I've been messaged that the FB page is hard to find. It's o0BlackSand0o if that helps.
So I tried to show Kakashi's and Naruto's disorientation and the sense of being overwhelmed in the last chapter but I've been told it might have came off as a bit rushed. I'll have to practice more in another story.
As for Aaliyah, I had looked up Japanese girl names but maybe I clicked on the wrong link or something. In saying that, Varric is a name I chose because I'm a huge fan of Dragon Age… so yeah there's that.
Shade: You hit the nail on the head there.
Alright, on with the chapter.
He shook Naruto awake when he spotted she was still lying beside him. Instead of opening her eyes though, she buried herself deeper in the blankets. Shikamaru laughed, kissing her on the top of her head.
"If you don't get up now you'll never be able to sneak back into your room."
"Don't care," Naruto muttered, wrapping her arms around Shikamaru's waist. "I'm still sleepy."
Shikamaru started running his fingers through her hair. "You've been tired a lot lately. I think you've been working too hard. The village is doing well, so you can relax."
Naruto gave a grunt, letting Shikamaru go and pulling the blankets up to her chin. Her eyes had taken on a hollow look before she blinked and instead took on an exhausted appearance.
Shikamaru felt his heart drop. He had noticed Naruto's eyes losing their spark a bit more each day. In retaliation to this many of those in the Nara Clan had taken to making sure Naruto took breaks and smiled or laughed at least ones a day. Shikamaru had noticed Naruto returning to the estate at the end of a long day with a few Nara clansmen, all of them chatting comfortably with the blonde. Shikamaru had a feeling that their desire to get to know Naruto had something to do with Yoshino or them picking up on Naruto's close ties and importance to not only Shikamaru but the Akamichi and Yamanaka Clan heirs. Either way, Shikamaru was glad his clan had taken to protecting Naruto in any way they could. Some villagers who wanted to find out if the rumours about Naruto were true had tried to spot her walking around the estate. This was problematic because she had taken to dressing how she wanted whilst in the estate so spent most of her time in the estate out of chest binds and even wearing dresses. Shikamaru had developed a fondness for a blue one she owned that often made him forget what he was doing the moment he saw her.
For those that were simply curious about Naruto the Clan turned away politely, often asking if it truly mattered what gender the blonde was. Those who clearly had some hostility towards Naruto or something to gain from finding out were not treated so kindly. Shikamaru had had to break up a fist fight between a Clansmen and a village civilian. From what he had gleamed as the two fought against his shadow binds the civilian had been one of the ones who was against Naruto's long haired look when she was young. When he connected that with the way Naruto had ran and hid in Shikamaru's house at the mere sound of the man's voice Shikamaru had been forced to fight the urge to kill the man. Shikaku had come out of the house, a dark glare on his face. Shikamaru knew his own face was showing the same expression. He had smirked darkly when his father had walked over and punched the man square in the face. Shikamaru let the man out of his shadow binds at the right time so the man toppled painfully to the ground.
"You are not welcome in the Nara Estate. If you come here again, I will have you arrested."
"So you're choosing that freak to protect? Just like last time," the man sneered.
"Do you mean will I choose the kind, caring, and powerful ninja over the man who is too much of a coward to face a child when they're conscious? Because, yes, I will choose Naruto over you, and so will the rest of the village. Naruto has made your kind a minority. You're only choice is to grovel at Naruto's feet and beg for forgiveness. But you'll have to do that out of the Nara Estate."
The Nara who had been fighting the man before Shikamaru got there pulled the man to his feet by the back of his shirt collar, shoving him over the estate line with enough force that the man went sprawling in the dirt.
Shikamaru had than spent an hour convincing Naruto it was not only safe to leave Shikamaru's bedroom but the house too. Although what had happened to Naruto wasn't well known, the Nara Clan clearly had picked up on there being something violent alluded to by the intruder and Shikaku's interaction. Because of that, the Nara's closed their gates and made sure to not surround Naruto and instead giving her space.
It had been after that incident that Naruto started to sneak into Shikamaru's room to sleep. She had made an offhanded comment about Ino's snoring but he knew from jokes Naruto had said that Jiraiya and Sasuke both were loud snorers and Naruto had learnt to sleep through them. He decided to not point out her obvious lie and instead had taken to sleeping on one side of his bed and having two pillows in place so they didn't have to have the discomfort of sharing a pillow. They also chose to not mention their sleeping arrangement to Shikamaru's parents and or Ino and her parents, hence Naruto sneaking back out of his room early every morning. Though Shikamaru was certain that all of them would understand the unspoken reason Naruto felt comfortable only in Shikamaru's room it was simply more fun to keep it as a secret and see if they could get away with it. It wasn't clear if anyone had noticed Naruto's sleeping quarters or not but Shikamaru liked to think they were being sneaky enough.
"What do you have planned today?" Shikamaru asked, sitting up and wondering if it was worth pulling on one of the pair of pants that his mother had cut above the knee on one leg for his cast. Looking down at Naruto who was staring up at him with large, blue eyes, he decided to sit back against the head of the bed and spend more time with the blonde.
"Well, the builders have used up a lot of the wood we stacked a couple of days ago so I'll be doing that for a while, then I'm going to the Uchiha Estate to check on the civilians and to help move some of the people out and into the housing we've made." Naruto sat up with a sigh, sitting cross legged, facing Shikamaru. She grinned. "Are you excited for today?"
Shikamaru chuckled. "I am looking forward to getting the cast off but your hard work will be lost." He looked down at his leg; Naruto's scribbling letters and misspelt words decorating his cast. Her warning was still one of the most prominent and one of the ones people first noticed but Naruto had added in jokes or random, rather embarrassing things over the hard surface. Things like 'Beware: he pinches!' and 'Illogical is Best' sat next to things like 'I Wear Pink Boxers' and 'Shika-maruuu'. These things had caused Shikamaru to be asked to explain by a number of people. On telling the blonde of this issue she had doubled over laughing at his discomfort. "On the plus, once it's off I can plan our date. I figured I should wait until I could move around the village easier."
This had caused a blush to spread across Naruto's tan cheeks. She ducked her head, looking up at him through thick lashes. "I thought you didn't want to go on one anymore."
"That's not it in the slightest. All restaurants have been destroyed so I realised I had to get creative with the plans and that would be easier without a cast. I should have voiced that to you. Sorry." Shikamaru reached out, taking Naruto's hand.
"That's alright. I'm just glad we'll still get to go on it. I'm um… looking forward to it."
Shikamaru smiled, kissing Naruto's knuckles. "I'm glad." Running his thumb over the back of Naruto's hand, he asked something he had wisely not asked the day before. "Do you want to tell me what had you so upset yesterday?"
