Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Because if I did own Naruto there wouldn't be so many anime filler episodes and many characters would have been developed and Naruto wouldn't be thick headed. I would also make sure the Uchiha were not all god like in the series. So without another word let's begin the next chapter.
'Thoughts'
Chapter 6
A Father's Guidance
In a restaurant called the Yakiniku Q there was a young Chunin sitting at a table who was absently just picking at his food. This young man was depressed and for good reason as it had to do with two women involved in his life. One of them was a former lover of his and the other woman was the lover of his deceased sensei, who he had ended up making love with while intoxicated.
Shikamaru Nara couldn't help but sigh for what seemed like the umpteenth time as all he did was stare at his food and pick at it every now and then. For the past two weeks, which soon became three he had felt nothing but misery and regret. He was miserable that he had broken up with Temari who was the first girl he ever liked and soon grew to love. Yes she could be troublesome at times but deep down he knew she had a gentle side to her and she had an intelligence that he found himself impressed with.
Then he felt regret for betraying her even though it was unintentional by sleeping with the Genjutsu Mistress Kurenai Yuhi. It didn't help that both were drinking heavily and the young Nara ended making her cry by accident. In a desperate attempt to comfort her and ease her pain he had kissed her. The next thing he knew, they were making love right there in her apartment.
'Why did this have to happen to me and Kurenai? Damn it, if only I could have saved Asuma-Sensei, then he would still be with Kurenai and I would still be with Temari and everyone would be happy!'
He then shook his head at that thought as he felt like he was being selfish and inconsiderate of their feelings. Lately he had been keeping to himself avoiding everyone around him, even his own parents. Chouji had been growing concerned about his best friend and finally spoke to the Nara heir. Shikamaru told his friend that he was just going through some issues and that he would be all right, that he just needed some space. As for Ino, he found out three days ago that she, along with Sakura, Shizune, Hinata, and Naruto went on a high level mission that involved one of the female Daimyos that Naruto had saved and it was the Daimyo from the Land of Vegetables Haruna.
From what he understood there was an attempted assassination on the female Daimyo and she had sent a request to Tsunade for protection and even requested Naruto, Hinata and Choji since they were sent there on a mission before years ago in order to bring her to safety.
Unfortunately Chouji was on another assignment with Neji so Tsunade decided to assign Shino, Kiba, and Ten-Ten on the mission for extra protection. Their mission was to keep watch over Haruna and to find out who it was that was attempting to assassinate the Daimyo from The Land of Vegetables and take down whoever it was in anyway necessary.
'I honestly wish I had a mission of my own right now since it would be better than being here in the village.'
Sighing the young Chunin decided to pay for his meal and go for a walk around the village while visiting his sensei's grave. Getting up from the table he sat in he made his way to the register to pay for his meal when he heard a voice call out to him.
"I've been looking for you Shikamaru."
The young Nara was surprised to hear someone call out to him and he recognized who the voice belong to. Sighing he turned around to greet the one who spoke out to him.
"Hi Dad."
Shikaku Nara stood in the doorway in his usual slouch position with his arms crossed. Standing beside the head of the Nara Clan was his two long time friends Inoichi Yamanaka, and Choza Akamichi.
"So what can I do for you?"
"I think you and I need to have a talk about something son, but I'm here for a drink as well so I figure I kill two birds with one stone." The elder Nara said before looking at his long time friends and teammates.
"Do you think you guys can give us a moment?"
"Sure thing Shikaku, join us when you're ready." Choza said to his friend as he and Inoichi made their way to the bar for their usual drinks. Shikaku made his way over to his son and sat down opposite against him in another chair. A waitress came over to their table.
"Can I get you something sir?"
"I'll have a bottle of Blazing Inferno Saki please, and make sure to bring a cup for my son as well."
Shikamaru stiffened when he heard his father order a bottle of alcohol and honestly didn't want to drink right now. After what had happen between him and Kurenai he honestly didn't know if he could handle getting drunk again and doing something stupid.
"Son are you okay?"
The young Nara was brought back by his father's voice and responded back to him.
"I'm fine Dad, really I am but I honestly don't feel like drinking as it would be too troublesome."
The elder Nara gave his son a suspicious look as he was wondering why his son was reluctant to drink with him and wondered if he drank before? He then dismissed the thought as he didn't honestly believe his son ever touched a bottle in his life.
"Shikamaru, I don't think one drink will hurt or even a few. Plus it would be too troublesome to drink this on my own so for your old man just share it with me. I won't tell your mother if that is what's bothering you and this will be your first time with it."
'If only you would know Dad.' The young Nara said to himself as he wasn't sure how his father would take the news of him having a drink with Kurenai before. With a resounding sigh Shikamaru nodded to his father.
"All right, all right, I'll maybe have one or two drinks with you but that's about it."
Nodding in approval he saw the waitress return with his drink and the two glasses he requested. Setting the bottle and the glasses down the waitress bowed to her guest before leaving to fill out other orders.
Shikaku started to fill up the glasses with the alcoholic beverage before serving one to his son and one for himself, but decided to give his son some advice about drinking.
"Make sure to start slow son and not guzzle it down like it's water, otherwise you might end up just puking it out."
