Rain and Shadows: part two

Echolock

All the usual disclaimers apply, I don't own any of this, so don't sue me.

"This" is talking, 'this' is thinking, (this) is internal argument. So you know.

I also figured out when this is. Shikamaru is about 18. That gives you an approximate time frame.

The trees were thick in this part, tall and powerful. The twists and turns you would have to walk through would confuse anyone not willing to memorize or mark the path to return. Shikamaru stood in the middle of a small clearing where the sky was visible, looking up with a deeper frown than usual on his face. There weren't many clouds that day, nothing to watch. So he brought his gaze back down and stared at a nearby tree.

His thoughts were in disarray, a very abnormal state of affairs for him, but that's what she did to him. 'I can't just talk to her (coward) I can't tell her I like her (fool) I can't tell her why that kiss was so upsetting (imbecile)' His mind whirled, as fast as it always did, but in chaos, thoughts flashing across the forefront of his mind barely long enough to be recognized, let alone be useful. 'Why (youloveher) can't I (admitit) think? Why can't (youdo) I do it?' He sank against a nearby tree, his head in his hands. His face no longer merely had a frown on it, it was a grimace. His normally complacent mood shattered, he let out a scream that had been building up inside him since the moment she had told him why she had kissed him (just an experiment) and he couldn't get it out of his head. His reaction time was shot, he couldn't talk (not that he did much anyways) and he kept losing at shogi. Half the time he couldn't even finish the game, he was so distracted. 'I'll talk to her! (that won't work) Ask her why she really kissed me! (It will fail miserably) Maybe she was lying (you're gonna be crushed) I have to (just forget about it)'

He stayed there for a long time, thinking and coming to the same conclusions (she won't listen) over and over again. When he finally got up again, the sun was sinking below the horizon, the sky a brilliant red. He began walking towards his home, not paying attention, his feet taking the turns automatically. He had clearly been here many times before and memorized the route. When he finally stopped, he looked around as if he didn't know how he had gotten there. Then he realized where he was. 'Her apartment.' He thought. 'I should leave before-' He didn't finish the thought. She called his name first. 'She notices me.' He sighed. 'Too late.' He turned, forcing the grimace away into his normal frown. "Yeah?"

"I haven't seen you since we got back from that mission! How have you been?" Temari shouted, jumping down out of her window, not wanting to bother with the stairs.

'Well, I realized that I'm kind of in love with you.' "Not bad. Not feeling all that well lately, though," he said, winning the prize for understatement of the year.

"Sick?" she said, concern evident in her face.

'No, just extraordinarily upset.' "Maybe. I'll go talk to Tsudane, see what she says."

Temari looked at him. He was pale, and his eyes were blood shot. His hands were shaking just enough to be noticeable. She did the first thing that came to her head: she grabbed his hands and dragged him inside.

He panicked. "Wait, what are you doing? Troublesome woman! Where are you taking me?"

"Upstairs. You look like crap, and you're not going to make far if you're as sick as you look. You stay here and sleep and I'll go get Tsudane." She dragged him into her apartment and put him on her couch. He resisted for a moment before giving in and let her guide him to the couch.

'Wait a minute,' he thought as he sat down. 'If she goes to get Tsudane, she'll know I'm not sick. She'll want to know why I'm so off. And she'll figure it out, even if I don't say anything. She's not stupid. Damn, how troublesome.' He shook his head briefly, a smirk on his face. 'I should just tell her now. (bad idea) She'll get pissed if she finds out later.'

She was walking to the door when he called her name. He said it softly, but without the half yawn that he usually said it with. There was something else there. She turned and saw him sitting, his hands in the usual position that he used to think. His eyes were open, though, and looking right at her.

"What?"

"I have something to say." 'Damn, I can't think of how to put this. I'm going to have to wing it. How troublesome…' He hesitated before saying anything else. "I'm not sick. I'm stressed out. I'm mad. And I'm confused."

"You, confused? I didn't know it was possible," she said, her voice dripping sarcasm.

"Troublesome," he muttered before continuing. "I've been feeling like this since about a week ago. Since the mission."

She looked confused for a second before she realized what he was talking about. Her eyes went wide and she drew in a sharp breath.

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I haven't been able to concentrate. I nearly broke my arm training because my reaction time is down to nothing. So just tell me, why did you kiss me?"

"Because…" she hesitated. 'Should I say it?' "Because I wanted to. Because you never would have kissed me, so I had to do something. And because you're always so quiet, it's the only thing I could think of to do to get a reaction."

He stood and walked over to her. "That's it? That was your whole reasoning behind confusing me, upsetting me, and getting me hurt?" He looked down at her, his eyes narrowed.

She smirked at him. "No." Too late to react. Her hands had already grabbed the back of his head, one tangled in his hair. She pulled his face down and kissed him. Again, he was surprised. This time, though, he kissed her back.

'Maybe this really could work,' he thought, smiling. The broke apart and looked at each other. He was still pale and looked a little sick still, but his color was returning already. It was a start.

Yes, I know it ended suddenly. I just had to finish this, and I didn't feel like dragging it out anymore. I apologize.

My original plan for this story was to have him actually get sick (stress can lower you immune systems effectiveness) but decided to be nice to them.

So I did finish this, and I'm glad, because now it won't bug me any more.

Oh, and I have decided something. Any story from me you see from me within the same series (like Naruto or Bleach) is connected to the other ones I write from that series, unless I say otherwise. So My December is loosely connected to this (read it, look for Shikamaru and Temari in it; you'll see what I mean) The connections are not so great that you have to read all my stories to understand them, but I will be adding in little things, references to other stories in this world. Small things, like quoting something from something else. My December is after this one, though, so there's nothing yet.

-Peace

-Echolock