Disclaimer: YOU GUYS KNOW THE DRILL! I don't own Naruto or it's characters, ect ect blah blah. I also own no rights to any songs I may rip lyrics off of, as I am listening to Naruto AMV's while writing this, and it MAY happen.

That disclaimer doesn't really matter because...IM BACK FOLKS! I hope to finish up this story! and post a couple more! I have no idea how many chapters I want to keep this story going to...Possibly 13? Maybe less? Not sure but...I thank you all you have read, and are going to be reading. I know I just posted one chapter and then bailed on the project again but...Life takes the front seat to this, hope you all can understand that.

As far as timing is concerned with storyline...This is placed BEFORE the shinobi war, yet after the Hidan/Kakuzu arc. I will try and keep spoilers OUT of my story.

And now...ON WITH THE STORY!

Cat calls and wolf whistles came from around the hot springs, which caused Chouji to blush deeply at his own actions. He had done it, he had just kissed Ino, in view of most of his shinobi comerades no less. He instantly went to pull back as Kiba and Naruto's childish whistles rang through the springs, but Ino was having none of that. She gripped onto Chouji's hair and kept him in place as she pressed herself against him and deeper into the kiss, spinning the two of them slightly on the spot they stood. This, of course, encouraged Naruto and Kiba's behavior.

"Hey Chouji! Now we know how much you weigh!...Just enough to break the ic.." Naruto never got to finish his sentence as a stone from the springs was flung at him, hitting him directly between the eyes. This cause the knucklehead's eyes to spin as he then fell over into the water, making a small splash, as Kiba laughed, Sakura shook her head, and Hinata gasped and, yelled "N..N..Naruto-kun?!", before attempting to rescue the blonde from the springs. Temari whistled and turned back around to her group and smirked. "Nice shot Tenten...I see your aim has improved, though all I have to compare it with is that DISMAL performance in our match during the Chunnin Exam, you remember that right?" Tenten smiled with pride for a second, and then glared at the blond as she held another rock in her hand, tossing it up lightly before catching it in her hand again as she spoke. "Now be careful Temari, or my hand might slip, and I notice you don't have your fan on you right now." The girls glared at each other, all the while sitting in the lap of the men accompanying them. The tension caused Lee grip Tenten by the waist, preventing her from acting on impulse, while Shikamaru just sighed and rubbed his temples.

Kiba, of course, just could not help himself. "You know ladies, I am normally opposed to anything feline in nature, but I wouldn't mind seeing a good old cat fi…" The second rock pelted Kiba in the face, causing him to also fall backwards into the springs, just as Hinata had rescued Naruto, making her gasp again. "K..K..Kiba-kun!?" She then proceeded to attempt to rescue her teammate. At the sight of this, however, Temari started to laugh hysterically, which then consumed Tenten. Both girls laughed together, their fight forgotten at the expense of Kiba. This was good news for Lee and Shikamaru, who sighed in relief, though Lee kept his firm grip on Tenten's midsection, which caused the weapon master to smirk slightly. "Well as fun as this is, Lee and I better get going. We need to do some…rigorous training in the morning, spring time of youth and all that." "B..But Tenten-chan…Gai-sensei gave us tomorrow off on our training schedule. He even forbid me from going off of the routine he put in place, saying that 'Youth takes many forms Lee.' I think he will be mad if we go against his orders like…." Lee stopped speaking as Tenten leaned in and whispered into his ear, causing the dedicated genius to blush and nod his head excitedly. "Y..Yes you are right Tenten-chan. Shikamaru, Temari, it was a pleasure to see you both as always!" Lee then stood up in the springs, still holding Tenten as he bolted out of the springs at top speed.

Shikamaru groaned and shook his head at this. "I am surrounded by idiots…" Temari started to press down into his lap, grinding against him lightly, making him groan as she then huffed and crossed her arms. "Hmph…You HARDLY have any room to call anyone stupid as far as relationships are concerned Shikamaru Nara." Shikamaru gaped at her and then shut his mouth, figuring it could only get him in more trouble as he lay his head back and let the springs relax him, this reaction caused a forgotten female voice to speak. "Ohhhh so he can be taught after all? Congratulations Temari, you have trained your monkey well." Shikamaru made a noise of annoyance as Ino and Chouji now joined them in the springs, taking the area that had been vacated by Lee and Tenten. "Tsk…Are all blondes this troublesome? Or did I do something to offend Kami, making him fill my life with troublesome golden haired women?""Don't forget beautiful Shikamaru" Ino added as Shikamaru finished speaking, this causing the male to make another annoyed sound, which caused Temari to grind hard against him once more. "Yeah…What she said!" Chouji remained silent, still in a dazed stupor over this recent turn of events. This had finally fallen into place for him. He had gotten the love of his life to notice him; someone who many had told him was well out of his reach. He was going to be able to maintain his birth-right at the Inari Festival. The council would in no way ignore a Yamanaka as a viable partner, not with the long standing relationship between the two families. Thing has begun to turn his way, and he didn't think anything could dampen his spirits. He was, however, mistaken in this assumption.

