Deafening - Shikamaru Nara

3

A loud banging on my door wakes me up. I groan, rolling out of bed, one day I'll sleep in. I open it to reveal a distressed Sakura; I could tell that she's been crying.

"What's going on?" I ask softly.

"Sasuke and Kakashi had a run in with Itatchi and now they're both unconscious in the hospital!" She exclaims. "I'm sorry, I didn't know who else would listen."

I frown, feeling guilty. "You're okay, come in."

She walks into my apartment and sits down on my couch. I hand her a blanket and a glass of hot tea, which she happily accepts.

"Sakura, I know you really like Sasuke but I don't want you to get hurt. I'm sure this stuff will keep happening, especially because he's tied up with Orochimaru now."

"You sound like you've given up," she says, taking me by surprise. "You were so hell bent on making sure he wouldn't fall into Orochimaru's hands. What happened?"

I shrug, feeling embarrassed. "Maybe I just didn't want to be disappointed again."

"Well, I'm not giving up. I will do whatever it takes to make sure Sasuke is safe."

Although she is obsessed, I admire her dedication. Maybe I could learn a lesson or two from her. She's right, I shouldn't give up so easily. I should talk to him when he's better, to ensure he remains in the Leaf. I do care about him, despite my constant complaints. He's still my teammate and—dare I say—friend.

"You're right. I'm sorry, Sakura."

She smiles. "That's okay. I know what happened with your brother is hard."

I nod. "All the more reason not to give up."

She grins. "I feel better now, thanks."

I laugh. "No, thank you."

-

A few days had passed and neither Sasuke nor Kakashi had woken up. Apparently, Itatchi had used the same jutsu on the both of them. I wasn't giving up hope, but it was incredibly different without them. On top of that, Naruto was gone too. He was out with Jiraiya, searching for some top notch medical ninja.

Our numbers were really dwindling. Lee and Sasuke were in the hospital, Naruto was out and about, and Kakashi was injured too. That's potentially a whole squad who wouldn't be able to be put to use.

Not like anyone was to be going on missions anyways; half the village was still in ruin. We didn't even have a hokage to send us on missions. It was scary, knowing the village was this weak. The vulnerability reminded me of my old home.

For most of the day, I assisted in fixing the village to what it used to be. I'm not much of a carpenter, so I painted freshly put up walls. It was relaxing, in a way. It gave me time to think.

Speaking of, what was Orochimaru's plan? He killed the hokage, but why? There was always something else with him. I know he isn't out to take over the Leaf; his followers wouldn't have retreated if that were the case. What does he want?

And what does he want with Sasuke?

Giving people curse marks wasn't abnormal behavior for him, but only giving one mark was. At my village, he gave them to anyone who had any potential to be a ninja. So why didn't he try that here?