For Shikamaru, it started young. Very young. They were surprised that he was feeling it that young. They hadn't known it was possible. None of the other young children had felt the pain that young. But there it was. He was showing all of the signs. There was nothing wrong with him. He was normally a very sleepy, easy baby. And he couldn't stop screaming. Not just crying, but screaming.

Nara Yoshino, Shikamaru's mother, knew the different sounds her son would make, and this one wasn't like any of his others. This one was way worse. It was louder, more desperate, and altogether more horrifying. Despite him not being able to talk, he was clearly in immense amounts of pain, almost all of the time.

His soulmate was suffering. Horribly. Constantly. And there was nothing the Nara's could do. They couldn't search the world for the one baby that was hurting all the time, that was being abused.

It was likely that Shikamaru's soulmate was in the village, but even there, abuse of children occurred. And it was hidden away. So how on Earth would they be able to find just the one to alleviate their pain?

There really wasn't any way that they could help their son.

Naruto was always in pain. Always. He was hungry and he was hurt. He healed quickly, but there was always a new pain and there was always a pain that lasted longer. He had bruises, he had cuts. Those healed in seconds. He had broken bones. Those took days. And the hunger. The hunger was always there. Never ever went away.

It wasn't until he overheard the Matron talking to a girl who was hurting and couldn't figure out why. The matron explained: it was her soulmate. Her soulmate was hurting, so she was feeling it. Any time one of them got hurt, the other felt it.

Naruto was always in so much pain that if his soulmate had their own hurts, he never noticed. But his soulmate... his soulmate would feel all of the pain that he was in.

If he had a soulmate. Did he? The matron said he wasn't human. Humans were the ones who had soulmates, not animals. And he was an animal. He wasn't human. That's what the matron and the others always said.

So he probably didn't have a soulmate who was feeling all the pain he was in.

Shikamaru grew up learning how to deal with pain. He grew up knowing all different kinds of pain. Pain that went away quickly. Pain that lasted a few days to a few weeks. Dull pain. Sharp pain. Throbbing pain. Aching pain. And hunger pains. Always hunger pains. They were never ceasing, never ending, always there.

He grew up knowing that his soulmate was suffering. Was suffering just by existing. That his soulmate didn't really have anything to rely on, and only had people who abused them and neglected them. He grew up knowing that he was lucky with his family and that his soulmate was not.

When the time came, Naruto wanted desperately to go to the Academy. It was a chance to get out of the orphanage. A chance to get away from the same people who always hurt him. A chance for him to be in less pain and to maybe enjoy a little bit of his life. He was, for the first time, hopeful.

And then his hopes were dashed. He failed the entrance exam. He didn't know how to read or write. He didn't know how to do math. He didn't know any of the things that you were supposed to know before you even started the Academy.

The Hokage promised him. Promised that he could learn, that he could try again next year. That someone would teach him.

The Hokage didn't know that they refused to teach him.

When he told the Hokage that they refused to teach him, the Hokage got very angry. Very, very angry. He told the matron that he would be checking up on Naruto to make sure they were teaching him.

And they did. They did teach him. But...it hurt so much more.

One day, when Shikamaru is six, the year before he enters the Academy, the pain from his soulmate gets worse. The hunger pains are still there, but it starts cramping and he starts doubling over in pain. The pain in other parts of his body becomes more frequent and it's worse.

He asks his father about it. Tries to describe the pains so he can figure out what is happening to his soulmate.

And his father says something strange. Something that seems to both puzzle him and that he dreads. He says that the pains he's describing sound like broken bones, bruises, cuts of varying depths and lengths.

But that his soulmate heals faster than anyone he's ever heard of.

His father seems to know something. But he won't say what. He'll have to figure it out for himself.

It's the next year, at the Academy, that he gets his first inkling.

After the matron teaches him (painfully), Naruto barely passes the entrance exam to the Academy. But he passes. He does. Thank Kami. He can escape the orphanage for a little while every day.

The thing is, the orphanage starts to lock him out during all of the daylight hours, no matter what the weather is. Raining, misty, sunshine, cloudy, hot, cold, snowy. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if it's a school day or not. He gets locked out. And he discovers a new pain. Frostbite. Sunburn. Windburn.

Just like all the rest, it hurts.

Shikamaru starts at the Academy, and he notices several things. There's a boy in his class who is treated horribly. And the pain changes.

He talks to his dad again about what type of pain this is. And discovers all the different types of pain that weather can cause. The sun, the run, the snow, the wind. All of it. And he comes to the conclusion that his soulmate must be homeless.

That boy in his class looks like he might be homeless. He has torn, ripped, and holey clothes that don't fit him. He looks like he doesn't eat enough, and while he's loud, he's also skittish.

