Yeeeeaaaah!! No school today!!! I have time to do this damn fic! Yeay!
Chapter 25- A Wednesday Night Like No other
Days passed by quickly and before they even knew it, it was already Wednesday, a day before they departed for Okinawa. The couple was very excited as they packed their suitcases and talked about as they did. Shikamaru was wise enough to pack lightly, as to not have too many heavy bags and still have enough space for the souvenirs they were going to buy. While Ino wasn't thinking of the convenience there would be if she brought only a few special items; she packed tons of clothes that filled her whole suitcase up. "Are you sure you'd be needed all those?" Shikamaru asked her, "We'll only be staying there for like, four days anyway. It isn't a long vacation or anything."
"Are you kidding?" Ino grunted, "Of course I'd want to look my best in Okinawa at all times! After all, I haven't even been there, so may it be a memorable experience for me! You know me, I love standing-out! So here I am…"
Shikamaru sighed as he watched her struggling to close the bag. "With bags that full, I don't think I'd last a second just carrying all of them!" he sighed, imagining himself carrying all of those heavy bags. "Well, I guess that's one thing only a girl could do anyway… With all the shopping they do every darn day, I'd say you'd be used to carrying tons of bags… Just don't complain to me if those are heavy. I already warned you and told you it'd be better to just bring a few things…"
"Don't worry…" Ino replied, "I won't complain… I'm sure I want to bring all of these things there!"
"Okay, suit yourself."
Suddenly, the door bell rang and Shikamaru went down to see who it was. Standing outside was Choji, waving and smiling happily at him.
"Hey, buddy! Heard you and Ino were going to Okinawa tomorrow." He said, "When'll you be back?"
"Choji…" Shikamaru answered, "So nice of you to drop by before we leave. Please, come in."
The two sat opposite each other in the living room, on the two couches by the window. "I'm glad the two of you finally decided to have a break from all that's been happening lately in Konoha!" Choji smiled, "Okinawa'll be a great place for you to cool-off and find peace. It's Ino's first time there, so make it memorable for her! Don't forget to give me a copy of all your pictures, okay?"
"Heh. Of course I will!" Shikamaru smirked, "But would you believe that she's actually packed-up three whole suitcases for the trip? It's insane! I can't believe how she'd be able to carry all o' that!"
"I'm sure you've got another hand free!" Choji replied, leaning on the arm rest of the couch, "You like packing light, so why not help her with her bags, eh, Mr. Just Married?"
"That would be rather troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed. "But hey, she's my wife… So fine. I'll help her."
"So… You'll be back on Sunday, right?" Choji asked him nervously, "Would you mind if me and the guys stayed here 'til you get back? You see, Naruto's office is leaking and it'll take a while before they can make repairs…"
"He can stay at Sasuke's house. I'm sure Sasuke wouldn't mind at all."
"But Lee is itching for another karaoke match with Sai, and…"
"You have a karaoke machine in your restaurant too, right? Use it if you don't want it to gather dust,"
"But what if some robber decides to rob your house while you're gone!?" Choji exclaimed, looking for a valid reason to stay in Shikamaru's house, "Who'd be here to kick his ass goodbye, huh?"
"Oh fine…" Shikamaru sighed, giving up. "You may stay here with the others. Just make sure that you won't make a mess, okay? If I find at least one thing misplaced here, I'll never let you in here again."
"Yes! I promise…" Choji replied, rubbing his hands together. "You can trust us, buddy… We'd never do anything to damage your house! Oh which reminds me, Tama wanted me to give this to you and Ino…" Then, he brought out a pink box with a red ribbon tied around it and gave it to Shikamaru. "I think she baked you guys another cake."
"Tama likes baking, doesn't she?" Shikamaru told him as he slowly opened the box, "Wow! This is sweet. It looks delicious! The last cake we got from her was darn tasty. Please tell her that for me and say thanks for us as well."
"Sure. Will do, buddy." Choji replied, staring at the cake. "Hey. That cherry looks pretty good, doesn't it? She loves putting cherries in every cake she bakes. It's adorable, isn't it?"
