Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto because if I did Sasuke would have pink hair and everyone would hate him. J I do own my oc's and the plot. And the mac'n'chese I'm eating. That is all.

Bump-ins and cloud watching

Time passed by, and before I knew it, I had been a genin for four months! During that time I had had plenty of missions, never ending it seemed. We had had ten D-rank missions and two C-rank missions. It wasn't much, but I felt we were doing well. Hiroshi-sensei was actually a great teacher. He was a great strategist, so he liked to teach us strategies and gave us scenarios where we had to think quickly to get out of them. My father had even taught me a new jutsu. I had also found a little owlet in the woods all by itself, and I was raising it and it would be strong enough to start training in a few months.

I was currently in the market, getting groceries for home since we had little food in the house. I had just finished paying for the last of it when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and gasped when I saw Chouji, and behind him was Shikamaru.

"Chouji! Shikamaru! I haven't seen you two in ages!" I squealed as I hugged Chouji, and he patted my back. I giggled and stepped away, and then hugged Shikamaru too. He went tense, but then awkwardly patted my back too.

"It has been a while, hasn't it? How've you been doing?" Chouji asked smiling. I grinned back.

"I've been great. My sensei's been teaching my team a lot. His energy wears us down though. He's like a grown-up Naruto." I giggled, rolling my eyes.

"It's a little crowded here, Shika and I were just about to get Barbeque pork, wanna come?" Chouji asked, while Shikamaru was just looking up at the sky. I nodded happily, and followed the two boys inside the restaurant, putting my groceries in the corner. I sat down as Chouji called out our order. When the pork came, I broke my chopsticks, and put a few pieces on the grill and got some rice too. They did the same and we were quiet.

"So how're things coming along with your team?" I asked them, smiling. Shikamaru shrugged and Chouji launched into their teams latest mission. When Chouji took a bite of pork, Shikamaru opened his mouth to speak.

"Are you growing your hair out? It looks longer." Shikamaru commented, looking at my hair. I blushed.

"Yeah, Kaito and Roka told me it would look even better if I grew it out longer." Right now it ends right above my butt. I was worried it was getting a bit too long, but no one seemed to mind. I had had to cut my bangs myself though. I took a bite of my pork and some rice.

"Where's Jun?" Chouji asked between mouthfuls. I giggled.

"I found an owlet a few weeks ago. Jun has been attached to her since we found her. I'm planning on training her when she's strong enough. Have you guys learned anything new?" I asked. They both nodded and Chouji told me about what sounded like a human wrecking ball jutsu.

"My dad taught me shadow possession." Was all that Shikamaru said.

So we went on talking and we finished our meal, when all of us reached for our wallets at the same time. I pulled mine out; it's shaped like a brown feather (1), and went to pull money out when Chouji and Shikamaru held up their hands.

"I'll pay." Chouji said. Shikamaru shook his head.

"No, I'll pay." He said. I frowned.

"Uh-uh, I'm paying." I told them while shaking my head. Chouji shrugged and put his wallet away but Shikamaru frowned and rolled his eyes.

"How troublesome. I can't allow a woman to pay." He objected, laying down the money. I pushed it back and put mine down. We glared at each other. But I couldn't help but feel happy he had called me a 'woman'. Even if he was being sexist.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Chouji suggested. We nodded.

"Rock paper, scissors, shoot!" I held out rock, and Shikamaru had paper. His hand covered mine, and I blushed a bit at how soft his hand was.

"I win." He said, putting his money out, and I put mine away, frowning. He and Chouji laughed when they saw me pouting.

"If it matters that much you can pay next time." Shikamaru said, smiling. I grinned and nodded. I stood up and stretched.

"Well I've gotta get this stuff home. Ja ne!" I told them while picking up my groceries. I waved goodbye and took off for home.

After I had gotten home and put everything away, I had gone to check on the little owl. I had no idea what to call it. I shook my head and decided I would name her later. I got bored quickly since I was home alone. My dad was out on a mission, so I had no one to talk to. Except the birds of course, but most of them only care about mice or squirrels.

