Chapter Text
Temari sat down for lunch, and she could not believe how good the food looked. She was waiting for Kankurou, but if he did not get here soon, she was going to dig in without him. She heard the door of their shared hotel suite open, but her eyes didn't leave the food in front of her.
"Gaara won't be joining us so let's eat. I'm starving, and it's been a while since it's just been the two of us. I can finally stop pretending to be civilized and eat how I want."
Kankurou practically leapt at the food, but Temari was too fast for him. "You are not getting all of the lamb this time!”
They enjoyed their food in silence until Kankurou made a show of slowing down so they could talk. Temari lifted her eyebrows in response and signaled with a nod for her brother to begin.
“I need some advice about a tricky situation. Kiba found out that I’m seeing a girl in Suna and now he’s acting all weird. I’m not sure what to do. I really like Kiba, and I want to keep seeing him when I visit Konoha. But it’s not like Kiba is going to get serious anytime soon. I know he’s getting with other people too so what does it matter to him!? It’s not like he’s ever going to leave this village anyway.”
Temari realized that he needed to make a decision about what he really wanted from Kiba before he could justify getting upset. “Have you asked Kiba if he would consider moving for a serious relationship?”
Temari woke up with tears in her eyes. Those kinds of dreams were always harder to wake up from than unpleasant or implausible scenarios. She sat up and saw that she was alone in the room where Shizune had begun to heal her.
She wrapped the sheet Madara carried her in around herself and stood up. Her legs felt strained as if she had run a long distance at her physical limits without rest and a dull soreness permeated her body. She would happily take this over the pain she had from last night.
She readied herself for disappointment before trying the door but was shocked to find it unlocked. She quickly entered the hallway and looked around for any type of presence. She couldn't hear, see, or sense anyone and she didn't recognize the hallways or doors either. She turned to the left and took in her surroundings. There were no windows, but the hallway seemed bright from the many lights on the walls. The floor was a cold white and black marble that Temari loved feeling against her feet. The walls were also white, which made the corridor seem larger than it was.
The few doors she came across were of painted wood and securely locked, but it didn't stop her from wandering and trying each door. She turned a few corners while keeping track of where she was in relation to where she started. She came to another corner and stopped when she heard a door open then close just out of sight. A sigh soon followed, and she could tell it was a man. He didn't sound like Madara, but the sooner she ran into people the sooner she would probably be turned over to him or locked back up.
She gathered up the fabric of the sheet that dragged around her feet and began to run in the opposite direction as quietly as she could. She made the turn to safety when her heart stopped. "Temari?! Is that you?"
Temari had a choice, her first in a long time. She chose to face the voice behind her.
She peeked back around the corner and saw Shikamaru standing at the other end of the hall with a look that too clearly reflected how he felt: a hesitantly pleasant confusion. "I'm sorry, it's obviously you. I just didn't expect to see you...especially like that.” He looked towards the wall closest to him while scratching the back of his head.
Temari quickly composed herself and stepped out behind the corner to face him completely. "And why not? I thought it was obvious to everyone that I lived here."
“Yes. But I didn't expect to see you here in this hallway and especially not in a-” he coughed a little before gesturing at her.
Temari looked down at the cotton navy blue sheet she had wrapped around herself and was holding bunched in her hand. She couldn’t bring herself to bring her gaze back up to meet him. Heat gathered in her chest, and she remembered that it was once more clear why Madara kept her around. She reached for the top of the sheet and held it tight against her as she turned to leave. But she stopped herself. She needed information, and Shikamaru could give it to her. She had to talk to him despite almost burning with shame at her predicament.
She walked towards him finally bringing her eyes to his and asked, "Why are you here, and where are we?"
Shikamaru's face hardened. His mind began to do what it did best and he realized just how serious a situation he was in. Madara warned him about Temari and now he was alone in a hallway with her in nothing but a sheet. And not just that but the questions she asked were especially troublesome. Was this a test? Did Madara set this all up just so he could punish him and his clan to show his power.
She just confirmed she lived here so why wouldn't she know where she was? Shikamaru could tell that her questions were in earnest, but he fought down his urge to trust her. There was just too much at stake for him to make a stupid mistake over a sense of friendship and sentimentality. "Uchiha-sama wanted to talk to me about my future and the role of the Nara Clan in his new Empire. And I'm pretty sure we're in whatever wing he's determined it's OK for visitors to wander around in.”
Temari could tell he was being vague on purpose. "Were you just meeting with Madara?"
"I’m surprised you aren’t calling him your sweetheart.” Temari felt like an arrow had been shot through her chest. She was tired and any energy she had left her. However, she didn’t want to give anyone else the power to hurt her, so she chose to ignore it.
