Disclaimer- I don't know if people still do this, but just in case: Do not be confused by the fact that I share the same birthday as Kishimoto; I do not own Naruto. I'd give an outlandish example of how I would have changed it if I had, but I prefer to rant in private as opposed to public.

"And that's the gist of our request, Naruto."

In the center of the room stood a long table, which in the past had been the seat of many civilian and Jounin advisors whose sole purpose when not called away on an important mission was to counsel the Hokage. These days, however, it was far more empty than it had been in the past.

At the center, heading the table was greatest hero of the last war by far and newest addition to a proud line of leaders who had been granted the right to call themselves Hokage- the Fire Shadow of the Hidden Leaf- Uzumaki Naruto.

To his left was a woman who had, herself, become a being of legend from her recent efforts as part of the Shinobi Alliance. With hair as pink and beautiful as the very petals that adorn the tree whose named she shared, her kindness and exceptional skill as a medic had earned her place alongside the previous Hokage and her teacher, Tsunade.

Further to the left were several other faces that had gained notoriety from their abilities and contributions to the protection of the world as they knew it. They had each been considered a true avatar of the Will of Fire that burned in the hearts of everyone from the Hidden Leaf.

It was no surprise that among them was the pair of sensei that raised the Hokage, Umino Iruka and Hatake Kakashi. Nor was it a shock to find the woman who would soon be elevated to the position of head of the Hyuuga clan. In fact, to Naruto's left, there were a number of easily recognizable ninja.

To his right, however, there sat but one person. His brown eyes turned to the side, staring straight into the face of the man who had chosen him to be his right hand. And why? Because he was one of the few who Naruto could honestly say was a comrade from the very beginning. Although the hijinks they shared with a few other friends from the Academy were stories for another time.

That, however, was not what made him worthy of sitting next to the Hokage. It was his own skills that secured that right. Just as his father had intended, after the destruction of the Shinobi HQ and the death of the strategists, Shikamaru took it into his own hands to direct the forces towards victory.

With his callous, unbiased eyes, he oversaw the entirety of the forces and spared no expense to make sure they would take down the enemy and minimize the casualty list. What set him and his father apart from other strategists was their unabashed denial of the notion that sacrifices were necessary to pull off a successful tactic.

In fact, the only sacrifice they seemed content with was purely their own.

Just as the rest had, Shikamaru had made a name for himself the world over. And Naruto trusted him above all else when it came to anything confusing or annoying. It was kind of a chore, as everything confused or annoyed the Sixth.

"Well..." Naruto began, scratching the back of his head, "That does seem like it would be quite a pain. But don't you guys have your own people that do that sort of thing?"

The question was directed at the guests, the very people making the request. Of course, the answer had already been stated in their explanation of the situation. Naruto just didn't make much of a habit of listening to the finer details, and instead typically only focused on the parts that sounded as if they were interesting or exciting.

Once again, the complicated details were to be deferred to his friends and advisers.

The two in question looked to each other, their own unsure expressions mirroring confusion. As well as they knew the Hokage, it should have come to no surprise that he didn't pay attention, but they like many others must have assumed that becoming a Kage substantially changed a person. It had for Tsunade. It had for Gaara.

The first to speak up was the woman, and a troublesome one she was at that.

"As we said, many of our own code breakers were casualties in the last war. Others are out on important missions, and the rest can't seem to crack the particular code we need." she replied with patience, a tone that years ago likely wouldn't have been present and would instead have been replaced with one ingrained with her own particular style of wit, sarcasm and perhaps even a bit of mocking mixed in. Maybe she only reserved that for him these days.

Temari of the Hidden Sand. Shikamaru's brown eyes probed her heavily as he studied her entire form . She had become a very important and key orchestrator of events in his life over the past few years. From what had started as a particularly troublesome opponent, she had become an ally. From an ally she had become a friend, albeit one who rode his ass at every possible opportunity. And from a friend, she had become something much more.

He would never admit it out loud, especially to her, but Shikamaru found himself thinking of Temari more often than not. They had shared some moments, and over the course of their history together, they had grown to understand one another, respect one another, and every so often care for one another. Far beneath the superficial part of their relationship that others could see, the two of them shared bonds and emotions that could only be expressed in silence.

