Strategies

(One-shot Shika/Saku)

Sakura looked at her test once again and groaned as she flopped down upon her bed, throwing the despicable paper as far away as it would go and inhaling the scent of her home, her old blankets…she hadn't been home for years; Tsunade had trained her for a long time…now she was home.

She glanced again at the paper laying innocently some inches from her "damn you" she hissed, her cascade of dark pink hair falling in a curtain around her face.

"Stupid thing…so I've mastered everything else BUT strategy… who gives a crap!"

She rolled over and moaned, crossing her arms over her emerald eyes. "Damnit…."

She laid there for a minute; a soft breeze from the open window across her room feeling pleasant on the now 19 year old Sakura's flushed skin.

"I have to do something about it or Tsunade-Sama won't let me hear the end of it…."

She lifted her hands and sat up biting her left thumbnail, her eyes wide " and come to think of it…" she growled the picture a laughing Naruto and a chuckling Sasuke made her head hurt " come to think of it…they'll NEVER let me hear the END of it if I fail this now!"

She stood up and donned a blue coat over her black mesh shirt and pulled on her leg warmers over some soft white leggings, and jumping into her shoes snatched up the bothersome paper from the floor, stuffed it in her left pocket and went out her front door not even bothering to lock it as she tied her hair up in a simple pony tail.

Sakura shoved her hands in her coat pockets as she stomped down the stairs and ran down the street trying to remember where his house was. Of course Inner Sakura jumped on this "HELL YEAH! Ill Show that test whose boss, no one messes with me, not even a scrappy piece of paper!"

The village she had grown up in had changed a bit since she had left, her eyes roamed the area, taking in old memories and surprising herself every time she saw a person she had known as but a child…everyone had grown, but what she didn't know was that, so had she. Her hair was longer now a duller shade of pink, her eyes a deeper green and she had grown much taller and her features more prominent…she was a woman but still felt very much like a child…she smiled as she looked around at the place, her head filled with soft memories when she was nearly bowled off her feet as someone ran into her.

She blinked and reacted almost instantly going into a slight fighting position before two large warm hands steadied her, she thanked the man for his help and then brushing her bangs away from her eyes she looked up at him, and choked in surprise for standing there, quite a bit taller than her and fleshed out... looking oddly at her was Nara Shikamaru.

Shikamaru steadied the girl as she ran into him and rolled his eyes as she regained her senses without even looking at her " god" he thought " girls and their daydreaming, probably about some pretty boy or some stupid-" " Shikamaru?"

He blinked and looked down and suddenly removed his hands as if he had been stung or something, the girl who had run in to him…it looked a lot like…he blinked again

"Sakura?"

The girl smoothed her hair back and stood back looking at him, even inner Sakura just stared dumfounded.

Indeed it was Shikamaru, he had gone through some major changes since she had gone away, Inner Sakura coughed, finally able to speak " CHANGES? That's a Miracle honey! Whoa HOT stuff!"

He was, as she had noticed when she had bumped into him, he was taller and sleek muscles rippled under his black vest, mesh shirt and dare she think it…pants. Inner Sakura was squealing behind her back as she noticed. His eyes were a darker fuller brown, his face now stripped of his baby fat all intelligent and articulate, his brown hair had grown longer and tied short in the back, a lot like Neji's, his spiky bangs fanning out to the side a bit…this brought a blush to her cheeks and as she looked up she saw a bit of color in his face as well…she wondered what HE was thinking and stopped the thought there.

"Um!" she laughed a bit and smoothed back her hair again "oh gosh Shikamaru

You scared me! I didn't know it was you, you've changed so much!" she took another step back and smiled disarmingly, hoping that it would tell him NOTHING of the fact that she had been totally checking him out a minute ago.

Shikamaru had also stepped back "and your one to talk, geez…you're a bothersome one! Going off and then coming back and bumping in to me!"

She stuck her tongue out at him, now back to her mischievous self "you needed that lazy bum…and actually…" she rolled her eyes and took out the loathsome scrap of paper from her jacket "I need help…I was looking for you Shikamaru."

He blinked "you were…looking for me?" it was really hard to believe this was Sakura at all, that whining pink haired little brat of a girl who was always crushing on Sasuke had miraculously changed from a fuzzy pink bug to a butterfly.

He shook his head "why the hell am I comparing her to a bug?" he looked up back to his own lazy self "what do you want now, to copy my homework or something?" he laughed a little as her fist just missed his face, Inner Sakura was blushing furiously, her fists out in front "how DARE you pretty boy, you will now become my SLAVE!" Sakura pushed her black side back "what the hell?" she smiled and shoved a paper in his face making him react and snatch it, he looked at it and then as she stood her arms crossed and her face flushed he started to laugh.

After being nearly charmed into accepting to help he had taken her back to his apartment where they now sat, Sakura starting to stare at Shikamaru more than the test at hand was really getting on his nerves.

"Geez" he grumped as he went to make some tea "you need to pay more attention if you want to learn how to strategize properly"

Sakura, warm under the heated table they were working on sighed and looked over the paper again and then at the stack of papers Shikamaru had miraculously dredged up from somewhere under his bed. Inner Sakura pounced on this of course "whee thinking about that bed already!" she flushed and pretended to be really interested in two particular battle plans.

