Shadows and Fangs
Chapter 27
At least, this good mood of theirs was lasting. Even going back to work following their day off (jokingly called the 'shortest honeymoon ever' more than once) didn't dampen it – probably because they each got more congratulations (it certainly didn't hurt). And a good thing it was, too, as since that break had been a last-minute scramble, there was a lot to take care of once back, for the both of them.
It was slightly easier though for Shikamaru, because he at least had known in advance about said day off, and had accordingly asked Korobi and Yaoki for help. The two puppeteers were in Gaara's office with him when he got there, and they good-naturedly teased him in lieu of greetings – although they'd also been at the wedding, so said teasing was merely a continuation.
"I was just asking Korobi and Yaoki about something, but maybe you would have an idea," the Kazekage began as he rested his elbows on the table and crossed his hands together.
"Always happy to help, you know that," Shikamaru replied easily.
"Well, Gaara was wondering who'd sign a Kage's certificate if they were to get married while in office," Korobi filled him in, crossing his arms over his chest as he frowned in thoughts. "I'd say they'd probably just sign it too, but maybe they'd need an additional witness, like they do in civilian weddings," he ventured a guess.
"From what I hear, the Mizukage would die to find out!" Yaoki added with a chuckle, taking on an innocent expression and clearing his throat when the Kazekage raised an eyebrow at him. "But, I think that where possible, a previous Kage would do the honors, so to speak – ah, but Suna doesn't have any alive, so…maybe a future Kage?"
Korobi nodded at his friend at this. "Yes, why not? The one currently designated as successor – for you, it would be your brother, right?" he asked Gaara as he turned backto him.
Gaara nodded back, having to admit that he'd actually like it if Kankuro could be the one to sign his marriage certificate – if and when, of course.
Shikamaru smiled slightly as he noticed as much from his expression but didn't call him out on it. "Well…we still have Lady Tsunade in Konoha, so I'd go with Yaoki's idea," and shuddered at the mere thought of Kakashi getting married, but didn't voice that feeling. "Then in Suna's case…hmm…probably the Council?" he offered as he stroked his chin.
"Yes, this was also my thought," Gaara agreed evenly.
"What even brought this up anyway?" Yaoki wondered in amusement as he raised an eyebrow at him.
Korobi grinned as he lightly elbowed Shikamaru's side. "Was it his marriage that got you thinking?"
"In a sense," the Kazekage replied as he uncrossed his hands and leaned back in his chair. "Darami expressed her curiosity – I merely agree that her question is not without value," he noted neutrally.
The two puppeteers all but discreetly exchanged looks and Shikamaru did his best to be as casual as possible as he asked, "Do you want me to find out for sure?"
"No, I don't see why you should trouble yourself with hypotheticals," Gaara replied matter-of-factly. "I'll deny having said this, but I already overwork you enough as things are," he added with a serious expression.
The other three chuckled at this and dropped the subject. The lively duo said their lively farewells and returned to their (lively?) postings, passing by Kankuro on their way out – and then it was back to their usual tasks.
"Gaara's wondering about marriage now," Shikamaru informed Kiba once he got home that evening.
The tracker paused in the process of removing his equipment to look at him with a frown upon hearing this. "What, like he asked you questions about us, or do you mean generally speaking?" he clarified.
"Generally speaking," Shikamaru replied with a smirk. "He was wondering who would sign his certificate, if he were to get married."
"Fair question," Kiba noted as he walked to the fridge, stopping by him to press a kiss to his lips in greeting.
"Darami first brought it up," the Nara then added with a raised eyebrow.
Kiba almost spit out the water he was drinking, wiping his chin as he turned to him. "Darami?" he repeated dubiously.
"Apparently. I was hoping to get more information from you," Shikamaru admitted as he craned is neck to look back at him.
