Title: Shadow
Author: Simply Kelp
Pairing: not focused on any one ship, but there may be background ones.
Rating: pg
Summary: Shikamaru discovers that he has two shadows now: his own, and Konohamaru. Little vignettes about the evolution of their friendship.
Disclaimer: It doesn't say "Masashi Kishimoto" on my underwear, that must mean that I don't own Naruto... merde.
A/N: I wanted to get these out earlier, but ugh, I've had swine flu (actually just regular flu) all last week, and my brain stopped functioning...
A/N2: I had wanted to make Konohamaru's mom into Asuma's sister, but then I realised the whole last name thing wouldn't work...
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Death
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Sarutobi Hanako had always wanted to lead a normal life. Growing up in a family of ninja, however, had taught her to tolerate the absurd. Whatever the matter (her parents' vague neglect, her sensei's nearly psychotic training methods, her team mates' incompetence), she took everything in stride.
Because one day, when-- if-- she survived long enough to find a husband, she could retire from being a ninja, and finally have that normal life she had always wanted. And finally, it did happen. She married, and shortly found herself pregnant. 'Finally,' she said to herself, 'finally, everything is right.'
And things were right. For a while.
As the years passed, she survived the death of her parents, her husband, her father-in-law, her brother-in-law. She was-- or had been-- a ninja. She knew death. She had seen comrades die; she had killed men and women in the War. But it was quite another thing to loose those closest to you.
Hanako always dreaded the day her son would become a qualified ninja.
Being a ninja was a Sarutobi tradition.
As was dying before your time.
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Okay, a note-- explanation?-- about some recent plot-things: it's hard, since I'm crawling into all the characters' brains, and trying to work out their motivations for everything, but everything looks kind of muddled when I write it out. Like rereading the last ch. had me convinced Konohamaru's mummy thought Shikamaru was going to rape him, or something-- especially when you read the previous chs. with all of the unintentional subtext between the boys... Sorry if I gave that impression... This ch. was to show you what's going on in her head.