The next day Shikamaru prepared for his day back in the village, he waited on Hisano's response and felt as though he should not bother her or pester her for a decision. He prepared himself for the day ahead, putting on his uniform for another long day of work. Before he left home he grabbed a lunch his father had prepared for him, knowing full well that his lazy son would not do it the first day back from a field mission. On his way to work he saw Hisano walking along the street, speaking with local farmers at a stand. He took a moment to observe the interaction she had with the farmer, he loved how much she had opened up with the locals. While she still had a tendency to hide the scar over her eye, she had a much more welcoming and comfortable presence about her. He saw her smile, and while he could not see her lips, he could tell by the squinting of her eyes that she had a smile on underneath her scarf. It was something he was quite fond of, how her eyes squint when she has a large smile on her face. He knew that she was enjoying herself because of that smile, and it had made all the troublesome interactions he had with her over the past few months, worth it. He did not have much time before he had to being his day, so he left before Hisano had a chance to look up in and spot him. Shikamaru kept his distance from Hisano as he performed his regular duties for the morning, and while it would typically include going to Hisano's office for an update on both the relations with the Suna people and what the Leaf village could to help, he allowed Choji to take that task for the day. He did not want Hisano thinking she needed to provide him with an answer.
Hisano had enjoyed her conversation with the farmers, they had spent some time back in Suna and were reminiscing with her about their time there. As farmers they rarely took days off from work, but had a delivery in Suna and took the next few days to be a tourist. She thoroughly enjoyed the stories they told her, and the time she spent at their stall. She made her way to the office, in anticipation of seeing Shikamaru that day she had prepared a bit of an answer for him. She did not want to leave the conversation for too long, as did not want him to feel as though he had done something wrong, she just did not understand how she felt or what she wanted when he first introduced the idea. She began her day in the four walls of her office, signing off on important documents and receiving updates imperative to the functioning of her profession. She heard a knock on the door, her heart leapt in anticipation of who she thought might be on the other side of the door.
"Come in." Hisano said loud enough for the person on the other side of the door to hear. The doorknob turned as the individual made their way into her office.
"Hello Hisano," Choji said, Hisano had been a bit disappointed that it had not been Shikamaru, she was beginning to miss his presence after four days of not seeing him when she had gotten accustomed to seeing him almost every day for the past few months.
"Hello Choji," Hisano replied, still happy to see Choji, "What can I do for you today?" she asked.
"I actually need you to sign off on a couple of documents, and to submit the proper documentation you received from the travellers yesterday at the gate." He informed her.
"Of course, the documents are right there on the desk on the left. They've already been signed and are ready for the Hokage to view. Should there be any questions in regard to the documents please do not hesitate to get in contact with me, and that includes the Hokage." Hisano said genuinely. She wanted to ask Choji why Shikamaru did not just do it himself, knowing full well he was back in the village. It was not her place, and therefore she decided against it.
At the end of the day Hisano could no longer take the lack of communication between her and Shikamaru due to what had happened at the natural spring. She was a little irate that he had not come to see her and sent Choji instead. Instead of choosing to sulk inside of her house she decided to track him down. Hisano had to go about town asking if anyone had seen him, to her luck Choji was out getting ramen with Naruto. Choji told Hisano exactly where Shikamaru was—at home taking a break. Hisano thanked him and went off in the direction of his family home, any fear or unease she had for the future of the friendship and relationship they'd formed simply washed away as determination set in, she wanted answers, and she wanted them now.
