Author's note:Thank you for reading this far!!! Yay! Gaah the submission process is kinda hard for first timers… Well here is Chapter 2: Wake up Call
Shikamaru lay peacefully on his back, sleeping soundly, a pillow clutched to his bare chest from some forgotten dream. Free of its band, his hair hung around his neck, bathing his shoulders in a cascade of dark chocolate. His bloodshot eyes shot open as his loud alarm blared, calling his name. Groaning and burying his head in the pillow, Shikamaru's brain started to boot up. Unn, my alarm clock sounds like Temari. How annoying. HEY?!? WAIT A MINUTE! I JUST REMEMBERED! I DON'T HAVE A DAMN ALARM CLOCK!
Groggily remembering his previous alarm clock's unfortunate encounter with a kunai, Shikamaru sat up in bed. There, sitting in a chair, long legs crossed, was, in fact, Temari . Shikamaru brushed a strand of hair out of his face and started to say something about her being troublesome when he remembered that he was clad only in boxers. Oh, crap. That doesn't make for a great start to the day.
"Morning pineapple head. Oooo, I can't call you that right now. I like the hair." Raising her eyebrows, the woman from his dreams stared at his well toned chest and smiled impishly. "Well I take it back, Mr. Crybaby, you aren't that feminine. Nice chest. Not to mention those biceps." Temari mischievously licked her lips.
Quickly grabbing the covers up to his neck, Shikamaru stared, mouth opening and closing at his human wakeup call. Finally finding words and controlling his blush, the lazy ninja stammered back, "Do they have personal space in Suna? Umm...How long have you been here, you troublesome woman?" Temari teasingly narrowed her eyes and tapped herself in the temple a couple of times before replying.
"Long enough. Hm, what was it you kept muttering while you were dreaming.? Sounded like calimari, or maybe even Temari? You know, my Shika-kun, you're so cute when you're asleep." Temari gave herself a mental high-five when she saw Shikamaru's blush change from pink to crimson. Shikamaru finally composed himself and gave her a shooing motion.
"Go away, troublesome woman. I need to get dressed." When she made no move to obey him, Shikamaru did his best imitation of his deer herding uncle's voice and waved his hand in annoyance. "Go on, git!" Temari protested before finally giving him privacy.
"Fine, Mr. Sensitive, but hurry up, it's 5:20." Temari gave him one last ogle before leaving his room. As soon as his door closed, Shikamaru dragged himself from bed and stumbled over to his closet. Grunting sleepily he pulled on his normal clothes, tied his hair up and fastened his forehead protector to his forearm. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, the controller of shadows opened the door and joined his new teammate.
Creeping down the hallways, so as not to rouse screaming from Shikamaru's mother, the pair snuck glances at each other. Finally emerging into the crisp morning air, they locked eyes and nodded simultaneously before leaping over the village wall into the surrounding forests. Quickly pulling out the scroll, Shikamaru double checked the route they were supposed to take. Routine patrol. This should be easy. I probably should worry more about Temari hurting me than some sound ninja. Temari, bored out of her mind by the silence and monotony, decided to have a little fun in some friendly torment.
If the two had not been so caught up in each other, they might have noticed two high levels of chakra emanating from the dense foliage several hundred yards away. Instead, as they bounded from branch to branch, Shikamaru found himself unable to keep his eyes of the swaying of Temari's hips as she jumped and landed, while Temari was concentrating on putting on a good show for him. Watching their quarries flirt shamelessly, the two enemy Jounin practically licked their lips in anticipation of the upcoming battle. This was going to be easy. One of the sound ninja put a hand on his teammate's shoulder, calling dibs on the first strike. Stepping forward, he closed one eye and focused a mental scope on his enemies. When he had a bead on both of their bodies, he slowly put his scarred hands forward and brought them back suddenly. Hundreds of tiny lead balls laced with chakra sped towards their targets. The ninja sat back and watched, expecting a bloody one hit kill.
Luckily for both of them, Temari had noticed a sudden release of chakra and turned to the direction it had come from. Slashing her fan through the air, she sent a wave of energy towards the ninja. Because of the lack of concentration put into the attack, the wave met with the lead balls and only managed to deflect some of them, before dissipating into nothingness. Stunned that her attack had had such little effect, Temari stood there dumbfounded as the claymore jutsu grew closer.
Shikamaru, previously oblivious to what was going on, spurred himself into action. Grabbing Temari's numb form, he focused chakra in his feet before jumping to another tree. Despite his quick action, both chuunin felt several metal projectiles tear through their skin, breaking Shikamaru's concentration and sending them crashing twenty feet down to the ground.
