Author's note: Yay for FINALLY updating! I started school last week (YUCK!) and my life has been chaotic since. I'm trying to draw character sketches for the "real" Dream Fighters story (I'm planning on turning it into a true story and possibly make it into a comic (MAYBE)...my boss' husband is a comic artist). Also, I've also been into the anime show Ayashi no Ceres (Ceres: Celestial Legend) a lot and even made the necklace that Toya (if you've seen the anime before (or read it), you'll know what I'm talking about (it's the necklace that was Aya's but Ceres gave it to Toya). Yeah...to basically sum it all up...I've been very busy (I still have to make some AMVs and my friend wants me to make him a costume of an anime character (I'm making him be Jiraiya-sama)...grr) and will now be drowning in homework (BLAH!). Because of that, I don't know how often I'll update, but I'll try my best! OH! Thanks to Hinata-and-Naruto for being the 300th reviewer! Anyway, enough of my rambling; onto your reviews:

Heart of pure ruby: Yeah, I like stories like that too. I don't like to give away too much because then my readers won't come back for more ;). Once I finally remember I'll send you a message on YouTube about the picture!

Hinata-and-Naruto: I'm glad you find that Shikamaru and Temari aren't OCC. That means I've done my job well :D.

Once again the stupid line won't work, so this is the breaker between the reviews and story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

The clouds are nice

Chapter 32

"SHIKAMARU!" Temari shouted. "Shikamaru! Please wait up!" She kept following him even though he was trying to ignore her.

Suddenly, Shikamaru stopped and turned to look at Temari. He didn't say anything but kept his hands in his pockets. Temari finally caught up to Shikamaru and placed her hands on his arms.

"What's wrong? You would never leave a situation just like that." Temari concernedly asked.

Shikamaru took his hands out of his pockets and put them on Temari's hips. "I know. That's why I'm going to find Chouji and talk to him." He casually said and kissed Temari on the lips.

Temari was taken back by the sudden kiss but smiled anyway. What an idiot. You never know what he's going to do. "But…but I thought you said you weren't going to go after them?"

"I'm not. Ino is being very troublesome and unusual and I don't like it. Letting someone like Ino control Chouji isn't good. I have to find out what's going on." Shikamaru informed as he let go of Temari.

"Ino! Enough with that bitch! She's been trying to destroy our lives the moment I came back into Konoha. Let her feel some remorse for once." Temari chastised.

Shikamaru held Temari tighter. "Ino and I have been teammates for years. I can't let this thing slide, especially when it involves my best friend. Please understand."

She looked away. "Oh…alright. But don't get too involved in their personal lives. Things are finally starting to clear up and we have a wedding to plan." Temari looked up at him again and strictly advised.

"I know. Chouji's helped me in the past…I feel that I owe him something." Shikamaru kissed Temari on the cheek and continued to walk in the direction he previously was heading.

Shocked and still a little confused, Temari watched Shikamaru walk away from her. There are still some things I don't get about him…or men in general. Temari thought to herself and walked away in the opposite direction.

"What the?" She said when she heard some nearby rustling. Over by some boxes, Temari noticed some movement and pulled out a couple of kunai. I don't know who or what's there, but I'm going to find out. "Come out!" She shouted and threw the kunai's and the hit the boxes with great force.

"AHH!" Kimi screamed and jumped up from behind one of the boxes.

Yuki shook his head and sighed. "You blew our cover, Kimi!"

A vein popped on Temari's forehead as she heavily sighed. "It's just you two. Why the hell are you two hiding behind those boxes?" She hollered.

Damn she's scary! I don't know how Shikamaru-sensei can put up with her! I don't even know why I even wanted to go up against her. Kimi frightfully thought to herself. "Um…well…you see…." She tried to say.

"Please excuse us, Temari-sensei! I can explain," Yuki interrupted. "We were walking by here and heard somebody coming. Since it's almost dark and no one else is around, we got scared and hid behind these boxes to see who exactly it was that was coming."

Temari glared at them but nodded her head anyway in acknowledgement. "If you wish to be excellent ninja's, you mustn't be afraid of anything. You need to be alert at all times," She sighed again and rubbed her head. "But it is good too to not leave yourself open," Her own words hit her hard. "Eh…who am I kidding?"

Kimi looked at Temari and then back at Yuki. He covered for me. He DOES care about me. Not like lying is good, but he did stick up for me. She thought.

"You are right, Temari-sensei. I apologize for Kimi and myself if it seemed as though we were spying." Yuki apologized and bowed.

Kimi almost hesitantly followed Yuki in bowing. But we were spying, ding bat! Ugh…boys will be boys….

"I appreciate the apology," Temari thanked and went over to the boxes and grabbed her kunais. "I should be heading back to the restaurant to retrieve Kankuro. Knowing him and Naruto, they'd still be there. Who knows what that screwball Naruto is doing to him also." Actually, I'm more worried about what Kankuro is doing to Naruto. "See ya."

"Bye." Both Kimi and Yuki said in unison.

Once Temari was out of sight, Kimi turned to Yuki and punched him in the arm. "Idiot! You almost gave us away!"

Yuki immediately turned to her. "Not to start an argument, but I think it was you who screamed when Temari-sensei threw her kunai at us." He restated.

Kimi loudly growled. "Arg…be lucky you're cute!" She warned. "Just walk me home already, will ya?"

Yuki laughed. "Sure." He answered and grabbed her hand.

