A/N: This is a reworking of a story I dreamt up when I was a much younger girl. Please feel free to leave the reviews you would like. I am on the lookout for a beta, and if anyone is free and doesn't mind my late hours, PM me.
Disclaimer : I do not own any characters known in the Naruto Universe. Any original characters and plot points are my own and I shall take great offense to any who would copy them.
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Though long before he had learned to perfect his shadow technique Nara Shikamaru had been aware of the complicated interplay of weather patterns to realize these past few weeks of rain were nothing out of the ordinary for March weather, he still couldn't help but ascend the steps to the Hokage tower with even less enthusiasm than was customary for the second laziest ninja in the village. The first being his father, who had coincidentally just stubbed his toe lifting the beams to reopen Icharaku's and had sent his son on the minor mission of cleaning out the Hokage Tower in his stead.
"Tch, old man can't hide from his grief forever." It was no secret that the Nara clan had grown to become strong allies with the Sarutobi's ever since the fall of the Uchiha. It had been beneficial to both parties, as the Nara were once renowned far and wide as excellent strategists but due to Uchiha prevalence in the government and law there had been no need to excel in any public office, least of all with dealings between countries. The Nara's now held many positions as delegates and strategists that even the Hyuuga had deferred to in recent years. Nara Shikamaru may not have been ninja enough to attend these secret meetings, held between the powers that had survived the great ninja war, but he knew well enough that should the world fall into disarray again, his father's friendship with the Third guaranteed his sire as the interim Hokage. An idea that had been discussed flippantly before now, it seemed that the patriarch was not yet ready to assume his new role.
The last few weeks had been hard on all of the residents of Konoha village, as they had taken over three days to search for survivors and set them up in shelter units. Hokage tower itself was only just able to keep a few hundred families and the destruction had left several more than that without homes. The Hyuuga had opened up the lower compounds for the exclusive use of the ninja elite, as their security measures had held up remarkably well to the "Sand Invasion" as had been dubbed the merciless attack during the Chuunin exams. It was there that his father sat now, weighing political policies against Hyuuga Hiashi, who after the taking of his heiress over ten years prior, was all for throwing caution to the wind and declaring war. Uchiha Sasuke had surprised all when he declared that orphans and young women would be able to seek shelter in the vast abandoned Uchiha compound, only warning that the buildings had not been cleaned recently. In the light of retrospection, he wondered what Sasuke was thinking by opening up his ancestral home. He had known the stoic boy long enough to know he still wore the family Crest like a badge, and every weekend the Nara's had ever invited Sasuke under their roof had been one Sasuke had instead spent tending to the lush gardens that surrounded the Uchiha compound. It seemed rather odd he would throw caution to the wind now and open his doors, even in kindness.
" Identification please" Shikamaru blinked, broken from his train of thought by the slim ninja in front of him. The person at the door couldn't have been much older than he, but with no Hokage to guard it made sense there would be no high level operatives at the door. He flashed his credentials as quickly as he could and stepped inside. The upper levels had been left untouched by the refugees that had squeezed into the tower, and indeed these halls almost echoed as he took careful steps toward the double doors leading into the main office. He was almost tempted to knock, but he had dealt enough with empty buildings in the past weeks to know he wouldn't receive an answer.
The room itself smelled of incense and scroll parchment, of which there lay several on the oak and sandalwood desk. The ceremonial robes of the Hokage which usually sat on the left side of the office had been taken and buried with the Third. There were only files to collect now. Heaving a gusty sigh, Shikamaru set to look for boxes to take with him. His father had asked for the scrolls, and scrolls he would get. He had no clue as to where to begin, but decided the scrolls gathering dust at the far right end of the office were going to be collected last. The Hokage had been paid respects at his funeral by a number of neighboring countries, but none dared send their Kages for a visit, for fear of a second wave of attack from the Sound. It would be an uphill battle to regain the trust of their allies if the Kage's affairs were not upkept by Konoha's interim leader.
