Chapter Text
Temari walked swiftly through the corridors of the Konoha Library. She was in an upbeat mood, and there was a good reason for it. After a tedious debate with the Konoha genius, aka Shikamaru Nara, about how the chunin exams should be organised this year, she had stormed out from his office to get some fresh air and clear her head. It had turned out that it was one of the best moves that she could have made.
Temari was annoyed how Konoha and its current state spent so little effort in relation to training the new generation of shinobi. In other words, their methods were too soft, and Shikamaru was a perfect example of that. He was too sentimental, too gentle. Claiming that there was no need to push the new genin too hard during the exams. Instead, he wanted to focus on enhancing their strategic abilities and problem-solving skills.
With Shikamaru’s methods the new generation would be in trouble. It didn’t matter how quickly their brain worked in the field if they were too scared and inexperienced to do anything. Incapable of understanding the risks and the losses they might encounter. They needed to grow a thick skin first, after that they could focus on building up strategic skills. Shikamaru himself was the perfect example of how his own methods could not possibly work. Yes, sure he was a smart and capable, but Temari was adamant that he wouldn’t have burst out crying after his first mission as a leader if he had gone through a bit rougher training.
Anyway, while walking out in a fresh air, a good idea had popped into her mind. Konoha had always been a great nation and she was sure that its greatness had been achieved with sacrifices and toughness. All she needed to do was to get some evidence in front of him, and he would be forced to agree with her. She decided that the best place to start was the public library, which was full of history books (some more and some less serious) and she was positive that she would find something useful. In general, she wanted to prove to Shikamaru why her way of constructing the exams was better than his.
Temari felt that things had been different between her and Shikamaru recently. And by recently, she meant the whole year after the war had ended. They had known each other for many years, and despite the fact that Shikamaru had been complaining about most things, they had always worked well together. However, after the war she had noticed this growing tension between them.
Temari had been impressed by his efforts during the war, and watch him taking over a major role in the shinobi alliance. I seemed to her that he had finally risen up to the challenges he was capable of dealing with, without trying to dodge them lazily like he used to. He had really grown up to be a fine shinobi in her eyes, a fine man even. And more often than not she found her gaze wondering to his direction, lingering over his widened back and his tall posture. Staring how his long fingers pressed against his head, when he was deep in his thoughts. And how her mind wondered towards him during the late nights she spend awake in her room.
She wasn’t sure if it was all in her head, but she could not help but to have a slight blush rising over her cheeks every time he stood in front of her, tall and confident, but still genuinely interested in her opinions. They never talked about what they were to each other, and she wasn’t even sure if he already had a girlfriend or someone else he was interested in. However, Temari, despite feeling incredibly nervous, had decided that after they would finish discussing the chunin exams tonight, she would finally raise the topic with him.
Temari took a deep breath and started walking towards the history section. She walked past the reading room, which was empty except one woman, who was wearing a bright red dress, which seemed like an odd choice to wear in the library. At first, she didn’t pay much attention to the lady, before she suddenly realised that she knew her. She could not help but to stop and rush back to the reading room door to have a proper look.
“Shiho?” She asked and gazed towards the woman, praying in her mind that she had remembered her name correctly. The woman turned to her direction, face matching her choice of outfit and nodded slightly while quickly covering the book she was reading.
“Are you wearing make up?” Temari asked while still looking at her, still unsure if it actually was her, considering how different she looked. Temari had only seen Shiho at the archives, hiding behind her massive glasses and her long hair. She was always wearing something mundane, and most certainly Temari had never seen her wearing make-up.
Shiho nodded slightly, still blushing hard, and stood up to greet Temari.
“You are looking really put together.” Temari said, trying not to sound too surprised.
“Th..Thank you” Shiho replied shyly and Temari felt slightly sorry for her. There was no reason for her to feel so insecure. She was certainly looking nice in her outfit and even though the shade of the lipstick she had chosen was slightly wrong, it still brought some nice colour to her face. With a bit more confidence in her stance, one could even call her beautiful.
“Is there a special reason why you are looking so nice today?” Temari asked her with a smile.
“Kind of.” Shiho replied and started fiddling with the ends of her hair.
