So this is my first story I've posted on Fanfic. I've written many stories, but I've never really posted anything. If I do i've posted them on fictionpress Check me out there. Same username. Hope you like it! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story
Ghost
Part 1: The death and the ghost
"She's gone." Shikamaru said in mourning. He was still standing at her grave. The funeral had been early in the morning. There had be quite a lot of people gathered. Sakura Haruno was a well respected shinobi. Many people in the village admired her skills, and were deeply sad when her death was announced. All who had showed up gathered crying, and placing flowers onto of her grave. Shikamaru had stayed quiet; showing no emotion. He kept them all bottle up inside during the funeral. But now that he was alone, the tears began to flow freely. He dropped to his knees, his head lifted towards the clouds.
"SAKURA! Why? You were a troublesome woman, but why did you leave me!" He shouted to the sky. The tears rushing out even faster. The wind blew gently, causing him to shiver. Sadness began to turn to anger. He was going to find the man who murder his love, his wife. She was slaughtered in their own home. Sakura had put up a good fight he could tell, but it seemed she was over powered by whomever murdered her. Shikamaru declared to himself earlier, that he was going to find that person and kill them.
"Shikamaru.." Choji his best friends spoke placing a hand on his shoulder. "Let's get you inside."
"No!" Shikamaru argued. "I'm not leaving her!"
"Shikamaru. She's gone. It's not healthy to stay out here all day; freezing. You need to eat and sleep." Choji told him, noticing the dark bags underneath his eyes. Shikamaru had been up all night chasing after who even murdered her. He had only arrived back, right as the funeral began. The chase was lost, because who ever left, made sure you couldn't follow them.
"I'm not leaving! I couldn't protect her!" His voice trailed off, as he stared at her grave.
"She would want you to go home. To take care of yourself." Choji commented, hoping this will bring him to his senses.
"No! I can't go home! Not were she-" He cut his voice off. Not able to say the words.
"I'm sorry. You can stay with me then. Alright? Now lets go." Choji told him. Putting his hand under his armpit and lifting. Shikamaru stood up willing, and let Choji lead the way. Shikamaru stumbled a bit, as if he was drunk. The tears that still flowed down his face, began to slow. He could feel the exhaustion pulling him down. Choji, had to pick Shikamaru up, because he could no longer hold himself up. The last thing that Shikamaru remembered was the sound of Choji's voice telling him 'it will all be okay.' Before he drifted off into a deep sleep.
Shikamaru woke to a semi-dark room. The sun was just peaking out, and he had no idea where he was. He rolled over expecting Sakura to be next to him, but then he realized she was gone. He frowned deeply. What day is it? He thought. How did I get here? The questions were running through his mind. But he had no desire to get up from where he laid. The weight of that day was pushing him down. His mind couldn't wrap around the information. He felt like it was just a bad dream, and that he would wake up any second. Yet, he wasn't waking up from the bad dream. Everything that happened was real. He lost the thing that kept him alive. Nothing seemed to matter anymore.
"Shikamaru?" A voice asked behind the door to the room. "Are you awake?" It asked again. Shikamaru didn't have the energy to reply, but who ever it was just came into the room. "Oh, you are awake." It was Ino. "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit." He barley choked out.
"Well, you've been sleeping for two days, and I bet your hungry." She told him.
"Two days?" he said in wounder.
"Yea. Do you want me to help you downstairs. Choji has some food ready."
"I can do it by myself." Shikamaru stated clearly. He hated the way they have been treating him.
"Okay, well come down soon." He nodded his head in reply. Ino smiled slightly, and left the room. Shikamaru lifted himself slowly, until he was in a sitting position.
"Alright..We can do this." He told himself. He slowly stood up, and walked to the door. His limbs felt heavy, probably from all the sleep. He left the room. He could smell the food, making his stomach growl in anticipation.
"Shikamaru!" Choji's voice was loud as he noticed Shikamaru walk in. "I have tons of meat here, just take your pick." He lifted his had as he pointed at the food on the table.
"Thank you Choji."
"Your welcome! I was going to take you out, but you probably don't want to see anyone else."