But Kiba looked just as surprised as he'd been, sharing a look with Akamaru. "Look, I know Temari refers to me as 'the Darami expert', but I'm as lost as the next guy when it comes to really understanding her," he admitted as he slumped down against him on the couch. He thought about it a bit more but then he had to stop because he started laughing so badly his brain actually hurt.
Shikamaru didn't say anything, just waited it out as usual – besides, he had a pretty good idea why he was laughing, because the thought of Gaara and Darami hitting it off was indeed hilarious.
No further discussions on marriage happened at the Kazekage's tower, to Shikamaru and Kankuro's disappointment – and the puppeteer had been greatly saddened to have missed the original 'talk'. A couple of days later, Omoi came by to send a message, consequently running into Shikamaru, and as Gaara was in session with the Council (which the Nara never attended since Kankuro was there anyway), they were able to take a short break together.
They were interrupted when Temari walked into the break room next to the Kazekage's office in search of her brothers, huffing in disappointment when she realized they were nowhere to be seen – and then rolling her eyes as she probably remembered there was a council session planned this morning. As her gaze trailed to them however, she seemed genuinely surprised to see Omoi there.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Umm…break?" he replied in confusion, sharing a look with Shikamaru – and being relieved when his friend seemed as lost as he was. "Was I supposed to be somewhere else?"
Temari raised an eyebrow at this. "You do realize Tenten's returning to Iwa today, don't you?" She'd stayed longer to take time to let her arm heal properly, but now she was expected back since her mission was over – it had actually crossed over with Omoi's, in the end.
Omoi frowned at this, looking down at his hands. "So…what?"
"So you're just going to let her go without doing anything?" Temari asked him with rapidly waning patience.
"She's not interested in transferring to Kumo," he said with a sigh.
"Did you ask her?" the kunoichi prompted.
"Yeah," he replied with a shrug, tensing as she leaned forward to place a hand on his shoulder and look him in the eyes, her face inches from his.
It was a very small comfort to know that Shikamaru would be there to testify that she'd killed him.
"Your exact words, Omoi," Temari commanded seriously.
Omoi looked up briefly, trying to think back on that conversation, and hummed. "Umm…you should transfer back to Kumo, a lot of people miss you and you'd do really well…? Or something…?" he offered.
So maybe Shikamaru wouldn't testify that Temari killed him, but he could surely attest that she head-butted him with enough strength that he winced for his friend – the sound their forehead protectors made as they collided even echoed around the room.
Temari huffed in annoyance as she looked at him, resting her hands on her hips. "Why should she care about people? She cares about you, you moron, although I'm really starting to wonder why!" she informed him with a shake of her head.
Omoi's eyes widened and he paused mid-pained moan to look up at her as the words registered. "Me…? But she…she's always telling me about every single guy she even just talks to!" he argued.
Temari pressed a palm to her forehead as she closed her eyes, groaning in frustration. "Women like to make men jealous – it's supposed to spring them into action!" she informed him plainly. "And you! Why didn't you correct him?" she asked Shikamaru as she turned her glare to him.
"I'm married to a man," he needlessly reminded her with a raised eyebrow. "How am I supposed to be an expert on women?"
"Wait!" Omoi said as he stood and grabbed her arms. "You mean she was really just trying to make me jealous?" he clarified seriously.
"Yes, and now repeat after me: 'I miss you and I want you to come back to Kumo with me'," Temari enunciated clearly.
Omoi gulped nervously but a second later he was gone.
"I can't believe you almost let that happen," Temari accused her friend with a frown. "I've been working on Tenten for days!" she added reproachfully before turning around and going back to search for her brothers, council be damned.
"How did it become my fault?" Shikamaru wondered with a frown.
Women were definitely too troublesome, saying one thing but meaning another! Kiba was so much easier to understand!
A fellow shinobi on break let out a breath as he lowered the journal he'd been hiding behind in fear of Temari's wrath. "If it's any consolation, I wouldn't have realized either," he assured him.
