Chapter 37: Of Trust
I'm so sorry that this chapter is so late! I've just been really busy this past week. Haven't had a real moment to myself until today, because I was home alone with not a single person to stop me from writing! I didn't want to write this in school, because that would've been awkward, but somehow I found it okay to write a one-shot during my free periods. A one-shot with a lemon in it... because I'm a genius like that. Oh, well. At least I got this on here for you all to enjoy (I hope)!
To McKazekage: haha, thanks. I didn't realize I'd created an emotional sorta moment. I'm proud of that right now. :) To TheGirlWithNoIQ: I understand your feeling. Gaara is... OMG. And it's become expected of Hanabi to get a crotch shot now? Well, shit. I didn't even really realize... :P To Q Sekhmet: I'm glad you love it! It makes me happy to see that people enjoy this FanFic. :D
And to the Favorite/Followers (whom I seem to never give thanks to) thank you all! [NO, THIS ISN'T THE LAST CHAPTER. I JUST DON'T THINK I GIVE YOU GUYS ENOUGH PROPS.] 21 favorites, 26 follows, 1 community, and 65 reviews. Thank all of you guys for continuously making my days by liking it, by reading it, by reviewing it, by sticking with it. You all are such great people. Thank you.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto. I own the story and the OC's.
Enjoy this chapter, please.
The sort of life Kankurō lived prior to falling in love had him living cautiously. He didn't trust people easily, and when he did trust it was a half-trust. He was partially afraid to put his complete faith in a person just to see it let down, so he refused to; shaking their hand with one hand and holding a kunai behind his back with another. After Yashamaru's assassination-turned-suicide, Kankurō took to keeping a kunai under his pillow due to the fact that he was worried his father might want him dead next. He had believed that shinobi were better off not trusting anyone, especially their comrades—the people closest to you can kill you the easiest, after all.
It was not Hinata, specifically, who changed this ideal; though she held a part in it. It was all of 'Rookie Nine', the most-recently graduated Genin group out of Konoha that had taken the Chūnin exams by a storm, surprising everyone. Each of them, even Sakura; were responsible for Kankurō's changing ideologies. The idea stated that if comrades cannot be trusted—then who can be? He had to put his trust in his comrades if he hoped to live past his teens, to live at all. So he did. Slowly, but surely, he began to put his trust and reliance upon his two siblings—his team. And slowly, he put his faith in the Konoha Eleven.
And then Sakura had gone and stomped all over the trust he had installed in her, and then pretended as if she hadn't.
What she had done brought back that cautiousness, somewhat. He hated it, but he knew it was necessary. It was not to say that he completely ripped his trust away from his friends and family; that would be wrong. But those people close to his comrades, those people his comrades might trust? He couldn't. He refused to. He just couldn't but stock in those people, couldn't absolutely believe them, even if they were being true to their word.
For example… Kankurō didn't trust Hinata's mother. It was all fine and great that it was Hinata's mother he was talking to; fine. But he didn't trust her. He was simply waiting for the other shoe to drop, for her to attack him. He knew it was only a matter of time, which was why he had chakra strands connected to his puppets. He was thankful that his jutsu of preference was not one of extreme chakra abuse; otherwise he would've passed out already. And he was also thankful that he could afford to pay attention to more than one thing at a time.
Or else he might've missed the shadow clone the woman must've made earlier creeping up behind him, preparing to attack him from behind. With a twitch of his index finger, Crow took out the shadow clone; making the clone disappear with a puff. He glared up at the woman, not moving a limb. "How long have you been planning that?" he asked gruffly, annoyed that she doubted his abilities.
"A while." A very vague response, Kankurō knew, but he also didn't want a full response. That would've been… very boring. The Hyūga, from what he could tell, was anything but. Hinata's mother—Suki—was obviously Hyūga, through-and-through. "How long have you known about it?"
"A while," he responded, shrugging. She shrugged as well, seemingly not caring about exact time lengths. It wasn't absolutely necessary to know. Both knew that the other was fearsome, hard-to-beat, and trained to the best of their respective village's capabilities. To be short, they were at the top of their crafts within their villages.
Kankurō looked down at Hinata, still absorbed by chakra. "If we're going to fight," he sighed, "We move away from Hinata. I don't want her getting caught in this."
Suki nodded in affirmative. "Agreed." Using one hand, she created another shadow clone, ordering it to continuously pump chakra into Hinata. She let go of the girl as soon as the clone latched on, taking her place behind the girl. Suki dusted off her pants, a sigh escaping her lips as she picked up the katana—Hinata's katana. Kankurō frowned at this, but held his tongue. "My orders were to wait until your brother was surely gone in order to take your life," she admitted, flicking a glance up at him.
"I assumed," he said with a shrug, "Lemme guess who gave you the order—a shinobi with silver hair and glasses."
"Kabuto," she responded with a nod, "Correct."
"He's too afraid to come down and face me on his own, huh?" asked Kankurō, attaching chakra strings to his still-whole puppets and bringing them forwards. He still had Salamander, Black Ant, and most of Crow. Since he had Scorpion's leg, maybe it wasn't best that he attempt to bring that puppet into the fray.
