I couldn't hand out enough cookies to say sorry for the wait. I just need to graduate and be done with school! Please enjoy. :)
Thanks to Joy-girl for quickly making me realize that I made a silly mistake of uploading the wrong document!
34: Exam
"Are you sure you can make it all the way to the Academy? You look like you're about to burst," Sakura rambled as she followed Ino around their apartment. Ino placed an apple in her brown lunch sack and turned around to meet Sakura's concerned jades. "Dr. Akanishi said that you shouldn't be walking long distances. Maybe you should reconsider going. I'll tell Shikamaru that you can't—"
"Sakura," Ino interrupted, placing a finger on her best friend's lips. "Stop."
"I'm just saying."
"The Academy is just down the road. I'll be fine."
"What if your water breaks?" Sakura asked with Ino's finger still pressed against her lips. The rosette batted Ino's finger away and stuck her tongue out at Ino. "Shikamaru is going to run like hell if something like that happens."
"Shikamaru will not," Ino laughed.
"What if he does?"
"I'm shit out of luck then."
Sakura frowned. "Don't even say that, Ino."
"Joking," Ino said sheepishly. "I doubt I'll go into labor walking to the Academy, so you can calm down."
Sakura sat on the counter as she watched Ino prepared her lunch. "Have you thought about names yet?"
"No, not really," Ino trailed as the thought hit her. She never thought of names, and she probably wouldn't think of a name until Tsunade asked her what the baby's name was. During the exams, she'll think of baby names. That shouldn't be so hard.
"Oh, Shikamaru is here," Sakura said two seconds before a knock sounded. "Wait here," she demanded, "your water might break if you make any abrupt movements."
"Sakura, how is answering the door an 'abrupt movement'?"
Ino listened to the light steps drumming against the hardwood floor among the soft whispers between Sakura and Shikamaru. Suddenly, as Ino turned to greet Shikamaru, a hand flashed and snatched her water canteen out of her hands. "Good morning," Ino greeted in a hush manner and a smile, "you look sleepy."
"Tsunade had me running last minute errands last night," Shikamaru explained. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah."
Ino grabbed her lunch and canteen only to have Sakura swiped them from under Ino's fingers and shove her lunch into Shikamaru's hands. "You can't do any heavy lifting!"
Shikamaru looked at Ino, puzzled. "She's obsessed about my water breaking today," Ino clarified to which Shikamaru simply nodded. "I'm a month away from nine months, so she shouldn't be freaking out."
"You have heard of premature births, haven't you?" Sakura challenged.
"Of course I have!"
"You could be part of the Premature Birth Club today if you don't watch yourself," Sakura said. Shikamaru chuckled and shook his head, mumbling something along the lines of, "I can't believe her." Sakura flicked the Nara in the ear. "I'm being serious, Ino."
"I'm being serious, too. I'll be careful, I promise." To Shikamaru, she smiled and asked, "Are you ready to go?" which he nodded.
The sun possessed an unruly brilliance that early morning as Ino and Shikamaru walked—well, Ino waddling than walking—to the Academy with their hands intertwined. Ino squeezed her partner's hand and smiled when Shikamaru gave her a questioning look, but he returned the look with a small twitch of his lips resembling a small beam.
The heat so early that morning hinted the beginning of a heat wave, and Ino wasn't ecstatic about it now than she was back in her non-pregnant days, where she was always for the heat because it meant more time in a bikini and less time on mission in hot, sticky clothes. Now, her body temperature was on the verge of burning her insides, or so it seemed, and if her body inched up one degree more, she worried that her child would melt. If the sun decided to heat up the village, she might melt inside and out and Ino could handle so much heat.
"Can you sit around for a few hours?"
