Naruto let out a boisterous laugh as she escaped the clutch of a small hand. She jumped avoiding another set of hands causing the small figure to tumble on the ground with a oof.
Naruto snickered as she watched the little girl get up with string of curses that shouldn't be allowed to come out of a ten year old's mouth.
"That's not very polite, Aiko-chan," Naruto said shaking her head in mock disappointment a contrast to the amused grin still on her face, "what would your mother say about her cute little girl uttering such ugly words."
Aiko waved her hand in dismissal, "I know you won't tell her anything."
Naruto raised an amused eyebrow, "Oh? What makes you so sure?"
The girl shrugged flicking her long ponytail behind her with more grace than Naruto could ever manage in her whole life. She looked up at Naruto with her big hazel eyes and a charming grin, "because I'm cute and you can't resist to cover for me."
Naruto chuckled softly, "that's totally true, but," she stepped to the side as another girl with blond hair tried to tackle her from behind, "you would need to work harder on your distraction technic if you ever want to catch me." She winked at the two furious girls in front of her while keeping an eye on the rest of the children in the corner of her eye watching her warily while panting.
Naruto inwardly smirked, they'd been at it for a full hour now and none of the ten children she'd decided to play with at the park had managed to catch her. They've come close but only because Naruto had allowed it. She had to give them credit for working together though, she didn't think she would have thought like them when she was their age.
Aiko was about to retort something in response to Naruto's taunt when a boy with dark hair stopped her by placing his hand on her shoulder and whispering something to her ear to which she finally nodded albeit reluctantly.
Naruto cocked her head to the side curiously as she watched the boy walk over to her, stopping a few feet from her.
"We would like ten minutes of break so we can discuss our strategy." He said, indicating to the other children who were gathered together to form a circle.
Naruto shrugged, "sure, take all the time you need." Her expression turned smug, "must be difficult being runts after all." She snickered when ten pair of eyes glared at her.
She turned to look for an empty bench in order to sit because despite the fact that she tried hard to hide it, she too was starting to tire, only to come face to face with warm brown eyes.
She jumped in surprised, letting out a squeak. The children behind her laughed at her reaction. Naruto blushed in embarrassment as she glared at the offender.
"What are you doing here?" She asked crossing her arms in front of her chest.
Shikamaru pretended to look around the park before raising a brow at her. "I didn't know I needed your permission to come at the park."
Naruto opened her mouth to retort something but changed her mind. She let out a huff before pushing him aside so that she can walk past him to her original destination. She sat down on a bench not too far from where the children sat discussing "strategy" by sitting and eating snacks.
Naruto's eyebrow twitched, they could have just told her they needed a break instead of making up that lame excuse. She wouldn't have blamed them, after all she too was getting a little hungry, she thought touching her stomach lightly. These days her appetite seemed to have expanded two folds. Yet, most food are making her sick to her stomach but she was too stubborn to go see the hokage or Sakura to check what was wrong with her. Maybe I really am sick.
A shadow fell over her, disrupting her thoughts. Naruto stubbornly refused to look up, he was just another source of her problems.
Shikamaru felt uncertainty course through him for the first time since he'd known Naruto. That's what happens when you realize that you might have feelings for the girl you've been casually sleeping with, he thought wryly. To top it off, he didn't seem to be in her good books right now. Not that he could blame her after the other night in front of the hospital, hurting women was the only thing he seemed to be doing well in lately.
He cleared his throat looking away for a moment before returning his eyes to her. Shikamaru could tell she was watching him from the corner her eyes, she looked tense with her hands gripping both sides of the bench, her head still turned away from him. He was probably making her nervous by standing over her like this, he deduced.
He was about to sit down on the space next to her when an idea occurred to him. He inwardly smirked shoving his hands in his pockets.
Shikamaru watched in satisfaction as Naruto's tense posture became even more tense. Call him sadist, but if this was the only way to get her to look at him then so be it.
Naruto's grip on the bench tightened until she couldn't take the pressure any longer. "What is your problem?" She snapped, finally glaring up at him in annoyance.
Shikamaru inwardly smirked triumphantly, outwardly he just shrugged with his hands still in his pockets. "I don't have a problem," he raised his eyebrows at her, "do you?"
Naruto opened her mouth to say something scathing when she realized something. This was like a recurring pattern they seemed to go through every time, where he will distance himself from her then come back, she will act mad for a little while before she'd want him again and she was getting sick of it. It was like she couldn't act normal around him anymore. No, she couldn't even act normal when he wasn't around. He seemed to take up eighty percent of her thoughts nowadays. How did that happen?
Shikamaru frowned at Naruto's lack of reply, she just blanked out in the middle of saying something. He nudged her feet to get her attention, when she looked up at him blankly his frown deepened. "Hey, are you okay?" At her lack of reply he quickly added, "you know I'm just teasing, right?"
Naruto looked at him with that same blank expression for another two minutes, before sighing and shaking her head letting her bangs cover her face. "Why are here, Shikamaru?" She asked in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. She had a feeling he didn't just stumble in this park by accident, she just didn't know how to feel about it.
To see you, Shikamaru wanted to say but then realized that wouldn't be the truth. The truth was he really didn't know why he'd come here. He hadn't even planned to look for Naruto (not until he'd sorted out his feelings for her, or at least knew what to do about it), he'd just been walking aimlessly, the fight with his mother two days ago still fresh in his mind when he'd heard the distinct sound of Naruto's laughter, before he knew it his feet had led him to her.
He shrugged at her, rubbing the back of his head. "To be honest I have no idea."
Naruto looked at him skeptically, before letting out a huff. She looked at him again, this time properly studying his face. He seemed to be lying, yet, there was something different in the way he was looking at her causing her to avoid her eyes.
She grumbled a "whatever" before she turned her attention back to the children who seem to have forgotten their games with her as they've already created a new game for themselves.
Shikamaru shifted awkwardly where he was standing. Thinking that Naruto was probably still mad at him or something he turned to walk away, but was caught by the arm before he could do so.
He looked down at Naruto in surprise.
She stood up without releasing his hand. "I'm getting hungry," she gave him an adorable pout, "feed me."
Shikamaru frowned immediately pulling his hand out of her grip, but Naruto held tight. "I've seen the way you eat, there's no way I'm treating you to anything…get off me!"
"But Shikamaru!" Naruto whined pulling at his arm repeatedly, "at least you're getting missions, I'm sure you can afford to feed little ol' me." She leaned forward to give him her best puppy eyes, purposely pressing her breast against his arm.
Shikamaru swallowed hard, feeling a tingle right below the belt. "Okay, okay!" He quickly agreed in a panic, "now let go of my arm."
