A/N: I'm glad you guys didn't rise up and revolt at the last chapter, telling me you hated it. I know there are a lot more Shikamaru/Temari fans than Shikamaru/Ino fans reading this fic. Personally, I think Ino gets a bad rap- most fanfiction authors portray her very differently in their stories than she appears in the manga and anime. They make her a harpy, and a one-dimensional harpy at that, when she's actually only like that a small fraction of the time. Ino flies of the handle far less often than Inner Sakura, for example.

Anyway, I hope it's not getting too sappy for you, either. I know my chapters are short, but this story presents itself in a very snapshot-like manner in my head, and so I just write about the snapshots that occur to me. Besides, once it's all posted, you all can look it over again in one long orgy of chapter-reading, and you'll barely notice the length of the chapters. Enjoy, leave a review if you feel like it (I like reading them), and have a great weekend!

The rain pattered on the window, competing with the sounds of medical machines as Shikamaru sat by Chouji's bedside. His friend had only been awake for a day, but that was good enough for Shikamaru. Chouji was still extremely weak, but he would pull through just fine.

"Naomi stepped out," he explained to the waking man. Chouji was blinking slowly in the fluorescent light of the room, gingerly rotating his head to look at Shikamaru.

"How's the baby?" Chouji asked, squinting.

"Fine, everyone's fine."

"And you? Naomi said last night that you and Ino started fighting. Did you tell her how you feel?"

Shikamaru scowled. "I don't know how I feel about Ino, and you know it. Besides, I'm with Temari."

Chouji grunted as he shifted in the bed, taking deep, slow breaths as beads of sweat appeared on his brow. His cheeks were soft and full, lending him a boyish look, but his body underneath the sheets, while still large, was square and obviously packed with muscle. He barely fit in the narrow hospital bed. "You're the dumbest smart guy I know, no offense," he grated, pushing himself up a bit to sit slightly upright.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that you've got two girls in love with you, and you've gotten yourself into a huge mess."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "And what does that mean?" he growled.

Chouji sighed, glancing toward the door. "Nobody's coming, right?"

"Right."

"Well, Temari might not know it, but she's completely in love with you. She's fun and good-looking, but she's a handful. Now, Ino doesn't know it, either, but she's been madly in love with you for years. She's good-looking, too, but in a different way. She's also fun, and she's also a handful. She's not the warrior Temari is, but she's also more gentle, in her way."

"Ino, gentle?" Shikamaru snorted.

Chouji panted for a while, squeezing his eyes shut and taking more deep breaths. "Yeah," he mumbled. "You've seen her with flowers, and children, and animals, not to mention the rest of her friends. You're the only one she gets upset with, besides me and Sakura. She only acts like that with people she loves."

"You should rest," Shikamaru said, leaning over and tucking in a corner of Chouji's blanket. "You're using up too much energy talking."

"I don't care. I'd rather pass out and be in here longer than watch you walk around with your head up your ass."

Shikamaru stared at his friend, his mouth slightly open. He couldn't move a muscle, just as surely as if someone had trapped him in his own Shadow Bind. Chouji was normally a peaceful, patient guy; for him to speak so bluntly meant that he really believed what he was saying, and that very fact made Shikamaru carefully weigh his words. "What should I do?"

Chouji sighed again. "Figure out who you want. I really like Temari, and if you want her, go for it. But if it's Ino you want, be fair to all of you and just go get her."

Chouji's words crawled over Shikamaru's skin and burrowed deep inside his blood vessels, shooting straight into his heart. His muscles trembled ever so slightly, and he suffered from a lack of oxygen at the thought of talking to either of the women. The two friends sat in silence until Naomi appeared a half-hour later, Ino in tow. The blonde looked at Shikamaru, an unknown emotion flickering through her eyes, and he stared in wonder at her flawless skin, her red lips. Her cheeks flushed slightly as he watched, and although he realized he was being rude for looking at her for so long, he couldn't help himself. His body was electrified, burning and aching as if he had been set on fire.

"Be a man," Chouji whispered, winking at his friend.

Shikamaru got up, embracing Naomi quickly before pausing in front of Ino. "Where are you going?" she asked softly, looking up into his face.

"There's something I have to do," he replied, and pushed past her into the hallway.

He raced through the rain towards the Hokage's office, ignorant of the moisture saturating his hair and clothes. His heart pounded in his chest, fueling his reeling mind as he dashed towards the gigantic building. He was oblivious of the minutes that passed as he traveled, entering the complex and making his way directly to Tsunade's office. The way to make the situation cause the least trouble possible was to get it over quickly. Luckily most of the ninja recognized him and let him pass, probably assuming that he had been summoned, as Tsunade liked to do upon occasion. He made it all the way to the door of her office before he was stopped.

"Do you have an appointment?" Shizune asked, stepping in front of him.

Shikamaru glanced past her at the male assistant behind the desk. "Ask the secretary," he told the dark-haired woman, hoping to buy some time.

"Well?" Shizune snapped at the secretary.

He quickly shuffled through the papers scattered on the desk, finally producing a book. Flipping through it, he pinned down a page with a finger and closely scanned it. Shikamaru shot him a look of ice, but the man glanced at Shizune and shuddered. "No, he doesn't," the man said, swallowing.

Shikamaru cursed inwardly as Shizune narrowed her eyes. "Tsunade-sama can't be interrupted. Give me your message and I'll get it to her."

"No, I need to talk to her now."

"Why?"

"I need a pass."

"What? Why?"

"I'm taking a trip."

"No!" Shizune cried. "You can't leave at a time like this."

"Time like what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Shizune faltered, eyes wavering. "I can't say."

