When tragedy strikes a genius
I'm SO sorry it's been over 2 months that's just how bad I am … I hope you guys don't give up hope on me =] I'll give you cookies if you love me !!
I get a perverse pleasure from uploading story chapters =]
I'm not sure if I need to write a disclaimer on every chapter .... and I can't be bothered but if no one would sue me it would be much appreciated ... Once again I apologise to Shikamaru for putting him through this. Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you (hopefully) enjoyed the last one even though I am currently very mean, a loving relationship will hopefully bloom ... eventually.
Mentions 'Everyday Combat' by Lost Prophets.
Warning: I am a rubbish author so updates WILL be slow;
I'm not exactly a 'skilled' writer so creative criticism is welcome;
this is my first multi chapter story (so bare with me);
mentions SasuNaru but do with that what you will you can always believe their story if you don't like their coupling
&& I apologise if anyone notices me jumping between past, present and possibly future tense (I'm rubbish with that part of writing) I'm not good with POV's either so please ignore if I jump to and fro
Now it's time for you to (hopefully) enjoy the story *bows* please enjoy ... remember Shikamaru is only going through this in the hopes that partially disturbed people (like me) will enjoy -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Beginning----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tsunade's hands hovered over the bruised body below her; a calming green glow was being emitted from them as they were being forced not to flinch away while restoring the flesh below to how it had been 10 hours before. Shizune was the only other person allowed in the room at this time. Neji, having been reassured by Tsunade, left to carry on with his task before he had found Shikamaru. A breath of air escaped the woman's lips as the glow finally decreased and she pulled the covers up beneath one of her most skilled chunin's chin. The two women retreated from the room to let him rest peacefully.
Not ten minutes after the women had departed Shikamaru's eyes flew open as he gasped for air. For a brief, blissful moment he had no idea where he was or why he was there until he recognised the disinfectant smell and noticed how all the walls were a blinding white with the fluorescent lights over head. He closed his eyes again to prevent an oncoming headache when suddenly barely discernible images flashed through his mind forcing him to keep his eyes open while his hands clenched the sheets.
'Okay' breathe in 'so something wrong and awful happened to me.' breathe out 'That's fine, it won't affect me much.' breathe in 'I can get over this. Just need to keep busy. Don't think about it and it'll be okay. I can do this' breathe out.
Shikamaru steadily got out of the hospital bed and stood next to it, he still had his outfit on so at least they hadn't changed him into one of the hospital gowns. Taking a steady step forward Shikamaru found that he wasn't in any pain any more. 'Tsunade – Sama must have had someone heal me'. Making a decision he walked out of the door.
Two hollow knocks at the hard oak door had Shizune and Tsunade looking at it as it swung open to reveal the very boy they had been discussing.
"Shikamaru, how are you feeling"? Taking in his rough appearance and the bags already forming under his eyes she figured that the question was most likely irrelevant.
"Not too bad considering Tsunade – Sama but there is something I need to request of you" A quick glance at Shizune showed that she was thinking along the same lines. Clearing her throat and realigning some papers on her desk she looked back up to choose her words.
"Shikamaru I cannot allow you to pursue these men" Shikamaru couldn't hide the flinch that those words caused but he did not interrupt "I'm sure you realise that even with a team you would not be able to go because they may be able to. Well, they may be able to manipulate you, and you wouldn't be able to stay calm in such a situation" Shikamaru's attention went to the floor at this remark.
"I realise that this could occur Tsunade –Sama however that was not the request that I had" he looked back up to Tsunade his gaze moving to Shizune momentarily "I know that being only sixteen years old means that I am not an adult and that you have a right to break the doctor patience confidentiality claim if you thought that it would affect my life habits." Looking to the floor again he carried on speaking while the two women regarded him calmly "But I need to ask you not to tell my parents, or Asuma Sensei, or anyone else, of the events that happened today" The two women instantly regarded each other both wondering if it was wise to do this.