Naruto smirked leaning back and finally releasing him. She gave him a smug look, "I knew you would see reason."
Shikamaru scowled at her in irritation. "You're really troublesome, do you know that?"
Naruto waved her hand in dismissal with a grin. "So I've been told." With that, she walked over to say goodbye to the children she'd been playing with.
Shikamaru watched in half exasperation and half fondness, rubbing the tingle on his arm her touch had left behind. At least she was acting normal with him again, if food was the only thing it would take then so be it.
…
Forget it, this was not what he'd signed up for, Shikamaru thought morosely as Naruto inhaled food after food. To make matters worse it wasn't ramen she was consuming, out of all the days to brandished her tastes, Naruto decided today she wanted "something other than ramen 'cause Iruka-sensei said so" yeah right, how convenient was it that she'd start listening to their old teacher today.
Since when did she eat seafood anyways? He narrowed his eyes at the pile of empty plates in front of her. She was already at her third serving while he was still struggling to finish his first.
She must be punishing him, he concluded as the girl that brought them food came with the bill. If he wasn't already expecting the amount his jaw would have surely dropped.
Before he could give her the money though, Naruto beat him to it.
"For mine and his meal." She told the girl before casually returning to her food.
Shikamaru frowned in confusion, "I thought I was treating you."
Naruto shrugged not looking up, "You are," she said in between chewing her food, "you're treating me with your presence." She winked after swallowing.
Shikamaru studied her for a few seconds before letting out an exasperated breath. "You never wanted me to treat you, did you?"
Naruto shook her head, blond bangs flying from side to side. "Nope!" She said cheerfully, pointing her chopsticks at him, "just wanted to get you all worked up thinking that I will empty your wallet."
Shikamaru watched her grin in satisfaction before shaking his head. "You are something else, you know that?"
Naruto only shrugged, totally unapologetic as she finished her food. She let out a burp then leaned back in satisfaction. "I really needed that."
Which was true as she hadn't been able to eat anything proper without throwing it back out these past few days, she figured maybe something different would work instead and it did. She didn't even need to pinch her nose tight in order to swallow the fish as she would have normally done.
Feeling eyes on her, she turned to see Shikamaru looking at her with half lidded eyes. She blinked, "What?"
Shikamaru shrugged turning back to his food. "Just wondering what you're up to."
Naruto huffed, scowling slightly. "This is why I never treat anyone, you all don't know how to say thank you then leave it be!" She said a little too loudly throwing her hands in the air.
Shikamaru looked around the almost empty restaurant, thankfully no one seemed to be paying them any attention. He rolled his eyes at her, "Okay, I get it, thank you, sheesh." He sighed as he (finally) finished his food, "but I'm still curious as to why you suddenly decided to treat me."
Naruto glared to the side, jaw clenched but didn't say anything.
Shikamaru waited patiently until she blew up her bangs in irritation.
"Can't I treat a friend to lunch once in a while?" She asked in exasperation.
"You can, except you just spent the majority of ten minutes trying to ignore my presence earlier at the park," he pointed out, "so forgive me if I'm a little skeptical of your sudden good will."
"Fine," Naruto sighed in defeat, she glanced down at her hands letting her bangs cover her face, she mumbled something incoherent.
Shikamaru frowned leaning forward. "What was that?"
Naruto looked at him before quickly looking away. "I said, you usually only come to me when there's something bothering you and I thought that maybe food would cheer you up, since you know," she leaned forward to whisper in his ears, "we can't have sex anymore." She quickly ducked her head to hide her flaming cheeks.
Shikamaru for his part didn't know whether to feel touched or embarrassed. He settled on both as he coughed out something incoherent before looking away himself; he could already feel the guilt building up. Just when he thought he couldn't hate himself any more.
"Hey," Naruto's gentle hand on his shoulder interrupted his self loathing, she was looking at him with a frown as if she could read his mind. "You and I had an agreement, you had your reasons and I had mine, but you're also my friend so I will help you however I can."
Shikamaru looked into earnest blue eyes that always seemed to draw him in leaving him breathless. At that moment he realized he didn't just have feelings for Naruto, he actually wanted her as more than a casual hookup. The thought was startling because he still didn't know when he'd started liking her and why? Was it because the sex was great between them? Whatever it was he found himself wanting to explore the feeling.
"Naruto I-" his words died down when he noticed Naruto's face had gone sickly white, he frowned in concern, "Naruto are you alright?"
Naruto closed her eyes, her hand went to touch her stomach. "I'm fine just… give me a moment I'll be right back." With that she stood up and quickly headed to where he presumed the bathroom was.
Shikamaru stared at where Naruto had disappeared to absently, his mind had just caught up to what he'd been about to do. What the hell was wrong with him? He usually wasn't the spontaneous type-hell, he was never the spontaneous type. So what possessed him to suddenly want to confessed to Naruto? He didn't even think he was ready to date her yet, Naruto deserved a guy that would treat her with love and care. Shikamaru didn't even know if what he felt for the blonde was love at all, dating her out of curiosity was the shittiest thing to do to anyone. He'd already did his fair share of shitty things, no need to add more to the piles.
Plus, even if he did happen to lo-feel that way about Naruto, there was no way she'd believe him. She would just think he was trying to get into her pants, which wouldn't be a total lie since he actually did want to sleep with her at this moment. Just sitting next to her without touching her was proving to be a major headache. The girl can really pull of t-shirt and pants without trying.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru groaned slumping his body on the table, Naruto has turned him into a huge hormonal teenager…and a pervert.
"What's troublesome?"
Shikamaru looked up to find Naruto standing over him with a raised eyebrow. He shook his head sighing, "never mind that, what's wrong with you?" He asked studying her still pale face, "you look a little green, did you just throw up?"
Naruto hesitated, she wanted to say the food must've been spoiled but knew it would be a lie, she honestly had no idea what was wrong with her and it was frustrating her to no end. Sighing tiredly, she forced out a smile at his concern. "I guess my stomach doesn't like fish either."
Shikamaru's brow drew together, "either? You mean it's happened before?" He felt a little alarmed at the prospect of Naruto being sick, as far as he could remember he'd never heard of the blonde being sick. At all.
Naruto waved her hand dismissively, "it's fine, don't worry about it."
Shikamaru's frown didn't go away, it instead turned slightly disapproving. "Naruto if you're sick then you need to-"
"I said it's fine, okay!" Naruto interrupted sharply causing the few people in the restaurant to look their way, she took a breath to calm down reminding herself that he was just being a caring friend even if she still wasn't use to it. "Just… just leave it alone, I will deal with it myself."
