So it ended up being 6856 words long and this is the second chapter split from the over 35,000 word chapter that I ended up with. Hope everyone enjoys! Next chapter is crazy and I can't wait for everyone to see.
Start Chapter 20
"What do you mean Harri can't sleep in the same bed as me now? We've been sleeping together since we were little kids! Nothing's going to happen, especially while he's recovering from something like that! Who's going to keep him warm? He's constantly dropping to dangerously low temperatures, it's even worse than before he left because of the trauma he went through!" Shikamaru growled, throwing his hands in the air, irritably.
"You'll be husband and wife…. Or husband…. Whatever it is you both agree on. You both come from prominent important traditional families and the other clans will be watching this engagement with the utmost scrutiny….. Harri is the last Uchiha residing in our village and not only that he is a purebred demon of… I… suspect an incredibly powerful origin. It wouldn't surprise me if others have their suspicions as well. That… and who knows what your demon blood may prompt you to do now?"
Shikamaru gritted his teeth together. "All it's telling me to do is get Harri home, to keep him warm, and to feed him back up to health! I want to keep him safe. I-I want to… to protect him and take care of him like always. That's all I want to do!" Shikamaru snarled, feeling almost irrationally irritated. All he could do was worry about Harri. He filled his every thought and it nearly suffocated him. The idea of not being able to have Harri be in the same room with him. To not be able to be right there if he needed anything, to talk to him until they fell asleep every night. He had been through that torturous pain once and he didn't want to go through it again. Not ever.
Shikamaru's father had been right all those years ago. Nara men, on that very rare occasion they find the one, fall hard. Hard enough Shikamaru knew with certainty he would die if Harri had rejected him. Harri was his sun and he the shadow that formed by all that he touched. Couldn't believe he had been such a fool all those years, not realizing what Harri was to him. What person, Nara especially, would willingly have to watch their clan mates die from old age and disease all around them and be cursed to live, who knew how many years, for a friend no matter how close? No he had allowed his demon blood to overwhelm his human because he had been in love. He wanted to be with Harri always. He would be his shadow and Harri would be his light. Shikamaru's face softened a little as that thought ran through his head again. Harri would be his light… always.
"Damn it… get that look off your face. It's such a drag, making me feel worse with that pathetic expression!"
"I was just thinking….. about what you told me all those years ago…. Just…" Shikamaru smiled softly as Harri's gentle smiling face filled his mind. "You were right. Harri's my light and I am his shadow. Devoted, we need each other like air. He accepts all of my flaws and loves me for me even being apart for so long… Nothing has changed between us." Shikamaru said, tone distracted at that point.
Shikaku groaned and ran his hands down his face. "Don't say things like that! You're making this such a drag! Such a drag man! Fine fine! I…. Just no doing anything yet alright? Harri is just as much mine as you are to me and as happy as I am that you both are finally….. together….. I still don't want to think about the two of you doing… anything… like that." Shikaku exclaimed. "Anyways, you and Harri will be living here, so we need to figure out exactly how the housing will work once your married. We haven't opened the main wing for living in a long time, it wasn't… necessary with how few head clan members there are. I doubt…. you want us to be in the next room on your wedding night though….. I know I don't!"
"Dad!" Shikamaru squawked, mortified.
"Well… It's true!"
"We aren't even anywhere near that yet! We have a year before thinking anything about… that sort of thing!"
"Y-year?" Shikaku choked out.
Shikamaru nodded cheeks going red even as his face split into a soft smitten smile. "Yeah, a little over a year. Harri insists that if I don't get promoted by his 16th birthday we'll be married then. I'm not sure if our home can hold us all though…. We may have to reopen the main house."
"Wait, 16th? You can't be serious! You both would be marrying at an age as young as your 4 times great grandparents married! No one has gotten married before the age of 22 since joining the leaf in the whole clan! Even I didn't get married until I was 25!" Shikaku pointed out, getting an eye-roll from his son. "And why would we need the main house? It hasn't been used since before my father was born. Our home has 5 bedrooms and we haven't even touched 3 of them since I was a kid."
