Dearest Readers,
I honestly don't have anything to say up here…except for the fact that my day sucked.
Read on, Cherubs.
Over and out.
Stay With Me
He didn't know how long he's walked since leaving the village. The sun was rising and he walked without thought, going wherever his feet took him. They would've found his letter and pictures by now and he hoped that they had the effect that he wanted: to make them feel guilty.
Returning to his state of thoughtlessness, he didn't sense the presence of another person near him. The person's dark black eyes followed him, watching his every move. He looked familiar; when his eyes landed on the headband on Shikamaru's arm, it clicked: he's from the Hidden Leaf Village and if the rumors are true, he may be the one who's said to be a genius.
Quietly, he moved from his place on a high tree branch and followed Shikamaru. He wasn't sure why he was interested in where this boy was going; it wasn't like him to feel curiosity or interest. However, he followed him; making sure to keep his presence unknown. He watched as the boy's shoulder length brown hair blew slightly in the gentle breeze. He couldn't help it as his dark eyes wondered over the boy's figure, taking in every detail. However, he wished he wasn't wearing a bag on his back.
Shikamaru stopped and at first, he thought that he had sensed him. But his attention was drawn to where the boy was looking at as well: there was someone else near them and by the sense of it…he was strong. He placed himself on a tree branch nearer to the boy, not understanding why he felt the need to protect him. What the hell is wrong with me?
"You're an awfully long way from home." A man's voice said as he stepped into the clearing, facing Shikamaru.
"That's a wonderful observation; can you tell me what color the sky is as well?" Shikamaru shot back sarcastically, making the man scowl. As he stood on the branch, he felt a smile grace his lips. He's a sassy one.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" The man growled, taking a step closer to Shikamaru.
"Look, Buddy. I don't know who you are and I really don't care. I don't feel like talking to you, so I'm leaving." He began to walk away, but the man threw a kunai, making it stick into a tree inches away from Shikamaru's chest. His dark eyes narrowed at the man…he looked familiar. He jumped quietly to a branch above the man's head, preparing himself for an attack.
"For a little punk, you do know how to boost your own ego." The man said, making a hand sign. Shikamaru sighed; he did not want to fight anyone.
Shikamaru briefly glanced to his left, seeing if there was a clearing that he could easily run to and then escape. He whipped his head back to the man as he let out a scream of pain. Shikamaru's brow furrowed in confusion as he saw that a kunai was stuck into the man's hands, pinning them together. What the hell?
He heard a rustling to his right and saw someone land gracefully in front of him. Shikamaru's eyes went wide as he stared at the person who came to his aid: Itachi Uchiha. The man turned his angry eyes towards Itachi, but then shock occupied his face. Shit.
"What are you doing here?" The man barked at the Uchiha, making him raise an eyebrow calmly.
"Why were you going to attack someone who wasn't doing anything to you?" He retorted calmly, his voice soft but threatening.
"I recognize him. He's from the Hidden Leaf Village, a rival of my own village."
"You were going to kill me because of where I lived?" Shikamaru asked, making Itachi smile slightly again.
"People like you need to die." The man growled.
For some unknown reason, Itachi felt his anger rise. He didn't even know this boy, but he felt drawn to him. This boy was an enigma to say the least…he seemed different than the people he usually encounters. His demeanor radiated him as being laid-back and uninterested in very few things, but Itachi had a feeling that there was so much more to him.
"You can both leave and leave this boy alone or I can make you leave…or die…which ever you prefer." Itachi said his voice deathly quiet.
"Just because you're a well known ninja doesn't mean that you can intimidate me."
"I killed my clan…what do you think I can do to you?" The man's eyes narrowed and glanced to the ground. He had a point; his eyes locked with Shikamaru's.
"You got lucky, Boy. If Uchiha didn't show up, you would've been dead a long time ago."
"I'm terrified." Shikamaru said in a monotone tone, making the man's glare deepen as he disappeared into the trees.
