4th chapter in my story, "Old Friends, New Enemies"! Please enjoy! This is the last chapter and it's emotional with no lemon but lots of blood, sweat, and tears…+
"Orochimaru-sama! You said there will be all the Chuunin, Jounin, and ANBU members at the big battle verses Konoha?" Marie asked, looking at her master. Orochimaru nodded and glanced at the shinobi behind him. The brunette stopped on a large branch, falling behind the rest. Shikamaru is a Chuunin and that means that we have to fight him… He should have joined me… His mistake. She then jumped back to the front with Orochimaru.
Meanwhile…
Shikamaru sprinted up the steps to the Hokage's office. "You called?" he panted, trying to catch his breath to keep his posture. Tsunade wasn't smiling, but frowning, her eyes stern with determination. "I need you to help the other Chuunin and the Jounin to keep the border in line. ANBU members will be there for support. My most reliable sources tell me that Orochimaru and his subordinates are coming to attack Konohagakure. We can't allow them to hurt the civilians of my village!" the blonde Sannin screamed, slamming her fist on the wooden desk. Shikamaru flinched as a glass orb hit the marble floor and shattered. Tsunade sighed and whispered, "Sorry, Shikamaru… I…I used to know the true him… If even one of my citizens is killed, you will die…But right now, I need you to get to the border! Go, Shikamaru!" The Chuunin bowed and scurried out of the room. Something grabbed him from behind and dragged him into a dark… closet? "Wha-? Who? What's going on? Who are you?" the dark-haired shinobi stammered, trying to sit up. "It's me…" a woman said, her hands keeping Shikamaru down. "Temari, what are you doing?" The blonde Suna kunoichi leaned in closer, wrapping her arms around him, "I heard Orochimaru himself is going to be there and I don't want to lose you…" Shikamaru pushed her off and stood up, grabbing the doorknob, "I have to go even if I should die… You should join this fight if you wish not to get separated from me…" With that, he opened the door and continued his way down the stairs.
Marie stood next to Orochimaru, her head high, staring down at Konohagakure. There was about four scraggly lines of shinobi and several ANBU groups hidden in the trees and buildings. Her eyes skimmed the rows for her brother's face but he wasn't there. Suddenly, a young ninja leapt to the front of all the rows next to the top Chuunin. Shikamaru? I-I won't fight him… I can't… I just can't hurt him but I also don't want to upset Orochimaru-sama and make him think I'm a weakling because of my emotions… Lord, help me… Marie dropped to her knees and sobbed, "Gomen nasai, Lord Orochimaru but I can't do it!" The pale Sannin looked down and bent down beside her, "You are going to do it or I will kill you myself…" The crying brunette was forced to look at him and she whispered in reply, "Whatever you want, my Lord… I'll do whatever you want to make you happy…" The two stood back up and looked back at the village.
Shikamaru had seen her breakdown and wondered why she couldn't fight. Was it a medical condition? Wrong. Was she scared of dying? Wrong again. He finally figured it out. Is she scared of hurting me? …She's still my sister… Before he could think of a reason to leave, several Sound nin jumped into the lines silently and began the attack. Shikamaru and the other front row Chuunin spun around and watched their subordinates and successors die, unable to help them as they are picked clean away. "Shikamaru! Naruto! You two on the left wing while Chouji and Sakura are on the right! Split!" a Jounin called from behind the top Chuunin. The four nodded and jumped to their positions. Temari watched in horror from the Hokage Mountain. "Please be safe…"
Shikamaru threw a kunai at nin that had grabbed Naruto's shadow doppelganger. It hit him right in the stomach and he fell, dead in front of his master. The two Chuunin groups climbed into the trees, concealing themselves in the green leaves. "Naruto, I'll go down first and you follow me," Shikamaru whispered to the blonde shinobi beside him. Naruto nodded and followed Shikamaru's orders.
