disclaimer: I don't 'Naruto'. lol. God I wish I did though.
CHAPTER ONE
-A Change In Scenery -
(Shikamaru)
Shikamaru walked amongst the dry leaves with his hands buried deep inside his pockets, his fingers wrapped around a coin. He rolled it between his knuckles absentmindedly as he walked on towards his minds destination. His eyes darting around cautiously as he looked at the shops.
It is the day after The Festival of The Hokage.
Late September, He thought, his eyes slanted drowsily, he lifts a hand in greeting to some far away voice of a person who had walked by momentarily, his eyes glued to the frosty pavement as he passes the Flower Shop without glancing at the window.
He doesn't have to though.
He resists the urge to check. To let his eyes flicker to see if she made it home safely from the Festival. He bites his lip, and puts a curve in his step and immediately he is walking away, his eyes on the frost bitten road he had passed before. Because he is a coward.
--
Instead he finds himself sitting next to a man he barely knows. His father.
His eyes flicker over the battle scars, the beady eyes, his own eyes, the same hair. The only difference in them is one is old, and one is young, one is built, and the other is lanky.
Shikamaru looks down at his hands. They are pressed tightly together as he intertwines his fingers, he lifts them to his chin to play with the small stubble that had started to grow there, and he frowns, moving his piece in complete silence.
His eyes return to their previous resting place. Where his hands had been and are now his skinny yet well toned legs.
He did not pride himself in all the muscles and glamour, nor his incredible IQ, for he was a simple man, and those things simply did not matter in everyday life.
But for the first time, in at least seven years, he hated his baseball player figure. He hated the thin legs, although they were muscular, they were not by any means anything to faun over. Nor where his arms, although he had secretly been working those in Tai Jutsu training with Neji. His abdomen was thin, which he did not mind, because he had quite a sporting six- pack hiding beneath his fishnet. But he was still troubled. And he did not understand it.
Shikamaru closed his eyes, and let the wind beat upon his face.
"Your mission Nara Shikamaru, will be to gather a few of the strongest ninja into one cell, from there you will leave for Sunagakure, to engage in a tactical meeting with the Kazekage and their Village council on the arrangements of the new treaty with The Hidden Mist.." Tsunade's serious gaze fixed upon him, her fingers pressing into her temples as she spoke the very last of his debriefing. " Do not cause any trouble while you are on Alley Grounds, and only bring who you see fit, no charity cases, I trust you will use your better judgement."
And of course Shikamaru had. He had asked Shino,Chouji, Tenten and Neji, and Sakura so they would have a medic nin. Because those are the people he saw fit. The only problem was, that when a certain blond haired kunoichi found out she was being left behind, she voiced her opinions on that matter. In the Middle of the feast with the Hokage...
Shikamaru let his eyes dance around the room, his fingers wrapping around a string of lint in his pocket as he sat in a metal card table chair. He was tired, mostly from the two week mission to grass he had just returned from, and the news that he would have to go on another in three days time.
He looked around the room casually, his eyes falling upon Shino, who stood in the corner of the room with the Hyuuga Heiress and played with one of his beetles.
Check, Thought Shikamaru as he mentally scratched Shino off of his list.
He was glad that this mission hadn't gotten out yet, especially because he didn't want people to be calling upon favors. He couldn't loan out positions at a time like this. Every stage was crucial.
Again he let his eyes wander, and they shortly found two of their marks; Tenten and Neji Hyuuga. Check check anddddddd Check He looked to his side to see Chouji waving a chicken leg around vividly explaining to her that she had fried the best chicken he had ever eaten, next to his mother's of course..Check
With a sigh he leaned back, then heaved himself to his feet, instantly he shoved a piece of yellow parchment into their hands, with the names on them. He placed a hand on chouji's shoulder. "You talk to Neji and Tenten, Chouji," He turned his beady black eyes to Sakura, "And you go round up Shino and Hinata, and meet me on the roof top."
They looked at him for a moment, before he quirked a brow and practically barked for them to go.
Shikamaru sighed in frustration and pushed his hands deep inside of his pockets, and made his way to the giant red doors in the far corner of the room, keeping his head on his feet as he shuffled through the crowd.