"I won't be comfortable," Ino mumbled, tightening her grip around Shikamaru's hand when he loosened his grasp. "This damn uniform is kind of unbearable, though." She beckoned to the tacky, beige uniform that she thought she would never have to wear. The buttons popped off the second Ino buttoned them and to make things worse, the fabric felt like she was walking in a suit of cardboard. No wonder the proctors always looked so grumpy…
"Well, you need to suck it up for the time being," Shikamaru chuckling, smirking at her when she rolled her eyes and pinched the skin between his index finger and thumb. He suddenly released her hand and straightened his posture as they approached the Academy.
"Good morning, Shikamaru," Kotetsu greeted warmly, waving at the couple as they walked towards the entrance. "Ino, is that you?" the older man's eyes zeroed on her stomach sticking out of her uniform. "You're huge. How far along are you?"
"I'm not pregnant."
"Oh, I-I thought…Ino, I-I'm—"
"I'm 31 weeks." Ino smiled as she watched the relief wash over her co-worker's face.
"Don't do that to me!" Kotetsu cried, grinning at the blonde in embarrassment. "You have no idea how many times I've done that. It gets old after a while."
"Maybe you shouldn't comment on how big a woman is in the first place," Ino countered.
Shikamaru placed his hands on Ino's shoulders and pushed her forward. "Anyway, we're late to the meeting, so we must be moving on. Aren't you in on this, too, Kotetsu? What are you doing out here?"
"Ibiki made me wait out here for you two."
"Why?" Shikamaru and Ino asked.
"Who knows? Knowing Ibiki, it has to be a good reason."
"Or no reason at all," Ino mumbled. "You were probably irritating him, so he sent you on a pointless errand. That's what he did to me when I worked with him."
The bandaged face man growled, glaring at no one in particular. "Damn him."
Shikamaru turned Ino into a room and slid the door closed after Kotetsu squeezed passed him. Kotetsu stumbled into a chair and grinned at the several snickers he received. Shikamaru placed a light hand on the small of her back and nudged her towards a seat, whispering something incoherent. She could feel the numerous sets of eyes on her baby bump as she toddled down the aisle to take a seat at the back of the classroom. Ino wiggled her nose in disgust as she noticed Kiba's jaw drop, and he immediately turned to the man next to him. "When did she get knocked up?" he blurted loudly despite leaning in close and covering his words with a hand. He was always an obnoxious one—sometimes he rivaled Naruto's obnoxiousness.
"Settle down, everyone," Shikamaru grunted from the front of the class. He leaned back on the desk and scanned the room with a satisfied smirk. Ino planted herself in a seat away from wandering eyes and listened. Shikamaru looked at her for a long second before continuing his scan. "It seems that everyone is here and accounted for, so I'll begin this brief meeting. For everyone who was a proctor in previous years, you already know the gist of the meeting. For those who are new, this exam will be operated smoothly. We're aiming for no conflicts this year. If you catch anything suspicious, please report it to me or Ibiki quickly.
"The first phase of the exam, your duty is to catch participants who are obviously cheating. I hope that isn't too hard for you, and if so, let me know and I'll notify Lady Tsunade that you are incompetent." There were several chuckles within the crowd and some joked around, nudging friends in the side and whispering accusations. "Anyway," Shikamaru sighed, probably regretting his joke now that there was a disruption, "for each one of you, there is a designated area you must observe. The sheet is up here, and you may look over it if you haven't done so. By the way, if you catch someone who isn't in your area, write the kid's number down and keep an eye on him—the less numbers, the easier my job is.
"For the second phase, I have specific shinobi I have selected to be part of it and you know who you are. I'll debrief you on your duties when we get to that point. This also applies to the third stage proctors." Shikamaru sighed and glanced at Ino, smiling at her. He continued, still looking at her, "As a goal, let's make it through the first day, and we'll worry about the rest." He averted his attention to the rest of the room. "We'll worry about the rest when the second stage finally commences. Be in Room 303 in five minutes. You're all excused."
Ino waited for everyone to rise from their seats and leave the room or check their designated observation areas.
"It's going to be a long day," Shikamaru said as Ino walked up to him. She leaned against the desk beside him. "I hope we make it to the library on time today," he whispered to her as a pack of Chunin made their way up to the desk to check their sections.
