||ShikaNaru||
Nara Shikamaru had never run so fast in his life. He was out of chakra, exhausted, and injured. None of that mattered, though. He needed to get back to Konoha as fast as possible. His gravely injured teammate groaned from his place on Shikamaru’s back and shivered. The mission was supposed to be a simple C-ranked escort mission. It was the only reason why he took it, really.
The entire village of Konoha knew how lazy the men in the Nara clan tended to be, and Shikamaru was no different. He absolutely loathed working hard (which was amazing because hard work was such a necessity in the ninja lifestyle), and that was the primary reason why he enjoyed his job at the Academy. Sure, he had to teach brats how to be ninja, but at least he could do it sitting down and using a pointer.
He really shouldn’t have agreed to go on this stupid mission. If he hadn’t, he’d be on the roof of his clan home, looking at the clouds and feeling his mind slowly drift into the sky. Because, after all, with a high intellect level like his, sometimes his brain got too crowded. Staring at the clouds allowed him to find peace.
Shikamaru glanced at the night sky. He’d been running for seventeen hours straight, popping a soldier pill when he felt his legs ready to give up. The mission seemed very simple. Escort the nobleman and his daughter, Rei, back to the Land of Waves. They were always prepared to face more danger than anticipated on a mission, because anything could happen, but even they hadn’t anticipated fending off missing-nin from Kirigakure on their way back to the village.
As a result, one of his teammates was dead, and he was fighting to keep the other one alive. As soon as the last ninja was killed, he barely had enough time to seal his dead teammate’s body in a scroll, throw the other one over his back, and run as fast as he could to the closest hospital—twenty-nine hours to Konoha.
It was one of the few missions where Shikamaru thought that maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t make it home.
No, he thought viciously to himself, pushing his legs to run faster and ignore the throbbing in his shoulder, torso, and ankle. He was going to make it back to Konoha; he was going to make it in time to get his teammate some help, and then he would take a nice, sixty-four hour long nap. Another soldier pill was popped into his mouth, and he ignored the little voice in the back of his head warning him about using so many.
He continued to run for another few hours, barely stopping to rest. His teammate shivered violently, his wounds no doubt now infected. Shikamaru nearly cried out in happiness when he saw the gates of Konoha. He stopped only long enough for the guards to recognize him before heading immediately to the hospital. After hours of running, his teammate was finally receiving treatment and he could breathe a sigh of relief. Before he knew it, his body was finally giving out and his world turned black.
Shikamaru woke to the beeping of a machine. He bit out a groan of discontentment, which only seemed to make his head pound more. What the hell happened? Shikamaru lazily opened an eye only to close it again when the sun blinded him with a vengeance. When he opened his eyes again after a few minutes, he realized he was back in Konoha in the hospital. He frowned when memories of ‘C-rank turned A-rank from hell’ mission came to the surface. His stomach burned fiercely where he’d been viciously stabbed, and he winced.
Shikamaru sighed, annoyed. Now he’d have to wait to get better before training more, which would cut into his Shogi and cloud watching time, but he knew some sacrifices had to be made. After Asuma nearly died, Shikamaru had taken his training a tad more seriously and made sure he had enough endurance and chakra to run from an enemy that outclassed him. It obviously wasn’t enough, and that mistake nearly cost him his life.
“Shikamaru…?”
The chūnin shifted his gaze to the side of his bed where his mother sat. She was normally a strict and overbearing woman, and definitely wore the pants in the relationship with his father. Her eyes, however, seemed to speak volumes about the worry she felt.
“Hi, mom,” he said lamely. He winced as his mother’s eyes narrowed; that, apparently, had been the wrong thing to say.
“Hi, mom?” Yoshino hissed angrily, her eyes narrowed on her cringing son. “That’s all you have to say to me?”
Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders, but hissed when it ached uncomfortably. He wanted to comment on how troublesome she was acting, but from her posture he already knew he w as in for a thorough tongue lashing. He always was with her. She was too demanding, too nagging, and he absolutely hated having to listen to it. He was twenty, after all. He should have moved out long ago.
“Nice to see you,” he continued, though his tone held an uncertain note in it.
Yoshino seemed to swell with anger. “Shikamaru,” she said softly, making her son wince, “you’ve been in the hospital for two days with serious wounds, overdosed on soldier pills, and all you have to tell me IS HI?!”
Shikamaru nearly recoiled at her shriek. Troublesome, he thought miserably. “The mission went south,” he defended. “It’s not like I asked for my team to be attacked by missing-nin!”
“I’ve been worried sick and you don’t even have the decency to greet me properly!” she ranted.
