The Way Through Stone Village (Naruto)

15: Talking Some Sense

[OP: "Hieroglyphs"--The Oh Hellos]

"I never trusted them," Sakura was telling Ino and Shikamaru, who'd run into her when they'd started to cross the courtyard to the kitchen building, some time after they'd blown up at the heroes.

"I wouldn't have thought it," Karin remarked.

"Yeah, how could they?" Naruto said. "They seemed nicer than that, and...I could just pummel them for letting someone from Leaf die."

"What makes that Cloud so special?" Suigetsu asked. "Why single her out?"

"No one knows," Shikamaru said. "They've never said. If they even know themselves."

"But it's like they thought your fathers weren't good enough." Karin had Naruto's knack of saying the wrong thing, apparently.

But it was just what they were thinking.

"It's almost like losing them all over again," Ino said, "knowing we could have possibly done something about it."

"Trouble at 10 o'clock," Suigetsu said sullenly. "That Fan Girl is coming this way, and she looks angry."

"She always looks angry," Shikamaru said, glancing her way.

But Temari did look angry--and was walking towards them quickly.

"She's looking at you," Karin said, stepping back from Shikamaru. "Are you two...a thing?"

"What? No," Shikamaru said.

"Oh? That's not the impression I go--" Karin started to say.

"Shut it, Karin." Suigetsu grabbed her. "Don't put ideas out there."

"You shut it," Karin snapped back at him.

Temari reached them right then.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked.

Temari raised a hand and slapped him so hard that he went sprawling onto the ground.

Ino gasped, wide-eyed.

Shikamaru grabbed his face and was so stunned he wasn't sure if he was angry or not. "What was that for?"

"For being a moron." Temari rubbed her hand. "You're lucky it wasn't worse than that. You'd better get back in there and apologize to the heroes and DJs for what you said to them."

"Apologize?" Shikamaru said. "Are you crazy?"

Temari clenched a fist.

He leaned away.

"Temari, what are you talking about?" Ino said. "Did they tell you--"

"I heard the whole thing before," Temari said. "Which he knew." Nodding at Shikamaru.

Ino recalled that he had said that.

"And I heard their reasons for it, which is more than you were willing to listen to." Temari crossed her arms and frowned at Shikamaru. "And if you had heard the whole story, you would know why they didn't tell you. I think they did the right thing."

Shikamaru frowned. "By not giving us a chance to do anything?"

"So you think you could have changed it?" Temari said. "Let's think about that. If people who literally can know the future, sort of, and have divine gifts could not change what happened, what makes you think you could have?"

A stunned silence.

"Ouch," Suigetsu muttered to Karin.

Sai came out of one of the buildings; he'd heard the commotion.