[Naruto fanfic] Shikamaru: He Doesn't Care
Title: Shikamaru: He Doesn't Care
Author: dame_batsie
Rating: G
Word count: 868
Summary: No matter how hard Chouji tries to get him into go, Shikamaru just doesn't care.
Author's notes: I wrote this about 2-3 years ago. I finally got off my lazy butt and posted.
Shikamaru: He Doesn't Care
On Monday night, Shikamaru and Chouji were hanging out in Shikamaru's room. Chouji was eating potato chips.
"Hey Chouji," said Shikamaru, "try not to make a big mess here. My mom will kill me."
"Sorry."
The boys were playing Candyland because Chouji got tired of losing to his friend in shougi. In the middle of the game, Chouji walked over to the TV and turned it on.
"Hey, what are you doing? What about the game?"
"It's 7:00," said Chouji, "My new favorite show is on."
"You have a new favorite show?" asked Shikamaru.
"It's Hikaru no Go," replied Chouji, "You really should watch this, Shikamaru. I think you'll like it."
"I don't care about go. You can do whatever you want. I'm getting us drinks." Shikamaru stood up.
But Chouji pulled him down. "No! You're watching this! Look!" He eagerly pointed to the screen. "That guy, Kaga, plays shougi. He's the president of the shougi club!"
"Why is he playing go, then?"
"Well, he used to play go," explained Chouji, "but now he plays shougi. He's cool. He can do both! You should do that, too! I bet you could beat him, Shikamaru!"
"Well, too bad we'll never find out." Shikamaru left the room. When he returned, Chouji was laughing.
Shikamaru handed him a drink. "I didn't know go was so funny."
"It's not. But Shindou is."
"Who's that?"
Chouji pointed at a small boy with half-blond hair on the screen. "That's him. He kind of reminds me of Naruto. Don't you think so?"
"Sure," Shikamaru shrugged. "since they both have blue eyes and partly blond hair." He laid down on his bed and closed his eyes.
"Aww, man!!" whined Chouji.
Shikamaru's eyes flew open and he jumped out of bed.
"What happened? Are you hurt?"
"No," said Chouji sadly, "the episode just ended."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
Chouji stood up. "There needs to be new episodes everyday instead of every Monday at 7 PM. Well, see you later."
After he left, Shikamaru went back to sleep.
+++++++++++++++
The following week, Shikamaru was angry. Chouji was supposed to meet him for ice cream after dinner, but he was absent. Therefore, Chouji stood him up. Shikamaru walked over to Chouji's house
...and found Chouji's eyes glued to the TV.
"Chouji, what are you doing? I thought we were getting ice cream at 7."
"I said 7:30, after the show."
Shikamaru sat down next to Chouji. "Okay, fine." He looked at the TV. "Why is that Kana guy still playing go, if he's a shougi player?"
"It's 'Kaga,'" Chouji corrected, "And it's a team tournament. They needed an extra player. See? He's good. He beat the guy in ten minutes."
When the commercials aired, Chouji turned to his friend excitedly. "Hey! You should learn to play go! If Kaga can do both shougi and go, you can, too! I bet you'll be really good!"
"I don't feel like it. Besides, you probably know more about go than I do, since you've been watching this show."
"Actually, I don't really know anything," said Chouji.
"So what's the point of watching this show?" asked Shikamaru. Chouji was not acting like himself, it seems.
"This show is very captivating, with excellent character development and superb tension-building. Not only that, but the background music is very fitting and enhances the action of the matches. Hey!" Chouji grabbed Shikamaru's arm.
"If you learn go, you could probably beat Shindou! Not the real one, because he lost in the first round and he sucks. But you could play Sai, the ghost who lives in Shindou. He's really good. He beat Touya. You could beat Sai and Touya if you learned go!"
Shikamaru winced. "I can beat a ghost?"
"Yeah...I know if sounds weird, but you can do it!"
Shikamaru sighed and pointed to the TV. "It's back."
When the episode was over, the boys finally went out for ice cream.
Shikamaru counted spots on the wall as Chouji chattered about Hikaru no Go.
"...I was so mad when that kid revealed Shindou's identity! That would've been cool if Haze Jr. High won the tournament for the first time. Stupid Kaiou. Those Kaiou kids are stuck up. I hate them..."
"Chouji," Shikamaru cut in, "it's just a cartoon. There's no need to get obsessed with it. It's all you ever talk about."
"It's a fantastic show. Not like the typical monster or mecha or bloody action shows they're always showing. It's refreshing to see a show about normal kids doing normal things. It would be like someone making a show about us. People would probably want to watch us."
"Me doing nothing? And you eating? That's the worst possible show. No one wants to watch that."
"Lighten up, Shikamaru," Chouji quickly changed the subject. "I'm sure you've learned a few things about Go from watching Hikaru no Go, right? I know I have."
"Maybe..." Shikamaru reluctantly admitted.
Chouji slapped Shikamaru on the back. "I knew it!"
+++++++++++++++
The phone rang for five minutes before Shikamaru picked up.
"Hello?"
"Shikamaru?" It was Ino. "Asuma wants to take us out to dinner in ten minutes, remember? I just wanted to remind you."
"Sorry, I'm helping my mom clean house right now. She's really strict about folding bedsheets the 'right' way."
"Maybe next time, then. I guess it's just Asuma and me. Chouji can't make it tonight because he has a long-lost cousin visiting his family," said Ino.
Shikamaru was confused. "He never mentioned anything about a cousin. That's weird."
"I know. Well, I have to go. I'll see you later!"
"Bye."
After they hung up, Shikamaru hurried back to his room.
He turned on the TV.
Good, I didn't miss anything.
It was, after all, 7:00 PM on a Monday night.