Monday, September 22, 1940: Departure

Walking into the dreary looking station Shikamaru looked at the trains times. He sighed. Another twenty minutes to be spent in an area where sorrow and tears were the most prominent sight. Women and children hanging on to men in military issued fatigues, bags slung over their shoulder.

He looked to his side, a small petite figure a foot shorter than his 6'4 frame walked beside him her face downcast, and long silky golden blonde strands cascaded across her lithe form. Gently taking her hand he squeezed it reassuringly and frowned when it had not squeezed back against his own. He then gripped her waist, eyes filling with sorrow when she did not lean into him-as she normally did.

Quickly taking a hold on her elbow he led her to a vacant corner of the train station. When he had come to a stop they were standing underneath a faulty gas light, flickering on and off. She simply stood there unmoving, not even recognizing that he had pushed her into a corner, or even that he was there at all.

Running a hand over his hair in frustration he contemplated what he should do in this situation. He was bad with women generally, crying women he couldn't deal with, but an unresponsive Naru was something he could deal with even less. Taking her small rounded chin in between his thumb and index finger and made her face him. But her eyes were looking off to the side.

"Look at me." He pleaded, his deep voice smooth and sorrowful. He got no response.

"Please baby, please Naru look at me. You can't ignore me forever." Slowly she brought her big cerulean eyes to look into his chocolate brown. Her expression was like something you would see in a marble statue, completely devoid of any life, eyes like glass dulled.

"Talk to me Naru." He demanded.

"What do you want me say?" Her voice was dead of emotion and so quiet that he had to strain to hear her. Her beautiful cerulean eyes were dull, the shine that would engulf her entire being snuffed out leaving behind a hollow shell. He couldn't stand seeing her like this. He wanted her to show some emotion, Shikamaru couldn't leave and possibly die with this as his last image of her. He shouted this time.

"Do whatever you want! Scream at me, kick me, hit me do anything but ignore me. I have to know that you will be alright."

"How do you know that I will be alright!" She roared back. "You will be gone! For god knows how many years you will be gone off to fight Nazi's, and the only way I'll even know if your alright is in the casualty papers or if I don't get those stupid yellow envelopes!" While she was speaking the tears that she had so desperately tried to suppress came cascading down her scar ridden cheeks.

In surprise Shikamaru stepped forward in an effort to comfort her but she violently stepped back. Her arms went around her torso in a protective stance, and crouched down low, her face between her legs. He kneeled down and brought his arms around her small and frail body.

"Don't touch me!" She wailed, wriggling and twisting trying to get out of his firm grip. Placing one hand on her face he touched his forehead to hers.

"I don't know what you want me to do Vixen. You know my duty, as one of the top Lt. Colonels in the military I need to go to the front lines." His eyes looked at hers never leaving them. "If I don't go then everyone I care about might be hurt." Taking the hand that was around her waist he grabbed her hands, numbly thumbing the sparkling engagement ring.

Her tears renewed with more force. "I know," she whispered, "and I am being selfish, but I don't want you to go." Wrapping her arms around his neck she nuzzled her face into his chest, she took a deep breath, savoring in the mixed smell of his cologne, and crisp marines uniform.

His own large arms wrapped around her waist. Bringing her tear stained face parallel to his she whispered. "Be careful Shika, I don't know what I'd do without you." Then she brought her lips to his in an innocently chaste kiss. But before she could remove her lips he deepened it arms tightening around her waist, and suddenly it became a kiss of passionate desperation, saying everything that couldn't be said but needed to be heard. His sadness, and love and need, her sorrow and need for comfort.

The bystanders scattered around the station only saw the odd mixture of navy blue, white, and light orange on the floor. As a mixture of two peoples sadness bled into one.

"I love you so much Shikamaru."

"Troublesome woman, you should know that I love you too." He grumbled.

She risked a giggle, he mentally winced when he heard the garbled laugh. She smoothed out the winkles in her white, orange polka dotted dress. 'Of course it has orange polka dots' he thought to himself 'its Naru.'

He looked into her eyes lovingly. "I will do whatever I can to make it back to you Naru." She nodded solemnly, her finger running through his pony tail.

They were silent for a while enjoying each other's company while they could. Her tan cheek resting on the crisp white uniform, her legs resting on his blue slacks.

