HEY GUYS AND GIRLS. I'M BACK WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER AS YOU CAN SEE. THIS CHAPTER IS SLIGHTLY LONGER AND MORE STUPID AND BASICALLY BORING AS USUAL. DON'T REALLY KNOW WHY YOU GUYS AND GIRLS LIKE IT. IT'S JUST ANOTHER STUPID STORY FROM JUST ANOTHER STUPID GUY. I DIDN'T GET TIME TO EDIT AGAIN. I WANTED TO POST IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (SORRY).
HAPPY READING:)
"Where are you going Shikamaru? Are you seriously going to walk away?" He could hear the desperation in her voice. He stopped walking and turned around to face her again. A quick wind blew through the empty space between them. He looked at her and he could see that he was hurting her. That was something he never wanted to do. He wanted nothing but the best for her.
"I want you Shikamaru."
"You don't get to say that after running away from me when I wanted you." His was voice was uncharacteristically strong and stern as he spoke those words.
"I had something I needed to do."
"Cut the crap Sakura. You told me the day after your party that you didn't want to be in a relationship."
"That was different."
"How was that different?" She really was angering him now. He knew she was hiding something which is why she was in this mess right now but he wasn't going to hold back just because of that. She hurt him enough and he had enough of it.
"You kiss me the night of your party then the next day you tell me not to read anything into it and that you don't want to be in a relationship. I walk you home and we kiss again then you runaway. I get the message Sakura."
"No you don't. There is no message."
"Message or no message, I am finished. I don't know what game you're playing at but I am not going to be apart of it anymore."
"Shikamaru listen to me. I am not playing with you. I am not perfect but I am serious when I say that I want to be in a relationship with you." He could see that she was being honest and sincere right now but it was a little too late for that.
"I am not perfect either. I am a useless piece of shit most of the time but even I don't deserve to be toyed with. I've been hurt enough and I am not going to put myself in that position anymore. I might be an idiot but I am not going to allow a girl to hurt me anymore." She didn't say anything. She looked to the side refusing to let him see the tears escaping down her cheeks. It felt like his heart erased its last chance at happiness. There was no hope anymore. There was no wishing for it anymore. There was just an empty space he was willing to dump all his emotions in and forget about it.
He turned around and began making his way home. A lone tear escaped his eye and slowly travelled down his cheek then dropped down onto the cold ground beneath his feet disappearing along with the rest of the warmth in his heart. Stone cold; that's what was best for him right now. No emotions, no second chances; just straight to the point. Beating around the bush was just too troublesome. He looked around and reluctantly smiled. A cemetery, a fitting place for his last sliver of hope to die.
"You have both of us here so can you tell us what was so important?" Why did Ino have to question him so much? It was such a drag.
"Yeah Shikamaru. I returned from a mission yesterday so today is my rest day. Why did you bring us out here to the training fields?" It was rare for Choji to question him but he didn't really tell Ino or Choji anything except that he wanted to do something with them. He had to drag Ino out of bed then they went to have breakfast Choji's house, they were forced to anyway, before coming here.
"We're going to train." Ino burst out laughing at Shikamaru's announcement while Choji just stood there with a confused look on his face.
"Come on Shikamaru, what are we really doing here?" Ino really didn't believe him. He really wasn't surprised. Even he couldn't believe that he was willingly coming to train. It was weird.
"Did I stutter?" The annoyance in his question was evident but Ino continued laughing.
"This has to be a joke. Is someone hiding in the bushes or something?" She looked around at the trees surrounding the open training field. He didn't really know what she was looking for but he let her have a look.
"Grow up Ino." He sighed as he looked up at the cloudy sky above them.
"Why do you want to train?" Choji could probably sense something was up with his best friend. Ino might have been laughing at Shikamaru's uncharacteristic announcement but Choji was certainly more interested as to why.
"There's only so much I can do behind a desk." That wasn't the complete answer but that was the main reason. Despite his extreme laziness, Shikamaru always found it easier to plan when you can see exactly what is happening in front of you. Lady Tsunade hated that about him since she didn't have him or his father with her at headquarters. His father would be out commanding the jounin while Shikamaru would be helping his friends on the front lines. No one could fault Shikamaru on his effort when it came to being a shinobi but when he wasn't on a mission then he was basically useless.
"Planning to go on missions again?" Choji was being surprisingly observant. He found it comforting that his best friend understood him. He noticed that Ino had stopped laughing and was paying attention to the two males now.
