A/N- If you've read my other fic Spanning Time, this one takes place in the same strange setting just a little while after that one, only this time it's from Ino's point of view and all she's trying to do is get some answers out of Shikamaru. Of course… the best way to do that is to share your own gossip, right? And she just happens to have been out drinking last night. Yeah, the girl's got some gossip.

Gossip

"Hey Shika-maaaaaru!" I called, bursting through his front door. Honestly, you'd think a guy like him would be smart enough to lock up before he went to bed, but I have yet to find a time when I needed to crawl through his kitchen window to get inside. Not that I usually burst over this early in the morning. I don't care about "getting the worm" or however that disgusting expression goes. Actually, I don't normally eat breakfast anyway, so it's not a problem for me to sleep till lunch. But when he doesn't call to tell me about his personal life I just feel like I have to come over and pry it out of him.

So that's what I was planning as I unzipped and kicked off my boots at the door and tossed my purse so that it bounced off of his couch and lay sideways on the floor with a tampon hanging out. I considered pushing it back in, but it was about three steps out of my way and it's not like he would care anyway. And besides, if he was going to be married, he'd have to get used to finding tampons around his house.

"Shikamaru! I'm coming up stairs!" I informed him as loudly as I could, stomping up the stairway to give him fair warning. I paused a moment and glanced at the wall where I'd hung a whole bunch of pictures in these antique frames a couple of years ago for his birthday right after we all graduated. The one of his family was still there, the only picture I could find of his mother and father both smiling at the same time, and he was only about five in it so it was an utterly adorable shot. There was the one of him and Choji and Naruto and Kiba from elementary school that Sakura and I took while they were getting disciplined in front of the class, I was surprised he hadn't taken that down. There was one of him tutoring little kids in which he was half smiling and the kids were all looking at him with big adorable eyes. There was the picture of him, me, and Choji during the graduation ceremony; I looked really hot in that one. And then, at the top of the stairway there was supposed to be a picture of him with Temari from when we'd all gone to the beach together. I remember it because I'd helped Temari pick out the bikini and sarong and Shikamaru was actually shirtless and Temari had her arm around his neck and was giving him bunny ears but he seemed so pleased about it. It was probably the best picture on the wall, but instead there was just a nail jutting out crookedly. No offense to my carpentry skills, but where was the picture?

"Shikamaru! I'm at the top of the stairs!" I called out another warning. It didn't sound like he was moving around or anything. Maybe he was already dressed? Or wasn't home… he better not be home! He should be out somewhere romantic, darn it!

I passed by his insanely clean bathroom. Honestly for a lazy guy, he could certainly keep an area nice. I wish he'd live with me so I wouldn't have to worry about cleaning up my messes whenever I wanted to have company, but he always said it would be weird to live with me.

Slowly I turned the knob of his door and pushed it open, "I'm in your room…" I said cautiously, peeking in. The whole room smelled like stale sleep and I put my sleeve to my nose.

The lump on the bed responded, "It's freakin' 7:30! Go away! Get some beauty sleep!"

There was only one lump on the bed, so I chose not to be too insulted, "Where's Temari? What are you doing sleeping alone?" I flung open the door and stepped inside with my hands on my hips. He moaned like he was annoyed so I stormed over to his bed, hopped up on it, then stepped over him to reach his blinds so I could open them and let some light in. While I was there, I unlocked and forced the window open so that some fresh air could get in and allow us all to breathe.

I stayed on the bed, staring down on him. Honestly, I hadn't considered the idea of Shikamaru sleeping in only his boxers, but he hadn't bothered to pull up the sheet that he'd kicked down and it was too late for me not to notice. Too late for me to back out and be respectful either. I'm sure I've seen him naked before… maybe… I bet Choji has, and that's close enough.

"Go away, Ino." He mumbled, pressing his face into his pillow to escape the glaring rays of the light.

It was a good thing I wasn't wearing a skirt, because I wasn't planning on getting off that bed until he did. "Where's Temari? I thought you were supposed to meet her at the train station! You couldn't have forgotten, could you?"

