Ino approached the center calmly, taking her place next to Mai. She cleared her throat and smiled, a genuine, honest smile, as she looked at the guests. Perhaps if she had been able to see the person standing just to Choji's left from where she stood, she would have been slightly more nervous, but as it was, she felt relatively comfortable. Who wouldn't, speaking to people that had been a part of their lives for so many years?

Taking a final steadying breath, she began.

"I'm positive you all know who I am, but just in case there are some of you who are unfortunate enough not to, I'll start this speech off with a warning: as my teammates here well know, I like to talk… a lot. So trust me when I say this won't be brief."

Most people who knew her chuckled lightly, but there was a veritable outburst of laughter from the corner of the clearing where most of the Konoha 11 were congregated. Shooting a half-smile, half-glare at her comrades, Ino continued.

"The bonds of the Akimichi, Nara and Yamanaka clans have gone back as far as anyone can remember. For us, they've gone back to the time we were kids, playing at being ninjas and laughing at the idea that a prissy little girl, a lazy boy who only liked to stare at clouds and a kid who was a food connoisseur by the ripe old age of 3 would ever become anything greater than just that.

"As Genin placed together on the same team, we continued to wonder how that would ever be fulfilled. We went through our fair share of what we thought were pointless missions…"

At that point, Ino could have sworn that she heard some sort of a confirmation in the form of a "hell yeah" from the same corner that had been the source of most of the laughter. It ended with a "dattebayo" that was halted halfway through as a certain pink-haired kunoichi punched the offender in the shoulder, a bit harder than was necessary. Ino had to swallow laughter in order to transition into a slightly more serious tone. [1]

"…as well as our fair share of missions we thought we would never get through. There were missions that tore us apart, body and soul… but in the end, it just made us strong. Made our bonds closer, made us understand one another. In time, we understood where we stood in the world. Our sensei taught us a lot of things…"

At this, she couldn't help but pause. Choji's head was bowed slightly; she still couldn't see Shikamaru, which was probably for the best. One look at him after a mention of Asuma-sensei and she probably wouldn't make it through the rest of the speech.

"…but the most important was that we had to be confident in our abilities as shinobi, as teammates… and as people. This wedding is just another realization of that lesson.

"Choji and Mai have moved into a new era today, proving that we are always stronger united."

She turned, smiling at the two of them affectionately. "I know the two of you will be."

Ino kept her gaze on them for a moment; looking at how happy they were, something inside of her was completely joyous and utterly broken all at once. She tried not to think about how much of that might be connected to the person standing just out of sight on Choji's other side.

Shaking away the feeling as best she could, Ino turned back to the guests. "We're gathered to celebrate these two magnificent people. A spring marriage is only right, because it embodies the same ideas that these two are a shining example of. That even after winter, or war, or pain has shattered our view of the world… there's always hope. Always, there is a glimmer of something beautiful and wonderful and lovely. And this is it."

Ino thought about her words for a moment, inwardly skeptical. Kami, I'm getting all philosophic. It's about time to wrap this up.

She looked back again, this time directing her gaze at the blushing bride.

"Mai, for you, I just have to say welcome to the family. Choji's more of a brother than a teammate, so it's only fitting. I hope you know you're getting one heck of a guy. I've never seen him as happy as he's been in the time leading up to the wedding, except for perhaps right this moment. And that includes the time he won a bet against Asuma-sensei, who ended up paying for his meals for a full month."

This time the laughter was widespread, and Choji, though his face went red, laughed appreciatively with them. Mai covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.

"Sorry," Ino grinned. "You knew I couldn't do this without at least one semi-embarrassing story popping out, Choji."

Choji nodded reluctantly, still smiling, and Ino continued. "But all jokes aside. Mai, you make him happier than I've ever seen him and it's no less than the two of you deserve. I hope that happiness thrives and blossoms in your marriage."

"Choji…" She put her hands on her hips, eyeing him authoritatively. "Mai is a sweet, wonderful, lovely girl and you had better treat her accordingly. Otherwise, she knows where to find me and I will certainly help her fix that problem."