"He thinks it'll hurt more, to fight me rather than him," she responded.
"You haven't hurt me," said Kankurō with a frown. "Technically speaking, you haven't wronged me at all. Hell, I don't even know you, really."
Suki shook her head. "Child," she said, smiling softly, "I never said the pain would be emotional." She seemingly took a step, but in a flash, she was right next to him, the sword swinging to take off Kankurō's head. He barely managed to duck in time, hitting the floor with his back painfully. He didn't give himself time to wince in pain as he got up, moving on unsteadied legs away from the sword. He cursed to himself—he was not in any sort of state to be fighting in a taijutsu combat. It closed off a whole section of possible defenses, making her offensive strategies all the stronger. And, as a bonus, he couldn't just follow her movements, like he usually could. Fatigue, worry, sadness, physical pain—everything was getting to him at that moment, and it was impeding him from following her correctly. Just being upright and on his feet was making the world move in a sickening way.
He was at such the disadvantage. He had to use that puppet. He had no choice. Attaching a chakra string from his pinky to the scroll, he yanked on it, pulling it over to him and pulling it open, biting on his thumb and pressing it into the paper of the scroll. The puppet came into the physical world automatically, ready for his usage. Though he had already used it more times than he was comfortable with using, he attached his strings to its body, bringing it to life in only the way a puppet master could.
The puppet was different from anything he'd ever made before in his life. For one, the puppet was faceless, but its figure obviously based off of the female body; but robed in thick cloth, like his two favored puppets or like how desert-dwellers dressed. Its hair was unruly and unkempt, thick like Crow's. The body of the puppet was lithe, like a gymnast, and much to Kankurō's delight contained all of the flexibility. But that wasn't why he was so proud of the puppet—he was proud of the puppet because the tree it had been formed out of known was renowned for the ability to use natural-style jutsus. It had taken him a nearly a year and most of the money he earned from missions to make the puppet, but he was proud of it; proud of the gift he had made. And that was what it was: a gift. Now, people didn't usually gift dangerous killing mechanisms to their loved ones, but to Kankurō? This was the best he could give.
Especially to someone he loved like Hinata.
He waited, and as did she; both of them watching the other, killing intent in both of their eyes as they tensed their muscles, assessed their grips on their weaponry. She noticed a drop of sweat on Kankurō's brow, deciding to wait until it dripped off of his face to attack. Kankurō paced his breath, calming himself in order to not mess up during his assault. He needed a clear mind if he was going to fight with the handicap he had.
One breath. Two breaths.
Kankurō hit his tenth breath at the same time the bead of sweat dropped off of his face. Both attacked, both knowing that only one would come out of the battle.
Nara Shikamaru was fully aware that his world contained many weird things; many oddities that would make normal people want to run in terror. He was aware that some might consider the things he could do, or the things the people around him could do, to go against a higher power. Shikamaru himself wasn't a big believer in God, per say. The whole idea seemed preposterous and it wasn't proven on a scientific standpoint, nor could it be disproved. Shikamaru himself just shook it off as children's stories. A higher power would be nice to believe in, but in the grand scheme of things, this higher power couldn't help him when enemy ninja were holding a kunai to his throat, or his comrades' throats.
Shikamaru didn't believe in Gods, but that did not mean to say that he didn't believe in demons. He'd have to be an idiot to believe that demons did not exist in this world. Right in front of him was the prime example of such a thing, for Chrissakes! He didn't pretend to understand them, nor did he want them explained to him. He would prefer that they stayed a mystery to him, really. He didn't want to talk to them, to be near them. He understood that it would be an odd thing to want, considering that Naruto contained one of them, but he had nothing against Naruto. He just was scared to understanding a bijū, really. He didn't want to be connected to them, at all.
No one gets what they want, apparently. It was obvious when Shikamaru felt a foreign influence tugging at his mind, asking for entrance. Automatically, he assumed it was Yamanaka Inoichi—the Yamanaka did have a station in which they could connect to every shinobi through a telepathic link—and he allowed the influence into his mind. He realized his mistake when a slightly sinister chakra entered the edges of his mind, knowing he just let in exactly what he didn't want.
'Nara Shikamaru…' said what was obviously a bijū, making Shikamaru's stomach roll.
'Which one?'Shikamaru thought immediately, not wasting any time. Despite his unease at having one of them in his head, he needed to put that aside for the time being. They wouldn't contact him mentally if it wasn't necessary, he decided, and so he needed to allow them to speak to him. Even if he didn't want to speak to them.
'The Kyūbi.' But, of course he would get that one. He grimaced slightly. Though he liked Naruto just fine… his bijū he did not. 'I am here in order to help you.' Yes, Shikamaru knew this. What he also knew was that it was helping so long as it suited it needs. And, apparently, what Shikamaru was doing was benefiting it. 'I am fully aware that you are going to open up the Jūbi and seal us into a container.' Shikamaru figured that, as well. He didn't need explanations as to why the bijū was speaking with him. He could figure it out well enough by himself. It wasn't hard. He wanted to know what the Kyūbi wanted from him, and how it would benefit. 'You don't require a container. What you need is just to open up the Jūbi for us. I will take care of the rest. I'm aware of the amount of chakra that will require of you, Nara Shikamaru, and I'm asking you to basically take some of my chakra in order to help you.'
