# Pick Up Lines (A Temari/Shikamaru story)



## Smash_2451 (Oct 31, 2006)

I posted this awhile ago on Fanfiction.net and it's basically about what I think would happen if Shikamaru had a different reaction after realizing that his squad had failed to rescue Sasuke....and how a certain Suna Shinobi must bring him back to reality, even if she has to use her fists.  Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Of course I do not own the Naruto characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and him only. All I own is this fan fiction, and that?s it, so don?t sue!

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To say that Nara Shikamaru was a coward would be accurate based on the current situation. Some of his comrades were on their last limbs, barely clinging to life. Word had just arrived from Shizune that Kakashi and Naruto had finally returned...just the two of them. Mission failure.

?Shikamaru,? Tsunade called, ?it seems your mission was a failure.?

He said nothing; he just stood there and ate everything thrown at him.

?But?everyone?s alive. That?s more important than anything.?

Still, only silence in that quiet hospital hallway. Someone had to speak up, if not Shikamaru. However, none of them were ready for his response.

?No?that?s not more important than anything,? he muttered loud enough for the others to hear, ?what matters is we know who he?s with and what to do next. That?s what?s most important.?

Before his father could respond, Shikamaru left without another word or glance towards the others. He could feel Temari?s hand lash out and grab his shirt, but he shrugged it off and left through the double doors.

Nara Shikaku snorted as he watched his son leave. ?Damn coward doesn?t know what he?s thinking.?

Tsunade stood to her feet. ?I?ll go talk some sense into him.? She was just about to leave when she was cut off by Temari?s large fan.

?Pardon me, Godaime-sama, but I?ve dealt with the pain before, and I should be able to handle this one, as well.?

Tsunade blinked. ?I never knew that the Suna could have such a profound affect on its shinobi, as well.?

Temari rolled her eyes and sighed. ?I was talking about the boy.?

With that, she left.

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Shikamaru didn?t enjoy skipping rocks?or long walks on the beach with that special someone?or having to put up with Ino half of the time. What he did enjoy was either a good game of shogi or his favorite pastime: watching the clouds.

The lazy shinobi himself plopped down onto the grass, completely ignoring whatever insects or critters may be lingering underneath. All he needed was some time to contemplate to himself.

?Apparently, Kagemane wasn?t enough for that flute girl,? he said to himself, remembering that battle with no longer living Sound Four member Tayuya. How was it that some PMS-induced, overconfident, overbearing, stern kunoichi could wipe out a member of the Sound Four, when he, a now Chuunin from Konoha, could not? It didn?t make sense, and worst of all, the entire mission was lost.

Shikamaru hadn?t been there when Chidori and Rasengan clashed at the Valley of the End; he hadn?t seen Naruto?s battle with Sasuke that ended with the Uchiha leaving the fox boy and slipping into darkness. Though he had made it clear that he didn?t have affection towards the Uchiha, Shikamaru felt a large gap in him when it was made clear that only Kakashi and Naruto returned. The gap, however, wasn?t caused by Sasuke?s absence; it was from failure.

Failure is defined as an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose; a lack of success. This didn?t occur to Shikamaru during the exams. Through his expert thinking and top notch observation, he was able to render Temari helpless and could?ve ended the match there and then, yet he did not. We will never know of the 200 or so moves that Shikamaru had thought of to defeat Temari, though we do know this: despite giving up the match, his expertise earned him the title of Chuunin.

Speak of the devil, Shikamaru looked to his left and saw Temari walking towards him, hands on her hips.

?Great?? he said unenthusiastically, ?the meddling kunoichi has arrived.? He stood to his feet and was about to say something, only to be rewarded with a slap across the face.

?What is your fucking problem??

?Easy, easy,? Shikamaru replied, ignoring the stinging pain in his left cheek, ?no need to greet me with violence.?

He then ducked to avoid a hard swipe from Temari?s fan that was swung just a few inches above his head.

?I take it that you want a cake or something??

Temari said nothing; she simply grabbed Shikamaru by the collar and stared him straight in the eye.

?Listen to me,? she spat, ?failure is a part of life and you?ve got to get over this mentality that just because you failed one mission that it?s all over from there.?

Shikamaru broke free from Temari?s grip and plopped back onto the grass. ?This is pointless to talk with you about. You come up here to boast about saving my ass, right??

?If I weren?t so nice, I?d kill you right here and now.?

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. ?Seems you thought the same thing during our match.?

