Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, sadly. All characters belong to the
lovely creators of this fine show.
****
Prologue: Bothersome
It was a warm breeze that finally woke Shikamaru from his rest, he was only partly surprised to realize that he'd fallen asleep outside. The sun was still low in the sky, meaning it was still before lunch, so he did nothing. They had just finished a long mission, and Asuma-sensei had given the Team the weekend off. Shikamaru figured it was also timed this way because it was to be both his and Ino's birthdays. He frowned; birthdays were such a pain in the ass. He'd long ago made sure his parents didn't make a big deal about his birthday, preferring a nice quiet afternoon playing shogi to a noisy family gathering. This year would be no different, he planned to have breakfast with his parents, go meet up with Choji to catch a movie and some lunch, then stopping by to visit his sensei to spend the afternoon playing a couple matches of go. It would be an idyllic afternoon, away from the distractions of –
"Oi, Shikamaru! Did you sleep out here?"
Shikamaru sighed as Ino's voice rang out clear as a bell. As clear as an annoying lead bell, at that. Ino no doubt already had planned a block party for her own birthday, which was annoyingly close to his. The day after his, in fact.
"It was a nice warm night, why would I want to stay inside a stuffy house. Besides, what are you doing out here? This is usually a quiet spot."
Ino grumbled, "You're in quite a mood this morning. Aren't you the least bit excited about tomorrow?!"
Shikamaru was caught off-guard. She was grinning like a fool... And since when did Ino give a crap about his birthday? She had to know it was the day before hers, but every year she never said anything. Choji was his only friend who really cared about it, and sometimes he had to wonder if it was just because of the cake his mother always made. Nonetheless, Shikamaru had to smile; her excitement and goofy grin were infectious. Maybe she'd want to go out with him and Choji in the afternoon after all, or maybe they could go do something later that night...
"Well, I guess a little." Shikamaru smiled, maybe this year wouldn't be so bad... Ino grinned, "I knew you would! Well, the party is going to start a little after noon, so make sure you're on time for once!"
The blood froze in Shikamaru's veins. A party...?
"Of course, I mean, we have the whole weekend off so I figured why wait till Sunday for my party!"
Shikamaru could feel his jaw drop, but recovered quickly. He felt angry for thinking that for even a moment Ino was thinking about him...
Ino gave him a quizzical look, "Something wrong?"
Shikamaru frowned, "Nope, sorry but I'm busy tomorrow. Have a nice time at your party though."
He thrust his hands in his pockets and turned to go. He could tell he'd just made her mad, but she wasn't saying anything. That was odd, he thought, usually she has a comeback for everything. He turned around, surprised to see that Ino looked a little red and crestfallen.
"C'mon, it'll be fun. I know it's not really your thing to be social, but we're teammates! I don't want to be the only one there without a team. It'd mean a lot to me." Ino gave him a hopeful smile.
Shikamaru sighed. He didn't really care about his birthday and she did look pretty upset. He knew he was just falling for another one of her traps, but was really past caring at this point. Maybe he could stop by later after playing a few matches with Asuma-sensei. Chances are their teacher would be invited as well, so they could walk over together afterwards.
Shikamaru shook his head, "How troublesome..." Ino smiled again, recognizing her victory.
"Fine, I'll be there around 6ish."
****
Leaving Ino by her parents' shop, Shikamaru went to go find some late breakfast. His parents had most likely eaten without him, so it was going to have to be something in town. Shikamaru made his way to the ramen stand, and ordered a plain miso ramen. After a quiet meal, he headed over towards Choji's house. He wondered if Ino had already gotten to him too, Shikamaru knew how easy it was to bribe the guy. He was probably putty in Ino's manipulative hands...
Choji was sitting out front three discarded bags of chips by his feet, a fourth in his hands, and no doubt several full bags stuffed the backpack he was wearing.
"Hey, Shikamaru!" Choji motioned to the chair next to him, "What are you doing up and about? I figured you'd be off staring into space somewhere, it is your kind of day."
Shikamaru looked up at the sky; it was a relatively clear day, with a couple lazy clouds slowly drifting to the east. He took a deep breath, taking in the whole sky for a moment. Choji was right, it was a beautiful day. He sat down next to his friend and the two sat in (relative) silence. Choji spoke first,
"You see Ino today? She's rabid about that party..."
Shikamaru sighed, "Yah, what a pain. I'll probably show up later, after the movie or something."
Choji paused, "Movie..."
"Yah, weren't we going to go tomorrow afternoon? I thought -"
Choji crammed chips nervously into his mouth, "Yeah.... I kind of forgot about that. I kind of... told Ino I'd come early to help set up too..."
