Chapter 8: Bingo
The tall mist nuke-nin stood next to his partner, surveying the hidden village from the top of its high wall. The latter crouched on the edge, weight balanced on the balls of his feet, forearms resting on his flexed thighs. The sunset reflected briefly on his hitae-ate, further pronouncing the dark line that divided the leaf village's symbol.
"She's preparing."
The mist-nin nodded, smiling slightly, revealing a pearly row of white, pointed incisors.
Itachi straightened, pulling his hands into his robe and poking one out the front.
"We'll wait a few miles out. She'll come to us."
Itachi formed one of his signature one-handed seals, and the two nins vanished noiselessly.
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She didn't care anymore. What anyone thought, said, did to stop her. Anyone who stepped in her way would be cut down. She broke a slight sweat as she gathered her few belongings, primarily consisting of weaponry, into her pack. Scrolls, two complete current issue ANBU uniforms, various kunai and shuriken, knives and tripwire, exploding tags. Tools of destruction she thought wryly. Anyone who saw her packing all these things would think she was single-handedly going to fight a war with another hidden village. Shinju almost laughed. Zipping up the pack, she scooped up her last items from the floor and secured them to her uniform- her long and short katanas. Taking one last look around, she brought the cold, white mask to her face and propelled herself into the trees outside of her window.
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Shikamaru's head lolled slightly as he yawned. He leaned against the windowsill casually, and dull eyes stared at the trees across from his apartment window. It was good to be home from the front, nice to relax and laze for awhile instead of constantly keeping himself on edge…
His eyes narrowed minutely as he noticed a rustle in the trees that he was looking at.
Nara kind of knew what had happened in the apartment across from his, he didn't personally know the kunoichi, but he did know that… well she was a little off.
A light pat echoed in the room as Genma pounced onto Shikamaru's veranda. Turning, the lazy Nara sighed. Shit… He crossed his arms.
"Jyaa, I'm not helping you."
"Don't you wanna see where she's going?" Genma smiled, but Shikamaru noted the slight unease in the older ANBU's tone.
"Tch," He sucked his teeth, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking at the ceiling, while slipping into his all-too-familiar 'I could care less' stance. "Mendokuse…" He sighed once more, straightened and walked, almost strolled, towards the older shinobi. They shot off of the railing together, in silent pursuit.
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Shinju knew as soon as she hit the branch of her tree, they were watching her. Even before then, there were others at her hospital door, there were strange shinobi near her apartment. She felt for those two who pursued her, she really did. I won't kill them… she promised herself. No reason to kill Konoha ninja… no, never I hope.
She reached the edge of the clearing around the KIA memorial and stopped, the two nins in pursuit stopped about a hundred meters behind her. Looking carefully for the copy-nin, Shinju finally jumped down from her perch. Slowly, as the night got mistier and colder, she walked to the cenotaph. She knelt and ran her fingers over the stone, over and over and over… She prayed to the kamis above that she would never put a name there.
"Oi."
She didn't move. Nara.
A thin spike whizzed by her head and landed in the dirt across from her crouched form.
Genma.
"Mendokuse… What are you doing, kunoichi?"
"Just paying a visit to some friends, Nara." She put extra emphasis on his name. This could get difficult with him around, and it so dark right now. This is dangerous now.
"What's with the senbon, asshole?"
Genma chuckled and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
"You realize ANBU is on their way."
"You never were a good liar, Genma. They'd already be here." Shinju turned and swung her mask up onto the top of her head. "Besides," she pulled a kunai and dropped her stance a bit. "Would lazy-ass really be your first choice in help?"
Shikamaru sucked his teeth and Genma chewed thoughtfully on a new senbon. Brow creased, he looked coldly at Shinju. "It doesn't have to come to this, you know."
"I know it. You know it. The two of you might be able to stop me here and now, you made a good choice tonight." Shinju smiled widely, a crazed look creeping into her face. "Nara, you've got your kage mane, if you use it, I'll have no escape." She raised her kunai and dragged its point across her face and neck, creating a small line of red welts where it had touched her skin.
Shikamaru looked at her carefully.
"Or, I could just kill myself and avoid all of this trouble."
It seemed that was her best option in this situation.
"If I were to fight you in this situation, I'd normally lose."
Shikamaru huffed lightly. "No kidding."
"But, I'm desperate. And you have no backup. Even if Hatake were here, he wouldn't stop me."
Genma's mouth dropped open slightly. "Why the hell not?" He asked, never one to keep his mouth shut.
Tactless moron… Shikamaru breathed deeply…
Shinju dropped the hand wielding the kunai to her side and lowered her head.
"Because," she raised her gaze slightly, focus shifting to the uneasy Genma. "I'd kill him." She bluffed. They would never know that was a lie, considering what she was about to do. She threw the kunai to Nara's feet, sending him leaping backwards a couple of meters while she morphed into the ground, forming hand seals for a genjutsu that would keep Genma under her control. At least she wouldn't let him get the best of her. She reappeared right under Shikamaru, who barely jumped away before the now illuminated chakra strings could attach themselves. He performed a hand seal.
"Special Kage Bunshin Defense Technique!"
Several Nara-shaped shadows appeared around him, and he was able to successfully dodge and counter the shuriken and kunai that flew at him, but when his kage mane eliminated her bunshin, he turned to Genma's aid.
"Kuso…" he was out of time. His attention was drawn sharply to Genma as the orally fixated nin let a blood curdling scream tear from his throat.
Stupid. How could he let himself get caught in a genjutsu? Then Shikamaru saw it. Shinju was standing in front of the tree, her back to him. Tears were pouring down Genma's face and he was and screaming, breaths rasping in his throat, his eyes wide open, focused on her face. His body flexed in the genjutsu's bonds as he tried to escape. Shikamaru heard Shinju murmur,
"For the next 72 hours, this will be your existence."
As soon as it had begun it was over, and the genjutsu released, leaving Shiranui to collapse on the grass in a heap, in a drooling, exhausted heap, barely breathing.
Shikamaru was sure he didn't want to know what had happened. But he wasn't one to abandon a comrade, no matter what. All the same, cold fear gripped him and the hair on the back of his neck stood as he looked into the eyes of the woman who turned to approach him. He couldn't move a muscle, it was as if kage mane had been turned on him. He shook, trying to bring his hands to form some kind of semblance of a seal, trying to think, trying to breathe… He hadn't been this frightened since the first mission to retrieve Sasuke was assigned to him, when he thought that Chouji had died. He wanted even just to close his eyes and receive his death, to stab himself to end the intent to kill that permeated the air around him, the crackle of chakra, but he couldn't. He couldn't do anything but stare in fear.
Mangekyou Sharingan.
Shikamaru knew there was no counter attack. He reasoned that now would be a good time to die as any, cringing inwardly.
Shinju crouched between Nara's legs and looked at him deeply, her sharingan piercing his core and tearing him apart with fear. The air was thick with it, the sound of Nara's strained pants the only thing cutting it. He waited for the painful tsukiyomi to wreak its work on him, getting a grip on his fear and confronting it. He thought of his mother, of Ino, of Chouji, his father, then Asuma, wishing to high heaven for a last cigarette.
Shinju put her hand out, running it over the terrified Nara's hair, pulling the tie out and entwining her fingers in the long strands, closing her hand around the back of his neck like a vise. She pulled his head close to her face, hot breath burning along his jaw line, bringing her lips to his ear. Brushing her cheek against his slightly, she whispered,
"Run."
