AN: This chapter was written about a month ago. I'm a NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison and things have been crazy. I probably won't update until the end of November, I'm hoping to get a good chunk of this written in November and return to uploading in December. (Who knows, I may upload during the month after all, knowing me).
This chapter is a lighthearted one, so I hope that it can bring a small light in a difficult time for many.
The culture of Uzushiogakure is rooted in Indigenous stories. The aftermath of a genocide was a large turning point in the first work in this series. All of this was drawn from my experience studying history. I know fanfic is an escape for many including myself, but it would be irresponsible and honestly shitty of me to just post a light hearted chapter and not even mention the active genocide that is happening. Especially since so many of the things from the first series were drawn from historical events so similar to what is currently happening to Palestinians, both in Gaza and the West Bank.
No one should be forced to live in an open air prison. No one should have to worry about whether or not a school or hospital is a safe place. I have seen too many videos of murdered children, too many videos of men collapsing after spending days sorting through rubble with their bare hands in the hopes of finding someone alive, and heard way too many stories of journalists and their families being targeted and murdered.
Shireen Abu Akleh's murder and the brutal beatings by the IDF of mourners broke me last year. This morning, I saw a picture of the monument to her, bombed by Israel. Even in death they will not allow her peace.
To quote Fannie Lou Hamer, "Nobody's free until everybody's free."
From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.
Palestinians are a resilient people, but they need our help. Please, share their stories, their experiences, sign petitions, participate in the boycott of Starbucks and McDonalds, and write and call your elected officials to demand a ceasefire NOW. If you'd like more information on how to get involved, please look up Jewish Voice for Peace, Amnesty International, and ceasefiretoday.
"This is a new training ground," I say as we come to a stop. Reiji seems confused as well, so it must not be their regular training ground.
"It is," Sensei says as he walks towards the center of the clearing. Trees surround us in a circle, reminding me of our original training ground as a team. But this one is different. There's a pond on the north side, dense bushes on the east. Training posts on the west, and heavy tree coverage on the south side.
"Good," Sensei says, pulling my attention back to him. "You both were taking in the natural landscape. You should be doing that always when you're leading a mission."
"Leading?" I ask and Sensei nods.
"Reiji was recently promoted, so he only has one mission as team leader under his belt. One where he was supervised." Sensei says as he sits down in the grass. I follow his lead, stretching my feet out in front of me and leaning back on my hands. Reiji sits down beside me, his entire body seems tense. I lean closer to him slightly, bumping my shoulder against his.
He relaxes slightly and his kikai thrum louder.
"I was promoted, so I thought that I did an adequate job as team leader," Reiji says.
"You did, but there's always room for improvement. You two are very similar in some aspects, so I thought you could work together to overcome some of your weaknesses."
Sensei's words remind me of our first time sitting together in a training field as team twenty.
"Please tell me your names, your immediate family's names, your chakra natures if you are aware, your strengths, and your weaknesses. You may start," Sensei gestured to Minoru who nodded before answering.
"My name is Akimichi Minoru, my mom is Misaki and I have a little sister named Miki." Sensei nodded for him to continue. "I have the chakra nature of fire and my strengths are my clan techniques and using a bo. My weaknesses are my speed and ninjutsu."
"Good, next?" He asked as he looked at Reiji.
"I am Aburame Reiji. My parents are Renjiro and Hiromi and my little sister is Hideko. My chakra nature is earth. My strengths are my clan techniques and genjutsu. My weaknesses are in taijutsu and my chakra reserves."
"Good, next?" Sensei repeated as he gestured for me to speak.
"I'm Uzumaki Kikuko, my twin brother is Uzumaki Naruto. My chakra natures are water and wind." I saw Sensei raise an eyebrow at that, but continued anyway. "My strengths are my fuinjutsu skills and sensor ability, and my weaknesses are my genjutsu, chakra control, and shurikenjutsu."
Reiji and I didn't have the same weaknesses. I've always been a chakra monster, and in the years I've been away, Reiji has raised his levels significantly. I don't know how his taijutsu is at this point, but after working on it so much in Uzu, I've improved my already decent Uzu taijutsu, too.
And Reiji has never struggled with genjutsu or shurikenjutsu.
"Any ideas, Kikuko?" Sensei asks and I shake my head.
"Reiji?" He shakes his head as well.
"Do you remember what I said my weaknesses were when you were younger?" Sensei asks.
