Chapter 54
At the beginning of March, just as green buds formed on the cherry trees, the announcement was made.
“Congratulations!” Mayonaka said, pulling the string on a little popper, sending confetti flying across the table, to settle on their food and in Shi's hair.
Shi spluttered under the bright onslaught. Beside her, Mori laughed and patted her on the shoulder.
“We knew you'd make it,” Buyo said, grinning.
“Thanks,” Shi said, blushing just a little. “I promise not to abuse my new power as jounin too much.”
“Oh, you're going to be too busy to have time for that,” said Mori. “They're going to have you leading missions now. Heck, before long, they'll probably give you your own little baby genin team. I'm going to be a grand-sensei!”
“Noooooo,” Shi whispered.
Her teammates laughed. Shi huffed, and bent down to eat her food, picking off bits of confetti as she went.
---
“I heard. Congratulations,” Neji said.
Shi glanced at him sidelong, to where he sat beside her on a fallen log in a training area. She grinned.
“Was there ever any doubt?” she asked with more bravado than she felt.
He smiled. “None at all.”
“Thank you,” she said. “For helping me train.”
“I was happy to help,” he said, and she thought she saw a tinge of pink stain his pale cheeks.
“Still, I feel like I should treat you to dinner or something.”
“There is no need for you to feel obligated.” He paused, she she was sure he was blushing. “Should you wish to do it anyway, however, that would be fine.”
---
Shikamaru sighed as the remnants of his childhood dream crumbled. No more chance of being a middling shinobi, even if he had given up on that when Asuma died. He was, officially, a jounin. Across from him, Ino finished reading the letter and passed it to Chouji. As he scanned it, Sasaeko leaned over his shoulder to read it as well.
Ino grinned, grabbing Shikamaru's arm and shaking it. “You made it!”
“Against my will,” he said.
“Oh, shut up, I know you're proud of yourself. Tsunade-sama may have forced you, but you have the talent! Oh, we should go out to celebrate!”
“Let's get yakiniku!” Chouji said, grinning.
“Yes!” Ino dragged Shikamaru onto his feet and out the front door of his house, the others following.
Their procession attracted some stares, though a few of Shikamaru's neighbors waved and called out congratulations as they passed. Before long, they had reached Yakiniku Q, the owner offering congratulations of her own as they were seated around a small, low table.
“So how soon are they going to saddle you with a genin team?” Ino asked, grinning, once they had placed their orders.
Shikamaru groaned and muttered darkly about things being troublesome. All around them, the restaurant began to fill up with the dinner rush. A few more diners slipped past, grinning at Shikamaru. In spite of himself, he blushed at the attention.
“Ah, thank you,” Chouji said as their food was delivered, the brazier at the table lit.
“See, it makes sense for you to be a jounin,” Ino said, adding some vegetables to the grill along with Chouji's meat. “Everyone's been congratulating you. You've got a reputation now. Everyone knows you've been doing well.”
“You okay, Sasaeko?” Chouji asked. “You've been pretty quiet, and you've barely eaten anything.”
“Ah... I'm fine.” She smiled. “Sorry, I'm just a little out of it today. I'm fine, really. And congratulations, Shikamaru. You've earned it.”
“Here, have some short ribs, they're really good,” Chouji said, piling food from the grill onto her plate.
“Thank you,” she said, adding some squash to the grill.
Shikamaru glanced at Sasaeko. She had been quiet for weeks, really, not just today. He hadn't seen much of her, either, as half the time she seemed to be off training by herself, or else he spotted her in the park, just looking up at the sky. He looked to Ino, and saw her watching the exchange with barely concealed glee.
“You know,” she said, looking at Chouji, “in work or in love, sometimes you have to do something bold to grab people's attention. I mean, it's good to be steady and all, but sometimes a little flash goes a long way.”
---
Uwaki finished reading the letter, refolded it, and tucked it into his sleeve. He had not, as far as he knew, been under consideration for jounin. However, someone had apparently sent a glowing report home of his actions during the attempt to capture Suigetsu. He could think of no other reason for it; it wasn't as though he had distinguished himself much while in Yukigakure. They had only been assigned to the diplomatic mission because no one else wanted to do it.
Still, a little feeling of warmth welled up in him. A little bit of pride. He smiled to himself and walked back into the living room. Ikari lounged across the couch, taking up the entire thing, a volume of manga held in one hand as he read.