It really wasn't, but Shikamaru nodded at him nonetheless.
Kiba was pulled from his work by a soft knock on the door, and he smiled widely as he saw Tenten in the doorway. "All set?" he asked as he stood and walked to her.
"Yep, all set," she confirmed, moving her arm to prove she was fit, and shrugging her head to the side to indicate her team was finalizing their departure. "You take care of yourself, okay, Kiba? You're doing a great job here, they're lucky to have you," she told him earnestly.
"Iwa's lucky to have you," he said back with a raised eyebrow. "If there's ever an opening here rest assured you'll be at the top of the list!" he mock-whispered.
"And I might just take you up on that, you never know – or try to get you recruited in Iwa!" Tenten replied with a wink before giving him a quick hug.
"Take care, and thanks again – for the wedding, and the pictures," Kiba added as he squeezed her briefly.
"That was my genuine pleasure!" she assured him happily, grin widening as she pat Akamaru's head before looking to the side as she heard her name being called. "Omoi?" she realized with a frown. "Here, in Kiba's office!" she called back, puzzled, as she stepped out into the corridor.
Omoi wasn't long in rounding the corner and he slowly let out a breath as he walked to her. "Hi," he started eloquently.
"Hi," she said back with a raised eyebrow, puzzled.
Akamaru cocked his head to the side from his spot and Kiba shrugged.
"So…I…you…" Omoi huffed and rolled his eyes as though willing himself to start over, and do better – much better. "You should definitely come back to Kumo – and I'm not saying that for Kumo's HQ, although of course you'd be an asset, you're an asset no matter where you go – I'm saying that for me, because I want you to come back so I can see you more often. Because I'm scared that otherwise, another guy's gonna whisk you away eventually, and then what? I'll just have been too late, and maybe it'll be horrible and he'll break your heart, and then I'll break his neck – or on the contrary, maybe it'll be this amazing romance and that'll be even worse for me – and this got out hand, because I have no idea what I'm saying anymore and of course it's not like I'd be glad if some guy hypothetically broke your heart," he continued rambling.
Kiba raised an eyebrow at this, visibly holding back from laughing out loud. "I have a suggestion to shut him up," he offered his friend off-handedly, half-serious.
"Way ahead of you," Tenten dismissed as she walked to the Kumo shinobi and grabbed his collar to pull him into a kiss, effectively silencing his crazy rant. "Start over and make your point in one short sentence, would you?" she muttered fondly against his lips.
"I want us to be together," Omoi replied simply, hands twitching by his side as though he wasn't really sure what to do with them yet.
Tenten grinned happily as she slid her arms around his neck. "Now you're talking!"
Akamaru let out a huff, having leaned his head out to see what the commotion was about, and Kiba chided him good-naturedly as he pushed him back into his office, giving the two some privacy – relative privacy, since they were still in the corridor after all.
Omoi chuckled at this, relaxing as he moved his arms up to (finally, his mind supplied) hold her close. "So you'll do it?" he asked hopefully.
"Eventually – possibly," she tempered honestly. "I've worked hard to make a name for myself in Iwa, so I want to enjoy it – but I'll visit! Or you can visit – or we'll meet half-way, in Konoha maybe?" she offered as she held his look.
The Cloud nin deflated slightly at this – although of course he couldn't really ask her to drop everything just like that, right? – but he found himself smiling as he saw she meant it. She wanted to give them a try. "I'm sure we'll be able to make it work," he noted before taking some initiative and kissing her.
"Your timing sucks though, you know that, right?" Tenten informed him against his lips before turning her head back towards Temari's office. "Kiba, is Temari's door locked?" she called loudly.
"Shouldn't be," was the reply from his own desk.
Omoi barely had time to frown and open his mouth to ask why that was relevant before she slipped her fingers under his jacket's collar to drag him along.
Kiba just grinned as he heard the door open and close – just for fun's sake, he hoped Temari would be back quickly. (She wasn't, but that was okay.)