“I have a date.” She continued and the redness in her face changed into even deeper tone of red. Temari couldn’t help but to grant her a warm smile. She should have guessed that there was an obviously the reason for her appearance, with such lovely dress and all. Temari had never really seen her outside of the archives or the library and was really happy for her that she was putting herself out there.
“I am so happy for you, who is the lucky guy?” Temari asked teasingly.
“It is… It is Shikamaru” Shiho replied quietly and Temari could feel her heart sinking when she mentioned his name.
“He asked me out last week and I have been really looking forward to it.” She continued, and her words hit Temari like a dagger. She felt stupid, stupid that she had even considered that maybe Shikamaru would have any romantic feelings towards her. If he had asked Shiho out, it was already quite serious. Shikamaru might have been a lot of things, but he wasn’t the type of person who would toy with people’s feelings.
Temari gulped while trying to force a smile on her face. Shikamaru and Shiho made sense together. He had worked closely with Shiho and they had known each other for a long time. And she certainly hit the brief of a normal, kind woman. The type of woman Shikamaru had years ago stated that he wanted to marry. Now he had finally found her, or maybe he had been interested in Shiho for a long time and had only recently manned up to finally ask her out. The latter seemed like a more obvious option, considering his lazy nature.
“Well, I am happy for you.” Temari finally said, trying to sound as genuine as possible.
“You are looking really lovely, I am sure Shikamaru will be very happy to see you tonight.” She continued, but mentioning his name caused a tear to form into the corner of her eye. She was pleased that Shiho was glancing at the book on the table and failed to see it before Temari had time to wipe it off.
“Thank you, that means a lot, Temari” Shiho said while lifting her gaze, giving Temari a shy but a friendly smile.
“I wish I had some of your confidence for tonight.” She continued and started fiddling with her fingers.
“I am sure that if he was interested in my confidence, he would have asked me out” Temari stated the painful reality out loud.
“Stop comparing yourself to others, since he asked you out for a reason. Just be yourself.” She continued and tried to give Shiho her bravest smile. Just because she herself was now disappointed and heartbroken, there was no reason that her mood should ruin Shiho’s special night.
Shiho nodded slightly and started again playing with the ends of her hair. Temari let out a loud sigh, that woman was absolutely hopeless with her insecurity. Temari quickly reached her bag and pulled out a golden hair pin which had a large ornate scorpion engraved into it.
“Here, you can borrow this for tonight.” She said and pulled Shiho’s hair off from her face and tied it up behind her ear with the pin.
“I am sure he wants to see your face, if he has asked you out” Temari said, trying to prevent her voice from breaking.
“It is really beautiful” Shiho said with her cheeks blushing again.
“I don’t know how to thank you” she continued.
“Just have a good night and have some confidence in yourself.” Temari stated and started heading off towards the reading room door. She had forgot why she had come to the library in the first place. She waved the blushing girl a final goodbye, before she started heading of towards the main door.
Temari fought hard not to let her emotions take control over her, at least until she was in her hotel room again. It had been a long shot anyway to consider that Shikamaru might feel the same towards her, and she felt pleased that she had found about his date before she had said anything stupid to him.
She would just leave him be today, let him prepare to his date without distracting him. It was probably the best if she would just leave earlier than planned, she thought. There was no reason to torture herself with the possibility that she might actually see them walking happy around town holding hands. She decided that it was best to get out of Konoha and head back home, so her heart could recover in peace.
**
Shikamaru was sitting in his office, sorting out the papers he was supposed to get ready for tomorrow. He was behind schedule and most certainly not by his own fault. He blamed Temari, who had refused to listen any sensible suggestions he had made in relation to upcoming chunin exams. She had just kept pushing her view about how the exams should be about testing the toughness of the new genin and Shikamaru was being too naïve thinking that they should be focusing on problem solving.
He understood that Temari had a point, but the reality was that in a real-life battle situation, new genin would have no use of knowing a lot of different ways to attack if they would not be able to form a functionable plan around those attacks. It hadn’t even been the first time they had had that same fight, but this time Shikamaru had refused to give in. He had found her suggestion of scrapping the theoretical part of the exam completely outrageous and had made it clear to her, which had eventually led her to storm out of his office.
That woman certainly was something else. Head-strong, completely untameable and incredible stubborn. He had worked with her for many years now, and had eventually learned a bit how to deal with her. In other words, he had needed to come up with better arguments, stronger will and more evidence to support his views. However, he had to grant it to Temari, that it was mostly because of her that he had actually become so good at what he was doing. She had really pushed him to perform better and take more responsibilities.
