Chapter 6

Naruto was in a mood.

After knowing the emotional blond for his entire life, Shikamaru could tell from a mile away. He hovered awkwardly on the back porch of Naruto and Sasuke's house, watching the Hokage lounge beneath the cherry trees.

It was the act of lounging that made Shikamaru nervous. If Naruto was lounging, it was because he was too agitated to meditate.

The Sage was lying with his back to Shikamaru, the leaves above him creating patterns on his naked torso as they danced in the sun. His deeply tanned skin looked strangely grey in the shade the blossoms created as they floated down around him. As the strategist watched, Naruto's hand shot out to catch one of the falling flowers. For a moment, he examined the delicate bloom in his palm.

And then his fist closed sharply, crushing the pink petals roughly before letting them fall.

Frowning, Shikamaru turned at the sound of soft footsteps. Sasuke approached him from inside the house, his pale face revealing only the slightest trace of concern.

"Leave him." Sasuke said in a low voice, eyes darting in Naruto's direction. "What do you need, Nara."

Shikamaru grumbled as he turned away from the taciturn Uzumaki. "I was supposed to report to him today. Y'know, monthly status reports, mission evaluations, budget projections for next month? The usual shit."

Sasuke sighed. "I had forgotten. We'll have to reschedule it for tomorrow, Nara."

"But I'm here already."

"Yes, and the entire village is grateful for your sacrifice. The short walk from your house must have been challenging." Sasuke hissed, gesturing for Shikamaru to follow him inside.

"Dick." Shikamaru muttered as he followed.

Sasuke's eyes gleamed unnaturally in the dim light as he turned. "Naruto is unwell today." He said, still in that low voice. "Now, I'm more interested in whether or not Hyuga has briefed you on the actual mission you two have been assigned."

Shikamaru felt his stomach do a bizarre summersault at the mention of Neji. He could still feel Neji's soft hands on his throat, a phantom touch that made his skin prickle. He scowled. "Yeah, he practically dragged me out of bed by the hair, he was so eager. I don't like this, Uchiha. None of it."

"I promise you, I like it even less." Sasuke replied, pacing slowly. "I recognized the woman, but I've no idea who she really is, or what the hell she's doing here. Her alias, Rei Moon-Whatever, is different from when she worked for Akatsuki. But one thing I know for sure is that she isn't a leader. She's strong, but not ambitious. If she's here to cause trouble, it's on someone else's orders."

"Remnants of the Kou Clan?" Shikamaru offered, his mind already beginning to churn furiously. "Or maybe she's still working for Akatsuki. With the fucked up powers those guys had, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them were still around."

Sasuke snorted. "Old enemies? I sincerely doubt it. No, I have a strong suspicion that this is something, or someone, new."

"That's a lovely thought." Shikamaru drawled, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Really warm and fluffy, like a bunny."

"There's no use speculating now." Sasuke continued, after glaring at Shikamaru for a moment. "Aside from torturing it out of her, which Naruto has absolutely forbidden me to do, there's nothing we can do now besides watch and wait."

"What a pain."

"Yeah."

Sasuke frowned again, stopping his pacing in front of the open doors. For a few minutes he stood in silence, watching Naruto. Then he sighed stiffly, his shoulders set in agitation as he turned back to Shikamaru.

"Leave him." He said again. But it was softer this time, more to himself than to Shikamaru. "He has enough on his mind."

"Right," Shikamaru agreed, as Sasuke's demeanor increased his own concern for the Hokage. "Neji and I are on this, Uchiha. And apparently Hinata is helping too. So just…take care of him."

Sasuke's face softened. "Of course. It is, after all, my job to protect the Hokage."

"Yeah." Shikamaru agreed. He hesitated briefly before adding, "Listen, Sasuke. I don't know what's been up with Naruto lately, and I don't want to know. Not my job, not my problem. But he's also my friend."

"Your point, Nara?"

Again Shikamaru hesitated. "I don't have one. Just do whatever you can to keep him in one piece. Oh, and tell him if he ditches me again tomorrow, I'll seriously quit. I mean it this time."

With that, Shikamaru turned on his heel and marched towards the front door. His head throbbed angrily as he bent to pull on his shoes, brain racing from their conversation. He let himself out without a backwards glance, lost in his thoughts as he strolled towards the quiet street.