"Yeah, yeah I got you Dad." Shikamaru lazily replied though he wanted to tell his old man this wasn't the first time he drank but decided against it. With that thought in mind he decided to ask a question regarding the saki.
"Is this drink really strong?"
Shikaku considered telling him the truth but decided against it as he felt this would be the only way to get his son to open up to him. While it was a sneaky tactic he felt that as soon as his son got a bit drunk he would be able to help him out with his troubles.
"Nah it's not really that strong since I don't want you to fall on your face and have to carry you back home."
Shikaku's son decided to trust his old man and raised his glass to his lips taking a small sip of the saki. He was a little surprised by the taste of it and actually liked it so took another drink from his glass. Looking over to his old man he responded with a small smile.
"This isn't so bad; it's kind of good actually."
Shikaku was a little surprise to see his son not make a face after tasting it before having a smaller drink from his glass which caused him to wonder if his son had drinking before?
"I'm glad that you like it, and I'm surprised you handled it so well for your first time drinking."
Shikamaru could only chuckle nervously at his father's reaction and then thought to himself, 'I wonder if Naruto and Hinata are having an easier time with their relationship?'
In the Land of Vegetables…
Naruto and Hinata were quietly sitting together with the Daimyo of Vegetable Country, Haruna. The three were currently having tea and enjoying each other's company as they were discussing over old times and the missions both Naruto and Hinata had together and with their own teams.
"It has been a long time since we have seen each other Naruto-kun and Hinata-chan."
"It sure has Haruna-chan. By the look of things you're running the country great and I'm happy to see you've been doing well." The blonde shinobi replied to the female daimyo with a smile.
"I'm happy for you as well Haruna-san." Hinata said to Haruna.
"Thank you, both of you. It is too bad Chouji-san isn't with us right now as I would like to know how things have been with him."
"Chouji went on a mission with my cousin Neji so it couldn't be helped, but he is doing well." Hinata replied to the princess.
The female daimyo nodded taking a sip from her tea and decided to ask a question to Naruto.
"Naruto-kun I was wondering on how things are going between you and Sakura since when you last visited me when you were traveling with Jiraiya and training under him since you said you had strong feelings for her."
The blonde Uzumaki was silent for a minute as he thought over Haruna's question. Naruto had learned about Hinata's true feelings for him several weeks ago thanks to Shikamaru and still felt bad a little for not noticing it sooner since he was so focused on Sakura. Since then he and Hinata had been talking to each other and learning more about each other and several times had kissed, even in public. There were those who still hated Naruto for the Kyuubi and spoken ill of him and even Hinata, but it didn't stop the two from loving each other.
"Naruto-kun are you all right?"
Shaking his head at the sound of Haruna's voice he returned his attention to her and spoke to her.
"I'm fine Haruna-chan, but to be honest with you there really isn't a relationship with me and Sakura. In fact there never was since it was mostly one sided and she only cared about Sasuke."
This surprised Haruna as she thought that Naruto had feelings for the pink haired kunoichi. She had learned from Naruto while he had visited with Jiraiya that he had talked about his feelings for the apprentice of Tsunade and of the promise that he had made to bring back their teammate Sasuke Uchiha, though in all honesty the female daimyo felt that Sasuke was a lost cause and had betrayed the friendship to the young man that had changed her for the better. Haruna was wondering on why Naruto was having a change of heart and decided to ask him about it.
"Naruto-kun if you do not mind me asking why do you feel that way about Sakura? From what you told me before you cared a great deal about her. So what has changed your feelings about her?"
The blonde Uzumaki sighed before looking at his friend to respond.
"My feelings for her changed when I had a talk with Shikamaru when I was helping him out with a problem of his own. All I will say is it had something to do with his relationship with someone close to him and I told him I was always jealous of him with the relationship he had with his girlfriend and that I honestly wish I had that kind of relationship with Sakura. It was then he told me I should quit focusing so much of my attention on her because she will always be obsessed with Sasuke and always will be. Another thing he told me is if I just opened my eyes and take a look around, I would see a girl who I could have a relationship with and when I asked who he was talking about, he told me it was Hinata."
"What was your reaction to that?" Haruna was curious and very interested as from what she was hearing from Naruto, this Shikamaru sounded like a good friend and very trust worthy.
"When I learned it was Hinata I was surprised and I never realized it since I was so focused on Sakura. When I asked him how come no one ever told me, he said that ether I would have found out on my own or that Hinata would get over her shyness and work up the courage to ask me out herself."
"If anything, they should have told you anyway as it would have saved both you and Hinata the trouble."
Sighing the blonde Uzumaki nodded before replying.
"Honestly I wish they did tell me and I've felt bad for not noticing sooner. I've done so much for Sakura as both a teammate and a friend but she's always going to pine for Sasuke. So I would rather be the first choice for someone like Hinata rather than being a second choice."
Hinata decided to speak up to help her lover relax and calm him down as she knew he was still getting used to his new feelings towards her.
"Naruto-kun it is all right. I already told you before that I too share the blame as I was too shy to let you know and not speaking up or asking you if you felt the same way as I did toward you."
Naruto smiled nodding at her before Haruna decided to ask a question.
"If you do not mind me asking you two, how exactly did you and Sakura meet and what made you attracted to her Naruto-kun?"
