Intentions (Request/trade with Natto)

[Starry_Screamer]

Hey y'all! I'M BACK. AGAIN. TIME TO HIDE, LOL.

So! I'm really excited about this one. A little while ago I requested a Gaara story, and the lovely Natto answered the call of duty. She is working on it and I feel like a very lucky person and am ETERNALLY GRATEFUL. XDD So I asked what I could do for her in return, and this is what she requested!

Shikamaru's not one of my favorite characters, but I have to admit it was INSANELY fun writing him. The pairing is ShikaIno, which apparently my brain finds TOO CUUUUUTE. It's currently starting a pairing war in my head with ShikaTema, sooooo yeah. XDDDD

I hope you like it, Natto!!

START

Missions sucked. That was a known fact. Missions paid the bills, so they were good for that, but they sucked.

Missions where you effectively had to hike through the woods and camp through a night of single-digit weather sucked even more.

So, Shikamaru wasn’t exactly all that surprised when he woke up sick the morning after his team had gotten back to Konoha from said mission. After all, it had been freezing out there. He wasn’t surprised, but he was annoyed.

Being sick was troublesome for any regular person, and even more so for shinobi. He didn’t like a lot of things anyway, but he absolutely hated being sick. His head was throbbing, and it was like his neck and joints were too stiff to cooperate with him. His throat was sore because he’d been coughing and sneezing all morning, not to mention he was congested, to the point that he couldn’t smell or taste anything. It felt like someone had opened up his head and stuffed a bunch of cotton in it.

And if that all wasn’t enough proof that he was sick, the thermometer had announced that he had a fever of 99.8 degrees Fahrenheit.

Of course, it was no excuse for staying home from training. If you couldn’t handle working through a little cold, you weren’t strong enough to be a ninja. So he sucked it up, stowed about a million tissues in his shuriken pouch, and off to the training grounds he went. (Although if his mother knew he had a fever, even that low, she never would have let him out of the house.)

It looked like the rest of his team was already there. Asuma was working with Ino on something, while Choji was sitting there watching and munching on some chips as usual. Sighing, Shikamaru walked over and sat down. Before he could even greet his friend, a sudden tickle in his nose forced his head down into his hands. “H... H’tchhh!! Huh’tsCHHU!!” He groaned as he reached into his pouch for a couple of tissues. All sneezing did was worsen the congestion and make his nose drip everywhere.

Choji looked over and grinned. “Well, good morning to you too,” he chuckled, swallowing his last mouthful.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and buried his face in his tissues, blowing his nose. “Ugh. I’b so sick.”

“Oh. Sorry to hear that.” The other boy shrugged, popping another few chips into his mouth. “I mean, it’s a coincidence. I think Ino just got over being sick.”

“Yeah, I noticed.” At least he was talking normally again, but he still could barely breathe through his nose. Damn stuffiness. “She probably gave me whatever she had... troublesome girl...”

“Ha, not probably, Shikamaru. If you want my opinion, I think she gave it to you on purpose.”

He raised an eyebrow, folding up his tissues and wiping his nose. “What do you mean, sh... shehhh... eh’tschhh!! Heh’sshhh!! Huh’tcschhiuu!! Ugh... snf! Whadda you bead, she gave it to be od purpose? How?”

“Well...” Choji glanced over at where Asuma and Ino were sparring. “You know the water bottle she let you drink from while we were camping? After you drank all your own water?”

“Yeah...”

“Well, it was... her bottle. She was drinking from it the whole night and probably the whole time she was sick too. I mean, she’s not sick anymore, but she was probably still contagious then. She told me not to tell.”

That... didn’t come as exactly as big a shock as it should have. Ino was always doing stuff like that, usually for reasons of revenge or something. But what the hell had he done to her over the last few days? Besides the sarcastic comments that weren’t unusual for him anyway, he couldn’t think of anything that would have possibly made her that mad as to infect him deliberately. “I do’t believe her...” he sniffled, rubbing under his nose. “Why would she do thad?”

“I dunno. I think she said it was because you’re cute when you’re sick or something.”

Cute. He scoffed, reaching for a few more tissues. He certainly didn’t feel very cute at the moment; he felt disgusting and tired and achy and bleh. “She’s so ridiculous. H-! H’tsscchhh!! Ugh, dab it. I cad barely breathe. Troublesobe...”

After another moment of Shikamaru miserably sniffling and blowing his nose, it appeared that the spar between sensei and student came to an end. It didn’t look like Ino won, but she put up a pretty good fight. As Asuma was setting up the training dummy, the blonde happily bounded over and took a seat next to the dark-haired Genin. “Hi Shikamaru!”

He tried to glare at her, but he wasn’t really feeling up to it. “Good bordi’g, Ido. Sniff!” Great, he was still stuffed up. Why didn’t blowing his nose work? He must have done it a million times already.

She actually had the nerve to smile at him. “Aw, you sound horrible. You’re not sick, are you?”

“Huh’ttchhh!! Yes, I’b sick.” He barely bit back any comment about what Choji had told him, only because he didn’t want her to know that he knew. If she’d told Choji not to tell and she found out that he told, then she’d just have an excuse to be mean. “I’b talki’g like by dose is pinched shut, a’d you actually have to ask if I’b sick?”