Shikamaru looked at her with his bored mask, his fingers tapping repeatedly in thoughts. He finally sighed, shrugging his shoulder he looked away. "If you don't want me to meddle then it's fine, but I still think you should go see someone. People don't just throw up for no reasons."
It was Naruto's turn to sigh as she shifted on her feet. "I know, I will."
Shikamaru nodded before standing up to face her, "do you want a drink? I'm paying."
He watched as Naruto seemed to think about it, inwardly he hoped she'd agree to join. To be honest, he wasn't ready to be alone yet.
Naruto eyed him up and down as she bit her lips in thoughts. On one hand drinking had always resulted in her making poor decisions, one of them was sleeping with a certain lazy genius, Naruto bit her lips harder eyeing the imposing figure in front of her up and down, make that a sexy lazy genius. On the other hand, letting loose was probably what Naruto needed right now, what with all the stress she'd been enduring lately.
"Okay," she said at long lost, nodding, "but only if you let me take you to my favorite place to drink." She added with a grin.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow before shrugging, "Okay."
Naruto huffed at his lack of enthusiasm before taking his hand and dragging him out of the restaurant, ignoring his weak protests.
Shikamaru looked around at their packed surroundings then looked at the grinning blonde next to him, he repeated the action.
Naruto was bouncing next to him in excitement.
"So what do you think?" Naruto finally asked, grinning from ear to ear.
"You brought me to a whore house?" He asked, his voice carrying a tone of incredulity.
Naruto scowled crossing her arms, "it's not a whore house it's a bar…a bar with music."
Shikamaru raised a brow at a guy that was sitting at the corner of the room and being grinded by two skimpily dressed ladies, "this looks like a whore house to me." He stared pointedly to another that was skillfully dancing with a pole to the music. With only a panty and a bra. "Plus, this place is in the red light district."
Naruto rolled her eyes, "stop discriminating and follow me," she said taking his hand and dragging through the throngs of dancing bodies.
Shikamaru felt his heart flutter a little. He glanced down at the hand holding his to the blonde, he looked around at their surroundings again before sighing in resignation. Troublesome.
Naruto led them to the bar where a guy with long dark hair tied on top of his head stood behind the counter chatting up a girl sitting on one of the opposite stools. As soon as he spotted them, his face split into a grin.
"Naruto!" He called cheerfully over the music.
"Goro-kun!" Naruto responded just as enthusiastically leaning over the counter to hug him.
As Shikamaru silently took a seat on one of the stool, the bartender caught sight of him over Naruto's shoulder.
"Naruto you brought us another one." He said eyeing Shikamaru up and down in a not so friendly manner.
Shikamaru raised one eyebrow as Naruto took a seat next to him nodding her head.
"Yep, don't worry he's much nicer than Sasuke." Naruto said with a wink.
"He better be," the bartender narrowed his eyes threateningly at Shikamaru, "because I hired myself a ninja this time." He said nodding his head over their shoulders.
Shikamaru and Naruto simultaneously glanced at where he indicated to a Buffy guy standing guard at the entrance, Shikamaru could admit the man did look threatening but the same could not be said for his strength.
Shikamaru knew all the on duty and off duty ninjas by heart even the ones on extended missions, as the village's tactician shinobi analysis was his responsibility which is why he could confidently say that this guy was a fraud posing as a ninja. He weighed the options of information the bartender before deciding he couldn't be bothered. It was none of his business anyways.
Naruto apparently didn't care, she leaned forward her eyes squinting at the man. "That guy? He doesn't feel strong to me," she said in disbelief referring to the strength of his chakra, "I doubt He's even a ninja."
The bartender (Shikamaru should stop referring to him as that-what did Naruto call him earlier?) Sputtered, glaring. "Of course he is, he was highly recommended so I paid a lot of money for him." He said proudly.
"More like wasted a lot of money," Naruto stage whispered to a bored Shikamaru, even with the sound of the music loud the bartender still heard her. He narrowed his dark eyes at them.
"I can ask him to throw you out right now, you know."
Naruto rolled her eyes, putting her hands up in surrender. "Relax, we've totally come in peace, Goro-kun."
Goro, the bartender, still looked skeptical as he glanced at Shikamaru. "You're sure?"
Shikamaru shrugged, "what she says." Was all he said.
Goro immediately brightened after that. "Okay, then what can I serve you guys?"
Naruto glanced at Shikamaru slyly before sending a wink to the dark-haired bartender who grinned just as suspiciously before disappearing behind the counter, only to come back out again with an unfamiliar bottle and a couple of empty glasses.
"Enjoy," he said cheerfully before going back to talking to the girl from earlier.
The bottle was of a dark color so it was impossible to see the content inside, the name too was unfamiliar.
Shikamaru eyed the bottle suspiciously, then raised one of his eyebrows at the grinning blonde next to him. "You're trying to get me drunk again, aren't you?" He asked, remembering that night at Ino's housewarming party when Naruto had come stumbling out on the balcony he'd been standing offering him her bottle of sake to "relieve" his stress. What happened later was much more effective in relieving his stress though, he thought a little lecherously.
Naruto shook her head as she opened the bottle, "Nope, I'm actually trying to get myself drunk this time," she said with a grin as she poured the drink in both the glasses, she lifted one up in his direction, "here you go, you better gulp it down fast otherwise it won't taste good."
Shikamaru eyed the white liquid in the glass before raising his eyebrow at the obvious lie, with a resigned sigh he took the glass from her. He just knew he was going to regret this, but nothing ventured nothing gain, right? Closing his eyes, he did as he was told and drank the thing in one go.
The burning was instantaneous, he could feel his eyes water as he coughed his lungs out. Next to him, Naruto was having a ball laughing her ass off. He sent her a glare which only set her off more.
"You're an ass," he muttered when he could feel the burning receding at the same time he could feel himself a little light-headed.
"Sorry, sorry," Naruto said trying to calm herself, "but your expression was way too funny."
"I'm glad I could entertain you," he said sarcastically before he found himself refilling his glass, "what is it anyways?"
"That my friend," Naruto smirked at him lifting up her own glass, "is what people call "modern drink"." she gulped down her own drink only grimacing a little at the taste.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes at her taking another shot of the drink, this time he was ready for the burn. "You don't even know the name of it, do you?" He accused.
"Nope!" Naruto agreed cheerfully, she poured both their glasses again, she lifted hers in his direction. "If it's good then I'm good, so who cares about everything else?" She grinned at him as she waited for him to lift his glass.
