Shikamaru yawned and leaned back in his chair. He opened an eye as the door opened and in walked Asuma-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, and Gai-sensei. "Shikamaru, for you 18th birthday, we're taking you out for ramen!," Asuma said with a grin, flicking his cigarette boredly and putting it back in his mouth. He waved Shikamaru over and put a hand on his back, leading him out of the room.

As they piled into the ramen stand, Shikamaru noticed some familiar faces...Sasuke, Sakura, Kiba, Ino, and Chouji were all there, waving at him and the senseis. "Naruto, Hinata, Lee, and Shino are all gonna be a bit late," Sasuke explained, running a hand through his shoulder-length black hair. Shikamaru nodded and they all sat down. "Shikamaru-san!," Shikamaru heard as he was about to sit down. He turned around and was immediately tackles by Chouji and Naruto. His head hit the table and he cried out. "WHAT THE FUCK, NARUTO!!!," he shouted, pushing them off him. Kakashi jumped up. "Naruto, come on," he said, dragging the boy to his feet. Naruto pouted. "But Kakashi-sensei, just having fun!," he said pointedly. Kakashi sighed and pushed Naruto onto a stool and sat down next to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru helped Chouji to a seat and sat down next to Kakashi, ordering some miso pork ramen. As they set out the ramen, Shikamaru and Naruto both smiled, picking up the bowls and proceeding to slurp it down.

Naruto and Shikamaru put down their bowls and looked at each other, laughing. Shikamaru turned and looked at Kakashi, who was picking at the ramen with his chopsticks, his mask still over his mouth. "Hmm, Kakashi, why not take off the mask. Maybe that would help," he said jokingly. Kakashi looked at him and laughed. "Sure, whatever you say, Shikamaru," he said with a nod.

A few hours later, Kakashi, Lee, Sakura, and Shikamaru wandered back to the village center, drunk off their asses. Sakura looked at them. "Come on, Lee, you can crash at my house," she said, grabbing him and dragging him off. Kakashi looked at Shikamaru, who was blushing furiously. "What?," he asked. Shikamaru blushed and shook his head. "Oh, it's nothing. I just think the sake's going to my head. I have the wierdest urge to...," he trailed off. Kakashi's eyes closed halfway and he grabbed Shikamaru by the shoulders, forcing him against the wall and pressing his lips against Shikamaru's. Shikamaru's eyes grew wide and after a few seconds, he gave in.

The next morning, Shikaku knocked on his son's bedroom door. "Shikamaru?," he called, putting a hand on the doorknob. Shikamaru's eyes flashed open and he jumped up, pulling a blanket around him and waking Kakashi up, who ran into the closet, hiding. Shikamaru pulled the door open, putting on a normal, awoken-rudely look. "Yes?," he asked his father, who stared at the blanket. Shikaku was silent, then looked at Shikamaru. "Never mind. Just get ready to go. Ino, Chouji, and Asuma are downstairs waiting for you," he said slowly, looking behind his son and walking off.


Kakashi yawned loudly as he climbed out the window and walked down to the training grounds where he was supposed to meet his students a previous 7 hours before. He walked into the training grounds and was immediately hit over the head by a tall man in a green jumpsuit. "Kakashi, why'd you keep your students waiting for 7 hours?!?!," he asked loudly. Neji and Lee sat in a tree above, TenTen and Sakura were giggling like madwomen about the night before, and Naruto and Sasuke were nowhere in sight. Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Where are Sasuke and Naruto-Ah, there you are!," he said as Naruto and Sasuke walked into sight, grinning at each other and blushing.

