Shikamaru first noticed Naruto on the first day of class at the Academy. She was loud, bright, and energetic. She interrupted his naps. She got in trouble with Iruka-sensei. She acted like a class clown, and she didn't pay attention in class. And so, his first thoughts were that she was troublesome.

His second thoughts, though, were that she was like a loud sun. She demanded attention and she was bright. So bright. It was like napping under a warm sun, except she carried that feeling with her. She was the brightness that was missing from his shadows.

He decided then and there that he wanted to stay around her. He wanted the feeling of the sun around as much as possible.

So, when class started the next day, he decided that he was going to sit next to her. He arrived before everyone else to stake out a spot next to where she sat the day before. And she was already there. For some reason, she was way early. And today, unlike yesterday, she sat all the way in the back corner by the window. She was away from where everyone else would sit. It was a massive change from the day before, when she had been in the center of the classroom. Obviously, he hadn't been paying enough attention to her and something had happened.

Trying to be completely nonchalant, he sat down next to her. And she looked at him. With wide eyes, disbelieving. "You might want to sit somewhere else. In case you didn't know. The other kids don't exactly like me and don't want to be around me."

Unfortunately, he could see that. She was decently loud yesterday and wad distracting the class the whole day, getting on sensei's nerves. She was acting out and no one wanting to be associated with that.

"They call me a monster and a demon, and you don't want to be around a demon."

What?!

They did what now?!

Why on Earth would they say that? They had just met her the day before; how could they call her that. What had she done for that? She was a kid, just like the rest of them.

Trying to appear like what he was doing was completely normal, he sighed and said, "Well, sitting over here is closer to the windows. A better breeze. Better sun. It's a better place for napping."

She looked at him as though he was insane, but at least she didn't try and persuade him to leave again.

During class, he noticed she was right. The other children did call her a demon and a monster. They called her a murderer.

And he really couldn't figure out why.

No matter how hard she tried to hide it, it bothered her quite a bit. She was smiling, but it didn't reach her eyes. It wasn't just the other children, either. It was the teachers as well. They just weren't as obvious. They glared at her. Even when she was paying attention. When she asked a question, she went ignored or mocked for not knowing the answer. Even when it wasn't an obvious one.

She seemed resigned to this. It looked like she was used to it. She didn't protest, she didn't fight back. She made noise and gave them something to yell at her for.

What on Earth was going on?!

And it got worse. At lunch, he intended to sit next to her, but she vanished. He couldn't find her anywhere. And she didn't come back from lunch for the second half of the day. She was just gone.

When he went home that night, he asked his parents about her. Uzumaki Naruto. Who was she? Did they know she that was treated badly? Did they know why?

They didn't answer. They gave him avoidance and non-answers. Which they had never done before. They had always answered his questions. Or at least they helped him find the answers on his own. They had never denied him any answers.

"Stay away from her," His father said, "She is not your concern."

What?!

She was not his concern?!

This was insane. Completely insane. Someone was being mistreated in the village and they were to ignore it?

Weren't they supposed to help those who needed it? Weren't they supposed to defend others? What was going on?

He didn't see her for the rest of the week. She didn't show up to school and he didn't know where she lived. He checked with the orphanage after school one day and... it didn't go well. They got angry at her name and swore at him and thanked Kami that she didn't live there anymore.

If she didn't live in the orphanage, where did she live? Did she have a guardian? Had she been adopted? If so, where did she live?

Something really wasn't adding up here, and he intended to find out.

When he did see her again, she sat in the back corner again. She was wearing orange, like before, but she had much shorter hair and she wasn't smiling. When he went to sit next to her, she didn't look at him or respond, even when he spoke to her. At least, not until he told her that he was going to try and hang out with her after school.

She looked absolutely horrified and terrified. Something had definitely happened to her for her to not want anyone around. "No! Don't! Stay away from me! You'll get hurt! Just... stop being around me!"

Why is she so scared? Shikamaru doesn't know, but he resolves to follow her home today after school.

In the meantime, he notices several things. Her clothes don't fit. In fact, they are way too big. And she is way too small. She's tiny. He can see the bones in her wrists. Her clothes also have holes in them. And they're dirty. She's dirty. She definitely has tan skin, but she has dirt all over her body. When lunch comes around, she goes and hides in a corner. And doesn't eat anything. She has no lunch. That's probably why she's so tiny.

Is anyone at all looking after her? It doesn't look like she has a guardian at all! And if she does, they are extremely neglectful. She is definitely not being taken care of.

