Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters (I wish). All OCs belong to me and some of the plot that I came up with also belong to me.

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*Kabocha POV*

I sat glaring at my beloved, charismatic, and gentle uncle. I said he's charismatic because he's the smoothest and sliest man I'd ever seen use the japanese language. I was beyond amazed that I was sitting in an open field to train...all because I had met Shikamaru Nara. The same boy who had the dishonor of being my tamer. The same sweet boy who I was supposed to see again today...if my uncle released me from this stupid training. He never trained. The only thing I'd ever see him train was his mouth to manipulate people into doing his bidding. Granted, it was always for a good cause. I was becoming more and more frustrated just thinking about my gentle uncle manipulating. I had never seen him do it because he was so subtle about it. He could make a koi fish think it could fly with the way he got me to this training field.

"Now, now Bocha-chan stop pouting. You are part dragon. The only reason you are here is because you let your temper get the best of you." He poked my forehead with his index finger making me snap my teeth at him.

"Princess Kabocha Kasai does not pout." I fumed turning my head to look away from him.

"Oh yeah? Then what do you call this?" He began mimicking me which made me laugh at his exaggerated facial expressions and body language.

"Stop that uncle! I'm trying to be upset!" I giggled out as he tackled me to the ground gently and began to tickle my sides. "I give! I give!" I squealed out trying to slap his hands away.

"Dragons never admit defeat!" He gasped out in mock horror. He said that in a joking manner, but I could tell that he was somewhat serious. I stopped my giggling and caught my breath. I looked at him dead on without so much as a smile.

"Since your father isn't around to give you the talk like our father did when he found out that the dragon bloodline trait had been passed on to him. I will personally give you that talk. I brought you here to not only train you for a bit, but to also explain to you what happened with Shikaku-san's heir." He said Shikamaru's father's name quietly and reluctantly.

"You mean Maru-kun." I corrected my uncle not liking that he hadn't use Shikamaru's name when he knew full well what his name was. It would have been a different story if he didn't know his name, but I know he did. It was a part of his job to know our...allies? I'm not sure what Konoha was to us since I was kept out of the loop all of the time. My future position in our clan and village didn't involve me knowing other villages to the point of knowing everyone's name... just their abilities in case of a fight. I was being taught to train and lead future shinobi of our ever growing village and clan.

"Yes, Kabocha, Shikamaru. Now, pay close attention because I need you to understand what meeting Shikamaru means for you." My uncle said taking a seat on the grass across from me. I frowned more so out of fear than anything considering he said my full name.

"You do know what lies in your father, correct?" My uncle inquired looking at me expectantly.

"Of course Uncle. Attached to father's soul is a dragon spirit of great power." I repeated the mantra that was said to me many times...at least I think I recited it correctly.

"Close, but not quite Bocha-chan. There isn't a dragon spirit attached to his soul. Half of his soul is not human. Half of his soul is dragon. The very reptile that our clan is based off of. He is more part dragon than myself because I do not carry a scaled beast. That gene skipped me otherwise it would have awakened sooner. Are you keeping up so far?" He asked me crossing his legs and I followed suit nodding vigorously.

"Alright. The dragon gene is only supposed to awaken when you turn sixteen. That is when you are of courting age. Your gene was awakened because you met Shikamaru. He is your tamer and now you are bound to him until the day you die. Not even when he dies will the bond die. The bond only ends with you Kabocha. I see I'm losing you. Do you have any questions for me?" I blinked owlishly at my uncle's simplified expression. I got the gist, but I was missing something...something crucial.

"I'll save my questions for the end. Please continue father." I said trying to concentrate harder which was asking too much of my short attention span considering my senses had heightened even further since meeting Shikamaru yesterday.

"Okay, but make sure you don't forget them. Your father's plan was to make sure you were not able to meet your tamer until you were at least thirteen. That is why he kept you in the castle. You are only five now, so teaching you to control your dragon will be difficult considering your tamer has to be present for some of your training. Now, Kabocha, you know what your mother is to your father." He stated more than asked me which meant he expected me to know.

"Momma is father's tamer." I said with a proud smile. "Yes, but she is even more than that Bocha-chan." He said chuckling when my proud smile became a deflated frown.

"She is not only his tamer. She is also his wife, lover, confident, best friend, second in command, and mother to his children. She is all of those things to him."

"Wow.." I said breathlessly. I always knew momma was a special woman.

"Yes I know." He chuckled. "The relationship between a dragon and a tamer can be anything from wife and husband to just lovers or even friends. A tamer calms a dragon's temper considerably. I don't know if you've noticed yet, but since you've met and left Shikamaru you have become increasingly agitated. In order for that to stop happening you have to establish a bond of some sort with him and see him frequently. I'm not talking everyday, but at least once every two weeks. Every week would be better, but we'll work on it. Now, what were your questions?" My uncle asked stretching his legs in front of him.

"Well...my first question is what is Shikamaru to me?" I tilted my head trying to remember all of the information he threw at me.

