AN: Hey. Sorry It's been a while. I've just had exams and then break. By the way, I did awesomely on them. ^.^ First thing of break though, I had to go to my brother's graduation and commissioning. . Overall it's just been hectic. But hey, this chapter is like 20 pages long, and it has a lime. I've reached 500 pages overall with this story. I have also reached 12,000 views, which makes me feel awesome! Thanks you all!
And to Thomas Drovin, I'm sorry, but you'll just have to wait on the whole Akatsuki thing. They are coming up, but not for another couple chapters. Just wait. ^.^
And to Dantesfreezer, Haha, yeah it does sound familiar. But I told you, I had that planned forever ago, like before we met and I knew anything about you. You are just weird enough that we ended up following it. .
And to sesshoumaruluver1, No, they aren't. Just wait. All will make sense soon. ^.^
And to Luxford's Xigbar, It's ok. I'm glad you liked it. Tell me how this one suits you. ^.^
And we have new faves and alerts! StrawberryOkami101, Montgomery Pedro, Yaoi-Beloved, Moonlight28, Alphathewolf, and Doppleganger13. Thanks guys. And welcome to the group!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters etc. You know the drill. Oh, and Kirigi, Saito, Mi, and Ryuu belong to Thomas Drovin, which I'm very grateful he's letting me use. Although, I did take some creative liberties with Saito and Ryuu, Thomas. Thanks a bunch!
Chapter Seventeen: Mother Dearest
"I have the target in sight," Takumi whispered into his mic attached to his headset. He hid in a bush in a clearing in the local forest. He heard rustling over in the tree where Masato was hiding. It didn't surprise him that poor Masato couldn't sit still. He was always jumping around and yelling. Sitting still must have been killing him.
"Roger that," they heard their leader, Roxanne buzz through. "What about you Masato?"
"Mhm," Masato grunted through. Takumi rolled his eyes at Masato's attempts of being cool and quiet. He wasn't sure when those two adjectives ever went together with Masato.
"Alright," Roxanne sighed. "What about you Hitomi?"
"Yes, ma'am," she whispered.
"Do we have the go ahead?" Takumi asked.
Before Roxanne could get an affirmative out, Masato leapt into the air from his tree branch, tackling the brown cat they had been following for the past hour. The cat let out a surprised meow as Masato's body collided with its. He quickly slipped the bag over the cat and swept the animal into it with a simple pull of the draw-strings. The cat howled and scratched at the bag, which Masato was holding up triumphantly.
"What happened?" Roxanne asked, urgency in her voice.
"Masato happened," Takumi growled into the mic.
Just as he was saying that, Masato announced loudly and proudly into the mic "I GOT THE CAT! THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED!" Takumi turned off the headset before Masato began to kill his ears with the incredibly loud laughter.
Takumi pocketed his headset and got up, walking slowly to their rambunctious teammate. Masato's laughter was killing Takumi's patience with him. "What was that?" he snapped.
"What was what?" Masato smiled curiously.
Takumi pinched the bridge of his nose before stating, "You are on a team. That means this isn't a solo mission."
"Guys."
"Yeah, so?" Masato shot back.
"So?" Takumi asked incredulously. "So, that means you can't just jump into things without the team leader's approval!"
Masato's brow furrowed as he recalled, "You said 'go ahead.'"
"Guys…"
"I was asking for the go ahead," Takumi clarified. Masato rolled his eyes. "You and your stupid selective hearing!"
"Look! I got the freaking cat! Alright?" Masato snapped. "What more do you want from me!"
"I dunno! Maybe a BRAIN!" Takumi yelled back.
"Oh, that's rich coming from you!"
"What's THAT supposed to mean!"
"GUYS!" Hitomi screamed. Both boys, who were so close to each other's face their noses were practically touching, turned to look at the shy brunette. She was usually so quiet and timid. This was the first time either of them had the pleasure of hearing her yell. She put her hands together and looked at the ground as she continued, "We have to get the cat to th-the ho-Hokage Building… w-we'll lose money." Hitomi quickly walked away towards the village. The boys followed continuing their argument in silence all the way back to the Hokage Building.