Shikamaru frowned; Ino must've bribed him pretty well for him to actually help out.
"Never mind, we'll go some other time." Shikamaru was annoyed, damn that Ino's birthday. Why couldn't it be six months away? He stood up to go, there were better things he could be doing now, like nothing.
Choji jumped up, "I, I'm sorry, if you want we could go -"
"Nah, never mind, I'll see you tomorrow at the party." Shikamaru stalked off, fists and teeth clenched.
****
Asuma answered the door, not really expecting company today. He was surprised to see Shikamaru at his door, especially considering the weather and relative length of the walk involved.
"What are you doing here, Shikamaru?"
The young man sighed, and asked point blank.
"What are you doing tomorrow?"
Asuma was taken aback by the question, and paused for a moment.
"Oh yah, isn't Ino's party tomorrow? She mentioned something about it this morning... I hear her family's making a really big deal of it this year. What about it?"
Shikamaru shook his head, "Nothing, I'll see you there."
Without another word he walked off, leaving Asuma very confused. Had Ino forgotten to invite him or something? Oh well, he thought to himself, I'm sure it'll all turn out alright in the end.
****
"Damn that Ino," Shikamaru said to no one in particular, "You'd think at least one of them would have remembered... I mean, it's not like it's a big deal or whatever, but you'd think they'd have the decency. What a pain in the ass this all is..."
He couldn't help but feel a little hurt, even though he hated to make a big deal out of things, it was bothersome to have his small plans taken over by Ino's inflated ego. Especially after she had played the "Be a good teammate" card on him as well, it isn't fair the way she gets away with things all the time.
"I should say something to her..." He thought to himself, "She won't listen though."
Shikamaru sat back in his bed and closed his eyes. The day had gone by, and in a few short hours he'd be another year older.
"How troublesome..."
****
The same as last year, and the year before, Shikamaru's parents woke him up early, and wished him a happy birthday. He grumped his way through the stupid song, the stupid breakfast in bed, and the stupid photos for the grandparents, uncles, cousins, etc. etc. etc. Around noontime he made his way outside, and began walking towards Choji's.
Halfway there he remembered, and stopped.
Guess there's nothing else to do... He looked up at the clouds, another peaceful day. "Screw this," He said to himself, "I'll go find something to do by myself."
He walked aimlessly for a few minutes, and had a thought.
"I guess it's better than nothing..."
****
"You did invite him, right Ino?" Asuma seemed a little confused.
Ino growled, "Of course I did! It's not my fault he's a lazy bum."
Ino's mom gave her a look, and she backed off, he had to be on his way at least... He probably got distracted by a big cloud or something, and got lost on his way. That would be just like him, making everyone worry, then showing up with that stupid lazy grin of his... There was a knock at the door, probably more guests arriving as her Dad hadn't sent the warning. Was anyone ever on time in this village?! Ino's mom gave her a patient smile, "I'll go get it."
Ino was worried. Everything had been going perfectly, but it was starting to get late now and Shikamaru still hadn't shown up.
"That jerk," She grumbled to Choji, "And after all the trouble I went to for him..."
"I think he was actually a little upset about the whole thing Ino, maybe we should go try and find him." Choji looked around at the other guests, all of whom seemed to be getting restless.
Ino nodded, "I'm going to go take a look, why don't you stay here and block the door so no one leaves."
Choji snorted in contempt, but then nodded. Going to look for Shikamaru would take him away from the delicious food that had been set out; he had to guard that with his very life...
Ino ran to the front of the house, and skidded to a stop. Shikamaru was standing in the doorway looking a little awkward with a bunch of flowers in his hands. Ino turned just in time to see her parents slipping off into the kitchen. Shikamaru cleared his throat, and she turned back to him, turning a light shade of red.
"Happy Birthday. Sorry I'm a little late, I wanted to find something you'd like, and I couldn't exactly go to the local shop." He gave a little smile, "They're also a little better when they're picked fresh..."
Ino was in shock, and didn't know how to respond. Why was he being so nice to her? She'd expected him to show up grumpy as usual, and had planned to surprise the hell out of him with the party in the backyard.
Shikamaru shifted a bit, visibly uncomfortable by the silence.
Ino smiled, "Thank you, Shikamaru." The flowers were beautiful, he'd even managed to find some of her favorites. "It must've taken hours to find all these!"
He gave an overly dramatic sigh, "You have no idea..."
Ino giggled, and grabbed his hand, leading him to the backyard, "Come here, I want to show you something!"
End Prologue Authors note: Thanks for reading, as always! Edit: Based on comments, I've decided to use this as a prologue for the larger story, so thank you for all your kind reviews. Keep 'em coming!!