Fuming, Hisano quickly walked through the main street, skirting around people who blocked her way with the ease and skill only a shinobi could possess as she weaved her way through the other physical obstacles from the night stall merchants selling some of their wares outside of their store as a means of enticing customers. Hisano saw these stalls as a nuisance tonight, as merely objects in her way and slowing her down from her objective. Finally, annoyed enough with the weaving around people and product, Hisano took to the roofs. She didn't like doing this, she thought of the people living in these apartment buildings and how irksome it would be to suddenly be woken up by the sound of footsteps as a shinobi runs across it. She knew that she would hate to hear footsteps on her roof, and that was not even considering that it could wake up children too. So, she preferred jumping from tree to tree or ducking around to the side streets, which she had meticulously studied and memorized all the best short cuts. But there wasn't time to think tonight, Hisano was running off instinct alone, so the roof it was. Why had he ignored her all day? She thought they had an agreement, that when he got back, they would discuss both of their decision about what to do next after the hot spring incident, which still made Hisano wracked with confusion. But that was not her focus at this moment, no, right now she was pissed that Shikamaru had the audacity to send Choji to do his job, especially considering the conversation they had before he left. She knew he had all day to physically recuperate from his mission, so he had no reason to continue to relax at home while their decisions were left unanswered. Hisano may be patient in most cases, but she knew he was just avoiding the inevitable and she was done with the stress that came with avoiding the impeding conversation. She felt hurt and a little disrespected that Shikamaru would disregard their agreement in such a manner, and swayed her decision, one she had thought she found a conclusion to already. As she neared the Nara complex, she allowed her legs to finally slow down. She regained her breath and thought for a moment. She knew he lived at home with his parents, but it was late so they could very well already be asleep. While Hisano was frustrated with Shikamaru, she did not want to disrespect his parents or their interrupt their sleep. Hisano jumped to the tree that laid along the edge of the property. She settled on a thick branch as she observed the house, looking for a room with the lights on. Spotted in the more nestled side of the Nara house, was a light on in a room. Hisano thought for a moment, should she just go via the door or take one out of Shikamaru's playbook and just jump the gate and show up on his windowsill. Too many times had he arrived uninvited and jumping her gate for her to choose to respect his at this time. She jumped to the trees near the room and took a deep breath to calm her nerves as she felt her hands shake, and she was not sure if she was shaking in anger or anxiety. Considering her reaction which brought her to his house, she assumed it was the anger and not from the anxiety that her body surged through her body and through her arms down to her fingertips as they tingled and as her hands warmed up, a visceral reaction her body produced whenever she confronted people, though she never would admit this happens to her to others, let alone admit it to herself. After another deep breath Hisano jumped down from her hiding place in the tree and at Shikamaru's window, appearing at the windowsill like a flash of lightning. Her eyes pinned on Shikamaru, who was in his bed with his knees up with one leg resting off the opposite legs knee as he read his book. Her sudden appearance in his window left him with a stunned look on his face as he quickly sat up and whipped his head behind him to lock eyes with Hisano. As he stared back at her with as eyes widened in confusion and quickly blinked, convincing himself that she was in front of him, blocking his window with a terrifying fire in her eyes. He observed her amber coloured eyes, which sharpened and narrowed as he turned around on his bed so he could face her. Shikamaru could feel his heart speed up. He assumed it was because she had managed to sneak up on him, a feat not easily done by others. "You and I," Hisano began with a sharp tone in her voice, "we need to talk now." She finished as she jumped into his room, arms crossed to show her displeasure with him. He had not heard that same seething tone out of her before. He had witnessed her handle Ino and even then, he thought he did not want to cross this woman, and now, here he was, having crossed that very woman. He was a little scared to say the least.
"What about?" Shikamaru responded groggily with his deep sleepy voice, having fallen asleep while reading earlier.
"What about?!" she huffed "What about? Really? That's all you have to say to me?" Hisano said angrily while showing her frustration with him in her hand movements. He secretly adored how she spoke with her hands. But that was not the focus at this moment, Shikamaru snapped back to the present as he saw her impatiently waiting.
"I don't even know what's going on right now" Shikamaru said as he rubbed his eyes "if you didn't notice I'm just waking up and have no clue what hell is happening right now." It was not often that he had such deep sleeps where he woke up confused, and even less often when the very person he was dreaming about appeared in front of him, mind you angry, but her presence was hard for him to ignore. "So please, sit down on my bed with me, and we can try this shit again." He motioned with his hand the empty spot next to him, in between him and the window. He patted the spot as Hisano stood in his room and hands on her hips in disapproval. Shikamaru was not going to give up on this battle, he was not about to stand up right now, his body was still a little sore and he was far too tired. He patted the spot again, this time nudging her along with a soft look in his eyes as nodded into the direction of the spot she still had not occupied. She shook her head no, stubborn in her decision. "Hisano," his voice rasped while wrapped in gentleness, "please sit with me." Shikamaru insisted, and to his luck, she let out a long huff and made her way to the spot on the bed.