“I've been promoted to jounin,” said Uwaki, grinning.
Ikari looked up from his reading, scowling. “Why the hell would anyone promote you first out of all of us? All you do is flirt with everyone who speaks to you and act like an idiot.”
All you ever do is scowl at our hosts and set fire to things, he thought to himself, refraining from saying it aloud. “Perhaps I made an impression over the winter,” he said primly. “Would you like to go out and celebrate with me?”
“No.” Ikari returned to his manga, his expression still sour. “Only six new jounin since the princess took over, and one of them is you.”
Uwaki sighed and walked down the hall to Reikoku's room. The apartment was tiny, and he suspected this second bedroom was meant to be an office, but she had refused point-blank to share a room with the boys when they moved in. He knocked on the door, and it opened a fraction. Inside, Rei sat on her bed, facing a mirror as she did her hair.
“What do you want?” she asked, not looking away from her work.
“I've been made a jounin,” he said.
“Good for you. You want a parade or something?”
“I was wondering if you'd like to go celebrate-”
“Can't. I have a date with Iruka.”
“Does he know that?”
She scowled, turned around, and launched a hair band at him. He dodged, grinning. That's a no, then, he thought. She went back to doing her hair.
“See if I name our first child after you,” she muttered.
“Aw, you know I'd be a doting uncle.”
“You're not my brother.”
He shrugged. “Teammate, brother, close enough.”
“Yeah, yeah. If you're not going to help me get ready, get out.”
“Fine,” Uwaki said, sighing theatrically. “I'll just go have the saddest little one-man celebration ever, all by myself.”
“Ew.”
He shut the door. The other new jounin were probably out with their teams right now, he just knew it. Still, he reminded himself, the sixth new jounin in as many years. That was nothing to sneeze at. Perhaps if he went out by himself, that little tidbit would impress someone pretty. He checked his hair in the bathroom mirror and left.
---
“Aw, Suba, don't pout,” Suisho said, leaning forward to ruffle her teammate's hair. Subayai scowled at her.
“I'm not pouting,” she said. “I'm just contemplating the injustice of the world.”
“I know. They should have promoted you with us. I'm sorry they didn't see you,” said Suisho.
Subayai sighed. “I was just a messenger during the battle. I shouldn't be surprised.”
“Only fools underestimate the importance of communication on the battlefield,” Ishitaro said, piling grilled vegetables onto Subayai's plate.
“He's right, you know, though he probably shouldn't call the higher-ups fools,” Suisho said. “You were incredibly fast, and you had to bypass a lot of danger. You kept the plan intact.”
“But they passed me up,” Subayai said, not for the first time that night. “I'm happy for you guys, I really am, but-”
“-but you're tired of people looking at you and seeing a child,” Suisho finished for her. “Your turn will come, and probably at a younger age than it did for Ishi and me.”
Subayai nodded, snagging several pieces of meat off of the grill. Suisho took a sip of her plum wine.
“It doesn't help that you two are old enough to drink and I'm not,” Subayai said pointedly.
“I'm not drinking,” said Ishitaro.
“It's sweet wine. I'm sure the grown up drinkers would make fun of me, if that makes you feel better,” said Suisho.
“It does,” said Subayai, earning a grin from Suisho.
“You know, in work or in love, sometimes you have to do something bold to grab people's attention. I mean, it's good to be steady and all, but sometimes a little flash goes a long way.”
Suisho could swear Ishitaro's ears perked up at the sound of Ino's voice. He reached forward and gently pushed Suisho's head to one side to see past her, to where the Konoha team sat with a girl he vaguely recognized.
“Do you think she's trying to tell me something?” Ishitaro asked, letting Suisho sit up straight again. “Has she been looking over here? Does she know we're here?”
Subayai rolled her eyes, and Suisho shrugged. Ishitaro's ears stayed red for the next half hour, as Suisho acted as cover for him to spy from. She ordered another tumbler of wine. It made Ishitaro's questions and strategies for wooing the girl even funnier, though she managed not to laugh.
“Come on, they've left,” Subayai said as they walked out the door. “We should go home, too.”
“No, not yet,” said Ishitaro. “I don't want to look like I'm following her.
“Yes, because spying on her all throughout dinner was a totally normal thing to do,” said Subayai.
Ishitaro sighed. “Fine, but we're giving them another minute's head start.”
