Authors Note: I should start by saying that I AM SO SORRY. I wanted to update sooner then this; however, I got more work than I thought for my summer college class. Therefore, to apologize, I decided to write a longer chapter. I hope you enjoy it! Oh and I even started writing this chapter on my birthday, although it took a few days to finish it.
P.S.- I don't own Naruto. If I did, you could just watch this in the anime or manga. Nevertheless, I am just writing this story. =)
What a Life
The sound of jingle bells and merry songs echoed in my head as I rolled under the covers of my bed. My eyes fluttered open and I gazed at the window in my room. Snowflakes fell toward the ground and a thin layer of frost stuck to the glass. As I looked around my room I saw some of the many presents, I had received for Christmas. Three sweaters that had yet to be put away, boots I could wear in the snow, a new doll that had long blonde hair, and blue eyes.
Finally my eyes rested on my book bag. 'That's right school starts again today, Christmas break is over.' I unwrapped myself from my blankets and stepped on the cold floor. Feeling as if I stepped on ice, I wished I had stayed in bed. Quickly, I slipped on my slippers and sluggishly walked out of my room.
Making my way down the hallway, I glanced at the pictures on the wall. There were pictures of my mother and father, pictures of me growing up, some pictures of my father's team. One picture in particular caught my interest. Two toddlers sat together on the floor. One was a boy and the other a girl. The boy had strands of black hair and dark eyes, while the girl had blonde hair and blue eyes. 'I have known Shikamaru way to long.'
The smell of pancakes and melted butter reached my nose and I practically floated into the kitchen. "Ino, good you're awake! Sit down and eat breakfast." My mother said. I sat at the table next to my father and ate my pancakes as he read the paper.
Laughing came from outside the window and I realized that children were already outside. Some were playing in the snow and others were making their way to school. Quickly I ran to my room and threw open my closet doors. I slid tights on and then my new long sleeve dress. It was the present I received from the Naras'. Then I tugged on socks and my new snow books. I grabbed my brush and ran it through my hair.
I ran back down the hallway and all but jumped down the stairs. My dad was waiting for me by the door. He grabbed my hat and coat off the hook and helped me put them on. He pushed the door open and we ventured out into the snow. I walked hand-in-hand with my father through the snow-covered streets. Still uneasy of slipping I squeezed my father's hand tighter. "So daddy, Iruka-sensei said he would be learning about chakra control." I beamed up at him. "That's nice sweetheart, just make sure you are careful. Soon you will be throwing shuriken and doing jutsu. My baby is growing up so fast!" He said.
We walked to the front gate of the school and my father released his grip on my hand and bent down to my level. "Okay Ino have fun at school and remember not to walk home alone. I will see you in two weeks when I get home from my mission. I love you." He said as he pulled me into a hug. "I love you too daddy" hugging him back. He stood back up and I turned to walk to the school. Knowing he would be there, I turned around when I got the door and waved goodbye. Then I opened the door and walked inside. I slipped off my coat and hat and put them in my cubby, and walked to my classroom.
As I opened the door, I realized that all the students were standing around. Iruka-sensei was standing in front of the room writing names on the board. "Okay class, there are names on the chairs. Please find your name and sit down in your seat. Before anyone asks, no you cannot switch seats with other students. NARUTO STOP CLIMBING ON THE DESKS." I giggled at the last part; Naruto was always setting into trouble.
'Oh maybe if I am lucky I can sit next to Sakura since she is my best friend, or what if I get to sit next to Sasuke!" I rushed to find my seat. Since Sasuke was the cutest and smartest boy ever, I would have to sit next to him right. I found my name on a chair and sat down. Since I was next to the wall, only one person would sit next to me. 'Who is it, who is it?' I questioned in my head. The chair slid out next to me before I could look at the name and my head snapped around to see who it was.
