Truth Behind The Clan || Shikamaru x Reader

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Edited: 05/06/24

Reuploaded: 06/06/24

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"It's so freaking cold," I caught Shikamaru whine as I walked into our camp area, making sure to avoid the marked areas where traps were... There were a lot more than I expected there to be, that's for sure.

"Is it really?" I asked with a mocking smirk, he turned and looked at me bored.

"Not everyone is immune to the cold like you, y/n," he grumbled before stretching his hand out to me, I took it and stepped over the log he was sat on and then perched on it next to him, "find anything?"

"Not a thing, however, I've got clones working for me," I replied, Shikamaru laid down and rested his head on my lap as I looked over the fire that was crackling in the setting day.

We were silent for a while before I heard Shikamaru chuckle, I looked down at him questionably.

"It's been a while since we've done this," he told me, "just being able to be with each other alone. It's very rare for this to happen."

I smiled and nodded before starting to play with his hair.

"We weren't on the same team when we were genin so we didn't do camping together," I told him with a small chuckle, "but it's nice, although, I was hoping that I'd be able to stay at home for the rest of my life now but trouble always appears when things finally calm down."

"You want to retire? You're only 19, yet you talk like your 60," he mocked, stretching up and poking my cheek, I glared at him before sighing.

"Says you," I laughed, "when you were 12, you acted 70, that's nothing compared to this."

"Touché," he nodded, "after this, and once we've solved the Gengo problem, then we will both just kick back and relax."

"We're forgetting about someone," I reminded him, "Ayanakoji Uzumaki."

"Is it just me that's thinking that his name seems a little... unusual," he mumbled.

"What do you mean?" I asked as he sat up again and stared at the fire that was now illuminating the dark evening around us.

"I mean, an Uzumaki... Yeah, sure, there aren't many of them out there anymore. But a kid as young as he is, openly saying he's an Uzumaki not to mention its strange how he just appeared," he sighed and shook his head, "I'm just trying to get my head around it."

I smiled and looked into the sky. No clouds tonight, just the moon and stars.

"I really don't want him to be the Villain here," I said, "I really want him to be a simple bystander."

"That's one of the things I love about you, y/n," Shikamaru wrapped his arm around my waist, and I placed my head on his shoulder, "you always want to see the best in people."

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"Me! Me, wake up!" a voice that sounded almost exactly like my own shouted in my ear. I opened one eye to see my reflection staring back and jumped halfway out of my sleeping bag in confusion.

"What the hell—?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes to see it was no illusion.

"I'm a clone that you made yesterday," it reminded me, I almost choked when I remembered and awkwardly laughed before standing up and walking out with it.

"Right, what's up?" I asked.

"We found something," it replied before turning and beginning to walk away. I followed after it after leaving a message for Shikamaru.

"What did you find?" I asked as I followed my clone through the woods, around traps and random holes in the ground.

"Proof that people have been staying here, not too recently, but recent enough," it replied as we came out into a small open area where all my clones were raiding and looking around an abandoned camp site.

"This isn't a camp site for just a couple people," I pointed out, shaking my head as I looked around the area to see more abandoned tents hidden within the far tree line, "this is a camp for an army."

My clones all looked at me and nodded before all but one poofed away.

"Go get Shikamaru and bring him here please," I ordered it, it nodded and walked away as I started walking about the camp, "I wonder... Is this the Shadow Guardian camp from back then? If so, who has been using it all this time?"

My gaze travelled across the floor before it was captured by a shining object.

"What's that..?" I asked no one in particular as approached it just to find it was a diary, the shining object was the buckle and by the state of it, I can tell it's not too old, actually, the thing looked almost brand new.

Opening the diary, I started reading.

"Hey, what's that?" Shikamaru's voice hit my ears and I closed the diary, looking over to him.

"A diary," I replied, passing it over to him, "look it over, you'll probably find more useful information than I will. I always look over the details, but you, you catch every little piece."

"Oh yay, I'm your personal information gatherer," he replied sarcastically before sitting down on a log and beginning his read, I looked around before coming across a familiar logo.

"Definitely the Shadow Guardian camp," I noted folding the cloth up and then placed it on a toppled over table covered in moss and insects. The sight would be a heaven for Shino.

I sighed and continued looking. Nothing really stuck out, it was just a campsite, overgrown and eaten away by time, though, it's a bit overrun by plants more than I'd expect for a camp abandoned just under three years ago.

Regardless of this, there were signs that someone had been using a section of it, that was obvious, the grass had been flattened and the fire had been cleaned up, there were new tents here and there.

But... It was mainly just an abandoned war camp, almost forgotten.