Authors note: I hope that last mini chapter held you over. There's a character here that I didn't understand/like in the series so I'm writing him how I want to write him; cold, smart and a complete psychopath. Seriously though, let me know your thoughts. R&R! *I realize this too as a reader and am actively trying to leave little notes on the fics I read as well.

As always, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters

Shikamaru had spent the rest of his Sunday lazing around his apartment and occasionally cleaning up a small mess here and there. When his phone had turned on he had a small encyclopedia of texts from Ino as per usual. He sent her a single text back that said he was fine and home safe. She hadn't messaged him since. Shikamaru lay on the couch in the hot square of sunlight that poured through his window. He had been too lazy to pay extra for AC and had a couple fans going with his bedroom window wide open. Hopefully the night air would cool down the apartment enough for the next couple days. After doing his dishes from his makeshift dinner of rice and frozen veggies his phone rang.

S- Hello?

K- Hey man it's Kankuro, how's it going?

S- It's good, whats up?

K- Oh not much. I'm pretty sure I'm still hungover man. What a night!

S- Haha yeah I think I finally got it out of my system while running around last night.

K- Shit I should've thought of that. Wanna hit the gym with me next time?

S- I'm not much of a gym guy but I'll go with you sometime.

K- Ha yeah you are pretty scrawny. Oh! I'm calling because I wanted to remind you of the meeting tomorrow morning.

S- I'm not that scrawny.. and yeah I remember.

K- Just make sure you wear your best suit, and seriously, don't be late. I'll wait for you in the atrium.

S- Okay, I'll have a plan or something too. Thanks man, I'll see you tomorrow.

K- Sounds good! See ya!

Shikamaru waited for the call to end before shoving his phone in his pocket and reaching to open his closet. His bedroom didn't have enough room for a real closet and he didn't want to put in a rack so he kept his nice clothes and jackets in the storage closet next to the front door. He had to keep the couple of suits he had in a bag to keep them clean. As he pulled one out he sneezed and sent whatever dust had collected flying. He covered his mouth and closed the door quickly in attempt to contain whatever else might fall out. He took the clothes to his room and hooked the hanger over the edge of his mirror so he would see it first thing in the morning and remember.

That night Shikamaru fell into a restless sleep and kept waking up, stressed out about whatever was going to happen tomorrow. Around 4am he woke up pissed off and went to his kitchen for water. He stopped at his window and glanced outside. It was so still and very dark. He could tell the sun would crack the darkness soon though. He sighed and ran a hand through his long hair. What the hell is wrong with me. I never have a problem sleeping. After several minutes of watching the streetlight down the road flash from red to green and back again on it's timer he started to feel drowsy and decided he should go back to bed. He double checked his alarm before finally settling into a dreamless sleep.

The morning was a rush and Shikamaru was too tired to feel like he was functioning properly. He had forced himself up with the alarm and gotten ready faster than expected. He locked his door and headed to the elevator with an extra half hour to spare. He stopped at the coffee shop a block away from his office and was glad to see only one person in line. He arrived a full fifteen minutes early and took a seat at on one of the leather couches near the door, hoping to be in line of sight when Kankuro entered. He opened his laptop and pulled up the proposal they had scrapped and the one they had sent in a window next to it. He read through both then set the laptop on the table in front of him and placed his hands in his lap in an O shape as he had done before.

"Dude you look terrifying like that." Shikamaru jumped not realizing how deep he had gone into his own thoughts.

"Just thinking, nothing scary."

"Yeah with your brain that might be an understatement." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow but didn't respond. Kankuro took a seat next to him and looked at the screen with a sigh. "You have a plan right?" Shikamaru let the corner of his mouth pull up into a grin.

"Rule one, never go into battle without a plan of attack." Kankuro bounced excitedly and clapped his hands together. Shikamaru raised his cup and drained the last of his coffee.

"Let's hear it Nara."

10 Minutes later Shikamaru and Kankuro were seated at the corner of a long table filled with people much more important than they were. Shikamaru was very consciously paying attention to his breathing and keeping count in to stop himself from getting psyched out. Kankuro wasn't doing such a good job next to him and kept fidgeting and pulling at his collar. Shikamaru kicked his shin lightly and gave him a look that said Calm the fuck down. Kankuro shrugged with a smile and forcibly sat still as the CEO entered the room and took his seat at the head of the table. Shikamaru looked around the table and realized there were actually only 6 people total, including himself and Kankuro, but had felt like more with the size of the table versus the smaller room they were in.

