"So, what did you want?" Shikamaru addressed Naruto, the blonde having let himself in moments after the Nara acknowledged his presence.
"Wha-" Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "A guy can't just come over to visit?" he chuckled.
'You don't have time for this'
"Does it have to be now?" the Nara groaned.
"You can't schedule spontaneity" the Uzumaki grinned, getting comfortable on one the couches.
"I'm really not in the mood to deal with you right now" Shikamaru growled.
"What?" Naruto replied. "Deal with me?" he parroted, his smile having wilted. "I didn't know hanging out with a friend was suddenly a chore, too."
"That's not what I meant" the Nara replied, scowling at the blonde.
"Then tell me, what did you mean" Naruto responded heatedly.
"Forget it!" Shikamaru shot back. "I doubt you'd actually listen to what I'm saying, anyway."
"Try me!"
"Get out!"
"Not until you tell me what's been going on with you!" the blonde shot to his feet, eyes pleading.
"It isn't me!" Shikamaru got to his feet just as quickly, anger burning in his own eyes.
"Wh-what?" Naruto faltered, slowly sitting back down. "Just. Talk to me, Shika" he offered.
"I've suddenly got a lot to worry about, at the moment" the Nara sighed, collapsing back into his seat.
"Does it have anything to do with…. You know" Naruto supplied, vaguely gesturing to the markings covering Shikamaru.
'Perceptive. Or was it simply that obvious?' the Voice speculated.
Sometimes Naruto could be frighteningly sharp or ridiculously lucky. Completely dismissing the bond as a detriment would only serve to further concern him, given their recent discussion.
'The moment you tell him of your current situation, you know the outcome.'
Of course, to be completely forthcoming with the 'arrangement' he'd been saddled with would in no way improve matters. There were already Anbu crawling around his apartment, waiting to report their findings. The moment they found out what Gaara had told him, he'd be immediately taken off of duty and thoroughly examined. Maybe he'd be deemed okay, but Shikamaru would also be put under constant surveillance to protect both the village and himself, depending upon whether he snapped or was assassinated first, the moment word inevitably got out.
'How positive' The Voice mused. 'Let's not forget about the fallout.'
And it was true, the chance of this not affecting his friends was close to impossible. Naruto's public support was already split, in regards to the villagers. The shinobi populace at least respected him, with a majority even trusting him, but this was still tentative. Those with the most say in the village refused to yield, whenever Naruto was brought up, despite all he had done. An unstable liability, exactly what Shikamaru would be labeled, as an ally would only help to drag the Uzumaki's hard-won standings back into the dirt.
This was just the effect it would have on Naruto.
Undoubtedly, suspicion would be immediately cast onto the Nara Clan. Fear and uncertainty would inevitably lead to rumors and suspicion. While Shikamaru had no doubts as to the loyalty of his own clan, all one had to do was mention the narrowly averted Uchiha coup.
Needless to say, Shikamaru's reasons for keeping such a thing under wraps were beginning to compound.
'There is no one that can help you, here. It is no longer within their power.'
Perhaps if he had come clean to the Hokage and maybe his father as well, they could come up with a method to keep such a reaction at bay. However, he would still have to be placed under surveillance and confined to the village. Word would still spread, and his situation would end up the same regardless.
This was something Shikamaru would have to take with him to the grave.
'It is better this way' the voice assured him.
And this was the truth. He would not become a burden.
'You simply need to master this ability, this unforeseen gift' it suggested.
It was- no, 'He' was right, after all. This was a minor setback that Shikamaru would forcefully shape to serve his own goals, in time.
And he had plenty of ti-
A loud noise startled him into awareness.
"Hey?" Naruto groaned, snapping his fingers beside the Nara's ear. "Don't just go around spacing out before you tell me what's happening" he demanded.
Could he really lie to Naruto, though?
'Your intentions are just, you need not worry' the Voice asserted.
But this wasn't a matter of whether he was in the right or the wrong. Naruto could be extremely perceptive when he needed to be.
'If you are caught in the middle of a falsehood-'
The blonde would immediately catch onto it. And the moment he felt Shikamaru wasn't being entirely honest with him….
'He will seek his friends' council'
He'd eventually make his way to Gaara, who would tell Naruto everything once he determined that Shikamaru didn't heed his warning. And from there-
'The worst possible outcome is sure to come'
Certainly not a one-hundred percent chance, assuming Naruto managed to keep the information from circulating, but either way, the end result would be similar.
How could he have reached a critical point so quickly!
'There is nothing wrong with telling him your interpretation of the truth, no?'
Could he really get away with feeding Naruto an abridged version of his fears, though?
"I'll punch you if you space out on me again, Shika" Naruto growled.
"Will you?" Shikamaru drawled.
Brown met unwavering blue.
"Fine" Shikamaru sighed. "I've been meaning to talk to you about this, anyway."