That evening, Shikamaru couldn't help but question Kiba as he remembered Temari's accusations. "Did you actually realize that Tenten was just trying to make Omoi jealous?" he wondered with a frown.
"Who didn't? Aside from Omoi, obviously," Kiba scoffed with an amused chuckle as he set the table for them, pausing with a glass in hand as he noticed his self-conscious expression. "Really? How did you not notice?" he wondered, much more amused than should be allowed.
"You're the one who spent a lot of time with her, not me," Shikamaru reminded him with a frown.
"True," Kiba conceded, finishing his task before turning back to him. "So apparently, during one of their drunken group outings in Kumo back when she was on the exchange program, Omoi said that he wasn't interest in being with anyone. And that's when she started trying to make him jealous," he told him with a shrug.
Shikamaru hummed as he could put things in context much better now. But still… "That was years ago! She should've just told him she wanted him from the start – would've saved them a lot of time and headaches!" he commented as he pulled the pan away from the stove. "I think he literally ended up thinking she was interested in anyone but him!"
"Well, I guess she did pick a roundabout way…" Kiba agreed easily as he pulled out drinks from the fridge.
"To put it mildly!" Shikamaru snorted. "I'm really glad I've got you!" he added matter-of-factly as he washed his hands and wiped them absently, smiling lazily as he felt Kiba wrap his arms around his waist and press himself to his back.
"You are?" the Inuzuka prompted.
"You always say exactly what you mean – obviously that's not such a common trait of character, so I'm lucky," Shikamaru replied easily, knowing he was fishing for compliments but being unable to deny him.
Kiba grinned happily at this, nuzzling his neck. "I think Omoi must've realized the merits of speaking clearly now, so they should be okay," he mused.
"Yeah, now he just needs to get over his visceral fear of Temari," the Nara drawled in amusement.
But Omoi, as it turned out and to their great amusement, found the way to do so: he avoided her as much as he could for the remainder of his stay in the Sand – and really, it was a very difficult task, since he was supposed to stay a few more weeks.
Temari just declared it reason to celebrate anyway and they once more subjected themselves to Suna's famed liquor – after she'd dragged him along, naturally.
Because obviously the prospect of a destroyed stomach doesn't sound so horrible when it's 'in the name of friendship'!
In effect, since he hadn't travelled to Iwa the year before, and hadn't had a mission in Kiri since the Allied division's implementation, Kiba had yet to meet in person the commanders of these HQs – travels to Kumo had been a regular occurrence, back when he was still based in Konoha. He corresponded frequently with his fellow deputy commanders though, and Maki had even jokingly suggested it wasn't fair for them to be left out and they should have annual deputy commander meetings too.
(If it were ever put up to a vote, Kiba would definitely vote 'yes'. In a heartbeat – and he knew that so would the others. But of course no one asked them.)
So as it stood, his counterparts were house-sitting and he was…well…also house-sitting, in a sense. Since it was only for a day, he took on Temari's duties on top of his own; Mizu had only been assigned when they were both busy. Not that he was overly annoyed, after all it gave him an excuse to avoid Anko, past the mandatory greeting as he'd joined Temari in welcoming their guests before she whisked them away on a summary 'tour' on their way to the meeting room.
He knew it couldn't work forever though; after all, his office wasn't hard to find, and he couldn't escape through the window because only crazy people did that and despite what a lot of people thought he wasn't crazy so he didn't.
Her grin suddenly appearing in his doorsill made him wish he was – crazy enough to escape through the window, that is.
"Kiba, Kiba, Kiba…" she almost sing-sung as she casually strolled towards his desk.
"Anko, Anko, Anko…?" he replied with a raised eyebrow. Her laugh at this marginally relaxed him, and he easily grinned back. "What brings you to our lair?" he asked as Akamaru lazily wagged his tail from his corner – with the temperatures they'd been having, he wasn't using his pillow but moving regularly from one cool spot on the floor to the next, so at this moment he was by the door.
