Title: Love Notes On The Eve Of Battle
Author: Lovesrainscent
Pairing: Shikaku/Yoshino
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and do not stand to make any profit from posting this story.
Summary: The joint shinobi army faces its major battle against Madera, Kabuto and their forces. On the eve of this battle and as Valentine's Day approaches, what notes would the most endearing and enduring couple send to each other?
Loves Notes On The Eve Of Battle
Shikaku yawned and stretched, trying to relieve some tension in the brief time he had allowed them between meetings. The room had cleared out quickly enough, chairs slid back, doors opening and closing until each one had left.
Tsunade would be having a little sake, possibly with Inoichi joining her. The others had departed for nearby tea houses or dango shops.
Trusted aides hesitated at the door, wondering if they should tidy the room or allow Commander Nara to be alone. Nodding he motioned them in, straightened a stack of maps on the table himself then left as well. When he returned the room would be refreshed, water pitchers refilled, fruit bowls replenished and scattered papers neatened. All would be cleaned and ready for the team assembled there to plan their next moves. Inevitably the decisions they made here would determine the fate of numerous young shinobi on the multiple battle fronts they were facing.
Shikaku sighed.
The elder Nara exited the strategy room and headed toward the front of the building. As he was crossing the foyer a young officer at the desk called out to him. "Oh, Commander Nara, sir. A package arrived for you."
Signing the clipboard to acknowledge receipt of the item, Shikaku accepted a brown box from the young man. He opened it at the counter and allowed the faintest flicker of a smile at one corner of his mouth.
Chocolate.
Hand-made chocolate that Yoshino had prepared.
Two types, actually.
Giri choco wrapped in the smaller bundle and honmei choco in the larger one.
A single note fluttered to the floor and he bent to retrieve it.
Stay safe.
Come home soon.
~ Y
He studied the note a moment then pocketed it. Handing the box over to the clerk he instructed him to take it up to his office and leave it on the desk. Then Shikaku left the building for the first time in what seemed like days and took a walk outside.
He was immediately struck by the hustle and bustle of the veritable city that had sprung up around their headquarters. The unofficial attendant entourage that an army accumulated had always fascinated him. Certainly logistics required adequate supply lines and provisioning. There were quartermasters and quartermasters' stores and deliveries for the quartermasters. Messenger ninja scurried to and fro, one of whom must have recently delivered Yoshino's package. Dining halls and cooks and kitchens had assembled.
Headquarters itself had become somewhat a city-within-a-city on the outskirts of Kumogakure. Situated like a bubble at the edge of town the area where the membranes of their bubble touched Kumogakure proper was more fascinating still. Official business and orderliness gave way to less official business and finally to rather questionable business. Cooks and commanders and whores. Each of which was necessary for an army to function.
It was a testament to both complexity and chaos and if he'd had time he would have contemplated the mathematics behind it. But he didn't.
Walking along through official, less official and decidedly unofficial areas he soon found himself on the other side, at the outskirts of Kumogakure itself. It was a rather tired and worn looking area that was both strange and familiar at the same time. Even though it may have been worn, it had obviously endured. A vibrant market on the street ahead attested to that. It was full of fruit sellers and candy vendors and the various other mundane things people buy and sell that keep a city going.
Shikaku continued his walk, not thinking about anything in particular.
That was his preferred form of relaxation at the moment - to not think.
To not think about the battles ahead.
To not think that his son was on the front lines of one of those battles.
To not think that the children of his best friends were there, too.
And to not think that the fate of the ninja world would be determined by the outcome of these battles.
He walked along glancing halfheartedly at items from assorted vendors. There was nothing he needed.
Still, he mused, he could send Yoshino a gift.
But there was nothing she needed, either.
The amount of time he had allotted himself for this walk was almost up. He should be going back and returning to headquarters.
As he turned, the cherry trees caught his eye. Still bare at this time of year yet the tiny buds promised blooms soon. Perhaps that was what was both strange and familiar about this section of town. Structurally it wasn't at all similar, yet functionally it was identical to Konoha, to home. The cherry trees would be in bud there this time of year as well.
Shikaku decided to buy a gift for Yoshino after all.
He paused at several carts and shops but did not find anything that appealed to him. Finally, he stopped at one where a man was selling lacquerware. Upon seeing he had a potential customer the man immediately began lauding his products. Shikaku held up a hand to quiet him. He didn't want to listen, he wanted to look.
"Are you looking for a present, sir? For your wife or girlfriend, perhaps?" the man ventured after a few moments of silence.
"Perhaps," Shikaku said answering neither of the man's questions.
"Well, there's not a better selection of Kumogakure lacquer anywhere in the city, I can assure you..."
"Oh?" Shikaku interrupted, "It's produced locally then?"
"Oh, yes, sir. Kumogakure as you may know is renowned for our lacquer and I work only with the finest artisans..."
From the look of the shops in this area of town Shikaku highly doubted that. It did not matter however, because he had already seen the item he wished to purchase for Yoshino. And he wanted to buy it here, from this part of town.
"May I see that one?" he pointed to a hand mirror.
"An excellent choice, sir," the shopkeeper announced proudly handing the mirror to him. "It is a perfect any-occasion gift for that special woman. The lacquered wood is extremely durable and the handle is wrapped in pure Kumogakure gold leaf. As you can see there is an exquisite sparrow and floral design on the back."
"I see," Shikaku turned the mirror over in his hands. The face of it was bright and clear. The sparrow on the back was perched on a blooming cherry branch., whorls of lacquer looking rich and deep and warm. His attention kept returning to the sparrow on its flowery branch with its sharp black eyes.
"How much?" he asked, not that that mattered either because he had already decided to buy the piece. But he knew that haggling was expected.
After the man named an outrageous price and Shikaku countered with something equally outrageous on the low end they agreed on a mutually acceptable price somewhere in the middle.
Taking the package with him, the elder Nara made his way back to the offices of Headquarters in advance of the others. He handed his purchase over to the clerk and asked him to pack it for shipping while he prepared a note. As the younger man carefully packed the mirror and addressed the box, Shikaku wrote:
Sometimes I forget why I still fight but I think you'll see I've remembered. ~S