Chapter 2: Anniversary

"Hey, Shikadai, can I stay over at your place tonight?" Inojin whispered from the back row.

Shikadai opened his eyes. He nearly passed out during the lecture again.

"Yeah, sure. But why?"

"It's my parents' anniversary today, so…" Inojin didn't raise his voice, but somehow he was still heard.

"Anniversary?" ChouChou on the other hand didn't even try to whisper. If Shikadai would take a guess, he'd say that girls have special kind of sense for a romantic talk. "What can be better than celebrating years of your undying love together?" Her eyes were glittering with some sort of weird excitement. "So which anniversary is it? First date? First kiss? First ti..." She couldn't finish the last one. Sarada covered ChouChou's mouth before plump girl said something unnecessary.

"Shush!" Uchiha girl was blushing.

"Sarada, you're such a child." ChouChou said. Sometimes she sounded like she wasn't same age with everyone in the class. "It's just a part of romance, you know?"

"It's the wedding." Inojin replied as if he didn't notice the last part at all. "Today my dad pretended that he forgot about it, and it drove my mom crazy. So he has to make up for it now."

"Hmmm... my dad never remembers any anniversaries." Even Boruto woke up for this conversation. "Before he became Hokage, mom would leave him hints around the house, and yet he'd still go through the whole day without noticing anything…"

"That's the worst!" ChouChou stood up with the fire raging in her eyes. It was rare to see her agitated about anything at all. Except for food, maybe. "The beauty of relationships after the marriage lies in anniversaries! Remembering every little thing about the time you've spent together, commemorating it for years to relive those moments!" The whole class was staring at her right now. "My papa remembers everything! Even mama doesn't know the exact days when she cooked something special for him, or they've tried new style of food, or even when they've went out to eat! Papa is amazing! Isn't it the same for you, Sarada?"

"Well, Papa sends letters." Uchiha daughter averted her eyes. "Sometimes."

"You guys..." No one even noticed when he came closer. Usually calm, now their teacher didn't even try to hide his fury. "Are you aware that you're in the middle of the class?"

The cold rage in his voice reminded Shikadai of his mom, and a mere thought about her made him completely awake. During all this anniversary talk he realized one important detail he never noticed before. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't remember anything about his own parents. He never even heard the word "anniversary" being said inside their house. Was it that they've never cared about it, or maybe… he'd never paid any attention before. Surely, among all his classmates only Mitsuki had nothing to say, but his family situation was too weird even for Shikadai. Everyone seems to care so much about this, so why the Nara son was the only one left out?

'There must be more to it,' he thought, not even trying to listen to the Aburame-sensei's scolding. 'I must investigate!'

Who knows, maybe after this he'll be closer to solving his puzzle.


"...and now our house is buried in flowers and stuffed animals." Inojin said as if it was nothing special at all. "Later mom and dad are going to the restaurant in some fancy resort for the whole night."

"Hmmm..." Shikadai hardly listened. His friend was bragging this whole time, and it already started to be annoying. Inojin wasn't this excited last year for sure. But it wasn't him whose reaction The Nara son wanted to observe - Shikadai was looking at his mother instead. The whole anniversary talk didn't seem to bother her at all. It was too soon to judge though. His parents were extra careful about keeping secrets. Unraveling this part of the puzzle won't be easy as well.

For now he just have to go with the logical flow.

"Mom, when is your anniversary?" Shikadai asked, before his friend started talking again. Somehow, even though his speech was interrupted, Inojin didn't seem to mind it. He was curious as well.

"Three months from now." She replied in her usual tone, without any trace of emotions. Which was rather strange, compared to the reaction of those in Shikadai's class.

But she didn't seem to notice any ulterior motive behind him asking. That was good.

"What are you going to do for it?" he asked again. This one might raise some suspicions, but now even Inojin was staring at Shikadai's mom waiting for an answer. Anyone could notice his obsession with this anniversary topic. Maybe, it can avert her attention from Shikadai himself, who'd usually find this kind of talk too troublesome to even think about.

