BOOYAH! Two story updates within the week. For some reason that's seems a lot more pathetic than it would've been two years ago. Anywho! I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's the start of something pretty big :b I know I say stuff akin to this a lot but I think this time I've really gotten it plotted out! So without further ado I'd like to say THANK YOU! To all my reviewers, you guys are truly excellent! Now on with the story, enjoy!
The silence hung over the people still standing around the fire. Everyone looked unsure of themselves, unsure of where to start. Utensils and containers lay strewn all across the ground, shacks were either burning or had been torn apart. Finally, someone leaned over a picked up a couple pots that were still mostly intact, examined the holes and walked over to set them down by his still mostly intact cardboard hut. As the others began to follow his example Temari just stood in her place as if she was in shock.
"We need to go back for him," she demanded looking fiercely at Guy.
"No, we're getting you out of here now," the man responded quickly as he himself reached down to pick up the giant black cooking pot they'd been using last night.
"So what? We're just going to leave him to the cops?" Temari looked furious, her hands were balled up into fists, hanging just inches from Guy's face. "I don't think that's what Kakashi would've wanted."
"That's exactly what he would've wanted, that's why he did it, to keep the cops from eventually coming here and hauling more of us away till we spilled on Itachi. I've worked with the man many years, he knew what he was getting into when he stepped forward." Guy said firmly. "I don't think this place is safe any more, we going to move you to another Hooverville just north of here."
"Those damn cops just took your friend, my mentor and you're saying that we're just going to abandon him?" Temari shouted.
"Use your head! You rescue him and then what?" Guy shouted right back. "The cops start a man hunt and then Aoba has an excuse to take every last one of us here away for harboring a fugitive!" He sighed as his voice came back down to normal. "I know you hear this a lot, but these are difficult times, no one's quite sure what to do, not even the police so don't blame them. They're lost just trying to do there job but even they aren't quite sure of what it is anymore. Now, I'm going to have Lee take you all north, he knows where the town is." Quietly and without protest, Lee was able to pull Temari away.
"We will get him out someday," Lee whispered to Temari as Neji motioned for the others to follow. The hustled back into the woods but instead of heading towards the railroad they suddenly turned left and headed into a thicker part of the underbrush. Tenten couldn't help but look back at what used to be Hooverville.
"Life's not fair," Temari finally huffed. "We're just leaving him to rot."
"Yeah well, that's the funny thing about life right?" Shikamaru sighed, more to himself that to anyone else. "It just seems to go on."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Temari asked fiercely, her eyes lighting up.
"Shikamaru," Neji warned. The other boy glanced at him carelessely but nodded and kept his mouth shut. The small reprimand seemed to be enough for Temari, she shrugged her shoulders and went back to the front of the crowd.
The woods at the early morning hours seemed calm, peaceful and even inviting. The atmosphere hadn't seemed to change however, all of them were still solemn and quiet.
"Where are we headed?" Tenten asked curiously from the back of the group, nervously turning her pocketknife over in her hands. "And how do we know the government won't follow us wherever we go?"
"Because this Hooverville is the Lapeer version," Lee explained taking no time to observe the scenery or even slow his rapid pace. "It is run by some famous charity worker, he owns the land so he has got permits and all the stuff."
"A philanthropist?" Shikamaru guessed in a curious tone. Lee just shrugged.
"I couldn't say, I really don't come out here that often." The group kept walking for quite sometime until at last the came upon a clearing.
"Amazing," Tenten mumbled as she yawned and stretched her arms. "Simply amazing, it's just like the first one. I told you all these cardboard jungles are the same." The others looked at her strangely. Tenten just looked back. "Hey, I could be on a train to Chicago right now, instead I'm here with you. Don't make me regret my decision." And with that she walked off straight into the village.
"What's eating her?" Naruto asked, with a lopsided look, trying to make heads or tails of Tenten's sudden out of character if mild outburst.
"Well girls have…" Shikamaru began until Temari walked past him with her fist raised angrily.
"Don't you even start to teach things you don't know a lick about pretty boy," she warned not looking back. Shikamaru just rolled his eyes at the threat.
"Tenten's restless," Neji cut in. "She hates to be cooped up in one place for any long period of time. And after what she just saw, she's ready to pack up and move on as quickly as possible."
"Well I can't blame her," Naruto groaned as the group moved in. "We're back at square one again. Are we going to have to wait for the next train?" Everyone turned to Neji. He sighed and ran a hand through a section of his hair.
"I don't know," he mumbled rubbing his eyes. "I don't know anymore."