"3 bedrooms aren't nearly enough for the number of kids that Harri wants. Even if we doubled them all up. I doubt….. if we tripled them up he would be satisfied. He wanted 5… I wanted 2 and suddenly when I finally agreed….. he was talking about over….. over a-a dozen!…. So." Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. "He's always.. wanted a pile of kids though…. I doubt we'll have anywhere near what he wants but… but if Harri gets his way we will end up with more then a few." Shikamaru admitted sheepishly. "Hey, are you okay?" Shikamaru exclaimed, steadying his father when the man staggered like he was about to fall over.
"F-fine. I'm fine… I have… to go to a… uh.. meeting…. I have some other things I need to do after that. I'll be…. home in time to help with bringing Harri home…. Uh.. Don't forget to give him your engagement gift. It won't be… considered to be official to most of the clans until you do so. It will…um also stave off some of…. Those biting urges you've been having from what I have read." Shikaku said distractedly muttering about a clans worth of kids in a horrified tone of voice as he wandered off.
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"What do you mean you won't be coming home with us?" Kakashi growled.
"Harri….. Harri and I are engaged." Shikamaru said, voice hardly more then a high pitched squeak.
Shikaku quickly stepped in as Kakashi sat looking completely stunned. "Since he no longer has a clan, his care now falls completely under the Nara's jurisdiction. Harri will live with us as he is now considered to be an official member of the Nara clan."
"Actually…. That isn't true." Kakashi gave the pair a devious eye smile after recovering a little. An edge of fury licked at the man's deceptively accepting aura. "Tsunade has already entrusted Harri to me….. as my last living… younger relative. It happened just this morning actually! He may be…. the heir of the Uchiha clan…. But he is a Hatake….. and as his head of clan….. I would… like to know when you asked him…. to marry you and….. why I wasn't asked or even told about it earlier?" Kakashi snarled.
Shikaku tensed, that troublesome woman! He had a feeling she would pull something like that! And surely with how tense everything was between them and him when it came to Harri's living situations, Kakashi would be suspicious and angry. He probably thought it was some twisted ploy to finally make Harri an official Nara and take him away for good even though it really wasn't about control or anything to the Nara. They just wanted him happy. "Harri and Shikamaru aren't little kids or even genin, Kakashi… I mean… They are a Jounin and high ranking Chunnin respectively." The man said irritably rubbing the back of his neck. "They made this decision on their own and they made it before you were assigned control of Harri. Harri was an orphaned clan head at the time of the proposal…. As by clan law…. You have no say in this." Shikaku grumbled.
"Huh… that's interesting…. I must be going blind…. Because… I didn't see any engagement band on that wrist when I visited him earlier…. And.. as you both know.. No engagement band, no engagement… I'm just another orphaned clan head though, never getting the chance to be trained properly in those laws like the pair of you though." Kakashi said dramatically sighing even as he eyed the pair in wicked triumph.
"They are….. not a band. They are earings."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow and snorted. "I never had you for being the possessive type. Not that it matters as I didn't see any earings either and I am pretty sure I would notice something like that… good try, though!"
"You don't know much about Nara men then, do you?" Shikamaru scuffed, completely ignoring what the man had said as he walked from the hospital room. He was sure his father could distract the man long enough for him to pierce Harri's ears. He couldn't help but be excited to show Harri his engagement gift.
Shikamaru had worked on it practically since the moment Harri had accepted his proposal and was surprised by the results. His demon blood hadn't only assisted in more stamina, chakra and control of shadows but had made things that would generally be extremely difficult for him to do, to be relatively easy. Shikamaru smiled to himself as he carefully removed the pair of earrings from his pocket, admiring the swirling obsidian orbs he had created. He had wanted to go with gold for the backer and actual piercing, but he had been afraid that if he did it wouldn't be strong enough to last the test of time or it wouldn't hold up to Harri's powerful lightning chakra. So instead he used a rare metal that adapted to a user's chakra.
"Oh, Shikamaru! I thought I wasn't due to go home for a few hours. Did something change?"
"N-no. I just came to give you these." Shikamaru insisted, holding up the earings with a nervous smile. Melting as he walked in and saw Harri all bundled up under the blankets beaming at him and looking so happy. "They're for our engagement." He explained, pulling out a needle he had carefully sterilized before he left the house.
