Annd here's an update! I think... I might actually be back on track now? ? Well, technically midterms are over so I have free time again, but still, hopefully, I can keep to the regular schedule again.

Anyways, thanks to ohud63 for the review! But yeah, I'm introducing some Temari/Shiho interactions now. Shikamaru swears he doesn't like her. But how does Temari feel about that though...?

Also, I kind of started another Naruto fanfic lol. I couldn't resist. It's set in the Star Wars universe, so if you want to see Jedi Naruto and Sasuke, and a bold bounty hunter Shikamaru attempting to flirt with a very unamused ambassador Temari, then you might wanna take a look?

Anyways, here's chapter 27 (We're almost to 30 chapters!). Hopefully, things will start to pick up plot-wise.

All characters belong to Kishimoto. Well, maybe not the random background characters with no names.

Chapter 27: Your Joke is Not Appreciated, Asuma- Sensei

Wednesday passed by surprisingly quickly, and soon, it was Thursday. Shikamaru sat in his seat in the back of Asuma's room, dreading what Asuma had in store for him for the Halloween Festival. He desperately prayed to whatever gods were out there that he wouldn't end up in some troublesome job, but by the triumphant looks Asuma shot his way when he thought the boy wasn't looking, Shikamaru knew he was in for two months of torture.

"Hey, cheer up."

Shikamaru picked his head off the desk—which was no small task—and gave the girl standing before him a baleful look. It was Shiho, luckily, and he received no punishment for his lack of response.

Shiho sat down next to him. "You seem nervous. It's just the festival. There's no need to get worked up over it. It's supposed to be a fun event."

"My idea of fun is staying at home and sleeping," Shikamaru grumbled. He placed his head back on the desk.

"Can you wake me up when Asuma starts talking?"

"Sure," Shiho promised and Shikamaru sighed. Shiho was proving to be way better company than a certain blond girl from Suna. As if on cue, a dominating presence made its way over and Shikamaru cringed a little, knowing she was about to throw insults. However, he kept his head down and his eyes closed, even as he felt her eyes train on him.

"Sleeping already, lazy ass?"

Shikamaru made no response, pretending he was already asleep. Temari didn't seem to be fooled, and Shikamaru wondered if maybe he had been spending a little too much time with her lately.

"You know I know you're not actually asleep, right?"

Shikamaru lifted his head, meeting Temari's annoyed gaze.

"I know. It doesn't stop me from trying, anyways."

Temari rolled her eyes and sat down on Shikamaru's other side.

"You're early today, Temari-san," Shiho said.

Temari shrugged, narrowing her eyes as if Shiho had offended her… which Shikamaru guessed might have happened considering Temari's personality. Still, Shikamaru had noticed a strange tension between the two, and he couldn't really figure it out. The two of them were barely in any classes together, at least none that he himself wasn't also in, and he had never seen the two, or at least Shiho, being disrespectful to the other. Shiho was one of the nicer girls. She was quiet, and intelligent, and eager to help. Shikamaru liked girls like her; they were way easier to deal with than the ones he personally knew.

"This is my normal time," Temari replied coolly, though Shikamaru saw how her shoulders had tensed up.

Shiho smiled politely. "Right. My apologies. It's just, in the past few days, you came near the end."

"The past few days." Temari repeated. "By which you mean yesterday and the day before? Because I recall arriving around this time for all other days."

"Look, Temari, we get it; you're not normally late," Shikamaru cut in. He had grown up with Sakura and Ino, and if there was one thing he recognized, it was the beginnings of a petty argument, which this surely was going to turn out to be.

Temari glared at him but backed down, crossing her arms and gazing out the window. She seemed unusually ticked off today, and Shikamaru didn't really want to deal with it.

Sighing heavily, Shikamaru resumed his resting position, hoping no more trouble would come for the rest of the day.

There was a nudge from Shiho, and Shikamaru sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

Temari rolled her eyes. "I don't understand how you can fall asleep for just a few minutes."

"I have my ways," Shikamaru said, but his attention had drifted away from her, and towards the door, where a crowd of students could be seen standing outside.

"Alright, kids," Asuma said, standing by the door. "Let's get out here and start this meeting."

Asuma's kids, comprised of the more introverted types, all groaned as they trudged outside to sit in the sun. Kurenai's two clubs were already seated, and Kurenai herself was standing in front of them, waiting patiently for Asuma and his club members to come out.

After everyone had seated themselves, Asuma and Kurenai began talking.

"So, we've sorted you into your jobs," Asuma said, holding a piece of paper in his hand. "I'll pass this around, so you guys can take a look at it."