…Down a few streets from where he was, Shikamaru was still walking around looking for any signs of Chouji and Ino. All of the street lights were on and the sky still had a lingering sign of daylight.

Dammit. Where did they go to in such a hurry? Shikamaru asked himself as he pushed his way through the night crowd of people. There are too many people around to find even a single clue about their whereabouts.

Out of no where Shikamaru heard Ino's loud laughter come from one of the shops nearby. When a small group of people cleared, Shikamaru saw Chouji and Ino sitting down eating some dongo. Finally I found them. He thought and ran up to them.

"Shikamaru?" Chouji quietly said when he saw him approaching.

Ino heard Chouji and turned towards the street. "SHIKAMARU! What are you doing here?" She callously asked.

"I need to talk to Chouji." Shikamaru asked without being phased by Ino's rudeness.

"I'm sure I can hear too what you have to tell Chouji." Ino remarked and ate another piece of her dongo.

"Ino, I'm sure Shikamaru has a very-" Chouji started.

"QUIET!" She snapped.

Shikamaru sighed. This is going to be more troublesome than I thought. "Let it go Ino, Chouji and I need to talk." He said and motioned for Chouji to get up.

"You're interrupting our meal! I'm sure he can talk to you at a later time." Ino folded her arms and glared at Shikamaru.

Chouji didn't say anything but looked back and forth between his two teammates. Ino's being really out of line. I wonder if it's because Temari finally "won" their confrontation. Either way, Ino isn't being herself. He thought.

"I think Chouji can think for himself," Shikamaru started to suggest. "Let him decide what he wants to do."

Chouji felt sweat start to pour down his face. I don't want to make Ino any angrier but talking to Shikamaru could be important too. "Um…I'm sorry Ino…but, I'm going with Shikamaru to see what he wants. It might be important." He excused himself and stood up from the table.

"Fine. I don't care." Ino huffed and looked away from them. Is Shikamaru trying to ruin my life now? First he chooses that bitch Temari over me and now he's taking Chouji away from me. What did I ever do to him?

"What did you want, Shikamaru?" Chouji asked when they were in a more secluded area. Actually, I need to thank him for saving me from Ino. She was being herself.

"I'm concerned about you," Shikamaru began to say. "You know how I am; I'm not concerned about many things. But after seeing you and Ino at the barbeque and how she was acting, it wasn't like you to get into a situation like that."

Chouji looked down at the ground. "I know, but…Ino was really down on herself and I tried to cheer her up and next thing I know she's clung onto me. To tell you the truth…I…."

"What?"

"I…I've loved Ino for some time now but never knew how to go about it with her," Chouji admitted. "She was all about you for the longest time, but I had no hard feelings against you because of it. When Temari came back into your life and saw how you two were, it inspired me to try to take it one step further with Ino."

Shikamaru placed his hands in his pockets and stared up at the sky. The stars were just starting to appear in the sky. He didn't quite know how to respond to Chouji. "Are you sure you want to be this way with Ino? I mean, she's overbearing and completely controlling you." He finally pointed out.

"I know it may seem that way, but Ino's different from that!"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Really now?" He was unconvinced.

"I know she may act some what different around you or Temari, but Ino means well." Chouji defended himself.

"Right." Shikamaru turned around away from his best friend. "Get real, Chouji. She's using you and you're going to get hurt. She'll do whatever it takes to get what she wants. That's just how Ino is."

"You're wrong, Shikamaru!" Chouji protested.

"Huh?" Shikamaru turned back around.

"I know Ino can be self-centered and pushy at times, but those are just her imperfections. All she wants is love and attention! She means well, Shikamaru. I know things didn't go well between you two, but I know she's changed for the better."

Shikamaru closed his eyes and began to think to himself. I've never seen Chouji like this about anyone, especially women. He's a very smart guy and wouldn't let himself get into anything he can't handle. I guess I should've trusted him more. "Ugh…well, I guess there's nothing much I can do now, can I? I should've trusted you more, but…it's Ino. That woman is so troublesome I don't know what to expect from her anymore. If this is what you want, then by all means do it. Just don't get in over your head, alright?"

Chouji smiled. "Yeah. Thanks a lot, Shikamaru."

"Yeah, yeah." Shikamaru mumbled and walked past Chouji.

I really don't think he has any bad feelings for Ino, but I know what he was trying to say. I should've been a bit more cautious. Chouji thought. "Shikamaru!"

"What?" He said and turned around to look at Chouji. "What now?"

"Good…good luck with Temari."

"Thanks." Shikamaru gave a faint smile and continued on his way again.

…"…and that's how you properly pick up women." Kankuro finished saying to Naruto.

Naruto looked inquisitive past Kankuro and held his fingers on his chin. "Very insightful. No wonder I can't get Sakura-chan!"

"What bullshit are you pulling now?" Temari growled and elbowed the top of Kankuro's head. "I swear I can't leave you anywhere! You haven't changed one bit."

"What the hell was that for?" Kankuro turned to Temari and barked.

"Nevermind. I thought you were going back to the Inn?" She asked.

"We were, but numnuts here doesn't know a lick about girls…so I explained it to him."

"It's true!" Naruto defended himself when Temari shot him a glare. "Wait a minute! I know how to get Sakura-chan! I don't need to listen to you! Bye!" Naruto suddenly stated and left.

"I guess you're still scary after all." Kankuro snickered.

"Grow up!" Temari hit her brother again. "C'mon…lets head back to the Inn. I have a lot of crap ahead of me."