"Shikamaru, wakeup class has started" angrily I poked him in the head. "Why do I need to be awake, class is so trouble…" "Don't say troublesome Shikamaru; remember Iruka-sensei is going to name squads today." Iruka- sensei walked in and started naming the squads, saying how each three-man squad was picked to be balanced. 'Please, please, please let me be on a squad with Sasuke' I hoped.
The squads continued to be named. "Squad 7, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha." My heart fell when I heard it. It did not help that Sakura was gloating. "I don't get it what do you see in a guy like that, he is not so special." Trying to explain why this bothered me, to Shikamaru, was like trying to talk to a rock, useless. "Jealousy is a terrible thing I would hate to be on your squad."
No sooner then the sentence left my mouth, "Squad 10, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Chouji Akimichi." 'This is perfect, not only am I forced to be on a team with Shikamaru, but Chouji aka Food boy too!' We were the last squad so Iruka-sensei stopped talking for a moment. Then he started to talk about squad leaders.
Iruka-sensei told the class how each squad would meet their Jounin squad leaders after lunch. The only thing I was worrying about was how I was going to survive this. I walked with Shikamaru and Chouji to find somewhere to eat lunch. "How about the balcony over there" Chouji suggested. "Fine, just not anywhere too far away, man this is so troublesome." I rolled my eyes and though about my current situation. As we ate, I decided to announce that the team had to listen to me that is how it would work. Although, I did not like the look Shikamaru gave me, you could tell that he was thinking something annoying.
"If we are all done, we should probably go meet the squad leader now." Shikamaru said. "Who do you guys think it will be? It has to be someone strong, and someone with a lot of patience, oh and also a jounin, of course," I said. Thinking about it I quickly added, "Maybe it is my dad. Who else would be better to teach us then him?"
Shikamaru gave me a bored look and said, "Ino remember, your dad, my dad, and choujis' dad are on a mission. Come to think of it, why were you so surprised to hear we were all on the same team? It is just the next generation of Ino-Shika-Cho. Our dads were on the same team. It is not rocket science. Furthermore, if you wait like five minutes, we will meet out squad leader. Why are you so troublesome?" I rolled my eyes at him and turned to walk away. 'Why didn't I think of that? Duh Ino. Nevertheless, I cannot let Shikamaru know he was right. He is so troublesome. Oh no now I even sound like him, how can this day get any worse!'
We walked into the classroom together and met our squad leader. He was sitting in the front of the classroom waiting for us. "Hello my name is Asuma Sarutobi. I will be the squad leader for team 10. I hope you did not eat a large lunch because I would like to take you to a restaurant, that way we can all get to know each other." He said smiling. "Of course we didn't eat a big lunch, I can eat all the time!" Chouji said enthusiastically. I rolled my eyes, 'oh darn, I ate a whole rice ball for lunch, if I eat more that will throw me off my diet. I know I can go eat now and then run home. On the other hand, maybe I can walk home and eat just a little dinner. What did mom say we were having for dinner tonight?' As I thought this through, I realized that Asuma-sensei was talking to me.
"Ino, hello Ino is anyone in there? Are you okay with going to the restaurant with us?" He said waving his hand in front of my face. Quickly I said, "Yes I'll go." With that, he walked past me, Chouji at his heels. I turned to follow but a hand on my arm stopped me. "What were you thinking about Ino? Don't tell me you are on one of your stupid diets again." Shikamaru scowled at me. "Actually I was just thinking about what is for dinner tonight." I replied only halfway lying. "We can ask my mom when we get to my house. Remember we are going to my house after school today. Then your mom is going to meet us there after the shop closes. Then we are all going to eat dinner together, and you will probably be stuck at my house for hours after dinner, considering the way our moms talk. This is turning into more trouble than it is worth."
He turned to walk away. "Oh and Ino, you know you can't lie to me after all these years. I know you are dieting, and it is stupid. Look at you, how can you think that you need to diet?" I ran after him. He expected me to get mad and yell at him, but I was not going to. I would simply ignore him.
