Disclaimer: I am not the own of Naruto.
"They're just big balls of gas," He complained.
She glared. "No, they're beautiful."
Stars
"Wanna go out for ramen?" Choji asked his teammates as they finished practice, breathing heavily. Shikamaru pulled a kunai out of the ground and nodded with a normal grunt of approval. Ino fixed her long, silky blonde hair and shrugged.
"Sure," She said, "Why not."
A month before, Ino would've snorted and said no and Choji and Shikamaru would go alone like they always had. But even though they didn't act it, Choji thought that Team Ten was working out pretty well. They'd been doing missions together for a while, so it only made sense that they should eat together sometimes.
"What about you, sensei?" Choji asked Asuma, who shook his head.
"I have a previous engagement," The man took long drag from a cigarette, "Sorry, kids."
"You're going on a date with Kurenai-sensei, aren't you," Their sensei blushed when Ino suggested it. He stuttered. "I'm right." Ino grinned. Choji laughed. Shikamaru yawned. Together- sort of- the three headed off to the ramen shop, Asuma still struggling for words.
-
"Hey," Shikamaru nodded to Naruto and Iruka as they passed the two leaving the ramen shop while he and his team went in. Iruka nodded, Naruto waved. Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru took seats along the bar. Choji waved to a man sitting at the counter
"Choji! How are you, my man!" The overly-peppy man asked. "Shikamaru, good to see you! Surprised you got outta bed today! Who's this young lady!"
Ino looked taken aback that the man phrased everything like it ended in an exclamation point, so Shikamaru answered for her. "That's Ino. She's on our team."
"Ah! Yes! Team Ten! You treating these young men here well!" The man sitting at counter asked. Choji and Shikamaru burst out laughed.
"Nope!" Choji answered for her. She glared.
"Choji! You are so lucky I don't have any food or it'd be on your head!" She threatened, which caused the man to perk up.
"Ah! Food! One round, correct! I'll pay!" Choji nodded his approval. Ino blinked as the man headed off.
"He's an... interesting man," She said, stating it nicely.
"The Ramen Man is crazy," Shikamaru affirmed. Choji nodded. The Ramen Man brought them their ramen and they all began to chow down, not speaking a word.
Ino ate two bowls before stopping. "I've totally passed my carb limit," She explained.
Shikamaru ate eight bowls before he fell asleep on the counter. "Again!" The Ramen Man said, laughing.
Choji stopped after the tenth bowl. The Ramen Man grinned. "Choji! I'm sorry but they need to close up!"
"Going on a date with Ayame?" The Ramen Man grinned.
"All thanks to you, Choji! Now, run on up!"
Choji blushed. Ino looked interested. "Up where?" She asked the Ramen Man. Choji made slashing movements against his throat, trying to give the eccentric man the message that he should shut up. The Ramen Man did not get it.
"To the boys' roof!" he explained. "Shikamaru! Awake!" He poked the sleeping boy on the shoulder. He didn't move.
"Choji?" The boy didn't answer Ino's inquiry. She sighed, and pulled Shikamaru's ear. "SHIKAMARU! WAKE UP!" She yelled into his ear. The boy flailed and fell out of his seat.
"Ino!" He complained, sitting up. "What was that for?"
"We gotta go. The Ramen Man says the owners wanna close," Ino explained exasperatedly.
Shikamaru sighed and stood. "Aw man... How troublesome. I dun wanna have ta deal with my mother today..."
Ino shrugged. "Hey, where else you gonna go?" She said, leaning on the counter.
"Up," Choji suggested, and caught Shikamaru's eye. Ino grinned.
-
The boys were uncannily quiet as the ascended a ladder from behind the Ramen Man's counter, Shikamaru before her and Choji after her. After less then a minute of climbing, she found herself atop the ramen shop, staring out across the darkened city.
"Ino!" She looked around. Shikamaru waved at her from a spot where he sat on a roof two houses over. Choji shut the trapdoor in on the ramen shop's roof and grinned.
"Shika! Catch!" The boy yelled. Their lazy companion looked over just in time to be hit in the face by a bag of chips that Choji had thrown at him. Four more came at him quickly. He caught only one. Choji laughed and, with a running start, leaped to the next roof, then did the same to join Shikamaru. He sat down beside his friend, who lay with his hands behind his head, and opened one bag of chips. Ino grimaced.
