Akimichi Chouji; 4 Years Later

Age 16

-Apply Myself-

Even though I promised myself I would train harder than I ever had before, I found myself only getting weaker and less motivated. I was all alone and didn't have my teammates to push me,

Maybe I wasn't really cut out for this ninja business.

And, as Asuma and I finished up our training session, I figured maybe I should tell him so he didn't have to waste his time anymore. If I didn't plan on making any advancement in my ninja abilities, Asuma probably wanted to go off and find new students.

I'd have to decide before Consolidation next year. I only had one more chuunin exam to succeed in.

"Asuma…" I said as we both sat down to catch our breath before the next training session started.

I wiped my face with a towel and Asuma did so as well.

"What is it, Chouji?" he asked.

"I don't know about all this." I sighed.

"All what?"

"All this…ninja stuff."

"What do you mean?"

I looked at Asuma. He was peering at me curiously.

I guess I was being kind of vague.

"I just don't see myself becoming a great ninja!" I said with a shrug. "And you are probably getting frustrated because you still have to teach me."

"Chouji!" said Asuma. "That's a silly thing to say! I want to teach you until you become a great ninja!"

He didn't say anything. We took turns looking up at the sky just like Shikamaru used to do.

"In any case, Chouji…" he began again. "You don't HAVE to become a great ninja. Being a simply GOOD ninja is fine enough."

"But I want to be a great ninja like Ino and Shikamaru…" I said.

It did make me feel rather insignificant that my two former teammates were doing so much better than I was. I was happy for and proud of them both, but I couldn't help but wonder when it would be MY turn!

"I think you should talk to Shikamaru." Asuma said.

"I hardly get to see him anymore." I said. "He's always so busy."

"Well…" Asuma said, looking at his watch. "The nominations for the jounin exam are probably almost over. If you hurry now, you can probably catch Shikamaru between things he has to do."

"Yeah…I guess…" I sighed.

"Chouji, don't have an attitude like that!" Asuma exclaimed, patting me roughly on the back. "Everything will turn out fine! What would your father say if you told him you were contemplating QUITTING being a ninja?"

I had never thought of it that way.

Even though I HAD been contemplating quitting…I had never thought of it was 'quitting'.

Maybe I DID need to talk to Shikamaru.

"Okay, I'm going to go and find Shikamaru!" I said, standing up and getting determined.

"That's it, Chouji!" said Asuma.

"You don't mind that I'm leaving training so early?" I asked, turning around.

Asuma shrugged. "I'd rather you leave one day of training early than quit all together." He replied.

"Okay!" I said. "Thanks!"

Was I building myself up for another let down?

I decided to think positive as I hurried to the Hokage's office. I saw Neji and Tenten pass me, I saw Shino pass me, I saw Lee pass me…but I don't think any of them noticed me.

"Chouji!" I heard Ino call. Had I neglected to notice the one person who would take the time to notice me? "What's up? Where are you running off to?"

"Oh, hey Ino!" I said, turning around. She was holding hands with Sasuke. I was happy for her for finally being the one to 'win' Sasuke.

But I had always thought that Shikamaru had liked her.

Then I remembered that she had entered her name to be nominated for the jounin exam. "Did you get nominated?" I asked,

"No, not this time." She replied with a smile. But then she grinned even wider. "But guess who did?"

I looked at Sasuke first, but he wasn't going to let on whether it was him or not. Besides, Ino knew me too well so she would most certainly know that I didn't really care about whether Sasuke got nominated or not.

Let's see…what was our common median?

"Shikamaru?" I said, wondering why I hadn't thought of it in the first place. He really should have been my first thought.

"Yeah!" she said as she grabbed Sasuke's arm and hugged it with great admiration and pleasure.

Yeah…I was pretty sure that Shikamaru had liked her.

"Sasuke doesn't think he knew it was coming." Ino continued, looking up at Sasuke with the same admiration and pleasure in which she hugged him. Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly in response.

Then again…now that Sasuke likes her too, I don't think there's a single guy that either doesn't like her now or never liked her at all.

Yes, yes, I'll admit I went through a short phase during the academy in which I ACTUALLY felt somewhat attracted to Ino but I got over that quickly. I realized she was way out of my league, and plus, she liked Sasuke way too much to even give any of the other guys in the class a second glance.

Like Shikamaru…

Which reminded me…

"That's funny!" I said in response to the fact that Shikamaru had no idea that he would be nominated even though he was practically in charge with that sort of stuff. "I was just on my way to see him! I'll make sure to congratulate him!"

"Try not to embarrass him!" Ino called after me.

Really, how could I POSSIBLY embarrass Shikamaru?

