A/N: Sorry it took so long. Thanks once again to Big Paja for beta reading.
A Month
Shikamaru cleared his throat as he and Shino rounded the corner.
Asuma and Kurenai quickly put some distance between them as their students approached the infirmary. Asuma began to rub the back of his head and make unintelligible remarks under his breath. Kurenai flushed a little and found a spot on the wall that was more interesting than the Genin that stood before her.
Shino just stood there silently so Shikamaru determined that it was up to him to break the awkward silence.
"Uh," Shikamaru said. "How's Chouji?"
Asuma seized the opportunity that Shikamaru provided.
"Yes, well," he struggled for a moment before continuing. "Chouji's going to be fine. The medic said that he was just disoriented and dizzy."
Shikamaru just looked at him blankly so he continued.
"And…well…" Asuma said. "He also said that Chouji was a little…hungry."
"It sounds like he'll be alright," Shikamaru said.
Asuma was just happy that he was only pursuing that subject.
"Ino is visiting Chouji now," Asuma said. "By the way, what did they say about the third exam?"
Shikamaru knew that Asuma was trying to keep the conversation moving.
"They're not for another month," Shikamaru told him. "And I have an extra match."
"You don't sound too happy about it," Asuma told Shikamaru.
"Well," Shikamaru started to complain. "If you ask me, this whole thing is entirely too troublesome. Why would anyone want to subject themselves to such torture?"
"I believe it's to determine one's merit as to whether or not they have the qualities desired in a Chuunin." Shino joined the conversation. "Am I not correct?"
"You're absolutely right!" Kurenai jumped in nervously. "We should check on Kiba and Hinata." She directed him into the infirmary.
"Come on, let's go check on Chouji." Asuma said.
Team ten had made their way back into town and when the streets were familiar enough, Asuma dismissed them.
"I have…something to take care of," Asuma told them. "You guys did really well and I'm proud of you. For now, you can go home and relax. I'll get in touch if I need you."
"Yoshi," Ino said lacking her usual enthusiasm. "The first thing I'm going to do is take a nice, warm bath and a long nap."
"So hungry," Chouji muttered.
Shikamaru didn't say anything in fear that any plans he voiced would be shot down. Ino walked away in the direction of her home while Shikamaru turned to Chouji.
"Come on, buddy," he told him. "I'll walk you home."
Chouji nodded in agreement, grimacing from the pain in his stomach.
"Oh," Asuma called from behind them. "Shikamaru…"
Chouji turned to look but Shikamaru just paused where he stood. He knew what Asuma was going to say so turning around was pointless.
"Come by the house tomorrow," Asuma told him. "We'll go over your training."
"Hai, hai," Shikamaru mumbled letting Asuma know he had heard.
With that, Asuma left to go take care of … something. Chouji and Shikamaru started off towards Chouji's house. They walked in silence except for the hunger pangs that Chouji's stomach continued to voice. After a minute or so Chouji spoke.
"Congratulations, man," Chouji fought through the pain. "Do you know who you're going to fight or is it a random selection again?"
Shikamaru sighed. This was not the conversation he wanted to be having with Chouji. At least not while Chouji was in the condition he was in.
"You really shouldn't talk," Shikamaru told him. "And they had us draw for a tournament style bracket so I know who I'm going to fight first."
"Really?" Chouji groaned. "Who?"
Shikamaru paused in his walk and Chouji stopped alongside him.
"That Dosu guy from Otogakure," Shikamaru told him.
He could see the emotion written on Chouji's face.
"You have to kick his ass, Shikamaru," Chouji said showing no sign of the pain from before. Only the anger was prevalent in his voice.
Shikamaru just stared at his friend revealing no emotion. He raised a questioning eyebrow to Chouji's little outburst. When Chouji refused to let his emotion go, Shikamaru sighed as he looked away.
"Chouji," Shikamaru drawled. "In all the years you've known me, have I ever been the type to kick someone's ass? That's more Naruto's thing." Shikamaru turned back to look at his friend.
Chouji's expression still held the anger but it quickly changed through a series of other expressions that Shikamaru didn't know a human was capable of. The anger changed to remembrance then to disappointment then to understanding then to acceptance then to discovery and hope as an idea crossed his mind. Chouji smiled.
"That's true," Chouji said. "You aren't that violent."
Shikamaru shoved his hands into his pockets and smiled back at his friend.
"Could you do me a favor though?" Chouji asked.
"Hm," Shikamaru responded.
"Could you at least make him look stupid?" Chouji requested.
Shikamaru's lips curled into a smirk when he realized that Chouji knew him better then he knew himself. Chouji smirked back at his best friend knowing that he had played the right card.
"I'll see what I can do," Shikamaru told him as he started walking again.
They arrived at Chouji's house to be greeted by Chouji's mother running out of the house, engulfing Chouji in a massive hug and showering him with kisses. Shikamaru was briefly grateful his mother wasn't as smothering as Chouji's.
"Oh, my baby," she wailed. "You've been gone for almost a week. Daijoubu ka? Did they take good care of you?"
"I'm fine," Chouji said rubbing the remnants of saliva off of his face. "Very hungry though."
"I knew it," his mother said. "Come inside and I'll make a whole meal just for you."
Chouji beamed as his mother began dragging him inside.
"Ja mata na," Chouji threw over his shoulder as he disappeared into the house.
Shikamaru gave a wave his friend probably never saw before turning to head to his own house. When he walked in the door, he immediately thought of one thing: sleep. However, Ino was particularly right about one thing. A bath was definitely needed. Five days in the forest without proper facilities, combining perspiration and dirt, only meant one thing. Right now, in the stagnant air of the foyer, Shikamaru could smell his own ass. His mother would throw a conniption if she found him in her house like this.
'I should probably burn these clothes' he thought as he made for the bathroom.
The next morning after breakfast, Asuma and Chouji came over to the house.
