Chapter two: A free day with friends!
I had some trouble with this one since it was a complete re-write. Hardly anything from the original is left.
Enjoy?
Disclaimer: If I owned it, then I wouldn't need to write fanfiction.
...
That following day the newly graduated Genin were required to have their pictures taken for registration as official Shinobi. The forms would be approved by the Lord Hokage himself.
Akina made sure to put on her best outfit and even polished the metal plate of her forehead protector. Sadly there was nothing she could really do for her hair; the feathered strands fluffed this way and that as they pleased and nothing she tried could tame the violet mop.
With an exasperated sigh, she left the bathroom and headed to the kitchen, where Mai was waiting for her.
"Ayame. Akito. Our baby girl is growing up!" the woman gushed with tears in her dark eyes.
"Aunt Mai... Please don't overreact. I'm only a genin." Akina shook her head and sat down at the table. Her appointment with the photographer wasn't until noon, so she had plenty of time to eat breakfast.
Mai tutted and turned to the counter. "Well anyway. In honor of this once-in-a-lifetime occasion I made your favorite breakfast!"
Akina's pale eyes widened and she contemplated running away. "Y-you made it?"
Mai glared at the girl, noticing her reaction. "Okay, fine... I asked a neighbor to help me."
The girl sighed in relief, sinking back into her chair. "I feel safer now."
The woman gave the girl a sour glance and placed a bowl of white rice, a bowl of miso soup, and a plate with rolled omelet, broiled fish, and pickled plums in front of the girl.
"Yumm! Itadakimasu!" Akina clapped her hands together and bowed over the table before picking up a pair of chopsticks. She smiled up at Mai. "Thank you, Aunt Mai!"
The woman couldn't help but smile back, tears forming at the corners of her eyes again. "Anything for you, sweetheart." she patted Akina's head and turned to grab her own breakfast.
The two ate in a pleasant silence for a while.
"Sasuke passed as well?" Mai asked suddenly.
Akina chewed her food slowly and swallowed before answering. "Of course he did."
"We should celebrate with him as well." Mai chirped.
Akina stood, picking up her empty dishes, and walked over to place them into the sink. "I'll be at Shikamaru's, so feel free." She turned on the faucet and grabbed a sponge.
Mai followed her goddaughter with her eyes. "Akina... I know Sasuke said things that upset you before, but you two are the only family each other has left. You used to be such good friends."
Akina paused in washing the dishes, the running water was the only thing that made sound for a long moment. "I really can't stand the way he looks at me." she shut the tap off and turned to leave. "I'll be at Shikamaru's."
The girl left the room and put her sandals on in the entry way before heading out the door. She would be a little early for her appointment, but that was okay.
...
Akina had to wait until the kid before her had finished their shoot, which had taken an entire hour. She never saw who the other kid was, but she was grateful when her name had finally been called.
Getting her photo taken only took a couple minutes and Akina had the remainder of the day free. She had already told Mai that she would be at Shikamaru's, so the girl headed in that direction.
Along the way to Shikamaru's house Akina found herself suddenly tackled from behind, arms were wrapped around her shoulders and a mop of fluffy brown hair tickled her cheek. There was also the distinct smell of dog.
"Hey, Akina!" a familiar voice drawled in her ear.
"Let go of me, Kiba..." the girl growled, elbowing him in the gut.
The boy released her with a pained moan and held his stomach instead. "C'mon! That was uncalled for!"
Akina turned to glare at the boy, Inuzuka Kiba. He wasn't a bad guy, just far too excitable, like a spoiled puppy. "Kiba, I've told you many times not to grab onto me like that."
He raised his hands in defense. "Sorry, sorry. I just saw you and it's been a while, so I got excited."
Despite his demeanor, Akina liked Kiba. He was an energetic relief to Shikamaru's laziness.
It also helped that his family raised dogs. Akina liked dogs.
"Where's Akamaru?" She asked suddenly, crossing her arms.
The boy sighed and unzipped his jacket. A furry white muzzle popped out with a bark. Akina's eyes lit up and she instantly plucked the little puppy from inside Kiba's jacket and cradled him in her arms.
"Akamaru! You're so cute!" She cuddled the pup and nuzzled her nose into the top of his head. To this Akamaru happily wagged his tail.
Kiba gave the two a sour glare. "Jeez. Wish I was a dog."
"What's that?" Akina tilted her head at the boy, her pale eyes narrow with challenge.
The boy's face tinted red and he glanced away. "Never mind."
The girl giggled evilly and continued to smother Akamaru.
"Anyway... where were you going?" Kiba asked, glancing sideways at the two.
"I was going to Shikamaru's and then Choji's to see if they wanted to hang out." She shrugged.
