A/N: I'm back!... Kind of.
My apologies to all of you reading, for the massive delay.
I blame procrastination and college... woo.
Here's a short chapter of me attempting to get back into the groove of things. (Excuses)
The following morning, Shikamaru was awoken by the sound of knocking on his door. Hoping for a few more hours of sleep, the Nara chose to remain silent, expecting this early visitor to assume he was still sleeping.
"I know you're awake, kid" Kisame's voice called from the other side of the door. "I'm perfectly fine with breaking down this door, if it doesn't get opened soon" he warned.
Cursing, Shikamaru slowly left the comfort of his newly acquired sheets and trudged towards the door.
"Well, I warned him-" Kisame shrugged to himself, grabbing the blade strapped to his back. Fortunately -or perhaps unfortunately, in Kisame's case- Shikamaru opened the door.
"What do you want?" Shikamaru sighed, clad in a pair of dark blue pajama pants -something from Annette's shop- and a t-shirt.
"It's time to meet the rest of Akatsuki" Kisame answered. "Get dressed and head to the seventh floor. You've got five minutes."
"Can't I get breakfast first?" the Nara drawled.
Kisame chuckled, "I don't think it'd be a good idea to keep these guys waiting" he advised. "And if you keep me waiting…." he trailed off, flashing a shark-like grin down at the teen, flashing a bit of murderous intent and chakra towards him as well for good measure.
His hand tightening on the doorknob, Shikamaru could now say that he was wide awake and extremely annoyed. "I'll be there shortly" he grit out, closing the door as calmly as he could in the face of being threatened.
Kisame merely chuckled again, before he turned and walked off.
After throwing on a pair of clothes and putting his Akatsuki robe on over them, Shikamaru sauntered towards the elevator, more than a little irritated at being threatened so early in the day. Waiting for the elevator to arrive and fidgeting with his half of the Kiba, his scowl deepened.
By the time Shikamaru stepped onto the elevator, he had placed his hood over his head in order to somewhat conceal his glowering face.
As his destination drew closer to the bottom floor, Shikamaru became aware of nine powerful surges in chakra. 'It looks like they're all showing off, today' Shikamaru mused, flaring his own -comparatively smaller- chakra in response as he schooled his features back into a state of mild annoyance, beneath his hood.
The elevator dinged, signaling his arrival on the seventh floor. With that, Shikamaru strode towards the center of the room, where the large grotesque statue lay. Oddly enough, the large stone statues of a left and right hand, on either side of it, were now open, palms up and fingers curled towards the sky. Perched upon the tip of each finger- excluding the center finger of the left hand statue-, a member of Akatsuki stood with their hood drawn over their head.
Atop the thumb of the left hand, Madara's voice boomed from behind his distinct orange mask. "Step between the hands of god, so that you may be judged" he commanded.
Taking this as his cue, Shikamaru strode into the center of the room, facing the statue and attempting to ignore the various chakra signatures swirling about him, some so overbearing that he could swear they were tangible. 'I'm surrounded by monsters' the Nara told himself. 'Is this how it feels, to be the sheep in wolves' clothing?' he mused.
"Someone else from Konoha?" a man enquired, surprised. "It has been a while, since I've spoken to a leaf shinobi without being attacked on sight" he chuckled.
'Someone else?' Shikamaru repeated. 'Does that mean he's a missing Nin from the leaf as well?'
"This scrawny guy is the new addition?" one of the figures asked.
"He gets things done" Kisame's voice retorted.
"He's decent, yeah" Deidara's figure agreed.
"I don't care, really" Mami's own voice offered.
"He's got a few skills, I think" Souta included.
"Well, if Deidara doesn't hate the guy…." An unfamiliar feminine voice began.
"Hey, what makes you think that, yeah!"
"What's your take on him, boss?" another unknown voice asked.
At this, all other conversation ceased, waiting to hear their leader's verdict.
"His true strength is not in his raw power-" he started.
"You can say that again" Kisame snorted.