This boy... for some reason, Shikamaru feels drawn to him. Feels like he should be his friend. But his father...his father says to leave the boy alone. Says that, while he shouldn't treat the boy the way everyone else does, he shouldn't get close either. That the life of this boy isn't a good one, but there isn't anything they can do about it. That this boy is off-limits.

And Shikamaru thinks.

There's a boy in Naruto's class that Naruto feels drawn to. A boy that he wants to be friends with. But he can't. He just can't. He can't get close to anyone because he's not human. He's an animal. And he doesn't deserve friends or people he can be close with.

Naruto is worthless and so he shouldn't make other people put up with him. That's what the matron tells him when he goes back to the orphanage every night.

Shikamaru continues to watch him. That boy. He doesn't eat. He never brings lunch and day after day, he's just getting skinnier. He does terribly in taijutsu. Can barely stand up sometimes. And no one cares. None of the teachers say anything like they would for any other child.

The parents of all of the other children tell them to stay away from him. Say that this boy is a monster, not human, a demon.

And even Shikamaru's parents don't deny it. Not even to Shikamaru.

Which is just the same as agreement.

Why is this boy treated like a monster, lower than an animal would be treated? Why does no one care?

One day, while he's walking through town, in pain from frostbite, he sees him. He sees the boy, sitting next to the garbage, shivering in the cold.

And something clicks in his head a little bit. Just a little bit. Maybe he's not right. Maybe it's a coincidence. But he thinks that maybe this boy is his soulmate.

He resolves to get closer to the boy, no matter what his father says, and check.

Naruto is confused. There's a boy in his class who has started sitting next to him and talking to him. A boy who is being nice.

The problem is that Naruto doesn't deserve someone being nice to him. He's a monster, a demon, an animal.

Can't this boy see that? Can't he see that Naruto isn't worth anything at all? He has the worst grades in the class in every single subject. He can't pay attention to learn anything and he isn't worth the teachers' time for him to ask any questions.

So why? Why is he trying to help?

Shikamaru is furious. It took him a long time, but he finally got the boy – Naruto – to answer some questions and to talk about himself. Naruto is hated and hates himself. He has learned that he is something to be hated and he believes it.

He believes that he is horrible.

Shikamaru learned that Naruto is kicked out of the orphanage every day from sunup to sundown, no matter when school is. He learned that Naruto barely knows how to read. That he doesn't ask questions in class because he isn't worth the answers.

He learned that Naruto has been abused his entire life and neglected his entire life and he learns that Naruto is always hungry.

He learned that Naruto is hopeful for things to get better when the Hokage gives him his own apartment once he completes the first year of the Academy.

Shikamaru is furious that it will be an improvement for Naruto to be living alone and supporting himself.

So Shikamaru decides to test his theory.

He decides to bring Naruto lunch every day for a week and see if his own hunger pains go away.

Naruto decides that Shikamaru is weird. Shikamaru is bringing him lunch every day. He says that he makes it himself. Why would he do that for an animal?

Although, Naruto supposes that some people are nice like that, even to animals.

He must be very lucky to have found one of those people.

His hunger pains are going away, slowly but surely.

Shikamaru was right. That little abused boy is his soulmate.

Now to test his parents.

He goes to them. He goes to them and tells them that he found his soulmate and wants to help them, wants to help them not be in pain anymore.

And they agree. They think it's wonderful that he found them. They are so happy for him.

Until he tells them Naruto's name. They pause. They hesitate. They ask if he's sure.

Yes, he's sure. He tested it, even, to be extra sure.

They look at each other. It seems like they have a conversation without speaking.

And they make a decision.

They want to meet him. They want to meet his soulmate.

They don't say it, but they want to assess for themselves.

Naruto is nervous. Very nervous.

Shikamaru's parents want to meet him. He doesn't know exactly why. Maybe they want to tell him to stay away from Shikamaru? That would really suck, but it would make sense. Naruto isn't human like Shikamaru is.

But when Naruto gets to Shikamaru's house, they invite him in. They want to know his name. They ask him if he wants to stay for dinner.

Of course he does! But... he scared. What if they mean to hurt him, as well? And he doesn't want to be late getting back to the orphanage.

So he says no. He says that they're expecting him at the orphanage and that he can't be late.

And he gives Shikamaru a look of fear that says he wants to trust but isn't sure he can.

And he runs away.

He doesn't eat dinner that night.

Once Naruto leaves, Nara Yoshino shows her anger and she is beyond furious.

How dare the Hokage let Naruto live like this?!

His clothes aren't suitable to be worn. He is clearly starving. And he was so afraid. So very afraid.