Another bout of laughter came from the guests and Ino couldn't keep up her mock-seriousness. She let the façade slip, smiling as she went back to a gentler tone.

"I'm so happy for the two of you. If anyone ever deserved this, it's the two of you and I hope you cherish every moment. You've accomplished so much and you have so much ahead of you. Don't waste one second of your time together. I wish you absolutely every happiness this world has to offer. Congratulations to both of you."

The applause started as soon as she finished her speech and when Mai hugged her, Ino could see tears of joy gathering on the girl's lower lashes.

She hugged Choji as well, grinning at him as she spoke quietly, her words almost drowned out by the clapping of the guests. "Who'd have thought, Choji? Remember what I told you a week ago about being nervous?"

The corner of his mouth raised a little. "I remember."

"And?"

He sighed grudgingly. "You were right."

Ino grinned. "That's what I thought. Congratulations, Choji."

As she was returning to the table, she paused for a moment, raising her voice enough that she could be heard by all the guests.

"And don't forget, there needs to be something in that wedding contract about any kids of yours coming to visit their Aunt Ino at least once a week!" She winked.

The crowd burst into laughter, and Ino could have sworn she saw Choji mouth "Kids?" before going slightly pale. Ino grinned to herself as she took her seat.

The guests went quiet again as Shikamaru took a step forward.

"Well, unlike Ino, I'm not much of a talker. It's kind of troublesome, actually, but I'll do the best I can.

"Choji and I have been best friends since before we were Genin. Both of us always knew what we wanted out of life and what was expected of us. Belonging to the Nara and Akimichi clans, we knew that someday we'd be filling the roles our fathers took on as clan heads.

"It can be a burden, growing up with the knowledge that the fate of an entire clan rests on your shoulders. But we learned after a while that having responsibilities isn't just about carrying those tasks by ourselves. It's about finding the person who, when those burdens get too troublesome to bear, can make us believe that we can carry on anyway despite whatever hardships we face."

He smiled lazily at the happy couple. "Seems like you've found it. You two are the lucky ones."

"As shinobi, we carry on the Will of Fire. We go through hardships that some people never dream of. But it doesn't make us any less human. It doesn't make the bonds of family or friendship…"

Ino didn't realize she had been watching his movements so sharply until she noticed his head turn slightly. She caught the direction of his gaze, and her heart sank.

Temari.

She immediately lowered her eyes to her plate, biting her lip to make herself focus on something other than the lump rising in her throat and the ache deep in her gut.

"… or love any less important. I once heard someone say, though I'm paraphrasing, that when it comes to the people they love, people are all just the same."

Ino's head shot up.

Did he…

"It's true. I've seen plenty of people in love and if I know anything—"

That drew quite a few laughs.

"—the two of you certainly are. If you're half as happy as you seem, I'll probably be dragged up here to make another troublesome speech on your 50th anniversary. Kami help these poor people when I do."

Choji grinned.

"Congratulations, you two."

It was a concise ending to the speech, but it was fitting. The guests broke out into equally fervent applause and after a quick word from Choji and a hug from Mai, Shikamaru returned to his seat as well.

He didn't even spare a glance at Ino as he walked by.

After the speeches ended, the reception became less structured and people began to disperse into smaller groups and find their way out onto the dance floor, though Choji and Mai remained the center of attention. The music continued to play; a few men asked Ino to dance, but she politely declined, choosing instead to watch the room from over near the railing.

In all honesty, it really wasn't like Ino to do such a thing, but then again, she wasn't really feeling like herself. She had never before understood why people-watching was so appealing to some people, but as she scanned the crowd, she was beginning to understand.

She carefully avoided looking at the corner of the room where a certain Nara male sat talking with a certain Suna kunoichi. Whatever they were talking about, she didn't want to know.

