Fourth chapter, includes a lot of mind fuck, most likely because I am kind of angry right now. So Beware. Read carefully. It might explode in your face. Also; why does everybody like the captain commander? Did you miss the way he fucked with Shikamaru's mind in the last chapter? I mean, if someone would order me to kill somebody, but I wouldn't be to allowed to ask why, I would be suspicious... Only because Shikamaru accepted it, doesn't mean it's normal! Didn't I teach you anything? Anyway, maybe I am too subtle.
Chapter 4: Fatherly Figures and Daddy
It was already late in the evening when Shikamaru found himself in the threshold of his home. After an exhausting three day travel he had sneaked into the village, delivered the mission scroll and filled in the mission report as quick as possible. It took me everything he got to stay focused on making sure 'Raiu' became 'Shikamaru' again without leaving a trace of the other's identity. So when he heard voice behind him call his name, he flinched, and immediately felt for his mask: it wasn't there. He sighed of relief.
"Shikamaru" His father repeated, and he looked up to meet his gaze. The man was sitting on the couch in their living room, and motioned him to do the same. "Back from your mission?"
"Yes." Shikamaru answered, but didn't do what he was told to do. Instead, he just kept walking towards his room. After the few hours sleeping he spend on the boat, in a box that was too small to ever be associated with comfortable, his bed was calling for him. "I'm going straight to bed. Didn't sleep properly the last days."
"You're tired, I see." "But next time you decide to leave in the morning, saying you have to speak to the Hokage, and then leave without a trace just to show up a week later, dead tired, leave a note."
Shikamaru stopped dead in his tracks. It was a conversation they'd had before. Shikamaru was often called for a mission in the middle of the day, and he didn't have time to leave a note at home to say that he was going on a mission. His father, however, reasoned that Shikamaru's laziness was the cause of his negligence. Usual jounin, like Shikaku, actually had time for that. ANBU didn't. But Shikamaru couldn't quite say that to his father so he just said what he always did. "I'll try to remember it next time."
"I'm sure you will." His father replied, rolling his eyes like a teenager. Shikamaru was too tired to point that out or laugh. He just wanted to sleep. Dormir. Slapen. Sova. However you wanted to phrase it, he just needed to shut his eyes. His father wouldn't let him, for now, though. "Son." He said, his face a mix between 'My son is growing up', 'Something is wrong with him' and 'I'm now going to be a good, responsible parent.'.
Shikamaru innerly braced himself for what he knew was about to come. "We used to be close. You used to tell me everything. Remember when you got those 'troublesome' friends? I helped you connecting to them back then. I can help you, Shikamaru."
"If there's something wrong, I'll come to you dad." Shikamaru assured him for what seemed like the hundredth time.
"But there is something wrong. I can see it. You take after me a lot Shikamaru, I can see that. When I was your age, I wasn't all that fond of my old man either." His father said, and Shikamaru inwardly contradicted him. He was still very fond of his father, his friends, his family. However, he had a busy life, and an even busier secret life to hide besides that. His father might like to preach how much alike they were, but somewhere in between him joining ANBU and this very evening, they had grown apart. It saddened him to think that maybe one day he wouldn't even have time to watch his father ramble like this. Or worse, that his father would stop because he found out exactly why his son seemed so strange. He stopped his father before the man could sum up his entire childhood and every single likeness between them. It was his father's awkward attempt to bond and comfort, but Shikamaru needed none of that right now.
Sleep was all that mattered. "I get it dad. It's just, the Hokage has been working me day after day, so hard. She says that now I'm getting more and more mature, I need to pick up more responsibilities." That wasn't a total lie, and he hoped he wouldn't have to elaborate which responsibilities that actually were.
"You always had a somewhat immature approach of life, and I agree that it has been fading for a while now. But maybe she's just testing you for the jounin function. She's already trusting you with far more than the others of your generation." His father reasoned, and Shikamaru had to bite his tongue to prevent him from blurting out that he had already been promoted. "You're a smart kid, and though I won't pretend that I know what's going on in your mind, I do know that you've been acting out of your character, Shikamaru. Being a shinobi is not your life, Shikamaru, it is your job. Don't let it change you."
Shikamaru just nodded. 'Maybe being a shinobi is not a life style….'
"Funny. I never imagined that I would one day have to tell you that, with your 'passive approach of life'." His father joked, and Shikamaru decided that this was a good moment to head to his room.
