Lost in the Whirlwind (Naruto Fanfic)

Chapter 6

From that day on, I would always wake up early in the morning to secretly leave the orphanage, and be back right before Naruto wakes up. Something tells me that I wouldn't want to bring Naruto outside without the Hokage's supervision.

Shisui would sometimes be there at the dango shop, but on other days, he would be on a mission.

"Super secret mission, Naka-chan. I'm going to fight the bad guys." He would always tell me.

He went on a long term mission last week, and still wasn't back. Hope he's alright, I thought briefly. I'd hate it for my second friend here in this Naruto-verse to die prematurely.

Friend.

I abruptly paused my steps.

Were we friends? Were we even close enough to consider each other acquaintances? Sure, we talked and shared dango, but nothing more.

I was given a new chance to begin my life anew, yet I still chose to be an antisocial turtle who refuses to make an effort to make friends.

See how dangerous human's mind can be? A simple peaceful walk can turn into a moment of self doubt and criticism.

I gave a small sigh, continuing my journey to the dango shop, before realizing that Shisui wasn't back yet.

I hesitated. I didn't have money to go to the dango shop alone, but I didn't want to go back to the orphanage either.

So I wandered aimlessly around the streets. It was all happy and peaceful until the streets started to become crowded, the time when the civilians started to get out of their houses and go to work.

I looked up, and all I could see were the adults twice my size. I was pushed around on the spot, and occasionally, someone's hand would accidentally hit my head with quite a force. The noises were undoubtedly loud, with people around shouting and laughing merrily.

A feeling, combination of vexation and insecurity, started to take hold of me. Crowds always made me feel a bit claustrophobic and helpless. 

A little light headed, I shut my eyes tightly and tried to regain my breathing. My ears wouldn't stop ringing from the loud noise, I noted with no small amount of annoyance.

I brought my arms up to cover my head in a bracing position, and with my eyes still closed, dashed forward in an attempt to get away from the flocks of people. Shouts of "Watch it!" and "What the hell?" were directed my way.

In the midst of my escape, I clumsily bumped into a metal railing. I peeked from semi closed eyes and saw a flight of stairs.

I stared at it before shrugging. Why not? What do I have to lose?

I hastily climbed the stairs, reaching the top. Thankfully, it was a flat concrete roof so I could easily walk around. The building was two stories high, I realized when I stared down at the busy streets.

I walked to the center of the roof, lying down on my back. The weather was good, not too sunny and not raining either. The soft breeze danced around, fluttering my hair into my face. My heart was no longer racing like mad, and I allowed myself to relax. Somehow, watching the soft, white clouds slowly moving across the sky was strangely comforting.

My eyes gently drifted shut.

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Poke.

What?

Poke.

My eyes remained closed, though I could've sworn they involuntarily twitched in annoyance.

Poke. Poke.

Maybe if I ignore them, they would go away-

Poke. Poke. Poke.

-or maybe not.

My eyes flew open in time to see a pudgy finger retracting from my stomach. My eyes trailed along the hand of the mystery person up to their face.

It wasn't hard to guess who it was with the familiar bored eyes and the spiky hair tied up into a ponytail.

"Yes?" I politely asked, making sure to keep irritation out of my voice. An important character in Naruto or not, my nap time was more essential.

"I have never seen you around before." Shikamaru said, his eyes showing a glint of childish curiosity.

"Neither have I." Technically a lie if you were to consider all the screen time he had on Naruto show.

"Oh.."

"Yeah."

"Are your parents inside the tea shop?" He asked.

"Tea shop?"

"You're on the roof of one. You do know that, right?" The boy shot me an incredulous look.

"Ah."

"So are they?" He asked again.

"Are your parents in the shop?" I asked back, avoiding the question.

"My dad and his two friends are. My mom is out on a mission so she forced dad to bring me here with him."

"I see." A small pause. "I'm Naka."

He looked mildly surprised. "I'm Shikamaru. Nara Shikamaru."

I nodded. If I were to go to the Academy, I might as well make friends with him now. No harm in establishing ties and connections.

Correction: No harm done in establishing ties with the right and morally conscious person.

I turned my head away from Shikamaru and stared at the now bright sky. The Sun was almost directly above my head, so Naruto was most likely awake by now.

"It's my turn to leave." I stated, standing up and dusting the dirt off my shorts.

"Will you be here tomorrow?" He asked curiously.

"Maybe." I replied. If Shisui wasn't back yet, then I most probably will be. I had nowhere else to go anyway.

I started to go down the stairs, before hearing Shikamaru calling out after me.

"And Naka?"

"Hm?"

"Make sure you are lost tomorrow."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"So you can find your way here." He replied with an amused tone.

A small smile flitted across my face for a brief moment as I continued down the stairs.

That boy was smarter than I thought he was.

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Yay! Chapter 6! Thanks for reading :)

This update is super late, so I'm really sorry!!

But yeah.. Shikamaru <3

Review or vote on your way out! I'll be super happy :)