A/N: Yea, my Beta's got her new laptop!!! It was a graduation present. We'll see if I can get back on track because she is….
Let's just call this a nice calm chapter…maybe just a little short too.
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Lessons Learned
Early the next morning the two teams parted ways.
The day was promising to be warm and dry. Shikamaru was leading his teammates through the trees, setting a pace that could have them home before midday on the morrow.
"Any bets Sai is keeping someone on the team between Naomi and Keiichi," Ino commented to Chouji, using their proximity as an excuse to brush her hand lightly against his.
The broad face turned its gaze to her. There was hint of amusement in his eyes, then he reached out as she had, gliding the index finger of his right hand down her lower left arm. She twisted her arm and snatched his hand as its reach came nearer her own; the smile she gave him showed that she was enjoying this little game of contact. Fingers entwined as they continued to follow their teammates.
When they took a break for a brief lunch, it was hard for Asumaru not to see the way they interacted was just a little different today. If it made the young genin uncomfortable, he hid it well.
Shikamaru actually was excited by the prospect of reporting this change at the end of the mission…to Temari. She'll smile and say, 'It's about time.'
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When evening came Ino just set up her gear next to Chouji's and played by the rules he had given her previously: close enough for warmth and nothing more.
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It was late morning, the next day, when they arrived back in Konohagakure. As the team gave their report Tsunade asked them to wait for just a moment when they informed her of the part where Chouji had pretended to be one of the Chiba. She grabbed a pad of stationery from her desk and proceeded to write something down, she tore the paper from the pad, placed her seal on it, and placed in an envelope which she placed a different seal upon. "Have this sent immediately," she said as she gave it to Shizune.
The dark haired woman walked to the door and handed the envelope off to someone stationed at the door.
The Hokage asked Shikamaru to resume his report.
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As they got to the door to head out of the Hokage's office, Ino's fingers slipped into Chouji's hand. Her head tilted ever so slightly to him, "So, do you want to do lunch?"
No sooner had the smile appeared on the broad spiral marked face, than Kotetsu appeared in the doorway before them he held up his fingers over their heads as if to signal to the Hokage.
"Akimichi Chouji," Tsunade's voice called out the command with ease, "I need you to stay here."
As he turned to look at her, the disappointment was written clearly across his features.
Although she hadn't caught sight of their hands because Shikamaru and Asumaru walked out behind them, she saw the sudden change in Ino's face as well. I had a feeling there was something more than the mission behind those little glances they exchanged during the debriefing. Sorry Chouji, they were able to get someone here sooner than I expected.
The large shinobi came back toward her desk as the rest of the team went on their way.
"Have a seat; it'll still be a few minutes."
Begrudgingly, he took the offered chair.
"I would have thought you'd rather get this over and done with and find out what the penalty for impersonating a Chiba is." The Hokage said as she folded her hands in front of her face.
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A little over an hour later, he stopped by the Yamanaka residence to see if Ino was still up for the lunch idea. He tried the flower shop first, and sure enough she was stationed behind the counter.
"Sorry, I got tagged for duty as soon as I got into the door," she looked at him with a slight pout. "At least I got in a quick shower before I was chained to the desk."
"Fine, I'll come back after I become a little more civilized." He started to turn to go.
"No, that's not what I meant." She left the vases she'd been re-shelving to place a hand on his shoulder to stop him, "What happened? What's your punishment?"
He let out a deep sigh, "For the next four months, I'm the first shinobi on call for escort duty when any of the Chiba require assistance. I suppose it could be worse; at least they plan on paying me."
"I'll bet that's only because Tsunade-sama want Konoha's part of the fee." Her bright blue eyes remained locked on his with underlying concern. He returned her gaze, and they remained that way for a wordless moment. Then finally she broke the silence, "Where do we go from here?"
"Well, since lunch is out of the question," he replied, "how about I take you and Ryokou out to dinner tonight? Is 6:30 all right with you?"
"You know, I think we'd both like that very much." She gave him a quick kiss, "Until later."
"Later," he gave her a hand a final squeeze before heading back out into the bustling streets of the market district.
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When she picked up Ryokou at school that day, Ino was greeted with a very contented hug. Whenever she was away, she knew her brown-haired girl missed her, And I miss her just as much, but this is my job.
After they stopped embracing, she smiled at her daughter and said, "I have a surprise for you sweetie, we're going out for dinner…" she watched her daughter waiting for a reaction to the final words, "with Uncle Chouji."
The child's blue eyes went wide, "Really?" She grabbed on to her mother and hugged her again.
One step at a time, Ino reminded herself, one step at a time.
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When getting ready for dinner Ino had kept her clothing choice pretty, yet casual: a soft lilac sweater paired with her best indigo jeans. Ryokou on the other hand wanted to wear her best dress (in her favorite color, of course).
When they finally got together, the three of then ended up going to Hiroyuki's, because the sushi restaurant was a place they'd never gone together. Ryokou had gone with her family on several occasions since it was one of her grandfather's favorite places, so she was quite comfortable with that kind of food.
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Ino was enjoying watching the way Chouji was talking with Ryokou.
He was pointing at the various pieces of sushi and sashimi on his deluxe platter (technically it was a party platter for four), and explaining the qualities to look for in each kind of fish, shellfish and cephalopod. Color, texture, the direction of the slicing, no detail was left out. "Of course, quality is never an issue here," Chouji smiled. "This is for future reference in case you ever order sushi somewhere else.'
The six year old was hanging on his every word, occasionally interjecting, "Oh, so the striped pattern is a good thing," or "This should always be a bright white, then?"
