Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Shikamaru... unfortunately.

Chapter 1: Even on rainy days.

Shikamaru walked through the halls of the Hokage Tower, one hand firmly placed in the pocket while the other carried a bag. His eyes fixed forward, feet lazily dragging across the floor, taking him to his father or where he planned to find out where his father was. He would hate to come into a room only to find that he would have to walk somewhere else. It would be a complete and unnecessary loss of energy.

"Nara Shikaku." He asked, sparing some words as he looked into the raised eyebrows of the pretty receptionist who obviously found his attitude inappropriate. He sighed, felling annoyed that seemingly all the women in Konoha thought his bluntness to be rude, even when he was only asking for a measly information. "Can you please tell me where Nara Shikaku is?" He looked at the nameplate on the desk. "Shibata-san." He tried to force a polite smile but gave up immediately.

As expected, the receptionist who was visibly a civilian, demeanor changed completely as she smiled sweetly and guided him merrily to the room where Konoha's strategy team was probably taking care of the mess that had been made after the failure of the Chunin Exams. With all the destruction that had been left in the wake of the invasion by Orochimaru, Otogakure and Suna, Shikamaru knew that his father was busy far more than the man would like.

When the pretty receptionist pointed to the large table where the leaders of the Intelligence Division were gathered, Shikamaru watched her smile again before leaving, closing the door behind her. He let his feet guide him slowly to the table and deposited the bag in front of his father. "Mom told me to bring you lunch." He grunted and turned to leave after his father's simple thanks, glad that at least his father did not require him to do formalities or unnecessary talk, when he knew Shikamaru hated such things. He found that he loved his father for it, but he would never say it aloud.

Walking down the corridor to the exit, he shuffled away from a pile of books that was heading toward him. Scowling, he thought better, remembering that books do not go walking around on their own. He turned slowly and saw that the person behind the pile of books was the colorful haired girl who was the third team member of Naruto and the traitor Uchiha.

"Sorry about that." He heard her say as she turned the head, just enough to look him over the shoulder. "Oh Shikamaru, it's you." She stated and he restrained the urge to snort at the obvious statement. "I'm kind of busy, I'll see you around." After offering him a cheerful smile, she went wherever she was going before passing him.

He stood in the hallway for a few seconds looking in the direction she had left. He did not have much contact with her during their genin times or even their days at the Academy, but he knew a few things about Haruno Sakura. She was the teammate of Naruto and the defector Uchiha. He knew she was the love interest of Naruto and Lee, maybe that of Kiba but that was not yet proven, and he could careless to find out. He knew she was Ino's rival and that they both had a past. Ino had told Chouji and Shikamaru a few times but not a word of it really registered to him.

He knew she was in love with the deserter, because she begged Naruto to bring the Uchiha back, forcing Naruto to cling to a promise, that he particularly found too heavy. He hated the way she put an unnecessary weight on another person like that. He hated himself even more for failing on the recovery mission to bring Uchiha Sasuke back, which occurred a few weeks ago. He botched the rescue mission and thus felt responsible for Naruto making that promise in the first place.

He knew that Sakura was hardworking and tried to support others with everything she had, even without seemingly natural talent or a kekkei genkai. He thought that if were him in her place, he would have given up the life of shinobi a long time ago, but he was too lazy to try understanding the stubbornness of some people.

Shikamaru also knew she had given her best smile she had at that moment. Did she not realize the lack of legitimacy in that smile? He hated it for some reason.

He walked quietly down the hall, counting the stripes that adorned the floor. He was thinking of the last shogi game he had lost to Asuma-sensei. "Shikamaru?" Being taken from his thoughts, he looked up only to be graced with a smile. He met a stunning pair of green eyes looking right at him. As he focused his vision downward, he fixed the eyes on that smile that was adorned with beautiful rosy and fleshy lips and perfect white teeth. For some reason unknown to him, that smile still bothered him.

It had been three months since the Uchiha's defection and he heard Naruto left the village with one of the Legendary Sannin. Shikamaru knew that Naruto was seeking to become stronger. Even though it was for a distant future to become the Hokage, as the boy always stated openly, Shikamaru knew that this absence for training was mainly to regain his lost teammate. He did not understand the reason for Naruto's obsession with the Uchiha's recovery when it was obvious that the boy set out voluntarily in pursuit of his own interests.

He also heard that Haruno Sakura had been welcomed by another of the Sannin, Senju Tsunade. So maybe she was not so seemingly talentless after all. That explained why he had found her once again in the corridor of the old and worn out building.

"I heard you were promoted to chunin, even after the cancellation of the Exam." He heard her say softly. He grunted in agreement.

"I had no choice about that." He grumbled and she laughed lightly causing him to narrow the eyes instinctively.

Every laugh, every smile she gave, there was no glow in her eyes. It bothered him for some reason he could not fathom. He nodded to a few more times to what she said, not really listening and when she muttered a goodbye, he left without looking back this time, thinking that it would be very troublesome to get involved with an emotionally unstable teenage girl.

