Blood Tainted Roses

• 38 • The past, how it birthed the present •

A/N: whew! It's been so long since I picked up this story, I have to read it all over again T_T. If you're still here reading this story after I abandoned it for so long I want to say a very big thank you, you're the best! Well enough of me, let's get into the action.

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•Brief recap of the new arc•

Tenten and Neji are back from their trip to Kirigakure but this doesn't mean they have the time to rest. Tenten is saddled with a new mission to get information on Shabadaba, the Chief of the Land of the Moon, who is suspected to be in cahoots with Orochimaru and involved in the recent case of young children going missing. Meanwhile Neji and Temari are worried as Shikamaru seemingly disappears from the surface of the earth after the grand heist at Kirigakure. When he's found, the dark secrets about his past are revealed. How could this be connected to Tenten's ongoing mission? Would she, once again, be roped into working with Neji and the Birds (albeit without her knowledge)? Would this mission change the dynamics of Neji and Tenten's relationship for better or for worse? Sit back and watch as the story unfolds.

!!! Warning !!!
Readers might find some content disturbing. Viewer's discretion advised.

•••

"She had a child."

The whisper was so inaudible that Temari would have missed it if she hadn't undergone a special training to sharpen her senses. "What?" She questioned him softly but that just made Shikamaru break out into a full sob.

"She had a fucking child Temari!" The man cried. Temari didn't understand why it bothered Shikamaru so much that his mother figure had a child he didn't know about until he uttered his next words. "It's mine."

Well shit.

***

• Amegakure •

It was drizzling, the aftermath of a heavy downpour. Shikamaru knew that he was supposed to be at work with Kurenai but he couldn't bring himself to care. His feet sank into the muddy ground as he weaved through the alley of ratty wooden houses, his hair stuck to his face, greasy and slimy, and his clothes— rags were a better description for them— were soaked through and through. He was already used to it. Who would've thought that the young boy born in wealth and abundance would end up rushing to a dump site to fish for scraps?

Objects from the mainland often got washed down to their forsaken city after a heavy rainfall so it became a routine for the locals to wander around in search of durable items they can either sell, wear or eat. Most times it led to competition and fights over the ownership of scavenged scraps were imperative. Shikamaru was not supposed to be here at the dump site. His face was far too valuable to be bruised, or worse scarred, in a fight over some dumb invaluables. He was supposed to leave the scavenging to Asuma, useless as he may be, and learn how to work from Kurenai.

Shikamaru got to the dump site breathing a little bit heavily. It was crowded as usual. People ignored him as he searched around for anything he could find interesting. They had taken all of the valuable stuff anyway. He soon found something and he quickly grabbed it and went to hide for the fear of any adult finding and snatching it away. When he felt that he was safe he sat down on the floor to examine it.

"What are you going to do with that?"

The sudden voice caused Shikamaru to startle and scramble around in an effort to hide his find. The owner of the voice belonged to an older girl...no, a boy. His long brown hair was wet and stuck like glue to his pretty face, a face that was too delicate to be found among the dump grounds of Amegakure. What drew Shikamaru's attention other than the boy's delicate and pretty features were his eyes, white like the moon. Shikamaru knew this guy. Everybody in the Weeping City knew him. The Akatsuki's child.