Chapter Text
The girls were being way too loud. Their constant chatter was getting in the way of Shikamaru focusing on his game of shogi with Choji. They were going on and on about gossip. Y’know, the usual stuff: what happened at the market yesterday, how did your latest mission go, something about Ino’s family flower shop, etc. Talking is fine, the whole restaurant was loud, but something about the fact that it wasn’t just within their friend group — Ino had run into another friend here — was so obnoxious it almost made Shikamaru mess up a few turns. Almost.
He was still winning, of course. Blowing Choji out of the water, in fact. The best part of this strategy in particular was that Choji didn’t even know he was being crushed yet. It was a long-term sneak attack. Shikamaru liked to whip this one out every couple of weeks or so because the ending was so satisfying and you got to see your opponent’s light leave their eyes. Metaphorically, of course.
But now he could hardly enjoy it because of all the talking going on a few seats down. Even Kiba and Shino were beginning to eye the two girls. Naruto seemed to be doing fine, though, that wasn’t surprising considering the fact that Naruto’s ‘inside voice’ was about ten times louder than Ino and her other friend were right now. The two of them were just going on and on and on, making it seem like any of Shikamaru’s own thoughts were replaced by their droning conversation until finally—
“Would you guys just be quiet??” he burst out, annoyed.
Ino’s friend narrowed her eyes. He instantly regretted it all, but didn’t let it show, continuing his apathetic facade by resting his chin on his hand, elbow in the table like a pouting child.
Neither girl did anything more to acknowledge him, continuing their chatter once again. It started out as quieter at first, but the struggle to be heard over the general noise of the restaurant drove them to continue raising their voices until they were basically back at the same volume again. For some reason, like a mosquito bite, Shikamaru couldn’t leave it alone.
“Who are you, anyway? What are you even doing here at our table?”
Now he had done it.
“She’s my friend, Shikamaru,” Ino said in her scolding motherly tone. “And, we’re just talking, what’s the big deal?”
“I know, like, half the people at this table. I have every right to be here, dude.” She looked just as annoyed as Shikamaru felt. Why couldn’t she see she was the one making him upset? Though, he admitted, it went both ways now. “Calm down, I’m just waiting for my to-go order to be ready and I’ll be out of your hair soon, your highness,” she added in a mocking manner and turned back to Ino. She made a face to her that read what’s his deal ?
Glad the feeling was mutual.
“Lay off them, Shikamaru. Let’s just finish the game, shall we? I really might win this time,” Choji said, rubbing his hands together greedily. “Besides,” he whispered behind his hand, “She’s kinda cute, isn’t she?”
Shikamaru had been too ticked off to notice. He looked back over to the girls. Sure, she was cute. In a really annoying way. Maybe it was the fact that she seemed to be his opposite even in appearances. She had green eyes like a grassy field, and chestnut brown hair which was left down and fell to the shoulders except a single small braid hanging to her from near her right temple for added style. Her face was speckled, like someone had flicked a wet paintbrush at her and a beauty mark had grown wherever the paint landed. Everywhere that Shikamaru was sharp and cold, she was warm and soft. But she couldn’t keep her prettiness to herself. No, she just had to keep butting into his business.
As they played, Choji’s stack of dishes grew higher and higher. This restaurant sure knew how to keep a member of the Akimichi clan happy. Each time Choji finished a dish, he whipped out the menu again to select another one. Meanwhile, the kitchen seemed incapable of producing one single to-go order to get Ino’s friend out of here and fast. If she noticed the difference in the way she was being treated vs Choji, she didn’t let it show at all. In fact, at one point when Choji was being especially dramatic while deciding what dish to choose next the girl stepped in.
“Can’t decide? I go here often, so I can help.” She had paused her conversation with Ino to help. It seemed she was going out of her way to make Shikamaru miserable.
Choji nodded. “Yeah, I’m not sure whether to get this,” he pointed, “or this,” he said, pointing again. The girl leaned over his shoulder to peer down at the menu. Once again, she was interrupting Shikamaru’s shogi match. He was so close to crushing Choji, too. About time because Choji was getting a little too confident for someone who was losing terribly without knowing. “I’m nervous about the second option because it's an easy dish to mess up.”
“Oh you don’t have to worry about that. They do a great job with it. That’s what I ordered, in fact.”
“Do they usually take a while to make it?”
The girl bit her lip and looked back towards the kitchen. “Not usually. I’m guessing you’ll be fine, though.” So she did notice. And she was right too; Choji ended up ordering both options and got both dishes before the girl got hers.
Finally, Shikamaru dealt the final blow to Choji, bringing his best friend’s dreams of beating him for the first time to a crashing halt.
Choji groaned and covered his face with his hands. “I really thought I had you that time.”
Shikamaru pretended that wasn’t his plan all along. “Bad luck, I guess. Up for a rematch?”
“Absolutely not.”
He turned towards the rest of the table and said smugly, “Anyone else want to play me?”
Everyone else gave their various responses at once, each one boiling down to “hell no.”
Except one.
“Sure, I’ll play you,” Ino’s friend said. She was the one person Shikamaru wasn’t actually asking. Now it seemed like she was butting into his life on purpose. What a drag. However … if he could beat her, that would serve as poetic justice for her almost ruining his last game. Revenge was sweet and Shikamaru was a kid in a candy store.
“Allright,” he agreed, slowly.
“Uh, listen, you’ve actually been really nice so I feel like I should warn you,” Choji started. “Shikamaru is a master at shogi and can dish out a cruel takedown. You don’t want to play him.” Small talk for a guy who thought he was going to win a minute ago.
