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It wasn’t supposed to be just the two of them.
Shikadai had said he wanted to treat them all to dinner—them as in Himawari and her teammates, Jun and Hitoshi. They had completed an A-rank last week with Shikadai as their Jounin leader. His dinner invitation had come as a surprise. She didn’t know that he could be so generous and proactive.
Surprises aside, she wasn’t about to turn down a free dinner. But when her teammates couldn’t make it (due to a last-minute mission and an emergency clan meeting, respectively), Himawari was seriously debating whether she should ask Shikadai to cancel. She might have known him since she was a child, but it didn’t necessarily mean that they were close. They had never even spent any time together without the presence of someone else (mostly her brother). She had a feeling that it would be awkward and she would rather avoid that.
In the end, though, she had shown up, armed with several questions so they wouldn’t have to eat in silence the entire time.
“Sorry about Jun and Hitoshi. They didn’t mean to…you know…”
“Don’t worry about it,” he waved off her apology.
“So…uh, do you go here often?” she asked. They were at a small izakaya tucked away in a nondescript alleyway near the Hokage tower. It was called Tanuki and didn’t seem to be anything special and it certainly wasn’t popular—aside from the two of them, Himawari only spotted one another person, a civilian, sitting in the opposite corner. She wondered why Shikadai had picked this particular place.
“My old man brought me here once. They have some good dishes. Pretty simple stuff, but I like it,” he explained with a shrug.
“Right. So any recommendation?” she probed, eyeing the wrinkled menu in her hand.
“I like the kitsune udon. The ebi tempura is also not bad.”
Since she wasn’t in the mood for greasy stuff, Himawari settled for the kitsune udon and some sake. Tomorrow was her day off, so she could afford to drink.
“I’ll have the same as her,” Shikadai told the waiter and handed him their menus.
She fully expected the conversation to be difficult after that. Not because he was a difficult person (although, when she really thought about it, he kinda was ) but because…well, he was her brother’s best friend, not her best friend. She didn’t really know him all that well, aside from all the obvious stuff. Conversations started from common ground, and she didn’t know exactly what they had in common.
Except for Boruto. But she already had to deal with enough of him at home. She wasn’t inclined to spend her time away from her brother talking about him as well.
Surprisingly, it had been Shikadai who had started talking, asking her about the sealing technique she had used during their last mission together. It seemed he knew exactly what to say to get her to start talking, because she spent half of their dinner going on about fūinjutsu and only felt somewhat bad when she realized what she had been doing (he had asked, after all).
“I’m surprised you’re still holding on. My teammates never have so much patience with my…lectures,” she remarked wryly.
He shrugged. “It’s interesting. I’m not that familiar with Fūinjutsu, but the theory behind it is pretty cool. And you seem to know a lot about it.”
“Someone has to continue the family tradition. And nii-san is not very inclined to sit still and study .”
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “You don’t say.”
The conversation turned to other topics after that—hobbies, restaurant recommendations, fun facts from missions in faraway lands. When they parted ways that night, she was left with the impression that Shikadai was far more interesting than what his laidback approach to life and his usual complaints let on.
At the very least, he didn’t just tolerate her droning on about fūinjutsu—he was actually participating in the conversation. The same could not be said about many other people she had attempted to discuss this with.
The next time they met at Tanuki was by accident.
She had gone there after finishing up her work for the day (she had been busy designing a new fūinjutsu training program per her father’s request) to satisfy her tempura craving. It was at the entrance of the bar that she saw Shikadai trudging down the little alleyway leading up to the place, dressed in a set of white button-down shirts and grey slacks that looked rather fancy for an izakaya.
Privately, Himawari thought the clothes were a nice change from his usual get-up. They weren’t exactly the most practical, but they looked good . The shirts and pants hugged him in all the right places and showed off his rather toned physique. And coupled with his ponytail and earrings—Wait, what the hell was she thinking? Was she admiring Shikadai ?
Himawari shook her head a little. It had been a long day. She was probably tired and not thinking straight if she was oogling the best friend of her older brother, the same person whom she had grown up calling Shikadai-nii-san. He was off-limits, sort of.
“Don’t you have a date tonight?”