As soon as he escaped the humid mass of people he took a deep breath of air that he didn't know he had been holding.
He was counting himself lucky though, because he hadn't ran into 'Her' yet tonight, and that was always a good sign. Well, it most certainly wasn't because he was avoiding her, no that wasn't it, because he had promised to escort her here...but that was before the mission.
Shikamaru pressed his fingers to his temples and rubbed them as hard as he could, trying to pry her out of his thoughts, because he knew if he thought of her too long she was bound to show up and ruin-
"Shika-kun?"
Shikamaru held his breath, his body slumping against the railing of the balcony as he waited for her to leave.
'maybe if I play dead...nah then she'd just kick me." He thought as he pushed his fingers into the pocket on his vest and fished out a really beat up looking cigarette.
He examined it, looking down his nose as he pushed his bottom jaw out. The cigarette was coated with dirt and his finger prints from rolling them during the rain storm in Grass Country. He scowled as he felt a hand tap his shoulder.
"Hm?"
"You didn't come pick me up." She said, her voice hiding the anger with a sweet tone.
Oh yes be sweet for now..
"Too troublesome to walk all the way there when I was already here." He said Matter-o-factly.
"Oh," She whispered almost to herself.
Shikamaru's right eye flickered over to her. Something was wrong, usually she would be busting his chops, or at least hitting him over the head with some un-identified flying object, hurtling at him with her super human- no monstrous woman strength.
"Why are you upset?"
"I'm not." She said, leaning against the railing then hoping onto it.
She looked at him for a long time. Her eyes searching his empty ones as he simply stood there, letting her gaze at him.
He felt that if he talked he might ruin the moment, and reality might set in. And she would be the real Ino. He walked forward, resting his hands on either side of her, leaning his head down so that his eyes were slightly darkened..
"So where did you put her?" He asked bluntly, his eyebrow flickering up questioningly.
"Who?What are you talking about, Shika?"
Shikamaru felt a smile tug at his lips, but he suppressed it. He had to get at least one laugh tonight. "Ino. Where did you put her when you body swapped?"
"Oh har har." She drawled sarcastically, her eyes flickering with that sudden anger, before it died down again.
"But really what is eating you?"
"Well I have been thinking alot and I really wanted to-"
"Here we are!" Chouji said as he pushed open the doors, his eyes immediately widening as he saw Ino.
--
Shikamaru mentally cursed them for their bad timing, as he peeled his iron grip from the stone balcony railing, his eye peering over his shoulder with that normal drowsy expression he always held. But his body language was far from normal. This was not how it was supposed to happen.
Ino wasn't supposed to know until they were gone. And safe in Suna.
Ino reached forward and grabbed the front of his Chounin Vest, her little hand shaking. "Debriefing?" She inquired, her eyes reflecting hurt and understanding.
"Yes debriefing, we were chosen for a mission, Ino." Sakura said calmly, her eyes sympathetic as she stepped forward, but she stopped once Shikamaru's head turned back towards Ino.
He placed his large, calloused hand over her small fingers and coaxed them off of his Vest. "Yes debriefing, we are going on a mission."
Ino looked up at him with watery eyes. "Oh, sorry to interrupt." She spat, grabbing hold of his vest as she plopped down off of the railing, and stood on her tiptoes. "Happy nineteenth birthday Shikamaru." She growled, thrusting a small, blue velvet box into his chest pocket as she turned haughtily, her long hair striking him across the face, huffing as she stomped to the wooden doors and disappeared behind them.
But he knew that wouldn't be the last of her he would see before Suna..
"-I said match, son." His father chuckled, waving a hand in front of Shikamaru's face. "I win."
Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly, but his face returned to it's normal, bored facet immediately. "I was...distracted." He said, averting his gaze as he took in a deep breath of air.
Shikaku settled back into his rocking chair, humming a small tune as he examined his sons troubled facial expression. "I heard about Ino telling you off." He said simply, a smirk playing on his features.