Shikamaru entered through the wide doors of the Hokage Tower Library, annoyed at having to search for a specific book. He sighed for the thousandth time that day. It would take all day to scan every dusty book and scroll in that library. Sometimes he hated being promoted to chunin. "No one bothered to ask me if I even wanted this. What a drag." He grunted to himself.

"Shikamaru?" A friendly, gentle voice he recognized easily, made him turn slowly and face the girl he had not seen for a long time.

"It's been a while." Sakura said, as she balanced a pile of books in her arms, making him realize she read a lot and he felt a small twinge of admiration for her. Nowadays it was hard to find someone thirsting for knowledge as she was apparently.

"I think it's been two months." He said absently, recalling clearly their last meeting.

Shikamaru remembered that it had been half a year since her team left, leaving her behind. He looked at her and wondered why she had not given up on becoming a kunoichi.

When he asked about Hatake Kakashi she explained how he had left on a one-year mission, but she only found out after he had already left. He felt sorry for her. She must have felt completely disposable by her sensei. Someone who should be responsible for her training, leaving without even saying goodbye or giving any explanation, right after she was abandoned by the rest of the team, made Shikamaru think that it was a little cruel of Kakashi. He decided not to comment knowing it was only going to rub salt in an open wound.

Shikamaru thought that if he were abandoned by Ino and Chouji for any reason only then to have Asuma leave soon after, not caring to tell him as if it made no difference whether he knew or not, he would surely break.

After stating that she understood Kakashi's motives as well as why Naruto had to leave, she smiled. That same smile that never reached her eyes, so false and without sincerity. He realized that they were more for her than for the people around her. Maybe it was the way she found to move on even after being left by the people she trusted to care for her. People she thought would be with her regardless of the circumstances.

Hearing her speak in a soft voice with a little smile that might well be to hide the tears she wanted to shed, Shikamaru felt like doing something for her. For the first time in a long time he made an effort to help someone, doing some action he thought to be necessary. "Hey, Sakura-chan." He interrupted her, not even worrying about what she was saying at that moment, he didn't listen to anything anyway. "Do you want to come to my house later for a shogi game?" He asked before he could stop himself. He didn't even know if she knew how to play shogi.

He heard her sharply inhale, so soft it would be barely noticeable if he was not paying enough attention. Nodding, she smiled. 'Ah, that one reached her eyes.' He thought as his eyes were drawn to the beautiful, genuine smile that adorned her lips. "I'll be there after lunch." She beamed at him and walked out the library's wide doors.

He watched Haruno disappear into the hallway while the doors swung closed after her and he felt the corner of his own lips twitch in a smile of contentment.

A torrential rain fell over Konoha, but the kunoichi ignored the water that was beating on her transparent raincoat, as she used chakra on the feet to accelerate the speed at which she got to her intended destination.

It was Thursday afternoon and she would not miss the shogi game that had happened every week for almost one year just because of incessant rain. Sakura remembered the first time she had appeared at Shikamaru's house, after the invitation he had made in the library. She remembered how the game took longer than he obviously expected, and the satisfaction she felt at the surprised look on his face when she won.

He was so happy to find a skilled opponent, as where Asuma and his father who would not let her leave before she made a promise that she would come back next Thursday. Even if she did not say it out loud, the glint in her eyes was proof enough that she was happy with the deal.

Sakura stepped onto the porch and glanced toward the boy who was sitting on a cushion, rearranging the board. The small pull at the corner of his lips let her know that he recognized her. Knowing Shikamaru was too lazy to do two things at once she didn't bother waiting for him to respond. In Shikamaru's book, putting the pieces on the board and greeting her with a smile or a simple 'Hello', was too much effort.

She took off the wet raincoat and hung it on a hook. After taking off her sandals, she walked and sat on the cushion in front of him on the other side of the board. "How was your day?" She took the pieces out of his hands, replacing him in the task of arranging the board, so he could answer her question.

With a long sigh he stared into her face as she absently shuffled game pieces on Shikaku's old shogi's board. Shikamaru told her how he had gone on a mission with his team that morning before the rain. How they were almost caught by the storm outside the village because Ino forced them to accompany her to buy some hair product, which he found completely unnecessary. He made the grave mistake of saying as such out loud which started a fight.

When he declared irritably how sometimes he preferred to go on solo missions, because a team can be problematic, Shikamaru realized that Sakura's movements had stopped abruptly. She was frozen with a hand hovering over one of the pieces. "Sakura-chan?" He asked a little uncertain.

He heard a sob that would have gone unheard over the noise of the rain if he had not been staring directly at her. He wished he had not mentioned a thing about his team, realizing how insensitive it must have seemed in her eyes at that moment. "I didn't mean-"

"It's all right." Sakura's croaky response interrupted him before he could apologize, but he knew from the hoarseness in her voice that she was having trouble not crying. Feeling guilty and completely clueless about how to act, he looked away trying to remember how Chouji calmed Ino when she cried. Crawling closer to her, he pulled his cushion over and sat beside her. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he hoped it was enough to calm her down.

