WARNING!
There is some more adult content than usual in this chapter such as swearing and mention of some… not so pleasant stuff. I promise this stuff won't litter the following chapters but if you're uncomfortable with those sorts of things you have been warned.
It took him a moment after waking up to remember where he was. He had stayed up until late with Naruto and the Children of Iron before he had found himself too exhausted to make it back to the Nara Estate. He had ended up finding a room that residents had recently vacated in favour of their new homes. Shikamaru had missed Naruto's presence beside him though. He wasn't even sure she had been to bed. However, shortly after he had woken up he spotted Naruto walking into a room with a tray.
"Good Birthday," Naruto said with a smile, putting the tray down on the low nightstand next to the bed. "Don't worry, Dai cooked, but I did help."
Shikamaru chose to not comment on her getting the saying wrong and instead looked at the omelette. "You did the carrot smiley face, didn't you?"
"Yeah." Naruto watched as Shikamaru sat up but didn't reach for the tray. "Are you not going to eat it?"
"Not right now." He pulled Naruto down onto the bed. He pressed her into the mattress, kissing her. There was something freeing about not being at home. Even though Shikamaru would be surprised if his family and Ino's family hadn't realised that Naruto slept in his room the two still tried to minimise how likely it was that someone in the house would find her sleeping in his bed. They had also had to limit the amount of times they had been in one of their bedrooms alone. It wasn't by choice but for the fact that Uncle Inoichi had taken to randomly coming into the room as though looking for something, or needing an answer to a simple question. What he was doing was transparent and awkward, so the couple had taken to leaving the house and finding time to be together by the river or in the Nara forest. They had somewhat claimed the secluded clearing they had had their first dating in as their personal clearing.
Even though they had found ways to have privacy it was refreshing to be able to lie in bed for however long they wanted without interruptions. He was able to enjoy the look of Naruto's hair sprayed out over the pillow, the feel of her increased heartbeat as he kissed her neck, and the sound of her shuttered breath as Shikamaru's hand slid up her orange t-shirt. He was so focused on the beautiful woman beneath him that if Anko had knocked before barging into the room he didn't hear it and apparently neither did Naruto. She jump as much as Shikamaru did, yanking her shirt back into place as Shikamaru looked over his shoulder at the Jonin in surprise.
"Whoops," giggled the woman, a whiff of sake coming from her. "Did I interrupt something?"
Shikamaru looked at Naruto, his face turning red. The blonde woman raised herself up onto her elbows, glaring at her drinking friend.
"Anko, how are you still drinking?"
The Jonin winced. She walked deeper into the room, dropping onto the bed. "Cause when I stop I'm going to have to face stuff I've buried so deep I could almost convince myself that they didn't happen. I'm glad the evil bitch is locked up but if I can be drunk for two days I'm not going to complain."
"It hasn't been two days, Anko. The trial was midday yesterday and went for a few hours," Shikamaru reminded, putting the tray with his omelette on his lap.
"Oh, she was already a bit drunk at the trial," Naruto informed him casually as she sat up.
"Not so drunk that I won't remember her face when she was told the verdict and the fact that you beat the shit out of her at one point." Anko cackled.
"There you are!" Genma declared, walking into the room. "Iruka suggested I come get you." He looked at Shikamaru, who hadn't put a shirt on yet, and Naruto, whose orange shirt sat snugly on her torso. "Nice chest, the both of you."
"Genma, it's too early for your perverted behaviour," Naruto rolled her eyes before stifling a yawn.
"But not Shikamaru's?" Anko asked gleefully, only to yelp when the blonde nearly kicked her off the bed.
"Did I miss something kinky?" Genma questioned, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
The couple decided to ignore him and instead Naruto told Anko how the village had set up a section in the hospital for Children of Iron to get support for any mental health issues they might have. Anko absently nodded, clearly trying to think it over in her alcohol addled mind.
"You know, I think Huruma is actually more evil than Orochimaru." Her statement caused Shikamaru to pause mid-bite of his food, wondering how she knew the Sannin. "I know he experimented on me and did horrible things but I never got the impression that he was doing those things cause he got a kick out of it. He just wanted to see how far he could push the human body, learn more about chakra and stuff. It's not good but Huruma seriously seemed to enjoy hurting us. Orochimaru just thought that the ends justified the horrific means. I don't think he was capable of actually feeling disgusted or pleased by our pain, just the results of his research."
"At least they are both either dead or locked up," Genma commented before looking at Shikamaru's almost empty plate. "Okay, if Naruto gives you breakfast in bed every morning I really regret my rule of never dating someone ten years younger than me."
"You had no chance with me anyway," Naruto taunted. "And it's Shikamaru's birthday."
"So?" Anko asked, making Naruto look at her. Although he couldn't see her face Shikamaru assumed that Naruto was giving Anko some sort of look. "Oh, right, um…"
"Good birthday," Naruto whispered.
"Good birthday, Shikamaru."
Genma snorted, making Naruto ask him what was funny. He seemed to realise that Naruto, and extension Anko, didn't understand that they had said the phrase wrong because they may have never even heard it said. "Oh, nothing, just lamenting my lack of breakfast in bed and a hot blonde. Come on, Anko, you should get some rest."
"Fine," sighed the other Jonin, getting unsteadily too her feet.
"I am aware that you probably haven't celebrated a birthday," Shikamaru stated, putting the tray back on the nightstand.
The blonde turned to look at him. "What gave it away?"
