"Ah my baby finally gets out of the hospital today, this makes me very happy!" Inoichi cried out, hugging his daughter as if she was just five years old, much to her mortification.
"Mou, Daddy, It's not that big a deal, why do you always make it so?" Even if she was humiliated, the fact her father hadn't changed how he treated her was a great comfort. The family began walking out of the room for the entrance to sign her out. Naruto was waiting for her to take her bag and fell into step beside her, his presence made her ease into his shoulder and take his arm.
"Ino-chan, you know your birth was rather hard on me, right?" Her mother remarked. It was talked about but never really mentioned. So difficult was the her pregnancy and birth, the stress had almost completely scarred Yamanaka Chigusa's womb and prevented them from conceiving again.
"It's why you and Daddy couldn't have more children." Even if she had no way of fixing it in the back of her head, the part of her that had wanted a little sister or brother to spoil, felt guilty.
"Un!" Her mother nodded. "Well, your father was so scared to loose both of us. You were born a whole month premature and I had lost a lot of blood. When the Kyuubi was forced against Konoha and the Hospital was hit he had thought he had lost us. Thankfully you and I were taken to a shelter before hand, but your father has hated hospitals ever since. Big baby."
"Chi-chan, you have no idea how scary that was for me."
"Yes I do you cried like a little girl when they told you I was safe for an hour before the Sandaime sent someone to bring you to me. And You came in with snot hanging out of your nose."
"You make it sound so utterly pathetic."
"It was." Ah she loved her mother.
"G-gomen. I'm sorry that Kyuubi made you worry, Inoichi-san." Ah there he spoke up, why was he being so quiet anyway? Why did her Idiot always have to shoulder the blame for that stupid fox every time. After all…
"Koishii, it's not your fault Daddy's pathetic."
"Hime-chan!" She ignored her father and continued.
"You were just a baby at the time too." Naruto blushed at the endearment, he was still having trouble getting use to them actually being what did she call it again? Lovey Dovey? Yeah Lovey Dovey in public for real. Truthfully, unlike all those stupid girly girly romance novels and books went on about, the world didn't stop turning, they didn't magically live happily ever after, and Naruto didn't suddenly gain four feet of wavy hair, called her Dianna, while he made passionate love to her in the rain. She blushed. Okay, so no more romance novels for a while. She only really read them for information purposes of course, not for the smut, honest! (Sure Ino, we believe you)
Frankly, it was just like it was before… that night. Which when she really thought about it, was perfectly fine for her.
The only real difference was Naruto got really, really territorial when other men got near her. It was cute, but a little overbearing. Having to yank his ear every ten seconds for glaring at Shikamaru or Chouji when they came to see her was getting old, yet strangely fun when you watched him do that silly pout and whine. She made sure to pick his 'pierced' ear too.
"H-hai." He agreed. Okay she wanted out of this stupid place if nothing for her man to stop talking like he had done something wrong and was hiding it from her.
'I'm so glad I get to go home! I want to just snuggle up with you and a good book in my window seat."
"Urk." Urk? "Um, Hime… there might be a small problem about that…"
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A tarp, put to keep the wind and rain out of the room, flapped uselessly over the ruined wall of room 502 as Chief foreman Kouzou examined the structure. His assistant and new hire, Shiro, writing down anything the man spoke. So quickly the man talked the younger man was having difficulty keeping up.
"It's a wonder this window seat is even still here with only one strut left like that. Looks like it could go any minute. However shouldn't be too tough to repair so long as it doesn't move. The rest is mostly dry wall, not the worst I've seen, easy. The job should take a week tops."
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY A 'LITTLE' BROKE?" The men were flung backwards as the world shook.
[C-c-c-c-cRACK!]
The window seat broke free as the final stud snapped and there was a loud smash as it landed five stories down in a pile of kindling.
"…A month tops." Shiro scratched out the first time and added the new one as his boss began spewing out materials he struggled to jot it down.
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Fakers!
Chapter Fifteen: Pecking Order
By
Hibiki
"Something not so funny here. Something about rights here. Something about Kishimoto and the fact they are his here." -Hibiki
AN: Yupped changed the name, an urge struck me and I ran with it.
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By the time his hime had finished reaming him out, Chigusa-Okaachan (AN: Only Naruto would call someone Mother-chan.) had completed the sign out forms and the four of them made it out into the village proper, though Ino was still whapping him over the head, muttering.
"So you broke our apartment." She finally calmed down and stopped exerting herself, something Tsunade had specifically told her not to do, by giving her man a few rough smacks, Something Tsunade specifically told her TO do(Stupid Baa-chan), and leaned up against him. "So now where do we stay until it's fixed?"
