THIS STORY HAS HIT OVER 800 FOLLOWERS! Easily making it my most popular story! It was surprising when I noticed that.
I've been getting some reviews (a fair few reviews) begging for an update and admittedly some of them have made me laugh. Sorry but they are funny. I was determined to get over my writers block for Fully Masked before doing this chapter.
I had one person review that the last chapter was hard to read since they used a translating system. I didn't think about that so if anyone had that trouble just PM me and I'll send you Shikamaru's dialogue without the blocked nose.
Although it hasn't really been a problem yet but I thought I should mention: if you are going to make reference to a scene in the show just keep in mind that I have to watch the English dubbed since I can't read the subbed well enough. So I am not up to where most of you would be up to. If you aren't sure where I'm up to but want to refer to a scene for others just keep it vague. I don't look deeply into the references since I don't want spoilers but if I've seen the scene I get the vague references without trying.
To the review I just got from ecchansama who said Shika will be sad when the riddle is solved: you never know he might have other stuff to preoccupy his mind. Can only imagine how much fun the Hokage and their adviser can have in that big office! ; )' SORRY! It's 3:30AM here and apparently that makes me channel Jiraiya. Also, total stab in the dark that Shikamaru becomes Naruto's adviser. I think he needs Shikamaru's brains to balance out Naruto's… lack of brains at times.
Yuu101cutie- I like your analysis of the chapters and I think someone replied to your review. They state that they are replying to a review and it seems to fit yours. I totally ship you guys! Kidding! I really need sleep…
Also, my friend who inspired this story by forbidding me from writing it has been reading it lately. HI, SHAUN!
He was warm. Not the type of warm that was uncomfortable, or indicated a fever, or even the warm that meant he should lose a layer to reach perfect temperature. It was the warmth that made him want to burrow deeper into his blankets and keep sleeping. However, the faint smell of ramen was making his empty stomach grumble. Without opening his eyes, he slowly detached from the blankets, noticing that he was still rather pleasantly warm. He shuffled his feet along the floor, heading in the direction of his door. With a hand groping in front of him he found the door handle, venturing into the hallway.
Stumbling blindly he made his way to the dining room, hoping it wasn't too late for breakfast. The ramen smell stayed with him, making him wonder if his mother had gotten them take out for lunch… or was it dinner. He had no clue how long he had slept or when he had even went to bed. When he reached the dining room he heard a rumbling chuckle.
"Well look at that!"
Shikamaru frowned in the direction of his father's throaty voice, rubbing his eyes with the cuff of his sleeve. "Is that rhetorical or do I actually have to open my eyes and look at something?"
His father chuckled again. "You look so bright this morning."
"So it is still morning?"
"For another hour, yes. Your mother made you breakfast. It's keeping warm in the oven. Sit down and I will get it for you."
Shikamaru peaked his eyes open long enough to find a seat before folding his arms on the table and putting his head down. The material covering his arms was slippery, and rough, carrying a scent of a cold breeze and ramen but it was warm and for some reason made him smile. He was poked hard in the shoulder, making him sit up. With a grumble he looked up at his father's amused face.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better, thanks." He brought a hand up to push his hair out of his face only to stop. He frowned at his arm, looking at it as though it was a foreign object. It certainly did not look like his arm but it moved at his will. Looking down he found that his entire torso looked wrong. It was so… orange! Fighting to keep his voice level he spoke to his father. "Why am I wearing Naruto's jacket?"
"Same reason you're wearing Naruto's shirt," his father nodded at the flannel collar poking out from under the assaulting bright jacket. "From what your mother explained to me you passed out in the street whilst talking to Naruto and the boy took you back to his place until you regained consciousness and could tell him where you lived. He also dressed you to keep you warm."
Instantly Shikamaru's head snapped down to look at his lap, making his father laugh. He ignored him, sighing in relief when he saw that he was wearing his own pants. For some reason the words 'Shika-maruuu', and 'Naru-doe Nara' kept ringing through his mind. He really hoped it was just in his head and he hadn't actually said either of those phrases out loud at any point. Unfortunately he had a distinct memory of him speaking those words, as well as him saying something about Naruto marrying him. He groaned, dropping his head into his hands.
