"Since I was young, I knew I'd find you. But our love was a song sung by a dying swan. And in the night, you hear me calling, you hear me calling. And in your dreams you see me falling, falling. Breathe in the light. I'll stay here in the shadow. Waiting for a sign, as the tide grows. Higher, and higher, and higher. And when the nights are long. All those stars recall your goodbye, your goodbye." - Oblivion, M83 feat. Susanne Sundfor
The war was finally over even though it didn't last very long, but almost all Konoha's forces where now gone as well as their Hokage. However Shikamaru didn't rest after he helped fight in the war. He didn't go to the barbecue place with the remaining members of the Konoha 12 to celebrate.
He headed straight over to the hospital after the fighting. He needed to see lady Tsunade as soon as possible. The village was left without a Hokage and he needed to find someone to fill the roll until Naruto returned. A village couldn't operate without a Hokage.
He would've asked Kakashi to act as Hokage for the time being, but Kakashi was nowhere to be found so Shikamaru assumed he was one of the missing. Shikamaru entered the hospital and looked around. However something struck Shikamaru as strange.
Even though the people in the hospital was injured, not one of them where disappearing. He also noticed none of the villagers was disappearing. In other words, from all the categories Shikamaru placed everyone in, only the normal villagers and injured aren't disappearing.
Shikamaru walked to the receptionist and asked for lady Tsunade's whereabouts. He followed the directions he was given until he found lady Tsunade in a room helping injured people.
"Lady Tsunade." Shikamaru said leaning against the doorframe.
Lady Tsunade looked up from her clipboard and to Shikamaru. She looked as young as ever, but in reality she counted as one of the elderly. Her appearance is thanks to her jutsu. Her appearance is only an illusion. However from all of the three Sannin, Jiraya was the only one who aged normally.
Shikamaru knew if Jiraya was still alive he would've looked like a pervy old grandpa by now while Tsunade and Orochimaru still looked how they looked 30 years ago.
"Shikamaru, what are you doing here? Are you hurt?" Tsunade asked looking him over for serious injuries.
"No, I need to speak to you privately." Shikamaru said seriously.
"Alright." Tsunade said nodding her head as she saw the seriousness in Shikamaru's eyes.
She handed the clipboard to a nurse then left the room followed by Shikamaru. They walked in silence until they reached the very top of the hospital. The roof.
"Have you been fighting Shikamaru? You're covered in cuts." Tsunade asked with crossed arms.
"Yes, but my part helped end the war. But that's not what I want to talk about." Shikamaru said.
"What is it you want to talk about Shikamaru?" Tsunade asked.
"I'm sure Sakura informed you about the disappearances." Shikamaru said
"Yes, she did and I've noticed it myself as well." Tsunade nodded.
"Naruto disappeared and the village needs someone to run it in his absence." Shikamaru said looking Tsunade in her eyes.
"And you want me to be Hokage again?" Tsunade asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes." Shikamaru nodded.
"What about Kakashi?" Tsunade asked.
"He disappeared as well. That's why I'm asking you." Shikamaru said.
"Shikamaru I'm retired and as much as I hate to say this, I'm getting too old for this." Tsunade sighed.
"And that's exactly why you're the most capable of running the village while Naruto is gone. You have experience plus as far as my knowledge go, the elderly doesn't disappear." Shikamaru said.
"Are you calling me an old hag?" Tsunade asked as a vein popped in her forehead.
"No, I'm calling you a wise woman." Shikamaru said quickly, not wanting to feel the wrath of the fifth Hokage.
Shikamaru knew lady Tsunade's age was a sensitive topic and he knew what happened when someone insulted her about her age. He was not about to make the same mistake as countless others made before him.
"I'll make you a deal Shikamaru. Why don't you be Hokage, I always thought you would've made a good Hokage. I'll be your advisor until you disappear and when you fade I'll take over and be Hokage in Naruto's place." Tsunade suggested with a raised eyebrow.
"Being Hokage is troublesome. What about Sakura?" Shikamaru sighed.
"She's head of the hospital. Her hands are full here." Tsunade said with her hands on her hips.
"Isn't there someone else?" Shikamaru asked trying to get out of the job.
"Who shikamaru? Everyone capable of the job is missing." Tsunade said with a hard tone.
"Ugh fine, this is such a pain." Shikamaru complained as he started walking away.
However after a few steps he stopped and turned his head back around to look at lady Tsunade.
"Let's not make this information public, I don't want the village going into a confused panic." Shikamaru said.
"Does anybody else know about this?" Tsunade asked.
"Only the remaining Konoha 12." Shikamaru answered.
