Fanfic: The Office, Part 2
Title: The Office, Part 2/?
Author: meepers369
Summary: AU. Ino can’t help but feel miffed regarding Shikamaru’s duty to escort the Chicago representative around the office.
Part 1
In the next few weeks, Temari was everywhere in the office, watching, asking countless questions, and constantly scribbling in her monster of a notebook. Shikamaru lagged behind her like a shadow, patiently answering the questions that Temari would often ask. In fact, her questions often tended to criticize rather than for the purpose of observing and learning.
“She asked me how Tsunade ever let me dye my hair pink,” Sakura drily told Ino over lunch. “Doesn’t that bright color distract others in the workplace? I told her it was what contributed to the cheery atmosphere.” Ino giggled.
“Her hair is the strange one,” said Ino. “Though I do have to admit, your pinkness does distract me when I’m on your floor, it’s like a beacon, calling out, come to me, gossip with me…”
“Shut up!” Sakura laughed, swirling the smoothie in her hand. “She also questioned Shizune’s taste in table décor. ‘The pig plushies are very cute…but are they really necessary? Shouldn’t your worktable be simplified to best facilitate work?’ You should have seen Shizune’s face! She had no idea how to answer that one. Shikamaru had to pull her away!”
“Ha! Pulling her away? Shikamaru always knew how to be smooth with girls,” Ino remarked. Sakura smiled knowingly.
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“Human resources was interesting today,” Chouji told Ino the next afternoon. “You should have seen how excited Gai was to have a new face in the department. He and Lee did their whole ‘Dynamic Duo Welcome’ and startled the poor girl so badly that she slapped them. I don’t think she’s ever seen so much excitement in her life!” Ino gasped in disbelief, then laughed.
“She actually slapped them? I wish I was there to see that!” Gai and Lee were certainly very…overly enthusiastic to the point of being annoying sometimes, but to actually hit them? They were sweet people, especially that Lee, and everyone in the office loved them (after a while). Ino still kept that painstakingly-made paper bouquet from her promotion party the two had thrown for her on her desk.
“Oh, she apologized right afterwards, of course, and was really embarrassed, the poor girl. Gai and Lee of course took no offense, and took her on the Grand Tour around our little office areas and even took her into our Grand Meeting Room and told her about the Grand Plans for the next Super Secret But Totally Cool Company Excellence Event.”
“So what are the Grand Plans?” Ino asked teasingly. Chouji only shaked his head, smiling.
“You won’t even be able to ask Shikamaru what went on in there,” he told her. “Gai made him stand outside, made Temari ‘swear to the super secretness upon the honor of the saints of secrets’ to keep everything said inside a secret. She took him very seriously.” Chouji’s voice turned more serious. “I quite like that about her.”
“Really? What do you mean?” Ino asked curiously. Chouji was very observant, especially regarding people. She always loved to hear his opinions, which were always as invaluable insights on each individual.
“Well, she is very serious about her work-you can tell she’s a hard worker. She’s very thorough, stays calm, collected, and cool, has a very professional attitude about everything. It’s easy to see how she brought the Chicago branch so far, just being around and talking to her makes you want to work harder to match her level. I guess talking to her, she just gives off such a professional and serious aura, that you can’t help but be more serious about work, too. But…” Chouji shaked his head.
“She’s a little too serious. It’s as if she forgot how to enjoy herself.” Chouji paused. “Shikamaru said they’ll be going to sales tomorrow. Naruto will probably soften her up a bit, he’s got a strange way with people.”
“Naruto?” Ino exclaimed doubtfully. “More like, she’d hit him too! Well, I guess he’s not as excitable as Gai or Lee.” Chouji just laughed.
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“That Temari girl came by sales today.” Tenten, Ino’s roommate, looked exhausted. Ino hastily heated up a few things in the microwave for Tenten, who had home much later than Ino from working overtime. “And as soon as she came, she just had to tick off Naruto. ‘How could you let the noise level be so high here?’ she asked. ‘Especially that loud blonde there, he’s particularly distracting.’ After that, Naruto, would be louder on purpose, just to annoy her. And Kiba just laughed and laughed and laughed…” Tenten sighed, and nodded gratefully when Ino placed her dinner in front of her.
“She insisted on tagging along to a sales pitch. Naruto had to pipe up and say, ‘Come with me then, and see how it’s done!’ I was ordered to follow along, to make sure nothing went wrong. And of course Kiba was there, since those two always work in a pair. And of course Shikamaru went along, too. What a mess of a day!”
“No more messy than a regular day for you, then,” said Ino cheerfully. “After all, no one is better than you at soothing messes, aren’t you?”
“Thanks.” Tenten grinned. “You better watch out, though, I hear your department’s next on the stop.”
------
True to Tenten’s statement, Temari came the next day to the marketing department where Ino was at her bossiest best, catching typos at a distance while sending interns flying for a reprint on that new advertisement. Temari strode in briskly, with Shikamaru lagging like a shadow behind. Ino noted, with slight satisfaction, that he looked even more annoyed than the first day. Not that she resented him for spending so much time with Temari or anything. It was just unfair that he’d missed their afternoon meeting for three days straight, thus he deserved any misery that came with that.
