Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto; Masashi Kishimoto does. So sue me!
Chapter Two: Advice
Shikamaru arrived at Kakashi's house. He knocked on the door, looking around from on the porch. A few minutes passed, so he knocked again.
"I'll be out in a minute!" yelled the cranky voice of Kakashi. He sounded especially mad, so Shikamaru asked, "Is now a bad time, Kakashi-sensei? If it is, I could come back later."
Kakashi opened the door. "Oh, it's you, Shikamaru!" he replied, suddenly cheerful. Shikamaru looked at Kakashi with a somewhat annoyed look on his face. (This would be the time when major anime sweat drops form on the back of Shikamaru's head!) He followed Kakashi into the apartment.
It was a mess! There were clothes all spread around. Books were opened and scattered all over the floor. Shikamaru looked over at the dirty dishes that still had food on them. His face showed disgust- Is that MOLD? he thought to himself plenty of times- but he quickly masked it because Kakashi had turned around and sat, facing Shikamaru.
"You can sit down, you know," Kakashi told Shikamaru.
Shikamaru looked at Kakashi. "Where can I sit, Kakashi-sensei?" he asked.
Kakashi sighed and pointed to his left. "It's called a chair, Shikamaru," he told him. "I'm ashamed that a boy as lazy as you are started doing homework but hasn't heard of a chair! You sit in plenty of them," he added sarcastically.
Shikamaru made his way to the chair (tripping along the way) and sat down on it. He looked at the many messes around the room. I wonder if ALL the rooms are this bad, he thought to himself.
"So why are you here, Shikamaru?" asked Kakashi.
Shikamaru looked over at Kakashi and sighed. "There's someone I really like, but I can't find a way to express my feelings," he answered. "Can you help me?"
Kakashi smiled. "Okay, who is she?" he asked Shikamaru.
Shikamaru sighed again. "Here's where the problem sets in," he continued. "The person I like isn't a girl. It's a guy. That makes it even harder to explain to my crush how I feel about him."
Kakashi's eyes grew wide. "Okay then, who's the lucky boy?" he asked.
Shikamaru looked to the ground. "Aburame Shino," he answered, hinting shame in his voice. "Is it right for a guy to like another guy?"
Kakashi grinned wider. "It's just fine, but it's definitely not common around here," he answered. "You like Shino, huh? You two would make a cute couple."
Shikamaru looked at Kakashi in shock. "You're not gonna laugh at me?" he asked.
Kakashi shook his head. "Give it time," he told the boy. "You'll find a way to tell Shino your feelings for him. If you still have trouble after, let's say, a week, come to me and I'll see if I can help you, okay?"
Shikamaru nodded, bowed and left.
Five minutes later, another knock came on Kakashi's door. "Kakashi-sensei?" asked the voice. "It's me, Sasuke. I have a question I want to ask you."
Kakashi opened the door and told Sasuke to sit in the chair next to his. Sasuke nodded and sat in the chair. "I hope I don't sound awkward, but I have a problem. I have a crush on someone, but I can't tell them how I feel. The only problem is-"
"The person is a guy, right?" Kakashi finished.
Sasuke's eyes widened. "Yes!" he said. Then he looked at the floor. "The one I have a crush on is Uzumaki Naruto. What should I do?"
Kakashi grinned. "Give yourself time to think about what to do and or say," he told the boy. "If you're still unsure after about a week, come tell me and I'll look into it, okay?"
Sasuke nodded, got up, bowed and left.
Kakashi chuckled. "Isn't this quite the turn-around?" he asked himself. "I wonder if they'll realize their feelings for each other."
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