"I think we will. You could always leave early since you're not actually conducting anything—leave everything to Ibiki and Anko. They've been doing this for years."
Shikamaru chuckled, shaking his head. "Yeah, like they'd let me off the hook just like that."
Ino shrugged. "You never know."
"They'd have me wash their damn laundry for weeks." He grabbed Ino's hand and laced their fingers. "Let's head up to the room before it gets crowded."
"Shikamaru." Shikamaru's eyes snapped towards the door where a certain sandy blonde kunoichi stood. She smiled and wiggled her fingers at them as they walked towards her. Ino glared at the Suna shinobi and wished that she wasn't about to explode any second so she could take a swing at that pretty face. "You didn't wait for me," she growled.
The Nara boy shrugged. "Well, one, you were late, and two, you told me you wouldn't arrive until the third phase." With that, he brushed past Temari with Ino in tow. Ino was tempted to look back and stick her tongue at Temari, but considering she couldn't fight made Ino reconsider.
The crowded surrounding the door to Room 303 was an endless ocean of browns, blondes, and some unnatural hair color those youngsters were into during the prime of their teenage years. Ino quickly spotted the rookies of the bunch; they were the smaller participants whose legs were as thin as their wrists, boys' shoulders not yet broad and the girls not as curvy compared to the rest of the kunoichi. Above all, the rookies cowered in a corner and eyed everyone that passed them with a suspicious stare.
Ino nudged Shikamaru and beckoned towards the nine rookies. "Reminds me of when we took the exams the first time," she laughed lightly.
Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck, almost embarrassed. "To be honest, I'd rather not think about those times."
"If we're being honest," Ino began, peeking over at the Genin for a second, "same here." Ino imagined Shikamaru wanted to forget those times because that's when Konoha went to shit with Sasuke running away and Orochimaru wanting to destroy the village. Ino wanted to forget because one, she felt like she was an awkward girl, no matter how "hot" the boys thought of her and two, every time she thought about wooing Hyuuga Neji brought scarlet to her cheeks.
"Move out of the way, kids! Make some fucking room!" Three boys stormed down the hallway, pushing others into the walls and knocking down the unfortunate others who didn't see nor hear them coming down the hall.
"Of course," Shikamaru hissed under his breath, "there has to be a loud mouth imbecile every year, huh?"
"Maybe he'll be in the next Hokage. Loud mouths seem to be in the now these days."
Ino watched the three boys stroll passed them as they shouted at others to get out of their way, "bad asses coming through." The main reason the others didn't fight back was the fact that in the middle of the two floppy haired, averaged size boys, Frankenstein loomed over the two bodies. He was bigger than…well, anyone she knew. The boy stood about two heads taller than Shikamaru. The strange boy had a bored expression as if the two rambunctious boys weren't interesting or the slightest bit annoying.
The other two boys seemed to pass off as twins. However, one sported blonde hair and the other with brown. Both had their hair covering their eyes and one could only see their big mouths spewing words like a fountain.
The brunette pushed his hair to the side of his face and glanced at Ino before winking at her as his counter dragged him away. Ino watched in disgust as he pushed one of the rookies to the floor and continued to walk towards the room.
"Izumo, you were supposed to open the room fifteen minute ago!" Shikamaru said sharply, glaring at the man who hustled down the hallway. "Where the hell were you?"
"Sorry, Shikamaru but there was an emergency."
"Just open the damn door."
Izumo elbowed his way into the crowd and the Genin grew silent as the Jonin thumbed through his keys. Ino swore she heard the baby's heart thumping; it was so quiet as Izumo found the right key and unlocked the door. The ocean of Genin flooded into the room, trampling over each other and poor Izumo who, bless him, tried to be assertive and intimidating, but it's quite hard trying to assert your position when on the ground.