"Asuma-sensei said he would treat me to all-you-can-eat barbeque if I helped you train," Chouji said.
'He bribed him with food,' Shikamaru thought. 'And they say I'm the lazy one.'
Asuma looked away from either of them scratching his beard.
"We should hurry up and get to the training ground before anyone else takes it," Asuma suggested.
Shikamaru eyed him wearily but shrugged.
At the training ground, they ran through a few exercises that they had already done before the Chuunin exam. He honestly thought Asuma was just trying to wear him out and for what Asuma knew, he was succeeding. Dodging Chouji for hours was not what he would call training but training was a term loosely defined in Shikamaru's vocabulary.
After a long day of putting forth minimal effort, Asuma took the two of them to the barbeque restaurant.
"Yahoo! Barbeque!" Chouji yelled as the server set down a plate of raw kalibri ribs on the table.
Chouji took no time covering the empty grill with pieces of meat.
"You guys worked hard today," Asuma told them over the sizzle of meat cooking. "We need to keep up the good work. We're going to do the same thing tomorrow."
Chouji ignored the whole thing as his concentration was fixed on the grill and saliva was leaking from the corners of his mouth, collecting in a pool on one of his chins. Shikamaru, who had remained silent most of the afternoon, decided to speak.
"Asuma-sensei, yo," he said. "We're just doing our normal training. I don't see how this is going to help me in the exam."
Asuma sighed knowing Shikamaru was never going to be enthusiastic about training.
"Look, Shikamaru," Asuma told him. "Training regularly will increase your underdeveloped stamina. A shinobi especially one your age should exercise his body as well as his mind. You should already know that."
Shikamaru just blinked at him a few times before he turned to look out the window. He wanted to voice his opinion. He wanted to explain his way out of the situation but he knew Asuma was too stubborn to let it go. He mentally cursed his stubbornness as he turned to stare at the meat that Chouji was now eagerly flipping over pieces of meat.
Shikamaru sighed as he gave in.
"Whatever you say," he told Asuma. "I still think we should be working on ideas for beating that Dosu guy."
"Don't worry about that," Asuma told him. "I'm sure you'll come up with something."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he snagged a rib from the grill. He had hoped Asuma would at least have some advice for him.
A soul, the thing that connects a person's physical existence to the spiritual realm, is the complex of human attributes that manifests as consciousness, feelings, emotions and will. It is sometimes referred to as one's moral compass which directs them through decisions in life. The soul is able to pick up on things that are not of the physical realm. Some refer to this as intuition, or ninja sense. The will of two shinobi about to battle is so strong that your soul can feel it inside. Some refer to that as killer intent.
Spiritual energy, extracted from the soul to perform techniques, varies from person to person. Some people are born with powerful souls while others are born with weak ones. People with weak souls do not make very good shinobi for they lack the will or the sense for the job. One's spiritual strength cannot be measured by any human standard, but a good shinobi can sense another's spiritual strength in his own soul.
"Does that answer your question?" Shikaku asked.
"Not really," Shikamaru replied. "I just wanted to know if there was a way to increase my spiritual energy."
Shikaku puffed a few times on his pipe stoking the embers of tobacco in the bowl to increase the smoke before inhaling deeply to allow his lungs to fully absorb the nicotine. He looked down from the sunset he and his son were enjoying from the porch to the languid young man.
"Well," he said removing the pipe from his lips and exhaling a long train of smoke causing his son's eyes to water. "There is no proven method for increasing your spiritual strength. Some say it grows as you age while others say it is only as strong as your will. Still others debate that your spiritual energy remains constant."
Shikamaru frowned. He was hoping for a way to get stronger without exerting himself too much.
"Sounds troublesome," he said. "Is there any other way?"
Shikaku scratched the whiskers on his chin, searching for any relevant information.
"There are the archaic traditions but they're rooted in darkness and extremely volatile."
"Darkness?" Shikamaru looked at him quizzically.
"For as long as anyone can remember, people have been trying to find ways to become more powerful. Many years ago before my time, someone found a way to extract a soul and unite it with another being. However, the unity of souls in a single being is very unstable, often killing the host. They discovered that joining the soul to a new-born host allows the host to survive but the mother's life is forfeit."
"That sounds horrible," Shikamaru commented.
"It is but they found a way to make shinobi more powerful," Shikaku turned back to catch the last rays of the sunset on the horizon.
"What of the host?"
"That depends on the soul of the host," Shikaku explained. "If the host's soul has the will to suppress the foreign soul, the union will be stable but if the host's soul is lacking the will, the host will become unstable as the foreign soul will fight for control."
"It doesn't seem worth the risk," Shikamaru said.
"Most people think that way but there are a few who still practice it. They see it as an evolution of humanity while most just see it as an abomination."
Shikamaru thought about it.
"Has your question been answered?" his father asked.
"It's troublesome but I guess Asuma-sensei was right about physical training."
"Hmmm," Shikaku thought for a second before realization hit him.
"We need to get inside before your mother scolds us."
A week went by and the training grew tiresome and mundane. Asuma searched for ways to get Shikamaru motivated to train harder but in the end, just getting him to train at all was a troublesome task. He quickly found that Shikamaru's greatest motivation was to not get bitched at. As much as Asuma hated bitching himself, he was left with very few alternatives.
As much as he loathed the idea of physical training, he found the actual training to be rather peaceful. Once Asuma was finished being a pain in the ass about actually doing the training, he was pretty calm. Asuma never yelled at him, only gave a few instructions, and kept his comments to a minimum. Asuma was a laid-back guy and didn't really try to cause a fuss unless he deemed it necessary. Obviously, he found it necessary to cause a fuss over the training. He even went as far as to involve Shikamaru's mom in the discussion. In some circles, that would be considered foul play.
