What A Drag... || Shikamaru x reader

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Edited: 02/06/24

Reuploaded: 06/06/24

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After a long time of creating clones and defeating freaky looking creatures, Jiraiya and I were walking through a tunnel with two small toads. I couldn't see them, but I could hear them. We'd managed to escape the two Akatsuki members, a very welcome break in our fighting. It was starting to get a bit tiring and repetitive.

"Lad, why do you always have to summon us to such rowdy places?" one old female voice asked, "I'm sure to get Bunta to yell at you for the way you're behaving."

"Now, now, Ma. You just let him be, you hear me? I'm sure that Jiraiya boy has his reasons for what he's doing," an old male voice intercepted.

"Oh, would you just shut your trap?" the female asked, I stifled a laugh. Just like what I'd heard, two arguing spouses.

"There's another person here, who is it?" the female asked.

"O-oh hello, my name is f/n l/n, I'm a Snowflake Guardian and Jiraiya's partner for the Akatsuki research," I introduced myself quickly, nodding to the back of Jiraiya.

"A l/n and a Snowflake Guardian? Interesting. You got yourself a good partner there, Jiraiya boy," the male voice seemed to be happy with my identity.

"Yes, she's very skilled. Anyway, I know it's been a while and I do apologise for the circumstances, Pa, Ma," Jiraiya spoke up.

"But, lad, I thought you told me that you hated taking this form, saying it would make you unpopular with the ladies," the male voice told the Sannin.

"Personally, I think his bartender appearance is better than anything. That mustache was to die for," I piped up causing a small laugh to escape Jiraiya before we all fell serious again.

"I can't afford to be particular right now, after all my foe possessed the rinnegan," Jiraiya informed them.

"Oh, the pupils of six paths," the famale voice said with a small hint of fear in her tone.

"Really? It actually exists?!" the male voice asked in surprise, "well, then you're right, you had absolutely no choice."

We entered into an area of light, and I finally got to see Jiraiya's appearance. He had two small, old toads sat on his shoulders and his eyes had bold red makeup around them. They reminded me of Gaara's eyes a little bit... The male toad had bushy white eyebrows and a single clump of hair standing up and the female toad had weird bubbly brown hair that covered the whole of her head and even her eye lids. They were both in cloaks of their own.

"You know, someday, you really got to start being able to go into sage mode all by yourself, Jiraiya boy," the male toad told Jiraiya.

"Compared to the two of you, I'm still just a novice. So please lend me your aid for just a little while," Jiraiya replied as I stepped around him and shot out a wave of ice. I want to see if my sensory ice, that Kenji taught me on the mountain, actually worked or not.

Nothing.

"Alright, shall we begin?" Jiraiya asked, placing a hand on my shoulder, I looked and him and twirled my bow around in my hand.

"I'm ready when you are," I nodded at the Sannin and the two toads gasped.

"Your eyes are both," the male toad commented, I know what he means. One eye has a snowflake in, the other has a red ring, Shikamaru pointed it out days ago.

"I met a Shadow Guardian, and they affected my appearance," I told him before pushing myself forward and jumping up onto a pipe, looking around I didn't see Konan, but I could smell Nagato's disgusting lizard. Not going to lie, it smells like it's rotting.

Is it dead or something?

Jiraiya started jumping around as well before landing and breaking the ground up.

"So where is this foe then? The one with the pupils of six paths?" the male frog asked. I'm just going to call them Pa and Ma because Jiraiya called them that earlier.

"Your eyes must be degrading with age," Ma commented.

"No, it's not your eyes, he's hidden himself inside a summoning creature that can make itself transparent," Jiraiya replied, "y/n, have you got anything?"

I turned around and faced them while pinching my nose.

"I can smell the lizard," I told him, "but I can't sense him out."

"She's just a child..." Pa commented. Jiraiya shook his head.

"She may be a child, but she may be even stronger than myself," he told the toad before looking around.

Doubt that.

What's with all these false speculations about my strength?

"Well, then it's got to be one of those chameleon species," Ma concluded. Jiraiya and the toads spoke back and forth for a while until Ma used 'creature detection jutsu' or was about to. Then they started talking about 'the one' whatever that means....

"The child of prophecy."

After they discussed that further Ma used the jutsu and found the lizard almost as if it was the simplest task, and then she sprayed it with something that made it visible until Pa spat out a stream of strong water.

Nagato appeared again and they started talking about how they couldn't believe that this boy they were looking at was the child of prophecy.

Still have no idea what that is supposed to be talking about though. They're speaking about it so vaguely that I don't think I'd be able to piece together what this prophecy is supposed to be either. All I know is Nagato is the one apparently.

"Summoning jutsu," Nagato called, summoning more people in Akatsuki cloaks.

I knew that he and Konan wouldn't be the only ones to show up today.

Damn it.

"You've become a harbinger of destruction and it's my job to stop you," Jiraiya told Nagato as I stepped to the side to get a full view of the three Akatsuki staring down at us.

"Three?" I stared in confusion, "how?"

Each and everyone of them shared the rinnegan.

"How can there be three rinnegan? Must be his jutsu, there has to be some kind of trick behind it," Jiraiya concluded as we looked at the three. One had long orange hair, then there was Nagato, then there was a chubby cheeked one with short hair.

"This all happens just as I was about to prepare dinner," Ma complained with a small sigh.

"Ma, never mind about that, just stay focused on the opponent in front of us, you got it?" Pa asked sternly.

"What did you just say to me?" Ma shouted at Pa. I covered my ears to shield my hearing from the sudden high-pitched shout.

"Man, you guys are loud," I mumbled to myself.

"Well, I guess it's about time for me to make my move," Jiraiya spoke up with his usual confidence, "y/n keep out the way for now. I'll whistle when I need you to help fight."

"Alright," I nodded and ran to a wall and jumped up. I sat on the wall and closed my eyes, might as well build up as much chakra as I can so that if I need it, I can break out guardian mode or even use the summoning scroll. Plus melting and evaporation is going to need a lot more energy to get the heat to the level I want it to get to.

Good luck Jiraiya.

I'll be waiting.