Naruto gingerly grabbed a hold of Shikamaru's hand, softly interlocking their fingers with a delicate sort of intimacy. Her thumb slowly drew circles around the back of his hand, causing small goosebumps to rise in the wake of her ministrations. Her wide blue eyes nervously rose to meet his, a bashful blush of innocence coloring her countenance as she met the smoldering eyes of her more experienced paramour.

"Shikamaru," She spoke softly, her tongue caressing each syllable of his name, "I love you."

A charming grin tugged at the edge of his lips, his eyes illuminating with joy as he rose her hand to meet his lips. Just as Naruto believed he was going to leave a small kiss in response, he turned her hand, his lips delicately brushing over her pulse at the base of her wrist. Naruto felt her heart automatically leap to her throat, gasping for air as she watched the Nara raise his eyes to meet hers, his lips that were still attached to her wrist twisting into a sly smirk. This deceptively innocent action petrified Naruto, whose face was rapidly turning a deep red as she felt the hint of his breath on her skin.

Tantalizingly, Shikamaru released his hold on her, a sheepish grin on his face, "I love you too, Naruto."

Seconds passed as they sat there staring at each-other, dark brown meeting clear blue. Suddenly, the look of infatuation slipped off Shikamaru's features, "I think we did good."

Naruto scooted away from the jonin, nervously giggling as she rubbed the back of her head, "At least we are more comfortable with each other. I didn't think we'd ever get to this point, to be completely honest."

Shikamaru let out a chuckle, his low voice inadvertently causing the hair on Naruto's arm to rise, "We still have a lot of work to do, but it's a lot better than our previous attempts."

Naruto grimaced as she thought of those. Who knew that all she needed to do was spend more time with Shikamaru? They had striven to be comfortable with each other, and to both of their surprise it had actually worked. And fairly quickly too. It had only been a few days since Shikamaru had first proposed this troublesome plan, and mere hours since they had dropped a few hints to Ino about their 'relationship', but Shikamaru and Naruto were quickly becoming friends.

"Don't worry, Shika! We'll get better with time. Plus, I'm fairly certain that by now Ino has already all but completely convinced herself that we're in a secret relationship."

Shikamaru groaned, leaning back onto his bed. After escaping the restaurant, Shikamaru caught up with Naruto who was waiting for him a few blocks away. They stealthily made their way back to his apartment, where they had both agreed that Naruto should crash at for the time being.

"Ino is troublesome, but she's an interrogator first and foremost. She'll try to subtly find more information about us before confronting me," Shikamaru explained, "so we have a bit of time before she inevitably comes barging in here."

Naruto grinned brightly, "So you're saying that we need to drop more hints, huh?"

Shikamaru chuckled, "I think you're having a little too much fun with this."

The blond sweat-dropped, her hand reaching to scratch the back of her head awkwardly, "Well, it is a bit fun. I mean, if we have to do this anyways, we might as well draw some amusement from it, right?"

Shikamaru smiled softly, "Yeah, you're right. So, Miss. Uzumaki, what do you suggest we do?"

Naruto felt her lips spread wide, her teeth baring in amusement. If anybody who has had the pleasure of attending the academy with her were here, they would instantly recoil in fear in the presence of this specific grin; it spoke only of an imminent prank. But as Shikamaru was her partner in this specific venture, he could only smile as she began whispering the beginning of a ridiculously elaborate plan.

"So," Naruto questioned, "What do you think?"

Shikamaru pursed his lips in thought, his thumb and index finger softly pinching his lower lip. "I think," he drawled, "that it's perfect."

Naruto blinked, her head tilted to the side, "Really? You think so?"

Shikamaru nodded, "I do. It's just what we needed to really sell our relationship. You're really good at this, Naru-chan."

Naruto forced her blush to subside before stammering, "Um, t-thanks."

Shikamaru smirked, "We can discuss it further tomorrow morning, for now lets get some sleep."

Uzumaki grinned, rifling through his bedside drawer to find some proper sleepwear, "Sounds good! I'll take the couch then."

"That's insane," he replied. "We're a couple, aren't we? It's only natural for us to share a bed."

Naruto scowled, "Stop teasing me, Shika."

"Teasing?" He asked sarcastically, "I would never dare."

"Damn Bastard," she muttered as she trudged towards the bathroom to change.

The Nara snorted in amusement, rising from his bed to change. Switching his pants for sweats, he was in the process of stripping off his fishnet shirt when Naruto walked back into the room.