Naruto frowned, staring down at the bed. "Well, Kakashi-Sensei kind of strong armed me to take a break with the rest of Team Kakashi. This meant I spent ages with Sakura telling us all how stupid it was that people thought I was a girl and pointing out all the reasons I'm clearly not. I look like a boy, not pretty enough for anyone to think I'm a girl, I don't act girly at all, am a pervert; which is contradictory with Sakura's behaviour, and no boy would like me. She mostly said those in different ways and kept gestures to me as though she expected Kakashi-Sensei, Captain Yamato, or Sai to suddenly start agreeing how ugly I am. I don't think they disagree but they all know I am actually a girl so they obviously don't think that's a good reason to say I'm obviously a boy."
"Naruto, you're not ugly in the slightest. You should ignore Sakura. She's probably just jealous that you're jaw-dropping gorgeous and it's being generous to say she's 'meh'." He smiled when Naruto laughed.
"That's mean!"
"But true." Shikamaru looked over at the door when it creaked open.
"So I did here two voices," Ino commented, smiling at the two. "Did you get up early to make sure you were here for Shikamaru's check up?"
Naruto and Shikamaru shared a subtle look as Ino opened her medical bag. With a chipper 'yep' Naruto grinned. She helped Shikamaru sit on the floor, his injured leg stretched out in front of Ino.
"Oh, some Akimichi came and said that you are to meet her at the south west forest when you've had breakfast. She said 'take your time'." Ino held her hands over Shikamaru's leg, a faint chakra glow emanating from them.
"About my height, dark hair, gray eyes, constantly smiling, makes you feel like she's reading your soul but you're weirdly okay with it?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah," Ino gasped, as though Naruto had verbalised something Ino had been struggled to do.
"That's Aaliyah. No one wanted to work with her cause she's from the anbu so I offered to. Turns out she was on the same team as Kakashi-Sensei and Captain Yamato so she's been telling me some great stories. Kakashi-Sensei was an ass when he was younger and Captain Yamato sounds adorable."
Shikamaru snorted. "Those poor men. Why do people avoid her cause she's anbu? I know they're strong, and sometimes a bit too relaxed with killing, but she sounds nice enough."
"From what I got from some of the builders she's in the anbu cause she's good at reading people. With a look at someone she can read their body language, facial expressions, and tone, and work out what they are thinking. I don't mind, cause she's really open about what she's thinking so it's even." Naruto looked at Ino, who was still scanning Shikamaru's leg. "Is everything alright?"
"Two of his breaks have healed," Ino started.
"I'm right here," Shikamaru reminded.
Ino rolled her eyes at him. "Two of your breaks have healed, and your chakra network has healed after you caused a lot of damage to it with your idiocy."
"You mean my brave attempt to save Naruto?" Shikamaru sniggered.
"I stick with what I said." Ino gave him a dry look before cracking an amused smile. "But the third break in your ankle has healed but it's not strong yet. Either you can keep the cast on, or I can take it off and bandage it. You'll still need to use a crutch to get around, and you might feel some tightness or pain at the end of the day. The cast obviously has the encompassing nature and the difficulty of showering and getting around."
"Take it off," Shikamaru declares the moment Ino stopped talking.
With a shrug, Ino did as he asked, Naruto observing her with fascination. Shikamaru liked seeing Naruto's expressions when she studied things. Even if she never managed to grasp certain things she still liked seeing others utilise the skills. He had no doubt she was equally baffling but interesting to see in action as she found many others. The blue eyed blonde sat on the bed behind Shikamaru. The man had to admit it was helpful having a medic in the house. Shikamaru knew that Eiji had shown himself to be a very competent healer, but he was also new to the family. Ino was someone Shikamaru trusted with his life. He also enjoyed having an excuse to be lazy and not make his way to the medic tent. The fact that Naruto was sitting behind him playing with his hair was something he would have happily made a mandatory for all medical procedures for him.
She still hadn't giving him his hair elastic and he didn't want her to. Instead the object had become a jewellery piece for her. Lucky for Shikamaru, his mother had bought a new pack of hair elastics for him and had returned to the estate, with Aunt Momiji literally minutes before Pain had attacked. It had been by pure luck that the two women had ran into each other and decided to have a cup of coffee and catch up that day. If they hadn't, Ino's mother would have been in her house when it was destroyed.
Knowing that Naruto liked when his hair was down, he had taken to only pulling the top part of his hair up, so that he didn't have to keep pushing it out of his face. When on missions he did pull it all up like usual but had noticed that Naruto had taken a liking to his new way of styling his hair. Often enough she was the one to pull his hair back, running her fingers through the strands.
As Ino wrapped a bandage firmly around Shikamaru's shin and foot, Naruto draped her legs over his shoulders. When he tipped his head back, she smiled down at him, kissing him. Naruto loosely wrapped her arms around Shikamaru's neck, drawing him further into her warmth. This was always one of Shikamaru's favourite moments in the mornings. It had started when Shikamaru had sat down on the floor one day to pull on his shoe. Naruto had simply started playing with his hair, her legs over his shoulders, and hadn't said a word as she pulled his hair into the style he had chosen the day before. Although Naruto had started to initiate more of their interactions than she used to this had been something so relaxed and natural for her that Shikamaru had gleefully encouraged it.
A deep groan broke the moment. Smirking, Shikamaru looked at Ino who was focusing on his leg, a slight blush on her face.
"What's wrong, Ino? Jealous that your flirting with Sai isn't paying off?"
Ino scrunched her nose up, sticking her tongue out at the man.
Naruto laughed light-heartedly. "If it helps, Sai takes your emotional state into account when doing stuff involving you. Normally I have to remind him that others besides me and Sakura have emotions. He was actually worried about how you were taking the destruction of your home and that's why he got plans made for you."
The other blonde fought a smile before taking on a fake serious air. "Fine, you two can do what you want, just tone it down around me."
"Yes, ma'am," Naruto laughed as Shikamaru kissed her knee.
When Ino was done making sure the bandage was secure and wouldn't loosen as Shikamaru moved around, Naruto helped him to his feet and went to get dressed. Ino went to wash up and see if Shikamaru's and her mothers needed help with breakfast. After getting dressed in pants that didn't have a leg cut off, and a simple work shirt, Shikamaru slowly walked out of his room, readjusting to the lack of the weight of the cast. As he left his room Naruto was walking past. Catching her by the waist, he pulled her close, kissing her.
"I have some planning to do," Shikamaru muttered against her lips.
"But you're not fully healed."
"So? I can still move around better. I can even get off the floor without help." He grinned when Naruto laughed. "Honestly I think I should start to worry that you don't want to go on this date."
A flicker of concern came across Naruto's face. "No, that's not it at all. I just want you to know that you don't have to do something you don't want to. I'll get over it if you want me to."
A cold shiver went down Shikamaru's spine. Shaking off the feeling, he pulled Naruto closer, kissing her temple. "I wouldn't have mentioned a date if I didn't want it. I don't find there's anything I do with you that I don't want to do."
Naruto smiled, dropping her head against his chest. When Yoshino called that breakfast was ready, Naruto took Shikamaru's hand as they headed to the dining room.
