Author's Note: Well, it was a little longer than I'd have liked, but I'm back with a new chapter!
Let me tell you, taking that break to concentrate on my schoolwork is just what I needed. I even got a perfect score on a World History test! Booyah. The updates should return to their usual time of every 4-5 days, and should remain so until the end of the book. Or until Finals. Whichever comes first, really.
-So there's something I want to say about OC's. If I literally covered all of what I wanted to say, I'd be bogging this chapter down with non-relevant writing, so I'll keep it short: I don't like the reputation OC's have gained on this site. Most stories that involve them are outright despised, and the authors are often to subject to some very nasty reviews (this upsets me because of my preference that if you dislike something, and have nothing nice to say, just move on instead). I'll concede that a great deal of them are written as absolute shit, but there are a wealth of stories out there with OC's that people avoid simply because of their negative reputation.
I prefer to remain skeptically neutral when they come into play, allowing myself plenty of time to see if I like their inclusion before I make a final judgment, but in recent times I have seen many readers/authors notice the inclusion of OC's, and immediately turn on the offensive. Maybe if we were all willing to work with them a little more, their place among us could be improved, because they certainly aren't going anywhere anytime soon.
I apologize if that sounds hostile in any way, as that is not what's intended. I'd love to talk with all of you on the matter if that strikes your fancy, but if not, we can just all move on and get to the chapter.
I hope you enjoy it! I'm terribly sorry for drawing out this birthday arc the way it has been, but I can at least promise that it will conclude in 1-2 chapters depending on your preference, which I'll discuss more at the end of the chapter.
Book Two: Chapter 19 - Shikamaru Fights for his Friends!
Just as there are places in every village that people love to visit and talk about with one another, there have to be the seedy places that are pervaded by the degenerates and other lowlifes. In the five great villages, these places were far and few in between, but still present.
In the village of Konohagakure, these places were usually located on the outskirts of the village, as there would be too many people willing to make complaints in the center. One of these buildings was a run-down, washed-up bar, and it was currently where Shikamaru, Chōji, and Ino were heading.
Shikamaru recognized the bottle immediately when he had picked it up in Naruto's apartment. It was a brand of extremely cheap sake that only a few places nearby would be willing to sell. This one was the closest to where Naruto lived, so Shikamaru figured that this would be his best bet on figuring out who had trashed Naruto's apartment.
Without a moment's hesitation, he pushed past the door, and stepped inside. Just like a cheesy movie, everyone in the establishment turned to face the newcomers, glaring at them for a moment before returning to their drinks. Shikamaru had to squint to see, as there was very little light.
"What exactly are we looking for?" Ino asked, staying close to her teammates. It certainly wasn't that she was scared; well, actually it was, but because she was scared that if any one of these creeps got close to her, her friends wouldn't be able to stop her from pummeling them into the dirt.
"There are only a few places that sell that kind of cheap sake," Shikamaru explained, carefully looking over everyone he passed. "That means that there will be an even smaller number of people who actually drink that swill, and he'll also have a cut somewhere on his body from where he first broke in."
"How do you know he won't have covered up his injury?" Chōji whispered back.
Shikamaru couldn't resist giving him a look. "The guy's a drunk, Chōji. Did you see how many empty bottles were at Naruto's place? I won't be surprised if he can't even walk if we find him."
"When we find him," Chōji corrected. "But do you think he'll really be here? If trashing Naruto's place was his goal, why would he come back to the bar?"
"Drunks like to brag. I'm guessing this guy is-"
He didn't even get to finish his sentence, as someone near the bar started yelling something incoherent. From the looks on everyone else's faces, he hadn't been welcome for some time. Shikamaru was only paying half attention, until the man said something that caught his attention.
"…damn demon brat got what he deserved, if you ask me…"
Chōji's eyes narrowed. He walked straight up to the bar, leaning over to get the owner's attention.
"How long has this guy been here?" he asked, pointing to the man muttering to himself.
"Maybe 45 minutes or so," the bartender replied. "I don't know what you want with this asshole, but he's been disturbing my other guests, so feel free to take him off my hands."
"It would be our pleasure." Chōji quickly gripped one side of the man's jacket, while Shikamaru handled the other, dragging the kicking and screaming man by his collar. The other patrons of the bar were cheering loudly, throwing scraps of paper at the man until they had walked back outside.
Putting his back into it, Chōji tossed the drunk into a nearby alley, far back enough to where no one else could see.
