What A Drag... || Shikamaru x reader

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Edited: 01/06/24

Reuploaded: 06/06/24

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Kakuzu released Kotetsu as Choji's team appeared, the hand returning to him.

Choji grabbed Asuma and the others grabbed Kotetsu, Izumo, and Shikamaru, jumping out of the area and up onto the roof of the collection office.

I stayed on the ground and glared at them.

We all just stood in silence. Hidan's head tilted tauntingly to the side as he shot his shit eating grin at me.

"Hm?" he looked at me curiously before I shook my head.

I want to keep fighting them but if I try alone I won't—fuck, I failed. Again.

I'm sorry, Asuma.

I raised myself up to the roof on an ice pillar and stepped onto it, the ice disappearing almost the moment my feet left it.

"Why didn't she use her ice earlier?" Hidan asked Kakuzu loudly as Ino started to try to heal Asuma, "she wanted the man to die, obviously."

I looked away.

No I didn't.

My ice is just—

It's as unstable as it was when I started training the first time with Honoko those years ago.

It's a hazard. An unpredictable danger.

"She didn't deny it," Hidan continued his nonsensical rambling. I turned and glared down at them over the bridge of my nose, trying to keep my head high despite the turmoil I was feeling.

"I wouldn't ever want Asuma dead," I announced before taking a deep breath, steadying out my breathing again, "he's a great guy, gifted, and one hell of a shinobi. But you know who I do want dead? Kakuzu. As much as I want Hidan dead, I know I can't kill him because he's stupidly immortal."

"She really does know," Hidan laughed.

I want to tear you to pieces, take each piece to a different corner of the world and condemn you to being buried in a deep darkness, never knowing if anyone would ever be able to find you again—but no, I can't think like that—that is far too dark. Even for this kind of world.

I turned to see everyone was looking at me. I'm bleeding out my back from being thrown around, my shoulders and knees are bleeding from my own ice. My bow is still down there too, I must've dropped it when those crows flooded the area. My ice is easily melted because I'm so weak.

My body isn't healing as it should either.

I'm pathetic.

I'm a Snowflake Guardian—a Guardian, but I'm... not strong enough to protect my team. How can I possibly protect anything else?

I'm weak.

Squeezing my eyes shut I faced forward again and took deep breaths.

I'm so weak.

I should've never left that mountain.

"I'm not giving up my bounties," Kakuzu declared, I was kicked out of the way, back off the side of the roof and landed not too far from Hidan with a pained grunt. No—no time to feel pain. I rolled back over and threw myself to my feet, rushing for my bow that I had indeed dropped before looking up at the roof. Kakuzu had started to fight one of the other chuunin in Choji's squad.

I glanced over to Hidan who was beginning to start his advancement to me.

"Fuck you," I threw my finger up at him before rushing around the side of the building and to the back before throwing myself back up to the roof with my ice, the minute I was up I had my bow aimed forward, a large arrow of ice knocked in it and pulled back ready to fire.