Harri eagerly held out his hands, eyes never leaving the earings. He hummed in delight as Shikamaru carefully sat them into his hands. "They are so pretty Shika' and they…. Feel just like you! How did you get the shadows like this?"
"You can- of course you can sense it… You're always so sensitive about that sort of stuff." Shikamaru exclaimed with a pleased gleam in his eyes.
"Engagement?" A baffled sounding Shino spat.
Shikamaru eeped, not realizing the other boy was even there. So dark. What was up with him wearing that full-length jacket even in that overheated hospital room?
"Y-yeah, Shika' and I… we… he proposed nearly a week and a half ago….." Harri admitted cheeks turning red as he held them.
"I have visited 4 times since then. What does that mean? That you have intentionally not informed me! This has upset me, why? Because the person I think of as my good friend is keeping such important things from me!" Shino hissed, completely in brooding mode by then.
"It wasn't like that! I promise, its just…. Shika and I were planning to wait until I had recovered enough to take everyone out to eat and then tell them all together." Harri assured, paling as the other boy practically went into a full out brooding session.
"I will…. forgive you…. On the condition that I am given the place of your best man….. and I… get to assist in the planning of the wedding… as I will never have one myself and am interested in the process." Shino decided.
"Your not… uh questioning anything?" Shikamaru asked.
"I knew it was going to happen sooner or later… why you may ask? Because you both have been infatuated with one another since before we were in the academy. Anyone with eyes and the ability to smell pheromones would be able to see that." Shino said in a monotone before turning back to Harri. "I have decided that… a bright leaf green or possibly even an emerald would incorporate well into the theme or even somewhere on your Kimono."
"Wait… what about the marriage thing what do you mean you'll never get married?" Shikamaru questioned after a few moments of allowing himself to maul over everything the other boy had said.
Shino cocked his head. "I am completely uninterested in others….. In any sexual sense, especially… It would not be fair to another to force them to marry me, why? Because I am completely….. asexual… I believe I have a form of aromanticism as well as I am incapable of feeling any sexual attraction nor do I have any romantic inclinations. I am happy for the both of you, but I just have no ability to feel the same things you do towards each other towards anyone myself. That doesn't mean that I don't feel affection, love, or friendship…just that I am incapable of caring for someone in a romantic sense." Shino explained, tone calm and comfortable.
"My clan has been understanding though and they are willing to allow me to adopt a younger clan member if any become orphan to fulfill my reproduction obligations. If necessary even to allow someone to surrogate for me as more then a few clan members are like myself and were forced into marriages that boar unhappiness. They do not wish for me to have to suffer such a fate as well… Though…. Harri already knows all of this."
"O-Oh….. well…. Honestly, it makes a lot of sense…. Not to sound… weird or anything but… I…. kind of always wondered." Shikamaru admitted, blinking a few times before his mind shot him back to the task at hand.
"We need to get these in your ears before Kakashi comes in here. Otherwise he can void our engagement. Lady Tsunade gave him clan head status of you. Most of the clans in the leaf even though consisting of mostly human blood now still follow the demonic tradition of marking a chosen mate with a piece of jewelry… it has to be created with their chakra or by using their chakra... in the process…. So our… engagement will only be acknowledged once you accept my gift and wear it, otherwise our engagement means nothing and others will be encouraged to…. Uh well… . try and steal you away from me. Just…. pretend I put these in last night." Shikamaru explained, giving Shino a pleading look.
Shino nodded, "I don't normally like lying, but I am in agreement in this case. You and Harri are a good match and I believe you will both be very happy together. I understand that Kakashi is just trying to protect Harri but… I think you are both able to understand such a commitment… so I.. won't say anything."
Harri nodded. "I want this very much."
Shikamaru nearly signed in relief, affection blossoming all the way to his feet at the earnestness of Harri's face. Harri accepted, they would be mates. They would be together. "Alright, so… it will hurt but not terrible. All I have to do is pierce this needle through your earlobe… and I will use an ice cube to try and numb it some. It will only take a few moments each, I promise!"
"Earings?" Shino hummed, "A little possessive, aren't we?"
"Kakashi said the same thing." Shikamaru huffed.
"I did not say it was a bad thing…. Just… interesting."
