Akimichi Chouji; 3 Years Later

Age 15

-For the Thrill-

"Consolidation" was a very odd thing.

It's also very complicated, and I'm not sure I understand it.

"Chouji, I know this may seem very far into the future," Asuma said, trying to explain it once again. "But when a ninja reaches the age of seventeen, he can no longer remain on a fragmented three man team."

"That's right!" I said. "I've been the only one on this three man team for almost a year."

"True." Asuma said. "All the genins who are seventeen will be grouped together in a process called 'Consolidation'. They will then be handed over to a single teacher who will train them very harshly and extensively for an entire year. Is this all making sense so far?"

"Yes." I said.

"Upon becoming eighteen, the teacher will then return his students to the village and they will undergo the Chuunin Selection Exam. I'm sure you are familiar with the Chuunin Selection Exam."

"I am!" I said.

"If the genin fail, they are sent back to train with the teacher. They will train for another year and return for the exam when they are nineteen. This cycle continues on and on until either all the genins become chuunins or the ones that are still failing are dubbed hopeless cases."

"What happens to the hopeless cases?" I asked.

"Well, depending on the circumstances…" Asuma said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "They will either be asked to quit being ninjas or they will be sent to other villages to train."

"In that case, I have to train harder than ever!" I declared.

"Yes!" Asuma said. "And I will help you!"

"Starting right now!!" I said.

"Agreed!" said Asuma.

"Your order's here!" came the voice of the waitress as she put heaps of food down on the table.

"After we eat!" I said.

"That I can most certainly agree with as well." Asuma said, nodding.

We both began to eat without exchanging much more.

Suddenly, Asuma began to speak.

I couldn't understand a word he said, though, because his mouth was so full.

I tried to inform him of this, but my mouth was also incredible full so we just ended up in mumbling to each other.

So we both swallowed.

"Go ahead." I said.

"Did you ever talk to Shikamaru about training with us?" he asked.

"Oh yes!" I said as I almost put more food in my mouth but then remembered that I was in the middle of a conversation so, even though it looked painfully delicious, I would have to wait. "Shikamaru told me that he would come and train with us today!"

"That's excellent news." Asuma said.

"I could go over to his house after we eat and then meet you at the training spot." I suggested. "That Shikamaru is probably still sleeping in!"

"I wouldn't be so sure, Chouji." Asuma said. "Shikamaru is a jounin. He has been for two years, which means he's pretty high up on the totem pole. I expect he'll be promoted to special jounin as soon as he becomes of age and completes the required amount of missions."

"I know, Asuma." I said. "But I know Shikamaru likes to sleep in late."

"There's not much time for that when you become a jounin." Asuma said.

"Shikamaru sure is dedicated." I said with a sigh.

"Even though he sometimes looks like he doesn't want to do something, he does it anyway because he knows that's what he has to do." Asuma nodded.

I laughed. "Either that or he's just whipped!" I said.

"'Whipped', Chouji?" Asuma said, looking slightly confused.

"That's Ino's word for someone who lets himself get bossed around by girls." I said, standing up. "Shikamaru!"

Asuma laughed. "That's Shikamaru all right."

"Well, I'm going to go and remind him that he's going to train with us today." I said, pushing my chair in.

"Don't expect anything, Chouji." Asuma advised as I went to the door. "If he's busy, don't interrupt him from his work. Just remember that someday YOU'LL be an important jounin and—"

"Asuma… I have to go." I said, not really wanting to hear another one of his supposedly motivational speeches which actually ended up making me feel kinda down on myself. He talked about responsibility and aspirations that I would have to fulfill if I got promoted.

What ever happened to becoming a ninja for the thrill and experience of it all?

What happened to the FUN?

That's when I saw Shikamaru walking slowly in the direction of the Hokage's building.

"Good afternoon, Shikamaru!" I greeted him, jogging over.

He looked a little tired, as if his mind was on something else.

"Hi Chouji." He said in that same tired fashion that his expression suggested.

"Fine day, don't you think?" I said, walking next to him. I figured he needed a little boost.

"I've seen better." He said, looking up at the clouds.

"Oh Shikamaru!" I laughed in attempt to lighten the mood. "That's not the way to look at things!"

If I said it in a joking fashion while also meaning what I said then I'm sure I would get my point across.

"If you say so, Chouji." He said.

Shikamaru certainly did seem tired.

Perhaps he was going somewhere important and I was only disrupting him from doing that. That's what Asuma had said.

He was probably too busy for us.

"Hey, where are you going anyway?" I decided to ask.

"The Hokage wanted to see me." Shikamaru answered.

I knew the Hokage had priority over me and my desire to train a little with Shikamaru before the day ended.

Still, the fact disappointed me.

And I wasn't going to say anything about training so I didn't bother Shikamaru any more, but I couldn't help it. I had been very excited about training with him.

"Oh, what about training?" I said, trying not to sound in any way forceful.

He stopped walking. "Training?"

Oh no. He had forgotten about training.

Well, now was no time to simply utter, "Nothing," and walk away.

I had to tell him even though I knew it would bother him that he had forgotten.

The Chuunin exam was only a little ways away and, even though I was pretty confident that Asuma was going to nominate me for the exam, brushing up on my skills would be ideal.