The blond could not help but swallow as she took in the sight. Shikamaru had this back towards her, so she could only watch as the muscles on his back flexed with every move. Turning towards her to discard his shirt, he had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing at her expression, "See something you like, Naru-chan?"

Naruto blushed, her wide blue eyes trailing the movement of his abs as they led down into a properly shaped v-line. "No, not at all."

Shikamaru nodded, finally ending his little show by wearing a T-shirt, "I was just checking."

Naruto frowned, the damn bastard was teasing her again! She would not lose, not to a lazy jonin who had nothing better to do than make fun of his less-experienced friend. "It really is nothing impressive," she dismissed while taking a seat besides him. "I've seen better."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really."

Shikamaru laughed, slowly leaning in towards her, "Why so red, Naru-chan?"

Naruto quickly leaned away from him, "W-what? I'm not red!"

A glint shined in the Nara's eyes as he scooted ever closer, "That's odd then. For I'm sure that your normal pallor isn't this pink. Are you hot, Naruto?"

Naruto yelped as she leaned back, falling flat on her back on his expansive bed as the smug jonin hovered over her. She gulped as she watched Shikamaru slowly close the ever so small gap between their bodies, his lips tantalizing brushing her ear with every word he spoke, "It's okay to be nervous, Naruto. It's only natural after all."

Naruto steeled her voice, forcing any hint of anxiety to subside as she answered, "Who told you that I'm nervous? This is nothing to me."

A low chuckle interrupted her faux declaration, a mocking sound in the face of her perceived bravery, "Oh really now?"

The jinchuriki gulped. She has faced scarier adversaries: Nagato, Madara and Kaguya come to mind. However this was an entirely different adversary. This was an opponent that Naruto wasn't even sure she wanted to beat. "Y-yes, I'm s-sure."

The Nara lowered his head, his tongue poking out ever so slightly to taste the pulse at the base of her neck. "Sh-Shikamaru?" Naruto stuttered, her body frozen stiff from the small action of the teasing jonin.

Shikamaru lifted his head to peer into her eyes, a serious look gracing his face when only a mocking one was there before, "Would you like me to stop?"

Naruto swallowed, her eyes widening in response. She bit her lips, hard, a trickle of blood dripping down in response. She shook her head, "No, go on. It was my idea after all, I should have known you'd be a complete dick about it."

Shikamaru smiled softly as though he were in pain, a grimace masked with sincerity, "We don't have to Naruto. There are other ways to convince my teammate."

"None that are as good as this. You've said it yourself, we're tight on time. This is the quickest way to get them on our trail."

Shikamaru sighed, suddenly tired, "I could stop teasing you, if it would help?"

Naruto giggled, "No, it's okay. As much as I claim to hate your Bastard-like teasing, it does make it easier for me."

The Nara grinned, "Alright then, Naru-chan. Since you asked so nicely."

Naruto could feel excitement bubble forth in her chest. Fuck. She couldn't believe she was actually enjoying this! She was flirting with her partner, and enjoying it. For a brief moment she cursed the day Temari laid eyes on the lazy jonin… until he made her incapable of any producing any level of coherent thought.

Shikamaru sunk down back to her neck, his sharp teeth biting down on her flesh. Naruto yelped, a sound that made Shikamaru chuckle against her neck as he licked her skin in apology. Naruto muffled a groan as he continued to devote his sole attention on her neck: biting, sucking, and kissing in cycles. Naruto felt her eyes roll to the back of her head as she thoughtlessly breathed out, "Fucking hell."

Naruto knew that when it came down to it, Shikamaru could display a level of concentration the rest of human society could only dream of possessing. She just never thought that she could be the target of his famed devotion; or that she'd enjoy it this much.

With a final kiss, Shikamaru leaned back to examine his handiwork. Naruto was sprawled across his sheets, her long blond hair casting a halo above her head. She was breathing heavily, her eyes closed as she struggled to find a grip on her spiraling emotions. Red stained her cheeks, her whiskers twitching with each intake of breath. Her pajama bottoms rode low on her hips, a sliver of her tan stomach left uncovered. The strap of her tank top was pulled down her shoulder, giving the Nara better access to his target. On her neck, the sight of Shikamaru's devotion, was a large splotch of blue; a hickey so noticeable you'd have to be blind not to see it. Now Shikamaru had always known, at least on a purely logical level, that Naruto was beautiful. However seeing her like this, panting for breath and writhing under him, he had to acknowledge at least to himself that he was greatly attracted to her.