"You two will be the first to know if I do. There's no one else I'd rather go on a mission with." Hell, he would laugh at the thought of going on a mission with any other people. The three of them knew each other so well on missions that they hardly spoke when they were in a battle. The only time they spoke was if anything new appeared or if one of them really was in danger. Other than that, they were on the same wavelength. Ino would bust their balls immediately after the battle though but he knew that she meant well. Hearing her voice criticising both him and Choji was a relief because then the mission was successful. Any mission they walked out of was a successful one. He knew that each one of them would lay their lives down to protect each other which is why they understood each other so perfectly.
"You really going through with it?" Ino's question was sincere. He could see the pain she still harboured in her eyes just waiting for a moment of weakness to release.
"It's time to prove our parents right. We are the new legendary Ino-Shika-Cho so it's time we start acting like it." Their smiles were all the approval he needed. It's like they were waiting for this moment. They probably were. Out of the three of them, he was the only one that was still mourning but now he had his closure.
"What's the plan Shikamaru?" Choji asked him that question way too much. He knew that Choji could come up with a plan as quick as Shikamaru could even though it might not be the best course of action. Maybe the chubby ninja found comfort in having his lazy teammate giving the orders.
They did a few warm ups and a couple of stretches to loosen their muscles and warm them up before the cold consumed them and made their training even harsher. The temperature wasn't cold enough to make their breaths visible but it was cold enough to make them miss the warmth the sun always provided. Shikamaru then began discussing a couple of new tactics that they could use allowing them to provide their input as well before they began practising it. They were a bit rusty at first seeing as they hadn't practised together in a couple of months but they were having some fun, at least Shikamaru and Choji was. Ino kept shouting at them to stop playing around but they ignored her. What was training without a little fun?
After they finished their teamwork training, they began their own personal training by fighting each other. A normal three way taijutsu battle. Their ninjutsu was as good as it could get but their taijutsu was probably just below average, Shikamaru's definitely was. He knew the basics of taijutsu and he knew enough to block then runaway and create some distance between him and his opponent in order to use his ninjutsu but other than that he sucked. Choji was probably the best out of the three of them. Not really shocking since he fought hand to hand even if his hand was considerably bigger than his opponents hand. Ino could hold her own pretty well in a taijutsu fight. He knew that ever since her battle with Sakura in their first chunin exams and she only kept growing her taijutsu ever since them but her ninjutsu was still her priority.
"Come on Shikamaru, can we please take a break now?" Ino was definitely as exhausted as he was but he didn't really show it. Choji still looked like he could go another round which wasn't surprising since he had been going out on missions while Ino and Shikamaru stayed in the village. They really needed to raise their stamina levels again.
"Yeah. I think we're finished here for today as well." Shikamaru answered her.
"Finally." Was she really exhausted or did she just want to stop training? Shikamaru couldn't decide. They made their way to a bag Shikamaru brought along and he immediately each of them a bottle of water. They happily drained the plastic containers of its contents hoping to replenish their energy in return.
"I don't want to go to work now." That was typical Ino. She never wanted to get but from her bed, about one of the only things she shared in common with her lazy teammate, but once she was up then she would work to the best of her ability. Shikamaru didn't share that enthusiasm if he was at home. The only time he would really work was if he was if he was out of the house and if he wasn't on a hill basking in the sun. Another reason why he hated the rain; no lazing around on hills and bathing in the warmth of the sun.
"I have to go give a mission report to you soon Shikamaru." He almost forgot about that part of the mission. He hadn't gone on a mission in so long that he forgot some of the aspects of it. He didn't like giving mission reports though. What was the point? The hokage or someone in charge gives them a mission so they do it and come back to the village. Mission complete.
"I heard that you are meeting the Kage soon." He would've been surprised by Ino's statement but he was used to hearing that Ino knew more about his life that he did. Maybe he was just too lazy to care about what happens in his life. Meeting the Kage was important right? Or was he just not that important to tell even though he was the one meeting them? Things just seemed so messed up in that incubator for his brain. He would be informed about it soon he hoped, well properly informed about it at least.
"I never heard that." Choji and Ino let out a small laugh at Shikamaru's reply. He couldn't help but release a short laugh of his own.
"You should pay more attention when people talk to you then." Ino was probably right there. He had a tendency to ignore someone if they were boring him. He was so used to it that he was able to look at someone dead in their face and not hear a word they were saying.
