Shavuot. Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji and Temari are lounging around in the sitting room at the Nara compound, eating cheesecake and drinking coffee. Although Ino was always a strong student, she can't help but feel a bit intimidated by Temari after hearing her arguing scripture with Shikamaru. (Chouji, of course is more interested in the cheesecake, particularly the lemon one Shikamaru's mum made.) She remembers watching Temari in the Chuunin Exams and being amazed at her tactics. Not to mention that, like Shikamaru, she's related to a rabbi,although it's one of her brothers, not her father.

"So, how's the conversion going?" asks Temari, inevitably. "You looking forward to joining the tribe?"

"Hell yeah," laughs Ino. "'Course, it's been a bit difficult having to remember not to mix meat and dairy or eat seafood." Then a thought strikes her. "Not sure how this not going on missions on Shabbat malarkey is going to work out, though."

"Where did you get that idea?" asks Shikamaru.

"Because Jews aren't supposed to work on Shabbat, right?" says Ino. "And missions are work - I mean, we get paid for them and stuff and 'shinobi' is our job, right?"

"That," says Shikamaru, "is a grey area. Me and Dad have discussed this loads of times. It's all to do with the potential of saving life – of course, we as shinobi take life too if we must – but the one thing that you've got to remember about Jewish law is that saving life comes first."

"But where does being a shinobi come in?" Ino asks. "I mean, y'know, 'thou shalt not kill' and all that."

"It's perfectly legitimate to kill someone in self-defence," says Temari. "Hence why I killed that girl in the forest, not to mention it was to save his arse," with a sly glance at Shikamaru. "Kill or be killed, you know? There's loads of examples of it in the Torah. It's something Gaara's been poring over for ages. He's done a few sermons on it, if I remember rightly."

"Anyway," Chouji chimes in, "you're a medic-nin, aren't you? You can do medical work any day of the week, even on Shabbos, 'cause you're saving lives. That's why Mum still does her weekend shifts at Konoha Hospital."

"Hmmmm." Ino frowns. "I guess I can always ask your dad next time I see him, Shikamaru."

"Go for it," Shikamaru said easily. "The old man won't mind. It is his job to answer questions, after all."

Author's note:

- Shavuot: Jewish Festival of Weeks, in which it is traditional to study Torah and eat dairy foods