It wasn’t that she was trying to keep tabs on his love life. Himawari had only found out because she had overheard her brother mentioning it to Sarada yesterday.
“How do you—actually, I don’t really care. I kinda got stood up, I guess.”
Now she was curious. “What happened? Well, I mean, you don’t really need to tell me,” she amended quickly. She didn’t want to be nosy. “Only if you want to.”
“It’s not a big deal.” Judging from the careless shrug that he gave her, it really was not a big deal. “My date, she…ah, she said she was just looking for a rebound but she changed her mind last minute.”
“Ouch.”
“It’s okay. Are you here for dinner?”
“Ebi tempura. You said it was good.”
He gave her a small smile. “It is good.”
They ended up having dinner together. Shikadai got yakisoba, which looked pretty good as well. She made a mental note to order that the next time she would be here.
“By the way, Himawari…”
“Yes?” she replied distractedly, busy browsing through the drinks menu. She hadn’t really planned on drinking, but the waiter had mentioned a special summer menu. Those colorful cocktails looked good, if she was being honest.
“You have a smudge of ink on your face.” Well, that got her attention. She looked up from the drinks menu to see him gesturing to a spot on the left side of his face, near his ear. “Right here.”
“Oh.” Her face felt a little warm as she tried to wipe the smudge away with her finger. Some of the ink from when she was working on a few sample seals must have gotten on her face without her noticing. “Is it gone now?”
He smiled a little, green eyes twinkling. “Still there. Actually, let me…” And with that, he reached across the table and rubbed his thumb on her cheek. It took a few tries, but he managed to get most of the ink off her skin.
Himawari blinked. That was unexpected.
“Uh…thanks, Shikadai.”
“No problem. I’ll just head to the bathroom to wash this off,” he said, showing her his stained thumb before taking off.
Left alone at the table, Himawari slowly swallowed. She had lost all interest in the cocktails, which was just as well because she doubted she needed any more alcohol tonight. Her face already felt warm enough as it was, especially the spot where Shikadai had rubbed with his thumb.
A month after that coincidental dinner, she was back at Tanuki, this time with no intention of eating anything. And it was when she was halfway through her second bottle of sake that he slid into the seat next to hers. He didn’t exactly look concerned, per se, but he did raise an eyebrow as she downed her cup in one go.
“Hey,” she greeted softly.
“Hey.” He eyed the alcohol on the table. “Should I tell you to take it easy?”
“I can hold my liquor,” she replied and then smirked. “Better than you, from what I heard.”
He scowled and grumbled something about her brother and his big mouth.
“Are you also here to drink?” It was way past dinner time. But maybe he hadn’t eaten yet.
“Not really. I walked past here and saw you and…well, today—”
“So you took pity on me,” she muttered as she took another gulp of sake. Her head was buzzing just slightly, but Himawari wasn’t too concerned. She knew when to stop.
“You did well,” he said simply.
“Apparently not well enough.” Otherwise, she wouldn’t have failed her Jounin exam.
“I was watching your exam. With a bit more training, you’ll pass with ease next year.”
“It’s not…I mean, I’m not really sad about it or anything.” Himawari grimaced as the words left her mouth. It didn’t sound convincing at all, because it was a lie. “Okay, I suppose I’m…disappointed. Nii-san became a Jounin at eighteen.”
“Last time I checked, you’re not the one running around in hot pink,” he deadpanned, which managed to draw a smile out of her.
“Well, no…but people have a lot of expectations.”
Too many expectations, if she was being honest. By the age of eighteen, her parents had fought (and won) a war. How the hell was she supposed to live up to that? And that was not to mention all the other exceptional individuals in her life—her grandparents, her aunt, Sarada.
“People expect things of me. Great things. Not because of who I am but because of whom I’m related to.” She didn’t know why she was being so forthcoming with him, but once the words had escaped her mouth, it was like she couldn’t stop. “I don’t know. I just want to be me, you know, not the second version of whatever living legend I’m related to that had saved the world.”
“I understand,” he said softly. “When people look at me, I think sometimes they only see my old man. It doesn’t really help that we look so much alike—”
“Except for the eyes,” she pointed out, smiling slightly. Shikadai got his eyes from his mother, and if she was being honest, it was his best feature.