/ / / / / /
He had had a difficult time convincing his mother to cook the food he needed without asking questions. She had finally stopped when he had threatened to go to Choji's mother and say he was hungry. Those simple words would have gotten him more food than he needed. Yoshino had rolled her eyes, muttering about her wanting to be more involved in his life. Shikamaru retorted cheekily that she liked to meddle too much and had already involved herself by encouraging the Clan to get to know Naruto, pretending it had to with Naruto and Shikamaru being close friends. It wasn't uncommon for Clan members to get to know the Heads dearest friends since they often became a figure in the estate and the Clan liked to make them feel welcome. However, Shikamaru knew that some of his clansmen had began to doubt the two of them were simply friends, though that wasn't surprising given that when the two were out in the estate they often walked close together, sitting leaning against each other, and showing minor intimacies that were beyond simple friendship.
When Yoshino had finished making the food Shikamaru had put the food into container and then stored them in a bag he found around the house. He went to Ino, threatening to tell Sai made up stories about her if she didn't relent her teasing and do what he asked. Grabbing a large, thick blanket from the linen cupboard, and some of the throw pillows from the lounge room and stuffing them into another bag, Shikamaru made his way into the forest. Stumbling over the twigs and roots was made difficult with the crutch he had to use to walk, but Shikamaru continued on. When he was ready to leave, he saw Brefew and some of the other deer staring at him. When their eyes moved to the food bag, Shikamaru grunted.
"Brefew, make sure no one touches the bag until I get back." When Brefew dipped his head, showing he understood the order, Shikamaru left, going looking for a certain blonde. He found her with Ryota. That was not a friendship he wanted to encourage. The two of them were both very mischievous but whilst Naruto was a prankster and childish, Ryota was evil and dirty minded. One of his favourite games to play was to make people as embarrassed as possible; something Shikamaru did not want him teaching Naruto. If the two of them united the Nara Clan would permanently be blushing. Shikamaru was not complaining that Naruto was wearing the orange dress she wore in the photo on his bedside table though. Even with her hair shorter she still looked beautiful in it. "Mind if I steal Naruto?"
"She's your girlfriend," Ryota replied, grinning at the red tinge that covered his cousin's face. To make it worse, as he stood he sung, winking exaggeratedly, "be safe!"
Naruto, either not listening to Ryota's last words or not understanding him, smiled at Shikamaru. "What did you need?"
He held out his free hand to Naruto. "Come with me."
Without asking further questions, Naruto took his hand, letting him lead her into the forest. It was easier to walk with Naruto there to steady him. Any pain that might have radiated through his ankle whilst wobbling over tree roots was worth it. Naruto stopped the moment her eyes took in the clearing. Shikamaru had spread out the blanket in the clearing, the pillows thrown around in no real manner. He had also put a shogi board to the side, since the two enjoyed playing against each other, even if Naruto often ignored the rules, making Shikamaru think harder for ways to beat her. He had decided to not argue with her simply for the fun and challenge of it.
"I know it's not much. I had planned for us to go to a restaurant, but well, the restaurants probably won't be built for another month. I'll still take you to one but I thought this would be nice."
Naruto smiled with amusement at him. "You're rambling. Shikamaru, this looks great, I promise."
Shikamaru took a deep, calming breath. Going over to the bag sitting on the blanket, Shikamaru pulled the bouquet of sun flowers out from behind it, holding them out to Naruto. "I'm glad."
The blonde walked over, taking the flowers from him and smelling them. "I'm surprised you remembered these are my favourite."
"They're as bright as your hair, it's easy to remember. Getting them from Ino wasn't easy though." Shikamaru sat down slowly, being careful of his leg. When Naruto joined him, he started to pull the containers of food out of the back. He looked over at Naruto who was already lounging back against the pillow. "Getting mum to cook was hard too, but I didn't want to make you sick with my cooking."
Naruto laughed, making Shikamaru stop what he was doing when he looked at her. He noticed how the light came through the trees, landing softly on the blonde, making him forget what he was doing.
"Do you need help?" Naruto teased.
Shaking his head to clear it, Shikamaru handed Naruto some chopsticks. "No, you just look gorgeous enough that you distracted me."
Blushing, Naruto sat up and started taking the lids of the food. The two started eating, talking over what they had been doing within the week. The blonde had still been helping with the restorations, helping to move the most sever patients into the newly rebuild hospital only the day before. The hospital had taken a long time to build since Captain Yamato wasn't able to make something so large by himself and the hospital couldn't have been made mostly of wood for medical reasons.
"Captain Yamato was telling me about the improvements he had designed in the architecture… he didn't appreciate me nearly falling asleep or me saying that he shouldn't be so longwinded if he wanted me to stay awake. He also said that I've spent too much time with your Clan because I'm using and understanding words like longwinded. He threatened to eat a bag of food pills and build my apartment complex straight away. Then he was going to lock me in my apartment so I'll stop talking to you all." Naruto tipped her head back, dropping a dumpling into her mouth.
Shikamaru snorted. "I'd rally the Clan to break you out. I have to admit that I feel bad that I haven't helped much with the rebuilding. The most I've done is try to locate the owners of various items."
"But people appreciate that. It helps them to move forward since it gives them something they thought they had lost."
"I like your view of it. I'll have to remember that next time I'm stuck in a tent with Shiho, staring at damaged photos and jewellery and trying to connect them with descriptions people have handed in of family heirlooms or just items they are hoping to get back."
Naruto sniggered before getting a confused look on her face. "Do I know Shiho?"
"I don't think so. She works in the Decipher Division and requested to work with me on this." Shikamaru realised quickly that he should probably add more information onto that statement. "I've explained to her that I'm not interested in her and care for someone else but she apparently still likes to stare. On the plus she is not a fan of how I've been pulling back my hair lately so hopefully she'll be moving on soon."
"Aww, poor Shikamaru, it must be so hard to be as handsome and charming as you are." Naruto threw herself back to the lounging pose she had had before lunch. "If only you had been born ugly, awkward, with no personality."
"That would have helped, yes." Shikamaru stretched out beside Naruto, looking at the woman's blue eyes instead of the clouds and crystal sky overhead. "Though if my charisma gets your attention, I'm not complaining."
Naruto rolled onto her belly, bringing her closer to Shikamaru. "Well, your charisma is enjoyable but I have to say it would fall flat if it wasn't for your intelligence and your heart."
"I'm liking this date more every second. You're awfully complimentary today." Shikamaru started running his fingers up and down Naruto's spine, moving closer to the blonde's warmth.
"You did put up with Yoshino and Ino just to get food and flowers for today so you deserve some compliments." Naruto smiled, kissing Shikamaru deeply.
