Happy New Year!
Welcome to 2021! Hopefully this year will become a lot better than last year.
Continue to stay inside, only go out for necessities, social distance and wear a mask
Let's continue this story!
~.~
Last time:
"You should get some sleep, you haven't had enough, you've studied too hard," Shikamaru told me.
I shook my head.
"You're top student, and this is just review, you can afford to sleep for a bit," Shikamaru told me.
"You're a bad influence," I yawned.
"Well, I'm just thinking of your health," He said.
"Uh-huh," I said, resting my chin on my arms.
"You're already pretty sleepy," he said.
"Yeah, but I slept well last night," I told him.
"Just take a nap," He told me.
"...fine," I sighed, "I dunno why, but you're really convincing."
"I don't know why either," He said before I closed my eyes.
~.~
"So...I see that you've made some new friends."
I turned to the voice to face the silhouette.
"First, we've gotta make up some kind of name for you. Second, they're not "Friends", they're people that are associated with me for some reason," I told it.
"Well...what should you call me?" It asked.
I thought for a minute.
"I don't know, you make it up,"
"Hmm...Fuzen,"It said
I looked at it.
"...Fuzen, it means evil, mischief, and imperfect," I thought, "...are you trying to tell me something?"
"You're looking too much into it," It told me, "I just like the sound of it, and I am perfect."
"Smug," I scoffed.
"Anyways, about your friends-"
"They aren't friends, I've only interacted with them because of this stupid project...and because of you," I told Fuzen.
"Right, says the person who agreed to have lunch with Ino Yamanaka," Fuzen mocked.
I waved my hand dismissively.
"Yeah, yeah. It was just so they'll stop making fun of me," I said, "A little weird to say no after that conversation."
"Yes, but that also means they think you're friends with them," the shadow told me.
"Let them think whatever they want," I shrugged.
"Anyways, I would let you get some rest right now, but Sensei just noticed that you fell asleep and is telling you to get up. And the Nara boy is shaking you awake," Fuzen said, disappearing.
"Wait, what?" I asked before my sight became fuzzy.
~.~
'...hmm..?'
"Oi, Kyoko-chan, wake up," Shikamaru shook me.
"Wha...?" I said quietly in a sleepy voice.
"Kyoko." I turned my head toward the stern voice.
"I would expect this from Shikamaru, but not you," Iruka told me.
I figured out that I just got caught sleeping. I quickly apologized.
"Sorry, Iruka Sensei..." I sighed.
Then noticed that everyone was looking at me.
"Looks like Shikamaru's bad habits is rubbing off on Kyoko," I heard from someone.
"I guess Little Miss Top Rank isn't so perfect after all," I heard another student say.
I sighed.
'I don't understand why its such a big deal, not enough to create chatter,' I thought as I started listening to Iruka.
"Sorry about that," Shikamaru whispered, "I guess I should've taken into account that he would check if I was sleeping."
"It's alright," I said, "It was a good...however long nap."
"10 minutes," He told me.
"It was a good 10 minutes then."
~.~
Iruka finally dismissed the class for lunch. I turned to see Shikamaru sleeping, once again.
'...no surprise there, this guy has too much practice at not getting caught for sleeping,' I sighed.
Ino and Kiba came up to me and Shikamaru.
"Let's go outside for lunch," Ino smiled.
I noticed Sakura and Naruto waiting for us at the door.
"Sure, once he wakes up," I said, poking the Nara.
"Whaaat," Shikamaru groaned.
"Lunch," I told him.
"Already?" He stretched.
"Hurry up," Ino sighed, "We don't have all day."
"Yeah, yeah," Shikamaru sighed, getting up.
We all walked over to an opened spot on the grass, surrounded by trees for shade. Everyone started taking out their food. I pulled out two bento boxes and handed one to Shikamaru.
"When?" He asked.
