A/N:- Welcome to another offering of Road to Heaven. Another chapter which is rather heavy on character development. Would appreciate a little more feedback than the last one received. Anyway enjoy.

Contemplations

"So now you're on the same team as Sasuke?" her blonde best friend stated dubiously, as if trying to process what she'd been told, "not to mention Shikamaru too?"

Sakura nodded smirking mischievously, sipping her drink enjoying the look on Ino's face, despite herself. Both of them had nurtured a crush on Sasuke during their Academy days along with half the girls in their batch. They even had developed something of rivalry over the Uchiha's affections. It had crushed them both when he hadn't ended up in their teams, and chose to take cold comfort in the fact that at least the other didn't get the proximity to the handsome boy they both craved.

Until now.

"So what's he like these days?" Ino leaned forward interest shining in her eyes.

"Taller, lethal," Sakura said, "and better looking than ever."

"C'mon," Ino whined, "more details girl."

It was Friday evening of the day of Sakura's first team meeting to be precise. She had backed out of Ino's planned girl's night out the other day citing the excuse of an early morning team meeting, (which eventually turned into a noon rendezvous thanks to the late arrival of their Jounin leader). This was her way of making it up to her.

The place was an outdoor café opened quite recently. The two kunoichi were seated on the roof which offered a pristine view of the village market. They chatted animatedly for a while, talking about their Academy days, old crushes (mainly Sasuke) and the life after in general. It was sobering how things had changed. There was a time when the very mention of Sasuke in their presence was like striking a match in a gas-filled room, now it was merely a part of their innocent if somewhat immature past.

"When was the last time you spoke to Shikamaru?" Sakura asked her.

"Only once after he got discharged," Ino sighed the cheerful mood of their meeting turning somewhat sour at the mention of her estranged teammate, "that wasn't a pleasant encounter and I didn't seek him out afterwards," Ino paused a little bit of uncertainty coloring her tone as she spoke again, "How's he?"

"Not bad all things considered," Sakura leaned back on her chair, "He's the same, lazy and languid guy we knew back in the day. By the way do you know anyone by the name of Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Can't say I do."

"Spiky blonde, blue-eyes, loud orange clothes," Sakura described him, "whiskers on face? If I didn't know better I'd say he was related to you."

"No Yamanaka would be caught dead in orange," Ino rolled her eyes, "anything you want to confess Sakura?"

It was Sakura's turn to roll her eyes at the hidden implication in Ino's teasing voice. It was time to nip it in the bud, before it got hold of her.

"Nothing like that," Sakura said, "he's just another member assigned to my team."

"Wait," Realization dawned on Ino's pretty features and this new info distracted her from teasing her friend, "you're a five-member cell, how does that work?"

Sakura knew this was coming. While teams of five or more weren't unusual, they were only used temporarily for higher ranked missions or missions requiring greater manpower like border-patrols or merchant convoy escorts, but never as permanent cells.

"I don't know Ino," Sakura admitted before trying to get the conversation back on track, "but that wasn't what I was talking about."

"Then what were you talking about?"

"He was on the mission with Shikamaru," She said, "you know which one I am talking about."

To say that the aftermath of that mission had been devastating would be an understatement. Not only to Shikamaru, but personally to Sakura, and even more so to Ino. Frankly she could understand him falling off the grid afterwards. But they had recovered, Shikamaru obviously hadn't yet.

"Yeah I remember," Understanding dawned on her face followed immediately by anger, "but he wasn't kicked off the force was he?"

Sakura was a little taken aback by the venom in Ino's voice. She probably didn't appreciate the fact that Shikamaru was the only one who bore the consequences of that failed mission. Part of Sakura could understand her frustration but she didn't believe it was Naruto's fault and blaming him for not being punished was petty.

Except that probably wasn't true. He was stuck as a genin when most shinobi his age had at the very least attained the rank of chunin. But she kept those thoughts to herself, not really wanting to antagonize Ino over a guy she barely knew despite not agreeing with her.