Shikamaru's eyes flickered up to his father angrily. "Oh? Who told you this?" He managed through gritted teeth
"No one worth mentioning, but your mother was there and from what she says I hear Ino has a ...colorful...vocabulary." Shikaku let out another deep chuckle, enjoying the discomfort on his sons' face. "You know son, you could have saved yourself all of the trouble by telling her first."
Shikamaru's face twisted into a scowl as his fingers gripped the arm of the rocking chair tightly. It was one of Shikamaru's few and far between performances of anger. "Oh yes you try telling her that the mission report is classified, and you tell her that she can not come because you don't want to have to watch two backs every waking moment," He barked angrily, snatching his drink from the side table and taking a hearty gulp before slamming it back down on the poor oak stand, that creaked in protest. "And you try telling her that she is more of a liability than an asset, I am sure that it will go over quite nicely." He spat sarcastically.
His father merely raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Yes but you know how those Yamanaka's are...stubborn till the day they die."
"Exactly why she can't go." Shikamaru murmured, averting his gaze from his father's.
"Aa." His father grunted, pushing himself out of the rocker, and walking slowly across the porch.
He stopped beside his son and pat him hard on the shoulder. "Go feed the Deer." He reminded him.
"hn."
--
Shikamaru mumbled as he hauled the giant buckets of deer feed back and forth from the barn.
He pressed the back of his gloved hand to his forehead and wiped the sweat off of his brow. It was hot even though it was almost the end of September, and he had long since abandoned his shirt on the fence post, to let it wring out.
He grunted as he put the pole through the giant handles and 'powerlifted' it up onto his shoulders with ease.
He kicked the fence open to the feeding area, scattering the deer in the enclosure."Grub time, Sisters." He called to the does, slapping a stick against the pink barrel like bucket. "Munch time, Brothers." He groaned, kicking the blue bucket as he walked out of the enclosure and spread the corn about on the ground, blinking back the sweat that ran in his eyes.
He set back on the fence, simply watching them graze as he filled both of the buckets to the brim with water, and by the end of the day he would be doing this all over again.
He sighed and looked up at the clouds, but today he did not want to look at endless seas of blue and white, because that is all that he would see on his mission to Suna.
Shikamaru raked his teeth over his bottom lip as he turned the faucet off and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Water time!" He called, clicking his tongue against his teeth.
He watched the herd trot over as he backed away from the fence and grabbed his shirt, his work here was done.
--
"I'm not her husband, ma." He grumbled, trying to slip through the kitchen and past his mother while she was turned toward the stove.
"Don't you try to run off while I'm not looking Shikamaru Nara." His mother barked, turning around and shaking her wooden spoon at him, sending little boiling slashes of soup onto his shirtless chest.
"Damn it, ma." He growled, rubbing his chest as he glared at her.
"And don't you cuss in my house either young man!"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes as his mother came down upon him with her speech of how a righteous young Shinobi should respect his mother and listen to women and be honorable and blah blah blah...
He looked right past her, his past experiences telling him to simple stare at her forehead whilst she rammble about absolutely nothing. He felt like that kid on that show with the blah blah parents...what was it..Charlie Brown? Yes, he was sure it was that.
He returned his attention to the vein that was sprouting on his mother's forehead as he patience started to wear thin. "Go apologize to her!"
Shikamaru's head snapped back down to his mother's gaze, his eyebrows furrowed together in incomprehension. "What?" He spat, entirely too rude for his mother's liking as she brought a fragile hand across his cheek. In the same exact spot Ino had nailed him last night...
Shikamaru leaned against the railing of the balcony with a whimpering sigh. His patience being stretched almost to it's limits these past months with all of the high ranked missions and jobs Tsunade-samma was pushing on him. He was starting to form ideas of his rank being moved up to Jounin soon, from all the higher class work she has been giving him, and all of his involvement in ANBU with his father recently. A minute smile flashed over his features as he began to ramble about the mission on autopilot, while his mouth spoke of the mission, his mind thought only about what Ino was saying before Chouji interrupted them.
Blast his chubby friends timing!
