She was a fairy
(Shikamaru)
Shikamaru Nara is 4 when he meets kids his age for the first time.
He is told that the kids he’s meeting are to be his future teammates. That other than his family they are likely to become the most important people in his life. That one day, he will trust them with his life, and they will do the same with theirs.
He is 4 and he is excited because he’s never had a friend before.
But he also is 4 when he realizes that he’s not like other kids.
He is 4 and he has just met the two people he will most likely spend the rest of his life with. And he is guiltily disappointed. That night his father has to sit him down and explain to him how he’s different, how all the Nara children are.
(he doesn't want to be different)
He explains that other kids don’t think like he does, they don’t notice the things that he always has and they don’t question the world the same way he always will. And they won't for a long long time.
Shikamaru is 4, and he is lonely
-
Shikamaru is 5 and he’s not lonely.
No, he spends too much time with Chouji and Ino to be lonely, but he is annoyed and more than a little overstimulated.
(he is annoyed at his friends for not understanding him half the time and he is annoyed at himself for expecting more.)
He is 5 and he’s come to value Ino’s loud energy and Chouji’s shy warmth, but he’s also come to value silence and alone time. And so, on the night of their fifth play date in a row, he asks his dad at dinner if he can spend a little less time with his 2 future teammates. his dad doesn’t ask why, he just chuckles, says sure, and tells him that after dinner he’ll teach him how to meditate.
(it will become one of his favorite activities)
Shikamaru is 5 and he hangs out with his friends every other day, he’s taken up cloud watching on the recommendation of his father, And he’s overall content.
-
Shikamaru Nara is 6 and he’s bored.
He’s found a routine in playing with Ino and Choji 3 days a week and playing shogi with his father 4 days a week and cloud-watching and napping every day of the week and he’s bored.
He is mildly entertained by reading, generally finds exercise a bore, and hasn’t found a puzzle or game that stimulates him since he was 5.
He is 6 when he asks his father how he deals with such a dull life. And his father tells him that he used to ask the same, but then he met Shika’s mother, and in the same way as the many Nara before him when they found their light, he hadn’t been bored since.
But Shikamaru is 6 and in 3 months he turns 7 and he is worried he’ll always be bored.
-
Shikamaru is 7 and has just joined the academy and is slightly less bored.
The academy isn’t hard and he already knows everything they’re teaching but he’s surrounded by new people and for the moment it’s enough.
(he discovers people-watching to be almost as enjoyable as cloud-watching)
He is 7 and his mother has decided that since he is now in the academy he is allowed to go to the closest park outside the Nara compound unattended as long as he stays within the park boundaries and comes home before sundown.
Shikamaru is 7 and a half and lying under the sun with his eyes closed meditating when he is joined for the first time by someone else, they don’t speak, and Shikamaru doesn’t open his eyes to acknowledge them, he doesn’t ask who it is.
And it's peaceful.
(Sakura)
Sakura Haruno is 4 the first time her mother tells her that a lady's greatest pride is marrying into a good family. That a lady should be quiet and obedient, should be seen, not heard. That she should be refined and unblemished and soft to the touch.
She is 4 and her mother brushes her hair, paints her nails, and dresses her in a pretty pink dress, and tells her she’ll be such a pretty bride.
(she doesn't think she likes the color pink all that much)
Sakura is 4 and her parents have just opened their first store in another village, they tell her that it is the start of many and she is happy.
Sakura is almost 5 when her parents leave her in the care of her grandmother to visit other countries in hopes of making connections.
They will be back on her 5th birthday, and Sakura is excited.
-
Sakura is 5 and her parents have left on another trip, her mother cuts her some bangs before she leaves, saying Sakura’s forehead is growing too large.
(she agrees)
With her parents gone Sakura has found other ways of entertaining herself, she learns to read and doesn't ever want to stop.
Sakura is 5 and her grandmother has started coughing more often, she asks what’s wrong and her grandmother says nothing, later that week a letter arrives stating that her parents' trip back home has been delayed 2 months due to them being allowed the opportunity to open a shop in the Land of Tea.
(she thinks she likes it better when they're gone)
Her grandmother starts sleeping more and more and Sakura decides to learn to clean to help out while she sleeps.
Sakura is almost 6 and she is very very worried
-
Sakura is 6 and for the first time in months, her whole family is in Konoha together. In celebration, they decide to watch the chunin exams being held in Konoha that year.
She is 6 and has just seen a ninja in action for the first time and she wants nothing more than to be just like them.
That night her grandmother passes away in her sleep.
(She never gets to tell her her dream.)
