Chapter 26
The next D.A. meeting went relatively well. Ginny was still upset that they couldn't have the meetings more often, but she sucked it up and tried harder at that meeting. The other students were also trying harder, which made Harry very proud. He was glad they were pulling together so well.
Ever since the note, Harry and Ron have noticed that Shikamaru was hanging around them more and more often. He would randomly ask them very strange questions as well. They didn't want to tell it to Naruto and Sakura, though. They had enough on their plates to worry about anyway.
"Sakura, could you hand me that book? There was something in it I wanted to look at." Sakura gave Naruto a ridiculous look. She couldn't believe he would ever say something like that. She handed him the book and grew even more surprised when he opened it and began reading. Naruto looked up to see her look. "What?"
"Nothing. I just never thought you'd do something like that. I've never seen you actually read a book before. Unless you were forced to of course." Naruto just chuckled and started reading again. "Just because I was such an idiot when I was younger doesn't mean I didn't seek knowledge just like you."
She smiled and started reading a book on the only martial arts book in the whole library. Sakura was slightly amused at the lack of knowledge on the subject. The whole book was written on assumptions. At the end of nearly every single paragraph, it said something along the lines of "This is what I believe is true"
After a while, she gave up on reading it. It was just so stupid. She walked over to Naruto and looked at what he was reading. He was reading about different forms of controlling others. "Why are you reading something like that?"
"Huh?" He quickly hid the book. "Why are you reading about controlling others?"
"No reason. Just reading. I want to be very informed about this world in case we ever have to send anyone else here." Sakura didn't buy it for a minute. "Sure, let's go with that."
"What? I'm telling the truth!" Sakura shook her head and sat down again. "Look, you wouldn't be looking something like that up just because you could. There has to be a motive behind it."
Naruto suddenly grew very defensive. "Not everything has to have a motive behind it. Not every single person needs to have reason behind what they do."
"Um, yes they do. I read the only book on martial arts in the library to find out if they knew anything about us. We became shinobi to protect the village we love. Murderers kill because they hate that particular person. Everything has a motive behind it."
"Then I guess we're even worse than murderers. We will kill because someone told us to. We don't know the person half the time." Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Look, that's completely different. We kill only on the occasions that truly require that." Naruto stood up abruptly. "No we don't. We are just as much a murderer as a person who kills people they hate. We have no motive to kill anyone except the fear of getting kicked out of the village."
"Naruto, you are being completely ridiculous! I don't understand how you could ever say something like that!" Naruto shook his head. "I don't understand how you can't see that. You really are completely blind."
Sakura stood up. "I'm blind? You've been blind to way more things than anyone I know!"
"You know what? How did I ever date a bitch like you?" Naruto walked out of the Room of Requirement, slamming the door as hard as he could. Everyone left in there was surprised the door didn't come off it's hinges.
Sakura felt the tears come. She didn't even try to stop them. They had been doing so well. What happened? Shikamaru came over. "He's just had a bad day. He'll come around."
"No, you don't understand. I really screwed up this time." She left the Room of Requirement too, deciding it was best to get to bed before Naruto got there.
Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Shikamaru were the only people left in the room. Hermione was putting away the last of the books when the raised voices stopped her. She felt bad, but at the same time, she was glad. They weren't snogging every minute anymore, which was definitely a plus.
Shikamaru looked at the door where Sakura just left and laughed. The trio looked at him strangely. He just looked at them and smiled. "What? They had it coming."
He left, leaving the trio very confused. Hermione brushed it off and finished putting the books away. Harry and Ron, however, gave each other a look. They knew something was up and that just proved it.
Shikamaru walked through the halls, strutting his way to the common room. Passerby's looked at him weird, but they didn't know him well, so they said nothing. When he entered the common room, he lounged out on the couch. People that were on the couch left, swearing under their breath.
"What are you doing back so quickly?" Shikamaru looked up and saw Naruto looking at him. He still looked upset, but he tried to cover it up as best as possible.
"There wasn't anything to do. And your little fight was the most amusing thing all day." Naruto's eyebrows lowered slightly. "Are you feeling alright, Shikamaru?"
"Never been better!" He let a smile grace his face. Naruto blinked a few times before going up to bed. He knew Sakura was already there, but he was going to completely ignore her.
Shikamaru looked over at the fire and smiled again. Something in his head was nagging at him, but he ignored it. He just knew he was very happy and didn't want anything ruining the moment.
'Well, looks like I can speak to you after all. I can't do it very long, though. Shame.' Shikamaru jumped up off the couch, getting himself more strange looks. 'I'm talking to you in your head, idiot. Looks like you are pretty dumb. Just think what you need to say, and I'll hear it.'
