A/N:- I apologise for nor updating when I had promised to do so. However, I hope you find in your generous hearts to forgive me. Tbh the last two weeks had been painful for me. And I mean that in literal sense.
(Well….. I got myself ill. Thankfully, it's not Corona. But it was still pretty painful.)
On another note, I think you all deserve another serious apology from me. Last time I had been too rash on making my point that I stepped out of line. I'm sorry for that. I will of course delete my Note (or at least edit it) and make my points clear. Now, let's get a few things clear-
One- I won't drop my stories as long as I get the muse to write them. And even if I do, I didn't say I'll delete them. So, the pranksters who want to repost my work just for the heck of it are going to get a nasty surprise~
Two- My aim for posting the previous note was to make many of my readers aware of the situation I was facing, so that they could help me keep an eye out for any unaware reposts. After all, I am but one person, and there might be places or sites I would be unaware of. That's why I asked for your help.
Three- I've said this in my previous note and I'll repeat that again- If anyone out there wants to do a repost or translation of any of my work then contact me first. And if you can't do that then at least mention my name or link on the stories. That's the least you could do!
Four- Anonymous Artz and shinku50 have my permission for their respective repost and translation of my work. Please don't harass them from now on.
Like I'd said earlier, I am not against reposting my work on other sites, if you get my permission first. For those who think, and I quote "Fancy seeing a fanfiction writer talking about Copyright." Then I dare you to say that to any other writer on this site. If they accept your remarks as true, then well… just say they're awfully generous. In that case, I don't mind being called narrow minded or whatever else you deem fit. I've given my heart and soul into writing these stories, so of course I'd get angry when someone else take away my work! Fanfiction means a fan creating a fiction out of the stories they admire, it does not mean that they're trying to threaten the original writers with copyrights. If you have that much problem with Fanfiction then why don't you stop reading them altogether?
…..Sigh, Look guys, I don't want any more conflicts on this topic. Let's just end this discussion here. If you want to help me to keep an eye out for any reposts of my work, then you have my gratitude. If not, then it's not like I'm forcing you or anything. You can just ignore this issue altogether.
P.S. Someone reprimanded me for wasting words -and a whole chapter- on Author's Note and asked me to be a proper author and stop wasting Word Count on silly notes. I guess they do have a point since I do have a habit of kinda monologuing and digressing on the Authors notes. *Laughs sheepishly* So I guess I'll stop posting Author's Note from now on. I'm also going to delete my previous ones, whenever I get the time for them.
With that said, I hope you enjoy this chapter~
"Why didn't you…?" she asked in a quiet tone. "Why didn't you stop him?"
He didn't say anything. He couldn't.
"Or…." She spoke, her eyes staring at him with an unreadable expression. "...was it you who sent him on a suicide mission?"
There's no use hiding anything from her. She was too smart, too brilliant and she knew him too well to not come to a conclusion by herself.
He couldn't even muster up the strength to even flinch at her accusations. Besides, it was true, wasn't it?
"...Why?" She asked desperately as she grabbed the front of his ragged and slightly bloodied flak jacket -when was the last time he (or anyone here) had worn fresh, clean, laundried clothes? Days? weeks?...Or Months?- "Why him?"
"Because he was the best choice." He answered impassively, feeling as if it wasn't him who spoke those cold, unfeeling words and he was just a specter watching the happenings before him as a third person.
She flinched and pulled away from him as if burned by his words.
"You….." She muttered and stared at him in disbelief. "How could you?" She clenched her fists and asked with teary eyes. "You've changed." She spoke in barely repressed fury. "You're not the Shikamaru I knew before."
He replied in a dull tone. "The Shikamaru you used to know died a long time ago."
.
.
.
She woke up with a start and tried to throw away the blankets from her body in haste, feeling suffocated in them. Instead the blankets only ensnared her more in their grasp, and she somehow found herself tumbling down the bed, with her back hitting the wooden floorboards beneath her. Her bangs clung to her face due to the cold sweat, and she took in deep breaths to calm her heart thundering inside her chest. She shakily pulled off the blanket from her upper body before she tried to get back to her bed -and somehow dragged the blankets haphazardly laid around her legs with her. She then curled up on the bed with her knees tucked close to her chest, and just lay in that position on the bed, the blankets lay forgotten a few inches away from her. Her body trembled as she felt cold seeping deep in her bones -except that's not true, her body was burning hot (Was she having a fever? Now?)- and she couldn't help but squeeze her eyes shut and-
-and what? What could she do anyways? Run away from her sins? Forget that she once held the lives of a million -or maybe more- shinobi in her hands and that she had failed them spectacularly? That she sacrificed a few so at least more could live?
