Summary: Between gang fights, rival schools, and bloodlust, there's hardly anyone that you can trust these days, except for one person: the doctor. No one has ever seen the doctor face to face, but that doesn't stop them from trusting the doctor with their lives.
Bang.
Bang.
BANG.
A gasp.
A thud.
Then nothing.
"CHOUJI!" A haggard, panting, and stricken boy ran towards his best friend who now carried two bullet wounds. He was no damn expert, but he knew that his best friend needed help and he needed it now.
"Shikamaru, what happened?" a voice sounded through Shikamaru's earpiece as he was trying to calm down. After taking three deep breaths, he answered shakily.
"Chouji was shot. There's so much blood, what do I do? What do I do?" He was trying his best to think of a solution, of anything, that could save his best friend.
"There's nothing that you can do for him. You know that we can't take him to the hospital," the voice answered back. Of course he knew that he couldn't. There would be questions; questions that he would not be able to answer unless he wanted everything to be taken from not only him, but from everyone else as well. It would be too damn troublesome. He turned off his earpiece to save himself the lecture and looked hopelessly at the sky.
"Shi… ka…" a trembling hand reached out to touch Shikamaru's forearm and he reacted instantly to the touch, belittling his actual lazy demeanor.
"What is it, Chouj? Don't try to do anything right now, you might…" Shikamaru left his sentence as it was as he looked down at Chouji. He looked so tired. He wasn't allowed to be so tired like this; he was suppose to be as exuberant as Shikamaru was lazy.
"There's a… place… two blocks from… here… with a… purple door. The doctor… will… help…" Chouji managed to choke out those few words before Shikamaru began to carry Chouji on his back. Sure, he struggled under Chouji's weight, which was really more muscle than fat despite what everyone else believed, but he was his best friend and like hell he was going to let his best friend down now. Troublesome was the last thing on his mind.
He ran as fast as he could while trying to not jiggle Chouji to try to lessen the pain. He could feel Chouji's blood, his lifeblood, running down his back and soaking his shirt. 'Please hang on, Chouj. You're not suppose to leave me, damn it. We were supposed to find troublesome girls that would make our lives so damn troublesome, but we'd be in it together"
Slightly out of breath, Shikamaru finally found the house with a purple door. He must have passed this place a thousand times and never really paid attention to it, or whoever lived in it. He looked around for a doorbell, but all there was only an intercom. It had to be after two in the morning now, would the doctor be willing to help?
He must have pushed the button at least three times before a feminine, raspy voice answered, "Who is it? What the hell do you want at two thirty in the damn morning?"
"Please miss, my friend was shot. He's bleeding so much and he said there was a doctor here. Please, please let us in. He's… he's…" He was cut off by the female's now calm voice as she told him to wait for her to come out.
He must have been waiting for forty seconds at the most but it seemed so damn long and why the hell was this girl taking so long? Didn't he tell her that his best friend was shot? Damn it, what if this doctor person turned them in? What if this doctor belonged to a rival gang? What if-
The door opened to reveal a female, probably around his age, with long, blonde hair who was wearing a robe and a concerned look directed at Chouji.
"Oh, Chouji… what have you gotten yourself into this time?" She asked no one in particular as she helped Shikamaru carry Chouji inside the house. The house seemed relatively normal and clean, but he would admire at some other time when his best friend was not dying in his arms.
He was a bit wary as to why this girl would know his best friend. Surely they would have met if Chouji knew her. Chouji rarely kept secrets from him, but then again, he knew of this doctor person when Shikamaru did not.
"Please carry him into the fourth room down the hall to your left. The doctor will be there, but I must tell you now that you cannot, cannot, speak unless spoken to, otherwise the doctor might not be inclined to help you," the female instructed, and then he carried Chouji to this other room.
When he opened the door, all that greeted him was darkness and a silhouette of a person, presumably the doctor, who sat near the window. He wasn't sure what he was suppose to do since he wasn't suppose to speak.
'This is all so troublesome. Why isn't the doctor saying anything? Is this person even a doctor or a hack?'
All he could make out were bright green eyes, which reminded him of another person. He felt a sense of familiarity from the doctor and it eased the tension in his shoulders a bit. Then, it seemed the doctor finally acknowledged his presence and spoke.
"Place Chouji on the mat and leave," the voice commanded. He couldn't even discern if it was female or male, but did as he was told. He gave Chouji a last glance, hoping against hope that he would see his best friend again, before stepping out the door. He fell to the floor and put his face in his hands.
