Updates available: smoothing as much as I could for the moment (it needs shortening, I do know that); added content; the last part is pretty much rewritten.

Play along

The shinobi gathered around the fire and started to exchange their scrolls. Chojuro gave his scroll to Shikamaru, who handed it in to Tenten — in each village group, there was just one shinobi capable of resealing the given scroll. As a rule, this shinobi couldn't be the leader of the group. Following this rule, the scrolls were placed into the hands of Tenten, Ameno, Ittan, Amai and Ruka. They resealed the documents at the same time — each one contained three parts: the first one included the clothing and the masks, and a description of the ritual itself, the second was charting options for travelling routes, and the third part was filled with what seemed to be the reflection of the kages' funny sides. That last part in each document consisted of weird looking instructions.

Tenten gave the scroll back to Shikamaru. She crossed her arms while his eyes slid down the text. His eyebrows raised a bit, his lips formed a straight line — a sure sign of an exasperation.

"That sounds too troublesome," he whispered under his breath and looked up at the other team leaders.

"That seems too... uncomfortable," Shee said, his hands lowered, gripping the scroll loosely.

"Oonoki-sama wants us to share secrets?" Kankuro looked at them, eyes narrowed. "What would that mean, exactly?"

"Hokage-sama invokes developing tolerance for others, which sounds good… Though I am not sure how this can be reached in the first place." Chojuro joined the first round of comments.

Shikamaru sighed and closed his eyes briefly, then he asked every leader to read the third part of their scrolls out loud. He listened while his nimble fingers reached for a cigarette from a box in his vest pocket. Placing the paper cylinder between his lips, he took out a heavy metal lighter and ignored Ino's frown. He started to turn the lighter between his fingers, never lighting up the cigarette.

Kankuro cleaned his throat and clearly read: "Share secrets with each other the way only close comrades do. Play along!" Shikamaru nodded.

"Train every day without hurting each other and always have a reward for the winner, and a punishment for the loser." Kurotsuchi frowned and moved her weight to one of her feet while reading Raikage's A instructions. "Play along!"

"Educate your hearts with words and actions. Play along!" Shee's voice was quiet but clear. "Do I imagine it or Mei-sama hints something about… matchmaking?" The question was obviously rhetoric. His usually calm face frowned in something that looked a lot like disgust.

Ruka quietly chuckled which dragged his surprised gaze over her. She mouthed her silent apologies with a guilty face. He nodded at her in a sign that the apology had been accepted.

"Be tolerant with each other — tolerance is something you develop with practice, so train. Play along!" Chojuro sighed.

"Protect each other day and night. Play along!" said Shikamaru without looking at the scroll.

Heavy silence fell upon the group of shinobi. They were gazing at each other, shrugging in embarrassment.

Ino cleared her throat preparing to say something as she turned to Shikamaru — he was the official leader of this mission. She could practically see the cogs in his brain turning with high speed.

"Well, Nara, you got any ideas?" Temari asked bluntly, placing her hands on her hips.

Without looking at her, he lifted a finger in front of his mouth.

Temari's eyes widened in pure surprise. "Are you shushing me, Nara?!" she was so honestly stunned that she couldn't react. The people who knew her better were aware she was going to replace that surprise with pure anger in the range of seconds.

He sighed and looked up with mild annoyance. "No, I'm not shushing you. I'm asking you, with all due respect I harbour towards you, to keep silent for just a few more moments so I can think." Even though the look he shot at her showed his displeasure, his tone was calm and lacking any emotion.

Kankuro barely succeeded to suppress his invading smile at the image of his sister's clenching fists, slightly agape mouth, and reddening cheeks.

Ameno carefully touched her shoulder and caressed her back in an attempt to calm her. Temari immediately relaxed and this… this didn't slide away from Shikamaru's sight — he kept it in the back of his mind, stored for the time he would need it.

"All of that sounds like a bad joke," Kankuro said, crossing his arms. As a middle child and full-time mediator, he knew in his bones when he had to step up and do something.

"Unfortunately, joke or not, those are the instructions written by our dearest kages." Kurotsuchi accented her hip, laying a hand on it.

"Well, there is what I can offer you…" Shikamaru looked up at them with his very dark eyes. He took the cigarette out of his mouth, put it back in the box, then in his pocket. "We can do sparring once a day, randomly picking the opponents, the fight lasting for about 20 minutes. The winners would have the right of an uninterrupted night's sleep while the losers would take on the night shifts, sustain the fire, and take care of the food for the day." He rubbed his forehead with his pointer and mumbled. "That would make out for Raikage's and Gaara's instructions."

"How do we decide on the opponents for the sparring?" Kankuro asked, going in a more practical direction.

"We could use marked sticks." Chojuro interjected.

The marked sticks were equal in length, with written symbols on one of the ends. Chojuro's idea was gladly accepted by the rest of the shinobi and they started to nod at him — it was quite practical, after all.

"We could determine a conversation topic and share personal information within reason." Shikamaru sighed. "The bigger issue would be to determine the healthy reasoning."

"Why don't we use the same method for picking opponents to pick groups for sharing personal information?" Ittan asked, that was his second sentence since they had arrived.

"In a smaller group people feel safer and calmer and the environment is more…intimate." Kurotsuchi smiled.

"I guess we could try it out at least to see if we all feel comfortable with this way of implementation."

"Or observe how well or not we go along. We may not need to do anything in particular to induce information sharing," Shikamaru interjected. "It is a natural thing to do, so let's just leave the organised activities about this particular matter for later. In case we need to do something about it, we will."

