Ino hates the rain.
She sits with her comrades beside her, watching the sun shine brightly on their once darkened village. A warm breeze passes by, and Ino tucks the loose ends of her hair behind her ear, fluttering her eyelashes. She thinks that the rain is a terrible thing when it comes over Konoha. The sun is bright and cheerful, and the rain—well, the rain reminds her of things she would rather not remember.
"Ino, you know how to take care of yourself, but Shikamaru and Choji are clumsy, take care of them…"
She doesn't see the rain as this beautiful, elusive thing of nature that renews life. Ino sees the rain as a sign of sadness and death.
"You should be proud." She tells her boys. "We did it."
Shikamaru looks at his friend and run this fingers through her hair. "Ino, please don't look at us like that." He said. Because Shikamaru knows that Ino is lying, and being proud of such terrible things is a lie.
He pulls out a lighter from his back pocket and ignites a cigar.
"I knew….I knew I'd hate smoking."
Shikamaru hates the rain.
The clouds he loves to watch disappear and blend in with the other clouds. He knows just as well as Ino, that the rain is not this beautiful force of nature. It is sad and bleak, and he wishes it never rains ever again.
"I'll tell you who the king is."
Ino catches his hand and laces it with hers, not sure why or if she has another motive behind the small gesture. She just knows that together with her two boys, things will carry on and be alright. She knows that they will carry on a new generation together and find a way to fight through the rain.
"Ino, you're not happy are you?" Choji asks, looking at her face. He see's a flash of sorrow and doubt in her blue eyes.
"We're here. We're together, and we're the luckiest team out there." He adds.
Choji loves the rain.
It brings life to a dry land. It feels cool across his skin, and washes away all the dried up blood from his hands. The rain is a beautiful thing. It is bright and renewing.
When the rain falls, Choji I is happy because he remembers the day his teacher—his best friend, reminds him that he is a shinobi. It reminds him of the day his sensei acknowledged his pride to his students, and to him. Oh how wonderful the rain is! How refreshing and soft it feels on this skin!
"And that is why you'll become a stronger ninja than anyone!"
Team ten sits on the top of an old abandoned building watching their renewed city build over again. Sin and sadness was washed away, and they somewhat sit contently with each other. "But she's right Shikamaru. We should be proud. Asuma is proud." He says, feelings the warmth of the sun.
"The war is over, and the sun is shining on us. .." He whispers. "Finally."