Harri yelped as the needle went first in his right then his left earlobe after Shino had taken some alcohol wipes and cleaned up each ear then Shika' pressed an ice cube against them. It was quick but not painless even if the pain was nothing compared to most pains that Harri had felt in the last few years. His ears ached, but he suddenly felt so much more right, safe and calm. Stressed jitters he hadn't even realized he had been experiencing suddenly calmed to nearly nothing. An odd feeling of protection and belonging settled over Harri like a cloak. A piece of Shikamaru was with him always. Harry was so happy! Nothing could make him feel any more right then he already did!
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"Are you sure you're up to it? I don't want you pushing yourself at all…. I know how much you've been hurting!" Choji fussed. Even as Harri heavily leaned against Shikamaru, taking careful steps down the stairs, an arm entwined with his fiancé's.
"Yeah, if anything becomes too much, just say the word."
"I-"
The sounds of arguing and barking filled the air. Harri frowned at the sight of his teammate, some…. Not right boy, Akamaru, and Kiba all arguing.
"Guys, chill out! I'm sure there's no need to fight!" Choji called, taking bite of his chips as they made their way over to the bickering group.
"Stay out of it, fatso!" The strange boy demanded, immediately working Choji up.
It quickly escalated into all four fighting each other.
"I'm not into all of this childish squabbling," Shikamaru grumbled, nuzzling Harri's neck.
"No, that isn't really your thing is it?" Asuma's voice called from the stairs nearby.
"No. It isn't really something that either of us likes much." Shikamaru agreed, gesturing to Harri who was watching the group, nervously biting his lip.
"Oh, Harri! I'm glad to see you're finally out of the house! I know you aren't much into sitting around indoors." The man teased.
"Why did no one inform me that my fellow comrades would be engaging in youthful combat to strengthen their comradery with fighting spirits!" A voice screeched in utter delight.
"Great. This is going to go on forever with how tough they all are!" Shikamaru sighed as Lee eagerly dove into the fray with a war cry. Shikamaru groaned, embarrassed for his friends at that point.
Harri couldn't help but snicker at seeing everyone still behaving so typically for them. Especially Lee and Naruto.
"Should we?"
"So troublesome, yeah, you wait here a second Harri. I don't want you getting hurt." Shikamaru said.
A few moments later, Shikamaru had a transformed Akamaru, Kiba, and Lee trapped in his shadow control jutsu while Asuma was blocking the attacks of both Naruto and the new guy.
"I'M NOT FAT!"
A quickly spinning Choji smashed into Shikamaru, making him shriek and causing a massive explosion. Thankfully he didn't do much damage as Shikamaru managed to twist out of the way enough to just get grazed. But it still knocked him ass over end.
"Harri! Are you alright?" Shikamaru shouted through the dust totally panicked.
"Harri? I totally didn't even think! Harri!"
Harri full out laughed, "Don't worry about me!" He cheerfully exclaimed, yanking down Choji to eye level and nuzzling him. Making the other boy go red even as he smiled in relief.
"Harri! Is-is that yo-ouch?!" Kiba yelp, holding his head where Asuma had hit him.
"Don't do something like that again!" The man insisted.
"Okay, sir! Sorry!"
The man went down the line like that lecturing each person involved in the fight.
"Now….. how about some barbeque?"
"Yes!"
"No, I'm not hungry." The new boy grouched, even as his stomach growled.
"Harri, my dear friend I am so happy that you are doing better! I was so worried when I found out you were so ill, but you pulled through using your flames of youth! Just as I knew that you would! I just regret not being able to see you until now!" Lee enthusiastically exclaimed bouncing around in his usual boisterous manner.
"Yeah, sorry I haven't been in to see you much, I wanted to make sure I was with Kakashi the minute he got out of the hospital to train me…. Then we got sent on a mission to some fire temple thing before I could come to check in on you!" Naruto mumbled, flushing ever so slightly in embarrassment and scratching at his cheek sheepishly.
"Oh, it's fine! I would have been boring to visit the first couple of weeks…. I kind of just was lying there writhing around….. Not something I would really like anyone to see." Harri laughed self consciously. Pausing. "Huh…" Harri looked towards the sky, losing track of what he was about to say next.
"H-Harri, what's wrong?" Shikamaru asked, readjusting his hold on Harri's arm.