Approving mumbling could be heard for the next few minutes.

"What does 'play along' mean?" Ino asked quietly, Shikamaru looked at her for a brief moment.

"I am not entirely sure. It sounds to me as if this is some kind of exhortation to follow all of their instructions via games. I can't be certain. This is just one interpretation."

"I could see it the same way…" Temari whispered under her breath.

"We could always go back to our childhood and play more games. One of their main purposes is indeed proximity development," Kankuro said.

"Songs and dances for everybody!" Kurotsuchi grinned, causing a wave of laughter.

Ino leaned her head on Tenten's shoulder.

Tenten smiled and leaned her head over the blond head of her friend. "Now is the right time to offer women's night, Ino."

"Did I hear you say women's night?" Kurotsuchi pricked up her ears and looked over at them. Ino straightened up and shyly smiled.

"Well, yeah. I was thinking we could make some women's nights. You know — gossiping, light alcohol, tasty things for eating, laughter, hairdos, nail painting, intimate conversations…" She sighed. "We used to do those in Konoha from time to time and it was always fun."

"That actually sounds really good," Ruka whispered so quietly that only Chojuro heard her, nodding at her with a small smile.

"There is one big flaw though." Atsui grinned and everybody looked at him. "The problem, as I see it, is in the name 'women's night.' That tends to exclude all of us." He pointed around at the men.

"Well, that's the main idea…" Temari said, setting her crossed arms on her chest. "The good thing is exactly that — no men. And it is an advantage, not a flaw."

"Alright…" Shikamaru shrugged nonchalantly. "If the women would like to hold their women's night, we could do men's night instead." He paused, looking around at the men's faces. "But please, let's lose the hairdos, the nail painting and the other troublesome activities." There was audible reluctance in his tone and he yet again rubbed his finger into his forehead as he closed his eyes. Chouji placed a hand on his shoulder, reassuring him that everything would be alright. Shikamaru gave him a smile of gratitude over his shoulder. He was still surprised at the faith his friend had in him ever since they were little kids — he had never doubted him, even when his decisions weren't the best — even when one particular decision almost killed Chouji during his first mission as a team leader. That happened right after the chuunin's exams. During those crucial exams he met Gaara, Kankuro and Temari for the very first time… He thought she was troublesome right there and then. He was still convinced of that, even though she had become troublesome in a different way.

Shee frowned and crossed his arms unhappily. He didn't like gatherings and especially didn't like gatherings with so many younger men in one place — they were too loud, often too impulsive, they also spoke and did stupid things he usually struggled to tolerate. The very idea caused him to shiver.

"How do we fulfil Mei-sama's instructions?" asked Chojuro quietly. He admired his Mizukage and he didn't want her words to be overlooked.

"Well…" Kankuro started, a smirk placed upon his lips. "We are safe to say it is possible for someone to win over someone else's heart in a way other than just being friendly." A lot of eyes turned to him. There was an uncomfortable blush creeping on some of the faces — he had just said out loud what most of the shinobi had thought.

"In theory," Shikamaru said slowly, "it is possible, indeed."

"Awww, come on, cheerful, people!" Kurotsuchi intervened, waving her hands. "You sound like you have just learned you all have death sentences awaiting you." She smiled widely. "This is not a must, after all. If it happens, it happens. It would be nice, but it is not something that is going to just appear because of a command."

Ameno and Ruka nodded, slight smiles on their lips. There was relief on the shinobi' faces, some of them even came up with smiles.

"And playing games could be really fun…" she added with an impish smile, winking at Temari.

Temari shook her head in disagreement. She liked playing games, but she felt Kurotsuchi meant 'wicked games,' which she hated, mostly because Kankuro loved them and often convinced her to join him.

"How do we pick who will take the night shifts for tonight, as we didn't have sparring?" asked Lee.

"I am taking a shift," Tenten said right away. "Doing nothing the whole day won't let me sleep anyway," she explained to the questioning looks she received. Ino placed a hand on her shoulder and, instinctively, she grabbed it.

"I also want a shift!" Lee joined with burning enthusiasm. "We are in the bloom of our youth! Our strength is flowing like a forest spring!"

Tenten's smile faded and she dragged her free hand over her face in a sign of shame while she glanced at her former teammate. His utterance caused a few smiles. What surprised her was that three more shinobi asked to help with the night shifts, volunteering right away.

"Right, so we could make the shifts shorter, or we can keep them longer and cover them in pairs," Lee said.

Before Tenten could open her mouth to protest and say she would be better off alone, the rest had agreed to take the shifts in pairs. She bit the inside of her lip and tried hard to not show her negative emotions when she came up with an idea.

"Well, since we are an uneven number, I will be happy to take a shift alone." A slight smile curved her lips.

"Oh, no, Tenten, that's not fair. We shouldn't deprive you from a company." Lee's face was absolutely serious. True worry was seeping out of his tone like a thick honey.

"I will be taking a shift as well." Amai stepped forward, a charming smile on his face. "I sleep less when I don't have shifts in the hospital, so eight hours would be too much for me anyway."

Tenten bit herself again, disappointed by the outcome. She didn't let anything show on her face — she even smiled at him.

"Right… Now we are an even number," she said and sighed quietly. Three shifts, two and a half hours each. I would like to take the first one if you all don't mind and honestly… I don't really mind who will be my partner."

