Shikamaru sighed gently as they broke through the thick forest, and into the warming sun. It's soothing caress sending waves of contentment through her. She was home. The scent of the forest flowers blooming was a delight on her sense of smell; especially after a mission in a town of rock. The mountains had great sunsets and sunrise, and you were so close to the clouds it felt like you were floating, but nothing, nothing, was as good as coming back to the village. The hidden leaf was a shining beacon of safety to leaf shinobi, and a declaration of power to enemies. It was where she was born and raised. It was what she would die to defend. It might as well as been the center of the universe for the shinobi that protected it. Its high walls, protected by the visible chunnin and not so visible ANBU, held great memories from a kid. After the academy, a few of them would attempt to scale the wall without getting caught. They never succeeded, but the ANBU catching them would play along. Sitting at the top and either pretending not to see them until they reached the ANBU or encouraging them with gentle words and advise. If they slipped and fell, the ANBU would catch them before they hit the floor, their tiny bodies cradled in the ANBU's arms protectively. When they started chakra control exercises, well the Ino-Shika-Cho trio did, they used to play the same game, except walking up the wall. Like real ninja, Shikamaru though with an amused smirk. Now look at the team, proper ninja now, and broken up. A rare thing for their clans, but maybe it was for the best. Shikamaru sighed, people were troublesome and could be such a drag. Especially that blonde brat, Ino. The girl spent more time obsessing over her looks and her "precious Sasuke-kun" then working at being a ninja. No wonder kunoichi's have bad reputations, with people like her and Sakura. Shikamaru sneered at the thought of the pink haired girl. Seriously, she was worse than Ino! At least Ino knew how to work with people and cared about her teammates (despite her yelling). That pink haired excuse for a human constantly hit and belittled one of her teammates. That was enough for Shikamaru to develop a strong streak of distrust and dislike. The girl had book smarts and damn good chakra control, she'd give her that, but outside of that she was not ninja material. She should have stayed in the merchant clan she came from. Honestly, how she managed to survive Kakashi-sensei's training when he was obsessed with teamwork, Shikamaru did not know.
With a sigh, and a roll of her eyes, Shikamaru forcefully changed her mental track. Now they were back at the village, she could get back to learning about seals. Actually, wasn't Kakashi a student of the fourth Hokage; who had been a seal master? Maybe he could help.
"Ano Kakashi-sensei?" She asked, her voice lazily filling the air between them. "It's a drag, I know, but do you know anything about sealing? The books in the libraries I have access too are limited on where to start." Which was hugely annoying. The civilian library had nothing, which was expected. The genin library had nothing except a brief mention, and the chunnin library mentioned the things possible with seals, but not how to get into sealing. Apparently, it was more a Master and Apprentice styled learning path, which was aggravating; since Konoha didn't have a seal master left in the village. Maybe Jiraiya-sama would respond to a letter?
"Oohhh, are we a curious little deer about seals?" was Kakashi's cheerful reply. "Tell you what, if you can put together a decent enough reason for learning and can master a storage seal, then I'll help you. I'll even be generous and give you three attempts to earn that right." Despite his cheerful demeaner, Kakashi's words were firm. If she truly wanted to learn seals, she would need to prove her motivation to learn them. What. A. Drag. With a nod, Shika accepted the conditions and silently took the offered seal diagram. At least, if nothing else, she would be able to do a storage seal. The rest of the trip to sign in was quiet, except for the odd threatening/flirting between Anko and the chunnin duo, Izumo and Kotetsu. Shika just raised her hand in greeting at the two, a faint blush on her cheeks as Ko' gave her a flirty wink over Anko's shoulder.
"Looking good Shika-chan. I am lovin' the blushing!" Ko called. A smirk spreading across his face as the girl in front of him turned bright pink under the attention. He added a wolf whistle just to see her go darker. Damn she was easy to torment. Apparently still quite shy and innocent, unlike the crazy snake lady of a friend next to the little deer. A whack across his head, had him tearing his eyes away from Shikamaru to pout at his partner.
"Owie 'Zumo. Why you gotta be so rough? Sometimes I like it gentle you know." Ko' snickered at the dramatic eyerolling that he got in return, before Izumo turned to the returning shinobi.
"Thank you for your hard work guys. The Hokage only needs the jounin to report. You are free Shikamaru, if you fancy another training session today, we are all meeting at the usual time." With a bow, Izumo waved them through, his gentle manner appealing to any homecoming shinobi.