Nara Shikamaru could honestly say that Temari was the only woman he'd ever looked at in this particular light, and each time he did, it gave him a bit more courage to put into play his his ultimate plan that had been in crafting for awhile. But even he couldn't see how it would end, nor could he see the complications it may or may not have. After all, it wasn't exactly well-documented territory.

"You know, this reminds me of the message that was left by the Pervert Sage! Our own code breakers couldn't figure it out, but I came in and cracked that code open so hard that we're still picking up the pieces!" he bragged with a grin.

"Maybe I should go the Hidden Sand and help you guys figure this thing out!"

As the others all shared knowing glances and shook their heads in exhaustion with their notorious leader, Shikamaru took it upon himself to speak up. "Naruto, you were the only person capable of cracking that code because it had been left for you, and therefore you were the only person who held the key."

Naruto's face sobered slightly. That was one thing that bugged him about Shikamaru, but also something that he came to respect. He never did fail to tell him when he was wrong. Or an idiot. Or being too lazy with the work, which was rich come from him!

"Secondly, as the Hokage, you should know that you can't just up and leave the village on a whim to go do something out of your area of expertise. We have a multitude of code breakers who are far more experienced at handling this sort of thing that, as a sign of our camaraderie with the Hidden Sand, we could send in your stead."

"How about you, Shikamaru?" Sakura piped in inquisitively. "You worked with the code breakers before, right?"

His expression froze as he was reminded once again exactly why women were as troublesome as they were. She just volunteered him. Why? Why would she do that? With little time to respond, as he saw the realization hit Naruto that what she said was correct, he shook his head rapidly.

"No, no, no! No, no, no, no! I'm not going to there!" he shot off quickly, no time to think.

The Hidden Sand was hot. It was dry. There were very rarely clouds there for him to observe, which through the years remained one of his favored hobbies. It was a no-go. That was not the kind of place he'd like to be.

Of course, his eyes caught the teal counterparts that belonged to Temari. She seemed irked. Her displeasure of his vehement denial of any desire to come visit her home village was quickly coming to light from the scowl that was clearly directed at him. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend time with her, but...

'Couldn't she stay here instead?!'

Naruto rubbed his chin, pretending to consider the options. It was already clear to everyone in the room, however, that he had already decided. He did this from time to time, though, because of his belief that it made him seem like he knew what he was doing.

"Well, when you put it like that Sakura, it's obvious that he has to go."

There it was, the nail in the coffin. Shikamaru's head hung, gaze unbroken as it stared at the table beneath him. He didn't have to check back at Temari's to tell that the scowl would be replaced with something of a more... victorious nature. He wouldn't give her the opportunity to show him her smug satisfaction.

"You have our thanks, Hokage." the other Hidden Sand ninja in the room piped up.

Kankurou, brother of both Temari and Gaara, was an esteemed puppeteer that had surpassed the former greatest that was Sasori of the Red Sands. What most found interesting about his achievement was that he did so using the very puppet body that Sasori had created of himself and left behind upon his death. He had been in the Hidden Leaf for a different reason, but upon meeting Temari had decided to return together.

And now they'd have Shikamaru in tow.

"Come on, Crybaby, you can complain along the way." Temari demanded, a melodious song to her voice. Yep, he was sure now. She was ecstatic about the situation

'I'm not even a code breaker...' he grumbled inwardly, rising to his feet as he was dismissed by Naruto and released into Temari and Kankurou's custody. He took very special care to send a look of displeasure back in the direction of Sakura.

"I'm doing this for you, Shikamaru." she answered his glare with a chirp.

Feet pounded along the path of trees along the road that lead to their destination of the Land of Wind. Kankurou was in no hurry. Shikamaru was in no hurry. Rather, what spurred them along was Temari who had taken it upon herself to take command of the expedition towards the desert in which sat her home. She was sure as Hell bent on wasting no time on the trip.

"You know, I've never seen her this... energetic." Kankurou murmured to the Hidden Sand's temporary new addition to their code breaker unit after his sister had leapt ahead.

"Honestly, I think she's trying to kill me." Shikamaru responded, carefully controlling his breathing to prevent what would otherwise swiftly bring him to the brink of exhaustion.

"I can see why, man, I mean she is not your biggest fan. All I ever hear whenever she returns home from the Hidden Leaf is Shikamaru-this and that Nara bastard-that." he chuckled, carefully observing the bastard-in-question's reaction.

