Chapter Text
Shikamaru was at a crossroads.
Naruto had fully caught up to the curriculum that Shikamaru could teach him for the physical portion of Naruto's training. The Nara was not that physical himself and Naruto was a hyper-physical beast when learning taijutsu.
Shikamaru was a try-hard for Naruto, but he was still a Nara. He knew his limits.
So there was a point, about the tenth time that Naruto knocked Shikamaru on his ass, that Shikamaru decided to have some sort of intervention.
He was too lazy for this shit.
"Naruto, we need to get you a sparring buddy."
"Who would want to spar me?" After realizing how that would sound, he scowled and climbed on one of the trees at the training ground.
The last person Shikamaru wanted around Naruto was Sasuke. The other boy seemed to trigger every single insecurity Naruto seemed to have. Everyone in their class had grown used to their one-sided rivalry. Shikamaru knew Naruto was the most annoying person on earth for Sasuke on the best days.
It was better nowadays, with Naruto mellowing out and Shikamaru socially kidnapping him. Shikamaru tried to quell Naruto's difficulty with Sasuke and-
Shikamaru was going on a tangent. The whole point was who in their class would be willing to spar with Naruto and help refine his taijutsu?
Shikamaru concluded a solution as Naruto fell out of the tree. They both pouted for two different reasons.
...
Shikamaru didn't know why he had a distaste for Hinata. It was illogical, probably part of the Stupid-Syndrome in his life lately.
Even though she could barely get through conversations sometimes, she was one of the only girls who didn't seem to care about boys.
Or well. That was a lie. Hinata used to have a wicked crush on Naruto that the boy was too hopeless to notice.
Whatever. Shikamaru needed to think about that more, but he didn't want to.
...
Hinata had torn a hole in the punching bags that littered the Academy training dojo. She watched the sand pour out with a stony face. Her face felt clammy, and her anxiety was crawling up her throat.
Useless. Weak. She moved on to another bag after throwing the ruined one down.
Her sister beat her in a spar yesterday. Again. It wouldn't bother her on its own, but there were ramifications for her failure. The worst part was that even if Hinata was a failure, she knew her sister beat her because she hesitated.
Hinata would never be able to strike against her sister. She swore it. Not even in a sparring match. She should protect her by beating her on the ground to prevent her from having to step up and take the mantle, but Hinata was too weak for that as well.
But Hinata was pathetic about it all. So all she could do was keep sparring with her sister, who saw her more miserable every day. Neji hated her.
The Hyuuga Clan has a meeting tomorrow. To discuss clan matters, which was usual, but Hinata hated them. She hated how stifling the Clan meetings were. Her father told her that it was dutiful. That she would have to accept them if she became Clan Head.
If she did, Hinata struck her new victim, a poor punching bag, over and over again to the beat of her father's reprimands in her head.
"You wouldn't be here if you sucked." A voice spoke out, and Hinata missed her strike to spin towards the interruption of insults Hinata tended to repeat to herself.
She saw Ino there: composed and regal as any clan heiress should. She walked forward with the decorum that Hinata lacked. She was wearing something comfortable but appropriate for a training Genin, an athletic casual dress. Hinata would have a heart attack if she wore that.
Wait, what was Ino talking about? How did she know what Hinata was thinking about?
"You wouldn't be the clan heir still if you were worthless. You wouldn't be in this class with the rest of us if you were weak. Maybe being a clan heir boosted you, but all the girls here worked hard. Some of them won't work hard enough. They'll be clanless and in the Genin Corps. Some will let the village strip them down for troops. But some, some of us girls are going to claw and claw our way up."
Ino got in her face, leering like a cat looking at a particularly tasty-looking fish. Hinata felt her face flushing.
"If you didn't hesitate so much, you would be the top girl instead of being behind me and Sakura. She only has you beat in the written portion and chakra control."
"I-I..." Hinata started, but Ino drilled on.
"Sometimes, when I'm bored, I watch you change your answers on your tests. Even though you know they are right. I watch you hold back like you are some meek first-year instead of a clan heiress."
Hinata's heart was pounding. Her palms and body broke out in sweat. Ino's words unnerved her, but she could not find it in herself to speak. Ino was right, she was pathetic. However, the one thing Hinata was good at was burying social slights and attacks on her character, despite how much it made her shake.
"I can help you."
"What?" Hinata whispered. Flashes of her father telling her not to mumble prompted her to stand straighter. Even if Hinata was weak, she was Clan-born. "What are you trying to propose?"