2 months later sakura’s parents ask her if she thinks she is mature enough to live by herself while they go traveling. They tell her it's good for her to learn independence so that when she is married she can take care of herself and the family. That it would be a point of pride to have lived alone so early, that she should be happy for the opportunity.
Sakura is 6 and has been living alone for 5 months, her parents praise her in their letters and she is proud.
Sakura is 6 almost 7 and thinks nothing of it when her parents write saying they will be gone for another 6 months at least.
She finds she’s rather happy on her own
-
Sakura Haruno is 7 and has just joined the academy and has never been more challenged.
She is constantly learning and running and jumping and for the first time ever she is fighting and she has never felt more alive. She has not made any friends yet but finds comfort and enjoyment in the school library.
(she has not heard from her parents in 6 months, she’s not worried, the checks keep coming)
Sakura is 7 and has just completed a book on early childhood health and thinks she should probably get more sun. She decides to go to a nearby park and read instead of staying in the library. At the park, she finds a boy her age sleeping. She sits by him and leaves before he wakes.
She does this every day for the next 3 months.
Sakura Haruno is 2 months away from being 8 when she looks up from her book and sees a sky so vibrant and beautiful that she just can't resist nudging the sleeping boy next to her so he can see too.
(she’s just made her very first friend)
(Shikamaru Pov)
Ever since his mom had let him venture out of the compound on his own Shikamaru had been spending his afternoons after getting out of class at the park closest to his house lounging under a tall Hashirama tree surrounded by the softest grass the park had to offer. Sometimes he would cloud watch but most of the time he’d close his eyes and meditate and think over the day, or just take a plain old nap.
It was peaceful, it was quiet, and no one bothered him here. No inane questions from stupid kids (his classmates) or patronizing words from adults. No nagging Ino, or munching Chouji. (he loved them, he really did, but he saw them all day at school and sometimes a kid wants some alone time)
It was like he had his own little bubble of tranquil solitude and it was Glorious, or at least it used to be.
See, around 3 months ago a little girl started joining him in his solitude. Or at least he assumed it was a little girl, whoever they were, they were very light-footed and small. Anyway, at first he had been kind of irritated that someone had interrupted his self-imposed and appreciated isolation, but that irritation quickly faded when whoever it was (girl? boy?) that joined him didn't make to speak or interact with him. Just plopped down next to him and read their book.
That was fine by Shikamaru, he could enjoy a little parallel play.
And it really was fine, more than fine actually. After about a week of just laying in silence being lulled into relaxation by pages turning (whoever it is, they read, A Lot) Shikamaru realized that he actually quite liked the quiet company.
At the three-week point, Shikamaru had contemplated introducing himself. It had occurred to him that it was at least a little weird that neither of them had ever introduced themselves when they'd been essentially hanging out every day for the past 3 weeks. (heck, Shikamaru’s never even seen their face, it just always felt kinda rude to open his eyes and bother them with his staring when they were so good about not bothering him)
But he quickly decided against it, he was enjoying the whole nonverbal thing they had going, and surely if they were a bad guy he’d be gutted by now. And also as much as Shikamaru hated to admit it at this point, it just felt like it was too late to introduce himself. Like, what would he even say? “Hi, I'm Shikamaru. You've been sitting next to me for at least 2 hours a day while I've been pretending to sleep, why have I been pretending to sleep? Good question.” ya no thank you.
So he just let it go, who cares if it's a little weird, not like he tells anyone about their little wordless encounters. Plus, it doesn’t seem like his muted friend(?) was eager to introduce themselves either. So he’s fine with chilling, they'll introduce themselves eventually he’s sure.
Turns out eventually was a little more than 2 months later.
It had been a fairly normal day, the only note of change being that his silent companion was staying later than usual. (They generally liked to go home a good hour before the sunset but it seemed like they had lost track of time, they probably only had around 10 minutes before the sunset and Shimakaru himself had to go home) Shikamaru wasn’t worried, he was relaxing, thinking about the lesson they had on chakra natures today when he heard a small gasp.
At first, he was concerned, his silent companion never made Any noise apart from the flipping of pages and the shuffle when they first sat down and got back up to leave so hearing them actually gasp might mean something bad happened, but then heard a murmured “pretty”. (oh so it is a girl) the word was said with enough awe that Shikamaru was actually pretty curious.
But just as he was resigning himself to never know what was so pretty as to make such a quiet person mutter in awe he was shaken “awake” by her.
The shake was gentle, just a little nudge back and forth on his shoulder (probably not nearly enough to get anyone actually napping awake) but it was enough for Shikamaru to get the message that it was time to open his eyes and finally meet his mystery friend.
