Forty Six and 2: Team Ten
Chapter Three: Lazy Lazy Lazy Lazy Literature!
Asuma and his team were assembled in front of the Mission Office. Outside, team seven complained about their master behind his back. Asuma shook his head and then lead his team through two red doors to a spacious room with a row of tables sorting out and taking missions. At this time, only Iruka and the Hokage were there, under a banter that said: "Everyone Do Your Best".
"Asuma," the Hokage droned, "smoking?"
Asuma looked around and pulled out a pack to dispense a cigarette to the mouths of everyone in the room and they lit. The Hokage and Iruka were quit to put them out, though after Iruka put it behind his ear. His students had even less reaction though Choji ingested it on contact, Ino flashed a pose with it, and Shikamaru just accepted that he was smoking. Choji stopped coughing.
"Shikamaru," Choji said, "you shouldn't smoke; it will dull your taste buds! Don't tell me you are that apathetic to life!"
"I might as well get hooked now so I'm not peer pressured into it," Shikamaru stated, "then I can spend all my money on it so it would prevent me from having to go out so much and entertain people. But to explain that to my parents... trouble is all there is."
"Shikamaru!" The Hokage shouted.
"Understand, Sandaime," Iruka said, "Shikamaru does not expect much out of life."
"Still," the Hokage said. "Sal's Gowns is holding a midnight sales and they are selling Wedding dresses at a very discounted price that it is cost effective to hire ninjas at your rank. Here is a picture of the wedding dress and information about your client."
"We will do our best, Hokage!" Ino said and ushered her team out the door.
Outside Asuma told them around the plan. "There will usually be three different things you need for a mission and that are why it is usual for a team to have three people. No matter what, some qualities in the group will not overlap and make the team more dependable. The three things we need: practical training; dealing with the patron; and observing hidden information. Practical training gives us more experience in our task, dealing with the patron ensures quality of work and returning clients, and finally observing hidden information is to help direct any movements during the actual mission. Ino, I leave you in charge of dealing with the client. Get a down payment and introduce your group. Convince them that we will work to their total benefit. Choji, I don't know for sure, but start with buying some item at a busy store. I will give you money to spend at Hidden Leaf Candy Store which is very busy after Friday school when the students get off at noon. Are you even interesting in any of this?"
Shikamaru sat on at a yard table writing on newspaper. "What should I put?"
"During the cross word, uh?" Asuma asked. Choji went to investigate.
"Should you be spelling a four letter word starting with 'G' and ending with 'R'?" Choji asked. In time, Ino looked over Shikamaru's shoulders and felt embarrassed to complete anger when she punched him in the back of the head.
"No one is going to get that joke, dumbass," Ino told the writer, "play it in easy childish visual humour with sophisticated undertones to get a bigger audience."
The writer groaned and Choji pulled out a pen from thin air and drew a fist coming from a girl to hit the face of the man with who she shook hands.
"That's better." Choji said.
"This whole time as a teacher, I'm going to either be around a kind hearted fat ass that cares about others too much, a lazy and shady cynic who wouldn't care about reaching his potential, and a boy crazed girl who thinks that everything is cute. Who is going to understand me?"
Ino was there in an honest effort to help a woman realize her dreams of marriage. She would even stop on the way to offer some flowers to further her service to the client. When they met, the dramatic story of the bride-to-be was told from the disproval of the love to her finance to her struggles to run away with him. They used to live under rich families, but they wished love over all that and moved away with no thought or care in the world. It was almost too good to be true, and almost too good to be too good to be true. As a final wish, she did want to marry in a fancy dress.
After hearing this story, she told Shikamaru, but she was never thinking if he would ever care. Once again through mindless chatter, Shikamaru accepted and told his story to Shino in a very quick and bare in description since Shino knew about this mission from his own experiences having been hired by a different woman for the same reason. Shino would consider it if it was worth his time, but it was not underneath him to think about accepting something and holding stance at his decisions. They set up an appointment.
Choji was very happy about going on this mission. He would wonder if his eating would be interrupted and admitting that he could take a fall down the stairs without dropping his food in his hands. As with his love of food, he was able to win much to the disappointment to the children. And looking on the way he acted, the children should have thanked him.
For the appointment, Shino understood about the meeting, and would allow Shikamaru to take his place on the roof where his team was meeting so Shikamaru could bind them all with his jutsu. Understanding that Kiba was on Shino's team and Akamaru would be there, Shikamaru asked how he would not be figured out. Shino told him to wear his bugs and enter a bug clone. It would mask Shikamaru's smell that Kiba or Akamaru could pick up. So that left Team Eight and Ino and Choji in the store with Shino. Shino could take on Sasuke, and if Choji and Ino trick Sakura into Ino's mind switch technique, Ino could control Sakura in distracting Naruto and Choji would be alone to buy the dress. This is the way it happened, and it told less than five minutes to do. Each motion was simple, so they could be followed.
In was early morning when he was relieved and he went to a store front that was closed but would leave Shikamaru a pillow so he could sleep at a table outside. It was closer to the academy and he could meet the manager as they open. As he was looking in the paper, he read a story about how the Clouds would only move with the Wind, and hangs around mountains where the wind would not move either of them to far apart. The Clouds did not do much except get pushed around by the Wind. He yawned.
"I feel cheated," Shikamaru said, "but what can I do about it? I have read a thousand stories like this but I continue to read. What could I get out of it? It only makes me lazier."
-------- End of Chapter Three ------------
Next Chapter: yeah, a bit summed but, but the whole thing happened at the same time as chapter 3 of Bugs: Team Eight, also written by me and posted here. I suppose because I am writing for the Shikamaru fans that I have kept it easy and trouble free, and been lazy myself. The next, when I write Choji's three chapters, it will be original, and also an optimistic writing style and theme. I am still looking for a song and new title for Choji. He is ready to sing.
Notes: Yeah, this is a close rewriting of Bugs: Team Eight chapter three, but that itself was a close copy of the show Naruto. Which is a reason I may not do Gai's team, though they will have importance in my other fanfiction, but mostly Gai?