Here is my very first Naruto Fanfiction ever, and I'm not quite sure if I'm going to continue it or not, I'm just trying something new :P But I'll probably let you guys decide if I should or not! Enjoy. :)

"Shikamaru!"

The voice quickly pulled him from his thoughts, and the young man with dark hair turned to the blonde beside him. Her brows were furrowed and her hands were thrown on her hips, her blue eyes piercing down at him.

"Were you even listening to me?" she snapped, her high pitched voice shrieking against the wind.

What an annoying voice.

The boy scowled and nodded his head slowly. "Yeah Ino, I was listening."

"Good! So what do you think?"

Shit.

Shikamaru sighed and put one hand over his face. He had been sitting here too long letting her talk to him. Why he ever agreed to be her shoulder to cry on he never really knew. Whenever she had a boy problem, or a family problem, or any kind of problem for that matter she would drag him to a secluded area and go on and on about how it was ruining her life, which in retrospect, never really was. This time it was about this guy she had met at work, Takashi Yamazaki, a fast talker who had won her heart after just one date, but unfortunately wanted nothing more than that. To Shikamaru, the situation was foolish. If the guy didn't want to be with her, then he didn't want to be with her. It was as simple as that, there was no point in even trying to understand it any further than that. There was no beating around the bush, no subliminal alternative, he just didn't like her. And it was no mystery to Shikamaru why. The girl never quit. Yes, he would admit she was attractive, and yes she did have her cute, woman-like moments, but she was not subtle in any way shape or form about how boy crazy or in love with herself she was. But nonetheless, every time they had this conversation he would bite his tongue, listen to her pointless words, and try to comfort her in the best possible way he could think of. By not saying anything that he actually thought. This time however he had zoned out of the conversation completely, luckily he had heard this very spiel of hers multiple times, so he knew exactly what to say.

"Well," he started laying back into the grass with his hands behind his head. "If he's gonna be like that, maybe you're better off without him. Ever think of that?"

Ino sat down beside him and crossed her legs. "But Shikamaru, it's real this time, I know it! I think I'm in love with him. I can't just let him go."

"You've hung out with him once. How in love can you be?"

This is why he didn't understand women; one date with a guy and they go off planning their future; marriage, children, the whole shebang. It was ridiculous.

The girl snorted in response but said nothing. Instead she just turned her attention to the woods around them. They were in a small clearing, just outside of the Leaf Village, a nice spot that she and her old team often went to train. It was just the two of them there, and the forest was quite. It had been five months since the end of the Fourth Shinobi War and things were finally starting to settle down, everything was going back to normal. Of course not everything though was as it used to be, the shadows of death and destruction still lingered over the land, still wounding many of the war survivors, both Ino and Shikamaru included. That was probably one reason the two had bonded so well since then, they both new the pain of losing someone close to them, they both shared that scar in their hearts.

A small smile swept over Ino's lips and she leaned back on her hands. "I guess you're right."

Shikamaru eyed the girl; it wasn't like her to agree with him over something like this.

"Maybe I'm not in love. Maybe I am just wasting my time."

She looked down at the boy, her smile still plastered on her face. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Thanks for always listening to me, Shikamaru." she thanked him. "Hopefully someday I'll be able to find a guy as nice as you."

He smirked at her, chuckling a bit under his breath. He liked it when she was happy, because when she was happy she didn't bitch and complain, and that was always good. But he also liked it because despite her annoying demeanor, he did care for the girl quite a bit. They were, in a way, best friends, and he never liked seeing any of his friends hurt in anyway. If he could make them feel even a little bit better, it made him feel good.

"You will…someday." he reassured her, closing his eyes and turning his face upwards, feeling the hot sunrays warm his face.

Ino's smile widened as she brought her knees up to her chest and hugged her knees. The gentle breeze caught her hair, causing it to dance around her; summer was at its peak.

"Well," she sighed after a minute or two of taking in her surroundings. She got to her feet and brushed herself off, fixing her purple skirt in the process. "I'm going to head back. You coming?"

"Nah, I'll stay out here a bit longer." Shikamaru answered, his eyes still closed. She blonde nodded and said her goodbye before heading back to the Village entrance.

It had been a while since Shikamaru had last sit out in the sun, doing absolutely nothing. It felt great to lie about and waste the day. It was something he missed.