Her father, she noted, was deep into a bottle of sake along with his fellow former teammates. While the sight made her laugh at first, it also came with a sensation of slight displeasure at the thought of what that meant for the walk home. She just hoped he would be sober enough to get home without stumbling all over the place or needing to be supported the entire way. She had rarely seen her father get that drunk, but there were always exceptions…

Sitting at another table not too far away was Rock Lee, staring at a drink across the table with some fixation; she wasn't quite sure why, but something told her that it couldn't be good. And worse, neither of his teammates seemed to be anywhere near him. Ino grimaced as she recalled what had happened the last time Lee got drunk. That was just what this wedding needed…

Turning her gaze to the dance floor, Ino spotted Kiba spinning his teammate Hinata around the floor. The Hyuuga girl cracked a smile and then actually laughed, not even blushing like she normally did. When they turned, Ino could fully see Kiba's face, and she was more than a little surprised by what she glimpsed there. Gone was the traditional rough, ready-to-fight look that she had always associated with Kiba. While he certainly still maintained that essence of a fighter, he looked… gentler, almost like…

Ino drew a sharp intake of air, covering her mouth to stifle a delighted laugh. How had she never noticed things like this before?

If that look was any indicator, Kiba was positively head-over-heels for Hinata.

The thought was unconventional to say the least: the tough, wild Inuzuka boy with delicate Hinata? She almost couldn't reconcile it.

The more she considered it, though, the less it made her laugh; instead, it churned her insides with a familiar uneasiness.

Poor boy. I know a lost cause when I see one. Hinata's been in love with Naruto since we were Genin. That's not likely to change any time—

"It's not like you not to dance."

Ino stiffened at the sound of Shikamaru's voice, but released the tension quickly, shrugging it off in the hopes that he hadn't noticed. She looked back at the place where she had seen him mere moments before, only to find the table vacant.

How strange.

"It's not like I haven't been asked. Plenty of guys here wanted to dance with me."

"You know, it's troublesome enough to talk, but it's worse when the person you're talking to doesn't even bother to listen."

Ino scoffed, crossing her arms huffily, doing her very best to direct her gaze pointedly at any place other than at the man standing next to her. "I was listening."

"No, you weren't." Shikamaru countered. He leaned back against the railing, crossing his arms. "I didn't ask if you hadn't been asked to dance. I said that it's not like you not to. I thought you enjoyed it."

"I do…" she mumbled quietly, "…but why does it even matter?"

Ino looked at the ground, highly reluctant to look at Shikamaru. While it was perfectly easy to be confident of her rash decisions on her own, it was much harder to deal with the consequences when she was faced with them directly. When after a few moments, he didn't answer, she turned to look at him, curiosity getting the better of her embarrassment.

"Don't suppose it does." Shikamaru finally answered. He seemed to be otherwise occupied, his eyes narrowing as he appeared to be watching something in the distance. He stared fixedly for a moment, and then smirked slightly.

Ino followed his gaze, but she couldn't figure out exactly what she was supposed to be looking at. The spot at which he seemed to be staring was empty, save for a few lantern-lit trees. Beyond that, the field opened on an expanse of the first daffodils of spring that extended as far as the eye could see. Admittedly, it was a beautiful sight, but Ino couldn't imagine that Shikamaru would be interested in that. Exasperated, she turned away and was rewarded by catching sight of something far more interesting.

"Hmm."

"What?"

Ino looked over to find Shikamaru staring at the place where her own gaze had just been, before idly coming back to rest on her. "Oh, sorry. I didn't realize I said anything."

"What were you looking at?"

"That." She motioned across the room.

Sitting at a back table were Lee's two seemingly missing teammates whom she'd not been able to locate earlier. Tenten, whom Ino was quite sure she had never seen dressed so nicely, had her hands folded across the table and looked slightly perturbed. Neji, seated next to her, leaned forward and whispered something into her ear. Tenten turned toward him, pausing for a moment, her facial expression caught somewhere between confusion and amusement. She directed a question to Neji, who just shrugged and turned back to watch the dance floor, smirking a little. Tenten, obviously annoyed, moved closer to him, wrapping her arm around his and saying something that looked like a cross between a threat and a plea.

Neji said nothing, but her arm remained looped through his. After a few moments, he stood and her hand fell away. Ino could see the heartbreak clear on the girl's face until the Hyuuga turned back, holding out a hand, which Tenten took gladly.

"Bet the clan elders will have a field day with that." Ino said laughingly.

