AN: So yeah. I've been greatly lacking in the inspiration department lately. But I just finished this bad boy t'other day, which felt good, so here it is. SPOILERs for 328 and beyond
The day after Team Ten-plus-Kakashi returns from their mission, everything changes.
Or at least, that's how it feels.
"Hey! Forehead Girl! Come with me—we're going to make jounin this year!"
Sakura blinks, frozen where she'd been locking her apartment door. "Ino?"
Her friend is standing on the street, one hand on a hip, an unaccustomedly serious look on her face. "You don't want to be a chuunin forever, do you?" Ino asks. "Kurenai-sensei agreed to teach us—Hinata's training with her dad."
"But—"
"We can talk to Hokage-sama about working out your schedule between work and training," Ino goes on, matter-of-fact. "She can't object to you making jounin, after all—"
"Ino, that's…but it takes a full year's training—and I have so much to do—there's Naruto, and Sasuke—"
And now Ino sticks her tongue out. "Betcha we can make it in six months," she says, teasingly. "C'mon, if even a dunce like Naruto is planning on trying, what're we supposed to do?" She folds her arms across her chest as Sakura opens her mouth for another perfectly reasonable objection. "Shut up and walk, Forehead Girl. Kurenai-sensei will be mad if we're late."
Shikamaru leaves half a pack of cigarettes on the memorial stone. His mother washes all his clothes six times while he catches up on lost sleep and only wakes him up for dinner.
The next day, Neji almost trips over him exiting the Hyuuga compound.
Shikamaru yawns and looks up. "You Neji? I can never tell you lot apart."
Neji blinks.
"It's troublesome, but I need a jounin's help for this." He rubs absently at the new scar creasing his face.
"For what?" Neji asks finally.
"Ino's got it into her head that I need to make jounin by the end of this year."
And Neji blinks again.
"I figured you'd know how to go about it," Shikamaru says, standing up and brushing dirt from his pants. "Did it yourself, didn't you."
"I don't think you know what you are getting yourself into," Neji says finally.
Shikamaru blinks. "Of course not. That's why I came to you, right?"
For a long moment, they stare one another down. Finally, Neji tilts his head a little. "What are you waiting for? The training ground is this way, and we don't have much time."
And Shikamaru yawns again, but shuffles along in Neji's wake anyway, smiling a little.
Tsunade steeples her fingers on her desk and shoots a level look over the paperwork-strewn surface to the young chuunin standing at uncomfortable attention opposite her.
She opens her mouth to say something. Shuts it again.
Chouji shifts his considerable weight from foot to foot and looks embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Hokage-sama," he mumbles. "I know you've already got one student. Didn't mean to bother you or anything, just thought it was worth a try."
And he turns, ready to leave.
Tsunade sighs. "Just a moment, Chouji," she says.
He turns back. "Hokage-sama?"
She leans forward a little, cutting her eyes to the side to make sure Shizune isn't lurking anywhere. Great one for lurking, Shizune. "Sakura's gone off to get herself trained by Kurenai," she tells the Akimichi. "Which means more free time for me."
Chouji's eyebrows draw together slightly. "Isn't that a good thing?"
"Hah! Free time means paperwork, brat!" Tsunade says loudly, leaning back in her chair. "In Shizune-speak, that is," she adds, more discreetly, glancing at the door.
"Ahh," Chouji says, and gives her a conspiratorial smile.
It looks a little out of place on that broad, friendly face, but Tsunade figures it's the thought that counts. "Right. You know how it is. So, uh, if you're looking for someone to get you through the jounin tests, I guess I could manage a few lessons…"
The little smile widens as the kid gets her drift. "Thank you so much—"
She waves a hand. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Come back bright and early tomorrow. Feel free to bring me breakfast. And coffee, lots of coffee."
A big grin, now, and Tsunade's facial muscles twitch in sympathy. "Yes ma'am, Hokage-sama!"
Well, at least she has a good breakfast to look forward to, tomorrow. And decent coffee, not that ANBU slop they keep bringing her.
It's far too early in the morning—Ino's hair is a mess, Chouji hasn't eaten breakfast yet, and Shikamaru's yawning too much to even manage a proper complaining. But they're awake, all three of them.
