The recalling of memories is one of the mot chaotic things our minds can do. And every time we bring back those images from the past, a little more of it slips away. By the time we realize that our childhood is slipping away, it's already too late. Nonetheless we hang on, gripping and pulling with all our might to retain our past until out hands are bloodied with out own pain and anguish. Time as it seems, its more certain than life, in that it continues to slip away from our minds, long before our bodies slip away from this world and because of this our past will die a thousand time before we do.

-Movement II-

Scherzo

Shikamaru sat at a small table at a local café, pressing his fingers into his eyes, momentarily relieving the pressing migraine that was ravaging his head. A barely lit cigarette hung from his lips, the burning tip nearing his dry lips. Despite his best efforts, Shikamaru could not push the thought of The Word out of his mind. Yes, The Word. It was amazing how a single word could change everything. A single word could change a life forever. A single word could take a man and deliver him to total and utter ruin.

"Daddy!" called the little girl running towards Shikamaru.

God he hated the word. He had promised her one child. He promised ONE child, to appease her so she would stop complaining, and what happens when she gets pregnant? Is it with ONE child? No, not quite.

--

"What do you mean five?"

"Five, as in five children, Temari is going to have quintuplets. Congratulations! Oh and they're all girls." proclaimed a cheerful Ino.

"No" There couldn't be five, he didn't agree to five. "We said just one child, how are there five?" Shikamaru was baffled, all logic gone out the window.

"Um excuse me? You should be overjoyed that you get five children from me, because chances are they'll take after their mother and grow up to be beautiful and strong!" roared Temari, Ino making her quick escape out the door.

Shikamaru's eyes were tearing up. "You're crying out of joy, right?!" his wife demanded.

Five Children. Just Like their mother. This was beyond troublesome.

--

"Daddy! Daddy! Pay attention to! I want a new balloon, NOW!" demanded the 1/5 replica of Temari that was tugging at Shikamaru's pant leg. He just stared at her. "I SAID I WANT A NEW ONE!" she screamed again, winning the stern looks from several bystanders.

"What's wrong with that one?" he said raising an eyebrow.

"Uhg, do I have to explain everything to you? What color is the ribbon in my hair?"

"…Blue"

"And what color is the balloon?"

"…Blue"

"No! It's royal blue! I can't have a blue ribbon and a royal blue balloon! Mommy says I always have to match!"

"You know, I wonder if her mother was like when she was 6." Remarked Kiba as he plopped down in the chair next to Shikamaru.

The Shadow Ninja rolled his eyes, "You have no idea. What are you doing here?"

"Oh well Hinata wanted ice cream so we stopped by here on the way back home. That kid there was cause quite the commotion, what's her name again?"

"My name is Selene, and you smell like a dog!" remarked the little girl that was flailing in Shikamaru's arms.

"What did you say to me?!" erupted the dog ninja.

"How many times have I told you, Do not smoke around the children! Put it out right now!" stormed a very furious Temari. Attempting to avoid another fight and stop the one that was already waging between Kiba and the 6 year old, Shikamaru dropped the remains of his cigarette to the ground with a "Yes dear…" He then quickly pulled Selene away from Kiba and shoved her into her mother's arms. "She needs you." He groaned and turned back to Kiba before Temari could complain.

After the blond stormed off, Kiba let out a whistle, "Well I'm not sure who has you wrapped around their finger tighter, Temari or that kid of yours."

"Selene is the nicest out of the 6 of them…"

Kiba just shook his head, "As far as I'm concerned, the man should be the head of the household, and not let the woman push him around and tell him what to do. You've just gotten soft over the years."

Obviously he had never spent any really time around Temari.

It was then that Hinata came up behind Kiba, her teeth finding his ear and biting down hard. "Come on lets go, you promised we could do it again after lunch!"

