“What’s up?” Ino asked when she saw how Shikamaru’s chopsticks hovered in the air, not moving.
“It’s nothing. I’ve just wanted to see you guys for a while.” Shikamaru put a tiny pit of meat into his mouth.
“Ah, kay.”
Ino didn’t ask whether there was anything more to it. Chouji continued happily stuffing his mouth with meat.
Then, the three started to talk. It was a light-hearted, silly conversation.
Chouji’s eternal love of food.
Ino’s usual talk about her love life.
And then, the memories about Asuma…
Shikamaru could feel the distance between him and his friends shrinking. It was almost like he’d gone back to that moment when Asuma had first brought them here.
That time, he’d been full of complaints about how things were ‘troublesome’…
Looking at how Chouji and Ino had grown up, Shikamaru could feel his heart grumbling about how they’d never be able to return to those old days.
-
Shikamaru went home alone.
At the end of the day, he hadn’t been able to tell them.
He’d thought that if he’d go to the Country of Silence, then he’d go with the two of them. He’d invited them out to eat with that purpose in mind. But seeing their smiling faces had somehow made him unable to say anything.
The road he was taking was a dark one.
For Konoha’s sake, for the Union’s sake, for the sake of every single shinobi, one man had to be killed.
It wasn’t a victory that could be gained from playing fair. And so, he had to be killed in secret.
Assassinated.
It wasn’t like assassination was anything new to shinobi. Growing up, you realised sooner or later that things like that were necessary in this world.
But, still…
It was still good to have as few people as possible get their hands dirty. He didn’t have the heart to drag Chouji and Ino into the darkness too.
“So, it’s the Anbu after all…”
Shikamaru looked up at the night sky, and couldn’t see a single star.
“What’s up?” Ino asked when she saw how Shikamaru’s chopsticks hovered in the air, not moving.“It’s nothing. I’ve just wanted to see you guys for a while.” Shikamaru put a tiny pit of meat into his mouth.“Ah, kay.”Ino didn’t ask whether there was anything more to it. Chouji continued happily stuffing his mouth with meat.Then, the three started to talk. It was a light-hearted, silly conversation.Chouji’s eternal love of food.Ino’s usual talk about her love life.And then, the memories about Asuma…Shikamaru could feel the distance between him and his friends shrinking. It was almost like he’d gone back to that moment when Asuma had first brought them here.That time, he’d been full of complaints about how things were ‘troublesome’…Looking at how Chouji and Ino had grown up, Shikamaru could feel his heart grumbling about how they’d never be able to return to those old days.-Shikamaru went home alone.At the end of the day, he hadn’t been able to tell them.He’d thought that if he’d go to the Country of Silence, then he’d go with the two of them. He’d invited them out to eat with that purpose in mind. But seeing their smiling faces had somehow made him unable to say anything.The road he was taking was a dark one.For Konoha’s sake, for the Union’s sake, for the sake of every single shinobi, one man had to be killed.It wasn’t a victory that could be gained from playing fair. And so, he had to be killed in secret.Assassinated.It wasn’t like assassination was anything new to shinobi. Growing up, you realised sooner or later that things like that were necessary in this world.But, still…It was still good to have as few people as possible get their hands dirty. He didn’t have the heart to drag Chouji and Ino into the darkness too.“So, it’s the Anbu after all…”Shikamaru looked up at the night sky, and couldn’t see a single star.
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