they're always looking up — cause they're under me

If her glare could get any sharper, it would. For as observant as he could be, he hadn't noticed one key thing about her. "What fan?" she asked.

"Jeez, you two are both lame."

Daisuke certainly had a spine on him. What an odd kid. "If we're that lame, maybe we should leave you to the nukenin."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Kage, huh? You'll have to work pretty h—"

A flash of silver skimmed his cheek.

Someone shrieked.

"Lookie here," a voice said from the trees, chuckling, "just some kids and some lady. I don't think we need to try real hard for this one."

Temari reached for her tessen, but it wasn't there. Everything she and Shikamaru had lost, they would simply have to fake it. Temari tried to step forward, but the little hand on her clothes stopped her. She looked behind her to tell Daisuke to let go, but the look in his eyes stopped her.

"My mom," he said. It took her a beat to understand.

"We won't leave either of you."

thats what the cook tells him. gaara simply takes the unprepared noodles as theyre given and cranks, not too fast nor slow.

the restaurant is buzzing and he is glad simply for the fact not to be customer facing. his skin bristles and he turns when he hears his name. "ah-"

She can't remember why she has it, or how things panned out that way, but hidden on her person are two wallets: her own and, in a much more hidden location, Gaara's. (Not that it was much - it would be stupid to carry around a stack of money, even in a friendly nation.)

There's something objectively amusing about the Kazekage standing there, forming noodles. If Temari hadn't been so worried about him, maybe she would've seen the funny side.

She's not laughing right now.

Figuratively. Maybe also literally. It didn't matter; his reaction was as real as it could get. He stuttered in his step, the few fingers he'd lazily lifted twitching.

He didn't intend to ask her out. See, in his brilliant little brain, his regular self would've wished Temari well and sent her on her way. But he wanted to give the programmers a run for their money so he ... well. He supposed it could be interpreted as asking her out.

"Maybe," he intoned with a faint smirk.

Betcha being coy about it wasn't in his code.

Shikamaru strolled over to the restaurant's entrance, pushing the noren curtain aside before glancing back.

Temari couldn't pretend that she knew Shikamaru well, beyond the current events and their battle. This was the man who had grown bored of their fight and made them both surrender. Something about that didn't mesh with his current attitude. It wasn't as if he had any interest in her - nor her in him.

It would be good to check that he was alright, at least. That was the good ally thing to do, wasn't it? She could do the diplomacy thing. It helped that diplomacy came with free dinner, of course.

"Since you're buying," she said, before following him inside. She cast a look over Shikamaru; there was nothing weird or wrong with him. Not yet, at least, but the cracks would show soon.

An idea sown into the darkest recesses of his mind like a parasitic virus—resilient and highly contagious. An idea so simple and yet so powerful that it was almost impossible to eradicate.

This idea that their world wasn't real.

That their choices weren't entirely theirs.

He began going against the grain, acting out of character just to see what would happen. Sometimes, a tingle would run down his spine, his neck would crick at an odd angle, and he'd think—I'm being reset. But nothing would change. The world would remain as it was, and the day would start again.

Still, he kept on, stupidly, resolutely, like he had a point to make.

A streak of blonde caught his eye. Shikamaru raised a hand in greeting.

"Yo. Heading back to Suna?" He inclined his head in the direction of a donburi restaurant. "How about dinner first? My treat, as a thanks for saving my ass."

Why her? Why those others? It made no sense to her.

A voice snapped her from her thoughts, as he always seemed to do. Temari's face returned to stillness, her face unreadable.

"We're not heading back yet." This would be Gaara's choice when he wanted to return home, but she wasn't going to tell Shikamaru that. In the back of her mind, she remembered his question: the two of you grew up in the same house, right? She didn't want to hear it again.

She was told she'd have company on this mission. To her own surprise, she did remember her teammate. Temari sat her hand on her hip as she looked at the other girl.

"We can get this done quickly enough," Temari said. "Come on."

Temari discovered this quickly when she arrived, and confused contractors had no idea what she was talking about. They had been short staffed, and helping felt somewhat nostalgic for older days.

The workers were chatty as they cut stone, and while Temari herself wasn't chatty, she did listen. They spoke of home, of spouses and children and life, things she couldn't really relate to. No one asked her questions, she just did her job.

(Though really, wasn't she getting a little too old for these genin missions?)

"You know, this job's a lot quicker with one of you around," a man said, clapping a hand on her shoulder. The camaraderie of this place made her stomach turn, and she moved her shoulder away.

Surely, there had to be something more exciting than this going on.

The flames burned hotter than they should, the oil catching fire and Temari bit back a scream. She could smell the burn of her own skin, and though her body wanted to give up, Temari couldn't. She clung to her fan for support. Just a moment. In just a moment, she would be fine.

In that fleeting moment of distraction, something was tossed over Temari - oil. Perhaps, with the power of her winds, she could knock the stuff off of her, but it didn't work. Of course it didn't. She needed to do something to get rid of it, but for now, her chakra was already running out.