"Nothing, I guess…" She seemed a bit startled. It must be unusual to see the two oof them this passionate about anything but games. "Your dad will probably be working till late again." Her attitude won't crumble even under this much pressure though. "I doubt he even remembers."

Disappointment was written all over Inojin's face. Someone rather unfamiliar with how relationships in Shikadai's family work will expect a drama scene after those words. But the boy himself wasn't surprised at all. This is just how it always was, since his dad hardly has any time to celebrate birthdays or other holidays together. Sometimes he wasn't there for days, just like tonight.

"Eh?" Inojin gave his friend completely discouraged look. "My dad only pretended to forget, and mom almost killed him…"

He couldn't have missed the fact that Shikadai was the only one who didn't say anything about the anniversaries in the class. And judging from his face he started to realize why. Actually, Shikadai was now thinking about it too. The simplest answer to his question, why he'd never heard anniversary talk around the house, would be that it was never celebrated. And for someone like Inojin it was almost impossible to believe. Shikadai on the other hand wasn't satisfied with this answer at all. 'This can't be all to it.' He thought.

"What's the big deal, anyway?" expression on Shikadai's mom face remained completely blank.

"But… years of undying love…" Inojin's voice was weak. "The time together… relive the moments… commemorating… the beauty of relationship after wedding…" he actually quoted ChouChou.

"A wedding, huh?" the look on her face was kind of distant for a moment. And if Shikadai didn't knew his mom at all, he'd likely miss this tiny bit of irritation. "It wasn't all bad, but… I'd rather not."

The rest of the dinner went on in silence. Inojin was still shocked to the very core of his entire human being, that something this much out of ordinary even existed. Shikadai wasn't talking as well. He was too deep in his thoughts for this matter. Even though he knew that his family was just like that from the very beginning, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. It was true then, there were no anniversaries to begin with, for the first time the simplest answer was actually the right one. There was no mystery, and that outcome seemed rather boring.

"Hey, Shikadai..." Inojin whisper brought the Nara boy back to reality. "Did your dad marry your mom because it was too troublesome to look for somebody else?"

'Idiot! You can't say that in front of her! She can hear thoughts, let alone whispers!' He wanted to shout before the storm breaks out in their dining room. But somehow, instead of turning furious, his mom just chuckled.

"Deja vu?" She mumbled to herself and chuckled again.*


As the date drew near, Shikadai still couldn't leave the whole anniversary thing alone. No matter how many times he would tell himself, that it's too troublesome, no one cares about it, and it's just the way his family is, the thoughts kept coming back. It was bugging him day and night, even though his classmates already stopped talking about it. The days would go on just like usual, with the anniversary word spinning in Shikadai's mind.

'It's tomorrow.' He thought staring at the calendar. There was no mark, as if that day wasn't important at all.

'Did I even guess it right? Maybe it's already passed...' that would be the least troublesome outcome. And truth to be told the most preferable one, after forgetting this whole thing, which he failed to do three months ago. Coming this far, he had to at least investigate it properly. 'How can I make sure of it? I remember I saw their wedding photo somewhere around the house...'

The timing was perfect. Dad is working, mom went out for groceries. Nothing would be in his way of discovering hidden truths of his parents now.

There are few common places to keep family pictures, and they're usually the same for any family. Shikadai's wasn't an exception on this point. However, he knew too well the pictures hanging in the living room or the kitchen. They mostly included himself with different family members and at different age. And yet, he clearly remembered seeing a wedding picture before. So there are two places left: the attic and his parents' bedroom. The first one will take too much time, he won't be able to find anything before mom comes back. Plus, she'll definitely notice the dust. That leaves the bedroom.

Shikadai heard his heart pounding when he reached to the door handle, as if he was about to make a discovery of a century.

The pictures here were different.

His dad as a genin with his old three men team and teacher. His mom and both of her brothers on a day uncle Gaara became Kazekage. Seeing young versions of his parents was a bit strange for Shikadai. Couple more photos of deceased family members and a wedding picture. It was there, right in the middle.

