(Here the rest of the content for this week that didn't fit in the last chapter. That why it's so short. The writing group is going on a holiday. We don't have an ETA on the next chapter, it depends on how stable our internet connection is out on the road. Ideally, it would be on the 2ond –the 5th of July. However, that's assuming we have good connection. If it's not sometime during those days, it'll be that following weekend once we arrive home.)

Chapter 27

It was all so much to take in. The group had to admit it.

The tenseness in the room only continued to fester at a low boil. Temari's words rang true. Ino held a lot of power in the palm of her hand, all it would take is for her to ask for help, and she would openly be inviting other clans that were more powerful to step into deal with political affairs. It was a powerful choice to make, and it would upheave the very foundation the Yamanaka clan stood on.

Then again, maybe that was what her clan needed. It had been a long time since a woman inherited the ranking leadership title. It had been even longer since that woman did so while being so young, and unmarried.

The elders in the council were blinded by the times. Fearing both uprising and anarchy, the solution of getting Ino married as soon as possible was merely a desperate attempt to death with the harsh reality that the powerful Inoichi was no longer with them. Many of them mourned deeply, and a marriage in the clan would be uplifting. They also feared being seen as a weak clan, because years of hard work could easily be crushed underfoot in an instant.

In any other village, that might have been the outcome.

Not in Konoha. Not in this village, where Ino's friends were like family, and ready to stand beside her. They didn't see this as a weakness. They didn't view her as incapable, or unworthy. Deep down, she knew they wouldn't, but her own pride ran deep. Confronting all of it was too painful. Temari noticed that pain. Every single one of them did.

"Say the word, we'll have that clan of yours shitting bricks." Temari said, as she grabbed Ino's shoulder, turning the woman to face her, and subsequently the others who had invaded the kitchen. "I'm not afraid to fight a little dirty here. I don't think you should be either. They want to get the Hokage involved, fine. We'll involve anyone who wants to back you. Open the floor, make it open invitation."

"It sounds like you're itching for a fight." Ino accused, even though it didn't hold ground under her own weakening voice.

"Aren't you?" Temari asked.

"Yes." Ino said, "But even if I wanted too, it's not like that's the best way to deal with this."

"Actually…it just might be." Hinata knew well what kind of power play Temari was hoping for. It would be a slap to the council's face, but, it would prove a point. "While unorthodox, you hold a respectable position in the village as well. A show of your peers might just be what your clan needs."

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Tenten agreed.

"Still a surprise to hear you say that, though. You're usually pretty laid back about things like this, Hinata." Sakura was too nervous to leave Ino's side. She didn't know all of the finer details, but for even Hinata to step in, it had to have been pretty bad.

"Yeah no kidding." Even as Temari murmured this, she was searching the eyes of the Hyuga. The woman rarely showed her backbone, but when she did, it was actually quite the experience, as Temari had witnessed firsthand.

"Even if I do hate conflict." Hinata continued. "In my clan, harsh penalties would have already resulted from any slips of the tongue." Knowing the horrors of just what could happen among the Hyuga. Branch family members were brought to their knees for far less. "That Ino does not rule over her clan with ironclad-willpower is no excuse. She isn't weak. She's kind, and that's being taken advantage of."

"It's not like they're trying to take advantage…I know that…I just…" Ino let out a hard breath. "I feel like everything I try to do isn't good enough anymore. They want to put me in a position that I'm not ready to fill." She didn't know how else to explain it. "It's just…hard."

Tsunade calmed then, but only barely. "Judging by the state of this kitchen, I doubt you'll find better allies than right here in this room. The way I see it, with you taking lead, the Yamanaka's have never been stronger. We just need to get your council to see that."

The front door opened and closed, the little bell ringing as the kitchen grew silent, all eyes trained on that open doorway.

"Well, I would bid everyone a good morning, but it seems rather chilly in here today." Choza Akimichi said trying to be jovial having found the kitchen far too crowded and filled to the brim with women. He tended to stay away from mobs of the kunoichi variety. It was bad for his sanity. Some of the younger ones in this group were also hot tempered. Chancing a question, he prayed he was not the one about to receive undue wrath. "Is this a bad time?"

Shikamaru was also not quite sure what to think. He vaguely recalled Temari saying she was going to raise some hell, but he hadn't assumed that meant literally. "Um, Tem?"

"A shit storm." She told the men openly, a hand on her kimono clad hip. There was no going back at this point. "Word to the wise, stay out of the way."

It was Hinata who took to the severity of the situation first. Inwardly she cringed. Someone had to play damage control, and she mentally thanked her father for his nearly abusive upbringing. She knew what to do, and how to steer the conversation into something more manageable.