Chouji on the other hand was easy to motivate. He would jump at the chance for free food and Asuma seemed willing to provide plenty of incentive. It got to the point where Asuma would only mention the word 'barbeque' and Chouji would push Shikamaru harder than he had before. Shikamaru was beginning to hate barbeque.
Now, the three of them were sitting at the barbeque restaurant which they frequented so much over the last week. Asuma and Shikamaru had seen Chouji go through more beef in one sitting than most individuals
could eat in a month. For a brief moment, Shikamaru thought he understood why girls were anorexic.
"Seconds!" Chouji beckoned through a mouthful of food to a passing waiter.
Shikamaru looked at his short friend and wondered if he could eat his weight in barbeque although,
Shikamaru wasn't about to suggest it out loud knowing very well that Chouji would take it as a challenge.
"Ten servings of Galbi, please!" Chouji ordered the waiter before he resumed gorging himself.
"I'm surprised you can eat so much," Shikamaru mumbled. "I'm getting sick just from watching you."
Chouji either didn't hear or ignored the comment and continued eating.
"Here's your order," the waiter returned with a plate full of raw meat.
"Sweet!" Chouji said.
Not wasting any time, Chouji grouped quite a few pieces of Galbi over the hot coals on the grill. Chouji
pointed to the grouping with his chopsticks while looking at Shikamaru.
"This is mine," Chouji claimed. "Don't eat it, Shikamaru."
"Don't worry," Shikamaru told him as he dug into a bowl of rice. "I won't."
Asuma could only watch in disgusted curiosity as his student tore through the food like a fat kid at a buffet.
"What are you guys doing?" A feminine voice called through the window. "Having barbeque for lunch?"
"Ino, Sakura," Shikamaru said as he looked at the two young ladies standing in the window.
"Shikamaru, shouldn't you be training for the main matches?" Ino questioned.
"I am training…everyday," he told her. "Since Asuma bitches at me everyday about it."
Asuma laughed heartily at Shikamaru's comment even though he never intended for it to be funny.
"Well, I'm having Chouji help with his training," Asuma informed Ino.
"Huh?" Ino looked shocked. "I'm surprised you decided to help."
"Well, they're paying me off by treating me to all-you-can-eat barbeque," Chouji confessed.
"I didn't know we had an all-you-can-eat barbeque place in town," Ino said bewildered.
"We don't," Asuma told her. "I'm paying for all of it."
"I see," she said.
Shikamaru yawned and stretched before he placed his hands behind his head and leaned back in the booth.
"I shouldn't have won that match," he said offhandedly.
"Hey, there are a lot of people who would kill to be in your shoes," Asuma scolded.
Shikamaru wondered how true Asuma's statement really was.
"Yeah, yeah!" Sakura agreed.
"From what I heard," Asuma informed him. "The guys under Gai and Kurenai are undergoing rigorous training to prepare for the main matches."
"What?" Shikamaru asked despondently.
"Even if you made it to the main matches, it wouldn't look good if you lost in the blink of an eye," Asuma teased trying once again to motivate him.
Shikamaru's brow began to sweat.
"Oh," he groaned. "This is too troublesome."
Asuma looked defeated. He wondered if anything would motivate the young man.
"Really, Shikamaru," Ino sounded agitated. "Would it kill you to show some kind of effort?"
Ino narrowed her eyes at him. Sensing her irritation, Shikamaru looked away from her knowing it would only frustrate her more.
"Fine," she huffed. "We're going to the hospital to visit Sasuke-kun. Come on, Sakura."
Ino walked off and Sakura shook her head clear of her thoughts before rushing to catch up with her.
Chouji finished the round of meat and was ordering another. Shikamaru massaged his temples with his finger tips. Why were people always trying to pressure him into doing things? Why couldn't they just let him handle it his own way on his own time instead of rushing him to do it faster? These are the things that plague his mind. These are the things that make him envious of clouds.
Shikamaru stared dejectedly out the window at the few rolling clouds in the distance.
The sound of Asuma rifling through his wallet caught his attention. Asuma seemed to be mulling over the expense of such a meal and comparing it to the money he had in his wallet. Shikamaru could tell by the look on his face that the numbers didn't match up.
"Uh, Shikamaru" he said sheepishly. "Could I borrow a few Ryou?"
Half the month was already gone and Shikamaru was sure this training was completely useless. Also, he was
sure that reminding Asuma of its uselessness was useless in itself. Useless or not, Asuma was still going to
make him do it.
Chouji was becoming extremely easy to predict. After seeing his attacks for over two weeks, it was almost
as if he could predict the move before he made it. Chouji's strength was impressive. After seeing it in action
and having it bearing down on him, Shikamaru found his short, pudgy friend to be
a very strong ally. He would have been a fierce opponent if not for his predictability.
Today, Asuma told him to meet him at his place so here he stood knocking on the door of what appeared to
be an empty house. Shikamaru scratched the back of his head in frustration.
"Ohayou, Shikamaru-kun," a feminine voice called from behind him.
Shikamaru turned his head to see who it was.
"Kurenai-sensei?" Shikamaru asked.
She smiled at him sweetly as he turned around to face her.
"Uh," he stammered. "I don't think Asuma-sensei's home."
He took a quick glance back at the house.
"He's the one that told me to meet him here," he drawled. "I came all the way here for nothing, how troublesome."
Kurenai laughed at his disposition.
"Hokage-sama called him away for an important mission," she told him. "He asked me if I would supervise your training for the day."
"Oh," he said. "What about Shino?"
"Shino's training with his father so I have the day off," she told him.
"And you chose to spend it with me," Shikamaru said sarcastically.
The smile left Kurenai's face as she looked with longing at Asuma's empty house.
"Well, Asuma asked me to," she said quietly.
Shikamaru saw the look in her eyes and decided not to press the subject further. She was doing Asuma a favor and even if it was troublesome.
"So what are we going to do today?" he asked.
"What does Asuma have you working on?"