“Bless you! Well, blow your nose then.” She crossed her arms over her chest, closing her eyes briefly, sending out that air of You should listen to me because I’m right. “You sound like you can hardly breathe.”

“I cad’t. Dot through by dose adyway.” He sniffled liquidly, rubbing frantically at his nose because it had started to itch, like he had to sneeze again. Then he sighed and blew his nose again, a bit more loudly than the last few times since he was sick of putting up with this congestion. No matter how much he sniffed it just wouldn’t clear up. “It’s like I’m trying to breathe through a straw.”

Ino glanced over again, blinking a few times. She almost seemed worried. “A straw that’s... started running.”

“Seriously? Again? Urgh, this is the most troublesome day of my life.” He fished out another couple of tissues and wiped at his nose before blowing again.

She put a hand on his shoulder, seeming to rub gently. “I hope you can concentrate. I think Asuma Sensei’s going to take it easy on us today. Some kick about getting ‘back to basics’ or something.”

“Well, whatever. It’ll still be a drag.” What was with her and touching him like that? She’d never dared to invade his personal space before. Maybe she just knew he wasn’t in the mood to argue over it today.

“Alright!” Asuma called, walking toward them and lighting up a cigarette. “Today we’re going to do a little target practice. Honestly, your guys’ aim could be better, so we’re going to brush up.”

Normally the smoke didn’t bother Shikamaru, and he couldn’t even smell it anyway. But a few little tendrils wafted over to him; it must have just been the fact that his nose was already sensitive from being sick, because it set him off. He quickly clapped his tissues over his face and nearly bent over himself. “H’tchhh!! H-Huh’tschhiuu!!”

He mentally winced as he noticed how horribly desperate they sounded. It sounded like he was losing control of himself... which he totally wasn’t. Urgh. Stupid, troublesome cold. “Heh’itschhh!! H... Heh-Heh’ngKKT!!” He managed to stifle the last one, which seemed to end the fit for now. And what a relief, because he didn’t think he could have taken much more. Each sneeze just increased the congestion, which was now pounding up against his sinuses.

He blew his nose a few times, groaning after the last. It still wasn’t working, and it was actually starting to hurt. Not to mention the tissues were beginning to make his nose raw and sore. He hated being sick; hated it, hated it, hated it. “Excuse be...”

“Bless you!” Ino piped up, giggling.

Asuma raised an eyebrow. “Are you sick, Shikamaru?”

Sniffling, he wiped his nose on the back of his hand. “It’s just a cold, Asuma Sensei... I’ll be fine.”

Well, he hoped he’d be fine.

-

Training was brutal, as Shikamaru had expected it to be. He kept getting dizzy in the middle of everything, plus he couldn’t get a decent breath in. He had to breathe through his mouth for most of the day, which wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to do, and it made his throat worse. Bending down even the slightest amount made his nose run incessantly. His headache had gotten worse, and now he was so tired he thought he was probably just going to collapse in bed after getting home.

Specific training wasn’t so hot either. He’d been first up for target practice. After pulling tissues out of his shuriken pouch when he’d meant to grab an actual shuriken, he’d finally gotten started. It took a minute for him to focus on the target, but he managed to make a near-bullseye. His next shot missed, however, as he’d started sneezing right before he threw it. It was hard to even grasp the weapons, as his fingers were still stiff. They just kept wanting to slip out of his hands, but any tightening of his fingers to improve his grip sent a sharp jolt of pain through the joints and caused them to throb relentlessly.

Sparring wasn’t much better. He’d been able to sit back for a little bit while Choji and Ino sparred, just watching. He was sure he had a fever, because he’d been noticing how... pretty Ino looked while she was moving today. Her movements were smooth and graceful, with her long ponytail whipping every time she turned. Watching her was pretty much the only good thing about sparring; after their match, Shikamaru had been made to go up against the winner: Ino. His cough and congestion interfered, since his chakra was sluggish from being sick and didn’t seem too cooperative in using his jutsu. And when he accused her of holding back because she knew he was sick, she happily Mind-Transferred him into oblivion to prove him wrong.

But finally Asuma called it for the day, and it was time to go home. Choji left, saying something about his mom wanting him home early tonight, and Asuma was gone after that. Shikamaru couldn’t have been more relieved as he gathered up all his things. The day had felt impossibly long, and he was just glad to be going home.

“Hey! Shikamaru!” Ino called, running over as he got the rest of his stuff put away. She was already good to go, it looked like, and for whatever reason he had to admit that she looked pretty against the natural backdrop of sunset. Her eyes were filled with concern as she looked at him. “It’s getting late - you’re going straight home, right?”

He sniffled, rubbing a knuckle at his nose and taking a few more tissues out of his pouch before he closed it up. “Yeah. I think I’m gonna fall in bed and sleep for like a week. Sounds like a good plan to me.”

She giggled, pushing her bangs back. “Well, I was thinking I’d walk you back.” Nudging her elbow against his arm, she grinned. “Wouldn’t want you fainting or anything.”

He rolled his eyes, wrinkling his nose. “Whatever.” No. No, he wasn’t feeling dizzy. He wouldn’t let himself get dizzy...

