Asuma's POV

Even though he should have been paying attention to his father, or his team, he couldn't help but study Naruto. The girl had some strength to her, having made it through the second phase of the Chunin exams but she was also easily forced into submission by Sasuke. He knew what their conversation was about. He had heard everything about the curse mark and Orochimaru sneaking into the exams. At least Naruto seemed to care about her team mates, even the blond.

The blond seemed energetic and admittedly Asuma had ridden him off as an idiot, until he had talked to Shikamaru. He had thanked Shikamaru for saving his team. It was a confusing interaction. At first Shikamaru appeared reluctant to look at the blond and as though he wanted the conversation over with. But then it changed. The blond promised to help Shikamaru, saying that he owed him one. Shikamaru had looked at the blond in surprise, a number of emotions flickering across his face as he told the blond he didn't have too.

"Yes, I do! You are annoying, and sleep most of the time, and are so lazy that you can't even be bothered to argue about anything you care about, or be passionate about anything but no matter what, I've got your back whenever you need me."

Asuma agreed with the boy's last comment. Shikamaru really needed to be passionate about something. As the blond spoke Shikamaru had looked as though he wanted to contradict him, and by the end of it his mouth was hanging open. The rest of Team Nine had looked surprised at the blonde's words as well, though Asuma didn't see why they should be. Kakashi's student didn't seem effected by their expressions and instead gave Shikamaru a small smile before walking back to Naruto. Asuma was startled when he looked back at Shikamaru. The dark haired boy was blushing!

Maybe it was thinking about saving Naruto, Asuma thought as Naruto and her team mate cheered on Sasuke. I'll have to learn that blond's name. He turned back to his team just before the fight started.

As Shikamaru stood next to him, leaning against the wall, Asuma alternated between watching the fight and watching Naruto and her teammate. The two were watching Sasuke intensely. However, Naruto looked enraptured whilst the blond looked as though he was studying the fight closely. Asuma honestly wasn't sure how to move Naruto's feelings from Sasuke to Shikamaru, and the lazy boy wasn't helping. He hadn't said a word to the pink haired girl, though Asuma did notice that he looked over at Kakashi's team often, blushing again at one point. When the blond yelled at Sasuke, goading him to keep fighting, Shikamaru looked over sharply. He had looked over with surprise before glaring at Sasuke. He seemed to descend back into his own thoughts after a few minutes, or perhaps never truly surfaced.

It was when Sasuke's fight ended that Shikamaru broke from his thoughts. He looked over at the two teammates as the blond spoke quietly to Naruto. The glare was back, though it was starting to seem as though it was an involuntary reaction.

Looks like Shikamaru is the jealous type. Though I don't think Naruto has any romantic feelings for her blond teammate, just Sasuke.

The fights went on and Asuma noticed that Naruto wasn't as dumb as he expected after Kakashi's knucklehead comment. She actually seemed knowledgeable, explaining why the use of puppets was allowed in a one-on-one fight to her teammate and occasionally making general comments about the fights. She didn't seem like a knucklehead at all. The blond certainly did though.

Shikamaru had came out of his stoic silence long enough to throw some snide or harsh remarks at the boy but he went silent again when they were given a ten minute break. Choji walked over to the blond, striking up a conversation about ramen, which the other ninja seemed to enjoy. Just as the last person stepped back into the room, though, the next match was chosen.

Choji had returned to his team by this point and the three males watched as the name of the final member of their team appeared. Ino was to verse her old rival Sakura. He had heard plenty about her from Ino but he didn't think that she had made it to the Chunin exams. He really should have payed attention when the other Jonins were signing their students up but Kurenai's dress was tight. He looked over to the stairs where Ino was, watching her glare at Naruto as they walked down to the arena.

He gasped. There was no way Kakashi would let someone fight when they weren't supposed to, at least not in this situation. But that would mean... His eyes drifted over to the blond left standing next to Kakashi before he slowly pulled his gaze to meet Shikamaru's. The boy was looking at him in confusion. Asuma had no doubt he had a similar expression, though his was probably more intense.

"That's Sakura?" Asuma asked in an astounded voice. The information was trickling into his mind.

"Yeah," Shikamaru confirmed with a shrug, his hands going to his pockets.

His eyes slid back to the blond. "And who is that?" He looked at Shikamaru, only to look back at the blond, then Shikamaru again.

"Uzumaki, Naruto."

Part of him knew that when the pink haired girl walked down to fight Ino, but he had still had his doubts. His eyes widened; his jaw dropping. His cigarette only stayed in his mouth because of dry saliva gluing it to his lip. He looked from Shikamaru to the blond, Naruto, thinking over what he had observed between the two. The blond was a knucklehead, like Kakashi had said, and Shikamaru had seemed to like taunting him… drawing his attention. And the blush. The blush! Of course it now made sense. Naruto had been the one thanking him, and promising to fight for Shikamaru. Shikamaru had been blushing at the one in front of him, the one smiling at him. He had also glared at Sasuke when Naruto had yelled out to him, and Sakura when Naruto was talking to her.

