AN// So I had this pointed out in the comments but I compleeeeetely forgot to add Lee and I feel really bad about it. Buuuuut I'm not going to fix that error and just allow your imagination to run wild on whatever his fight would be like with a random genin. I'd have to rewrite like, two chapters and since this entireeeee Fanfic is done purely because I want to, I'm not gonna bother. Though If I have the time and motivation I may rewrite this entire book.  NOW! Onto the chappie.

Naruto sighed as she held a snoozing Hinari in her arms. A soothing feeling spread through her as she felt the bristles of her hairbrush scrape lightly against her scalp as Shikamaru gently tugged the brush through her silky red-gold locks. She always liked the feeling of someone just playing with her hair.

They were on her bed, and they never said a word to one another. It was a comfortable silence, The day had been tiring, and both felt their limbs beginning to stiffen as the muscles relaxed from being held taut. Orochimaru was still a threat, a large one, and from now on Naruto would go out henged as Rin unless she was with her team. She couldn't risk Hinaris' safety. She also needed to train. She needed to get stronger.

Shikamaru was having similar thoughts as he ran the brush through Narutos' hair. he would have to come by less often and when he did, it would be under a random henge. His green eyes were glazed as his mind went over plan after plan, his hand moving on autopilot as his focus shifted. He thought back to his fight with Kabuto.

When he had used his Shadows to stab Kabuto through the chest, at that very moment, the Nara had sensed something off about Kabutos' chakra. There was an alteration, as though someone had placed a seal on him, and then place another seal on top of that one. Usually, you would sense one seal, and then as you saw the seal you'd notice the fact it was an overlapping matrix. These seals weren't meant to be overlapped.

There was a chance Kabuto wasn't an enemy.

At the last possible second Shikamaru had caused a twist in the shadows, missing the heart by a hair but causing an intense amount of damage. Kabuto should have died from that alone, but he seemed to have some advanced regenerative ability that worked constantly until the heart stopped beating. 

He had asked the Hokage to have Kabuto transferred to a private hospital room and healed enough to live. He and Naruto would work on the seals and see if the seals caused Kabuto to form a negative opinion towards the leaf.

Naruto shifting brought him from his thoughts. He looked at her and noticed his hand had stopped moving. Her blue eyes stared into his green ones. Both eyes held a hidden intensity, a fierce love and protectiveness for the tiny toddler cradled in her arms. They would do anything to ensure her safety.

Naruto took the hairbrush from his slackening grip and set it on the bedside table. She stood and walked out of the room, likely to put Hinari in her crib. Shikamaru released a small sigh. He cared deeply for both of them. They changed him. If he hadn't heard Naru speaking to herself that day and approached out of pure curiosity, he'd likely still be weak and lazy. He wouldn't feel so alive, wouldn't feel this fiery urge to keep those he cared for safe.

His eyes flickered to the doorway where Naruto stood, just watching him. He had yet to tell her what he had noticed about Kabuto and that he wasn't dead. He cleared his throat quietly and said softly,

"Naru, about what I told Hokage-sama... I'm ready to tell you now."

Her cerulean eyes glittered in curiosity.  "Okay." She walked over to the bed and sat next to him once more. She leaned her head on his shoulder, eyes closing as her ears remained open.

"In my fight with Kabuto, When I stabbed him with my shadow... I didn't kill him. At the last second, literally just before the shadow pierced his heart, I noticed something that made me curve the shadow out of the way." The Nara paused, taking a deep breath, his shoulders rising and falling, jostling the red-blond who merely hummed, waiting for him to continue.

"It was hard for me to sense, but he had seals overlapping. Seals that aren't meant to overlap. I couldn't kill him when I thought of how he could just be being controlled by the seals."

Naruto slipped her hand into his, fingers intertwining. "Did you get a glimpse of the seals?"

The Nara shook his head, his inky black hair swaying. "I asked Hokage-sama to make sure he lived so we could find and look at the seals. I'm nowhere near a knowledgeable in Fuinjutsu as you, but I'm going to help as much as I can."

Naruto smiled at him. "We can go tomorrow and start. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can train. I know our rank as Chunin is already secured, but I still want to get stronger."

Shikamaru nodded and laid back, rolling to the side, allowing Naruto to lay down next to him. He wrapped his arms around her and she smiled softly, resting her forehead against his chest, falling asleep to the sound of his steady heartbeat.

Shikamaru woke up to giggling. He threw his pillow at his mom who must have found the spare key to Narutos' apartment. That or Anko let her in.

"My little Shika has a girlfriend. I knew you weren't spending so many nights at 'just a friends' house." He opened his eyes and Yoshino had to marvel at his green eyes, no longer the same shade of brown as his fathers. Every time she saw them she was stunned. 