Shikamaru just shrugged, and Ino bit her lip, berating herself inwardly for even bringing it up. Shikamaru had never cared much for gossip, especially concerning other people's relationships. She had been stupid even to bring it up.

"Do you want to dance, Ino?"

"What?"

Shikamaru turned to look at her, annoyance plain on his face.

"Stop staring at me like I've grown a second head. I just asked if you wanted to dance, troublesome woman."

"What about…" she trailed off, unable to bring herself to say it. Any mention now would just make her look stupid.

Shikamaru gave her that singular look of his that never failed to make her feel any less than idiotic. "What about what?"

"Whom." She corrected quietly, but he didn't seem to hear.

She performed one last scan of the room, but there was still no sign of Temari.

"You say I'm acting strangely. You'd never dance unless someone held a kunai to your back."

Surprisingly, he simply held out his hand. "I'd prefer to dance if it will make you any less miserable than you seem to be now."

Ino flushed. Is it that obvious?

She stared at his hand for a moment, uncertain, before taking it tentatively.

As he led her out to the floor, she thought back to his statement at the end of the last dance.

"You said we needed to talk."

He shrugged, placing a hand at her waist with almost-expert nonchalance. A song with a moderate tempo began to play, and they began the first few steps. Ino was still surprised at the easy refinement of his dancing.

"Do we ever really talk, Ino? I suppose I should have said we need a session of you talking and me trying to listen."

Ino frowned. That was neither the answer she had been hoping for nor the one she had been expecting. Just what exactly was he driving at?

"Fine. What do I need to talk about then?"

"You could start off by telling me why you exploded at me the other day."

Ino found herself getting embarrassed again. "Maybe I should stop talking for once."

"You're avoiding the question." Shikamaru pointed out, obviously not content to waltz around the subject. "And I seriously doubt this would work well the other way. You expect me to do all the talking?"

"Why not?" She retorted, defiance building within her. "After all, there are some questions you could probably stand to account for. Shouldn't you be with Temari?"

Shikamaru stumbled, paling visibly as he recovered himself in time to spin her gracefully around so that she could see the tables over his shoulder.

"Temari?"

"Yes, Temari." Ino had to fight to keep the resentment out of her voice. It was a losing battle. "Isn't she here to see you?"

Shikamaru's expression darkened, and for the first time since she'd first seen the girl in Konoha, Ino felt a slight growing doubt about the validity of her theories. Judging from the look on his face, perhaps things weren't quite as cordial between them as she had first thought.

"Not precisely."

"Not precisely?" Ino pressed, unable to stop herself now that he was finally talking. She would get to the bottom of this. People had a habit of calling her a busybody anyway. If there was any truth in what they said, she might as well be good at it.

"That's what I said." He muttered with considerable ire, at least as much as he ever expressed. "Che, Ino, why does it matter to you?"

"Why does it matter?" She had enough foresight to lower her voice, but she stepped away from him, her hand slipping out of his. It hadn't been the proper thing to say, but once again, Ino had let her emotions take over where rationality should have been present.

Always the quick thinker and reluctant to draw attention to their little quarrel, Shikamaru stepped forward, closing the distance between them and taking her hand again.

"If you're going to keep scolding me, you should at least save that until after the wedding. I don't think Choji'd appreciate us causing a scene, and Kami forbid my mother thought I had done something to offend you. I swear, she likes you better than she likes me, her own son…"

Ino felt the sudden rush of anger slowly draining, soothed away by his calm demeanor.

"Why do you have to be so damned level-headed, baka?" She muttered darkly, and Shikamaru actually let out a laugh, going beyond his traditional smirk.

"Well, someone on our team has to balance out your temper."

Ino scoffed, opening her voice some biting remark, but she suddenly stopped, her attention elsewhere. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed two of Choji's relatives spinning around the floor in large unsteady circles, gradually coming close enough to careen right into them. She stepped forward to avoid being knocked over, unintentionally drawing herself closer to Shikamaru.

Apparently, Shikamaru had noticed the pair as well. At the same time that Ino stepped forward, he drew her in closer, wrapping his arm all the way around her waist and shifting ever so slightly, so that even if there was a collision, the careless couple would run into him.

