Chapter Six - Always Tomorrow

Konoha - Seven Years Ago

The sun beat down on the dusty streets of Konoha on that fateful summer sunday. The weather did nothing to discourage the ever-energetic village youths - who were always looking for creative and fun ways to show off the result of their studies. As a result of this eagerness, the sport "Ninja Ball" was created; a game loosely based on soccer or football - each team of ninja would start at either end of the village, next to their goal. When the referee signalled the start of the game (by throwing an exploding tag into the air) the two teams would rush towards the centre of the village to gain possession of the ball. The winner was the first team to take the ball to the opposing teams goal. The only rule was that players were not allowed to touch the ball with their hands.

Needless to say this led to a lot of creative tactics being used - clones, substitution jutsu, decoy ball "carriers", spontaneous fights; the game was certainly not tame. It was therefore a surprise to the villagers, to see the form of young Shikamaru Nara sprinting through the streets with a leather ball at his feet and two of his classmates close at his heels. The young ninja had opted to join in since "cloudless skies are boring to watch". He had so far been unopposed by the other team, mainly because the route he was taking was a lot longer than the typical to-the-main-road-and-straight-line-through-the-village approach that the other kids took. His flanking guard kept their eyes peeled all the same.

Just as they rounded a corner in the western part of the village, Shikamaru stopped and spun around as a wave of smoke engulfed them. Trying to squint through the smoke, the young ninja tried to keep his senses sharp for the approach of enemies. Even if it was just a booby trap, the other players would see the smoke and come running. This was soon confirmed by the cries of his teammatesand the thundering footsteps coming towards him. Reaching out a hand to get his bearings, he continued down the street, hoping to make it out of the smokescreen. A few seconds later he burst out of the grey cloud and flicked his fringe out of his eyes, grinning in silent celebration for a moment before all hell broke loose.

Out of the different streets and alleyways ahead poured the entire opposing team, along with one or two of his own in the distance. In the face of all his peers flying towards him, Shikamaru panicked and slammed his foot into the ball, half hoping it would make it through to his teammates, the other half just wanting to lead the rabble of kids away from him. He was partly successful; nothing clears a crowd of children looking to avoid blame faster than the sound of shattering glass.

Shikamaru's heart skipped a beat. But he knew better than to run off and hide; he knew that his mother would somehow figure out he'd done something. It was an irksome talent of hers. So he slowly walked towards the door next to the window he'd broken. Looking up he read "Yamanaka Florist". He knew that name; his dad had mentioned it before, but he couldn't remember anything else

As he pushed the door open, silently hoping he hadn't hurt anyone, he was slightly overwhelmed by the mix of fragrances at first, he glanced around at the various flowers, bouquets, potted plants and hanging baskets that were on display. Moving further into the shop he noticed a few things lying askew, and soon came across a woman in an apron holding the leather ball and surveying the damage with a surprised look. Shyly, with his face hiding under his dark, lengthy hair, Shikamaru approached her.

"I'm sorry about the window, Ma'am" he apologized politely, "I... I can't afford to pay for it but if there's anyth-"

"MOM!" he was interrupted by a loud shrill voice. A light scampering emanated from the back of the shop as a young girl about Shikamaru's age dashed out, "I heard something break, are you alright, what happ-". She caught sight of the bashful looking boy and dodged to hide behind her mother's leg. Shikamaru looked down at his feet, irritated that he now had one more person with their eyes fixed on him. Thankfully, the woman spoke.

"You're Shikamaru, Shikaku's son - if I'm not mistaken" she asked. She sounded kind enough, especially considering the situation. Shikamaru nodded slightly, looking up a little, avoiding the piercing stare the girl was giving him. The shop owner looked contemplative, rubbing her chin slightly.

"Tell you what" she said decisively, "If you help clear up, and come back tomorrow morning, we can work something out". Shikamaru nodded in agreement and thanked her, apologizing again for the disruption. "Ino, honey - can you fetch a dustpan and broom?".

The young girl nodded and scampered out of the room, glancing back over her shoulder as she went. Shikamaru absentmindedly stared at his feet as he nudged a few of the larger piece of shattered clay pot together. He felt even more embarrassed than he'd expected, although he couldn't figure out why. Looking up as he heard Ino return he saw her holding out the broom. Mumbling a thanks reached out. She dropped the broom into his hand and retreated swiftly behind her mother again. Shikamaru glanced up and couldn't help but noticed her blue eyes focused on him, an uninterpretable expression on her face. Looking back down he started clearing.

The following day, Shikamaru was seen darting through Konoha once again, this time devoid of his peers, and with a bag of fliers in lieu of a leather ball. The other children seemed to have decided to lay off their rambunctious activities for the time being, and so it was a comparatively quiet day, much to the delight of the villagers.

