Disclaimer: Nothing in the Naruto-verse is mine!
"Have you ever been to the Hidden Leaf's eastern branch?" Ino noticed how he seemed to peer at the tall building with slight surprise.
"No. I expected it to be large, but not this large. I thought the western branch was big, but this was unexpected." He followed the woman through the hallways laden with agents rushing left and right. "Is there something going on?"
The woman shrugged. "It might just be another discovery in the Otogakure case. Do you guys have any agents on that?"
"Yes, two I believe. Neji and Ten Ten; they're undercover posing as husband and wife."
Big blue eyes widened with surprise. "Tenny's on that case?! Wow! I thought she was just the armory specialist."
"You know her?"
"Yeah, we're old friends. It's funny, 'cause we're like polar opposites. At first, she thought I wasn't fit to be in the Hidden Leaf Corps because I was too 'feminine,' so I challenged her to a spar. I just wanted to prove myself so badly that I went in angry and hot headed. I lost, but she claimed that if I weren't so emotionally driven, I probably would've beaten her. I doubt it though, that girl may look small but she's packin' some serious strength. But now we're great friends!" She stopped short in front of a glossy wooden door, causing Shikamaru to almost run into her. She knocked three times and entered.
It was clearly the director's office, for it was palatial and bigger than he expected. Behind the desk sat an ocean-eyed man with a mop of sunshine yellow hair. Whisker-like scars were the most prominent on his grinning face. Shikamaru stood awkwardly to the side, observing Ino hop up and sit on the man's desk. His eyes narrowed at the blonde man as he rested a hand atop hers.
"Ino! Who's this?" His tone was friendly and exciting, and Shikamaru couldn't figure out why he was still annoyed at this new guy. The blonde had yet to do anything to set the detective off, yet some odd feeling kept bubbling up at the pit of his stomach.
"I'm Shikamaru Nara, Ino's partner in the Orochimaru case."
"Granny paired you guys up?!" Whiskers exclaimed, looking up at the female next to him.
"Tsunade?" The Nara questioned, confused as to who this "granny" was.
"Tsunade, Granny, Old Woman – they're all synonymous." He waved it off good-naturedly. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki by the way."
Ino clasped her hands under her chin with a smile, swinging her feet. "Naruto here is the director of the eastern branch. He grew up in western Konoha, you know."
Shikamaru assessed the man casually. His mind was going a mile a minute, attempting to find any trace of familiarity of Naruto. "I've heard of you, but I do not know you. You're something of a legend, aren't you? You're the youngest to ever direct the Hidden Leaf Corps. From a mere rookie field agent to the head of the corps in just a few years… Interesting."
Naruto threw his head back in laughter. As much as Shikamaru hated to admit, that very laugh was infectious and he found himself trying to retain his chuckle. This man was kind and charismatic and good-natured – why was he irritated at him again?
"Yeah… I grew up on the western side. I'm an orphan, y'know? I never knew my parents and I wasn't that great in school academically either, but I always wanted to protect those who couldn't protect themselves simply because I've been there. People doubted me and at first no one believed that I'd amount to anything, but here I am today. Enough about me though, you're the Shika in the second generation of InoShikaCho trio, right? Why haven't you three worked on a case together yet?"
"All three of us have been busy in our respective fields. Chouji's a forensic dactyloscopist, I'm a detective, and Ino's a field agent being groomed into an interrogator."
Naruto stared at him silently for a moment or two before speaking up again. "Well no matter! I heard you're the top detective over there, hm? What's that like?"
Shikamaru stared at the man blankly. "It's not like anything really, but if I could describe it I'd definitely say it's troublesome."
"We're heading over to the research area, okay?" Ino chimed in. The blindingly white smile she gave to the young director had the Nara's stomach in knots. Why was Ino so comfortable around this new face when he had known her from their childhood days? 'Then again, we did have a four year fallout.' Too engaged in his feelings, he ignored the vibration of his phone in his pocket.
The Uzumaki nodded and reached for a folder before Ino could hop off his desk. "Wait, Ino! If you happen to pass by Kiba, give him this."
"Ugh, the mutt?" She sneered with a roll of her eyes; their past wasn't the prettiest.
Naruto's features hardened slightly. "Ino… What did I tell you?"
"I know, I know, I know!" She complained with a sigh. "It's just not easy all the time. I haven't forgiven him completely."
"Well when will you?" He inquired without missing a beat. "You know that's not an excuse. Besides, I need all my employees on the same page."
Ino's bright pools practically begged the blonde man behind the desk for mercy. "Can we please not do this right now?"
His face softened almost apologetically - he hadn't meant to be too offensive with his actions. "I'm sorry, Ino. You may take your leave, but we will continue this conversation later."
"Thanks, Naruto. Follow me, Shikamaru." She hopped down and was already half way out of the door by the time Shikamaru gave the Uzumaki a nod as a farewell.