"Good morning everyone, thank you for joining me today in such a respectable and timely matter." The CEO spread his arms out in a welcoming gesture. Shikamaru noticed that Kankuro wasn't the only one looking nervous. He furrowed his brow a bit wondering why everyone was so on edge over a proposal. "As you may have discerned, we are here to discuss the Richmond proposal today and the matter of importance it carries for this company." He flipped open his laptop and hit a single button. The projector behind him lit up and brought up the original proposal on the screen. The realization suddenly dawned on Shikamaru and he felt the blood leave his face. This wasn't just any random proposal that he had happened to stumble upon and made changes to. He had completely trashed and rewritten a proposal that would unite the two most influential companies on the coast. For someone who was literally working their first day to have done something this dramatic would surely have severe repercussions. He hadn't realized but his hands had taken up their usual position for when he was deeply concentrating. He didn't have the luxury of closing his eyes and giving 100% of his focus, but he could make do for the time being since himself and Kankuro were most likely going to be called out sooner rather than later. Kankuro seemed to be riding a roller coaster of emotions as he watched Shikamaru's expression change with his realization. His blood pressure must have been through the roof because he had started off feeling uncomfortably warm upon entering and now he was dead cold with dread.

"Mr. Tsubaki, could you please present your proposal to the room." The CEO slid his chair back smoothly and gestured for the middle aged gentleman to stand. Mr. Tsubaki eyed Shikamaru and Kankuro suspiciously before standing and straightening his cuffs. He started off with a strong presentation for a solid 2 minutes until he came to a stuttering stop as his boss slammed an outstretched palm onto the laminate desk.

"Thank you, but I think I've heard enough."

"Sir?" He responded quietly before taking his seat somewhat stunned.

"Mr. Nara, would you care to explain why this is the biggest pile of steaming shit ever written?" Shikamaru collected himself and stood slowly with his game face on. Mr. Tsubaki began coughing up a fit from trying to contain his outburst. "Tsubaki leave if you cannot control yourself!" The CEO's voice carried rage but his composure remained still and calm. Tsubaki thumped on his chest hard and sat back uncomfortably in his seat. Shikamaru waited for a nod to continue before speaking.

"Considering the long term outcome of what has been proposed to the partnering company, you would have to be a complete idiot to not see how damaging the outcome risked being for the smaller partner. The risks are far too high and it wouldn't be a fair fight to begin with. In the end we would completely overtake the company and their stocks and drive them out of the game entirely. This would not be a partnership, this would be a slaughter for lack of a better term." Everyone was silent and Kankuro had a mixed look of pride and fear as he waited for something, anything to happen. Shikamaru stood with a hand clenched behind his back, possibly the only thing stopping him from visibly shaking under the visual strain of his superiors. The man at the head of the table gestured a hand to say 'go on'. Shikamaru took a breath and kept his voice loud and steady in their glass encasement. "Unless of course this was the intended outcome, and in that case there is a much better way of gaining without eliminating the other party. In fact we can use the partnership to our advantage and there would be more to gain." Shikamaru finished and took his seat again, quietly exhaling a breath he hadn't intended to hold. It was quiet enough that you could hear the CEO take a deep breath himself before spinning his chair around in a full circle and jumping up.

"Brilliant! You all must be curious to see what this young man and Mr. Sabaku have come up with, of course." The other three men at the table nodded politely and waited quiet and nervous for the endgame of this meeting. "Mr. Sabaku, I believe it's you who would like to present." Kankuro stood and looked to Shikamaru with a nod. Shikamaru gave him a thumbs up under the table in encouragement. Kankuro stood at the corner of the screen and their proposal popped up beside him. He gave the room a grin and began.

"Okay gentlemen, here's the gist of it..." Shikamaru relaxed and began to sit comfortably in his seat at the back of the room while Kankuro gave the presentation of a lifetime. As he went through the points and process Shikamaru took mental notes of what could use tweaking and also a couple of things that should have been fixed in a second edit. He could pass it off as a rookie mistake since it had been his first day, but he now realized that he could pose any idea he had to Kankuro. He was a master at presenting and establishing the current idea at stake. They made a kick ass team.

The other two men who had not introduced themselves were furiously taking notes on pads of paper they had pulled out as soon as Kankuro had started speaking. Mr. Tsubaki was giving the screen a furious look and growing more and more red as the presentation went on. Shikamaru thought that he might actually explode if he didn't try breathing soon.

"That's it. Thank you." Kankuro stood with his hands folded neatly in front of him fighting to maintain composure when he could tell he nailed it. He bowed slightly to the table and waited to be addressed.

"Thank you Kankuro, please take your seat." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at Kankuro being called on so casually by his first name and the look of satisfaction on the CEO's face. "I think it is an excellent proposal boys. It obviously needs a little touching up but it is clearly the superior proposal." He closed the laptop and folded his fingers together in an X. Some gesture or another had caused the windows to defog automatically. "Mr. Nara, what is your current position here at Konoha Inc." Shikamaru sat up straighter at being called upon.

"Entry level Analyst, sir."

"And you've been working with us for a week now, fresh out of university, correct?" Shikamaru frowned at the direction of the conversation but agreed with a nod. "That's unfortunate." The man sighed and Mr. Tsubaki finally snapped.