"Can I come?" the boy asked with a hopeful tone.
Akina shrugged again. "Sure, I don't really mind."
Kiba's eyes lit up and she was certain that if the boy had a tail it would be wagging.
The two continued towards Shikamaru's house with Akina in the lead and Kiba following behind. The girl cuddled and cooed at the puppy in her arms the whole way, causing Kiba to roll his eyes at her multiple times.
Before long they reached the Nara residence and Akina called up to the open window of Shikamaru's bedroom. "Hey, Shika! Shiiiiikaaaa~!"
"What?!" Suddenly a head popped out from inside the room and Shikamaru glared down at the girl. "Akina? We didn't plan to meet up today, did we?"
Akina gave a huff and glared right back. "Oh, do I need an appointment to see you now? If that's the case, then I will just leave. Come on, Kiba." the girl began walking off and Shikamaru seemed to notice just then that the other boy was present.
"Fine! Wait right there! I'm coming down." He grumbled before disappearing from view.
The violet-haired girl continued to walk away, but much slower than before. After she had moved about ten paces Shikamaru stepped out from the front doorway, hands in his pockets and a scowl on his face. "Akina, stop! I didn't mean it that way." the Nara boy insisted, then sent an annoyed glance in Kiba's direction. "What's he doing here anyway?"
"Kiba is spending time with me, unlike someone else." Akina snipped back, her nose turned up in the air.
"Akina..." Shikamaru sighed and shook his head. "I'm down here now."
"Not good enough." she replied, refusing to look at him.
The boy sighed yet again, looking defeated. "I'll buy you lunch."
Akina turned just enough to glance at him from the corner of her eye. "That's it?"
Shikamaru's expression grew annoyed. "For the next week."
The girl faced him fully and pouted. "Do you honestly think my love can only be bought with food?"
"That's usually the case..." He replied mildly, glancing away from the face that hovered directly in front of his own, his cheeks coloring slightly.
Akina huffed and turned away. "You are sooo unromantic, Shikamaru."
The boy blinked in confusion. "Wait...what did you want, then?"
"Too late now! You will be buying me lunch for the next week." the girl walked off, feeling quite accomplished.
Kiba stepped up next to Shikamaru, placing a hand on the other boy's shoulder. "Looks like you lost that one."
Shikamaru sighed, hanging his head. "She always manages to do that to me."
Kiba patted his friend's shoulder. "It's okay, man. She does that to everyone."
After another moment of despair the two boys followed Akina and Shikamaru soon realized they were heading in the direction of Choji's house.
"So were you just bored?" Shikamaru asked, giving her a dull stare.
Akina didn't bother to turn around when she replied, continuing along the path to Choji's. "I had the rest of the day free."
"You and Mai have a fight?" Shikamaru strode up next to the girl, concerned now. "Is it about Sasuke again?" He held an edge to his tone when speaking the other boy's name.
"It's nothing serious. Aunt Mai just wants to celebrate Sasuke graduating." Akina kept her face turned away. "I don't want to be there, simple as that."
Shikamaru sighed and reached out to grab her shoulder, stopping her mid-step. "You can spend the night at my house if you want."
She turned a sly eye to the taller boy. "Ohh?"
Now it was his turn to look away, though Akina could still see the color on his cheeks. "Forget I said anything! You can go home!"
"Hey! What are you guys talking about?" Kiba asked, popping his head between the other two.
"We're here!" Akina slipped out of Shikamaru's hold and ran up ahead. "Choji!"
By the time she reached the house Choji was opening the door with a confused look on his face. "Akina?" He then looked past the girl. "Shika and Kiba, too?"
The other two boys waved when they approached the household.
"Wanna hang out?" Akina chirped, smiling happily.
Choji glanced back and forth between the other three. "Uh, sure. I don't have any plans until dinner."
"Alright!" Akina cheered happily. Akamaru barked with equal joy from within her arms.
...
The foursome found themselves in a small clearing in the middle of some trees. This was their usual hang-out spot where they often played and trained.
"To think this could be the last time we get to spend together like this for a while. We will all be busy as Genin." Akina walked out into the middle of the clearing and placed Akamaru onto the ground before flopping onto her back atop the thick grass.
Shikamaru joined her on the ground. "We're just Genin, so I doubt we'll be that busy."
Choji also joined them. "We can always make time for each other."
Kiba left Akamaru to run around in the clearing and sat down cross-legged in the grass. "So who do you guys want to be teamed with?"
Akina sat up on her elbows. "Kiba, you know that we don't get to chose, right?"
"Yeah." Kiba shrugged. "But we can still talk about who we want to be paired with, right?"
"That's true." The girl nodded. "I would be okay with any of you guys. And Hinata."