"I was at home yesterday. My mom and Kurenai dragged me out of the hokage tower after Kakashi-sensei ordered me to go home." He wasn't planning on telling them about the event that happened before he went home and passed out. Hell, that conversation with Sakura was the other part of the reason why he wanted to do this training session. He played and replayed their conversation over and over in his head driving him crazy so he wanted something to distract him and this was the perfect opportunity. He could train and forget about her for a while; two birds with one stone.
"Is Kurenai still by your house?" Choji was certainly interested in this part of the conversation. He was glad for the change of subject.
"Yeah. She's going to living with my mom and I until after she gives birth I guess. She wants to get a bigger place for her and her child."
"We still need to get a gift for her." Ino quickly said. He forgot about that again. It wasn't really on the top of his mind right now. Ino probably forgot about it by the sudden surprise on her face as well. That made him feel a little better about forgetting it as well.
"I will find out later by Shizune if Konohamaru is on a mission or not. We can go visit him tomorrow I guess." Shikamaru wasn't excited about doing it but he wanted to get something for Kurenai so it was best that he got it done sooner rather than forgetting to do it later.
"Good. I can take the day off tomorrow." He was sure that it was only going to take an hour to find something for Kurenai and her child so Ino didn't need to take the whole day off but he certainly wasn't going to fight her. He knew that if Ino did something then she did it to the extreme and this was proving to be no different.
"I didn't get a mission yet so I am free as well." At least Choji didn't have any extra work to do, well not that Shikamaru knew of and he basically knew everything Choji did. Well Choji did do a lot of volunteer work around the village with his father if they had time. His whole family was like that if he thought about it.
"Tomorrow it is then. We should go freshen up then continue with the rest of our day." Shikamaru didn't want to but it was what had to be done. They had to be grown ups now.
"How about we have barbecue tonight? Asuma always use to take us to have barbecue after training. We have work right now but tonight we will be free so we could do it then." It felt like a tradition to get barbecue after training and the three of them were taught to follow tradition as strictly.
"I would like that." Ino never approved of them going out for barbecue after training but he could understand why she wanted to go now. Maybe she regretted always arguing against it and not enjoying it with Asuma. He regretted that he never paid enough attention to those small moments but he knew Asuma enjoyed doing it for them. Choji would empty his sensei's wallet but Asuma was more than willing to pay for it. He really was like another father for them. Now the only father they had was Choji's father. He didn't really talk to Choji's father but he liked the older ninja. He always did his best to make Shikamaru feel at home when he went over to their house.
"You don't have to tell me twice." He knew Choji never needed to be asked to go get barbecue with them.
"You're paying for your own food then Choji. I am not going to pay for yours." Ino certainly remembered that part of their barbecue tradition and she didn't want any part of Choji's appetite.
"You know my parents never give me enough money." Choji complained.
"It's not that they don't give you enough money, you just eat too much." Please don't let this be another bothersome battle between his teammates. Ino always loved picking this fight with Choji and the chubby ninja always fought back. He wasn't going to let the thing he loved to do get ridiculed. They never crossed the line that Ino and Sakura would though. When those girls began hurling insults at each other then the idea of a line certainly wasn't present. They would use anything and everything.
"Shut up you two. You guys are such a drag." He hoped that would stop there battle.
"Drag? Do you really want to go there Shikamaru Nara?" Ino continued talking ranting on about something he did or whatever was on her mind but Shikamaru tuned out. He looked over at Choji who was looking at him and the two burst out in laughter. He really didn't know why they were laughing but this just felt right.
"What are you two idiots laughing at?" He nearly forgot Ino was still busy talking about something.
"This would be the time that Asuma would start laughing. Somehow we would always end up arguing with each other then he would start laughing and take us to get barbecue." That was something Shikamaru would never forget about his sensei. He could find humour in just about any situation.
"He would always say that we were siblings." Choji added.
"We basically are. Ino has a drawer of her own at each of our houses anyway." Shikamaru contemplated throwing her things out of his room on more than one occasion but the result would always be the same; he was too lazy to do it.
"I'm pretty sure my mother loves the two of you more than she loves me." He knew that Ino's mother liked having him and Choji around but he was pretty sure that she loved her daughter more than she loved the two of them. Maybe she just wished that she had more children.
"My parents give you guys more food than they give to me so they definitely love you guys more than they love me." Choji wasn't lying about them giving him and Ino food. They were basically given so much food to eat by Choji's parents that they could never find the energy to go home until the food was digested.