"Logic mostly. You've shown a lack of care for birthdays in the past aaaand the phrase is happy birthday, not good birthday."
Naruto dropped her head with a humour filled sigh. After a moment her head snapped back up. "Wait, that makes no sense. If you're having a party you don't hope for a happy party. You hope for a good party. If it's good people will be happy anyways."
"I guess it doesn't make sense. So you can just say good birthday if you want. I won't mind." He reached out, grabbing Naruto's hand and pulling her into his lap. He started peppering her neck with kisses, nipping at the flesh when she went to move out of his hold.
"Shikamaru," Naruto groaned, which just encouraged him to do it again. "I sent a clone to the estate last night and told them we'd be home early today."
With a heavy sigh Shikamaru reluctantly let her go. His selflessness was rewarded with a smile and a deep kiss from a now standing Naruto. It was wise that Naruto did this after she had gotten off Shikamaru's lap because he was certain he wouldn't have let her go if she hadn't.
They took Shikamaru's breakfast tray to the kitchen to be washed before they headed off to the Nara Estate. Upon entering the courtyard to get to his house he realised that Naruto had tricked him.
"Happy birthday," cheered his family members and friends that were gathered in the courtyard.
There were decorations hung up and a banner that said 'Happy Birthday Shikamaru and Ino'. There were also tables laid out with snacks, drinks, and presents. The table with his name hanging from it clearly had only presents from him.
"You tricked me," Shikamaru whispered into Naruto's ear.
"Only for the best reason." Naruto smiled at him, pulling him towards the group. "We were going to do two separate parties for you and Ino but people are so busy still with fixing the village that it wasn't possible."
"That's fine, I'm not a big fan of parties, especially when I'm the centre of attention so I like sharing with Ino. She's an attention hog."
"Hey!" snapped said woman when they stopped in front of her and Choji. The bigger man laughed into his fist.
"Don't deny it!" Shikamaru taunted.
"Goo- Happy birthday, Ino… for tomorrow. Oh, I have to get your presents out of my room." She gave Shikamaru a quick kiss on the cheek before darting off.
"When she says her room does she mean my room or yours?" Ino asked with a grin.
"What?" Choji looked from one teammate to the other, looking as though he was debating about shielding his eyes.
Ino laughed at Shikamaru looking around sharply to make sure no one was overhearing them. "Don't worry. None of the adults know. I told them that Naruto had been having nightmares and often wanders into your room early in the morning to get a few more hours sleep. She honestly has told me that sleeping next to you helps get rid of the nightmares she was plagued with after that asshole tried to break in here and hurt her so I'm not really lying."
"I'm just going to pretend that I didn't hear that you and Naruto are sharing a bed," Choji declared.
Ino patted the man on the shoulder. "You do that."
Naruto appeared beside them again, holding two parcels. "I don't really know how the present thing works. Sasuke got me a cake once, but Aunt Momiji was making the cake, so I just found you both something I thought you'd like. I hope that's okay."
"That's actually how presents work," Ino explained.
"Awesome, I got one right." Naruto handed Shikamaru and Ino one of the parcels each.
Ino's present was lumpy and looked rather light whilst Shikamaru's was more boxy, even if poorly wrapped, and heavy. The man chose to not tell Naruto that with their birthday they often opened the presents at the end of the party so that they could 'mingle' for the entire time their guests were there. Shikamaru had always hated that rule since he wasn't particularly social and was always highly curious as to what he had received.
He let Ino unwrap her present first, revealing a soft, light blue, knitted sweater. The blonde instantly smiled at it.
"This is beautiful, Naruto. Did you make it?" She hugged other woman when she nodded. "Thank you."
"I'm glad you like it."
Seconds later Shikamaru ripped the paper off his present, not caring that he made a mess. He ignored the scoff Ino gave. When he saw what the heavy object was he found himself stunned. It was a grey marble shoji board with white and black marble squares, and he knew that the tiles in the little draw in the side were all carved from white and black marble. He had seen the shoji board once before and had instantly wished he had one. His was old with most of the tiles chipped and some of the symbols where almost faded to the point of being unrecognisable. However, not once, even as he had held the board the first time, did he think it would be his one day.
"Naruto… this was Lord Jiraiya's."
"I know." She smiled at him. "I noticed that yours needed replacing and… I want you to have this one. Pervy-Sage used to play it all the time. He tried to teach me once, but I refused to let him. I think it will be put to better use with you."
Making sure the shoji board was secure under one arm Shikamaru wrapped an arm around Naruto's waist, kissing her.
"Ar, you two need to stop doing that in front of me!" Ino exclaimed, which they ignored.
"I think they're sweet," Choji replied.
When they pulled apart Naruto decided to drag them off to find their other friends. For the most part Shikamaru enjoyed the party. His parents, who had been busy and stressed since Pain's attack, were relaxing for the first time in close to two months. It was good to see his mother laughing at some joke that his father had told and the two of them taking the moment to simply enjoy being with each other. It was moments like that, when his mother would laugh to the point that she would hiccup and then blush in embarrassment only for Shikaku to smile at her lovingly, that showed Shikamaru why his parents were together.
For him personally, he spent the day with his friends, his two cousins, Eiji, and Naruto. Shikamaru was finding that the more time he spent with Eiji the more he was glad that he allowed him to become a Nara. The blue haired man took to teasing Ryota's poor attempts to flirt with Hinata, with Naruto joining in. The blonde herself was sitting on Shikamaru's knee, leaning back against his chest with his arms wrapped around her waist.
