(A/N: So here's another one shot to prove to y'all that I'm still here. (; It's been a while since I've written anything at all because there are so many distractions in my life. :p What, with school and my for-fun reading habits, I'm not sure how I ever found the time to write anything at all! Anyway, on to the story! This one is definitely AU.

Theme: Sixty-seven Percent
Genre: Friendship
Rating: K
Disclaimer: I don't, nor will I ever, own Naruto. Especially now that it's complete…_

Sixty-seven Percent

Looking at her computer screen, the platinum blonde haired girl scowled. She had plans to go out shopping with her friends after she was done with her essay, but no matter what she tried, she couldn't get the stupid essay to send to her professor's website. It was due by midnight that night, and she had to get it in on time to get a passing grade on the assignment.

This essay is worth ten percent of my grade, and it won't send! What am I going to do? She thought, beginning to panic.

She began running through a list of classmates in her head. One of them had to be able to offer her some kind of help… "Aha! Shikamaru-kun should be able to help!" She smiled, reaching for her cell phone.

Dialing her lazy classmate's number, she put the phone to her ear.

It rang three times before he answered, "Moshi-moshi?"

"Hello, yourself. I have a favor to ask, Shika-kun," Ino phrased, carefully placing the words and her tone to make it seem important, but not needing too much effort.

She could nearly hear how he rolled his eyes on the other side of the line when he answered, "Does it need to be done today?"

"Hai," she replied, glad that he had, at least, shown some interest in what she was saying. "I have a report due by midnight, and I've finished it," she said, hearing him snort as if not believing her. "My problem is that my computer refuses to send the document. The first few times I tried, it wouldn't go through at all. The last time I tried to upload the file to my email, it got to sixty-seven percent and wouldn't finish. I tried earlier and waited, but an hour later it's still not working. Can you tell what's wrong?" She asked, hoping without hope that he could tell her right away.

"Have you checked the formatting? If the website you're uploading it to takes old documents from a word processor, sending in a newer version of the documents might create a formatting issue that the site can't accept."

"I checked that. It wasn't the formatting because I've worked with this program and sent Asuma-sensei work over his website before. Could it be something else?" Ino worried, wondering if her computer was malfunctioning and hoping she didn't need a new one.

Shikamaru sighed, knowing that he would have to go to her house to fix the problem, and stood with his phone in hand. "I'll be right over," he said, "so this way we can get it fixed quicker."

"Thanks so much, Shika-kun. I knew you could help me," Ino thanked him. I might even get to go shopping and not completely waste my day here! She hung up the phone after they exchanged momentary farewells and eagerly gathered her purse to make sure she was ready to shop. She made sure to alert her friends that she would be late, giving herself an hour of leeway just in case.

She checked her hair and makeup in the mirror, running a brush through her hair. She finished just as the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" She yelled to her parents as they stepped into the hall from the living room. "It's Shikamaru-kun to help me with my computer issue," she explained to their confused expressions.

Her father nodded and left the hall as her mother ordered, "Leave the door open," and headed into the kitchen to find a snack.

Ino shook her head at her mother, wondering why it mattered since her room was upstairs. She opened her front door, smiling "Hello, Shika-kun!" Ushering him into the hall, she led him to her room. "See, it still hasn't done anything more."

Sighing, Shikamaru sat down in front of the screen. Almost immediately, he found the problem. What a wasted trip, he thought. "Ino, has your internet connection been patchy all morning?" He inquired.

"No. I mean, I haven't really noticed it acting up," she responded confusedly.

"Well, according to your sending error reports, you had no connection the first three times you tried to upload your report, and this time you lost connection when the document was sixty-seven percent done uploading. If you try again," he broke off, typing several lines and searching for the proper wifi connection, then continued, "Now it should go through."

Ino blinked. "How did you find my error reports?"

"They're filed on the computer. It's easy to find if you know where to look." He pulled up Asuma-sensei's website again and tried to upload Ino's report. This time, there were no hitches and it went through.

Ino looked at the lazy genius in admiration. "Thanks again," she said, looking from her pocket book to the man sitting before her. "Would you like to go get lunch with me? My friends and I were going to meet up, but I told them I wouldn't be able to meet them until three, just in case this computer issue took a while. I didn't think my essay would take this long, so I didn't eat lunch, and I know you always have a late lunch, so…"

Ino trailed off as he covered her mouth with his hand. "Sure, let's grab something together. You don't have to ramble excuses." He smiled and stood, "Let's go, Ino." Maybe this trip wasn't so wasted after all…