"It's fine Choji. This will do. You really are a good friend." Shikamaru reassured his friend. Choji was truly a great friend of Shikamaru. Since they did everything together since they were a children. They were always there for each other. Especially when he lost Sakura. No friend could ask for more. Choji took care of him, when he was at his lowest, and he owed him greatly.
"Of course I am." Choji stated, before sitting down and eating. He grabbed plenty of meat, and started to gobble it all down. Shikamaru on the other hand grabbed a few pieces, and ate slowly.
"Oh," Ino said in surprise. Choji and Shikamaru just looked at her curiously. "I forgot to tell you. Um, The Hokage would like to see you Shikamaru, but if your not ready you don't have to go yet. She said when you are ready, she would like to see you." Shikamaru nodded his head, and continued to eat.
"I'll go now." He stated standing up, as soon as he finished his food.
"Wait, Shikamaru! Are you sure?" Ino asked suddenly, also standing up.
"It's fine, I'll go." He gave her a small fake smile, and left the house. The walk to the Hokage's building was slow. He didn't feel like rushing to go see Lady Tsunade. But the more time he spent walking, the more the people stared at him. Some even came up to him and told him their apologies. He just nodded his head and continued on his way. He was so down in self-pity that when he saw Naruto, he felt horrible. Sakura had been in his squad. They were best friends.
"Naruto!" Shikamaru shouted. Naruto lifted his head up, and sent him a small smile.
"Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted back and walked towards him. "How are you?" He asked.
"That was my question. I know Sakura was your best friend." Shikamaru said sadly.
"But she was your wife. I'll be fine eventually. But it's you I'm worried about."
"What? Why are you worried about me?" Shikamaru said in disbelief.
"Why wouldn't I. You are my friend, and friends look out for each other." Naruto stated clearly.
"Of course. Sorry." Then suddenly Naruto took him into a hug.
"Take care of yourself! You were a great husband to Sakura. I'll miss her, and I know you miss her too, but don't leave your friends hanging." Naruto stated with tears in his eyes. He gave Shikamaru his best smile, patted him on his back and walked off.
"Thank you!" Shikamaru yelled, and Naruto just waved running off to were ever his was going. Shikamaru's mood lifted, and soon he arrived at Lady Tsunade's door.
"Come in!" She yelled before he could even knock. Opening the door, Tsunade gave him a stern look. "Shikamaru! Thank you for coming."
"Of course." He said bowing slightly.
"I've requested you here to talk about Sakura." Shikamaru's eyes widened in surprise. "I know you still are mourning, but I need you for an important mission!"
"But what does this have to do with Sakura." He asked suddenly.
"It has everything to do with Sakura. You are to investigate her death! I will assign two other shinobi with you. The Ambu Black Ops, were surprised when they heard she was murdered in our own village. They don't have any idea of who could have infiltrated the village to do it. The only option we came up with, was that they were an ally. The trace we followed, disappeared just outside our border. Instead of assigning this mission to them, I decided that you shall do it. You have a week to find the murder! If you shall take more then a week, the mission is canceled and you will come home." The Tsunade explained. Shikamaru's back straightened up immediately. He could feel the energy flowing through him. "You will be assigned to Kakashi Hatake, and Choji Akimichi. I know this is not the normal set up, but I figured I'd send Choji with you because he is your best friend, and Kakashi because he was her squad-mate."
"I understand. I will find her murderer!" Shikamaru stated loudly.
"Good. Find the bastard who killed my student, and kill him." Tsunade grumbled in reply.
"I won't let you down Lady Tsunade." Shikamaru promised, as he made his way to the door.
"Oh and Shikamaru." He turned to look at the Hokage. "Stay strong. Don't let go of your friends." The Hokage's voice was gently, and she smiled before waving him out of the room. He left, ready to take on whoever killed Sakura. First thing first, he was going to check out his home again. Find anything that they could have missed. Second, he was going to go to the place where the Ambu lost their trace.
"Eager aren't we" A voice said; startling Shikamaru. He whipped his head around, looking at a man leaning against the wall, with his arms crossed.. A mask covered his face leaving only one eyes showing. Kakashi Hatake. His eyes showed a deep sadness within them. He obviously was taking the death greatly. "Tsunade filled me in earlier. Now lets not rush into this. I know you want to find that him, but right now you need to get your head together. We need your brains." Kakashi said resting his hand on Shikamaru's shoulder.