"Usually, Asuma-sensei bribes Chouji with barbeque to chase me around for hours," he told her sarcastically. "But you might not want to spend the money. Chouji is known for his ability to eat."
Kurenai thought for a moment her eyes making small jerking movements as her brain was processing information.
"That explains it," she mumbled.
"Nani?"
"Oh, nothing," she told him.
"You know, you don't have to help if you don't want to," he told her. "It's fine by me."
Shikamaru was sincerely hoping she would opt out and give him the day off. He could think of a whole lot of other things he'd rather be doing.
"No, it's ok," she told him. "Besides, I promised Asuma I'd help out."
Shikamaru's posture oozed disappointment.
They went to the training ground where Kurenai stood in thought. Shikamaru was about to walk over to a tree and lie down beneath it when she came up with an idea.
"I watched your match with that Oto kunoichi," she told him. "She used a simple genjutsu on you. Didn't you know how to dispel it?"
Shikamaru shook his head.
"Do you know what genjutsu is?" she asked.
"Hai."
She looked at him in disbelief. She had seen the academy grades and knew for sure that he was one of the lowest in the class.
"Tell me what you think it is," she told him.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. Was she testing him? Why? He never understood a woman's reasoning for anything. He thought for a moment. She was a woman after all so he'd better keep this explanation brief.
"An illusion in which the user controls the opponent's perception through chakra," Shikamaru stated dryly.
"Close," she told him. "It's when the user controls the opponent's five senses by using his chakra to control his opponent's chakra flow to the brain."
'Damn woman,' Shikamaru thought. 'I tried to keep it simple but she wanted to complicate things.'
"To dispel a genjutsu," she continued. "You must stop your chakra flow completely and start it back up again."
Shikamaru thought about what she said and it made sense. He nodded to confirm he understood.
"Yoshi, I'm going to catch you in a genjutsu and I want you to try and dispel it," she said running through hand seals.
"Huh?" Shikamaru barely grunted out before he felt something crawling up his legs. He looked down to see vines sprouting up from the ground wrapping around his legs and working their way up his body. Somewhat panicked, Shikamaru remembered what he was supposed to do. He closed his eyes and clasped his hands in front of him with his index fingers in an upward arrow. Stopping his chakra flow was pretty easy considering he didn't have much chakra to begin with.
"Kai," he said as he restarted his chakra flow.
Shikamaru immediately felt the vines release. He opened his eyes to make sure.
"That's it," she told him. "You've successfully dispelled a genjutsu. Congratulations."
Shikamaru just stared at her. He didn't need to be patronized.
"That was a beginner level genjutsu," she said. "They're pretty easy to dispel but some of the more advanced ones are a little harder."
"What do I do if I can't dispel a genjutsu?" Shikamaru asked.
"Well," she thought for a second. "A friend can disrupt the chakra flow for you if you're stuck but if you're alone, physical pain works best."
Shikamaru swallowed hard. The idea of being the cause of your own pain was rather farfetched to him but he could see the logic in it, using the body's nervous system to 'shock' the brain back into reality. He shuddered as he ran through possible ways to cause himself pain.
"Daijoubu," she told him. "I don't think any of the Genin can use that strong of a genjutsu just yet. If they can, they're almost certainly going to become Chuunin."
"Was that supposed to reassure me?" he asked.
She thought for a moment.
"I guess it's not that reassuring, ne?" she said.
He looked away from her to his heavenly distraction. They rolled quietly across the sky. For a moment, he wondered if the clouds were a genjutsu used to keep his mind from the real world. He looked back at Kurenai who was offering a very unconvincing smile of assurance.
If the clouds were a genjutsu, it was one genjutsu he would never dispel.
The month was almost up and Asuma still had him working on physical training. Shikamaru had come under the impression that Jounin senseis were the highest paid shinobi in the village. They would have to be in order for Asuma to afford to buy Chouji off like this. His Genin paycheck wasn't much to talk about and was mostly confiscated by his mother who laughed as she said it was pay for his room and board.
Nikudan Sensha
Chouji's assault brought him out of his thoughts. Shikamaru held his hands in the Ne seal as he prepared for his technique.
Ninpou Kagemane no….
He tried molding his chakra but as he did he felt nothing. He was empty.
'Shit,' he thought. 'I'm out of chakra.'
Chouji's imposing ball of flesh now looked like a grim end. He made a break for the tree line and hopped over a small bush into cover. Chouji veered away from the line of trees causing the ground that was torn up in his wake to shower down upon his best friend.
Shikamaru shook his head and patted his hair in an attempt to get the dirt off.
"Doushita, Shikamaru?" Asuma asked as he walked up behind him. "Is that all you've got?"
Shikamaru sighed.
"This is so troublesome," he spoke his thoughts out loud.
"Yoshi, Chouji, one more time," Asuma ordered.
"Mou ii," Shikamaru said. "I give up."
He fell back onto his ass, taking a seated position on the ground.
"Huh?!" Chouji had vested interest in what's going on.
Asuma just stared at him.
"I've reached my limit," Shikamaru told him. "I don't have anything left."
Asuma scratched his head for a moment. When he looked at Chouji he got an idea.
"How 'bout we take an early lunch and see if you can go again after, huh?"
"Yeah!" Chouji yelled.
Shikamaru knew there was no way Asuma was going to let him out of training.
He got up and dusted himself off. He took a few steps forward and almost collapsed.
"Daijoubu ka?" Asuma asked.
Shikamaru wavered for a moment.
"I'll be alright," he told him. "Just a little exhausted."
Asuma reached over and steadied him.
"You just need to rest a little," he said. "Come on, we'll rest at the restaurant."
Asuma helped him on the way to the barbeque place, every now and then supporting his weight to give an exhausted Shikamaru a break. When they arrived at the restaurant, Chouji was more than eager to get started.
"Welcome," the host called happy to see their most frequent customers.