Shikamaru tugged Ino out of the way as a rampage of beige colored blurs flashed before their eyes and stormed into the room with cries of, "Oh shit, Shikamaru is going to be pissed" and "He's going to have our asses for being late."
Once Shikamaru released her arm, Ino tiptoed into the room as Ibiki called the room to order, "All right, you numb skulls, sit your asses down." The students, even the toughest, biggest Genin, froze at the man's voice. Even Ino winced, not because his raspy voice frightened her but because it was so damn loud. She thought she'd be used to it considering he liked screaming at her for no particular reason when she was under his wing for a couple years.
Ino looked at Shikamaru who stood at the front of the room with his clipboard, listening to Ibiki or acting as if he was listening, nodding his head as Ibiki made a good point. Shikamaru probably had fifty other thoughts running through his mind. For a second, he paused his writing and glanced up at her, smiling. Ino never expected Shikamaru to act, well, the way he was acting.
A mass of pencils tapping against the desk tops flooded into Ino's ears, jerking her out of her thoughts. She looked down at her clipboard and blank piece of paper for a second and then looked up at her five students she was observing. From the corner of her eye, she had a glimpse of Shikamaru who sat down in his seat and was already marking down numbers or maybe he was doing something else—Ibiki confessed that he would do that just to intimidate the students when really he was drawing a freaking butterfly.
Ino, for a brief second, paid attention to her designated corner and wrote down 33's number as she witnessed the kid turn her head slightly to the right, copying down information as quickly as possible. Sheesh, what an idiot.
Ino took one last glance at Shikamaru who met her eyes the same second she turned her head to look at him. She quickly averted her eyes to the ceiling, a blush slowly rolling onto her cheeks.
In her eyes, Shikamaru changed since that night. The pineapple-shaped head boy turned into a person Ino knew she could hand her life to and know that everything would be fine. Sure she should have known that since Ino trusted her body to him when she used her mind transfer, but now, she had immense trust in him.
Ino remembered that night clearly; she even dreamt about it, replaying the memory over and over again. She couldn't stop thinking about it. It just wasn't expected. She didn't plan on telling Shikamaru nor was he prepared for the news. Most of all, she wasn't prepared for his reaction.
Shikamaru stared at her in puzzlement, unsure of what to make of her response to his question. Ino wondered if it was an appropriate time to reveal her deepest, darkest secret. Did she trust Shikamaru whole-heartedly and undeniably?
"What do you mean 'it's because you lived'?" He choked on his words as if he already knew the answer or maybe he was just utterly confused and lost for words. She couldn't blame Shikamaru since she was lost for words herself. Ino fidgeted under Shikamaru's intense stare, but she finally cracked under the pressure and stood up, walking over to Shikamaru and meeting his curious, coal eyes. She noticed Shikamaru raise his hand, but he immediately pinned it to his side. "Ino?"
"I shouldn't be alive right now."
"But why?"
"Shikamaru, do you know why I left?"
"You were looking for a murderer. What does that have to do with anything?"
Ino hesitated, placing a hand on her stomach. Did she really want to do this? Shikamaru stared at her stomach. "I found him, and this is the price I had to pay. You remember Hidan, don't you?"
His reaction was slow motion. Ino watched his emotions waved across his face. First, his eyebrows pinched together in confusion as if the name wasn't familiar, as if the name didn't belong to the man that tried to kill her that one night which felt like years ago. Second, Ino watched his eyes widen as the pieces clicked together, a name to a face. "That bastard from the Pub? What about him?"
Tears swelled in her eyes in pure frustration. She felt the pain coming back; the scars that were now faint burned and felt as if a kunai traced along the lines, tearing apart her skin and setting it ablaze. "What is it you don't understand, Shikamaru?" Ino balled. "He…He…"
Shikamaru stepped away from Ino. "Are you telling me I let that bastard go when everything could have been settled?" he growled. His lips quivering and fists shaking as anger enveloped him. He suddenly turned and kicked the table over, spilling the contents into the water. "Why didn't you tell me, Ino? He could be dead by now!"
