I Got You

They shared the cold night in her apartment. Together in silence, laying in her soft bed, only the sound of night air and cicada's whirr filled the quietness of the room.

Shikamaru holds her tightly that night like he's afraid to let her go. Her head was buried in his chest, she heard his heart beat faster every second.

"Go to sleep" she whispered while her eyes were still closed

"I can't. You should rest first" He's always the one who falls asleep instantly on any occasion but every time he's with Temari, it's really hard to make himself fall asleep.

Maybe because the reality of being with her is much more beautiful than in his dreams.

He let her sleep before him, making sure she wouldn't do anything bad if she slips from his sight. Shikamaru kept the gun away and hidden from her.

The next morning, he saw her making their breakfast. A smell of steamed rice and omelet circles her apartment. His smile faded when he saw the luggage prepared near the door. A spree of senses brought his feet to the ground and lead them to where she was cooking.

He embraced her from behind and compliments her cooking before asking the question that he wanted to spill.

"Why's your luggage in there?" he asked while attempting to return the luggage back to her room

She cocked her head to him and released a heavy sigh "I still need to get away from here. My brothers wanted me to leave this city. And Kankuro's letter convinced me"

Wishing that he could take a hold of this conversation, Shikamaru wanted to know why and if there was any other way for her to stay in Konoha with him.

"What did Kankuro's letter says? May I know? So, I could understand why you're leaving" he rubbed his face using both hands and glided them at the back of his head.

"He said…He said sorry for joining Kiba on the other side. And he loves us, me and Gaara…then he mentioned someone who's a wolf hunter. I'm not sure who's he talking about, I have no clue" she shook her head while grabbing the plates to prepare their breakfast.

"Wolf hunter?"

"Yeah, I have no idea who this wolf hunter he's talking about. I felt like I need to go and hide somewhere. It's funny cause I felt like Gaara wanted me to stay away from here too. Gaara called me a few days ago and gave me the knife that was kept in the box" she lightly chuckled "The one you saw….I'm really not sure why but I think I need to go"

"What did he say about the wolf hunter?"

"In his letter, he said…..he was following him and Kiba. Then, he went to spider lily which is Gaara but the wolf hunter was now following them. Then…..he said…I need to keep an eye on the wolf hunter"

Suddenly, some of his brain wires connected. Is there a possibility that someone was in there during the murder incident in the Konoha beach cabin? The fourth fingerprint? But the report said it was a smudged fingerprint of Kankuro, but is it possible that it could be from someone else too?

A lot of question starts running through his mind.

"But I need to say goodbye to Konoha burlesque too tonight so I might hop on the last train back to Suna at around 10 in the evening" she spoke

He walked towards her and cupped her face "but you promised last night that you'll stay"

"I'm staying in here, not physically but I'm here with you. I just need to get away from the dangers that I might stumble upon in the future. I'll be back if I found out about the wolf hunter, I need to find Gaara for now"

He just nodded at her "As long as you're safe. I'll visit you there. Wait for me tonight, I'll drive you to the train station"

Her eyes traveled to every inch of his face, capturing all of it and imprinting it inside her brain before she leaves the city.

"Leave the weapon, I'll process that today and make a report about it. I'll tell them that Gaara sent it to us, he might want the police department to inspect the fingerprints stamped on it so we can conclude the name of the killer"

"Yeah, that might be it" she nodded

Shikamaru stared at her, there might be a reason why she appeared in his life and it'll be a long list. The wrong accusation and wrong conclusion from Kiba's case will be corrected because of her, how he finds passion in things he wanted to forget, and how she gave him the motivation to see the fuller side of life.

"I'm going to miss you, come back as soon after we clear their names and find out who this wolf hunter is, alright? Come back to me after"

"Yes, I'll be back soon" she whispered

"Promise to call me when you're in trouble?" He kissed her after that and she nodded in agreement.

After they eat their breakfast, Shikamaru headed his way to the police department bringing the box that Gaara gave to Temari. To inspect and report as one of the pieces of evidence.

For a whole day, she just took a rest which she badly needed at that time. Her eyes stared at the clock that was hanging on her wall, Temari was waiting for the burlesque club to open.

After packing all of her bags, she heads her way to the establishment where she was working to wave them goodbye. Kurenai, Tsunade, and Tenten were the people who felt more emotional about her announcement, about leaving their club. The relationship they had with her was genuine and filled with love and support. All of them hugged her before she left the club.

It was already 08:30 in the evening when she reached her apartment, she was waiting for Shikamaru after he promised that he'll drive her to the station. It was still early so she took a shower and wear her casual clothes. Once done, she sits on her couch to rest and waits for Shikamaru. Suddenly, her phone starts to ring. An unknown number appeared on her screen.

"Hello?" She answered

There's a glitch and static sound on the other side which it makes hard for her to hear what the person was saying.

"Sorry I cannot hear you, who's this?"

"Tem-Temari—I told-you—to-get—out!" A low masculine voice starts to yell on the other line

"Gaara!? I'm leaving tonight, I'll be in Suna tomorrow. Wait—I cannot hear you? Where are you?"

"Get—out!"

"Gaara?"

