EDIT: Beta'd Chapter. Now it's actually readable. I hope. I'm still waiting for suggestions, I got a few good ones though. For the readers of the original 'In the Shadows', there will be a short arc before the original second arc.
WARNING: MANY PLOT POINTS HIDDEN IN OBSERVATIONS! (This turns out to be an important chapter regarding later plot points)
Chapter 2-Facing the Faceless
/"Parry!"
Shikamaru barely stopped the wooded sword with an X block, crossing his wrists in front of him. He tried to grab his teacher's hand and twist, but it didn't work.
"I just did!" Shikamaru yelled back.
"No, again!" Tenzou roared.
The man came at him again, and this time Shikamaru stepped aside. His sensei drew his Katana back and threw a hit just next to Shikamaru's ear before he could raise his sword.
"I said, parry!" His teacher roared again, coming at him with another attack, and Shikamaru met it head on with one of his own, punching the man back and effectively stopping the attack. He was sweating, he was fighting, every part of him was moving and working, but he wasn't really giving it his all.
His teacher saw it, and it infuriated him. He attacked again but there was none of that fury reflected in his attack. It was void of emotion. It disgusted Shikamaru. He moved them across the training field quickly, his katana trying to make quick stabs into Shikamaru's body, while he moved away just in time. Tenzou was going slow, but Shikamaru didn't go faster, he couldn't go much faster and didn't want to either.
"Boy, if you want to live, use some of that skill you possess."
"I can't do any better!" Shikamaru breathed out before he had to duck in order to avoid another stab of the wooden katana. His teacher obviously didn't believe him.
"Bullshit, now parry!" He roared, and Shikamaru was forced to roll away again from the incoming storm of blows. The man could move, and Shikamaru really, really wanted to run away right now. He got up immediately and placed his own wooden katana between himself and the incoming attack. He managed to slip it around it and hit his teacher's wrist.
The man didn't let go of the katana, but looked pleased.
"Now that was parrying. Again!"
When Tenzou attacked again, it was even faster than before. Somewhere along the way he had decided that the sword was unnecessary, and he was now coming at him with whatever part of his that body could damage Shikamaru, and the boy was forced to drop his weapon as well.
Kick met kick, punches were diverted, jabs dodged, blows absorbed and given back twice the strength. Shikamaru could hear his heart beat in his head, but he had no time to think about it. He couldn't pull a trick, he couldn't think of a plan. He could only react, and his master seemed pleased.
Of course, Tenzou would win this fight. In the many fights they had had so far in the past few weeks, the man had come at him with swords, knives, kunais and had even used him as a shuriken target once. Not once had Shikamaru come out the fight as a victor, and it was really starting to piss him off. The way they both knew he would lose.
So Shikamaru took it up a notch, very much unlike usually. He decided to go for the swords; they were lying not far away from them, most likely forgotten. Tenzou tried to pressure him to act, not to think, but that didn't keep him from doing it. He fought faster and faster, even if his body was aching. His blows were light because of it, but one blow would make sure the next one would hit as well. So when a low spear hand jabbed his abdomen, he was surprised. He hunched over involuntarily, and he was kicked in the shin. He flew back, and landed on the grass with a faint crack.
"Aren't you were you wanted to be?" Tenzou said, standing in front of him with one of his feet on top of him, victorious as always. Shikamaru looked at him in a mixture of hurt and surprise.
"Your eyes told me everything! Didn't I tell you that you to never get your eyes of the target!" Tenzou roared, putting a little bit more weight into the foot that was keeping him down. Shikamaru didn't dare to look to his left, knowing that their wooden katanas would be lying within his grasp. He gulped
"First, never let go of your weapon." Tenzou said, pointing to them. "Second, if you lost it, forget it. Third;" He pulled a small knife out of his pocket. "Never forget to carry a backup plan."
Tenzou threw the knife a few centimeters past Shikamaru's ear, cutting of some strands of hair. He didn't flinch, the man wouldn't kill him. He had told him before; he had potential that couldn't go wasted. Dying would most likely be counted as wasting talent.
"Did you see what just happened?" Tenzou asked him and removed his foot.
"You won. Again. Then lectured me. Again." Shikamaru said.
"Before that. And watch your tone. I have another backup plan in my other pocket."
