The forest was too quiet. No one was around, she could tell.
Sigh...
"It took you so long," said a familiar shinobi of Konoha, yawning in laziness. "I've been waiting here; I thought you'd be passing here yesterday."
Without waiting for Shikamaru to stand, she continued walking, the male following her after. "I didn't ask you to."
"It's my job. It's a drag, but I have to."
The yellow-haired woman continued walking, eyes keen on the road. It was a moment of silence for the two of them until they reached the gates open for the arriving ally. "So...," hands inside his pockets, he proceeded. "How's Suna?"
"Pretty fine. They are doing their assigned jobs; no intruder at the moment. At least, when I left," explained Temari. "And Konoha? I missed the breeze here."
Just the breeze? Wait. What the hell am I thinking?
The teen mentally cleared his throat. "Good, good. Pretty much the same as Suna's. No news about intruders, so far," replied Shikamaru.
From afar was a scream of the name of the male Temari was with. "Shikamaru!" Another blonde female was on her way to meet Shikamaru, her right arm shaking on the air as her sign of saying 'hello' to the two. Temari and Shikamaru stopped on their tracks as the younger blonde reached them. "Wow, if it isn't Temari!" She said, then immediately glanced at Shikamaru. She made eye and mouth gestures toward Temari, but Shikamaru kept refusing.
The cruelest kunoichi could tell they were trying to say something to other, but chose not to interfere. She was about to speak and say she'll leave and escort herself to her hotel when Ino began another question. "Are you here to see the Hokage?"
"Not necessarily, but I will do that too. I am here to see if the village is progressing well, if the medicines are enough to sustain all injured people at once, and the supply of weapons are still usable or if they need replacement."
"And you, Shikamaru?"
Temari was surprised Ino didn't know anything. She knew the female dressed in purple was one of his team mates, so she somehow expected that she's knowledgeable about the issue.
"I was ordered to escort this lady over here," he said cheaply. "We were on our way to her temporary hotel when you suddenly came in, so..," the male stopped his words.
The three continued walking towards the mentioned amenity. "Isn't her hotel located a bit of north from here?" Asked Ino, blinking in confusion.
"Yeah, we're going to escort her and then wait for her outside. I have to be with her almost everywhere just to ensure her safety. Konoha wouldn't want an ally's vacation be ruined by some random intruder," explained the latter, which Ino just listened on.
Her hotel isn't much of any difference compared to the other buildings built in the village. As soon as they have arrived, all of them stopped on their tracks simultaneously. "I'll be off shortly," confirmed Temari, then turned towards the sliding door of the establishment. "It's okay if you can't wait, or you have something else to do. I can manage-"
"It's my job, I'm going to wait," replied Shikamaru. How troublesome.
When the oldest of the Sand Siblings had fully entered the amenity, Ino immediately turned to Shikamaru. Her brows were furrowed in annoyance, her right hand was formed into a fist. It would seem she was about to debate about something. "Shikamaru," called the young one, Shikamaru turning to her in an instant.
The male teen's right foot was leaning against the wall of the hotel, his arms crossed over his chest. "What-"
"Aren't you gonna do it yet? This is the fourth time she visited Konoha! And you have given your fourth chance!" Argued Ino. "Don't be a coward, Shikamaru. That's definitely not you. Work before someone else gets her!"
He sighed. "Ino, I'm not even pretty sure if she feels the same way," contradicted the teen as he once again sighed in annoyance.
"Then, what? Watch from a distance while someone is making her his?" Fired Ino back. "Shikamaru, you're smart enough. You know what to do! Why don't you use your brain?" Ino doesn't understand the hardship of a man when it comes to courting.
Exasperated, Shikamaru had gotten himself off from leaning on the wall, facial expression was the usual. "...That sounds easy, because you're a woman. If you're a man, you'll find it hard to court someone. Especially if you don't have the slightest idea if she even feels the same way or not."
"Temari is the person I'm-" his words were stopped in the mid-air.
The sliding door opened.
Both parties looked at the kunoichi who had just gotten out from the hotel. Her vert hues were looking back and forth, to and from Ino and Shikamaru. "What is it about me?"
"I-It's..."