"It's fine." she muttered as she curled up into herself even more. "Everything's fine. I'm fine." She spoke a bit unsure, but then cleared her throat and spoke a bit more firmly. "I'm fine."
(He wasn't.)
When she opened her eyes a few moments later, all the anxiety and unsureness was wiped from her amber eyes, leaving only a stone cold expression on her face. she somehow got up and reached out to the first drawer of her bedside table. She pulled out a few pills from a glass bottle and then reached into it to grab two pills from it.
She stared blankly at the two pills lying innocently on her soft, dainty hands -not rugged and scarred from years of use and neither was there any blood and dirt on it (So why could she still see red stains on it?)- and whispered in reassurance to herself.
"It's just a cold. Obviously." With a sigh, she swallowed the two pills dry after a faint mutter of, "Can't afford myself catching a fever now…."
Ignoring the gross, bitter aftertaste of the medicine, she curled back into the bed -but didn't reach out for the blankets- and wished for sleep to come sooner.
(It didn't. Neither did her shaking never stop the whole night.)
Chieko rubbed her eyes and walked into her classroom, and almost instantly walked back out when she saw how all the eyes zeroed on her. The unusual silence of her normally rowdy class wasn't comforting at all.
"What?" She grumbled bitingly, not in the mood for any sort of confrontation today. Gods, she was so tired. She just wanted a nap, dammit.
"We- um…" the blonde Senju girl blurted out, but ducked down and blushed embarrassed when she saw Chieko's amber eyes staring at her impassively. A few moments later she took in a deep breath -the nudge from her deskmate also helped her gather a bit of courage- before she continued on hesitantly, "...We -uh… saw the ….scores of the First test."
She blinked her eyes and forced herself to stay awake and asked impatiently, "And?"
She flushed a deeper shade of red -Chieko didn't know that could be possible- and muttered, "You…. You scored -um- full marks in the test."
"What she means to say," Someone finally took a pity on the poor Senju girl and spoke up on her behalf -or maybe they got impatient by the amount of time Mebuki was taking in getting to the point and took the matter into their hands. Chieko turned her head to look for the person who spoke and found Fugaku to be the one who had spoken. So it seems that the latter speculation is true. Fugaku's pinched face made her wonder if he had sucked a lemon -or something more sour- as he spoke, "-is how come the person who gets the least marks in the class -as well as the only person who failed half the subjects in the first year and barely managed to scrape a passing grade- scored the highest marks in a test that even stumped the Upper years students?"
Chieko didn't deign him with a reply. He already knew the answer, he just wanted her to confirm it. Which she won't. She wasn't feeling like playing along with this farce for today. She was just too tired.
When he didn't get a reply from her he huffed and stared at her sourly. Her silence was obviously telling. Fugaku was obviously smart enough to figure out the truth on his own.
Her other classmates, unfortunately, weren't as smart.
"Did you cheat?" An Inuzuka asked her curiously, looking a bit ridiculous with the head of two puppies popping out from the half-opened zip of his jacket. Honestly, did he not feel hot and sticky with two puppies shoved inside his jacket?
"Nope. I'm just that smart." She shrugged and resumed her walk to her own bench.
"How's that possible?" The kid from the Kurama clan scoffed.
"Why the hell not?" Chieko shot him a dry look as she kept walking. The moment she reached her desk she dropped her bag to the side and slumped on her desk. "I'm a Nara." She explained with a roll of her eyes. "We are genetically smart. We just pretend we are not."
Fugaku sniffed haughtily and muttered snidely under his breath. "Narcissist"
Chieko retorted flippantly. "Pot, Kettle, Black."
The others couldn't help but snicker at her not-so-silent retort. Just as she'd expected, the attention had from now shifted from her to an obviously outraged Fugaku. Her shoulders relaxed slightly when the attention diverted from her. She was just so high-strung, and having two dozen or so eyes on her very person didn't help. At all. Well, now that she wasn't the centre of attention at the moment, she guessed she could take that nap she truly needed…..
"Yo, Chi-chan." Atsuya scooted closer to her and he poked her cheek, disturbing her nap time.
-or not.
"Shoo, you trouble chibi-monkey." She grumbled under her breath and turned her head to the other side so the Sarutobi heir won't get a chance to poke her chubby cheeks. To her annoyance, the brat instead tugged her braid, and kept doing that until she gave him the attention he wanted.
"What?!" She snapped her head at him with a glare.
"'Naras are genetically smart'?" He air quoted her words with a snicker, making her want to bash his face into the desk just so she could wipe the grin off his face. "Seriously?"
"Tell me I was wrong, then." Chieko raised a brow. "I dare you."