"If you're just going to make fun of me, I'm going to sleep." He didn't gave his father any time to retort, and dragged himself up the stairs, into his room. The last thing he thought before his head head hit the pillow and he blacked out, was how his two father figures, his real one and the 'father' of his other persona, had such different views on the job.
It was because of his sleep fogged mind that he hadn't seen his father's suspicious look, or heard the questions laced underneath the lighthearted talk they'd just shared. Or the lingering eyes on his hair, untied and still bearing some traces of blood he'd forgotten to wash out, that only a seasoned shinobi would pick up.
It had been 2 weeks since he had become an official an ANBU, and his teammates had insisted on dragging him with them to the Barbeque restaurant every single chance they got.
Ino had been fussing about him and Chouji, the usual thing really. Nothing had changed in their life together while his was changing with the day. It was strange, and he didn't know if he liked the fact that they were growing up so fast. If they grew up too fast, they might not notice it if they grew apart until it was too late.
"Stop eating so fast!" She said, hitting Chouji on the head.
Shikamaru dodged just in time for a blow of his own. "Start eating faster!"
"Stop smoking while eating!" She berated, and sighed, taking a bite of herself now she was done playing their mother.
And so on. Not that he minded, really. She was just looking out for them, and with her brash nature it tended to sound a little forceful sometimes. Most of the time.
So they were just having team lunch, with all their unhealthy habits included. It didn't matter though, at the time, nothing trivial like that seemed to matter. In the back of their minds, there was the constant whispering of facts.
Like the fact that the average chuunin, like them, didn't reach 35. The average jounin barely made 40, but that was only an average, because almost every ninja who made it past 40 would retire immediately, and the ones who made it past that age were rare.
In the back of Shikamaru's mind went another few facts: 95% of the ANBU died during their period in the squad, 50% before the end of their first year. Facts, facts, nothing but truthful but merciless numbers. As long as he could have moments like this, numbers, or facts for that matter, be damned.
Ino took his concentration away when she addressed him. "Shikamaru?" She said.
"Yes Ino?" He said just as politely.
Her voice was even and Shikamaru suspected that she had been waiting the entire day, maybe even the entire week, to ask him whatever she was going to ask him. Glancing around in a split second, he saw Chouji and Asuma, who had even stopped smoking, focusing on them as well. "When are you going to tell us your dirty little secret?"
Shikamaru eyes flew open, and he almost spewed out all his food over the table. Chouji laughed next to him, and Ino chuckled as well. "What?"
His teacher stopped laughing at the face his pupil made in favor joining his other pupil. "Yes, Shikamaru, when are you going to introduce us to her?" He said, including fake-hurt tone.
"You're one to talk sensei." Ino berated him, and Shikamaru could only watch them interact in complete stupor.
Asuma shrugged and started smoking again. "I don't know what you're talking about, Ino."
"Her?" Shikamaru interjected before they digressed too much. He was having a crisis here, and they were talking about girls?
"Your girlfriend!" Ino shrieked happily, and Chouji chuckled uncomfortably next to him. "You hardly ever spend time with us. So it's obvious that you're having a secret affair with some girl. Don't your parents approve? Is she much younger? Or older? You're not dating Tsunade are you? That's just gross. But you can trust us, you know!"
Shikamaru groaned, and resisted the urge to kill himself. He didn't know why he even thought that they might have found out, but to think they'd got to this conclusion. It was something he'd expect from Ino, but judging the looks his other 'teammates' were giving him, they agreed with him. "So, just because I actually do my job… I must have girlfriend. Pray tell me, which one of you geniuses deducted this brilliant conclusion?" He said, voice laced with sarcasm.
"Do I hear denial? No!" Ino decided though, and Shikamaru had to admit to himself that even though she sometimes lived in the world of those cheap novels she liked to read, he had missed this.
"Okay Ino, I will spell it out for you clearly." He said, still slightly irritated. "No, I do not have a girlfriend. Especially not Hokage-sama." His sensei muttered something incoherent, and Shikamaru decided that he didn't want to know.
"A boyfriend then? That would explain wh-" Shikamaru interrupted her just in time before she embarrassed him even more in front of the entire restaurant.
"No, not a boyfriend either. Or ever." He deadpanned, and Ino laughed uncomfortably muttering something about it not being uncommon in their generation and Shikamaru decided that he really didn't want to know. Again.
Ino wanted to say something again, but Asuma cut her off. "That's enough, Ino. Give him a break will ya? The boy's blushing!" Somehow that didn't make it easier at all. Nor did her giggles. "How about we warp up here and go spar some, like back in the old days."
