Chapter 140 - Pepper Jelly

Shikake next appeared during a visit from Gyosei. Takeru had been enjoying the time with his friend, thus far, since Gyosei was getting him caught up on whatever ridiculous relationship nonsense had happened during his further absence—in particular, Gyosei's "adorable little whore" of a sister, and a fizzling little love triangle between some of their peers.

(One of said peers was Hajime's teammate, the pink-haired, big-browed midget, but that mattered very little to Takeru).

The simpering little troubles of hormone-addled teenagers made for delicious mockery fodder, though Takeru found that most of the mockery was coming from Gyosei, those days.

He was quite literally in the middle of a sentence when Shikake appeared. "Yo, cripple, you ready to practice?"

Gyosei's face soured temporarily from his interrupted gossip. "Who are you?"

"Nobody important. Well, cripple?"

"Yes, yes, I've been practicing." Takeru felt his smile melt slightly, less a rigor-smirk and more an expression of genuine enjoyment.

"Takeru, do you mind explaining?"

"Nara Shikake, she's an acquaintance of mine." Takeru watched as Shikake lingered behind Gyosei's chair, obviously looking to steal it.

"An acquaintance?" Gyosei glanced up and down, obviously looking to see if she was steal-worthy. "Takeru, old boy, already back in the game? I would have thought your bar would be a bit higher, even now."

"We're not involved." Takeru felt almost sick at the suggestion.

"Trust me, we're not. Though I hear those Shigeru twins are." Shikake laid a hand on the back of Gyosei's chair. "Amazing how some people behave, huh."

This seemed to impress Gyosei greatly—though Takeru had to admit he was impressed as well, given how specific her reference was.

(The Shigeru twins, music-ninja prodigies, really were too close at best, and outright incestuous at worst.)

(…Takeru had to applaud her subtlety as well.)

Gyosei gracefully left his chair, and bowed as he offered it to Shikake. "Please, I shouldn't leave you standing."

Shikake sat firmly down in the chair, resting her foot on her knee, as usual.

"You know, I do have such a fondness for tomboys." Gyosei had moved to behind her chair, and one of his smooth, brown hands was wandering to the back of Shikake's neck. "All that beautiful womanly potential hidden in a package of denial and athleticism…"

Shikake turned her head around before he could even touch her. "You might have better luck with someone that doesn't have better things to do."

Gyosei folded his arms, and sent a green-eyed glance in Takeru's direction.

"Why don't you come back tomorrow, Gyosei? Shikake's helping with my therapy. Kind of important."

"Very well, then. Take care." There was very little compassion in his voice.

There was, however, laughter in Shikake's voice, once he was gone. "Helping you with your therapy, huh?"

"Well, I'm not lying. Making a pen fly around the room makes the time in between that ghastly physical stuff a lot easier to bear."

"Mind over matter, ain't that what they say?" Shikake began digging into her pockets. "Either that or I'm just distracting you. Doesn't matter, anyways. You been practicing?"

"Of course."

"Well, good. Because I have some new toys for you. Ain't gonna be as easy."

She produced a series of silver rings and beads from her pocket, as well as a tightly-coiled spring and a length of crooked wire.

"These are mine, so don't mess 'em up, all right?" She laid them out on Takeru's lap, as usual. "My uncle Kankuro gave 'em to me when I was little and he was teachin' me puppet jutsu. So feel honored."

"I'm honored, I'm honored." Takeru already began sending a feeler out towards one of the rings, testing if he could lift it.

"Hey, don't get too eager. I got some specific instructions, so listen close."

The lesson that day was versatility. So far, Takeru had only been maneuvering one object at a time, two if he was really concentrating. "If you wanna have even a snowball's chance in hell at working a puppet, much less two or more, you're gonna have to learn how to multi-task."

"I can multi-task just fine." Takeru's indignation was nearly sarcasm.

"Not like this, you can't." Shikake took three of the rings and held them out in her palm. "First lesson: hover these three in the air, at the same time, at the same level."

When she left him, hours later, the rings nearly hovered to her satisfaction, she left the tools with him. "I got a feeling you're not going anywhere, so I don't have to worry 'bout you stealing these. Plus, how you gonna practice if you don't got the proper materials?"

"I'm not going to misplace your precious trinkets, shrew."

"Didn't I say that already? Practice hard or I'll make you take them back from me." She smiled as she went through the door.