Ino didn't look off-put by Hinata's soft, sudden tone. Instead, she smiled rather evilly.
"I can help you with your speaking problem. I can practice with you. Honestly, I can wrap you up in a little package for your father by the time graduation pops up."
Hinata didn't respond, instead, she lowered her eyes without lowering her head, prompting Ino to keep speaking.
"I just need you to do a little favor for me. Simple. I just need you to help someone tidy up their Taijutsu. Out of all of our classmates, you are one of the best at Taijutsu."
Hinata thought about that offer. Could Ino help her get over her stutter and overcome her anxiety? It was obvious Ino was trying to get her to do this, but not that hard. This seemed a little too good to be true.
"W-who do you want me to help?" Hinata said. Even if her voice was soft she met Ino's eyes head-on, urging her body to not curl in on itself.
"That annoying blonde twat we have as our classmate."
Hinata hated how her first thought was who Ino was referencing. Because the only person she could be referencing was Naruto, Hinata let her face pinch slightly at the description of him.
His Taijutsu was a mess, or it was. It was far better than it was before Shikamaru dragged Naruto into his shadowed clan grounds.
"You... shouldn't say that about him."
Ino rolled her eyes. "It's bad enough I have to hang out with the loud idiot, but Shikamaru pulled out the blackmail to make me ask you if you want to help Naruto. Because you are one of the, like, five people who like him."
Hinata had no idea what to say to that, so she didn't say anything.
"Besides, don't you want to stick it to your dad by messing with the person he forbids you from hanging out with? A big middle finger to that stuck-up sonofabitch. Aren't you tired of being Daddy's little perfect angel?"
Hinata's body chilled with Ino's mocking words. Even though the focus wasn't on her, the casual disinterest and goading dug at her. Even if she hated how her clan functioned and disliked her father most days, it had been beaten in her to be loyal to her clan.
"I-I will help, but I have to figure out how to hide it from my dad," Hinata said after she decided to ignore what Ino had been saying before. The blonde tilted her head at her, considering the girl in front of her.
"Huh, I didn't think about that."
As the girl thanked her and turned on her heel, whipping her hair behind her. Hinata had a distinct impression that Ino wasn't referencing what Hinata said, but instead, some hidden thing about herself she had not noticed.
...
"I'm inviting all the clan heirs to the cookout," Ino announced loudly, smacking her hand of cards down. Chouji chuckles as he puts his down, winning another round of poker.
"How the fuck are you doing that you goofy clown?" Ino snarled, her hands curling in Chouji's collar as she dragged him half on the table. Ino shook him as Shikamaru processed what she had said.
Why did she hate him? If Ino invited the other clan heads, that meant the Nara would be hosting because their clan compound was much larger than the Yamanka's and Akimichi's. They would be near his house. Shikamaru would be expected to help his mom cook for hours. Hours!
"What? Don't look at me like that!" Ino, let go of Chouji to point her painted finger at Shikamaru. "I'm doing this for you! You want your guy there, you got to cut me some slack. How the fuck will I get him over by himself? At least with the other clan kids, we can sneak him in like a bad joke."
Chouji laughed at Ino's remark because of her tone. Traitor. Chouji always laughed when Ino bitched at him.
That was the first time he realized how much he would miss them by pursuing being on a team with Naruto. He had known these two since he had gained awareness. That closeness was something he was going to miss.
"Heh, Ino?" The blonde blinked at his usage of her name. Shikamaru pointed at the sign by their booth. They had been haunting this restaurant for years because Chouji loved it, so he knew this place inside-out. "We might need to leave."
"What?" Ino said, squinting at the sign.
"It said to not bring dogs in." He let the words leave their implications for a few moments before the words clicked on both of his best friend's faces.
"I am going to fucking kill you!" Ino shouted.
...
Naruto had no idea what to do with himself. All people had been talking about all week was the invitation to the Ino-Shika-Cho cookout happening on the weekend.
Mumbling, and gossiping during class. You would think there was a new Hokage or something. Naruto had planned to ignore it, but Shikamaru's grandmother had dragged him to her house to fit him in a kimono. Shikamaru had sat in the corner like nothing was wrong while Naruto was being stuffed in various fabrics.
"Oh honey, I think I have an orange one in here we can fit for you somewhere..." As soon as the old lady left the room for her storage closet, Naruto whirled on his friend.
