Shikamaru knocked at the door.

"Come in"

"Lord Sixth" Shikamaru greeted the silver-haired man sitting at the desk.

"I've told you to call me Kakashi" the correction came.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head with his free hand.

"Sorry." he said sheepishly. "Sorry I'm late. I met got caught up in town with Naruto."

"Is he causing trouble?" Kakashi asked of his former pupil

"Not more than usual" Shikamaru replied. "It's been 2 years since the Fourth Ninja War and still, people are flocking to see him."

"You don't meet a guy like him often." Kakashi commented .

"Still, it's a drag." Shikamaru countered.

Kakashi laughed.

"Yes. Yes."

He got up from his desk and his walked to the window, his haori swishing as he did so.

"Speaking of everybody's favourite ninja, I have a mission for you. There seems to be some unusual activity in the Land of Whirlpools.I want you to investigate."

"The Land of Whirpools?" Shikamaru questioned. "I thought that was destroyed."

Kakashi nodded.

"Uzushiogakure was the shinobi village in the Land of Whirlpools. It's ninja were renowned for their use of Fūinjutsu.The village was destroyed and some of its inhabitants fled to other villages seeking refuge.A number of people have disappeared in that area lately."

A few moments of silence passed between them before Kakashi spoke again, looking directly at the sky.

"It's so peaceful isn't it?" he began. Shikamaru remained silent, arms folded. "A lot of people gave their lives for the peace we now enjoy. It would be a shame if something was supposed to happen to disrupt that peace."

Shikamaru's raised an eyebrow.

"What's going on? Is there a new threat?"

 Kakashi's calm demeanor remained the same but there was something in his voice that made Shikamaru know he wasn't just making a random hypothetical.

Without breaking his gaze from the sky Kakashi spoke.

"While there is light. There will always be shadows." Kakashi spoke thoughtfully. "And those comfortable moving around in those shadows."

Shikamaru nodded, understanding perfectly well what he meant. As shinobi they'd had to face countless enemies. People who wanted to take away the things they held most dear.
 

He had precious things and people that he wanted to protect. He had to guard the King and watch over them. Even if things could get bothersome at times, it was his duty. Asuma had told him as much.

Shikamaru was lost in thought when Kakashi spoke up again.

As though he hadn't just spoken about something ominous, Kakashi tilted his head to the side and smiled at Shikamaru.

"It's about the time for the Rinne Festival isn't it? You should go out and relax a little.Atleast for tonight." 

"Relax?"

"Sure. Sure." he replied "You can report in the morning and I'll brief you and your team on the mission."

"Tch. What a drag." he replied to Kakashi's sudden change of the subject and mood

He was well aware that protesting would be moot at this point so he conceded.

As a shinobi he trusted  Kakashi implicitly.Much less as the sixth Hokage of Konohagakure. As bothersome as it was to just leave things like this, he knew he wouldn't get anything else out of him until he reported the next morning.

"I understand." he conceded before turning on his heels, hands tucked in his pockets and left.

After Shikamaru left Kakashi stood looking at the sky for a few more moments. He had a hunch that something troublesome was going to happen.

His hunches were usually correct.

"Well. Well. We've just got to do our best." he said before returning to his desk to pore over the reports he had received.