Chapter 4
TEMARI
They were now outside the female dorms. Their brothers had gone up to their room in the male dorms which was around the corner.
She looked up at this spiky-haired guy. He was 'giving her the heads up' on her schedule. He was of good height, a few inches taller than her. He was dressed well, wearing a nice branded hoodie and sneakers. His face was handsome. Yet she had this feeling in his gut that he had potential unutilised. Then he said something about her personal tutor being a hardass for a class that ought to be an easy pass.
"Why would I want an easy pass?" She asked him.
His brows jumped. It looked to her like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Are Konoha boys adverse to a challenge?" She asked daringly, there was something enjoyable in the way he was intimidated by her.
"We at the student council just want you have a well-rounded campus experience. All work and no play makes for a dull time, wouldn't you agree?" He said quite intelligently.
She tried to hide her smirk as she nodded in agreement. He was smart when he needed to be. Sufficiently charming too. An excellent choice for VP. Why wasn't he President? She wondered.
"Well, if you have any other questions. I'm here at your disposal," he told her. "You can usually find me in the student council lounge. Let me give you my number in case you need anything."
"Alright. Thank you for today. My brothers and I enjoyed the tour." They really did. The campus was pretty. The facilities were expansive. She gently pulled her keys and schedule from Shikamaru.
Her gut was telling her she was going to have a really good semester here. It almost hurt to think after a few weeks this college would be changed entirely… Ignoring the sinking feeling in her gut, she flashed a grin at him, "I'll see you around."
"Actually, you'll see me tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"We have the same tutor and a pretty similar schedule. You'll see a lot more of me Temari of Suna."
"Oh, is that right?" She asked, testing the waters. He nodded eagerly.
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow, Shikamaru."
And she walked up the steps, letting him watch her leave.
SHIKAMARU
As scary as she was, Temari had a near perfect smile.
He watched her leave, feeling a flutter in his chest before turning to walk back towards campus.
I'll see you tomorrow, Shikamaru...
Something about the way she said his name was so alluring.
Shikamaru…
He checked the time. The student office was about to close, and he needed to sign up for that class tomorrow morning. Hopefully it wasn't too early.
TEMARI
She walked down the steps of her dorm, spotting a spiky-haired man standing at the entrance.
Shikamaru Nara leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. She shook his arm gently, stirring him awake.
"What are you doing here so early?" Temari asked him.
He let out a big yawn, "I'm here to escort you to class."
"That's unnecessary, you already showed me the building yesterday-"
"This is the Konoha hospitality package deal," he told her.
"Oh really?" She eyed him. He gestured for her to walk and they moved in tandem. "It's quite admirable that Konoha Student Council takes such good care of its transfers."
"Mmhmm," he went, rubbing his eyes awake. This guy was a terrible liar. She thought to herself.
"So who's escorting my brothers today?" She said, focusing on his face.
"Our very own President is on his way now," he said nonchalantly, peeking his dark eyes down at her.
"So I just get the Vice President?" She teased. There was a small pull at the side of his lips.
"If it's any consolation, I'll buy you some breakfast," he told her.
"I already ate," she told him.
"It's seven in the morning, you can't have had breakfast already,"
"I run every morning at five. I eat breakfast at six," she informed him.
"You're unbelievable," he told her.
"Thank you. What time are you usually up?"
"I'm more a noon-kind of guy."
"Noon?" She asked in shock. "It must be tough coming for this morning class every week."
"It is, but you know what they say - education is the train you gotta get on…"
"The saying is that education is the passport to your future," she corrected.
"Oh you know everything, do you?" He joked, unable to stop his laughter. Temari couldn't help how handsome his face looked when he laughed. He wouldn't be laughing for long though…
"I know plenty. But for this class in particular, I'll need your help," she told him as they entered the building, "if you have the time to spare…"
"Oh yeah?" He asked. Temari observed how much more initiative he was showing today, compared to when they first met yesterday.
She put a hand on his chest to stop him outside the doors. "This will be my first Advanced Criminology class with Ms Kurenai. It might be a little out of my league."
He stood up a little straighter, noticing her hand feel the lapel of his coat. "I-I mean… she's a little unpredictable so don't believe anything she says when we walk in. She likes to joke around that she's never seen me before. But you can trust I'll assist you where I can."
She looked into his eyes and smiled. "That's nice. But today is actually her Intro to Witness Questioning. Advanced Criminology is under Professor Tsunade. So from now you can stop lying to my face," she patted his chest. "If you promise not to fall asleep, I'll take you out for breakfast," she said before walking into the classroom, leaving him at the entrance with his mouth agape.
"Oh… she's good."