Shikamaru smiled slowly. "If you let me pass, I'll keep my mouth shut about your little slip, not to mention that I saw you walking in the park with Gai," he drawled, so softly only she could hear.

Her face turned the color of a tomato. "You wouldn't," she hissed. "Nobody would believe you."

"Try me," he said nonchalantly, placing his hand on the door. Shizune merely stood there, fists clenched, as he pushed the door inward. "I didn't think so," he sighed, and shut the door behind him.

Once he had decided he was safe from an onslaught from Shizune, he slowly turned and surveyed the room, a bit surprised that no one was in the office. Papers and scrolls were everywhere, as well as the remains of a recent meal. The room was completely still, even the air remaining uncirculated. He crept over to the lavatory, but the door was open and the room was empty. A loud snore startled him and he jumped off the floor several inches, teeth bared as goosebumps riddled his flesh. He had a kunai out even before he turned around, ready to face whatever threat awaited him, then swatted his forehead with an open palm as he spied a heap on the floor. The pile of fabric was the illustrious Hokage, snoring away on the floor, her head supported by a stack of papers.

"Hey," he said, and was rewarded with a snort and a bleary look.

"Ah!" Tsunade shouted, causing him to jump back once more in fear and look wildly about him.

"What?" he cried, weapon at the ready.

Tsunade stood behind the desk, calmly brushing herself off as if nothing had happened. "Oh, hello," she said. "Why are you in here?"

"Why were you sleeping?" he moaned, stowing his weapons.

"I was tired," she replied, taking a seat. "I see you got past Shizune. No small feat."

"I have my ways," he mumbled, sitting down in the chair Tsunade indicated.

She sighed, stacking a few scrolls. "Well, as long as you're here I might as well hear you out. You have been useful to me lately, after all."

Shikamaru took a deep breath. "I want a passage certificate to Hidden Sand."

Tsunade's eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," he growled.

"No."

It was Shikamaru's turn to make wide eyes. "Why? Temari gets them all the time from Kazekage."

"That's because she has an in."

Shikamaru wondered if there was an implied insult there, then just let it go. It would be too troublesome to defend Temari's honor, especially if he wasn't even sure it was being tarnished. "So?"

"No, end of discussion," Tsunade said, clapping a book shut. She looked at him for a few moments, and he shuddered as a sly smile uncurled across her face. "Or maybe not."

His chest tightened, bracing for the impact of whatever troublesome thing she was going to say next. "What do I have to do?" he asked.

"Join ANBU," she said. "We need a brain like yours. Neji and Shino are doing wonderfully, but we could always use another talented captain."

The blood in his veins turned to ice. "No," he said with more force than he'd intended.

"Then you don't get your pass."

Shikamaru clenched his jaw, his fingers twitching with the effort no to curl into fists. "I need that pass."

Tsunade leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms behind her head. "I would have thought this would have become too troublesome for you by now," she murmured. "Why get so worked up about this now?"

"Life itself is troublesome," he drawled, regaining some of his composure. "If I want to make part of it a little less troublesome I'm going to have to make an effort."

They squared off in silence for a while, then Tsunade sighed, placing her forearms on her desk. "Sorry, Shikamaru, but those are the terms. I wish I had more time to talk, but I really should get back to work."

His body went rigid with anxiety. He had to get to the Sand village and talk to Temari. He just had to. "How about a wager, then?"

Tsunade winced. "What?"

"A wager. Your bet against mine. You set the terms."

He watched as her hands clasped one another, trembling slightly, saying nothing. A clock on the wall counted out the seconds as time stretched around them, every breath seeming to take an eternity. For a moment he feared that she wouldn't take the bait. Suddenly she slammed her open hand down on the surface of the desk. "You're on. Here are the terms, you choose the game. If I win, you join ANBU and draw up a battle plan based on this data." She pushed a scroll forward. "If you win, you get a pass to Hidden Sand and you can draw up the battle plan when you get back."

"Battle plan?" Picking up the scroll, he opened it, immediately confronted with statistics and coordinates. His eyes widened. The scope of the battle would be incredible; Tsunade was sending well over half their warriors into the fray, by the looks of it. Even those numbers wouldn't be enough to overwhelm the Sound ninjas. It seemed Orochimaru had been inflating his ranks a bit. Rolling up the scroll, he placed it back on the desk. "I agree to your terms."

"What's the game?"

Shikamaru pulled out a coin and Tsunade's face fell. "Call it."

"Don't you at least have dice or something?"

"Nope. Call it."

"Tails," she said, fingers gripping the edge of the desk. Dents were left in the wood.

Shikamaru flipped the coin in the air, looking her straight in the eye as he caught the coin and slapped it down on the desk. His heart was going a mile a minute. He had never trusted to luck before; his entire life had been lead by following his brain. He didn't even know if he had good luck or bad. By the amount of trouble he'd experienced during his relatively short life, he had a hunch his luck was bad. His fingers trembled slightly where they covered the coin, and with great anxiety he raised his hand. "Heads," he breathed, and Tsunade hissed between her teeth. With a single motion she tore open a drawer and attacked its contents, mauling the scroll as she signed it and brutally sealed it.

"Here," she growled, eyes flashing as she handed over the pass. "You had better come see me when you get back."

He tried to take the scroll, but nothing happened when he pulled. He nearly had to pry her fingers off to get the pass out of her grip. "Okay," he said, tucking the scroll in a vest pocket. The road beckoned, so he walked to the door, pausing and turning to face her when he got there. "Thanks, Hokage-sama," he said.

Her scowl eased a bit and a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "No need to be cute," she said gruffly. "Just get out of here."

"Sure thing," he replied, and was on the road in no time.