"Yes, Naru is my girlfriend. My girlfriend, who happens to still be sleeping so could you please be quiet Kaa-san?" He was still not a morning person, and he yawned, tucking his face into Naruto's neck, closing his eyes. As always, her scent filled his nose. She always smelled like the forest, and that's what was so nice about it.

Yoshino rolled her eyes and wandered around the house. She had recognized the apartment complex and had thought of stopping by to say hello to Rin, but had forgotten which one was hers. Anko had seen her, having been leaving for T&I and had given her a mirthful smile as she pointed to the apartment across from hers and told her where the spae was, telling her to go on in.

She had been shocked to see Shika in bed with a girl. Rin must have moved into one of the other apartments surely. The Nara wandered through the small flat as she though about cooking for the two. 'Naru' was obviously Naruto, the Jinchuriki. Yoshino was also surprised to discover Naruto was a girl.

Yoshino opened a door to the second bedroom and her eyes widened slightly. Her mind raced, connecting the dots. She immediately felt like throwing up and decided to distract herself by making her way to the kitchen to cook breakfast for the two sleepyheads.

Naruto woke to the smell of bacon and pancakes. It was a western breakfast she enjoyed, and she sat up, waking up the lightly dozing Shikamaru. She shot him a questioning look and he sighed. "Okaa-san decided to pop in."

Naruto groaned, slumping back into her pillow. "It's too early to explain stuuuuff."

Shikamaru chuckled and sat up. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. The Nara yawned as he stretched, his shirt riding up his stomach. Naruto smiled, eyes twinkling as she reached over and poked his stomach, causing him to yelp and bend over. He glared playfully. "Hey!"

Naruto laughed. "You're getting too tall for your shirts."

The Nara huffed. "It's not my fault I'm growing while you get to be short."

Naruto leaned back, clutching her chest playfully as she gasped. "Critical hit!"

Shikamaru leaned over her and began to tickle her sides. She laughed, smacking at his hands. After a moment she just flashed to the other side of the room, clutching her sides and wheezing, a grin on her face. When she caught her breath she pulled her messy bed hair up into a ponytail and dashed past Shikamaru into the bathroom, likely to shower.

Shikamaru decided to get Hinari. Anko was working in T&I today so they would have to either get his mom to watch her or take her to daycare. He walked into her room, and memories of him and Naru painting it a soft green flitted through his head. He walked over to the crib and peered in. He was met with slightly mismatched eyes. One a mint green, the other cerulean blue.

Hinari smiled her tiny little teeth a pearly white. "Dada!"

Shikamaru smiled and picked her up. "Hey there Hina-chan! Wanna go eat?"

Hinari just giggled and grabbed a strand of his bed hair. He ruffled her blue-tinted blond locks and she pouted, swatting at his hand. The Nara chuckled and made his way to the kitchen. He saw his mom still making pancakes and humming, her dark hair swishing as she danced around the kitchen. He set Hinari in her high chair and went to grab the box of Cheerios. Hinari seemed to like eating them ever since her teeth grew in.

He grabbed a plastic bowl and poured in some cheerios. He set the bowl down in front of her and her little baby hands immediately reached for it. Shikamaru then went to the fridge and poured some apple juice into a sippy cup. She still usually drank formula milk from her bottle, but once a week she could have juice.

Shikamaru looked up to see his mom looking at him. "Good Morning Okaa-san." His green eyes flitted to the doorway as Naruto walked in, twisting her damp hair into a bun. He walked by her and went to shower, leaving the two females alone together.

Naruto sat at the table next to Hinari whose eyes lit up. "Mama!"

The red-blond chuckled. "Good morning Hina-chan. Were you good for Shika?"

Hinari giggled. and grabbed a loose strand of Narutos' hair. She shook the hair. "Dada." She sounded almost angry. It was adorable. Naruto noticed Hinari's messier than usual hair and deduced that Shika had ruffled it and she didn't like it. Naruto smoothed out her hair and she giggled.

Yoshino set down a plate in front of her and Naruto got up to make the drinks. She fixed up glasses of apple juice and set them on the table. She sat back down just as Shika walked in, his damp hair in a ponytail. He sat across from Naruto and nodded his thanks to his mom as a plate was placed in front of him. 

Yoshino sat down with her plate and they all dug in. Naruto smiled as the fluffy pancake drizzled in syrup entered her mouth. It was really tasty. "Thanks, Yoshino-san, this is delicious!" She praised.

Yoshino smiled, her motherly coal colored eyes watching over the family. She was going to demand an explanation, but looking at them, she wasn't going to ask today.

When the two finished eating they both stood. Naruto went back to the bedroom to finish putting on her shinobi gear. Shikamaru cleaned up Hinari and set her in her playpen. He went to the bathroom and came back with a basket of laundry. Yoshino rose a brow. Since when did Shikamaru willingly do chores.

