So, originally this chapter and chapter 7 were one but it got to big…. I also had plans for this (1 now 2) chapter to go all the way to the end of the chunin exams, start of the invasion buuuut…. That didn't happen. I didn't expect to go so much into detail but the scene in Naruto's hospital room was the thought that started this story. I asked my friend why Shikamaru was there and insinuated that he was worried about Naruto in a more-than-friend way. So now this is my interpretation of the scene, looking at Shikamaru's thoughts.

It wasn't really surprising, given how he eats, but nonetheless, Shikamaru still trekked down the corridor to the room the nurse had rudely read out for him. The way she acted you would think he had said something offensive like her red nose hairs didn't match her black hair… which it didn't, but he kept that to himself. Deciding to forget the disgruntled woman, Shikamaru knocked on the door to Choji's hospital room. When he heard his friend give him permission to enter, he slid the door open, waving the basket of fruit for his friend to see. Choji groaned, looking pale.

"Shikamaru, don't be mean! I'm not allowed to eat for at least another twelve hours." Choji groaned again, lying back against the mound of pillows behind him. No doubt his mother had come by. His friend looked pale under his red swirls.

"Yeah, the doctors told me just before I came in. At least you know I did bring you something." Shikamaru sat on the chair next to Shikamaru's bed, putting the fruit basket on the floor, out of Choji's sight. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Not really. Sorry I won't be able to help with training."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Don't worry. Asuma-Sensei gave me the day off until the finals. If I'm not good enough now then I won't be with a day more of training."

"I'm sure you will make it, Shikamaru." Choji gave his friend a smile before he suddenly looked serious. "Did you hear about Naruto?"

It was hard to describe the feeling that washed through him. It was something akin to swallowing cement. He tried to form his face into a look of mild interest whereas he wants to shake the answers about Naruto out of Choji whilst also running out of the room to find Naruto and check on her himself.

"What about him?"

"He's been unconscious for three days now. The nurses found him outside beside a big frog footprint. His chakra plummeted and there were stories about a giant toad… a couple of people even tried to say that the Fourth Hokage was back from the dead… those people were drunk though." Choji gave a soft smile. "Don't worry. When I heard them talking I made sure to ask how he was. They expect him to wake up sometime soon. So he will be awake for tomorrow… though I don't know if he will be okay to compete."

"I don't know why you bothered to ask," Shikamaru said as he fidgeted in his seat before giving his best friend a small smile. "Thanks."

He expected Choji to comment. Instead he yawned widely and somewhat over dramatically. "My parents were here a couple of minutes ago and apparently Asuma-Sensei is going to drop by later. Who would have thought it was so exhausting to be sick."

"How about I go so you can get some rest?" Shikamaru stood up, the shogi board bumping against his fingers as he picked up his basket.

"Thanks." Choji watched Shikamaru walk towards the door before speaking up again. "Can you visit Naruto? I don't know if he'll have anyone. Sakura seems to forget about him thanks to Sasuke and Sasuke and Kakashi-Sensei are too busy training. Not to mention I'm pretty sure his new sensei is the reason he is in the hospital. Do you think you could?"

Shikamaru stood with his hand on the open door. "Sure. It's a drag but I suppose I could… for you, I mean."

"Of course. Thanks, Shikamaru." Choji grinned as Shikamaru waved and walked out, closing the door behind him. He went to the reception desk to ask where Naruto's room was but he received an odd reply. The nurse gave him the room number but then looked darkly at Shikamaru.

"I don't know why you want to visit that monster. It would just be easier if he stayed asleep… or just died." The nurse walked away, ramming her shoulder into Shikamaru's as she did. She had boney shoulders.

He had seen that behaviour before when it came to Naruto but he still didn't understand it. He had asked his father about her once before and he had replied that Shikamaru should come up with his own thoughts on Naruto. His mother hadn't looked happy about that. Shikamaru had to wonder what his father would think if he knew about his son's feelings for the blonde. Would he continue to believe that Shikamaru should come up with his own opinion or would he start to take on the mind of the other villages?

He knocked on the door, receiving no answer. Opening the door slowly, he looked in, worried that he would find Naruto in a state that would result in him getting hit. There was no need to worry since Naruto was still asleep, the blankets falling off the side of the bed. The blonde looked cold though, making Shikamaru wonder if anyone had bothered to check on her. Judging by the way the nurse acted, probably not. The dark haired boy walked forward, putting the fruit basket on the ground. He grabbed the blanket and pulled it back over the girl, up to her chin. The shivering stopped after a moment and a peaceful look came over her face.

