Chapter XXIX

Shikamaru's Challenge

After this detour to Naruto's apartment, we took the path to the Nara residence. Sadly, I had to constantly tell the teenager to keep his damn tail under the coat; although I have to remind him less often than before, he continues to do so. I don't believe he does it on purpose—rather, I don't think he realizes it. Since this black tail has become essential for him, an integrating limb like his arms and legs that expresses his moods, I manage to understand him and forgive him his slippages. All in all, I take a long breath so as not to let irritation get to me.

I quickly noticed that the blond already seems calmer and less on the alert since we entered this rather quiet neighbourhood on the edge of the forest, blending and getting lost in the green landscapes that highlight mute the din of the village. The environment has overwhelmed the blue eyes of my student who scans the surroundings with curiosity and wonder. His luminous expression thus sketches a smile on my lips.

After another long walk with Naruto clinging to my arm like a tenacious leech slowing the pace of our steps, we finally arrive at Shikamaru's.

Knowing the youngster, he must probably be outside. As I suspected when I enter the courtyard, Shikamaru is lying very close to his shōgi table on his porch, observing the sky with wandering clouds, a cigarette in his mouth. Seeing us, he hastens to put out his cigarette before coming to meet us; even after avenging Asuma's death, he couldn't manage to quit, unless he didn't feel like it. Aside from his usual tired look, he waves energetically at us.

Naruto's grip on my arm weakens greatly. He doesn't arch his back and he doesn't try to hide behind me when the other approaches; moreover, his tail doesn't create a semblance of a barrier between us and Shikamaru. No doubt, the sapphire-eyed boy is at ease in his presence—something Shikamaru must have noticed since he walks towards us without the slightest caution.

"Kakashi-sensei! Naruto! I was about to believe that I wouldn't be seeing you today either."

"Taking him out wasn't easy," I wearily sigh. "His fearful temper and sensitivity to light forced me to slow down."

"I can only believe you," he sighs back. "My parents aren't here this afternoon. Naruto should be comfortable… Well, it's the first time he's not giving me one of his feral looks."

Indeed. The blond observes the place with intensity without worrying about Shikamaru. Suddenly, he silently laughs before letting go of me to remove his coat … hardly, since he tries to pull it over his head instead of undoing the ties. He struggles with it for a breath and then forcefully gives it to me without even giving me a single glance.

Stunned, we watch Naruto rush into the yard before throwing himself into the lawn to roll around like a feline discovering for the first time the thin, green stems sprinkled with catnip. His ebony tail waddles happily as Naruto touches the fine fibres with his palms and face. The smile that doesn't leave his face has never been as radiant as this, like his many taciturn laughs; he's happy, that is understood. Like a curious and playful child, he's playing around in an atypical way by letting his awakened senses overwhelm him. He's also interested in the pond by plunging his hands into it, eager to discover everything.

Seeing him like this overloads my heart with light. Not only has the fear left the now sapphire-eyed teenager at ease, but he manages to walk away from me without a trace of anxiety in him. This feeling that pierces me from all sides is difficult for me to transcribe into words, but I am relieved and I feel so light now. Although he sports more of a beast-like demeanour than a human, I recognize this Naruto who is happy to live despite those wild traits.

"It's the first time I've seen him like this," I reveal to Shikamaru.

"Really?" he replies with a surprised pout.

I nod.

"The reason for our delay is mostly due to the fact that Naruto had a meltdown before leaving. As you should already know from my report, Naruto is plagued by nightmares and his crisis was related to this dream that grandly upset him."

The youngster confirms it with a nod and then listens to me in silence.

"I forced him to use his illusory powers to communicate to me what was going on. He showed me his dream."

"What was this dream about?" Shikamaru asks, curious.

"It's a little hard to explain to be honest. Naruto expressed a lot of concrete and abstract information to me. One of them is his fear of abandonment, which we already suspected. And to see him play like that, I suspect a phobia of being in narrow spaces. He made me feel his anguish and his perception of being between four walls. An impression that they are closing in on you to crush you… That's how Naruto feels, I mean, that's what I perceived."

"Considering that Naruto had to be imprisoned during his abduction, his fear of being inside, in narrow places, makes sense."

A silence.

"If Naruto communicated with a genjutsu spell, it's possible to extract information from him that way…"

"Don't be mistaken, that's not a possibility," I cut him off sharply.

"Why not?"