Shikadai reached for it. Years ago he'd say that it was an ordinary wedding picture. Nothing different from those he saw in his classmates' houses. But now the boy noticed something totally new. It was definitely someone's poor attempt to combine the traditions of both the Leaf and Sand in one ceremony, which turned the happy day into a complete disaster. That much Shikadai could tell from his parents' faces. Although at a first glance they seemed happy, but he could read in his dad's eyes just how troublesome he finds all this, when the look on his mom's face gave Shikadai shivers. He knew all too well this smile telling something like "Just say one more word about those stupid traditions and I'll kill you slowly and painfully without ruining this pure white dress". Which was definitely beautiful, but totally out of mom's style. Shikadai remembered her look when Inojin mentioned memories of that day. Well, with all the politics involved, there's a fine chance that the wedding was completely ruined by it.

He flipped the picture frame.

'So, it is tomorrow.' Shikadai felt kind of happy that he guessed it right.

"What are you doing here?" Shikadai almost jumped up, when he heard his mom's voice. She never makes any sound to the point that sometimes it was almost creepy.

"Nothing..." he returned the picture to its original place. "Is dad coming home today?"

"He won't be here for couple of days."

It was always like this. Nothing new. But even if his parents were both ok with this, for some reason this time Shikadai couldn't let it go.

"Mom," he said still looking at that picture. "Let's go out somewhere tomorrow."

Shikadai didn't have any idea of where to go or what to do. But it didn't matter at all. He'll come up with a plan later.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Her facial expression didn't change at all.

"Yeah."

"A date, huh?.." His mom suddenly smiled teasingly. "But don't tell your dad about it, ok?"

Shikadai nodded.


It was actually harder, than Shikadai thought. Being just a teenager with no interest of romantic relationship the date preparations didn't go as well as he expected. The research proved to be useless, as the articles he could find mainly targeted inexperienced teenage girls who'd tremble with excitement after hearing words like "love", "romance" and "relationship". Something too far from what he needed. The best solution would be to ask someone, but the only person in his class who was into those kind of things – ChouChou – would make a huge deal out of it and probably create a scene. Something Shikadai would like to avoid at all costs.

Thinking, as well as researching, led him nowhere. He was running out of time, and no idea what to do. Even walking around the Hidden Leaf village hardly helped at all. There were just too many shops around to concentrate on one single idea. Everything was way too misleading at this point. Like that bakery shop that is open for couples only, or this coffee shop that is, according to the article Shikadai's read, is the best destination for a date, or… a flower shop down the street.

'That's it!' he thought, changing his direction. 'There is someone who can help!'

"Welcome, how may I help you?" Inojin's mom looked as cheerful as usual. "Oh, this is an unusual customer. You need something?" You could almost see flowers flying around her as she spoke. And it had nothing to do with the shop itself.

"It's my parents' anniversary today." Shikadai said. "I need flowers."

"Oh~" mentioning anniversary got her just as enthusiastic as ChouChou was before. "Did your dad asked you to? Are they going out on a date today?"

"No. Dad is working today. It's just me and mom." Now that he thought about it, his mom only said not to tell his dad. Could it be that there was a hidden motive behind? Shikadai would bet his newest game that there was. "But it is a date."

The boy saw the flowers disappear. The aura around Inojin's mom changed in an instant, as she was trying really hard not to let her anger show itself.

"Is that so? Sure, let's pick something nice." As she started working on the flowers, Shikadai heard her mumbling something like: "I swear to God, I'll kill this idiot myself..."

'So it is a sensitive matter after all.' Shikadai almost didn't believe Inojin, that his mom could go crazy about it. Just like his friend couldn't believe the way Shikadai's parents are. Suddenly the boy realized, that their families indeed were polar opposites. And if only somewhere along the road his dad would end up with Inojin's mom, this couple would break up with the first forgotten anniversary. Or even earlier.

"Shikadai," Inojin mother's voice sounded somewhat cold now. "Do you have any ideas for the date?"

"Actually, no."

"You know, there would be a festival in the shrine tonight. You should go there." There was something evil in her smile now. "I mean, everyone will be there."

"Sounds great."