"This may take a while so I hope you're ready for this."
Naruto began to tell Haruna on how he meet Sakura, on how she was being bullied by a couple of girls who always picked on her and had stolen from her, to when he got the locket back for her and how she thanked him afterwards for helping her.
"After what I heard I'm surprised that you would stop trying to gain her affection after so long. Did something else happen?"
"Something did happen Haruna-san and Naruto-kun told me this about five days after he told me on how he meet Sakura and helped her." Hinata spoke up to the female daimyo.
"What was it?"
Hinata looked to her boyfriend and saw that he was hesitant to retell this story as it was a sad memory for him. Setting her tea cup down she gently placed a hand on his shoulder causing him to look at her and she gave him a kind and encouraging smile for him to take his time. Taking a deep breath Naruto set his cup down before looking Haruna in the eyes.
"It all started about two months ago after Sasuke lost both his family and his clan to his brother."
Flashback to eight years ago…
It was a bright afternoon at the shinobi academy and the students were outside having lunch enjoying the weather. Many of the students were enjoying their lunches and some were chatting with their friends. Some sat alone enjoying the peace and quiet while eating their lunches.
Naruto was looking for Sakura as he had wanted to ask her out to Ichiraku's for some ramen after school. Like everyone else he had heard about the tragic event that had happen two months ago with Sasuke's clan and wondered if he was going to be okay? The Uchiha was now an orphan like him but the only difference was that he knew who his parents and clan were while the young blonde had no knowledge of his own family or if he even had a clan like everyone he knew in the village.
'I wonder if I should try to be friends with the guy. I honestly don't know him all that well other than he's from one of the clans who helped founded Konoha like the old man told me before when he talked about his sensei.'
He simply shrugged his shoulders as he continued his search for his friend and hoped that she was able to go out with him this time. Looking around he finally spotted the pink haired girl and quickly made his way over to her and shouted out his usual greeting.
"Hey Sakura-chan!"
The girl in question turned around wondering who was calling out to her and saw who it was before sighing and gave him an annoyed look.
"What is it this time Naruto?"
This surprised the young blonde as he wondered on why she was acting this way toward him? Over the last few weeks she had been getting distant from him and seemed to be more focused on the one topic that had everyone's attention which happens to be the last loyal Uchiha.
"Sakura-chan what is wrong?"
"Are you going to try and ask me out again? I already told you that I don't want to go out with you and that should have been the end of it."
"But Sakura-chan I don't understand. We always went out before a few times but now it's like you have been avoiding me. What gives?"
"Do I always have to go out with you Naruto? Honestly it's not like we're a couple so just leave me alone."
Before the young Uzumaki could reply he heard a sound of excited voices and turned to see what the commotion was about and saw who was coming out of the academy building. Sasuke was making his way over to another side of the field to eat his lunch while ignoring many of his classmates, the girls included. Among the group of girls was Ino who was shoving through to get to the Uchiha.
Naruto could only frown as he looked at Sasuke and honestly wondered if he was worth becoming friends with him. Seeing how he was glaring at some of the other girls and ignoring some of the people who were trying to befriend him, he was wondering why he didn't accept their friendship. If it was him he would be more than happy to receive help after losing a family and finding the right girl would be a bonus since he wanted to have a family of his own one day.
"Ino-pig is NOT going to be sitting next to Sasuke-kun this time. I'm going to be the one that gets his heart!"
Naruto looked at Sakura in shock as he had never heard her speak that way about her before. While he and Ino didn't associate with each other much, he knew that she and Sakura were the best of friends since Ino had helped her out before but now Sakura was calling her names? Just what was going on?
"What's with you Sakura-chan?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I don't understand on why you are calling Ino names. You guys are friends and she's helped you out but now you are acting like she is your worst enemy."
The pink haired academy student gave him an annoyed look.
"It's not any of your business Naruto so just stay out of it."
Sakura turned to leave when she felt her arm being grabbed and turned to see Naruto but was shocked when he was giving her a look of utter disappointment and a little bit of anger.
"Sakura you better not end your friendship with Ino over something stupid like trying to get Sasuke to like you because if you do you will end up regretting losing your friend who might be your teammate one day. Sasuke isn't even trying to be nice to anyone because all he is doing is just giving everyone an attitude and is only ignoring everyone around him."
"Will you let go of me Naruto! Besides what do you know Sasuke and I might get on the same team as well and right now he's dealing with a lot of pain that you wouldn't know anything about."
The young Uzumaki became upset at what he had just heard from Sakura and out of anger he shouted at her.
"I know plenty of what's it like to be alone you spoiled brat! I haven't had a family ever and yet you don't see me acting like a jerk or pushing people away like Sasuke has been doing. Honestly Sakura ever since he lost his family you've just been following the crowed like a blind man and even ended your friendship with Ino over something that is pointless and stupid."
WHAM!
Naruto fell backwards landing on his rear. Slowly bringing his right hand up to his face he winced in pain after touching his right cheek which was red and starting to swell up. He couldn't believe at what just happened. Sakura had punched him! Before he could say anything what the pink haired girl did next would hurt worst more than the physical contact.