But Ino didn't notice this last part. Instead, she was more focused on the fact that she suddenly found herself afraid to take a deep breath when he was in such close proximity. Even breathing shallowly, that scent - the one she hadn't realized she had come to associate with him - hit her senses at full force. It was the smell of fresh grass and warm sunlight and a fresh breeze… and just the barest hint of smoke. She had reprimanded him endlessly for the habit when he first picked it up, calling it vile and disgusting; even now that he'd quit, there was still that subtle layer of it that remained with him. Strangely, however, she didn't mind the smell like she once had. Now, it was just a part of the scent that defined him, the one that made her heart ache with the feelings she couldn't express.

After a few moments, the tipsy couple passed them by and went spinning out past the dance floor, laughing loudly. Ino expected Shikamaru to take a step back now that the sudden potential disaster had been averted.

It didn't happen.

Remaining that close, Ino was forced to adjust her arm to compensate for the change. Where it had been resting on his shoulder, she now wrapped it around the back of his neck, hesitantly turning her head to lean the side of her cheek against his chest.

Strangely, Shikamaru didn't seem to mind, or if he did, he didn't express it. Knowing him, that was the more likely of the two.

"Do you plan on telling me what's wrong, Ino, or are you going to keep avoiding my questions?" He lowered his voice and spoke directly into her ear, and she was infinitely glad that she was facing away from him. Her eyes slowly fluttered shut and it took all of her control to suppress the shiver that almost ran down her spine.

"After this." She intoned quietly.

It only seemed fair to allow herself one more moment of bliss before all hell broke loose.

Shikaku Nara leaned forward on the table, groaning slightly.

"I'm getting too old for this."

"You're getting too old?" Choza gave a belly-laugh, downing another cup of sake. "My only son just got married."

Inoichi snickered appreciatively, reaching over to pour another cup of sake for himself when his vision, though slightly blurred, caught on something in the distance.

"Speaking of sons... I thought you said your son wasn't interested in my daughter, Nara." The words came out as practically a growl, enough to bring Shikaku partially out of his drunken stupor.

"What in the hell are you going on about, Inoichi? Really, I swear, you're too overprotective of that girl. My son—"

He stopped, suddenly seeing exactly what had caused his former teammate to make such a remark.

His son – his lazy, unmotivated, slug of a son – was dancing. And not just attempting to dance, actually managing to make himself look graceful, dancing with a beautiful young lady…

…who just happened to be Inoichi's daughter.

Shikaku blinked a few times, trying to reconcile what he was seeing with what he knew, but the thoughts came slowly and weren't pieced together well.

"I…" he shook his head. "I don't guess I know anything more than you do, I'm afraid."

"They've been teammates for years." Choza supplied, smiling as he poured more sake into his friends' glasses. "It's just a dance."

Inoichi shrugged, deciding to let the subject die for now. Maybe Choza was right, and it was just the sake clouding his judgment.

But at the same time, he wasn't so sure. He had been a teenage boy at one point, and he'd seen looks like that. Not only that, he was intelligence officer. He knew how to read people. Even with that stoic Nara face of his, either Shikamaru had gotten as much to drink as the three former Ino-Shika-Cho members combined, or he was a love struck young man if Inoichi had ever seen one.

And that only meant one thing: he and the Nara boy would be having a serious talk very soon…

A/N: Okay, first off, I just have to say... I adore writing about older generation Ino-Shika-Cho. They crack me up. :)

Also, I must send out a HUGE thank you to my wonderful beta, Wroathe. Without her assistance, I guarantee the first half of this chapter would be far, far worse. Speaking of which, I normally don't include citations in my stories; however, there is one in this chapter, because I cannot claim credit for the idea for Naruto's comment in the middle of Ino's speech at [1]. My wonderful beta thought that up while reading over the scene and it was just too funny not to include. So I attribute that little piece of humor to her. :)

As for the rest, I hope you all enjoy. I adore each and every one one of your reviews and comments. This is probably about the fourth or fifth draft of this scene and I'm still not certain about it, but here it is nonetheless. I apologize for the lateness. Next update will be fairly prompt, I promise.

- Senka