Hisano sat with one leg resting on the bed as the other dangled off the edge, facing Shikamaru who sat with his legs crossed. She had calmed down a little from before, when she first made the choice to furiously make her way here. But she was still mad at him, that did not change. She took a deep breath and gazed into Shikamaru's dark brown eyes before starting, "we had an agreement, did we not?" She asked, though she was not seeking an answer from him, "after you were back, we would decide whatever the hell happened at the natural springs and if it even is anything or worth pursuing anything. You have been home since a little after sunrise, I saw you return. I gave you the whole day to rest knowing full well we would be having a conversation tonight about it. And yet, when it was time for you to deliver documents, not only did you send Choji in your place, but you did so well after the offices were closed, forcing me to stay late." Hisano felt her anger begin to simmer once more, "I have my own life you know; I have my own daily schedule and hate overtime just as much as the rest of us, but I stayed because you promised, promised what was it again? Oh right, to meet me to retrieve work documents and finally talk about the incident that happened four days ago and your decision on what the hell we should do about it. But you cannot even show me the respect to send your replacement on time, let alone keep your promise. It is not only disrespectful to me, but it is a waste of my time as well. Do you not think that maybe I had something to say to you about it? So why, why choose to ignore me all day?! Why make me stay late because you could not bother to hold to a very minor promise? I just cannot seem to grasp why you would do something so goddamn idiotic as what you did." She finished, as her blood boiled in anger and her words delivered with a fire underneath them.
"You're right, I did ignore you today, but you have my intentions mistaken." Shikamaru stated calmly to her as he saw her eyes widen in confusion, "God this is so troublesome," he began with a sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I did arrive back in the village first thing in the morning, I saw you at the gates with the travellers and I am pretty sure you spotted me. I handed the report in mid-day and took the afternoon to rest." Shikamaru explained calmly, despite Hisano's visible annoyance with him at the current moment, "Hisano, I thought about you all day today." He finally admitted, no more skirting around it, "And not just today, but all mission too. I was afraid that I would be pushing you for an answer if I arrived at your doorstep—or window like you. That was the last thing I wanted, I don't want to push you to decide if you aren't ready to talk about it, so I decided giving you space was the best choice." he tapered off towards the end of his sentence before quietly mumbling to himself that maybe it was not his best decision thus far.
"So, all this time you just expected me to come to you? To be able to read your mind and actions without you communicating that information to me? Tell me, how does that work?" She said with attitude in every word.
"Well I didn't think about it like that." He admitted to her, "but Hisano," he said gently, despite her anger with him, "it was never my intention to hurt you in any way. I did what I thought was best, but you're right, how could I expect you to know what I was thinking when I never shared that giving you the space for the day was my plan. By the end of the day I had convinced myself that you just wanted nothing to do with me today, so I came home to read and decompress and fell asleep and next thing I know you are in my window with those the amber in your eyes glowing red with anger ready to rip me a new one. I sincerely apologize that my actions and my decisions hurt you. I never intended to show you disrespect." He finished.
Hisano, calmed down as she listened to Shikamaru's explanation, she could feel her anger release from her body and guilt found its way in. She began to regret raising her voice at him as she had, and for the harshness in her delivery. Especially when he remained so calm in the face of her anger, he did not shut down nor did he retaliate back, simply took accountability for how his actions hurt her. He had even managed to help her calm down, even though Hisano had not been aware when that shift in her body happened, just that it had. She let out a deep sigh. "I am sorry for yelling at you," Hisano began, "After listening to you, I can understand your logic and reasoning, even if it was not one of your most thought-out reasoning on your part. I was just frustrated cause I saw it as you brushed me off versus you allowing me the space to not feel pressured. Which is uncharacteristically sweet of you."
"I beg to differ."
"Hmm?" She queried, "what do you mean by that?"
