A/N: This is my first story. And to stay true to myself it is a Naruto story featuring very little, if any, appearances by Naruto himself.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its parts; I am not making any money off of this.

Ratings: T

Main Characters: Shikamaru, Choji, and many others

Side Notes: When reviewing, please be gentle. I can take constructive criticism but make sure it is constructive.

Dreams of War

"Nikudan Sensha" shouted Choji. With that, the 15 year old chuunin transformed his body to twice its original size. Then, as miraculous as the transformation, the huge boulder began to accelerate towards his opponent.
"How troublesome" said Shikamaru in his normal, calm tone of voice. Shikamaru jumped to the right, narrowly escaping his charging friend. Shikamaru began running, weaving in and out of the craters in the scarred battleground. Suddenly, Shikamaru heard crying, a whole village weeping it seemed. Then, as abruptly as the crying had started, it stopped. Shikamaru looked for the source of this sound, but only found his giant opponent barreling down upon him. He jumped, narrowly avoiding Chouji. Then, before he could regain his balance, he saw a funeral. He suspected that this funeral had been the source of the crying. Although he had no idea how Chouji had done it. I didn't see him form the hand seals for a genjutsu. The battlefield had disappeared, all there was was a funeral at which the leaf village had gathered. Shikamaru looked around, hoping to find a way to shake himself out of this illusion. Once he looked to the front of the service, he felt as if he had been hit in the chest. The person for whom the town was gathered... was Asuma-sensei. Shikamaru almost collided with the "boulder."

He realized, at this moment, that he could not focus on the battle at hand. For this reason, he decided to end it quickly. Shikamaru continued to dodge Choji; using every chance he had to survey the battlefield.

"There!" thought Shikamaru.

Choji noticed from the look on Shikamaru's face that his best friend had an idea. "Damn! I need to be careful he is up to something." He thought.

Choji charged once again towards Shikamaru. However, this time, Shikamaru charged head-on at Choji. As the distance between them decreased, Shikamaru threw a number of smoke bombs, and kunai with exploding tags at the point one third of the way between him and Choji.

"Damn, I'm going to fast to stop now," thought Choji as he pondered what Shikamaru was planning. "Oh well, I have to keep going" he decided as he sped towards the cloud of smoke, and whatever his opponent was planning. Shikamaru reached the smoke cloud first and quickly prepared himself for his attack. By the time that Choji made it to the smoke cloud, Shikamaru was fully prepared and the smoke cloud had al but dispersed.

Choji realized only too late that he was trapped. "Got cha!" Shikamaru shouted.

Shikamaru's exploding tags had made craters in the ground big enough to stop Choji's boulder. Once caught Shikamaru sent his shadow towards Choji and captured him. Then, Shikamaru formed a clenched fist, and his shadow entangled Choji. Shikamaru raise his fist. Suddenly, the shadow entangling Choji formed tendrils. The tendrils flew from Choji and grabbed ropes that were lying around where Shikamaru had placed them. Then, as quickly as the shadows shot towards the ropes, they darted back onto Choji; tying him up in the process.

"Hey Shikamaru, can you cut me loose?" asked Choji "We should probably be going, after all, the wedding is going to start soon. We don't want to miss it."

"Go on ahead Choji; I'll meet you outside the church a little later." Shikamaru responded.

Choji headed off for Konoha. Shikamaru, however, stayed in the field. What is happening? This all feels strange. Nothing feels right. Maybe I am just over thinking things. I need to be getting to town. These thoughts of uncertainty faded quickly as he saw that the bustling hidden village hadn't changed at all. The further he went through the town, the more certain he became that his worries were the result of his tired mind imagining things. He was sure that he was over thinking things upon seeing: Choji's daily protest of Ichiraku for not having a vegan menu, Naruto's performance of yet another pop song in hopes of becoming a star, Sakura's beating of Naruto for ruining a perfectly good song, and Sasuke making a scene because Sai is looking at another guy. (Yes, GUY! Because saying Sasuke is straight is an insult to straight guys everywhere.) "I can't go to the wedding right after training; I'd better shower and change."

The town was far from deserted as Shikamaru made his way through the festive-looking streets. Villagers were hanging various garlands on any available surface and Shikamaru wondered just who was paying for all the decorations. His house, however, was silent and empty, his parents having already headed out for the church. He wandered through the halls, humming to himself. He figured this wedding would be good for Konoha—and Jiraiya and Tsunade were good for each other. He was so busy thinking, trying to ignore the feeling of wrongness that had crept back into his mind, that he hardly realized when he took a shower and redressed in his best. He glanced at the clock, frowning as he realized it was almost time to leave.

Just as Shikamaru was about to leave for the wedding after his shower, he heard the doorbell ring. He walked to the door, but before reaching the door, it burst open.

"If I waited for you to do everything we would never go on anymore dates," said Temari matter-of-factly.

He rolled his eyes. "I was on my way to open the door. Have a little patience." She shook her head, grinning, as he muttered a quick, "How troublesome," under his breath. "We should probably be going, or we'll be late."

"Fine. After you," she retorted. Her grin widened as he passed. "And by the way, I heard that."

xXx

"We are gathered here today to celebrate a very special union. The bonds formed here today will overcome time and space," droned Neji in his usual priestly fashion. "Do you, Jiraiya, take Tsunade to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love and cherish until death do you part?"

"I guess," sighed Jiraiya jokingly as Tsunade shot him a withering glare through her veil.

Neji ignored this. "And do you, Tsunade, take Jiraiya—pervert though he is—to be your lawfully wedded husband. To love, to hold, and to occasionally hit over the head, until death do you part?"

"If I must," answered Tsunade in a surprisingly joking manner.

Neji ignored this as well. "If anyone has any reason why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your—"

"Sorry to desecrate the sanctity of this marriage." These words echoed through the church as the Godaime Hokage burst through the double doors. A look of sheer terror overwhelmed Tsunade as she pondered whether Gai (Yes, Gai is the Hokage) was here for her . . . or for Jiraiya.

"We have S-ranked mission which requires the best in the town."