"Naruto?" He called her softly, tentatively, a worried look gracing his usual apathetic features.

"Y-yeah Shika?" Naruto couldn't even remember the last time she had been this nervous. Fuck Shikamaru Nara and his fucking attractive self and his fucking ability to make the seemingly unshakable Naruto go incoherent.

"You okay?" He questioned. The Nara couldn't remember the last time he had asked a girl that question. Temari would have gutted him if he was ever that sappy, and the few girls he had slept with between each breakup practically begged for his every action. He wasn't used to being… well, careful with a girl.

Naruto nodded, slowly rising into a seated position as she adjusted her tank top, "Of course I am."

Shikamaru raised a brow, "Oh?"

Naruto felt her cheeks redden once more. Fuck. And just when her blush was finally starting to subside! "Oh shut up, Shikamaru. You know what I meant."

Shikamaru chuckled, an action he found himself doing quite a lot while in Naruto's presence, "Sure, Naruto. Whatever you say."

Naruto shoved him away from her as she stood, an adorable attempt to reclaim what little amount of power she can from the situation. She crossed her arms with a huff, deftly tossing her waist long hair to the side. Shikamaru stretched out on his bed as he watched her pace back and forth, his hand interlocked behind his head.

"Okay so step one is now complete. If we keep it up, we could have the entirety of Konoha tricked in a matter of days!" Naruto exclaimed. She had to withhold the urge to reach up and trace the mark he left on her. She could do that later when his keen eyes weren't watching her every move.

Shikamaru shrugged, his hands reaching out to his bedside table to grasp a cigarette. With a snap of his fingers he lit it up, placing it between his puckered lips and inhaling deeply. Smoke ringlets twisted out as he exhaled, a soft sigh escaping his lips. "Ino will be the easiest to convince. But we need to make sure that your own teammates have reason to believe the rumors once they're spread. After all, you're not exactly the subtlest of people."

Naruto halted her actions, a frown marring her features, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"That you can't lie to save your life," He answered candidly.

"I'm lying well enough these days, aren't I?"

Shikamaru nodded, "Well, yes. I happen to know that you can act; however the rest of our friends are none the wiser."

Naruto raised a brow mockingly, "Why, Shikamaru! Are you claiming to know me better than the rest of our friends."

He nodded seriously, "I am."

Naruto laughed, "And just where did this confidence come from?"

Shikamaru smirked in amusement, his eyes not-so-subtly darting towards the deep blue hickey he had left on her skin only minutes before. Naruto scowled in embarrassment, and with quick actions that displayed her prowess as a future Hokage, she stole a pillow from his bed and chucked it right at his face before stomping out of the room; his obnoxious laughter trailing behind her.

Naruto scowled as she absentmindedly stirred the noodles around in the bowl, her gaze never leaving the wooden counter. Fuck Shikamaru Nara. Fuck him to hell and back. She nervously adjusted her oversized orange jacket, praying that it wouldn't slip and betray her actions the night before.

When she entered this arrangement she thought it would be, if not easy, than at least simple in nature. But it was far from simple. Shikamaru Nara, her jonin friend that she never thought of in a romantic light, suddenly uncovered a side to himself that had Naruto quite literally breathless. Fuck. Fuck him. Fuck!

Temari. She just had to keep reminding herself of Temari. The older blond girl from Suna was Shikamaru's true love, a woman who against all odds spotted a diamond in the rough and held onto his heart as he morphed into quite an attractive man. When all of this was over, for it had to end someday, he would go running back to Temari before Naruto could even kiss him goodbye. Not that she wanted to kiss him goodbye or anything. Hell, she didn't even like him that way! He was just… attractive. With a manly charm she wasn't used to being around, what with her male teammates being the most effeminate men on the planet.

That was it. Shikamaru was new and different, introducing her to a world of pleasure she had never given much thought to before. That was all it was. A mere attraction that would certainly subside the more she was exposed to his disgusting habits such as smoking. It would fade, certainly. It had to.

Naruto had never given much thought to boys in general. She could certainly acknowledge that a man was attractive, after all she had known Shikamaru was cute since his famed chunin exams, however she never really gave them the time of the day. While the rest of her peers were entering relationships and experimenting with more physical activities, Naruto was training. So it was only natural that Naruto respond this way to a man, who she had long since thought was attractive, and was showing her such pointed attention. Yup. Natural.