At the end of the school day, Shikamaru let Choji know that he wouldn't be walking home with him today. He watched as Naruto left the school and walked down the street. Once she got a certain distance down the street, he walked in the shadows the way his dad had taught him so that he could follow her without her knowing.

And she left the good part of town. She walked down the street with homeless and beggars sitting in the corners. People were glaring at her. There were comments about her being a demon. A monster. She walked by with her head held high and didn't let them see how upset she was at hearing this.

And she kept walking.

The neighborhood kept getting worse and worse. She starts walking by bars and brothels. The brothels say hello to her and greet her and are nice.

The bars are a different story. She has to run past them. They try to attack her. They chase her. And she runs. And she runs. And she runs.

She darts past them. She runs through alleys and dodges through the street. She is an expert at dodging their hands. Her evasion and stealth skills are amazing.

And, finally, she gets home. Her apartment is in a building that looks like it's falling apart. A building that is leaning to the side a little, that has water stains on the walls, which have cracks running up them.

He knows that it's a risk, but he follows her up to her apartment and tries to see inside. He doesn't really get a good look, but it a one room apartment. And there's no one else in there. She's alone.

What?!

How on Earth could she live alone at their age?! This was completely outrageous. But what could he do about it?

Well...there might be a few things. To start with, he can make sure she has lunch. At this point, he decides to head home. He's going to start by asking his mom to make her lunch as well as him.

The next day, she came to school again. Once again, he sat beside her. Choji sat next to him, but at this point, none of the other kids were sitting anywhere near them. He hadn't really talked to Choji about his sudden interest in Naruto, but his friend was good enough to go with the flow and not really question him. He knew that Shikamaru had a good reason for everything that he did.

Today Naruto was, again, being loud and drawing all of the attention to herself. It seemed that she had recovered somewhat from whatever had happened that had her so upset yesterday. The other girls made jokes about her short hair, which she ignored, and the teachers scolded her, ignored her, and mocked her a lot.

She didn't seem to really care about any of that, though, letting it slide off of her. But Shikamaru, practiced in seeing what people really mean and who they really are, noticed that she was just hiding how much all of these really hurt her.

He could tell that Ino noticed, too, being from a family that was psychoanalyzing everything. He wasn't sure how she would use that information, though. Ino was unpredictable. She may decide to help, or she may decide that Naruto was the monster and demon that the adults and other children called her, and she would use it against her. Shikamaru would have to corner Ino and protect Naruto from her.

First, though, he would need to sit by Naruto for lunch and befriend her.

When lunch started, Naruto once again went off to the corner of the field and sat down alone, away from everyone else, just staring at the sky.

Shikamaru looked at Choji, determined that he would help her, and wanting his friend to be onboard, "Choji, I'm going to go sit with Naruto for lunch. I have food for her, and I'm probably going to be laying down and cloud watching with her. Please, please, please come and sit with us. I know that this is new and that I haven't really given any reasons for this, but her situation worries me. I want to take care of her and help her and she really needs it. Please do this with me."

Choji just looked at Shikamaru, "Of course I'll do this with you. I saw some of how she was treated in class earlier today and yesterday and it's horrible. And even if it wasn't, it's important to you, so it's important to me. I will always support you in things that are important."

Shikamaru sighed, relieved that his best friend understood where he was coming from, "Thank you so much, Choji. Now come on, I don't want anyone to try to corner her before we get over there. Our presence should be enough to stave off everyone, at least for a few days. I'm going to have to corner Ino sometime in the next few days and make sure that she's onboard as well. She leads the class in a lot of things, and if we can get her to support Naruto, then the class will stop making fun of her."

Choji nodded his head, determined to help his best friend with this project that he's taken on. Shikamaru never really shows any interest in anything, so him being so determined to help Naruto is out of the norm and a good thing and he wants to encourage it. It helps that it's also a good cause.

Shikamaru headed over to Naruto, where she was resting under a tree, just staring at the sky, not even moving, "Hey, Naruto."

Naruto looked up, startled and scared, "What are you doing over here?! I told you to leave me alone, you'll get hurt! I don't want you to get hurt!"

Shikamaru was determined and let her know, "Don't worry about me. I won't get hurt. No one will dare. Choji and I both have our families standing behind us. Not only are we from Clans, we are also the Clan Heirs and no one will dare hurt us outside of a spar. We will be safe. Besides, I have something for you." He handed her the bento box that his mom had made for her lunch and Naruto looked at it with wide eyes, shocked.

