"All Kill Landing Edge"
By Nes Mikel
Acknowledgment;
I hereby acknowledge that the work of fiction presented here is for my own personal amusement and entertainment purposes alone. I hereby also acknowledge that while this story is mostly based on Kishimoto Masashi's "Naruto", certain crossover elements from Type-Moon's "Garden of Sinners/Kara no Kyoukai" also exist, although knowledge of it is not a requirement. Thus, I acknowledge that the original story concept and ideas, while heavily altered for the sake of the crossover, are copyright of all its associates.
For non up-to-date readers, this fiction will contain spoilers up to the latest Naruto manga chapters.
With that said, enjoy.
"All Kill Landing Edge"
- Chapter Twelve -
"Kuunpimennys"
Finnish – "Lunar Eclipse"
Shikamaru tried his best not to think about the painful reasons of why he had been doing extra training. He really did.
Unfortunately for him, he was finding it simply impossible.
Even now, he still couldn't quite believe it, even after he had seen it with his own two eyes. To think, his father, the laziest man he ever knew (not counting himself), to go as far as to go straight up to his mother, catch both of her shoulder blades in his palms so they stared at each other face to face, and utter those words of doom that had sealed them both to their fates: "Yoshino. No matter what I say after this, I want you to make sure our son and I are always engaged in extra afternoon training sessions, seven days a week. Use any means you deem necessary. Even if I later tell you to forget about it, don't. Can I count on you to do that?"
The smile on his mother's face after those words were so bright, Shikamaru thought it was the most terrifying thing in the world.
He shook his head, clearing the memory. He was supposed to be taking this walk to push out such bothersome thoughts. Wasn't thinking about it defeating the purpose? But the problem was, of course, the more he tried not to think about it, the more he would. He shivered, and Shikamaru knew it wasn't just because of the cold night air.
Today's session had gone longer and later than usual, but it was mostly because the start was delayed. Shikamaru could tell his father was already starting to show signs of regret for his own words but the facts stayed the same – he had cemented that promise in front of the Nara household's true leader, after all. So instead of showing direct opposition, his father had opted to go the subtle route – Nara Shikaku had come home later than usual and made the excuse (mostly to his wife) that there was some extra work he had to take care of on behalf of the Hokage. He later told his son that the genius behind this excuse was that because he had to do work for the Hokage, it was something he did not, and could not, refuse.
Shikamaru had his suspicions that the truth was more something the lines of his father asking the Hokage for some extra work instead.
Imagining the scene playing out in his mind drew a deep sigh. For a brief moment he thought about what he would give to see the Hokage's reaction for the lazy old man asking for work, but he decided it was too bothersome.
"Shikamaru?"
He wearily turned his head towards the voice that came up from behind him. "Chouji?" He said, a little surprised. "What are you doing out here so late?"
"I could say the same thing about you." Chouji replied, as he walked up next to him.
"Just taking a stroll out." Shikamaru said with a tired shake of his head. "Dad's extra training. A little tired." He looked down and kicked a small stone on the pavement floor. "You know, a little breather. Clear my thoughts. Getting away."
"You too?"
He stopped staring at the ground and glanced back at his friend. "You mean you too?"
"Yeah." Chouji nodded. "Dad's been going over some clan techniques with me some time."
"Clan techniques, eh? They cool?" Shikamaru asked.
"I guess… they're cool. Yeah." Chouji nodded again, but stopped. "But then there's the other stuff."
Shikamaru perked up at that. "Other stuff?"
"Stuff like… like, I don't know. Other stuff." Chouji said, trying hard to explain. "Problem solving. Equations. Math. Science. More Academy, school stuff. And then some more." A pause. "Is it like this for you too, Shikamaru?"
"Pretty much." Shikamaru replied, rubbing his eyes to clear the tiredness. "Dad's really into it for some reason. Even got mom involved in all this. Whole thing started up like a month ago. I really don't know what's up."
"Yeah, me too." Chouji confirmed. Then he asked, "Do you think it's like this for Ino too?"
