Shikamaru was born with an ANBU tattoo. His parents had worried even as they knew that they could do nothing about it. They wondered if it was worth trying to keep Shikamaru away from the members of the Black Ops division or if maybe they should try to introduce them early on in life. Perhaps meeting his soulmate would encourage that person to leave ANBU and they could both live a happy, quiet life here in the village.

As the years went by, however, it became increasingly obvious that it didn 't matter one way or the other what they did. Shikamaru grew in to a boy, then a teenager, then a man. Never once did he ever indicate that he had any idea who his soulmate might be.