Quickly, Ino backed him up. "His going to escort, Temari. You're the person Shikamaru's going to escort around Konoha!" She said, the most lame excuse she had gotten in mind. A forced, nervous smile was let out from her, unsure of what to do or say if ever Temari fires back another question.
Without giving much of an attention about it, Temari proceeded forward. "Let's go."
"To where?"
Before Temari could push another reply, Ino took this chance to leave them be. "U-Um, I'd leave you two alone now. I got things to do! So, see you when I see you!" She said, waving a goodbye.
There was a second of silence between the two of them just when Ino left. After the said second had passed, Temari spoke again, not turning to Shikamaru at all. "She's acting really weird today. Did something happen?"
Remembering the conversation he had with his teammate made him execute a small blush across his cheeks. "There's... There's none," then looked away. He had his hands inside his pockets like the usual. But it was moving inside as it fought with the nervousness its master was feeling; it was currently fighting the urge to hold and feel Temari's hand together with his. But he knew today isn't the right time.
But... When?
To wipe off the awkward atmosphere, at least for Shikamaru, he started another statement. "The Hokage is out from her quarters right now. She assigned me to fix pile of papers she left on her desk. It's troublesome, but I think I wouldn't be able to escort you at the moment," the male scratched the back of his head.
"I'll help you."
"Wait, are you serious?"
She turned to him, facial expression was indeed serious. "Do I look like I'm joking?"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it."
"Besides, I got nothing to do at the moment. Helping you out would also help me let the time pass...without wasting every second of it," she said.
Good idea. If she comes with me, two of my missions would be completed in no time--escorting her, then fixing the papers. He scoffed, amused of himself. This is like hitting two birds with one stone.
---
Soon as they entered the room, there were indeed pile of papers on the desk, almost scattered around. One strong blow of the wind from the open window of the amenity would bring these papers on the ground of their village in no time. "What a drag," he complained once again. But proceeded to do his missions.
Unfortunately to Shikamaru, only two seats were available for them to use. The other seat aside from the Hokage's was resting beside it. Shikamaru sat on the Hokage's seat provided for him, and motioned for Temari to sit beside him. "Since there are no other spaces we could take, I guess you'll be sitting here," he cleared.
"I can see that," replied Temari.
The male grumbled a bit and began holding and sorting the papers.
"What should I do?" She asked, curious. Temari just really wanted to help him out...and the village.
"You're a visitor, and at the same, our observer here. I couldn't afford tiring you out. You still got things to-"
"What should I do?" She repeated, assuring Shikamaru she'd be alright with all of these things lined up for her.
Shikamaru sighed in disbelief. "Okay, okay. We just need to sort things out. I mean, uh," he cut off, sort of letting unnecessary words slip from his mouth. "We need to sort these papers before she comes."
"She? The Hokage?"
"Yeah," the man nodded.
It took them a few minutes before another action had happened. It was silent between the two of them, a sign that they were concentrating on the jobs that were assigned to them. On the corner of Shikamaru's hues, he could see Temari's head falling, then raising after. From what he could tell, she was feeling sleepy. Her three-day journey from Suna to Konoha had most probably tired her enough.
He couldn't help but smile. Man, she's really cute. Wait. What did I just-? The teen mentally slapped himself. I've been thinking about these things lately, especially ones involving her. Is this really because...? Shikamaru continued focusing on folding the papers and sorting it out when he suddenly felt a thing land on his left shoulder.
Temari's head.
She's in deep sleep. The blonde wasn't snoring at all, but the man could tell she needed rest. He chuckled at the thought, and let her sleep. Since it was afternoon, Shikamaru couldn't help but yawn. Slowly, his head fell on Temari's, sleeping after. I've been wanting this kind of feeling before... He thought. I couldn't believe she's the one who could do this to me. Temari, I...
The two had definitely enjoyed the feeling. Jounins had passed for hours now, but they didn't try to open the door, so no one found them on that state--slacking off in office hours. The silence made by the two was broken by a tilt on the door knob, leading to the Hokage's headquarters.
Tsunade's voice could be heard outside.
As soon as she opened the door, an image of the two appeared in front of her. She couldn't explain, but a smile suddenly carved itself on her lips. Dan... I miss doing things like that with you... Tsunade removed the tears forming in the brim of her eyes, and acted tough as her hues pointed at the two. Were you able to tell her, Shikamaru? It might be too late.