Inoichi considered his options as he walked. It was much too early to return home. If he did, his mother would instantly be suspicious, unless she was in one of her moods. But generally after a particularly bad bout, like the one she had experienced the previous day, she was normal for a short while. That meant that she would likely be alert for the next few days.
No, returning home was not an option.
He supposed he should train, but he would have to find somewhere to do so. Genin were rarely allowed to monopolize a training field, especially not without a squad with which to train. If he wanted to train, he would have to do so in his own practice space, which would be difficult to find.
He clenched his teeth. If only the Nara boy were not so completely incompetent, his team might be tolerable. The Akimichi boy was clumsy, but salvageable with the proper training; however, Nara's lack of discipline was a different problem entirely. They would never be ready for evaluations when their sensei finally deigned to meet with them. If he ever did.
That particular detail nagged at the back of Inoichi's thoughts, a vicious feline waiting to pounce on unsuspecting prey. Thus far Daisuke Omaeda had made absolutely no contact with any of the three of them. Did he simply not know that a team of genin was waiting for his training? Or did he simply not care? Often, jonin who had been given the unappealing task of training genin were forced into the task because of a failed mission or poor performance in an ANBU unit. Perhaps Omaeda was one of those.
"Oy, Yamanaka!" The voice, with its strange accent punctuated by odd emphasis placement, was instantly familiar to Inoichi. He half-turned in the road, watching calmly as Hua jogged down the road to meet him, a grin lighting his impish features. "Whatcha doin', Yamanaka? I thought your team'd be training from the get-go."
Inoichi hesitated to answer. Should he tell Hua that the assignment had already failed, that there was no way his "team" could ever fulfill its purpose? His pride was reluctant to let him do so.
He went with a half-truth instead.
"We ended early today."
"Ah, right." Hua caught up to him and gestured for Inoichi to continue walking, setting a pace that was alarmingly fast. "You guys are probably already getting ready for the Chunin exams, right?"
He laughed heartily, and Inoichi's stomach churned slightly. Was this what everyone expected from his team? He had graduated at the top of his class, but he never expected anyone to pay it much attention. The entire village's hope was focused on the class behind him, where they were supposedly bringing up the next great prodigy. Compared to that boy's brilliance, Inoichi's intelligence was a dull glimmer, the difference between a torch and a firefly.
What would they say when they found out the truth?
"What's eatin' ya? You look upset. Did I say something?"
Inoichi shook himself from his reverie, blinking with surprise at Hua. Had his musings been that apparent?
"No. I was just thinking."
Hua nodded sagely. "'Course. Wise old Yamanaka, always stuck inside that complicated head of yours.
"Better be careful," he joked conspiratorially, "or someday you may not be able to get back out!"
Inoichi managed a faint smile and Hua seemed to think that was satisfactory. They walked for a few more yards in silence, then Hua stopped, glancing at his watch.
"Looks like it's almost time for my team's practice. Better not miss it. We've gotta keep up with your team somehow!"
He gave a short, formal bow to Inoichi and then grinned, waving as he ran off down the road. "See ya later, Yamanaka! Don't work too hard!"
Inoichi waved back, feeling a bit as though he had briefly been caught up in a tornado and then abruptly released. He wondered if Hua's fast-paced chatter made everyone feel this exhausted.
"Strange…" he muttered to himself.
The sound of footsteps coming down the road forced him to leave his musings for another time. The footfalls were light, and when Inoichi glimpsed the person jogging down the road, it surprised him.
Despite his girth, it appeared that the Akimichi boy was very light on his feet.
"Inoichi-san!" His breathless baritone was punctuated by gasps of air, and when he finally caught up with Inoichi, he had to pause for few moments to catch his breath.
Inoichi was fairly certain he knew what Akimichi had come to discuss.
"If you have come to ask me to come back to training, I will not do so as long as Nara remains so lax."
The Akimichi boy looked at him with a stricken expression, but it was not one of surprise.
"I figured. Shikaku is… well, he can be difficult at times." He shrugged guilelessly. "But we're a team. We've got to do something."
"I have tried." Inoichi responded.
The Akimichi boy frowned, and opened his mouth as if to protest, but he thought better of it and stopped. In the silence, his stomach rumbled loudly.