"Time to eat!" Chouji yelled pumping his fist in the air as he entered. "First I want galbi, sirlon and cow tongue."
Asuma steadied Shikamaru and let him carry his own weight. Feeling a little better, he shoved his hands in his pockets and took a few steps towards the entrance when he sensed something. Turning his head to look over his shoulder, he scanned the area but found nothing suspicious.
"What is it?" Asuma asked.
"Nothing, I guess," he said. "I thought someone was watching us."
Asuma looked around but didn't find anything either.
"I don't see anyone suspicious," he told him.
Shikamaru just shrugged his shoulders. It was just a feeling.
Inside, Chouji ordered everything on the menu, twice. The early lunch ended up taking a lot longer than most. In fact, Shikamaru had recovered from his exhaustion after a couple of hours but he was in no hurry to return to training. That's why he never said anything about the length of time the lunch was taking.
By the time they left the restaurant, Chouji was looking a lot larger than usual. He looked as if he was running around in his Baika technique. Chouji rubbed his stomach as he and Shikamaru waited outside for Asuma to convince the store owner to extend him a line of credit.
"Ooo hoo hoo," Chouji squealed as he rubbed his stomach. "That was awesome, Shikamaru."
"I'm sure it was," he responded checking the door to see if Asuma had succeeded.
"Barbeque is the greatest," Chouji expounded. "You should eat more. You need to put some more meat on your bones."
"No thanks," he told him. "You already eat enough for all of us."
"You're going to put me in the poor house," Asuma said walking up behind them. "I need to find a second job to supplement my income."
Chouji smiled and patted the bulging stomach.
"I am a force to be recon…" Chouji stopped short as a low rumble erupted from his swollen stomach.
"Are you alright?" Shikamaru asked.
"Whoa," Chouji let out as his stomach made a few unnatural sounds.
"Chouji," Asuma voiced in concern.
Chouji's eyes rolled and he fell backwards, crashing to the ground with a loud thud.
"Chouji!" Asuma and Shikamaru cried, rushing to Chouji's side.
"Uhhh," Chouji moaned from the pain.
"What's wrong with him?" Asuma asked scratching his head.
"I think he ate too much," Shikamaru said searchingly.
Asuma looked down at Chouji who was, at this time, catatonic.
"Is that possible?" he asked.
Shikamaru poked Chouji's stomach with his index finger, causing him to moan.
"I think it just happened," he told Asuma.
They took Chouji to the hospital where he was admitted, given treatment and ordered to bed rest by the physician on duty. Chouji had to stay overnight so Shikamaru went home for the evening. The next day, he brought a fruit basket for Chouji and a portable Shougi board for himself. Even if Chouji refused to play against him he could still have fun by himself.
As he signed in he noticed that Uzumaki Naruto was written on the list of patients. He finished checking in and nodded to the nurse behind the counter before making his way down the hall stopping at his destination. He rapped on the door twice before sliding it open.
"Doumo," he called out to his disgruntled friend.
Chouji turned to look at him.
"I brought you some fruits," he said holding up the basket for Chouji to see.
Chouji let out a groan and turned his head back to staring at the ceiling.
"And Shougi," he continued but it didn't seem to do much.
Chouji continued to stare at the ceiling.
"What did they tell you?" Shikamaru asked.
Chouji opened his mouth to speak but his stomach growled before any words could escape his mouth.
Rather than ask again, Shikamaru raised a questioning eyebrow.
"The doctor said my body had a bad reaction to the amount of barbeque I ate," Chouji grumbled still not looking in the direction of Shikamaru. "They put me on a diet."
Shikamaru smiled and chuckled internally. He wouldn't make fun of his friend but as a cynic he fully appreciated the irony of the situation.
Chouji rolled over and looked at him.
"I can't eat the fruits you brought." Chouji groaned. "The doctor said it might worsen my condition."
Shikamaru frowned. He just wanted his friend to feel better.
"Please, Shikamaru," Chouji begged. "Don't tease me with the food. It's bad enough already."
Shikamaru looked down at the basket of fruit in his hand, the thing that seemed to be the cause of his friend's discomfort.
"Alright, Chouji," he said. "I won't tease you any more. I just hope you get better soon."
Shikamaru turned and slid the door open, looking over his shoulder at his friend.
"Try to listen to the doctors," he told him. "I know it's a pain in the ass but they have your best interest in mind."
With that, he left Chouji's room and began making his way down the hall. A room number he had seen on the registry caught his attention. He decided not to make the visit to the hospital a waste. Besides, the only thing waiting at home for him was his mother.
Shikamaru shook the thought out of his head. He tucked the Shougi board under his arm and reached for the door with his free hand.
"Sumimasen," a nurse called out. "May I help you?"
"I was looking for a friend's room," he said. "I believe this is it, Uzumaki Naruto?"
The nurse flipped the chart she was holding.
"Hai, but Uzumaki-kun was admitted three days ago and he's still unconscious."
"Daijoubu desu ka?" he asked concernedly.
"His vitals are fine," she told him. "He's just sleeping. The doctor expects him to awaken anytime now."
Shikamaru looked at her questioningly.
"You can visit him if you want to," she told him with a kind smile.
Shikamaru just nodded and slid the door open. Naruto was asleep in the hospital bed just as the nurse said.
"If you need anything, just let us know," the nurse offered as she continued on with her rounds.
Shikamaru found a table at the foot of the bed that was the perfect size for his Shougi board. He set it down on the table and dragged a chair away from the wall for himself. After setting up the pieces, he glanced over at Naruto who was still sound asleep.
"Three days," Shikamaru whispered to himself. "I can't even sleep that long."
He made the first move and flipped the hourglass over. Reading the board backwards was a challenge but it was less troublesome than getting up and switching places all the time. To make it more interesting, he chose strategies for each side that he knew would clash with each other and cause him to think of a way out of it.
