The house was silent, the normal sounds coming from the kitchen were missing; the tempting smells weren't wafting through the house, and there was no pot of coffee fresh on the table. He closed the door gently and padded through the house on steady feet. The chakra in his home reaching out and welcoming him home. The shadows bent around him, keeping him hidden as he prowled the house for his target. This was a long time coming, but there was only so much a patient man can take! As he stalked around the house, his steps focusing towards the only other chakra in his home, he took a moment to slip into a meditative state. Even with the ANBU training session, he still had anger to face. He could feel it smouldering in the pit of his belly, he needed to control it for now. He did not want to lash out at his wife during their…discussion. Pausing outside of his office door, Shikaku drew in a soothing breath, it was time.
Yoshino had run straight home, only her pride and her determination not to humiliate her husband's name held back her tears. She ignored the calling of her clansmen and focused on getting to her own place. Her husband was unhappy with her, the first time in their 15 years of marriage, and it hurt! Yoshino had never felt as guilty and as shamed as this. He must be overreacting! She had been asking for help, to improve their families standing, to keep herself worthy of being his wife; and this is the thanks she gets?! Scolded in front of his teammates and sent running like a child! Oh, he was in trouble when he got in! With a snarl, she slammed the door closed, her dark eyes flashing with anger. No-one spoke to her like that, no-one. She stormed through the house, and threw herself into his office, sinking down to sit on the floor cushions by the window; determined to stay mad at him. Grumbling to herself, she waited. He'd be home soon, then she'd remind him that she ruled this house!
The clock ticked loudly in the stillness, Yoshino kept waiting. Worry started to cross her face, and the anger she was holding started to fade. Guilt flooded through, dousing the flames, and cooling her temper. As her temper gave way to a cooler more rational head, Yoshino turned the events of the day over in her head, looking at that and her behavior for the last few years sent shame through her body. Her lord husband was mad, and rightfully so! Hopefully, he would forgive the foolish actions she had taken. The soft closing of the front door echoed up the stairs, and Yoshino sat straighter, straining her ears to hear if her husband was approaching. The slight brush of the shadows against her neck sent her shuddering, he was close.
"Wife." Was the greeting from the door, in his raspy voice, before he lowered himself on to the cushion opposite her. Shikaku held a hand up, cutting off Yoshino before she could start speaking.
"Never, in 15 years of marriage, have I been so disappointed in you. I have put up with you yelling and screaming at me, as well as hitting me more recently. Now, I have reached my limit. I want to know why; and you will tell me." His voice was cold, like ice, and his face was blank. He was no longer playing around, nor was he indulging her whims. He was the Clan Head, and he wanted answers; he wanted the truth. Yoshino slipped off of her cushion and knelt in front of him. Her face an open book, now was not the time to hide her feelings.
"Forgive me Husband. I have shamed your name and brought dishonor upon our family. I wanted to be the best wife for you, and the best matriarch for the clan I could be. So, I sought the advice of older, wiser women. I just wanted to be perfect. I'm sorry, Shikaku-sama. I never meant to disappoint you." Yoshino bowed low, touching the floor with her forehead. She stayed there as she spoke, her voice shaky as she held back tears. Her voice was choked with emotion, yet not once did she regret showing them. If anything, she felt lighter for getting them out. This was the guy she chose to marry, the guy who held her when her father died. The guy who threw himself in front of a sword for her, he still carried the scar though he wore it with pride. A sigh drew her attention up.
"Look at me, wife." Shikaku waited til his woman lifted her head, his heart wrenching in his chest with the need to comfort her and wipe her tears. "Troublesome woman, why didn't you come to me? Why didn't you say anything? I vowed in front of the village that I would love, support, and protect you. I meant it Yoshi-chan. You were perfect then, and you are perfect now. You have no need to go to those bitter old women. Yoshino, my spitfire, the guardian of my herd, the mother of my fawn; those women are jealous of you. They took advantage of your self-doubt and nearly ended our marriage." At his last statement, Yoshino gasped and reached for him instinctively. He nearly divorced her, and she was too blind to notice! Shikaku pulled his love into his lap and wrapped her in his strong arms. "Just promise me that you'll be you now. Come to me if you need something. No more meetings with the leaf's knitting club, and no more following their advice. Promise me Yoshino Nara!"