Ino came to them with six marked sticks, showing partly from a small cloth bag. She let Lee take one out. Then she made a round, so every shinobi that volunteered for a shift could take out one of their own. When all of the sticks were gone, the pairs were determined: Sagan and Lee, Amai and Atsui, Tenten and Chojuro. Tenten prayed her night shift partner was a quiet one, and not Lee-tempered.

Tenten had isolated herself after the war, decreasing her social interactions to the optimal minimum. She still was meeting all of her friends, but never at the same time. So, in this situation her nerves were more tense than usual — those people weren't her friends. However, they were probably still going to stick their metaphorical noses in her personal space. She made an effort and pushed those thoughts in the back of her head as she even succeeded to set a smile on her lips. Their shifts were going to start in a couple of hours. Until then she had a few options: she could hide at the meadow's edge or in a tree; she could join a random conversation; or she could try to do something meaningful. She picked the latter and slowly headed to Ino and Chouji, who were trying to get a hand of the dinner. She smoothly took over the fire maintenance.

Karui was sitting between Omoi and Ameno, watching Ino and her teammate,whose name she was almost sure was Chouji. She couldn't comprehend how it was possible for a shinobi to be that big, hulking, and clumsy looking; in more honest words — fat. Another mystery she couldn't solve was why no one was telling him anything about that particular matter... It looked like the Konoha shinobi either didn't see it or avoided it on purpose. It was not normal that no one had made a joke about his weight yet; there must be a reason for that.

Temari sensed the way Shikamaru's gaze lingered on her. She knew his dark eyes were staring at her with an undefinable message, or at least she couldn't define it. There was a terrifying feeling building up inside of her that his focus had been turned solely on her, and if there was something Shikamaru excelled at, it was his ability to focus... There were moments where she wondered if the sense that he wanted to invite her on a date or flirt with her was correct. She dismissed this thought right away — she was older, with a difficult past and a different culture; she was pushy, easily irritated, and she found herself calling him a 'crybaby.' No normal man would like that. And when exactly had her self-esteem dropped so low, actually? Temari shook her head and refused to look back at him. She was safely seated between her brother and Ameno.

Kankuro kept his eyes on her for a few minutes without uttering a word, an unreadable expression on his face. Then he just waved a hand and started talking. "Shikamaru, come along and repeat the plan for tomorrow, please."

Temari didn't lift her eyes, stubbornly watching the fire while talking lightly with Ameno. However, she shuddered when a pair of steps neared and she saw his silhouette approaching slowly, hands in his pockets. She stopped talking to Ameno and raised her teal eyes to him. Her involuntary flinch was sensed by Kankuro, Ameno and Shikamaru; neither of them made a comment or mentioned it, as if they silently agreed to fully ignore it. Shikamaru just nodded, looking outwardly relaxed, but his eyes — they were burning.

Kankuro moved a bit to the side and patted the ground between his sister and himself. Shikamaru passively accepted the invitation and knelt between them while being cautious not to touch Temari in the process. She listened to his voice as he patiently repeated the expectations for tomorrow. His voice was so… Maybe his voice wasn't something special, but it caused her body to vibrate slightly. Kankuro leaned forward to see the map better when Shikamaru opened a scroll on the ground; Ameno did the same, forcing Temari to press herself against him. She tried to shrink, but it didn't really work out.

Shikamaru didn't react when her shoulder pressed on his arm, even though the touch brought a warm sensation through all of his body. He was aware that any reaction would make her feel threatened, so he suppressed the sensation and just kept talking.

Tenten woke up before the sun had risen. Chojuro kept his tongue the entire night shift, allowing her to relax. He appeared to be lost in his own thoughts, much to her joy. If she were ever presented with a choice to pick a partner, the Kiri shinobi would be her first choice. She stretched and sat up, her blanket pooling around her stomach and hips. She touched her buns and realised they needed a redo. After getting up quietly, she folded the blanket and placed it near her bag. A quick look around informed her that seemingly all of the other shinobi were still sleeping. Anyway, she was aware Lee and Sagan were still up in the branches, finishing off their shift.

Tenten waved in Lee's general direction, gesturing to him that she would move away and exit the perimeter. He appeared between the leaves and returned a gesture signifying he understood. She calmly started to stalk away. There was a small spring about five minutes away from their camp; the group had passed by it, so she knew exactly where it was. It was a good moment to wash up and redo her hair while the rest were still sleeping. When she reached it, she splashed some cold water on her face and sighed with delight. A few deft motions later, her hair broke free and cascaded over her shoulders and back like a velvety chestnut waterfall. She tilted her head back, lacing her fingers through the locks instead of using a comb. Her hair curled in wide waves, and every single time she let it loose, her thoughts drifted back to him. His hair used to be straight, long, soft, and very dark, almost black. Neji, she thought sadly and took a shaky breath.

"You should let it down sometimes."

Tenten jumped in surprise and turned toward the direction the voice came from. A kunai appeared almost magically in her hand. Her feet suddenly shifted her into an offensive position on their own. Kankuro placed his arms on his nape nonchalantly and slid down to lay on a low, thick branch a few metres away from her.

"Nope, the matches are scheduled for later," he declared evenly. "I am not fighting now."

"It is extremely rude to sneak in like that," she snapped at him, then started to tie up her hair with workout movements.

"Actually, I was here long before you showed up." He pushed himself up to sit again. "So you are the one sneaking in. Though I am still not calling you rude," he teased.