So I decided I would read. I bounded up to my room, and stared at my book case. I had already read my books millions of times. I sighed. Maybe I would just go to the library instead.

So I put my shoes back on and raced along the rooftops to the library, but stopped when I passed Shikamaru and Chouji's favorite hangout place. Maybe human interaction was better than reading. They wouldn't mid, would they? We hadn't talked in forever, and all of us had seemed a little awkward at lunch. With a nod, I walked over to the little covered bench. I looked to see if they were there, but I only saw one person.

Upon closer inspection, I saw it was Shikamaru. I shrugged and walked over.

"Hey Shika." I said quietly with a smile and sat down next to him. He looked over and nodded.

"Yo." Was all he said and I giggled. He looked at me curiously.

"It's funny that that's the way you always greet people." I answered his unspoken question. He nodded.

"What're you doing here?" He asked me as he lay back on the bench, and I shrugged.

"I was gonna go to the library, but when I passed here I thought you and Chouji might be here. I figured it would be better to talk to someone to pass the time rather than read." I told him, looking up at the clouds. He nodded.

"You know, I'm not really the best person for talking." He told me. I giggled.

"I know. But I haven't seen you or Chouji in a while, so I wanted to come hang out." I told him. He nodded and we sat in silence, and I pulled my hair over my shoulder and started to braid it.

"It looks nice." Shikamaru said all of a sudden. I looked over at him, then up to the sky. I nodded.

"It is very nice out today. I have a feeling all those clouds means we'll have rain though." I remarked, but to my surprise he shook his head.

"I mean you're hair. It looks good long." He told me. I was shocked. He never gave complements. I always assumed he was too lazy to notice if someone was pretty or something. I blushed and smiled.

"Thanks. Where's Chouji at anyways?" I asked, and he smiled.

"His cousin is coming over for dinner or something. He's helping his mom out with the food." He said. I nodded and abandoned my hair. I lay back as well, and stared at the clouds.

"That one looks like a turtle." I said, pointing at one. He looked at it and laughed.

"The one next to it looks like a shark." He commented. I felt my brows furrow.

"What? No it looks like a pirate ship." He shook his head.

"Shark." He told me. I couldn't help it, I laughed. Soon he joined in.

We kept commenting on the clouds and talked about whatever came to mind, until the sun started to set. I sighed as I sat up and groaned.

"How are you able to lie on this thing all the time? I feel like I'll be stiff for a week." I told him laughing. He sat up too, and shrugged.

"I'm immune to the stiffness I think." He told me, smiling. "The best thing for it though is Ramen. Your treat." He told me smiling. I laughed and nodded. I knew we were both hungry.

So we walked to Ichiraku, which wasn't far. We talked to Ayame and Teuchi while we ate, since we seemed to be the only one's there.

"So." Ayame propped her head up on her hands. "Are you two on a date?" She asked with a mischievous smirk. We both blushed, and while Shikamaru choked on some of the broth, I shook my head frantically.

"We're just friends." I told her. I could tell my eyes were huge. She burst out laughing.

"Too bad. You two would be cute together." She told us as she walked off before we could object. Shikamaru chuckled nervously.

"Could you imagine? Us? Together? Wow." He said. I nodded.

"Couldn't be farther from the truth." I replied. I finished mine and we talked a bit more before we headed home (Not before I paid of course).

As I walked home though, I couldn't help but think that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be with Shikamaru.

(1)- Since Naruto has one of a toad, I thought it would be funny if she had something bird-related. I think it would borer on a crack-fic if Shika pulled out one shaped like a cloud 0.o

Ohmygoodness! It seems the romance has started a bit sooner than I anticipated! So what did ya think? Just to let you guys know- after we see Kiba next, you guys can start voting on who you want her to be with! I got this idea also from Cry just a little by PurpleHaze09. She had her readers vote too ^-^

Well anyways, hope you enjoyed!

-Ashley