"Well he's been reinstated," Sakura tried to draw Ino's attention to that fact, "so, there's that at least."

"I suppose you're right," Ino muttered gloomily.

The conversation soon drifted to more mundane topics after this. But Ino's mood had obviously been spoiled and it didn't take long for the two kunoichi to say goodbyes and go their different ways.

Sakura struggled with herself for a moment before making up her mind.

She followed the street which took her away from her home instead of towards it, fingering the piece of paper Inoichi had handed her during their last session. She had never been to that particular sector of the village, but from the looks of it, it was located in one of the better off neighborhoods, probably the merchant class. Little kids laughing hysterically as they chased each other down the streets lining quaint little houses and painted picket fences.

It was the pleasant kind of place where people bought homes and raised families.

She wondered why Inoichied her to come here? She stopped in front of the house she was supposed to go. It looked exactly the same as the rest in the colony. For a second she wondered if she was in the wrong place. A quick look at her watch told her that it was more than half-past five.

She was late.

She raised her hand to knock on the door to announce her presence. Her hand was only inches away from the door when it almost involuntarily clenched itself into a fist, following which it slowly dropped by her side. As she walked away only one thought resonated in her mind.

She wasn't ready.

Not yet.

XxX

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Naruto shouted as he hastily threw on a pair of black shorts and an old-white t-shirt he had outgrown a couple of years ago. The knocking on his apartment door was only getting more insistent and impatient.

He'd been in the shower for crying out loud, which was a little unusual for him. By now he should have been out of the apartment and at the mission desk taking his pick of D-ranks. But recent events had led to some rather welcome developments as starting next week he'd be part of a team and eligible for the higher tier of and better paying missions.

So for the first time since his Academy days he had actually allowed himself to sleep in, ordered his breakfast from the place down the street and was in the middle of a shower when his morning was disturbed by a series of rather loud knocks, which, if he didn't know better could be mistaken for the Konoha Military Police trying to apprehend a suspect by breaking down the door.

It was strange as he wasn't expecting any visitors. His bills were paid, mostly anyway and….. well no that was it. It was sad that the only people he dealt with any regularity in his life were people he owed money to.

Planting an irritated scowl on his face, he wrenched open the door.

"What?" he demanded, "in the name of kami… Miyuki?"

The girl was frozen in the motion of knocking when he had opened the door almost losing her balance due to the lack of resistance she had been expecting by the locked door, nearly stumbling into Naruto.

"Sempai," She gasped, regaining her balance and avoiding a rather embarrassing situation, "hey."

"Miyuki," Naruto repeated, recovering from seeing his rather unexpected visitor, "what are you doing here?"

"I came to see you." She replied, "Is this a bad time?"

Naruto wasn't sure how to answer that. The timing wasn't so much bad as it was unexpected. He hadn't even gotten to towel himself properly. His shirt clung to his wet back and his hair was dripping water on the floor. The girl stood patiently, if a little nervously waiting for him to speak.

"No, this isn't a bad time," Naruto moved away and opened the door wider to allow the girl in after running through a mental checklist to make sure his house was presentable enough to receive a guest, "sorry about that."

Thank goodness he had cleaned his apartment just a couple of days ago so that now it resembled a neglected storage room instead of the toxic dump-site it used to barely a week ago. He directed her towards one of the only two chairs in his house while taking the couch.

"So," he said once both of them were seated, "how did you know where I lived?"

"Iruka sensei told me," the girl explained and Naruto swore inwardly. He had completely forgotten about the plans he'd made with the man. "I was hoping to run into you at the mission desk, but you weren't there so I asked him where I could find you and he gave me your address."

"Well," Naruto conceded as he got to his feet and went into his small kitchen to fetch some glasses, "you found me. Soda or juice? I'm afraid I'm out of tea," that was a lie, he never kept tea in his house, but she didn't need to know that.

"I'll have the juice."

"Apple or orange?"

"Orange please."

