The young shinobi ended up at a nice bar that was not super loud so they could talk, but also there were other people to mingle with. At a neighboring table, there was a group of pretty girls that checked out Araya.
Their conversation was pretty shinobi-like to be pretending to be civilians. However, after finishing their first drink, the boys started relaxing, and the conversation became a little more animated. Shikadai was happy to see that his that cousin did not try to leave after having one drink as he implied.
Before they could order a second drink, two girls from the neighboring table approach them. More specifically, they came for Araya.
"Hello! Sorry to interrupt you. We were wondering if you want to join us for a drink."
Araya didn't know how to react. Girls usually did not approach him or invite him to hang out. Since he could not come up with any words, the girls assumed his silence meant yes and kindly, but not so gently; they dragged him to their table. His only reaction was to pull whoever was next to him, the equally naive and inexperienced with girls, Metal.
Inojin and Shikadai could not help to laugh at their two friends. Two of the most skilled shinobi of their generation, being dragged by civilian girls was too hilarious. Shinki just had a slight smile on his face and was curious to see how his good friend and comrade would get out of the situation.
Inojin noticed Shinki's expression and said, "I am glad to see you are in a better mood. No point to mopping about Chubs when there are so many cute girls out there."
Shikadai wanted to punch Inojin. The whole point of the outing was to have a good time and not think about Chocho. After Inojin's comment, Shinki went back to his gloomy and dry mood.
Inojin realized what he did, so he tried to save the situation. "I mean, I know many guys like Chubs, but no one had a chance against Mitsuki. Not even you, and she liked you."
'She liked me, and I did not say anything to her. I am pathetic,' Shinki thought.
Shikadai wanted to punch Inojin again. Inojin felt guilty for his big mouth and almost causing a situation, so he tried to light up the mood in his very ineffective way. "Chubs is my friend and all, but she is weird. And Mitsuki is even weirder. Honestly, they are just a couple of weirdos."
Inojin knew he was doing a terrible job cheering up Shinki, so he tried to be more specific. "Like the other day, we were practicing an Ino-Shika-Cho formation in which Chubs had to do the full body expansion. Mitsuki and the rest of team 7 were there. I would not want my girlfriend to be as big as a mountain. Shikadai, would you like your girlfriend to be as big as a mountain?"
Inojin continued, "Not me! Anyway, Mitsuki loved it. He said Chubs looked like a goddess looking down upon us. Man, they are weird. "
"I'd not use the word weird to describe Ms. Akimichi. She is special." Shinki said in a nostalgic tone remembering how cute was Chocho.
Shikadai could not help but feel for his cousin, so he added, "You are right. She is a special girl. But I think you got to see that because you got the chance to get to know her. No question, you are the most hardworking shinobi with an impeccable work ethic, but sometimes you don't give yourself the time to get to know people. The only reason you got to know Chocho was because while we were working together, we took lots of breaks and hung out a lot."
Shikadai's assessment made Shinki think. Shikadai was right. He usually did not give himself time to connect with people. He occupied most of his time with studying and training. Sometimes he did not even have time to spend with his family, the most important people to him. He could not deny that his time in the Leaf Village was fun. Going to the movies, taking long lunch breaks with Chocho and Shikadai, and just hanging out with Shikdai's friends from the Village was enjoyable.
During his time there, he also noticed how close Shikadai was to Inojin and Chocho. It was hard for him not to compare to his friendships. In addition to Shikadai's comment about just liking Chocho because he let himself get to know her, it made him question his relationships in general. However, he would not admit his life deficiencies to other people, so he just said, "You might have a point, but it is not something I am too concerned about now."
"You are right, Shinki," Inojin said. "No time for that. You can put all the time getting to know a girl, but sometimes rejection is imminent."
"Have you been rejected before?" Shinki asked with curiosity.
Shikadai smiled since he was too familiar with Inojin's biggest heartbreak.
Inojin was a little hasitant to response, but he could relate a little to what Shinki felt, so he shared, "Well, once I went with Chocho to the Cloud Village to deliver some letters for the Raikage. Her mom is from there. I met Chub's cousin there. She was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."
Shikadai interrupted and said, "She looked just like Chocho."
"A faint family resemblance. Chub's cousin was delicate and graceful. We talked about flowers, and I recommended bouquet combinations. Little that I knew, I was helping her plan her wedding. Before we left, she introduced us to her fiancé."
Inojin continued telling them how perfect Chocho's cousin was, when Metal joined their table again.
"Metal, you are back. What happened to Araya?" Shikadai asked.
"Well, that girl wanted to go for a cigarette outside and took Araya with her. So, I saw my chance to come back here."
"Weren't you enjoying the girls' company?" Shinki asked
"They were nice, but I didn't have the chance to hang out with you guys."
"Well, you came back right on time. We are in the middle of an important conversation. Have you been rejected by a girl you like?" Inojin asked.
"Yes, I think. I am not sure."
With curiosity, Shinki followed up, "Is there someone you like Metal? Did you ask her out?" Shinki thought he was close to Metal and was surprised that he never mentioned that. They trained together at least twice a month for years, and the conversation never came up.