The very first thing Shikamaru noticed when he opened his eyes was “ pink”. There was so much pink and Shikamaru hadn’t thought that people COULD come in the color pink but obviously he was wrong because the very cute/round/small girl in front of him was definitely pink. Or at least her hair is because the second thing he noticed was her eyes.
They were the greenest green he thinks he's ever seen and that's saying a lot because he lives in the middle of a forest. Her eyes were an absolutely stunning combination of every green he could think of (emerald/olive/sage/moss/fer-)
But he could only focus on her ( stunningamazinggorgeous) eyes for a moment because the second she noticed his eyes were open she smiled and pointed at the sky and said, “Look at the sky, isn’t it beautiful?”
He pried his gaze away from the celestial being in front of him and towards the sky and “Wow, she was right that is beautiful.”
The sky was every shade of purple, pink, and orange that he could imagine and Shikamaru was not generally a sunset kinda guy but the way the clouds had collected and the colors meshed made the sky look as vast as he always intellectually knew it was, it was incredible.
It only took about 5 minutes for the colors to fade but a good 3 of those he spent watching the frankly fey-looking little girl beside him. As the sun died it cast an elegant golden halo on her hair and made her skin and eyes practically luminescent and Shikamaru was not sure he’d ever see someone quite so fairy-like ever again.
Finally, the sun was past the trees and the street light nearby turned on and the little girl next to him turned her head away from the sky to face him. The moment their eyes met the speechless look the girl carried faded to sheepishness as she spoke, “Oh, um, I'm sorry for waking you, it's just the sky was so pretty I thought I should share it with you.”.
Her voice was rather soft, not like Hinata’s but more like she was trying to be as quiet as possible but still heard, “It’s alright, I'm glad you woke me, it was a stunning sunset.”
She smiled in relief, “Yes it was.” she paused and looked down to gather her books before glancing up again, “I’m Sakura by the way, I’ve been sitting next to you while you sleep for a while now.”
“Sakura huh, well it definitely suits her.” Shikamaru leaned over to help gather the pink girls' things. He hadn’t realized that she had been bringing multiple books, had she been bridging this many the whole time? There were at least 5 books here, all rather large and Shikamaru could not for the life of him figure out why she would need so many.
He shook himself of his thoughts and handed her the books he had gathered “-Why on earth is she reading about The History of Tea-” and finally introduced himself, “Oh ya I know, most of the time I’m not actually napping, usually just meditating or thinkin' about stuff, I’m Shikamaru, I would have introduced myself earlier but to be honest I was kinda enjoying the quiet, figured I’d just introduce myself when you did.”
She blinked before gaining a little smile, “Oh well then I guess it's a good thing that sunset happened, I hadn’t been planning on introducing myself any time soon. You always look so peaceful, seemed like a shame to wake you.” she gathered all her books but one into a little backpack that really shouldn't fit all of them but somehow did. (seals? But where would she get them?)
“Oh, well then I guess I'm glad to,”
They both just sort of stared at each other for a second before Sakura glanced over toward the entrance of the park and that's when he realized that they should both probably get going, goodness knows his mom was going to be upset he was getting back after dark and Sakura’ss parents are probably worried sick, she usually leaves much earlier than this. “So uh, I should probably head home, mom will be worried, troublesome woman, I’ll uh-” he stopped short looking towards the sky and glancing at her as she started to shift towards the entrance, “-I’ll see you tomorrow right?”
She smiled that little smile again before nodding and wishing him “good night” and walking out the gates of the park.
-
About 7 minutes after his goodbye to Sakura he finally reached the door to his house, he was about to open it when the past 30 minutes finally processed. “I just met my mystery friend.”
Damn, does this mean they're friend friends now? Will they talk to each other from now on? Does he even want to talk to her? That’s a dumb question, of course, he does, he's never met someone so interesting before and would very much like to know why she reads so much and spends the majority of her time with him.
“I wonder if she’s a civilian? She didn't give a last na-” he thought was cut off by his mother flinging the door open and shouting at him, “Where have you been?! It's 20 minutes after dark!!!”
His dad was stationed behind his mom very obviously trying to look disappointed but failing and instead looking amused, he seemed to have picked up that something was up with his son as his mother shuffled them all inward and started checking him for injuries.
Once she was done she seemed to realize that he still hadn’t spoken and looked to get worried (his dad still looked amused though that bastard) “Shika sweetie, are you alright?”
Shikamaru took a moment to answer before stating to his parents utter confusion, “Mom, Dad, I think I've met a member of the Fey, she had pink hair.”