Shikamaru stared in dismay at the two zinnias that lay in front of his door. With a sigh, he picked up the flowers and went back inside to throw them out. Those flowers meant Ino had just left on a mission that she expected to take at least two weeks. He had been hoping to get some insight from her on Sasuke's actions, not to mention Ino was the most essential person in the watch on Mai. Without her they had no one to impersonate Mai which meant her watch on Mai was the most valuable. There wasn't anything to be done about it. They had to play their roles.

Shikamaru didn't know what to do about Sasuke. Sasuke did whatever he wanted and Shikamaru didn't know if that would end up being something that harmed the village. Probably not. As far as he could tell, the only thing Sasuke ever wanted was to grow stronger and get revenge on his brother. That goal didn't align with causing enough trouble in a hidden village to get hindered by people trying to stop him. Or so Shikamaru hoped.

After he finished training for the day, Shikamaru wandered over to the training ground he used to train at with team ten. He leaned casually against a tree far enough away that he wouldn't be intruding. He watched with a sense of nostalgia as Asuma tried to cajole Choji and Neji into practicing the chakra exercise Sasuke was running through so easily.

Shikamaru felt a pang in his heart at the scene. It wasn't the first time he'd seen Asuma since he'd been sent to the past, but it was still a strange feeling. He didn't know whether to accept that Asuma was alive or to still think of him as dead. Logically, as everything was now, Asuma had never died so Shikamaru had no reason to continue to think he was dead. It just wasn't that easy. Shikamaru had already fully mourned his sensei and even enacted revenge against Hidan. He felt unbalanced by Asuma's new alive status and had as much trouble accepting his life as he had accepting Asuma's death.

Completely unaware of Shikamaru's turmoil concerning him, Asuma strode over to Shikamaru after successfully getting Choji and Neji to participate in their own training. "I don't usually allow spectators," Asuma said as he leant against a tree across from Shikamaru.

"Usually?" Shikamaru asked not trusting himself to say more. It suited Sasuke's character to be terse anyways.

"Well, no one's actually tried before, so really it's never."

"I'm waiting for Ino," Shikamaru explained shortly.

Asuma stood silently squinting at Shikamaru for a bit. Shikamaru tried to keep his expression perfectly neutral. "Next time, just wait for Ino elsewhere." Shikamaru nodded curtly, and Asuma went back to his team prodding Neji who'd stopped the exercise already. Shikamaru frowned. He wasn't that much of a slouch. Neji was laying it on a bit too thick.

As team ten's training ended, Shikamaru headed to Sasuke and walked with him as he departed. "Did you need something?" Sasuke asked indifferently as Shikamaru fell into step with him.

"I just wanted to know what that little stunt you pulled yesterday was all about."

"Isn't it obvious? I just wanted my own body back for awhile."

Shikamaru hmmed disbelievingly. "And it was so important to get your body back temporarily that you ignored Ino's warnings?"

"Of course not. I'm not risking my mind. I know how to perform the jutsu correctly. I didn't stay nearly long enough for it to be a danger." Sasuke glanced at Shikamaru out of the corner of his eye. "Was there anything else?"

"I don't know how you expect me to trust you when you attacked me for some unknown purpose."

"I don't care if you trust me," Sasuke said with the air of someone secure with the knowledge that there was nothing Shikamaru could do either way. "Just don't get in my way." Sasuke split ways with Shikamaru who let him go not seeing anything else to be done about Sasuke yet. Shikamaru had something else to do for the time being.

When adopting the identity of an existing person, there were more opportunities to slip up than when adopting an invented identity. Any person Shikamaru came into contact with that knew the person had some amount of knowledge of the quirks, mannerisms, and past of the person. An incorrect response to the wrong question could completely jeopardize a disguise. That was why it was so important for them to gather all information they could about Mai Hyuuga. Any little bit helped Ino to avoid suspicion when she inevitably invaded Mai's mind. The more knowledge she had, the more she could improvise without detection. Shikamaru didn't envy her task.

There was something about disguising herself as a completely made up person that Shikamaru found ten times easier than mimicking an actual person. With a new, created identity, Shikamaru had more leeway in his actions. He only had to adopt a base personality and develop it naturally the more time he spent in disguise. The hardest part of that was keeping track of any background he gave to his character, but that was second nature to him by this point.

Shikamaru's current disguise was a thirty year old man with short brown hair. His name was Dai Shimada. He had a slim build and a short stature. Unlike Shikamaru, Dai grew up in a small village near the east border of the Land of Fire. He worked as a travelling merchant and stopped in Konoha as a tourist on his way back home. Shikamaru let Amari know the short version of his back story when he visited her bakery in his new disguise.

It was easy for Shikamaru to make Dai a regular, faking a certain fondness for Amari's sweet rolls. He made himself enough of a regular that Amari chatted familiarly with him when he frequented the bakery. By the time Ino came back from her mission, Shikamaru already built up a rapport with Amari.