I wonder how deeply she's sleeping, he thought, reaching out and brushing some hair from her forehead. She didn't react in the slightest, making him move his hand down to her cheek, stroking the skin. Again she didn't react! The more he stared the more daring he got. Leaning down, he felt his nose brush against Naruto's. He held his breath, ready to jump back if Naruto started to wake up. When she didn't he went to close the gap between them, only to quickly move to the side, kissing Naruto's cheek.

Moving away, he started to set up his shogi board, his back facing Naruto. As he played he continually looked over his shoulder, worried that the sleeping girl wouldn't wake up. If Naruto found out that she slept through the final Chunin exams then she would never forgive herself. She seemed determined to beat Neji after what he did to Hinata.

"Man, is he ever going to wake up. Maybe the kid croaked!" He let a rush of air escape his nose when he remembered exactly what animal reportedly helped Naruto get into this situation. He stared at Naruto for a moment, wondering if his words would register before turning back to the shogi board with a heavy sigh. He was really starting to worry. He had already played a full round of shogi without Naruto even moving. After a moment he realized that the only other sound in the room besides two breathing bodies had disappeared. Looking at the timer beside him he noticed that something was wrong.

"Huh, the sand stopped. What's up with that? Did they forget to wind it or something?" That was just annoying. He couldn't even play shogi in peace. "What a drag."

Noise behind him drew his attention. Turning in his seat he noticed Naruto's eyes opening, making him smile. After a quick scan of the room those blue eyes moved over to him, looking confused.

"Soo, you decided to wake up, huh?" He decided to not mention how glad he was that Naruto didn't wake up earlier.

"Where am I? What is this?"

"The hospital. They said you've been out cold like this for three days straight."

"Three days…" Naruto muttered, seeming to slowly progress the words before she blew up. "THREE DAYS STRAIGHT!" She jumped up, standing on her bed and making Shikamaru worry about her.

"Ah, yeah, more or less."

"SHIKAMARU, WHEN DOES THE FINAL COMPETITION BEGIN?"

He should have guessed that's what was wrong with her. "Ahh, tomorrow." That seemed to do little to calm Naruto down. If anything she looked worse. Was this one of the ways that Naruto showed stress?

"WHAT?!" Naruto grabbed Shikamaru's jacket, making a thought pop into his head. "ARE YOU CRAZY? WHY THE HECK DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP SOONER? I CAN'T BE LYING AROUND AT A TIME LIKE THIS. I'VE GOTTA BE GETTING READY! AND PERVY-SAGE! WHERE'S PERVY-SAGE? THAT OLD COOT IS SUPPOSED TO BE SUPERVISING MY TRAINING."

"Hey, calm down, Kid, get a grip!" Shikamaru started, his neck hurting having to look up at Naruto at such a close angle. He decided to not point out that he didn't actually wake the blonde up, or the fact that he actually didn't mind Naruto man-handling him like this… that was something he was planning to analyze at a later date, if he was feeling brave enough. Though the angry face wasn't something he was enjoying. "I don't know what you are talking about."

Naruto pushed Shikamaru away, scrambling to the other side of the bed. "Where's my clothes? I got to get dressed. Where'd they put them? Oh come on…"

She looked under her pillow, down the back of her bed and then seemed to repeat the progress. Shikamaru was too stunned to say anything. He hadn't even realized the fact that, yet again, Naruto was in nothing but a t-shirt and boxer shorts. Why was this becoming a habit?

"Oh, man," he muttered, putting a hand to his head. "This kid gives me such a headache. I liked him a lot better when he was in a coma. WOULD YOU KNOCK IT OFF?! Now listen, you don't want to be freaking out the day before a big competition. Resting can be the best thing." He stopped when Naruto suddenly sat down facing the wall. He hadn't expected that to actually work. Hell, it never really worked for Iruka-Sensei. "Are you… okay? Is something wrong?"

He heard a loud growl before Naruto looked over her shoulder, holding her stomach as tears ran down her face. "Yeah, I'm really starving!"

His shoulders relaxed and he gave Naruto an odd look. "Is that all? Man, stop scaring me like that!" A thought just came to his mind. It would work out perfectly. "Oh, look at this." He put the fruit basket on the bed. "I went through all the trouble of getting this stuff for Choji and then the doctors told me he couldn't have it. Such a drag. But at least we can eat it."

"Choji. You mean he's here in the hospital too?" Naruto looked concerned.

"Nothing to worry about. All his got is a bad case of indigestion. He ate one short-rib to many." He tried not to laugh at his friend's misfortune but it was kinda funny.

Naruto, however, didn't hold in her laughter. "I should have figured. That's just like him."

