Shikamaru's eyelids cracked open, and his body sprung from the surface of his bed. Bathed in cold sweat, his eyes were wide as he rubbed his temple with shaky hands.
He was too busy panting and getting over his adrenaline to notice the sun rising in the small space of his window, but the rays that seeped into the confines of his room gave it away.
He was about to collapse back onto his pillow, exhausted even before he left his bed. Shikamaru's quick breathing slowed, and as he stopped gasping for air he closed his eyes again. Wiping his brow, his eyebrows furrowed together in consternation while he let out a long sigh.
By then it was 7:00am, and his alarm clock started to ring.
The shrill screeching of the maddening clock pierced his ears, but somehow he couldn't muster up the strength to get up and turn the damn thing off. Curses flew by him in his head, yet he didn't feel the urge to really say them out loud.
Shikamaru waited for three minutes before he smashed the clock against the wall.
~X~
"Your alarm clock rang this morning at 7; it woke everyone in the house up," Yoshino reprimanded as she slid some eggs onto her husband's plate. Normally she would have whacked her son over the head with a ladle, but the war had softened her somewhat, and anyway she knew Shikamaru was beyond the age of child abuse.
Opposite her son, her husband grunted and shot the former a look of sympathy. Shikamaru might have been past the point where his mother is supposed to discipline him, but his father wasn't... "Hey!" she said louder this time, placing her pan on the stove and positioning her hands on her hips. "Are you listening to me?"
Her child glanced at his indignant mother, tempestuous and always ready to mouth off. Still, she was his mother, and he would have to treat her with the appropriate amount of respect. This was always a constant in his life.
So Shikamaru nodded curtly, before downing his bowl of miso soup and thanking his parent for the meal. He spared a furtive glance at the clock: 7:30am, and thirty minutes too early to meet with Godaime. Nevertheless, he left his chair and went to get his ninja pouch and his flak jacket. He heard his mother sigh irritably and throw her hands up in the air before allowing them to fall at her sides.
"Shikamaru," Yoshino started again, looking her son in the eye as he emerged from his room and put his jacket on. "I know you're still upset over Temari-san's―"
"Mom," the youngest shinobi in the family interrupted, averting his gaze and securing his pouch. "Please." He made a sound as the jacket zipped up.
Yoshino frowned and turned to her husband, who had taken to swallowing his eggs. He swallowed quickly and shook his head. Please, dear, he appeared to be begging, Not yet.
His mother's eyes blazed with the kind of hurt and disappointment unique to a mother's love, and Shikamaru felt her eyes bear into his back as he headed for the front door. The door was opened slightly as he paused, waiting for his parent to say something.
"Shikamaru," his mom began again, her voice soft and gentle and totally unlike her usual self. "Your father and I love you very much."
He didn't bat an eyelid as he walked out into the fresh sunlight, his form shifting as he shielded his eyes from the glaring rays. "I know," Shikamaru mumbled, closing the door shut.
~X~
He'd stopped over at the Yamanaka flower shop on the way there, and even though the building was still dark and there was nobody inside, Shikamaru felt a small smile on his face as he bent down to pick the bouquet of white chrysanthemum. As usual they were pure and untainted, cut neatly and preened just as carefully. His teammate knew how important this was to him, and he fought back a chuckle. Rustling the crepe paper that encased the pretty bouquet, Shikamaru shifted his grip so that the stalks would not fall.
As he was walking toward the third training ground, he witnessed the sunrise. The rich, deep golden rays that exuded from the burning star enveloped everything in its path, dyeing everything it touched into its color. Shikamaru stopped for a moment, fingering the delicate petals of the chrysanthemum. The light swept away the darkness, making his shadow sprout from his legs and grow while the sun bloomed.
And then, with a sigh, Shikamaru shook his head slowly and silently went on his way.
~X~
"You're late," Tsunade greeted her fellow shinobi as he opened the door and stepped in very calmly. She had her hands together and her eyes narrowed, plus her tone was detached and highly disappointed. The statement came out as more of a hurt accusation, and even though she smiled wryly her voice was just tired.
Shikamaru merely nodded as his apology, and mumbled something about repentance before shrugging and telling his Hokage to continue. His hands had been stuffed into his pockets, and he was slouching.
The lady eyed him suspiciously for a moment with her brows knitted together in quiet consternation, and continued to do so even as she finally opened her mouth to speak to him. "I'm assigning you another mission," she paused here, and took a moment to survey his seemingly indifferent reaction. "An A-rank mission."
At this he blinked in small surprise, and his eyes widened by a little bit. "A-rank missions are for the Jounin, Tsunade-sama," he protested lamely. "If you really are that desperate you might want to ask Neji or Shino."
She grunted at his suggestion, and cleared her throat. "You'd make a wonderful Jounin," Tsunade remarked. "If only you'd agree to take that stupid test."
This time Shikamaru took a few more seconds to process the information, and with a small sad smile he told her, "I'm not taking the exam, Tsunade-sama. Not now, not ever. Now, the mission…"
His boss's frown deepened at his words, and for a moment she contemplated drugging him for his defiance. Pushing that thought to the back of her mind, Tsunade sighed defeat and turned to her missions scroll.
"You have to assassinate the leader of the Sazuki clan in Oto," she relayed as she handed her subordinate a piece of information regarding the clan head. "Their clan specializes in light-based techniques and the reason he needs to be killed is because the Sazuki clan has been rumored to cause lots of trouble for the Konoha forces occupying Oto at the moment."
He looked up from the information sheet and stared at her straight in the eye, a strange type of raging fire in his pupils. "How many?"
The Hokage stopped looking at Shikamaru, suddenly shifting her gaze to the floor. "Three, all immobilized by being blinded and killed afterward. Their comrades found their bodies among the trees, impaled on the branches." There was a sense of guilt and despair in her voice as she told him about the tragic ends of their fellow Konoha shinobi.
For a moment Shikamaru was seized by fear and anger. He really hated trees… But the man also looked away from the form of his leader. "They died honorably," he seemed to assure her.
"Yes," she agreed numbly, biting her lower lip. "Yes they did…"
And then the pair observed a quick minute of silence for the deceased ninja, after which Tsunade said to Shikamaru, "That's why the leader needs to be eliminated. You are to bring along two others of Chuunin rank or above, making a three-man cell. If you need to, I'll approve for either Gai or Kakashi to accompany you."
The Nara shuddered slightly at the thought of the hyperactive Green Beast of Konoha following him, bringing with him his bushy eyebrows, strange sense of style and positively out-of-this-world ideals. "No, thank you," Shikamaru forced a smile, thinking about the white chrysanthemums he had picked up earlier. He would have to thank Ino again later… "I'll ask Neji and Shino later. We'll leave tomorrow."
Tsunade nodded in appreciation, and proceeded to wave Shikamaru out the door. "Thank you, Shikamaru," she grinned, and for a while he couldn't help but smile back.
He was halfway out the door as she suddenly called him. Shikamaru turned around, clutching the information sheet as tightly as he had with the bouquet.
"I really do think you'd make a great Jounin. Maybe you'll be like your father; Jounin Commander of–"
"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," Shikamaru interrupted as he dipped his head and went on his way, tucking the crucial piece of paper into his pocket. "But this will be all."