That sudden change of attitude was definitely strange, but somehow Shikadai felt that everything is actually going according to plan. A plan that was decided long before he came here, or even came up with the idea of spending this anniversary together with mom. Or rather… it was that precise moment, when he did. And ever since then he's been following it without even realizing. Seeing the same thing happening to auntie Ino, revealed the real meaning behind his mother's teasing smile. So she actually came up with this scheme in those couple of seconds and put it into action without saying a word.

For everything to work out this well it was kind of amazing.

Knowing about the plan might have made him back off, but…

"Here you go."

"Thanks, auntie Ino!"

Playing along would be so much more fun.


"So, where are we going today?" Shikadai hardly saw his mom in this kind of mood before. As if she genuinely was having fun.

"Shrine." He said. "Auntie Ino said everyone will be there."

"Sounds nice." She smiled. Her disguise was as perfect as usual. No one would ever think that something was up. But still, for her to go this far…

There has to be something off about this story.

"Mom, you really not care about anniversary?"

"Yeah."

"So what is this all about?"

"Hmm..." she thought for few seconds. "Don't you think it would be fun?" the broad smile on her face didn't go well together with a sinister plan.

Shikadai definitely never saw his mom like that.

"Yeah."

"Then there should be no problem." His mom smiled. "Oh, by the way."

She stretched her hand to him.

"What is that for?"

"Well, couples on a date should hold hands. Obviously."

Shikadai hesitated. He hadn't held his mom's hand ever since he was still the kid, and now it was kind of embarrassing. Especially seeing everyone from school like this. But the plan is the plan. There's no backing off now. It'll look more convincing this way.

"Alright."

"Let's go then."

Inojin's mom words were hardly wrong. Everyone definitely was there, as if whole population of Hidden Leaf was gathered in the shrine tonight.

"Hey, Shikadai!" The boy heard familiar voice shouting. Of course Boruto will come too. "Let's go play! I heard they have special Kagemasa stalls in here!"

"Boruto! Don't run away!" His mom with little sister came few seconds later. "Good evening."

"Can't do." Shikadai said totally coping his mom's blunt manner. "We're on a date today."

"Huh?" Boruto was living embodiment of the word 'confused'.

"Is that so?" Boruto's mom chuckled. "That's so sweet."

"That's what he says." Shikadai's mom laughed too. "Since my husband is too busy tonight."

The boy saw those words resonating with Boruto's mom. It was all written on her face. The only person in the whole Leaf who was busier than Hokage's advisor, was Hokage himself.

"Plus, Boruto, don't you have a date of your own?" Shikadai saw just how much Himawari's eyes started to glow every time he said the 'date' word.

"Where?"

"Her." He pointed at the youngest member of the Uzumaki family.

"Yay! Date with oniichan! Date with oniichan!" Himawari grabbed her brother's arm and dragged him somewhere into the crowd. Their mom followed straight after.

This year's festival was amazing. Not that Shikadai went there the last year. He didn't even plan to come this time - he'd prefer playing games instead. The boy never enjoyed crowds, and staying home would be far less troublesome. But this time he once again felt himself like a little child eating those delicious snacks and competing with others for some cheap toys.

"Having a kid must be so nice..." sighted a lady in charge of shooting target stall. "I wish I could just fall in love with something other than the weaponry..."

"You might regret saying that one, Ten Ten." Shikadai's mom chuckled. "They can be really troublesome sometimes."

"It's easy for you to say... you have a kid and a husband..." the lady sighted again. "Where is he by the way?"

"At the office. Working. I have a date with a little one today."

"A date?"

"Cuz it's their anniversary today." Shikadai said watching the lady's face change. Just like it was with Inojin's and Boruto's moms.

"I get what you mean now." She threw wooden kunai right in a belly of a purple rabbit. "It is troublesome."

"D...A...T...E?" Shikadai heard another familiar voice right behind him. The only thing that could distract ChouChou from food was romance. Her eyes were glowing as she approached with about ten different snacks in her hands. "A forgotten anniversary? It's just as tragic as the last bag of chips left on a shelf! The one expired and thrown away!" She managed to finish just about half of the stuff she was holding while saying that. "And then there would be this young hero to save them! Ah~ this story is way too beautiful. Good job, Shikadai! You might just be more of man than everyone else in our class..."