The morning mist curls around the meadow, the gray light of the not-quite-rising-sun too dull to strike a sparkle off the dewy grass. The cigarettes aren't on top of the heavy black stone anymore, and Shikamaru wonders fleetingly about legends of ghosts and spirits in the afterlife before dragging his mind back onto more pertinent problems.
Ino folds her arms. She always talks to Asuma-sensei like she's lecturing him, Shikamaru thinks, leaning sleepily on Chouji's soft bulk, and lets the words wash over him. He's wondering about the cigarettes again, wondering if Kakashi-san stopped by even earlier than them, or if maybe one of Lee's squirrels has a nice tobacco-scented nest for the coming winter, but now Chouji's talking.
Chouji's quieter now, more serious. They all are, Shikamaru supposes, but he notices it more in Chouji. Chouji doesn't bother to cover it like Ino does. Like Shikamaru does too, to some extent. But he talks to Asuma-sensei like he always has, cheerful and mundane, describing how he's going to the hospital after this to start his training, how he hopes Hokage-sama likes the breakfast he's bringing, how he wishes Asuma-sensei were here to see them all grow up, see them all make jounin…and now he's nudging Shikamaru.
Shikamaru covers another jaw-cracking yawn and shifts away from Chouji to stand upright. "There aren't a lot of people I'd get up this early just to say hi to," he says, after thinking for a moment. And he tilts his head back a little, looks up at the wispy gray clouds hanging forlornly overhead. "It's gonna be a shitty day for training," he adds after another pause, eyeing the heavier clouds to the north and east.
And then they're all silent for a while, Shikamaru back to leaning on Chouji, who has an arm around Ino's shoulders, who's absently straightening the squashed collar of Shikamaru's vest.
Dawn breaks slowly, with little ceremony, and it's Chouji who smiles and extricates himself from his teammates first. Ino ruffles his hair, and then he's gone. Shikamaru leans up against a tree instead and listens to the birds waking up. It's really far too early for this, he thinks, covering another yawn.
It's not so long before Ino sighs, stepping forward to run a hand over the cold stone. It's always cold, Shikamaru knows, even late in the afternoon when the sun's been beating down on it for hours, but she rests her hand on Asuma-sensei's name a moment anyway.
"He was a good teacher," she says.
"Yeah," Shikamaru says, and thinks she's right. A good teacher. Not a great one, but then again they weren't great students, so it all worked out in the end.
She shakes her head, pushing hair out of her face. "It shouldn't have—it wasn't fair."
He shrugs. "No," is all he says, but he's thinking life's not fair, Ino, and if you haven't learned that already…
"I'm going to be late," she announces abruptly, after another lengthy pause, and turns away.
She's looking at him like he's supposed to say something. "All right," he says, after a moment. Then, as she's walking past, "Good luck."
She just shakes her head, vanishing down the path.
And now he's alone, just him and the Heroes' Stone, which counts as alone anyway, because it's not like the rock will ever talk back, but there are some things you just do.
"I didn't plan on becoming a jounin," he mutters finally. "This is screwing all my plans up." He wonders who he'll go to when he needs someone to nag him now, because Asuma-sensei was the only one who ever bothered.
The Stone watches him expectantly.
"We got them," he feels compelled to add. "The Akatsuki who killed you." And it does feel good to be able to say that, even if it was his first close-up kill and he threw up afterwards.
He feels a little stupider just talking to himself than when Ino and Chouji are there. Maybe because sometimes it feels like they're just trying to talk to each other, and talking to the Stone's just the easiest way to do that these days.
Shikamaru thinks that's a little screwed up, but he figures they'll work it out. One way or another. Team Ten isn't allowed to get fucked up like the genius ninja. Too much trouble.
He shoves his hands in his pockets. "Don't expect me to come by every day," he says finally, grumpily. "This is too damn early."
And then he walks away.
Endnotes: My god, it's been a while, hasn't it? It feels weird to be writing these guys again - any input as to voice and ICness (particularly for Chouji and Tsunade) would be greatly appreciated.