“Alright, well, let’s get going then. I don’t want it to get dark! I hate walking in the dark. It’s so creepy.”

Geez. Not even five minutes into the walk and she was already running her mouth nonstop. “Sniff. Yep.” After a moment of quiet, he looked over at her. “By the way, thanks for giving me your cold.”

She look surprised, and then immediately gave a glare to the ground. “Choji promised he wouldn’t tell!! That bigmouth!”

“Don’t blame him, Ino. You know I would’ve found out sooner or later.” He blew his nose, still fed up with the lack of results. He was completely blocked up, and apparently that wasn’t going to change anytime soon. Maybe a good night’s sleep would help... if he could manage to breathe well enough to sleep. “Why would you do something like that, huh? You think it’s funny to see me sick?”

“Oh, no of course not! I’d never do something to seriously hurt you, Shikamaru. It’s just...” When he looked over again, she was actually blushing. She was looking down at the ground, hands clasped together at her waist, seeming a bit embarrassed. “You never let me near you, and you’re just so adorable when you’re sick. It doesn’t happen that often, though. So when I got sick... I dunno. I just figured it would be cute to see you all sick and miserable and still trying to work through it.”

“Yeah, well...” He could have blushed himself, if he was a blushing sort of guy. “I... guess it’s not so bad that you find me cute. Kind of troublesome that you did this though. In the future, I’d rather you keep your... diseases to yourself.”

“I really am sorry. But for what it’s worth, you are cute.”

“Yeah... I... suppose you’re not so bad either.”

After another few minutes of walking in silence, the stupid tickle started up again. Shikamaru’s hands were fast in bringing the tissues up to his face, waiting for it. His nose twitched several times before his breath started hitching. At first it was a false start, then, “H’ehTSSHHH!! Hih’tshhhiuu!!” Both made the stinging pressure of congestion worse, but were strangely satisfying as he got the sense that at least that’d be the last of it before he got home.

“Bless you. You alright?” She reached down and made a bold move by lightly taking his hand in hers.

“Yeah, I’b fide. Just dot breathi’g thad great right dow.” He exhaled slowly, then let his head fall down onto her shoulder. He was so unbelievably tired, and just wanted to be home. Maybe tomorrow he wouldn’t feel quite as sick or fatigued.

“Aww. Well, if it’s any consolation, that stuffy voice is really cute.”

He tightened his grip on her hand a little, for some reason not minding the pain that shot through his fingers when he did so. “Thagks. I’b sure you’ll be heari’g it a lot bore.”

She laughed, a sweet, clear noise, and nuzzled her cheek against the side of his head, running her thumb over the back of his hand. “Don’t worry. You’ll feel better in no time, but that’s not saying I won’t enjoy it while it lasts.”

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and coughed a few times. Being sick was troublesome, but... if his being sick made Ino laugh like that, it wasn’t any sort of trouble he couldn’t handle.

FIN

WELL. That was really fun to write, I'll admit. Much different from my usual style, and I enjoyed it.

I hope everything was to your liking, Natto!

THIS IS STAR, SIGNING OFF FOR NOW~ Stay tuned for no important commercial messages.

Bai bai for now! ^^

[Natto]

Oh my god this was fantastic! It was everything I had hoped for. Shikamaru was so adorably miserable, and it was all totally in-character...if such things were ever actually in the series, it would fit in. (Why does no one ever get colds in Naruto it is so unfair.) It was really well-structured--I've been trying to write something like this myself for a while but I never knew how to start it. I like the idea of using Choji as a go-between...he'd know what was up and he wouldn't be able to keep a secret like that, even for Ino. And I think it makes sense for Shikamaru to forgive Ino...not doing so would just be too troublesome, and hey, she's cute. I love love loved this fic, and I hope that what I'm writing for you will be even half as good!

[Starry_Screamer]

Awww thanks Natto!!! I'm so glad you liked it!! ^^

That I kept them in-character really means a lot to me. That's something I really strive for in my stories, fetishy or not. (I agree with you. There should be at least one episode where somebody is sick!! And just a cough won't count... *looks with shifty eyes at Kimimaro and Hayate* ... even if it IS a cute cough... XD)

I just HAD to use Choji. He's one of my favorites and a total sweetheart. I have such feels for him.

Eeeee I'm so happy you liked it. XDD And I'm sure what you're writing is gonna be awesome!! No matter what I'm going to fangirl over it.

Thanks again!! This was really fun. ^^

[Natto]

Yeah...Kimimaro and Hayate aren't enough. Especially since we don't know what's causing the coughing. For Kimimaro I would guess either some kind of damage from Orochimaru's experiments, or tuberculosis. With Hayate, my guess is asthma. I want somebody to get a cold. *sigh* So many ridiculous filler episodes and we can't even have ONE classic sick episode. LE SIGH.

I love Choji too, he's so adorable. And if it's going to be about Team 10, he has to be included. He gets left out of a lot of fanfiction and that's sad.

It's in progress! I've got about 600 words so far...I'm sorry that I can't do it as quickly as you did, especially since it was your request in the first place!