Naruto handed her a glass and poured some for himself, taking a generous sip, at least it hadn't gone bad yet, before sitting back again.

"Where's your team?" He inquired.

"Sensei gave us the weekend off after our last C-rank." Miyuki replied, nestling the drink between her hands.

Naruto raised an eyebrow trying to figure out why she was in his apartment, but couldn't bring himself to pose the question without sounding rude so he just waited. The girl fidgeted uncomfortably under his gaze and gulped some juice as if trying to steel herself, which was when he realized how nervous the girl really was.

"Wouldyouwanttotrainwithme?"

"What?"

Miyuki's face reddened with embarrassment before she took a deep breath to calm herself. Naruto wasn't sure how much it helped, but her next words were coherent enough.

"Would you want to train with me?"

"Today?" he enquired.

Miyuki nodded enthusiastically. He considered it. He really didn't have anything to do for the rest of the day and it had been a long time since he had a training partner, and it wouldn't be a bad way to spend the day to be honest. He couldn't say no to that expectant face and he'd probably drive himself crazy trying to find something to do for the rest of the day anyway. At least this gave him something to do.

"Sure! Why not." He decided, "Just let me go get changed."

He leaned casually against the tree keeping a mental countdown in his head.

"3…2…1" He ducked and the place where his head had been a fraction of a second ago was peppered with kunai. Crouching low he tracked the blur running among the tree. He followed suit, batting away a few kunai sent his way to arrest his movement by his retreating adversary with one of his own. She tried to retreat deeper into the forest but he wasn't going to allow that and kept cutting her off. She soon realized that she didn't have a choice and now ran towards the open area of the ground, probably hoping that by getting their first she could gain some advantage.

Just as he knew she would.

He followed close on her heels keeping her in sights this time. She had just entered the ground and then in a surprising maneuver turned around and let go several kunai. His eyes widened, they were coming at him a lot faster than he anticipated. His body was peppered with kunai, a lot of them, right before he turned into a log, indicating a successful substitution.

She swore as she realized the trouble she was in and tried to move away but it was too late. He didn't give her a chance to recover and in a burst of speed he moved behind her. She still somehow managed to turn around to block his strike with her kunai. But the force behind the blow caught her off-guard and she lost her balance, a leg sweep to drop her followed by a choke-hold was all it took to incapacitate her completely. Her face turned an interesting shade of blue, but she managed to tap on his arm conveying her surrender, he let her loose and she immediately collapsed on all fours coughing and gasping.

"That's it, take it easy," he instructed her rubbing her back, "slow and shallow breaths."

Leaving her there to recover Naruto walked to one of the training posts where he had left some of his gear. Fishing out a couple of water bottles, he tossed one of them to the still panting girl, who caught it effortlessly.

"That was really good, you've gotten better," Naruto praised the girl between sips, "you nearly got me with your last trick."

"Really?" Miyuki gasped, still recovering from her exertions as he uncapped her own bottle, "You think so?"

Naruto had been impressed. She had managed to catch him off-guard, with her last trick involving kunai and ninja wire. It was a simple enough trick, she had anticipated him following her and had managed to use the ninja-wire between two training-posts as a makeshift-catapult. Only a quick substitution saved him from being shish-kebabed.

"Indeed," Naruto joined her on the ground next to her, "there's not much you did wrong there. You kept yourself hidden well, took your chances and tried to use the battlefield to your advantage, hell you might have won if your team had been with you."

Miyuki blushed with pleasure and embarrassment at his praise and took another big gulp of water to have something to do.

"How did you get this good?" She asked him.

"Frankly speaking, I'm not sure if I'm quite as good as you think I am," Naruto laughed at the reverent tone in the girl's voice, "but I suppose it has something to do with surviving against foes much better than I was, I wouldn't recommend it though. Plain old hard work is a much safer way to build-up competence."

"Can we do this again?" she asked tentatively, "I mean I learnt a lot today."

Naruto stayed silent for a while as he tried to process what he had just heard. This was certainly a first. Someone actually wanting his help because they thought he was better than them.