With a sigh Tsunade looked back to Shikamaru, moving her nails away from her teeth so that she could talk "Shikamaru you were the only one to pass your chunin exam fully because of your skill and ability to realise what the consequences would be if you carried on. I can only assume that you have used the same style to think this situation through, so neither Shizune nor myself will inform anyone of what has occurred today and you should have the day off tomorrow to rest" Shikamaru nodded his head and muttered a word of thanks before turning to leave.
"However" turning around he saw the seriousness in his Hokage's eyes and turned around fully to hear her conditions "If I see you behaving in an unusual manner then I will call you in, I will give you enough notice if I decide to inform your parents so that you have the chance to do so yourself. Do you understand my conditions?" another irrelevant question asked by the leader of the village.
"I do Tsunade – Sama" with a nod of his head he turned to leave just as the door swung open causing Shikamaru to jump to the side and fall on to the couch.
"Tsunade- Sama we couldn't find him" a distressed Asuma was now standing in the middle of the large room "we looked everywhere and there were signs of him but all we found were these" he held up the scroll that Shikamaru had been sent to retrieve and the ninjas weapon pouch.
"Ah I was wondering where the scroll was" Tsunade held out her hand for the scroll while Asuma just stared at her.
"Tsunade – Sama, how can you care about a scroll while Shikamaru is missing?" Asuma's voice was become quite high so with a sigh Tsunade sat back down in her chair and regarded Asuma for some time, her gaze flicking to the ninja who was sitting and observing from the couch.
"Asuma your observational skills are not strong when your worried are they" It was not a question but just as Asuma was going to have another outburst at his leader he realised she was looking at the couch.
Turning to look at the couch himself he saw a rather bemused look on his ex-students face "Wha, Shikamaru, how long have you been here and what's with your hair" he asked in disbelief, at the same time Tsunade turned to Shizune.
"I thought I told you to send someone to inform the group" A guilty look flashed across the woman's face as she held her pig tighter to her.
"It slipped my mind Lady Tsunade, because of Shikamaru's state" A nod from Tsunade stopped Shizune's excuses and she turned back to Asuma.
"Shikamaru returned to Konoha about an hour ago Asuma I apologise for not informing you, and thank you for collecting the scroll which Shikamaru had apparently forgotten about" At the tone of her voice Asuma had a bizarre feeling that Tsunade had also forgotten about the mentioned scroll.
"Ah, you are both dismissed unless there is something you need to discuss with me Asuma?" Tsunade needed Asuma out of the room as soon as possible, it felt wrong not telling him what had happened to Shikamaru, after all he was practically Shikamaru's second father.
Asuma noticing that no one was going to explain what was really going on spoke quickly while glancing to Shikamaru "No Tsunade – Sama, if Shikamaru is safe then I do not have anything to discuss" With a nod to the two male ninja Tsunade watched them leave, one clearly more uncomfortable than the other. Shikamaru was not going to get out of this easily.
"So" Asuma started while walking down the hall, hands in pockets looking at Shikamaru "What is with your hair" Shikamaru's shoulders visibly rose as he tensed slightly. He didn't want to lie to Asuma, he always told him what was going on.
"It fell down and I couldn't be bothered to put it back up" not technically a lie but he knew Asuma wouldn't buy it that easily. A hum from the older man was the only response he got though. They were now at the door leading to the outside which Asuma held open letting Shikamaru walk out first.
"So you going to tell me why it took you nine hours to complete a D rank mission" Asuma was pressing him and Shikamaru felt like he was being treated like a frightened animal trying not to be scared away. However much he wanted to tell Asuma he knew he couldn't. Even if he did try his throat wouldn't let him and his vision started to blur again.
No I can't cry in front of Asuma, he'll definitely know something's up. Taking a calming breath Shikamaru looked straight to the sky his face turned slightly away from Asuma so he wouldn't see the shine of water. They only had a couple more streets to go down before they went separate ways he just had to wait that long. A sigh beside him drew his attention to the taller man who had a sad expression on his face, but before Shikamaru could ask what was wrong with his old sensei Asuma stopped. It was already time for them to part.