On his desk there was a picture frame face down. I recognized the frame style because it had been the hardest to pick out. The picture missing from the wall… suddenly I got worried and crouched down closer to him, "What's wrong?" I asked, hoping I sounded like was sympathetic.

He rolled over and glared at me, "Nothing."

It was true that his eyes weren't red or puffy so he couldn't have been crying. Actually… did Shikamaru cry? I don't think I've ever seen him cry. Maybe I should have been checking his wrists instead. I picked one up and turned it over, but he was clean as far as I could tell, so when he pulled it away I let him. "Then what happened?"

He pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked directly at me, "Alright, I'm up already. Go downstairs and I'll be down in a sec."

I grinned, "Aww! Is Mr. Modest going to tell me the whole story then?"

He just shrugged, but from Shikamaru that's a good enough answer. I hopped clear over him and off the bed. Years of gymnastics in my youth had made me very graceful so I felt proud of myself for such an elegant leap while he was still acting all crusty with sleepiness. "I'll wait for you downstairs then! But don't expect a home cooked meal!"

Actually, I suck at cooking to be honest, and he knew that, but it seemed like the thing to say since I'd obviously be waiting in the kitchen. I picked up the picture off his desk and carried it out with me. I could feel him watching me and I knew he was upset that I was taking it, but I wasn't going to let him wallow in grief if she'd turned him down.

Going back down the stairs I hung the picture back on the wall and took a moment to straighten it. I reached the bottom of the stairs just as Shikamaru was leaving his room to go to the bathroom. For such a large house, I'd always wondered why he didn't have a bathroom attached to the master bedroom.

First I turned and stopped at the couch to pick up my bag. The tampon fell totally out and lay on the floor, and I considered just leaving it, but if she really did turn him down it would be just mean to do something like that, so I leaned over, picked it up and stuck it back in. I then shouldered the bag and headed for the Italian-sized kitchen.

There were two stools on the outside of the bar that faced inward underneath shelves and for some reason it always made me feel like I was in a saloon when I sat on them, so I set my bag down on one seat and climbed onto the other.

I could hear the shower running upstairs, so I knew I'd have at least fifteen minutes before he came down. Reaching into my purse I pulled out a spiral notebook and a pocket pad I'd kept in the main pocket. There was a good mechanical pencil in the binding of the pocket pad that I pulled out. Sticking that between my teeth, I flipped through both notebooks, one with each hand until I came to a blank page in the big notebook and my most recent notes in the smaller.

I was supposed to have turned my interview into a story for tomorrow's column last night, but I'd helped Shikamaru buy a ring all during the day and Sakura and I went out drinking that night, so there just wasn't any time. It wouldn't take me long since I took good notes, so I started scribbling. The story was about Hinata taking over the Hyuga temple and her duties and archery class. She'd been so embarrassed by the whole thing. She's really adorable. I wanted to portray that in the story, but it wasn't like everyone in the city didn't know her anyway.

Eventually I heard the shower turn off and started to hurry through the body of the story. When I typed it I could fix things up better as long as I got the whole thing done now. I had to turn it into the editors by 2:00pm today if I wanted to keep my job. That's all I was really interested in, but having my own column would be much nicer than wandering around interviewing a whole bunch of old people. Maybe I would too. Getting to talk to Hinata was practically a raise on my part! If I ever got to do one on Sakura I'd talk about how she can't hold her liquor.

"Shouldn't you get that stuff done on your own time?" Shikamaru asked from over my shoulder. Damn him! He's way too fast! I'd have to do the conclusion some other time.

"This is my time." I let him know, closing and shifting all my stuff into my bag as he strolled into the kitchen and over to the little-used coffee machine, "I'm just such a good friend that I spend it all on you!"

He smirked and started searching cabinets for coffee filters. If I was a good person I would have helped him or at least pointed out that they were sitting just behind the coffee maker, but I'm not really that good, so I waited till he figured it out.