Itachi turned to look at the boy's face for the first time since he first saw him. He was barely able to keep his face as emotionless as possible as he stared at the boy. Dark eyes sparkled in the sunlight that came through the trees, his slender figure seemed to naturally seduce him, and skin as flawless as anything he's ever seen.
Shikamaru removed his bag from his back and sat down at the base of a tree, leaning against it. Itachi slowly took a few steps towards him, kneeling in front of him. Their eyes locked and both of them felt something stir within them that they've never felt before.
"Where are you heading?" Itachi asked, his voice returning to its soft and quiet tone.
"I'm not sure…anywhere except the Leaf Village."
"Why is that?" Shikamaru hesitated, not sure if he should tell him. But he felt something inside of him that drew him towards Itachi.
"Everyone didn't like the way I am and decided to lie to me about it. I had enough of it, so I left." Shikamaru said, remembering his friends' conversation in the restaurant. Itachi was surprised by this. People didn't like him? Why?
"Why don't they like you, Child?" Itachi asked, sitting on the ground in front of him. Shikamaru smiled lightly at being called 'Child'.
"They hate the fact that I'm a bit lazy and unmotivated. They say that I never use my full potential." Shikamaru said honestly, staring deep into Itachi's dark eyes.
"Well that's not a good reason to not like a person."
"You don't know them like I do…that kind of thing is normal for them. But I think the only one who doesn't really say nor do anything is Sas—" He stopped himself, not sure if bringing up Sasuke would make Itachi angry. He sensed Shikamaru's discomfort and smiled lightly, surprised at himself for expressing so much emotion.
"Sasuke." He finished his sentence, making Shikamaru nod.
"Sorry." Shikamaru mumbled, breaking eye contact.
"What are you sorry for, Child?" He smiled lightly again at the use of 'Child'.
"I shouldn't have brought him up."
"His name isn't taboo, Child. It's quite alright." Shikamaru looked back up at him, mesmerized by the darkness and mystery of him.
"He's still pissed at you by the way." They both chuckled lightly, Itachi eyeing Shikamaru carefully.
"What is your name, Child?"
"Well, I like the sound of 'Child'. But it's actually Shikamaru." Itachi chuckled lightly again.
"I shall use them interchangeably, how about that?" Shikamaru smiled at him, his eyes sparkling.
"I like that. What are you doing out here anyway?"
"There's only so much time one can spend in the same place with the same people. I needed to get away for a bit."
"I know the feeling." Shikamaru said, turning his gaze up at the sky and smiling slightly as he looked at the clouds.
"You enjoy nature." It wasn't a question and Shikamaru nodded slightly.
"I do, but nobody that I know enjoys it like I do."
"I enjoy nature very much, so now you know someone who enjoys it as well." Shikamaru laughed quietly and looked back at him again. How can having a conversation with someone like Itachi be easy and pleasant?
"How long have you been traveling?" Itachi asked after a few moments of silence.
"I'm not sure to be honest; a day or two maybe." Itachi bit the inside of his cheek gently, not sure if it was wise to ask his question.
"Do you wish to stay with me? The others aren't as bad as you may think." Shikamaru was very surprised by his question, but his eyes lit up slightly and his smile grew as well.
"Will they mind?"
"Of course not; however, I must warn you: they can be quite strange." Shikamaru laughed again, not understanding why he was drawn to Itachi or how he can get along with him so well. He's not as bad as Sasuke and everyone else makes him sound.
"Will any of them hate me?"
"No, Child. I'm sure they will like you greatly. You're sassy…they like someone like that." Shikamaru felt his face grow warm, hoping that Itachi didn't notice.
"As long as no one will eat me or something along those lines, I'd love to stay with you."
"You don't have enough body mass to satisfy them even if they did try to eat you…they're animals when it comes to eating."
