The punch came in the next moment.
It had been one split second where the hurt look on Temari’s face had morphed into righteous fury. There had been no time to avoid it. Before Shikamaru even knew what was happening, his body was already flying.
He rolled onto the hallway’s floor before coming up into a sitting position. He silently raised a hand to touch his stinging cheek, already red.
Before him, Temari was glaring at him with an outraged expression on her face.
“I had no idea I’d misjudged you this much!” She shouted, her words turning to wind that slammed against his face.
“I- I’m sorry…”
The apology came without conscious thought.