Sorry it took so long. My son isn't handling the quarantine so well since the second wave hit. Also, this chapter was a bit of a nightmare. I didn't want to write out the whole war, since it would be a cluster-fuck to explain, and Shikamaru did very little all up. But there is changes I needed to at least hint at in this chapter for later so had to select particular scenes and not make it feel rushed or confusing. I don't know if I fully succeeded but fingers crossed. The next chapter will be from a different POV and I'm currently tossing up between two people. After that it won't be cannon at all from there so yey.
His body felt heavy and slow as he sat up. He listened to Ino's explanation of what happened after he and Choji faced two of the Sound Four. It took him more focus than usual, which he found very troublesome, but he ended up getting the idea that Ino was able to use her chakra to keep theirs flowing and therefore alive. She let them know that Shino was able to do something similar for Kiba and Neji. It was a relief to Shikamaru to hear that. It would have been a bitter victory for them if two of them died from their souls being sucked out of their body. Honestly, that was not a thought he expected to have but he had a feeling he was going to be having stranger thoughts before the war was over.
Pulling himself to his feet, he looked around at the Allied Forces that were still unable to move around liberally. He could see some ninjas off in the distance that were beginning to argue. He groaned, wondering if his sluggish body would be able to make it to them before kunais were pulled. Before he could even take a step, he saw an orange blur dart passed the men. Next moment three all turned on a fourth ninja who was revealed to be a Zetsu.
The blur kept darting around the battle field, Zetsus showing themselves where ever it went. Whenever the blur attacked a hidden enemy a tree appeared. Shikamaru chose not to question it and instead let his heart rate increase as the new force of nature came closer to him. It didn't even cross his mind that there was a Zetsu near him.
His narrow, brown eyes flickered across the field, never leaving Naruto. She moved so fast he couldn't make out anything about her. He knew that she must be a clone. His father would have insisted on the real one hiding, and even if he didn't Naruto often used clones to throw off enemies, so why wouldn't she now. Shikamaru wondered if this clone had the same hair style, and the same orange with black markings that he had only gotten a glimpse of before.
After dotting around the rather large battlefield, including the camp, Naruto skidded to a halt a mere metre from Shikamaru. He went to move towards her but noticed how she held herself. Naruto wasn't watching him and instead her large, blue eyes were unfocused, her head tilted to the side in the way she commonly did when sensing people. As he waited for her to come back to him, he wondered what it was like to sense so many chakras, so many personalities. Did she see it in her mind's eye or did it feel like a breeze against bare skin?
Finally, her eyes cleared, and focused on the man in front of her. "No more Zetsus." She instantly dashed to him, giving him barely a moment to brace himself before she collided with him, wrapping her arms around him.
Shikamaru heard the shuttering breath she took as her hands ran over his back in a wild frenzy. He shivered when her lips pressed against the pulse in his neck. He found reassurances tumbling from his lips as he pulled her close. "I'm here, I'm okay. You saved me."
"Why didn't you tell me about the war?" she asked accusingly, her voice wet.
"I couldn't. It was decided that you would be put into hiding. Even if I had disagreed with that decision, I was under orders to not say anything."
Naruto tensed at that before taking a breath and relaxing. "I guess we can both understand being in that position."
Shikamaru wasn't certain what she meant by that but given the context he knew not to ask. No matter how much they cared for each other they were ninjas and that meant there would always be a level of secrecy they couldn't share with each other. He couldn't hold it against Naruto for following orders. Instead of commenting on what she had said, he pulled back, cupping her jaw and cheek in his large hand.
Long gone were the times where he would only kiss Naruto in private, even finding a small thrill in privacy that could have been easily interrupted. Now, he kissed her, sparing no mind to his two team mates just behind them, or the Allied forces that he commanded and who had been staring at Naruto in awe since her appearance on the battlefield. All he cared about in that moment was Naruto. Of having her in his arms, of being able to see that, for the moment, she was safe, being able to convey to her how important she was to him, not because of the war, but because of who she was. He held her to him tightly, feeling Naruto match his grip on the back of his vest. At the neckline of the vest Naruto's fingers kneaded into the muscles of his shoulder, her short-clipped nails pinching into his flesh in an oddly comforting manner.
Breaking the kiss, he trailed more kisses along her cheek, under her earlobe, and lastly her neck before tucking his head into the curve of her shoulder. He released a shuttered breath. He hadn't realised how much he needed that broken release of oxygen in conjunction with gripping Naruto close until the tension on his back and shoulders eased.