"My name is Hyuga Oda. I have no immediate family, my chakra natures are earth and fire. My strengths are my clan jutsu and my ninjutsu. My weaknesses are my clan jutsu and my bukijutsu."
"Your clan jutsu?" Reiji and I ask at the same time. I look over at him and grin, leaning on my left hand more so I can raise my right hand for a high five. A satisfying slap fills the clearing.
Sensei shakes his head at us when I drop my hand back to the ground and look back at him.
"But our clan techniques are different," I say. Reiji nods beside me.
"Reiji, you rely heavily on your kikaichu to monitor the area around you," Sensei says before turning to me. "And Kiku-chan, you heavily rely on your sensory ability to monitor the area around you."
"Ah, that makes sense," I say and Sensei's lip quirks up slightly.
"I would hope so," he says. "Now, up both of you, we're not training here."
"We're not?" Reiji asks.
"No, you both will be training in a changing environment, with various traps and attacks aimed towards you for the rest of the day."
"The rest of the day?" I ask. Sensei smiles and it's worse than anyone's killer intent.
"What did you do?" I ask Reiji.
"I didn't do anything! What did you do?" He asks me, just as panicked.
"This has nothing to do with punishing you both," Sensei says as he stands up. "It has everything to do with making sure you both return home so I can continue to punish you for years."
"You're so sweet, Oda-Sensei," Reiji teases.
"An unfamiliar environment?" I ask, Sensei's original direction coming back to the front of my mind.
"Yes, a changing environment, Kiku-chan." He sounds so happy. I flop back on the ground and cover my eyes with my arm.
"I'm just gonna nap here instead."
"No you won't," Sensei kicks my foot lightly. "Now both of you, up. They don't open this training ground for just anyone anymore, you know."
"What training ground?" Reiji asks.
"The forest of death!" I whine. Reiji groans and I move my arm slightly to see him as he forces himself to stand.
"Let's get this over with."
"He said all day, Reiji!"
"The sooner we start, the sooner we can prank him."
"I'm right here," Sensei says, his hands on his hips.
"Plan seven-five-six?" I ask Reiji and he smiles.
"Plan seven-five-six."
"What did I do to get a team of monsters?" Sensei asks under his breath as I take Reiji's offered hand to stand up.
This is going to be fun.
I'm going to be sore for a week. Sensei is the real monster of our team. I didn't know he could use wind and water jutsu, too. It was brutal. I shake my head before opening the bathroom door in front of me.
I dry my hair as I stumble through the house.
The wooden floors are warm under my feet. The house is generally quiet minus some muted sounds coming from the kitchen and dining room. One of the deer had a difficult birth, leading to it and its fawn hanging out inside of the house.
Yoshino didn't even bat an eye when Shikaku walked in with them. She just set about grabbing blankets and pillows for them to hang out in the dining room together.
The Nara home's ability to make me sleepy seems to have not gone away with age. I struggle to keep my eyes open until I hear a noise near the front door. I head that direction, expecting to see Ensui here for family dinner. But I pause when I see who's there.
His clothes are filthy, his flak jacket is covered in sand. His movements are slow, tired, as he pulls off his sandals and mission pack. I smile at him as he leans back and closes his eyes.
Shikamaru is effortlessly beautiful. Always.
Even when he's covered in grime from a mission.
"We really need to stop meeting like this," I say quietly as I drape my towel over my shoulder. His eyes snap open and he looks over at me so quickly that I think he might give himself whiplash. His eyes are wild as he looks me up and down. Taking in every sliver of skin he can to make sure I'm not hurt.
It takes him some time before his eyes turn soft. He pushes himself up and shrugs off his flak jacket, letting it drop on the tiled floor of the genkan. He steps up onto the wooden floor and walks straight to me until he stops, just a foot in front of me.
His hands come up and hold the top of my arms.
"It's not fair that you got taller than me," I pout up at him.
"It's not fair that you can look so cute," he says as he finally pulls me into a hug. He smells of patchouli and the forest, even after being gone for a week. My arms wrap around his waist as I bury my face in his neck.
"I've missed you."
"I've missed you too, hime." A small noise comes out of the back of my throat on its own and I feel him smile against the top of my head. I nuzzle closer to him and he hums softly, easily taking on my weight even after his mission.
"Welcome home, son," Shikaku's voice fills the hall.
