Shikamaru's head was throbbing as he walked the familiar path home. He always took the long way around to avoid the busy block of restaurants and shops that lay at the heart of Konoha. The sun had just about set, and he could see the glow of freshly lit lanterns, hear the bustle of people picking things up on their way home and smell the aroma of restaurants with their dinner rush. He glanced down each alley getting just a glimpse of the chaos he avoided most nights, unless he had a hankering for ramen.

Movement caught Shikamaru's eye as another alley came into view. A wisp of curly blonde hair and the sound of rushing feet. He had this instinct to investigate that negated his normal laziness and he rushed after the assailant but stopped short in embarrassment as the women reached the glowing light of the street, laughing and embraced a companion that had awaited her.

His mind was not in the right spot, chasing phantoms and following trains of thought that only derailed. The walk home seemed long and grueling and when Shikamaru finally reached his quiet apartment complex he was relieved to find that it was, as always, a silent respite.

He walked the three metal flights up to his flat and when he finally stepped into his quiet home something felt off. He reached for a kunai in his flak jacket and then shook his head remembering the way he had chased after that girl just minutes earlier. He made his way to the bedroom and stopped short as he realized that the door was closed, light shown through the crack underneath.

He formed a plan in his head, one that any ninja has set aside for future use when taking up residence just about anywhere for more than a couple days.

Shikamaru silently put his hand to the doorknob and then with great speed flung the door open and flew into the room, stopping immediately as he saw who was sitting comfortably on the bed.

"Well, you're on edge." Ino said, standing and making her way over to him.

He tried to relax the tension out of his shoulder and loosen the grip he had on the knife. His eyes followed Ino as she made her way across the room stopping when she was centimeters from him. He looked down at her standing there, with one comforting hand on his chest.

He knew that her mood varied, but the rollercoaster she had put him on today was very unusual. Climbing to anger and disappointment, then falling back down to affection and compassion. He was getting emotional whiplash and his own turmoil began to mingle with hers.

"I'm a little stressed." He said, in what he hoped was a nonchalant tone.

He pocketed the knife and brushed past her, it was a more abrasive action than he had hoped, fearing retaliation he sat down at the foot of the bed staring back at where he had left her.

"I have a headache." He mumbled closing his eyes.

He couldn't see her, but he heard footsteps make their way to him and the bed on either side of him sunk with the weight of Ino's knees. The warmth and heaviness of her thighs relaxed into Shikamaru's lap and the smell of freshly watered soil and flowers filled his nose.

"Relax, its okay." she whispered as her breath drifted from his ear down his neck sending signals down to the base of his spine. He felt the tension in his shoulders subside as one cold glowing blue hand eased his muscles into submission. She was familiar with the fact that he held his tension there and she moved her hand up to his neck mirroring it with her other hand. The coolness of her chakra filled palms made their way too Shikamaru's temples meeting at the top of his head where the sensation faded as Ino pulled the elastic band from his hair.

He opened his eyes and watched as she unzipped her green vest, still slightly distracted by the small twinge of pain in his head and the fogginess of his mind.

"Mist, she did something to me… it's still there." He said and Ino shushed him.

"I know." She said with a somber empathy, before quickly changing to a playful tone. "No work talk, I thought we agreed on that a long time ago."

He gave a slight grin and shifted on the bed, lifting Ino up and twisting them around before bringing them both down slowly to the bed again. Her back arching up to him as he kissed her bare shoulder, the fog in his mind becoming heavier, but he accepted it.

The harsh light of noon was what woke him. Shikamaru had slept in much later than usual, but he wasn't worried, the Strategies Unit would function without him and if they didn't, he would have had someone barging down his door. He shifted from his stomach onto his back and gazed around the room at the pillows that were strewed on the floor and the comforter that had been kicked to the ground, the only evidence of what had happened the night before.

Ino had left as quickly as she had come. No sleep overs; another rule of theirs. Which ones were hers and which ones were his had long been forgot as they had made them hastily in the beginning, trying to distance themselves from any meaningful connection that one or the other might feel.

Sex was all it was and could be. As Jounin they had learned that anything more in their line of work, was painful, short lived or dangerous.

