Whoops, so maybe you noticed, or maybe you didn't... but Gaara wasn't supposed to be in P.E. with Naruto in the last chapter... I kind of mixed up his schedule. But now I'm just too lazy to correct it, so use your imagination and pretend Gaara wasn't there in the P.E. scene, though everything else remains the same for the most part.

Also, please expect some potential delays in future chapters. College has started again and I have no idea how busy I will become.

That's about all I have to say for now. All characters belong to Kishimoto-san. Please enjoy!

Chapter 25: The Start of Something Troublesome

Tuesday wasn't a word Temari always liked, but she had to make an exception for today. Her demon of a younger brother was not attending school, and she and Kankuro would be lying to say they wouldn't enjoy the brief moment of relaxation.

"So," Kankuro said, piling into the car and taking shotgun before Temari could. Temari didn't try to claim her rightful spot back; she was in high spirits today and was looking forward to a normal day.

"What exactly is Gaara going to be doing at home?" Kankuro asked.

Baki started the engine of the car before replying. "He won't have the day off, if that's what you're concerned about, Kankuro-san. Kazekage-sama has requested his teachers to give me their worksheets and assignments. I will be taking over Gaara-sama's education."

"It'll be just like the good ol' days back in Suna, huh?" Kankuro commented.

"Speaking of which," Baki continued. "Your father would like for you to continue your private lessons on the weekends. He does not want you to fall behind when you return to Sunagakure."

Kankuro groaned. "And here I thought we would be free of that once we landed on Konohagakure grounds."

"Just be grateful I managed to convince him to only do weekends. Originally, he wanted to resume your daily lessons."

Kankuro narrowed his eyes, and Temari had to agree their father's actions were suspicious.

"What was the deal?" Temari asked carefully. There was no way their father would willingly loosen his strict educational standards.

Baki looked at her from the rear-view mirror. "In exchange for the discontinuation of your daily academic lessons, your father expects top grades in all your classes."

Kankuro groaned again. "Of course, he would. What does he want from us? Straight A pluses?"

"Still, it's easier to do that here than in Suna," Temari reasoned. "But what about our combat lessons?"

"Those will continue," Baki said. "We can't have the three of you kidnapped any time soon, after all."

Kankuro muttered something under his breath, leaning back in his chair. "This doesn't seem like a vacation anymore."

.

The day went smoothly, for the most part. Kakashi was late to homeroom, and he waved cheerfully at his students as he walked in a minute before the bell. Naruto yelled something at him that Temari didn't quite catch, but she did see Sakura and Shikamaru pull him away.

First period had been extremely boring. Anko had been absent, again, and Kabuto had taken over lessons. He had gone through notes and read excerpts from their textbook. Temari was starting to grow suspicious of her teacher now. Where did Anko go all the time that she would be absent from school…?

Second period was just as equally boring as first. Her teacher, Daikoku, continued his boring lecture about Huckleberry Finn.

Third period was P.E., and Guy had them play more volleyball. The teams were the same as yesterday, but this time, Temari could tell Shikamaru was determined to beat her.

"Come on, Shikamaru!" Kankuro shouted, positioning himself to receive the ball. "Hit it towards me!"

Shikamaru did so, and Kankuro expertly hit the ball over the net. Unfortunately, though Kankuro had enough power, his aim wasn't all that good. The ball flew towards, Lee, who hurled it back, knocking Shikamaru in the face and sending the younger boy towards the floor. Watching the boy land painfully on the floor, Temari felt a little bad for Shikamaru.

"I'm so sorry, Shikamaru-kun!" Lee shouted apologetically. "Are you okay?"

There was no reply, and Neji and Lee both ran towards the boy to check on him, though for different reasons. Temari almost did so, too, but stopped herself in time. The boys could handle it. Besides, there was Guy, and that's what teachers were for. She had no reason to check up on Shikamaru.