"I'm glad you're here," he admitted as Naruto stroked his back, leaning into him. "I love you."
Naruto didn't respond at first, something that Shikamaru wasn't surprised about. He had no desire to push her. Finally, in a whisper, she spoke. "I missed you."
"I missed you too," he whispered back, figuring that Naruto needed the soft voice.
"I wanted to talk to you about my training, and about having met my mum. She was amazing, and beautiful, and smart." Naruto sniffled.
"So, like you." The comment elicited a wet chuckle from his girlfriend. Taking a deep breath, he pulled back, looking at Naruto's startlingly blue eyes. "Now that you've dealt with the Zetsus we can move the focus back to winning the war. What of the other battlefields though?"
"Clear," Naruto assured. "I sent at least two clones to each battlefield so I could dispel one to pass on information. I'll make a new one in a moment to dispel so that the real me will know you're alright. Having your dad contact me about you was terrifying."
"I'm sorry." Shikamaru stroked her cheek with his thumb. He sighed, dropping his hand. "I have to instruct the troops. If this battlefield is clear we will have to start marching to meet up with, most likely the Third Division, led by Kakashi-Sensei, but I'll have to check with my father first."
Naruto nodded, turning her gaze onto Ino and Choji. She addressed her question to the larger man as Shikamaru moved to instruct the forces. "You alright?"
"Yeah, thanks to Ino."
Shikamaru looked back at his teammates and girlfriend as Naruto drew the other blonde into her arms, holding her tight as she thanked her. Ino looked bashful as she returned the hug.
"I couldn't just let my teammates die."
Naruto chuckled at Ino's mumble, pulling back. Instantly, Shikamaru lunged for Naruto as she wobbled on weak legs. Ino's nails scratched against the sleeves of Naruto's jacket as she tried to grip her arms. With a grunt, Naruto's back hit Shikamaru's chest, making him stumble back a step. Her head lulled back onto his shoulder. Her blue eyes were unfocused but not glazed. In many ways it reminded him of when Naruto filed away new information.
Shikamaru had time to share a worried look with his two teammates before Naruto blinked. He felt her turn from the slumped form in his arms to more leaning into him by choice. He watched her attention come back to them and a frown make its way onto her face.
"Naruto, love, are you alright?" His words caused a shiver to run through the blonde's body.
"Uuuum," she started, making Shikamaru know he wasn't going to like what she said. "Yes, but the real me is dealing with Nagisa. His not in control of himself. It's alright though, cause Itachi is in control and his helping her… me. Also, the clones on another battlefield are being taken out on mass. The enemies there being handled now but sensory overload is no fun."
"Wait, Sasuke's brother is on our side now?" Choji asked with a frown.
"He always was. It's a bit confusing. I'll explain later." Naruto sighed, running a hand down her face. "It's not going to be long before Madara finds the real me at this rate."
"Now that we can move safely without worrying that our own people will attack us, we can join with the other forces and hopefully make a move on Madara." Shikamaru turned to Ino. "Can you connect me to our fathers?"
/ / / / / / /
The entire Allied forces converged into one army again and marched to meet the real Naruto. The clone that had been with Shikamaru had had enough time to tell him that she and Killer B had been found and were being aided by Kakashi-Sensei and Guy-Sensei before she had had to dispel.
Shikamaru had understood that the army could only move so fast without risking losing people or depleting chakra, and the supply train needed to be moved and guarded too. They needed to be able to set up a field hospital at the back of the battle field. To make it worse, when they could feel a rumbling through the ground, the echoes of attacks too large for the human brain to truly fathom, they had been ordered to stop and eat. He understood, he really did. He had Choji as a team member and had a pathetic amount of chakra himself, so food breaks were a must, but every time he took a bite, he felt the crash of battle. He wished he could sense chakra like Naruto so he could better tell who was causing the largest commotions.
He didn't need Naruto's talent to feel the presence of the fighters though. There were large releases of chakra raging through the air, making the assembled forces agitated. It was hard to pick out the individual people causing this maelstrom but the heat of powerful fire types, the drowning pressure of water types, and a scarring light from one individual were noticeable. There was also one thing that Shikamaru wasn't sure others could pick out of the mass, but he felt the searing heat that left his face feeling raw, and his eyes itchy, then a refreshing breeze as a soothing balm following on its heels. He grabbed onto that feeling, pulling it into his chest, indulging in the tunnelling burn it caused so he could relish in the soft breaths that came next. He sat, engulfing the presence greedily as the other ninjas who hadn't inhaled their food in panic wrapped up their meals.