"I know." Shikamaru grumbled placing his hands in his pockets; his signature move. "We can head out tomorrow. I just want to check out—my home first. See if they missed anything. Maybe something that can give us a scent. And you can summon Pakkun, and he could lead us to him." He stated already planning out the mission.
"I see you've already thought this through." Kakashi nodded in approval. "I'll inform Choji of this plan, and meet you back at your home." Kakashi didn't wait for a reply, and just disappeared. Shikamaru sighed, taking a deep breath. Calming whatever emotions that were boiling up inside his body. Then he ran. The wind whipped across his face. It didn't take him long to arrive home, but he couldn't find it within himself to actually enter. He didn't want to see the state of their home. He didn't want to picture the blood, and her body laying on the floor. Pain rippled through his body. Just thinking about it made him feel weak and pathetic. Shikamaru sucked in a very deep breath; then he entered.
The furniture was thrown about. Some even broken. Clearly evident that there was a fight. The floor seemed to be damaged from Sakura's chalkra punches. How the house stayed intake, they have no idea. Some of the walls were missing chunks. Shikamaru didn't understand how this fight could have gone unnoticed. Somebody must have heard the sounds. Unless there was some hidden technique out there to block out sounds. He would not know.
Walking further into the home, he walked around kicking some of the rumble out of the way. That's when he noticed a voice. "Shikamaru.." The voice was a mere whisper, but it was vaguely familiar. "Shikamaru.." The voice said again. He whipped his head around looking for the voice. Yet, he couldn't find anything. "Shikamaru.." The voice said again. He looked around frantically again, and nothing.
"What are you doing Shikamaru?" Someone said. Shikamaru jumped at least a foot into the air. Choji and Kakashi stood there at the front of the door. The voice had disappeared.
"Umm.. I thought I heard something. Never mind." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn't know if the voice was real or not, but it freaked him out. It sounded like... Sakura. Maybe I'm going crazy he thought.
"Okay, well if you need to leave just let us know. We know this is harder for you, since she was your wife." Choji offered.
"I'm fine. Let's just split up and look around." They both nodded their heads, and began to look around. Kakashi went upstairs, which Choji stayed downstairs, looking in the kitchen. The day of the murder, Kiba's mother came here and sniffed out the place for them, but they couldn't find a scent. The only smells were Sakura's, Shikamaru's, and all their friends. It was as if the attackers scent just disappeared. Somehow the Ambu was able to chase the murderer to the border. Since the Ambu moved in different ways, Shikamaru and his team would have to find a different way of tracking him.
"Shikamaru, Kakashi!" Choji yelled from inside the kitchen. "I think I found something. Some kind of cloth." He explained. Shikamaru rushed into the kitchen, followed by Kakashi a few seconds later. Choji held out his hand showing both of them the piece of cloth. "I found it inside the drawer. Don't know why it was there."
"It's not Sakura's. I mean I've never seen that before. That pattern is different. You recognize it Kakashi." Shikamaru asked. Kakashi studied it closely.
"I think I might recognize it. It seems very familiar. I think I'll take it with me, and study it, and then we will head out tomorrow. Who ever this belongs to must have left a scent behind that we might be able to follow." Kakashi said taking the cloth from Choji and then disappearing.
"Lets hope he finds something." Choji commented. Shikamaru just nodded his head.
"Yea... Choji, I think you should go home and rest for the night. Pack for the trip tomorrow. I think I'll stay here."
"Are you sure Shikamaru? I don't mind if you stay at my house again. Your more then welcome." Choji offered, worried about leaving his friend here.
"I'll be fine I promise." He said reassuring his friend.
"Alright, just come over if you don't think you can handle it."
"I promise."
Choji left a few minutes later, leaving Shikamaru alone in his house. All he wanted to do was break down and let out all his feeling. But he knew he had to be strong. He had to be strong long enough to find the bastard who killed Sakura. Shikamaru walked around cleaning up the mess. He hated staring at the mess. It was driving him insane, and it also kept his mind off of things. That's when the voice started again.