Shikamaru sprinkled the green tea leaves into the steaming water, meanwhile looking at himself reflected in the water "how bothersome…why am I like this I wonder? I never asked to be..." he sighed and waited for the tea to steep running one hand through his long hair his thoughts going back to the girl in the next room "why do I feel this way? We were never close IN school…we never had any missions together…and after four whole years…why, why…why am I attracted to her" he dismissed the thoughts immediately as just lust and putting the tea on a tray carried it out to the table where Sakura was actually looking at some of the battle strategies. She looked up and after she talked about what she thought of strategies which was really quite amusing to Shikamaru Sakura looked up "so…what happened with you and Tamari?" Shikamaru arched one eyebrow "oh her? Well after a few hits from that fan of hers I guessed it would be better not to go out with her…she doesn't like lazy guys apparently" Sakura sipped her tea "yeah? That's too bad…sorry bout that" where as Inner Sakura was dancing around in her head for joy.

Shikamaru mumbled something and then shrugged " it was for the best…oh, and what about you and Sasuke?" he soon regretted saying it for again he had to dodge a fist flying towards his head " ok ok I wont ask! Yeesh!" She was soon back to studying the papers but she still couldn't get it, she was good at everything else but this…she looked hard at it, her hand twirling around in her dark pink tresses when as if sensing her unease in the subject moved hesitantly a little closer and pointed out the main points in surrounding an enemy and how one should work with the closest member at hand.

That's right; Sakura giggled "Kakashi sensei said something about that all those years ago…teamwork right?" she laughed again, it made her feel better about the situation for now she could feel him next to her…

"Um…Shikamaru-kun" he glanced at her "yes?" he inquired

"I don't think I get this at all…I'm not going to pass it"

He smiled; she almost fell over, such a gorgeous smile he had hid all those years! And laid a hand, that warm hand on her shoulder "yeah you will, you need to, to be a great healer like Godaime Tsunade right? So do your best…that's all you can do"

She looked at him totally dumfounded by his encouragement until he just laid back "geez, I hate giving pep talks, it's not my strong point…id rather be watching clouds than tutoring pixie ninja"

Her face flushed an angry red as she raised one fist "how'd you like to see those clouds up CLOSE?"

Shikamaru sat up with his hands in the air "and THIS is why I never understood father" he looked at her but in his mind he sighed "maybe NOW I might though dad….maybe I might."

She picked up the last battle plan and looked quizzically at it…nothing made sense…

She looked at Shikamaru now silent looking at her and sipping his tea "um…"

He raised his eyes to her's imprisoning them in his strong brown…NO don't think about that! "I-I don't get this one!" she was finally able to squeak out, getting a strange look from him before moving closer "which part?"

She flushed " this part" she said, pointing to a bit of writing near a lazy drawing of tree's his lips were near her ear now, whispering in his deep soothing voice " which?"

Up to this point inner Sakura hadn't showed but now she took her time to pop out "hey…I didn't get Sasuke's first! Shikamaru's is MINE bitches aaaaaallll MINE!"

Sakura found it hard not to listen to THAT particular thought for it sounded quite amusing, meanwhile Shikamaru was having his own mental fit and soon just decided again that it was lust and do disregard it…it was getting harder, the girl he knew had turned into a woman, and even if she was almost his opposite…they say opposites attract.

But he refused those thoughts; he was a good man even though lazy and well….lazier

He wouldn't think that Sakura of all people would begin to like him just after seeing him for a couple hours and reviewing strategies…it was hopeless.

"Well" he said moving back a little and standing " do you get it any better now?" he looked at his watch, it had been a little over three hours, he had surprised himself how interested he could become when teaching, guess it ran in his blood.

Sakura smiled " I don't know but I think I get most of it, thanks Shikamaru, you're a really nice guy" she chuckled " if a lazy bum and all that…I just hope I pass this test, if I do I wont have to go training so often and I can see you…and all the others again right?

She got up and gathering her own notes she had been taking stuffed them in her pocket and bowed to him, her pony tail coming loose and spilling pink cascades over her shoulders as he watched "again, thank you very much for the help and the tea" she blushed "see ya…" she turned to go out the door and then all his reason snapped.

"Sakura…" she turned around "hmm? What?" He walked over to her a slight smile on his face "I wish you luck, I hope you do well" and with that silky note lingering in the air he grasped her shoulders leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips, the moment seemed to last forever, the taste of his lips like honey and matcha mixed together, when he finally broke off and ruffled her hair the door had closed and she was outside his apartment laughing. Shikamaru wasn't such a bad guy after all…or a bad kisser.

Inner Sakura had finally gotten what she came for, "HELL yeah I did! WOW he's sexy!"

The next day with her special 'good luck charm' from Shikamaru, she passed the exam and became a medicinal ninja and special assistant in the Konoha hospital and to Tsunade. It hadn't turned out half bad after all….

The End 33

I hope you liked it! My first fluff story, oh my how interesting it was…I was trying to think of the straaaangest coupling that hadn't been used yet and low and behold, my love child. I made it all in one night so it isn't perfect but hey Shikamaru's just one of those guys that makes you wanna write about him…specially when he's older LOL

Please review and if you have time read my others

Ja Nae!

Badger Nin