"Nothing would have been solved. Lives would be lost if you killed him."
"I'd rather have strangers die than you die."
"You don't mean that."
"I don't?"
They fell silent, glowering at each other. Ino could hear his erratic breathing and his teeth softly clattering. Finally, he released a shaky breath. "If he ever shows his face around here, I swear I'll kill him."
Ino felt a smile on her lips as she stared at their feet. She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around his torso, burying her face into his chest. "Thank you."
Everything made sense now. Of all the months he lived in total perplexity, the answer was in front of his face and he even met the cause of everything. He stupidly blinded himself with the fact that Ino was pregnant and that she needed support. For a week, Shikamaru tortured himself, knowing perfectly well that if he looked at the bigger picture, life could be better for Ino.
For a week, Shikamaru spend unsettling nights conjuring methods of killing the man, more ways being physically impossible than possible. Shikamaru wished he could teleport to Hidan's location and slice his head off, tie him down and slip a kunai through his throat as slow as possible and make him feel the pain Ino felt. He wanted to sink a kunai through his chest and listen to Hidan scream.
Craaacckk. The bottom half of his pencil rolled off his desk and fell to the floor as he gripped the other half in a white knuckled grip. Shikamaru loosened his grip, taking a deep inhale and a slow exhale, releasing his grasp on the pencil with each breath.
"Eh, Shikamaru," Ibiki whispered, leaning closer to him, "are you doing okay?"
"Fine."
"Need some time? We have five minutes."
"Do you mind?"
Shikamaru rose from his seat as Ibiki strolled back to the front desk, leaning against it and smirking devilishly at the young shinobi that looked up to see the commotion. Shikamaru hustled out the doors, ignoring the look Ino gave him as he rushed passed her.
He flew through the hallways in a blind fury, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his spare cigarette. Reaching into his other pocket, he pulled his lighter and lit the cigarette before he reached the Academy exit. Shikamaru released a shaking exhale, blowing out the two drags of smoke he held in.
"I thought you quit." Anko smiled at him as Shikamaru took another long drag. Shikamaru nodded and turned his back on her. "Angry much?" she snorted.
"You don't even know," Shikamaru sighed.
"Do I want to know?"
"It's complicated."
Anko slinked around Shikamaru and hung an arm around his shoulders. "I think I can keep up. I mean, the whole village kept up with the love triangle between you and two certain blondes whose names will not be mentioned—cough, cough, Temari and Ino."
"What the hell do you know about that?" Shikamaru challenged, flicking his cigarette bud to the ground and smashing it with the heel of his shoe.
"Oh, I know a lot. You eloped with Ino and got her pregnant when you should have been faithful to Temari. That's the gist of it, isn't it?"
"Not even close. Don't you have Genin to annoy?"
Anko groaned and looked at her wrist watch. "Well, look at that, it's about that time. I'll see you around, Shikamaru! Maybe we can have a chat over some barbeque and coffee?"
"That's a horrible combination."
"Everything is a great combination when you're piss ass drunk! Oh, look it's your hubby!" Anko sang, dancing around Ino as she toddled down the stairs. Ino waved at Anko who disappeared around the corner with her old banner that she always flew into the classroom with.
"Are you doing okay?" Shikamaru smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder, bringing her in for a hug only to be pushed away. "You were smoking."
"Yeah, sorry."
"Don't say sorry to me; say sorry to him." The blonde pointed to her round belly.
"Sorry, Baby," he mumbled, rubbing his teammate's stomach.
"Ibiki said I could go home, so I'll see you at the library at five, right?"
"Yeah, I'll be there. I might be late, though."
"Don't worry; I talked to Ibiki about letting you go early but it was on one condition."
Shikamaru raised a brow. "What is that?"
"Tomorrow, you have to clip his toenails," and that was the fastest Shikamaru ever saw Ino walk away.