It didn't take long for Shikamaru to clink his glass with hers, grinning. He couldn't help it, Naruto was just too damn contagious. That was another thing he liked about her.
"So, how do you know this place anyways?" Shikamaru asked after awhile of them drinking in silence.
Naruto scratched the bridge of her nose, "I used to come here often when I was little."
Shikamaru looked around him before raising an eyebrow, "You used to come here? I mean that has to be illegal right?"
Naruto chuckled shaking her head, "Not here, of course, who in their right mind would let a ten year old girl in a bar? I meant here in the red light district."
To Shikamaru that sounded even worse, a place like this wasn't safe for children. "Why?"
Naruto shrugged looking down at her now empty glass, "I don't know, I guess I was looking for a place where I could belong."
Shikamaru immediately understood what she meant. It was easy to forget sometimes that Naruto had grown up all alone, what's with the majority of the village shunning her for something she didn't have power over. In a way he kind of envied her, she was able to overcome all the challenges being thrown at her. The hate, the doubts and the pressure of being the bearer of the nine tail fox, she had never let anything be in the way of her dreams. The same couldn't be said for him though, he doesn't even know where he was at the moment.
As if sensing where his thoughts were headed, Naruto nudged him with her leg. "So tell me, Shika-kun," she said with a sly grin, leaning towards him in curiosity. "What was your childhood like?"
Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly and he felt his ears warm at the close proximity of her breast to his arm on the counter. He looked down at his glass, shrugging as casually as he could hoping she wouldn't notice his hard-on. "I'm pretty sure you know how my childhood was like."
"Yeah?" Naruto leaned further towards him, this time her chest was really touching his arm. "I bet all you did was sleep, get scolded by your mom for being lazy, sleep some more, play with your friends, then sleep again, right?"
Shikamaru pretended to think about it while trying not to think about her chest, unfortunately Naruto wasn't the type to sit still in one place. She was constantly fidgeting and her chest was rubbing on him, from the feel of it he assumed she was wearing a bra today instead of bandages. Damnit.
Shikamaru forcefully pulled his thoughts out of dangerous territory, he blamed the drink.
He turned his attention back to Naruto nodding slightly. "That's basically it."
Naruto shook her head making her bangs sway from side to side, Shikamaru noticed her ponytail had gone low. He gripped his glass to keep himself from removing it out of the hair band so that her hair can fall loose.
"I'm sure there's more to you than that." Naruto said oblivious to his struggle to touch her. She took a sip of her drink before saying, "I mean, you must have some interest I don't know about."
"Shogi." Was his flat reply, taking a gulp of his own drink.
Naruto rolled her eyes, "I said something that I don't know, I mean you must have something you -what's the term?- aspired to become before you were enrolled into the academy, how about your friendship with Ino and Chouji? Did you get along instantly when you were paired into team 10?"
Shikamaru looked at Naruto's curious blue eyes, wondering why she was asking him so many questions. He then realized that was probably her way of distracting him from his morbid thoughts, he almost smiled at the typical Naruto-act.
He stared blankly at his drink, while he tried to think of his childhood. He wasn't lying when he'd said that his childhood wasn't really interesting, he remember doing what every other child his age did, he remembered hiding from his mother in order to avoid chores. He remember Chouji always being a prominent figure in his life, his childhood memories almost always consisted of his best friend by his side.
This made him smile a little. "Chouji and I have always been close, when we were assigned in team 10 it took the both of us a little long to get used to a female in our little two man group, but Asuma-sensei made it work, I guess."
"I can imagine." Naruto grinned, propping her arm up on the table and letting it support her head. "Ino must have been a difficult person to get along with, uh."
"More like annoying," Shikamaru scoffed taking a sip of his drink, which he should probably stop drinking because he was starting to feel more than a little buzzed. "I mean the girl wouldn't shut up about Sasuke-kun, I mean everything she did back then revolved around that guy it was so infuriating!"
Naruto chuckled, remembering her own experience with Sakura's obsession with her male teammate. "I can totally relate."
Shikamaru smiled at her, "I'm sure you had it worse with him actually being on your team."
"Nah, I actually had a secret crush on him back then, so it all worked out." She said with a straight face.
Shikamaru stared at her for about half a second before dismissing her joke with a snort. "Liar."
Naruto grinned, "I bet you almost believed me there for a moment."
"Keep dreaming, Naruto."
They spent the rest of the evening sharing stories about their respective teams. Shikamaru told her about the different tactics he'd had to use in order to evade their female teammate from nagging him, in turn Naruto told him about the number of times she and her teammates had tried to see their sensei's real face.
After that the conversation shifted to the village affairs, Shikamaru suspected there would be a chunin exams coming soon but had yet to find out the venue. Naruto hoped she'd get to vigilant the soon to be chunin this time, it was unfair that they never pick her when she volunteers. By the time they noticed the bottle was empty it was pretty late, so they decided to call it a night.
Shikamaru stood on unsteady legs, realizing he'd probably drunk way more than he should have.
"Well, you're drunk." Naruto voiced his thoughts as she stood facing him with a smug smirk, she didn't even look tipsy.
Shikamaru mock glared at her before letting out a chuckle to which she returned with a laugh of her own.
Quickly waving goodbye to Goro the bartender, Naruto grabbed his hands and dragged him outside the bar, but not before blowing a raspberry at the guard and showing him an obscene gesture that would make a lesser man turn red from embarrassment and chase after them, which he did.
Shikamaru laughed as they quickly ran outside with Naruto still holding on to his hand, shaking his head he looked at her. "Man, you're troublesome."
"And proud of it!" Naruto shouted causing a few passersby still littering the street to look their way.
Shikamaru snorted causing Naruto to chuckled. He noticed that she has yet to release his hand, sensing his thoughts she looked down at their joined hands then released him.
"Sorry," she said a little sheepishly.
He was about to tell her that he really didn't mind when he realized that it would have sounded weird, even to his ears. So instead he chose to stay quiet as they walked side by side.
They walked in silence for a while both lost in their own thoughts. It was not until Naruto started giving him inquisitive looks that he decided to break the silence.
"If you have something to say just say it." He said exasperatedly.
Naruto looked away in embarrassment at having being caught. She looked down at her feet biting her lips in hesitation, wondering how she should approach the subject she'd been wondering since the park. In the end she decided to just be straightforward about it.
"I was just wondering if you're okay," she said shrugging.
Shikamaru looked at her in confusion, wondering where the question had suddenly come from. But as he watched Naruto bite her lips as if she was trying to physically stop herself from blurting out something she might regret, everything suddenly clicked as to the reason why she'd decided to hang out with him tonight.