Neji was the first to arrive, kneeling next to the lying boy and checking his pulse. Shikamaru lay unmoving, his eyes closed.

"Is he dead?" Lee whispered frantically. His loud whisper carried throughout the gym, and Guy walked over.

"What seems to be the problem?" Guy asked. From where he was standing, Lee and Neji were blocking his view so he couldn't see what they were huddled around.

"I think Shikamaru-kun is dead!" Lee exclaimed. "I think I killed him."

"That's stupid," Temari retorted, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "He wouldn't die from a hit like that."

Guy raised an eyebrow at Lee's statement as he ran towards his students.

"He's alive," Neji announced suddenly, calmly standing up.

"Then why isn't he moving?" Naruto asked, also running towards them.

"Because it hurts."

It was Temari's turn to raise an eyebrow. From his lack of movement, she had assumed, if not already dead, he had been knocked out.

"Wait, you're alive, dattebayo?" Naruto said.

"I just said he was," Neji said sourly. "I did check his pulse, you know."

"I thought Lee might have knocked him unconscious," Neji continued. "But, instead, I found him perfectly awake. He just doesn't want to get up."

Guy looked at a loss of what to do. "So, Nara-kun is fine?"

"Yes," Neji said.

Guy knelt next to Lee, examining Shikamaru.

"I'm fine," Shikamaru mumbled, sitting up. "Man, I was hoping I could just take a nap right here. This game is getting too troublesome for me."

Temari couldn't believe her ears. Shikamaru had just frightened the whole class because he had decided the game was "getting too troublesome" and would have preferred to nap than get up? What was wrong with him? Didn't he know he would worry people?

Guy sighed, his expression mirroring Temari's own feelings as finished with the examination. "Nara-kun is fine. He might have a few bruises later, but he's fine, for the most part."

"Man, Shikamaru, you had me worried, dattebayo!" Naruto accused. "I thought you were dead!"

"He can't die from volleyball, dobe," Sasuke said, crossing his arms.

"But stillllll," Naruto whined. "What if you had died, Shikamaru? What would I do without you?"

"You'd probably fail all your classes," Shikamaru said. "Or get run over by a car in the middle of the night because you decided it was a good idea to run around the city at 4 a.m."

Naruto grinned. "Exactly. So, you can't die just yet, dattebayo."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, wincing to his feet. Guy clapped him on the back.

"Back to work, kids."

.

"Remember, your projects are due in two weeks or so," Kurenai reminded as the bell for the end of fifth period rang.

Temari and Sasuke exchanged silent looks. Like Kurenai had said, the project had been easy and simple, and they had already finished the entire project on Saturday.

"Psst," Kankuro whispered unnecessarily as they walked out of the classroom. "Want to do my project for me?"

Temari sighed. "It's an easy project, Kankuro. Just go do it and get it over with."

"Well, it was worth a try," Kankuro said, shrugging. He waved at his older sister. "See you after school, sis!"

Temari watched him run off, confused as to why he was so excited. Was his art club really that fun?

"Alright, students," Asuma said as Temari, one of the last people, walked into the classroom. "I have some announcements today so none of you are allowed to leave this room until I'm done."

The room was crowded as both the board game and shogi clubs watched their advisor attentively. Temari looked around, trying to find a place to stand that wouldn't suffocate her.

"Over here," someone whispered, and Temari felt her arm being dragged away by an unknown force over to a spot by the open window.

It was a boy, and, by his slight accent and darker skin, Temari assumed he was an exchange student, too.

"You're Temari-sama, right?" The boy asked quietly, and Temari nodded.

"Wow, it's an honor to meet you," the boy said. "My grandparents were originally from Sunagakure, and they've got a lot of respect for the Kazekage and all those related."

"I see." Temari didn't know who the boy was, but she wasn't too eager to make new friends now, even if it was someone from her own country. Asuma was saying something about a project or something, and Temari strained to hear over the boy's chattering.

