The Weaving of Deception
Nara Shikamaru's skull felt as if it was about to burst. Slowly shaking his head to clear away some of the drowsiness turned out to be a rather bad idea though. Instead of getting rid of the nausea it only helped to make it worse. His head was throbbing as if his brain was trying to escape right through his ears. Trying to open his eyes next did nothing to improve his situation either. The blinding light brought him at least roughly back to full consciousness though. Instinctively he tried to raise his hand to his eyes to shield them against the annoying brightness of the glaring light bulb overhead.
However to his utter dismay he had to discover that his hands had been bound tightly behind his back fixing him effectively to the hard chair he was sitting in. Trying to slip out of his bounds quickly turned out to be not only futile but also rather foolish. Instead of loosening the tightly wound rope he only managed to pull it even tighter around his wrists, almost cutting of his blood circulation. So now he had not only a splitting headache to feel annoyed about but also the unpleasant sensation of the wire-like rope cutting into his flesh.
Sighing heavily he began to evaluate his situation now that his eyes had slowly adapted to the brightness in the small room. Seeing as the room was void of any furniture save for the rather uncomfortable wooden chair he was sitting in, and regarding the way he had ended up here, only one conclusion came to his mind: an interrogation room.
The room in itself was plain and practical as one might expect. In a few places the light green paint came of the uneven walls in flakes building small heaps on the dusty tiles of the floor. Overhead a single light bulb was dangling quietly. Since there were no windows or any other openings aside from the heavy-looking metal door the light bulb seemed to be the only source of light and warmth in his momentary prison.
The warm electric light was casting the young shinobi's silhouette in a sharp shadow on the floor. This would have been highly helpful in overpowering his captors should they decide to grace him with their presence, which he assumed they would sooner or later. However in his current state, with his hands bound tightly behind his back effectively disabling him from forming any seals, it was virtually useless to him.
Seeing how there were no moves he could make in his situation he resigned to the only thing that was left: waiting. An exasperated sigh escaped his lips as he tried to prepare himself for what was probably coming next. He had been taught how to withstand torture for a while just like everyone at the academy.
However this time not a single one of all those theoretical lectures would do him any good because of the one flaw they all had in common. Nobody could withstand torture forever without escaping through death and therefore all the things he had been taught were meant to endure interrogations as well as mental and physical abuse for a limited amount of time. Long enough for reinforcements to arrive and get you out or, if that turned out to be impossible, to just make sure you wouldn't be able to disclose any secrets.
Unfortunately neither would be happening this time. It would probably take a few weeks until his absence would be noticed and by then he would have been broken a couple of times already and given them all the information he had more than willingly. By then he would be of no further use to them. He had no illusions concerning the fate awaiting him after that.
All of this was definitely Tsunades fault. Putting the blame onto her had come naturally. She had been the one who had bullied him into volunteering for that particular job after all. That bothersome old hag had known that he would go the moment he had come into her office. He had seen it in her eyes, that smug grin on her lips. She had known how to bait him all along and she had played her cards perfectly. Explaining in every detail how complex and dangerous the mission would be and bringing up the high chance of failure and the likely consequences more than once.
Someone like that fool Naruto would surely have been more than ready to accept the mission at that point just to be able to proof his worth. Shikamaru however could not be tempted with such dismal prospects at hand. This would have been the point were he would have politely declined the offer and explained how much more suited about everyone else would be for that job. But he never got that far.
Anticipating his reaction from the very beginning Tsunade had brought her pieces into position and kept her trump card hidden until this very moment. He could still hear her words ringing in the back of his mind.
'I see you are not interested. What a pity. However it would have probably been too hard for someone like you anyway. Fortunately I already have someone else at hand who will surely do a decent job as well. Please tell Yamanaka Ino to report to me immediately. We have already lost too much time with our idle chit-chat.'
Damn her, pulling his strings like that! Damn her for bringing Ino into that mess! Ino of all people! That sly old woman knew him too well. There was no way he would have let one of his teammates take that mission after all she had told him about it. He would never hear the end of it. But more importantly he couldn't let Ino go. That day when he had failed to bring Sasuke back he had sworn to himself that he would do everything in his power to keep his comrades save. So there was no way he could let that troublesome woman go out to do a man's job just because he didn't feel like doing it himself.
So he had set out just about a week ago on this infiltration mission. Ever since then that nagging feeling at the back of his mind hadn't left him a single peaceful minute. That awful premonition of impending disaster had kept him on his toes and close to paranoia all the time and yet it had not been able to prevent anything at all in the end.
The young man was still baffled at how quickly the mission had been over. He hadn't even reached the Hidden Rain Village yet, only one of the surrounding smaller farming villages. Had he blown his cover himself? Had his discomfort and nervousness been showing too much? One moment he had been rolling dice and drinking with some of the village's guardsmen to slowly gain their trust and the next something hard had struck his skull and sweet, blissful darkness had embraced him.
Shikamaru had thought himself rather skilled in the art of infiltration although he hadn't had that many chances to prove it so far. This disaster however had obviously proven him wrong. Sure, he had expected it to become increasingly difficult the longer he was snooping around to get the information Tsunade wanted him to gather.
But getting caught after just three days of most careful investigation? That was almost pitiable even for someone as unmotivated as him. The only positive aspect he could find in this whole mess was the fact that he had prevented one of his comrades, namely Ino, from suffering what was about to be done to him.
