The Kid Story

They were going to get really mad at him again. They would probably end up kicking him out the game, but frankly speaking, he didn't really care. They could have their dumb game.

He had never enjoyed Hide & Seek, anyway. The rules were crap, and everybody looked like idiots, just running around in circles, hiding behind dumpsters, or just standing in the middle of everything with their hands over their eyes. The game had no freaking point. It was just a troublesome way to waste your time.

And that was why Shikamaru Nara was half asleep atop of a rooftop instead of participating in Hide & Seek.

Usually, he would be here with his best friend, Chouji Akimichi, but Chouji had promised his dad that they could do something together today, leaving Shikamaru alone with his thoughts.

Good, my dad doesn't request quality time for us – that would be beyond troublesome…

Suddenly, the sound of small feet running fast up the stairs reached his ears, and Shikamaru sat up. He didn't know the footsteps, in fact, he didn't know that many people at all, and it was minority of people who came to this spot, so he was quite surprised as well as suspicious.

It better not be the guys; if it is, I'll just tell them to get the hell out of here…

But it wasn't the guys – actually, it wasn't any kind of guy at all.

The odd hair color was the first thing that struck him; next came the tears that spilled all over the ground as she moved towards him. Her green eyes, narrowed because of the tears, widened in surprise as she met his probably very puzzled expression.

"Oh…" That was all she seemed to be able to say with the tears still flowing down her face.

Shikamaru just stared at her. He couldn't really see the need for a response, so he just kept his mouth shut. Who knew, maybe he would say something very wrong without knowing it, and she would get even sadder and jump off the rooftop.

That would troublesome.

The little girl with the short, pink hair seemed familiar somehow. Shikamaru frowned slightly, trying to remember where he had seen her before. He couldn't have confused her with somebody else, not with that hair color. Who the hell had pink hair, anyway?

She harshly rubbed her cheek with her hand leaving it slightly redder than before. Her gaze dropped to the ground, and her voice was barely audible when she said:

"I didn't know someone was up here… I'm sorry… "

She looked like she was about to go again, but Shikamaru wasn't the boy to let a mystery stay unsolved. He had to know where he had seen her before – and besides, it wasn't very manly to just shrug at a crying girl.

"Hey, who are you?"

Surprised, she looked up from the floor. Shikamaru noticed how one single tear slowly began to run down her left cheek as she moved.

"I-I'm Sakura Haruno," she stammered in a low voice. She nervously looked at him, and the tear dripped from her chin and onto the ground.

"Sakura Haruno, huh?" Shikamaru frowned and scratched his neck. It didn't really ring any bells.

"I'm Shikamaru, from the Nara clan." He nodded at the words.

The girl named Sakura on the other hand seemed to have figured it out. As he told her his name, her expression changed in to a calm recognition.

"You're in my class," she said, this time without stuttering, "at the Academy."

Ah, yes! That is where I've seen her! Huh. Kind of embarrassing I don't even know who my classmates are. Maybe I should stop sleeping in class?

He sent her a crooked smile. "Sure am. Sorry I didn't say hi to you before, but…" His smile faded and he tried to put on a worried expression. "I didn't really recognize you soaked in tears."

Sakura's gaze dropped to the ground again and she rubbed her face with her sleeve looking embarrassed.

Shikamaru didn't think it was embarrassing. Sometimes life tries to knock it out of you, and that hurts. He knew that all too well.

Oh, well, I might as well help her…

"Why are you crying, Sakura?"

She mumbled something in to her sleeve, but all Shikamaru got from it, was 'no Mike, no gay' – and that just couldn't be right. Who the hell was Mike, by the way?

"Uh, I didn't quite catch that…"

Sakura slowly removed her arm from her now dry face and let it slip to her side. Her short hair almost fell over the headband she was wearing when she lowered her head to avoid eye contact.

"Ino likes Sasuke," she finally said in a low voice – not really clearing things up.

Shikamaru sighed.

Why are girls always so troublesome?

"You know, I don't really follow up on the local gossip, so if you sit down and explain things I might be able to be a little more supportive."

He put on an encouraging smile, and Sakura hesitantly moved closer and sat down next to him.

At first they just sat there, listening to the birds sing, to the sound that the wind made when brushing through the trees, and to the echoes of angry voices belonging to Shikamaru's so-called friends.

"She never even told me."

Shikamaru turned his attention to Sakura. Her voice was as low as ever, but controlled. She was looking at the ground again with distant green eyes.

"I told her immediately when I fell in love with Sasuke. I talked about him all the time, because I thought of him all the time. He's so strong, and smart, and good at everything, and then his an Uchiha." She sighed heavily. "But now that Ino has put her mark on him, I can't be in love with him anymore…"

"Why not?"

"Because she's my best friend – my only friend. If I lose her, I lose everyone else, too. They only talk to me, because she does. And she was the one to help me, when the others called me billboard brow and poked me in the forehead…"

Well, she does have a large forehead… but it's still mean.

"She even gave me this headband." Sakura touched the soft, red fabric. "She said it would make me look better, because it would hold my hair back. I'm really glad she gave it to me." She smiled faintly. "And that is why I can't steal Sasuke from her. She gave me so much; I owe her something now."

"That – is bullshit."

"Huh?" Her head spun around, and she just stared at him with big, round, shiny eyes.

Shikamaru smiled crookedly, put his hands behind his head and fell back on the bench.

"This Ino person seems pretty much like a control freak to me; I mean, if she's your only friend, who talks to you of her own free will, and who gives you beauty tips and social skills, she kind of has a power over you. If both of you have a crush on this Sasuke guy, you can either work it out and leave him alone, you can back down and let her have him, or you can stand up for yourself, take no more crap and fetch him for yourself."

Sakura looked like he had just grown an extra head, but he just shrugged.

"If you really like him so much, I think you should go with option three. Any guy worth crying for is worth holding on to. And besides," he gave her a serious look, "I don't like people who want to control others people's lives. Everybody should be able to do whatever they want – so if you want that Sasuke person, I'd say, go get him."

Sakura still seemed clueless.

"But, then what about Ino…?"

Shikamaru shot her another serious glance.

"What about her? To be honest, I don't really know her, but she seems like a manipulating controller, who wants you to feel guilty about this whole mess, so that she will get the guy."

"Oh."

Shikamaru nodded, and sat up again.

"I'm not telling you what to do here. If I did, I would be as bad as her. I'm only giving you options, and then it's up to you to decide what you want to do. And whatever it is, I'm sure it's the right thing for you."

At first she just looked at him with a stunned face; but then her features softened and she smiled so sweetly that all sugar in the world could never compare.

"Thank you so much," she said with a soft look in her eyes.

"You're welcome."

She rose from the bench, and began moving backwards towards the stairs, still thanking him.

"I'm so glad I came up here," she said happily, "and I'm so glad you did. I hope that I'll see you in class soon… if not, I'm just glad that I met you…"

She flashed another sweet smile, and was just about to walk down the stairs, when Shikamaru called.

"Hey, Sakura?"

"Yes?" She skipped to a stop and looked back at him. He was half frowning, half smirking at her.

"That Sasuke Uchiha boy, you were talking about," his smirk widened, "isn't he that stuck up, dark-haired one, who gets straight A's and has a hair cut that looks like a chicken butt?"

Sakura stared at him for a few seconds. Then she sent him a strained, quick smile, and rushed down the stairs without shouting goodbye.

Shikamaru shrugged at the situation and lay back on the bench again to study the clouds above. They were so lucky; they didn't have to deal with school girl crushes and troublesome games.

Who even wants to date someone whose head looks like a chicken butt?