"Shikamaru.." It whispered gently, like the wind. "Shikamaru.." The voice kept repeating itself over and over again. It was driving him insane, like a bad itch. "Shikamaru!" The voice suddenly shouted, making Shikamaru jump at least two feet in the air. He was doing that a lot lately. Spinning around, he found himself face to face with Sakura. She, was standing behind him with a scowl on her face. "How long do you expect me to keep calling you." She said with anger.
"Sakura-" His voice broke off. "How-" He couldn't form the words. His hands began to shake, his knees wobbled. Then he dropped to his knee's. He no longer had the strength to stay standing. Shikamaru reached his hand out slowly to touch her. "Areyoureal?" He asked. The words jumbled together.
"Of course I'm real! Why would you think I'm fake?" She asked. Her head cocked to the side. She had a smile on her face. It was as if she never died.
"You're dead.." He explained. I'm insane! She died... She can't be here. It's just my imagination. The words chanted inside his head, his hand slowly falling towards the ground. None if it was real. It was just his mind play with him.
"Well.. That is true. I did die." She began, and Shikamaru's head slumped forward. Of course she's dead... "But I'm here now, as a ghost." She explained. Shikamaru's head shot up, disbelief clearly on his face.
"You're a ghost... No, your just my imagination." Tears began running down his face.
"I'm a ghost Shikamaru. Please believe me! I'm here to warn you." She spoke with such a gentle voice that sobs began to rack his body. How he missed her voice. The sound making his body quiver. Sakura frowned at Shikamaru's state and reached out and gently touched his face. Instead of resting on his cheek normally, the hand went through his body. A chill ran down his spine at the feeling. Sakura frowned and tried to touch his cheek again, but the same results occurred. "I can't touch you.." Her voice was a whisper, filled with sadness.
"I miss you Sakura. Why didn't you call for help! Why did you have to leave me in this troublesome situation. Why didn't you run!" Shikamaru blabbered on. He didn't know what to believe. Was she really a ghost? Or was he imagining things? His shoulders began to shack from the force of his sobs. He wanted to believe that she was really that.
"Shikamaru! I don't have much time. I came here to tell you not to go looking for the man who murdered me. Promise me you won't look for him. I beg you!" Sakura's voice came out in desperation. His questions became unanswered.
"You're leaving! Please don't leave me!" Shikamaru begged.
"Shikamaru! I'll be back I promise. But please listen to me! Don't go looking for him!" Sakura already began to fade.
"WAIT!" He shouted. "I-" He paused for a moment. "I can't not look for him Sakura! He murdered you! I can't let that guy roam loose!" He argued.
"Please Shikamaru. Please." Those were her last words before she vanished.
"SAKURA! SAKURA!" Shikamaru jumped to his feet, and frantically ran around the house. She was gone. Dropping to the floor, he leaned his head on the wall. He felt like crying again. But the tears refused to flow down his cheeks. His mind was a jumbled mess. Like a jigsaw puzzle that can't be solved. And huge piece of it was missing.
Shikamaru fell asleep sometime during the night. He woke up finding himself sprawled out on the ground in his living room. Stretching, he stood up. The events from last night were running through his head. Was it all just a dream or was it real life? He wasn't all to sure. He wanted to believe it though. Shaking his head, he set his mind on now. He needed to get his supplies together, and then meet up with the others. Despite Sakura's wishes, he was going to find whoever this man was.
Minutes later Shikamaru was prepared. He had all the supplies he would need for the small journey. That they were hopefully going to make. Kakashi should have found something, and if he didn't they could still try tracking him by scent. Shikamaru yawned, his hand covering his face. Rubbing away the exhaustion. Dropping his hand, he was met face to face with Sakura.
"Shikamaru!" Her voice was angry. The expression on her face looked deadly. If she hadn't have been a ghost, she probably would have sent Shikamaru flying. "I told you not to go looking for him!" She yelled frustrated. The objects in the room began to shake from her anger. "Why can't you do this one thing for me!" She cried out.
"Sakura.." He paused trying to gather himself from her sudden appearance. He was slowing getting used to the idea that she was ghost. Part of him was just happy that he gets to see her. "I can't not do anything! Why are you so stuck on this?"