"She's a woman, that's why. All they ever do is complain and nag." Although Shikamaru had believed that with every fiber of his being in the past, he had grown to understand that it was merely some women's way of expressing their affection.

It reminded him of how broken-hearted his own mother had become after he personally gave her the news that Shikaku had perished in the war. He'd known that she loved his father, but it was truly eye opening to see exactly how much. It was an experience that he couldn't forget, even if he wanted to. Just as his relationship with Temari was much deeper between them than it was on the surface, it was that moment that he had finally paid enough attention to see into his parents' own. It also lead to some conflicting feelings within himself. After all, she treated him in a fashion that was almost indistinguishable to how she was with his father.

But for as long as he could remember, he'd complain, talk back, and utterly ignore her when it got, as he so often said, too troublesome. It kind of woke him up, and since then he'd been much more attentive to her.

"I guess that makes you half woman then, huh?" Kankurou answered him, his voice lifting higher as his words moved along, hinting at amusement. In response, he received an inquiring eyebrow. It had seemed that somehow, Shikamaru didn't quite understand what he was talking about. It wasn't surprising, though. Kankurou wasn't always the best at getting his point across.

"I... It was a joke. I was saying... Temari says that all you do is complain. So if women only complain and nag, that makes you... You know what? Forget it." he finished with a sigh. Again, Kankurou wasn't the best at getting his point across. Something that made many of his jokes go unappreciated.

"What'd I miss?" Temari's voice cut across the awkward silence that had begun to form between the two as she dropped backwards and returned to matching their pace.

Her eyes scanned the face of Kankurou after being met with silence. He looked somewhat annoyed, an expression that she had seen often enough, but there was also disappointment and a few other tell-tale signs. That narrowed it down slightly. Turning her stare backwards at Shikamaru, she found his face to be as stoic and unmoved as ever. Would it kill him to crack a smile? But still, even through his stone-like expression, she somehow found her answers within. It was uncanny.

"The green starts to end right up ahead. Within the hour, we should be up to our ears in sand." her voice once again cut across the silence in that same melodious, almost excited tune that she had once their meeting with Naruto had been completed.

"That's good, we have a lot of backed up logs with your name on them waiting for you, Nara."

Great, this was certainly going to be some sort of chore. He just knew it. There was originally only one particular assignment they required assistance on, but as he prepared for the journey, he got word from Naruto that it was to be an extended mission. Now not just the important, original assignment waited in store for him, but everything else the Hidden Sand needed unraveled.

It was utterly irresponsible how they were relying on a ninja of the Hidden Leaf to unlock these secrets for them. Was it naivety that drove the request? Was it simple trust between the Kazekage and Hokage, who together were like brothers? Could it have been urgency? Or was it the strong belief that the Shinobi Alliance that had resulted to combat the war and had since lasted would continue to do so?

In the midst of his thoughts, his unmoving demeanor had begun to reveal his questions. The unrestrained curiosity, hesitation, and everything else that accompanied them became displayed as he contemplated what the driving force behind the request was. And this did not go unnoticed by Temari.

As if reading his thoughts, she answered his questions. "Don't strain that brain thinking about something so unnecessary. The documents we need decoded aren't anything classified any longer. They're a part of a program we're going to initiate that will let the other villages and possible employers know a little more about the village."

So in other words, it was to promote peace and business, and nothing he would assist in unmasking would be of any concern to him. It was relieving, something he appreciated from the woman he had come to understand. Apparently, she could understand him too.

That interested Shikamaru greatly, causing him to wonder something. The fact that she was so on the money with his thoughts begged the question within him. Could she read him so well or was it just a lucky guess?

"You're welcome."

He raised a curious brow as he stared forward, locked within her eyes and pleased grin.

"And to answer your question, I can read you like a book." she answered his thoughts with a wink before returning her gaze to the approaching desert.

"Wait, what are you guys talking about? I can't follow." Kankurou interjected, effectively ending the conversation there.

"Seriously, come on."

I'm going to end it here for today, folks. This is going to turn out to have one, maybe two more chapters. As I wrote, I kind of felt compelled to bring more to the story, so look forward to at least one more coming sometime in the near future. Other than that, I tried a somewhat different style starting out, but noticed that as I went, I began to slowly return to my natural writing style that mixes the details somewhat with inner monologues of the character I'm portraying at the moment. Tell me what you think.