With a lazy wave, and a parting word thrown over her shoulder, Shikamaru headed into the heart of the village. It was lunch time, and she wanted to kill as much time as possible before heading home. She really didn't fancy seeing her parents this early in the day. With her backpack thrown over her shoulder, and her hands shoved into her pockets, she trudged her way into the busier part of Konoha. Noodles sounded good, maybe she'd try that stand of Naruto's. Shikamaru couldn't remember the last time she had ramen. As she wandered, she could feel herself sinking into the familiar sounds of home. The fishwives loudly calling their wares, the general chitchat, the children playing, it all mixed together to soothe the shinobi part of her. A growl from her stomach pushed her onwards towards the ramen bar. No matter how nice the food was on a mission, nothing was better then the first meal back! Maybe she'd go and pester 'Zumo and Ko' afterwards or go and watch the clouds! That would be nice. A quiet hill, with a good view of the clouds. Just her, a drink, and the clouds. Yes, that sounded like a good idea. With a pleased smirk at the plan, she quickened her pace just a tad, eager to get to her hill. Maybe she'd treat herself and get it to go, then she wouldn't have to sit there and potentially get spoken too. With a slight spring in her slow steps, Shikamaru wove her way through the crowd to duck under the curtains; only to curse herself for not checking who was there already.
"Oh Shikamaru, come join us, you can tell us how the mission went!" A cheerful voice called out, as the guy it belonged to approached her, hooking one arm over her shoulder and pulling her tight against him. He hugged her briefly, before guiding her over to his vacated seat and gently pushed her on to it, calling out to the waitress to order for her. Normally this behavior would irritate her, but he was one of a handful of people who had been doing that for years. When she was younger, Shikamaru had struggled to talk to new people. Unlike Hinata's shy stutter, Shikamaru had just avoided new people and new situations. To counter this, her clan, the Yamanaka clan, and the Akimichi clan had taken to doing a lot of the talking for her, for the majority of them the habit was so ingrained that it just happened. No-one stopped to consider that she could now talk for herself, but it was a drag to try and stop them, so she just accepted it. Besides it was kinda nice to know they still cared enough to do it.
"What is that about? I've seen both Ino and Chouji order for you too." The bearded jounin opposite her asked. His voice, rough from years of smoking, sent panic rushing through her body. Last time he made her go home. Did he bring the rest of his team with him?! A quick glance showed her that it was just him, Inoichi and Chouza at the booth. The arm around her shoulder tightened and pulled her close, Inoichi's thumb gently stroking across he collarbone as he frowned down at her. Apparently, he had noticed her tense up. Great, what a drag.
Inoichi frowned down at the top of his surrogate daughter's head. He wasn't sure why Asuma had caused her to panic, but he didn't like it. Letting Chouza answer for them, he concentrated on calming the girl down. Normally, he went for a melodramatic to get her to laugh; today he had a feeling that wouldn't work very well. So, he went for a more physical way to soothe the girl in his arms. He cuddled her close, slowly running the pad of his thumb over her collarbone. His stroking timed to a calming-breath pace, it was a system their team had worked out for calming Shikamaru down as a kid. Naras, as a rule, were prone to panic attacks as little ones. Their minds working to a frenzy that they couldn't stop on their own. Inoichi locked eyes with Shika as she glanced up at him, and he was in. He skimmed through the thoughts at the front of her mind, the ones about him having caught her tense up, before he pushed deeper and landed in the mindscape, he had helped her build. It was a beautiful place. Reminiscent of the Nara clan forest. It had huge trees of oak, pine, and cherry, twisting together to create a canape. The sun shone between the leaves creating an ever-shifting pattern of shadow on the ground, with specks of colour from small hanging coloured glass charms. The effect was designed to be the first layer of defense; a hypnotic pattern to trap someone long enough for her to boot them. Around them were books hidden in the trees; what looked like a good amateur attempt at hiding her thoughts. These books were traps hidden within random memories that had no meaning or no importance to them. Lastly was the deer watching him through the overgrowth, allowing him to move as long as he meant no harm to their mistress. Pushing forward, Inoichi ignored the books and moved the over hanging branches aside until he reached a clearing. In shock he froze, the clearing (as he remembered it) had been enchanting. Like a sanctuary within Shikamaru's mind. It had safes, chests, lanterns and a never-ending tea set. It was the kind of place that told him how much she loved the peace and serenity that came from the forest. Now. Now, it was gone. The place was crumbling around him. Rot had set in the tree roots, and everything was gone. There were no chests, no floor cushions. The books were torn apart and scattered. This was not good! Shikaku needed to know, and soon. They would need to get to the bottom of this before her mind shattered completely. With a last devastated look around, Inoichi yanked himself back to his own mind, and focused back in on the conversation.