"What the fuck are you assholes doing!?" the man grunted, having to lean against the wall for support. "I've got rights, you know!"
"Shut up." Shikamaru glared at the man. He recognized him. Since his father was the Jōnin commander in the village, there were a few times now and again where he had to discipline some unruly shinobi, namely those with too poor of skills to progress beyond anything but genin, and would decide to take that out on other shinobi. This man had been a thorn in his father's side for years, with numerous offenses of things like abandoning his post and drinking on the job. A real scumbag, that's for sure.
He tossed the empty bottle in front of the man's feet, and watched as it took him nearly thirty seconds to pick it up. "Looks like you're one of the only people in the village who drink that crap. Care to take a guess where we found it?"
The man burped, before sneering at the others. "You found it at the bar, I'd like to wager. What's this got to do with me?"
"We found it at our friend's house," Chōji added in. "Along with this." He tossed out the paint that had been found, and the man's smile disappeared.
"You can't prove shit."
Shikamaru almost laughed. "Actually, it'll be pretty easy to prove it. Like I said, I can count the people who drink this brand of sake on one hand. There was also a small amount of blood found on some shards of glass we found at his apartment. I wonder if you knew about that, or if you were too drunk to realize your own mistake?"
The man's eyes narrowed. "You're bluffing. I ain't got time for this." He suddenly tried to leap up onto the nearby rooftop, which would have been an amazing feat considering how much alcohol he had in his system, but Chōji was quicker. His arm quickly grew to immense proportions, and he slapped the man out of the air with an enlarged palm.
Shikamaru took advantage of the situation, and his shadow shot out from underneath his body, quickly connecting with the man's. Now that he couldn't move, Chōji relinquished his own grip.
"Let me go! You're gonna pay for this!" the man yelled, struggling as much as he could to escape from Shikamaru's shadow. But he was far too weak to do so, even if he was sober.
Now that he was under Shikamaru's control, finding proof that this man had trashed Naruto's place was going to be a lot easier. Shikamaru slowly brought out his right arm, and the man was forced to mimic his actions. He brought his other arm to his right sleeve, and quickly pulled on it with enough strength to rip it off.
There was a large cut on the man's arm, with a few drops of blood still dripping from the wound. That means that it had been recent, and it was all needed.
The man suddenly flew into a rage. His neck muscles bulged as he tired his hardest to squirm out from Shikamaru's control. "Fuck you! That brat deserves it for what he did! He's just a freak, a monster who would make the whole world better off if he was dead!"
"Shut. Up." Shikamaru repeated, his voice dangerously low. The man quieted down, and watched with fearful eyes as Shikamaru bent over, forcing him to follow. His fingers closed around the beer bottle he had been carrying, and with it in his hand, Shikamaru got back to his feet.
"This technique can be pretty dangerous," Shikamaru explained, an oddly satisfied grin on his face. "If you're not careful, you can seriously hurt whoever's affected."
The man noticed Shikamaru begin to slowly close his hand, which made the drunk's own hand begin to tighten its grip on the glass bottle.
"Of course, more often than not, that's what I want to happen." Shikamaru suddenly closed his hand with great force, which in turn forced the bottle in the drunk's hand to shatter, embedding many sharp pieces of the glass into his hand. The man cried out, and winced as Shikamaru cruelly closed his hand even tighter, moving the shards around.
Without another word, a tendril of Shikamaru's shadow wrapped around the man's body and covered up his mouth, before he swiftly plunged his fist into his left leg, which for the drunk meant that the sharp glass of the bottle embedded itself into his own leg. He howled in pain, but the sound was muffled by Shikamaru's shadow.
"That was for Naruto," Shikamaru hissed, gritting his teeth. "And this…" He brought the man's arm up to his previous injury, and forced the jagged edges into his arm, causing a fresh flow of blood to erupt from the man's wound.
"That was just because you're an asshole."
The man was grunting in pain, with his voice still muffled by Shikamaru's shadow. With precise control, Shikamaru strode forward, keeping his control of the man even when he was mere inches from his face.
"We're gonna take you to the Hokage, and you're gonna tell her what happened, if anyone else was involved, and that you promise never to do it again. Otherwise, I'll put that glass in your balls next time. Got it?"
The drunk was sweating profusely, and nodded as quickly as possible. Slowly, Shikamaru backed away, giving some space between the man and himself. He was about to release his technique so the man would do as he ask, but as soon as his shadow separated from the man's, he smirked.