"It's okay if you can't," she began mistaking his silence for reluctance.

"No, no, it's not that," Naruto said hastily trying to clear the confusion, "it's just that you caught me by surprise with that request... again," he muttered the last word under his breath.

"So?" Miyuki said, an expression of confusion mixed with hope on her face, "can we?"

"Yeah, sure why not?" Naruto smiled at her and the girl's expression brightened.

"So, how about Monday?" She spoke enthusiastically, "I'll be running D-ranks with my team the whole day but I'm quite sure I'll be free by evening."

"I'm afraid I can't on Monday." Naruto said, "I got assigned a team and we start on Monday."

"Oh…" She sounded disappointed before brightening up again as her mind caught up to what he had just said, "Oh, congratulations on that."

Naruto laughed patting her head, before getting up and dusting his pants. He considered something for a while. The day didn't have to end just because they were done training. Moreover he hadn't even gotten the chance to celebrate his good fortune yet and Miyuki was good if a little awkward company.

"Come on." He offered the still seated girl his hand, "Lunch is on me."

The girl took the proffered hand gratefully and pulled herself to her feet.

"You're really good with those weapons," Naruto said as both of them walked out of the training ground.

"Thanks," The girl said proudly, "I had the highest marks in the Academy when it came to accuracy and ranged weapons."

"Hmmm…" Naruto muttered thoughtfully an idea planting itself in his head, "You know I just might know someone who can help you."

XxX

Naruto made his way to the best weapon retailer in Konoha. He had just said his farewell to Miyuki and there was just one last thing he needed to do before he wrapped up his day. It was something he was planning on getting done tomorrow, but as he was out he thought it best to get it out of the way.

It wasn't an old establishment by any means. Naruto still remembered the day it had opened eight years ago. Back then it had been a little more than a shack. The first owner had been a civilian and understood little of the shinobi needs. Needless to say it wasn't long before he went out of business sold the place and migrated out of Konoha. For a few months the place had no takers. There was even talk of it being taken over by the establishment.

But before any of that could happen an ex-shinobi took it upon himself to overturn the fortunes of the place. The man had been forced to retire early due to a mission gone bad which resulted in loss of sixty percent functionality in one of his legs. Thankfully he had his skills as a blacksmith to fall back on.

So with his severance package he received along with a few loans he bought the place and turned it into a weapons/smithy workshop.

There were now two sections to the shop. The front section served as the shop, while the space at the back was where the smithy was. Even as he entered the shop he could hear the heaving of bellows and the sounds of metal striking metal.

He was the only occupant of the shop at the moment as even the usual person minding the shop was missing. He was sure that won't last though. The bell which announced his arrival as he opened the door would ensure that.

He took the chance to browse through some of the wares. A particularly vicious looking chokuto caught his eye.

It was a beautiful thing. A hand and a half in length, it looked delightfully deadly. He walked closer to examine it more closely and was about to remove it from its stand before a dry and condescending voice stopped him.

"You can't afford that."

"And how would you know?"

"Because it costs more than the building your lousy apartment is in."

"Gee… way to be a buzzkill Tenten," Naruto turned around to be greeted with the scowling face of a girl dressed in a black trousers and a shirt whose original color was now a mystery, her hair tied back by a yellow bandanna. The scowl on her face was more a result of working in heat of the smithy rather than her displeasure at seeing him.

Or at least he hoped so.

"Someone's got to keep your dreamy ass grounded before you break something that will force you into the streets," she said, "If you break it you bought it."

"If I do manage to break it, then it probably isn't worth buying now is it?" Naruto retorted.

Tenten just shrugged.

Tenten was someone Naruto had known almost as long as he could remember. She was a year older than him. Both of them were orphans who had been housed in the same orphanage. They had even struck up something of a friendship back in the day despite the matron's active attempts to dissuade her. But like most good things in his life this didn't last either. Before long she was adopted and they lost contact.