/ / / / /
Once they did reach Naruto everything turned into a nightmare. Any advantage they were able to press in the beginning was turned against them. The man they thought was Madara, wasn't Madara, the real Madara eventually appeared, and the Ten-Tails was partly formed. The Nine-Tails and the Eight-Tails hadn't been extracted so the Ten-Tails wasn't at its full power and yet it was still harrowing.
It shot tailed beast bombs the size of a house with what appeared to be no effort. It levelled the bomb at Naruto. With so little chakra left in her system she had no hope of fighting against it, or even dodging. Shikamaru was able to come up with a desperate bid for time. Numerous rock walls could slow it down, and Killer Bee could change its trajectory, but what of the next one, and the one after that. How long would it take Sakura to heal Naruto?
It ended up not mattering. The bomb crashed through all the walls they created, and Bee could barely hold it off. Everyone braced for the inevitable impact. Shikamaru had a fleeting thought of trying to get to Naruto's side before it hit, knew he wouldn't make it, but started to run anyway. The giant sphere vanished. He blinked, coming to a halt, wondering if he was already dead. The giant globe of energy was gone, and in its place stood... Naruto. Naruto, in chest binds. No, not Naruto. This man was taller, his chest didn't have the padded look Naruto's had when passing as a man, and his hips were narrow. His hair was longer than Naruto had it when it was short, and he wore a long, white cloak with red accents. But he had the same yellow-blond hair and tanned skin.
Next moment the earth shook and water sprayed violently over the Allied forces. Once he found his footing, Shikamaru ran towards Naruto who was looking up at the new comer with a glow to her face that almost looked out of place on a battle field. It would have been if the man hadn't just saved all their lives.
"Naruto," Shikamaru called breathlessly. "Are you alright?"
He felt Ino and Choji inhale sharply behind him, drawing his attention away from Naruto and towards the unknown man. On closer inspection the suspicion that had started in him was confirmed, it was the Fourth Hokage. He swore silently. Having to fight his girlfriend's father was not something he wanted to ever have to do. Then he noticed the other figure next to him. This one was shorter, and older, and had the same blackness to the eyes that showed he was a reanimation.
"Third Hokage?!"
"Hello, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji," the man greeted, shooting an amused smile at the Fourth's back.
Even if the Fourth could have seen his face, he wasn't paying him any attention. The man was fawning over his daughter, asking her a dozen questions and thanking Sakura for looking after his baby.
"Are you Naruto's friend?" he asked, causing the pink haired girl to wince.
"Not as much as I should be," she admitted, her focus still on healing Naruto.
"Dad," Naruto breathed, "how did you get here?"
"I got Orochimaru to resurrect him and the other Hokages," piped a voice, making Shikamaru start. "I thought they could be of help, and I had a few questions for some of them."
Turning, the Nara spotted Sasuke strolling closer to his old teammates. Shikamaru felt his vision tunnel. He didn't notice himself move, but registered the dull crack, and the white-hot pain that flared through his fist.
Sasuke stumbled back, a hand coming up to touch the split skin of his sharp cheekbone and the already purpling line of his jaw.
"What the hell, Nara?" spat the traitor.
"Stay the hell away from Naruto!" he roared, putting himself in between the two strongest ninjas of their time.
"Seriously? Playing the jealous boyfriend? I see her like a sister."
"Some brother you are. You killed her. For hours I thought she was dead, for hours Kakashi-sensei carried what he thought was a corpse back to the village."
For a moment he saw self-loathing flicker through black eyes.
"That's enough!" The sharp tone startled both men into looking down at the still crouching Naruto.
Even though both men were taller than her when standing, in that moment Shikamaru saw her like he had seen Jiraiya all those years ago. Her pose was the same, and it also wasn't her size that gave off the frightening power he felt weakening his knees. Though he would admit this weakening came with a hint of fire that he both had certainly not felt when facing the Sannin, and hadn't expected to burn now.
"I appreciate you being angry over what happened, Shikamaru, but now isn't the time. And Sasuke, touch him and I'll hurt you, got it!"