Shikamaru’s nostrils flared, but he bit down his angry retort. His mother, no matter how crazy she drove him, was not a woman to be messed with. In fact, he was sure it was much safer to lewdly spank Tsunade and dye Uchiha Itachi’s hair pink than it was to provoke Nara Yoshino. “You’re right. I’m sorry,” he said half-heartedly. He was injured, tired, and really didn’t want to deal with his mother when she was on a warpath.
His mother temporarily deflated. “Oh, Shikamaru, why haven’t you taken your training seriously?” she asked. “You could’ve d-died.”
Shikamaru shifted uncomfortably, so unused to his mother displaying the vulnerable side his father always claimed she’d had. “I’m sorry,” he said, this time more sincerely. “I’ll train harder.”
That, however, did not appease Yoshino in the slightest. “No, you won’t,” she practically grit out. “Shikamaru, I can count on my hand the number of times you’ve taken your training seriously.”
Shikamaru sighed. “I don’t know what you want me to say,” he mumbled. He wished he’d taken longer to wake up. What a drag.
Yoshino sighed softly and rubbed at her temples, her anger ebbing away as she took in her son’s exhausted form. She licked her lips in a rare sign of nervousness. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes warily, a weird sense of foreboding. His mother was a formidable ball-buster and simply did not get nervous. Still, she took in a deep breath and began to speak. “Shikamaru, I can’t keep living like this,” she said softly. “I can’t get on your case for your entire life, and you don’t seem to understand that your laziness in this profession will get you killed.”
“I don’t normally go on missions,” Shikamaru bit out. “Teaching at the Academy does not require me to be a powerhouse. But if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll up my training with Asuma-sensei.”
Yoshino shook her head in frustration. “How many times have I heard that, but not seen it?” she demanded. “When you’re not working, you’re sleeping or watching the clouds or out with your friends.” She shook her head. “No more, Shikamaru. It’s past time you’ve learnt some responsibility.”
Shikamaru’s throat went dry, and he forced down his bitterness. His mom made it seem like he didn’t do anything. “I’m fine, actually. Thanks for the concern. I think I’ll take a nap now, if you don’t mind.”
His mother ignored him, not buying his act. He knew she wouldn’t. “I’ve thought long and hard about how you can possibly learn some responsibility, and I was only able to come up with two options: having an heir and becoming a husband.”
Shikamaru’s ears began to ring unpleasantly. “You want me to…?”
Yoshino continued, ignoring how red her son’s face was becoming. “I realize it’s a big step, which is why I’m going to give you a week to decide which you’re going to do.”
Shikamaru laughed coldly as his eyes narrowed considerably. “I’m not doing either,” he spat. “And you seriously wonder why I can’t stand to be in the same room as you sometimes? You always have to be in control, always nagging, and you know what? You can’t force me to do this!”
Yoshino regarded her son calmly. “I’ll think you’ll find that I can, actually,” she said coolly. “While the Nara clan does not necessarily follow a good many of the old clan laws, I am not opposed to pulling a page out of the Hyuuga clan’s book.”
Shikamaru froze. She wouldn’t… Looking at her face, however, he could see that she would. Never before had Shikamaru ever thought that his own parents would become like the more strict Hyuuga or even Uchiha clan leaders who had total control over their children’s lives.
If only it was merely restricted to that. His mother already had control over his life, so making it official wouldn’t have bothered him. Because his father was Head of the Nara clan, his and his mother’s word was basically law to Shikamaru. If he were to disobey, they could legally seal his chakra and ship him off somewhere—despite his age.
But his father wouldn’t… Oh, who was he kidding? His father was whipped and never would stand up to his mother.
“You’re aware such an occurrence helped Uchiha Itachi decide to slaughter his clan,” he said casually.
His mother’s lips twitched upwards. “You’re smarter than that,” Yoshino said. Her face became serious again. “Shikamaru, I know you’re upset with me, but this is for your own good.”
Shikamaru stared hard at his mother. “I’m not getting married or having a kid,” he said quietly in a surprising display of rebellion.
Yoshino cocked an eyebrow. “If you refuse, I will enforce a punishment in accordance to clan laws,” she said softly. “And you wouldn’t dishonor your father by bringing this in front of the council, would you?”
She had him there, and she knew it. He clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. It wasn’t too surprising. Though her IQ wasn’t as high as Shikamaru’s, she certainly exceeded the average level of intelligence. Still, a part of Shikamaru was shocked that his mother would go to such lengths. He felt almost…betrayed, really. His mother had always been overbearing and irritating, but she’d never crossed the line and became cruel. The Nara clan—they weren’t like the stuffy Hyuuga or Uchiha clans. They were laid back—lazy in laymen’s terms—and the children were allowed a level of freedom the more ‘noble’ clans forbade.