“Except for the eyes,” he agreed. “But in every other aspect, I’m just Nara Shikamaru 2.0. Not me .”
“I guess that’s how it is when you have war heroes for parents,” Himawari mumbled.
“Well, you know, people will always expect something out of you. And they probably hold you to a much higher standard compared to others. Which I know is unfair. But it’s okay, you know, because they don’t really matter to you. The people who truly matter see you for who you are. And they love you for it. I doubt Boruto would hang out with me if he thought I was my old man.”
They both laughed at that last part.
“I think nii-san was slightly afraid of your dad growing up.”
“The one he should have been afraid of is my mom.”
“Oh, he was afraid of Temari-baa-san as well.”
They lapsed into comfortable silence after that. As she poured herself another cup of sake, she realized that the lump in her stomach that had been there since she failed the exam was gone. She was still a little disappointed, yes, but not as much as before. Eighteen was rather young to be a Jounin anyways. She could count on three fingers the number of eighteen-year-old Jounins she knew, which were Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki. And those three had always been ahead of the curve, it wouldn’t do her any good constantly trying to measure up to them.
“Hey, Shikadai.”
“Yeah?”
She smiled. “Thanks.”
“Anytime, Himawari.”
She wondered when it had become a thing for them to meet at Tanuki. It wasn’t like they had exchanged any verbal agreement or anything. It just… happened . Sometimes, when she ran into him at the Hokage Tower, she would call out and ask if he wanted to grab something at Tanuki. Other times, he would approach her at the market or on the streets to see if she was up for a drink. A couple of times, one of them would already be sitting there when the other one walked in.
It was their thing. And Tanuki was their place. They would meet up, have dinners, share drinks (mostly on her part because Shikadai was still a lightweight), and talk. They exchanged stories about their missions (outside of what was classified), their side projects, new hobbies that they had decided to pick up, things happening with their families, and new shows on TV they had gotten hooked on. Sometimes, they would stay long after they had finished their food and had had a few drinks, and Himawari would find herself walking back home past midnight with a smile on her face.
And, somewhere along the way, Shikadai had gone from being her brother’s best friend to being her friend.
That night, they hadn’t planned to meet up, but she went to Tanuki anyways. She had come to enjoy the food there, and the drinks were always great. Tucked in that little alleyway, it was a nice place to get away from all the hustle and bustle of Konoha.
He was already there—she could feel his chakra signature even before she walked in. She smiled, thinking of how they had ended up with the same idea without meaning to. But when she lifted up the tap separating the restaurant inside from the outside world, what she saw made her stop in her track.
There he was, sitting at a table in the corner with his back to the entrance. Only, he wasn’t alone. On the other side of the table sat a fair-haired woman with beautiful grey eyes. She looked vaguely familiar, like Himawari had seen her somewhere.
But it didn’t really matter to her, not at that moment, because Shikadai and the woman looked like they were enjoying themselves. They were laughing about something that Himawari wasn’t privy to.
She clenched her jaws and quietly retreated from the izakaya.
As she walked aimlessly down the alleyway, Himawari could feel a lump rapidly forming in her throat and her hands had curled into tight fists. Her mind kept straying back to that scene she had just seen at Tanuki, of Shikadai and that woman laughing together. Himawari bit her lower lip as she forced the memory away, but her mind was strangely stubborn today. It didn’t want to let go of that particular image.
She had thought of Tanuki as their place. Theirs. But now that she had seen Shikadai with someone else there, she realized how silly she had been. Just because they often met up there didn’t mean that she had any claim over the place, or him. He clearly didn’t think so. Only she was foolish enough to actually believe it.
What did it matter, anyways? Shikadai was just a friend. He was free to hang out with anyone he wanted to at Tanuki. Himawari had never been possessive about her friends, nor would she ever want to be.
So why was she getting so upset about this? And why did it feel like her heart had dropped to the bottom of her stomach when she saw him there with someone who wasn’t her?
For several weeks, she avoided going to Tanuki.
Well, perhaps avoided was too strong a word. Himawari just…decided not to go. She told herself it was because she didn’t have the time. It was that period of the year when a full inspection of the barrier surrounding the village would be carried out. This year, her father had asked her to join the team and see if there were ways they could improve the strength of the seal. Himawari had jumped at the chance—she had never worked with a seal with such a big range.