By the time he had arrived home, the sun was just barely setting. His mother, Yoshino Nara was waiting for him when he got inside. She watched with crossed arms as he slipped his shoes off at the doormat.

"Were you out with Ino?" she asked with a slight smile.

"Yup."

He strode past her down the hallway towards the kitchen, hoping to find an already prepared meal waiting for him when he got there. Thankfully, sitting on the table was two plates of curry, hot, steaming and ready to eat. Shikamaru's throat went dry at the sight of it; he was starving and couldn't wait to dig in. Yoshino followed him in.

"Was it a date this time?"

Her curiosity annoyed him. This was the question that she asked almost every time he went out with the girl. Apparently if a guy and girl hung out, even if it was just an outing of comfort, it was considered a date in his mother's eyes.

"Not even close." he answered, sitting down at the table and picking up his chirirenge to begin eating. "She was having boy problems, I helped is all."

"And by help you mean-"

"I just talked some sense into her. That's it."

Yoshino frowned as she watched her son shovel the rice curry into his mouth. She sat down in the chair opposite him and folded her hands on the table. It was set for two, even though there were three chairs. A lightly dimmed candle sat in the middle of the table, letting off a small orange glow. As much as she tried to be friend to him, his mother could never really connect with him. They had never been extremely close, even when he was growing up. It was always him and his father who had been there for each other, not that she was a bad mother, because she really wasn't. Shikamaru loved her, even though she, like most girls, drove him insane, and he felt bad for her for everything that had happened. But he knew that she felt like she owed him something, which she didn't. She didn't have to take over for anyone in his life, he was a grown man, now wasn't the time for her to step up and be a parent.

Her hurt expression made him sigh. He quickly stood from his seat, picking his bowl up.

"I'm gonna go eat in my room." he mumbled before turning and walking away. Yoshino sighed as well, putting her hands on her lap. Her gaze followed her son down the hallway, until he disappeared into another room, shutting the door behind him.

Her eyes moved from the hallway, to trail to the empty seat beside her. It seemed like an eternity since it had been filled. Her eyebrows dipped and a frown found its way to her lips. Her son was growing up fast, and yet she felt like she knew nothing really about him. She had no idea how to help him progress. She wasn't her husband.

"Shikaku..."

The morning came faster than Shikamaru expected, and as quickly as it did, he had got dressed, ate a quick breakfast and headed out. Being in his house made him feel sick, it just wasn't the same without his father. It felt empty. Being with Chouji and Ino was his only way of feeling normal, nothing had changed between them like everything else seemed to have had, and he hated change.

As he walked down the road towards his friend's house, he noticed the thick layer of mist that hovered just above the ground. It wasn't unusual to see such a thing that early in the morning in the fall or spring time when rain visited Konoha, but their summers were usually dry. Not a time for there to be mist flooding their village.

Shikamaru's steps slowed to a stop and he couldn't be surer. Somewhere behind him, he was being followed. The clear sound of footsteps echoing from somewhere within the fog rang through his ears, coming closer and closer with each passing second. He tried to think. In fog that heavy it was impossible for him to perform any sort of shadow jutsu, it would be pointless anyway if he couldn't see his target. He wasn't like Kiba or Akamaru, he couldn't smell his opponent. And he wasn't like the Hyuga's with their byakugan. But because the fog was so thick, he was sure that the follower had to be at a disadvantage as well, standing still and waiting for it to get closer was probably the best change he had at fighting back. So he waited, listening to the footsteps getting louder and louder. But just as he was sure they were about to reach him, they stopped.

"What the…" he mumbled to himself, looking around to see if he could see anything around him. The mist was quickly clearing and there was nobody in sight. Shikamaru scratched the back of his head. The mist had cleared much too fast. He had no doubt in his mind that there was no coincidence about it and the footsteps he heard. Someone had definitely been behind him, but why they retreated, he had no idea.

Deciding to change his course of direction, he turned towards the Hokage's residence and quickened his pace. It took him no time to get there, and he was met by a tall man with shaggy black hair and glasses. The tightened his stance for a moment, readying himself to attack before he realized who he was being approached by.

"Oh, Shikamaru…it's only you." he chuckled, letting down his guard. "What brings you here so early?"

