Fathers and Sons
Shikamaru Nara was itching to take a long drag on a cigarette, or maybe three, but smoking in public service buildings such as the Hokage’s mansion was strictly prohibited. That morning he’d woken up to find he’d smoked his last cigarette at the izakaya with Choji the night before and did not have another pack hiding in another jacket somewhere. Temari was a little miffed at him for not bothering to change out of his clothes before getting into bed and now the futon smelled of smoke and beer. He changed out of his clothes, which he’d managed to spill yakiniku sauce on, and then realized he’d never taken the laundry out of the washer like he’d promised he would. Temari yelled at him for that. Their son Shikadai was nowhere to be seen that morning, but that wasn’t unusual. Shikamaru figured he was out training with the rest of the new Ino-Shika-Cho formation, so he didn’t think much of it despite the fact it had been a few days since he’d seen his son. There was a message waiting for him from Enchū Nara but Shikamaru didn’t have the patience to deal with the clan elders while hungover. Shikamaru came into the office to discover Naruto had not gone home the night before and was currently in the throes of another bout of illness which was becoming increasingly frequent. Sai was kneeling beside him, trying to get him to drink a cup of water and not another energy drink.
The morning had only gotten worse from there.
“Run that by me again?” Shikamaru said, rubbing his brow with a gloved thumb. A headache was beginning to form behind his eyes, a dull pulse steady and sure.
Sai frowned, the lines in his face creasing deeply. A stark reminder they were not seventeen anymore. “Security in the Archives’ restricted section was breached and several items were stolen.”
The Seventh Hokage sighed and Shikamaru thought he’d never seen the man more tired. Naruto threw back his head and downed a large pill from the bottle Sakura had given him with express instructions not to take more than one every six hours. Shikamaru had already seen him take two since coming into the office. He picked up the bottle where Naruto set it down on the table and held it behind his back. Naruto gave him a look of protest but Shikamaru was no longer focusing on him.
“Where was the Anbu guard?” Shikamaru could just imagine an angry tick mark appearing over his head. If that guard had fallen asleep or decided to goof off instead, Shikamaru was going to make sure they never saw another mission for at least a year even if he’d have to rearrange the entire guard roster.
At this, Sai’s expression darkened and he shook his head wordlessly.
Dead.
“Damn,” Naruto murmured under his breath.
“Do we know what was taken?” Shikamaru asked. He knew the Second Hokage’s scroll of forbidden jutsu was safely hidden in one of Kakashi’s many copies of Make-out Tactics so at least he didn’t have to worry about anyone running around with any number of dangerous techniques. Kami only knew why the man made so many forbidden jutsu.
Sai nodded and took out a small scroll from his pocket. He opened it and listed off, “Two scrolls containing the blueprints for scientific ninja tools, a journal from the First Hokage, the contents of box BN-03—”
Shikamaru scowled. “The Akatsuki Records.”
“Huh? Akatsuki?” Naruto lifted his head from where he’d set his chin on his folded arms.
“That’s what Kakashi and I called them when he was Hokage. BN-03 is missing S-rank ninja files that aren’t in the bingo book anymore, including the Akatsuki.” Shikamaru fiddled with the lighter in his pocket, a habit he still had yet to break. He needed a smoke break.
“So somebody wants information on the Akatsuki?” Naruto said.
Shikamaru rolled his head around on his shoulders. “Not necessarily. There were non-Akatsuki records in there, as well. They could’ve been after something specific but didn’t want to spend the time searching the box so they just took the whole thing with them to deal with later. For all we know, it's just Orochimaru taking what he thinks is his. Let’s check in with Captain Yamato and see if he’s noticed anything suspicious lately.”
“There’s one more item that was stolen,” Sai said with an extremely guilty expression. “The records of the death of Asuma Sarutobi.”
Shikamaru’s tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth and the lighter slipped from his fingers back into his pocket. “What?” he barely managed to choke out.
“Why would somebody want that?” Naruto asked, his blond brows meeting in the middle. “Isn’t it just a mission report? Why go to all the trouble of breaking into the Archives for a mission report?”
Summarized mission reports not containing top secret information or anything that could be used to identify former Anbu could be located in the Konoha Public Library and viewed digitally.
“The original report is where I stored his scythe. Shit. They’re after information on the Akatsuki.” Shikamaru scrubbed his fingers over his face and into his hair.
“Now hang on a second, Shikamaru. Like you said, we don’t know that for sure.” Naruto said, turning in his seat to look up at the Nara. His blue eyes, tired but still bright, met his own and he relaxed a little at the obvious placation. Naruto turned back to Sai. “Did we catch the guy?”
Sai shook his head. “Lord Sixth’s ninken are out searching but they haven’t made much progress.”
Naruto sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Alright. We’ll wait for Kakashi-sensei’s report from the guys and in the meantime I want a full report from Ino and the Barrier Team. If you haven’t already, Sai, notify the Institute about the blueprints and get a message to Captain Yamato to keep an eye out. The Anbu guard, are they with Sakura now?”
“Yes, the medical team is handling the arrangements. I’ll handle the rest.”