It was a lot of work, but she could have made the time if she wanted to.
The problem was, she didn’t want to. Not really. Ever since that day when she had found him sitting there with someone else (a beautiful woman —as her mind seemed to strangely fixate on), she had been reluctant to go back. Partly because of the ridiculous notion she harbored that Tanuki was their place and, therefore, not anyone else’s. But mainly because she was afraid that she might see him there with someone else, again.
For some reason, the thought of that just didn’t sit right with her.
So she decided to employ a tried and true technique that had served many a shinobi: avoid and evade.
It was just as well, because she really did have a lot of work to do. The inspection of the barrier itself wasn’t too tricky—just tedious. Konoha was a big village, so there was a lot of ground to cover. And then there was the fact that they wanted to improve the seals…
Sometimes, she couldn’t help but wonder if her father might have a tad too much faith in her sealing ability. When she started, there was no one around who could really teach her. Uncle Kakashi had passed on whatever he knew to her and had declared she far surpassed his sealing skill three years ago. Fūinjutsu was something of a dead art, especially Uzushio fūinjutsu, so she had to rely on books, scrolls, and a lot of trial and error to get to where she was right now—which, unfortunately, was nowhere near the level of a true Fūin Master.
But it wasn’t like they had a lot of other options aside from her.
On that particular day, she stood on the wall above the main gate, inspecting a seal that had been embedded in the wood since the founding of the village (or so she heard). It was ancient and apparently had been created by Lady Mito, so Himawari was seriously questioning whether she could be of any use at all.
Still, it couldn’t hurt to study the seal. Maybe she could replicate it and use it on missions. A barrier seal of this strength would certainly come in handy.
Several chakra signatures flickered to life at the edge of her consciousness, pulling Himawari from her thoughts. The main gate had no shortage of people coming and going, and normally she wouldn’t really pay attention. But she recognized these chakra signatures…
Looking down, she saw three familiar figures approaching the gate—Chouchou, Inojin, and Shikadai. She was too far up above to really make out their faces, but it would be difficult to miss them. They were dressed in their full ninja gear, so they must have just returned from a mission.
Chouchou looked up and gave her a wave, which she returned. That drew the attention of the other two. Inojin waved as well, but Shikadai merely said something to his teammates (she couldn’t tell what), and then he sprinted up the wall. Towards her.
What was happening?
He stopped when he was just barely a meter away from her, and it was then that she saw his bandaged right hand and the bruise blossoming on the left side of his face.
“You’re hurt?” she blurted out.
“Well, hello to you, too,” he drawled, looking a little amused. “And I’m fine. Minor injuries.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Aren’t you supposed to be a long-range fighter? Those injuries don’t look long-range to me.”
He shrugged. “I’m not invincible.”
“Clearly,” she muttered. She wasn’t sure why she was feeling a bit upset looking at his injuries. Shinobis got hurt all the time, and she had seen much, much worse—had been through much worse herself.
And yet, somehow, the idea of Shikadai getting hurt, no matter how minor, just made her…uncomfortable.
“So…uh, did you come all the way up here just to say hi?” she asked, trying to distract herself from her weird train of thought.
“No. I want to ask you something. Since you’re already here, now is as good as any other time.”
“Go ahead then.”
“Why have you been avoiding me?”
Himawari froze. She hadn’t been avoiding him. Not really. She had just been busy that day when he asked if she wanted to grab some food (she had been busy watching TV on her couch while eating take-out). Then the time after that, when they saw each other at the market, she just had to take a different turn because she had an errand to run in that particular alleyway, and it was only a coincidence that it was a route that would take her away from him. And then last week at the Hokage Tower, she just had to rush away before he could even say hi because…well, Himawari wasn’t quite sure anymore what the emergency of that day was, but it was probably important.
Either way, she hadn’t been avoiding him, not at all.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she muttered, and then before he could say anything, she pressed on, “And why are you wasting time asking me stupid questions anyways? Shouldn’t you be spending time with your… date ?”
It wasn’t often that she saw Shikadai caught by surprise.
“Wait… what ? My date ?”
“Or your girlfriend. Or whatever. I don’t know.”