Shikamaru threw his hands in his pocket and nodded upwards, to motioning to the building in front of him. "I would like to speak with the Hokage." he told him.

The man didn't move for a moment, as if he was lost in deep thought. Shikamaru wondered for a moment if he was going to turn down his request. He couldn't very well say it was an urgent one because, well, he didn't know for sure if it was. He couldn't prove that there was an intruder, he just had a hunch.

Finally the man turned towards the door, still looking over his shoulder at the young man before him. "Alright, make it quick though. The Hokage doesn't like being woken up earlier then she has too."

Shikamaru nodded and followed him into the building. It took a few hallways, and various flights of stairs, but once they reached Tsunade's office door, Shikamaru confidently rapped on it, waiting for her reply. It came almost automatically.

"Come in."

The voice was tired, and annoyed. He could tell that he had caught her at a bad time, but it didn't stop him from proceeding inside. Tsunade was still wrapped in her silky blue night robe, and her hair was usually left down to surround her face. She had one elbow propped on the table, her hand supporting one side of her face. A mountain of papers lined the desk in front of her and her other hand held the handle of a hot cup of coffee. She raised an eyebrow as soon as she saw him.

"Shikamaru," she began her voice calming down the slightest bit. She sat back in her chair, her arms crossing over her chest. "This is an early morning, even for you. What is it?"

Shikamaru advanced towards her desk, his arms swaying at his sides. "Earlier, in the mist…I thought I sensed an intruder."

Tsunade's blank expression peaked at his words. She moved her seat to the edge of her chair, listening intently. "An intruder?"

"I was heading over to Chouji's house when I sensed I was being followed. I couldn't see anything due to the density of the fog, but I could hear someone walking behind me, coming closer. I waited to see if they'd attack or show themselves, but I don't think they wanted to be seen, because as soon as they got close enough, the footsteps stopped, the fog cleared and there was no one in sight. The fog could well have been a cover up for their identity."

Tsunade twirled a strand of her blonde hair around her right index finger, her eyes glued to young ninja. If there was an intruder in Konoha, it would be no surprise to the Hokage. War never leaves a peace in its wake, in the past few months crimes had been popping up all over the continent. Whether or not the problem had to be taken lightly or not was the issue at hand.

"May I also bring to your attention, Lady Hokage," Shikamaru continued. "Konoha is home to the only remaining Jinchuriki. It wouldn't be a shocker if someone tried to get their hands on Naruto, bearing in mind how powerful he's become."

"I agree." Tsunade replied with a nod of her head. "And what a perfect time for an attempt. The war has finally ended; everyone's guard has been lowered. No one would be expecting it. But the question is, who?"

Shikamaru thought about it for a minute. All the Akatsuki had been eliminated, as well as Orochimaru, other than that there was no other well-known great threat to the nation, unless someone had been hiding in the shadows waiting for the opportune moment to strike, which was probable. But there was also the possibility of an old threat that was just forgotten about amongst the chaos of the war.

"You don't think Sasuke Uchiha could have anything to do with it, do you?" he asked. The option had been bouncing around in his mind since he had arrived at the Hokage's residence. Even though the ex-leaf ninja had made amends, there was still something about him that Shikamaru just didn't trust.

"Absolutely not. It would be foolish for him to redeem himself by helping us end the war and protect the Leaf, only to stab us in the back immediately after. No it has to be someone else."

Tsunade stood from her chair, pulling at her robes tie, making it tighter around her. "I'll look into it, but as of right now I don't want you mentioning this to anyone, especially Naruto."

Again, Shikamaru nodded. "Of course."

Once finished in her office, Shikamaru resumed walking to his friend's house, only to be stopped halfway by Chouji himself and Ino. Chouji seemed content, his back resting up against a concrete house and a bag of chips in hand. Ino on the other hand had her arms thrown across her chest, taking her foot on the ground impatiently.

"Where were you?" she demanded as soon as the boy got close enough.

"I slept in." Shikamaru said nonchalantly. Lying was unfortunately his specialty. Ino seemed to cool down a bit as she let her arms fall to her side, but her blue eyes continued to pierce through him.

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Well, now that I'm here, why don't we get going?"