"Come on now, You-" Whatever he was about to say was cut off since Atsuya stiffened when he felt a harsh glare that sent a shiver of terror down his spine. Shikaku leaned forward and said with a menacing aura, "You were saying?"
"N-Nothing!" Atsuya squeaked and turned to face the front of the classroom.
The corner of her lips turned upwards, which she smothered down a moment later. She was about to go back to her napping, but halted when she felt the person sitting behind her desk tugging her ponytail lightly. Letting out a heavy sigh, she turned to face the offender, and glared at Shikaku, "What do you want?"
Shikaku whispered to her, "Are you alright?"
She shrugged and nodded. "Yeah."
he shook his head. "No, I mean-" He hesitated for a moment, before deciding to speak what had worried him, "Are you really fine? Isn't it troublesome?"
Chieko flinched lightly at his words, which didn't go unnoticed by his keen eyes. She downplayed her reaction and gave him a reassuring look. "I'm fine. Sometimes it's fun doing troublesome things. You should try them too, you know." She said teasingly, making him huff like a grumpy cat.
"What a drag." He complained, but turned away from her.
"Brat." She muttered fondly and laid her head back on the desk. With her fellow classmates chatter as background noises, she easily let herself fall into a nap.
"Nara Chieko," Hiroto-Sensei's voice made her wake up from her impromptu nap with a startle. "Come with me."
Rubbing her eyes with the back of her fist to chase away the sleep from them, and replied sleepily, "Yes, sensei."
Atsuya sent her a concerned glance when she almost tripped down her desk. "Chi-chan," he asked worriedly, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," She replied with a yawn. "I just slept late last night." She lied with practiced ease and walked down to the front, where Hiroto-sensei was waiting for her. The man glanced at her tired self and the dark bags under her eyes, but didn't comment on it. He frowned at her to show his displeasure, and tugged her ear in reprimand, to which she replied by exaggeratedly crying out in offense.
Ignoring her scowl, Hiroto-Sensei turned towards the class and instructed them, "Tsubaki-sensei will take over today's lessons. I'll be back by lunchtime." Ignoring the curious whispers of his students, he then turned around and led Chieko out of the class.
Chieko followed the man silently as he walked down the hallways of the academy and let him lead her into the staff-room. She glanced around the room, only to find that the staffroom was unusually empty. She turned towards her techer and asked curiously, "Sensei? What did you need me for?"
The man stared at her with pursed lips for a while, and when he saw that the Nara girl met his stare with nary a flinch, he sighed and pulled out a scroll from his desk and threw it towards the girl who caught it with ease. "The scroll contains the details of the second task. You have a week to prepare for it."
Chieko glanced down at the light blue scroll, and slowly opened it. Her eyes quickly skimmed the contents of the scroll, until she came across a particular part. Her amber eyes wavered slightly, before she smoothed her expression and closed the scroll shut.
"Aren't you going to read all of it?" Hiroto-Sensei asked casually.
"I've read enough for now." Chieko said as she put the scroll in her pocket. "I'll read the rest later."
The man sighed heavily, "You know, you can forfeit now -if you want. You made your point -no one would dare to point a finger on you or your classmates, especially after your overwhelming victory in the first round. You can quit now, and save yourself all this trouble."
"And let myself be mocked as a coward? No thank you." Chieko scoffed. "Do you think I don't know what the other participants actually think of my performance in the first test? A fluke. That is what they think it was. A mere fluke."
Hirorto eyed her clenched fists and then stared right back into her eyes, "Wasn't that what you were aiming for? All this time you let everyone underestimate you, just so it could be "less troublesome". So why change the status quo now?"
Chieko let out a wry smile -that never reached her eyes- as she spoke, "How keen of you, Sensei. Nothing slips past those sharp eyes of yours."
Hiroto Shiranui just smirked at her words, but didn't deny them. After all, that was the truth. If she had been a typical Nara, then he'd have let it go, but he had long since realised that she wasn't just a typical Nara. She was more scheming than any regular Nara.
He had long noticed how the little girl was biding her time for something. There was something else going on. He wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't interacted with her on a daily basis. He had a feeling that she let him see her real self on purpose. For what though? He didn't know. But he did know one thing -if she hadn't been forced this time , she would've let everyone underestimate her for as long as she wanted. What a cunning little girl she was. Honestly she and the other brats of her class made this teaching business much more interesting than it was supposed to be.
He shook his head. Now's not the time to digress. "Fine. Do what you want. I won't stop you." Saying this, he walked around his desk, and knelt before her. Ruffling her dark hair, he peered into her amber eyes and said seriously, "But if there's even the slightest chance of this task being too overwhelming for you, then pride be damned- withdraw immediately. You don't have to prove anything to anyone. My student's health is more important to me than some dumb competition."