"You knew what I was planning." Shikamaru said, breathing deeply.
"I could see your eyes move to the swords, and you started moving the fight into their reaction." Tenzou replied, and he helped Shikamaru get up from his position. "Any enemy might pick that up, and use it to their advantage. You are not the only one who can use a sword."
"So you suggest I should just randomly jump into any battle and hit my foes any wherever I can?" He said, stretching his neck. It was sore, and his eyes were heavy, but he couldn't pull them away from his teacher. "Wasn't I sent here because I am good at planning?" He continued, still looking intently at his teacher.
It wouldn't have mattered. His teacher was gone in a second and he was lying on the floor the next. His arms were pulled apart until he was spread-eagled, then further. Shikamaru kept quiet, but he could feel that he was on that his joints were about to be dislocated. He gave out a silent scream, and Tenzou stopped while Shikamaru crumpled, defeated.
Tenzou stood up and shook his head in disappointment, turned around, opened his mouth to lecture and Shikamaru attacked. His foot hit the man's knee, and his handpicked something up and threw it right at the man's head. Tenzou looked surprised, but didn't show it in the way he dodged the katana and pushing Shikamaru back to the floor.
"I see that you at least learned something today."
Shikamaru blinked. He was lying on the floor. Again. He had been defeated. Again. Tenzou chuckled at seeing his face.
"You didn't give in, like you did at the Chuunin exam. You fought back when I had you on the ground. The ground is not death, a shinobi can even win when his arms cut of and he is lying on the ground." He said, and this time he helped Shikamaru up with both his arms, knowing that he was sore. "That, and you didn't look at the katana for a second, yet you picked it up and threw it in one swift motion."
"Don't trust your eyes Shikamaru, Genjutsu are focused on vision. Go for what your body tells you, but never let it show." He continued, patting his shoulder.
Shikamaru looked at him with wide eyes, somewhat surprised at the reaction. He had tried so hard to actually win before, but he had lost. Before, the motivation had counted, and Shikamaru had rarely shown it. But now, it didn't matter how hard he tried, it mattered that he succeeded, and Shikamaru felt a little bit older.
He wasn't sure he was happy with the change./
Morning in Konoha, the sun was dawning and a new day was about to start. With one last look on the beautifully purple colored clouds, a certain ANBU finished his watch.
"I'm going home, gotta catch some sleep before my mom finds out I was gone the entire night." He said after a long yawn.
His partner nodded, and in a split second, he was no longer in front of the compound. His partner chuckled proudly. After knowing the man for many years, Shikamaru knew that he wasn't going to get a 'sleep well', or 'See you tomorrow'. The former would never come because Tenzou already thought he slept too much, and the latter because there might not be a tomorrow for both of them.
It was almost strange how accustomed he was to the thought that he might never see another sunrise. It was most definitely not part of the training that he'd had to think so… realistically about his future, but without saying a word, the entire mindset that came with the job taught him to think that way. Hope was for the ignorant, like Tenzou liked to say when he had one beer too many on one of their many celebrations. 'Carpe diem, memento mori', the familiar words that he saw every time he entered the headquarters. They were written on the walls of the main room by an unknown member. According to the tale, just before he died in a glorious battle, aiding his two best friends who both died as well.
That was most likely just a fable, but the motto fit the organization and its strange, often contradicting ways.
Shikamaru walked home, or rather sneaked home. Sneaking had become a second nature, as much as he would have liked to deny it. It wasn't particularly honorable like the glorious tales of the ninja world, but it was a living.
The two of them were stuck with guard duty, again, because they had been found relaxing during work. Again. Nobody particularly liked guard duty, but hey, doors don't complain or move on their own. It could be worse. His former classmates were almost all chuunins as well, and often had to do D-ranks just to keep them busy. In comparison to hunting for a cat, guarding a gate really wasn't all that much of a drag.
And those few real missions he actually had were mostly about spying in enemy territory. Thanks to his great stealth, he had four times been send to Sound for a month. The first time he had been a little bit scared to be find out, but his worries soon faded. He and Tenzou were obviously over trained in stealth, so he had nothing to worry about. Well, except for falling asleep, that is. Though things had been relatively interesting so far.
