!*!*! PAY ATTENTION... UPPMARKSAMMA... கவனம் செலுத்த !*!*!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of its characters or plot twists. If I did, several awesome people would never have died, or if they did, they would have come back to life as zombies or vampires. Okay, just wanted to make that clear. Read on.

Naruto burst into the clearing that was the training ground and ran over to a group of ninjas clustered around someone.

Shikamaru caught up with her and elbowed his way through the crowd. At its center was Kotone and Hisoka. Shikamaru quickly ran his eyes over everything. Kotone was pale, but apparently untouched, and a kunai was wedged deep into the bark of a tree right behind her.

He cursed softly. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. Kotone had been attacked, and they hadn't been there to protect her. What was wrong with them? Him especially. This wasn't a vacation, but a mission, and a very important one at that. They didn't have time to be watching clouds.

Shikamaru watched as Naruto rushed to Kotone's side. "What happened, Kotone?"

Pale and wide-eyed, Kotone answered, "I don't know. I mean, we were just sitting here talking when Hisoka pushed me down, and then I heard the thunk of the kunai. Someone tried to kill me… again." Besides her, Hisoka nodded jerkily, his whole body tense.

Shikamaru spoke up. "Did anyone sense any unknown chakra signals?" As he expected, several quizzical faces turned his way.

"Aren't you a civilian?" someone asked.

Shikamaru shrugged. "I have a friend who's a shinobi, and we talk about stuff." His excuse was accepted at face value, and then everyone shook their heads. No one noticed any unknown chakra. He hadn't really expected anything else. With so many ninja present, the odds of pinpointing an unfamiliar chakra source was slim. Whoever had done this was either stupid, or really brave and knew what they were doing.

Naruto hugged Kotone and then grabbed her hand. "I think we should go home. I'll make you a cup of tea, and you can lie down."

Shikamaru knew what she was really doing. Naruto wanted to get Kotone out of the open.

Kotone nodded numbly.

Hisoka said, "I'm coming with you. Everyone else, search the woods. Whoever did this probably isn't there anymore, but still..." Usually, there would probably have been some annoyance at Hisoka giving orders, but not in this case. They all nodded and vanished into the woods.

Naruto led Kotone away. Hisoka walked at their side, alert to everything, while Shikamaru trailed behind. He'd pulled out the kunai and was turning it over in his hands. It wasn't really a kunai, but it wasn't a senbon, either. But a weird mixture of the two. The end tapered down to a needle sharp point, but the back flattened out, almost like an arrow. On a hunch, he held it by its tip and brought the flattened end down on the leaves of a plant. The leaves fluttered to the ground the ground, neatly cut in half. Okay, so the back and front of the thing functioned as a weapon. How the hell were you supposed to hold the thing in combat without impaling or slicing your hand he wondered.

They were back at Kotone's apartment house, and three minutes later, they were on the top floor. By this time, Kotone was over the shock of being almost being killed… again. "Stop babying me, Naruto. I'm fine," she said, getting up from the chair Naruto had pushed her down into. "Thanks to Hisoka, it didn't even touch me." She paused suddenly, and then said, "I need to go out."

Shikamaru along with everyone else, stared at her. Go out? That's the opposite of what you should do when you almost get killed. What was she thinking?

In answer to the incredulous eyes upon her, Kotone explained, "I take a basket of food to Mrs. Fugiwara every three days. She lives alone, and it's hard for her to get by."

Shikamaru held in a sigh and had the sudden urge to bang his head on the table. The woman is a saint. What's the first step in becoming a saint? Getting killed, probably. Or was that a martyr? It didn't matter. Did Kotone have to make their job even more difficult? He took a look at Kotone's stubborn face. Troublesome… "Fine, I'll go deliver it. Just give me the address."

Kotone looked at Shikamaru is surprise, then beamed and rushed off to the kitchen to collect the basket undoubtedly. Hisoka followed her.

Naruto was smiling at him, and the smile clearly said "Awww… You just a big softie, aren't you?"

He ignored it and said, "I'll be back as soon as I can. Don't let Kotone out of your sight."

Naruto nodded, recognizing his seriousness.

He put the odd weapon that had been used for the assassination attempt on the table. It might look a little odd for him, a civilian, to be walking around the street with it, and he couldn't put it in his pocket; it was practically sharp everywhere.

And that was how, five minutes later, he wound up carrying a large woven basket down the street.