"Cute… I'm pretty sure my wife would enjoy the pink icing…" Shikamaru replied, dipping his finger into some icing, "Ino's always been fond of sweets. Well, the low-sugar types, at least."
"You can't call 'em sweet without the sugar, right!?" Choji snapped, "Geez… I don't get the point of having to go on a diet. I'd rather be like this than to starve myself and end-up looking like a toothpick!" Then, he too dipped his finger into some icing. "Where's Ino? What's she doing?"
"Oh, she's upstairs…" Shikamaru sighed, "…packing her third suit case. It's like the girl's bringing her whole closet along with her, damn it."
"Well that's what you get for marrying yourself to a blonde who loooooves fashion…"
"Heh. You're just jealous you aren't even committed yet." Shikamaru kidded.
"Excuse me, for your information, I already have a commitment!" Choji replied, laughing, "I'm committed to serving the best dishes in Konoha! Don't tell me I don't know what a commitment is."
"Dude, you did know that I was kidding, right?"
Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door, followed by a group of chattering voices.
"I knew you guys would be arriving sooner or later." Shikamaru said as soon as he opened the door, "Ino and I are still here, guys… Isn't it a bit too early for you to be invading my house?"
"Yeah, so we're all very excited about moving in here for a couple of days…" Naruto said, "But to be honest with you, Shikamaru, we're just here to bid you farewell before you and your wife set-off to a whole new journey… In Okinawa… Without us coming along with you… With you not taking us with you… Just you and Ino… Alone together… And me and the rest of the group stranded here in Konoha… Wishing we were in Okinawa with you… Which would be impossible since it's a honeymoon and we're not supposed to come… But ya know, if I could bend the rules, we would come along with you!... But we can't, can we?... Because you and Ino are gonna need some privacy… In Okinawa… So we can't come… And… And…"
"Naruto." Sasuke shushed. "I think Shikamaru gets the point so don't waste your breath."
"If I were to paraphrase what our (sarcastically) beloved Hokage just said, we're just here to wish you guys luck in your new life together… Hoping you have a safe trip going there and going back here. That's basically it." Kiba said, scratching his head.
"We couldn't just let you guys leave without a goodbye message from us, right?" Lee added.
"Geez, you guys… You're all making it sound as if Ino and I are moving to Okinawa and never coming back!" Shikamaru sighed.
"We didn't mean it like that!" Naruto laughed, "We just wanted to wish you luck and-"
"Where's Neji?" Shikamaru butted in, "He isn't here. How dare he. Not saying goodbye to me before I leave this town."
"Well, apparently he's in the hospital with Tenten!" Lee answered, raising his index finger. "Seems that Tenten is gonna give birth to their first-born child in a few days. Neji-san told me he wishes he could come to bid you farewell, but it looks like Tenten's really gonna use some company."
"I see, so they're having a baby soon." Shikamaru sighed, "That's wonderful."
"So, when are you and Ino having your kid?" Choji asked.
Shikamaru coughed for a second. "Our kid?" he said, clearing his throat. "Well, to tell you the truth, we haven't even… You know what… But it would be nice to have children…"
"Then you'd better get busy with her soon, dude!" Sai said.
"WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO!?" Shikamaru yelled, "Besides, I don't think Ino's even ready for it yet… But don't worry, I'll be sure to ask her during the honeymoon."
"Okay, you'd better ask her!"
"Stop pressuring me, Sai! Why do you even care!?"
"S-sorry, man… I was just excited, dude…"
SAKURA: You're a pervert, Sai… Geez…
SAI: Am I? I barely even noticed!
NARUTO: (scoffs) Yeah, right…
Dunno when I'll be able to post the next chapter. Sorry… So there, that's it for now. Hope you liked it… Remember, I won't be doing a lemon anymore… I'll just do the usual fluff that I do in the honeymoon chapter. Thank you. And once again, this is Sexee Kakashi, wishing you all a happy September! Shikamaru's birthday is on the 22nd while Ino's is a day after. Yayee!
I wrote on a Death Note notebook!!! WHAHAHA!! ;-)
I've been obsessed with Bleach and Prince of Tennis lately… But the ShikaIno pairing is STILL THE BEST ONE THERE IS FOR ME!!!