Okay, this is pretty amazing! Brother of a magician has 106 followers! and 80 some people have voted on my poll! Isn't that just awesome? Thanks everyone!

And - while I could give you a billion excuses for why I haven't gotten more stories updated, I expect people would just get annoyed at me. So lets just leave it to family matters and school.

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"Speaking"

Thinking


emijonks2000- Here ya go!

xXxOtAkU-444xXx- Thank you for not yelling at me to get it finished! Lots of people do...

TigrezzTail- Love your wording! And thanks for reviewing two chapters in a row! That's so awesome!

Guest - Yay! I'm not alone in my pairings! It is adorable, isn't it? Everyone else I talk to doesn't agree… Oh, and you'll find out in this chappie!

Chap. 3

(Start with Shika's POV After he went home)

Well… this is a lot to think about… Naru is, no, wait, Naruto's a boy… Why would she- no, he hide it? There couldn't be a reason… could there? I mean… ugh, Shikamaru, think! It shouldn't be so hard! What are the benefits of being a girl? People bring you presents on White Day… but Naruto's been doing this since he was little. Huh… he… sounds weird. But he must be telling the truth… No! Stop getting sidetracked! Think!

Um… girl's aren't forced to do as much… at least, civilian girls aren't. But Naruto's training to be a ninja, so that doesn't work. Oh… Ah! I don't know!

"Maru-kun? Are you alright, baby?" Shikamaru froze. 'Mom!' was the only word going through his mind.

"You're making unnecessary movement. Isn't it too troublesome?" And now Shika was stuck on 'unnecessary movement'. "Shikamaru? Hey, talk to me!" Shikamaru had frozen where he stood. He used too much energy, it would seem. Well, that's what it looked like, at least. His mind had started functioning again, so it was only his body trying to preserve its precious energy.

What secret could be so serious Naruto couldn't tell me? He's like my sis- er, brother! Oh, so difficult to remember! Oi! Shikamaru! Calm down! Okay, better. Let's see, what happens that's different with Naruto then other people? Um, he pranks a whole lot and people don't like him for it… he's good at stealth and deception… oh, and he doesn't respect the 4th Hokage like most people in the village do, but does seem to love him. Shikamaru paused in his train of thought. Wait, that doesn't make sense… only a few people in the village love the 4th like that, like they actually knew him outside of him being their Hokage… His eyes widened in understanding. How did I not see it before?! Naru looks like a female version of the Hokage! I mean, Naruto looks like a female version.. um, not right either, but oh well…

"Shikamaru, are you alright?" Dad? When'd he get here?

"Yeah, why?"

"You were unresponsive for a while. What is it?"

"Is Naru the.. um.. daughter of the Yondaime(4th) Hokage?" Shikaku was puzzled on why he stressed the word daughter before he actually caught up with what the question was.

"Why do you ask?" He questioned. Yes, he had figured it out quite a while ago, but that was supposed to be a secret and he didn't think Shikamaru would actually put in enough effort to try and figure that out. Of course, that must have been why he was so still for a while…

"Well, I just thought that he might be.." Shikaku raised an eyebrow. He? The Yondaime? No, he's talking about Naru… something's really wrong…

"Shikamaru, is Naru a boy?" Shikamaru's eyes widened. Yep.

"N-no… Why would you think that?" Shikamaru stuttered? He never stuttered… Did Naru tell him to keep it a secret or… is he embarrassed? Shikaku noticed Shikamaru getting even more flustered by the second so he said -

"Okay then. Now, it's time for dinner. Go get ready." Shikamaru began to move his still frozen muscles into the kitchen.

Well, at least I don't have to protect Naruto from Kiba… wait, that reminds me, how did Akamaru not know Naruto was a boy? I'll have to ask later…

At the Academy; Naruto's POV

I'm tired of thinking! It's depressing! If Shika doesn't want to be my friends, I'll just have to convince him it's a mistake! He'll come back begging to be my friend! I'll be even more awesome! He'll think my guy side's even better then the girl one! 'Tteybayo!