Kiba's eyes rolled into the back of his head as if he were trying to look at the beauty behind him. Shikamaru had to admit that Hinata had grown even more attractive over the past ten years or so, and now Kiba was becoming the number one enemy of the remaining single males in their age group. "I'll…be there in a second baby…"

"You better, you always says 'It's the man's job to wait on every need of the woman' right?" she smirked heading off again. Shikamaru rolled his eyes again, yeah, head of the household his ass.

"I don't know how much more of this I can take it. At least 3 times a day for the last 10 years? One time I tried faking a broken leg so I could get a break, she thought it was kinky."

A broken leg? Of all the ailments Kiba could fake and he chose that? "Why don't you just tell her no?"

"Because she bites..."

"I thought you liked that."

"I do, that's why I can't tell her no."

"Women are…"

"Troublesome I know. I know, believe me. Well I better get going, otherwise she'll insist on the dog collar again."

Shikamaru just gave Kiba a blank stare, "...Too Much Information." But Kiba had already run off after his girlfriend.

He looked over at Temari who was picking through the stands at the adjacent market, looking for ever more expensive jewelry. She was no doubt complaining that the quality of the gems were inferior to the jewels that Suna produced. Still she would buy them anyways and hand over coin after coin. She still surprised him on how much money she could physically spend in a day. Luckily Shikamaru had been appointed, against his will, to be the Hokage's new assistant on the Hokage's personal request, a job that paid much higher than most. He was told that he was replacing the old assistant due to his recent success in the field, but he was pretty sure it was because he didn't bitch as much as his predecessor. Checking his watch, the young man let out a groan. Oh how he hated this thing, it was a blatant reminder of all the troublesome things he had to endure on a daily basis. Nonetheless he was 2 hours late for work and he'd probably get in trouble if he didn't show up for the 3rd day in a row. Dragging himself from the chair, he trudged over to his wife and kids who were terrorizing the market.

"I'm heading off to work now…"

"You better not go out drinking afterwards! I'm not putting these kids to bed by myself again!"

"You never put the kids to bed."

"Hmm? What was that?"

"Yes dear..." he called over his shoulder walking away from the potential fight. At this rate, by the end of the day, he was defiantly going to need that drink.

Within minutes, Shikamaru was pushing open the doors to the Hokage's office. "Sorry I'm la…" but the office was empty. A raised eyebrow followed by a quick search of the room proved that the Hokage was nowhere to be found. With a shrug, he slumped down into the large padded chair, propping his feet on the desk, and looking out the adjacent window. Just as his eyes began to close and carry him to sleep a voice called from outside the window.

"Sorry I'm late, funny story, see I feel into this well and there was a beautiful woman and then…" started Kakashi, now climbing through the open window.

"It's alright Hokage-sama, Sorry for not showing up for the past couple of days."

"Oh? I wasn't here either, the well you see…" Kakashi chuckled.

"So Anko tied you up for a couple days again?" Shikamaru replied, a glimmer of humor on his voice.

"I won't ask how you know that, but that woman is incredible with knots…"

Shikamaru tried not to envision the aged Kakashi in any sort of sexual situation, though the effort brought about the opposite effect. Shikamaru dug his fingers into his eyes again in an attempt to drive the image from his mind.

It had been about ten years since he had accidentally overheard a conversation with the previous Hokage and Shizune. The two had forgotten to close the window in the Hokage's office and with Shikamaru's old office next door and his window open, he could clearly hear the conversation next door. He had to reason to eavesdrop, but felt it would be more interesting and required less effort than his current work.

--

"Shizune," she sighed, "I think it's time." Tsunade said softly.

Shizune replied, "I had a feeling. Do you mean…?"

"No…not that, not yet at least. I had hoped it wouldn't come to this but I don't seem to have a choice at this point… please go get Kakashi."

"Of course Hokage-sama"

Within minutes, the familiar voice of Kakashi could be heard in the Tsunade's office.

"What can I do for you Hokage-sama?"

"I think it's time to choose my successor Kakashi."

"Then why did you call me here? Do you want me to go find him?"

"It's too soon for him, and I am no longer able to continue. I have a favor to ask..."