He stopped after passing through Naruto's barriers, staring at his feet. The slight breeze made the loose sand at the edge of the road dance around him. For a moment he simply stood, focusing on the sensation of those rough particles rushing across his skin.

Skin.

He raised his hand slowly to his throat; tracing the bruises he already imagined forming where Neji had choked him. His own pulse throbbed steadily beneath his fingertips as he turned and began walking slowly home.

"What the hell was that?" He wondered, memories of Neji's reddened face flickering through his mind. "I've never seen that side of Neji before. He's always so controlled, so distant."

Shikamaru smirked. "He definitely wasn't distant when he was straddling me. That was…interesting."

Shikamaru shook his head sharply, trying to make himself focus. There were more important things to think about than Neji's strong thighs tensing around his hips. Things like mysterious, sneaking spy women hanging around in the village. And paperwork. Shikamaru frowned, his pace quickening slightly as he thought about how much he still had to do before meeting Ino that night.

But then, Shikamaru reminded himself, Neji had agreed to show up. Feeling slightly more enthusiastic about his plans for the evening, Shikamaru turned into the woods, taking the shortest paths home.

"I'm too old for this."

Kakashi muttered as he crouched down beside Captain Yamato, trying to peer through the dense fog that pressed closely around them.

Yamato laughed nervously. "I agree. We should really consider retiring."

He held his forearm out to Kakashi, who helped tie a bandage tightly around a deep stab wound. Kakashi raked a critical eye over his friend, checking that all of his more serious wounds had been dealt with. He saw Yamato examine him in a similar fashion before they both looked up, nodding once before they stood.

A familiar rush of air had them dodging in opposite directions, becoming blurs of speed as a rain of rigged kunai appeared in the air right where they had been standing. The barrage of sharp blades exploded as they hit the ground, fire erupting up into the canopy of leaves. It was far too wet for the foliage to catch on fire, but the blast of heat was enough to dissolve the heavy mist, exposing the secluded clearing the two Konoha shinobi had been resting in.

"Found you!" An unseen voice called from the treetops.

Kakashi turned towards the voice, sharingan scanning quickly for the source. But another forest of weapons appeared above him, and he was forced to concentrate on dodging as they descended towards him with unnerving accuracy. He stopped with his back to a large tree, attempting to collect his thoughts for a moment. A tingle on the back of his neck made him drop down.

An enormous, deadly sword shaped like a cleaver smashed into the tree where his neck had been milliseconds before. But this weapon hadn't come from one of the weapon masters scrolls. Its owner launched themself out of the mist, wrenching their sword from the tree easily as they rushed at Kakashi. He back flipped to avoid the swinging cleaver, hands flashing midair as he summoned chidori into his fists.

Before he could even initiate his counter attack, the sword wielder darted forward, their blade a glint of silver as they spun to bash the inside of Kakashi's elbows with the pointed hilt. Kakashi grunted in pain and shock. His attacker had struck the vital chakra points on his arms. His chidori faded immediately, like a switch had been turned off.

"Oh boy." Kakashi muttered.

He barely had time to pull out a kunai before the enemy slammed into him, the enormous blade shattering his knife and sending Kakashi flying backwards through the forest at the speed of a cannonball. He took the opportunity to look around for Yamato.

The Captain seemed to be fairing better against the weapon master, roots and branches tangling around him to protect him from the endless barrage. This had forced the enemy to come and face him directly, and Yamato seemed to be holding them at bay efficiently. But it was rare for shinobi to travel in pairs.

Kakashi summersaulted in the air, his feet slamming down into the ground as he continued to slide backwards. Without waiting for his momentum to stop, Kakashi focused his sharingan, trying to visualize his chakra points. No matter how many times he'd watched members of the Hyuga clan do it, their technique was impossible to copy. But he had no choice but to try. Without his jutsu, they were dead.

He channeled chakra into fine points on his fingertips, hesitating briefly before jabbing them into his skin. Immediately, his left arm began to spasm wildly. Kakashi grimaced, gripping it with his right arm as he finally came to a stop.

"Not as easy as it looks." He said as he looked down at his quivering arm.

Yamato landed beside him before he could try it again. "Sensei!" He whispered urgently, crouching down beside Kakashi. "Are you alright?"