"Thanks dad," he says. It's clear from his tone of voice he's happy he's home. It makes the small, nagging, part in the back of my mind that's on edge every time I hear he's in Suna finally calm down.
"Time to wake up, kiddo," Shikaku says as I hear him step closer. I shake my head against Shikamaru's shoulder. I hear Shikamaru huff out a laugh as his hand starts rubbing my back.
"I thought you wanted to get that free taiyaki I owed you?" Shikaku asks.
"This is better. I'll stay here."
"No you won't, Shikamaru needs to shower before he even thinks about coming in my dining room!" Yoshino says as she barrels into the room.
"But-"
"No buts, you and Shikaku need to get out of this house. I'll watch the deer," she says and I can practically see her shooing us out the door with her hands, even with my eyes closed.
"Deer?" Shikamaru asks.
"Momo-chan had a difficult birth, but she and the baby are okay." Shika relaxes in my arms when I finish speaking.
"Still can't believe you named her peaches."
"Shut up."
"Make me."
"Oh this is disgusting," Ensui says from behind Shikamaru. I snicker and finally move my head up to look at him.
"I had to see you with your tongue shoved down-"
"Nope!" Ensui shakes his head.
"Shoved down what?" Yoshino asks behind me. I feel her hands in my hair, pulling it into a single braid that goes down my back.
"A random girl's throat," I huff. Shikamaru groans and hides his face in my shoulder.
"Kiku-chan you didn't have to tell me that."
"We were drunk, it's nothing," Ensui rolls his eyes.
"I wasn't drunk. I'm going to have to remember that with my sober brain forever, ugh." Yoshino tugs slightly on my hair to scold me. "What? Ensui-ojisan deserves better, someone who will take care of him and force him to stay in the village more often! Plus I want little cousins to spoil, I need to learn how to take care of kids before I have my own ya know?"
Ensui's face turns bright pink and I burst out into giggles. It's just like teasing him when I was younger.
There's a beat where Shikamaru's entire body turns still. And then he chokes and sways slightly.
"Shika? Are you okay?" I ask, pulling back slightly, but he keeps his face hidden in my shoulder. "Shika, do you need to sit down? You need to quit pushing yourself so much-" He doesn't say anything while the adults in the room laugh.
"What?" I huff, looking between them, but all I get is Shikaku shaking his head at me.
"Come on, let's give Shikamaru time to take a shower-"
"Dad!" Shikamaru whines as he pulls away. His face is bright pink. Yoshino laughs from behind me as she places a hand on Shikamaru's upper arm, pulling him slightly.
"Go shower, by the time you're done they'll probably be back from their taiyaki run and we can eat dinner," she says.
"Fine," he mumbles before he leans down and kisses my forehead. "Be good, troublesome girl."
"You can't tell an Uzumaki to be good," I tell him, my hands fall to rest on my hips. Shikamaru groans as he walks around me, brushing against one of my arms as he goes back into the house. He pulls the towel with him as he goes.
"Thanks Shika!" I smile back at him and he waves slightly.
"Kami, I can't wait for you to start hitting him over the head with a wooden spoon," Ensui snickers as he finally steps up out of the genkan. "You and Yoshino will need to get matching outfits."
"Did I just?" I tilt my head and when I turn around, Yoshino has her hand over her mouth as her entire body shakes with silent laughter.
"Come on, little fawn. Let's head out before you start telling me to do my paperwork, too," Shikaku says as he pulls me to the genkan.
"You should be-" One look from Shikaku combined with Ensui and Yoshino's choked laughter stops me from finishing my sentence. "No fair. I have to do it and I'm not even twenty." I put my sandals on quickly when I see Shikaku looking at me. He's planning some-
-thing.
Yoshino breaks and cackles as Shikaku throws me over his shoulder.
"You're going to be the death of me," he says as soon as I stop fighting him.
"You're the one holding me upside down!"
"I wouldn't have to if you weren't so lazy and would walk on your own."
"I walked all the way here from Tenzo and Kashi-niisan's house!"
"That's not even five minutes," Shikaku sounds so tired but I smile as he shifts me around so he's giving me a piggyback ride.
"Love you too, old man." He makes a wounded noise.
But he still buys me taiyaki.
"I'm sorry, what?" I stare at the woman in front of me and she smiles.
"Wear something other than the vest and bindings. It's not a seduction mission but if we're both wearing something that shows a little skin it'll cut off a few days from the total mission time."
