I know I'm biased, but you guys are The Best readers / reviewers on this entire site. Thank you for putting up with me while I bumble through this story. I'm working on rewrites as well as the next chapters so that's why they're taking longer right now. I promise I'll do my best to make it worth the wait. :D

Looking for Trouble

I can hear the sting of Naruto's knuckles against the wooden doors before he even raises his hand to knock.

"Wait," I say quickly. "It's Monday, right?"

All three of them turn to me, but Ino is the one to answer, rolling her eyes, "Of course it is. You wouldn't be out of bed yet if it weren't."

I clear my throat and continue with as much dignity as I can muster with Chouji and Naruto snickering behind their hands. "It's awfully quiet," I tell her, looking significantly down the hallway, which is devoid of a soul. "That's unusual considering it's past nine."

Ino's gaze follows mine down the deserted corridor and I see her eyes narrow, "That doesn't matter." She knocks firmly on the door and the sound is every bit as harrowing as I imagined. I've knocked on these doors myself, under far more innocent circumstances, and been rebuked soundly for the heinous crime of doing my job. Tsunade can be a handful, that's for sure. I wince as Ino knocks a second time. Still, there's no answer.

"Well if she's not here, she's not here," I say, relief washing over me. "Good work, team. Let's…oh."

I turn to leave, only to face Tsunade and Shizune, walking up the stairs with Tonton in tow.

"It's about time the three of you showed up," Tsunade says as way of greeting. Shizune smiles and mumbles hello from behind a towering stack of papers. She might be the only woman in the Leaf without a raging temper. Unless you count Hinata, anyway, and somehow no one ever seems to.

"Lady Tsunade, we'd like to talk to you about the escaped prisoner," Ino says, stepping past Chouji and shouldering me to the side. Oh, so I'm not even worth walking around now, am I? I look over at Naruto with a "Did you see that?" expression on my face and he smiles sympathetically.

"Of course," Tsunade says approvingly, "Come in."

The four of us follow her meekly into the room with the exception of Naruto, who struts in like he owns the place. I'm not sure, I don't know, why Tsunade can get under my skin like she does, but it's the same for most people in the Leaf as far as I can tell. She's got this aggressive streak that will come out at the strangest of times and in the most alarming of ways. When she's like this – calm, even pleasant - it only makes me wonder when she's going to snap next, because Tsunade losing her temper is as dependable as the sun rising in the morning. Our little group lines up in front of her with Naruto closest to the windows, next to me, and Ino and Chouji on my left.

"Well?" she asks expectantly, surveying us from behind her massive desk. Shizune, who has by now deposited her stack of paperwork somewhere in the room (it's impossible to tell where – every visible surface is covered in similar towering heaps) stands behind her, watching us with a kinder eye.

"Lady Hokage?" Chouji asks tentatively. Her gaze focuses on him and he clears his throat. Well, it's good to know that I'm not the only one who freezes up in her line of fire. "Were you expecting us or something?"

It's obvious that she was. The question is only a lead-in because what is not obvious is why. Hadn't she said something about it being about time we showed up?"

"I was expecting most of you," her eyes land on Naruto who appears to be struggling with his silence. I can always tell when he wants to say something and is barely able to keep the words in. His lips are practically quivering with the effort of keeping his mouth closed.

Finally, the dam bursts, "What's going on, grandma?" Naruto roars. We all take several steps back in an attempt to protect our ears from the ensuing ruckus. "There's nobody here. It's completely deserted! And what's going on with that escaped prisoner?"

"Naruto!" Tsunade snaps. He folds his arms and lets out a huff of air. I'm careful to avoid Chouji's gaze because I know he'll be rolling his eyes about Naruto's childish behavior. "I don't recall assigning your team to this mission."

"No, r-"

"Naruto!"

This time it sticks. Naruto is left staring moodily at her and I know I'll be hearing about this later – about how she's unfair to him and always treating him like a kid. It makes me wonder about the poor soul Tsunade must complain to about him. Shizune, probably.

"As I was saying," she continues, giving Naruto one final, stern look to make sure he isn't going to erupt into speech again, "I understand why you want to be part of this mission, you little fool."

The four of us exchange somewhat bewildered glances. It isn't like Tsunade to give into Naruto's tantrums. It's so unlike her that I don't think it's ever happened before. She's not… onto us, is she?

"Well Kakashi's been busy training Sasuke, hasn't he?"

"Yeah," Naruto agrees noncommittally, "but what does that…?"

