Uhhhhhhhh. Alright. It's been a long, long time, and I had to dig through a huge stack of papers in order to recall some of the plot of the story I had created years previous. Lest I say, I will do my best to continue and finish this story, as I had wanted to years ago. I still do follow Naruto, but I suppose life just got the better of me. With that being said, I hope a continuous schedule will help me keep up with writing, I am in dire need of picking up some of my old hobbies. With no further ado, here is the next chapter.
"Kakashi!" It was a desperate scream, the only type one would emit when they knew all hope was lost. Shikamaru picked himself up from the ground, his senses on full alert, ready to throw himself into fatal danger in order to save the Rokudaime's precious Sensei. "Kakashi-sensei! No!"
The Rain ninjas had the Copy-ninja tied now - a kunai hovered dangerously over the man's neck. However, Kakashi refused to flinch one bit, turning his gaze ever so slightly to catch Shikamaru's anxious one. The smallest hint of sorrow crept into his single good eye as he shook his head firmly. "Go, now! Shikamaru! Before they change their mind and go after you again!"
"But, sensei!" A pair of strong hands gripped the Nara's shoulder firmly. Shikamaru looked up into the mask of Tenzo - although in his dying moments, the Wood user had somehow retained the strength to move. Tenzo shook his head, motioning for Shikamaru to leave. "Don't let his sacrifice be in vain, Shikamaru!" he whispered hoarsely. "Go! Take the Hokage and GO!"
"Sacrifice?!" The Nara's eyes widened - and then there was the sound of a blade whistling throughout the air. He turned to look back, but Tenzo urged him forward with one last, desperate push. But not before he caught a glimpse of the legendary copy-ninja's head...rolling slowly towards on the ground towards him. Even months later, the gruesome sight had imprinted itself into his memories, the scene replaying itself over and over in the Nara's nightmares. The only thing he had been grateful for was that the Rokudaime had been spared from such a terrible image...
Shikamaru woke, sitting straight up, his breaths coming in short gasps as his eyesight quickly adjusted to dull light in his bedroom. Shoving his blankets aside, he staggered his way through his room, using the moon's eerie light as guidance as he stumbled into the restroom. Suddenly nauseous, he bent over the sink and retched, desperately shoving away the memories of Kakashi's death into some deep, dark hole within his mind.
Staggering over to clean himself up, the Nara caught a glimpse of himself in the dusty mirror. However, he forced his eyes away almost immediately. Asides from being seemingly decades older than this body really was, his own expression was almost painful to ponder upon. It was no longer the stoic mask that he had hated himself so much for putting on, but one of endless exhaustion - if there was a limit to how many gruesome deaths one was supposed to see in their lifetime, Shikamaru had long passed the quota.
He washed his face and rinsed his mouth, but the water failed to rid him of the bitter taste of bile within his mouth. Sighing softly, he closed the door behind him, setting a beeline towards the kitchen in the hopes some tea would serve the job better. However, as he took a single step forward, his sensitive ears caught the sound of a barely audible, repetitive knocking. A frown crossed his face as turned back towards his room, nearly jolting in surprise as he noticed a big, black crow with familiar crimson eyes pecking at the panels of his bedroom window.
Cautiously sauntering over, he set a hand on the handle of the old window, forcibly shoving it upwards as the crow squawked one last time, flying away. Shikamaru stuck his head outside, glancing around suspiciously, but seeing no one in the dark of the night.
"Nara Shikamaru." Although the voice was almost expected, Shikamaru pulled back immediately, crashing onto the floor as several flocks of crows poured into the room, swirling around until it formed a distinctive shape that faded into the form of no other than Itachi Uchiha.
Taking a deep breath, Shikamaru focused his eyes just below the man's crimson Kekkei Genkai, maintaining a calm demeanor. "I can't say I'm very surprised by your visit, Itachi-san," he stated.
Silence fell between them for some time as Itachi stood motionless, seemingly contemplating the words he was about to say. "Nara Shikamaru...what is your role in this world?"
"My...role?" Although a simple question, Shikamaru found himself struggling over a proper answer. "I...I need not to mess up a second time..."
"Impossible." The words were impassive, yet firm.
"What do you mean?" The Nara was almost frustrated now. "I was given a second chance," he stated, a hint of desperation creeping into his voice. "I can't screw up. I will protect everyone."
"You can't fix everything."
"Yes, I can!" Shikamaru snapped angrily, a fist coming down forcibly to meet the wooden floor. "And I will!"
"Then you will die. You will die from the burden you chose to uphold alone, the weight of the entire world upon your back."
"So what if I die?!" Brown, emotion-ridden eyes met stoic and crimson as Shikamaru stood rapidly. "I was dead long ago!"
A long silence fell between the two individuals, only to be broken by a small sigh from the younger man. He had lost control of his emotions yet again. Itachi must have thought he was some kind of immature child throwing a tantrum. But the man bent ever so slightly, wordlessly offering the Nara a single helping hand. Stunned speechless, Shikamaru stared at it, almost in an affixed manner.
"If you wish to protect your precious friends," Itachi then said. "You must learn to rely on others."
But what others? The guards that had failed to protect his wife? Kakashi and Tenzo, and himself who had failed to protect Naruto, protect the village? Who was there to rely on? He couldn't even rely on himself...
"Hey, Shikamaru!" The familiar voice was right next to his ears. "Congratulations on your promotion! I saw it coming! You'll do the village proud!" The Nara spun around, only to find himself staring into the eyes of 24 years old Chouji, grinning happily at him. But common sense told him better - Itachi must have drawn him into a Genjutsu during his outburst earlier.
"Just call me up whenever you're stressed, okay?" Shikamaru turned to his left to see Ino, waving enthusiastically at him. "Not so much lazy anymore, eh? Always overworking yourself, geez, maybe I should stop by every day just to make you your favorite green tea. Perhaps you'll learn to relax a bit more."
"I..." Shikamaru stumbled back, falling onto his bed in dejection as hot tears came to his eyes. Perhaps Itachi had been right - he had been so caught up on solving everything by himself that he had forgotten how important his friends were. Shika-Ino-Cho...how long had it been since he had used their old battle tactic? He knew Naruto, Kakashi, and even Chouji and Ino had relied on him, yet he had been too stubborn and full of pride to do the same in return. Wiping his eyes with a sleeve in embarrassment, he glanced up at Itachi, noting just for a moment, the smallest hint of a smile gracing the Uchiha's face. "What...what do I do?"
"Here's the situation..." Itachi was next to the open window now, staring into the distance at some indistinguishable object. "You may be in danger."
"So you're saying that little kid I've been watching could hinder our plan?" White Zetsu snickered. "He's just a weak, little Nara."
The orange, masked man sat silently on the cold, cube shaped ground, a single crimson eye staring into the darkness around him. It had taken him many years to fully master even the smallest bit of time and space, and even then, messing with the concept itself was extremely, extremely dangerous. Time traveled in a straight line, never looping nor going backwards, yet something was off. It seemed like something had disturbed the normal flow, thus, affecting his small portion of dimensional space.
"His existence alone is disturbing my eye," Tobi muttered. "But I have no idea why..."
"Should I capture him, leader?" Black Zetsu questioned.
"Not yet." Tobi stood, forming a dimensional portal. "There are more pressing matters of concern right now. Keep an eye on him, however."
I apologize if it is not quite up to par as to how I used to write, time tends to do a number on such things. It's also a bit short, but I guess the main thing here is that I'm still alive...I think.
Quick edit: I need to break my terrible habit of not editing before publishing, it was quite cringe to read through. Next chapter will definitely be much more longer and hopefully, of more quality.
Have a pleasant day.
