Welcome, everyone, and to my old readers, welcome back ^^

So, just a note: I have absolutely no idea about the specifics regarding Asuma and Kurenai's child, so I'm going with female, and name shall be Takara. If Kishimoto reveals that stuff later on (which I'm sure he will) I'll come back and change it. Also, Goro, Hibiki, Takara and any other OCs, as you will meet later on in this chapter, will only be minor characters, and will not be playing a big part in this story. I just needed some background characters, alright?

Also, Shikamaru is twenty-nine years old in this fic, and he's a jounin sensei.

Chapter One: Congratulations

"Congratulations."

Shikamaru smiled faintly down at his genin team, hands shoved in his pocket, his back resting against the wall of the stadium. The roar of the crowd was slightly duller on this side of the arena, the audience screaming their approval for the five new chunin from Konoha.

It was four in the afternoon, bright and clear, and his students had just bypassed a celebratory milestone. It suddenly struck him how quickly they were growing; he had taken them in two years ago, and now suddenly they were almost outgrowing him. He took a moment to survey his sweaty, tired, but extremely delighted kids.

There was Goro. He was tough, arrogant and very, very brash, and despite his average exterior, he specialised in taijutsu, and was terrible at genjutsu. Goro reminded Shikamaru of Naruto, at times. He would rush into things blindly, but unlike the blonde Hokage, he, weird though it may seem, was extremely, almost over-the-top tactful. He could read moods like a book, often knowing exactly how a person was feeling and what to say in an awkward situation. Goro had a mop of messy black hair that had been harshly chopped, resulting in an uneven hairstyle–something he didn't give a damn about–and he was in the habit of picking fights with Hibiki.

Hibiki was a member of the Hyuuga main branch family. His father, Hyuuga Hiroshi, was a cousin to Hyuuga Hinata, and Hinata had asked Shikamaru to look after him. Naturally, the lazy sensei had given her his word. Oddly enough, unlike the other Hyuuga members, Hibiki was a huge hothead. He would respond to Goro's taunts with as much enthusiasm as the boy himself, and Shikamaru had had to pay many times for the damage his team had caused at the local barbeque restaurant that they so often went to. Hibiki had the standard long, silky brown hair tied up into a loose ponytail, the white Byakugan eyes and unblemished skin.

Finally, Sarutobi Takara, the child of Sarutobi Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai. She looked mainly like her mother: long wavy strands of brown hair and the unusual red eyes. However, she had inherited her father's easy smiles and shogi-loving ways; she had been Shikamaru's partner for a long while now, and while she had never won, she always told him, "Next time, Shika-sensei. Next time, you're dead." She was both girly and strong at the same time; in many ways, she was like Haruno Sakura, a kunoichi whom Takara idolized. Off missions, Takara would go shopping, wear makeup and act like any other female her age, but on missions… well, she was frightening enough to even shut Hibiki and Goro up in one of their 'competitions', something that was immensely hard to do.

Together, including Shikamaru, they made up Team Six. Team Six had gained a reputation for being the most unpredictable of groups. Sometimes, they would pass missions with outstanding results, and other times, fail miserably. Sometimes they would wreak havoc to the village, and other times they would help diligently with its cleanup.

"Shika-sensei! We passed! We passed!" Takara sang, dancing about with joy.

"We passed!" Goro shouted.

"We passed!" Hibiki echoed, grinning widely. Shikamaru chuckled lightly.

"Yes," he said, surveying his team proudly, "you passed."

After Naruto had announced the new chunin, Team Six had screamed and jumped on Shikamaru, knocking him down to the ground. As a teacher, he was so proud, but tried to remind them to not get it into their heads. His warning went unnoticed, and he vowed to knock it into their brains at a later date.

They were now walking to the barbeque restaurant as was tradition from Shikamaru's own days as Asuma's student, not wanting to loiter around the stadium like the other genin-turned-chunin.

