Chapter one; Starting over again.
What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he keep his head straight?! Almost every other thought was of her, and there was nothing he could do about it. His duty was to his village, and her duty was to hers. There was nothing he could do to change that. It seemed as if she had been teasing him the since the beginning, using him like a puppet how ever she saw fit. It was as if he was spell bound. Everything always came back to her, no matter how he tried to block her out. Everywhere he looked another image of her would penetrate his already clouded mind. What was it about this woman that seemed to do this to him? He had only just started really getting to know her, and all of a sudden he couldn't stop thinking about the woman.
Even his dreams were invaded by her. Nothing he seemed to do would get rid of the images that flashed through his disturbed mind. Nights spent in the park, the market, his house and her own. God, why did she have to leave? What was so compelling about her that made him not want her to leave? To him, she looked like a goddess.
Maybe that was the reason. Maybe that was why he couldn't forget. Perhaps it was just because he was male, and she, female. Perhaps it was simply for the reason that it was his first kiss?
He doubted it.
Though, he didn't really have the experience to know for sure. It had been over six months since she had left. Every chance he received, he would request that he be the one sent to Suna for the negotiations.
"Shikamaru," Tsunade started, elbows resting firmly on her desk while her hands held up her head, "Don't be such an idiot."
The shinobi flinched at the term and the bluntness of the statement, but stayed silent. He knew that Tsunade was not finished. His mission here was to convince her that he was the best candidate to travel to Suna, not to get himself scolded.
The Hokage continued. "You know I need you here. You probably know better than anyone else in this village how much help we need at the current moment." Tsunade lifted up her head, fixing him with a hard glare. "For the better recovery of Konoha, try not to obsess yourself over a woman that you can not be with."
Shikamaru gazed at the woman before him with a straight face. The comment had hurt; however, he did not show it. Oh God, did it hurt. Obsess? Was he really obsessing over her? Of course he was, he couldn't stop thinking about her!
Now that he thought about it, the problem struck him straight in the face. He couldn't be with her after all. Hell, they lived in two diverse villages, over three days run away.
Suddenly, Temari's face intruded his mind. Her blond hair, her blue-green eyes. God, he even remembered the first time he had seen her with her golden hair loose. He hadn't realized how long it actually was. Of course, being Temari, she had insisted that he himself take his hair down. Shikamaru inwardly smiled at the pleasant memory. After a few minutes of arguing, he had ended up with his hair binder suddenly torn through with a kunai. He hadn't comprehended how long his hair had gotten. More things ran through his mind. How they met, their first battle… Their first kiss… How could he have tried to block her out?! Something was terribly wrong with him.
"But—" Shikamaru started, he didn't want to give this up just yet.
"Shikamaru!" She pulled him away from what he was just about to say with a shout. "Halt this nonsense immediately!" She was irritated now. He could tell. Small strands of her long bond hair fell over her face.
Shikamaru froze. Had he just done what he thought he had done?
Tsunade steamed, slamming the front of her palms onto her dark wooden desk. "This thing that you have going on with Temari has gone on for long enough. Over the past eight months you have been slacking off your duties as a chuunin, pushing important assignments all the way to the back of your mind, and even ignoring essential informational meetings, all because of this imaginary love! I will not—no, I can not ignore it any longer."
Had he really been doing all of that? He hadn't even realized it. Wait… What was she going to do about it? Shikamaru focused intently with eyes wide at the frowning Hokage. Oh God… He already knew.
Tsunade shook her head back and fourth with eyes closed. "I forbid you from seeing her anymore."
Shikamaru's immediate response was a gapping mouth and a look of denial on his shocked face. "But, you can't do that!" The shinobi shouted. What had made him so suddenly react like that? He didn't know. All he knew was that, whatever it took, he would get to see Temari again.
Tsunade's anger was back, and it showed as she stood from her desk in a flash and glared at him. "Yes. I. Can." She put meaning on every word. "As Hokage, I will make the decisions on what is best for the village, and what you think and feel have no power over my judgments."
