The only thing I have to say is that for some reason or another my writing style has changed. I noticed that and thought it was so out of place compared to the chapters before where humor was a great deal apart of the story. Needless to say, this chapter isn't really funny ish. It's long though…I guess, compared to the other chapters…

Real authors note at the bottom.

"Psst, Shino! Wake up!" Kiba banged against the window with open palms, trying to peer into the dark room. He had probably been at this for hours now and frankly Akamaru had fallen asleep at his feet a short while ago.

"Why are you doing that?"

Kiba jumped and turned around, before a grin covered his face. "Shino, I've been at your window for hours!" he said, walking across the yard to greet his friend.

"That's not my house," Shino said monotonously.

Kiba's face fell. "Well…that would explain the pink walls, at least." He chuckled before a mischievous grin crossed his face. "I'm going on a mission to Suna."

Shino merely stared ahead, wondering why he should be interested.

"Something about picking up a special casement of sake for the Hokage," Kiba continued as he shrugged. "Anyway, I'll be gone about a week or so."

Shino merely stood, obviously uninterested now.

Kiba noticeably sweat dropped as he realized his friend wasn't going to react in anyway. "Er…so, I just felt like I should tell you?"

"Hn," Shino 'hned', turning in place and beginning to walk away.

"Shino!" Kiba whined, following after him. "Can't you seem even the least bit interested? I stood outside a mysterious window for hours waiting for you!"

The bug-nin stopped walking, causing the dog-nin to run into him with a 'oomph'. Shino turned around to stare at him blankly. "Whatever you want, you better say it now before I leave."

Kiba sighed. "Oh, alright." He dug into his jacket and retrieved an envelope. He handed it to Shino mischievously.

Shino merely held it and peered at it disinterestedly. "Care to elaborate?"

Kiba grinned cheekily. "If you see Shikamaru give that to him. It's more pictures. Bigger kick to his ego." He briefly looked ahead to a clock tower. "Well, I trust you with that. I gotta go or I will never get to Suna on time. See-ya later, Shino!" he called as he and Akamaru trotted away.

Shino stared at his companion's retreating form as he felt the chakra beetles buzz beneath his skin. They were reacting to his anger at the dog-boy. He had finally decided that he had put up with the intruding mutt for too long. He wasn't going to help Kiba with his disgustingly stupid plans to interfere with Shikamaru and Temari's relationship. In fact, he was going to completely defy Kiba.

He tore the envelope carefully into shreds before walking away to find Shikamaru. He had a plan that frankly wasn't quite as magnificent as he told his chakra beetles. He was going to help Shikamaru and Temari get back together, or at least prevent Temari from going on a killing rampage.

----

"Feh, troublesome," he murmured to himself, staring languidly at the passing clouds above. "I always knew women were troublesome…"

He reached his hand into his pocket and withdrew a single cigarette. Normally he only smoked if he was stressed over work or was dwelling on the past (or more accurately, Asuma-sensei's death). He had a reason to smoke now, though. He had a reason to hold the cigarette between his lips and light the end with a match. He had a reason to inhale the nicotine and lay back against the grass. He had a reason to watch the smoke drift from his mouth and blow away in the wind.

And the reason was Temari. The same woman who made him happy those few days he spent with her. Honestly, he couldn't help thinking irony was a great factor in his life.

He sighed as his eyes searched the sky for an oncoming cloud to pass overhead. Floating just as lazily as he walked, a fluffy cumulus cloud made it's way across his vision. He couldn't help the smirk that played across his face. The cloud was in the shape of a giant fan that he could recall becoming familiar with his head only weeks before. Another example of irony.

He scoffed, willing himself to forget about her. Moping over some woman was not going to help him feel any better. Anyway, what had she ever done to him, besides beat him up constantly?

He rolled his eyes at his own stupidity. She had done plenty for him. She had made him want to do something other than lay around watching clouds all day. She had made him want the company of a woman, a creature of the gender he so thoroughly despised. She had made him want to doubt his plans of marrying a woman not too beautiful. Above all, she had made him love. That was something to account for, wasn't it?

The genius was confused.

----

The picture she had received was currently torn to pieces in front of her. An hour had passed since she had first opened the envelope, and she had not moved at all. She had first contemplated the various ways she could torture Shikamaru and That Skank (as she dubbed the mysterious girl in the picture) before wondering if she should just forget about the whole incident. Really, what did it matter? Shikamaru was only a guy she had happened to kiss.