XXXXX
"What…the hell…do you mean…he left?" Tsunade said, anger radiating from her in a frightening amount. Oh man…I knew she was going to be pissed. Naruto thought as he stared at the angry blonde in front of him.
"He left a letter pinned to a tree telling us that he left the village and by the sounds of it…he's not planning on coming back." Asuma said, hoping that Tsunade wouldn't start shouting at them.
"You're mission is to search—"
"He said that even he doesn't know where he's going." Kakashi said, knowing that it was a bad idea to cut her off. However, he was surprised when she didn't shout at him.
"So let me get this straight: the village's best strategist left and he doesn't plan on coming back. Correct?" They nodded tentatively and Tsunade sighed, cradling her face in her hands. Shikamaru…the village's best damn strategist left the village…and we can't search for him because he's not sure where he's going…wonderful.
"What should we do?" Ino asked, her voice shaking.
"There's nothing we can do. All we can do is hope that a ninja from our village comes across him when they're on a mission…that's it." They felt their hearts sink at the reality that she was right.
Shikamaru was gone…and he's not coming back.
XXXXX
"You live in a cave?" Shikamaru asked as they arrived at their destination.
"It's not a cave, Child. It's a base underground." Itachi corrected, making Shikamaru smile.
"Call it whatever you want…whatever helps you sleep at night."
"I don't sleep." Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
"You always have to have the last word, don't you?"
"I do, Child." Itachi led them to the entrance to the Akatsuki base and made their way inside. After stepping on the 1,375th step, Shikamaru sighed.
"Seriously, what's with all the stairs?" Itachi chuckled just as they entered a large room that was dully lit by the fire crackling in the fireplace.
"Itachi…what's with the kid?" Kisame asked, extremely surprised that Itachi would bring someone to their base.
"What do you wish to be called, Child?" They stared wide eyed at him. Child? What the hell has gotten into him?
"'Shikamaru' is fine…I'm not picky." He said, not believing that he was in the hideout of Akatsuki, the criminal organization that all villages are against. Zetsu was eyeing Shikamaru carefully…his physical characteristics looked familiar.
"Are you from the Nara clan, Boy?" Zetsu asked, grabbing everyone's attention.
"Yeah…why?" Zetsu grinned and stood slowly, taking purposeful steps towards him. Itachi felt his protective instincts kick in as Zetsu got closer…why he was feeling protective, he didn't know.
"You're from the Leaf Village, yes?"
"Are we playing 20 questions? Because if we are, you only have 18 questions left to guess what I'm thinking." Shikamaru said, looking innocently at him. Itachi felt his lips curl slightly as Kisame let out a chuckle.
"I like this kid; I'm glad you brought him back here, Itachi." Kisame said, now standing by his partner.
"I thought that you and the others would like him." Itachi said calmly, his eyes roaming over Shikamaru's slender figure. There's something about this kid that's making Itachi act differently; this kid must be something extremely special if he willingly brought him to our base without the intent of interrogating him. Kisame thought as Shikamaru spoke.
"But to answer your question: yes, I am from the Leaf Village." Zetsu's grin widened…he knew of this boy.
"Shikamaru Nara…I've heard many things about you." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Nothing bad I hope." He said, tilting his head slightly to the right, making some of his hair fall into his eyes.
"Oh no, Boy, quite the opposite. From what I've heard…you have an unusually strong mind…many people consider you to be a genius." Deidara, Sasori, Hidan, and Kakuzu stared at them, even more intrigued by Shikamaru. Genius, huh? Doesn't really look like one.
"Oh, don't make me blush." Shikamaru said lightly, smiling gently.
"It's true though…isn't it, Shikamaru?" Deidara asked from his place by the fireplace.
"Well, I think I'm smart…other people think I'm smart…so I guess I am."
"Have you ever taken an IQ test?" Zetsu pushed, knowing that they may have found a new member. Shikamaru looked thoughtfully for a moment, but then shrugged his shoulders lightly.