"In my own observation of my behaviour and from the constant teasing from my friends, turns out I may, sort of treat you with more…everything really, with you than I do with others." He stammered out. Watching him trip over his words like this made her chuckle. She rarely saw this clumsier side of Shikamaru, but it was not clumsiness as she had incorrectly categorized it as, but rather the preferential treatment he chose to show her and her alone. That, and having to admit that he treats her differently was not something he wanted to admit to anyone, let alone to her right now. It was all so confusing for him.
"So, you treat me better than you do others, huh?" she jabbed. Shikamaru knew she was doing this to force his hand to admit the very thing he was trying to avoid.
"eh…" he shrugged, "you are one of the less annoying people to be around, but you're still frustrating as hell." He teased as the air between them became quiet, with nothing but the sounds of nature in the background. It was at this moment, after Hisano had finally calmed down and said her bit to Shikamaru that she noticed his attire. Or lack thereof. Sitting in front of her was a topless Shikamaru, with his toned body in a relaxed, slightly slouched position. He did not wear any pants or sleep pants either, Hisano remarked to herself as she noticed his baggy boxers were really the only thing he had on. She did not register the colour of the boxers before her face flushed in embarrassment; realizing where her eyes had trailed off to in the silence and his piercing, but soft gaze fixed upon her and a slight smirk in the corner of his mouth. He simply was too lazy and had not felt like putting any other clothing on after his shower other than the necessary boxers. Just so happened that his laziness meant he had a flushed admirer sitting in front of him and that alone gave him pleasure that his decision earlier that day was worth it for the view in front of him. "So, what is your decision?" He softly asked as Hisano struggled to make eye contact with him after he caught her a lingering look. While trying to avoid eye contact, she kept having the terrible habit of looking down first, causing minor panic to ensue in her mind as she nervously internally reminded herself to look to the side, or at the fixings around the room, anything to avoid meeting his eyes and anything but looking down again. However, no matter how much she wanted to avoid it, she could not avoid Shikamaru's eyes nor his question forever, but boy did she want to. She took a deep breath, and with her heartbeat still beating in her ears, finally looked back to Shikamaru's eyes, but doing so sent off a chain reaction in her body as she felt the room heat up once more as a wave of embarrassment crashed over her.
"I don't think you're going to like my answer," she began softly as her eyes darted to the side for a moment before returning his gaze, "I need to talk to Temari first—" Shikamaru let out a groan as he pinched the bridge of his nose, annoyed. He thought he wanted that failed relationship in the past and did not want it to affect him now. "Before you react anymore," Hisano scolded him sternly, "She is one of my closest friends, and I know the two of you have your history. I knew her when you two were together, hell, if I was paying attention, I probably would have seen you in Suna, but our paths never crossed, and I honestly did not care back then. The end of that relationship hurt her a lot and she struggled for a while after it ended. And I know it was mutual and I know you two are on good terms, but that doesn't account for the fact she was my friend first, and it just doesn't seem right to agree to anything before passing it by her if she would be comfortable with those two aspects of her world colliding. I already sent her correspondence asking for her opinion, but it could take a week or so before I get a response. So, I hope you can understand." She finished.
"Well," Shikamaru said with a sigh, "guess I have to wait a week for my answer." He paused for a moment, "I think I am going to hold off on telling you my decision then, just until the letter. Keeps us on an even playing field." The two of them let our small sighs, her in relief, him in frustration. He had agonized over this for a week already, he wanted it behind him but now he had another week to wait. He respected her reasoning though, and ultimately choice her comfort over pushing the issue and trying to force an answer out. He knew that if he did, it would not end well for him and it would mean a lot more energy would be required to fix it, so he went with the path of least resistance.
"I should probably go…" Hisano said in almost a whisper.
"I can walk you back if you'd like." Shikamaru offered, knowing full well she could protect herself, he just figured having someone to talk to on the way home would be more enjoyable for her than being alone.
"I think I've seen enough of you today," she blurted out while motioning her hand to his scantily clad body before realizing what she said could come off harsher than she intended, and while she normally would not care to correct herself, she felt he at least was owed the clarification. "not that you aren't nice to look at, you're actually quite pleasant to look at it's just…."she nervously trailed off.