Shikamaru had to admit that it wasn’t just because of her demanding and pushy attitude. It was because he fundamentally wanted to impress that woman, to prove her that he was her equal. Like a storm she had enter his life when he had still been a genin. She had beaten him in a fight during their first chunin exams and then she had saved his life during his first mission as a team leader. Since then, not even a day had gone by without him thinking about her.
The amount of effort he had put over the years to show her, that despite that he was younger than her, he was by no means inferior to her. That he was someone she could trust and rely on, and maybe one day she would see him as a man as well, someone she could consider worthy to stand next to her not just during the battles or meetings, but through life as well.
Recently Shikamaru had noticed a different kind of tension between them. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but more than once he had noticed how she was looking at him in a way that she hadn’t used to. How her gaze had wondered over his face when they had been working late together, and how it had occasionally taken her longer to form a sentence when he was standing right next to her. Secretly he hoped that maybe she had finally noticed him the same way he had noticed her, but didn’t want to get his hopes up too much.
However, he had made a decision to finally ask her out after they had got the chunin exams planned. He was feeling incredible scared about her response, but felt like he could not wait any longer. He had to know if he would have any chance with a woman like her.
But first things first, they needed to come up with some kind of plan for the exams. He knew that it was probably him who would eventually have to back out even a little bit, but he could not make it too easy for her. Not if he wanted her to respect him and maybe even agree to go out with him.
Shikamaru pictured how Temari had shouted at him earlier claiming that his ideas were ridiculous. How it had been very hard to focus on her words when her agitated face was taking a shade of pink and how her lips looked so luscious and sweet. God, he had wanted to shut her up so badly. Win the argument by silencing her with his own lips. Squeeze her against his office door and maybe make her whine in a completely different way.
He realised quickly that he needed to think of something else when he could feel his erection pressing demandingly against his trousers. Even thinking bout that woman always made him so damn excited. He looked at the papers, trying to focus at the work in hand again, but realised that it was unlikely that he would be able to focus enough to get everything done by tomorrow.
Shikamaru sighed and looked at the time. He felt surprised after noticing that it was already almost six o’clock and there was no sight of Temari.
“Troublesome woman” he mumbled to himself. It had been about four hours since she had stormed out. How could they possibly get the discussion finished tonight if she didn’t even bother showing up.
Suddenly he heard a quiet knock from the door. Finally, he thought but could not help but to wonder if everything was alright, since the knock didn’t sound at all like Temari, who would normally just storm into his office without bothering to knock at all.
Shikamaru opened the door and it soon became very clear to him why the knock hadn’t sound at all like Temari. It was Shiho, who was standing by the door, wearing a formal looking dress, and quite frankly so much make up that he even struggled to recognise her at first.
“What brings you here?” he asked her while gazing down the hallway, hoping to see Temari.
“I wasn’t sure where we were supposed to meet up. Then I saw the light in your office so I thought you might still be working.” Shiho said while staring at the ground.
Shikamaru was very confused and could not think what she was possibly talking about. What did she mean by meeting up somewhere.
“Yes. I have been working really late recently. There are still a lot of documents I need to get ready for tomorrow.” He said, hoping that she would get the hint that whatever it was that she wanted to talk about could hopefully wait until tomorrow.
“Oh, I didn’t realise you were so busy.” She said and Shikamaru could hear a disappointment in her voice.
“It is ok, if you want to cancel” she continued and turned away.
Then he suddenly remembered. Shiho had helped him out during the previous week with decoding some difficult documents. She had spent a couple of nights in the archives and Shikamaru had been so pleased with her help that had promised to treat her a meal as a thank you. He had completely forgot that he had promised to do it today and felt embarrassed when he watched her starting to walk away.
“Hold on” he quickly said and grabbed her arm.
“The work can wait. Let’s go and have some dinner.” He said with a genuine smile. In truth, Shikamaru didn’t really want to go but he had made a promise to Shiho and in fact, he was really hungry. In addition, he would still probably have enough time to catch up with Temari later that evening. Furthermore, he would probably have more energy to face her with a full stomach.
“You sure it is ok?” he could hear her quiet reply.
