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This dormant love you've built inside your stubborn ways.
Well, its begging now, for air.
Eyes Closed (The Narrative)
Like most men in his clan, Choji fell in love early and thoroughly.
He had always known this; it was something of a legend in their stories. His great-grandfather had pulled his future wife's pigtail when she was five and received a good punching after. His grandfather had met his grandmother when she was selling fruits from a basket, at the age of seven. His uncle and aunt met when they were in preschool, and the young boy had allowed the young girl to draw on his face. His own parents had met in the Academy when they were still genin. All of the men had met their future spouses early, and they knew who they intended to walk down the aisle with, before the women even knew their names. It always took years, but the Akimichi men were patient, untroubled people, and they waited.
Then before one could blink, the women would fall for them too.
It was hard not to. After heartbreaks and traitors, a dependable young man with everything to offer and a heart full of love was irresistable. Love and marriage for the Akimichi may not have been glamourous, but it was pure and strong – completely unbreakable.
Therefore, Choji was doomed to his fate even before he could even open his own bag of chips.
From what he remembered, it was when he was four and his father had dragged him to the park to play with Shikamaru and Ino. Not having anything in common, but yet knowing each other because of their fathers, the three of them usually did their own thing, acknowledging each other but then separating to play on their own.
Shikamaru always found a tree far away to be secluded, yet close enough so his father could see him, and lay watching clouds. Ino threw herself into the noisiest group of girls, and soon even began leading their escapades; she stood on top of the monkey bars and ordered the other girls around, building a sand castle or a fort. Choji sat in a place where he had direct view of his father laughing and talking with his former teammates, on a swing that creaked when he moved. It was a good spot, and he could see Shikamaru staring into the sky as well as Ino playing Tag with a determined ferocity – both of which he liked.
One day, things changed.
Ino had run up to Inoichi and asked if she could go with her friends to the nearest shop, selling shaved ice with a topping. Always a pushover for his daughter, he had agreed, giving her some money. This had prompted Shikaku and Choza to call their sons over and hand them money for the treat, and the three of them were instructed to go together.
Shikamaru would have complained, but the day was hot, and the ice with sweet flavouring seemed like a good idea. Choji was yet to turn down something to eat. Ino was a little annoyed that her father was once again forcing her to be friends with whom she called 'those boys' in her head, but decided to take whatever she got and run off, yelling at the boys to hurry up.
Shikamaru and Choji walked fast enough that she didn't biff them on the head, but slow enough that they could see her back as she chattered with her friends. That was the rule, and was going to become the norm when Team Ten was formed. They had reached the shop soon enough, and after the girls were all licking at their ice, Choji had placed the money in his chubby fist on the counter and was squinting at the board to pick a flavour, when the snigger shot out.
'Fatty.'
It wasn't eloquent, but hurtful for children's standards, and the young Akimichi had frozen, unsure of how to react. If it had been a boy, he would have simply sat on him, but it was a girl with dark green hair, and the insult had hit home. Shikamaru had opened his mouth too; he had looked annoyed enough to retaliate, but someone else had beaten him to it.
Ino's face had gone red at the word, and she had turned to the speaker. Her eyes had blazed with fury, and all three of her friends had stepped back in alarm.
'He's not fat. He's chubby! Besides, at least he's not boring and whiny like you!'
With these words, Ino had imperiously swung her hand, and the girl flinched, expecting to get slapped. Instead, she had found herself dripping with grape syrup and ice melting down her little frock. She screamed with horror, but by then Ino had grabbed Shikamaru's hand and Choji's elbow and bolted. They ran, and finally had collasped behind a flowering bush, the three of them looking at each other. Ino's hands were sticky with sweet-tart grape flavouring, and now both boys had her purple fingerprints on their skins.
Then Shikamaru had started laughing, prompting Choji to chuckle. Ino had watched them in surprise, and then started giggling. All of them rolled around on the grass, almost crying with mirth, specially when they saw the green haired girl and her friends walk past, the former still dripping, her clothes stained.