"My treat," said Shikamaru, as his team bounced along. Goro whooped and scurried ahead, challenging Hibiki to a race, which the Hyuuga immediately started. Shikamaru was left with Takara as the two stared fondly at their retreating backs.

"Hey, Shika-sensei," said Takara, nudging her teacher gently. Shikamaru, who had his head raised to the sky, simply said, "Hm?"

His tone was bored, his face sleepy, but Takara had spent enough time around Shikamaru to know that he was listening.

"When's Temari-sensei coming back?"

Unlike Goro, Takara had absolutely no tact whatsoever. Temari was still a sore subject for him, and though her skills of delicacy were low, Takara knew she had said something wrong.

"Sorry, sensei. I wasn't thinking," Takara mumbled, brushing brown hair out of her eyes. "I just… miss her…" Shikamaru exhaled.

"It's alright," Shikamaru sighed, staring at the clouds almost wistfully, "I miss her too."

"Then why isn't she coming back?" Takara pressed. Shikamaru closed his eyes briefly and then opened them again, seemingly looking at the other side of the street, where kids hopped around on rooftops playing 'Ninja' and dogs tugged excitedly on their owners' leashes. Kiba and Akamaru bounded past, stirring up dust and leaves, and the Inuzuka nin barely managed to shout out a greeting before they were out of sight. Shikamaru's lips curved up at the sight of his friend, but then it promptly slipped off his face.

"She's just… not," said Shikamaru. He didn't want to elaborate.

"But–"

"Takara, enough," said Shikamaru sharply. There was a dangerous note in his voice, a hint of a warning. It wasn't often that Shikamaru got angry at her, but Takara had seen him irritated once before and concluded that she didn't want to be on the receiving end.

"Sorry."

After eating at the restaurant, Shikamaru's students all went back to their own families to report their upgrade in status. He followed Takara back to her place, intending to visit Kurenai.

"Mum!" Takara yelled as she opened the door. She had an apartment a level below Shikamaru; he had moved out of the family house years ago.

Kurenai glanced up from where she was reading the newspaper. After giving birth to Takara she had immediately started training to become a kunoichi again, something that had worried Shikamaru, but Kurenai had pulled through. Now, she was a regular Konoha ninja.

"Taka," said Kurenai, calling her daughter her old nickname. Shikamaru privately thought that it fit; Takara was one of the best weapons handlers he had seen in her age group, able to hit targets from scarily long distances. Her taijutsu was awful, though… Maybe he should work on that with her later on.

"I'm a chunin!" Takara said excitedly. Kurenai's eyes lit up.

"Really? I'm so proud of you," said Kurenai, scooping her up into a hug. "I'm so sorry I couldn't be there though." After settling down, talking and exchanging news, Takara went to take a shower and Kurenai finally turned her attention to Shikamaru, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, not wanting to break the family joy.

"Shikamaru-kun," said Kurenai. There was a gentle, warm smile on her face. Her red eyes twinkled. "Thank you so much."

"Hm? What for?" Shikamaru asked lazily. "It was troublesome."

Kurenai rolled her eyes. "For taking care of my daughter."

"I promised, didn't I?"

Kurenai groaned. "You're impossible."

Before Shikamaru could say anything, an ANBU appeared with a poof at the window, expertly avoiding crushing Kurenai's pretty little potted plants. A painted porcelain mask glared at the two jounin, but Shikamaru lifted up a hand and said, "Yo, Neji. What's up?"

"Nara-san," said Neji formally, ignoring his friend's antics, "Hokage-sama requests a meeting with you in half an hour."

"Stop calling me 'Nara-san'," said Shikamaru irritably. "It sounds so troublesome."

Neji didn't say a word, but Shikamaru could practically feel the smirk that he was emitting before he disappeared into another cloud of smoke.

"I still can't believe Neji-kun made it into ANBU," said Kurenai admirably. Shikamaru shrugged.

"You've been saying that for the last eleven years," Shikamaru said dryly. "He's been in ANBU since he was eighteen."