As much as he kicked himself for taking so long to tell Naruto his feelings it was simple moments like this that stopped him from lamenting to hard. If he had told her earlier they might not have been as close and may not have even lasted a week. There would never be a way for him to know and there was no reason to ponder since at least he was with Naruto now.
His and Ino's families kept apologising for what they classed as subpar gifts. It was hardly a surprise that their families had scrambled to find presents for their birthdays since shops and commerce were not fully up and running again. There were some places such as Aunt Momiji's flower shop and Hideo Nara's jewellery store, since he made the jewellery in his workshop on the estate, that were getting minor business. Truthfully Shikamaru was just thankful to have a chance to relax with Naruto after the previous week. And he could tell that Ino couldn't careless about what she receive either and was just happy to spend time with her family.
It was this that helped to loosen the tension that Shikamaru had been caring with him. Perhaps it was this reprieve that had led to him reacting the way he did to a mission he had been given three days later. He was yet again helping with food distribution, since he already knew what he was doing. The woman who was giving out the orders instructed Shikamaru to take food to the prisoners in the gaol just outside the village. The man who was to help him organise the meals for the prisoners grabbed one side of the food crate whilst Shikamaru took the other. The two of them filled trays with the correct portions of food for each prisoner before putting the trays onto two separate trolleys.
"I'll take the east side of the prison and you can take the west?" Shikamaru suggested, getting a nod off the man. He had yet to hear his companion utter a word and didn't even know his name. He honestly didn't mind though and instead started pushing his trolley down the first corridor on the east.
For the most part the prisoners ignored him, often leaving their meals on the bench connected to the delivery slot until after he had walked off. The lack of interaction with the prisoners meant that he was finishing his task a lot quicker than he expected. Before long he was on his last corridor that housed some of the worst criminals. He was getting the tray out for the last prisoner when he heard a raspy laugh. When he straightened up he spied the figure sitting on the threadbare blanket half in shadow. He nearly dropped the food tray when he realised who he was looking at. He had only seen her twice before and with everything he heard about her he had built her up to be a dominating, terrifying woman in memory. But she wasn't. She was short, rather willowy, with loose, wrinkly skin. Her hair was the colour of ash, and one of her eyes had a glassy, mildly milky look to it. As she grinned sadistically at Shikamaru he could see cracked teeth.
"Taking time away from screwing your bitch to feed us?" Huruma taunted.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he picked up the pitcher of water, filling a cup to sit on the tray. He felt his shoulders tense as Huruma limped from the bed, closer to the bars of the cell door.
"You see that square of sunlight," she said, pointing to a patch of artificial light that was around half a meter across on her cell floor. "The box I used to shove your bitch in was about that size. Maybe smaller. I left her in there for three days once."
He turned his back to the woman, pretending to busy himself with fixing something on the tray. He had to remind himself that he knew what she was doing. All the cells were covered in chakra repressing stone. She was powerless. She was powerless and the only power she could get was what he gave her.
"I don't know why the bitch is complaining about the box though. You'd think he would be crying over when I used to cut ribbons from his flesh."
Turning sharply, Shikamaru tried to see a glimmer of a lie on the aged face in front of him. Instead she grinned at him.
"The bitch didn't tell you about that one, did he? I'm not surprised. Who wants to be reminded they are with a monster? The freak grew his skin back over night every time. Even when I tried burning his skin off, the monster healed himself. Though, I will admit it was fun to slice into him so often. The bitch would try to not scream when I had him pinned. Maybe you should try when you're next screwing him."
Shikamaru picked up her tray, taking the cup of water off. He slid the tray through the grate, giving it a sharp push at the last minute, sending the food tumbling to the ground. Then, whilst looking Huruma in the face he turned the cup up, letting the water pour out. He had to remind himself that he knew what she was trying to do and that he would never give in.
He filled the cup again, taking a long drink from it before putting it on the trolley. He went to leave but Huruma's next words caused him to stop mid step.
"How is your mother handling the loss of her first born?"
"I am her first born," Shikamaru said, glaring at the old woman.
A cackle came from the old crone in the cell. Huruma pressed her aged face against the bars. "You weren't meant to be. See your mother was on her way to spewing out another wretched thing like you when Danzo sent someone after her. The jutsu they used, I used on the little sluts in the orphanage all the time. It destroys their uterus and kills the little bastard inside. Sometimes I even did the world a mercy and stopped the chances of a little bastard being created before they left my care. I used the jutsu on your bitch a few times. I wanted to make sure he had no chance of spewing out little monsters when he was older. Seeing you I know I did the right thing."
Shikamaru reached in, grabbing a hold of Huruma's shirt. He pulled her closer to the metal bars until they were pressing painfully into her skin. "I know what you're trying to do. You can say all the lies that you want but I'm not opening the door and giving you a chance to get out. I don't need too."
He pushed her away, keeping a grasp on her shirt so he could sharply pull her back, slamming her into the bars. He let her go as the sound of the impact rang through the corridor. With a mark of satisfaction he watched her fall to the ground, blood running from her nose and lip and an angry red bruise on her forehead.
"You may be a horrible person but you're not a smart one." Leaving her to lie on top of the remains of her lunch he pushed the trolley back towards the exit where his silent companion was moving the food storages into the guard building. Shikamaru asked if the man could finish on his own before he marched off to the Nara Estate.