Ino turned to Choji and beamed.
Choji fell in love instantly.
Times changed. Choji and Shikamaru were steadfast friends, never seen without the other. Ino met a girl with vibrant cherry blossom coloured hair and formed a firm alliance. They all entered the academy, and although they still nodded to each other in greeting, they had grown up and weren't really that close after all.
Then the teams were announced and formed. Once again, the three of them were brought together to fulfill their clans' alliance. Ino-Shika-Cho. They complemented and strengthened each other under Asuma Sarutobi's careful guidance. Ino was once again the leader, Shikamaru too lazy and Choji too unwilling to disobey her. She was passionate, bossy, hardworking, so very, very troublesome – but her loyalty to her teammates were apparent and unwavering. She prodded them, yelled at them, screamed, bullied, threatened, smacked.
With the Chuunin exams, their childhood ended abruptly.
With war, there was loss.
The death of their sensei numbed Choji as much as it fired up Shikamaru.
Ino was there. Her loud badgering became quiet comfort. Her unrelenting screams became hugs. Her shrill abuse became reassurance and belief.
After that, Choji's loyalty to Shikamaru was matched only by his devotion to Ino.
Suddenly, they were older. They were different people.
Much to their own horror, they were now adults.
Their little village had changed immesurably. People had been knocked down, and were rebuilding themselves – their town, their emotions - from scratch. That traitor returned, supported by his teammates. There were consequences, there were trials, there was pleading and begging.
Asuma's old team watched it all.
Picking a side was easy. Ino had seen Sakura's face behind Naruto and Sai as they fought for Sasuke. Kakashi noticed what she did too. The pink haired medic was holding herself together far better than her teenaged self would have, but Ino always knew what her best friend was thinking, maybe even better than her old sensei did.
Tsunade looked weary as she held council; she didn't want to fight against her favourite student and her soon to be successor, but the kunoichi knew as well as anybody that her position and opinion didn't matter if the votes cast were against her.
It was in the hands of the council, and most of them were thirsting for the only remaining Uchiha's blood.
'You don't understand!' Naruto had bellowed at them, fists clenched. 'He killed Orochimaru! He saved us! You can't punish him like that!'
'Kakashi, control the brat!' A man snapped.
All of the shinobi present there glared at him. Naruto opened his mouth to yell some more, but Hinata grasped his hand and stopped him. Her pale eyes were filled with unfamiliar anger directed at the man. Every shinobi knew who Naruto was, and it was an insult to his capabilities, specially since everyone present there had reason to be grateful for his loyalty.
The tall Copy nin stood up, and met the council's gaze coolly. 'I afraid I agree. Whatever he may have done, death is going too far. We – my old students and I – were the ones who were affected most by Uchiha Sasuke's actions, and we are the ones who believe what you're doing is extreme. You can punish him as harshly as you like - '
Sakura flinched visibly, and Sasuke moved for the first time since the trial began. His dark eyes stared at her from his corner, his expression unreadable, but something undeniably shifted in his face. He had been completely still, unaffected, his hands bound with chakra chains but Sakura's reaction made him stand straight, look ahead instead of glaring at the floor.
Kakashi hadn't forgiven his old student's mistakes, but there was still love that couldn't be removed, for even the late Third Hokage had admitted to feel affection for his wayward pupil, even after all of Orochimaru's sins. He ignored his pink haired student's quiet distress and continued speaking firmly.
' - but a death sentence is unreasonable.'
The man swelled and glared at the Hokage, who frowned at him. She had made her own views clear before, and was starting to get irritated with the old man's stubbornness, something that wasn't helped by the fact that Shizune had taken away her sake for the occasion.
He exhaled. 'Alright. We shall have a vote. The council and the present elite shinobi will state their opinion; whether they want to have the traitor sent to his rightful death, or whether he should be punished severely and then released of all charges.'
Shikamaru and Choji looked at their teammate. All the years of being told what to do had enabled them to be trained to her body movements. The Yamanaka was staring at Sakura, who had paled, and buried her face in Sai's shoulder as she waited, much to ex-ROOT agent's confusion. Ino turned her cerulean eyes to them, and her head shifted slightly.
