Chapter 3: Something About Yoshino

Shikaku and Yoshino strolled casually down the street toward the cineplex. The night was warm and pleasant, grey-blue clouds back-lit by a full moon drifted across an indigo sky. The moon washed out all but the brightest stars, that and the glaring lights from the marquee as they approached the cinema.

Shikaku cringed – he saw two people approaching them from the other direction and they appeared headed toward the theater as well. Shit! Could this get any worse he wondered to himself. What they hell were they doing here?

Chouza recognized Shikaku and raised one hand to wave to his friend simultaneously jabbing Inoichi viciously in the ribs with his other elbow.

"The fuck…!" Inoichi barked but Chouza jerked his head in the direction of Shikaku and Yoshino.

"Behave!" he hissed in a threatening tone.

Inoichi glanced at the girl with Shikaku. Not bad. Easy enough on the eyes although a little skinny for his tastes. Still, the closer to the bone the sweeter to the m…

Chouza glared at him. "Listen Inoichi," he continued in a lethal whisper, tugging the taller boy's jounin vest and bringing him to a full stop in mid-stride. "I do not have to be able to work your mind-fuck jutsu to know what you're thinking. Do not EVEN try to steal this one from Shikaku! Don't even think about it."

Inoichi was smirking back at his friend and giving him his best 'who, me?' big blue eyes look. "Chouza, what are you saying? I would never…"

Shikaku and Yoshino had entered the ticket line, Shikaku keeping one wary eye on the squabble going on between his two friends.

"The hell you wouldn't! You've done it to him and me both. And what's worse about it is that none of them have meant a thing to you. You're just so damn competitive. You just want to get them in the sack, chalk up another notch on your kunai and then you're done with them. How many girls have you even slept with?"

Inoichi just grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "Who's keeping count?"

"Shit! Inoichi! That's just what I'm talking about. You are! You don't know their names, but I'll bet you DO know how many. Just as long as you're in the lead that's all that matters to you."

The blond haired young man softened his stance. Clearly, this last girl had meant something to Chouza, he'd obviously really stepped on a nerve there. "Look, Chouza, I'm sorry about…about…," Inoichi racked his brain trying to think of the girls name Ayami? Ayama? Aya? That was it! Aya! "I'm really sorry about Aya, guy. I won't let it happen again. Not to you. Not to Nara."

Chouza just shook his head. "You are so full of it, you know that Yamanaka? I'll believe it when I see it."

"Look, man, I said I'm sorry."

"Just forget it okay. Just forget it and leave Nara's girl alone. Alright?"

"Sure. I will. I promise."

Chouza sighed heavily. "Inoichi, my friend, do you know what I wish for you?"

"Whazzat?"

"I hope that you marry the most beautiful girl in Konoha."

"Yeah?" Inoichi grinned. "Thanks."

"Yes. And I hope that the two of you have the most abso-fucking-lutely beautiful daughter this town has ever seen. And that you lie awake at nights for the rest of your life wondering who's in her pants." Chouza smiled beatifically.

"That's cold, bro. That's really cold."

"Thanks." Chouza replied. "Come on, let's go get tickets."

Shikaku and Yoshino were at the refreshment counter by the time the two young men caught up with them. Shikaku sighed. It was inevitable. There was no way he was getting out of introducing them tonight.

As they took their purchases, he and Yoshino paused at the end of the line where Chouza and Inoichi were waiting. "Yoshino, these are my teammates, Chouza Akamichi and Inoichi Yamanaka. Guys, this is Yoshino Sakamoto."

Shikaku kept an eye on Inoichi as the three said a round of 'hellos.'

"So, what are you two here to see tonight, 'Princess Misaka?' " Inoichi asked.

Yoshino had to force herself not to roll her eyes. These guys were after all her date's teammates. Best to be polite to them.

"No, actually we're here for Jiraiya Goketsu," she replied.

Inoichi gave a half laugh, "How'd he talk you into that one?"

Shikaku started to reply but Yoshino spoke up crisply, "I suggested it." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and saw her brows furrowed.

"Well, that was a nice thing for you to do," Inoichi said in a patronizing tone.

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"Well, most girls I know wouldn't be interested in that type of movie…"

"Ahh, I see," she said smiling at him. "Well, maybe I'm not most girls."

Shikaku smiled to himself, realizing he couldn't tell if her smile was sweet or dangerous. He wondered what Inoichi would say next.

"Well, it's understandable, I guess, most girls are pretty taken with the leading man in this one."

Yoshino shook her head. "Maybe so, but I'm more interested in the plot line. It's supposed to be the production that's the most faithful to the original source material. Better even than the Kurasawa versions from the fifties."

"Kuroski."

"I beg your pardon?" Yoshino looked confused.

"Kuroski. Kuroski directed the fifties' version."

Yoshino scowled. "No, he directed the ones in 67, 68 and 71. Kurasawa did the fifties."

"Kuroski."

"Kurasawa."

"Kuroski."

