partner project / you're nothing to me (shikamaru x reader)

chapter seven

I woke up the next morning, cold and Shikamaru had moved back up to his bed.

Now we were outside, at a table by a training grounds and writing with my ink and brush.

"I'm so done with this project, Shikamaru!" I yelled, throwing down my brush and flopping down on the grass below. He looked over and our eyes met, I scrunched my face up and looked away before my face could become red.

A small tingly feeling circled through me.

I had, this morning, checked in with Yamato, and then I was off. Thankfully, he seems okay with me going over to Shikamaru's a lot. I hope everything's okay, ever since his girlfriend went rogue and almost tried to kill everyone.

"If you're so done, then just finish the page and we're done for the day, Y/n." He said lazily, leaning on his hand. I quickly removed my gaze from his and sat back up. "Shikamaru, gather everything up. Let's go into the village." I said, sitting up and putting my hands in my hips and pulling on his arm.

"Calm down, calm down Y/n. Finish the page, and we can go do whatever the hell your crazy mind is thinking of." He said, putting my brush in front of me. I sighed like a feisty 5 year old, defying my mother. After all, Shikamaru was just like a mother. Taking care of me in the weirdest ways and discipling me, he was such a weirdo.

I sit back on the bench and he slides the paper in front of me. Sighing, I grab the brush, dip it in some ink, and begin to write the Japanese on the paper. I haven't even stated what the project is, exactly.

This weird Partner Project is a two-week project, where every day you have to write a one thing each about what a shinobi does for a village, but it has to fill one whole page so it can't be half-assed.

Shikamaru shakes his head at my slow writing and off strokes, but I just stick my tongue out at him. Though my writing isn't too quick, it's neater than Shikamaru's, which is fast scribbles with his brush and ink spills like dots all over the page. Lazy handwriting, I tell you.

As I finish, I put my brush back in it's thin container, and cap my ink and put both in my pouch. "Okay, I'm done." I say proudly, standing up. He doesn't respond. I look over and see him, his cheek against his arm, his mouth firmly closed, and his chest rising slowly, up and down. I keep my eyes peeled on his calm, sleepy face.

It brings me back to last night.

There's something about it that makes me keep thinking about what happened...

---

WE WALKED side by side, almost shoulder to shoulder. The town center was bustling, full of the young, then the teenage and adult shinobi mixed in with the regular.

Shikamaru and I were silent amount each other. My mind wandered to something that wasn't my sister for once.

Would I be in the same genin team as Shikamaru?

I bounced the thought in my mind. Of course we wouldn't. The Sato is usually paired with an Uchiha. Mirrors and Sharingan are a perfect genjutsu combination, but I'm pretty sure I won't be in a team with Sasuke. Or, at least I hope I won't. And even if I don't, I know the classic Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and you can't break that. Since Ino and Choji are the other two in the trio, I am guaranteed to be put in a completely random group.

A kind non-shinobi man standing behind a small expensive stand waved towards me and Shikamaru. He sold exactly what I looked for; a small rack with silver charms was on the table. I stopped leaned on the table to start looking. Shikamaru stood a far away back, but came close when he saw what I looked for. While he searched for one for me, I searched for a charm for him. After he bought one, I leaned in to talk to the man.

"Do you have any clan charms?"  I whispered. "Sure!" He reached into a box under the table and set it on the countertop. I reached my neck over and looked inside, seeing a lot of popular clans: Senju, Sarutobi, Uchiha, Eddy (Uzumaki), Akimichi, Yamanaka, Nara, and finally, my own.

I grabbed the Nara and Sato charms, and handed him the money, then held the two tightly in my hand.

"Oi, Y/n, you flirting with the salesman?" Shikamaru joked as I walked back over to him in the main road. My flat hand met his forehead. He laughed and held out his hand, then opened it, his fingers fanning out.

In his small palm rested a tiny flower charm, a orange-pink colored. I noticed how beautiful it looked with the sun.

"Coral roses mean friendship. And you're really good at that." He said sheepishly. I smirked, putting my hand on my face to hide the red

"You're so cheesy!" I exclaimed, raking the charm in my hand.

Ever since last night, I can't bring myself to look into my best friend's eyes. Something about knowing that he's alive and that he's my best friend makes me feel determined not to lose him. That feeling when your body gets tingly and your stomach turns... I won't let it go so easily.

I start to fumble to attach the charm and Shikamaru sighs. At this point, he doesn't have to say the three words for me to know that he's lost his patience.

"What a drag."

After a few more seconds, he grabs my wrist sternly to keep it still, and uses his other hand clasp it onto my bracelet. Then he lets go.

My face flushes, and I see him smirk.

I open my hand in front of him, and show the Nara symbol charm and Sato one. The smirk on wipes off his face, and I point to his wrist, where the bracelets at. I bring it close to me and clasp it on.

"There, you'll always have me with you." I said softly, bringing his hand close to my chest.

My fingers lightly brush his backhand, feeling his soft and smooth skin. Gently, my fingers delicately traced circles on his hand. He turned his face away.

"I already do."

---

The sign in front of the stand said "ICHARAKU" In large red symbols.

"This place is good. Naruto always tells me about this place. Then again, he's obsessed with ramen." Shikamaru said, dragging a finger on his face.

"If you say it's good, then I trust you..." I say unwarily.

"Don't be so weird." Shikamaru said, flicking his fingers.

We lifted the cloth and inside was a bar with low stools. It was empty except the two workers, an elder man, and a young girl with brown hair falling barely past her shoulders, both equipped with a white garment of some sort on their head, the man a hat and the girl a ribbon.

"Hello! Welcome! Take a menu and take a look!" As Shikamaru and I sat, the lady set a menu in front of us. I opened mine immediately, scanning the short menu. Deciding for an original, I tell the kind lady to make a Miso Pork ramen, Shikamaru agreeing and ordering a second one.

"It smells nice." I see nicely, looking at Shikamaru's bored face. He turns to me and I stare deeply into his midnight black eyes. Softly, he smirked. I turn away, embrassed, my face flushing red. It's been doing that a lot lately.

"Why're you staring at me, Y/n? Hm?" He playfully shoved me in the soulder. "You're the one staring at me!" I retort, smiling. We talked while we waited for our food to be done, but the bowls were put in front of us quickly. The broth, the noodles, the pork, naruto, and onion. It steamed hotly, brushing  my face, But only one pair of chopsticks was in front of us.

"That's the last pair for the moment. More will be delivered in around half an hour from now." The elder man explained. I sighed, pushing the chopsticks toward Shikamaru. I use my spoon to sip the broth will he peels the wrapping off and splits the chopsticks. Then he hands the chopsticks to me, starting to bring the bowl to his lips. I smirk and lean over to him, picking up noodles and bringing it to his mouth. He sighs and eats from it.

I move my stool closer and continue to feed Shikamaru, until his bowl was empty. Then I moved to mine while Shikamaru watched intently.

He didn't seem to mind that I fed him, he kinda seemed like he liked me taking care of him. It was kind of weird, though, acting like a mom to Shikamaru. I'm his best friend, not Yoshino.