“It’s ok. I’m not super set on winning. I just need something to pass the time,” Ino’s friend said sweetly.
“If you say so,” Choji conceded.
The girl had been standing this whole time, probably in hopes that her order wouldn’t take long enough to warrant finding a seat, but now that she was playing Shikamaru, the friend group shuffled closer together to make room for her at their table. Shikamaru reset the game board.
“Do you know how to play?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah.” Shikamaru wished she sounded a little more confident; it’d be more fun to win that way. She reached out her hand to shake. Shikamaru just stared at it. “You don’t shake before you play? I thought that’s what professionals did.”
Shikamaru shook it hesitantly and looked directly into her unassuming eyes. She had no idea what she was in for.
The two of them began to play like normal, with Shikamaru letting his opponent start. She played pretty basic moves, making this revenge a little less satisfying. Shikamaru wanted to drag out the game and hit her with a surprise attack like he did with Choji, but it was kind of pointless to do that to someone who wouldn’t understand what was happening. Choji might not have ever won against him, but at least he knew some tricks.
Up close, he noticed more things about her appearance. Her nails were dirtcaked and uneven. She looked like she had rough, hard worked hands. Her loose clothes told no tales of her figure, but a collection of moles on her neck and near her collar bone hinted that the rest of her body was just as speckled as her face. She also had a lot of habitual quirks. She fidgeted her hands between turns, especially playing with her little braid, and bit her lip when thinking, furrowing her brow.
The girl hesitated a lot, drawing out her turns like she had big plans, only to make the most predictable of moves. This revenge plan was becoming a drag. Even their audience of friends was getting bored and returning to their side conversations. Shikamaru decided to end it quickly and get her out of here. He took out her king.
“Damn, I really thought I had you there for a minute.” She definitely did not have him. “Guess you are the master, after all.”
“Guesso.” Can her food come faster, please ? Shikamaru began to clean up the pieces, but she stopped him.
“Want to play again?” He eyed her. “Come on,” she urged, “I really think I have a plan this time. I want to try it out. Besides, my food isn’t even here yet, so it’s not like I’m going anywhere.”
What a drag. Another game with her was the last thing he wanted. But, she had these pouty eyes — eyes with a dream of carrying out her plan. Maybe this was his proper chance of crushing her.
“Fine.”
“How about a little wager this time, too?”
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. “What did you have in mind?”
“How about whoever wins pays for the whole table’s dinner?” Shikamaru’s heart dropped. Choji was here tonight. He would never shame his friend for his eating habits, in fact at times he was jealous, but he sure racked up a hell of a bill. Why would this girl make such a bet? Based on how she played last round, her plan couldn’t possibly be that good. Still … he was tempted to crush her dream and her wallet in one go.
“Fine. And I’ll pay for yours too, if you win.”
“Deal.”
They set up the board again to the starting position, but she put a few pieces in the wrong place and Shikamaru had to correct her. This time, Shikamaru went first. He was kind of curious what plan she could have possibly come up with, so he focused his efforts towards building a defense. Nothing seemed special about her moves, in fact the game went on pretty normally for a while. He moved, she moved. He moved, she moved. He moved, she—
What was that last move?
Shikamaru looked at the board as if seeing it for the first time. Something was wrong. He glanced at Ino’s friend’s face. It was meek with an innocent smile, except … her eyes. Fuck . This wasn’t a fluke, she knew exactly what she was doing. Shikamaru realized that they might have been opposites when it came to appearances, but they were very much the same in other ways. She, too, was out for revenge. He was playing shogi. She was playing him.
Shikamaru tried not to show his panic as he took in his true position on the board, not just the one she made him think he was in. It looked mostly normal, with a few vulnerable spots that he hadn’t seen before, but he didn’t trust where her pieces were. He had no idea where she was going. Bit by bit she broke through his careful defenses in ways he had not expected.
Their bet had recaptured the attention of Kiba, Shino, Choji, Ino, Tenten, and Naruto. They were all peering around one another down the line, trying to get a better look at the board. Shikamaru realized with disdain that they probably weren’t even rooting for him and repeated his question from earlier in his head: Who was this girl?
Her food came wrapped up in a plastic bag just as she delivered the final blow to Shikamaru’s ego and to his king.
“Hmm,” she said, keeping her face innocent, but her voice had sly undertones. “Guess that makes me the master, your highness.”
“You’re my hero,” Choji said to her. “You both destroyed Shikamaru at shogi and you got him to pay for my meal. I forgot I already spent all my money last week, so this is perfect timing.”
“Uh, you’re welcome, Choji,” she accepted reluctantly as the others began showering her with praise and Naruto ordered one more ramen bowl. Shikamaru dove into his wallet to count his money. Did he even have enough to pay for all of this?
“Ok, ok, guys? I only have enough to pay for what you’ve already ordered. No more, please,” Shikamaru called over the noise, waving to get his friends’ attention.
They all wined in unison. Naruto cancelled his order.
Shikamaru turned to the girl and said glumly, “Lemme pay for your order so you can leave.” He didn’t mean to shove her out so fast, but he was embarrassed by his defeat. Besides, paying was all she was waiting for now that her food was here.
He stood and went to the register. Pointing at the table, he told the cashier that he was paying for all of their meals. The cashier raised their eyebrows, looking at the mountains of dishes, but accepted the money. With his wallet now empty, he returned to the table,
The girl had left without a word.
Shikamaru sat back down, trying to put the whole ordeal out of mind. And to stop thinking about Ino’s friend. Tonight was certainly not going the way he had wanted.