"Yeah, well you two are just lucky I'm around or you wouldn't have any visitors." He threw an apple at Naruto, who caught it easily. "Here."

Naruto smiled. "Oh, wow, this looks delicious," she stated, rubbing it on her shirt. She brought it to her mouth, only to look shocked before even taking a bite.

"What? What is it now?" He was worried she would start yelling again, or grab him again. He had banned his brain from thinking on its own after the last time. The things it comes up with should not be his responsibility.

Naruto started chuckling evilly, something Shikamaru recognized from the academy. This should be good.

"Let's eat it in front of Choji. It'll drive him crazy."

"Man that's mean. I like it!" He chuckled, picking up the basket, leading Naruto in the direction of Choji's room. They were only two corridors away when they saw Ino.

"Hey, what are you two doing? Naruto, why aren't you wearing pants?"

"We're going to eat this in front of Choji." Shikamaru held up the basket as Naruto just shrugged uncaringly. "You know, keep him company, and torment him a little. Not to mention Naruto is starving." He looked at the blonde then, only to notice she wasn't paying attention.

She resembled a dog that had heard an intruder. Naruto stood tall, her head angle slightly, looking down another corridor with an intense look. Before he could question her, her hand shot down, taking the basket from his hands and thrusting it into Ino's arms.

"Ino, go ahead, we'll meet you in Choji's room. There is something I need Shikamaru for."

Shikamaru had only a moment to return Ino's confused look before Naruto grabbed his hand, pulling him down the adjacent corridor. The moment Ino was out of sight she started running, dragging Shikamaru with her.

"Naruto, wait up, what's this about?"

He didn't expect the blonde to stop and turn suddenly towards him. If she hadn't grabbed his shoulders then they would have ended up on the ground. She didn't seem to notice that Shikamaru's hands had went to her hips. He had no idea what girls' hips were like but Naruto's certainly seemed different from his. They came out from her stomach more, creating a curve. He tried not to blush at the contact, or how close they were standing.

"He's here. I can feel it!" Naruto stated, looking Shikamaru straight in the eyes with a level of alarm and seriousness that he had never seen before in the blonde. "I felt this same feeling during the preliminaries. It took me a while to realize who was causing it though. He's here. This is not good."

There was a painful emptiness in his stomach until everything she was saying registered. She was worried, and… territorial? "Who?"

"Gaara of the Sand." She grabbed Shikamaru's wrist, starting to run down the hallway again. "Bushy-Brow is this way. Come on!"

She had been right. Lee was surrounded by Gaara's sand. Shikamaru activated his jutsu just in time to stop Gaara from hurting an unconscious Lee. He almost released it when Naruto punched the red head. He hadn't realized she had such a strong hit on her.

"What the heck do you think you're doing in here, you rat?" Her hair seemed to be standing on end more than usual, though it was hard to judge with her face in so much pain.

"Hey, man, go easy! I'm using my Shadow Possession jutsu so when you're bashing him you're bashing me too. You got it?" he hadn't meant to sound so angry, especially when he realized that Naruto probably didn't have a jutsu like his, where her body was put into risk.

Naruto actually looked really worried. "Oh, sorry, Shikamaru."

As Gaara's sand armour started to crack and fall Naruto walked closer to Shikamaru, stopping and facing the red head. At first the dark haired boy thought it was to distance herself from Gaara, the threat, but then he realized, Naruto wasn't afraid, and she was a close range attacker. She stood slightly in front of Shikamaru, her fists clenched and her face hard. Her body was turned ever so slightly towards Shikamaru's though, as he was turned towards hers. He stood ready to knock Naruto out of the way if needed. Naruto was trying to protect him! Both from Gaara and her own anger.

"Out with it!" she growled. "What were you trying to pull?"

Gaara just stared at Naruto, unmoving, which seemed to infuriate Naruto even more. He slowly healed his face. She reminded Shikamaru of an animal defending its territory, and its… family.

"Well? Are you going to tell us what you were going to do?" Naruto grounded out, surprisingly not yelling at the top of her lungs like Shikamaru expected.

"I was going to kill him," Gaara replied calmly in his surprisingly deep voice.

Even with all the evidence, Shikamaru was surprised.

"What?" Naruto apparently was too, even though she dragged him in here fearing danger.

This guy's one cool customer. Look at him! He's not even fazed by my Shadow Possession jutsu. "You already beat Lee once in the competition. What's your problem? Wasn't that enough for you? Do you have some kind of personal grudge against him or something?"

"I have nothing against him. It's nothing that complicated; I simply want to kill him. That's all."

Gaara's confession did little to help Naruto. Every muscle in her body seemed to tense, pure rage turning her face somewhat comical.

"YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU'RE SICK IN THE HEAD!" she yelled, pointing at the man. "YOU'RE CRAZY!" She was shaking, and he swore that her canine teeth seemed sharper.

"Yeah, you think we're just going to stand by and let you do whatever you want?" Shikamaru spat, disgusted in the person before him, "You sick, selfish psycho!" This guy gives me the creeps. There's always been something weird about him. Scary. If he decides to make a move I'm not sure we will be able to stop him. Naruto isn't going to back down. I don't know what has gotten into her. Gaara is a long distance attacker mainly. He will send out his sand, but at who first? If he attacks me, Naruto will attack him. If he attacks Naruto first, since she does seem more threatening than me at the moment… I don't know if I'll be able to stop him. I can't let her get hurt.

"If you don't stay out of my way I'll have to kill you two as well."

"OH REALLY? LET'S JUST SEE YOU TRY IT!"

"Hey, wow, Kid, take it easy!" He couldn't have Naruto setting Gaara off, but she didn't seem to be calming down any time soon. Best thing to try and do is bluff our way out of this. He was shaking too now, but it wasn't for the same reason as Naruto who looked as though all her self control was being put into not hitting Gaara. She was holding her outstretched arm as though to pull it back forcibly. It's me! I'm the one holding her back. She would already be trying to pound this guy into the ground if she didn't know it would hurt me! She did crack his sand armour though, which would have to be chewing up his chakra. But that won't be enough. He had to get her out of this, soon. "Yeah, yeah, we watched your last match against Lee. We know you're tough. But you know, Naruto and I have a few tricks up our sleeves as well. We were holding back during the competition. There are things you haven't seen yet. On top of that it's two against one. So don't be a fool, okay? Just take my advice and go. Quietly!"

Gaara's expression didn't change. "I'll say it once more. If you get in my way, I'll kill you."

Every last bit of him was shaking now. Fear seemed to be the only emotion he could feel. Okay, plan B. But why warn us again? What's holding him back? He is kind of tense though… and he's not looking at me, just Naruto.

"AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN! LET'S SEE YOU TRY IT!"

She has a death wish! "Back off will ya? Don't want to go there." He tried to whisper but he was fairly certain his fear had disabled that ability. "This guy fights like he's mad. Like he's a demon or something!"

That seemed to strike a chord with Naruto, and not in the way Shikamaru was hoping. She pulled her anger hunched shoulders back. She grinned, making Shikamaru feel both safe and scared at the same time. There was something in her eyes, in the suddenly relaxed pose of her stance. She was… intimidating!

"He can act like a demon all he wants. But you know what? I have the real thing inside me!"

Shikamaru didn't understand. Yeah, he had heard people call Naruto a demon, but why was Naruto agreeing to it? She was not a demon! No one that funny, and open could be a demon. He could tell that Naruto was ready for a fight. She wasn't going to let Gaara walk away easily. That is, if they could get the psycho to back off.

He nudged Naruto with his elbow. "Idiot, leave this to me. What's the point in getting him mad?"

Gaara was looking more intensely at Naruto now, seeming to study her. Another, ugly emotion appeared in Shikamaru for a moment, taking over his fear. The two seemed to be having a staring contest. One angry, the other… oddly calm, or at least pretending to be. Finally, Gaara closed his eyes.

"A demon, huh? My demon is as real as yours is."

Shikamaru couldn't hide his surprise. This guy seemed to know what Naruto had been referring to.

Gaara opened his eyes, looking intently at Naruto. "From my birth my upbringing was not what most people would consider a happy one. To ensure that I became a strong shinobi, my father performed his jutsu on me, infusing my unborn self with a sand spirit, Shukaku. I destroyed the life of the woman who gave birth to me. I was born a monster!"

Shikamaru didn't know how to process the information that Gaara was giving them. A sand spirit with the same name as Shikamaru's father. He let his brain take over, noticing that Naruto was staring sharply at him, studying his appearance. "Yeah, some kind of demonic jutsu. But to use it on a baby, before it's even born, man, that's creepy." He didn't understand the pain that flickered over Naruto's face. "Gee, what a swell guy your dad must have been. He must have loved you a lot."

He thought that he could play on Gaara's relationship with his father. It was cruel, to try and make the guy feel depressed to try and take the fight out of him but all Shikamaru cared about was saving Naruto. However, he never expected Gaara to not care about his father, or any family member. Love seemed to be a foreign concept to the red head. He was born and raised to be a weapon, only for his creators to regret it and try to kill a child. How messed up!