The Chunin looked over at the rogue ninja, seeing the death glare that he levelled his way.
"Fine," he spat, before stalking away from them.
Shikamaru had only just turned back to Naruto when another voice rang out in a strangled tone, followed by a groan from another.
"Did he say boyfriend?"
Naruto sighed. "Seriously, dad?"
Blue eyes, so much like the ones he loved, showing the critical gaze that Naruto always tried to hide, scanned over Shikamaru's form. Whereas when Naruto did something similar Shikamaru found it enjoyable and even arousing, this was terrifying, leaving him feeling lacking. The Fourth pursed his lips, his eyes narrowing.
"Are you a Nara?" At the nod he received he looked at him closer. "Are you Shikaku's baby? You were born just before Naruto, the miracle baby."
"Um, yeah?" Shikamaru looked to Naruto for help. He was used to being called that. For most of his informative years his whole clan, as well as Choji's and Ino's called him that.
"Dad!"
At first, he thought she got his silent plea, but then he saw what caused her panicked yell. The Ten-Tails was powering up again. Shikamaru swore. Unless the Fourth could send the bomb away again they had no way to stop it. One look at the man's face told him that wasn't an option. Before he could formulate a plan the Ten-Tails changed its aim, shooting high into the air.
Shikamaru stood frozen as it was shot over his head, sailing far into the distance. His brain only produced white noise when he tried to think of some other place for the enemy to aim. Surely, his calculations were off. Surely, the enemy didn't know where the headquarters were. Perhaps it aimed at the nobles who were on the move. It would have been bad for all the villages but at that moment he didn't care. He refused. Instead, he looked over at Naruto, who was still being healed by Sakura. She would be able to tell him the truth. He found her swaying dangerously on her hunches, blood coating her hand and more running down from under her shirt on her side. She looked green and Sakura's terrified voice reached through his muddled mind.
"Why is your chakra dipping?"
"Never mind, tell me you have one of those disgusting mud balls!" Naruto ordered in a voice Shikamaru had never heard before. Even with her sickly state her back was straight and her face firm, even with its drawn nature. The Fourth rushed forward to grab Naruto and support her.
"Shikamaru."
He jumped at his dad's voice. "Have you evacuated?" he begged.
Shikaku's chuckle was dry and resigned. "Son…"
He should have been memorising every word his father spoke to him in that moment. Instead, he listened to the tambour of his voice, the scratch it gained with the lower notes and the smooth, rich grumble of the higher notes. Even his panicked screech when he begged Shikamaru to burn what he assumed was porn was something that he wanted to hold dear. Part of his mind tried to think of something to make his father laugh, just once more so he could hear the rocky rumble, the deep notes tipping over themselves, one last time.
The connection was cut only moments before the distant crash sounded. Shikamaru felt cotton push into his ears and ice water hit his stomach hard.
Shikamaru must have kept fighting. He was still breathing, so he must have, and yet, he didn't remember even moving. His arm was bleeding but he hadn't felt the tear. He tried to shake the feeling but instead it caused the blood to rush past his ears, sounding sickeningly like the rumble following his father's death.
He came back to himself briefly to see the four beast bombs a flower sprout was releasing. He tried to think of something to help save them but couldn't come up with a single plan. He felt his throat restrict. If his father had been here, if Shikamaru had died in his place, then perhaps everyone would survive.
Crouching down, he tried to look like he was simply taking a breath to gather energy as he planned. In truth, there was nothing he could do. Looking at Choji, Shikamaru could tell that he knew as well as the Nara that they were doomed. Then, Naruto's Tailed cloak reappeared.
It was larger than before, and though the others didn't seem to notice, Shikamaru could sense that this cloak was slightly different. The Nine-Tails part of the chakra was more prominent and had a sharper edge to it that hadn't been there before, even back when the Nine-Tails had been uncooperative. But there was more to it. At first it felt like Naruto's chakra still but there was a difference to it. It wasn't as warm and energetic as hers, instead having a cooling, patient aspect to it. As he let his chakra poke at it, he felt a wave of emotions that the owner didn't even bother to hide. Most people kept their emotions out of their chakra, though Naruto was notorious for not bothering. This person was either the same or he hadn't been able to. Upon examining the chakra Shikamaru was instantly hit with a sense of love and pride for Naruto. It was different than his own, and he had to fight tears at the overwhelming sadness underneath it all. For some reason Naruto had funnelled her father's chakra into the cloak.
