DISCLAIMER: I own nothing from the Naruto universe but I do have an imagination of my own. I will end up using it, I promise! PLEASE REVIEW!

Thinking

Emphasis

Biju, etc. speaking


Keiko walked up to the home the Nara Clan guards had assured her belonged to the Clan Head, Shikamaru Nara. She had heard that the young man's father had forced him into the position early and it had something to do with politics and the council shortly after the war. Thankfully she could see that a light was on within the home. Keiko took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Shikamaru Nara eventually opened the door wearing nothing but a towel on his waist and a scowl on his face. His hair was dripping wet and he had obviously been in the shower when he was interrupted. He stared at the woman who had bothered him. A lit cigarette hanging from his mouth, he regarded her. "What?" he grunted impatiently.

Keiko blushed furiously and looked the man up and down. Dear gods, he had to be one of the most stunning men in the village. What was with that graduating class of theirs that had so many great looking people in it? He was hot, hard-muscled, and lean - and Kami, he was tall! He must be as tall as the Hokage! Both of them so handsome, too… She felt her already blushing cheeks heating up even more. Oh, did he say something to me? "Wh-what?" she stammered out. Surely she could be forgiven: it's not like she was used to seeing men nearly naked.

The Nara narrowed his eyes at the woman dangerously. It's freaking late and I'm freezing my ass off here! Doesn't she realize that the cold air is getting in and I'm wet? He snapped his fingers rudely in her face, with a demand of, "Oi! Oi!" Why the hell is this woman here and staring at me? It was damn irritating, waiting for her to collect her thoughts.

The woman's eyes grew large and she tried to shake herself out of her thoughts. "Oh, right, Nara-san. I have something you might be interested in." Keiko began to go through her bag as the Nara grunted pessimistically.

"Seriously?" he drawled sarcastically. She nodded her head. "What is it then," he asked impatiently.

"Lab results - fairly new ones - matching Uzumaki Naruto." She finally pulled the envelope out of her bag.

All of the color drained from the man's face, and his cigarette fell out of his mouth. Putting it out with his bare foot, then swearing, he took the envelope and stared at her, as if daring her to say she was making a joke. Inwardly the woman flinched at the anger in his eyes, but she too was a ninja, and she stood firm. Finally, the Nara blinked.

He took the envelope from her and inhaled deeply. Regret colored his handsome features. He abruptly opened the envelope and began going through the pages quickly. Then turned to the woman on his doorstep, giving her a nod. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'll take care of the rest from here." She turned to leave and then he called to her again, asking for her name. "Keiko-san, this information is classified. Do you understand?" he asked firmly.

"Hai, Nara-san. I have already deleted it from my computer."

"Good work." Shikamaru closed the door and leaned against the back of it, letting out a deep breath and putting his shaky hand through his hair.

Naruto. He could feel the tears wanting to come up, but like always, he shoved them down. If that son-of-a-bitch was here, I'd beat him to death for dying. How many times had he thought that now? And every time he did, he felt less guilty about it. Shikamaru locked his door and stood for a moment, wondering what to do. Finally, he sat down at his desk, papers in hand, and began to go through all of the details in the printouts. Before long, he pulled out a bottle of sake and began drinking it Tsunade-style: no cup necessary. Shortly thereafter, he pulled another out of the fridge.

Hero of the Leaf, no: Hero of the Shinobi World - although he didn't like that title. Both embarrassed the heck out of the guy. He just wanted to be treated like a human being. Fucking villagers. Yes, Shikamaru still got angry on his friend's behalf. He was oftentimes much angrier than Naruto ever was, even when they were young and the blonde Academy student was dealing with taunts like "demon" and "monster." Fuckers didn't realize he was holding the 9-tails back, let alone that he was the son of their hero. Shikamaru scoffed out loud. Naruto was practically a mini-Yondaime in looks.

But, he had eventually become admired and respected by everyone. Then he died in so much fucking pain. He still hated Sasuke, and probably always would. He clutched his hands in his hair, taking a drag of his cigarette and finished off another bottle of sake.

So Naruto had a sister? Why would he not tell anyone? Did Naruto even know? What would he want us to do about her? This coming to light now was bizarre, but maybe this is what so many of his friends needed. Naruto coming through for us again, Shikamaru smirked.

If Naruto did know about a sibling, why wouldn't he have told anyone? That was the question. Shikamaru sat for an hour or more contemplating it, and there were a few things that came to his mind. There were many things the kid wasn't aware of when he was young, so he could easily imagine him not knowing about a sister then - after all, he didn't find out about the 9-tails or his heritage until pretty late in the game. Also, there was Obito - that masked idiot - who had attacked the Leaf and Naruto's (and his sister's, he guessed,) mother when Naruto was born. There was also the Akatsuki, the war and Madara, plus Sasuke again. Oh, right, and I can't forget that Danzo asshole.

Maybe if he did know he just never had the opportunity to bring her into the open. Does she know about him? Shikamaru groaned and decided that rather than go through all of the reasons why he hadn't known about this young woman earlier, time would be better spent on finding her and planning how to make sure she is safe now.

He took the next few hours and hashed out a plan, and even wrote a brief letter to the Kazekage about the whole situation. They'd probably have half the Sand village at their gates within a couple of days after hearing the news, all trying to help find the mystery woman. Gaara would probably want to marry her when they found her, just for Naruto. "Troublesome," he muttered, smiling softly.

Grabbing his keys and heading out the door, he made his way towards the Hokage Tower. He couldn't wait to see the look on Kakashi's face when he gave him the news!