"Lee!" A voice called out as a man came jogging over. "Ibuki says that the cops were heading towards your area are you alri…"
"Is Asuma Sarutobi here," Shikamaru quickly cut in. The man blinked at the abrupt question but finally stuttered out an answer.
"W-well I'm sorry…uh, you just missed him, he'll be back tonight though," the man said. Rock Lee looked at the other boy like he'd just popped out of the sewer.
"How did you…" but Shikamaru just raised a hand in thanks and quickly walked away before Lee could finish his question.
"What was that all about?" Temari spoke up, glancing at the boy with a frown.
"Asuma Sarutobi was the man from Lapeer who visited the orphanage a lot, and the man who adopted Choji and Ino." Neji said watching his friend off by himself.
"And that same Asuma was this business guy?" Naruto asked in a shocked voice.
"Whoa, whoa, okay back up," Tenten demanded waving her hands. Feeling a little out of place the man who'd been talking with Lee decided it might be best to just leave. "Who are Choji and Ino."
"Two kids back at the orphanage," Neji paused as he observed Shikamaru heading aimlessly towards the woods. "They were best friends, totally inseparable. Choji had strength to fight off bullies, Shikamaru gave him the courage to do it and Ino was in charge of keeping them both in line." Neji chuckled a bit at the memory. "They all had parents who'd either died or left them at a very young age, all the same age and as strange as they all seemed together, it just seemed to work. Then one day a man comes by and everyone's nervous because times are rough and people who want to take kids in are extremely rare and proabably extremely rich. The man's name is Asuma Sarutobi and he wants to take Choji, Ino and Shikamaru or at least that's what we all thought. We found out that Asuma could only afford to adopt two at the time." Neji sighed and looked at his audience that was now paying avid attention.
"Well, get on with it," Tenten said rolling her hands. Neji sighed for what felt like the billionth time and resumed.
"So Shikamaru goes and has a talk with Asuma and convinces him that they can go without some full meals or just meals in general so that all of them can come. Of course Asuma is concerned because he travels a whole lot but Shikamaru convinces him. So, the big day comes and everyone's excited, Choji loads his stuff into Asuma's car, a nice long black Oldsmobile, and Ino puts her bag in and then, the doors close and the car drives off without Shikamaru. Apparently Choji and Ino weren't going to go without Shikamaru they were very adamant about sticking together. But Asuma didn't have time to work out a way to take all three of them and agreed to Shikamaru's suggestion…" he paused and let the sentence drift off. "He stayed behind to make sure his friends got…" he paused a second time and didn't finish.
"Huh," Temari said silently. "I never knew."
"He knows better than anyone what letting someone go is like."
"Apparently, the reunion is the part that he's going to have to get used to," Tenten mused. Neji just nodded in silent agreement.
"Come on, let's go see if they have any work for us to do," he said suddenly. "It'll keep us occupied until this evening."
The black Oldsmobile pulled into the clearing through a small path in the trees, boxes loaded in the back and tied to the top. Naruto and Kiba found that they had to literally drag Shikamaru out of his hiding spot in the forest. Despite his struggling them managed to push him out in the cars view just as the passengers exited.
"Will the recognize him?" Tenten whispered.
"You'd be surprised how much he looks like his younger self," Kiba snickered. A girl with a blonde ponytail and a rotund boy carrying a large stack of boxes stopped and stared as if they'd just seen a ghost.
"Well I'll be damned," a tall man mumbled, cigarette tumbling out of his mouth and onto the ground.
Without missing a beat the blonde girl ran up to him and slapped him on the face. "You could've at least written a note or something." She mumbled before pulling him into a tight hug. The other boy wasn't far behind, the boxes tumbled to the ground at he began to crush the two of them with his arms, he looked like he was tearing up.
"I really hope you're the guy I think you are," he said between sniffles. "Otherwise, I'm real sorry for hugging you like this."
"Good ol Choji,," Shikamaru laughed.
"Why didn't you ever come and visit?" Ino sobbed, shaking him. "Wouldn't old man Hiruzen organize a trip for you to come and visit?"
"He offered," Shikamaru stuttered avoiding Ino's eyes. "But I was afraid…of…of." Ino cut him off and pulled his lips onto hers for what seemed like an eternity.
"Afraid of this?" she asked. To which Shikamaru just shrugged and nodded. "Consider this our closure." She smiled.
"Come on," Shikamaru sighed. "We've got a lot to catch up on."
"We'll leave you to it then," Neji said casually. Choji froze.
"Oh, hey there…Neji," He said slowly in a nervous jittery tone. "Good to see you." He quickly turned around and hustled off with his two friends.