Even with her face buried in his chest, her voice was clear and firm in its reply. "I promise. I'll fix this, I'll fix us." A rumbling chuckle had her looking up.
"My love, we will fix us. We are a team, you do not need to try and fix anything on your own. We will fix us and our family. You, me, and our fawn; that's our team." Shikaku brushed his lips against his wife's head after a long time, he felt secure in their future. Sure, this was a bump in the road, but they got through it together. Yoshino wiggled in his arms until she was sat with her knees on the floor on either side of him. Shikaku raised an eyebrow silently, as he observed her lean back to make eye contact. Her eyes, full of mischief and promise, had him inhaling sharply a smirk pulling at his lips.
"Well, my husband, allow me to show you how much I love you." Yoshino purred against his lips, her hands swiftly coming up to open his dark green flak jacket. One of Shikaku's hand coming up to tangle in her hair, pulling her head closer. Well, fixing the marriage was easy, he thought, but we both need to be confident in each other before we address our family. Bonding, he decided would have to be something they did regularly. With a self-satisfied smirk, he deepened the kiss, and stood up, holding his wife up as he carried her to bedroom. Oh yes, a bit of marital bonding was definitely the way to go.
"…And that, my dear student, is how you pull off free drinks from desperate men." Cackled Anko, as they stumbled back to their hotel. Or, rather, Shikamaru stumbled and Kakashi kept her on her feet. After the awkwardness of earlier, Anko had shoved Shikamaru into a pair of skin-tight trousers made of a light clingy material. They looked like liquid black had been poured over her skin. They fed into her stealth combat boots. Definitely on the list of clothes to wear again, Shikamaru decided. They felt good, flexible, and breathable. The top, she wasn't that sure about. It was another vest style, with detached sleeves. Made of a dark green leather, it was cut high on the from, and just brushed the top of her thighs at the back. The exposed stomach was more Ino's style than hers, but even Shikamaru had to admit she looked good. Anko fussed with her hair for a bit before deciding on loose braid down her back, and adding a solid line of eyeliner, before announcing her ready. They had spent the last few hours in a dark seedy looking bar, that Anko found yesterday. It was an entertaining few hours, to say the least. Anko tried shoving alcohol down her throat, and Kakashi kept fielding it into his cup. Shikamaru's dad had never been strict about her not having a drink, especially since he drank a lot, however it had never appealed. This evening Shika had discovered a love for a certain cocktail made with coconut, lime and pineapple. It was thick and creamy, something you could drink a lot of, before falling over. It wasn't advisable to drink too much on missions, but Kakashi and Anko both agreed it was best Shikamaru started to build a tolerance now, so it didn't hit her too hard when she was older and going on those types of missions. After the first couple of drinks, Shikamaru had found herself starting to relax in the company of the older ninja. By the forth drink, Anko started chatting about different persuasion techniques used by the kunoichi, along with the occasion demonstration. Shikamaru eagerly lapped up the new information, her brain racing to record and store it. By the sixth drink, she was curled up leaning on Kakashi, his arm wrapped around her waist. She was warm, comfortable, and her brain had finally quietened down. It was still going and going, but more like a background hum. Nothing was picked up, categorized, and demanding her attention. It felt a little like floating. Really, if she had known that drinking made you feel like a cloud, she would have drunk already! Honestly, a bed and sleep sounded great about now. Shika gave a sleepy murr of approval as Kakashi stroked her side slowly, his body warmth keeping her cozy. A low chuckle sounded next to her as he put his book away and downed his drink.