"I see." Tsunade said as shikamaru turned back around and walked away.
Even though the war was over, ended with the little amount of shinobi left and vanished with the shinobi who fought it, the village was left in a dire state. The village wasn't destroyed, but there was a few buildings and houses that was harmed by the fighting. However shikamaru wasn't worried about that, it could easily be rebuild.
The thing that worried shikamaru is the village's vulnerability, all the shinobi is disappearing. The village will be left defenseless if things go on like this. The only question now is will the disappearances end with the shinobi or will the villagers fade as well.
Will the elderly be spared? Will the gennin be spared?
Shikamaru walked over to a house he thought he would never go to in a situation like this one. His mother's house. He found her extremely troublesome, but he still visited her every now and then since his father died.
Shikamaru stopped in front of his family's home with a bored expression. He looked at the door for a while before he sighed and knocked, waiting for his mother to answer and after a short while she did indeed open the door.
"Shikamaru!" His mother beamed.
"Hey mom." He greeted.
She stepped out the way so he could enter and closed the door behind him.
"It's really getting colder by the day." His mother commented as shikamaru walked through his childhood home and sat on the familiar couch he always lazed on.
"It is." Shikamaru replied, slight worry in his voice.
"Hey, what's wrong?" His mother asked hearing the worry in his voice as she sat down on the couch opposite him.
"Huh, what do you mean?" Shikamaru asked.
"You know what I mean. I can see you're stressed and I can hear the worry in your voice. Is it about the war?" His mother asked as she rolled her eyes in the beginning of the sentence.
"No, the war actually ended tonight." Shikamaru sighed.
"But that's a good thing then, so why do you look so bothered?" His mother asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It's how the war ended that's bothering me." Shikamaru said, exhaustion hinted in his voice as he leaned his head back and rubbed his face while he slouched in his seat.
"What do you mean by that?" Shikamaru's mother asked confused.
"If you haven't noticed it by now, you'll realize it real soon..." Shikamaru said looking at the roof.
"Does it have something to do with the little amount of Shinobi I've been seeing lately?" She asked with a frown.
"It's exactly that." Shikamaru answered with a sigh.
"I've been wondering about that. What's happening Shikamaru?" She asked worryingly.
"There's no point in not telling you, you'll find it out with or without me telling you..." Shikamaru shrugged.
"Then just tell me already." His mother said impatiently in that signature annoyed way she yells at him.
"Alright, alright..." Shikamaru said boredly as he lifted his head to look at her.
"Just one alright, Shikamaru." She exclaimed as she interrupted him.
"Alright... Shinobi are disappearing mom. That's the only reason the war ended tonight." Shikamaru said exaggerated, but turned serious when he told his mom about the disappearances.
"What?" His mother gasped.
"I don't know why and I don't know who, but someone is making Chunins and Jonins disappear." Shikamaru said troubled.
"But, that means..." His mother said shocked.
"Yeah, I don't know when, but soon I'm going to fade as well. But don't worry, I'll find my way back." Shikamaru sighed.
"I know you will." His mother said softly as she looked at the floor.
There was a long silence between them. His mother knew him well enough to know when he had no solution for a situation, this was one of those situations. She knew he felt helpless and frustrated because he had no idea what to do.
"I saw Temari the other day..." His mother started looking up again.
"And?" He asked narrowing his eyes at her slightly in suspicion.
"She has no idea who I am. How is that possible?" His mother asked with a frown.
"She has amnesia. I probably should've mentioned it to you earlier." Shikamaru said while his mother sweet dropped.
"How did she get amnesia?" She questioned.
"Orochimaru gave her a curse mark while she was in a critical condition. She survived it in the end, but it led to her not remembering anything." Shikamaru explained.
"That poor girl. Did she disappear too?" His mother asked sadly.
"She was the first too fade." Shikamaru answered with a sigh.
"What happens when someone fades?" His mother asked with a frown.
"Too be honest, I have no idea. I just now they're still alive somewhere." Shikamaru said troubled.
"Things are getting troublesome." His mother said chuckling slightly as she mimicked him which made him smile amused.
"I saw Asuma today..." Shikamaru said with slight sadness in his eyes while Yoshino's eyes widened.
"I despise that jutsu, if they reanimated your father I would've personally kicked Orochimaru's ass." His mother said disgusted as her eyes returned to their normal size.
"I'm sure they would've, but Kabuto is the one reanimating shinobi and he disappeared so he stopped the jutsu." Shikamaru said in a bored tone.
"However I'm sort of glad Asuma got reanimated. He finally got the chance to meet his daughter." Shikamaru smiled slightly.
