"Yosh! Sakura-chan, why don't you spar with Shikamaru-kun? It will be a good way to see how you have progressed against your peers!" Gai gave her a thumbs up and gestured widely toward the middle of the training field.

Sakura huffed and finished her stretching with practiced ease. "Whatever you say, Gai-sensei. Yo, Shikamaru-san! I'm gonna go easy on you and keep my weights on, okay?"

She bounced on the balls of her feet, grinning in anticipation. Shikaku could see that that she was clearly excited about the prospect of a good fight. It was really no wonder that she got along so well with Maito Gai, who the most enthusiastic shinobi he had ever met.

Shikamaru slouched toward her. "Meh, like I would be beaten by a girl."

His father groaned internally when he saw Sakura's eyes narrow at the taunt. Normally his son was very good at keeping his mouth shut until he had a better feel for his opponent's abilities. A jonin like Gai didn't have time to teach just anyone and Shikamaru should have known this. Something was off. He looked between Sakura and his son and was amused to see actual irritation on Shikamaru's face; he was pretty sure it wasn't just because of the impromptu training.

Sakura stared at Shikamaru for another moment before turning to Shikaku and bowing slightly. "Nara-san, please do not be offended when I beat your son into the ground for that comment."

He snorted. "If you win a fair fight, how could I possibly take offense? Shikamaru-kun will have to take responsibility for his own words."

She grinned at him and mimicked Gai's thumbs up pose. "Hah! Even your dad is on my side, Shikamaru-san. Let's do this. Taijutsu only!"

With that, Sakura blurred out of sight as Shikamaru's eyes widened and he stuttered out, "H-hey! You didn't say-," when she appeared behind him mid-sentence and swept his legs out from under him.

"An enemy shinobi is not going to play by the rules, Shikamaru-chan." He tumbled and rolled into a crouch, now looking exceptionally wary. Sakura stayed where she was, hands on her hips. "Are you ready to spar now? You're lucky Gai-sensei is insistent on a sense of fair play when in training or this would be over already."

"Don't count me out just yet, Sakura-san. Everyone knows that men naturally have more strength and stamina. A shinobi will always win against a kunoichi."

"The only men I see here are Gai-sensei and your father. You're not even on my level, little boy!" Shikamaru's mouth flattened into a thin line at this, but he did not respond.

Shikaku could see that they were intentionally baiting each other, but he was surprised that Sakura's words were actually working against Shikamaru. It had been a while since he had seen his son spar against anyone outside the clan, but he was normally as level-headed as any Nara.

He must still be annoyed by that shogi comment. Ah well, he's only eight. He'll grow from this experience. I'll make sure of it.

He could see Shikamaru considering his limited options. The Naras were not known taijutsu users, so his clan training would be relatively useless right now. He circled Sakura, looking for an opening where his slightly longer reach would give him an advantage. She let him complete one circuit before she lashed out with one arm, making contact against his blocking forearm and sending him back several feet. She stomped the ground, creating a massive fissure that Shikamaru had to jump to avoid. Before he could react, Sakura was right there and starting to pull back her arm to punch him in his face and she was going to break his nose, oh my god-

Sakura flicked him in the forehead and swept around his body, pulling his arms backward and forcing Shikamaru to his knees, his face inches from the crevice she had put into the earth.

"Do you yield, Shikamaru-san?"

He did, with bad grace.

Shikaku could only blink at the speed of her attacks, her absurd strength notwithstanding. Gai stood with his arms crossed and a radiant smile on his face.

How is this girl still in the Academy? Normally they push talent like hers out as soon as possible.

"Sakura-chan, you have shown such youthful enthusiasm and sportsmanship this morning!" Gai looked like he was on the verge of tears and Shikaku shifted awkwardly next to him. Sakura dropped Shikamaru's arms and smiled indulgently at Gai. "To celebrate, let me show you how to perform a Dynamic Entry!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei!"

Two blurs, one pink and one green, swept toward the training posts on the grounds, the Naras momentarily forgotten. Shikaku could see that Gai was working with some sort of weaponry, followed by a high roundhouse kick that landed against the posts with a loud THUNK. Sakura excitedly pulled one of the senbon out of her bun and waved it around, making large swooping motions with her arms. She grinned as Gai threw his head back and laughed until tears were running down his face. He pulled a large handful of senbon out of the pouch on his thigh and they both settled in to do some serious damage to the training ground.

Shikaku contemplated the usefulness of this technique and felt slight relief that Gai had decided not to require his participation. Shikamaru heaved himself up from the ground and limped over to the cherry blossom tree his father was standing under.

"What a troublesome girl."

"Shikamaru, you should never underestimate an unknown opponent. That was a very poor showing." His son winced slightly at his words, despite knowing the truth of them.

Still, he protested, "She's not unknown! I see her at the Academy all the time. I usually sleep through our taijutsu lessons, though ..."

Shikaku rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Don't let your mother hear you say that. She'll beat the both of us."

"Meh. I think I need to train more. There's no way she can beat me at sparring and shogi."

Who is this boy and what has he done with Shikamaru?