, hauling him over his shoulder. Temari stared after him, afraid and confused.

"Tomorrow. Sundown." Was all he said, not looking back once.

'This guy...is he a stranger...or...a friend?'

A/N: Thanks again!
Kibaku Nendo – Exploding Clay (Deidara's technique)

Katsu – Said to make clay explode (Deidara's technique)