"Neji Hyuga," Tenten said in a smug tone coming up to him and placing an arm on his shoulder. Neji glanced at her nervously. "Just what were you back then?" It was Neji's turn to shrug.
"Don't let him fool you," Kiba called. "Long story short, he was a prick."
"Well," Tenten grinned as Neji looked at her with a slightly scared expression. "Good thing you changed huh?" Neji just kept staring at her as if the words didn't really register before a sheepish smile crossed his face. "Neji Hyuga with that face," Tenten smiled before laughing. "Never thought I'd see that as long as I lived." Casually she strolled past the others, finally ending up beside Naruto and Kiba.
"I'm going to go and help with those boxes, I think there's food in them," Kiba said and Akamaru barked in agreement breaking a short silence between them.
"Go for it," Tenten said simply. There was silence as a far crackled in the distance.
"Saskue resolved his issue, Shikamaru got his closure, everyone is finding something except me," Naruto said bemoaning his own fate.
"You've still got me, Neji and Kiba," Tenten said elbowing him as he shook it off and took out his flyers again.
"Yeah well in order to get closure you need to have issues to close," He joked. Tenten rolled her eyes. "I just have a funny feeling about the whole thing, a feeling that I just can't shake," Naruto sighed. "But it's all the way up there in Grand Rapids, it's like seventy miles away, I couldn't ask everyone to go, I could just go by myself but…"
"Go for it," Tenten shrugged casually. Naruto looked at her, then back the flyers, then back at her. "Well? Are you going to sit here whining about it all day or are you going to go out and do something about it?" Tenten asked finally. Naruto just looked back down at the flyers and smiled.
Neji and Kiba gave sighs of satisfaction as they finished unloading the boxes from the car. A man walked over and handed them two big bags full of fruit. "Compliments of our generous benefactor," he grinned.
"Thanks Mister Asuma," Kiba droned with a grin looking up at the man. Shikamaru came over with Ino and Choji and plopped down beside them. They ate in silence, but each of them had a smile of his or her face.
"Say," Asuma began. "Shikamaru, you know, I expanded my business a bit since I last saw you, despite the depression I think I've got enough to take you in if you'd like." Shikamaru's chuckle almost came out like a scoff.
"I don't know anymore," he said using the same words Neji had spoken. "I just want to know how I ended up here of all places in this situation. If you look at it, my life really is a mess. I'm out here, on my own, with a group a of friends and strangers, I don't know anymore."
"It's not our place to question Fate," Neji mumbled to himself. Asuma just smiled and brought a cigarette to his mouth.
"Well as a wise man once said, no matter the circumstances," Asuma began in a faintly nostalgic voice as if he was reminiscing. He paused once before chuckling. "Every man lives in a world of his own making. Your life is a not a mess, and because of the decisions you made a lot of people are better of because of it."
"You don't believe in destiny?" Neji asked looking up at the man curiously.
"I believe that destiny shuffles the cards for you and deals you your hand, then she let's you play them anyway you want em'. Your family, your friends, your enemies, they don't define what you do with your life. You do." Pointing directly at Shikamaru. He gave the words awhile to sink in as the boy glanced at his friends then back at the flickering flames of the campfire.
"Where the hell are you going?" Kiba shouted suddenly as Naruto and Tenten bolted past them.
"Grand Rapids!" the blonde haired boy yelled only turning his head for a brief second.
"What?!"
"Come on Neji let's go!" Tenten smirked motioning for him to follow.
"Oh great!" Kiba huffed. "Hey wait up!"
"Here we go again…" Shikamaru groaned. He stood up and suddenly stopped. Ever so slowly, he turned around, only to be greeted by a group of smiling faces.
"Don't worry about us buddy," Choji smiled.
"Just be sure you stop by and visit soon," Ino laughed. Shikamaru nodded back before turning to Temari. He raised an eyebrow. Temari just sighed.
"Well don't get all mushy on me you lazy bum…"
"Are you coming or not?" Shikamaru asked, a grin creeping onto his face. Temari looked shocked, she looked around, rubbed the back of her head sighed again and stood up. Quickly she cracked her knuckles and grinned back.
"Tell Guy I'm going to be gone for a little while," she called back at Lee as the two rushed off with the others.
"Would you wait up you lunatic!" Kiba shouted after Naruto as the two bolted off as fast as there feet could carry them.
"Taking the lead on this one?" Neji questioned smugly to Tenten. The girl just smiled at him and shrugged.
Shikamaru briefly glanced up at the sky and smiled.
"Here we go again mom, here we go again,"
Well how was it? Did it seem rushed? I'm sorry if it seemed rushed. I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments, they really do help me update faster. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you soon.