"I hate being sick!"
"I think everyone does."
"Not as much as I do!"
"Is that because you tend to say anything and everything that enters your mind when you become bad enough?" His father sounded far too amused.
With a glare at the older man he picked up his fork and start digging into the meal in front of him. He would have to make sure to thank his mother for making him breakfast that was easy on his stomach. He was feeling a lot better but he was still weak. At least he would be able to skip training today, but he would have to return Naruto's jacket. As he rinsed off his plate and put it on the sink he remembered Naruto's arm around his waist, holding him close to her as she put her jacket on him. He blushed so hard that he became dizzy for a moment and had to grab hold of the bench. When his father looked through the doorway, distracted from the report he was reading Shikamaru blamed it on a sudden fever spike that had passed.
After having a shower he changed and put Naruto's flannel into the wash. He would return it to her another day but he also knew that Naruto would want her jacket back. It was rare to see her without it. She had bought it over a year ago and Shikamaru had noticed before that she had held herself differently. For a number of months before she bought the jacket she had slouched, cringing into herself. Every few moments she would pull the front of her shirt as though the thought of it sitting against her chest made her uncomfortable. Shikamaru had been unable to work out what was wrong with Naruto but she had returned to normal once she started wearing the baggy orange jacket.
By the time he ventured out of his house it was noon. He stopped by Naruto's apartment first but there was no answer to his knocks, which he expected. It was rare for Naruto to stay at home. Instead of giving up he decided to walk through the shopping district, hoping to spot the blonde. Some areas were still under repairs, the sounds of hammers and shouting filling the streets as Shikamaru walked by. He stopped though when one particular shout was directed at him.
"SHIKAMARU!"
Looking around he spotted Choji grinning and waving, standing next to a pile of wooden blanks stacked together. His friend was sweaty and dirty, but looked quite pleased with himself. Walking closer, Shikamaru put one hand in his pockets and smiled back.
"Hey, Choji, what are you up to?"
"Just helping with the repairs. Asuma-Sensei said that you were sick. Are you feeling better now?"
"A lot better actually but I'm going to be taking it easy today, just in case."
Choji nodded, his eyes drifting down to the object clamped in Shikamaru's hand. "Is that Naruto's jacket?"
Scratching the back of his head with his free hand he tried to not blush. "Yeah, Naruto leant it to me last night. I was cold."
"That was nice of him. If you're looking for him I saw him about half an hour ago. He said he was visiting the hospital." A beefy looking man with skin darkened by the sun and scars on his fingers called out to Choji, asking for help. "I'll be right over," Choji replied over his shoulder before smiling at Shikamaru. "I've got to get back. I hope you are all better soon."
With a nod Shikamaru turned away from his friend, heading in the direction of the hospital. Naruto might not have even been there anymore but Sakura worked at the hospital at times and she might know where the blonde had gotten too. The only down fall to that was another person would know about him having Naruto's jacket. He only had it because he was sick and cold and Naruto was being a good friend. However, he didn't feel like having people know. He wasn't embarrassed by Naruto having taken care of him, he just wanted to keep it a secret. Something that only he and Naruto knew the details of.
As he drew near to the hospital he heard Naruto's laugh. Halting in his steps he looked around, noticing a group of four. He almost didn't recognise Naruto, who wore a black shirt, looking surprisingly less bright with only her orange pants. It looked wrong to his eyes, seeing Naruto in black but her smile helped to eliminate the dark wash to her form. She was talking with Konohamaru, Moegi and another boy who had round glasses and snort dripping from his nose. All three kids had the same goggles as what Naruto used to wear. Naruto reached over and messed Konohamaru's hair, making the boy frown and slap at Naruto's hand. The blonde simply laughed.
"Boss, where's your jacket?" the unknown boy sniffled.
"I leant it to a good friend of mine. He needed it more." Naruto tried to poke Konohamaru's cheek, seeming to like harassing the boy.
