Disclaimer: Kishimoto is my God, Shikamaru my Messiah, Tayuya my Angel and my inspiration theirs. (Translation: I own nothing)

Taming the beast

Shikamaru awoke with a start when the car suddenly slowed to a stop. He looked around wildly, eyes wide as he wondered where the hell he was. It took him a few seconds before he recognized the familiar neighborhood. Feeling more relaxed, he gave a yawn that quickly turned into a cough when the cab driver announced the cost of the trip. Well, considering the distance between his apartment and his parents' house, he should have been prepared to pay a more than healthy sum of money but it still cut through his heart. Muttering mostly to himself that he spent less money on food for two whole months, he dug through his wallet and handed over the requested money to the grinning driver.

Normally, he avoided taxi-rides due to the expensiveness but tonight he'd had little choice. He had been asked, or ordered, to escort a drunken Ino home. Shikamaru had tried protesting, saying that it would be easier for Inoichi to drive her home seeing as he had a car while Shikamaru hadn't even bothered getting a driver's license. That idea had immediately been shot down when Inoichi announced his own inebriated state of mind. Ino's mother didn't have a driver's license of her own so her driving would definitely not do and thus, it fell on Shikamaru to take the 'damsel', as his mother had referred to her, home. Suffice to say, he had then been forced to endure an almost two hour-long ride with Ino clinging to him, murmuring incoherent nothings to him that he was pretty sure he wouldn't want to hear properly. He had almost felt like thanking some kind of God when they had finally arrived at his friend's apartment, leaving only him for another hour's ride to his own home. All the while, the driver had been talking about his family in an overly enthusiastic manner. Shikamaru suspected that the man had, like most people, misunderstood his relationship to the blonde girl. Why people seemed to refuse to accept the fact that Shikamaru merely saw Ino as a sister of sorts and not an object of attraction, he would never understand. What disturbed him the most was the fact that Ino didn't really seem to dislike the attention it brought her.

Shikamaru stretched as he got out of the cab, raising his arms high above his head as he gave a tired groan. He winced as he felt a few pops in his joints. Sleeping in cars was never a good idea in his opinion but he had long since learned that trying to fight his body's urges regarding rest was utterly futile. Yawning, he started climbing the stairs up to the second floor were his home awaited him; home sweet home. It was a strange thought, really. Returning home from a visit home. His mother liked to call his apartment his 'home away from home', claiming that his parents' house would always be his home. Shikamaru didn't exactly share this opinion. He viewed himself as an independent adult with his own home. Of course, he'd never tell his mother that he thought like that, he liked his hearing the way it was.

Groaning, the tired young man held on to the railing when he reached the second landing. 'Almost there', he thought. He was so sleepy that, were it not so uncomfortable, he would have easily fallen asleep on the stairs. Telling himself that his bed was too close to give up on was the only thing that managed to keep him going. He didn't even have the mental energy to calculate how long he had been awake but he vaguely guessed it too be a very long time.

When Shikamaru finally reached the door, it was with a great sigh of relief that he dug through his pocket for his keys, and it was with a sinking feeling in his stomach that he realized they weren't there. Feeling a little frantic, he checked his jacket's other pocket, then the pockets of his pants. Nothing. For the second time in just as many days, Nara Shikamaru almost felt like crying. He might have forgotten them at his parents' house but that was unlikely for two reasons; he didn't remember taking them out and his keys never left his pocket unless he was going to use them, after which they always returned to the confines of his pocket. His only conclusion was that he had dropped them somewhere, perhaps in the taxi.

Groaning, he closed his eyes and leaned forward to rest his forehead against the door leading to the safe confines of his oh so comfortable apartment. He couldn't help but let his mind linger on the rather cliché line of "So close yet so far away". Opening his eyes, he looked down at the handle which would normally allow him entrance to his home, only that now it was locked and he had no way of unlocking it.

He blinked, realizing that that might not be true after all. He made a habit of always locking his door no matter how much of a hassle it might be but he had no memory of doing so when his two friends had close to abducted him earlier that day. Considering how much of a rush they were in, he doubted that Ino had bothered to go through the trouble of locking the door, especially considering the fact that someone was still there and-…

Shikamaru's heart made a summersault as it hit him and with a sigh he put his hand on the handle and held it there for a few seconds, praying that what he had just remembered had only been a part of a terrible nightmare. Slowly, he pulled down and with a satisfied "click" the door swung open, letting out light and sounds most likely coming from the TV. Rubbing his tired eyes in resignation, Shikamaru stepped into what was once his haven of peace and solitude.

