AN: Hi guys! This is the last chapter for a very very long time, possibly forever, because we ran out of ideas and school started. You all can treat this as the last chapter and feel free to give suggestions, we may write more if we feel like it. Thank you to all those who favourited, followed and reviewed for our story! Please continue to do so!

Happy Chinese New Year to everyone who celebrates it! (It has 15 days and is our favourite holiday for many reasons...)

Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto.

"The Chuunin Exams are just so troublesome. Why did I even bother to pass the first two rounds? All because of Inojin and Chocho... Now Uncle Gaara would come and watch me… maybe I should persuade him not to come… it would be less embarrassing..." Shikadai thought. But he was quickly snapped out of his reverie, dodging nimbly out of the way as a kunai sailed past where his head had been milliseconds ago.

"Pay attention, Shikadai! You're gonna get whacked in the finals if you are so easily distracted." Temari scolded. "Kamaitachi no Jutsu!*" With a wave of her fan, the wind sharpened into blades, forcing Shikadai to jump and take cover behind some trees just as he was preparing to use his Kagemane no Jutsu*.

"And now it gets even more troublesome… with Dad gone to sort out some weird stuff Uncle Sasuke brought back, leaving me to train with Mom… who never lets me go until one of us is out of chakra… " Shikadai grumbled mentally, thinking of a way to end the session early so he could take a nap. "How I envy the clouds… floating freely in the sky with no strings attached…"

"You're lucky I'm going easy on you, Shikadai," Temari warned as she folded her fan. "The exam grounds won't have trees for you to hide behind."

"That's right, almost forgot!" Shikadai mentally chided himself. "I have to deal with the troublesome woman first, before she summons the annoying weasel… let's see… how to end this early…" He scrunched his eyes shut, carefully considering his next strategy. "Hmm… it sounds good, but will it work? She always seems to know when I have done something wrong… but she may be too worried to notice… well, it's the best plan I've got, let's just give it a shot."

Cracking his knuckles resolutely, Shikadai jumped out and dashed towards his mother, forming hand seals as quickly as he could. "Kage Nui no Jutsu!*" He called, and his shadows duly obeyed his command, splitting into a few long tendrils that streaked menacingly towards Temari. Deciding to push her son a little further, Temari strapped her fan onto her back and leapt gracefully out of the way, not even bothering to use chakra to dodge the oncoming attacks.

"Great, it's working! Now I've got to be faster, she's not even using chakra!" Shikadai mused, his large eyes narrowed in concentration. "My plan is proceeding as well as I thought, I just need to pretend to push myself harder…" With that, he sent another strong pulse of chakra through his shadows. The longest, thickest tendril shot out at lightning speed, only to tunnel straight into the ground, narrowly missing Temari.

"Good, now I just have to keep her there, she's almost in position…" Shikadai gritted his teeth as he sent another calculated pulse of chakra through his shadows. From the corner of his eye, he saw his mother being forced to end up a little behind his back. "Yes! Here goes…" With that, he let his shadows stop midway suddenly, faltering slightly, flitting in between the darker shade of being controlled and the normal lighter shade, before disappearing altogether. He forced himself to slump slightly forward, contorted his face into a pained expression, before collapsing onto his side with a loud thump, with his back facing Temari.

Just as he predicted, it took no time at all for his worried mother to dash to his side. Even with his eyes shut, he felt her kneel down behind him, gently shaking his shoulder.

"Shikadai! Are you alright? Wake up!" There was a slight panic in her voice as she shook him harder.

Shikadai was struggling to keep his body still and slumped as he was almost bursting with glee that his mother fell for the trick so easily. He then discreetly moved his fingers together to form the necessary hand seals.

"Kagemane no Jutsu!" Checkmate.

As Shikadai slowly stood up and faced his mother, he could not help the smug grin on his face. He relished in delight as he watched his mother's eyes widen in shock before narrowing in anger, utterly helpless under his jutsu.

"Tch, Mom," He used his best imitation of Temari's scolding voice. "A shinobi must see underneath the underneath, how can you forget that? Now you let yourself fall into a trap!"

"Shikadai! Once I get my hands on you, you will regret stepping into this world!" Temari snarled. "And I will make sure your head is never the same size ever again."

"But Mom, how could you be so heartless? You brought me into this world, remember?" Shikadai reasoned with a sickly sweet smile, enjoying every moment. To be able to taunt his mother without fear of being hit, such bliss. "Besides Mom, you can't move now, so you can't hit me. Hehe!" Shikadai stuck his tongue at his mother.

"I did not raise you to fight like this! Where did you learn such dirty tricks? Oh right, must be your father." Temaru scolded, before muttering the last sentence under her breath. However, Shikadai still heard the remark.

