Ayumi leaned her mouth into the palm of her hand as she frowned deeply, staring up at the blue, blue sky. There was no trace of the fierce thunderstorm that had raged relentlessly during the night; instead, the skies were mostly clear, with a few wispy remnants of the weather system just a few fluffy white clouds trailing lazily across the breeze. It was a rather beautiful day, in fact; the problem was, Ayumi was gazing up at it from the gaping hole in her living room ceiling.
A small section of the roof had collapsed as a result of the shingles coming loose, and the torrential rain had soaked the underlying insulation and sheetrock to the point that it swelled with water. Unable to contain the massive amount of weight, the bearings underneath had given way, spilling a good deal of the roof on her antique coffee table. Sheetrock dust littered the floor, and the fabric of her couch was damp with rainwater. The smell of mildew lingered in the air, making her screw up her nose in distaste.
"I suppose there's nothing for it," she sighed heavily and turned her back to the devastation. "I'll just have to go buy some lumber and fix it!" she decided with a determined grin. She marched over to the hallway closet to fetch her "focus mode" bandana, tying it tightly around her forehead after pulling her chestnut hair into a ponytail. She then pulled on a pair of rain boots and grabbed her wallet, humming cheerfully as she exited her damaged home. The ground was still soaked with the deluge, and the mud squelched under her boots as she crossed her lawn. She smiled at the little patch of weeds by her doorstep; she was sure that Shikadai would be delighted to find that his weed patch was growing nicely. He and Inojin were scheduled to come over and help her plant the seeds that they had chosen from Yamanaka Flowers, and she was determined to finish the repair job before that occurred. Resolute, she hurried toward the market.
As she walked briskly down the muddy streets, she realized that her home was not the only one to experience damage. Fences littered the side of the streets, having been dragged to the side of the road by an early patrol of ninja that morning. Flowerbeds were ripped up and tree branches snapped by the howling winds. Several other roofs had caved in, some worse than Ayumi's. Thankfully, she saw no one who experienced total loss, so she was at least happy that everyone had escaped the night relatively unscathed.
The market was bustling with activity as shoppers sought materials to replenish their damaged goods and repair their wrecked homes. Ayumi had to physically push herself through the crowd, apologizing profusely as she elbowed her way toward the lumberyard. As she got closer, the people thinned out enough for her to walk comfortably, but her bandana had ended up turned sideways and her hair was frazzled. She hurriedly straightened herself out proceeded to the entrance of the lumberyard, looking around with an unsure expression. What kind of wood would I need? she thought, pondering the predicament. She jumped when a burly man approached her with a slight smirk.
"You lost, hun? The grocery is that way," he smirked and spat on the ground. Ayumi blinked and bowed politely to the muscular man.
"Oh, I'm not lost. I'm here to purchase some lumber!" she responded cheerfully.
"For what? A flowerbed?" he scoffed. That's actually not a bad idea, she thought, then shook her head to clear away the idea. Focus!
"No, sir. You see, my roof caved in during the storm last night, so I need to buy some lumber to repair it!" she explained. The man blinked at her, then burst into a fit of laughter. It was roguish, a thundering laugh that shook his entire body.
"Hun, get lost. I only have time for real business," he sniffed when he finished, still sniggering. Ayumi's shoulders drooped sadly, and she turned to leave. She squeaked in fright as she bumped right into someone's chest. "Oh! I'm so sorry! Please forg- Oh!" she blushed and hurriedly cast her gaze to the sandy ground.
"Ayumi?" Shikamaru asked as he knitted his eyebrows together and leaned down to peer into her face. "You okay?"
"Y-yes!" she answered, slowly meeting his eyes. She flushed further, but did not break eye contact. Though Ino's tale had unnerved her that day, she regretted being so aloof, and she wanted to make an effort to keep up her friendship with the elite ninja.
"What are you doing all the way out here?" he asked as he leaned back and put a hand on his hip. "It's unusual for you to come this far out in the market," he frowned as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"I came to get some lumber," she answered. "My roof has some damage, and I need to fix it." At this, the Jonin raised his eyebrows.
"Ayumi, you were going to try and fix it yourself?" he asked worriedly. When she nodded, he smiled with a soft chuckle and plopped a hand on the top of her head. "Go home," he smirked. "I'll be there with a repair team in about an hour. We'll get you roof fixed up in no time, okay? In exchange, I need you to babysit Shikadai and Inojin." Ayumi's heart swelled with gratitude, and she nodded eagerly.
