Belong

Part 11: Them

What a nice change, he thought. Finally seeing another real emotion on her face other than.. Annoyance. Besides that she's always wearing a stoic face. And she actually admitted to something, sincerely. The last time she was here it was a drag for him; automatically cancelled his day off he'd been longing for for months, then he had to live with her and then go wherever she needed to go. It was really a drag, but this time she's kind of different. Not as rough as she usually is and not as unbearable or maybe  it could be because she's not working. But still.

What he would do with his new feelings for her was still a question he didn't know the answer to. He could talk to Ino about it but she would just tell him to tell Temari how he feels, he knew that full well but that would be out of the question. There's no telling how she would react to that. After he told her so what? What would happen then? Because a romantic relationship is not something he's really looking for right now, at least that's what he thought. Okay, so Ino is crossed off the list, next would be his other best friend, Choji.

What would be say on the matter? There's wasn't really much to expect from him. This department isn't really for him but it still wouldn't hurt to try him. To think that he could fall for such a person, the exact opposite of what he had in mind. It made him laugh at times.

But all the thoughts swirling in his head came to a halt when he noticed another expression spread on her face, and it was not the one she usually wears. This one was rather dreary. He couldn't help but ask, still knowing she was going to tell him to mind his business.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

But she didn't reply nor did she even hear him, she was too far gone in her own thoughts or rather in her  fears. Fears of what she will become or rather what she already is just... How long will she be like this? Was the question.

She's known for being terrifying and a formidable Shinobi, in her home village, not a lot of people like her. Not because she's terrifying and because of her skills as a Kunoichi but she's said to be incredibly 'rude' as she would hear it. But most of the people her age disliked her because she's antisocial. Though she never gave any rumours about her too much attention, she still wished they didn't say things like that about her. She hated being seen that way but mostly how she saw herself. She'd want to talk about it sometimes to Shizuka or Michiko but her subconscious would always advice against it.

"Temari!" Shikamaru shouts out with his hands resting on both her shoulders and looking her dead straight in the eyes.

"Shikamaru." Is all she manages to say.

"Are you okay?" The tone in his voice was somewhat like of Kankuro when he's worried about her but slightly different. He felt her body finally relaxing but still unmoving from it's position.

"What?"

"You spaced out  for a minute. Totally in a world of your own, almost like you were in a genjutsu. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Can you get your hands off me?" She demands, brushing his hands off her shoulders.

"Oh, sorry."

But he wondered what the look was all about. It was all he could do, knowing full well she'll just shut him out, harshly if he tried asking her what was on her mind. Does the waterfall remind her of something? He pondered but decided to let it go.

"Well, if you're okay. Like I said I thought I'd bring you here but i also come here sometimes. I normally sit up there." He gestures to the tree branch  on their up right.

"And do what? Just admire the waterfall?" She asks.

"Y-yeah." He stutters placing his hand on his nape.

And so they did; they sat on the branch both taking in the beautiful view of the waterfall. Few hours flew by like minutes just talking about simple things. Nothing too deep, just light conversations. They'd even realise they had a little more in common than they'd thought, this led to them both enjoying each other's company even more. He just wished it'd never end though, since his vacation was ending in just a couple of hours but there was another reason he didn't want it to end even though he was too shy to admit to himself and that was  being with her.
As for her, it was like the feeling in her chest was gone, the negative thoughts that she often drowned in were gone as well and all the bad memories etched in her head had disappeared. She felt a sense of security around him.

But it 4. They both walked back but still captivated  by each other's company.

"... This is it for me. I guess I'll see you around." Shikamaru says.

"Yeah. Don't slack off tomorrow." She says and walks away in the direction of her place leaving Shikamaru smiling to what she'd just said.