He would never, ever forgive himself if Chouji died. No, Chouji wouldn't die. Chouji wouldn't have told him to go here if Chouji didn't have some trust, some faith in this doctor, right? Chouji knew better than to give his trust away so easily. Especially with their everyday… expeditions.
'He shouldn't even be here,' Shikamaru thought, 'I never should have let him join this with me. He would have been safe if it wasn't for me,' he thought angrily. He knew that Chouji just wanted to try to protect him, even if it meant the cost of his own life. 'How did this even start in the first place?' But of course he knew. He knew ever since he was eight what he was doing.
It really wasn't supposed to be like this though. When it all started out, it had just been for kicks; to try to be badass with his friends. But that all changed once they were thirteen.
They formed a gang: he, Chouji, and six other boys. He was the strategist among them, along with one other boy who actually shared his intelligence. They named themselves Shinobi, because really, weren't ninjas so awesome to a group of eight year olds? 'We just wanted to be recognized for once. We wanted to be somebodies instead of nobodies.'
He knew it was the truth. No one ever paid attention to him because he was always so lazy. No one knew that he acted lazy because he knew that no one cared enough, except for Chouji.
Chouji was always teased for his weight, for being a 'fatass,' but everyone learned not to say those words to Chouji anymore after he pummeled a boy on the slides. That didn't change much though. Everyone thought that Chouji wasn't much of anything since all he seemed to ever do was eat and watch clouds with Shikamaru. He never tried to defend himself; Chouji didn't really care. Then again, none of them did.
They fit, the two of them. They had been friends since childbirth. Chouji was older than him by four months and could easily sit on if he wanted to, but the thing was that Chouji never would. Chouji was especially kind and Shikamaru took it upon himself to defend him when Chouji would not. With Shikamaru's intellect and Chouji's sheer size, it really wasn't that difficult to render the toughest bullies speechless.
He wasn't sure how long he sat outside that door, but the female from before with the long blonde hair soon sat down next to him and offered him some tea.
"You must be Shikamaru, right? Chouji's best friend?" she asked.
He wasn't sure if he should trust her. He had no idea who she was and Chouji never mentioned knowing any blondes, except for the one in their gang. But if she knew him and Chouji knew of this place, that had to count for something, right?
He slowly nodded his head and she offered him a small smile.
"I don't suppose he ever mentioned me, right? Well no, of course he wouldn't," she answered her own question with an airily laugh that seemed so hollow for a reason. "He's told me of you though, of course. It would be impossible not to recognize that hair-do from his descriptions."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at this girl. She was kind of rambling, but he figured it was because she was just as worried as he was for Chouji.
"Yeah, I get that a lot. Chouji always said it reminded him of a pineapple."
She gave a small laugh at this and she started wringing her hands together. "Could you maybe… tell me what happened? I know that you're not suppose to, but… could you, please?" she pleaded.
He looked at her and noticed how blue her eyes were (it eerily reminded him of another blonde) and took into account that she was genuinely concerned for his friend. Really, if Chouji could trust her, then he could too. Right?
"We were… we just had a meeting and Chouji and I… were walking home. We thought it would be safe; that no one would be stupid enough to actually…" Shikamaru began with clouded eyes and seemed to be trying to forget. As if explaining everything to this girl would make him forget.
"I never even saw the guy, but Chouji did. Chouji always… he's always had my back. He wanted to join because he wanted to try to protect me. He said that… that we were best friends, and best friends don't… they don't let their best friends die…" Shikamaru paused at that memory.
He remembered Chouji sternly looking at him when he said those words. When they were younger, Chouji really wasn't all that interested in being a Shinobi with him and the other boys. He thought it was rather lame, but went along with it for Shikamaru. Then when they were thirteen and it turned into the real deal, Chouji didn't want to be left in the dark when his friends were risking their lives.
A small hand rest on his shoulder and he looked over to meet the girl's watery eyes.
"It's OK, I think… I think I get the gist of it…"
The two sat there in comparable silence before she gave him a quick fake smile and started talking again.
"I must be such an air-head; I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Yamanaka Ino and well, I've known Chouji for quite some time too," she stuck her hair out and waited for him to take it.
"Nara Shikamaru, but I guess you already knew that," he said as he shook her hand and she gave another of her fake smiles. It reminded him of someone else's fake smiles. "I apologize but Chouji never mentioned you to me."
