The Rubber Band Odyssey

A/N: Hey you guys! It took me a while, but here’s the next chapter! Hope you like it. The only bit of stuff I have to tell you is that ‘gaki’ means “kid”.

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Devious Lil Devil: Thanks for the love. And no problem about the whole Shika thing. He’s so lazy, he probably would have just sat back and let it happen, even if he saw it coming! Oh, and about a sullen Naruto…you get more of that in this chapter. A lot more.

Mindingmybusiness: Here’s your update, and I hope you like. ^_^

Anise: Yes, it is nice when it’s Naruto and Ino together, but for this particular story, it will be Naruto and Shikamaru. I have been wanting to try my hand at NaruIno, though, just to see if I can make it work.

llyoung: Thanks for reading. Here’s another bit. Hope you like.

KyuubiGirl: You’ll have to find him, as I have Shikamaru hidden away in the back of my closet. I take him out once a day, and he’s very, very happy to see me. Would you mind sharing the link for that picture though?

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Chapter 3: Day Two…The Obsession Begins

Aiiiiiiiiiiiiiyaaaaaa!

“Ugh…” Who was it that had talked him into getting that alarm clock? It yelled at him to get up in the morning. And it was something different every day…he reached out from under the covers, his hand grasping the offending piece of electronic equipment. It took a split second for it to go sailing across the room. The problem with this particular clock was that the manufacturers had built it to be thrown. It hit the wall, and bounced, since it had a rubber casing, flying back in his direction. The annoying yell had stopped (thank God); so he caught it, and placed it roughly back onto the floor next to his futon. The time was now 7:45 am.

The next order of business was to get up and ready himself for the day. “Only forty-eight hours left.” Scrubbing his hand through blonde spikes that had somehow become wilder during the night, Naruto levered himself up from his prone position. The place looked the same as it had the night before: empty. Sighing, he stood, mechanically folding the futon and his blanket, putting away his sleeping hat—now getting to be a bit too snug—and then opened the door to his apartment, bathrobe in hand.

Down the hall and to the right, there was the bathroom. This room had three shower stalls, six toilets, and a long bank of sinks. Naruto went to the first sink and turned on the cold tap. For a long moment, he allowed the water to run, getting the brown gunk out. Once it was no longer brown, and smelled clean, he brushed his teeth. Done with that, he slipped his toothbrush and tube of toothpaste into the pocket of his robe before hanging it up on the peg outside the second shower stall. There was a stack of towels that were actually clean positioned outside the stall, and he took one, draping it over the stall’s wall.

The water took a whole five minutes to warm up, during which Naruto took off his pajamas and put them next to his towel. Stepping into the now lukewarm spray, he wet his head, and used the small bottle of shampoo he had in the pocket of his robe to wash it to spiky golden perfection. Now satisfied by the state of his hair, he reached for the small plastic box on the floor that had come from the same pocket as the shampoo. This he used to wash the rest of his body, during which he allowed his mind to wander.

Several subjects passed through his head. First, of course, as always, was getting Sasuke back. But that thought only made him more depressed for some reason. Even with the amazing training program that Kakashi had come up with, was it really possible for him to bring that bastard back? He closed his eyes. In the warmth of water surrounding him, he felt it again. He could feel the way the pain had exploded in his chest as Sasuke’s hand entered, searing, tearing, ripping. Just below his heart, in a non-lethal spot. Somewhere deep inside the dark-eyed boy, he knew that there was a heart that Sasuke was trying his best to kill.

He had said, “to sever all ties.” He had told them that he didn’t care.

Naruto knew that he had lied. Lied through his teeth, and looking him right in the eyes. Had he been skewered by the sword Sasuke pulled…he didn’t think it would have hurt any worse than the look in those dark, bottomless eyes. Naruto only ever got in his way. That was what the look in his eyes said. It told him that there was only one reason why he felt Naruto had to be dealt with. Naruto was the only thing keeping him. He was the only thing. He held him down, and held him back. Sasuke couldn’t ever be good enough to gain his revenge. Not with Naruto around.

In the warm water, Naruto couldn’t tell if he was crying or not. That was all right with him. If it really would make Sasuke feel any better, he would gladly have let him kill him. But there would always be that little piece of Sasuke that would still be human. That piece wouldn’t let him get off so easily. And so, Naruto fought. If for nothing else, he would fight for that little piece of Sasuke that would always be good. That one bit of him that would always belong only to him. His resolve strengthened with that thought. His reflections then shifted from one task to another.

He had less than forty-eight hours to pull off his little feat with Shikamaru. Since his kunai didn’t work, he was pretty sure that he could rule out ranged attacks, especially since that was more Shikamaru’s forte. Iruka always said that he should play to his strengths. What was he good at? A short list formed in his head.

