The Party- Chapter 1
This has been sitting with me for many years now, waiting for me to review and polish it. I'm just now getting around to posting it, because at this point, I don't care if people know I like Naruto or not. Am I a super fan? No. Do I enjoy it on occasion now that I am in my 20's? Yes. Did I watch it on Cartoon Network every week when I was 13 and freak out over this ship? ABSOLUTLEY! I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!
Any way… I'm going to leave this here and see how it does this week. If I feel like people like it, I will post the next bit. Thanks for stopping by! xoxo
Summary: Shikamaru meets Temari at a party for the Chunin exams and this is where things blossom.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, but this plot line.
I always hated days like this.
The sun shone down in my eyes. Sweat rolled off my neck and brow and down my back. Breathing heavily, I looked up at the crystal clear, bright blue sky. There was a light breeze, and the trees around me rustled softly. I was standing in the middle of my regular training field taking a short break, too lazy to sit. It truly was a beautiful day, but this day turned out to be much more troublesome than I had originally planned.
What I hated so much about days like this, was the fact that they were indeed very peaceful days, but I was kept too busy to relax and enjoy them.
"What'dya stop for, Shikamaru?" Choji called in my direction. I could hear the annoyance in his voice. Apparently he had the energy to keep going.
"Hey, let's take a quick snack break." I said, reeling him in easily.
"Yeah, sure!" Much better, I thought as he jogged over to me. I knew Choji would never pass up a chance to eat.
My friend and my sensei both joined me where I stood in the sun and we sat together. Choji pulled bags of chips from out of nowhere and passed one to Asuma- sensei and one to me.
"Calling it quits so soon, huh?" asked the baritone to my right.
"Uhg, why do we have to train on an amazing day like this? It's way too nice to be training today," I complained to him. I should be grateful for the extra help before the final round of the chunin exams, but seriously though? This was a drag.
"You ought to learn how to use your shadows in all kinds of situations, even on a bright day like today. You can't always count on the fact that you can use the shadows around you to feed off of. I thought today would be a good day to see what you could come up with, considering there aren't a whole lot of shadows to start with."
Asuma gave me the same speech I'd always heard, from both him and my dad.
"Yeah, yeah..." I sighed, taking my chance to munch on some chips.
After our break, we all got back up and began training again. The break wasn't nearly long enough, in my opinion, but then again there weren't any clouds to sit and watch so it didn't matter all that much anyway.
By the end of our training for the day I pulled a pretty cool stunt turning my jacket into a parachute to extend the reach of my shadow paralysis jutsu. Asuma was impressed at least.
All of this training was defiantly paying off. I could tell the reach of my shadow was getting longer every day we trained. Choji noticed also; I was getting harder for him to avoid when he transformed into the human pinball... oh, excuse me, "boulder".
As we were leaving the field, Choji wasn't shy about asking for food. "Please Asuma- sensei? We did really well today!"
Asuma laughed and agreed, "You sure did. I suppose a nice meal wouldn't hurt." He patted his pockets, checking for his wallet. Choji was going to eat him out of house and home one of these days.
"YES!" Choji screamed in victory. Asuma and I laughed at his reaction. His excitement for food was nothing compared to his excitement for free food.
We went to our usual barbecue joint and sat at our regular table. With all of this extra training, there has been lots of extra eating. The owners know us by name now, but I can't quite tell if they are happy to see us walk in or dreading our frequent visits. I suppose it depends on if they've had a meat delivery recently or if they are due for one.
Half way into enjoying our meal, we were interrupted by a familiar, female voice coming in through the open window.
Looking to my left, I saw my other teammate, Ino. "Hey guys," she greeted happily.
"Shikamaru, I have something for you." Ino didn't hesitate. She seemed so excited to hand me an envelope. A big smile was stretched across her features, like she knew something I didn't. She likes to think that she does all of the time, but this time it seemed legitimate.
"Thanks. What's it for?" I asked cautiously. The embossed envelope had my name printed on it in careful handwriting. The ink was still fresh. Must have been written this morning...
Asuma laughed in the booth across from me. "I think I have an idea. Ino, do you have a minute? Come in and join us."
When Ino took her seat next to me and ordered a drink for herself, I opened the letter.
"Well?" Ino asked impatiently. "What's it say?"
"It's an invitation from Lord Hokage. He's inviting me, as one of the finalists of the chunin exams... uhg! No way! This is going to be a drag. Is this serious Asuma-sensei?" I put my head down on the table, totally depressed with my new situation.