"You're always welcome back at the shop, Hime-chan." Her father remarked. Figure'd the man wouldn't mention him… But all was well, all he had to do was wait. [Smack!] "Chi-chan…. Fine. You can come too Naruto." Whipped.
"Um, Ino? I mean that'd be fine if you wanted to stay with your folks, I always got my apartment too." Which he really hadn't set inside of in a month and a half… oh man! That milk, definitely expired… but had he left it out? Damn he really couldn't remember. "I know your parent's would love to see you and it's always good to be around loved ones after something like this…" He assumed anyway, what did he know.
"Then it's settled!' She remarked. He tried not to look disappointed she hadn't tried harder to stay with him, even his place was not all that great. "I'm gonna stay with my Idiot at his place until my apartment is fixed!"
An amazed Naruto and upset Inoichi's mouths dropped.
"But but… Hime" They both remarked as Chigusa laughed.
"No buts! Naruto owes me for wreaking my place and I sure as hell not sleeping alone." He was blushing like a fool, he knew it and didn't care. God he loved her.
"B-but Hime-chan, don't I-[smack]-we have a say in it? You are our baby! [smack] We love you. [smack] Wouldn't you [smack] you two [smack] DAMMIT WOMAN STOP HITTING M-oh shit!"
"What was that… DEAR?" Naruto and Ino made a run for it.
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"Man your dad really said something stupid didn't he? I thought him smarter than that." Well that was a stupid think to say. [smack]
"Stupid." See she agrees. He held his hands up, offering no resistance and she took his gesture as his apology.
They began their trek up the stairs, something was bugging him, like he had forgotten something.
"Yamaguchi-san, hello!" He jerked, back ramrod straight, he knew there was something he had forgotten.
"Ino! Oh darling how are you feeling! I was so worried when I heard. That dear Ami, what a godsend, I tell you what. Oh you'd never guess what I heard! She's been eying that big cutie you use to work with-" Oh god, gossip, he needed to get out of there before was trapped listening to it for hours. He tuned them out for a moment, trying to unlock his door quietly as not to attract the gossip hungry lioness' from their prey. His door popped open, and he instantly wished it hadn't. "OH my GOD! What DIED in there! That's just Nahsty!"
Oops. Knew he had forgotten something… else.
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Chigusa was closing up for the night when two rather rank people walked into the shop. So vile was the smell she could taste it even all the way in the back by the fertilizer. With anger still simmering from her moronic husband she stormed up to the front to properly yell at them. What she didn't expect was Naruto and her daughter looking both ready to pass out, probably from their own stench.
"What did you two do, roll in shit?" Always the tactful in delicate situations, Ino's mother.
"Nartuo's apartment had to be… sterilized." Ino started then glanced to Naruto.
"I'm stupid." He remarked.
"And it won't be ready until tomorrow."
"Because I'm stupid." Chigusa raised an eyebrow.
"Think we can stay here tonight after all?"
"Please forgive my stupidity." He bowed. Wow he was a keeper.
"Of course dear," She turned to both of them. "You know you are both always welcome to come over any time."
"Thank you Mom/Chigusa-okaachan!" They made for the door leading into the house when a pair of hands caught their shoulders in an iron tight grip. "N-nani?"
"But before you set an INCH into my nice clean house go to the back door and strip to your undies. I need to hose you two off."
"MOM!/Chigusa-san!" Embarrassment be damned. There was more important things than modesty. Like her nice clean floors!
"Deal with it! I'm probably going to have to burn those things your wearing! God you two stink! Did you even THINK of bathing before you came over?"
"No, we didn't. We're stupid."
"If you had come in when I had customers you could have ruined the business!"
"We're sorry. We're stupid."
"Just because I love you Ino and adore your boyfriend means you can just roll around in shit or stale milk or whatever that is, and then track it into my house!"
"Please forgive our stupidity." They bowed to her. She smirked. Oh yeah they knew who was in charge. Now if only her moron could figure it out and remember it.
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"Mendokuse. Dad, Inoichi-san is here." Shikamaru looked lazily at his friend's father as he looked forlornly to him. His father moved up next to him and Shikamaru took that as his cue to retreat back into the house.
"What do you want Inoichi-kun?"
"My baby is shacking up with Naruto at HIS apartment and my wife kicked me out!" The blonde man latched onto his father like a squid and started crying. Rolling his eyes Shikamaru had only one thing to say. "My women hate me! WAHH!"
"Mendokuse." He needed a cigarette.
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Okay this was fun and got me in the mood to keep writing. Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement. I lost a few readers, but what can I do. Just keep writing as I want to. It is what is is.
Next Chapter: Shopping