"You know." He phrased it as a statement.
To her credit, Naruto didn't try to deny anything and all she said was, "We are in a ninja village." It was not like she knew much anyways, she'd just heard that he was being pressured into becoming head of his clan and apparently he didn't seem to be interested. But seeing him today, she knew it had to be more than that.
Shikamaru snorted dryly at the understatement of that sentence. "Which is ironic because no one seemed to have a damn secret these days." He said with an edge of irritation in his voice.
Naruto didn't say anything, he let out a sigh deciding that it would be useless to get mad here. He let out a sigh, shoving his hands which was balled up into fists in his pockets.
When he didn't say anything after that, Naruto grabbed his arm so they could stop walking. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow and Naruto rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter what people say, I mean, I don't care I'm just worried about you."
Shikamaru stared into darkened blue eyes that seemed to sparkle from the moonlight ahead. He swallowed heavily, ignoring the sudden butterfly in his stomach. He looked away, "don't worry about it, Naruto, I'm fine." With that, he resumed walking belatedly realizing Naruto wasn't following.
He looked back and found Naruto glaring at him, she stomped towards him.
"Don't give me that crap." She said poking his chest hard, "anyone can obviously see you're struggling with something which is totally okaybecause no one expect you to be tough all the time especially when you have all this pressure on your shoulders, the least you can do is admit when you feel like shit."
Shikamaru's eyes widened, he licked his lips but didn't say anything.
Naruto sighed, stepping back. "Look, I know you and I have become…complicated, but we're friends and I'm here to listen if, you know, want to talk."
There was a moment of silence before Shikamaru resumed walking, thinking that her offer was rejected, Naruto sighed in resignation following him wordlessly.
"It just gets tiring sometimes." Shikamaru said unexpectedly, he quickly glanced at Naruto's surprised face before looking away. "There's always these things I'm expected to do, and because I just so happened to be smarter than the average ninja everything tend to always fall on me and I just get tired of all that."
Naruto didn't say anything and he was grateful for it. He started playing with the lighter in his pocket as he felt the urge to smoke. "I know it's my duty, and I swore an oath when I was given this hitai-ate," he continued pointing at his forehead protector that was always perched on his arm like a badge of honor, "which I will never break because I love my home and I will do anything to protect it, but sometimes I wish people would stop expecting stuff from me especially when I'm not ready."
He let out a chuckle, but there was no humor in it. "But I guess in a ninja world you don't always get what you want." He shrugged before giving in and taking out his lighter and cigarettes.
"It's true we don't always get what we want as ninjas," Naruto agreed slowly, "but that doesn't mean we should just do what we don't want to do right?"
Shikamaru's brow furrow as he exhaled the smoke. "What do you mean?"
Naruto shrugged, "you're a smart guy I'm sure you know what's best for you, so you shouldn't let people tell you."
Shikamaru's frowned deepened, "you do know that refusing to do one's duty is another form of treason right?"
Naruto rolled her eyes, "I'm not asking you to not do your duty or anything just don't not want to do it."
Shikamaru looked at Naruto in exasperation. "You do know what you just said didn't make any sense right?"
Naruto sighed as if he was the dumb one, which he didn't think he appreciated. "What I'm trying to say is I know what it feels like to be under so much pressure, where everyone expect you to succeed and some to fail."
Shikamaru frowned, still not knowing what she was getting at, but he let her speak nevertheless because he knew Naruto's mind acted like a maze sometimes. She'd never take you straight to the point, she'd first go around in circles not because she wanted to be tactful, nah, more because she wanted you to discover a new perspective while she took you to the point. So he stayed quiet as Naruto continued her explanation.
Naruto crossed her hands behind her back as she walked, her head tilted to the sky making the bangs in her face to part like a curtain. "Take me for example, I want to be hokage…no, I am going to be hokage some day." She said it with a firm confidence that didn't surprise Shikamaru in the least. "But I also know that some people expect me to fail which only gives me the determination to work harder so that I can prove them wrong for the sake of those that believe in me." She turned her head gave him a slight smile to which he returned unconsciously around his cigarette. Just as quick though her smile disappeared and she had a sombre look. "A part of me though, is afraid of letting everyone down." She said softly.
Shikamaru's eyes widened at the confession, not expecting it. He stopped in the middle of the empty street to look at the girl next to him in surprise, but Naruto's expression was one of determination.
"which is why I don't let myself think about the fear." She said looking up at him as they both stood staring at each other. "You can't let your fear get in the way of what you have to do."
He opened his mouth to protest but Naruto cut him off.
"I'm not saying that you're scared or anything, what I'm trying to say is that I know how people's expectations can sometimes be overbearing to the point that you start to question yourself." She shrugged as she resumed walking, she let out an embarrassed chuckled. "Am I making any sense? I guess the point I'm trying to say is you shouldn't let people's expectations of you get in the way of what you want for yourself, or the fear of letting anyone down will surely make you lose sight of yourself, believe me."
Shikamaru's eyes widened as he felt that Naruto's words hit close to home. He didn't know whether to feel bothered that she'd managed to figure him from just a few words from him, but then he remembered this was Naruto after all. The girl that had managed to turn countless enemies over to their sides, the same girl that had managed to change a psycho Gaara's view on life at the age of thirteen. It was just in her nature to understand people and to sympathize with her own experiences. He should be thankful that she isn't judging him as so many have done since he'd refused his mantle. His mother had tried to change his mind at least three times in the past week, Ino had ambushed him once when he'd been napping asking for an explanation that he didn't have. Even Chouji, his best friend, had acted out of sorts, the struggle between being concerned about him and his curiosity to know Shikamaru's reasons was clearly evident on his face. Shikamaru couldn't help the sigh from escaping his mouth as he thought about the long exhausting week he'd gone through, it was no wonder the popular bar in the center of the village as seen a lot of his face lately.
Naruto glanced at her silent partner noticing that his expression had turned thoughtful as he smoked his cigarette. She wondered whether she'd talked too much again, she tended to let her mouth run sometimes especially when it wasn't her place to say. In the end she decided to shrug it off, whether Shikamaru took her advice or not was entirely up to him. She just told him what she thought was right.
"Thanks." Shikamaru said after awhile, he threw his finished cigarette on the floor as he looked at her sideways. "For listening and sharing your own thoughts about it."
Naruto smiled, scratching behind her head in embarrassment. She could feel her cheeks warming up. "Eh eh, no problem, I mean what are friends for, right?"
Shikamaru gave her a lopsided smile, which made her blush harder grateful for the darkness. "Right."
They walked the rest of the way in a comfortable silence, both busy with their own respective thoughts.