Of course, there was the hiccough incident, his colleagues just wouldn't shut up about it. It had been nerve wrecking and utterly embarrassing afterward. Not that his colleagues were bad or something, no they were usually really fun, although a bit annoying sometimes. Alright, most of the time.
Though it was as if everybody always carried a certain shield that kept the rest from getting closer. Last names were a no-go, and most people wouldn't even talk about their personal life if their life depended on it, for the fear of future turn-coats, or because they took the code too serious.
The code, the rules, the philosophy….
Some people took them too seriously. Sadly, he was often one of them, and he knew it.
But wasn't that just a part of who he was? Not a part of himself that he had to accept? He had accepted that, although forcefully, but he acted on it nevertheless. In just a few hours…
But first things first; sleep. He entered his bedroom soundlessly through the ever opened window, and didn't bother undressing before letting himself fall on his bed, sleep taking away his train of thoughts in less than a second.
Which was about as long as he got to sleep.
"GET OUT OF YOUR BED AT ONCE!" The 'graceful' and utterly 'gentle' voice of Nara Yoshino boomed through the house. Her son simply opened his eyes and signed. He was used to it, yet the lack of sleep was nothing but ... Troublesome. How his father could keep going with his missions as head-jounin, was still a mystery to him, although he suspected it had something to do with alcohol. "Coming" he muttered, and got dressed. Luckily he didn't have to eat, since Tenzou always liked to be over prepared and stocked enough food for an army for each mission.
Even a simple guard duty.
Today was a troublesome, dreaded day, but it was not inevitable, which made it even worse. He actually had chosen for it himself. Or rather, he was going to.
His musings were disturbed by his mother, again.
"DO I HAVE TO GET YOU?"
"No mom, I'm leaving right now" He signed, checked his gear and left through the window, not even bothering to say goodbye to her anymore. He wasn't in the mood for a lecture today, he needed all his guts to do this.
The walk to the Hokage tower was short for those who knew how to get there fast. And Shikamaru was one of those, but despite all his knowledge, his nerves slowed him down. He needed to look serious, and certain of his cause.
He was running, slowly, through the underground maze, which he knew by the back of his hand. And it wasn't the only thing he knew.
The training had been hard, and life as an ANBU would be way too troublesome. It messed with his life plans and made him ache for rest. At first he had felt homesick, longing not only for his own bed, but also for his kind teacher, instead of the strict Tenzou-sensei, who demanded respect before he would joke along. Sure, the man wasn't half as scary as he wanted to be, but in the beginning he had been intimidated. Where Asuma would have told him to 'try again someday', Tenzou would curse and show him exactly what would happen if he would mess up in a real fight, and then demand him to go on.
At first, everything was curses, beatings, studying, but they soon became like air and he decided he liked it. Not the pain, or the soreness in the end of the day, but the training. The sparring, the blunted practice weapons hitting his skin and making his body soar from adrenaline even the herb lore.
Within a few months, Shikamaru stopped complaining for real, and he was allowed to go home more often as a reward. Within the same month, he realized that he was talented. It wasn't obvious to him, and if he hadn't been so keyed in to his sensei's every mood and reaction, he would never have noticed, but now and then, he'd see a faint look of surprise as he mastered some new skill more quickly than either of them had expected.
He was nearing the staircase leading him directly to the basement of the Hokage tower. He could already see the faint light that was coming from the opening. He let his hand go over a kunai that was hidden underneath his baggy pants, a nervous habit. He could pull it out in one swift motion and cut whoever was before him up even before the person had seen it was there. It was a short thin blade, and he kept touching it through the cloth as he walked up the stairs.
The weapon had suffered some damage over its many years, and he knew that blood had collected in the scratches. He knew there would be more scratches in it, no matter if he would back out right now, or continue and make that choice.
/We don't get to choose our choices, we only get to make them, if we are lucky./
He kept walking, until there was only one last obstacle before him. He opened the door and was greeted by a very sleepy Hokage.
"Shikamaru…what a surprise…" Tsunade said when he entered her office. "Tell me, what's the matter, it is unlike you to come into my office this early, but on the other hand, It's unlike me as well." She chuckled guilty, but was quieted by the ever present Shizune's glare.
Shikamaru chuckled slightly as well, though it came out a lot more nervous than he would have wanted. He straightened his face, and got to the point before they would be discussing the pros and cons of having a baby deer as pet, like last time.