Life was so troublesome. But, then again, it did give him another chance to think, and there was a lot to think about. The odd weapon for one. He'd have to examine it more closely when he got back. It was highly doubtful that any of the ninja clustered around Kotone had thrown the weapon. Someone else would have noticed the ever so faint flick of the wrist, unless all of the ninjas were corrupt, and that was almost unbelievable.

On the other hand, it would still be simple for a ninja of the village to just hide in the forest and then go back to his post. The weapon was unusual, though, and he'd observed some of the ninjas looking at the kunai-thing. Wouldn't they recognize it if a fellow shinobi in the village used it? Or if they recognized it at all. Of course, a smart assassin would just pick up an odd weapon to lead the scent away from them and on a wild goose chase.

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and looked up. Following Kotone's instructions had led him to the poorer section of the village, but, although it was shabby, everything was clean and patched. Mrs. Fujiwara's house was tiny and dark green, fading into the neat garden around her house.

Before he knocked on the door, it opened, and the most wizened, wrinkled, tiny old woman he had ever seen stood there. Pure white hair was pulled back into a bun and her skin resembled yellowed parchment. Bright black eyes stared at him. "Yes?" her voice quavered.

Shikamaru held out the basket. "Kotone told me to bring this to you."

She clapped gnarled hands together and grabbed the basket from him. "Oh, she's such a kind girl. Never forgets. And what a kind young man you are for delivering it."

Shikamaru nodded, smiling woodenly, and turned to slouch away, when she grabbed his arm with surprising strength. "You can't go yet. I have to reward you," she said.

He tried to escape, but quickly gave up. There was no arguing with elderly ladies. They had a way about them that made it hard to say no without feeling like a complete bastard. He sighed as he sat at her table. As soon as he got back from this mission, he was going to buy a pack or cigarettes and stare at the clouds all day.

Mrs. Fujiwara bustled around the kitchen, taking over her shoulder to him. "Let me get you something to eat. Growing boys like you need a lot of food. You're far too skinny."

He was torn between laughing and groaning.

She continued talking. "I haven't seen you around before. Are you new? There seems to be a lot of new people moving in nowadays. Takeshi is giving them homes. It's good of him, and he's a good man. His daughter is sweet, too. Of course, she's sweet on that Hisoka fellow. He's a good boy and tries to keep his friend Kazuo in line and out of trouble. That might be a lost cause. He's already corrupting the youth, or that's what some people say. I don't think he's corrupting anyone. It's natural for a boy to be like that. Yukio does worship him a little much, though. It's a sad story about him and his sister. Do you know they escaped from their last village, but their parents didn't make it. Takeshi found them and took them in. He's like a father to a lot of the children of the village and a savior to others."

Shikamaru sat up straighter. The little old woman was a chatterbox and a gold mine of information.

Mrs. Fugiwara paused, "I'm not boring you, am I?"

"Of course not," Shikamaru assured her.

She continued blithely, "Oh, good. Have you met the twins? Etsu and Masago? They fight constantly over everything, but they really love each other. Takeshi saved them, too. Masago is in love with him, and everyone seems to know it except him. Isn't that just like a man. Etsu and Masago both help with the youngsters. Akira does a lot of training in the academy, too. You might not guess it by looking at him, but he really loves the children, and they love him, too. He was found 7/8 dead in the forest a little ways away from here. He's never told anyone what happened to him. Then there's the council. There's Ichiro; he's a scheming, power hungry little man. Never liked him. Then there's Miyako. She's the only woman on the council. Got a good head on her shoulders. Ozuru is a tough and proud man, but he's done right by us. He opposed Takeshi in wanting to become a shinobi village, though. I think he still has misgivings about it. It's too bad about his heart. It's been giving him trouble for years, and it's been getting worse lately. His aide, Katsutoshi, is a very smart boy, very ambitious. He's had some shinobi training, and he's got brains. You know who else has brains? A boy named Naoki. Everyone's scared of him, and he rarely speaks, but he watches, and I know he's got a good brain in there. Yep. There are some unhappy people in this village as well. Like Yoshi and his friends. They don't like shinobi one bit. Me on the other hand, I like them just fine."

She stopped and patted his hand. "Now look what I've done. You must be bored to tears. I'll let you be on your way. Such a polite young man." She got up and led him to the door. "Now, don't be afraid to come visit me again, Shikamaru. Bye!"

Then the door shut in his face.

He blinked. That had been a lot of information. Who needed spies when you ad little old ladies?