The Hokage had told Yoshino that Naruto was taken care of. He told her that Naruto couldn't be adopted by anyone because of the political mess that it would cause for one Clan or person to have control of the Kyuubi.

But fuck that.

Absolutely no way will she let her best friend's son live abused and neglected.

That is besides the possibility of him being her own son's soulmate.

Shikaku can see the anger on his wife's face when Naruto leaves.

And he knows that he's in for it.

Even if he wasn't the one at fault, he's going to have to help her with whatever plan she comes up with. He knows that he is going to have to handle all of the fallout of finding out that Uzumaki Naruto is living in squalor.

He told his son to stay away from Naruto, but he knows that is no longer a possibility. Even if his son is wrong about Naruto being his soulmate.

His son is rarely wrong.

Shikamaru can see the plotting his parents are doing and he's glad that they are finally not letting another child suffer.

Which they should not have done in the first place.

So he asks them. He asks them what they are going to do. How are they going to help Naruto?

His mother is the one who answers.

She asks what he knows about Naruto's situation.

So he tells her. He tells her about what Naruto thinks about himself. He tells her how he never has lunch and doesn't really answer when asked what else he eats. He tells her how the orphanage will lock Naruto out and about how Naruto is looking forward to getting his own apartment, where he will at least have shelter from the weather.

He tells her about Naruto.

And so they start by feeding him.

It starts with lunch. Shikamaru brings Naruto a lunch every day in addition to his own.

After a while, he invites Naruto over for dinner again, earlier this time so that he doesn't risk being out past dark.

They get Naruto comfortable being in their home.

And then they offer Naruto shelter during the day.

They do all of these things.

And there are consequences.

The Hokage gets word of what they've done and what they're continuing to do.

And he confronts them.

Well, he confronts Yoshino and Shikaku.

He tells them what they already know. That no one was allowed to adopt Naruto. They couldn't have anyone influence the jinchuuriki.

They tell him about the abuse and neglect of Naruto.

He tells them that he will handle it and that they are to do nothing.

They tell him that Naruto is their son's soulmate.

And still he tells them that they must leave Naruto to him. The children can interact, but they cannot. Naruto can't go over to their house. Naruto must have no contact with the Head and Matriarch of the Nara clan.

Shikamaru is livid. His parents have caved to the Hokage and Naruto's situation has reverted.

He is still bringing Naruto lunch. And Naruto has gotten his apartment early. So he's not without shelter anymore.

But he still goes hungry for dinner and breakfast.

He still needs help with schoolwork.

Shikamaru tries. Really he does. He helps Naruto study. He answers his questions. He teaches.

And they become closer.

With Shikamaru tutoring him, Naruto learns. Shikamaru goes to his apartment and they study.

Shikamaru has taken to giving Naruto food to eat at home, not just lunch at the Academy, so Naruto gets healthier in addition to learning.

Even though Shikamaru hates training, he helps Naruto progress.

And so, when the final exam comes around, Naruto passes. Not by much, but since the Hokage is watching, he does.

And he is ecstatic.

They are not placed on the same genin team. It is not a good idea for soulmates to be on the same team.

It can be a weakness.

So they are not placed on the same team and they don't see each other very much anymore.

Naruto gets lonely again.

But he makes friends with his teammates.

He has more bonds.

And then one of his teammates almost dies.

He loses his mind.

And Shikamaru can feel it.

Can feel the pain of intense chakra burns as they race across Naruto's skin.

When Naruto returns home, it is with the knowledge of why the village hates him.

Shikamaru learns that the pain of heartbreak is a pain that can be felt by soulmates.

Shikamaru is worried.

Very very worried.

He felt that pain while Naruto was on his mission.

And now Naruto is avoiding him.

Won't look at him.

Runs when he sees him.

What is going on?

Shikamaru knows that his parents know.

But they won't tell him.

They say only Naruto or the Hokage can tell him.

He knows that the Hokage is a dead end. He always has been.

And Naruto is avoiding him.

He'll have to figure it out himself.

He figures it out.

Now he just has to corner Naruto.

Naruto is proving to be very slippery.

He has experience evading ANBU after all.

Even laying in wait at his apartment isn't enough to catch him.

So Shikamaru needs to get creative.

And he enlists Naruto's team.

Naruto's jonin sensei catches him in a trap.

And now Shikamaru's got him.

He tells Naruto that he knows.

That it's ok.

That the villagers are stupid.

Says that he doesn't hate him.

When Naruto hears from Shikamaru that he still loves him, Naruto breaks down.

If his soulmate still cares, still loves him, then he can deal with everyone else.

As long as Shikamaru loves him.