She gave a sad smile this time and spoke softly, "I know. He said that he wanted to protect me," she scoffed, "as if I couldn't protect myself. But he always talked about you though, and the other boys."
Shikamaru was rather surprised. Chouji trusted her this much to tell her of them?
"He said that he wanted me to be his secret, because he was so good at keeping secrets," she laughed a bit at that, "even if he ended up telling me his."
He looked at her and could tell that she probably loved Chouji as much as he did, even if her love was a different kind of love. He didn't claim to be an expert on girls, never had and most likely never will, but it was obvious with her. Is that why Chouji wanted to keep her a 'secret'? Maybe Chouji knew. Maybe Chouji felt the same.
It kind of hurt him to know that Chouji never mentioned Ino to him. He knew that if he had a girl hidden somewhere, Chouji would be the first, and probably only, person to know.
"Oh Shikamaru, please don't give me that face," she started and he looked over at her surprised. Was he that easy to read? Or was she talking about something else entirely?
"He wanted to tell you, he really did. But at the same time, he wasn't allowed to. It's… it's one of the rules and he's… he's always been so kind to me and I…" she stopped suddenly and Shikamaru could hear her sniffing a bit.
He wasn't sure what to do. Like he said before, he was no expert. All he could offer her was a shoulder to lean on, to cry on. He still did not understand why Chouji wouldn't tell him, but he would just have to trust Chouji now and question him later.
"Ino? Are… are you alright?" a soft voice called out and he saw another girl standing at the door of the room next to this one. She had short hair that was a mix between purple, indigo, and blue. And those eyes… why did all of these people have qualities that reminded him of his friends?
"Hinata, it's Chouji! He… he was hurt and now…" she started crying a bit harder as this Hinata girl approached her and took Ino into her arms. She started whispering reassurances into Ino's ears and hugging her tightly.
Shikamaru was at a loss of what to do. It felt awkward to be here in their moment when they were both obviously grief stricken. Then, Hinata lifted her eyes to meet Shikamaru's and gave a small smile in appreciation for taking care of Ino until then.
"Thank you, Shikamaru," she whispered out.
He gave her a combination of a smile and a smirk and found himself too tired to do anything else. Too tired to even wonder why she would know his name too. Too tired to ask why there were so many people that Chouji never mentioned to him. Then, a voice sounded through the halls.
"Ino, it's OK," the voice called it, "Chouji's just fine. He's stabilized now and he'll wake up momentarily,"
At the news, both Ino and Hinata hugged each other even harder, if that was possible, and gave such wide grins. Shikamaru was relieved as well, though not as open as they were, and thanked Kami, God, Buddha, whoever the hell was out there for helping the doctor save his best friend.
Ino came over and spoke, "You must be tired, why don't you rest while Chouji recovers?"
Shikamaru nodded and allowed Ino to lead him to a room where he promptly fell on the bed and slept. He dreamed of brighter days where he and Chouji, maybe even those Ino and Hinata girls, would lay down and watch the clouds. He dreamed of nights without the sounds of bullets ricocheting off metal and piercing flesh; without the sight of more corpses and blood.
The next morning, Shikamaru woke to the sounds of crying and laughing as he made out the time: 7:38 AM. Then in a flash, he remembered last night's, or this morning's, events and rushed out to see Chouji.
Hinata was standing at a doorway not far from his own and smiling at the occupants inside. He walked over and saw a rather surprising scene.
Chouji was obviously awake and obviously blushing from Ino's closeness as she hugged him. She was crying as she told him that he was such a baka and if, "you ever scare me like that again, I'll make sure to punch you and make it hurt this time!"
Then Shikamaru and Chouji made eye contact and Ino allowed him some room to visit Chouji.
The room was relatively simple with a window adjacent to Chouji's bed and a mini-fridge nearby. Chouji had bandages around his torso and his left arm, but carried with him a smile.
"Morning Shikamaru. Did you being any food with you?" Chouji asked with a grin, and he felt like smiling too at the sheer normalcy of his friend's tone.
"Chouji, why didn't you say something? I would have made you something right away," Hinata spoke quietly and smiled before going down to presumably make Chouji some food.
Ino soon left the room and promised that she would come back later so that the two could talk.
Once the door clicked shut, Shikamaru sat in the chair that Ino just left and just stared at Chouji. He was wondering whether or not to ask Chouji now about this house, this doctor, those girls, but Chouji beat him to it.
"Shikamaru… I know what you're thinking," Chouji began softly, "I met them a few years back. Do you remember the fight with Hebi?"