"Thank you, Shikamaru. What would I do without you?" she beamed up at him. As she rushed out of the lumberyard, she wondered, Really… What would I do?
Within the hour, Shikamaru arrived with a carpenter and a handful of elite Jonin. Ayumi was astonished that she recognized all of them to be several of Naruto's closest friends, some of the fiercest fighters during the last Great Ninja War. When she opened her mouth to protest, Shikamaru simply raised a finger to his lips with a mischievous wink, then hopped up onto her roof. Flustered, all she could do was smile when a familiar squeal echoed through her garden.
"Miss Ayumi!" Shikadai cried as he dashed between the legs of one of the ninja. He fell to the ground with a thump, and rubbed his behind tenderly as he glared at the child. He looked feral, almost; he had purple face paint on his cheeks, scruffy brown hair, and teeth with fang-like canines. He could only be Kiba Inuzuka, the renowned tracking ninja, she realized. She recognized him from her days at the Academy, and was amused to find that nothing had changed.
"Shikamaru! Control your brat!" he whined as he hopped to his feet and brushed off his pants with angry mumbles. He then jumped about two feet in the air when another ninja zipped to his side and screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Relax, Kiba! We are in the prime of our youth!" he beamed happily. A dopey bowl cut, an unfashionable green jumpsuit, an energetic personality. The one-and-only Rock Lee, she thought with a giggle. She looked down when the young boy clamped his arms around her knees with an ecstatic grin.
"Miss Ayumi! Are we going to plant the flowers today?" he beamed. Inojin came walking calmly up the path, looking around at the teacher's impressive arrangement of flowers and shrubs.
"Wow, Miss Ayumi. Mom would be proud," he remarked with a tiny smile. Instantly invigorated by the arrival of her young protégés, the young woman beamed happily down at them and motioned to the pile of gardening tools she had brought outside prior to the arrival of the ninja repair team.
"I have everything ready! When we're finished, why don't you help me make some tea for my heroes?" she smiled, smirking slightly as she regarded the team of ninja. Kiba's cheek turned a fair shade of pink and he rubbed the back of his neck shyly, while Lee howled with energy and leaped to the top of the roof. A second later he appeared, hanging upside-down by the gutter, to grab the bashful Kiba by his hood and fling him onto the roof. He landed with a crash, shaking the house.
"Don't cause more damage!" she heard Shikamaru whine, and Ayumi giggled before guiding the two boys over to the gardening plot and tying an apron around herself. She outfitted the children with a pair of child-sized ones that she had purchased in anticipation for the event. Inojin poked at his, admiring the smiling sun illustration, while Shikadai was elated that his own featured a large dinosaur. He mimicked the extinct beast, holding up his arms and nibbling at Ayumi's shoulder. The three of them erupted into a fit of giggles at his antics, and delayed the start of the gardening by almost five minutes due the uncontrollable laughter.
Shikamaru watched the young woman patiently guide the children through the process, a hint of a smile on his lips as he gazed warmly down at her. He bristled when Lee clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"She is pretty, isn't she, Shikamaru?" he grinned with a thumbs-up. The shy ninja began to panic at his incessantly loud voice, and he hastily pushed him away from the edge of the roof.
"Not so loud, idiot!" he hissed. His cheeks were blazing red from embarrassment; he was mortified that he had been caught staring at the teacher. Of course, he could lie and say he was watching his son, but he knew he had been caught red-handed. Lee just laughed and began hammering away at the roof, sniggering to himself. Muttering under his breath, Shikamaru sighed heavily and began sawing at a piece of wood, trying to focus on the task at hand. However, his mind continuously strayed to the teacher, and he consistently thanked the gods that she had escaped the night unscathed. His dark vision returned to him, and he pushed the nightmare aside, shuddering at the unsettling thoughts.
They worked through the day, toiling under the blazing summer sun to the point that they cast aside their signature green ninja gear and worked only in their mesh undershirts. Sweat was pouring down his forehead as they all lay flat on their backs on the almost-repaired roof, taking a small break as they continued to bake on the extremely hot shingles. Kiba was mumbling and grumbling about bacon, while Lee was still flitting about between the, shouting his usual sermon about the "springtime of youth." Shikamaru was about to smack him when a pretty head popped up on the edge of the roof, a tray of drinks balanced precariously above her.