The boy himself didn't understand anything of what she just said. But it seems that the girl never noticed his confusion - she was still talking nonsense about love, chips and heroes. It was some special skill of hers to drift away from reality just like that.


"Seriously, Temari?" Karui came just in time for her daughter's emotional speech. "Never expected you of all people to care about anniversaries."

"I don't." Temari smiled. Was it that the two of them were foreigners here, but she always felt it easier to talk to her than to any of the Leaf girls. "But I thought it might be fun to see him getting jealous once in a while."

Karui turned around to look at her husband emptying another snack stall. For her too. It was always only her.

"I get you. I totally get you!" She exclaimed. "I'm so with you on this one, girl!"

The rumored Kagemasa stall was located almost in the end. Kids from all Leaf gathered there watching their hero performing some lame jutsu. If he would appear any time around Temari's childhood, he'd get beaten up by the academy students, probably.

"Temari-san," Uchiha wife waver her hand. "What's with all this date rumor?"

"That was his idea." Shikadai was now among other kids watching performance. Date or not, it would definitely be not fair to strip the boy of all the fun. "To make up for his dad, most likely."

"Why?" Well, no matter how busy things are in Hokage's office, Sakura still was the one who would see her husband the least.

"Kids got agitated about anniversaries some time ago..." Temari replied laughing. "So Shikadai couldn't let go of the fact that his dad kind of forgot about... let's see... last ten of them." She omitted the part where she'd realize this fact weeks later.

Those magical words worked again. 'Girls from the Leaf really care too much about those insignificant details, huh?' Temari thought, watching Sakura fight her inner self. Among all of them, she was definitely the angriest one.

"He didn't send the letter." Was Temari's guess.

"Not even a week later, like the last year." No, she wasn't just angry. Uchiha wife was furious.


It's always only after the nightfall that the most interesting part begins. That's probably why the kids are not allowed to stay long enough to participate. It was only during those festivals that it would be otherwise. The best part for kids to enjoy had to be after the dark. After all, there would be no point in firing fireworks in the middle of the day. That was the magic of festival nights, and a sole irreplaceable reason for children to be up till this late.

Kagemasa show was be the last one before the fireworks start. The two best parts had to be left till the very end. The show would come finish, leaving the kids mesmerized and excited; they'd join their families still bragging about the gifts they've received and Kagemasa's new techniques. It would be that very moment when the first fiery flower will bloom in the sky. Bright red, just like the symbol of this country. Few more moments and it'll fade away, just for another couple of colorful flowers to blossom.

Shikadai watched them fade and appear again. The sight, that seemed almost magical, brought up an unsettling feeling somewhere deep inside of him. Everything was right, and yet…

"Mom, is it really ok that the dad is not here?" he asked.

The colors blooming in the sky were reflected on her face with totally new shades. She couldn't be happy, she wasn't supposed to be. And yet Shikadai's mom smiled.

"Of course it is." She pressed a tip of his nose as if it was a doorbell button. "I have a perfectly grown man right here, after all."

For a moment the boy hoped that bright red color in the sky will hide away the blush on his face.


Shikamaru's day was boring. The paperwork kept coming, making him regret taking this job in a first place. The sun has already disappeared from the sky, it was mere half an hour left before the nightfall. Even after two whole days and a night spent in the office the amount of work didn't seem to end. Not even close to it. The perspective of spending another night in the office sounded way too depressing. This time of the year was always the busiest one, and by all means the least favorite one for Shikamaru.

For a while now he found himself staring at the shadows on the ceiling. Feeling this much pressure all of sudden he couldn't help but to slack off. The amount of work was devastating, and it was about the time he'd return to it, but…

What was the point if he still won't make it home tonight?

More than anything else in the world he'd like to hear Temari's scolding right now.

Because all of his willpower would not be enough at this point.

Someone knocked on the door.

