Calm
Enjoy.
The walls had begun to bleed again, the eerie whine returned, his eyes turned to the floor as he sat, waiting alongside his team, unharmed from the nights mission, mostly.
Kiba sported a black eye, a ice pack already pressed onto the purple flesh and a snoring Akamaru in his lap, attempting to comfort his groaning owner. His fight brief, the details hidden away as he snapped to the others that he didn't want to talk about it. Ino sat beside Sai, both turned down as they had been unable to find Shikamaru before he had disappeared. Her hands still clinging to the foreign weapons belt, the knives a shining steel, sharp and accurate, even a look to long could result in a cut of the flesh.
TenTen had seen the escape happened, she had tried to follow, only to have a short blonde move in her way, keeping her in place as she and the Suna agent were both carrying guns, but both reluctant to use them in the panicked crowd. Naruto had been escorted out with Choji, faking confusion and attempting to comfort the people around him, showing leadership and a calm disposition, surprisingly pleasing the news crews that began to show up as soon as word got out that Kai Yoshito was dead.
Death by shellfish.
All signs pointed to tonight being a failure, nothing in the mission had gone right, but Shikamaru knew one thing. The devil had spoken, behind the beautifully painted lips, her lies became truth the longer he looked, the longer he sat with his hands linked before him, seeing the routes that opened and closed as he forced the noise away and thought.
He longed for Asuma's lighter, it would help him now.
"Agent Nara" he stood at his name, eyes remaining down, but not in defeat, he was angry.
As he moved to enter Tsuande's office, resisting the urge to shout, the urge to slam the door shut, a short breath helped calm the anger for the time being. Now he stood before Tsuande as she settled in her chair, her disappointment written clearly over her ageless features, fifty three and still as glowing as if she was in her prime.
He spoke first.
He was tired of the secrets and lies.
"Tell me the truth" evenly spoken, as if reporting a mission back to his director "are you aiding your previous squad in the start of the rebellion in Wind, Tsunade?"
A pause, then a sigh.
"How did you find out?" the whisper, even in the soundproof room it was too loud, but spoken calmly, as if she knew he knew. His gaze turned up, meeting the cold stare, not a fire like hers had been.
"She told me" he set the laptop on her desk, slowly retrieving his hands in his pockets, seeking comfort but finding none, he looked back to Tsuande with a quiet exhale "Temari is collecting proof to use against Konoha, proof about who is actually involved in the war" keeping professional, but wanting to shout "if she reveals this to the public, we can say goodbye to any negotiation with Wind and Earth. Their will be an uprising in our city if they find out that we are allowing this to happened, allowing the start of a fourth war"
"I am not aiding it, I am creating a way for their system to dissolve permanently" Tsuande defended, firm and voice booming, her hand coming to her crystal glass, full and ready to sooth.
His fingers twitched in his pocket.
"She's working for somebody in Suna right now, someone who is in charge of everything" Tsuande furrowed her brows at the statement, she wasn't expecting this, she expected the leader of Wind, the puppet Gaara "someone who threatened Gaara, her brother" he tightened his gaze, the woman she had spoken about was right in front of him "and that somebody wants you"
"Do you know who?" Tsuande refused to move a muscle as she asked.
"Do you know who?" He countered knowingly.
"Everyone who had a quarrel with me" her hand tightened around her glass, raising it to her lips "is dead" she took the drink down in one go.
"Are you sure about that?" The glass slammed back down as he asked, his defiance doing nothing to calm her now. Did she know who? She sat back, thoughtful, he could see how her heaving chest tried to even out her breathing, she was forcing herself to calm and think as rationally as he did. A long time ago she had been a commander, a leader among the troops of Fire, her generals at her tail and her Sanin comrades at her sides. They had protected their nation from the harm that threatened to enter, however, she had been the only one who survived that night.
She had been the only one to come out of it alive.
"What else did our dead princess share with you?" Tsunade leaned forward as she asked, calmed and curious for more, linking her hands under her chin and waiting for her lead agent to choose his side.
You are to loyal, and it blinds you.