Ino picked at her cuticles as she lounged in the incredibly comfy chair, waiting for the first couple to arrive…and a certain pineapple head that was supposed to be at this very table fifteen minutes ago granted that Ino didn't tell Shikamaru he needed to be at the library at a specific time. The blonde sighed and rubbed her tense stomach, massaging her uncomfortable baby from the outside.
"Hi, sorry I'm late," Shikamaru apologized as he smoothly slid into the seat. "Ino, as much as I want to be here, I do not want to clip Ibiki's disgusting toe nails. I had to stay."
Ino shrugged. "It's okay, I supposed. No one is here yet."
"You've been waiting alone?" he asked, almost sounding surprised. "No one has come to see you?"
"No, why?"
"Well, there are people bickering about who should come over first behind that book shelf." Shikamaru gestured towards a book shelf and if Ino strained her ears enough, she could hear hushed voices snapping at each other. "Should I go talk to them?" Before Ino could answer, Shikamaru left her side and disappeared behind the book shelf where the whispers ceased immediately.
Ino listened to Shikamaru ask if they were here to see Ino, and a voice that sounded as if it belonged to a four-year-old girl responded, "Yeah, we are here to see Ino! Who are you?"
"I'm the…f-father. Should I introduce you to Ino?"
"Oh, yes!" Ino ignored the rest of the girl-woman's voice for it irritated Ino's ears and the baby didn't seem to like the high pitched tone either.
"Ino," Shikamaru called, appearing from behind the book shelf with an average height woman and a man about the same size in tow. "This is Saito Haru and Mizuki."
Ino scrolled through her mind, trying to put a name and face to the scrapbook. All that came up her blue and purple swirls of flowers or polka-dots. Did they own a white pug?
"It's nice to meet you." Ino rose from her seat and shook their hands, noticing that both of their grips were limp and cold. "I am Yamanaka Ino and this is Nara Shikamaru," she said before seating herself once again. Junior detested the sudden movement and placed a foot in her rib.
"You two aren't married?" Mizuki questioned, moving her eyes from Ino to Shikamaru and back to Ino. "Aren't people supposed to be married before having kids?"
Shikamaru cleared his throat and simply placed a hand on Ino's when she mumbled a threat to lunge over the table and choke out the poor girl. "We're in a complicated situation, which is why we're giving this child up for adoption. Now, tell us a bit about yourselves."
Mizuki bounced in her seat, brunette curls full of life. "My name is Mizuki and I'm twenty-six-years-old. I work as an inn receptionist down the street from here."
"I am Haru." Ino's cheeks filled with her laughter, but she swallowed down the giggles as the husband continued to speak. "I am a Jonin." It sounded like he sucked in a bunch of sulfuric hexafloride and he looked as if he was on the verge of passing out.
"How long have to two been together?" Ino asked, still choking down her giggles.
"About ten years if you include the years of dating; we've been married for five years about," Mizuki answered, smiling at Haru, who flashed a smirk at her. Goodness, it was like he worshiped Sasuke and failed at impersonating him.
Ino mentally scratched them off the list. She wasn't going to have a child that had a helium sucking idiot as a mother and a Sasuke worshipping father—because Ino of all people knew how Sasuke obsession ended, hint hint Sakura. Ino could not imagine how her child would turn out.
"What time is the second couple coming in?" Ino asked. "Did Ruka tell you?"
"About 6:30 because someone has a business meeting that started at 5:30," Shikamaru said, reading the scribbles he wrote on his arm that morning when the rude adoption agent called him to give him the details. "The fourth couple canceled because there's been a sudden death in the family and they have to go out of town."
Ino slouched in her seat—or rather, slouched as far as her child would let her which wasn't very far and it hurt her back, so Ino straightened up and leaned against the table. "How was the rest of the exam?"
"Good," Shikamaru said, glancing out the window to see the setting sun descend below the buildings and mountains. "We have a feisty bunch this year. Some kid started a fight with Anko."
Ino shook her head. She could only imagine how that turned out for the poor Genin who thought they were superior to the likes of Anko, who wasn't the woman to mess around with. "How did that turn out?"
