- X -

Shikamaru opened his cabin's door, stepped outside, slit his hands into his pockets and sighed. He had to admit to himself, he was enjoying this camp way more than he thought he would, despite the fact that it hasn't even started yet.

Officially, the camp starts tomorrow, but he has been around for almost a week now, running some errands here and there, checking if everything is prepared for, and the best part is that he didn't have to wake up early and even after doing his job he had the most of the day to himself. Which was nice, because he was getting tired of the routine back in Konoha and tired of people telling him what to do. Here he was the one doing that. He didn't like it, but it was better than the other way around.

All of the organizing committee was already here. He liked the sound of it, organizing committee. It made it sound much more serious than it actually was, a training camp for mostly a bunch of shinobi teens, taught by a bunch of other young shinobis. The post-war period was calm and even boring, in a way. People who got used to being busy constantly now had nothing to do and felt a little forgotten, or fell into sadness over their fallen friends or relatives. A camp had to be a fun event, so besides serious training there will be many not so serious activities, lots of free time, challenge board where one could challenge the other for a fight of his preference. Even some social evenings, a.k.a. parties, were on the plan.

He made his way down to the camp's square. It was full of people today, young and old, many were invited from all the nations and, it seems, they had nothing better to do than to come. Few young girls accidentally bumped into him, and ran away without saying a word. Shikamaru sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted of this mass, and tried to make his way towards the workshops that surrounded the square. He nodded to Sakura, who was setting up her med-point with medicine and bandages; noticed an empty table with the sign "puppeting" above it. Would be surprising to see Kankurou arriving on time. Sai was also here, demonstrating the children how his just-painted tiger comes to life; Shino, sitting amongst some books and glass containers with many kinds of bugs. He did not receive too many visitors, though. Shikamaru hid a smile.

Most of the workshops were either open or the people responsible for those were preparing already, and everything went according to plan. He slipped his head into the meeting room to find it was empty; only a couple of tea cups stood forgotten on the table.

As he stepped outside, someone bumped into him again and Shikamaru furrowed his eyebrows, irritated. He quickly darted between two small huts and into the forest, that was seemingly empty and forgotten. He leisurely shuffled the fallen leaves as he walked towards the training grounds, intending to check if everything is in place for the last time before the marathon of training begins tomorrow.

Head lifted high up towards the sky, eyes staring to the blueness that peaked through the colorful leaves, he heard some whispers and giggles not too far away. He glanced to the direction where the sounds were coming. There was a tall guy with grayish hair behind a tree, and he wasn't alone.

Kakashi..?

Can't be. He said he was coming only next week. Besides, this guy was bigger than Kakashi, broad-shouldered and a little bulky. He was dressed in dark gray colours and wore a peculiar looking utility belt around his hips, equipped with even stranger tools. Between him and a tree was a tall black-haired girl with a forehead-protector, a widest smile on her face that was soon hidden as he leaned in to kiss her. Shikamaru lifted an eyebrow at the actions performed by their hands the next second, and turned away, not intending to see any more of this.

He wasn't surprised at the sight; put many young people in one place and it will happen, but those two sure were fast, considering the camp hasn't even officially started.

Soon enough, looking straight between the trees, he saw one of the training grounds. It seemed empty at first, but as he emerged out of the forest he saw his friends by the tribunes. Something stopped him, and he leaned against the tree, watching them from afar in silence, only their cheerful voices echoing towards him, dulled by the distance.

She was laughing. Face upwards, hands on her hips, she was laughing full heartedly, seemingly, of the skies above her, of the world that sometimes wanted but never could bring her down, of the sand grains in her shoes and the sun, who merely tried to shine brighter than she did.

She was true. Her sense of humor. A taste for adventure. A healthy glow. Hips to grab on. Confidence. Appetite for life. Intuition. Smart-ass comebacks. Presence. A quick wit. A woman who realizes how beautiful she is. How powerfully sexy.

"We all lie to ourselves to be happy." He heard Asuma's voice inside his head, a line he once told to his team after a mission. We all lie to ourselves to be happy. Why did this thought find its way into his mind he did not know. Maybe it was the autumn, the beautifully colorful autumn in the land of Fire, the same like many years ago when they went on some simple mission and failed, then tried to persuade themselves everything's going to be okay.

She turned around slowly, gracefully, moving so flawlessly as if she did not have a ton-weighting tessen on her back. She looked straight into his eyes, as if she knew he was there, watching her. Her eyes still gleamed with unfallen tears of joy, he convinced himself as he could not have seen that from so far away.

Lee and some other shinobi turned to go, and she stepped ahead as well. Her eyes darted down to the orange maple leaf she had in her hand, then back to Shikamaru, and the next step she took led towards him. He watched closely as her hips elegantly swayed to the sides as she walked slowly, but without hesitation, carelessly, but confidently. And as he watched, he could not remember why she was supposed to be scary, why have he ever thought of her as troublesome. Deep down he knew the answers, but as she stepped closer and closer, he simply forgot.

The same maple leaf blocked his view as she lifted her hand and spun its stalk between her fingers.

Her voice filled the distance between them, blending naturally into the surroundings and the sounds created by the branches above them. It was not girly, not too gentle, it was a little harsh, but the huskiness softened it, and he couldn't imagine anything else fitting to come from between her lips.

"What tree did this come from?"

Just wrote this during a night-shift at my work. Hah, I get paid to write! Maybe I'll even write the next chapter if nothing comes up.

Enjoy, my lovers, and goodnight.

Cafe