Half an hour later, it was announced in all of Leaf.
Sasuke Uchiha was back in the service of the Hokage, on probation.
With peace, there was hope and love.
Engagements were flourishing everything. Choji was forced into buying more formalwear, once Ino realised that he and Shikamaru were wearing the same thing to every party. To the Akimichi, it made little difference, but he knew it mattered to the blonde, so he allowed her to bulldoze all their complaints.
It occured to him that there were a good deal of new couples being formed even as he blinked.
Hinata and Naruto announced their engagement by coming into Ichiraku for the Rookie Nine weekly dinner and Naruto yelling, 'I'M MARRYING THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD!' much to Hinata's embarrassment and secret pleasure.
Tenten smacked Neji upside the head when they joined them for dinner a few weeks later, prompting the Hyuuga to confess that his cousin wasn't the only one looking to get hitched.
At Lee's wedding with a pretty, baby faced, dark haired medic he met after one of his usual post training over exertion spells, everyone saw Sakura walk in, a vision in red and pink. What caught everyone's eye, however, was the fact that she was followed by Sasuke, movements stiff, his head bowed, one hand interlinked with the pink haired kunoichi as they gave the new couple their best wishes. Later in the evening, the Uchiha danced with his companion in a corner, and, much to everyone's surprise, he was smiling.
Even Akamaru had found a flighty, furry beauty. Kiba had been miserable, until the owner of Akamaru's girlfriend came looking for her. A huge, public argument about whose dog was the culprit ensued, at the end of which Kiba shut the sandy haired Academy teacher up by asking her out.
Love was everywhere.
Choji wondered whether he should say anything to his blonde teammate, but all it took for him to change his mind was a visit from the Sand Siblings.
It was when Choji held Ino as she wept into his warm embrace that he realised he could never say a word.
It had taken Ino one look at Temari and Shikamaru talking, laughing - looking far too friendly - for her to reach for a bottle of sake. Then another. And another.
Choji dragged her away, out of the small club as she started to hiccup. He knew the signs. Shikamaru knew the signs too, but before he could see them, he had another drink pressed onto him, and Temari laughed again, giddy with happiness, insisting they all join in her celebrating her engagement to a tall brunette who waited for her in Sand.
Ino clutched to Choji, and her face was scrunched up as she buried it in his shoulder and muttered:
'I love him, Choji.'
The words were muffled, but he heard them, and she felt them. It started to rain, tears falling from the sky and Ino's beautiful perfect eyes and Choji turns his face up to the sky.
Their hearts seem to be breaking at the same time.
Later, his best friend and he talk.
Choji was silent, but everything seemed louder. Ino's heartbreak was echoed in Shikamaru, and the echoes resonate in his head, louder, louder. His teammates have become separate people. His best friend. The woman he loves. What is he?
Silent. For he has sworn his loyalty to Shikamaru, but his heart to Ino.
'How can I get her to look at me? Its impossible.'
The Nara genius stared at the clouds as he spoke, noting that every shape seemed to remind him of her. There's the shape of her eyes, her smile, her ankle, her hands delicately arranging a display of flowers. He squeezed his eyes shut.
'I can out think and out do everyone. I have the best tactical mind in Leaf. But she...she's...'
Choji knows what the incomplete words means. For even if the man she loves can't approach her, how can he?
Choji dislikes making decisions. He finds them being made for him or having someone tell him what to do far easier. It wasn't as though he lacked the intelligence or strength – he just couldn't handle the self hate that would follow if things went wrong. Although he would never blame the ones who instructed him, at least their mistakes meant that he was not the one who had broken someone's trust, hurt someone.
Choji feared hurting his loved ones more than he feared death.
They are on a mission when his turmoil is put to rest.
There is a lot of blood, but Choji is used to that. He is fighting for his teammates, and they are fighting for him.
