Shikamaru Nara leant back on the conveniently-placed patch of grass on the hillside, feeling at peace with the world. He had no missions for the time being, and no inclination to do anything but lie about and watch the clouds go by. Sure, maybe it wasn't expected ninja behaviour, especially not for a jounin, but whatever. He was happy.

Basking in the gentle sun of a fading afternoon, he half-closed his eyes, and allowed his mind to wander. He had been so busy recently, he hadn't had any time to relax, and not have to think about missions, or weapons, or how to kill someone as efficiently as possible. Despite appearances, he worked hard for his village, and Shikamaru wasn't used to working hard at the best of times. He sometimes wondered if he would lose his mind if he wasn't allowed these rare moments of peace.

Memories began to flow across his consciousness with a pleasant fuzziness as he let go of the present; memories not overshadowed by fear or anger. He smiled without realizing as he remembered one person in particular...

"You really aren't a morning person, are you?" Temari asked teasingly, noting his untidy ponytail and dazed expression. Shikamaru groaned and ran a hand over his face, contemplating suicide for a few moments before disregarding it as too much of an effort. It was less than a week since the Hokage had asked him to escort the visitor from the Sand around Konoha, and already he was exhausted just trying to keep up with her.

Every morning she would knock on his door at dawn, and insist that he get up, so she could get on with her day. Resistance was futile, and potentially dangerous if attempted for too long. So he would stumble out of bed and greet her, half-asleep and dishevelled. He always found it strangely difficult to argue with the impetuous blonde, and more often than not found himself following her around the village, instead of the other way around.

"I don't know why you even bother to wake me up every morning. We both know that you are perfectly capable of looking after yourself," Shikamaru mumbled, yawning.

She grinned back at him. "Maybe I just enjoy the pleasure of your company," Shikamaru's look of disbelief made her laugh.

"Ok, you're right, I just enjoy seeing how much pain I can inflict on you and still get away with it," Temari told him, striding off purposefully in the direction of the training grounds.

Shikamaru chuckled, shaking his head, and followed her at a much slower pace. He was in no hurry. The longer it took him to arrive, the less time she would have to beat him up before breakfast.

Shikamaru's smile faded as he realized where this train of thought was going. He hadn't known then that she would be returning to the Sand early the next morning.

"Shikamaru"

Not that he missed her – of course not, his life was easier without her around. And he was pretty certain that Temari didn't miss him.

"Shikamaru"

She hadn't even bothered to say goodbye.

"SHIKAMARU"

"What?!" he yelled, startled out of his reverie. Coming towards him at an alarming rate was an orange-clad blur. It could only be Naruto. Shikamaru regretfully let go of all hope of a peaceful afternoon, and stood up, gradually, to greet his friend.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Surely Naruto wouldn't have disturbed him unless there was an emergency. "This had better be important."

"Well, I think it's important," Naruto told him sincerely. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. He couldn't have come all the way up here just to ask that. He just couldn't. Could he?

"....Want some ramen?"

Yeah. He could.

"There is no way in hell that you are dragging me away from the first nap I've had in months," Shikamaru told his friend firmly. Technically, he hadn't been napping, but Naruto didn't have to know that.

"But! But but but but but! I'm hungry!"

"Naruto. The answer is no. Accept it and move on." No amount of pleading would change his mind. Ever.

Ten minutes later they were both sitting in Ichiraku.

Shikamaru sighed. Somehow, he had been dragged away from his thoughts and his beloved clouds by the most annoying person in Konoha. He watched with disgusted fascination as Naruto shoved the ramen into his mouth faster than he would have believed humanly possible.

"So, Shikamaru-"Naruto started to say, but became distracted again by the bowl in front of him. Shikamaru examined the unusually large chunk of pork Naruto was stuffing into his already full mouth. He waited patiently as his friend choked.

"-have you heard the news?" Naruto finally managed to ask, having swallowed the traitorous ramen that had just tried to kill him.

"No," Shikamaru replied, unsure what he was talking about. The anxious look in his friend's eyes told him that this might actually be important, and not in a food-related way.

Naruto put down his chopsticks, and that was when Shikamaru started to get really worried. What was so important that it came between Naruto and his ramen?

"I only just found out myself - the Hokage told me. Well, she didn't tell me exactly.... I sort of accidentally overheard her discussing it with the Pervy Sa-" The glare he received as a reward for his babbling told him to just get on with it.

"I just thought you should know if you didn't already. I mean, I know you guys are sort of friends. Or at least you used to be-"

Shikamaru felt his breath catch in his chest, and a cold trickle of fear ran down his spine. This sounded bad. And if he didn't already know about this, then that meant it probably wasn't happening to anyone he knew from the village.

But if they weren't from the village, then-

No. It can't be.

"I'm sorry, Shikamaru...."

I must be wrong. It's someone else, he told himself, desperately trying to convince himself. For a moment, he almost believed it.

"....it's Temari. She's missing."

But then, he was almost never wrong.