And it didn't happen that often either. It was something that was born out of necessity and closeness, an accident that they had tried to ignore and forget at first, but it felt too good not to make again. Ino had even commented that she thought they worked better on missions because of it.

Shikamaru slid his feet over the edge of the bed, stretched and then rubbed at his shoulder feeling three raised lines Ino had left. There was something off about last night, she was hesitant about her touch. Clawing and reaching for the sheets and pillows, until her resistance broke, and she gripped his skin, but she would quickly pull away like touching him would burn her.

Shikamaru pushed the thought down, it was nothing. He was still foggy from his encounter with Mist. He shouldn't over analyze Ino, it wasn't worth all the trouble.

He finally shifted off the bed and began gathering his things to leave.

As Shikamaru entered the complex the atmosphere was tense. Everyone moved with a hastened pace, their eyes down. He made his way to the building that housed the Strategies Unit, but as he crossed the large courtyard at the center of the complex, he spotted an old comrade which normally wouldn't stop him, but his curiosity was heightened today.

"Kiba!" He tried to sound jovial, but it didn't suit him. He took the stupid smile off his face as Kiba approached followed by his furry companion.

"Hey Shikamaru, I haven't seen you in ages." Kiba smiled and patted a hand on Shikamaru's back.

The bags under his eyes implied that, like Shikamaru, he had been up late the previous night. Kiba and his family's dogs had probably been scouring the city, sniffing around for Mist. Maybe they had found something.

"You need to come down for a drink with the guys soon." Kiba continued on happily, despite his lack of sleep. "We all miss your lazy ass."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to." Shikamaru said scratching at his neck.

He had been meaning to, but the invites always came at inconvenient times, like right when he needed his post work nap.

"You look a little tired," Shikamaru moved on casually. "What has Tsunade had you doing lately?"

"Oh dude, last night was brutal. Up all night, the whole pack, looking for some rogue girl that went missing."

"Oh really, did you find her?" Shikamaru tried not to act too interested but urged him to go on.

"No, whoever it was definitely did not want to be found, and they knew all the tricks. We caught some circling and backtracking that was done to try and throw us off, but that's just amateur stuff. We thought we almost had her though and, guess what?"

Kiba stopped, waiting for him to reply.

"What?" Shikamaru said reluctantly indulging him.

"All we found was a pill of her cloths by the river side. Girl must be running around naked through the streets of Konoha." Kiba said with a slight chuckle.

Shikamaru didn't laugh and Kiba seemed disappointed.

"Are you guys going back out to look again?" he pressed.

"I mean, maybe man. It would be a waste at this point though, this girls smart she's probably made it out of the city already, miles away. Or if she knows how to trick Akamaru's nose she's already found someone or something to mask her scent and she's laying low in the meantime."

"Wow that sucks." He said in a monotone voice, turning to leave.

"You're coming out with us tonight." Kiba said demandingly.

"I won't take no for an answer." He continued as Shikamaru opened his mouth to reply with an excuse.

"I have a ton of work to do today and I already came in late and…"

"No you're coming out. I don't care what you have going on. I will come and personally drag you out if I have to."

"Fine." He caved and turned again to leave as Kiba rambled on about how much fun it was going to be.

The rest of what was left of the day drifted on quietly. Shikamaru's door went untouched, which He found weird. With all the bustle he had seen coming in that day he expected to have some kind of debriefing about the plan of action they would be taking.

Maybe the Stratagies Unit wouldn't be involved in this, with the ANBU having taken over. The two units rarely collaborated. The ANBU abided by its own rules and never really played well with other units. It was shrouded in so much secrecy, all for the betterment of the village. His job was not dissimilar, they both worked to protect Konoha.

Something was different about this case though. Something didn't feel right. Something indescribable connect him so intimately to it that he wished he had accepted the ANBUs offer years ago. He wanted the redacted stuff, he wanted to know for his peace of mind what was going on. He didn't want to accept that the village was in good hands he wanted to know.

Shikamaru let out a long sigh and stretched back in his chair. The tension in his shoulders was back.