"It's going to rain soon. That's all. A quick-moving storm. It should be here…. In an…. hour or two at the most."
"Rain?" Naruto uttered, frowning. A strange look in his eyes.
A Kiba looking Akamaru looked more then a little freaked out, making an unnerved noise in the back of his throat.
Choji and Shikamaru shared a look, "Alright we better get to dinner quickly then."
Asuma rolled his eyes, "You sound so worried." He teased.
"Harri's predictions have always been true, even when we were little kids! It could be the clearest day and if Harri said it would rain then it was going to rain!" Choji immediately defended. "I don't want to get wet."
"Huh…. I never thought about it much…. But…. Harri said it would rain when Lady Chiyo died…. And it did!" Lee said.
"Y-yeah… when we… saw Sasuke… Harri said it would rain… and it did then to!" Naruto muttered, looking almost suspiciously at this friend.
"And, you act like that's magic or something! It is pretty easy to pick up on stuff like that, it's nothing special! It gets humid, after all." Sora insisted rolling his eyes.
"No…. it isn't like that…." Harri said, not trusting this new person he didn't feel comfortable letting anything slip either though so he settled for, "It's like how I always know where people are…"
"Yeah…. That made for some pretty boring hide and seek as a kid. I never could find a spot you couldn't find me at. Even when I tried hiding underwater!" Shikamaru grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand while holding a relaxing Harri with another. He pulled him closer, then made sure to eye that Sora boy. Shikamaru frowned at the tremble he felt from Harri and the way he was hunching in on himself and breathing a bit faster then he should be, clearly in pain. "Your hurting. You promised me you would say something if it started to be too much." Shikamaru scolded and scooped Harri up before he could even think to reply. The pineapple haired teen couldn't help but laugh when Harri meeped in pure mortification.
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"What the, why is Harri practically in your lap?! Like I understand helping Harri but not….. this!" Naruto exclaimed, completely red-faced.
"Give him some slack he's still on the high of getting his proposal accepted." Asuma slyly teased.
"Sensei!" Shikamaru guffed.
"Proposal? What do you mean?" Naruto asked, tilting his head.
"Yeah, what do you-" Kiba's eyes flickered to the arm wrapped around Harri's waist. "Oh… wow… You and Shikamaru… huh? I probably should have been…. but I wasn't expecting the two of you to hook up! I always saw the two of you more like siblings I guess….I always saw Harri with some sweet, wild, high energy guy with like 50 dogs or something!" Kiba admitted.
"So, with you?" Shikamaru teased.
"Ugh, no way! No offense but… I only got…. One girl on the brain… and she definitely doesn't look a thing like you even if she does have dark hair. I was thinking more of an Inuzuka though… so sort of right… like my cousin or something! He's super cool and nice. But hey, Shikamaru's a nice guy too and you could have gotten with someone way worse!" Kiba said with a grin.
"How did our youngest team member end up getting a date before me?" Naruto lamented.
"Youngest team member?" Sora questioned.
"Yeah, Harri is our youngest but has been out of commission since Harri nearly died for some major illness on our last mission! Harri's a bit over a year younger than all of the rest of us! Nearly two years younger than some of us. That's why it's so unfair!" Naruto pouted.
"Well even though I was rooting for Harri and… a friend of mine. I am thrilled that Harri has found love in someone I know will treat her right! Though…. With those earrings….. I am… assuming my dear friend has already lost his chance of battling it out in a show of youthful love! Am I correct to think this?" Lee asked.
"What?" Kiba's eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he finally took a glance at his friend's ears. It had been harder to see with Harri's hair down and he hadn't been able to see Harri's face too well until then. "You're already engaged?!" He sputtered.
"Wait engaged?" Naruto shrieked, looking nearly ready to faint.
Shikamaru smirked even as Harri paled. "Yes, I proposed to Harri a couple of weeks ago. We wanted to wait and tell everyone together…. But I guess… that isn't possible now. First Jiraiya, Asuma, and Choji. Then my father, and Kakashi…. And the same day Shino…. Now you guys. There will hardly be anyone left to tell by the time we can collect everyone!" Shikamaru said, looking oddly pleased.
"Wow, you must have a terrible personality with those looks if the only person you could rope in was that plain-faced slug!" Sora announced.
