Six
It was bright and sunny in Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf Village, as it usually always was. Birds were flying high up under and swirling clouds, and off into the distance. Their chirps remained a buzz up in the air until they were just dots to the human eye.
That was how Shikamaru liked his sky. He enjoyed a bright, happy visual to rest his eyes upon, or a big sun to beat down on his lids, if he were napping. As of right now he was slowly falling into a peaceful sleep, his eyes were drifting shut, and he was resting on the roof of a sushi shop.
"Lee! Wait! We're supposed to go on this mission together! Quit running off by yourself!"
Shikamaru's head snapped up instantly. He lazily cast a glance towards the ever-so-pleasant sound of a shrill voice, and girly scream, to figure out who had disturbed his peace. Running wildly, flailing her arms as she sprinted was Sakura. Her headband was falling from her forehead, and down around her neck, it whirled as she picked up a quicker sprint.
Shikamaru knew he should have minded his own business, he knew that he should have turned away from the spectacle Sakura and Rock Lee were making but despite not being a curious man, he found himself drawn to the duo. The biggest question throbbing inside his head was, 'who in their right mind would ever think to pair these two on a mission in hopes that it got done?' There was no way the person in charge of this arrangement had been thinking with a full head.
He used his chalkra to balance himself so that he could jump easily from the flat surfaced roof without a sprain. He landed in front of Sakura, cutting off her run and earning an angry "SHIKAMARU" in the process. He looked at her, his dark eyes studying her beat red face. "Where are you going? And more importantly, why are you going with Lee?"
Sakura stretched up on her tip toes, and glanced over Shikamaru's shoulder. Her pretty green eyes grew wide, and she focused them in on Lee who had slowed his pace in order to regain his energy. "On our way to find some girl and I-" Sakura stopped, and her jaw dropped, "LEE! Get back here!" With a push of her hand, Sakura moved Shikamaru out of the way, and almost made him crash into a smiling young mother, who held hands with her little girl.
Turning back for his spot Shikamaru let out a long sigh. He raised his hands to the hard brick of the grand sushi shop and focused his chalkra so that he could climb without a fall. From the rooftop he kept to a low crouch, and moved until he could grip the edge and stare down at the villagers. Sakura was bent over and panting with her left fingernails digging into Lee's shoulder. "Together Lee."
Shikamaru left them alone, and fell back asleep. This was someone elses problem.