Tenten gave him an angry glare while she fixed up her second bun.

"Oh, I know this type of look," he continued, a mocking note still in his tone. "It means trouble."

"You are correct." She looked at him, sizing him up. Then she suddenly spun around, summoning a katana in the process. Its blade ran right through the branch he was seated on, cutting it out at the end of her turn. Kankuro started to fall but, thanks to his instincts, he jumped aside and gracefully landed below.

"So much anger so early in the morning..." He smiled, obviously unaffected, and shook his head.

"Anger?" She suddenly straightened up. "You imagine things." She was already in full possession of her mind and emotions. When the katana's handle was comfortably laid in her hand, she could somehow relax and calm down. She realised that Kankuro had actually reacted quite non-aggressively according to the current situation — with a teasing compliment.

"Do I?" He also straightened up, smiling slightly; the thick purple line painted across his mouth emphasised his smile.

"I am sorry," she said evenly. "I seem to have forgotten how to deal with missions involving a lot of people. The last time I gathered with shinobi from other villages…" she said, stopping as if the words were too heavy for her to pronounce.

"We all went to war," he finished instead, his face serious, nodding. "I could have warned you I was here. I am sorry." His apology sounded genuine.

"I am going back to the camp," she announced with a small smile. "I will see you there."

Kankuro nodded and waved her goodbye.

The shinobi were obviously enthusiastic. Ino circulated the red cloth bag of marked sticks until there was none left. Since they were an uneven number — 19 — there was one unmarked stick. As Shikamaru had explained, whoever pulled the unmarked one, was free of the sparring and was directly assigned to the winners. However, out of 9 pairs, there should be 9 winners and 9 losers, even if there were a theoretical option of an even result as the time was limited to 20 minutes. The rules were simple — they all had the right to use only taijutsu, no weapons and no other techniques. Lee was forbidden to use his specific Eight gates. In his case that would have been pure cheating, as this technique allowed him to gain more canalised chakra for the sole use of taijutsu. This jutsu was his field of expertise and almost no one had any chance against him so he offered his hands or feet to be tied down. Shikamaru only shrugged and told him to do as he wished.

The unmarked stick was pulled out by Tenten.

Ino was going to fight with Chouji and she warned him to not go easy on her. He nodded in reluctance.

Lee was going to fight with Sagan, whom he spent his night shift with. Lee, aware of his sparring partner's clear disadvantage, insisted his hands be tied down. Sagan was about to see that his opponent hadn't been exaggerating about his skills.

Omoi was going to fight with Ittan, and they both seemed to not be very enthusiastic about it.

Shee was going to fight with Ittetsu. Shee sighed. He found sparring with much younger shinobi to often be rather more annoying than actually challenging. However, he hadn't seen this shinobi's fighting skills yet, and he wasn't the type to underestimate an opponent. Until he had a rightful assessment of Ittetsu's skill level, he was going to stay fully focused. Due to his first impression, the difference in their experience was nearly 10 years in his favour.

When Amai's gaze found his opponent, there was a slight blush creeping over his cheeks — Ameno smiled at him warmly and nodded. He couldn't remember the last time a woman had caused him to blush with just a gaze. Amai smiled — it was going to be an interesting fight.

Atsui grinned at Ruka. She looked at him with her big, kind eyes, trying to make an assessment. Her initial observations told her that he was going to rush forward mindlessly, and she planned to use his hotheaded behaviour against him. She smiled sweetly at him, knowing well that this was going to distract him and give her an advantage.

Kurotsuchi smiled at Chojuro — he got goosebumps down his back.

Shikamaru was standing, relaxed, against Kankuro. The latter smiled slightly and playfully bowed down.

Temari got in an attack position against Karui.

Tenten sat down near the fire, taking a cup of tea. Her eyes slid over the pairs — each one had about a 20 metre perimeter. She raised a hand, giving a start. Then she set up a 20 minute timer.

When the time was almost over, Tenten got up and readied herself to stop the fights.

Five…

Four…

Three…

Two…

One…

"Stop!" She shouted. The shinobi froze on their spots. The only thing that could be heard was heavy breathing and… a loud shout…

Ruka clapped a hand over her mouth in fear when she saw how Atsui was struggling to drag himself out of a bush a few metres away. Since she was small and agile, she had used Atsui's weight against him, throwing him aside. She carefully approached him and stretched out a hand for him.

"I am sorry, Atsui-san."

He shivered and looked at her approvingly, taking the offered hand.

"You shouldn't be sorry. You did really well there!" He gave her a bright grin.

"Thank you." She whispered shyly and her cheeks turned red out of delight.

Atsui frowned and scratched his shoulder, then his arm… then his neck.

"I think there is something wrong," he said.

Shee stretched out a hand to Ittetsu to help him stand. They had finished their sparring just a few metres away from Atsui.

"Shee-sama, would you mind having a look?" pleaded Atsui with a slightly accelerated panic in his voice — his skin itched and burned with pain at the same time, and was rapidly becoming covered with blisters.

Ruka quickly went around him, looking carefully at the damaged skin. She quietly chuckled, causing Shee to frown at her reaction. He also approached to have a look at his teammate.

"This looks like…" Shee turned to the place Atsui had landed and his facial expression changed to pure annoyance for a brief moment. Then his face was calm again, as if nothing had disturbed him.

"Let me…?" Ruka murmured with a warm smile, intended for both men. She took a small jar of ointment from her waist bag, and stuck her fingers inside. "That should help," she said, reaching to spread the cream across the red blisters along the man's nape.

