Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Homecoming
The next time I open my eyes everything is gone. Every building has turned into ruin. There is not a tree in sight, and nothing remains to show that this massive crater we are in was once the leaf village. Except for the hokage monument, it is standing boldly above all of the destruction. As if sending a message to all of Konoha that this is still our village.
For the first moment I cannot draw breath. Every time I try it feels like someone is sitting on my chest and no matter how much I gasp I cannot get a lung full of oxygen. The air must have been knocked out of me. All I can do is listen to Shikamaru's groans of pain and Akio's hysterical breathing as he desperately tries to calm himself. Those are the only two sounds to be heard other than the deathly silence that is filling the crater. I am not crying anymore. I guess you cannot cry when the air has been knocked out of you.
Shikamaru is no longer holding on to us. During the collapse of the building we were tossed about like marbles in a sack. At one point we had turned around completely, causing the chunin to be under us instead of on top, shielding of us. Still we remained a group, only staying together because of Shikamaru's will. The remains of another building must have threatened to squash us, because I remember Shikamaru, with his left leg had pushed all of us forward before shoving Akio and I from his hold, forcing us to let go of each other's hands. In the fight for survival Shikamaru had sacrificed his left leg to bare the weight of the wreckage. It is amazing that his only expression of distress is groaning. That has to be a mark of a true shinobi to have such a high pain tolerance.
As soon as air returns to me I sit up, causing little bits of plaster and wood to tumble off my back. I look at my arms and flex my hands. They are absolutely covered in filth and there is a steady stream of blood drizzling down my right arm from my elbow. But other than that nothing feels out of order. Looking from Shikamaru to Akio I see that I am the only one who has full movement. Shikamaru is struggling with the weight of the ruin on top of his leg, and Akio has not moved by his own choice, as far as I know, since we grabbed onto each other's hands. On my hands and knees I crawl over to Akio until I am close enough that I can see his face. He is petrified and his complexion is as white as paper, but he is alive. Sitting on my knees I reach out and grab his hand, maybe even the same one I was not able to hold onto when Shikamaru had to fling us from him. I maneuver my body slightly so I can see the chunin. "Shikamaru?" I asked helplessly, more high pitched than my voice usually goes. Asking if he is okay, asking if he is still in charge, and asking for reinsurance all at once. It is amazing that I am not shedding tears right now. I feel like I should be. All of the fear is still there, and nothing about the future offers any optimism.
With a great concentrated groan Shikamaru pushes the rubble off of his left leg with his right one. Instantly he sighs in relief, but he does not try to move his left leg. His breathing is labored as he asked, "How are you two?"
I wait a moment to see if Akio will speak for himself, hoping that he will. But when he does not I say with a quiver, "I am okay, but Akio…" I trailed off, not knowing how to describe him. Except for his ankle, he does not seem to be injured, but he is just lying there, breathing spastically. So he cannot be alright either.
Though saying his name seems to bring him back from where ever his mind had fled to. "I want my mom!" He chokes out with none of his usual bravado. His declaration causes me to start tearing up again. I want my mother too.
"Shikamaru", a deep voice calls out from a distance. Shikamaru looks up to see the incomer. Following his line of sight I see Shikamaru's father easily traveling across the terrain of the wreckage. "You alright son?" He asked, standing over us on top of a pile of debris.
Shikamaru nods his head. "Yeah, but I busted my leg. Troublesome", he said, sounding like this is an everyday thing.
His father inclines his head in response. "That's still getting off lucky going through something like this", he said looking around at what used to be our village. I watch their interaction, completely taken back by how calm they are. We almost died! Why are they not terrified? His eyes lands on Akio and I next. They sweep over me and rest on Akio. Out of the two of us Akio does seem to be the one to be more affected. Jumping down from the pile of rubble Shikamaru's father makes his way towards us calling to his son over his shoulder. 'What do you make of this?" He asked in a voice that makes me think he already knows the answer.
Once in front of us he crouches down and reaches for Akio as Shikamaru said, "That last move can only mean they changed their tactic".