This time, the surprise was gone from his face, replaced by exasperation and amusement.
“Since when do I have a girlfriend?”
“You tell me,” she mumbled. Shouldn’t he know better than her about his own personal life?
He didn’t say anything to that. Instead, he merely gave her an expectant look, like he was waiting for her to explain herself.
She cleared her throat awkwardly.
“Uh…well, aren’t you dating that woman…the blonde one, with grey eyes? I saw you and her at Tanuki…like a couple of weeks ago…”
Great. Now she sounded like she was stalking him.
Shikadai let out a soft laugh. “Akane-san is my colleague in R&D, Himawari,” he explained, and then his voice took on a much dryer tone as he continued, “and she’s also Mirai’s girlfriend.”
“Oh.” Oh.
To say that this wasn’t how she had expected this conversation to turn out would be an understatement.
But there, beneath her surprise, was something else. She felt absurdly pleased all of a sudden, and she had to consciously remind herself not to smile.
“You’ve been avoiding me because you think I have a girlfriend?” Shikadai questioned, tone mild, but his eyes glinted with something she couldn’t quite understand.
“No!” Belatedly, she realized that she might have been too quick in denying his claim. “I’ve just been…busy. You know, with the barrier and everything.”
“Right,” he drawled softly.
She nodded emphatically.
“Too busy to eat?”
“Of course not! You know I can’t go on without food—”
“Then you can also eat with me. Tomorrow night. At Tanuki. Right?”
Himawari blinked. Did he just…She had played right into his hands, hadn’t she?
Damn Naras and their big brains.
“Oi, Shikadai. Quit flirting and get your ass down here! We need to go see Hokage-sama!” Chouchou hollered from where she was standing at the gate.
Wait, flirting ?!
“What a drag,” Shikadai muttered. And then, without any warning, he reached out and tucked a strand of wayward hair behind her ears. Heat practically exploded on her face as his calloused fingers ghosted the surface of her skin. He pulled back, not a moment too soon, and flashed her a smug smile.
She barely had time to recover from… whatever the hell that was before she heard him say: “I need to get going. See you tomorrow, Himawari.”
Then it was just her above the gate again, blushing furiously as she reached up to touch the spot where his fingers had made contact.
Shikadai was a genius. He had to know that was no innocent touch, right?
Technically, she hadn’t said yes to his dinner invitation. And she had half a mind to not show up as payback for him tricking her into this.
But in the end, she still found herself walking along the familiar alleyway leading to Tanuki, because…well, she had missed him. She had missed sharing food together, missed teasing him about his low alcohol tolerance, missed all the conversations that they had. They used to meet up every three to four days, and then the whole not-avoiding Shikadai happened, and it had been three weeks since she had sat done for a meal with him.
Dinner was as nice as she remembered. The food was great. They didn’t order drinks, so there was no opportunity to tease him. Their conversation carried well into the night.
But dinner was also…a bit strange. Shikadai was the same, but also different. Every once in a while, he would say something that left her feeling terribly flustered and not quite sure how to reply to him.
When he first saw her that evening, he said: “You look really nice.”
A beat of silence passed and she almost gaped at him. And then, with a bit of struggle, she pointed out: “I’m in my Chunnin uniform.”
To which he had merely raised his eyebrows, as if challenging her to explain why her Chunnin uniform would make his comment any less true.
Well, what the hell was she supposed to say to that?
The rest of the evening went in much of the same vein. Every now and then, Shikadai would make off-hand comments, like “You can look as much as you want. I don’t mind” when he caught her stealing glances at him, or “I never thought I’d have to compete with mochi ice cream for your attention” when she was too focused on the heavenly dessert that the waiter had brought out to listen to what he was saying.
She ended up feeling uncomfortably warm, especially around her face and neck, but he just seemed so horribly calm and collected. It was infuriating.
By the end of the night, she couldn’t help but think of what Chouchou had said (or yelled) yesterday. She had said Shikadai was flirting. Was that what he had been doing, flirting ?
With her?
For the first time in her life, Himawari cursed her lack of experience when it came to things like this. She had gone out on a couple of dates before, with just this one guy who had been rather restrained about the whole thing. He certainly hadn’t said anything similar to what Shikadai had been sprouting all night.