"We always give you most of it anyway." That was one thing Ino always did for Choji. She would start some weird diet or something out of the blue so she always offered most of her food to Choji when they went to his house and he was more than welcomed to eat it. He had to admit though, Choji's parents cooked the best meat.
"We should really get going." Shikamaru reminded them again.
"Yeah."
"You're back Shikamaru." Kakashi said when the lazy ninja sauntered into his office later that morning.
"I've been in my office receiving the mission reports from the ninja that went to the village we saved." He stood in front of the desk with his hands in his pockets and his usual bored expression on his face.
"Anything interesting?" The hokage stopped working and paid his full attention to the shinobi in front of him.
"Nothing we don't already know. All their stories check out. The village is rebuilt and the defences have been upgraded. I saw that you also added a ninja station there."
"I've been wanting do it for a while. We need to protect the villages in our nation. I will be sending ninja there for a couple of weeks to train some of the villagers to protect the people."
"Instead of sending active shinobi, you could send a team of genin and their sensei. That way the sensei can teach the genin and the villagers. The genin can also help out around the village. It would create a better bond between the us and the smaller villages in the nation."
"That's a good idea. I will present that to the Daimyo next week. I needed to talk to you about that as well." This garnered Shikamaru's attention. Why would Kakashi need to talk to him about the Daimyo? He never formally met the Daimyo. The only time he saw the old politician was at the final round of the Chunin Exams. The Daimyo probably watched his match against Temari but then forgot about him so why would he want to talk to him?
"What does your meeting with the Daimyo have to do with me?" Shikamaru inquisitively asked.
"I don't know. He requested that your presence be there. It's best not to question his requests." That was true. The Daimyo had too much power. He could cause a war then send shinobi to go fight it for him. He was too troublesome.
"Anything else I should know?"
"I sent the letter to Gaara and the Tsuchikage so we should be receiving a reply any time now."
"How long will it take to travel to the earth nation?"
"About four days if you really travel quickly. We don't have time to spare anyway."
"True. The bandits have a massive head start already."
"If the Tsuchikage agrees to the joint mission then I want to send a team out tomorrow."
"That would be for the best." Both ninja nodded their head in agreement at their plan. Somehow the grey haired hokage and the spiky haired Nara understood each other very well. Not surprising seeing as both were lazy and intelligent in their own rights.
"Good, both of you are here." Shizune said as she burst into the Hokage's office.
"Morning Shizune-sama." Shikamaru gave her a polite greeting.
"Good morning Shikamaru." Shizune was as perky as usual. He didn't know how Kakashi put up with it all day.
"I've scheduled a celebration tonight at the bar the ninja's always use."
"What's the occasion?" Kakashi asked his cheerful assistant.
"We're celebrating Shikamaru starting his job here." He forgot about that. He didn't really think that Shizune was serious when she brought it up and he was only agreeing to it to be polite. He really wasn't in the mood for a celebration or party or any kind.
"I already made plans for tonight." He remembered his dinner plans with Ino and Choji.
"I spoke to Ino and Choji and they are coming so you are too. There's no way you aren't coming to a party I made for you." Shizune stared at him with a threatening look in her eyes immediately unsettling the young ninja.
"Um... I will be there then." He took one hand out of his pockets and scratched the back of his head as he gave her a nervous smile.
"Great." She gave him an equally happier smile then turned to the hokage. "You're also going to be there right Kakashi-kun?" He didn't know why but the way Shizune said 'Kakashi-kun' immediately set off alarm bells in his head. He was so afraid of the kunoichi right now even if she wasn't posing any sort of threat.
"Y-Yeah. I'll be there." Kakashi was definitely as nervous as he was right now.
"That's great. I have to go make sure that everything is ready for tonight so I will see you guys later. Don't make me come drag you out of your offices okay."
"Yes ma'am." Both ninja suddenly replied. Shizune silently exited the room leaving both ninja dumbstruck.
"Has Shizune always been that menacing?" Shikamaru asked Kakashi.
"Lady Tsunade warned me about Shizune. It's best not to get on her bad side. You can't fault her on her work ethic though. She gets things done, no questions asked." That was the truth. If you needed Shizune to do something for you then she would do it. Now he knew how Shizune would conduct herself if she approached someone as stubborn as he and the hokage.
"I think I should go continue my work then."
"I'll inform you if I have receive any news." The two ninja nodded again before Shikamaru left the room allowing the hokage to continue with his work. Shikamaru settled into his office then continued the work he stopped the previous morning when Kurenai and his mother interrupted him.
