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Shadowplay and Hurricanes	By : CosmicStorm14 Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 2912 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto, including any of the characters, locations or themes in this fiction. I receive no money for publishing this fiction.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
There is no smut scene in this chapter, this one is purely for the story.

Things had not been easy for Shikamaru since returning from his last mission. The opportunity to exercise his body and mind in the context of real danger had been very beneficial, but what should have left him feeling strong and rejuvenated had instead left him frustrated. He yearned for another excuse to leave the Leaf, to see something of the world and have a goal to achieve; a finish line to work towards. As it was, each day in the Leaf passed him by without joy or accomplishment. True, his easy life wasn't full of danger or strife. It was worse than that. It was boring.
A year ago he may have relished in the chance to do so little with his days, but now it was as though he could feel his life slipping away into the past, he could feel himself wasting away and it was painful. His very being was growing stale, watching his days drip away, pointless. Perhaps this was what his parents might have called a midlife crisis – the idea of having wasted too much of his life already and being powerless to claim that time back. Or perhaps this was just what happens to someone when they stay with a person they don't really love, all the while counting down the days until the one they yearn for exits their life forever.
Would you have me back if I left her? The words echoed in his mind. Until he had spoken them, it was easy to convince himself that Shiho was who he truly wanted. Now even being around her was a betrayal of her trust, when these words screamed around his mind every time she kissed him. No one deserved to be someone's back-up plan – especially not Shiho. She was a good person, and he cared for her enough to know that she deserved better than him.
He had thought of breaking things off. The earlier it happens, the less painful it will be for both of us, right? But he had never quite found the right time or place. He enjoyed her company, and although he might have chosen Temari over Shiho, he would still have chosen Shiho over loneliness. Still, he had been more reserved than usual around her, and it had not gone unnoticed. To make it up to her in some way, he had offered to take her out for a meal that evening. Just the two of them, to spend some quality time together and try to find a little sparkle between them again. To ease his guilt. He wanted to be good to her, truly.
She seemed to be thankful. He had dressed up for her that evening – black shirt, red tie – and offered her his arm to cling to as they walked. The undercurrent of tension between them was well hidden beneath her laughter. All seemed to be going well enough, until Shiho spotted a friend of hers walking towards them in the other direction.
"Tatsuo!" She called to him, leaving Shikamaru's arm and jogging up to meet him. "How have you been?" He heard her say as she reached him. The figure picked her up off the ground in a greeting hug and she squealed, thumping him on the shoulders until he put her down. Another man may have been jealous of this display but Shikamaru knew how Shiho behaved when she liked someone, and this was not it. That was not to say the sight in front of him didn't concern him in another way. He didn't recognise Tatsuo, but the girl he was with was all too familiar.
Shikamaru walked on towards them as slowly as possible to put off the awkward meeting, but there was no avoiding it. He stared at the ground, gritting his teeth, wishing he was somewhere else.
"Who's this?" Shiho asked her friend, gesturing to the girl stood to his side.
"Temari and I were just going for dinner together."
"Oh, Temari! Of course! From the Hidden Sand Village, right?" Shiho smiled at Temari who gave her a polite nod. "Haven't we met before?"
"The Kaze Summit last summer," Temari agreed.
Shikamaru was kicking at the dirt ground, his hands in his pockets. He wanted nothing more than for this meeting to be over so he could get on with his evening in peace. This was such a drag. Why did she even have to still be in the Leaf Village? Why did she seem to turn up everywhere he went? Why could he not just get rid of her?
"Why don't we double date?" Shiho offered, to Shikamaru's dismay. "It'd be great to catch up with both of you! Shikamaru and I are going to the restaurant by the hospital." If it hadn't been so rude, Shikamaru would have sighed loudly and rolled his head back on his shoulders in grievance. To keep the peace, he simply stood there quietly, hoping the other couple would say no.
"That sounds great! We'll come with you!" He known Tatsuo for less than a minute and already hated him.
"We're hardly dressed for it," Temari protested. She had been as quiet as Shikamaru was, obviously silently hating every moment of this. "That's a fancy place, and we were only planning on barbeque."