It was enjoyable to spend hours just the two of them. Most of their moments together were interrupted lately by Ino and her parents, Shikamaru's parents, one of Naruto and Shikamaru's friends, or someone after Naruto's help. The dark haired man was actually thankful that he had decided their date should be a private picnic where none of their friend could find them. Although any of the Nara could have stumbled across them the clearing they were in wasn't an overly popular one, but Shikamaru had always enjoyed the holes in the canopy overhead that let the sky through and the soft grass on the floor of the clearing. Shikamaru was also grateful that he had brought the shogi board, since challenging Naruto without someone looking over their shoulders out of curiosity like in the house was something Shikamaru missed. The fact that he was also able to set the rule that every piece that a person lost earned them a kiss as a sorry was something he was proud of and happy he had thought of. It led to him doing everything he could to prolong the game and keep the losses even between the two. Sometimes, though, they forgot about the game entirely when one of them lost a piece and only remembered when one of them accidently knocked the board laying between them. After the second time that had happened Naruto had commented that they should put a piece back each time 'encase one had been knocked off'. Shikamaru, of course, agreed and then took to bumping the board whenever he could. He was starting to wonder if Naruto was doing so too after one incident led to three pieces being put back on the board after ten minutes of ignoring the game. After almost two hour of this where almost all the pieces ended back on the board, Shikamaru wacked it aside, leaning over Naruto who was comfortably propped up on some of the pillows.
Packing up their picnic was a lot easier with Naruto to help. Shikamaru didn't have to worry about falling on his face when dealing with the blanket and trying to stay off his injured ankle. As they were leaving the forest they heard a ruckus at the estate gates. Normally the gates were only closed when official Clan business was happening and they didn't want visitors. However, since the man who tried to harass Naruto almost got in they had made it a point of closing them. At that moment, though, Shikamaru and Naruto could see that the gate was open enough for someone to enter and many clansmen were blocking the way for whoever it was.
Even though neither of them could hear what was being said, they could tell that voices were being raised. Naruto quickly transformed herself, her figure becoming boy like and her long, orange dress turning into her usual attire. Dropping the bags onto the porch of Shikamaru's house, and Naruto gently putting down her flowers, the two made their way over to the gate. With a clearing of his throat the clansmen stopped arguing with the intruder and looked over.
"Shikamaru," one of them started, "this girl wants to see Naruto. We've tried to explain to her that she can't come in and that we would ask Naruto if he wished to see her, but she won't listen."
"I've told you! I'm his teammate, so I should be allowed in," Sakura snapped from behind a wall of Nara's.
"And we've told you," one of the Naras retorted, mimicking Sakura's tone with an exaggerated whine, "you weren't on the list of people our Head and Heir authorised, so you're not getting in."
"Why aren't I on the list?" Sakura huffed. The Naras had moved out of Shikamaru's way, allowing him to see Sakura's face, which was splotched red with anger.
"Because I don't like you," Shikamaru drawled, smirking when Naruto sniggered into her hand, trying to hide it with a cough. "But luckily for everyone that has to hear your voice, Naruto is right here, so say what you want and get out."
Sakura had to switch between glaring at Shikamaru and glaring at his clansmen that had laughed at his comment. Finally she turned to Naruto, snapping at the blonde.
"I've been instructed to move medical supplies into the hospital, so come on." Sakura turned to walk away, obviously expecting Naruto to follow.
"Hold on," Dani piped up. Shikamaru hadn't realised he was in the group but was certain the man had been the one to annoy Sakura the most. "If it was an official mission for Naruto, you could have just handed us the mission scroll and we would have passed it on."
The pink haired girl rolled her eyes. "It's not an official mission for Naruto. I came to get him to help me. If I did it by myself it would take forever. Come on, Naruto, hurry up."
Shikamaru glared at Sakura as Naruto shrugged.
"Well, I guess the quicker we get the supplies sorted the quicker they can be used to help." Naruto gave the Naras all a small smile before following Sakura out.
"I can see why you don't like her," Dani commented. "Something tells me she doesn't know about Naruto's gender either."
"No. Apparently she spent a good deal of time ranting about why Naruto can't be a female and generally insulting everything about Naruto, from her behaviour to her looks." Shikamaru sighed, looking at his clansmen that all looked rather annoyed with the pink haired girl's intrusion. "The order remains to check before letting in anyone not on the list to see Naruto. Sakura is not to be added either."
"Good," Hiro sneered at where Sakura had stood. "She's a bitch! She's probably just jealous cause even in boy form Naruto's better looking than her. Hell, Naruto eclipses that chick."
Hiro's friend, Jun, elbowed him in the side, trying to speak out of the side of his mouth. "Don't say shit like that about Naruto in front of Shikamaru."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "I don't care. Hiro's right, anyway. Just keep an eye on those two, something doesn't feel right there."
Dani snorted. "Of course not. That Sakura chick is using Naruto cause she knows she can and Naruto is too kind hearted to stop her."
Jun piped up, adding to his father's statement. "It's not a bad thing that Naruto is so kind, it's just that she's clearly tired from working in the village non-stop. Everyone keeps asking things from her."
A heavy feeling settled into the pit of Shikamaru's stomach. Frowning, he tried to evaluate what the feeling meant but as he did he felt himself becoming angry and disheartened, clouding his thoughts. He decided to stop, and instead focus on what a good day he had had. Naruto had the entire Clan looking out for her, and he knew that if he wasn't able to work out how to help her someone else in the Clan would. That was the only thought that soothed the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.
/ / / / /
Naruto didn't return home for dinner that night, nor had she made an appearance by the time Shikamaru went to bed just after 10 o'clock. When he woke up the next day he could see the imprint on the bed and pillow that showed Naruto had been to bed but her side was cold. Rolling over, Shikamaru spotted a note sitting against the picture of Naruto. Rubbing sleep out of his eyes and trying to focus on the words, he read the note.
Gone to help Sakura again. I wouldn't say no to lunch with you if you want to come get me. If not I'll hopefully be home for dinner.
Naruto XX
With a sigh he dragged himself out of bed. Putting the note back where he found it, he made his way to the bathroom for a shower. When he was dressed he found Ino in the living room with Sai so that she could bandage his leg again. Shikamaru was surprised to a member of Team Kakashi sitting around his house, since he had assumed they were all busy. When he voiced such a thing, Sai frowned at him.
"Sakura didn't ask for my help," Sai admitted, giving an awkward, unnatural shrug. "She probably chose Naruto because on the few occasions we have been given a mission to do with reorganising storerooms Naruto has always made clones. I don't even think Naruto realises that she ends up doing most of the work because of that."
Ino, who had finished wrapping Shikamaru's leg, looked at Sai in confusion. "But even if Naruto can make clones in a normal circumstance why does she end up doing all the work, and her chakra hasn't fully restored so making multiple clones will stall her recovery. The Nine-Tails did some damage on Naruto's chakra after all."
"Sakura usually is the organiser so she would tell us what to do, I was the one to stack the boxes when they were filled according to where they had to go, and Naruto would be the one to fill the boxes." Sai's eyebrows nearly met when he took in Ino's and Shikamaru's expressions. "I have said something that upsets you both."
"You basically just said that Sakura is making Naruto do all the work?" Shikamaru snapped. He went to get up, only for Ino to stop him, giving him a hard look.
"Have you been doing your exercises to strengthen your leg?" When Shikamaru avoided her eye Ino put her hands on her hips. "Well you're not leaving here until you do." Ino turned to Sai. "Since you're on the same team as those two, can you start pointing out that Naruto shouldn't have to do everything, just cause she's strong, please?"