"Have you talked to Chouji and Ino already?" Naruto asked.
And it began.
"No, this involves you, specifically."
"How am I involved?" the blonde asked, head tilted in confusion. "I thought this was about your weird contract thing."
He just had to word this carefully.
"What do you think the council will say, when they realize someone has come into contact with what may as well be a curse mark, Naruto?" Shikamaru began.
"But it isn't a curse mark!"
"It just looks like one and has all of the same benefits, right?"
"Sasuke has an actual curse mark and the council hasn't said squat!"
"Sasuke's curse mark has been sealed and isn't on display for the entire village to see!" The Nara chuckled darkly "and you must've forgotten how hard the council tried to have Sasuke executed while he was just a Genin that couldn't control it!"
"But you can!"
This was it.
"What proof do you have of that!?" Shikamaru snarled.
"I trust you, Shikamaru" Naruto calmly replied, eyes radiating sincerity. "That's all I need" he smiled.
'The fool'
Shikamaru couldn't agree more.
But looking at his smile and hearing that reply, Shikamaru couldn't help but feel that he had lost.
And it felt nice.
"That kind of answer won't hold any kind of weight with the council" Shikamaru sighed.
"You're starting to sound like a broken record" Naruto huffed. "Council this, council that" he grumbled. "You still haven't even said how this is supposed to affect me!"
Shikamaru stared.
'He's an idiot'
"You're an idiot" Shikamaru groaned, massaging his temples.
"Hey!" the blonde squawked.
"You really don't see where I'm going with this?"
"Enlighten me, damnit!"
"We're talking about how this affects your chances at becoming Hokage!"
"What does you being able to summon Tengu have to do with that?!"
"It's not that simple for everyone el-" Shikamaru paused, taking a deep breath.
"Start from the beginning?" Naruto prompted.
"Yeah" the Nara nodded. "Here's the problem….
"So you're telling me that Gaara's village outlawed the summoning because the Tengu were too difficult to control?" Naruto asked.
Shikamaru nodded.
"The Tengu can somehow mess with your head, based on how much you've 'synced up' with those tattoos?" he continued.
More nodding.
"And the only reason you don't just do the cool 'sage sword' thing from before to get rid of the tattoos, is because they'll immediately start to suck up your chakra and you'll be back to square one?"
"And if I don't have any chakra left while that's happening…." Shikamaru prompted.
"You'll die" Naruto finished.
'Essentially, yes'
"Pretty much" Shikamaru drawled.
"What kind of bullshit is that?!" the blonde exploded to his feet.
Reality.
"Naruto, calm d-"
"How is this fair!?"
It wasn't.
"I'm aware of th-"
"That means this is permanent, since apparently there's no way to cancel the contract!" Naruto interjected.
He already knew that.
"It's not that big of a deal" Shikamaru replied, teeth gritting together. "You're just overreacti-"
"Why're you so calm about this?!"
He wasn't.
"This is your life, Shikamaru!" Naruto continued. The gravity of the statement hit him full force "What if you actually die bec-"
'No'
That was enough.
"I won't!" Shikamaru declared, rising from his seat. "Now shut up, sit down and let me talk!" the Nara demanded. "Unlike you, I'm not an excitable idiot" Shikamaru admonished, calming down, eyes flitting to the windows. "I don't have the luxury to make any mistakes" he spat.
Naruto got the message.
The Anbu were out there, watching, waiting for one wrong move.
From either of them.
"We're shinobi, Naruto" Shikamaru sighed, collapsing back to his seat in unison with the blonde. "Shinobi die all of the time, this is just another problem I'll have to solve" he shrugged. "With everyone's help, I'll make this work to my benefit, besides" Shikamaru assured his friend. "And with it, I'll see to it that you become Hokage, got it?" he smirked.
"I'll hold you to that" Naruto smiled.
"But keep in mind, no one is going to even consider a Chuunin for Hokage, regardless of their accomplishments" Shikamaru chuckled.
"Hey, I'm working on it" Naruto replied good naturedly. "I'm perfectly fine with letting Kakashi keep the seat warm for me after the old man retires."
"What if they give it to Neji or even Sasuke, instead?" Shikamaru suggested.
"Why would either of those bastards even make it as candidates?" Naruto huffed.
"First of all, they're Jounin" Shikamaru raised a finger "they have an entire clan to support the decision" he raised a second finger "the civilians know and respect them" another finger "not only are they at Jounin rank, but they could possibly hold their own against your dad, with the proper strategy" the fourth finger was raised "and lastly even though they're both still young, they've managed to earn an extremely high amount of recognition in the other hidden villages too, just look at their bounties" he finished, producing the bingo book and tossing it to the blonde.
"All that means is that the only leg up they've got on me is being Jounin and the fact that the Uzumaki and Namikaze clans are dead…. and I guess a bounty, too" he growled, flipping through a few of the pages, before stopping on one that caught his interest. "Hey, I've already got a bounty!" he declared, smiling triumphantly.