"…clan thing, Asuma. It's nothing you need to worry about, but if it makes you feel better about it, I'll explain. When Shika-chan was little, she struggled with people. We think it was because her mind was picking up cues and signals subconsciously, but she didn't know how to interpret them yet. It caused her to panic around new people, especially if they were talking to her. So, our clans decided to speak for her, at least until she was confident enough to do it herself. Nowadays, it's habit to order for her." With a shrug, Chouza explained. One of his giant paws for hands, resting on Shikamaru's back the other holding his cup. Seeing Asuma open his mouth to ask something else, Chouza directed a stern glare at the jounin.
"Enough Asuma. It is of no concern of yours. It doesn't affect your role as a sensei, nor does it impact her performance on missions. If you want to know more, go through her clan head." The big mans voice rang with steel. He was putting his foot down, as both a superior ranked nin and a clan head. Ignoring the frown on the jounin, Chouza smiled down at the girl next to him. He delighted in having her near. Honestly out of the new generation of InoShikaChou, Shikamaru was definitely the one that had a soft spot in all of the Clan Heads hearts. It started as a child, when they noticed how shy she got with everyone except them, and just grew as she matured. The strength of her connection to the void worried all of them, so they had made extra effort to visit her when she was confined to compound as a toddler. It had hurt all of them to see her upset about being kept in the compound unlike her peers in the clan. Still, it helped form the bond with the three older shinobi and her future teammates.
"So Shikamaru, you going to tell us about your mission? I'm glad to see your normal uniform back too, much more professional looking." Chouza swept his eyes over the girl in approval, taking in the black combats and armored mesh shirt with her normal dark vest over the top. The only splash of colour now was her chunnin flak jacket and the silver stud earrings. The practicality of her uniform suited her, and her clan style, perfectly. It was better to leave the girly/flirty style to Inoichi's daughter. Afterall the Yamanaka's took pride in using their appearance to build an image for people to underestimate. The Nara clan tended to go for something dark, and something they could move in. Honestly, the flexibility of that clan was ridiculous. Some of the acrobatics he had seen Shikaku preform are ludicrous. Now the Akimichi clan went for heavier material. They were the combat specialist on the team, so their uniform tended to reflect that, with armored plating sown in. The material was specially made in the clan for them. It had to stretch as they grew, so it was tricky to make.
"It was interesting Uncle. Kakashi-sensei is definitely unique in his methods." Shikamaru's voice was filled with her dry humour at the last sentence. Unique was one way of putting it. "We finished the mission early, I can't tell you anymore currently. It's classified still." Shikamaru perked up. "I can, however, tell you about the day of training with Kakashi-sensei! That was such a drag, but I learnt quite a bit, I think! He also plays shogi, so I have a new partner… though he cheats!" Shikamaru pouted slightly at Kakashi's form of ninja chess or shogi. He refused to use the board, preferring to play the game mentally. He kept stealing her pieces and changing them to his own, still it was both frustrating and fun. She needed to keep coming up with new ways of proceeding to keep up with his cheating ways. She perked up and smiled at her uncles, steadfastly not looking at the Jounin opposite her.
"He taught me how to sense chakra around me. How to fight instinctually, understanding the slightest of fluctuations in the chakra around me to predict my opponent." Shikamaru spoke slightly breathily, her awe of what she felt clearly showing. "I could feel it vibrating through my body, I could feel innate chakra of the ground catch me before I hit the ground. It was one of the best things I've ever been taught! Kakashi-sensei is amazing, he understood that I can do more than I present, and he made sure I reached the level he wanted. I wonder if he'll be up for sparring with me occasionally. I know I'm way out of his league, but it would be useful." Shikamaru was eager to train with Kakashi again. The silver haired nin was a legend. He was just as insane as he was genius and it appealed to Shikamaru. He was someone she could learn so much from, especially if she wanted to go into assassinations. Konoha's Hound is nearly as famous as the Nara clan for their success rates with assassination missions.