Of course he remembered. That was the first fight that someone actually managed to shoot him. He had been out for nearly a week resting and when he woke up, Chouji was there smiling down at him with his own arm in a sling.
Chouji never told him what happened, but from the other members Shikamaru gathered that after he was shot, Chouji went on a rampage, injured one of Hebi's men, and chased after the one who shot him. Chouji was gone for a few days and then one day he just appeared. He seemed tired and worn out, but carried no serious injuries save for his arm.
"That day, when I chased after that guy, someone else jumped me, beat me up, and fractured my arm in the process. They ran after that, thinking that I wouldn't be a threat anymore. Then… then the doctor found me in my own blood," he cringed a little at the thought before continuing, "The doctor made me swore to secrecy of the doctor's true identity. Then, the doctor, along with Ino and Hinata, took care of me. I had met Hinata before I met the other two. She went to school with us, Shika."
Shikamaru thought maybe that was why she seemed a little familiar, but at the same time, it didn't make sense to him.
"As far as I know, this place is a safe zone. When I was here, I saw someone from Akatsuki, but they told me that no one was allowed to fight on the doctor's grounds; those are the rules. If you want to be healed, then you have to agree to the rules. The doctor can kill as sure heal," Chouji stated.
Shikamaru started at this. If this was true, then why didn't the other members know? This was something rather important that Chouji should have mentioned to them.
"I know that I've kept a lot from you, Shika, but that was one of the terms. I wasn't allowed to speak of this place unless someone needed help. They didn't want someone who would not abide by the rules to exploit the place."
Shikamaru understood what Ino was talking about earlier now. It wasn't that Chouji didn't trust him, he was just trying to protect everyone else.
"Listen, Shikamaru. The doctor know about everything and everyone. The doctor's one of the most well-informed people here and knows virtually everyone's dirty little secrets."
Shikamaru really did not like the sound of that. If that was true, then this doctor could bring down everyone, including himself, with just a word.
"The doctor wouldn't do anything though. The doctor… the doctor just wants to help. The doctor doesn't distinguish between good and bad, but just between living and dying," Chouji took a deep breath, "the doctor is our friend, Shikamaru. As much as you, Ino, and Hinata are my friends."
Shikamaru just sat there and processed the information. How could it be that this person who quite literally had the power to stop the viciousness and restlessness of gangs, not do anything but… heal?
"Chouji… who is the doctor?" Shikamaru cautiously asked.
"The doctor is… someone who wants to be kept a secret, Shikamaru. Everyone just calls the doctor Kyuusaisha, because that's who the doctor is: our savior. As far as I know, only a few people know who Kyuusaisha is, including the people who already live here and me. But I only found out because of luck."
Shikamaru sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Chouji, do you really trust Kyuusaisha?"
"Shikamaru, can't you tell? I trust Kyuusaisha with my life."
"Well… why doesn't Ino or Hinata keep their identities a secret?" Shikamaru asked.
"It'd be difficult to take care of everyone if they all had to hide. Gang members get restless, y'know, and everyone wants to be taken care of right away. The girls usually have to placate them or drug them. Plus, they seem to calm down when they see Ino or Hinata.
"Hinata is really caring and her voice is really soothing. I bet you that she could sweet talk anyone from Akatsuki with just her voice and her eyes. Then Ino… she doesn't take crap from anyone," Chouji said with a smile.
"Don't her fool you, Shikamaru. She's one of the toughest girls I have ever met. If someone isn't willing to listen to Hinata, then Ino makes them listen."
Shikamaru found it difficult to believe. The Ino that he met yesterday didn't seem that formidable.
"But I know… that she's just a softie inside, like you are, Shikamaru," Chouji added.
Shikamaru frowned a bit at that. "I am not a softie, Chouji," he stubbornly said.
Chouji just laughed a bit when Hinata opened the door.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but Chouji, I made you miso soup. Shikamaru, I made extra for you too. You must be hungry," Hinata said, in that same soft voice and Shikamaru believed Chouji when he said that Hinata could placate any criminal. You just didn't want to hurt her. It probably scarred a few to touch someone so pure.
Shikamaru and Chouji said thank you as she left so that they could eat.
"Do the others know where we are?" Chouji asked.
"No," Shikamaru answered with a contemplative look. "I guess I should contact them… how troublesome."
He fished out his earpiece from his pocket and turned it on.
"Oi, anyone there?"
"Damn it, Shikamaru! Where the hell have you been?! Didn't we tell you never to turn off your earpiece! We thought we lost both you and Chouji!"