I blink at her. I have so many seals to make, still…
"What the fuck, alright," I shake my head as I turn back into my apartment. I hear Anko's laugh as she follows me inside.
"You know, I'm really starting to like you, Uzumaki."
"I didn't invite you inside," I say over my shoulder as I walk into the bedroom.
"Good thing I'm not a vampire then!" She practically chirps as she pushes past me to look through my closet. I watch her for a second before I go back to my bed, flopping down on my side and covering myself with a blanket.
"Oooh, this is pretty!" She says as she holds an orange romper up to look at it. "But we're not going for pretty," she pauses with the hanger still in her hand as she tilts her head. "Or are we?" She hums quietly before she shrugs to herself and puts the clothing back in the closet.
"No, I think we're going for not trying to be sexy, sexy." Anko says and I choke, pulling the blanket over my head. "Oh come on, it'll be fun! Men are always the easiest to track!"
"We're tracking?" I ask, popping out of the top of my blanket. She turns around and shakes her head at me.
"We are, now fix your hair," she rolls her eyes as she turns back to my closet.
"Uh, how?" I ask as I sit up in my bed.
"Out of your face maybe? I don't really work with fuinjutsu anymore so whatever is best for that and running," she shrugs as she leans further back into my closet. I walk into my bathroom and sigh as soon as I see the frizzy mess that is my hair.
I see my cheeks puff out in the mirror as I start wetting my hair. I eventually pull it back into a braid before I hear an excited noise from the bedroom.
"Do I want to know?" I ask as I walk into the room. Anko smiles as she turns around.
"These," she holds up a pair of tight dark green leggings that come down to my mid calf. They were great for when I needed to get certain plants from some of the streams in Uzu. "And this!" A black tank top that I never planned to wear in public.
"For a mission," I say slowly and she nods before she throws them at me. "I'm wearing my haori, too."
"That's fine, meet us at the gates in twenty!" She waves over her shoulder as she climbs out of my bedroom window. I shake my head as she leaves the apartment and sigh.
"There's a door literally ten feet away."
There's a quiet snicker and I turn to see Haruto walking out of the closet. The hawk flies over and lands on my shoulder.
"How did you hide from her?"
"I'm a ninja!" He squawks.
"Uh-huh," I nod as I pull the scroll from his leg.
"Just a letter from your abuelo, don't worry about reading it right away if you've got a mission," he says before he starts picking at my hair.
"I already have a mission pack, I can read it now."
"Really?" Haruto asks. "You normally don't plan that far ahead, Kiku-chan," he teases and I stick my tongue out at him.
"Shika was being a mother hen," I say as I walk over to my bed. "Now off, I want to change my clothes." Haruto huffs before he flies to rest on my headboard. Shikamaru's worried face flashes in the front of my mind.
"What do you mean you don't have a mission pack ready to go?" Shikamaru asked, his voice was just a pitch higher, his bottom lip jutted out a tiny bit.
"I don't have one? I only did a couple things for Tsunade baa-chan while I was gone, so I just packed what I needed for that trip," I shrugged. Shikamaru made a clicking noise and it reminded me of both Kairi snapping her beak shut and Yoshino making the same noise when she noticed I wasn't eating enough as a kid.
"You need a basic mission pack ready to go for emergencies, Kiku-chan." He said before he stood from his spot across the shogi board. Shikamaru never stops a game of shogi half-way through.
He held a hand out for me and I let him pull me to my feet. He dragged me through the house, his grip tight on my hand as we walked into the living room. Shikaku sat on the couch, a file in one hand while his other hand carded through Yoshino's hair as she rested with her head in his lap.
He just raised an eyebrow at us as we walked in.
"I thought you two were playing shogi," he said quietly.
"I was checking to make sure she was ready to be on active duty and she doesn't have a mission pack!" Shikamaru whisper yelled.
"Kikuko," Shikaku chided. I pouted at him and he caved immediately, his eyes softened as his shoulders dropped slightly. "Take her to get one put together," he said to Shikamaru.
"I was already planning to," Shika rolled his eyes. "We'll be home in time for dinner," he pulled me out of the room, barely giving me enough time to wave at Shikaku on our way out.
I've rarely seen Shikamaru move as fast as he did as he pulled me through the Nara compound.
"Shikamaru?" Junpei asked as soon as we stepped into a building I haven't been in before.
"She needs a mission pack," Shikamaru sighed as he pulled me to stand beside him.