'Um, this is really weird. Who are you?' The voice groaned. 'You don't recognize my voice? It's Takeru! Dumbass.'
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. 'No, I think you are the dumbass. I was messing with you. You should've known that I knew it was you. You're voice sorta sticks out.'
Takeru laughed. 'Well, I guess I am the dumbass. Meet me tonight. Same time, same place.'
'I can do that.' Shikamaru smirked and looked at his watch. It was just going past the eight o'clock mark. 'I've got plenty of time to kill.'
The nagging feeling he had came back, only it was stronger this time. He fought harder to ignore it, and succeeded. 'I've really got to get it together.'
Harry and Ron were the only ones awake in their dormitory. They were looking out two different windows. They did not trust Shikamaru anymore.
There was a figure that zoomed across the lawn. Harry looked to Ron and nodded. It was time to try the new magic they had practiced. Each of them took out their wands and they slowly opened the window in front of them. They climbed onto the window shelves and then flicked their wands sharply.
Stairs made out of air appeared below them. Gingerly, they took a step onto the stairs, praying they wouldn't fall. They quickly made their way down the stairs and zoomed in Shikamaru's direction. Looking behind them, they saw that the stairs stayed where they were.
Once they made it to the edge of the forest, they slowly inched forward, hoping the darkness would cover them. They soon heard distinct voices.
"...they finally found it." Shikamaru's voice was easily recognized. There was a pause. Then, "Really? Well, he should be happy with that information. Anything to get him closer to his goal. Good work. Now, I need information on the two other shinobi."
That voice was not familiar in any way to either of them. They listened intently to the next words. "Sakura is just what you'd expect. She's a medical ninja who has the strength of Tsunade. She 'loves' Naruto, but keeps being extremely rude to him. I really don't know what he sees in her..."
"Okay, I didn't really need the last part. And what do you have on Naruto?" There was another slight pause. "Well, he greatly resembles the fourth Hokage, but I doubt they're actually related. Naruto's an orphan, so it's highly doubtful. Plus, he's not exactly on the bright side all the time."
"Well, I can tell you he's the fourth's son." There was another pause, this time it was longer. The information was sinking into Shikamaru. "It makes sense now. He was born on the day the fourth died. The same day... Naruto has the Kyuubi in him, doesn't he?"
"Yes he does." Harry and Ron were beyond confused at this point. What was the Kyuubi? How can it be inside Naruto?
"Now that you know that, you can see why he is interested in Naruto, right?" "Definitely."
Yet another pause ensued. "Well, I should let you get back to the castle. Keep up the good work. The 'Dark Lord', as he calls himself, will be very pleased. In my opinion, he's pretty stupid. He shouldn't keep going after the same boy over and over when it never works. Harry Potter's got him beat."
Harry nearly jumped in there, but Ron stopped him. They decided it would be best to get back to the castle first. They turned around and ran as fast as they could up the stairs. They both barely made it in when their stairs dissipated.
Panting, they went to their beds. Whispering, Ron said, "Well, that's not good."
Harry took off his glasses and nearly slammed them onto the nightstand. "You think?"
The next day, Harry woke up with a headache. He automatically knew it wasn't going to be a good day. Groggily, he stood and put on his glasses. Ron was still fast asleep on his bed, so Harry went downstairs and lounged on the couch.
His mind floated to the memory of what happened the night before. His hands and teeth clenched together. He just couldn't believe...nobody would willingly do that. Not one of his friends. It just couldn't happen.
"You're up early too." Harry looked behind the couch and saw Sakura. Her eyes were still puffy from the night before, so she appeared even more tired. Fresh tears glistened on her face. She went and sat down on a chair.
They sat until the sun rose even higher into the sky. Then, Sakura stood and said, "I'm going to go get some breakfast. Do you want to come with me?"
"No, I think I'll stay here for a while longer. Sakura nodded and went back upstairs, presumably to get changed out of her pajamas. A few minutes later, she came backstairs, more hurried than before, and went out the portrait hole.
Harry got more comfortable and stared at the remains of the fire. Only a few spots showed the indication of any fire at all, but Harry more longed for a face to burst forth. Hopefully, that face would be of Sirius. That would make everything slightly easier to bear.
"Hey, Harry." Harry jumped up and stared intently at the fire. Nothing at all had changed in the fire. "Behind you, idiot."
Harry sheepishly turned around and saw Naruto. He didn't have the same sadness in his eyes that Sakura did. Instead, he had worry in his eyes.
