Kiba was up early the next morning, as usual. He hadn't slept well though, which was not usual for him. After a fitful night, he was in a foul mood. Breakfast had been torture with his sister, Hana, needling him about what was wrong. She always had been a busy body, but this was the first time he hadn't spilled his guts to her when she'd prodded him. This had made Hana all the more suspicious, but he couldn't help that. So he'd escaped.

He and Akamaru skipped out of his chores and snuck out of the family compound. Kiba wasn't sure what he'd tell his mother and sister when they confronted him later … which they would! Oh well, he'd worry about that later.

Kiba growled as he headed toward the forest where he'd often run into Shino as he collected bugs. Okay, okay – it would be more truthful to say that this is where he'd often bothered Shino as he collected bugs. But the point was, it would be good odds to find him there. Yet he wasn't.

With a frown, Kiba headed over to the practice fields, turning the search for his teammate into a rousing game of tag with Akamaru. But Shino wasn't here either, no big deal. Kiba was a premier tracker after all!

He told Akamaru to 'find' his lost teammate and off the dog went, with a grinning Kiba close behind. Through the fields and into the village proper, the two went chasing after Shino's scent until they spotted their prey.

"Ossu!" Kiba grumbled to Shino as the Inuzuka duo came to rest beside the Aburame shinobi. "Would never have thought to look for you here."

Shino just glanced at him, then glanced back at the book stall's wares. "Why? You know I read, unlike some others I could mention."

Kiba just grinned, "I can read, just don't like to, dolt." Akamaru yipped in a questioning manner, sniffing the books out on display. Kiba's eyes went wide, "I didn't think they'd sell you that book at our age."

A slight flush tinted Shino's face as he shook his head at the latest book in the Icha Icha series. Instead pointing at a larger book about spiders. "Father suggested my knowledge of arachnids could use some more research after our last mission."

Kiba scratched his head, lost. "Aren't you already an expert on bugs?"

Shino scowled at him, "Spiders aren't bugs, they eat bugs!"

"Oh." Kiba shrugged.

Shino sighed heavily and picked up the book on spiders, glancing through it. "So why were you trying to find me? We're not set to train with Hinata for another hour."

"Neh, forgot about that." Kiba admitted ruefully. "Well, see, it's like this … I don't think …"

"Not like you to turn coward." Shino said, never looking up from the book.

"Whaaaa…." Sputtered Kiba, appalled. Coward? What the hell?

"You were going to quit on our 'plan', right?" His teammate finally looked up, but Kiba was unable to read his expression.

Kiba shrugged sullenly, "It's not working. When on a mission if the current plan is deemed to be inoperable, it is time to change tactics. Acadamy 101, you know this Shino."

Shino raised an eyebrow, arching it over the rim of his dark glasses. "Quoting? From a book? You have been thinking about this, haven't you?"

Kiba merely stared at him, refusing to be baited.

"Well, Neji's back." Shino told him slowly.

With a sudden pang, Kiba's stomach dropped. Neji could get any girl he wanted, Ino wouldn't stand a chance. Which was good, wasn't it? The image of Ino in Neji's arms just made him feel ill. He shook his head.

"But he said no."

Relief poured through Kiba's veins. No wait, that was bad. The plan called for Ino to fall for someone hard enough to make both her parents and Chouji's parents believe her heart belonged to another, thus breaking the unwanted betrothal.

Suddenly Kiba realized that Shino had been talking and he'd missed what had been said.

"…. So you have to hurry up, or it'll be all over."

"What?" Kiba whined.

Shino reached over and slapped the back of Kiba's head, "Listen to me, this is important."

Kiba growled low, showing hints of fangs. Akamaru growled too, showing more than a hint.

Shino ignored them both. "Neji will have nothing to do with this. Feels it is beneath his honor somehow to meddle. And we are now working with a serious time deficit." He held up his hand to stop Kiba from interrupting. "According to Shikamaru, the formal declaration to betroth them will be made in one week."

Kiba sucked in a quick breath. "Why so fast?"

"I don't know. No one asked my opinion on it now did they?" Shino sneered. "Now, you have to get this done and done soon. Once the formal declaration is made it will be harder to null the agreement."

"Ohayo!" Both shinobi looked up to see Shikamaru slouching his lazy way over to them. "What are you two doing here?"

"Shino's here to broaden his knowledge," Kiba pointed at the Icha Icha book only to have Shino slap his hand down. "And I was here to talk to Shino. What's your excuse?"

Shikamaru's face was the epitome of exasperation. "Mother sent me to look over the announcements that she and Temari have chosen. It's so trou ….stupid, they'll only pick the one they want no matter what I say."

A sudden stray thought occurred to Kiba. "You haven't said 'troublesome' in over a week. You always change it at the last moment, what gives?"

Shikamaru groused a bit, but finally admitted, "lost a bet to Temari."