Trading between countries had been the easiest to recommence. As it turned out, the crops of the land had remained untouched, and there was plenty to spare even after all the displaced villagers were fed. The influx of income had already been spent on repairs, bolstering the morale of the people. Shikamaru shuffled orange scrolls on the Kage's desk. They were expense reports for the Chuunin exam, specifically those related to accommodations for various Kage's. It appeared that the Sand Village had been staying closest to Hokage Tower. It said here their stay at the hotel had been extended for three days after the exam's end. A useful detail, he added this scroll to the 'important' box as he had dubbed it. The files beneath in green and red were much the same, permits for vendors for the after festival that had been cancelled, budgets for the Chuunin ceremony, seating charts and venue options. The Sand and the Leaf were seated next to one another in nearly every event leading up to the invasion, and Shikamaru recalled that he and the Third had gotten along famously during their stay.
"Bastards." he shoved these scrolls, now tightly rolled, into a box of neutral items the political delegates in his clan and the Hyuuga would look over critically. The drawers on this desk had come with a lock his father had given him the key to, and within them were level D-B rank mission logs. It was local legend that to avoid detection during the Great Ninja war, A and S rank missions were not recorded in any scroll. Rather, the only people aware of these missions were sworn to secrecy. During the first few weeks of his reign, the Fourth Hokage had been sure to destroy any and all paper trails that might get into enemy hands. It had made strategic planning quite difficult, but there had been no better way to protect against information leaks. The Hyuuga's talent for memorization and truth seeing had been particularly useful in creating a decently accurate account of events after the war had ended. It was this limited information that had been written into Shikamaru's own historical textbooks. This couldn't have been the case now, the Third was not as invested in secrecy as the Fourth had been and for good reason. He housed the only known Jinchuuriki in over a century within his own walls, and no one outside the village knew who the child was. The looming threat of letting that kind of power loose had kept the peace for years, but it appeared that once again the world was going to be thrown into chaos.
"What in the hell are you doing, Shikamaru!" It was the booming voice that intruded on the eerie silence of the office that had sent the ninja ducking, narrowly missing the kunai hurled in his direction. It bounced off the wall it landed against and clattered noisily to the floor. Before Shikamaru had a chance to draw his own weapon, he was hauled up and roughed into the desk.
"Did ya lose something? Hey! I'm talking to you, answer me!" Each statement was punctuated by a rough shake, rattling the ebony haired boy too much to speak. He opted to slip a leg between his assailants feet and kneed him with as much effort as he could muster.
"Oof!" The attack worked, and the person holding him crashed to the floor, sending papers scattering over the ornate wooden floors.
"You jackass, what was that for?" The pained ninja from the floor cried. Shikamaru scoffed and said,
" You attacked me first, this is what you get you damned brat. Tch, I really should've let Dad do this on his own" Shikamaru raked calloused hands through his own hair roughly. The kunai had cut into his hairtie, and the dark curtain it made fell carelessly about his shoulders now.
" Dad asked me to clear out the Third's office, Naruto. What did you think I was doing, ransacking for supplies?" The guilty flush on Naruto's still wincing face showed this was indeed what he had thought. This expression changed quickly as he absorbed his fellow nin's words. He stood up abruptly yelling,
" What he's been gone for a week and we just move all his stuff out! You're not taking a damn thing, Nara! Dattebayo!" The blonde haired nin moved to stand in front of the door meaningfully,
" This was his main office, you don't have a right!" Shikamaru hadn't missed that Naruto had chosen to address him by last name, nor the tremor in his voice when he had expressed that final thought. He moved towards the desk again, but stopped short when he saw Naruto's hand twitch towards his pack, ready to stop him by force if need be. Belatedly, he realized that all this noise should have drawn the guard posted at the door by now.
"I knocked out that scrawny little Chuunin that was outside, thought it was weird there weren't bigger guys here and look what I see." Disgust did not sit well on the blond's face, twisted and pinched his normally friendly face. For a moment, Shikamaru felt a pang of guilt at having caused such a severe expression. It abated of course, and he thrust his hands into his pockets.