He wasn't sure who he was looking for as his eyes roamed the people in the estate. When his eyes landed on his uncle Inoichi who was talking to Eiji he instantly made his way over to the men. Both were showing signs of stress and premature aging. The young Eiji had bags under his eyes and lines had appeared around his mouth. They hadn't been there before he had been ordered to examine some of the Children of Iron before the trial. Uncle Inoichi was the most obvious. He had the same bags as Eiji but his long blond hair was showing signs of greying that had not been there only a few months before, and since the reveal of the Children of Iron there had been deep lines etched into his face at the corner of his eyes and around his mouth. Whenever Shikamaru looked at him he had a sickening realisation about how old Uncle Inoichi and in connection his own father were. It made him question if his father's desire to retire soon was really because he thought Shikamaru was ready to take over his position or if there was something he wasn't saying.
"I need to talk to you two… now." Shikamaru turned sharply, marching into his house, making the men follow him. He went straight into his father's office, giving Eiji a look so that the blue haired man would close the door. "I need you both to answer questions I have about my mother and Naruto, honestly."
"If those questions conflict with privileged information between healer and patient I won't answer," Eiji warned.
Shikamaru just gave him a nod before turning to Uncle Inoichi to get the simplest answer. "Was my mother pregnant when she was attacked?"
His uncle blinked in surprise. "No. Many in the village thought she might have been because of a string of bad luck involving getting food poisoning, then getting a stomach bug that everyone mistook for morning sickness. She was sick for almost a month. Who mentioned that rumour to you?"
"Huruma. I had hoped that she had lied about that and therefore I could believe she had lied about everything else. But she probably thought she was telling the truth." He took a deep sigh that felt like it rattled his very bones. "One of you tell me, was Naruto skinned and burned on multiple occasions? And was the same jutsu that was used on my mother used on Naruto?"
"That was before I came to the village, but Naruto doesn't have scarring," Eiji pointed out, shifting from one foot to the other.
"Huruma did do it." Unlce Inoichi sunk into a chair. "The one who hung himself, Waku, was an Uzumaki orphan and took it upon himself to help the others heal by using his Uzumaki healing chakra. With Naruto this worked a lot better because she has the Nine-Tails and Uzumaki chakra as well. Naruto told me before the trial. When I saw the jutsu being used on Naruto in Huruma's memory I had Lady Tsunade run a check on Naruto's health, since that jutsu used once can cause more issues than just infertility. It looks like the Nine-Tails healed her after every time the jutsu was used, probably to help weaken the seal holding him in Naruto. But there is scarring so Lady Tsunade doesn't know if Naruto is… well. It's possible the Nine-Tails saw benefits in keeping Naruto infertile since there are so few Uzumakis left. Perhaps only one or two now, counting Naruto, and we don't even have a clue where to find other survivors if they exist."
Shikamaru leaned heavily against the large desk behind him. Running a hand roughly down his face as he took deep breaths, the man started to feel enclosed and like having this discussion in an office was a bad idea. He marched passed the two men, throwing open the door.
"Shikamaru," Uncle Inoichi started, following after the Nara heir. "Why did you go speak with Huruma?"
"I didn't!" he snapped, turning to glare at the blond man. "I was on food duty when she started talking about how she used to cut strips of skin off Naruto, or burn her, and how my mother was pregnant when that jutsu was used on her-"
"Shikamaru," Eiji cut in but the dark haired man ignored him.
"She was trying to get me to open the cell to attack her. If I didn't know what she was doing I might have. The way she talked about using the jutsu on Naruto and other girls she either wanted to make infertile or abort their pregnancies sickened m-"
"STOP!"
Shikamaru halted, his eyes widening as he turned to look at the one who had roared the word. Naruto stood at the end of the hallway, her eyes hard before they softened as she turned them onto a very pale Anko.
"Anko…"
The usually rough, brash woman gave a weak chuckle. "So you too, Naruto. That bitch said she was doing the world a service." She scanned Naruto before her eyes flickered to Shikamaru for a moment. "But you're a Jinchuriki so Nara over there can probably get a brat when he wants."
Naruto barely blinked at the spite in Anko's voice. "If it helps I blinded her in one eye."
That caused the woman to give a wet laugh before she shook her head. "I'm going to head off. But thanks for the knowledge that one of us got some payback."
The blonde woman looked at Uncle Inoichi and Eiji, jerking her head at Anko's retreating back. "Show her out, will you?" The two men scrambled off before Naruto turned to Shikamaru. "I told you I didn't want you to find out anything that Huruma did!"
"It wasn't on purpose, I was doing my mission, but how could you not tell me that you were skinned? And that Huruma tried to make you infertile. I know my mum feels pain still from that jutsu. I can only imagine how brutal it was."
"I didn't want you to know!" Naruto snapped. "And as for the jutsu, I did tell you all that I had never thought of kids. Now you know why! You should have plugged your ears when you saw Huruma. WHAT HAPPENED WAS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"
"LIKE HELL IT ISN'T!" Shikamaru didn't realise he was raising his voice to match Naruto's, but if he had he wouldn't have truly cared. "I'M YOUR BOYFRIEND! EVENTUALLY WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU WILL AFFECT OUR LIVES IN SOME WAY. UNLESS YOU PLAN FOR US TO BREAK UP."
"OF COURSE NOT! I JUST DON'T SEE WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW. ALL IT WILL DO IS MAKE YOU UPSET."
"WHY WOULDN'T I BE UPSET WHEN FINDING OUT THAT MY GIRLFRIEND KNOWS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE BEING SKINNED? AND THE ONE WHO HEALED YOU WAS THE GUY WHO HUNG HIMSELF."
