Cloudless Sky

Chapter 7: Nobody's Home

Temari stood in the darkness, staring at the window as if she expected someone, anything to console her. The words of the Akatsuki were burned in her mind, and as much as she didn't want to believe it, that he was lying, using her, she believed every word. And that's what was killing her.

No one came to see her. Everyone had left the funeral as if it was forgotten after the attack. 'This was the way of the ninja, wasn't it? All of us. Our nindo. The top priority is to meet danger head on.' She thought bitterly. She glanced at the window, trying to keep herself from going into the forest, after an Akatsuki who could easily kill her, but for some reason wouldn't. 'What happened to me? I was the toughest, people were frightened to see my face! And now they pity me...it's pathetic!' She thought, falling to her knees. hands on her head. She sobbed freely. 'Screw emotional training. Sakura was right. Ninjas have to have emotions...but...what do I feel for Shikamaru?'

She was out the door in minutes.

---

Shikamaru walked into the main hallway, where the Akatsuki were sitting around, talking about plans, or just plain talking. It was like they bore no guilt...how could they live like that? He cleared his throat. The Leader looked up.

"Shikamaru?" He said, not much of a question at all.

"I have plans for an elaborate trap to catch trespassers." He said, waving a booklet in front of them. "It will take weeks to set up, but I wish for permission to leave the grounds to set them up." He said plainly. 'I've gotten myself into something troublesome again...what's new?' The Leader smirked, a triumphant gesture. Shikamaru fought the urge to scowl more than he already was.

"I see you've finally seen where you truly belong. Of course you may. You wouldn't dare leave us, I'm sure. I trust you." He said, emphasizing the last words. Shikamaru walked out silently.

'I don't know where I belong...I may be a genius, but for once I have no idea...'

---

Temari felt the loneliness tug at her heart as she walked, as if all her strength had fallen away. Suddenly she stopped. She brought up her arms, pulling on one of her ponytails. She tugged out all four hairbands, falling her short hair fall in front of her face. 'I really have changed since he left...' She thought, with a bitter laugh. She stood against a tree, then hesitated. She took out a kunai, hiding it behind her back, just in case.

'Trust is a sensitive subject for me right now...'

---

Shikamaru walked aimlessly around the forest, his hat protecting him from the sun's glare. Suddenly he spotted someone. He squinted. 'Is that...Temari?!'

All her ponytails were gone. Her blond hair fell shortly to her shoulders in jagged strands. She looked more reserved than usually, and even more beautiful. 'Wait...did I just think that?' Shikamaru flinched. 'How troublesome...' He arrived, standing a few feet away from her. Her eyes widened slightly.

"You." Was all she said, expressionless. He wanted to look away, to make sure she didn't see the sadness clear on his face.

"You didn't think I would leave you, did you?" He said, his voice suddenly hoarse. She looked at him strangely. She didn't dare ask if he was alright...enemies didn't care for each other. But somehow she felt for this guy, like he had lost something also...

"No. Never." She murmured suddenly, staring him straight in the face. "Tell me about Shikamaru." She said. He looked at her, suddenly letting out a bitter laugh.

"You might want to hide your kunai in a more concealed place than your back, Kunoichi." He said. She bit her lip, slowly letting it drop to the ground. He raised an eyebrow from inside his hat.

"I didn't mean let your guard down. You used to be stronger than this." He stated. She glared.

"Maybe you could explain how you know me so well? Are you a stalker or something?" She said with a small scowl. He smirked a little bit.

"Not quite." He said, sitting down, leaning against a tree. Her eyes followed him.

"Why don't you tell me about him?" She muttered, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms.

"Fine. He's alive." He said curtly. Temari glared.

"You shouldn't mess with me, Akatsuki. I want to know what you did with him!" She said fiercely. He yawned slightly, trying not to let himself show the deep sadness and guilt he bore. 'I can't face her anymore...I made her like this...this whole troublesome deal...I made her broken...'

"He's alive. I won't tell you where, or how. I'll tell you that he misses you. And that he doesn't want you to come after him." He said hoarsely again. Temari looked at him, worry showing on her face.

"He...misses me?" She asked quietly, tears starting to fall down her face. 'I made her cry? Temari...the one who watched me easily as I cried in the hospital...is letting herself cry over me? Damnit, I was a horrible partner...friend...'

"Yeah. He says it's troublesome...but he wants you to go back to your normal self." He said quietly. She looked at him, hurt.

"Troublesome?" She asked. He stared at her.

"He also says you were worth the trouble. And he doesn't want you to get hurt." Shikamaru added. Then he stood up, and started to walk away. She ran over, and grabbed his arm, hard. 'Damn her and her strength...ugh, troublesome!'

"Come back again." Was all she said, and she turned back, walking away. The kunai she had dropped lay on the ground as he headed back.

---

Shikamaru sat in his room, his head in his hands. What had he gotten himself into? A troublesome eternal battle of ethics, that's what.

Konoha had been his home, his village. He'd had friends there, a troublesome family. They might have been annoying, but it was no wonder they say you don't appreciate what you have until it's truly gone.

Temari. What had she been to him? A troublesome girl. Why had he given up in the Chuunin Exams? Maybe he didn't even know. Maybe it was because he thought someone like her deserved it more than a coward like him. Why had he spent the majority of his days laying in the fields with her next to him, scolding him for being a lazy pain in the ass? Because maybe, just maybe, cloud watching was better when you weren't alone. Why was she all he could think about now, before Konoha, before his life? He still didn't know. His fingers fumbled to get into his thinking position.

The Akatsuki. They had taken him against the little will he had, and had treated him with respect. They didn't deserve to be trustworthy, and yet they had made themselves so. They were tricky, guiltless, ruthless. They had killed, betrayed, and still laughed it off as if it were a game.

But maybe life was to them a game, as Shougi to him was real life. Maybe they had the right to have their own perspectives. Maybe they weren't what everyone thought they were. But the fact that could not be ignored was that they killed. And as much as it was the way of the shinobi to kill for good to prevail, their good was not THE good.

...Right?

---

Temari stared at the window again, sliding down against her wall to the wooden floor. The room seemed so empty. The loneliness was overshadowing her heart. 'Shadows...Shikamaru.' She sighed.

She was being stupid. He had been her friend when everyone was frightened of her, sure. He had confided in her his worst fears, his fear of hurting the people close to him, leading them to danger. And yet he had conquered them. Was he afraid, now? If he was in fact alive?

And did he really miss her? Say that she was worth the trouble? How did this Akatsuki know so much about him?

Maybe she was just sad because she felt lonely in somebody else's village. Maybe she just needed to get back to Suna. She didn't know. She was weak now...what was the point of anything?

Maybe she needed a mission. To get back on her own two feet again. She hadn't done anything useful in days, she was sure. She sighed slowly, her hair falling into her face.

She closed her eyes, letting the darkness take her away.

It's where she lies, broken inside...

A/N: So...sad...Sorry, I had to write this one, for the ethics part, you know? Because of the whole, we're the enemies of our own enemies, thing. And if you want to understand the last line at the chapter title, listen to 'Nobody's Home' by Avril Lavigne. It matched perfectly, so I was like, what the heck. Anyway, enjoy!