The line was cut after that, and Temari starts redialing the number of her brother to initiate another call. But this time it was unreachable.

"Where are you!?" she said to herself in frustration

Her thumb pressed with pressure on the screen of her phone, she called his number multiple times but still, there was no one on the other line. She either hear dead air or it was automatically lost, to sum no successful phone call was made during her attempts.

Her door suddenly opened and a loud stomp was heard from the entrance, her initial thought was Shikamaru since she gave him a spare key for tonight.

"Shikamaru? You're here? my luggage is now prepared" she said without breaking her focus on her phone screen while dialing Gaara's number.

"Babe? Did you hear me?"

"Shikamaru!? Why are you not answering me?" she stomps the phone on her table and glanced across her living room, there was no one there.

Her heart starts to race, she swears she heard her door swing and the loud footstep traveling around her room. Feeling curious, she stood up from her couch and walked to the entrance to check who it was.

It was dark, no one is there. But Temari felt another presence somewhere inside her room, and her instinct starts to peak at that moment. Her breath starts to become shallow when a loud footsteps start echoing inside her room, she observed and find where it was coming from.

Right?

Left?

Behind?

Still, her room looked empty.

"So, you're Temari?" a man's voice was heard but she wasn't sure where it was coming from. Her head turn around to every corner of her room but still, she couldn't find him.

"Who the fuck are you!?" She yelled

"I'm the wolf hunter that your brother was telling you" he said calmly

"Show yourself! Or I'm going to kill you!" she wasn't able to move like she was trapped in a body who's having sleep paralysis.

He laughed like a devil from the books "You're going to kill me? Have you seen my victims? Their heads were cut off before making a scream"

Temari felt frustrated, she was so blind to where he was at. Her feet wanted to run outside and scream for help.

"Your boyfriend is still having a discussion with the higher-ups about the knife I used in Kiba. Good job on pinning him in this case, he might consider one of the suspects. Good job!"

"Show yourself you coward!" Her eyes stared at her door; she calculated how many steps it will take for her to reach it.

5 steps? 6 steps? 7 steps? I need to escape

She waited for him to speak, occupying his mind with something before she storms outside the apartment. Temari wished he was anywhere far from her door.

"Your brother, Gaara was so coward. I feel pity for him, he escaped from-" before he said his next words, Temari ran to the door.

A loud bang of stumbled stuff was heard near her bedroom, he was hiding behind the bedroom door. The night scythe run to reach her before she makes it outside.

Her palms touched the cold sheer of the metallic door handle but before she twists it, the night scythe was able to pull her hair. With force, he pulled Temari away from the door, dragging her to the floor while holding the clumps of her hair.

She wails in pain from his pull, her body sliding through her tiled and carpeted floor leading to the couch. He wrapped her arms with chains and handcuffs while resisting his grip. She tried to scream and shout but the duct tape in her mouth was too strong to release her voice.

Suddenly, her phone that was sitting on her table started to ring, and they both peeked to see who was calling her.

It was Shikamaru.

She shook her head while looking at the killer, he grabs it and throw it to the wall. Her phone was broken into pieces but the sound and vibration from the call were still active.

Is this the end? She said in her mind

It's ironic when her mind last night thought to end her life without having any fear inside her body but tonight, she's so afraid, frightened, that all the plans she built with Shikamaru will be gone if the killer will win tonight.

With all her might, she tried to resist his force when he pulled and lifted her up. The killer carried her on his shoulder while opening the stairs only can be assessed if there was fire or emergency. A stair can be found behind the apartment building. He already checked it before he went to her building, like it was planned before executing his killing.

His car was parked in the dark alley of her apartment, he throws her in his compartment and then drove back to his house where his garage was prepared for his little play.

Temari's hands intertwined together and rests them on her chest while locked inside his dark car compartment.

For the first time, she prayed….she prayed for her safety.

.

.

.

.

It was already 9:30 in the evening, Shikamaru runs towards his car while calling her phone. Temari was unreachable.

He drove as fast as he can to reach her apartment that night, he was late. The police department throws him a lot of questions about the evidence he just bought but thanks to his brain he was able to defend himself and made a statement that leads the case to his own assessment.

"Ah fuck! Why are you not answering me?" He put his phone in speaker mode while driving.

Shikamaru prayed that she was still in there, he knows she was a very impatient woman and she might just grab a cab and go to the train station alone.

Sorry, the number you have dialed is out of reach

A robotic voice keeps speaking after every call. He pounds his steering wheel out of frustration.

After strolling the road as fast as he can, he reached her apartment and parked his car. His foot halted in front of her door and he fished out the spare key from his coat pocket which Temari gave to him earlier that day. He twisted the knob and swung the door.

His eyes widened when a dark, cold, and empty apartment greeted him that night.

A/N: Hiiiiiiiii. How are you? How was it?

I tried to write this week to finish up to the last chapters but I failed haha! You know the drill :'( the next chapters will be released next weekend or I don't know I'll just upload it immediately. Sorry, I'm so caught up with a lot of reports this week.

PS: I have to admit, the draft really looked intense for the next chapters and I'm afraid to write it lols! Pass me some tea plssss.