After fifteen minutes, he glanced back over at Naruto.
"Man, this guy sleeps a lot," he mumbled. "Maybe he's dead."
He moved a piece from the other side of the board and flipped the hourglass again. When he did so, the sand stopped falling inside.
"What's this?" He gave the hour glass a small shaking. "Damn, it's stuck."
He set the hourglass back down and let a quick 'troublesome' escape his lips. He scratched the back of his head, mentally complaining about the inconvenience when he heard Naruto begin to stir. He looked over and saw Naruto's eyes fluttering open.
"Yo! You're finally awake."
"Where am I?"
"The hospital, I heard you were asleep for three days straight," Shikamaru said with astonishment.
"Three days?" a groggy Naruto asked.
Shikamaru smirked at him.
"Three days!!!" Naruto screamed as he jumped up in the bed.
"N-nan da?"
"Shikamaru, when are the final matches?!"
"Uh…tomorrow," he said unsure of what Naruto's response would be.
"Nani!" Naruto reached down from the bed and grabbed him by the jacket. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?! I don't have time to just sleep here! Where's Ero-sennin? Huh? Where is he? I need him to supervise my training."
By the end, his rant had turned into a whine.
"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru asked. "I have no idea what you're carrying on about."
Naruto grew more frustrated and let go of him. He began searching in the strangest of places.
"My clothes are gone. Where are they?"
Shikamaru rubbed the frustration out of his face.
"He's sleeping one minute and causing a ruckus the next," he mumbled to himself.
Naruto continued to panic, putting the hospital room into a state of disarray.
"Calm down!" Shikamaru yelled.
Naruto froze in an awkward position.
"There's no point in panicking the day before. Besides, resting can be considered part of your training."
Naruto plopped back down on the bed facing away from Shikamaru.
"Oi, Naruto," he questioned. "What's wrong?"
Naruto's stomach made a sound reminiscent of Chouji's. He turned around, eyes watering.
"I'm hungry."
Shikamaru frowned.
"Come on," he said. "Don't scare me like that."
Shikamaru remembered the fruit basket.
"Oh, yeah."
He reached down and grabbed the basket, plopping it on the bed for Naruto to see.
"It's troublesome but I brought these fruits for Chouji. However, the doctor said that he can't eat them so let's eat them together."
"Chouji?" Naruto asked. "He's hurt that badly?"
"Don't get the wrong idea," Shikamaru said. "He ate too much barbeque and his stomach isn't feeling well."
Naruto burst into laughter, kicking his feet as he held his stomach.
"That sounds just like Chouji, all right."
Shikamaru picked up an apple as Naruto calmed down.
"Girls don't come to visit guys like you," Shikamaru told him, then tossed him the apple. "Here."
Naruto caught the apple and frowned.
"I wish Sakura-chan would've come to see me," Naruto whined. "But she's always going on about Sasuke."
Shikamaru looked at him with a half-smirk.
"Don't let it bother you," he said. "The girls that obsess over the cool guys are the weak ones. Besides…" the half-smirk turned into a smile. "Guy's like us who aren't so cool will get to pick from the better ones."
This seemed to ease Naruto's mind a little. He looked at the apple, then began polishing it on his shirt.
"This looks good," he said emphatically as he drew the apple towards his mouth to take a bite. He stopped just before he bit down.
"Nan da yo?"
Naruto laughed as he covered his mouth.
"Let's eat these in front of Chouji."
Shikamaru looked down and shook his head.
"What a troublesome guy."
Naruto bit into the apple and began chewing. Shikamaru felt a cold chill run down his spine. He felt an evil, murderous intent that he had felt somewhere before. He sat up straight, trying to fix the location of the deadly purpose.
Completely engrossed in consuming the apple, Naruto remained blissfully unaware of the situation. When Shikamaru stood to his feet, Naruto began to wonder what was troubling him.
"What is it?" He asked not particularly concerned with the volume at which it was asked.
Shikamaru held an index finger to his lips that suggested Naruto remain quiet. The suggestion went unheeded as Naruto asked again.
"Doushita, Shikamaru?" Naruto was now climbing out of the bed.
Shikamaru made his way towards the door, sliding it open and sticking his head into the hallway. He looked both ways before fixating to his left.
Naruto grew quickly impatient and let it be known by groaning in frustration.
"Shikamaru, what's going on?"
"Can't you sense it?" came a dry reply.
"Sense what?" Naruto calmed down as much as he could try to hear something that wasn't there.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Shikamaru began walking down the hall in the direction of the killer intent. Naruto followed curiously. Shikamaru stopped at one door before deciding to move on to the next. This door was partially cracked, allowing someone standing in the doorway a view of the room. As he gazed in, he was shocked by what he saw.
Naruto saw the expression on Shikamaru's face and curiosity overwhelmed him. He used his low center of gravity to push his taller friend out of the way. Naruto's face lit up with surprise and the urge to yell something quickly grew inside of him.
Shikamaru, knowing his friend's habits, quickly covered his friend's mouth with his hand as he slid the door open the remainder of the way, quietly slipping into the room. He put his hands together and his shadow snaked across the floor capturing Gaara and stopping his movement.
"Temae!" Naruto couldn't help it anymore. He dashed across the room landing a right hook to Gaara's face.
As Gaara's head twisted from the impact so did Shikamaru's.
"What the hell are you doing here!" Naruto screamed.
"Oi, Naruto," Shikamaru wiped the sweat from his face. "When I use my Shadow Mimic technique, I move along with him. Got it?"
"Wari, Shikamaru," he replied walking over to stand next to him.
"What are you trying to do?"
They watched as the sand on Gaara's face repaired itself. Gaara remained silent, staring at them with disinterest. Lee lay in the hospital bed unconscious. Naruto couldn't take the silence anymore.
"Hey," he yelled. "What did you try to do to Gejimayu?"