"Tsunade-sama, I wish to quit my services as a shinobi." He formulated neatly. Ignoring the way his Hokage almost choked on her drink, he continued. "I'm not planning on becoming Head-jounin, like my father, Hokage-sama, or even a normal shinobi."
"With your permission, I wish to become a full time member of the ANBU."
Tsunade stared. And stared some more. Altogether it was pretty unnerving. She then turned to her assistant with a strange smile, and looked back at him.
"Oh, so I don't have to tell him his son is succeeding him tomorrow?" She chuckled. "He'll find that very 'troublesome'"
Shikamaru just stared some more, eyebrow raised defiantly. "I'm serious, Tsunade-sama"
A few more seconds of looking at the suddenly determined eyes of the youngster seemed to verify that statement. Tsunade sighed and tore her eyes away from his, turning to her assistant.
"Shizune, the time has come. Please inform Neko-san." Tsunade said, and with that, Shizune disappeared.
She sat back in her chair and pulled some Sake out of her secret stash, took a sip out of the bottle and sighed.
"I'm sorry Shikamaru." She apologized after another sip, and motioned him to sit down as well. "It's just… I never expected you of all people to ask for work. But you deserve it. You'll be one of the best of your ninja in your generation. Give it a few years and you'll be able to help my cute little loudmouth of a successor with his paperwork and council meetings. God knows he needs it."
Shikamaru just smiled at the thought of Naruto as a Hokage. He sure was on his way, getting stronger day by day. He wasn't that loud anymore, though he and his teammates still had their childish moments of loudness. But hey, they were still children theoretically speaking.
However, childhood ignorance could be fatal in an encounter with the Council, from what he had heard of his father and Tsunade. And if it was one thing that he had lost many years ago, then it was childhood ignorance.
When Tsunade pulled him out of his musings again, he mentally noted to stop dazing so much.
"But why come this morning? Can't you see I already have too much work to do? It's a good thing I figured out how to bypass on the parental agreement section in the contract for underage ANBU members." She added with a stern look.
"Since you're not an orphan, I can't give you legal permission as your superior. And neither will your parents ever do." She started after taking another sip from the bottle. Shikamaru wasn't interested at all at the bottle, but more at the solution the Hokage had supposedly found.
"But," She continued, bringing him back from his ponderings. "Nidaime's Fourth law book , section 7 'Internal minor ninja', number 116, states that a child above 14 can gain permission from the Hokage to increase in rank if national secrecy doesn't allow his or her parents to be informed. And trust me; Be happy that you are not the first person to have this kind of problem, because if I would've had to go through all those law books this early, you would have to accompany me."
She took another sip, and Shikamaru fidgeted slightly on his chair before she broke the uncomfortable silence again:
"Because you decided to quit, I'm going to have to make a new file for you. From now on, you will have two official files. I shall refer to them as your black and white file. The white one is the official and publicly accessible by the council. The black one isn't until you're no longer a minor. You have to fill the new one in, though."
"Sure." He said, and started scribbling down the information. "Registration number, 012611. Name, Nara Shikamaru" He muttered out loud, and worked his way down to the end of the list. When he was done, he handed hit to Tsunade.
"Alright my dear Raiu, move on to the next part: The Code." She said, mockingly emphasizing the last two words.
Shikamaru snorted, but curiously asked:
"Raiu?"
"You leave us all in the dark of what happens in that mind of yours, and then suddenly you come to my office and demand to become a full-time member." She added a meaningful glance to it and obviously had to keep herself from snickering a little. "We'll use it as your code name, it will be easier for you to remember, and a lot less predictable than something like 'deer', since all previous Naras in ANBU were called that way, and no Nara is supposed to be in ANBU at the moment." If little Shikaku only knew how many secret things his lazy son was doing behind his back at the moment, he would break the kid's back immediately. And even more importantly to the woman; hers as well.
She filed the documents and pulled the pile on her desk towards her, and picked a few seemingly random papers out of it, but apparently exactly those she needed. The new ANBU couldn't help but 'marvel' at her great 'skill', but his snickering died after she took another sip of sake in the most intimidating fashion ever, and motioned Shikamaru to come closer so he could read the papers.
"This," She said while pointing her finger at the paper in a violent way that was kinda scary, "is your contract. It explains the rules, restriction, privileges and boundaries."