"- I have been thinking alot and I really wanted to-" What did you want to what, Ino? He wondered as he let his gaze meander over to the giant wooden doors. Soon his speech was over, and everyone was just standing there looking at him strangely.
"We will meet at the gates in two-days...dismissed." He said tiredly, waving his hand in dismissal as he pushed through the giant wooden doors.
Everyone's eyes turned to him as he walked in, and his eyebrow quirked but he thought nothing of it other than the creaking of the door. "Door needs to be oiled..." He thought grimly as he spied platinum blond hair swing in his direction, then the flash of cerulean eyes turn away from him.
He pressed his hand deep into his pocket to fiddle with the small red velvet box he had gotten for Ino.
It was an unspoken agreement with them since they were very young, that they would get each other birthday presents, that they would be small, and from the heart, and so when he saw this he knew he simply had to get it for her.
He spotted her hair flash again, but the lights dimmed and music started to play loudly, although it was a slow dancing song.
Soon Shikamaru was being bumped into by men and women alike as he pressed on towards Ino, who seemed bent on escape.
Finally he was so close he could reach her, and so he did. He grasped her by the arm and pulled her in towards his chest, his eyes diving deep into hers as their gazes locked.
"What do you want?" She huffed, looking away.
Shikamaru leaned his head down to hear her, and so that she could hear him over the booming music of the orchestra that was playing..
"It is midnight." He said, his voice barely audible over the loud voices and music.
"Your point?" She barked, trying to pull her arm away but only succeeding in bumping into his chest.
He smirked down at her and pulled out the red velvet box. "Happy nineteenth birthday, Ino." He said, pressing the red velvet into her palm.
She immediately opened it, and staired down at the small hair pin, that was a dark purple, and a giant flower that you could push into your hair..
Her eyes shimmered as she looked up at him, but very quickly she remembered the mission. Too quickly for Shikamaru's tastes.
She pulled on his arm, pulled him all the way out of those giant wooden doors and kept her hold tight upon his arm.
"Why am I not going on this mission with you? We are always together." She said, her eyes full of incomprehension."Where is it?"
"Why?" He asked, his brow raising slightly.
"Just because I want to know where you will be, and so I can expect how long to be gone."
"It is in Suna but- No Ino your not going this time."
"But why?" She whined, pulling on the hem of his vest like a child might.
"Because Ino, it would not be productive for you to tag along, I already chose the necessary members for this mission to go by with at least 73% success, If I added you, that would dock off at least thirty percent of our success rate." He said Matter-o-factly.
Ino just look up at him with those shimmering blue eyes and growled. "But wouldn't my-"
"No, there are no need for any of your infiltration or spying skills, Ino." Shikamaru sighed heavily, his hand enveloping hers and pulling it form his vest, yet again. " You just aren't needed at the moment."
Wrong thing to say- He thought too late, as he sighed heavily. - wrong thing to do.
Ino became suddenly very quiet, her eyes down cast as she looked away.
"Ino-" He started, but her hands colliding with his chest stopped him mid-sentence.
"Fuck you!" She screamed, her fists beating against his chest as she let out silent sobs. "I'm not needed? Is that your way of saying I'm not strong enough? Or that you just don't want me around while you go visit your little girlfriend? Well fine! I won't be around! not now! and not ever! Bastard!"
And with that she ran off, the little red velvet box clutched tightly in her hands...
Shikamaru sighed and turned back to the doors, to find that they were very much open, and a very surprised mother, Yoshino, Shikamaru's mother, stood stunned, while the rest of the crowd at the festival stood in a similar silence...
Shikamaru pulled his fishnet shirt over his head as he climbed upstairs and kicked open his door.
Still living with mommy and daddy..pathetic..He thought as he looked about his messy room.
Shouji sets laying about the floor, old food wrappers..and some with food still in there.
Shikamaru stepped over it all and checked and re checked his list, because he was leaving in the morning, at dawn.
--
He awoke at five o' clock sharp, with an hour till set off, but if he knew Neji then they would be there at five thirty.
With a exasperated sigh and the most elderly sounding grunt he could muster, he pushed himself up off of the bed and groggily started to peel off his clothing and change into a new, freshly washed pair.