"The balance of power in Suna is not on Gaara, he's not in control of anything. I suspect, he's working around his own people to attempt negotiations, everything we know about them is a lie, Tsunade" his effort to stop the nagging theory Temari had spoken about almost became true as Tsuande scoffed and straightened.
"Agent Nara, you are a peacekeeper, bound by your oath, remember that, stay within your lines. Foreign affairs is not something you need to concern yourself with" she leaned forward, threatening, anger beginning to spark behind his own dark glare, she wanted to silence him "do I make myself clear?"
"I do if you're going to start a war that will affect the country we are meant to protect" the effort to remain calm became more difficult, almost impossible, she scoffed.
"Why didn't you just kill her? You were well within your rights" Tsuande argued, frustration took her over as she leaned back in the chair with a heavy huff, just beginning her own rage. He wanted to think clearly, wanted to just agree and lay back, but he was needed now, needed to protect the will of fire.
"Because unlike you, she told me the truth!" the raised statement enough to hear the growl behind her glaring look, his fight back was new even for him, he tightened his fist, outwardly just as angry as she had been when she suggested the theory of why Gaara was wanted in Konoha "public negotiations" he paused and took a breath, calm he reminded himself, fight back with reason not emotion "you want Gaara here so you can have him assassinated, don't you?"
A pause, then she sighed, calm.
"We couldn't trust them before and we certainly can't trust them now" the haunting words she had spoken to him, to push the blame off Fire, to make it look like an accident.
"What is it you want with Suna?" He stepped closer to her desk, stopping only when he could see the whites of her eyes, anger at his back threatening to lash out "what is so important over there that you want to start a damn war, Tsuande?"
"Priorities change, Shikamaru, and we will protect our nation against them, no matter what" She turned away in her chair looking at her empty glass, but allowing her irritation to enter her voice "keep your mouth shut and do your mission without complaint. Bring me Sauske, now" she turned a harsh side eye to him "You are dismissed, Agent Nara" he narrowed his gaze, once more, anger melted and he bowing his head, his suspicions confirmed.
Loyalty had made him blind.
"I'll bring you Sauske, you can bet on it" a promise made he turned and left the directors office, leaving the woman glaring at her glass with a sigh.
She had been right all along.
Song suggestion- Hippie Sabotage- Devils Eyes
The voice.
Like a sirens song.
It was as if she stood right behind him, whispering, he could feel the hand dragging down from his bare chest to his belt and just the tips of her finger hiding inside his pants, stroking a finger, teasing.
The trail burning his skin, and the devil spoke.
"You want me, don't you, Shikamaru?" The purr beside him made his head roll back, eyes closed, as the heat in his gut began to warm his body and he was left a mute. A low hum of laughter sounded behind him, humored at the silence, amused by her own tease to touch.
The hand retreated, nails dragged against his bare chest as she moved away, her heat gone, leaving him cold. When she moved he opened his eyes to watch, purely out of caution. She stalked around him, purposeful, his gaze trained to the shadows covering her naked body from him, the hourglass, the one he wanted, no, needed to be pressed against.
Eyes met, teals against his own black gaze, desire sparked with every passing second, every step closer.
He waited, patient, she would come to him, she needed this as badly as he did. A pause in her advance and that cruel smile made way, all knowing. He swallowed, the last step to get close making him ache with anticipation. Crawling forward, she perched herself on his lap with her arms hanging loosely from his shoulders, tanned legs touched by a drag of his hands, soft. The burning gaze looked down to him, she sat, pressing naked against the front of his pants, only cloth between the means to an end.
The wave in the air of her perfume, he inhaled the memory, the shaky breath that followed blew against her lips, but never touched.
"The truth lies with me" she spoke close to him, he could feel the words, the perfume addicting as she neared, keeping him at bay "just as you will" she finished with a soft whispered promise.
"How do I know if you are telling me the truth?" Speaking back, longing to close the distance, he adjusted himself to press up against her, the move met with a low moan.
"I said I would lay you bare" she calmed as her nails dragged against the skin of his neck "I will expose everything to you" she pressed down, nails digging into flesh, a sharp inhale her response, neither moving to close the distance fully between words "all you have to do is ask"
"Tell me" the calm demand met with his hands claiming her hips and pressing her down, relieving some of the pressure, but not enough. She grinned against his lips and leaned in, touching, connecting them to each other.