"Have you noticed anything...off about Shikamaru lately?" Naruto asked.
Harry suddenly went into deep thought. He made it appear as though he was thinking back, to see if he noticed anything. In actuality, he was debating on whether to tell him or not. He wanted someone to know besides him and Ron. Naruto and Sakura deserved to know. They are his friends, they would know what to do.
On the other hand, if they did get involved, they would most likely be killed. Harry couldn't have anymore deaths on his hands. Cedric...his was hard enough to deal with.
"No, I haven't. Why do you ask?" Naruto got even more serious. "Harry, are you completely sure you haven't noticed anything strange? Anything at all?"
"I really haven't." Naruto let out a slow breath. "Do you want to go get breakfast with me?"
"Sure, I just gotta go change, then I'll be down. I'll drag Ron with me too." With that, Harry ran upstairs. Ron was halfway through buttoning his robes when Harry came in.
"Why'd you get up so early?" "Later." Harry quickly changed and they went downstairs. Together, Harry, Ron, and Naruto all went downstairs to breakfast. They all made small talk on the way down. Just before entering the Great Hall, Naruto stopped us. He looked straight at Ron and asked him the same question he asked me earlier.
Ron thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Why, do you think something's wrong with him?"
Naruto shook his head and went in the Great Hall. Just in time, too, because Ron's ears turned a nasty shade of red. "Damn, that was way too close."
"Yeah, you think?" They went into the Great Hall and took a seat in the middle of the Gryffindor table. Looking around, they saw Naruto all the way down at the end near the teachers. Sakura was at the opposite end, near the doors. Sakura looked like she had just broken down again and ran out of the Great Hall.
"I swear, she is getting very annoying. Every time I turn around, she's crying again. I'm nearly positive she's doing it to get another boys attention just to get Naruto jealous. It's sickening." Hermione made her presence rather obvious as she sat, putting a thick book on the table in front of her.
"It gets so annoying when girls are in the bathroom, one of them was dumped, so they talk about how their life is over. They cry a lot, then decide to date their ex-boyfriend's best friend to get him jealous. Most of the time, it just backfires. I really don't care anymore. It's so annoying." Ron gave her a look.
"Half of the reason she's acting like that is because of Naruto. He said some pretty rude things to her." Hermione snorted. "And Sakura didn't say anything bad to Naruto? You're siding with the girl who looks like she needs to be saved. Typical boy fashion. I should not be surprised."
"The only reason you're saying any of this is because you can't land yourself a boyfriend. You don't know what any of it feels like." Hermione glared at Ron before picking up the book and hitting him with it. "Hey!"
"Ronald Weasley, you are way to much of a typical boy. You need to open up your eyes a bit. It might help. A lot." Hermione grabbed a piece of toast and walked away. Harry gave Ron a look.
"What? I was just stating the simple facts." Harry laughed and dug into his breakfast of eggs and toast with marmalade.
Naruto was pacing. He didn't want to go into the dormitory. It may have been Sunday, but he didn't want to face Shikamaru. He heard him leave the night before. Then, he heard him whisper when he came back. "Hope Harry and Ron follow me again. That was very fun. Now they know."
Naruto could tell Harry and Ron were lying, but he let it go. He'd find it out himself. Then again, he had something very important to tell Shikamaru. For some reason, during the middle of the day, he seems to mellow out, but when it gets closer to the night, he acts strangely. Now was the perfect time.
He pushed open the door. "Hey, Shikamaru, I was wondering if you could take a look at something. You're smart brain would be able to figure it out."
Shikamaru nodded, looking slightly bored. Naruto handed him his wand. "The inscription. There are more letters now. They don't go in order, though. They skip around. It's weird."
Shikamaru took the wand and studied it. Naruto could tell he was acting normal at this point. He wasn't acting so weird. "Well, there are the letters 'DETYTNSOKITEM'. They go in that order. Hm..."
Naruto sat on his bed while Shikamaru worked. After around twenty minutes, Shikamaru said, "The only thing I can discern from this is the last word might be THEM. I'm not totally sure, but I think it is."
"Okay, it was worth a shot. Well, thanks. I'll leave you to...whatever you're doing. What are you doing?" Naruto looked at Shikamaru's bed and saw that he had a few books with him.
"I'm reading up on the Ministry. I want to know everything about them. It might prove useful one day." Naruto nodded slowly, not really getting why it might be useful. "Well, I'll leave you to it."
Naruto left quickly. He felt something strange in him. It almost felt like something he had felt a few months before...
"Hey, Naruto, do you want to come play quidditch with us?" Naruto looked at Harry and Ron who were just about to leave. "Sure, but what's quidditch?"