Sai thought over what they had said to him before nodding. "It's possible Naruto hasn't told Sakura about her low chakra. If that is true it would explain why Sakura thought Naruto alone would be able to handle the job."
When Shikamaru finished his rather simple stretches and exercises, which were admittedly straining on his leg, he decided to hold off finding Naruto until he had an excuse to pull her away from Sakura. He was also rather angry and he didn't want to greet Naruto with it still boiling in his stomach. He instead waited until lunch time. He took the lunches that his mother had made for him and Naruto and went looking for the blonde. He had found the number of the medical warehouse scribbled on the back of the note Naruto had written to him. He found Sakura sitting on a crate, a clipboard on her lap. She was talking to one of the Naruto clones with a frustrated tone.
"You've already shown me that! And I told you that we don't need any more of them."
Naruto shrugged. "You told another Naruto, not me."
Sakura sighed. "You keep doing this. Can't you just dispel like normal so the others know not to keep grabbing the same items?"
"Um, no. I don't have enough chakra."
"You should eat more of my food pills. They will help restore your chakra." Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Or Naruto can take more breaks, and not make clones," Shikamaru pointed out. When Naruto looked at him, he smiled, holding up the bentos by the string tied around them. "You requested lunch."
Naruto grinned before she and the other Narutos that could be seen disappeared. The real Naruto jumped out from behind some crates that were stacked vicariously. She ran up to Shikamaru, hugging him. With a crutch in one hand and the bentos in the other hand he wasn't able to return the hug, but Naruto didn't seem to mind.
"I'm surprised you brought us lunch," Sakura commented, putting the clipboard to the side.
"I didn't," Shikamaru blatantly replied. "I brought lunch for Naruto and I. Any ideas where we should eat, Naruto?"
"I know of a nice place by the river if you're leg is okay with the walk." Naruto took the bentos, silently deciding she would carry them.
"Sounds good to me." They turned to leave but Sakura piped up.
"Wait, we still have more to do here."
"To bad," Shikamaru retorted, leading Naruto out of the warehouse before Sakura could guilt her into staying.
Naruto took them to a shady spot by the river. It was not far up the river from where Asuma-Sensei and Shikamaru had stumbled across Naruto and Lord Jiraiya years before. They sat on the bank, comfortably eating their lunches. When they were finished, Shikamaru decided to ask about Sakura's behaviour and Naruto's absence the night before.
"Why did Sakura get you to help her? She could have asked other healers, or some Genins."
The blonde blushed in embarrassment. "She pointed out that I am a Genin, so it is my job to do that stuff. And I can make clones. But she kept getting annoyed that I didn't know what equipment was on the list and even when she told me the names of the stuff I didn't know what it was." Naruto took some deep breaths, her eyes taking on that desperate look Shikamaru had started to fear. "I know that people need the medical supplies, so I stayed up all night taking the supplies I had already boxed to the hospital. Even though that meant I had to eat Sakura's mud balls instead of eating dinner with you. I can't even tell her that they taste horrible and they don't actually restore any of my chakra. She gets upset if I don't eat them. She put a lot of time into them and she thinks they're helpful but they aren't. And making so many clones hurts."
"Why didn't you just tell her that you can't make clones?" Shikamaru asked softly when Naruto finally stopped rambling to take a breath.
"Cause I've let her down enough. I couldn't return Sasuke to her, twice now, and the village was destroyed because of me. The least I can do is help with some medical supplies. Besides, Sakura has been working to help the injured. She's as exhausted as everyone else is. Everyone is working so hard to fix what Pain did trying to get to me. The village is this way, because of me. People are dead, because of me! So the least I can do is help the village heal, no matter what."
"Naruto!" Shikamaru yelped. When Naruto continued to gasp for breath he grasped her shoulders, shaking her gently. "You need to calm down! Please! You're scaring me!"
The blonde's breathing started to even out slowly but her eyes still held a dazed, panicked look. She leant into Shikamaru when he pulled her to him, holding her tightly. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as she grasped his shirt in her fists. Her heartbeat pounded against Shikamaru's chest. After a shaky breath Naruto buried her face in Shikamaru's neck.
"Just relax. I've got you. Calm down, alright?" He stroked her back, feeling her hands flatten against his chest before curling into fists again.
Naruto shifted in his arms, moving to sit more easily in Shikamaru's lap. As she made herself situated with her knees either side of his legs, she started kissing his neck. Shikamaru's gasp of surprise did little to distract Naruto and instead she moved to kiss his mouth. It was forceful but desperate. Naruto clung onto the front of Shikamaru's shirt as she pushed into him, making him fall back to lie on the ground. As one of Naruto's hands pressed against the ground, the other slid up Shikamaru's shirt. Electricity shot through his limps. One of his hands disappeared into Naruto's hair, pulling her closer to deepen the kiss, whist the other grasped her hip tightly. Naruto pressed form into his, her hands clumsily pawing at his shirt.
Shikamaru had enough of his senses still intact to draw a deep breath through his nose, clearing the fog that had settled over his mind. When he could think reasonably straight he grabbed Naruto's shoulders, softly pushing her back.
"Stop!"
Naruto rose up on her hands, looking down at him with bafflement. "What's wrong? I thought you wanted this."
"But do you?" Shikamaru whispered, looking her in the eyes.
"I… I like being with you," Naruto said uncertainly.
"You don't have to do this to be with me though." Shikamaru sighed, sitting up slowly, Naruto still situated in his lap. "The fact that you can't answer me shows me you don't even know what you want. I'm sorry if I made it seem like you had too."
"I know what I want!" Naruto snapped, though her expression said otherwise.
"It's alright if you don't –" Shikamaru started.
"But I do!" Naruto insisted. "I want you to be happy, and I want to be with you."
"And if that's not what I want?" he asked slowly. "Would you still want it then?"
Naruto groaned loudly, grabbing her head. "YOU DON'T KNOW ME!"
Shoving Shikamaru, she jumped to her feet, running off. The dark haired man sat up, sighing so deeply his shoulders sunk. Once he found the strength, he rose to his feet and made his way back to the estate. To ensure he wouldn't run into anyone in the house he skirted around the back, sitting on the porch and staring up at the sky. He had finally done it, and his father had been right. He wasn't sure how long he sat leaning against the wall but he vaguely registered when it became dark, a chill nipping through the air. He barely noticed his father jump when he spotted Shikamaru sitting in the dark. As the older Nara slowly walked closer Shikamaru turned his head to face him, letting the moonlight hit the tear tracks running down his face.
"You were right," he whispered, his voice raw. "I didn't want to know."
Shikaku sighed, walking closer and sitting down next to his son against the wall, groaning. He made no other noise as they looked at the moon.
He took a shaky breath, wiping at his tears roughly only for them to quickly be replaced. "I'm terrified of Naruto accepting my feelings. I finally realise what Asuma-Sensei meant. If Naruto doesn't return my feelings she will pretend that she does just to make me happy and so she doesn't break my heart. She will accept them. I can't tell her!"
