A/N: Yes, I know I need to update, so here is a quick chapter.

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A/N: Sorry if it's a bit short.

Started: August 07, 2005

Draft Finished: August 07, 2005

Fiction: Continuation

Rated: PG-13

Disclaimer: The character and names of Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi-sensei. The plot belongs to me.

Anime: Naruto

Pairings: SasuSaku, NaruHina, NejiTen, InoShika

Genre: Romance/Mystery

Summary: An AU fanfic. What happens when four young female bartenders are caught in a murder scene, making them all suspects of a cop case? Drinks all around because its . . .

"Happy Hour"

Chapter Fourteen: Filler Within a Filler

Troublesome Days

-Slurp-

Steam rose up from the bowl of noodles, fogging the contents in the soup. Inch by inch, the long slippery noodles were slurped up in a couple of breaths. Bells rang, demanding service from the people bustling non-stop from behind the counters. More pots were put to simmer, filling the air with the mouth-watering broth.

"Ano sa, ano sa, old man! Another bowl!" The owner grunted in response and turned his head toward the pots. Within seconds, he placed a large bowl of miso soup ramen in front of his best customer. The hot broth swished near the edge of the bowl, revealing the toppings of seaweed, bits of tofu, eggs, crab in shapes of tiny gears with a spiral pattern on both sides. "Thank you," he said in between eating and smiling. The old man shook his head and took another order from the spinning rack as he returned to the back. Some things never change.

"Is the idiot back from lunch yet?" Drawled a tired voice. He didn't recieve an answer. Instead, he faced a couple of dead beat cops who were wandering around with moutainous piles of paper work and take-out boxes. Sighing, the male walked toward the big office, not bother to knock as he entered. "Uzumaki is not back yet."

"Did you try his cell phone?" The Uchiha challenged. Shikamaru rubbed his left eye and yawned as if he was bored. "Try again, then."

"If the first three time does not work, why bother with the rest?" Turning to leave, the Nara didn't wait for an answer from his rethorical question. It was not his job to babysit Naruto. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he headed straight to his office, hoping to take a quiet nap. If he does not get some shut-eye, he was going to be grumpy. And no one at the station wanted a grumpy Shikamaru, especially before an important mission.

"You," he pointed to the Hyuuga in the room. "Once the perimeter is surrounded and secured, keep the squad in check." The stotic male nodded and the speaker turned his attention to the majority in the room. "Make sure the target arrives on time and request back up if there is any signs of trouble. The back up team will be in the back, a few feet away. Once the target is in place, Plan A, will be accomplished. But if we manage to fuck up something as simple as this, Plan B will commence without hesitation." He stopped and looked at the people in the room. "Any questions?" No one in the room raised their hands. "Good, now be prepared. This mission will take place today and if anyone screws up, I'll never live to hear the end of it." The sound of shuffling feet made its way to Shikamru's ears and he pinched the bridge between his nose. "God, this is troublesome. Are you ready to watch this get fucked up?" He asked Neji, who was the only one in the room.

"Count on it," was the reply he recieved.

The pen twirled from his forefinger and ended in between his ring and pinky as he started the process over again with a flick of his thumb. Soft melodies coming from the radio he had in his room filled the calm atmosphere with wonder, the wonder he had in his mind for the moment. Judging from the paper work from on his desk, he would say that the station was being busy lately. Abandoning the pen completely, Kakkashi took the apple off his desk and tossed it into the air. There was nothing holding it back and gravity brought it back down as he caught it in the palm of his hand. Resistance is not a easy thing.

"Where the hell have you been?" Shikamaru demanded. The blond rubbed the back of his wide head, pastering a goofy smile on his face.

"I lost track of time and kind of trailed off from duty," he explained. "Sorry."

"Whatever," the man with the spiky hair gave an expassive sigh. "Just stay in your office today. Details of tonight's mission are on your desk, so make sure you review them thoroughly." Naruto gave a mock salute and a 'yes, sir' before heading off to his office. "Why do I even bother?" His question was left hanging in the air as he gave out another deep sigh.

"Is the check list done, yet?"

"Yes," the Uchiha answered.

"Perimeter and communication in place?"

"Affirmative," said Neji.

"Target?" He recieved no response. Pressing the end button of the transmitter, he repeated himself. "Damnit," he swore. "Uchiha, where the hell is Uzumaki?"