Another rogue ninja falls to his feet, missing his arms, and all the Akimichi can see is red, red, red and then there is that look in the eyes of the man. The one that makes him slit the dying man's jugular, allowing him to drown in his own blood within a few minutes. Better that than the long agonising pain of slow blood loss.
Choji turns to finish the rest, but there are only few left. Ino slashes through two, and he handles another while Shikamaru buries a shuriken deeply in the chest of the one attempting to run. They all hate blood, preferring the quiet capturing missions or intels that their team is so much better suited to. But there aren't enough shinobi to be sent out, and even fewer that obey the orders for assasination.
He swallowed as the light in the eyes of another victim – enemy, no, opponent – dies, and reminded himself that they were killing only the most evil and foul.
Ino's scream jerks him out of his mind and he's poised to attack when he sees the man holding a kunai to Shikamaru's neck.
The remaining rogue makes a pitiful sight, one eye bloody and gouged. The symbol on his forehead protector allows him to be identified as the leader of the criminal. The man who had set his large number of badly trained men on the three Leaf shinobi. He had been knocked out quickly, and the three of them were still unscathed: the only reason the entire thing took so long was because of the immense number of men and their use of the only jutsu they knew – mind block – preventing them from being controlled by Ino.
'You shouldn't have interfered,' the man wheezed. 'Now, you let me go or your friend dies. And don't you dare try to get into my head!' He yelled the last part at Ino, who had paled as she watched the man tighten his grip and a thin line of blood appeared on Shikamaru's neck.
The Nara didn't move, didn't flinch, and Choji knew he was trying to think his way out of the situation. But the man with the kunai looked deranged enough for them to lower their weapons, and he had to be fast if he managed to get to Shikamaru without him or the others noticing that he wasn't limp on the ground like his comrades.
'We can't let you go,' Ino said steadily, her eyes on the pair. Despite her previous shriek and the tense pose giving away her worry, she held herself back.
Even in their situation, Choji couldn't help think that just a couple years back, Ino would have ignored all protocol to jump at the man and scratch his face off.
'You'll have to,' the man said, and his desperation was so strong that the three of them could feel it on their skin and smell it in the air. 'You'll have to, or I'll – I'll kill him!'
His grip around Shikamaru's neck tightened and he let out the smallest grunt of pain.
'Why're you doing this?' Ino demanded, and her arms shook though her voice didn't.
The man stumbled back, almost tripping but his hold on their teammate didn't give.
Shikamaru spoke.
'He's trying to avenge the death of his daughter.'
His teammates stare at him, bewildered, and the rogue leader looks as though the ground had been pulled from under his feet.
'H-how?'
'Its very simple. You may know how to protect yourself against mind control, but you're still an idiot. There was a fight between you and your village and your genin daughter was sent into battle by them. She died, like any genin would.' Shikamaru looked vaguely irritated, even as the kunai pressed into his skin and a drop of crimson appeared. 'You're the one who killed her. Who're you trying to blame for your mistake?'
Desperation. Dismay.
It almost hurt to watch their enemy's face fall into anguish.
'Let him go,' Ino said. Her voice was soft, soothing. 'We don't want to hurt you.'
The man's dead eyes met Ino's, and in that moment she seemed to glow white and pure, eyes full of tears for Shikamaru, but her mouth was in a soft smile. It was the look she used to use on Asuma to get out of extra training, and often on her teammates to get free food – it had always worked, and she had modified the sly tactic to ring true with her large eyes. She was coaxing, kind, and the man's grip loosened momentarily.
It was all Shikamaru needed to twist away, his hand flying to the small cut on his throat as he stepped away. Ino's face lost its forced angelic qualities and she staggered forward, relief flooding her and her arms outstretched even as Shikamaru tried to regain his breath and move further away.
As it happened, Choji saw the small round glass bottle first.
The man raised it towards the sky, his grip tightening, fingers threatening to close in tight and allow the bottle to shatter.
Ino gasped, and her hands were moving into her familiar jutsu as Shikamaru spun around to see what the man was going to do.