And found a senbon.

"Higanbana look look I got her, I got Gaara-kyun's sister with my toys!"

The bird seems to take them some place, and they heard the voice of Higanbana. Tenten stops on the branch she stepped on a few trees away and raises an eyebrow suspiciously. "What are you doing out here?" She asked, making sure her senses are on high alert for any mechanisms or anything that might suddenly spring out, while also keeping an eye on the woman.

"Tanamo will be very disappointed, you've evaded all of her toys... you're lucky she's distracted."

So there were traps of some kind. At this pace, perhaps Tenten and Temari could clear this mountain with ease. She decided to ignore the woman, and turn her attention back to Tenten.

"I didn't realize a little mountain run would tire you out so much." Indeed, compared to Gai's sensei training? A mountain run was rather easy. Having to do dozens of laps around the village was definitely a lot more tiring.

The raven suddenly squawks and takes off, and Tenten's eyes widen before she rushes after it. Still dodging traps as she did so. "Looks like the crow wants to lead the way!"

Eh. For Temari's own sake, she would be cooperative.

"And you don't think it's weird how chummy the bird is?" The bird flew away, dipping in and out of Temari's vision with ease. It was almost like a beacon, demanding they follow.

"Try to keep up, fan girl," Tenten teased with a hint of competitiveness before she took off. Maybe it was thanks to being teamed up with Neji so long, or maybe it's because of her own experience with tools and traps and growing up in a forge, but she was able to see the traps so far. Easily moving around them so she could begin her track up the mountain. "You alright back there?"She called out with a smirk.

Temari did remember her, somewhat. First the one with the eyes, now this one. She wondered where the one with the bowl cut was, then they'd have a full set - like dishware, she supposed.

She let Tenten take the lead: after all, if she wanted to run straight into danger, let her. A raven cawed in the background, almost proud. Strange little bird that it was. "It's a climb, not a race," Temari told the other girl. "Unless you want to burn through your stamina at the halfway point?"

he is the strongest after all, the most deserving -

he lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. ducked behind the doors like this, the moment he notices any movement, he will strike. temari's steps have gotten louder as has her breath.

they need to get out.

A tile seemed quite loose; they were both small enough that they could fit through it, should they need to. With a step, she stood on top of one of the desks, balancing on the tip of her toes, as she pushed the tile off the ceiling.

Dust fell away in a cloud, filling her lungs and dusting her hair and clothes. Barely, she choked back a cough, eyes stinging. This was their way out.

She felt eyes boring into her. She looked at the door and saw them, the eyes of a stray cat in an alleyway.

"And what's this in my pocket?" he cooed into the microphone, voice rattling and unmelodic, a scrape against their ears in tandem with Hiruko's dull fingertips against the door as his own hand dug out the key that he had found, stolen from the cloaks in the instructor's lounge.

"A key to unlock any door? Suppose we will find out. Or maybe it will lock-down whatever-is-in-there-"

Faint knocks, a beat at a time with each of his words, until the distinct click of the key in the door punctuated the sentence for them. The implication was clear - now what will you do?

Sasori hummed, a faint little mocking sound as he turned on his heel and moved along the hall to the north, tail clattering against the hall in an echoing loop with every step, until the form of him and the raucous noise simmered out into silence, the oppressiveness of absence.

the noise of their their waxes and wanes, one moment it feels as though that form hovers his back and aims to strike his sternum and the next he struggles to believe that such an existence is even there.

temari has seen him, he's not just some figment of gaara's mind. "..." when he turns to see a ceiling tile gone and temari slightly dust covered he knew he didn't need to say much else. he'll follow her lead and once they return, they can deal with their "ally" with others present.

She grabbed onto the edges of the hole and gave a sharp tug. It should hold, at least long enough to scurry out of there.

Temari held her hand over the mouthpiece of her microphone, before turning to Gaara. "Wait a minute before following me. The ceiling could collapse with both of us."

Gaara could probably handle it, but that wasn't the point. She hoisted herself up into the ceiling, entering a den of dust and cobwebs. Her face immediately felt strongly with the stuff, but there was no time to peel it off.

She crawled carefully, feeling like one of the roaches skittering beside her. Temari grit her teeth. She felt her lungs fill with dust, and it was getting harder and harder not to choke. She pulled her forehead protector over her mouth and nose loosely, which made it harder to breathe but at least she wasn't choking.

he is the strongest after all, the most deserving -

he lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. ducked behind the doors like this, the moment he notices any movement, he will strike. temari's steps have gotten louder as has her breath.

they need to get out.

A tile seemed quite loose; they were both small enough that they could fit through it, should they need to. With a step, she stood on top of one of the desks, balancing on the tip of her toes, as she pushed the tile off the ceiling.

Dust fell away in a cloud, filling her lungs and dusting her hair and clothes. Barely, she choked back a cough, eyes stinging. This was their way out.

She felt eyes boring into her. She looked at the door and saw them, the eyes of a stray cat in an alleyway.