"Not that I can remember." He said simply, never knowing that Asuma really had given him one. Zetsu turned towards the other members behind him, knowing that they were thinking the same thing: depending on how smart Shikamaru really is…he's here to stay. He turned back towards Shikamaru, staring down at him.
"We're going to give you one." Shikamaru groaned softly.
"I hate tests…of any kind…especially when I have to think."
"But a person must always think when taking some kind of test, Shikamaru." Zetsu said, chuckling lightly as he turned away.
"Not always." Zetsu turned back towards him with a raised eyebrow.
"Such as?" Shikamaru sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Trust me, differential and integral calculus is not that difficult. Although, admittedly, differential is my forté." Even Itachi was showing a surprised expression on his face at Shikamaru's statement. 'Not that difficult'? I don't even know what those words mean! Deidara thought as Itachi gently grabbed Shikamaru's elbow and led him towards the center of the room in front of a small table, indicating for him to sit. Shikamaru dropped his bag on the floor and flopped down ungracefully.
Itachi's eyes brushed over him, taking in every detail. After all this time, why has he started to feel something that was…unusual for him? He trained himself to become emotionless and unmerciful…how can one person destroy that without trying? Kisame eyed Itachi carefully, not understanding the change in his partner's behavior. There's something about this boy that's influencing Itachi somehow…but what?
Zetsu returned with a 1 ½ inch thick book and a pencil and placed both of them in front of Shikamaru, sitting with the others around the table. Shikamaru stared lazily at the box, really not wanting to take a test like this.
"This is the Advanced Progressive Matrices—"
"Shit Zetsu, why give him that one?" Kisame asked, the others also surprised by Zetsu's decision.
"What's the big deal?" Shikamaru asked, flipping open the book and staring at the black and white patterns on the pages. "What am I suppose to do?"
"It's quite simple really: all you have to do is find the item that completes the pattern. I'll give you 30 minutes to complete as many as you can. Understand?" Shikamaru sighed and picked up the pencil, twirling it between his fingers as he looked at the patterns in front of him.
They all eyed Shikamaru as he twirled the pencil between his fingers, his eyes darting around the page in front of him. They were surprised, but confused, when Shikamaru placed his left elbow on the table and rested the left side of his face against his hand. As they watched him carefully, Itachi knew why Kisame had asked why Zetsu had given Shikamaru the Advanced Progressive Matrices: not only was it one of the most popular IQ tests…it was also the hardest. The clock on the wall ticked loudly in the quiet room, mixing with the sound of the pencil writing across the pages. Zetsu glanced at the clock.
"You have—"
"15 minutes." Shikamaru finished, not taking his eyes off of the book, making another mark in the process.
Even Itachi's face expressed the look of surprise at Shikamaru's response. How did he know how much time he has left if he's never looked away from the test once? The same question was on their mind and they were surprised when Shikamaru covered a small yawn, but not looking away from the test.
The clock continued to tick and Shikamaru covered another small yawn, continuing to find the item that completed the pattern. He looks…bored. Itachi's dark eyes darted from Shikamaru's semi-bored expression to his steadily moving writing. Shikamaru released a deep sigh and dropped the pencil on the table, stretching his arms above him.
"What are—"
"30 minutes is up." He said, nodding towards the clock…he was right.
Zetsu eyed him carefully. There's something different about this boy. He pulled the book towards him and laid it next to the answer key and began to compare them. After a few minutes, the Akatsuki members noticed that he hadn't made one mark on the test yet. Zetsu's brow furrowed, not taking his eyes away from what he just looked over. He compared Shikamaru's score to what IQ he had and stopped. He circled Shikamaru's IQ, not sure if he graded the test correctly.
"How'd he do?" Kisame asked, breaking the silence. Zetsu locked eyes with Shikamaru from across the table.
"How old are you?" Shikamaru was surprised by his question.
"18, why?" 18? How can someone that young be this intelligent? Or for that matter, how can anyone be this intelligent?
