The hidden message that Shikamaru father had put into his sons brain, was currently tormenting him no matter what he did.

Shikamaru never really had gut feelings. At most he looked at things the logical way and decided the best course of action.

But if this was what a gut feeling felt like, Shikamaru wanted no parts of intuition. His brain was exploding with images of his father speaking to him after dinner, the words nine constantly repeating themselves in his brain.

While he slept. While he ate. While he slept again in school. While he actually listened to his teacher, Iruka, babble about things that wouldn't save a ninja in an ambush or how to survive in the freezing weather.

But it all stopped when he looked at Naruto. Something was telling him, he needed to figure out what was going on. It was so important it required him to get up off his ass.

So he was surprised, when the first person to inquiry about why he didn't fall asleep in class, was Ino herself.

"What's up with you, lazy-boy?"

Shikamaru just looked at her. He was previously staring at a wall with the determination of a baby who wanted milk.

"Hm? What do you mean," he said getting up from his spot, his previous concentration broken.

Ino ran in front of him and poked him in the chest.

"What I mean, is that you're always either sleep or looking in the clouds," she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at this.

"Not looking like you're actually thinking. You always sit calmly when you're thinking. I've never actually seen you get frustrated from thinking."

Shikamaru walked away, eyebrow raised at her inquiry. "Pretty observant of you. If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought you were giving upon Sasuke for little ol' me?"

Deflection 101. Instead of talking about yourself, direct conversations to something that they're interested in.

She scoffed, "As if. Your heads too far up in the clouds to even be remotely close to Sasuke, who's so down to earth and cool." He smirked at this, as she walked along side him. Deflection success.

"But you didn't answer my question." Damn. Almost safe."

She would get it out of him soon enough. And an extra set of ears around town could help. "Oddly enough it's about Naruto..."

She stopped moving at this and although Shikamaru was looking at the ground, he could feel her face scrunch in confusion and possibly disgust.

"You mean Uzumaki Naruto? As in the one who breaks and defies every fashion law there is? Why are you of all people, thinking about him?"

"I had a talk with him. He said something to me and long story short I talked to my dad about him. Something about, 'The fox never dies.' Why that of all clues? And why did it need to be a clue? Why is there anything slightly hidden, about the most well known person in the village next to the Hokage?"

Shikamaru continued his rant in his mind, constantly spewingmore and more questions...

"Hey! Snap out of it! What's going up with you? You're way more intense and stressed than usual. What's going on?" A hint of concern entered her voice.

"This STUPID problem! I've never cared about anything I've picked up on! Look at it and keep it moving for an easy life. But this problem is so brain wracking I just...Gah!"

Shikamaru was acting really out of character now. He never had outbursts. But nevertheless Shika was her friend. Even if he was annoying half the time and lazy the other half, he was her friend.

"Wow, calm down! What the hell are you taking about? And what about foxes?"

Shikamaru just looked at the clouds with an angry look.

"That's exactly what I'm trying to figure out. My dad told me the fox never dies, and to not underestimate Naruto. He doesn't say anything without meaning behind it. But what would a fox have to do with Naruto? Is it something about trickery? Trickery that never dies? Tch!"

The Nara grit his teeth and closed his eyes trying to compose himself.