Day 2: Nickname


If Genma had a choice he would have a cool nickname like Stinger, Spike, or Crusher. Names he finds to be, in his own words, "badass".

No one calls him any of those names. In fact, no one called him anything other than his given name until the day Anko stepped into his path, blocking his exit from the Jonin break ready room, hands on her hips and a smile on her lips.

"You know, Genma-kun I finally figured it out."

He bit back a sigh, opting instead to click the metal of his senbon against his teeth. He wasn't in the mood for Anko. He rarely was in the mood for Anko, but after a three-week mission from hell when he hadn't even had time to shower he really wasn't in the mood. She wasn't a bad person, and was one hell of a great kunoichi and his favorite drinking partner, but like all good things she was best in small doses.

He realized that he had just been staring at her for the last few minutes, while his brain sluggishly tried to find a way out of talking to her. Coming to the conclusion that just getting it over with would be easier, and faster, he answered.

"What are you talking about?"

"What your little habit reminds me of," she said, reaching out to flick the end of his senbon.

He waited for her to elaborate but when she showed no sign of doing so he gave in to the urge to sigh that he had stomped on before.

"Either tell me now, or tomorrow at the bar but I am going to bed Anko." He stepped around her, heading for the door.

"Sure thing Noka-chan."

That stopped him at just short of the exit. He slowly turned around to look at her, senbon hanging loosely between his lips.

"Excuse me?"

"You look like a farmer sucking on a piece of straw."

Okay, he thought. That explained half of it. Noka was a common term for a farmer after all. He was pretty sure he knew why the other half was what it was, but he couldn't stop himself from asking.

"And why is it chan?"

She grinned at him, "because that makes your new nickname cuter, Noka-chan!"

The hushed conversations in the room stopped just in time for the metallic ping of his senbon bouncing on the floor to be startling in the sudden silence. Genma stared down at the smirking kunoichi, eyes wide, lips parted. Every part of his expression showing his disbelief.

His mouth moved a few times, trying to form the word and failing at least three time before a strangled "no" escaped.

He jumped as a hand clapped down on his shoulder, the smell of cigarette smoke reaching his nose as Asuma leaned forward to smile widely at him.

"Something wrong Noka-chan?"

That was the moment he knew he would never escape this new name. His paperwork, not the stuff he needed to file of course, but mission details that were set to be destroyed, was addressed to Noka-chan. His pay slips were written out to Noka-chan, which was fun to explain to the payroll boys. Every Jonin in the village called him Noka-chan, and he almost swallowed his senbon when even the Hokage used it.

That is until Raido and Aoba heard Kurenai call Asuma "Smoochy Boo" when they thought they were alone.

Apparently there was only room for one embarrassing nickname in Konoha.