"Hello, everyone! I brought you tea!" she chirped as she climbed up off the ladder and hopped onto the shingles. She wobbled precariously, the tea glasses clinking on the tray, and instantly Shikamaru was on his feet. Instinctively, he grabbed her by the waist to steady her, and they both immediately flushed red. Shikamaru hastily retreated, coughing uncomfortably as he offered a hand to guide her through the small construction site. He glanced over his shoulder to see Lee and Kiba grinning like idiots, and when Ayumi wasn't looking, he lobbed pieces of wood and struck them in the forehead. They both flopped back onto the hot roof with a pair of thuds. "Wow, look at it! It looks brand-new!" Ayumi praised as he led her close enough to squat down and set the tray of tea down on a flat spot. Kiba, seemingly recovered, flopped into a sitting position as he snatched up his glass of tea and drained it instantly. With the begging eyes of a puppy, he held out his glass for more; chuckling softly, the host obliged gladly. "Thank you so much for doing this for me. I have to say, I was a little surprised when such esteemed ninja such as yourselves turned up to help little ol' me!"
"Well, Shikamaru asked it as a favor!" Lee explained. He was honest, almost too much so, it seemed, for when Ayumi looked up at the Hokage advisor he was flushed with embarrassment.
"Really? Shikamaru, you didn't have to go to such lengths for me! I mean, I can understand if you wold come, but bringing Kiba and Lee? It's too much," she frowned.
"Wait- you know who I am?" Kiba blurted, spitting out tea.
"Kiba! We are famous!" Lee exclaimed triumphantly as he threw an arm around his companion's shoulders. Ayumi laughed and shook her head.
"Well, yes, but I've known you two since before you were famous," she mused. When they blinked simultaneously in confusion at her, she smirked. "You see, I attended the Academy too, for a time. Lee graduated a year before I was supposed to, but I remember him being there, for a time. And Kiba, you were in my class. Always had your puppy with you, and you got up to quite a bit of trouble alongside Naruto, if I remember correctly," she explained. Kiba laughed and rubbed the back of his head like an unapologetic thief who had been caught.
"Yup, that's me! Wow, not to be rude or anything, I don't remember you," he admitted.
"Oh, oh! Is that why you have all that ninja gear in your backyard?" Lee cried and pointed emphatically over the edge of the roof. Frowning, Shikamaru crossed the uneven surface to investigate; sure enough, there was a wooden dummy set up in the back, covered in years' worth of scratches from shiruken and kunai. There were several of the sharp objects embedded in the ground, evidence of recent training.
"I still train. It's tough, you know, living out here by myself," she sighed as Shikamaru turned back to her. "Sure, it's safe in a ninja village, but there are still dangers for a woman. Drunk men are a particular problem," she huffed as she screwed up her nose in disgust. She then smiled cheerfully. "It's just reassuring to know how to defend myself, and besides, I'm teaching a bunch of young ninja. I can't let them show me up, now can I?" she laughed before standing up.
"I guess she has a point! Dang, Shikamaru, this lady is one tough customer! Don't go getting on her bad side," Kiba teased before hopping to his feet. "All right! Let's finish the roof, huh?"
"Yes!" Lee beamed as he threw his fist in the air. "For youuuuuuuth!" Ayumi couldn't help but laugh at the colorful characters that were working so hard to repair her roof. The fact that Shikamaru had gone such lengths for her made her feel all fuzzy inside, and she smiled shyly at him as he motioned to lead her back. Shikamaru was silent as he led Ayumi back to the edge of the roof, a supportive hand on the bottom of her elbow. As she grabbed onto the sides and stepped down a few of the rungs, she smiled shyly up at him.
"Thank you, Shikamaru," she whispered before disappearing down the ladder. Inojin and Shikadai hovered impatiently at the bottom, each holding handfuls of weeds. Smiling warmly, the teacher took each of their hands and guided them to the weed patch, watching approvingly as they added their find to the small collection of growths. Shikamaru's heart swelled as he watched her.
She'll make a wonderful mother one day, he thought. His heart then hammered in his chest, and he chased away the hopeful dreams of the future that hoped to cloud his mind. No… I can't. Not again. I'll put her in danger, he thought miserably. As Lee called him impatiently from the shrinking hole, he turned his back on the heartwarming scene, his heart heavy as he trudged back with his hands in his pockets. It was all he could do not to look back and watch her, with her beautiful chestnut hair and soft brown eyes.
Temari… Why is this so hard?