"I think it's time we got the kid back to the hotel. Tomorrow we are just going to do some training with her. I want her alert, well as alert as a Nara can be anyway." Shikamaru mumbled something quietly in response, and both Anko and Kakashi leant in to hear better.
"Try that again, cutie-pie?" Anko asked, her eyes showing disbelief at what she had heard.
"Said: I'm not a Nara. They don't want me, I'm not good enough." Anko looked up at Kakashi in bewilderment. She knew the jounin commander adored his daughter; hell, her own boss, Inoichi Yamanaka loved the brat. How on earth did the kid come to this conclusion?! Kakashi shook his head, cutting off anything she may have said, and jerked his head towards the door. Time to go. Which brings their evening to them stumbling back to the hotel. Kakashi kept a tight grip around Shikamarus shoulders, holding her up, hopefully she wouldn't have too bad of a hangover tomorrow; he had training plans! Though he had to admit, he was surprised about her taste in drinks. Who'd've thought that Shikaku's daughter would have hated sake, but adored pina colada. Oh well, either way, 6 drinks later she was still standing…kinda… not bad for a first drinking session. He'd have to drag her out more often in the village to build her tolerance, besides she was apparently a cuddly drunk and who could resist such an adorable student cuddling close! Hopefully new commands would come tomorrow as well. Then they could head back. Either way, he had a drunk chunnin to herd into bed. At least she was both light and obedient to his directions. Kakashi sighed and kept shuffling along the road towards the hotel. Damn, but he was knackered.
The morning dawned bright and clear, its light filling the room dragging a low groan from the sprawled figure on the bed. A hand lazily snatching the blanket and pulling it over tangled hair to block out the light. A contented sigh followed as the girl snuggled back down into the bed. Best nights sleep ever! She had never felt so relaxed and rested, if this what her dad felt it is no wonder, he drank so much! Shikamaru pulled the blanket closer and started to drift off, taking advantage of how calm she felt to get a few extra hours kip. Well, that would have been the plan, if the blanket hadn't been yanked off the bed and a cheery voice had rung out.
"Up and at it, Kid! We have a day to train before we head back home." Kakashi hadn't had this much fun since before the chunnin exams. He rarely got to work with his cute little genin now, so opportunities to torment and tease a subordinate were far and few between. He wasn't surprised she was still asleep, being both a Nara and drunk. At the groan of frustration, Kakashi's grin widened, well, if she wanted to do things the hard way he wasn't about to complain. More fun for him, really. He flashed through a couple of hand signs, still with his Cheshire cat grin on, and twisted his chakra slightly. A small wall of water crashed down on to the bed, followed swiftly by some imaginative swearing and dark glare being directed at him.
"Sorry not sorry kiddo. You chose to take the hard route. Now up and at it. I have orders from Hokage-sama; and you have some training to do." With that said, Kakashi pulled his book out of his pocket and sauntered out of the room, giggling to himself, Princess Yoki had just ripped her dress accidentally, and the good part was about to start.
With a heavy sigh, Shikamaru dragged herself out of the now wet bed, and slouched her way over to the window. Letting in a warm breeze, she turned to hang the bedsheet up in that breeze. Hopefully it'll dry before tonight. Sleeping in a wet bed would be a drag. She scrapped her hair up into her topknot ponytail, and threw on a new uniform, before following Kakashi's path out of the room. Better see what the plan was, they were still on a mission after all. Dragging herself into communal area of their rooms, she yawned and waved lazily at the senior nin.
"Morning cutie, how's the head?" was the flirty greeting from the other woman on the team. The woman was currently sitting there petting a snake. Where she got that particular snake from, who knows, the rock adder wasn't native to fire country. Shikamaru distinctly remembered Anko mentioning her love of poisons last night, so maybe that's why she had a venomous snake as a necklace? Clearly, Jounin were crazy with an innate love of dangerous things. Now she thought about it, wasn't Iruka-sensei learning about poisons from Genma (who she thought was the guy who proctored the finals)? Did that mean the insanity was passing on to the chunnin? Sounded troublesome. She'd have to avoid it at all costs. Though T&I kinda interested her, so maybe she'd put up with Anko's crazy for a while.