"WHOULD YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY NARUTO! KAMI YOU ARE JUST A STUPID SELFISH SPOILED BRAT THAT DOES ANYTHING GOT ATTENTION AND I AM GETTIGN SICK OF IT, ALONG WITH EVERYONE IN THE VILLAGE! THERE IS NO WAY I OR ANY OTHER GIRL WOULD WANT TO GO OUT WITH SOMEONE AS ANNOYING AND UGLY AS YOU SINCE YOU ARE JUST A STUPID BRAT WHO IS LOUD AND A TALENTLESS LOSER! I HATE TO WONDER IF YOUR PARENTS WERE EVEN WORSE THAN YOU!"
Sakura than turned around and stomped off to get away from him. Had anyone been around they would have seen Naruto with a look that would make even the most stoic member of the Hyuga and Aburame Clan shed a tear if they saw him right now. Naruto was crying and his eyes were full of hurt and betrayal as he never would have thought Sakura, the first person who had ever been kind to him, other than Iruka and the Third Hokage, would say or do what she had done to him just. Slowly standing up Naruto decided to ditch school for the day as he couldn't deal with what had happen to him and made his way to the fence to climb over to leave.
End of flashback…
Naruto took a deep shaky breath after he had finished his tale. Bringing up painful memory's wasn't easy for him since he had a poor childhood but had always kept in mind that no matter how bad he had it he knew there was someone who had it worst. His late friend Haku and Gaara were prime examples of those who had gone through much hardship in their life.
Haruna could not help but be upset after what she had just heard about what happen between Naruto and Sakura. In her honest opinion Tsunade's student was undeserving of such loyalty and love from the very man that helped changed her for the better. Hinata was just as upset since she wondered why Sakura never saw the man before her as one of the best things to ever happen in their lives and a part her wanted to slap Sakura more than once for all the times she hit Naruto when he didn't deserve it.
The female daimyo of Vegetable Country had similar thoughts like Hinata as one thing came to mind.
'If I ever see that little brat I will slap her so hard her head will spin. Just what was the Hokage thinking taking a spoiled brat like that as an apprentice?'
Back in Konoha…
Tsunade was going over some paperwork when she felt a small chill go down her spin and couldn't help but wonder what it was.
'Why do I have this feeling Sakura just pissed off someone close to Naruto? I really hope she didn't do anything stupid.'
Back to Naruto and Hinata in Vegetable Country…
"I'm sorry you went through such a poor experience Naruto-kun. I can't honestly believe Sakura would do something like that especially since you helped her out before."
"It's okay Haruna. We were both just kids and I will admit I was desperate for attention but I really did care about Sakura and didn't want her to lose friends because she had feelings for Sasuke."
"It's not all right!"
Naruto was shocked to hear Hinata yell like that and saw the look of anger in her eyes.
"Naruto-kun I know you care for everyone but Sakura still had no right to say those things to you or even hit you since she couldn't tell real love from a silly crush she had for Sasuke. The fact she never apologized to you the next day and so on proves she is just shallow and selfish."
"She is right Naruto. You should have stopped chasing after her ever sense she said those things to you and all because of someone who held no love for her whatsoever."
Looking back and forth between Hinata and Haruna Naruto honestly wanted to say something in his teammates defense but stopped himself as he thought over of when Sakura was ever nice to him? Sure there were a few times she was kind to him and even helped out but it was mostly outweighed by all the negative events when she did hit him for reasons that were uncalled for, or even saying mean things to him, and outright saying stupid things she thought were funny like with Shion foreseeing Naruto's death from before but he defied what the priestess thought to be his end.
A part of him began to ever wonder if the student of Tsunade ever truly cared for him at all and would she even thank him if he ever did bring back their lost teammate? The answer to that question was looking more and more a big fat no and he honestly hated it but realized that all Sakura would ever be to him was a friend and a teammate and nothing more. He could only hope Sakura didn't do anything to ruin their friendship like she did with Ino.
With a resounding sigh he could only the student of Jiraiya looked to both women before answering.
"You're right Hinata-chan, and Haruna-chan. I can't make excuses for Sakura as she did do some stupid things too, but I at least want to stay friends with her since I believe she needs that more than a lover right now. Maybe I was trying too hard to have her love me and it only made things worse."
"It's all right Naruto-kun, Haruna and I already know that you don't want to hurt anyone and that you value friendship with everyone back home."
The blonde shinobi could only smile at his girlfriend and honestly wish he knew about Hinata's feelings sooner. He began wondering about his friend Shikamaru and honestly hoped that he was all right and that someone was helping him out right now.
Back in Konoha, at the Yakiniku Q…
The Chunin in question had been drinking for the last two hours with his father, though if one were to look they would see the young Nara was a little past his limit. His father on the other hand was only slightly buzzed from the amount of Saki they had but had made sure to order a few appetizers to eat so his son wouldn't pass out anytime soon.
Since that time both he and his son had been talking about the usually things that went on with their lives from friends to even some missions they went through. They soon began to talk about random things going on that were either silly or just something that was of little interest. But within the hour Shikamaru began talking to his father about Naruto and Hinata.
"So Naruto FINALLY knows how Hinata feels about him? HAHAHA! It's about time he learned about that girls feelings! Though I wonder how this will affect Tsunade's apprentice."
"Yeah I know, hic, if anything I'm happy I managed to help him, hic, to finally, hic, open his eyes, hic, and see there are a LOT better looking babes, hic, than Sakura!"