Not that she hated it. It was…nice, to be honest. She enjoyed it, this attention that he was giving her. It felt good to feel wanted by a man that she certainly didn’t see as just a friend.
The realization had come to her halfway through dinner. Himawari had a feeling she had known the answer all along. She had just been too slow to pick it up. It was a realization that should have floored her, but it didn’t. Perhaps because she had had an inkling. Or perhaps because everything finally made sense—why she was so upset that night when she saw him with another woman, why she didn’t like it when she realized he was hurt, why she blushed when he touched her instead of jabbing him with her Gentle Fist. She wanted his touch, enjoyed it, welcomed it, because she liked him.
The end of their dinner came all too soon (even if they had sat there for hours ). Outside Tanuki, Himawari was disappointed that she had to part ways with him, at least for tonight, but then he started falling into steps with her as she made her way back to her apartment.
“Your place is in the opposite direction.”
“I’m walking you home,” he declared simply, flashing her a smile, and she didn’t protest any further because, gods, she wanted him next to her, just a little bit longer.
They walked in comfortable silence. It was past midnight, but it was a Friday, so the main streets of Konoha were still buzzing with activity and life. They carefully weaved through all the people out and about, enjoying their evening. At one point, she felt Shikadai's fingers close around her own as he pulled her from the path of a group of rowdy civilian teenagers. She wouldn't have had any trouble avoiding them, but she smiled and murmured a thank you to him all the same.
But even when they were well on the way and the crowd around them had dispersed, Shikadai still held her hand in his.
Shikadai's hand felt rough against her skin. She didn't really mind. She was raised in a shinobi household and rough, calloused hands were what she grew up with. All she really cared about was how warm the palm of his hand was, wrapped around her own like this.
“Well, this is me,” she said, gesturing to the door behind her. When they reached her apartment building, he had insisted on walking her all the way up. Himawari was definitely not complaining.
“I suppose I should leave then,” he commented in a low voice.
She nodded. “You should.” Even if she didn’t really want him to go. But they both needed rest—it had been a long day and it was almost one in the morning.
“I should,” he echoed, but he didn’t make any move to leave, and she didn’t pull out her keys.
Himawari wasn’t quite sure who had moved in first, or perhaps they both did. All she knew was that one moment they stood there, looking at each other quietly, and then the next, she could feel his lips on hers, warm, soft, and sweet. He cupped her face with his hands, fingers tangling in her dark hair, pressing against the nape of her neck, sending shudders down her spine all the way to the tip of her toes.
All too soon, they broke apart. She looked up at him with hooded eyes, a protest already halfway up her throat. But before she could make a sound, he was already diving in again, this time much more demanding. Himawari stumbled back until she could feel her back press against the wall, his body flush against her own. His hands didn’t stay still this time—they trailed from her neck down to her chest, to her waist, leaving behind burning skin wherever they went.
Hesitantly, she brushed her tongue against his lips, and she could feel his smile before he allowed her in. A low moan escaped her throat. Somewhere far at the back of her mind, she was reminded that they were still standing in the hallway outside of her apartment, but she really, really couldn’t care less at that moment.
The second time they pulled apart, it was more out of necessity than anything else, their chests heaving as they sucked in shuddering breaths.
"Do you…uh, do you want to come in?" Do you want to stay the night?
The implication of her words was not lost on either of them. Green eyes darkened, and for a moment, he looked as though he would say yes. But then he groaned and took a step back.
"I would love nothing more," he replied softly. "But I think we should save something for the first date, yeah?"
Her brain was still a bit slow from the kiss they just shared, so it took her a moment to understand what he meant. When she did, a grin broke out on her face.
"So you think I'll go out on a date with you?"
He smirked. "People don't call me a genius for nothing, you know."
"If you're such a genius, then care to guess where I want you to take me on our first date?"
His smile widened. "Oh, I have a pretty good guess."
"Well, you better not bring anyone else to Tanuki from now on."
"Troublesome woman. We're not dating yet, and you're already making demands," he sighed, but there was no mistaking the indulgent smile on his lips.
"This is what you're getting yourself into. Take it or leave it," she teased.
"Oh, I'll definitely take it," he murmured before bending down to capture her lips once again.
Fin.