"You're late, asshole." Came a now familiar voice from the direction of the couch. Shikamaru kept his eyes on the floor as he removed his shoes, hoping in vain that if he didn't see the demon then she wouldn't be there. "Hey, at least answer when someone talks you, you fucktard." No such luck.

As he removed his jacket, Shikamaru finally picked his eyes up from the floor to look at the redhead where she was lounging on the couch. His couch. What he saw promptly made him raise his eyebrows. Tayuya looked a little different…no, a lot different from the last time he saw her which was only this afternoon. Apparently, she had taken a shower. That was the only conclusion Shikamaru could draw from the fact that her hair looked a lot less greasy now. It looked far from lustrous and well taken care of but at least it looked clean. What caught Shikamaru's attention other than the hair though, was the fact that she was wearing new clothes. Upon closer inspection, Shikamaru immediately recognized the black top and the wash-torn gray jeans.

Tayuya smirked when she noticed him staring at her and immediately guessed his thoughts, "I found them in that big-ass wardrobe of yours." She pulled a little at the top, clearly designed for females, showing off the logo that quite boldly read the kanji for 'Wicked'. The clothes seemed to be a little too big for her but she didn't seem to mind in the least. Considering the rags she had been wearing when she first decided to impose on Shikamaru's nonexistent hospitality, the new attire must have seemed like garbs fit for a princess, "I knew you were a perv but I didn't think you were so mentally fucked that you'd go cross dressing."

Shikamaru rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Those aren't mine." Well, obviously. Even if he did have that kind of fetish, which he didn't, those clothes were several sizes too small for him. Not that he had ever checked their actual sizes or anything. Besides, cross dressers wore far more feminine stuff that the clothes Tayuya now wore, like skirts.

"I found a kennel in there too, you got a cat or something? I didn't see one though…" Tayuya continued as if she hadn't heard him, throwing an empty pack of pocky on the coffee table…into a pile of trash that seemed to have formed since Shikamaru left. Chips, noodles, soda bottles and even the extremely rare Ramen brand from Okinawa that an acquaintance had given him as a gift. He had planned on saving that for a special occasion, yet here this frustrating woman was, eating him out of the house. She must have lived on the streets for quite some time if she had developed an appetite like that, she could almost give Chouji a run for his money.

Shikamaru wasn't one to give others sympathy though, especially not when they were being so troublesome, "The kennel's not mine either. It's my ex-girlfriend's…and so are those clothes." He jerked his head towards Tayuya, indicating to the clothes she was currently wearing.

Tayuya looked down at the clothes she wore before giving a nonchalant shrug, "Heh, not like she's gonna miss 'em." Shikamaru couldn't argue with that. Temari had made no mention of wanting to come pick her stuff up.

He winced when he suddenly heard a chorus of "Yatta, yatta" coming from the TV. He didn't have to turn his head and look at the screen to realize what Tayuya was watching and frankly, he had the feeling that he'd be tempted to gouge his eyes out should he even dare look at the performance. It was a rather popular song for some reason, mostly to middle-aged women. Shikamaru had no idea what women felt was so alluring about a bunch of half-naked men doing a silly dance on stage while singing a song about how great their lives has become thanks to their "Green leaves" but apparently it was enough to even catch his mother's interest. He remembered one time when he had walked in on his parents on their alone-time; his mother had forced his father into trying to copy the dance for her, complete with white briefs and a big green leaf covering his crotch. Shikamaru never looked at his dad with respect again after that, "Could you change the channel, please?"

Tayuya quirked a brow, probably having not expected him to use such a polite word as 'please' but that didn't stop her from smirking slightly as she picked up the remote and turned the TV off, "Yeah, we've got some shit to discuss, wouldn't want you to get distracted." Her smirk grew wider and Shikamaru felt inclined to roll his eyes, "Now, about the details of the job-"

"I'm not doing it." Shikamaru said immediately, heading into the kitchen without a second glance at the redhead, leaving her on his couch to blink rapidly at him. He had had enough of this already.