"Prolly." Shikamaru guessed. "But if she is, I think she would be really into it. You know how much she wanted extra training from her Dad, after that thing with… uh… what's her name. The pink girl."
"Sakura?" Chouji offered.
"Sakura." Shikamaru snapped his fingers. "Right, that's her name. But yeah, ever since she got hurt Ino's been trying really hard in the Academy and the like. Girls." He shook his head. "I'll never understand them."
Shikamaru was feeling relaxed in what felt like to be the first time in ages. He was really appreciating his best friend's company tonight; even felt like a small weight was lifted off his shoulder when they exchanged their feelings of misery with one another. So he tried to live out the precious moment as best as he could by being himself thinking Chouji would do the same. His snide remarks about the attitudes of girls (Ino especially) was normally the cue for Chouji to go belly up in laughter, but when seconds passed in silence and Shikamaru realized that the jolly sound wasn't coming from Chouji, worry started to creep in.
"Hey, Chouji, you alright?"
"Un? Oh, yeah." Chouji stammered, looking a little startled at the sudden show of concern. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry, Shikamaru. I'm fine. Just a little tired."
Shikamaru didn't buy it. He narrowed his eyes and stole several glances at his friend as they walked together in silence. His steps were slightly uneven, sometimes even draggy. Some minor scratches on his arms here and there. From the training? He looked much worse for wear than usual. He could see the beginnings of dark circles forming beneath his eyes, and did he… did he even lose some weight? But no, physical fatigue wasn't the problem here, Shikamaru knew, despite all the telltale signs for it.
It wasn't logic. Chouji was his best friend. He just knew.
"Chouji?"
"What, Shikamaru?"
"I'm always here for you, kay? Talk to me, whenever you feel like it."
It took almost a full minute, but Chouji's usual bright smile returned to his face.
"Thanks, Shikamaru."
…but it wasn't enough.
Closing his eyes to hide away the shadows of sadness from Chouji, Shikamaru edged his chin upwards towards the night sky. When he opened then, he noticed a full moon.
So he made a wish. A silent one, with the most stock he could ever hope to muster.
I wish everything would just go back to normal before life started becoming so troublesome.
Even though he knew, deep down, it was to be in vain.
For the past month and a half, Shimura Danzou had been a busy man. Spending most nights with little or no sleep, he shifted his chair slightly as he slipped another hyourougan solider pill in his mouth to keep his consciousness in check and always on high alert. There was a lot of work to be done, arrangements to be made and it was far from over. All the while still running his day-to-day operations of his secret ANBU squadron few knew it existed: Root.
Ever since his priority-one subject had awoken from her two-year slumber, it was his job to ensure that the knowledge of her newfound abilities didn't spread beyond borderline necessity. He would've vastly preferred if Root had gotten hold of her awakening first before Yamanaka Inoichi intervened, but there were contingencies in place for when that happened. Still though, if it wasn't for the meddling man's interference all it took was to switch the girl out with the vegetative body-double he had prepared just for the situation, and nobody would've been aware the girl had even awoken in the first place nor learned of the ability she now possessed. If that had happened, all he had to do to cover his tracks was switch the hospital documents containing the girl's biological information with the ones he had for the stand-in he prepared.
Danzou tapped a finger on the desk and sighed, trying to clear the small bout of frustration from thinking about that failed plan. He had invested quite a bit of resources into that body-double too, and purposely even went as far to ensure the story ended with a happy ending – at least, on the surface. After the switch, the body-double was to wake up from her slumber not too long thereafter, and she would've been the perfect replica of the 8-year-old 'Haruno Sakura' everyone knew her from before – except, of course, her true identity was one that of a common street rat found in the slums of some village in Fire Country that just so happened to look a bit like 'Haruno Sakura'. After they 'lifted' the street rat, he had his members of squad implant false memories into the child so comprehensive it was bound to fool even the likes of Inoichi, and had several surgical operations done on her so she looked no different from the girl she was replacing. So 'Haruno Sakura' would've woken up from her tragic coma of two years, happily reunited with 'her' family and friends, while the street rat was given a happy home and a happy life with care and love she never would've hoped to receive in her previous life. And him, he would have been left with the perfect weapon, free to do with what he liked with none the wiser. A happy ending for all, no?