They're so sweet interacting like this, the blonde couldn't help but smile as this went on. Of course, there's the bonus that he eats a lot slower when he's like this, it's so… she was suddenly shocked by the word that came to mind, …fatherly. She glanced away feeling the heat of the blush that came over her cheeks. Across the room she caught sight of Bunpei, the owner's son, watching from his station by the entrance. The wistful expression on his face caused Ino to recall a conversation she had with him recently. He wants to adopt a little girl of his own. I wonder if he's put their names on the list to adopt yet or if he's even talked to his partner? She turned her attention back to her table and took in the soft smiles that the other two exchanged. Then almost against her will her thoughts drifted in another direction, I wonder what kind of father Kankurou is? He has two sons… I don't remember Temari saying anything about more… just that he's very busy as Kazekage… how much does that interfere with a family life? I remember how she'd worried about her own parenting skills because of her father's choices with Gaara.
"Ino?"
The blonde blinked to find both Chouji and Ryokou looking at her.
"Is something wrong?" her swirl cheeked date asked with a hint of concern.
"No," she felt the embarrassment creeping in.
"You had a very serious expression on your face," he bit back adding the thought, you know, the one you get just before you realize you're angry about something. He'd seen that one far too many times over the years.
"I'm sorry, I just got lost in my thoughts."
"I hope it wasn't because I've been spending so much time talking to Ryokou."
"No, that's fine," she smiled at her daughter, "I was enjoying that. Although, I suppose it is getting a little late for a school night."
"Then it's just as well that I've finished," he turned to the girl, "good thing we ordered your dessert so you had it earlier."
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The evening gave them clear skies with a sliver of a crescent moon to walk home beneath.
"Hard to believe we had those rainy days," Ino said softly as they rounded the corner that led to the Yamanaka residence. Ryokou was happily walking between them holding onto their hands.
"I'm grateful for the mud it gave us," Chouji replied with a slight chuckle.
"You like mud, Uncle Chouji?" The six year old tilted her head curiously toward him.
"Only under special circumstances," he told her, exchanging a quick glance with Ino.
"Don't even ask, sweetie," the blonde added before her daughter could decide to press him further.
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It was just before eight o'clock when Kankurou slowly opened the door to his sons' room, gradually letting some of the light from the hallway in. If I didn't have Haijun schedule those three lunches a week, I swear I'd never see them with their eyes open. Of course, the fact that Mayonaka was sleeping so soundly seemed strange considering his resemblance to Gaara. My little brother was an insomniac out of self-defense. His attention turned to his older son, the amber haired boy was sleeping on his stomach with an arm tucked against the back of his head. The Kazekage smiled, he gets that from me. That's my favorite position, when I don't have someone sharing my bed, of course.
He stood there watching them for a length of time, then finally; he slowly shut the door again. With a sigh he resolved to himself, I've got to get Haijun to help me schedule a day off.
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As they got to the top of the stairs, the door flew open to revealing Inoichi wearing his jacket from the interrogation squad. (He was in semi-retirement at this point, only being called in for special situations.) "What have we here?" With a superior expression on his face, he said, "What kind of person would keep my granddaughter out this late on a school night?"
Ino looked him straight in the eyes and laughed, "Don't you even think of playing the inquisition." She then turned to her daughter with a slightly more serious expression, "Ryokou, why don't you tell your grandfather why this dinner was almost as educational as school?"
"Sushi," the little girl chirped, "I learned a whole lot about sushi tonight." She flashed a winning smile to him.
A dumbfounded expression crossed Inoichi's face, "What do you mean?"
Ino interrupted quickly, "Now go inside and tell him all about it." She nudged her daughter through the doorway toward him. "I'll stay out here to say goodnight to Uncle Chouji."
"Goodnight, Uncle Chouji," Ryokou's head turned slightly and she gave a slight wave as the blonde continued to push her inside.
Inoichi took the hint, picked up his granddaughter, and even closed the door behind them.
This left two people alone on the landing.
Chouji raised an eyebrow, "I'm almost as educational as school?"
Ino grinned, "Yet somehow as entertaining as recess." She tilted her head to him.
He took the invitation, bringing his lips to meet hers. Wrapping his arms around her, he gently caressed her back.
Her arms went around his neck, keeping him close while she teased just so slightly with her tongue.
When they broke off, Chouji muttered, "I have no recollection of doing anything like that during recess."
"Oh," Ino teased, "then it must have been someone else."
"Don't even go there," he pulled her back into his arms, "I don't want to talk about the past." I want to think about a future…
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The Naras had finally gotten their sons off to bed and were settling in for the first private time they'd had since Shikamaru's return earlier in the day.
Temari decided to sprawl across the bed with her loosely tied robe ever so slightly askew while she waited for her husband to finish with his toothbrush. A moment later she watched as he reappeared in the doorframe, one of those lazy looking smiles curled across his lips, but there was a definite hint of fire behind his eyes, it was one he seemed to reserve solely for her. Missed you too, her heart echoed.
He came to settle beside her, one arm reaching behind her while he leaned it to kiss the base of her throat. Almost instantly, a hand settled against either side of his face, exerting just enough pressure to stop him.
"You looked like you wanted to tell me something earlier," her voice said softly. "You know, just as I met you at the door and your mother came around the corner unexpectedly for a visit."
"Is this really the time?" the shadow master groaned.
"Was it something to do with working Asumaru?" she queried further. "I know how proud you are of all his achievements."
Troublesome woman. Fine, I wanted to tell you all this, just not after seeing you on the bed like that. He sighed, "If you call nearly falling out of a tree in shock an achievement."
"Tell me more," she reclined further, tenderly guiding his head to be pillowed against her chest…
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A/N: Thank you as always to those who took the time to review: Awaii & pattie mayonnaise.
This doesn't mean I love the people who read my story and don't review any less, I means I don't know if you want to see your name listed at the end of my story…
I just figure the reviewers don't mind because they list themselves on the review page. :)