A Fox and His Shadow

Naruto's hand latched onto Shikamaru's, fingers intertwined, guiding the shadow user with him as they ran throughout the forest behind the compound.

Earlier, the fox boy had begged and pleaded with his puppy eyes tearing up for Shikamaru to venture with him into the woods.

*"Pleaaaaaase Shikaaaa! Come with me pleaaase," he remembered Naruto saying, with his bottom lip jutting out and hands clasped.*

And had been whisked away once he gave in.

Delving deeper within as the blond's giggling increased, it made Shikamaru smile, a warmth blossomed in his chest.

"Where are we going?," yelled Shikamaru, trying to keep himself from tripping over a root.

Getting whacked by a few branches was nothing as the further they went deeper through the brush, the more it turned to unfamiliar territory.

"Somewhere really cool, Shi-Shi!"

It felt as if a thin veil between worlds between humans and spirits had lifted when the leaves were green and were now bleeding into calming oranges and yellows with a thin mist surrounding them. It was oddly brighter.

A flock of many extinct birds he had read about sat and sung in the treetops, chittering foxes of many shapes, sizes and colors followed behind both of them. How strange the presence of the Kyuubi lived right inside of the Nara forest, a realm hidden from human-kind's prying eyes.

Truly fascinating to feel welcomed into this part of Naruto's world

Sharp brown eyes drinking in the sights of the beautiful sceneries that were around him.

"Oomph!"

Bumping into Naruto's back as they came to a sudden halt, the fox winked and pointed towards a cave entrance to the side, tugging on the Nara's hand. "There's our ticket in!"

There was no going back now, Shikamaru nodded as they ventured further inside.

The cave was dark, saved for the bright opening behind them, jagged rocks shaped like razor teeth hung about the ceiling and floor, but the deeper they went the more it smelled of the earth and dampness, the water drips echoed. Their feet crunching the rock and dirt and thanks to Naruto's sight, Shikamaru was led safely around many dangerous edges and holes.

'Damn...,' Shikamaru grimaced. His eyes slowly scanned the large wall of rock in front of them.

Naruto grinned at him.

"Watch this!"

The blond took a step forward, still holding onto the ponytailed boy's hand, and knocked three times on the wall.

Much to Shikamaru's surprise, the rock slowly started to move. If he didn't hear sound then, he heard them now as it got louder with every inch the rock had moved.

Inside were, many folklore beings cheering and chatting about with one another, drinking and eating whatever the hell were in their cups and plates. It looked more of a bar he's seen in the village.

"Hello fellas!! Lookit who I brought!!," Naruto yelled, waving his hand high.
'Are you fucking crazy?!,' whispered Shikamaru, as he tried to set down the fox's hand.

"Relax Shi-Shi..."

It had become eerily silent as all of the spirits snapped their undivided attention to the newcomers. All eyes were on them, gazes set on Shikamaru, their expressions unreadable and then back to Naruto as they all erupted back into cheers and shouts.

"Narutooooo!"
"Finally found someone yeh!?"
"Oh a human too, just like his father chose~ and so cute!"

Hands on his hips, Naruto smirked at him as a way of saying 'i told you so'. Shikamaru sighed, a blush crawling across his face.

How troublesome....

"They're real good, Shi-Shi! Really nice they all are!," Naruto beamed, tugging Shikamaru to follow him once more. "They sure do approve of ya! Believe it!"

Many of the patrons that Naruto knew all too well had clapped Naruto on the back as a congratulations and hugged Shikamaru. One, by the name of Kiba, tackled the fox to the floor saying along the lines of 'where'd you bag this one' and 'still wearing this ugly orange!', receiving a retort and bites from the blond.

Shikamaru was pulled back quickly as the play fight turned into a dog fight, a tad too literally. A hand started patting on his shoulder in a soothing way.

"Don't mind them, hun. They've always been this stupid," said Tsume, by what Shikamaru could tell would be related to Kiba. "So a Nara huh? I've heard about you all! Really smart clan. Maybe you could teach our dear Naruto a few things."

Shikamaru chuckled, he really needed a cigarette right about now, this whole thing was a lot to say the least but he couldn't shake this dreaded feeling that he was being watched.

He was about to look over his shoulder, grunting in surprise when Naruto wrapped his arms around Shikamaru's waist, hissing and snapping his teeth at the dog boy, who in turn grabbed onto Shikamaru in mockery, to which only made the fox more angry.