"Are you really going to entertain this pathetic mockery of childlike ideas from these rookies?! They aren't ruthless enough! You know that as well as I do! This business will chew them up and..."

"That is enough." The voice was so cold it seemed to burn. Mr. Tsubaki seemed to fold into himself at being dismissed so harshly and looked at the floor cowardly. "Mr. Nara, it seems you're up for promotion, a spot just opened up." Kankuro looked at Shikamaru with wide eyes and back to the head of the table. "Mr. Tsubaki, please collect your things. I will have Miss Kaya escort you out of the building within the hour with your severance package." Tsubaki looked up at his boss with his broken heart showing clearly in his eyes. He seemed to let a whimper escape him before standing and slowly collecting his few things he had with him. The table watched as he walked quietly from the room until the door closed gently behind him. "You can have his job."

"I'll need Kankuro as well sir, he did do half the work, at least." He knew he was pushing it but there was no way he was taking credit for a project they both worked on, and especially after Kankuro had presented so brilliantly.

"Of course, you'll have to share an office but we can definitely make the arrangements." Kankuro buzzed in his seat next to him with excitement. "You are now our senior analysts and project management overview. Everything that comes directly to me will go through you first. You can all return to your offices now." The two other men stood and introduced themselves to Shikamaru and Kankuro begrudgingly before exiting. Shikamaru and Kankuro stood next to the CEO and were stopped before exiting. "Nara, you have not failed to impress me and it has only been a week. I had hoped for great things but was not expecting them immediately. I hope you've got a lot more where that came from or we'll have to demote you." Shikamaru nodded with a blank expression. "Kankuro it seems you've found someone who can finally utilize your talents. I hope you can keep up."

"Yes sir, I will not disappoint."

"That's my boy!" He turned back to Shikamaru and outstretched a hand. "I do believe we've met but were not properly introduced." Shikamaru gripped his hand firmly and shook. "Rasa Sabaku, but please call me Sir or Boss." Shikamaru could not contain his surprise this time. His eyebrows shot up and his eyes immediately went from Rasa to Kankuro. He let go and before he could speak Rasa excused himself and stepped out with a pat on Kankuro's shoulder.

"Is that..."

"Yeah we kinda work for my dad." Shikamaru groaned loudly at Kankuro's sheepish expression.

The rest of the day flashed by in a blur. They were escorted from their previous office to the exact room on the floor above. It was longer than the last room with desks that could be joined to create a mini conference table. There was also the added bonus of a mini fridge with a coffee maker in the room. Apparently it was there for 'work efficiency' so they would feel the need to leave the office less with the necessities nearby. A neatly dressed woman in grey came with a stack of papers and briefed them on their new position and the job expectations. It took 6 hours and by the end of it Shikamaru was in desperate need of coffee or a nap. Once she left the boys had half an hour left of their day to absorb what had happened. They both sat in stunned silence with a massive amount of paperwork on their desk waiting to be sorted and completed. Shikamaru sighed and gathered his things.

"Let's deal with this tomorrow." Kankuro nodded in agreement and grabbed his laptop bag.

"Sounds good to me, my man. Wanna grab a coffee? I know a good place around the corner." Shikamaru shot him a grin since he knew exactly where he was talking about.

Shikamaru sat at a corner table sipping on black coffee while Kankuro poured several packets of sugar into his cup across the shop. He thought of Temari's Iced coffee and shuddered at the memory of the taste. Kankuro joined him and let out a big sigh.

"What a day! I'm pretty stoked about this promotion and especially for my next pay check!" Kankuro was almost giddy at the thought of money. They had received a pretty hefty pay raise and Shikamaru was looking forward to more regular groceries and not worrying about cab fare or dwindling savings.

"Yeah but keep in mind that we're definitely going to have our work cut out for us. I mean I'll be surprised if we can get through all that paperwork just from today by the end of the week. What a drag." Kankuro pouted and looked down into his coffee cup.

"True enough, but we'll get the hang of it soon enough I'm sure." Shikamaru sipped on his bitter coffee and let his eyes unfocus at the passerby's outside, making them look like a steady blur of greys and blues streaming by.

"Anyways, why didn't you tell me the CEO was your dad when you brought me up to him on the first day?"

"Oh, it didn't seem important at the time." Kankuro shrugged and was instantly distracted by the ping of his phone from his pocket.

"Are you kidding me? That's vital information man. You also probably should have let me know how important that proposal was before we shit all over the original and rewrote it. We got someone fired Kankuro!" Shikamaru was exhausted from riding on pure adrenaline all day and was starting to crash. He felt himself getting giddy from being overtired and knew he wouldn't be able to stick around long before he needed to crash.