"What if she does return your feelings?" his father whispered.
"How will I ever be sure, knowing how ridiculously selfless she is. Ironically it's one of the things I love about her. I know she likes me. I can see that, but I don't know if she loves me, and if her feelings for me one day go away, she won't ever say so if she knows how much I care. She will do anything I want. She'll do anything anyone wants, as long as it makes them happy."
Shikaku sighed. "Shikamaru, did you ever think that Naruto deserves to know? She has the right to know that every gesture, touch, smile, that you give her isn't just friendly. She has the right to know your intentions."
"I'm surprised that she doesn't already. The strength of her denial is palpable. Maybe part of her does know, she just doesn't know how far my feelings go. I know part of her sees that Sakura doesn't treat her right, but she doesn't want to hurt Sakura, so she stays quiet. It's the same with the village. She knows they would all understand if she told them she needed to rest, but she doesn't want them to be burdened. She doesn't want them to stop liking her and I think she's scared of what will happen if she disappointed any of us." Shikamaru shook his head, swallowing thickly.
"That might be where Inoichi's concerns lie. She can't bring herself to let anyone down, make anyone dislike her at all. She has been fighting for so long to be important that she doesn't want to lose it. Instead she's letting herself be crushed under the weight. Naruto is used to the village hating her, so this admiration is something she is scared of, and she's trying to help everyone so they don't turn on her. I feared this would happen when you first told me of your issue with the idea of Naruto 'accepting' your feelings. The girl doesn't know how to process emotions and instead does what is needed or what other's want instead of what she wants." Shikaku ran a hand down his face. "I had hoped that by the time you realised the issue it would have resolved itself."
Shikamaru gave a dry chuckle. "I think I'm Naruto's biggest problem. I have the most control over her and the most potential to hurt her. I think I need to distance myself from her until she starts living for herself." He swore when his father smacked him over the head. "What the hell was that for?"
"For being stupid!" Shikaku growled. "Pulling away from Naruto now will just make her think she's done something wrong. It will be giving you more power, not less. If you want an equal power dynamic, one where Naruto can be comfortable expressing herself then you need to work on bring that side of her out. And not just with you, but with everyone. That teammate of hers treats Naruto so badly because Naruto never stops her. It's never crossed the girl's mind that she's using Naruto. You need to support Naruto and show her that her feelings matter."
"And how do I do that?" Shikamaru snapped, a hand still on the bump on his head.
"I don't know! You're the one in love with her! Relationships involve helping each other and supporting each other. So start doing that." Shikaku stood. "If you've hurt her, apologise, but set boundaries to that that doesn't happen again."
/ / / / /
He didn't get a chance to talk to Naruto that night. When she came home she declined dinner and went to sleep in the room she and Ino shared. The next morning she had been dragged off to a team meeting with Kakashi-Sensei and Sakura. Shikamaru discovered not long after that he had other issues to deal with. Even the fact that Ino had taken off his bandage and declared his leg healed didn't help lighten events. His father had came home and instantly opened a bottle of sake, ordering Clan members to find Yoshino and Momiji and bring them to the house personally, as well as ordering three Clan members to retrieve Choza and Aiko. Inoichi looked at his friend with concern, only getting a firm shake of his head before Shikaku returned to his drink. When the group had been assembled, including Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru, Shikaku took a breath that shook his whole body.
"Lady Tsunade has been stripped of her title of Hokage," Shikaku started, silencing whatever Ino was about to say with a look. "Danzo has been named Sixth Hokage."
Inoichi swore, his fists clenched and his face pinched. "Is this a sick joke?"
"Wait, whose Danzo?" Choji asked, only to receive a dark look from his father.
"No one you want to meet."
"There's more," Shikaku grunted.
"Of course there is," Inoichi spat.
"Danzo has declared Sasuke Uchiha a rogue ninja."
"Where's Naruto?" Momiji asked in distress.
"I ordered Kiba to find her and only tell her the news if Kakashi was with her." Shikaku turned his eyes onto the second generation of Ino-Shika-Cho. "This is going to take some explaining and you aren't going to like any of it. As you know, Naruto is the Fourth Hokage's daughter. Her mother was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki before her. Even without the Nine-Tails everyone expected Naruto to be strong. When the beast was put into her Danzo wanted to put her into his organisation, the Foundation. The Third refused and instead he gave Naruto to Inoichi. I couldn't take her in because not only did Yoshino suffer losses at the hands of the Nine-Tails and was therefore grieving, I had already made us a target for Danzo when I informed the Third that Danzo was going to make a move for the Hokage position. We had then orchestrated to have Minato take over instead."
"For that he sent some of his ninja to attack me," Yoshino explained, a hand to her stomach. "That's the real reason I was lucky to have you, Shikamaru. The Jutsu they used should have made me infertile but we still managed to have you."
"Then he set his sights on us," Momiji picked up, looking at Ino sadly. "Ninjas attacked one night when you were one and a half, pretending to go after you. Naruto must have unknowingly sensed their hostile chakra because she started screaming and woke us up. As though to make sure we got the message that keeping Naruto was dangerous, a week later I was poisoned."
"Your sickness!" Ino gasped. "But can't someone fix it?"
"Anyone we asked for help ended up injured. Danzo tried to get the Third to hand over Naruto, saying it was too dangerous if we could barely protect our own daughter. The threat was pretty clear to us." Inoichi sighed. "We never wanted to give Naruto up, but since we were her guardians, we were able to put her in the orphanage instead. The midwife there was a respectable ninja from the Second Great Ninja War. She had been rewarded after she was badly injured with the duty of protecting the next generation. But Naruto started pulling away from everyone and eventually she asked to be allowed out of the orphanage. The Third and I agreed because the midwife couldn't handle her."
Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji shared a look, silently agreeing to not tell the parents what the 'respectable' midwife had done.
"When she was attacked," Shikaku picked up after handing his sake bottle to Inoichi, "Danzo made another attempt to get her into his clutches."
"Did he cause the attack?" Shikamaru asked, trying to keep his voice level.
Shikaku shrugged. "I honestly don't know. It wouldn't have surprised me if he had been planning something but then the attack happened and he saw an opportunity. But unfortunately for him Inoichi was still down as Naruto's legal guardian. Once Naruto entered the academy, Danzo couldn't touch her." At the confused looks he elaborated. "Iruka's sensory chakra is almost on par with Naruto's. How do you think he always found you when you skipped class? He kept an eye on any threats coming the girl's way and he protected her. And once Naruto graduated she became a ninja of the Leaf. Going after her would have given the Third every reason to have Danzo arrested and the Foundation dismantled. Part of me wishes he had." Shikaku gripped his hair in frustration. "Now that he is Hokage he will be looking for an excuse to lock Naruto up. He can't go after her without cause though because Naruto is much beloved in the village and someone leaked to people that the Foundation hadn't been in the battle against Pain. Oops. Danzo was obviously hoping that Lady Tsunade would be killed or grievously injured enough that he could take over."
