Ascension (Sequel to Ruination)

[21.5] Clouded Past

Getting into some more feelings this chapter. Time to know what has really been going on with Yuzuki. Also, to those of you who're still reading I appreciate you ☺️ I'm sorry it took so long!

This chapter ended up being longer than I wanted it to be so I put the end of it in the beginning of the next. Sorry for any typos.

"W-why?!"

That one word echoed in her mind as she sat on the bed, her legs hanging over the side as she swung them back and forth. It had been a week since the confrontation with the Feudal Lord. Who was now dead; unfortunately, he wasn't the only casualty that day. Yuzuki balled her hands into fists as she clenched her jaw, it wasn't supposed to end the way it did.

So much blood. It was everywhere afterwards. Not just hers. The image of Kazuhiko being cut down by his own son was fresh in her mind. Tekashi's silent tears as he held his dying father in his arms, Aiko was nowhere to be found. The young woman couldn't stand watching what happened so she left.

Squeezing her eyes shut, blonde hair stained crimson flashed before her and then-- the door creaked open, a familiar pineapple headed boy entering the room. Yuzuki saw the scrutiny in his gaze and looked down at the floor, listening as he approached and sat on the bed opposite of her.

Yuzuki could already sense a lecture coming her way. She had acted brashly during the mission, put herself in harms way and then fell off the face of the earth for three days, only returning the day of Kazuhiko's funeral. There was so much conflict within herself after what happened that she just needed some time away from everyone.

"Yuzuki, tell me what's going on with you. You acted out of line during this mission and then you disappeared on everyone after things went south. I mean, what the hell? You've never acted like that before." He was trying hard to keep the annoyance out of his voice, but there was still a hint of it. The girl remained silent, mulling over what to say to him to cover up her true feelings.

"Look, I get that you wanted to save everyone and we didn't plan for those people to die, but you can't beat yourself up every time it happens." He continued, trying to get her to open up to him. Shikamaru knew something was up with her, that there was something eating away at her since she had come back to the village.

Silence. Yuzuki made no effort to show that she was listening, and no sign that she would open up. Sighing, the Nara stood up, his hands clenched into fists in his pockets. "Fine. You don't have to open up to me. But you have to talk to someone." Girls were so troublesome. As he turned to walk away he felt a hand on his wrist and he froze, looking down, he saw her peering up at him.

"I'm sorry, I just... don't want you to look at me differently."

"What makes you think that I'm going look at you differently?"

Shikamaru could see the conflicting emotions in her dark irises, she had a lot to unpack it seemed, many inner battles that had yet to be won. "There are things that I've done--while in the Akatsuki-- that no one knows about, yet."

"Yuzuki--"

"No, before you go and say that whatever I did is in the past and I should just move on, just listen."

Sitting down, Shikamaru looked her straight in the eyes, sincerity and seriousness present in his gaze, "I'm your friend, it doesn't matter what you did. Nothing will change that, I promise."