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Author's Note: This chappie is longer than the previous so I hope you won't get bored reading this.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto though I really wish that I did.
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Chapter 2: Stars
It was already a few minutes past seven and he knew that Ino was not going to be happy. He sighed as he walked down the turning-silent streets of Konohagakure. The night was cold and even though his uniform consisted of a long sleeved black shirt and his chuunin vest, he could still feel the crisp night breeze against his skin. There weren't much people out on the street except for a few couples here and there. They looked pretty much about his age if not slightly older. It was awkward for him seeing he was the only one without a partner causing him to suddenly remember Ino's question earlier that day.
'Hmph. As if these people really loved each other. They're just probably together for the sake of having a boyfriend or a girlfriend.' He thought
He turned the corner to the street where Yakiniku Q was and just a few moments later reached the entrance. He saw his teammates from the window; Ino looked pretty upset probably because he was late and Chouji was clearing out the food off the grill. After mumbling his signature phrase, he entered the restaurant and headed for their table. He took a seat across Ino, beside Chouji.
"You're late!" she snapped.
"Had a lot of work to do." He explained.
"As if you even work! You're always watching clouds! …" She rambled on and on about how lazy he was to even work as Shikamaru ordered a bowl of rice and began to eat; picking some well-cooked barbecue off the grill. He was hungry. He really did have lots of work to do after all thanks to the Godaime who wanted to make full use of his genius mind. As he kept on thinking about the things which he had left unfinished, he barely noticed that Ino had stopped yelling and was silent for a while. He glanced at her and knew she was still upset from the way her eyebrows were knitted together.
Troublesome. "All right, I'm sorry for being late."
"Whatever." She answered. "Anyway, Chouji, now that Shikamaru's here what was that thing you wanted to tell us about?"
Chouji swallowed a mouthful of food before answering. "Well, I'll be on a mission with my parents for about a month or so. I wanted our team to enjoy ourselves before I left."
"A month or so? That must be some mission Chouji!" Ino commented.
"When are you leaving?" Shikamaru asked.
"Early tomorrow morning." Chouji replied while gobbling down some more food.
The night went on with some more talk and scolding thanks to Ino. About a quarter before 9, Chouji excused himself to head home saying he still had to finish preparing his stuff. Shikamaru and Ino on the other hand left the restaurant about half an hour later. Ino rambled on about her missions while Shikamaru, who was too tired to speak, merely nodded and added a grunt here and there. They then got to the topic about Ino's last mission which was with Sai and the others.
"Sai… He really does remind me of Sasuke." Ino said while Shikamaru answered with a grunt.
"Three years. It's been a while… since Sasuke left." She added quietly.
Silence
They reached the intersection where they were to go their separate ways. Shikamaru waved goodbye and had started to walk towards the direction opposite where Ino was supposed to be headed when Ino suddenly spoke up.
"Ne, Shikamaru."
"Hn?" Shikamaru looked back at his blonde friend who was looking at him.
"You wanna watch the stars with me?" she said with a smile.
He thought about it and decided that he didn't want her to be any madder at him than she already was. "Tch. Troublesome. Whatever." He replied as he walked back towards her.
"Let's go!" she grabbed his hand and dragged him down the road which was neither the way to her house nor his nor where they came from. They went past the training grounds, up a small hill, past a few trees and arrived at a small clearing. This was where Shikamaru used to usually watch the clouds before he became a chuunin though he did go there every once in a while when he wasn't too busy. He wasn't surprised that she had taken him there. She knew that that was 'his spot' after all. Her title as his 'best friend' wasn't for nothing.
She let go of his hand and walked over to look at the village, they had a good view of it from there. He went to her side and flopped on the grass. He lay down on the cool grass hands behind his head. She soon followed suit. The stars were out and the sky was clear, a perfect night for stargazing. She began pointing out the constellations, drawing invisible connections with her pale finger as if she were connecting dots. He on the other hand looked at each constellation she referred to. She knew of them well, he knew. This was her favorite hobby after all. His title as her 'best friend' was not for nothing either. After a while, Ino had grown tired of pointing them out so she decided to watch them in silence. He closed his eyes and felt a slight breeze blow over him. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes when he heard some slight snoring beside him. She had fallen asleep.
Troublesome. He thought as he gently shook her to wake her.
"Oi, Ino." No response. He shook her harder.
"Oi!" he said a bit louder; still no response.
Troublesome. He thought again.
He sat up and looked at her thinking on what was the best course of action. He looked at the stars then back at her and sighed. He gently picked her up and arranged to carry her home via piggyback. She was pretty light; he had grown used to her lightness. He always did hold her whenever she performed her jutsu. Her warm breath tingled his neck and he was kind of thankful cause it was a pretty cold night. He looked up at the stars as he headed for her house and realized how it felt so… right; to be with her, to take care of her, to carry her home when she fell asleep watching the stars. He smirked to himself when he realized what he had just thought cause he knew; he knew all too well, that those were such foolish thoughts. It couldn't be, it just couldn't, he couldn't like her -- he doesn't! Or does he?
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I'll try to update as soon as I can but I'm totally busy with my studies so maybe around next week or the week after. Sorry!
Don't forget to leave a review! Thankies! )