As anyone can plainly see, Naruto had been worrying the entire night and morning about what would happen when he saw Shikamaru again. It was bad enough that he got bags under his eyes and his normally semi-tame hair was just a birds nest. His cloths were miss-matched and all the care and effort that he normally took to make people think he was a innocent little girl was lacking. No one thought he was a boy, but that's only because they've all been convinced he's female.

The door opened and Naruto glanced towards it fearfully. Another random classmate entered and went to sit with his friends and talk. It was already the seventh time Naruto had done that and people were starting to notice - though not enough to care. Naruto just sighed and got lost in thought again. Too lost to notice the person behind him.

"Naru?" The person was touching him. "Naru? Hey, Naruto!" The person shouted, causing people to glance at him and wonder who he was talking to. At least it caught Naruto's attention.

"Huh? Shika? When did you get here?" He asked cautiously.

"Just now. What's wrong?" Shikamaru asked. He watched as Naruto became a nervous wreck in front of him.

""So... you don't hate me?" Naruto asked, looking at the ground. He was nervously fidgeting with his fingers, and, at that moment, Shikamaru noticed how much Naruto really valued him. He sighed, a small smile creeping onto his face As he grabbed Naruto's lower arm and dragged him out of the classroom. There was no reason for the rest of the class to know what they were talking about. On his way he told Choji to tell Iruka he and Naruto would be back in just a bit. Not stopping to hear the reply, he and Naruto were out the door.

"Naruto, why would I hate you? You felt like you had to hide it, I don't have a problem with that." Naruto looked up teary eyed, but he looked like a gigantic weight had been lifted off of him. A small, sincere smile touched his lips. His energy came back and Naruto seemed to come back to life. A small jump and he reached out his arms, latching behind Shikamaru's neck and giving him a big, happy hug. They smiled and Naruto laughed for a little while longer, feeling relieved to have his best friends staying his best friend.

It took a while, but they got back to more serious conversation.

Naruto asked Shikamaru what he had been thinking after telling Shikamaru about a few of his fears since Shikamaru though he over reacted.

"It just surprised me, that's all! But I do have to ask one thing. How is it that Akamaru can't tell?" Naruto bit his lip and seemed to think through his answer before saying one word.

"Seals." Shikamaru had to think through the answer for a bit. They didn't teach much about the art of sealing at their level of the academy so his knowledge on that subject was definitely lacking, but he did get the easiest version of it from what his father said. He knew that there are an unlimited number of things you could do with seals as long as you're good enough and are willing to pay the price for really high level ones and that it takes years for someone to become even a novice in the dying art. He knew that there is only one seal master left in Konoha's forces and that he was barely around and that Naruto's dad, the yondaime, was a sealmaster as well. He knew that they were used to make storage scrolls and that some people would use them to suppress powers of another. He also knew that they would suck some chakra out of people in the prison and interrogation center. Again, it was only the basics.

He thought most about the unlimited number of uses.

"You sealed your scent?" Naruto nodded, looking embarrassed at what could become a praise. "Did you replace it with a girl's?" Naruto's embarrassment deepened, though this time it was more sheepish and Shikamaru got his answer.

"No… That's probably the reason Akamaru doesn't trust me, but what could I do? If it's anyone in Konoha, Akamaru's going to know and if he comes across the person whose scent I took, he might think it's me! That could get him killed! Or very suspicious of me later… So I just have a little bit of my scent left. It's not enough to be able to tell my gender, though." Shikamaru seemed to contemplate this for a bit before looking at the time.

"Well, let's talk more during lunch break. We're already way late for class. Iruka-sensei's too troublesome our own good. Naruto followed, bouncing to the room and completely forgetting that he was going into a classroom. It didn't take him long to leave again.


Ya know what? Screw the length! I can't get it any longer than this! Sorry, 1200 word's my limit. Well, 1,600 today... but normally 1200!

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