I'm going to use this author's note to vent about my frustration with senior year, so bear with me or just completely skip this section. One, it's only the second week of school, and I'm drowning in homework—that's what I get for taking the hardest classes possible I guess, and two, volleyball is completely consuming my free time. And, I'm just gonna stop myself before I just explode.

Sorry this update took FOREVER. Excuses are listed above. I know I usually update on the weekends, but this week is definitely an exception cause I'm more busy this weekend than this whole week put together! Anyway, enjoy this chapter, and once my life is somewhat organized, I'll finish this baby. Enjoy.

30. Choice

"Planning is nearly complete. Seeing as those who are valid and regularly do the job are coincidentally occupied and their schedules are filled, it's difficult to find anyone who is available and capable, and we're in desperate need of three more proctors. Aside from complication, every single piece of information is accounted for and organized to your liking, Lady Hokage."

With a triumphant smirk, Shikamaru slapped the thick folder before his superior, who always seemed to be disappointed in his efforts and at this particular time, it looked like she wanted to rip his head off she was so disappointed. She sighed and took the folder, opening it. "How many times do I have to tell you that you don't ask them to participate? You tell them how it is, you dunce."

Shikamaru sneered at her sharp words, fed up with the nickname she tagged to him, "dunce". She's taken a liking to the word, and he's the sorry soul that has to hear it daily. "Yes, I understand that," he said, "but it is difficult to tell the regulars about exam duty when they're all on extensive, undercover missions until that time, and I'm not including setbacks on their missions; so really, unless the mission goes smoothly which we all know won't happen, the regulars will not be here on time. Unless a miracle happens, we need to fill their spots with the premonition that there will be setbacks, you know like injuries, bandits, lunatics, and etcetera. The way I look at it is that the participants won't find it intimidating when a proctor barges into the examination room late…or with a broken leg or whatever ailments."

"All right, all right, geez!" Tsunade huffed, waving Shikamaru silent. She massaged her forehead and sighed. "You're giving me a headache. I'll approve and send them to Ibiki, but you better make sure you have those spots filled. You have until the end of the week to figure it out."

"You're too gracious, Lady Tsunade," Shikamaru cooed as he backed up of the room and on the way out, grabbing Temari, who chilled by the door during his and Tsunade's discussion. "Have a good day," and with that, Shikamaru closed the door quietly, grinning in victory. First time he's gone to the office without having something fairly large or sharp chucked at his head.

Temari laced her fingers with his smoothly that Shikamaru almost didn't notice. He frowned by let it happen. "She was okay that time," Temari commented as they made their way down the hall. "She didn't throw anything at us this time."

"She was hungover," he explained in a deadpanned manner, taking the opportunity to open the door for her which in return gave him a reason to release her hand.

"That explains it." Temari reached for his head once more, but Shikamaru dodged it by coolly sliding his hands in his pockets. She didn't seem fazed by the action. Instead, she linked her arm with his and gave it a tight squeeze with a bright smile on her face.

"So, what are we going to do today? We have about four days to ourselves." He vaguely remembered promising Temari that if they finished planning early, they could spend the last few days together, do anything she wants, and he hoped that she forgot….Just his luck that she didn't.

"Well," his voice trailed as he thought of an excuse to not spend time with her. "we still need to find the other proctors."

"That'll be easy," she exclaimed, waving him off. "C'mon, Shika"—he winced, how he hated that nickname—"have a little fun. What's been going on with you lately? You look so…depressed." He raised a brow. Depressed? That wasn't half of it.

Could he help it? No, not necessarily. His best friend was rumored pregnant with his child and instead of being her best friend, teammate, and supposed baby's daddy, he decided to run to Temari and be with her. He could have had a great "relationship" with Ino, still be her friend, but did he do that? No, and yes, he regretted it.

What could he right his wrongs with Ino? Have absolutely no contact? It's been near a week since Shikamaru last spoke to Ino—or tried to, really. She must be having a jolly good time without him bugging her. Shikamaru, on the other hand, felt like his insiders were being slowly ripped out from his belly button as every day passed, being unable to see her face or her growing belly that held…his infant killed him inside. Why? He didn't know. He swore he didn't have any attachment to Ino or the baby, definitely not the baby.

All this drama, this mayhem, happened because of the woman that latched onto his hand, and in the past week, did he ask her what happened between her and Ino? No, he didn't because he's a pansy.

"I've been stressed."

"Oh, about what?"