Temari lunged forward, but Shikamaru leaned back and pressed his feet into her stomach, launching her over him and into the field.

Standing to her feet, Temari would?ve prepared a Bunshin no Jutsu, but she remembered she had a reason for being here.

?You put on this tough guy act by saying that it?s most important that you know where the Uchiha is hiding and push your friends to second place; what the hell kind of a person are you??

?One who doesn?t enjoy listening to loud kunoichi ramble on about nothing that concerns her,? Shikamaru replied. His tone got lower as he continued. ?I could?ve lost my best friend back there against those guys?Choji?Neji, both of them hanging on by a thread, and Kiba went and stabbed himself in order to hold his own. Even Gejimayu was able to hold his own with his injuries, and what do I have to show for this? A broken finger, that?s what. If I had more time, I could?ve improved my jutsu, I could?ve gotten stronger, I--?

Shikamaru got lost in his train of thought and didn?t even see Temari?s fist connect with his face.

?You did all you could and that?s all you can ask for,? she snarled, ?stop thinking that you can go beyond your limitations when you know what you?re capable of.?

?This coming from someone who beat the flute girl like that??

The reward for interruption was another punch to the face. ?I thought you were a genius who could see through all deception and come up with a solution to the problem at hand. Surely, being a shinobi, you saw the possibility of failure. More than that, did you consider the risks of the mission??

?I see that me being the leader almost got everyone killed,? he quickly replied.

?You BAKA!? Temari growled, punctuating that last word with a lunge from the closed end of her fan that Shikamaru narrowly dodged.

?Like I said before, it?s troublesome to talk with someone like you,? Shikamaru grunted, wiping the dust from his body, ?and though I don?t want to fight a female, if you stick around, I just might. I said that training and missions are two different things because you don?t know the outcome--?

Temari cut him off. ?That?s the damn point I?m trying to make! You?ve just got to go in there and not only hope for the best, but expect the worst as well. Shinobi are not invincible and you should look at this mission as a testing phase! You?re the only one out of us that became a fucking Chuunin, Shikamaru! Anyone would be glad to have that title plastered onto them and wear it proud as they went through missions, but you?ve got to get all tactical and try to erase all of your past errors, not realizing that you could learn from them in order to improve. All of us shinobi have our problems. You?re a bit of a lazy ass, Shikamaru, and a bad lazy ass as well. I?ve got a short temper and would probably kill the guy that stares at my ass; I?m bad at that as well.?

Shikamaru blinked, not wanting to interrupt.

?Your father?s got a point; if you quit being a ninja, others will take your place, but you should know that you got your friends as far as you could without losing a life. Look at the positive side of this and stop thinking you?re a goddamn failure, because I don?t think you are!?

Temari stopped at that, realizing what she?d just said. Shikamaru was dumbfounded at this speech he?d been delivered. He could?ve sworn he saw a small tear slip from Temari?s eye. Who?d have thought that the irate and somewhat hot-headed Sabaku no Temari would actually show that small flicker of compassion?

Shikamaru showed the smallest of smiles as he went back to staring at clouds. ?Sit down, Temari.?

?What??

?Do it or I?ll use the jutsu.?

Rather than have her body taken over again by Kagemane no Jutsu, Temari obeyed the request, but kept her fan handy on her. Unconsciously, her hand found its way to his, and he immediately noticed it.

?If there?s one thing I?ve learned from this?it?s that all women aren?t troublesome after all. Isn?t that right?bishoujo??

Temari snorted and looked back towards the clouds. She hated corny pick-up lines.

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To clarify, bishoujo is Japanese for pretty or beautiful girl. Gejimayu is the Japanese name for Rock Lee...well, actually it's the name for "Fuzzy Brows," which is what Naruto calls him in the sub for those who didn?t know. Other than, hope you enjoyed this one shot, and though it may be out of character for some, I hope you can look past that. Read and review, please.


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## WarmasterCain55 (Oct 31, 2006)

I like it a lot, keep writing.


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## Temari#1 Fan (Apr 2, 2008)

I'm a fan.Write more


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## forkliftjoe (Apr 2, 2008)

Temari#1 Fan said:


> I'm a fan.Write more
> 
> i'm One of Temari's biggest fans because my name is Temari



Uh, I thought Temari only had one fan...  And a weasel... I guess it's a weasel...

(Sorry, long day at the ranch...)


ForkliftJoe


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## -18 (Apr 2, 2008)

good story


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