He walked away, hands shoved in his pockets. He'd heard of several people who were either power hungry or didn't like Takeshi, and he'd discovered what bothered him about Ozuru. The man had a tense, watchful strong air, but it was a façade. He was weak and dying. Now all he had to do was figure out what bothered him about Katsutoshi. Actually, something else bothered him, too, and with a click of his impressive brain, he knew what it was. The old lady. She pretended not to know who he was, but she used his name at the end, and he hadn't told her.

Before he had time to ponder this, a voice said, "Hey, Shikamaru… catch."

Shikamaru turned to see a knife being hurled at him. He caught it easily with two fingers. But, by doing so, he knew he showed himself as a shinobi, not a civilian. Still, he'd rather someone find out and they be discovered than be killed. Dying was far too troublesome, since there was still stuff he wanted to do, like watch clouds, play shoji, and most likely go on a date with a certain blonde ninja. He shifted his grip on the knife and turned his attention to his attacker.

Akira stood there, leaning against the wall of the alley and grinning his very unsettling grin. "Nice catch, Shikamaru, but then it would be child's play for a shinobi of the hidden leaf village, wouldn't it?" There was nothing aggressive or suggesting that he wanted to disembowel Shikamaru, but Shikamaru didn't let up his defensive posture.

There wasn't really any use in trying to deny he was a ninja. "How did you know?" he asked, apathetic.

Akira reached up and tugged on his blind fold gently. "I'm blind. Remember when I asked to feel you? So I could see what you look like? Even if you're pretending to be a civilian, all the training you've put your body through doesn't just disappear. I could feel it with my hands. Shinobi's bodies feel much harder, like rocks almost."

Oh… well, that explains that. How annoying. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't really justify killing him, even if he wanted to for groping Naruto. He could try to capture him and keep Akira hidden so their cover didn't get blown, but he didn't know how strong Akira was; a fight would draw attention, and he'd be missed. Plus, the whole idea sounded troublesome. Better to see what Akira wanted. He waited.

"Shikamaru, I can guess why you're here. To protect Kotone, right? Don't try and deny it. I'm blind, not stupid. I'm glad you're here. I don't want anything to happen to her. She's a good person; plus, she's cute. Anyway, I'm offering my assistance. If you need help or need someone killed, I'd be more than happy to help." Shikamaru didn't doubt the part about killing people. The rest of it, though, he was wary of. If he went by his instincts, Akira seemed to be telling the truth, but it was better to be safe than sorry. "Thanks for the offer, Akira," Shikamaru said, and that was all he was going to say.

Akira grinned again. "No problem. Can I have my knife back?"

With only a seconds pause, Shikamaru obliged, throwing the knife back. Some people might think it was wrong to throw knives at blind people, but this was a blind shinobi. He should be able to catch it, and if he didn't, Shikamaru couldn't find it in him to muster up any sadness or related emotion. That alone probably didn't say anything good about his mental state.

But, as expected of blind ninjas, Akira caught the blade easily, said, "I look forward to working closely with you, and even more closely with Naru-chan," and disappeared in a puff of mist before Shikamaru could get close enough to strangle him.

Great. That was just what he needed, Akira to be working closely with Naruto.

Muttering about bothersome missions, he made his way back to Kotone's apartment. When he got there, he found a very irritated-looking Naruto.

"What?" she snapped when he opened the door, and then her expression softened when she was who it was. "Oh, it's you." She looked distinctly grumpy. That alone was weird. Naruto and grumpy just didn't go together. Like Anko and sanity, or Sasuke and not being an uppity douche.

"What's up?" he asked as she shut the door.

"Kotone. I want to brain her and never let her eat ramen again. She insisted on seeing everyone who came to visit to assure then she was okay. She doesn't seem to understand the concept that one of them probably wants to kill her." She made a humphing sound and pouted, which Shikamaru found oddly adorable.

Kami, what was wrong with him? He wasn't a love struck fool. Nope, apparently, he was a love struck shinobi genius, or at the very least one with raging hormones and had found out his friend was a hot chick. More than hot, really. Gorgeous and beautiful seemed more apt. He stopped his train of thought before he starting writing love haiku's or something as humiliating.

Without preamble, he told her about what he had learned from Mrs. Fugiwara and about his encounter with Akira. When he finished, her response wasn't quite what he had expected. Then again, it was Naruto.

"I don't think Akira's after Kotone at all, and I think Mrs. Fugiwara knows who's after Kotone," she said immediately.

Those were basically the conclusions he'd come up with himself. Shikamaru froze mid-nod, eyes fixed on the table. "Naruto, did you move that odd throwing weapon?" he asked slowly.