"However, his mind makes him both a formidable enemy, as well as a valuable ally" he suggested.
"Well, I guess that settles it then" Kisame decided.
"All those in opposition, speak now" Madara commanded.
"Let's just hope he lasts longer than the usual newbies" one of the figures groaned. "Even with Hidan and Kakuzu gone, we've still been losing members almost weekly."
"Oh, about that" Kisame chuckled. "This guy killed Hidan, you know. And he helped take down Kakuzu" he declared.
"Oh, really?" Souta asked, interest evident in his voice. "We really do need to have that spar, now."
"That is quite an interesting feat" one praised.
"I didn't think it was possible for those zombie freaks to actually die" another figure mused.
"Let me assure you, they are both, 'dead' in almost every sense of the word" Shikamaru offered. "Now, am I in or not?" he asked, yawning just because.
"Don't go around acting all cocky now, yeah" Deidara grumbled from behind his hood.
"Such disrespect" one of the female voices sighed.
"If you children are done" Madara paused to allow the others to quiet down. "I do believe it's time to formally greet your comrade.
"Finally" one of the figures sighed, removing their hood long with the others. Shikamaru could only stare at the odd sight before him. 'Why are there no normal people in Akatsuki?' he thought.
"Yo, the name's Zetsu" the strange man greeted, leaping in front of Shikamaru.
"Nice to meet you, I guess" Shikamaru shrugged.
"You're not very talkative, huh?" Zetsu observed.
"I'm talking to a plant, I think" the Nara complained. "Excuse me for having a bit of trouble engaging in conversation" he snapped.
"Hey, hey, calm down" the multicolored man soothed. "I'll start…. uhm" he stiffened for a moment. "I was impressed with how you completely annihilated Hidan" he offered, his voice seeming to be more abrasive, now. "I couldn't even get to his body, not that it would've tasted any good after what you did to him" he snickered.
"You were able to make it in and out of the forest?" Shikamaru asked, skeptical.
"You don't believe me?" Zetsu chuckled. "What can I say to conv-" he stiffened again. His voice soft once more, he spoke "Would you believe me if I recalled how you trapped Hidan in a blanket of explosive tabs, spouted off a bit of your plan, to enlighten him, opened a pit trap underneath him and then blew him to bits, before collapsing the thing onto his still living remains and-"
"Alright, I get it" Shikamaru interrupted. "How did you navigate through there?"
"Easy" the abrasive voice began. "I took one of your clansmen hostage and had her guide me around the place, then killed her when the tour ended" he finished.
"The only thing stopping me from killing you" Shikamaru seethed, his eyes hardening, "is the fact that I can tell you're bluffing.
"So you do get angry" he shrugged, stiffening for a moment. "I'm sorry, pay no attention to my other half" Zetsu apologized. "He enjoys pushing other people's buttons, you see" he explained.
Shikamaru frowned. "Dual personalities?"
"You could say that" the polite Zetsu agreed.
"I don't care" Shikamaru shrugged. "Are you going to tell me how you made it in and out of my clan's forest with all of your limbs intact?"
"The forest spoke to me" Zetsu offered. Seeing Shikamaru's confused look, he added. "I'm also a sensor ninja, in a sense. Only, I'm attuned to the rings that all Akatsuki members wear. You'll be receiving one soon, I'm sure" he continued, raising his right hand to show the green ring on his little finger.
"Those rings are tracking devices, then?" Shikamaru asked, indicating the ring. "I saw one of those on Hidan, too" he noted.
"That's right" Zetsu confirmed, going still.
'Oh no' Shikamaru inwardly groaned.
"You also need one to do the beast extracting or have one of our disciples assume your form, at the price of having to use their usually less developed chakra stores, depending on who you possess" the less formal Zetsu personality informed him. "Plus, it stores and amplifies chakra, to use later when your ass is in a pinch…. ask the boss for more details."
"I've never even heard of something like that existing" Shikamaru replied.
