Finding identity

Beginning of combat practice

With that, Shikamaru sauntered inside the house, leaving me dumbfounded.

Mo: was that a compliment?

I said loudly but no reply, just the leaves rustling in the wind. "Did Shikamaru Nara give me a compliment and nothing else?" I ran inside and joined everyone at the dinner table, Yoshino asked us about our day, Shikamaru telling them about my speech and how flustered Iruka-sensei was, and we all laughed about it. Eating together was still something new to me and it was nice for a change. Father and I would usually eat at different times, especially when he goes out for his "project" he works on.

I looked around to see the Nara's all smiling and having a good time. For once, I felt like I was part of something...a family. I smiled to myself and ate the rest of the delicious meal Yoshino prepared, even though I was full.

Next day

The alarm blared in my poor ears, scaring the hell out of me that I ended up on the floor. I groaned and rubbed my head of where it met with the hard surface. I rubbed my eyes and glared at the damn clock that was still making noise and ripped the plug out of the outlet. I sighed and curled myself in the blanket and closed my eyes, trying to go back to sleep.

Shika: what are you doing on the floor?

I growled lowly and turned around to give the pineapple a glare for disrupting my sleep.

Mo: ever heard of knocking?

Shika: ever heard of sleeping on a bed?

Mo: ever heard of not waking someone up?

Shika: ever heard of getting up on time instead of relying on someone. Lazy

With that, he shut the door without letting me get a word in. I grumbled and got up, throwing my pillow and sheets on the bed. Mumbling how inconsiderate and lazy the pineapple was while walking to my bathroom to do my morning routine. I was up late last night on trying to come up with a plan for combat practice. I came up with zip, zero. The only thing I could do now is to show them what I got, but not 100% of it. I sighed and rinsed my face, staring at the mirror. My red hair needed a brush and I had bags under my eyes. "Did Shikamaru really see me like this"? I frowned at myself in the mirror as I saw red appearing on my cheeks. My eyes widen a little and I put my hands on my cheeks to hide them, turning away from the mirror. "Why am I suddenly caring about my appearance? Especially toward pineapple head?" I shook my head and walked out of the bathroom, putting on my clothes, and walked out to the dinner tables. There were apples set out and a plate of an omelet and bacon with a side of orange juice. My tummy grumbled and I quickly sat down and scarfed my meal, getting weird looks from Shikamaru and Shikaku.

Mo: what?

Shika: why are you eating like you haven't saw food before?

Mo: well I was still hungry from last night. You know, all the training I've been doing really drains the energy out of me. But you wouldn't know at all since you barely train at all

I smirked as an aggravated pineapple head made a "humph" and walked out the door, mumbling about how troublesome I was. I rolled my eyes playfully and finished up my breakfast, taking Shikamaru's plate and mine to wash. I grabbed shika's lunch which he forgot to grab and waved a goodbye to the Nara's. I raced along the street, seeing the spiky haired boy walking slowly toward Choji's house. I pushed myself forward and almost bumped into the boy, getting a glare from the corner of his eye. I smiled innocently and held up his lunch, which he gladly took it from me, our hands touching and feeling a slight spark jolt in my body. I jumped a little from the sudden spark and looked at Shikamaru who just walked away like nothing happened. I sighed and followed him to Choji's who was actually outside with a bag of chips. I sweat dropped and laugh lightly at the boy. "He really loves chips" I thought and joined in the boys conversation.