This caught the elder Nara's attention as he wondered what his son meant about that. Noticing his father's interest in what said he waved a hand off and explained.
"Ah it's nothing big old man. At first I thought it was funny the way Naruto went after that banshee but now I realize that him going after her would be too troublesome and that he should be with someone a lot nicer and not a total Uchiha-fan girl."
Taking a huge drink from his glass Shikaku decided to ask his drunken son about it.
"Did something happen to make you help out the blonde gaki?"
"Ah it was nothing, just something between me and Temari." It was then Shikamaru's eyes widen in shock as he had unintentionally brought up the one thing he didn't wish to discuss with his parent and hoped his father didn't ask. Unfortunately his father was not going to drop the matter.
"So what exactly happen to you and Temari? Whatever it is I'm sure it was nothing big son."
The student of Asuma poured himself another drink before gulping it down and gave a nervous laugh to his parent.
"Eh…Ah hahaha…What gave you that idea?"
"Well for one thing I noticed your eyes pop open like when your mom caught you going through the cookie jar when you were younger and you only did that when you were hiding something or got into trouble."
"N-Nothing is going on Dad, honestly."
The elder Nara was not buying it as he was getting close to making his son slip to telling the truth. He just needed to say the right words to make his son slip in order to find out what had been bothering him the last couple weeks and this was as good as any. So with that in mind he decided to speak out of random.
"All right if you say so, though I honestly didn't think you would have it in you to go after two women at once, ESPECIALLY with the hotty you snagged."
"Wait, what? How did you find out about what happen with me and Kurenai?"
"I didn't you just told me now."
Shikamaru's jaw dropped with his eyes widening in absolute disbelief that he had been tricked by his old man and cursed the alcohol for lowering his guard, no matter how silly it sound. Seeing his son's look of disbelief Shikaku nodded to himself before his face took on a light stern expression.
"Well son, now that I finally got you to open up a little are you going to talk to me or are you going to try and deny it any further because right now I may even get your mother if you continue to be stubborn, and I honestly don't want that because it's such a drag."
Shikamaru did NOT want to even talk about what had happen. He began to formulate a plain in order to change the subject and even bring up that it was just a secret fantasy of his with some of the older women of Konoha like any other guy would dream of but with the way he was now, he was way too drunk to even come up with something simple and would just spout out nonsense. Sighing in defeat the young Chunin only had one thing to say.
"So Dad, were exactly do you want me to start?"
Before his father could reply he saw his two friends approaching them, with Choza rubbing his belly indicating he had a great meal while Inoichi was a little buzzed and was the first to respond.
"Hey Shikaku, me and Choza are goanna head back home, so we'll have our group drink next time. In fact bring your son and Shibi along so that way we can have a poker night or something."
"Yeah okay, we will do this again next week or maybe in two weeks since I've got to make sure Yoshino-chan doesn't get on my case and say I'm slacking."
After sharing a good laugh with each other both Choza and Inoichi left the restaurant leaving the two Nara's by themselves to finish their discussion with one another.
"Okay Shikamaru, now that their gone how about you start with your troubles and why they involve not only Temari, but Kurenai as well."
Shikamaru honestly didn't want to bring this up again as he felt that the only ones who should know about it were himself, Naruto, Hinata, Kurenai and Temari, though he honestly wondered if Gaara would find out about it somehow. Taking another drink of the saki before him he looked his old man in the eye.
"This is going to take a long while old man so be ready and I'm glad Mom isn't here because she would so whip my ass for this."
Without any delay Shikamaru began to tell his father on how it all started with him visiting Kurenai which was the day before he went out to avenge his sensei with his friends. He explained to his father on how the Genjutsu Mistress was currently drinking and invited him in to talk to and to let him give his condolences to her. Shikaku was even told about him drinking with her that very night.
"So it wasn't your first time drinking with me? I'm honestly a little disappointed you didn't have your first drink with me and the guys."
"I honestly will never get used to doing it if I go out drinking with you and the others."
"Well I did tell you to try and comfort her in anyway and I can imagine that you two did a lot of drinking that night."
"Yeah well I honestly wish I didn't drink so much that night as it lead to one of the biggest regrets I've had in my life."
"What exactly do you mean son?"
Sighing for a minute he looked his father in the eyes with a serious expression.
"What happen next was that I unintentionally made Kurenai cry, because I said something nice like Asuma-sensei said to her once before."
"What did you say to her son?"
"I called her a rare beautiful flower that deserves to be loved and nurtured."
Shikaku stared at his son for a moment to take in what he just heard from him. Then after a minute or two he couldn't help but start laughing.
"AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OH MAN ARE YOU SERIOUS SON! HAHAHAHA!"
Shikamaru was shocked to see his father laughing at him but it soon turned to anger as he angrily slammed his fist onto the table catching his father off guard.
"WHAT THE HELL IS SO FUNNY OLD MAN? DO YOU FIND SOMETHING LIKE THAT STUPID?"
"Whoa, whoa, son I didn't mean anything like that calm down!" His father held his hands up defensively before replying calmly back to him. "I wasn't laughing at you because of what you called Kurenai, I was laughing because it reminded me when I was drunk and I said stuff like that to your mother when I'm drunk."