"His powers carry some risk for him. He wouldn't have made up his mind to do it if I hadn't forced him to. He was completely drained of his chakra and blood was pouring out of his eyes soon after. We couldn't know since Naruto hid the first time…"

"What a drag!" Shikamaru heavily sighs before putting his arms behind his head. "I thought we finally had a way to make him talk…"

"Even if he could do it, I don't think we'd get much out of him without putting him in great distress. Naruto isn't ready to remember anything. That, I can guarantee you."

"Indeed… I agree with you. We have already considered this question. If it wasn't that he was mute as a grave, we could have tried hypnosis. However, Godaime came up with another solution that I don't particularly like."

A short pause before revealing the information to me.

"She suggested using Inoichi's talents once Naruto is tamed."

I frown listening to his words; at that, a cold sweat beads on my temple. I agree that probing Naruto's memory in this way will give us the information that he refuses or cannot communicate. However, this technique carries risks. It will force the teenager to face traumas that he fiercely suppresses to the point of not wanting to remember anything. Although I am against this idea, if the situation requires it, we will have to employ this means of last resort. In addition, the Fifth Hokage urged us to glean information from Naruto as soon as possible.

I sigh, demonstrating my opinion indirectly. Meanwhile, Naruto has laid down in front of the small pond. In addition to his tail still wriggling, the blond has calmed down.

"We're not there yet," I clarify before changing the subject. "Anyway, maybe it'd be relevant to tell me what you have in mind that requires our presence here."

"You may find my idea far-fetched, but I'd like to determine Naruto's cerebral faculties once and for all by challenging him to shōgi."

Surprised, I widen my dark eye.

"Shōgi? I know he's played it before, but with his altered brain, I doubt it's within reach…"

"That's what we thought about the diapason and the other logic games," Shikamaru retorts with a smirk. "Against all odds, the good old Naruto passed them all with flying colours. And…"

A silence that betrays a tear still present in his heart.

"That was how Asuma-sensei had gauged my intelligence."

Only then do I notice Shikamaru reproducing the same patterns that late Asuma did with him when he was younger. Maybe it's nostalgia that drives his ideas about Naruto? Possible. That said, unlike the playful objects, this game requires concentration … a concentration that my student lacks. Nevertheless, curiosity takes hold of me.

"We can give it a shot," I sigh, unconvinced unlike the particularly confident younger one.

While Shikamaru gets the rulebook in his hands, I take the opportunity to get rid of my bag and the winter coat which I leave lying on the wood warmed by the rays of the sun. We go to meet the teenager splashing his hand in the water. Beside him, Naruto turns his head. His eyes lock on the book Shikamaru hands him.

"I hope you can still read, Naruto. I'd like to play a game with you, but for that you need to know how it works. You don't need to read it all, just the first few pages."

After a breath, the blond takes his hand out of the water before wiping it on his clothes and then grabbing the book. He arches an eyebrow as he peeks inside as he scrolls through the pages. Since the youngster purposely gave it to him upside down and saw that Naruto turned it over and started flipping through everything from right to left, we confirm that he can still read. I wonder if it will be possible to get him to speak in writing if his voice refuses to speak. I'll have to wait until I get home to check it out…

To see the features of his face, Naruto isn't at all convinced. I intervene to encourage him to accept Shikamaru's request since I know full well that he will acquiesce if it comes from me.

"Why don't you give it a try, Naruto?" I suggest, lowering myself at his level. "If so, you might enjoy it."

The teenager plunges his irises into mine. Besides his facial neutrality, he seems to be considering my offer. When I put on a jovial expression, he smiles back at me before looking back at the rulebook. He examines it for a moment with his fingers, then he walks on all fours to lie down in the grass a little further. On his stomach, Naruto begins to read. However, it doesn't take long for him to frown and do some useless spinning with his black tail; either the content turns out to be complicated for him, or it bores him… Or maybe a bit of both. I cannot say.

"We just have to wait now," I say, going to the same activity as my student with the Make-Out Paradise, sitting against one of the walls of the house. "If Naruto manages to read what he needs, of course."

Shikamaru lets out a few chuckles.

"You seem to have little faith in him," he points out, crossing his arms.

"It's not a matter of faith, but I know him. Amnesiac or not. Feral or not. Naruto remains Naruto. Nevertheless… I must say that he manages to surprise me when I least expect it."

To my surprise, aside from a few short pauses to wander around in inaction, Naruto stayed true to his post. Slowly but surely he read the pages and sometimes he was caught skipping back. In shared patience, we waited for the teenager to finish his work … at least, which allows him to understand the essence of the pieces and the game. After an hour and a half, he finally got up to return the book to us. When Shikamaru asked him if he was ready to play, Naruto, his hands in his pockets and his gaze avoiding, contented himself with a silent response. He's not thrilled with the idea, but it's not a refusal. I had to translate his reaction to Shikamaru being rather unsure of his body language.