"Please just tell me. Is he nearby or not?" Shikamaru could see the disappointment in her face, and he could hear it in her voice.
"I wouldn't know, and even though I am meeting with Uchiha-sama in a couple hours I don't believe he would come searching for me sooner than that. I only just left my appointed office. I thought all of these rooms were offices of some sort, but I suppose I was wrong."
Temari looked around at the closed doors once more. "No, I think you're right. And I must have come from Shizune's office. How did you get here? Show me."
Now Shikamaru knew this was a trap. How else could this happen the day after Madara spoke to him about Temari? He looked at her and saw hints of desperation. She hid it well, but not well enough for someone who had noticed everything about her for so long. And Shikamaru somehow always found himself observing her. "What are you going to do if I show you the way out of here?"
Temari's face changed from disappointment to disbelief and disgust. "I don't know. But I'm sure my brothers can work something out."
Shikamaru knew she didn't have a plan, but her change in manner confused him. Sometimes, as a shinobi, you had to just make things up as you went along. He didn't know why she seemed so put off by the question. "How are your brothers going to do anything? One is living here with you, and the other is miles away in, or on his way to, Suna. You'd better think of something better than relying on your brothers to help you with this."
"Then you tell me what I should do! You're the genius. Just tell me what you want from me." Temari was so used to being taken advantage of lately that she assumed his question meant what she was going to do for him if he showed her the way out. She was not willing to bargain her body after dealing with Madara, and she felt she had nothing else to currently offer.
"I thought we were friends, but everyone from Konoha is the same. I'll tell you what you'll get from me. A great, big, fat nothing!” Temari's voice was beginning to rise and Shikamaru was worried it would draw someone's attention, but she continued. “If you don't want to help me get out of here, then just don't help me. I'll find my way out on my own, and I will not forget this." Temari turned to hastily explore the other way.
Shikamaru's head was reeling from what she just said. He hadn’t asked her for anything. He just wondered what she- "Wait! Wait Temari, I think there's been a misunderstanding."
He jumped in front of her but she continued past him. "Wait, Temari!" He got in front of her again and stopped her by her shoulders. "I wasn't asking what you were going to do for me. I was asking what your plan was if you actually made it out of here." Her skin was hot and soft, and Shikamaru was very aware that he was touching the one person he was not supposed to.
Temari swatted one of his arms away from her while continuing to hold the sheet with the other. "Get your hands off of me."
Shikamaru was taken aback by the harshness of her tone and quickly moved away. "I forgot that only Uchiha-sama is allowed to touch you." It came out as a reproach. A tone that matched the roughness of hers to him.
He could see tears brimming in her eyes as her face grimaced. This was wrong. He couldn’t imagine the Temari he knew on the verge of crying. It didn’t make sense to him. He wanted to take it back immediately. He wanted to start over.
"I'm sorry! Please, I’m sorry. I didn't mean to say something so stupid. If you're trying to get out of here, then you don't want whatever's happening here. I was stupid and I wasn’t thinking. I'm sorry. I'll show you the way out, but there's no way you can get past people unnoticed with practically no chakra and no clothes. We're all basically civilians now, and you would need to blend in with a disguise to get out of here."
Temari looked up to the ceiling to try to dry the tears out of her eyes. She couldn't blink or the tears would start running. She had to think and calm her emotions. Thinking usually calmed her down and she was able to understand that they were both acting under the wrong presumptions. It didn’t make it hurt any less, but she had to understand it to get past it.
"Listen Temari, let me show you exactly where my office is, and then we’ll go to Shizune's. That way you'll be able to find me if you need me. And I can maybe find you and Shizune."
Temari nodded and they proceeded in silence. There was nothing more to be said between them.
Shikamaru apologized once more and then hurried to his original destination in the bathroom. He could have kicked himself for how stupid he had been. It’s something that he would be thinking about for the near future.
"Hey Tenten, um where is Temari today? We haven't seen her since yesterday.” Kankurou asked as he ate a light late breakfast across from Tenten.
"How should I-" Tenten stood up with a start. Where was Temari? Zetsu told her that Tenten would be with her all day after her appointment with Shizune. But she never showed up to the kitchen. Every possibility started to run through her mind, and she was almost set into a panic to try to find her. "Kankurou, stay here while I check on her. I think she was supposed to have a few appointments today and I'm going to make sure everything is going OK."
Tenten left the room before hearing Kankurou's answer. She had to locate Temari, and she had to do it before anyone else decided to ask about her. She raced to the room Temari was to be examined in that morning but saw no one there. She turned around and decided to go to the right. She could only hope that all the rooms were chakra locked and she’d find Temari in one of the few areas Temari was permitted in. She couldn't very well go around yelling for her and she couldn't ask anyone else for help. She couldn't even look like she was looking for someone.