As soon as they got there, they met up with Roxanne who was waiting for them. Without a word, she walked them into the assignment room where the Hokage, Naruto, was sitting, along with Iruka, and several people who help delegate assignments. Also in the room was a fat woman with way too much make-up on. Once the door was shut, Masato set the bag on the floor, not too kindly. He undid the bag and reached in, pulling out the cat and handing it over to the woman.
The woman began rubbing the cat against her cheek in a smothering manner, saying, "Oh, Mr. Snugglemuffins! I thought I lost you!"
"Mister?" Masato scoffed, eyeing the cat. "Then what's with the bow?" The poor yowling cat had a neon pink bow clipped into his fur on his head.
The woman shot Masato a scathing look before tossing her money in front of the Hokage. "Thanks," she snipped just before waltzing out. As she was shutting the door, Mr. Snugglemuffins leapt out of her smothering grip and ran over to Roxanne. He rubbed his head against her leg, snapping off the bow in the process.
"MR. SNUGGLEMUFFINS!" the woman screeched running back in and snatching up the cat. She saw the bow on the floor and snatched it up, batting it on the nose of the shocked cat. "Bad kitty!" With that, she bustled out of the room, the cat yowling to be saved echoing behind them.
Roxanne turned to Naruto, who just smiled as he took out their cut and pushed it forward. She grabbed it and divided it amongst the rest of her team, making sure each one got an even cut. Masato began to whine about how he did more work than the other two and should be given more, until Roxanne shot him a harsh look, to which he shut up. The kids pocketed their change and left.
She turned to the assignment committee, and stated, "I'll have the reports from today done and in by tomorrow."
She should have held her tongue, because as soon as she said that, someone came running in. "I have a message for Roxanne Turner," he said, holding up the piece of paper.
She snatched it out of his hand and opened it. The note read:
"Hey Rox,
I think it's time we let my parents in on our engagement. My dad already knows
and it's only a matter of time before my mom finds out, and I'd rather tell her than incur
her wrath by not telling her until the day. Come over for dinner tonight. It should be
normal, so just wear something casual. And don't forget the ring.
Love,
Shikamaru."
Roxanne sighed and folded the note back up. "Make that tomorrow afternoon that I'll get you the reports." Naruto nodded, a smirk on his face, dismissing her for the day.
In Suna, a group of young genin was picking up litter. All three of the genin looked bored out of their mind as they picked up paper and trash repeatedly and tossed it in baskets on their backs.
"This is ridiculous!" one of the boys groused. He had dark brown hair and bright green eyes, which contrasted heavily with his tanned skin. He threw his tongs on the ground and dropped his bag in the sandy streets.
"Hey, Yoshiaki!" the girl snapped, "Help us finish it, or you won't get you're cut!"
"One, it's Yoshi!" the dark haired boy hissed. "And two, Cordi-Sensei wouldn't deny me my cut!"
"You should listen to Naoko," a voice sounded through the streets. Yoshi's mouth instantly shut and he sucked in his lips. The girl, Naoko, smirked as she continued her work, hiding her expression behind a curtain of blond hair. Cordelia jumped down from her perch and walked over to the brunette's area of clean up. "You don't do your share of the work, then I don't think it's fair you get your share of the cut either," Cordi clarified to the young genin.
Yoshi frowned, but picked his supplies back up and began picking up the trash again. "But why don't we get any real missions?" he whined.
"Because you only just graduated a week ago from the academy and have only been on a team for a couple days," Cordi answered in a tired voice, as if she had had this conversation many times over.
"Yes, but our missions are mainly consisting of picking up trash in the streets, picking up dog crap, and folding the Solstice Festival invitations!" Yoshi pointed out. "I mean, I have talked to several of our fellow students who got worse grades than we did at school who are getting better missions than us. The worst genin I know from school is doing missions like helping salesmen to and from market. All we get are the crappy paying, low rank jobs. What's with that!"