They were all too late to do anything. The man's fingers pressed in, and the first crack of the bottle breaking to release the luminescent green poison into the air seemed to resonate.
Later, Choji would wonder if he had planned to do it or if his body had known it would end that way.
He threw himself on the man, expanding himself like a hot air balloon and engulfing the air and the man under him. The bottle shattered, and the man dropped before he knew what had happened, and then rest of the poison was shielded under his body.
But not before the bittersweet scent of the herbs registered in his mind.
There was Ino's piecing scream, Shikamaru's strangled yell, and then there was soothing blackness.
Choji wondered if he was dead.
He tried twitching his finger, and found he couldn't. Not without a lot of effort, and when he finally managed to make his index finger lift, he decided it wasn't worth the effort doing that to the rest of his muscles.
So he did what his best friend would do, and went back to sleep.
Choji wondered whether his teammates had followed him to heaven.
He wouldn't put it past them. Whoever was manning the gates between Earth and whatever was beyond couldn't put up even a semblence of resistance if they were faced with Ino.
He decided they had followed him into Death, because how else could he hear the two of them arguing?
'Have some sense of propriety, Shika. Our teammate's on his deathbed!'
There was a snort that was unmistakebly the Nara's. 'He is not on his deathbed. You know med jutsu, you should have understood what Sakura said about having extracted the poison.'
'He's still so...still.'
'He's unconscious. He's just resting. Smart thing too, its impossible to get any of that around you under normal circumstances.'
'Hush. You love me.'
There was a muttered, 'So troublesome.'
Choji could smell flowers and grape syrup, feel soft hair as someone bent over him, tucking his sheets closer like he liked them. This was too real to be a dream or an hallucination.
He tried moving his hand again, but only managed a twitch again.
There was deathly silence, as if everyone had stopped breathing, no sound except the sound of the machines he was hooked up to, beeping in the background.
He was alive, he realised.
There was the sound of a chair being scraped back, and Ino yelling, 'Oi! You! Find a medic! My best friend is moving!'
Ino's hand felt his pulse and pushed his hair back from his forehead as Shikamaru rested his hand on Choji's knee. The both of them holding to him as if that would make him move again.
The thought made him feel loved.
It was as though he was four and being defended by a little blonde spitfire. It was as though Shikamaru was ignoring the sniggers about his friend's weight and helping the chubby little boy up to his feet after he'd been pushed.
So when he opened his eyes and saw the faces of the two people he cared about most in the world hovering above him, he knew he didn't mind that they were one day going to marry and become something he wasn't a part of. For the first time, he would be left out.
It didn't matter. Because despite what the other two shared, he was a part of who they were, he held a place in both their hearts that couldn't be filled by anyone else, he was irreplaceable.
Because at the end, the three of them were Team Asuma, and that was something no one could take away from them.
Fate had tried.
But nobody could take them away from each other.
Some days, it would hurt.
Those days were filled with selfish longing and resentment.
Those days were usually erased and turned into dust.
One day, he entered his teammates' house, the place looking like a warzone, because Ino took care of the dishes and laundry, but Shikamaru was in charge of general tidying up.
He expected to see them arguing, Ino getting angrier and angrier as Shikamaru knowingly pushed all her buttons until she finally threw something at him and started laughing at the look on his face.
Instead, he saw the two of them standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by books and shoes, staring at each other.
Alarmed, and wondering if they'd finally managed to annoy each other enough, Choji said, 'Um. I got Shika's summons...'
Shikamaru turned to him, and the look on his face was stunned. He actually looked like he'd been outmanouvered.
Ino, however, threw herself at him, and he caught her and swung her around once as she shreiked something that his mind couldn't comprehend.
'What?'
He set her down, although she kept one hand hooked into his elbow, looking from her overly excited face to his best friend's.
Shikamaru walked over to him, and Ino placed one hand into his. 'You talk too fast.'
Ino stuck her tongue out at him, and stared into Choji's face. 'Did I break you, Cho?'
What she said finally untangled into his mind, and a slow smile spread across his face.
'Now he gets it!'