"As you might have figured out by now, ANBU isn't just a profession, it's also a philosophy." She continued while the men nodded. "You probably already know this, but I have to go over this so you officially know what you can expect and so you can never sue the country. And don't look at me like that; it happened before in Konoha history-"
She was interrupted by a familiar voice. In the windowsill stood two masked ANBU, undoubtly smiling from ear to ear under that cat mask of his.
"Sorry we're late. Did I miss something?" The man said good-naturedly.
"Only the eight world wonder." She said mockingly in her turn, welcoming Tenzou into the room along with the other man who he knew as the commander of the ANBU. A nice man, but very business orientated. He wasn't here without a reason. Shikamaru also noted absentmindedly that Shizune still hadn't settled in the back of the room without another word, but not before Tsunade handed the commander the file.
From now on, you will be a part of ANBU, and therefore their subordinate as well as their responsibility." She said, her back still turned to him.
The man took the file and removed his mask. His weathered features, softened slightly before he started the procedure.
"Before you answer any question, I want you to know three things." He said in a stern, yet not angry voice. It was rather comforting, actually. "Firstly; don't make a vow when you are not going to keep it. Secondly; If you quit, you can't tell anybody about anything what you were taught here. Nor can you ever use secret ANBU techniques again."
"But, if you decide to stay, you will have to deal some more complicated missions. You will be working on your own more, and less with your sensei. But I think you fully understand what comes with being an ANBU." The man added with a proud voice. Ever since he'd been on his team for a mission once, he wouldn't stop talking about 'how much potential the boy had' and 'what a great sense of humor he had' during the many traditional celebrations. Tenzou complained about the headache it gave him every chance he got. Shikamaru smiled a little bit easier than he did before.
"I do."
The air of seriousness had yet to fade, but at least he didn't feel as forced anymore as he felt when he first had been summoned by the Hokage, nearly 3 years ago.
"You will now officially be a permanent member of the Konoha, the Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai; the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad. As the name says, you will have to perform assassinations in name of Konoha or the Hokage. Do you accept this duty?" He read out loud from the paper, and ended his question with a meaningful glance.
The following second was seemed an eternity for each of them. Shikamaru remembered his first kill, and his second, third, his tenth, all of them. Nineteen people, twelve missions, two years. The pain at first, and the void later on. Like the eyes of his objective. But they were entering a new age of war, everything pointed in that direction, and Shikamaru had a long time ago accepted his place in that world.
A non-hesitant reply followed the next second, as the entire reasoning behind it was opened and closed in a mere second.
"I accept."
"As the name states," The commander continued after the longest second in a year. "You have the duty to give your counsel to the Hokage and the village when the situation asks for it. Do you accept this duty?"
Knowing well enough that he wouldn't get much sleep after agreeing, he replied a lazy. "Yes", as if to enjoy his last moments of relaxation. His sensei just groaned while Tsunade smirked devilishly.
"As an ANBU, you are under direct control of the Hokage. Do you swear loyalty to the Hokage?" He said, and Shikamaru noted the wicked smile on her face.
"I do" He said, but was a little bit uneasy at seeing her face.
"As a member of the ANBU, you are also responsible for tracking, carrying out surveillance, and missions requiring specially trained ninja. Do you accept?" They continued.
"Yes, I do." He already knew that, and he also knew what was up next.
"You have to keep yourself to the ANBU code at all times, even if you decide to quit at some point. Do you accept this duty?" The commander read without even bothering to listen to his answer before signing the section.
"Yes, I accept each and every condition." Shikamaru said, just a second before his superior was going to name them all, and saved him a lot of work in the process. He merely nodded and scribbled and signed down a few more sections which covered over six pages.
"Last but not least, as an ANBU you are loyal to the Hokage and the village, in that order. Do you understand and accept?"
"Why are you asking me this?" Shikamaru asked her.
"Nara Shikamaru was nobody, a genin that was too lazy to become anything. You are about to become Raiu, an ANBU, and one hell of at that. I won't lie to you, you became an ANBU for the sake of this village, but most of all for me." Tsunade said.