Shizune stood quietly in the back of the room, waiting to see what was to happen to the young chuunin. She held Ton Ton gently in her arms as she continued to view the... well… discussion.
No, he wasn't going to let her judge his life. "Excuse me, Tsunade-sama, it is not your place to decide who and who I am not permitted to see." Shikamaru stated firmly.
"Yes, Shikamaru, it is. When it is involved with the well being of this village, which, may I remind you, I am the Hokage of, it is my place to decide." Tsunade shot back, even more sternly than before.
Before Shikamaru had a chance to respond, the Hokage interrupted. "My decision is final, you may leave now."
The young chuunin just stood there, shocked and a bit angered at the outcome of the conversation. Again, before he could comment, Tsunade shot back, "Now!"
And that was it. There was simply nothing else he could do to change her mind. Tsunade was very well known for her stubbornness, and, if you went too deep into her skin, her violence.
Shikamaru shut his eyes tight and bowed. "Yes, Hokage-sama."
The boy turned and left without another word, gently closing the large double doors behind him.
As the entrance shut, Shizune slowly made her way over to the Hokage.
"You know, Tsunade-sama, you didn't have to—"
Tsunade sighed, resting her head against her arms again, eyes closed. "Don't, Shizune." She stated simply, keeping her face down. "Just don't."
Shizune frowned, placing Ton Ton onto the carpeted flooring as she set her own palms on the large wooden desk. "You didn't have to go that far."
The Hokage scowled. Sure, Shizune was the most trustworthy person she knew, but it seemed as if she still treated her as a friend, rather than the Hokage sometimes. God, the shinobi in Konoha were so damned opinionated!
"Listen, Shizune, what I did was for the best of the village. I do not need to explain myself to you, nor anyone else for that matter. So please, just forget about the subject." Tsunade ordered, raising her head to look her subordinate in the eye.
Unfortunately, Shizune didn't back down as she had planed. Staring straight back at her, she gripped the edge of the desk. "After what he has been through, do you plan on making it even worse?" She shot.
Tsunade flinched slightly. Even though Ino and Choji were both in the same team, Asuma's death had most definitely hit Shikamaru the hardest of the three.
"What was I supposed to do, Shizune?!" Tsunade fumed. "I don't think anyone really knows how much we need that boy right now, and with him fanaticizing over a girl almost every second he's conscious, it makes it extremely difficult to trust him to concentrate on something." Tsunade sighed. "It's not as if he can see her anyway, living in two different villages. Besides, it's just a childish infatuation. He'll get over it soon." God, she didn't feel like dealing with anyone right now. "Please leave now."
Shizune knew when enough was enough. Bowing slightly to the Hokage, she gently picked up Ton Ton and made her way through the doorway without a word.
"Hey, Shikamaru! You okay?" Naruto called to the young Chuunin, which wasn't really necessary being as they were standing right next to each other.
Shikamaru flinched at the volume of Naruto's voice. Was he always so damned loud?!... Of course he was, he was Naruto…
"Yes, Naruto, I'm fine." The slightly older shinobi replied as they made their ways through the village.
All around them people crowded the streets. Noises ran through one ear on and out the next, unimportant conversations that did not involve him in the slightest way what so ever. From one step to the next, right left, right left, right left… Nothing was what it used to be… There wasn't a day anymore where he could simply leave and lounge underneath the shaded presence of the clouds, staring indolently at them for hours upon hours on end. That was only four weeks, three days, eighteen hours, forty-five minuets and forty-six seconds ago… forty-seven… forty-eight… forty-nine…
"Yo, Shikamaru?" Naruto shouted again from his side. Seriously, this guy could become the death of his hearing.
Shikamaru turned to the shorter shinobi, an insignificantly, though still noticeably, irritated look set upon his features. "What is it, Naruto?" He replied with a minor frown.
Naruto mimicked him. "Hey, what's with that face?!" He demanded furiously, attracting unwanted attention Shikamaru was not entirely thankful for.