"She's going to be a splendid ninja, just like her parents." Yoshino mused nostalgically.
"Yeah." Shikamaru agreed.
"I'm going to bed, I'm exhausted." Shikamaru said as he stood up nonchalantly.
"Wait, you're staying here?" His mother asked surprised.
"Yeah, I'm too lazy to go back to my apartment." Shikamaru said with a bored yawn as he walked up the steps while his mother's eyebrow twitched.
"Of course, I shouldn't have expected anything else." Yoshino said annoyed.
She blamed his father for his lazy attitude.
xXx
The next morning shikamaru woke up and laid in the guest rooms bed as he stared at the roof of his parents' house. It was cold outside and it made hi lazier than usual to get up. But to be honest he didn't really feel like doing anything right now. However his mother had other plans.
"Shikamaru! Breakfast is done!" He heard her yell from the kitchen.
At least he didn't have to make his own breakfast. He pondered about moving back in with her, and then at least he didn't have to do any work. But then he'll have to put up with her troublesome nagging... Guess he won't be moving back after all. He'll just stay in his own apartment, alone with no one to nag him...
"Shikamaru! Get your lazy bum down here!" His mother yelled again.
...Or anyone to yell at him what to do.
"Alright, alright. I'm coming." Shikamaru groaned.
Luckily his mother didn't hear otherwise she would've yelled at him some more. He walked lazily downstairs and ate with his mother. She looked happy for having someone to eat breakfast with. However he could only eat breakfast with her before he had to go.
"I have to go. Thanks for the food mom." Shikamaru said as he stood up and placed his plate in the sink.
"When will I see you again?" She asked looking at him.
"I don't know. I'll see myself out, take care mom." Shikamaru said as he left his childhood home and walked to the Hokage's mansion.
It was a cold morning and this time he didn't stuff his hands in his pockets because he usually does it, but because he tried to keep them warm. It took him awhile to get to the Hokage's mansion since he was walking slowly and it was a quite far from his parents' house.
"What took you so long?" Tsunade exclaimed annoyed as he entered the office.
"I had to help an old woman get to her home." Shikamaru said feebly, he can't believe he was using Kakashi's lame excuses.
But it's better than getting smacked to hell by the fifth Hokage.
"You expect me to believe that?" Tsunade asked exaggerated while shikamaru shrugged.
That answer was better than admitting to her that he was too lazy to be on time, even though he knew she already knew that.
"Where's Sakura? I need to know how many shinobi is left." Shikamaru asked sitting in the only chair the office had.
Naruto really needed to invest in a couch. He'll bring it to Naruto's attention when he gets back and everything calmed down and returned to normal.
"She disappeared this morning at the hospital." Tsunade sighed.
"Who's in charge of the hospital then, since you're here?" Shikamaru asked.
"I placed a nurse in charge, since they don't seem to vanish like the shinobi do." Tsunade said seriously.
"How many shinobi are left?" Shikamaru asked again with a hard expression.
"All the Genin, minus Mirai, 15 Jonin and 25 Chunnin." Tsunade answered, Shikamaru's stomach dropped slightly when he heard the extremely few number of shinobi that was left.
"What about the root members and Anbu?" He asked with a scowl.
"They're all gone." She scowled making Shikamaru's scowl deepen.
"If I just knew where everyone disappeared to." Shikamaru said with a frown while looking down slightly as he thought of every single answer to his question.
"Everyone would love to know that." Tsunade sighed.
"How about the Konoha 12, whose left?" Shikamaru asked looking up at her again.
"Sai, Chouji and Lee." Tsunade said as she counted them on her fingers.
"Wait, what about Akumaru, did he disappear with Kiba?" Shikamaru asked curiously.
"No. It seems like animals isn't disappearing like shinobi are." Tsunade said.
Poor Akumaru, he and Kiba was inseparable and now they were separated by some strange happening. However Akumaru was getting old and it was probably best for him to stay in the village. It's not long before Kiba would have to stop fighting alongside Akumaru, his old bones can't take as much as they used to.
"If my calculations are correct... Every shinobi, excluding Gennin, is going to be gone by the end of the day." Shikamaru said leaning back in the chair, but Tsunade didn't answer.
"You better start with the paperwork. There's a ton of it." Tsunade said pointing at the desk while shikamaru just eyed the stack of papers wearily.
"Or I can leave it until tomorrow, and then it'll be your baby." Shikamaru said amused.
"Start, shikamaru." Tsunade said angrily.
"Alright, alright." Shikamaru said with a sigh as he started.