"I want to give you something." Naru spoke suddenly her hands reaching for her small white purse.

"Hmm? I don't need anything baby." He nuzzled into the crook of her neck. When she stayed silent his eyebrow rose.

She sighed nervously. "I-I know… you don't need anything, but…" Her hands slowly retreated form the confines of the purse. Along with a long train of shiny Snow White pearls. His eyes widened to an impossible degree.

"N-Naru, I can't take your pearls, they are so expensive not to mention that your father gave them to you." Her grasped her hands and pushed the item away.

She rubbed her eye. "I'm not giving them to you, they are for loan," she took his hand and wrapped the necklace around his wrist multiple times, "take care of them for me." She whispered.

He smiled slightly, then guffawed. "Troublesome woman." He stated. She smiled.

"Train to Camp Wickson, coming in." A muffled grainy inter-com sounded out. Naru's breath hitched, and the station exploded with sound. Shikamaru stood up.

"I'll try to make it back to you, but I'm not promising anything." She said nothing. He turned and started walking away. When a shout was heard.

"You're coming back Shikamaru. You better not tell me otherwise, or else I'll go over there myself and dig you out of that trench." He turned to look at her, she was leaning heavily on a wooden bench. He dug into his pocket, and pulled his older issued dog tags, she caught them with a trip.

He smirked then simply walked away and threw a wave out from behind him. The click-clack of his shoes muffled by the sounds around him.

Walking down the narrow walkway of the train, Lt. Colonel Shikamaru Nara headed for the compartment designated for the higher ups. Every now and then he would find men recognizing his station, quickly standing and saluting him until he gave them a small nod. He rolled his eyes 'its not like we're at camp where you have to show respect, but at least now, I know which rookies know the who is in charge.'

He stopped at a compartment door, the red paint faded and chipped off of the oak door. Opening the door to the compartment, he was met with his fellow colonels and best friends, talking quietly. He looked toward Kiba Inuzuka, the one of the four that handles the conditioning, someone the men of 107th infantry will soon hate to love, with his sadistic and possibly fatal training regimen. Kiba was currently talking with Shino, he had a small smile on his face, making the tattoos on his cheeks look slightly warped.

Then there was Shino, silently listening to the talkative colonel. Shino had discarded his usual high collared jackets for the traditional marines uniform, though Shikamaru presumed he'd only given up after Sakura's nagging got to him, even then he'd probably given it up reluctantly. His signature black-tinted goggles plastered to his face. Shino was the gangs information gatherer, since the man had a habit of blending in extremely well into crowds.

Chouji was the last that had made up the foursome, the rotund man was the groups combat specialist, and despite his easy going friendly persona his sadistic side was huge. His long auburn-brown bushy hair was pulled into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck. Some beef jerky in one hand and a large water bottle in another.

Along with Shikamaru's genius mind and a niche for strategical planning they were the most ruthless team to be made from the United States Marine Corp. some people weren't exactly happy about that though. The four of them had made Lt. Colonel when they were 23 which was last month, and most were betting that they would make General before they hit 27.

"Yo Lt. Colonel Nara, how are you doing." Kiba hollered.

Rolling his eyes, Shikamaru stuffed his baggage into the netting on the ceiling. "You saw me last week, and every day before that for the past sixteen years. I'm doing about the same now as I was then, no need to be obnoxious Kiba." Shikamaru walked to the seat nearest the window, grimacing when he sat on the lumpy cushioned seats.

Kiba huffed. "I was only being polite."

Shino snorted. "Your only polite to Hinata."

Kiba whined, frowning. "Hey! I was polite to the girls when we met them." Kiba huffed indignantly

"That's because you thought you thought thay were hot." Chouji dead panned.

"And that's my fault how?" Kiba threw his arms up into the air. "They are hot. When we met them at that hospital you can't tell me that you didn't at least look at the other girls."

"Well," everyone looked to Chouji, "I did check out Ino, Sakura and Naru it isn't all that uncommon, what about you guys, you can't tell me that you didn't at least look at the others."

Shikamaru and Shino stayed quiet.

"You didn't?" Kiba's eyes were wide, "talk about tunnel vision." He hollered.

The compartment was silent for a while. "How do you think their going to deal with everything." Kiba said softly.