Shikamaru had to fight the urge to shake off the cloak, the fatherly affection just making the hollow pit in his stomach worsen. Instead he tried to focus on what Naruto was planning. Still, he was unable to think of anything. Surely these cloaks won't protect them from the beast bombs.
And they didn't. Instead, Naruto used the cloaks to put them in indirect contact with her father, allowing him to teleport them all outside the barrier. He couldn't help but smile a little at the indignation of their friends at the thought that Naruto had also mastered that jutsu. Apparently Hinata and Neji had also noticed the added chakra though and ensured their friends that no, Naruto's father was the one to save them, though Neji pointed out that the plan had Naruto's fingerprints all over it.
That small moment of victory, of Naruto outsmarting the enemy only lasted a few minutes before a tree, apparently the true form of the Ten-Tails started decimating their ranks. The roots shot out, taking out countless allies with one sweep. And yet again he was useless. Every thought and plan still came sluggishly to the front of his mind, but the reasons why those ideas wouldn't work were easy to comprehend.
The grip of the roots of the tree was almost welcoming. It pulled violently on his chakra, stripping him of the comfort of the Nine-Tail's cloak before he felt his chakra veins burn, his cheeks hollowing. He almost gave himself to the feeling. It was forced to let him go before it took the last of his chakra, dropping him painfully on the ground.
I'm sorry, dad, looks like I'm going to be right on your heels. Sorry, mum. Sorry, Naruto.
He was vaguely aware someone was cradling him, and he could hear Choji and Ino. There was a clawing at his stomach.
Wonder if Choji would give me the last chip now? He thought, giving a tired chuckle that tore at his throat.
His body shook, his stomach was racked with pain, and his throat burnt. Each breath took more energy than he had to spare. When his vision started to blur around the edges he wondered if it would just be easier to close his eyes and sleep. The logical part of his brain told him that he might not wake up… the emotional half asked if that was so bad.
He forced his eyes open for just a moment, wondering if he could get one last look at his friends only to find himself surrounded by orange. For longer than he could guess he wondered if he was in Naruto's form of heaven. When Choji's round face came into focus Shikamaru realised it was just the cloaks he was seeing. His own was long gone but it was comforting to see his friends' ones still remained.
The sight of those protective films, cast over all allied ninjas truly showed not only how caring Naruto was, trying to save everyone, but how powerful. How had she gotten so far ahead of them all? Could any of them stand beside her? Perhaps Sasuke, but certainly not Shikamaru. He had never been a strong fighter. He had low chakra, and no matter how hard he trained, he wasn't an instinctual fighter like the two power-houses of Team Seven. Would he slow her down if he lived?
He shook himself. Like hell. They had different strengths. Yes, Naruto was someone who fought through instinct, and was tremendously powerful, but he was the strategist. Like his father he had the ability to direct an army, to bring an enemy to meticulous defeat. He might not be able to stand beside Naruto in battle, but he had his value on the field. Even if in this war he felt pathetically idiotic. Besides, that's not why he wanted to be with Naruto. It wasn't her prowess in a fight that drew his attention, it had been her humour, her heart, even her vulnerability and her drive. And those were the things that he wanted to keep seeing. He couldn't leave that now.
Fighting against the fatigue that was attempting to swallow him he blinked, letting his environment come into focus around him. For a moment he thought he was hallucinating. He was surrounded by the Rookie Nine, including Sai, and Neji, though without Sasuke and Naruto.
"Hey, stay awake!" snapped Sakura, her hands hovering over his chest. "I'm not letting you die on Naruto because you want a nap."
"Never thought I'd agree with you, but here we are," he wheezed.
He tried to focus on the First Hokage's information that Ino broadcasted to everyone but it was hard. Everyone around them started whispering panicked words. Then there was a crash, followed by the sophisticated tone of Sasuke's voice. For a moment Shikamaru wondered if the Uchihas were taught how to properly annunciate every word.
