I sighed as I walked down the street. Like usual, there was absolutely nothing to do. Asuma-sensei was on a mission, and Chôji was recovering in the hospital after getting another shot of indigestion. Ino was working at her family flower shop, and she was just too troublesome to be anywhere near. So, here I was, strolling aimlessly through the streets of Konoha, trying to think of something to do.

I could always go to my cloud-watching spot. That's always something to do. Making my decision, I turned left on a street and headed towards an abandoned two-story house. I planned on jumping over the house and to the backyard, where a perfectly shady oak tree stood. Is it trespassing to do that? Probably. But, at least I'm not vandalizing anything.

As I got to the roof, I noticed a figure laying under the tree. I groaned; someone found my secret spot, how troublesome. I turned to leave, when I stepped on a weak piece of roof, and fell through with a yell. Landing on a wooden floor with a loud 'thud', I groaned and rubbed the back of my back. "Ugh... What a drag..."

When I opened my eyes, at first it was dark. Soon, my eyes adjusted to the lack of light, and began spotting silhouettes of furniture. A couch here, a table there; I made my way around the dusty furniture, trying to find the exit. Then, I heard a noise, and I stopped. Someone - or something - was in the house with me.

Normally, I would try to hightail it out of there, but what if it was a dangerous spy or creature that goes on a killing spree afterwards? That means it would be my fault leaving it be. On the other hand, what if decide to stick around and kills me? My death would more than likely be in vain, and it would a total upset for my family to pay for my funeral. I mentally sighed. Such troublesome decisions...

I decided to stick around and see if it was a spy or wild animal, then hightail it to report. Hopefully, I won't die in the process. I tiptoed around, straining my eyes to spot any suspicious shadows. I was walking backwards and constantly circling around, so I wouldn't be caught off guard. But, thanks to my rotten luck, it happened anyway. Something bumped behind me, and I turned around and saw yellow eyes. We stared for a second before letting out a simultaneous scream. We hastily backed away from each other, and in the process tripped over something and fell on our butts. Two groans and indistinct cursing later, we got up and assessed each other again.

It was a girl about my age (just look at the cover picture, clothes and everything; the yellow eyes are the only addition) She stared at me with unbounded curiosity, and hesitantly asked, "Who are you?"

"I should ask you the same thing. What are you doing in an abandoned house? That's trespassing." I said, and she furrowed her eyebrows. "Uh, aren't you in this house with me? And besides, I was just looking for the thing that crashed into the house through the roof."

"Well, you just met him." I remarked, pointing at myself. She blinked once, twice, thrice. Then, she laughed. An irk mark appeared on my head, and I muttered, "Troublesome girl..."

"Speak for yourself, you bothersome boy." The girl snapped, changing her mood rather quickly. "I thought I was gonna face something or someone that could kill me, you know. Thank Kami that's it just you."

I raised an eyebrow. "And just how do you know I'm not an enemy spy?"

The girl gave me this 'are-you-kidding?' type of look, and answered flatly, "Your Konoha headband is tied to your jacket."

I looked down my right shoulder - indeed, it was. In return, I demanded she showed me hers. As a result, she rolled her eyes but she revealed hers that was tied the opposite arm mine was tied to. After relieving me of any suspicions, I asked, "What's your name?"

"Yani Kiyoni. You?"

"Nara Shikamaru." Kiyoni smiled brightly, and we shook hands. "Nice to meet you!"

"Same here, I think..." I mumbled, and she rolled her eyes. She then looked down at the ground, and started scuffing the floor with her left sneaker. "Uh, I might sound crazy, but I was wondering if you might wanna, uh, watch clouds with me? It's uh, kind of a weird hobby that I have..."

I blinked, then smirked. "Not weird. Perfect, actually. And I have a great spot to do just that."

With that, we went to the backyard where the oak tree stood.

---

"Aw, Shika! Can't I see yet?" Kiyoni whined as I guided her to my house. "It's my birthday! I have a right to at least see where I'm going!"

"Oh hush already, you troublesome girl. Keep whining and I'll find a way to ruin your surprise." I sighed out, and she smirked. "No you won't, you bothersome boy. That's too much of a drag for you."