Whilst Shikamaru was confused by much of what Gaara said, Naruto didn't seem to be at all. Shikamaru thought that Gaara was simply out of his mind. Suddenly, Naruto took a step back.

"Hey, where are you going?" Shikamaru was worried. Why did she look so frightened? Not at Gaara but at something else. "What's wrong?"

Gaara made a move, seeming to see advantage in Naruto suddenly being immobilized. Shikamaru had no idea how he was doing it though, since he was still trapped in the dark haired boy's jutsu. Gaara wasn't aiming at him, he was aiming at…

"NARUTO!"

She was frozen, staring at Gaara.

"HEY, WAKE UP!" he shouted desperately. "Oh, man, what a drag! NARUTO!"

If Guy-Sensei hadn't interfered Shikamaru didn't know what would have happened. He had no plan and Naruto was having some sort of break down. After Gaara left Guy-Sensei took a look at Lee, asking them if they knew if Gaara had done anything. When Shikamaru answered that they were fairly certain he hadn't Guy-Sensei decided to get a doctor anyway, just encase.

Naruto moved over to the wall, falling against it. He couldn't read Naruto's expression. She looked as though all the air had been let out of her body. She was leaning against the wall, not looking at him, but instead studying Lee's unmoving body. Or at least she seemed to be but her eyes were glazed over.

"I could have been just like him," she muttered. "I could have been blood-thirsty and just cared about killing… hurting."

Instantly his fists clenched and he marched over to her, grabbing her shoulders roughly. He met her surprised look with a hard, unrelenting one of his own. "You are nothing like him. I don't understand this demon thing you said but you are not a monster!" He put one hand on Naruto's flat stomach. "Even if some sick bastard put a demon spirit in you that wouldn't make you a demon or a monster."

"It's not just… we grew up the same." Naruto looked desperate, sorrowful, her eyes filling with tears.

"I know that the village has treated you badly, I can see some parallels, but you are not like Gaara. Naruto, what is your dream?"

"To become Hokage."

"Why did you choose that dream?"

"So that people would start respecting me and start treating me right." Naruto dropped her head, only for Shikamaru to push her chin up, making her blue eyes meet his brown. He doubted that his eyes drew hers as much as hers drew his. The blue of her eyes seemed almost unnatural. He hated the tears pooling within them.

"How were you planning to become Hokage? The leaders of the village have to vote after all. And what were you planning to do as Hokage?" He asked softly, becoming gentler with her, his hands now resting on her shoulder instead of gripping it, the other still resting on her stomach.

"I was planning to become a strong ninja, prove I was good enough and that I was capable of protecting the village with everything I have. This is my home and I want to protect it and I want… I want those in the village to want to protect me." She sniffled, wiping her eyes.

Shikamaru gave her a soft smile. "See? No demon. Naruto, you could have ended up like that guy, but you are stronger than him and that's why you're the caring person you are. And just so you know, I want to protect you!"

Naruto gave him a thankful smile only for her stomach to growl loudly, making both of them chuckle, feeling the last bit of tension leave them.

"Come on, let's go see if Ino ate all the fruit on us." He took Naruto's hand and led her out of the room, relishing in the fact that she did not pull away but instead held tight.

When they reached Choji's room they found out Ino hadn't eaten any, and had stopped Choji from devouring any of the fruit too. Choji's eyes traveled from Shikamaru's face, to the conjoined hands, to Naruto's tearstained, pale face. From the look on his friend's face, Shikamaru guessed that Choji had worked out something bad had happened. He gave a slight shake of his head though, not wanting to say in front of Ino. She would just worry.

"Naruto, honestly, where are your pants!?" Ino snapped.

Naruto just shrugged again. "Don't know. Couldn't find them."

"Well I'm going to go find them!" Ino stood up. "There is something unsettling about you walking around half dressed."

"Why?" Naruto asked as Ino walked passed. "I do it at home all the time."

Shikamaru decided to ignore that as he led Naruto over to the vacant chair and the fruit basket. Choji's curiosity wouldn't wait now that Ino was gone. Thankfully for his nerves Naruto didn't let go of his hand after sitting down in the chair. Eating an apple with her other hand as Shikamaru sat on the armrest of her chair. It was feeling her warmth that reminded him that they somehow got out of that situation safely. That she was okay.

When Choji got up after to go to the bathroom Shikamaru jumped, feeling fingers skim over his jaw. He looked at Naruto who was looking up at him with a frown on her face.

"I bruised you. I'm sorry. I didn't know." She stroked the flesh gently.

"It's okay. You were trying to protect someone." He gave her a lazy smile. "You never know, keep it up and you may just become Hokage!"