He handed the paper to the nearest student, and Kurenai picked up where he left off.

"Since we came up with a respectable number of dishes yesterday, we won't be doing that today. Instead, I want you to find the rest of the members of your group, and work together to figure out what to do. Asuma and I will hand out some information about your jobs, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask us."

"Basically, take today to get to know the students who will be working with you," Asuma added, "And remember, try to get along."

There were some snickers from Kurenai's club members, and a few eye rolls from Asuma's. The two teachers dismissed them, and the students split off.

.

Shikamaru soon found himself caught between Ino and Sakura, who were arguing about which one of them was the better cook.

"Oh, please," Ino scoffed, "We all know you have little talent for anything non-medical related."

"That's not true," Sakura retorted. "Though, I could say the same for you. The only thing you know are flowers."

"At least flowers are pretty," Ino said. "Just like me. Too bad that will never be you, especially with that ugly forehead of yours."

Sakura scowled at her. "At least I can put my medical skills to practical use when Sasuke-kun gets injured."

"Don't you dare lay a hand on him!" Ino gasped. "He's mine!"

Shikamaru caught Chouji giving him a pleading look and shrugged. He had already prevented a fight between Temari and Shiho today; it wasn't in him to stop another one.

Chouji cleared his throat awkwardly. "Hey, now. I'm sure both of you are excellent cooks."

Shikamaru shook his head at Chouji's choice of words. It had been the wrong thing to say as both girls whipped their heads in his direction.

"But which one is better?" Ino demanded. "It's obviously me, right?"

"Don't feel pressured to lie just because you've known her longer," Sakura said. "Don't you remember that one time we all went to my house to bake cookies and she nearly burned them all?"

Chouji swallowed, not sure what to say. He couldn't exactly argue with either of them, nor could he agree with them.

"Oh!" Ino exclaimed suddenly. "Why don't we have a cooking competition, and Chouji can be the judge?"

"Why is he the judge?" Sakura argued. "Won't it be biased?"

"Oh, please, it won't matter if you can cook better than me," said Ino. "Which you can't."

Chouji held up his hands. "Woah, hold on a second. I'm not going to be the judge for anything. You guys tried that last time and it wasn't very fun. I'm not doing it again."

"But come on Chouji, wouldn't you like free food?" Ino coaxed. "We'll cook your favorite dishes."

"Ino, you really are manipulative," Shikamaru muttered.

Ino flashed him a smile. "Well, what can I say, I have my hidden talents."

"Hidden. Right." The paper had reached them now, and Shikamaru looked up his and Ino and Chouj's names. To his relief, they were all in the same group. But, as Shikamaru continued scanning the paper, his eyes shifted up towards where their job description was.

"Uh, are you okay, Shikamaru?" Chouji asked. "You look like you just saw something unpleasant."

"That's because I did," Shikamaru groaned, handing the paper over for his best friend to look.

"Extra?" Chouji said, reading the word. "What is that?"

"It means we're in charge of doing everything," Shikamaru elaborated. "We're the extra group. So, if anyone needs help, we have to help."

"That's not too bad, is it?" Ino asked. "I mean, how often would the other groups need help?"

"You'd be surprised," said Shikamaru knowingly. "Also, since we're extras, we also have to help out with cooking and meal preparation."

"So, basically we landed the job with the most work?" Temari asked from behind him, and Shikamaru half-jumped, half-turned around. He had forgotten she was in the same club as he, and she seemed to know that, too, as she stood in front of him, her arms crossed across her chest, frowning.

"You're in the same group as me?" Shikamaru asked, before mentally face-palming himself for asking such a stupid question. The two of them, along with Shiho and that one boy who kept following Temari around like a lost puppy, had all signed up yesterday on the same paper.

"Well, duh," Temari said, looking unimpressed. "It's not like we signed up together."

Ino's face lit up at the sight of the Sunagakure girl, and Shikamaru wanted to hide. He knew Ino still had delusions about him liking Temari, which was ridiculous. Because he didn't.

"Oh, so you'll be working with us, Temari-chan?" Ino questioned.

Temari nodded hesitantly, clearly still unused to being called in such an affectionate way. Shikamaru figured she was most likely used to people being super formal around her, but this was Ino, and Ino wasn't one for stiff formalities.

"I look forward to working with you, Shikamaru-kun," another voice added to the conversation and Shikamaru looked to his left, to the quiet girl in glasses. Shikamaru smiled at her, a rare sight, but he couldn't help himself. He was glad that Shiho would be with him; he needed people like her and Chouji to keep his sanity in check while Ino, Temari, and Sakura duked it out, though not necessarily against each other.