"H-Hey! What the fuck's with you, huh?" She called angrily, quickly getting up to stalk after him into the kitchen, "Didn't I tell you that you won't fucking get rid of me until you finish this job for me?"

Shikamaru gave a tired nod as he picked up his phone, knowing just who to call, "You did, but I don't work for free." He started dialing the number, intending full well to get a patrol car over her to take care of this irritating creature for him.

Tayuya must have guessed his intentions for she immediately grabbed a hold of the phone and slammed it down on the counter, glaring fiercely at him, "You're not getting rid of me that easily, asshole." She poked him in the chest, hard, as if intending to stab him with her finger, "You're not getting rid of me until you're finished with my fucking request!"

Shikamaru was unperturbed by her glare. Compared to his mother, Tayuya was just about as scary as a spoiled kid. Pushing the woman's sharp finger away from his chest, he sighed, "One way or another, I'm gonna drive you out of this apartment, whether I'll have to keep trying to call the police or if I'll just have to use force to get you out." Truthfully, the former option was preferable. If Tayuya continued to block his usage of his own phone then he could just as well leave, call the cops from his cell phone and then wait for them to arrive and remove the woman from his home, leaving him in peace for a short while until they call him back again to ask questions. He didn't like being rough with women, no matter how annoying they were and so he preferred calling the cops to throwing her out himself.

Tayuya seemed to take the threat of him throwing her out seriously though…somewhat. Giving a snort, she crossed her arms and glared at him, "So what're you gonna do, huh? Pick me up and just throw me out the door? Fuck, if I'd been worried about you being able to do something like that, I'd have taking measures against it long ago."

Shikamaru felt a little insulted at how she said that last sentence as if it was obvious how physically inept he was. What piqued his interest though, was a single words accompanying that sentence, "Measures?"

With another smirk, Tayuya moved back to lean against the table in front of him, "You didn't seriously fucking think I'd do all this without a plan, did you?" Uncrossing her arms, she pulled something out of her pocket; his keys. A sense of dread filled Shikamaru as she held them up and waved them around in front of him and it only got worse when her next words left her mouth, "I did some copies of your house key and hid them here and there around the block. Even if you throw me out and lock the door, I'll come back. If you call the cops, I'll run away and then come back and kick your nuts in."

Shikamaru frowned unhappily. Her plan was crude but the redhead obviously had a good head on her shoulders. He thought it unlikely that a homeless person would have to money to make several copies of his house key, even though it was rather cheap to do so. Still, she might have been saving up money earned from playing her flute every day. She might even have stolen some of his money for all he knew. He always kept some money at home for emergencies.

He could change his lock, it would be worth the trouble if it meant getting rid of her. He had an inkling feeling that something like that wouldn't stop her though. Even if he called the cops and asked for protection he doubted he'd be taken seriously, seeing as Tayuya hadn't done anything outright dangerous…yet.

Shikamaru rubbed his forehead with an exaggerated sigh, looking at the redhead warily, "So, in other words, you plan to stay here until I finish whatever job it is you want done?" Tayuya in turn nodded, the smirk on her lips gaining a rather cheeky quality, "And even if I keep refusing you and try to force you out, you'll just come back again and again until I agree to your terms?"

Tayuya gave another nod, now grinning ever so slightly in a manner that she most likely considered teasing. Shikamaru, on the other hand, could only see it as outright cruel. Tossing the keys to their owner, she crossed her arms again, "I'm glad you finally fucking understand."

Catching his keys, Shikamaru immediately put them in his pocket, intending to chain them to his jacket the next chance he got, "Alright," His tone bore every sign of resignation one would normally expect to hear in the voice of someone giving up. Moving over to the table, he sat down and leaned his elbow against its surface, resting his cheek against his knuckles, "I'll do it."

Tayuya's grin was now shining with triumph, one might think that she had just won the Nobel price or something of the like, "About damn time."

Shikamaru gave a sigh of annoyance, glancing at her, "And? What do you want me to do?" The sooner he got the details, the sooner he could go to sleep.