"I know, it's cool" Zetsu boasted. "But, then again, only crappy ninja would need to use a cheap gimmick like this" he chuckled, pointedly looking at Shikamaru.
"If that's the case, why are these made exclusively for Akatsuki?"
"They aren't only for Akatsuki" Zetsu shrugged. "None of the other countries did any advanced research into chakra storage, is all. In a few more years, the land of Iron may figure out how to make these, too."
"That's enough, Zetsu" Madara commanded, walking towards the two of them. "There's no need for you to spout all of our secrets at once" he chided.
"Ah, s-sorry boss" Zetsu stuttered, bowing. "I will now take my leave" he announced, walking away.
"I have a mission for you, so stop by at noon, Zetsu" Madara ordered.
"I understand" Zetsu nodded and left.
"You can get individual introductions over with on your own time, now" he told Shikamaru. Reaching into the folds of his robes, he produced a ring similar to Zetsu's, but a darker green in color.
Taking the ring from Madara, Shikamaru inspected it more closely, finding an engraving on its face. "North?" he asked, confused by the kanji.
"As your predecessor, Kakuzu did, you will guide us as the North Star guides wayward travelers toward salvation" he recited.
"Well, financially, at least" Kisame offered from his perch.
At this point, Shikamaru became aware of the fact that none of the other members had ever left their odd finger shaped pedestals, giving them plenty of space to casually observe his conversation with Zetsu.
Sighing, Shikamaru placed the ring on his finger, to find that it didn't fit.
"Left middle finger" Madara intoned.
Placing the ring on the suggested finger, it fit perfectly. Almost instantly, the cool metal of the ring seemed to seep into Shikamaru, penetrating into his very soul and leaving him breathless.
"How much chakra is this thing going to take?" Shikamaru gasped at the figure before him.
"The sealing of a tailed beast is extremely strenuous" Madara chuckled. "The ring will take as much chakra as it can, without killing, until it has been filled" he answered.
"Heh, I barely felt anything when I got my ring" Kisame bragged.
"You're so used to having your chakra absorbed by that freaky sword all the time, your body doesn't even register stuff like that anymore!" Mami groused.
Completely ignoring the outburst, Kisame gestured to the vacant perch beside him, which happened to between himself and Mami "looks like you get to take the seat of honor next to me and the banshee" he joked.
"What'd you call me?!" Mami shrieked, full of righteous indignation. "I'll kick my foot so far up your a-"
"Quiet" Madara interrupted, silencing the entire room once more before he turned back to Shikamaru. "As Kisame has already said, you will take your place upon the middle finger of the left hand statue." He looked up once more "that will be all, the rest of you are dismissed" he commanded.
At this, the other members leapt off of their perches, heading towards the sole elevator, complaining "this is why we never let Zetsu do anything first, he always ruins it" as others agreed.
"He probably pressed all of the buttons on the elevator, too" Mami sighed, rubbing her temples.
All of the members put their heads down and sighed, waiting for the elevator.
"Come, I'll teach you the hand-seals required for the sealing method" Madara ordered Shikamaru, ignoring the plight of the remaining seven members.
For the umpteenth time this month, the fourth Hokage sighed in frustration at the dinner table. Naruto, half dead -he wasn't a morning person- and used to this, paid him no mind and continued to blankly stare at his cereal.
Kakashi -who saw it necessary to visit whenever his own apartment had no food in stock- on the other hand, quirked an eyebrow and asked his former sensei "what's eating you?"
Minato sighed once more and shuffled a few of the papers in front of him before turning to Kakashi. "I'm just going over Shikamaru's workload" he replied.
Hearing his wayward comrade's name, Naruto perked up a bit, replying "Shikamaru couldn't have had that much of a workload, right?" he half-joked.
"He pretty much was the diplomat for all Suna related…. everything" Minato began, ticking off a finger "almost all of his missions were A-Ranked" another finger, "most of those missions were either infiltration or other…. diplomatic, things" he held up three fingers. "On top of that, I can't just assign one Ninja to pick up the slack, because of how unique Shikamaru's style happened to be and the shortage of Ninja I can spare, given the recent attacks on the village" he added two more fingers.
