Hello, anybody here? It's been a while hasn't it? I've spent so much time away from this story that I've messed up the timeline in my head. Forgive me if things don't add up later (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)

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Chapter warnings for drug use!

There are better ways out of your misery than doing drugs. It's never an option. And for those currently battling with addiction, gambatte ne! You can do it! ✧⁠◝⁠(⁠⁰⁠▿⁠⁰⁠)⁠◜⁠✧

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• Eighteen years ago, Konoha....•

It was a cold day. One perfect for mourning. Several people were gathered at the humble yet qfancy abode of the Nara family to offer their condolences to the young boy that the recently deceased couple left behind. There had been an accident; the couple's car slipped on ice on their way to a business trip and it crashed. Neither of them survived.

The funeral service was a big one, so big that an oblivious person would have thought it was a birthday celebration instead of a funeral. To an outsider it probably was, a celebration that is. If any tears were shed that day they were the tears of the young one that the couple left alone in the cruel world. Gossip spiralled in the air; carefully hidden discussions flying here and there. It was bound to happen, the discussion, after all the head of the house– Nara Shikaku– died intestate. This meant that he had no will drawn up for how his property will be managed in his absence. He probably was thinking he would live another day longer to put off going to meet a lawyer. Alas for him, he didn't. It was very unfortunate that his dear wife, Mrs Nara Yoshino, died the very same hour he did. Yes, very unfortunate indeed.

By the laws of intestacy Nara Shikaku's only child would inherit his shares. That was where the discussion stemmed from. Nara Shikamaru was only five years old, too young to legally inherit his father's wealth. A trust would have to be established; somebody that would manage the shares until the little Nara would come of age to legally claim his inheritance. To the Nara family this was an opportunity to take Shikaku's wealth for themselves. Whoever would be young Shikamaru's legal guardian would also be the trustee in charge of his inheritance. Naturally every Nara sibling wanted to jump on the opportunity. It was a long week of court sessions until, finally, his father's immediate younger sister won custody of the boy.

Two years later the Nara boy was declared dead and by the law of intestacy, his father's shares were passed on to his aunt.

• Present year... Stonehenge Mental Rehabilitation Center, Iwagakure... •

Shikamaru got down from the bus and looked around as the vehicle drove away. Iwagakure was as rocky as its name implied. It was an arid land, a place filled with rocks and dry mud. Surprisingly enough the people of Iwagakure got by just fine with irrigation systems and export of minerals. Being a stony country meant it was abundant in limestone and many other important rocks which were mined and exported for revenue. Despite its wealth Iwagakure was quite a small country in terms of size and population so it was quite easy for the government to manage things, including information.

As strict as Kirigakure was with their internal affairs they couldn't hold a candle to Iwagakure. The only difference between them was that Iwagakure recognized the need for visitors and foreigners in their land while Kirigakure didn't. In other words they weren't as xenophobic. That being said, it was quite a struggle for Shikamaru to get the little bit of information he managed to get about this place. There were a lot of protocols he had to follow in order to even be here.

Shikamaru anxiously lit a cigarette, his fourth that day. It wasn't helping him soothe his nerves as it should. He would've taken something stronger but he would just be restricted access to the country and it was a drag smuggling some in with him. What he did was to find a dealer the moment he reached Iwa. The brunet exhaled. A puff of smoke followed his breath. Fuck, he couldn't do this sober. Still he did. Left his preferred mind relaxant behind and took these weak tobacco sticks instead. Swallowing his nerves, Shikamaru began to climb the rocky hill that the mental facility was located on. It was a rough climb but he made it all the while grumbling about the peculiar location of the facility.

Shikamaru had long since killed his cigarette while climbing the horrible stairs that led to this place. However, as he looked at the name written in bold green letters on the raggedy signboard in front of the place, he wished he had a blunt with him. Anything to get his mind away from reality.

STONE HENGE MENTAL REHABILITATION CENTER, IWAGAKURE.

Well this was it. Shikamaru sucked in a breath. In a few moments he would see her.

"Good day sir, how may I help you?" Accent bled into the words of the receptionist but still Shikamaru understood. Even though he understood his mouth refused to make words. Confused, the receptionist spoke again. "How may I help you sir?" She asked, eying him a bit suspiciously.

"Ah." Shikamaru articulated dumbly. "I-I'm looking for a woman." His throat was dry but not from dehydration. "Sarutobi... Kurenai."

The receptionist was still wary of him as she brought out a file. "What is your relationship with her sir?" She asked as she turned the file over and handed him a pen to fill in information about his visit. A precaution.