But Tatsuo insisted that they had no enforced dress code, so Temari resigned to feign enthusiasm and Shikamaru had no choice but to agree as well.
Shiho and Tatsuo seemed to have plenty to talk about and walked slightly ahead of Shikamaru and Temari on the way to dinner, leaving the two to walk together in a silent bitterness. They had no issue being allowed entry in casual dress, and the kindly waiting staff were able to alter their reservation from a table for two to a table for four. They took their seats and were handed their menus.
Shikamaru kept his eyes buried in his menu so he could more easily pretend he was elsewhere. Tatsuo was slightly shorter than him, but broader across the shoulder. He had shaggy dark hair and perfectly smooth skin. Shikamaru was only half-listening to his conversation with Shiho, but picked out one piece of information which would explain why he didn't recognise him: Tatsuo was ex-Anbu black ops. Just like Kakashi. I guess Temari has a type, he thought. This one must have quite a pain threshold. He wondered if her name was already carved into his skin.
Shiho put her arm through his again, knocking his train of thought. He looked up to his company and accidentally caught Temari's gaze. They stared daggers of fire for a second before the tension was broken by a waiter coming by with a tray of their drinks. While he was thanking them and placing their drinks on the table, Shikamaru noticed Temari put a hand under the table and Tatsuo turn to look at her with a smile. She had her hand on his thigh, and wasn't even trying to be subtle about it. The contact wasn't for her date's benefit, but for Shikamaru's.
Seeing this, he realised there was no need for him to avoid being affectionate with Shiho in front of them. He put an arm around her waist and she responded by shuffling in close to him.
Temari turned to her own date and brush his hair behind his ear to lean in and whisper something to him that made him drop his jaw briefly and put a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. She laughed like a naughty child behind his hand. She's enjoying this, Shikamaru realised. She's trying to hurt me again to save her pride.
He put a hand to the back of Shiho's neck and turned her face to his to kiss her deeply on the mouth. He couldn't resist opening his eyes a fraction to see if Temari had seen that she had lost this battle, but when he looked across the table, she had met his move and had her tongue down Tatsuo's throat. More, she was watching Shikamaru to make sure he'd seen.
"What has gotten into you!" Shiho blushed and giggled as she pulled away from his kiss. She might have actually expected an answer if their waiter hadn't returned just then to take their orders. The two couples pulled away from each other to order, and fell back into conversation when the waiter left.
"So, Shiho!" Temari began. She was speaking to his date, but looking Shikamaru straight in the eyes with the most vicious false-smile he had ever seen. "Tell me all about how you and Shikamaru got together."
Shiho blushed and stumbled shyly over her words but was keen to tell of their work together in the cypher core and how Shikamaru had finally confessed his feelings for her. All the while, she entangled herself around his arm.
"Shiho, you're just going to love being with Shikamaru. That irritating, out-of-tune humming thing he does is so special." Temari was vicious but he had dirt on her, too. He wasn't about to let her win this.
"Tatsuo, have you heard Temari snoring yet?" He hated everything about the man already, but would pretend to engage him in conversation if it meant beating Temari at her own game. "There's nothing as great as being kept up at night by that chainsaw rattle she makes, drooling on her pillow."
She scowled at him for a second before remembering her role and painting a smile across her face again. "Oh, you kidder! You're just being modest, forgetting how to tell everyone how you talk in your sleep. That's not creepy at all."
"I hope you like feet, Tatsuo, because Temari has a real thing for having her toes sucked on."
"Shiho, you know the sexiest thing about Shikamaru? That gross jaw-cracking thing he does before he cums."
"Has Temari drawn blood from you yet, Tatsuo? Because she's maimed just about everyone from here to Sunigakure." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew he had gone too far. The evil smile fell from Temari's mouth and he knew she didn't want to play anymore. If this were a physical battle he'd be bloody by now, but here wit was her only weapon and he had disarmed her.
"Would you excuse me?"
She rose slowly from the table and Shikamaru thought she might have abandoned them completely by heading for the door, but instead she went the restrooms. The table fell silent. At last, Shiho followed Temari, leaving Shikamaru and Tatsuo alone. It was Tatsuo who spoke.