She laughed silently to herself. Only a guy she had happened to kiss? More like only a guy she happened to love. What was she to do?
A knocking on a door brought her out of her thoughts. She hurriedly brushed the photo pieces under a blanket, before reaching over to her desk and grabbing a pen and a mission report. "Come in," she said distractedly, lying on her stomach with the pen and paper out in front of her, looking to all the world as if she had been busy. The sliding door opened and silent footsteps walked over to her bed. She looked up to see Gaara, arms crossed with an emotionless gaze directed at her.

"Do you want something?" she said, as if she were irritated from being interrupted.

"I would like to talk to you," he said simply. Temari raised her eyebrow, but nevertheless sat up, brushing the mission report aside and motioning for him to sit down on her bed. He did so awkwardly, not accustomed to being in his siblings' rooms.

"What is it?" she said, crossing her legs and staring at him from her corner of the bed. It was odd for Gaara to appear in her room. He had only ever been there once and that was to threaten to kill her if she ever redecorated his office again. (She couldn't help stifle a laugh at that thought; the room had been sufficiently painted an odd shade of purple and she had lined the walls with glass dolls that seemed to stare right through a person. It wasn't even her fault she did it, though. She had lost a bet to Kankurou and was forced to do it.) Normally Gaara would send someone to retrieve Kankurou or her if he wanted to talk to them.

He seemed to be struggling with what he was about to say. "I normally do not intervene over your personal affairs…but I felt that as your…brother," he said, looking away in such away that was comical, as his normal stoic expression was faltering, "I should express my concern for you."

She had sat through that with a grim expression. Normally she would have been happy that Gaara was expressing his feelings, but she knew what he was trying to say.

"Therefore, I would like to say that I understand you are in a bad position right now, having seen that photo." He paused to look over at her shocked expression. "Yes, I knew what was in that envelope. I check through all the mail that comes through to our residence."

She nodded, understanding, but nevertheless wary.

"I am sorry if your bond between Shikamaru has been broken," he said earnestly, his eyes lightly resting on the bed, as he was obviously too uncomfortable to look at her. "But I would wish to offer my help in… revenge." He said the last bit in a spooky whisper.

"No, Gaara. I mean, thank you for offering, but…." But what? She asked herself? Don't you want that lazy ass to suffer? She locked eyes with her brother. "But I want to do that myself," she said determinedly.

A shadow of a smile flickered on Gaara's face. "I thought as much." In one movement he had stood up and withdrawn a scroll from his pocket. "Papers for a visa. Be prepared to leave in an hour."

Temari stared at the paper in her hands as Gaara slowly walked towards the door. She looked up suddenly," Wait, Gaara," she said. He turned to face her. "Thanks, brother."

He merely nodded his head, but she could see the same flicker of a smile on his face before he closed the door behind him.

She sighed, looking down at the paper in her hands. Did she really want to go to so much trouble just to kick Shikamaru's ass?

A voice in her head concluded that she did. But there was doubt, still.

-----

Chouji found his friend laying in a field of grass with an empty pack of cigarettes by his hand. He knew what those cigarettes meant, and decided he would try to console his friend as much as possible even if he didn't know what Shikamaru was depressing over. He none too quietly sat down beside the shadow nin, glancing sideways at him.

"It's dark, you know," he remarked, opening a bag of chips. The first barbeque-flavored chip disappeared in his mouth with a crunch as he laid back to look at the stars above.

Shikamaru made a noise that resembled a grunt, shifting his arms underneath his head. His gaze was directed determinedly at a patch of stars directly above his vision.

"Normally you are in bed by now," Chouji concluded after a few seconds of silence went by. He half suspected his friend to grunt again, but was surprised when Shikamaru spoke.

"She likes to look at the stars. At first I didn't understand why, even after she told me that it was because there were no clouds in Suna. I mean, clouds move, they offer you something new to look at everyday. Stars remain fixatedly in place." He paused, a relaxed look covering his face while Chouji merely looked above at a constellation, realizing 'she' meant Temari.

"But then I realized it is comforting to know that while your life as a shinobi may bring unexpected things, you can always rely on the stars to remain faithfully in place. They can not surprise you with new images." He said the last bit almost bitterly, although the same lazy look remained on his face.

Chouji truly felt sad for his friend. It was obvious something had happened between Temari and him. At the beginning of the two's relationship, Chouji had in every way possible supported them. He could have been just as crazy as Kiba had he not been faithful of Shikamaru. He never liked to see his friend in discomfort of any kind.

"Shikamaru," he began, almost afraid to continue before he gathered his courage, "Whatever happened between you and Temari-san, I honestly don't know why you're so worked up about it."

Shikamaru's response wasn't really expected. He almost shot up, turning to look at Chouji with a surprised look on his face.