'The Kyūbi doesn't want me to die?' Shikamaru asked.
'I personally don't care,' the Kyūbi told him, but Shikamaru didn't believe him, actually; much to his own surprise. 'Naruto would get pissed if I didn't offer up my chakra.' Shikamaru still didn't believe him, but he managed to keep it to himself. Years of dealing with Ino having the capability to reach into his mind at any possible moment had him capable of hiding his current thoughts from the Kyūbi, thankfully; so it did not know of his skepticism over its 'careless' attitude towards whether or not Shikamaru survived.
'So all you need is for me to open up the seal? What about the other bijū?' Shikamaru asked, frowning. He couldn't just allow them to move about freely. They were dangerous still, for Chrissakes! He didn't want them to just become tangible beings, or, worse—he didn't want them to go into any random person and end up killing them.
The Kyūbi was silent for a minute. 'I'm not sure,' it told Shikamaru, making his heart sink. 'I don't know what will happen, what this will turn into. I can't tell you for sure. But… we can at least get rid of one.'
'Get rid of…? You're killing one of them?' Shikamaru asked, shocked.
'Of course,' responded the Kyūbi, as if it weren't talking about one of his fellows. 'I need to ensure that this will never happen again, Nara. This is the only way. Don't think for a second there's another way, because there isn't. There will always be another human who'll try to do this, and then they'll be another one. While you've managed to nip this in the bud this time around, the odds are the future can't do the same things you can. This is my way of ensuring the future, by getting rid of one of my own. We all have to give up something.'
'So what am I giving up?' Shikamaru asked him, his frown tightening. 'If anything?'
The Kyūbi sighed. 'My chakra, in the dosage I'm going to have to give it to you, could rip apart at your own stores. You'd have my levels for this time, but for the rest of your life, your chakra levels would be very low, almost like a civilian's. You'd be giving up a hell of a lot.' Shikamaru swallowed dryly, not expecting that sort of response. He should've figured as much, but he just wasn't. It was slightly terrifying to hear. He'd worked damned hard to get to the place he was at, much to his own surprise. He'd have to quit being an ANBU if he did this, with the lack of chakra he would have. Hell, he'd have to resign completely as a shinobi. What help could he be without chakra, after all? He'd be able to do nothing.
Normally, he'd refuse the Kyūbi's chakra. But the effort without it would end up killing him, surely. He'd rather become a civilian than be dead. He had things to get back to—namely, Temari. They had plans. He was intent on seeing all of them through. If anything would kill him, it would be that, not something like this! But… would Temari even feel the same way about him if they were no longer in the same profession? If he couldn't protect her, the way he should be able to? Would this mean, possibly, losing Temari? He swallowed. Both ways seemed bad. Both ways seemed horrible. Both ways had him worrying, uncertain, and confused. That is never a good way for a Nara to be, especially a Nara like him. A confused Shikamaru made for possibly bad decisions and dead bodies. It was dangerous.
Obito hated being followed. It made him feel as if he had no skills as a shinobi, being followed so easily by not one, not even two, but three shinobi. In his defense, these shinobi had been trained to track since they were very young—probably toddlers. Tracking was their lives, and tracking was definitely what they excelled in. Following Obito, with the pungent scent of death that surrounded him, was more than easy for the trio, two of whom were following him completely on scent.
It didn't matter to Obito. He hated that he was a world-class criminal, unable to be found by multiple shinobi for many years, and here he was, being followed by teenaged shinobi, no less. It was a major blow to his pride, really, to be followed by them. It made him want to kill them, brutally, and leave their bodies for Kakashi to find.
The feeling was only intensified by the fact that they seemed to be catching up with him.
Turning around and quickly weaving his hand signs, Obito sent a plume of flames towards them, hoping to keep them occupied by the hidden shuriken within them. If it killed them, great. But if it didn't, he'd take care of that within seconds. It was of no issue. Using his Sharingan, he teleported himself behind the Inuzuka male as he weaved in between the flames, careful. Obito used his distraction to drop-kick him in the ribs, making him fly towards the ground, hitting it hard enough for a cloud of dust to be kicked up. The dog growled and, bunching up its muscles, lunged at Obito only to pass straight through the Uchiha. Obito nearly celebrated before he felt a kick connect with the back of his head, sending him flying towards the trunks of one of the trees face-first.
Growling, he whipped around to see Kakashi standing on a branch, crouching low. Suddenly, he jumped up, hurtling towards Obito. The Uchiha didn't even have the time to think about using his Mangekyō as Kakashi's fist connected with his stomach, the two men breaking through the tree and flying straight into the next. Kakashi's eyes were filled with remorse and anger, neither of which kept him from being able to connect his hits on Obito.