"Well, time flies," said Kurenai, picking up her cup of tea. Shikamaru headed for the door.

"It sure does."

This is so annoying, Shikamaru thought as he rested on his favourite bench, all the clouds are gone! Now I have to move, but I really don't want to. But if I don't move, then I'll be late for the meeting with Naruto. But seriously, my legs feel like jelly. I could force them to move, but then they'll hurt. Some things are just so troublesome…

With a loud sigh that clearly conveyed his feeling, Shikamaru got to his feet and made his way towards the Hokage Tower. He spotted Chouji and his own team of genin leaving the village gates.

Must be going on a mission, Shikamaru thought. He waved at his oldest friend, who waved back, and then Shikamaru, being distracted, bumped into someone.

Well, he would have, but his ninja skills didn't allow for something like that to happen. Instead, he veered off to the left, narrowly avoiding the other person.

"Shika," said Ino in surprise. She was laden with shopping bags that were filled with groceries. Ino, now also a jounin instructor of her own team, hadn't changed much since her youth. She still had her long blonde hair and fringe, wore purple clothes and retained her bubbly personality. But now, having married Kiba, had two kids, a ten-year-old girl named Kioko and a son called Rai–who was on the verge of graduating the Academy–and been on many missions, she was no longer the flirt she used to be. Part of this was because of the ugly, lengthy scar–which used to be red, but had now faded to white–that ran from the side of her right shoulder blade, curving over her collarbone, running across the base of her neck and disappearing into her clothes. Shikamaru knew that it went between her breasts and ended at the top of her stomach. He had been with her on the mission when she had received it. It had been terrifying, the amount of blood that had been pumping out…

"Hey, Ino," Shikamaru said. "Going back home?"

Ino nodded. "Yup." Then she frowned. "The landlord has raised the rent again. We can barely afford it. Kiba and I are thinking about just getting our own house soon. Plus it'll give Rai and Kioko some room to run around. How 'bout you?"

"Off to see Naruto," said Shikamaru. "He requested a meeting with me... or something like that."

"Alright, well, I won't hold you up. See you later," said Ino cheerfully.

Shikamaru went along on his way, passing through the ninja that guarded the door of the Hokage Tower and going up the many flights of stairs. Finally, coming to a stop in front of the door that led to the Hokage's office, Shikamaru dithered slightly, thinking that he really, really didn't want to do this. His gut told him that Naruto wasn't going to be giving Shikamaru any good news.

"Oi, Shikamaru! You lazy bastard, where have you been?" came a voice from the other side. Shikamaru mentally groaned, opened the door and stepped inside.

It was a wonder that Naruto hadn't painted the entire Tower bright orange, but it may have something to do with a certain, shy Hyuuga girl who had captured Naruto's heart long ago. Nevertheless, Naruto had managed to get–though Shikamaru had no idea how–an orange bookshelf, orange windowsills, orange picture frames, orange seats, orange paper, and, to the horror of visiting ninja from other Villages and to the embarrassment of his own people, orange carpet.

Naruto, the sixth Hokage, was at his desk, signing paperwork with a grimace to his face. Over the years, his hair had grown longer, so it now rivalled the length of his father, Namikaze Minato. Naruto still had his whiskers, his loud mouth and his hyperactive-ness, but ever since becoming Hokage, he had toned down a little in his troublemaking. He set down his brush and sat facing Shikamaru with a huge smile on his face.

Uh oh.

Shikamaru knew that look. It was different from his usual blinding smile. This smile meant that Naruto was up to something, something that Shikamaru had no desire to be part of. The jounin started to back out the office warily, but the ANBU outside the door came in and they took his arms, one on each side, dragged him forward and dumped him on the chair facing the Hokage.

Naruto pouted. "I had a feeling that you would act like this the moment you saw me, so the ANBU knew exactly what to do."

The ANBU bowed and went back out to their posts.

"Naruto, what's going on?" asked Shikamaru, knowing he couldn't escape. Naruto hadn't become Hokage for nothing.

