Cassandra's POV

This girl again. I sighed as I leaned against the wall, enjoying the shade. I was already ready for the mission when Tsunade had called us in, so now I had to wait for the others to show up.

She was going by Miyuki this time. I wasn't that surprised that they had changed her name. It has been over a year since the last time I saw her and I wish it had been longer. Hopefully we could get along better this time, but I doubt that would happen. Even the sound of her voice ticked me off.

At least those boys were going with us, which left us out of immediate danger and gave us a greater chance of success. Tsunade had mentioned how important this was and I wasn't about to let some stupid foundation ninja stop me from getting it done.

The first one to arrive at the gate was the boy with a ponytail, the one in charge of the decoy team.

"Shikamaru Nara, right?" I asked him as he walked up, though it wasn't much of a question since I knew I was right. Tsunade had told us the basics of each of the boys. This one is the smart one, the planner, the strategist… and also the lazy one.

"Yeah, that's me," he replied with a shrug. "So why haven't I ever seen you around?"

"Umm…" I stumbled with my words, and he shot me a curious glance. "I was gone for a while. And I mostly keep to myself."

He seemed to accept that answer. "And that other girl, you've worked with her before?"

"I have, and I don't trust her at all," I sighed.

"Why?" Shikamaru asked.

"The Foundation can't be trusted. They're always in it for themselves. She won't rush to save your life. She'll let you die if she gets the chance," I said. Foundation freaks should stay there and not interfere with us out here; I can't stand people like them. Not like I talked to many people anyways.

We waited in silence from then on, and the others slowly began to arrive. Dog boy and the larger guy were still watching Miyuki and I couldn't help but chuckle. They stood no chance of getting her, no boy did. Seems like bug boy is the smart one. But Shikamaru, he kept watching me and I wasn't sure why.

As soon as everyone had arrived, we left. Miyuki and I led the way with the boys following close behind. They talked the entire way, but we were silent. We did shoot the occasion glare at each other though.

We arrived at the spot we were supposed to be at just as night began to fall. "We'll take turns keeping watch; one from each team awake at each time," I said as we all set our things down.

"But then that will only leave each of you with a few hours of sleep," Shikamaru replied. "Why don't we have one person watch at a time?"

"Miyuki and I don't mind. Two sets of eyes are better than one anyways," I answered. I didn't want Miyuki to be on watch alone. At least this way a boy would be awake with her at all times. "I'll take first watch," I told her, and she nodded in agreement. At least she wasn't arguing with me on this.

We ate quickly while sitting in a circle. We tried to hide the scent of our food and the strong scent of the pine trees surrounding us helped. I watched as Kiba and Choji attempted to talk to Miyuki, but she flipped her blonde hair and ignored them.

"I'll take first watch for us, followed by Shino, Choji, and then Kiba," Shikamaru said once we finished eating. None of the boys argued, but got up and began to prepare to go to sleep.

I was a little ways away, sitting with my back against a tall rock. Book in hand, I watched as they all tucked in. Miyuki was already passed out. I was enjoying not listening to her voice.

Shikamaru walked over a few minutes later and sat down beside me. "It's a little chilly tonight."

"Yeah, it is," I replied as I wrapped my blanket around me tighter. The cool breeze chilled my bare skin. I hadn't been prepared for this. It sure was a change from the heat we had experienced during the day.

"So what are you reading?" Shikamaru asked. I wasn't used to the small talk and I wasn't sure why he wanted to talk in the first place. Maybe it was to keep himself awake, though he didn't seem too tired. I figured it wouldn't hurt to try and keep it going.

"It's about the different chakra types," I explained.

"So you are one of those girls," he said with a smirk.

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Well, you're hungry for knowledge. You're always observing what's around you, planning head," he paused and sighed. "You're not superficial, you're not always caring about what you look like or who's paying attention to you."

"Yeah I guess," I replied as I looked up at the stars. It was interesting that he would assume that by only knowing me for a few hours. "Though that's a lot to assume from a single book."

"I like that," Shikamaru whispered to himself, but I heard it.

"So what about you?" I asked as I set my book on the ground, distracting my thoughts before they got weird.

"What do you mean?" he questioned, shooting me a confused glance.

"Well, I know you're lazy but extremely intelligent. I know you're determined and caring. But what else? What do you want in life?" I asked.

"What do I want in life… well I'd like to have a team of my own to train one day. And then after that, I'd like to find a nice girl to settle down with and have a kid or two. Then grow old playing shoji, reading, and looking at the clouds."

I smiled and laughed to myself. "Sounds nice."

"What about you?"

"I haven't figured it out yet," I admitted with a sigh. "I'm not one for planning ahead like that anymore."

"Why not?" Shikamaru questioned.

"I've learned nothing goes as planned, so why plan too far ahead" I replied with a shrug. We both went silent after that as if we were both lost in thought. After a while I yawned, causing him to look over at me again.

"You can go to sleep if you'd like, I can keep watch for you," Shikamaru offered.

"No thanks," I replied as I scooted closer to him and leaned my head onto his shoulder. "You can keep talking though."

"I don't have much to say," he told me, sounding slightly flustered by the contact.

"Tell me a story about a time you were really happy," I said.

"Well okay, this one time," Shikamaru stared, and that began a story about him and Choji. I felt myself start to drift off a few times, but the cool breeze that occasionally returned made me shiver and woke me back up. About halfway through the night I woke up Miyuki and Shikamaru woke up Shino.

"It's midnight; why didn't you wake me up sooner?" Shino asked Shikamaru as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"I wasn't tired," Shikamaru shrugged. Shino accepted that answer and got up and began to keep watch.

I was laying down near where Miyuki had been when Shikamaru brought his blanket over. "Mind if I lay here?" he asked, as he was already laying down beside me.

"Go ahead," I told him as I closed my eyes. I was asleep a few minutes later.