"My head is fine." Shikamaru yawned. "Have we heard back from HQ?" stretching before opening her stance and lowering into the first of her many yoga routines. Another one of the many grounding mechanisms she was taught as a kid. Now she enjoyed it for a moment of moving meditation. The increase flexibility was a bonus too. She could feel her mind relaxing under the familiar stretches, as she listened into Kakashi's report.
"Yep. Hokage wants us to head back to the village on the original timetable. He has given us today as a training day in the forest, to head back tomorrow. They'll send out ANBU teams to run the borders and trade routes. As for the traitor…" The temperature in the room dropped rapidly, and Shikamaru wobbled in her inverted lotus position, her breath catching in her throat. The last training session had been on coping with Killing Intent, but Kakashi's and Anko's was so more predatory than they had in the session. Still she hadn't started clawing at her neck or falling over this time, so it seemed like the training had been worth it.
"…Let's just say, their days are numbered in single digits." Anko finished. Her face curled into a blood thirsty smile. Her voice was silky dangerous, a hint of sadistic anticipation woven through. Her tongue flicked out to lick at her lips, as she imagined the torture session in the near future. A shiver flowed down Shika's spine. Anko looked truly wild at that point, is this what a shinobi was really? Under their civilized masks, a primal being who delights in the chaos and destruction they cause. No, that can't be right for every shinobi; her father and uncles were gentle giants really. They wouldn't be this feral.
"Still" chirped Kakashi "that's not our problem at the moment. Instead I want to do some heavy taijutsu practice with you today. We'll try and start improving your stamina. When that's done, we'll move on to chakra control exercises. Anko is going to head into town and get some supplies, before joining us in training. So, if you are ready, lets go." Kakashi threw a ration bar at Shikamaru, before he headed out of the room, he had already found a place to train whilst they left their charge to sleep off the alcohol. He was looking forward to this session. Afterall the girl had potential, now she just needed to believe in herself long enough to reach that potential. With that thought, he sunk his head back into his book giggling to himself as he led Shikamaru to the clearing he had found.
Several hours later found Shikamaru looking rather rough. Her clothes were covered in mud, her hair was loose, and she was covered in bruises. When Kakashi said heavy taijutsu, he meant heavy taijutsu. Though she was slight ashamed of how far away from her skill level he was. He didn't have to put any effort in, if anything, he seemed to have turned the spar into a game of how far he could throw her. It hit her pride and ego hard, despite already know she was behind on taijutsu. The frustration was building, as she stopped planning and started more spontaneous moves. Instead of relying on her brain, she sunk into her training, allowing instincts and reaction to take over. Her body was moving quicker, sharper, stronger she noted distantly. She felt more in tune to the fluctuating chakra around her, the small flares that signaled an attack, the slightly larger flares that signaled a reinforced attack. It was a thrilling sensation. Being able to feel the throb of chakra running through the veins of every living thing, the hum of it dancing on the air. As her back hit the ground hard, knocking the breath from her lungs, the grounds chakra rose to cradle her. Shielding her from severe damage. She lay there panting, marveling in the chakra surrounding her. The urge to just go to sleep coated in the warming touch of the chakra was overwhelming.
"It's a wonderful feeling, isn't it?" Kakashi's voice was soft, filled with contentment. "I was hoping you'd work out how to reach this level of connection. The point where a ninja stops using their brain to fight, and switches to trusting their body to do as it is trained to, is exhilarating. Some ninja are more adapt at feeling the chakra on this level, others will struggle to feel it mutely. I know it runs in the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, but sometimes it can take a while to manifest in your clan. You guys are too intellectual. You rely on your brain power so much, its hard to let go. Well done kid, you did good. However, your stamina is still lacking. You'll need to practice daily, despite it being troublesome." Kakashi sent her a wink at the last comment, before hauling her up to her feet. Time to get back to work…
