I'm sorry it took me so long to get this up, but I've been really busy. In addition to all the boxing stuff I do, For the past couple of years I've been a touring Slam and Performance Poet. So every once in awhile someone pays me to go somewhere and perform or teach. So I was gone the past couple of days doing that, and I didn't have much time on my hands. Anyways I'm back now and I hope to get a few more chapters out soon. I hope you guys are enjoying the story, and I really appreciate your reviews. I get hyped every time I see that I have a new one. So keep them coming.
I do not own Naruto. Chapter 10: Day Off
For the first time in three days since his fight, Shikamaru was able to get up out of bed. The swelling and bruising had begun to go down and even though every movement sent a thunder of pain throughout his body, he was sick of having his mother hover over him. It had always surprised Shikamaru how kind his mother could become in the days following a fight, In his childhood he'd watch his father with jealousy as his mother made him all his meals and brought them to him in bed. At a young age, having food brought to him in bed seemed like something worth wishing for. Even in his earliest years, Shikamaru had despised getting out of bed, and most of the time the reason he was required to get up was because his mother would yell at him to come to the table for breakfast. Being allowed to stay in bed and eat would solve all his problems. He never understood why his father would demand that his mother give him some time alone. Until now, for three days Yoshino had checked on her son every five minutes, constantly asking if there was anything she could get him. He couldn't count how many times he had said no to her in the past seventy two hours, but the thought of one more day of being stuck in the house with her was enough to jump start his healing process and get him out of bed quickly.
As he stepped out his front door and lit his first cigarette of the day he was overcome with a strange uncomfortable feeling, he realized it was because it was the first time in months he had left the house while wearing anything other than workout clothes. It was also the first time in months he hadn't left his house at a jogging pace. He had been doing roadwork for so long that he had forgotten how it felt to walk in the morning.
Shortly after realizing all this he thought of something else that was a major flaw in his day. With his body still in recovery and not fit for training, he simply found that he had absolutely nothing to do. Shikamaru came to the conclusion that he had not led much of an eventful life, in his childhood and teenage years he would go to school and then go to the gym to train with Asuma. Even when he quit boxing, he would go to his classes and then go to work. With no job and no training to do he realized there were no other activities that he participated in.
Shikamaru was never much of a social butterfly, he found that people were often the most difficult things to deal with; he would balance between being kind enough to seem polite, but distant enough for people not to get attached to him. Often times in his youth he would come up with excuses as to why he would not be able to spend time with people whenever they asked him to an outing. After dwelling on his thoughts, Shikamaru decided all that was left was to go to the gym and ask Chouji if he wanted to go eat lunch, an offer Shikamaru knew his friend would never even think to refuse.
Shikamaru felt more comfortable once he entered the Sarutobi gym and heard the familiar sounds. He waved towards his father who was working in the ring with Konohamaru Sarutobi, Asuma's nephew and one of the youngest members of the gym.
"Oii Chouji!" Shikamaru announced his entrance as he pushed open the office of the gym where Chouji could usually be found. Instead of finding his large friend stuffing his face with a bag of chips, he found someone else. A familiar pair of teal eyes glanced up from papers that were strewn all over the desk as Shikamaru entered.
"You just missed him." Temari spoke as she signed her name at the bottom of a sheet of paper. "What are you doing here? Where is Chouji?" Shikamaru demanded, his voice sounding harsher than he had intended it to. Temari kept her cool as she spoke. "Just working on some contracts, He didn't say where he was heading, why do you ask?" Shikamaru sighed at the fact that his day planned had been ruined and raised a hand to rub the back of his head. "Well... I was planning on taking him to lunch." Temari perked up at his words. "Lunch? Sounds great I'm starving. Let's go." Temari quickly got up and grabbed her coat and walked past Shikamaru at the doorway. Shikamaru was speechless, he attempted to figure out a way to deny her, but he drew a blank. "Are you coming or what?" she asks. Shikamaru considered his options, but after realizing he had nothing else to do with his day off, he decided he might as well go with the flow of things.