Shee grabbed her hand before she touched Atsui.

"What would that be exactly?" he asked with a sharp tone.

"Ointment against nettle rash," she explained. "You see…" slight redness crawling over her cheeks, "Recently I had to prepare this one. I had a…mission, in which the need of such an ointment occurred."

Shee let go of her arm and she started to apply the green substance over Atsui's skin. The relief was immediate and was well visible on his face. The older man seemed to relax.

"You've sent someone else into the nettle?" asked Atsui, closing his eyes, enjoying the cool feeling.

"Oh, no…" Ruka shook her head. "He really didn't need my help for that. He fell on his own."

"He fell, and he did it alone?" Shee raised his eyebrows. "It sounds a bit unlikely for shinobi. Was he poisoned?"

"More or less." The young woman gave him a melting, shy smile as if she was apologising on the unknown shinobi's behalf. "He was drunk."

Disapproval appeared on Shee's face and Atsui laughed out loud.

Ruka took a small step toward Shee in an attempt to reach Atsui's other hurt shoulder.

"Could I?" She lifted her big black eyes to Shee, who stepped back, letting her do her job.

His eyes were carefully following her actions — her hands were stable, and didn't tremble even once. Her fingers were applying the substance with confident, routine movements and she was constantly distracting Atsui from his discomfort by making him talk or telling him funny stories.

When Ruka was done with what she was doing, Atsui was all painted in green colour. But since he was not itchy nor was in pain, he didn't seem to worry about it. The young woman put the small jar away and turned to Shee, who was still carefully watching her as if he doubted her intentions. She blushed, looking up at him for a moment.

"Y-you don't think I was going to…poison him, do you?" she asked timidly.

"I don't know you," he said bluntly. "I have been taught to doubt the foreign shinobi' intentions. Also, I am responsible for my teammates as their leader. I am obliged to doubt."

She nodded, even redder than a few moments ago. He was right, of course.

"It is not—" he stopped for a moment as if he were searching for the right word, then continued with a softer tone, "—wise to trust blindly."

Ruka dared to look up at him. Shee wasn't a particularly big male specimen, but his words of distrust left her feeling aware of just how small she could be — she felt even her soul shrinking.

Chojuro felt some reservations about fighting Kurotsuchi. He approached the sparring very carefully when the start signal was released and mainly tried to avoid or dodge her attacks instead of returning them. This went on for the first five minutes until, frustrated, Kurotsuchi stopped and pointed at him, pure anger written all over her face.

"Stop it!"

"What should I stop?" he didn't understand her.

"You just refuse to fight with me! Are you afraid of being hurt?" she hissed.

"Of course not!" he replied.

"Then show me you see me as an equal! Fight back!" She threw him a hurt look, but her smile was exceptionally angry and filled with disappointment.

This time, Chojuro dodged but didn't wait for her next move — he attacked. He showered her with precise hits and, when she held for a moment a few metres away from him, he noticed her face glimmered with delight.

Drawing a small step back, Kurotsuchi kept smiling. "So, you could still get some work done..."

Chojuro frowned, definitely not liking the way her smile played at the corner of her lips. "What do you mean?" He sounded confused and maybe a bit suspicious.

"Well, a woman needs a good... sweat from time to time, you know." She winked at him. Before he could even realise what was happening and respond with a blush, she threw him off balance — Kurotsuchi attacked him again, this time more fiercely than before.

After the fights, the winners were announced and the shinobi picked up their bags to head toward Suna. The trip was going to take a little over three days if they allowed spare time for games and sparing each day — the Kages' statement about the trip taking longer now made complete sense.

Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets and quietly sighed. He had expected the Kages to come up with something that would make his life troublesome, he just didn't expect such diligence on their parts.

And Temari… She was pulling away. She was trying so hard to increase the distance between them and keep him at bay. It was as if she could feel his affection and desire to be close, and her reaction was to shield herself. Did she know? Most likely not... She was more likely reacting to his changed attitude. Probably she felt uneasy because she didn't have an answer as to "why" it changed in the first place. Her defensive behaviour appeared sharp after he dared to touch her hair. That was the very moment Temari, metaphorically and, to some extent, physically, stepped back and tried to put up a wall between them. What Shikamaru didn't understand was why... He could feel her body tense in anticipation when he was close to her; her pupils were dilated, but she was not scared of him, so it meant attraction rather than fear. There were other signs clearly showing she had positive feelings toward him, bordering on attraction. Shikamaru was sure it was subconscious, but she was often licking her lips when they were close to each other. He knew, because his eyes were instantly drawn to her lips more often than before. And when they were arguing on the street, her passion was almost palpable — passion he hadn't seen expressed to anyone else. He had seen her arguing many times, and she was passionate again, but in a more calculated and calm way, a different way.

Temari had become close to him with time, but he still remembered well when and how he met her for the very first time. It was during the first chuunin's exam when he was 12, practically a child. The first glimpse he took of her screamed "trouble" as she entered the examination hall together with her brothers — confident, proud, and scary. In the elimination matches she had fought with Tenten and her cruelty over the poor leaf kunoichi impressed him deeply, giving him an inner red stamp of warning.

He remembered the shiver when he was matched with her for the last round. His mind still bore the justification of just surrendering as it was too big of a drag to fight her — she was too dangerous and he was quite aware of it.

