Arron and Trexx

Chapter 28

Third person pov

The weekend came quickly, and Shikamaru found himself wishing it would just... not. He liked being home with Arron, but he was pretty sure this whole dinner thing was stressing him out more than it was stressing Arron out. Inoichi had insisted she at least come out and greet everyone. Maybe make eye contact with Choji. The Yamanaka was asking a lot, but Shikamaru was hopeful.

"They'll be here any second. Are you okay?" Shikamaru asked. This whole thing was troublesome, and he just knew it was going to be a drag. How could it not be? Having his team over for dinner was the worst thing that could possibly happen. What if Ino was too loud and scared her? Or Asuma was scared her too much?

"O...kay." Arron blinked, nodding slightly. She seemed a little scared, but okay overall. She'd been adjusting to everything a whole lot better now that Trexx was here to watch over her. She seemed more at ease, and Shikamaru was glad. He liked having Arron around, but he didn't want her to be scared anymore, or hurt. He wanted her to be happy. He wanted her to enjoy life!

There was a loud knock, and Shikamaru winced. "Okay, they're here. It'll be fine. Trexx, you remember what I told you?" The Nara was seriously more nervous than Arron, and the girl was actually finding it quite amusing. Shikamaru was a level-headed person. To see him panic was fairly rare.

"Yes." Trexx said, nodding.

"Repeat it." Shikamaru's eyes narrowed.

Trexx froze, staring at him. "....Tell me.... in case... you forget." Trexx tried.

"Oh my God." Shikamaru groaned. "Just... okay, follow me. We'll make this quick. Arron, feel free to run away or scream if you're bothered. Remember, if someone does something that makes you uncomfortable..." Shikamaru looked at her expectantly.

"Bite them." Arron nodded.

"...Where did you- you know what, nevermind! Biting them works too!" This was chaos, and Shikamaru didn't like it. He grabbed Arron's hand and dragged her towards the door. She could hear Choji talking loudly in the other room, and Ino responding. The sound of an unfamiliar voice seemed to make Arron tense, and she shoved herself up closer to Shikamaru. The Nara didn't mind.

"Uh oh." Trexx had once again pulled the door frame from the wall, but Shikamaru didn't have time to care. He peeked inside the living room, fingers intertwined with Arron's as he examined the room. Asuma was in the kitchen with Shikamaru's dad, the Nara deduced. Alright. Maybe meeting kids first would be better anyway.

"What a drag." Shikamaru groaned, stepping into the room. "Hey, guys."

"Aww!" Ino immediately shrieked. "You didn't tell me Arron was this cute! Shikamaru, look at her!"

Arron immediately shied away from the shrill voice, eyeing Ino cautiously. This was Shikamaru's teammate? She was a girl, just as she'd been told, but Arron didn't like it. Shikamaru was her friend, right? She really didn't want to share him with someone else. Maybe she could ask just to make sure. In case.

"Hey Arron! Trexx!" Choji grinned as the large beast poked its head around the corner. Ino jumped slightly. She'd been expecting this. Her dad had talked about Trexx, and Shikamaru had warned them anxiously about... well, about everything. About Arron, and her tendencies, and what she liked and didn't like. He even went into extreme detail about why she liked polyester more than felt.

"H...Hi." Arron managed to get out, briefly making eye contact with Choji. The Akimichi's grin widened in response. Arron's progress was amazing. Although she still refused to remove herself from Shikamaru's side, she was getting better at talking around other people, and not shying away.

"Asuma-sensei is in the kitchen." Choji confirmed Shikamaru's assumptions as Ino peered with curious vigor at Arron, who was grasping Shikamaru's hand like it was her life line. He was so tan compared to her. She made Ino think of a ghost, and although the girl was skinny, that didn't mean she wasn't pretty. She had dark hair, and equally dark eyes. Darker than Shikamaru's, anyway.

Arron peered at Ino, and her eyes narrowed. "Shikamaru." She held up their conjoined hands for her to see. "Mine."

Ino let out a girlish giggle that made Shikamaru's cheeks heat up with embarrassment. She'd be bothering him about this for weeks. "You can have him. I have someone else I'm after anyway." Ino smiled, flipping her hair. Arron nodded as though maybe she understood. And maybe she did. Shikamaru didn't know, but he felt touched that she would openly speak with such confidence just to insure that he was... "hers."

"Do I hear voices in he-" Asuma froze in the doorway the second his eyes landed on Arron, and he stared in absolute disbelief. Arron froze too, her eyes going wide with surprise upon seeing him. Shikamaru's heart immediately dropped. This couldn't possibly be good. And- great, Arron's eyes were getting all teary. She was totally going to cry! He really hated in when she cried. Half because she was crying, and half because he had no idea what the hell he was supposed to do!

"Asuma-sensei?" Ino blinked, tilting her head slightly as her sensei took a small step forward, staring at Arron like he was seeing a ghost. Arron's grip on Shikamaru's hand loosened slightly as she stared at Asuma in absolute shock, as though not believing what she was seeing. Shikamaru shared a look with Choji. What was happening? Clearly, these two knew each other from somewhere. But... if Arron had been here since she got here, how'd she know Asuma?

"A...Arron?" Asuma blinked. "Arron, is that... is that really you, kiddo?"