The little Nara girl chuckled and nodded. "Yes, I'll keep that in mind."
"Alright then," He stood up after dusting off his pants and instructed her carefully, "All the participants who had passed the first stage had been given a week off from Academy, so that means you don't necessarily have to come to Academy this week. The time and venue for the next task is written on the scroll provided to you, along with a set of instructions about what kind of things you're allowed to bring with you. Use of chakra pills is prohibited for this test."
She cocked her head to the side. "Is that all?"
"Yes." He nodded.
She bowed to him and said, "I'll take my leave then, Sensei."
Hiroto then waved goodbye to her as she walked out of the staffroom.
She closed the door of the staffroom behind her and walked down the hallways. The moment she stepped into a lone corridor some turns away from the staffroom -and a majority of classrooms- she let herself lean against the wall for some support. the nonchalant expression on her face crumbled into pieces as she clenched the blue scroll in one hand while wiped the tears of frustration threatening in her eyes with another hand. Just remembering the contents of the scroll made her wish to light this thing on fire. For the previous Commander of the Shinobi Alliance, whether it be Jutsu knowledge, chakra control, or strategic planning- everything was a piece of cake. But all her strengths came with a boundation that couldn't be shaken off for now -it was a fatal weak that made because of which she was nothing more than a sitting duck.
And now this glaring weakness had reared forth it's ugly head and seemed to mock her at such a time.
The crumpled scroll in her hands unexpectedly slipped from her hands and fell on the ground, unfurled. After wiping the water from her eyes, she bent down to pick it up, only for her eyes to zero on the words -unknowingly highlighting the very weakness that had made all her efforts till now fall short.
Endurance Test.
A shaky sigh escaped her lips as she cursed, "Damn it."
Somewhere In the Red Lights District of Konoha, a child sat squatting next to a dumpster overflowing with garbage in a dirty alley. With his thin, emancipated body, rag-like clothes and messy purple hair covered in dirt, he looked like a typical abandoned street runt. The passer-bys went on with their work, with nary a look at the child. That is why no one noticed that there was no hopeless look in that runt's eyes. Instead, his eyes were filled with a sharp keen look -that was hidden by his purple bangs- as the child observed the passer-bys intensely, and muttered lowly under his breath some random words.
"...Woman, twenty-six year old with a charming make-up and coquettish smile- occupation must be a prostitute, maybe a medium tier one. That one is a Male- probably seventeen years old, has a tight expression on his face and his hands are hovering around his pocket -a shinobi-in-disguise maybe? …..No, it's just a civilian who got pick-pocketed a while ago-"
"Hii Kenta-kun!" A pink-haired woman suddenly appeared next to his rambling self, scaring the hell out of the little boy.
The boy screamed as he jumped, startled at the sudden arrival of the pink haired lady, earning the passer-bys attention. With his cheeks flushing red, he decided to give up his task for now because of the unwanted attention he had gained due to a certain someone messing with him. He scurried deeper into the alley, knowing that the noisy pink haired lady would definitely follow him. He didn't stop until he reached the dead end, and only then did he deemed it safe to talk.
"Sakura-Sensei!" He whined and turned to the pink haired lady who was now staring at him in amusement. "You did that on purpose, didn't yo?!" he pointed his finger at her in accusation.
"Pointing fingers at someone is rude, Kenta-kun." she said teasingly as she bent down and pinched his nose.
He smacked her hand away and puffed his cheeks. "Damn it, now I can't use the same spot again." He sulked. "It was going so well, but you ruined it!"
"I was just trying to teach you Shinobi Basic Rule 101- that you should always be aware of your surroundings." Sakura told him in a lecturing tone.
He stared at her flatly, "You just wanted to mess with me, didn't you?"
She grinned and said in a sing-song tone, "And that too~"
He face palmed at her words. "I knew it." He grumbled.
"So, how's it going l'il guy?" She asked him with a smile on her face. "Are you practicing the katas I'd taught you the last time?"
Kenta nodded.
"That's good." she ruffled his hair fondly. "Such an obedient li'l guy~" She teased him again, and earned a glare from her 'student' for her teasing. "How cute~"
He face-palmed at her actions, but didn't try to stop her. Among the two of his (self proclaimed) teachers, Sakura-sensei was the one who enjoyed teasing him for littlest of things, while Sai-Sensei was the strict one who didn't spare any second of training.
After teasing him to her heart's content, she nodded in satisfaction and handed him a shopping bag.
