Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Sober ❯ Candy ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter Four: Candy
Shikamaru put his hand on the door to walk in. He sighed, "anything for Ino." He stepped inside and saw the class of ten-year-olds. He sighed again as they talked amongst themselves and threw paper planes. "Kids-" he mumbled, walking to the desk. They ignored him. "Hey, stop it," he said tirely. They went on without even blinking an eye. "Ninja do not fool around! You're all a discrace!" he snapped.
The children stopped, looking at him blankly.
"Sit!" he said sternly. He sighed, thinking, "hell, I didn't mean to jump all over them, but they're old enough to know how to sit down when a sensei enters."
They all took their seats and sat quietly.
"Good, now where did Ino leave off?" he asked with a sympathetic look.
"Tactics," a girl said confidently.
"Where is Ino-sensei?" a boy asked worriedly. "Was she hurt that bad?"
Shikamaru turned to the board, "don't worry about it."
"But she's our sensei!" another girl said.
He rolled his eyes, "she was hurt too much to come, but I'm taking care of her now."
"Oh!" the confident girl cried out, "you're Shikamaru-sensei!"
"Oooo," the class hummed together.
He turned around and blinked, "what?"
"You're Nara Shikamaru?" a boy asked.
"Yes," Shikamaru said cautiously. "I substitute here and there. I might have-"
"That's not how we know you," another girl giggled.
"Yeah, you're Ino-sensei's-" a boy started, but they all shushed him quickly.
"I'm her what?" Shikamaru asked.
"Her candy," the confident girl said.
Shikamaru blushed a bit, "her candy? What is that suppose to mean...to you kids?"
"What do you think it means?" a boy laughed.
A girl giggled, "we heard all about you, Shika-kun."
He crumbled the lesson plan in his hands, "Ino...." This was her fault. How could she use the...nickname in front of these kids? They were teasing him now. He put on a serious face, "okay! Back to the lesson."
The students held in their giggles and smiled.
"Who can tell me what time you need tactics the most?" he asked.
"When you're being ambushed," a girl said.
"Partly, thank you...uh," he started.
"It's Mena," she said with a smirk, "Shika-kun."
The children burst out into laughter.
He groaned, "stop it! What a bunch of troublesome kids..." He took a deep breath, wanting to let them off with a little laughs.
"Sorry, Shika-kun!" most of them yelled.
Shikamaru grinned wryly, "no, kids are going to embarrass me."

Ino and Sakura walked down the street slowly. "I bet you're glad to get your stitches removed in a few days," Sakura said.
Ino shrugged, "I guess... Sakura?"
The pink-haired kunoichi looked at her, "yes?"
"I'm scared that I won't be able to go through with it," she said quietly.
Sakura frowned, "you can do it. I believe in your will power."
"That's the problem, Sakura," Ino told her. "I've become unsure."
"What? You can't possibly want a baby right now," Sakura whispered harshly.
"I know, but I feel like I have to have it. I feel..."
"Guilty," Sakura finished. Ino nodded. "Don't be. It's your body. If you don't want to get all buldgey and sick and tired....ew....then you don't have to do it."
Ino placed her hands on her stomach gently, "I know, but somehow I feel...motherly all of a sudden."
"Ino, you'll never get another date in your life. You'll be all fat, and afterwards you'll have to raise it," Sakura explained.
"That's not true. I will get more than a hundred dates even if I'm fat! Which is the least I can say for you, forehead! I'll still be way smarter and prettier than you will ever be. I could get a date no matter what."
"No one is going to want you if you have a baby on your hip," Sakura said angrily.
"Yes, they will!" Ino snapped.
"Do you even know whose it is?" Sakura asked.
Ino's eyes widened. "You think I'm some kind of slut, too!" she screamed, slapping her roughly.
Sakura pushed her, "yes, okay! I do! I thought that when we found out! And look at you, Ino! You're that skinny at three months! Your baby is going to be an-"
"Bitch!" Ino cried, swinging her fist at her. Sakura dodged it easily.
"Stop it!" Choji interrupted, holding back Ino. "You two are acting like children!" He pulled Ino along and left Sakura to walk away angrily.
Ino broke into tears as Choji helped her sit on a nearby bench. "What did you hear?" she sobbed.
"Ino, I think that-"
"How much did you hear?!" she cried.
"That you're..." he looked around and whispered, "pregnant."
She hugged herself, "no... Oh, Choji, I'm so ashamed!"