Slowly rising to her feet and helping Shikamaru up, Temari glared as the two enemy ninja jumped gracefully down from their hiding place. As Temari drew her fan in a defensive pose, she turned to look at her teammate. Shikamaru was surprised to see a look of primal excitement in her face. She enjoys this stuff way too much.
"I hear you're smart, crybaby. I can take them for a while. Figure something out."
Shikamaru nodded in agreement before carefully examining their opponents. The man he presumed had attacked them first crouched next to his teammate. He carried no weapons and was of average height. The only thing that distinguished him was his face and arms. His fingers were gnarled with scar tissue, while countless blemishes and burns distorted his expression into a permanent, hideous snarl. His eyes, however, were fierce and piercing, demonstrating inhuman sight.
Leaving part of his mind to grapple with how to take the first man down, his attention turned to the second. This man stood slightly behind his partner, back straight as an oak. He was tall, and yet thin as a rod, with bony joints and a long protruding nose. The only other special thing about him was his forest green robe. Shit. I can't tell very much about either of them. I'm going to have to see them attack more. Shikamaru thought for a moment before smiling grimly. Temari was surprised and annoyed to find Shikamaru step up beside her.
"Didn't you here what I said? Or do you think I can't defend myself?!?" She stopped yelling and took in a sharp breath when he only smiled slightly and put a hand gently on her shoulder.
"There's no way I am leaving you alone to fight both of them. As I've said before it's not right for a man to hide behind a womanAnd, anyways,I need to see more of their attacks before I can devise a strategy, and you dying would not help, troublesome woman." Shikamaru paused and nodded his head towards their two opponents. "Which one do you want to take?"
He's got my back. All right then... I'll give him the one we've seen in action already. I'll take the freak in green. "Freak in green is mine." Nodding, Shikamaru turned to examine his opponent, face distorting into an expression of scrutiny. I need to see more of his jutsus. His first attack was strong, but I can only assume he hasn't used his trump card yet.
The lazy chuunin snapped back to his reality as he saw the man begin to form seals. Not waiting to see what weapon the sound ninja would use, Shikamaru jumped behind a large tree and made several seals of his own. A clone sprung into existence from midair and began zigging and zagging towards the enemy's position. Now to see if you show me another attack. ...He's making different seals, here we go. What's it gonna be?
Several yards to Shikamaru's right, Temari was enjoying the mere thought of fighting a worthy opponent. I'll finally be able to show Pineapple head that I can take care of myself. To her, a challenging battle was almost as fun as making certain "tough" guys blush. However, her excitement began to dwindle and her irritation started to mount as the man in green just stood there, motionless. Picking up the dialect of her guide, Temari gritted her teeth and thought, Cheh. How troublesome. Am I going to have to make the first move? As if in answer, the ninja began moving... away from the battlefield.
Ne?!? He's running away already? I know I'm intimidating, but... Not a chance a jounin of his chakra level would do that... What ARE you up to, you anorexic weirdo? Temari gasped and she cocked an eyebrow as the sound ninja began sprinting towards the trunk of a monolithic tree. Greeeaaatt. This guy's completely bonkers... Unnn. Why did I choose him? However, instead of running into the hard wood and knocking himself out like a moron, the jounin seemed to melt into the bark, leaving no trace of his whereabouts behind. Fingers itching, Temari tightly gripped her fan and smiled in anticipation. Now things are getting interesting.
Shikamaru still crouched in his hiding place, observing through the eyes of his clone. His imitation was steadily running closer to the first sound ninja. The man had finished making seals, had thrust out a hand with two fingers pointed forwards, and was focusing with one eye on the clone. The jounin suddenly switched eyes and pointed his fingers towards the tree which hid the real Shikamaru. What? Somehow he knows where I am. Hm. His eyes seem to be different colors...
The hideous ninja broke Shikamaru's concentration as he snapped his hand back like he was firing a weapon. The man was not targeting the clone. Throwing himself sideways, Shikamaru felt a hole burst in the tree.
The invisible projectile, with help from the tree's splinters, effectively tore a large hole in Shikamaru's shoulder, creating the sensation of a thousand needles ripping through flesh. Clenching his fists to keep from screaming, Shikamaru began to sweat uncontrollably. Ok, Shika, what have we learned? Shikamaru continued to shake with the exertion of not passing out. It seems like he uses long range, assassination jutsus. Looks like he uses one eye to see long distances, and the other as a sort of chakra or heat sensor. SHIT! I'm out of my league. I can't get close enough to do ANYTHING. Shikamaru sat with his back against the shattered tree trunk, trying to muster the strength to move. His breathing came in short, ragged bursts. I'm dead if I stay here any longer. Shit.