So it was actually a good thing that he wasn't working right now.

"Come in."

The door opened.

"Hey."

He'd hope to see another golden haired woman at her place, but for now she was enough to create a reasonable excuse for him not to work.

"What are you doing here, Ino?"

"Came to pick my husband up." The old teammate smiled. "There's a festival at the shrine today."

Must be nice to just casually spend time with the family.

"So, what are you doing HERE?"

He certainly didn't like the way she was smiling now.

"I wanted to ask." Ino came closer. "Shikamaru, do you know what day is it today?"

It took him some time to remember something so basic.

"Wednesday."

Now she didn't even try to hide how irritated she was. Probably, that wasn't what she meant.

"Shikamaru, are a complete idiot, or what?" She crossed arms on her chest. "Try to remember any important date around this time?"

He started thinking again. Well, there was another exam coming up, and the Kage meeting... but Ino shouldn't know any of this. Then it's not related to work. Something personal? Well, no birthdays were to come up for weeks. Another important holiday? Not that he could remember of. And yet it has to be something very obvious, since Ino already started to lose tiny bits of patience left.

She sighted.

"Tell me, do you remember the day you got married?"

"Of course." It was definitely in the middle of summer. That was the result of a death match between the elders of two villages. Was it done on purpose that in the end it happened to be the least convenient time in a year, Shikamaru wondered up till now. It was very hot, right in a middle of the festival season, and the Hokage office was overloaded with paperwork. Just like now...

"Oh, crap!" Somehow he got the feeling that it wasn't his first anniversary he forgot about. Did they even celebrate one before? Honestly, he couldn't remember.

"There you go." Now Ino seemed satisfied. "I'm leaving now."

"Huh?"

"I only came by to make you feel guilty."

That he was. Ino made sure of it. And judging from her behavior it certainly seemed like a big deal to her. Otherwise, she wouldn't come here to gloat in the first place. That would be the most predictable reaction, that majority of the girls would show at this point. Ino is a great example of that. But since "the majority" wasn't the case, he could hardly predict a possible outcome. With Temari in question anything could happen.

"Bye!" Ino already opened door.

"Wait!" Shikamaru stood up.

He knew that he won't be able to figure it out. Not right now.

"Hm?" Ino turned around.

Just one hint would be enough.

"Have you seen Temari today?"

He's never seen expression like that on Ino's face before.

"Oh, yeah." Her voice was sweeter than honey now. "She's having a date tonight."

She left before he managed to say anything.

"Huh?" He fell back on his chair still staring at the closed door. For couple of minutes he tried to analyze her words and somehow find a logical explanation. However, the only thought his brain was capable of, was: 'What the hell?!'


"Hey, Naruto..."

"What?.." Hokage looked even less alive than Shikamaru did few minutes ago.

"It doesn't seem efficient at all." The mountain of papers didn't reduce no matter how much time they've spent working on it. "Maybe, we need a break."

"I guess, you're right..." Naruto fell face down on the pile of documents.

Dealing with papers was probably not at all what he had in mind, when he aimed to become Hokage.

"Say, Naruto..." The words Ino said were still budging Shikamaru. "Does Hinata get angry when you forget about anniversaries?"

"Ah!" Naruto jumped up. Shikamaru literally could see Hokage's brain working excessively as the guy tried to calculate something. Probably the date of their last anniversary. When the result came out, he looked completely defeated. "I'll have to think of something next time I go home..." he looked at the papers around and added: "If I go home."

Somehow, the mood got even more depressing than it was before.

"Why do you ask?" Hokage tried to break awkward silence. "When is your anniversary?"

"Kind of... today."

Now it got even more awkward.

"You should go then." Hokage said staring out of the window. It was already dark. "Girls are crazy about this stuff, you know."

"What about you?"

"Me..." Painful expression came across Naruto's face as he looked at the papers again.

"Take a break. You won't be able to work in that condition." Shikamaru said. No matter how he looked at it, only him having a night off was not fair. "Everyone is on the festival tonight..."

"Yeah, I guess you're right...