The other two nodded and together took off, stopping quickly at Ino's house so she could pick up a large wicker basket. After that, they soon arrived at a large graveyard, walking over to one grave in particular. Ino fell to her knees before the grave and rifled through the basket until she found an old cloth, she pulled it out and began scrubbing dirt off of the stone.

"I can't believe it's been one year already…" Chouji said in a whisper, his eyes glazing over. Shikamaru said nothing but gazed down at the grave and the name that was imbedded in its stone.

Sarutobi Asuma.

His eyebrows furrowed. Their teacher had left them far too soon, but sadly enough, his death had taught Shikamaru many things that he was too close minded to see before. He hated that it happened that way, but it did and there was no changing it.

"There!" Ino chimed clapping her hands together. She had neatly arranged a bed of white flowers around the tombstone after she finished wiping it down. "All finished. I think Asuma-sensei would be very proud at how far my flower arranging skill has come."

Chouji nodded, still munching away at his chips. "Yeah, it does look really nice Ino. You're great at this kind of thing!"

Shikamaru couldn't help but notice the slight tinged of pink that appeared on Chouji's face as he gave the compliment, and smiled to himself. He had a feeling for a while that his friend had feelings for the blonde, but it wasn't until after the war when Chouji had actually approached him that he knew for sure.

It had happened a month after the war. Chouji had noticed that Shikamaru and Ino were spending more and more time together and was becoming distressed. Finally, one day after a small mission he cornered the shadow possesioner.

"Shikamaru, do you…like…Ino?" Chouji asked weakly, pawing the dirt with the toe of his shoe. Shikamaru was taken aback for a moment. Never had he ever wanted his and Ino's relationship to come across as anything more than friends, and yet he had been asked the same question multiple times in only a few weeks.

"No, Chouji." he reassured him, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "No, I'm just trying to be there for her, you know. Like a friend."

Chouji didn't look convinced; he merely continued to look at his friend with a betrayed expression. Shikamaru sighed and dropped his arms, resting his hand on Chouji's shoulder.

"You have feelings for her…don't you?" he asked quietly. Chouji jumped in his spot and began to flail his arms; surprised by the question he had been asked.

"What…how…no…you…I…" he stuttered, seemingly at a loss of words. Shikamaru flashed him a smile and gripped his shoulder a bit tighter, bringing his flailing to a stop. Chouji's black eyes caught his brown ones and their gaze locked. After a few flustered moments he spoke.

"How did you know?"

"It's not hard to tell." Shikamaru replied with a shrug. "I've known you guys my whole life, it's not that hard to read you anymore."

"Oh…" Chouji's face fell. "Do you think she knows?"

Shikamaru touched his chin and looked up, as if lost in deep thought. "No, I don't think so. Ino's kind of blind when it comes to men and their feelings."

This seemed to put Chouji more at ease. "Good." He said with a sigh.

"Thanks Chouji! I've been working really hard since…well…since the war ended. Someone needs to take care of the shop."

Ino got up from her kneeling position, bringing the basket with her and looked at her comrades. "I'll be right back." With that she turned and walked away. The boys watched as she rushed to the complete opposite end of the cemetery, coming to a white grave much smaller than Asuma's.

"She's giving her father flowers too." Chouji explained as if Shikamaru had no idea what their teammate was doing.

"Yeah."

Chouji looked at him from the corner of his eyes. "What about you? Did you bring anything for-"

"No." Shikamaru abruptly cut him off with a shake of his head. "Not today. Today is for Asuma."

Chouji didn't question any further. Ino was coming back now and they still had plans to attend to. "So did you want to go see Kurenai-sensei and Kaede now, or later?"

"We might as well go now."

"She's growing up so fast!" Ino chimed as she took the infant from its mother's arms into her own. She, Chouji and Shikamaru were all sitting in Kurenai Yuuhi's living room, surrounding the mother and child. Shikamaru smiled as he watched his teammate bounce Kaede in her arms, a large innocent smile plastered to her small round face. It was true, although she was only about eight months old; the young girl was starting to gain her toddler like appearance and her own little personality. Her big brown eyes and coarse raven hair resembled Asuma almost identically, but her smile was undoubtedly her mothers.