“Hello, Ms. Yamanaka.” Temari sat in Ino’s small office, back perfectly straight, hands folded neatly on the notebook in her lap. Shikamaru slouched in a nearby chair. “I’ve come here to observe your department today, if you don’t mind the intrusion.”
“Hello, Temari. Hey Shika.” Ino smiled brightly. Temari let the smallest of smiles peek out in return, while Shikamaru nodded in acknowledgement. He then promptly turned to observe a fern that was beside him. Ino felt her cheeks puffing in annoyance, but schooled her features.
Chouji was right, Ino thought. Temari did give off quite a strong professional aura. Ino felt her back straighten. “Of course you can come and intrude. You’ll probably be running around a lot, though, if you want to follow me. And please, call me Ino.” Temari nodded curtly at that, then allowed her eyes to wander about the office. Ino relaxed slightly without Temari’s eyes piercing her. She is a little too serious, thought Ino.
“You have a pig plushie, too,” Temari remarked. Ino started at that statement. “And many pig-themed office supplies on your desk…is this a common theme in this branch? Does it help to have common themes at workstations?” She looked at Ino, waiting calmly for an answer. Ino felt herself straightening up again.
She’s seriously asking me this question, Ino thought in amazement. How am I supposed to answer that? Ino glanced at Shikamaru, hoping for some help. He looked up from the fern he was observing, and shrugged.
“Er…not really. Shizune and I are just both really fond of pigs, I guess. My family always had a long affinity with pigs, while she has a pet pig, named TonTon. Or maybe it’s actually Tsunade’s, but Shizune takes care of it. We’re not allowed to have pets in the office, though, so she has that plushie for here, I guess…” Ino trailed off. She realized she was babbling. Temari, however, didn’t seem to notice, and nodded seriously at her explanation. She seemed to be in deep thought. Ino again marveled at Chouji’s observations.
“Well, I have a meeting with my creative team in 5 minutes, so if you would like to come along…?” Temari nodded and stood up. Ino did the same, walking to the door, and was about to open it when Shikamaru quickly jumped up to hold it open for the two ladies. Ino smiled awkwardly in acknowledgement and walked out, feeling slightly foolish.
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Notes: I'm really getting fond of this office-universe I've created, planning out what department each person should go into. Which is slightly difficult, since I've never actually been in an office setting before, haha. If there are any mistakes in this poor, un-beta'd fic, please point them out to me.
Anyway, next time, a little from Shikamaru's perspective. :D
Author: meepers369
Summary: AU. Ino can’t help but feel miffed regarding Shikamaru’s duty to escort the Chicago representative around the office.
Part 1
In the next few weeks, Temari was everywhere in the office, watching, asking countless questions, and constantly scribbling in her monster of a notebook. Shikamaru lagged behind her like a shadow, patiently answering the questions that Temari would often ask. In fact, her questions often tended to criticize rather than for the purpose of observing and learning.
“She asked me how Tsunade ever let me dye my hair pink,” Sakura drily told Ino over lunch. “Doesn’t that bright color distract others in the workplace? I told her it was what contributed to the cheery atmosphere.” Ino giggled.
“Her hair is the strange one,” said Ino. “Though I do have to admit, your pinkness does distract me when I’m on your floor, it’s like a beacon, calling out, come to me, gossip with me…”
“Shut up!” Sakura laughed, swirling the smoothie in her hand. “She also questioned Shizune’s taste in table décor. ‘The pig plushies are very cute…but are they really necessary? Shouldn’t your worktable be simplified to best facilitate work?’ You should have seen Shizune’s face! She had no idea how to answer that one. Shikamaru had to pull her away!”
“Ha! Pulling her away? Shikamaru always knew how to be smooth with girls,” Ino remarked. Sakura smiled knowingly.
---------------
“Human resources was interesting today,” Chouji told Ino the next afternoon. “You should have seen how excited Gai was to have a new face in the department. He and Lee did their whole ‘Dynamic Duo Welcome’ and startled the poor girl so badly that she slapped them. I don’t think she’s ever seen so much excitement in her life!” Ino gasped in disbelief, then laughed.
“She actually slapped them? I wish I was there to see that!” Gai and Lee were certainly very…overly enthusiastic to the point of being annoying sometimes, but to actually hit them? They were sweet people, especially that Lee, and everyone in the office loved them (after a while). Ino still kept that painstakingly-made paper bouquet from her promotion party the two had thrown for her on her desk.
“Oh, she apologized right afterwards, of course, and was really embarrassed, the poor girl. Gai and Lee of course took no offense, and took her on the Grand Tour around our little office areas and even took her into our Grand Meeting Room and told her about the Grand Plans for the next Super Secret But Totally Cool Company Excellence Event.”
“So what are the Grand Plans?” Ino asked teasingly. Chouji only shaked his head, smiling.