"Wow, she's a wild one, isn't she?"
"That's one word for the woman…" Shikamaru rested his head back against his hands and tried to calm himself down. But somehow it was difficult to loosen his anger with Tatsuo in front of him.
"She's no woman!" He laughed. "She's a hurricane in a dress."
"Temari is a person," and I will not have you dehumanise her like that.
"I've never had a Sand ninja before. Always wanted to tick that one of the list."
Shikamaru hated him more with every word. What was it he had been thinking recently about missing the danger of combat? Tatsuo was ex-Anbu. Is that enough of a challenge for you, Shikamaru? He asked himself.
"Women are not prizes to be collected."
Tatsuo shrugged off this comment and let a smug grin consume his face. "You might not think so, but I'm gonna be collecting that prize tonight, you know what I mean? I heard she's pretty easy."
Suddenly, Tatsuo was frozen where he sat. Shikamaru stared him dead in the eye, his hand sign for his Shadow Possession Jutsu hidden under the edge of the table.
Slowly, he lifted one hand, and Tatsuo was forced to follow suite. A hint of fear flashed across his eyes as his hand moved to a knife on the table. Shikamaru gripped his hand around thin air, while Tatsuo's hand gripped around the knife, and lifted it to hold it over the back of his other hand, the point of the blade just resting against the skin. Shikamaru applied a little pressure, until a small bead of blood formed on the back of Tatsuo's hand.
"I would think very carefully about the next words to come out of your mouth."

Temari stood leaning over the sink, staring at her reflection in the mirror. The skin around her eyes was prickling with anger, with shame. Her heart seemed to be pounding in her throat. She addressed her posture, rearranging her cleavage and gathering her nerves, when Shiho entered.
"Do you have a problem with my date, Temari?" She spoke quietly, adjusting her glasses. It was clear that Shiho wasn't comfortable with confrontation and it must have taken a great deal of bravery for her to say it. Temari felt like dirt.
"Shiho, I'm so sorry," she sighed. "I didn't mean to ruin your evening." The girl deserved an explanation. "I don't know how much he's told you but… Shikamaru and I used to have a thing. It ended badly. We haven't really had chance to sort things out since then."
If Shiho had been angry, it would have been easier, but her face showed nothing but worry. "I never meant to get between you two."
"No! You're not at all. I hoped we might have got past it by now, but apparently not." She spoke truthfully. "Don't let me give you a bad impression of him though. He really is an amazing guy. You two should have a great time."
Shiho smiled. "Tatsuo is pretty cool too, right? I'm sure we can all make tonight work out."
"I hope so." Temari said. She meant it. "Come here." She took Shiho in a full hug and held her tight long enough to apologise for being such a bitch to her. Their differences settled, they walked arm-in-arm back into the restaurant.
"Your legs look incredible in that dress, by the w…" her voice trailed off. Something had swept up her attention. In front of them, on the floor beside their flipped table, surrounded by broken plates and scattered cutlery, were Shikamaru and Tatsuo. The thunder of fists echoed around the restaurant while other diners stared, or retreated away from the commotion. Half of Shikamaru's face was already bloodied and Tatsuo doubled over his stomach with the wind knocked out of him. One of the staff members was trying to calm them until blood splattered up his uniform and he ran to get his manager.
Temari's whistle cut through the air, disturbing the boys from their fight.
"We leave you two alone for one minute!" She stormed across to them and took Shikamaru by the ear, hauling him off her date. "You are such an embarrassment!"
The whole restaurant was watching them now. Shiho was on her knees, wiping blood from Tatsuo's nose, and a suited person who must have been the manager was striding towards them. Shikamaru was still twisted under the grip she had on his ear and was trying to catch his breath, spluttering on blood from a split lip. He looked up at her apologetically. At least, one eye did. The other eye was already swollen shut. Her grip softened as she realised how truly pathetic he looked. Suddenly all she wanted to do was hold him close to her and tell him what a fucking idiot he was being. But there wasn't time.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you all to leave."