"Why is it that every bad trait I possess comes from Dad? So troublesome. But Mom, it's your fault that you fell for it. To quote Rokudaime-sama, a.k.a Kakashi-ojiisan*, 'A ninja must see through deception, must see underneath the underneath.' " Shikadai 'lectured', enjoying every moment of his mother's predicament.

"But you don't just deceive your mother like that! I thought you had fainted from chakra exhaustion!" Temari fumed, and Shikadai could literally see smoke coming out from the top of her head. He laughed even harder, whilst holding the hand seal tightly together, afraid that Temari would use his happiness as a distraction to break free from his jutsu.

Unfortunately, all good things (such as bantering with your immobile mother) must come to an end, Shikadai had no choice but to release his mother before he really ran out of chakra. He knew he would probably be beaten unconscious, but the sense of satisfaction emanating from subduing one of the deadliest kunoichi in the world for a moment was all worth it. Before his mother could do anything though, a messenger was seen running towards them, waving his hands to get their attention.

"Temari-san, Shikadai-kun, Kazekage-sama has arrived." He informed them.

"Thank you, we'll proceed to the village gates shortly." Temari responded curtly, all thoughts of punishing her son now thrown to the wind. "Let's go, Shikadai!" With that, she took off, seemingly unaffected by his Kagemane no Jutsu stunt.

"Oh great… now Uncle Gaara is here to watch me… can this day get any more troublesome…" Shikadai thought glumly to himself as he trailed behind his mother. "But at least Mom tends to be nicer to me when he's around…"

Gaara stood before the large gates of Konohagakure no Sato, admiring the surrounding greenery. It's been quite a while since he last visited the village, so he took the time to enjoy the peaceful sights of nature. The vibrant colours were refreshing for his eyes compared to the drab colours of yellow and brown in his hometown.

"Gaara!" He turned and broke into a rare smile, as he spotted his sister and nephew running towards him. "How's your journey?" Temari asked as she stopped in front of her brother, a wide smile on her face.

"It's alright, nothing much happened." He answered easily. "Hello Shikadai! I heard that you made it to the finals, congratulations!" He said as he reached out to his nephew. Shikadai sighed lazily and replied.

"Yes, but it's so troublesome… and isn't it troublesome for you to come all the way here just to see me, Uncle Gaara?"

"Baka!*" Temari admonished by punching Shikadai lightly on the shoulder. "Hokage-sama has invited all the Kage to watch the finals. And greet your uncle properly!"

"Okay, Mom, sheesh." Shikadai grumbled as he shrugged his mother off. "Uncle Gaara, how are you?"

Gaara gave a small, sympathetic smile to his nephew. "I'm fine, Shikadai, let's go home, shall we?" With that, the trio turned and headed towards the Nara estate; Shikadai was trailing behind and staring dreamily at the clouds above while his mother and uncle caught up on happenings in Suna.

"Shikadai, go help your uncle carry his luggage to the spare bedroom, I'll be making some tea." Temari ordered as soon as they reached the Nara home. Shikadai nodded grudgingly then guided Gaara to the guest room adjacent to his own.

Uncle and nephew returned to the living room in time for tea. However, just as they were settling down, a series of knocks resounded through the house. Temari quickly rushed to the door, while Shikadai followed her, curious to find out what was happening. He hid behind the sliding door, being a quiet observer as usual.

"What is it?"

"Temari-san, the Chief Advisor requests your presence."

"Understood."

"Nani*?" Shikadai mused. "Dad asking Mom for help? Heh, that means she'll probably forget to punish me for my little stunt! Perhaps today will be less troublesome than I thought…"

"I'm very sorry Gaara, but I have some important business to attend to." Temari's voice snapped Shikadai out of his thoughts. "Shikadai, make your Uncle feel at home okay?"

It was more of an order than a request, since she 'asked' it with her infamous glare, as if daring him to disobey. "Yes, Mom." He replied while rolling his eyes.

"And don't disturb him when he's doing paperwork."

"Hai."

"Good. I'll be back with your father in the evening." She turned and exited the house with the messenger, taking off in the direction of the Hokage Building, leaving Shikadai and Gaara alone in the Nara Estate.

"Haish, sorry Uncle Gaara, but Mom and Dad will be gone for quite some time." Shikadai filled in his uncle lazily. "Probably working on that weird code thing Uncle Sasuke brought back."

"Okay." Gaara answered, unsure of what to do now that his sister was gone. Uncle and nephew stared at each other awkwardly for quite some time, shifting uneasily in the sudden silence. Shikadai stared into Gaara's eyes, still unused to the pale green even after spending quite some time together. "It still gives me the creeps," Shikadai thought.

Shikadai yawned and stretched his arms, effectively breaking the increasingly awkward silence. "So, Uncle Gaara, do you have any paperwork to do?" He asked.