Next moment the panic that pushed on everyone stopped. Naruto somehow connected into Ino's link, probably though their mutual sensory chakra to filter thoughts into everyone's head. They were somewhat unfiltered, mostly memories. He saw Sasuke from Naruto's point of view, now they had both had nothing. He knew Naruto was trying to show them that the one who had had the least reason to fight was the last to give up. Then he saw himself, he saw himself studying her in class, then of Naruto thanking him for helping her learn to read. He saw Naruto's friends, saw the loss of Asuma-Sensei, saw himself telling Naruto she wasn't a monster, no matter what and he felt, truly felt, how those words had affected her. He had felt an echo of the hitch in her throat those words had caused, could see how intensely and sincerely he had looked as he said those words. Next, she showed Lord Jiraiya, how much he had meant to her, how he had encouraged her to always fight to help others. The last image to filter into his mind was the shrine to her master and the sheer overwhelming determination she had felt to fight against more pain like hers being caused.
Everyone slowly straightened their backs, and even though the brief moment Shikamaru could open his eyes didn't allow him to see, he knew their gazes had turned as determined as Naruto's often was. He was overcome with the same desire to fight, fight against his own frailty, to fight against the seemingly unbearable sadness the loss of his father had caused on him. Blinking over at Ino who still stood with the First he realised how selfish he had been. She was still fighting, pushing her loss to the back of her mind to stop as many further losses as possible.
He would have said something to her, apologised for his neglect of her suffering, but the small surveillance of the field had taken all his strength, forcing him to close his eyes and focus on his feeble breaths and fighting through the pain. There was crashing of conflict going on around him but he had no idea in whose favour the battle was going and who was causing the sounds.
Naruto's name filtered through his ears as Hinata explained how she and Sasuke were fighting as one, but that was as close to an update as he had. If any more words were spoken, they were lost to the agony that racked his body as it continued to cannibalize itself. However, the pains started soothing themselves as a comforting presence spread throughout his body.
"You don't understand, Sakura," Ino said, her voice having the wobble it often got when she felt she was invading someone's privacy, "she's doing this unconsciously. Her chakra is acting on its own, merely from her deep desire to help Shikamaru. With my mind transition jutsu, I can sense it."
If he breathed deeply, he could smell that scent that had started everything. He inhaled that fragrance, letting it fill his body. With it, Naruto's chakra flooded through his system, unbound and all consuming. All traces of pain, hunger, and exhaustion were eradicated. The ache left by his father's death was still there, but it was easier to breath around it now. With the chakra came Naruto's presence, not consciously like when she grabbed someone with her chakra, but in a rare, unfiltered sense. He felt an overwhelming sense of affection, adoration, devotion, and…
"I love you too, Naruto." He opened his eyes, barely paid any attention to his friends. "I'm sorry, dad, Naruto doesn't want me to join you yet."
"Shikamaru, stop talking, right now." Even with her scolding, Shikamaru could see a faint blush on her cheeks at the confession he had voiced. "We're not going to let you die! Naruto, no, everybody needs you!"
Dad, I only found out later that Naruto had persevered through a ton of painful and bitter things on her own, and I don't want her to ever go through that again. I love her. When I'm with her… I told you ones, remember dad, 'she's going to become a very important shinobi one day. I'm sure of it. When I'm with Naruto, she makes me want to follow her, walk by her side, no matter what. And even if she wasn't an important shinobi, I'd still want to walk beside her in life.' She's not an idiot, even if she lets everyone think she is, but she can be naive at times, and unlike the First, she doesn't have a genius brother to help her as Hokage. But she does have me. Even if she doesn't want to be with me for our lives, even if her feelings for me diminish and disappear, I'll still be there to support her.
He pushed himself up, even when his muscles gave a protest. So, I'm sorry, dad, I'm afraid I can't join you on the other side just yet because there is no one more qualified than me to be Naruto's advisor.
"Thank you, Sakura," Ino breathed.
"Yeah, thanks, Sakura," Shikamaru repeated, sincerely.
"Easy there, Shikamaru, you might become my advisor instead." Kiba's words made Akamaru whimper.
"Don't worry, Akamaru, a Hokage can have up to three advisors."
"Don't worry, Akamaru, Kiba's never going to be Hokage," Shikamaru rasped jokingly.
"SHIKAMARU!" Choji cheered, hugging him, drawing a smile from the renewed man.
/ / / / / / /
Part of him wasn't surprised that their biggest chance came down to a giant tug-of-war match. It was Naruto's plan after all. There was something almost inspiring to see this woman, who had been shunned and mistreated for having a Tailed Beast inside her, standing with two other Jinchurikis and trying to pull the Tailed Beasts closer, embracing them.