Kakashi shook his head, pulling his headband down over his sharingan. "The one with the sword must have some kind of eye technique. Or a serious mastery of the chakra system. I can't use any jutsu."

"We should get out of here." Yamato muttered, glancing around warily. "I'm afraid that more will come. Forgive me, sensei, but I can't fight them alone."

"I feel inclined to agree with you." Kakashi said, standing up slowly. His arm shook wildly again.

"There's one more thing." The Captain whispered. "I pulled this off my opponent after defeating them."

He reached into his pocket, procuring a shining headband. The familiar, unmarked symbol carved into made Kakashi's heart stop. Kirigakure.

"What should we do, Kakashi?" Yamato whispered.

Kakashi frowned, thinking quickly.

They stood in the thick, damp forests about an hour outside the Village Hidden in the Mist. Their seemingly simple mission to escort a minor lord and politician to the village had ended in total disaster. Kakashi and Yamato had been fooled by a diversion, and by the time they realized, it was too late. The Chunin that had been their team for the mission were dead. The lord was either dead or kidnapped. And that wasn't even the worst part.

"They can't be actual Mist shinobi, right?" Yamato continued when Kakashi didn't speak. "I mean, they're part of the alliance. For them to attack us knowingly would be…"

"Very bad." Kakashi concluded with a sigh. "Damn. That medical kunoichi was one of Sakura's new students. First time she was the solo medic on a mission too."

"We should've known it was a trap." Yamato said nervously.

Kakashi pulled his headband lower over his sharingan. "How could we? We assumed those shinobi were our allies. But this could definitely spell trouble. If they really were from the Mist Village…"

A bead of nervous sweat rolled down Yamato's forehead as he asked again, "What should we do?"

"Get back to Konoha as quickly as possible." Kakashi replied. "My first instinct is to infiltrate the village and try to figure out what's happening. But it's too dangerous with just the two of us, and no backup on the way. Besides, if the situation is as bad as we're both imaging it is, Naruto needs to know about it immediately."

Yamato nodded as the two of them started off at a slow jog, the poor visibility hindering them. They imagined the sword wielder jumping out at them from every shadow in the mist, their senses heightened as they hurried along.

"Don't worry, Naruto will get to the bottom of it in no time. I swear, the kid just knows." Yamato whispered.

"Let's get up higher." Kakashi said before jumping towards the treetops. Once they were above the fog and could move more freely, he added, "It's hard to believe he's the same hardheaded kid we were always chasing after. But are you really surprised he turned out this way? You know who his parents were. And how life treated him."

Yamato mumbled to himself, for the moment focused on using his signature jutsu to pull tree branches towards them, creating a clear path. "Maybe we should have tried to capture one of those shinobi alive? We could have questioned them."

"If the one with the sword catches up with is, we'll give it a shot."

"I just don't want to bring this news to Naruto." Yamato frowned. "He's so committed to this alliance. To think that it might be crumbling as we speak…"

"No use worrying about it now." Kakashi said. "But we failed our mission today, Yamato. Lost our comrades. That is what concerns me most. And it's definitely going to upset Naruto more than anything else."

"All the more reason to get home quickly then." Yamato replied determinedly, increasing his speed.

A few minutes later, he realized that Kakashi was lagging behind. He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Kakashi land on a slippery branch were he wobbled – and slipped. His tired eye widening in surprise, Kakashi twisted acrobatically as he fell, grabbing the branch and using it to swing himself forward to the next. But then he stopped and bent over, breathing heavily as if the effort had exhausted him.

When he glanced up at the stunned Yamato, what little skin was visible on his face looked alarmingly pale.

"Hey Yamato," He panted, "I think our mad dash home just became even more urgent."

Yamato's eyes flew down to the defensive cuts on his arms. "Poison?"

"No," Kakashi shook his head with a frown. "But whatever that sword creep did to me seems to be spreading. I feel weak."

"Shit. I'm glad we got away when we did." Yamato said as he jumped to Kakashi's side, grabbing one of his shaking arms to support him. "Let's get moving, sensei."

"Leave me. I'll only slow you down." Kakashi attempted to pull away weakly. "All that matters is that you get to Naruto as soon as possible."