She looked at him, confused. "No, why?"

"Because it's gone." The spot where it had been was simply a clear spot of table. Shikamaru's mind whirled. One of the people who visited must have taken it. But why? Maybe the weapon connected them to the assassination attempts. "Who visited while I was gone?" he asked urgently.

"First Takeshi came home, and then Masago and Etsu, all of the council members as far as I could tell, including their aides, and Kazuo, but I think he came more to see me than her."

Shikamaru slouched forward and put his hands together. That narrowed it down. Yoshi, the one the old lady mentioned, could be ruled out, but Ichiro, along with Ozuru, Katsutoshi, and the rest of the council had come. Takeshi could be completely ruled out. Kazuo, Etsu, and Masago were possibilities, but slim ones. That left the council members. That just proved it. Never trust a politician. They're more likely to stab you in the back than an enemy shinobi, which was really saying something.

His eyes shot open. He was 99.8% sure who was behind the attempted assassinations on Kotone's life. Now, all he needed was proof.

When he looked up, he saw Naruto watching him questioningly. He shook his head at her unasked question. "Just a few ideas. Where's Takeshi?"

Naruto made a face. "In his office, and he's not happy with us. If anything happens," her voice took on a grave tone," I have no doubt that the Yugakure will become enemies of the leaf."

Shikamaru groaned. Great, now he needed to talk to the pissed off father of a girl who he was supposed to be protecting who almost got killed. Lovely. With another groan, he stood up and headed towards Takeshi's office, preparing himself to be berated by an angry father. Slowly, he slid open the door to the office and stepped inside.

Takeshi was sitting at his desk, scrolls and piles of papers covering every inch of the desk. He glanced up when he came in, and his face hardened into a harsh mask. "Shikamaru… Why are you here?" It was obviously a rhetorical question, so Shikamaru stayed silent. "You're here to protect my daughter. To make sure that she doesn't get hurt. What happened today? A blade got within a few centimeters of her head! You and Naruto weren't even there from what I heard. She might have gotten killed! My baby, my girl… I'm not an unfair man, Shikamaru, but if anything happens to her…" He glanced upwards, and his eyes connected with Shikamaru's. "There will never be peace between my village and Konoha."

A declaration of war. Shikamaru hadn't expected anything less. He nodded. "I understand."

"Do you really?"

"Yes. I realize that what occurred was our fault. Well, mine more than Naruto's. Even if this mission is troublesome, your daughters life is at stake, and you have my word that outside of this house, I will not leave her side."

Takeshi nodded once, a stiff nod, only somewhat mollified, and shuffled some papers. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Yeah, could I have a book on the laws of your village?" Takeshi frowned at the request, but quickly pulled a thick volume off of his shelf. "What do you need it for?"

What to say… He could say that he was pretty sure he knew who was trying to kill Kotone, but that would get Takeshi all worked up and he'd demand to know who it was. That was definitely not a good idea, so he gave Takeshi the same answer he had given Naruto. "Just an idea."

Takeshi handed him the book and then sat back down at his desk, effectively ignoring Shikamaru.

He took that as his cue to leave. The man was obviously still pissed at him. He paused at the doorway, though, and asked, "Does Ichiro spend a lot of time with Kotone and you?"

Takeshi frowned, surprised. "No, not at all."

"Got it..." Shikamaru left. One more idea had been confirmed.

Five minutes later, he was in his room, staring blankly at the cover of the book of laws. It was thicker than Kiba was mentally, and that was really saying something. Settling back into the bead, he placed the book on his stomach, open it to the first page, and started reading.

Four hours later, he closed the book and threw it on the floor. Usually he'd have more respect for books, but that one seriously deserved to be burned. The author had used the most flowery and long-winded prose possible. Now, he had a headache the size of Sasuke's ego and a better knowledge of the law. More of an understanding of it than he ever wanted to have, and now it was engraved in his brain.

The piece of information he had actually been searching for was about how the leader of the village was chosen, which was what he had asked Takeshi when he first arrived, but now he knew all of the details about it, and it only furthered his suspicion towards a certain person.

He mulled over it in his head.

If Takeshi died, Kotone would take over. If they both died, a new person would be selected from the council. That part Takeshi hadn't told him, but it was more detailed than that. The rules were completely ridiculous, and he was pretty sure some of them hadn't been used in hundreds of years, but they could still be called upon.