Suisho went to pay the bill, noticing as she walked that the wine had made everything feel pleasantly warm, if slightly wobbly. She collected the rest of her team, ignoring their bickering, and they stepped outside. Though it was spring, it was still early in the year, and night had fallen, leaving the air cold. She grimaced as it hit her face.
“Ah, hello,” said a familiar voice.
“Kakashi,” she said, looking across the lane to where he exited a restaurant. “Funny running into you here.”
“I heard you made jounin, officially. Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” she said, smiling. “Ah, guys, you can go on ahead without me.”
She exchanged a glance with Ishitaro and shrugged. Subayai sighed, but nodded, leading her taller teammate away. Suisho watched them a moment, then looked back to Kakashi.
“I think I have your village to thank for my promotion,” she said. “I've had a surprisingly large number of chances to show off.”
“Well, you came here to help us, it's only fair we return the favor.”
Suisho laughed, a little louder than she meant to. “Sorry. The wine was delicious. I'm afraid I may need to lean on you a little.”
She crossed the street to him, and entered the circle of lamplight in which he stood.
“That's right, your twentieth birthday was back in July. Have you been enjoying it?”
“Not often. Tonight was a celebration, though.”
“Your teammate, Ishitaro, he was promoted as well, wasn't he?”
“Yes, he was. I'll pass on your congratulations.”
“Thanks.” He tensed up as she stepped closer. “Are you all right?”
“I'm fine, though I think my inhibitions have been lowered somewhat. I'll have to remember that next time I'm celebrating.”
“It is a bit of a danger.”
She grinned up at him. “I should be terribly ashamed, I know. This is no way for a ninja to behave.”
“I've seen far worse.”
She laughed. “I know. I've seen at least some of it, too. Shame on all of us.”
“Would you like me to walk you home?”
“I'd like that very much, but not yet.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I'm terribly attracted to you, and I'm enjoying myself right now.”
She peered up into his eyes, partially shaded by the lamplight. He blinked at her.
“Aha,” she said, leaning back. “Maybe I will ask you to walk me home after all.”
“Are you all right?”
“I'm fine.” She grinned at him, and took several dance-like steps ahead. After a moment's pause, he followed.
---
Sakura leafed through the report for the third time, hoping for some detail to pop out at her that would make the damned thing useful. Nothing came to mind. No mentions of any of Sasuke's companions, nor of Sasuke himself. She was at Hokage tower on her own time, with no missions or hospital shifts going on, reading and rereading every bit of information coming in from the minor countries. Originally, she had tried to read everything, but it had been useless. There was simply too much for her to process, and aside from Suigetsu's none-too-subtle attempts at stealing the swords, there had been no sign of any of them from the major countries.
“What am I doing?” she asked herself, leaning back in her chair.
“Sakura? Is everything all right?”
She sat up and looked to the door. Sasaeko stood in the entryway, peering in at her with obvious concern. Sakura tried to smile, but her head hurt, and she feared it came out as a grimace.
“I'm fine,” she said. “I've just been looking at reports a little too long.”
“What are you looking for? I mean, if you're allowed to tell me.”
“Sasuke,” she said, her voice going flat.
“Ah.” Sasaeko stepped fully into the room and leaned against the table.
“Unfortunately, he's doing a great job of hiding,” Sakura said, aware of how bitter she sounded.
“He always was talented, from what I remember,” said Sasaeko.
“That's right, you didn't really know him...”
“I can understand why you're trying so hard, though. He's your teammate. Kori and Shiryoku, well... I imagine it's what having brothers is like.”
“That wasn't us. I thought we were close. I was in love with him,” Sakura said, looking down at the reports, not really seeing them.
“Was?”
Sakura blinked in surprise. She shrugged. “I don't know. I'm still worried about him. I still want him back, and I probably always will, but...” She spread her hands.
“You've been looking for him a long time,” said Sasaeko. “You're tired?”
Sakura smiled, just a little. “I wish that's all it was. Sometimes, when I think of how obsessed he was with killing Itachi, and remember that he's dead... Why hasn't he come home? Or even tried to make contact? He left us and he got what he wanted, and he's still gone. We're still chasing him. I'm still chasing him. I'm just waiting, all the time.”
Sasaeko opened her mouth to speak, reached out to pat Sakura's hand, but before she could do either, there was a knock at the open door. They both turned to look. Lee stepped inside, carrying a takeout box.