"Maybe Lord Kazekage doesn't want to put his fiancé in harm's way," the other boy offered, still picking up trash. He was younger, with pale skin and black hair. His hazel eyes never once shifted their gaze to the loud, older boy.
Yoshi took this in, eyeing the younger boy for a bit before turning on Cordelia, pointing an accusing finger, and saying, "So, it's your fault!"
"It's not my fault," Cordi answered slowly. "I will talk to Gaara about the job issue if you all want me to."
"I would love you to," Yoshi grunted as he picked up more trash, bouncing the basket to get a better grip.
"Naoko, what about you?" Cordelia asked.
"I don't care, but these D-rank jobs are getting rather dull," Naoko stated as she finished her area of the road.
"And Hosaka, how do you feel about it?" she called down to the younger boy. He just shrugged silently, continuing his work. Yoshi stopped and was watching Cordelia intently, hoping for her decision. "Alright, I'll talk to Lord Gaara for you all, just to throw in some C rank missions for us, maybe even a B."
"Yes," Yoshi cheered to himself, pulling a fist in as if he were getting ready to punch something. Cordelia pretended not to hear.
"Alright, you all are done for the day. Let's go dump these and get paid," Cordi smiled, gesturing to the baskets everyone was holding. That quickly received a couple cheers from the young genin. Cordi then led them down to the Kazekage tower for their payment.
Roxanne stood in the front porch area of Shikamaru's house. She was fussing over a wrinkle in her shirt, until Shikamaru opened the door, when she quickly pretended the wrinkle didn't even exist.
"I'm glad you could make it," Shikamaru sighed, walking through the door and embracing her in a hug.
"Wouldn't miss it," Rox smiled, giving him a small peck on the lips. He smiled at her then pulled her into the house, taking her into the dining room where everything was set up and Mr. and Mrs. Nara were just sitting down. Mr. Nara smiled at Roxanne knowingly while Mrs. Nara's expression was rather sour.
Shikamaru walked Roxanne over to her seat, and pulled it out for her, then took his own seat next to her. They each said a silent grace over their food, then dug in. The first ten minutes were excruciatingly quiet and full of smiles from Mr. Nara, glares from Mrs. Nara, and both Shikamaru and Roxanne awkwardly looking into their food.
"So, how are things going with you now-a-days?" Mr. Nara asked, trying to break the awkward, icy silence.
"Good," Roxanne replied, not particularly feeling like going into detail.
"Nothing new? No events coming up? No recent gifts?" Mr. Nara pestered. Roxanne just blinked at him. His knowing smirk was beginning to annoy her.
She was about to open her mouth to say "No," but Shikamaru beat her to it and said, "Actually, Mom I have something to tell you." Mrs. Nara looked over to her son, curiosity evident on her face. She put her eating utensils down and finished swallowing. When Shikamaru was sure he had her complete and undivided attention, he continued. "Roxanne and I are engaged. We are getting married in a couple months."
Mrs. Nara's eyes went wide just before her face went red with rage as she shot out of her chair. She could barely contain the venom in her voice when she hissed, "Shikamaru, outside!" Shikamaru grasped Roxanne's hand and gave it an affirming squeeze, then got up and followed his mother out into the hallway.
Mrs. Nara slammed the door shut, making Roxanne jump and look at Shikaku, who looked peeved and bored, as if he expected this outcome, and it was something he was used to. As soon as they were alone, they could hear on the other side of the wall Mrs. Nara screeching, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING! HAVE YOU COMPLETELY LOST YOUR MIND!"
"No, mother. I love her," Shikamaru answered very plainly.
"YOU LOVE HER!" his mother screeched as if the concept was funny to her. "Shikamaru, you're too young to know what love is."
"I am not mother. I am twenty-two years old. And I can make decisions for myself," Shikamaru retorted.
"Honey, you don't even know her. You barely know her past. She could have been a prostitute in her country before. Or worse she could be a spy for her foreign government," his mother reasoned.
"Mother you're being a bit ridiculous. She can't even contact her country. She's from another world," Shikamaru replied.