"Hopefully they'll lean on each other while we're gone." Shikamaru replied.

"When I was getting ready this morning Ino was leaning against the door, with puffy eyes and was clutching my uniform jacket as if, if I didn't have it I wouldn't be going." Chouji admitted. "I've never been more conflicted."

"Yeah, Hinata just went through the morning as if nothing were different, and then when she saw me she shook so bad she dropped the pan she was holding and her legs practically dissolved under her." Kiba remarked.

"Naru was like a ghost, she didn't eat, talk, only moved when she needed to, it was only until I was practically begging on my knees, to get her to actually respond." He pinched the bridge if his nose.

"Heh, almost like when you proposed to her." Kiba snorted while Shikamaru glared at him between his fingers.

"You know that is not how it happened." He growled.

"So Shino, how did Sakura act this morning." Chouji changed the subject.

Shino thought for a second. "Broken." He uttered. "I've never seen her like that, not even when her mother died."

The train creaked and the four officers straightened, turning toward the window. They saw waves and waves of dull blondes and brown haired women, handkerchiefs dabbing across their eyes. But they could not see the pink, blonde, indigo, or sunflower blonde of their girls.

Just as the train left the station the four boys spotted them. The first thing Shikamaru saw was Sakura. Her emerald green eyes surrounded by red, and hair rumpled and mussed. He turned a raised brow to Shino, who returned a smirk, Shikamaru shook his head and turned back to the window. She was holding Shino's jacket in a tight grip, the pale green of the jacket contrasting with the red of her dress, her mouth in a watery smile.

Then there was Ino, her hands roughly grading against an old grafting of Chouji's dog tags, her royal purple dress wrinkled and her overall appearance terrible. Chouji forcefully rubbed his face, and sighed sighed despairingly. "Man now I really don't want to leave her." He muttered. His eyes are starting to redden, Shikamaru noted.

Beside Ino was Hinata, her face ashen, eyes with dark rims around them, her apron was around the lower half of her face, her shoulders shaking. Akamaru dutifully sat beside her allowing her to lean heavily onto him. "C'mon baby don't do this to me, don't shut down." Kiba murmured. His voice breaking and chest heaving.

The there was Naru, his Naru, his angel, his Vixen. She had Hinata into a death grip, tears falling without abandon, her gloved hands fisting into Hinata's pale lavender dress. Running her hand along the the top of her indigo head. Her cerulean blue eyes met his chocolate brown, and her face instantly brightened, the hand that was on Hinata's head rose to wave, catching the girls attention. They also started to wave, and then they were gone. The station a small little dot in the distance.

"Man that is the single worst- Hey Shika, whats under your sleeve?" Kiba inquired. He turned his gaze toward the loud male, heaving a suffering sigh her closed his eyes.

"What a drag, I was hoping I hid it well enough." He grumbled, lazily bringing his hand to his sleeve and drunkenly bringing it down. The sound of choking, and garbled gasps filled the train compartment. Shikamaru opened an eye.

"You okay Chouji." He asked. Chouji had choked on the water he had been drinking during the revelation. Chouji patted his chest roughly.

"Swell man, I'm doing fine." He rasped out. Shikamaru nodded, then closed his one open eye.

"It is interesting that Naru gave you her precious pearls, she has never taken them off." Shino spoke.

Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah she said something about how they were on loan to me, and how if I didn't come back to give them back she going to dig me out of a trench?" He replied noncommittally.

Kiba guffawed. "That sir, is the most screwed up logic that I have ever heard."

Shino and Shikamaru snorted. "All Uzumaki women have screwed up logic, it's basically a right of passage into earning the Uzumaki name."

"Why are you so cross Shino?" Chouji asked, "your marrying a Haruno."

"Sakura's biological father was an Uzumaki and in one of the last legs sent into combat in WW1, her mothers parents did not exactly like that their daughter was pregnant and widowed, so they forced her to remarry to the asshole that was her step-father." Shino grumbled.

The compartment was silent. Chouji and Kiba had their mouths open and eyes wide, even Shikamaru widened his eyes in alarm. Kiba burst out laughing. His arms that were situated behind his head came across his torso holding his stomach.