Kiba and Shino both laughed at their friend's expense, dispelling some of the earlier tension.

"Did Shino fill you in on the latest?" Shikamaru asked. Neither he nor Kiba noticed their companion's sudden tension.

"Yah, yah. I got it." Kiba grumbled.

"That's a relief, I mean what with …" Shikamaru started then suddenly yelped as a large book slipped off the display and struck his shin. Akamaru barked menacingly at the large tome.

"Bit late on the warning there, Akamaru." Shikamaru winced, rubbing his shin. "As I was saying, Chouji came to see me yesterday and …"

"You lost a bet?" Shino asked loudly. "What kind of bet?"

Kiba grinned, "Yeah Nara, was it sexy?"

Shikamaru's face fell into an expression of boredom, as if the conversation had turned tedious. Kiba's grin widened, that expression only meant that this story was going to be good!

"It was stupid. Let's change the subject."

"Then why'd you make the bet?" Asked Shino with apparent eagerness, which puzzled Kiba a bit. Shino wasn't one for gossip usually. But then, this did sound promising.

Shikamaru slouched against the book stall post, looking irritated. "Because I wanted to win of course."

Oh? "What was the prize if you had won?" Kiba asked, "a kiss?"

"Yeh. Well, if you already know why ask?"

Kiba rolled back on his heels, stunned. "Really? That was really the prize. You win and you get kissed, she wins and you can't say troublesome?"

The shadow shinobi looked away and nodded, obviously a bit embarrassed.

"Heh. Missed out did you?" Kiba crowed.

"Nah, I lost, but she kissed me anyway." Shikamaru smirked back at him.

"Not fair! I thought she was tougher than that. Well, what was it? What was the bet about?" Kiba was eager to find out more.

Shikamaru finally sighed and gave in, "You know about all the wedding planning and all, right?"

"No." Both boys answered. That was in the realm of information they didn't want to know.

"Right. I wouldn't either if I could help it." Shikamaru groused to himself, "Well, there was a dinner at my house. My father's friends where there, the Yamanakas and the Akimichis as well as Ino and Chouji. Asuma was also there. We bet on who would be the first to complain about Asuma smoking. I thought it would be my mother and Temari chose Choza."

"Chouji's father?" Kiba stopped and thought a moment, "Why would he object to the smoking?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "said it was interfering with his taste buds."

Kiba laughed outright, "Never interfere with an Akimichi's food!"

Shino nodded.

"Is that when you talked with Chouji?" Kiba asked his friend. "How's he taking it?" Legally bound to a betrothal in a week! Kiba wasn't sure how Chouji was handling it all. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen much of Chouji lately.

"Well. Very well actually." Shikamaru laughed.

"Really?" Kiba was shocked, he would be a basket case in the same position, he was sure. "I'd be a mess."

"Kiba, you're always a mess. How was the rest of the dinner?" Shino interjected suddenly.

"Fine." Shikamaru allowed. "Except when Ino's father hit me."

"Hit you?"

"Yah, yah. Temari had gotten up to help mother in the kitchen. And trust me, it's really Temari who needs help in the kitchen. But when she came back, she walked right by me, real close." He paused with a soft smile tugging at his lips, remembering the moment. "And she smiled and I smiled and Inoichi hit me on the back of the head."

"Why?" Shino asked.

"Dunno. But Choza and my dad laughed and told me to go sit down somewhere out of the way."

Shino frowned, "that doesn't make sense."

"Well, I did ask dad about it later." Shikamaru continued, frowning. "He told me it was because Inoichi could read my thoughts."

"What? Really?" Kiba asked, amazed. "I knew their family jutsu dealt with mind control and all that, but to actually read minds?"

"I'm not real sure," Shikamaru shrugged. "I thought he was kidding, but the whole night, whenever I thought about … well, being with Temari, especially after she kissed me … I would find him staring at me and shaking his head. And he only did it when I was thinking about Temari, no other time."

"Wow." Kiba breathed out softly. "Okay. Thanks for the warning. Stay away from Ino's dad when thinking about seducing her. Got it!"

"Oh but, that's not neces…." Shikamaru started, only to be interrupted by Shino.

"... Necessarily going to be a problem, right Kiba? I mean, he's not going to be haunting the flower store or anything. So, remember to find her when she's away from her father."

"Right!" Kiba hoped he sounded more confident than he felt. "Well, we're off. A seduction to plan on no budget and no time!" Kiba's laughter was a bit strained as he called to his nin-dog and headed off. He was doomed. Chouji was doomed. Ino was doomed. And if he thought about Ino too hard around her father, he'd be not only be doomed, he'd be dead meat.

He missed the sudden sharpening of Shikamaru's gaze as the shadow shinobi turned to stare at a suddenly immobile Shino. "You didn't tell him, did you?"