Strategic team

Chapter 25: Shikamaru's home

"Bye Mrs. Mikoto!"

"Goodbye Sakura! Visit again soon!" With that, I left the Uchiha compound. It was almost five when I left, training seemed to take longer then expected. I started my way back home, even though it was only around five, the sun was low in the sky and shadows grew with the absence of light. Maybe they grew a little too much....

"Shikamaru? You there?" Suddenly I saw a figure stretch out of the darkness. My teammate appeared, walking towards me.

"I have been working on masking my chakra, sense your good at detecting it."

"Well, your pretty good. I didn't even sense you coming.. which is disturbing. But it was the shadows that gave you away."

"Well I didn't want you to think I was an enemy sneaking up on you. So what did you do today? No training was such a drag."

"Yeah, I was hoping to use my new skills for the team, but I didn't even get to show them in the final rounds. My opponent never showed."

"Ah... Troublesome. I bet you would have won."

"Yeah.. but now I will never have a chance to prove myself! Coming from a civilian family, no special Jutsu, beating an opponent like him should have shown I wasn't... wasn't..."

"Weak.." He finished for me. I nodded at his comment. I never wanted to be called weak. I wasn't defenseless, or a scared little girl. I could do this! I knew I was strong, but when will I ever get the chance to prove it to everyone else? I know my team believes In me.. but somehow.. I want everyone to know. No one to underestimate me. My head shot up and I jolted out of my thoughts. I felt weight around my shoulders and looked over to see Shikamaru with his arm around me. I let my eyes trace to his view. He was looking down and I followed his lead. Our feet were moving and I hadn't even noticed we were walking. Heh.. I guess time flies.

Or your just stupid and forgot to notice.

Hush!

"You know Sakura, even in the Academy.. I knew you weren't just some.. random girl with a impossible dream to become a ninja. Even I could see that you had potential. With the right teachers and team, you could accomplish great things." My head numbly nodded. My thoughts started racing over his words.

I never thought about it that way..

You were too busy with your nose in a book to even notice.

I guess...

The silence was comfortable as we stopped and my head lifted to see... not my house. I glanced over at Shikamaru in confusion.

"Your parents are on a trip yes?"

"Uh.. yeah..?"

"Well, my parents wanted to meet you. I invited Shino over and he said he could come, so I thought I would surprise you."

"Your moms idea?"

"Troublesome woman."

I let some giggles escape my mouth at his comment. His mother probably thought of the idea and he just ended up agreeing.

"I dont have any change of clothes!"

"You can borrow mine."

"..... Uh..."

"Just agree, it will save you time."

".... Alright let's go."

He took no time steering us over to the entrance of his house. He opened his door and we walked into the cozy feeling household. Still with his arm around my shoulders, he closed the door and quickly speed walked with me down a hall and into a room, all while yelling at what I assumed was his mom.

"Where here!"

The room we walked into was not very small but I wouldnt call it big. The walls were a mundane brown, and the floor seemed to be hardwood covered in a giant square carpet which almost covered all of the room. To my side, was a bunk bed style bed, with a desk underneath and a bookshelf on the inside of the ladder. A closet was on the opposite side, with a big book shelf that didnt hold books. Instead, it had other things like Shoji, and some photo frames. Some other trinkets, weapons, scrolls, ink, and some writing utensils. He had a window, in the opposite wall to where I stood. It wasnt big but I assumed the blinds usually stayed closed anyway. The room was spacious for its size. But everything seemed to have a spot and everything seemed to fit.

"Is this your room?"

He is so tidy!

Yeah, its kinda cool seeing this side of his life.

Okay miss 'technical'

"Yeah."

"Woah.. Its so... So cool."

"Cool?"

"I mean, like, your room is so different then most, so... So organized, like it almost looks messy but I can see how everything has a place."

"Thanks, sometimes I forget how observant you are."

"Oh, yeah sorry."

"No, its a good thing."

"Well, thanks."

"Yeah. Shino is supposed to come in about an hour, what do you wanna do?"

"Hm... We could train... But.. I kinda dont feel like doing that."

"Hm..."

He glanced at the shelves beside his closet.

"You play Shoji?"