He remembered how Naruto had kicked him down the arena. The moment his feet touched the ground in front of her, he knew he couldn't just walk away — he had to gear his abilities to at least try to win. He wasn't strong enough… Although he had performed the last winning move, he had rationally surrendered — his chakra was almost at its limit. He was aware at the time that the moment his shadow released her, she was going to…destroy him. His nimble, calculating mind had informed him what exactly the chances of him winning were when she would be free. For the record, there were none. She didn't let him forget about it even today, reminding him at each suitable occasion. He had stopped being irritated a long time ago, but still he would smile at her, calling her 'troublesome' — it was just something between them, one of their jokes. The day of the chuunin's exam she had marched into his heart yet he didn't realise it then… The realisation came much later.

Their next meeting was much more emotional… The Hokage had sent him as a team leader with a mission in his inexperienced hands to return Sasuke to Konoha. The mission failed; two of his teammates had ended up severely injured. If Temari and her brothers hadn't shown up to help out, their deaths would have been most certainly unavoidable. In fact, Shikamaru himself probably wouldn't be alive to lead this mission today and wonder what to do with his life because of this troublesome woman. Shikamaru still flinched at the ease she had taken down his opponent, it was unbelievable… Then and there she smiled at him…for the very first time.

Temari… Temari was also one of the five people that witnessed his emotional breakdown in the hospital after what his father told him. His father had called him 'a coward'... and he had been right to do so. Shikamaru closed his eyes, hearing yet again the harsh words in his head after running away from Temari's talk, reasoning he didn't want to listen, since he was not a girl.

"Yes...but you are also not a man. You are just a regular coward." Shikamaru could still taste the shock at hearing that, though now he knew he needed it, just as he had needed the reasonable argument that followed: "Even if you quit being a shinobi, there will still be missions. Someone will carry them out. Your comrades will just go out with a new leader. So maybe your comrades may die… But if you are their leader at that time, your comrades may not reach that end…" Shikamaru sighed as he realised how much he missed his father. "If you look at this time as an experience, and you learn from it, maybe you can carry out your missions with fewer problems. If your comrades are really that important to you, before you think about running away, consider that you may become better for their sake. That's what it means to be a real friend! You coward!"

The last word rang painfully in his mind as if he really heard his father. Shikamaru opened his eyes, digging his gaze into Temari's back. When her brothers and she were leaving Konoha after she had become an involuntary witness to his shame and breakdown, she had called him a 'crybaby' for the first time. She had also promised him help when he needed it and stood true to her word. Temari still used that nickname to tease him. He was infuriated in the beginning but, with time, he started to see it as something really intimate between them, something special. She hadn't called him "crybaby" ever since the incident when he had tied up her hair — this brought him to the conclusion he overstepped a boundary as he never cleared his intentions verbally, or nonverbally, for that matter. The case most likely was that Temari was confused and wanted to put more distance between them. She hated to not have a stable ground under her feet, even metaphorically, so he wasn't exactly surprised at her reaction.

Shikamaru knew he should talk with her. He knew he should take the chance and confess his feelings, but he was genuinely scared of that moment. If he was about to do that now and she turned him down, the trip was going to transform into a little personal hell for both of them — mostly for him. On the other hand, if she was about to accept him, he would gain an uninterrupted month in her company without the need for them to separate. He still struggled to measure the risks and make the right decision. Her signals tended to be controversial sometimes, which forced him to think it over again and again…

"Shikamaru," Ino called and he turned to face her. "It is time to stop. The dusk is coming."

He nodded and whistled loudly with two fingers in his mouth. The shinobi stopped and turned to him.

"We stop for the night," he announced. "I would kindly ask for Chouji, Sagan, Omoi, Ittetsu, Amai, Atsui, Chojuro and Karui to join me for the camp and dinner preparation. Later we will decide on the order for the night shifts."

The shinobi agreed and went out of the main road to start preparing for the night.

Kurotsuchi headed over to Kankuro and smiled at him. He nodded toward the free spot beside him, inviting her to sit. There was something dangerous about her that was pulling him in and pushing him away at the same time.

"What can I do for you?" he distractedly asked while his eyes were watching the shinobi doing chores around the camp.

"Depends," she started with a smile. This caught his attention, but it was not so much the word itself, rather it was the way she pronounced it.

"What have you got in mind?" he inquired bluntly. There was a silent warning tickling him somewhere deep in his mind.

"Straight to the point?" Kurotsuchi chuckled. "I do like men that don't waste their time."

Kankuro gave her a slight smile but didn't comment on it.

"By the way," she confided, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her arms on them, "I am impressed."

Just briefly, he pressed his lips together. "So I guess I should ask what impressed you?" There was amusement in his voice, though there was no smile on his face.

"That's the right move if you want to keep the conversation going," she agreed, nodding.

"Well? What was it?" He glanced at her.

"I don't know many men who don't blush when I compliment them."

Kankuro turned to her and slightly tilted his head aside, assessing her. He shrugged and turned back ahead, continuing to amuse himself by watching the shinobi.

"What makes you blush?" she asked curiously, causing the ends of his lips to slightly move up.

"I wouldn't say I've blushed during the last few years," he admitted. "If I were 16, your sole presence would've made me blush so hard my ears would've been red."

Kurotsuchi deliberately gave her lips a short lick. "But you are not 16, are you?" she chuckled.

He shook his head, turning his focus toward her. "Kurotsuchi, I've known you for a few years now." His dark eyes looked into hers. "I am aware you've come up with something. Why don't you just share it with me?"

