A beautiful Life
The crickets chirped silently as the wind whispered a gentle lullaby, lulling the residents of Konohakagure into blissful slumber. That night, sleep fell like a heavy blanket upon every rookie and every kunoichi, every boy and every girl. All except a certain star-gazing, retired ANBU. There beneath the diamond studded canvas of mid-night blue he lay, an arm cradling his ingenious brain, as his now graying hair spread out beneath his head like a fan. Even now, he still wore it the exact same way he did during the Chuunin exams- in a loose pony tail which had unfailingly gained him the title of 'pineapple head'. Despite years of use and strenuous racking, his mind had inevitably stayed as sharp as ever. For he now found it wandering, against his will of course, to ponder upon his life goals, his ex-teammates, her. It seemed indeed, he had fulfilled every one of his goals.
To pass the Chuunin exams, Jounin exams, before finally becoming an ANBU. He couldn't say it was as easy as he would have wanted it to be. But it was satisfactory nonetheless. Hey, he had survived it long enough to live out the other dreams goals? On with the next one: to buy a house on the outskirts of the village where he could settle down. He'd fulfilled that one the day he said, "I do" and kissed his bride/ex-teammate.
He felt the hairs on the back of his neck tingle, as he sensed her presence approaching. Even after all these years of being with her, she never failed to have such an effect on him. "Hey," she greeted, laying down beside him, the warmth of her body seeping into his. They often did this, just laying on the rooftop of their apartment, one deep in thought while the other snuggled against his shoulder. It would be hours before one finally got up to return to the comfort of their bed, the other soon following after. As the silence settled over the elderly couple, his mind began to drift off again.
His next goal: to have 2 children, a girl and a boy. Then retire from his job once his daughter was married and his son had found a job. All that had gone just as planned. He remembered the day his baby girl, Inomaru had been born. She was a splitting image of her mother --from the cerulean blue eyes to her straw colored locks; one could have sworn they were photocopies. As the years went by, she soon found love and got married to a fine young ANBU. And to sum it all up, Shikamaru smirked at the thought, he was about to be a grandfather really soon.
His son, Shikano, too had been a high flyer in life, graduating from the Ninja academy as number one rookie of his year, he had quickly passed the Chuunin and Jounin exams by the time he was 15, and was in no time an ANBU like his old man. That had signaled the long awaited submission of the laid-back nin's resignation letter.
A contented sigh escaped his lips as his fingers intertwined with his now softly snoring wife's. Above, a star winked at him. He couldn't have been more satisfied with his life at present. Albeit setbacks from time to time, he had generally had a good life. He'd completed all his life goals, he had a nice family, a place to call home, really, there was nothing more he could ask for. "Shikamaru-kun," his wife muttered softly in her slumber. His onyx eyes softened immediately, as he pushed a strand of now graying hair out of her face. Her eyebrows were perfectly sculpted, as were her sharp nose bridge and high cheekbones. Her cream white skin was still as flawless as it was then, her lips, albeit slightly wrinkled, still rosy and pink. If anything, age had only made her more beautiful.
As he gently caressed her cheek, a realization sparked in his mind.
There was just one goal he had failed to carry out: to marry a wife who was neither beautiful nor ugly. Indeed, he'd failed terribly.
For she was definitely the most beautiful thing he'd ever laid eyes on.
Hey, whoever said he was complaining about it?