lostmoonchild: Thanks for the reviews, everybody! I think I'm going to cry cause this is the last chapter. It's just a matter of if these are tears of joy or tears of sorrow cause I almost started on Sunday when the convention ended. Two people took my picture and I got lots of pictures in return but I almost started crying when they said it'd be a year and a half for the next one. Anyway, here's the final chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto so don't sue me.

Rule Ten: "In-Law" Means "Legal Torture"

Kankuro would be lying if he said that he didn't take pleasure in tormenting his brother-in-law and he knew that his wife took pleasure in torturing her brother-in-law as well as her sister-in-law. Tormenting Temari was probably Anko's favorite pastime since the blonde would respond with an act that was usually just as violent.

Then again, Kankuro mused, teasing his sister-in-law was fun too. He loved the way that her cheeks would turn bright red when he began teasing her although he was quick to stop when Gaara glared at him. Honestly whoever created the term "in-law" should have had the sense to see that it means "legal torture" in the eyes of the protective siblings.

The brunette couldn't help but grin as he eyed his brother-in-law who was supposed to be making sure that the little toddler stayed out of trouble but was instead staring up at the clouds. Such a lazy man really shouldn't have been given the privilege of reproduction although he suspected that his brother and sister both said something along the same lines about him. "Yo, Nara!" Kankuro called as he approached.

"You do realize that your sister has my last name now." Shikamaru responded as he pulled himself up, his dark eyes flickering over to the toddler that was happily making a small mountain of sand.

"Yeah, yeah." Kankuro waved his hand dismissively. "Minor details."

Shikamaru eyed his brother-in-law carefully for a moment before asking warily, "What do you want?"

"What? I can't come see my brother-in-law just because I want to?"

"Troublesome."

Kankuro grinned before answering, "If your kid starts saying that then Temari's gonna kill you."

Shikamaru got up and picked up the toddler, sighing when he realized that his son had started to eat the sand. "Can't pull any pranks, Kankuro. I've got a kid." Shikamaru stated as he put a finger in the boy's mouth and started working on wiping out the sand. "Ouch!"

Kankuro started laughing at the realization that his nephew had just bitten the lazy man. "That's not funny. He's been biting everybody and that includes Temari." Shikamaru said as he started working on getting the rest of the sand out of his son's mouth. "No biting. That's not nice." "And yet Daddy keeps putting his finger in Taru's mouth. That's asking for a repeat if you ask me." Kankuro mused.

"Don't you have a pregnant wife at home to deal with?" Shikamaru grumbled.

"Yep."

"Then go."

"Nah."

Satisfied that Taru's mouth was remotely clean and that Temari wasn't going to kill him, Shikamaru set the boy down and watched as he went back to playing in the sand. "You're still here." Shikamaru stated five minutes later.

Kankuro grinned as he patted Shikamaru's hair, his grin growing wider as he saw the distrustful look that his brother-in-law was giving him. "You don't trust me." Kankuro feigned hurt at the already known fact.

"What a drag." Shikamaru sighed. "Come on, Taru, let's get you inside for a nap."

"No nap!" Taru shouted, his small feet kicking as Shikamaru picked him up. "Dada bad! No nap!"

"Yes nap."

Kankuro laughed as he took off leaving the lazy man alone with an upset toddler. The boy may have taken Shikamaru's looks but his temperament was definitely Temari's. Ah, sweet revenge.

Unable to keep from chuckling, Kankuro darted home fully prepared for the onslaught of kunai that would without a doubt be flying at him. Gods he loved his wife.

Curses left Shikamaru's lips as he looked disgustedly at the wad of gum that was in his hair. There were several possibilities as to how the gum got there except the only possibility that was likely involved Kankuro. Damn bastard.

Dark eyes eyed the wad carefully before he sighed in defeat. They had run out of peanut butter and he wasn't about to go to town with gum in his hair so that left cutting it out. Grabbing his kunai, Shikamaru took a deep breath and began cutting the sticky mess.

Temari couldn't deny that it was always interesting to see what exactly her husband would do to get back at Kankuro for whatever prank had been pulled. Not even Gaara could resist watching the two men go at each other for very long. However when Kankuro did something to Shikamaru's hair then she was usually there to step in. It wasn't that Shikamaru couldn't handle himself, it was just that she liked his hair.

Now she knew full well that she could simply go after her sister-in-law but it would be low to go after said sister-in-law when said sister-in-law was pregnant. No, she'd have to sit back and see what exactly her husband was planning. When he actually decided to use that brain of his it was common knowledge that he was a force to be feared. It really was no wonder why Naruto would have him help with strategy.

As Temari looked at her husband and saw the familiar look in his eyes, she decided it would just be better this time if she let Shikamaru teach Kankuro why his hair was better off left alone. Whatever Shikamaru had planned or was currently working on would be a lesson that Kankuro wouldn't soon forget.

Technically Naruto was the one best suited for pulling pranks but it seemed wrong to pull the blonde-haired idiot into the mix when he really had no idea what was going to happen. Gaara and Hinata had been warned and his wife already knew so that just left Anko to inform but there was the possibility that she was going to tell Kankuro and then he'd avoid punishment. No, as much as he feared Anko it would probably be in his best interests to keep his mouth shut this time around.

With his plan formed within his mind, Shikamaru set to work.

He knew full well that his brother-in-law had something planned but unfortunately he couldn't figure out what exactly it was that he was thinking. Smart people had always been a pain in the butt for the brunette and the biggest pains in his butt were both sitting across from him. "You're serious. No hard feelings?" Kankuro asked warily.

"Sure. You probably just forgot that the gum was in your hand." Shikamaru said simply.

Kankuro eyed the other brunette carefully for a moment before picking up his tea. He took a sip, eyeing his brother-in-law carefully before his dark eyes widened in shock and he spat the tea out. His eyes began watering as a fire spread throughout his mouth, burning his tongue and throat. "The hell did you do to my tea?" Kankuro shouted as he tried the douse the fire.

Shikamaru smirked slightly before answering, "Don't you remember? 'In-law' means 'legal torture' doesn't it?"

God damn it! Despite his burning tongue and the tears that were gathering in his eyes, Kankuro couldn't help but be proud. For having been a single child his entire life, Kankuro couldn't deny that his brother-in-law had pulled off that rule beautifully. Laughing, Kankuro clapped the younger man on the back before answering, "Welcome to the family."

lostmoonchild: And that's a wrap! Thank you all so much for the reviews and I hope to see reviews coming even after this story's been completed for x number of months. You all have been wonderful reviewers and perhaps I'll write another fic like this after I have a chance to speak to my brother about the whole thing. Also, thanks to everybody that's put this story as your favorite or an update alert. Ja ne!