"Good old-fashioned curiosity," Anko replied easily with a shrug as she gingerly poked at a pile of scrolls on his desk, miraculously managing to not make it tumble down – and giggling happily as he threw her a wary look at this. "That, and Maki asked me to say hello to you so…hello!"
This had Kiba smiling more genuinely. "Thanks for the message – please say 'hello' back if you don't mind."
"Oh, I think I can do this much, given how hard I make her life on a fairly regular basis!" the commander chuckled before crossing her arms over her chest, looking at him pointedly.
"Something on my face?" he asked after a good minute had gone by with no words being spoken but her eyes remaining fixed on his face.
"Probably dog slobber," Anko replied matter-of-factly before holding her left hand up and wiggling her fingers. "Congratulations, by the way."
Kiba blinked in confusion for a moment, having a hard time keeping up with her out of the blue approach to dialogues. But then it clicked. "Thank you," he said, assuming she was referring to his getting married.
Briefly he wondered how she knew, since his ring wasn't on his finger, but on a chain around his neck. In his half-beast form, having his hands completely free from any sorts of restraints was a non-negotiable necessity after all, however disappointed he'd felt when he'd removed it – although he still put it back on whenever he had a day off. But she knew, so she must've checked his file – or simply heard it mentioned, either option was viable.
"Temari says you're doing good," Anko continued, once more changing the subject. "Well, not exactly – actually she doesn't say you're doing bad, which is code for 'you're doing good'," she explained with a shrug.
"I'll just be honest here and say I have no idea what's going on in this conversation," Kiba admitted with a frown as he wondered if there was a point to any of this. "Do you have a point?" he finally asked, figuring that perhaps he should've done that from the start.
Anko's grin widened and she laughed in amusement before shrugging innocently. "Not really, no. Sorry," she confessed with a mock-bow of apology. "I just like ruffling people's feathers, you know that."
Everyone knows that, he thought, but decided not to say out loud because, again, he wasn't crazy.
"I'm just checking in on my fellow Konoha shinobi – no ulterior motives, promise!" she continued as she held up her left hand – and really, he had to wonder about the sincerity of her statement, because didn't people usually raise their right hand when they solemnly promised something?
Her satisfied grin informed him she was doing that on purpose too.
"Seriously now, I'm just glad to see things are going well for you," she added in an indeed more serious tone. As he nodded at her, she nodded back, and then gave a small off-handed salute. "That was it – I just wanted to say that – oh! And mess with your brain! Yeah, that too," she added with a happy grin before walking towards the window. "See you around in Konoha!" were her last words before she left right through it.
Well…Kiba figured it was official then.
Only crazy people escaped through windows.
The next day, when he stood by Temari's side as she bid the other commanders a safe journey back home, he couldn't help but sigh in relief.
"Why are you sighing?" Temari asked him with a frown. "I'm the one who should be sighing!"
Kiba just wordlessly moved a hand to pat her shoulder before going back inside – with a satisfied grin, because he knew she'd follow him to find out what happened.
Truth be told, he couldn't entirely dislike Anko…
…Because he had to admit, they were pretty similar, and riling people up was a lot of fun.
In late July, barely a couple of weeks before their meeting, the various Kages' offices started sending Suna the names of the shinobi who'd be accompanying their Kage, for their records and security purposes. And Shikamaru froze, paled and resisted the urge to gulp as he saw the name next to the eternal 'Naruto Uzumaki'.
'Ino Yamanaka'.
"I'm dead. How troublesome," he declared with a heartfelt sigh as he closed his eyes and counted to ten before checking the paper again, in case he'd just been tired or something.
'Ino Yamanaka' still greeted his sight.
"Who killed you?" Kankuro asked him conversationally as he walked by him some time later.