"Oh, like that makes a difference!" Mrs. Nara scoffed. "You just rush into relationships. And when you find out she's a spy and hasn't given a damn about you or anything about you, you will be crushed, just like you were with your last foreign whore!"
"Mom, what the fuck!" Shikamaru snapped. "You are so fucking paranoid! Did it ever occur to you that two people who meet at an older age can fall in love?"
"Not for so little time. You've only been dating a month! And most sons make sure that their future bride is compatible with his family before making such a rash decision!" Mrs. Nara pointed out. "Why don't you try dating one of the nice girls from here, like Ino and Sakura?"
"Because I love Roxanne!" Shikamaru yelled. "I want to marry Roxanne, and I intend to do so!"
"Well you need my approval anyway. That's the law. And I refuse to let you marry that – that STREETWALKER!" Mrs. Nara screamed.
Roxanne felt tears sting the back of her eyes hearing this. Splitting up his family was the last thing she ever wanted. But his mother was so unyielding.
"I'm sorry you have to sit through this," Shikaku sighed, his head leaning against his hand in a bored fashion. Roxanne nodded, then looked down to her lap so he wouldn't notice she was crying. She looked down to the ring Shikamaru had given her and clenched her hands in fists on her lap, letting tears drip onto them.
The door slammed open, making Roxanne and Shikaku instantly shift their gazes to it. Mrs. Nara stood in the doorway seething. Her glare at Roxanne looked lethal. "You!" She growled, pointing an accusing finger at Rox. "Get out of my house you home-wrecking whore!"
Rox got up, nodding and facing the floor as more tears flowed freely from her eyes. "Mom," Shikamaru gaped, shifting his gaze between his mother and his fiancé. Rox stopped beside him and gave him a short sweet kiss, savoring his taste.
"I said 'GET OUT!' BITCH!" Mrs. Nara yelled again. Roxanne pulled away, giving Shikamaru a longing look, then ran off back to her apartment. As soon as Roxanne was gone, Mrs. Nara sat back down at her seat, sighing, "The nerve of that girl!"
Shikamaru looked at where Roxanne was standing. His fists were shaking with fury. "You had no right," he growled. He turned his glare to his mother who looked at him blankly. "You had no right to treat her like that!"
"On the contrary, Shikamaru, I had every right," Mrs. Nara replied.
"Nothing you said was true or even had any basis!" Shikamaru snapped. "You would have known that if you even took a chance to get to know her!"
"You don't understand," Mrs. Nara replied sharply. "I don't want to get to know her." Shikamaru gaped at his mother in complete shock. "She's from somewhere which we have never heard of, and therefore have no idea of the culture. She is related to the future Kazekougou, which means there is more likeliness she'll split us up. I don't want to lose you."
Shikamaru could only blink at his mom for a couple seconds to try and form words. "So, this is all because she's not from Konoha? And so you think she'll take me away from you?" His mom pursed her lips and flicked her food on her plate. "Dear GOD! Grow up, Mom! You will push me away before she will ever try dragging me away!" he snapped.
"Honey! The thing is it won't last!" his mother yelled back. "Open your eyes and realize it! I don't want to see you get hurt like you did with that sand bitch!"
Shikamaru just glared at her, then calmly said, "Goodbye mother." With that he walked briskly back to his room and began to pack all his things.
Cordi leaned over Gaara, a strange instance, but they were trying out new things. Cordi felt a little awkward, but decided to play it as much to her advantage as possible. She slowly kissed down his chest, her soft lips caressing his light, smooth skin. She heard him let out a moan as she moved down to his bellybutton, tongue-ing it a little before moving on down. "So," she drawled slowly, her lips gliding over his skin giving him every bit of the sensation, "my team has been begging me to talk to you." His breath hitched as she neared his pelvic area and slowly undid his pants, sliding them down. He tried his hardest to look unaffected, but his sharp breathing gave him away.
"W-what about?" he stuttered slightly, not really paying attention to what she was asking.