"I was trying to kill him," Gaara answered simply.
Naruto and Shikamaru were surprised to say the least.
"What?" Naruto mumbled.
'How can he remain so calm?' Shikamaru thought. 'He shouldn't be able to move when I'm holding him down with my shadow.'
"Why do you need to do that? You already won the match. Do you have some sort of personal grudge against him?"
"No," Gaara answered flatly. "I'm going to kill him because I want to kill him."
"Nani! That's the most selfish thing I've ever heard!" Naruto screamed pointing an accusatory finger at Gaara.
"Oh, my…" Shikamaru stammered. "You must have grown up in a bad environment. You're really narcissistic."
He looked at the guy. His facial expression never betrayed anything. He was cornered in a situation with enemies unknown, unable to move but he remained expressionless. Shikamaru knew he was freakishly strong. He also knew that Naruto and he were in the bottom of their class. With an unconscious Lee presenting an obstacle and the close quarters, the situation was growing quickly out of hand.
"If you interfere, I will kill you, too," Gaara told them.
"Just try it, then," Naruto shouted back shaking a fist at him.
"Oi, cut it out, Naruto," Shikamaru was growing tired of his impatience. Naruto probably didn't realize the situation they were in. Putting on his most confident face, Shikamaru tried to bluff.
"We know that you're strong because we saw your match in the Chuunin exams but he and I are pretty strong as well." He smirked as the words fell out of his mouth. "We still haven't shown our best stuff yet and it's two on one. You're at a disadvantage so if you listen to us, we might be able to let you go."
"I'm only going to tell you one more time." Gaara was unfazed. "If you interfere, I will kill you."
'Koitsu…' Shikamaru thought.
"You can't kill me!" Naruto was brimming with false confidence.
"I keep telling you to stop doing that," Shikamaru whispered to Naruto. "He's as strong as a monster. You know that."
Naruto let his hand fall to his side but kept his confident gaze.
"I have a real monster inside me," he lowered his voice to sound tougher. "I won't lose to him."
This was bad. Naruto was ready to start a battle in the middle of the hospital room. Shikamaru elbowed Naruto.
"Don't piss him off, ahou " he whispered.
He wasn't sure if Naruto had heard or heeded what he had said. Naruto was still locking stares with Gaara.
"A monster?" Gaara lowered his gaze and closed his eyes. "Then I am the same. As you said, I did not grow up in a nice environment. When I was born, I took the life of the one who carried me. To create the ultimate weapon, my father used a ninjutsu to bind an incarnate of the sand to me. I was a monster at birth."
'Incarnate of the sand,' Shikamaru thought remembering a conversation he had with his father.
"It's called Shukaku and it was sealed in a teakettle," Gaara continued. "It is the living soul of an elder priest from Sunagakure no Sato."
Shikamaru scoffed.
"It must have been one of those binding techniques that unite a soul and a host before birth. To think that you guys would resort to such an archaic practice…" He paused. "You must be crazy."
As he said it, he realized that Naruto, standing next to him, had claimed the same thing. The room was silent but Shikamaru made sure his Shadow stayed attached to Gaara. If they could keep him talking, maybe they would get out of this thing without a fight.
"That's not what a parent should do," Shikamaru kept the conversation going. "That's a twisted way to show love."
"Love?" Gaara said. "Don't measure me by your values."
His voice didn't raise but his pace quickened.
"Family?" he continued. "Let me tell you what kind of bond I have with them. To me, they are just lumps of meat linked together by hatred and murderous intent. I took my mother's life and was created to be my village's masterpiece. As the Kazekage's son…"
Shikamaru could only imagine what the rest of Kazekage's children had gone through.
"My father taught me the secrets of ninjutsu," Gaara went on. "I grew up spoiled, over-protected and left alone. I thought that was love."
He closed his eyes.
"Until the incident."
"The incident?" Shikamaru wasn't really curious but thought it wise to keep him talking.
Gaara opened his eyes again.
"What happened?" Naruto asked.
Gaara just stared at both of them.
"So what happened?" Naruto asked a bit more anxious.
"It started when I was six and has continued over the past six years." His eyes grew wide. "My father has tried to assassinate me on numerous occasions."
Shikamaru was shocked for a second, then remembered what he had said earlier.
"But you said that he spoiled you?"
"A being that is too strong eventually becomes the embodiment of fear," his arm twitched as it struggled against the shadow. "Since I was born through the binding technique, my mind has become unstable. The idiots in my village noticed that my emotions were unpredictable. To the Kazekage, my father, I was the village's trump card. However, I was also a threat. When I turned six, they labeled me a dangerous being. I was the village's tool but was still handled with care."
"I am a relic of the past that they want to get rid of," he concluded. "So why do I exist? Why am I alive? I asked myself that question many times and could not find an answer. I need a reason to be alive or it's just like being dead."
"What is he talking about?" Shikamaru asked.
"This is what I concluded," Gaara said. "I exist to kill everyone other than me. I finally found relief in the fear of being assassinated at any time. By killing the assassins, I was able to discover my reason to live."
Shikamaru couldn't imagine such a fucked up life.
"I fight only for myself, and love only myself. As long as I think that other people are here to help me confirm my existence, life is wonderful. As long as there are people to kill in this world, I will continue to exist."
'What's with this guy?' Shikamaru thought. 'He's insane.'
Shikamaru noticed that the normally troublesome Naruto had been uncharacteristically quiet. He heard Naruto take a step back. He turned to look at him.
"Doushita, Naruto?"
Naruto remained quiet. Shikamaru could see the fear in his eyes. He was visibly shaken.
The sound of sand moving in waves snapped Shikamaru's attention back to Gaara who was still being held by his shadow. Gaara stood still as sand swirled around him rising into the air.
'Nani?' Shikamaru thought. 'He shouldn't be able to move.'
