It All Started With A Smell

Chapter 5: Stamina

Laps! That was one of the ways Asuma-Sensei planned to enhance his stamina. With laps! He hated this training. Truthfully he didn't really care if he made Chunin. It wasn't like the rest of his team would be joining him at the new rank. And even if he participated in the last section of the exams, it didn't mean he would be made Chunin. He could fight the extra fight, defeat all the opponents put in front of him, and still not make Chunin. What a drag!

To make matters worse Asuma-Sensei had gained Choji's help by offering to buy them barbeque after training, every day. If there was one way to get that guy to do what you want it was food. Unfortunately for Shikamaru, this resulted in his best friend pelting towards him in human bolder form, as Shikamaru kept doing his laps. He had to dodge or leap over Choji before continuing. Admittedly he couldn't be mad at his friend though. Choji apologised whenever he actually managed to hit him and he actually looked happy to be helping Shikamaru. Even though he had needed incentive to help train he did want his friend to succeed.

That was one of the few things that made Shikamaru continue with the training that his teacher was putting him through. His friends had wanted to make Chunin, something he had the opportunity to do whilst they had been knocked out of the running. He could grumble about it for days, but it would be unfair if he didn't at least try to become better for the final exam.

At least he got barbeque each day to replenish his chakra levels. The bruising wasn't so easy to deal with. On top of that his sensei had started an unusual habit. Whenever Shikamaru started to look disheartened or started to complain he would start talking about the other combatants. He would talk about the different skills they had already witnessed, making sure to mention Naruto's unpredictability, his stamina, and the fact that everyone seemed to underestimate him. He honestly didn't know why Asuma-Sensei liked bringing up the blonde but he certainly did it a lot, and for some reason Choji liked to join in with the conversation. The only good thing was that Shikamaru was learning quickly to control his blush. It had been two days since training started!

Two days and he was already regretting making it into the finals. Hell, he was even starting to regret becoming a ninja. He rubbed the back of his neck, loosening the muscles, releasing a groan of pleasure at the relaxation it caused. With that simple action he felt tension leave him, making it easier for him to drown out the babbling of the two males beside him. He respected both of them but they had already gotten on his nerves. If he hadn't been focused so heavily on kneading out his muscles he may have heard his friend's warning earlier, or have noticed the yellow and orange blur that barrelled into him.

The blur smashed against him hard, knocking the wind out of him and possibly bruising a rib or two. There was no doubt in his mind that his surprised expression was the furthest from cool. He flailed slightly as he fell backwards, one hand grabbing the small shoulder of the person tumbling with him as the other went to brace his fall. The sickening rush of air was stopped and replaced with the stomach lunging feel of the ground against his back. Something pressed heavily against his chest, making his breath come short and difficult. It was warm though. And smelt nice, really nice. It was soft too, and damp. That last one was a little weird. He hadn't noticed until his hand had gone around the form, releasing their shoulder.

"Sorry," It said in a voice that did not sound apologetic at all.

I know that voice, he thought as he groaned, the pain catching up to him. It was Naruto... and he was beginning to move! If Shikamaru had to guess, he would say that Naruto was trying to find his feet, to get up. He was doing a very poor job of it and it was beginning to cause some problems. His dark eyes sprang open as he fully comprehended the tension in his abdomen. Within seconds he threw Naruto off of him with a ferrel snarl he didn't know he was capable of. He sat up, glaring at Naruto.