A few minutes later he found himself seated opposite of Temari in the same restaurant he had taken her to before. "You're a cheap guy aren't you?" Temari asks while looking at the menu, Shikamaru could feel a small part of him already being bothered by her. "I'm not, Why would you say so?" Temari smirked at his words. "Well you took me to the same place and I figure you're putting the money on Chouji's tab again? So that means you've taken me out to eat twice and not paid either time." Shikamaru considered her words before speaking. "Well, I'm not a cheap person. If I were taking a girl out, I would pay, but I'm not taking you out. You just came without asking, and I would never take a girl like you out, so there's no way I'm ever paying for you." Temari scoffed at his words. "And what's so bad about me?" she asks as she crosses her arms. Shikamaru had been waiting for an opportunity like this, he had been prepared of all the things he wanted to go off on her about, and now was his chance. "Where do I even begin? You're such a bother, every time you're around it makes everything difficult for everyone else, you are too aggressive, it's not a good look on a woman of your age and standing, I think you make it your life goal to cause trouble for me, you are everything I despise in one package, and the worst thing about you is that you're with that bastard, even the thought of knowing he has been near you drives me sick to my stomach. You disgust me."
A silence fell around them; all of the other patrons of the restaurant had their eyes on the two. Shikamaru instantly felt the weight of guilt in his stomach. Temari had broken eye contact and was looking down at the table. Shikamaru felt the urge to apologize to her for his outburst, but he couldn't conjure up the words. "Well… whatever Nara, No one gives a shit what you think." Temari spoke with a smile. Shikamaru felt the mood lighten around thanks to her carefree answer, but by the way her eyes had looked the moment before she spoke he could tell that his words had hurt her in some way. Another awkward silence fell around them, and Shikamaru was glad when the food was brought, because it gave them something other to focus on than conversation.
After a few minutes of eating Temari spoke up, "So how did you do it?" Shikamaru finished chewing before answering. "How did I do what?" Temari pointed a stick of grilled meats at him as she spoke. "How did you beat Kiba? It's been bugging me all week. I mean, you were finished in that fight, and then a second later he was on the canvas. What's your secret Nara?" Shikamaru thought for a moment about what his secret in the ring might be. "Well, there is no secret. It was just a simple mind game. After the first round ended, I knew I was far behind on the score cards with addition to the knockdown, so it was absolutely necessary that I knocked Kiba out. The problem was that I couldn't get close to him without getting hit, so I used the last round to my advantage. I made him think I was using the exact same strategy as the first round. I stepped back the same amount of steps I had in the first round, in to the same exact corner I was trapped in before. Then I let him land the same exact hits that he did the first time, in the same places he landed them, before I went down. In addition to my father's panicked yelling, the crowd's cheers, and the image of my mouth guard being knocked out, I was able to convince Kiba he had knocked me out the same exact way he had in the first round. And when he dropped his guard, I was able to get around him to trap him in the corner, and well you saw the rest of it."
Temari was amazed, she had never thought it was possible for a boxer to fake a knockout in order to get one of his own, and if she had not seen it with her owns eyes she would have trouble believing it had happened. Her interest in Shikamaru as a boxer and as a person grew instantly, she had assumed that Chouji was the star boxer of the Sarutobi Gym, but maybe there was more than one star under the roof of that building.
"What were you doing at that fight anyways? You weren't invited." Temari laughed at Shikamaru's question, and how hell bent he was on making her know that she was not welcome around him. "Chouji invited me; I was going in hopes to see you get your ass beat. That would have been a dream come true." Shikamaru's eyebrows furrowed. "Well next time don't go, I don't think I want to see you there." Temari laughs again. "Well like I said before Nara, nobody gives a shit what you think; now finish eating so you can take me back."
Shikamaru considered retaliating with his words, but her laughter stopped him in his tracks. It was a coarse and raspy laugh, it reminded him of sandpaper, it was tough, but comforting. Shikamaru decided that it fit Temari perfectly. He decided against egging her own with insults and banters and to just enjoy the rest of his meal in silence with the young woman.