"Like I'd ever do that!" he turned around, and starting running down the alleyway, where a tall fence was the only thing separating him from freedom.
"Saw that coming," Shikamaru lazily drawled, before turning to Ino. "You know what to do."
She nodded silently, and put her hands together, sending out her mind towards the drunk at lightning speed. He wasn't even halfway to his goal before he stopped suddenly and turned around, while Ino collapsed into Chōji's waiting arms.
Ino walked to join the others, with a disgusted face. "This guy stinks! You wanna just tie him up and drop him off at Tsunade-sama's office?"
Shikamaru shook his head. "Nah, if we just leave him there, I doubt he'd tell the truth. You can take him until we get there, then we'll release him back to his own body."
Ino pouted. "Fine, but you owe me one! You have any idea how hard it is to keep this guy walking straight with how much booze he's got in his system?"
It had been more than likely a strange sight to see, watching them make their way to the Hokage's office. Several people would have tried to ask Shikamaru what was going on, but the look on his and Chōji's face made them think twice about it.
Within minutes they were outside the Hokage's office, just as Ino's technique was getting close to its limit. Chōji rapped on the door several times, and Shizune hurried over to answer it.
"I'm sorry you three, but Tsunade isn't in the mood for guests right now. She has a lot on her plate."
From inside the office, they could hear various words they'd rather not repeat, and the sound of furniture being thrown around.
But Shikamaru wasn't about to be turned away. "I'm sorry Shizune-san, but this is kind of important. I think Tsunade might want to hear what we have for her."
Shizune sighed, and swung the door open, muttering something about 'your funeral'. Tsunade was currently digging into her chair with her fingernails out of frustration with some bureaucratic matters, and spun around when she heard the others walk in.
"You three better have a good reason for interrupting-" She noticed that Chōji had Ino slung over his shoulder, and that there was a rather dirty looking man with them, very much out of place.
"What is this about? Who is this man?" she asked, eyeing him suspiciously. Shikamaru didn't reply, but rather beckoned for the man to step forward. He did so, before getting on his knees while Shikamaru placed a hand on his shoulder.
Suddenly, Ino started moving in Chōji's arms, hopping down to her feet. Meanwhile, the man who was on his knees suddenly jerked around like he had been asleep, and started to struggle until he realized that Shikamaru was keeping him down.
He bent down and whispered something into the man's ear, whose eyes widened in fear. Shikamaru must have been very persuasive, because the man suddenly launched into a confession of what he had done to Naruto's apartment in great detail despite his level of drunkenness. As it turns out, there were two other people who helped him out, which he gladly ratted on. When asked about his newest injuries, the man clumsily revealed that he had 'fallen down some stairs'.
Tsunade turned her piercing bronze eyes to Shikamaru, who returned her gaze evenly. "Is there any proof?"
"There's blood on some of the glass in Naruto's apartment, and I'm sure you can find his fingerprints on the beer bottles that were literally everywhere."
She stared at the man, who was avoiding looking at anyone directly in the eye. There was a strange look in her eye, but she suddenly turned to Shizune before Shikamaru could pin down what it was.
"Have Kotetsu and Izumo take this man to Ibiki. In the meantime, get a few chūnin together to pick up whoever else was involved in this little scheme. I'll be over there later today to 'talk' with him and his friends."
The man sobbed quietly as Shizune led him out of the office, the tone in her voice being incredibly sobering. No sooner had Shizune shut the door did Tsunade immediately turn back to Shikamaru and the others.
"I won't tolerate any vigilante justice in my village, you three. You should have alerted the military police or come straight to me. If I find out you yourself committed any offences-"
"Maybe you will, maybe you won't," Shikamaru rebutted, looking completely calm. "I don't care either way. That guy got what he deserved. Naruto is a friend, and I'm not about to let him get stepped on by people like that anymore."
Despite his defiance, Tsunade actually smiled. "Let me finish. You should have brought him straight to me, because now I have to wait even longer to show what I think of people who treat others like that."
She stood from her desk. "I still maintain that taking matters into your own hands isn't something I want to become common practice, but I have a feeling that this would have gone unreported had you not looked into it."
"Why would Naruto want to keep this a secret, Tsunade-sama?" Ino asked. "We want to help him with this, not let him deal with it alone."
Tsunade sighed. "Naruto's stubborn. It's just as much his pride as it is not wanting his friends to worry about him. I knew something was up back when he asked for a loan every now and then around this time of year, and it wasn't long after that that I figured out it was to replace everything that was broken."
