Fatigue

#67 Blackthorn/Difficulty

Disclaimer: the standard - Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.

She stretches languidly and lets out a breath that's not quite deep but definitely not shallow. Then she turns her head, baring her other cheek so that the sun can warm it up as well.

Finally she opens her eyes and looks first upward at the blue, bright blue, sky blue above her, then at the green, bright green, light green of the leaves peeking above the wall in front of her.

Suddenly the birdsong around her, which has been constantly rising in volume, reaches a crescendo and drowns out everything else, even the sound of the wind, becoming then all that she can hear.

She frowns, "I hate this place." It's true enough at the moment.

"Really?" The voice comes from behind her but she doesn't have the energy to turn her head. She waits until he walks around and perches on top of the wall, effectively blocking her view of the green, green, oh so very bright green.

Shikamaru eyes her curiously, spread out on the roof, precious fan at her side, looking bored and annoyed and exhausted all at the same time. It's certainly an unusual sight. "What's with you?"

She glances at him, irritation manifest in every pore, "Isn't it obvious?"

He shrugs, "You look tired. I don't know why though, I mean, we haven't even started working yet."

She sighs and turns her head, she's looking again at the sky, "It's this place - it's sapping all of my energy."

"By 'this place', do you mean this space right here or...?"

She gives him a hard look but only for a moment - she appears to be too tired even to glare, "I mean, your village. It's so quiet and peaceful and bright." The last word is spoken with a shudder as though brightness is some sort of disease. He knows though that she's exaggerating because he's been to Suna and it's brighter there by far. She reiterates, "I hate it here."

He doesn't reply at first, just watches her and weighs her words. Finally he speaks, nodding slightly, slowly, subconsciously, "You're homesick."

She glances at him, frowning deeply, "What?"

"You heard me. You only 'hate' it here because it's not Suna. You want to go home."

She doesn't respond, eyes on the sky but the birdsong fills the silence so that it isn't quite so obvious. She lets out another breath that could be (but isn't) a sigh. 'I don't want to go home. I want to be home.' "I hate you."

He smiles - that's her way of saying he's right. He doesn't speak again, waiting for her to continue. He leans back slightly, looking out at the trees in front of him, listening to the rush of the wind passing through them.

He only turns when he hears the rustle of fabric. She is in the middle of rising, her clothes and hair disheveled, her expression mildly annoyed but the sun is behind her and it makes her look as though she's glowing with an inner light.

She rises oh so very slowly, fixes herself and picks up her fan, slipping it easily into the sash around her waist. When she glances up, he's still staring at her, more than a little mesmerized by what he just saw - the princess of the Sand. She frowns at him - the look he's giving her is bordering on creepy, "What's your problem?"

He shakes his head, looks down for a second to regain his composure, then returns his gaze to her - but she's already moving away. He stands up, "Temari, where are you going?"

She pauses and spares him a glance, "I'm going to take a shower. Come over in an hour - I'll be ready to work then." Then she disappears through the doorway, too tired to travel by roofs today.

Shikamaru watches her go, then sits back down on the ledge of the roof, praying that this hour will be the shortest one of his life.