"I am sure that you know of Danzou's activities." Tenzou said, looking resentful, "You were always more than an apprentice. If you weren't, I would have given up on you somewhere between your complaints and your annoying questions. But you had the potential to become one of our greatest assets. Don't get me wrong Shikamaru, you truly grew on me, but we need you to be more than an ANBU, Shikamaru, we need you to be an ally. Are you ready for that?"
He just nodded this time, but didn't speak his mind.
Then Tsunade suddenly sighed extremely loudly and opened another bottle of sake. Tenzou laughed a softly from the back of the room and explained everything when he saw Shikamaru's confused expression.
"Just 2 years ago, after your graduation, I made a bet with Tsunade that you would one day come to one of us and tell them that you wanted to become a full-time member, voluntarily."
"And of course I lost." Tsunade chimed in.
"However," His sensei continued, eyes shimmering meaningfully. "I never expected you to accept it so fast."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at that statement, and Tenzou chuckled some more. "You've been on missions that require one to be a full-fledged ANBU, but you never took anything serious. Even when we sparred it took always a few days before you actually did what I asked you to do. It has become better, much better, and even if you complained you always did what I asked you flawlessly after it, irritatingly enough, but you your immaturity..." He sighed, shaking his head.
"But…" Tsunade said, looking at him thoughtfully. "I see that your immaturity is rapidly fading, and so I can't say that I am sad that I lost this bet." She looked a little bit sentimental, but Shikamaru tried to ignore it, it was embarrassing.
"Alright, you need a mask." She continued, earning herself a confused look from the newly appointed ANBU.
"But I already have one." He said, handing her his mask, which represented a cat.
"No, that is your unofficial 'kitten' mask."
At this, Shikamaru send his teacher a death glare which could almost be compared to an Uchiha's, and said man just started grinning stupidly. Tsunade got it as well. "Did Tenzo never tell you that it marks you as his apprentice?"
"No.." He grunted.
"Anyway, you'll get a new one. I would have had it ready before, but you and your unexpected show of motivation… Come back at noon and I'll have it ready." The woman said, now clearly amused.
"Thanks, Tsunade-sama" Shikamaru nodded.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm awesome and you should be thankful for all the trouble I go through for you." She said jokingly, but slightly tipsy already, Shikamaru noted. It wasn't the best start of the morning, but hey, the woman was an experienced drinker and an elite medic nin, so he didn't care all that much.
He walked out of the room, but Tenzou held him back just before he left the room.
"Come with me." He said. "I'm sure you know what comes next."
Shikamaru smiled back at the man. Tenzou was proud of him. Shikamaru could read it in his teachers body language. They'd had a long road behind them. There had been times that he wanted to quit, but there was no quitting. There had been times when he hated the man whom he now called his teacher, but also times when he would and did put his life on the line to serve or save Tenzou. He had whined, complained, ignored orders, but as much as he tried to defy fate, he stood no chance.
This was the same man that had beaten him to the ground time and again, the man that had introduced him into the wonders of cheap wine and had made him be wary of trees for the rest of his life.
He smiled back, and nodded. He knew what was next, he had known for a long time now.
/ The fight was over, and so was the rush of adrenaline that had kept him from seeing the blood, the horror. He instantly dropped his sword, and felt his knees go weak. A boy, not much younger than him, stared at him with lifeless eyes, and Shikamaru stared back, willing the boy to blink. There were more corpses than he had ever seen before in his short life, the blood leaking from their broken bodies onto the ground, coloring the world red.
His eyes went back to where the boy had lain, only to find out that he was being moved to a pile of bodies just a little bit ahead of him. Tenzou was already cleaning up the evidences of the slaughter. 9 lives had been lost. No, not lost. Taken. And he knew: he knew the eyes of that boy. He brought his shaking hands to the boys face, and closed his eyelids gently. He seemed much more peaceful then his friends were, all together on one pile.
He had no idea how he had just walked to the pile of bodies, but he did feel Tenzou, his sensei, his guide in this world of blood and torn limbs, pull him away from the victims. His victims.
He felt almost nothing for them, yet at the same time he felt so much raging to him. He had been trained to do this. He knew how to do this, he was even talented. Killing, it was just as much an action as walking was. Even back in the academy, they had been taught that killing wasn't per sé a bad thing, if you do it to save yourself, your colleagues or your village. It was, you know, just as obvious, as common as they made it seem, as walking.