Her eyes followed the Nara out of the apartment. There was probably a small room where the residents washed their clothes. He came back just as Naruto walked out of the bedroom. He caught the stuff tossed his way and quickly strapped on his ninja gear. Naruto scooped Hinari from her playpen and booped her nose. The red-blond looked at Yoshino. "Would you take her for today? Jiji asked me and Shika to help him with a seal."

Yoshino nodded and easily grabbed Hinari, who looked positively delighted to see her. Naruto and Shikamaru bid their goodbyes and Naruto grabbed on to the Nara. They disappeared in a flash of red-gold.

Naruto let go of a dizzy Shikamaru and laughed as he knocked into a wall. She met the amused eyes of her Jiji and smiled. Shikamaru shook off the remaining dizziness and stood at attention. 

"Good morning Naruto-chan, Shikamaru-kun. I assume you're here for Yakushis' Room number?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Hai, Hokage-sama. We wish to figure out the seals."

"He's in the left wing on the third floor in room 201."

Naruto nodded. "Thanks, Jiji!" Naruto grabbed Shikamaru and they vanished.

They reappeared in front of the hospital and walked in. Shikamaru walked over to the reception desk. There was a tired-looking woman sitting behind the counter. If he had to guess she was on the night shift and would be switched out soon.

"Good morning." He said, catching her attention. The woman smiled tiredly. 

"How may I help you? Are you visiting?"

Shikamaru leaned in. "We need to get into room 201. Hokages' permission. You can send a worker to confirm if needed."

The woman's eyes widened and she nodded, handing Shikamaru a card. "That'll give you clearance."

Shikamaru nodded. "Thank you. And please, rest up when your shift is over."

She blushed, "O-of course.."

Shikamaru turned and made his way to Naru, who had waited by the stairs. "We good?" She asked boredly. Shikamaru nodded, and the two walked up the stairs. It didn't take long before the two stood before the door to room 201. Naruto took a deep breath as Shikamaru swiped the card and the door unlocked. 

They walked in and walked over to the restrained unconscious grey-haired ninja. Naruto immediately had his hospital gown removed, feeling thankful for the underwear a nurse had given him. She used her chakra to feel for the seals and quickly noticed the oddity in his chakra. It stemmed from the back of his right thigh. Naruto pulled out some sealing paper and ink and drew up a paralysis seal.

She slapped the seal on the unconscious boy so he wouldn't be able to escape. She lifted his leg and motioned for Shikamaru to hold it up as she could examine the seals. She used her chakra to help decipher the jumbled entanglement of matrixes. It was the most recent seal that caused the oddity, and Naruto soon discovered it was a loyalty seal. a quickly done loyalty seal that was frayed.

The blond immediately set to work, drawing up ideas for counter seals. For hours, Shikamaru and Naruto discussed the ideas she drew out.

"-combine the counter-matrix with this quadrant and add some medical chakra to activate it then it should work. This is based on theory though, so if it goes wrong we're fucked."

Shikamaru placed down a water bottle he had gotten from a vending machine a floor down. Naruto gladly took it and drank her fill. "Thanks, Shika." Her cerulean eyes hardened in determination. Her seal would work. It had to. She had Shikamaru hold Kabutos' leg up again, and carefully placed the seal, using a jolt of chakra to activate it.

The grey-haired nins eyes flew open as what could only be unimaginable pain overcame every nerve in his body. The seal had been there for years, and the counter-seal was removing all traces from his chakra network. It would take a while, as chakra systems are sensitive.

Naruto carefully monitored Kabutos' chakra network as his onyx eyes remained wide open, fogged over in pain. Shikamaru snapped in front of the nins face, and the eyes focused just a bit.

"Kabuto, I need you to try to not pass out. We're trying to heal your chakra network. Try to stay at least semi-conscious. Blink if you understand."

The nins eyelids fluttered, but he was unable to close them completely. Shikamaru sighed and went to look over a few more seals. 

It took an hour for the counter-seal to completely remove the frayed loyalty seal and Kabuto was now completely conscious. He was still restricted by the paralysis seal. Now that the seal was gone, he felt that protective pull towards Orochimaru fade, his want to be with him slowly disappearing.

Why had he left Konoha? Konoha was his home, they took him in after his clan was massacred.

As he thought, Naruto and Shikamaru worked on the other seal. "Hey Naru... this looks like another loyalty seal. Better made, and linked with another seal...."

Naruto took a closer look. "Yeah, it's a memory altering seal under a loyalty seal. Based on that signature... There is an elder in the village who puts a certain symbol in the center of all his seals. I saw a few once. I think his name was Denzo or Danzo or something. He had a creepy vibe. His chakra had felt funny too. Kurama had just told me to stay away from him. I'm guessing he has a bunch of secrets he wants to hide."

