"Let's play the trivia game rather. That way it will be fair to everyone and we can learn something in the process." Sakura suggested then drained the sake in her cup. Shikamaru knew that Sakura could hold her liquor but once it sunk in then she was a goner. She had been drinking throughout the unneccessarily lively dinner so he'd give her about another 5 minutes before she began slurring her words. He was pretty sure that she was working tomorrow but her drinking nearly outmatched Naruto and Kiba tonight.
"That requires too much thinking and who the hell knows the name of the period before the First Shinobi World War?" Ino frustratedly read out one of the cards. Shikamaru knew and he bet that Shino and Sakura knew the answer as well, maybe Hinata even.
"I agree." Naruto added as he crossed his arms over his chest. It was no surprise that Naruto didn't know but that was definitely a worrying sign for Shikamaru. If Naruto was to become Hokage then he definitely needed to know his history like the back of his hand.
"Only because you're a dumbass." Kiba's laughter seemed to infect most of the groups alcohol-influenced brains.
"Then you tell me... what was the name of the first Tsuchikage's clan." Naruto grabbed a card and challenged Kiba. That wasn't really a difficult question, at least not for the shadow-nin.
"I bet you don't even know that one." Kiba shot back. Shikamaru glanced over at Tamaki sitting next to him. She seemed a bit taken aback and honestly a bit scared. He knew that the groups energy could get out of control extremely easily and for someone new to the group, it could get very very terrifying.
"Does anyone know the answer then?" Naruto asked the group but continued trying to stare down Kiba.
"The Kamizuru Clan." Shikamaru, Shino and Sai answered in sync. Everyone stared at the three of them with shock written all across their faces.
"They're right." Tenten confirm as she looked at the answer behind the card.
"Of course they would know the answer, they're nerds." Naruto's words literally didn't have any effect on Sai or Shino. They didn't move a muscle or change the emotionless expressions on their faces. Shikamaru on the other hand began laughing. If he was a nerd then Iruka-sensei wouldn't have had such a difficult time keeping him awake during his academy days.
"Why are you laughing?" Ino questioned him.
"Nerds don't bunk classes or sleep during classes like we did." Shikamaru reminded them setting off the laughter in the room. If anything, he was glad that Naruto and Kiba's intensity died down so that a calm and comfortable atmosphere could take over.
"Remember that time we bunked classes and played on the faces of the Hokages on the mountain?" Choji asked them as he munched on a packet of spicy chips surprisingly. Sakura must not have had his favourite ones.
"And that time we ran out of the village and hid from a group of chunin then had to sneak back into the village." Kiba's laughter set off everyone else's again.
"You guys were the worst. You were always making trouble for the rest of us." Ino wasn't wrong there.
"You guys involved yourself in most of the trouble." Choji's innocent statement instantly infuriated Ino and Sakura. He was right but in the minds of two drunk girls, he just started a war. Ino immediately grabbed the packet of chips out of the Akimichi's fingers.
"Give it back." He ordered Ino but she ignored him and began eating the snack as well.
"You need to share. You can't hog the chips." Ino would've never said anything like that if she wasn't trying to get back at Choji. This was becoming unnecessarily aggressive.
"Didn't you say earlier that you were starting a new diet to get rid of your curves?" Naruto questioned Ino. Yep, this was definitely not a battle Shikamaru wanted to concern himself with.
"So you're calling me fat." Alcohol and Ino were definitely not a good combination.
"Does it always get like this?" Tamaki whispered into Shikamaru's ear as Sakura and Kiba included themselves in the argument while Tenten began laughing.
"More often than not." Shikamaru released a sigh as he watched his friends going at it for the millionth time. Couldn't they at least be 'normal' for one night? Well, this would be their version of normal if he was being honest with himself.
"It's pointless me apologising for them I guess."
"You don't have to apologise. I'm just... confused."
"Confused?"
"Yeah. I heard that you guys are heroes in the village and some people even said that you guys are legends but I didn't expect this. Aren't you guys friends and a team?"
"It's because we fight that we're friends and make such a good team."
"Are you sure? I can see a clear division in the group though." Division? He never thought of his friends as ever being divided, well not until recently but even that they managed to mend. What division was Tamaki seeing?
"What's the division?"