They explained it all to him on the way to the quidditch pitch. They were surprised he hadn't gone to any of the matches. Granted, half of them had been cancelled because of Umbridge, but still.
They got him and Ron a school broom, since Harry had his firebolt. Ron showed him that he had to say, "Up!" while holding his hand over the broom. It went strait into Ron's hand when he did that.
Naruto tried. It wobbled slightly. He tried again and it floated halfway before floating back to the ground. Thus, he started to cheat. He centered his chakra into his hand and when he said up, he shot the chakra down and grabbed onto the broom, pulling it up quickly. Harry and Ron didn't even notice.
"Well, that worked. Better than my first time. I got nailed in the face. Naruto burst out laughing, Harry along with him. Harry had forgotten about that.
After their good laugh, Harry and Ron showed Naruto how to mount and kick off slowly. Naruto did exactly what he was told and managed to do pretty well. At least until he got impatient and wanted to go faster.
Once they finally managed to slow Naruto down, his hair was very windswept. He was grinning from ear to ear. They told Naruto that they were going to practice for a while, so Naruto could either go back to the castle or stay and watch. He decided to go to the castle. He had to talk to someone.
Night had fallen yet again. Takeru was waiting in the normal spot. He had been told by Shikamaru that he had to come. Apparently, Shikamaru had some very important news.
Takeru was incredibly pleased by the way Voldemort was handling his task. It wasn't everyday you got the Dark Lord to make you something. Especially something powerful.
Takeru shifted his position on the tree branch. Though he had been in the wizarding world for quite some time, he kept up on his shinobi skills. He wasn't going to let himself grow rusty. He was just very happy he found this world. And it was all on accident, which made it even better.
Voldemort was searching everywhere for someone to try his new ideas on. He was traveling when he found a shimmering rock. He walked over to it and touched it. He was instantly pulled inside. On the other side, there was a room with a man in it. The man was harking down a bowl of soup.
The man looked starved and mangled. His hair was unkempt and his ribs were sticking out. After the man finished his meal, he looked to Voldemort. That was the first time Takeru and Voldemort met.
Takeru was being held accountable for the death of three dead Nara clan shinobi. He was to be locked up in the Nara shrine for two months. He was to be fed once a week and given water twice a week. In this time, it was said that the spirits of the ones killed would come and forgive the killer.
Takeru got out of being there for another week. He hated Konoha with a passion. He wanted to watch it burn. Ever since the stupid laws were put in place, Takeru's life was different.
Shikamaru came into Takeru's sight. He stopped his flashback and focused on the task at hand. "You said it was urgent?"
"Yes. I had completely forgotten about it. Naruto's wand. There's an inscription on the tip." Takeru's eyes rose. "Really? I didn't know wands changed."
Shikamaru shrugged. "All the books I looked in said nothing about the wand changing. I almost think it changes with your chakra. If that changes, you're wand will also change with it. Naruto did lash out when Sasuke died. The Kyuubi's power might've resonated with his wand and caused it to slowly change. He never really uses it, so he didn't see the change." Takeru nodded. "Yes, that sounds like a valid idea."
"Is there anything else? I'd rather stay in the dark for a couple of weeks before coming back. It might get too suspicious." Shikamaru nodded. "I found out that Ginny Weasley could be considered a threat. She seems to be violent when she wants to be. We should keep an eye on her."
"I'll tell Voldemort. He should be happy with all the work you've been doing. I'm sure he's bound to be nearly finished with my request." Shikamaru said nothing. Takeru smiled. "Well, you should head back now. Good job and keep up the good work."
Shikamaru nodded and went back. Takeru slid into the shadows, smirking at the progress. It wouldn't be long now. Not long before the day will finally come.
Shikamaru found himself dreaming that night. He was dreaming of a large city, filled to the brim with civilians. They were smiling, knowing they were safe. Ninja would jump around all the time. Some of them walked through the streets as if it were completely normal. He suddenly saw a man with a cigarette in his mouth, smiling slightly. Next to him was a blonde girl wearing purple. Then, there was a chubby boy with swirls on each cheek.
They all looked so happy. Until Shikamaru sliced all their necks open. He woke up laughing. He didn't know what else to do but laugh. It was just so funny how their blood fell from their necks. And how they screamed, not understanding why he was killing them.
I really don't know what the last part is all about. It was random. And I'm writing another story with a very dark background. I was writing that before this, so that's most likely what it was. So, we're getting near the final stretch. It seemed like this has been a very long story. It's been two years. And almost 200 reviews. Never expected that. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!