“You asked for me.” Shikamaru yawned, leaning against the door frame with his most bored expression.
Tsunade would have boxed the shadow-nin’s ears if she didn’t know that his attitude was just a front to hide the turmoil underneath it. Leaders had to keep a constant attitude even in times that it became unthinkable to, Nara Shikamaru had to look bored or suffer the consequences of panicking his followers. Leaders could not be allowed to look affected as the majority were, they had to stay strong and distanced from such emotions or everything fell apart. And they could not afford things to happen that way, not now.
“We cant ignore the fact that Konoha is in danger, Pain has not acted but he will eventually.” She said with a low urgency in her voice. “And when he does…”
Furusaku nodded, she didn’t have to finish her sentence.
“Naruto will succeed.” Shikamaru said hotly. “I believe it.”
Tsunade shook her head. “We cant let this hinge on Naruto, we must also do our part.” She told him sternly. “We will help him. Pain is waiting for us to panick and crack on the inside.”
“He wants us to go into civil war,” Shikamaru said. “That’s how he learnt, his suffering was through war. So that’s what he hopes this atmosphere of uncertainty will do to us. But hell if I’ll run around like a headless dog.”
“He could use the Kyuubi for war.”
“Yes, but accumulate all of them for minor attacks?” Shikamaru pushed on. “No, he’s only going to use them when he wants to destroy all the countries at once, a mass cleansing of lives. Not yet, he will kill us eventually but not yet. He’ll wait till we crack.”
“That doesn’t do us any good, Shikamaru.”
“I know.” He said. “But we do get to keep our wits about us.”
Tsunade studied both men for a while. Well, he did have a point, but they couldn’t rely on it one hundred percent. And that was that. She didn’t know what else to do except…
“I may have a plan.” Furusaku said quietly. “Its not the best but its our only shot.”
They had talked about this between the two of them endlessly. Tsunade couldn’t refuse, like he said…it was their only shot.
“You’ll need the first Hokage’s private records.” Shikamaru said casualy. “He might have something there.”
Surprise flitted across Furusaku’s eyes. “How did you know?” he asked, sounding impressed. “Since when did you suspect this?”
Shikamaru just shrugged. “It was the only logical explanation as to why she called you. I don’t think she’d allow to send you away easily, so her sending you away now must mean something real important, something she couldn’t send anyone else for. If she couldn’t send anyone else for it then it must mean the mission involves your specific skills. Skills of control which are deeply in need of when linked to the Kyuubi situation.”
Furusaku met her glance, but there was no doubt in his eyes.
“But you can’t take me with you. Im not being a coward” Shikamaru said. “I need to stay, I owe Asuma that. If we’re dying anytime soon then I’ll have to look after Kurenai. I gave my word.”
“We didn’t doubt that.” Tsunade said.
“Then why’d you call me?” Shikamaru said and immediately looked surprised that he had spoken. Which was strange, Nara Shikamaru hardly said anything without having thought about it.
“I could hardly send you away,” Tsunade smiled, taking a small pleasure at his astonishment. It was a small pleasure indeed, a butterfly upon a dung heap, a revolting destructive dung-heap with situation being as it were. “People would wonder and that would run the panic quicker than poison runs through the blood. Youre one of the most capable chounins we have and we need every kind of that we can get.”
“So I suspect my jobs simply to keep the anarchy of civil war at bay,” he sighed looking a bit disappointed in what he probably assumed was a minor job. “Do I need any defense strategies for Konoha? At least just for appearance’s sake, help make people feel safer and look like we’re actually doing something that could seem to potentially help us.”
“Obviously you have something in mind or you would not have brought the suggestion up.” Tsunade said as patiently as she could.
“So I’m right.” He managed to somehow look smug, yet subdued at the same time.“Well, I geuss I’ll ask some minor chuunin to start patrolling about at night, small shifts between eachother, just making rounds. On the look out for whatever seems shifty. Radio communication between each patrol unit will be put in place ofcourse, so we look official.” Shikamaru said at the top of his head. “That’s it.”
“Well,” said Furusaku thoughtfully. “If Shikamaru isn’t coming I may have to look for someone else.”
“Sai?” suggested Shikamaru as if it wasn’t the most obvious thing in the world.