Tayuya's grin suddenly fell and her face took on an expression of stern determination that Shikamaru had seen several times on people who meant business. Those people made it a point to at least act a little polite though. Sitting down across from him, she pulled something from her pocket; a photograph, a rather worn-looking one. One glance at it told Shikamaru that it was fairly old but that wasn't enough for it to get so tattered. She must have pulled it out of her pocket to look at it on countless occasions. Coupled with all the times she must have returned it to her pocket it was more surprising how it managed to stay in one piece. Shikamaru had expected it to be of a person, a lost relative maybe, but when she placed it down in front of him he had to raise his eyebrows at what he saw; a house, fairly modest yet big enough to host a medium-sized family and still have a guest room available, "I want this house."

To say that Shikamaru was taken aback would be a mild understatement. Of course, he could understand that a homeless like Tayuya would like some roof over her head but a house? Pulling himself together, he cleared his throat, "I'm not a broker, if you've got the money and you wanna buy a house then you should call someone who-"

She growled in annoyance, slamming a fist down against the table, "That's not it!"

Before she could say anything else, Shikamaru rolled his eyes and feigned slight exasperation, "If you want me to buy you a house then forget it." He tried his best to hide his smirk at the sounds of irritation emitting from the redhead. He was no idiot; he knew that it wasn't something as simple as buying a house but she had caused him so much mental stress in the span of less than a day that he couldn't help but aggravate her.

And judging by her clenched fists and her gritted teeth, he was doing a good job at it. Pointing to the picture, she spoke acidly, "This is my house." as if those few words would be enough to explain the entire situation.

Sighing, Shikamaru picked up the picture and inspected it with apparent disinterest. It was a pretty neat-looking house, traditional and complete with a small fish-pond. He wouldn't be surprised if the premises were surrounded by a wall of stone to shield from outsiders. One question remained though, "If you have a house, then why are you living on the streets?" He frowned, suddenly realizing that Tayuya had never directly told him that she was homeless.

She answered him in a way that told him he had been right in his assumptions though, "The deed's gone." She leaned back in her chair, staring off to the side, "I lost it before I could even move in." When her gaze returned to him, her eyes were filled with fiery determination, "I want you to help me prove that this house is mine by right."

Shikamaru quirked a brow. If She had really just lost the deed then it wouldn't have been too much of a problem for her to move in anyway, seeing as the government kept an archive with copies of all documents involving ownerships of buildings and empty lots. All she would have been forced to do was ask for a copy of the deed, provided she could prove it was in her name, of course.

Somehow, Shikamaru had a feeling it wasn't as simple as he imagined it. "Alright," He leaned back in his chair, deciding he should get as much information as he could before he passed out of fatigue, "What's the address to this house?"

Tayuya gave a slight shrug, "Dunno."

Shikamaru blinked. Well, that was an answer he hadn't been expecting. Leaning forward again to give her a slight look of doubt, "You don't know the address to a house that you claim as being yours?"

Tayuya blushed and glared fiercely at him, "Sh-Shut up! I just can't fucking remember it, alright!? It's been a long time…" Her voice died down and she looked away with a childish pout that Shikamaru might have found cute. Except he didn't.

Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he sighed for what felt like the thousandth time that day, "Well, in that case, could you tell me approximately where it is?" He really hoped it wasn't located in another city, that would make it hard for him to locate it.

Tayuya gave another noncommittal shrug, "All I know is that it's somewhere here in Tokyo."

Left eyebrow twitching in annoyance, Shikamaru stared at the woman in front of him, "You're telling me…that you have no idea whatsoever where this house is?" And she was supposed to be the owner! How could she not even know the location of her own house? Granted, she said she never got the chance to move in but she should have at least had been there. What kind of person bought a house without even visiting it?

Tayuya's temper flared up and she glared venomously at him, "Hey! I fucking told you; it's in Tokyo!"

Hiding his face in his hands with a tired sigh, Shikamaru went on, "Have you ever even seen this house? Not on a picture, but with your own eyes." When he received nothing but a stubborn silence in return, he looked up at her again and moved on to plan B, "Alright, what's your full name?"

"Tayuya." she barked at him angrily as if insulted by the thought that he might have forgotten it.

Rolling his eyes, Shikamaru exasperatedly stated, "I know your first name, I meant your full name, that means both given name and family name."

Tayuya answered with the bluntness of a badly sharpened axe, "I don't have one."

Those words caused Shikamaru to blink in confusion before dryly asking, "What are you? A farmer's daughter of the feudal era?"