"Damn man," he let out between chuckles, "what is Sakura's secret, that is the longest I have ever heard you talk." Chouji started chuckling and Shikamaru let out a small smile. Shino stayed silent.

Putting his hands into a prayer like position Kiba started speaking again. "Oh lord, thank you for letting my best friend meet Sakura no matter how much of a banshee she see- oomph!" Kiba wheezed. Shikamaru shared a high-five with Shino.

"Jeez Kiba, stop being so obnoxious, your not even religious." A new voice interrupted the chatter. All four men immediately stood up and saluted.

"Colonel Hatake, what a surprise." Chouji said.

"At ease Lieutenants. I just wanted to see how my favorite underlings are. I also want to know how your going to whip the rookies into shape."

Chouji chuckled, a sound promising pain. "Don't worry Colonel we have that covered." Kiba looked at Chouji with a mixture of respect and curiosity.

"Hey Chouji, does Ino know you're a sadist." Chouji nodded, making Kiba howl in laughter.

"Damn when Hinata found out she passed out." Kiba yelled throwing his hands in the air above his head.

"Speaking of girls," the Colonel spoke, his lone cyclopean like eye turned upward, "how did they take it." He was looking a Shikamaru, implying he only cared about his little sister.

Raising his hand to grade against the skin of his neck, Shikamaru made a face. "Not to well, Colonel Hatake, not to well, I'm afraid that even after I spoke to her she went into her ghost-like state again.

"Maa maa, just call me Kakashi when we're alone." He waved his hands in front of his face. Shikamaru brought his hands to his sides and sat down.

"Aren't you also leaving a significant other behind Col- Kakashi?" Chouji inquired. Causing the silver-haired Colonel to rub the back of neck.

"Yeah Midori was throwing pots and pans out the window," Kakashi bowed his head, "she wouldn't even let me hug Sakumo and Minato." Shikamaru nodded his head, Midori was Naru's cousin on her mothers side, it wasn't a surprise that she reacted the way she did. Minato and Sakumo were their three month old twin sons, named after Kakashi's father and teacher, who was coincidentally Naru's father.

"Must've been rough, not being able to say good bye when even if you do come back, they would be four years old." Kiba commented.

Kakashi shrugged, "I somehow managed to calm her down, then I was able able to hold them, and say my goodbyes without endangering my manhood by begging on my hands and knees." A snort was heard.

"So Colonel Hatake, have you seen the credentials of the infantries new recruits?" Shino spoke.

He nodded sharply then smirked through his mask. "They are not very impressive, but then again you could always whip them to 107th standards." Tensions rose as Chouji's and Kiba's sadistic training came to mind, which soon had every male in the over-used smoke riddled compartment smirk that promised hell on earth.

"Those damn Nazi's wont know what hit them." Kiba growled.

"Well then I will just leave everything up to you four then." He then pulled out an orange book.

"Didn't Midori ban you from ever reading those?" Shikamaru inquired. Kakashi pinned him with a glare in retaliation.

"The boys are not here, and I'll be gone for who know how many years might as well read what I can now before they are confiscated again."

Everyone snorted, "oh please, you just want to get new ideas on how to say hello." They intoned.

"Hmm, did you say something boys?" He didn't even look up from his book.

"We're not Gai," they deadpanned. Getting nothing in response, the four Lt. Colonels looked at each other before going to their own devices. Kiba taking a slab of wood and a knife from somewhere started carving, while Shino took out a book of insects, and Chouji started eating. Shikamaru watched his friends for a moment before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

Naru watched as the black rusted train left the station, it's creaking wheels whining their protest. She watched until she could no longer see the window that held her beloved. She looked at her hand, the shining diamond delicately resting on her slim gloved finger. She gripped Hinata a little tighter, the indigo haired girls floral patterned lavender dress bunched under her fingertips.

Drawing in a shaky breath she spoke. "Let's go girls, the guys may be gone but we have chores to do." Sakura glared at her, her dull green eyes flashing.

"How about you be more sensitive of our position Naru!" She snapped. Before Sakura could say more Naru spoke her voice like ice.

"But I am in your position, everyone here is, I am losing my fiancée to this damn war and I may never see him again but just because they are gone does not mean that time stops, we still have seasons, and we have farms to cultivate, nothing stops because you don't want it to Sakura. So grow up."

