Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

My Life as a Teenage Shinobi

"Hm, I wonder where my team could be?" Asuma asked himself, exhaling a puff of smoke, not noticing a few villagers staring at him like he was some sort of bum. Unfortunately for him, his team was pulling a "Kakashi" on him. Even more unfortunately, he used up two packs of cigarettes already while waiting for them.

He sat down at their usual meeting spot outside the building across from the ninja academy. And sighed. And waited. And smoked.

Finally, after a few more minutes of waiting, he saw a familiar chuunin vest in the distance. Well, maybe it was familiar because he practically wore the same vest, but he knew it was HIS chuunin after seeing the slow, steady way the person was moving. He sat back against a tree and closed his eyes. This would take a few more minutes…

He had gone through another cigarette (with his eyes still closed; he had done it so many times already that it was just habit) when Shikamaru finally arrived.

"Really, Shikamaru, can't you walk any faster?" Asuma said, puffing away.

"No," Shikamaru spoke in his lazy voice. Asuma heard a light thump next to him and assumed that Shikamaru sat down. Or more likely, lay down.

"Hey Shikamaru," Asuma said, eyes still closed.

"What?"

"Do you know why Ino and Chouji are late?" Asuma asked, not bothering to ask why Shikamaru himself was late, for judging by how slow he was walking, he already knew why.

"No," was what Shikamaru was about to say, when…

"Hey you guys! Sorry I'm late, I just ran into forehead girl on the way and…" Shikamaru and Asuma just tuned out what Ino was saying and continued relaxing under the tree.

"…and then I finally made it here. Where's Chouji?" she asked, listening for the crunching noises her other teammate usually made. The two under the tree simply shrugged, Asuma's eyes still closed and Shikamaru looking elsewhere. Ino looked annoyed.

"C'mon, you two, are you just going to sit there all day?" Ino asked, hands on her hips.

"Unless Chouji comes, then yes," Asuma answered her, lighting yet another cigarette.

"Asuma-sensei, I think Shikamaru has rubbed off on you," Ino muttered under her breath. "We could be doing something useful other than sitting under this tree waiting for Chouji, you know!" she said a little louder.

Shikamaru looked at her from the spot he was lying on. "Ino, you're not sit…" He sat up. "Ino…why is your forehead protector…on your forehead?" he asked slowly, as if Ino was someone that did not understand English. Asuma opened his eyes to see that Ino had, indeed, put her forehead protector…on her forehead.

Ino rolled her eyes. 'Not this question again…maybe if I answer the same way as I did to forehead girl, they'd just leave me alone and they won't find out…' she thought. She opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something 'as-a-matter-of-factly', but started coughing once she found that she inhaled a bunch of Asuma's cigarette smoke. Shikamaru raised his eyebrow at her. When she calmed down, she took care not to inhale anymore and started talking.

"Well it's a forehead protector, therefore it goes on my forehead. Shikamaru, you should consider doing the same with yours," she said, turning away to inhale the fresh air that was not under the tree. Oh…wait…

Anyway, Shikamaru leaned back under said tree much like Asuma was doing. "Tch. Like I'd do something as troublesome as that."

Asuma exhaled a puff of smoke. "Shikamaru, I don't even understand how you tie that thing on your arm. Do you get someone else to do it for you or do you have another arm I'm not aware of?" he said.

Ino nodded. "You know Shikamaru, I'd like to see that thing on your forehead for once. C'mon, now get up," Ino said, pulling his arm so he could stand up. He seemed irritated at her but he stood anyway. Asuma and Ino stared at him.

"What," he asked, "staring isn't polite, you know," he added with a bored look.

"Hey, Shikamaru, you didn't happen to grow a foot overnight, did you?" Ino asked, tilting her head slightly towards the sky so she would see Shikamaru's face.

"No, actually, I grew about two inches this past week," Shikamaru simply stated. "I'm surprised you two didn't notice 'til now."

Asuma stood up and stood next to Shikamaru.

"Hey!" he said. "You're taller than me! That's not fair at all!" He started to light another cigarette as he said this.

"Hey Asuma-sensei, maybe you didn't finish growing because you smoke too much," Ino told him, looking disgusted at the cigarette butts littered all over the floor.

Asuma looked aghast. "Me? Smoke too much? No way! You should have seen my father smoke, now THAT was too much," he said, as he proudly took another puff of smoke.

Shikamaru started to talk again. "Actually Ino, smoking doesn't really stunt your grow…OOF!"

Ino had elbowed him in the stomach. "Shut up, maybe this will get Asuma-sensei to stop using that cancer stick every day," she whispered so that only Shikamaru could hear. He sighed exasperatedly.

"Fine, fine. Do whatever you want."

Ino turned to Asuma. "Well I bet you can't go a week without smoking!"

Asuma crossed his arms. "My dear Ino, is that a bet? And what do I get if I win, hm?"

"Um…ah!" She snapped her fingers. "We check your height! If you grew even a teensy bit, I win. And if you didn't then you lose. How's that?"

Shikamaru looked at Ino as if SHE were the one smoking. "Ino, have you lost it? He'll never fall for that," he said under his breath.

"DEAL!" Asuma shook Ino's hand.

'Tch. I think our sensei's got smoke clouding his mind. How troublesome…" Shikamaru thought.

-

"Hey, Chouji! Remember, meet us back here at 9 p.m. tonight. Don't be late, okay?"

"Okay! Don't forget our deal!" Chouji waved goodbye to the two boys as he happily bounced off to Team 10's meeting place. 'Teehee…I can't wait!' he grinned.

He kept grinning to himself until he finally reached the meeting place. Shikamaru was standing there with his usual bored expression while Asuma and Ino were shaking hands.