[Starry_Screamer]

Not enough but... they sure are adorable anyway. X'D *hugs both of them* Lol, I guessed TB for Kimimaro too. I even joked about it, when I had to get my TB test for preschool training, I told one of my friends, "Nope, it was negative, I don't have it... but for all the time I spend in my own little world with Kimimaro and Captain Ukitake from Bleach, I SHOULD!" *shot for lame jokes* And Hayate... GOD. It must be REALLY bad asthma, the poor baby!! I just wanna snuggle him and take care of him forever. *flail* I believe he was my very first sickly love. He was only a minor character and I had/have SO MUCH for him. Totally upset that with all that coughing and his sick appearance he never sneezed not even once grrrr. XDDD

*LE SIGHS with you* Although I did see a clip of Kakashi in the hospital and he sneezed once and I was all "O.O THERE GOES MY HEART."

When I was younger I tried to write a random fic about all the minor Naruto characters getting sick, like Sai and Shino and all the ones that usually get forgotten, with my two OCs trying to take care of everybody. XDD But it kinda went poof... I found it recently and it sucks. Sooo maybe I'll rewrite something like it... just for the sake of a classic "sick episode". Also, because Sai and Shino.

Eeeee another Choji faaaaan!!!! They seem to be few and far between for some reason. XD He's my favorite one of Team 10!! I can relate to him. Also, he looks like he would give some very nice hugs.

Oooh you're making great progress!! Don't worry about it, I only got done so fast because I have little else to do than sit around all day. *makes a mental note to sign up for driver's ed classes so she can go to college already*

XD All the same I can't wait to see it when you're finished! It'll be neat to see what you come up with.

[Natto]

Oh, they're certainly adorable, no question there. Well, Kimimaro is kind of frightening also, but he works for Orochimaru who is the physical embodiment of creepy. I love Kimimaro's bone growth ability, but it's a bit unsettling at the same time. And yeah...I don't see why he couldn't have sneezed JUST ONCE...but then again that's how I feel about pretty much every character. There is no reason why ALL of them can't do it AT LEAST ONCE, if not more. Some of them could stand to do it like...every episode that they show up in. I'm less pleased about this regarding Hayate though, since my headcanon diagnosis is asthma...which often goes hand-in-hand with allergies! So I feel like he ought to have those too...and one of the symptoms ought to be sneezing!

Aww! I never really liked Naruto until recently, but I have a lot of terrible sickfic from other fandoms that I wrote when I was younger. I like your idea, and it might be fun to revamp it with your new-and-improved writing skills!

The anime has a fair amount of random sneezing. Um...Gai apparently has allergies? To what, I don't know. That came up in one random episode. I was a little disappointed because I'd rather it be one of the um...prettier characters. But still! Someone!

Choji is my least favorite from Team 10, but that's not saying very much. I love all of them immensely. The four of them are my favorite characters except for Iruka--I love him because I'm studying to be a teacher and all of a sudden he makes a millions times more sense to me as a character. And yeah, he probably would give great hugs...and I imagine he's the type to give them a lot.

Ahahah, driver's ed. I need to get around to doing that some day. I live in a huge city where I don't really need to know how to drive, but it's really important if I ever want to leave said city, so I really should do that too! Maybe this summer when I'm less busy...

[Starry_Screamer]

Oooh they're just so cute. Just wanna huggle 'em all!!! I can't take their sheer adorableness. It's too much. xD Kimimaro is one of my absolute favorites in the whole entire fandom. I don't even know why, I just... the feels come out when I see him. Lol, Orochimaru is definitely creepy but for whatever reason I can't help but love him too. ... I think it's his hair and skin. Or maybe I'm just attracted to creepy people? X'DDD Ahahaha I know right. I'll be watching it and I'm just all "WILL YOU JUST SNEEZE ALREADY. PLEEEEEEASE. I'LL EVEN TAKE A LITTLE SNIFFLE. C'MON. I NEEEEEEED IT."

That's what I thought about Hayate too!! *pouts* My mind keeps wandering back to him and wanting to write about him too. In fact I think I did a little 100 word thing with him and one of my characters in my Naruto drabble thread thing... MUST WRITE MORE NARUTO DRABBLES. *agrees with you wholeheartedly on the allergies thing because seriously it would just make sense, I mean script writers what is wrong with you people, the connection is clear as day*

Naruto was like the second major fandom I ever wrote about. I think I first got into it when I was like... 13-14. xD And even though it's been running for an obnoxiously long time, I still love it to bits. I just got back into it recently after a LONG stint of being out of it, and I'm all "HOLY SHIT. NOW I REMEMBER HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU, YOU CRAZY FANDOM YOU."

Lol, I've noticed! The boxed set of the first maybe 13 episodes of it my mom bought me were such a comfort to rewatch while I was in the hospital a few years ago. Also, Guy's allergies made me laugh so hard. I have no idea why. Then again, I'm a huge fan of him and Lee so that might be the reason. XD At least it wasn't, like... a random ugly-ass filler character or something. XDDD

Hehe! I've loved Choji for as long as I can remember. He's such a nice guy, and hey... he's CUTE. Everyone says he's not and I'm all "... Really? *points to adorable pic of smiling Choji* HE'S NOT CUTE? WTF???" Team 10's not one of my favorite teams, but like you said, that's not saying much because I love all the teams anyway.