All of a sudden, his face lightened, and he lifted his head. "Hey, I'm pretty hungry. Wanna go for lunch?"
Inoichi considered; what could it hurt, really? The Akimichi boy was not the one he had a problem with. Perhaps if they could come to some sort of accord, at least two members of the team would be prepared by the time they met with Omaeda.
"Alright."
"Choza!" Shikaku barked.
Choza turned, his leonine mane following his every movement. He smiled at his friends' approach.
"Lost your son again?"
Shikaku merely grumbled. Inoichi was the one to answer.
"And my daughter. You haven't seen them, have you?"
Choza smiled, nodding over Inoichi's shoulder. Both Inoichi and Shikaku turned to look behind them.
Standing in the shade of one of the many trees that inhabited the Yamanaka estate, Shikamaru held up a hand to wave lazily. "Seen whom?"
Choji was not far behind him. "Probably you."
"And my daughter?" Inoichi emphasized. Choza snickered lightly behind him.
Shikamaru shrugged. "How should I know? I'm not allowed to see the bride beforehand, right?"
"So help me, boy, I taught you better than to speak to your future father-in-law that way." Shikaku growled. Shikamaru just grinned, but it quickly faded when he saw that his father was not in a joking mood.
"Honestly, I haven't seen her. Maybe Sakura would know." He shrugged nonchalantly.
Inoichi fought back a smile. If Shikamaru was nervous, he certainly didn't show it now. When he stared off into the distance, the slightest hint of smile lit his face. The smile brought to memory the wedding of another Nara shinobi, one who had been equally happy to wed his bride. Hard to believe that had been so long ago.
It's good, Inoichi thought. Good that the boy is happy.
"Well, I suppose I'll continue the search then."
Inoichi had never seen someone eat so much in his entire life. As he picked at his miso, Choza slurped down his third bowl.
"So are you worried?"
Inoichi looked up at the Akimichi boy's words, squeezed in between mouthfuls.
"About what, precisely?"
His teammate finished off the last of the bowl with great relish. "That our sensei hasn't, you know… contacted us. Do you think we should go find him?"
"I…" Don't know. Inoichi thought with annoyance, but he couldn't say that. "…think we should wait a bit longer, perhaps. He must know about the assignment, after all."
"I hope so."
Choza looked at his empty bowl with a frown.
"We're… not really ready to see him, are we?"
Inoichi didn't bother to censor his thoughts this time.
"No, we're not."
There was silence for a few moments. The restaurant wasn't particularly busy for a weekday afternoon; only a few customers sat chatting quietly while the owners reclined on the counter, swatting at the occasional fly that buzzed in through the window. It was almost relaxing.
Then Choza slammed his fist down on the table. The force of the blow shook the whole structure, and the sound was enough to make Inoichi jump.
"You and Shikaku have to figure this out."
Inoichi shrugged. "I would be perfectly willing to work with him if he would simply be civil."
Choza shook his head. "No, that's not good enough. Even if you all have to fight it out, we have to work together. Shikaku is not going to back down, and neither are you, but you have to find some way to make it work. We're shinobi now, and we have to act like it."
Choza picked up his check and stood up, crossing his arms as he regarded Inoichi. His posture held an authority that Inoichi hadn't noticed in previous encounters, and it surprised him. Perhaps he truly had underestimated the Akimichi boy.
"Either you solve it, or we all go back to being failures. Not even Genin. Your choice, Inoichi-san."
He paid for his check and left the restaurant, leaving Inoichi alone with his thoughts.
Maybe, just maybe, the Akimichi boy was right. Maybe he did have to… compromise. The idea didn't appeal to Inoichi, but one thing was certain: he was not about to be reduced to less than a Genin.
His mind made up, he paid for his own check and headed out. There were some errands he needed to run, and he had no time to waste.
A/N: Of all the stories I've written thus far, I really have to say this one is probably my favorite. Working on it is just so interesting!
Anyway, thank you to all of you who have read so far! I'm so glad that this has generated a little bit of interest. If you would, leave me a review and tell me what you think of the story and how it's progressing. And, as always, happy reading!
- Senka