Just something cute I thought up of. I've been neglecting other characters, haha. So, might as well bring my second fav char. in this. I was randomly drawing, and I started drawing a girl with a short jacket almost like Shikamaru's (no relation) with long black hair, resembling Neji's. Actually, I was thinking of just random characters and put it all together. lol. In the end, she began looking quite cute, and I couldn't think of a good name, but my dad was telling me these japanese names randomly. He said that his name meaned Beloved, and then he remembered the name Suki, which meant the same thing. pretty much in this story, she doesn't feel loved at all, and its pretty ironic. But, it seemd to fit the currant expression she had on her face when I drew her. Sad and lonely, but really independant. hell, I just draw whatever i see in my head.

Nothing much happens around here

Heaving a sigh, Shikamaru fell back on the grass, once again watching the clouds pass by. Not like he had anything better to do.

'Even this is getting boring.' He grumbled silently, though sometimes he enjoyed doing this to pass the time.

'Wonder what everyone else is doing...' The chuunin put his arms behind his head to prop it up. He thought about going around to find his teammates to see what they were up to, but decided it wasn't worth the trouble.

He felt an itch near his toe. Sitting up to scratch it, something caught his attention. A girl with long, sleek black hair pulled back in a low ponytail sitting on the grass a few yards from him with her head on her knees, her arms wrapped around them. He raised an eyebrow and thought for a minute. He saw her shoulders shake.

'Is she crying?' He wondered, thinking whether or not to go see what was wrong.

'Nah.' Shikamaru laid back on the ground again, focusing on the sky. It was extremely quiet and peaceful. But he could hear the quiet sobs coming from the girl. Looking up at her again, the chuunin grimaced.

Maybe he should go see what was up. Not like it would hurt anyone. Getting to his feet, he calmly brushed off some dead grass off his pants and walked over to her. Approaching her curled up figure, he noticed her headband tied around her waist. Sighing inwardly, Shikamaru put a hand on the girl's shoulder. She lifted her head and looked up at the boy. Her black rimmed eyes were brimming with tears that were sliding down her cheeks. A few pieces of black hair framed her pale face.

"What's wrong?" He asked casually, looking into her pale blue eyes. She blinked and frowned slightly at him. She turned her head and propped her chin on her arms.

"None of your concern." She said. Shikamaru raised his eyebrows.

"Ok then." He turned to leave, but she put a hand on his sandal.

"Wait." He turned to look at her again. She sighed and wiped away tears from her eyes, then patted the ground next to her. Taking it as an invitation, Shikamaru sat down, waiting for her to speak.

"What's up?" He asked, seeing as she wouldn't talk. She didn't answer immediately.

Looking round at him, the girl held out her hand.

"I'm Suki." Shikamaru shook her hand. At least she spoke.

"Shikamaru." Suki nodded, then let go of his hand.

"So, wanna tell me what's the matter?" Asked Shikamaru for the third time. She pursed her lips.

"Just...Stupid family issues...y'know." She mumbled, resting her chin on her arms again.

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows, then nodded.

"Ah."

"Yeah..." Suki gazed up at the sky, heaving another sigh.

They remained silent for a long while, neither wanting to speak, but not wanting to leave one another.

"You're a Genin too, aren't you?" Asked Suki after some time, looking into his eyes. He shook his head.

"Nah. Chuunin. Just didn't feel like wearing my vest."

"Hn."

Again, silence loomed over them.

"Nice clouds, eh?" Shikamaru asked, leaning back on his hands. She nodded.

Then, she extended her arm, pointing at one cloud.

"Look. That looks like a cat." Shikamaru followed to where she was pointing and saw it. It really did look like a curled up cat.

"Heh, yeah...It does. See that one? Looks like a rabbit's head, with the left ear bent." Suki tilted her head to the left, squinting, then smiled.

"Yup. Sure does."

"Hey, how old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"Hm. Same."

More silence.

The wind blew across the field of grass, catching some leaves from some of the trees. The green leaves floated through the air, and fell across the two. One landed on Shikamaru's forehead. Looking up at it awkwardly, he saw Suki cover her mouth with her hand, the corner of her eyes crinkling up.

"What are you laughing at?" He asked, grinning a bit. She smiled, removing her hand.

"Nothing. It just reminds me of my little brother..." Her pale blue eyes flickered downwards, and she looked depressed again. Shaking the leaf off his head, Shikamaru looked at her in slight concern.

"He...died three years ago." She mumbled.

"Oh...Sorry..."

She shook her head.

"No need to be. I've...pretty much gotten over it."

The two stayed silent for what seemed like the longest time. More clouds drifted in, giving them more shapes to point out to each other.

"I haven't seen you before.When did you come here?" Asked Shikamaru. Suki thought for a minute.

"Not recently...Ever since my parents divorced and I moved in with my dad...So, maybe about six years ago. My mom lives in the Village Hidden in the Mist, and she met my dad one day...I don't remember how, or when, but they eloped because it might seem strange for a woman from the Mist Village and a man from Konoha get married. They first had me, then five years later, my brother came along..."

Shikamaru watched her talk with genuine intrest. Sounds like she had an intresting past. Unlike him.

"If you don't mind me asking...What happened to your brother?" He asked cautiously, watching for her reaction.

She looked sad, but open her mouth.

"Um...He was playing near an uncompleted bridge when we had gone to visit our mother, and...He was racing with his friends, to see who could run to the edge, then back the quickest. I was told to watch them, and make sure they didn't cause any trouble," Suki blinked a few times. "There was a puddle of water...near the edge. My brother ran with his friend, and went to turn around back, but he slipped."

Her bottom lip trembled slightly, but she bit it.

"I saw him fall right off the edge. His friends all screamed...and..." Shikamaru saw that she couldn't go on anymore. He put a hand on her head.

"It's ok...You don't need to tell me anymore..." He said quietly. The girl looked close to tears, but she held them back, swallowing hard.

"I-I don't want to cry anymore." She muttered, clenching her hands. Shikamaru remembered the day when him and his team returned from a certain mission, thinking his teammates were dead. But they were successfully healed. He had felt so relieved when he had heard that they were going to be alright.

"It's okay to cry, y'know." He said, and she looked up at him. She nodded, but still wouldn't let the tears fall.

Neither talked for a while again.

"Um...I think I should be getting home now." Said Suki, looking at the sky again. Shikamaru nodded slowly and sighed.

"Hey..." She put a hand on top of his. "Thanks for...well, letting me talk. I feel like I've been a ghost lately."

Shikamaru gave her a slanted smile.

"No problem."

xxxx

Hehh heh...well, i think i did a pretty good job on this one. so, yeah R&R like usual. Ciao!