Shikamaru motioned to the sliding door, pointedly looking at Naruto.

"Walk with me; I have to take the camera back and develop the photos," he said. Then he turned on his heel and walked out. Either Naruto would trust him on this and join him, or he'd be left at the compound to his own devices.

He heard the chair scrape across the mats a bit and knew that he would follow. Contrasting to the mad dash he'd made to get the damned thing in the first place, he took the scenic route at a leisurely pace that bordered sluggish, his hands itching to find their home in his pockets.

There were no servants lingering this time, most likely sensing that he was escorting their guest. Good. No need to put Naruto on edge more than he had to.

Their walk was mostly silent, both habitually concealing their presence, sticking to the edges of the bright hallway. There were no questions, no games, no pressures. It was like they were in their own little world, and it was. . . nice. He couldn't say for Naruto, but he found the atmosphere relaxing, giving him the same feeling he gets when he watches the clouds in the sky.

But at the same time, his paranoia and training told him they were being watched. At every window, he couldn't help but tense slightly. Empty courtyard or sparsely populated street, it didn't matter. He would never have Naruto hurt, and that last scare hit a little too close to home for him to let his guard down now.

And what was he thinking, trying to integrate him into the darkness of Konoha's shadow? His conscience cried out against it. He'd always been brought up knowing he'd join the shinobi forces, but the other knew even less than a civilian child! And that talent, there's no possible way that--

A calloused hand taking hold of his own stopped his thoughts. Blue eyes looked at him with concern, and he forced his posture to relax. How uncharacteristic of him, he mused. But with everything that could happen, (this was a huge matter, damn it,) it probably wasn't the best to leave Naruto in the dark as he did. That was dangerous.

Letting go of that warm hand, he changed their position and interlocked their fingers, taking in the comfort and steeling himself for the little explanation.

"Naruto. You know how I said that you didn't need to be a ninja? That's kind of. . . well, I'm not sure if that's an option for you." The hand tried to pull away, but Shikamaru kept his firm grip, not letting go. "The thing is, you're special. Not just to me, but because you can speak with trees. I will try to avoid having you drafted, but I'm not sure how much I can do." And that was true. As much as he could plan, he wasn't actually sure how much he could change from what he was almost positive would happen. And he didn't like it.

"You said I would have no need. No fighting, only help. I don't want to hurt others! I don't want to hurt."

"I know! That's why-- that's why I'm trying to have you enter as a citizen. If they find out you've been living out in that forest your whole life unaffiliated, they could hurt you. I don't want that, okay! I don't. I just, everything's happening so quickly and I have no control. I'm sorry," he said, voice cracking at the end. He couldn't bring himself to look up and meet those blue eyes that probably held disappointment.

And that's just what he was good for, wasn't it? Not the genius of the Nara clan, not the prodigy successor of the jounin commander, and certainly not the boy that could keep a promise to Naruto. Fuck, he really was a disappointment.

He was powerless to stop that hand from slipping away from his and suddenly felt cold. He was surprised when that same hand raised to lift his chin, a roughly-padded thumb reaching to brush away small tears he hadn't even noticed.

Those crystalline eyes speared him with their intensity, his emotions bubbling up to lodge themselves in his throat in the face of those beautiful pools of blue. To his surprise, there was no disappointment, only a kind sense of pity and forgiveness.

When Naruto was sure he had the other boy's attention, he said the few words that nearly broke the other. "It is alright; thank you." A radiant grin followed to reassure, and Shikamaru let go, pulling him in and breaking down into silent sobs. 

~~~

Now that he knew Naruto was back safe in his den in the forest, Shikamaru let out a breath. This wasn't the time for any emotion other than determination and conviction; if he was caught, he'd be shipped off to the T&I Department, no questions asked. His thoughts organized themselves and his mind sharpened.

He chose to go with a covert operation, but not with stealth; it was time for infiltration. He'd already henged into a plain chuunin, (lord knows how many there are,) dressed in semi-casual clothes. He knew it'd be suspicious to keep completely silent, so he gave polite greetings to the staff of the Hokage Tower, sure that they wouldn't remember him in the sea of other plain faces they encounter every day.

Despite the mostly militaristic purpose of the building, the layout was far simpler than that of the Nara clan compound. Sure, there were twists and turns like anywhere else with the occasional ANBU skirting the shadows or in the walls, but there weren't as many security measures, dead ends or codes designed to confuse unwanted inhabitants or intruders.

Taking more caution than he would if he were on an infiltration mission in the Land of Stone, he took every private corner as an opportunity to slightly alter his henge, keeping it everchanging and only requiring a low chakra output.

Though he didn't know the exact location of the civilian archives, he did know where the ninja files were and was sure that they would at least be in the same wing for conveniency's sake.

When he got to the desired place, he tried his best to look like he knew what he was doing and was supposed to be here. There was absolutely no way he'd go into the shinobi archives though. On the likely possibility that he was caught, doing so would only activate alarms and incriminate him further for treason.

The walls that he knew were painted a perfect coat, (courtesy of a few genin teams, no doubt,) were tinted an eery yellow by the dim overhead lights. And just as he thought, there were a few doors lining the hall, marked only by numbers. Though it was unwise to go in and simply try one knob after another, was there any other option? Naturally, there were no blueprints to study beforehand, and any that might have been made public no doubt had many rooms unmarked.

Conscious of how much time had passed, Shikamaru continued on his mission. One revealed itself to be a storage room, another was a room devoid of anything but empty shelves. In a coin toss between the two that he was marginally sure weren't the shinobi archives, he opened the second to last one, (which happened to be on a left.)

It was. . . nothing, actually. The room looked much more spacious than it was with the distinct lack of objects, and he was instantly suspicious. Why would there be a completely empty room in a bureaucratic building? Genjutsu. . . ?

Unsure if he was supposed to be doing this, he made a ram sign and fluctuated his chakra once in time with a "Kai."

Almost hesitantly, the genjutsu slowly receded from the room. Like he thought, it wasn't as large when it had decorations, and decorated it was. On the far wall, immediately visible from the entrance was a colored picture of the yondaime embracing a pregnant red-haired woman, both looking to the camera with wide smiles that spoke of life and energy.

The floor was cluttered with a bassinet, children's toys, small infant clothing and random equipment he knew were for child-rearing. In all its dusty glory, he felt he'd intruded on an incredibly private thing.

The placement of everything made him know that it was extremely careless and haphazard, but the sight of this forgotten childhood was chilling in its haunting loneliness. Now that he thought of it, who was that woman?

In the history books he'd skimmed through as a child, there was no mention of the yondaime taking a wife, let alone having a child. It was suspicious, especially since this secret was so poorly kept. What else was hidden in plain sight like this room?

Though now he certainly was curious, he was neither foolish nor suicidal. He replaced the genjutsu he'd broken with one he hoped would be slightly stronger and would remain undetected, then stepped back into the hallway.

At least now he was sure that the last door was what he was looking for.

~~~

A little tidbit I know you guys are dying to know: Kurama doesn't really become relevant until later in the story, if ever. And guys, lemme tell you a secret I just realized: sage mode is irrelevant to Naruto! I accidentally made him kind of op?

Edited 12/18/2019