Shika's first week of school went by quicker than she'd expected, despite the fact that she hadn't really made any friends in class. Honestly, things were happening so fast that they rarely had time for idle chat.

However, she had noticed that a lot of her classmates seemed to be avoiding her ever since they found out what her quirk could really do. So during school hours, despite being surrounded by her peers, Shika felt lonely and kind of isolated.

It was a bit depressing, but not completely unexpected. She could kill any of them in the blink of an eye. They were just being cautious. That was one good thing Konoha had over Musutafu; the kids back home thought she was super cool for the abilities she had.

Everyone wanted to get to know her. No one was afraid. But then again, ninja were taught to believe that everyday could be their last. They didn't waste a moment when it came to friendship or living life in general.

~~~~~~~

Shika could smell the scent of freshly made waffles wafting into her bedroom as she slipped on the last piece of her school uniform. Natsuo had really kept his word.

That knowledge both pleased and saddened her. Was this really the last time she'd wake up to his yummy food? The time they'd spent together eating breakfast and chatting in the mornings hadn't been long, but it had become something precious to her.

She looked forward to waking up to Natsuo's bright face. Never had she had someone to share her time with in the mornings. And while she understood why her mother couldn't be there with her, she'd become so lonely.

Now Natsuo was leaving too.

Shika walk down the stairs, peering into the empty kitchen before looking over towards the common room. Natsuo was beaming from ear to ear as she approached and she couldn't help the smile that spread across her own face.

Her eyes left his to survey the delicious looking food laid out before them and she swore she felt herself drool a little. Everything she'd asked for was there. Waffles with maple syrup, scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage, orange juice and a small cup of yogurt parfait.

He hadn't actually made a lot since it was only the two of them and he knew she didn't really eat heavy in the mornings, but to Shika it was like a whole feast! Natsuo smiled as she bounced the rest of the way over and took her seat. As usual, he sat across from her and the two of them wasted no time digging in.

They settled into a comfortable silence as they ate; her hums of approval the only thing filling the air. Natsuo would glance over to her every once in a while, taking in her child-like expression as she shoveled bits of egg and waffle into her mouth.

He was nervous about her reaction to the food. Especially considering this was his first time preparing such a westernized breakfast. But from the looks of it, he'd done a pretty good job.

Shika had indulged so much in the delicious food that she lost track of time. It was only after hearing a soft knock at the front door that she even thought to look at the time on her phone. With a start, she jumped up and headed for the entry way.

"Sorry guys! I'll be out in a minute," she yelled towards the door.

It was Mirio's familiar voice that reassured her from the other side that everything was okay and to take her time.

Shika slipped her shoes on as quickly as possible before grabbing her bag and heading for the door, but suddenly she stopped. Letting her hand drop to her side, she turned to look behind her and there Natsuo was smiling down at her.

Just seeing that lopsided smile brought tears to her eyes and before either of them knew what was happening, Shika had run over and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Natsuo was frozen to the spot for a moment, unable to process what was happening as Shika buried her face in his chest. But slowly he brought one arm up to wrap around her shoulders and used his other hand to pat her head.

"Thank you, Natsu-kun, for everything" she said before looking up at him, "I'm really going to miss you...and your delicious food."

They both laughed at that last part while looking at each other, but it had been Natsuo who looked away first.

"Baaaaka! What's with that sad face? Your eyes will get puffy," he said while patting her hair gently, "Go ahead, you don't want to be late for school."

Shika pulled away and rubbed the tears from the corners if her eyes before nodding. And with that, she was gone.

Natsuo looked down at the hand that he'd used to pat her curly locks. He could still feel the silky frizz even after balling his fingers into a fist.

"Don't make my leaving even harder, idiot," he mumbled to himself, "I'm gonna miss you too."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The house was quiet as usual when Shika returned after school. As she made her way towards the stairs she glanced over at the empty table in the common room. Never had it felt so empty. Especially after that big, delicious breakfast feast with Natsuo.

He was never there when she came home from school, but knowing that he wouldn't be there in the mornings anymore only made things lonelier somehow.

She quickly looked away, but suddenly stopped in her tracks and took a few steps back. There, in the middle of the table was a small, folded piece of paper.

Something was telling her that it was meant for her, so without hesitation, she walked over and picked it up. Her heart raced as she moved to unfold it. Inside it read:

Thought I'd leave my number just in case you get lonely. Feel free to call whenever. --

Until then,

Natsuo

Shika smiled. How blessed she was to have so many people care for her. Even though she'd only been away from Konoha for a short time, she already felt like she'd gained an extension to her family and friends here in Musutafu.

She quickly saved Natsuo's number in her phone before heading upstairs to change. Somehow she felt really happy. Is this what it would be like to have older siblings, she wondered?

If so, it was a dream come true. She kind of envied Shoto for having older siblings like Fuyumi and Natsuo. If only they could've been her real sister and brother.

But then that would bring about some other complications.