I had told Shikamaru this a little while back when I had first had the revelation and he had said that that was a very good idea. And if Shikamaru thought it was a good idea with his endless fountain of good ideas, then it must have been a REALLY good idea!

But it was just an idea unless it really happened.

"Remember?" I said. "You said you'd help me train today!"

Shikamaru slapped his forehead.

I had done it.

I had put another straw on the camel's back.

Not that Shikamaru is a camel or anything… it's a metaphor… but… never mind…

Shikamaru was upset and tired about SOMETHING and I had only succeeded in making it worse.

"Oh…um…" he said, clearing his throat a lot and sounding nervous. "I… can't today…"

It wasn't my place to make this any more difficult than it already had been for him.

Asuma was right.

Shikamaru had many important things to do as a jounin and I shouldn't expect too much out of him.

"That's okay Shikamaru!" I said, forcing a smile.

"Can we get a rain check?" Shikamaru requested.

"Of course!" I said, but somehow I got the feeling that it wasn't going to happen.

Not in the near future, anyway.

He stood there, contemplating something that I would never even be able to begin to understand.

"You should hurry though!" I said finally so that he would get going. I didn't want to be at fault for getting him in trouble with the Hokage. "I don't want to keep you from your important meeting!"

"Thanks for understanding, Chouji." He said, sounding grateful as he waved to me and left.

He probably couldn't be bothered with something as silly as training with me. I didn't want to have to go through Consolidation, but that's another two years from now.

I had all that time to train.

With or without Shikamaru.

I gave a heavy sigh.

What if I had not been on my way over to Shikamaru's at that exact moment? I may not have bumped into him. Then what would have happened? That would have been quite a misunderstanding.

Oh well, I can't dwell on it.

I had to concern myself with training hard so I would become a chuunin and avoid Consolidation. I didn't want to be dubbed a hopeless case so if that meant sacrificing a lot of my free time in order to become a great ninja, I would have to do it.

I mean, people had sacrificed all kinds of things to become good ninjas!

Shikamaru had given up his lazy life of looking at the clouds.

Ino…well…Ino gave up something different. She sorta gave up her femininity. Though, I don't know if she did it entirely to become a good ninja. I think she just wanted Sasuke to notice her and had to become a good ninja in order to do so.

But it had worked for her.

Not only was she a great ninja, but she got to spend a lot of time with Sasuke.

This, of course, inevitably meant she spent less time with me. It's not like I pined for Ino's company, but she certainly could make a conscious effort to stop by more often.

"Hey Asuma!" I called as I came running up to the training area where Asuma was waiting for me.

I wonder what Asuma had given up to become a good ninja?

"Hello Chouji." Said Asuma. "Any luck?"

"Naw…" I said. "Shikamaru was busy…"

"Yeah, I just got word." Asuma said. "Apparently, the Hokage took off on a vacation without telling anyone."

What about our village? Oh, I just know Murphy's Law! Now that the Hokage was away, that was when some evil and sinister neighboring village would decide to attack us. What then?

"Oh no!" I said. "Really?"

Asuma laughed at the apparent fret on my face.

"Stop laughing!" I said, sounding rather frustrated.

"Don't take it personally, Chouji!" said Asuma. "I just thought you might like to know who's filling in."

I had never thought of that.

I laughed at myself for being so silly.

Of COURSE the Hokage would get someone to fill in for her! She wouldn't just frolic off and leave the village unattended!

Asuma wasn't really saying anything, so I had to ask even though it was quite obvious to both of us that I did want to know who was filling in for her. Asuma works in strange ways sometimes though.

"Who?" I asked.

Asuma smiled at me.

He was going to make me guess…

Who…

Who indeed…

I looked at the grin across Asuma's face.

Couldn't be…

"Not…Shikamaru?" I said.

"Yes, Shikamaru is filling in for the Hokage!"

I gaped. "No way!" I yelled.

"Yes, it is true." Asuma said.

This had to be some kind of joke. Why would Shikamaru be filling in for the Hokage? He was very skilled and very smart but I never thought that the Hokage would put someone so… YOUNG in her place when she left!

"For how long?" I asked eagerly.

"Until the Hokage returns from her unexpected vacation." Asuma said with a shrug.

"Wow!" I said. "We should go visit Shikamaru and congratulate him!"

To think I had been all caught up in the fact that Shikamaru wasn't able to train with me today! That's because he had to go and be the Hokage!

Oh Shikamaru, he could have just TOLD me!

Then again, knowing Shikamaru, he probably was embarrassed about it for whatever reason he had.

"Chouji, what about Consolidation?" Asuma said.

"Consolidation won't happen for another two years!" I said. "I have plenty of time to become a great ninja!"

"Chouji, that's not the right attitude."

He was right. With an attitude like that, I knew it would suddenly be the end of my final chance to become a chuunin before Consolidation and I would have no choice but to be Consolidated.

"You're right, Asuma!" I said, learning to fear the idea of Consolidation. Just the word sounded a little creepy. "I have already made my vow to spend more time with my training and less time with little things that don't matter in the long run!! So let's start our training!"

"Right on!" said Asuma.