Shikamaru smirked and glanced down at the dirty blonde woman from the corner of his eye in mischievous. It was time to make her squirm a little. "You don't know? I'm sure you would have heard by now. It's all over the village." Temari's arm tensed around his, and she quickly released his arm, looking at him as if she were guilty of killing his pet hamster or rather, telling Ino to stay away from him, that she was worth nothing.

"What is it?"

"My mom's birthday is coming up in a few days, and I don't know what I'm going to get her. I'm trying to think of a gift that she would only enjoy." He watched relief wash over her face.

"Really?" she breathed.

No. "Yeah."

Temari slowly linked their arms again. He could feel her heart drumming against his arm. "I have an idea then. How about we go find something for her? How about a trip to the spa with her girlfriends? Has she ever done that?

Shikamaru zoned out her suggestions and stared at the almost angelic face of the sand kunoichi. With such an abrasive personality, Temari should have confronted him about the Ino situation, right? Shikamaru knew Temari well enough to know she would address an issue straight up.

"How about we save that for another day?"

"But I only have—"

"Can we walk, walk and talk?"

"All right. That sounds nice, I guess."

Shikamaru was a patient man, or so he liked to think, but he couldn't handle it anymore. He needed to know what Temari thought, what she said to Ino, and he needed to tell Temari to leave, get out and never talk to him again. "Did you have a good time?" he asked, shoving his hands deep in his pockets when he noticed Temari's fingers creeping towards hands. "I had a good time with you." Half true.

"It wasn't the best trip—"

"How so?" he asked hastily, cutting her off. "Did I do anything wrong that upset you?"

"No, not at all."

"Then, what's the matter? Did something happened, or did you hear any rumors"—he mumbled the rest so low that Temari, who was squished against his side, couldn't hear—"that could possibly ruin this relationship forever?"

"What?"

"Nothing."

Temari looked detached from the moment, in deep thought no doubt. She hesitated to speak, nibbling at her bottom lip as she glowered at the ground. Finally, "you have to tell me something," she mumbled, still chewing at her lip.

"Hm?" Was this it? He peeked down at the sandy blonde woman tucked under his arm. She trailed a finger down is clothed chest and fiddled with his zipped of his vest. Temari looked up and sheepishly smiled at him with the sun hitting her radiant face at the perfect angle. Shikamaru looked away. That smile, that face would be the death of him.

"I heard a rumor about you and Ino."

"Whatever you heard is mostly a lie," he clarified nonchalantly, "especially the garbage coming out of Genma's mouth." Everything was a lie. People lived in the truth of Shikamaru's and Ino's lies, and it'd stay like that for many years to come.

"So it's not true that she's pregnant with your child?" Temari questioned, sounding hopefully and delighted to think for a second that the truth—well, the lie but for everyone else, it was the truth—wasn't actuality. Sucks her mood will be ruined in the next two seconds…

"No, that is true," he admitted quickly with firm lips and a hard stare, but soon the stern disguise released a blush when Shikamaru briefly thought that people thought he and Ino had…sex—oh hell, Shikamaru, Ino, and sex didn't sound right in the same sentence. Just thinking about it sounded wrong. Never again will he think of Ino in such way…never ever.

"Did you elope to Kumogakure? Did you two get married? You told me you were on a mission!"

That was new.

"I was on a mission to find her, Temari—that wasn't a lie. She seriously went missing."

Temari stood walking and stared at him—no, she stared through him as if she were working a complicated math problem in her head. "She went missing, so how did she…?" Shikamaru never expected Godzilla to emerge from the girl, but she definitely did when her face turned the darkest shade of red with pursed lips and eyebrows knitted together as she glared daggers at him. "When exactly did you do the dirty?" she yelled, gathering the attention of bystanders. Shikamaru hushed her, but Temari jabbed a finger into his chest. "When, Shikamaru! How far along is she anyway?"

Shikamaru flinched and recoiled from the hard poke, rubbing the tiny spot that would soon sport a bruise.

"Don't you think you're asking the wrong person?"

"Well, you were there when your love child was conceived."

"You think I remember?" Shikamaru countered. He wanted to laugh, laugh in her face and tell Temari she's upset for no reason. "Why don't you go talk to Ino if you're so interested in our situation?"

Temari laughed. "Like she would talk to me after what happened last…week." Her face fell and shock washed over her now pale face.

Shikamaru smirked. "Why's that? Did you tell her things you shouldn't have?"

Temari gained back her confidence after a few seconds, to Shikamaru's dismay, and she smirked back. "I did actually, and what I said was true. You can ask Ino for the details. Oh, random thought!" She flashed him a devilish grin. "It surprises me you haven't told me. Ino told me she was pregnant with your kid last week. Now, this whole week, we've slept together…countless of times, and you're just now telling me you're going to be a daddy.