"Anyway, down to-," he started, but was cut off by Ino and Chouji bursting in and tackling him. "Oh my god! Kakashi-sensei!," Naruto and Sakura shouted, pushing the two off their sensei and helping him to his feet. "How dare you defile our teammate!," Ino shouted, pointing at Kakashi accusingly. Kakashi held up his hands defensively and blushed a deep red. "Erm...I have no idea what you're talking about," he said innocently. Shikamaru and Asuma walked in, Asuma holding Shikamaru by the collar. The other 6 students and Gai looked from Kakashi to Team Asuma, confused. Lee pouted, saying, "I feel so left out of the loop..." Asuma frowned at Kakashi, putting his cigarette out. "Seriously, Kakashi. A student?," he asked. Kakashi looked taken aback as he looked around at Team Asuma. He suddenly sighed and shook his head. "Look, I have no idea whatsoever happened last night. I had too much sake and me and Shikamaru just, sort of, you know....," he said, looking down at the grass and blushing. Shikamaru blushed, too and shook himself free of Asuma. "Erm...Yeah..Man, you guys are so troublesome," he said quietly, walking over and planting himself beside Kakashi. Suddenly, Gai looked surprised and he jumped in front of Kakashi. "Kakashi...You didn't do what I think you did, do you?," he asked incredulously. Kakashi glanced at Gai and hesitated then took a step back. "Now, Gai. You have to understand-," he was cut off by a wave of gasps as the students behind him realized what they were talking about. Gai's eyes narrowed. "Kakashi. You are twisted," Gai said furiously, "A student?! Let alone, Shikamaru?" Shikamaru frowned. "Oh, come on? What's the matter? You've turned Lee into your clone and I can't sleep with a teacher? What kind of village is this?," he asked loudly. The students behind them murmured something and Lee jumped up in front of Shikamaru. "Take that back!," he yelled. Shikamaru frowned. "No," he said simply, reaching back and punching Lee in the nose.

It was a week after Shikamaru's birthday and Kakashi was busy making himself dinner. He sat down, sighing, and started eating his ramen. He heard a knock on the door and got up, sighing again. He walked over to the door and opened it. Looking up, he looked into the face of Shikamaru. "Shikamaru, what is it?," he asked. "I need to talk to you," he said, walking inside and closing the door. He walked over to a couch and sat down, watching Kakashi. Kakashi sighed. "Look, Kurenai and Asuma are going to be here in a minute to go out for drinks with me. I don't really have time for this...," he started but Shikamaru stood up and put a finger to Kakashi's lips. "I needto talk to you," he said simply, taking his finger away. He smiled and pulled Kakashi to the couch, sitting them down. Kakashi sighed. "Shikamaru-," he started, but was cut off again. Shikamaru scooted torwards him. "Kakashi, I'm sory for coming here after last week, but I couldn't help it. I'm...I'm in love with you, Kakashi," he said quietly, looking down at the couch. Kakashi looked taken aback for a moment, then reached up and pulled his mask off, revealing a kind smile. "Shikamaru....," he started, trailing off. Shikamaru glanced up into his eyes and grabbed him by the shoulders and kissing him. There was a knock and the door opened. "Kakashi?," a voice came. Shikamaru's eyes closed halfway and he pulled away from Kakashi, standing up. He looked up into the shocked face of Asuma and smiled. "Sensei," he said simply, pushing past Asuma and walking down the hall silently. Kakashi pulled his mask up over his mouth and turned around, seeing Asuma. "I think I'll skip drinks tonight," he said quietly. He smiled and pulled Asuma out, closing and locking the door, then trotting after Shikamaru. As Kurenai walked in, she saw a strange sight. Shikamaru walked past her into the rain without an umbrella and suddenly Kakashi pushed past her and grabbed Shikamaru by the shoulder. She turned slowly and saw Kakashi pull Shikamaru into a firm embrace. She was silent for a moment as Asuma walked up beside her. "Beautiful, isn't it? Kakashi isn't afraid of the public anymore...And he chooses to show it best he can...And Shikamaru is finally happy, it seems...," she said, trailing off and looking at Asuma. She smiled at him, eyes twinkling, and opened her umbrella, walking off. Asuma sighed, knowing what she was doing, and grabbed her by the arm, kissing her as well. Kakashi pulled away from Shikamaru, who blushed and smiled. "Come on. Let's go," he said, grabbing Kakashi by the arm and dragging him torwards his house, "I have to tell my dad something."