She growled in return, glaring at him defiantly with her arms crossed still, "I just don't have one, alright!?" She looked away from him stubbornly, the rest of her words coming out in a rather forced manner, as if she didn't want to share too much information about herself, "I grew up with a bunch of different foster parents. Even if I did get registered as a citizen in any of their names, I never stayed long enough in one place to remember them."

Shikamaru felt a small pang of sympathy for the girl. A very small one. From what little he knew about her, he could guess that she'd had a troubled childhood. For her to not even have a surname would spell more than a little more trouble for her in the future. If you didn't have a full name it meant that you practically didn't have an identity in the eyes of society.

Chasing away what little compassion he had started to feel for Tayuya, he rested his forehead against his knuckles and said, "Then I guess you don't have a seal either, huh?" He took the vague shrug he received as a no. With another practically tortured sigh, he looked up at her again, "Look, if you don't have either a real name or a seal as proof of who you are then it's pretty much impossible to prove that this house," He gestured towards the picture on the table, "is yours." He could easily conclude that the deed didn't have her listed as the owner either, which would complicate the matter further. Chancing a guess, he could assume that she had never even seen the deed and had thus been tricked. He decided to spare her feelings and keep that guess to himself.

Pushing the photo back towards her, he continued, "If it's simply just a matter of having a place to live, you're better off trying to find a simple job and save up enough for a cheap apartment or something." No doubt she was used to living on the streets, she could probably hold on long enough until she managed to save up money for a real place to live, "So-"

"Don't fuck with me!" She startled him when she suddenly slammed her hands down onto the table with such force that it rattled violently, leaving Shikamaru staring wide-eyed at her, "If I wanted to live in some shitty apartment then I would've done so long ago!" She had even gotten to her feet as she yelled at him, her fiery red hair giving her the image of a scorned goddess. She jabbed her finger at the photo in a quick put surprisingly gentle manner, as if afraid that she'd tear it if she was too violent, "This is my fucking house! Mine and no one else's! I'm not gonna fucking live in some run down apartment building, I'm gonna live in my house!"

Shikamaru simply stared at her, eyebrows raised in surprise at her outburst, "Why?" He asked suddenly after a few moments of silence, causing the girl in front of him to blink, "Why does it have to be this house?" He clarified, pointing to the picture.

Tayuya glared at him as she sat down again, once more crossing her arms to show defiance, "None of your damn business."

True, it was certainly none of Shikamaru's business, and he usually made it a point not to meddle in other people's affairs, mainly because he knew how annoying it was. Still, he felt something about this particular matter that he didn't feel very often; curiosity. Not the normal curiosity he tended to feel whenever he was inclined to, or he needed to, ask a question, but genuine curiosity about someone else's personal life, something he usually tried his outmost to avoid.

It took him less than a second to remind himself of just why he tented to stay away from other people's personal lives and so he decided to focus on what he needed to do to get the matter at hand dealt with, "Look, I get it; you don't trust me." He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, "And I sure as hell don't trust you. Who in their right mind would trust a maniac who persists on invading someone's privacy to the point of demanding to live with them?" Ignoring Tayuya rolling her eyes, he continued, "The thing is, my job is pretty much built on one thing," He paused just long enough for him to lean forward in his seat after which he stated slowly, as if speaking with a child, "Trust…between…the client…and…myself."

Tayuya glared at him, clearly getting more annoyed by the second as he leaned back in his chair again, shrugging nonchalantly, "Too bad that doesn't seem to work here, which means that you won't get your house," He nodded towards the picture still on the table, "and I won't be left alone…unless of course you withdraw your crazy offer, that way at least one of us gets what he wants."

Tayuya remained silent for nearly a minute, glaring at him still through her blood red bangs. For that almost-minute, Shikamaru thought that he might, against all odds, have managed to change her mind about everything. He was almost convinced that she would just quietly take her picture, shove it into the pocket of the pants she had 'borrowed', and then leave with a whole lot of quietly muttered curses.

Unfortunately for Shikamaru, another scenario played out; "It's a house, a real house." Tayuya said quietly, almost softly but there was still a whole lot of grumpiness lingering, "A real home." She narrowed her eyes slightly at him, "I don't wanna live in some run-down apartment building, I wanna live in a place that I could proudly call my home."