Lips that didn't feel soft, no, they did not caress him, but instead bruised him. Rough against his, the need of feeling the other overwhelming both. His grip tightened, bruises would form, but he didn't relent, pushing down and fighting back. The disconnect after left both panting, both bodies closer than before, she lowered to his side speaking venomous words, but covered in sweet honey.
"Beg for it" she whispered against his ear, the bite that accompanied it, sending his body into a heated shudder.
"Please, tell me" he obeyed without missing a beat, ready to lay bare, ready to give in to the sly grin that followed. She lowered, he just managed to pull his pants down enough to expose himself, watching her with bated breath, steadying her hips, each refusing to turn their eyes away from the other. With a silent gasp, she pressed down, burying him inside her in a single movement, burning him as he wordlessly stared back into those eyes.
Like a cold fire.
She was the sun and he had stupidly stared back at it.
Her final words, a taunting challenge.
"Come and find me, Shikamaru"
His eyes snapped open, the cold sweat that racked his body doing little to comfort him in his panic. The nightmare had been vivid, to say the least, with a hard on to accompany it, that one was an annoying realization. The bed remained cold, however, it usually was.
As he caught his breath, calming, he remembered that nightmares were a part of the effects of the venom. The internal conflict of deciding whether this was a dream or a intense hallucination, unnerving him, so strong he could almost feel her on his fingertips, another feeling his body felt down below, making a embarrassing addition.
Why did she have to be a attractive woman?
With a groan he covered his eyes with his arm, now stuck on the mental image of the bright eyed blonde who had spoken her truth, who had been pressed against him, who had smiled against the painted lips as she spoke her truth. Why had he suddenly fixated on that part of her? Beautiful, yes. Troublesome, even more so. Had he almost bent her over the desk, he'd be lying to himself if he hadn't had a fleeting scenario where she would allow that. Now he felt like a lewd bastard. Had she been as interested at some point, or had she been using her body like a weapon, those legs definitely were. The touch of that soft tanned skin had proven a stupid way to escape, it worked, but the recoil was killing him.
He glared down at the stiff member pressing against his pants, traitor.
Standing, a groan of discomfort accompanying it, he threw the damp sheets aside, a quick glare down to his unwanted erection again and made his way to the closed blinds and peeked through, trying to focus on his priority.
Nothing.
Blinds closed, lights off, he hadn't seen anyone since his return from headquarters, but he was a patient man, he could wait, even if Tsunade couldn't.
If only he could wait out the blue balls that would threaten his future. A second long internal conflict of whether he should relieve himself, before he decides against it, no he couldn't, not to her at least. The traitor twitched his disapproval and he groaned leaving his bedroom to walk down the hall into his living room, blinds partially closed, everything in its place as he scanned the dim area.
Grabbing his cigarettes and foreign lighter, he fell back into his armchair and quickly moved to light a cigarette, the relief instant after he blew out the first cloud. He needed to find her, she had Sauske, she also had the truth, the one Tsuande hid from him.
Why was it always a woman in his life giving him these troublesome tasks.
The touch.
Why had it burned?
Her location somewhere hidden in Konoha, a two bedroom apartment, a true base, only filled with her trusted people. A place to escape, knowing now that he had found them, knowing now that she was compromised, a bitter afterthought that she couldn't have that known by anyone.
She was dead.
Her eyes shut, stepping nude into the steaming water that cascaded from the shower head, her body soaked, washing him away, her mind drifting elsewhere, the dress laid neatly on her bed. Leaving her last target dead and her other wanting more from her. He would come for her, they always did.
What a dangerous dance they had started, one that would be cut short very soon.
Temari let out a sigh as she turned opening her eyes to the white tiled wall, it bled, but she didn't notice, letting her hair soak under the waterfall, eyes narrowed at the memory of the night. Very few men braved a touch, targets aside, even fewer dared to try and near the untouchable for fear her cold gaze would freeze them solid.
A fight for dominance.
Soft yet rough.