Very close to them, I continue my reading, keeping a close eye on the game. The youngster has let the blond begin. So far, Naruto hasn't made any mistakes and is following the rules… However, I'm not the only one to notice that he's not focused at all and he's messing about. His ebony tail betrays impatience or nervousness, unless it's boredom. His exhausted eyes wander everywhere but where they should. In addition, his face is sulky. From the beginning, Naruto has just randomly played his pieces, without any thought behind it, without any strategy and almost immediately after his opponent's roll, thus extracting a sigh from Shikamaru, visibly disappointed.

All in all, I find his behaviour quite abnormal if I compare to those times when I was in the cage with him. Naruto has a tendency to lose his concentration easily, that's understood, but at this point? The playful objects managed to take hold of his bluish irises for a good moment to the point of forgetting my presence near him. Why is it so different here, or even absent? I'm sure there's a reason and it bothers me too much to stay inactive.

I walk over to sit next to the sapphire-eyed boy who is giving me his full attention. I stare intently at the gaming table.

"You're in a bad posture, Naruto," I tell him indirectly, exaggerating my voice before plunging my stern eye into his soft ones. "I expected more from you, you disappoint me."

My words have visibly destabilized him since he doesn't react nor blink.

"What are you going to do? Give up?" I add, emphasizing my last two words.

Naruto's Nindō forbids it; giving up is not part of his values, I know that only too well. Does this Naruto agree or his amnesia and feral behaviour made him lose that way of thinking that dictates his actions and his determination? Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Shikamaru's reaction; he guesses what I am trying to do with my student. I don't know if he shares the same doubts as me, but we will soon have our answers.

After long, painful seconds, Naruto takes a serious look, almost frightening. He brings his attention back to the game board, and his irises remain attached to it. Moreover, his tail becomes as motionless as his whole being. Not only does Naruto not give up, but he seems excruciatingly motivated to me all of a sudden—something the other teenager notices.

The blond takes time to think, but he ends up playing. To our surprise, he drops into the opposing lines with one of the pieces he had captured before, thus promoting said piece in question by putting the enemy king in a bad position. This maneuver forces Shikamaru to lose a turn to move his piece out of reach. Clearly, the youngster wasn't taking the game seriously as he allowed Naruto to break through enemy lines with ease.

Unlike earlier, Naruto seems to have an idea in mind.

Each of his turns takes time, but he thinks carefully enough to bring a hand to his chin while emitting reflective melodies. I observe the next turns by abandoning my precious reading.

"Eh-oh, eh-oh, Naruto, what are you doing to me?" Shikamaru says with a contained laugh seeing that he finds himself in a bad position, pushing him to concentrate a bit.

His level rose drastically. I understand that his sudden motivation is caused by me; he doesn't want to disappoint me and that breeds a fierce determination in him. As with the puzzles, Naruto demonstrates that he's capable of thinking and exercising his neglected brain. Of course, the blond is far from being a genius, but he's far from being a fool as we believed him to be.

When Shikamaru regains control of the game, I see Naruto's black tail twitch in anguish before he loudly hisses his displeasure. At times, he throws me glances that don't last; at that, a bead of sweat slides down his temple. Anxiety overcomes him; he's afraid of not succeeding.

Maybe I put too much pressure on him?

Surprised, but not surprised, despite all his goodwill and efforts, Naruto can no longer regain the upper hand and the inevitable happens: his king is taken by his opponent.

Without warning, the disgruntled teenager jostles the gaming table with a good flick of his tail, thus sending all the pieces that are swallowed up by the weeds around. His abrupt and sudden gesture snatches a jump from both of us. Naruto crosses his arms roughly and turns his head, fuming in silence. We hold our breath when two small lightning oozes from his skin. I don't feel any aggression, but I come to stand in front of him anyway, raising my palms in an attempt to calm him down.

"Easy, Naruto. It doesn't matter. You did what you could and that's enough for me," I reassure him, putting my hands on his shoulders, smiling.

This physical contact soothes his torments of anger, though he avoids looking at me, visibly disappointed that he hasn't lived up to the expectations I've imposed on him. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Shikamaru heave a sigh of relief, one hand over his heart, before resuming his usual expression. My student's sudden annoyance caused considerable stress in the other boy by starting a frantic race in his chest.

"Did you get the answers you were looking for?" I ask.

"Kinda … but I think you have the same conclusion as me."

I nod.