Deciding to spend more time with his nephew, Gaara replied, "Not much, I can do them tonight after dinner. What do you want to do, Shikadai?"

Shikadai gave a small smile. "Let's play shougi!" He proclaimed, before running to his father's study to grab the board and pieces.

"Ne, Uncle Gaara, you're not very good at this, aren't you?" Shikadai commented as he removed Gaara's defeated piece from the board. "Even Mirai-neesan* is better than you! And trust me, she's terrible."

Pretending to be taken aback by his nephew's comment, Gaara scratched the back of his head uneasily as he contemplated his next move. "Sorry Shikadai," He admitted. "I'm not as good as your parents."

Shikadai, blissfully ignorant of the fact that Gaara was giving him free pieces at the start, smiled innocently. After settling into an easy silence punctuated by the movement of pieces across the board, Shikadai decided to ask Gaara about the Chuunin Exams.

"Uncle Gaara, were there Chuunin Exams during your time?"

"Of course, they have always been there, how would Genin otherwise be promoted?" Gaara answered dismissively, as if stating a blatantly obvious fact.

Shikadai pursed his lips, contemplating Gaara's response. "But they are so troublesome… Why can't they find other ways to promote Genin, I don't really want to fight anybody…" He drawled as he moved his knight piece ahead.

After taking a sip of tea, Gaara replied. "You shouldn't say that, there wouldn't be you without the Chuunin Exams." He moved his own piece forward, swallowing Shikadai's knight in the process.

However, Shikadai was much too surprised about this newfound fact that he did not notice his missing piece. "Huh? Really? Why?" He asked, an excited gleam in his teal eyes. "Tell me, Uncle Gaara!"

Gaara chuckled. "That's how your parents met, at the Chuunin Exam finals."

Shikadai's eyes widened, this was getting really interesting. Feigning nonchalance, he huffed, "Really? That's fascinating, both of them are always reluctant to tell me, so I was beginning to suspect that they were arranged to marry each other as part of some Suna-Konoha peace treaty… The way they act towards each other shows it too…"

Gaara almost spat out his tea upon hearing Shikadai's outrageous conjecture. Marriage in exchange for peace? What old-fashioned thinking! Suna and Konoha didn't need them at all. Also, even as Kazekage, Gaara knew he would never force anyone, let alone his headstrong elder sister, to marry someone against their own will. Trying to conceal his incredulity, Gaara swallowed another mouthful of tea.

"You have… good... imagination… Shikadai…" Gaara spoke after a few moments of contemplation. He suppressed a smirk when he thought of Temari's possible reaction when she got wind of how her son viewed her relationship with Shikamaru.

Seemingly oblivious to Gaara's shock at his own words, Shikadai continued asking questions, curiously prying into his parents' love life. "So did Mom beat Dad into a pulp at the finals? Is that why he is so scared of her? That must be it! No wonder Dad is always so afraid of Mom!" Shikadai reasoned to himself as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "He is even more terrified of her than grandma."

Gaara coughed, trying to hide his amusement at Shikadai's words. "Not really… in fact it was sort of the other way round… " Gaara replied, recalling the particular bout during their first ever Chuunin Exams. A wave of nostalgia washed over him as he remembered the old times. "The views of my nephew are really interesting..." He thought.

Gaara was jolted out of his thoughts when Shikadai shook his head furiously before asking, "I don't get it, how can you be scared of someone whom you have defeated?" Shikadai just couldn't wrap his head around the idea of how his dad would be afraid of his mom whom he had clearly beaten in their first ever fight. "Why didn't Dad ever gloat about it in front of Mom?" Shikadai thought. "Maybe I should ask Uncle about it." With that thought firmly in mind, Shikadai asked in the calmest voice he could muster, trying to mask his own excitement and curiosity. "Uncle, can you tell me what happened?"

Gaara put his hand to his chin as he relived the life-changing (in so many ways) exams, surprised that Temari and Shikamaru didn't tell their son about the fight, well, then he would take the pleasure to do so. "Well, let's see. It is quite a long story… " Gaara then proceeded to tell Shikadai how his father was pitted against his mother during the finals, and how Shikamaru used his ingenious strategy to force Temari into a favourable position before using the Kagemane no Jutsu to trap her, ending the fight with an unexpected twist when Shikamaru decided to forfeit because he deemed it too troublesome to continue fighting even though he clearly got the upper hand.

After the story, Gaara looked at Shikadai, hoping that he would be less confused about his parents' relationship. However, to Gaara's never-ending surprise, Shikadai gave him a weird look before shaking his head slowly, muttering, "But I still don't get it."

Gaara sighed and relented. "You should ask your father then."