Yamato snorted. "If I tell Naruto that I left his chakraless sensei alone in the woods, I'm positive that he would actually, violently murder me."

Kakashi laughed softly. "Probably."

"I'll even carry you if I have to." Yamato offered. "But we can't waste any more time. Okay, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi nodded, allowing Yamato to pull his arm over his shoulders. The two made off without a backwards glance, determined to find their way home as quickly as possible.

By the time Shikamaru showed up at the bar, Ino was too drunk to realize that he was late.

Or that he was even there.

Shikamaru watched her for a minute, her cheeks red as she tossed her hair, surrounded by laughing shinobi. With a snort, he turned deftly away from the crowd, making his way towards one of the empty rooms usually reserved for large parties. Just as he was about to slide open the door, a familiar voice called his name.

He turned as Sakura came towards him smiling, looking beautiful in a red and black dress that hugged her muscular curves.

"Hey, Shikamaru!" She said happily, patting his shoulder. "I'm glad I found you before you could hide yourself away."

"Oh?" Shikamaru replied, catching the eye of a passing waitress and signaling for her to bring a bottle of sake. "Why? Do you need something?"

Sakura blinked in surprise. "What? No! I just don't see you very often anymore. I wanted to talk."

"Oh." Shikamaru said again, sighing in relief. He slid open the door to the empty room, kicking off his shoes before sitting at the low table. Sakura joined him, setting down her glass.

Neither of them said anything. Sakura sat studying him with her beautiful green eyes, tucking a lock of pink hair behind her ear. "Make sure you say hello to Ino before you leave. If she's still conscious, that is. That girl can drink."

Shikamaru snorted. "Like a goddamn fish."

Silence fell again as Sakura continued to examine him. The door slid open as the waitress glided in, setting a tray with sake and two small, round cups onto the table. As soon as she left, Sakura spoke again.

"You're not sleeping. Or eating properly."

Shikamaru glanced at her warily as he poured himself a drink. "No, Sakura, I'm not. But isn't that old news by now?"

"It's worse than usual, I can tell just by looking at you." Sakura said sagely. "I am Konoha's head medic, you know."

Staring at her dryly over his cup, Shikamaru sipped his bitter alcohol in silence. Once he had set his cup down to refill it, he asked, "So what? Did Ino tell you to give me the third degree, or just knock me unconscious?"

"Always so guarded." Sakura sighed. "I'm just worried about you, Shikamaru. You're my friend."

"Friends, huh?" Shikamaru muttered, glancing away from her keen eyes. After downing another shot of sake, he asked in a low voice, "Sakura, if I ask you something, will you promise to keep it between us?"

"Of course." Sakura said seriously. "You can talk to me about anything."

Shikamaru hummed slightly, but remained silent for a long time. Two more cups of sake later, he cleared his throat.

"Sakura, this might be a weird question but…" Shikamaru glanced down, studying the weave of the floor mats intently. "Have you ever been attracted to someone you know you shouldn't be attracted to?"

A snort of laughter drew his gaze. Sakura's expression was flat as she replied, "Yes. How long was I in love with Sasuke?"

"Right," Shikamaru smiled nervously. "I forgot about that."

"Lucky you." Sakura grumbled. Then her eyes brightened. "Why do you ask? Wait; don't tell me. Are you interested in someone, Shikamaru? Someone you shouldn't be attracted to? Who is it?"

"Jeez, don't shout." Shikamaru mumbled. "Troublesome woman."

"Oh no, don't try to play it off now." Sakura grinned, leaning over the table. "Come on, tell me who it is. I won't drop it until you do! Tell me, Shikamaru!"

"It was just a question, Sakura. I'm not interested in anyone."

"Come on, tell me!"

"What a drag."

"Tell me!"

Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched. "Jeez, you're more of a nuisance than Ino!"

"Oh, that's a good idea!" Sakura smiled deviously. "Maybe I should go tell Ino-chan that you have a crush on someone. I'm sure she'd be very interested."

"No! Fuck, don't tell Ino." Shikamaru sighed, covering his eyes with his hand.

Suddenly, Sakura gasped. "Oh gods, I know who it is. It's totally Naruto, isn't it?"

"What?" Shikamaru exclaimed. "No, of course it isn't Naruto! Why would you even think that?"