"Right now Shikamaru is your friend. That is the basis for all tamer and dragon relationships. It may or may not become something more. Take your mother's brother Hikari for example. Hikari is a tamer to a young man-"

"Uncle Hikari likes men?" I questioned now thoroughly confused.

"No, no Kabocha...at least I don't think so… That's beside the point!" He cleared his throat as I rolled on the ground in laughter that he lost his train of thought.

"Hikari is best friends with this young man. That is probably as far as their relationship will go considering the young man is married to a young woman. They are still tamer and dragon, but their relationship is different to your mother and father's. Every dragon and tamer relationship is different. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Uncle. Uhmm...does every dragon find their tamer?" I asked still looking at the sky from my previous rolling.

"Yes, they do. It is guaranteed that every dragon find their tamer. Without a tamer a man that is half dragon is no better than a wild animal. The soul of a dragon and the soul of tamer are bound together tightly by destiny. You are drawn to your tamer like a moth to a flame." I sat up to look at my uncle to see that he was lying down with his eyes closed breathing evenly as if meditating.

"You are so knowledgeable. Where did you learn all of this from again?" I questioned crawling over to him to lie down beside him.

"I learned from my father who was the second generation of half dragon clan members. I listened and learned everything I could in case I were to have children that were half dragon." Uncle said cracking an eye open to peer over at me.

"Oh." I said simply thinking about the grandfather I never met. "What happens if a tamer dies? What does the dragon do?" I blurted out the question I feared.

"Don't worry about it. It is something you will never have to experience Bocha-chan. Also the correct term is Nagaraku which means tamed. We are not full dragons. Actual dragons are our familiars. Nagaraku go train with dragons at the Shi volcano when they come of age." He sat up looking at me seriously.

I frowned thinking about the volcano that we were always on the alert about. The threat of it erupting always loomed over us. The temperature of that volcano was almost hotter than other volcanoes from what father has said. It was also where all of the dragons stayed so they wouldn't be bothered. Only people that were half dragon could make it even near the volcano let alone inside it. It was also the volcano that both Tsuyoi and Shosha tried to scare me with. They didn't call it the death volcano because the dragons offered you lava flakes. Which would be mean anyway because they were said to be the spiciest dish ever created. However, the dish wasn't spicy it just hurt. Anyway...back on track.

"Okay uncle." I said reluctantly since I didn't like his answer about what would happen if a tamer was killed. It made me even more afraid if that were to happen to me. The thought of having a bond that tied souls together severed made me want to throw up and cry all at the same time.

He nodded at me and went into his earlier position of sitting cross leg except this time he was more meditating. "If you can hold your meditation for an hour I will move on to the next part of your training. After the next part I will take you to see Shikamaru. He is currently on a playdate with two other clan heirs."

"Fine." I huffed at the thought of having to sit still for that long. "Is it alright if I ask a few more questions before we get started?"

"Of course." Uncle said relaxing his posture and looked at me.

"Do I have to train at the Shi volcano? What age do I have to if I have to? Will I make a contract with the dragons?" I began spouting off questions before I forgot them and Uncle chuckled.

"Slow down Bocha-chan. I'll answer all of your questions after we meditate. I didn't know you had that many. I'm sure you have more stored away, but first let's gather ourselves. You have received a lot of information in a short time. Take time and think about everything you have learned." Uncle said through laughter making me pout.

I not only wanted to get out of meditating, but I also wanted my questions answered. My all knowing, wise uncle knew at this point information would start going in one ear and out the other. I huffed and crossed my arms none too thrilled at the prospect of sitting still and not talking for a whole hour. I sighed and gave in when I realized uncle was not going to let me get out of it. I got into position and began my long journey of meditating. I did, however, take it seriously thinking about everything he had told me. Things that my father probably would have never told me. I say I took it seriously in the beginning because we were interrupted about twenty minutes into our meditating. I wanted all of this meditating and training to be over with so that I could go see Shikamaru and meet his friends.

"Hey, it's you...Kabocha-chan." My ears immediately recognized the lazy tone of the Nara heir. My father always said speak of the dragon and he shall appear. I didn't think his term was literal, but I was sure glad it was.

"Maru-kun!" I laughed out happily and jumping to my feet preparing to tackle him in a hug when I saw one kid on either side of him making me frown. One of which was a little girl about our age...and something very foreign grew in the pit of my stomach.

"Who're...they…"

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Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank youuuuuu to my very first reviewer ever: STAR'S DREAMS! I can't thank you enough. Also, I'm sorry for the lack of Shikamaru. (Don't hit me please *cowers*) There will be a lot of Shika and Kabocha. They also need a ship name so if anyone would like to leave a suggestion in the reviews it would be awesome. Last order of business is that if any of you have any questions that you would Kabocha to ask Gorduo just leave it in the reviews. If the question has spoilers I will address it in my end author's note. Sorry for my passive aggressive attitude :D

Thank you for reading and see you next time!