A wave of nausea ran over her as she made her way through the hallways. Madara made it clear to her what was on the line if she were to fail him in any way. Not only would he never revive Neji and Gai Sensei, but he would use Lee as a sacrifice. Madara could take away everything that mattered to her in less than a moment.
She came to a short staircase and decided to start from there and work her way back in the other direction. She made it to the bathroom during her search and ran into Shikamaru leaving as she was entering to vomit.
“Shikamaru! What are you doing here?”
“The same thing you are.” He said as he pointed behind him to the bathroom.
“Right.”
Shikamaru noticed her sickly color and the light sheen of sweat and reasoned that she was looking for Temari. He wasn’t clear on why Tenten had decided to live with Madara and sell out her comrades so quickly, but he concluded that Tenten was most likely looking for Temari since she probably shouldn’t be wandering through the halls in a sheet. “Are you OK? Do you need me to go get someone for you?”
“No! I don’t need anyone. I have everything under control.”
“OK. Well do you know what’s behind all these doors? I’m worried I’m going to get lost. When you’re done in there, would you mind coming back with me to my office to make sure I don’t end up somewhere I shouldn’t.”
“I can just take you there now.” Shikamaru made loud conversation with Tenten and used her name frequently. Tenten was too preoccupied with getting Shikamaru back to his office and simultaneously discreetly looking for signs of Temari to notice.
Temari, however, caught Shikamaru’s hints and listened for Tenten to make her way back. She opened the door just as Tenten was approaching. Tenten was incredibly relieved to find her exactly where she was supposed to be and decided not to question her luck. Tenten and Temari both silently realized that they were in on a secret that both had no desire to acknowledge. “Come on, Temari. I’ll walk you back to your dressing room.”
Shizune looked over at the clock on her desk at the hospital and sighed. She had a lot of work to get to and she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to get it done. Healing Temari to the level Madara had wanted had almost exhausted her even after she explained to Madara that she needed all of her chakra back in order to do it. That kind of healing normally took time to heal naturally, and she couldn’t keep that pace up every day. With her physical exhaustion creeping over her brain, she was having a hard time understanding what was going on, and she really needed to.
She was going over Kabuto's hospital wide memo and decided to pop a food and caffeine pill because she felt confused and wary about what she was reading. She was never one for politics. That was what Tsunade did, and, with Tsunade gone, she had no desire to get involved with it again. She was always more interested in healing and medicine than anything else. But she was being thrust into a position she didn't see a clear way out of.
There was a knock on the door. She didn't care who it was and told them to enter. "Shikamaru?! What can I do for you?" She placed the memo down happy to think about something else.
"Well, um, is it safe to talk in here?" Shizune could feel a small headache coming on. Maybe she would prefer to think about the memo rather than whatever Shikamaru was about to lay at her feet.
"I believe so, but I wouldn't put anything past Kabuto."
"Oh, I thought I heard some of the hospital staff talking about him on my way up. They all seemed...a bit happier than I would have guessed they’d be about him being in charge."
"That's because of this." Shizune handed him the memo and watched his eyebrows rise slightly while reading it.
"Well, this seems like a great Idea. It makes me wonder why things haven't always been this way."
"It is a wonderful idea. Offering everyone healthcare on a sliding pay-scale is the best thing that's happened in this hospital in a while. Not to mention free healthcare for children 12 and under. It will free up money for poorer families and institutions that take care of children like orphanages and detention centers. The fact that Kabuto can do this means that Uchiha has given the financial go ahead. It makes me wonder where the money for this is coming from."
"Well, I don't know about the finances, but it certainly sets a precedent for the changes to come around Konoha. It is both welcome and troubling. If all the changes made are like this, then people will begin to accept Uchiha’s rule. They’ll be happy about it.”
Shikamaru added, “But this isn't why I came to you. Did Uchiha give you an office in the new center of government connected to his home?"
"Yes, he did. I'm going to have to report there every morning. I need to set up a hospital room, and he gave me a small office off of a room that will accommodate that. "
Shikamaru noticeably lowered his voice to say, "I ran into Temari earlier, and I'm guessing she was in your office."
Shizune's eyes went wide and matched his new volume. "What do you mean you ‘ran into Temari?' Were you trying to explore that place even though Uchiha has expressly forbidden us to go where we're not permitted?"
"I was on my way to the bathroom when I saw her in the hallway in nothing but a bed sheet. I need to know if you know anything about this. It just seems too ridiculous that she would be running around the halls lost in a sheet."
