It All Started With A Smell

Chapter 7 - A Dead Sensei

It should have been obvious that he was up to something. Yet, Shikamaru had let his feelings get the better of him. He had thought that Asuma-Sensei was just trying to help Naruto and since Shikamaru was worried about the blonde too he didn't question the situation. When they had seen Naruto staggering around the streets it was clear something wasn't right. He couldn't even remember what direction his apartment was in. Shikamaru had thought that was the only reason that Asuma-Sensei invited Naruto to join them for dinner. Returning from the bathroom, however, made him think his sensei may have had other plans.

He slid into the empty bench, looking around.

"Where did Asuma-Sensei go?"

"To get more drinks," Naruto replied, covering his mouth to try and hide the food that was currently being minced by his teeth.

"Troublesome."

Naruto was nice enough to hand him his plate, allowing him to return to his meal. The silence that descended on them was heavy, weighing on Shikamaru's shoulders. His dinner companion didn't seem to notice. It was rare, even back in the academy, for the two to actually be alone together. Multiple questions sprung through his head, things he wanted to ask the blonde. Such as: are you a girl? If so, why are you hiding it? What do you think of me? Where do you put all that food?

He rested his chin on his hand, sighing. Looking over at Naruto, Shikamaru decided to break the silence. "So how's being in a team with Sasuke and Sakura?"

Naruto swallowed the mouth full of food. "Not bad, actually. Sasuke and I tag team really well. We were even able to take one of the seven swordsmen on. He's still annoying and thinks his better than everyone but it turns out our styles complement each other. I'm more close range and long lasting whilst his more mid range and strategy. His chakra is a lot lower than mine too so he lets me do most of the hard hits; though he will say that he does all the fighting."

"You and I would complement each other too then," Shikamaru stated before he could stop himself. He could have banged his head against the table if it wouldn't draw attention and if the table wasn't mostly a hot grill. Naruto was bound to make fun of him.

The blonde looked thoughtful before nodding. "I haven't seen much of your fighting but you might be right. Kakashi said that I'm like a giant kunai that you just point in the right direction. That's probably why he prefers to train Sasuke. He always gets all the attention."

Shikamaru thanked the waiter who had placed a jug of water on the table. He reached over and took Naruto's glass, filling it for him. "Truthfully I think you are better off with your new sensei."

"How so?" Naruto put his chopsticks down, giving Shikamaru a confused and slightly hurt look.

"Your new sensei is one of the Sannins, so he is more powerful than Kakashi-Sensei, and on top of that he is a lot like you as a ninja so he will know better how to train you. Not only that but he probably knows jutsus that are better suited for your style. Plus you're the only one he's willing to teach. He hasn't taught anyone since the Fourth Hokage."

Naruto thought over Shikamaru's words before smiling. "You've got a point. Though whenever Pervy-Sage gets annoyed that I'm not getting it... or gets bored he tends to throw me in the river. That's why I wasn't wearing pants when you saw me."

Clearing his throat Shikamaru looked away, only for his eyes to drift back to Naruto as the blonde scratched his side, lifting his shirt enough that Shikamaru caught sight of bandages. Does he wear binding bandages or was he injured? That would explain the weird shape to his torso though. The bandages would obscure any male or female features to his chest.