His father grabs Akio by his sides and starts to hoist him up carefully, forcing me to let go of his hand yet again, muttering quietly "You're alright. Let's get you up". Slowly Shikamaru's father adjusts Akio so that he is sitting, and leaning against some of the bigger debris.
Shikamaru goes on to say, "Which means they must've been looking for something that's not here".
His father turns away from Akio once it is certain that he will not curl up into a ball again and looks at his offspring. "Any ideas what they were after?" He asked as I watch Akio, only half listening to their conversation. Akio's shoulders are shuddering as he draws his knees up to his chest, being mindful of his left ankle, and wraps his arms around them. Now that the initial adrenaline-rush that comes with life or death experiences has passed there is not much to do other than feel terror.
Akio takes his first look at what once was our village in slow acceptance as Shikamaru answers his father, "Naruto".
I whip around at the sound of that name to see Shikamaru's serious face. "Naruto nii-san?" I asked, bewildered. Shikamaru nods his head. But before I can ask why Akio suddenly springs up, putting most of his weight on his non-injured ankle and using the rubble to support himself.
With wide eyes he examines all of the wreckage again before he exclaims, "I gotta find my mom and dad!" He makes to move forward and start to climb over the rubble, forgetting about his left ankle. The moment Akio places weight on it he yelps and stumbles forward. I leap up to my own feet and grab his left arm to steady him, relating to his pain. Being unable to reach my parents was the scariest thing that ever happened to me.
"There probably at the shelters worrying about you", Shikamaru's father said in a profound parental tone. My father had the same tone. It has been a while since I have heard it. Slowly I slip under Akio's left arm so that it is resting over my shoulders.
Akio shakes his head furiously as he leans more heavily on me, using me as a crutch. "Both my parents are jonin. They won't have gone to the shelters. They woulda gone to fight". He said, his brown-sugar colored eyes are grim, as he is imagining the worst case scenario.
"Then they're probably scrambling to find you", Shikamaru adds in. "And running off isn't going to make it any easier on them", he said, always the voice of reason. Although the two shinobi do not directly say it, their use of present tense seems to be enough to settle Akio for now.
Before I can ask what we should do both Shikamaru's and his father's attention snap towards the center of the village, or crater as it now is, sensing something Akio and I cannot. "What's going on?" Shikamaru asked, all of a sudden sounding tense. "Is someone fighting?"
I move Akio so he can lean against the ruins instead of me. With curiosity and hope bubbling in my stomach I start hike over the wreckage so I can see what is going on. "Manami, don't wander. Stay close." Shikamaru ordered, but he does nothing to stop me. As I look for a better view I wonder who would fight after everything has already been destroyed. Who would be so flashy that they would attract the attention of shinobi from quite a distant away? I make it to the top, but I do not stand up, not knowing how sturdy the rubble is. In the center of the crater I can make out many figures. There are a few large ones wrestling around with some other forces that can only be the enemy. I can only make out one human figure working with the larger one. As I focus on that one distant figure I ask myself, 'who would show up last minute?' Even from so far away I can make out the outline of his spikey hair. And I know it is him for sure when a great mass of chakra swirls around the figure, lighting the surrounding area and emitting a high pitch whistling sound. "Naruto nii-san", I say as feelings of fear for my adoptive brother and hope that he has come back battles inside of me. Only he would have a jutsu that is that loud.
My announcement causes a shocked "What?" from Shikamaru followed by many sounds of action before his father stops him, but I do not turn around, trying to make sense of the figures' fight. But all it looks like is little blurs flying around. The fighting goes on for a while, but we are too far away to really know what is going on. Our group waits in silence each caught up with our own thoughts. Please be okay, Naruto. Do not let me loose another brother.
However, the silence is interrupted as a high pitched voice calls out, "Shikamaru!" He sure is popular today. I turn around to see Ino approaching with a man that looks very similar to her.
"Ino", Shikamaru calls back, sounding happy to see her. "You're okay", he said.