"You're no fun at all," she sighed, feigning sadness, but continued nonetheless, "Temari shared with me that you're really good at recognising people's wishes and torments."

He didn't rush to answer, and when he did, he was full of suspicions. "Maybe…"

"I am curious if that's really true."

"Sometimes… That could be considered my... hobby?" He frowned, disliking the direction this conversation was headed.

"Very well, what do I want?" She raised an eyebrow.

He looked at her, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He didn't move for a few moments, but his gaze studied her face as if he were trying to decipher something. His eyes slid over her body, noting silently what needed to be noticed. Kankuro kept tabs on her even before the war. They communicated on an almost regular basis around the kages' meetings, so he had stacked up quite a few facts about her. He knew she liked good jokes and, in her dictionary, that meant more embarrassing and even mean jokes. Her way of talking was often intentionally unkind, just to make someone feel uncomfortable. She also enjoyed having the surrounding men's attention; she loved to be admired... His current impressions were that Kuurotsuchi was definitely not looking for a boyfriend. It was her personal choice and Kankuro didn't care about it, especially considering he didn't have any personal interest in being one for her. Also, Kurotsuchi seemed to avoid the men trying to reach her deeper and get a hold of her underlying personality.

"You want a sex-buddy for this upcoming month, and you want to no longer deal with him when the mission is over." He said it bluntly and looked at the rest of the shinobi. "But you haven't set your target yet." Kankuro squinted his eyes, leaning slightly back. "Or, knowing you well enough, you just want to have some fun on someone else's account."

"Does that interest you?" She raised an eyebrow.

He suddenly realised all of that was just a game to test him. That didn't look like a method for finding a partner; at least, it wasn't anything like her methods that he had seen. Anyway, he didn't want to risk it. He had to be very careful with her because he didn't want to give her the impression that he wanted to be her sex toy; he also didn't want to irritate her because he knew Kurotsuchi could make this trip a living hell. He hesitated for a few more moments.

"By your lack of enthusiasm, I could say you are rather not interested." She chuckled.

He sighed before choosing to whisper, just in case someone was too close to hear, "I would ask you kindly to exclude me from your list." Kankuro assessed her expression before he continued to whisper, "I do like casual one-night stands, but we will likely work together in the future, and we will surely see each other after that. We won't feel comfortable, believe me." He thought for a moment and added under his breath, "I won't feel comfortable seeing you, that's for certain."

"I didn't know you were a coward, not wanting to face your ex-sex buddy." She grinned at him, and he answered her with a sore, crooked smile. "Or… Are you a romantic soul who prefers… other types of relationships?" She laughed, genuinely amused by her new conclusion. "You definitely don't leave such a first impression."

"I like sex in general, casual one-night stands included," he admitted calmly. "I just think it's better when you have one's trust and learn well what one likes or dislikes, because sex with the same woman becomes nicer with practice," he said, his smile just a hint of one. "And yes, I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am indeed romantic. I have no idea why you are so convinced of the opposite."

Kurotsuchi stretched her legs forward and glanced at the man before she stared at her knees. "Do you remember the meeting in Kiri last month?" she asked quietly.

His brow furrowed as he recalled some details about that specific event. Yes, he remembered the dinner with the kages and how some of the bodyguards went to a local bar afterwards. Temari decided to stay behind with Gaara. Kankuro used this and joined the bar group, together with Kurotsuchi and some of the others. It had been a few months since Kankuro had been with a woman at that point. In the bar, the great amount of alcohol successfully broke his usual restraints... After that occasion in Kiri, Kankuro had promised himself to stop drinking the very moment he started to feel dizzy — it had turned out to be a line he wasn't willing to cross anymore. But he hadn't stopped that evening. He still felt some disgust toward himself about that.

"Kankuro, hitting on a random girl in the bar and having sex in a dark alley in the middle of the village doesn't count as something romantic, even by my standards," she snickered at him. "And I can assure you that my standards for romance are low."

"That... wasn't something I am particularly proud of." He sighed and added, "It was a mistake."

The woman hummed, sounding unconvinced. Kankuro knew he wasn't required to elaborate or explain himself, but he felt it would be important for her decision — a decision concerning him greatly. He wanted to tilt the scales in the right direction so, reluctantly, he continued. "Also, that was not my usual behaviour towards women." He looked at her again and, surprisingly, he still hadn't blushed — though it was obvious he was in great discomfort. "I would chase the woman I have set my eyes on and do my best to win her over."

"And if you don't win her over?" Kurotsuchi licked her lips, but he pretended he didn't notice.

He shrugged. "I don't know; it has never happened before."

"That male ego…" She laughed. "If that's the case, how come you're still not married?" Together with her teasing, a surprise could be heard.

"Kurotsuchi," he said, trying to keep his calm. "My relationships up until now were relatively short, even if they were wanted. There has been no woman who I want to spend my life with. There is still none on the horizon." He paused as his mind clicked quickly, choosing his next words. "Although I am not a stranger to random sex, I do it only when certain criteria are met."

"Oh," there was a flaring amusement in her voice. "I am curious what those criteria would be."

Kankuro held in the desire to roll his eyes. "I am sure you, yourself, are familiar with those unwritten rules. But I am still going to please your curiosity." His lips pressed into a line before he continued, "I allow myself such type of experience only when I am certain there is almost no chance to see the woman again. That way I don't bring more trouble in her life, nor in mine."