Naruto was heartbroken as he never even got to say goodbye to her. A few years later they did meet in the Academy, but by then things had changed. She had her own friends and parents and couldn't obviously be bothered with a kid she had sort of known as an orphan, a relatively more tragic period in her life.

He didn't blame her.

"So what can I do for you?" her voice turning professional now that the fun and games were done. Naruto emptied the bag he carried with him on the counter, creating a huge racket as damaged kunai and shuriken littered on it. Shuriken and kunai weren't exactly expensive but it was always cheaper to get them repaired than to buy new ones.

"You'll get them by the day after tomorrow."Tenten said as she examined some of them.

"Can't you get them done sooner?"

"Can't do," Tenten picked up a particularly damaged shuriken missing two of its teeth before tossing it into the recyclable waste dump without giving it a second look, "Dad's busy with a commission and I got my own missions."

Naruto sighed in disappointment. It looked like he'd have to buy the stuff this time around.

"So, should I get your usual order?" Tenten inquired after going through his inventory.

"I wish," Naruto winced as he contemplated the dent this was going to make on his savings. Hopefully the improved pay would help things. "I need thrice my usual order."

"Not planning on declaring war on Konoha are you?" She deadpanned.

"Haha." Naruto laughed dryly, "You're funny but no. I've been assigned a team and going to take our first mission on Monday."

Tenten whistled appreciatively as she started on his order, piling on kunai and shuriken along with ninja-wire and other knick-knacks.

"So that would be three thousand two hundred and fifty three ryo," she said tallying up the cost.

"C'mon there has to be some sort of discount on bulk purchases," Naruto protested at the price. The price was perfectly reasonable but it wouldn't be a sale if he didn't at least try to haggle.

Tenten wasn't impressed, she was used to his antics by now, being one of their regular customers and didn't even break her stride.

"I'll knock off the three ryo off the top to make it all even." She offered, "How about that?"

Naruto grumbled theatrically as he counted the money and handed it to the girl, who didn't even bother counting it before throwing it inside the cash register.

"Anything else?" She said a little puzzled when Naruto still hadn't moved out of the shop.

"There is actually," Naruto shuffled on his feet uncomfortably knowing what he was about to ask next might not exactly be to the girls' taste. "Remember the favor you said you owed me?"

"Yeah?" Tenten said just the tiniest hint of dread entering her voice.

"Well I want to cash it in."

Tenten folded her arms expectantly as Naruto struggled with the words to best put forward his request.

"There is this genin, Miyuki," He said, "she is something of a long-range specialist, kinda like you."

"No," Tenten said flatly.

"No?" Naruto was nonplussed, "you didn't even listen to what I have to say."

"You want to impress a girl you're on your own buster," she said, "no way in hell am I getting involved in this."

"First of all she is just twelve….so eugh!" Naruto deadpanned, "secondly how the hell did you even make that leap? You know what, don't answer that. I'm not trying to date her, I was just hoping you could give her some pointers."

Naruto made sure she couldn't interrupt her again as he laid down the entire thing in front of her.

"You want me to help a rookie? That's almost worse," Tenten turned around looking ready to escort him out of the shop, physically if she had to, "yeah sorry but I don't have the time to baby-sit, I did enough of that when I was a genin thank you."

"You owe me," Naruto said pre-empting her and putting some distance between them before she could reach him.

"Naruto?" She gave an exasperated sigh, "C'mon I'm sure we can work something else out, and what's in it for you anyway?"

"Are you going to do it or not?" Naruto stared down the girl, not budging. The two teens glaring at each other, neither willing to back down.

"Fine," She finally conceded, "I'll do it. But we are even after this. Who's her Jounin sensei?"

Five minutes later Naruto was walking out of the shop, content with how his day had gone.

"She better be worth it Uzumaki." Tenten got a pot-shot at him before he walked out of hearing range. Naruto merely chuckled as he made his way home.