"It was nothing, Naruto, please calm down." Shikamaru reassured him, patted him firmly on the shoulder, and then continued on his way home. When it seemed as if the blond wasn't following anymore, Shikamaru glanced back. "Hey, didn't you have something to ask me?"
It seemed as if a huge explosion went off in the shinobi's head as he remembered. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" Naruto exclaimed as he rushed up to his comrade. "Gezz, you make me forget things all the time! Always with your smart ass comments and those other things! Bastard…"
Shikamaru couldn't help but grin at the complement. "I try." He said more to himself, really. And besides, Naruto couldn't hear him, due to the fact that he was still rambling on and on about how he used to large words, and that half of the time Naruto had no idea what they even meant.
Just then, Naruto paused, staring with an odd look of loss on his face at something behind him. Shikamaru turned with curiosity. His eyes spread wide in slight shock when he spotted three Shinobi from Suna standing there, and from the looks of it, they were heading towards the Hokage's office. The first one he recognized very well, being that they took the chuunin exam together, and not to mention, he was Temari's younger brother.
The puppet user turned his head and grinned, nodding as he continued with his other companions. With his beloved puppets and random purple tattoos, he looked exactly the way he did the last time they saw each other. The second man was just a guard from Suna. Shikamaru couldn't even remember his rank, let alone his name, which concerned him a tiny bit. Damn, he hated it when he forgot things. What made it even worse was that he didn't even recognize the third person at all. Was he new or something? Clad in the long brownish-tan robes of the desert, only half his face showing due to a white cloth hanging from the top of his turban, the man completely ignored him and looked straight to the blond beside him.
Shikamaru turned back to his companion to see a slight glimmer in his eyes right as he jumped up and pointed at the individual. Just as Naruto was about to shout something out, Kankuro gave him a quick death glare, shutting the boy up completely. Naruto only laughed and waved with a slightly nervous grin as the three disappeared into the crowd.
As the last glimpse of the three dissolved, Shikamaru turned to the shorter Shinobi. "Hey, Naruto, did you know him?" He asked, indicating the direction the Shinobi had gone with his head.
At first he looked completely confused. "Know who?" He replied, cocking his head slightly to the side.
Shikamaru sighed, lifting his right hand up to the side of his head. "That shinobi, Naruto. The one that was staring straight at you, remember?"
Naruto burst out with laughter, grabbing his stomach with both arms and leaning over to suppress the fit of giggles. "Of course I know him, idiot!" He answered, still trying, although failing, to keep the laughter inside. "Shit, and they call me stupid!"
Shikamaru was extremely surprised at his friend's sudden outburst, and a bit more than offended when one of the most dimwitted Shinobi in the village called him stupid. What the hell was so funny? He thought, frowning even farther.
"You know, he's Temari's brother—" Naruto quickly shut his mouth. Turning to the side, he spotted something. "Hey, look over there!" He changed the subject. "Let's go get something to eat, I'm starving!"
The building he was pointing to was a small new restaurant in the part of the village, and didn't look half bad, though he didn't know why they needed another barbeque place in Konoha. They had plenty. And that was all beside the point, which was, of course, the fact that Naruto had things mixed up again.
"No, Naruto. I was talking about the other one. You know the short one on the far left? He was giving you a strange look." Shikamaru clarified.
Trying to stray away from the subject even farther, Naruto said, "Hey, I was going to tell you something, remember?" He asked.
Shikamaru sighed with defeat. He guessed it wasn't that important anyway, he could always find out who it was later. "Fine, Naruto. Shoot."
"Umm, I forgot again."
"Hokage-sama, the shinobi from Suna have arrived." Shizune announced as she lead the three into Tsunade's office.
"So now, what is it that you require, Kankuro?" Tsunade asked from behind her large wooden desk, trying inconspicuously to wipe away a small blotch of ink that had smeared onto her face from the paper work below her.
Kankuro strode up farther into the room and bowed slightly to the woman in front of him. "It has been discussed and requested by the council of elders in Suna that the village of Konoha send a representative to become a member of our board to better our alliance." The shinobi reported, coming back up to face her.