"Yes! It's been such a long time since we all trained together!" Chouji jotted in happily. He seemed content just to spend time together, and it hurt Shikamaru somewhat to see it. So he just nodded in agreement.
"Good" Asuma said, looking smug, like he'd planned it all along, which was probably the truth. "Because I prepared something special for this 'special' occasion." And with that, they finished up their food, and left for their favorite training grounds in the meadows where Shikamaru had spend many hours watching his teammates struggle to get something right in the past, watching clouds. It felt somewhat nostalgic, but not bad by any means.
The warm sun on his face that accompanied him through all his travels, the way the temperature changed on his skin when a cloud passed over it, the breeze that freely ruffled his hair and clothes and even the scratchy dead leaves and twigs that crunch under his feet: It felt like home, and Shikamaru was glad, even though his sensei was obviously plotting something. And deducted from the continues glances to his sensei's backpack, or the way he kept on assuring that it was still there, Shikamaru knew that the 'surprise' was right there.
When they stopped somewhere near the middle of the field, the backpack was indeed opened an a very ominous, or at least to Shikamaru it was, scroll was pulled out. Asuma unsealed it with more trouble than necessary, but he didn't comment. Fingers of air raked through the plush meadow grasses, stirring up the scent of wild strawberry and goldenrod into his system, and Shikamaru enjoyed it some more before the 'fun' would start.
When his former teacher was done, he glanced back to what exactly the scroll had been hiding inside. He was met with the sight of various weapons sprawled across the soft grass, the contrast making them stand out even more in the warm sunlight.
Chouji was touching a pair of knives like Asuma's with awe, and Ino was looking at two Sai Knives like they were giant forks, and Shikamaru pushed back the memory of how sharp they were in favor of sighing at the sight.
"Alright, hurry up and pick something. It's about time you'll learn to handle more than just a kunai. And the best way to find out which weapons suits you, of course, is trying out as much as possible." Asuma said happily, and Shikamaru had a moment of déjà vu. Tenzou smiled like that sometimes, and it often involved weapons as well.
Chouji seemed to settle with a scythe, but Ino was picking up the various weapons undecidedly until her eye fell on something that had caused his interest as well. Before she could reach out and grab it, Shikamaru snatched up the katana and tried it out in his hand. The grip felt familiar but foreign. He was too used to his own, slightly longer katana, and would most likely miss quite a few things because of it, but he was still lazy. He didn't feel like pretending to learn something 'new', especially because each of these weapons had been thrown at him at least ones in one of his trainings.
"Ino, Chouji, you'll spar together." Asuma said, and Shikamaru caught the way he looked at Shikamaru's practiced grip on the weapon when he turned towards him. "And you will be fighting me."
Shikamaru resisted the urge to groan. Training wasn't fun. Training with Tenzou was challenging, but too painful to be called fun. And training with his team had never really interested him. However, judging the way Chouji and Ino sat down on the sidelines and made quite a few comments, he figured that he was supposed to go first.
"READY?" Ino shouted from the other side of the meadow. Shikamaru groaned and got into a basic battle position, while his sensei told her to give them a signal to start and slipped in his own fighting stance, but not before asking Shikamaru if he'd ever done this before.
Shikamaru shrugged "I'm not very practiced."
Ino gave the signal and Asuma lunged forwards with his knives. Analyzing his every move while dodging and parrying, Shikamaru let his body get used to his sensei's weapons and the rhythm of his movements. He hadn't been completely honest with his former teacher when he had said that he wasn't really 'practiced' with weapons.. The way of the sword had been drilled in him by Tenzou for the past few years, a man who was not only known for his horrible jokes but also for his elemental manipulation. The lightly powered knives were nothing compared to the things that had been thrown at him. Literally. In a normal fight, when he would've been able hide his boredom and too sharp eyes behind a mask, and he would've already forced the opponent into making a mistake. However, this was Asuma, and he was an not so ordinary Chuunin right now.
Yeah right.
Asuma made the aura of wind chakra flare up somewhat, and Shikamaru pretended to be surprised when he let it bite into his skin somewhat. Ino and Chouji seemed surprised for some reason, but Shikamaru didn't really care.