"You're really out of it today Shikamaru. How bad did she dump you?"

He clicked on the machine with his thumb and closed the lid on the coffee grounds, then sighed, "She didn't turn me down."

Well this was news! What the heck was his problem then? I asked him, slamming my hand down on the table and almost bumping my head on the low-hanging cabinets as I stood up on the cross beams of the chair.

Shikamaru sighed him "This is too troublesome" sigh and leaned on the counter, "I missed the train."

For a moment I'm sure my brain just couldn't keep up. He missed the train? What? Was that really possible? This whole thing? All the planning? And he… what would Temari think? That means he didn't even say goodbye! I responded with "What the Hell??"

"Yeah. I sorta sucks."

"Sorta?" I was up off the chair now, which admittedly made me considerably shorter, but at least I wasn't in danger of hitting my head, "It sucks a LOT! What are you going to do about the wedding? You have to write her! Quick! We'll get you on a train!"

I started to grab for my bag but he stopped me, "Ino, I don't even know where she's going."

The silence in the air could have been toxic if you'd tried to inhale, so I let it all out in one breath, "Back home… right? Where they came from-?"

"And where's that?"

I hadn't thought about it. In fact, I don't think anyone had ever bothered to ask them. Temari and her brothers had shown up mysteriously around middle school with no parents, and the town just sort of ended up accepting them. Recently it seemed they'd gotten a call from home asking that the youngest of them, Gaara, a rather unstable kid with a bad attitude and fists to match, come back and take over some big thing, like ruling the country or whatever. But still, no one had ever bothered asking, "Hey! WTF?" or anything like that. I could have smacked myself for being so careless.

"So… what are you going to do?" I asked carefully.

Shikamaru thought about it a moment, then went over to pour the coffee that he'd made into two mugs, "I dunno. Mope?"

The way he said it was supposed to be humorous I'm sure, but I hardly found it amusing. I'd been looking forward to being maid of honor at the wedding! I'd picked out the flower I was going to wear in my hair and everything! "This is serious Shikamaru!"

"Well, its kinda your fault since you kept me there so long." He pointed out, taking a drink of his coffee while it was still black and passing the other mug and some cream to me.

He had a point. But really! Shouldn't ten minutes be enough time to walk four blocks to a train station before it leaves? And who's ever heard of a train leaving on time anyway? I told him that and he agreed, but I know he still blamed me. So I'm a bad person, that's why I went into journalism and not volunteer work after all.

Again there was a pause, so I asked the same question I'd asked the last time, "What are you going to do now? You can't mope forever."

"I won't." he said, taking a sip, "Actually, I spent most of the night at the train station."

I frowned. So, he really did pout all night? I can understand, I mean, he just totally missed him only chance to ask her to marry him probably, and it isn't like he has ever had the motivation to come home at a decent hour when he can help it, but really! "Why?" I asked.

He took a long then stared off at nothing on the wall until I was about ready to whack him to wake him out of it, "Someone else was there. I didn't want to bother them."

"Someone else?" as a journalist, I could taste a story right through the disgusting gunk that the failed proposal left in my mouth, "Who? Tell me!"

He shook his head and didn't answer. I was willing to let the conversation slide away from his heartbreak, but I wasn't about to let good gossip go to waste! I'd have to provoke him to tell me. This could be a delicate operation…

"Hmm… well, I bet you're not the only one who knows. The girls and I are all going to have a slumber party at the Hyuga temple to celebrate Hinata taking over this weekend. I'll just ask them if they've heard anything."

For some reason, this really got to him and he set down his coffee. "Ino," he said, all serious-like, "Don't mention Naruto to her, okay?"

My mind dropped to the floor and I saw stars in my eyes, "NARUTOISCHEATINGONHINATA???? OHMAIGAWD! WITH WHOOOO??? TELL ME TELL ME!" I bounced up and down on my seat.

