Naruto One-Shots!

Nara Shikamaru

I sighed as I walked down the street. Like usual, there was absolutely nothing to do. Asuma-sensei was on a mission, and Chôji was recovering in the hospital after getting another shot of indigestion. Ino was working at her family flower shop, and she was just too troublesome to be anywhere near. So, here I was, strolling aimlessly through the streets of Konoha, trying to think of something to do.

I could always go to my cloud-watching spot. That's always something to do. Making my decision, I turned left on a street and headed towards an abandoned two-story house. I planned on jumping over the house and to the backyard, where a perfectly shady oak tree stood. Is it trespassing to do that? Probably. But, at least I'm not vandalizing anything.

As I got to the roof, I noticed a figure laying under the tree. I groaned; someone found my secret spot, how troublesome. I turned to leave, when I stepped on a weak piece of roof, and fell through with a yell. Landing on a wooden floor with a loud 'thud', I groaned and rubbed the back of my back. "Ugh... What a drag..."

When I opened my eyes, at first it was dark. Soon, my eyes adjusted to the lack of light, and began spotting silhouettes of furniture. A couch here, a table there; I made my way around the dusty furniture, trying to find the exit. Then, I heard a noise, and I stopped. Someone - or something - was in the house with me.

Normally, I would try to hightail it out of there, but what if it was a dangerous spy or creature that goes on a killing spree afterwards? That means it would be my fault leaving it be. On the other hand, what if decide to stick around and kills me? My death would more than likely be in vain, and it would a total upset for my family to pay for my funeral. I mentally sighed. Such troublesome decisions...

I decided to stick around and see if it was a spy or wild animal, then hightail it to report. Hopefully, I won't die in the process. I tiptoed around, straining my eyes to spot any suspicious shadows. I was walking backwards and constantly circling around, so I wouldn't be caught off guard. But, thanks to my rotten luck, it happened anyway. Something bumped behind me, and I turned around and saw yellow eyes. We stared for a second before letting out a simultaneous scream. We hastily backed away from each other, and in the process tripped over something and fell on our butts. Two groans and indistinct cursing later, we got up and assessed each other again.

It was a girl about my age (just look at the cover picture, clothes and everything; the yellow eyes are the only addition) She stared at me with unbounded curiosity, and hesitantly asked, "Who are you?"

"I should ask you the same thing. What are you doing in an abandoned house? That's trespassing." I said, and she furrowed her eyebrows. "Uh, aren't you in this house with me? And besides, I was just looking for the thing that crashed into the house through the roof."

"Well, you just met him." I remarked, pointing at myself. She blinked once, twice, thrice. Then, she laughed. An irk mark appeared on my head, and I muttered, "Troublesome girl..."

"Speak for yourself, you bothersome boy." The girl snapped, changing her mood rather quickly. "I thought I was gonna face something or someone that could kill me, you know. Thank Kami that's it just you."

I raised an eyebrow. "And just how do you know I'm not an enemy spy?"

The girl gave me this 'are-you-kidding?' type of look, and answered flatly, "Your Konoha headband is tied to your jacket."

I looked down my right shoulder - indeed, it was. In return, I demanded she showed me hers. As a result, she rolled her eyes but she revealed hers that was tied the opposite arm mine was tied to. After relieving me of any suspicions, I asked, "What's your name?"

"Yani Kiyoni. You?"

"Nara Shikamaru." Kiyoni smiled brightly, and we shook hands. "Nice to meet you!"