A/N: Here is another part of the story! I think this is the last one for a few hours today. I will be working tonight once i get home from doing a few things. I know people will be excited, at least I hope. But fear not! I will update update soon. Please pay attention to the small little things in these chapters. The major changes will happen when I get to POV's like Shikamaru and a few others. I want this to be the last time and so far it's looking like this will be the last time I update the story like this and will just be doing chapter updates.

Please leave a thought, comment or even a question! I want to hear from people and I want to answer questions!

Chapter 8: Planning and Sleeping

June 9th?

The next day we are sitting under a tree, discussing strategy.

We do not talk about the bath house a few days ago or the training yesterday but talk about the mission. Though everything seemed awkward and hard for me to understand. But I don't want to try to understand. I don't know what I am thinking, getting involved with a group of friends that have been together for a long time, that seems pointless.

I was told to be Kiba and Shikamaru's friend.

I know this is a drag, I cannot stand this; this feeling that is inside of me. I know everything is going to suck about this mission. We need to focus instead of things going on around us. I know I cannot afford to be distracted by these feeling because I know that I mean nothing to Shikamaru, just like everyone else.

I stopped getting my hopes up about people actually caring about me. This is one of the first times we are looking into the group, and so far we have gotten nowhere with anything. Just as I thought. We have only been arguing about the information. Anything that could be said about the issue has been brought up. We don't agree on anything.

Is this what it's like to work with other people?

Shikamaru thinks that the motivations are to try to build a new village to take out the old ones. Since the people they are looking into have more than likely been treated poorly. But there is no proof that the group wants to do that. I mean, why would they? There isn't a place for a new village to be going into. That cannot be the case.

We also are arguing about where they can all be from. Which is also going nowhere. All this I could have done on my own. Shikamaru is no help with the group, jus like I thought. Why in the world did Kakashi assign Shikamaru on this?

Did Kakashi actually do this?

"I don't think that's their motive though," I counter Shikumaru who looks more tired than normal, "If you look at their meeting patterns they a spratic; meaning they have to be from villages. And they have to be powerful at that."

"I'm not saying they aren't. They have to have a different motive, if only we could figure out which one. To do that we need to know more things," Shikumaru states, almost coldly.

I click my tongue. This is pointless. Arguing is getting us nowhere. We should have gotten past this a long time ago.

"But we know their meeting patterns." I counter.

"Tooru, there's more to this than their meeting patterns, like why and when." Shikamaru answers.

"I've told you everything I already know Shikumaru" I retort.

Shikumaru sighs, "Well maybe we can assume a few things."

I shake my head.

He seems more argumentative than usual.

How would you know that?

His usual light and teasing tone is gone and replaced with a bitter taste for words. Maybe from what he saw yesterday and other things that have happened over the last few days. No, maybe he is hurting from Temari, I still don't know why he told me anything about her. I know he loves her and I don't really want anything to do with people. She doesn't even want him.

Shikamaru hasn't even mentioned her name though… maybe you should really look at your own surroundings.

I glance up at the clouds and look back over at him.

I snicker and look away from him.

I don't understand why he is still so infatuated with her, she hurt him. I don't know the full story but I know things from how he acted yesterday about her. I look back over and see Shikamaru with a heavy face, almost about to fall asleep.

He lays down and yawns "Lets take a break, we've been at this for hours."

I look at him. How can he sleep at a time like this? We need to be figuring out plans. We need to be using this time to our advantage. Not taking a nap.

Shikamaru closes his eyes.

This is going to be harder than I thought. I can go forever thinking about this group. I have even done that. This isn't okay. I need someone who is willing to go on forever about this topic. I need to know someone else cares about the well-being of the village.

But he isn't trained to do these things. I am trained to do these types of things. I know that I should go easy, but we need to get ahead. This is why Kakashi put him on the project.

That's illogical.

I sigh.

Maybe I should go for a little break. That might be the best thing to do.

He is right though, we have been at this for hours. Which is way longer than I thought that we would be working on the group though; plus I was up late trying to clean and set up for anything.

Also thinking about why he saw shadow man and a shadow woman. It just doesn't sit right with me. Shikamaru is really worried about something. I just don't get it. Is he in love with this woman? I feel a memory tugging at me but I cannot pull it out right now. It has something to do with before I became so robotic. I close my eyes to sleep. Hoping that he might just need sleep.

I feel my eyes open and a darkness surrounding me. This is the place I should be, it seems dim in here. I try to look around, but my eyelids feel heavy and I close them again.

XX

When I wake up I feel Shikumaru jump. I put up a bubble automatically when I do sleep and I can tell the smallest movements of someone. It's a jutsu that I copied a long time ago that doesn't require a lot of chakra. I look around and see a person chest in my face. I roll away and I look up to see Naruto and Hinata looking down at us.

"Sorry didn't mean to scare you," Hinata says, with a small grin on her face.

"Hey, you're that girl… from the bathhouse, right Hinata?" Naruto turns to Hinata.

Hinata nods, "Yes. The girls would love for you to come and have a drink with us sometime."

That is unexpected. I thought I scared them all away with my scary ghost talk. Clearly I didn't and I should make it clear I do not want to be around them at all.

"No." I say.

Shikamaru looks at me, "Why? Seems like you had fun last time. And Ino won't shut up about wanting to hang out with you again."

"I can't, Shikamaru you know that." I answer.

"Look," Naruto starts, "It was just a question if things clear up than maybe we can all hang out again."

"Did we do something to offend you?" Hinata asks.

This is pointless. Shikamaru and I have already wasted enough time by sleeping. I don't even know how long we were out for, but I don't think it was a good idea that we were even asleep. We need to fix this and keep working before Lord Sixth finds out about what has happened.

"No," I say again.

Shikamaru looks and me and I look at him. I see Naruto and Hinata are… I don't know what that look is. I don't say anything to them though.

"Its fine Hinata, we need to get back to work anyway on this," Shikumaru looks at me and I nod.

Naruto and Hinata say good-bye as Shikumaru and I discuss the plans.

"So the group has to be planning to steal people, or maybe getting a village started," I begin

"Tooru no, that cannot be it," Shikumaru yawns as he says it.

"Shikumaru, there is nothing else that we can do. They make sure to keep the information to a minimum, as though they talked about everything beforehand. There is no way unless we assume a few things and that would not be a good thing," I say.

We go back and forth, staying at a standstill with the group. Both of us are too determined about what the group could be planning. I feel like we are repeating things and getting nowhere. Everything I say he has a reason why it cannot be, but everything he says are things I have already thrown out from the possible things that could be happening.

Eventually Shikamaru gets so frustrated that he gets up and walks away. I lay back down and place my bubble. I don't need any more distractions from now on. That's what I feel like Shikamaru is doing at the moment.

Stop playing this game. Figure out what is wrong.

I am upset and mad that Shikamaru is allowing his feelings for some girl who left him get in the way of a mission that requires careful planning. A mission should always come first and not the feelings of being hurt.