"Why?" he asked. "You're not a teenager or anything. It's not like you don't know who its father is."
She gasped, looking up at him, "what?"
He frowned, "listen...if you don't want to tell him, I guess I could keep a secret."
"Tell who?" she asked desperately. "I mean, who do you think it is?"
He cocked his head to the side and frowned, "Shikamaru?"
She grinned, hugging him suddenly, "thank you!"
"For what?" he asked.
"For not thinking I'm a slut like that stupid billboard forhead girl!," she whimpered.
He pushed her back and took her hands, "Ino, there's no way I could think that. Back in the day, you did date other guys, but you were never interested in them like that. I could tell."
"You could?" she asked.
He nodded, wiping her tears. "Everytime you had a date, you'd come back and tell us all about it. You couldn't stand any other guy." He smirked, "but Shikamaru was different. If you ever downed him, you were just playing. We all can tell by the tone of your voice. And you trust him more...don't you?"
She bit her lip, "I don't know anymore."
Choji finally remembered what Ino knew. "What has this been? A whole month? We're in October now, Ino." She turned up her nose. He frowned, "please, don't blame him for that. Yes, he was drunk, and yes, the girl was a complete stranger. But they did nothing bad. They kissed. They were both drunk."
"How many did he have?" she asked.
"Uh, I can't remember exactly. He got more than four," he said.
"Damn, four would drunken his skinny self," she sighed.
Choji chuckled, "he would have came to your birthday, but he was depressed-"
"About what?" she asked quickly. "This is news to me! How could he possibly be depressed on my birthday?"
"You know how he gets. He got to thinking too hard," Choji said sadly, "about Asuma."
"What do you mean? He was missing him?" she asked.
Choji shook his head, "no, maybe two hours before your party, he had a thought hit him. He then laid on the grass for an hour, explaining to me about twenty ways he could have prevented Asuma's death. And he started telling me that he was to blame for it... He kept saying if only I thought a little quicker. I seriously thought he was going to start crying."
Ino lowered her eyes, "and he decided to clear his head."
"He was desperate," Choji told her. "He told me just one drink before he faced you, but he had one then another then another. And he was so plastered by the next thirty minutes."
She oddly smiled, "good... That's such good news. He didn't cheat on me....not intentionally anyways."
Choji then noticed a little blood seeping through her shirt. He gasped, "you ripped your stitches, Ino."
She looked down and bit her lip, "oh no. I shouldn't have hit at Sakura."
He helped her stand, "I'll take you to Tsunade."
"Thank you," she said. "You're such a good friend. And...we're not going to tell him, right?"
Choji nodded regretfully, "yeah, no problem."

"My legs ache!" a boy cried.
"I'm so tired!" a girl panted.
Shikamaru snapped, "faster! Come on!"
The students ran around the track slowly. "When can we stop?!" a boy yelled.
"When I get tired!" Shikamaru said, leaing against the fence as he took a breath of his cigarrette.
"That'll take forever!" another girl cried. "I'm telling my daddy!"
"Tell him," Shikamaru yawned.
"We're sorry, Shikamaru-sensei!" the confident girl shouted.
Shikamaru smirked, "ah, that makes me sleepy. I'd say about five more laps."
"We're sorry, Shikamaru-sensei!"the whole class cried out stressfully. "Forgive us!"
Shikamaru stood straight, "alright, come on back!"
The kids walked to him with glares.
"That's a good start, don't you think?" Shikamaru asked, putting out his cigarrette. "It's time for lunch. So, see you all in an hour."
They all panted, walking past him angrily.
He sighed, "okay, now for Ino."

"Th-Thank you, Tsunade-sama," Ino said a little surprised. The 5th had fully cleared her shoulder wound.
"Ino, I need to speak with you," Tsunade said as the blonde tried to get away.
Choji frowned, "should I step out?"
Ino took his arm, "no. What is Tsunade-sama?"
The hokage sighed, "that thing you wanted done. You must do it as soon as possible. No more waiting. You need to make a decision."
Ino nodded, "yes, I'll call tomorrow and tell you my choice."
"Dismissed," she said.
Ino and Choji walked out without a word. She could see him thinking of what they were talking about. She was so afraid of what he thought now. He stopped, "Ino..."
She let his arm go and looked away, "yeah?"
"Are you going to have an abortion?" he asked.
She teared up again, "it's a strong possiblity."