Tsunade was quite a bit shocked at first, but realized that the idea sounded reasonable. "Of course, has your council proposed any requests as to who should be sent, or do they have no particular preference?" The blond asked, straightening herself out a bit more.
Kankuro looked back to one of his companions for a moment before continuing. "Actually, Tsunade-sama, the Kazekage himself has made a personal request as to who it should be." He finished, looking the Hokage straight in the eyes. He could already tell she knew from the sudden look in her face.
Tsunade's face hardened. "And who might that be now, Kankuro?" She inquired politely, yet with a sort of venom that nobody could miss.
"Nara Shikamaru, Tsunade-sama." He replied quickly, not wanting to anger her, though not wanting to return home without an attempt either.
"Denied." Her answer was abrupt, though not entirely unexpected. The book in front of her was slammed shut with force as her eyes focused on the three.
Kankuro stumbled. "But, Hokage-sama—"
"Shut up, Kankuro." The shinobi beside him scolded.
The puppet user closed his mouth immediately.
The one who spoke threw back the cloth over his head to reveal spiky red hair and fiery turquoise eyes. "I have had about enough of this." Gaara stated as both Shizune and Tsunade looked on with surprise at his presence.
The Kazekage turned to Tsunade with an unemotional look resting upon his face. "The shinobi I ask for this job is who he is."
Tsunade still found it highly unlikely that they would be able to convince her against her answer, so she played along. "Listen, Kazekage-sama. Due to certain circumstances, Nara Shikamaru is unfit to uphold this mission that you request of him."
Gaara's face stayed emotionless. "And is there a specific reason as to why that is?" He asked stoically.
"I would not be denying his ability to complete the mission if I didn't." She replied.
"Then may I please hear the reason so that I may judge whether it is legitimate or not?"
Tsunade tried hard not to scowl at the youth. He could be quite tiring, the Kazekage. "I think, Kazekage-sama, that it is my duty to judge whether or not my shinobi are prepared or not to uphold a mission. So if you would, chose a different shinobi for the task or leave it for me to decide."
The Kazekage's face hardened. "I believe, Hokage-sama, that I have already chosen the most suitable shinobi for the task, it is simply your blindness that withholds this knowledge from you, apparently."
"You know, Naruto, simply because we came to a nice restaurant for a change it doesn't mean you have to buy every single thing on the menu." Shikamaru stated, watching as his blond friend gorged himself on almost every thing all at once. "I swear, you get more and more like Choji every day." He added when he noticed that he wasn't listening. The boy completely ignored him as he continued on his feast.
"Shikamaru-kun?"
He turned around to find Ino standing near the door way of the restaurant. She waved him over.
After a quick glance back at his still feasting buddy, he decided that Naruto wouldn't mind much if he went suddenly missing for a while. It was getting late at any rate; his mother would throw a fit if he returned home belated.
Shikamaru silently slid away from the booth they were sitting at and briskly made his way over to the entrance where Ino was sill waiting for him, a worried look placed on her features. The moment Shikamaru arrived at where his friend was standing she left in silence, signaling him to follow. He was a bit confused for a moment, but made the decision to follow her anyway. For ten minutes the two of them walked in silence. It was than that Shikamaru decided to break the quietness that stood between them. He halted, waiting for her to do the same. Once she did, he asked, "where are we going?"
Ino's face suddenly became uncharacteristically serious. "Hey, Shikamaru?"
"Hmm?"
Ino sighed slightly, leaning up against a fence. "The Hokage-sama had issued an order to you, and has asked me to deliver it."
Shikamaru nodded a tiny bit, wondering why Tsunade wouldn't have told him herself.
Ino stayed silent for another moment before she continued. "You are to leave for Suna first thing in the morning. The other shinobi from the sand will be your escort."
A/N. What do you think so far? Plz tell me! I know it has been a while, but I finally finished the chapter, and felt like putting it up as soon as possible. Let me know if you want me to continue or not. See ya! hugs