Chapter 1
Shikamaru had an uneasy feeling. He didn’t like variables and with the other Akatsuki missing, there was a variable. Still, his team was waiting on him, waiting on him to trap the silver haired man before the triple-bladed scythe wielder knew what hit him so they could eliminate another person after Naruto.
Naruto.
His wrist burned beneath the gloves, set alight by the orange signature that blanketed his narrow veins. The uneasy feeling returned. These people were after Naruto.
---xOx---
It was the only time Shikamaru had felt this happy in his entire life. The 16 year old Nara had been surprised at first when the soul mark first appeared. The orange cursive, outlined in black, was far from elegant but it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Of course, he’d sat in his bed for several hours, finger tracing over the name. Uzumaki Naruto.
Shikamaru had expected Ino, maybe even Choji, to be the name on his wrist. They had grown up together and had spent all of their time together. Hells, Shikamaru could have even seen Temari, even if it would have been a drag. Naruto’s name was one of the last ones he expected, and yet, it made sense. Naruto was sunshine and warmth. He was darkness and shadow. Naruto was belief and hope and to be the one fated for him made Shikamaru warm in ways he’d never imagined.
That was how Shikaku found him. Sitting on his bed, tracing the orange and black delicately, he hadn’t heard his father knock. Shikamaru had said many times before that he wasn’t cut out to be a shinobi, but the sharp intake of breath over his shoulder proved that point even more. “D-dad!” He stuttered in surprise as his head whipped around to the older Nara. Shock turned to excitement as the teenager turned his wrist for his father to see. The smile that lit his face bright. The frown that adorned Shikaku’s face seemed to have its own power. As it deepened, it tugged Shikamaru’s smile with it.
“Shikamaru, get dressed. We’re going to see the Hokage.”
Shikamaru knew that Lady Tsunade had a soft spot for his soulmate and if anyone would be as happy as he was, it would be her.
“This is not good.” The lead in his heart dropped into his stomach with such a force that it nearly brought Shikamaru to his knees. Her gaze was worried, no more than that, it was afraid. Her brown eyes turned from his trembling wrist to his face and something in them softened. “I will send Master Jiraiya a message. Let him know what has happened. Naruto will be happy,” she nodded and the short ravenette exhaled a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding. “For now, keep this between us. Naruto has enemies, we don’t want them taking advantage of his absence.”
It took a month before the Hokage got something back from Jiraiya and by then, Shikamaru was a bundle of nerves. Ino and Choji weren’t a lot of help at first. Ino was persistent that he tell them who his soulmate was, and Choji seemed depressed that his best friend didn’t want to divulge. It was supposed to be a big deal, and it should have been, but the cuff around his wrist that hid the name felt more like a heavy weight than anything else. Eventually, Ino and Choji understood and let it drop, but only after he told him that the Hokage had forbidden him to talk about it. They even agreed to keep it secret, which meant a lot considering it was Ino. The Yamanaka had even fabricated a story that it was a secret due to Nara Traditions. Among their peers, it was believed and for now, it was enough to get through the month.When Naruto would get his name, he had a feeling the blond wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret, but as the letter from Jiraiya came, all hopes of that weight on his chest being lifted was gone. Naruto, due to the Nine Tails, only had one letter of his soulmate’s name and that was the first letter. ‘S.’ The Chakra was healing him enough to keep the mark from forming, at least completely, and the Hokage maintained her order that no one was to speak about Shikamaru’s mark. The band he wore around his wrist became permanent.
—xOx—
A final opportunity had come when Naruto returned from his training and the Nara hated how he had let his hopes get up. Shikamaru wished he could blame the soul mark for the emotion those bright, blue eyes stirred within him, but it was an all too familiar friend. Those eyes sparked belief, trust, and even an adoration that Shikamaru had all but admitted. They were friends and the brunette was…so damn happy to see him.
