How the hell did I get myself into this situation? Shikamaru whined, staring at the ceiling in his room. Seriously, why, of all people, did I have to be cursed with feeling guilty when I see a woman cry? Man, this is such a drag...

In his parents' room, he could hear faint crying.

"Ahhh!" Shikamaru groaned loudly, slamming his pillow over his face, the event replaying in his mind. He didn't know why he said what he said: it just came out! Sure, it's a little unlike Shikamaru to just speak without thinking, but hey! Everyone's allowed a screw-up every now and then. And it's completely understandable why he could be in such a foul mood to let those words slip from his mouth.

After all, since his move up in rank to a Chuunin, his life had become alot more difficult and troublesome. Much more was now expected of him; there was even talk that the Fifth was considering giving him a teaching job at the academy. And not to mention...his first mission that was a complete failure...he was a complete failure as a leader...he had put his teammates...his friends in danger...they all came so close to death on his first mission as a team leader.

Thinking back to that day at the hospital just added shame to him, in his mind. Of course he had never been happier to hear the news that everyone had survived and had become in stable condition. And sure, the speeches from Temari and his dad helped him realize that he could go on to become a great leader, that he just needed to learn from his mistakes of a failed mission and apply them to the next. But still...Shikamaru was ashamed of what a failure he had been. And besides, it's not like this all happened years ago: it was still recent and it still burned in his mind. So yeah, it was perfectly understandable that he said what he did!

"Shikamaru," a voice called out, interrupting Shikamaru's thoughts.

Shikaku opened the door slowly. He walked in, no emotion on his face, and sat down on the edge of the bed. He didn't say a word; and he knew it was just killing Shikamaru.

"Come to yell at me?" Shikamaru scoffed, placing his hands behind his head, avoiding eye contact with his father.

Shikaku sighed heavily. Shikamaru...where did all that intelligence go?

"No, I'm not in here to yell at you."

"Dad, you heard what she said! C'mon: wouldn't you have reacted the same way?"

"Shikamaru," Yoshino said sternly, "All I'm saying is that you need to realize the danger that you're facing and that you're friends and teammates face when you're leading them on missions. You're not a kid anymore, you know."

Shikamaru sat uninterested, "Yeah yeah."

"Well with that kind of answer, you sure aren't acting like an adult!" Yoshino shot back, "With an attitude like that, it's almost no wonder your mission was deemed a failure!"

This caught Shikamaru's attention, as he listened and watched his mother rave on.

"I mean, I was relieved when all you had gotten was a minor injury, but Shikamaru: did you even realize the seriousness of your teammates' injuries? And from how you act around the house, I sure hope you don't bring that kind of attitude to your work! Do you even realize how lucky you were that all of them were saved from death, thanks to Tsunade-sama!"

Shikamaru was now steaming inside.

"Think about your best friend, Chouji!" she continued, "He was willing to give his life to make your mission a success! He almost died, Shikamaru-"

"You think I don't realize that?" Shikamaru cut her off, shooting up from his seat. This shocked Yoshino, but quickly angered her.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that-"

"No! Don't you talk to me like that about something you don't know a damn thing about!" he continue. Yoshino's hand shot to her mouth.

"You're trying to lecture me about something that you don't know anything about! You think I didn't know that because of my leadership, my friends almost died! What the hell did you think was going through my head as I was sitting at the hospital, having to wait around to hear whether my friends and teammates lived or died? How would you know what I felt and what I thought as I waited? You're not a Shinobi: you're nowhere close to one or to understanding what it's like to be one! You just stay around at home, bitching and complaining constantly at me and Dad about every little thing. You don't know what I go through everyday, and you especially don't know what the hell I went through that day..." Shikamaru was actually having to catch his breath. His anger was now cooling, but what froze him was when he looked into his mother's eyes.