"Um... well you get those guys and then you get everyone else." Tamaki motioned to the group loudly voicing their opinions about each other and the others just sitting back and minding their own business.
"Most of those guys have someone that balances them, like Naruto has Hinata." He hoped that cleared everything up for her.
"Are they a couple?"
"Yep."
"So there are other couples in the group?" She said that as more of a statement than a question but she wasn't wrong. He and Sakura were a couple for a while but right now only Naruto and Hinata were a couple, at least that's what he thought.
"That white guy and... Ino. They're a couple right?" Shikamaru had to stop himself from laughing there. Ino and Sai were extremely different so the odds of them becoming a couple seemed too insignificant to even pay attention to.
"Why would you think that?"
"They just seem too friendly with each other. There's a certain vibe that they have between them." He hadn't noticed any vibe between them but he didn't really care who Ino decided to date anyway. He trusted her judgement but he a guy did mess with her then he and Choji wouldn't have a problem sorting that guy out.
"Ino helped Sai adjust to the village after he joined Naruto and Sakura's team so I guess they developed a deeper friendship." Maybe that's what she was sensing.
"What about you and Sakura then?" The panicked look on his face confirmed her suspicions. She definitely caught him off guard with that.
"How did you know?"
"I'm sensing a lot of emotions coming off you two. And the stolen looks you give each other isn't fooling anyone." Looks like it was that obvious. It's not like he was hiding anything though. Everyone knew that he and Sakura got together and that they weren't together anymore.
"Is she the girl you told me about earlier?" He forgot that he spoke to Tamaki about Sakura while they were at the cemetery. This day was too long for his liking.
"Yeah."
"You certainly downplayed the whole situation. Is her ex here?"
"If he was here then I wouldn't be." Shikamaru was sure about that. Everyone else might have absolved Sasuke of his actions and crimes but Shikamaru wasn't going to let it slide anymore.
"Was he a friend of yours?" Friend, he considered Sasuke as one until he left the village to train with Orochimaru. Ever since then he hasn't done anything of the sort.
"He was Naruto and Sakura's teammate. If you will excuse me, I need something to drink." His mood had soured and if he wanted to make it through the rest of the night then he definitely needed some of what everyone else was drinking. He slowly stood up and grabbed his cane then made his way to the kitchen while everyone else continued arguing about something senseless as usual.
"What do you think you're doing?" Sakura's stern voice broke through. He turned his head and saw her standing in the doorway.
"Getting me something to drink." He continued pouring himself a drink but he heard her moving closer to him.
"You know you can't drink."
"I'll just stop taking medication then."
"That means that you wasted Shizune and Lady Tsunade's time. You know that medication will help you in the long run. Drinking now could ruin your progress and ruin your chances of becoming a shinobi again."
"I was always suited for sitting behind a desk." He could feel Sakura's deathly stare trying to penetrate his skull.
"You know what, do whatever the hell you want but I will not allow you to undo all the progress you made." Sakura grabbed the glass on the table and the bottle out of Shikamaru's hand then walked out of the kitchen and back to the lively lounge.
"Tch... troublesome." He knew Sakura was just looking out for his best interest but he couldn't care less right now. He decided to go sleep rather. He had one extremely long and tiring day so he desrved the rest. He didn't pay any attention to anyone in the lounge and just continued down the passage to Sakura's bedroom. He undressed him then got into her bed and easily fell asleep.
"You should slow down." Shizune cautioned him as she put more files on his desk the next morning. He sat in his office across from the Hokage and caught up on everything he missed since his last mission. He basically knew everything he needed to but it was good to revise.
"There's a lot of work I need to catch up on before the Kage arrive later this week." His focus was on the documents in front of him so he paid no attention to Shizune's observing eyes. All he wanted to do was bury himself in work and do his job. He had the extra work of preparing Naruto for the Hokage position himself so he didn't have any time to waste.
"Well don't over do it. Your body is fully healed yet so take short breaks to breathe as well."
"I will."
"I'll be back soon with your tea so don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." He had a reluctant smile at that. He never wanted to do anything stupid but somehow he always found himself in those types of situations especially with Naruto and Kiba around.