But he was walking with difficulty right now. He didn't feel justified, guilty, or even regretful. He had fought, like he had been taught to, there was nothing wrong with fighting. Only he felt the sting of emptiness howling through his body, eating in his stomach.
He hadn't felt, and still didn't feel anything close to regret. It scared him, because something, something deep down, screamed that maybe taking a life was not a natural thing to do. But he wasn't sure.
"I don't think I like what I'm becoming." He muttered softly to his teacher. Tenzou's pace didn't falter, and for a while he heard nothing but the faint echo of their footsteps and the sounds of the forest. It still seemed to silent.
"Such is life." Was all that his teacher said after they were far away from the rapidly worsening stench from the corpse pile. Shikamaru was quite sure that they would either be blown up or burned, but he didn't care for their broken remains at the moment. His teacher didn't even seem bothered with the fact that the three of them had just slaughtered, killed, murdered 9 or 10 young aspiring ninjas.
"We don't always have a choice." Tenzou continued, and guided him to rest his shaky legs and sit down on the grass. "We fight for our village, for our loved ones. We don't get to choose the choices we have to make, no matter how much we want to. We, the ANBU, are murderers. We take lives."
"It doesn't bother you?" Shikamaru asked, fixing his gaze on his mentors face, trying to read the man without any success.
"Slightly, but I know what I have to do for my village. This-" He said, pointing at the scenery, the woods, the grass, the wind. "-this peace, this quiet. For my home to still be standing if I return home. Killing isn't so bad anymore. It is a part of my life."
Shikamaru frowned. "I didn't choose to become like this. I do not crave to kill every kind of protest in order to save the regime of the village."
"You sound so bitter, but then again, this was only your second kill, wasn't it?" Tenzou said, as if it explained everything. Shikamaru was not content that his mentor wrote his opinion of as childish and invalid, but didn't protest any further.
"Don't frown so much, my dear apprentice." Tenzou joked half-heartedly after seeing the face he made. "Do you know why we are called the land of fire?"
"Because our everlasting preaching about the burning will of fire we are supposed to posses?" Shikamaru said, still bitter and not even looking his teacher in the eye.
"No, the speeches didn't even exist before the Sandaime's reign. He and the Yondaime loved them, but the other Hokages didn't really make speeches like the third and his successors. They lived in an age of war, talking was equal to wasting time and lives." Tenzou said, chuckling slightly and infuriating Shikamaru even more. "Our homeland is called the land of fire not because of the people who lived inside of it, but because of those outside of it."
"Many years ago, during the First Great War, people didn't talk things out like what we do today. Clans fought against each other to death, hired by different groups of people who either craved power or freedom, or a mix of those two. One of those groups was very adept in fire jutsu, but they weren't shinobi. Instead, they hired a clan to fight for them against a group that abode in the east. They lived in a peaceful village in the middle of a landscape of woods."
"The very same forest you see before you today." Tenzou said, gaining Shikamaru's attention a little bit more. "They didn't have clans at their side. They didn't even have political influence in the world. But they had land, a land that bore more fruits than any other land in the world. They had potential to become extremely powerful. And so the fire group wanted to have the land. So they hired one of the strongest clans to destroy the population. However, after seeing the peaceful way of living and the beauty of the village they were supposed to destroy, the Uchiha decided to side with the villagers instead and started to live there."
Tenzou paused for a second. "Of course, the fire group was not pleased at all, and in revenge they decided that if they couldn't have the land, nobody else would, so they used all their untrained power to create an enormous fire that lit up the entire woods of the country in days. Everything was on fire, the trees, the houses, the men… It is said to be the most scarring event in the history of our country for the survivors, edged into the soul of every descendant of the land of the great fire. But that wasn't after the Senju and the Uchiha, both blamed for the destruction and the firesthat rapidly spread, had to form an alliance. The Uchiha stopped the fire and the Senju rebuild the forest. After that, the alliance was kept, and our village was formed."
"To stop the fire, the Uchiha clan had to learn how to control fire, they had to become masters in Kanton Jutsu, their eyes becoming red like the flames they watched every second of their lives. They became like the fire, fierce and powerful, so they could stop it. The Senju mastered the ability to create wood, and controlled water like no other, to rebuild the forest. The Hyuuga's eyes became sharp to see the fire and the wind change direction, so they could warn the rest. The Inuzuka's senses became sharp to find the survivors underneath the ruins. And the Naras held the shadows of the flames, to keep the fires from spreading, until they didn't have the chakra to keep the justu up."