"Why?" he asked sadly.
"Because, I don't have the means to keep it."
"How so? You have shelter, money for food and needs for it-"
"It's Shikamaru!" she snapped. "How do I know he's going to be alright with it? And what about me? My life would have to come to a hault for this. I'll have to suspend my ninja career. I'll have to be...a mom."
Choji sighed, "but think of all the good things. Shikamaru is going to be alright with it no matter what. You and I both know how he denies the fact that he loves kids. He wants a girl and a boy, remember?" She still looked unsure. He went on, "and about you, you're life won't stop, it'll just start something new. You're being a ninja will get in the way, but you'll be happy it did. You'll still get to teach. And being a mother will be awsome. You'll get little hugs and kisses, you'll be loved no matter what."
Ino smiled, wanting to hear more benefits, "what else?"
Choji chuckled, "and you'll be the one to chase those nightmares away. Or when she's sick, you'll be the one to hold her to make her feel better. You'll get giggles and scribble drawings. You'll be the her hero. To your baby, you'll be perfect. You won't be called a slut anymore."
"Do you really think that I could do a good job?" Ino asked.
Choji nodded, "you'd do a great job at it."
"I still have to think about it," she said.
"I understand," he nodded. "But you need to tell Shikamaru before any decisions."
"Tell me what?" Shikamaru asked after appearing in a cloud of smoke. He examined her closely. She was wearing a loose shirt and pants like her the clothes she had been wearing around the apartment. He immediantly thought something was wrong. Usually she wouldn't leave the house without wearing something short and revealing.
Ino smiled slightly, "nothing."
"Should you be out of bed?" he asked. "I went to take-"
"Tsunade healed my wound. I'm fine," she said. "How was my class today?" she asked.
Shikamaru huffed, "don't get me started, little bast-"
"They are not!" Ino snapped.
"They called me...." he started, "Shika-kun. How do you explain that?"
Ino blushed, "I...uh..."
"That's what I thought," Shikamaru groaned. "And...and....your candy?"
She laughed, "they said that?! They cannot keep a secret!"
He crossed his arms, "what a drag."
"Fine, I'll just go teach the rest of the day. Since...you had such a horrid time."
"Oh no you don't!" he said, standing in her path. "They're my students today."
"What?" she asked. "I thought you were sick of them."
He shut his mouth and thought a minute. He blushed lightly, "it's not about them. It's about you."
"You love being around them," Choji said with a grin. "Admit it."
Shikamaru looked away, embarrassed, "Ino, you need to get back home and sleep."
"My home or your apartment?" she asked. "Just asking so you don't get angry later if you can't find me." She crossed her arms, getting her old attitude back.
He frowned slightly, "but I thought..."
"Thought what?" she asked. Her intrest was sparked as he nervously cut his eyes to every angle.
He scratched the back of his head and spoke softly like he was so unsure, "well, I thought we were back together."
She nodded slowly, "we...we are."
"Then it's our apartment again, right?" he asked timidly.
"Are you asking me to move back in with you?" she mumbled.
He blushed a little more, "well, you don't have to. Feh, this is troublesome." He cut his eyes to hers and spoke in a desperate tone, "you won't even have to pay rent like last time."
"I shouldn't!" she snapped.
"You're the one who insisted to when you first moved in," he countered.
She noticed his nervous expression. Was he actually afraid of her turning him down? She frowned and thought, "poor, Shika-kun. He probably does feel that way. I've been so unfair to him..."
"You don't have to-" he started, giving up.
She stepped to him and kissed his cheek, "I'd love to."
"Really?" he asked. She nodded. He smiled, kissing her quickly, "thank you."
Choji grinned, "are you watching the time, Shikamaru?"
He glanced at his watch, "I'm late. I'll see you at home."
She nodded, "okay, Shika-kun. Be easy on my kids!"
"Don't worry about it!" he called.
Choji eyed her wryly as Shikamaru rushed off. She felt him staring at her, "what?"
"You love him so much. You two will probably wed anyway," he said. "Why not start your family now?"
Ino huffed, "Choji, do not tell him."
"Will you, though?" he asked.
She sighed, "I guess."
"Great," he said happily. "Now let me walk you home. Our home."
She giggled, "yeah, our home. You know, this is getting better and better."
Choji chuckled, "of course. You should listen to me. I told you it would be fine."
She looked at him happily, "I know better now. Thanks, Choji."