"It is such a shame that the spring imposed this new bathing suit rule, though it is nice that we can all show off our new bikinis to you Kuma-saaaaaaaaaan!" The female voice rang loudly through the springs. This caused Chouji's eyes to widen, looking around quickly to see if he had heard that correctly, and he had. A male around Chouji's age had entered the springs, his hair cut in a perfect manner, and not just the hair on his head. The man had obviously made grooming a priority in his life, or more likely had paid someone to do it for him. His body was that of someone who worked out for show, rather than need, his muscles that of someone who had never used them outside the gym. He wasn't a large man, but he was far from scrawny. The young man looked nothing like Chouji, yet a resemblance of some sort stuck out, they were, after all, family. "Now now girls, don't worry about the silly rules, you all look lovely in your swimsuits, and once we leave the springs, we will have plenty of time to…alleviate you from the confines of your suits, I dare say some of them look a bit tight, only in certain areas of course." His statement was met with a chorus of giggles as the girls swooned over the young Akamichi. Shikamaru sat silently, his eyes locked on Chouji, gauging his best friend's reactions as he started thinking to himself. Ino was staring at the scene like Chouji, her face a mix of emotions, anger and worry among them, as she went over in her head how this meeting would turn out.

Temari looked at the tense situation around her and then back at Kuma with an annoyed expression. "Who does this prick think he is? Gah talk about tacky! You're really worried about HIM?! He isn't half the man you are Chouji." As Ino finished a voice came followed her statement, smug sarcasm dripping off of the words like venom. "Actually to be specific I am 3/5th the man Chouji is, atleast statistically speaking. Chouji, Ino, Shikamaru, a pleasure to see you all as always. It is also my great pleasure to be able to meet the sister of the Kazekage. I see you are….well acquainted with your body guard?" Kuma gestured at Shikamaru, who still held Temari in his lap, causing another annoyed sound to come from the slacker shinobi. Temari's stubborn nature wouldn't allow such a remark to go unchecked. "The pleasure of meeting you is NOT mutual, and if I was in your shoes, I would be careful how I spoke to the emissary from a foreign land!" "Temari, let it go." Shikamaru spoke sternly to her, glaring back at Kuma with a look of warning of his face. Kuma may have been cocky and bold, but he did not want an altercation with one of Konoha's finest. "I did not mean to offend Temari-san, you have my deepest apology." He gave an overly dramatic bow, the girls around him giggling. He then turned to Chouji with a grin. "Chouji! I am happy to see you out and about cousin, I had thought the meeting earlier would have unsettled you, but I am SO glad to see I was wrong. Perhaps you have some trick up your sleeve to prevent my takeover? Regardless, the clan will be mine Chouji, I am far more suited to be leader of the Akamichi, and at the Inari Festival, I shall prove it." Chouji began to slowly rise from the spring, the anger in his eyes at a dangerous place. Shikamaru acted smoothly though, nudging Chouji's foot with his own and making an urgent sound. This brought the chubby ninja back to his senses, as he slowly sat back down, Ino wrapping a slender arm around his as she sat next to him. "Chouji-kun…" "Ino-chaaaan! Are you here with Chouji?! Well you are obviously here WITH him, but I mean, you two are together now? A bit out of your league isn't she Chouji? How on earth did you manage this? I mean we all know Ino's reputation, but I thought she had SOME standards." Shikamaru acted fast, his shadow possession seal made under the springs, his shadow going forth as it gripped hard to Chouji's shadow, keeping the big man down, even though he strained to leap into action. "C..Chouji..I..It isn't worth it..C..Calm down!" Shikamaru spoke in a panicked voice, he wouldn't be able to hold Chouji long under normal circumstances, and his rage only fueled his strength. Kuma smirked at this, and continued his rant.

"I don't really know what else to say. I am happy for you cousin! You finally grabbed the girl you longed for. Does it feel good finally getting what you wanted? Well, I will know soon enough, once I take the clan as min that is, but this will hardly be the first thing you wanted that I've gotten fi.." His sentence was cut short, as two of the girls around him punched him in the stomach, and yet two more kicked him hard in the shins. Kuma doubled over in pain, gripping his stomach and coughing as the girls around him blinked and looked down at him. "K..Kuma-san what happened?!..W..We didn't mean it Kuma-san please forgive us!" Chouji blinked, and settled down at this development, Shikamaru smirked knowingly, and a laugh came from beside chouji, it was slightly weak though, and given through gasps. "G..Guess those girls aren't as stupid as they look huh? I mean, why else would the beat on you Kuma, it isn't like someone MADE them do it. Maybe they noticed what kind of scum you are?" Ino smirked and leaned against Chouji as she panted heavily. That jutsu used a lot of chakra, even when using it on a single person, yet here she had used it on four different people. Shikamaru glanced over his shoulder at the in pain Kuma, a smirk across his lips. "Looks like you will be needing the hot springs for some recovery after that assault, we will give you your space..Come on guys." Shikamaru got up and put his hand on Chouji's shoulder and squeezed before lacing his fingers together behind his head and walking to the changing room, the rest of his group following. They split apart at the changing rooms, Chouji and Shikamaru entering the male side, while Temari and Ino entered the female side to change.