Tears fell from Yoshino's eyes. Actual tears caused from hurt and sadness. Even when Shikamaru was a little kid, he couldn't remember one time when he saw his mother cry. But at that moment, he watched as his mother's eyes became sad and shed tears. Slowly, she bowed her head and walked away. He could hear her quiet footsteps up the stairs, walking across the hallway. He heard her shut her bedroom door quietly, and then there was silence.

Damn it...his words were now sinking in. He looked down at the floor and he saw the wet spots from where his mother's tears stained the wooden floors. Damn it, damn it, damn it...was all he could think.

"Would you have not gotten pissed off and lost your temper?" Shikamaru asked desperately, searching in his father for some reassurance.

Shikaku took a deep breath, looking at his son sternly.

"I never thought I would have seen the day when my laid-back, uninterested, lazy son would lose his temper," he finally spoke, "And what tops it off, is that he lost his temper about his own mother."

"Dad..." Shikamaru began, but Shikaku held up his hand to silence him.

"I know she drives you crazy sometimes, believe me, I know. And trust me, Shikamaru, there have been plenty of times where I've about lost my temper with her and wanted to say so many things that I thought she needed to hear. But I always knew to stop myself. Do you know why?" he paused.

Shikamaru shook his head.

"Because I know that she's only driving me crazy because she loves me more than anything and wants the utmost best for me. That's how it was and how it's always been since she first married me. And then you came along, and she never lost sight of that special love and care she has for me, but..." he paused again, reminiscing.

"The love that a parent has for their child, it's incredible. Shikamaru, your mother doesn't have to be with me. She could fall out of love with me, divorce me, take everything from me, and never think of me for the rest of her days. But you, her flesh and blood, her son: she could never stop loving you. Sure, she cares about me and worries about my safety because I'm her husband, and I'm the provider for this family. She would mourn me if I were to suddenly die in a mission, and she would miss me, but she would eventually get to a point in her life where she can move on. But you: if anything were to happen to you Shikamaru, your mother, and this goes for me as well, she'd never get over that. She would never be able to move on from the death of her son..."

It was silent as Shikaku paused again, taking another deep breath and slowly exhaling. His son was now fully attentive, soaking in every word that left his father's mouth.s

"And that's why she's so hard on you. She worries about you. I'll bet you didn't even know that she about fainted when word came around that you and your team were all in the hospital. That's all we heard: we didn't know that you just had a broken finger, that you did to yourself anyhow," he added with a slight grin, "All we heard was that our son was in the hospital and we didn't know whether you just had a broken bone," Shikaku nodded to his son's finger, "Or whether you were standing on the brink of life and death. And you know how tough your mom is, right? That all went away the moment she heard that..."

"I didn't even think about what was going around the village that you guys were hearing when we got back," Shikamaru said quietly, fidgeting with his fingers as he sat up, avoiding his father's stare.

"Yeah, you didn't," Shikaku agreed, "So even though I know you've been up here to convince yourself that you were right in every way to speak to your mother like that, you really werent, were you?"

Shikamaru stayed silent.

Shikaku sighed, heaving himself off Shikamaru's bed. He walked slowly to the door, but stopped right underneath the framing and turned around.

"I know you're considered an adult now, rising in rank, having more responsibility laid on you, but son: you got a hell of alot of growing up still left to do." he smiled warmly, as Shikamaru met his eyes, "But I know that when you do grow up, I'll be damned if you're not the greatest Shinobi of the Leaf Village." And with that he walked out.

Shikamaru slowly smiled, as he slowly got up from his bed and walked to his parents' room.

"Mom?" he softly called out, opening the door quietly.

"Shikamaru-" his mother called out surprised, grabbing tissues to dab her eyes. Shikamaru walked in, sitting down beside his mother on her bed. They sat quietly for a minute, neither saying a word, the only noise would be Yoshino's sniffing, as she dabbed a tissue on her face.

Shikamaru smiled, taking his mother's hand in his. "Thank you."

"For what?" she asked softly, a bit shocked.

"For everything."