He had touched her, fearless, and she had watched, wondering if he would fall, but that hadn't been the case, she fell this time. Easy on the eyes, a better target if she wanted amuse herself with appearance, or the witty banter back to her, he played just as she did. Now that had been an interesting discovery. It had been a new feeling, a long while since she felt herself trapped by the truth, as if she knew a lock and key existed, but didn't want to escape. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her, her foreplay was considered a dangerous act, she'd been told that before.
Would he fall if she pushed him enough?
Absently dragging a hand down her body during the debate, starting at her neck, the light touch coupled with the water soothing, a pause at her breast, pressing each finger across her hardened nipple as she ventured down with a quiet hum. Thoughtful, eyes closed, attempting to find her way around this, a way closer to the end. The touch, skin against skin, it had been a while since she had burned, her body shuddering in need rather than want, a lingering touch to her back making her inhale. She was holding back, she had her reasons, but he would figure it out if she allowed it. The air filled with steam, hot and wet, her hand had made its way to her entrance and stilled as her eyes shot open, walls now longer bled around her.
A distraction, that's what he was.
She could not allow those, a growl accompanied the realization, that much she knew. Leaning back, hands gone from her body, she allowed the water to fall down her face, washing away the paint, the red lips, the facade for the public, she was left bare and broken.
Temari was a weapon to be used, one that would do anything for the ties that kept her grounded.
Shikamaru skimmed the apartment numbers, following his memory from earlier in the week, stopping at the very end of the hall, eight floors up, number eighty two. The apartment one story up, across from his. He didn't bother to knock, the door already opening, that glaring blonde who hated him, much to his displeasure. A trap, simple enough, almost boring really. He knew, however, that this woman would hold the answers he needed to find Sauske, to find her.
"Nara" Sen glared back, dressed casually and calm, but she moved aside, allowing him entry without a fight.
"Sen was it?" he didn't care for her answer as he stepped in, almost rolling his eyes when she shut the door, just turning and grabbing her arm, a thin foreign kunai stopped from entering his back. He gave her a pointed look, her growl met with a raise in his brow, annoyed "What is it with you Suna women and knives" he grabbed it from her, proven a easy feat, and let her arm go.
"Guns are too quick, we like to take our time when we kill" with her spat, a rise in her frustration at such an easy disarm, her accent became thicker.
"You and I both know" he leaned closer to her, "she won't like that"
"Bitch" Sen hissed at him.
"You're the one to talk" Shikamaru rolled his eyes and walked further into the apartment "where is she keeping Sauske?" he asked as he took in the room, she was alone. A simple layout, a couch and loveseat facing a plain light colored coffee table, a half empty bottle of wine on the table and a single glass. Towards the back a wide window, blinds open, ready to observe their target, one who now stood in the very room, beside the scope a shelf of books, all in Fire language. The silence behind him made him turn and sigh, Sen had moved away from the door and settled on the loveseat, her wine glass in her hand and childish anger pointed at a tablet in her hands "Do I really have to make you talk, it's so much work" he muttered annoyingly, seeking her attention.
"It's your funeral" she waved a hand to the couch, setting the tablet in the middle of the table and leaned back herself as she watched him move to sit across from her and grab it. The location of a building already pulled up and ready for him, too easy. When he looked up her amber gaze tightened as she took a generous sip of the wine, quiet.
He needed to know.
"On a more personal note, why do you seem to hate me a lot more than the others?" he set the tablet down and leaned against his knees, keeping a silent glare on her, one that had been known to slowly break down their opponent if used wisely, and he was wise.
"I do not hate you" she scoffed, insulted, waving a hand to brush him away, accent thinning as she continued calmer "you are unexpected danger to us, a bump in the road, as you say here in Konoha"
"Yeah" he drew out with a uninterested sigh, reminded of Sasori speaking to Kankuro once, he had tried to warn his cousin "I've heard I'm very dangerous"
"Your knowledge is a danger to us" Sen explained, sitting back she sighed "You distract her" she finally admitted, taking a sip and setting her glass down, taking in the questioning look Shikamaru gave in return "Temari is many things strong, fierce, loyal, focused, but she is not a easily fooled woman" a look of disgust waved over her face "you are dangerous for her, because you distract her from her purpose" she leaned back in the loveseat, bluntly stating "so you must be killed in order for her to accomplish her mission, that is why you have a contract on your head, Nara"
"She had plenty of chances before to kill me and took none of them" he leaned back as well, absently entertained that he was a distraction, not his intent, but a good addition to his current intel.