It was perfectly normal to have a short time off once in a while…


The fresh air helped Shikamaru cleat up his mind. Now thinking about Ino's words again, there was a fine chance that she said those things out of some kind of weird revenge. They didn't make any sense at all to him, and there was no way in hell that they were true. Even though he knew that perfectly well, he still found himself running through the crowd, as if his life depended on making it in time.

"Shikamaru?" A familiar voice called out to him. "What are you doing here?"

Hinata sure looked surprised. To crush into the whole Uzumaki family, minus Hokage, of all people here was rather unexpected.

"Taking a break." He shouldn't make at least her angry, when Naruto comes here. "Have you seen Temari?"

He looked around. However, there were no familiar faces anywhere near, except for both of Naruto's kids, wearing the masks of that new crappy superhero everyone talks about now. It was almost time for the fireworks and his chances of making it before were rather slim.

"Yeah, they should be somewhere over there."

"Thanks." Shikamaru said and started making his way to that direction.

'Wait, did she say "they"?' He suddenly realized. As he passed by the kids, he heard Himawari singing a simple song that contained just one word repeated many times: "Date, date, date, date~".

'Maybe, it's just my imagination.' Shikamaru decided, trying not to overthink at this point.

"Isn't it Shikamaru?" Another female voice called out to him. And it was still the wrong one. "Looking for someone?"

"Yeah. Ten Ten, have you seen my wife?"

"Fufu~ you might have got a competition now, you know that?" She enjoyed the frustration on his face. "They should be over there."

'What the hell?' He thought again, making his way forward. The first fireworks were already fired.

"Careful, man." Red haired woman with dark skin turned around. "Watch where you're going."

"Sorry, Karui." He still didn't feel comfortable around her even after all this time that she was married to his best friend.

"Looking for Temari?"

"Yeah, have seen…"

"Oh, I saw! It was so romantic!" A plump girl popped out in front of him before her mom said anything. "He was just like a hero for a lonely maiden's heart! A meeting under the stars, as if it was destined by gods! A perfect guy to make your heart flutter! Who'll fight the circumstances just to be together. It was fate! The moment you see them holding hands, you know it! Ah~ I wish to meet someone just like that..."

"Huh?"

"You've heard her." Karui nodded with absolutely blank expression.

"Huh?!" Shikamaru dealt with the shock and turned to the only sane person here. "Chouji?"

"Sorry, I didn't see anyone." He laughed. "I was eating."

"Go that way." Karui smirked. "Maybe you can make it."

"Ok." At this point he didn't know what to think anymore. He already regretted asking in a first place.

When Shikamaru saw Sakura in the crowd, he nearly felt like running away. Unfortunately, she noticed him before he managed to do that.

"Over there," she said instead of a greeting. "He's a fine young man. I almost envy."

He didn't even stop to think about it. The fireworks will be over soon, but before that...

Just one more effort and he saw them.

"Huh, Shikamaru, what are you doing here?" Temari didn't look surprised at all. If she's here, then so is...

"Aren't you supposed to be working, dad?" The 'fine young man' holding Temari's hand was no other than Shikadai.

The words Shikamaru heard today kept echoing in his mind, as he tried to comprehend this whole mess.

"A date?!"

"A date." Both mother and son said it together in a same voice with the same expression on their faces. Everyone said that Shikadai resembled his father a lot, but definitely not right now.

"Ha?"

"What did you expect, dad? Being away all the time." Shikadai was still a kid, but already mastered one of those 'are you an idiot' expressions Temari would have. He turned to his mom. "Dad's jealous face looks kind of cool."

"So you've noticed it too." It might have been just because of the fireworks, but Shikamaru could swear that her eyes were shining with excitement.

"So this is why?.." he asked.

"Of course." Again, both of them. Same face, same words, same satisfied smile.

"What the hell..."

"Come here, it'll be over soon!" Temari pulled him closer.

His tired brain still couldn't fully comprehend what this was all about. The scheme implemented that perfectly couldn't be one of Shikadai's doing, not yet anyways. He didn't have this skill to manipulate people that they wouldn't even notice it. He is still too young for that. It must be all Temari's doing. But she usually never interferes with his work. Shikamaru recalled what he was thinking before Ino budged into his office, and looked again at his wife.