How dare he grab onto his mate like that!
.

"Back off Kiba, you shitheaded mutt! Get your own!!"

"Who are you calling a mutt, you pampered fox brat?!"

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A BRAT, YOU RAT?!"

.
As amusing as this all was, Shikamaru mentally facepalmed, he really needed that cigarette as he was practically tossed around in between Naruto and Kiba.

.•.•.•.•.

Amongst the crowd, sat a cloaked man who grinned at his target. His eyes cast in shadows.

"How interesting..."

.•.•.•.•.

Shikamaru groaned, holding his head in his hands. He felt dizzy with a headache creeping it's way in the mix. Damn those two idiots, damn them. Once he felt better, he was going to strangle them both with his shadows.

Sensing his inner turmoil, Tsume chuckled as she sat a drink in front of the Nara, who looked at it suspiciously. "It's just a little something to help with that head of yours. Don't worry! We like you too much."

Nodding as he hesitantly drank the clear liquid.

It tasted awful at first, then a little sour and then sweet as his dizziness began to fade away.

"A special mix made by our Nar-Nar's mum. Real lovely lady she was! Real hot-headed too! Punched Kurama through a wall"

His mom, Kushina, again. His lips thinned, she sounded pretty terrifying. But the more he heard about the woman, the more he felt awful, even though he personally never met her. He glanced up at Naruto laughing with his group of friends, Kiba throwing his arm around his shoulders.

"The kid has his way on people. Always fixing things, making fast friends. The kid is a total menace. He also has a knack for acting like everything's okay even though he's sad inside," she said, her shoulder nudging him where he was sat. "He's a knucklehead but you tend to love him anyway. But I've seen that every time he's down, he comes out this way talking to his mum. Kushina may be gone but her memory is still there cuz that old fox found a way to keep her alive around this place."

"That could explain the shift of the forest...," Shikamaru muttered, nodding to himself.

"I'm glad Naruto met you, kid!"

Shikamaru looked back over at Naruto, his back turned, chatting with friends. In his eyes, he only noticed Naruto and no one else, the very one whose upright ear swiveled, indicating he had been listening to the shadow user the entire time. The blue eyed fox's attention went his way, his face blossomed into an adorned smile, his nine tails wagging in excitement.

Oh gods this guy-

.•.•.•.•.

As they made their way back to the Nara compound, the sun had set and the sky was darkening. And Naruto, the ever so bubbly Naruto, led Shikamaru hand in hand, giggling all the while. The home was in their view, no lights were on. It wasn't that odd for his parents to be asleep by now.

The dark haired boy shook his head in exasperation. "What's gotten into you?," asks the chuckling Nara, ignoring the fluttering feeling in his stomach.

Naruto slowly came to a stop as he turned to him. His sparkling blue eyes stared back into his amber ones.

The long tails sat against the Nara's legs, a few slithering their way around his ankles but never once felt he was being held down, as a clawed hand caressed atop of the one held, tracing the knuckles and the fading scars on Shikamaru's skin from his training and many battles during missions.

"I'm so glad I met you, Shi-Shi," the blond whispered, leaning forward. Shikamaru's heart began to race as the other inched more and more towards his face.

A feather-like kiss pressed onto his cheek, blush erupted on his entire face again. The fox grinned at him, a swift hug around the other almost sent them both to the ground.

"I'll see ya later, Shi-Shi!"

In a puff, Naruto was gone as the lingering feeling on his cheek remained when Shikamaru brought his hand up to touch the spot.

This was so troublesome
.
...
.

"So who's your friend?," his father, Shikaku, asked out of the blue, sat at the dining table. A smirk upon his lips, drinking the contents of his cup. His mother snickered as she sat plates down in front of her family.

A thud on the table and groan in frustration.

Gods dammit-

.•.•.•.•.

"Report, my dearest follower~"

The man shrouded in the cloak stalked close to the throne and kneeled before the one hidden within the shadows. Glasses glinting from the light of torches.

"The son of Kurama finally found a mate it seems. A young human of the Nara Clan."

"Excellent work~," the other purred, waving his hand to his subordinate. "Continue on with your watch on them and gather as much details as you can."

The man before him curtly nodded and disappeared in smoke. As a dark cackle echoed throughout the throne room.
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