"You can thank Itachi for her hesitation" the name that made him tense.
"So she really does know him" the Black Raven, the man who always hit his mark, he had once been a peacekeeper just like him, once been on the side of good. The sides all seemed to look the same in that moment, Tsuande to fault for his new look on loyalty, which side did he need to be on?
"They have a deal while she works in Konoha" Sen explained bringing her legs up to sit cross legged, more relaxed, knowing he wouldn't strike first "he keeps her identity hidden, she comes and does her mission, avoids peacekeepers in the process, and goes back to Wind without trouble, that is the deal, but you" she pointed at him and snapped, anger flashing "are an idiot for chasing her, if you want to die by all means keep going" she waved him off with a scoff, defeated, going for her glass again she took a long sip, when she set the glass down, she settled and let out a breath glaring back slowly, he had been quietly watching, quietly thinking "you knowing who they are, that they are alive, is very dangerous for her and Kankuro"
"Why?" Sen huffed at the question, licked her lips and spoke calmly.
"If anyone else finds out that Yashamaru did not kill the children of Lord Rasa" Sen leaned forward, serious "all hell will break loose in Wind. Generations of leaders ruined, Lord Gaara will no longer be safe, the conflict between the old and new broken forever. It will send our nation into eternal darkness and war" she inhaled and exhaled sharply, her accent heavier with her anger as she leaned back holding her head in her hand "your agent, the one who was supposed to kill them, had failed" she looked up sharply "on purpose"
"Asuma" he ventured and his eyes widened, Sen nodded.
"Asuma knew about the mission to kill them, but he disobeyed his orders, instead he told Yashamaru to hide the children and find a way to make it seem like they were killed" Sen looked down, quiet "Yashamaru sacrificed himself, because your agent could not kill them"
"How do you know about this?" He almost whispered, afraid to speak as it might be to loud.
"I have known Temari a very long time, she is my family" Sen sighed glancing away "and she talks when she is very drunk" looking back to himwith a shrug "she told me the story of how she came to meet Asuma once, she wanted to kill him to avenge her uncle, but she didn't, she stopped" she looked at her glass, guilty "I have never told anyone this"
"How do I know your not lying to me?" He tried to quiet the storm, his calm had been tested to often the past week, it had become harder to control.
"Why would I?" Sen looked up, a hint of irritation behind her amber glare "I gain nothing by lying to you, my order was to come back home and wait for you, that is all" she hid away for a moment, citing the inside of her lip, he had refused to move, his body suddenly weak, not even her voice could aid the secret "If she doesn't do this, Nara" she swallowed, rethought and slowly began speaking again, her words careful "balance will not be restored, our Lord will be killed, Suna will fall, and Wind will no longer exist" she looked back to him, quiet "Lord Gaara is not in charge, he is simply a prisoner in his own home, forced to obey as she is" she shook her head slowly, biting her lip and meeting his eyes with a small grin "we did not grow up safe as you do here, we only survived in Suna under Lord Rasa's rule"
"How bad was it in Suna?" He managed evenly, but barely.
"Do you know why I follow her?" She asked instead, avoiding his question as she sat up "Because I owe my life to her, she saved me from death and I dedicated my life" she put a hand to her chest, proud "to protecting who she is, to protect the balance. Temari gave me that choice and I chose her. She would never have chosen this life if she could help it, trust me when I say this Suna will fall if the beast is not killed"
The beast she had spoken about, monsters that needed to be killed.
"The one who's in charge of Suna, do you know who it is?" He gained a breath, spur of energy that motivated him to pick a side.
"No" Sen shook her head "she doesn't speak about him, she only follows the orders given by a pale man with white hair. I have only ever met him once, he's a real asshole" she rolled her eyes "but he is a follower of this leader and we all must obey him" she drained the rest of her wine and set the glass on the table, gently and quietly finished her speech, her silent plea for him to give up "I'll tell you where your friend is at?"