"Shika, save me! This is clan-people bullshit, don't make yer grandma make me a kimono." Naruto whined. He wanted to be anywhere but here. This woman was terrifying. Naruto was scared of old people, but he would never tell anyone that.
She also talked so slowly. All the Nara did, except Shikamaru and his mom.
"Naru, I could not make that old woman do anything she didn't want to. She dragged me out of bed this morning to get you fitted." Shikamaru peered at him over his book. Something crossed his face when he saw Naruto in a too-large Nara-symbol Kimono. The dark green fabric was swallowing him.
Shikamaru appeared in front of him suddenly, staring at him intently. The sunlight through his grandmother's old window illuminated Shika's dark eyes.
"You're in green," Shikamaru said, his tone strangled. His shadow spasmed behind him.
"Ya', yer green is ugly as fuck by the way." Naruto bitched, because he was honestly bored out of his mind.
Shikamaru's expression dropped back into his lazy scrawl as he pushed Naruto back onto the couch and his slow grandma walked back in. Eventually, he bullied Shikamaru to make shadow plays on the wall for the couple of hours they were kidnapped by Shikamaru's old grandma.
...
The party, because Naruto refused to call it anything but a party, was utterly loud. He had shared a moment of sympathy with Kiba as they both sat at one of the outskirts of the adult's tables to escape the loud screeching of small children running around.
All the adults, shinobi of various ranks, and their civilian clanmates were seated in a huge courtyard. It was a little aweing to see so many clans at one place.
He saw Shino and Hinata being forced to talk to a slouching Kiba. Their parents conversing tersely beside them. It was honestly hilarious.
It was also overwhelming, but Naruto loved it. He loved being able to slip in the background. Even though the aunties gave him judging stares- they gave everyone judging stares. He felt like a child in his green kimono with orange highlights, a light orange deer nestled on his back.
He loved everything. The smells of the cooking. The scent of steaming rice, miso soup, and grilled fish, as well as the spices that adorned the dishes, haunted every scent. The Akimichi had arrived at dawn to help prepare the cook, and even though Shikamaru wasn't a girl and also a clan heir, his mother forced him to help. Ino was forced to help as well. Naruto had been there, and he was harassed by Ino to pound so much mochi.
Shikamaru had been sent on an errand to his grandmother's to grab some pickled vegetables, because his grandmother was also the woman in the clan to go to for that, and he had come back to Naruto and Ino covered in eggs from a food fight.
Ino stuck her tongue out at him and Naruto returned the gesture without further prompting. The day he was nice to Ino, that witch-bitch, was the day he died.
So yeah, he liked it. It might be one of the best experiences he had in the past few years. Or his entire life.
It wasn't until he sat down and took everything around him, that the sadness took him. Which was so stupid, he had no reason to be unhappy here, not really. There were seating arrangements he didn't understand because he didn't... belong here. He didn't know how to talk to the traditional grannies talking to him and chastising his postures. He stumbled through greeting and formal language, trying to hide his accent and teeth.
It was at that point he realized he needed to get away, and without realizing it he went back to where Shikamaru was in the kitchens still working away.
...
"Shika! I've been lookin' for ya'."
Oh, Shikamaru thought. He looked at Naruto's shifting figure loudly proclaiming his hatred of vegetables of any kind. Shikamaru listened as he hyper-focused on Naruto's tells. They were alone because his relatives had abandoned him to clean. After all, it was their time to eat. Sucks.
Then the other boy spilled a jar of pickled cucumbers over his hands. He squeaked and picked it up quickly. He looked shamed at Shikamaru as he tried to shake his hands clean without thinking about it.
"Sorry, I'm just jittery-" Naruto rambled.
Oh, Naruto is nervous. That worried Shikamaru. Did someone bother him? One of the Nara's cousins, or some random clan degenerate walking around?
"You do not have to help me with the food if you don't want to," Shikamaru said, looking at the tremor in Naruto's shoulders. "Let me get you a towel."
"I don't wanna use yer clean towels, it's all fancy and shit-" Naruto snarled.
Okay, that was fine. Naruto was probably overwhelmed by how different the gathering was from what he knew. The clan heads were showing off their wealth with presents to the Allied Trio, while also bringing in foods Naruto has probably never tried in his life.
A bunch of rich families showing off their privilege. Shikamaru could deal with that. Naruto was curling his hands on the counters, claws digging into his palms.
Shikamaru shouldered off his kimono without a second thought. He still had his Nagajuban on, so it wasn't like he was naked.
