A HAPPY MOMENT

Crunch

Shikamaru gazed up at the clouds as he popped the chip into his mouth. The eighteen year old watched them roll by carelessly in his special spot-—the one he had shared with Choji for all those years. He could remember the last mission he had…the A rank mission…Ino and Choji were both by him when the criminal they were sent to capture went for the kill…Choji pushing them both out of the way just as Shikamaru and Ino were about to be hit…

Shikamaru closed his eyes. He didn’t want to remember. God he didn’t want to remember…

“Shikamaru?”

Shikamaru opened his eyes to see his blond haired, blue eyed teammate staring at him from above. Shikamaru sighed as he sat up, Ino moving out of the way. Ino sat on the red railing of Shikamaru’s special spot for cloud-watching.

“What, Ino?” Shikamaru said irritably. “Is it about the mission papers? I already filled them out.” The pony-tailed eighteen-year old said, turning away from the blond stubbornly. “I’m busy right now.”

“With what--your official job as a cloud watcher?”

Shikamaru sighed again. “If you want to stay here, fine. It doesn’t matter to me. Want a chip?” Shikamaru offered the bag to Ino. Ino took one chip, and stared at it for a moment before popping it into her mouth.

Crunch

“Choji had a whole stash up here.” Shikamaru said after a moment of silence.

Ino chuckled a little. “That’s kind of hard to believe…I mean…he stashed them here without eating them all? That’s totally unlike how Choji was before—” Ino caught herself, as if admitting the truth was forbidden.

Shikamaru shrugged. “I told him to stash them so we wouldn’t get hungry on a day we didn’t feel like going home…but now I don’t want to go home, and I really don’t want to finish all these chips without him…” Shikamaru trailed off, taking another chip and eating it.

Crunch

The two teammates were silent for a time, with Shikamaru gazing at the clouds rolling by them. Ino continued to eat the chips. She stopped suddenly, tears in her eyes. “Ah…”

Shikamaru glanced at Ino. “What?”

“That is…it’s the last chip.” Tears formed in Ino’s eyes as she smiled, almost laughing. “We aren’t allowed to eat it. Only Choji…”

Shikamaru took the bag of chips abruptly, taking out the last, single chip. He broke it in half, handing one half to Ino. “We aren’t eating the last one alone. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

Ino took the half of the chip, studying it before eating it quietly, licking the salt off her fingers.

“Hey, Ino…do you believe in heaven?”

Ino turned back to Shikamaru abruptly. “What’re you talking about? Of course I believe in heaven. I mean—when I die of old age; I have to see you guys somewhere, right?” Ino laughed, swinging her legs off the railing and settling down next to Shikamaru, fiddling with his ponytail.

“I bet you’d look a lot uglier when you died.”

“Hey!” Ino turned a bright pink. “That’s not very--”

“Not that you’re ugly now. But if you diet too much, you’ll look really icky when you get older.” Shikamaru said sheepishly, rubbing his head as if embarrassed. “Guys like girls who have a little fat on them. They don’t all like skinny girls. You’re pretty, Ino. You just have to put on some weight.”

Ino blushed. “Ah…” Speechless, Ino turned away, waiting for Shikamaru to continue.

“I really don’t know if there’s a heaven or not.” Shikamaru said, his eyes remaining away from Ino. “I mean…why so much suffering? I’ve seen two of the most important people in my life taken away from me—I watched them die, Ino. How can I believe in a life after death if this life totally sucks?” Ino could see Shikamaru close his eyes shut, refusing the tears to exit. “This life is so freakin’ horrible—how can I believe in the promise of a happy, peachy-keen life after I die?”

“Shikamaru!”

Shikamaru turned to Ino, opening his eyes as a single tear fell off his cheek. Ino’s eyes were filled to the brim with tears, each of them falling, another two taking each tear that had fallen in a long line of tears. “I-Ino!” Shikamaru said, surprised. He had never seen his teammate like this.

Ino placed her hand on Shikamaru’s shoulder. “Don’t say that.” She said quietly. “Don’t say that you don’t believe in Heaven. This suffering has to stop someday…and,” she added, “I don’t think life is just full of suffering. I think life is full of happy moments, too. You have to think of the happy moments…”

“A happy moment, huh?” Shikamaru leaned back, Ino’s face hovering his own. Shikamaru gazed into Ino’s blue eyes before he impulsively leaned up, stealing a kiss from his blond haired teammate. Ino sat there, startled for a moment, before pulling away. Shikamaru sat up. “Is this considered a ‘happy moment’?”

Ino was speechless. Soon, though, she regained her composure. “A happy moment…” Ino leaned in again, and the two shared another emotional kiss. Ino pulled back after a few seconds and smiled. “Yes. This is definitely a happy moment.”

Shikamaru smiled, leaning over the seat and pulling out another bag of chips. “Want some?” he asked, offering the bag.

End