"Yeah, I'm aware" Shikamaru sighed, rolling his eyes. "Even though you're not Jounin ranked, you do still have plenty of other reasons to be considered a high priority guy" he explained.
"Let's see" Naruto began to read. "My name, why is it Namikaze instead of Uzumaki, we'll have to talk later, dad" he noted. "Some of my skills, they known that I've got the Nine-Tails in me, general cra- danger level 'S'!" he exclaimed. "Forty-five million Ryo is a good number, right?" he muttered.
"The third was listed at One-hundred million, before he retired and Kakashi is wanted for around forty million" the Nara supplied.
"Of course the world would have already recognized the future Hokage's skill, before he even reaches Jounin!" the blonde boasted.
"That" Shikamaru allowed "and your relation to the current Hokage" he added. "Oh" he drawled "and let's not forget the chakra pet living inside of you, too" he finished. "High profile, remember?"
"Way to go after my confidence, jerk" Naruto deflated. "Probably just jealous because your bounty's so low" he grumbled, flipping through the book to confirm his suspicions. "Neji's bounty is at thirty-three million and Sasuke's worth thirty-four million" he hummed, momentarily perusing their entries before moving on. "Why were their entries so much cooler, though?" he muttered. "At least they only had an 'A' ranking, the losers" he grumbled.
"It's not a competition, Naruto" Shikamaru drawled.
"You would say that" Naruto grinned, landing on Shikamaru's entry "seeing as your bounty is a measl- thirty-five million?" he paused, looking from Shikamaru to the book and then back again. "Did I miss something?"
"Clan heir, supposedly defeated an Akatsuki member singlehandedly father is the Jounin commander and something about-"
"You were scouted by the Guardian Ninja?" Naruto asked, surprised, before shifting to confusion. "How do they even know that?"
"I'm pretty high profile, too" Shikamaru shrugged. "But now back to the orig-"
"Hey! Shino's in here t-"
"Back to the original topic!" Shikamaru declared, snatching the book away.
"I get it, Shikamaru" Naruto huffed, crossing his arms. "To you, it doesn't really look like I'm working all that seriously to get the Hokage seat" he began. "I'll have to step it up and get promoted, then start making a name for myself, or someone else may pass me by and I'll lose my shot" he summarized.
"That's the main problem, yeah" Shikamaru nodded. "And I'll have to show that I'm not affected by this" he motioned to the markings "if I plan to make it as Jounin commander" he sighed.
"The mood swings haven't been helping" Naruto offered.
"Now that I've got all of this off my chest, I think I'll be doing much better" the Nara smirked. "Now get out of my house, I haven't had a decent nap at all today."
"Fine, fine" Naruto laughed, rising to his feet in order to bump a fist with Shikamaru in farewell. After reaching the door he paused, turning to face Shikamaru "Don't just go around trying to shoulder all of your friend's burdens on your own, though, alright?" he asked, not waiting for an answer before letting himself out.
"That could've gone worse" the Nara muttered.
'He has been convinced' the Voice asserted.
Shikamaru groaned, moving from his seat to trudge towards a window,
'Now that the first obsta-'
"This is too troublesome" Shikamaru sighed, opening a window with one hand and massaging his temples with the other.
'Do not avoi-' the Voice abruptly cut off.
The clouds were nice today, Shikamaru acknowledged with a smile, gazing toward the sky and it's drifting occupants.
Lost in thought, Katsu cursed the evening's fair weather, as it did not reflect his mood in any way.
A simple transformation jutsu to alter his cloak and minor facial features were more than enough to gain entry into Konoha without raising a single suspicion. His partner had even made friends with a few of the local children, further solidifying their cover as a simple traveling man and his daughter, visiting for a few days.
But that was as far as his luck would take him.
The man had immediately set to work "sightseeing" in order gather as much information on the boy that had stolen his best chance at attaining the contract. His basic information was not too difficult to acquire.
Heir to the Nara clan. On close terms with the Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki. A Jounin. His residence. And even a brief summary of other noteworthy accomplishments.
But when he'd gone to scope out the Nara's location?
Katsu growled, the air around him distorting for a moment in fury before settling once more.
The boy was being watched by Anbu at all times! Katsu only had a few days remaining, before he was forced to return to headquarters and abandon his goal once again.
The summoning contract may have been lost him for the time being, hidden behind far too many safeguards this time around. He would have to bide his time for a few more years. But he would use the time he had now to make the Nara pay, plain and simply.
A.N. - Alright, so perhaps that one chapter a month goal was far too ambitious on my part. I apologize for leading you readers on.
A.A.N. - With that being said, it has been awhile, so my writing may have... declined in quality or changed a bit. Let me know of any issues or discrepancies you may have noticed in a review or private message. Also, review if you have anything else to say about the fic.