Metal shyly replied, "Tsubaki is serious about her training and has discipline. She is always practicing sword fighting."
Inojin interjected, "That is what you like in a girl, her training habits and discipline?"
"Yes. Don't you?" Metal innocently replied. "I told Iwabe that I liked her, and without me knowing, he set up a double date with his girlfriend, Wasabi, and Tsubaki. They are in the same squad. I felt awkward having Iwabe and Wasabi there. They made out most of the night. Tsubaki and I just exchanged few words while having some drinks. I walked her home and asked her to train together, but she said she liked training alone…"
"I am sorry Metal." Shinki said relating to the feeling of rejejection.
" …And then, she said she would like to have dinner together another time." Metal concluded.
"Common, you were so not rejected! She wants to go out again. Are you bragging? Because we are vulnerable right now." Inojin said with annoyance.
Then, Inojin turned his face slowly to look at Shikadai said, "Talking about being vulnerable…So, Shikadai, what about you? Have you been rejected?" Inojin knew exactly what rejection he was referring to.
Shikadai did not respond and took a sip of his drink. Shinki, taking advantage of the situation, said, "It would make me feel better."
"You don't know about it?" Shikadai asked with surprise.
"Why would I know?" Shinki was confused
"I thought Yodo would have told you. I asked her out, and she said no."
Yodo was Shinki's squad member, one of his most trusted comrades and a close friend. At least Shinki thought they were close.
"It was not a simple no," Inojin added. "It was savage… She said that she was not one of Shikadai's groupies because of aunt Temari. And that she was not interested."
In the Leaf Village, people recognized Shikadai as a brilliant strategist and the heir of the Nara clan. However, the Sand Village was full of his admirers due to his royal lineage being Temari's son. He did not mind the attention of pretty girls.
"Have you dated many girls from my village?" Shinki asked.
"Just a few dates."
"I guess I will have to keep an eye out for that type of invasion from the Leaf," Shinki said with a half-smile that made the boys burst into laughter
Few more drinks happened, and the conversation became lighter and more fun. In all the fun, they realized that Araya had been away for a long time. It was too long for a cigarette. The girls from the neighboring table approached them, "Sorry to interrupt. My friend left with your friend for a smoke. Do you know if they are coming back?"
The boys just shook their heads to imply they did not know. One of the girls, Mika, thought that Shinki looked familiar.
"I think I have seen you before. Are you from around here?"
"No, Miss. I am from the Land of Tea. I am on holiday with my friends."
"You look the like the Kazekage's kid, Lord Shinki."
"Do I? I have never seen him." As the trained shinobi he was, he kept his cool to keep his cover.
"Well, he is good-looking and all, but he is too stiff. You will never find him in a place like this. I can't imagine what a date with him looks like. Probably he would only talk about government staff. How boring…"
"He sounds like a drag..." Shikadai interjected before sipping on his beer.
"Mika, don't talk like that about Lord Shinki. He is devoted to our Village and has no time for mundane things like drinking with friends." Yuri, the other girl, interjected.
Shinki was pleased to hear Yuri's words. She continued, "The questionable one from the Kazekage's family is Lord Shinki's cousin from the Leaf Village. People say he goes around our Village trying to seduce every girl he sees."
Shikadai almost spits his beer after hearing those words.
"Seducing every girl? Unacceptable behavior." Shinki said, faking concern but laughing inside, seeing Shikadai's expression of embarrassment.
"Those might be only rumors," Inojin added, loyal to his best friend as always. "He is part of the Ino-Shika-Cho, and that is a dignified group from the Leaf Village."
"Well, their grandparents brought a peace treaty, and their parents were heroes in the Shinobi war, but what has this generation of Ino-Shika-Cho has done? They keep riding on their families' fame." Mika added. "The Kazekage's nephew is womanizer, and the Yamanaka guy is so snobby. The only cool one there is the Akimichi heir. She is so cool."
"Yup, she is great," Shinki said with a half-smile.
"Is that the type of girl you like?" Mika asked. "I will be hard for a girl to compete with that," She added with a flirty look.
Before Shinki could say anything, Araya and the girls' friend came back to the table. The girls said goodbye to the boys. Mika gave another flirty look to Shinki and said, "Too bad you are not from around here. I hope you visit again soon." Shinki was not looking to date at the moment, but he appreciated the flirty gesture.
After the girls left, and Araya sat down, Inojin noticed something on Araya's neck, "Is that a hickey?!"
All the boys fixated their eyes on Araya's neck, which made Araya need some liquid courage to face his friends, so he took a shot and then, Metal's drink and Shinki's too. Since he never drank hard liquor, he did not have tolerance for alcohol and got very drunk.
The boys found the whole situation comedic. All of them talking about romance, but shy Araya was the only one living the actual romance. Shinki could not help to wonder if that was Araya's first experience with a girl. Although they were super close, they have never talked about that type of thing. He could not help to notice how Shikadai and Inojin knew everything about each other's romantic lives.