Naruto blinked when she realized that they'd arrived at her apartment complex. Somehow in a silent understanding they'd both walked to her place, she wondered when she'd started expecting him to drop her home, or had her subconscious known that they'd end up here all along?
"Uhm," Naruto said awkwardly, suddenly feeling shy. "Thanks for dropping me home, I guess."
When he didn't say anything, she glanced up at him to find him looking at her with a thoughtful expression. Her brow furrowed, wondering whether he was expecting her to invite him in. She also wondered whether it was a good idea to or not.
"Don't sweat it." Shikamaru said at length, his brown eyes still boring into hers.
Naruto swallowed but didn't move to leave. She fidgeted slightly wondering what she was still waiting for, instead of climbing up the stairs to her apartment.
They stood staring at each for several more seconds before she decided to get moving otherwise she'd do something stupid. Like kiss him then let him fuck her right here.
"Uh, right, okay, so I will see you around then." She said taking a step back towards her apartment.
Shikamaru nodded once without taking his eyes off her which, to be honest, unnerved her a lot. Like she needed more reason to feel on edge around him. Damn it, why did he need to look good in only his long sleeve shirt and dark pants?
Almost dejectedly, she turned around to walk away. Except, she was only a few feet away when she heard him speak.
"You were wrong, you know." He said softly.
Naruto looked back at him in confusion, he gave her a slight smile. "About?"
Shikamaru shrugged looking off to the side before returning his gaze to her. "About why I seek you out."
Naruto turned to fully face him. She squinted her eyes in the darkness, tilting her head to the side. "Yeah?"
Shikamaru shoved his hands in his pockets, he bit his lower lip and Naruto had the impression that he was blushing which peeked her curiosity further. "Yeah." He responded softly.
It was Naruto's turn to bite her lip in thought, she'd always wondered to his reasons for sleeping with her. Sure they both had an attraction to each other and it was her idea to explore it in the first place, but she'd always wondered why he'd agreed. At first, she'd assume he was trying to get over Temari but the more she spent time with him, she realized that maybe there was more to him than what he tried to show. Around her he was more…vulnerable, and for the life of her she didn't understand why he'd be willing to let her see that side of him. Don't get her wrong, it pleased her that he trusted her enough to see him, but she just didn't understand why.
Despite her confusion Naruto was willing to help him anyway she could, even if it made her sound cheap. After sex, Shikamaru always seemed to be less tense, and more open. Naruto had to admit, she preferred that side of him better. She enjoyed all the time they spent together talking and laughing, she especially liked the light banter exchanged with each other. For some reason she felt connected to him in a way she can't quite describe.
"I mean the sex is great," Shikamaru was saying drawing her attention back to him, "it's just not the only reason I seek you out."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Well, will you tell me the reason or not?"
Shikamaru let out a nervous laugh scratching the back of his head. "I don't think it's a good idea, it might complicate things between us."
Naruto's brow drew together in confusion. She was about to ask him to elaborate when he shook his head, stepping close enough to touch.
She gulped but didn't step back. She closed her eyes as he lifted his hand expecting a touch or anything, but all he did was poke the tip of her nose. Naruto's eyes flew open in a scowl.
Shikamaru chuckled at her indignation. A wave of inexplicable warmth filled her at the sound. She ducked her head down to hide her blush even though she knew it was too dark for him to see.
Shikamaru waited for her to look up again before saying, "I just wanted you to know that you're are more than just sex to me. Hell, I consider you one of my best friends."
Naruto's eyes widened before a huge smile stretched on her lips. "I feel the same way."
Shikamaru chuckled. "I guess your idea of experimentation wasn't that bad after all, uh." He said with a playful wink.
Naruto snorted. "Not that it took you much convincing though."
Shikamaru shrugged not denying anything. Instead he leaned down their lips almost touching, she unconsciously closed her eyes in anticipation.
"I'm glad you convinced me." He whispered against her lips making her involuntarily shiver. He ran his hand up and down her arm, enjoying the look of longing that flashed on her face. She must have sensed his amusement because she opened her eyes to scowl at him before she impatiently went on her toes to breach the gap between their lips. Shikamaru chuckled against her lips to which she hummed in response.
At first the kiss was soft and tender, then it became more rough and hungry. Naruto moaned in pleasure as he pulled her by the waist against him. Awareness of their surroundings seem to have disappeared as they became absorbed into each other.
They eventually broke apart for air, but he didn't release her. In fact, he only pulled her closer to his body until they was not a hint of space between them, with a jolt of excitement she could feel the hard-on that was proof of him wanting her as much as she wanted him. But before she could tease him about, his head fell on her shoulder.
Naruto blinked, belatedly realizing that he was hugging her. Shikamaru was hugging her. She froze, totally at a loss to how to act. She could feel the panic settling in, she was not an affectionate person despite what one may think. What's with not having anyone to teach her what people considered normal.
"Uhm…" She said hesitantly, her arms stiff on her sides. "You're not crying, are you?" She blurted out before cringing at how dumb she sounded.
She felt more than heard him chuckle, the sound coming from his chest. She swallowed the warmth it caused through her own chest.
"Don't worry, I'm not." His voice was muffled from where he buried his head in the crook of her neck causing her to tense further at the tickle his breath produced when he talked. "But can you hold me for a little awhile? Is…is it okay?"
Naruto swallowed again, she felt an inexplicable tug in her heart at the slightly vulnerable tone of his voice. She wondered if perhaps he was more drunk than he was showing, because there was no ways he'd let her see this side of him otherwise.
Slowly, Naruto forced her body to relax and hesitantly lifted her hands around him. "Yeah, okay." She whispered into his chest which was the only place her five foot nothing would allow her to reach.
"Thanks," Shikamaru breathed into her neck, sending a shiver down her spine.
This was surreal. She couldn't believe she was standing in front of her apartment complex hugging a guy. Not just any guy, but Shikamaru of all people. How many more times would she surprise herself?
She didn't know how long they stayed like that until Shikamaru lifted his head from her shoulder to look at her, smiling bashfully. "You smell nice." He was still holding her though.
Naruto blinked slowly, before letting out a slight laugh at the oddness of the moment. "At least one of us does, you smell like smoke." She teased with a light poke on his chest. "That shit will kill you someday."
Shikamaru grinned, leaning forward so that their forehead were touching. "Oh yeah? You do realize that by kissing me that basically makes you a smoker too, right?"
Naruto gave a disbelief laugh. "What?"
He nodded wisely against her forehead, bumping it every time, his grin widening. "Yep, smoker by association."
