Chapter 2
SHIKAMARU
It was a cool autumn day and coloured leaves covered the floor. People were moving along the streets minding their business. It was a beautiful day. And Shikamaru was itching for a smoke. No cigarettes were allowed in campus so this was the perfect spot. Shikamaru was at the campus gate. He leaned against the walls that had the letters "KONOHA COLLEGE".
Shikamaru's eyes darted left and right. He popped a cigarette into his mouth and tried to remember which of his pockets had his lighter.
"Ahem."
He turned around to see three unsmiling faces. A brunette, built like a skyscraper - tall and unwavering. He had an earring in one ear. A blonde in a pleated skirt and a bored look on her face. And a redhead, short and scowling with what looked like a cello strapped to his back.
Shikamaru guessed: The jock, the artist and the musician, respectively. Fifteen minutes early.
"Did you want to finish that?" The brunette asked, gesturing to the cigarette in his mouth.
Shikamaru stuffed the cigarette into his pocket and did his best to put on a warm smile, as Ino instructed. He stuck out his hand to the brunette and said, "I'm Shikamaru Nara. VP of the Konoha College Student Council."
The blonde stepped forward to shake his hand. "I'm Temari. These are my brothers, Kankurou and Gaara," she replied. Her voice was clear and direct, as if she was a soldier reporting for duty. And her eyes were a dark green that sparkled like emeralds.
"Great. Welcome again,"Shikamaru gestured at them to go ahead of him,"Let's begin the tour."
As they walked past him, Shikamaru heard Kankurou mutter in what sounded like disbelief,"Of all people, they send this guy?"
"His shoelaces aren't even tied," Gaara whispered in agreement.
"He's the VP. Show him a little respect," Temari scolded.
Although he was relived to hear someone coming to his defense, Shikamaru looked down at his laces, which indeed had come undone. He quickly tucked them in, and raced after the trio.
—-
Why can't things be easy? Shikamaru asked himself, as he yanked open the doors of yet another classroom.
Shikamaru had taken the three Suna-stars around campus and somewhere after the band room, he realised Gaara was missing. Quiet as a mouse, the redhead slipped away without a sound. Shikamaru hoped he would just as quietly reappear in one of these rooms.
"He does that sometimes."
"Don't worry about him," Temari said, "Let's continue."
"A-alright…" Shikamaru rubbing the back of his neck. Ino will not be happy if she finds out he lost one of their transfers, but he wanted to get this tour over and done with.
Luckily they were outside the art studio. Shikamaru opened the wide doors and in his best tour guide voice, he went, "We're got tons of art supplies here. Paint, glitter, canvases - you name it. It's the perfect space for an artist to work if and when she wants."
"She?" The blonde quipped. Temari looked Shikamaru right in the eye, with a piercing glare that couldn't cut through metal. Shikamaru saw Kankurou shake his head and chuckle.
"I'm the artist," Kankurou volunteered.
She rolled her eyes and scoffed, turning to look out the window.
"Oh, I thought you were the athlete…"
"You've never seen a girl run track before?"
"No! No, I just… I'm sorry. I was mistaken," he told them humbly. Temari seemed to relax slightly.
Shikamaru looked between the brother-sister, kicking himself mentally. He probably should've spent more than 10 seconds reading the file that morning.
"It's fine man. People make the mistake all the time," he glanced around the studio, nodding his head, "This is all… fine and dandy, butI'm a traditional artist. I carve and paint marionettes for cultural performances. You guys got any real tools in this college?"
"R-right. Of course. The carpentry workshed is outside by the racetrack."
"About time," Temari muttered, walking ahead of them. Kankurou followed her, leaving Shikamaru behind, with the file in his hands. He was really not winning hearts today… Troublesome…
—-
Once back outside, the two visitors split up ahead of Shikamaru. Kankurou went into the shed happily following the sound of a power saw and Temari made a beeline toward the racetrack where the girls' relay team were training. Shikamaru had had a long morning as is, and as much as he wished he could slip away to take a nap, he needed to pass them their keys and schedules. This was important for the council, he reminded himself.
He looked from the brunette to the blonde, assessing who he should go with. Kankurou was a little friendlier towards him than Temari... But it was pretty obvious that the blonde was in charge.
He jogged up to where she stood on the sidelines. The team was making their selection for the inter-college winter race and the girls were lined up at the starting line.
The girls crouched into position, their hips high in the air. A whistle blew and they were off. They ran hard and ran fast, but there was a clear winner, passing the lines seconds before her peers.
"Alright! We've filled our last spot on the team!" The team captain announced as she noted down the details on her clipboard,
He noticed Temari focus on the captain, as if she recognised her. Feeling this might be his best and last chance to leave a decent impression for his student council, he leaned to Temari, "That's Tenten, the team captain. She's a friend of mine."
Temari just hmmm-ed, as if she was calculating something in her head.
"Her relay team placed 2nd in the inter-college race last year. And she broke some kind of state record too," he whispered.
"It was for the 100m sprint last season," Temari informed him.
"Oh, so you know her."
She said nothing, instead she just watched as Tenten's teammates flocked around her. Tenten threw a towel over her shoulder and laughed with the girls over something.
"Let's go say hi. I'll introduce you," he offered.
Temari looked at him with a smile,"That's a good idea."
Somehow he didn't feel reassured. They walked over to the girls and Shikamaru waved at Tenten, who waved back. The crowd of girls dispersed and as they approached, Shikamaru noticed Tenten's face drop into a frown. Similarly the girls started to whisper to one another.
"It's you," Tenten spat out. Tenten eyed her in what Shikamaru perceived could only be in disgust. Temari opened her mouth to speak, the words coming out equally venomous, "Hey, Tenten. How's 2nd place been treating you?"
"Pretty good. Almost as good as holding the new 100m record," Tenten replied with a cold smile. Temari scowled in return.
"We can see right now if you've got what it takes," Temari challenged.
Temari was a few inches taller than Tenten, but that didn't stop Tenten from squaring up.
"You know, we ought to leave now if we want to make it to the spice garden beside the cafeteria," Shikamaru said, trying to diffuse the situation. The last thing he needed was Ino finding out he reignited a bitter rival between the new transfer and the college girls' relay captain.
"Fine. Need to warm up? " Tenten asked patronisingly.
"Not against you," Temari said, taking off her jacket. She handed it to Shikamaru, who took it, confused as to when he became so involved. Shikamaru looked from Tenten in her college windbreaker to Temari who was in a sleeveless turtleneck. He shook his head. This was not ideal.