Asuma, kept going at it, but Shikamaru remained passive. After a few more attempts to get past Shikamaru's defenses, Asuma began to charge his knives more and more. Shikamaru could feel the desperation in every slash while he just bended his body in another angle to avoid a hit. When Asuma suddenly striked from behind, Shikamaru's body moved on it's own and made a back flip while pulling Asuma with him to the ground in mid air. The man had not expected this, to be floored by his most lazy student during one of his 'first' times with the sword. He had expected Shikamaru to be lazy, to make up some strategy that would tire Asuma out, but not flawless reflexes.
Shikamaru realized that this might give away some of his superior skill, but he didn't seem to mind at the moment. His teacher was back on his feet and ready to charge at him again, but it was not the knives in his hands that were the focus of Shikamaru's thoughts as he blocked another hit. He was rather disappointed that a man of Asuma's skill level was so easy to defeat, and disappointed that his teacher continued to underestimate him. Shikamaru dismissed the thoughts before they became to bothersome, and decided to put in some 'flair'.
He forced Asuma back with a sudden lash out of his sword. The man was slightly taken back, but crossed his knives to black the hit. Anticipating this move, Shikamaru landed a punch kick on the man's shins and quickly floored him. Asuma, however, caught himself before he hit the ground and landed a good kick on Shikamaru's knee before he was on his feet again, ready for the next blow. Shikamaru could almost see the excitement in his teachers eyes; apparently the thought that his student was making an effort to surpass him was enough for the man to forget pride and pain and abandon all precautions he'd had before.
Shikamaru smiled lazily, but felt the throbbing pain in his knee. His teacher wasn't stupid by any means; the knee is a major weak spot of the body, especially for someone with his fighting style. How much had he shown already? He glanced at his former teammates located in the back of the clearing. Their little 'crowd', who had chattered and teased him in the beginning of the fight, became completely silent, and the air rang was void of any sound except the 'CLING' of clashing metal, and an occasionally wince when a hit was taken.
Their eye grew wide when Shikamaru made an unexpected move and his katana slipped past Asuma's defenses. A few drops of blood hit the floor, leaking from the small gash in his teachers chest. Asuma had dodged, but obviously hadn't avoided the hit entirely. The man didn't seem to mind, but didn't look as happy as he had seemed before. Shikamaru just smiled and lashed out again. It didn't matter that he wasn't supposed to be this good. He'd gotten away with it before, and he was pissed of and needed some release.
Shikamaru preformed a basic feint stab technique and brought his teacher of balance, but Asuma saw through it and backhanded in a return blow. Shikamaru twisted around and thrust the katana in the way of the attack, effectively halting whatever movement the knife was making. In a split second, he freed his other and hand an snatched the knife out of it's owners hand while jumping out of sticking distance before the man even saw what he was doing. Asuma narrowed his eyes, but didn't speak his mind. Instead, he praised him halfheartedly. "Good technique, surely this isn't your first time with a katana?"
Shikamaru shrugged, not really bothering to supply an answer. He didn't feel like lying to a father figure, or to someone who had once fulfilled that role."I practiced some" Without further ado he threw the stolen knife back to his teacher, and waited for him to make the next move.
Asuma blinked as if coming out of a daze but caught it nevertheless and started attacking. He kept throwing attack after attack at his most surprising student, to get him out of his shell again, and force him to show some of that hidden or suppressed skill. He had been training with weapons for ages, and the way Shikamaru danced in perfect harmony with a foreign katana showed that the boy had not just 'practiced a bit'. He must have trained for days in a row, many times a month for at least a few years to attain such skill.
The funny thing was, Shikamaru didn't like rigorous training, or just labor in general. The boy had been a little bit estranged from them since he had been made chuunin while the rest of his team had been forced to take the exam again. Shikamaru had been going on missions with other shinobi outside his team.
However, when he asked Kakashi or Kurenai, both would say that they had never accompanied Shikamaru on a mission, or even seen him leave or return from one. It was suspicious, but not impossible for a ninja. He admitted that he didn't have that many friends and that Kakashi and Kurenai weren't all knowing either.
The boy still came back after all, and he still smiled. Though it went against his very nature as a ninja to ignore such a change in his student, he shrugged it off and attacked from above. Shikamaru's eyes didn't even move to see him attack. Their weapons caught each other high in the air, and they stood belly to belly, face to face.
"Tired already, Shikamaru?" Asuma taunted.
Shikamaru raised his eyebrow at Asuma's panting form, and lowered his weapon. Turning around, he caught a brief glance of his teammates before muttering an insincere "Yeah" just before he joined them on the side lines. There, he laid down for a moment or two, closing his eyes and himself of to his two very bewildered teammates without an answer to their silent questions.