The walk to the research area was silent. Ino did not exude an aura of anger or negativity, but anyone could tell that she wasn't her normal self since her mouth wasn't chatting away. She stopped short again, yet Shikamaru knew better than to almost run her over. In front of the woman was a tall, slightly muscular guy with shaggy brunette hair and two red tattoos on his cheeks, presumably Kiba. Ino wordlessly handed him the folder and he opened it in front of her. Shikamaru caught the surname Uchiha and stored it into his mental memory. Judging by Ino's suddenly tense nature, he knew it had to do with her past infatuation with the boy. Kiba's dark eyes scanned over the document quickly before they looked up to meet Ino's baby blues.
"Thank you, Ino." From Shikamaru's perspective, his tone was nothing but genuine and kindhearted. So why did Ino take a step back and harden her gaze?
"Whatever, dog boy." She spat. "Come on, Shikamaru."
"I know you've been itching to ask." The svelte woman began after sitting across from Shikamaru. Between them stood a long rectangular table with thick books stacked a few feet away from the two. Ino's eyes bore into his with an unknown emotion. They stayed like that for who knows how long, until Ino sighed and leaned back.
"Kiba and I were never in a serious romantic relationship. We were both… rebounds, so to speak. Kiba was rejected by a woman that he held dear for years, and I just had a bad breakup with an ex. Long story short, we found solace in one another, got a little too attached, and had our hearts broken even more. He lied to me, I lied to him, but the difference was that he strung me along." Ino looked down at her hands. "I told him I didn't want anything serious with him. Kiba… he made me feel so whole again and I ended up going against my standard and longed for something real and true." She paused. "He agreed to make it serious as well, but that was a sham. He just wasn't ready and I was depending way too hard on someone else to make me feel right."
"And Naruto?"
The woman across from him shot him a look as if he had suddenly grown two heads. "Naruto and I were never involved! He's with – " She paused as if to recall something. "Well, he's not with anyone, but I've known him for a while. He helped me with my problems, like a brother or something. Ew, Shikamaru." She rolled her eyes.
Shikamaru, never the one to give the best relationship advice and feeling slightly foolish, simply made a noise of understanding. They sat in silence for who knows how long, Shikamaru counting the tiles on the floor and Ino lost in the depths of her complicated mind. Suddenly she snapped out of her trance-like state and placed a hand atop the books. "Let's get started. What do you know? And this time, no arguing!"
Shikamaru leaned back without any change in expression and pulled out his cellular device. "Tsunade sent me an attachment earlier with a few facts on our target. Everything in the document is from the former crime lord Subaku no Gaara."
"Ah, so he really did turn over a new leaf, huh?"
He looked up from the screen of his phone for a split second, indicating that she had his attention. "What do you mean?"
"Naruto told me about him; they're old friends and all that jazz. Continue."
"According to Gaara, his main goal is to gain immortality."
Ino scoffed and held up a hand. "That's impossible!"
"Not literal immortality, allow me to finish." The Nara retorted and read on. "Orochimaru aspires to go down in history as the greatest criminal of all time, thus becoming "immortal." He wants his name to be remembered throughout the ages, Ino."
The Yamanaka pondered his words for a moment with closed eyes and concentrated features. Her left hand curled around her chin as her right supported her left's elbow. "I've got nothing. How's he going to accomplish that?"
Shikamaru shrugged and glanced down at his screen. "It says here that he's got numerous double agents undercover in rival gangs and even in the government. The thing is, nobody knows who they are. Rarely are they ever discovered. Upon interrogation, they never reveal their knowledge and accept their punishment – whether it be torture or death – with ease."
"No one is ever that loyal. Orochimaru's probably got some sort of leverage on them. Maybe he threatened to kill their loved ones if they reveal his secrets? Is that it? How does Gaara know all this?"
"Yeah, it ends there. Supposedly he worked with the guy, or at least that's what Tsunade told me." Shikamaru slid his phone back into his pocket and crossed his arms. "I… I don't believe it though."
Ino perked at his response. "Me neither. Crime lords scarcely work together, if I'm correct. For Orochimaru to just take on a partner is unheard of. The guy's gotta know more."
"Or if not him, his siblings may know a thing or two..." He trailed off with a growing smirk.
Ino could have smacked herself; how in the world did she forget about Temari and Kankuro?! All those hours of reading criminal profiles must not have paid off as much as she believed it to. She made a mental note to brush up on her skill before realizing what he was getting at. "Shikamaru Nara…"
His features were mischievous and his tone was almost alluring. "Ino Yamanaka, how do you feel about undercover work?"
Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've got a myriad of different things going on in life, but I try to write new chapters in between. Thank you for all of the follows, reviews, faves, and all that jazz. Happy Memorial Day!