"You know me too well," Shikamaru said back instead of giving him a straight answer. At the other's raised eyebrow, he sighed once more and handed him Konoha's paper.
It was really vexing how the puppeteer's eyes narrowed in recognition before he smirked, huffed, and clapped his shoulder. "Try to die with dignity, okay? Make that Sand protector proud!"
"I'll do my best," the Nara said back tiredly, unimpressed by his lack of sympathy.
Kiba was undeniably more understanding – he'd likely share similar pains, after all, albeit a fraction. But he only worried for a second because he was more amused by the recent turn of events, namely Gaara visiting the Allied HQ more regularly these days – and stopping by the medical unit's quarters instead of his sister's office, to be precise. The worst part was that beyond that, there was nothing to tell yet, but Kiba (and the better part of Suna) didn't despair and kept hoping for juicier news each time.
Little more than a week later at the tower, the communications team tracked Shikamaru down on a rare break and handed him a top secret message from the Hokage. "For the Kazekage's eyes only, huh? Can't be good…" he muttered to himself as he made his way to Gaara's office and handed him the sealed scroll.
Kankuro huffed as he watched his brother open it, turning to the Nara. "Got any ideas?" he wondered absently.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Shikamaru replied with a shrug. "Hopefully it's about the meeting, and not some new impending doom that we have to brace for."
Kankuro chuckled at this, elbowing him lightly. "Ah, Shikamaru – ever the optimist – I like that about you!"
"Stop it you philanderer, I'm a married man," Shikamaru said back lazily in a monotonous voice.
Kankuro opened his mouth to reply but Gaara cleared his throat as he set the scroll back down on his desk, ever so amused by their banter but needing their undivided attention – and he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it when they straightened up and turned to him all serious. "It's not bad news," he started. "We'll just have another guest at the meeting," he added as he held out the scroll to them so they could read it as well.
"I thought you said it wasn't bad news," Kankuro muttered with a huff as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm gonna need to review entire parts of our security plan!"
Shikamaru shared his sentiment but trusted he'd find a way – Kankuro was annoyingly good, after all. "I just hope the Raikage has also been warned – it's Suna's structural integrity I'm worried about if he finds out on the spot," he commented with a frown. As far as he was concerned though, this new guest to the meeting didn't force him to make many additional and (or) special adjustments.
He'd just need to double-check the housing assignments, and to be on the safe side, review the staff on duty to make sure there wouldn't be a problem. And then visibly cram another meeting into Gaara's already airtight schedule. And…Oh, who was he kidding? This was an additional bucket-load of work for him too! He sighed as he looked back down at the scroll, the letters remaining unchanged.
The Hokage would like to inform you that Sasuke Uchiha will also travel with Konoha's delegation to present new findings to the council of the Kages.
"Should this really be kept a secret?" Shikamaru wondered as he turned back to the brothers. After all, between the people who either feared him or worshipped him, the only shinobi village Sasuke could relatively safely visit was Konoha, since he'd grown up there and people were at least used to seeing him. But elsewhere… "We have a lot of shinobi from Kumo in the Allied HQ," he needlessly reminded them.
The Cloud had never really forgotten (nor forgiven) Sasuke's fight against Killer Bee and his consequent 'capture'. That he ended up helping save their lives during the war barely amounted to an 'I'm sorry, I won't do it again' as far as many felt concerned – barely acceptable as apologies went. The good news was that Omoi and Darui would be traveling with the Raikage, so at least they should behave, but still…it was actually the Kage himself they needed to worry about.
Gaara crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his chair, considering their options. "Add his name under Konoha's delegates to the memo that will be distributed to all squad leaders and ensure the Allied Division HQ gets a copy. I will not facilitate resentment by appearing reluctant or defensive – that being said, I'll trust the two of you with carefully selecting the units who will be on duty during these talks," he requested finally, as usual completely calm and confident.
"You got it!" Kankuro replied with a grin as Shikamaru said a laconic, "Sure."