Then, suddenly, someone blocked his sun. "Ano… Shikamaru-kun."
He cracked open a single eye and saw Hyuuga Hinata standing before him. The shy girl was fidgeting with her hands, and as timid as usual. Shikamaru resisted the urge to smile at the innocence she radiated, and noted in the back of his head that he ought to hook her and Chouji up someday. Ino would gladly offer her services. "Hi Hinata, how are you today?" He asked gently.
"F-fine." She smiled slightly, uncomfortable because of his teammates stares. They were still in their shocked and curious state, and poor Hinata was the victim of it.
He sat up and guided her attention away from their stares. "You look like you are going somewhere, so what are you doing here?" He said, trying not to sound too harsh. The girl seemed so fragile that he was afraid to even raise his voice.
Hinata smiled purely again and nodded. "I'm going to Suna, because I am the ambassador and there is a meeting." She said, looking to her left, giving away that she wasn't telling him everything. He chuckled, even her body language was pure, like a child. "And- and- Tsunade-sama told me to g-give you this!" She continued, pushing the scroll almost in his face.
She shrieked when she realized she could have broken his nose with the force she put behind it. "I'm so sorry!"
"It doesn't matter, Hinata." He said backhandedly, ignoring the throbbing in his nose. He'd had far worse, and tried to fake another smile to enforce his comment.
She smiled and apologized once again before running off quickly, almost stumbling on the way. He waved her goodbye and sighed. It was a good thing that every sane member in the village was holding her back from becoming a jounin. She had the motivation, but the innocence of a child. She wouldn't survive a day on the field, he knew.
"Well, that was… strange…?" Chouji commented when she was gone. "But what did she give you, Shika?" He looked at the scroll that had been dumped in his lap. The simple leather band gave away something that only he caught on. His teacher also approached them while Ino and Chouji were wondering about what it could be, and Shikamaru's training went through his mind.
Someone gives you a scroll in plain sight? You can open it in plain sight.
The color of the scroll is green with red? Meaning: It contains a mission description and a package sealed into the scroll with a fake mission to mislead the onlookers, which meant he would be away for at least 3 days.
Carefully, he opened the scroll and read it, not bothering to avoid the prying eyes of his sensei. It simply stated he had to accompany a few jounin who had been put under suspicion of faking evidence on their mission to Iwa. He memorized the details for his alibi. When he was done he looked up to his sensei.
"You read it?"
This surprised the man a little bit, of course, it wasn't 'good' to be caught reading somebody else's summoning requests, so Shikamaru figured he would react this way. (That, and it was fun.)
"You'll be gone for a week or two?" He replied semi-casually, and Ino and Chouji drunk his reply like water. "Do I have to tell your parents?"
"No, I'll leave a note." this time' "I have to go home anyway to prepare."
"You go on missions without us all the time these days!" Ino complained what had been bothering her for a while now, and let him leave reluctantly. "We're all chuunin, so why are we never teamed up together anymore."
Shikamaru decided to tell them another time that he had been promoted to jounin as well, because if he would he would never get out in time for his mission. He still had to prepare and that always took time. "I don't know, ask the Hokage."
And with that he took off, not hearing Asuma mumbling that he would most certainly do that. After all, the most chuunin weren't assigned for such important missions, especially underage chuunin. It seemed all too familiar, yet he couldn't put a finger on it…
"He went the wrong way." Chouji suddenly said, pulling Asuma out of his musings.
Asuma looked up. "What?"
"His house." Chouji repeated. "It's the other way."
Asuma looked at Chouji again. The boy could be awfully perspective when he had his mind on it, and nodded absentmindedly. He most definitely needed to look into this. Shikamaru was hiding something for them, and it was killing team 10.
"We were right after all!" Ino shrieked behind him. "He does have a girlfriend! Hinata!" But Asuma ignored him. Shikamaru had been sincere, and he had a feeling that whatever was wrong with his estranged student, that it was far deeper and far more 'troublesome' than your average teenagers problems.
This had been bothering him for far too long now.
On the other side of the village, or rather underneath it, Shikamaru was busy preparing himself. He hadn't lied when he said he'd go home, because to some extend his little messy room in the HQ was homey enough for him. Except for the shrieking door though. He needed to oil that someday, but he just couldn't find the motivation to do it. Which wasn't an uncommon occurrence with him, of course.
The briefing had been short and exactly as he'd expected it to be, as he'd almost guessed all the details beforehand. Which wasn't an uncommon occurrence either. He was almost finished putting on his gear when he heard someone knock on his door. "Come in."