1. Eating ramen
2. Taijutsu
3. Rasengan
4. Kage Bunshin no Justu

Ramen…that sounded good right about now, but he needed a plan before breakfast. Taijutsu wouldn’t work. Even if Shikamaru was lazy, he was a Jounin, and he’d probably kick Naruto’s ass. Rasengan wasn’t even an option. That was not to be used unless it was a dire circumstance. That left his signature jutsu. When his eyes opened, he was facing the pale green tile of the back wall of the shower stall. A plan was now forming in his head, but this was going to take a few hours of preparation.

Ino would be paying him forty credits soon enough.

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“Okaasan?” Shikamaru said hesitantly, approaching her in the kitchen.

“What?” she asked, her crabbiness abating at the tone in his voice. There were very few times when the woman was actually sweet, as his father had claimed her to be, but she could be tolerable when she wanted to be.

He leaned on the wall next to the stove, where she was preparing their breakfast. How was he to phrase the question? Really, she was old enough to remember without needing clearance, so she might very well be one of those that hated Naruto. Well, he wasn’t really one to beat about the bush, since it took too much effort. “What do you think of Uzumaki Naruto?”

Her eyes widened. “Why?” That was a tone he knew well. It was the one that told him he had better be explaining himself thoroughly, or he would end up wearing the porridge that was bubbling in the pot over the gas flame. “Why are you asking me about that rambunctious gaki?”

“Just…I don’t know. I think that he’s a good kid. Not like he deserves to be treated like he is. You know?” Shikamaru looked up from the spot he’d been watching on the kitchen table. It was annoying, but he had to try pretty hard to keep from blushing under his mother’s scrutiny. She was examining his face with something like clinical curiosity. Then, she gave a little half-smile.

Tapping her spoon on the pot, she huffed a bit. “I was wondering when that spine of yours would start to form.”

“What did you say?” He asked, his confusion rising.

Waving the wooden spoon around in a sweeping arc, the woman gestured, taking in about 180º of the room. “Everyone thinks one way. Doesn’t mean you have to. I’m glad that you finally started thinking for yourself. Now, sit down and eat your breakfast.” For once, when given an order, he refused to do what his mother said. “What? Didn’t you hear me, Shikamaru?”

“I did. And you didn’t answer my question.”

She sighed, but put her hands on her hips and said, “I think that Naruto is good at heart. He just needs to calm down. And he needs to find a nice girl. That Uchiha is not good for him.” Shikamaru was surprised. His mother paid much closer attention to interpersonal dynamics than he thought. Casting a sidelong glance at him, her lips curving slightly, she said, “But, if he found a nice boy, then I suppose that it would be just as well. Do we really need more of him running around?” Laughing slightly, Shikamaru sat down at the table, and his mother spooned a bit of the porridge into a bowl for him.

“I don’t suppose that it would be a good thing if Naruto reproduced, no.” Shikamaru’s thoughts took his mind off of the fact that his breakfast tasted like shoe leather, and for that…he was eternally grateful. There was one thing he could say about Naruto: he was good to get your mind off of things.

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Naruto stood on the roof of Ichiraku’s Ramen Shop. Ino had said that Shikamaru walked this way every day, and he knew it to be true, since he had seen him a few times, always at the same time. He always went through the back-alleys, and on to wherever it was that he was headed to slack off. Specifically, he was watching the back alley of the shop, where he knew Shikamaru would be passing between 11:58 and 12:00 pm.

Sure enough, at noon, he saw a spiky ponytail coming around the corner. Forming his favorite jutsu, he whispered, “Kage bunshin no jutsu.” Five clones of him appeared on the rooftop. In a hushed voice, he said, “Okay. You two, come at him from behind. You guys, from the front. You, from under ground. I’ll launch the aerial assault. Ready?” The clones all gave a thumbs-up, and they scattered.

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Shikamaru walked slower than normal. He could feel six chakra signatures, identical to each other, approaching at a fast pace. Halfway through the alley, he stopped, pretending to check the time. Naruto was sloppy. When he felt the first clone grab his legs from below, he made a show of struggling. Four others came from front and back. Another was falling onto him from above. Rolling his eyes, Shikamaru pulled a kunai from his holster, he plunged it into the ground, his legs coming free as there was a puff of smoke. The clone had been killed. Four shiruken dispatched the rest of the clones, just in time for him to intercept the real Naruto, who was falling onto him at a high rate of speed.