It was a warm breeze that finally woke Shikamaru from his rest, he was only partly surprised to realize that he'd fallen asleep outside. The sun was still low in the sky, meaning it was still before lunch, so he did nothing. They had just finished a long mission, and Asuma-sensei had given the Team the weekend off. Shikamaru figured it was also timed this way because it was to be both his and Ino's birthdays. He frowned; birthdays were such a pain in the ass. He'd long ago made sure his parents didn't make a big deal about his birthday, preferring a nice quiet afternoon playing shogi to a noisy family gathering. This year would be no different, he planned to have breakfast with his parents, go meet up with Choji to catch a movie and some lunch, then stopping by to visit his sensei to spend the afternoon playing a couple matches of go. It would be an idyllic afternoon, away from the distractions of –
"Oi, Shikamaru! Did you sleep out here?"
Shikamaru sighed as Ino's voice rang out clear as a bell. As clear as an annoying lead bell, at that. Ino no doubt already had planned a block party for her own birthday, which was annoyingly close to his. The day after his, in fact.
"It was a nice warm night, why would I want to stay inside a stuffy house. Besides, what are you doing out here? This is usually a quiet spot."
Ino grumbled, "You're in quite a mood this morning. Aren't you the least bit excited about tomorrow?!"
Shikamaru was caught off-guard. She was grinning like a fool... And since when did Ino give a crap about his birthday? She had to know it was the day before hers, but every year she never said anything. Choji was his only friend who really cared about it, and sometimes he had to wonder if it was just because of the cake his mother always made. Nonetheless, Shikamaru had to smile; her excitement and goofy grin were infectious. Maybe she'd want to go out with him and Choji in the afternoon after all, or maybe they could go do something later that night...
"Well, I guess a little." Shikamaru smiled, maybe this year wouldn't be so bad... Ino grinned, "I knew you would! Well, the party is going to start a little after noon, so make sure you're on time for once!"
The blood froze in Shikamaru's veins. A party...?
"Of course, I mean, we have the whole weekend off so I figured why wait till Sunday for my party!"
Shikamaru could feel his jaw drop, but recovered quickly. He felt angry for thinking that for even a moment Ino was thinking about him...
Ino gave him a quizzical look, "Something wrong?"
Shikamaru frowned, "Nope, sorry but I'm busy tomorrow. Have a nice time at your party though."
He thrust his hands in his pockets and turned to go. He could tell he'd just made her mad, but she wasn't saying anything. That was odd, he thought, usually she has a comeback for everything. He turned around, surprised to see that Ino looked a little red and crestfallen.
"C'mon, it'll be fun. I know it's not really your thing to be social, but we're teammates! I don't want to be the only one there without a team. It'd mean a lot to me." Ino gave him a hopeful smile.
Shikamaru sighed. He didn't really care about his birthday and she did look pretty upset. He knew he was just falling for another one of her traps, but was really past caring at this point. Maybe he could stop by later after playing a few matches with Asuma-sensei. Chances are their teacher would be invited as well, so they could walk over together afterwards.
Shikamaru shook his head, "How troublesome..." Ino smiled again, recognizing her victory.
"Fine, I'll be there around 6ish."
****
Leaving Ino by her parents' shop, Shikamaru went to go find some late breakfast. His parents had most likely eaten without him, so it was going to have to be something in town. Shikamaru made his way to the ramen stand, and ordered a plain miso ramen. After a quiet meal, he headed over towards Choji's house. He wondered if Ino had already gotten to him too, Shikamaru knew how easy it was to bribe the guy. He was probably putty in Ino's manipulative hands...
Choji was sitting out front three discarded bags of chips by his feet, a fourth in his hands, and no doubt several full bags stuffed the backpack he was wearing.
"Hey, Shikamaru!" Choji motioned to the chair next to him, "What are you doing up and about? I figured you'd be off staring into space somewhere, it is your kind of day."
Shikamaru looked up at the sky; it was a relatively clear day, with a couple lazy clouds slowly drifting to the east. He took a deep breath, taking in the whole sky for a moment. Choji was right, it was a beautiful day. He sat down next to his friend and the two sat in (relative) silence. Choji spoke first,
"You see Ino today? She's rabid about that party..."
Shikamaru sighed, "Yah, what a pain. I'll probably show up later, after the movie or something."
Choji paused, "Movie..."
"Yah, weren't we going to go tomorrow afternoon? I thought -"
Choji crammed chips nervously into his mouth, "Yeah.... I kind of forgot about that. I kind of... told Ino I'd come early to help set up too..."