" Naruto, I don't like this any more than you do,all right? I'm not ransacking the old guy's stuff here for kicks. This-" He gestured towards the papers and scrolls that had rolled across the floor in their fight.
"This stuff is supposed to help us figure out why we were attacked." Naruto's stance didn't change, but the expression on his face did. His cerulean eyes dropped to the floor, grief and anger warring for dominance.
"So what, he's been dead a week and we just haul all his shit out of here for your big plans?" Shikamaru stepped closer to the ninja now.
" Naruto, I'm taking these scrolls to my dad so he can find a way to help the village." He picked up a green scroll from the floor, opening it to its full length in front of him.
" This scroll here is a list of who attended the Chuunin exams, from the instructors to the people participating in it. Everything in this office belonged to the old man, and I hate taking his stuff, but Naruto we need it. You have the nine tailed fox within you, don't you?" Naruto's eyes met Shikamaru's with shock.
"How did-"
" How could anyone miss the giant fox fighting the creepy sand monster outside the village?" Naruto gulped. He hadn't really been thinking of a long term game plan, though he knew that what Shikamaru was telling him now meant everyone who had long suspected his status was fully aware of it now.
"Do you know how dangerous it's gonna get now that a Kage has been murdered and the identity of the Jinchuuriki has been revealed to be a Genin? Have you thought about who else might be waiting to strike now that our defenses are down?" Naruto scratched the back of his neck, flushing with embarassment. A strategist he was not. He grumbled fiercely now,
"Well we chased them out didn't we?" This was the last straw for the ebony haired youth.
"Chased who out, Naruto? Do you really think we won? Are you absolutely certain, because as far as I know, we still have ninja out there-" he paused to gesture to the outside " burying our dead. We didn't win, and this isn't over. So get off my ass, and help me pack up this stuff." He pulled Naruto roughly into the room now, and set a full box in his hands.
" Put this on the table, and pick up the scrolls from the floor." Still stunned by the Nara's revelations, Naruto did as he was told. Of course Shikamaru was right. He had been the guy who had noticed Gaara acting strangely, he had been the one who had warned Naruto not to leave Lee's side at the hospital back when Gaara had fixed his eerie gaze on the still recovering boy. If all it took to help was getting a few scrolls into a box and giving them to Shikamaru's dad, Naruto would do it.
" Shadow clone jutsu!" Several pops of smoke later, the face of a dozen Naruto's stood at attention.
"Orders, boss!" Several called, while others grumbled about ramen and training. The main Naruto could scarcely be heard over the noise, so he yelled,
" Shikamaru is your boss now! " He turned towards the stunned ninja with a cheeky grin, "So boss, what do you need us to move first?" Shikamaru laughed when each clone asked a variation of the same question, eager to help.
" I need about six of you guys to transport the files from here to the Hyuuga compound. That's where the Jounin and Anbu are right now. If anyone asks, tell them you're on Shikaku's orders." No sooner than he had gestured to the boxes he had managed to set up himself, the clones had swiftly grabbed a box each and started for the bay window that took up the entire back wall of the office. A seventh Naruto opened it, and as they ran out, one yelled,
"Last one there gets poofed, Dattebayo!" The slowest clone called out to his team,
"But who the hell is Shikaku? Guys, wait up!" Shikamaru had seen the whole display and smiled to himself.
" At least now the sun's out." a clone regarded him from the floor, where he was picking up scattered papers and muttered,
"Figures it stops raining soon as we're stuck inside." Shikamaru couldn't help it. He laughed, full belly laughed that eventually caused his chest to ache from the force of it. He hadn't been able to laugh at something like that since this whole mess started. When he was finally done, he sniffed and clapped one of the Naruto's on the back. He didn't need to say it. He was pretty sure the nod from the man meant he understood the gratitude in the gesture.