He still didn't have any important information to share with Ino and Neji, but he did learn how Mai and Amari formed a friendship despite their vast differences in backgrounds and lifestyles. The other woman Shikamaru saw the two at the bar with turned out to be Amari's sister who graduated from the academy before failing her genin test. Mai and her were friends during their academy years and stayed as such even after they took different paths. Shikamaru knew he couldn't pry for more information about Mai without rousing suspicion, so he let his investigation end there momentarily.

Ino occupied Shikamaru's mind with other issues the day she got back to Konoha from her mission. After another tiring day of pretending to be the genin version of Sasuke, Shikamaru got back to his temporary place to find Ino sitting on the couch with an expression Shikamaru was all too familiar with. When Ino got angry, she made herself obvious to everyone. Her face twisted up in a snarl, she yelled and screeched, and one could expect her to start throwing the nearest object to her. When Ino encountered a person or problem she thought particularly vile, she grew apoplectic rather than just angry. In those cases, Ino's face became devoid of all expression as the rage boiled up inside her, undetectable to anyone who didn't know Ino's idiosyncrasies. In that case, it was only when Ino managed her anger enough to think rationally that she acted. Whatever retaliation Ino carried out would end up ten times worse than whatever shouting or flinging of items she might perform for lesser slights.

The blank expression that Shikamaru came to associate with the apoplectic version of Ino met his gaze. "Did something happen on your mission?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

"I successfully used one of my projection seals on an opponent," Ino said without any of her usual excitement for the progression of her seal skills.

"I see." Shikamaru knew how to detect Ino's moods, but he never figured out how to deal with them. He decided to go about his business and wait for Ino to bring up the problem on her own. Needling her for information didn't seem like a good idea considering the state she was in.

Instead, Shikamaru started preparing some food and tea. He was famished. Ino followed behind him into the kitchen, took a seat at the table, and pulled one of the pages of notes towards her. "Is this your work?" she asked holding up the same seal Sasuke had distracted Shikamaru with the previous night. Why was everyone drawn to that piece of paper out of all the ones on the table?

"Yes."

"It needs some work. Your presentation is sloppy, and the chakra feels weak."

"I'm aware of that. Thank you." Shikamaru snatched the seal out of Ino's hands and tossed it. "Are you going to tell me what's bugging you or are you going to find another one of my beginner seals to criticize?"

Ino straightened up and gestured to the tea Shikamaru had brewed. "Aren't you going to offer me some?" Shikamaru took out a second cup and filled it. After he placed it in front of Ino, she took a small sip, set it down, and looked back to Shikamaru. "You know how Mai has a ten year old son?"

"Yes," Shikamaru said slowly, unsure if this was another unrelated question or if Ino was finally getting to the heart of the matter. "What about him?"

"He received his curse seal at the age of three."

"Isn't that the typical age for a branch member to receive the seal?"

"Pretty much. If there is a living heir to the main family that has yet to turn three, a branch kid's forehead will remain unblemished until that heir's third birthday. Otherwise, they receive the seal when they themselves turn three." Ino took another sip of her tea as she waited for a comment from Shikamaru.

"That must be brutal for a young child," Shikamaru said trying to root out the reason for Ino's anger. It didn't seem likely that this was the reason since Ino clearly knew all this long before, but he knew she hated any misdeeds against children.

Ino chuckled darkly. "It's better to be done while their young before the mind is more developed. Children's minds are more adaptable to the foreign chakra invading their minds to carry out the seal's intended functions. Older minds fight harder against the restrictions, causing a backlash from the seal. When the seal is applied to older Hyuuga, they sometimes die."

Shikamaru sat down across from Ino with his food, his mind buzzing with the implication of what he just learned. "How old is old enough to be exposed to that risk?"

"There's not an exact age but around eight," Ino answered with a sardonic smile as she watched Shikamaru come to the conclusion she expected him to.

"So if Hanabi or Hinata ever took the curse seal, they might die?"

"That's exactly why Hiashi worked so hard to continue keeping the curse seal off either of his daughters after he already made the mistake of not allowing one of them to receive the curse seal when they were younger. Well, that and because he's trying to end that practice all together," Ino said.

"And what does this have to do with Mai's son? You said he already has the curse seal."

"Yes, he does already have the curse seal. And I'm sure if he didn't, Mai would allow the elders of the clan to force the seal onto him whether it risked her son's life or not. Unless she's a complete hypocrite. She's certainly pushing hard enough for Hinata to get the curse seal put on her soon." Ino slammed her hands on the table and pushed herself up. That was it. She was about to explode. "Do you know what's going on in the Hyuuga clan right now? Do you know what could drive the Hyuuga to want to risk a child's life?"

"What?" Shikamaru asked reverting to the passive, cooperative mode that worked best when dealing with a ranting Ino. All he had to do was participate with the correct one word responses.

"Hinata got hurt on her last mission, a bit of chakra exhaustion, but it was while fighting civilians. Now, the majority of the clan thinks she's not worthy of being the clan heir and a number of the Hyuuga are pushing for the implementation of the curse seal as soon as possible." Ino started pacing around the kitchen, hands clenched. "They won't be able to do it -Hiashi holds too much sway with the elders- but it's infuriating to hear them talk about maybe getting Hinata killed like it's nothing."

