Cumulonimbus Motivations

Chapter 1: Pilot

(A/N at end of Fic - please read)

Between ten and twenty thousand feet in the air drifted loose collections of water vapor, packed densely enough to scatter light, but not absorb it, causing the mass to appear white.

Cumulonimbus today.

The clouds swirled, folding out from themselves like bread rising, drifting slowly but perceptibly along a mostly northwesternly angle, leaving the sun frequently blocked as it descended from its zenith toward evening.

Hands folded underneath his head, seven year old Shikamaru Nara closes his eyes. The supple grass under his hands and a gentle breeze caused him to sigh in contentment, the melodic raking of wind rustling the leaves in the tree behind him adding to the ambiance.

"SHIKAMARRRRUUUUUUUU"

Tsk!

The shrill cry of a young boy brought his consciousness back to the forefront of his brain – away from where it had slowly been drifting toward sleep and sweet silence.

Like clockwork.

He opened his eyes, drawing in the last of the relaxation he could from the drifting clouds before Choji's face took up his field of view.

"Shikamaru-kun, I knew I would find you here! Were you hiding again?", Choji accused, wagging his finger like a scolding parent.

In all the time he had known Choji Akamichi, Shikamaru had never not seen his cheeks flushed with red, even accounting for the red swirl tattoos overtop them. The boy was rotund...er, 'big boned'. His entire family was. Perpetually snacking, this was one child who Shikamaru assumed would have "baby fat" for the rest of his life.

He closed his eyes. He didn't need to keep them open to know Choji was staring at him expectantly but patiently. His dual-toned green jacket would be zipped up, below the chest a forest green to contrast the upper portions mint green. His signature tan shorts and standard sandals would be on him. His chestnut-brown hair was assuredly spiked up wildly.

"If I was, I did a terrible job.", Shikamaru responded.

Choji's face scrunched up, stung by the rude remark, "Hey!", he reacted before his face quickly returned to the inquisitive look it held a moment ago, remark forgiven and forgotten as quickly as it was said.

"Mom wants to know if you are sleeping over this weekend. We're having two pot curry tonight to celebrate!", he said with childish exuberance.

Shikamaru flinched, the volume many decibels too high for the close proximity of the boy.

"No. I'd have to pack clothes and get permission. Too troublesome.", he said with a sigh as he settled back in, prepared to doze off as the trees continued to rattle their leaves soothingly.

There was silence for a moment. Shikamaru peeked one eye open to look at his friend who was now sitting beside him. He was looking down at the grass, dejection written all over his face.

Shikamaru sighed inwardly.

If I agree to go, Mom's gonna throw a fit to make sure I behave properly and have everything I need. She'll take me over there after fretting about getting a small gift of appreciation and thanking them for their hospitality. It will be three hours before I'm over there if I asked right now; that whole time mom will be keeping me busy with preparations. When I get back, she's going to drill me for every detail, probably to make sure I didn't do anything childish and fun. She'll assume I'm hiding something until I stop responding but I can't do that until she's asked me everything three times. There goes another three hours. Plus activities at the Akamichi's house. Almost no time for naps or cloud-watching except after meals

If I don't ask, Choji will be upset.

He finished his sigh, decision made, eye closed once again.

"I'll ask", he muttered, none too pleased at this turn of events.

Again, he didn't need to open his eyes see know how Choji would react. He heard the grass rustle and the mouselike grunt as Choji leapt up, previous perkiness reclaimed.

"Alright Shikamaru-kun! I'll see you at my house tonight! I'll help mom make the curry and I'll be sure to ask her to make mackerel too!", he shouted cheerfully as he ran off, forgetting that Shikamaru hadn't actually gotten permission yet.

Already Shikamaru's mind had ramped up. He hated it. His brain was playing out how the conversation would go with his mom, plotting the different possible outcomes of individual statements like a spider web, spinning out from the center because of a simple request.

The things he did for his friends.

As he lay there amidst the mid-afternoon sun and breeze and clouds, part of his attention drifted inwards. Shikamaru knew he was different from the other kids his age. He hadn't even had to be told – for him it was self-evident.

He was intelligent. Very intelligent. He didn't think this with even the slightest cockiness or arrogance; this was a statement of a fact. To Shikamaru, his being intelligent was the same as Choji loving food or Ino being annoying. It simply was. With a few probing questions he realized other kids didn't think like him. When he was thinking ahead, predicting what they would say and how he would respond, they weren't even thinking about what they said. They spoke right as it came to them. In class, other kids got answers incorrect, which had befuddled him to no end until he understood not everyone was thinking quite like him. The answer to the questions – regardless of what it was – was obvious. The teacher either had just explained it or it could be extrapolated from what was previously taught.

A few tantrums and muttered "teacher's pet" was all it took for him to realize it might be better to just...not do anything. It didn't make Shikamaru popular to outsmart everyone. At first, he remembered being upset at this. It was fine with him now, however. The less kids who liked him, the less who would try to talk with him. That meant the less he had to think. Which meant more naps.

Somewhere, an idea flittered around in his brain – it felt important, connecting these facts. It drifted around and landed among his grey-matter, smoldering like an ember for a second before burning out.

Shikamaru scrunched his eye brows before deciding that chasing that idea would be too much effort.

With a long sigh and a muttered, "what a drag", he pulled himself up, stumbling forward before lazily strolling towards home- hands in pockets and head tilted up- and the impending riot of activity he'd have to endure.

A/N: Suhh, dude. This is my first Fic. I've always loved writing and am looking forward to creating a story I would like to read. Test my skills and really push my comfort zone.

I'm fully intending on making this a multi-chapter Shikamaru centered story. It will follow canon very closely, hitting all the major plot points up until I've developed Shika enough to start having his actions differ. My goal is to cause him to become motivated much sooner to train and progress, utilizing his intellect to the fullest.

I felt like Shikamaru was kept too lazy for too long before finally working to develop his skills, coasting on his intellect. What if he'd gotten a wake up call much sooner. How would he have acted in the Chunin Exams? What about when fighting the Akatsuki?

So yeah. Not getting an overpowered Shika or anyone. But we'll def be seeing some changes. And we'll really get to see inside of his head – discover how he thinks and views the world in a way that was only BARELY touched on in the anime.

Pairings are mostly set. You'll see them as they develop. I'm a diehard romantic so there will definitely be some fluff, but no lemons.

Reviews, likes, and follows are life. The more I get, the more motivated I am to put out the next chapter soon.

Cheers M8s!