Chapter 40: Asuma Squad
The trip back to the village was a grueling one, stretching over multiple days.
Right now, we were at our first rest stop after fourteen straight hours of travel. Most of the genin were visibly exhausted, though not to the point of complete collapse.
They had been trained for endurance, after all—they'd bounce back soon enough.
As the makeshift camp was set up, my eyes landed on Shikamaru. He was lying down, arms behind his head, looking as relaxed as someone could be in a war zone.
I hadn't really spoken to him before, but I knew the kind of person he'd become. The strategist. The leader. The one who carried his master's will forward.
And now that I had confirmation that this world is real...I definitely needed to make a much stronger point of interacting with all of the main cast. No matter how weak they are.
That reason was enough for me to walk over and sit in front of him.
"Whoever it is...go away," he muttered without even opening his eyes.
Well, it seems like a typical Shikamaru interaction. Either that, or he would ignore you.
I ignored him. "How was your past few weeks?"
"What a drag, I hate socialising." He whispered, before cracking open one of his eyes and sighing.
He then sat up. "We only get three hours of rest. Do you really not want to sleep?"
"Sure I do. After talking to you guys. This is my first time meeting Narutos friends after all..."
He gave me a tired look, as if debating whether to actually answer or just roll over and ignore me. Eventually, he sighed again. "It was alright. Just tiring. We got activated six times."
I nodded, then turned to another member of his squad. "Choji, right? Catch." I said as I threw over some snacks I had from the village.
I had gotten used to the field rations and only had a bit of snacks left which I might as well feed the happy hippo.
Choji blinked in surprise before catching them. "Thanks," he mumbled before immediately tearing into them.
Shikamaru just shook his head. "You really didn't come here just to give Choji food."
I smirked. "Maybe. Or maybe I just wanted to meet the guy who's gonna carry the future of Konoha on his shoulders."
Shikamaru frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
I shrugged. "Nothing. Just that some people are born for responsibility, whether they like it or not."
He looked at me with a semi-serious look for just a split second, before exaggeratedly sighing and sleeping.
Ino however was at the side, panting due to the taxing journey.
Without any offense to her, while she is a very capable ninja with her clan's special Jutsu, her physical stats were horrible.
"Here." I also passed her some water.
"Thanks." She muttered with some embarrassment and after catching her breath she made some eye contact with me.
"Your Shikomu, right? Naruto is really loud when he talks to Shikamaru and Choji, so I overheard some things about you before…" She mentioned to me.
I nodded at that, since it made sense.
She paused for a second, frowning, before reaching her hand out and pulling a small leaf out of my hair.
"Your hair is really long…" She couldn't help but mutter.
my hair has been growing so much, it seemed crazy, and unkept as it flowed everywhere.
My skin was also much more fair, and due to my lean build my jawline was extremely visible.
I was beginning to look more and more like myself from the real world…
"Is that in a good way or a bad way?"
"Definitely a good way." She quickly told me.
"Well that's good." I said, as I sat right beside her which seemed to surprise her a bit.
"Urm."
"Yes?"
"It's just…weren't you talking to the boys?"
"Shikamaru seems like he would get mad if I talked to him anymore, and Choji seems to be busy eating. I decided I would rather spend my time talking to you."
"I see…by the way, how come I have never seen you from the academy?" She questioned.
"I was pretty lowkey at that time, so were my squad mates. I wish I wasn't though." I said the last part with a sigh.
She tilted her head and questioned, "And why not?"
"Because I wish I saw a lady as pretty as you more often."
Ino immediately began to blush.
After that, Ino and I conversed for a bit and I eventually did end up taking a nap near her.
…
(Ino POV)
Shikomu was definitely not someone I expected to…be interested in during a conversation.
He gave off a very dark and eerie aura, but when talking to him I realized he was just a nice guy who was easy to have a conversation with.
It didn't even feel that forced, as the conversation mostly flowed to non ninja topics, which was something hard to find..
It was easy for most people to forget that we were not just ninjas, and outside of being ninjas we should have our own life.
For example, I loved flowers, gardening and things related to it.
Shikomu told me he loved reading novels and playing games with his friends.
While different from each other, we were able to appreciate and not disregard the hobby of the other person.
He felt very different from my usual type, which was Sasuke.
Sasuke didn't even give me the time of the day even when I clearly liked him, and honestly it was beginning to feel tiring.
And just as I was wondering if my whole life would be dull this guy walks into it, with his messy hair that covers his entire face which has a unique charm to it.
Eventually he did take a nap, but I couldn't fall asleep with him right next to me, so I decided to look at him and obese him a bit more.
He was quite tall for our age at 5 '2 (157cm), and had an extremely athletic and lean body as expected of a shinobi.
What gave him his charm though was his pale skin, as if it hadn't seen the light of day.
I had the urge to move his hair a little, since it was so messy, however when I moved my hand I suddenly felt like I was being watched.
I looked around to see all the Jonin sensei gathered together, clearly not paying attention to me.
Shikamaru was sleeping and Choji was also in deep sleep. There was no one else around us, and as I looked around I couldn't help but feel weird.
For some reason…it seemed as if I was being watched by the entire world.
Like it was enjoying a spectacle to behold.
(Authors note: Can anyone guess who it is?)
…
(Jonin Location)
"That was not a smart move." Kurenai told Naido, who was unbothered by her words as he had some snacks while smoking with Asuma.
"I thought Monks don't smoke?" Asuma asked with a teasing voice as he lit up Naido's cigarette.
"I am sure the Buddha will be forgiving and let me have this one." Naido said, as he used his finger to light his and Asuma's cigarette and inhaled in a massive puff.
Kurenai patiently waited, and eventually Naido turned towards her.
"What?"
"That was not a smart move. Giving something as important as a Jinchuriki to a kid…"
"Speaking of Shikomu, what do you think of him, Sora?"
Sora who was snacking right there sighed as he thought about it for a second.
"He is definitely strong for someone his age…and when he moves I feel this weird feeling, like the world is responding to him. It was just like with Naido when he was younger."
"I know right…but this didn't happen till recently, HAHAHAHA." Naido said as he burst out into laughter.
"But the kid is decent for his age," Kakashi vouched
"Must be a lot if it is coming from you." Asuma said with slight seriousness this time.
"This doesn't matter, he is 13! He should not be given such a massive responsibility!"
"If I didn't think Shikomu could handle it, I wouldn't have told him to do it."
"URGH!" Kurenai, in frustration, decided to walk towards her genin.
Right as she left, the remaining 4 Jonin looked at each other and seemed to have a tactful understanding about something, before they decided it was time to resume their travels.
...
Authors note:
You can read some chapters ahead if you want to on my p#treon.com/Fat_Cultivator