"Oh, right, I'm getting ahead of myself," the boy said. "I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm an exchange student from Wind, just like you, though not from such a grand city like Sunagakure."

The boy laughed, and Temari cringed a little. Why was this boy bothering her? If he knew who she was, like he claimed, then he knew better than to mess with her.

"Anyways, the name's—"

"Shikamaru!" Asuma's voice cut through the boy's talking, and Temari smirked. She couldn't see where Shikamaru was in the room, but Temari would bet anything that he was sleeping.

"Stop sleeping, and pay attention," Asuma scolded. There was a heavy sigh, heard by everywhere, and Temari couldn't help but laugh a little. No doubt he was saying "troublesome" under his breath.

"Anyways, as I was saying, the Halloween Festival is coming up," Asuma said. "I know it's still more than a month away, but I like to be prepared. We never know what accidents might happen while we're doing this."

"Halloween Festival?" Temari asked, confused. She was musing to herself, but the boy—what had been his name again? —heard her, and answered.

"Oh, you haven't heard about it yet, Temari-sama?" the boy said, seeming way too enthusiastic for the opportunity to talk. "In Konohagakure, they hold annual festivals. It's a popular event. I read all about it in this one book I bought at the airport—"

"Just stop," Temari interrupted, giving up all pretenses of politeness. "Asuma-sensei is talking, and I'd like to hear what he's saying."

"Oh. Right." The boy looked a little crestfallen, but Temari didn't care. She had already stopped paying attention to him.

"As the veterans in these two clubs know," Asuma was saying, "Every Halloween, our two clubs join with Kurenai's two clubs to create a large food booth. Our four clubs work together to create and maintain a booth that will be selling food. Though, I say booth, but in reality, it's more of a restaurant. Some of you will be in charge of cooking, others preparation, while some might be serving the food and acting as waiters."

Asuma pointed to the whiteboard, where Temari just noticed pieces of paper were taped onto. "As you can see, I have sign-up sheets available here. The jobs will be given on a first come, first serve basis. Everyone must sign up on one of these papers, or else I will be docking off points from your grades. In Kurenai's room, she also has similar papers. Each job category will be composed of members from both my clubs and her clubs, and I expect you all to work together peacefully."

Asuma paused to glare at some student in the back, who shrugged.

"In a few days, I will finalize the sign-up sheets, and Kurenai and I will post the resulting groups on our door. We'll be meeting with Kurenai's clubs for the remainder of this week, and deciding on themes and dishes, and all that. Any questions?"

A girl raised her hand.

"Yes, Shiho?" Asuma called out.

Shiho adjusted her glasses. "But, sensei, none of the papers are labelled. How will we know which papers are for which jobs?"

"Asuma-sensei doesn't want us to choose," a veteran member spoke up. "He likes messing with us like this."

Asuma smiled. "He's correct. As you can see, the papers are in different colors, and only Kurenai and I know which colors are for which jobs."

"So, you just want us to do this by chance?" another student asked, and Asuma nodded.

"That's right."

Asuma looked around, and seeing no other questions, dismissed his students. Temari immediately made her way over to the front of the room, where she guessed Shikamaru was. Much to her chagrin, the boy followed behind her.

"Wait up, Temari-sama!" the boy said. "Let's sign up together!"

Temari resisted the urge to growl. Ignoring the boy behind her, she confronted the sleeping boy in front. However, to her surprise, Shikamaru was not sleeping.

"Shikamaru-kun," Shiho said, fidgeting with her glasses a little. "Do you want to sign up together?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I guess. But not now. Asuma has a way with these things. It's not random, as he claims. There's a trick to it. He probably has hints hidden around the classroom."

"Oh, so do you have it all figured it out?" Temari asked, startling Shikamaru, whose back had been turned to her.

"O-oh, Temari," Shikamaru swallowed, recovering from his initial shock. He glanced at the boy behind her. "Is it me, or is he trying to talk to you…?"

"Just you," Temari replied curtly.