Until now, that is.
Putting his fingers together in a circle, Shikamaru’s mind furiously worked in an attempt to find a flaw in his mother’s plan. He was partly impressed at how well thought out it was, and majorly infuriated at what she was going to make him do. He didn’t want children yet, or a wife. Women were troublesome, loud, nagging creatures, and for the better part of their early years so were children. Shikamaru was only twenty, and hadn’t even had the opportunity to explore the training grounds before battle, so to speak.
Still, he had to try to think his way out of this. His brain had never failed him before. If he were to fight against this, as was his right, Yoshino as his mother and wife to the Head of the clan had every right to contest his rebellion and bring it up in front of a council composing of senior members of the clan as well as two outside clan Heads as non-partial judges. To air their dirty laundry, however, was dishonorable and would shame his father.
Hyuuga Neji had dishonored the main branch of the Hyuuga clan during the Chūnin Exams a few years ago. While Hyuuga Hiashi, the Head, did not punish him as was his right, he’d received much grief for months until he’d almost killed himself during the Sasuke Retrieval mission. The mission’s success and Neji defeating Kidōmaru was the only reason why Neji’s honor had been restored.
It didn’t matter much to Shikamaru. He was too lazy to care about what others thought, but his disobedience would only result in causing his father grief. Shikaku was also too lazy to care, but it was about much more than just his or his father’s opinion. Because Shikaku had a seat on the council, Shikamaru’s rebellion could have a negative effect on Shikaku’s decisions regarding any manner of law.
Troublesome. The whole damn thing was too troublesome. Shikamaru sighed. There really wasn’t much he could do. It seemed the best option and the smartest way to go would be to marry or knock someone up.
He really should have napped longer.
“I have a week to decide, right?” Shikamaru asked quietly, staring at the sky outside of his window.
Yoshino perked up. “Yes,” she said, struggling to keep the excitement and happiness out of her voice. “After that, I expect six months to be an agreeable time to either choose a wife or find someone to bear an heir.”
Shikamaru snorted. “Sure, whatever,” he said lazily, knowing without looking at her that his mother’s eyebrow was twitching furiously at his casual dismissal. “You know I most likely won’t ever forgive you for this?”
Yoshino’s excitement immediately evaporated. She stared at her son, her expression a little hurt before it became unreadable. “I know it might not seem like it, Shikamaru, but I have your best interests at heart.”
Shikamaru finally turned away from the window and stared hard at his mother. “My interests?” he scoffed. “Forcing me into something like this is going to guarantee one of two things. One, I grow to loathe my newfound wife or child since neither are currently wanted at this time, or two, I end up having a divorce and putting the kid up for adoption. Which do you think is most likely?”
Yoshino reared back as if struck. Then she stared at him sternly, her tone becoming hard and strict like Shikamaru was used to hearing from. “This is for your own good,” she hissed. “You need to stop acting like a little boy and learn how to deal with your responsibilities.”
“Right,” Shikamaru replied, yawning and settling into his bed. “I’ll do just that, mother. If you’ll excuse me, I really don’t want to be near you right now.”
Yoshino swallowed whatever she was going to say as Shizune came in to check on Shikamaru’s status. She stood and smoothed out her shirt. As she made her way out of the room, she said, “Your father agrees with me, you know. I’ll expect your answer in a week’s time.”
A muscle in Shikamaru’s jaw twitched. So the old man was in on this? Damn pussy-whipped bastard.
“Are you okay?” Shizune asked with a frown. “Your heart rate is a little accelerated.”
“Fine,” Shikamaru groaned.
Shizune obviously didn’t believe him, but she nodded and left him in peace. He stared at the ceiling for a while. He wasn’t too sure if a week was enough time to consider what he would need to do, but then again if he had it his way he wouldn’t need to make that decision for another few years. Shikamaru bit back a groan of frustration. Why’d his mother have to be so damn troublesome?
Despite himself, Shikamaru found his mind going over the pros and cons of the different females he knew. For a grand total of twelve point seven seconds, he considered Ino but then immediately scratched that idea out. He knew the old saying, “You end up marrying your parents.” However, Ino was way too much like his mom, and he’d rather marry a dog than put up with her nagging for longer than necessary.
The door to his hospital room slammed open and his teammates shuffled in. “SHIKAMARU! We heard you were in the hospital!” Ino shrieked.
Speak of the devil.