A/N: Hey guys! So, contrary to what my profile might show, this is NOT my first fanfiction. I've got both another account, and have had stories on here before. However, I wasn't proud of them, thus I deleted both the ones on this account and my last. Hopefully, I write better stories this time around. I do intend to write both a series and a variety of one-shots, but be warned: I'm a college student. That means I only have a certain amount of free time each day, much of which is spent writing lyrics and making music in general. I'll probably write this before bed every night, so don't expect chapters more than once to twice a week. Also, chapters will be brief, ranging from a thousand to three thousand words each probably. With that out of the way, enjoy the show! Our story begins in Konoha, the day after the Sasuke Recovery Mission's failure.

PS: Tayuya doesn't die in this fanfiction. As in, Temari knocked her out but didn't kill her. The only detail different from the events of the manga up to that point is that. No other alternative stuff. Hopefully, that's cool with Y'all.

PSS: The story is sort of from Shikamaru's point of view, but is also third person. As in, italics represent his thoughts, but the story is written in a third person perspective.

PSSS: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 1 - Grim Sundays and Lovely Mondays

Ah hell, why do interrogations have to be so troublesome?

Those were the first words to grace Nara Shikamaru's thoughts after he began the interrogation of the Sound-Nin named Tayuya. They'd fought the day prior during a mission undergone to retrieve Sasuke. Not only had the mission failed, but as Shikamaru had expected, it had been a terrible way to spend a perfectly good Sunday. considering it put about half of his friend circle into the hospital that was probably the tamest way he could describe it.

Of course, after he'd gotten over the shock of being legitimately saddened by the injuries his team had suffered, Shikamaru's attitude towards the situation returned to what you might expect: dull and disinterested. Why had his attitude changed so quickly? Well, the answer was simple: the Hokage had seen it fit to place him in charge of the interrogation of the single prisoner they'd taken after the string of battles during the mission. It made sense, considering he was aware of the details of the mission (having lived through it) and was the only member of his team who was even conscious, but still, it was so troublesome.

Sighing, Shikamaru looked at the prisoner in the eye and began the interrogation routine with her once again.

"Tayuya of the Village Hidden In The Sound, you are to give any information you have on Orochimaru's whereabouts and Sasuke Uchiha's whereabouts and condition to me. All of the information you give me will be checked for authenticity. If your information proves satisfactory, we'll consider lightening your punishment. If any information you give us is proven false, the opposite will occur. Your compliance will make this a much less painful experience. Do you understand the terms of this interrogation?"

The words he'd just spoken were something he'd read straight off of an interrogation script, hence the unbelievably dull tone. They were supposed to outline the risks of an interrogation for a prisoner and apparently were usually very effective. However, once again, Tayuya simply averted her eyes from his and refused to speak.

Shikamaru sighed before speaking once more, this time in a mildly aggravated tone.

"Look, just give us information, or else they'll have the ANBU hurt you. I don't know you, but that doesn't mean I care for seeing some troublesome girl getting stabbed. I assure you that if you give us anything worth having, the Hokage will take it easier on you."

He wasn't really sure about that last part, but he knew that it would probably help coax Tayuya into saying something. He was right.

"...Piss off, why should I tell you anything?"

Tayuya spoke in a somewhat muted tone, indicative of the fact that she wasn't quite sure that she was up for being stabbed today. Shikamaru caught onto this quickly and acted upon it immediately.

"Because, I highly doubt even somebody as sadistic as you would enjoy being dead, and if you don't talk even after the aforementioned stabbing, that's what you'll be."

Tayuya took a deep breath in, taking advantage of the silence following his words of wisdom to think about what she was going to do next. Within seconds, she came up with an answer.

"...I'm not a fuc-... I'm not a sadist. I tried to kill you because those were my orders: to stop anybody from retrieving Sasuke. You'd have done the same if you were in my position."

The tone was quieter this time. Shikamaru's eyes widened, as he hadn't been expecting her to reply to that part of his reply. Although, he did admit that she had a point. Had he been on an extraction mission, he would have been forced to neutralize any threats to the target he was extracting.

But the Hokage wouldn't GIVE an extraction mission like the one given by Orochimaru.

Those thoughts quickly became verbalized, this reply coming quicker than his last.

"My Hokage wouldn't give me a mission that required such orders: we don't steal the ninja of other villages."

There was a taint of venom in his last words, something which he instantly recognized as a mistake. However, before he could correct himself, Tayuya reacted as you might have expected: angrily. Her voice exploded in volume, a far cry from her previous, seemingly timid replies.