"I still can't believe they let your clumsy ass be a chunin," Junpei teased.
"So mean to me," I huffed.
"Your pout won't work on me like it does on Shikamaru and Ino-chan, little hime," Junpei said as he motioned for us to go through the door. "Good luck," he whispered to Shikamaru. I turned around and glared at the chunin. He just smiled back.
"I think he's your most annoying cousin."
"He is half Yamanaka," Shikamaru smirked.
"Is that how he knew my pouting works on Ino?"
"Yes," Shika rolled his eyes. "You have a type."
"Struggling geniuses with zero emotional intelligence?"
"In men? Yes. Women? No. Ino has too much emotional intelligence," Shikamaru said as he pulled me through another door. "You like older girls with big-"
"Shika!" I hissed and he snorted.
"Don't act like you don't have a type, too," I said as my cheeks burned.
"Women that can tear me apart," he quipped before he leaned down to kiss my temple.
"You really don't mind? That I'm, you know?" I asked quietly as he grabbed a bag off a shelf in the hallway we started to walk down.
"You're mine," he said simply. "Just like I'm yours."
I blinked at him.
"And we both have eyes," he added. "I know you would never cheat on me, even though you're a mess around anyone you find attractive."
"I'm not a mess around you," I told him. He shrugged. I immediately felt panicked. Had I really not shown him how much I care for him? The only time I'm not touching him is when we're playing shogi or working. "Shika, I'm attracted to you-"
"This really isn't the place for-oof." He whispered, trying to stall as I pushed him against the wall.
"I love your eyes the most," I whispered. "I love when I look at you when you think I'm not looking and I catch you looking at me with so much love in your eyes," I said as I placed my hand on his cheek.
"I love seeing you focus on a problem you're trying to solve," I whispered as I reached up to kiss his cheek.
"And I almost lost it the other day when I saw the look in your eye as you glared at that guy that was staring at me. You looked like you were going to tear him apart for even thinking about me and it was the hottest thing I've ever seen," Shika's eyes widened as I pressed my lips against his.
He groaned and wrapped his arms around my waist as he dropped the backpack on the floor beside us. I tried to push everything I feel for him into the kiss before I pulled back, my entire face burned.
"Also, there's a reason I ran out of the house so fast the other morning."
"Hm?" Shikamaru asked, his pupils blown wide.
"Seeing you training with your shadows without your shirt on?" I squeaked. He smiled slightly. "Honestly Shika, I almost jumped you right there 'ttbane!"
"You should have-"
"I'm not having our first time be interrupted by your parents or the deer," I huffed.
"You've thought about it?" He asked, pulling me closer. I felt something hard press against my hip and a pitiful sound came out the back of my throat. "You have thought about it," he said, lower this time. I felt like I couldn't breathe. Heat pooled in the bottom of my stomach.
His eyes were only focused on my lips.
"Of course she has," Ichika's voice cut in. I jumped, moving closer to Shika and he let out a quiet groan in my ear.
"Ichika!" I whisper yelled. She ignored me and rubbed against our legs.
"It's not like she was late to training almost every morning after her coming of age ceremony-"
"Ichika!"
"Or that she spent way too long in the shower after getting a letter from you-"
"Ichika!"
Shikamaru shook against me in silent laughter. I glared down at the mountain lion before looking back up at Shikamaru. He looked so much calmer than before.
"I'm sorry I haven't made you feel like I-"
"Shh," he said quietly. He pressed his lips against mine quickly before pulling away. "I know you love me, I know you're attracted to me, I just got a little jealous when Ino was talking about how easy it is to break you."
"I don't want anyone other than you," I whispered. "I love you."
"I love you, too, you troublesome girl," he whispered before kissing me again. My hands went up to his hair, trying to pull him even closer to me. He bit my lip, making me gasp as his hand started to travel down.
"Alright love birds," Ichika huffed. "I doubt the Nara would like to walk in on you two doing this in a supply building."
Shikamaru kissed me one more time before pulling away. My eyes were unfocused. All I could hear was rushing in my ears as I looked at Shikamaru. His ponytail was a complete mess, his eyes were hooded. His lips were swollen and his cheeks were red.
So hot.
Shikamaru smirked. Ichika snickered beside us.
"I said that out loud?"
"Oh, you definitely did," Ichika said. I whined as I hid my face in Shikamaru's neck.
