Temari’s face scrunched up into a pout as her coordinator dragged her down the busy streets of the Leaf Village. “Do I have to?” she groaned, her voice sounding uncharacteristically childish.
Sakura rolled her eyes as she kept a firm grip on the Sand kunoichi’s wrist. “Yes, you have to.”
This answer did little to satisfy the engaged woman’s depression. “But I really, really don’t want to!”
The pink-haired woman glanced back at her friend with slightly amused emerald eyes. With Temari’s insistent whining, it was hard to fight back her giggles. “Oh, come on!” Sakura laughed. “What’s so bad about her?”
“She’s too… bubbly,” the foreign shinobi groaned, grimacing at the last word as she spoke it.
“Okay, I’ll give you that one,” the bride’s coordinator shrugged. “But she is Shikamaru’s teammate. She can’t not be included in this.”
Temari rolled her dark green orbs. She gave up on struggling out of the pinkette’s grasp and just let herself be pulled along like a rag doll down the dirt roads. Sakura was pleased when her companion surrendered, but she kept a light hold on her, just in case she tried to run away again.
“You know, you should be happy that Tsunade asked Naruto and me to be the best man and maid of honor,” Sakura said. She chanced a glance behind her out of the corner of her eyes to see a stubborn pout still on Temari’s lips. “If we weren’t your coordinators, I’m quite sure Ino would have ended up as your maid of honor. Then you’d be working on wedding plans until all hours of the night.”
“With a wedding coming up in less than two weeks, I will be staying up until all hours of the night!” the engaged kunoichi exclaimed. “Sure, I trust you to help me out, but I fail to see how Naruto is going to help out too!”
“Eh, in terms of the wedding, Naruto is only helping Shikamaru with his duties as the groom. It’s a much less complicated process for him, even if he is Naruto,” the medic ninja shrugged.
As the two women continued walking, Sakura noticed that Temari had finally decided to walk alongside her. Inwardly smiling at the reluctant cooperation, the pinkette released her fellow kunoichi’s gloved wrist.
It was only a few moments later when the Yamanaka Flower Shop came into view. Flowers of all colors and variety were displayed outside the windows as advertisement, attracting the attention of many passing villagers. The sweet aromas of the blossoms mixed together, creating a light perfume to tickle the ninjas’ noses as they approached the front door.
The Leaf kunoichi entered the shop first, indirectly ringing the silver bell that hung at the top of the door. Ino, who had been arranging flowers at the cashier counter, reflexively turned at the sound of the chimes. She grinned brightly when she saw rival/best friend and new acquaintance walk through the door.
“Forehead! Temari! What brings you two here?” Ino said as she stopped fidgeting with the bouquet of flowers. She wiped her hands on her yellow apron to rid the dew of the plants from her fingers, her crystal blue eyes never leaving the two arrivals.
“We have something to tell you,” Sakura said with a suggestive grin. She glanced at her companion and gently nudged her in the ribs when she said nothing. “Go on, Temari. Tell Ino-pig the big news.”
The Suna ninja scowled at the pink-haired girl, her dark green eyes glaring into the other’s lighter jade orbs. Temari glanced back at the Yamanaka and was just about to speak when the impatient blonde interrupted her.
“Well, what is it?” Ino asked eagerly as she placed her hands on her slender hips. “Did Shikamaru finally propose to you or something?”
The poor foreign woman gawked at the flower shop owner’s words while the medic ninja fell into a fit of giggles. “What… Why does everyone seem to think that Shikamaru and I are dating?!” Temari asked, frazzled beyond belief.
Ino blinked in surprise. “Wait… you guys aren’t dating?”
Temari was about to yell that it wasn’t true, but an indiscreet cough from the pinkette reminded her of her ‘mission’. “Uh… well, I just wanted to know where you heard that…”
“Oh, it’s old news, actually,” Ino giggled with a wave of her hand. “That rumor has been going on for a while.”
Temari’s previous vow to kill the rumor starter rekindled almost immediately.