Shizune left the room and allowed Shikamaru to concentrate. He got up to date with everything happening in the five nations and how they recovered after their treasured tools were targeted. He noticed that a few letters had been addressed to the Hokage from an anonymous source that detailed any movements of potential groups that might pose a threat to the nations. From the abundance of information and the blunt tone of the letter, he could quickly deduce that it was written by Sasuke. He was glad that the Uchiha was sharing information so easily now but it would never make up for his actions in the past. If anything, it just showed that he could've helped but chose not.
"Shikamaru, you have a guest." Shizune informed him as she entered his office... he turned to look at the time on his clock... nearly an hour later. Time seemed to fly today compared to yesterday's dragging. He looked up and saw Tamaki nervously standing in the doorway while Shizune prepared the tea on the table by the couches.
"Take a break and come have tea." Shizune ordered him. He knew fighting Shizune was a pointless exercise and he was in no position to even stand a chance against her so he sighed and stood up from his seat then hobbled over to the couches.
"Have a seat." Shikamaru permitted Tamaki. She came closer to the couches then sat down on a couch adjecent to his.
"Sorry to disturb you from your work it's just... you were gone this morning before everyone woke up." Tamaki stated.
"I had work to do today."
"You still need to continue your rehab so don't forget about that." Shizune reminded him then set a cup down in front of him and Tamaki.
"You'll probably take me there yourself." His reply earned him a deathly smile from Shizune. Despite her innocent appearance, Shizune was as deadly as a snake.
"I'll see you later." She walked out of the room and closed to the door leaving the two of them alone.
"I just wanted to apologise for last night. If I said something I shouldn't have and upset you then I'm sorry." Tamaki definitely reminded him of Hinata. The two of them would apologise for breathing if they could.
"There's nothing to be sorry for. It's my own personal issues that is the problem so I am sorry about that." Shikamaru apologised, it was only the right thing to do.
"Are you okay now?"
"I'm still alive so that's a good sign." He gave her a weak smile hoping that she wouldn't pry further. "How are things going with you and Kiba?"
"I think he is angry or upset about something. When he walked me home earlier I could hear the animosity in his voice but when I asked him about it then he smiled and said that everything was okay." It wouldn't be the first time Kiba sent anyone mixed signals. He really needed to learn how to hide his emotions better.
"Did something happen last night after I went to sleep?"
"I don't think so. They continued drinking and arguing then laughing then arguing and they ended up having some weird competition about who is the luckiest I think." That's definitely what he would expect from them. Why was Kiba angry then?
"Did he ask you out and you rejected him then?" That would explain a lot.
"No. He hardly even paid attention to me last night." What the hell Kiba? I thought he liked her so why would he ignore her at the exact time he needed to pay attention to her. Was this some reverse psychology thing that he was trying?
"Maybe you could forgive him for that. It's only once in a while that we get to hangout with each other like that so maybe he was trying to make the most of that opportunity."
"You can stop talking Kiba up now. I respected it last night but now it's just irritating. I know he is a good guy so you don't have to convince me of that." Looks like Tamaki caught onto that. He wasn't trying to hide it though. "Tell me the truth about him rather."
"Okay. Kiba is an aggressive asshole that unnecessarily takes things way too far. He'll blow things way out of proportion."
"You certainly didn't miss that opportunity to throw him under the bus." Tamaki released a chuckle while Shikamaru smiled.
"You didn't let me finish." He pointed out. "Despite all that, you won't find anyone that's as loyal or compassionate as he is. He will protect and keep you safe until his dying breath."
"That's a bit extreme don't you think?"
"Like I said, he takes things way too far and that goes for everything. If he loves you then he loves everything about you with everything he has." The smile on her face was pure and unwielding. Looks like she felt the same way about Kiba as he did about her.
"So, what did you think of my friends?"
"They're... unusual." That was a nice way of saying 'weird' but he couldn't blame her there. Weird was their normal.
"They must've freaked you out a hell of a lot then." He joked as he picked up his steaming cup of tea.
"I got my coffee brought to me by some sort of insects." Both of them released a laugh at that. At least Shino was being nice in his own... unusual way. Looks like Shino liked her as well, hopefully not romantically because he didn't want to know what a Shino-Kiba rivalry could create in the group.
"At least you didn't have them in your body."
"Why would anyone want them in their body besides Shino? That's suicide isn't it? I mean, only Shino and his family can endure it."