Loosing interest I turn back to the fight taking place at the center of the crater as all of the Shinobi sit in a circle and start sharing information, planning what they can do to help. The distant figures are still at it, occasionally more of Naruto's obnoxious jutsu will become visible, but that has not happened for a while now. Is he running low on chakra?
"Manami", Akio calls after a moment, sounding more collected than he has in a while. I force myself to look away from the fight and slowly move across the terrain, flinching every time the rubble shifts under me. I reach the wreckage that Akio is leaning against and get down to his level. His face is still pale, and his eyes are red and puffy, but he is in one piece. "Help me up there. I want to watch too", he said casting a few insecure glances at the conversing shinobi. This is not our place. As academy students we should be in the shelters, not out here with the ninja, getting in their way.
I nod my answer and pull his left arm back over my shoulder, taking his weight. Looking at the shinobi again we see Shikamaru's father, Ino, and the man who looks similar to Ino stand up, preparing to do something. I turn my sight back to the direction of the fight, searching for a place with a better view that Akio can get to, but Shikamaru stops us. "Come here you two. We need to stay together. And with this leg I won't be able to get to you if something happens", Shikamaru explains, giving more information than he normally does to make us cooperate.
"We cannot see from there", I said hoping he will understand my words. The only person I consider to be family, to be my brother is out there, fighting.
Shikamaru's face is serious, and his voice leaves no room for argument. "You don't need to see to know what's going on".
Taking a deep breath I look at Akio, silently asking him his opinion. He does not seem to mind if we can actually see what is going on or not as long as we do not have to listen to the serious shinobi business. I sigh in defeat before helping Akio hobble over to Shikamaru as the other ninja leave.
Holding on to Akio's left arm as he lowers himself down to a sitting position I look over my shoulder but all I can see of the fight is little blurs. Please Naruto, win. Once Akio is seated I let go of his arm and sit down in between Shikamaru and him. It seems all Akio and I can do is wait and hope. We are not strong enough or old enough to be must help.
Silence coats us once more before a sudden flare of red hot chakra sparks, sending a energy throughout Konoha that causes loose bits of debris to fly through the air away from the fight and towards us. Shikamaru slides his arm across Akio's and my necks, forcing us to put our heads down. That chakra is raw power. So strong that it can visibly be seen, even from our distance away from it. I flinch as I pull my knees up to my chest, feeling Akio tremble next to me. I have never felt anything like this. Pure, raw hatred and anger poisons the air. Suddenly I am glad Shikamaru had ordered us to stay with him, and glad that we listened. But what about Naruto? What is going on?
"Is that the intruders?" I asked weakly leaning back, trying to get as far away from that chakra as possible.
"No", Shikamaru answered, his face grim.
I pause, my head spinning, trying to find an explanation. "Is it Naruto?" I asked my voice elevated. Shikamaru does not answer. It cannot be Naruto. There is not a hateful bone in his body. I have never even seen him angry. He has been irritated and upset, but I have never seen him mad. It cannot be Naruto. But Shikamaru's lack of response makes me nervous. What is going on? Suddenly the blurs are gone, disappeared away from the ruins of the village. Where are they going? Where is Naruto?
Unexpectedly a huge ball of rock rises into the sky and hovers high above our heads. Rubble from all over Konoha starts flying up to add on to the sphere. I can still feel the deep angry hatred of that awful red chakra as it is now leaking from within the rock, but there is no sign of Naruto or of the intruders, at least not from this distance. Shikamaru remains solid, glaring up and the giant rock ball. He probably has a million different thoughts swimming through his mind right now. Akio keep his eyes on the ground, still shaking from the influence of that monstrous chakra. Startling, his face is turning for the chalk white caused by terror to a sickly green color, confirming my suspicions that this chakra cannot be healthy. I can feel my own stomach turning, threatening to empty its contents. How long can this chakra last? How long can we last in its presence?