Shikamaru snorted. "Come up with a more intelligent insult and you might be able to get a rise out of either of us. Though I'll humor you this once. Just so you know… Anyone that knows either Harri or myself would know insults rarely get a rise out of us. Especially ones as pathetic as those so use that brain of your's next time…and for the part against Harri… well, I feel in love with Harri because of personality not looks…. Though I do think Harri is gorgeous too. We've been best friends since we were practically just out of diapers. So go ahead and try again."
"Foods here." Harri managed to choke out. Too flustered to even try to say anything else.
"Yes! Meat! Just what I needed!" Choji cheerfully exclaimed back to his happy self.
"Here are some of your favorite cuts littlest Lady Uchiha! Were all so glad to see you are well enough to start going places again! You gave all of us quite the scare! Lord Nara was a wreck, especially with him not being the best cook with you being on that special diet!" The server laughed good-naturedly. "Anyways, heart, liver, kidney, your favorite steak cuts and a piece of fatty tuna! I know you don't like fish as much as you do beef, but it's good for getting some variety in your diet!"
"Thank you," Harri meeped even as he smiling brightly.
"Of course Princess!"
After the waiter left, Sora turned to Harri, "Princess? What kind of freaky pet name is that?"
"Harri was going to head the Uchiha clan one day…" Asuma said, glancing at Harri who he was surprised to see was more paying attention to his food then to what he was even saying.
"That's going to head a whole clan?" Sora snorted. Watching Harri fawn over the transformed Akamaru, stars practically in his eyes and eagerly giving the transformed dogs little bits of his food. While baby voicing him.
"Was. Harri is an Uchiha. You can't rule over a dead clan." Asuma said, with a sad but cold sounding finality to his tone of voice.
"Dead…Lady Uchiha?…. Oh."
"Yeah."
The boy's face fell for a moment before catching sight of Harri eating. "Eew! Are you an animal or something? Who eats meat still dripping with blood!" Sora shrieked in horror, going green, as he watched Harri wolf down bits of meat still bloody. So disgusting!
"Don't call my Harri an animal!" Shikamaru grouched genuinely angered.
"Well, what person eats stuff like that, raw?!"
"It's fine Shika' I have become quite used to this by now…. You see… I can't stand the smell or taste of cooked meats. It is a quirk I gained from my mother's bloodlines as those from that clan apparently were more animalistic in nature. It's not something I can help." Harri calmly explained, shrugging his shoulders and pointedly taking another bit.
"It's disgusting!" Sora insisted. "I don't know how anyone could eat around you!"
"Actually, you get used to it," Choji said tone sickly sweet even as he glaring at the boy.
"Yes! I have honestly never been that bothered. It's just another unique trait of my youthful comrade!" Lee agreed.
"Yeah, I think your about the only one squeamish here!" Naruto exclaimed, smirking deviously at the boy.
"I am not!"
"Hey…. Sora, Chiriku must have trained you hard, right?" Asuma cut in.
"No. I-I trained myself," Sora said, sounding a little confused and bitter.
"You got that good on your own?"
"Oh, oh! Tell him about that type you gave me about the wind Chakra!" Naruto eagerly pressed, easily distracted from his earlier anger.
"Huh, are you finally training with your chakra nature, Naruto?" Harri asked, looking at the boy curiously. "I always wondered if you would do something with it. It's so rare for most people here to have wind chakra and it would be a great advantage for your fighting style if you could learn how to incorporate it."
"W-Wait, you knew that all along?!"
"I can tell lots of things just by focusing on another person's chakra," Harri said with a shrug. "It's a bit of a curse, to be honest. I can't even remember a time I couldn't feel everyone's… light…. Like blazing fires all around me…. Except…." Harri's eyes unfocused for a moment and then he forced a smile. "Well that's how it's always been….. I have a mixture of natures due to my mother's blood. Though I don't know how much I could actually help you with your training since I have had to completely train myself… I can try a little if you would like…. I just can't show you how to do certain things like jutsus because my own are all…. Based on my Kekkai Genkai." The sound of the rolling of thunder nearly shook the room. Startling everyone.
"Wait you got to that point all on your own as well?" Asuma said, looking truly baffled. After everything calmed.