Advertising was today's task; although he didn't quite see the point, as it was pretty much the only florist in the village. However, Shikamaru knew that he was in no position to question it. Mrs Yamanaka had told him that he could repay damages by doing some work for them for a couple of weeks. Mostly mundane jobs, so that she could be free to be more active in the shop. It was a pain, but the young Nara agreed.

When he got back to the shop around noon, having delivered all the fliers, he found a glass of water and a sweetroll sitting on the small table next to the hook for the bag. There was a note with "Chore Boy" written on the back in disjointed, untidy handwriting. This had been crossed out and in much neater handwriting on the flip side was a note of thanks, telling him he could leave once he sweeped the shop floor. It wasn't a big store so it didn't take long.

Over the next few days the tasks were in as much the same vein; deliveries, sweeping, checking for dead or dying plants. Each day he was allowed to leave shortly after noon, and each day he found a sweetroll and glass of water sitting somewhere for him. On the eight day, he thought he heard feet shuffling away as he picked up the glass. A couple of days later, he caught Ino peeking around a doorframe. On the last day, he was surprised to find that her actually holding out the plate and glass herself. After sitting a short bit away from him for a minute while he ate she suddenly stood up.

"Wait here" She ordered before dashing upstairs.

Shikamaru blinked slightly in confusion. He realised that it was the first time she'd actually spoken to him directly. He'd seen her ghosting around the shop from time to time, but she always seemed to be in a hurry to get out of his sight. He wasn't entirely sure why, but this disheartened him, and made him even more desperate to go home.

His already unstable train of thought was derailed when she bounded down the steps, three at a time and almost landed in a skip next to him. She was holding something in her hand, but Shikamaru didn't have time to see what it was before she shifted behind him.

"Hold still" She said firmly, before pulling his fringe back out of his face.

After a minute or so of tugging and pulling slightly at his hair, Ino shuffled back around in front of him. Shikamaru lifted a hand up to try and find out what she'd done, but the young girl slapped his hand away and pointed towards a mirror further down the hall. Walking over to it, his eyes widened a bit. She'd tied his hair back into a sort of spiky bunch with a purple band. He had to admit, it didn't look too bad, apart from the colour. Moments later she was standing behind him grinning.

"It's been bugging me" she said relievedly, "It's no wonder you kicked the ball through our window; how could you see with all that hair in your eyes?". Before Shikamaru could answer she suddenly started giggling. Shikamaru felt his cheeks heat up. Turning around to ask her what was so funny, he was stopped in his tracks when she prodded his forehead.

"Hehe, although without the hair, you remind me of a friend of mine - she's got a pretty big forehead too" she laughed before skipping away and calling behind her, "See you at the Acadamy, Chore Boy!".

Shikamaru walked home in a bit of a daze, in some small part due to the sun shining in his now uncovered eyes. His father had once told him that he had the potential to do anything he put his mind to, architecture, literature, sports, whatever his heart desired. Sitting in his room that afternoon, Shikamaru dug out an old toy kunai he'd discarded long ago and turned it over in his hands. He didn't know why, but somehow he felt like he knew what he would put his mind to.

Shikamaru rubbed his eyes and sighed irritably. This was such a stupid thing. Irrational and detrimental. But he couldn't help himself. He drummed the box with his thumbs slightly, thinking about everything that had just happened. He supposed he would have to find somewhere else to stargaze... for now. The more he thought about it, the more it made his stomach feel like it was trying to crush itself. She didn't remember about the window. Even if she did... she probably wouldn't understand without a bit more explanation. She wouldn't realize that the reason he was always looking to the skies... was because it was the only place he could find anything worth looking at... when she wasn't around.

He turned the box upside down and expertly slid a few wooden panels around, solving the puzzle lock just like he'd done countless times before. It had been a present from his grandfather when he was very young. The old man had told Shikamaru that one day he would find something that meant enough to him, that it would be worth keeping locked up safe. Flipping the lid open, he reached inside and took out a band of purple cloth. Squeezing it slightly, he sat in thought for a minute that felt like an eternity. Finally, he placed it back in the box, locked it and put it away.

"Not yet..."

The End.

Author's Notes:
I am truly sorry that this chapter took over a year to get done. I basically started this fic with the last two paragraphs in mind. Getting to that part proved a lot harder than I expected. I really hope it was worth the wait... o_o

I'd like to dedicate this fanfic to ren-shika-inu15 for their support through this and Rose Tinted Clouds. In addition credit must be given to BrattlyMoshkins2019, who's initial review was the reason this fic got past Chapter One.

I don't expect to write any more Naruto for a while, and when I do - it will be a different pairing. If you include your favourite pairings in any further reviews I will take them into consideration.

Thank you all for your Buddhist-like patience and support. There is bonus art as reparation; Kid Shikamaru - fav(dot)me/d4nuzy3

- K_N