Closing his eyes Shikamaru allowed himself to slump back lazily into the uncomfortable chair. It was no use to wait impatiently for his captors to come back and begin his interrogation. It would only make the waiting time seem to drag on endlessly. Deciding that a quick nap was in order, seeing as he couldn't do anything else, he pushed away all thoughts of his current predicament and let his mind wander to other, more pleasant, things. In his imagination he could almost feel the light breeze on his skin along with the warm afterglow of a pleasant summer night beneath the stars and the gentle touch...
The annoyingly loud bang of the heavy metal door being thrown open and slamming into the wall brought him back to reality immediately. Deliberately slow he opened his eyes and looked up without raising his head only to notice that his view of the door was blocked. Raising his head too he found himself looking up in the frowning face of a towering man who's massive build had let him resemble a wall from Shikamaru's close up point of view. Countless scares criss-crossed his bare arms and for one fleeting moment Shikamaru imagined his head being crushed between those monstrous hands like an overripe fruit.
The little confidence about being able to last at least a short while without confessing to each and every crime they wanted to hear was quickly crumbling away that very moment. He was definitely not going to die an overly heroic death when it was only his own life at stake.
Dying for his friends and things he deemed worth doing so for was okay with the young genius but he was not going to lose his life over the acquisition of information that may or may not proof valuable to Tsunade in the future. She hadn't been somewhat reluctant to venture into that during their little chat.
With hindsight it was hard to tell why he had even accepted this mission. Sure, he hadn't wanted anyone else to take the risk but that still didn't make the assignment any more worth the trouble. Even after Tsunade had had explained all the details had he failed to see the logic behind it. Maybe it made sense in her female mind, which was too alien to ever be comprehensible for any man that is and the young genius was definitely not going to try to understand that way of thinking, ever. Of course she hadn't asked for his opinion on the matter anyway but that hadn't stopped him from complaining about it. But being at least just as stubborn as the young shinobi she wouldn't have any of it.
She had made her point quite clear that he was not to question her decisions. He could almost still hear the ringing in his ears and feel the splintering wood of her shattered desk darting through the air of the Hokage's office. How often she already had had to replace that particular piece of furniture, he didn't even want to know. Nevertheless it was convenient to be able to put the blame on that troublesome woman for now since there wasn't any time left for further contemplating.
One of those eerily huge hands gripped his skull tightly and forced his eyes up further. It was then that Shikamaru noticed the second newcomer for the first time. The gaunt little man had probably been completely hidden behind the first one's massive silhouette when they had entered the narrow chamber. Being significantly smaller than his companion did however little to put Shikamaru at ease. The nasty little smirk on the man's face gave him a rather unpleasant resemblance to a weasel. A highly malevolent weasel that is. As if he had read his captive's mind the short man pitched his voice to a sickeningly sweet and playful tone when he spoke.
"Had some pleasant dreams, did we? I hope so because they will be the only pleasant thing you will be likely to get for quite a while. Of course it all depends on your willingness to cooperate. As you may have already guessed we have a few questions we want to ask you.
You see, it is in your best interest to offer freely what you have to give since we will take it anyway eventually. One way or the other and that's the only decision you will be allowed to make during your stay here. So, be a good boy and answer our questions truthfully and you will be back on your way to Konoha in no time at all."
So that's how it is, Shikamaru thought. The man leaning casually against the dirty wall before him smiling smugly had made the first move and probably laid the first trap as well. A very clumsy one at that. Only a hot-headed moron would have fallen into that one. He decided to join the play for now to learn more about his oponent and immediately hid any emotions caused by the mentioning of his home village behind an annoyed sneer.
"Konoha? Why would anyone want to go there? Never heard anything good about that place anyway."
The man's smile widened notably upon hearing his young captives retort. The leaf nin couldn't help but feel himself reminded of a cat which had caught a particularly interesting mouse. He had never had much pity with the little rodents, seeing their unavoidable demise at the sharp claws of a feline as part of the circle of life. After this however he would probably change his mind on that matter. But for now he had to concentrate on not getting cornered in this game of words.
"I see. Very well then. I'll give you one more chance. Now answer truthfully and you will be on your way home, wherever that might be, sooner than you might think. So, who sent you and what is your purpose here?"
Shikamaru was rather impressed how his interrogator managed to change the tone of his voice in the blink of an eye, talking about freedom and safe passage with almost warm words and demanding answers with the underlying promise of unearthly pain should he not fulfil their expectations. Little did it matter however what lures the man kept dangling in front of his captive. Shikamaru's answer had been decided upon a long time ago in the Hokage's office.
"My name is Nori and I my mother sent me out to bring home some money for once. Pleased to meet you." Shikamaru tried to put as much boredom and indifference into his words as he could somehow muster, which in his case was quite a lot.
It actually felt quite rewarding to see the man's face slip into a slightly gaping stare for a second. Obviously he hadn't expected the young man's answer to be such a blatant lie. Most people in their right mind would at least have tried to sound convincing. But the bound guy in front of him didn't seem to put up a fight at all. Just as if he couldn't be bothered to at least care about his own fate.
The young Nara's inwardly smirk was short-lived though. The only warning he got was a crisp hand signal by the gaunt man before he felt the sharp sting of a needle driving into his neck. The metal ripped through skin and flesh alike leaving a burning sensation in its wake. Whatever they had injected him, it definitely worked fast. Immediately he felt his eyelids growing unbelievably heavy and his vision failing. Although he tried tried to fight the drug's effects this time, unconsciousness pulled him down within seconds and dreamless sleep greeted him.
a.n.: It's been a little more than three years since I last postet anything here (under a different name though). I had little to no chance to practice my English since then so be prepared for a somewhat bumpy ride. Constructive criticism is very welcome!
Oh, just in case you've been wondering: this takes place during the time skip.