Kurenai's lips curled into a small grin and she sat back into her seat on her couch. "Yes," she agreed, folding her hands on her lap. "She's turning out to resemble Asuma more and more every single day."

Chouji who had been hunched over Ino's shoulder examining the child with an ear to ear smile brought his hand up, his index finger poking at her small hand trying to coax her to grasp onto him. After a few moments of trying, Kaede wrapped her hand around it, which only made the ninja's smile grow.

"She's got a really strong grip!" he exclaimed, proving his point by unsuccessfully trying to wiggle his finger free. Kurenai's crimson eyes closed as she let out a small laugh and agreed with him. Shikamaru's brown eyes scanned over her face. She was starting to look like her old self again, but he could still tell that the pain of losing her lover was still looming around her, and probably always would, as it would him as well.

Ino, who had been sitting on the floor in front of the couch cradled Kaede closer to her and got to her feet. Chouji almost looked a little upset when the movement made Kaede drop his finger, and he got up as well.

"Shikamaru, do you want to hold her? She is your goddaughter after all." Ino said, turning to the ponytailed boy who was sitting beside Kurenai. He eyed her for a minute. As much as he was growing to love Kaede he was still uneasy about holding her. Babies were small, fragile and unpredictable at times, the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. But nonetheless he slowly nodded his head and outstretched his arms, thinking it better to stay seated. Ino bent down and carefully placed the baby into his arms. She immediately clung onto his black shirt, causing the boy to smile.

Hm. Not so bad.

He looked down at her, noticing how soft her olive skin looked in the light of the early morning sun that was shining through Kurenai's glass patio door. There was something strange with the thought that a human could be so small, and so fragile to him.

"She likes you." Kurenai's soft voice said in a whisper, a sincere smile playing on her lips. Shikamaru smiled himself, as troublesome as he knew she would one day become, he knew that he would probably grow to think of the girl as somewhat of his own daughter, or a younger sister. The notion was already somewhat there.

Ino tilted her head to the side and hugged herself tightly. "Aw, I can't wait to have a baby of my own one day."

Chouji and Shikamaru both immediately looked at her. Right now the thought of Ino becoming a parent scared Shikamaru beyond belief. Despite her love for anything "small and cute", the young woman was much too infatuated with her own well being, and probably didn't know one thing about being a parent. Ino must have noticed the boys' intensive stare because her arms fell to her side and she huffed.

"I said one day!" she snapped. Kurenai laughed.

"I think you'll be a wonderful mother when your time comes, Ino." she said, leaning closer to Shikamaru. He got the hint and carefully passed her Kaede, who had soundlessly fallen asleep in his arms. Ino seemed proud at her statement as she puffed her chest out and rose her chin.

"Is it time for her nap, Sensei?" Chouji asked looking down at the unconscious toddler.

"Chouji! Its ten in the morning! She probably just woke up!" Ino hissed, slapping him lightly on the back as if he had spoken out of ignorance. Chouji winced and lowered his head, trying to hide the light blush in his cheeks.

"I'm afraid she hasn't been sleeping very well as of late. She woke up today at five, so maybe a nap would do her well." Kurenai muttered in his defense as she stood up. Shikamaru's ears perked and he immediately followed her notion, his fists clenched.

"Is she okay? What's wrong? Have you been to a doctor?"

His concern seemed to amuse the black haired woman as her smile continued to grow and her eyes softened. "Shikamaru, there's no need to worry so much. She just has a bug. Children get sick."

"With all due respect Sensei, I still think you should take her to a medic just to make sure. If anything happened to her-"

"You would never be able to forgive yourself." she finished his sentence for him. "I know, Shikamaru. But really it's fine. If it will make you feel better though, I'll take her to see Shizune later today."

The boy nodded his head hesitantly, just before Ino skipped in place beside him and link her arm through his.

"Well, if she needs to nap we really should get going!" she said, tugging him in the direction of the door. "Kurenai-sensei will take Kaede to see Shizune later, Shikamaru! Lets go get something to eat! I'm starving."

The words were Chouji's scapegoat and grabbed Ino's hand, pulling both her and Shikamaru to the exit. "Me too! Let's go!"

"See you later Kurenai-sensei!" Ino called back. Kurenai waved her goodbye.

So there it is! A short chapter, but a chapter nonetheless. Who was in the mist :0