"Nothing's going on, Shika~!" Naruto said in that jolly tone of his that tested Shikamaru's urge to bolt out the door. "I only have a mission for you!"

"What mission?" Shikamaru asked cautiously. Naruto reached into his drawer and pulled out a file.

"Here," said Naruto. Shikamaru blinked. Naruto's tone had changed; it had become serious and almost commanding, and the smile was gone from his face. Shikamaru immediately became solemn, and he took the folder and flipped it open.

Mission assigned to Nara Shikamaru

Rank: B–A

Aim: to track down and eliminate the Konoha missing-nin Ohayashi Kako

Mission pay: 250 000 ryo

Estimated time: not determined

Team: not determined

Below, there was a picture of Ohayashi Kako, along with her statistics, personal history and medical history.

Name: Ohayashi Kako

Birth date: August 21st

Age: 25

Gender: female

Family:
Ohayashi Hiro; father–deceased
Ohayashi Minako; mother–deceased
Ohayashi Hayato; younger brother–genin in the Academy

Her medical history was small.

Left knee injury; now walks with a limp–received on a mission to Otogakure
Able to take solider pills

Then there were some graphs depicting her skills and whatnot.

Shikamaru lifted his eyes from the pages and glanced back to Naruto, who was watching him intently.

"Do you accept?" asked Naruto. Shikamaru heaved a sigh.

"No, I do not accept."

"You're running out of money, Shikamaru."

"… Fine."

Naruto leaned back into his chair, a pleased expression on his face. "Congratulations. Yay. Let's celebrate. Nara Shikamaru is finally accepting a mission."

"Shut up, Naruto, and stop overdoing it," said Shikamaru. "You know I've had a genin team to take care of."

Naruto waved that bit of information away.

"So… where exactly is Kako?" asked Shikamaru. "It doesn't say."

Naruto twitched uncomfortably. Shikamaru's eyes immediately picked this out.

"Naruto…"

"Um…"

"Naruto."

"Well, you see…"

"I'm getting worried."

"Haha–" Naruto fidgeted nervously "–well, the thing is… Kako isn't exactly… uh… here…"

"What do you mean?"

"She's… ah… left the Shinobi Nations…"

"What do you mean left?"

"She's gone Out."

"She's gone–oh."

The last word was a word of understanding from Shikamaru, and he buried his face into his hands.

"She's gone Out," Shikamaru repeated into his palms, muffling his speech. He didn't even have to look up to know that Naruto was bobbing his head sheepishly in agreement. "Where?"

"Um… well, someplace called the wizarding world," said Naruto. His voice was brisk again and Shikamaru raised his head. Naruto and his mood swings. "We have very little information on it; it's been Hidden from us as well."

"How?" asked Shikamaru. "Only we're Hidden, right?"

A few thousand years ago, a large group of people had started showing strange performances of power. Ordinary humans feared them and after a long time of bloodshed, the ones with power had cut themselves off from the rest of the world, enclosing themselves into their own territory, formed the Shinobi Nations and started calling themselves 'shinobi' and their power 'chakra'. Their numbers were large enough to sustain that part of the world by themselves, and eventually they warred with each other, and then they separated into Hidden Villages.

About two hundred years ago, the shinobi found a link between the Shinobi Nations and what they called the 'Other World'. And though the shinobi could go Out, the 'normal people' couldn't go In, and the Outsiders eventually forgot about it, though ninja still used it from time to time. It seemed that only ninja could pass through the barrier, perhaps because it was made from their own energy: chakra.

"Well, it seems that there were another group of people who had weird powers too," explained Naruto. "They call themselves witches and wizards, and they call their power 'magic'. Even before us, they hid themselves as well, fearing what the people with no powers would do to them. Unlike us, though, they hid themselves in plain sight… kinda. They live side by side with the 'normal people', who can't even tell the difference between the magical ones and the non-magical.

