(Hey guys sorry that this is taking so long but I have a job, student teaching, and college so my fanfictions are going to be very slow in coming, still here's the next part)

Chapter 36: Children Are Not Dogs

As was expected of her, Rinku was the member of Team 17 that had the hardest time on the first day of the new assignment. So much so, in fact, that she'd nearly beaten up a man for Shikamaru's home address, and surprisingly not for any particularly indecent reasons. Nope this time it was all business.

Hanabi Hyuga was currently attached to a leash looking device around her waist. Her arms were folded in front of her and her expression was of silent disapproval. Rinku ignored this look as she rapped the door of the Nara household, and waited for Shikamaru to make his appearance. And make it he did. A casually dressed Shikamaru soon appeared in the doorway quickly followed by his own 'little buddy'. He took one look at Rinku and said,

"How is it exactly that you got this address?"

Rinku waved her hand in front of her face back and forth to shoo the thought away,

"Just a little interrogation, speaking of which, I must say that the people of this village are very quick to crack. I didn't even have to use the- ... but that's not the point of today's visit." Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow as if to tell her to go on, which of course she then did, "This thing you gave me must go back." Rinku finished as she handed Shikamaru the leash as if handing over the ownership of a dog.

Shikamaru sighed as he made his stance more comfortable and lifted his pointer finger to rest on his temple, while his thumb lay on his chin. He eyed the leash and shook his head before unclipping it from Hanabi and handing Rinku, what he could only assume was hers,

"She is neither a thing nor a dog... nor an Inuzuka even so why do you have her on a leash? In fact, she's not even a hyperactive child where this would ever be needed. And why do you own this thing?" he said pointing to the leash as Rinku smirked and made a seductive wink,

"All the better to-"

Shikamaru quickly covered her mouth before she actually said it,

"There are children here Rinku-sensei." he said stressing the sensei part, which caused Rinku to pout, even as he let go of her mouth.

"This is exactly why I'm here I can't be around children. In fact, I'm thinking about having my aunt make a rule that kids aren't allowed with in five feet of me." Rinku said in a conspiratorial way, as if the children couldn't here them.

"So question, I understand that you don't seem to be very fond of this particular assignment, but I do have to ask... why are you coming to me about this problem? You either have to go through Lady Tsunade to get her to excuse you from the assignment or to Hanabi's father, the only thing I do at the moment is coordinate things." Shikamaru said leaning on the frame of the door as his little buddy mirrored him on the other side.

"See there's a slight problem with both of those options. One, Aunt Tsunade wouldn't let me out of this assignment even if I begged, because she's never let us off the hook about things that we said we'd do. And as for the second suggestion the little brat won't let me return her to her father." Rinku said giving Hanabi a glare for good measure.

Having held her peace long enough, in her own opinion, Hanabi felt that it was high time that she enter her own opinion,

"Never in my life have I ever been treated in such a fashion-"

"That's a part of the problem." Rinku interrupted with a mumble before Hanabi continued what she was saying.

"I am Hyuga Hanabi, a very important member of the main branch of the Hyuga's, very graceful and dignified people, we are blue bloods and I will not tolerate a disgrace on my record by being brought back to my father by a sensei who seems to be unable to work with me. I will not allow our honor or reputation to be tarnished by this overly hormonal teenage shinobi." Hanabi said icily.

Rinku glared at the little girl as she began to roll up her sleeves, as if preparing for a fight. Hanabi didn't move but it was clear to anyone watching by the flash of her eyes that she was willing to attempt to take the older girl in a fight herself. Shikamaru quickly separated Hanabi from Rinku for the moment as he spoke,

"I understand that you aren't overly enthusiastic about the current assignment, however, it's an assignment that you yourself agreed to, and it's only one week. So since it's not going to kill you I'm not going to interfere. Now if you'll excuse me I have my own student to teach." He said beginning to close the door only to have Rinku put her arm in the doorway and keep it in place with a very annoyed expression.

"What could you possibly be teaching him inside your house? Your quick to tell me to suck it up but I see you aren't even doing the assignment Team Leader-san." she pointed out with a glare.

Shikamaru let go of the doorframe with a sigh,

"For your information I'm spending today working with him on the intellectual aspect of fighting, and on how playing shogi can improve tactical skills and decision making on the battle field."

"You really know how to cover for yourself don't you? Well I'll play along then, if your not going to take back the child you'll just have to help me with her then," Rinku said brushing past Shikamaru and his assigned child into the house while telling Hanabi to, "come girl."

Hanabi shot Rinku a Hyuga death glare though Rinku wasn't able to see it being in front of the girl at the time. Then she growled out,

"How many times must I tell you that I'm not a dog? And for someone who supposedly hates children so much you sure act childishly," Hanabi pointed out as she gave a slight bow to Shikamaru, "thank you for your hospitality." The last was more of a reflex than any real gratitude. Hyuga's were well known for their manners and respectability among other things. Hanabi wasn't about to let Senju Rinku ruin that.