Sakura blinked softly, looking at Lee from across the field. She sat under a tree, the rain pouring above her. Lee was busy training and didn't notice her sitting there. She smiled and stood up. "Lee!," she shouted over the rain. He looked up and saw Sakura. "Sakura?," he asked quietly, walking torwards her through the rain. She smiled. "Hey, wanna go out to eat or something? You've been working pretty hard," she asked kindly. He looked taken aback, but smiled and nodded. "Of couse, Sakura-chan!," he said with a grin, "I'll pay!"

Shikamaru stepped into the house and immediately saw his father walking torwards him. "Hello, dad," he said quietly and took a step forward. His father frowned. "Man, you're troublesome....You skipped lessons today? What were you-Oh, hello, Kakashi," he said, waving to the Jounin. Kakashi waved and averted his eyes as Shikaku and Shikamaru walked into the other room.

Shikamaru sat down on the couch and looked at his father. "Erm...Dad...There's something I need to tell you," he said softly. Shikaku looked at his son seriously. "Don't be such a drag, Shikamaru. Just say it," he said seriously. "Dad...I'm in love with Kakashi," Shikamaru said, blushing and looking down, "And we, uh...You know...." Shikaku was silent for a moment and blinked once. He then fainted on the spot. Shikamar's eyes grew wide and he jumped up. "Dad?," he said faintly, face turning completely red, "Oh, man...What a drag......Wake up, dad."

Shikamaru kicked his dad hard and the man jerked awake. "Hunh?! Oh, Shikamaru it's just you," he said, sounding relieved, "I just had the craziest dream..." His eyes grew wide as Kakashi walked in and he jumped up and ran from the room.

Kakashi watched as the man ran off and blinked. "Hm," he said simply, pulling out his book and looking at Shikamaru. "Wanna go for ramen?," he asked, closing his revealed eye and tilting his head to the right. Shikamaru grinned. "Sure!," he said with a smile and they headed off to Icharaku.

As Shikamaru and Kakashi sat down at the counter of Icharaku Ramen, Shikamaru noticed someone else at the counter. "Hey, Neji. You and Tenten dating now?," he asked. Kakashi turned his head and, sure enough,there were Neji and Tenten, smiling and blushing at each other(to the fangirls' dismay...). Kakashi yawned loudly and they jumped, looking at Kakashi and Shikamaru.

Shikamaru grinned. "You guys are so troublesome...," he said, shaking his head. Neji growled menacingly, causin everyone but him to cringe. "Here you go. One miso pork noodles, super-sized, and one pork noodles," said the chef, passing the dishes to the new arrivals, Kakashi and Shikamaru. Kakashi nodded and paid him ahead of time, then the two men set to work gobbling down the noodles.

A few minutes later, the two men waved to each other as they parted, heading home. Shikamaru snuck past his parents and headed to his room, falling asleep almost immediately, wheras Kakashi stayed up until 1 in the morning and finally fell asleep on his couch.

At around 7 A.M. the next morning, Kakashi was awoken rudely by someone coming into the room. He opened his eyes slightly and looked at the door, only to see Sakura coming in wih a grocery bag.

"G'morning, Kakashi-sensei!," she said cheerfully, dropping the grocery bag on the coffee table, "I brought you breakfast!" Kakashi sat up, rubbing his eyes, and looked in the bag. A look of surprise crossed his face as he pulled out some cereal, a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast, and a bottle of orange juice, along with the new Make-Out Paradise book. He was silent for a moment, then jumped up and grinned at Sakura.

"Thanks!," he said, then turned and started rifling in a drawer. A few seconds later he pulled out a packet and handed it to her. "Yeah....Kind of forgot to give you guys that on the first day of training...," he said, embarassed. Sakura raised her eyebrow and frowned. "First day of training, as in...6 YEARS AGO?!," she exclaimed and Kakashi nodded. She sighed and opened it, sitting down on the couch. Inside there were 3 packets of brand new(sort of) kunai, a bright red ribbon, a large black rock with NaRUt0 written on it, and a pair of sunglasses.