Wait! Naruto's a boy… Asuma scanned the blond with his eyes. Yes, definitely a boy. Shikamaru is already sure of his sexuality… does that normally happen so young? I have no clue. Well, the kid does have fire to him. He iss strong, kind of like Shikamaru's mother, and won't let the lazy kid get away with slacking off… well maybe he would, it's hard to tell. But he's not very smart.

When the blond shot a look over his shoulder Asuma realized he was staring. He closed his mouth and gave his head a slight shake, crossing his arms. Looking hard at the girls on the ground below, he acted as though nothing had transpired. The last thing he wanted was for Shikamaru to get the wrong idea and think his sensei had a problem with Naruto.

Shikamaru rested his arm on the railing. "For all the people for Ino to go up against it would have to be Sakura. What a mess!"

"I know, I hope Ino will be okay," Choji muttered into his arms that were resting on the railing.

"GO, SAKURA! YOU CAN DO IT!" Naruto screamed, cupping his hands to get extra volume. "DON'T LOSE!"

He's awfully loud. Asuma put Naruto out of his mind, focusing all his attention on his student. He was impressed with the fight, even though it ended in a draw. Ino had certainly improved in the time that she was in the Forest of Death.

He noticed during Tenten and the Sand Genin's fight that when Shikamaru spoke disheartened about the fight that Naruto was the first to respond, spurring a little argument between them. He did notice how Shikamaru scoffed when Sakura assured Naruto that he could take the Sand ninjas. Asuma couldn't help but notice the smirk he gave Naruto when Shikamaru's name was selected instead of the blonde's.

When Shikamaru gave a noise of pain and covered his ears Naruto looked concerned, gripping the railing a little tighter. "Is he going to be okay? What's happening to him?"

"My guess is that the bells are affecting his senses. They are putting him off balance and perhaps making him see double or even triple. It is similar to a genjutsu," Kakashi explained calmly.

"Like the other guy from the Sound, when he attacked Kabuto. He didn't touch him but Kabuto still threw up." Naruto pulled a disgusted look. "Is Shikamaru going to throw up? That'll be embarrassing."

"He'll be fine," Asuma assured, watching Shikamaru. No doubt that the boy had already thought of something. He just wondered if the little genius had heard Naruto's words. It would be a shame if he didn't.

When Shikamaru completed his fight Naruto looked impressed, but that was short lived. He instantly started complain that he hadn't had his turn, going so far as to insult Shikamaru.

"Even a good for nothing lazy bum gets to win his match! When will I get my turn?"

Shikamaru was walking up onto the balcony and even from a distance Asuma could see him flinch at Naruto's words. He looked down, watching his feet as he walked up to his team. It was only when Naruto started to cheer that he looked up.

Naruto's fight against Kiba had certainly been interesting. It was obvious that everyone except for Naruto's teammates thought that Kiba was going to win. At first Asuma thought that Kakashi was being arrogant, thinking that Naruto had a chance, but then he noticed it. He noticed that Naruto was unpredictable. It was his biggest advantage. Kakashi had mentioned that you couldn't count Naruto out and Asuma was starting to understand why.

Although Asuma found the fight incredible to watch, he was also fascinated with watching Shikamaru's reactions. He had not looked away from the fight from the moment it started and had voiced his opinions a number of times. Shikamaru clearly thought Kiba would win without too much of a challenge but he had been wrong. Asuma was fairly certain, thinking back, that Shikamaru had been able to predict the outcome of every battle so far after the first two moves.

Perhaps that is Naruto's appeal. He can keep Shikamaru on his toes.

Truthfully he was beginning to wonder how no one else had noticed Shikamaru's infatuation. When Naruto performed a double transformation, surprising everyone, Shikamaru's face had filled with fascination and something akin to longing, though it had an odd spark to it. Asuma easily recognised it as the spark that appeared when Shikamaru came across a piece of information that he wanted to devour and claim for his own purposes.

"Brilliant!" Shikamaru whispered, his eyes roaming over Naruto, studying the situation and Naruto's strategy.

Well that can't be good for Naruto. Asuma bit back his chuckle, wondering if Shikamaru was scheming to himself.

Now that he knew the true identity of Naruto he was beginning to wonder how he could have thought it was Sakura. He was starting to think Shikamaru might also be aware of his feelings, if the little things Asuma was picking up on were anything to go on. When the preliminary exams were over Asuma took his team out for barbeque, as he had promised Choji. Kakashi's team had run ahead, out the doors, making Kakashi sigh, though he made no move to keep up with them. The two spoke of ramen.