“You won’t even be able to ask Shikamaru what went on in there,” he told her. “Gai made him stand outside, made Temari ‘swear to the super secretness upon the honor of the saints of secrets’ to keep everything said inside a secret. She took him very seriously.” Chouji’s voice turned more serious. “I quite like that about her.”
“Really? What do you mean?” Ino asked curiously. Chouji was very observant, especially regarding people. She always loved to hear his opinions, which were always as invaluable insights on each individual.
“Well, she is very serious about her work-you can tell she’s a hard worker. She’s very thorough, stays calm, collected, and cool, has a very professional attitude about everything. It’s easy to see how she brought the Chicago branch so far, just being around and talking to her makes you want to work harder to match her level. I guess talking to her, she just gives off such a professional and serious aura, that you can’t help but be more serious about work, too. But…” Chouji shaked his head.
“She’s a little too serious. It’s as if she forgot how to enjoy herself.” Chouji paused. “Shikamaru said they’ll be going to sales tomorrow. Naruto will probably soften her up a bit, he’s got a strange way with people.”
“Naruto?” Ino exclaimed doubtfully. “More like, she’d hit him too! Well, I guess he’s not as excitable as Gai or Lee.” Chouji just laughed.
------------
“That Temari girl came by sales today.” Tenten, Ino’s roommate, looked exhausted. Ino hastily heated up a few things in the microwave for Tenten, who had home much later than Ino from working overtime. “And as soon as she came, she just had to tick off Naruto. ‘How could you let the noise level be so high here?’ she asked. ‘Especially that loud blonde there, he’s particularly distracting.’ After that, Naruto, would be louder on purpose, just to annoy her. And Kiba just laughed and laughed and laughed…” Tenten sighed, and nodded gratefully when Ino placed her dinner in front of her.
“She insisted on tagging along to a sales pitch. Naruto had to pipe up and say, ‘Come with me then, and see how it’s done!’ I was ordered to follow along, to make sure nothing went wrong. And of course Kiba was there, since those two always work in a pair. And of course Shikamaru went along, too. What a mess of a day!”
“No more messy than a regular day for you, then,” said Ino cheerfully. “After all, no one is better than you at soothing messes, aren’t you?”
“Thanks.” Tenten grinned. “You better watch out, though, I hear your department’s next on the stop.”
------
True to Tenten’s statement, Temari came the next day to the marketing department where Ino was at her bossiest best, catching typos at a distance while sending interns flying for a reprint on that new advertisement. Temari strode in briskly, with Shikamaru lagging like a shadow behind. Ino noted, with slight satisfaction, that he looked even more annoyed than the first day. Not that she resented him for spending so much time with Temari or anything. It was just unfair that he’d missed their afternoon meeting for three days straight, thus he deserved any misery that came with that.
“Hello, Ms. Yamanaka.” Temari sat in Ino’s small office, back perfectly straight, hands folded neatly on the notebook in her lap. Shikamaru slouched in a nearby chair. “I’ve come here to observe your department today, if you don’t mind the intrusion.”
“Hello, Temari. Hey Shika.” Ino smiled brightly. Temari let the smallest of smiles peek out in return, while Shikamaru nodded in acknowledgement. He then promptly turned to observe a fern that was beside him. Ino felt her cheeks puffing in annoyance, but schooled her features.
Chouji was right, Ino thought. Temari did give off quite a strong professional aura. Ino felt her back straighten. “Of course you can come and intrude. You’ll probably be running around a lot, though, if you want to follow me. And please, call me Ino.” Temari nodded curtly at that, then allowed her eyes to wander about the office. Ino relaxed slightly without Temari’s eyes piercing her. She is a little too serious, thought Ino.
“You have a pig plushie, too,” Temari remarked. Ino started at that statement. “And many pig-themed office supplies on your desk…is this a common theme in this branch? Does it help to have common themes at workstations?” She looked at Ino, waiting calmly for an answer. Ino felt herself straightening up again.
She’s seriously asking me this question, Ino thought in amazement. How am I supposed to answer that? Ino glanced at Shikamaru, hoping for some help. He looked up from the fern he was observing, and shrugged.
“Er…not really. Shizune and I are just both really fond of pigs, I guess. My family always had a long affinity with pigs, while she has a pet pig, named TonTon. Or maybe it’s actually Tsunade’s, but Shizune takes care of it. We’re not allowed to have pets in the office, though, so she has that plushie for here, I guess…” Ino trailed off. She realized she was babbling. Temari, however, didn’t seem to notice, and nodded seriously at her explanation. She seemed to be in deep thought. Ino again marveled at Chouji’s observations.
“Well, I have a meeting with my creative team in 5 minutes, so if you would like to come along…?” Temari nodded and stood up. Ino did the same, walking to the door, and was about to open it when Shikamaru quickly jumped up to hold it open for the two ladies. Ino smiled awkwardly in acknowledgement and walked out, feeling slightly foolish.
---------------
Notes: I'm really getting fond of this office-universe I've created, planning out what department each person should go into. Which is slightly difficult, since I've never actually been in an office setting before, haha. If there are any mistakes in this poor, un-beta'd fic, please point them out to me.
Anyway, next time, a little from Shikamaru's perspective. :D