Sakura tried to pay attention to the rainfall. Tried to concentrate her mind completely on the sound and the board in front of her, but when she felt Shikamaru's arm move around her shoulders, something broke inside her. Warm tears streamed down her cheeks and she buried her face in his chest finally allowing herself to break for the first time in a little over a year.

It had been one and a half years since Sasuke had left. She cried almost every day after he was gone. When Naruto left the village with Jiraya, promising to get stronger to bring Sasuke back, she swore to herself that she would grow stronger too. Starting from the inside, strengthening her own spirit. With each passing day after Naruto left, she avoided thinking about how lonely she felt and demanded to herself that she should be strong, for her and for them.

A short time later she discovered belatedly about Kakashi's departure. She felt small, scorned, and utterly useless. Somewhere in her mind, a voice reaffirmed that constantly. Refusing to recognize that voice, she did not allow herself to cry. She told herself that if Kakashi-sensei did not care enough to say he was leaving, let alone leaving here without someone else guide her, then he did not deserve her tears.

But for the first time in over a year, she had someone hug her. Someone who's words threw salt in the open wound she refused to acknowledge, lying to herself that it had healed long ago. Someone who cared if she was hurt and his comfort reminded her of how lonely she had felt all this time. How ridiculous it seemed, that the warm arm around her, made Sakura feel wanted for the first time in a long time, maybe even before her team left.

She did not know how long they were in that position. When she finally calmed down and wiped away the tears with the back of the hands, she allowed herself to look into Shikamaru's eyes. "I'm so sorry." She looked away from his face to the chest and realized that she soaked his shirt with her tears. She attempted to smile as she ran the hands over his shirt in a vain attempt to clean it.

"Don't worry, it'll dry out eventually." He said in a lazy tone that made her want to grin genuinely this time.

Shikamaru felt her hands on his chest. It was only when she shifted on his lap did he then realize for the first time, they were in a very different position from before. He felt a shiver run down his spine, a feeling he had never felt before. When he saw her open her mouth to say something again, he decided not to think about the reasoning for those strange sensations.

"I hate to look so pathetic." She sighed as if she'd lost a difficult battle. "It's been a while since I've felt this way." He heard her say in a lower voice than she usually spoke with. It was followed by a little smile that let him know that she was trying to be strong. He didn't understand why she wanted to pretend with him. It irritated him so much. "I'm sorry for troubling you with all my problems." She said before making a move to get out of his lap.

Shikamaru did not want her to pretend everything was okay when she obviously was not. He definitely did not want her to tell him not to worry about her. He knew that if she got up and went home, she would cry alone all afternoon in her room. The thought made his stomach turn. He hated this feeling, and that was the only reason he wrapped his hands around her hips to stop her from rising. Or at least, that is what he told himself.

"We're friends, are not we?" He asked, hoping she would consider him enough to trust him.

Sakura nodded without thinking twice and buried into his lap even more, taking advantage of the warmth of his hands on her hips and his arms around her waist that shielded her from the cold wind.

"You're a good friend, Shika-kun." She declared with a smile. "Of all our friends, you were the only one who was there." She tucked a strand of his hair that had slipped out of the tight knot, liking the way he leaned into her hand. "Thank you." She whispered.

Shikamaru ignored the use of that ridiculous nickname, which he had banned Ino from using since they were five. He made a mental note to remind himself to tell her no one called him that, but he would talk about it when she was not upset.

He took advantage of the warmth of her hand that slid over his face as she straightened a lock of hair. When he shifted his eyes and saw the shogi board, he remembered the entire purpose of her visit that could be conveniently used to distract her while at the same time help him ignore that foreign sensation that sprouted in him due to their proximity. "Your turn." He pointed to the shogi board.

She did not question his lack of return after the statement she made. Sakura knew he hated talking about complicated and problematic things such as feelings. She turned to the shogi board, letting her mind think up possible strategies to counter his last move.

Shikamaru saw Sakura move a piece on the board to thwart his earlier attempt at her king, glad she was at least somewhere away from dark thoughts. He did not comment on her still sitting on his lap, nor did he take the hands from her hips while her hand played absently with his hair.

He wondered why the contact with her made him feel so good, when he was always so against unnecessary physical contact. Being a user of shadows jutsu, he could achieve just anything without touching. Ino always grumbled when he fled from her embraces and his mother squawked at him every time he evaded the affection she gave freely and most definitely without asking.

Sakura was so close. The scent of her shampoo calming his nerves that had been on edge since the argument with Ino that morning. Her weight warmed his legs as her hand in his hair gave him a sensations he never knew he liked but found welcome.

"Your turn." Her voice took him away from thoughts where he had gotten lost. He turned, looking into her red-rimmed eyes, still boasting a green that he would never tire of admiring. Shikamaru was glad they never miss their afternoon shogi games, even on rainy days.

Note: I decided to do an extended version of 'The Shadow to my light.' So there's the first chapter.

* I want to thank immensely AngusKhan for editing this chapter. *