"Just…." Shikamaru pushed "what, in my boxers?" he teased as his gaze darkened and a sarcastic smile snuck to the corners of his mouth; enjoying the newfound effect he seemed to have on her. Against her will and much to her frustration, that coy man and his comment made her whole-body flush once more. At one point, he could not pinpoint when exactly, the sarcasm in his smile softened and was replaced with genuine happiness as his gaze remained fixed on her.
"Well, no, but also yes," the words rushing out of her mouth like a fountain. She took a deep breath again and continued, "I will admit, you are easy on the eyes, both less or more clothing on—" she mentally kicked herself for admitting that out loud, he got way too much pleasure out of it, "I have grown to somehow enjoy your presence and our conversations. So, it wasn't supposed to mean that you are infuriating and that I can't stand you. I can stand you a lot more now than when we first met, and don't get me wrong, you can still be incredibly infuriating too, just not so much so that I would hate being in the same room as you kind of infuriating." She anxiously spit out.
"So shall I get more, or less clothing on?" his voice huskily rasped as he shifted his body on the bed, inching his way closer to Hisano's body, leaning in towards her and searching for the eye contact he so desperately craved from her in that moment. Enjoying seeing her writhe in front of him, and with so little effort—just simple light teasing. Hisano could hear every beat of her heart loudly drumming in her ears. She felt as her chest rose and fell to the rhythm of her nervous breaths as she did her best to regain her composure. "Well?" Shikamaru inquired, his voice lifting the haze which had encased her mind, jolting her attention back to reality.
"You do whatever you want to do in terms of dressing yourself and how much or how little, but before you do, I am gonna head out—alone" she stressed, she needed to clear her head and cool her body down with the cool night air and she dreaded the thought of him sparking the same bodily reactions in her again should they make their way to her home. She felt a little sweaty, she was embarrassed about the whole boxer ordeal that her mind kept replaying on loop, only helping to further fuel her embarrassment, lastly, she was a little ashamed about how rash she had been earlier and wanted the perceived awkwardness she felt about the evening over with. Unsure with how to leave in a complicated scenario she somehow managed to find herself in, she gets up off Shikamaru's bed, gives him a short awkward wave goodbye and leaves out the same window she arrived in without any other words.
She took the slow route home this time, contemplating what just happened and reasoning with herself. There was no way, in Hisano's mind, that Shikamaru should be able to illicit these bodily reactions out of her. It had to be the embarrassment, what else could it be? To be caught with a lingering look at someone's underwear as they sat in front of her was bold to think she would not be caught. But those repeated gazes downward and the image of the soft outline of his body that lay behind a simple piece of fabric as the it gently draped across his strong thighs, or how her brain had scorched the details of his almost naked body to memory, desperately trying to memorize every detail of his body or how her gaze had finally rested on his hands and here too her she had become subconsciously addicted to gathering every detail about every scar, the shape of his nails and how short he kept his fingernails, or how she remarked to herself the size of his hands and how his veins popped out a little in his skin, travelling up from his hands and up his forearm, or how her mind had kept wandering back to what the image the boxers hid from her, wracking back in her brain frantically outlining the size, girth, and general size he may be hiding underneath, which was not a short cry off of imagining what he looks like without any boxers on at all. Or how her she drafted scenarios which would land the two of them exploring the others body and how much she had the urge the whole time she sat across from him to rake her fingers along his body, and how she continued to fanaticize about the kind of pleasure that could bring for them both. All of this, she had a far less solid explanation for, if any at all. For now, she chose to focus on the superficial, and not how her body continued to react to the memories even now, alone on her walk. She quickened her pace, ready to just be in bed and finally have the day over.