Her eyes widened for a minute before they were downcast. "Sorry Naru, I had forgotten that he'd had proposed last month."

Naru gave the pinkette a watery smile, "don't worry about it." Shifting Hinata so that it was easier to walk with the broken girl leaning onto her, she slowly made her way to the exit of the place that had become a house of desolation. Ino walked beside Sakura swaying slightly here and there. As they exited the station and the sunny clear day the four army wives made their way to a 1920 Ford Truck, it was a rusty red, the interior scratched and splotched by a mysterious substance, the trunk riddled with feathers and hay.

Before they made it into the truck Ino collapsed, loud wails pervading the area. "He's gone, he's never coming back, I'll never be able to see him again." Sakura slowly trudged her way the broken blonde.

"C'mon pig, what would Chouji say, he would tell you to keep your chin up, and who says their not coming back." Sakura huddled next to Ino, tears making their way down her cheeks. A loud slam of a door cut off their conversation. When the two girls looked up they saw Naru in her tear stained orange clad visage make their way towards them.

Bending down to their level she spoke. "Ino, Chouji gave to those dog tags as a way of saying that you are always on his mind and that he will do everything to make it back to you. And Sakura do you really think that Shino would leave you to your fathers mercy? So chin up, stand tall, and just think of the hell we can give them when they come home."

"Yeah, when Chouji gets home he's going to learn that he's not the only one with a hidden sadistic side." Ino mumbled.

Sakura nodded in agreement, "and I'll skin Shino alive for breaking his promise to me."

"O-okay then," Naru gave them a look of disbelief, "anyway hop in the back we got to go get Midori and then head back to the farms, as I said earlier we have chores to do." They nodded and hopped into the cramped back seat.

"Why are we picking up Midori?" Hinata spoke up from her sorrow filled silence, her voice was dry and raspy from unuse.

"Midori is shutting down the farm for the next four years, she can't raise twin boys and take care of a farm after all, so I'm taking care of her and their going to help us around our farms for the next four years.

"It must be hard, she is losing her husband, he's going to the front lines, and she has twin boys." She whispered

"Yeah but she has us, and we're going to do everything we can to help her raise, Sakumo and Minato." Sakura spoke conviction and emotion showing in her face for the first time in two weeks, since they had learned their fiancées were going to the front lines in Germany and France.

Ino and Hinata nodded their agreement. Naru laughed a bit. "Yeah she's not going to be alone." They turned onto the dirt covered road, small pieces of rock making popping noises on the aluminum doors and the windshield.

"We really need to get this road paved." Ino growled.

"Yeah well Ino-pig your going to have to deal with it for another four years, all we can give to the war effort, money, metals, food, letters. Everything has to go to them." Sakura stated.

"Yes forehead I understand that." Ino retorted, fluffing out her dress wrinkling her nose at her disheveled state.

"Now now girls stop fighting, we don't want Midori to see us like this." Naru droned then glanced into the rear view mirror to see if Akamaru was still safely situated in the back. He was, his large face hanging off the side, tongue rolling out.

She took a right, turning into a gate that shined a rustic faded silver, the big beautiful italic H grafted into the middle, vines starting to grow up the sides, twining and twisting into the metal. The farm, with its rich green grasses and the loud barking of the dogs as they chased the truck, was one of the largest and the oldest, in this town, there were five families that had been there since the founding nearly two hundred years prior.

The Hatake were one. Unlike most of the farmers that resided in the town of Konoha, they didn't raise cattle, instead they grew strawberries, watermelons and a large variety of other delicious fruits. Her cousin Midori had met Kakashi when she had moved with her aunt from Uzu. Midori had told her, that at first they ignored one another, at twelve Kakashi was cold and indifferent, provoking her and getting screamed at a multiple of times. Something Naru couldn't see personally. Though over time Midori had somehow smoothened out all of his rough edges, they slowly fell in love over the years, but it wasn't until two years after she had been born that they got together, and soon after that Kakashi had enlisted in the army. When Naru was twelve they got married and now after eleven years they had twin boys.

