A Couple Steps Back

Chapter 6

Third person pov

"Fucking shaky hands." Naruto hissed, crumbling the paper in his hands into a tight ball and chucking it at Shikamaru's door. It hit the wood with a very faint, pathetic thump, falling to the ground and rolling back over to Naruto. Angrily, the blonde picked it up once more, throwing it even harder. It, luckily, rolled under Shikamaru's bed this time. "That's right. Run, you stupid ball of tree corpses and ink." Naruto growled at it, his blue eyes narrowing dangerously. Failure wasn't something he enjoyed. 

Sasuke clicked his tongue boredly, gazing around the room, and expertly ignoring Naruto's angry rant about his failure of a seal. For a kid's room, it was pretty dull. Not all that many toys, and barely any bright colors. Sasuke supposed this was to be expected, especially from Shikamaru. Even as a kid, he was lazy, and he loved his sleep. He didn't seem like the action-figure type anyway. It didn't matter anymore. The less toys, the better. That left more room for more important things, so they probably wouldn't have to get rid of much. Getting rid of too much would definitely look suspicious.

"Naruto, don't throw things. It's troublesome." Shikamaru's response, although delayed, made the blonde boy's rave die off into a grumble. The Nara was huddled in the corner, hunched over a notebook and several sticky notes he'd scribbled on. Sasuke assumed he was making a timeline of some sort, or trying to work out some sort of plan, but there was really no way to tell. It was best not to disturb him. Shikamaru would get annoyed with you if you interrupted his process, and you didn't want Shikamaru annoyed with you. It wasn't fun. It was a whole lot of awkward silence and nasty glares that rivaled even that of the Uchiha's. That, and Nara's knew how to ruin your life without doing anything all that wrong. They were dangerous in that way. 

"You know, our lives would be a lot easier if they would sell seals to children. Believe it." Naruto said. "Learn the transformation jutsu and go get some yourself." Sasuke grunted. Naruto shook his head. "I need an ID for that, believe it!" He snatched his brush up, pulling another piece of paper his way. "Steal one." Shikamaru said from his corner. Sasuke nodded in agreement. "That would be easiest." Sasuke told his Hokage. "Yeah. Whatever. You guys wouldn't understand." The blonde said in a solemn tone. Shikamaru snorted, but didn't speak. Sasuke simply went back to looking around. Unconsciously, he looked for threats, and ways out of the room. He wasn't just observing: he was guarding too. 

A quiet, quite sudden knock at the door made Naruto's brush fly across the room as the boy jolted with surprise, his eyes widening. Sasuke's hand twitched down to his leg to retrieve a kunai from the pouch that wasn't there, and Shikamaru had spun around and  gotten into a defensive position immediately. Naruto, his hands now poised to form a Rasengan, let out a loud groan. "We're so messed up! Believe it." He fell onto his back, wiping at the ink he'd splattered on his cheek. He only succeeded in smearing it. "Hn." Sasuke agreed as Shikamaru shuffled across the room. "Coming, mom." The young Nara yawned, his shoulders tense, and his eyes hard. 

Naruto was right; they were messed up. A simple knock on the door had nearly put them in war mode, and war mode was no good. They were going to have some real trouble adjusting. Even Naruto, who was still quite dense, could see that. This wasn't going to be easy. Even without the burden of saving the future, this was going to take some time. Between the deaths of their friends and the destruction of their village, they'd seen quite a bit. Too much, really. And now that they were back in the past, they were having a hard time hiding it. 

Naruto and Sasuke both leaned over to see who had arrived at the door, Sasuke peering over Shikamaru's shoulder, Naruto, too lazy to stand up, simply looking under the Nara's arm. As they'd guessed, it was Yoshino, a plate of assorted snacks in her shaky hands. She offered a small, sad smile to them. Naruto gave an enthusiastic wave while Sasuke simply nodded, leaning back up against the wall again. There was no threat here. "Ah, thanks Kaa-san." Shikamaru took the plate, nearly dropping it. His body still wasn't used to his lack of muscles. It was a drag. "Oh my, do you have it?" She asked him, her hands instinctively reaching out to steady the large dish. "Hai, I've got it." Shikamaru took a small step back, his voice soft, and his eyes trained on the food. He was still having trouble looking at his mother's face, so alive, and still so young.

"Alright, if you're sure, dear. Are you two okay in here? Can I get you anything?" Yoshino asked sweetly to the two boys, looking right over Shikamaru's head. "We're okay, Mrs. Nara! Thanks for the food! I'm starving!" Naruto jumped up excitedly. Shikamaru turned to look over his shoulder. "Do you even like cheese cubes, crackers, carrots and ranch?" He asked him, knowing the blonde wouldn't mind. After living off of war rations for what seemed like forever, something cold and fresh was much needed. "I haven't had a solid meal in two weeks! I'll take what I can get!" Naruto gave a goofy grin, excitedly taking the plate from Shikamaru. He turned to Sasuke, who'd curiously moved closer.

"Look, Sasuke." He thrust the plate in the boy's face. "It looks good. Thanks, Mrs. Nara." Sasuke said politely, his eyes following the plate of snacks as Naruto plopped down on the ground. "We won't make a mess, and I'll bring the plate back when we're done." Shikamaru said, clearly insinuating that it was time for his mother to go. After all, Shikamaru had things to record, and plans to make. The Uchiha Clan massacre was coming up in a few years as the first big event that would occur, and he had to grill Sasuke for details.  While the Uchiha had told them what Itachi had did and why, they'd never really talked about the information in between. 

Yoshino looked away from Naruto, trying to hide the sadness and concern in her eyes. She offered a smile. "You boys have fun. Don't be too destructive." She laughed, giving the three boys a teasing wink. "Ah, darn! You foiled my plans!" Naruto exclaimed loudly. Shikamaru's mother let out a laugh. "You'll have to cope, Naruto-kun. Now, I'll go tackle some dishes. Stay out of trouble!" She turned away, making her way hastily down the hall. Shikamaru watched her go for a few seconds before receding back into his dimly lit room, closing and locking the sliding door. He turned to his two teammates, who were stuffing their faces with cheese, crackers, carrots and ranch. He plopped down with them, offering a lazy grin. "You guys gonna share, or what?"

Planning could wait.