Different from the Rest
A Nara Shikamaru romance
Ch. 2: Friendship
Saya kneeled on the ground, panting slightly as perspiration glistened on her forehead beneath her bangs.
"Again," she muttered to herself, shakily moving to her feet. Closing her eyes, Saya brought her hands together in the same hand seals she'd been repeating in the last couple of hours.
Kurenai watched on as her student seemingly disappeared. Kurenai smiled to herself, knowing what was coming next. 'She's getting better,' Kurenai observed. 'She learned the jutsu in a very short amount of time. It's impressive.'
Kurenai's moved her crimson eyes to the left just as a hand touched her neck. With her peripheral vision, Kurenai saw a tree behind her and the upper half of Saya's body seemed to be part of the tree.
Saya smiled lightly as she declared Kurenai's Genjutsu "mastered."
Kurenai smiled before releasing the illusion Saya had cast over her. Saya let out a groan as she fell to her knees once more. Kurenai smiled fondly at the young chuunin.
"Tired," teased Kurenai.
"Very," Saya confirmed as finally got up. "I thought it would take me longer to learn the jutsu," she admitted.
Kurenai nodded. "Yes, but you're a quick learner. I admire that."
Saya grinned at the compliment.
"If you have time, let's go back to my apartment," Kurenai said to Saya. "I'm getting tired, and you must be thirsty."
Saya nodded as the two women left the training ground. Saya glanced at Kurenai from the corner of her eyes. Kurenai had a soft smile on her lips as she watched the people of Konoha, occasionally waving to a shop-keeper. Saya noticed that she absently ran a hand along her stomach.
Once inside Kurenai's flat, both women removed their sandals and left them by the door . Saya headed to the window in the living room and opened it just as a gentle breeze blew in their direction. Kurenai busied herself in her small kitchen.
"Fresh air will be good for you," Saya said glancing at her mentor. She then bit her lip before quickly speaking, "Kurenai-sensei, thank you for helping me train. I know in your condition you shouldn't. If I hurt you let me know or if I--"
Kurenai waved a hand at Saya as she brought her a tall glass of water and a rice ball. "Don't worry about me," Kurenai said. "I'm only in the early stages, anyway. Tsunade-sama told me that I won't be able to go on missions, but I can still train every once in a while. Besides, it's Asuma who mostly wants me to get rest."
Saya watched from the couch as Kurenai continued to move around her apartment, now with a watering can in hand. A year ago when Saya become Kurenai's student she had asked her about her relationship with Asuma. Kurenai was very evasive in the beginning but eventually confirmed that she and Asuma were indeed lovers.
Kurenai, who was now watering the plants outside her windowsill looked at the Hokage monument. Atop the Hokage's office she noticed many shinobi gathered at the rooftop. She then remembered the mission Asuma had told her he would be going on.
"Saya, why aren't you part of the group that is going in search of the Akatsuki? Since you don't do missions with your former team anymore, I thought Tsunade-sama put on missions when a large number of shinobi are needed."
Saya walked over to the window and stood beside Kurenai, peering into the distance. She caught a glimpse of a large group of ninja scattering in different directions. "She does," said Saya as she watched the water from the watering can hit the young flower buds. "I wasn't put on this mission because I was assigned hospital duties for the next couple of days."
Kurenai nodded her understanding. Kurenai's red eyes trailed to Saya, watching as the young girl drew imaginary circles into the sill. "Shikamaru will be on the mission," Kurenai said.
Saya's finger stopped tracing circles as she smiled lightly, determined not to show a betraying emotion. "So will the rest of his former team."
Kurenai finished with her plants. "He's a clever boy," Kurenai continued with a smile. "A bit of a slacker though. You were both promoted as Chuunin at the same time, weren't you?"
Saya smiled fondly at the memory. "Yes," she confirmed. "We were. I was surprised at the time to see that it was the two of us that were promoted at that time. Looking back to that age, I used to be full of myself, thinking I was so strong. Now I know better. It's amazing that I passed."
Kurenai laughed lightly. "Saya, do you remember asking me about Asuma when we first met?"
Saya laughed and rubbed the back of her head, blushing lightly. "Yeah, do I have to apologize again?"
"No," Kurenai laughed. "but it's my turn now. When do you plan on telling Shikamaru that you love him?"
Saya's eyes widened as her cheeks flushed as red as Kurenai's lipstick. "W-what…"
Kurenai smiled knowingly. "You're not the only observant one, Saya. In the past year you've become something of a little sister to me. That's why it's easy for me to notice your true feelings For the boy."
Saya looked away from Kurenai, her cheeks still flushed. Kurenai smiled. "Don't worry, you're not very obvious at all. I'm sure no one else notices your feelings."