In the event that Takeshi and Kotone died, then a someone else would be chosen, but there were rules about how that person would be chosen. They wouldn't be chosen by vote. No, that would be too sensible. The next leader would be chosen by their seniority, or how long they had served on the council. Then if they died in office, if he understood the book right, and providing that they didn't have family, it would go to their aide. If the aide died, then a new council member would be chosen but not a family member because he or she was just an aide. He knew Takeshi didn't have an aide, too. But still, the whole system was completely messed up.

They really needed to rewrite their laws, and by his count, abolish thirty-one of them. A few of which were that a person would be fined two chickens if their pig crossed the street on a Tuesday, that people couldn't leave their houses if they weren't wearing underwear even if they were wearing pants, and that it was against the law to sell your eyeballs. Needless to say, it was some messed up stuff.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly. He had skipped dinner, preferring to get through the book, and now all he wanted to do was sleep. His stomach growled. Okay, maybe not sleep quite yet.

After a quick trip to the kitchen to raid its supplies, he returned, sliding open the door to his bedroom. He froze, eyes wide, when he saw what, or rather who, was in his room. The scene was not what he would expect in reality.

Naruto, with her hair down, was sitting on his bed wearing the same baby blue nightgown that he swore was at least partially transparent with a shogi board by her side.

Holy… Was he dreaming again? Or was his dream actually coming true? He stared at her intently, waiting for her nightgown to start shrinking.

Her voice brought his out of his reverie. "Shikamaru? Are you okay?" There was no way her voice could sound so realistic without actually being real.

He hurriedly pulled himself together. "What? Yes! I mean, yes, I'm fine," he said hesitantly sitting down next to her. Inwardly, he was berating himself. Really? He was a genius. Couldn't he come up with something better that sounding like an inarticulate idiot. He cleared his throat, trying to focus his eyes on anything but her chest, which wasn't really covered. "What's going on?" He asked.

She scratched her head nervously. "I was wondering if you wanted to play shogi."

Now, he stared at her for two reasons. One, he had lost the battle of trying not to stare at her chest, and, two, he didn't even know that she played shogi. It didn't seem like something she'd have the patience for, not that he was complaining. "Sure," he said, sitting down next to her.

Without a further word, they started the game. Shikamaru was amazed. Naruto actually knew how to play, but not only that, she was good. Good enough to actually make his pay attention and even struggle in one spot. Of course, he still won the game. "Where did you learn how to play?"

"Kyuu-chan taught me. She kind of insisted that I learn patience and strategy and how to focus and stuff like that. I thought it was really boring at first, but it's sort of interesting. She was a total hard-ass about it, though." Naruto suddenly twitched, gripping a shogi piece tightly.

He watched with interest as her eyes became slightly unfocused. It was clear what was happening. The Kyuubi was chewing her out.

After several moments, she blinked and mumbled petulantly, "Meanie."

"What did she say?" He asked.

"She was just telling me that I should be grateful that she puts up with my stupidity. Mostly that sort of thing."

The word mostly caught his attention. "Mostly?"

Her cheeks turned pink immediately and she coughed into her hand. "Kyuu-chan just happened to mention some things about you. I told you before she likes you."

Oh, so that's what the Kyuubi had been saying. He could imagine it. He moved closer to Naruto. It was his chance. Kotone was most likely asleep; it was most likely two assassination attempts wouldn't be made in one day, and Naruto was sitting on his bed wearing not much. He moved closer until he was sitting right next to her, their legs brushing one another's. She was so close.

"Naruto…"

She looked up at him. "Yes?"

"I…" I like you? I have feelings for you? What the heck was he supposed to say? He really should have spent more time interacting with females. He had no game. What the heck good was being a genius if he couldn't even do this? He tried again. "I…"

Oh, screw it.

He leaned forward, but at that exact moment, Naruto looked down at the Shogi board. His lips pressed against her cheek instead of her lips. He drew back quickly, and saw her staring at him, blushing and gaping cutely.

"What was that for?" she asked, fiddling with the hem of her nightgown.

He hesitated. Oh, to hell with it. "I like you," he said abruptly. There. He did it. Now it was all up to Naruto. His heart leaped when she smiled broadly.

"I like you, too, Shika. You're a good friend."

And then his heart promptly plummeted to the ground onto to be stabbed by imaginary kunais before getting set on fire by a powerful flame jutsu. Friend? Had he not made it clear enough? Ino had given him a lecture about getting stuck in the friend zone with girls. It was not somewhere he wanted to be.