"Right," Shikamaru said, unconvinced. However, it wasn't his problem to deal with. He looked around the classroom, before getting up.

"Come on," Shikamaru said. "We have some clues to find."

Temari wasn't sure who he was talking to, but both she and Shiho (as well as the boy whose name Temari still couldn't remember) followed him.

"So," Temari said, trying to make conversation with Shiho as Shikamaru started examining the walls. She was still ignoring The Boy—she had chosen to call him that, as she still didn't know his name—who still hadn't taken the hint that, no, she did not want to talk to him. "You're Shiho?"

"Yes," Shiho replied. "And you must be Temari-sama."

"Just Temari," Temari said. She was getting tired of correcting people. It was fine and all when the people calling her that were annoying peasants from Suna (mostly suitors who wanted her title more than her), but she was in Konoha now, and surrounded by kids who had little idea of what she was like, and could be potential friends.

"Are you… close with Shikamaru-kun?" Shiho asked, watching as Shikamaru flipped open a binder on Asuma's desk. Asuma, miraculously, was on the other side of the room and did not notice the young Nara shifting through his papers.

"Not really," Temari admitted. She frowned. "Why?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Shiho said quickly. "I'm just curious since I see him with you a lot."

"I see." Temari decided to classify the girl as a stalker, considering how Temari hadn't seen Shiho before, besides in Asuma's fourth period. There was no way she was going to be friends with someone like her. Why was she even following Shikamaru around anyways?

Shikamaru had moved away from Asuma's desk, and was now examining the other walls, where math related posters and papers were tacked up.

"Aha!" Shikamaru exclaimed, holding up a piece of paper.

"And, what exactly did you find?" Temari asked mockingly. "A piece of paper? Great, it looks like all the other pieces on the board."

"No, I meant look at what's underneath that," Shikamaru said.

Shiho was the first to arrive by his side, and Temari felt a surge of annoyance. Who was Shiho to look at the hidden clue or whatever, before her?

"It's a code," Shiho said excitedly. "I think I might be able to crack it."

"Exactly," said Shikamaru. "That's why I have you here."

Temari frowned skeptically. "Right, like she can totally just decipher a random code you found on Asuma-sensei's desk that might not have anything to do with the festival."

"I mean, she is an expert on codes," Shikamaru said. "She won an award or something last year in this competition, I think. I trust her to be able to decode this."

Temari made a face behind their back. "Decode it, my ass."

"It does look hard to solve," The Boy said.

Temari internally groaned. "Yes, it does."

"Do you think you could solve it, Temari-sama?" The Boy asked. "I've heard you're really intelligent."

Temari decided The Boy was even more of a stalker than Shiho. "And where did you hear that?"

"Everyone back home talks about it," The Boy said. "The Sand Siblings are all incredible. Is it true that Gaara-sama can—"

"Please. Stop." Temari said, gritting her teeth. Pestering her was one thing, but pestering her about her family? That was one thing Temari did not want to deal with.

The Boy looked hurt, but Temari ignored him, watching as Shiho scribbled on a piece of paper.

"These are the jobs and their associated color," Shiho announced, and Temari was glad for the distraction.

Shikamaru held up the decoded message.

"It's a good thing you managed to do it, Shiho," Shikamaru said. "I wouldn't want to end up as a waiter."

"But think how cute you would look in the outfit," Temari teased before she could stop herself, and Shikamaru turned to her, annoyed.

"I don't want to look 'cute'," Shikamaru said. "I want to be in a job that won't put me in the way of troublesome people."

Shikamaru handed the decoded message to Temari. "Anyways, I'm going to sign up now. Hopefully, the one I want isn't filled up yet."

The group of students made their way to the front, thinking about the jobs they wanted.

From behind them, Asuma smiled craftily. His young genius of a student had fallen into his trap.

Also, any thoughts on what Shikamaru, Temari, Chouji, Ino, Hinata and Sakura will end up doing...?