"Well, because it totally makes sense."

"What?" Shikamaru peered at Sakura doubtfully. "How does that make sense?"

The kunoichi laughed, blushing slightly. "Well, you spend so much time with him. And he's so…Naruto, you know?"

"No, I don't know. Do you like Naruto?"

"Um, how should I put this," Sakura muttered, tucking a lock of pink hair behind her ear again. "When we were kids, I always knew how Naruto felt about me, but I was never attracted to him in that way. Then all of a sudden, he grows up and he's literally gorgeous. It's a little strange, honestly; it kind of shocks me every time I see him. Still, he's always felt more like a brother to me than anything else. So I guess it's more like, my awkward little brother grew up into a heartthrob? That sounds weird when I say it out loud, but I think that's pretty close to the truth."

Shikamaru stared at her, cup resting against his bottom lip. After a moment he sighed, placing the cup on the table. "He does have a sort of…aura around him, I guess."

"Jinchuuriki pheromones."

"What?"

Sakura blushed. "I like to think of it as his Jinchuuriki pheromones. You know how he kind of smells like, I don't know, sandalwood smoke or something? It's totally because of Kurama. It's like an animal musky smell. And it makes us react instinctually or whatever."

Shikamaru felt his eyebrows inching towards his hairline. "That sounds almost weird enough to be true." He said, downing his sake with a grimace. "What a drag."

"Tell me about it." Sakura whined. Then, smiling reassuringly, she said, "So try not to worry about it, Shikamaru. I blame the pheromones. Although, I guess it must be confusing for you…"

"You have no idea." Shikamaru grumbled. And then a sudden thought occurred to Shikamaru that made him regret playing along with Sakura's assumption. "And to make it all worse, if Sasuke ever finds out, he'll probably kill me."

"Probably," Sakura agreed, looking thoughtful. "Yeah, he would definitely kill you. Violently, knowing him."

"Looking forward to it. At least I'd have a lasting excuse to avoid my work."

Sakura smiled, pouring herself a glass of his sake and sipping it gingerly. "Yuck. I have no idea how you can drink this stuff."

Shikamaru shrugged. "The lack of soberness is worth the taste."

The kunoichi frowned. "If it's that difficult for you, Shikamaru, you should probably just tell Naruto. He feels really badly about how much he relies on you. If you just told him you needed to take a break for a while, I'm sure he wouldn't say no."

"You have no idea how much I wish I could just drop all my responsibilities and run for it." Shikamaru laughed bitterly. "But there are too many people who rely on me now. It'd be way too troublesome."

"I'm not saying you should run away!" Sakura replied, looking shocked. "And besides, Naruto would find you in like, a minute anyways. I just think that it would probably be a good idea to get a bit of space. Breathe some non-pheromoney air, you know?"

"You might have a point." Shikamaru mumbled. "I'll think about it."

Shikamaru refilled both their cups, and they drank in silence. Voices and music mingled together, spilling out from the other rooms and the main bar. They both smirked as they realized that they could distinctly hear Kiba and Lee's voices above the rest of the noise.

"I hope Kiba isn't challenging Lee to a youthful drinking contest." Sakura sighed. "The last thing we need is that spandex-moron knocking the whole building down on top of us. I'd better go and make sure they behave themselves."

She poured herself another cup of sake, downing it in one gulp. She brushed the back of her dress as she stood up, looking down at Shikamaru with flushed cheeks. "You coming?"

"No, I think I'll stay here a while longer."

"Okay, I'll come find you later."

As soon as she slid the door shut, Shikamaru flopped down onto the matted floor, draping one arm over his eyes. "What am I doing?" He muttered. "The last thing I need is for a rumor about me liking Naruto to start circulating."

He continued to drink in silence, smirking as he listened to Sakura scolding Lee and Kiba in the hall. After a while, the waitress brought him another order of sake. It wasn't until an hour later that the door slid open again.

His arm still resting heavily over his eyes, Shikamaru assumed that Sakura had returned to check on him. "You get those troublesome bastards under control, Sakura?"

The deep, regal voice that responded made him shoot up like a rocket, spilling his drink everywhere.

"Good evening, Shikamaru."

A/N: Hey everybody! It's been a while! I hope you're all doing well and that you enjoyed the update.