"Yeah….. it's not all that impressive…. It took years to get my chakra at least somewhat tamed…. It was always out of control…. Doing things when I would get too upset. I never really had to do anything to learn how to actively use my lightening or my wind natures they have just been there from the start." Harri said, though nowhere near willing to go into significant detail about his abilities…. Especially his water nature. The fact that he could produce lightning and wind from a young age was common fact. It was enough of one for him to feel safe speaking about it with this group, even with Sora there. Just thinking about his natures made him suddenly feel like a wreck though, he shifted doing his best to ignore the increasingly painful throb in his groin. Thinking about his chakra natures, his hunger for nearly raw and now totally raw meat, the strange storms…. His inability to perform a single jutsu outside of his mother's clan's….. He… he agreed to marry Shikamaru…. And…. He hadn't told him a single thing about… what.. and who he really was…. Panic filled Harri at the thought of having to tell Shikamaru. What would happen? Would Shikamaru even want anything to do with him after so long of keeping something like that from him? But he had to tell him and-
"Harri, we're going home. I know you don't like bothering anyone or disrupting things for us. I'm sorry I hadn't realized you were in so much pain. I wish you had just said something because I don't care if a little fun time gets interrupted if that means your in pain."
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Asuma had died and Harri had been too late to help at all. He had only managed to show up just as Asuma was pierced with some strange jutsu that felt oddly familiar, disgustingly comfortable even.
"It's… It's going to rain." Harri said, eyes burning as he stared at the four on the ground. Asuma bleeding out and his team surrounding him. Harri crouched near the man's head.
"Th-that's all you have to say?" Shikamaru exclaimed, tears running down his face even as Ino tried her best to heal their sensei.
"That…. That's not going to help." Harri said, tone knowing and sad. Why… did this hurt so much? It didn't hurt nearly as much when the third died and he had known him if even just a little.
Harri ran a hand through the man's hair, guilt eating him up. If he hadn't had a drawn-out lunch and left earlier then this could have been prevented.
"You're so callous about this! Do you even care about anyone? You didn't cry for your clan, you didn't cry for the third, and now when you've practically been included as a teammate more then half of the time, I doubt you would even care if I ended up this-this way! I only a monster wouldn't care if their teammate died let alone if-if I did!" Shikamaru exclaimed snot and tears freely flowing from his face at that point.
"Shikamaru, don't say cruel things like that! You'll never-never know when you might…. Regret them." Asuma, choked out. Going into a series of gurgly coughs.
"He-he doesn't mean it H-arri." Asuma said, going wide-eyed as Harri began transforming before his eyes into some strange dog-like thing looking at him with the saddest most haunting eyes he thought he had ever seen…. And yet a peculiar calmness fell over him.
Both Ino and Choji looked at Shikamaru in disbelief.
Harry felt numb in that moment. Had… had he really just said that to him? Harri got up almost robotically. He had planned to tell the other boy what he was that day to. To-to tell the Nara clan… everything…. to tell Kakashi everything… and to tell Kakashi that he would be living permanently at the Nara compound. Why did it feel like someone had just torn everything in his chest out?
"I'm crying. Can't you see?" Harri murmured, looking up at the sky he let out a strangled little noise as rain began to fall. He then jumped off of the building right as the pair of enemy shinobi began attacking again.
"Wha-what the….."
"Harri! Get out of there you can't take him on yourself!"
Harri grimaced, "I can hold them back long enough for all of you to get out of here." Harri insisted. Feeling death in the air, Harri realized… Asuma had passed on before he could even start fighting. "Get Asuma a proper funeral."
"But lady Uchiha!"
"Go…. And take this. Give it to Kakashi Hatake." Harri insisted, pulling his necklace off with trembling fingers. Feeling strangely free, almost giddy with its weight removed. Like a dog let off of a short-chain after months and months of being confined.
The man that had killed Asuma was quick to get in close.
"You… feel strange…. Familiar." Harri murmured even as he half-heartedly dodged, almost wondering if he should be.
"You're… your making this storm, aren't you?" The man said, strangely giddy sounding, a fanatical glint in his eyes. "Your that Uchiha's kid ain't ya'? But… not just that… would your name happen to actually be-"
"Huh? What but it was just getting good damn it! I'm facing the Uchiha's kid and everything!" Hidan growled.
