Chapter 85
Putting the last pan away, Shikamaru goes back to the dining room.
"I'm going out," he declares. As Shikaku already left minutes ago, only two female pairs of eyes swivel towards him.
"You can't," Temari scowls. "I already told kasan you'll be cleaning the house today."
"Your mother will appreciate it more if I don't," Shikamaru utters, looking straight at Yoshino, daring her to disagree with him.
Yoshino meets Shikamaru's eyes with a knowing look, understanding what he is doing. By seeming to agree with what she wants, the boy thinks he can manipulate her because now she'll be forced to disagree with him, with the result, him cleaning the house.
"Let him go, Temari," Yoshino orders. "Obliging him with housework won't make him win points with me."
"I don't need to win points with you," mutters Shikamaru.
Temari glowers but Shikamaru only shrugs his shoulders, mumbling, "I'm leaving."
Temari, not wanting to argue in front of Yoshino, is forced to follow the ass towards the door, out of earshot from her—his mother. "Couldn't you just try?" she growls as soon as they reach the foyer.
"Tch," grunts Shikamaru. No point saying he did try—half-assed—to get Yoshino to disagree with him. Obviously, reverse psychology doesn't work on the old hag. Instead, he taunts, "And here I thought, you see me to the door for a goodbye kiss."
Temari snorts. "It's not like you're off to a dangerous mission. You just uproot weeds and do other useless stuff."
"So in your books a dangerous mission warrants a kiss by the door?"
"Yes," Temari agrees easily, "Isn't that just too bad," she adds, her tone mocking.
"Not really. One of these days, Asuma will give me something more worth my while." Shikamaru, straightening his shoulders, points to his chest. "He trusts me."
"Asuma trusting a Suna nin?" Temari snickers, "What gives you that silly idea?"
Shikamaru's lips purse into an answering grin. "Because he allowed me to meet his baby."
Temari, biting the inner side of her cheek, gradually nods her head. Of course, she understands Shikamaru's thinking. If Asuma-sensei doesn't trust him, he would never in a million years allow Kamaru to be near his most precious person—his defenseless kid.
"Well, that's good," she utters belatedly, feeling a twinge of inexplicable let down mix with gladness for Kamaru.
Hearing what's tantamount to an acceptance of the situation with her sensei, Shikamaru's grin widens, "So how about an advance goodbye kiss?"
About to lean down, he is stop on his tracks by Temari's scowl.
Temari, after shaking her head, abruptly gestures at the door. "Bye."
"Not even a peck?" Shikamaru asks.
"No."
"Tch."
"Better work hard, ass." Temari pushes Shikamaru out the door. "I'll definitely give you a goodbye kiss that'll make you want to come home fast."
—o0o—
"Oi!" Asuma greets.
"Is Choji here? I need to ask him something," Shikamaru utters as he approaches, climbing the stairs that leads up to the patio.
"Yes," Asuma pauses then adds, "And Ino too."
"Ino?"
"Yes, Ino. I asked her to come," Asuma speaks around his cigarette. "The more sparring partner for you, the better."
"I won't fight a woman," drawls Shikamaru.
Asuma chuckles. "I bet if you say that to Temari, she'll kick you to the ground and sit on your ass."
Shikamaru eyes Asuma sharply. "I will not fig—"
"There you are," Ino fumes as she slams the door open from the inside of Asuma's house into the patio, looking highly agitated. "We need to talk!"
Shikamaru raises a brow at Asuma, mouthing the words, "What did I do?"
"Probably heard your bullshit," Asuma answers, straight faced.
—o0o—
"Is Temari that jealous of me that she would harm a defenseless little plant?" huffs Ino as soon as she stands in front of Kamaru. Choji closely following on her hurrying heels.
"Oh ho, that's my cue to leave," Asuma raises his hands in mock surrender before entering his home, leaving the youngsters.
Shikamaru looks confused before he realizes, he left the lavender pot on Asuma's porch that day Ino and Choji were due for a visit. Ino seems to wrongly interpret the plant's poor condition to fits of jealousy. "Temari got nothing to be jealous about," he contradicts.
"Nothing?" the blonde kunoichi reiterates, her voice rising. So Temari's husband doesn't see her, Ino, in anyway as a threat to his peace of mind? If it isn't a little insulting, she'll be happy for her friend, really.
Shikamaru nods his head, not fully grasping the inner workings of a woman's mind. "Temari's not jealous, I assure you."