He picked up his tooth brush and squirted tooth paste on the bristles with his eyes half open, the faucet running full blast as he rinsed his mouth thoroughly, repeatedly, then mouth washed repeatedly.
He stood up refreshed and slightly woken up, his eyes wide from the cold water he had splashed in his own face.
Now, He thought, pulling all of the necessary things on and securing the pack on his shoulders, he climbed out his window and sent chakra to his feet, and jumped into the trees.
He arrived at her window in no more than five minutes. Ten minutes till take off if they wanted to be there on time.
Shikamaru sighed and tapped on her window, his eyes blurry and his face hard because his face was numb from sleep.
"Go away." He heard her muffled cry.
He merely sighed and pushed the window open by force. His fingers ignited with Chakra he forced them on the area behind the locks, then merely slid the window open and jumped down onto her bed.
" I came to say goodbye, I'll be gone for quite a while." He murmured as he sat down, straddling the lump under the purple comforter.
He grasp that top of the sheets and yanked them down, only to meet a pillow covering her face. "Ino don't be like this," He drawled tiredly, his eyes rolling skyward as she gripped the pillow tighter. "Your going to wish you told me bye when I'm gone, but you will have had missed your chance, better do it while you can." He tempted, pulling her fingers off of the pillow one by one. Or better yet...if you dont say bye to me Ino...I will miss you..so turn over and say goodbye, that is what he wanted to say, but he wouldn't, his male ego just would not allow such...emotion for a simple goodbye.
"Fine." He growled, tearing the pillow from her arms and glaring down at her. "Bye Ino." He said tonelessly, throwing the pillow down beside her as he stormed off of the bed, and disapeared out her window.
"Shika.." She started, but she simply sat quietly...her eyes starting to water.
--
Shikamaru was surprisingly the first one to meet at the Gates, followed by Chouji, then Neji and Tenten and then Sakura and Shino.
Shikamaru, despite that they were an hour ahead of schedule, was in an even fouler mood than he normally was in the morning, and so he immediately barked their disembarkment and jumped into the shadows of the trees, looking back at the formation of Leaf Ninja that follow closely behind he couldn't help but feel that something was missing. that she was missing.
When had she become a vital part of the embarkment? When did he start relying on her to make him lunch and dinner and prepare his pack and his medical supplies and his- oh she did everything.
Shikamaru mentally sighed, but he showed no signs of tiredness on the outside as he remained a fair distance ahead of the group, who were struggling to keep up with his pace.
He slowed down slightly, not wanting to wear himself out in the first quarter of his trip. He looked back to see Neji and Tenten taking up his rear, and Chouji,Sakura, and Shino in the caboose.
Shikamaru turned back forward, his eyes on the rising sun as it penetrated through the thick, lush green leaves. He sighed, this was going to be a very long journey.
By the time they reached the sand, they had traveled so quickly, they still had another day before they were supposed to arrive, but because of the quick-steady pace Shikamaru held, there was no waste of any time.
It was dusk when the high walls of Sunagakure were seen over the sand dunes.
Shikamaru put his hand up as a signal to yield as he walked forward slowly. He motioned for them to follow.
six shadows passed over the shimmering blue sand as quickly as possible, the only thing seen were the sand that shifted slightly under their feet as they crept forward.
Shikamaru held his hand up for them to yield again as they crawled up a dune and looked down at a camp of people- of ninja.
"Well, if it isn't the cry baby." A smirking female said, walking out from the shadows with her hands placed on her hips, a grin apparent on her lips.
"Temari." Shikamaru grunted, letting his eyes drink her in momentarily before he shifted to her comrades who sat huddled by a small fire.
"We've been waiting all day." She said, her tone flirtatious but still holding a serious note.
Shikamaru discarded the flirting tone. "Well, we are early, I am glad to see you have such high expectations of us."
"I'm glad you can fulfill them." She retorted, smirking playfully as she turned away and motioned for everyone to clear camp. "Let's get you tired travelers to Suna as soon as possible." She said, the smirk constantly dancing over her lips.
Shikamaru sighed.
This was going to be a very long mission.