The Nara let out a sigh for good measure however as he sat back at his own desk with a non-negligible stack of files to appraise. Sasuke Uchiha, huh? Hearing his name wasn't so rare, but seeing him in person? For him, that had probably happened only a handful of times in the past years – all of them in Konoha, most of them from a distance.
After the war, and once his wounds were (mostly) healed, Sasuke hadn't waited much time before leaving Konoha once more despite having received a pardon.
"It sure helps being the current Hokage's student and the future Hokage's best friend," Kiba had never had any qualms saying.
(And Shikamaru had to smile at this, because while this belligerent side of Kiba had always annoyed him when they were kids, now he strangely found it somewhat appealing – at the very least, he loved that he always spoke his mind no matter what.)
To his credit, the Uchiha had probably realized that most people were still wary of him and that earning their trust back would take some time – he'd already betrayed the village once, and an Uchiha was behind their world almost coming to an end after all, so helping to save said world didn't wipe his slate clean with everyone. He came by from time to time to inform Kakashi and the other Kages about his findings, but even then he mostly kept to himself. Gradually, as expected, people had relaxed, and he could now walk through the streets without attracting too much unwanted attention.
Having transferred to Suna, Shikamaru and Kiba heard about him even less than before. However on their last visit home, their friends (aka Ino the Gossip Master) had informed them that Sasuke had eventually entered a sort of relationship with Sakura – although 'arrangement' might be the better description.
Ino had initially been quite annoyed with that, but had mostly kept it to herself – with Sai wrongly mistaking it for jealousy until she'd reminded him without the shadow of a doubt that he was hers. What she was really annoyed at wasn't that Sakura had succeeded in 'getting' Sasuke, but that he wouldn't try to settle with her – for her.
Tenten, when commenting about it recently, had pointed out that it was Sakura's choice, and she was visibly okay with just having the sexual aspect of their relationship, grinning as she added that sometimes, waiting for 'Mr. Right' got too tiring and making do with 'Mr. Right Now' was a satisfying alternative. Omoi hadn't liked that comment but then again they hadn't been together yet at the time and she'd probably said it to try and get a rise out of him in the first place.
Kiba would've agreed with her on the principle, except that it was plain to see that Sakura was (still) in love with Sasuke, and his opinion was that settling for only sex when there actually were feelings involved was stupid – he himself had opted to risk losing Shikamaru rather than to have just that, back when the Nara had been uncertain.
Effectively though, neither Kiba nor Shikamaru had ever really interacted with the man since their days at the Academy – and even then, he was focused on growing stronger while they were 'focused' on having fun and napping, respectively. And neither really cared much either way – you didn't need to like someone to accept they were a valuable asset after all, and Sasuke was extremely valuable as far as shinobi assets went. And it certainly couldn't be said he'd had it easy growing up, no one would argue that point – even if it didn't excuse much.
So as far as he was concerned, Shikamaru didn't consider Sasuke's presence to the meetings bad news in itself. He just hoped that whatever he had to report wouldn't be either.
After all, with the powers Sasuke now possessed, if he defined something – anything – as 'bad news', then they'd be in real trouble.
TBC
Okay, who didn't catch my previous hints about Tenten and Omoi?...Anyone?...Yeah, I didn't think so either - I don't do subtle after all. Those two weren't planned from the beginning, but they had a mind of their own, and in the end, I'm extremely fond of them! Poor Tenten, always surrounded by uniquely weird guys...
Creepy Anko who likes to test people's boundaries and find what makes them tick is my interpretation, sorry if she came off as way too OOC. But I see her as someone who's trying to find out her place and what really works for her by studying others - in an aggravating way.
And given all that's happened, I think it would make sense that neither Shikamaru nor Kiba would forgive Sasuke for having betrayed them once. And Ino is so protective of Sakura that she'd totally feel like tearing him a new one. I like protective Ino.