"Shikamaru." A voice made him break his concentration. He looked around his office to see who called his name but he didn't see anyone. He thought he was going crazy but then he saw the familiar miniature pug walking towards his desk.
"Pakkun." Shikamaru was surprised to the ninja dog. Usually Kakashi would only summon him when he needed help.
"Is Kakashi in trouble?" Shikamaru quickly asked as Pakkun jumped onto his desk.
"No. Kakashi received a letter from Gaara and the Tsuchikage. He needs to see you." Pakkun informed him.
"Okay." Shikamaru stood up and Pakkun immediately jumped onto his shoulder then onto his head before making their way towards the Hokage's office. Shikamaru was surprisingly fine with it. Akamaru sat like that on his head once when they were genin. He fought it at first but then he was okay with it, until Akamaru urinated on him at least.
"You've gotten taller." Pakkun snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Can't really say the same for you."
"You haven't changed that attitude of yours it seems."
"Too troublesome."
"I get the feeling you don't like me."
"You bit me."
"Because you wouldn't get your ass up and help us. You also pulled my cheeks remember."
"I sacrificed myself to let you guys escape and go help Sasuke."
"Well that's true. Those were the good old days."
"Those days were such a drag." Shikamaru commented as they entered the Hokage's office.
"And these days aren't?"
"I'm sitting behind a desk working rather than going out and doing a mission. It's less dangerous."
"Well it's going to get a lot more troublesome for you now." Pakkun stated then jumped off Shikamaru's head and landed on Kakashi's desk. Shikamaru noticed the hokage studying the map on his desk.
"You wanted to see me." Kakashi immediately handed him two scrolls. He immediately unrolled the first one and read it. It was a scroll from the Kazekage. The letter basically said that they are dealing with a crisis of their own. A group of ninja went rogue and they would like some assistance in helping to catch them. The second letter was one from the Tsuchikage. That letter gave them permission to pursue the group of bandits and agreed to offer assistance where they could.
"I thought you were offering a joint mission between the three nations. I can understand Gaara's response but I don't understand the Tsuchikage's response. He is giving us permission to hunt the bandits down in their nation while they only provide assistance instead of spearheading the mission."
"Onoki has never taken sides. He is stepping back to allow us to take control so if something goes wrong then we will be in the wrong and not him even if the incident takes place in his nation." Kakashi explained.
"He is just being cautious. The group of bandits did destroy a village in the wind nation and nearly destroyed one here in the fire nation." Pakkun was right. Anyone would tread carefully if the enemy was as organized as this group of bandits.
"He is getting ready for us to fail then." Shikamaru looked at the map that was sprawled out on the Hokage's desk. The situation didn't look very optimistic but he knew that if they failed then the Tsuchikage would be able to finished the mission.
"Then looking to capture the bandits when they escape; clean up our mess." Cleaning up someone else's mess, the best way to embarrass them.
"What if we don't give them a mess to clean up?" Pakkun and Kakashi looked at Shikamaru with confusion plastered on their faces.
"Are you talking about aborting the mission?" Pakkun asked.
"I'm talking about taking the fight to them for once. Sometimes the best defence is offence."
"How can we attack someone when we don't know where they are?" Pakkun was right. This was like blindfolding someone then telling them to hit a piñata except that this time they were wanted to protect the piñata and attack the people around it. They were blindfolded so they couldn't exactly see where the people were coming from.
"We don't know where they are but we know what their target is and we know what route they are most likely going to take. They are going to travel through the desert then cross the Land of Birds. They are going to have to restock their supplies so they would most likely stay a day there before continuing. That means they would have to cross the border to the Earth nation somewhere in the direction to the nearest village which would be here." He pointed to the closest circle to the border he drew on the map yesterday morning.
"That's still a lot of surface area that they could be. How do you plan on finding them?" Kakashi was definitely interested in this conversation right now.
"I don't think I will be able to sniff them out if I was in that area." He knew Pakkun was one of the best trackers in the ninja realm but he knew a team of trackers that would be perfect for this mission.
"Shino, Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru. The four of them can find the bandits. That area is mostly mountainous and dry so Kiba and Akamaru could easily sniff if there was a different scent in the air. Hinata could use her byakugan and look through the caves, boulders and mountain passes to see where they are. Shino can use his bugs and mark them then we can track them and take the fight to them when we are in a better position to do it." Shikamaru explained.
"You think you're ready to go on a mission?" He could hear the seriousness in Kakashi's tone.
