Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Habits ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

A/N: Thanks again everyone for your wonderful reviews, and for the number of people who’ve put this on fave/alert! As I said before, this is my first Naruto fic, so I’m glad that I seem to have captured everything so well already. There’s at least a couple more chapters after this...

I’m about to start work on a Naruto AU after this fic is done, and may write some others as well, and I could really use a beta for it, since my current beta has no Naruto knowledge! If anyone’s interested, drop me a message or let me know in a review. I’m okay with my current on spelling/grammar, so I just need someone who can monitor my characterization.

(If this or any other A/N seems weird to you, it’s because this is being posted on FF.net too)

Habits - Chapter 3

After depositing their gifts before his photograph, Ino and Chouji fell in line beside their last teammate. They were all in the second row of the small gathering; his few living family members comprised the first. They were surprised to see Temari alongside Shikamaru in their row, but guessed the reason without question. The rest of their row held Kurenai and some of Asuma’s closer colleagues, while the remaining rows were made up of the rest of the “rookie nine”, their teachers, and Gai’s team.

The funeral was overall much the same as Sandaime’s had been, though on a smaller scale, as Asuma had been a lesser ninja than his father. It passed uneventfully underneath a defiantly sunny sky, as the priest gave the ceremony and each person attending came up to give their regards in turn.

As the crowd began to disperse, Shikamaru wordlessly slipped away into a nearby alley, wanting to escape from his friends for the time being. Part of him still blamed himself for his teacher’s death, and that part needed to grieve, alone - just him and another cigarette from that last pack that’d been in Asuma’s pocket as he died. He held the lighter tightly in his fist, both concealed within his pocket, as he stared off into space again. He knew it would be only minutes before Temari found him and started trying to console him, and he wanted to savor the peace between now and then.

When he heard footsteps approaching, he turned his head to (likely pointlessly) ask her to go away for the time being, only to find the large figure of Chouji filling the alley instead of the kunoichi’s equally-familiar one.

“Ino and I were going to go out to dinner,” he explained, motioning to the girl standing behind him, “and we thought you’d like to come. I’ll pay.”

Shikamaru thought for a moment, using one sleeve to wipe the smoke-induced water from his eyes. “...Where’d Temari go?” he asked, having last left her talking with his teammates.

“Back to your house to wait for you, since I told her about our plans.” He noticed Shikamaru’s uncharacteristically puzzled expression and added, “I gave her my key. I thought that, since she’s your girlfriend, you wouldn’t mind.”

“I see... how troublesome.” He let out a rough sigh, closing his eyes and leaning against the wall again. He silently hoped that his mother wasn’t home right now; he knew his father was out of town on a mission, but even if he’d been around, the worst he’d have done upon seeing the blonde breaking and entering was congratulate both teens on their choice of lovers. His mother was an entirely different story.

A small smile crossed his lips as he replayed Chouji’s words. He’d never told anyone, not even Temari, that she was his girlfriend, and yet his best friend had figured it out so readily, despite their lack of public affection. He was one of the only four people who’d ever even begun to really figure Shikamaru out, and now... one of those people was gone.

At least the two who knew him best of all were still here in front of him.

He dropped the cigarette, to lazy to smoke it and walk at the same time. “All right,” he said, showing his half-a-smile to his teammates, “let’s go.”

Even though they’d been Team 10 for nearly five years, it still felt odd to all three chuunin to be walking down the street together. Perhaps it was the fact that their time together had become more and more infrequent since Ino and Chouji’s promotion a year earlier. Perhaps it was the haunting silence that had fallen over the three, threatening to deafen them despite the usual Konoha din in the background.

Most likely, it was just the large empty space where Asuma usually followed behind them. Their usual banter seemed pointless without their sensei there to stop it. Anything else that’d happened since they’d last gathered together seemed insignificant in comparison to that one, overwhelming fact.

So it was a combination of factors: his absence and the silence it caused.

Barbeque was out of the question.

It went without saying that Ichiraku should be avoided right then as well; with Ayame out of town, the ramen stand was in an intolerable state of disarray. No one involved wanted to deal with that chaos tonight.

In fact, every place they passed seemed off-limits, either because someone didn’t like it or because there were too many memories involved. Chouji’s insatiable appetite meant that he’d been to every restaurant in town at least once, and most of those he’d taken his team to for one celebration or another.

Which is why, eventually, the trio found themselves at Chouji’s house. He was the only one of their team to already have his own house, and that was simply because Akimichi tradition dictated all shinobi get their own dwelling within the clan’s district upon becoming a chuunin. In all reality, he only stayed there often enough to make it look lived in - the rest of the time, he still lived with his parents, and he had no plans to change that. Otherwise, the house was only used when their team (and any additional friends/dates) wanted to spend some time together free from authority figures.

Meaning that Shikamaru spent more time on the house’s roof than its owner did inside the house.

For a few minutes, Ino tried to help Chouji make dinner, only to realize that she had no idea how to cook what he was cooking. She settled instead on setting the table and trimming the plants he kept around the house to keep herself busy. Shikamaru was content to just lay on the sofa and stare at the ceiling, one hand idling flicking his - no, Asuma’s - lighter. He had too much respect for his friend’s house to smoke inside.

Dinner was delicious, as food made with love always was, despite being simple. Rice, a sweet type of chicken that must have been his own recipe, and wonton soup. The meal went by quietly, with few words spoken aside from compliments about the cooking, and things only got quieter once they realized Ino was eating the most out of all of them.

For once in his life, Shikamaru couldn’t stand the silence. Things weren’t supposed to be quiet between him and his friends; they were loud, energetic, always squabbling over something while he watched, pretending not to be amused. He took one last bite and then dropped his chopsticks and stood.

“I should go make sure mom hasn’t killed Temari,” he muttered, his eyes fixed on the wall farthest from his teammates. “See you round...”

There was a minor ruckus as both of the others rose to their feet and rushed to cut him off, Ino attaching herself to one of his arms and Chouji wrapping his arms around them both. Shikamaru closed his eyes, taking a moment before putting one hand on each of their backs. They all stood in silence, heads bowed and resting on each other for a few minutes, before he finally spoke again.

“You two have to promise me you won’t die until I’m waiting for you in the afterlife,” he whispered, earning weak chuckles from them both.

“Only if you promise not to die till you’ve lived out your life’s plan,” Chouji countered, squeezing them both a little tighter for a moment.

Shikamaru nodded, letting them go. “I’m working on it. I’ve got it all planned out.”

Ino glanced between the two, unsure of what the two boys were talking about, but deciding that if it was good enough for them, it was good enough for her. She released her grip on Shikamaru’s arm, allowing him to escape out the front door.

Truly smiling for perhaps the first time since their sensei’s death, they both returned to their dinner... And Chouji had seconds.