"You are so damn troublesome. Chouji and I are fine. We're… we'll be back soon enough. Just tell the others not to worry anymore, alright?" Shikamaru answered calmly. There really was no point in getting into a verbal argument with this particular member. It would be too troublesome and he didn't need more troublesome things in his life right now.
"Alright, Shika, I'm trusting you on this. But you gotta explain yourself once you get back."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll see you in a couple hours."
"Well, I guess you and I are going to get a hero's welcome, Shikamaru. I'll have to ask Kyuusaisha if it will be OK to tell the others about this place."
Shikamaru nodded and the two friends resumed eating the miso soup that Hinata made.
Shikamaru and Chouji stood outside the Kyuusaisha's door and knocked three times. After a few moments, a voice called out, "Come in."
Shikamaru gave Chouji a look at how… weird this was, but Chouji just opened the door and walked in with Shikamaru following behind.
The room was the same as the previous night: darkness encompassing the entire room with the figure sitting in front of the window. The only things that were visible were the eyes.
"Chouji, how are you feeling now?" the figure asked.
"I'm feeling a lot better, Kyuusaisha-sama. One of these days, I'm going to take you out to an all you can eat BBQ restaurant as thanks," Chouji replied with a smile, as if he knew the figure for years now. Shikamaru supposed that he had.
The figured gave a small laugh and asked, "Did you need to ask something of me, Chouji?"
Chouji nodded and asked, "You, Ino, and Hinata have taken care of me whenever I was hurt for these last few years, and I am eternally grateful for it. I really do not know what would become of me if you hadn't found me that one night.
"You already know that I am a member of the gang Shinobi, and I wanted to ask a small favor."
The room was silent as if the figure was deciding whether or not to respond to Chouji's previous statement.
"You want me to open the doors for Shinobi," the figured stated more than asked.
Chouji smiled and answered, "Yes. I know that we would all protect you with our lives, Kyuusaisha-sama, in gratitude for your assistance."
The figure laughed and Shikamaru had to wonder why. Chouji and he didn't even discuss this with the other members, but they figured that they would deal with that once the time comes.
"Chouji, you know that I do need their protection."
Shikamaru was taken back by this. Did Kyuusaisha really believe that everyone would uphold the house's rules of secrecy when betrayal always lurked around the corner in their lives? Perhaps Kyuusaisha was really a fool.
"No, Nara. I do not trust many of these men," the green eyes averted their gaze to his own. "I am not simply a doctor, Nara; I am also a fighter."
Really, the occupants of this house had to have some mind-reading trick up their sleeves. How is it that both Ino and Kyuusaisha knew what he was thinking just by looking at him? Chouji knew as well, but it was Chouji, so that was a different matter altogether.
The green eyes locked gazes with Chouji again and Kyuusaisha spoke, "My doors have always been open to you, Chouji, and whomever you may associate with. I will be made available to the other six males, if they are inclined to come see me."
Chouji broke out in a grin and nodded indicating that he was content with that.
"If they require my assistance," the figure continued, "then I will lend my expertise. In return, they must abide by the same rules that everyone else does. If they even think about breaking any one of my rules, you know fairly well the punishment, Chouji. You will remain the only exception to that rule," the figure finished.
Chouji nodded and Shikamaru could only watch on in amazement. It was a rarity for Chouji to be this compliant. He wasn't a rule breaker as much as the other boys were, but he didn't like being told what to do either, except when it came to missions.
'This Kyuusaisha must have a lot of power and influence, as well as Chouji's trust, for him to be acting this way,' Shikamaru thought.
"Very well, Chouji. Have them meet me here tomorrow night at eleven. Please do not be late," the figure dismissed them and the two left.
Shikamaru and Chouji bid their farewells to Ino and Hinata with a promise that they would return tomorrow night. Chouji and Ino shared a brief hug and Chouji messed up Hinata's hair as someone would do to their little sister.
As they left, Shikamaru couldn't help but think about the situation. He thought the entire ordeal was odd. It was true that fights never occurred around this area, this house, but he never questioned as to why. He supposed that Kyuusaisha would dispose of anyone who broke the rules.
Still, how could someone willingly open up their own home to a bunch of criminals with the desire to heal? Maybe Kyuusaisha-sama was someone who was trying to repent for his or her own sins. Maybe Kyuusaisha-sama was really an angel, or saint, in disguise. He just hoped that the others would see it the same way.
27 January 2008