"Temari?"
Pushing open the hotel room door, Nara Shikamaru found that Temari was unexpectedly not inside, causing a sense of panic to rise within him; he had said some really hurtful words to Temari that morning, and even though he suddenly recalled memories about her now, Nara Shikamaru still felt doomed.
He needed to find Temari immediately and apologize properly, or else he wouldn't get a hot meal for the next few days.
"If she's not at the hotel... where could Temari be? I just remembered Temari's existence, indicating she must have made an effort to find herself back, and if she was still in the village this morning... could it be there?"
Nara Shikamaru's mind raced, pinpointing a location directly, which was Uchiha Yoichi's pharmacy.
Recently, there were only two people researching the White Whale—one being Orochimaru, and the other Uchiha Yoichi. Compared to Orochimaru, Uchiha Yoichi only requested a tiny amount of flesh and organ tissue from the White Whale.
Compared to the White Whale's enormous size, the flesh Uchiha Yoichi requested was pathetically little, not even one-twentieth of what Orochimaru wanted. However, in the entire Ninja World, it's likely that only Orochimaru and Uchiha Yoichi were studying with the White Whale's flesh.
And Temari, unaware of Orochimaru's whereabouts, prompted Nara Shikamaru to immediately head towards Uchiha Yoichi's pharmacy.
Upon arriving at Yoichi Pharmacy, Nara Shikamaru was about to push the door open when he heard the clanking of metal chains, then saw chains wrapped around the door handle inside.
'Locked from the inside with chains? There's still someone inside...'
Just as Nara Shikamaru thought of this, he saw Uchiha Yoichi appear at the crack of the door, but he didn't immediately undo the chains. Instead, he asked, "What's the matter?"
"I've remembered Temari. Her existence was erased by that White Whale. I've recalled her now. Have you seen Temari today?"
Nara Shikamaru hurriedly said to Uchiha Yoichi, urgently wanting to know Temari's whereabouts. But just as he finished speaking, he heard someone inside clapping their hands.
"Are you entertaining a guest? I'm sorry to interrupt; I just want to inquire about Temari's whereabouts..."
Nara Shikamaru said somewhat apologetically but then involuntarily twitched his nose as if he smelled something...
"I'm conducting an experiment; no need to mind those sounds. But who is this Temari you speak of? As for the White Whale erasing existence... was it that woman you brought the other day?"
Uchiha Yoichi feigned a sudden recollection, then said to Nara Shikamaru, "I have no idea where she went. She looked for me yesterday, but today I haven't seen her at all."
"And about the existence erased by the White Whale, I'm not too clear on that. What happened?"
As soon as those words fell, another sound arose from within, seeming to include some heavy breathing.
"No, it's nothing. If Temari isn't here, I won't disturb you further."
Feeling something odd inside but most concerned about Temari, Nara Shikamaru bid farewell and left.
After Nara Shikamaru left, only then did Uchiha Yoichi close the door, transforming into mist and disappearing, leaving a piece of Curse Paper fluttering to the ground.
"Shi... Shikamaru..."
Lying on the ground, Temari's consciousness was somewhat blurred, yet she still recalled what happened just now. Shikamaru remembered her, how wonderful.....
If Temari hadn't retained some awareness, her heart unwilling for Shikamaru to know she was here, Uchiha Yoichi's one hand definitely wouldn't have been enough to cover her mouth, for she'd surely let out even more resounding noises.
"It's difficult to act downstairs; better go upstairs, Lady Temari!"
After speaking, Uchiha Yoichi picked up Temari and grabbed the camera, preparing to head upstairs.
Temari, now utterly limp, whispered intermittently, "Home... I want to find Shikamaru..."
"It's not over yet, Lady Temari. You recorded a promise and even signed a contract."
Not caring for Temari's words, Uchiha Yoichi carried her upstairs.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The sky darkened, until late at night, Nara Shikamaru still hadn't given up on finding Temari.
Partway, Uzumaki Naruto couldn't bear to watch anymore, intending to mobilize the village's ninjas to aid Nara Shikamaru's search, but was refused by Nara Shikamaru.
Now was the time to prove his sincerity!
After searching for over an hour, Nara Shikamaru finally spotted a figure sitting at the iron fence on the outskirts of the Forest of Death.
He hurried forward, finding this person to be Temari, and felt a sense of relief as he came to her side, bowing directly and saying, "I'm sorry, it's all my fault, Temari, please forgive me!"
After Shikamaru finished speaking, Temari didn't respond, and the surrounding atmosphere fell quiet for a moment.
Not hearing Temari's reply, Nara Shikamaru didn't dare rise, waiting over two minutes until Temari finally spoke, "You remember me?"
"I remember now, I remember everything. I'm sorry, Temari, it's all my fault..."