Tenzou never minded to disturb his privacy and sat down on the bed like it was his own. "Congratulations on the last mission. I heard you actually manage to reach the time limit."
Shikamaru smiled, but waved it off in favor of looking for some extra pair of clothing. "Barely."
Tenzou chuckled as well. "Success is success. It doesn't matter how or why. Haven't I taught you anything?"
Shikamaru tossed another nearly rotting sock in the corner, where he wouldn't smell it. "Not to be on time, that's for sure." And it wasn't a lie. Tenzou had been strict, but never really put that through with time limits. He reasoned that it didn't matter when you returned from the mission, as long as the mission was completed within the time limit. They had often been caught lazing around in the headquarters when they weren't supposed to, but the commander didn't really seem to mind either. He reasoned that as long as they didn't sleep 'during' the execution of the mission, they would be fine. And Shikamaru agreed. There was nothing wrong with taking a break or two once in a while. "Besides, don't you have something to do? You're awfully inactive these days."
"Well, that would be your fault. Which I'm totally taking advantage of, mind you. I used to be so busy with getting you to do something, I didn't do that many missions. The secretary has yet to be informed of my 'change in schedule'." And he didn't need to explain that that wouldn't happen sometime soon. "Besides, I got you to do my job."
Shikamaru shrugged. "Well, not for the next few weeks. I'm off to Suna for a while. You know me. Doing important international busyness and screwing over the political system. The usual stuff." His voice laced with sarcasm.
It wasn't an uncommon occurrence either that the two of them would sit joking around in some room. The man was actually bearable when he wasn't busy being a slavedriver.
"I'm sure they'll just love you." Tenzou replied, just as sarcastic. "Suna is known for their unnatural motivation. Comes with living in a desert, I suppose. You have to got some will to live in order to survive.
"I suppose." Shikamaru said not really looking at his teacher. Was he really running out of explosive tags again? He'd refilled his stock not too long ago.
Tenzou got the hint. "Anyway, when you return, give me a call. I wanna try that underage drinking again." And just as quickly as he came, he disappeared out of his room, God knows where to. Shikamaru was so used to it that he didn't even hear the closing of the door, only the shrieking that accompanied it.
He finally found his final kunai underneath his pillow, of all places, and then noticed something else dropped on his pillow. He scolded himself for having such a one track mind sometimes, and picked up the ration bars. His sensei had obviously left it there, knowing that he would forget to bring some food as always and use that as an excuse to take a break in the heat of the action.
Picking up the last of his resources, he secured the scroll on his belt and moved towards the only dust free spot in his room. Laying on top of the small dresser, his mask didn't really look like he valued it as much as Shikamaru did. However, his sensei would be able to point out how clean the surface of the dresser was, or how the ties that were used to bind the mask to his face where braided together very neatly, like the user had tried to worship their red silk. Shikamaru gently picked it up and placed it where it belonged. He felt the familiar rush, and put up the jutsu. Last but not least, he removed the tie from his hair, the one that he had worn constantly ever since his father had decided that his son was too much like him and needed a tie of his own. He gently laid it down on the dresser, where his mask had previously laid, and turned around without looking back, of to the gates, where his objective would be waiting for him.
And indeed she was waiting there. "Hello, ANBU-san. I am very grateful for your protection." Hinata mumbled humbly, and Shikamaru just nodded.
"Raiu." He uttered quickly, tapping on the side of his mask where he knew the kanji was painted.
"Oh, I apologize." She said, and Shikamaru noted that though she didn't stutter as much as she did with her friends, her voice was even softer than before. It was annoying to strain himself to listen, but he bore it.
"Let's go." He said, and motioned her to walk ahead of him, setting the pace. She quickly bowed to him, and walked ahead of him, ever quiet. 'Like a mouse.' His mind supplied almost cruelly. 'A gray mouse. Isn't that the prey of an owl?' He inwardly chuckled at his strange thoughts, but couldn't help but think that the girl was extremely unfit for the job.
However, ANBU don't ask questions. They watch, often in silence, and then strike. So the three day trip too Suna was not all too eventful. He was grateful for the silence though, because he knew that soon he wouldn't get any. The meeting that Hinata would attend concerned some international business, so as usually a few representations were send. And he knew that one of them was Hatake Kakashi. And that could only mean one thing. After all, the man never left his 'children' at home after one almost defected from what the man called 'neglectance'. He could hear Kakashi's word echo in his head over and over again. "He's such a needy child. Always needs someone to comfort him." And Shikamaru resisted the urge to throw up when trying to picture Uchiha as a spoiled little brat with big watery eyes and pouting lips, begging for attention. That just didn't fit the 'avenger' image, or whatever lifestyle the boy kept up these days.