"While sometimes the non-magical people have a child with magic, us shinobi are totally cut off from them," continued Naruto. "There will be no instances where two people with no powers will give birth to a shinobi capable of molding chakra."

"And so," Shikamaru said, interrupting Naruto's history lesson, "Kako has escaped to the wizarding world."

"That's it," said Naruto, his trademark grin spreading across his face again. "But honestly, the wizarding world is a big place. Kinda like the Shinobi Nations, so you'll have a hell of a time finding her."

"Thanks for your faith in me," said Shikamaru wryly.

"I have absolute faith in you," said Naruto. "But hey, we've pinpointed her location."

"Where?"

"Um… some place called Hogwarts. She's been there for quite some time and it doesn't look like she'll be moving. It looks like she wants something."

"Hogwarts?" Shikamaru raised a brow. "That's… a unique name."

"It is, isn't it," said Naruto. He weaved his fingers together and surveyed Shikamaru over them. The Nara couldn't help but think about how mature Naruto looked when he did that. "So, Shikamaru, you're leaving tomorrow. You'll be going over to the edge of the forest, going in the direction of Suna, where the trees meet the sand. Once you're there, travel left along the tree line for about two kilometres. That'll take half or more of a day. Once you have, there should be a huge and very gigantic rock that looks kinda like a fist. The passage to the Other World is on there.

"Now, to activate it, put your hand on any part of the rock, and then pour your chakra into it. This is the tricky part, so listen carefully. You must only pour what is needed."

"What is needed?"

"Well, yeah. The rock will tell you how much chakra it wants from you," said Naruto. "Actually, it's not that tricky at all. The rock will take what it wants and nothing more."

"It's alive?"

"We don't know," said Naruto. Shikamaru stared at him for a long time, and then pinched the bridge of his nose.

"And how do I get back?" he asked. Naruto's face brightened.

"Oh, well, that's easy. There should be another rock on the other side, so you just do the same thing. Actually, there are quite a lot of these rocks scattered around the wizarding world, so just touch any one of them, pour your chakra in, and you'll be back here."

Another sigh was heard.

"Alright, fine. I'm going now. Since I don't know how long this will take, I've got to say my goodbyes."

"Yeah…"

"Dad?" said a small, quiet voice. Shikamaru blinked and turned around, facing his eldest son who was standing in the hallway. Nara Hotaka was twelve years old, looked uncannily like Shikamaru, and was in the same class and age group as Rai, Ino and Kiba's son.

"Hey," said Shikamaru, smiling tiredly at him. It was night time; the moon was up, casting long silver rays of light into the dark Nara apartment. "You still up?"

"I could ask you the same thing," said Hotaka. He eyed his father's rumpled, dirty day clothes. "You should go shower."

"I will," said Shikamaru automatically. He held out his arm, and Hotaka, though always adamantly insisting that, "I'm not a baby anymore!" crawled into his lap and rested his cheek against Shikamaru's chest. The jounin's strong arms encircled the boy and he began rocking back and forth gently.

Hotaka spotted the glossy photographs on the coffee table, the things that Shikamaru had been looking at before he had come in.

"When's Mum coming back?"

Shikamaru stopped rocking and his arms tightened its hold. Hotaka wriggled out of his father's grasp to stare up to his face. Hurt… betrayal… they were all prominent emotions in his eyes.

"Soon," Shikamaru managed to say. "She'll be back soon."

Hotaka was old enough to know that Shikamaru didn't really believe what he was saying. But Shikamaru patted his head and said, "Come on, it's almost midnight. Go back to sleep."

"You're going on a mission tomorrow," said Hotaka.

"Ah, yes," said Shikamaru uneasily, mistaking his son's tone as accusation. "I'm sorry, Hotaka."

"It's okay," Hotaka said. "I know we need the money. I'm not mad at you."

Shikamaru grinned down at him; the corners of his eyes crinkled slightly. "You'll be staying with Sakura, alright?"

"Okay."

"You be good to her."

"I will."