Tenzou's hand suddenly found his shoulder and Shikamaru looked up. He had been so engrossed into the story that he hadn't noticed that the man had moved. "Normal people, who had lived in that little village in the woods for many years developed their talents to safe something that was beyond all hope. And they succeeded. Now we have to follow their example."
Shikamaru nodded. "How come I have never found this story back in the history books?"
"Because it favors the Uchiha over the Senju, who took power over the village that was rebuild from the ashes. And of course, the Senju didn't like that, so they rewrote history to make it seem like that they initiated the contact, the alliance that founded Konoha, and were not forced to do it because of the pressure of the outside world."
"Then how do you know it?" Shikamaru inquired, erasing another pair of blue eyes from his mind. "If it was censored, that is."
"Boy, I am old and experienced. A true ninja can always find the truth no matter how hidden it is. For instance, the fire nation became a powerful political influence. The original land of fire was much smaller than it was today. After many wars, we have conquered many nations, however, the academy would like to make us belief that it was originally our home, while most of the inhabitants of this country are immigrants, even the 'founding clans' of Konoha." Tenzou sat down next to him and Shikamaru wanted to speak, but Tenzou silenced him with his hand, it rested on his shoulder once more, and it squeezed it gently. Shikamaru welcomed the sensation in favor of feeling numb. "One of the few original inhabitants of that small village which ruins still lie beneath ours, is your clan."
"I figured as much." Shikamaru said, struggling for his words. "But that does not mean.. I m-.. It's not the same."
"Of course not, Shikamaru. But it is a change all the same. And sadly, it doesn't always matter if we are willing to make it." Tenzou said, looking him in the eyes almost nostalgically. It made him shiver unpleasantly, those eyes where too dark. "I was not created by parents, but created to be able to create wood. It was not my choice, but it is now a part of I am. I can kill other's incredibly well, just like you can shadow someone like no other. It's in our blood."
"But what if it changes… me?"
"Do you want me to lie to you and tell you that it won't?" Tenzou said, almost harshly. "I will show you no pity, nor will the world. You are already changing, your nature, your soul, it isn't the same as when you started a year ago. So live with it."
Shikamaru let his head fall into his hands, and took a few moments to get his act together, his eyes closing against the burn of tears. It burned, like fire going through his blood. Shikamaru let it ebb away, while remembering the previous numbness.
He felt like being broken and trapped, but at the same time he could hear the many sounds of the woods. They were wonderful indeed. So peaceful. He looked up to his mentor a few moments later, only to find out that he had already lost the man's interest. Instead, the man looked as if the sky above him was the most precious thing in the world, peaceful and clear.
Shikamaru hoped he would ever regain a state of mind like that, but he doubted it. Instead he stood up and walked back to pile of corpses, that was already burning. He smelt fire, and death. It was familiar, somehow. Shikamaru knelt down besides the other ANBU that was guarding the fire, and whispered a few words.
"Kage Mane No Jutsu."
His eyes focused on the flames as he willed them to still. He smirked bitterly. Maybe he possessed that will of fire somehow, but in a more literal form than the idealistic propaganda of the Third Great War.
Something inside of him whispered that maybe there wasn't such a thing as 'becoming' something at all. Maybe it had been buried inside of them all, even inside of those rotting, burning corpses. He quickly pushed the thought away.
Time was running out./
-end Chapter 2
So, some action! I hope you liked the training scene. I have to admit, it was hard to write. The second memory was a lot easier though. I'm a horrible history freak, will abuse it a lot more from now on.
This Chapter has a few major plot points. I hope you will remember most of them, but because some small little things about the ANBU will become huge in the later chapters. Some already saw the mask plot point evolve into romance. So please, pay attention!
(And if you really don't get it, I'll underline the major plot points for you. Just PM me and I'll send you the masterfile.)
Also, thanks to obsidian fire. You are a loyal reader, and I appreciate your offer. If it happens again, I'll contact you immediately
Also, Only those who reviewed last chapter; love you. Sorry this wasn't added fast, but you know why.