Koi-Koi

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D/C: I own nothing.

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"Tch…" Shikamaru didn't want to go to the Forest Lodge at the start of the break. He'd rather go back home and visit family and friends. They won't even have a vacation after the semester ended, it's right out to go train some more right off the bat. Ugh…he could already hear everyone back home nagging at him, will probably find a way to blame him for it. He already called his parents of the news of the training camp.

Shikamaru could hear the disappointment through the telephone, the plan to see him, Ino, and Choji returning home for the entirety of the break. They attempted to talk to their teacher, but he kept turning them down. It was a requirement. Troublesome requirement.

"You would be doing us a huge favor if you could take all our perishables. It would have been a waste to throw everything out." Ino took out items from the fridge and cabinets, putting them in a wooden basket. "Plus, with our plans on returning back home for the remainder of the break…"

"No, no, it's fi-Goodness! This is..." Inko gawked at one of the items Ino handed her. Fresh fruit, vegetables, and… meat! Not the cheap kind either, but high quality. Just the dozen strawberries would have costed her nearly the typical on what she usually gets on groceries. She knew the teens were living on their own with the support of their parents, but to get such items makes them wonder if they are handling their expenses. "Ino… How much do the three of you spend of groceries?"

Ino thoughtfully looked up at the ceiling, tapping a finger on her chin as she thought that over. When she gave an answer, it nearly caused Inko to fall over. "I know it may seem like a lot, but that's actually the bare minimum. Choji needs to consume more food due to his quirk and our parents always indulge him, but he's been making sure to not over do it."

"It was one time!" Could be heard from somewhere within the apartment.

"It was one time too many, bub!" Ino yelled back, waving around a celery stick. "One time to many! We didn't have enough to replace our uniforms because of that!"

"Sniffle, sniffle… I'm sorry."

Ino let out a frustrated sigh, she put the celery stick in into the wooden basket. "I'm going to talk to Choji, take whatever else you want from fridge, please."

Inko watched on as Ino ran out of the kitchen to where she presumed to be where Choji is currently located at. She couldn't shake off that feeling that she was missing something. Maybe it has to do with their upbringing as being children of Pro-Heroes? Looking at a picture that was on the fridge with random small magnets boarding around it, to make sure it stayed put. The picture looked worn but kept in pristine condition. There were three adults, each holding babies in their arms. From what she had seen on the television, newspapers and magazines, the three adults are the current InoShikaCho, each holding their respective children. There are more photos all over the fridge, showing a timeline between Choji, Ino, and Shikamaru of their childhood. The most recent photo contained just the three teens, all dressed in what she assumes to be their hero costumes.

Slam!

Bash!

Groans of pain…

"I TOLD YOU TO GET RID OF THAT!"

"What a drag…"

-.-

Izuku and Shikamaru looked through the former's collections of notebooks of Hero Analysis for the Future. There were only a few on the bus that paid no mind to this, others were wondering if Izuku finally got to Shikamaru in his nonsense, or just calling them a pair of nerds. Neither paid any mind, they kept going through notes and updating information.

"We normally don't do close hand combat, preferring to remain in long to mid-range combat." Shikamaru reread the part where Izuku wrote on the Nara Clan. "However, if the times calls for it, we do whatever is necessary to get the job done."

"Do you know how to fight in close combat?" Eijiro grinned, emphasizing his sharp teeth.

"More or less. I know enough to keep me alive." Shikamaru shrugged, he went back to reading the notebooks. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a wooden pencil case. Opening said case, he pulled out a pencil that looked like a branch and began to write down his own notes in the margins of the notebook.

Izuku looked over Shikamaru's shoulder to see what is being wrote down, his eyes widened at what he was reading. "Light source?"

"Complete darkness. No shadow manipulation." Shikamaru commented. "Unlike Fumikage and Dark Shadow, they grow stronger in the darkness, that is when I'm at my weakest… in terms of using quirks."

"Oh please~ You always have several tricks up your sleeve to produce a light source." Ino laughed, she gave Shikamaru a raised eyebrow wondering why he was divulging such information. "You did manage to capture an entire team with just using metal wiring."