"Oh, well they want better missions, you know. They're ninjas, not dog-walkers," Cordi stated, positioning herself back up to him, her boobs in direct line of his face, but slowly dragging a hand from his inner thigh to cradle his member. She could feel it swelling in her grasp as she fiddled with it. He took in a jagged gasp "I mean, I understand where they are coming from. They just want to feel a little more important," she continued. She could see his mind was focused on two things at the moment; their foreplay, and her proposition she was about to ask. He growled a little to show he was following, albeit not thoroughly, but still following. He placed his hands on her hips, one roaming her torso, cupping her breast, before lightly massaging it. She began to nuzzle where his neck met his shoulders, licking and grating her teeth lightly across it. "So, I was wondering," she added between kisses, "if there was any way possible you could give us a better mission."
Part of him wanted to let out a harsh bark of a laugh and say, "Hell no." But another part was being so clouded by the sensations she was giving him, he knew he wouldn't be able to make a good call of her request at the moment. "Mmmmm," he growled, the rumbling from his chest feeling strange but intoxicating to Cordi. "Let me think about it," he offered, just as she was positioning herself over him. He could practically feel the warmth of her opening on his member. He felt her smirk against his shoulder, then quickly rolled off him, taking the sheet with her, leaving Gaara completely confused. He watched her walk to the door of the room, the sheet fashioned around her in a toga. His brows furrowed in confusion, and he asked, "Aren't we going to have sex?" He was hoping she'd turn around and say something along the lines of her leaving was just a joke, because he was now throbbing somewhat painfully.
She turned to look at him over her shoulder, an evil glint in her eye as she smiled and chuckled, "Let me think about it." With that, she walked out the door, closing it behind her, leaving Gaara gaping furiously at her absence for a couple minutes. Sand was beginning to sift around the bottom of the bed. Oh, this will not do, he inwardly growled, before jumping out of bed and throwing a pair of shorts on. He walked out of his room, rather awkwardly though due to how uncomfortable his member was because of the cotton from his shorts rubbing against it.
He eventually found her in the kitchen, eating a rather sizable bowl of chocolate ice-cream. Sand whirled around him as he stalked behind her silently, so as not to give his position away. His sand quietly made its way up to her wrists, and before she knew it, he had her hand cuffed and turned around facing him. His sand slowly lifted her arms, making them drop his sheets, revealing her nakedness. He could feel she was turned on, but she tried not to show it.
"I thought I said you can't leave me hanging like that," Gaara growled, his eyes full of lust as he glared into her own. She smirked up at him, as if she were already getting what she wanted. "What?"
"Are you going to assign my team a legitimate mission?" Cordi asked, smirking at him.
His eye twitched at her request. He didn't want to give her team a dangerous mission, because that meant he was putting her in harm's way, and he couldn't have that without knowing exactly how everything would turn out. "No," he growled, before holding her head in his hands and leaning in to kiss her. His lips brushed against hers, feeling her breath leave lightly against his.
She leaned her head back into his wall of sand and away from his kiss, making Gaara scowl at her. She jokingly scowled back and said, "If you don't assign my team one, then forget about having sex."
Gaara narrowed his eyes at her, not liking her threat, nor her denying him, very much. He licked his lips, very aggravated with her. "Why?" He sighed, placing a hand against his sand wall. "Why do you want a mission so badly?" This was starting to get old. He wanted to have sex already, and she was making this difficult by making him work for it.
"Because it's not fair for my team to suffer and miss out on educational possibilities to make them better ninja just because you and I are lovers," Cordi explained, eyeing him warily. She wanted to make sure her words got entirely through to him.
"Fiançées," he corrected, eyes still narrowed. He knew she hadn't forgotten about the rather expensive rock he had bought and placed on her finger, because it was still on that finger, but "lovers" was too casual a term for what they were now. They were official, betrothed, soon to be newlyweds, not just two people who had sex with serious feelings for the other.
"Same thing," she stated, shaking her head. He conceded to that bit. Technically, they were "lovers," just the term's implications bothered him. "It's still not fair to them," she added.