OMAIGOD you're gonna be a teacher? 8D I was a preschool teacher in training for two years~! And Iruka. *sighs happily* He's such a great guy. I get what you're saying about understanding him more. XD Teachers have so much work!!! Now I just wanna get Iruka all overworked and tired and sick and being taken care of by an Academy nurse and... *strangles hands* Stop with the plot bunnies!! Come on, gimme a break, fetishy side of my brain. XDDD

Unfortunately the college I'm planning to attend is in the next city over, so I need to learn how to drive before I can go. I've got my permit but it's harder than I thought it would be... and my mom gets too nervous when I'm driving to teach me everything I'd need to know. Summer's probably the best time for it though.

[Natto]

Okay, I kind of like Orochimaru too. XD; He's creepy creepy creepy and I don't like to admit to liking him, but he's a great villain! I like his physical appearance when he's not vomiting snakes out of his mouth or twisting his neck in knots. I like the way he looked when his arms were injured. Because he looked sick. And I'm a great person.

I was writing a Naruto drabble thread too, but I kind of lost track of it. I should pick it up again!

Choji is totally cute! I've never actually heard anyone say that he WASN'T. He bothered me at first because he just seemed like a walking fat joke, which I thought was really disrespectful and messed up. (My best friend has an eating disorder so I'm sensitive about this kind of thing.) But he got a lot more character development and became much much more than that, and I love what they've done with his character. He's such a sweetheart.

Aww, hospital? I totally understand if you don't want to get into why you were there, but whatever it was, I hope that it wasn't too serious and that you have recovered from it by now!

Oh, don't get me wrong, I like Gai plenty! I was amused by the allergies, but it just wasn't as exciting as it would have been if it were a character who was more visually appealing. He's still a really great character, and I like the idea. It'd be really really difficult to have like...pollen allergies in Konoha. It's coated in plants, and it doesn't seem like they really get a winter. Allergy season probably lasts all year round.

Yes! I'm studying to be a 7-12 English teacher. I'm in my last semester of student teaching, so I should be certified by the end of the year. Who knows when I'll get an actual teaching job, but one step at a time! Teachers do have a lot of work! It's not just teaching, it's also lesson plans, paperwork, meetings, grading...it's ridiculous. I can totally see Iruka getting sick from overwork. That's actually a lovely idea. And...you taught pre-school! I have some pre-school experience too... I worked in a daycare, and I also interned at a pre-school while I was in college. Working with really little kids is great! They're so cute! Not having enforce potty breaks is a nice change, though.

Ahh, that's a pain. Good luck learning! And yeah, my stepdad has only given me one lesson. He was going to give me more lessons, but he was teaching my mom at the same time, and she crashed the car during her turn...so no lessons ever since then! I'm going to have to sign up with a drivers ed class.

[Starry_Screamer]

Orochimaru is all KINDS of freaky. That, uh, may be why I love him. X'D Sometimes I have to remind myself that hey, as gorgeous and charismatic as he is, he's still a horrible person who is a far cry from the intentions he started out with. XDD I've left my story with him for like a million years and have been trying to force myself to write the next chapter. But I'll be surprised if anyone even remembers me and my old-ass OC. |D I love her relationships with Kabuto and Kimimaro more than with Orochimaru at times; she's like a mother to Kimimaro, and as an homage to one of my reviewer's stories, she always calls Kabuto cream puff. (She also calls him "White and Nerdy", but that's another story entirely.) But Orochimaru is HAWT for being as old as he is. It's the body-surfing... xD OMG I loved him during that part too... I was all "FFFFF POOR BABY. HERE LEMME TAKE CARE OF JYOO."

... We're great people.

I've kind of dropped mine a bit too. XD I can crank out drabbles for Lunaescence at 100 words fairly quickly, but for whatever reason I find fetish drabbles really hard to write for only 100 words... I'm too overly descriptive. |D I should write moar. AND YOU SHOULD TOTALLY PICK YOURS BACK UP!!! I think I remember reading it a while back while I was searching for just that kind of thing. I believe I flailed a bit... and then flailed some more when I realized there were no more for me to read. You'd have me as a regular commentator if no one else! XD

Well, I guess people don't really say he's not cute, but I get annoyed when they act like he's not as attractive as the others just because he's chubby. Because he's hot!! And I totally get where you're coming from, I'm "fluffy" myself so the way people treated Choji when he was a kid really hit home with me. Looking back I don't think I ever saw him as anything more than completely sweet and adorable though... mainly because I ALWAYS had a little crush on him which wouldn't allow me to see him as anything but such. XD He's such a baby doll~!