"I have to be. I can't be here and make split second decisions there. You gave me this mission. I would like to see it through." Kakashi and Pakkun shared a look almost telepathically having a conversation before turning their attention back to the lazy genius.
"Looks like you really did grow up Shikamaru." Pakkun told him.
"Had to get up off my ass at some point. Couldn't count on you biting me all the time." Pakkun let out a small laugh as Shikamaru smiled at him.
"Who do you need to help you on the mission?" Kakashi asked.
"Besides the four of them, I would like Ino and Choji. I also want Naruto to be apart of the mission since he could make up the numbers we lack with his shadow clones. He also wouldn't want Hinata doing this mission without him being there to help her. The eight of us should be enough."
"Take Sakura with you guys as well. You might need a medic ninja." Sakura, he was able to forget about her whole day so far. Why did Kakashi have to bring her up right now?
"We have Hinata and Ino. The two of them have medical training so they should be able to patch us up until we can get to a hospital." Yeah, he didn't need Sakura on their mission. It's not that he didn't want Sakura on their mission; he just didn't want to be anywhere near Sakura right now. She hurt him and he didn't want to be around her.
"Hinata would be drained by using her byakugan and Ino needs to get inside one of their heads as soon as possible so that she can find out if there are more of them and where their bases are. Sakura can heal you guys quicker with more ease and she is a valuable asset in a fight." Why was Kakashi fighting so hard to have Sakura on his team? Couldn't he take the hint?
"She could be more useful in assisting Gaara in their hunt for the rogue ninjas. Their poison can be deadly if not treated in time." If he wanted Sakura to go on a mission then she can assist Gaara.
"Is there a reason why you don't want Sakura on your team?" Kakashi stared at him trying to figure out the reason why he didn't want Sakura on his team.
"No. I just think that it is a waste of resources, if I may put it like that. She could be more useful assisting Gaara. Is there a reason why you want Sakura on my team?"
"Shikamaru, don't question your hokage." Pakkun warned him.
"My apologies Hokage-sama." Shikamaru apologised. "You can add Sakura to my team then. Can I be excused? I have work to do."
"You may." Shikamaru walked out of the room frustrated by the hokage. He didn't want to see Sakura and now he was being forced to work with her for at least four days. He slammed the door to his office in frustration then took a breath hoping to forget about that and plan for the mission.
He couldn't focus though. His head kept thinking about Sakura. This is what he was afraid of. He didn't want to be distracted because of her. This was a dangerous mission they were embarking on so he couldn't afford to be distracted by anything. Mistakes could end up in death.
"Emotions are troublesome." He muttered to himself. Sakura was just another shinobi he had to work with. That was all he wanted. She was nothing else. She wasn't the one his heart ached for. She wasn't his minds paradise. She wasn't his refuge. She wasn't the strength he needed to carry on. She wasn't the missing piece he needed to complete him. She just wasn't.
But she was. She was all that and more. She was everything he needed. He just couldn't accept it. Women were just too troublesome. Everything was just too troublesome.
"So this is your office, pretty cool." Ino snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw her looking around his office. He didn't know why he had a door. Nobody bothered knocking anyway. Maybe he should just learn to lock it behind him. That way people couldn't just walk in whenever they wanted to.
"What's up Ino?" He stopped working and stretched as he looked at the blonde girl relaxing on one of the two seater couches now.
"Just waiting for everyone else to arrive. Apparently Kakashi has a mission for me and whoever else is coming. So, I didn't ask about you and Sakura this morning. What happened when you walked her home after dinner?" Damn, why did Ino have to bring that up?
"Nothing happened." He didn't want to end up starting gossip that would make things awkward for Sakura and him.
"That means something did happen. You got here very early and you were here whole day after that so you didn't sleep over by Sakura's house the night before." He didn't even want to know how Ino knew that. She had a way of getting information out of people without even using her jutsu. If only she could use that for something good then maybe he would open up to her.
"Nothing happened. If you want to talk to Sakura about it then be my guest."
"Come on Shikamaru. At least tell me what happened."
"Telling you is basically telling half the village." That was one hell of an understatement.
"I promise I won't tell anyone."
"Heard that one before."
"I really promise this time."
"That one too."
"I'm not lying."
"You should really come up with new lines every once in a while."
"Fuck you Shikamaru." He could see that he got the better of Ino just like Kakashi did with him.
"You wouldn't be the first." Ino's frustration was immediately swept away with that comment.