"And Sakura has been spending quite a bit of her time in the hospital working on her training. So you feel left out, am I right?"

Naruto frowns thoughtfully and his gaze shifts over to me for a split second before he answers. "Hey granny, if we're going to talk about my feelings shouldn't I be lying down on a couch or something?"

"Naruto!" Tsunade roars at once, drowning out Chouji's laughter at Naruto's snarky comment and saving him from the trouble of trying to pass it off as a coughing fit. This time, the four of us jump even farther back. At this rate, we'll be in the hallway before we find out what happened.

"Um…Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asks nervously, "Shouldn't we tell them about the details of the mission?"

"Of course," she answers in a much calmer voice, "If we can proceed without any further interruptions." Thankfully, Naruto says nothing. "To address your first question, the village is quiet today because I've sent many of our high-level ninja to a specialized training program in the Land of Fire. It's something I've been meaning to…yes?"

I'm startled out of my thoughts when Ino elbows me in one and arm and Naruto the other. "Ow! I mean… is that really a good idea?" I bite my lip as soon as the words come out, fully aware at how rude they sound, but Tsunade only studies me. Apparently only Naruto has the ability to really get her riled up. I carefully rearrange my face to look bored and impartial. That's the ticket whenever you've got an audience with someone who could crush your balls in the palm of their hand – no sounds, no opinions, no expressions, nothing.

Tsunade sighs and refolds her hands, peering over her clasped fingers at us once more. "I know it seems risky, but it's very important. Trust me, Shikamaru, if I could avoid being without them I would. This training program is going to benefit our entire village. Unfortunately…"

Trailing off, she exchanges a slightly ominous look with Shizune.

"What's unfortunate?" Ino asks quickly.

"Yeah, is something wrong?" Chouji adds, looking concerned.

"A report has just come through about the status of the escaped prisoner. As I'm sure you've heard by now, Kato broke out of our high security prison two days ago."

"Kato?"

"Yes, Naruto. Kato is the name of the escaped prisoner. Try to keep up, will you?" We all ignore the noise of indignation he makes. "There's reason to believe Kato was trying to get captured, that it was his plan from the very beginning. Let me finish." Tsunade holds up one hand to stop Naruto from commenting. "We've received intelligence that Kato might be planning on perusing our forces to the Land of Fire and infiltrating the training program."

It takes us a few seconds to process this. Well, everyone but Naruto. "Who told you that?" he asks skeptically, "It doesn't make any sense."

"Jiraya," Tsunade says simply.

"That old perv?" Naruto retorts sarcastically, "Is he really the guy you want to be receiving intelligence from?"

Tsunade surprises us all by laughing, "You better not let him hear you say that."

"Lady Tsunade, there isn't any time to waste," Shizune reminds her mistress. Anxiety is evident in her voice and it causes Tsunade to sober up.

"Your mission is to follow our team to the Land of Fire and alert them to Kato's presence," she wraps up. "Any questions?"

I hate to put the spotlight back on myself but I have to ask, "How can we be sure he isn't sticking around? It would be a really good opportunity to wreck havoc on the village now that everyone's away."

"That's a chance we'll have to take. Don't worry about us. We'll have enough ninja here to take care of anything this Kato character throws at us." Tsunade tells me solemnly, "Now, the training camp is located on the border of the Land of Tea and the Land of Fire. It will take you two days to get there and I want you to leave as soon as possible."

"You can count on us," Ino says, "We'll leave right away."

"I know I can," Tsunade answers, favoring Ino with a warm smile. "I'll expect a report as soon as you get there. And Shikamaru? Could I speak to you alone for a second?"

I nod stiffly and remain where I am as the others leave. For a second it looks like Naruto is going to argue, but he shakes his head and walks out the door on Chouji's heels, mumbling under his breath.

"I think it goes without saying that you'll be the leader of this outfit," Tsunade says as soon as the door snaps closed, "My only concern, and I want you to be completely honest about this, is whether having Naruto along is going to cause problems."

She knows. "What do you mean?"

"Kakashi told me that you and Naruto have had problems getting along in the past," Tsunade says, looking at me as if I were trying to conceal something. Which, I guess, I am. "Is it going to be a problem?"

"I…no," I tell her flatly, trying to convince myself as well as her, "No problem whatsoever."

"Hmm…" Tsunade nods, confirming that the mission is a go now that our little Naruto problem is sorted out (as far as she's concerned, anyway). "Well there's one more thing before you go."

"Yes?" I ask, sure the worry is evident in my voice. What is it now?

"I want you to take Neji Hyuga."