"Won't she be mad you told me this?" Sen met his quiet gaze with a slow grin, betraying her solemn mood during their discussion.
"How do you not know that she doesn't want me to tell you all this" She set a trap, this friend of hers was nothing more than bait to get him there, troublesome that woman "I am here, alone after all"
"When you call her after I leave" he stood looking down to her with a grin, a facade for his caution "tell her I can't wait to finish our dance" Sen grinned as he left, grabbing her bottle and phone.
"Temari looks forward to it"
Saturday, 10:24PM
Mission Status: Level One, Class S.
Code Name: Sauske Retrieval
Another truth, Sen had not lied to him.
As she had shown, it was a old office complex, two stories, abandoned, just on the outskirts of town, with a dusty sign and cracked paint on the brick wall. Wondering briefly, why this spot was chooses among others.
"All clear around here" Ino skimmed the multiple hacked cameras around the area, confirming again, that the woman hadn't been lying. Inside a total of nine Suna agents, at least the appearance and red wrist bands on each made it seem like me.
"Who is coming with you sir?" Lee leaned back in the driver chair, looking back to Shikamaru, cigarette perched on the side of his mouth, one eye shut as he inspected a handgun.
"Just me" he ignored the shock in the van, clicking the clip into the gun as he looked up, emotionless.
"No backup?" Sai questioned, looking back quickly, a look of surprise entering his ever stoic features.
"Nope" he confirmed and glanced to Ino, already waiting to search his gaze, trying to figure out where he was going with this.
"Are you sure that's smart?" Ino muttered looking from him to the screen, seeing a pair of agents walk down one of the halls. Only one camera had been inaccessible, and that was the one he's have to find.
"Why do you think I only brought us four?" Shikamaru furrowed his brows, looking severely at each teammate "Ino surveillance, Lee our driver and Sai" he glanced between Sai and Ino "for moral support in case I die" he shrugged at the gasp from Ino and the slap to his arm for his smirk after "That is all we need" he leaned back and sighed, focused "We are not starting a war, we are retrieving our comrade, that is all" a silence followed, the van lost in thought before Ino huffed with a grin.
"She must have really pissed you off" Ino confirmed as she looked back to him "you haven't been this fired up in a while"
"I have never met a woman in the entire life who could piss me off so easily" he breathed a humorless laugh, looking up to Ino "and I know you Ino" she didn't rise to the bait to talk back, but her tongue did stick out childishly at him.
"Don't worry" Sai glanced back, calm and on the verge of casual "I'm sure I'll be able to comfort Ino very well" the van was silent for a moment.
"Seriously" Shikamaru sighed "what do you see in the guy?"
"He makes me laugh" Ino smiled lightly back at Sai, before her eyes dropped and she slowly looked back to Shikamaru, quiet "I really hope you know what you're doing" he slowly grinned and leaned forward staring back at the bright blues of his childhood, Ino only nodded to him after he spoke his final words.
Words he said he would only say to her the day he died.
"I love you, Ino"
Leaning against the hallway wall he counted the steps of two agents as they got closer. The warning from Ino on surveillance making him slow his pace
"The two should be heading towards the east end of the hall, about ten meters, be ready" Ino confirmed, his ear piece growing quieter, static becoming louder with each step, as he entered deeper into the complex, internal interference a possibility.
Getting in had proven as easy as walking through the front door. The cameras were child's play, blind spots the size of suvs, at one point be had put his hands in his pockets and casually whistled down the hall, his first two agents taken out with quick precision, both knocked out in a closet down the hall. Their surveillance room empty now.
He was insulted at how easy this was, but a woman like her wasn't easy, he needed to remember that.
These two had sparked his interest though, by the way they spoke, their Sunian was thin, not thick like Sen's accent, a change in a word as if they had learned it later in life. Now where had he heard this dialect from before?
"Mistress was supposed to be here by now" one the the men muttered, pausing five meters away, he unlocked a door to a office, his companion beside him groaned, rubbing his eyes.
"She'll be here soon, White Snake wants to speak to her anyways" he huffed, annoyed at having to stop "she cannot miss a call from him, not again" he muttered.