"Choza Akimichi, a pleasure." She said with a bow.

"Shikamaru, Choji, good morning as always." She bowed to them too, and that's when everyone knew she wasn't just greeting them as friends. "You're just in time. I would like to propose a formal request for the next gathering of the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance. If it would so please the clan leaders, I would very much like to ask for open attendance. As a future council member of the Hyuga, I would love to impartially observe the conduct of the alliance."

Choza frowned at that, realizing exactly what kind of request that was. He began to understand why there was that chill in the air. He didn't need to guess what part of the alliance was stirring up the commotion. "Ino...?" Shaking his head, he sighed. "Just what in the hell did those idiots do now?"

"It's entirely too crowded in here, don't you agree?" Tsunade soothed, falling into Hinata's line of thinking. Honestly, she couldn't have been happier to finally see the stern figurehead. Now they could finally get somewhere. "How about you all join me for breakfast at my expense, and I'll explain the details."

Now he knew she was pissed. She was being far too nice, and smelled of day old sake. He decided to follow her lead, still wondering what had gone amiss. "If you would be so kind as to offer, I won't refuse."

"Wonderful!" She slung an arm around Ino's shoulder, and began to guide her out of the kitchen. "Come on ladies, don't dawdle simply because of hangovers. We'll have Shizune help me take care of that once we get to the place we're going."

Temari grabbed Shikamaru before he could protest, and Sakura did the same with Choji. Yoshino was grabbed by the still confused Choza before she could even enter the kitchen. Noriko just stood there, stunned, as the growing group of ninja walked out of the kitchen.

It was Hinata who had enough wherewithal in these matters to give Noriko a small frown. "The invitation was extended to you as well."

The blonde woman shook her head. She doubted it highly. "I'm not wanted there, I'm sure."

"Don't take this personally." Tenten shrugged. "None of us are mad at you, not really. It's just...well...we're shinobi."

"Ino is our friend. She would do the same thing for us." Hinata murmured. "We weren't observant, that's our fault. We're going to correct that together. I will bring to bear everything within my power to help her, you have my word on that."

It was around this time that Tsunade came back in. "Cute little pow-pow there, but would you hurry the hell up? I'm not the only one starving here..."

Shikamaru found himself smoking far earlier than he normally would. He was a late afternoon smoker, usually. Letting his fixation carry him through the evening and into late night. However, he was finding it hard to put the white little tobacco products down today. Temari had commented on it already, but that didn't slow his momentum. One right after the other, his habit was getting the better of him.

Temari watched him, deciding to let him finish off the pack, knowing that once he was out, he'd have to deal with it.

"This is a mess." He noted, standing outside of the establishment where the others were still eating. His appetite seemed to rebel against him too. He managed to get down some tea and a small breakfast, but for a hardworking man, it wasn't nearly enough. "You do realize just what kind of commotion you've caused, right?"

Temari could only shrug. She knew, she just didn't care. She was more concerned about Shikamaru, and now Ino. "Someone needed to do something, Shika." Mentally, she reminded herself to make sure she delivered him a proper lunch later on. "At least now we're going to see some action."

"Nara eyes are going to look at you for this." He noted, not that he particularly minded. Temari would handle the backlash with the same profane stubbornness that got her though every ordeal. "Are you prepared for that kind of thing?"

"They can kiss my ass."

"Would you even let them kiss your ass?"

She gave him something of a look that held a mild smirk. "Shut up."

"Eh, you know what I mean though." His voice was soft enough that only she could hear it. "The formation has always functioned quietly, and mostly peacefully. Now they've got spit-fires to deal with, and I don't think they like it very much." Though, he could only think of Temari as an amazing person, he knew that wasn't the common belief. That was part of her allure, why he felt attracted to her smart mouth, and acerbic reasoning. "They might even say you're a bad influence."

"Well, I'm not a good one." She retorted. "Not if you go by what those old farts want."

"That'll change." Shikamaru muttered. "New age now, new people in power. Ino's not as heavy handed as Inoichi was, but I think it'll be okay."

"You're not heavy handed in the slightest, either." Temari jibed.

"Have you to cover for me." He shrugged.

"Ass." Even as she said this, her hand found his, as she leaned against the wooden paneling. "…It'll be fine no matter what happens. Doesn't mean that I'll just sit quietly like some stupid piece of arm candy."

"Do you feel like that's happening now?" He asked, deeply concerned.

"No, not with you or your clan." Temari told him honestly. Her voice softened then, if only to calm him down. "I know you value what I have to say, when I say it."

"Damn right I do." He muttered. "Don't ever think otherwise."

