Chapter 8: Too Far Lost?
"Ino and Chouji went to the memorial rock today. Ino broke down sobbing. Ino offered to go to lunch, but Chouji didn't want to. He hasn't eaten in days. Sakura hasn't slept much. Asuma stopped smoking. I've been the same as always." Temari told him slowly, staring at the sky. No clouds. A dismal gray haze, like it had been for months. Temari had her hair in the ponytails again, and was acting more like her old self.
Shikamaru nodded slightly. It was another one of their many meetings a week. It was always the same—she would lean against a tree farther away from him, and he would sit down as if it were no big deal.
"You're afraid of me, aren't you." Shikamaru murmured, staring at her blankly. She stared back, a small smirk on her face.
"You're an enemy. Do you expect me to trust you?" She asked, her face becoming more serious.
"I'm not your enemy." He said quietly, "And you shouldn't be scared of me. I won't hurt you." He said firmly. He wished she would sit next to him like they had when they would watch clouds. He would even feel better if she made fun of him, or chastised him. She glared.
"And I'm supposed to believe you? You're an Akatsuki." She said flatly. He shrugged. 'Is he...dissappointed?' Temari thought, trying to look under his hat for a hint of any emotion. Suddenly she walked over slowly, and sat next to him. She smirked, inches from his own face.
"How's that, Akatsuki?" She asked boldly, with a small smirk. He rolled his eyes. 'Troublesome woman. She never ceases to amaze me.'
Suddenly Shikamaru heard a voice. 'Deidara. Damn! Oh man, troublesome!' He got up quickly.
"Leave!" He whispered, pushing her away. She glared.
"Idiot." She murmured, starting to start off running. Suddenly she tripped on a root of a tree.
That's when it happened. Her whole body froze for a millisecond, or less. Then suddenly she was able to find her footing again. She stared at the ground.
She swore she saw a shadow slinking across the forest floor, but maybe it was her imagination...
"Shikamaru no Danna!" Deidara called out. He caught up to him easily. "Zetsu's been attacked. We need to know if you have healing jutsu, un." He said. Shikamaru stared after Temari, then shook his head, blinking.
"No. I don't." He murmured. 'Please..don't let her know I used Kagemane no Jutsu to keep her from tripping...'
---
Temari stepped into the resteraunt, and sat herself at the counter. Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Sakura and TenTen. They looked slightly saddened, but smiled anyway.
"Temari! It's good to see you out." Sakura said, sitting down next to her. TenTen sat down on her other side. Temari faked a smile.
"Yeah." She said, her mind on other things.
"We haven't seen you much!" TenTen said, looking concerned. "Are you feeling better?" She asked, urging her to say more.
"Uh huh." Temari answered. She quickly ordered food to go. Sakura looked at her, slightly worried.
"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked. Temari nodded.
"It's fine." She answered, and left.
---
Shikamaru waited at the same place they had met every other day for months, waiting for her. Suddenly she walked up, and immediately sat next to him. He looked at her in surprise.
"You're not scared of me." Was all he said. She stared at him.
"Who are you." She asked, getting straight to the point. He shrugged slightly.
"I'm an Akatsuki." He answered bitterly. "I'm a betrayer, a killer, a coward." He said, staring straight ahead. She frowned.
"You're more than that." She replied.
"Not really." He said with a tired sigh.
"You seem like you don't care much for your life."
"Not anymore." He answered, even more bitterly. "I had a life once. I had important people in my life. I had Konoha, as you know. But things change."
"Why don't you leave." She asked. He sighed again, putting his arms behind his head.
"I can't." He said softly.
"Of course you can, you idiot." She hissed. "I know for a fact that you're the worst Akatsuki there is. So just give up already!" She said. 'Why am I trying to urge him to leave? Ugh, stop the confusion!' She thought, shaking her head. He sighed.
"It's too...troublesome." He said, adding the last word so softly that she couldn't hear it.
Suddenly Temari laid back against the tree, and closed her eyes. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.
Shikamaru stared at her after she hadn't talked for a few moments. He was surprised to see her on his shoulder, asleep. His eyes widened, and he blushed slightly under his hat. He looked at her sadly.