"You comin'?" Choji yelled at her. She nodded and looked over the edge of the ramen shop's roof. "You need some help?" She couldn't tell if he was making fun of her for being afraid to jump the small gap or if he was seriously concerned. Either way, she didn't want his help, so she glared at him across two roofs.
"I don't need your help," She said darkly, and- closing her eyes- jumped to the next roof. She wobbled as the impact sent shocks up her legs, but otherwise was fine. Grinning cockily, she took a sprinting start and gracefully leaped to join the boys. She flipped her blonde ponytail over her shoulder and slid down between them.
For a minute they were quiet. It was not late enough for the first stars or the moon, but the sun was nowhere in sight. Shikamaru handed her a bag of chips as he opened his own and stuck one in his mouth with a satisfying crunch.
"On a diet," Ino complained, exasperated.
"You want diet soda, then?" Choji asked as he produced three sodas from a loose board in the roof. He rolled them over to his companions, who snatched the drinks up. Ino examined the ingredients of the soft drink, and then nodded slowly.
"I guess this'll be okay," She confirmed, as Choji opened his own drink beside her. Suddenly, a rain of dark brown soda exploded from the can like a fountain. Ino screamed and ducked away from the spray, but Choji, cackling, turned the can so the contents splashed all over the girl's chic clothes. She gasped in indignation.
"Hey!" She exclaimed in annoyance. But after a second, a sinister smile crept onto her face and she began to shake her own soda. "Two can play at that game!" She informed him and opened her soda, its contents spewing out all over Choji, who laughed and covered his face with his arms. Ino shrieked and dropped her can -which continued to spray brown liquid until empty- when Shikamaru hit her from behind with a blast from his own soda. Laughing, Choji grabbed another soda from under the board, shook it, and sprayed Shikamaru. While he was distracted, however, Ino seized another soda, shook it up, and hit Choji from behind. Laughing, the three continued this way until the last soda had been poured-unshaken- over Shikamaru's head by Ino. Clutching their stomachs, they rolled on the roof, consumed by laughter. A few aluminum cans fell over the edge of the roof, the rest lay still and empty.
After a few minutes, they calmed and sat up. Ino wrung out her soda-sprayed hair over the side before sitting beside the boys again. "This is going to cost a fortune in dry-cleaning," She informed them. None of the three cared.
-
The stars appeared. They didn't know how long they'd been spraying each other, as it was hard to tell at night.
"There's Virgo," Ino surprised them with her knowledge of the stars. "That's what we are, Shika. And over there's Taurus, which would be you, Choji." When the boys fixed her with confused looks, she sighed. "I met Tenten at the bathes a while back. She's pretty cool. Thinks stars tell you 'bout folks and what'll happen to 'em"
"How could they know?" Choji asked, tossing aside an empty chip bag. Ino shrugged.
"Who knows? I think it's kinda cool. I mean, that everything's written out in the sky but no one really knows how to read it," Ino said, lying down with her hands clasped behind her head beside the two boys, smiling lightly as she looked at the bright stars and nearly nonexistent moon. Choji did the same, but Shikamaru remained sitting up.
"They're just big balls of gas," He complained. She glared.
"No, they're beautiful," She said defiantly. Shikamaru shrugged and lay down beside his teammates, dropping an empty chip bag.
-
Choji and Shikamaru were soon hungry again and broke open another two of the chips. Sighing, Ino sat up.
"I miss chips so bad," She groaned, watching as her companions dug into the multicolored bags. Choji looked at her oddly.
"So break your diet," He said simply. She glared.
"I can't. I have to beat Sakura."
Shikamaru scoffed. "What, do you measure each other's waists? I will never understand women."
Ino moaned and lay down again, "And I will never understand either of you." The boys exchanged glances and a shrug, then fell back beside her.
-
They were quiet except for the sound of the boys eating, enjoying the beauty of the sky. Suddenly, Ino sighed and sat up again.
"Okay!" She burst out. "I can't deal with this. To hell with the diet. Chip me!" Choji cheered.
"Yeah, Ino! Stick it to the Man! You don't have ta be a stick figure!" He caroled as he threw her the last bag of chips. She greedily ripped it open and grabbed one, taking a small bite.
"I can die happy now!" She shouted, falling back between the boys again.