"You-you brought lunch for me?" she whispered.

Shikamaru nodded decisively, "Yes. I noticed yesterday that you didn't have one and that you were really small. I'm worried that you aren't eating enough in general and that you are malnourished. You need to eat to get strong and to do well in the Academy. Eating well will help with more than just the physical aspect. It'll help with your brain power for the scholarly aspects."

Naruto looked down at the ground at this. She knew that going hungry was bad. She knew that it would affect her schooling. Just... she didn't have the money for real food. She was grateful for Shikamaru bringing lunch, though, and she told him, "Hey, Shikamaru? Thanks. I really, really appreciate the food." She did not look up from the ground while she told him this, ashamed that she needed the help and embarrassed that he had noticed.

With his ability to reward people, Shikamaru also noticed how she was feeling and wanted to make sure that she knew that he wanted to help her and be her friend. "Do you mind if Choji and I sit here with you? You found a great spot for cloud watching, and that's one of my favorite activities."

This also surprised Naruto. Why would someone want to spend time with her? Shikamaru had been acting differently than everyone she knew, even Jiji. He was being nice to her, offering her food, and wanting to spend time with her. Even yesterday, he had said that he wanted to hang out with her after school. She didn't completely trust it, but she was so desperate for any good interaction that she would agree to just about any of it. As long as they wouldn't be hurt. She didn't want them to be associated with her and then for others to attack them.

Only the Ladies of the Night, as they had told her to call them, could interact with her without consequences. They could defend themselves from anyone who thought to attack them. It was part of their job.

At the end of the school day, Shikamaru again asked Naruto if she wanted to hang out with him. This time not only was it Shikamaru and Choji, but they had been talking throughout the day. Shikamaru had helped her with her schoolwork and answered the questions of hers that the teachers mocked her for or just plain didn't answer.

It made her more comfortable with the two of them, and since the other kids didn't really say anything to Shikamaru or Choji about interacting with her, it reassured her that they would be ok if they were around her. So this time she said, "Sure, we can hang out. Not at my place, though, there isn't any room."

Shikamaru was prepared for this, knowing that she lived alone and in a tiny place, he had asked his parents if he could bring Choji and another friend over after school. "That's alright, we can hang out at my place. There's even a training ground if you want to practice."

At this, Choji just looked at him. For two reasons. One is that it was very odd for Shikamaru to invite anyone over to his place, he liked spending time alone or with those that he was very close to. He's only really known Naruto for a few days and he's already inviting her over? Something more than just wanting to be friends must be up.

The other thing was that he was offering to train. He never wanted to train. He avoided it at all costs and his parents had to bribe, yell, and punish him with chores just to train him in the Clan jutsus, let alone in anything the Academy would teach them.

So this was all very abnormal for Shikamaru. Choji knew that Shikamaru had asked for his help and already said that he wanted to do more for her, but this was more than Choji had ever thought that Shikamaru would do for anyone.

Unless he liked them, of course.

But Choji would keep that possibility to himself. Even if it was true, it was too soon for either of the people involved to really notice it yet.

Naruto looked at the ground again, shy this time, "Are you sure that your parents won't mind me coming over? Adults really don't like me at all."

Shikamaru was prepared for this, and said, "It'll be fine. They don't mind anyone that I bring over. They're happy that I have friends." And this is completely true. His parents were surprised and extremely happy that Shikamaru had wanted to bring over a friend other than Choji. Someone who he had made friends with by himself.

Naruto looked up with excitement and happiness in her eyes. It was so nice to have friends and people who cared about her. Even if this turned out to all be a hoax and a trick, she wanted to enjoy it for as long as possible. "Alright! Let's go, then! Where do you live?"

Shikamaru smiled at her, inordinately happy that she was happy. It filled his insides with warmth to see her smile at him and mean it. He wanted to make her smile every single day. "It's over this way, come on."

Once they got to the Nara main house, Naruto was shy and looking at the ground again, unsure. She knew that Shikamaru had said it would be fine, but what if it wasn't? What if his parents hated her, the way that all of the other adults seemed to?

Shikamaru and Choji both noticed that Naruto was getting more and more shy again and this time, they wouldn't let her fall into despair. Shikamaru took her hand and called into the house, "I'm home!"