"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT? I WAS THE ONE WHO FOUND HIM! I WAS THE ONE WHO HAD TO CUT HIM DOWN! YOU HAVE HAD A GOOD LIFE, WHY DO YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT EVERY DETAIL OF MY CRAPPY ONE?"
"I DON'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT EVERY DETAIL. I JUST THINK I SHOULD KNOW THE BASICS."
"SO YOU WENT TO HURUMA FOR THAT?" Naruto threw her hands up in frustration. "I can't talk about this anymore. I need air."
Shikamaru let her walk away. He knew that yelling at each other was going to do little more than make them angrier and truthfully he didn't actually want to discuss what he had found out from Huruma. Walking to his room, Shikamaru collapsed onto his bed. He had let Huruma get into his head, something that he knew wasn't wise. But he had had issue with Naruto wanting to keep him in the dark. He had wanted to do what was best for Naruto and whatever would help her but honestly he didn't think being oblivious to trauma Naruto had experienced was possible if he truly wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
He spent ten minutes trying to calm down and thinking that Naruto was being irrational before a realisation came to his mind. Naruto had been crying as she yelled at him. On top of that she had lied to him and their friends when she had told them that Huruma had not ever physically hurt her. She had added the line when Choji and Hinata had pulled a horrified look at hearing about Huruma forcing Naruto to see herself as a boy. He stopped and thought of reasons why Naruto might have wanted to keep everything a secret besides trying to protect him from the disturbing information. It was this that allowed him to reach the depressing acknowledgement. Naruto wasn't just trying to protect him; she was trying to protect herself from the pain of having to tell him what happened. Even in what she was writing for the historian there was a detachment and plainness to her words, like someone explaining that one plus one did indeed equal two. But telling those she cared about, verbally and in person was different. She would have to answer questions, and watch their faces as they registered what she had suffered.
Shikamaru ran a hand through his hair as he stood up to go find his girlfriend. He was able to eventually find her by the river side where she used to train with Lord Jiraiya. Her knees were drawn up to her chest with her arms crossed on top of them. She had her head on her arms as her shoulders shook from tears. She stilled when Shikamaru sat next to her but instead of saying anything he pulled her close, rubbing her back calmingly.
When her tears had subsided he kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."
"I'm sorry too."
"I sort of get why you wanted to keep me oblivious but it's not possible. But I think we can come to a compromise."
"Oh?" Naruto looked up, rubbing her tears away roughly.
"When something comes up that effects you or our relationship that has to do with what you went through, you have to tell me how it affects you and the minimum of what happened so that I can help you the best I can. No details needed. And I will assure that I am never on prison duty again so I never see Huruma again."
"What kind of moments will I have to tell you things?"
"Well, instead of getting the villagers from the catacombs you should have told me that you were claustrophobic and why."
Naruto nodded before she started picking at her nails. "And the… fertility thing. Some of the Clan members have made jokes about our future so I have thought about telling you. But the Nine-Tails has insinuated that he's left me affected in that regard, I just don't get any of the other side effects of the jutsu. Obviously that is something that would cause us an issue in the future."
Shikamaru shrugged. "It's not great in the fact that you are hurt but it doesn't affect the two of us. It doesn't change how I feel."
"It will when you're older and needing an heir."
"I have two cousins, one of their children can be the heir." He gave her a genuine, small smile. "I promise that I'm okay with it. Do you think my dad thought about leaving my mum over that same issue? Of course not. So why would it even cross my mind to do it to you. And you never know, the Nine-Tails might be lying, or you might be lucky like my mother. She shouldn't have been able to have me. But we've got a fair few years before we have to think about that stuff."
"Your Clan though?"
"We just won't tell them. It's none of their business and most of them won't care anyway." Shikamaru twisted a lock of Naruto's blonde hair around his finger. "Do you forgive me for earlier?"
Naruto kissed him. "I do. Though you should apologise to Anko when you see her. I didn't think she handled hearing someone else talking about what we went through. And I promise I'll try to open up to you about the stuff in my past when it's necessary."
He sighed as he nodded. "I'll talk to her after this. I just wanted to make sure that we were okay."
Naruto leant into him, breathing him in as he pulled her into a tight hug. Shikamaru was thankful that Naruto and he were able to sort out their fight but the argument had left an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach that he knew would take some time to shake off.
/ / / / /
"Shikamaru!"
"Shikamaru!"
"Ar, SHIKAMARU!"
"Ow, what you crazy woman?" He rubbed his arm where Ino had pinched him. Glaring at the blonde, he watched her huff.
"Will you stop staring at Naruto? I'm trying to talk to you."
Shikamaru pretended to contemplate Ino's request before shaking his head. "Nope. More fun to stare."
He turned his gaze back to Naruto, who was in the courtyard talking to Ryota and Hinata. She was wearing the blue dress that caused Shikamaru to forget what he was thinking. The dress sat snug at Naruto's chest but hung loose underneath that, with a satin ribbon tied under her breasts. He had discovered that the dresses affects were worse with Naruto's bright blonde hair falling around her shoulders. He honestly didn't know why Ino expected him to listen to whatever she had been saying when he could instead watch Naruto who was laughing with her friends. Unfortunately his teammate was demanding attention. She hit his arm again.