Temari's teal eyes surveyed all her surroundings, searching for the wood ninja. She was smart enough to know that his jutsu probably did not just involve hiding in a tree. Eyebrows knitting, Temari had the feeling she was being toyed with. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck began to stand on end. Where'd he go? He's waiting for an opportune moment to strike. It's like a game of cat and mouse. If I keep my wits about me, I should be able to–
Her thoughts were disrupted as she heard a shattering sound a few yards to her left. Shikamaru sat behind what had been a huge tree, now reduced to millions of toothpicks. Her eyes widened as she saw the steady trickle of blood coming from his shoulder. "Shikamaru, are you–" Too late she realized the diversion that the other sound ninja had provided. They're good. She had time to half turn around before the wood jounin burst from a tree behind her and sent her flying with a kick to the stomach. Slowly rising, Temari shuddered as the ninja let out a raspy, clicking laugh.
He raised a hand and made two seals with the other. His outstretched arm began to slowly change color, until it twisted into the form of a huge, thick branch, hard gnarls turning it into an effective club. Remembering her fan, Temari sent a gust of air towards the jounin. The man pounded his wooden fist into the ground, creating an impervious shield. Temari gaped at the shield as her wind slashing technique only managed to put several pitiful scratches in it.
For the first time in a long while, Temari felt fear drown her excitement in the battle. I'm far outmatched. I can't win. We can't win. Body shaking uncontrollably with anger and shame at her weakness, Temari watched her opponent heft his arm. How does a skinny guy like that lift an arm that's so heavy? The human tree gave another inhuman laugh before charging at her againHe's much slower in his tree form... Does he really expect to hit me with that attack? Here's my chance to turn the tide.
Temari grinned at his naiveté and started to dive away, only to find something stopping her. Temari slowly brought her gaze down to her feet and closed her eyes in horror. Two roots were coiled around her feet like monstrous snakes. I am soooo stupid. The wooden fist made contact again, sending her flying backwards into a tree, broken roots still attached to her feet. The wood met her back with a loud crunch, knocking the wind out of her.
Temari felt her body screaming and opened her mouth to do the same. Small droplets of blood flew through the air before splattering as they made contact with the hard ground. The sand ninja tried to rise again, but felt her strength fail her, and fell back to the ground. An expression of cool indifference plastered on his face, the wooden man slowly advanced, his club of an arm twisting into tentacles until they formed a sharp stake. The menacing spear was painful just to look at. Shit. I'm toast... I wish I'd been able to–
Instead of gruesome death, Temari felt butterflies in her stomach as she was lifted suddenly off the ground and away from certain death. Shikamaru held her bridal style and was examining her body, presumably for any injuries. He touched down a hundred yards from the battlefield and set her down gently on a cushioned knoll of grass. His usual expression of indifference was replaced by a soft look. Shit, that was close. I wonder how many times Gaara would kill me if she died...
Temari grimaced before rising, rubbing her stomach where the punches had connected. She thought about claiming that she didn't need his help, until she saw his expression. Feeling slightly awkward, she changed the subject. "I can't take this guy, he's too strong. And from what I saw from your fight, you're outmatched too."
Looking nervously at the two sound jounin that were advancing slowly on their position, Shikamaru nodded in agreement. "We can't win here, and there would only be a slim chance of us winning in a better environment." He didn't voice his most negative concern. I doubt that we'll survive this battle. But if I can at least save her... "I think it's time we employ a new jutsu." Shikamaru looked up at Temari to see if she caught his drift.
"Meaning the run-like-hell no jutsu?" Shikamaru dipped his head in response. "Yeah, I think that's the best course of action at the moment." Both started to move and winced in pain at their respective injuries. Temari slung an arm around Shikamaru's shoulder and he did the same, before they began to leap away from the battlefield in their new braced position. The two sound jounin followed at a leisurely pace. After all, wounded prey is always easy to track.
Even with the danger they were currently in, Shikamaru and Temari did not fail to notice their bodies pressed against one another. Her usual fire twinkling in her eyes, Temari gave Shikamaru a fierce smile and nodded towards his hand that rested on her right shoulder.
"Oy, Crybaby. If that hand travels three inches south, I'll break your fingers." Shikamaru only rolled his eyes in response, but was reassured to see her acting like her normal self. He couldn't explain the feeling he got just looking at her, but for once in his life, he felt determined to do something. He would make sure she lived. I have an idea...
(End Flashback. PHEW THAT WAS LONG)
Author's note: Yay, the Flashback is finally over! The next chapter is the last. What will happen? OMG, I am so excited. Oh right, I already know what's going to happen… :D