All characters and story belong to Kohei Horikoshi and Masashi Kishimoto
Shikamaru Nara was an 11-year-old boy who found class a drag (an expression for "very boring"). He was one of the few who didn't make fun of Katsuki Bakugo for his inability to manipulate chakra, basically because he found that a drag too. Well, to tell the truth, he found almost everything a drag. The only things he loved were watching clouds and playing Shogi and Go. An argument between Bakugo and Kiba woke him from his usual slumber in class.
"You're pathetic, Bakugo! Why don't you just give up?" Kiba suggested after seeing him fail again at the transformation technique.
"Fuck off, dogface!" Bakugo replied, giving him the middle finger.
"What a pain..." Shikamaru sighed.
"Leave him alone, Kiba," Ino ordered.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow in surprise; he hadn't expected Ino, of all people, to be the one to side with the ash-blonde. He wasn't the only one; Bakugo and Kiba looked at her with strange expressions.
"And why are you defending him now, Ino?" Kiba asked, annoyed.
"I'm not defending him! I'm just sick of the same old story!" Ino replied.
"I don't understand... But you're the first one to call him a loser!" Kiba exclaimed, pointing at the ash-blond. "He's useless and doesn't deserve to be with us!"
Shikamaru noticed Bakugo's pendant, which he was holding tightly. It was a King token from his favorite board game, shogi. He tuned out the argument, now between Ino and Kiba, and focused on Bakugo. The blond remained silent, too focused on his pendant.
After school, Choji accompanied Shikamaru to the park as usual. In the distance, the Nara clan member spotted Bakugo.
"Choji, can you go alone today? It'll be a pain, but there's one thing I need to know," Shikamaru said with a yawn.
"Don't worry, Shikamaru," Choji replied, eating a bag of chips. "See you later?"
"Yes, of course. I don't think it will take long," Shikamaru replied.
After saying goodbye to Choji, Shikamaru followed Bakugo at a brisk pace to catch up with him quickly. Bakugo sensed his presence and turned his head in annoyance.
"Huh? Why are you following me, yawns?" Bakugo asked with a frown.
"What a pain, man. Don't you remember my name, Bakugo?" Shikamaru said.
"You didn't answer my question," Bakugo exclaimed.
"Nor you to mine," Shikamaru said between two yawns. Bakugo narrowed his eyes at him, his face frightened. "Okay, okay, you win. I saw you have a Shogi piece as a pendant."
—Get to the point, yawns. You're wasting too much of my time, Bakugo said.
"What a pain, you really are a handful. I was wondering if you like Shogi," Shikamaru exclaimed, scratching his head.
"Tsk," Bakugo muttered. "Just so you know, I'm going to answer you so you'll leave me alone, but don't bother me again. It's not that I like Shogi, it's that I'm the fucking best shogi player in the world!"
—Ja. —dijo Shikamaru.
"You don't believe me, yawn?" Bakugo said, raising his fist. "Ask the guys at the orphanage, asshole! When I lived there, I used to beat them up!"
"There's a better way to find out. Play against me," Shikamaru said.
"Tsk," Bakugo muttered, turning his back on her. "If you're bored, play with your greasy friend or any of the other extras. Leave me alone."
"Good thing Choji didn't listen to him," Shikamaru thought. "I'm going to have to go after his pride if I want him to change his mind."
"Are you scared of me, Bakugo?" Shikamaru asked. Just as Shikamaru had planned, Bakugo took the bait and turned to face the Nara clansman.
—"Let's go, yawn! When I beat you up, I don't want you to bother me again in your fucking life!" Bakugo exclaimed furiously.
—Let's go to my house, which is very close to here, Bakugo. It won't be a hassle since my parents aren't home today—Shikamaru said.
During the trip, Bakugo was complaining about how much time Shikamaru was wasting.
"You're not living that badly, yawns. I thought you were a pauper," Bakugo said, glancing around Shikamaru's house.
"I guess it could be worse," Shikamaru said, then went to where he had the Shogi board. Then, he carried it outside his house where Bakugo was waiting. "You go first, Bakugo."