"Because, he is far stronger than you know. You can't win. I-I don't want you to die. My coming back here as a ghost would be pointless." Her head dropped, and tears ran down her ghostly face.
"Sakura.. I rather die trying. If he's stronger and I die, then I'll get to be with you. It's so hard living without you. I-I can't do it. I think about you all the time."
"Please don't waste your life on me!" She shouted as her head shot up to look at him. Her eyes were filled with panic. She didn't want him to die trying to get revenge. "Revenge won't bring me back.."
"I know. But I can't let that man run around and killing more people! You have to understand Sakura." He pleaded, but he never got a response because she suddenly disappeared.
"Shikamaru?" Choji's voice echoed throughout the house. Followed by his voice, was Choji himself. He rounded the corner and looked at Shikamaru. "Who are you talking to?" Choji asked curious.
"Umm.. Nobody." He lied knowing that if he told his friend he would think he was crazy. And that's the last thing he wanted them to think. Although, all he wanted to do was talk to his friend, and tell him everything that's been going on in his troubled mind.
"Alright. Well, Kakashi said for us to meet him at the front gate. He has some things to tell us before we head out." Choji explained. "We have about ten minutes before we have to meet him. How about some food?" He asked.
"Yea, I'm hungry. And I there's no doubt in mind that you are too." Shikamaru smiled a real smile for the first time in the last few days. It wasn't big but it was a smile.
"I'm starving! Lets eat!" Choji bellowed out, walking to the door to head to Ichiraku ramen. They soon ate. During the meal Choji rambled on about things, but Shikamaru zoned him out. His mind was on other things. Like who was this man? And what made him so dangerous that Sakura warned him? There was also the one question he had his mind on since her death. Why Sakura? If it was a random killing it might be understandable. But it wasn't. A killer wouldn't travel far into the city just to kill someone. The only conclusion would be they wanted to kill Sakura or they needed too. He couldn't understand why Sakura was the target. She was the pupil of Lady Tsunade. Would that be enough to want to kill someone? "Shikamaru! Are you listening" Choji's voice cut through his thoughts.
"Huh. What?" He asked looking around.
"I said it's time to leave." Choji told him again.
"Oh yea, okay." He replied standing up and following Choji out. They both were the first ones to arrive at the gate. Of course Kakashi was late as usually. Something that normally happened when he tells you to meet somewhere.
"Great. You're all here." Kakashi spoke suddenly appearing. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. You're the one that's late Choji and Shikamaru both thought. "I have all the information I could find." Both Choji and Shikamaru walked closer to Kakashi.
"Great. Tell us." Shikamaru said nearly demanding it.
"Calm down. I will." Kakashi pulled out the piece of cloth. "I knew I recognized this pattern. It's an ancient patterned used by The Takeda clan." The pattern that was on the cloth was four black squares in the shape of a diamond. The whole cloth was white except for the symbol. Kakashi then continued as they both took in the information. "Long ago they used to be a very powerful clan. Their powers were far different than normal. Some able to block out the senses of a person. Leaving others powerless. You were blessed if you could cut off even just one sense. Only a powerful Takeda, with strong chalkra is able to block out all five at once. Touch, smell, sight, taste and hearing. Though, taste wasn't considered a very powerful sense, and often wasn't used."
"There was only one known Takeda who was able to do so. His name was Shizuku Tanaka. He was the Clans leader. Very powerful man. He whipped out many people to gain control of their land. People feared them, even just the name brought terror to many. Though, the clan was whipped out when the leader died suddenly. Without their leader many gained courage and attacked the clan; fighting back. Which led to their demise. There has been no known survivor of the clan until now. This is not some ordinary shinobi we are chasing after. We don't know what this guy can do, let alone what sense or how many he can control. We are going to have to be extremely careful. If there is any sign of danger we are to retreat. Do you hear me?" Kakashi told them sternly.
"Understood" Both Shikamaru and Choji said at the same time. Kakashi sent Shikamaru a look that clearly told him to not do anything stupid.
"Alright."
So what did you think? Good? Bad? Needs work? Let me know! If ya hate tell me. If ya love tell. Don't be afraid to critisize it if ya want!
Thanks!
Krissy!