"He's put the hit on Sasuke so that Naruto will confront Danzo," Shikamaru reasoned. "But Kakashi-Sensei will be able to stop her."
"Unfortunately there is no way of changing Danzo's order. Sasuke attacked the Jinchuriki from the Cloud. The man was the Raikage's brother. The Cloud will see Sasuke dead."
"But that will lead to Naruto and Sakura seeking revenge," Choji gasped. "We will be at risk of a war if it escalates."
Shikamaru grunted. "He's our comrade. We should work on a plan to stop that from happening. Dad, are we at risk of Danzo attacking us?"
"I don't know. The Nara Clan is opening harbouring Naruto, the Yamanakas have always been on Naruto's side."
"And so are the Akimichi," Choza added proudly. "Three of the biggest Clans support Naruto, and so does the heir of the Hyuga Clan. Naruto has a lot of weight behind her, so if she and Danzo do come to blows he will be looking at pacifying us quickly."
"Which is why you women are to have guards with you at all time," Shikaku added, looking at the three wives and Ino. "We know from personal experience that Danzo likes attacking you to send a message. You might be strong but he plays dirty. I won't let that happen again. Until we know what we can do, we will be on our guards at all times."
Shikamaru nodded before turning to his two teammates. "We have to get the others. I have an idea but it's one we all need to agree on. But we are leaving Team Kakashi out of it until then. And don't worry, Uncle Inoichi, Aunt Momiji, we'll stop Naruto from being harmed."
The three of them set out, Choji and Shikamaru keeping Ino between them. To attack them in the open would have been idiotic but after finding out the fates of two of their mothers they weren't risking anything. They made a beeline for Hinata's estate first. Simply telling Neji to guard Hinata whilst the new Hokage got comfortable was enough to alert him to what they insinuated. With the two cousins' help they were able to track down the rest of their friends. Lee and Tenten were the last, having been working on the rebuilding. When they were all gathered Shikamaru separated himself, finding Izumo and Kotetsu and seeing if they knew more about Sasuke's situation. Thankfully, they did. They had been the ones on duty when the ninjas of the Cloud had arrived. There was no doubt it had been Sasuke, wearing the Akatsuki robes and the Uchiha insignia.
He had returned to the group resolute. He could think of nothing to remove Sasuke from the rogue ninja list. The Hokage wanted him there to force Naruto's hand, and the Raikage wanted him there because Sasuke had attacked a member of his village and his brother. One look at his face was all Ino needed before tears started to well in her eyes. The fact that he had to explain the situation to the rest made him feel horrible.
"If Sasuke has lost his way so drastically, what do we do?" Neji asked, a hand on Hinata's shoulder.
"If a ninja of the Cloud kills Sasuke, Naruto or Sakura will go after them. If one of them dies Ino or I will go after the Cloud, dragging our fathers and Choji into it. It will escalate, simply because Sasuke chose the wrong path." Shikamaru rubbed his forehead. "Naruto has no doubt realised this but her first goal is to save Sasuke. She will think of the most complicated answer that will be the hardest to succeed at."
"What's the easiest answer?" Choji questioned, obviously picking up on what Shikamaru was avoiding.
"If we break the line of revenge before it starts. If someone of the Leaf kills Sasuke then there will be no true hate to distil. Naruto and Sakura might hate those who did it but they can't seek revenge on a fellow ninja of the Leaf who was simply doing what is best for the village. They will understand."
"They might understand," Ino said, sniffling, "But Naruto will likely hate whoever delivered the killing blow. You need to stay out of it."
"If I have to, I will kill him," Shikamaru admitted with a hollow voice. "Sasuke has hurt Naruto enough. I won't let her die because I failed to drag that idiot home. It's what is best for her. She's already taken on too much and is struggling under the weight. We need to do what is best for her and what is best for the village. And that is killing Sasuke."
Ino's tears came more strongly at that statement, choking any words she might have wanted to say. Choji sat down on the planks of wood beside her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. With a resolute sigh, Shikamaru went over to the tent he had seen Sai walk into. Standing just outside he could hear Sai telling Sakura how Naruto cared about her deeply and was suffering because of her failure to fulfil her promise to Sakura. Not being able to handle listening to Sai talk about how broken Naruto was he pushed the flap of the tent aside, telling the two Team Seven members that he needed to talk to them. Sakura took the news better than he expected her too and asked to be the one to tell Naruto.
Part of Shikamaru wanted to tell her that he would do it but two things stopped the words in his throat. The first was that he might have been the last person Naruto wanted to see after the day before. He wasn't sure if she would be angry, hurt, embarrassed, or even cold to him. From what he could evaluate the other day had been her trying to do what she thought he wanted, so perhaps a part of her was relieved he had stopped her. The second thing that made him want to hand the burden to Sakura was that he would have to tell Naruto that he had decided to kill her best friend. The idea of hurting her like that and ruining any chance he had with her made him want to run. When he nodded to Sakura's demand he knew he was being a coward and selfish, but he reasoned that the news should be delivered by someone who cared for Sasuke as much as Naruto did so that the blonde could understand how hard the decision had been.
Once Kiba, Lee, and Sai left to escort Sakura to where Naruto was the rest stayed where they were. None of them said a word. Instead it was as though they were all holding their breaths. Shikamaru kept looking towards the gates, expecting to see Naruto running through them, ready to scream in her childish manner that they were all wrong, and that there was a third option, other than killing Sasuke or begging the Raikage to take his name off the rogue ninja list. However, that never came. They all waited for hours for the group to return with word of how Naruto reacted. Choji ignored his growling stomach, Ino's tears had turned into soft hiccups as she wiped her face on a handkerchief that Neji had handed her, and Shikamaru took advantage of his manoeuvrability to pace back and forth in front of the group.
Hinata had her eyes trained on the gate. When she gasped, Shikamaru stopped his pacing, stumbling. She was pointing off in the distance. At first Shikamaru couldn't see anything but slowly he started to make out multiple figures, one clearly being a dog. When he noticed Naruto's bright hair he looked at Hinata and Neji for answers.
"Both groups are returning," Hinata explained. "But something is wrong. Most of them look angry and Naruto looks… broken. Captain Yamato is fussing over her."
"Something must have gone wrong." Neji folded his arms, watching the group draw closer.
When the teams came through the gate they easily spotted the waiting group. Naruto gave them a half hearted smile before muttering something about going to sit down somewhere. Sakura tried to tell Naruto that she should go to a medic tent but the blonde kept walking, pretending to not hear her. Sakura was prevented from going anywhere by the hold Kiba took on her arm.
"Do you want to tell the others what you did?" Kiba asked darkly.
"Kakashi-Sensei," Sakura yelped.
"I have to sort out this Hokage mess. Come on, Tenzo." Kakashi-Sensei breezed past, though none of them missed the disappointed and disdainful look he shot his student.
"I told you to not call me that!" Captain Yamato snapped, following Kakashi-Sensei, blatantly ignoring Sakura.
"What happened?" Choji asked, standing up and crossing his arms.
