Disclaimer: 1) I do not own any Naruto characters. 2) this was supposed to be chapter 2, but I could not figure out how to get the chapter to attach to the previous story.

The Last Uzumaki: Chapter Two: A Very Troublesome Discovery.

Nara Shikamaru trudged begrudgingly behind his parents. It was his birthday and his mom had promised a special treat after chores were done. He would have been satisfied with just skipping the chores. Instead, here he was, packing a cut down carton with multi-colored small plants through the village. True, the plants were not as heavy as the sack of antlers his father had over his shoulders, or the box of medicines his mother was carrying, but it was still troublesome. His mother had stated it would be much more troublesome trying to save Shinobi lives without the flowers being readily available at the hospital.

"What if the poison victim was your father? He could die before a Medic could make the round trip from the hospital to our green house and back."

Shikamaru had acknowledged he didn't want anyone to die when the medicinal flowers were available. But why did he have to carry the flowers, and why today? His father promised the birthday surprise would be worth the work.

Shikamaru didn't want any more surprises. The last one was troublesome enough. All week his father and uncles and assorted clan members had been drilling the clan shadow techniques into his head, trying to push them past memorized movements all the way to instinctual responses. It was hard, and tiresome, and all he wanted to do was take a nap.

There was some kind of fuss at the gate. Shikamaru saw his father shift the antlers on his shoulder, but the Uchiha waved him off. Whatever it was, the gatekeepers were handling it. It was of no concern to the Nara family and they continued on toward the hospital.

"Pretty!"

Shikamaru saw something darting towards him and instinctively dropped the flowers, whipping through hand signs and grabbing the nearest shadow to defend himself. The shadow felt strange, thick and heavy. Something thumped against his chest and warm, wet stickiness splattered his face and arms.

"Dart! NO!"

Shikamaru was aware of his parents dropping their supplies, the gatekeepers leaving their post, and of a green-eyed woman running toward him. He stared at the blood on his arm and the small pool on the ground. "What was that?"

"That was a Wraith! How did a Wraith get past the gates?" Shikamaru's mother demanded of the guards.

The Uchiha glared at the woman, now kneeling beside the pool of blood. "She said the child was her daughter. She neglected to mention the 'Uzumaki' child was adopted."

Uzumaki? Shikamaru looked over to the usually hyperactive blond kid. Had someone adopted him? What did that have to do with all this blood? The blond was just staring at the pool of blood like maybe he was in shock or something.

"Be careful, Shikamaru." Warned his father. "You have injured it. It will be angry and twice as deadly now. "

"Injured it?" The woman mocked, picking up something from the pool of blood. "He murdered her."

"It was self-defense," said Shikamaru's mother.

"There isn't enough blood there for a kill," said his father.

The woman looked up with eyes that seemed deader than a harvested buck. "A three year old doesn't have a lot of blood." Her voice also had a vacant quality. "Murder seems an extreme punishment for only wanting to see the pretty flowers."

The woman closed her eyes and, for a moment, all of the adults seemed distracted by something he couldn't see just outside the gates. Then the woman spoke again, even more empty than before. "Murder seems an extreme punishment for just wanting to be left in peace."

Shikamaru felt a shiver race up his spine. He couldn't answer. The shivering was spreading from his spine down all his limbs. His throat felt hot and his eyes were watering. Had he been poisoned? What was wrong with him?

"Was this your first kill, young Nara?"

The woman's eyes had opened: Their green fire seared him with her stare. He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded through his shivering. The woman extended her fist. "Here, a trophy from your first kill." He saw his father's shadow stretch to intercept the woman's hand. The shadow was burned back by a bright flash. Then her hand was holding his, placing something small in his palm and curling his fingers over it. When she released her hold he opened his hand. Cupped within his palm was a tiny baby's hand. Only a baby's hand. Shikamaru dropped it and was violently ill.

He felt the woman's shadow cover him as she stood. He'd lost track of his parents. "You are now the last Uzumaki," he heard her say softly to the blond child. There was so much sorrow in her voice. He wanted to say something, do something, but all he could do was puke.

Then, she laughed. It was a horrible sound, a hundred times worse than the sorrow before. He caught a flash of red, just before the thickest shadow he'd ever experienced wrapped him in suffocating darkness, trapping him inside with that laugh.

It took him some time to recognize the laughter had stopped. There was a new sound now, the sound of wood burning. The thick shadow was replaced by thick smoke and the stench of burning flesh. To the sticky feel of blood and sweat was quickly adding the irritating burn of ash.

Shikamaru could not at first find the woman. When he did find her, his trembling abruptly stopped. At the side of the ruined gate, too far away for his talent to reach, stood the shadow of a woman. The shadow stared at him with eyes of green fire. He wanted to stamp out that fire. To strangle it, kill it, destroy it as it had destroyed his village.

"Now we are even, young Nara." Her voice was little more than a sigh. Then the shadow turned sideways to him, vanishing from his sight.