Naruto snorted. "Yeah, that must explain my addiction to you." She said leaning forward to give him a deep kiss, she felt him smile against her lips with a hum that sent shivers down her spine.
Actually, the whole night had been odd. But Naruto found that she liked it more than any other time they'd spent together.
Standing here in front of her apartment in his arms, uncaring as to the other residents whom might draw their curtains and see them, she felt an inexplicable warmth in her chest and other areas.
Ino entered her apartment in a daze. She dragged her feet to her room and falling face first on her bed. She groaned, the sound muffled by the pillow. She turned her head to the side staring blankly at the lamp on her night stand.
Her mind kept replaying the event of the evening. Well, more like what she had the misfortune of witnessing tonight.
"Naruto and Shikamaru are…together?" She whispered to herself, the shock she'd been carrying since she'd witnessed the two still lacing her voice.
It was only pure coincidence she'd found out, really. Without her permission, the event of the earlier evening started replaying in her head.
An old friend of her mother's had come to visit with her son, Ino's mother had seen it as an opportunity to play match-up. Of course, Ino had tried to refuse but no one said no to her mother and left to live unscathed. Ino may have inherited her father's information gathering skills as well as the mind-transfer jutsu, but her blackmail ability was purely her mother's.
So that was how she found herself sitting in some shady bar in the red light district entertaining Mr ego. Everything that came out of the guy's mouth made her want to stab him with the hidden kunai under her skirt or even better, possess his mind and make him do something that would deflate his ego. Unfortunately, she couldn't do any of those because 1) he was a civilian and 2) her mother would have her head.
It was with a miserable sigh she took a sip of her drink, unfortunately it wasn't strong enough to to drown out the guy.
Thirty minutes later when she was about to give in to her urge to punch her "date" because of a careless comment he'd made about the size of her chest being "less than I'd hoped for but I guess no one is perfect" when a flash of yellow and orange caught her eyes.
She blinked several times as she watched Naruto pass her table without noticing her. Of course Ino immediately jumped at the god given opportunity to ditch the asshole (it was way better than getting in trouble with both the hokage and her mother by beating him to a pulp).
Without a word she stood up to leave but not before taking the bottle of sake and pouring all the content on his too shiny bold head. Ugh.
The look of shock on his face was totally worth the scolding she was going to get from her mother. With that she decided to follow after her friend, only she couldn't see her anymore.
Ino frowned in disappointment, there was no ways she was going to find Naruto with so many people around. Then again, maybe she spoke too soon as her eyes landed on her fellow blonde standing at the bar area. With a grin, she pushed through the throng of people dancing (what kind of bar was this anyways?) She could already imagine herself teasing the whiskered girl about her choice of entertainment place.
Ino's feet stopped in her track as she noticed Naruto wasn't alone. She was talking animatedly to someone sitting next to her, it was only when the person turned to the side did Ino realized who it was and her jaw dropped.
Shikamaru was here. In the red light district. Drinking with Naruto.
What the hell?!
He must have been blackmailed because there was no ways Shikamaru would willingly let himself be dragged here, Ino decided, but for some reason she hesitated to approach them. Her eyes glued to her two friends, the way they were so at ease with each other as they laughed meant they'd been here for awhile. Their body language was what surprised Ino the most, it held a level of intimacy that made her want to look away. But she didn't. Somehow her feet stayed rooted in the middle of the bar with everyone around her laughing and drinking.
She was still watching when Naruto and Shikamaru stood up to leave, Ino had to duck to avoid being seen. A split second decision had her mask her chakra and follow them. She had to be mistaken, she thought as she waited a couple of minutes before exiting the bar, maybe she was just reading too much into this. Naruto was known to drag people in the most peculiar of places and make them partake in her ridiculous schemes. She once made Neiji take part in one of her pranks, up to this day she still insisted he was the one that volunteered to help. Which was unbelievable because, well, it was Neiji.
For some reason though, Ino couldn't shake the bad feeling that was forming in her stomach.
She trailed behind them from a safe distance for a few minutes, watching as they talked. She was too far to hear what they were talking about but from what she could see it seemed serious. Ino worried her lips a little, wondering if she was just being paranoid about the whole thing.
She blinked when they finally stopped and she realized they'd arrived at Naruto's apartment.
Ino bit her lip in guilt, for all she knew she was just imagining things. Shikamaru and Naruto were friends, it shouldn't be odd for them to go out for a drink. She was just about to turn and leave when she noticed them edging towards each other, their face nearly touching. It wasn't long before they arms snaked around each other and were kissing.
After that, she didn't stay long enough to see what happened next, she already saw enough to make her stomach.
"Someone is in a good mood." Chouji commented lightly to a sprawling Shikamaru from where they were resting under the tree.
Shikamaru opened a lazy eye at his best friend's words. "What makes you say that?"
Chouji shrugged as he took a bite of whatever food was on his plate. "I don't know, your face just seemed lighter somehow," he said in a muffled voice, he glanced up at her before she could look away and pretend she wasn't paying close attention to them. "What do you think, Ino?"
Ino's mouth opened to say something scathing about what she thought of Shikamaru's cheating ass, but realized it had nothing to do with what Chouji was talking about. Or maybe it does, who's to say that Shikamaru's good mood wasn't because he just came from Naruto's place?
To avoid saying anything she might regret, because truthfully her thoughts on their lazy friend was anything but nice, she clenched her jaw tight and signaled to the girls she was standing with to move elsewhere leaving Chouji blinking in confusion.
Ino could feel the rage boiling inside her as she and a few of Chouji's cousins talked away from the boys. Well, they talked and she just stood there trying and failing to watch her two best friends despite the fact she put some distance between them.
She felt angry and more than a little hurt. Shikamaru was cheating on his girlfriend (Ino ignored the part of her that reminded they'd broken up) with one of her friends no less. Her eyes swung to Chouji who was done with the food on his plate and was walking away from the tree, probably to get more.
Does he know about it?
She couldn't imagine him encouraging Shikamaru with anything as bad as this. But then again, theywere best friends, if there was one person Shikamaru would trust with this was Chouji.
A wave of sadness washed over before she shook it off. It didn't matter, they were a team, all three of them, and she knew the two boys would rather die than see anything bad happen to her. She felt the same about them.
Feeling eyes on her, Ino glanced up to find Shikamaru staring at her from the tree he was now standing against. He tilted his head to the side watching her with sharp eyes, she knew he was trying to figure her out. He'd probably picked up on something in her behavior, as perceptive as he was.
Not that she was doing a good job at acting normal, that idea had been thrown out the window the moment she'd seen his face this morning when he'd come with Chouji to let her know about one the eating fests the Chouji clan was always organizing for all sorts of reasons.