"I was waiting for you to tell me about it, Shikamaru, but it's obvious you're ashamed of what you did. What makes everything worse is that you initiated everything that went on with you and me. What do you have to say for yourself, Nara Shikamaru?"

Nothing. She got him, tongue tied, speechless, and dumb founded. Was he really ashamed?

She smiled and caressed the back of her hand against his cheek. "You're too young to be a father. Why don't you come home with me? You won't have to be a father, just you and me. Just dump her. She's worthless to you."

Shikamaru smiled and grabbed her hand. "Thank you," he said, setting her hand at her side. "You made me realize how much of a douche bag I've been to Ino. Go home, Temari, we're done." With that, Shikamaru turned around and left.

Shikamaru wasn't a man that was smooth with his words, only when he had strategies planned out in his head and he had to vocalize them. He definitely wasn't a man that was "smooth with the ladies." He didn't know what to say to woo a girl. The only thing he was good for was making himself look like a dick, according to Ino a few years back. Did he oppose to that? No, not necessarily.

As Shikamaru marched up the stairs of Ino's apartment complex, he planned what he wanted to say to Ino. However, before he could spill his feelings all over the floor, he needed to beg for forgiveness, get on his knees if it came to that.

He knocked on the door with authority, a loud bang that anyone could hear outside. Then, as the door opened, his plans, his words vanished. Shit.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He didn't expect to be tackled to the floor by a flash of pink, and he certainly didn't plan for it to happen. Sakura flicked his nose and hissed, "You need to get out of here. Ino is on a hypothetical killing spree right now, and you're the first person she wants dead. If she sees you, she actually might kill you."

"If you'd get off me…"

"Right."

"So, are you telling me that I can't see Ino?" Shikamaru inquired as he grabbed for Sakura's offered hand.

"Yeah, she's having pregnancy rage or something. Shikamaru, just let her come to you all right? She doesn't want anything to do with you, so what makes you think she wants to see you?" Sakura sighed and leaned against the door. "Give her time to cool down."

"It's been a week. How much cooling down does she need?"

"Well you pissed her off pretty bad," Sakura said, shrugging her shoulders. "I'll put in a good word for you. Now leave before Ino comes out and sees you."

Ino drummed her fingers against her bulging belly as she waited for Sakura to come back from speaking to their visitor. The conversation had to be hush-hush if Ino went up to the door and pressed her ear against it to listen, but she could only hear incoherent mumbles. So, she sat on the couch and waited for her roommate to return and finish mixing the cookie dough—it's a shame she couldn't scoop her finger through the dough and pop it in her mouth…because of raw eggs, and the unattended dough was calling her.

"Sorry," Sakura said when stepped into the room. "That was Naruto. He asked if I wanted to hang out, but I told him we're having a girls' night."

"You didn't have to do that." Ino hasn't seen Naruto much, maybe because Tsunade worked him into the ground with all the apprentice stuff or because Sakura shooed him away because Ino was an emotional wreck and Sakura felt obligated to stay with her.

"It's fine. I see him enough during the day. I want to spend time with you."

Ino smiled.

She listened to Sakura work in the kitchen, rolling the cookie dough into perfect spheres and placing them on the nonstick sheet. Ugh, Ino could almost taste the warm chocolate chip cookies melting in her mouth.

"Are you ever going to forgive Shikamaru?" Sakura asked nonchalantly which surprised Ino since Sakura was the person to beat around the bush.

"Eventually but not now," she replied with a yawn which earned a soft nudge against her insides. She rubbed the spot with a smile. What was she thinking? Keeping this baby would ruin his life forever, and he wasn't involved with it? Ino didn't care whether her life burned down in ashes, but ever since they graduated from the academy, Shikamaru was expected to be great, and he can't do whatever expectations when he's bouncing a baby in his arms.

The week she spent at home, she planned and imagined life with a baby, but in the end, she couldn't. "I was never ready to have a kid," Ino said, sighing. "I'm still a child myself if you think about it. Do you think a child should be raising a child?"

Her immature habits of partying and one night stands—though she promised she'd never want to do that ever again—were inappropriate for a new mother, and did she know if she would regress into those habits again? Did she have to will power to stay away?

"Are you letting what Temari said to you? What you really need to do is punch her in the face."

"I'm not going to punch her in the face, Sakura."

"Can I punch her?"

Ino chuckled. "No, I'll take care of everything myself. And adding on to what I said earlier: I'm going to the adoption agency tomorrow."

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