He watched fledgling birds learning how to fly to pass the time, basking in the strained sunlight through the clouds. It was peaceful, but he couldn't help but see the similarities. During their travel, Hinata once pointed at a few animals that were trying to swim against the current, and he was glad that the mask hid the smile that formed at her childlike awe.
When the silent days had passed, and they reached Suna, it didn't take long before he met the 'children' in question. In front of the main administration building, also made out of sand stone just like every other building in the village of the (not so) Hidden Sand, they stood: Konoha's demolition team. He had sensed them from afar so he had known it to be them for a while and had taken the necessary preparations.
Like earplugs. He'd also wordlessly presented Hinata with a pair of her own, but of course she didn't understand what they were for. Which of course wasn't all that strange, seeing how the entire leaf somehow still remained oblivious of their power level and fame that came along. Somehow the every nation cowered at the mere sight of three genin and a crazy teacher with a knack for mass destruction and total homicide, but their home town still treated the better half of the team like dirt. Or worse.
But still, earplugs where a necessity, and he was glad that he had been prepared. He valued his ears, after all. Because they didn't only destroy with their fist, their bickering could kill you. Officially, they weren't called the demolition team, and Shikamaru was quite sure neither of them except for their team leader knew of the given name. Yet, they were known through the entire ninja world except for Konoha itself as Konoha's demolition team because of their tendency to destroy anything within a ten mile radius. He had even heard that there were negotiations in Iwa for putting a flee on sight order on Team 7. The only thing that seemed to hold them back from actually doing so he suspected to be the fact that except for the captain, they were all genin, and it hurt their pride a little too much that their entire squads could be taken down by mere genin.
Then again, he doubted they would ever be able to execute a mission with a secretive nature, because if they kept on not hiding their presence like this… But then again, he mused, what is the point of masking your chakra when you can destroy anything that can sense it within bare seconds?
It was Kakashi that sensed them first and greeted him first in his usual aloof manner. "Hey, Hinata. What a coincidence meeting" Shikamaru suppressed a groan. Then Kakashi addressed him. "And hello, ANBU." It was obvious he was trying to find out who was behind the mask. Well, it was for someone who had been trained to recognize the signals.
He gave a quick nod, not breaking the vow of efficient silence. Dealing with team 7 was fun when you weren't trying to accomplish something. As an ANBU, Shikamaru couldn't have a casual talk with either of them. He had to stay professional.
"What are you doing here, Hinata!" Sakura said surprised, immediately diving on the silent girl. "And who is your friend?"
Which was hard when they were asking such obvious questions.
"You're not very tall. How old are you?"
"NARUTO!" Sakura yelled and she hit Naruto's head. He was used to it though, so he recovered quickly after being hit. Sakura wasn't done yet, though. "You can't just ask a higher up how old he is! And say hello to Hinata!"
"But Sakura! He's probably our age!" Naruto all but whined, while nursing his poor head, though Shikamaru was quite sure that it was all just a show. He had seen him fight. The boy, no man really, fought like a demon and would most likely take a knife in the chest before even groaning in pain. He had come a long way from the shrimp he had once been. "Oh, and hi Hinata." He added childishly.
Hinata smiled back shyly, affection lacing her voice. "Hi Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan, Kakashi-san, Uchiha." She finished somewhat harshly, or as a harsh as she could sound anyway. It was no secret in their generation that the two really disliked each other for no apparent reason. Well, actually it was obvious, but Shikamaru just really didn't want to know it. He was good at pretending after all.
Sasuke and Kakashi remained silent through the entire ordeal, but Shikamaru knew that Sasuke had wanted to ask the same things to him. He looked apologetic at Naruto, but Naruto didn't seem to mind as long as Sakura wouldn't hit either of them again. Which she did a lot.
When she was about to do it again for 'asking stupid questions', Shikamaru decided to save him. He changed his voice ever so slightly. It already sounded slightly different from behind the mask, but one had to be careful. "Would it matter if I was your age?"
This time, either Sasuke's curiosity or his cockiness won over his instinct to remain from sayings something when Sakura was having a killing spree. "You still didn't answer our question." He said, not with venom in his words but with a certain determination in his eyes, though the statement wasn't directed at him but at his shy companion. Definitely Naruto's influence.
