What A Drag... || Shikamaru x reader

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Edited: 30/05/24

Reuploaded: 06/06/24

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"I guess so," the man in the tree mumbled back to us, breathing out a puff of smoke before hopping off the branch and looking at us, "let's get this over with. I'm Hyousuke Izumi. This will be our training grounds, be here at 7 every morning. Today is a test, I've had rubbish student in the past so forgive if you don't like this. If I don't think you deserve to be here, then you'll fail and drop out."

We all just stared at him stunned.

Uh—well ok then...

Hyousuke sensei was a tall guy with long dark brown hair that was tied in a ponytail that allowed the hair to easily swish from side to side with his movements. He had a lazy appearance, baggy bottoms, a black vest shirt with a netted shirt underneath. He had a his ninja vest on over his shirts and his headband tied around his forehead but was basically falling down his face with how lose it was tied. He wore a red bandana around his neck and had a pack of cigarettes and a lighter in his trouser pockets. How this guy was a ninja beats me...

"... for good. No more ninja academy or ninja stuff for you guys," he continued, his expression not wavering at all. We were all just stuck to the spot, not really knowing what to do, "no second chances."

"I took a little bit of inspiration from a friend this time around so... for your test, I have hidden two things in this area. One is a book, the other is a blue butter knife. Find them and you pass," he tells us, "don't and, well, time to start job hunting elsewhere."

But that's only... two objects?

"Wait—but in that logic, only two of us pass," Riku speaks up, pushing his glasses up his nose causing a strange glint. We all looked at him expecting an explanation. But instead he just grunted and jumped back into the tree.

"You have half an hour," he told us simply.

We drop our stuff after realising he wasn't lying nor planning to give us an explanation, and then ran away from him, far enough to be out of ear shot.

"It's not just me that sees there's something else behind this, right?" I asked, they both stopped and nodded.

"Like he has an ulterior motive?" Yuuto asked, I nodded.

"I feel like he's been doing this for a while, and when he says we'll fail and drop out of the shinobi profession, I think he's telling the truth so I'm thinking he's seen a lot of people who have tried to become his students but failed because of something that made them fail," Riku thinks out loud.

"So, all we have to do is point out the obvious?" Yuuto asked before putting his hand up, only two of his fingers were up though, "there are two keys to success, meaning this test was made to test one thing and one thing only."

"Teamwork," we all concluded in unison.

"Alright, we know what we're focusing on here," I said before starting to lay out a plan for how to find these 'keys to success' as Yuuto had called them.

Shikamaru's PoV

We'd all gotten into our teams and left the academy. Iruka sensei had told Choji, Ino, and me to meet our new sensei in the local barbeque shop, Choji being Choji was thrilled while me and Ino weren't really all that bothered. Actually, scratch that, Ino was just whining because she wasn't on Sasuke's team. Honestly, I would've preferred to have Sakura, at least she knows when to shut up. Ino just goes on and on and it's just a pain.

"Are you three, Ino, Choji and Shikamaru?" a man approached us when we entered the building. We all nodded, and he smiled, "I'm Asuma Sarutobi. I'll be your sensei from now on, Team 10, but first I need to see what you're made of. Shall we?"

He gestured for us to follow him.

Asuma was a guy with black spikey hair, his headband around his forehead, a cigarette hanging out the corner of his mouth, a vest and a navy-blue jumpsuit under it along with a piece of cloth tied around his waist with a strange symbol on it that I've never seen before.

"Looks like Hyousuke beat us to the area," Asuma sensei mumbled as we reached a field and saw a guy smoking in a tree, "oi! Hyousuke! Where's your team?"

"They're... somewhere. I couldn't care less to be honest because they're just going to disappoint me anyway," Hyousuke shouted down from his perch, "they always do."

"He's a real piece of work," Choji whispered to me, I nodded. He has no belief in whatever it was his team was doing. What an asshat.

I wonder who his team is.

"You can use the field, I doubt we'll be using it. I'll just be hanging out in this, here, tree," the man told Asuma as he patted the branch he was on and breathed out another puff of smoke. Asuma just nodded and continued walking forward.

"Alright, let's introduce each other and get to know one another. I'm Asuma, I smoke a lot and I'm a jounin," Asuma said as we all sat on the floor.

"Ok, I'm Ino, I like Sasuke and I hate Sakura," Ino says.

"Typical," I muttered.

"I'm Choji and I want to prove that I'm not useless like everyone used to tell me," Choji said, I smiled. I remembered those times when I didn't know him but decided I'd get to know him, who knew he'd become my best friend?

"I'm Shikam-" I started before being interrupted by someone shouting.

"Hyousuke sensei, we found your items," it was y/n and her team. The old man jumped down from his place in the tree.

"And?" he asked as if he was expecting something more interesting.

"And? Well, we're glad you've asked because even if you put out two items that guarantee us to stay as ninja, we would rather lose that chance than two pass and one fails," the red headed kid who I think was called Yuuto told him, pointing at Hyousuke seriously and then crossing his arms with a glare.

"Yeah, plus these stupid items weren't easy to find. Finding them was all thanks to y/n's planning, Yuuto's tracking, and my trap disabling that we actually did get them—what was with those traps? Were you trying to hurt us?" the black-haired boy, Riku, added on. Yuuto nodding along with him as he spoke.

"How disappointing. You all pass," the older man started to shout but his voice softened out as he smiled before a frown formed and he paused, "I guess."

"What?" the three asked in unison before smiling and cheering.

"Be here at 7, no later, no earlier," Hyousuke tells them before disappearing.

"Our judgement was right!" Yuuto smiled.

"Hell yeah," y/n cheered, her smile was so large and bright.

"That's only one hurdle, who knows what that weird man will do next. Anyway, up for ramen?" Riku asked, the other two nodded and they disappeared.

"Shikamaru!" Ino clapped her hands in my face.

"Oh—sorry, I'm Shikamaru and I think this whole this is a drag but whatever," I replied trying to wipe that smile etched into my brain, out and away.