"He never really trained his mind. He just stopped at the basics. Naruto is able to exercise his brains. It's this untapped talent that must make him so cunning… It's not only due to his new chakra devourer condition that he manages to master genjutsu."

The blue sky slowly takes on hues ranging from orange to pink as a flock of birds flies overhead, capturing the attention of the sapphire-eyed boy. Twilight already heralds its gentle advance. I let out an undisguised sigh; I'll have to feed Naruto with my chakra very soon—something I don't and never want.

Silence is king.

Shikamaru stands up and approaches the feral teenager before crouching down to get to his level.

"Naruto," he calls out with a serious face before extending his arm. "I offer you my chakra, take it."

I hold my breath as my organ of love races in spite of myself. I wait impatiently for him to accept, sink his fangs into his flesh and not mine, thus offering me a respite that I have dreamed of for too long. If we can share this burden, I can get back on my feet too; recover my energy and feel the exhaustion finally leave my whole being which only asks for this. The palpable tension beads a cold sweat.

Naruto winces before turning his head…

He's not interested…

He didn't even hesitate for one second…

"What?" Shikamaru says, puzzled. "My chakra is bad or what?"

Naruto shows an even more disgusted pout than it already was as he sticks his tongue out. While looking at the other with his piercing gaze, he then clings firmly to me, hugging me in his arms and his black tail.

He lets him know that he wants my chakra…

"Na-Naruto… Shikamaru's in a much better position to feed you chakra than I am. You can eat as much as you want," I complaint.

The sapphire-eyed boy isn't of this ear since he emits a high-pitched hiss then slaps the arm of the youngster with his tail, snatching from him a complaint of surprise… I also heard a familial buzzing sound on contact, making me raise an eyebrow.

"Are you okay?"

Shikamaru nods before moving and shaking his arm.

"I'm… I'm fine," he stammers, grimacing. "Naruto gave me a shock, that's all. My arm is numb."

I let out a sigh of exasperation. If we insist more, the blond will be more violent; this benign blow was a warning. I was hoping that he would finally rid himself of his voracious appetite for my lightning chakra… I have to resolve to silence his hunger again and again if he spitefully refuses any offering that is not mine. Meanwhile, my student is taking my arm. His intent crystal clear, I pull my arm back out of reach.

"Not until we get home," I dryly say, pulling away from him. "I will give you my chakra at home. Not before, not now."

Fortunately, he doesn't insist. However, he crosses his arms and begins to pout by making useless reels with his tail. Usually, Naruto waits for me to offer my precious energy myself, but Shikamaru's doing must have put that idea in his mind. I don't want to fight fatigue while lugging around a moody, unstable Naruto.

"I think it's time for me to bring him back," I painfully sigh.

"Whether here or elsewhere, going out in rural areas benefits him. I'll come tomorrow morning for your report and to give you the medication."

"Thanks."

I retrieve my bag which I pass over my shoulders before taking the white coat which I show prominently to the blond.

"Naruto. Come. It's time to go home."

In addition to his bad mood which hardly seems to leave him, Naruto approaches so that I can cover him, thus camouflaging the extra limb. He still avoids my dark eye, but I don't have to tell him to hide his tail since he does it on his own. His initiative pushes me to ruffle his mane.

"Kakashi-sensei," Shikamaru calls out to me, standing up. "Before I forget, Godaime has a task for you regarding Naruto."

"A task?" I repeat mechanically.

"It's about Kyūbi."

I raise an eyebrow as I listen silently.

"The odds are very slim to none, but she'd like you to check if Naruto still harbours the Demon Fox within him if you're able to do so."

The youngster does well to tell me; I have so much to do and think about that my brain gets overloaded, not to mention that Naruto exhausts me in every way possible. Like him, I highly doubt that it has been taken away from him, but at the same time… The heightened emotions that possess him, especially during his furies, it would be the perfect occasion for the Demon Fox to get involved. However, since his return, there has been no manifestation of Kyūbi. It's a relief for us since Naruto no longer has his necklace that allowed Yamato to control him without a hitch.

"I have a little idea to check it out," I say, nodding. "I'm pretty well versed in seals. His is no stranger to me."

Shikamaru grabs a cigarette and lights it before inhaling his smoking poison into his organs.

"Be careful on the way," he tells me, expelling the smoke.

I nod before putting an arm around Naruto's shoulder, silently asking him to follow me. Although he remains close to me, he does not cling to me … at least until we arrive in places more frequented by human presence. I would like to go home immediately, but I have to stop for groceries…

I sincerely hope that the sapphire-eyed teenager doesn't cause me any problems or embarrassment.