The last chapter, in my opinion, sucked. So I'm gonna see if this one turns out any better. =3

This is set… Maybe a bit before Naruto returns in shippuden time.

That troublesome woman just wasn't going to leave him alone, was she? Even after all this time, she just kept returning to Konoha, and kept annoying him even more every time. And to make matters worse, he was now stuck as her escort.

Shikamaru grumbled, rubbing his head where a certain kunoichi had hit him. Once again, he said something that had apparently offended her. He didn't even know what he'd done wrong. He flinched as he stood, holding his head. Temari rolled her eyes. "Don't be a baby; I didn't hit you that hard." She said, one hand on her hip and the other resting on her fan, which stood folded beside her. He just muttered a quiet 'troublesome' before he continued walking. "Let's just get to the gate so I can be rid of you." He said.

Temari laughed and walked alongside him, replacing the fan on her back. "You'd think that you'd try delaying reaching the gate, since you have all that paperwork to do for the Chunnin exams once you get back." She said. Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets. "Nah. If I keep stalling, I won't have the forms done by my deadline. Then it's a whole lot to catch up on, plus finish the extra paperwork Lady Tsunade will force me to do for being late. And I know she'll try forcing the work on me since she hates paperwork more than anyone. The way I see it, the longer I spend babysitting you, the higher the chance I have of having to exert extra energy, which could have been avoided."

Temari frowned and punched him in the side of the head. "Babysitting me? I'm the one who's stuck with the crybaby all day." She said. "And you won't get anywhere doing the minimal amount of work." Shikamaru gave a quiet chuckle, pulling his hands from his pockets and instead resting them behind his head. "It's gotten me pretty far already. Graduated the academy, became a chunnin the first time I took the exams." He paused, glancing at Temari. "But I have to deal with you while you're here, so I guess you're right, since I'm stuck with such a lousy mission."

Temari punched his arm, glaring at him. "Very funny." She said sarcastically, and then raised an eyebrow as his arm fell limp at his side. Shikamaru stared at his arm, then reached over with his other hand and massaged where she had punched him. "Troublesome woman…" He grumbled. "I can't move my arm…" After a moment of quiet, Temari started laughing, which only earned a glare from Shikamaru.

"Don't be such a wuss." She said after a minute of laughing. "I'm not. I can't move my arm." Shikamaru answered, annoyed. He shook his arm with his opposite hand to prove his point. Temari rolled her eyes. "Well, what do expect me to do?" She asked, "Kiss it and make it better?" Shikamaru just continued to glare at her and kept walking.

They soon reached the gate, and Temari turned to Shikamaru and gave a grin. "I'll see ya later." She said. His response was a simple nod, then he continued to rub his arm, trying to get the feeling to come back to it. An odd look passed over Temari's face, like she had gotten an idea. She pulled Shikamaru's hand from his arm and pressed her lips to the fabric of his sleeve where she had previously hit him. When she pulled back, her grin returned. "There. All better." She said in a teasing tone. He stared at her, his mouth slightly open, with a perplexed look on his face. It soon disappeared and he shook his head. "You are so-" "Troublesome?" She interrupted. "I know, you've said it maybe a dozen times today."

Shikamaru grumbled and rubbed his arm again. "Well, until next time then." Temari said, giving a wave as she walked out the main gate. "See ya, crybaby." He watched her walk away, then sighed, his annoyed look softening a bit. The feeling slowly came back to his arm. He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned around, then walked towards home. Temari stopped and looked back, a smile still on her face as she watched the lazy nin until he walked out of sight. She then turned back to the road and continued on her way.

Please review?