Title: Shikamaru Shippuden - A Twist in Time
Prologue
"The cursed fate of the jinchuriki and the Uchiha; threads of unresolved hatred left from previous wars that exploded into bundles of attacks and wars; the loss of loved ones, and the grief that would always tackle along the journey of life..."
He stared at the grave stone that entitled Nara Shikaku. Not far away he could also see the grave of his beloved sensei Asuma and his comrade Neiji.
Pausing for a moment, the thinker gave out a contended sigh.
"Thinking about it, if weren't for all those troublesome past, heroes we all admire wouldn't come to exist; nations wouldn't have come together to build an era of peace and stability, in such an extend that has never been seen in Shinobi history. And love…"
He chuckled.
The thought of a blonde fierce woman suddenly slipped into the thinker's mind. Though the past took away his precious family and friends, he found her. They met as rivals and their villages turned into enemies. Then in a twist of fate, they fought as allies, worked as partners. She saw the gems hidden in his dullness; she saw through his failures and pushed him to the edge to overcome his weaknesses. Never has a person ever gone to reach into him as deep as she did, not even his father or sensei. She was his confidant, and he was grateful.
"Oyaji, so… it's all about give and take, right? Speaking of that, remember the troublesome woman you said I would meet someday…Well, I have to say; she finally got me."
Mildly blush, he remembered that today is going to be special for he has made an important decision in his life. He took out a ring from his pocket. Yes, he was going to invite a special lady to be his life-long companion. And together, they will have new ones to love and cherish.
The thinker then looked up to the sky. Judging by the position of the sun, he still had some time before considering being late for the date. With no means to further procrastinate his schedule, the thinker tucked both his hands, along with the ring into his pocket, slouch his back and walked his way out of the cemetery in the laziest manner he could act out.
"But still…"
Old habit never dies….
"What if there could be a change? What if the Third Hokage survived from Orouchimaru's attacked? What if someone was able to persuade Sasuke to stay back? What if the Akatsuki's plan was stopped earlier beforehand? What if…"
"Mendokuse…"
"What's the point of making these meaningless assumptions? Unless something like going back in time do exist; It's just like the thought of Naruto preferring dango over ramen, or Chouji offering someone else his last bite of chips or…"
Lost in thought, the thinker didn't realize a crack on the ground. The earth suddenly shacked and the crack opened up. A wild hurl of wind suddenly engulfed the thinker, pushing him into the crack like an invisible hand. Coming back to realization as the thinker sensed his shift of inertia, he tried to regain balance however failed to set foot on anything solid as the ground continued to shift away.
"Tch…"
Putting his mind to good use, the thinker calmly analyzed his situation as he continued to fall.
"This could be a land subsidence, but the pattern movement of the ground just seems strange, and that wind… I don't like the looks of this. Let's just hope it's a Genjutsu I can get out of."
Placing his hand signals, the thinker tried to release himself from the illusion. However, it wasn't what he expected. Forming another strategy, the thinker quickly retrieved a kunai tied to a lengthy metal thread. He threw the kunai with all his might, hoping that the kunai might anchor on the wall and pull him back. But the kunai continued flying straight ahead and disappeared.
"Great, there's nowhere out of here. This is just troub…
As the thinker was about to spill out his usual slang, a flash of light glimpsed from beneath. As he looked down, he saw a hole where the light shined through. Judging by whatever visible through the hole, it was concluded that the exit leads to nowhere but in midair.
"Well, since there's no way going back up there, might as well prepare for safe landing."
Sheepishly slipping out the exit, the thinker maintained his poise while searching for the ideal landing site. Out of the blue, the thinker looked down and found himself closing to a very familiar building which instantly made his heart flipped.
"…The old academy? How could this be? It should have been destroyed during Pain's attack…"
As approaching the academy's roof top, a small shadow gradually formed on the surface of the roof. Without hesitation, the thinker hastily performed his little trick - Kage zukami no jutsu. His shadows stretched in midair, clinging onto one of the pillars on top of the academy rooftop and swung himself to safety. It wasn't graceful, but it was a life savior. Regaining balance on both of his legs, the thinker surveyed the familiar surroundings that should have perished long ago.
The Ninja academy…
The old streets…
Yakiniku Q shop…
Konoha hospital…
Huh… the preliminaries arena …
wait… isn't that?!
The thinker stealthily advanced to the destined arena. There, he hid himself among the bushes, just close enough to peep at the figures coming out of the block. Three youngsters walked out, one pudgy kid with his badge scarf tied on his head like an underwear, his hand holding a bag of chips; another kid with a pineapple head that somehow gave the thinker chills to his nerves as he notices the HUGE resemblance between him and that kid; and lastly a blonde girl with hair stranded to one side
…
…
"Shikamaru, Hurry up! Asuma Sensei promised to treat us after the exams!"
" No need to rush Choji, there's plenty of meat in Yankiniku, it can wait. By the way, shouldn't you be drenched after the last fight?"
"Nah, I'm fully recovered once Asuma said we're going to Yankiniku."
"Oh Choji, if you always think about food, you'll never get a girl friend."
" Like he cares, Ino."
…
…
"This is confusing…"
…
…
Then, another figure appeared, which instantly caught the thinker sight. He almost gasped, but refrained himself. Yet his heart was beating so hard that even his ears were interrupted by the sound of his heartbeat.
" Well guys, no matter what the results, I am still very proud of you all. Well done."
The huge figure with a cigarette in his mouth, landed a hand on the pineapple head's shoulders, and gave a warm grin to the kid.
…
…
"Asuma."
…
…
It's been a long time since he saw his teacher in flesh. That grin he missed so much had appeared in front of the thinker. Though the grin wasn't directing at him, he knew it was for him… somehow.
"So… Asuma isn't dead, I am in the same place with the younger me and my younger friends, the old Konoha is in place, and the Hokage…"
The Thinker switched his sight towards the rocky mountain.
"Four stone heads… the Third Hokage still lives… that means…"
The thinker kneels at one knee, both hands fold into a ball shape where only the pinpoints of his fingers meet, closes his eyes and enters into deep thought.
"So…
…
Naruto can switch taste over to dango…
this is troublesome."
Looking towards the sky, the thinker tried to trace the hole that lured him into this dimension. It is nowhere to be seen. He reached for his pocket and clinged tightly to the cylindrical object within, letting out a long tedious sigh
"Great, now not only am I going to be late for my date, I am gonna miss it…."
"Mendokuse..."