To Takeru's satisfaction, the puppet jutsu practice was becoming less of a physical task and more of a way to pass the time and keep his mind sharp. Hovering the three rings, after a few hours of independent practice, didn't even break a sweat the next time he tried, and he amused himself by rotating them around the room at greater and greater distances. He was going to try threading the wire between them, just to see if he could, but then a nurse came in saying it was time for his physical therapy.

His mood plummeted long before they manhandled him into his wheelchair, and he sulked the entire way to the gym, feeling strangely more trapped than usual in his broken body. Maybe Shikake's little distractions had been too effective…

His therapist, a brawny woman with muscles more than capable of lifting a man unassisted, worked his limbs with her usual gentle roughness. The tingling-burning sensation in his legs was spreading further and further, and though that was supposed to be a good thing, the pain certainly wasn't enjoyable.

And yet, he found that his torture-master was smiling today, rather than keeping her face firm at his inadvertent resistance.

"Have you been practicing?"

Takeru, trying to distance himself from the humiliating situation at hand, was brought back down. "Practicing what?"

"Doing your PT on your own. I taught you those leg massages, didn't I?" Her large hands passed over his right knee and began to lift it. "You're being a much better sport than usual."

"Ah. Indeed." He didn't feel that much of a difference, though inadvertent progress was still progress.

"How's that feeling in your legs?" She moved to his calf and rotated the leg slowly through the motions.

"It's unbearable about up to my ankle, right now, if you'd like to know."

She smirked again, and put his leg down. "That's a great deal more feeling than last time. I'll be sure to tell your doctor."

"Pain is good?"

"It means your nerves are waking up. Other leg."

Takeru felt almost belittled by the fact that he didn't already figure this out. Pain was sensation, after all…

After he was wheeled back to his room, he spent a good while trying to lift his legs, one at a time, to feel just how far the sensation went. It felt like hot knives were dancing under his disgustingly emaciated muscles, but he could at least feel that pain. Improvement. Better than nothing.

He returned shortly to the rings, however. That didn't hurt. And the progress was far easier to gauge.

By the end of September, Takeru had made significant improvements on all counts.

He'd regained all feeling in his legs and was beginning the preliminary work at trying to walk again, using arm-braces, but even standing for a few seconds was an unbearable chore. Luckily, his back had mended enough so that bending over wasn't excruciating, so he spent more time getting used to his new wheelchair, practicing getting in and out of it from his bed, and exploring the hospital for no better reason than to be out of his room.

His hair was growing back, and the stent in his skull had long since been removed, so the bald patch was becoming much less noticeable. His arms were regaining their strength from the new task of lifting himself in and out of his wheelchair, and maybe, just a little, he was feeling somewhat like his old self.

And as for the puppet jutsu, he was certainly going places, in Shikake's opinion.

He'd graduated from rings and wires—manipulating them as easily as he could with his own hands, perhaps even more strongly—and was now working at moving miniature marionettes. The focus was less on moving them around—"An idiot could do that"—but in getting them to move in a lifelike manner.

"Classic tactic. Get a puppet that looks enough like a human that it could pass if you cover it up, control it from a nest or somethin', and then? Bam. Perfect assassin." Shikake was demonstrating this with her own marionette, which was bobbing and weaving quite convincingly on Takeru's desk table. "Best thing is you can reel it back once the guy's been offed so there's no evidence, or collapse it into an alley."

Takeru was just working at getting his marionette to walk like a human and not a clumsy toy, and so far he was only half-succeeding. Then again, something was on his mind. "They say I'll be able to go home soon."

Her marionette paused mid-action, crouched and ready to spring. "Yeah, no kidding? You finally able to walk?"

"No, shrew." He sent a half-felt snipe of sarcasm at her. "I've been deemed as self-sufficient as possible for release, meaning I can get to the hospital for the rest of my physical therapy on my own, using my chair."

Shikake clapped her hands a few times, slowly. Her marionette followed her actions. "Nice work, cripple."

Takeru's marionette bowed in place of him. "Thank you, thank you. You figure you'll leave me alone now that I'm returning home?"

"What makes you think I'm leaving you alone?" She concentrated idly on her marionette instead of him. "Bothering you is a hell of a lot better than being grounded."

"You mean to tell me you were supposed to be grounded, all this time you've been visiting me?"

She shrugged. "If my dad's changed his mind, he sure hasn't told me. Might as well keep it up, given how fun you are."

Takeru sighed, laughing a little. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but feel free to keep bothering me at home."

She stopped her fiddling with the puppet. "You sure that's a good idea?"

"What makes you think it isn't?"

"I dunno, your mom?"

Takeru rolled his eyes. "That woman won't be an issue. It's just me you're coming to see, isn't it?"