Redactions. Shikamaru sat up straight again. Why would the names of the ninja be redacted for a fire fighting report? It seemed unnecessary to keep that a secret. It could mean that something else had happened, something that only those ninjas would know about maybe something that would help them get a better look into Mist's past or at least put them in some kind of direction. He needed their names. At least one.

He needed to be assigned a mission. He needed a chance in the Record Halls, and even if he found nothing maybe a mission would straighten his mind out, keep his thoughts moving on a set path and not swirling like they had been.

It was too late in the day to expect Tsunade to still be in her office, so he'd have to go in first thing tomorrow. Shikamaru let out a breath of frustration at the thought. He decided he should leave for the day, take his mind off of it until tomorrow.

Shikamaru slowly rolled up the scrolls on his desk and returned everything to its rightful spot before locking his office door and headed out of the complex for the heart of Konoha, which he couldn't avoid tonight. He stopped in front of a small restaurant strewn with glowing lanterns and ivy. This was the typical meeting spot for the Rookie 9. He could hear that it was noisy on the other side of the front doors. Shikamaru sighed heavily and scratched at the back of his neck deciding whether to go in or not.

"It's rowdy in there tonight, you shouldn't go in." He swiveled his head and saw a lanky brunette woman leaning against the building's corner smoking.

"I may need to." Shikamaru said turning towards her, but not stepping any closer.

"You don't need to do anything." The woman replied continuing to stare ahead and take a drag.

She leaned forward putting out the end of her cigarette on the bottom of her shoe. Then she turned casually and disappeared down the alley way along the side of the building.

Shikamaru shook off the interaction and took one more deep breath before entering and immediately regretted it. His name was screamed from across the restaurant. He feigned a smile and headed through the tables to the bar. The thick aromas of rich food and booze wafting around him.

"You made it, Pineapple head." Naruto yelled at him, despite the fact that he stood right in front of the group, which Shikamaru soon found had all drank more than he expected. He signaled the bar tender and ordered himself something strong to catch up with the others, making the whole ordeal less painful.

The entire gang was there; Kiba, Naruto, Choji, even Shino sat silently at the end of the bar. It wasn't until the girls arrived that chaos ensued again.

As soon as Shikamaru saw Ino he pushed himself out of his bar stool, his anxiety subsided as he pulled her into what he thought was an appropriate hug, until she gently pushed him away from her turning to the others to make her greetings. He knew he had to tell her what he was planning so he caught her arm before she could get too far and leaned in again to whisper in her ear.

"We need to talk."

A small line formed between her brow as she stuck him with a look

"Later. I'm trying to get drunk tonight."

Shikamaru sat solemnly back down, feeling a bit put out by the interaction. He watched Ino move at ease through the group. She smiled as Naruto laughed at something she had said before he pulled her into an embrace and a small flare of anger licked at his stomach.

Shikamaru turned back to the bar and stared down at his drink, swishing the brown liquid counter clockwise and then clockwise before emptying the contents of the glass into his mouth. As he brought the glass back down he peered at the distorted image of someone on the other side of the bar. Then he pulled the glass away to find the brunette from earlier clearing glasses off of the bar top and pilling them in a grey tub.

Her green eyes flashed up to him and she grinned in a familiar way he couldn't place, before she turned and she disappeared to the kitchen.

The night continued joyously, everyone conversing about missions and family and gossip. Shikamaru had slowed his drinking after his encounter with Ino, sharing only a glance or two with her that she quickly evaded. They all stayed late, until the staff started cleaning tables and putting up chairs. Once the group had all gotten the hint to leave, they began picking up their things.

Shikamaru walked behind a very drunk Kiba, guiding him to the door, while trying to keep his eyes on the long golden hair that swished farther ahead in the group. Kiba swayed and stumbled, but while passing the brunette waitress he stopped abruptly and swiped at her backside as she leaned over a booth cleaning the table.

The girl stiffened and turned around quickly, Shikamaru was delayed slightly in his reactions, but stepped between the two to make apologies. His words caught in his throat as he saw stormy blue raging eyes, and he knew why that smirk was so familiar.