"I usually prepare more than one in case Kakashi has an unexpected mission," I explained, "Its been calm so I'm sure h-he won't be on a m-mission today."
'..shit,' I thought.
"Need a moment?" Shikamaru asked.
'Just take a deep breath, you're starting to talk faster too,' I heard Fuzen say.
I took a couple deeps breaths.
"...I'm okay," I said before opening my lunch.
I had a simple Hinomaru Bento in the top box. Rice with an umeboshi in the middle and a fried shishamo fish. The bottom box has tamagoyaki, fried vegetables, and in a separate section I had some apples rabbits.
"Whoa! Your lunch is so mature!" Sakura exclaimed.
"It's so put together!" Ino told me.
"It looks delicious!" Choji told me.
"You didn't put any meat?" Kiba asked.
"Oh uh, my protein is the egg today," I said.
"Man, your food looks so good!" Naruto said, "I usually bring instant ramen or rice balls."
"You're so lucky to have lunch made by my parents," Sakura told him.
"What's in yours, Shikamaru?" Ino asked.
"Dunno," Shikamaru shrugged, starting to open it.
My eyes widened in realization.
'This was made for Kakashi...oh no!' I couldn't stop it so i just prepared for my embarrassment.
Once he opened it, there was rice in the shape of a bear, sleeping. There was nori cut out to make the eyes, nose and mouth. There was an omelette, acting as a blanket for the bear.
There was a moment of silence. I could tell from everyone's face, they weren't expecting that. Especially after seeing my lunch.
"It's so cute!" Sakura and Ino said at the same time.
"You gave yourself such a mature lunch and this to Shikamaru?" Kiba laughed.
"W-Well," I didn't know what to say.
The bottom box had some cherry tomatoes, cut and put together with toothpick to look like hearts, carrots and daikon cut into flowers, some teriaki chicken, as well as rabbit apples.
"It just keeps getting cuter!" Sakura smiles.
"It looks super yummy!"
"So...this was made with Kakashi in mind?" Shikamaru asked.
"Y-Yea..?" I said nervously.
"You act like you he's annoying when you actually care for him," Shikamaru smirked.
"No, I don't!" I argued.
"You're really a softy aren't ya?" He asked.
"Watch your words, Nara," I warned.
"Hard to take you seriously when I know you made this," He said, showing me the rice bear.
"Kakashi, requested it like that, so I just did it," I told him, "If you don't want it, then I'll take it back."
"Naw, I'll eat it," Shikamaru told me, "Your cooking is good."
"It is? I wanna try!" Naruto asked.
"Nope," Shikamaru declined, "I got lucky being with a good cook, and I'm gonna have it all to myself."
"Aw, just a bite!" Naruto complained.
"Troublesome, I'm not gonna give you any," Shikamaru told him.
I almost laughed at the bickering. I looked around. Everyone was talking among themselves, enjoying lunch together. The atmosphere felt...warm.
I noticed Choji and Hinata. Hinata was eating her bento, while Choji had opened a bag of chips.
"Uh...Akimichi? Is that all you're having for lunch?" I asked.
"Um, he h-had a bento that I made," Hinata said, "B-But he ate it d-during class."
"I see," I said.
"It's okay! I have this!" Choji told me, holding the bag up.
"...you can have some," I said, holding out my lunch, "It's not good to just eat that."
"...really?" He asked.
I nodded, "Not all of it, I still need to eat."
"Thank you!" He smiled, picking up one of the rolled eggs.
He took a bite and ate it happily, "Its good!"
"It's just an egg," I said, eating some rice.
"You can have some chips if you like," Choji said, "But not all of it," He copied my words.
"I might after eating," I said, "Thank you,m, Akimichi."
"Just call me Choji," He told me.
"...alright, Choji," I said, taking a chip.
"Hey, hey, I wanna try too!" Naruto told me, "I'll give you some of my food too!"
"Hey, I wanna try too!" Kiba exclaimed.