"Stop, take my hand."
"I-I-" Naruto stammered. Shikamaru sighed at his hesitance. He always had the patience for Naruto, of course, he did, but-
He wasn't doing this to coddle Naruto. He was doing this to reinforce that Naruto was important to him. That is why he looked Naruto in his eyes when he grabbed his dirty hands and guided them to the sleeve of festival kimono The other boy was frozen solid, muscles tense like an arm pre-shuriken throw.
"Wait, Shika ya' got yer nice clothes on. I can't just mess 'em up." I can wash them out, Shikamaru thought. Then he remembered the whole point of wearing these sparingly was because they were hard to maintain.
However, he didn't want to say that. Instead, he focused on how the shadows danced across Naruto's face from how the light from the lanterns outside rocked with the wind. The moonlight was across the room, but someone Naruto's skin still looked warm.
The boy's chakra churned anxiously. That wouldn't do.
"These clothes are troublesome anyway. It's okay."
"I, ya' can't just-" the other boy stammered.
Naruto was frozen as Shikamaru wiped his hands clean with the thin fabric of his Kimino. The boy's eyes widened. Do you fear punishment? Shikamaru wondered. Do you fear punishment for me? What are you thinking right now, Naruto?
...
Naruto had never realized how bright Shikamaru's eyes were. Even though they were dark, dark enough brown that they were almost black. The shadows around Shikamaru swum across the room, covering every divet and curve.
Consuming. Did Shikamaru even realize that the shadows around them were warping?
He should have pulled away, but he did not. He let Shikamaru gently wipe his dirtied fingers without a harsh word, smearing smudges on the elegant fabric. Every swipe and turn of Shika's fingers made Naruto flinch a little.
It did not matter, but it should matter. That is Shikamaru's good kimono. Naruto hadn't even had a good kimono until the Nara gave him one.
No one had ever cleaned a mess of his like it didn't matter. Not even his surprise burglar guy who cleaned his apartment sometimes.
"Shika, yer sleeve is ruined."
The shadows shifted again. Naruto’s eyes drifted toward the walls, the floor, the ceiling- all of it felt closer somehow. It should terrify him, but all he could feel was safe. The lantern light flickered, and the edges of the room darkened, swallowed by Shikamaru’s shadows as they pulsed softly around him. They swam like ink poured into water, stretching and shrinking, warping with the rhythm of the wind outside.
He did not speak, but Shikamaru's shadows gathered protectively at both of their heels. They did not scare him, though. When he was a kid, he had heard people call the other boy's jutsu creepy. He could see why, the slithering darkness gathering around them. But not to him, never to Naruto.
He was suddenly aware of how Shikamaru's scent was still there, swallowed by all the various scents in the kitchen. He could also hear Shika's breathing under all the loud noise outside.
Instead, his attention flicked back to Shikamaru himself. The boy’s face was calm as ever, his expression half-lidded as if none of this mattered.
And his eyes, for something so dark they glittered. Like stars. For eyes so dark, they were so bright.
"I'll clean it. No matter how long it'll take."
Shikamaru peered at him, blinking slowly.
"Stop being troublesome. You are acting like I am going to kick you out over a sleeve."
The shadows were still at his feet, and Naruto couldn't help but look down at them curling along his legs. Shikamaru's posture froze as he seemed to realize his shadows were everywhere in the room.
They snapped away to leave normal darkness to surround them. Naruto surprised himself by growling and crowding Shikamaru against a cabinet.
"Don't hide the shadows, idiot." Naruto snapped. "If ya' don't make me hide my claws ya' can't hide yer shadows." His voice cut through the room as something foreign and protective rose in his chest.
Shikamaru was still under his grip, his white undergarments stark against his tan skin. Something unreadable crossed his face, but Naruto was stubborn and pushed. He could smell Shikamaru being... regretful. He didn't like it.
"Bring 'em back." The shadows flooded the room, more so than before. Naruto relaxed. He had no idea why. It was as if the shadows enveloped him like a blanket, which wasn't possible. It was ridiculous, really. Naruto didn’t even know what the hell he was so worked up about.
It was just that Shikamaru mattered to Naruto. So his shadows did, too.
"Sure, if you are going to be weird about it." Shikamaru pulled away, ruining the moment.
"I am not being weird!" Naruto protested, jerking away from Shikamaru to sulk. The other boy chuckled as if he didn't cause Naruto's heart to race in his chest.