It had been two days since she'd witness him and…Ino shook her head from the memory.
It was too soon. She could still feel the shock and anger she'd felt then, she needed at least a week before she'd be able to look at them in the eyes again. Needed time to calm herself, stop feeling like she'd been personally betrayed.
"Not everything is about you." He'd once told her, but now it felt like she was involved. She'd made herself part of whatever they were playing together by witnessing…
She swallowed hard, abruptly turning around with a mumbled excuse to get away from the searching gaze that will be able to read her if she let anything slip from her.
She slid the shoji open and walked past the living area, the multiple rooms to where she knew the bathroom was. She'd grown up here after all.
She, Shikamaru and Chouji used to run down these hallways, playing hide and seek with their parents' voice drifting from the outside. They were like a family.
Now I'm not too sure.
Before she could open the bathroom door and hide from everything that didn't make any sense yet, a voice stopped her.
"Ino wait."
Ino froze cursing at the second it would have taken her to slide the door open and get in. Idiot.
Her back was to him, but she could feel the uncertainty in him as he slowly approached. Her hands closed in fists as he shortened the distance between them.
Stop, she willed, but she could still hear the footsteps. Leave me alone.
He was only a few feet from her when she heard him stop. She refused to turn around.
She heard him let out a sigh that seemed to echo in the empty hallway, she could hear voices outside. Chouji's family.
"Look at me." Shikamaru said.
No, she couldn't…she wouldn't. She wanted to pretend, just for a little longer, that things were normal.
"Ino."
Ino closed her eyes in defeat, swallowing hard. She crossed her arms to hide her shaking fist that was itching to lash out at him, the walls, anything, really. She schooled her face into a neutral expression before turning around to face him.
Except, it was useless because the moment she saw his face, she realized that they both knew the truth about each other already.
Shikamaru regarded her silently, his face carefully blank. He was wearing a long sleeve black shirt with similar coloured pants, his hands was shoved in his pockets except for the lack of usual slouch in his posture betraying his uncertainty, he looked quite calm for a cheating bastard.
"You know." He finally said breaking the silence, he raised his eyebrows apparently wanting to confirm whatever theory he had made about what she could possibly know. "When?"
He was obviously asking her when she'd found out. Ino debated playing dumb about everything but decided against it. Shikamaru was really smart, even if he was just speculating the root of her cold behavior towards him, her acting ignorant will only confirm his suspicions. She couldn't escape this, he was going to make her confront him about the issue.
Steeling herself mentally, she muttered. "Two days ago, I was in the bar." Was all she said knowing he would work everything out himself.
She looked up at him, waiting for…. Something. When all he did was nod in return as if it didn't surprise him, which she knew it didn't, she felt her stomach sink. For some reason she'd been hoping that somehow she'd been mistaken about that night, that he would try to correct her and everything would be normal again.
She could feel a hysterical laugh bubbling at the surface but she clamped it down quickly before it could form. She looked down at her bare feet then down the hallway where she could hear echoes of laughter and the party outside. "Okay." She finally said as if in reply to something he'd said, she looked up at him then repeated, "okay."
Shikamaru looked at her in surprise and a little wariness. "You're not going to say anything?"
Ino opened her mouth to yell at him, how could you? Why would you do this to Temari? To ask him, are you guys really done or are you just using Naruto until you get the balls to fix your relationship? To ask for an explanation about why Naruto of all people? Did you forget Temari's brother is her best friend or are you just trying to ruin our vilages' good relationship for your own selfishness? Worse of all she wanted to know, for how long has this been going on? Was it just a kiss or…? She wanted to smack him, to punch and kick him, get into his mind to find out what was really going on because it didn't make sense. He didn't make sense at all. But she realized none of that would change anything, he would probably just think she was being a troublesome meddler.
So instead she schooled her features into the coldest glare she could manage with all the blood running to her head. "I have nothing good to say to you, except I hope you realize how pathetic you are, your father would be ashamed." She said before quickly sliding the door open and locking herself in the bathroom to avoid seeing the hurt expression she knew would be there.
She ignored the guilt in her chest, telling herself he deserved it for all the hurt he was causing just because of his cowardice.
….
Shikamaru stood in front of the door, stricken and numb. Of all the reaction he'd been expecting from his outspoken friend (yelling, hitting and cursing) this was by far the most unexpected. For a moment he felt a sense of loss wash over him.
He lifted his hand to knock because he needed to explain…that what? He and Naruto hadn't done anything but kiss that night? Because the truth still remains that he had been sleeping with Naruto up until recently.
"Your father would be ashamed."
She was right, no father would be proud of son that spent his nights drinking, shirking up his duties and that was only having sex with a friend that deserved so much more from a guy that was supposedly her friend.
Naruto's angry face flashed in his mind, "stop telling me what I do and don't deserve, you're not my guardian."
A chuckled escaped his lips despite himself. Trust Naruto to try and make him feel better even if it's in his head.
"Shikamaru?"
Shikamaru turned around to find his best friend Chouji standing a few feet from him. He straighten quickly masking whatever expression he might have had before the intrusion with his usual bored ones. "Yeah?"
Chouji apparently didn't seemed to buy his act of nonchalance. He tilted his head to the bathroom door, "Are you guys fighting?"
Shikamaru shrugged one shoulder, glancing back at the closed door. He let out a sigh before shaking his head at Chouji's question, "never mind. Did you need something?" He raised an eyebrow at a folded piece of paper the other was gripping in his hand.
Chouji still looked concerned but nodded reluctantly. He handed the paper to Shikamaru who took it with a curious expression. "An Anbu dropped this, said it was urgent."
Shikamaru's brow furrowed as he unfolded the letter. What he found on the letter made the blood drain from his face as his grip on the paper tightened. "Oh shit."
"What is it?" Chouji craned his neck to see what caused such a reaction from his friend but he couldn't see anything from this angle.
Shikamaru swallowed hard as he felt his whole body go numb. He looked up at Chouji whose eyes widened probably because of the blatant panic on Shikamaru's face. "I-" he swallowed hard when his voice broke before trying again, "I'm needed in the hokage's office."
Chouji frown, not understanding the issue. "So? You're probably just needed for another mission right?"
Shikamaru shook his head, looking down at the paper in his hand again. "I'm being summoned by the Kazekage."
It took a moment for Chouji to get the implication of it, when he did his eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Oh shit." He repeated, pointing at the letter with a shaky finger. "Does- does that mean…?"
Shikamaru nodded numbly, his voice sounded resigned when he uttered the next words. "Temari is here."