Shinobi and Kunoichi alike are greatly affected when war breaks out; This war was no exception. Shikamaru had felt this particularly; Still gripping with the death of his beloved teacher Asuma, he found it hard waging a war he felt he was never winning nor losing, but killing many in the process. Every time a man fell in his division, he saw that man's life flash before his eyes. Did he have family? Shikamaru saw the wife and children's eyes dimming as the news reached them. Did he have dreams? He saw the man except his jonin position – had it only been for Shikamaru, that badge could have been any shinobi's who fell.

This was a problem for Shikamaru; Tortured by these visions, his battles were often like fighting blind – he was there in presence, but never in mind. Still skilled enough to fight against the average Shinobi, Shikamaru never had much to worry about. Against a jonin or even a particularly skilled chuunin, Shikamaru had been bested in ways he should never have been.

This was where Shikamaru was now; Waking up in a tent, he sat up much too quickly for his depleted state, grunting as pain overtook his body, "What a drag.."

A small 'hmph' came from the corner of the room. He didn't even have to look to ask, "How bad this time, Temari?"

Temari pushed herself off the wall and walked over to stare down at him, "Depleted chakra and a nice gash in your side, you lazy-ass."

It was Shikamaru's turn to growl at her. Before he spoke though, his intelligence overrode his testy attitude and murmured softly, "Thanks."

"Forget it," She shrugged, "Just stop relying on me. I can't keep saving your sorry-ass every time you fall in battle."

"Not expected," Shikamaru muttered, "Just watch yourself."

This could have been a conversation with minimal hidden layers had one never known about all the conversation in the past; Battles fought upon battles fought and Shikamaru tended to fall more often than any other nin – never serious enough to kill him, but it had been getting progressively worse, as the nightmares became more horrifying and more distracting.

And Temari never failed to spot him and make her way to him. As much as she never spoke too positively of him herself, she'd be damned if she let him be put down from the mouth of another. She knew him much too well from their days as genin, understood how intelligent, and what a skilled Shinobi he was. She also knew him and how badly the death of Asuma had affected him; She had even extended words of apology and comfort during the occasion when she witnessed his father challenging Shikamaru's readiness to be a ninja. In a certain way she understood how he was suffering, and in other ways, she could never imagine losing someone so close to her. She did know she would blame it on herself like him though, and she admired his strength through it all.

This had been the first time she had outwardly told him he needed to step it up, whether it was casually or not. This had been the worst wound yet, with a recovery time of days – she knew Shika would up tomorrow, anyway – and she feared that perhaps, if something didn't snap him out of it soon, he would get killed out there. It had been the first time she considered losing him, and even she wasn't prepared for the cold spikes sent down her spine from the thought.