Shikamaru sat in the chair at his desk waiting for Luna to wake up. He was pretending to read a book so it would be less weird when she did, but he was still anxiously waiting.
He jumped slightly when her eyes began to flutter open. He watched as she began to look around, seeing confusion spread across her face.
"Good morning sleepy head," he said, closing the book in his hands and setting it on the desk beside him.
"Oh, it's you," she replied as she looked at him. She slowly sat up, stilling hurting from the gash on her side. "I must be at your house then."
"Yeah, the hospital was crowded and you were exhausted, so I offered to let you stay here," Shikamaru answered with a shrug.
"Thank you. Mind telling me your name my mysterious savior?" she asked, chuckling softly.
"Shikamaru Nara," he replied, shocked when he realized he hadn't told her before.
"Well, thank you Shikamaru. I'm Luna, but you already seem to know that," Luna laughed again, and Shikamaru couldn't look away from her.
"You must be hungry. I'll go make us something to eat. You can take a shower in the meantime, the bathroom is right over there. My teammate Ino brought over some clothes for you to have. I apologize, they're a little strange since she is a strange girl," Shikamaru told her as he stood up.
"You leaf ninja are so kind," she whispered, almost to herself before turning to look at Shikamaru. "I'll forever be in your debt."
"Don't worry about it," Shikamaru replied as he walked out of the room and headed down to the kitchen. He hoped there was real food in the kitchen.
Leah smiled as she stepped out of the shower, happy to finally get all the dried blood washed out of her hair. It felt strange being in such an unfamiliar place, but she knew she could never return to the mist village.
She looked at the clothes Shikamaru's teammate had left for her, disappointed that while they fit her perfectly they weren't exactly her style. There was a normal looking dress, but Luna wasn't the dress wearing type. A little cutting with the one knife she had left with her and a little tying together brought her shorts from the weird pants and a bandeau and loose shirt from the rest. She uses a piece of the leftover cloth to tie her long hair up into a ponytail.
She looked down at her headband, feeling like a part of her was missing without it on. But, she couldn't bring herself to wear it. It was a symbol she wasn't proud to represent anymore. She gripped the knife in her hand, letting her chakra flow through it to warm it up. Once it was hot enough to milt the metal, she ran it across her headband, silently forming a solid line across the hidden mist's symbol.
Smiling, she put her headband around her head. Much better.
Shikamaru began to panic when he heard her footsteps on the staircase. Even though he had their food all spread out and ready at the table, he was still worried she wouldn't find it enjoyable.
He tried to calm herself as she arrived at the lower level of his apartment. Luna began to look around until she spotted Shikamaru sitting at the table. He saw her smile as she looked at the food, but he had his eyes focused on her. She had taken the horrid clothes that Ino had left and had changed them completely. Somehow, he thought they fit her better, seemed more like, her. Not like he knew her at all.
"You didn't have to wait for me!" she told him as she sat down across from him. That's when her headband caught his eye; he noticed the slash she had made on it. He decided not to bring it up for now.
"Just thought I'd be polite to my guest," Shikamaru replied, shrugging.
"You're already done plenty for me," she told him with a smile before grabbing her chopsticks. "Now, shall we eat?"
They sat in silence for a while after they finished eating. "Thank you for the meal, it was great," Luna said after a while, to which Shikamaru gave a quiet response back.
"You play shōgi?" he asked her, thinking about how he hadn't had anyone to challenge since Asuma's death.
"At times," she replied with a dramatic sigh. "Most people our age aren't into board games so I never have anyone smart enough to challenge." Shikamaru smirked at the sound of her hidden challenge, and got up to grab his board.
The two played for hours, deeply focused on their intense game. By the time Luna won the last game, the overall score was 4 to 3, Luna in the lead.
"Well, as fun as this is, I'm sleepy," Luna said with a yawn.
Shikamaru was slightly disappointed to end the fun they were having. "Well, we can play again some other time."
"I'd like that," Luna replied with a smile. "I'm guessing I'm staying here for another night?"
"Lady Tsunade said to give you three days and then to have you report to her. You can stay with me as long as you need to," Shikamaru told her. He was shocked his mother hadn't found out about a girl living with him, but when she did he knew she'd barge in and make a ruckus. What a drag that would be.
"Oh," Luna replied, sounding shocked. But, he saw her smile, and couldn't help but wonder if she was enjoying his company as much as he was enjoying hers.
"You can sleep in my bed again if you'd like, I don't mind sleeping on the couch," Shikamaru said as he got up, putting the game board away.
"Oh no! I'll take the couch! I don't want to inconvenience you!" Luna cried out.
Shikamaru laughed quietly at her reaction. "You're my guest, now go get some sleep," Shikamaru told her as he turned and gave her a smile.
She paused for a moment, looking at him. "Well, okay. Good night Shikamaru."
"Sleep well," he called after her as she began to climb the stairs. Once she was gone, he set all the dishes into the sink from their meal and settled down on the couch.
He sighed as he thought about her. Even though he hardly knew her, he still had these weird feelings for her. She was so intelligent, fun to talk to, adorable, kind; so unlike anyone he had ever met before. He couldn't help but wonder what she thought of him.
Luna laid in his bed awake for a while that night, noticing that even the sheets smelled of his scent. She liked it though, just like she liked being in his company. He was so unlike the stupid, cruel boys of the mist village. He was so smart, and even if he was a little laid back and lazy, he was charming in his own unique way. She couldn't believe how kind he was, letting her stay with him for so long. Two more days, after that I may never see him again.