"Well, him and his team or disqualified and the kid has a nice bruise around his eye and probably his ass. I never knew an eraser could be so dangerous." Ino didn't want to know what happened…. "There are some teams that need to be watched," Shikamaru mumbled, leaning his chair back on its two hind legs. "We have some pretty strong ones this year," he commented, suddenly changing the subject. "As soon as the gates opened, bombs started to explode and Genin were already making their way to the Tower. It makes me wonder how they were able to one, figure out which team had which scrolls and two, plant the bombs."
"Have you brought it up with the Hokage?"
"No, unless you want me to leave now so I can?"
"You can leave to see if the second couple is here, and then you can come right back."
After a quick second of waiting, Shikamaru returned and startled Ino as he ran his fingers through Ino's golden locks.
"Ino," Shikamaru gasped as he trotted towards the rounded table, grabbing a seat beside her. "Meet Watanabe Noriko and Watanabe Daichi," he introduced, beckoning to a couple that appeared to be in their mid-thirties who stood politely to the side, waiting to be gestured to sit down.
"Oh," Ino exclaimed, "hello!"
Noriko, who was a petite woman with wide hips and a small torso, waved a hand to stop Ino from standing up and introducing herself properly. "Please, don't go through the trouble," the wife said softly. She hooked her index finger with her husband's and led him to the table. Daichi, a man with a buzz cut and laugh lines, pulled out Noriko's seat before seating himself. Ino couldn't help but smile at the act and wished Shikamaru could do something like that for her.
"Don't get any ideas," Shikamaru muttered as if he read Ino's mind.
"It's such a pleasure to meet you," Noriko started, smiling brightly at Ino. It was like looking into the future. Noriko shared the same eye and hair color, and the only differences between them were sagging skin and Ino's skin definitely glowed brighter than hers. "We've always wanted to adopt and we're elated that you've given us this opportunity."
Ino only smiled, clueless as to what to say. Was it appropriate to say "It's our pleasure" or was this situation a moment where a smile would suffice?
"We couldn't be happier about choosing you," Shikamaru told them lightly, a smile playing on his lips. "So, do you have any children?"
"Sadly, no," Daichi answered. His voice sounded melodic like a lullaby hanging over one's head as they fell into a slumber. His eyebrows furrowed in a remorseful manner as he looked at his wife apologetically. "We're unable to have kids," he said.
"I'm so sorry," Ino squeaked.
"That's unfortunate," Shikamaru agreed.
Ino remembered this couple. They had a sherbet orange scrapbook with horizontal zig-zags outlined in yellow. Noriko was the head nurse in the children's ward at the hospital on the west side of Konoha, and Daichi was the owner of a popular restaurant. Both were excellent jobs and they could easily support the baby.
Their home was a single story house, so when her baby grew, she didn't have to worry about him cracking his head open if he decided to wander up a flight of stairs. It was a cute robin egg blue and a maple tree in the front yard with a tire swing roped to the lowest branch.
"How long have you been married?" Shikamaru interrogated, straight faced like this was a really interrogation instead of getting to know the possible adoptive parents.
"Well," Noriko answered sheepishly, "I've lost track after our fifth anniversary, honey."
Daichi grinned and squeezed his wife's shoulder lovingly. "Don't worry about it." To Ino and Shikamaru, he said, "About ten years."
"You two seem to be very busy people. How are you going to make time for the baby?" Shikamaru asked. Ino sat back and relaxed, letting the boy genius do the interrogations.
Daichi answered again, "I go to work about three times a week, so I'll be caring for the baby majority of the time, but Noriko works from six in the morning to three, so she'll also be there. We both have weekends off as well."
"When you do work, who will watch the baby?"
"I will," Noriko said, smiling politely at Shikamaru. "Daichi works night shifts. Our schedules work out very well."