This time, Shikadai shook his head resolutely. "Ne, Uncle Gaara, I've tried but it never works. Our exchanges usually go like this." The boy then stood up and pretended to ask an imaginary Shikamaru in a whiny but curious voice.

"Dad, why did you marry Mom? She's such a troublesome woman, why couldn't you find a gentle, doting mother for me, like Auntie Hinata?"

He then pulled himself to his full height, and stroked the air under his chin thoughtfully, as if stroking an imaginary goatee. Needless to say, he was impersonating his father.

"Well, Shikadai, it's complicated. But even the toughest woman will show her gentle side to the man she loves." He said in his version of Shikamaru's 'wise-old-man' voice.

Shikadai then switched back to role-play himself. "She's not gentle at all! She's downright scary." He argued, utterly unconvinced.

Shikadai proceeded to look up to the ceiling dreamily, and answered in a rather sappy, nostalgic tone, "She's scary, yes, but she has the most beautiful smile,", even adding a deep sigh at the end for emphasis.

He turned and pretended to ruffle the hair of an imaginary child. "You will understand when you grow up, Shikadai. I have to go grab something for your mother now, you know what will happen if I don't."

After viewing his nephew's mini theatre production, Gaara stared at him with his usual emotionless expression. There was only one thing he could say now.

"Then I guess you will only truly understand when you grow up." He deadpanned, glad to finally drop the troublesome subject.

"Nani? How troublesome!" Shikadai exclaimed as he flopped onto the tatami mat, visibly disappointed at his uncle's lack of response. "Your turn now, Uncle."

Gaara then moved his knight piece forward and calmly swallowed Shikadai's king piece. "Checkmate." He added with finality, crossing his arms and jutting out his chin slightly, with all the finesse befitting a powerful Kazekage.

Shikadai sat up immediately, his eyes widened in shock as he studied the board. "Nani? How could you beat me, Uncle Gaara!" He pouted indignantly. "I clearly had the upper hand!"

Gaara maintained his intimidating yet calm expression. "You are too easily distracted."

Shikadai's eyes instantly flared up as he glared at his uncle. "Rematch!" He demanded, before rearranging the pieces in a frenzy.

"So is your training for the finals going well?" Gaara asked after they had settled comfortably into the second match. "Are you prepared?"

"Well, it was fine at the start, Dad taught me a few new shadow jutsu and helped me improve my old jutsu." Shikadai replied. "Then he had to go help Uncle Naruto - I mean, Hokage-sama - with the weird code that Uncle Sasuke brought back, so Mom helped me with training instead. It was terribly troublesome and tiring, she would always push me until I'm almost out of chakra…" He complained as he moved his piece forward, hoping to elicit some sympathy from his uncle.

"But, today I finally beat her in sparring!" He proclaimed smugly at the end.

Gaara's curiosity was instantly piqued, as he heard the unexpected proclamation. "Temari isn't the type to give chances…" He wondered.

"How did you do that?" Gaara asked.

Shikadai then proceeded to regale his uncle with his outstanding achievement; starting off with how he used his Kage Nui to maneuver his mother into a favourable position, before pretending to collapse from chakra exhaustion, then using his Kagemane to render her helpless.

Gaara shook his head disapprovingly, and chided his nephew in his usual expressionless voice. "You shouldn't have done that, Shikadai, she must have been very worried."

Shikadai scoffed stubbornly, refusing to admit his mistake. "But she fell for it! Shinobi are supposed to see underneath the underneath." He defended.

"Well, that's when you're dealing with enemies, not your comrades." Gaara countered. "And especially not your mother."

Shikadai still maintained his disgruntled expression. "It's not as if she dotes on me anyway…" He muttered softly to himself, as he moved his piece forward.

Yet, Gaara still heard the throwaway comment. "Your mother," He tried his best to explain. "Has a… different… way of doting on you… but that doesn't mean she cares about you any less than a more gentle mother will."

Seeing his nephew's brows furrowed in confusion, Gaara decided to be more upfront. "You should own up and apologise later." He suggested, looking at Shikadai's face intently for any hint of approval.

"But she will hit me with her fan… and summon the troublesome weasel next time…"

"Well, it could be worse if you don't."

"...Okay… Thanks, Uncle Gaara."

"You're welcome, Shikadai. Checkmate."

"Nani?! Not again!"

"You're too easily distracted."

*Kamaitachi no Jutsu - Sickle Weasel Technique

*Kagemane no Jutsu - Shadow Possession Technique

*Kage Nui no Jutsu - Shadow Sewing Technique

*Ojiisan - Grandfather

*Baka - Idiot

*Nani - What

*Neesan - Elder Sister

AN: Hope you enjoyed the story! Please read our/my other stories if you haven't already done so! Once again, thank you for your support!