"Hey guys!" Chouji greeted them.

Asuma let go of Ino's hand. "Chouji, why are you so late?" he asked, exhaling smoke as he talked. Ino promptly took the cigarette out of his mouth, threw it on the floor, and stepped on it.

"Asuma-sensei, you're starting now. Give me all your packs of cigarettes," Ino said, holding out her hand.

"Ino, how do I know YOU'RE not going to start smoking once I give you these?" Asuma asked, looking suspicious.

Ino looked shocked. "Me? Smoke! And ruin my life? Fine…Shikamaru, take them!"

"Are you saying you want to ruin my life?"

"Shut up, just take them!" she said, pushing him towards Asuma, who was busy going through all his pockets, taking out the three packs of cigarettes in each one.

"And get caught with them? No way, Ino." Shikamaru slightly backed away.

Ino looked pissed. She finally turned to Chouji, who was staring at her forehead.

"Ok Chouji, YOU take them!

...Chouji!"

"Ino, why is your forehead protector on your forehead?" he asked, pointing at her forehead protector.

-

Naruto glared at the person running next to him. 'Stupid Sasuke, he'll see, I can beat him at this maturity thing!...too bad I already had ramen for breakfast…' Naruto thought with a frown.

Sasuke was aware Naruto was staring at him. For the entire twenty laps they had just done. 'Hmph. I wish Sakura had told him that not being around me was a rule to maturity. How annoying.'

-

"…supposed to go on my forehead! See, like yours! AND Asuma-sensei's!" Ino explained once again to Chouji.

"But it's never been on your forehead before. Ino, do you have a zit or something?" Chouji asked. Shikamaru had a hint of a smirk on his face while Ino turned a bright red.

"Chou…ji…" she said with a murderous look that could match one of Gaara's. She was about to begin her rant about how insensitive he was, which included some very colorful vocabulary, when she was interrupted.

"DamnIT! Stop stARing at mE!"

"Huh?" she turned to see Sasuke and Naruto glaring at each other, running faster than the speed of light. It's a bird, it's a plane, it's…wait! Wrong story.

Anyway, Sasuke and Naruto were headed straight for her. Ino seemed transfixed at the sight. Well not Naruto, but…

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino shouted. But her cries were not heard, as the running pair crashed into her. Which resulted in Sasuke landing on top of her, putting them in a rather suggestive position that a Sasuke fan club girl would kill for. Unfortunately, Naruto had landed on top of Sasuke, making Ino squished like a little bug. Don't tell Shino!

"Ugh…I…can't…breathe…" Ino gasped. She suddenly noticed that Sasuke was on top of her. And he was STARING AT HER! She blushed a deep red.

"Ah…Sasuke-kun…" Ino said, shyly. Then she noticed that Sasuke was looking at her forehead. Her eyes widened when she realized that her forehead protector had been knocked off when the two boys crashed into her.

"Gah! Get away! Don't look at me!" she said, pushing both Sasuke and Naruto off her while she turned away to look for her forehead protector.

"Ino, are you looking for this?" a more feminine voice said behind her. Sakura seemed to have caught up to the two while they were down. On Ino. Needless to say, she was horrified after seeing the sight. But it all changed after she found Ino's forehead protector.

"Sakura-chan, my best friend, can I please have my forehead protector back?" Ino asked, back still turned to the group.

"Um, why?" Sakura asked.

"Aw, Sakura-chan," said another voice. "Quit being mean!"

"Naruto, stop whining! I thought you were going to be more mature!"

"He's right Sakura, you're so mean!" Ino cried out, back still turned.

"Yeah! Just because she has a big thing on her forehead doesn't mean you shouldn't give her protector back!"

"He's right Sakura, just because I have a big…eh! NARUTO!" Ino turned and smacked Naruto on the head.

"Ow…not again!" he said, rubbing the bump that was steadily growing on the back of his head.

"Aha! I knew it! Ino has a zit!" Chouji intervened. Ino blushed in embarrassment as both teams, with the exception of Sasuke, (and of course, her!), started to laugh. A giggling Sakura handed her forehead protector over, which Ino snatched back, and hastily tied it back to her forehead.

Sakura suddenly stopped laughing and leaned against the tree. 'Ah…damnit!'

"Hey, hey, Sakura-chan?"

"It's nothing, Naruto."

"Sakura-chan!"

"I told you Naruto, it's nothing!"

"Sakura-chan!"

"NARUTO! What IS it?" she finally screamed in frustration.

"What's a zit? Do I need one to be more mature? How do you get one?"

Sakura slid down against the tree and sat in the pile of cigarette packs that was still growing as Asuma patted his pockets, Naruto animatedly asking questions all the way.

-

AN: And that's the end of that chapter for now. Ok, so it wasn't that funny…it was just plain weird. But anyway, I'm satisfied with it for now.

So this chapter included Shikamaru's growth spurt, Ino's new friend, and Chouji…well, you'll find out about Chouji soon enough. Even Asuma joined in all the fun! Also, when Sasuke tALks liKE thIs, is when his voice cracks. I know normal teenage boy's voices don't crack that often, but hey, it's fiction!

Like I said in the first chapter, this is a slight AU and almost everyone is slightly OOC, hence Kakashi giggling like a weirdo. (but really, I can see him doing that!) You have been warned once again.

Next, we find Team 8! Only it's going to be the day after. But I'm still having a field day with Team 8 because mainly Kiba and Shino are so hard to think about when it comes to growing up…hm…ok, maybe just Shino.

I decided to try to fit in Gai's team in here. So watch out for that chapter.

Well, as always, thanks for reading, and thanks for all those reviews I got for the first chapter. Now if it's not too much trouble, please review this one

Kawaii Yoshi