Moegi noticed Shikamaru walking towards them. Her eyes slowly slid down to the jacket in his hand before she smiled. He wondered for a moment why people noticed it so easily before realising that his clothing was quite bland in colour, something that Naruto's jacket was not.
"He…hello, Shikamaru," Moegi squeaked with a slight wave. Her face turned pink under his gaze.
Naruto looked over her shoulder, smiling when she saw her friend. The moment Shikamaru stepped closer Naruto moved into his personal space, putting the back of her hand to his forehead. He started to turn pink like Moegi under his friend's concerned gaze.
"Good, you're no longer running a temperature." Naruto grinned. "Do you remember your name?"
Shikamaru scowled at her joke. He felt her breath hit his cheek as she laughed. He was reminded sharply of the dream he had had. Naruto had come into his room to say goodbye after talking to his mother and he had asked for a kiss. The part of his dream that he was certainly hoping to not forget any time soon was that she had agreed. She had kissed him on the cheek before telling him to get better. He kept that little fantasy to himself as he removed Naruto's hand from his forehead. He gave it a light squeeze before putting her jacket into her grasp.
"Thanks for the jacket, and I'll return your shirt once it's washed," he whispered, letting his lips brush her ear. "And thank you for looking after me."
Naruto pulled back, scratching the back of her head awkwardly as she smiled. "You don't need to thank me. I had no idea what I was doing." She put her jacket on, pulling her collar up around her face for a moment. She looked cosy, and happy. When she let her jacket fall back into place she instantly reached over and flicked Konohamaru's ear lightly, laughing as he frantically tried to slap her hands away. He pouted at her laugher, which only seemed to amuse Naruto more.
"Big brother Naruto, stop ittttt!" Konohamaru fought off Naruto's hand again as his two friend's chuckled.
"But it's funnnn!" Naruto mimicked the boy's whining tone before turning back to Shikamaru. "This is Konohamaru and Udon, obviously you already know Moegi."
"I already knew him too!" Konohamaru crossed his arms before a wicked grin crossed his face.
Whilst Naruto was asking Moegi how she and Shikamaru knew each other he put his finger in his mouth before reached out, aiming for Naruto's ear without her notice. Naruto nodded at the story of Shikamaru's 'heroics' in saving Moegi's life. It was highly embellished. Konohamaru's finger was an inch from Naruto's ear when the girl's hand shot out and grabbed the younger boy's wrist, turning his arm around and burying his finger in his own ear. Konohamaru gave a cry of disgust as Shikamaru found himself laughing loudly. Naruto clearly enjoyed tormenting the child and almost acted like an older sibling, which would explain why the children called her 'big brother'.
"Konohamaru, we have to go, we have training soon," Udon reminded them.
"Well then, you three better hurry up," Naruto stated, letting Konohamaru out of the headlock she had put him in. "With the academy closed you need to take every chance you can to train. Besides, I have to show you," she pointed at Shikamaru who was trying to not chuckle at her hypocrisy, "my new jutsu!"
"Bye, Big Brother Naruto, bye, Shikamaru," Moegi said, squeaking out the boy's name.
Naruto grinned, going behind Shikamaru and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. She put her chin on his shoulder, seeming to not notice how the older boy's breath hitched. "Moegi, if this one breaks your heart let me know and I'll kick his butt! He's not to be trusted! He's broken countless girls' hearts!"
"No I haven't!" he yelped, turning his head to look at the blonde. His nose brushed her cheek. When Naruto turned her head to roll her eyes at him her nose hit his. She was being oddly touchy today, and not just to him. When she wasn't touching him she was touching Konohamaru.
"Tsh, like you would know." Naruto looked back at Moegi. "Seriously, watch out for him."
"He's kidding!"
"No I'm not!"
Shikamaru tried not to sigh. He had seen Naruto's playful prankster side on multiple occasions but this teasing nature of hers was something new. He could feel her shaking with suppressed laugher, since she was still holding him to her, his back pressed against her chest.
"Shikamaru, if you keep denying it I'll lick your neck!"
That made him jump away from her, earning a laugh out of the three mini-Narutos. Naruto reached out, grabbing Shikamaru's hand.