“Of course, I have been really looking forward to it” he replied, knowing that a little white lie wouldn’t hurt anyone. Shiho definitely deserved a nice meal after working so hard last week. In addition, it looked like she had already had a good day since she was dressed up so differently. She had probably just been having a nice day out with some of her girlfriends, or maybe she was on her way back from a formal garden party. Whatever it was, he felt happy that she had been able to relax after working so hard.
**
The barbeque place had been fuller than usually and it had taken quite a while before they had got their food. Shikamaru looked at the time and sighed. It was already past eight and he knew Temari wouldn’t be please if he turned up on her hotel room door late wanting to talk about work. He had been preoccupied by his thoughts most of the dinner but had put an effort to ask some polite questions from Shiho, who seemed surprisingly keen to tell Shikamaru about her life.
He opened the restaurant door and let Shiho step out in front of him. It seemed like she was smiling, so at least it appeared that she had enjoyed the dinner.
“Did you enjoy the meal?” He suddenly heard Shiho asking.
“Yes, the food was quite good.” Shikamaru started.
“And it was a luxury to have so much of it. Normally, when I have been here with Choji, there is usually not much food left for me” he continued with a chuckle.
He automatically reached out for his pocket for a cigarette but stopped mid-movement. He realised that Shiho might not appreciate the cigarette smoke and decided to light one up after she had headed home.
“I live this way” Shiho said and pointed out to her right. Shikamaru nodded as a reply, unsure why she would think that he was interested to know where she lived.
“If you were planning to walk me home” she mumbled quietly while staring at the ground. Shikamaru’s eyes widened. He really didn’t have time for this, but he could not really come up with a polite way to decline her. Suppose she could not be living that far so if they walked quickly, he might just be able to meet Temari around half past.
“Sure” he said, trying to force a smile.
“Lead the way.” He continued and started walking next to Shiho towards her home. To Shikamaru’s frustration, they were progressing a lot slower than he had hoped for. The main reason being Shiho’s shoes, which seemed to have a significantly high heels, and she clearly didn’t seem too used to wearing them. Her steps were short and unsteady and Shikamaru realised that with this pace it might take ages before they would reach Shiho’s place.
“Here.” he offered her his arm, hoping that she would take it. It would probably steady her steps enough so they could pick up their speed.
“Thank you” Shiho said and Shikamaru could feel her wrapping her arm on his. To his relief he noticed that his theory had been correct and Shiho was able to walk a bit faster.
Shikamaru could not help but to smile when he automatically started thinking how Temari used to complain about his slow speed when they were walking around town, telling him not to drag behind. Once she had even grabbed his hand and pulled him to a dango shop after noticing that they had introduced some new flavours. He had never predicted that such a tough woman would be so into sweet things, and he remembered watching the rest of the afternoon when she ate a lot of them with the widest smile over her face.
“I wasn’t sure if you were ever going to ask.” Shiho’s voice suddenly pulled him out of his thoughts.
“Ask what?” Shikamaru asked with a puzzled look, wondering if he had been too lost in his thoughts to hear what she was talking about.
“Well… this.” She mumbled, slowing her pace again.
Shikamaru wasn’t fully sure, what she meant, but decided to pull her hand a little bit, hinting her that there was no need for her to slow down.
“It was no trouble. You have been working so hard and been incredibly useful so it was more than fair that I offered you a meal.” He said with a quick smile and noticed to his frustration that Shiho had stopped walking, forcing him to do the same. She was just standing there silently, staring at his arm, and Shikamaru wasn’t sure what to say. He gazed upon the single street lamp lighting the alleyway they were currently standing, wondering how long way there still was to her home.
“Do you like me, Shikamaru?” she asked and he noticed how she had lifted her face up towards his and was staring at him with a determination.
“Of course I do. I think we work really well as a team” he replied feeling slightly confused, wondering why she was suddenly asking something like that. It is not that he really thought much of her, but the truth was that he really appreciated the effort Shiho always put on her work, and he could always rely on her getting things done in time. Shiho was silent for a moment and he could suddenly feel her grip tightening around his arm.
“You can kiss me, if you like.” Shiho said and took a step closer to him, leaning against his chest. Shikamaru could feel how his body froze suddenly. This was a turn he had not expected to happen. He could not help but to automatically step away from her, causing her to stumble on her steps a bit.