XxX

Shikamaru knocked three times on the door of the apartment and waited for the occupant to open it. It was a nice neighborhood. Not too affluent but not poor either, if a little congested. He hadn't been here in three weeks and probably wouldn't have come today either, but recent events sort of demanded it. He felt a little bad about that. Just another person in his life he felt he was failing. Nothing new in that. But that was the problem with having set low standards for yourself, you tend to disappoint people who keep expecting better from you.

For a long time he had been okay with that too.

He didn't get a chance to immerse himself too deeply in his misery as the door opened to reveal a pretty if tired looking woman dark-haired, crimson-eyed woman, dressed in a red apron.

"Shikamaru," A smile broke on her face at seeing her visitor, "I was sure you'd forgotten the way to my home."

"Kurenai-sensei," he greeted the woman as she allowed him to walk in. The house was in a state of ordered chaos, a sign of what the day promised to be. A cry of recognition dragged his attention to a toddler on the floor accompanied by a myriad of stuffed toys. The baby gave him a toothy grin and waved her arms to get his attention and Shikamaru couldn't help returning her smile with one of his own, before crouching down and picking her up.

The baby squealed with joy as he cajoled her and made those baby noises adults did when confronted with a cute baby.

"You should come by more often you know," Kurenai smirked at the camaraderie her daughter shared with the boy, "She misses you."

"I'll try," Shikamaru said non-commitally. Kurenai didn't call him out on it, one of the reasons he found her company a lot more bearable than almost anyone else, she simply watched contentedly as Shikamaru bounced her baby on his lap.

"Would you like some tea?" Kurenai moved to the kitchen and set to work.

"Sure," Shikamaru managed, as he kept the toddler entertained who was now pulling at his cheeks with surprising strength.

Kurenai Yuuhi had been in a relationship with his late sensei. Not someone he had known personally and not how he had known her. At least not at the beginning anyway. To him she had been the lady who had been assigned a team consisting of people from his batch. Obviously competent to have reached the rank of jounin.

It was Ino who had clued him onto that little fact about her being Asuma's lover. She never missed an opportunity to tease Asuma about it, whenever she got the chance. He never cared much. So Asuma had a girlfriend. Big deal. He was an adult and if he thought he could pursue a successful semi-secretive relationship with a co-worker... well more power to him.

To him the situation was more troublesome than it was worth, but hey it wasn't his problem. His first personal interaction with her had been immediately after he had been discharged. She had tracked him down to his cloud-watching site. He had braced himself to receive an ass-chewing.

To his great surprise, she just told him that it wasn't his fault and she didn't blame him. Till that moment he hadn't even realized how badly he needed to hear those words, how badly he needed absolution from someone, from anyone. To his shame he had broken down in tears and she held him as he wept on her shoulder.

But even after that moment of bonding what they had could barely be called a casual acquaintance. Part of the reason had been his own decision to break off ties from his old life the other had been her own job and responsibilities as a shinobi serving Konoha.

No, that needed the fuel of another tragedy. He remembered that day like it was yesterday, even though it had been almost a year since. He was in his regular hangout spot at the park, hustling people at shogi, when a chunin beckoned him. He had tried to explain that what he was doing wasn't illegal, but the man had brushed aside his explanations and gave him the dreaded news.

Sarutobi Asuma had been killed in action. He felt as if someone had pulled the very ground from his feet. He barely paid attention to the rest of the details. How the team he had been leading was ambushed and how he sacrificed his life to make sure the rest of his team got away.

Despite his shock he managed to keep his wits about himself to pose a rather pertinent question. Why was he being told this? He wasn't family and he was no longer Asuma's subordinate. The man had explained that Asuma's final request was for him to break the news to Kurenai.

He had honored his sensei's last wish. This time it was his turn to hold the woman as she cried on his shoulder. His last few meetings with Asuma made sense. Kurenai had been pregnant with Asuma's child. In his own way during their shogi games Asuma had asked him to take care of his heir, his legacy. Back then he had blown away his sensei's concerns.

