Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto; Masashi Kishimoto does. So sue me!
Chapter 6: Coming Out of the Closet
"It is kind of a long story. This all started when we...had...sex," Shino told Shikaku. "We had climaxed, dressed, and fallen asleep. I woke up and looked at the clock. It read 5:30, so I was sitting and calculating how long it would be before my mother came home when I heard a moan. I turned my head and noticed that Shikamaru had started to sweat. I did not know why he was doing this, so I brought him over here to see if you could figure out what was wrong with him."
Shikaku just stared at the Aburame boy for a moment then smiled. "You really are in love with my son, aren't you?" Shikaku asked Shino. "He hasn't really been himself since that day."
Shino looked at Shikaku. "May I ask what you mean by that?" he questioned.
Shikaku looked at Shino sadly. "Shikamaru hasn't been himself since his sister disappeared," he replied. "She's been missing for quite a long time. About 9 years now, to be exact."
"Am I allowed to ask what name was his sister called by?" Shino asked.
Shikaku nodded. "Her name was Murasaki," he answered. "We never found her, and everyone assumed she had died. Shikamaru never gave up, though, until recently. He just suddenly lost all hope in his life. For some reason, he became very anti-social, hardworking, but above all, depressed. I don't understand what caused him to fall like this, but he's been like this for the past year.
"I've been searching for Murasaki lots of times, but I haven't found any trace of where she could've gone. I'm on the verge of giving up, but I feel that I would be letting Shikamaru and his mother down by doing that. I don't know what to do anymore."
A small moan of pain was heard, followed by loud muttering. Shikaku and Shino glanced over as soon as they heard Shikamaru moan Murasaki's name. Shino became scared, for he didn't know if Shikamaru had heard any of the conversation or not. Shikaku revealed a frightened expression as he saw Shikamaru began to cry in his fevered sleep. He then hugged his son gently and began to cry as well. Then he got up and went for another bowl of cold water.
"I already lost my daughter," Shikaku murmured to himself. "I'm not about to lose my son, too. I will help Shikamaru get better, no matter what."
After about three hours of battling the fever, it broke. Shikamaru's temperature returned to normal and he awoke to see Shino and Shikaku's relieved expressions. Shikamaru smiled. He got up and walked around to show that he had enough strength to move. He surprised his father and lover by this.
Suddenly, a girl's scream was heard from an alley in the village. Shikamaru looked at Shikaku. His father nodded, and Shikamaru bolted out the door towards the direction of the scream.
Good? Bad? Whatever? Feedback would be appreciated!