"I'm sorry...Temari." He said quietly, and brushed a piece of hair out of her face. He looked up at the sky. Bleak, just like his life felt at the moment. On an impulse, he threw off his Akatsuki robe and put it around her, resting the hat on her head. No one would harm her if she was hidden.
The moment he walked into the Akatsuki hideout, Itachi raised an eyebrow.
"Lose your robe?"
"For your information, it was caught on one of the traps, and torn to pieces." Suddenly he flung around, after muttering his jutsu under his breath. Itachi was caught in his shadow. He looked infuriated. Shikamaru smirked, and walked towards him, a cold glare showing clearly in his eyes. "It's troublesome when you can't use your own will, isn't it? You can't be free. So you have to get used to it." He said, strangely calm. Itachi looked unperturbed, but his eyes flickered something so quickly that only Shikamaru saw. Fear. Suddenly Kisame and the others walked in, eyes wide as they watched.
"You no longer lack hatred." Itachi said smoothly. "Although it may be hatred for the wrong cause." Shikamaru smirked.
"Troublesome...isn't it?" He said, and easily let Itachi go. He turned his back and walked to his room. The Leader smiled.
"Whoa...un..." Deidara breathed. There lay words unsaid between the Akatsuki. 'We better not mess with him...'
---
Temari's eyes fluttered open. She yawned and stretched, the robe rolling off of her. Her eyes widened and she glanced around. 'Damnit...what am I doing here? With an Akatsuki robe...hat...did he show himself?! DAMN! I could've seen who he was!' She stood up, staring down at the robes. She picked them up, did a double take, and ran off.
---
Temari waited by the tree, many days later. 'I need answers...and this time...they will come.' She thought, narrowing her eyes as she saw the Akatsuki walk over. The minute he sat, she withdrew her fan.
"Tell me who you are...or I attack!" She hissed, spreading her feet apart farther so that she had a better fighting stance. Dust flew up from her opened fan. The Akatsuki yawned. His eyes stared up at her threw the opening in his hat. His dark hair fell into his face.
"You wouldn't do such a thing...Kunoichi." He said lazily. She smirked coldly, then made quick hand seals. She disappeared in a flurry of dust. Shikamaru gaped, and got up, unprepared for attack.
Temari appeared behind him, and kicked him against a tree, pinning her fan across his chest, keeping him between the fan and the tree. She looked down at him with a menacing smile.
"Now to reveal who you are...I should have done this much earlier." She growled, lifting her hand up. Shikamaru's heart turned cold, and his eyes narrowed.
"Kagemane no Jutsu!" He cried out loudly.
Temari's spine turned cold with fear, and she did a double take. Suddenly her whole body stopped. She struggled to move, but could not. Shikamaru stepped forward, and made her step back. Then he stared her in the face. With a flourish of movement, he took off his hat, throwing it to the ground. His eyes followed her coldly.
"Troublesome woman. You should have stayed away." He mumbled. She stared at him, overcome with emotion.
"Shi...Shikamaru?!" She said hoarsely, staring at him closely. He kept glaring. His hair fell into his face and spiked at the ends. His eyes had gained a menacing glint. "What..."
He laughed bitterly, making her wince. "You see me now, Temari. I'm surprised you didn't know all along. Troublesome as it is...this is my place." He said a little angrily. He started walking away, making her stay in the same place.
"You lied to me...I cared about you, and all this time you went with the Akatsuki! You betrayed everyone...me...yourself!" She yelped, tears burning her cheeks. He turned away.
"It was out of my control...if I leave...it's too troublesome, Temari!" He said with a hint of pain in his voice.
"What...they captured you. You can escape now!" She hissed, realizations dawning on her. 'Shikamaru...what happened?'
"It's not that easy. I'm too far lost to be saved." He said, then slowly turned around.
"Tell them to save me all you want...but next time we meet...it will be as enemies." He said, and walked away.
She was only released from the shadows when she could see him no longer, a powerful longing telling her that he was still the same—her mind telling her that it was true.
'Next time we meet...it will be as enemies.'
A/N: DUNDUNDUN. Has Shika changed? o.O Better find out More soon!