He pursed his lips, knowing she made a valid point, and trying very hard to think through the sensations of his throbbing member and the sight of her naked in front of him. It was no good. He could feel himself caving, just wanting to be in her so badly. "Fine," he spat, "one mission, but with one condition." She rose her eyebrows, as if to ask what the condition was. "Temari, Kankuro, or Baki go with you," he stated.
She frowned, then said, "Deal." He smirked and leaned in again, placing a kiss on her lips, slipping his tongue along them lightly before pulling away and moving along her cheek to her jaw, then down her neck slowly. Her breath hitched as he sucked her collar bone lightly.
"Oh, and there's another thing," Gaara stated between his kisses, making his way down her chest and between her breasts. She gave an agitated sigh, hoping for him to continue his kisses and get over the foreplay and not lengthen it with this last tidbit. "You … are not … allowed … on top ... anymore," he stated between kisses and nibbles. She chuckled at this. She had never wanted to be on top in the first place. Ronni had told her back when she had first started having sex that being on top is completely overrated. Also, it felt more right that Gaara should be on top. It was when he seemed most dangerous and sexy to Cordi, reminding her of when she first fell for him, even though he was just a cartoon and a fantasy then.
Roxanne was cleaning herself up in the bathroom. Her eye make-up was completely smeared and her cheeks were tear-stained, along with her definitely not pretty swollen red eyes. She had gotten changed out of her dress and into comfortable sweatpants and t-shirt. She heard a knock at her front door as she was drying her face and she blinked a little in confusion. Who on God's green Earth could that be? Especially at this hour?
She put the towel down on the rim of the sink and waltzed over to the door. Grasping the handle and pulling it open revealed something she wasn't expecting. In the hallway, standing with a big bag of clothes, was Shikamaru. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
He shook his head and walked in, taking his bags in with him. "I'm sorry I just showed up like this, but I think it's the only way we can be together."
Rox looked at him confused. "Shika, what's going on?"
"We need to elope," Shikamaru sighed very quickly, almost not getting the words out coherently. She was about to ask "Why," when he just rushed out, "My mom will never sign the consent forms to let us marry. And if my mother won't allow it, we'd have to get your sister to sign it, which I don't doubt she would if it weren't for her marriage to Gaara being in a little less than a couple weeks. That means she won't be allowed to leave the country unless she's heavily guarded or Gaara is going with her. So we can't count on her signature unless we go to Suna."
"But, Shikamaru," Rox sighed.
"Rox, please don't try to talk me out of this. The only thing holding me back from marrying you earlier was my parents. After the way they treated you tonight, I don't care about them anymore. I just want to be married to you. And I am willing to give up being a shinobi to do it if I have to," Shikamaru stated, his expression dead serious.
Rox pursed her lips, knowing that his reasons were sound. She just wanted to be with him too. So she nodded agreeing with him, then said, "Just let me go pack my things."
Shikamaru let out a relieved sigh and jumped up, enveloping her in a hug and giving her a passion filled kiss. He squeezed her against him with delight, then let her go. He followed her back to her room and helped her pack her clothes and several belongings. As soon as they were done, they made their way down to the Northern Gate of the village.
On the way there, Roxanne sent a message to Griffin, saying, We are leaving for Suna now. Meet us just beyond the Northern Gate.
Griffin apparently had just woken up and grunted a, Fine.
As they approached the gate, they saw two figures standing there in the shadows. Shikamaru eyed them warily, but kept walking, making Rox feel a little more nervous. It became obvious that the two figures wanted to talk with them, so Shikamaru stopped, holding Rox behind him, protecting her.
"Who are you! Show yourselves!" he called out.
One of the figures kicked a streetlight they were standing next to, making it light up and show that Shikaku Nara and the Hokage, Naruto, were standing there. Shikamaru just stood there wide-eyed, as if he'd been caught doing something unforgivable. It kind of was, but that was beside the point.
"What are you doing here?" Shikamaru asked in a strained voice.
"We are here to save you and Ms. Turner from yourselves," his father said, taking a couple steps forward.