Nara Shikamaru raised his head as he spoke, and suddenly saw Temari, her face covered in tears. He said nothing, instead pulling her into his arms, saying, "Let's go home, Temari..."
"Mm..."
Temari responded softly. For the next few minutes, neither of them spoke. After what seemed like a long time, Shikamaru finally said, "Let's go back, Shikatai might still be waiting at home."
"That guy Shikatai, staying up so late and not sleeping..."
Temari instinctively reproached, then exchanged glances with Nara Shikamaru, as if they had rediscovered their marital connection from a few days ago, and laughed together.
Then they walked home together.
On the way back, Temari slowly closed her eyes, recalling the events of the day, feeling deeply conflicted.
Not long after nightfall, she awoke, seemingly after taking a restorative secret medicine; once restored, she almost acted out of anger, but considering her situation, Temari decided against it.
However, after leaving Uchiha Yoichi's pharmacy, Temari found herself at a loss for where to go, not knowing how to face Shikamaru. She used Transformation Jutsu to avoid detection by the Konoha Ninja, ending up near the Forest of Death.
She sat there for hours until Nara Shikamaru found her.
On the way back, Temari would occasionally glance at Nara Shikamaru, who mimicked her actions, and once their eyes met, they couldn't help but smile simultaneously.
But the more she saw Shikamaru's smile, the heavier the guilt in Temari's heart grew. She knew why Nara Shikamaru suddenly remembered her; she had paid a great price that afternoon.
'Shikamaru, I'm sorry...'
Thinking of the video and contract still in Uchiha Yoichi's possession, Temari silently made up her mind to retrieve and destroy those items, even if it meant killing Uchiha Yoichi!
Once back home, sure enough, Nara Shikatai had not gone to sleep and was waiting at the door for them to return.
Upon seeing Temari, Nara Shikatai immediately apologized, "Sorry mom, I didn't remember you these past couple of days and even avoided you..."
Temari snorted, placing her hands on her hips, and said to Shikatai, "Go to sleep, Shikatai, if you dawdle and are late getting up tomorrow morning, don't blame me when I come after you!"
"Got it, I'll go to bed now..."
Nara Shikatai, hearing Temari's words, realized everything was fine, so he held his head with both hands and sauntered off to his room, muttering complaints about having to attend school the next day.
Once Shikatai went to his room, Nara Shikamaru and Temari went to the living room, where Shikamaru poured Temari a cup of tea before sitting down and asking, "Temari, what happened? Why did I suddenly remember you this afternoon, what was the reason?"
He wondered if it had anything to do with Yoichi... This thought lingered only in Nara Shikamaru's mind, unvoiced.
"I don't know, I've been around the Forest of Death today... and even further at the Valley of the End. Why did you suddenly remember me?"
Temari shifted the topic, knowing that Shikamaru was very clever, so she couldn't lie; the more lies, the more chances for error... Although she didn't want to use that jerk's advice, for the sake of concealing the matter, Temari endured her revulsion and used Uchiha Yoichi's method.
She resolved to deal with that jerk when the opportunity arose and retrieve her belongings... Then her family would be safe.
"I don't know either. The village knows nothing about the origin and abilities of the exotic beasts, so we can only hope Orochimaru can discover something,"
Nara Shikamaru shook his head and spoke, unable to discern anything from Temari's words. He stroked his chin and speculated, "Could it be related to time? That White Whale is already dead, could it be a matter of time? Once the Jutsu User dies, the jutsu naturally gets undone..."
"Not sure, hasn't the village made any progress?"
Temari feigned ignorance, though she knew very well it was the secret medicine she took at Uchiha Yoichi's that removed the anomaly from her, altering everyone's perception.
"No, the fourth exotic beast is yet to be found, the village is still on alert, tonight I was supposed to be on duty, but Naruto helped me..."
Nara Shikamaru sighed as he said this, calculating in his mind; the Ninja World has faced exotic beast calamities four times, yet they've only discovered the first two.
The first beast still resides in the deep sea, the second was mysteriously killed, and the Konoha secretly investigated the reporters back then, all were ordinary people.
According to Uchiha Yoichi's prophecy, exotic beasts will bring treasure when they appear, but other than the first's fruit treasure, Konoha hasn't seen any so-called treasure in the subsequent three occurrences.
The third and fourth haven't surfaced within the Five Great Countries, possibly elsewhere in the Ninja World; however, outside the Ninja World nations, conditions are extremely harsh, even ninjas can't probe for long in such places.
After discussing, the Five Kage decided to abandon further exploration to focus on safeguarding the following days.
Once Nara Shikamaru finished briefing Temari on the village's recent situation, he shook his head and said, "Get some rest, Temari, the family depends on you lately."
"Okay, I'll go take a bath first, Shikamaru."
Temari said, knowing she needed to carefully examine her body before she could sleep peacefully.