How Troublesome

Chapter 12: Bothersome Books

Morning came only too soon, at least for Shikamaru. It had taken him hours to get to sleep because of a certain blonde haired jinchuuriki. He had also had a dream; in the dream, Naruto had been sitting on his bed, holding a shoji board, and asking him to play with her. Her nightgown had kept shrinking, too. So, while it had been a great dream, it hadn't been conducive to getting any rest.

He stared at the ceiling, too lazy to actually get up and out of bed. Most shinobi, or at least the good ones, the ones that stayed alive, had a sort of sixth sense, something that came from the need to survive, and Shikamaru was getting a feeling now. He had the feeling that today was going to be long and disturbing, with a smattering of men trying to hit on Naruto. Oh, joy.

But, he would have to get up eventually. So, with a groan, he turned over on his side and rolled to his feet. After a quick change of clothing, a pair of black pants and brown shirt, courtesy of the chest of drawers provided by Kotone, he shoved on his shoes and opened the door, only to find Naruto standing there, arm raised as if about to knock.

"Oh! Morning, Shika," she chirped, grinning brightly.

"Morning," he grunted back, and then tried to get past Naruto.

Naruto, on the other hand, wasn't moving. Instead, she was staring at him.

He waved a hand in front of her face. "Naruto? What's up?"

"Your hair," she murmured.

He blinked. That was all? It must have been the first time that she'd seen him with his hair down, out of its ponytail. It came down to his shoulders, but there wasn't anything amazing about it, certainly nothing to justify her staring like he'd invented a new flavor of ramen.

Then, Naruto said one of the last things that he expected. "You know, you have really pretty hair," she said, reaching up and fingering a thick strand of it. "You should wear it down more often."

Maybe he was still dreaming. That would explain what was happening right now, but he could feel the closeness of Naruto's body and her fingers running through his hair.

He cleared his throat, trying to keep unbidden images out of his mind. "I'll keep that in mind." Then, he reached down for the band that he used to keep his hair up, the one that should have been on his wrist, but wasn't.

"Here," Naruto said, pulling one, an orange one, of course, off of her wrist. "Bend down a little." He obeyed before what she said even really processed. All he knew was that her hands were in his hair again, his face was very close to her bust, and he was becoming a pervert against his better judgment. "There," Naruto said, patting his head.

"Thanks..."

A stifled giggle came from down the hall and Shikamaru's head swiveled to see who it was. It was Kotone. How had be not noticed she was there? Wasn't he supposed to be a ninja? "You two look so much like a couple. Are you guys sure that you're not..." she asked, and then let her voice trail off suggestively.

Naruto was simply looking at her blankly. "Are we sure we're not what?"

Oh, Kami. How could someone be so innocent?

Kotone stared back at her. "Are you serious?"

Naruto continued to stare at her.

Finally, Kotone sighed. "I can't believe it... Never mind. Naruto, breakfast is on the table."

"Food!" Naruto yelled, running down the hall in a blur of orange, and leaving Shikamaru and Kotone alone in what was quickly becoming an awkward silence.

"So... Have you told her, I mean, him?" Kotone asked, breaking the silence.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"