"But sir, just a couple more minutes!"
Harri kicked up as much dust into the air as he could manage and released his chakra through it making a rather pathetic excuse for a particle explosion jutsu, but it did make the man back off.
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"Wait… so you aren't going to try arguing about staying at the Nara compound?" Kakashi asked utterly baffled. He was ready for a full out fight with the kid, he had even had a speech ready to try and convince him to stay and everything!
"No. I… I feel like it would be best to stay here," Harri said. A tired frown on his face.
Kakashi gave Harri a knowing look but readily agreed, more than happy to have Harri back. Two Akatsuki gone, now Harri had moved back in, things had to be looking up!
"I need to go and visit Tsunade… but…. I'll be back home later." Harri said, tying his hair up.
"What, already?"
"Yes… It's important… I'll be back in a few hours."
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"Head to a remote mountainous area of Tea Country? On top of that, you're asking to go on your own? Are you seriously asking something that ridiculous, again?! Three times in the last few weeks. Give me a good reason with everything going on!"
"I need to visit my mother clan's compound and gather what I can from it. I….. fear that I won't be much help in the future against the Akatsuki if I don't…. Find.. some things to help rein in my unruly chakra and learn how to perform more than the basics of my family taijutsu and ninjutsu. If I'm not going to be allowed to retire from fieldwork completely then I need to improve my abilities. With…. Me mostly taking after my mother's clan I have also taken on their kekkai Genkai which…. As useful as that would be…. There aren't just piles of information sitting around for. How do you expect me to be of any use if I can't train to improve anymore then I already have at my current abilities?" Harri explained, though purposely not really revealing more than the bare minimum information.
"Damn… that is an annoyingly good argument. But I still can't let you go!"
"Honestly, if you don't… I'll just… go without permission at this point. I rather with your permission…. But I find… myself rather numb to most things lately. So… either you allow me to leave or I have to leave without permission…. It won't make a difference. Just know it isn't anything against you or the village, the village will always be my one true home…. I just need to do this…."
"I-I can't let you go if you're on your own though. That would just be plain stupid!" Tsunade barked, even as her face had a clear unnerved expression.
"Kakashi and the other's got back recently. Kakashi… Choji and Shino, maybe Lee would be helpful."
"I think a larger then normal team of Kakashi, Sai, Shino, and Neji would be better… Maybe adding Naruto, Yamoto, and Sakura on top of it for extra training time."
"No. We don't need such a large team… and honestly, I don't feel comfortable sharing something so personal with so many people I'm not close to."
"This is a mission and-"
"You would essentially be sending them all to poke around a mass grave my clan's grave. I'm probably going to be traumatized enough by the incident." Harri pressed.
"Th-That is true….. Fine. If I send a smaller team I get to chose without your complaints who goes….. So… it would have to be people good at research and finding things…. Kakashi… Shikamaru… Shino… and Neji."
Harri paled. "Neji can't come. His clan… uh were sworn mortal enemies of my mother's clan from what I read." Harri insisted.
"Well, I guess it's that or you get two teams going."
Harri gritted his teeth together but nodded. He would just have to figure out a way to distract him. It was already bad enough Shikamaru was going after he had said such awful things to him… At least Shino would be there. He was honestly the one that Harri expected to react the best if what he was somehow got out.
"Fine." Was Harri's clipped confirmation. "Just…. don't be surprised if Shikamaru refuses to come with," Harri said, glaring at the floor. A burning itching feeling flashing through his eyes.
"I would shut that window…. it's going to rain after all," Harri mumbled before hurriedly making his way from the office.
"Huh, the brat's right….. But… the sky was clear earlier?"
"It's rained a lot lately, my lady."
"Yeah… In more ways, than one. I… worry…. Our Uchiha may…. Be…. falling apart."
"I to… have had this worry my lady…"
End Chapter 20
So we finally will be getting to see Harri's original clan's compound!
I have been writing like crazy lately so things are going to be getting updated a decent amount. Also, I may add some new stories because I have been writing like crazy for those as well.
I am in college right now so sorry about not updating as often!
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Please review! It really motivates me and gets my writer juices flowing!
Next chapter hint: Bounties and unexpected finds