Fly

Suspicious

- Shikamaru's pov. -
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It had been a week since Yuki got back from her mission with her team and, while Naruto and Sasuke said everything went fine, Yuki didn't seem to think the same. Originally, she was to be given a week off after this mission since she had been going on back to back missions but it seemed that she was always busy.

I had gone to her house and asked Kōri if he had seen her at one point during the week since I hadn't been able to find her, only for him to tell me he hadn't seen her as well. It had been a couple days since then and after asking around, I had found out that only glimpse had been seen of her entering and exiting the village at night.

I sigh as I walk through the market place and towards the place Yuki had been said to be using to leave the village without the guards or boarder patrol to catch her. It was almost sunset when I arrived and I had come in time to see Yuki to vault over the wall and land on the ground twenty feet below. As she stood up I walked over while watching her every move. I had been going out of my mind with worry and I couldn't keep allowing her to brush off my questions or shut them down.

She must've felt my presence as her shoulders tensed and her eyes snapped up at me. She stayed silent while she watched me take steps towards her, but one of her legs moved back, an indication that she'd run.

"Don't even think of it." I say right as my shadow attaches itself to hers, freezing her in place.

Her eyes narrow at me and her lips press into a thin line as she's forced to mirror my movements until we're in front of each other. When she was in front of me I kept the jutsu going so she wouldn't be able to leave without answering my questions.

"Yuki."

"Shika."

Her eyes were dead, the sparkle in her eyes had died out and a vacant look had taken its place while heavy bags rested under her eyes as if she hadn't been sleeping. Taking a glance at her figure, I was relived to see that she had been taking care of herself to some extent but frowned at the new scars that littered her arms.

Quickly grabbing her arms, I flipped them to where I would be able to see her wrists and let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding when I saw that she hadn't cut herself and the scars were just from battle.

Seeing my reaction, Yuki raised an eyebrow at me. "You thought I was cutting myself? You should know better than to assume that."

"Well, its not like I've seen you all that much and when I finally do you've gained new scars and look terrible. Excuse me for assuming the worst and worrying." I bite back before releasing her from the jutsu and pulling her into my arms, relishing in the fact that she was here. "Where have you been? I asked Kōri and he said that you hadn't come back."

She was silent for a moment before pulling away from me and taking a step back. My eyes widened at this before looking towards her to see her frowned brow as she looked at me.

"What does it matter to you? You may be my boyfriend but you aren't my keeper. I don't need to tell you where I am every second of the day."

"I never said you did."

"Then you should realize that if I don't want to or can't tell you something I'm not obligated to."

I frown at this before taking in her appearance again as I had overlooked something. The cloths she normally wore, the loose fitting blue shirt with her clan symbol on the right breast that had cuts in the back for her wings and the form fitting black leggings, had been replaced with a standard leaf uniform without the back.

After being friends for so long before transitioning to dating her, I had come to realize that every outfit she wore said something about what she was going through or how she felt. It was something that allowed me to read her like a book even when she hid all her thoughts and feelings from me and from what she was wearing it was as if she was slipping into something she wouldn't be able to come back from.

Even though she had made it to Jounin, she never wore the uniform, even when she made chunin, as she said it restricted her movement and that she believed the uniform was cursed. In her mind, any shinobi who wore the uniform was a pawn in the grander scheme of things and were easily killed off; those who didn't wear the uniform but held the rank were those who Kami smiled down upon.

Every time the uniform she would say how it was an invitation for the powerful to use you and Kami to take you from this world. Only those who didn't wear the uniform were safe and had the power to create their own path.

I never understood her reasoning behind this, I myself wore the uniform despite her protests, but to see her wearing the very uniform that she despised with every fiber of her being made me feel sick.

"What are you wearing." It wasn't a question, it was a demand, I needed to know why she was wearing it.

I needed to know why she was, in her words, 'giving herself up for others to use as a puppet.'

"There are some things you can't run away from." Yuki says while looking into my eyes, her stare so strong that I thought she was looking into my soul.

"What do you mean?" I asked, desperate for something, anything. I needed to know why she was changing so that I could either get her out of whatever she was in or help her.

She just shook her head while a sad look crosses her face before vanishing. Cursing, I kick a tree causing the bark to splinter before closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. If she wasn't going to tell me what was wrong then I'd just have to find out myself.

~

//Hokage's Office //
- Third Person's pov. -

A knock sounded through out the room before Tsunade called them in. Stepping into the office, Yuki bows before speaking.

"We might have a slight problem Hokage-Sama."

Tsunade raises an eyebrow before motioning for Yuki to continue.

"Shikamaru has become suspicious."

Tsunade sighs before running a hand down her face, "I knew this would eventually happen..."

Yuki stays silent while watching Tsunade as she slumps in her chair, getting hidden in the shadow of the paperwork that surround her desk in the process. A moment of silence passes before Tsunade sits back up and looks Yuki in the eye.

"You are to keep saying absolutely nothing about anything you're doing. Is that clear?"

"Hai."

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