"Do I have a choice?"

"Not really."

"Well then, I accept."

"I'm glad you understand."

--

And that had been it. Two weeks later, Kakashi was vowed in as the 6th Hokage. Shikamaru distinctively remembered Naruto congratulating Kakashi, though his voice was laced with disappointment. If only he knew.

Kakashi let out a deep sigh, "Do you want to do any work today?"

Shikamaru looked over from his new seat in the chair across the room, "Not really."

"Good," The hokage replied pulling out his copy of Make Out Tactics Vol. XXIII, "Neither do I."

Just as the assistants eyes were closing, "Kakashi-sensei!" screamed Naruto as he crashed through the doors.

Shikamaru groaned, "Speak of the devil." he murmured.

"Naruto, you know I've been Hokage for over ten years now, I would have hoped you would have figured that out by now," groaned Kakashi.

The blond paid no heed, "So what kinds of missions are available today?"

"Well…" started Shikamaru glancing over at a file that was sitting on the table near him, "Looks like the only thing we have left is a B rank mission."

"What?! Just a B rank? Don't you have something more exciting? All of these B rank missions are getting boring."

Shikamaru stared at the blond, was he serious?

"Naruto, you know there haven't been a lot of missions lately. Seems the nations have been having good times and the need for ninjas has diminished. I suppose that's good for the nations, though not so much for our bank accounts. Still, don't you think that you've set your standards a little high? I remember a time when you would cry out in joy to get a rank B mission."

"Well what do you expect, a ninja of my caliber should expect to face harder and harder challenges!" flashing his signature grin.

Kakashi could only smile and shake his head. Some things never change. "Well then, I have a special, ultra challenging mission for you. I can't tell you to details until after you accept. Are you interested?"

"You bet! Uzimaki Naruto is ready for anything!"

Hah, we'll see about that. "INO!" roared Kakashi. A second later Ino stumbled in through the door.

"Oh hello Hokage-sama, I was just walking by when you called my name and I just stumbled in! Funny that huh?" she stammered, rubbing the back of her head.

"More like listening in…" chuckled Shikamaru.

"Well it's not like I can sit back and expect you to handle things after replacing me! I was doing a perfectly good job, and then they tell me I'm being transferred back to the hospital! And who do they replace me with? The laziest ninja in the whole village! At this rate, nothing will get done! Why with me you wouldn't …"

"Ino! If I let you work here in your free time, will you shut up?" moaned Kakashi

"Only if you get ri…"

"I'm not getting rid of Shikamaru."

"….Fine. What do you need help with?"

"Here," he pushed a sealed letter into Ino's hands, "This is Naruto's mission details. Read over them and escort him to the location and explain what he needs to do."

Ino's eyes darted across the page before immediately bursting into laughter, "Are you serious?!"

"Absolutely. Please escort him to the location now."

Naruto was now violently curious but despite his best efforts, Ino kept the paper away from his prying eyes. "Come now, wouldn't want to spoil the surprise!" she giggled, dashing out of the room, Naruto in hot pursuit.

When the doors shut Shikamaru looked over at Kakashi who was already pulling out his book again. "You're not really going to let her work here again are you? I don't think I could take all the noise."

"Nor can I, don't worry, I'll see that she doesn't have any free time."

"So what exactly was that 'special mission' you gave Naruto?"

"Oh a test, lets see how he'll handle it, might come in handy for him later on."

"You didn't really answer my question."

"Oh, he's going to be a substitute teacher for the day."

"You know that going to be a total disaster right?"

"Probably."

"Hm I should go check on him…after my nap."

"Good idea," nodded Kakashi, shoving his nose back in his book.

--

I had been over an hour since Naruto had run off to his teaching job. Shikamaru had been planning on sleeping longer but Ino had ducked in on her way back to the hospital. Apparently Naruto seemed freakishly excited about the whole idea and it was well known that things never went well when an overly excited Naruto. Ino, who was continently too busy, complained until Kakashi ordered Shikamaru to go check on Naruto.