~~~~~~~

After changing out of her uniform, Shika grabbed an apple from the kitchen, opened her bedroom window and started on her homework. Honestly, she wasn't even sure why the hero program students still had to do homework for general education classes.

Their goal was to become heroes. Shouldn't they focus more on that? She sighed. At least she'd be starting her supplementary hero lessons next week. Which, now that she thought about it, only made the thought of doing homework that much more unappealing.

Luckily a welcomed distraction had appeared.

The sound of Shoto as he walked through his house could be heard clearly through Shika's open window. That's just how close the two houses were.

And despite all the guilt and regret she'd felt from watching him the last time, she just couldn't keep her curious mind from wondering about him. What was he doing right now? How was he feeling? Did he have homework too? And what was with all that noise he was making?

She wanted to look so badly! But what if he was undressing again?

Shika's face heated at the thought and she placed her hands on her cheeks to cool them. Had she blushed this much back in Konoha? Probably not, but back then it had only been Shikamaru there to make her feel so flustered.

Here, things were different.

Shaking her head, Shika tried to calm herself and rid her mind of the distraction next door by focusing on her assignment. So she flipped through a few pages of her book and began reading again. But then she heard the sound of Shoto's bedroom door opening.

And before she could even stop herself, Shika was already standing across the room, peeking through her window curtains and into Shoto's bedroom.

Again

She silently cursed herself for her lack of self control as her eyes greedily followed his every movement. Was she bored? Obsessed? She hoped not, but honestly at the moment she also really didn't care.

She watched as he disappeared just beyond her field of vision and strained to get a peek, but failed. The angle was all wrong and very unforgiving. But before long he returned to stand beside the foot of his bed, and Shika's breath caught in her throat at the sight before her.

No longer was Shoto wearing his school shirt and blazer. Instead he had on a sleeveless black t-shirt along with his black school uniform pants. Pants that were now unbuttoned and hanging loosely enough on his hips that she could clearly see the red underpants he wore underneath. Boxer briefs.

Her eyes were the size of saucers!

Metaphorically speaking of course. But apparently seeing Mirio completely naked multiple times did nothing to extinguish the embarrassed excitement she felt just seeing Shoto's exposed hips and underwear.

Perhaps that was because she'd only seen Mirio nude on television while Shoto was standing only a few feet away. Her attention was brought back to the situation at hand when said boy unexpectedly shifted his body towards his window.

And for a moment Shika thought maybe somehow she'd been seen. Maybe she'd made a noise and he heard, causing him to turn towards the window to investigate. But that wasn't the case.

His eyes weren't directed towards her, they were looking down at something else. Much to her relief. Then suddenly in one fell swoop, he used his left hand to grab the back of his t-shirt and pulled it up and over his head.

His exposed upper body was front and center, clear as day for her to see. And his cotton candy pink nipples were once again a stark contrast to his pale skin. Shika didn't know why, but she just couldn't stop staring at them.

Her hormonal brain wondered what it would feel like to touch them. Shikamaru didn't go shirtless a lot so she rarely got to see his naked upper body, and touching was still pretty taboo for them at the time.

But now she was beginning to get curious. Would Shikamaru have let her touch him there if she'd asked? Would he have liked it? Would he have touched her too?

Shika blushed deeply at the thoughts running through her mind, but her attention was once again brought back to the boy across from her when his shirt dropped to the floor next to his feet.

She watched as Shoto stretched his arms above his head, his lean muscles flexing beneath his skin as he did. And as he slowly lowered his arms back down his hands glided along his chest and stomach, before slipping further down to grip his underwear.

And yet again, she had seen enough!

Before her innocent eyes could witness anymore, Shika threw herself backwards onto the foot of her bed so hard that she rolled off the other side and hit the floor. Even Shoto could hear the hard thump as her body made contact with the wood, though he didn't know exactly where the sound came from.

But it was loud and it hurt!

Shika laid there on the floor with her hands over her mouth and her heart racing a million beats per second. She couldn't even register the pain from the fall yet.

Adrenaline was pumping!

And the embarrassment! There was no doubt in her mind that he'd heard her fall, which only added to said embarrassment.

Why was she doing this, she wondered? What kind of hero peeps on unsuspecting people? She was definitely engaging in some illegal activity! Not a good start to her hero career.

But...somehow...she really, really liked it. Even if she couldn't bring herself to look at more than his naked upper body. She definitely liked looking at him. Still, this development made her feel shameful.

Excited and shameful.