Naruto set to work designing a seal to dissolve both seals and have the altered memories return as Kabuto sleeps. The sun was riding high in the sky and Shikamaru left to get some food for them. When he came back Naruto ate quickly before getting back to work. It took another two hours before Naruto stood, a seal in hand.

She slapped it on and Kabuto grit his teeth as he woke from his doze. It was a terrible pain, worse than the other one. A strangled noise burst from his throat as his tongue began to burn white-hot.

Narutos' eyes widened and she spun to the table, brush flying as she quickly but efficiently created a chakra locking seal. She slapped it on and the work of the counter-seal stopped. Naruto pried open Kabutos' mouth and saw another seal. This one was outwardly simple and would take at least a week to decipher.

Naruto ran a diagnosis Jutsu and sighed in relief. "No lasting damage. And the counter seal managed to unlock most of the memories that had been altered. Kabuto-san, you'll have to stay here a bit longer so we can remove the seals. I'll remove the paralysis seal, but You'll have to keep the chakra restraining tags on, not that you can take them off anyway."

Kabuto nodded, his mind still fogged with pain and emotions running rampant. Naruto bid goodbye and She and Shika cleaned up before leaving. They walked out of the hospital, stretching tiredly. naruto spotted a familiar duo and smiled, calling them over. 

"Haku! Zabuza!"

The two walked over. Zabuza still wore his cow-print pants, and Haku his Kimono.

"Hey Brat, other Brat." Zabuza greeted the two. Haku hummed.

"Hello, Naruto-chan, Shikamaru-kun. How are you two today?"

Naruto smiled. "We're okay. I hope you've managed to settle into the village fine. No trouble?"

Haku tilted his head, long brown hair falling over his shoulder. "We are still getting used to being in one place, however, the people here are kind. Thank you again for letting us stay."

Naruto smiled. "It's no problem. I'm glad you two get a chance to be happy. I do have a favor to ask if you don't mind?"

Haku nodded. "Of course. What do you need?"

"I was wondering if you could guard a patient in the hospital. I fear he may be targeted before I can fully treat his problem. It's only a matter of time before certain people find out he's still alive. Here's the card that'll let you in, it's room 201. His name is Kabuto. Don't activate or deactivate any of the seals on him, and don't take off the chakra restrainers. Can you do this for me?"

Haku nodded. "Of course. Come on Zabuza-sama."

The two left and Naruto sighed, leaning into Shikamaru. "I am drained. Today took a lot of chakra." She said. Shikamaru wrapped his arm around her waist and the two made their way to Ichirakus'. Naruto thought she deserved a treat after today.

"So, we need time to break the seal on his tongue before we can break the other seal. I think the last three seals are Danzos', they have his signature. The one that was completely mindfucking him was Orochimaru's'."

Hiruzen sighed. His old friend was supposed to have disbanded ROOT. "I can't do anything about Danzo without proof Naruto-chan."

"Jiji, sometimes you need to fight fire with fire. Leave it to me and Shika. We will fix his mistakes. ROOT may have its benefits, but controlling fellow people is not right."

"I'll trust you Naruto-chan. Now, go, get some sleep. And give this to Shikamaru-kun for me. I've assigned sensei for you two."

Naruto nodded and vanished.

She reappeared in her room, where Shikamaru was playing with Hinari. He looked up, his tired green eyes happy. "Hey, Naru."

"I'm home Shika. Naruto took off her shinobi gear and sat next to the two. She handed Shikamaru the envelope. "Apparently our sensei are listed in here. The ones that will be training us for the finals. Sakura is being helped by Gai and Kurenai while Sasuke is being taken to train with Kakashi-nii."

Shikamaru opened the envelope and pulled out two small pieces of paper. One had his name, and the other Narutos'. He handed her hers and unfolded his.

Shikamaru Nara, your sensei will be Hiruzen Sarutobi. I will find you when I am ready to begin training.

His jaw dropped. "Naru, look!" He showed her and she grinned. "You get to be trained by the Hokage!"

She hugged him and unfolded her own. 

Naruto Uzumaki. Your sensei is Jiraiya. You'll probably find him near the hot springs. Don't do too much damage.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I think I've heard of Jiraiya. Isn't he one of the Sannin?"

"Yeah. You should go find him tomorrow. He's a seal master after all. He might be able to help you advance in your studies and get rid of Kabutos' seals."

Naruto yawned and nodded. She picked up Hinari and fed her. She let Shikamaru put her to bed tonight, and laid down, long hair splayed out. She pulled it into a loose ponytail and relaxed. She was beginning to drift off as Shikamaru returned, and she scooted closer to him as he laid down and they fell asleep.

AN// I gave you guys a long one. I hoped you liked it! Please feel free to tell me your thoughts in the comments UwU. Ja ne~