A/N: doing some much needed revising on this piece.

Summary: After the defeat of Kaguya the ninja world spiraled out of order. Chakra for the most part seemed to be unusable by the general populace, save a few Jinchūriki. Leaving the nations in a state of peace for some years. But with the rising threat of war again in the near future, Shikamaru has tasked himself with reengineering the basic comcept of chakra control through the help of deities and ancient rituals every clan is know to have. I.E. the Akimichi and their shapeshifting abilities and the Nara's with their control over shadows. That being said, this will be a long one, so buckle in!

-ST

xXx

He held his book for the first time in what felt like eternity. Fixated on the black worn binding. Thousands of black pages, littered with small delicate white letters. Words written by hand by that of a master author long since passed, to an audience long since dead. The book itself wasn't anything significant, but the secrets it held spoke of the impossible, the truth of darkness itself.

He'd read it many a time before, and he knew it's message by heart. " Darkness never lies, and it's gift is unrelenting. The rawest form of prediction." For around every corner of a shadow was simply more shadow until light could interrupt it.

However, ones' perception may be swayed when delving into the unknown. People often are scared of the dark, but not him. The young man new that people feared what they do not understand, what lies beyond sight and perception.But he had always stood at a crossroads with this most basic of human instincts. He fears not what lied beyond in darkness. But what the world had already exposed to light.

The twisted cruelty that had been dubbed "Human nature", humanity frightened him more than any unknown could. There was no monster greater than the most alpha of predators, the human being in fact, the only thing to fear in the dark... Was himself. No greater strength than that of him, there was always comfort in knowing that he was quit possibly the scariest thing to grace its shadows.

But time has come for him to ascend beyond that of a common visitor in his shadowed sanctuary. Shikamaru raised his hand from his seated position through the indomitable darkness that engulfed the room. His hand met the book with ease. Even though he could not see an inch in front of him, his body flowed through it as if Illuminated by the sun. He opens the first page and places his right hand on age old parchment with finality.

" I have come back to pledge my shadow! Hear me for I may only have the courage to do this once."

Almost as quickly as he had finished his words, a familiar presence had enveloped his consciousness. Powerful but delicate in its embrace, a dark force of nature had cradled him in its comfortable hold, crafting them into one being. No voice spoke, but he felt a presence of a message as clear as speech.

" So you've finally decided to give in I see."

Shikamaru looked stone cold into oblivion, nothing beyond his vision to bend his response. Free falling in the depths of nothingness.

" I've always accepted you." And lie he did not. He often found solace in his shadow, the promise of nothing. No room for disappointment. A vast world of unknown, a path with no end. He could not fear the dark, simply because it promised what light could not.

Hope.

There was no end without darkness, no limitations on his soul. His optimism, as vast as the dark was unforgiving. He often wondered how people lived there day to day, with the end so clearly in sight. They're on morality stared right back at them. Instead he chose to live in the blissful ignorance of the shadows. Calculating everything that wasn't amongst its protective shade.

With his words, the entity took his pledge to heart. A dull light illuminated from the book, quit simultaneously as he shadow appeared and slowly retracted unto his form. His shadow seemingly seeping under his skin, not to be seen again. He had pledged his allegiance, and a piece of him along with it. The spirit that protected his form was now forever apart of him. Although no longer visible, to protect him from the light, but always with him as well, just beneath the surface.

Feeling different, he retracted his hand from the book, and proceeded to exercise his new-found strength. He stood still as he stretched his shadow out from beneath his feet, into a movable physical form. An instant spark of gratification crawled up his spine as the binding was complete. He stretched his shadow out to the reaches of his small room, creeping up along the for frame and turning the knob.

"Almost as easy as using my own hands..."

"You thought otherwise?"

"No... It's just...I've never felt such power."

A slither of a voice responded "Nothing quite makes you realize your own morality than surpassing it" He wasn't sure how, but he was certain the voice was that of a woman. A beautiful deity. He wasn't sure why she'd chosen to grant him this power so easily... But be damned if he would complain.

"Now it is time to uphold your end of the contract."

The Nara knew full well what she spoke of. To possess the power of the shadows, a shadow walker must be the vessel for darkness until death. He awaited expectantly, not entirely sure of what that entailed.

" Hold out your hand. " Hesitantly he raised his hand before him, Palm open, as if a follower awaiting his bread and wine at communion. And as if from the depths of nowhere a black mass started to pour from the tips of his fingers, pooling into a unidentifiable mass in his palm. It began to take form into that of a short blade. A solid black dagger, jaded with stones of ebony. The hilt felt comfortable in his hand, and the cool dark metal felt easy on his eyes.

" As long as we are close, you may feel my power."

Shikamaru took those words to mean that he should keep her close at all times to maintain his new found power, so he removed the blade currently in his left hip sheath and slid the new blade in with grace.

" Congratulations Knight, we are one."

The light slowly began to illuminate, as the Nara began to realize the early morning sun that was seeping into the room. No longer reflected by the dark shadows that had guarded the Windows.

His appearance was withered in the glowing sunlight. He stood firm as he walked over to his dresser mirror and observed the man he'd become since the last great shinobi war. An average height. His signature spiky hair now draping his shoulders loosely. A stunningly paler complexion than what he used to defined his appearance, after many a day spent waiting for night to fall before he began his day. Faint scars could be seen over his torso and one thick jagged line that flowed diagonally through his left eyebrow. His shinobi discipline stayed intact over the years however, keeping himself in moderate shape to face the dangers this new world had presented. The only strange change he noticed however was a new addition that seemed to be afflicting his eyes. He's once brown doe eyes were replaced by pupils darker than the shadows he used to command. And perhaps the most shocking being the black shadows that seemed to be eating at the whites of his eyes... Slowly retreating as the morning sun grew brighter. Aside from his physical change, his attire changed as well.

After the last great shinobi war, ninja had become extinct, not in the physical sense, but chakra had been expelled from the world with the destruction of the ten tailed beast and Kaguya.

Ninja attire was a rarity these days, as the world had moved toward more conventional warfare. Looking more toward the civilian side of confrontation, resorting to blades and swords while dawning heavy armor, and encouraging the increasing mastery of archery. He himself favored a dagger and a bow he inherited from his father. He placed dagger he had removed from his person on his nightstand. But he decided he'd still carry his family bow. He dawned his dark cargo pants and a dark lightly armored long sleeve top. Completed with a black hood to keep him concealed. The modern ninja had morphed from somewhat of a paraded warrior, to a more discreet assassin, of which he embraced the change. His headband hung loosely around the top of his right arm. The leaf symbol still gleaming with pride despite its wear and tear.

" Time to make a trip."

Shikamaru slipped his black sandals on and grabbed his bow and within seconds he was out his window on the way to the Hokage tower.

xXx