"I heard enough from Mother," Shikamaru snapped. "Don't push me away further!"
"That's not what he means," Naruto sighed, walking up to the group, his blue eyes looking straight into Shikamaru's brown ones. Shikamaru and Rox both furrowed their brows, not sure what he was talking about. "If you leave like this, you will both become Missing Nin. That means anywhere you go you will be hunted down like cattle. You could run, but not even Suna could let you into its gates."
"So what do you suggest?" Roxanne sighed, hopefully. She was getting sick of all the customs here. Two familial parties had to agree on the marriage and because they didn't, the only choice offered to them was eloping and becoming Missing Nin.
"I suggest you go to Suna and get married," Naruto smiled mischeiviously.
It was silent for a bit before Roxanne asked, "I'm sorry, what?"
"Naruto, that was the plan," Shikamaru sighed, closing his eyes in agitation.
"You aren't getting it though," Shikaku stated boredly, a impish smirk creeping into his face.
"Yes, see now it's a mission," Naruto explained, smiling at his own cleverness. He did a little excited jump to try and get them excited too.
"I'm sorry, but I don't see how this is a mission," Rox stumbled, trying to figure out what was going on.
Naruto sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And I thought, you, Shikamaru, being a genius would get this," he grunted. "Alright, let me spell this out for you. I'm ordering you to go to Suna and get married."
"So we won't be Missing Nin because you are ordering us to go get married in Suna?" Shikamaru asked confused, hoping to clarify what Naruto was saying. Naruto always seemed to talk nonsense to Shikamaru.
"Oh, looky there, he gets it," Naruto muttered to Shikaku while smiling.
"Why?" Shikamaru asked confused. Never before had he ever heard of a Kage ordering a couple to elope.
"Well, after you stormed out, I knew what you were thinking of doing, so I ran an told Naruto what happened and what you were planning," Shikaku explained as if it were obvious.
"And I felt compelled to help because you're a friend," Naruto laughed. "You both are. And you're great ninjas. I couldn't stand the thought of losing both of you because of something like this."
"There is still a small problem. We need the familial contract saying they are ok with the wedding," Rox reminded them.
Shikaku and Naruto smiled. Mr. Nara stepped forward, putting a scroll in Shikamaru's hands. Shikamaru eyed it warily, then opened it. It was the familial contract they needed for the wedding, and at the bottom was Shikaku's signature.
"Dad," Shikamaru breathed, shock and happiness shining through his voice.
"Your mother might disapprove, but I think it's a wonderful idea," Shikaku clarified.
Tears of happiness were forming along Shikamaru's eyes. He reached forward and gave his father a hug, saying "Thank you," over and over again.
"Really," Roxanne cried, "Thank you so much!"
Shikaku smiled, "Don't mention it. It'll be worth the shock to see you guys come home and I get to see Yoshino's face." He sighed contentedly, then added, "That's all the payment I need."
Naruto was smiling at this whole "cornucopia of love" happening before his eye, but then remembered something. "Oh, since we can't actually say you two are on a mission to get married, since the council would say that's ridiculous and not useful to the nation's commonwealth, then there is a cover mission for you as well in Suna," Naruto added. When he got strange looks from Shikamaru and Roxanne he quickly added, "Oh, nothing too taxing since you'll be seeing them anyway. I'm sending you to drop off my R.S.V.P. to Gaara's and Cordi's wedding. The council doesn't like me sending my whereabouts on certain dates via eagle-gram, so you actually come at a very opportune time for me. And I already sent Gaara a message about this saying you both were arriving in the morning. He should receive that message tonight."
Shikamaru and Rox smiled at both Naruto and Shikaku, saying "Thank you," several times over again.
"Just go," Naruto ordered, waving them off. "Some of us have to sleep," he yawned, more to himself, but they got the picture.
Shikaku gave them a final hug and wished them safe travels just before poofing off. With that figured out, Shikamaru and Roxanne looked forward to their trip to the desert without worry of being hunted down.
AN: Thanks for reading, and please remember to review! Thanks again!