Saya looked up. "Really?"
Kurenai nodded, "Yes. Unless if they were looking for hints, you hide your feelings well." Kurenai touched Saya's shoulder gently. "But don't hide them for too long. I'm sure there are others that see what you see in Shikamaru as well. I wouldn't want to see you lose your chance."
Saya smiled softly at Kurenai's words. Aside from being her new sensei, Saya also view Kurenai in a sisterly way. Closing her eyes, Saya let Kurenai's words sink in. There wasn't a doubt that there were other girls who probably saw Shikamaru in a new light, especially after he became a Chuunin. As her for, Saya always had a soft spot for her lazy friend…
"Shikamaru, did you know your teammates are looking for you," a 12 year-old Saya asked. She had found the dark-haired boy in his usual rooftop spot, lying down and starring at the few clouds in the sky.
Shikamaru's narrow eyes turned to Saya who took a seat beside him. "I know, I heard them calling my name. I thought about getting up, but it was too troublesome so I stayed her instead."
Saya let out a sigh. "Well, you aren't very good at hiding. I'm sure that if I could find you here then I'm sure Chouji will be here any minute with Ino right behind him."
Shikamaru closed his eyes trying not to imagine Ino storming up to his sacred relaxation place and yelling at him for shirking on his ninja duties. Shikamaru opened one eye and snuck a glance at Saya. "Why did you find me," Shikamaru asked.
Saya smiled at the boy. "Because I wanted to see you," she said. She then caught the look Shikamaru was giving her and giggled nervously. "I meant that since we became shinobi and were put into our teams, I don't get to see you as much as I used to. We haven't had a game of Shogi in nearly a month."
Shikamaru closed his eyes again and rested his arms behind his head as he smiled lightly. "I didn't know shogi meat that much to you, especially since you always lose."
Shikamaru stuck her tongue out at her companion. "These days, it seems the only way I get to spend time with you is by playing that game. I made it one of my personal goals to beat you at it one day. When I beat you, I can brag that I'm smarter than you!"
Shikamaru chuckled lightly as he rolled to his side, facing Saya, propping his head on his elbow. "You're so troublesome."
"I know, but still we're friends. What does that say about you?"
"That I'm too lazy to make an effort not to be friends with you."
"Shikamaru! I'm going to punch you!"
"Now you sound like my mother."
Saya and Shikamaru stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. Saya watched Shikamaru as he flopped over onto his back again. She found herself blushing lightly as she thought about being here alone with him. She smiled slightly.
"Shikamaru!"
Saya and Shikamaru turned to the stairs that led up to the roof, hearing the sounds of footsteps. "Shikamaru, you better be up there," Ino's angry voiced called. Shikamaru let out a grunt of annoyance. Saya laughed lightly.
"Well, I see that they finally found you," she said standing up and dusting her black pants off. "How about after Ino beats you up and after your training we play a couple games of shogi?"
Shikamaru nodded as he sat up and rubbed his head. "Okay."
Ino appeared at the roof with fists clenched in anger. "Shikamaru, how long have you been up here! You know we have training today! Saya did you know he was up here? I'm going to kill you Shikamaru!"
Saya smiled nervously at Ino as a large drop of sweat formed at her forehead. "He was just about to leave go and meet you guys," Saya said, making Shikamaru smirk behind her.
"Doesn't matter, he's still late," Ino screeched.
Seeing there was nothing more that she could do, Saya headed toward the stairs. Behind her, she head the distinct sound of a fist meeting head and Shikamaru cursing angrily.
"That's what you get for being on a date instead of training," Ino yelled just as Saya got to the bottom of the steps. Saya never heard Shikamaru's response.
A distance away from Kurenai's window, a team of four stood on the rooftop of a building. Shikamaru, along with Asuma, Kotetsu, and Izumo. Shikamaru followed Asuma's eyes, spotting Kurenai and Saya in the distance.
Shikamaru smiled to himself knowing that Saya enjoyed spending much of her time with Kurenai, especially lately for some reason. He noticed Kurenai say something to Saya which made the girl laugh. Shikamaru was familiar with Saya's laugh; he could almost hear it, even though he knew that was impossible.
"Tch," Shikamaru made a sound. "I'll have to play shogi with her sometime soon, if not, she'll get on my back about it again." Despite his agitated voice, Shikamaru smiled still, looking forward to time off and shogi with a friend.
Author's corner: Okay, chapter 2 of the story! I am currently working on chapter 3, so hopefully it will be up soon!
I am working at trying to make my chapters a bit longer, but for now, this is all that I have....Yep! I really hope you enjoyed!
As always, I'd love to hear feedback! :D