Shikamaru calmed down after hearing this before sighing.
"Sorry about that Dad, I honestly thought you were making fun of me. Plus I'm surprised to hear you say something like that."
"It's all right and sorry for laughing at you but what did you do when she started crying?"
"I panicked and hugged her to calm her down but she was crying still so I did something out of the blue when I remembered about you saying to comfort her."
"What did you do son?"
There was a long moment of silence as Shikamaru didn't even want to know his father's reaction to what he was going to say next but steady himself for it. With a resounding sigh he let it out.
"I…I kissed her."
Shikaku's eyes went wide when he heard this and his mouth hung open. It took him a while to understand what he just heard before he responded.
"I'm sorry son but could you repeat that. I don't think I heard you right."
"You heard exactly like I said, I kissed Kurenai-sensei."
"W-Well at least that was it right, nothing else?"
Shikamaru's cheeks took on a red hue that he could only hold his head down embarrassed on what he was going to say next but his father beat him to it as his eyes went wide with absolute disbelief.
"W-Wait, a-are you saying you and K-Kurenai, did THAT with each other?"
This time Shikamaru's face turned completely red as he could only answer in the barest of whispers.
"Yes."
If Shikamaru were to see the look on his father's face right now he would have sworn that he had died from shock. Shikaku's mind was going into overdrive as he was trying to process what he just heard but it was all becoming clear as day and finally found his voice.
"D-Damn son, I don't know whether to jump for joy that you got your cherry popped by one of the most beautiful kunoichi's in Konoha or to strangle you for going overboard with what you did but that would be a stupid thing for me to say."
"I know since we were both drunk and we ended up sleeping together that night. By the time it was morning I found myself in bed with her and I thought I was going to die since she woke up next to me."
"I'm surprised that your still standing considering Kurenai is considered the Ice Queen of Konoha and can be scary as Anko sometimes."
"Well when she woke up she asked me if I had anything to say to her, so I apologized to her and said I didn't mean to take advantage of her and I only kissed her out of comfort but what came next surprised me."
"What did she do?"
"I was waiting for her to beat me senseless for what happened but instead she kissed me."
Shikaku's eyes bugged out as he couldn't believe it but the look in his son's eyes told him otherwise showing how serious his offspring was.
"She even told me thank you as anyone else would have shrugged it off or even not regrets it, but she was glad that I was being honest and wanting to take responsibility for it."
Shikamaru took a moment to catch his breath before taking the bottle and poured himself another drink only this time it was a small amount before downing it down. Shikaku was absolutely flabbergasted by what he heard and finally found his voice.
"Son, does anyone else know about this or is it just you and Kurenai?"
"No Dad, the only ones who know about this besides me and Kurenai are Naruto, Hinata, and Temari which is why what I'm about to explain next is the reason for my behavior."
"When did you tell Naruto about this?"
"It was about a couple days after we avenged Asuma-sensei that he found out I wasn't myself and knew something was wrong. At first I honestly didn't want to talk about it but I decided to anyway with him and once he learned what was going on he explained to me that if I didn't say anything it would only do more harm than good and that it would cause bad relations between Suna and Konoha. There was also the fact Temari is the older sister of the Kazakage."
Shikaku nodded in understanding since if it were learned of what happen Temari would want to go after Kurenai and while he had no doubt in his mind she could handle herself against Gaara's sister it would be seen as an act of war between the two and could cause the alliance between Suna and Konoha to end permanently.
"So I decided to trust Naruto's judgment and come clean with Temari on what happen. Plus I figure I help him out by letting him know about Hinata. Reason I did so was because he honestly deserves to be the first choice of someone that actually cares for him instead of being a second choice."
"Did he say something to make you help him out?"
"Yeah he said that he was jealous of my relationship with Temari and that he wished he had the same thing with Sakura. I let him know that Sakura would always pine for that asshole Sasuke no matter what, so I let him know about Hinata because he deserves some happiness after putting up with someone like Sakura."
"You don't like her or Sasuke do you son?"
The young Nara was silent for a minute before sighing.
"I honestly don't like Sasuke and never have. Back then I always found his attitude to be such a drag and Ino wasted too much of her time going after someone that had no interest in her which was just stupid. As for Sakura I didn't mind her much but ever since she became Tsunade's apprentice she has started being a real bitch with some anger issues and even started acting like Sasuke a few times just because she was the apprentice to Tsunade."
"That happens to people sometimes. Anyway we are getting off topic so what happen next?"
Both father and son decided to take another drink from their glasses feeling even more buzzed from before but both of them still managed to carry on with the conversation. After finishing his drink Shikamaru continued on where he left off.
"So Naruto and I decided to look for both Temari and Hinata to talk with them, separately just so you know and I decided I would come clean with her about what happen, but I wanted to break up with her because of what I did."
"You broke up with Temari?" Shikaku was shocked to hear this and finally understood on why Temari didn't visit his home as much. Whatever was said between the two must have been very deep and urged his son to continue.
Shikamaru nodded and further explained the outcome of him telling the Suna kunoichi the truth and the breakup that had transpired between the two of them. On how Temari slapped him and the harsh words exchanged by her and Shikamaru wanting to avoid a possible war because of him and letting her know she deserved better than him because of his intoxication.