"Hold on, before you say anything!" Chouji said, sitting up as well. He might have been a little confused now that his views have been voiced. Even though Shikamaru looked miserable, Chouji couldn't help thinking that there was something more going on. "I mean to say…you were only with her a few days. What did that count for?" He mentally cringed, ready for something uncharacteristic like a yelling rant from Shikamaru to ensue.

Instead, Shikamaru merely stared at his best friend, an eyebrow raised. "I would have thought my genius would have rubbed off on you by now," he said quite seriously, as though it didn't even occur to him that Chouji really wasn't known for his intelligence. "You see, Chouji," he began, a scowl forming as though he were struggling with what he was about to say. "I realized that I may have been over reacting when I opened the envelope and saw the picture of Temari and that Suna guy."

Chouji raised his eyebrow; so that was what this was about?

"But then I thought about it for awhile. A long while. At least four hours." He rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed manner. "Didn't you think it was strange how odd I was acting before Temari even arrived in Konoha?"

Chouji barely nodded, perplexed at Shikamaru's behavior.

Shikamaru continued, sighing slightly. "I had been lying to myself before that. When Temari became the ambassador of Suna, I was spending a lot more time with her. A lot more time with a woman, to point out. It was odd, after spending so many years listening to Ino or my mother nag me incessantly, and Temari hardly gave me the time of day except to insult me or hit me over the head with her giant fan. Troublesome, really." A ghost of a smile appeared on his face.

"And then I realized, I actually liked having to show her around Konoha. I actually liked having to spend hours with her to fill out papers for the Chuunin exams. And then, when she arrived a week ago, I was faced with a predicament. Kiba saw me…well, he saw me 'checking her out', to say the least." An odd red tint was on his face by then.

"To shorten it up, I ended up having to take her out to lunch. And sometime between then and the fan mob attacking us, I fell in love."

Chouji looked at his friend in disbelief. Shikamaru? In love? The same ninja that constantly complained about women and how troublesome they were?

"So, Chouji, that is why I am 'so worked up about it'. Because that horribly troublesome, scary woman somehow did something that made me wonder if my future was not to be the way I planned it."

An awkward silence settled over the two. Chouji was quite frankly stunned. Shikamaru…well…he was off in his own thoughts. Another few minutes passed before Shikamaru clambered to his feet.

"I know you're concerned Chouji, and thinks for looking out for me. But I'm a grown man. I can take care of this by myself." He mumbled something after that as he turned.

"What was that, Shikamaru?"

"I said I'm going to my parent's house," he said, embarrassed. "See ya later, Chouji."

Chouji chuckled at the sight of Shikamaru's retreating form. His friend was so hard to understand sometimes.

Well, most of the time.

----

Shikaku wasn't surprised to find his son at his doorstep at two in the morning. It might have been because he remembered being young and falling in love and regretting that he had ignored his parent after moving out of his house. Whatever the cause, he ushered his son in the house with an odd sort of grin. He pulled out a sake bottle, the one he reserved for nights spent gambling or playing shougi with Chouza or Inoichi. Shikamaru eyed it warily, before letting his head fall to the table. "Dad, I'm not exactly good with liquor," he claimed.

"No worries, son. You'll forget everything by the second shot." Shikaku poured both of them a shot of sake. "It'll only be the morning you'll regret."

Shikamaru didn't really care. He regretted not telling Temari that he loved her. Maybe that would have changed something.

He downed the cup, sputtering a little and asking for more before the liquor even stopped burning his throat.

-----

Something about the sound of Kankurou digging around in her traveling bag pissed her off.

"Hey fat-ass, I told you to either leave me alone or stay home. Leaving me alone includes keeping away from my bag."

He snorted but pushed the bag away from his face anyway. "Would you believe I forgot food? Because I did."

"I'm sure you did," she replied dryly, snatching the bag back.

The morning sun was casting shadows over their makeshift rest area. They were currently leaning against a gigantic sand dune near the outskirts of the Wind Country. They had covered a great distance over the night, traveling as much as a sane person would have traveled in perhaps a day. It was finally Kankurou who broke her reveries of revenge as he claimed he was hungry and needed to piss desperately.

Now, Kankurou had originally not been in the plan of traveling to Konoha to beat Shikamaru to a bloody pulp. However, Gaara had demanded he accompany Temari lest she grew too violent in Konoha and went on a rampage.

His exact words were: "I can not allow a petty relationship issue to jeopardize the peace our village had maintained between Konoha for several years."

She had wondered what happened to the Gaara who was actually offering to kill Shikamaru for her earlier.