"Hmm?," she wondered and Kakashi smiled. "One packet of kunai for each of you, a ribbon for you hair, a "luck stone" for Naruto, and I always thought Sasuke would look better with sunglasses!," he said with a grin. She smiled. "Don't forget, training grounds in an hour. Bye, Kakashi-sensei! And thanks!," she called, leaving.

Kakashi let out a deep breath and sat down, pulling the food torwards him. 'I knew there was a reason I liked Sakura,' he thought, starting to eat. A few seconds later, he was fully awake and heading to the training grounds, where he would meet his team on time for the first time in a very, very long time.

Sasuke shrugged off the cold feeling he got as he walked into the training grounds and found it mostly empty. "Kakashi-sensei's on time?!," he shouted, surprised. Naruto and Sakura looked up, scared. "Sasuke-kun! Why are you shouting?!," Ino, Naruto and Sakura screamed, Ino jumping out of the tree in front of him. Sasuke jumped back.

"AHHHH!! RABID FANGIRLS!!! AND MY ONE TRUE LOVE!!! AHHHH!!!," he screamed, turning on his heel and running away just as Chouji and Shikamaru arrived. Shikamaru sighed. "What a drag. Okay, who was the troublesome ass who woke me up from my daydream?," he asked, a tired look on his face. "Ah! My youthful friends! There you are! And the lovely cherry blossom of Konoha as well! Well met, Sakura-chan!," called a familiar voice as Lee, Tenten, Neji, and Gai came trotting into view.

"So, we're all here then?," a voice asked, Kakashi walking out from behind a tree, holding a struggling Sasuke. "LET ME GO! THE FANGIRLS AND NARUTO WILL GET ME!," Sasuke screamed as Kakashi explained the goal of the training to them all...Loudly.

Shikamaru smiled slightly as Sasuke screamed and kicked at his man. He walked up, prying Sasuke away from Kakashi and carrying the surprised Uchiha over to Naruto, who grinned and ran off, Ino and Sakura running after him shouting to bring Sasuke back.

"Why'd you do that?," Lee asked him quietly. "Well, one, Sasuke is a drag and that's what he deserves, and second, my man carries no one but me," he said with a grin, turning and looking at Kakashi slyly, who winked at him and continued to talk. Shikamaru noticed that Asuma and Kurenai had very content looks on their faces as they looked at the strange, but accepted, couple.


About twelve hours after training, the shouts of Sasuke and Naruto as they ran away from all of the NaruSasu fangirls echoed through the streets of Konoha. Shikamaru sighed and peeked out into the rain. "He said it was important...Where is he?," he asked quietly, scanning the rain-soaked streets for any sign of Kakashi.

There was a knock at the door and Shikamaru hurried over, opening it. "Kakashi-sama, there you are! Where have you been? And what's so important you had to 'poof' here without telling me?," he asked quickly, but Kakashi held up a silencing hand, walking into the room and sitting down on the Chuunin's bed, looking sadly out the window.

"Shikamaru, today something happened in the Konoha center that I never want to happen again...," he started and Shikamaru was silent as he sat down next to Kakashi. "Yes?," he asked quietly. Kakashi looked at him. "I have to get out of Konoha is all I can say right now. There's someone here who wants me dead...Better yet, something," he said, laughing sadly. Shikamaru looked down. "Are you saying you're leaving me?," he asked quietly. Kakashi looked at him. "Only for a little while. I'll come back, don't worry," he said softly, standing up.

Shikamaru jumped up, throwing his arms around the Jonin. "Please, don't leave, Kakashi. I need you!," he cried, tears streaming down his cheeks. Suddenly, in a flash of smoke, Kakashi was gone. Shikamaru dropped to his knees, sighing. "What a drag...," he said, then fell to the floor facefirst, unconcsious.

The last part of Chapter 4 was, of course, a cliffhanger. I will be continuing this story no more, and moving onto Desolate Measures, the second part to the series, and a less cheerful story in which Shikamaru and Kakashi are...Well, you'll have to read to find out. :)