Obito saw his chance upon realizing that Kakashi's normal eye had been closed in order for him to avoid seeing double. Smirking, he punched him in his blind spot, making him stumble back enough for Obito to jump off the branch and out of Kakashi's reach, landing on a branch none too far from Shino. It was a good spot, it seemed, as he pulled his gunbai off of his back and, without much thought, used it exactly like a fan, or, more accurately in the cases of the shinobi present; like Temari's fan. Shino was nearly flown away, but Obito didn't care much if he was gone—he wanted those damned kikaichu gone! Many of the bugs couldn't handle the wind; they were blown away almost too easily.
Obito grinned and dropped one hand from the handle of his fan, opening his palm and forcing a sharpened stake of wood out, wasting no time in throwing it at the unguarded shinobi, successfully impaling his shoulder. Shino winced loudly and grabbed his shoulder, pulling out the wood stake.
Two down, thought Obito with a grin, turning his attentions to Kakashi. He could kill Kakashi now. It would certainly feel good. But, Obito figured, it would be similar to eating a cup of sugar. It would be a rush of energy, but it would be over quickly. Simply killing Kakashi wasn't enough. No, Kakashi had to suffer. Obito flexed his knuckles, his grin growing. He knew just what to do. Lunging, he struck Kakashi with the fan like it was a bat, making the silver-haired man fly before he exploded in a cloud of smoke. Like he had figured, Kakashi had swapped out for a clone. He could almost feel his chakra behind himself. Chuckling, he made himself intangible, making Kakashi pass right through him. He waited until Kakashi was all the way through him to grab his ankle, throwing him into Shino, who hadn't fallen until Kakashi had forced him to fall.
That was all he really needed, using his Mangekyō to teleport himself out. Those three were the major problems, having such fine chakra-sensing skills. Unlike them, Shisui could only 'see' chakra, and while his reflexes were beyond normal, he couldn't just react to only just 'sight'. And Gaara's sand was his reactor, but if his sand couldn't react in time, he couldn't do anything.
He'd heard Kakashi's words to that brat. 'Let me be the adult and protect you, kid.' Obito was no idiot. He knew the brat's name, and he knew why he might be important to Kakashi. He was one of Uzumaki Naruto's current students, yes, but he was also the kid brother of Gekkō Hayate. Hayate was a friend of Kakashi's, and Naruto might as well be a son that Kakashi never had. That made Shizuka, and any student of Naruto's, or brother of Hayate's, in affect one of Kakashi's own kin.
That made him worth killing.
Shikaru hadn't always cared about the kids in his group. He had watched, from the outside of their group, and grew to hate them all, believing them all to not know a thing about what they were getting involved with; becoming a shinobi. Didn't they understand that they'd have to kill? He did. It was already too late for him, he believed, to worry about having something like that on his conscience. Though his uncle had offered him an option, on whether or not to dedicate his life to Konoha in the capacity of a ninja; he had decided that he hadn't had the option anymore.
He thought it was stupid to see that these kids would throw their lives away so easily, so readily; in the name of political machine that was also known as the Land of Fire's Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
He had thought they were all childish and stupid in their ideas. He had not thought anything different about his teammates upon graduation. He didn't care that they were both younger than him; it happened a lot. What he cared about was that they had options he didn't feel he'd gotten from life. They didn't have to do this, to give their lives to kill for a village. He had hated them, hated their happiness, their smiles. He didn't understand why they'd do this.
He didn't get then that Shizuka, Naruto, and Hanabi had about as much as a choice as he did. Hanabi's entire childhood had been spent learning how to kill men triple her size with nothing but pure chakra, also living in the shadow of her older sister and cousin's own greatnesses. As a Hyūga, Hanabi had a lot to prove to the world about her strength. She would be dishonored if she didn't become a kunoichi. Shizuka was the younger brother of a great hero in Konoha. He had grown up under the eyes of many, disparaged by many by his seemingly meek disposition. Adults in the village didn't notice that he had to fight for himself, and he didn't want their help fending for himself. Both of them had to be harder than the average person in order to survive to the age of Genin. And Naruto? He was the Nine-Tails container, and had experienced loneliness all too similar to Shizuka's own.
These people had completely redefined the meaning of a shinobi to Shikaru. Before them, he had thought that only three people, out of the world, could possibly love him despite not understanding him. But he had quickly learned there was a multitude of people who not only understood him, but would bear the burden with him as well. They were his lifelines, no—his entire life. He would rather die than watch any one of them be harmed, be killed. He would die to protect them, tooth and nail; until he was skin and bones.
He believed that he needed to protect true shinobi, with his own life, even if it meant bringing harm to people that were his own blood. He had to, in order to protect that ideal he had no idea he actually possessed.
With both the Rinnegan and the Sharingan, and now a temporary form of the Byakugan, Shikaru had the capability to successfully track any shinobi without much thought on his own part. The Byakugan could see the chakra moving, and it enhanced the ability of the Sharingan to see through genjutsu. Added to the fact that the Rinnegan could estimate down to the last decimeter where someone would end up, it made his tracking capabilities temporarily the best. He could see Obito's movements clearly, as if he never left this plane. He could also see where he was going—to Shizuka, who was unconscious.