As the blonde boy fell, he himself pushed up from the ground, jumping. He took hold of the front of Naruto’s jacket with one hand, and the side of his pant leg with the other. Using the momentum of the fall, he flipped Naruto and threw him to the ground, so that he landed one his back. Shikamaru then planted himself squarely on Naruto’s chest. His knees held down the boy’s shoulders, and he smirked lazily. “Hi.”

“Damn it.” Naruto growled, eyes flashing.

“What’s up, Naruto?” Shikamaru asked pleasantly, “Other than you, that is.”

“Shit…let me up, Shikamaru!” Naruto started squirming, his legs flailing. “Come on…can’t you take a joke?” When his captive began to get wise, and tried to use his feet to get free, Shikamaru grabbed them before he could make his attack. At the moment, if anyone walked by, they would probably thing this was some bizarre kind of sexual position. That thought made Shikamaru want to laugh. He smiled instead as he filed the idea away for later scrutiny.

As Naruto continued to fight, Shikamaru said, “You keep that up, and you’ll make yourself hungry.” Pausing in his violent thrashing, Naruto made an inquisitive sound. “Since we are so very close to the ramen shop, would you mind terribly if we had lunch? My treat? After we’re done, I’m sure we can go to the training grounds if you’d like to spar.” If he thought he had seen Naruto’s eyes at their widest, bluest, and most brilliant, he had been wrong. Somehow, they looked so much more…vivid after his offer.

“I…I guess.” Naruto’s cheeks tinted pink for a moment, and he looked away.

Shikamaru let go of his feet and stood. Then, he offered a hand to Naruto, who refused it, jumping up and dusting himself off as if nothing had happened. As they walked around the building, Shikamaru watched him from the corner of his eye. Naruto was smiling widely. He could tell it was fake.

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Three bowls of miso ramen later (a light lunch, according to Naruto), the blonde was talking animatedly about his training with Kakashi. Hopping up and down on his stool, he said, “And then…it was really cool! Yamato-taicho is awesome! He made a cliff! And a waterfall! Isn’t that amazing?”

“Yes, it is. Though, I can’t see expending that much energy.” Shikamaru lazily ate his noodles. Naruto sighed. How could anyone be so…calm all the time? He was almost too lazy to believe! And to think that someone that barely moved half of the day actually saw through his brilliant plan…then again, it was Shikamaru. He was a genius! Naruto’s eyes strayed from Shikamaru to the sky. His belly wasn’t full per se, but he was content, and the clouds were pretty. It was a disarming sort of beauty, and he thought that he understood now why the other boy liked watching them so much.

“Ne, Shikamaru…”

“Hm?”

“Why do you watch clouds?” he shifted in his seat, peering around the noren’s blue cloth. “I think they’re pretty, and that they’re nice. All calm-like and peaceful. Is that why?” There was a fluffy cloud that resembled a sheep moving lazily across the sky. It shifted, and looked more like a cat as it became elongated. Naruto looked back to his companion, who had stopped eating his noodles, and was instead watching him with curiosity.

Shikamaru looked up at the sky, following the sheep-cat with his eyes. “No, that isn’t it.” Laying his chopsticks across the rim of his bowl, Shikamaru pointed at the cloud. “See how it just changed? What do you think it looks like now?”

“A bird. But before…it looked like a sheep, then a cat.”

The dark-haired boy nodded. “Yes. The reason I like watching the clouds is because they’re something that I have no control over, but I don’t really mind. It’s a way to remind myself that life flows one way, then another. We just go with that flow.” He smiled up at the sheep-cat-bird. “It isn’t like I need to relax, right?” Naruto smiled. He thought it was good that Shikamaru had a sense of humor about himself. If you didn’t, then you just end up taking life—and yourself—far too seriously.

Though, there was something about his philosophy that bothered Naruto. He never was one to sit back and let things happen. Naruto had always been one to make things happen, and he wasn’t going to give that up. “Shikamaru, there’s another way to look at this.” The genius cocked one of his eyebrows, obviously interested. “You can also say that there is some amount of control over this cloud watching.” Turning his face back up to the sky, he pointed at a large, fluffy cloud that had a wispy top. “What do you think that one looks like?”

“Chouji.” Naruto smiled at this answer from his friend.

Just so that he could say something different to prove his point—though he did think that it sort of resembled their chip-devouring compatriot—Naruto tilted his head. “I think that it looks like a radish.” A grunt from Shikamaru made him look at the young genius. “You see, depending on your point of view, you may see something different. That’s why there’s a little bit of control. Of course, there will be clouds that always look like the same thing to everyone. Those are like the things you can’t control in life, I guess. But for the ones that you and I might see differently…those are the things that I can control, and I plan to keep it that way.”