“Sorry, was I too straight-forward? I was trying to be confident, but…” she started but stopped her sentence and covered her face into her hands.
“It’s ok, I just didn’t quite expect you saying something like that” he said while feeling increasingly uncomfortable.
“Why did you ask me out, then?” she said while fixing her posture and looking straight at him, expecting a reply.
“You… you thought…” Shikamaru stuttered and the whole situation started to make more sense. Why she was dressed up nicer than usually, why she had expected him to walk her home. And he stupidly had even offered his arm to her.
“You though this was a date” he whispered, looking increasingly embarrassed. He watched how Shiho quickly turned her face away, but could notice a tear rolling down her cheek, before she was able to wipe it away.
“Shiho, I am so sorry. I really didn’t realise.” He mumbled, wondering if it was ok to touch her hand in order to comfort her but decided against it. He wanted to avoid any more confusions. He felt absolutely awful about the whole misunderstanding.
“That is ok. I should have known that I am not good enough for you.” She said with her voice breaking.
“It is not like that, you are a very nice person, and you look lovely tonight.” He said, trying to sound reassuring. And it was all true, there was absolutely nothing wrong with Shiho.
“Its just…” he started, being unsure how to finish his sentence. Luckily, he didn’t have to when Shiho lifted her head and looked at him with sad but understanding eyes.
“I think I know why.” She said to his surprise.
“You do?” he asked without being unable to hide his confusion.
“I have seen the way you look at her.” She said knowingly and moved her hair away from her shoulder.
“I just thought that maybe I had misunderstood something once you asked me out.” She continued.
“I don’t understand…” he started again but she raised her hand, indicating him to stop talking.
“It is Temari, isn’t it?” she asked and started at him with bright eyes.
Shikamaru could feel how his breath got stuck in his throat. He couldn’t deny what she was saying. However, he felt embarrassed if he had been so ridiculously obvious, that even Shiho had noticed how he felt about Temari. He nodded slightly while rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably.
“I cannot blame you. She is very beautiful and confident. And she is really friendly as well.” She explained while smiling melancholically.
“Friendly?” Shikamaru could not help but to feel surprised by the word Shiho had picked in relation to the scariest person he had ever met.
“I know she can be quite brutal and blunt, but she can be nice as well.” Shiho said and picked up a hair pin from her hair.
“She was really nice to me today.” She continued and fixed the hem of her skirt.
“You met her today? Where, when?” Shikamaru asked, without being able to hide his eagerness.
“At the public library this afternoon. I told her that I have a date with you tonight.” She replied.
“You told her that we were going out on a date tonight!” he raised his voice and could feel his eyes widen. This was not good. Temari would never in a million years agree to go out with him, if she thought that he had been on a date with someone else.
“Sorry” he said after realising that he had been rude to Shiho.
“Of course you did, since that is what you thought.” he continued but started to feel panicky. He could not help but to think how Temari was feeling, what she was thinking about him.
“Did she say anything?” he asked, trying not to sound too desperate.
“She said that she was happy for me. And she let me borrow this.” Shiho said and gave Shikamaru her hair pin.
Shikamaru looked at the pin and recognised it immidiately. He felt awful that he hadn’t noticed it earlier. It was a pin Temari rarely wore but always carried with her. She had got it from her opponent after one of her first battles. She held the gift in high regard, since it reminded her of the fact that she had been recognised as a strong and capable shinobi. He could not believe that she would ever let anyone else to wear it.
“She left immidiately after that, even though it seemed that she had just arrived.” Shiho continued.
“Did she say where she was going to?” Shikamaru asked quickly while feeling how his breathing was getting heavier.
“No. But she did seem a bit upset about something.” Shiho said and Shikamaru knew that he had heard enough.
“I am sorry, Shiho, but I think I need to go.” He said with a determined voice and gave her an apologetic look.
“I understand.” She replied while wiping another tear of from her eyes. Shikamaru felt terrible about what situation he had unintentionally put her into, but he didn’t have time to make it up to her right now. He needed to find Temari.
“Is it ok, if I…” he started but Shiho interrupted him.
“Yes, I am quite happy to walk home by myself after this.” She said and straightened her posture.
“You should give this back to her.” She quickly continued, before Shikamaru rushed off.