Ah no, I don't mind! Mostly it was stomach pain and nausea so bad that besides drinkable soup, I literally didn't eat for an entire mouth because I was afraid I'd throw up. (Which is like the thing I hate to do more than anything.) They did all kinds of tests and couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. XD Watching Naruto/playing Naruto games and drawing "old Shinkei" with Gaara was pretty much the only thing that kept me from crying all day. Fast forward to about a year ago, when I had an operation to remove my gallbladder - the doctor said that my problems back then were probably the beginning of my gallbladder starting to go kaput. I'm much better now and SO thankful to Naruto (... and mostly my Gaara plushie...) for getting me through it. *hugs Naruto and gang*

Haha, I don't know why but he and Lee are a couple of my favorites. I can't NOT smile when I see them. xD Yeah, it didn't really excite me, it kinda just made me laugh because for whatever reason it seems to fit him. Have you seen the clip of Kakashi I talked about? If you like him, then it totally makes up for Guy. Kakashi owes me a new pair of pants from how many times I watched that clip when I found it. XDD

I think Shino sneezed at the end of one episode too, at least in the subs, because Naruto was talking or thinking about him. I remember because it was this absolutely amazing, adorable little stifle... I can't remember the episode though. I was excited because he's one of my favorite characters. (On a totally unrelated note... I love the Japanese superstition about sneezing because someone's talking/thinking about you. Otherwise a bunch of characters never would have sneezed... just thinking about if that superstition didn't exist makes me sad. XDDD)

... I like your idea. I may just run with it. I MAY JUST. ... Or I may leave it to you because I don't know who, besides my dear lovely Hayate, I could pull that kind of thing off with. XDD Allergy season lasting all year... IT'S LIKE... LIKE SOMETHING FROM A DREAM. A BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL FETISHY DREAM...

Speaking of fetishy dreams. XD I swear up and down that I had one involving Gaara... but it pisses me off because I can't remember any of it!!! *smacks brain* I will bully you into remembering, brain!!! You don't keep that kind of stuff from me!!!! X'DDDDD

Oh wow that sounds so exciting! Way different from preschoolers. XD I don't think we pay teachers enough, if my experience was anything to go by. I used to hate lesson plans. I spend hours trying to find a good, cute idea... then I have to do MORE. It was all worth it, because one of my students told me she loved me. Somehow that just makes up for everything. XDD I have a natural affinity for little kids, which is probably why I write so much involving widdle Gaara. (Sneak peek on my newest: Adult Gaara meeting his 6-year-old self thanks to a jutsu gone wrong. Lolwhut.) I just wanna hug him because he's the cutest freaking anime kid in existence.

Did you also have to clean the toilets? ... I did. XD I think the moment I was happiest in that job was when one of the kids who I thought hated me was probably the only one to actually address me using "Miss" and my name like they're supposed to. I was all "OMAIGOD YOU KNOW MY NAME?!?! I DIDN'T THINK YOU CARED~"

Ahahahaha. If you want that Iruka story, I have like the first two sentences written anyway from like a month ago when I was in a mood for him. And I think I'm getting in that mood again. I should finish it, it would be cute. Iruka's such a sweetie, he seems like the kind of person who could get so into his work that he wouldn't notice he was getting sick till he was feeling miserable and someone (namely, the alleged nurse) had to force him to go home. ... I think I can make it happen~

Sorry for laughing!! The mental picture I got from that was just so funny. My mom takes me driving a lot, but she wants me to sign up for a class so I know all the new laws and such. Lol. Good luck to you too!

...

And now Star will stop rambling because she just noticed she has a tendency to go on and on and on in every post. Also she randomly talks in the third person. XDD

[Natto]

I like that Orochimaru is just a straight-up villain. A lot of characters are horrible but then they turn out to have really good reasons. Orochimaru MIGHT have a reason, but it's so far-removed from what he actually does that it's barely even connected, and that reason is played up by the people who used to care about him. You can tell he was affected by his parent's death and had a hard time with it...like the time he told Jiraiya to kill Nagato/Konon/Yahiko...because they were war orphans and would be better off. Orochimaru had been a war orphan as well, so saying that is VERY SIGNIFCANT to me. Still, what he does is hardly related. He has slaves, he murders people for no reason, he does experiments on children...if there's any grey area with him it's a very dark grey. And I like that. I like that there are some just straight-up villains with just enough humanity to make them seem interesting, rather than everyone having a tragic backstory that completely absolves them.

Yeah, I wrote like 6 Naruto drabbles. I haven't been writing as much fanfiction in general as I used to, because of school, but it was fun, and I should definitely get back to it. I'm actually sort of inspired to, and I might start that once I'm done with the fic I'm writing for you. And yeah, fetish-fic is hard to cram into 100 words...it's barely enough space to get in the juicy details, let alone any kind of plot or dialog.

*nods* Prior to Choji actually being characterized, the series itself played up his constant eating, and made him really selfish about it. They also had him making jokes about eating dogs, which was weird. So it seemed like he wasn't going to be a real character, just a mouthpiece for insulting jokes. So I was not prepared to like him as a character. I like that there is diversity in body type in Naruto, but not if they're just going to turn it into a joke. But they ended up giving Choji a real role, a real personality. I think everyone was just one characteristic in the beginning before being developed more, come to think of it. Like...Shikamaru was just "lazy", Shino was "bugs", Hinata was "shy", Sakura was "boy-crazy"...and we know now that they're all more than that. I just got particularly agitated about Choji because most series don't bother to develop past that particular stereotype. And he's totally attractive! I wouldn't say HOT, because I'm an old lady and I just think of them as PRECIOUS BABIES~~ (once they hit 18 I can start thinking of them as hot!!)