"You try being tasked with watching that woman, tracking where and when she goes out, I feel naked every time she looks at me" Shikamaru internally agreed with the statement, pressed against the wall and waiting, listening "she doesn't trust us, and you know it"
"How small are your balls?" His companion snickered and leaned against the door frame looking at whatever the other was doing "I don't even know why Suna would put her in charge of their agents, she's just a woman, harmless and nice to look at"
"She choked me last week! How is that harmless?" the other protested with a shout "I would have died if Puppet hadn't been there to take her off me"
"You probably pissed her off or something" the other one waved a hand at him, unconcerned, as he pulled off the entranceway and his friend stepped out "We were warned by White Snake not to get on her bad side anyways, so what did you do?"
"I didn't do anything" he argued back with a whine, stepping out with a duffel bag "one moment we were sparing the next she was on me, with this look" he shuddered "I'd rather be get stung by that scorpion again than have her look at me that way"
"I'd rather you shut up and let me go to sleep already" the other yawned.
"You're supposed to be awake during your post" his companion groaned "what if she walks in? Or Puppet?"
"Then wake me up, until then leave me alone" he took a step towards the corner "we don't even have the prisoner anymore so what's the point of guarding that rouge agent" the sudden news, Shikamaru inhaled sharply, focused and counted.
One.
Two.
He moved as he hit three. Whipping his arm out, handgun hitting a nose, first to disorient one, he turned to the other, his gasp met with a quick grab at his vest collar and the same gun thrown into his face with his precise punches, less work more power, a couple of hits and the guard sagged in his hold, simple knock out, he wasn't here to kill.
"What the hell" a groan behind him, he had kept the talkative one conscious, just great. As he moved to turn, he leaned back, avoiding the blurry punch at the back of his head. One hand letting go of his first hit, his body turned and he pushed forward to knock the guard back, he tripped over his own duffle bag and fell back, just enough effort to keep him down. The look on his face, pained by the fall, nose bleeding, nose vs gun opponent, gun winning as expected. When his eyes opened, a gun pointed down to him.
"Where is she?" A calm demand, but Shikamaru's quiet glare down remained directly on his movements. He went to sit up, to fight back, how troublesome.
"I'm not-" the man flinched, the sudden bullet lodged into the floor besides him, he turned his wide eyed look to the dark glare ahead, awaiting the inevitable, he was a patient man "She'll be here, soon" he stuttered raising his shaking hands, a truth, but why didn't he believe it?
"Glad to hear"
Song Suggestion- Tommee Profitt- Enemy
Sauske gone.
This was her domain, he had to remember.
Shikamaru resisted the urge to groan, a troublesome task this had become, but at least he could count on his old friend being safe, hopefully, for the moment. He hadn't had to do this much work since disassembling the old militia back in River a couple months back, now knowing he was simply wiping away the old to bring in the new private army led by Sato Maasaki. Tsuande had been hiding her efforts behind his, he had been blinded.
Loyalty had blinded him.
At least he knew that she had yet to find out about his new knowledge, guards always talked, feeling safe in the domain she created for them. Following the plan, the guards down, his path clear, he resisted the urge to whistle and casually stroll into the room he knew would be empty, Sasuke gone.
The metal chair sat alone, on it a cellphone, Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief, unable to stop the grin as he grabbed Asuma's lighter. The familiar weight of the silver a instant calm for him, the paths brightening as he observed it longer. Guess the woman wasn't as heartless as she claimed to be.
Inside the room that once held Sauske, Shikamaru settled in the chair, taking his ear piece out and tossed it aside, he hadn't heard Ino in a while, the interface must have finally cut him off from the world.
Clink.
He lit a cigarette and perched it on his lips, peace and quiet, until the phone rang. He glanced to the camera and answered.
"I warned you, Nara" Her.
"Yeah" he let out a sigh "you did" he pulled the cigarette out and looked up at the camera, she would be watching to see it through, he knew that much "probably should have listened to you when you told me to stay away, huh?"