But that was that. He had already 'disposed' of the body-double now that it was pretty much impossible for him to perform the switch. He had considered keeping it around a little longer, but with so many people now aware of what the subject was capable of doing it would've been too suspicious if she suddenly lost the ability to perform. Still, while the whole situation was inconvenient it still far better than the alternative of the girl not awakening her 'Mystic Eyes of Death Perception'.
Of course, it was those inconveniences that led him to this busy predicament. While Danzou had to commend the fact that Inoichi and the Hokage – Hiruzen, he corrected himself – had been relatively quick on clamping down on the information of the Mystic Eye's re-emergence from spreading, the information lockdown was mostly restricted outwards. Almost the entire upper brass of the Konoha government and the Jounin population were already made aware of it, on the grounds that they needed to be in the know of things to ensure the information did not spread outwards and to other villages, and at the same time to be on the lookout should any hints of the information leaking emerge. It was effective, no doubt. Hiruzen's followers were loyal. But Danzou knew that wasn't enough.
He looked down and picked up the file deposited on the table with his single hand. On it contained a single name.
Yakushi Kabuto.
If Konoha's job was to keep the information from spreading outwards, Danzou's job as the leader of Root was to keep the information from spreading inwards so it didn't spread outwards.
He dropped the file back onto the desk with a flick of his wrist. Given how effective this agent of Orochimaru was while he was in Root, Danzou knew it was only a matter of time the information finally leaked out and to the person who would no doubt be interested in the girl's abilities. On the other hand, Danzou also knew how valuable his contact with Orochimaru was. He couldn't simply go up and eliminate Kabuto on a whim. So without using anything direct against Kabuto – god knows what he'd do if he were provoked, with what Danzou had done to him and his 'Mother' – he needed to buy time. With the girl now slated to go back to the Academy, she needed a few more years before she would be up and ready to serve as a ninja of Konoha. Although it was regrettable Danzou couldn't get her to join the ranks of Root so he could personally craft her into the perfect tool, there were always other ways to make her cooperate should the need arise. Always.
The thought of the girl reminded him as he glanced at the clock hanging by the wall. It was past midnight, and Danzou frowned. His agent was late. He had assigned one of his top men to give him weekly updates on the status of the girl and he hadn't showed. He was about to raise his hand to command his guard to investigate his agent's whereabouts when a whiff of smoke emerged from the middle of the room. His agent had shunshin'd – body flickered in. Ten minutes late.
"Report." He barked. He will hear excuses later.
His agent wordlessly handed him the written report. Danzou set it down and flipped a few pages in total silence – that was, until he read the end of the report which gave the explanation for his agent's lateness. He had been following the girl, who was being accompanied by the Hokage. They were headed towards a certain destination, and this destination was…
He couldn't help it. He started to laugh.
"The Hyuuga. The Hyuuga! You're using the Hyuuga!" Danzou said, in between fits of laughter as he realized what his comrade from old times was doing. "Oh Hiruzen, there just might be hope for you yet!"
In one of the secluded rooms in the compounds of the Hyuuga manor, a boy and a man faced each other face to face in still silence as they let the weight of their previous discussion sink in fully.
The older man broke it first. "Then, Neji, are you prepared?"
"I am, Hiashi-sama."
"Very well, then." Hyuuga Hiashi said solemnly. "Be prepared to die."
He raised his single hand in a seal and executed.
Only the full moon high above bore witness to another destiny changed.
"All Kill Landing Edge"
- Chapter Twelve -
-END-
Author's Notes:
Chapter twelve.
One more chapter of buildup to go. About time, eh? And in more ways than one.
Let's see how long my motivation lasts this time around.
Thanks for reading!
- Nes Mikel
All Kill Landing Edge, Chapter Twelve "Kuunpimennys", First Edition: December 13th, 2014