"I'm her..." Shikamaru was at loss for words. What was he to Kurenai?

"Her?" The woman urged.

"Her... son.." Shikamaru settled for that.

Recognition lit the receptionist's face at that. "Oh my, so you're the son Kurenai never lets us rest about! So she didn't make it up."

"She...didn't." Shikamaru responded nervously.

"Where have you been all this while?! Your mother has been suffering, missing you dearly." The receptionist failed to see Shikamaru wince at the mention of the word 'mother' as she collected the file from him and directed him to Kurenai's room. "She'd be so happy to see you!"

"Y-yeah." Shikamaru whispered softly. He wasn't happy to see her though. Yes he spent his entire life searching for her and now he found her, surely he should be happy to see the woman that took him in again. Should he? The memories he had of her, with her, weren't pleasant.

The man stopped short at the door to Kurenai's room. Beyond this door is the person he's waited to meet for years. The reason he became an attorney.

Shikamaru's hand had never trembled so hard before, not even when he killed his first human. He couldn't. He couldn't bring himself to open the door and pretend  to be happy to see Kurenai.

"Leaving already?!" The receptionist from earlier spoke up in surprise at the sight of Shikamaru walking down the hallway.

"She's asleep." He lied. "I'll be back to visit later." That was also a lie. Maybe. He didn't know.

Shikamaru felt an itch in his bones. One that could not be settled unless he felt the familiar yet heady rush of substances in his veins. These cigarettes weren't cutting it.

He rented an apartment a town nearby, not too far away from the mental institution. Maybe he rented it because he had the money to spare. Maybe it was because, subconsciously, he wanted to stay close to Kurenai. Maybe it was because he wanted to run away from the Tori, from Neji...and from Temari. Maybe it was because he wanted to escape reality. Shikamaru entered the apartment and locked himself in. First thing he did when he arrived at Iwagakure was meet with a dealer. He had plenty of those under his control.

The sting of a syringe was nothing compared to the wave of calmness that washed over him as the substance rushed into his veins. Neji would have his head metaphorically and literally if he saw what his subordinate was up to. If he saw that the same drug that he ordered Sai to burn down to ashes, the same drug that was produced by one of the Birds' strongest enemies, the same BTR-200 that took the lives of many, was what Shikamaru was injecting into his veins. Even worse that he knew Orochimaru's whereabouts, still knows, and refused to mention anything about it to his boss.

He didn't care about Neji...or Temari. He just wanted to forget. He just wanted to sleep and never wake up.

•~•~•~

Staying at Amegakure was nicer than Tenten thought it would be. Rain fell every hour of the day and when it didn't the sky was cloudy and dark. At first she didn't like that about the city but she later got used to it, even came to enjoy it. Despite how cold it was, there was a warmth she derived from her interactions with the people that made her feel like she was at her own home island again. Grandma Chiyo treated her like her own granddaughter, the pampering felt nice– that and the way the people of Amegakure carried her like royalty just because they thought she was Neji's wife to be. She didn't like being mistaken for something as outrageous as Neji's wife but she had to admit that she liked the benefits that came with it.

She made a handful of friends she didn't think she would have; Chino, Haku and surprisingly Zabuza. It was hard to ignore the haggard man when he hovered around Haku wherever she went. Eventually Tenten warmed up to him and before she knew it, they were exchanging words albeit few. The days she spent at Ame had her questioning her moral standards. Just a few months ago she abhorred the very thought of crime and wouldn't tolerate it from anybody. She had been too deep in her self righteousness to see that, in a way, she was just like the criminals she so detested. Guren, Haku, Zabuza, Chino, Neji, they were all like her; they all had something they wanted to protect. They weren't all the cold-blooded monsters she imagined them to be. The revelation made Tenten feel awkward, like she didn't know what to do with it.

Her feelings were even more complicated when it came to Neji. He was worse than she thought him to be and at the same time...better. She heard stories during her stay at Amegakure; things that Neji did for the Weeping City. It was home for none. It was a place for cast offs, broken people, a dump site in cruder terms. Neji made it a home for them. It was sad to see the people borderline worshipping the obnoxious man but it was very hard to deny his influence on them and the gratitude, respect, they had for him.

There was more to the obnoxious man than he let on. He was very caring for one. Every night when Neji thought Tenten was asleep he would call to check up on Hinata, the sister he left back at Konoha. The call would last minutes, sometimes hours. Those were the only times she ever heard Neji laugh so genuinely, the sincerity pouring out in his voice when he commended Hinata for a new task she picked up and accomplished or when he encouraged her to take up another.