The way the Tailed Beasts, upon being freed were willing to help in the fight simply because of Naruto raised questioned for the Nara, such as how did Naruto meet them all, but also it didn't surprise him. For a long time, he had noticed that the blonde didn't see the Nine-Tails as a monster, and instead a companion or even annoying roommate with a foul vocabulary. In truth, Shikamaru had started to see the fox in a similar way. He knew that the Nine-Tails had decimated the village when Naruto was born, but he had also felt the fox's presence when Naruto saved his life during the Pein attack. Naruto knew what it was like to be truly dehumanised, and perhaps that allowed her to connect with the Tailed Beasts in a way that no other Jinchuriki had tried. Had been too afraid to try.
They finally had a chance to end the war. The Ten-Tails was empty of the other Tailed chakra, and everyone was working on sealing Madara. Shikamaru could almost feel the freeing breath he was hoping to pull into his lungs when the fighting finally ended. Then Madara somehow broke through the control of the resurrection jutsu. Even though his subordinate wanted to end the fight, he couldn't. The Tailed-Beasts themselves, with Gaara, tried to seal him but it failed. It shouldn't have failed! Even all nine of the Tailed-Beasts, along with the three Jinchurikis could barely seem to scratch him.
To make matters worse, the enemy summoned statues to keep the Allied Ninjas busy, stopping Shikamaru from keeping a close eye on Naruto. The only one keeping them safe from the statue was the resurrected Third Hokage.
"NARUTO!"
The rough, vicious voice ripped through the battlefield, hitting everyone in the heart. He knew that voice, had heard it whispered on the battlefield against Pein. A small threat to not hurt his holder. Had heard it on their current battlefield as it shook the earth around it. Everything Shikamaru had read about the Nine-Tails described him as pure rage, but in that one word that was proved an utter lie.
A silent scream was wrenched from his mouth as he saw Gaara fly towards the Fifth Hokage, a blonde form laying limp on the sand cloud with him.
Shikamaru ran, his eyes wide. He could feel it. Her chakra, even though the cloaks still coated everyone, had disappeared. She had always flooded the area, no matter what she was doing, but now, nothing. There was only one reason for that. He didn't bother to wipe away the tears that blurred his vision. He had to get to her. He had to do something, even if it was to hold her in her last moments. Naruto had been without someone most of her life, he refused to let that be the case in death too.
As he stumbled over the war-torn ground, he never looked away from Naruto, laying on a bed of sand. He staggered to a halt as Gaara changed trajectory, realising that the Kazakage was taking Naruto to her father. He had also picked up Sakura along the way. Shikamaru was divided between fury that Gaara hadn't found him instead of her, and hope that she might save Naruto, or at least keep her alive long enough to be with her father. Changing directions, he ran after Gaara's sand cloud, his heart pounding and his throat burning. As he fell drastically behind, one of Sai's paper birds appeared before him and he jumped on it without a second thought. The member of Team Seven didn't even glance at him as he pushed the bird to go faster. Even if he could talk in that moment, Shikamaru doubted he could truly verbalise how grateful he was to Sai.
They were gaining ground when the enemy blocked their way. Sai banked to the left, dodging a wall of fire shot from one of the statues many mouths. They tried to angle the bird straight up but whether consciously or not the statue targeted them. Shikamaru doubted they appeared like much of a threat.
The statue threw multiple punches at them, only for Shikamaru's shadows to strike out, obliterating the three fists. Before they could take the opening, this provided another head shot a torrential blast of water at them. They tried to dodge but one of the wings was clipped and they went hurting towards the ground. Giant fists stopped their fall. One of Choji's clansmen nodded at Shikamaru.
"I'll do my best to give you an opening," the man promised, increasing his size and spinning his large staff. With a booming yell the man charged, managing to rally those around to follow him. They didn't flinch as they dodged attacks from three of the statue's hands.
Ice ran down Shikamaru's spine when he realised who they were fighting for. They weren't fighting thinking they could win. They weren't fighting thinking he had a plan if only he could get past. They were fighting so that he could be with Naruto. He wasn't sure if it was from the memories that Naruto had shown everyone that tipped off the ninjas from other villages about their connection, or his own reaction to what had happened. He didn't care. He didn't care if he had to scrape, bleed, and possibly die. He was going to return to Naruto's side.
