Now... Shikamaru understood that you and Sasuke were all childhood buddies n' stuff... Of course, the lil' rivalry that festered between the both of you was nothing compared to the bond you, him, and Choji had all those years back. Nah. Hell, Shikamaru was really surprised himself with this one, as he usually couldn't care to put himself in other people's business for one of two reasons, first, it was a royal pain in the ass... And 'sides, what did he look like poutin' n' glarin' at Sasuke like a child would when their parents said that they couldn't have a cookie before bed, or somethin'? He would like an absolute, utter fool. Something the Nara prodigy was most definitely not, because he wasn't just called a "prodigy" for show, no way! It's to the point he would even go as far as to say he was the smartest damn Shinobi in the Leaf Village, but hey... Who was he to judge? At some point he had also agreed that Sasuke should've just been left for dead out wherever the hell he had run off to, but you? You'd gone through fuckin' hell and back to bring that lil' psycho back to the Leaf. Heh... You looked the part too, all those cuts, scars, and scratches marring your pretty skin.... No doubt your bones and muscles were all achy n' sore too.

That's not even mentioning the fact you came back with one less fuckin' arm! So, yeah, excuse the fact that Shikamaru wasn't exactly jumping for joy and celebrating that Sasuke was back, as if that bastard hadn't been the source of almost all the turmoil and grief swallowing the Leaf Village hold ever since that fateful night he just... Disappeared. Sure, it was sad n' stuff, blah, blah, blah, but he had never really known the kid that well in the first place. So what was it to him if Sasuke was found dead or alive some day? Absolutely jackshit. The world would have still rotated around, around, and around once more, even if Sasuke had never been heard from again it just wasn't his problem. And it was a drag how everyone else was naggin' in his ear tryin' to make him feel bad.