Neji also loved children. It wasn't something she expected from him considering his interaction with Yukimaru but even then Neji had always hovered around the sickly boy, coming back with treats for the boy before he finally gave up the ghost when his body reached its limit after Orochimaru's drug abuse. At the unknown town at Kirigakure and here at Amegakure children always flocked round Neji because he got them treats at every opportunity he got and played with them.

Neji also had nightmares. Nightmares that he didn't know she knew about. They didn't come often but when they did he always woke up with a muffled scream and heavy breathing. He checked up on Tenten to see if she was disturbed by the noise and every time she pretended to be asleep. Neither of them go back to bed after then. It was always hard to.

Neji wasn't heartless, that much Tenten could tell, but there was something else about him. An emptiness in his soul that she, for some reason, could feel. Darkness swirled around Neji. As warm as he could be sometimes he was also very cold. Tenten wasn't sure why she was afraid of that dark side of Neji especially when this would be their last interaction together. Maybe that was for the best. She didn't want to have anything to do with the enigma anyways.

The journey back to Konoha would've been pleasant if Tenten wasn't constantly feeling nauseous the entire time. Before setting down at her cozy flat in the Curry of Life she had to report at the security Inc as was customary to her job or she wouldn't get paid. All Tenten wanted to do was to lie down on her cozy futon and sleep for hours but that was looking impossible already.

"Tenten you're back!" Kiba was surprisingly the first person she met at the Inc. It was surprising because usually at this time he was out on a job. From the looks of it though, he couldn't stay long enough to chat because he indeed had a job.

"Hello Kiba. Hello Akamaru." Tenten said hello and bent down to give Akamaru's head a pat.

"I'm so glad you're back. Catch ya later!" With that the energetic man and his dog barraged out of the inc. Tenten waved them off fondly before resuming her journey to Kakashi's office. Once she got there she barreled in without as much as a knock, went straight to one of the chairs in front of Kakashi's desk and plopped herself down on it.

"Well hello to you too." The silver haired man was too used to her antics to actually be bothered by her lack of manners.

Instead of answering Tenten placed a handbook down on his table and her head followed it. She was so tired. "The report." She muttered through squished cheeks.

"You know you could've rested before submitting your report right?" Kakashi plucked the handbook out of her hand in mild amusement. His dark eyes flicked over the written words as he read through it. Tenten made sure not to mention anything that would betray the whole ordeal that went down at Kirigakure or Neji's identity as the lord of Amegakure or how he helped smuggle two widely renown criminals out of the country. That wasn't for Kakashi to know.

"Ah well done." The man hummed appreciatively and reached down into his drawer to remove a bulky envelope and another flatter envelope, passing them to Tenten. "Here's your payment and..." He couldn't get the words out because Tenten was flying up in an instant. She scowled at the sight of the other envelope, clearly recognizing it.

"Give me break, no mission." The girl mumbled angrily.

Kakashi figured he would be too if he was immediately being sent on another mission after just coming back from a three month long one. Still Tenten's mission could have as well been a vacation so he didn't think he was wrong appointing her on another job. This particular one didn't involve security. It was a scouting job. "Many young girls have been missing lately. It has gotten so out of hand that our help has been required."

Tenten groaned in reply. Kakashi smiled.

"You don't have to take the job if you don't want to. But..." He dragged out the but in a teasing way that he knew would catch Tenten's attention. "Intel says that one of our suspects particularly likes to gather rare treasures. Any guesses what kind of treasures they will be?"

At that Tenten shot up like a spring, the way Kakashi expected her to. "Long-juanzhou." Tenten guessed correctly.

"Bingo." Kakashi smirked. "Mah since you don't want to take the job I guess I'd have to give it to Raido-" Kakashi faked taking back the envelope containing information from Tenten. The girl grabbed it back in a hurry.

"Don't tease!" She hissed. "I take it.

"Excellent! Look over the details while you rest up. Tomorrow is going to be busy."

"Hai." Tenten sighed as she took her payment and mission info and went out of Kakashi's office. The mission was supposed to be a simple scouting mission, just to get information out of her target and make good intel for Kakashi and his elite team to follow up with. Something told Tenten it wasn't going to be that easy though. She didn't like that feeling. "Heh whatever." She mumbled to herself after some thought. At least she got a dragon jewel out of it.

Meanwhile the moment Neji got back to Konoha Temari hit him with news. "Neji, Shikamaru is missing."

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I just realized how much I missed this story. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you did please vote and comment, thank you!

-Star.