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed shithead, but Orochimaru isn't your Hokage! He's fucking ruthless, and probably ends up killing most of the people who he looks at for more than a few seconds! I don't have the liberty to leave witnesses alive on my missions unlike you, you lucky prick!"

He gave the girl a few seconds to calm down. Her hands were clenched around the armrests of the steel chair she was bound to. Clearly, she was pained by talking about her master.

Something tells me that she doesn't intend on calling him "master" for much longer.

Shikamaru's expectations were met almost immediately. Calming down before speaking, Tayuya's gaze drifted down to her feet as she spoke softly once more, likely uncomfortable with the words that were going to come out of her mouth.

"...If I'd come back and reported that I'd engaged but not killed an enemy ninja, Orochimaru would have me killed immediately, or worse, turned me into another one of his "experiments". Honestly, I doubt I like him much more than you do, but when somebody that powerful tells you to do something, you don't have much of a choice."

Shikamaru's back straightened, his gaze losing its stern element upon hearing what the girl had to say. As much as he wanted to say something like "there's always a choice", he knew those words simply didn't apply here. He was sure that the girl had been "employed" by Orochimaru without her own consent. Judging by her apparent age in relation to her skillset, she had either been born unnaturally gifted or had been taken by Orochimaru while a young child. Knowing the snake's reputation, Shikamaru assumed the worst of the two options.

Of course, when all of these bits of information aligned alongside a bit of pity, Shikamaru had decided upon what to say next, and it certainly wasn't the kind of thing you'd expect to hear him say.

"Answer my questions and I promise that you'll be given a life, something Orochimaru never let you have."

Kami, am I turning into Naruto now? I shouldn't make promises I don't think I can keep.

Fortunately, he'd meant every word. The lazy-ass Shikamaru that always existed in his headspace was the one doing the talking in his thoughts, but the real Shikamaru (who was still technically a lazy-ass) intended to follow through with that promise.

Tayuya could tell. She looked him the eyes and saw nothing but determination where she'd previously seen disinterest. Thus she finally made her decision.

"Okay."

The reply was simple and straightforward, but it was exactly what Shikamaru wanted to hear. He wasted no time getting into the questions.

"Alright then. Age?"

"14."

Fourteen? She's my age...

As his thoughts wandered with each detail he received, Shikamaru wrote each piece of info down on a notepad before finally getting to the big questions. These questions weren't the kind you could write the answers to on a notepad: these were the questions which had answers worth millions of ryu. Sighing, he asked the first question that really mattered.

"Can you tell me where Orochimaru's hideout is?"

The reply came instantly, surprising Shikamaru.

"Absolutely. If you keep a proper Ninja's pace west of Konoha for ten days, you'll encounter a cluster of three mountains with a Y-Shaped river diverging in front of them. In the center of the mountains is a lush plateau in which you can find a waterfall. Behind that waterfall, you'll encounter a door with a seal that opens to a spoken password. Behind the door is a hideout built into the inside of the mountain. It's basically impenetrable from any other direction, so you have to go through the door to enter."

Shikamaru then began to capitalize on any possible missing details.

"Do you know the password?"

Tayuya replied blandly.

"Yes."

Shikamaru waited a brief second before beginning to stare at Tayuya. She returned his glare with a confused look and a question spoken exactly like... well, Tayuya.

"What the fuck do you think you're looking at?"

Shikamaru returned her confused look before elaborating.

"Tayuya... the password?"

Tayuya's eyes widened immediately, with a revealing blush following soon afterward. She quickly averted her eyes from Shikamaru's before replying in a flustered and almost dainty tone he'd never have expected from her.

"O-oh, yeah. I knew that. Anyway, um... yeah."

Pausing for a second, Tayuya took a deep breath and composed herself before responding properly this time.

"The password is: 'Pursue Power'."

I shouldn't have expected anything less from Orochimaru; it sounds exactly like something he'd come up with.

Nodding, Shikamaru once again straightened his back before pulling out a walkie-talkie, reporting that the interrogation was over before putting it down. Then looking back up face Tayuya, he spoke in a somewhat excited tone, clearly happy to be done with the interrogation.

"Alright, my superiors will be in to validate your information in a second, and then after that, we'll see about fulfilling my promise."

As he spoke the last words of the sentence, a light smile graced Shikamaru's lips, and although she'd never tell him, the same thing happened to Tayuya.

A/N: So? How was it! Please leave a review and favorite if you liked it, and tell me what I can improve upon! Next chapter, Tsunade will be confronting Tayuya, and will reach a decision regarding her future.