It All Started With A Smell

Shikamaru's Long Day

After saying goodbye to Naruto he had every intention of staying indoors and resting. However, once their game of shogi was over his father reminded him of the ceremony for Lady Tsunade which was to take place that afternoon. It had slipped his mind with everything that had occurred in the last two days. When they had arrived in front of the Hokage Tower he was pulled away from his parents by Ino, who dragged him to where Choji and Asuma-Sensei stood. Asuma-Sensei commented that he needed to speak with Shikamaru after the ceremony but before the boy could ask any questions the elders stepped out on the balcony with Lady Tsunade to declare her Hokage.

The whole village seemed to be rejuvenated upon Lady Tsunade official appointment but Asuma-Sensei appeared slightly distressed. Once the ceremony was over he instantly marched off, looking around at the masses. Shikamaru followed, mostly out of concern but partly because Asuma-Sensei had not told him what he wanted to speak to him about. After assuring Ino and Choji that he would make sure their teacher was fine he pushed his way through the crowd after the tall man. When he stopped suddenly, Shikamaru in his sluggish state nearly ran into him. He was able to side step him, viewing the scene that had caused Asuma-Sensei to halt in the first place.

Asuma-Sensei's nephew was standing not too far in front of them, a sad but wistful smile on his face. Naruto was talking to him quietly, running her fingers through his hair. Whatever Naruto said made a wet smile appear on Konohamaru's face before he hugged Naruto tightly burying his tearful face in her chest. Whilst rubbing Konohamaru's back the blonde spoke to the boy, making him nod into her body. Naruto smiled as the boy resurfaced, allowing the girl to lead him away.

"He's a good kid, that Naruto," Asuma-Sensei stated in a brittle voice. "One day I will have to thank him for looking after Konohamaru for me. That boy worships the ground Naruto walks on and it's good to see that Naruto actually cares about Konohamaru in return."

"I think Naruto sees him like a little brother. He likes to tease him."

Asuma-Sensei laughed a watery laugh. "That's good. Konohamaru always wanted a brother."

"Hmm." Shikamaru tried not to wonder if the boy would be disappointed if Naruto was a girl. With how close they seemed he doubted it but he couldn't help the slight spike of fear he felt.

"Oh, meet me out the front of the Hokage Tower at nine tomorrow morning," Asuma-Sensei told him, getting a raised eyebrow in reply. "No, I won't tell you why. Just be on time!"

Moments later his mother found him, demanding that he returned home so he could rest. She refused to let him get sick again. There was a slight smile on her face when he passed on Naruto's complements for the cookies. When they returned home he convinced his mother to let him lie on the grass in the sun. He had every intention of simply watching the clouds and maybe taking a nap but other thoughts flooded into his mind. He thought over Naruto's behaviour earlier when talking about how she had never been sick. She had clearly been speaking the truth yet it was unnatural for someone to have never had the flu or any other illness like that.

From there his thoughts moved to Naruto in the hospital. The way she had acted with Gaara. She had sensed him in Lee's room. The thought had plagued him for a long time. How had she known he was there? He had thought maybe it was simple sensory abilities but it was more than that. She had seemed so territorial, so protective of Shikamaru as well. She had reminded him of an animal who had had an intruder come near its family. Then she had frozen upon hearing about how Gaara had a monster inside of him. She had thought they were the same. He, at first, at believed that the villagers had gotten it into her head but whenever he thought back over those events he realised that wasn't entirely the case. There was something more to it. Gaara had talked mainly to her about demons. The red head had barely glanced at Shikamaru. He had felt jealous at how they had stared at one another, even after he realised they were sizing each other up. They had connected in a way Shikamaru did not understand. In a way he never could with her.