"I don't know what happened tonight Shikamaru but you can come tell me whenever you want okay" His large hand rested on top of Shikamaru's flat hair and he smiled which just made Shikamaru feel worse since it didn't reach his eyes. His throat was closing up again so he nodded in response while looking down at his feet. Another sigh and the loss of the hand were the only signals Shikamaru had that Asuma was leaving and he didn't want Asuma to leave. This walk was the only time he had felt safe in hours but he turned to the direction of his own house and started walking.
As soon as he had turned the first corner Shikamaru pressed his back against the wall and got his breathing in order. He rested one of his hands on top of his head and closed his eyes as he felt Asuma's hand instead of his own, he felt so alone all of a sudden. Abruptly he felt unsafe in the open space and he started to walk again thinking of his room where he could be safe.
"Hey Shika!" a jolly voice echoed through the streets as Shikamaru turned to see a couple with such contrasting hair colours coming towards him. Naruto was running up to him while Sasuke strolled along after the hyperactive boy. Shikamaru's body unconsciously tensed up as the blonds arms wrapped around him in a sudden glomp.
Sasuke managed to pull the boy off of Shikamaru while mumbling something about how Naruto could still be so energetic. Shikamaru offered a strained smile while mentally berating himself for his reaction to Naruto.
"We've just come back from the training grounds" Naruto blurted out suddenly with that stupid grin of his as Sasuke rolled his eyes and Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as he looked towards the black sky.
"What have you been doing to have finished so late"? at this Naruto's blush was visible even in the dark light.
"We were practising a special type of training" the reply came from the always calm and collected Uchiha, whose lips were upturned in one corner, creating a rather devilish grin.
Naruto said nothing at this but scuffed his shoe on the ground twice. 'Whatever I wouldn't usually care about what they were really doing and I still don't. I'm fine'. A small smile graced Shikamaru's lips at this thought and he looked up to the only other people on the road.
"I don't really care what it was you were doing. Just make sure you don't get caught" and with that he walked past the two raising his hand as a sign of goodbye.
One more corner to turn and his house would be in sight. He had made it back home with (nearly) no unusual incidents.
"Gotcha!" something bumped into his leg from behind and he swiveled on his other foot to release his leg while drawing his kunai at the foe. Two boys no older than nine years old stared at him fearfully. The slightly taller one was holding on to the others arm, the shorter having clearly tripped up and merely used Shikamaru's leg to balance.
With a sigh Shikamaru replaced the kunai he couldn't believe he had over reacted so much to a children's game. 'So that's two incidents that I wouldn't usually do in less than half an hour. If it keeps up like this Tsunade –Sama will tell mum and dad'
As he opened the door he called out that he wasn't hungry and headed straight upstairs. They pretended they didn't care but they always stayed up until Shikamaru came home. He could never tell them what had happened that day. How could he?
He knew he had already worried his parents by not going to see them, but they would not trouble him even so Shikamaru felt the need to lock his door, to be completely secure. After all Shikamaru was finally somewhere he felt safe, locked away in his room with no lights on, eyes closed and finally feeling calm. He would notice if anyone came into his room, this place was his sanctuary. And he was suddenly washed over with the need to sleep.
He always enjoyed listening to music as he slept, it didn't matter what genre it was so long as it was quiet enough to be soothing. Lately he had been getting to know a song pretty well, constantly having it on repeat and it was that song that played through his room now.
Shikamaru knew the words to this song off by heart but as it was coming to an end the words finally fully sunk in to him 'Don't think your safe cause it's not over' repeating over and over again. His eyes flew open to a suffocating darkness as the words continued to repeat. He knew this song, these words, knew they were coming and they were just lyrics but that was far from explaining why his body was frozen still, his eyes unmoving from his CD player. 'The voice doesn't even sound like that man's'. Shikamaru squeezed his eyes shut as his mind unwillingly started to warp the voice into what it had remembered.
When the words finally stopped along with the song Shikamaru could swear he heard that low growl of a laugh and once again his eyes were on the CD player that was still torturing him. His limbs came alive and he was sitting up, hands on either side of the CD player and flinging it across the room with a cry before his mind had caught up to what he was doing. Knees to his chest sitting on the edge of his bed he felt his cheeks getting damp once again as he stared at the pieces of plastic and electronics lying across his bedroom floor.