Ahh, I'm so glad that you were able to figure out what your problem was and get it resolved! A lot of people have so much trouble actually getting diagnosed, so the problem drags on much longer than it needs to. Having your gallbladder fail sounds like it's really awful, but at least it's over and done with. I'm glad to hear that you're doing much better, and I'm sorry that happened! Yay for having something that helped get you through it. In future, all diseases should be reserved for fictional characters, okay?

I did see the Kakakshi sneeze! Believe me, I probably rewatched it like 40 times. Various other characters have done so too. Sometimes I almost wish that they wouldn't, because I watch Naruto with my sister and it's incredibly awkward when something like that happens and I'm watching it with her. But it's still lovely. I don't remember that about Shino! Maybe I haven't seen it yet. What part of the series does it happen yet? I know that other characters who have sneezed are Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Ebisu....none of which were particularly exciting, but still! Sneezing! Yay! Um...Naruto has several times. Other than that, I can't think of anybody, though I'm sure that there have been others. But yeah...they don't seem like they get much in the way of a winter, and they are the village hidden in the leaves...so I'm sure that there's something SOMEONE is allergic to growing all year. The thing with allergies is that it really doesn't matter if they have them in canon or not for this kind of fiction. We can give it to them. That's the point. In like...non-fetish fanfiction, I probably wouldn't give someone major, debilitating allergies unless they had them in canon, but for this kind of thing, that's the whole point! So it could be done using any character!

Teachers definitely don't get paid enough, and they're not respected at all! I mean...I live in the USA, I don't know what country you're from. I know that in some countries, teachers get a lot more respect and are paid a lot more, but here it's like they're evil evil people because they want to have a union so that they can keep from being fired for totally arbitrary reasons. Teaching is such a POLITICAL thing now, and there's so much standardized testing which is awful, because it's just used to generate data that doesn't even remotely benefit the students. Ahh, I'm ranting. Anyway, working with little kids is fun. From what little I know of you, I can see you being good at that. It all comes back to the Naruto characters for me, too. I was watching the first series last semester, when I was working with 12-year-olds. Now I'm watching Shippuden, and I'm working with 16-year-olds. It is an interesting coincidence...and it means that I'm hyper-aware of what people in those age groups are like, which means I spend half the time I'm watching crying about how these poor precious babies are child soldiers.

I did not have to clean the toilets, no. Actually in my first job I was not allowed to take the kids to the bathroom at all, because I was an intern and it was considered a liability or something. I wasn't about to complain! I did have to do that on a regular basis in the day camp. I even had to change a few diapers, which was not fun. But hey, preparation for when I have my own kids! And yeah, it's totally worth all the trouble when they know you personally, or act like they really like you. There are a few kids who told me things like that, or who would get really upset when I had to leave. Older kids don't get like that, it's really different.

Well, hey, if you wanted to write it, I definitely wouldn't stop you. And I would most certainly leave excited comments. I also kind of like the idea of his students--for example, Naruto--yelling at him to go home because he's too sick...and him being like, "you're just looking for an excuse for school to end early!" I feel like Ninja Academy doesn't have all that many teachers, or much in the way of a substitute system. Or maybe they do, in case the teachers get called away on missions? I don't know how that would work.

It's totally fine! The car was totaled, but it was a piece of junk that needed to be replaced anyway. Nobody got hurt. If, say, my mom had died or been terribly injured, I'd probably have mentioned that to start with. It is pretty funny, especially since it happened on the first day of lessons. Luckily I got my lesson first. I was driving so slowly because I was afraid of crashing, and I didn't even have the nerve to turn the car.

You know, considering how much we're yammering on at each other, we should probably start talking outside of the forum. We're not allowed to post contact information in the threads, but once you're validated and we can exchange info through PM, want to start talking on Skype or AIM or something like that?

[Starry_Screamer]

Oh definitely!! He's a great villain, what with the way he draws you in... and then proceeds to just use, use, use you until you lose use or he loses interest in you. Thinking about it makes me want to give Kimimaro a big hug, poor baby. xD I admit to playing up that reason sometimes myself... I'm so guilty of it. I even let him rant about "why shinobi shouldn't get married and have children" in my story. |D One of my problems is that my one story starts during the time he can't use his arms so it generated so much sympathetic stuff for him. Sometimes I have to just smack myself in the face and say "HE IS A BAD PERSON. HE SHOULD BE SETTING OFF YOUR CREEPER ALERT AND YOU SHOULD STAY FAR AWAY." Although I started a new story with him set during the Chunin exams, because his appearance posing as a Jonin was too sexy, and I'm hoping that'll help me write him more like he's supposed to be. Anything else he is, he's EXTREMELY difficult to write in-character. (At least for me. XD)

I would love you forever if you did!! 8D Especially if you managed to write any of my favorites. I would like... worship the ground you walk on. xD Ugh, I'm thinking about just giving up on my 100 word restriction. Screw it. I'll stick to 100 words for other stuff, but not fetish fic anymore!! WOOT MOTIVATION.