"Come on, I want to show you my new jutsu! And they have to go train." She started tugging him away, in the general direction of the river.
"But I want to see the jutsu too," Konohamaru yelled after them.
"Only ninjas can see it! You have to graduate before I show you."
That made the brunet run off to his training, allowing Naruto to pull Shikamaru's arm harder. Naruto didn't let up until they reached her usual training ground. Once they did she let go of Shikamaru's arm, turning to face him with a large smile on her face.
"The Fourth invented this jutsu!" she gleefully told him before summoning a clone.
When Shikamaru gave her an unimpressed look she rolled her eyes, holding her hand out to the clone. The clone's hands quickly moved around the air above the real Naruto's hand. Moments later there was a blue, spinning sphere in Naruto's hand. As the clone disappeared Naruto grinned, moving over to a nearby tree. Making sure Shikamaru was watching she slammed the sphere into the tree. The destruction was impressive. There was a circular chunk taken out of one half of the tree.
"That's… amazing," he managed once he had picked up his jaw. Naruto impressed him more and more since they graduated. "That is an incredible jutsu!"
"Thanks." Naruto grinned before becoming somewhat more serious. "I was wondering about the jutsu you use. Is it possible to break it, or to fight it?"
"Of course," Shikamaru gave Naruto a small smile, easily grabbing her with his shadow before she even noticed. He gave her a cocky grin when her face scrunched in annoyance. "You can try if you like."
"I was hoping to ask you a few questions first."
"Sure. You're not going anywhere."
Naruto scoffed. "I'm starting to think you just like controlling me. How does this jutsu work? How are you controlling my body?"
Shikamaru thought how best to answer Naruto's questions. The blonde wasn't always the smartest so he wanted to word it properly. "Well, simply put, I surround you with my chakra, which is why it takes a fair bit of chakra to control this jutsu. I'm suppressing yours. Ino's jutsu does a similar thing, which is why the two of us are in danger of injuries if the body we are controlling gets hurt."
"So I could just over whelm you with my chakra?"
"Not exactly. Do you know how to identify and sense chakra?" Taking one look at Naruto he realised she didn't. "Everyone's chakra feels different. Yours is energetic, lively, bright, inviting… and very warm. That's how I would describe it. Can you think of something like that, where you've felt a pressure, or presence that reminds you of someone?"
"Yeah, all the time… can you scratch my nose?"
He laughed, scratching his own nose and watching as Naruto's body copied his movements.
"When I used to pull pranks I would feel people coming towards me and know to run. The chakra tended to be… hot and kind of made me feel like I was slapped, no matter the person. Unless it was Iruka-Sensei who found me. I always forgot to look out for him."
He was rendered speechless for a moment. Naruto had a natural talent for sensing others. It made some sense he supposed. She did have a lot of chakra, so it made sense she could easily pulse out her chakra every now and then, unconsciously or consciously, to see if there was any one hostile near her. The hot slap was probably the anger and hostility facing her. And yet the idiot didn't even realise she could.
"Okay, so you can sense chakra… you've just done it on instinct. The reason you can't overwhelm my chakra is because you can't throw it out. It's being held in your body. To overcome my jutsu you first need to sense my chakra. Can you sense it at the moment?"
"No…"
He could feel the muscles in Naruto's neck constrict before letting go. She had tried to shake her head. It was weird to see Naruto not moving around. It was rare to see her stay still for so long, though it was his doing. She was naturally energetic and wild, something that came through in her chakra. Her behaviour earlier was perhaps the perfect representation of that. So caring to the three students, playful, teasing, unpredictable and friendly. It was her chakra personified.
"I figured you couldn't. See, you probably usually just let your chakra out until it presses on another, letting you know someone is there. You can't do that because I'm keeping it in. What you have to do is feel my chakra holding your body. I'll up the pressure in certain areas. Close your eyes and tell me if you feel it."
He focused, aiming for Naruto's hand. He had rather good chakra control, though he had never shown it at the academy. Imagining his chakra as an extension of his form he played with her fingers, watching as Naruto frowned in concentration. He moved to Naruto's hair, playing with the strands just under her forehead protector. His chakra caressed her cheek, watching as the blonde smile.