The door literally burst open less than five seconds after Shikamaru's cry, Shikaku had given up trying to pick lock the door. His parents stood in the doorway shocked at seeing their son crying but soon his mother was by his side. Shikamaru began to tense up as he felt arms wrapping themselves around him before realising they were his mothers. Then he curled into her arms, welcoming the woman's warmth, something he had not willingly done for a long time.
With this action Yoshino stared up at her husband, worry and fear etched into both of their faces. What had happened to their son today?
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The next day
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Shikamaru's eyes fluttered open as he rolled over in his bed covers to see his clock on the bedside table which claimed it was 6:27 am. Shikamaru sat up and stared at the clock he never woke up before 7:30 and that was only because his mother was always nagging him but now he couldn't stay asleep. He looked at the floor which had no sign of a smashed CD player since his mother had cleared it away last night after he had calmed down. His father had told him he could come to them for anything while his mother stood in the door way, then they had both smiled at him and left for their own room again.
Shikamaru sighed and rested his head in his hands he wasn't sure which was worse any more, what had happened to him in the forest or his parents realising he was hiding something from them. All he knew was that if he didn't get himself together quickly then he wouldn't be hiding it from his parents much longer thanks to Tsunade's 'conditions'. "Damn it" he flopped back on his bed and stared at his ceiling.
Half an hour later Shikamaru swung himself out of bed and decided to get ready, and after a quick wash and dressing himself he needed to go and see Tsunade. He came down the stairs at 7:30 once again shocking both of his parents and, after declining breakfast, headed off for the Hokage tower.
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"Hey Shikamaru" he recognised Neji's voice and suppressed a groan as he turned to face the confrontation he had wanted to avoid. Neji caught up to him and they started walking again drawing some attention from the other pedestrians since the two didn't usually acknowledge each other let alone walk together.
"So you okay today"? Neji broke the uneasy silence neither of them really wanting to get onto this subject.
"Yes"
"Good" The silence returned as they got closer to the Hokage tower. Neji stopped suddenly causing Shikamaru to stop and look at him. "Listen I know something happened to you yesterday and I'd rather not assume what happened so" Neji stood staring at the ground still not entirely sure why he was doing this "you can always talk to me"?
Shikamaru blinked, not only because the two hardly talked to each other but also because Neji's face had turned a pale pink "Yeah thanks" Shikamaru turned slightly out of embarrassment and they both set off again.
"I just can't talk about it at the moment" they were at the door to the Hokage tower and as Shikamaru turned to look at Neji he saw the boy smiling and it made Shikamaru feel better somehow.
"Well when you can then" Shikamaru nodded and Neji turned and walked back the way they had come.
'He didn't even need to come this way? Then why did he bother with that' Shikamaru sighed as he made his way through the tower 'I must have scared him pretty badly yesterday'
"Shikamaru what are you doing here today Tsunade – Sama told you to rest" Shizune was standing in the hall way outside of Tsunade's room concern written all over her face "Are you okay"?
Shikamaru managed a smile to try and reassure the woman "I'm fine Shizune I just need to speak with Tsunade – Sama. Is she available or should I come back" Shizune looked rather shocked. Probably because Shikamaru was passing down the chance to have a day off.
"No you can go through she's only got some paper work which she won't have started yet" with a smile and a wave of her hand towards the closed door she headed off down the hall. Shikamaru looked at the large door before moving forward and knocking on it.
Tsunade rose her head from the desk where it had landed after Shizune had told her to finish the paperwork littering her desk and the floor by the end of the day. "It's not humanly possible" she muttered repeating the words she had previously told her assistant before remembering the knock. "Come in" she called as she pretended to sort some of the paper into piles.
Shikamaru opened the large doors and stepped in to see Tsunade rearranging some of the papers on her desk. Seeing the mountain surrounding her Shikamaru was starting to wonder if his request was really a good idea now. He was definitely seeing the downside of it.
"Shikamaru"! Shock laced Tsunade's voice "What are you doing here"? Shikamaru coughed slightly and was still eyeing the paperwork warily "I told you to have the day off. Do you want to change your request from yesterday"?