Kakashi whistled as Naruto appeared dumbstruck.
"What exactly does Shikamaru do?" the blonde asked his father.
"That's classified."
Kakashi chuckled at his student's pouting face.
Scratching his head, Minato offered "think of it like this, Naruto. What type of ninja is Shikamaru?"
"Well…" Naruto thought for a moment, "he's not as strong as the rest of the gang, he's a sensor, he did say that he considers himself to be more of a support kinda guy…." he paused. "He's also really damn stealthy, not to mention scary when you give him a pair of bombs and a plan" he nodded his head at the list he'd created.
"Given all of this, what would you advise, if someone came into contact with him?" Minato prompted.
"Don't fight him if he's had time to think over the battle and definitely don't follow him into unknown territory" Naruto answered without hesitation. "If you run into him while he's unaware though…." Naruto trailed off "Actually, I've never actually surprised Shikamaru" he realized.
"In other words" Kakashi interjected "Having Shikamaru gone, is similar to losing a trap expert, a strategist, a sensor and-"
"A Nara that's mastered their craft" the Hokage added.
"It doesn't matter" Naruto yawned. "We'll bring him back, regardless" he smiled. "Besides, me and Gaara are bros" he declared, "so I can take over for Shikamaru as far with all of the diplomatic stuff in Suna" he offered.
"I don't think that's the best idea, son" Minato advised. "All you have to worry about today is your mission" he grinned.
"I get a mission!?" the hyperactive blonde whooped.
"Yep" Minato agreed, grinning "a nice B-rank guard mission."
"B-rank?" Naruto deflated. "Well" he shrugged, searching for a silver lining "I'm sure there'll be plenty of action on the mission" he attempted to console himself.
"I'm sure you'll run into plenty of…. bandits? Along the way" Kakashi chuckled.
Naruto groaned "where am I going" he sighed. "On second thought, what am I guarding?"
"Seeing as your ring won't have enough chakra for the sealing for another week or two at the least, now would be as good a time as any to acquaint yourself with your comrades" Madara suggested to Shikamaru after going over the necessary hand-seals.
"I'm sure I'll get to know all of them, eventually" the Nara replied lackadaisically.
At this Madara simply replied "do as you like" before waving him off.
Deciding that he'd rather get to know his new comrades later, or at least as little as possible, said "I'm thinking about going to relax in the Land of Stone for a few days, if that's alright with you?" he drawled.
"The bounty that I'm positive you collected for killing your mark should cover at least two months' worth of your quota" he mused. "However, there is something that I need done, in the Land of Stone" he told the Nara.
Shikamaru sighed, 'I can't even get out of work, here' he groaned to himself. "What can I do to help?" he asked.
"A recent employer has tasked us with destroying a caravan headed there" Madara began.
Seeing where this was going, Shikamaru asked "and I assume it will be escorted by a group of Konoha ninja, as defense?" he grit out.
"Most likely" Madara agreed. "I don't care if any of the opposing ninja die or not, that is up to you" he replied off-hand. "But" his voice grew cold, "their shipment must be completely destroyed, understood?"
"Yes…. Tobi."
Hearing his alias being used, Madara lightened up considerably. "Good, Kisame will accompany you when you are ready to leave. The caravan is slated to arrive at its destination within a month or less" he recited. "Inform Kisame of the situation, if you will" he ordered.
"If I may…." Shikamaru trailed off.
"What is it?"
"What's in the caravan?" the Nara asked.
Madara chuckled darkly. "If you really want to know…."
A/N: And this is why I don't do cliffhangers... I think.
I'll "attempt" to update monthly, as I used to, but no promises.
Anywho, tell me how you feel or felt about the chapter, if you don't mind.
I'd appreciate all of the feedback I can get & maybe I'll become even more involved with the audience... unless you don't want that.
Review! Maybe, please? I don't care... much.