"It isn't like that." he sounded as tired as he looked, and I was pleased I'd come over so early and caught him off guard. My bag dropped to the floor and my notebook slid along with a tube of lip gloss.

"Then how is it? You gotta tell me, man! I promise I won't tell anyone else if you tell me!" Why is it that I get turned on by good gossip? I was so excited! This was more fun than barging into his house at inhumane hours of the morning and jumping on his bed to wake him up!

Besides, on the "good friend" side, I was distracting him from his troubles with Temari and placing all the focus onto Naruto and his mysterious nightly romp with lord-knows-who. Deep down I can be totally considerate of other people. And since I never seem to get drunk or have hang-overs I even end up being the good friend who takes people home once they're totally wasted. Speaking of which…

"Alright Shikamaru I have a pro-" I was about to say "proposal", but changed it to, "-an idea! I have an idea! I'll share some rather juicy gossip I picked up on last night with you, and you'll tell me all about what happened last night to make you stay at the train station. Okay?"

He just sorta shrugged, but as I said before, that's basically an agreement as far as Shikamaru goes, so I started off on my tale.

"Alright, so Sakura and I went drinking last night after you… well, last night."

"Wait… doesn't Sakura work today?" he cut in.

"Nah! She's got the day off, anyway, it was her idea and I don't think it's a good idea for a nurse to be totally sober anyway." He rolled his eyes and took a sip so I continued, "Anyway, we went to your dad's new place. Have you been there yet?"

He shook his head and looked disgusted. I'm sure he wasn't happy with his dad's new line of work, but whatever. I continued,

"Well, we went in and were drinking and guess who shows up? Kiba! Of all people! And alone no less. Recently the only times I've seen him is when he's out walking that mass of dogs he's breeding. But did you know he's been living with Shino? I didn't! Neither did Sakura! Geez, Shikamaru! Do you just know about everything? Well fine. I bet you don't know what's been going on at Shino's little mansion, do you?

Well, Kiba came in and seemed really upset, so Sakura and I let him sit between us and Sakura bought him a drink, since she's basically rich.

Anyway, I ask him what's wrong and he said he's just lonely.

"Don't you have like, a zillion dogs running around?" and he says,

"Yeah. But Shino doesn't let them on the furniture, so the bed feels really big and lonely when he isn't around."

At that point I just about spit out all my vodka on your dad, he isn't angry with me, but I don't think he's going to let me come over for dinner for a while, so sneak me some of your mom's egg-rolls if you get the chance.

Well, and Sakura just about choked, but by the time we could talk again Kiba had realized his mistake and was trying to ignore us and sneak away. Of course, I'm not about to let that happen, so between Sakura and myself we probably bought and forced about twenty drinks down his throat getting him to talk."

"Twenty? You know that isn't good for a person, Ino." Shikamaru pointed out, "I'll have to go see him to make sure he's still alive…"

"Oh quit your whining! Sakura's a nurse, so it was all under control. Now, let me continue!

Well, when he was nice and drunk he started talking. It's a good thing Kiba's a talkative drunk, right? Well, he starts going off about how he and Shino first started living together. You know how Shino's got the amazing job with chemicals and whatnot and is making so much money, right? Well, when Kiba decided not to go into veterinary school and instead decided to breed dogs Shino let him move in since he wasn't making any money.

So Shino set up his whole breeding thing in Shino's basement. Have you ever been in Shino's house? I've only been once, but DUDE! It's huge! And cleaner than yours is. I was only in the bug pavilion and the green house, but I walked through the main hall, so I can imagine the basement.

Well, apparently Kiba was living in the basement with the dogs at first, but you know how close he and Shino are, so slowly he says it started to be more like they were sharing the house, you know? Kiba made dinner sometimes or whatever. He was drunk so it was hard to understand all of it.