The rock sphere hangs in the air for a few moments, but it feels like forever. The three of us hold our breaths, expecting the worst. However that expectation vanishes among with the hostile feeling in the air caused by the chakra unexplainably. My stomach starts to settle at once, and I can hear Akio from besides me taking deep breathes as his own symptoms must have stopped as well. But Shikamaru stays tensed, never dropping his guard. A minute later the giant rock sphere plummets to the ground. It is so far away that we do not hear its impact until several seconds after its fall. And then we wait in more silence. All I can think of is Naruto. Where is he? Is he okay? Is he losing? Is he winning?
The first sign that it is over is when Shikamaru pulls his arm back from over our shoulders, and relaxes, stretching his neck back and muttering to himself, "troublesome". I let go of my knees and uncurl them, before stretching out my arms. The blood on my right arm has dried, and the cut on my elbow has clotted over. I will have to clean that eventually.
The second sign comes by the sound of voices calling out to each other, asking if they have seen one of their loved ones and asking if everyone is alright. The third sign, and the most important for Akio, Comes in the form of a loud voice frantically calling out, "Akio! Akio!"
At once Akio Perks up and sits up straighter, his eyes darting all around him searching for the source. "Mom!" He yells back. Off to my left I see a form fast approaching, and immediately turn to Akio just in time to see his face light up. The most relieved, happiest smile ever to exist appears on his face. This is the Akio I am familiar with, the boy who always has a grin. The sight of it makes my own lips twitch upwards. Finally, something I am used to. "Mom!" Akio yells again as a battered, dark red haired woman dashes into our area. Her clothes are torn, and her ninja vest is splattered with blood, but it does not seem to be her own with exception of a bloody patch on her arm that is seeping through a clumsily tied bandage.
"Akio" She yelled one last time before sprinting to her son, dropping down onto her knees and pulling him into her embrace. "Thank god!" She said, gripping Akio to her as tightly as she can. "As soon as the village buckled I went to the shelters to find you, but you weren't there", she said, suddenly sobbing as she relives her fear.
"We couldn't make it", Akio explained, sounding like he is choking up again as his face returns to its usual color. But this time it is not tears of hopelessness. It is tears of great relief.
I smile at them. Feeling elated for Akio, but a bit out of place in their family moment. It must feel wonderful. A weight is placed on my head, and I look up to see Shikamaru looking down at me with his hand resting on my hair, offering companionship as Akio adds, "We tried to get to the shelters but the streets got blocked. There was this huge centipede that started to chase us. I fell and hurt my ankle. Manami tried to get us out of the way. But she couldn't do it". He pulls his head away from his mother's chest and nods in Shikamaru's direction, fresh tears falling down his cheeks. "He got us got at the last second".
Akio's mother stares at Shikamaru with eternal gratitude leaking from her eyes. "Thank you", she said, though her words are probably not fully expressing what she is feeling.
"Ma", Shikamaru started, seeming a bit taken back by her intensity. "Don't worry about it", he said sounding awkward.
Akio's mother turns her attention back to her son, tightening her hold on him and taking a big sigh causing her to visibly relax. "It's over", she whispers to him. "It's over. No more danger. And I'm right here. You're safe", She said; though more to herself or Akio I do not really know.
The forth sign that the terror is over is similar to the third. Moments after Akio's reunion with his mother a man clad in the standard jonin attire runs to us. His face is flushed and anxious, but he makes no noise as he scans us with his eyes. First Shikamaru, and then me before his eyes land on mother and child. "There you are", he breathes out as he immediately goes over to them and drops down, pulling them both into his arms.
"Dad!" Akio greets, just as happy to be reunited with him as he was with his mother.
A long awkward moment passes for Shikamaru and me as we witness their reunion. "Are you hurt?" Akio's father asked after a while, looking at his son.
"Just my ankle", Akio answers this time without any tears.
Akio's father nods before turning his eyes to his wife. "Just a couple of scratches" she answers, her arms still gripping Akio.
A soft smile grows on Akio's father's lips at their responses. "We have been fortunate", he said content to just be with his family. Then he looks up and asked Shikamaru and I, "How are you two faring?"