He opened his mouth to clarify his feelings toward her, but she yawned. "Can I stay in your room tonight? Kotone fell asleep on my bed when we were talking, and I don't want to wake her up."

His mind went blank. Naruto wanted to spend the night in his bed. Weren't you supposed to go on dates before that sort of things happened? Not that they were going to do anything, but still. His thoughts couldn't help but go in that direction. After all, he was a teenaged boy. He nodded, "Sure. You can stay here." He'd wait until tomorrow to tell her how he really felt.

Naruto cleared away the shogi board and pieces and settled down onto his bed under the covers.

He grabbed a loose shirt and a pair of boxers. How the heck was he going to change? He could ask her to turn around of course.

As if she read his mind, she piped up. "Don't worry about changing. It's not like I haven't seen guys naked before."

Oh, yeah. She used to be a guy, which was still creepy to think about, so she'd seen all that. Plus, she wore the henge all the time.

She was still talking. "I mean, I go to the bath houses with everyone else."

He started to nod, then stopped. The bathhouse. He had gone to the bathhouse with Naruto, which meant she'd seen him… She'd seen his... No, he always wore a towel, but still she'd seen him almost naked.

"Don't worry, though. I try not to look even if most of you guys cover up."

This was not making him feel better. "Just close your eyes," he ordered. She rolled her eyes but obeyed, and he hurriedly changed his clothes, utilizing his ninja quickness. 1.8 seconds later he had changed. Being a ninja really was useful sometimes.

Awkwardly, he slid into bed next to Naruto and laid down stiffly.

Immediately, Naruto closed the distance between then, sliding over until she was right next to him. "Good night, Shika" she whispered, snuggling closer to him. Her head was on his shoulder and every inch of her body was pressed against his.

He wrapped an arm around her waist. It felt nice. It felt right.

"Good night, Naruto," he said quietly, brushing his lips over her forehead in a kiss and wondering when he'd gotten so… so feely.

Lazy, brilliant, and apathetic practically described him. The definition of apathetic was showing or feeling no interest, enthusiasm, or concern, not being extremely interested in Naruto and enthusiastic about the idea of even spending time with her. Whatever. He was enjoying this too much to think about it. He tightened his hold on her and she snuggled closer in response.

For once, the mission didn't seem quite so troublesome after all.

Whew! Finally a new chapter is up. Sorry it took so long. I had most of it written months ago, but then I lost it. That brings up a very valuable piece of information. Never write your stories down on the same notepad as you do calculus work. You will never look for it there. Ever. So, I added a few thousand more words to the chapter, and here it is. For the people who have been complaining and lack of action, the next chapter, there will be some. I only have one more thing to say, or rather ask. I'm not supposed to respond to reviews in my chapters, but some of you either don't have an account or don't sign in, and I like to respond to your reviews. So, I just have a request. Please sign in or get an account. Thanks for reading, everyone. Oh, one more thing. I GOT OVER TWO HUNDRED REVIEWS! THANK YOU EVERYONE! Oh, and another thing. Can anyone guess who the evil plotter is?

Ja ne,

Rumer Hasit

Sadie: Wow, what a positive review. I loved it, so thanks for writing it. Well, even if you missed my story before, you found it now, and I'm glad you like it. I love the Shika/Naru pairing, too. They balance each other out perfectly. I don't really get why there aren't more femNaru/Shika pairings. Anyway, sorry it took me so long to update, and thanks for reading.

Unimportant: You loved the last chapter? Success is mine! And of course I responded to your review. You had the thoughtfullness to leave one, so I wanted to thank you. Does that make any sense? Maybe. The story is da bomb? I can't think of a higher compliment. ^_^ I added in a fluffy moment at the end between Shikamaru and Naruto at the end. Thought you might like it.

hana-chan: Thank you, thank you, and thank you. I like ShikaNaru, too. You love my story? Well, thank you very, very much, Hana-chan. I hope you like this chapter as well. Sorry it took so long, but it it around twice the lengths of my chapters, so hopefully that will make up for my tardiness a bit. Thanks for reading!

hibaritsunayoshi-kun: Good story? Good, glad you think so. Thanks for telling me about the whole Naruto-Naruko setting on the site, too. Someone else told me that you weren't supposed to respond to chapters, but some of the people either don't have accounts or don't sign in, and I can't respond to them, so I put it down here. I do email everyone else, though. I probably shouldn't respond to them, then, but that seems kind of rude. Crud. I probably shouldn't even be writing this. Anyway, glad you like it and thanks for leaving a review.