"They say the only thing to fear is fear itself. That, and a motivated Nara." Shikamaru is born with his father's intelligence and his mother's work ethic. The world is turned sideways.

Forcefully separated, Sasuke finds himself wishing back the time when he thought he'd hated Itachi, if it just meant to know if his brother was still alive. Being faced with slavery and having to interact with people all while keeping his identity secret, slipping up is all too easy. That he could possibly gain a friend or two out of this hasn't even crossed his mind.

("The way sadness works is one of the strangest riddles of the world." -Lemony Snicket). Marinette Hatake, the only child to her single father Kakashi Hatake, had grown up with little knowledge on her birth mother, being told she could never be a kunoichi due to her blindness, and barely had any friends growing up. But unexpected things happen all the time, to unsuspecting people.

Sakura goes to Shikamaru needing an alibi and the day turns into something she hadn't expected.