If Shikamaru was anything, it was smart.
He could come up with hundreds of strategies to tackle something and pick the best one, ensuring victory.
Unfortunately, he also had a very major flaw wherein he was extremely lazy, so when there was a possibility not to do something he would take it.
When he saw the wound disappear he just decided not to talk about it, seeing as there was no mention of infections immediately disappearing, and it wasn't as if he ever liked girls too much, they were just too troublesome- the cynic in him really doubted that some virus was going to have him feel something for some random woman he would have no feelings for, hell his strongest feelings were with Temari of Suna and he wasn't exactly looking to date her and marry her at the moment, he just thought she was cool.
It didn't matter that he saw a product of the virus itself, there was a possibility that the whole 'Ai Urusu' thing was just a cover up for something else, as Hidden Villages tended to do sometimes.
So he brushed it off when he sat beside Hinata on their fly back home on Sai's ink bird, just below the clouds he liked so much as he laid out on his back and watched the clouds above while long blue hair danced just at the edge of his vision, giving him a sense of comfort even if the weather was a little chilly as with the new territory.
Kiba was obviously talking as loud as possible to be heard over the wind while Shino, Sai and Yamato listened, all three responding a couple times each as Shikamaru looked down as far as he could to see Hinata looking ahead to what seemed to be nothing, just letting things happen around her as she normally did.
He found it kind of funny how both of them were rather reactive rather than proactive, only jumping to action when something pried them to do so as he hummed and leaned his head back again, letting the wind brush over him before drifting off again.
When they came back to Konoha they immediately went to the Hokage as usual and reported the success of the mission, much to Tsunade's pleasure as she dismissed them.
Once he stepped out of the Hokage Tower Shikamaru immediately stopped, deciding what to do with his time after this when the blue-haired kunoichi whisked past him, smelling of medical salve and sandalwood as compared to the clang of metal Temari had or the practically overwhelming flower scents from Ino and Sakura.
Before he knew it his feet were moving.
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It wasn't like he was following her or anything, they were just headed to the same place after all, it's not as if he could avoid that.
" Troublesome." He sighed under his breath as he walked through the lively streets of Konoha behind Hinata, whom really should have been more observant of her surroundings as she didn't seem to notice that he was there.
It was only when she paused in walking that the Nara knew why as she looked to see the Ichiraku Ramen shop, a twinge inside him causing him to press the palm of his hand into his temple with a sigh.
So it was Naruto that was causing her to be so blind to the world around her, well that was just troublesome.
He knew she had a crush on Naruto since well before their genin days, back into the Academy at least, it was clear as day even if the others decided not to pay attention to it, after all it was just... really pathetic seeing her like that over the number one loser of the class.
Sure he was friends with Naruto but you had to draw the line somewhere when it comes to having a unrequited crush on someone.
Must be something in the water here in Konoha, as it seems like you just can't give up your first love here at a normal rate, if at all.
Maybe he should do something?
' Troublesome thoughts.' Shikamaru sighed again, snapping back to reality just as she was walking past it, following her more as she walked past Kurenai and Mirai's place more towards the clan areas.
He found himself stopping.
Why was he following her really? Apparently she was headed home, not to the place he thought she was going to, so to what point should he keep doing this?
" So troublesome." He murmured the third time, rubbing the back of his head as he looked to Kurenai and Mirai's house before turning to it and walking in with a small knock and a 'hello?', going to give little Mirai her newest ribbon.
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After giving Mirai her gift he headed to his own house within the Nara compound, on the outer edges of the Konoha borders on the Clan's sides, after all the Naras owned plenty of land in connection to the deer that they were named after, the whole forest was almost their backyard.
He moved past the house that he used to live in as a child, the house that held his mother but no longer his father when the Fourth Ninja War had slipped through, taking him with it.
And now he was the Head of the Nara Clan, even if most of the time he let his mother handle the affairs, she was intent on having him 'get off his lazy ass and take care of the family!', his mother's words, not his.
So troublesome.
It was kind of funny, Chouji and Ino immediately had taken the mantles as Heads of their Clan without much time or questioning after both of their fathers had died, they had always been on track for that kind of thing even when Ino was squealing over boys or Chouji displayed little invested interest in the role, and they did well.
It was only him that decided to lag back on that kind of thing.
He supposed it was because it meant you were to marry immediately after being dubbed clan head, to try and make children to carry on leading the clan, and honestly that sounded too tiring to do, especially when you either had to pick someone you grew up with or tried to make connections with another village.
If he were to decide to marry, Temari would have been a prime candidate because she would create a strong tether with Suna, and likely strong children.
' But I don't want to marry her.'
The pony-tailed male stepped onto his porch and opened up his home.
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It was big and empty, Yoshino having insisted he take a big place so when he did decide to get married- 'Which should be soon, you lazy son of mine!'- he wouldn't have to move to a new place to make room for his wife and kids.
He really doubted he would need a house with three bedrooms separate to the master's but humored his mother as it was super tempting to take shortcuts if he could get away with it.
Going in and turning to the right he went into his living room, dropping onto the couch as it was evening now, the sun dipping before his window, casting shadows against the wall as he looked to it, fishing a cigarette packet out of his pocket and his sensei's lighter, putting one in his mouth and lighting it up, inhaling the toxic smoke as he leaned back, watching his shadow do the same.
He may be digging his heels in from this request and the love thing, but for the longest time he had just known marriage as a thing for old crows, banshees and men too stupid to know better.
He was old enough to know a little differently now, but who would he want to marry?
All the women he knew with few exceptions were loud and obnoxious.
The exceptions were... well one was a 3 year old toddler, another was his sensei's widow, and the other...
Well she was in love with another man and had been her whole life.
Hinata...
Shikamaru put his hand on his forehead, sighing deeply, not noticing his shadow moving to take the cigarette out of it's mouth, blowing out a cloudy shadow of a smoke heart.