'She wouldn't possibly know, would she?'

After all these years when Shikamaru thought that he already figured her out, she'd still manage to surprise him like that and show an expression he's never seen before. After all this time, still…

Challenging.

Yeah, that would be the right word.

Even this little brat who claimed to be afraid of her decided to play along.

'What's the deal with this anniversary anyway?' Shikamaru thought looking at his wife. 'So is it even important after all?'

To go to such lengths and even win the sympathy of Hidden Leaf's female population… for what? She'll never say nor admit doing any of it.

At least one thing was worth asking directly…

"Temari, are you angry?" He finally said it. "About the anniversary?"

"Of course not." Straightforward as usual. "I don't really care about it."

"Then why?.."

She and Shikadai exchanged same understanding looks.

"It seemed fun!" Now Shikamaru knew for sure that those green eyes could shine with this much joy. For both of them, of course.

'What a drag...' he thought, actually feeling happy.


"Sorry, I'm late!"

"What took you so long?" Inojin could hardly hide his excitement today. "The fireworks are almost over!"

"There was something I absolutely needed to do." Ino still had that content smile on her face as if she singlehandedly defeated all the Akatsuki members tonight.


'I wonder, if I didn't say anything unnecessary...' Hinata wondered. Seeing Shikamaru during the festival was definitely unexpected. Then, maybe...

"Hey, Hinata." He actually was here.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?"

"Taking a break."

"Dad!" Himawari jumped to hug him. "Guess what, I had a date today!"

Hinata saw her husband's face stiffen.

"Huh? With whom?"

"Oniichan!"

"Where do you even know that word from?"

"Shika-nii-chan!"


"Look, papa, that one is just like a chicken leg!"

"And those look like dumplings!"

"That one is pizza!"

"Here comes the hamburger!"

That wasn't your ordinary fireworks viewing method.

"How about that one?" Karui asked.

"That one is definitely..." Chouji started.

"Yup, definitely..." ChouChou agreed.

"Potato chips!" The father and daughter exclaimed together.

'Figures.' Thought Karui. 'I hope they won't feel like celebrating rare flavor chips eating anniversary this week again...'


"Mama, why didn't you tell him?" Asked Sarada as they watched fireworks fly up and bloom in the skies.

"Sarada," it was the same calm polite tone of voice in which she spoke to Lord Hokage's advisor. "When you grow up, get married and your husband will forget about your anniversary... you'll understand, why mama did this today."

In the bright colors of the fireworks it was impossible to see a single bird in the sky. The hawk circled down and landed on Sakura's shoulder. She hesitantly reached for the letter.

"It's been two months, you moron!" She whispered in a plain fury. "It's not even OUR anniversary today!"

Only a miracle held her back from destroying the whole place.


'Anniversaries are fun!' Thought Shikadai on their way home. 'Hmm, how can we surprise dad next year?'


Author's note: Love this feeling when I can actually write down the idea that was bugging me for weeks. This was actually the original one that I've planned for 'Moments' extra chapter, but somehow couldn't come up with a decent story. Should I mention that the original idea was a bit sad? But I like funny version better! I love the girl cooperation team! I love those sadistic boys! And I definitely love this story!

There are two types of girls in this world. The one who'd celebrate 'three years four month and two days since we've first met' and those who'd think 'oh, a week ago was our anniversary, I totally forgot', haha. I do believe Temari and Karui belong to the second one, haha. Actually I kind of liked Karui here. Makes me want to write some more.

It's somehow hard to write from Shikadai's point of view. Probably because his character is still to develop in the series. ChouChou's BS is also kind of hard, haha. But I do like her. She makes the whole story more interesting, hehe.

I wonder why is that family fluff is kind of hard for me to write? I feel natural writing angst and romance though… But it's hard to sound poetic recently... have to keep reminding myself about that...

* - refers to the Chapter 7 of the 'Moments' series.

Be updated!