Shikamaru shot his little buddy a questioning eyebrow, but the boy merely shrugged, before both of them followed the girls inside. Shikamaru instantly looked around the living room to see where his two uninvited guests had gone off too. It was a quick find though since Hanabi had settled herself on her knees in front of the coffee table with her body in perfect posture as if waiting for someone to offer her something, even though the shogi set was in front of her, and Rinku was standing in front of the couch with one finger pressed against her lips in thought. Shikamaru's little buddy looked up at Shikamaru as if waiting for his instructions. Shikamaru let out another loud sigh hoping that Rinku was getting the fact that he was very put out at the moment. Her seductive nature was actually enjoyable to him (even if she was perhaps a little too intense about it), but there seemed to also be annoying things about her as well.

Thinking about these things Shikamaru directed his buddy to sit across from Hanabi and start a new game of Shogi while he tried to figure out how best to get Rinku to train with Hanabi on her own for a bit, without enticing her enough to traumatize both of the children. The boy was quick to listen, sitting across from Hanabi and resetting the game as he'd been taught. But he had noticed that Hanabi had been staring at him (though it seemed more like through him) the whole time. He tilted his head to the side confused before asking,

"What?"

Hanabi let out a dignified huff before scolding,

"Aren't you going to offer me some tea or something Tsubasa? It's only polite when you have company, especially female company. The men in my family would never forget something so essential."

The boy blinked at her,

"This isn't my house... "

"If you allow such minor details to trip you up then you'll never be a true man." Hanabi chastized as the boy tried to figure out whether or not he was in the wrong, and made his first move in shogi.

Meanwhile, Rinku had come out of her stupor before Shikamaru could find an answer to his current predicament. Rinku's thoughtful face quickly became a mischievous one as she sashayed closer to him,

"I just came up with a very good idea for what we can do today. Let's let the children learn...tactics? Shoji? Whatever it was that you'd been working on now while we go 'discuss' some grown up things in your bedroom."

Shikamaru blocked her attempt to jump him by hopping behind his counter and putting his arm out to keep her in place,

"What are you doing?"

"Well I had thought that it was pretty obvious but I'll play along if your into playing innocent. Ah I get it maybe you wanted to play student/sensei huh? Alright I'm game. Today sensei is going to teach you a very valuable lesson Shika-chan..." she began as she started to climb on top of the counter.

Tsubasa looked away from the shogi board as he watched Rinku-sensei in awe wondering what she was doing.

"Rinku-sensei this is highly inappropriate and also quite troublesome for me. It's not that I'm not interested or anything but this really isn't the best time."

Rinku kept her smirk on her face,

"There's no time like the present."

Shikamaru made a face before circling the counter to get away from her even as she was mid pounce. He sidestepped just in time for Rinku to go flying into a couch chair. Luckily her hit was padded, but Shikamaru had calculated that much. Poor Tsubasa's mouth was agape at the suddenness of the sensei's flight. Hanabi didn't even bother to look up, her attention completely on the game as Tsubasa moved a piece without looking, at Hanabi's insistence to hurry it up. Shikamaru moved over to sit on the couch as Rinku turned herself right side up and wiped off imaginary dust with a slightly annoyed look.

"Tell you what," Shikamaru started deciding to relent a little, "if you make it through this week and actually teach the student that you were assigned without complaining about it too much, then I will consent to some 'fun' at your apartment."

"My apartment you say..." Rinku trailed off thinking about how inconveniently placed her apartment was, being so close to Raiku's and all. She tried to imagine what her sister would say if she later found out about Shikamaru having 'fun' with Rinku under her very nose.

Imagined Scenario

Having just found out what Rinku was up to for a fact Raiku emerges from her apartment with a chainsaw in hand and begins hacking down Rinku's door yelling,

"Castration!"

End of Imagined Scenario

Rinku pursed her lips in thought before saying,

"It might be better if we do it at your place."

Shikamaru shook his head,

"I live here with my parents so I really wouldn't feel comfortable about that."

Rinku sighed but then waved her hand as if to shoo the bad part away,

"Well we'll find a place when the time comes. So I'll take that challenge of yours, but you'd better not try to back out." she warned him.

"Do I look suicidal to you?" he deadpanned as Hanabi said in a calm and bored tone, "I win."

"What?!" Tsubasa said as he turned to look at the board, and just as she had said she had one, but in the poor boy's defense he had been very distracted and Hanabi had not.

"You should work on your focus, shinobi can't afford to be distracted on the battlefield. Next time keep your eyes on the goal you set for yourself." she chastised as Tsubasa shook his head repeatedly in awe.

"Well with that Hanabi and I have to get going. I have lots of things to teach her." Rinku said grabbing Hanabi by the collar, and dragging her out of the house.

It was a little hard, even with the Hyuga grace, to make being dragged out of a house by the collar look dignified, but Hanabi did manage it. Shikamaru and Tsubasa followed along just to make sure that they really did leave as the two girls set out to honestly get some training done. Shikamaru estimated that Rinku wouldn't be able handle the whole week if she didn't change tactics soon, but to him he'd be content either way.

Rinku, meanwhile, was suddenly determined to teach Hanabi enough to make her a chunin in no time. It was amazing how motivated she suddenly was, even about teaching a child, when she there was a personal goal for her to reach. And suddenly the assignment was looking up. Rinku was very hopeful that she and Shikamaru would be able to find a place far away from her sister to have a little 'fun.' After all she didn't want Raiku to castrate her current target, Rinku had completely different plans for that specific part of Shikamaru's anatomy.