"I am here for the same reason as you are." She answered surprisingly smooth, "And I think now is about the right time to enter. We do not want to be late." She added politely to the others, quickly.
He nodded. "This is where we part ways, Hyuuga." He said, and they both bowed quickly. Kakashi ushered his team into the building quickly before they could question the ANBU and keep them up much longer. He didn't mind being late, but there was a difference between late, and too late that his team never seemed to understand.
They might have entered the building a little too eagerly, but judging by the questions he could hear the three youngest members of team seven asking, he was glad they did so. He waved them off and focused on the task at hand.
This meeting was extremely important, that Shikamaru knew. What he didn't knew however, was what the heck was wrong with Tsunade when she decided to send them on this mission. Hinata was not that experienced, team 7 lacked political skills or subtlety and had obviously no idea what to expect.
The conference building was the same as almost every other building in Suna: almost entirely made out of sandstone with an oval shaped roof. Shikamaru could think of a couple of reasons why it was shaped that way, but it he brushed it off for now: he had to focus. The conference room was big and oval and the furniture consisted out of one large table with a lot of chairs. Team 7 took a seat, with Kakashi directly next to him as the proud 'daddy', urging them to be 'good kids' and 'stay put'. They seemed to be able to keep quiet now though.
Other than him and team 7, there were also council members of both Suna and Konoha and a few jounin and an ANBU from Suna. Among them, he recognized Gaara and saw some other sad jounin he had seen before.
The contact was not mutual though: Shikamaru was not invited into the room, or even into the meeting. Not escorting had been his mission, that had just been a cover up in case he got caught.
"So, now it's time to really start the mission." He muttered silently towards nobody in particular, already feeling the sun burning down into his unprotected skin. After all, how many people put parasols on top of a roof. Spying could be such a drag sometimes.
NOTES
Fatherly figures: In the first paragraph I wanted to highlight some of Shikamaru's changes. Do you remember how in a flashback Shikamaru was afraid to be changed by the job and Tenzou told him that the change was inevitable, and just suck it up? Well, that's of course just one point of view. Shikaku obviously tells his son that changing for the job is a bad thing. So, who to please? This fic has a lot of conflicting opinions, and this is just the beginning. Children always aim to please, and many adults still do most of the time. It's natural human behavior, but I understand that it would cause some conflict in the ninja world, so I want to involve that in the fic. Though, I already mentioned a few minor conflicting beliefs in the previous chapters. Also, title fuck: Who is his main fatherly figure? His own father, his first, kind teacher who accepted him for who he was, or the man that drove him to his fullest potential with a lazy smile etched into his face? Daddy obviously refers to our big Daddy, the one and only Hatake Kakashi.
Shikamaru's fighting style: Please don't forget that he was still holding back, only slipping into his real form once in a while, AND fighting with a foreign weapon. Next chapter will show some more 'real' stuff. Though, you might have noticed that Shikamaru jumps a lot, also in the previous chapter. That is actually the basic of his style, which I deducted from the Chuunin exam: Jump, strike, backflip, strike from behind. He usually attacks from above, and never from below. (Don't count the leg swipe, that's different, that's flooring.)
For the original readers of ITS:AKA: The major changes in the rewrite: The 'girlfriend' conversation was originally supposed to be an Omake that never made it through. I couldn't resist this time though, I still love team 10 silliness. I couldn't resist to put in this spar, as I wanted to show the first signs of Shikamaru's apathy. And though even the Hinata didn't show up in the original ITS this early, she would have shown up in chapter 11, in the hospital. However, a proofreader told me that it would be too unclear and that nobody actually got the point of the meeting so I decided to involve her earlier. And no she's not an ANBU. Will never be either, too cute. And don't we all just love Shikaku? He's on to us!
Shikamaru the slob: Sue me, nobody's perfect. Obsidian Fire: He's lazy, what would you expect?
EDIT: I'll be taking a short break from the story until my motivation returns. But on the bright side, I've got 5 German readers! I just returned from Germany! (I'm dutch) Ich liebe du! Danke schön für lesen! (sorry if it sucks, I quit German in school after the first year.)
Also, why do 15 people seriously think that Ichiraku is evil and in ANBU? (result of my poll.) I'm very frightened right now.
Anyway, I'm going to demand you to review now. So do it, or I'll have a bunny kill you in your sleep. Just kidding... or not?