Yeah, now I kind of remember. XD I don't remember a whole lot of the early episodes besides the Land of Waves Arc. (*cough* Haku fangirl *cough*) So I tend to just remember Choji's character development and nothing else before that. Beeeecause I'm weird? XDDD I agree with you on the whole diversity thing though. And the characteristics make sense. I remember the only things I thought about Neji for a while were "wow he's cute" and "wow he sure talks about destiny a lot." Not, uh, not that I minded of course, I could listen to him ramble about it all day. Also, it's weird that I even like Shino because I hate bugs. I guess it's because he's interesting... and sunglasses FTW. XDD

XDDD I'm starting to get to "old lady" myself, lol. I just keep calling them "hot" because before I hit 18 that's just how I referred to them. I guess it stuck. |D ... Although I still think of Konohamaru as a precious baby even though he's grown up a bit. XD The characters who are 18 or over though, I will shamelessly refer to them as "sexeh" if I like them. (Gaara's commentary: She has no shame. None at all. She's crazy. Start running now if you value your sanity.)

Ugh, I know. That was probably the worst time of my life. The actual surgery and recovery wasn't so bad, but the attacks I had prior to surgery were awful. There were two of them, but within the span of a week. They both happened at night, with this horrible pain around my back and sides, like someone had wrapped a vise around me. Kept me from sleeping, and I'm actually lucky that the second one was so bad that I had to miss an important day of school to go to the hospital. I'm all better now though~! I still have scars but they don't hurt anymore. (I did just get oral surgery a little over a week ago, but now I'm mostly over that too. XDDD Can I go a year without having some kind of surgery please? )

Also, yes. All diseases for fictional characters. Totally. PARTICULARLY THE SNEEZY ONES. ^^

AH~ I flailed so hard and watched it a million times... before I had to stop because my brother and grandparents came home and my headphones don't work. XDD The good thing about me is that my mom and brother know about it and if someone sneezes while we're watching something they really don't say anything or look at me weird or anything. I remember all of those!! XD I don't like Ebisu that much but I thought it was kind of cute... aaaaand Jiraiya. I've started to have so much love for him lately. Ah, Shino... it was adorable. I forget what episode it was... but apparently it was posted in the "Media" section here, which says it's Naruto Shippuden episode 236. ^^ Right before the ending. *huggles Shino so hard*

Mwahahaha. I love the idea so much, I mean come on. IT JUST MAKES SENSE. I love that we can give it to them... like a little fetishy Christmas present. xDD Oh, I never would either. I did throw one or two random sneezes into a few stories... like because of someone being sick or cold weather or something, usually not spelled out or anything though. What can I say, sometimes I can't help myself... and so far I haven't been "found out."

... Alright, that's it. *grabs Sai by the wrist* YOU'RE COMING TO SNEEZELAND WITH ME, MISTER. *blink* Hey wait, didn't I already start an allergy fic with you?? O.O OH YEAH THAT'S RIGHT. I SHOULD FINISH IT.

Ehehehe, since I was training I didn't get paid at all. It was like... half the day regular high school, then half the day training for whatever occupation you picked. It was a great school though. URGH, standardized testing. I HATED doing those. What good does it do? None! The students should be learning real stuff instead of prepping for tests that they don't need any of the knowledge for after the test is over. (Confusing sentence. XD) Hey, I'm in the USA too!

Little kids are so much fun. All the work is worth it in the end, I think. Especially when I see that I've taught them something. ^^ Funny story, she was actually in the bathroom when she told me that. I wondered what made her think of it while she was in there, but it was cute anyway. XD The poor Naruto kiddies and teens and - GAH. SCREW IT. *picks up widdle Gaara and gives him the biggest hug ever* YOU'RE NOT JUST A WEAPON, YOU ARE LOVED!!!!

Lol!! Well, I didn't have to scrub them or anything but once the kids were done I had to grab the spray sanitizer and paper towels and clean the seats. I spent some time with babies in day care while I was doing my community service, but I didn't have to change diapers. XD Omigosh I can't wait to have kids... I've made up my mind that I want to have at least one of my own, then adopt or become a foster parent. (Haven't decided which yet. XDDD)

Older kids don't get super attached to teachers, but they are INSANE and have way too much energy. I was in the elementary school room at the day care a few times... XDDD I much prefer the infant/preschool rooms. I joke about how I barely made it out alive.

OH I WANT TO WRITE IT~ I think I'll start writing more of it today. And I like that idea!! Mind if I use it? XD Oh gosh, I've never really thought about it. In one of my stories I had my character who wasn't a ninja filling in for Iruka, but then I'm like "Thaaaaat doesn't even make sense. What was my brain thinking?" Maybe they have aides or something? Or another teacher combines classes or something? XDDD

Oh good! XDDD I figured you'd mention if anyone got hurt... which is good that nobody did. XD My first time driving my mom took me out on the main road, which... didn't turn out so well. I think I almost drove up onto the sidewalk. |D

AH WE TOTALLY SHOULD!!! I have Skype and talk to my one friend a lot on there, so once I'm validated and everything is peachy keen I can give you my username. ^^

... NOW I'M OFF TO WRITE SOME SICK, OVERWORKED IRUKA SENSEI~ *ties on her bedsheet cape and gets to work*