The way Kamaru confidently dismisses the issue makes Ino's hackles go up some more. "You know, she does have reasons to be jealous." Ino swings her long blonde hair before gesturing at herself, starting at her stunning face, down to her slim waist, to her long legs then to her dainty sandalled feet, emphasizing that she's quite a beauty.
Shikamaru frowns, finally seeing the point the kunoichi is driving at. He swivels his head towards Choji and notices his friend's downcast eyes. Facing the woman once more, he utters, an edge to his voice, warning her, "My wife has no reasons to be jealous of her sister."
Because of their blonde hair, Shikamaru easily sees Temari and Ino as sisters, not by blood, true, but he still sees them as such nonetheless. And being in love with the troublesome woman for so long, the only way he will ever see Ino is as Temari's sister.
"I am not her sister!" Ino shouts,"And what's more! I don't think she even thinks of me as her friend anymore!"
Suddenly, there are tears springing from the girl's eyes. "I know she's jealous of me. Why else would she do that to the gift you gave her? Why else would she avoid me like I have a contagious disease?" Dashing the tears angrily, she continues, "Choji said Temari's livid because she thinks I have been spreading untrue things about her and Sasuke but how can I defend myself if she won't talk to me. She knows where to find me. In fact, you are witness to this, she was already at the door of my family's flower shop and yet she didn't have the guts to enter."
Women...they have a special weapon in their arsenals—tears. Shikamaru can only glance at Choji for help, only the other nin avoids his eyes. Sighing, he tries to explain hurriedly, "Ino, Temari has her reasons."
"What?" retorts Ino, sniffing loudly. "The fact that she feels guilty for taking you from me."
"I wasn't aware she did that," Shikamaru mutters drily.
"I warned her off you," Ino admits defensively, her tears stop flowing as her cheeks turn a slight shade of pink. "Obviously, it didn't work."
Choji, so uncomfortable to be witnessing Ino's admission, raises embarrassed eyes towards Kamaru, silently pleading with him to be understanding of his emotional team mate.
Shikamaru, intercepting his fat friend's look, imperceptibly nods his head. Obviously and understandably, Ino is upset more about Temari avoiding her than anything else. "Look, Ino, at the moment Temari can't tolerate how you smell—"
"HOW I SMELL?!" Ino screams while stomping her foot in agitation. "I'll let you know that I smell better than the flowers I sell! How dare you say that to me—"
"Exactly," Shikamaru blurts, trying to be more forbearing for his wife's sake."Temari's pregnant. The lavender I gave her made her lose her dinner and what little breakfast she had. The plant was then thrown in self defense. If she could stay in Suna, she would have for the remainder of her pregnancy. She hates the clammy humidity and the persistent stench of blooming flowers in the air here but she's okay, most of the time anyway, except when a fragrant blossom is thrust in front of her then she pukes. Trust me it's not a pretty sight."
"Oh," Ino mumbles then sassing up quickly, proclaims, "I still maintain, she's jealous of me no matter what you say."
"Women," Shikamaru snorts.
Ino glowers.
Choji raises his hands and waves at the two. "Guys, guys, we have training to do."
—o0o—
On the way home, after training, Choji falls into a step with Kamaru, sporting a sheepish smile. "Uhm thank you for handling the situation with Ino."
Shikamaru touches the side of his chin, a bruise has started to appear. "She really packed a punch. It really hurts."
"I don't mean that." Choji smiles, relishing the memory of Ino landing a blow because Kamaru wasn't expecting one.
"Tch," Shikamaru mutters to himself. He would have not agreed to the sparring exercise with Choji and Ino if not for the fact that he was afraid the woman would throw another teary tantrum if he admitted that Temari forbade it.
That decision will probably land him in deep shit with Temari.
With a sigh, Shikamaru can only inwardly debate whether to tell Temari what happened between him and her team today. Add to that, Asuma already told him there will be more of those sparrings in future.
He recognizes that he should really tell Temari that he is now training with her old team and the possibility of getting missions together like the way she, Ino and Choji used to. But, a niggling suspicion that he shouldn't keep bothering him.
Sighing again, Shikamaru doesn't look forward to the coming task once he gets home. Maybe, he should just withhold the information from Temari. He doesn't want another argument with her—not when they're okay.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he turns to Choji, "Hey, do you know any stores that sells chestnut flavored crackers?"
Choji's eyes glinted. "Of course!"
"Good," Shikamaru grins but still the thought that—in a way—Ino's right that Temari is indeed jealous nags at the back of his head.
—o0o—
~11 20 13, 3 12 14AF P~
A/N: Review? It tells me you guys haven't abandoned this...