Shikamaru looked up at this "No Tsunade – Sama, I just wanted to ask for something else as well" Tsunade raised her eyebrows when he didn't carry on, he was still looking at her desk, so she looked to it wondering what was on it. "Would it be possible for me to do paperwork rather than field work for awhile.
What ever Tsunade was expecting it had not been that. A request to work in an office for long hours by (probably) the laziest person in the village, it wasn't something you came across everyday. "Well we are getting a lot of requests from out of the village and we're running short on capable ninja" Seeing Shikamaru's face fall ever so slightly she quickly added "But we can handle it at the moment so I don't see why not. However you may be called out to do field work".
Shikamaru nodded he had been expecting that sort of reply, well yesterday he had wanted paper work and now he has it, he was in no situation to complain especially since he asked for it.
"I would prefer you get out as soon as possible though. It might be better for your mind, but you will know when your ready I suppose. You can start tomorrow, be at the offices at eight and don't be late" Tsunade smiled at Shikamaru and he nodded and left the building. It was only 8:30 and he was already feeling stressed, he needed to relax badly.
There was a particular field Shikamaru liked to go to when he was stressed or something was bothering him, so now was the perfect time to go. It was set on a high hill at the edge of his families grounds which managed to overlook most of Konoha and when you look up all you can see is the wide open sky, nothing interrupted the view. The last time he was here was two weeks ago when he had needed to get away from troublesome every day nuisances it seemed so long ago to Shikamaru now.
Once he had reached the top he looked around assessing the area before laying down. He never usually checked this place for dangers but paranoia seemed to be gnawing at the edge of his consciousness a lot lately. As he gazed up at the sky looking for shapes in the clouds and happily loosing himself to the relaxation he heard a twig snap close to the trees at the edge of the field. The trees were part of the deer's forest and Shikamaru was sure nothing that the deer were unsure of could sneak through there without him being warned thanks to their connection. But never the less his head involuntarily jerked to the side to look along the tree line even as he recognised the chakra signals.
"Thought you would be here" Asuma pushed himself away from the tree he was leaning against and headed towards Shikamaru who began to sit up. Asuma placed himself next to Shikamaru and gazed up to the sky as smoke drifted lazily away from his burning cigarette. "It's an elephant" Asuma stated after an uncomfortable silence and he pointed towards the sky causing Shikamaru to following the line his arm was making up into the sky and with a tilt of his head he saw a rather decapitated elephant in the clouds.
Shikamaru stayed silent and after a sigh Asuma joined him. Usually the two men were so in tune with each other they could sit in silence for hours and it would be comfortable and relaxing but there was something about the situation that put Shikamaru on edge and he was sure Asuma didn't find the lack of speech comfortable either. But Shikamaru would have preferred silence to what came next.
"You used to tell me every thing going on with you, you know" Shikamaru gazed at his knees as guilt flooded through his system. "Just over two years we've known each other but we hit it off right away" Asuma was looking to the sky again trying to search for answers as his arm rested on his knee, cigarette in hand. "I didn't think that'd change in two years, well over night really" with this he looked to Shikamaru who still refused to meet his gaze.
"I'm not trying to hide anything from you Asuma" the mumble sounded so desperate that Asuma chuckled slightly and looked away. Of course Shikamaru was trying to hide something, it was so obvious that he was hiding something and it physically hurt Asuma to know Shikamaru wasn't telling him something which was obviously so distressful.
"Does anyone know what's up with you. Even if you can't tell me you should talk to someone about it to get it off your chest." Shikamaru sighed and shook his head slightly.
"Only Tsunade – Sama and Shizune know as far as I'm aware" Asuma made a slight sound before nodding though he still didn't get it. The two women had no real connections to Shikamaru at all so why would he tell them something.
Maybe something had gone wrong during his last mission and the people of the village did not believe he was a Konoha ninja. Maybe Shikamaru only told them because it's an official matter. Maybe he needed her for her medical advice. Was he injured somehow?, but it didn't seem like that kind of discomfort. Had he injured someone else?, a female?, had he got someone pregnant?