"Shikamaru, I was trying to talk to you about the upcoming war!" Ino hissed, shooting Naruto a look as though to make sure she was still out of earshot. Ino uncrossed her legs, hanging them over the edge of the porch. "Do you really think we're going to be able to keep it from Naruto?"
"Honestly, she's sharper than she lets on, but if I think Lady Tsunade knows that. She will probably send Naruto to the location the Raikage has determined under the pretext of a mission or something. But I don't think it will stop Naruto for long. We will have to find out how they extract the Tailed Beasts and put a stop to it before she joins the war."
"I suppose at least we have a backup plan." Ino gave a small smile. "Dad and I have asked mum to stay here when we leave. Even if our house is finished whilst we're fighting she's going to stay here. Is that okay?"
"Of course. You know your mother is always welcome here. And having to move back into your house by herself would be a bit much. I'll let Airi know. She's looking after the Clan when we all move out." Shikamaru looked back across the courtyard, this time watching his female cousin as she moved around the estate.
"Airi is trained, why isn't she fighting?" Ino asked with a confused frown in the direction of the older woman.
"She informed us yesterday that she's pregnant. So she's been taken off active missions all together and since Ryota is a ninja and will be fighting with us it's helpful that Airi will be staying here. I'll make sure she looks after your mum, and you know the Clan won't mind having her around for longer." He smiled at Naruto when she looked over at him and waved. "We should stop talking about the war encase Naruto comes over."
"How are you two going… after the fight?" When Shikamaru looked at her in surprise she shrugged. "I was in the house when you two started yelling. I wish I wasn't. Dad put Naruto in the orphanage to protect mum and I. I might be selfish but I could live without knowing what she suffered."
"Sorry for the yelling. But we're much better. Naruto actually seems more relaxed now that we have an agreement about her past. I think she wanted to tell me, since she's always told me pretty much everything, but it's not something she wants to talk about in general. And I should have just said what I thought at the beginning."
"I'm glad that you two made up. You're cute together."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes seconds before Naruto dropped into his lap. He instantly wrapped his arms around her waist, enjoying the soft fabric of her dress. When she turned her head to look at him he kissed her.
"You're happy today," he commented.
"I am. Ryota was trying to see how dark he could make Hinata blush… she fainted. I've put your cousin in charge of looking after her until she comes around." Naruto laughed before turning to Ino. "Aunt Momiji told me about the medicine you made her. She said that she's feeling stronger, so that great."
"Yeah, it's not a cure but at least it's a treatment. But that does remind me that I should go take my mum's vitals. I'm taking them every few hours and I think she's already getting annoyed with it." Ino went inside, leaving Shikamaru and Naruto sitting on the porch.
"Any chance I can steal you away this afternoon?" Naruto asked, pulling her back against Shikamaru's chest and tilting her head to look up at him. the light hit the headband made out of silver coloured metal leaves.
"Do I get to know where we're going?"
"Hmm, nope."
Shikamaru buried his face in Naruto's neck, tightening his hold on her as he did. He kissed up her neck until his lips reached her ear where he could reply. "I don't like the idea of letting the rest of the village see you like this."
"Why?"
"They'll try to steal you with you looking like this." He smiled when Naruto laughed.
"I won't let them. And we can get dinner on the way."
"On the way where?"
"Not telling." Naruto jumped up, staring at him expectantly.
With an exaggerated sigh he stood, letting Naruto lead him out of the estate. It was only when they were halfway to the slowly re-establishing shopping district that he noticed the box still in his pocket. He had meant to hide it in his room but had been distracted by Ino and Choji earlier in the day. There was little he could do about it now but he couldn't help but continue to notice it pressing into his leg.
They stopped at Ichiraku Ramen for dinner. Shikamaru was surprised to find out that people had been asking Naruto for her autograph. He should not have been shocked but it hadn't truly crossed his mind that people would see Naruto as a war hero. He hadn't ever thought about the possibility of someone in their generation gaining that title. Those he had always viewed as war heroes had seemed larger than life to him. The Hokages were literal figures carved in rock, looming over and protecting them. The Sannins and Sages were formidable forces that were awe inspiring. However, Naruto was now a Sage. She had reached that level, and from what his Uncle Satoru, who had fought alongside Sages, said Naruto's transformation was one of the best. It was hard to believe the student that had struggled the most had left them all so far behind. If it wasn't for his strategic talent he would have nothing to offer Naruto as a ninja. Luckily for him his prowess as a fighter didn't matter so much in their relationship. But it was hard for him to fully understand the surprise and awe that the villagers must have as Naruto's abilities because he had seen her get to this point and still saw her as that same person he found funny and entertaining in the academy.
"This is on the house, by the way," Teuchi informed them, with his usual kind smile.
"If you keep giving me free food you won't stay in business for long," Naruto joked.
"If it helps he won a heap of money off Captain Yamato, Izumo, Kotetsu, Genma, and Kakashi. They all bet when you two would get together but dad was right." Ayame moved out of the way of her father's friendly shove.
"I tried to tell them that Shikamaru wouldn't make a move to make it official until not doing so started affecting how you two behaved but they wouldn't listen. You two have practically been dating since age twelve. The amount of times I saw you two together, and when you came back, Naruto, you two mostly came here for your 'not date' nights. I've gotten to see the relationship develop. And when you're Hokage someday, Naruto, and you are a powerful shinobi, Shikamaru, I will be telling everyone how I've seen you two from the start." Teuchi was clearly enjoying the blushes he had caused on the couple's faces.