“Well, you’re actually not too far off, Pig,” Sakura chuckled. She nudged Temari’s ribs again, urging her to give the big news.
“Uh… right… um… I’m…” Temari stammered as she rubbed the back of her sandy blonde head nervously. “IamgettingmarriedtoShikamaru,” she finally muttered out, almost inaudibly.
Ino clasped her hands to her agape mouth as she gasped. “Oh my gosh, did you just say…”
Temari reluctantly nodded, trying her best to act happy about her pretend marriage. “Yeah, we’re-”
“OHMYGOODNESS!” the blue-eyed girl exclaimed, repeatedly jumping up and down while clapping excitedly. “CONGRATULATIONS!”
“Thanks…” Temari mumbled, gently massaging her ears in an attempt to get her hearing back. “Well anyway, I came to ask… if you wanted to be a… bridesmaid…” she continued, muttering the word with a small grimace.
If possible, Ino’s smile stretched even wider. “Of course! I would love to! I accept!” she screamed with glee. “When’s the wedding?”
“Next Saturday,” Sakura replied.
“WHAT?!” Ino shouted in surprise, taken aback. “That’s like, no time at all!”
“Don’t worry, Ino-pig, it’s all covered,” the medic responded with a wave of her hand. “Everything is going to be handled.”
Her friend shot her a disbelieving look, but as she turned her uncovered blue eye to the engaged woman, a slow smile appeared across her full lips. “Ooh, you and Shikamaru must really be in love to have a wedding so soon.” The sun-kissed skin of Temari’s cheeks immediately reddened at this comment, and her eyes averted away from the other blonde’s prying blue orbs. “See! It’s true!” Ino said, pointing a triumphant finger at the other girl.
Sakura rolled her eyes at her friend’s loud personality, but she intervened to save Temari anyway. “Anyway, Ino-pig, we’re getting the other bridesmaids together tonight for a celebration. We’ll all meet later.”
“Alright then,” the Leaf ninja nodded. She sent one last smile at Temari as she gave another, “Congratulations.”
Temari nodded in response as she followed Sakura out the door and into the streets. The pink-haired girl began giggling when she saw the scowl on the blonde’s face. “The sad thing is… we still have to ask Hinata and Tenten to be bridesmaids.”
Temari’s head instantly fell to loll back on her shoulders as she glared at the sky. “Why do we need such a big wedding?” she groaned.
“The bigger the wedding is, the more believable the marriage will be,” Sakura winked.
**********************************************************
“Ah, I love barbecue and everything, Shikamaru, but what is the catch?” Kiba asked suspiciously as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Shikamaru sighed lazily as he leaned his head on the palm of his hand. “This is such a drag…” he thought to himself.
He stared at the Inuzuka seated across from him; Akamaru, who was transformed into Kiba’s twin, was busily eating the meat in front of him while Kiba was still staring at the Nara, making for a an easy differentiation between master and hound.
“Hey, hey, as long as Shikamaru is paying, I don’t mind one bit!” Chouji exclaimed happily from beside his best friend as he threw a piece of pork into his open mouth.
“But this certainly must be interesting if he has invited all of us here on such short notice,” Neji commented as he calmly used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat from the grill in the center of the table.
“Yah, cumf bon, Shifamaru,” Naruto mumbled out through mouthfuls of prime rib. “Bell dem da fig mews!”
“What the hell did he say?” Kiba asked, turning to one of the other ninja in confusion.
“I believe he said something about big news,” the Hyuuga said, slightly furrowing his eyebrows.
“Dop balking wit bor mouf fool!” Chouji yelled at the blonde seated to his right. Across the table, Kiba face-palmed, and Neji shook his head in irritation.
“Can we just get on with this?” the dog ninja asked in growing exasperation.
“Might as well just say it…” Shikamaru sighed. “I’m getting married,” he said calmly, not even faltering in his words.
Each person who was unaware of this news had a different reaction.