He sent chakra to his feet, forcing himself to be faster and jumping off the branch with more power than any thirteen year old should rightfully have, gritting his teeth. He watched as Obito began to appear in the physical plane, tightening his grip on the handle of the fan. Shikaru knew, as clear as day, what he was going to do. Obviously, he would get nothing out of killing Gaara or that blind man. But he got a lot out of killing Shizuka. Too much. Shikaru refrained from growling under his breath, instead flexing his fist and rearing his foot back as he flew at Obito. He got there none too soon—Obito began to swing his fan, marking his tangibility, as Shikaru's foot struck him in the cheek, sending him flying meters away. Shikaru skidded to a stop, digging his fingers into the hard dirt of the space.
As Obito pulled himself back together in moments, the other two shinobi pulled themselves together, realizing quickly what had just happened. Shikaru's breath was heavy, and his brow furrowed. He was running low on energy. He felt like he was going to collapse at any moment, like he was going to fall dead asleep in the middle of protecting Shizuka and trying to make Obito see what he was doing was wrong.
"Another brat," growled Obito, standing up, his own Sharingan active. Shikaru wasn't sure whether or not to count the Rinnegan as his, as he had it surgically implanted. It was almost a cheat, in Shikaru's eyes, and such a needless thing. The Rinnegan was such a burden to have… "You're Uchiha, kid," said Obito, interrupting Shikaru's thoughts, "And considering your past… don't you see what I'm doing is the right thing?"
Shikaru didn't answer, darting forwards with full speed to connect his foot with Obito's gut, moving too fast for the man to anticipate and intercept the attack. He took the full force, nearly bending over to grab his abdomen. Shikaru took the opportunity present to jump up, kicking him in the head again and dropping him to the ground. He leaped back a few meters, putting space between himself and Obito. He couldn't afford to waste any chakra, which was why he deactivated all of the dōjutsu he was currently in possession of. No, he was going to force himself to rely on taijutsu, an area he was skilled enough in to be on-par with Naruto.
Of course, Naruto was no Obito. Obito was definitely stronger, Shikaru knew that. Obito growled and lunged at him. Without his Sharingan active, Shikaru barely had time to anticipate, bringing up his arm to block Obito's right hook, but he found himself largely unable to deflect the left kick to his side. Thankfully, he had sense enough to angle his body out of the way enough for it only to clip him, but it was still painful. He brought his own foot up, only to have it go through Obito. He managed to stop his movements before he fell over and lunged again, swinging his right fist at the same time as Obito. He went through him, much to surprise. He didn't have the time to think about it, as Obito formed a spear out of wood. He figured Shikaru would have the same value to Kakashi as Shizuka might, so that made him a good target to kill as well. He smirked, more than happy to strike while his back was turned.
Of course, Gaara and Shisui moved faster. Gaara's sand formed a wall between him and Shikaru, while Shisui met Obito's spear with a chakra-formed kunai. "Again, otouto?" growled Obito angrily. Shisui growled, too angry to think of words. Instead, moving quicker than Obito actually realized he could, he formed another kunai out of chakra, plunging it deep into Obito's hip, scraping at the bone. He yelled out in pain, leaping away from Shisui. Shisui's actions infuriated Obito to his apparent boiling point, as he yelled, "What kind of moron are you? I am trying to help the Uchiha, to help all those Konohagakure had wronged by destroying the system that has wrecked our lives! Can't you see that?"
"All I can 'see' is a man who has fallen so far that he believes in hurting children," responded Shisui as Gaara's sand wall crumbled. Shikaru, now able to see since the sand had gone away, stared at Shisui's back, eyes wide. A flicker of a memory came back to him. Involving this man, and his mother. All he could remember was all the bad things, but there had been a moment he'd felt such relief.
"Shi…" whispered Shikaru, managing to finally put two and two together. It'd been Shi he'd seen, Shi was in his memories. Shi was… holy shit. "Otousan…" A memory of this man's back filled his head, fading in the distance. And now… it was the same back. He could hardly believe it was real; that it was here. That he was here, and that he was here protecting him. It was like a really good dream, for him to see his father. Any other moment, he could've broken down in tears. But it just wasn't the time. There were other moments for it. He gritted his teeth, scolding himself already for that moment of weakness, pulling out a kunai and throwing it at Obito. It went through him, but at the exact moment it was through, Gaara made his own attack, wrapping his sand around Obito's arm and crushing it, effectively breaking the bones within it.
Obito cursed and grabbed at his upper arm, jumping away from Shisui, detaching his right arm, keeping his eyes trained on Gaara's sand. Apparently, he hadn't paid much attention to Shisui's career as a shinobi, or what he was called. It was literally a flash. One moment, he was standing still, and in the next, he was behind him with his kunais, slicing off his left arm. Obito yelled out in pain as the appendage fell to the ground. He wanted to use his intangibility, but he felt drained of chakra, a fact he didn't try to question. He was relying, therefore, on his raw ninjutsu skills, which were plentiful. Trying to force the regeneration, he supplied more chakra to his endings, forcing the arms to grow faster. He couldn't afford to be without them, not even for a moment.