"Akina and Choji, definitely." Shikamaru announced without hesitation.
"I also just want to be in the same group with Shikamaru and Akina." Choji added his own in.
Kiba let out an exaggerated sighed. "I guess I should've expected answers like that from you guys."
"Well, what about you, then?" Choji asked him.
The boy appeared to think deeply on that question before answering. "Two hot girls."
Akina sent the Inuzuka boy a sour glare.
Shikamaru sighed. "Kiba, are you an idiot?"
Kiba pouted in true puppy dog fashion. "Well, if we're dreaming."
"That's certainly a dream." Both Akina and Shikamaru muttered at the same time.
"Excuse me for being a hopeful single guy." Kiba muttered, sending the two a pouty glare.
Akina sat up to pet the boy's fluffy head. "Let's just get through puberty first before you start worrying about being single, okay?" She laughed at the embarrassment on all three of the boys faces.
Shikamaru snorted. "You are the only girl who would say something like that without shame."
Akina laughed again. "It's not something I worry about."
The four of them sat in the clearing for a long time; telling jokes and laughing at old memories.
Eventually the day began to grow late.
Choji stood up and brushed his shorts off. "Well, I'm off. I think I can smell dinner from here."
"Aww! Already?" Akina pouted and rolled around in the grass. She had hoped to spend more time with her friends.
"Yeah. Sorry, Akina." Choji scratched the back of his head.
Then Kiba stood up and stretched. "Akamaru and I should be getting back, too." There was a bark of agreement from a small patch of taller grass a few feet away.
Akina reached out for the pup. "Akamaruuu! Come say goodbye!"
The little white dog hurriedly walked over to the girl and allowed her to pick him up.
Akina hugged him and nuzzled her nose between his ears. "I wish I could take you home with me." Akamaru barked, his tail wagging.
"Traitor..." Kiba muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. "Come on, Akamaru. Let's get you your dinner."
With another bark the little dog leapt from Akina's arms and followed his owner.
Kiba and Choji both left, waving their goodbyes.
Once the two had gone out of sight Akina laid back onto the grass with a sigh.
"I was serious, you know." Shikamaru suddenly spoke.
"About what?" the girl asked, distracted by the clouds, which were just starting to turn pink and gold.
"About spending the night at my house if you don't want to go home. I'm sure mom wouldn't mind." Shikamaru leaned over Akina, grabbing her attention.
Violet eyes locked with dark brown. "That's nice of you."
"I'm not just doing it to be nice, you know." He glanced away, his face flushing.
"Then it's very cunning of you." she giggled.
"T-that's not it, either!" the boy huffed. "I just..."
Akina smiled and sat up, kissing Shikamaru's cheek. "I know. Thank you."
He sat back, his face turned away. "Y-yeah..."
"I guess it is starting to get late, huh?" Both of them looked to the sky, which had quickly changed to bright hues of gold, pink, and purple. The sun was starting to set.
"Guess so..." Shikamaru stood and held his hand out for Akina, which she happily took, allowing him to help her up.
"Are you going home?" he asked as they left the clearing.
She hummed in thought and was about to say something when suddenly someone stood in front of them. "S-Sasuke..."
The Uchiha boy had his arms crossed and appeared to be in a worse mood than usual. "Mai sent me to find you."
"I already told her that I wasn't going to be home." The girl still held Shikamaru's hand and huddled herself closer to her best friend.
The two boys glared at each other before Sasuke turned his attention back to his cousin. "I'm not leaving without you."
With an exasperated sigh Akina let go of Shikamaru's hand and gave him an apologetic smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah." The Nara boy nodded, his hand losing warmth as her fingers slipped away.
Akina walked away with Sasuke, who had started to leave as soon as she'd given in. "Could you possibly be in a nastier mood?"
He turned to glare at her, black eyes boring into violet. "I've been looking for you for over an hour."
"Not my fault." she muttered, kicking a pebble.
Neither of them spoke after that until they returned to Akina's house.
"Oh! Akina, you came home..." Mai seemed quite shocked when the pair walked into the house.
"Didn't you send Sasuke out to find me?" the girl questioned, a feeling of suspicion crawling over her.
Mai shook her head and glanced to the boy, who refused to face either of them. "Sasuke?"
"She's here now, so don't make a fuss over it." he replied grumpily.
Akina crossed her arms with a huff. "You cunning little jerk."
"Akina, let's not fight, please. I'm glad that both of you are here." Mai attempted to calm the two pre-teens. "Come on, now. Dinner will be getting cold."
"Did you cook?" both of the children spoke at once then gave each other an odd stare.
Now Mai huffed in anger. "No... I didn't. And I would appreciate it if the two of you would stop acting as though my food is poison."