"Well, a guy like me, as Ino would say, deserves to be single forever." Shikamaru looked up at the sky, "Lazy, worn out, and weak. Not sunny like Naruto, nor handsome like Sasuke, with almost no good points."
Shikamaru lowered his head and walked forward with a normal expression, "My mom was also urging me before, saying I should find a girlfriend too. I think it's a pain, a big pain. Girls... I can't imagine what kind of girl would like me."
"I asked Ino a question, what kind of girl would like me." Shikamaru frowned, "Ino actually said that only a blind person would fancy me. Although it's true, I'd still be angry if she said it so bluntly."
"Although it's the truth."
"Heh..." Temari laughed, "At least you know yourself."
"My best quality is knowing myself." Shikamaru also laughed, "So when Shino said you liked me, I didn't believe it. To you, I'm probably just someone you remember a bit more. Letting you win during the Chunin Exams, seeing you bathing during a mission... Other than that, there's nothing special, right?"
Temari's body gradually relaxed, and she leaned gently on Shikamaru's shoulder, looking at his side profile with a smile, "You finally admit that you let me win during the Chunin Exams."
Two shadow imitation techniques, hiding for a few minutes, and then saying you ran out of chakra. Who would believe that?
"There's nothing I can't admit. I'm a Jonin now anyway." Shikamaru laughed, "I don't know who would like me, and I'm too lazy to think about it, too much trouble. So I don't know how to face girls other than Ino. To me... all other girls are trouble."
"Is Ino special to you?" Temari asked softly.
"If you had someone who bullied you since you were little, you'd know why." Shikamaru shrugged, "Although Ino is also trouble, her trouble is different from other girls' trouble, if I had to say... it's more like the trust between family members, just like with Choji."
Yes, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio trust each other like family, perhaps even more than family members.
Temari seemed to understand, and her tone became a little more gentle, "Then, if you fell in love with a girl?"
"I probably would very shamelessly stick to her, and use my brain, which has never thought about this kind of thing before, to think it over properly... no, that's not right." Shikamaru stopped halfway through his sentence, a smile appearing on his face.
Temari asked, puzzled, "What's not right?"
Shikamaru smiled, "If I really met a girl I liked, I would throw away my brain, not think, and let a pure clean me, without any other thoughts, stand in front of her."
"Because I like her, so I don't want to think about how to get her." Shikamaru seemed to have figured something out, "Yes, the me who doesn't think is the most real me. The me who is used to thinking will become unlike me. After all... I'm just a person who hates trouble."
Yes, only when facing the people he likes, the people he cares about, the people he values, will Shikamaru give up thinking.
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Ino, Choji, Naruto, Asuma, Kurenai... perhaps only in front of these people can he truly let go of the messy thoughts in his heart and be a pure Shikamaru, not thinking about trouble, and quietly staying by their side.
Temari tilted her head, looking at the smile on Shikamaru's profile, looking at the light shining in his eyes, she suddenly... her heart skipped a beat.
Without thinking, she subconsciously asked, "What if I really liked you?"
Shikamaru stopped walking, stopping suddenly.
Temari already regretted saying that, but she didn't take it back. Instead, she blushed and hid behind Shikamaru, not daring to look.
"If you really liked me, then I would answer you... thank you." Shikamaru's voice floated over, a voice so gentle that Temari's face turned pale, her eyes widened, as if she couldn't believe it, and she grabbed Shikamaru's shoulder tightly.
Shikamaru tilted his head, looking at Temari's face, "Thank you for liking me, I also like you very much."
Temari opened her mouth, her face returning to normal.
Their eyes met, and this time, neither of them looked away.
Shikamaru smiled, his voice indescribably gentle, "I also like you very much, Temari, but I'm sorry... maybe my definition of liking is different from yours, so I can't give you an answer. So, can you wait?"
"Wait for me to search a little for the definition of 'like', wait for me to put you in my heart, wait for me to truly let go of everything and get closer to you, stand by your side, and say to you... when I like you."
"At that time, I will thank you again, thank you..."
"You are the first girl in this world to say 'I like you' to me."
"I will always treasure this feeling in my heart."
Temari... was stunned.
Shikamaru smiled, "We're at the inn. You should have recovered some strength, right? Can you go up by yourself?"
Temari didn't answer, just nodded blankly.
Shikamaru put her down and gently stroked Temari's head, "Also, I'm sorry, you're not trouble. I just... don't know how to get along with you."
After saying that, he withdrew his right hand, smiled, and took two steps back, waving to Temari, "Goodbye."
Turning around and leaving, leaving only a back view imprinted in Temari's heart.
Watching Shikamaru turn away, watching Shikamaru disappear into the darkness, watching... him vanish from sight, Temari couldn't say a word.
Her cheeks were flushed, and her whole body was as if she had lost her bones and slumped to the ground, facing the ground, supporting her body with her hands, her body trembling slightly, opening her mouth to breathe in the air, her eyes full of shyness.
This... jerk... pineapple head...
What is he saying!!!
Idiot!
"I... I won't wait for you!" Temari muttered in the direction Shikamaru left.
...
"Perfect plan!" Shikamaru had the same expression as 'God' himself.
As expected, Naruto's moves are really useful.
He didn't think Temari would like him, but he really couldn't find a way to solve the problem in the short term. Originally, he was going to drag it out until the end, relying on the peace between Konoha and Sunagakure to convince Temari to give up.
But Shino's sudden appearance disrupted his plan.
But so what? The genius Shikamaru noticed Temari's anger and thought of another plan that would allow Temari to give up on chasing him without damaging Temari's feelings for Konoha.
That's right, this plan is called 'Naruto's Special for Hinata: Wait for Me to Catch Up to Your Feelings for Me' Operation.
Using the complex feelings Temari has for him in her heart, sublimating them, causing Temari to misunderstand, and then forcibly twisting these feelings to achieve the ending of 'Temari having a good impression of me'.
But that's just a good impression, not true liking. In Temari's heart, he's just a slightly special person, not someone she likes. This little bit of a good impression will make Temari give up on chasing him!
Perfect.
"Unless Temari really likes me, this plan is almost impossible to fail." Shikamaru covered his face with one hand, his face full of an evil smile, "How terrifying... my genius brain..."
Forget it, too stupid.
Shikamaru stopped being silly and put his hands in his pockets, going back home.
He didn't even know how he could lose this. This was a good impression-boosting operation personally taught by Naruto. Even Ino would fall for it, let alone Temari?
Shikamaru looked up at the sky, the smile on his face never fading.
I've already won big.
...
The next day, Shikamaru stood next to his dad, looking at Temari with a flushed face in the doorway, and fell into contemplation.
"Are you... Shikamaru's friend?" Yoshino Nara, who is Shikamaru's mother, covered her mouth in surprise, looking at Temari as if she were looking at something rare.
Temari's face was red, her hands gently grabbing her skirt, and she nodded lightly, "Yes."
As she said that, Temari looked up at Shikamaru, her eyes full of shyness.
Shikamaru... gave up on thinking.