Temari nodded to that, but her thoughts on the topic remained the same. "Either way, in the end what I have to say doesn't really matter." She pulled that cigarette out of his mouth, and let her thumb roll over the spot he missed when shaving. "I'm not the clan head, so I can afford to be a bitch about things. If I have that kind of luxury, I'm going to use it."

"You've still got a hangover." Shikamaru said, he'd noticed long before. "You should take it easy..." Temari held back her wincing at the bright sun like a trooper, but he could tell her head was killing her. "Or at least maybe you should have Shizune run some chakra through you, take the edge off."

"There's a saying Suna for that. If you can't hold your hangover, you have no business holding your liquor. It's about to get worse anyway." Temari told him, swatting his side as Karui came walking up the path from the Hokage tower. "Here comes the sharpest tongue in Kumogakure. Been a while since I've had a chance to chat. She's always accompanied by someone. This'll be fun."

"Somehow, I have a feeling we have different definitions of that word." He knew this was going to be trouble. "Play nice..."

"Oh relax, we're not going to kill each other." She told him, brushing off his sigh.

Temari greeted Karui when she finally reached the end of the path. The two women shared a handshake that held a strangeness to it. Shikamaru saw it in the grip, as if they were trying to overpower each other in those brief few moments. They both had smirks on their faces, but Temari's was decidedly less friendly and more on the side of threatening. The same could be said of Karui's stance, her free arm using the hilt of her blade as an armrest.

He was sure that the history the two of them shared was something he would never really know about. Honestly, he had no interest in prying. Even that seemed dangerous. Ever the observer, he lit another cigarette and watched.

"Word from Kumo?" Temari asked, clipped and arms crossed as she leaned into Shikamaru only slightly.

"Takes time for that." Karui muttered, with her head cocked to the side in a display that was as bitchy as it was deadly.

"Well, maybe if the Raikage got off his ass, thing would be easier."

"When was the last time Suna sent an envoy of supplies like they promised to do? Seems like we're not the only ones with our thumbs out our asses."

"Not my problem. Send word to Suna. I'm not the diplomat in charge anymore."

Shikamaru felt like the air around him had frozen over into hell itself, and he wasn't exactly sure what he expected. The two of them didn't normally seek each other out when it came to companions, but he had never assumed to find such a dangerous air among the two women. He wasn't sure whether to be amused, or petrified.

"Nope, you belong Konoha now." Karui said.

"Both, actually." Temari corrected. "Joint residency. Still a Sunagakure native."

Barking a laugh, the dark skinned spoke darkly. "What gives?" It was almost venomous. "Thought you didn't need a man around, then I come here and find you rutting the runt of the formation. I knew you liked ruling the roost, but, didn't expect this one."

"What can I say? I have a soft spot for the problematic ones." Temari said, one step forward, and in front of Shikamaru. A deliberate show of possessiveness. "What's it to you anyway?"

They stood like that for a few more moments, before Karui burst out laughing, slamming her fists into Temari's dominate shoulder. "God I missed you…"

"Not half as much as I missed you." Temari grinned, yanking the kunai that Karui kept hidden out from the woman's belt, twirling it around on her finger. "Everyone around here can't take a stare down in the face without thinking something's going to come of it."

"Scared that man of yours half to death." Karui ripped the weapon away, and fastened it back where it belonged.

"I wasn't scared, exactly." He coughed, clearing his throat. "I was just wondering if I had to be concerned about a fight breaking out."

"What's the fun in having a friend or two, if you can't rough them up a bit?" Karui asked him, before turning to Temari. "Told you he was a runt."

"My runt, though. So lay off. The ninja around here are all fluff, love, and sparkles. Not his fault if he doesn't get it." Temari took one good look at him and just sighed. She would have to put his fears to rest about her aggressive friendship with Karui later. "You got here at just the right time. We were just about to head back inside to see if the commotion is still going on. Choji's inside too."

"Barbecue at this time in the morning?" Karui asked, eyebrow raised. "Just what kind of commotion are we talking about here…"

Temari had to think of the best way she could possibly equate the experience. Only one thought came to mind. "Hypothetically speaking, what would you do if someone wanted you to get married to Omoi?"

"That would be one very suicidal bastard." Karui muttered, eyes slanting dangerously. "Is someone being a suicidal bastard?"

"Well, not in regards to you. It regards to Ino though, the vernacular is plural." Temari replied, arm slung around Karui as they headed into the eatery.

Karui raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like fun…"

"We need to get our kicks some how." Temari said, though her voice carried that heavy and concerned undercurrent once again. "Honestly though, it's time we start shaking the cobwebs out around here."

"This is bad news." Shikamaru was sure of it, and he followed them inside half hoping Choji could contain Karui, because he knew there was no keeping Temari out of the fray.