Chapter 22

Third person pov

"Shikamaru, dear? Are you alright in there? I made breakfast." Yoshino called from beyond the young Nara's door. Her eyebrows were drawn together with concern. She could feel Shikamaru's chakra in there, which soothed her nerves slightly, not not enough. Ever since finding out what had happened, she found herself checking on Shikamaru every few minutes, and trying to keep him in her line of sight. Sometimes she'd catch herself just staring at him. She hadn't truly appreciated his childlike innocence and curiosity, and she wasn't going to get to. It was already gone.

"Shit, shit, shit-" Hidan cursed, not sure what to do. His arms moved in random directions as his brain tried to think of a solution to the obvious problem. Shikamaru was too busy hiding notes and pieces of a timeline he hadn't quite finished to deal with the Ex-Jashinist, who was looking around like a deer caught in headlights as he attempted to be competent. Shikamaru could see that it really wasn't working for the guy, but he was at least trying, and that had to count for something.

"Shikamaru, honey, are you alright in there?" Yoshino raised her voice in case Shikamaru was still asleep, and couldn't hear her. She doubted he was still slumbering though. The boy wasn't sleeping much these days, as evidenced by the bags under his eyes. Shikamaru had changed so drastically over the past few weeks, it was actually terrifying. Especially for Yoshino. She only had Shikamaru. He was her first and only child, and he was her everything. 

"Get under the bed!" Shikamaru hissed, all but tackling Hidan to the ground. The man choked on his breath, wheezing as Shikamaru kicked him under the bed repeatedly. The silver-haired man gave him a small glare, holding his stomach painfully. He really, really wasn't sure if he was immortal, and this little brat was pushing his god damn luck! The man had been reformed by death, but not that reformed. 

With one last kick, Shikamaru darted for the door before his mother panicked and tried to ram through it. The young Nara flung open the door, and Hidan had to hold in his gags as he tried to force air back into his lungs. Who knew a five year old, time traveler or not, could kick so damn hard! He couldn't risk being caught though. Nara's were scary. They'd cut you up with wire and blow you up. And then bury you. 

"Oh, good morning Shikamaru." Yoshino smiled as though she hadn't been seconds away from drop kicking the door down. Shikamaru offered a tight smile, looking up at her with pained eyes. It still hurt to look at her. Yoshino assumed it was because of his 'traumatic experience'. And it sorta was, just... not the same one she was thinking of. Not even close.

"Morning, mom. What did you make?" He almost cringed at how polite and formal he sounded. Yoshino flinched slightly, her bright smile faltering for less than a second. Shikamaru, so lazy and so bright, seemed so on guard and so tense now. The boy, who previously took too many naps, now couldn't sleep more than a few hours a night. He looked so tired and worn, but not in a lazy sort of way. In a way that told Yoshino that Shikamaru, even so early in his life, was already almost done. Teetering on the edge of living and of giving up, Shikamaru had been forced to grow up over the span of a few hours on a night not all too long ago, and that pained Yoshino. 

"Eggs, toast and jelly! Oh, and I'm going to put some sausage and bacon on."

Hidan's mouth watered. 

~

"You're from the future? Since when? I though you died, and that Shikamaru, Sasuke and I were the only ones who came back!" Naruto exclaimed quietly as they walked through one of Konoha's back streets. Ibiki had very much enjoyed the look of shock on the blonde's face, and his blunt, immediate reaction that was quite amusing, if not vulgar. Ibiki liked toying with people, even if that person was their Hokage at one point in time. 

"I don't know. I know I didn't die though, brat. It took me a while to realize what was going on, and when I saw you, that Uchiha brat and the Nara kid on the playground together, I knew you'd fucked something else up." Ibiki's statement made Naruto sweat drop, although he really couldn't argue. His plan had been a long shot, and honestly, it still was. The chances of them succeeding where pretty low, even with a genius like Shikamaru on the team.

"Yeah, our plan is a long shot, but we couldn't do nothing." Naruto sighed, shaking his head wearily. Ibiki nodded silently in agreement, and the blonde continued. "So are you going to actually adopt me? It'd be easier for us to plan. Shikamaru, Sasuke and I are kids, so it's harder to meet and to plan openly, like on pieces of paper. Everything is a risk with adults around."

"Unless the adult is also from the future." Ibiki grinned. Naruto found himself grinning to, because... well, this was a total game changer! That, and the T&I building was an information hub. Spies reported there, and information was gathered there. And Ibiki was at the front of it all. Naruto wasn't good at math, but he was sure their chances at success had just gone up at least 30%. At least.

"Wait... where were you when you were sent back?" Naruto looked at Ibiki with wide eyes. The man shrugged vaguely. "Not sure. Somewhere around the mist, I guess..." He pursed his lips with thought. Naruto's expression filled with horror as a realization struck him, and he had to stop walking to process it all. Ibiki looked down at him curiously, blinking when Naruto looked up at him with wide eyes.

"We weren't anywhere near each other when we were sent back." Naruto said. Ibiki's eyes widened, and his heart sunk into his stomach. 

"Anyone... Anyone could be back, believe it."

Suddenly, the world seemed like a much more dangerous place.

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