Shikaru didn't need a full moment, however; as he ran at him full tilt, desperate to show his father that he could survive on his own. That he was alright, that he didn't need his father to fight his battles. Jumping up, he swung his foot into Obito's face, connecting hard with his skull and making the man drop like a rock. He wasn't down for the count, though, and with a newly regenerated hand, grabbed Shikaru by the ankle as soon as he landed, pulling his foot out from underneath him and snapping his ankle. Shikaru bit down into his bottom lip, keeping from screaming out in pain. Blood dripped down his chin, cold and wet on the skin of his chin.
Shisui sliced the appendage, cutting off the fresh arm, much to Obito's absolute irritation. Shisui picked Obito up by the neck, his entire face dark and filled with unchecked anger and pure hatred. Shisui didn't speak a word as he pushed a large sum of chakra to his hand and threw Obito across the space, causing him to break through three trees before he finally tumbled to a stop, knocked fully unconscious by the throw.
Shisui made his way over to his son, who was trying to walk on his broken foot. He collapsed, much to both men's displeasure and worry. When he tried to get up again, Gaara's sand wrapped around his uninjured leg and bound him to the ground, much to his dismay. "K-Kazekage-sama!" he said, surprised by Gaara's actions. He didn't understand why Gaara was doing it. Was it to help him? To hurt him? "I-I… I'm okay."
"Stop," said Gaara in an authoritative voice, arms crossed over his chest as Shisui came up next to him, his face still dark with leftover anger. "I don't want you to make your ankle worse than it is," he said, forcing himself to calm down. When Obito had broken Shikaru's ankle, he'd wanted to snap Obito's neck. What kind of man harmed family? He couldn't comprehend such a thing. A man who harms family deserve to die a slow and painful death, he thought, looking at the young boy as he sat down. Hesitantly, he removed his sand, in order to let him sit more comfortably. He carefully cradled his ankle.
"I…" Shikaru rubbed his chin, wiping the blood off. "I don't think that's possible," he said, smiling softly at his pathetic attempt to alleviate the mood. Shisui smiled softly as well, making his way over to him hesitantly. He crouched in front of him, gently wrapping his slender fingers around his ankle. Shikaru winced, flinching at his cold touch. He stared at the blind man from the music store—no, his father. He swallowed dryly, preparing to apologize to him, for not being a good enough son for him. For not doing rightly by him.
"I'm…" began Shikaru, only to be interrupted quickly.
"No," said Shisui, not turning his face. "Don't you dare to apologize. You've done nothing wrong, nothing wrong at all. You're perfect." Keeping one hand on Shikaru's ankle, he angled his face towards Shikaru's, his dark sunglasses supplying the illusion to Shikaru that his father was looking him in the eyes. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I didn't do my duty as a father for you. I… I failed you, Obi—Shikaru. I've failed you."
"I killed Okaasan," he admitted aloud in a hoarse whisper, tears coming to his eyes. He had always wondered how he would tell his father, if he was alive, what would happen to his mother. Now that it was happening, all he could think was that it would be a complete catastrophe. He braced himself for the worst, stiffening up and closing his eyes.
Shisui didn't even flinch, putting a hand on Shikaru's cheek, much to the preteen's surprise. He smiled at him, and Shikaru's heart felt warm. No words were needed. The smile said it all. His father understood and forgave him, and he loved him anyways. Shikaru gave a wobbly smile, not noticing the tears that sprung from his eyes. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms tightly around Shisui's neck, surprising him as he burst into heavy tears, sobbing into the fabric of his father's jacket.
This was how Kakashi, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru found the three of them; one sobbing heavily, one holding the sobbing one, and the other watching on like nothing was happening, until the four shinobi's sandals touched ground. Gaara's jade eyes immediately found them, making all of them feel awkward and heavy for interrupting a moment. "Took you long enough," said Gaara, shaking his head, and all Kiba could think was, Wait, we're at fault right now? He shook his head. Sometimes, Akamaru was right—humans were confusing. Especially short, red-haired, perpetually angry, eyebrow-less ones.
"Where's Obito?" asked Kakashi, ignoring Gaara completely, much to the Kazekage's annoyance. Growling under his breath, he pointed to the broken trees off to the side. Kakashi's mouth gaped in surprise, shocked by the destruction they'd caused. Kakashi took a step, only to hear a twig snap. Immediately, he stopped, and held up his hand to ask for complete silence.
Obito lunged out of the trees, one of Shisui's chakra-formed kunai in his hand. Shisui 'saw' his movements, and pushed Shikaru out from his arms, making him fall a meter away, which was just enough space. Obito ran the kunai through Shisui's side, much to Shikaru's shock. His heart thudded in his ears to see the sight of his father, whom he had just reconnected with, being stabbed in the side by his own brother. The scent of blood tinged the air, and Shisui sucked in a breath of air when Obito pulled the kunai out.
"Not my target, but you'll do," said Obito simply, pushing Shisui away. Shikaru's head began to pound painfully, and the blood began to rush all the faster. He could only deduce the reaction as a sort of adrenaline rush, one that was numbing the pain in his ankle. He forced himself to his feet, drawing Obito's attention. "What, you next?"