The Seventh Hokage frowned. It had been some time since they’d last had to notify a shinobi’s family. He hoped this was not signaling a bleak near future. “Thanks, Sai.” Sai nodded stiffly and left the office, closing the door softly behind himself.
Naruto looked back to see Shikamaru on the verge of a crisis by the window. He stood from his chair, ignoring the little wobble in his legs, and grasped Shikamaru’s shoulder, forcing him to stop and turn around. But Shikamaru hardly noticed, his hands wringing themselves in his pockets, and his thoughts moving faster than words could form. Naruto gave his friend a look of deep concern. “Shikamaru.”
“Mirai and the others just busted that Jashinist ring in the Land of Steam. What if it's one of them? What if they missed some and they came to get him this time? No one else can go in the Nara forest, I’m sure that will hold but…”
“Shika,” Naruto said firmly. “Do you want to check?” Shikamaru nodded wordlessly, his dark eyes blown wide. “Do you need someone to go with you? Me? Choji, maybe?”
“No.” He wanted to kick himself for how quiet his voice came out. “I got it.”
Naruto’s face softened and he gave him a gentle smile. “Okay. We’ll figure out what’s going on. Believe it.” Naruto lightly fist-bumped Shikamaru in the sternum.
Shikamaru nodded and left the Seventh Hokage in his office, reminding him not to take any more of those pills from Sakura, or Shikamaru would tell the pink-haired kunoichi exactly how careless Naruto was being. He didn’t need to know that Shikamaru was going to tell her anyway. Naruto chuckled nervously and waved him off. The Hokage’s advisor sped out of the office, instructing the interns in the hallway to finish sorting the paperwork, and passed a group of genin on his way out of the building. He thought he saw Shikadai’s spiky ponytail but he was too preoccupied with thoughts of a burial hidden deep in the Nara forest to be sure. He breezed through the Hidden Leaf Village, the buildings and banners in shop windows blurring as Shikamaru passed.
Everything seemed out of focus, just beyond Shikamaru’s reach. It felt like one of those nightmares he’d had of him racing towards Asuma but he still couldn’t reach him like an invisible rope was holding him back, forcing him to helplessly watch as his sensei kneeled in the dirt, coughing up blood, and bleeding from his chest and stomach. He’d had those nightmares for a long time after Asuma died. And then, after the Fourth Shinobi War, Asuma was replaced by Shikamaru’s father. He’d wake up in a puddle of sweat and tears only to try to go back to sleep to the sound of his mother crying in the kitchen. He moved in with Naruto briefly when he couldn’t take it anymore.
His vision tunneled once he reached the eastern gate out of Konoha. He’d walked through those gates numerous times in the last sixteen years—whenever he just needed time to himself away from the hustle and bustle of work and family, or to soothe his bouts of anxiety. That hole in the Nara Forest was marked by a tanto blade embedded in a nearby tree stump. A new tree had grown around the blade, claiming it as part of the forest only to be removed by human hands. Some of the surrounding trees still bore black scars from the force of the explosion. Shikamaru could find it in his sleep.
Shikamaru was blindsided. After all that careful planning, everything could be crumbling apart. With every breath his mind spiraled further into chaos. If someone had the Akatsuki Records and was gathering their remains…Before he was even eighteen Shikamaru had seen the dead rise from the earth, wielding limitless chakra and the same formidability as they had when living.
I am not gonna die…
That man’s words still echoed in Shikamaru’s ears, burned into his memory by the blast that sent him tumbling into that deep dark hole.
Even if my body is dismembered into pieces and only my head remains, I am going to drag myself out and eat your throat!
He’d brushed it off. He’d told himself there was no way Hidan would be able to dig himself out of a twenty-odd-foot-deep hole with his body scattered.
How dare you do this to me?
Hidan would stay down there for all eternity. The Nara deer would make sure of it. If he could never die then he could never rest.
Judgment will be handed down to you by Lord Jashin! And I will carry out that judgment! I only need teeth to take care of you!
He had given it his all yet it still wasn’t enough. He felt useless. As if he’d let down all the people he cared about, especially the ones who believed in him. He could still see Kurenai’s blank face giving way to anguished sobs in the grungy hall of the shinobi housing building. Little toddler Mirai laying red camellias at the grave of a man she’d never get to meet. Ino and Choji sobbing over Asuma’s bloody body in the rain while the jonin looked on. Shikamaru’s father sitting across a shogi board in the candlelight, reminding him Asuma was dead. The rush of relief filled him when his ears stopped ringing and he held Asuma’s lighter tightly to his chest.
But you’re still alive, and that’s what matters. You’re alive so do something about it.
That’s what his father would be saying to him right now.
Shikamaru stopped, grunted, raked a hand through his loosening ponytail and straightened his spine. He stepped into the Nara Forest, the ancient spruces towering over him. The air was cool against his heated skin, shadows dancing across the path as he trudged silently through the trees. A doe and her fawn grazed nearby, lifting their heads to peer at Shikamaru. He took a deep breath. And another. He was nearing the place.
Everything would turn out fine. He would check Hidan’s grave, go back to the office and finish up some paperwork, say what a drag the whole day was, and then head home for dinner with his wife and son.
Everything would be fine.
Undisturbed. Not a leaf or rock out of place. As it should be.
But it wasn’t.