"Sometimes you have to take the risk."
"Is that what happened to you?" Looks like she finally put two and two together. "I thought you were in a massive fight and got crushed under a boulder or something."
"I'm not much of a physical fighter but I have had a boulder thrown at me."
"Sounds like you have some interesting stories."
"It's only interesting after I survived it."
"Rather you than me." Their laughter returned again but their attention was instantly directed to the door as it swung open.
"Shikamaru! You backstabbing piece of...!" Kiba roared into the room with Akamaru at his side but stopped when he saw the scene in front of him. He definitely looked angry but when he saw Tamaki having tea with Shikamaru then his rage took over him.
"I guess we found who he is angry at." Shikamaru told Tamaki causing her to laugh.
"Screw you!" Kiba shot back.
"Have a seat Kiba and let's talk this out." Shikamaru instructed him.
"I think I'll rather stand." His pride was clearly still intact.
"Okay. Tell me why you're angry at me then."
"You know what you did." He lost the lazy ninja there. Shikamaru was pretty sure that he didn't do anything to Kiba. With the state his body was in, he couldn't really do anything for himself so there was certainly no way he could do anything to the Inuzuka.
"I honestly don't. We hungout last night but I went to go sleep way before you guys so there's nothing I could've done to you. We had dinner then we tried to figure out what to do next but I went to go sleep before you could decide so what could I have done in that time to hurt you?"
"He was speaking to me most of the time before he went to go sleep as well so he couldn't have done anything." That's it. He figured it out.
"You were jealous." Shikamaru stated.
"No I wasn't." Kiba vehemently replied.
"Kiba, there's nothing going on between Tamaki and I. I'm still trying to recover from what happened with Sakura so I'm definitely not ready for someone else."
"What do you call whispering in each other's ears last night and this right here then?" Yep, definitely jealousy but it was all just a missunderstanding that he was taking way out of context.
"Shikamaru is one of my first friends in the village besides you and I kind of angered him last night so I came here to apologise to him. You were the one that ignored me last night after you invited me to hangout with your friends. All Shikamaru has been talking about is how you're supposed to be a great guy. If anyone should be angry here then it should be me." Tamaki's explosion left both Kiba and Akamaru speechless. Shikamaru was surprised to say the least but this just proved to him what a perfect match the two of them were for each other.
"Okay, this is what is going to happen now so that everyone can be happy and continue with their day. Kiba, I'll make sure that you're not on duty tonight so that you can take Tamaki out on a proper date and aplogise for everything. Tamaki, go easy on him. Just remember what I told you, he's an idiot but he's worth it. Now both of you can get out of my office and let me work in peace." Shikamaru calmly instructed them. Both of them looked at each other awkwardly and clearly confused. They didn't know what to do next.
"We can continue this another time Tamaki." Shikamaru told her before the silence became unbearable.
"Shikamaru... um I was supposed to report to you again since you're back." Kiba stated. Looks like shouting at me was just a bonus.
"Report about what?"
"This morning's rounds. All our defence systems are operating at 100% and we have shinobi patrolling the wall around the clock. There has been an increase in merchants coming into the village ahead of the Kage's arrival but that's the only change." Kiba informed him.
"Thank you Kiba. You two keep up the good work." Shikamaru told him and Akamaru who barked in agreement. "Now get out of here before I change my mind about tonight."
"Yeah, um... sorry about earlier and thank you." Kiba quickly replied then quickly made his way out of the room followed by his companion.
"I'll see you around Shikamaru." Tamaki said as she stood up and quickly raced out of the room as well. He was finally left alone again. He stood up and made his way over to his door and locked it then went to his desk again so that he could work without interruption.
AND THAT'S IT. I HOPE THE INTRODUCTION OF TAMAKI ISN'T KILLING THE STORY FOR YOU GUYS AND GIRLS. I'LL BE INTRODUCING MORE OF THE OTHER CHARACTERS SINCE THE KAGE ARE COMING. I'M KINDA EXCITED FOR IT. IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY OPINIONS OR THOUGHTS THEN DON'T BE AFRAID TO REVIEW OR SEND ME A MESSAGE. UNTIL NEXT TIME GUYS AND GIRLS, SEE YA...