"And take care of your sister. Michiko always follows you around, so you have to–"

"–protect her, because that's what big brothers are for," Hotaka recited, smirking. "I know, Dad. You've told me that enough times already."

"Well, it shows that you've remembered it," said Shikamaru. "Now go. It's not good for you to stay up late."

He watched his son patter back to his room, and after he heard the closing of the doors, his gaze drifted to the photographs again.

One showed a picture of a happy family. Hotaka sat on Shikamaru's shoulders, the boy was laughing and Shikamaru had a reluctant grin on his face. Michiko was giggling, being held up in the arms of a sandy-haired blonde woman, who was smiling, her eyes bright with happiness.

Temari.

Shikamaru's heart clenched as he gazed at the other photo, which was a lot older than the first. This one was just of him and Temari. Hinata had taken it. The Konoha Eleven and Temari had been going on a rare holiday. It was just after Shikamaru had gotten the nerve to ask the Suna kunoichi out.

Shikamaru leaned back on the couch, dragging a hand down his face, and allowed his emotions run without restraint when he felt the prickling in his eyes. The tears trickled down his cheeks, dripping onto the fabric of his pants. He kept quiet, though, not allowing himself to make a noise so his kids wouldn't wake.

And in the hallway, staring at the shaking figure with large, forlorn eyes, Hotaka watched his father cry for the first time in many, many years.

"Now behave, alright?" said Shikamaru, glaring at his daughter first, and then his son. Michiko flashed him an all-too-bright, overly innocent smile, and Shikamaru gave her a hug and kissed the top of her head. Hotaka moved forwards and wrapped his hands around Shikamaru's waist. He didn't say anything about the night before, though he did notice that Shikamaru's eyes were redder than usual.

Perhaps Sakura noticed as well, because the woman pulled Shikamaru aside for a few seconds after his farewell.

"Shikamaru, are you alright?" Sakura asked. Haruno Sakura had become the top medic in Konoha, having mastered everything that Tsunade had to teach her. She had allowed her pink hair to grow past its normal shoulder length and it now tumbled down to her elbows. Her green eyes were now fixed firmly on the Nara.

"Fine," said Shikamaru. "Just… yeah…"

Sakura assessed him critically for a second, and then, deciding nothing was physically wrong, put a hand on his shoulder. "Alright then," she said, "take care."

"I know," said Shikamaru. "Thanks for offering to look after them," he added, jerking his head to where his kids were standing at the doorway of Sakura's place.

"No worries," Sakura smiled. "Don't get killed."

Shikamaru chuckled lightly and then started walking out the gate that enclosed Sakura's house.

"Ah, Hotaka," said Shikamaru, turning back to his son. "You'll be graduating soon. If I'm not back by then, I'm sorry. But just to let you know: I'll always be proud of you."

Hotaka said nothing, but happiness lit up his features like a light. It wasn't often that Shikamaru said things like that. He only dealt out compliments when he meant it.

"Bye, Dad!"

Shikamaru smiled at his children's combined voices, and he waved at them without turning back.

"Bye," he said softly.

He made his stops to the Hyuuga household to visit Hinata and Hibiki, skipping Chouji's apartment because he knew the Akimichi was on a mission, Ino and Kiba's place, Neji and Tenten's flat, Goro's house and finally Naruto, to say his goodbyes. Once he did, he started going towards the village gates. He nodded to Lee as he spotted the spandex-clad man doing his daily pushups and waved when he saw Shino eating in a small dango shop. He passed Kotetsu and Izumo, who were still the gate guards, smiled at them, and then, standing in front of his village, cast the Hokage faces etched into the mountainside one last, lingering glance.

Take care of them, Hokage-sama.

Stretching his legs, Shikamaru propelled chakra into them and then ran off towards Suna, leaving behind only a cloud of dust and a small group of people waiting anxiously for his return.

Three quarters of a day passed and as the moon reached its peak in the sky, Shikamaru arrived at the stone that lead to the Other World. The stars twinkled brightly overhead and nothing moved apart from the leaves and the slight shifting of the sand in front of him.