"Or that one time you managed to hide from the Anbu after that one prank went wrong." Choji added in.

"It did not go wrong. It went right, it wasn't our fault they are sore over their own stupidity."

"Anbu?" Hitoshi asked, sitting across from Shikamaru and Izuku. "Aren't those like the underground police where you live? The ones where people are not supposed to know about?"

"I told you guys they are doing a horrible job." Shikamaru snorted.

"Don't look at me, Daddy works at T&I. Completely separate department."

"Doesn't your dad work there too, Shikamaru?"

"…Ye-"

The sound of children's laughter filled the bus, that was quickly followed by a woman's face calling out to someone in the background. Only more laughter seemed to follow and it stopped when Shikamaru pulled out a phone from his pant's pocket and answered a call. "Hi mom… No mom… Yes mother… Sorry mom…. They're right here… is dad there?"

Everyone could hear how Shikamaru's voice risen just a margin, anticipation written completely on his expression. Then… it fell before the young Nara's expression shifted back to his typical one that is crossed of boredom and irritation. "Still busy…? I haven't talked to him since I came out here… No… it's fine… I'm fine… wh-"

Shikamaru handed the phone over to Ino, and promptly allowed himself to fall backwards, not even caring when he slammed his head against the window. He stared up at the ceiling of the bus, wondering why he even allows his hopes to go up so high before it freefalls to it's own destruction.

Ino talked into the phone, wondering what is happening to her friend. "Auntie… Ah… I see… Still no head way…? Don't worry, I'll take care of lazy bones… Do you want to talk to Choji? Choji!"

Choji reached over and took the phone and whispered to into it, keeping his eyes on his friend.

'Dad isn't even staying at the village for the break…again'

-.-

Shikamaru stood by the edge of the cliff, overlooking that forest that has nothing on the Nara Forest back home. Taking in a deep breath, he could sense how some of the classmates he had grown closer to, were maintaining their respectable distance but are close enough for him to know they are there. "Why do I feel like someone troublesome is about to happen?"

Not even a minute later, it was announced Class 1-A had to transverse through the forest to the rest area in the middle of it all. All on their own.

Without much thought, Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji jumped over the railing and began to skid gaining momentum as they did. Once they gained enough momentum, Shikamaru and Ino jumped into the air free falling before Choji arms grew out capturing them and began to grown the rest of his body to even himself out. Once tall enough, Choji jumped and landed on the ground causing it to rumble. Unbeknownst to him, he caught a couple of stragglers…

"My stomach…" Minoru moaned out, clutching his stomach and unstick himself from Choji to only realize Choji is at the height of a three story house. He attempted to stick himself back to Choji but the Akimichi shrunk down to his normal size which left Minoru to fall. When he got close enough to the Akimichi, Minoru grabbed hold of Choji's hair in an attempt to break his fall.

Choji blinked several times when he felt his hair being pulled back that was quickly followed by a scream of pain. "Who pulled my hai- well… this is bad?"

"Bad? Your hair is like barb wire!"

"That's because Choji, put's a special gel that causes it to be like that. Why didn't you use those sticky balls instead of your hands… idiot."

As the rest of the class made their way down, some gushing at the teamwork that was displayed before them. Especially Izuku who took out his notebook and writing down what he just saw. "Amazing, the three of your moved flawlessly, and to anticipate each other's movements!" Izuku continued on mumbling, making people groan at his habit.

"Guys… we have company."

-.-

It was becoming increasingly odd at seeing how easily Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru walked through the forest. They all fought against those earth creatures as they attempted to get to the camp. It wasn't fighting against the creatures that got them down, it was finding their way through the forest.

"How do you guys know where to go?" Rikido asked as he munched on some sugar cubes.

"Shikamaru is using his quirk." Shoto stated, pointing at said person's shadow. Everyone looked over to see Shikamaru's shadow merged with the forest own. "Range?"

"Long as there are enough shadows and if I feel like it… varies."

"What kind of fucking answer is that!"

"An answer."

To be continued…

R/R.