Love is such a drag! (Shikamaru x Temari)

Chapter 10:

Shikamaru's POV
I furrowed my eyebrows. Long missions always involved dangerous ninjas and powerful masterminds.
-" Sorry we're late!"- Naruto said as he, Hinata, Kakashi, Sakura, Sai and Choji entered the room. Were they going to come along? A mission of eight? Wow. It must be pretty serious.
-" You see, a very important ninja scroll was stolen from Konoha. We don't know who stole it, or why. But it is of extreme importance that you get it back."- Tsunade Sama explained.
-" A scroll? What information does it contain?"- I asked. Tsunade closed her eyes.
-" We don't know. It was a scroll that Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third Hokage, left in the village many years ago. It was locked up when I found it, and the information was coded. So it's safe to assume it contains dangerous information."- She said.
-" But Grandma Tsunade... If even all the village experts, who I assume you contacted, couldn't decode the information... Don't you think the bad guy won't be able to, either?"- Naruto asked.
-" Don't underestimate your opponent, Naruto."- Kakashi Sensei said.
-" Okay... But where do we search for it?"- Sakura asked.
-" We don't know that either."- Tsunade said, sweat dropping. I sighed in exasperation.
-" Is there anything you do know?"- I asked impatiently. She was sending us on a blind mission!
-" Hmph. Don't get cocky with me, Nara. And yes, there is some information we possess. Apparently, there were two culprits. A man and a woman. Both of them agile and wearing white masks."- She said. I looked around the room and noticed that Temari had drastically paled. Her eyes were wide in shock, if not fear, and she looked as if she had seen a ghost.
-" How long are we talking about?"- Temari asked, unable to hide a nervous edge to her voice.
-" Two to three weeks, at least."- Tsunade answered. Oh... So the amount of time Temari was going to spend in the village. The blonde Kunoichi took a step forward with a confused expression.
-" Wait... At least? But lady Tsunade, I have to return to Suna in three weeks..."- She reminded.
-" I'm well aware of your schedule, ambassador. However, I've consulted the Kazekage and he has agreed that you return at the end of your mission."- Lady Tsunade replied. Temari nodded once and stepped back. Then Tsunade looked at us with a menacing expression. -" Kakashi, you're team leader. You must not fail. Understood?"- She asked.
-" Yes Hokage Sama."- The whole squad said in unison. She smirked.
-" Good. Well, off you go then."- She said and dismissed us. We all left the room, and once we'd closed the door we got down to business.
-" Right. So we're going on a mission to recover a mysterious scroll from a mysterious masked man and a girl who stole if for mysterious purposes. Any ideas?"- Sai asked with an annoying fake smile.
-" I suggest we just get ready for now. Pack your weapons and whatever else you think you might need. Remember to travel light. We don't want any inconveniences. We'll meet at the gates in half an hour."- Kakashi said. We all nodded and scattered.

Once I finished packing I headed to the gates and found Temari waiting. No one else had arrived, so I approached her with a smile.
-" Hey."- I said, making my presence known. She looked at me, distraction clear in her beautiful features.
-" Oh. Hi lazy ass."- She said. I raised an eyebrow.
-" You okay?"- I asked, unable to mask my curiosity.
-" Yeah... Why do you ask?"- She asked with a confused expression that was clearly fake.
-" Well... Ever since Tsunade mentioned that masked man you've been acting a little strange."- I observed. Her distraught face looked down.
-" Oh... Yeah. It's nothing. Just my kunoichi paranoia I guess."- She answered bluntly. I furrowed my eyebrows.
-" That's not like you Tem. Come on, what's wrong?"- I said, and noticed the nickname I had used. She gave me a little smile.
-" Why are you so worried about it anyway?"- She asked. I remembered all our previous question-answer conversations. Because I'm your bodyguard. Because you're my friend. Those answers were only partly true. I'd never known what I really wanted to say, but today I didn't have that problem.
-" Because I really care about you, and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you. Either physically or emotionally."- I said, and felt a slight blush creeping up my face. Temari widened her eyes and blushed, but said nothing. Instead, she grabbed my hand reassuringly and smiled. I returned that smile and we simply waited for our teammates to arrive in a comfortable silence.