The rock was, in Naruto's words, "huge and very gigantic." It towered above Shikamaru, almost reaching up towards the canopy of the trees. Its width was equivalent to about five elephants standing head to tail, but the most outstanding thing about it was that the rock was the colour. It was a shiny, almost glittery silver. It looked as if it were made from metal.

As Shikamaru edged closer, ignoring the pangs that his calves were giving him, he could make out some characters on the side.

Half

Oh, so this bastard rock wanted half his chakra? Good Lord. Still, orders were orders, and Shikamaru cast away the thought of rest for tonight, and placed a hand on the rock. It was warm to touch, and though Shikamaru was sure he was imagining it, he thought he could feel pulses of energy crackling through the rock, almost as if it was alive and breathing.

Filled with misgivings, Shikamaru hesitantly let his chakra swell out and immediately the rock seemed to gobble it up. His chakra surged forwards and he saw, to his surprise, the chakra changing colour as it went. Instead of the usual blue, it turned a blinding, pure white.

Oh man… what have I gotten myself into?

As the rock gulped down his chakra–something that reminded Shikamaru unpleasantly of an old childhood enemy, Kisame and his sword, Samehada–he looked down at the rest of his body and saw himself fading. When it had eaten exactly half his chakra, the world began to blur into a multitude of vivid, intense colours, as if someone had splashed a rainbow across his vision, and then there was nothing but black.

"Japanese."

"English."

Thoughts/emphasis

"Holy shit," Shikamaru groaned. His head was pounding. It was as if someone had decided to start banging pots and pans with Maito Gai screaming some nonsense about youth inside his brain. He sat up blearily, trying not to aggravate his headache, and glanced around at his surroundings.

Where the hell was he?

Oh, right. Well, it seemed as though he had landed right in the middle of some important meeting, if the expensive-looking clothes were anything to go by. Wait a second… were they wearing dresses?

"Ano…" said Shikamaru, trying to break the silence. "Hi?"

He was almost entirely surrounded by old, wizened men who looked a mixture of shocked, angry, and afraid. It looked a little like a courtroom, except instead of the seats facing one side, they curved around in a circle so that all the occupants could see each other. There was a small dip in the middle, in which Shikamaru was now sitting. The whole thing reminded him of a bird's nest.

And then, all these twigs were pointed at Shikamaru, who merely raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

"Who are you?" one of them shouted. "How did you get in here?"

Oh man, Shikamaru moaned mentally, Naruto-baka didn't tell me they spoke different languages.

"Um… I come in peace," Shikamaru tried. "Don't–uh–hurt me."

A movement out of the corner of his eyes made Shikamaru flip to his feet, spin on his heel and face the wizard who had stowed his wand away. He, like the others, was ancient. No offense to him. A long white beard hung down to his waist and his eyes were a flickering, powerful blue.

"Wait," he called, though Shikamaru, of course, had no idea what he had just said. "Now, young man," said the old man, though Shikamaru was hardly young, "who are you?"

"Nara Shikamaru, a ninja from Konoha," Shikamaru said. "Um… where am I?"

"Germany," said the old man. He was rewarded with a blank look from Shikamaru.

"I don't know what a Germany is, but I am looking for a place called Hogwarts," said Shikamaru. He didn't fail to miss the sudden tenseness of old man's shoulders.

"Why?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I need to eliminate someone."

"From Hogwarts?"

"Well, apparently there's an enemy hidden there."

By now, the other occupants were getting restless. What impatient people.

"Dumbledore! What's going on?" asked a man. "Do you know him?"

"No, my dear friend, I'm afraid not. But it seems he has some business with me," said the man who Shikamaru identified as Dumbledore. "The meeting was just about over, yes? Well now, if you'll excuse me…"

He grabbed Shikamaru with a surprisingly strong hand and tugged him out the door.

