Chapter 8
Soulmate Rejection.
It had been Asuma that spoke, but Naruto didn't turn to look at him. Instead, his blue eyes drop to the mark on Shikamaru’s wrist. At some point before he showed up, someone had removed the band around the Nara’s wrist. Having never seen it before, Naruto was curious but what he saw was far from the traditional marks he was used to. It’s ugly and red, like someone had taken a kunai and dug out the name that was supposed to be there and for the first time since Naruto had seen Shikamaru’s wrist on his name, he looked at it again. It’s back to the singular letter now that he’s rested. The simple ‘S’ however is no longer dark against his skin but instead a faded gray.
“Naruto, you do know, right?” Sakura whispers and he turns his head towards the pink-haired girl. “You do know that when you reject your soulmate after they have accepted the bond, it kills them?” Naruto can only stare at her in surprise, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. He glances back towards Shikamaru’s wrist, noting the red-inflamed skin and shakes his head vigorously. No, he doesn’t know because when he asked Shikamaru, the man didn’t tell him it was deadly, only…
That he shouldn’t do it.
The thought causes more anger to boil up inside.
“He didn’t accept it! He hid it! I didn’t reject him, he rejected me!” How dare they try to blame him? This was Shikamaru’s fault for not telling him, and yet, the heaviness in his heart weighs him down more and more.
“I wanted to know if it was possible to reject a soulmate.” He remembered watching as Shikamaru panicked over that and being confused as to why he would have that reaction. It took a minute to calm him down, but Naruto could see the gears beginning to turn in his head.
"Why would you ask me that Naruto?”
“That’s why you wear the band, right? You were rejected?”
“No, I…What do you mean I was rejected? How do you know I didn’t reject them?” Seeing the Nara flustered was a sight he found he enjoyed. It was exciting to see Shikamaru’s brain shut off and let his emotions run over him and a part of him wanted to keep pushing to see what emotions the other was willing to share.
“Because it’d be troublesome for you. You’re the guy to do something even if you aren’t happy. Even if everyone calls you lazy, you’re still self-sacrificing. You complain, but you’d do anything to make others around you happy. I know you would.” Naruto could admit to attempting to push the other’s buttons but what he didn’t expect was for the other to turn away, bitterness falling over his face.
“They didn’t reject me. I’m protecting them, Naruto.”
“Protecting them, why?” Shikamaru was protecting them? From what?
“Because I would be used against them and that would kill me.” And it made sense. Shikamaru did a lot of things that he didn’t want to do to make others smile. He remembered the Nara agreeing to go after Sasuke not because he cared about the Uchiha, but because Naruto was his friend. “Are you wanting to reject your soulmate?”
“I think so. Sasuke’s not good for me.”
“You know it’s Sasuke?”
“No, but if it is, I don’t think I want to be with him.”
“Is there…someone else?”
“No, nothing like that. I just…I’m not giving up on him, but I don’t think I see him like that. I thought I did, at first. But now I know it’s just because he was one of my first bonds. I don’t want him to throw his life away because he is hurting.”
“That’s… That’s really mature of you, Naruto, but I’m not the one to ask about rejection.”
“No, I suppose not. You’re just the smartest person I know. You were the first one I thought of to ask.” The smile that bloomed across his friend's face stole his breath and he wanted to keep the other smiling. What was this feeling? He had the overwhelming urge to lean close and taste the smile to see if it was as warm as it looked.
“Don’t give up hope yet. It may not be Sasuke, but you are still a good friend, Naruto. Anyone would be lucky to have you as theirs. Just uh, when you do find them, remember to love them for who they are and not because your name is on their wrist, ok?”
“Shit,” he whispers, eyes darting up to Shikamaru’s father. “Shit,” Naruto says again, the sound more broken than before.
“Naruto, before you go, I need..” The lips against his own are desperate and erase everything but the warm body in his arms. Shikamaru is kissing him and despite the pressure weighing around him, it’s perfect. Naruto finds himself matching the desperation and tugging the other closer, holding on for dear life. “I have to tell you something.” Because Shikamaru continues talking when they break apart to breathe, yet when they do, reality comes crashing in. He has to go, and Shikamaru already has someone he’s supposed to be with. “I love you, you have to come back. It’s you, it’s always been.” He can’t do this. He can’t take Shikamaru away from the one that’s supposed to love him because Naruto can’t love his own soulmate.
“I wouldn’t take you away from them,” he finds himself saying against the band on the Nara’s wrist before he steps away.
“No, Naruto that’s not-” but whatever Shikamaru says dies as chakra whirls around him and he’s surrounded by large plants and different colors.
“Shikamaru accepted it a long time ago,” Shikaku breaks his thoughts. “It’s our fault he never told you. With the Akatsuki after you, the Hokage and the rest of us knew it was best to not let it be known that your soulmate was so close. If everyone thought it was Sasuke, they’d stay away, not wanting to cross Orochimaru. It was our choice and he was ordered.”
