Shikamaru sighed heavily and rolled over to lay on her right side, staring off into distance. The Nara Forest was busy today. Her clansmen were out and about herding, the deer were darting between trees. Any other day, she would be happy to just sit and chill on the decking, her teacup next to her, filled with a new blend of her mother's. Today, however, was not going well. She had been up reading til the early hours, before crashing and being shaken awake at 7am by her mother. Since she was meant to have met team 10 at 7am, it was safe to say Shikamaru was totally late. Scrambling to get dressed in hurry, Shika couldn't find half of her equipment, nor did she grab something to eat as she ran out the house and through the compound. Finally catching up with her team only half hour late, pretty good she thought, got her reamed out by Ino, and a disappointed look from Asuma, before he chivvied them into the administration building.

Shikamaru stretched, groaning lightly at the slight popping sensation from her joints, before flopping back into her puddle of sunshine on the deck; her mind drifting back to the events of the morning that really destroyed her day. The climb up the spiral staircase in the admin building was a nightmare, Ino was huffing and muttering under her breath, everyone else and their ninken was there, which meant people kept pressing against her. They had joined the queue to the mission request area, instead of heading into the mission control corridor. Asuma had mentioned that they had to go and request their first C-rank from the Hokage and the higher ups, apparently today was the day. Still this line was never ending, and didn't seem to be moving very often, if at all. Which of course was Shikamaru's fault, if the dark glares from Ino, Asuma, and even Chouji, was any indication.

About half hour, forty minutes later they were only about 10 steps higher, and Shikamaru flinched minutely as Ino began tapping her foot, the glaring had intensified. Squirming a little, Shikamaru was about to suggest they train today and try again tomorrow, when a heavy familiar hand landed on her head, squishing her ponytail. Tilting her head back, Shikamaru exhaled slowly in relief at the sight of her father; finally, someone who wasn't plotting revenge! Shikamaru yelped as she was scruffed and dragged up the rest of the stairs, her father's hand loosening until it was simply cupping the back of her neck, his thumb stroking over her clan tattoo; tiny bursts of comforting chakra recharging the seal. Though that stopped abruptly as he pushed her through the door and closed it behind them both. Shikamaru gulped as the top shinobi of the various departments stared at her with serious eyes. She would bet her pocket money that it wasn't about her tardiness this morning…

Shikamaru threw herself up right, sulking that she couldn't get comfortable. One of the comfiest napping spots in the house, her dad hadn't stolen it, her mother wasn't hassling her to do something, and she couldn't nap! Muttering about troublesome missions under her breath, Shikamaru forced herself to stand and walk sluggishly over to the forest. If she couldn't nap, she might as well go play ("It's herding 'Maru-chan. A vital part of our clan's history… NOT playing.") with the deer. It would give her sometime to think about what to pack. She hadn't officially said yes to the mission, however, it hadn't really been phrased as an offer either. Shikamaru huffed and reached out to stroke the silky nose of doe nuzzling at her pockets for treats.

"Sorry Aiya-san, no treats today." Shikamaru mumbled and kept shuffling deeper into the forest, waving at the occasional clansman who would pop up to check on her, her mind wandering and turning the mission description over in her head. On one hand, she'd be able to show the rest of the rookies that she was just as good as them and get extra one on one training. On the other, she'd be gone for near on two years. She'd only graduated from the academy three months ago and hadn't really put that much effort into training; not that Asuma bothered to teach them, he just threw them at D-ranks every day. Was she getting this opportunity because of her father? Surely not, Shikamaru dismissed that idea as soon as she thought it. It had been agreed by a range of department heads, and the Hokage. Any favoritism would have been weeded out. Shikamaru hopped up to perch on a rock, Aiya-san still nuzzling at her before dropping her head to graze, the other issue would be losing her teammates. The InoShikaCho combo would still be active, as they were putting her cousin in to team 10. That would affect her ability to join the chunnin exams; though they had promised her that would be taken care of. The next exam period in Konoha would be about the time she got back too. With a whine, Shikamaru flopped down across the stone and glared at the clouds, there was only one thing to say…

"What a drag!"