As he trudged through the streets towards the Academy, he passed by Naruto's favorite ramen stand. The boy treated the place as if it were heaven on earth, practically worshipping the food they served there as if it were the nectar of the gods. Then again it must be working somehow, as Naruto had become well known for his abilities in battle. Granted things never went according to plan, as Naruto's tactics were considered random at best, but usually just insane. Nonetheless he got the job done, even if his methods were unorthodox. Still it was nice to see, that Naruto, a boy who used to always talk about being recognized by the rest of the village, had earned himself a place of respect in their hearts.

"Gimme another!" roared an all too familiar voice from the ramen stand.

Then again, he wasn't always the most responsible ninja…

Shikamaru made his way over the stand, and when he pulled the curtain back, sure enough, Naruto was lounging back, waiting for his next bowl of ramen to arrive.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?"

"Well what else would I be doing? I'm eating ramen."

"But weren't you supposed to be substituting at the academy?"

"Oh I already finished there, it was easy!"

"But you were only there for an hour; classes don't end until 4…"

"Well after I taught them how to just the shadow clone jutsu, I figured that was enough for a while, so I left and got lunch for myself!"

"Wait, you taught a bunch of 10 year olds how to use the Shadow Clone Jutsu, in an hour?"

"Yep! Aren't I the greatest teacher ever? Don't worry though; I gave them all candy to keep them occupied until I got back. I even left a couple clones there myself, just in case."

Shikamaru grabbed Naruto by the arm and hoisted him out of his seat. "You left a classroom full of bored, 10 year old ninjas, wired on sugar, after you taught them to make clones of themselves? Are you out of your mind?!"

"Relax buddy, how much damage can a bunch of 10 year olds really do?"

Shikamaru lowered his eyes, "You, have NO idea. We need to hurry while there's still something left of that school."

--

Within minutes they were dashing down the hall where the classroom was. As they reached for the door handle, the door suddenly slid open and a Naruto clone fell out followed by the screams and laughter of a classroom that was obviously filled to the brim with children. A panicked look on the clone's face, he reached for the two, begging for help but was quickly dragged back into the room. His fingers left marks in the wood flooring as he begged for mercy, the screams of laughing children grew louder as the clone disappeared from sight.

"Ok Naruto, we need to think about how we're going to handle this situation. You have to realize the children are far more dangerous than any foe you'll ever face. Do you understand Naruto?"

The blond shrugged, "How hard can it be?" as he dashed into the room.

"Naruto wait…" Shikamaru let out a sigh, "maybe its good he doesn't have any kids, I would worry that he wouldn't be able to take care of them." He shrugged and followed Naruto's lead through the classroom door.

Naruto was standing in front of the chalkboard, arms folded. The clones here tied up and hanging from the ceiling. The class of 30 had grown to a class of 90, and the whole group was dancing around in a circle under the suspended clones.

"Oye you!" called Naruto from the front of the room. The children turned around hungrily, "You guys wanna play a game?" this suggestion was taken very well and the room erupted with cheers of approval. "Alright then, there's a game I JUST thought up, which means you guys are the first to play it in the entire world! Pretty cool huh? Its called Shadow Clone Tag! The goal is to find the real version of everyone else, so if your clones get tagged they'll just disappear, but if you get tagged, you have to sit down till the end of the game. Last person standing is the winner, everyone understand?"

The children needed no more explanation and dove at each other with sugar induced ferocity. Within minutes all of the children were sitting on the ground, their clones gone, and the room silent. The last student was doing his victory dance when Naruto bopped him on the top of the head, "Hey, I've got clones too, and it looks like I'm the last one left. Sorry kid I win." The student let out an aww as he dropped to the ground, defeated.

With everyone tired out, Naruto slipped into the chair that was positioned at the teacher's desk. "Well everyone, that was fun. How about I let you go early today, but don't tell your teacher ok? Otherwise I'll get in trouble and they wont let me teach you guys again alright?"