"Me first, right, Kyoko?" Ino grinned.
"Oi, come on don't completely bombard her," Sakura said.
I don't know how, but the lunch ended up like a potluck. Everyone was sharing each other's lunches.
'At least I'm getting a balanced meal out of this,' I thought, picking at some picked radish.
"This is nice," Shikamaru said.
I nodded in agreement.
"We should do this again tomorrow," Ino said, "If you want to!" She added quickly.
"...I...I don't mind," I said after a bit of thought.
"This was such a good idea," Naruto grinned.
"Mhm!" Choji smiled.
"Try to not eat your lunch before lunch then, Choji," Shikamaru teased his friend.
I couldn't help but smile a little.
I suddenly felt a pair of hands grab my face.
'...I-Ino? Personal space?' I thought as she examined my face,
"You...haven't been getting much sleep have you? Geez you look like a freaking raccoon," Ino said, looking at my eye.
Shikamaru and Kiba laughed at my face being squished by Ino.
"I've got enough to live on, so I'm fine," I said, removing Ino's hands before she could crush my head, although Ino didn't have the strength to.
"You walk around like that? You realize how noticeable it is?" Ino asked me.
"...uhh...I don't care?" I said, more as a question than a statement.
"How can you not care? Hello? Boys?!" Ino exclaimed, waving her arms around, or at least one of them.
Kiba stopped the other one.
"Umm...boys? Shikamaru noticed it...he just said I should get some sleep," I shrugged.
"No, I mean, like, you know? Finding the perfect one? Boyfriends?" Ino was freaking out over how clueless I was.
"Eh? Boyfriends? I haven't thought too much about relationships. I don't need anyone right now," I told her.
Ino looked at me with complete disbelief.
"You can't be serious," Ino said.
"I don't really care about this romance stuff..."
"HOW DO YOU NOT CARE?!" Ino practically screamed at me.
"Uhh..." I leaned back, away from her.
"That should be a girl's number one priority! You don't wanna be alone for your whole life now, do you?" Ino asked, shaking me.
"I've done it for a most of my life, I think I can continue on...also, at the moment, my top priority is to be a good ninja. Right now, I wanna exceed in passing exams," I told Ino, trying to pry myself out of the white blond girl's grip.
"I can imagine it now! You're going to grow up without anyone. You would probably be one of the girls that guys would die for!" Ino said dramatically, letting go of me so she could do some kind of over dramatic pose, "But you won't notice, being blinded by missions and training! One day, when you've realize you've became a cat lady, you're going to think-" Ino grabbed the front of my shirt with both hands, "Ino! Why? WHY DIDN'T I LISTEN TO YOU!" Ino exclaimed, still acting as if she was in some drama/romance show.
We all just stared at her with wide eyes.
I lightly removed Ino's hands from my clothes.
'My money's on the cat lady thing, she already has a cat,' Shikamaru thought.
"Ino...that was a little much...I think I'll be fine," I told her, backing away from the overly dramatic blond.
Ino quickly reacted.
"Fine, be stubborn now, but my mission is to save you from becoming a cat lady!" Ino said, pointing at me.
"Uhh...okay..? Sure?" I said,
"Starting-" Ino grabbed my face, once again, "With fixing your dark circles!"
I looked at her with confusion. Ino smiled.
"A little makeup will cover your black rings," She told me.
I immediately turned pale and quickly backed away.
"Nooooo, no way. I-uh...appreciate the thought, but I'm gonna stick with being raccoon face for today," I told the blond.
"Eh? Why not?" Ino looked at me questionably.
"Uhh...cause...I...am...allergic to makeup," I tried to say in a confident voice.
Ino smirked.
"I don't think so!" Ino sang, coming closer to me.
I looked at Ino, as if the Yamanaka was a serial killer.
"Oh, hello, Iruka Sensei!" I said, looking past her.