Had Asuma foreseen his own death? It wasn't unusual for shinobi to be pragmatic about their survival. Still Shikamaru had never believed Asuma could perish. He had always seemed so invincible. The man had survived a war and a violent and turbulent tenure as a ninja guardsman to the Daimyo, only to be martyred at a lousy B-ranked.

He hated irony.

"So, how are things?" She handed the aromatic beverage as he maneuvered the baby to his non-dominant side to hold the offered cup.

"I've some news." Shikamaru said, "I was offered reinstatement."

Kurenai froze mid-sip, before putting the cup back on the table.

"Way to soften me up kid," the sarcasm of the words was ruined by the barely concealed excitement in her voice.

"I don't know how a preamble could have helped," Shikamaru shrugged.

"Wow," she muttered, "I guess congratulations are in order," she smiled at him, "I knew they would one day realize how much they needed you, but I guess you're feeling pretty conflicted about this."

"Was I that obvious?" he asked, Kurenai had a way of cutting through the bullshit without being blunt. It was an impressive skill.

"You weren't," she assured him, "but I've still retained my skills kiddo, rusty though they might be."

"I don't know what to do."

She leaned forward to place a hand on his knee. Despite being uncomfortable at the touch of the beautiful woman he held his composure.

"If this isn't what you want, then don't do it," she said forcing him to look her in the eyes, "but don't let your misplaced guilt hold you back."

Shikamaru broke away from her gaze. They had been over it way too many times before and he didn't want to repeat it.

"Have you thought about reinstatement?" he asked her trying to change the subject.

"I may have to," Kurenai tickled her daughter under the chin getting a delighted squeal from her, "But Kaya-chan is still so young. Maybe in another year when she is old enough. Asuma's and my savings are holding us up for now."

Shikamaru nodded. He had offered her financial help when she had taken her maternity leave, but she had flatly refused. He didn't bother trying to convince her. It would have been too troublesome. So he found alternative ways to help her.

What she believed was Asuma's trust fund was actually an account set-up by Shikamaru with the help of a few well-wishers, where he made regular deposits of his winnings.

The baby's cries broke him out of his thoughts.

"She must be hungry," she took the baby from Shikamaru's arms, "she's always hungry."

"I guess that's my cue to leave," he said getting to his feet.

"But you just got here," Kurenai protested over her daughter's wails, "if you wait just a bit longer you might even meet Ino-chan."

"I've got somewhere to be," he said, his inclination to get out of the apartment greater than before now that he knew his ex-teammate was going to be there soon, "thanks for the tea... and the talk."

"Shikamaru wait!" She called out to him and he stopped at the threshold of her apartment, "Asuma would be proud of you no matter what you decide to do. I hope you know that."

Giving her one last nod of acknowledgement Shikamaru walked away from the woman who was his only link to his sensei and her crying baby.

XxX

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly, the birds were chirping, the meadow was lush, green and soft beneath him, somewhere in the distance he could hear the kids playing, their screams of joy and laughter carrying through to him.

Despite all that….. not a single speck of cloud in the entire sky.

"You know I have no idea what you see in this," came the dry voice of his only companion.

"No, one told you to stick around," Shikamaru retorted, "I certainly haven't tied you here have I?"

The man remained silent, and the words that went unsaid couldn't have been louder if they had been screamed through a loudspeaker.

Yes, he was what kept him tied there.

"Don't you have a job or something?" he said trying to cover-up his slip.

"I've taken the day-off," came the reply, "they can survive one day without me."

"I'm surprised the Hokage allowed you a leave," Shikamaru remarked, "from what I've heard she is a slave-driver."

"Is that why you haven't filed your papers yet?"

"…"

Shikamaru cursed himself inwardly. Despite the joking tone the question in those words were barely hidden. He had walked straight into that one. He had known this would come up. The man was rather highly placed in the bureaucratic setup of Konoha. There really wasn't much that was kept from him. For all his intellect and foresight he still managed to get himself maneuvered into the pit he had avoided for the better part of forty-five minutes. He could choose to be passive-aggressive about it, but that really wasn't his style.