Just as Naruto was about to start her meal once more, a familiar voice interrupted her, "I don't think I've ever seen you eating ramen this slow."

Naruto grinned as she met the lavender eyes of Neji, smiling at the soft smile that spread across his face, "I do have manners sometimes. I just usually choose not to use them."

Neji nodded, "Yes, I assumed that was the case."

The Uzumaki gestured to the stool besides hers, grinning widely as he gracefully sat down, "So what brings the great Hyuga prodigy to this wayward ramen stand?"

"You, actually." He answered, perusing through the menu and wrinkling his nose at the amount of sodium each dish must contain.

Naruto took a bite of her ramen, obnoxiously slurping up the noodles as she questioned with a full mouth, "What for?"

"Tsunade-sama asked me to call you. Apparently we have a mission," Neji answered, tossing the menu down as he came to the conclusion that it was better for his health to not entertain such food.

Naruto chocked on her ramen, coughing and pounding on her chest, "What? We have a mission? Now? At this time?"

Tsunade knew Naruto's current situation better than anybody, it was ridiculous for her to send the panicked-stricken jonin on a mission when her very fate was in such a precarious situation. Thankfully, before Naruto could truly lose herself to the waves of grief, Neji responded, "The mission isn't going to take place for another week or so, Hokage-sama just wants to give us the details now so that we have time to prepare."

Naruto discreetly sighed in relief. It was okay, she realized, the plan could still proceed with little to no interruptions. The blond nodded in agreement, "Do I still have time to eat, or is Baa-chan being forceful about it?"

Neji shook his head, his friend never did truly change, "You still have a bit of time. Hokage-sama is currently still in a meeting with the younger of the villages strategists."

Naruto paused mid-bite, "Shikamaru? What does she want with him?"

The Hyuga raised a brow, "I'm not quite certain, Naruto. They often meet to discuss various situations that arise. I'm sure that you must know this, as Hokage candidate?"

Naruto coughed awkwardly, a sheepish smile spreading across her face, "Haha, of course I do! I was just, um, wondering what exactly was so important that Baa-chan had to call on him with no notice."

"How do you know that Shikamaru-san had no forewarning?"

Naruto withheld the urge to slam her head against the counter. Shikamaru was right after all; she really couldn't lie to save her life, "U-um, I uh, I mean I saw Shikamaru earlier! And uh, he never mentioned that he had a meeting with Baa-chan!"

She did see him earlier, so it wasn't a complete lie. After Naruto calmed down from Shikamaru's incessant teasing, the two of them were able to smooth out some more details before once more falling asleep together. In the same bed. It would have been okay, if as soon as they woke up Shikamaru didn't make some smug comment. Two minutes and a water jutsu to his face later, she stormed out of his apartment with reddened cheeks and a smitten smile. Who the hell would have guessed Shikamaru could be this playful and charming? Fuck.

Neji frowned, "And why would Shikamaru-san mention the meeting to you?"

Naruto grimaced, "Um, that's because, um, we talked about Baa-chan! Yeah! I had asked if he knew of any upcoming missions, I've been going stir crazy you know, and he said that he didn't have any meetings with her scheduled this week but he'd ask her if he saw her!"

Truthfully speaking, it was a real conversation the two had had. However it wasn't earlier that day, but late last night while they were ironing out some details.

It was obvious Neji didn't believe a word she said. Naruto would have cared more about that, if her poor acting skills didn't help truly sell their 'secret relationship'. Knowing that bastard Shikamaru, she was certain he had taken her poor acting skills into account while formalizing this plan. Bastard.

"Well then," Neji coughed, "We still need to find Kiba. He will be joining us on this mission as well."

"Sure thing!" Naruto slurped down the rest of her ramen, slamming her money on the counter and hopping off the stool, "Let's go find the mutt!"

"No."

Tsunade raised a brow, her tone off voice colored with incredulous disbelief, "Pardon me?"

Shikamaru shrugged carelessly, leaning into his seat as he perused through the multiple files Tsunade had handed him, "It would never work. There are too many variables that hasn't been taken into account. If you proceed with this plan as is, it will certainly fail. So no, I don't agree with this current method."

Tsunade sighed, grabbing the bottle of alcohol on her desk and taking a lazy sip, "You are even more aggravating to deal with than you father is; which I had never thought could be possible."