Shikamaru nodded in approval, his lazy smile widening as he regarded Naruto. “I like the way you think.” Naruto shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with the way he was being looked at. Putting down some money on the counter, he tugged at Naruto’s jacket sleeve. “Come on.” Naruto followed, but not without asking where they were headed. “A good spot for watching clouds.”

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The trees loomed, casting thick shadows, and had he been anyone else, Shikamaru might have been a bit apprehensive. But the shadows were his friends, and his weapons. He did not fear them. Naruto was walking about a meter to his right, his eyes watching the movement of the trees as the breeze blew them. There was the barest of frowns curling the corners of his mouth downward. The blonde boy seemed lost in thought. What was he thinking of?

A small crease between his eyebrows told of a steely determination. That, coupled with the frown he wore made it obvious. Naruto was thinking of Uchiha Sasuke. It was a little sad, really. Being caught up in things in the past was not a good state of mind. Should he ask Naruto about Sasuke? His curiosity about Naruto was growing, and it was clear that there was much more going on in his head than thoughts of training and ramen. This only served to fuel his interest. “Naruto,” he said carefully, “what will you do if you can’t bring him back?”

As if by reflex, Naruto barked, “I will bring him back!” He stopped in his tracks, face falling into an expression of anger and annoyance.

Shikamaru sighed, exasperated. “You can’t honestly expect me to believe that you have never considered the possibility of failure, Naruto.” He said this in a plain, matter-of-fact sort of tone, and Naruto looked away, consternation casting a shadow over his face, and he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I know that you made a promise, Naruto, and I respect that. But there are always disappointments when you make promises.” Blue eyes seemed to flicker with some emotion that Shikamaru couldn’t place before returning to a strangely inscrutable look. “You…miss him, don’t you?” Now, Shikamaru looked away. He examined the trunk of the nearest tree. There was a gnarled bit at the base, and some moss…

“Yes.” Naruto’s voice trembled.

A faint, sad smile found its way onto Shikamaru’s face, and he said quietly, “The clearing is not far now.” The rest of the walk was silent. When the pair arrived at the clearing, Shikamaru immediately flopped down on the ground, right in the middle of a patch of soft grass. The smells of grass, dirt, and dried leaves filled his nose as he closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Not long after he settled down, he heard Naruto do the same.

The clouds rode lazily across the sky, covering and uncovering the sun, casting the clearing and the trees into shadow, then bathing it in warmth and light. If there was a heaven, Shikamaru thought that this was what it must be like. He liked this place, but it was rare that he actually got the opportunity to come here. Training, dealing with Ino and Chouji, and going on short missions with Asuma, Kotetsu and Izumo took up much of his time. He didn’t need to go onto a roof here: the sky was all around the large clearing, stretching out almost infinitely overhead, since there were no buildings to block his view.

His thoughts were interrupted when Naruto said, “I do think about it. All the time.” Shikamaru closed his eyes as the other boy continued to speak. “It scares me. What…what if he doesn’t come back? Or what if I kill him? Or if he’s already been taken over by Orochimaru, and I have to kill him?” These questions seemed to be pouring out, as if Naruto had long needed to ask them, but had never dared to. “Shikamaru, what should I do?”

There was no way that he could answer, at least not in a way that Naruto would be satisfied with. “You do what you have to.” He didn’t need to be looking at Naruto to know that he wasn’t smiling. No, his blue eyes would be shut tightly, and he would be trying not to think of the possibility that he could eventually kill his best friend. What would he do if he were in the same position? He didn’t think that he could kill Chouji. Even if he wanted to, Chouji was a lot stronger than he was. There were times when his best friend could almost break himself out of the Kage Mane. But beyond procedural issues, Chouji would never go on a kill-crazy rampage and try to murder him so that he could gain power.

From nearby, he heard Naruto whisper, as if to himself, “What I have to…could I kill him…if it came to that?” Shikamaru didn’t want to look at him. Just the tone of Naruto’s voice sent a little jolt of pain through his heart, and he didn’t want to think of what would happen were he to look into the other boy’s face. “I don’t know…” he said, and Shikamaru heard grass rustling, and then he saw Naruto sit up. He could see the golden-haired boy’s profile. Hair swaying slightly in the breeze, skin seeming to glow from within, and a look of peace settling over his features, Naruto turned to look at Shikamaru. Somehow, the sun caught his eyes just so, making their depths seem to burn. “Thank you,” he said before getting to his feet. “For forcing me to be honest with myself…thank you.”

As Naruto turned and walked away, Shikamaru looked back up at the clouds. “No…don’t thank me. Honesty hurts. Lying to yourself is easier.”

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A/N: Oh, now what could Shika be talking about? I wonder *wink, wink*.