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- "THE HELL ARE YOU STARING AT?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, and Shinko rolled her eyes.
"You look a lot like your mom, that's all," Shinko replied. Yoshino, who sat across from Shikamaru and Shinko smiled.
"Thank you, Shinko. I feel like he'll grow to look more like his father though, don't you?"
Shinko smiled and nodded, ignoring Shikamaru's embarrassed huff. Soon after, Shikaku had returned home. In times like these Shinko found herself envious of those around her.
Growing up without a father wasn't something that usually got to her, but seeing Shikamaru bond with his father made her smile turn melancholic.
She reached down to Masumi, who was sitting next to her. Masumi leaned her head on to Shinko to comfort her, making Shinko smile. "Thanks, Masumi," Shinko said quietly.
"Shinko, are you not hungry? You hardly ate," Yoshino pointed out.
Shiko looked up and shook her head, "Oh, no worries, I'm just kind of a slow eater," Shinko replied. "The food is delicious though,"
"Thank you," Yoshino smiled, but she was soon distracted by Shikaku and Shikamaru's playful bickering, "Cut it out, both of you." They both came to a stop, and continued their dinner. It reminded Shinko of her mother, and how her personality was similar to Yoshino's. "Are you going to participate in the chunin exams next week?"
Shinko nodded, "Yes, I will. I'm kind of excited."
"Of course you are," Shikamaru mumbled. Shinko lightly elbowed him, and they both rolled their eyes. The nervous feeling came back to him, but he did his best to ignore it.
However, Shinko shared the same feeling, though hers was for a different reason. The fact that she couldn't sense his Chakra before really bothered her, and it was something she couldn't stop thinking about. He's not like Lee, he has enough chakra to perform ninjutsu, so what was he doing that stopped Shinko from sensing him?
"Shikamaru, you should walk Shinko home soon, it's getting late," Shikaku said, and Shikamaru nodded. "And come right back, please."
"Yeah, yeah."
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The two of them walked, Shink trailing a bit behind, Masumi close by. Shikamaru slowed his pace, noticing how slow Shinko had been walking, but only briefly glanced back to check on her. It wasn't until Shinko came to a complete stop that he noticed the distressed expression on her face. "What's up?" He asked dryly.