“He was my first choice.” Furusaku explained. “But Danzou’s rigged him up for something we as usual have no idea about.”
Tsunade had to keep herself from scowling, even if Danzou recent intention had been to help Konoha it did not mean he had a constant agenda. That man was as slippery as a snake and she could never forget that his initial aim had been to make her job as Hokage as difficult as possible. She would never like that man.
Shikamaru muttered something under his breath, it sounded like a weary resignation to the word ‘troublesome’ but it sounded almost mournful, too. “Sakura…well, she’s hardly in the state for a mission. I don’t think she could deal with such a serious mission at her best potential when she’s got all that emotional baggage.” He wasn’t being mean; he was just putting it out on the table as it was. What with both her teammates gone – one abandoning the village to become a traitor and the other chasing away after a demon-man – and her sensei dead, Tsunade did not blame her. But if the girl didn’t pick up soon…she was afraid of the scars such pain and suffering would leave. No one should ever suffer that way, no one not ever.
“Furusaku,” Tsunade snapped out of her reverie. “You may have access to the first Hokage’s manuscripts – whatevers left of them anyway – and when you find someone as soon as you can, do not delay in your journey, just leave me a message and go before anyone notices you wanted to.” She told them firmly. “No one must know of our true situation.”
Two men nodded and left. They both had their missions and they would carry them out as long as they still had but one drop of blood within them.
Lee didn’t know what to say, he knew he should say something but he just couldn’t find the words. Sakura was just a ghost, she smiled she laughed, but there was something in her eyes that spoke of deep war wounds, of a dying light. But he couldn’t do anything, try as he might he couldn’t forget that she was waiting for someone else.
“You know you could just talk to her.” A voice came from behind him.
Lee whipped around. “Neiji! Er…what are you – ”
“Don’t change the subject,Lee.” Neiji sighed “Go talk to her.”
Lee shook his head. “I don’t know what to say. She’s in real pain Neiji and I can’t make it go away by just talking to her.”
“How do you know if you don’t even try.” Neiji said reasonably.
They stood a long time looking at eachother. Neiji never gave advice and Lee knew it must have taken a lot out of him to overcome his whole bastard front he put up and come out and say something. He was kind of surprised and…touched. Neiji looked slightly irritated at this.
“Thankyou.” Said Lee.
Neiji shrugged. “Don’t let it get to your head. I’m only helping you out because I know Sakura was the only one who kept with you while we were away.”
Lee smiled before walking away. “Thanks anyway.”
“Shikamaru!”
The shadow-chounin lifted a sleepy glance to Ino, she couldn’t want to do the chuunin rounds, could she? Shikamaru knew there could be potential danger and Ino should be able to take care of herself independent of him, but a small part of him recalled that she was his teammate and he didn’t think he wanted to loose one. He couldn’t imagine loosing another part of his team to join Asuma.
The blonde ran up wheezing for breath.
He felt a bit guilty. If Ino knew his thoughts she’d probably be pissed…a lot pissed that he didn’t trust her to be totally safe. It would be the same he would’ve done for Chouji if Chouji wanted to go independent of anyone else of the team yet somehow different….
“I have..something..important…to..tell you.” She clutched her side.
“What?” said Shikamaru pulling a shurinken from the bark of the tree he was practicing on. He inspected it idly, as always his aim was perfect. Whatever Ino had to tell him was probably something fickle and irrelevant, she was his teammate and he cared, but she was also a girl. And that was just troublesome.
“Its Kurenai!” Ino stomped her foot. “Why’d you think I ran up here for?!”
Shikamaru whipped around. “Whats wrong with Kurenai?!”
“She’s having a baby that’s what!”
Without another word Shikamaru set into a streak for the hospital.
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Story notes: I cant call this dark but I can definitely say that characters will go through some real personal traumas. Naruto has left Konoha behind to search for the remaining Pains and Sasuke has become a part of Akatsuki.
Team Seven is no more. Sakura is the only original member left. All are dead or gone.
This will be on all characters but we’ll definitely stress a lot more on our main shinobis at home.
Will contain romance, but mostly drama, action/adventure and maybe even tragedy.
No yaoi, no OC, no fluff.
Characters are as IN character as I could ever hope.
I hoped to make this very realistic towards Kishimoto’s original work.