“Ossu!” he greeted them, holding up a hand. “Sakura-san, I brought you some lunch.”
“I'm fine, Lee,” Sakura said, the traces of her earlier words gone.
Lee narrowed his eyes, frowning. “Sakura-san, while your dedication to your work is admirable, I have it on good authority that you have been regularly skipping meals in order to keep working! A proper diet is essential to youth and good health!”
Sasaeko forced a smile. “He's right, you know.”
Sakura muttered something under her breath about Ino talking too much, but she cleared away most of the reports.
“Fine,” she said. “I'll eat. What did you bring me?”
“A delicious vegetable curry!” Lee said, brandishing the takeout box at her.
Sasaeko nodded to them both and slipped past Lee out the door, largely unnoticed. She walked down the hall and the stairs and out the front door, her eyes on her own feet as she thought. As she stepped out onto the road, she bumped into something solid.
“Oof! I'm sorry,” she said, stumbling back. “Ah. Shikamaru.”
He frowned at her. “What are you doing, not looking where you're going? If you're not careful, you could be run over by a cart or something.”
“Sorry, I guess I'm a little out of it,” she said.
“Don't apologize if you're going to just keep doing it,” he said with a sigh. “Have you had lunch yet?”
She shook her head. “I just got done delivering a message.”
“Come on, let's get something to eat.”
He led her to a nearby soba restaurant. It was late enough in the afternoon that the lunch rush had come and gone, and they were among a tiny handful of customers.
“Why are you so out of it?” he asked, once they'd been served. “You can't act like it's just today, you've been weird since the failed Suigetsu mission.”
She poked at her food. “I know I haven't really been my best lately. It's stupid...”
He sighed. “Whatever it is, I don't think it'll go away on its own. It's troublesome, sure, but you can tell me.”
Her face flushed, and she stilled. “I'm not stupid. I know it's taken me a long time to realize it, but I know it now. That... that Lee will probably never return my feelings. He loves Sakura, and she's been getting along with him better. She might even... I know I should be happy for him, but...”
Shikamaru scowled, dropping his chopsticks. “No one says you have to be happy for him. You're the only one making you act like a doormat.”
“What?” She looked up at him in shock.
“You're making yourself miserable, trying to live by his standards, waiting for him to notice you. It's stupid. You'll never be a ninja like him. You have to start finding your own way, and stop looking to him. I know you're not incompetent. Hell, you've saved me at least twice! But you keep trying to do things his way, when that's not what you're good at. Your skills lie elsewhere, and you're doing yourself a disservice by ignoring that!
“And besides that, so what if he never feels the same about you? It's not like you've ever told him! You just bottle it all up and stare at him and it doesn't go anywhere. Maybe it's time you looked elsewhere!”
She was silent for some time, staring down at her food.
“Where should I be looking?” she asked, after a while.
Surely she's not that oblivious, Shikamaru thought. That blind... As the pressure of years of witnessing longing looks and aborted confessions and hearing about every little thing from every angle built up, he dropped his chopsticks to the table, ignoring as they rolled off the edge.
“Are you serious?” he asked, dimly aware of the fact that his voice was getting louder, attracting looks from the other patrons. “You've never noticed? Never a clue? Chouji's been crazy about you for years! Years! But you've been too... too besotted with Lee to see it! To realize that maybe you're not completely terrible, that you actually have some good points, and maybe other guys have noticed, even if Lee's been too singleminded to see it! That in spite of being a timid little dormouse who doesn't know how to value herself, you have things to offer! You're kind and you're gentle, and you always look out for others, and you're actually rather g-”
He stopped, red in the face and breathing harder than he realized, when he saw she was staring at him. She looked away, putting her chopsticks and napkin back on the table next to her uneaten food, and pushed back her chair. As she stood and turned, he followed, reaching out to catch her wrist.
“Wait,” he said.
She turned around to face him, the motion putting her just inches from him, her wrist still held gently in his hand. Their eyes met. He watched as her pupils dilated, color flooded her cheeks, felt her pulse speed up under his fingers. Everything he wanted to say disappeared.
“I shouldn't have yelled,” he said after what felt like a long time.
She blinked and stepped back. “No. I... I needed to hear all of that. Thank you.”
He let go of her wrist. Absentmindedly, she touched it. Without another word, she left. He sat back down, staring at the remains of their lunch, and wondered if he would regret what he just did.