Shikamaru felt all his hope sinking down and settling somewhere near his toe nails. The woman in front of him was doing what he had been expecting her to not do; she was opening up to him, "You've had pretty much all the good shit I never had; a home and, judging by all the crappy presents you brought along with the bitch and the fatass I'd pick a wild guess that you've got your share of family and friends." She gave a snort, looking away from him for a second, "I wouldn't expect a spoiled shit like you to understand."

Shikamaru didn't speak. What would he say? Sorry? What had he done that he needed to apologize for? Just because he was lucky to be born into a fairly normal family, he should feel guilty because of the hard times this practical stranger had gone through? "I don't need any of that family and friends crap," Tayuya continued, gently placing her hand on the photograph before looking up at him, eyes practically burning with determination, "I just want a home of my own, and I want it to be this house."

Shikamaru saw no easy way out of this. It was either do or do not. The former would be a real hassle but it would inevitably end with Tayuya leaving him in peace. The latter was equally as troublesome but he knew by now that this woman wasn't the kind of person to give up. She'd nag and nag and nag some more until she got what she wanted.

Shikamaru felt something tug at his conscience. Was it compassion? Compassion for this homeless girl who had nothing but a few rags to call clothes and a flute worn by who knows how many years? He desperately pushed the feeling to the back of his mind, deeming it a result of his fatigue, telling it to stay there and be quiet.

"Alright," He sighed tiredly, leaning forward, "I'll do it." He felt like he was resigning himself to a fate of utter despair but at least it wouldn't last an eternity…hopefully.

Tayuya's grin could have outshone the very Christmas tree his parents had set up for the party, "Good!" Then she pulled something out of her back pocket. Another photo? No, it was a slip of paper and as she unfolded it and placed it in front of him, he recognized it as a contract with terms and conditions and other details regarding his task at hand. He raised his eyebrows in slight surprise, figuring that the redhead had borrowed his computer to set it up. He added a mental note to set up a password for his computer later. It wasn't the fact that she had managed to put together a contract that surprised him, it was the fact that, when he read through it, it was very detailed and organized, written in such a sophisticated manner that a normal person would likely have a hard time understanding it.

Shikamaru skimmed through it briefly, taking in the main points such as the fact that he was bound by the contract to keep her fed, clothed and updated regarding the process of him getting her house back. Sighing, he got up and went to fetch his seal. He could read through all the details later. As soon as he had put the stamp on the area it was needed, Tayuya snatched up the paper with a triumphant smirk, "There, now you're my bitch." She snickered, making Shikamaru roll his eyes.

"Whatever, I'm going to sleep." He grumbled, getting up drowsily. He would not stay awake and in the presence of this spawn of a demon a minute longer.

She blinked in return, turning to watch him as he went past her and out of the kitchen, "Hey, where do I sleep?" She asked.

Shikamaru's head throbbed, and he waved his hand absently as he answered, "There's a futon in the closet out in the hall. Either use that or sleep on the couch, troublesome woman."

Tayuya growled in return, "My name's Tayuya!" She repeated for the umpteenth time that evening, "And what? Are you gonna force a poor girl like me to sleep on a fucking futon? You dickhead!" She asked incredulously.

He looked over his shoulder at him as she joined him in the living room, lazily sighing, "And my name's Shikamaru. Until you stop calling me dickhead or whatnot and start addressing me properly, I won't even utter your name." He turned back around with a yawn, heading into his bedroom, "And I said you could have the couch too. That's all there is."

She was about to say something else but before she could, he slid the door shut, prompting her to huff indignantly.

He collapsed on his bed, too tired to even take his clothes off, and the covers felt as if they were a gift from the heavens. He buried his head in the pillow as his tired head swam with thoughts. What was he going to do about this situation? Obviously, he would have to treat it like any other case. However, he found it difficult to view it as such. How many private investigators were forced to live with their clients? How many private investigators had to be wary of having their throat ripped out by an angry, red beast?

As he drifted closer and closer to sleep, Shikamaru idly pondered on the best course of action to tame that beast.

(A/N) I do apologize fo the late update but I've been rather busy with other things. Do you perhaps want the next chapter to come quicker? Please, if such is the case, leave me a nice, long review with your thoughts, those kinds of things give me inspiration and motivation.

NOTE. Shikamaru used a seal to sign the contract. Some of you might not be familiar with this but in Japan, it's common to use a sort of stamp to sign forms and the like, rather than simply scribbling down a signature.