She turned back to the others. "Maybe it was chance you three decided to stop by, or maybe this was all supposed to happen. Because an outside party was involved this time, I can step in and take measures to keep this from happening. In the meantime, you can try to convince Naruto not to keep quiet about these kinds of things. It's not something he should handle on his own."
"Something tells me you won't have to worry about that, Tsunade-sama," Shikamaru replied. "Now that he and Hinata are together, I have a weird feeling that she's gonna find out about this one way or another, and with the way those two are around each other, it won't surprise me to find out that he's willing to let her in."
Tsunade smiled softly to herself. "That's a nice thought. I certainly hope you're right." She furrowed her brow, seemingly thinking about something. "So, why were you three by Naruto's apartment when this happened?"
Chōji stepped forward. "We were just talking about him when we were on our way to pick something up for his birthday, and I just got this weird feeling in my stomach. We wanted to check to make sure everything was okay. I can't explain why I got that feeling all of a sudden, but I'm sure glad I did."
"You should be. I'm sure Naruto would be happy to know that his friends care that strongly for him. You three are dismissed, as I can imagine there's plenty more for you to do today."
The three bowed gratefully, before excusing themselves from her office. Tsunade's mood, when had been spiraling out of control since that morning, had all but deflated. Sure, this meant that there would be more paperwork for her to go through, but she was just happy to know that Naruto had true friends out there, willing to step up and defend him without even being asked.
She cracked her knuckles together. Maybe if she got through with her paperwork early enough, she could head straight to Ibiki, and have a 'chat' with their newest guest.
"You think that guy will be okay?" Ino asked, though it was more to make conversation than her actually giving a damn. In fact, she was silently wishing she could have been a part of Tsunade's 'meet and greet' with the drunk.
"I think he'll live," Shikamaru replied. "How about we leave it at that?"
"Fine by me," Chōji added. "The sooner we forget about that guy, the better."
A comfortable silence befell the three as they left the Hokage's office, and returned to their first task of picking up the rest of the catering from the bakery and Ichiraku. Their first stop was Ichiraku, where Shikamaru would take care of taking that back to the clearing. They had rented out a few portable gas heaters to use to keep the food warm, as well as a cart big enough to push it all in one trip. It was agreed upon that the reason Shikamaru had been so eager to complete this task was because he would be alone, which in turn meant that he could take as long as he pleased, and they would have to accept any possibly-bullshit excuse as the truth. More than likely he would stop just a few dozen feet outside of the clearing, and take a nap until he decided to show up or when they were finished working, but there really wasn't any point in complaining about it.
Teuchi was out front of the small booth, sweeping away some of the trash that had accumulated outside, while his daughter helped the sole customer sitting at the bar. He placed his broom aside, and waved the three over.
"Afternoon, you three! I assume you came to pick up your order?"
Chōji nodded, stepping towards the entryway into back. "Yessir! Is everything ready, or do you need my help getting it out?"
"Everything's already made, but we just have to put it all on the cart," Ayame called out from the kitchen. "If you could help with that, we can get you out of here in just a few!"
Ino and Chōji stepped back to help Teuchi put everything on the cart, while Shikamaru sat outside, citing that too many people in the back would just cause more trouble than it was worth. Ino was in the mood to argue with him about it, but Chōji wasn't, and shoved in the back before she could open her mouth.
They emerged a few minutes later, pushing out four piping hot trays of ramen, enough to feed everyone that would be there.
This was only assuming that Naruto didn't have any of it, of course.
"That should do it! You sure you don't need any help taking it back?" Teuchi asked, patting his handiwork with pride.
Shikamaru shrugged. "I think I can handle this easily enough. Really the only thing that could go wrong is if Naruto smelled this from where Hinata has him stashed, and he comes running and then whole plan is busted."
Ayame snickered. "That sounds like something he would do! Maybe you need to hire the village to keep your precious cargo safe!"
Everyone had a laugh, Shikamaru rolled his eyes, and they went their separate ways. Now that Ino had Chōji all to herself, she hung on his arm while she chatted his ear off about all the gossip and other goings-on around the village. Chōji just smiled and listened, happy to be a part of the conversation even if he had no idea what she was talking about.
The main reason he enjoyed listening to her stories was because they helped time fly by. In what felt like only a few seconds, they had arrived at the bakery, which happened to be owned by none other than another member of the Akimichi clan, Yashoku Akimichi. He had graciously given Chōji and his friends a huge discount as his own little gift to Naruto, and when they had split the cost between all of them, the total cost of the behemoth cake that was to be served was little to none.