His mother called from the kitchen, where she had been making dinner, "Welcome home!" She came out into the entryway and saw Naruto. This was the moment Naruto had been afraid of. But Nara Yoshino didn't see a monster in Naruto the way that most of the village did. She saw the daughter of one of her best friends. She saw a little girl who had been mistreated. A little girl who didn't know the love that Yoshino had been led to believe she did. And so, she said, "Welcome! My name is Nara Yoshino, though you can call me Yoshino. I know Choji, of course, but what is your name?"

Naruto was shocked at this. She wasn't hated? It took her a moment to get her bearings before she could answer the question, "M-my name is Uzumaki Naruto. It's nice to meet you, Yoshino-san."

Yoshino smiled at the little girl in front of her, "Call me Yoshino, I don't mind. I'm making dinner, why don't you stay for it? Choji, I've already spoken to your mother, and she's given permission. Naruto, who do you need to ask for permission to stay for dinner?"

Naruto bit her lip and told them sadly, "Oh, I don't have anyone. I live by myself."

Yoshino was completely shocked and angry. Furious, even. What on Earth? How could this little girl live alone? So she asked a few more questions to figure out what was happening, "What do you mean you live alone, Naruto? If you're an orphan, shouldn't you be living in the orphanage?"

"Um, no. I was, for awhile. But last year, they kicked me out. They told Jiji that I was too much trouble and that I was a danger to the other kids. So he got me an apartment for myself and gives me some money every month for food and stuff."

This-this was not the answer any of the three people present wanted to hear. It wasn't exactly a surprise to Shikamaru, who had seen the way she lived, but it was a horrible answer and made all three of them angry. What was a little girl doing living on her own, with no one to look after her? How was this acceptable? The daughter of Yoshino's precious friends being left alone to raise herself? This-this would not stand.

And so, Yoshino said, "Well, that's alright then, Naruto. You will stay for dinner tonight and maybe even stay over the night. It would be a pleasure to have you here."

These people kept taking Naruto by surprise. They wanted her here for dinner? They wanted her to stay the night? They didn't hate her? What was going on? But, like before, she didn't want any of this to end, so she would take anything that they offered her. "Ok, I can do that. I'm definitely hungry and I think it would be fun to stay over."

Yoshino nodded and looked at her son, who was looking at her in approval, "Well, good, then. Why don't the three of you head into Shikamaru's room and get started on your homework?"

Later in the evening, after Naruto had fallen asleep, Yoshino, her husband Shikaku, and her son Shikamaru sat and talked about what they could do for Naruto.

Yoshino looked at her hands and told her son, "You don't know this, but Naruto has been an orphan since her birth. She was born on the day of the Kyuubi attack and her parents both lost their lives in the fighting. Who they are is a state secret, but they were friends, and so I tried to adopt her after. I was told that she was being taken care of, but that is obviously a lie. So, Shikamaru, tell me what you've noticed about her situation. I saw that she is tiny and that her clothes don't fit, she is dirty, and her clothes have holes in them. Those are all things we can do something about. What else is there?"

Shikamaru was determined to help her in any way that he could to keep her sunshine around and fill him with warmth. "She lives in the worst neighborhood in the village. And her building is falling apart. You can tell that she doesn't eat enough. When she walks through the village, she is called a monster and a demon and I can't figure out why. She is attacked and chased. A week ago she had long hair, and I think someone caught her and chopped it all off. She didn't show up to class for a week. The teachers make fun of her or ignore her, even if she's not doing anything or she's asking a good question. She's treated horribly by everyone."

Yoshino nodded and said, "Well, we'll just have to take her in, then. We can't officially adopt her, but we can help her out, have her stay here, teach her what the teachers won't, buy her food and clothes, and keep her safe. We can help her."

This was exactly what Shikamaru wanted to hear. Naruto wouldn't be alone anymore. She would be taken care of. And best of all, her sunshine, her warmth would be around him all of the time.

Years later, after genin teams were assigned, after becoming chuunin, after battles and wars and enemies were defeated, Naruto looked over at Shikamaru and said, "You know, I don't know why you decided to help me out all the way back in the Academy, but I'm really glad you did. You were the first person to be there for me, and you saved me. I couldn't have done all of this without you."

Shikamaru looked into her beautiful blue eyes, the color of the ocean, and said, "Your sunshine. You always, from the first day, filled me with warmth. You know, it took me a long time to realize what that feeling was, but I finally have. Uzumaki Naruto, will you fill me with warmth and sunshine for the rest of our days? Will you stand beside me and give me the strength and motivation to stand up to the world when necessary? Will you be my wife?"