"I'm impressed to say the least." Zetsu said honestly, leaning back while receiving curious looks from the other members.
"Why's that?" Kisame said, knowing that he was going to drop a bombshell.
"I have another question for you," Zetsu continued, "when I was about to tell you how much time you had left…how did you know you had 15 minutes left?"
"Every minute has 60 seconds, right? You gave me 30 minutes, so that adds up to 1,800 seconds. Since that clock is so loud, I was counting the seconds that passed and every time I completed a minute I started over with the next minute…basically, I started at 1 then counted up to 60; when I reached the 2 minute mark, instead of thinking '1, 2, 3', I thought '2, 2, 3' so that I would know what minute I was on. I didn't want to count up to 1,800 because that would risk me losing count." They stared at him, not believing that an 18 year old could think with that kind of complexity and be able to multi-task at such an advanced level. "You never told me what I scored."
"Your IQ is over 200." Silence filled the room and Shikamaru's dark eyes darted between all of them.
"What's the big deal about being over 200?" Even Itachi gave him a wide eyed look, but not as much as the others.
"Do you not know the IQ scale?" Itachi asked quietly, making Shikamaru look at him shaking his head.
"No, I've never taken an IQ test until now so I didn't feel the need to enlighten myself with that knowledge." Itachi chuckled lightly, not breaking eye contact with him.
"The score to be considered a genius is 140." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.
"Really? I'm smarter than I thought I was." He said, smiling lightly. The others watched them, confused by Itachi's behavior. Something is definitely wrong with him.
"Listen, Boy," Zetsu said, leaning against the table, "we could use someone of your intelligence around here. Since you seem to have left your village…why not stay with us?"
Shikamaru considered the question carefully, knowing that he had two options: take it or leave it. He knew that if he declined the offer, they would most likely kill him because he knew where they were. But he found that he actually wanted to stay here, even though he would technically be going against his own village. But he left that place behind…it's time for him to start over. He locked eyes with Zetsu, a mischievous gleam in them.
"I'll stay."
ItachiXShikamaru
They sat at their favorite restaurant, none of them having an appetite. It's been exactly one month today since Shikamaru's departure from the village. The guilt was still in them and they knew that it was here to stay.
"I miss him." Ino said quietly, stirring her ramen aimlessly making the others nod gently in agreement.
"Even if we have no idea where he is, I'm sure he's found a place to stay by now…wish we could go try to find him at least." Choji said, feeling an emptiness within him that he knew was the place that Shikamaru filled in him. Naruto blinked his bright blue eyes carefully, thinking about what Choji just said.
"What's preventing us?" He asked slowly, grabbing their attention.
"We need a little more detail, Naruto." Sakura said, but not with the usual edge in her voice.
"What's preventing us from looking for him? Granny-Tsunade didn't say we couldn't look for him, did she?" His words sunk in, making them realize that he was right. Ino's eyes became bright at the possibility of finding her teammate.
"Should we tell our senseis what we're going to do?" Ino asked, all of them nodding.
"Definitely, they'll want to help as well, I'm sure…especially Asuma-Sensei." Naruto said, standing quickly from his seat. He looked around at them with wide blue eyes. "What are you guys doing just sitting there? We have a friend to find!"
ItachiXShikamaru
"No." Tsunade said flatly, returning to her paperwork.
"Why?" Ino and Naruto screamed at the same time, being restrained by Kakashi and Asuma. Tsunade looked up at them, tapping a finger against her desk.
"Let's think about this: it's only been a month since he left, right? Have you ever thought that maybe he'll come back? Maybe he just needs space away from the village for a while? I've given it some thought, Naruto and Ino. Maybe Shikamaru will decide to come back on his own."
"But what if he doesn't?" Ino asked her eyes glassy.
"Remember this date because on this day two years from now, if Shikamaru's not back…then you'll get to go look for him."
ItachiXShikamaru
Woo.
Alright Cherubs, reviews would be dandy.