Meanwhile… in a old neighborhood located in the slums of Konoha:

A sixteen year old boy with dark hair pulled up into a spiky ponytail atop his head, trudged down the street to the sagging apartment building in which his family lived. The placed had certainly seen better days. The boy swung open the door (which was only half on its' hinges) and entered the building. He tiredly climbed the several sets of stairs and made his way down a narrow, filthy hall that reeked of smoke, filth and alcohol. Finally, reaching a door with the number "407" crudely carved into the rotting wood, the boy pulled out his key and unlocked the door before swinging it open and entering the dimly lit room with a muttered "Tadaima."

There were shouts of "Aniki's home!" and "Shikamaru O-nii san!" and the exhausted teenager found himself being crushed in a massive group hug from his three, younger siblings.

He smiled despite himself. "Hey guys. Have you all been good while I was gone?"

His enquiry was met with four nodding heads. "Well, that's go-"

"I should say NOT!" a shrill, voice from behind exclaimed. "Them little brats aint been anythin but trouble!" Shikamaru's youngest brother, five-year-old Roni, whimpered and hid behind his older brother's leg.

Shikamaru turned and faced his mother, taking in her blood shot eyes, the way she swayed as she stood and the slight slur in her speech. She was drunk… again. It seemed she was always drunk anymore… drunk and/or high. He sighed. "Hello mother." He greeted her softly.

"Don't you hello mother me!" Nara Yuriko shrieked at her son. "You're late! Where you been boy? I need you to watch these brats 'cause I've got a date tonight!"

Shikamaru sighed. He knew all too well that by "date" his mother meant that she was going out with some of her friends to a couple of bars to get wasted. "I'm sorry mother. There was a long line to get my paycheck. It took longer than usual."

Yuriko's eyes lit up at the mention of her son's paycheck. "Oh…" her voice suddenly switched from enraged to sickeningly sweet. "What a good boy, helpin' out yer poor mother." She crooned. "Give me the check honey." She held out her hand expectantly.

Shikamaru frowned. "Mother…" he said softly, but firmly, "we need this money to pay for food and rent and Miko's asthma medicine." He said, motioning to his little sister.

Yuriko shrugged. "I'll take care of it. Now hand me the check Shikamaru." This time it was not a request but a demand.

Shikamaru shook his head and stepped away. "No you won't. You'll go spend it on booze and drugs. We need this money!"

Yuriko growled "Shikamaru!" she thundered. "I'm losin' my patience! Hand me that check NOW!"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Mother… I—"

He was cut off as his Yuriko's hand lashed out and grasped her son by the throat, slamming him up against the cracked wall of the room.

"You little good fer nothin' brat!" His mother screamed as she slapped him hard on one cheek before backhanding him across the other. "You give me that check right now or so help me I'll beat ya and the other brats to a bloody pulp!"

Shikamaru gulped as him mother glared at him and slowly reached down and withdrew the check from his pocked. He held it out with a shaking hand. Yuriko snatched it from him and released him, letting him fall to the floor, gasping for breath.

Yuriko nodded and stuffed the check in her bra. "Now make sure nothin' gets outa hand while I'm gone and do yer homework!" she snapped before leaving and slamming the door behind her.

Shikamaru sighed. "The only time things get out of hand is when she's here!" he muttered.

"Aniki?" Shikamaru looked down at his little siblings, Kaede, Miko, and Roni.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Can we have something to eat? We're hungry." Seven-year-old Miko said.

Shikamaru frowned. "It's ten o'clock. Didn't she feed you guys your dinner yet?"

Kaede shook his head. "We haven't eaten anything since you made us dinner last night." He informed his big brother.

Shikamaru sighed yet again. "Alright, let's see what we've got." He headed into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Beer, beer, moldy cheese, beer, an old container of God only knows what, beer, some shriveled spinach and did I mention the beer? Shikamaru shook his head and turned to look in the cabinates. He managed to find two cans of chili and warmed that up for his little siblings.

"What about you Aniki?" Roni asked when he noticed that Shikamaru wasn't eating anything.

Shikamaru smiled and ruffled his little brother's hair. "Don't worry about me. I'm good. I ate while I was out." Roni nodded, seemingly satisfied with Shikamaru's fib but nine-year-old Kaede shot his older brother a dubious look. Shikamaru just smiled reassuringly. "If you guys need me I'll be studying in the bedroom." They nodded and went back to their chili.

Shikamaru sighed and went into the smalled bedroom that he shared with all his siblings. He closed the door and sat down, pulling out his homework. He was really behind and if not for the fact that he was literally a genius with an IQ over 200, he would have failed the class by now.

It was not his fault in the least. He worked two jobs, one from four to seven in the morning, the other from three-thirty till nine-thirty at night. He rarely slept at night because he was too busy studying in the hopes that he might manage to get into college someway. Though he tried desperately to remain awake, he often dozed off during classes because he was simply too tired to keep his eyes open.

He sighed. Will this vicious cycle ever slow down? He wondered as he began to work on his trigonometry homework…

Okay so I realize that this was a really short chapter, but I just wanted to give you an an intro to Shikamaru's past. The next chapter will be about either, Sasuke, Neji or Naruto and their background.

Let me know what you thought! :D

~MidnightAnimeAngel