"I'm not his babysitter." Shikamaru slammed down his hand, making a sharp sound on his desk. "And you choose NOW to tell me? Fucking hell, this mission is important! Go find him!"

"Pay fucking attention, Uzumaki because I am only going to explain this ONCE!" The Nara looked at the duck-taped moron, thanking God that men actually made a useful invention. Tied up from the uppers arms to his ankles, Naruto sat quietly in his chair with his buldging blue eyes screaming 'let me go'.

"You should record it, just in case," said Neji, his voice filled with sarcasm. Shikamaru ignored him and pointed to the board.

"The target will be arriving here," he slammed the pointer to the red dot. "There are two routes he can take to arrive at the scene. Since there are a total of eight exits, the closest one needs to be secured. He will most likely take this one." This time the pointer landed on a green dot. "Your job is to keep track of the target in case he makes a change in his rountine. Report immediately when the change is made, got it?" The blond nodded once. "Good, now get ready."

It was one of the darkest night he has seen in days, months even. Whistling, the man walked casually from his car and went to the entrance, pushing the heavy glass door as he set his foot into the building. Lights turned down dimly, the man followed the trail of lights toward the end of the hall. Opening it, he was greeted with a huge: "SURPRISED!" Lights were flickered on and his vision was filled with bright confetti. Balloons surrounded the room with streamers hanging from the ceiling to the ground, oh hell, it was a party. But it was not just an party. It was a surprise party for him.

A hand landed on his shoulder.

"You better enjoy this," the man turned to the speaker. Blowing a ring of smoke, Asuma pushed him to the crowd. "My student went through hell and back trying to plan this." Grabbing a cup of what seems to be spiked tropical punch, he drown it in one gulp. "Oh and Kakashi, happy birthday!" Asuma could barely hear the silver haired man chuckle.

"How troublesome," said a voice behind Asuma. "All that work and he was not even surprised." His teacher placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Ah, don't worry." He pulled the cigarette from his mouth and blew out a puff of smoke. "There's always next year."

"Just what I need," Shikamaru rubbed his temples, "more stress."

"Every one have their troublesome days, kid." They watched Kakashi walking up to the tied up Naruto. To him, that was the best present he'll ever ask for. Hell, it would be the best present the world has to offer. Imagine Naruto being quiet for one measely hour. Like that is going to happen, unless you have several rolls of duck tape on hand. Shikamru still questions why anyone like Neji will have more than enough duck tape hidden in his desk.

"Whatever," the Nara sighed. "It's your turn next year, you know."

"Sure it is," his mentor answered. A large grin was on his face as his student glares at him. Knowing his teacher, Shikamaru knew it was not going to happen.

"If you want to bribe Naruto into planning Kakashi's birthday surprise party next year, you have another thing coming," he warned.

"Please, all I need is a bowl of ramen. Hmm," Asuma rubbed his chin. "Is his favorite flavor still miso soup?" Shikamaru did not answer him and took off.

"You're cheating," he said and that was all he needed to say to shut his mentor up. This was definiately the last time he will ever pity his mentor. Next time, he is going to make sure that he will not purposely lose a game of shougi, no matter how long Asuma begged. With a last glance at Kakakshi ripping the piece of duct tape off of Naruto's mouth with a glee expression on his face, Shikamaru groaned. Now, he is never going to hear the end it. This was certainly one of thosetoublesome days indeed.

A/N: Well, this chapter is dedicated to Kakshi's birthday (I know I'm two days late!) and also, I woud like to say that this story is being discontinued until farther notice. Although I had all summer to at least write a couple of chapters, I couldn't write them because I knew they would just suck. So, hopefully, I will have more luck next year. This will be the last update of this year. I'm sorry that I have to do this, but I only had two options to either put this story on hiatus or abandon it completely. After careful considerations, I decided to keep this story. Everything I've written is in my head and not always planned out. Hell, it's not even on paper for the matter. I know how I want this story to end, and this story is no where half done yet, just to let you all know. I have more things to say, but I guess I will stop there. If you want any updates on my stories, check out my profile. Please excuse my grammar and spelling mistakes. Review with any thoughts you might have about my writing. Constructive criticism is welcomed as long as it's in an intelligent manner.

Thank you for reading!