His eyes snapped open, revealing a Mangekyō Sharingan in both of his eyes. The majority of the eye was black, but the pupil was completely blood red, and two red lines intersected through them. It reminded Kakashi of Sasuke's Mangekyō, and like every time he saw Sasuke's Mangekyō, he got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Shikaru lunged at Obito, who was stunned by the fact that Shikaru had the powerful form of the Sharingan.
But it only made sense—he did, after all, kill his own mother.
Shikaru grabbed Obito by the collars of his shirt, pressing his feet against the man's abdomen for support, and slammed his forehead into Obito's, his teeth barred and gritted. Fresh red blood dripped down Shikaru's forehead as Obito gazed into Shikaru's eyes, unable to stop himself from being entranced by Shikaru's Mangekyō.
"Kako Nusumu!"
At the same moment, the detachment of the beasts had begun. Shikamaru screamed out in pain as he kept the seal opened, feeling like his body was being ripped to shreds by his own shadow. He felt like they were pulling at his skin, ripping at him, begging him in his head not to do this. They were like parasites on the host, trying to stop him from doing the right thing. Shikamaru pressed forwards, relentless. Blood dripped from his nose, past his lips, down his chin, and dripped slowly onto his lap.
"Shikamaru!" yelled Suigetsu, starting forwards.
"Suigetsu!" growled Neji from his own place. Both of them, deciding not to be useless any longer, were pushing chakra into the chains, keeping the beast tied down. "SUIGETSU, DON'T YOU DARE TO FUCKING MOVE! HE'LL FUCKING DIE IF WE MOVE! KEEP YOUR FUCKING POSITION!" He couldn't blame Suigetsu, though. He wanted to help Shikamaru too. He was his friend, and he was in so much pain due to what he was doing. But they all had their parts in this, and if they didn't do theirs correctly, Shikamaru would most definitely die.
After all, Shikamaru had refused the Kyūbi's chakra.
The Jūbi's chakra rushed towards him, grabbing and ripping at him like his shadow was, trying desperately to make him stop. Shikamaru gritted his teeth and suppressed his cry, intent on finishing this and freeing Naruto and Hinata both. He closed his right eye, as the entire world was becoming red out of it. He knew what was happening—he was crying; but he was crying pure blood. Thankfully, it wasn't happening in his left eye. He needed to keep an eye on the beast.
"Shikamaru!" he dimly heard, but he didn't pay it any mind as the beast began to fight back harder, gathering its chakra to its mouth to form a beast ball. He knew where it was headed, and it only made him want to work harder. Too late, he thought, seeing the beast rear its head, the red chakra ball completely formed. He didn't close his remaining eye, though—he wanted to see his death.
At the same moment he ripped out the chakra he needed from it, it sent out the beast ball hurtling towards him.
And then the most amazing thing happened, in Shikamaru's eyes. A being formed of pure chakra surrounded him, violet in color. He looked up, exhausted, to see a malevolently grinning, demonic appearing warrior; its armor thick. It seemed to absorb the beast ball, completely taking the power of the attack into itself. A hand wrapped around his arm and pulled him out of the being, pulling him onto their back and running out with him and full speed. At first, Shikamaru was confused as to why, but found his answer when the beast ball exploded within the creation, it completely shielding the room and its inhabitants from the explosion.
Without hesitation, knowing the job was done, Suigetsu and Neji let go of the chains, running over to Sasuke, who's right eye was bleeding from the effort he had just gone through in order to protect Shikamaru. As soon as he was certain that it was safe, he deactivated his Mangekyō, immediately sighing in relief and closing his eyes. "Shit," he whispered, exhausted. "I… barely…" He didn't get to finish his sentence as Suigetsu hauled him roughly to his feet, punching him in the face. Neji stared at the purple-eyed shinobi, shocked by his actions. "Why did you…"
"Dammit, Sasuke," growled Suigetsu angrily, "Never do that shit again! What the fuck were you thinking?!"
"About… saving your… sorry ass…"
"Well, never do it again! Ever! Bastard," spat Suigetsu, letting Sasuke drop to the floor again and walking away, grumbling angrily to himself. Neji stared at him, shocked and confused by his display. He moved to go after him, but Sasuke grabbed him by the back of his pant leg, tugging on it. He shook his head tiredly, telling him without words that it was not worth it to question whatever was going on in Suigetsu's mind.
"That… that was his version… uh… of his… thank you… to me," he said, rubbing his right eye.
Neji opened his mouth to say something, but someone's scream of sadness ripped through the air, shocking the three boys there. Their heads whipped around to see Shikaru, his hands tight in the fabric of Shikamaru's Chūnin vest, crouched beside his cousin, tears running down his face heavily. "SHIKAMARU, WAKE THE FUCK UP!" he screamed, sobbing hysterically, searching his cousin's face for signs of life. "Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, WAKE UP, WAKE THE FUCK UP! You can't die here, Shikamaru, you can't! Get up! Please, please, please get up!"