"Wait, wait, what's happening?" Shikamaru asked in bewilderment. Dumbledore reached the door and opened it, revealing a long hallway in which people bustled hurriedly past.

"Let's go," said Dumbledore shortly. Shikamaru escaped his grip and glared at him.

"No way, old man. I don't even know you."

"I know where Hogwarts is," was all Dumbledore said, and Shikamaru scrutinized him for a few moments, sighed, and then said, "Lead the way."

Sitting in a hotel room, Shikamaru wondered uncomfortably just how he had gotten himself into this situation. Oh well. He could already see about six possible escape routes, so if worst came to worst, he could get out easily.

Dumbledore sat opposite, staring at Shikamaru carefully. Shikamaru stared back coolly and there was silence for a few minutes until Dumbledore broke it.

"Do you speak German?"

"Um… no?"

"You are Japanese, yes?"

"I don't–maybe?"

"You are speaking Japanese."

"Am I? I am only speaking my own language. I don't know what a 'Japanese' is."

"You are in Germany right now."

"I have no idea what that is."

An outtake of breath. "Do you speak English?"

"I don't know what an 'English' is."

Dumbledore massaged his temples. "I am speaking English right now."

Shikamaru stared at him, clueless.

"You mentioned that you were seeking Hogwarts?"

"Yup."

"Why?"

"I told you. I need to eliminate someone."

"Congratulations, you have found the Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"Oh joy. You're the Headmaster? Well then, may you please take me there?"

"No."

"No?"

"It is a school filled with students. You said you were going to eliminate someone. I can't allow you to harm them."

Shikamaru groaned in frustration. "Look, old man, I'm looking for a missing-nin by the name of Ohayashi Kako. Do you know her?"

"A missing-nin?" Understanding dawned in Dumbledore's eyes. "You're a shinobi."

"No shit. I said that before."

"Shinobi are rare around here."

"That's because we keep to our own countries."

"Indeed."

"You haven't answered the question. Do you know Ohayashi Kako?"

"No, I'm afraid I don't."

"Well, there's a possibility that she may be posing as one of Hogwarts residents. Why? I don't know."

Shikamaru had run through this theory in his head many times and it was one of the few explanations. "She wants something from there. So will you help me get rid of her?"

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes. "I'm sorry, but I cannot trust a stranger that I've only met half an hour ago."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Well, like it or not, I'll find my way to Hogwarts, with or without your help."

"Hogwarts had wards–"

"–that I can bypass. If you really get down to it, it is merely a very strong genjutsu," Shikamaru said. "If you help me, I'll be peaceful. If you don't and I see you again, and you try to hinder me, I'll be dangerous. You don't want that around your precious students, now do you?"

Shikamaru wasn't fond of making threats, but he wasn't sure what else he could try. Dumbledore, however, took the warning very seriously. Dislike cooled his eyes.

"Very well," said Dumbledore, words stinging with frost. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," said Shikamaru simply, putting his hands behind his head. "Your cooperation is most helpful."

Dumbledore pressed his lips together. "Will you be able to track down this Ohayashi Kako immediately?"

"No," said Shikamaru. "According to her statistics, she's the master at genjutsu and disguises; pretty much an expert. That's why I ruled out the possibility of her lurking around the school. With her skills, she'd be more comfortable undercover."

"Fine," said Dumbledore, crossing his arms. "Fine. This is what will happen."

Though Shikamaru and Dumbledore were cool around each other, neither could ignore the genius glint in the other's eyes. They recognised a kindred spirit in their intelligence, and their brilliant minds were already whirring, whirring, whirring away…

So there was a lot of background at the beginning, and I do have a reason for that. With crossovers like these, it is rare to see everyday Village life. I wanted to show that shinobi, like civilians, have their own problems, whether it be family, financial, or whatnot. This is to build character and set the scene, because we are now around ten years into the future.

Once again, all the OCs in this chapter are merely minor characters. I don't trust myself to write them completely into the story.

Thank you for reading, and reviews are appreciated.