Noriko and Daichi were the ideal couple, Ino thought as she listened to their stories and their desire to be parents. Both were kind hearted and down-to-Earth, aware that raising a child is a duty rather than a responsibility and both were ready to take on their duties as parents. It was charming.
The third and last adoptee candidate was Tanaka Kanna, a single mother who lost her husband to a mission a couple years ago. Ino remembered hearing about the mission, an A-ranked mission to Grass to retrieve something stolen from Konohagakure and only one person made it out alive. The item was not retrieved due to the sole survivor attempting to save his friends. Later on, the survivor died in the hospital because of severe burns and blood loss.
"So, you're Ino," Kanna purred as she sat down across from her, winking at Shikamaru who pulled out her chair. Ino wanted to reach over and whack Shikamaru for being nice. "Your father has told me a lot about you," the older woman continued with a polite smile on her face. "You've accomplished a lot at such a young age." Ino felt her eyebrow twitch. Was there some sort of sarcastic demeanor to that question?
"What has my father said about me?" Ino gritted her teeth. Kanna worked with her father—that's why she looked so damn familiar. She was a Black Ops retiree and now worked as a receptionist at the building her father works at.
"Inoichi mainly brags how skilled you are in perfecting jutsu that he couldn't perfect at your age. Girls are always better." Ino heard Shikamaru hum in agreement and when she looked at him; his eyes were glued onto the brunette's appealing appearance. Ino pinched the back of his hand, making him yelp.
Why did Kanna look at Ino with such defiance but with politeness and sympathy? It bugged Ino to no end but Shikamaru seemed to be enchanted by her looks.
"Why is it you want to adopt?"
"I have an eight-year-old girl and since I joined ANBU, I can't have children anymore. I've wanted another child but well, one reason is that my husband is gone and the other is that it's unlawful to reconstruct everything just to have a fifty percent chance of a healthy pregnancy."
Ino empathized for the woman, understanding that at such a young age she couldn't bear children due to a dream that was short lived. Kanna would support her child very well with all that ANBU retirement money saved in the bank but she was a single mother.
"Being a single mother, how are you going to raise the child?"
"I have a very lenient boss and he knows that I'm looking to adopt a newborn. He understands that the first several months are crucial when raising a child and he will give me time off. My boss and I were actually discussing a way for me to work at home, but that idea is still up in the air. My sister is also living with me, and she's been helping me with my daughter since my husband passed."
"What does she do for a living?"
"She's a Jounin representative for foreign relationships or something like that."
Shikamaru cleared his throat and nudged Ino under the table. Both of them knew just how much money anyone who dealt with foreign countries made. Ino was surprised Kanna didn't live in a mansion with her income and her sister's combine.
"I see," Ino gasped.
"It's been a long day," Ino yawned as she and Shikamaru left the library, parting with Kanna who walked in the other direction. "What do you have going on tomorrow?"
"Nothing, I think. Why?"
Ino shrugged. "Just making small talk, I guess." After a prolonged silence, Ino finally said, "I really liked Noriko and Diachi."
"I like Kanna."
"You liked her because she was hot." As much as Ino preferred men, she had to admit that Kanna was one gorgeous woman with nice curves in perfect places and gorgeous curly hair that framed her heart shaped face nicely. Any man would fall in love with those looks.
"You noticed?"
"Men," Ino scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Obviously the first couple is out of the question. I don't even know how we picked them but I am glad we picked Noriko and Diachi. Kanna is questionable."
"How was she questionable?" Shikamaru challenged.
"She was obviously flirting with you. I don't care how much money she makes or what her sister does, she's sketchy. We're just gonna have to discuss this tomorrow over lunch." Ino stuck her tongue at Shikamaru playfully.
"You're just jealous that I'm attracted to her." Shikamaru scoffed this time, "Women…"
Thank you for reading!
I sincerely apologize for such a long wait. I didn't even realize it's been so long since I updated, but I guess that's what you get when you're drowning in freaking school, but I'm hoping this next update won't take a month to write. Sorry again!
Have a splendid day!