"I did see her today, but I didn’t meet her in my office. For now, I’m meeting her in what he said would be her official meeting room. I think it’s where she can have outside guests. And she didn’t have any clothing because that’s how she was brought there. I left her sleeping, but I figured she would know her way around. Is she OK?"
“She was fine when I left her.” Shikamaru thought for a moment and made a decision that could affect all three of them in a profound way. "Shizune, do you want to work on eventually ousting Uchiha Madara from power?"
Shizune had thought about that often ever since she was woken up from the Tsukuyomi. She felt compelled by her inner moral compass to at least try to depose him. But people adapt faster than we’d like to admit. She had begun to come to terms with the idea that things would never be the same. She had even begun to think about what parts of this new world were better. But did she want an active part in whatever Shikamaru was proposing?
She looked back to the memo before her. This was a good thing, and it ultimately came from Madara albeit via Kabuto. But wasn't Kabuto on their side at the end? An image of the man murdered to reanimate Kabuto appeared in her mind followed by the image of Temari beaten and utterly demoralized. She shuddered and reminded herself of the countless others, including Tsunade, who had died during the war.
"Yes."
"I'm going to slowly gather others for the cause. Be overly cautious about who you talk to. I ran into Tenten earlier, and I think she was looking for Temari. I don’t understand why she is choosing to work so closely with Madara, and I don’t trust her.”
“Why did you trust me just now?”
“Because you’re skeptical about this new policy. That alone tells me you aren’t completely sold on this new future of only winners as defined by him. I can’t believe someone willing to kill and manipulate so many people can ever have the common good at heart. Madara cares about Madara.”
They looked at each other for a moment while the reality of what they’re proposing to do settled on them. Shikamaru broke the silence, “I'm also curious about Temari. She seems to be the closest to him. How do you think she would feel about it?"
This Shizune had no doubt about. "I'm positive that she would murder him the first chance she could." She could see the slight pause in Shikamaru's thinking upon hearing her statement.
"Are you sure? When I saw her today, she seemed... I don't know. She blew up at me over a simple question, and she completely over-reacted to everything else."
"Shikamaru, Temari is dealing with a lot right now both physically and mentally. Her reactions may not seem emotionally logical to you or anyone who doesn’t understand the many ways we can attempt to protect ourselves. However, I can tell you with certainty that she is not living with him because she wants to. I think she, more than any of us, would want to see that man not only deposed but killed. In fact, I have a feeling that she might be the only truly reliable person in any of this."
“How could she be more reliable than us? What do you mean?”
“I can already feel my own conflict arising with this situation. I can already see that I’m going to have to remind myself of why he should not lead us despite the good that may come out of it such as this new healthcare policy. He is going to continually make our general world better in a lot of ways, and I have to remind myself that this idea isn’t Uchiha Madara. It’s an idea that any person could enact.
“We are going to be presented with the best of this situation. But Temari is not going to experience the benefits of whatever good comes out of this. She’s living up close to the actual man. She has to deal with his emotions, his cruelty, his power, and all the other parts we get to overlook or avoid when we want to.
“She is living with the man who was able to quell the allied forces almost single-handedly. She will not have any doubt about who he is even when we all may hesitate or conveniently forget.”
Shikamaru looked back down to the memo and figured Shizune was right. She had clearly seen something that he didn’t want to think too much about. Thus proving her point. He didn’t have to think about what Temari might be experiencing.
Shikamaru needed to process everything, "I'd better get going. I have a few assignments I’ve got to get to. Talk to you soon."
Shizune stopped him before he could leave. "Shikamaru, you can't tell anyone else you talked to Temari. If it got back to Uchiha-"
"I know. I know. I don't want to think of what he would do to me for talking to his Temari."
"Shikamaru, even though I'm sure you're more than right to be worried about yourself, I was talking about Temari. I know how close you two are as friends so don't let an inkling of this leave this room. I think she's in more danger than all of us. Uchiha appointed me as her physician, and I can honestly say that she needs one. If he found out she spoke to you, I guarantee that she wouldn't speak to anyone for at least a week."
"What do you mean? He wouldn't let her see anyone?"
"I mean that he would probably beat her and then literally take away her voice. I'd wager that she is being terrorized almost every moment she's with him. I thought that leaving her alone would maybe give her a few hours of rest, but she was probably too desperate to get away from him to even begin to think about resting.”
Shizune stood up and walked Shikamaru to the door. "You have no idea what Temari's going through, so the least we can all be is a little understanding when interacting with her and doing things that will affect her. Remember not to share that with anyone." Shizune ushered him out and sighed against her closed door.
She was involved whether she liked it or not, and she needed help.