Then there were the Aburames, Akimichi, Inuzuka, and the Nara. The Aburames were an odd family, but had the largest and most beautiful home she had ever seen, instead of harvesting or raising cattle, they had acres and acres of bee keeps, producing the best honey grown in the entire county! Keeping bugs on a farm isn't what made people feel uneasy about them though, it was the way they carried themselves that creeped people out. The Aburames were tall, all off them reaching over 6', they kept to the side and wore clothing that made them look like they were carrying guns and explosives.

The Akimichi were the friendliest, they weren't weird either, unless you count the inhuman amount of food they could eat. They gave someone food when they could not afford it, and thought it was diabolical to leave a starving puppy out on the streets. The Akimichi's didn't grow just one thing. They raised cattle, grew wheat, and fruit. They were the connoisseurs of farming.

The most well known and coincidentally the rowdiest farmers were the Inuzuka's, whom raised dogs, believe it or not. Hunting dogs, rescue dogs, fighting dogs, seeing eye dogs any thing you could think of. To get along with an Inuzuka you had to realize that because they spend their entire lives living with dogs they are bound to pick up some canine like traits. They were known for being notoriously territorial, they can be rough around the edges, but really are like puppies on the inside. You also have to respect that they like to be Alpha, and take everything in stride.

Lastly there were the Nara, they are by far the laziest people you would ever meet, and coincidentally the smartest, each member having an I.Q above 150. Instead of growing anything that could be bought in markets, the Nara's cultivated medicinal herbs, for hospital use. They also cared for a large herd of deer.

Naru, Ino, Sakura, and Hinata came from families that owned small shops. The only reason that they had met the guys was because they had visited the wounded warrior hospital. Where the girls had been working at the time.

When they had entered the small hospital, there dog-tags had gleamed under the faulty lighting. The girls had watched, watched and observed how they visited each and every one of those wounded warriors, talking to them, not showing any disgust at the appearance at some of the worst wounded.

She had been cleaning the small space that he'd been used as a patients room, but was really only a large warehouse with certain dividers to give some semblance of privacy, when he had stepped into the curtain opening of the make-shift rooms. She had been mumbling about the pain of cleaning the space that had once been occupied, but as the patient that had been staying in here had taken to fever and died, it was open to one of the men that did not have a room.

Shifting the gears on the truck she sat there for a moment, remembering how he-they came back over and over, for their wounded comrades in arms, and later for them.

They will come back, she thought. Looking over to her friends, seeing their dead expressions, they had to. Not coming home wasn't an option, after all he has that promise to keep, and she wasn't kidding about digging him up from that trench either.

Tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, she opened the door and placed her orange clothed foot on the green of the grass. The door shut with a slam behind her. With sure steps she walked up to the deep brown of the expertly carved wood pieces of the Hatake families ancestral door. She momentarily noticed the other three plus one dog following after her.

She was about to burst through the door, nor caring who was doing what, as she always did much to her families frustration, but she stopped. Midori was in an even worse situation that she was. Even though she had given up the Uzumaki name for the Hatake, she was still Uzumaki, and therefore very volatile with negative emotion. So she tried a- different approach. Knocking ever so slightly, she waited for a moment before entering.

When she had first entered the house she had been in awe of the high ceilings with dark wooden floors and maroon colored walls. The beautiful glass chandelier, hand woven tapestries that adorned the hallway entrance, but now she barely gave anything a second glance. Entering the kitchen she saw Midori, bustling about, bags by her feet, and her two children sitting on a blanket in the middle of the floor.

"Hey Midori, need any help?"

The woman in question glanced toward them, crimson curls flouncing about, forest green eyes, red and puffy. She wiped her hands on her apron, a nervous habit that she had not been able to rid of. She nodded then straightened her blue dress.

"Could you pick up these bags and put them in the truck, I'll be right out after I grab the boys." Her voice even after crying was still warm and comforting. Sakura, Ino and Hinata began to busy themselves with the luggage while Naru stepped forward, and reached out to grab Minato. As she did so he gurgled happily, his onyx eyes shining in infant innocence, curly crimson locks falling into his eyes. His green onesie stained with something she hoped was tomato soup.

While Midori grabbed Sakumo, his gravity defying silver hair flopping every which way, and his green eyes closed. His gray onesie wasn't stained with anything she could see. With the boys heads cradled into their elbows they nodded to each other before walking out of the beautiful house.

"You ready?"

"As I'll ever be fox, as I'll ever be."