A lizard darted past her, and her gaze followed it as it trekked noiselessly and swiftly across the seemingly ongoing horizon of sand. Her thoughts were miles away, on the lazy nin to be exact. It was ironic that after years of saving that first kiss for 'someone special', it was all wasted after only a few days of happiness.

She brought a water canteen to her lips, drinking thirstily. Wiping a hand across her sweaty forehead, she happened to look up as a cloud passed overhead. The shade was fleeting as it moved on into the vast expanse of blue sky. It reminded her of how Shikamaru sat for hours on end under the shade of clouds, wishing he could float away just as easily as them.

A twinge of….something interrupted her thoughts. She knew she still cared for him, even if she was going to Konoha specifically to kick his ass. Pain was inevitable in his future, yes, but somehow she felt that bloodshed wouldn't settle it. That lazy bum stole her first kiss, along with her heart.

"Come on, fat-ass. We need to get going," she said, standing up and stretching. She hooked the bag around her fan hilt, prepared to began sprinting.

"I don't understand why we have to overexert ourselves. We can get there in no time going at normal speed," Kankurou complained as he picked up his foodless bag and placed it around his puppet scrolls.

"We're beating the clouds, Kanky. Just like I'll beat you up if you don't shut your face."

----

There were tell-tale signs of him having a hangover.

It might have been the drumming pain in his temple. It might have been his urge to roll over on bed and puke. It most certainly might have been the fact that when he opened his eyes he had four hands outstretched in front of him.

"That's the last time I drink with my dad," he murmured, even his own soft voice making him flinch. Really now…he couldn't even remember walking home. His thoughtless father probably paid a hobo to carry him home. How wonderful.

He dragged his body off the bed, and went to the bathroom where he subsequently puked his guts out into the toilet. Once that business was taking care of, he dragged himself into the shower where he let the warm water trail over him for at least half an hour as he snoozed against the shower wall, still in his boxers.

Once he felt that his body was turning into a prune, he dragged himself out of the shower. Walking out of the bathroom and out his bedroom, he could hear the water droplets following him. The kitchen was bare…he only found water. Which, surprisingly enough, tasted fairly good with a handful of aspirin.

He was considering lying down on the middle of the kitchen floor in his wet pair of boxers when four distinct knocks sounded on the door. The ache in his head picked up and he rather reluctantly stood up, prepared to tell the intruding moron that he did in fact have a hangover and the knocking on the door sure as hell wasn't helping his headache.

However, opening the door, he was faced with someone he didn't expect.

"Shino?"

The nin nodded, appearing to look over Shikamaru's bedraggled state in amusement. "Shikamaru, I presume, unless it is some other ninja standing before me in Shikamaru's house wearing what I presume is Shikamaru's wet pair of boxers."

The Shikamaru merely nodded, dumbfounded. He didn't know why he was dumbfounded. Probably because he had a hang over. But something about the hood covering Shino's face made the bug-nin resembled a killer in a horror film.

"Right. I have something to tell you," Shino said after Shikamaru returned from retrieving the nearest weapon; an umbrella stand.

"You aren't still in allegiance with Kiba, are you?" Shikamaru asked, because even though he was wearing a wet pair of boxers as he held an umbrella stand over his head, he was still a genius. A genius with a hangover.

"No. I killed him."

A pause.

"Really?"

"No, but I did decide to completely defy him. Put the umbrella stand down and I'll tell you something interesting."

Shikamaru obliged, throwing it backwards and not at all wincing as it crashed a vase to the floor. "What?"
"Your girlfriend--"

"She's not my girlfriend. She cheated on me."

"--is still your girlfriend."

Shikamaru rose his eyebrow as a weird sanity overtook him. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Those photos you received were fake. I watched Kiba forge them." Something about Shino's voice made Shikamaru actually consider what he was saying instead of running back inside to fall asleep under a warm blanket.

"So basically you are telling me I've spent the last day pondering my future for no reason?" he asked at last.

"Exactly."

"And Temari, I presume she received pictures as well?"

"Correct."

"Wow." Shikamaru suddenly realized his headahe had disappeared.

Shino stared at him a moment longer. "And it appears Temari is heading towards Konoha. She wants to act upon revenge, but I feel it is in your best interest to stop her."

Shikamaru nodded, agreeing. He had seen an angry Temari before. He was afraid that this time, she wouldn't hold back.

Something that Shino had said stopped him. "Wait, how do you know she is heading here?"

Shino replied without a pause, "I put chakra beetles on all of my acquaintances. Now, go sleep some more or that hangover will kill you before Temari does." Shino promptly turned and walked away, leaving behind a very perplexed Shikamaru.