Guess Tsunade didn't want to do the paperwork anymore than he did. However it was Naruto's job after all, but someone had to do it in his absence.
"Chouji hasn't disappeared yet, has he?" Shikamaru asked as he stopped doing paperwork and looked at Tsunade.
"Not as far as I know." Tsunade answered.
"I want to talk to him before we disappear." Shikamaru said as he stood up.
"Sit, I'll get him." Tsunade said as she walked out the office to fetch Chouji.
Tsunade really didn't want paperwork. The more Shikamaru did the less she had to do... And they called him lazy. Shikamaru sat with a exaggerated sigh and started with the paperwork again as he waited for Tsunade to return with Chouji, but as the time ticked on by he knew she wasn't going to find it. The clock struck noon when Tsunade finally walked in the office again.
"You didn't find him, did you?" Shikamaru sighed as he stopped writing and leaned back in the chair.
"No. I talked to the cashier at the barbecue place Chouji always goes to, she said she saw him disappear. However she was quite depressed that he disappeared before he paid his bill. He practically ate everything then disappeared without paying." Tsunade said with a sweat dropped.
"How convenient." Shikamaru said bluntly with a sweat drop.
He sighed and turned the chair around as he watched the village bathing in the cold sun of winter. How long would it be before he disappears or would fate really be so cruel that he had to do paperwork until the very last minute before the day ended?
Until the very last minute before he disappeared as well. But when they're all gone it would mean the end of all shinobi of the leaf, for now.
Shikamaru continued with Naruto's paperwork. This was exactly why he didn't want to be Hokage. His job was to help the Hokage on a daily basis and it made him see just how good of a choice it was to have never considered to be Hokage. It's too troublesome
Time ticked away, never pausing and never stopping. It kept ticking until Lee disappeared then Sai then all the rest of the shinobi, until Shikamaru was the last shinobi left and he knew what that meant. It ticked alongside the moving sun that made its slow descend towards the horizon. Shikamaru stopped with the paperwork and turned the chair around once again to look out the window. Tsunade didn't stay in the office the whole time and this was one of the moments she wasn't here.
He crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair as he watched the sunset. After the last ray of the orange sun evaporated, Shikamaru turned the chair back to the desk. But he didn't continue the paperwork. Shikamaru sighed as he stacked the papers on the desk, however he didn't pay attention to Tsunade as she entered the office again.
Night now settled over Konoha as he was packing up so he could go home. From all of the Shinobi, Shikamaru was the last one left. Yes, fate was really that cruel. All his friends where gone as well as most of the people he cared about.
As he finished packing and filing the papers he suddenly got a searing headache. Shikamaru grunted in surprise from the sudden pain.
"Is something wrong Shikamaru?" Tsunade asked as she heard his grunt.
Shikamaru's expression changed from serious to one of amusement. He knew what the sudden pain meant, but first he watched his shadow tug to the direction Temari was in for one last time. She was still in the north. Shikamaru looked up again to Tsunade who looked confused at his sudden amusement.
"Enjoy the paperwork." Shikamaru smirked at Tsunade as he started to fade from reality.
Tsunade gaped at him as she watched him stuff his hands in his pockets and slowly become blurred at his edges as he faded until he was completely gone. Tsunade now stood alone in her old office which now belonged to Naruto. There was no Shikamaru anymore.
"Bastard." Tsunade scoffed as she watched the empty seat Shikamaru occupied only a second ago.
"Strange, Temari was the first one to disappear and he was the last." Tsunade mused to herself as she sat down in her old chair with a sigh.
It started with her and ended with him...
Tsunade sighed and turned the chair so she overlooked the village through the window. There was a biting coldness that seemed to creep over the village. The moon was full, but had a cold white to its foreboding light as it illuminated the village beneath it.
The stars where overshadowed by the round body of light in the never ending sky, but they still continued to glow none the less. Refusing to go unnoticed. However it only added to Tsunade's uneasy feeling she couldn't seem to shake.
Will the village survive this ordeal with only Gennins left... or will it parish in flames?
A/N: Another chapter in less than 4 days. *High five self*. Anyway it's vacation and I'm super happy about that plus tomorrow is our matric farewell and my dress is sexy as hell. So I'm suuuper excited. However they waxed my eyebrows and now my face is in soooo much pain. I'm dying…
I would've posted this chapter sooner, but I had problems with the wifi. Anyway they also gave e fake nails so now my nails is longer than it's ever been in my life and it's super unpractical. For all those people who said this story wasn't ending back in chapter 10... You where right.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter and feel free to like and leave a comment. I always love hearing from you guys, it makes my day.
Stay cool :P