"Fair enough." She went back to the puppet. "At least I can count on her not squealing to my dad about me being there. Since I'm assuming she isn't really interested in talking to him these days."

"I should hope not." Takeru went back to his puppet as well. "My feelings won't be hurt if you don't show up, though. Your visits have been a mildly entertaining distraction at best."

She chuckled, and shook her head. "Wow, you're getting better at this puppet stuff, but you're getting worse at lying."

"You tell yourself that." He didn't feel like correcting her.

He didn't know how in the world she managed, but Shikake was waiting at the house on the day he moved back in. Ino and Karai had shown up at the hospital to get him and his things and wheel him back, so he expected at least that.

"Yo, I'm here to help."

"Oh, hi there, Shikake-chan!" Karai waved at her, sickeningly friendly as always. "Did Inou call you here?"

"Are you kidding? No. I'm here for the cripple."

Takeru almost took pleasure in the look of discomfort that passed over Ino's face. "Oh, well then… Karai, why don't you show Shikake where Takeru's new room is so you can drop off his things?"

"Sure, sounds good!" Karai took Takeru's suitcase and began carrying it to the door. "It's this way, Shikake-chan. We had the new house built all on one floor to make it easier for Takeru, see…"

"Fascinating." Shikake sounded like she would have found dog shit more interesting, and it made Takeru smile.

"Here, Takeru, let me push you up to the front door." Ino took a hold of his wheelchair and began to push.

Takeru clamped his hands over the wheel-brakes. "I can push myself, Ino."

Her voice shied. "I'm sorry, Takeru, I'll let you push yourself…"

He jerked away from her with purpose. "I'm not a complete invalid, you know."

He began wheeling himself up the ramp by the front door, but either the angle of the ramp or the fatigue of the day had gotten to him, and he began to struggle halfway up.

Ino had her hands on his chair again. "Takeru, please, let me push you inside…"

"Let me do it myself!" If only to get away from her, he churned his arms forward and surged his way up the rest of the ramp, gasping for air once he reached the door. His chest ached, but at least he'd made it. "Now show me where my room is."

"…of course, Takeru. Just… follow me."

Her posture shrank as she walked before him, which only made him feel a little better as he caught his breath again.

Shikake was already going through his things when they got to his room, a few hallways down. Karai was trying to stop her, and obviously failing.

"Oh, hey. You want these in your closet or bureau or what?" She held up one of his shirts.

"Put 'em wherever."

"Oh, I was going to put those away, it's fine…" Ino stepped forward to take the shirt from Shikake.

Takeru jerked his wheelchair slightly, making Ino trip. "I told her, she can put them wherever she wants. Stay out of it."

"Takeru, I'm just trying to help…"

"Leave me alone, Ino."

The woman collected herself, sighing, and pursed her lips. "Well, I'll be in the kitchen if you need me…"

Karai left with her, which Takeru knew would happen.

"Well? My bureau's over there, I'll be able to reach it more easily."

Shikake shrugged, and began putting his things away.

She came by as she usually did, after that. And Takeru was certainly in better spirits, now that he was more mobile, and able to travel as he pleased in his chair during his free time. To his delight, he was able to make it to his favorite café with little lost breath, and could spend an afternoon comfortably reading without interruption.

The issue of interruption was what kept him out of the house most of the time. Ino was being obnoxiously helpful about everything, offering to get things for him at her mildest, and outright offering to help him with his physical therapy at the worst of it. He had to comply, since otherwise his therapist would nag at him during his hospital visits, and the sooner he was walking, the better.

But he despised having that woman be near him, much less touch him.

However, there was someone he certainly didn't mind. "Hey, shrew, you suppose you could stop by more often?"

They were still practicing with marionettes, but these ones were much larger, toddler-sized, and weighing several pounds. "What for, you need more practice?"

"No. Ino's been insisting on doing my home therapy with me and it's unbearable. I can teach you what to do so you can replace her." He smirked expectantly. "It'll give you more excuses to visit and keep from being bored, won't it?"

But Shikake, to his surprised, scoffed. "Sure, but what the hell is your problem with your mom?"

Takeru almost laughed in reply. "Excuse me?"

"Like, every time I'm over here you're a total shit to her. I understand the whole affair thing, but she's trying to help you out here, y'know. She's your mom."

Takeru lowered his puppet to the floor, gently. "How I treat that woman isn't any of your business, I think."

"Dude, you don't even call her 'mom,' do you?"

"Are you going to do my home therapy or not?"