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. 'It'll probably be really troublesome in the long run, but you're the only one we'd want.'
'Want as what?' Everything seemed far too surreal to be true.
'As godfather, you moron!' Ino looked impatient at his slowness at understanding.
Choji crushed his teammates to his chest till they complained about lack of oxygen, Ino shrieking and laughing as Shikamaru turned purple.
Choji wondered whether it was destined for Shikamaru and him to be ordered around by impertinent little girls.
Nonetheless, every Sunday found him walking peacefully through the streets of Hidden Leaf, a three year old with untamed black hair and cerulean eyes and a very determined large mouth sitting on his shoulders. She would tug on tufts of his hair as though steering him, and he would goodnaturedly pull a small pigtail gently in response, receiving a small yelp and a giggle in return.
They would pass the Academy, and he would tell her about her parents and him as children, training and eating. He would tell her about Asuma, whose daughter was now the little Nara girl's idol. She would treat the stories like fables, refusing to believe that they were fact, insisting that the idea of her parents are young genin was laughable.
Sometimes she would chatter about her own friends, the bright pink haired boy with the dark eyes who was sensitive about the colour of his hair, despite her assurances that she liked it. She would mourn the fact that he hid the vibrant pink under a shockingly orange beanie that he liked to boast was a gift from the Rokudaime Hokage. Of course, she was loath to believe it was true, but the Hokage's daughter, who was the wisest of them all because of her six month headstart in life, had confirmed the story.
Choji would take his god daughter to his favourite ice cream parlour, and she would get a cone with a scoop of mango topped with blackcurrent, and try to prod him into ordering something equally oddly matched, although he would always get vanilla. Sometimes the plump young woman behind the counter would add sprinkles on top of his simple scoop, much to the young Nara's amusement. These sweet treats were always free, because the girl running the small shop would never accept payment, shaking her head and blushing to the roots of her long orange blonde hair when Choji tried to pay her.
The two of them would then go to the park, an odd picture: the large, menacing looking man with his adoring smile and the excitable young girl on his shoulder, her blue eyes flashing as she laughed. He would then watch the young girl play with her friends, bossing them around and reminding the Akimichi of a time when her mother had done the same.
He would think of grape syrup flavoured shaved ice and sticky hands and lazy smiles and shogi pieces and being rewarded with barbeque after training.
Then his god daughter would run up to him and tell him about something irrelevant, and he decided that he was happy.
Maybe one day Choji would understand the reason why the young orange haired ice cream store owner never let him pay.
Maybe he would realise that with her soft curves and cheeky smile, she really was attractive.
Maybe he would suggest going for some barbeque together, and she would kiss him in response.
Maybe a couple years down the road, his god daughter would be teaching his son how to eat an ice cream cone without it dripping down his wrists.
Maybe later, there would be a wife who could cook almost as well as his mother and a family of his own that was loud and boisterous.
Now, there was peace, content and silence.
- Aaaaah. This took me two weeks. Inspired by absolutely nothing. I just like Team 10. And I make my comeback with my newly found Naruto love :D
- I love Choji. I really do. And Ino. Also, not really a big fan of ShikaTema (not because of Temari, though. I heart the Sand Siblings, specially Kankouro. I just don't think its that easy for girls to marry into other countries and Hidden villages. I may just write something about that..) but I think Ino's hilarious.
- I don't really think Sasuke's trial will be that easy, but SasuSaku weren't the focus here. And yes, I want them to have a pink haired son, because the shame of it may just kill Sasuke a little. The fact that the future clan leader of the Uchiha has hair the colour of candy floss. Because, oh, the shame of it all. Teehee.
- Working on a SasuSaku oneshot. Probably be up here in the following week, if I get time. As much as I dislike Sasuke, I love Sakura (boo you haters) and they're probably closest to being my OTP. I like starcrossed lovers, sue me.
- It'll be nice if you review. This was un-beta'd (hence my fluctuating tenses), so feel free to point out mistakes. Feel even freer to flame and be mocked to pieces on my profile.