Kiba, who had been about to reach for a piece of beef on the grill, slipped in surprise when he finally comprehended his comrade’s words. The result: a burnt hand. He howled loudly as his palm sizzled, his screams attracting the attention of the other customers and workers.
Akamaru’s mouth fell open in shock, allowing his chewed food to fall back onto the table in a messy heap.
Chouji, incapable of ever letting barbecue fall from his lips, dropped his chopsticks instead. The wooden utensils rolled onto the cooking device, leaving them black and crisped.
Neji, as a Hyuuga, remained as stoic as ever, though his eyebrows noticeably rose a couple centimeters.
Naruto, who already knew of the news, just flashed a big smile, delighted at knowing the truth behind the marriage.
“When did this decision happen?!” the tattooed ninja inquired loudly, shaking his injured hand vigorously in an attempt to cool it off.
“Yesterday,” Shikamaru replied.
“Well then…” Neji said while shaking his head, trying to get over the initial shock, “when will you and Temari be wedded?”
Shikamaru eyed the pale-eyed jounin suspiciously. “Next Saturday… And how did you know it was Temari?”
“Because you two are dating…?” the Hyuuga replied, though it came out as a question since the new fiancé gave off the impression that the dating rumor was untrue.
Naruto burst out laughing, unable to contain himself. Shikamaru glared at him with as much force as his lazy demeanor could muster. The other shinobi just stared quizzically at him.
“What the heck is so funny?” Kiba asked in bewilderment.
He glanced at a passing waitress, and he quickly snatched the water pitcher from her and plunged his burnt hand into it. The woman stared at him astonishment, but upon seeing the now ruined water, she marched off, muttering something about, “annoying ninja.”
“Huh?” Naruto asked, his lips still upturned into his wide grin. He waved his hand in a dismissing manner when he finally realized what Kiba had asked. “Oh, nothing, nothing. Just thinking about how Shikamaru is too lazy to be a decent husband.”
“That is true,” Chouji smiled. “Do you think you can handle the married life, Shikamaru?”
“It’s not like I exactly have a choice…” Shikamaru thought to himself. But in response to Chouji’s question, he just grunted with a, “Hn.”
“All joking aside,” Neji interrupted, “congratulations, Shikamaru.”
“Thanks,” he mumbled as he rested his head back on his fist. “So anyway… I wanted to ask if you guys would be my groomsmen.”
Kiba, Chouji, and Neji blinked in surprise before they all smiled. “Sure!” the dog ninja grinned.
“Of course,” the Akimichi said.
“I’d be honored,” the Byakugan user nodded.
“And you already know my answer,” the blonde ninja said with a thumbs up.
Shikamaru nodded his thanks to his friends. The remainder of their lunch was filled with teases and taunts, all directed toward Shikamaru and his fate at being ‘tied down.’ Though through the good natured fun, the Nara could see the happiness that his comrades felt for him, which actually made him feel a bit bad about lying to them like he was, even if it was a mission.
He looked around the table at his friends, and he realized that his groomsmen for this ‘mission of matrimony’ were the same shinobi who had been apart of his team during the Sasuke Retrieval mission. As he pushed away the guilt that came with his first failed attempt at being a team leader, Shikamaru couldn’t help but appreciate the irony that came with his decisions in picking people for mission purposes.
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Chapter notes: Alright, after some... demanding requests (yeah, if you're reading this, you know who you are!), I decided to write this.
Thank you everyone for reviewing so far! I really appreciate it! It makes me want to try harder for this rewrite!
Hehe, the title of this chapter was going to be something boring like "Big News", but then I found this song in my repertoire, and I couldn't help myself XD
This is kind of a filler chapter and kind of not, I guess. The plot behind this is semi-important, I guess you could say :P Eh, just go read it.
Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) by Beyoncé
I do not own Naruto. Kapeesh?
Read on and enjoy!
Chapter end notes: So? What did you think? Was it alright? Was it terrible? I'd like to know what you think! Please leave a review with feedback. Positive, negative, I love all kinds of comments!
Thanks for reading! You're amazing!