"Well I'm glad we were able to make you money," Shikamaru commented with an eye roll. Teuchi just tipped his head at them before serving a new customer.
After dinner Shikamaru followed Naruto through newly built streets. He could tell by the way she looked around that she wasn't too sure of her directions and was looking for landmarks. He knew the feeling. It was uncomfortable being in the village you grew up in and yet not knowing so many of the streets. When Pain had destroyed the village he had literally made a whole new layer. New earth had needed to be flattened and new roads to be mapped. The blonde led him to one of the more recently built apartment buildings before starting up the stairs to the top apartment. She unlocked the door, walked in and spun to face Shikamaru.
"What do you think?"
He swept his gaze over what he could see of the apartment. It was rather spacious, with nice furniture. He walked towards the dining table, noticing that it was made of heavy wood with intricate carving in the leg work. Looking closer he saw familiar figures in the carvings. The legs had Naruto's friends and some of her best battles detailed into the wood. The table comfortably sat eight and was clearly made by Captain Yamato. The kitchen was modest but elegant, and walking back into the living room Shikamaru saw two bedrooms.
"Is this your apartment?" Shikamaru felt a sting of pain at Naruto's gleeful face. He knew this day had been coming, he just hadn't expected to hate it so much.
"Yeah. Captain Yamato and the others finished it the other day."
"It's bigger than your old one. It's really nice."
"It is, isn't it?" Naruto started walking towards one of the bedrooms, not noticing the slight bitterness to Shikamaru's voice. "And look, I have a bathroom in my bedroom."
With confusion Shikamaru followed her only to give a laugh. "It's called an en suite."
"It's awesome." Naruto flopped down onto her large, four post bed that Captain Yamato had clearly made. "Too bad the place was finished when I can't use it."
Shikamaru sat next to Naruto's sprawling form. The mattress was extremely comfortable and he was beginning to get the impression that the villagers had made sure to get Naruto high quality furniture, though he doubted Naruto would have noticed if they hadn't. He started to run his fingers over the ribbon tied around her ribs. The blonde stretched out under his touch, letting his fingers run over the fabric of her dress at his leisure.
"What do you mean you can't use it?"
"You know how the seal is weakening and Captain Yamato can no longer help suppress the Nine-Tails. Well, Old Granny told me that the Jinchuriki for the Eight-Tails has learnt to control the Eight-Tails. She's sending me to train with him. I have told her to send someone from the sealing corp. with me, one of the best so that I can always use my other plan if needed." When Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her she went on. "I've been studying the seals that were used on the two previous Nine-Tails Jinchurikis and the one my dad used on me. I've also been studying all the seals that the Uzumakis invented. From what I could tell the seal is meant to be powered by a part of my chakra, which would limit my chakra supply. That's one of the reason Uzumakis are used. We have so much chakra. The one I have is actually powered by the Nine-Tails' chakra that is funnelled into my supply. Instead of having my chakra cut into I'm getting more off him. But that is also what was loosening the seal. It wouldn't have loosened so quickly if Pervy-Sage hadn't tried to get me to take control of the Nine-Tails when I wasn't ready. I don't actually remember that. I do remember the bear though."
"Ah, so you were the other 'beast' the village talked about back then." He smiled at the memory of Naruto's letter to him all those years ago. "And this is why you were able to release the sealing jutsu on the Children of Iron. You've been studying how to use seals beyond just for the Nine-Tails, haven't you?"
"Yeah. But I've made a new seal that will use my chakra to lock the Nine-Tails in. If I use it though I'll need someone to remove the seal I currently have quickly and help me put the new seal into place. It's dangerous obviously but it's only a last case scenario, for if the Nine-Tails is about to get out thing."
"Why didn't the Fourth put that kind of seal on you to begin with?"
"Because he believed that I could be the first to tame the Nine-Tails. I hope I can prove him right."
Shikamaru gave a laugh as he laid down next to Naruto. "I have no doubt that you will. You've done many things that appeared impossible and you've won over the entire village. One fox is no match for you." He turned his head to look at Naruto. "When do you leave?"
"In two days."
"Crap. You're going to miss your birthday."
"So?"
"Ino and Choji were planning a surprise party. But I can give you your present. I found it today when I was helping a clansmen move into his new shop."
Naruto sat up so she could look down at him. "Oh? Hey, that reminds me I have something for you." Naruto reached over, taking something off the nightstand. She held it out to him triumphantly.
"A key?"
"For the apartment," Naruto confirmed, letting Shikamaru take the key from her hands. "This way you won't be stuck outside till I get home. You can just let yourself in. And I've already bought some of that horrible coffee for you. It's the brand you like. That reminds me, the local grocery store is open, I don't know if you've been told. And I bought a mug that says 'can't talk, drinking coffee' which I thought you'd like."
Shikamaru stared at the key, realising what it must mean for Naruto to trust him with a key and to invite him to enter her house whenever he wanted. More than just enter, but also to treat as his own. "Thank you, Naruto."
"Sooo, what's my present?"
With a laugh, Shikamaru pulled the box smaller than his palm out of his pocket. As Naruto took it and opened the lid he wondered if she would actually like it or think it was stupid instead. The fact that she sat there with a surprised look on her face didn't help.
"It's two fish," Shikamaru stated, pushing himself up with his elbows. When he had seen the fish delicately engraved into the green jade he had remembered what Naruto had told him during one of her lowest moments. He had instantly asked Hideo how much it was and bought it on the spot.
