Juicy Gossip, a Naruto fanfiction

A/N: (i) Standard disclaimer applies. (ii) I might have insomnia, now that I think about it.

Part VII - N. Shikamaru (3rd person)

They were always at loggerheads against each other so the news the cheer squad has spread is nothing unusual. If anything, it is almost considered a daily occurrence, old news. He scratched my head and resisted the urge to yawn through first period Chemistry. Maybe I should skip today...

. . .

Acting like a citizen suffering from low blood pressure does not mean that he is blind to everything he sees. Au contraire, his eyes soak in the sight and evaluates what he has seen. Past and present gathers in his mind, akin to solving a puzzle or piecing together a jigsaw, and he understands. Shikamaru can understand the scene.

Like in his deceased teacher's wife's case...

. . .

Yūhi Kurenai sat inside the warm and homely cafe, nursing a cup of coffee in her palms while eying her child in the pram. Despite being a workaholic, she was on maternal leave.

Shikamaru figures that St. Leaves Principal had filled in that slip for her. Probably firmly claiming that after her pregnancy and childbirth, she had not took time off to bond with her child.

. . .

Shikamaru laid down on the lush green grass, his skin tingling with the slightly downy sensation of feathers. He was close enough to the park not to be drowned should the water level rise, but was far enough from the park and its share of troubles -like Tenten and Neji. He'd much prefer solitary cloud watching than listening in on their 'withheld' conversation.

. . .

There was a violent shaking going through his very core. He briefly wonders if it was an earthquake, and decided that it would be too troublesome to get up since he would get buried under debris and rubble.

The persistent shaking continued, much more violently this time round. Shikamaru blinked his eyes open reluctantly and registered -perhaps a beat too late- that his cloud watching has turned to dozing.

"Shikamaru! I need your help!" a familiar sharp voice cut through the fog clouding his mind. Haruno Sakura, he thinks, and frowned. He knows what the cherry-headed girl wants, and she would most probably hurt him whether he chooses to give it up or not, but what really riled him up is that he got stuck in such a situation in the first place.

Reluctantly, he rolled over his other side to face the pink-haired menace and drawled, "What do you want?"

"What do I want? What do I want?! Is that all you can say after you witnessed today's commotion?!" His client shrieked into his ear. His fingers started to itch for a cigarette.

"Fine. So you want revenge on Ino? How can I assist you?" he voices out, monotone, but with a hint of aggravation.

"Yes. I need you to set up Ino so she'll go on a date with Kiba. Whatever she says, the Queen Sow's obviously ashamed of being coupled with Dog-boy."

He needed a cigarette now, he thinks.

The siren continued, "I came here for help as a client. I can pay the price." The way she had said it so smoothly, she made it sound like a fact -that there is nothing in the world she didn't have. Fame, fortune, looks. Haruno Sakura has all of those.

So troublesome, so predictable. The sooner he gets this over with, the better. He thinks. A cigar fix, I could use one right now.

"Alright. Message me the details later." He paused for a moment to think for the 'price', what Ino would want to 'return' to Sakura. "Lee got injured and is in the hospital. You know what to do."

By the satisfied look on her face, a sigh of relief escaped him. Now for some cloud watching, undisturbed.

TBC

~Ms O c t o b e r
(I'm quick like that. *wink*)