What A Drag... || Shikamaru x reader

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Edited: 01/06/24

Reuploaded: 06/06/24

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"Y/n?" I turned to see Temari.

"Temari!" I pulled my mask down and jumped on her, giving her a tight hug.

"What're you doing here? Shikamaru said you were training for three years!" she hugged me back and spun me around before placing me back on the ground.

"I decided to give myself two months, one month here, one month with an old friend. I wanted to see my favourite sand siblings before I have to go back and not know how long until I get this opportunity again," I replied with a bright smile, she beamed with excitement and grabbed my hand before dragging me from the room I'd popped up in her shadow in and out of the house, into the streets and towards the Kazekage's building.

"You won't know this yet, but Gaara is now the Kazekage," she told me as we reached a set of doors, she knocked and shouted loudly, "Gaara! We have a guest!"

"Come in!" I heard the familiar voice. Temari opened the door and there was Baki and Kankuro with Gaara sat behind his desk. Upon seeing me all three smiled. Kankuro ran over and hugged me tightly.

"Can't... breathe..." I force out as he almost squeezed the life out of me, he let me go and backed up again.

"Whoops, sorry, it's been so long," he apologised, and I just smiled at his words.

"It has, I've missed you all," I agreed with him, Gaara stood up and approached me as well. When he reached me he stuck his hand out, I frowned.

"I know you're Kazekage now an' all, but you're no stranger," I grumbled, unamused by his change in actions with a huff. He chuckled lightly and dropped his hand, giving me a quick hug and then straightening himself up as he backed away again.

"You're clothes are quite... unique," Baki says.

"Yeah, it's the style of clothes they wear in the l/n clan, they've kind of grown on me. I quite like them," I replied, stepping around them all and perching on Gaara's desk.

"You mean, you found more of your family?" Kankuro asked, I nodded.

"It wasn't easy. I had to climb a tall ass mountain, get in an argument with guards and then get drowned in people with glowing tattoos because of my role in the family," I shrugged, remembering the painful hike up the mountain. I am so incredibly glad that I no longer have to make that hike again. Shadow hopping for the win!

"Sounds like your life just got full again, huh?" Temari asked, I nodded.

"I can't surround myself in family and pretend the Shadow Guardians aren't out there. And I definitely can't pretend that they may or may not have been the cause of my parents' death," I told them, they all looked at me sadly.

"You're trapped in the past," Gaara told me, I nodded.

"I know, I won't deny that, I just can't help it. They wiped out half my family long ago and they wiped out my parents. It's not settling well with me," I told them, Gaara just looked away.

"Just don't get too blinded by this. We know how that has ended for Sasuke Uchiha," he reminded me of Sasuke's situation.

"I know. I won't allow myself to go that far. If I did, I'd just be a disgrace to my family and it's like I'm just throwing away everything I've learned," I assured them before remembering something, "I should tell you something fairly important."

They all looked at me interested.

"Iaminthebingobook," I said quickly.

"Repeat that in an actual language please?" Baki asked.

"I am.. inthebingobook," I repeated, this time they got it and looked at me in worry.

"How?! Why?!" Temari asked loudly, I shrugged.

"I just woke up one morning to this bounty hunter with a sword at my throat and a bounty book in my face. Last I checked, I'm almost in the top 20 for the largest amount of money on my head. I haven't seen it in a while, though," I replied with a swift shrug.

"I'll keep a watch on the bingo book for you," Gaara said, walking around his desk and pulling out paper, writing something on it and then putting it in one of the smaller piles of paperwork, "I'll send word to you if your position becomes worse."

"Knew I could count on you," I nodded and then remembered I still need to call Lei, "excuse me for a moment, I need to call Lei."

"Lei?" Kankuro questioned.

"Messenger bird. It'll be easier to keep her close, she's still on the mountain at the moment," I told them before jumping off the desk and excusing myself.

°❄️°
1 month later_

"Visit whenever you get the chance, I hate not seeing you," Temari told me, I smiled and nodded. The month with them had been fun and I could tell that even Gaara had fun and definitely relaxed. Being Kazekage must've started stressing him out a little bit.

"I'm sure we'll see each other again at some point," I told her before waving and using her shadow to go to a tree near a familiar house on a cliff, looking over the ocean in the Land of Waves.

I saw Honoko gardening out front.

"Had a nice gardening season in this dreary place?" I spoke up, she looked around before her vision stopped where I was sat on a branch. I waved and she jumped up.

"Alright, stop insulting my home, brat," Honoko told me with a smirk, "get down here!"

I jumped down and she pulled her gloves off and hugged me.

"Look at you, you look completely different to the last time I saw you," she took a step back and 'measured' my height with her hand, "I believe you were at my shoulders last I saw you."

"And I believe you had no grey hairs, look at your roots now!" I joked pulling at her hair a little before we both laughed a little.

"You little brat," she glared at me playfully, "how's your idiot Dad?"

"Ah. I forgot, you don't know," I looked down sadly, "he was killed during the attack on the leaf during the final chuunin exam."

"He... what?" she asked, I looked to see her with tears in her eyes. I didn't ever expect to see Honoko of all people cry.

"Sorry, Honoko. I should've told you sooner," I apologised. She shook her head.

"When are you leaving?" she asked.

"A month, why?" I asked, frowning at the sad woman in suspicion.

"Take me with you so I can say goodbye?" she requested, I was baffled for a moment but nodded.

"Alright," I agreed, "please don't be rude to anyone though. No brat labelling."

"You're the only brat I need," she told me, messing with my hair and wiping away her tears.

I whistled loudly and called Lei to where I was now.

This may be a long month.