"I'd be happy to beat you into every muddy puddle in the training ground Shikamaru, especially if it helps you improve." Speaking of the devil, with a poof of displaced air next to Asuma, Kakashi included himself at the table. His one visible eye curved into a happy shape as he answered, before nudging Asuma.
"She was fun to throw around the training grounds Asuma, you should have shared earlier! Way more fun than my own cute little genin." He chirped, waving at the two clan heads next to Shikamaru, ignoring their amused chuckles.
Asuma, however, wasn't impressed. He growled at his friend before replying, a harsh tone in his voice. "You aren't meant to be beating them, idiot. No way was I sending my kids over to you. You've no idea how to treat genin! Just look at your team. One is useless with no confidence in herself after you ignored her; one of them has gone with a different teacher, and the third is a traitor! So no, I didn't share my team with you, and I'm glad I didn't." Asuma breathed harshly at the end of his rant, and the table was silent. Shikamaru had her hands covering her mouth, looking on in horror at her old sensei's unprofessional outburst. Never, never, had Asuma lost his temper to this point, especially with a friend.
Kakashi stood up stiffly and dropped a pouch of coins in front of Shikamaru, with a note on it that it was her share of the mission pay. His one visible eye was cold as ice, and as hard as steel. He jerked his head in some resemblance of a nod to the table and walked away. His movements were tight, erratic and his chakra coiled coolly around the room, stealing the breath of the people it touched. He didn't look back as he ducked under the curtains, so he failed to see the response from the booth he just left.
"What the fuck was that, Asuma?" surprisingly, the hiss came from Shikamaru who slowly stood up. Her eyes were flashing between their normal honey colour and the black of the void. Her body trembled under the weight of her fury. It was strange, she thought distantly, she hasn't felt fury in years and then twice in two weeks. This time, however, she had a target for this anger. She felt a hand on each of her shoulders. One slimmer than the other, but with no less strength to it. With an abrupt shrug, Shikamaru shook off her uncles' hands, and gave Asuma her iciest glare. Loyalty meant a lot to her, that included loyalty to friends. What he did just then crossed the line. No matter how mad he was, he didn't have the right to treat a friend like that! As far as Shikamaru was concerned, he was not her teacher anymore. With a growl, Shikamaru exited the stand and went searching for Kakashi. She faintly remembered her dad talking with uncle Inoichi about Kakashi spending most of his time at the memorial stone, so there was where she was headed. If she remembered correctly, and she always did, there was a cheap, but decent, coffee stand on the way. If she was going to have to deal with troublesome shinobi today, she needed the coffee!
The remaining 3 shinobi sat in silence, two of them watching the third, their body language was loose and relax, their eyes however told a different story. The blonde male had his head tilted and his eyes were narrowed on the jounin opposite, as he psychoanalyzed the jounin. Whatever conclusion he reached formed a reproachful stare, one that clearly conveyed disappointment and mild reprimand. Meanwhile Chouza hardened his glare into one of distaste. As far as both Inoichi and Chouza were concerned, you didn't throw a friend under the cart for someone else betraying the village. Especially when said friend had trust issues anyway, so you were one of their handful of friends.
"So, Asuma, do you want to answer Shika's question? What on earth made you say that, boy? You know Kakashi had nothing to do with that traitor leaving the village. Hell, we had already stopped him once; or do you not remember one of your own genin in the ICU, and the other nearly quitting the forces after blaming herself for the genin that got hurt?" The words were snarled out in a low voice. Chouza's face was covered in shade from the booth, causing a terrifying look to be on his face. It had been his boy in the ICU, and his surrogate daughter that tried to quit. Shikamarus mission report had described how Sasuke had willingly gone to the sound nin. The boy was out for power, and he didn't care if comrades got hurt in the process. The report indicated that no matter what, Sasuke would try to leave the village, it was just a matter of time. If it wasn't for the civilian half of the council, the Uchiha spawn would have had his chakra sealed for good.
"Jealousy is not a good look on a Jounin, Asuma." Inoichi's smooth tones cut through the tension. A hint of reprimand curled through his voice. "You had your chance to teach her, now she needs to spread her wings a bit. She is still your student, but she has something to learn from nearly every ninja in this village. She would never had stopped being your student, until you acted that way today. Give them both time to cool off, then apologize. Can't guarantee they'll forgive you, but it'll help." With that both of the older jounin left Asuma to his thoughts.