I smirked; she got me there. Nonetheless, I kept a hand over her eyes, and opened the door to my house. It was dark, and I turned on the light. All the rookie teams popped out, including my team and Guy's team, along with my family and hers. I removed my hand to reveal the party themed living room and its occupants. On that cue, everyone yelled out, "Surprise! Happy birthday, Kiyoni!"

Kiyoni shrieked in absolute glee, and I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Kiyoni, you troublesome girl! You're going to make me deaf, I swear."

She laughed and playfully punched my shoulder. "Says you! Look at this! Aw, this is so awesome! You're so awesome!"

I shrugged and smiled, nudging her forward. "Come on, let's have fun."

With that, we all had a blast, dancing and opening presents. We watched Kiyoni open her presents and her different reactions, which she tends to have. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw her open Lee's present, which was a green spandex suit like his. She was utterly horrified! Especially since green was her least favorite color, which why she often avoided Lee and Guy in the first place.

She was presented with a Neapolitan ice cream cake, her favorite type, and was nearly dying with joy. After that, we had a karaoke contest, to which Kiyoni was 2nd place. After some more dancing, cake, and presents, it was finally time for everyone to go home. Team 7, 8, 10 and Guy's team filed out the door, my team being last. Suddenly, Ino roughly grabbed and whispered, "Now is your chance, Shikamaru! You better tell her you love her, or you'll never hear the end of it from me!"

I felt my face heat as I stammered, "Wh-What?! The hell makes you think I have feelings for her? She's just a friend... Nothing more, nothing less."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Puh-lease! Everyone can tell that you're smitten with her, and vice versa! Just hurry up and tell her that before she loses interest!"

I shook my head and closed the door, turning around to see Kiyoni beg to stay over tonight. She won. She grinned and sat down on the couch while my parents headed to their room to sleep. She looked at me and patted the empty seat next to her, half offering and half demanding that I sit down next to her. I complied, and slipped out my present from my pocket. "Here."

"Another present? Oh! You didn't give me one yet, did you?" She pointed out, and I nodded. "I wanted to wait until all of those troublesome people were finally out of my house. Besides, I didn't need everyone going mushy on me for my present. I can barely stand you, you troublesome girl."

She smiled and sucked her teeth. "Oh shut it, you bothersome boy, and let me open my present already."

I chuckled and watched as she ripped off the wrapping paper and opened the small, rectangular box. It contained a silver ring with 'Kiyo' in kanji. On the inside said 'Shika' with a heart surrounding it. Cheesy and girly, yeah, I know. But if Kiyoni was happy with it, then that's good enough for me.

As for Kiyoni, I noticed tears welling up, and I furrowed my eyebrows in concern. She wasn't happy with it? "If you don't like it, Kiyo, I can always get another one made. No reason to be sad. Calm down..."

"Like it? Oh, you bothersome boy! I love it! It's so *sniff* pretty!" She whimpered and I sweatdropped. "Ugh, troublesome girl..."

Kiyoni laughed at my distress and we began watching an action movie, my arm around her shoulders, her head on my shoulder, and my ring on her finger. Then, she yawned and snuggled closer to me, causing me to sport a healthy blush. Thankfully, she didn't bother looking up to see. After, she mumbled, "Shika?"

I looked down and saw Kiyoni with her eyes closed and a smile on her face. "Hm? You want me to take you to bed?"

She shook her head, saying, "I just wanted to say: Best. Birthday. Ever. You're a super friend."

I smiled and blushed again as I thought about my next words. "Uh, Kiyo?"

"Hmm?" She hummed, and I cleared my throat. "I was wondering..."

"Yes." She responded, and I froze. Did she somehow knew what I was gonna say? Did she overhear me and Ino's conversation? I opened my mouth to say something, but she interrupted. "If you're asking if I can be your girlfriend, then yes. Although, the ring was a way more convincing way of asking, you know."

I bust out laughing, and she joined. We eventually stopped, and when we did, I suddenly felt a pair of lips brushing against mine. My eyes widened when I realized it was Kiyo's lips. Hesitantly, I closed my eyes and kissed back, praying that I don't screw up somehow. When we parted, I saw the biggest blush on her face, and most likely there was one on my face also. I shrugged. "So..."

"Oh Shika, don't make this weird. Let's just watch the movie already." Kiyoni laughed, and I chuckled. Then, we snuggled closer together and fell asleep to the movie.