Chapter Text
Shikamaru grunted as he gingerly rolled his shoulder. It had been sore for the last few days and didn’t seem to be getting any better. Contemplatively, he stared at the ceiling of his bedroom, debating the pros and cons of heading over to the clinic.
Con: He could run into Tsunade-sensei again.
Pro: He could get his shoulder looked at to see if there was something wrong.
Con: Someone could find out what he was up to and put a stop to it.
Pro: He could finally find her .
He hardly bothered to think past that before he sat up and pushed himself off of the bed, hobbling towards the front entryway and grabbing his shoe to shove on his foot. He snagged his keys and called over his shoulder to let his mother know he was heading out.
The drive was quiet, aside from the faint sound of sirens over in the direction that Kiba’s apartment was – he briefly winged a prayer that the sirens had nothing to do with his friends, but it wouldn’t surprise him if they did. He pulled neatly into his preferred parking spot in the clinic, sighing in quiet relief before dragging his crutches out of the cab of the truck with him, wincing at the strain it caused on his already aching shoulder.
He hobbled inside and lifted a hand in greeting to the security guards on duty – he recognized the one that was always gnawing on toothpicks, but there was another one today who wore a medical mask and was… he was reading, but the cover of that book was one Shikamaru recognized from Naruto’s bookcase.
Sasuke had insisted that Naruto get his own bookcase because the blond’s godfather often sent him his most recent novels to critique and enjoy, except they weren’t… well, they weren’t appropriate for polite company. The Uchiha was adamant that his own novels and texts be kept separate from what he called “garbage literature,” though Naruto had confided in him during a drunken hangout that Sasuke had read almost all of them as well, and even stole his favorite to hang onto. Regardless, he didn’t know how the security guard got away with reading that in a clinic waiting room, but he watched the one he did recognize elbow the one he didn’t and start whispering.
He felt two pairs of eyes on him and his cheeks reddened immediately, especially when one of those gazes sharpened in an almost calculating manner.
Shikamaru shuffled his way towards the front desk, and the girl behind it greeted him by name with a smile.
“Good morning, Nara-kun – what’s the problem today?”
“Aa… my shoulder has been bugging me for a few days. Figured I should at least get it looked at, yeah?”
Her eyes scrunched up in a smile that clearly showcased amusement at his expense, and her reply was borderline patronizing.
“Of course you should, Nara-kun. Why don’t you take a seat? It’s a quiet morning so far, so you should get called back quickly.”
He nodded and turned to find a seat, carefully moving towards one that was close to the hallway they called names from. Before he made it three steps, he heard his name.
“Shikamaru-kun, I’m ready for you. Why don’t you come on back?”
Turning, he smiled in recognition.
“Kato-sensei. It’s good to see you – no nurse today?”
She grinned as they walked back to an open exam room together.
“No, not this early in the day – I’m running first shift, so we’re really only a skeleton crew this early in the morning. We’ll have more on hand right before the lunch rush, and I have a few folks who are on-call, but mornings are hardly ever busy.”
He nodded amiably, listening as she spoke while they settled into the room.
“So, what brings you in today? I almost expected to see you earlier in the week – your face is almost as familiar as the rest of our staff by this point.”
He flushed again at her teasing, reaching up to rub behind his neck sheepishly.
“Ah, I… my shoulder has been giving me some trouble. Can’t tell if it’s just strained, or a pulled muscle or something, but it’s really been bugging me, so I thought I’d come in.”
Humming in acknowledgement, Shizune leaned forward and took his arm, holding it away from his body and pressing her fingers around the area where it connected to his torso. He flinched, gritting his teeth to keep quiet while she tested the tenderness of the area, and then the range of movement.
She hummed again, turning to make a note on his chart before addressing him directly.
“It looks like it’s just a strain – when did it start up, would you say?”
Taking a moment to think, he furrowed his brow.
“Aa… about a day after I was in for the wrist sprain? It didn’t start out so bad, but it got worse as time went on.”
Shizune nodded, making another note.
“I remember reading Tsunade-sensei’s notes on that visit – tripped over your crutches, right? You probably threw your shoulder a bit out of whack at the same time, but using your crutches to get around probably only aggravated it – that sort of thing can happen. The best you can do for now is take some anti-inflammatory pain medication and ice the area. No more than ten minutes at a time, and try to stay off the crutches as much as you can for a few days. Rest will be the best medicine for this.”
He let out a tired sigh, nodding slowly.
“Yeah… okay. I’ll try to stay out of your collective hair for a while, then. Thanks, Kato-sensei.”
Her smile was sly as her eyes met his.
“Oh, it’s no trouble, Shikamaru-kun. Seeing you slouch in through the front doors is the highlight of the day for some of our staff.”
Immediately, he was bright red, and he lifted a hand to cover his face and the embarrassed groan.
“Yeah… that’s what I’m afraid of.”
The rest of the visit was smalltalk before she set him loose in the waiting room, reminding him about the time limit for icing his poor shoulder. He stopped by the kitchen for an ice pack and some medicine when he got home and headed to his room again, collapsing across the bed with a drawn out sigh.