When we caught up with Asuma- sensei and Chouji, they were already at the front doors of the school. We walked through town and I wondered where we were going. We ended up going to Yakiniku Q. I had been here enough with my family to know that it was a restaurant with good food. Actually, Yakiniku Q was famous in Konohagakure for its salted beef tongue.
We sat at a booth and ordered to a server, who smiled a lot at Asuma-sensei. It was as if she forgot that the three genin were there too. 'I have had enough of this, she is completely ignoring us!' "Excuse me Miss, could you take our orders back to the kitchen and stop flirting with our sensei. I would like to eat food before next year please." I smiled as she blushed and walked away. "Well Ino, you don't seem to have any problem expressing you opinions." Asuma-sensei said and laughed.
"I have heard a lot about all of you; some information from Iruka, some from your fathers. Ino you are a very confident and out spoken girl, and like many of the girls in the village, you are very interested in boys and what they think of you. Let me tell now that once training starts, there will not be any time for boys. Chouji you are a very kind, caring, and polite person. Those attributes may be your greatest strength; however, you like to eat. I think I have found a way to use this, as a strength, but only time will tell."
"Lastly, Shikamaru, you seem to be unenthusiastic about everything. I hear that you like to watch clouds, which is a nice hobby, but not during training. But, according to both Shikaku and Iruka, you have a strong moral compass and a strong sense of commitment to your friends. All in all this team seems to be well rounded. If you are anything like your fathers, you will be some of the best ninja in the village." He stopped when the food arrived. The server failed to make any eye contact and scurried off to another table. While the food cooked, he continued to talk.
"Before we eat I would like to tell you about myself. As you know, my name is Asuma Sarutobi and I am a Jounin level ninja. I am not married nor do I have any children. I am typically a laid-back kind of person. I enjoy playing shogi in my spare time. I smoke two packs of cigarettes a day, so if you have a problem with that, get over it now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them whenever you like, if not let's eat."
After Asuma-sensei paid for lunch we all went our separate ways. Chouji walked towards his house, Asuma-sensei disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and Shikamaru and I walked towards his house. The walk was almost silent except for the sound of our shoes scuffing the ground. When we reached the door of the Nara house, Shikamaru walked in and took off his shoes.
"Mom I'm home. Ino is here too." "Okay Shikamaru, Ino would you come in the kitchen for a minute?" she yelled. I took off my shoes and moved to the kitchen. "Ino, your mom stopped by a little while ago and said that she would not be able to make it to dinner tonight, something about one of your cousins being sick. However, she said that you could stay for dinner and of course I won't take no for an answer." I smiled and said "Thank you, is there anything I can do to help?" She replied, "No, no just go on to Shikamarus' room or whatever and I'll call you both when dinner is ready."
I walked out of the kitchen and went to Shikamarus' room. The door was closed but, as I had done for years, I walked right in. Shikamaru was sitting on the floor looking at a shogi board. "I don't get how you play that game, it is so confusing." I said as I lay on the bed. "Not really, all you have to do is capture the opponents king." He said back in a mocking tone. "I would teach you but that would just be too troublesome." "I said not to say that to me again Shikamaru!" My temper ignited. He looked up at me and smirked "Troublesome, troublesome, troublesome."
I lost all rationality and launched myself off the bed. The shogi board tumbled as I pushed Shikamaru down stared at stared at him. "Why are you so annoying, why do you constantly have to annoy me, how are we going to work together on a team if we can't go a day without arguing?" Just then, Mrs. Nara appeared in the doorway. "Actually Ino I could use your help with…" She stopped and stared at us. As the three of us were frozen staring at each other, I realized that I still had Shikamaru pinned to the floor and our faces were literally a few inches apart.
Authors Note: Okay, so I know how everyone just loves cliffhangers. I hate them, but that is just me right? I will update as soon as I can. I know I have another exam coming in the next week or two so, hopefully, I can update before then. In the meantime,… please, please, please comment. Since the chapter is almost twice as long, you all will comment right (Well all meaning anyone who is still reading this)? I love to read comments! Comments brighten my day. Until the next chapter,
Blondegirl09 3