(A/N: With Shikamaru and Chouji.)

Both men dried off and started to get dressed in silence. Chouji's mind was racing with thoughts, and Shikamaru didn't want to start any troublesome conversations right now. Chouji soon broke the silence however, along with one of the spa's locker doors. "That dirty BASTARD!" Shikamaru winced at the anger and hung his head. 'How did I know it was going to end up like this? Why are some people always such a drag, damn Kuma and his nonsense.' Shikamaru then shook his head and then smirked. "I doubt a punch like that would hurt Kuma much Chouji, with how thick his head is." Chouji smiled at this and laughed lightly as he finished getting dressed, glancing over at his best friend, the one who had stopped him from making the mistake of assaulting a member of his clan. "So, what do we do now Shikamaru? Do you have a plan for something like this?" Shikamaru closed his eyes and thought, then sighing as he shook his head.

"Sadly Chouji, we are just going to have to wait and see what Kuma does next, but don't be too worried. He can't do a thing about Ino falling for you, and he knows it. Your timing with finally breaking ground with her couldn't have been better Chouji. I'm glad she finally cam to her senses and took notice of you…It will simplify things a lot." Chouji smiled at Shikamaru and then let out a light chuckle; his friend still had a way to go when it came to understanding romance. "That's not why I'm happy she noticed." Shikamaru sighed and shook his head, missions were going to be a lot more troublesome with Ino and Chouji throwing goo-goo eyes at each other.

(A/N: Now with the girls!)

Ino burst into the changing room and quickly falling down onto a bench and panting. She leaned back against the wall behind her and tried to catch her breath, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Temari raised an eyebrow as she looked at Ino and smirked. "Don't get TOO worked up, the boys aren't even here to watch." Ino let out a light laugh and raised her head to look at Temari. "Please, like you're not enjoying the show yourself." Both girls laughed as Ino finally managed to regain her composure. They both began changing, neither being able to resist taking a glance at the other while dressing, measuring to see how they stacked up against one another. Both then shrugging their shoulders and saying in unison. "Eh..…Not bad." Then both girls blinked and snickered at each other while dressing.

"So tell me, you let Kuma go a long time before you finally let him have it, any reason why? I doubt the boys would notice it but, it seemed to me like he was about to say something…that you would rather remain a secret." Ino blushed deeply as Temari said this; she had hoped no one would notice. 'Well…Atleast Chouji didn't seem to think anything of it.' "Hmph…Shikamaru is right, you are troublesome." "Fiiiiine be that way Miss Perfect, but if you want to talk I'm here, bet it'd be nice to have someone who would understand to talk too. Though maybe they already know what, maybe I'll ask.." "NOOO! YOU CAN'T!" Ino cut across Temari midsentence and sighed, hanging her head as she brought her hand up to her face and ran it through her hair. "Y..You can't talk to them about this. I just took notice of Chouji. All this time, I've been blind to his true feelings. I don't want something to come up that will make me lose him already. Please Temari, can this just stay between us girls?" Temari blinked at this reaction, sitting back and listening as she went to Ino, placing her hands on the shoulders of her fellow blond. "What is it Ino? What happened that you don't want them to know about?" Ino sighed heavily and steadied herself, taking in a deep breathe as she then slowly exhaled. "Kuma and I know each other, about as much as I could get to know him without noticing the kind of creep he really is! I…I slept with him Temari." Temari looked at her shocked, rubbing the younger girl's shoulders gently as she took in this information. "Don't worry Ino…This is just between us." Ino sniffled and smiled at Temari, leaning in close to the sand princess and hugging her, which made Temari smile slightly as she hugged her back. Things had gotten interesting in Konoha, and it was far from being over.

A/N: Well thus ends chapter 8! I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter, along with the little dramatic cliffhanger I left you with. What will happen next hmmm? How will Ino and Chouji's relationship go? What will Kuma do to cause more trouble for Chouji, and what length will he go to obtain his dream of clan leadership? And what lies in store for Shikamaru and Temari? I mean, it wouldn't be fair if I let Ino and Chouji have all the problems now would it? You guys will just have to tune in next time!...Same Naruto time!...Same Naruto channel.