"They talk about this in front of you?"

Ino stopped pacing and pierced Shikamaru with an icy stare. "Depends on who you mean by 'they'. The main house doesn't speak about main family politics in front of the branch family. It's not for the branch family to know," Ino said acerbically. "Most of what I hear is from Mai and her ilk."

"And the rest?"

Ino smirked. "Sometimes, I spy on the main family meetings."

Shikamaru tensed at that in concern. "You spy on meetings you're not allowed at with people that can see through walls and in almost every direction?"

"Don't worry I won't make that mistake again," Ino spat out as she kicked at one of the chairs.

Shikamaru clenched his jaw. He needed Ino to explain that. "Ino, what happened? No more beating around the bush, just tell me."

"They finally caught me listening in on a meeting," Ino said tonelessly. "I got to learn firsthand what the curse seal does."

Shikamaru stood up abruptly. "They used it on you?"

"Sit down. I'm fine. The pain's already gone," Ino said folding her arms over her chest. "It was staggering. It's disgusting that they inflict that sort of pain on adults for minor infractions and on children ever. When Neji told me about the pain, he definitely downplayed it, but now I know. I can't believe this has gone on so long unchecked."

Shikamaru leaned against his chair studying Ino. "You know you can't do anything to change this. It's not something you have any control over."

"Of course I know that," Ino said, her eyes flashing with irritation. "If there was something I could do about the curse seal, I would have done it even before this happened. I hate it for what it did to Neji."

The two stood in silence for awhile, each thinking over the conversation. Shikamaru knew what Ino would do with her rage without any outlet to exact retribution. She would latch onto whatever distraction she could and throw herself full force into her next goal. Shikamaru supposed that distraction would end up being the same goal as before this incident, Mai Hyuuga.

"I learned a bit about Mai from a civilian friend she has," Shikamaru said. Ino glanced at him inquisitively. "It's not much, but it may help." Shikamaru explained what he learned, Ino frowning slightly as he did so.

"You're right. It's not much," she said when Shikamaru finished his explanation. "But it does add to the puzzle that is Mai Hyuuga. I distinctly remember her talking down on ninja that remain friends with civilians. She said that civilians were too frivolous to understand ninja. It's a strange position for someone who conspicuously has civilians for friends."

"I'm guessing she doesn't really consider them to be her friends," Shikamaru said.

Ino scrunched her brows and thought. "Maybe not." She shook her head. "It probably doesn't matter. I'm not getting anywhere with finding out what Mai does in the lower levels of the tower. If I'm going to impersonate her to infiltrate the tower, then I need to invade her mind."

Shikamaru sucked in a breath. That was risky. Probing the mind of a skilled ninja while preventing said ninja from even realizing that the probe took place was within Ino's capabilities, but it was never a guarantee. It seemed they had even more planning to do. "We'll meet up with Neji tomorrow and plan this out."

With Neji, Ino, and Shikamaru spitting out ideas and picking apart all the flaws, the three eventually reached a consensus on how to carry out their objective. They would implement their plan in a week's time. Or so they thought. Unfortunately, the plan got temporarily waylaid by an unforeseen circumstance.

Shikamaru watched boredly as Naruto lobbied loudly for a C rank mission after reaching the limits of his patience when team seven got given another tedious D rank. As expected, Iruka and Kakashi reprimanded him and the Hokage launched into an unnecessary explanation on why he granted new unaccomplished genin the lowest ranked missions. In typical Naruto fashion, the orange clad genin ignored the lecture and went back to demanding a more adventurous mission. Not wanting to leave the village for the length of a C rank, Shikamaru was glad that the Hokage didn't assign missions based on the complaints of genin.

"If you want it that much, I'll give you a C rank mission," the Hokage stated after Naruto finished campaigning. Shikamaru couldn't believe his ears. Apparently the methods for assigning missions were a lot more lax than he had thought. Even Sakura was staring at the Hokage askance as if she couldn't believe that the leader of her village was susceptible to whining.

"Ooo, what is it? Are we going to be guarding a princess?"

"No. You're delivering a message to the wind daimyo," the Hokage said taking the wind out of Naruto's sails. It made sense to Shikamaru. As the rulers of their countries, any message to a daimyo is automatically classified as at least a C rank though the deliveries rarely led to any trouble. It was the perfect step for transitioning to higher level missions.

"What?" Naruto exclaimed. "That's not any better than the missions we're already doing."

"Naruto! Stop talking back to the Hokage," Iruka scolded. Shikamaru tuned out the ensuing banter. He knew that he'd have to take missions outside of Konoha eventually, but he hadn't expected it so soon. He and Ino were supposed to start the first stages of the plan to infiltrate Mai's mind in a couple days. He would have to send a message to Neji and Ino warning them about his mission. At least, when he got back, they could carry on with the Mai mission as planned. The plan was not time dependent.