"Do tell." Shino suddenly appeared in the doorway with his usual attire blocking most of his face. He slowly knocked once on the door.
"Come in Shino. At least you had the decency to know even when the door was open." Shino was... different than everyone else. He kept to himself most of the time but one thing Shikamaru couldn't deny was that Shino was one hell of a shinobi.
"Not knocking before you enter the room is disrespectful." Shino's voice gave nothing away. Just a monotone voice throughout the sentence.
"Hear that Ino." Shikamaru turned to the Yamanaka.
"I'm your sister. I don't need to knock." He didn't know where Ino got her logic from but it didn't make sense to him at all.
"Have a seat Shino." The Aburame took a seat on the single couch adjacent to Ino's.
"Shino, do you think Shikamaru and Sakura would make a cute couple?" Ino literally had no boundaries. Maybe this is how she got her information.
"They would be a strong team. Shikamaru is a mid to long ranged fighter. If he can keep the enemy immobilised long enough then Sakura could take down their opponent." He never thought about it like that. They would actually make a strong team. Both of them were intelligent and performed well under pressure. Shikamaru's ability would go well with all the girls though. If he immobilised the enemy then Hinata could easily hit his chakra points, Ino could easily use her mind transfer jutsu and Tenten could hit the enemy with one of her weapons. It wasn't just Sakura.
"See, even Shino supports you guys." Ino definitely wasn't going to drop this now.
"You're taking Shino's words way out of context." He pointed out.
"Am I, Shino?" Ino's sweet voice wasn't fooling anyone, especially not the two males in the room.
"Yes." Shino's blunt answer should've killed Ino's confidence but the blonde still had a triumphant smile on her face.
"I don't care. I heard what I heard." Ino was stubborn as hell.
"So this is where the party is." Suddenly Shikamaru's office was filled with his friends. He didn't think all of them could fit but somehow they did. Sakura sat down on the couch next to Ino while Naruto and Hinata sat down on the other couch before Tenten squeezed in next to them forcing Hinata and Naruto closer to each other. Kiba took the last single couch with Akamaru sitting down obediently next to him. The rest of the guys all stood around the office.
"You guys do know that Kakashi was the one that summoned you and not me." Shikamaru pointed out.
"You're more fun than Kakashi is." Tenten had no problem voicing her opinion. His door was open so he was sure that Kakashi could hear but Tenten was one of those girls who didn't care what people thought about her because she would tell them exactly what she thought about them.
"Aren't you like the second in command or something like that?" Kiba's guess was as good as his.
"It's good to see you back at work Shikamaru." Lee gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up. Where Lee got his energy from was beyond him. He always seemed to have too much energy. Even when he was sick then he would have too much energy. It was irritating.
"Guys, Kakashi is waiting for all of you." Shizune told them as she stood in the doorway. They slowly piled their way out of Shikamaru's office and made their way to to the Hokage's office where Izumo, Kotetsu and Genma were already waiting. Shikamaru was surprised to see the three older ninja. He worked with all three of them on separate missions so he knew that they were extremely capable ninja. Hell, Genma was a Special Jounin. Kotetsu and Izumo had arguably the best duo chemistry in the village.
"Good afternoon to all of you." Kakashi greeted them.
"Good afternoon Hokage-sama." Came the response with a bow.
"I'm assigning all of you missions. Both missions will have you departing from here early tomorrow morning. Shikamaru Nara and Genma Shiranui, please step forward." The two ninja immediately made their way to either side of Kakashi's desk then turned to face their comrades.
"They will be the team captains. Tenten, Lee, Sai, Izumo and Kotetsu will leave with Genma and head to the Wind Nation. Ino, Choji, Hinata, Shino, Kiba, Akamaru, Naruto and Sakura will go with Shikamaru to the Earth Nation. Genma's team will be apart of a joint mission between our two nations and assist the Kazekage in hunting down a team of rogue ninja in the Wind Nation. Shikamaru's team have been given permission by the Tsuchikage to hunt down the group of bandits that have been destroying villages in both the Wind and Fire Nations."
"Kakashi-sensei, may I join Genma's team?" Shikamaru knew Naruto would want to help Gaara. The two of them were great friends so he would do anything to help his friend if he needed it.
"Shikamaru needs you in his team." Why did Kakashi have to put the blame on Shikamaru? Shikamaru really didn't want to deal with Naruto right now and neither did Kakashi it seemed. Unfortunately, Naruto's attention switched to Shikamaru begging for an explanation.