"Where to start?" Kiba drawled. "Oh, how about with Sakura screwing us all over and trying to manipulate Naruto." He squeezed Sakura's arm when she tried to speak in her defence. "She didn't tell Naruto about our plan to save the village and save Naruto more heartache. Instead she 'confessed' her love to Naruto, saying that he didn't need to go after Sasuke anymore because Sakura didn't care about him. Even when Naruto yelled at her to cut it out she wouldn't and instead got angry at Naruto for not accepting and returning her feelings. Then she decided to go after Sasuke herself."
"I made a clone that doubled back to tell Naruto the truth," Sai sighed, fury filling his usually emotionless eyes. "You devastated Naruto. He had a panic attack and lost consciousness. Kakashi-Sensei, Captain Yamato, and I were terrified."
Shikamaru held up a hand, hoping that everyone would stop. His mind felt like it was moving both too fast and too slow at the same time. Bile started building in his throat. His mind snapped back into focus at a loud bang. He took in the scene before him, trying to work out where the noise had come from. Sakura was no longer in Kiba's grasp. Instead Hinata stood before her, rage filling her expression. The pink haired girl had a shocked look and a red handprint on her cheek. Just as Shikamaru realised what must have caused the bang, Hinata lifted her hand, slapping Sakura's other cheek with equal force.
"How dare you! HOW DARE YOU!" Hinata screeched. "We made the plan to protect Naruto but you're self centred enough that you think 'loving' him is enough for him to give up on Sasuke. You are pathetic."
"That's not all," Lee warned, shooting a glare at Sakura. "She knocked us unconscious so that she could fight Sasuke on her own. Kakashi-Sensei and Naruto both had to jump in to rescue her and she ended up cutting Naruto with a poisoned blade. That's why he needed to sit down."
Hinata gave a hollow laugh. "You actually thought you were a match for Sasuke? You're not even a match for me and I know I can't beat Sasuke or Naruto."
"What about Naruto?" Ino asked in a shaky voice. "Is Naruto okay?"
"Neji, Hinata," Shikamaru snapped. "Find Naruto for me."
"By the river, near a willow tree."
"Thanks, Neji, I know the one." Shikamaru took off running, ignoring the angry voices aimed at Sakura. They could deal with her, he had more important things to do.
He found Naruto sitting by the bank, staring at the water. She gave no reaction when he walked up to her and sat beside her. She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly. Slowly, she let out a breath.
"When I was younger I used to be envious of fish," Naruto comments lightly. "I would see them swim passed, going wherever they wanted. I wanted that freedom. And they always were swimming with another fish, they were never alone."
"Fish swimming together are called a school." He was aware of her gaps in knowledge. His fact was rewarded with a small smile. "Are you still envious of fish?"
"I'm not the fish," Naruto answers in a dark voice. She turns her head to look at Shikamaru, tears pooling in her blue eyes. "Sasuke is."
"What are you?" The words are weak. His mind, for once, didn't want the answers to his questions. It begged for Naruto to ignore him. His heart, however, waited, its beats fast but silent.
Naruto looked back at the water. Finally she opened her mouth, speaking as though she had known for a long time the answer. "I'm the fishing rod, and Sakura is the fisherman. Once she gets her fish, I'm no use anymore."
"Yet you're going to get Sakura her fish anyway." Shikamaru hoped that the slaps Hinata gave that girl hurt.
"That's what a fishing rod does." Naruto gave him a hollow smile as though it was all a cruel joke that she couldn't help but play out until the punch line.
"I'm not sure how to word this analogue properly but just because you're a tool to those two doesn't mean you're not a fish to the rest of us." He thought over the sentence. It was definitely the most unusual he had spoken.
Naruto snorted before she grinned, laughing loudly. She didn't even try to quiet her amusement. Eventually she settled down, looking over at Shikamaru, still smiling. "That is both the strangest and sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. Thank you for calling me a fish."
He couldn't help but shake his head at the conversation he found himself in. Only Naruto could rope him into truly strange situations. "I think we both need sleep."
At those words the woman started to shake her head. "I don't want to sleep, I don't want to move!" She sounded almost desperate. Her hand grabbed Shikamaru's, her tears returning. "Can we just sit here and be fish, please?"
"Of course." He put his arm around Naruto's shoulders, pulling her to his side. She willingly moved into him, putting her head on his shoulder. "Is everything alright? Please tell me the truth."
"No. It's hard to breath. I feel like there are a million things I have to do and I can't do any of them."
"You don't need to do everything yourself."
"You all want to kill Sasuke."
"We don't want to kill him. We knew that if someone from another village killed him, that you or Sakura would seek revenge and then someone from that village would retaliate."
"That's what I was trying to stop."
"I know. But we knew it wouldn't work. So… I came up with a plan that would stop the cycle before it began. If someone from our village dealt with Sasuke then there would be no revenge to seek. We decided to leave you out of this because you had already done so much for the village. None of us wanted to ask for more and we all thought you deserved to sit out of this one. Sakura and her team were meant to explain the situation to you, comfort you, but she changed the plan without telling anyone." He paused, rubbing Naruto's arm. "Are you mad at me? At all of us?"
A deep breath was pulled into Naruto's body, making her form push against Shikamaru's side. She released it with one word. "Yes. If you want the truth, that's it. I'm mad, and I'm scared, and I can't breathe." Naruto moved out of Shikamaru's grasp, a glare on her face though having nowhere to aim it. "And everyone is so worried about 'the jinchuriki'. That's what I am to everyone. A thing. A box for something everyone despises but so many people want. Why can't someone just see me, only me, and want to do something because of who I am?"
"Naruto," Shikamaru started softly. "We didn't make the plan because of the Nine-Tails. None of us even thought about him. We just wanted to stop you from suffering."
"What?" Naruto gasped, tears carving paths down her face. "But Sakura said that I shouldn't be out of the village cause I'm the jinchuriki."
"Sakura is a bitch," Shikamaru stated plainly. "She didn't make the plan, I did. I told the others and they all agreed it was the best way to spare you. Not the Nine-Tails, but you."
Naruto buried her face in her hands, tears leaking through her fingers. Shikamaru wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head as he rubbed her back.
"Tell me what you plan to do with Sasuke and I will do everything I can to make it happen. Just tell me what you want and I'll give it to you."
"I convinced Sasuke to leave all the villages alone. I told him that when Madara has been dealt with I'll find him and we can have a battle to the death. I will stand in for the village." Naruto sniffled, slowly raising her head to look Shikamaru in the eye. "I want you to help me make a battle plan. I want to go into that fight having ways I know I can win. Sasuke and I are evenly matched. I want you to help me tip it in my favour."
Shikamaru pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. "Then that's what I'll do. You need to start letting yourself feel and want things, instead of doing what others want."
Naruto nodded numbly before curling back into his chest, her cries still shaking through her body. He sat and held her, letting her shed all the pain she had kept bottled up for so long.
This chapter still took forever even though I had the fish scene and Shikamaru talking to his dad written over a year ago. Hope you guys all like this chapter that shows what I had been building up to for a while.
R and R