I hopped up the stairs on my way to see him.

I was about to knock on his office door that had the word, "Nara" written on the front, when I realized it was a crack open.

I know eavesdropping isn't the best thing in the world, but I could hear voices coming from inside and I was curious, especially since Shikamaru never really told me much of anything about his work anymore.

"I still didn't enter my name though." Shikamaru said.

"Oh stop whining, Shikamaru." Came the voice of the Hokage. "You should have seen your face!"

"You could have at least told me beforehand." Shikamaru said.

"That would have taken all the fun out of it." the Hokage laughed.

Oh that Shikamaru! He's so whipped!

"Well, I have some important matters to attend to." The Hokage said after clearing her throat. "You can take the rest of the day off."

"I can't." Shikamaru said. "I'm swamped in Consolidation that you put off to the last second and then dropped on me."

"I've got other things to do!" the Hokage said as she opened the door.

She looked down at me.

"Um…hi!" I said nervously. I was hoping she hadn't thought I had been eavesdropping.

She only nodded her head at me and walked by.

I gave a heavy sigh and peeked my head in the door.

"I thought that was you, Chouji." Shikamaru said.

He had his head down and was writing something at his desk. The room was always such a mess, but they say that's the way geniuses work… and Shikamaru is definitely a genius.

"So you knew I was listening to your conversation?" I said, twiddling my fingers a bit.

"Nope." Shikamaru replied. "You just told me."

I gave a sigh and sat down in the chair that was in Shikamaru's office.

"Shikamaru, you're so smart!" I said.

I didn't know how I was going to lead into my questions about being a ninja.

"So um…you're working on Consolidation?" I said, leaning over slightly so I could see what he was working on.

He did a pretty good job at repositioning himself so he could keep his work private. "Yeah." He said. "For the kids a year older than us. Don't worry, you still have another year."

Well, I suppose that was a good lead as any.

"Shikamaru… I've been thinking a lot lately…" I said hesitantly. "…About Consolidation…"

"Don't worry about it." Shikamaru said. "It's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. I would think it would be more painful for the teachers than the students."

"How so?" I asked.

"It's a year of training with a couple of kids who think they're all that and a bag of chips." Shikamaru said, folding a piece of paper and dropping it in his desk.

"Yeah…"

"A full year. I mean, you ARE aware of course that they've recently changed the rules so there's no returning home after six months? Just a straight year of training."

"So I've heard…" I admitted. I had hoped it was only rumors.

"Wasn't MY decision." Shikamaru sighed.

"So uh…I heard you got nominated for the special jounin exam!" I said.

"There is no special jounin exam." Shikamaru said, not yet breaking from his work to speak. I couldn't multi-task like that. "There's an ANBU exam. You can become a special jounin just when the Hokage decides you're trustworthy, or you can take the ANBU exam."

"Oh, I know you'll become a special jounin, Shikamaru!" I said.

I knew he wasn't going to take the ANBU exam in a million years.

Finally, he dropped his pen and looked up at me for the first time.

"Chouji, you didn't come here just to make small talk." He said.

That Shikamaru! So smart!

"Yeah…I guess…" I said. "There's no pulling anything over YOUR eyes, Shikamaru!"

I tried to laugh a little bit but he only continued to stare at me.

"Chouji, say whatever you've come here to say because I have a lot to work on." He said. "Consolidation is just in another week and we still don't have a teacher to do it."

My problems suddenly seemed so trivial compared to his. Did I really want to take time out of his important schedule to tell him that I've been having second thoughts about being a ninja?

Well, I had already bothered him this much so there was no sense in leaving now.

"Shikamaru…I've been thinking about my being a ninja."

"Uh huh."

"And…I just don't think it's my thing." I said, and as soon as I did, I felt a heavy weight fall off my back. "You and Ino are both really great ninjas, but I'm staying the same. In fact, I'm getting worse!"

Shikamaru didn't say anything.

He picked up his pen again and started writing, putting his head in his free hand as he wrote.

I guess he was too busy.

I stood up to leave so I wouldn't bother him anymore.

"Chouji."

I stopped at the doorway and turned around.

"Is this about Consolidation next year?" he said.

I nodded slowly and slightly.

"Don't worry about Consolidation." He said. "It's not as bad as everyone says. You'll be with people you know, I can tell you that much."

"Yeah but—"

"I don't think you should quit being a ninja." Shikamaru said flatly. "You've got an advanced bloodline, which means you're automatically a step above everyone else. If Ino and I can become great ninjas without advanced bloodlines then you'll be fine. All you have to do is apply yourself."

Apply myself…

"You're right!" I said. "Shikamaru! You're so smart!"