Shikamaru replies with a humble, "We're fine".
But I shake my head. "He hurt his leg", I said gesturing to Shikamaru, making his hand slip of my dusty hair.
Akio's father nods. "Doesn't sound like a high priority. Are you okay waiting for help?" He asked Shikamaru. Shikamaru's only response is the nod of his head. Already knowing that his injure would not cause immediate action, which is probably why he did not mention his leg when asked. "Then we'll wait here with you until further instructions". He said, sounding more like a jonin and less like a father.
The fifth sign comes with the arrival of many people, shinobi and civilian mixed together. Chouji is amidst them all, and comes forward to help Shikamaru up. He places himself on Shikamaru's injured side, acting as a crutch just like I had for Akio. I follow suit and stand up. Chouji smiles at me, looking tired and emotionally drained. We probably look similar. He turns to our group and said, "everyone is gathering that the entrance. Naruto's coming back". I brighten as Akio's parents rise with Akio resting on his father's back. My neighbor, my brother is coming back. That must mean he is okay. It is funny that I never realized how much I like Naruto; need him, until I felt like I could have lost him.
The final sign is Naruto himself. Standing near the front of the crowd of Konoha citizens I peak around the adults watching and waiting. I stand between Akio and his family, and Shikamaru and his team. We found Ino at the gates, already waiting. The three of them quickly share information about their welfare, and all of them seem to be more at ease now that they are together. Minutes tick by and all we can do is wait. To pass the time and to curb their anxiousness people start talking. I hear things like, "He did it! Naruto saved us", and "Who knew he is so strong". I keep trying to get a good view of the village gates. Where is he? Why is Naruto not already here? The bottoms of my feet are itching because of an urge to run through the gates and find him myself. He needs to come home faster.
We must have been standing there for about an hour before he appears. I cannot really see him, but I know he has to be here because, all of the adults start yelling in joy, clapping their hands and screaming his name. "Naruto!" They all called out. I bend and twist, trying to see around everyone in front of me, trying to spot my adoptive brother. And Finally I see him. He is standing next to Kakashi, and seems a bit tired and looks a bit dazed. But compared to everyone else Naruto appears to be the least affected by everything. Almost as if he did not take on the intruders by himself.
From his spot on his father's back Akio said, "Ya really do have a cool brother, Manami" as Shikamaru with help from Chouji and Ino start to move forward. No doubt to greet their comrade. I want to go with them, but is it right? I am not Naruto's comrade. I am not actually his sister. He should have this moment without me getting in the way.
However, when I do not move with them, Shikamaru reaches out with the arm that is not wrapped around Chouji and grips my shoulder. "Come on", he said, and that is all the prompting I need to move towards Naruto, leaving Akio with his family behind. I decide that I am only going with them to be able to see Naruto better, and that will be enough.
At the front of the crowd, only feet away from my adoptive brother we watch as Sakura marches towards him. With no pause she socks him in the gut, causing him to hunch over. "You idiot", she scolded him, before reaching out and hugging him. The cheering and all around happiness continues as Naruto seems to be more shocked that Sakura is hugging him than he was about the village cheering for him. After a moment Sakura lets him go and the rest of the shinobi in his age group and me, seeing as Shikamaru is still holding my shoulder, approach. One by one they welcome him back. Naruto nods and smiles at them all with a wide grin, he rubs the back of his head. Not used to all of these compliments.
Pride swells in my chest as Naruto glows under all of their attention. He really is a hero. He really is the best adoptive big brother ever. After the last of his friends greet him his blue eyes find me. Shikamaru removes his hand from my shoulder just as Naruto says in the softest, calmest voice I have ever heard him use, "Manami". He stretches his arm out in front of him and motions with his hand for me to come.
Despite my early promise to not intrude on his moment my feet pick up into a jog on their own accord. A bubbly sensation of pure happiness spreads throughout my body as I rush to Naruto's side grabbing on to his jacket, and burying my face into it. "Welcome home", I said. Family has come back to me. "Welcome home Naruto nii-san".