Asuma shook his head he was beginning to jump to ridiculous conclusions. But as he looked over to Shikamaru, who was looking at the ground again, he remembered that Shikamaru was a handsome boy. And he was sure that girl from Suna liked him and Ino did go through a phase of blushing whenever he was around. The ladies definitely liked him and he did take a long time getting back yesterday. Maybe he had spent a couple of extra hours in the village with some woman. Or maybe he had met one on the way back.
"Have you got someone pregnant" It blurted out of Asuma's mouth unwilled as more of a statement rather than a question and he had to clear his throat while fighting with a blush. Glancing over to Shikamaru he saw that he was just as stunned and looking at him as if Asuma had magically turned into the decapitated elephant still floating around above them.
"Where did you get that idea from"? Shikamaru's voice held a hint of laughter in it as he continued to stare at Asuma in the same manner.
"Well, you've got a problem and you told Tsunade about it what else am I supposed to think" He shrugged at the end as if it was actually an obvious conclusion to jump to but Shikamaru seemed to think differently as he cocked his left eyebrow and looked up to the clouds again. "You haven't answered me you know" Shikamaru glanced at him again for a second.
"I didn't think I needed to answer that type of question. But no I haven't got anyone pregnant, I think women are too troublesome remember". The truth was that Shikamaru had never used to think women were all that troublesome before but about two and a half years ago, around the time he had first met Asuma, he had began to think that way. And it still puzzled him to this day why he thought like that. He saw a slight smile at the corner of Asuma's lips "besides I didn't really tell Tsunade or Shizune, they just kind of" He paused looking away again, he was starting to bring himself down by remembering it, and he had been happy that they had been talking normally "found out, since Tsunade's a medic nin and the Hokage"
"But what can't you tell me Shikamaru, you've seem off today and when I saw you yesterday I don't know if you've noticed but every one else has, I heard that Naruto kid talking about it with Neji and Sasuke" he looked at Shikamaru and placed his hand comfortingly on his shoulder.
"I know I've been different and I can't help it, if I don't start acting normally Tsunade says she's going to tell mum and dad and they can't know Asuma" Shikamaru looked into his eyes and he was shocked to see tears there "I don't want them to find out unless I tell them but I just can't" His voice was starting to hiccup and Asuma was mentally freaking out.
He wasn't sure he even knew that Shikamaru had this much emotion. And doing the first thing his body thought of, he embraced Shikamaru in a very awkward and more masculine than comforting hug with his hand clasping Shikamaru's shoulder and Shikamaru's head pressed against his chest.
Shikamaru accepted it gratefully though and held on to Asuma's shirt as he (once again) broke down. A mark went through his mind tallying that to his fourth breakdown in less than two days. Asuma had been right he needed to get it off his chest and he needed to do it now. Pulling away from Asuma's grip he looked away as he wiped his eyes and cleared his throat. It seemed that his recovery time was getting faster with each breakdown. But as he prepared to speak that annoying lump appeared again.
Taking a few more breathes to clear the lump he tried to speak again "I was" he choked on the word as the lump didn't move and he rubbed his throat but he still couldn't get it out. Should he just go to Tsunade and ask her to tell Asuma. He knew it would be better for both of them if he said it himself so he didn't entertain the idea for long. He wasn't even crying any more yet he found harder to breathe when he was out of Asuma's grasp.
Shikamaru suddenly leaned sideways to rest on Asuma's shoulder, his mouth thankfully close to the older man's ear. He took in a deep breathe but it came out as a broken whisper, but by the tensing muscles beneath him he knew Asuma had heard.
"I was raped"
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Finally done … I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry I knew I wouldn't update soon but this is ridiculous … I kind of ish have a plan/ plot style idea but I don't think updates will be any quicker =[ I'm sorry hang in there ?? PLEASE !!!!
sorry that the ending was like really rushed. I don't really like this chapter I think my writings gone down hill somehow ?? I don't know it just seems weird to me … hope you liked it though, you people are why I write after all!!! next chapter will (hopefully) have a lot happening in it =] but it will be another long wait (Sorry again)
I'll go sit in my corner and start writing the next chapter while waiting for your reviews =]