His three students looked exhausted but happy to be getting a meal. It was clear that he would have to create a training schedule for Shikamaru otherwise the boy would sit around doing nothing for a month. Luckily, he knew something that should be able to motivate the boy, he just had to put it into practice without the boy realising.

They sat down in a booth and they ordered meat for them to barbeque. Once the meat started sizzling Asuma turned to his three students. "I am very proud of all of you for how you handled the exams."

"But Choji and I lost our fights," Ino muttered, looking down at her plate.

"That doesn't matter. You both fought well and that is what matters. You can learn from how you went. Not only that, but there were many people older than you who did not even reach the second exam, or the preliminary exam. You should be proud." He smiled at them before putting some meat onto his plate to eat. It was perfectly cooked, since Choji was the one who looked after it.

"Thanks, Asuma-Sensei," Choji said before digging into his meal.

"It's troublesome that I still have to fight. On top of that I have to fight an extra battle. What a drag." Shikamaru rested his chin on his palm, sighing heavily.

"Hmm, that's true but at least you will have more opportunity to impress those who will determine if you become a Chunin. Though, you might have to be careful. I notice that one kid was studying the fights closely. He was even asked questions when he didn't understand peoples fighting techniques. What was his name..." Asuma pretended to think, making sure he worded the rest of his speech correctly, "oh, Naruto from Kakashi's team. He was watching your fight very closely, Shikamaru. He was worried about you. And he's an unpredictable one so he might cause you problems."

He hid his grin behind his napkin, pretending to wipe his mouth. Shikamaru's face was amusing. He tried to look uncaring, or bored, but the corner of his mouth twitched and his eyes looked awake, something they weren't moments before. Choji stopped devouring food long enough to shoot his friend a smile that went unnoticed by the dark haired boy. It had worked. There was something there, in Shikamaru's expression that showed determination. Asuma wondered if he would be able to play the Naruto card for a month or if it would wear off. Perhaps he would have to invite Naruto to one of their meals.

"Doesn't matter. If I end up fighting him I'll beat him. Besides, he might not get passed Neji. Defeating Kiba is one thing but Neji was the top of his class and Naruto is an idiot." Shikamaru scoffed, putting a piece of food into his mouth and chewing slowly.

Ino looked away from giving Choji a disgusted look long enough to contribute to the conversation. "Naruto was actually impressive. I never thought I would say that but Naruto's fighting technique was smart. I would have fallen for it too."

"Yeah, I have to admit, I have no clue how he came up with that plan. I would have put money on Kiba winning but Naruto has really improved." Shikamaru gave a small smile. "Wish I knew about that damn bridge though."

Asuma laughed. "Oh, I got Kakashi to tell me the story so I'll tell you if you train."

"Man, what a drag. I could just ask Naruto."

"You could, but he will probably be training too." Asuma helped Choji put more meat onto the barbeque as something Kakashi had said to him came to mind. "You should be careful if you fight against Naruto. Apparently he has a large amount of chakra. Kakashi said that he was teaching the three of them a technique. Sasuke and Naruto trained for days straight but apparently Naruto trained at night too. I think Kakashi said he tallied it at three days and night. He said that the kid doesn't stop for anything. Kakashi isn't one to exaggerate so just watch yourself. When he says Naruto's chakra levels might be higher than his own, you know it's true. We are going to have to get your stamina up so that you can withstand multiple fights but if Naruto really does have that much chakra I think you're going to have some trouble if you go up against him."

The three Genins looked speechless, their mouths hanging open, eyes wide. Asuma could see some half chewed barbeque sitting on one of Ino's back molars. Surprisingly it was Choji, who looked the most shocked, who recovered first.

"How is it possible for a Genin to have so much chakra reserves?" Choji squeaked.

"Come to think of it, Kiba took a food pill to heighten his chakra, but Naruto kept up with him and still had energy afterwards. Ino, you and Sakura passed out after your fight and I don't think you two used as much chakra as Naruto. He pulled off multiple jutsus, including one of Jonin level, and was still standing. He didn't even look that exhausted. After about two minutes his breathing had levelled back out." Shikamaru ignored the look that Ino shot him, clearly questioning how he had noticed so much.

Asuma chose not to mention anything about how much Shikamaru had observed. He did notice that Choji had a small smile on his face as he grabbed some meat off of the barbeque. Honestly, he didn't know why that boy smiled at meat but then again his whole family were big eaters.

"You'll have to use your brain against him since I doubt you will be able to build enough stamina to keep up with Naruto in just a month."

He didn't know why his words caused Shikamaru to blush but he was amused and proud of himself nonetheless.

So, you get to see an in-depth of Asuma's reaction. I was surprised about how many reviews I got about Asuma finding out Naruto was a boy. I couldn't help but laugh evilly at the fact that you wouldn't get to see his full reaction until chapter 4. Next chapter will be full of Naruto/Shikamaru goodness, promise.

R and R.