~Afraid of His Shadow~
"Shikamaru, follow daddy." The boy ignored the soft callings of his father. He took pleasure in the vehicle ahead of them. The car was green and the license plate number read 008-SHA-DOW. Little Shikamaru knew his daddy's van anywhere. He knew when his father jingled the silver ornaments in his palm, the car made a popping sound. The lights flickered and flashed for only a second before dying down into a boring hue of red and orange. He once considered his father to be magical, but then he realized that the keys were doing the light show. From that day forth, he considered the keys magic and not his daddy. He let his fascination linger on the afternoon setting. After a tiresome day of grocery shopping with his father, all Shikamaru wanted to do was jump onto his pallet and sleep the day away.
"Shika." Weighed down by brown sacks of bulging ravioli cans and poptart boxes, he trudged slowly behind his son. He knew his son was a clone of his natural prowess. He may not be a hard worker, but when his son put his mind on something, he wallowed in it with the utmost care and procession. He wouldn't stop until he tinkered and tampered with its controls, pondering and absorbing all of its capabilities and possibilities. The boy was quite the puzzle wiz too. Sudoku was his game. Daily newspaper crossword puzzles were bubbled in and scribbled on with the correct answers. And 1000 piece puzzles latched onto each other in the correct pattern while being motioned and combined by talented hands. He was a boy of inordinate genius. Even so, he had a long way to go before he truly understood anything. Shikamaru is like a sponge. If he was given a definition, he would recite the words back accordingly, but he wouldn't know the significance of them. He probably wouldn't even know what he said. Shikamaru's genius was limited at the age of four, but his father wanted to make sure. His boy was only a child after all. A little test wouldn't hurt.
The fathers lip turned up crooked. He wondered…was his son even aware of the presence always stalking him? Lurking behind his every step? Even now? The man smiled, ready to pop the lid off his son's ego.
"Son? What's that?" He tilted his head at the concrete, signaling his son to look. Shikamaru peered over his tiny shoulders and blinked. He saw nothing but his father's image growing closer. "Look at that. The ground,boy."
Shikamaru did as he was instructed. He threw his eyes down, curious to see what his father was grinning about. Shikamaru's eyes grew the size of dinner plates. An inky black figure, outlined with the same build as his, stared back at him from the parking lot floor. It resembled his tiny shape but even so. Where were its eyes? What about its nose and teeth? Was it even human?
With all his energy concentrated into his legs, he bolted toward the van, not caring to figure out the mystery lurking under his soles. If he made it to the safe spot, then the black figure will surely leave him be. He whipped his head around to see if the thing was still chasing him. It was hot on his heels. He paused. It paused. Shikamaru noticed the creature stemming out from his sandals. He hopped up, certain that if he did; he would break away from the glue sticking them together. It mimicked him! His feet stomped the ground in a deafening 'plop', uniting them together once again.
"Wahhh!" The boy stood screaming and sobbing. He threw his hands up in the air wanting his daddy to lift him up to rest on broad shoulders, but was disappointed when he trudged by him.
"What is it?"Laughed the father. The boy hiccupped and jabbed his pointer finger at the offending stalker below him.
"It's not going away Shika."
The boy wailed even louder, clearly upset with the news. His father continued on his route to the van, bypassing the tantrum throwing toddler, and pressed down on the van remote. Activating the affirming 'beep' of the vehicle, he motioned toward the trunk. He popped the trunk with his elbow and slowly eased the door up with his back, being careful not to drop the groceries in hand. He quickly tossed the bags aside and lowered the trunk down like a veil to a window. He gave his shoulders a quick roll, trying to relax the nerves circulating there. A harsh tug on his denim low-rider's threatened to bunch up at the knees.
"Shika," he said in between breaths, "Everybody has a shadow, even me." The boy peeked at his stalker and smiled briefly before latching onto his father for dear life. He wasn't scared of it anymore, but he still didn't like it. He glared at his dad's laugher. What was so funny?
"You have a lot to learn kiddo."
They hopped in the vehicle and drove home. Shikamaru couldn't wait to nap now. His shadow gave him a fright and now he had a pulsing headache from crying so loud. He'd have to lay down some ground rules with it if they were to be stuck with each other for life. He'd find a way to discard the beast soon. Controlling it wasn't a bad idea either. He'd find a way to do that too.
XD I remember the first time I saw my shadow. It was NOT a happy day. Just thought I'd write something about Shikamaru here, lol.