Shikamaru
Chapter 1
Shikamaru Nara stood restlessly on the roof of the building where Hokage Tsunade issued missions. Soon, in about an hour, he would have to present himself to Laby Tsunade to receive orders for his next assignment.
Lately she had been sending him on B and C ranked missions. Shikamaru sighed and shook his head. Its not that he didn't mind going on missions as simple as running Lady Tsunade's errands, it was just that after three weeks it started to get pretty old.
He looked up into the sky - it was a beautiful summer day. The sun was shining and a slight breeze cooled him as it blew past. He felt caged somehow; maybe it was because he had not been out of the village in several months.
"Man, if Tsunade doesn't send me out of the village with this next mission I think I'll lose it!" Shikamaru thought as he watched the clouds drift by on the wind.As they passed, the sun cast their shadows on the buildings and streets below.
Shikamaru didn't really know why but he was mesmerized by clouds. Maybe it was what they seamed to represent. To him they represented freedom and purity. These happened to be several of the things he valued most.
To be pure meant never to betray your village and friends and to always stay loyal. To be free was simply that, to be free of any bonds that blocked your natural right - freewill.
It seemed that even now, nine years after the Chunin exams, Naruto Uzamaki was still a perfect example of those two traits. Now, he finally posses the ability to think before he acts. Due to the fact that he's been using his head for the past several years, Sakura Haruno has become much more interested in him.
"I guess those two and a half years with Jiraiya helped Naruto when it comes to women. If anything, it should have ruined his chances with any and all females. Jiraiya is such a womanizer that one might think it would have rubbed off on a young and impressionable Naruto, but it seems he wasn't tainted by Jiraiya's habits. Thank goodness or else he would be alone for the rest of his life…like Jiraiya"
Shikamaru looked at his feet, "At least Naruto can get a girl's attention. I can't recall a time when a woman's ever been interested in me."
He sighed and shook his head. When did he even start caring about woman? They're troublesome and too much work! Aren't they? Well that's what he used to think anyways. Just within the last year he began feeling lonely.
Once he even asked his father why he had married his mother. She was such a bossy and troublesome woman and he could not understand why he had fallen for such a person. His father had replied that he would understand someday and that he would eventually want to marry as well. Of course at the time he didn't take his father seriously, but now, at the age of twenty-one he was beginning to understand why a man might want to be with a woman. It was because life got lonely. He had plenty of friends to keep him company but there was still a part of him that didn't seem complete, even when he was surrounded by people that cared about him.
Shikamaru looked up at the sun, it had moved quite a bit since he had reached the roof of the Hokage building. Suddenly he remembered he needed to meet with Lady Tsunade.
Shikamaru snapped back to his senses. "Aw man she's going to kill me for being late!" He ran to the edge of the building and jumped over the side, landing on a ledge under an open window. He quickly jumped through the opening and made his way to stand in front on Hokage Tsunade desk.
Shikamaru looked up at Lady Tsunade and winced.
Lady Tsunade looked at Shikamaru with all of the fierceness she could muster. She rose from a sitting position and shot her fist into the air, bringing it down on her desk with a loud slam. She placed her other hand on her hip and continued to slam her fist on the desk to put an emphasis behind the words she was saying.
"Shikamaru Nara! (slam) I will not tolerate my shinobi to be tardy for a mission assignment! (slam) These missions need to be assigned as soon as possible after I have received them! (slam) I will not allow my clients to think I am lax with my ninja! (slam)" Lady Tsunade paused and observed the jonin's dismayed expression. Now that Shikimaru looked thoroughly ashamed, she allowed herself to sit and a kinder expression spread across her face. She watched as he recovered his composure and stood formation to await his orders.
Lady Tsunade sighed, "I hate having to yell at him like that but he has been late several times over the past couple weeks. It's unlike himand I doubt he's going to tell me why he's been late any time soon."
Shikamaru listened helplessly to the verbal assault that Lady Tsunade had unleashed upon him. He felt ashamed. He was making the village's shinobi look bad and not to mention her. But he couldn't help it, he had other things on his mind. "I don't understand why I would want to be in a relationship. If women all act like this then I would always be miserable. Not only that they're all demanding!"
Once Lady Tsunade had stopped yelling she took a breath, sat down and began looking through the documents on her desk. Shikamaru quickly regained his composure and Lady Tsunade started speaking again in a calm voice.
"Shikamaru I will get directly to the point: I am sending you out of the village on an S ranked mission"
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and thought to himself, "She's finally sending me out of the village! Now maybe I won't go crazy! But an S ranked mission? This could be troublesome."
Lady Tsunade stared at him intently with her elbows on the desk and her hands steepled in front of her mouth. "This mission is vital to the success of the leaf village's fight againstOrochimaru. I am sending you to the Village Hidden in the Sand where you will relay important information pertaining to our next move against the enemy. Once you have received this information you will head to the sand village alone. When you reach the desert you will be escorted to the village by a ninja that will be awaiting your arrival. When you get there, you will relay the information to Kazekage Gaara and then wait for a response to bring back to me. If you do not reach the desert within three days, the ninja waiting for you will send word to the Kazekage and attempt to find you. The ninja will aid you in any way possible." Lady Tsunade waited to see his reaction.
Shikamaru frowned. "She's sending me by myself with no reinforcements. It must be so that I don't attract unwanted attention from the enemy. But even a single ninja clearly heading in the direction of their allies would cause suspicion."
Lady Tsunade hid a smile behind her hands. "Clearly, he has already discovered the weakness in this plan and that's why I picked him for this mission. It is because he is smart and thinks ahead, that he can see the problems and possibilities in any plan. Not to mention he's also an exceptional strategist."
After a moment Shikamaru spoke, "How do you plan on overcoming the several obvious weaknesses in this mission?"
Lady Tsunade's smile faded. "Several?" she thought to herself. "Ah, he doesn't miss a thing. That's why he's such an exceptional shinobi."
Lady Tsunade leaned back in her seat and laid her arms along the arm rests on the chair. "As expected, you never miss a thing. This will be a stealth mission to avoid drawing attention to you. You must use all of your skills as a shinobi to stay hidden while you make your way to the sand. As for the other problem, if you are captured and tortured for information, we have devised a solution to keep the enemy from obtaining it. I will place a seal on you that will break if your mind is infiltrated or if you begin to reveal your secret. She paused for a moment as if to consider what to say next. Then she continued, "When the seal is broken you will be killed instantly. Now come with me to the counsel room and you will be given the information and the seal."
Shikamaru watched as Lady Tsunade walked out of the room. She was followed immediately by the two jonin that were stationed at the door. He followed after them with his fists in his pockets.
"Killed immediately? That wasn't comforting but it was a wise measure to take. If Orochimaru discovered the leaf's plans, then it could mean the end of the village and its entire people including the shinobi and the Hokage."
But still this mission posed a serious threat to his life and, not to mention, it was bound to be troublesome. Through all of this, the loneliness lingered at the back of his mind. "No!" He shook his head vigorously. "I will not think of that now. I need to keep my full attention on the mission, even the slightest mistake could give Orochimaru the advantage in this war."
So putting his own needs aside, he followed Lady Tsunade and her guards into the counsel room, where found himself standing before the oldest and wisest of the council members. Suddenly, his personal needs seemed very small in comparison to the importance of this mission.