"Whatever..." Shikamaru said, rolling away from her outspread arms as she rejoiced. Ino just laughed and ate another chip.
"Oh man, I missed chips so much!" She continued to rant. Choji laughed heartily.
"Ino, if you're this excited about eating a couple of chips, I don't wanna see you when you decide to have ice cream again."
-
"Choji!" Choji moaned and groggily opened him eyes to see Ino kneeling beside him on the roof, poking him sharply in the ribs and hissing his name.
"What?" He groaned and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Do you realize what time it is?" She whispered anxiously. "We fell asleep up here! Do you know how worried our parents are gonna be?" The morning light reflected off the soda cans that moved in the light breeze. Standing, the girl sighed and stretched before walking over to the still-sleeping Shikamaru. "SHIKA!" She yelled, and kicked him in the stomach.
"OW! Ino!" Shikamaru sat up quickly, clutching his stomach. "Man, you're as bad as my mother!"
"C'mon, smarty. Let's get outta here before your mom kills Cho and me for keeping you out so late," She said, putting her hands on her hips. Shikamaru stood, groaning.
"Do I have to?" He whined. She just glowered. Choji jumped to the next roof. The occupants of that house banged loudly on the ceiling with what Choji thought to be a broom.
"Sorry!" He yelled down at them, whoever they were. Shikamaru leaped over behind him, followed by the graceful Ino. Choji waited for the other two at the other edge of the building, then-together- they jumped to the shop roof and descended the ladder.
-
The Ramen Man and a small girl about their own age met them.
"Hello, Choji, Shikamaru! Who's this!" Ino was not surprised that this girl spoke just as excitedly as her brother. Ino supplied her own name and asked the girl for hers.
"Nice ta meetcha, Ino! I'm called RG!" RG stated brightly, letting the three pass her. The Ramen Man waved cheerfully at them from his seat.
"Shikamaru! Your mother was here looking for you! Nearly bashed in my head with a frying pan!" Shikamaru groaned.
"Sorry 'bout her, man! You okay?" He asked as the owner helped them to the door.
"Just fine!" The Ramen Man cried. RG waved at the team's backs as they left. Choji and Shikamaru waved back.
-
"I can't believe there are more of them!" Ino finally said after the walked in silence for a minute.
"More of what? Ramen people?"
Ino snorted. Choji laughed.
"You snort when you laugh; you know that, Ino-pig?"
"Don't call me Ino-pig, Cho-pig!"
"It sound's better Ino-pig," Shikamaru told her. She turned red.
"SHIKA-PIG!" She yelled, earning odd looks from the morning commuters. The boys exchanged glances.
"SHIKA-MARU?" A shrill voice yelled. Shikamaru cussed and looked around.
"That's my mother," He said. "Man, what a drag..."
"Get behind us," Ino hissed, standing shoulder to shoulder next to Choji. Shikamaru nodded and ducked behind his teammates.
"Ino? Choji?" Shikamaru's mother addressed them curtly when she saw them. "Have you seen Shikamaru?"
"Nope. Sorry, Mrs. N," Ino lied.
"Not for a while," Choji fibbed. The woman furrowed her brows.
"All right. You'll tell him I'm looking for him if you see him?"
"Of course, Mrs. Nara," Ino assured the woman without batting an eyelash. Shikamaru's mother nodded briskly and headed off, shouting her son's name. Once she was out of sight, Shikamaru popped up from behind Choji and Ino.
"Thanks, I guess. Sorta embarrassing ta have a girlsave me, though," Shikamaru mused. Ino's eyes narrowed.
"Nara Shikamaru, I am going to kill you!" She yelled, swinging her fist at him.
"Whoa! Back off, woman!" He shrieked.
"I'm going to tell your mother!"
"In-o!"
"I'm going now!"
"Very fun- Hey, Ino, get back here! Ino! Aw, man, what a bother. Don't get my mother, please! INO!"
Choji laughed. Shikamaru only seemed to show an effort when his mother was brought into it. Shikamaru swore and fell back next to Choji.
"I hate her," Shikamaru complained.
"She's not that bad," Choji said.
She never did find Shikamaru's mother.
-
A/N: Please review, dearhearts!
Next chapter: 3 packs of cigarettes, 1 chuunin exam, 1 mistaken sensei, and too much food to count add up to the beginning of an adventure.