Shikamaru frowned; Ino must've bribed him pretty well for him to actually help out.
"Never mind, we'll go some other time." Shikamaru was annoyed, damn that Ino's birthday. Why couldn't it be six months away? He stood up to go, there were better things he could be doing now, like nothing.
Choji jumped up, "I, I'm sorry, if you want we could go -"
"Nah, never mind, I'll see you tomorrow at the party." Shikamaru stalked off, fists and teeth clenched.
****
Asuma answered the door, not really expecting company today. He was surprised to see Shikamaru at his door, especially considering the weather and relative length of the walk involved.
"What are you doing here, Shikamaru?"
The young man sighed, and asked point blank.
"What are you doing tomorrow?"
Asuma was taken aback by the question, and paused for a moment.
"Oh yah, isn't Ino's party tomorrow? She mentioned something about it this morning... I hear her family's making a really big deal of it this year. What about it?"
Shikamaru shook his head, "Nothing, I'll see you there."
Without another word he walked off, leaving Asuma very confused. Had Ino forgotten to invite him or something? Oh well, he thought to himself, I'm sure it'll all turn out alright in the end.
****
"Damn that Ino," Shikamaru said to no one in particular, "You'd think at least one of them would have remembered... I mean, it's not like it's a big deal or whatever, but you'd think they'd have the decency. What a pain in the ass this all is..."
He couldn't help but feel a little hurt, even though he hated to make a big deal out of things, it was bothersome to have his small plans taken over by Ino's inflated ego. Especially after she had played the "Be a good teammate" card on him as well, it isn't fair the way she gets away with things all the time.
"I should say something to her..." He thought to himself, "She won't listen though."
Shikamaru sat back in his bed and closed his eyes. The day had gone by, and in a few short hours he'd be another year older.
"How troublesome..."
****
The same as last year, and the year before, Shikamaru's parents woke him up early, and wished him a happy birthday. He grumped his way through the stupid song, the stupid breakfast in bed, and the stupid photos for the grandparents, uncles, cousins, etc. etc. etc. Around noontime he made his way outside, and began walking towards Choji's.
Halfway there he remembered, and stopped.
Guess there's nothing else to do... He looked up at the clouds, another peaceful day. "Screw this," He said to himself, "I'll go find something to do by myself."
He walked aimlessly for a few minutes, and had a thought.
"I guess it's better than nothing..."
****
"You did invite him, right Ino?" Asuma seemed a little confused.
Ino growled, "Of course I did! It's not my fault he's a lazy bum."
Ino's mom gave her a look, and she backed off, he had to be on his way at least... He probably got distracted by a big cloud or something, and got lost on his way. That would be just like him, making everyone worry, then showing up with that stupid lazy grin of his... There was a knock at the door, probably more guests arriving as her Dad hadn't sent the warning. Was anyone ever on time in this village?! Ino's mom gave her a patient smile, "I'll go get it."
Ino was worried. Everything had been going perfectly, but it was starting to get late now and Shikamaru still hadn't shown up.
"That jerk," She grumbled to Choji, "And after all the trouble I went to for him..."
"I think he was actually a little upset about the whole thing Ino, maybe we should go try and find him." Choji looked around at the other guests, all of whom seemed to be getting restless.
Ino nodded, "I'm going to go take a look, why don't you stay here and block the door so no one leaves."
Choji snorted in contempt, but then nodded. Going to look for Shikamaru would take him away from the delicious food that had been set out; he had to guard that with his very life...
Ino ran to the front of the house, and skidded to a stop. Shikamaru was standing in the doorway looking a little awkward with a bunch of flowers in his hands. Ino turned just in time to see her parents slipping off into the kitchen. Shikamaru cleared his throat, and she turned back to him, turning a light shade of red.
"Happy Birthday. Sorry I'm a little late, I wanted to find something you'd like, and I couldn't exactly go to the local shop." He gave a little smile, "They're also a little better when they're picked fresh..."
Ino was in shock, and didn't know how to respond. Why was he being so nice to her? She'd expected him to show up grumpy as usual, and had planned to surprise the hell out of him with the party in the backyard.
Shikamaru shifted a bit, visibly uncomfortable by the silence.
Ino smiled, "Thank you, Shikamaru." The flowers were beautiful, he'd even managed to find some of her favorites. "It must've taken hours to find all these!"
He gave an overly dramatic sigh, "You have no idea..."
Ino giggled, and grabbed his hand, leading him to the backyard, "Come here, I want to show you something!"
End Prologue Authors note: Thanks for reading, as always! Edit: Based on comments, I've decided to use this as a prologue for the larger story, so thank you for all your kind reviews. Keep 'em coming!!