"So do I." Shikamaru agreed amiably. Chouji was standing off to the side uncertainly, and Shikamaru pulled him over, introducing the two to each other.

"Chouji, I don't know if you remember, but this is Shiho."

"Yeah, I do," Chouji said. "It's hard to forget the two smartest kids our year."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "You're forgetting Sasuke and Sakura."

"I mean, yeah, sure they're smart, but those two are a different type of smart," Chouji said. "They're book-smart, but you two are just talented."

Shiho flushed a little at the compliment. "Thank you, Chouji, but honestly, Sakura-chan is way smarter than me. I'm just good at codes, nothing else."

Chouji smiled.

"I think I like you more though. Sakura can be a bit..." Chouji paused, searching for the right phrase, and Shikamaru offered up a word.

"Headstrong?"

"No, I meant to say, competitive," Chouji concluded.

"That, too," Shikamaru acknowledged. "It's like all the women we know are like that."

"Not Hinata-chan," Chouji pointed out.

Shikamaru nodded. "No, not her. Speaking of which, where is she, anyways?"

"She's helping Kurenai-sensei," Chouji supplied. "She offered to personally help her."

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows. "She did?"

Chouji nodded. "Well, you know how those two are. It's kind of like you and Asuma-sensei. Only, Kurenai-sensei is nicer to Hinata-chan than Asuma-sensei is to you."

Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah, unfortunately."

"But that's because you don't need to be treated nicely," Asuma said. Shikamaru turned around to face his teacher. Asuma was smiling fondly at Shikamaru, but there was a glint in his eyes that suggested a challenge.

"Did you really have to put me with the one job that does practically everything, though?" Shikamaru asked.

Asuma shrugged, lighting a cigarette and putting it in his mouth. "You could do with some work, Shikamaru. The real world isn't all fun and games, and you have to learn to deal with what you're given."

"I do deal with it," Shikamaru complained. "But, seriously, how did I end up with this job? I thought I was signing up to oversee supplies."

"I know you thought that," Asuma said, chuckling as he blew out a puff of smoke. Kurenai cast a sharp look in their direction, and Asuma quickly put out his cigarette, suddenly remembering the school rules about no smoking on campus.

"Temari-san was right, you know," Asuma said, after putting out his cigarette and disposing of it appropriately. "I had this all set up just for you. I even had Shiho-chan help me out."

"Wait. What?" Shikamaru blinked in surprise.

"Sorry," Shiho apologized sheepishly. "Asuma-sensei asked me for a favor, and I didn't see the harm in it."

"There isn't any harm," Asuma concurred firmly. "Don't feel bad, Shiho. Shikamaru really could use some more work in his life."

Shikamaru shrugged, trying not to look as dejected as he felt, though more for Shiho's sake than Asuma's.

Asuma clapped his students on the back. "Come on now, why don't you go back to the rest of your members?"

Shikamaru reluctantly went back to where Ino, Sakura, and Temari were. They were joined by the mystery boy, as well as two others from Kurenai's club.

Hasty, awkward introductions were made, before they all looked at the paper Kurenai had handed them earlier, with instructions on what to do.

"So, I think we should start by assigning a leader," one of Kurenai's students said.

Sakura nodded in agreement. Before she could suggest someone, Ino spoke up. As soon as she did, Shikamaru tensed, knowing she was going to volunteer him.

"That's a great idea," Ino said, smirking evilly in Shikamaru's direction, further confirming his suspicions. "I suggest Temari-chan."

"What?" Shikamaru and Temari exclaimed at the same time. Everyone looked at Shikamaru, and he felt heat rise to his face as he lowered his head and mumbled something under his breath.

"I just thought Ino was going to suggest I do it," Shikamaru explained clumsily.

Temari rolled her eyes. "Not everything is about you, Nara."

"Nara? Since when did you call him Nara?" Ino piped up.

Temari frowned at her, shrugging. "Does it matter? It's his name, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I suppose," Ino said, remaining unconvinced. Shikamaru had a vague feeling he was going to have a lengthy conversation with Ino about Temari's attitude towards him later. Not that it mattered, because he did not like her.

"But, anyways, yeah, I'm willing to do it, if no one else objects," Temari said, looking around before resting her gaze on Shikamaru. "Do you have a problem with that, Nara?"

"Uh…no?" Shikamaru answered, shrugging helplessly under her scrutiny.

Temari nodded, back in her professional mode. "Then I guess that's it for that. What's next on the paper?"