"After we broke up, we haven't spoken to each other and I've been avoiding not only her but Kurenai as well. Naruto was worried about me and felt bad about the advice he gave me but I assured him it wasn't his fault for what happen since it wasn't what either of us expected. I also told him I hope he and Hinata have better luck with their relationship and didn't end up like me and Temari."
Shikaku could see the depression and hurt in his son's eyes as this wasn't easy for him to talk about. The elder Nara knew right now that his offspring needed some serious advice for something like this and it was then that a thought came to mind.
'I might as well ask him a question about something that's been bothering me before letting him know about my own secret.'
"Shikamaru, did Kurenai say anything else to you after you apologized to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"I get the feeling you were hiding something else in the end after you woke up with Kurenai and something tells me that she must have said something else so spill it as there is no point in hiding it anymore."
The young Chunin wanted to deny whatever his father was asking but could only sigh and shake his head deciding to get it out as it was pointless anymore.
"Kurenai did tell me something else and I honestly believe she was joking when she was saying this. She told me if Temari found out to let her know she wouldn't mind sharing me with her. Ha! As if something like that would ever happen."
"You don't know for sure son because it happened to me once."
There was an awkward silence as nothing was said by ether one of them but it ended when Shikamaru's eyes bugged out and he sputtered.
"W-W-W-What did you say?"
Shikaku couldn't help but chuckle at his son's reaction to what he said to him.
"You heard me the first time son. When I was around my teens, I was dating your mother around that time and we were friends with one of her fellow kunoichi she went on missions with."
"Who was this woman that mom was friends with?"
"Your mother's friend was Kiba's mother, Tsume Inuzuka."
Shikamaru became surprised to hear this as he had no idea that his mother was friends with Kiba's mother.
'Then again, both of them are scary as hell so it's no surprise.'
"Not to interrupt or anything but what does Kiba's mom have to do with this?"
"I will be getting to that soon so be patient son. So anyway there were times that we hung out with one another and worked with her on several missions that we formed a closed bound with each other just like with Inoichi and Choza with all three of us agreeing to watch out for each other's family and the same thing happened with the other clans."
Pausing to catch his breath for a minute, the Nara clan head took a sip from his glass before continuing.
"Anyway there was this one night that me, your mother and Tsume went out to celebrate my promotion to Tokubetsu Jonin, thought it was such a drag in my view. Of course your mother would not take no for an answer and both she and Tsume dragged me out to our favorite bar drinking like we just won a war against one of the five great nations."
He chuckled at the memory and could only imaging his son's reaction on what he was going to say next.
"We were drinking for what seemed like hours on end and had to walk home over to my place since we didn't want Tsume to end up walking alone and getting taking advantage of by some creep. There wasn't anyone home but the three of us and we figured we could sneak one of your grandfather's liquor for a small drink."
Shikamaru could only shake his head while hearing this. To think both his parent's and Kiba's mother were like that when they were younger was amusing and surprising but he was curious on what happened next. His father didn't disappoint him.
"What we didn't know was that the bottle I grabbed was a special juice that had some serious herbs that made people trip out to relax from stress or to have a good time. To put it bluntly you got high."
"Whoa, that isn't something I expected to happen to you or Mom, let alone Tsume-san."
"True but what happen next was something none of us ever expected. Care to guess what it was?"
Shikamaru thought over it for only about a minute or two before his eyes widen in disbelief. While he was drunk at the moment he could still think and deduce on what his father was asking him before he stuttered out his response.
"Y-Y-Y-You mean to tell me t-that you had sex with BOTH Mom and Tsume?"
Shikaku's face blushed red before clearing his throat.
"Yes son, that had happen and boy were those two a demon in the sack."
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT!"
"SHHHHHHHHHH! Keep your voice down baka!"
The young Nara noticed that some of the other customers were looking at him wondering what was going before sighing and returning his voice to his normal volume.
"Sorry about that Dad, but please don't ever say something like that again."
Shikaku nodded to his offspring before continuing were he left off.
"I honestly can't remember how long we were at it but I woke up the next morning to find both of them in bed with me and I honestly thought that they were goanna kill me for it, Tsume more so since her father had an arranged marriage set up for her."
"Are you serious?"
"Dead serious and when they both woke up they were shocked and a little upset to find themselves in the same bed with me. I managed to calm them both down and to find out what happen when I looked over the bottle we had drank realizing what it was before explaining to them about the affects it had. Though I felt guilty about what happen and I told the both of them that I was willing to take responsibility for what happened and even give up my life so that neither of them was dishonored for what had transpired."
Shikamaru became shocked hearing this as he never heard his father talk like this before and wondered on what the outcome was.
"Tsume however didn't want me to die for what happen since we were reckless and all three of us were intoxicated. She said that she would speak with her father and take any punishment necessary since the Inuzuka valued loyalty and friendship, including life mates."
Pausing to catch his breath the elder Nara continued.
"Your mother was worried for her friend as she didn't want her to be disowned by her family. Yoshino-chan said that she would take responsibility and try to talk it over with Tsume's father, but then I decided that to say that I should go and suggested to marry both her and your mother as a way to strengthen both clans."
"So how did you three settle this?"