"What's this?" he asked warily, with the slightest hint of curiosity in his eyes.
"A reward for being such an obedient cute student." Sakura-Sensei smiled at him. "Here." She pushed the bag towards him, and he almost fell down by the weight of it. He peered into the bag and was surprised to see it full of groceries.
"This is…"
She cut him off nonchalantly."I just decided to buy an extra set while I had been doing my own grocery shopping. There's rice, vegetables, fruits and a few frozen treats in it." She peered at him with her green eyes and said, "If you ration it well, I'm sure you can use these groceries for at least three weeks."
He gulped, though he wasn't eating anything and tightened his grip on the bag. He hadn't eaten to his fill for days - and just the sight of the fresh food was a luxury to someone like him. But even though he was hungry, he still had his own principles. Also, he can't just shamelessly take it from Sakura-Sensei who had already done so much for him. He was already in their debt for teaching him shinobi arts and readying him for the Ninja Academy, he couldn't ask for more from them.
"I can't take it. It's too much." He tried to return the bag to her, but she just waved her hands in dismissal.
"Don't be so stubborn, Kenta-kun." She told him in a lecturing tone. "What good does honor do for someone in your position?"
She was right, of course. For an insignificant ragpicker like him, honor and pride were worth nothing. But still, he knew that if he accepted this bag today, then Nee-san would be so disappointed in him.
"I don't need charity." He said scornfully.
"It's not charity," Sakura said in exasperation. "Think of it as an investment, okay? When you become a splendid shinobi of Konoha, you can pay us back then."
When he still looked unconvinced, she poked his emancipated cheek and said, "Besides, you can't focus on training if you're hungry, right?" Seeing the reluctant look in his eyes, she hastily disappeared in a shunshin, fearing that he would still insist on returning the bag of groceries that she had especially brought for her charge.
She watched from the shadowed corner of an alley -after layering a notice-me-not genjutsu over it- as the child stared at the grocery bag with a conflicted look in his eyes. She kept an eye on the child until he finally made up his mind and walked out of the alley with the bag held tightly in his hands.
"Stubborn brat." She shook her head and muttered fondly under her breath.
Minato was enjoying reading a book on advanced chakra theory that his brother had brought for him the last time he had visited, when he was interrupted by the knocking of the door of his hospital room. He glanced at the door, and thinking that it might be his brother or his friends, he allowed them to enter. He was surprised to see that instead of his usual visitors, it was an unfamiliar blonde haired lady who walked in.
"You are Minato Namikaze, aren't you?" The pretty lady asked as she made her way towards the lone chair in his room and sat on it.
Minato closed the book he was reading and paid attention to her. "Yes I am." he then asked politely, "May I know who you are, Miss?"
She gave him an amused glance and chuckled. "My, how polite. Just like your brother."
Minato blinked his blueblueblueblueblue eyes and asked curiously, "You know my nii-san?"
"We're Family. Sort of." She then sighed, "Look, it's complicated." Minato just watched, bewildered as the blonde haired lady smacked her own head and muttered under her breath, "I'm making this more complicated than it should be."
"Aright kid, let's start from the beginning, shall we?" the woman said. "I am Tsunade Senju. I came as a proxy of the Senju Clan Head, I am here to inform you of your adoption into the Senju Clan as per the agreement signed between your brother and the Clan Head."
For once, Minato's mind turned blank and he stared at her stupified. When her words finally processed in his brain, he could only croak out one work in bafflement-
"What?
"One week." Chieko muttered under her breath as she glanced out of her window at the darkening Sky. "One week till the second task."
She then glanced at her thin wrists and thought out loud, "Can I make it? Would I be able to win it with my tiny strength?"
Her body was physically five years old. Her chakra reserves were shit. Not to mention, her reach was going to be short with her tiny limbs, meaning she'd have to put more effort into it. This endurance test was going to be hell for her, especially if what she had guessed about it was especially true.
She sighed and let her hands fall by her sides. She walked towards her bed, and laid on it. Her amber eyes stared vacantly at the ceiling, seeming as if they were staring at something far more incomprehensible.
"I'm not gonna run away & I never go back on my word! That is my nindo- my ninja way!" A blonde spitfire had once yelled against the world that had deemed him as a coward and a failure. He had challenged legends and gods with unwavering conviction and died for the ones he loved. He faced so many set-backs, heartbreaks, despair and crushing defeats, and yet-
He. never. Quit.
She held out her hand towards the ceiling and then clenched her palm into a fist. "I won't quit." She vowed to herself.
"This is just the beginning."
(C-Crack-!
Another crack in her mask. Another chip in her armor. Another fracture in her soul.
Sigh.
Just for the want of a nail…)