Shikamaru had not moved from his spot on the bed. Flabbergasted with Hisano's awkward wave to him as if they just met. He leaned forward, resting his head in his hand as he investigated the empty space that Hisano had once occupied. He too replayed the moments. How sweet her voice sounded to his ears and how her gaze had been so fixated on him, the fire in her eyes confronting him about a perceived wrongdoing and the softening of her gaze. He chuckled to himself, thinking how long it had taken for her to realize he was just in his boxers. His mind began to wander to how the gaze of her eyes looked as she meticulously studied his form, and the prolonged examining of the one part of his body covered while still not leaving much to the imagination. Especially when he continued to tease her gently and how much small actions from him could illicit such strong responses in her. He had learned something new about her though, she is easy to blush. As he retraced his memories remembering the look of her soft hydrated lips that bounced with every nervous word she spoke and how he could not take his eyes off them while hers had darted around nervously. He had been bold teasing her this night, especially after their agreement to wait another week for her answer. Luckily it was not a complete disaster. Shikamaru recalled the sultry smell that her perfume had left behind, softly lingering in the air between them when he had moved closer to her, and how much it had intoxicated his senses. His heart began to beat faster as he desperately searched the air for any remaining lingering scent of hers, only getting subtle hints of it. Staring at the empty space across from him where she had sat, he wondered if she had noticed how her gaze made his breath quicken in pace, or did she notice how he too had blushed when he noticed her lingering gaze. He wondered if he had been successful in hiding just how much his body reacted to her intoxicating presence. He doubted that he had been successful, and yet it did not seem to bother him all too much, mostly because it seemed to please Hisano, and what pleased Hisano, he was happy to oblige in. He was also quite chuffed with himself despite his flirtatious teasing not amounting to anything. He always had enjoyed watching her personality slowly uncover, and boy had she bulldozed through a wall of her reservation to scold him tonight! His mind then doubled back to the day at the hot springs, and how he had memorized the curves of her body and how the feeling of her body pressed against his made his whole body burn with a fire he did not know was possible, even now sitting in his room he could feel his body burn in the places she had gentle touched with her body. Memories of the few moments of intimacy they shared swirled in Shikamaru's mind, he could not help but have his mind wonder to more pleasurable actives they could partake in together and how the image of her body made him writhe in a growing urge to have his hands slowly run all along her body, gently outlining the shape of her body. Unable to ignore the uncomfortable pressure in his boxers any longer, he gets up and heads to the bathroom to deal with the consequences of Hisano's presence and an overactive imagination had further played into his body to reacting in such an aggressive manner.
The next day dawned a lot sooner than either Hisano or Shikamaru would have liked after their late-night rendezvous which had amounted to nothing other than overactive imaginations for them both. Hisano disliked waking up, she always struggled with it, and with less sleep, well, made the mornings just that much tougher. Shikamaru is Shikamaru, no real explanation needed there. The rest of the village slowly began to wake up and the noise from the bustle of the busy streets soon clogged the air with overlapping commotion heard from the distance. Hisano dragged her body up, glaring at the sun for slipping through her closed blinds, to directly shine in her eyes as she had so desperately clung onto the sleep realm, before being defeated by the strength of the sun. She cursed the sun and waking up as she shuffled her slippers on. Dragging her feet downstairs and towards the kitchen for a morning tea. She put the kettle on and noticed a pile of paperwork she had brought home last night in her rash response to Shikamaru's disrespect. She internally cursed herself, she wasn't supposed to bring work home. That had been a goal of hers, but old habits die hard. She shuffled through the pages as her tea steeped, wondering if there was any pressing intelligence or upcoming meetings, she may need to be aware of. After absentmindedly moving the papers around, she happened upon a tucked letter, hidden in the middle of a pile of paperwork. On it was notice saying "URGENT" in a bold red colour. This seemed important.
Authors Note:
Well…as promised, here is another chapter. I told you I hadn't abandoned the story. I want to thank everyone for their patience and interest in this little story of mine, whether you are new or old readers. University got hectic, then I graduated and am now working and working on getting my Graduate degree and that too has been super busy. But I missed writing. I missed where it could take me and the many hours I could spend lost in writing. I had stopped enjoying writing for a long time, which contributed to my hiatus here. Whoops. I had gotten too stuck in the pattern of academic writing that even creatively felt like a chore. I will forever apologize for my shit spelling; it has never gotten better, and probably never will not matter how many times I review and edit my work. It's fine, cause I only notice my mistakes once it's been published for far more eyes than I ever expect to have on my writing. So that's not embarrassing at all, right? Please don't answer that, let me live in blissful ignorance. So, all that to say, thanks for sticking around and I hope you liked the chapter.–Maykvic