Well, if Shikamaru did not want him, he did not want, or need, Shikamaru Nara.
“I don’t want him to die. I want him. I don’t reject him. I need him. Please, do something.” He finds he’s begging as he stumbles to the bed and crawls onto it. Shikamaru’s skin is stone cold, but Naruto can feel the faint irregular heartbeat under his fingertips. “There has to be something.”
“There isn’t, Naruto. It’s too-”
“NO!” He screams and he can feel the rage of the Kyuubi bubble up. This is worse than Hinata dying for him, worse than Gaara being killed in front of his eyes. Worse than…Sasuke leaving. At least then he could do something but now he feels helpless and for the first time thinks: Damn this village. Damn the people in it. It’s another thing they’ve taken from him. “There has to be a way, please, I’ll do anything,” he begs softly.
“There is one way.”
“Ino!” Inoichi barks, looking at his daughter with fear.
“No, I won’t. We’ve been quiet long enough. The Hokage is in a coma, Shikamaru is dying, and we have a war on the horizon. The time for secrets is over. Secrets are why Naruto was hated growing up and he had to earn everyone’s approval before being recognized as the great person he is. Hero or not, there is no one more loyal than him. Naruto makes us all better people, makes us all want to be by him and I’m not backing down now.” Ino stands and isn’t surprised when Choji stands beside her. The duo walks over and as Ino stares her father down, Choji places his hands on Naruto’s shoulders.
“Shikamaru is family, but that doesn’t make you family. What makes you family is the way you would do anything for any of us and the way we’ll do anything for you. Ino-Shika-Cho will follow you anywhere, Naruto.”
“Naruto, this is going to be dangerous, but if anyone can do it, you can. Shikamaru is still losing his chakra too fast for us to be able to do anything more than keep him stable. That’s the first step. You’re going to have to share your chakra with him, do you know how to do that?” The other blond nodded and Ino continued. “It would have been easier if he fought the rejection, but he just accepted it. That’s where the next part comes in. In our clan, it’s more than just taking over their mind. Sometimes when we go in, there’s a fight. And sometimes, it’s a matter of just finding the part of them that makes them, them. The times I’ve been in his head, I’ve barely scratched the surface, but it can’t be me. He’s only going to listen to you at this point. Find him, and get him out, but if he fights, we’re going to know. When I take over someone’s body and get attacked in theirs, it’ll show on mine. If it gets bad, I’m yanking you out, okay? Like Choji said, you’re family too and we can’t lose both of you.”
Naruto is warmed by his friends, no by those who claim to be his family and he finds he wants them to be too. He’s had several bonds by now, but the ones he feels between Ino and Choji strengthen and he finds himself nodding.
“All right, get the baka back so we can all kick his ass, right?” Ino grins and Naruto smiles. “Sakura, monitor us if you can. Choji, help me get-”
“No,” Inoichi stands and Naruto begins to get angry, yet, the way Inoichi is staring at him made the words stall. “High praise indeed,” the Yamanaka Head murmurs before glancing back at one of his best friends. Shikaku sighs before a smile adorns his scarred face and he nods.
“If we’re doing this, we’re going to do this right. Get Yamato-San and Kakashi.” Shikaku doesn’t say why, but they know if this fails, they could be facing the kyuubi. “Asuma, Chouza, be ready for anything.”
Inoichi nods and moves to stand beside the bed. “I’ll do it, Ino, but I’m going to need your help to keep pushing Naruto’s Chakra into Shikamaru, and pull him out if need be. Let’s get them sitting beside each other and once everyone is ready, we can begin.”
It’s several minutes later when Naruto finds himself sitting beside his soulmate, wishing Shikamaru would just open his eyes. Asuma is braced on the other side of Shikamaru, holding the Nara up by the shoulders and within Inoichi’s reach. Likewise, Naruto can feel Kakashi beside him, bracing him. Yamato is sitting behind Inoichi, ready to suppress the nine-tails chakra if he needs to.
“Okay Naruto, start sharing your Chakra with him.” The blond is gentle and starts small, yet as soon as he does, he can feel the way Shikamaru’s body starts greedily sapping it. He starts to feel the tug on his own chakra. It’s draining, but manageable.
“Woah,” he says instead, eyes blinking towards the Nara whose head is resting against his shoulder, hair fanned over Naruto’s chest.
“This is dangerous Naruto. Ino wasn’t lying when she said it could kill you too.”
“Doesn’t matter, soulmate or not, I can’t lose him.”
“Okay then. Are you ready?”
Naruto nods, even if he doesn’t understand. He doesn’t know what Inoichi means but he’s driven to find the man who makes him feel warm and then it feels like he’s being ripped from his body.