Marie grabbed Naruto and threw him to the stone wall easily, her face crimson red with anger. The cursed marks had spread across her body, covering most of her pale skin. But when she spotted Shikamaru, she stopped and watched as he took out her ninja. Her amethyst eyes widened and her breathing quickened. "N-Nee-san! Fight me!" she screamed, throwing two shuriken at the brown-haired Chuunin. He dodged it swiftly and looked at the scared girl. She was shaking and her eyes were still wide. She is scared of fighting me… May… "Why did you join him? Why, Marie?" Shikamaru yelled back. The brunette smiled and brushed her hair back smugly, "I wanted to become strong and Orochimaru-sama actually gave me a chance! Nobody from this damn village came to get me! No one! Not even 'Mom' and 'Dad'! So fuck this village and fuck you!" Shikamaru growled angrily and charged towards her. Marie twirled around and kicked him in the side, like a lovely but dangerous dance, (it's like the fighting dance in Brazil). He skidded to a halt but hit the tree anyway. She flipped over and landed close to her brother, smiling wickedly. He tried to back up but he was pinned between Marie and the tree. The grinning brunette pulled out a curved kunai and gently pushed it against Shikamaru's stomach, making him wince slightly, "Heh… You won't beat me…ever…" Marie shoved the ninja weapon deeper in, breaking the skin, warm blood seeping through his mesh shirt. The kunoichi's smile faded as she saw the hate and anguish in Shikamaru's eyes, the fear. "W… What have I done…?" she whispered to herself. Her arms dropped to her side and backed away, keeping her eyes low. Shikamaru grabbed his bleeding belly and glared at his moping sister. The kunoichi looked up her master and dropped to her knees as if begging for his forgiveness. Orochimaru jumped down in front of her and kicked her in the face. Marie yelped and hit the ground with a thud. Shikamaru watched as his dear sister fell, losing her dignity in front of everyone, "Stop! Leave her alone!" The pale Sannin stared coldly at the Chuunin and hissed quietly. Shikamaru's glare grew more intense, helping Marie up to her feet. "F-Forgive me, Orochimaru-sama but he is my brother…" Her hand trailed to her kunai pouch slowly, "…Now I can kill him…" Orochimaru smiled as his little puppet shoved a grey kunai into the brown-haired Chuunin. Shikamaru looked shocked as he fell to the ground, blood just gushing out of the wound. "I told you never to trust anyone… I serve Orochimaru-sama and him only…" Marie crept close to her master, tears running down her cheeks.
Suddenly, a blonde girl jumped in between them, her emerald eyes blazing. "I never trusted you, bitch…" Temari growled, her fists tightly clenched. She grabbed her fan and spread it out. Marie stepped in front of Orochimaru, showing him that she wasn't the weakling from before. This girl was her next target and no one stop her. He backed away to watch his possession take on the Suna kunoichi. Temari stood her ground as Marie charged for her, about two kunai in one hand and three shuriken in the other. The brunette jumped over Temari and landed gracefully behind her, throwing the shinobi weapons at her as she did. The Suna girl spun around just in time to block them. She's fast! Temari made the second move, spinning around and creating an extremely strong gust of wind, sending the brunette flying. Luckily for her, Shikamaru had crawled to the other side of the tree.
When the dust had cleared, Marie's body appeared. She had hit the stone wall, rocks still crumbling over her head. She seemed unconscious and this surprised Orochimaru. She had never lost before and had always seemed to pull through even in the hardest times.
"Shikamaru, are you okay? I know something about healing! I'll help you…" Temari squealed, running to her fallen Chuunin. She set her fan down beside Shikamaru and ripped his mesh shirt, exposing the deep hole in his stomach. He flinched at the feeling of her fingers on the cut. Temari hands began to glow a brilliant green, her eyes closed for concentration. Something hit her from the back, knocking her out instantly. "No one beats me…" Marie said coldly, tossing the stone away somewhere. Shikamaru wobbled up and formed some signs. Marie glanced from Orochimaru to her brother, tears staining her dusty cheeks. But her eyes quickly became harsh. Shikamaru yelled, forming his last seal, "Ninpou, Kage Mane no Jutsu!" His dark shadow stretched towards her and she didn't have enough time to dodge it. Their shadows connected and Marie's body was forced to kneel like Shikamaru. The dark-haired Chuunin's hand went directly to his shuriken pouch, pulling out the shinobi weapon. "Y-You'll kill yourself! You're crazy!" Marie screamed. Shikamaru smiled and threw the shuriken and so did his sister. This time he wouldn't bend back to dodge it. This time it hit him dead on. But the advantage was, Marie died at the same time. At that moment, every shinobi, every citizen watched in horror as the two bodies collapsed. They were the best from each village and now they were dead…
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Told you there would be a lot of blood, sweat, and tears… That was my ending to Shikamaru's life. He never saw it past 12 years old… Well, I hope you enjoy and please enjoy my other stories! Bye-bye!