"Aww, do we have to go? You're so much more fun than our other teacher!" complained the children.

"I'll come back, I promise. But right now I have to go back to my beautiful wife. She's quite the babe you know." He said with a smirk, making kissy faces.

All the children replied with, "Eeeeewwwww, gross!"

Naruto laughed, "Besides, I'm gonna be Hokage someday, so I need to train too!"

"Really? You'll be the best hokage ever! Make sure you come back and visit us when you become Hokage ok?" remarked several children.

Naruto smile, obviously flattered, "You know it! Alright everyone, go out and have fun while you still can."

As the room of children emptied, only Shikamaru and Naruto remained. The room was a mess; desks and chairs overturned, half eaten candy littered the ground, and Naruto's clones were still hanging from the ceiling. Naruto made several more clones that quickly went to work, cleaning up the room and returning it to its former state. Shikamaru leaned up against the nearby wall and lit a cigarette. "You know, if you work those clones too much they're going to turn against you."

Naruto let out a laugh, "They don't mind as long as I eat enough ramen." With that said the clones turn around and gave toothy grins before going back to their work.

Shaking his head, Shikamaru chucked, "I gotta hand it to you, you surprised me, I didn't think you could handle kids, but you did a damn good job back there."

"Well its good practice for when I become a dad you know?"

Shikamaru looked down. It was fairly common knowledge that Sakura had become, more or less, sterile. Still Naruto had never strayed from his hope of being a father some day. His over confidence was, awkward at best around others who didn't want to give him the flat out truth of the situation. Quickly changing the subject, Shikamaru replied, "Well if its practice you want, you're always welcome to baby-sit my kids anytime you want."

Naruto shook his head horrified, "I've seen your kids, and they're terrifying! They're just like their mom, on a bad day."

"Try living with all of them together, then you'll understand the meaning of the word terrifying," said Shikamaru as he shook his head solemnly.

Naruto laughed again, "You know its not that hard really, I just think of it like I did when we were kids. You remember those boring lectures we sat through, learning about stuff we've never even come close to using? I remember trying to sneak out the window with you and the other guys behind Iruka Sensei's back. It's those times that I miss the most, that's why I never really tried to grow up, I want to stay close to those few memories I have from y childhood, even if they were islands in a sea of bad memories."

Shikamaru smirked, "I have to admit we had some good times back then. It's a shame that we're forced to discard those moments of youthful joy."

"Youthful joy?" questioned Naruto, "Careful now, you're starting to sound like Lee."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "God I don't want that. Well you guys seem to have things handled here; I better get back to Kakashi and wake him up before Ino sees him. The bitching will last another week if she beats me there." He said over his shoulder and he walked out the door.

Naruto smiled and looked out the window, replaying his memories one more time before he stood up and climbed out the window, running home with his everlasting childhood excitement.

--

"So how did it go?" asked Kakashi questioningly.

"Well it was a disaster," started Shikamaru, "But he cleared it up surprisingly well."

"Is that so? Well that's good I suppose," the Hokage remarked, picking up his book again.

"Well that's not all..."

"Oh?"

"He taught them the Shadow Clone ability in only an hour or so"

"Oh he showed them? I'm sure they thought that was interesting."

"No you misunderstand, he taught them HOW to do it, and from what I could tell all of the students in that room were able to do it. That's primarily what caused the disaster in the first place. Still its theoretically impossible for him to teach them that quickly, but it seems he doesn't apply."

Kakashi raised his exposed eyebrow, "Now that IS interesting. It seems he's full of surprises as usually, still it seems he has the talent for it. I have a feeling it's almost time."

"Indeed. So you want to go get a drink?"

"It's the middle of the afternoon and you want to go drinking?"

"I cant be out late tonight, Temari will kill me if I am."

"She has you on that short of a leash?"

"You have NO idea."

"Well actually I know quite a bit about leashes…"

"Too much information." Groaned Shikamaru

"Sorry."