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, but you suck at deflecting." Shikake attached her chakra-threads to Takeru's puppet, pulling it away from him, and she crossed her legs. "Seriously, you can't be that upset over the whole affair thing, right? I mean, who your dad was doesn't matter, I get that, but your mom's your mom."

Takeru had to take a breath, gather his composure. "It's not the affair. Which, need I remind you, I don't care about."

"Sure you don't. So what is it that's got you so pissed off about her?"

Takeru settled more stiffly into his chair, folding his arms. "If there's anything I hate, it's people that try to fake who they are."

"Meaning?"

"That whole helpful act? Trying to do everything she can for me?" He scoffed the venom out of his mouth. "That was nowhere when I was growing up. And honestly? It only makes sense to me now."

Shikake's expression, which was set into her usual indifference, was growing serious. "What does?"

"Kind of obvious how someone acts when they're around a kid they never wanted. You ignore them."

Shikake's eyes fell. "Yeah, you got that right." She snapped back into indifference. "So the affair has gotten to you, huh?"

"It hasn't. Something I've suspected since I was a child is just… confirmed by it."

"Yeah, that's gotten to you." She leaned back in her chair, stretching. "So mommy never loved you, huh?"

Takeru glanced sideways, sourly. "If you have to put it like that. I'd put it that she's never given me the help and support I've seen her give my siblings, so her assistance now feels like an insult."

And yet, Shikake shrugged. "I dunno, cripple. Feels to me like you're readin' a bit too into this."

"And what does that mean?"

"You're just lookin' back at the past with a bias. Seeing all the times she wasn't there for you 'cos of this whole affair thing." She re-crossed her legs. "Which, if you say doesn't really bother you, shouldn't even make this an issue."

Takeru clenched the arm of his chair. "You don't know what my childhood was like."

Shikake didn't know about all those times that Ino would ask Hajime, would ask Inou, would even ask the freak how their training that day went, while completely skipping over him. Night, after night, after night.

She didn't know about all those nights where Takeru heard her visiting each of his siblings in their rooms to tuck them in, ignoring him completely.

She didn't know that every time he tried to impress her, to show her how much he had improved, she never praised him. His father—Sasuke would praise him, and his praise filled Takeru with warmth and satisfaction. But she never, ever did.

(He dampened down the sentiment, as he grew older and more confident in his abilities and his rights, but as a young child he remembered a profound feeling of disappointment in himself, and almost reverence for that cold, distant woman.)

(After all, if his father praised him so, then what would he have to do to make her proud?)

But for all his inner seething, Shikake's reply was calm, and almost immediate. "I know what it's like to grow up knowing you weren't wanted, though. Not guessing. Knowing. How do you think I was born?"

Takeru tripped over his words, which only made him angrier. "I didn't—ask for this to be… feelings-sharing time."

"Never said it was. Just thought I'd let you know." Her head lolled back as she looked out his window. "Honestly, if I was in your situation, and my mom was going out of her way to help me like yours is? I'd be damn grateful. And I can guarantee you that my mom ain't nearly as nice as yours is."

"Don't tell me to be grateful."

"I'm just sayin'." She shrugged, and the familiar gesture filled him with old resentment.

"I think you should leave now." He hovered a hand over his right wheel, the best physical threat he could manage.

"Yeah, you're being a pissy baby. S'no fun when you're in a shitty mood." She got up, flipped the practice puppets casually into her bag, and hefted it over her shoulder. "I'll come back when you're cooled off."

Takeru couldn't disagree, but out of indignation, he said nothing as she went for the door.

"Seriously, though? Be nicer to your mom."

"Go away, shrew."

She waved a hand. "Whatever, cripple."

Takeru waited a while, until he was certain she was gone, before wheeling out of the house and toward the book café, where he stayed for the rest of the afternoon.

(Before Shikake left, she took a detour into the kitchen, where Ino was reading a magazine.)

("Hey, for your sake, I'd steer clear from Takeru for a while. He's workin' out some stuff and you're his scapegoat, so, yeah, probably for the best for you.")

(Ino was a touch confused by her sudden address. "Well, I figured he was angry…)

("I don't care if you were a shitty mom to him growing up, but I can tell he's way overreacting. I'm taking over for his home therapy, by the way, so he'll probably start bein' more friendly to you after you spend some time apart.")

(Ino pursed her lips, obviously trying to be civil. "Well… thank you, Shikake-chan. I'm sure that will make him much happier.")

("Yeah. You and me both." Shikake left as suddenly as she came.)

(Ino had to put down her magazine after she was gone, a fresh layer of guilt painting itself onto her skin.)