Red Is A Pretty Colour

29

Hiko's pov

With Naruto away to train with Master Jiraiya I didn't have much to do. I was feeling a little down though so I decided to go and talk to Shikamaru. When I arrived at his house his mother very happily let me in.

"Shikamaru! That girlfriend of yours is here to see you!" Shikamaru's mum called.

"What do you me-" Shikamaru began as he stepped out off his room before his eyes landed on me. "She's not my girlfriend!"

Shikamaru's mother laughed at how red his face was before ruffling his hair.

"Maybe not now but I know how you feel," Shikamaru's mother said as she wriggled her eyebrows before giving me a gentle nudge in Shikamaru's direction.

"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru sighed.

"What did you say?" Shikamaru's mum asked in a bitter sweet tone, giving him a chance to change what he said.

"Nothing, come on Hiko." Shikamaru said, motioning for me to follow him to his room.

I smiled at his mother and gave her a wave before following him. Shikamaru sat down on his bed and then patted the space beside him.

"Sorry if me coming here causes you problems with your mum." I said.

"It's fine. What's up?" Shikamaru asked as he flopped backwards on the bed.

"I don't really know I don't feel like hurting myself again but I don't feel good either. I guess I just don't want to let myself go back there again and talking to you helped so I wanted to talk." I explained.

Shikamaru reached a hand out and grabbed the back of my shirt, pulling me down to lie beside him.

"I know I told you sleeping wouldn't help you, that you'd be waking up into the same nightmare you fell asleep to escape but... sometimes sleep can help." Shikamaru said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "When you wake up we'll talk about whatever it is that comes to your mind."

I nodded before curling up on myself and allowing myself to drift into sleep to the sound of him breathing.

Time skip

Shikaku's pov

When I got back from work I was met by Yoshino's smiling face.

"What's with that look?" I asked as I approached her.

"That girl is over." Yoshino said.

"What girl?" I asked,

Yoshino shook her head at me before motioning for me to follow her. I did as she said, a happy wife meant a happy life after all. When we reached Shikamaru's room she opened the door and gestured for me to look inside.

Once again doing what she wanted I looked into the room. Shikamaru was asleep the wrong way on his bed, his legs hanging off the side with a red haired girl curled up beside him. He had an arm wrapped around her and a peaceful look on his face.

"Hiko Uzumaki." I said quietly, being careful not to wake them.

"Yes, she's pretty isn't she?" Yoshino said and I nodded. "Shikamaru's liked her for forever, his heart was probably beating out of his chest when she fell asleep with him."

"She'll be good for him." I said with a smile.

From what I had heard she wasn't quite like Yoshino but she wasn't too far off either. She was sarcastic and independent, refusing to accept help from anyone which reminded me of a younger Yoshino, she was also very intelligent and according to Shikamaru she was lazier than him. Shikamaru seemed to feel she was perfect for him and I'd support him in that crush.

"Remember when he was younger, he dragged us through all the shops looking for a specific shade of red paint for his room? It couldn't be any shade of red either it had to be this one specific colour that was impossible to find. When he brought her here about a month ago and I saw her hair I figured out why, that paint was the exact same shade. He's been smitten from day one." Yoshino said with a giggle.

"I remember him always complaining about her, she was always sleeping, never paying attention, always ignoring him, never in classes, the fact he cared more about what she was doing than himself tipped me off." I said.

"What are you two doing?" Shikamaru asked as he cracked an eye open.

"Just checking in." Yoshino said.

"Troublesome woman, let us sleep." Shikamaru said.

I spotted Yoshino's glare and looked at Shikamaru.

"Don't address your mother that way Shikamaru." I said, trying to stop her yelling, poor Hiko was still fast asleep.

Yoshino still looked mad was about to yell when Hiko moved in her sleep, resting her head on Shikamaru's chest. Yoshino let out a squeal of delight as Shikamaru's face went redder than the sleeping girl's hair.

"We'll leave you two be, have fun." Yoshino said before dragging me from the room.