"Tsubaki has always been an asshole, and especially since my dad took him on as his right hand man. I honestly think we played right into his game. He wanted you working for him since before you even graduated. When your resume came in... Actually I'm not sure I'm allowed to tell you this." Kankuro looked nervous and was glancing around the coffee shop as if they were being spied on. "Listen Shikamaru, this was part of the plan, so you're best off letting whatever happens happen and not overthink it too much." Shikamaru eyed him suspiciously but felt his nervousness across the table and would press the topic another time at a better location.

"Okay." He shrugged and put the lid he had saved on his coffee and stood up. "I gotta go home and get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." Kankuro said a goodbye and returned his attention to his buzzing phone. As Shikamaru left the shop he squinted at the reflecting sunlight and sighed. This was going to be one hell of a week.

Shikamaru had been right about the paperwork. It took them a whole day just to organize it into a somewhat sensical pile, and the rest of the week was spent trying to complete and send out the files. By Friday the boys had a system that seemed to work well enough for them to get a decent amount of work done in a single day. Shikamaru would pick a file and go through it making short notes of what needed changes or completion and who it went to and then Kankuro would hash out corrections and pass it back for a reread and packaging. This way there was always something being done and Kankuro was a much faster typer than Shikamaru. Friday afternoon they had gotten down to the last 3 files to be completed. The days work was laid out in specific folders to be dropped off with Kaya who would send them to the appropriate person or office. Shikamaru had just finished editing a file and was sealing it up when a knock on their sliding door interrupted their flow.

"I see you boys are keeping busy. I'm impressed you've gotten almost all of it done in just a few days!" Rasa beamed at the neatly organized folders to his left before entering and closing the door behind him and taking a seat on the edge of their work table. "I need a presentation written and ready to present for next Thursday in regards to.." He fingered through a couple folders before pulling one out. "This one! There are partners from New York coming booked for a lunch meeting in my conference room upstairs." Shikamaru looked at Kankuro who was tapping his pen thoughtfully to his temple.

"No problem, we can do that."

"You'll be presenting Kankuro, and I expect it to be as riveting as the last!" Kankuro forcibly kept his jaw shut and nodded. "Shikamaru, I expect this to have a proper edit this time." He tapped his index finger to his own temple and then pointed at him.

"Yes Sir, we'll have it ready for Thursday." He kept his neutral gaze and watched from his spot at the far end of the room as his superior made to exit.

"Oh and this is absolutely a test. There will be a series of proposals and presentations to be completed over the next 3 months. So we will see just how cut out for the job you both are." With that he slid the door shut again and walked away. Kankuro stayed completely still watching him until he turned the corner before spinning his chair back to Shikamaru and mouthed what the fuck at him. Shikamaru just shrugged and grabbed the package they had to present.

"I'm going to scan this and make a photocopy. I'll send it to you and please try and check your email over the weekend."

"Uhm you're going to work over the weekend?" Kankuro frowned at him as he walked to exit their office.

"Yeah, especially if we end up with this much shit next week. There's no way I'll have time to sleep at night if I don't start this weekend."

"Haha! You're a man with true priorities Nara, just don't overwork yourself."

"Yeah I hate it as much as you do but it would be a drag to lose this job right after getting it because I can't keep up." Kankuro made a noise of agreement and waved him off. Shikamaru walked to the photocopier muttering a string of curse words to himself at the agonizing thought of doing anything Sunday. "Fuck!" He said a little too loud and slapped his palm against his forehead as he remembered he had agreed to Judo in the morning. Why did he make commitments he knew he didn't want to keep.

Shikamaru went home and called Naruto who answered on the first ring. They established a time to meet at their regular store and get groceries. Shikamaru used to always go with Choji and would end up spending far too much money, but since Choji had left he had found it difficult to go. He lacked inspiration and would end up eating crap unless someone came with him with a bigger stomach or better motivation. Choji had the biggest stomach, but Naruto took the cake for most motivation, and for now he would have to do. He changed and packed a couple grocery bags into a backpack before heading out. He had enough time to walk and it was still relatively hot out with the sun beginning to dip behind the high rises. He walked lazily south, towards the university. Laughter and the general cadence of voices poured from restaurants and shops and bars as Shikamaru passed. He thought of the memories people were making and the ones he had created in these places as well. Ino was a riot for going out dancing and had agreed that for every weekend they were dragged to some sleazy club, the next would be a bar of Shikamaru's choice. Unfortunately the city was not as big as they had thought and they had easily covered the best spots within a couple months. Shikamaru had a feeling this year was going to be a lot different. He turned a corner and realized he had spaced out the whole way to the grocery store and stopped out front. He could see Naruto getting off at the stop less than a hundred feet away, he was waving excitedly at him.

"Hey Shikamaru!" Naruto was shouting as he walked towards him with a huge grin. Shikamaru couldn't help but smile and wave back. He had to admit he had some pretty great friends.