After a while he says that he started playing pranks on Shino, which is hardly something new for Kiba after all. He said he tried to irritate Shino by… oh! What did he say? Oh! He used to let puppies loose in Shino's office! Isn't that cute? Apparently it freaked the Holy Hell out of Shino and he got really angry, but after a while Kiba says he started to notice that Shino wasn't actually mad at him. Isn't that sweet? He says the only times Shino ever got really mad it wouldn't be an hour before he'd come down and apologize and Kiba would say it was okay and he was really drunk, so maybe he was making it up, because I can't imagine Shino acting like that."

"Me either." Shikamaru said as he bent down to look in the refrigerator for something to eat. For such a prepared guy he never really had anything to eat, so he settled for a box of old Chinese takeout. For breakfast. I wrinkled my nose.

"You know you're going to get fat eating things like that." I told him.

"I'll work it off listening to you." He mumbled, breaking apart disposable chopsticks and beginning to eat it cold. I shrugged. He's rather good looking so I figure he can do whatever he wants with his body.

"Alright, whatever. I'll just go on.

Kiba looked really sad at this point and said he'd been having family troubles and stuff and had been depressed. He talked about it, but it wasn't all that interesting. What was interesting is that Shino went out of his way to cheer him up!

See? Now you're interested! Shino's such a mysterious guy. But he would do things like stay up late watching movies with Kiba and help him walk the dogs –imagine! Shino!- and they'd go out to dinner. Choji never told us about that, did he? Did he tell you? Well, he didn't tell me Shino and Kiba were eating at his restaurant. But don't you think that's really strange for Shino?

Well! It gets even better! Somewhere along the way Shino started hitting on Kiba."

Shikamaru choked and coughed on his cold Chinese food for a minute, "Wait… what?"

There was a look on his face that said something along the lines of "Holy something freaking dangerous, what are you telling me, woman??" and I suddenly thought that I'd touched a sensitive nerve. I felt like a bad person, just jumping into other people's business and talking about things he probably didn't want to hear right now. But hey, I'm a bad person, right? Still, I felt bad.

"Yeah… they're lovers now. Pretty crazy, huh?" I finished lamely. I felt like I'd built up a huge climax and given up at the end and slid back to start.

"Wow," he paused a long time before shaking his head and saying, "I never saw that coming."

I smiled and swung my legs back and forth. I'd been holding them stationary under the chair while I was talking so that I didn't distract from my story, but now that I'd finished with a lame clatter to the floor I figured I could swing my legs, "Yeah. I never thought it would happen either."

My coffee was cold, so I just pushed what remained of it away. My bag was still on the floor and it was almost 10:00 now. I needed to get my papers home and typed but I didn't want to leave until I figured out what was going on with Naruto. I didn't want to be pushy either. Trying to be casual I started off with, "So…" but he beat me to the chase.

"Alright. You win."

I leaned forward in my seat.

"Sasuke's back in town."

Have you ever felt your heart stop beating? It's like your blood keeps circulating but there's nothing causing it to do so, and you can't draw a breath because your throat closes up and you feel all shaky like you just gave blood. I could have cried or fainted or laughed or eaten something… Mostly I just couldn't believe him. I felt warm like I was going to be ill.

So that's it. So that's all of it.

.The. End. ?.

A/N- Hmm… well… after six pages I guess I lost my momentum. XD But it ended as gracefully as it was going to I suppose. XD Ino was fun to write at the beginning, but it was just too hard to use her to tell Kiba's story…

As I said before, this is sorta along the same lines as Spanning Time, if you want to READ about Shikamaru seeing Sasuke and Naruto at the train station last night you'll have to read that one. And in the same way, I plan to add more fics like these, because they're fun… actually… I may edit this one eventually to have all of the Kiba/Shino thing. To be honest, in this little thing going on, I mostly want to highlight the fact that everyone is expecting Shikamaru and Temari to get married, Sasuke is back in town with Naruto, and I want to let you know what everyone else is up to also. I hope you find them enjoyable, because they're fun to write. I promise to eventually fix up the part about Kiba and Shino… this is a sorry excuse for the Kiba and Shino romance section… but that's where I'll put it. Sorry!

Think kindly of me please!