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This is troublesome, thought Shikamaru as he wrote his essay on the history of the Hyuuga clan. Iruka-sensei, for homework, told the class to write essays on all the ninja clans they could think of. Shikamaru, and various others, thanked Kami-sama that Iruka-sensei had put a rule saying that, in order for an essay to be valid, a member of each clan they chose had to reside in the class. Shikamaru knew that it was because Iruka-sensei wanted the class to get to know each other better. How this assignment was supposed to help with that, Shikamaru wasn't sure.
The seven-year-old stretched and yawned. It should be dinnertime soon, Shikamaru thought. He glanced up at his cloud-and-star-dotted ceiling. Maybe no one would notice if he snuck out and did some cloud-watching.
"I'VE HAD IT!" screamed the voice of his mother.
Shikamaru removed himself from his chair and tiptoed over to his bedroom door. Were they arguing over taxes, food, or missions again?
"I CAN'T TAKE YOUR LAZY ASS WAYS ANY LONGER! YOU JUST SIT THERE WHILE EVERYONE ELSE WORKS THEIR ASSES OFF!"
"I DO TOO WORK! HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN I'M A NINJA?"
"YOU HAVEN'T BEEN WORKING LATELY! YOU'VE TURNED DOWN EVERY MISSION THE HOKAGE HAS BEEN TRYING TO GIVE YOU!"
"I'VE BEEN BUSY!"
"YEAH, YOU'VE BEEN BUSY! WASTING TIME AWAY WATCHING THE SKY!"
Shikamaru trembled. His father never yelled; he usually found it too troublesome. He'd never admit it to anyone, but this was scaring him. He closed his door all the way, grabbed his paper, pencil, and a flashlight, and snuck underneath his covers, hoping the cloth would muffle the sound.
"I WANT A DIVORCE!" shrieked his mother.
Shikamaru covered his ears. This was so troublesome that it shouldn't be happening.
-
Shikamaru sat across from Iruka-sensei. The other students were outside training while Iruka-sensei and Shikamaru played go and shogi. Iruka-sensei said he would let all of his students play it as a strategy exercise. Shikamaru happened to be the first to play. How troublesome, Shikamaru thought. The seven-year-old growled at the board. Iruka-sensei was good. Despite his cleverness, Iruka-sensei continued to win. Shikamaru, not finding it troublesome, continuously challenged him to rematches. It kept his mind off of his parents' arguments and talks of divorce.
"Shikamaru-kun? You seem troubled. What's wrong?" Iruka-sensei asked; his voice was tinged with worry and concern.
The boy grumbled something incoherently and his stare intensified. Iruka-sensei raised an eyebrow at the look. Shikamaru turned his attention back at the board.
"Nothing's wrong, sensei. I'm just thinking."
"About what?"
"You're trying to distract me."
"We can pause for a moment if you'd like to talk about it."
"I don't want to talk about it."
Silence reigned for a while, the sound of go pieces hitting the board breaking it every now and then.
"If someone's hurting you in any way, I'd like to know about it. I can help," Iruka-sensei said.
Shikamaru's eyes narrowed in frustration and sadness.
"No, you can't," Shikamaru insisted.
"Is it one of the other teachers?"
Shikamaru looked at Iruka-sensei and raised an eyebrow. Why would it be one of the other teachers?
"Or a Jonin?" Iruka-sensei continued, "Chuunin, villager, foreigner? Family member?"
Shikamaru tensed at the mention of a family member. Iruka-sensei's eyes flashed with anger for a second and then returned to their concerned and worried state.
"Shikamaru-kun, please tell me. I want to help you and protect you if necessary."
Shikamaru bit his lip. A sob escaped from his mouth as he remembered his mother's words.
I WANT A DIVORCE!
I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR FAMILY ANYMORE!
Shikamaru broke down crying, muttering something about tears being troublesome. Iruka-sensei came over to the boy and pulled him into a comforting hug.
"It's alright. It's alright. I'm here. Nothing's going to hurt you now," Iruka-sensei whispered into his ear.
The seven-year-old calmed himself down and removed his face from his sensei's vest.
"M-my parents s-say they're g-getting a divorce. M-Mommy said sh-she wants n-nothing to d-do with the N-Nara clan anymore. That includes me, Iruka-sensei! My mother doesn't want anything to do with me anymore!" he cried, needing to bury his face into his teacher's vest again.
Iruka-sensei rocked him gently. He sighed as thought in relief, but then he glared at the go board, anger and determination flaring up in his eyes.
-
The yelling stopped after Shikamaru's confinement in Iruka-sensei. His mother hugged him and told him she loved him every day. His father sat around doing nothing a little less often; he was still the laziest person in Konoha, however. Shikamaru, a week later, figured out that Iruka-sensei must've talked to them or something in order to get them to settle their differences. The boy thanked Iruka-sensei for that.
Shikamaru, as the years went by, obtained a different problem, unfortunately. By the time he turned twelve, he had gained a crush on Iruka-sensei. He knew it would be too troublesome to date his teacher because if they did ever get together, it was against the law. Iruka-sensei would be thrown in prison or killed depending on how kind the Hokage felt. His father and mother would forbid Iruka-sensei to come anywhere near him. He didn't even know what Ino and Chouji's views on homosexuality were, so Kami-sama knew how troublesome being shunned by his two best friends would be.
Dreaming about Iruka-sensei, the more older he became, also became really troublesome. Erections showing up while he was cloud-watching with Chouji and thinking of Iruka-sensei at the same time were more embarrassing than the wet dreams.
Of course there was always the possibility that Iruka-sensei detested homosexuality. He didn't seem the type to have prejudice against anyone, though. However, the mere thought made Shikamaru feel like driving a kunai through his skull to make him stop thinking and spare the world all the troublesome stuff he could cause.
Iruka-sensei still played go and shogi with him. He was still the only one who could beat him. Iruka-sensei still could tell when he was upset, despite the lazy look on his face that seemed to scream "I'm extremely bored." Iruka-sensei still wanted to make him feel better. It was enough to make Shikamaru cry all over again, even at the age of fourteen. Iruka-sensei would still hold him like he did when Shikamaru was seven. He still listened to Shikamaru like he did when he was seven.
"I – I – I really, really, really like you, Iruka-sensei. N-not j-just in a student-teacher relationship, b-b-but in – in – in a – romantic way," Shikamaru said; stuttering was really troublesome; he couldn't understand how Hinata could talk like that in normal speech all the time.
Iruka-sensei didn't let go. He didn't push him away. He held him tighter.
"I really like you too, Shikamaru-kun."
Shikamaru looked up at Iruka-sensei.
"However, I'm afraid you're going to have to wait until you're older. There's a law about ninja under the age of seventeen dating anyone older than seventeen," Iruka-sensei added.
Shikamaru glared lazily at him.
"Hn. How troublesome."
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Red Roses2: Please report any OOC-ness. Constructive criticism will be revered on a pedestal, but flames will be banished to the darkest depths of the netherworld.