Naruto pulled it out of the box, still staring at the pendant. "I love it!" She instantly put it on; getting up to look at it in the mirror someone had hung on her wall.
Shikamaru could see her smile in the reflection. When she made eye contact with him in the mirror she tilted her head in question.
"Why are you staring at me?"
"You are obviously not aware that you're really beautiful and send my brain to mush."
The blonde gave a small laugh before turning to face Shikamaru, fingering the pendant. "We promised to be honest, right?"
"Yeah," Shikamaru agreed slowly, wondering where this was heading.
"Well, I'm scared." Naruto didn't move closer, instead wrapping an arm around her stomach, her other hand still touching the pendant. "The first time I left was right after you kissed me and when I came back it was like it never happened. Except maybe when you were drunk and asked me to kiss you, but you also mentioned Temari thinking you were weak. So I thought you liked her and you just wanted someone who would show you affection to help with the heartache. And then the second time, you didn't bring up our date plan for ages so I assumed you weren't interested anymore. I'm scared that when I go away this time that you might decide that you don't want to be with me anymore, or you'll just disappear."
Shikamaru swallowed around the lump in his throat. There was a chance that he would 'disappear' in the inevitable battle with Madara's forces. The man was almost at godly status in the mind of ninjas when the First Hokage defeated him and there was no one at the First's level alive to sway the tide of this battle. However, there was no way for him to tell Naruto any of this since she was Madara's main target and if she knew about the war she wouldn't hide from the threat. Instead of lying to her and saying it would be fine he took another approach.
"What do you need to be reassured that I don't want to go backwards with us?"
With a soft smile Naruto shook her head. "There's nothing I need. I just feel scared but I trust you to not hurt me. Both other times you were doing what you thought was right and I can't fault you for that given where we are… man, I have been spending too much time with the Naras, I almost sound sophisticameted."
"You did that on purpose," he chuckled.
Naruto grinned before slowly walking closer, almost timidly. "I have gotten better at knowing what I want though."
"I'm glad. Everyone deserves to go after what they want at times. What is it you want?" When Naruto slowly drew a leg over Shikamaru's waist, situating herself on top of him Shikamaru felt his heartbeat increase.
She put her hands on his chest, gazing down at him. "I want you to tell me that you love me."
Smiling, he put his hands on her exposed thighs. "Happily. I love you, Naruto."
"Tell me that when you touch me you're only thinking about me, no one else," Naruto requested gently.
Her eyes had taken on a soft look that Shikamaru hadn't seen before and that stilled his breath. The blue of her eyes were made brighter by her dress, and to add to the effect her tan skin drew subtle attention to the bright, form fitting outfit. That dress was definitely going to be the death of him, meaning he would be so busy staring at Naruto he'd accidently walk off a cliff.
Sitting up and moving his hands up to her waist, not realising he had pushed up her dress, Shikamaru met her gaze. He hoped that Naruto would never stop looking at him with that look in her eyes. "You're always the only one I think about. Whether I'm touching you or not."
Naruto leant down until their chests pressed together. She gave him a lingering kiss before pulling back, her hands on his shoulders. "Do you want me? Even after everything you've found out about me?"
"Always," he breathed.
The smile that Naruto gave him made his insides squirm. She kissed him deeply. Whatever was in her gaze that Shikamaru couldn't quite identify was mirrored in that one kiss. All of Shikamaru's senses zeroed in on Naruto. He noticed the brush of her hair against his face, the fabric of her dress as he ran his fingers up and down her legs, and the feel of Naruto tugging gently on his shirt. He pulled back enough to let Naruto throw the shirt to the floor. When she went to kiss him again he pulled back enough to whisper against her lips.
"Naruto, if this is like last time…" he started.
"It's not," she assured gently.
That's all Shikamaru needed to hear to hold Naruto tighter, kissing her heatedly. He didn't realise he had removed her dress until he felt her bare skin under his touch. He couldn't help but enjoy her squeal of surprise when he grabbed her naked waist and quickly rolled them so that he loomed over her.
"And here I was think you'd like to be surprised," he chuckled before kissing her neck.
Naruto gave a breathy laugh. "I like it. I'm just used to me being the unpredictable one."
Shikamaru just kissed her lips again, feeling her smile mirroring his own. "You've gained some sophistimication and I've gained some unpredictability."
Naruto just gave an amused roll of her eyes before burying her fingers in his hair and pulling him down to kiss her feverously. The cool touch of the jade pendant brushed against his chest as he pressed her into the mattress below.
He knew that the upcoming war wasn't going to be easy, and that the village was still recovering from Pain but he honestly couldn't care less at that moment. In this apartment the outside world could be on fire and they wouldn't have noticed. This apartment wasn't marred with the screams of a child, the door didn't have four deadbolts, and the furniture was selected with affection not just practicality. Shikamaru could see why Naruto had been eager to show him the place. It actually looked like a proper home for her, and the fact that she had made sure to add things specifically for him made him feel more than welcome. The bitterness he had felt upon first seeing it had been replaced with joy that he and Naruto now had a place where they could escape the world or the prying eyes of the village.
So this is literally the first time I've written a scene like this for one of my stories. That's mostly because for a long time I was too young to write something like this and then when I was older my stories just didn't lend to it. This scene took me ages so I hope the people who really wanted it at least found it passable. I didn't want it too detailed because it wouldn't fit the tone of the story but I didn't want to be too vague, so I settled on this.
And I know some of what I said about the seal might not be right but it's how it is in my story.
R and R.