Finally. All questions answered. All students armed with knowledge. And all were leaving to prepare on their own now. The jounin's work was done. And it was then he felt at ease to yawn and close the classroom door behind him. Ah, the satisfying click of a closed school door - the click he wouldn't have to hear, thanks to his semi-rapid progress, for a long time. As painful as the overload of a jounin's responsibilities might be, Shikamaru had to admit - at least to himself - that this life of a more accomplished ninja proved more satisfactory than that of a genin or even a chunin, at least in the long run.

The nearly silent hallway only exhibited a few random students discussing amongst themselves; all female, as he might've expected. But who cared? He was now beyond the age of obnoxious female peers…for the most part, and he didn't mind seeing the teens around so much. Another yawn as he started the journey down the hall concluded the job until…

"Shikamaru? Shikamaru!"

"Ah, what now…?" the jounin half-muttered, his discontented frown evident once again as the teenage girl jogged her way into view, prancing like a princess addressing her chamberlain.

"You, uh…" the tan brunette traced her fingers through her hair; a gesture of uneasiness in a boy's presence - as Shikamaru had come to understand it. "You didn't tell us much about the first test, I was wondering if…"

"If I'd give away information on account of you being persuasive enough with the facial expressions or the empty flattery? Sorry, kid." Shikamaru made the statement with absolute nonchalance. He held no grudges, her tactic might've been an effective one if she hadn't specifically made him the victim. He'd seen many before her, within his own generation as well. The technique was too familiar to miss. But the effort, nonetheless, he thought commendable.

The girl looked shocked. Naturally, Shikamaru immediately thought. "No! No, I didn't mean to imply that at all! Shikamaru, I just…I just need to know if…if Miss Anko will be running it again?"

"And how did you hear about her?" the jounin's brow elevated with faint surprise.

Now the kid was nervous. "F-from a friend…a friend who's already a chunin…" her face was innocent, but the voice carried a clear wisdom in how pure she made the story she told.

"Look, I only tell the rules and that 100% participation is expected of each contestant," even the way he said it might be found in an instruction manual - he really was bored with the entire concept. "If you want more than that, go to your chunin friend." He pressed his lips together as an objective punctuation, his relaxed eyes apathetically meeting with hers.

But she dared not remain in his sights much longer. "I'm just…I'm just a little nervous, that's all," worry edged the soft laugh, with which she'd intended to brush off whatever tension that remained.

Shikamaru nodded slightly, but otherwise paid the statement little acknowledgment. His silent wish was granted when the girl jogged away even quicker than she'd first arrived.

"Your charm never ceases to amaze me," Kitsune stepped up from behind, only speaking up with her sarcasm after the girl and her friends had nearly disappeared behind the outer doors.

Shikamaru's head rested against his the back of his shoulders as though its weight had become an overwhelming burden. "Stabbed in the back while your 'accomplice' distracts me. What is it with you girls, never saying what you actually want us to hear?"

"Oh-ho, because you're so easy to be honest with," she retaliated with irony, crossing her arms in defiance. Her amused smile only added a tint of cleverness to the argumentative disposition. "If we were honest with men, where would the world be?"

"We might have a clue what you women want from us and the world would be a cheerier place," Shikamaru slinked his way along the hall, resuming his leisurely journey.

"Ha!" Kitsune strode to catch up, her arms waving in a gentled marching pattern as the determination to prove her point set in. "Men have to see in black and white so they don't get confused. It's a woman who juggles everything that a man deals with as well as her own emotions."

Shikamaru smirked. The comeback he'd immediately thought up was a personal one; maybe even dangerous if he cared what his partner thought of him. Was it worth it? "And yet…with this impressive juggling this woman accomplishes, one never again finds her misplaced genin pass."

Kitsune's eyes narrowed with obvious disdain for the comment. But, in her mind, she was smiling at the memory he'd recalled. Though it had been an embarrassing part of her life, one purpose for her delight - though she'd never admit it - may have been the fact that he simply remembered the time of their meeting.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

'Oh, what do I do now?' Kitsune heaved a sigh, finally settling - posture slumped and features red with distress - within the shade of a nearby oak. The ninja school she'd been pressed to join in the first place was beginning to look more and more treacherous. Humility would bring her to a state beyond miserable when her teacher found her and the punishing disregard bestowed by her father for her clumsy mistake would be out of the question for her to endure! Yet there was no solution - Asuma-sensei would surely inform her family of the incident and she would, of course, be blamed!

"I've heard the ground is a fascinating study with the proper tools," a young male voice shattered the hopeless thoughts holding Kitsune's anxious heart captive. "But I've never seen the point in buying a microscope for the ground when the sky is a tax-free phenomenon."

By the time the boy had finished his statement and approached her position, Kitsune was able to take in the basics of his appearance. He had a short and thin build underneath his loose ashen white jacket and common net-like shirt. His dull mahogany hair was pulled into a tight ponytail behind his head and the expression upon his narrow face seemed a perfect example of apathy in its most honest sense.

"Tax-free, huh?" the wrinkles of stress only faded enough for politeness in her expression. "What do you see in it?" Her bright blue eyes lifted to regard the blanket of fluffy cream clouds, lined with shimmering edges of gold from the sun's bold awakening.

With a shrug, the boy seated himself in the grass nearby. Kitsune couldn't help feeling he'd never known stress even in the scarcest dose that she'd become accustomed to. "That doesn't really seem important. Everyone sees something different every time they look. What do you see?"

Kitsune's eyebrows met between her eyes, displaying her confusion at first. Crossing her arms before her front, she sighed and shook her head. "I don't get it; I see clouds and a blue sky. What are you aiming at?"

The boy had to turn his eyes to look up at her - he was now lying back on the ground, his own arms bent behind him to cradle his head. "The sky can be the perfect listener - see, it carries its own color, but it rarely dominates your mind like people try to do. If you vent to the sky, it'll take on the face of your troubles, but it won't have a voice." With a shrug, he turned his gaze back up to the subject of the discussion. "So it'll hear everything you say, but it won't talk back."

Kitsune gazed upon her peer for a long, thoughtful moment - wondering what it would be like to have such a life as his. To be careless and so relaxed all the time…if she could ever handle not caring for anything, it might be a dream come true. But she blinked the fragments of the dream away within a moment. "You say that like all your troubles will be gone if you're just willing to talk it out with a mindless object."

He shook his head simply, the matter-of-fact tone still unaltered. "I never said they'd go away. It doesn't always happen like that. But one constant truth about your problems is it's all in your head. You were born with the capability to handle your stress, your nerves, your emotions, and even your physical problems…just by winning the battle in your mind."