"You asked for my opinion. I gave it."

"I suddenly feel quite bad for Naruto," she lamented.

Shikamaru raised a brow, confused about the sudden topic change, "Why is that?"

Tsunade chuckled, "You are quite the bastard Mr. Shikamaru. Young, innocent little Naruto will have to work quite hard to deal with your abrasive personality."

"Not my problem," Shikamaru dismissed, "Naruto knows what she's getting herself into. As this is the only plan available to us, I'm afraid that she just has to learn how to accept my so-called 'abrasive personality'."

"But certainly you feel bad for her? At least enough to perhaps tone down your careless comments?"

"Naruto is not a child, she out of all people is perhaps best equipped to 'handle' me the best," he responded almost mocking.

"Better equipped than Temari?"

Shikamaru growled, "Don't."

The Hokage smiled in amusement, "Just making a simple comment. Just, go easy on Naruto, okay? She really is a pure girl, and I've heard enough rumors about you to trigger my protective instincts."

"I doubt Naruto would very much like to hear you doubting her like this."

Tsunade laughed, "Already using your girlfriend to threaten me? My, you have gotten bold, Shikamaru."

The younger boy shrugged, closing the file and tossing it on her desk. Switching the topic back to the original problem, he spoke, "I have another plan for this specific encounter."

Tsunade straightened her back, her previously amused countenance turning into one of seriousness, "Speak."

"I believe it's time to announce your new advisors."

Tsunade grinned wickedly, "Well, this should make for an interesting council meeting to say the least."

Shikamaru snorted, "You mean chaotic meeting?"

The Hokage smirked, "I meant what I said. See, this is why I keep you around. You may be an arrogant, lazy bastard; but your genius is frankly unparalleled."

Kiba spent the entire walk to the Hokage's tower talking their ear off. Apparently he had met the most 'stunningly-attractive woman', and she had actually agreed to go on a date with him! So with a ridiculous amount of detail, he narrated the events that led to his date; ending with what he referred to as 'quite the magical night'. With each compliment that fell from his lips, both Naruto and Neji grew more and more annoyed.

"Kiba," Naruto finally interrupted as they reached the Hokage's office, "Have you perhaps confused the two of us with your other male friends?"

Kiba blinked, "Well, no. But Neji is a guy, and I'm sure he appreciates a good story. And well, Naruto you're practically a guy, so no harm!"

"Excuse me," Naruto growled.

Apparently Kiba took no notice of the warning in her tone, for he just continued flippantly, "I mean, I wouldn't dare to speak like this in front of Sakura and Ino, they're kind of crazy, ya know? But not you Naruto, you're one of the guys!"

Neji's eyes quickly darted between the obtuse Kiba and the rapidly infuriated Naruto, "Kiba. Stop. Talking."

Kiba just blinked, confusion coloring his face, "Huh? Why?"

Naruto exhaled sharply, forcing the anger out of her body, "It's alright Neji. I've been friends with the mutt for years, I of all people should be used to complete lack of manners."

Kiba cried, "Hey! What's that supposed to mean!"

"What do you think it means? Or do you need me to spell it out for you?"

"You know what you little-" he suddenly stopped, taking a small sniff, "Naruto, why do you smell different?"

The girl in question yelped, "Wh-what do you mean?"

Kiba frowned, "You don't smell like yourself. Well, you do, kind of. But it's kind of masked, almost like you spent a lot of time with someone else?"

Naruto furiously shook her head, "Nope. No idea what you're talking about. I mean, I did switch shampoo brands, but that's it!"

"Huh. That's pretty weird. It's a pretty masculine scent."

"That's because it's the male shampoo! Yeah, it was cheaper than the female one, and I didn't really think anybody would notice."

Neji pinched the bridge of his nose, "Let's just go in."

Naruto grinned, thankful for the distraction, and kicked in the office door with gusto, "Hey Baa-chan! We're here!"

Tsunade sighed, taking a swig from her bottle, "Yes, I see that you brat."

Naruto blinked in confusion as she gazed upon the amused countenance of her 'boyfriend', who was calmly seated and perusing through a thick file, "Shika? What are you doing here?"

Shikamaru smiled kindly, a foreign look on his face as he looked at Naruto, "I'm here for the mission, same as you."

Naruto grinned, "We're going on a mission together? Awesome!"