"Wait! What does it say? Is that what I think it is?" Ino was chattering just as much as I was complaining about my fancy new invite.
Asuma laughed heartily at us. "Yes, Ino, it is."
"Hahahahaha! I knew it! You're sooooo lucky! Oh my gosh!" Ino spazzed like a little girl on Christmas.
"Wait, I'm lost. What have you been invited to? If it's from the Hokage, then it important right?" Choji interrupted Ino's female preteen excitement.
"You're right, Choji," Asuma answered. "Shikamaru has been invited to a formal dinner party hosted by Lord Hokage in the Hokage Mansion for all of the chunin exam finalists. It's just one of many parties that is thrown during this time of year in honor of the exams. Shikamaru is groaning about the formality of it, I am sure."
"Yeah, I'd be groaning too. Why is some dinner party so important anyway? What kind of dinner party do you host for a bunch of tweens?"
"Good question." Choji was on my side and Ino glared at him.
"I can't believe you two don't appreciate an experience like this. You get to dress to impress and go out and I think you even get to bring a date" Ino snatched the invitation out of my hands and read it over.
I inwardly gulped and sweatdropped a little bit. No way. That was way to troublesome. "A date?" I asked, looking at Asuma.
"A 'plus 1'. Totally optional. When I was your age, the only lady I could've ever thought about bringing was my mother and that would've embarrassed me to Hell and back." Asuma assured me that I was off the hook.
"OHMYGOSH! For real!? That means Sasuke is going to go! And there is no reason a cutie like him should go alone!" Ino sat next to me fangirling her head off. I covered my ears with my hands to show my annoyance, but she continued. My teammate suddenly stood and excused herself.
"I have to go find him right now, before Billboard Brow gets to him, and..."
"You're going to ask him to a party you weren't even invited to?" Ino glared daggers at me as I revealed the major flaw in her budding plan.
"No! I'm going to find him and ask him if he's asked anyone yet, or if he has anyone that he is considering..."
I raised an eyebrow at her, "And then? You do realize that he might not have even received his invitation yet."
"Ugh, Shikamaru, you ruin everything." Ino huffed at me as she took her seat again. At least she could be talked to her senses before she does something dumb, unlike other women.
"Are you kidding me? You're upset about this? Tomorrow find him, bat your eyes a few times and get him to ask you somehow. You actually want to go. Remind me again, why is it so important that I go?"
"Okay, think about it this way," Asuma said. "This is a chance for you to gather more information on the people you will be fighting in the final rounds. You got to see everyone fight in the preliminaries, but now you can talk about motives and personal things that might help you further develop your strategies. If you asked the Lord Hokage himself he would give you this whole speech about promoting international cooperation and making friends, and that is partially true. There will be feudal lords and ladys; the Kages whose villages sent exam participants will likely make an appearance, especially if they have finalists. It's not just about you gathering info, if that makes you feel any better. There will be business discussed, trade agreements and all of that fun stuff."
Asuma paused to take a long drink from his glass, "You know, with the amount of leaf genin that have advanced this year, it's pretty much a bragging opportunity for us, if you want to think about it that way."
"Great, that takes the pressure off," I mumbled.
"Sorry about your luck, but you might find that you enjoy yourself. You never know." Asuma said.
"Yeah, Shika, keep an open mind. You could have some fun," Ino dropped her opinion in aswell.
"I don't see how. This will be a drag for sure. What am I even supposed to wear to something like this if I have to impress a bunch of people?" I inquired out loud.
I'd never been the kind to care what people thought about me or my appearance, but if the Hokage is going to be bragging about me, likely dropping the family name... Well, I think it'd be best, in the long run, if I put my best foot forward, even if it was going to be a total drag.
"Well, I don't think anyone expects you to own a suit, so a shirt and tie, slacks and dress shoes. You can wear a jacket if you want to, but it's not required. Make yourself presentable, but not overly uncomfortable. It's not too hard..." Asuma-sensei was trying to make it sound as painless as possible, but I wrinkled my nose anyway.
"Okay," Ino said handing back my invitation. "You show this to your mom and tell her I'll be over tomorrow after dinner. We'll pick out what you wear, so you don't make a fool of yourself."
"Uhg, great." With that said, I decided to end the conversation about any outfit picking by stuffing my face with barbeque.