The statue's colossal attack aimed in his direction again. The last of Naruto's cloak drained into his system. His shadow exploded out of him. Nine tentacles of darkness twisted and turned around him, blocking every strike aimed at his nearby comrades. He barely glanced at the second hand that came down to try to smash him. All shadow tails came together above his head, blocking the blow.
His legs felt like jelly but he pushed against his body's need for chakra. Instead, when the hand that attacked him tried to move back, he speared his shadow up, into its palm. As it crumbled, he ran. His nightly tails fanning out, blocking debris an allowing him to vault over large boulders in his way.
Shikamaru was able to get around the statue, with the help of the ninjas who were guarding him. He had reached a wall of rock created from a previous attack. Clawing up the cliff, he looked over his shoulder, seeing another incoming attack.
"SHIKAMARU, GO!" There was a crash as a large Choji slammed into the side of the attacking appendage's wrist, forcing it away from Shikamaru.
The rocks cut into his fingertips, a nail ripped off, and his knee slammed into a protruding stone, but finally, he pulled himself onto the shelf. His shadows dug into the ground, stopping him from falling back down. In the distance there was crashing of another fight, as well as large swaths of chakra. He couldn't recognise the chakra, but he did know it was someone familiar, one of the senseis. As he scrambled, he tried to sense Naruto's chakra. Still, he pushed forward. He tried not think about what that meant, tried not to think about whether Naruto's body had already turned cold. He couldn't imagine such a warm, lively, affectionate person being…
The ground started shaking violently, causing him to stumble and twist his ankle. He crouched, crawling to where he knew Minato was. Bloody fingers and shadow tails were the only things keeping him moving forward. The distance seemed insurmountable. He didn't even spare more than an annoyed glance at the asteroids that the enemy was about to hurl at them. Instead, he just kept staring ahead, wishing he could see that golden glow of the Nine-Tail's power mixing with Naruto's.
Instead he saw a flash of purple. A number of the hurtling rocks were stopped. A lively, energetic chakra latched onto him, embracing him tightly. He lost his breath, but before he could think what that chakra meant everything went black.
/ / / / / / /
He blinked, looking around. He was in Naruto's and his apartment. He wondered why he felt like he should be somewhere else. Where had he been only minutes before? Something important had happened, something… horrifying? No, that couldn't be right, otherwise he wouldn't be relaxing, reading a book. He certainly wouldn't be sitting with feet in his lap. Following the legs attached to the feet he found Naruto sitting on the other end of the couch, comfortably stretched out as she knitted a stag toy.
Feeling his gaze, she looked up, smiling at him. "Something the matter?"
"No, not at all. Who's that for?"
"Aiai… do you think I should make two?" Naruto frowned down at the green stag. "I could, and if she isn't carrying twins, I can hold onto the other till we need it. Asuma-Sensei gave me the idea. Apparently Kiba gave him a dog toy for their baby and I thought Aiai and Eiji might like the symbol of the Naras."
"That's very sweet of you." Putting his book aside, Shikamaru began kneading Naruto's calf, watching her sigh contently.
"What time is it?"
"Twenty to one."
"Let me finish this line, then we can get ready to meet your parents."
"What?" He frowned at her in confusion. Had they been talking about his parents earlier?
"Did I forget to tell you?" Naruto finished the line of knitting and put it aside. "I went to your mum's yesterday to make cookies and she mentioned that Shikaku has been craving barbeque all week. And if he doesn't get it soon Yoshino is going to barbeque him instead. So, I suggested we all go for lunch today, to save your father's life."
"You made cookies?" the Nara asked dubiously.
"Well, your mum made cookies, I ate them."
"Did you bring any home for me?"
Naruto grinned. "I brought home some for me. I might give you one."
With an equally wide smile Shikamaru lunged forward, kissing her deeply. When he pulled back, Naruto gave him a cheeky look and help up one finger. "Only one?" he whined.
"There's still time to get more." Naruto stood up, yanking him to his feet. "Come on, Yoshino and I made the booking for one O'clock and I'm hungry, so let's go."
Shikamaru stopped her before she could walk towards the door. "I love you, so much. I couldn't imagine losing you."
Naruto kissed him sweetly. "You're still only getting one cookie."
Giving a grunt in response he followed the woman out of their apartment to meet his parents.
Encase you didn't notice, it was subtle, Neji is still alive. His death wouldn't really do anything for my story, not even shock factor since it happened in the original.
R and R please.