—As you wish. But I remind you we'll only play one game, yawns. —Bakugo said. —Pawn E4.—
With every move, Bakugo grew increasingly tense. Shikamaru, on the other hand, remained just as calm. After 30 moves, Shikamaru checkmated him.
—Alfil G3, Jaque Mate. Shikamaru announced.
"Grrrr," Bakugo growled. "Another one!" he ordered.
"I thought you just wanted to play a game, Bakugo," Shikamaru said, yawning.
"Don't bother me, yawn! That game was just luck, and I'm going to prove it to you!" Bakugo exclaimed, slamming his palm against the board.
"What a pain. I don't think it was a good idea to play with you in the end," Shikamaru said, his eyes almost closed.
—Start playing already!—Bakugo ordered.
—Okay, okay... Knight C3, —said Shikamaru. 35 moves later, he had checkmated the ash-blond. —Queen B8, Checkmate.—
—"Fuck me! Another one!" —10 minutes later he lost again. —ANOTHER ONE! ...ANOTHER ONE! ANOTHER ONE!
They spent the entire afternoon playing shogi. Bakugo improved game after game, but he still hadn't been able to beat the genius of the Nara clan even once. Shikamaru was impressed with the ash-blond. No one had ever made things so difficult for him, except for his father, who was so skilled that he had never managed to beat him. He didn't want to admit it, especially not in front of Bakugo, but he was thoroughly enjoying these games. They challenged him and revealed his hidden competitiveness, as he did his best to prevent Bakugo from overtaking him.
In the last match, Bakugo saw something strange. Shikamaru closed his eyes, squatted down, and drew a circle with his hands. Bakugo didn't know it was his pose to focus and devise an effective strategy to overcome adverse situations.
"What the fuck are you doing, yawns? Stop clowning around and move already, I'm sure I'll beat you in this one!" Bakugo said, showing his teeth, confident since he had two more pieces than the brunette.
30 seconds later, Shikamaru opened his eyes and made his next move. Five moves later, Shikamaru checkmated him again.
—FUCK! HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET BACK FROM THIS GAME? —Bakugo shouted, standing up furiously. —Bah, whatever! I've wasted enough time on this shit! There's less than a year left until the genin exam and I still can't do Ninjutsu or Genjutsu! When I pass the exam, I'll get my revenge, yawn!—
Bakugo headed toward the exit, hands in his pockets, kicking a rock in frustration. Shikamaru felt a little sad about having to stop playing Shogi.
"Bakugo!", called Shikamaru.
"Huh? What's wrong with you now, yawns?" Bakugo turned his head away in annoyance.
"It's not very common to find ninjas who don't know Ninjutsu or Genjutsu," Shikamaru said.
"LOOKING FOR A FIGHT, PINEAPPLE HEAD?" Bakugo shouted, red-faced with anger.
"What a pain..." Shikamaru snorted. "Let me finish, Bakugo." Bakugo calmed down a bit but looked at him suspiciously. "As I was saying, it's not common to find ninjas who don't know Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. However, examiners also value other things, such as theoretical knowledge or Taijutsu."
—Don't lie to me to try to cheer me up, pineapple head!—Bakugo exclaimed.
"That's true. In fact, my father told me that last week a boy passed the test who didn't know any ninjutsu or genjutsu techniques," Shikamaru explained.
—Mmmmm. —Bakugo narrowed his eyes. —What's the name of the one who passed? —
"He didn't tell me. He just said he was a strange boy with very bushy eyebrows," Shikamaru said, recalling his memory. Then, the Nara clan member raised an eyebrow at how proud the ash-blond man smiled.
"Heh. I knew that weirdo with the eyebrows would make it..." Bakugo whispered to himself. "See you later, pineapple head. And don't worry about me. I'll pass no matter what."
Shikamaru watched as Bakugo moved further and further away until he disappeared from sight. Yesterday, if he'd been asked to bet on someone who wouldn't become a genin, it would undoubtedly have been Katsuki Bakugo. Today, he wouldn't be so sure of that.