Deep End (ShikamaruXOC)

2.

The rest of my day had gone by smoothly without any further interruptions from a certain shinobi and I spent so long reading under that tree I hadn't even noticed the sun starting to set. I'd gone home and whipped up a quick dinner before calling it a night and trying to get some good rest for my mental and emotional state. Lady Tsunade sure did make it sound like this mission was going to require a lot of chakra and focus on my end, despite being with the anbu and another shinobi.

When morning came, I felt very well rested, but it still bothered me how Shikamaru's voice changed when I declined his lunch offer. He just seemed so upset for some reason and I couldn't shake it. I tied up my brown wavy locks into a messy bun and placed my leaf headband up on top of my head, much like Sakura wore hers, and put on one of my usual outfits. Maybe a walk would shake that feeling or seeing some friends around town. Leaving my apartment, I decided to head to the market and pick up some groceries and maybe say hi to some people. It was about time I stocked up my kitchen anyway.

I made my way down the streets of the newly built village until I made it to the bustling shops in the heart of it all, making sure to stop at any stand that caught my eye.

"Choi! Hey!"

I looked over and saw a flash of a long blonde ponytail moving around calling my name, Ino. She had always been one of my best friends despite her being on a different team and us having rather opposite personalities.

I smiled and made my way over to her family's flower shop, "Ino! Hey how are you?"

She grinned back and propped her chin on her hand, "Oh good, just working around the shop today. It gets so boring here sometimes though..."

I shrugged my shoulders as I eyed some particularly beautiful hydrangeas, "Well hey, how about you take lunch and come eat with me at home? I did just buy some groceries to cook up."

Ino looked ecstatic, "Really!? Oh, I'd love that, let me ask if they'll be alright without me for a little bit."

With that she ran off to get approval to leave the shop for a bit, and they unsurprisingly granted it, meaning the blonde and I were off back towards my apartment. She chatted my ear off practically with all the new gossip in her life and all the other shinobi she was close to, though there was one certain ninja she didn't mention that I'd grown curious about.

"Hey Ino," I prompted, "can I ask you something?"

She abruptly stopped her chatter and looked over at me thoughtfully as we arrived at my front door, "Sure Choi what's going on?"

I pushed my way through the door and let Ino follow me to the kitchen where I started laying out ingredients for a quick stir fry, "I went to the park the other day and ran into Nara, he asked me to go to lunch with him and then when I obviously said no, he seemed really weird about it. Is there something going on with him?"

Ino shifted to lean against the opposite counter, "Well, I know he's felt really different since the war as far as really not wanting to feel like he's failed making peace in this village and in this world, maybe he's just taking it too seriously?"

Her words felt hollow, like she wasn't telling me everything, "Yeah that's what I thought too, but we've always just teased each other and been somewhat rivals. It's not like we hate each other, but we had a standing on never really being friends either."

The icy-eyed girl just shrugged, "I don't know Choi, I may know exactly what Shikamaru thinks when it comes to battle strategy and missions, but I couldn't tell you really anything about his personal life. Choji would know, but I'm more or less just their teammate."

I nodded as I continued cooking for the two of us, trying not to think about the fact that I could just tell she wasn't telling me everything. Maybe it was a personal thing, he could be going through something like he did when he lost Asuma and I have no right to overstep and demand answers in that case. Letting the stir fry come to golden brown and simmering perfection I put it into two dishes for Ino and I to sit at my table and enjoy. We ate and chat idly, once again avoiding the topic of the shadow possession ninja, almost deliberately. It's not like I would stay stuck on this forever, but I definitely had piqued curiosity especially now that I could tell Ino wasn't being entirely truthful. I tried my best to shake it from my mind though, there was a good chance that I would be summoned by the Hokage to go on this mission by tomorrow and I needed to prepare for what possible enemy I may end up facing.

What kind of enemy required them to have me in the field using my jutsu? The Hidden Leaf kept me hidden as a secret weapon of sorts, I was nothing more than a rumor, much like Naruto and his nine tails power was, although mine was not nearly as earth shattering as his role. I was definitely no Jinchuriki, but my jutsu had only been spoken about in whispers and rumors, and not a single person knew who actually possessed it. At first, those who saw my jutsu thought I had inherited some sort of Sharingan or Rinnegan by the way I manipulated it, but no. We discovered my jutsu had nothing to do those two despite it having similar effects to that of the Sharingan.

"Thank you for lunch, Choi, it was delicious!"

My thoughts were cut off abruptly by Ino smiling up at me, "Oh yeah! You're welcome Ino, I'll walk with you back to the shop. I was going to go take a walk anyways."

She nodded at me as I collected our dishes and put them away before we left the apartment. It was a beautiful day out, yet again, so the walk was rather enjoyable. Our chatting had slowed now, though I did get her to talk about Sai a little, I knew Ino just thought he was so cute since he joined Team 7 way back in our chunin days. It seemed they'd been hanging out together more, this made me happy for Ino. She was such a beautiful girl that deserved having someone love and care for her. Of course, she was a strong independent woman as well, but I just know in her heart she wanted to be cared for and wanted to care for another. Hell, who doesn't want that some day? I couldn't help but feel a slight bit of envy for my friends, it seemed everyone was finding their newfound loves and I was just still here selling my heart to the life as a ninja. Naruto and Hinata, Sakura had always kept her heart for Sasuke, Choji had supposedly found himself some eye candy, and now Ino and Sai.

We approached the shop and I found myself once again eyeing the beautiful arrangement of different colored hydrangeas for a moment before looking to Ino, she smiled at me, "Thanks for spending time with me, Choi. We'll have to do this again soon!"

I nodded, grinning back, "Definitely, maybe by then you and Sai will be a real couple and I'll get all kinds of new juicy gossip!"

She blushed lightly and waved me off, "Oh hush! I mean-I don't know about it yet, he's just so mysterious!"

Mysterious huh? That boy was about as mysterious as Choji's weight.

Whatever makes my dear friend happy I suppose...

I left the shop and made my way out of the bustling shops of the village towards the park I went to yesterday. Finding no Nara in sight, I began to leisurely walk through until I found the perfect spot to lie back and watch the clouds. I once again thought about the potential enemy I would be facing, what kinds of strength they would possess? Did they prove to be that powerful physically, or was it a mental prowess we were facing? It had been so long since we'd had a formidable enemy that wasn't linked to the Akatsuki or an Uchiha that I really was stumped on what to think. No matter, I knew my powers would hold up just fine, I had yet to meet anyone who could combat it. Though, it wouldn't be too hard to if they knew I was the one who carried it which is why we never spoke about it, only the ninja who had seen me in battle during the war knew of my abilities. That mainly consisted of my team members, and a few select shinobi that had been in my sector during defensive actions, though I'm sure Kakashi will warn those traveling with me in the coming days and send the appropriate team.

I let my thoughts wander as I found shapes in the clouds and listened the soft sounds of the villagers and the grass by my head swaying gently. As much as I should have felt dangerous and isolated for my strength, I actually felt rather at ease with myself. I was at least entirely under my own control unlike many Jinchuriki and others "cursed" with different abilities. I stayed there until about midday, before getting up and deciding to go home for the rest of the day and binge read my latest book and curl up under a blanket. I did exactly that too, though I did take some time to pack some essential things for my upcoming mission, I had a strong feeling I was going to summoned sooner rather than later. Maybe it was just something in the wind, but I felt something unsettling coming for the leaf, and I knew this mission was the first domino in that chain of events. Hopefully, we can stop things early on.