“Thank you, and sorry for everything.” He said and grabbed the hair pin and put it in his pocket.
Shikamaru was running, faster than he had in a long time, towards Temari’s accommodation. He wasn’t sure how she was feeling, but he needed her to know that he hadn’t been on a date with another woman. That it had all been an awful misunderstanding. Shikamaru wondered if the discussion with Shiho had been the reason why she hadn’t come back to his office, why she hadn’t come back to discuss about the chunin exams even thought they had planned to.
Or maybe she didn’t even care that Shiakamru was presumably on a date with Shiho. Maybe she was even happy for him that he had found someone he liked. It was a very likely possibility but he didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want to think that the increased tension between them had been all in his head. Didn’t want to think that she wouldn’t care at all if he went out with another woman. He himself would be absolutely heartbroken, if he heard that Temari was going on a date with someone else.
He felt like an absolute idiot for not telling her earlier how he felt about her. Especially if his feeling had been so obvious to outsiders such as Shiho. He had explained it to himself that he was waiting for the right moment. It felt even worse that this was the night when he had finally got enough courage to tell her about his feelings. And now this whole misunderstanding might have ruined his chances with her.
But it didn’t mater at the moment. He needed to talk to her, he needed to see her and let her know what was in his heart. He was feeling desperate and scared but was sure that he would know what to say, if he could just get a chance to clarify the situation to her. Tell her how he couldn’t stop thinking about her, and how he spent every waking moment wishing that she was his.
After reaching her hotel he rushed upstairs to her room and knocked loudly on her door.
“Temari!” he shouted and hit his palm against the door.
“Open up, please. I really need to talk to you!” he continued and hit the door again. He could feel his heart beating fast and he was struggling to steady his breathing after all the running. The door stayed closed and Shikamaru couldn’t help but to repeatedly shout her name, begging that she would open the door.
“Please” he whispered against the door, hoping to see her finally opening it.
“Excuse me” he heard a voice on his side. Shikamaru quickly turned his head towards the staircase and noticed a woman working for the hotel standing there, staring at him suspiciously.
“Sorry.” He quickly mumbled after realising that he had made way too much noise, especially considering the time of the day.
“I am just looking for a lady who is staying in this room.” He continued politely.
“Oh, you are looking for lady Temari, from Suna” she replied
Shikamaru nodded eagerly, hoping the woman would be able to help him.
“She isn’t here anymore. She checked out earlier today.” The woman replied, sounding slightly annoyed.
Shikamaru could feel his heart drop after the woman’s words sank in.
“When? Did she say where she was going?” he asked with a desperate voice and walked over to her.
“Maybe about four or five hours ago. She mentioned something about having some business back at home so I presume that she left to Suna.” She replied and Shikamaru could feel the panic and disappointment hitting him hard. He didn’t reply anything, just leaned his back against the wall and slowly lowered himself down to sit on the floor.
“You cannot stay there, sir” the woman said with an irritated tone but Shikamaru didn’t care.
“Just give me a moment. I will be gone soon.” He replied quietly.
“I will be coming back in an hour to clean one of the rooms, I expect you not to be here then.” She said while turning around and disappearing to the staircase. Shikamaru nodded, despite knowing that woman could not see him anymore.
He rested his head against the wall and covered his head in his palms. He considered going after Temari, but if she had left over four hours ago, there was no way he could catch up with her. Maybe he could write her and explain her the situation. However, he quickly ditched that idea. He had never written to her and wasn’t even sure how to explain the situation. And he didn’t want to tell her about his feeling over a letter.
All he could do now was to wait. Luckily there was going to be a formal meeting about chunin exams in Konoha with some other village representatives in a couple of weeks’ time. She would definitely turn up to that and then Shikamaru would have time to explain everything to her. And if she wouldn’t turn up, he would go to Suna himself and make her listen.
He took a deep breath and stood up. The fact that Temari had left in a rush without telling him, meant that she was most likely annoyed to him. Despite the fact that it wasn’t good, it also gave him hope. Maybe she had some feelings towards him after all, if she had reacted to the news about his date so impulsively.
Not all was lost, Shikamaru thought himself and squeezed her hair pin in his hand. He would have plenty of time over the next couple of weeks to come up with a new plan in relation to how to approach Temari in relation to this matter. All he needed now was patience.