She chuckled yet again. "Well, that's kind of sad… I had gotten the impression I can count on you for fun… or maybe a game?"

"I am sorry." He grinned. "You think of another game apart from casual sex and you can count me in." He felt dread the moment the words left his mouth. He had fallen into her trap…

"All right then…" Her eyes flickered with mischief. She also realised the position he had put himself into.

He failed to suppress the slight shiver that ran down his body.

Kurotsuchi was impishly tempered by nature and loved making other people uneasy. She still enjoyed the feeling of amusement that came after she randomly engaged in a conversation about sex. The reactions of shame, confusion and discomfort were almost inevitable. She looked small and sweet — also she was a very capable kunoichi and granddaughter of Oonoki — people didn't expect her to talk this way. Kurotsuchi knew that, and she used it to her advantage and had fun doing it. Kankuro's stoic face was making her fail to force him to reach the "fun" level of uneasiness. She felt disappointed he didn't react uncomfortably. Now, she was looking into his eyes while he was watching the other shinobi. When she saw the slight dilatation of his pupils, she followed his gaze and instantly got a wicked idea.

"What would you say we play a little game, then?" she asked innocently.

He glanced at her, his eyes strangely merging into the purple outline he had applied. "You say?" There was a moderate curiosity in his voice but, more than that, caution could be heard.

"I also can sense people's troubles and wishes," she grinned. "Let's make a small competition."

Kankuro was stunned. "To say this is unfair to our teammates would be an understatement," he attempted to refuse.

She didn't give up. "Then we can pick just one person each."

"Still sounds unfair, Kurotsuchi. I am not one to expose undeserving people." He shook his head.

"You are hard to convince, but I am still going to find terms you will agree to." Her fingers tapped on her knee. "What if we don't share our knowledge?"

Kankuro turned his head to her and raised his eyebrows. "Elaborate."

Kurotsuchi gave him a sly smile. "I mean, I'll pick a kunoichi, with whom you'll get close. You have to befriend her and guess what her troubles and wishes are. Then compare it to the truth when you get your hands on it. You don't have to tell me any details about your conversations. Just if your guesses are correct."

"What do you win from all of that?" He frowned.

"Well… Firstly, I get my challenge. You will pick a shinobi for me to guess about, and we'll have to compare who gets the truth first."

The young man narrowed his eyes, assessing. "That's not all of it, is it?"

"See, you are good after all." She shamelessly winked at him. "You see, I don't like being rejected. So when you asked me to not include you in my list, you became the head of it."

Kankuro tilted his head. "You don't even like me that much. Do you even want to sleep with me?"

"That's not the point," she said dismissively. "The point is, if you lose, you will have sex with me."

"What will happen if I win?" He asked.

"I will leave you alone, never ask you for something like that ever again and I won't mention any of it to anyone. Also, I guarantee I'm not going to take any steps of revenge."

"And we have only each other's word for the progress of our game?" He sounded hesitant.

"Ah, I'm sure you won't cheat, Kankuro, you are too proud to do so. As for me, I always take my games as seriously as a heart attack." Kurotsuchi shrugged nonchalantly. "And to prove to you my good will, I'll let you pick first."

Kankuro nodded and took a long look at the shinobi sitting around or doing chores to prepare for dinner. His eyes fell on Shikamaru and he held his gaze without saying anything. Picking their leader would ensure him the win, he knew that. But also, that would give Shikamaru and his clueless sister a hard time. He didn't want to do that. Especially if there was a chance they finally gather up the needed courage and say the word. Actually, this "game", even if it were surely going to give him a permanent headache and a high chance of putting himself through the experience of sleeping with Kurotsuchi, was also a golden chance to distract her.

"You are not going to make me befriend Nara, are you? He hates me," Kurotsuchi declared slowly.

"He doesn't. But no, Shikamaru isn't my choice." Kankuro tilted his head towards Chojuro. "Good luck."

"Oh, that seems easy," she smiled.

He didn't answer but just returned the smile.

"Ok, it is my turn." She rubbed her hands together. Her smile pointed towards Temari. "My first choice would be your sister, but in this case…" Kankuro succeeded in holding his eyes from rolling for the second time. "There is one more blond, though," she grinned.

"Yamanaka?" Kankuro asked amusingly.

"Yes, that was her name, I believe."

He was fast to refuse. "Not happening."

"What do you mean 'not happening?' That's my pick." She frowned.

"I mean exactly what I said." He chuckled and finally elaborated, "She's a fucking mind-reader, Kurotsuchi."

"Oh…" She seemed genuinely surprised. "Ok, I can see what's the problem then."

The kunoichi tapped her forefinger on her chin, looking at the rest of the kunoichi. They never said it should be a woman though, so she could go ahead and pick one of the men. But Kankuro was straight, so it wouldn't be so interesting if she chose a guy.

"Her," she tilted her head towards the young woman with two symmetrical buns on her head. She sat quietly beside Lee and played with a kunai, lacing it between her fingers.

Kankuro nodded after a short pause. Kurotsuchi smiled, taking notice in the way his pupils dilated when his gaze landed on the kunoichi.

"We have a game, then," he whispered.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to resist after all." She chuckled. "You like playing games no less than I do."

He looked at her and slightly smiled. She might be right — he loved games. In this case, though, the stakes were higher and the game was mere distraction and an excuse. He really wanted to keep her away from Temari and Shikamaru. Also, he found himself wondering about Tenten; this was a nice excuse to approach her.