"You're going to lose, you know."
Shikamaru looked up, squinting at the sunlight coming from behind the figure that spoke. A girl his age stood half-turned towards him and his father as they played their weekly shogi game. She was dressed in a dark red vest and black shorts with bandages wrapped from fingertip to elbow, looking for all the world like she was entitled to be there.
She was, of course. Shikaku chose to play in this area because it was part of a public venue and therefore made it more distracting for Shikamaru to focus on the necessary strategy to win. Even at eight years old he knew not to underestimate how devious his father could be.
There was something familiar about this girl, though. She turned entirely to face them and blocked out the early morning sun shining in his eyes, allowing him to see her bright pink hair for the first time. He only knew of one person with hair that color, but it was definitely not her usual look. Instead of the long, flowing style he remembered from class, her hair was neatly wrapped into a braided bun with two senbon piercing it.
"Sakura-san? What are you doing here?" He frowned. "And how can you possibly tell I'll lose?"
"I'm waiting for someone. And your opponent's Yagura Castle defense is too strong for the meager amount of pieces you have left. You'll lose in less than ten moves."
His father laughed. "She's got you there, Shikamaru-kun. I was waiting for you to see it yourself."
Shikamaru scowled down at the board and then dropped his shoulders in defeat. "Ugh, it's true. How troublesome." He looked toward Sakura. "How did you know?"
"I read a lot, Shikamaru-san. Call it a hobby."
He looked skeptical. "Reading about shogi strategies? That doesn't seem likely."
Sakura just scoffed at him, idly fingering the senbon in her hair. "Well, Shikamaru-san, you don't know me. How would you know what's likely or not?"
Shikaku's eyes gleamed as he observed his son interact with the girl. He knew that Shikamaru would have figured out his game plan eventually, but he was very interested in how his classmate had managed it in a glance. Shikaku knew that there were quite a few exceptional characters in Shikamaru's year at the Academy, not the least of them being the Kyuubi's jinchuriki. He had never heard of this Sakura girl before, though. Surely a mind like hers would appeal to even his lazy son? Just like his father, he seemed to accidentally surround himself with brash, aggressive members of the opposite sex.
He interrupted their cute little snarkfest with an inward grin. "Sakura-chan, would you like to join us for a game? I can sit out if you'd like to show Shikamaru-kun how well you play."
She looked startled to be addressed by him. "Ah, no. No, thank you, Nara-san. Like I mentioned before, I'm waiting for someone. I have to get some training in before classes start." She motioned to her bandaged arms. "I'm looking to improve my taijutsu."
Shikamaru looked even more skeptical now. "And you got up this early just to do that?"
"Well, no. I've been up since dawn training solo. This is the only time my teacher has available for my use."
Shikaku felt a familiar chakra signature moving quickly toward their location. He said nothing, but he saw Sakura tense slightly. She already knows how to detect at her age? That's impressive.
He saw a flash of green dart in Sakura's direction and rose to intervene, but she had already dropped in a crouch and blocked a kick with her glowing blue forearm. The green form backflipped smoothly and stood. Shikaku sat back, slightly bemused.
Was that a chakra-charged defense? What in the world has this girl been working on? That sort of chakra control is far outside the realm of Academy lessons.
"Ah, Sakura-chan! My most precious student! I see that I have kept you waiting! I will have to run 500 laps around Konoha for the delay!" Gai beamed at her, teeth sparkling merrily. Shikaku could swear he saw a rainbow form over his shoulder.
"Gai-sensei, I'm your only student. Don't worry about being late, Shikamaru-san was keeping me entertained with his terrible shogi maneuvers." Shikamaru's eyes widened at the comment. Shikaku didn't think he had ever seen his son look so insulted. He found it quite amusing.
Sakura had risen out of her crouch and gestured between the two at the shogi table and the smiling, posing man. "Shikamaru-san, this is my teacher, Maito Gai. Nara-san, as jonin commander, I'm sure you're already acquainted." Shikaku knew that Shikamaru was not one to brag about his father's accomplishments, so Sakura's comment was unexpected.
This girl is just one surprise after another. I should keep an eye on her.
"Shikaku-san! Are you and your son going to join Sakura-chan and myself in our youthful training on this beautiful morning?" Sakura's eyebrows rose, but she just sighed in resignation at Gai's overall being.
He was about to decline, but thought better of it. If he took advantage of this offer, he could further observe Sakura's chakra usage. It didn't hurt that Shikamaru looked absolutely horrified at the idea of training so early in the morning.
"Sure, Gai. Why not? I'm sure it would do Shikamaru-kun good to work up a healthy sweat every once in a while."
Gai and Sakura agreed to meet them at training ground three and nimbly hopped away across the rooftops. Gai was chattering merrily at her about his "eternal rival" and Shikaku could only wonder at what ridiculousness he had coerced Kakashi into this time.
"Dad, why did you agree to this torture?" He looked down at his son as they leisurely made their way toward the training grounds. "I'm pretty sure you hate extra training as much as I do."
"Sometimes, Shikamaru-kun, we have to make a short-term sacrifice to gain a long-term advantage."
Shikamaru was baffled by his father's vague words, but he just followed him to the allotted training ground. This was going to be agony.