The manager seemed to tower over both of them, his voice booming through gritted teeth. He had already rolled up his sleeves as though he was prepared to use force to be rid of them. Shiho hurried to put the table the right way up and gather any salvageable crockery from the ground while Temari paid the manager handsomely for the incident and couldn't stop the apologies pouring from her mouth. The girls offered to help clean up, but Tatsuo remained sulking on the floor and Shikamaru excused himself. All around, the other diners were glaring at them with looks of shock and contempt. In how many different ways would she have to ruin her reputation before the Leaf Village would stop inviting her back?
As soon as people started to look away, she snuck out to follow Shikamaru and found him leaning against the outside wall of the building, lighting up a cigarette. Her mouth opened to scorn him but there was nothing she could say that he didn't already know.
"Have you come here to tell me how useless I am?" He didn't look at her.
"I was thinking more along the lines of 'melodramatic', but whatever."
"Wow. I never thought you would call me melodramatic."
In the dark of the evening, his face looked distorted and half in shadow. The bruises weren't showing through yet, but they would do in time. He had probably felt nothing in the heat of the moment, but the pain would return to him as soon as his adrenalin subsided, she was sure. That was how it had been when they had bruised each other. She thought of his body covered in her marks, and of his face smiling to her as she made them, with his look of… no, not love. It could have grown to be love, if they had let it.
But they hadn't. And now here they were, cold in the dark, wounds running deep. She was not innocent, she knew, but she still believed that it had been his choice to discard what they had.
She couldn't keep the quiver of pain from her voice. "I hate you so much."
He looked at her then. He could see the emotion boiling up beneath up beneath her skin, but her eyes weren't saying "hate".
"I'm sorry I beat up your date."
"I'm sorry my date beat you up."
They both managed a breath of laughter. It was the first time she had seen his smiling eyes in a long time. He continued to apologise. "Nah, I started it."
"Why did you?"
Shikamaru took a long inhale through his cigarette before answering, hatred in his voice. "He called you easy."
"So did you," she reminded him. His eyes fell to the ground again in silent regret.
"It was none of my business. I know you don't need me to fight your battles for you."
"No I don't. But thank you for trying," she was genuinely quiet flattered. She had always been able to look after herself and wasn't used to anyone else sticking up for her. But she shouldn't have been surprised. Shikamaru was a kind person. Had she forgotten that?
"I'm sorry I implied that you sleep around."
"It's not the fact that you think I've slept around…" she considered, "because there would be nothing wrong with that even if I had. It's the fact that you think less of me as a person because of it."
"I don't think less of you because of it." He sounded shocked at her accusation and met her eyes again. "I think less of me because of it."
"Why?"
He shrugged. "Because the more people you casually sleep with, the less important I feel like I was to you."
She had to tell him. "Shikamaru, you will always be important to me. What we had was never just sex."
He smiled a sad smile to her then, and dropped the butt of his cigarette to the floor. His lip was beginning to bleed again, and she went to him to clean it with the cuff of her jacket. He stood patiently while she tended to him, the fabric of her clothing darkening with the blood from his soft lips. The lips that she had once known so well.
"You don't have to look after me you know," he assured her.
"But I want to."
When she had cleared most of the blood from his face, she lowed her hand but couldn't quiet bring herself to step away. She kept her face close to his until he broke the silence.
"I miss you."
"I miss you too."
There was a warmth in his eyes which cut through the winter cold. She wanted to hold him but he didn't belong to her anymore.
"We need to talk, don't we?"
Yes. She glanced towards the restaurant where his girlfriend was cleaning up after their mess inside. "Not now, not here."
"Will you meet me later?" He put his hands to her waist, pleading with her. "Let me talk to Shiho first."
"Talk to her? What are you going to do?"
"Will you meet me?" He pressed.
There was no question in her mind. "Yes."
"Give me two hours. I'll meet you back here. Not in the street though… the roof of the hospital?"
She nodded to him smiling like a child, but they were interrupted by noises from the doorway of the restaurant. Shikamaru took his hands from her immediately and she stepped back away from him as they both looked to the doorway. Two figures tumbled out of the building, one limping. It was Shiho and Tatsuo. Shikamaru gave her one last slow smile before putting his hands in his pockets and leaving her to walk solemnly towards his girlfriend.
