"Good work!"
Series of shinobi expressing their gratitude, and sharing their entire experience on their recent mission captured the silence once lurking around the quarters.
"Man, I didn't know it'll be that easy!"
"Hell, yeah. We're definitely a good team," said another as he meant everyone.
"Shikamaru," called the current hokage, Uzumaki Naruto. "As expected from Konoha's genius. You lead that team quite well!" Said him, grinning in happiness.
"No, I only did what I was supposed to," humbly responded Shikamaru.
"How about we celebrate this, and eat somewhere?" Asked the blonde male, making the Nara's countenance turned sour. "Maybe, in Ichiraku Ramen--"
"Naruto, that's what you always eat. I'm surprised you're still alive," commented the pineapple-haired man as he casually pertained to the other's seemingly neglected health. "Besides, isn't Hinata waiting for you today? You can also make up to Boruto and Himawari."
Naruto's smile faded only from hearing the name of his son, though some of it were still there. "Yeah. What about you? You should take the day off, I'll grant it! Since you were the brains of that team and successfully finished the mission, you deserve at least a day away from work."
"I'm good," quickly responded him. "You need it more. You currently are overworking yourself to not neglect the village, and you're doing it to yourself instead. It doesn't mean you're strong, you can avoid falling ill."
"Shikamaru, you're surprisingly persistent today...," tired of the latter's insistence, Naruto grinned again. "Well, I'll leave some of myself here to work while we both take the day off. How's that sound?"
Sets of feet tapping could be heard approaching from behind the genius.
"Sounds good, yeah? I'll go ahead. Enjoy!" Naruto ended in haste whilst casually acting as if he wasn't.
"What's with him?" Questioned a certain kunoichi.
"Ah, he gave me a day off," Shikamaru scratched the back of his head. "Let's go home. With Mirai's age, I'm pretty sure she'd taken care of Shikadai well enough."
"She's still young. There's going to be loopholes but that's that," roughly stated Temari.
Their conversation finished quick; the couple marching back home. As they did, Shikamaru placed both of his hands inside his spacious pockets before breaking the silence.
"Why did Naruto call you over to help?"
"He said the enemy is a water-style user, therefore is weak to wind users. They'd call someone else, but I'm the closest to him, and is the best when it comes to that kind of element," said Temari.
That Naruto! There are bunch of people closest to him that he could call over, why Temari?!
The female sighed. "Who knows. It might be one of his plans, or it literally means what it is."
"...Yeah, maybe," Shikamaru looked away as he mentally scratched the back of his head. It's not like I haven't seen her battle, but she was damn strong. One summon, and three of our enemies dropped dead.
A few more steps, and it lead them to their household, "Mirai--," yet before he could call her out, shouts and screams could be heard inside, followed by clanging of metals, loud banging of kitchen utensils, and glasses shattering on the floor.
"Shikadai!" Exclaimed Temari. "Wait for us, mom's coming over!" The kunoichi broke their own door by hitting it hard with her tessen.
What welcomed them was what exactly they suspected.
"What happened here?!" Began Temari again. "A burglar?!" Came next was finding her son. "Shikadai, where are you?!"
"Stop!" A female's voice sounded evident, certainly not from afar. "You're not going away any futher!"
"Shikadai, mama's coming!" Rushing to where the noises were coming from, the kunoichi readied her tessen and was about to hit the seemingly immovable, shadowy-figure before her, until her teal-optics familiarised themselves of the latter.
"Mirai?" Called Shikamaru out. "What are you doing there shouting? Did a burglar break in?"
"N-No, um, actually...," hesitantly responded the lass. "Shikadai, he... He can't take control of his ninjutsu. One, he's just sitting there and eating, but then finds myself unable to move," the crimson-eyed female scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "I'm really sorry for being unable to help him about this."
"No, silly, don't apologise," responded Shikamaru. "You did great, but how did all these mess happen?"
"I...," daunted because of the current situation she was in, Mirai looked down on the ground, avoiding the gazes of Shikamaru, most of his wife. "...tried to fight him back by stopping him, but he wouldn't budge!"
Temari intentionally dropped her tessen on the ground, floor shaking because of its impact. "Did you really do that, Shikadai? What did I tell you about your ninjutsu?"
How troublesome...
"Don't even think of this as troublesome!" Retorted the blonde, allowing Mirai and her own son to shudder in mixture of fear and surprise. "Using your jutsu recklessly wouldn't stop you from attending the academy."
Eight year old Shikadai didn't respond, though the shadow he released to hold Mirai off had freed her.
"Calm down, Temari," quoted Shikamaru, though he himself was feeling afraid of his own wife. "He's still a kid, he surely will understand the importance of his jutsu as he grows," he turned to the children. "You guys can continue playing, Temari isn't mad anymore," actually, not really...
The genius then pulled her into a corner, out of the kids' sight. Yet before the latter could express something, Temari already had crossed her arms on her chest. "The reason why he's like that is because you're too loose around him! Both of you think it's troublesome so you end up not doing anything about it, than finding a way and fixing it! If only you wo--"
Temari found herself gasping for air, shoulders stiff, eyes widened. Shikamaru?!
Realising that the woman had already loosen her grips from struggling because of the kiss, Shikamaru took this an opportunity to speak what he actually had in mind. "It's not that I'm not guiding Shikadai. I just want him to do whatever he wants so he won't regret anything when he grows up. Like me."
"What did you regret?"
"Well, thinking everything is a drag so I had less to none opportunities to experience what being a kid really was," answered the man. "It already happened so enough of that. Considering the surroundings you grew up to, I can understand why you're being like this around our son, but take it easy," said him in a calmer, convincing tone.
Shikamaru took a moment to avoid his wife's tough expressions before planting another passionate kiss on her lips. This time, Temari savoured it, but definitely, she could feel sonething wrong around them.
The kids, Mirai and Shikadai, were staring at them in awe. There was an attempt from Mirai herself to cover Shikadai's eyes, but it was too late.
(A/N: The book is reaching its end, but I suddenly got three ideas in mind which, upon adding, will defeat the purpose of this book's title. I'm currently on episode 17, and I'm certain I'll be getting more scenarios as the anime progresses. Should I just keep updating beyond Day 30?)