"Would have been smarter for you" a pause and he could just hear a slight hesitation as she continued, a hum in her voice, not the devil in his dreams "I'll admit it was fun though, I don't normally have anyone fight back like you did" he could hear the grin over the phone "one night with me usually does the trick"
"You're an acquired taste, I've heard" he leaned back, a smirk growing, but shut down as he noticed, a red wire, the familiar bomb peeking beside the camera.
This woman really was troublesome.
"Shame you don't have the time" she finished with a sigh "all dances must come to an end and this one is no different" he looked back into the camera, quiet for a brief moment, neither looking away from the other.
"One more thing" he plucked the cigarette from his lips, tossing it.
"And what's that Shikamaru?" last words a curtesy.
"This only makes check, Temari" he smirked back to the lens as he hung up.
Staring back at the camera, absently blowing out the smoke before he raised the gun and shot at it, blowing a hole through the lens, sparks faint as it began to smoke. She could no longer see and he was finally alone with his thoughts.
Only death will free you
Off to the distance a woman glared back into the smoking building, gaze shutting for a moment, the fire gone. A deep breath, relaxing her body, trying to forget his last words. She hated final words. He claimed that this was not over, only a check on her side, he must have really liked that Shogi game. The doubt was quickly forced away when the bombs went off, simple and her hands clean, thanks to her old friends.
Temark slipped out her flip phone and dialed, returning to watch the flickering flames, to hear the shrill scream of the blonde who followed him, his team would mourn, those that traveled in packs always did.
Someone answered.
"Is it done" a sly male voice, like a snake, not the man she had threatened days ago, but the one above him.
"He's dead" Temari confirmed over the phone, stoic.
"Good, no more distractions for Suna's greatest weapon" she bared the end of her lip, but reminded herself to keep calm, her ties were in danger of being severed, her anger must be restrained with this man "We can't have people knowing who you are, now can we dear?"
"No, we cannot" she shut her eyes, speaking quieter.
"The balance of Wind is in your hands now" he reminded her with a low hum of a laugh "Are you ready?" with a inhale, calm, the teals opened, cold and focused.
"One leg before we go for the head, she will venture out now and I will bring her to you" confirmed confidently, but hollow, emotionless.
"My old friend" she could practically hear the smile over the phone, but she found no amusement in it.
"You better hold your end of the deal" she tightened her glare into the rising smoke, speaking the name with her father's rage "Orochimaru"
"I always do, Lady Temari"
"He's dead"
Ino quickly wiped at her tear, putting her hands before her again as she reported back to Tsuande. Her childhood friend buried under the smoking rubble of the building, the explosion soon to be named a unsafe gas line sparked by a rouge flame.
"I'm sorry I allowed this to go on" Tsuande spoke quietly, voice hollow and solemn "I never would have approved the mission" she shook her head and shut her eyes "I'm sorry, Ino"
"It was a trap and he knew it" she let out her shaky breath, remembering the final words he spoke to her, the meaning behind them more than he had led on, but what was it "We also found something else?" She added with more volume, the good that came from the day.
"What?" Tsuande sat up.
"We found Sasuke"
"Where is he?" nearly standing from her desk, Tsuande showed her shock in her flawless features.
"He is with Sakura" Ino swallowed, calm she reminded herself, she could do this for him "she called after the building" she trailed off and wiped at her tear again, absently knowing the black mascaras would be smudged "after it exploded, she called and told us she found Sauske in front of her apartment door" looking down she continued, Tsuande letting out a breath in relief "unconscious, but he's suffering the symptoms of the venom from that scorpion, so it's safe to assume that he was held by the Suna agents. I don't know why they would release him" she looked up and took a breath, holding back the thick feeling in her throat.
"Did Shikamaru leave behind instructions?" Tsuande had settled again, taking in the information with a stoic disposition now, returning to her job at hand, her personal mission.
"Yes, he sent us out next target" she handed the file over to Tsuande, the only one that had been on Shikamaru's desk, he gave them their next mission "Sato Maasaki"
A heavy pause hit the room as things settled and secrets revealed themselves.
"Next time you see that woman" Tsunade glared into the file, swallowed down her own regret and slowly looked up, slamming the file shut "kill her" Ino nodded once, confirming confidently.
"Understood"