Sasuke forced himself to his feet, stumbling over to Shikamaru and Shikaru, falling beside the pair. Shikaru looked at Sasuke with absolute fear in his eyes, not recognizing the shinobi. "S-Sasuke…! I… help me wake him up! Please! He needs help! He needs a doctor!" He bit his lip quickly, worrying the older boys present. "Get him… someone! Get him to anyone! I don't care! Just help him! Please help him! Don't let my cousin die! Please!"
Neji rushed over, pulling Shikaru away from Shikamaru. He screamed out and tried to grab him again, but Sasuke wrapped his arms around the boy, putting his hand over his mouth to suppress his screams. Neji activated his Byakugan, looking Shikamaru up and down before whipping around, turning to Suigetsu. "Do you know any ice techniques?! Forming ice?!"
"Y-Yeah!" responded Suigetsu, running over.
"Use one, on him, right now! His entire body is failing!" barked Neji, making way for Suigetsu. Suigetsu nodded, crouching down next to him and making the hand signs necessary. "I'll—"
"That's unnecessary."
Neji blinked and looked up, finding himself looking into the purple eyes of a man with Kankurō's face. Surprised, he stood up, his mouth opening, but unable to find the words. 'Kankurō' held up his hand, telling Neji not to bother with words. "I don't have the time to explain, so I'll just tell you… stand back. I've got this from here."
"Fuck off!" screamed Suigetsu, moving to start the jutsu. A flash of yellow filled his vision, and the four shinobi were shocked to find Naruto standing in between Suigetsu and Shikamaru, ocean blue eyes full of seriousness and concentration.
"Don't argue with him!" he yelled at Suigetsu, barring his teeth at the shinobi. "He's tryin' to help Shikamaru, Dattebayo! Just move, dammit!" He pushed Suigetsu back, making him stumble a few steps. He picked up Shikamaru's limp body, carrying him as if he were a delicate baby rather than a sixteen-year-old boy. Moving quickly, he laid him down on the edge of the small crater that had been created when the Jūbi had formed. "Sabaku, move your ass! You've only got a little time!"
Sabaku didn't need to be told twice, running over to Shikamaru and Naruto and crouching down, ripping open Shikamaru's vest and mesh armor with not even a second thought, baring his torso. "Kid, give me space. I don't want you to get hurt from this."
Naruto flicked him a glance. "Which one are you giving him?" he asked hesitantly.
"Two," he responded, forming hand signs quickly. "And foxes and kitties don't usually get along, kid. I'm worried it'll try to kill you, if I release it from hibernation." Naruto nodded, obviously respectful of what Sabaku was doing. He got up, looking down at Shikamaru's none-too-peaceful face. "I won't blow up before I'm done, I promise you. And, if I do, it'll protect him. Trust me. Just get outta here, alright? I trust you to get Hinata out for me, wherever she is."
"Gotcha, Dattebayo," responded Naurto, clapping Sabaku on the shoulder before turning around. "And, Sabaku?"
"… Yeah…?"
"Thank you."
"… You're welcome… Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto ran to the group of wide-eyed shinobi, not wasting time. "Where's Hinata?" he asked, low on breath.
Neji looked at Shikaru. Sasuke lowered his hand from Shikaru's mouth as Neji asked him pointedly, "Where are they?"
"I couldn't get to them," said Shikaru in a low voice. "There's a sort of chakra barrier around the area they're in… I dunno how to describe it, but it feels like a jinchūriki's chakra."
"Why didn't you use the Sharingan on it?" asked Suigetsu, confused. "Destroy it with some flame shit or something? Kid, couldn't you just blow through it or something? You ain't weak…"
Sasuke sighed. "Because this isn't Shikaru," he said, pushing the clone away. "This is a shadow clone, a shadow clone with little to no chakra left. Even if he'd broken through the barrier, he wouldn't have made it back—he would've disappeared." Shikaru's clone looked down at his sandals, remaining silent.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, sincerely apologetic. "But I… I also found something else." He pulled a scroll out of his back pouch and stuffed it into Sasuke's hands. He swallowed dryly. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more."
"Stop," said Naruto in a whisper, putting his hand on Shikaru's shoulder. "You did what you could, with what you have to work with." He turned the boy to face him. "I need you to give a message to Shikaru for me…"
Shikaru's eyes snapped wide open as he processed the information that suddenly ran through his mind, sitting bolt upright and making the warm, wet cloth on his forehead fly off. Kakashi, who was closest, looked over at him, confused. Shikaru's eyes widened as his frown increased. Kakashi finished tying Obito's hands together and turned his full attention towards Shikaru. "What?" he asked; confused.
"We need to get out of here," he said, wincing as he pushed himself to his feet. "All of us. You, me, father, Obito, everyone in this forest! We need to get out, to get out now! Or else—we'll all be killed! Everything in the kilometer is going to explode in a few minutes, and we will too if we don't get out!"
過去盗む (Kako Nusumu) in English, literally means 'Past Stealer'. That's Shikaru's Mangekyo Sharingan, the ability to manipulate a person's memory bank. And, don't forget, there's two sides to each Mangekyo. That's only one part. For this, he has simply taken Obito's memories for a brief amount of time. And the Mangekyo I described is my imagination. It's not spectacular, like Sasuke's is, but it's what I wanted.