Temari had one last thing to remind him of before he did anything he might regret. "I'm leaving soon." He stopped momentarily, and she saw the back of his head nod slowly before he carried on.

Temari had left Tatsuo to see to his own wounds, and gone home alone. The two hours that she spent there were the longest hours of her life. She attempted to finish more of her final project but must have read the same lines twenty times without any of it sinking in. Her heartbeat never dropped below sheer panic and it was all she could do to stop from climbing the walls of her small apartment. She considered going for a run to calm her nerves but it was late at night and she was still in her dress. Her mind raced. She feared she already knew what Shikamaru had meant when he said he had to "talk" to Shiho, but still could only hope at what else he might have to say to her tonight. All she could do was wait.
At last, she left her apartment to meet him. A little earlier than scheduled but she couldn't have waited a moment longer. She had to force herself to keep a walking pace through the village, with half a mind to race to him and half a mind to forget the whole thing and hope the earth would split open and swallow her up.
When she finally climbed the long steps to the roof of the hospital, he was already waiting for her. He was sat on the edge of the roof with his back to her. The ledge faced over the dark village towards the Hokage monument but he was slouched forward, his head bent such that he must have been staring at his feet. She didn't attempt to quieten her footsteps but he didn't turn to her even though he must have known she was there. The world seemed impossibly silent in that moment and her heartbeat shuddered through her whole body. She held her breath in fear and anticipation and took a seat on the ledge beside him.
"Hey," was his only word to her. His face was solemn and he remained staring down at his feet, not looking up to greet her. If he had looked upon her face just then, he might have thrown his arms around her and kissed her, and they wouldn't get any talking done at all.
"Hey," she replied. Her voice was calm and sweet, betraying the gentle nature underneath the abrasive mask she wore for the world.
He knew what he needed to begin with, but that didn't make it any easier to say. "I broke up with Shiho."
"Oh." Her tone implied that she felt as guilty as he did. Shiho had liked him for a long time, they both knew, and to give her a chance only to cast her aside again was brutal. The conversation had clearly hurt her deeply, but not as badly as if he had continued the charade. She was a strong person, and surrounded by friends. She would be OK.
"It wasn't fair on her," he explained. "I didn't really want her."
A cold winter chill filled the silences between their words. Temari seemed as reluctant to rush this as he was.
"Do you want me?"
"Yes." There was no point in denying it in any longer.
"But you know I'm going back to Suna." She might as well have said you know you can't have me.
"I know."
Silence again.
"You could come back with me."
She had worded it as though it was a possibility, but there was a quiver in her voice that sounded as though she was pleading with him to make it true. He hadn't dared to let himself consider it an option before. If he went home with her, he might never be able to tear himself away from her to come back to the Leaf. He sat in silence as she continued.
"Tsunade plans to send a summon to Konkuro and Baki to escort me home as soon as I finish my final project. But I'd rather have you."
The Hokage had always been keen for the two of them to work together in the past, and he could see no reason why she might object to a change of plan. Obtaining Tsunade's permission wasn't what he was worried about, though. "What if it doesn't work out?"
"Maybe it won't. Then we'll just have to grow the fuck up and get over ourselves," he could hear that she spoke through a tentative smile now, and couldn't help but join her in a tiny sliver of happiness. "But maybe it will work out."
"Maybe it will," he agreed with a cautious optimism.
"I think it's worth finding out."
He gave a long sigh. She was right. Maybe it would all end in blood and tears but if they never ventured to try it, then they would never know. And he knew he would never be able to forgive himself for letting her leave. Not again. He put a hand to the cold stone of the ledge between them.
"I'm in if you're in," he offered.
Her hand moved to join his on the stone and she gently wrapped her fingers around his. The mere touch of her skin was enough to make him feel as though his ribcage was collapsing, his gut melting, his eyes prickling with salted heat.
"I'm in."
- 6
- 7
- 8
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Shadowplay and Hurricanes