“Shikamaru, Temari! Look who’s here!” Sakura’s flapping had encouraged his attention to shift to the blond idiot that was going to ruin his life. He felt all of the air rush out of his lungs as he took in the man whose name was written upon his wrist.
“Naruto? Hey, That is you, isn't it, Naruto!”
“Shikamaru!”
“Hey, have you changed?” It was easy to tease, and the Nara was proud of the way his voice didn’t waver even as he caught Tsundade’s stern glare. He swallowed hard, grateful Sakura intervened when she did.
“No, he hasn’t changed a bit.”
“I thought so,” Shikamaru sagged a little, biting his lip as Naruto turned his back on him to cry to Sakura. It was easy for him to remain oblivious after that, even after Naruto didn’t recognize Temari and even after Shikamaru denied being his opponent. The only thing he truly had to worry about as Naruto spoke to Kakashi who was sitting outside on the ledge was the pair of eyes he could feel from the Suna Ambassador that was locked onto him. He managed to ignore it until he and Temari were following Sakura and Naruto a bit later. His feet had moved on their own accord, falling into step behind the blond and though Shikamaru was supposed to be escorting Temari, she seemed to hold no objections to where he was taking them.
“So hey, are you two dating?” Naruto was suddenly in his face and the Nara forgot how to breathe. The blue eyes shifting from being focused on him to Temari however was like a bucket of cold, ice water.
“Tch, not hardly,” he says, his tone full of spite and bitterness. “She doesn’t carry my name on her wrist,” was all he said and he saw Naruto nod before he smiled.
“I’m going to see if Sakura will go on a date with me. I think I have her name,” he grinned, capable of whispering this time so the pink-haired kunoichi didn’t hear him, even as he lifted his wrist to show that damned letter ‘s.’ It was as the Hokage and Jiraiya had said. Naruto didn’t bear his name and Shikamaru was to remain in the shadows. After Sakura and Naruto ran off, he could feel Temari’s gaze on him and he stiffened.
“You wear his name.”
“Troublesome woman,” he mutters and begins walking. “Don’t you think if I had his name, I would have told him? Or he would know? It’s too difficult to keep it a secret.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets, turning back towards Temari’s apartment, but the Suna Kunoichi grabbed his wrist and yanked down his band before he could blink.
“I knew it!”
Before she could say anything else, Shikamaru grabbed her wrist and dragged her back to her apartment. After erecting a sound barrier around them, he told her everything and it felt so damn good to get it off of his chest. The troublesome woman from Suna was far more understanding than people gave her credit for and if the Nara didn’t leave her apartment that night, then the rumors would only protect his secret.
—xOx—
Shikamaru was determined to protect and follow Naruto from the place he was best at, the shadows. Even Asuma-Sensei knew that about his Nara student, and so had given him the opportunity to be a part of his team in taking down two members of the Akatsuki. Shikamaru wasn’t naive enough to believe that was all, however. He hadn’t become a Jonin for nothing and knew he was more than capable in battle. Aside from protecting Naruto, he was fully capable of watching his Sensei’s back when Asuma went to avenge his friend.
Movement caught his chocolate gaze as shuriken raced towards the Akatsuki with the three-pronged scythe.
The signal.
Shikamaru raced through the hand signs and threw chakra into his shadow. The surprise attack would give them the advantage but all of the pieces needed to fall into place correctly. The shadows stretched towards the silver-haired man, freezing him as Kotetsu and Izumo raced towards him, stabbing him with thick swords. For a moment, all seemed quiet as the Leaf Shinobi waited for the Akatsuki to take his last breath.
“Oh, that hurts. Who are you people?”
Shikamaru felt the blood drain from his face as two chunin’s attacks failed to kill him. His mind whirled with the new information, even as the trio below him spoke to the man. Could he regenerate? Was he a puppet? No, there was blood and Sasori was the Akatsuki’s puppet master and Sakura and Chiyo had killed him. Then what? His mind didn’t get to complete that thought as a flash to his right drew his attention and a fist was driving towards him.
Shit.