Shikaku could only sigh before taking a drink to calm his nerves since this was something he would rather forget but he know it would be impossible and it would help his son out of the mess he was in.
"We decided that we should keep this to ourselves even though we didn't like the idea of lying to our family's but we swore to one another that any children we had went through the same thing we did we would make sure to tell them about it and help out anyway we can."
"That was it?"
"Yes son it was and now here is what I think you should do."
"I'm listening."
"I believe that you should find Kurenai and ask her if she was serious about wanting to have a relationship with both you AND Temari."
Shikamaru was shocked to hear this from his father's suggestion as he honestly did NOT want to confront her with such a question since he didn't deserve either woman. His father notices his hesitation though and looked at him sternly.
"Shikamaru you need to talk this over with her and Temari otherwise you will be miserable for the rest of your life and so will they. If you don't do this then it will be one of your biggest regrets ever. Trust me on this one."
The young Chunin could see the look in his father's eyes and knew he was right. If he didn't talk with ether one of them than the next time they saw each other it would not be on the best terms and both women might end up with someone else that wasn't meant for them. Sighing he nodded his head before replying to his father.
"All right Dad, first thing tomorrow I'll talk with Kurenai and ask her if she was serious on what she said."
Shikaku couldn't help but smile at his offspring.
"I'm happy to hear this from you son."
"One question though."
"What's that?"
Shikamaru was embarrassed to ask this but he felt it necessary.
"Do you and Mom…you know…see Tsume once in a while since Kiba's Dad no longer lives with them?"
Yoshino's husband could only blush before responding.
"Well…ahem…yeah we once in a while do that and…you know do what I think you, Kurenai and Temari might do if you work things out."
SLAM!
Shikamaru's head slammed hearing this before shaking it to clear it from the shock and small pain before responding.
"Great I need another drink."
To Be Continued…
Authors Note
Before anything else is said I want to give a shout out and say thank you to my good friend and fellow author KingKakashi for helping me out with this chapter as I couldn't have done it without him. He pointed out some mistakes I made and gave me some suggestions for this story such as the idea of writing the scene were both Shikamaru and his father getting drunk.
And now for those who are wondering, yes this story is NOT dead, I've just been bothered by real life a LOT and it can be a bitch. LOL! Also I've been reading the manga series Toriko and I wish I read this years ago as it's pretty awesome. I've read like a 216 chapters already and I got a lot more to go, plus I've been meaning to catch up on -man as I haven't read the manga in a while but I saw a couple episodes.
I want to take a moment to talk about what's been going on in the Naruto manga and quite frankly I want to punch Kishimoto in the face with what he's been doing. One of my biggest complaints is Chapters 670 and 671. For Chapter 670 it is what the Rikkudo Sannin said to Naruto not being able to be like his parents even though he was born under them, which I find to be a load of crap. Then Kishimoto has Naruto look more like an idiot when the Sage of Six Paths is trying to talk to him, and then we find out said sage has a twin brother who helped fight the Jubi but it was never explained what happen to him. Not only that this is yet another rip off of Dragon Ball Z which makes me wonder if the Rikkudo Sannin is an alien or a half human-half demon since said sage's mother looked like a demon.
Another thing is about Ashura, one of the sage's son's, Naruto is supposed to be a reincarnation of the guy and I learn that all of a sudden that the guy was talentless except for his brother Indra, who happens to have eyes like a certain emo-avenger, and just happens to be talented. But that's not it; Indra's reincarnation is none other than Sasuke which is stupid.
The reason I say this is because the next chapter Naruto says he wants to protect everyone, and all of a sudden Sasuke is the same way? That is just bull crap in my view. I hate Chapter 670 more because of what the sage said to Naruto, about his parents being excellent in everything in the shinobi art but Naruto can't inherit their potential which is why I find this to be a slap in the face to me and others who like Naruto.
Though I found what happened in Chapter 682 to be funny I didn't like the fact that Kishimoto made Naruto to be like Jiraiya which is just stupid and uncreative. So basically Naruto being like Jiraiya, all someone has to do is show Naruto a pair of tits and then gets his throat slit. I'm not saying that would happen but it's just a figure of speech. I also hated Chapter 678 of the manga were Sasuke is being an asshole and Naruto calls him out on it but then Kishimoto once again has the emo-douchebag steeling the spotlight with Kakashi agreeing with him about his stupid eye protecting him and the others from the Infinite Tsukuyomi. I saw everyone's dream in that chapter and I hated Ino's and Tsunade's. Really Kishimoto do you enjoy making women looking shallow and self-centered? I'm starting to wonder if this guy is a sexist.
Yes I am STILL pissed off that Kishimoto has done nothing about Anko, making me wonder if she's still alive and if he has killed her off like he did with Neji, Jiraiya, Asuma, and everyone else that has died that was cool in the series I will so kick his ass and curse him to his grave.
Before I forget I have a new poll up along with a new rant. I'll wait till it has a few more votes before taking it down and putting up a new one with a question I would like to ask everyone. Normally I would bring up the topic for my opinions on Naruto pairings like the last chapter but I figure not this time and maybe the next chapter I will.
Also thank you to those who read, review and added me to their favorites. On the next chapter will be the meeting between Shikamaru and Kurenai. See you then everyone.