"Kurasawa."

"Listen, blondie," she said with her hands on her hips. "You may think you know something about the history of the genre, but trust me, you're wrong." Part of her was horrified that she'd just called one of her date's teammates, a jounin no less, "blondie." But another, more vocal part of her was damned if she was going to let this newbie misstate facts about her favorite fandom.

They bickered a bit more until Chouza and Inoichi made their purchases. The four of them made their way to seats, Shikaku keeping a careful eye on Inoichi, just in case. But when the opening montage of the film included a brief history and homage to the franchises that had gone before that vindicated Yoshino's position, Shikaku saw something he never thought he would have seen before in his friend's eyes. Adoration. Not lust. But adoration. It was almost as if Inoichi had found a long lost sister. And even though she spent as much time whispering plot points in Inoichi's ear as she did leaning comfortably against Shikaku, for the first time in his dating career he felt that Inoichi wasn't going to poach his girl.

It was freakin' weird.

After the movie let out, the four were on their way to the dango shop, Yoshino continuing to awe Inoichi with her font of useless knowledge about Goketsu trivialities. Inoichi looked at Shikaku and positively beamed. Shikaku thought he'd never seen his friend look more like a…a…puppy before.

"Shikaku, she's great! Where did you find her?"

Shikaku just shook his head. "I told you, you guys ditched me, left me for a mission to the Land of Rain," he looked down at Yoshino, and smirked, "and I got stuck with her." She smiled back up at him.

They were at the door of the dango shop when two ANBU appeared as if from out of nowhere. The four stopped in their tracks as one ANBU raised his hand. "Chouza Akamichi?"

"Yes," Chouza answered carefully, wondering what this was all about.

"And Inoichi Yamanaka?" the ANBU asked turning his attention toward Shikaku's other friend. Inoichi simply nodded.

"You two were on a mission to the Land of Rain during the chuunin exams recently, is that correct?"

Both Chouza and Inoichi acknowledge that that was indeed correct.

"Can you come with us, please. We have some questions about that mission."

Chouza and Inoichi looked wide eyed at Shikaku and shrugged, then left with the two ANBU.

Yoshino and Shikaku went on in and split an order of dango. But there wasn't much conversation to speak of. Shikaku was obviously curious and concerned about what his friends were needed for. They left after only a very short while.

As they'd walked towards her home his hand had slipped down to hers and their fingers twined together. Her hand was small in his and warm, soft too. It just felt so…right.

The clouds had cleared somewhat and since they were not as prevalent, scattering the moonlight, more constellations were visible. He'd started to point some out to her, but foolishly realized that she would have obviously had the same academy classes in astronomy and navigation by night that he had. So they'd made a game of it, to see who could point out a constellation first.

It had worked well until she had said 'Corvus' and he thought she said 'Lepus'. He'd pointed one direction and she the other. This left them still holding hands on one side with their arms on the other side crossed. He took her right hand in his left and pulled her to him, seeing her face tipped up in the moonlight. He looked at her eyes, full of that same moonlight and thought that he could just fall right in. Dipping his face lower to hers he brushed his lips against hers.

When they pullled away from each other, her heart was hammering in her chest. When she'd been little, she'd found a baby bird once and held it in her hands trying to return it to its nest. She had felt its heartbeat racing beneath her fingertips. Yoshino wondered if Shikaku realized that's how her heart was sounding now.

"I, uh, I, uh, should be getting on home…now," she stammered.

He sighed and kissed the top of her head. "Okay." Then hand in hand they'd finished the walk back to her home.

They stood on her front porch, time to say goodnight. This time his hand that wasn't holding hers slid around to the small of her back, cinching her close to him. When she parted her lips beneath his and he slipped his tongue into her mouth tasting her, tracing and exploring her, she was thankful that he was holding her because she didn't think at that moment she could stand on her own. She swayed into him, circling both her hands behind his head, drawing herself up against him, opening her mouth more to let him probe more deeply with his tongue.

Her blood was thrumming in her veins, heat deep inside of her like she'd never felt before. He slid his hands down from the small of her back, over the curve of her butt, lifting her against him. Sliding his hands back up he slid them under her tunic, up her hips, fingers at the waistband of her hakima, his hands warm against her skin, fingers dipping hesitantly against the waistband and…

The porch light came on.

"I–I–I should go now," she stammered, pulling her face back from his but he still held her body tight against him.

Shikaku kissed his way across her cheek to rumble in her ear, "I'll see you tomorrow? In the mission assignment room?" His voice was hoarse, his beard scratching against her cheek, wonderfully rough.

"Yeah…um…yes…I'll…see you tomorrow," she whispered back to him, and the two of them pulled apart slowly, fingertips lingering, still touching as she turned to walk in the door.

Shikaku took a deep breath, standing on the porch. It was going to be a helluva a long time until tomorrow morning. He hoped Inoichi and Chouza were back from their meeting with the ANBU freaks. What the fuck was that all about, anyway?