The sand began to move more rapidly, rising higher in the air, almost touching the ceiling. Shikamaru ran through the scenario in his mind and the first thing he needed to do was secure Lee and make an escape. He turned to let Naruto know the plan but Naruto was both mentally and physically frozen.
"Naruto!" He yelled. "Naruto, snap out of it!"
Naruto made no indication of compliance.
'What a troublesome guy.'
"Naruto!"
The sand started to descend on them.
"Let me feel," Gaara spoke ominously.
The sand increased in speed, branching into two.
"This is it for us!" Shikamaru pointed out.
The sand was almost there.
"Hold it right there!" a voice came from the doorway.
The sand fell to the ground and conscious heads swivelled to see the owner of the voice.
"The main matches are tomorrow," Gai said. "There is no need to get hasty or do you want to get hospitalized today."
Gaara looked disturbed. Grabbing his head with his hands, he groaned as if he were being physically abused. The sand in the room began to pour violently back into the gourd on his back. When all of his sand had returned, Gaara's left hand dropped and he eyed them warily before shuffling towards the door. He walked right past Gai and put his hand on the door. Looking back over his shoulder, he spoke.
"I will kill you guys for sure. You just wait."
Gaara walked away.
Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat that was collecting on his brow. He turned to check on Naruto who was still frozen in thought. He turned to Gai who was looking over Lee who was still unconscious in the bed.
"Arigatou, Gai-sensei," he told Gai.
Gai stayed focused on Lee for a moment before turning to Shikamaru.
"It's alright," he said with a huge smile that reflected the light. "The main matches are tomorrow. You guys should go home and rest."
"Oh," Shikamaru said. "You're right."
He turned and grabbed Naruto by the arm. Naruto, who had been zoned out, slowly turned to look at him.
"Iku ze."
Naruto blinked a few times before coming back to reality.
"Hai," he said softly and followed Shikamaru out of the room.
Shikamaru went home. Resting sounded like a great idea. It was the only plan he had for the evening but the way it stands, his plans were of no consequence to his mother. She was the boss in the family and she tended to lord it over him. He knew something was amiss when he got home because he could sense his mother's foul mood the moment he set foot through the door. He immediately wished he had been a little quieter.
His mother was pissed because his father had not returned in time for dinner. So, instead of resting the night before the main matches, he was out looking for his father. He would have tried to explain the situation to his mother but his past experiences taught him that it wouldn't matter. Whatever she had her mind set on, he was going to do, end of story.
Shikamaru walked the streets, cursing the day that he was born, cursing the women who found it their mission in life to make his miserable. He had a good idea where his father was at because this wasn't the first time he had to find him after hours. Every-so-often, his father would get together with his old teammates and lose track of time. That's when his mother would send him on an expedition to find him and bring him home.
Shikamaru found the establishment his father and his former teammates frequented. He already knew his father was in there because he could hear Chouza bellowing for the bartender.
"Oi, oyaji" Chouza said loud enough for people down the street to hear. "I'd like to place an additional order. Everything on these two pages."
Shikamaru slid the door open and entered.
"Right away," the bartend said.
At the sound of the door, Chouza had turned to see who entered. He leaned back to look around Inoichi and Shikaku to see Shikamaru walk through the door.
"Oh, looks like we have a strong ally here," he said. "Come over here and order something."
Shikamaru sighed. He was worse than Chouji.
Shikaku, who had been in a riveting discussion with Inoichi, peered over his shoulder to look at his son. Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head as he walked closer to the bar. It was too troublesome to yell over the noise. His father picked up the square-shaped container in front of him and took a sip.
"Oi, oyaji."
"Huh?" his father was confused as to why he was there.
"Let's go home already."
"What did you say?" Shikaku squinted and leaned forward to get a better look at his son. "Don't tell me what to do."
He raised his container in the air.
"You're supposed to have fun at the festival."
"Festival?" Shikamaru grumbled. "This is too troublesome."
"Baka," his father said. "Since the old times…"
At that moment, Shikaku decided it was a good idea to finish his drink. When he finished, he exhaled and the stench of alcohol mixed with tobacco caused Shikamaru to blink his eyes.
"These main matches are like a festival," he told his son like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Shikamaru dropped his shoulders and looked at his father.
"I have to participate in those main matches tomorrow" he sighed. "Don't make me come here to bring you back home."
"You…" his father set down the container that he was ceremoniously hoisting. "You're actually going to participate."
It was more his father thinking out loud than an actual question.
"Please, oyaji."
Shikaku looked at his son for a second. The alcohol seemingly slowing down his thought process. He stood up from the bar stool and pulled a few bills out of his pocket, tossing them on the counter.
"I have to go, guys," he announced to his friends who looked somewhat disappointed. "My son is participating in the exams tomorrow."
"Oh," Chouza roared. "Ganbatte."
Inoichi raised his glass in honor.
Shikamaru followed his father as he stumbled out of the bar. When his father started to walk in the wrong direction, he grabbed his arm to redirect him.
"I know where I'm going," his father complained but made no effort to pull away.
They walked the streets until his father decided he needed a break, sitting down on the front step of a building. Shikamaru just stood in the street, waiting for his father to catch his breath. As he waited, he looked at his surroundings. He noticed light was emanating from a window upstairs and upon further investigation he saw the Suna kunoichi sitting in that window.
He remembered their brief encounters thus far and how stand-offish she was. She was just like every other woman that was out to ruin his life. Then he recalled who her teammate was and panic set in. He scanned the area looking for any signs of the monster he had encountered earlier. The darkness didn't help much but he knew staying around here would be troublesome.
Shikamaru scooped his father up, who was straddling the line of consciousness, and carried him home. His mother, to say the least, was none too pleased with his father's state but she knew an unconscious man was not going to be affected by her scolding. She ushered Shikamaru off to bed, telling him that sleep was important and that he had a big day tomorrow.
Shikamaru wondered what his mother was going to do to his father.