The place was always in a hurry, people running here and there with large orders to fill for people all over the village. Yashoku ran a very tight ship around the shop, and nothing short of perfection would pass his critical eye. But as soon as Chōji walked inside with Ino in tow, everyone had the time to take a break and say hello.
It was one of the reasons the Akimichi clan was so well-respected in the village, more so than their status as one of the noble clans. They had a friendly air about all of them, and if you worked for or around them for even a short period of time, people couldn't help but be friendlier to one another. Maybe it was a shared passion for food.
Yeah, it was most likely a shared passion for food.
"Chōji!" Yashoku cried out, wiping his hands on his apron before hurrying over to greet his fellow clan member. "It's so good to see you! How have you been? And Ino-san is here as well! It's wonderful to see the two of you here!"
Ino giggled at his enthusiasm. She had met him once or twice when Chōji had invited her over to dinner (which was incredibly often), and had recognized him immediately as jolly even amongst the Akimichi. Even jabs about his husky size were usually glanced off with a laugh and a shake of the head.
Chōji cocked his head to one side, amused. "Of course we're here! We came to pick up that cake, you know."
Yashoku's eyes widened in realization. "That was you who ordered that?"
"Well, yeah! You gave us the discount on it, remember?"
Yashoku laughed. "I must have forgotten! Maybe one of my assistants signed that over for me, seeing your name, but things can get so hectic around here, I wouldn't be surprised if I had just forgotten in all the hustle and bustle of the day!" He laughed again, and several of the other employees made jokes about their employer's seemingly slipping memory, which only made him laugh even harder.
"Come on to the back! We're putting the finishing touches on the cake right now!" He beckoned for Chōji and Ino to follow him, weaving their way through several other bakers and cooks running here and there with piping hot trays. The trip to Ichiraku had been hard enough on Chōji, and all these intoxicating smells were starting to get to him.
Amusingly enough, the same thing was happening to Ino. Her mouth watered as she watched a fresh batch of Anpan rolls come out of the oven, tantalizing her so. Chōji noticed this, and pulled her a little closer, feeling quite pleased with himself. He must be rubbing off on her.
"As you can see, it's certainly as big as you guys originally wanted it, if not bigger," Yashoku explained, pushing open the doors that led to one of the main rooms in the back.
Usually reserved for weddings or other highly special occasions, this room possessed several of the largest ovens, as well as an enormous table for setting everything up once they cooled down. Currently about 5 people were putting the finishing touches on a gargantuan cake, the sole project they had been working on since early that morning. It was 6 layers high, and the person working on the top layer needed a step ladder in order to reach it.
"Finding a dye that made the icing colorful without making it taste horrible was a bit of a challenge, especially since you were insistent on the whole thing being orange. But after a couple hours of ending up with nothing, we got a mixture that worked really well!
Of course the cake had to be orange. Hinata wouldn't have even needed to bother telling them that on her list of instructions. It was just as Yashoku described it; a vibrant orange layer of icing covered all 6 layers, all the way to the top. For extra decoration, the sides were dotted with the symbol of the village in a bright white icing for some contrast, and on the very top layer, a cartoonish version of Naruto's whiskered face grinned for all to see. It looked fantastic.
Yashoku beamed with pride at the same time he was slapping Chōji's hand away when he tried to get a finger full of the icing.
"I have to say, this is one of my best works in a long, long time! You'll be hard pressed to find a cake more delicious! So try and make sure all of it gets to your party. I know you have a habit of jumping the gun, Chōji." No sooner did he finish his sentence did Chōji try once again to sneak a taste of the delectable monstrosity. Yashoku had enlarged his palm as Chōji dove headfirst into it, catching him just before he smashed into the first 3 layers of the cake.
He shook his head in amusement, before pushing Chōji away. "You really need better self-control. Can I actually trust the two of you with getting this to Naruto-san's party without eating it before hand?"
Chōji stared at the cake, like he was mulling over some life-changing question. Ino seemed to actually be contemplating it as well, prompting Yashoku to sigh and roll his eyes. From out of nowhere he pulled out a large carving knife, and pointed it mick-menacingly at his fellow clan member.
"I expect to hear that this arrived at your friend's party in one piece, do you hear me? I'll have quite a few words to say to your dad if I hear you couldn't stop yourself. That goes the same for your Ino-san here."