"Maybe I don't want to file my papers," he said, "maybe I'm done with this life. Ever considered that?"

"Maybe," The man sighed, "That's a dangerous word kiddo. Its neither here nor there."

"So, what would you have me do?" he said mockingly, "I should just walk in, like nothing happened, get a new start. Is that what I should do?"

Shikamaru had never been so frustrated in his life. He was sure he was done being a shinobi, done with his old life, old friends, everything which defined him before that fateful day. Now he was told he could start again, right where he left off. He wasn't sure how he felt about that and to make matters worse there wasn't even the calming influence of clouds to see him through.

"Hell if I know, I'm not telling you to do anything," the man replied in answer to his query, "all I know is that you might regret going back and you might regret not going back."

"So?" he prodded.

"I guess it all comes down to which regret you would rather live with kid," Came the answer, "That's all I got for you."

"That's… depressing."

"It is what it is."

Shikamaru contemplated those words. Those words could hardly be called his guide to path-breaking revelations. He hadn't suddenly turned into a new man, or the proverbial butterfly spreading its wings for the first time after having spent its life as an ugly larva.

He still had his doubts. He would always have them.

To his surprise however he realized that he was okay with that... for now anyway.

He got to his feet, dusting his trousers.

"Leaving already?" The man exclaimed, a little surprised by his abrupt actions.

"Yeah," he said, "It's a lousy day for cloud-watching."

"That it is," his companion agreed, getting to his feet himself, "So, what're you going to do now?"

"What do you think old man?" He said, feeling a little more resolute than he did a few minutes ago. "I'm gonna go and choose the regrets I will have to live with."

Their eyes met and a sort of understanding passed between them and he clapped him once on the shoulder with paternal pride. Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the gesture, but allowed it.

"And come see your mother will you?" he told him, "She misses you."

"You're just saying that because right now you're the only recipient of her nagging aren't you?"

"Troublesome brat."

The next day, the people in and around the Hokage tower were greeted by the sight of Nara Shikamaru dressed in his Konoha fatigues under his chunin vest making his way to the mission desk.

He paused before crossing the threshold of the entrance, and gave one last look to the cloud-riddled sky before walking in.

"Chunin Nara Shikamaru, reporting for duty." He stated to the official at the desk, submitting his papers.

Five minutes later he was led to the work-station Kakashi had led him to barely thirty six hours ago along with stacks of mission files.

"That's all?" he asked the chunin who helped him carry the boxes to his table.

"Yeah," the man said, "that's it. You're gonna need a lot of coffee if you hope to get through all those in one day."

"Thanks for the tip," he muttered under his breath as he ripped open the first box. He would have to work fast. He only had twenty-four hours to pick a mission for Team-7 after all.

A/N: I had hoped to get to the mission in this chapter, but this seemed like the place to end it. The Shikamaru scene wasn't in my mind when I started writing this, looking back though I am glad I wrote it. See what you make of it. Until next time.

Character Profile

Naruto Uzumaki

Affiliation: Konoha

Registeration ID: 0641

Rank: Genin, Konoha Ground Trooper

Teams: Team 11*(Formerly), Team 7(current)

Bio: Naruto Uzumaki didn't have the most auspicious start to his shinobi career despite having graduated early at the age of ten on his second attempt, *only to fail his jounin's test, on whose recommendation he was assigned to the Konoha Ground Troops. A position which severely limited his avenues to go far in his career as a shinobi. Not to be deterred by these early setbacks he worked hard to improve his limited skills before catching the eye of Jiraiya the Sannin at the age of twelve who then proceeded to take him as an apprentice. He spent the next few years wandering the elemental nations with his master, honing his skills and being taught the art of counter-intelligence and spycraft. This wasn't to last as Jiraiya himself perished during this time.

His deceptively low-rank coupled with his somewhat eccentric and goofy mannerisms has led many to underestimate the blonde shinobi leading him to prevail against unlikely odds and seemingly superior opponents.