Neji narrowed his eyes. He had never seen such a kind look grace the Nara's face before. Not even with Kurenai or Temari or his own mother. There was something going on here.

"Hey, where was this excitement when you found out I was on your team?" Kiba cried.

Naruto used her pinky to clean out her ear, "Did you say something, mutt?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the exchange, an almost caring expression taking place on his usual apathetic countenance, "Take a seat guys, Tsunade-sama doesn't have all day."

Naruto uncharacteristically of her immediately sat down at the Nara's comment, claiming the seat directly besides the intelligent clan head. The other two ninja's also took their seats, Kiba still muttering about the show of disrespect while Neji was silently contemplative.

Tsunade cleared her throat, wiping away the amusement she clearly felt watching Naruto and Shikamaru's little act. "I've called you here today for an important mission. I need a scroll delivered to Suna."

Naruto groaned, "A scroll delivered to Suna? That's the important mission?"

Tsunade clicked her tongue in anger, "Well brat, if you let me finish you may see why!"

Naruto squeaked, "Sorry."

The Hokage sighed, "Anyways, I need to send you all to Suna to discuss and finalize our newest trade routes with the Kazekage and his council. Naruto, I'm sending you for the purpose of convincing Gaara-san that opening these new roads will be in both of our best interests. Kiba and Neji, the two of you are backup. Shikamaru, as the Suna Ambassador you are to take point on this mission. Do whatever it takes to get these routes opened as quickly as possible."

Shikamaru nodded, "Understood."

Tsunade gave Naruto and Shikamaru a shrewd glance, "I don't suppose I have to warn you all about not letting personal business derail the mission?"

"No Hokage-sama," Both Naruto and Shikamaru responded.

The elder woman smiled, "Good. The mission will take place next week at 0800 hours. Dismissed."

"Hey Naru! I'm meeting the rest of the guys at the bar, wanna come join us?" Kiba invited the moment they had exited the building. Naruto shot a quick glance at Shikamaru to see his reaction, a look that Neji did not miss.

The girl shrugged, "Sure thing, mutt. It'd be nice to spend time with people who aren't ridden with fleas."

"Excuse you?!" Kiba shrieked as he followed Naruto, a string of playful insults bouncing back and forth between them as they left the two calmer jonins behind. Shikamaru chuckled at the sight, before turning to walk away.

"Excuse me, Nara-san," Neji stopped him, "If I may have a moment of your time."

Shikamaru frowned, "What can I do for you, Neji?"

The Hyuga narrowed his eyes at the lazy man, "What is the nature of your relationship with Naruto?"

The Nara raised his brows, "We're friends and colleagues."

"Don't play me for a fool. I saw the way you looked at her, and she herself practically let it slip that she has been seeing you outside of an official capacity. That, coupled with the masculine scent Kiba picked up from her, only brings me to one conclusion."

Shikamaru glared, "And what conclusion would that be?"

"That you are having some sort of illicit affair with Naruto."

"Illicit affair?" Shikamaru scoffed, "Stop holding back Hyuga. What exactly is it that you are trying to say?"

Neji stepped towards the Nara, anger visibly growing on his features, "Very well, I will speak candidly. You are taking advantage of Naruto while on your little break from Temari, and the moment the older blond comes running back to you, you will drop Uzumaki and break her heart in the process."

"You have quite the active imagination there, Hyuga."

"Are you claiming not to be in a relationship with Naruto?"

"Not at all," Shikamaru shook his head. "What happens between Naruto and I, is our business. Don't worry your pretty boy head over it. It's none of your concern."

Neji clenched his teeth, "That's where you're wrong, Nara. It is my concern."

Shikamaru laughed mockingly, "Why? Because of the little crush you have on her? Oh don't look so surprised, I've known about it since we were chunin. Your little glances at her have not been as subtle as you believe."

"I'm warning you-"

"Are you threatening me?"

"Yes. I am. If you hurt Naruto, not only I, but countless of others will rally to make your life a living hell."

Shikamaru waved him off, lightening up his cigarette and lazily blowing smoke, "Calm down, Hyuga. Naruto is a big girl and can make her own decisions."

"Naruto is an innocent girl. You have no right to sully her good name with your actions."

Shikamaru frowned, "You have no idea what you're talking about. And I sincerely recommend keeping your mouth shut. Naruto doesn't quite like it when others tell her what to do."

"You're not good enough for her."

"Oh, I know. But then again, neither are you."