The two of them nodded sheepishly, while Yashoku laughed merrily. "That's what I like to see! I sorely hope I can count on the two of you."
He turned around and was about to tell the others chefs, who were putting the last of the finishing touches on the cake to prepare it to be sent out, when everyone heard a loud voice call out from the front.
"Hellooooo? Anyone here?"
All the color drained away from Chōji's face the moment he recognized the voice. "Is that…is that Naruto!?"
At first Yashoku didn't realize the severity of their situation, and tried getting up to show Naruto to the back. But Chōji beat him to the door, barring himself in between.
"Are you crazy!?" he hissed. "If Naruto sees us back here with that thing, he'll know what we're up to! What's Naruto even doing here?"
"He ordered some freshly made cinnamon rolls," Yashoku replied. "My guess is that he's here to pick them up!"
Ino slapped her forehead. "And you didn't think to tell us about that sooner?"
"What're we supposed to do?"
"I don't know, think of something!"
"I can't think of anything! You think of something!"
"Dammit! Combination Transformation!"
A huge puff of smoke engulfed the room, just as Naruto Uzumaki found himself in the back room, with Hinata in tow. She was looking rather worried, but upon noticing that it was just Yashoku and his employees back here, she let out the breath she had been holding.
Naruto coughed a couple of times, trying to wave the smoke away from his mouth. "Bah! What is all this?"
Yashoku quickly racked his brain for an excuse. "Someone must have put extra flour in their baking. Nothing to worry about! What can I do for you today?"
"I wanted to pick up my order!" Naruto exclaimed happily, showing Yashoku his voucher.
Yashoku stood up to go retrieve Naruto's order from one of the smaller kitchens, glancing at where Chōji and Ino had been not 10 seconds ago. It had been a last minute plan, but Chōji had thought of using the transformation technique to both disguise himself and the cake at the same time, appearing now as a completely mundane cake with chocolate icing as opposed to the behemoth that had been sitting there just a moment ago.
Ino however, had not had the foresight to disguise herself so elegantly, and in a last ditch effort to hide her true identity, had shoved her face into a bowl of chocolate filling. With her 'beard' of chocolate, she tried to make herself look busy in the background while Naruto waited.
Thankfully, Yashoku was back in a few minutes. He was carrying a medium-sized box, wrapped together with a simple cloth for easier transport.
"Here you are! Fresh out of the oven, just like you asked!"
Naruto smacked his lips appreciatively. "Thanks, old man! These smell great, don't they Hinata?"
To ask her if they smelled nice was an understatement for the Hyūga. She had a very Akimichi-like look in her eyes as Naruto exchanged the voucher for his order, and while Naruto thought she was reaching out her hand for a little affection, in reality she was trying to snag one for a quick snack before they left.
She pouted, but decided she should at least try to wait until she and Naruto were gone. It was already proving to be a challenge.
"Alright then, thanks for the sweets, old man!" Naruto exclaimed, heading back for the door. Ino sighed with relief as he and Hinata disappeared onto the other side, and wiped off the beard of chocolate frosting.
"Hey, old man!"
Ino groaned. Naruto was coming back. She shoved her face in the confectionary once more just as Naruto poked his head back inside. He stole a quick glance at Ino, like he was trying to figure out if she was someone he knew, before he shrugged it off and turned back Yashoku.
"You think we could get a small bit of icing to top these with?"
Yashoku laughed, nodding and grabbing a small tub nearby before tossing it over to Naruto. "Have a wonderful day, you two!"
Naruto gave the man a thumbs-up, and his head disappeared for the second time. This time around, Ino waited several minutes before she wiped off her disguise, which coincided with when Chōji released his transformation.
Ino wiped away the last of the chocolate from her face, licking it off her finger.
"You know…Hinata really isn't being that helpful."
Author's Note: Like I said at the beginning of the chapter, I'm terribly sorry that these have gone on for so long. I guess I got kind of carried away with the pacing of this arc, so lesson learned for sure!
Now, as I mentioned earlier, whether or not this ends in 1-2 chapters is up to you. I have all of it written (and only need to edit and whatnot), but I can split the next chapter into two separate parts because it ended up becoming massive. The reason I think even some of you might consider the choice at all is because the story would be updated in 3-4 days, and then most likely the very next day, leading to a wealth of new content coming out rapidly.
I do hope all of you continue to enjoy my story, and that if you every have a comment or question or concern, or just want to say 'hello', you won't hesitate to send me a PM. I've grown really fond of talking with you all.
Until next time!