Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. All characters and settings used belong to Masashi Kishimoto

Considering the Circumstances

by insert cliche

"Troublesome."

Shikamaru heaves another world-weary sigh, and stares at the paperwork piled up on his desk. Maps, reports, and various information are scattered everywhere, and the strategist is much too lazy to pick anything up. He swipes at a scroll sent by one of the reconnaissance teams, and begins to scan the contents.

"Shikamaru? You there?"

He looks towards the tent flap and immediately recognizes his female teammate's high-pitched voice. "Come in."

Yamanaka Ino steps in, her white-blond hair swishing behind her, forehead protector gleaming in the candlelight. She sits down in front of Shikamaru's desk before speaking.

"My father forced me to go around and collect status updates from some of the people in our generation." The mind-reader smirks slightly, as if remembering something amusing. "Would you like to hear them now?"

Shikamaru sighs again and leans back in his uncomfortable wooden chair. "Fine."

Ino nods, then straightens. "Haruno Sakura is currently in the medic tents with Hyuuga Hinata as her assistant. Inuzuka Kiba has just brought Hyuuga Neji into the care ward from an attack by multiple white Zetsu clones, and Hyuuga just received chakra replenishment treatment by Shizune. He's resting in the care wing right now. Rock Lee is at the northeastern lookout, and Aburame Shino is still at the southern post using his bugs," here, the girl shudders, "as scouts."

Shikamaru stops him for a moment. "You said that Hyuuga Neji was attacked by multiple Zetsu clones?"

"Yes. I heard that there were over fifty of them ganging up on the west lookout. Neji took most of them out but was captured momentarily by one of the larger clones. Some chakra was stolen by the clone, but most of his chakra was used up in fighting the others."

"Alright. Please continue."

Ino clears her throat. "Akimichi Chouji is assisting other shinobi, including Yamato-sensei and Sai, in reconstruction of damaged tents. Tenten is still resting in the medic ward from events earlier this morning. Oh, and Naruto is still missing."

Shikamaru is unsurprised at the last statement. It's Naruto, after all. Who knows what the idiot is doing.

"Thank you. Dismissed."

Ino moves to stand up, then stops. "Hey, Shikamaru. Do you have any extra time?" The boy can see the visible transtition from seasoned Konoha kunoichi to the girl she really is inside. "I'm boooored, and if Daddy found me, he'd make me go help with something else. Can I stay with you?"

Shikamaru huffs and nods slightly before turning back to his paperwork. "Fine. But don't take too long. Who knows what will happen next."

Ino smiles and grabs the extra chair standing in the corner. She drags it over and sits down next to him. "Okay. Want me to tell you something fun?"

"Another sigh. Wars aren't fun, Ino."

"No, you idiot! It's about Neji and Tenten!"

The lazy-nin's interest piques slightly, and he smirks. "Did Hyuuga finally confess his undying love?" Everyone in Konoha knew about the deeper feelings between the longtime teammates.

Shikamaru, like the genius he is, has put pieces together and figured things out years before the others. He knows that the pair had already been dating in secrecy for a while before the war, but chooses not to let this bit of information slip out.

Ino thinks for a moment, and sighs out an exasperated, "No. But they were looking awful close when I went to check on Tenten."

"I thought you said Neji just had chakra replenishment?"

Ino scoffs. "After that, dimwit. He had to be moved somewhere to rest, and Tenten's ward was the emptiest." And as an afterthought, "Well, as empty as a medic ward can be." She pauses for a moment, then grins. "Ya wanna hear the rest? It's really good."

"Go on." A piece of common knowledge: once Yamanaka Ino starts gossipping, she won't stop until everything is out in the open. Shikamaru knows this from lots of experience.

"Okay, okay. Anyways, when I went to look for them, I found her cuddling next to him on the same bed! It was sooo cute!"

"Please tell me you didn't interrupt them." Inwardly, Shikamaru sighs and knows she did exactly that.

His teammate huffs indignantly. "Well, I sort of had to, to get those status updates? But it's okay-when I left, they went straight back to hugging each other and whispering."

"Let me guess-you eavesdropped."

"Yup! And not-so-genius Neji didn't even remember to use his Byakugan! He was too busy staring in her eyes!" Ino's speaking is getting faster with every sentence.

Shikamaru feels the need to correct her. "Ino, he just went under chakra treatment. It's not the best idea to do anything chakra-consuming immediately. You usually have to wait for at least four hours."

Another childish huff comes from his left. "Whatever, genius. But they were still hugging each other!" Ino looks up and smiles, her pale blue eyes sparkling. "Isn't that adorable?"

He pretend to act defeated. "Fine, fine. Yes, it's nice." This conversation is filed into his memory under Future Blackmail for Hyuuga.

Ino grins, then leans against him. The two of them sit in companionable silence for a while, before Ino speaks again.

"Hey, Shika-kun?"

Shikamaru, who was on the verge of falling asleep, grunts and opens an eye to glance at the girl resting on his shoulder. "Hm?"

"We'll make it through together, too, right? You're not going to die on me, will you?"

His eyes soften, and he smiles slightly. "Of course not. What makes you think that?"

She shifts her head before speaking again. "I mean, it's a freaking war. People die like crazy in these things, and you're an important piece for our side. What if you're killed?"

"I won't die, troublesome. When the war is over, I can even take you out to eat as proof." He drops a kiss on her temple as emphasis. "We'll be together."

He is met by the sound of Ino's sleeping. But when he examines her closely, he finds out that she is faking it. He sighs, and waits for an answer. It would be a shame if she didn't respond.

Minutes pass.

"Shikamaru?"

"Hm?"

"Okay. But it better be somewhere really nice. I'm sick of rations already."

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