Shikamaru woke with the taste of old bile in his mouth. His head pounded and he mumbled curses at the light streaming through his bedroom window. It had been some time since he had been in this state. He hadn't missed it one bit.

He started to assess his situation. He was still wearing his dress shirt and pants, but his shoes and suit jacket had been removed. His hair was "up" but most of it had fallen out of the tie. His watch still on his wrist his wallet still in his pocket.

Turning his head to his night stand, he saw a glass of water, a couple Aspirin, and a note. Choji was a true friend, and Shikamaru felt embarrassment in having to call on him the night before, for his help. As he grudgingly gulped the water and Aspirin, memories of Choji pulling the car over for him to vomit on the street, came back to him. Shikamaru groaned and grabbed the note.

Hey Buddy,

I picked up your car and brought it back this morning. Your keys are on the kitchen table. Hope you're still alive after last night. You can take me out for barbeque, as payback.

-Choji

Forget true friend, Choji was a fucking saint. A better friend than anyone deserved. Still, Choji had been trying to get him to go out with him for awhile, but like everything and everyone else, Shikamaru had been avoiding him, and now Choji perfectly executed a plan to make it happen. After last night, there was no way Shikamaru could say no to the guy and buying him dinner. People liked to underestimate Choji because he was a truly nice guy, but there was more to Choji than just that.

It wasn't that Shikamaru didn't want to see his friends, but it was the guilt that followed him, when he did. The guilt he couldn't push down that he found in their concerned looks, and their careful and awkward conversation. Then the unbidden memories that would bubble to the surface, and his anger would erupt because they didn't blame him when he knew they should.

Choji and Ino were close with Asuma, and still close with his family, too. They all grew up in the same neighborhood, and on the same city streets. Often their parents would be working, and the streets weren't always the safest place, but that's where they'd end up. Asuma was a bit older, but always looked out for the three, and tried to keep them out of trouble. Why Asuma would take an interest in three brats, Shikamaru couldn't really tell you. Only that it was the type of guy Asuma was.

Eventually, Asuma joined the police force. He didn't want to bust the illegal gambling or other petty crimes in the neighborhood and on the street. Instead, he wanted to go after the large scale crimes and murderers in the city and make it a safer place for everyone. But, after awhile, he left the force to start his own private detective agency. Asuma didn't really like to talk about it, and Shikamaru never pushed for details. Ino had her family's flower shop, Choji was working in a restaurant with dreams to become a head chef, and Shikamaru was directionless. Asuma had always saw his potential and approached him, getting him to work for him. Even though he never admitted it, he liked the work. It could be interesting, and it was something he never would have considered if it hadn't been for Asuma. Eventually, Asuma made him a partner.

Yeah, it was good for awhile, before everything went to shit.

And now he was here, sitting on the side of his bed, looking and feeling like the shit the world had become.

He glanced at his wrist watch. Noon already. He still wanted to know what Temari had meant the night before about being on the same side. Which meant he needed to get to the library to do some digging on her and Kankuro, but first he needed to drink some coffee and maybe eat a piece of toast, then take a shower and clean up. Honestly, Temari hadn't been lying when she said he was a pathetic excuse of a man the night before, and he couldn't even imagine what she would say if she saw him right now.


Shikamaru heard the ring of the phone, just as he was stepping out of the shower. Hastily he wrapped a towel around himself and headed into the living room, trailing water droplets all the way to the phone.

"Nara."

"Hi, Shikamaru!" Ino cheerily chirped.

Shikamaru held back a groan. He was feeling more human after the Aspirin, coffee, food, and shower but he still was feeling his hangover. "Hey, Ino."

"Who's your favorite, most charming, and beautiful friend?"

He held back on responding 'Choji', as he usually would have, to annoy her. His head was still feeling off and he knew where this all was leading. So he just pinched the bridge of his nose and huffed, "Spill, Ino."

"You're no fun." She pouted. "I wanted to share what I was able to learn about Kankuro and Temari. I thought you might be interested. Maybe I was wrong?"

He dropped his hand and Ino now had his full attention. "Tell me."

"You know what I want to hear, first." Ino was enjoying herself.

Shikamaru sighed and indulged her, "You. You are my favorite, most charming, and beautiful friend."

"Aww, you're too sweet." Ino laughed. "Alright, so their father was Rasa Subaku. He was the mayor of Suna. He was known to be corrupt, taking bribes and looking the other way when it suited him. Rumor is that he had his fingers in a lot of other illegal operations, and even pulled all three of his kids, Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara in too, trying to build a family empire. It was a pretty ruthless one too, but about 5 years ago Rasa goes and gets himself murdered. After that, things get real quiet, but a few of years ago Gaara reappears. He gets involved in politics and is expected to become the next mayor, but that's about where the similarities end with his dad. He's gone clean and appears incorruptible. He's turned over some sort of new leaf. A man of the people. The word is that this didn't go over well with a lot of his father's connections, along Kankuro and Temari. Apparently, that's why those two left Suna and came here a few months ago."

Ino paused for effect, "Not too bad for one night of information gathering, huh?"

Shikamaru was impressed, but he didn't expect much less from her. He was well aware of her talent for getting information, as he'd been on the receiving end of her efforts plenty of times. "Yeah. Thanks, Ino."

After a short pause, Ino's voice softened and she continued, "Umm… Shikamaru? I'm sorry about how things went yesterday. I shouldn't have pushed you."

"Stop. Don't apologize." He worked to ignore thinking about it. Thinking about losing it in the flower shop. It wasn't her fault, it was his. All of this.

"Are you doing alright?" concern seeped from her voice. Somehow that made it worse. It was a loaded question, and one he wasn't going to get into. He took a deep breath and focused.

"I am, Ino. I have to go, but you are a good friend, and we'll talk soon."

"Okay. See you later alligator." her perky voice had returned.

Shikamaru smirked and just hung up. She liked to say that to him, and never once had he responded with the desired "in awhile, crocodile" and he wasn't about to start.

He quickly finished getting ready, before he grabbed his keys from the table and headed out the door. He'd swing by the office on the way to the library.


Author's note:

Fun fact, according to the internets, the phrase "See you later alligator" is actually song lyrics from called See You Later Alligator, which was made famous in the 1950s by Bill Haley & His Comets. (Which then I had to look up and take a listen to.) It just seemed like such a good fit for something Ino would say, and a little inside friend joke.