The Fox that got Lost in the Clouds

Promises

Shikamaru sat on a metal chair, khaki cushioning for the back and the seat. He was leaning forward, his elbows rested on his knees, his hands were together, fingers laced with one another, as his thumbs wrestled with themselves. His feet shoulder with apart. His hair in its typical Nara style.

He was looking in front of him, a serious and slightly concerned look upon his face. Naruto sat in the Hospital bed, her bed was inclined to help assist her in sitting up. Her hair was in two low pig tails. At her request, she was wearing her frog onesie, with the hood up.

The frog's eyes were sad and full of concern as it stared down at Naruto. The blanket rested over her legs while her hands rested on top of the blanket. Under her hands, rested her Forehead protector. It looked slightly dull, scratched and small dents was littered in the metal.

In her cupped hands were her necklace and her cherries. She was looking down at her items the, air of defeat was thick in the air around them. Shikamaru growled. "That bastard, Sasuke. He'ss the one to blame." He muttered under his voice, as he glared down at his intertwined hands.

His fingers bent at harsh angles from the intense pressure . Naruto's eyes slightly squinted at his comment but she didn't say anything. She had told him of her fight with Sasuke, and the encounter she had with the strange beast of Nine Tails. She didn't say it was a fox, for she was too scared that Shikamaru would automatically connect it with the Nine Tailed Fox.

But Shikamaru already knew of the fox, he just never told her. She hasn't told Kakashi about her strange dream/ encounter. She feared for his reaction as well, more so of his than Shikamaru's. Because unlike Shikamaru,

Kakashi experienced the horrors of the beast, and lived to tell about it.

Shikamaru sighed through his nose, causing Naruto's eyes to twitch cathing her attention. She looked over at him, silently watching him as he looked down and closed his eyes, his head going limp. Naruto looked him over a few times, and gave a soft sigh of her own.

She then looked back down at her hands, and cuffed her hands around her items tighter. 'They failed the test...Now what?' Was the unspoken question going throughout the room. Within a few hours, Naruto was free to leave.

On the way back to the Nara compound, it was quiet, however before they left the hospital, Shikamaru had insisted on Naruto to ride on his back. She protested, the frog onesie, however was on Shikamaru's side, as it flared its nostrils at her, making it look like a raging bull.

Naruto pouted even more against him, declaring that she was fine and that she could walk on her own. But eventually Shikamaru got his way.

She rode on his back, as he jumped from roof to roof. The additional weight was foreign to him, so he landed heavy on each roof, and took a second before he could jump again, but even so. he plowed on through, determined to get them home safely.

Naruto's head rested against Shikamaru's shoulder, her eyes lidded as she rested on him. She closed her eyes, and nuzzled into his shoulder. Her eyes cracking back open, and a slight blushed crossed her face.

'Shikamaru's gotten stronger, his shoulders didn't use to feel so solid and firm.' She thought to herself as she closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. 'This comforting smell, his warmth. It's all real. It's all Shikamaru.' She thought, happily and content as she leaned into him.

Shikamaru's eyes slightly widen, when he seen his home come into view. His pace quickened as he neared the house. Once he landed in front of his home, he lowed Naruto down gently. She let go of his neck, and slowly walked around him, He silently watched her, waiting for her next move.