"I don't have a good reason. I need you for your shadow clones basically. The group of bandits out number us nearly 6-1. With your shadow clones, we will be able to lessen that amount. If you want to go hunt down the small group of rogue ninjas with Gaara rather than help us take down the large group of bandits responsible for killing over 70 men, women, children and elderly people then you're welcomed to go with Genma-san." If Naruto still wanted to leave after that guilt trip then Shikamaru really couldn't support Naruto's mission to become Hokage. He understood Naruto's desire and passion to keep his friends safe and help them wherever he could but a Hokage protects his people first above all else.
"6-1 odds. Are you sure about that Shikamaru?" Kakashi looked at him quizzically for some reason. The hokage knew all the information he knew so he should know that Shikamaru wasn't lying.
"I know that it isn't less than that."
"You stopped their last attack. They are bound to regroup and get reinforcements. Your odds are most likely to be 8-1 by now." Kakashi wasn't wrong. If they did get reinforcements then this would be a hell of a lot worse than he expected it to be.
"Hokage-sama, are you sure you want to send my team to assist Gaara instead of helping Shikamaru's team?" The guilt trip certainly worked on Genma it seemed. Naruto didn't say a word but Shikamaru could see the worried look in the blue eyes of his friend.
"Your team needs to help Gaara. Does anyone want to change teams?" No one spoke up. "Genma; you and your team will head to Sunagakure at dawn and await further instructions from the Kazekage there. Shikamaru, explain your plan to us."
Shikamaru then began explaining the situation they found themselves in and the Tsuchikage's actions to his team. He then told them the route they were going to travel and his plan once they reached the Earth Nation. It was as detailed as he could manage without seeing the land first hand. He surprised himself by how well thought out and simple yet sophisticated his plan was.
"That's basically it. Obviously I will need to adjust it to a certain degree once we reach the Earth Nation but that is the heart of the plan." Shikamaru ended.
"Won't we be too late?" There was the timing issue. The way Shikamaru calculated it, there would be just in time.
"If we manage to get to the Earth Nation in two days, we will only be one day behind. If they took a day to rest then that would mean that they were going to attack the next night. We should already be in the village by that time so we can go stop them before they even reach the village." He hoped that he was right. Everything was against them. It would be a miracle if they pulled it off successfully.
"Everyone know what the plan is?" Kakashi asked them.
"Yes sir." They agreed.
"I wish all of you good luck then. Dismissed."
"Great. Now we can all go together to the party together." Shizune happily announced.
"We can only stay for one drink then we have to get back to our post Shizune." Izumo announced with sadness in his voice as they followed Shizune out of the room. Shikamaru managed to manoeuvre himself to the back of the group where Kakashi and Genma were walking.
"This is your first mission after the war. Shouldn't you have chosen a much easier mission Shikamaru?" He knew Genma's concern was because he cared about Shikamaru rather than jealousy or any other motive. Genma and Shikaku worked closely especially when it came to issues regarding the Hokage's protection and an attack on the village. Maybe this was Genma's way of honouring his former comrade; by protecting his son.
"If I wanted easy then I shouldn't have become a shinobi." Genma's smile told Shikamaru that he knew all too well what the shadow ninja meant. His senbon in his mouth shifting slightly as he nodded in approval. The large group exited the building allowing the fresh air to surround them while a slight breeze fought its way through them.
"Bring it!" Naruto challenged someone. If Shikamaru had to guess; Kiba, Naruto, Lee and Choji were probably challenging each other to some stupid game again. They were troublesome.
"That's not what he meant Naruto!" Ino's louder voice toppled Naruto's. She probably started this disagreement in the first place. The group stopped and Shikamaru allowed the Hokage and Genma to sort it out since Kotetsu and Izumo were surprisingly trying to chat up Shizune. He shouldn't be surprised by that. Shizune was beautiful, any guy in the village would kill to be by her side.
Kakashi and Genma easily defused the situation for now but Shikamaru knew that they were far from finished. They began walking again but this time Shikamaru found himself alone at the back of the crowd. Just he and his thoughts thankfully dwelling in the rowdy silence of the village; that was until her voice broke through.
"Shikamaru." He couldn't miss the pink hair blossoming their way into his vision.
"Hey." He greeted the kunoichi.
"I just want to say that I am not going to let our problems affect the mission. We don't need to be friends but that doesn't mean our ability to work together should suffer." He didn't expect Sakura to go this route but he knew it was for the best. Keep things professional between them, he could do that.
"I agree."