A/N: This is a DA Secret Santa gift for Tessen-in-the-Sand. This was actually quite difficult for me, and I apologize if it's not quite what you had in mind. Still, know that I really tried hard and hope you like it and have/had a great holiday!

Disclaimer: I'm not Masashi Kishimoto. Trust me on that one.

Chapter 1

"Good for one all expense paid weekend at Kimochi Hot Spring Ryokan," Temari read the certificate a second, then a third time before meeting her youngest brother's ice green eyes.

"For Sunagakure's hardest working kunoichi!" Came the cheery voice of Kankurou to her left.

"Don't you like it?" Gaara asked taking note of her expression.

Temari quickly masked her confusion with a smile."It's great," she lied. "I'm just a little hurt that you want to get rid of me so soon after I've finally gotten home."

The redhead grinned widely, "with all the work you put in on the Chunnin Exams, Kankurou and I decided that you deserved a nice vacation. We checked with some of the local kunoichis to find out what an ideal vacation would be, and they all said a stay at a ryokan. I had Kankurou check around for the best one, and this is the one we found."

Gaara was obviously pleased with himself, so Temari decided to be a good sport about it. What she'd really like to do is spend a few days resting in her room between training sessions, but she kept that to herself.

"Well thanks guys," she said. "I'll check my schedule and set aside some time to go."

Kankuro grinned.

"Oh no," the Puppet-Nin piped up. "It's only good for this weekend. We did that so you would have to go, not just say you would and then forget about it."

"That's right," Gaara nodded. "Think of it as a forced vacation, a mission if you need to, but you're going and you're going to have a good time. Trust us."

"And make sure you bring us back some nice souvenirs," Kankurou said leading his sister to the Kazakage's office door. "Now hurry and go pack, you leave in the morning."

The door closed on a speechless Temari. Since when had her brothers become so cheeky? Well, Kankurou had always been obnoxious, but Gaara? She shook her head and walked towards her room, there was nothing left to do but pack.

o-o-o

"Good for one all expense paid weekend at Kimochi Hot Spring Ryokan," Shikamaru read aloud. "Lady Tsunade," he frowned, "you realize that Cha no Kuni is a three day journey?"

When the Hokage nodded he continued, "well," the Shadow-Nin sighed, "three days to get there, two and a half days there, three days back. That's quite a bit of travel time. Wouldn't it be less troublesome to just give me a week off?"

One more time Tsunade marveled at the young Nara's laziness.

"Why don't you just learn to say 'thank you' when someone rewards you for a job well done? Now," she continued eyes blazing at the apparent lack of gratitude. "I suggest you go pack. The certificate's good for this weekend only, and I order you to have a good time."

When the Chunnin made no move other than to smother a yawn, Tsunade pounded on her desk for emphasis causing it to split in two. Shikamaru chose that moment to disappear, so that when the dust cleared the Hokage had no one to take her anger out on. The Shadow-Nin felt a tad guilty watching Shizune rush towards certain doom, but figured the sooner he left the building the better.

He waited until he was on the street before muttering "troublesome woman."

"I heard that," Ino smirked. She and Chouji had been waiting for Shikamaru so they could have lunch together. "What are you complaining about now Shikamaru?" She asked snatching the scroll out of his hand. "Oh my GOD!" She shrieked stopping dead in the center of the street, "do you know what this is?"

"Yeah," Shikamaru grunted. "A lot more trouble than it's worth."

The blonde wrapped the scroll back up and smacked her friend in the head."No baka, the Kimochi Ryokan is one of the top rated ryokans around. People save up years for the chance to stay a night there, and you get an entire weekend? The Hokage just gave it to you? Wow Shikamaru, I hope you got on your hands and knees and kissed her feet in thanks."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as his friend continued on about everything she'd ever read about this particular ryokan. He and Chouji shot looks at each other while Ino went on and on. After about ten minutes, Shikamaru raised a hand to stop the monologue.

"So it's that good eh? Alright, I'll make the best of it I guess. Listen, since I'm leaving in the morning I'll just go home and pack. You two enjoy lunch without me."

Ino huffed and put her hands on her hips, but it was Chouji who called out, "have fun! Don't forget to bring us a souvenir!"