Ino turned around, seeing no one there. She turned back to see that I was missing, Ino spotted me, running off with Shikamaru behind me.
"Oi, Kyoko-chan! Get back here!" Ino shouted.
Before she could chase after me, the bell had rung.
I quickly made it into the classroom, with Shikamaru behind me.
"Could you warn me before sprinting off?" He asked, panting.
"No," I told him, catching my breath.
We made our way to our desk. I rested my head on the cold desk.
"Just because your sitting, doesn't mean I can't get you!" Ino shouted once she made it into the classroom.
She started walking up to my desk.
"Hello, Iruka Sensei," I greeted.
"You think I'm gonna fall for that again?" Ino asked me.
"Ino, take your seat."
Ino jumped at the voice. Turning to see that Iruka had actually walked into the room.
"Y-Yes Sensei!" Ino said, still startled.
~.~
Class finally ended, I noticed that I was daydreaming more than usual. I walked out of the building with everyone else once class was over.
"Wait up, Shikamaru-kun, Kyoko-chan!"
I turn to see a flash of pink, followed by a bright yellow.
"What's up, Sakura?" Shikamaru asked.
"You guys wanna hang out with me, Naruto, Ino, Kiba, Choji and Hinata? I think Sasuke-kun and Shino will be coming too!" Sakura asked.
"Yeah! We're thinking about going out for barbeque!" Naruto fist pumped.
"Going all the way there? So troublesome..." Shikamaru said.
"I don't really wanna go anywhere but home today..." I told her
"Oh, that's okay, next time," Sakura said, giving a small smile.
"Oi! Sakura! Naruto! What's taking so long?"
We all turned to see Kiba and Ino walking towards them.
"Shikamaru-kun and Kyoko-chan don't wanna come," Naruto whined.
"Aw, you guys aren't coming?" Kiba asked, not acknowledging what I just said, "Akamaru wanted to meet you, Kyoko-chan."
"Akamaru?" I questioned.
On cue, a gray and brown puppy popped out of Kiba's jacket.
"Or right now is fine, I don't want Akamaru to wonder around the academy so he stays in my jacket. You could have met him at lunch but Akamaru was sleeping," Kiba said.
"So this is Akamaru?" I asked, leaning down to be face to face with the puppy.
Akamaru let out an adorable yelp, and licked my nose.
"Akamaru is so cute!" I smiled, picking up the puppy.
I craddled the dog in my arm, petting his head.
"Such a baby~" I said in my baby voice.
"So your weak against animals, I see," Shikamaru pointed out.
"W-what? No I'm not! Akamaru is just cute," I shuddered out, trying to defend myself.
"Oh really now?" Kiba smirked, "When was the last time you squealed like Ino every time she thought Sasuke looked at her?"
"Oi!" Ino hit Kiba over the head.
"I did not squeal," I denied.
"Also, when was the last time you smiled like that?" Sakura smirked.
Naruto was laughing, hard. At this point, he was hugging his sides.
"D-did, you guys, s-see, her face?!" Naruto said between laughs.
"You know what?" I started, "Only someone who's pure evil would deny a cute animal."
Akamaru let up a bark and started licking my face.
"Ah! Stop!" I smiled, putting the dog down.
Akamaru ran around, barking happily, waiting for someone to chase him.
"I think that's your job, Kiba," I told him.
"Oh no! Don't you dare! I'm not-" Ino was cut off as Kiba ran off after Akamaru, dragging Ino along.
"You guys better catch up to them," Shikamaru told the rest.
"Ah geez," Sakura sighed, "We'll see ya tomorrow!" She and Naruto started running after them.
Me and Shikamaru started making our way back home.
"...so what's for dinner?"
~.~
I just realized I forgot to do recaps for past chapters
I did it just so it's easier to remember what happened last chapter before continuing to the next
I'm too lazy to fix it though haha
Anyways, enjoy the rest of the break to those who are students.
Signing off,
Bluebirb