Her Mask (Shikamaru x Oc)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Shingami had a small smile hidden underneath her mask.

So far, her day had gone well, and that was the best she could dare ask for. Once they had completed one last game, she left Shikamaru’s house and headed back home after debating whether or not to go to the office.

She chose not to, and if Ibiki had questions, he could ask her when he got home.

The girl opened the door and walked up the stairs to her bedroom, sitting down on her bed before slipping off her shoes and lying down facing the ceiling; her mind was relaxed for a few moments allowing her to fall asleep during that short period of time.

__________

Ibiki sat at his desk, staring down at a piece of blank white paper.

Anko and Genma looked at the ground near their feet.

“A brother.” Ibiki frowned, but it made sense.

It explained why she was more comfortable with men than women. But the question remained.

“Why didn’t she tell us?” Anko said in a hushed voice, which was unlike her.

Genma glanced away from his feet and looked at Ibiki.

In a way, they were similar, Shingami and Ibiki. Both of them had brothers, and both of their brothers had abandoned them.

While Genma didn’t know why Shingami’s had left her, he did know why Idate had left Ibiki. And if her story was anything like theirs, there was hell to pay.

Since Shingami was so young when they’d first met her, they could deduct that her brother was the older of the two by the way she’d described him. But exceeding that, they didn’t know.

“She had a reason, and this was her reason,” Ibiki said he knew how her mind operated better than anyone, even if he didn’t know every godforsaken detail about her life before he knew her.

“She’ll tell us one day.” Ibiki looked back down at the papers on his desk, lifting his pen and began writing. “We just need to be patient and to show that we trust her. Do not bring it up around her, and don’t act any different, or she will notice.”

He let out a breath. "She's still Shingami."

__________

A couple of hours later, Ibiki entered the house to see all the lights were off, and it was completely dark. It was typical for Shingami to do that, but she usually left her keys on the counter out of habit because that’s what he always did.

His eyes scanned the counter again to make sure that she didn’t accidentally fling her keys a little farther than she had intended. But she hadn’t.

He could just barely sense her chakra, as far as he could tell she was sleeping. 

He softly set down his keys and went up the stairs halting in front of her door, opening it, peeking inside.

The girl’s mask had been knocked onto the floor, and she was lying on her back with her arms under her pillow to elevate her head up a bit even though she was on top of her blankets. She looked comfortable, so Ibiki decided to leave her alone before her voice stopped him.

“I had intended to go see you earlier, but I ended up getting sidetracked and went to see Shikamaru instead.”

He turned around to look at her and leaned on the doorway. “It’s fine. I was just wondering how it’d gone.”

The girl was still exhausted, but she didn’t mind as she sat up leaning over the side of her bed, reaching down for her mask, putting it on its usual spot on the end table.

“It went a little better than I was expecting,” The girl looked the man in the eyes. “But I believe that your input and what I’m assuming was her faith in Naruto, contributed to her decision.”

Ibiki smirked ever so slightly. “So she told you, before or after?”

“Before or after what?”

“Before or after you stabbed yourself in front of her.”

The shook her head with a tiny smile. “Before, but I fail to see why that matters.”

Ibiki’s face went back to its regular scold. “You said you went out with the Nara?”

The girl scoffed, stretching her arms over her head yawning once before speaking. “It wasn’t a date if that’s what you’re implying.”

“I didn’t say that.”

Her face blanked, making the man chuckle.

 “Cute. Real cute.” The girl stood up and ran her fingers through her hair to untangle as much as she could without a brush.

“We played Shogi and got some food pretty basic, nothing too out there.”

Ibiki remembered that Genma and Anko said that the conversation that they overheard was more of a heart to the heart rather than something casual, but he’d take her word for it as not to make the girl suspicious. 

“What’d you eat?”

The girl frowned slightly. “It was Raman.”

Ibiki crossed his arms. “Come on.”

The girl looked up, seeing the man walk out of her room the girl followed him down into the kitchen and watched him get some take out from the fridge. 

“I had this last night while you weren’t here, but I got enough for two nights.” He held out a white box to her. “Want some?”

The girl took it from his hand and sat down across from him at the table. Neither of them wanted to warm up the food, so they just ate it cold. They weren’t too bothered, and it still tasted great as far as either of them were concerned. 

“What happened while we were gone?” Shingami said to break the silence. 

“Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha were attacked by Itachi Uchiha.”

The girl stopped eating for a moment. “When?”

“About an hour after you guys left. Both of them were healed by lady Tsunade already.” 

The girl nodded. “Good to know.”

After the pair had finished their food, the man suddenly crossed his arms while they were sitting there quietly, making Shingami think that he was mad about something but chose not to comment.

“Genma mentioned something about you reading Icha Icha. Again.”

The Iruka fanfic is out now and is called: The Chunin and the Anbu.