The Truth Behind The Clan || Shikamaru x Reader

||38||

The platform stopped moving down and myself and Xander looked around to see us in a cage like circle where dozens of people were sat in seats surrounding the outside for as far as I could see. It was so loud and bright compared to up in the cave that my senses were struggling to adjust again. They did eventually and I looked to Xander who was giving me the most panicked look I've ever seen on the boy.

"Y/n..." he trailed off.

"And today, ladies and gentlemen, rich and averagely paid. Morgue brings you cousins. F/n l/n and Xander l/n who will be fighting to the death!"

I looked around for whoever announced that, when I met the gaze of the woman I glared at her.

"She's a feisty one, folks."

A chorus of laughter filled the room after that comment, I just rolled my eyes and sighed.

"We won't fight!" I shouted.

"You heard it here, folks, for the first time ever they refuse to fight. Just kidding-- Well we know what to do then, don't we?"

What to do?

Suddenly I'm dropped to the floor, Xander scurries over and helps me up.

"Y/n, we need to get out of this mad house," he whispered.

"I know," I whispered back before looking up, hoping we could propel ourselves out with ice but we couldn't. The top had somehow been blocked off with a levelled smooth rock.

"Alright laddies and gals, grab your kunai and take your aim."

What?

Both myself and Xander flipped around in shock before noticing that there was a ring of ninja from all over the world with kunai in their hands ready.

"Back to back," I patted Xander quickly, he nodded and we stood, backs pressed against each other as everyone raised their kunai.

"Hold your kunai true to your aim!.... Fire!"

"Xander!" I shouted.

"Got it!" he shouted back before we both threw our hands up and created a dome of ice around us, "this is freaking crazy!"

"Hell yeah it is," I replied, "what the hell did we get ourselves into?"

"No idea," I felt Xander shake his head as kunai after kunai bounced off the dome, some of them managed to create cracks so we kept adding extra ice over them.

When it was over, we dropped the dome to see everyone glaring at us.

"Hold your horses! We just got a demand from the owner of these two nin. Y/n or Xander pick up a kunai and kill your cousin. Doesn't matter which person. But choose it."

"We're not going to do that!" Xander shouted.

"We're family," I added on.

"Then you'll both die."

I looked to Xander. He can't die. I'm the head of the family, if any of us die, it'll be me. I'm supposed to die for everyone in my family, protect them all. That's what I'm going to do.

I sighed and grabbed a kunai, he looked at me wide eyed, I took his hand and put the kunai in it.

"Xander, you need to warn everyone that he's back," I told him, he shook his head.

"You're the head of the l/n family. We need you," he protested.

"No, Xander, you don't need me. You managed perfectly fine until a few years ago," I replied, he frowned at me.

"You have a family," he pushed the kunai for me to take.

"You have a family," I reminded him, "we're family."

He sighed.

"I know but one of us needs to go out and it's not going to be you," he told me, I sighed and dropped the kunai he'd forced into my hand before turning around and running my hand through my hair.

"We're not getting anywhere with this," I sighed before looking to the cage, "maybe we can fight our way out?"

"Don't even try it, sweetie," a woman at the cage looked to me, "you think only two of you will be able to fight over a million ninja?"

"No," I shook my head with an annoyed grumble.

Shikamaru's PoV
The ice dome_

Morgue pushed me down a set of stairs and to a door. On the other side I could hear a ton of shouting and cheering. Please don't tell me y/n and Xander are in there. The door is opened and I'm pushed in, myself along with the snowflake guardians are sat down, tied to chairs and gagged.

I look around, there are rows and rows of people and in the centre is a large cage with a giant dome of ice that has a ton of kunai littered around it.

There's no doubt that that's y/n and Xander.

Cracking filled the room and the ice shattered and dropped to the floor as Morgue walked over to some woman with a mic. They exchange words as we watched y/n and Xander look around.

"Hold your horses! We just got a demand from the owner of these two nin. Y/n or Xander pick up a kunai and kill your cousin. Doesn't matter which person. But choose it."

What the hell?!

"We're not going to do that!" Xander shouted.

"We're family," y/n added on.

"Then you'll both die."

Y/n looked at Xander. A few moments of silence followed and then she sighed and grabbed a kunai. Xander's eyes widened as y/n placed the kunai in his hand.

I wanted to shout to y/n and Xander. I wanted to jump in and help but I couldn't and it was manifesting a burning anger.

The two of them began speaking to each other, their voices were too low to hear but during the conversation, Xander had given y/n the kunai.

Y/n sighed and dropped the kunai that was forced into her hand before turning around and running her hand through her hair.

"We're not getting anywhere with this," she sighed before looking to the cage, "maybe we can fight our way out?"

"Don't even try it, sweetie," a woman at the cage looked to her, "you think only two of you will be able to fight over a million ninja?"

"No," she shook my head with an annoyed grumble.

At least she's recognising that. Usually she's pretty stubborn.

"Morgue, old friend, what on earth have you been doing these past years? It's like you disappeared," some guy approached Morgue as he came back over to us.

"You could say that," Morgue replied.

"What're you trying to do with these leaf nin?" the man asked, I listened in but made it look like I was watching Xander and y/n.

"I need y/n out of the way," Morgue replied, "She's been a pain in my ass and now... I have the chance to take her out and I will. If I am correct, she'll give herself up so that her cousin can survive because not only does she only have a stupid Nara as an actual tie but she's the head of the family so she'll feel obliged to let her own life go in return of her darling families."

"Impressive," the man nodded.

Y/n you're too damn predictable. What a drag, this whole situation has become ten times more troublesome...