"Why are you here, Ichika? I thought you and the cubs were playing with the deer," Shikamaru asked, running a hand over my hair.
"I wanted to make sure she got everything she needed," Ichika said. "The chunin at the front door let me in so I could make sure you two weren't-"
"Ichika," Shikamaru groans as he rubs my back slowly.
"You interrupted us during an important conversation," I said and she snorted.
"Sure."
"I didn't even get to tell him how cute his butt is 'ttbane!"
"Cute?" Shikamaru's voice sounds strangled.
"I want to bite it," the words fell out before I could stop them. I meant for them to be teasing, to ease the tension. But they came out serious. I've been reading too many romance books…
Shikamaru let out a string of words that I couldn't understand before he turned us around, slamming me against the wall.
"Just don't get caught," Ichika sighed before I heard something move on the floor. I looked down just in time to see her carrying the bag Shikamaru grabbed earlier down the hall.
When I turned back, my nose hit Shikamaru's as he pressed his lips against mine. It was different from anything we've done before. It was desperate. Needy. I groaned as his lips left my mouth to kiss down my neck.
"Shika," I whispered as my legs came up to wrap around his waist. One of his hands came down to hold my thigh while the other started to slide up my shirt. My legs tightened instinctively, bringing him closer to me when he rested his hand over my bindings.
"Shika-" I whimpered and he smirked against my neck.
"I'm the only one to see you like this," he whispered and I nodded immediately.
"Only you. Yours. Yours, Shika-" I let out the most embarrassing noise that I didn't even know I could make when he started to suck on my neck, just over my pulse point.
"Shit," he whispered, kissing my neck lightly and rubbing my thigh. "Someone's coming." It took a second for me to process his words before I dropped my feet to the ground.
My legs felt wobbly, unsteady. More unstable than dealing with the chakra exhaustion of sealing a Jashinist.
"Should've been me," the words spilled out and Shikamaru choked on a laugh.
"Want to take my time with you, hime," he whispered in my ear. My legs quit working. He laughed as he held me steady against the wall as he turned around.
He helped me get up on his back as he started to carry me down the hall.
"Didn't expect to see you two, here!" Ensui's voice carried from down the hall. Shikamaru turned and I could see Ensui shutting the door behind him. I let out a relieved breath as I dropped my head on top of Shikamaru's.
"She needs a mission pack," Shikamaru shrugged casually.
"But you didn't grab a bag?" Ensui raised an eyebrow.
"Ichika came by and stole it. She seemed excited to get started," Shikamaru said.
"Uh-huh," Ensui said slowly. "That doesn't have anything to do with Kiku-chan having a hickey?"
I squeaked, covering the still burning mark on my neck and hiding my face in Shikamaru's shoulder.
"Ensui," Shikamaru whined.
"Shikaku owes me," Ensui said, sounding too happy as he walked up to us. "Just don't make him a grandfather for another two years and I'll pay you half of my bet."
"Ensui!" I screeched and Shikamaru grumbled under his breath as he turned back around to head down the hallway in the same direction Ichika went earlier.
"Wait, Shikaku bet less than two years? Shika hasn't even thought about proposing to me yet." Ensui looked back at Shikamaru with a knowing smirk. "Wait, you have?"
"It's not like he's been planning it since seeing you in Kumo-"
"Ensui!"
"Kiku-chan, quit daydreaming about pineapple head and get ready," Haruto's voice pulls me back to the present and I blink.
"Mendokusai." Haruto cackles as I finish getting dressed.
"Can you go tell Shikamaru that I'll be on a mission for a bit? Anko didn't give me a timeline-"
"I'll pass it along, hime. Want me to tell him you love him, too?" Haruto asks sarcastically and I smile at the hawk.
"Yes please," I say as sweet as I can. I lean over and kiss the top of his head and when I pull back, I see the moment he breaks.
"You're lucky you two are cute."
"I know. Love you too, Haruto-kun~"
"I'm going, I'm going," he says. "Be safe, hime!"
"I will, thank you Haruto!" I yell as he flies out of the window. I grab the scroll from Abuelo off of the bed and put it in my whirlpool seal. I grab my mission pack out of the bottom of my closet and throw it over my shoulder.
It's time for my first official mission as a chunin. A lump forms in my throat.
All I want is to go hide in the Nara forest to cuddle with Shikamaru instead. I look at the clock on the microwave to see how long I have to get to the front gates and-
"Shit, I'm going to be late!"