"I can feel it. Your chakra is cold." Her eyes opened, noticing Shikamaru's frown. "Not in a bad way, kind of like a cold drink, or swimming in the river on a hot day. It kind of makes me feel lazy… which makes sense since it's yours!" She laughed before humming and closing her eyes again.
Shikamaru took a deep breath, feeling something press into his stomach. He felt himself relax, warmth seeping into his skin. This presence was caring and trusting. It was only after he noticed his shadow connecting him and Naruto disappearing that he realised what was happening. Naruto's chakra was surrounding him. Not in the same way his was suppressing hers, but more embracing him. She had swept his chakra up, returning it to him and surrounding him in hers at the same time. He was not being restrained since he still had full control of his chakra, his concentration had simply been broken.
"How did you know that was the next step?" he asked in surprise as Naruto opened her eyes again.
She actually looked surprised to see that his shadow was no longer holding her in place. "I wasn't trying to break the jutsu, I just remembered that you said my chakra was warm. I thought that if yours made me feel lazy mine might warm you and help you with your flu."
He snorted, not having expected that reply. Chuckling, he smiled at Naruto. "Thanks." He felt tired, more than he thought he should. Apparently his strength hadn't fully returned. Slumping his shoulders he put his hands in his pockets, "I might head home and rest."
"I'll walk you. Don't want you passing out again." Naruto grinned cheekily at him. She started walking in the direction of his house, letting him fall into step beside her. "Oh, and thank your mother for the cookies. They taste awesome."
"Cookies?"
"Yeah, she gave me some after I said goodbye to you."
Swallowing thickly, Shikamaru fought the urge to look at Naruto. "So that actually happened then?"
"You mean you asking me to kiss you? Yeah, you were really out of it. You also said that if I married you my name would be Naru Nara… and Naru-doe Nara, though you meant Nara-toe."
"I am really sorry." He sighed. Everything that happened came rushing back to him in annoyingly clear focus. He had said a lot of embarrassing things but if Naruto had came into his room that meant the conversation she had with his mother was real. Multiple questions rose within his mind but something told him not to ask them. Another thing occurred to him. Naruto had kissed him! He knew he should feel embarrassed, and he should remind himself that she probably had felt sorry for him but he couldn't. Naruto had kissed him! That's all he could care about.
"Don't be sorry. I was really worried about you. I've never been around someone so sick before."
"Haven't you ever had the flu?" He looked over at Naruto's guarded face.
"No. I've never been sick. I heal quick too. Takes a lot to bring me down, physically." She wasn't bragging. Her voice was purposely even as though she was trying to tell him that her life was in danger without tipping off those threatening her. Obviously it wasn't something as simple as that.
"That's impressive." He didn't know if that was the right answer. When Naruto made a non-commenting noise he assumed it wasn't exactly the wrong one. Perhaps Naruto wasn't expecting him to know what she was talking about but was simply saying it out of necessity on her part. There was something to it though. He could tell. There was something to how closed off she was whilst on this particular topic. Before he could attempt to come up with a way of discovering the answers they had reached his home. "I'll see you tomorrow, Naruto."
"Okay. Get some rest." She grabbed his hand for a second, giving it a squeeze before letting it go and walking off. "Bye, Shika-maruuu!"
He groaned, dropping his head as he walked inside. He wondered if Naruto would ever let him forget about his flu induced rambling. With a sigh he lifted his head back up, thinking over the last two days.
"Why are you smiling like that?"
Looking over sharply he noticed his father sitting before the shogi board, clearly in the middle of a game with himself. He quickly removed the smile. "No reason, really, I was just trying to help Naruto understand chakra. He's an idiot."
"At least he is willing to learn. Do you want to play a round?" He gestured to the board.
Sitting down as his father reset the board he fought to keep the grin from his face. It was worth all the teasing Naruto could dish out. He loved being sick!
I have pulled two all nighters to finish this for you. Hope you all like, I'm off to bed! R and R.