The Truth Behind The Clan || Shikamaru x Reader

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I slumped down into our sofa with a long sigh.

"I feel like I haven't been home in years," I mumble.

"I mean," Shikamaru came over and sat beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as I placed my head in his shoulder, "you haven't been able to stay here for days on end for the past couple years. The only time you were here during your two years of travelling was to give and take letters for Lord Kakashi."

"And you still managed to keep the place clean," I smiled, looking around the room until my eyes stopped on the table with a crap ton of photos on them. There were photos of me with people, Shikamaru with people all of us, the main part of my family. Me and my cousins, me and Xander.

"It wasn't your fault," Shikamaru must've noticed where my gaze had landed, "he sacrificed himself so that you could live on and continue leading the l/n clan."

"I know," I nodded, "I just feel really guilty and sad... Xander was my number one cousin, don't tell the others. But we just clicked, probably because we were the same age, huh? I just.. I already miss him and it hasn't even been a day."

"Your secret is safe with me," he assured me, "but I understand. It was the same with Asuma, remember? I could've helped him if only I was a little bit faster but... I didn't, I failed to save my mentor and its stuck with me ever since."

"Yeah," I nodded, "but serious question."

"What is it?"

"Am I a magnet for death?" I asked, sitting up and turning so I could cross my legs and look at him.

"No," he shook his head, "why would you think that?"

"My mother died in front of me, my father died, Asuma sensei died in front of me too, I couldn't save Jiraiya, Uncle Sora died in front of me, Riku is dead, Shikaku and Inoichi died, I killed Xander..." I listed off, "it seems like everyone I care about are slowly dying around me."

"I'm not," Shikamaru placed his hand on my cheek and smiled, "I'm going to stay with you until I die, I want to grow old with you, y/n. I love you, I always will."

I smiled.

"Me too," we started leaning in but snapped away from each other as the front door was slammed open and Lloyd came running in with a big ass scroll in his arms. He cleared off the coffee table and forcably sat down in between myself and Shikamaru.

"Uh-- hi there, Lloyd," I greeted the man confused. He threw his finger forward and pointed at something on the page.

"It's a jutsu," he said grimly, "one that is forbidden within our clan but was made by some of our forefathers. It was written on the wall of one of the elders' houses. If Morgue finds it then..."

"He could resurrect all of the shadow guardians and not just this generation, he can go as far as the first generation," I finished his sentence as I read the page.

"Can I be the first to ask, who in their goddamn mind thought it was a good idea to write something like a recipe to zombie land on a wall?" Shikamaru asked.

"Someone not too smart, obviously," I replied.

"It was Sora," Lloyd said quickly.

"He seemed like a smart guy!" I shouted.

"He also was a guy who didn't think we'd leave that place ever again," Lloyd reminded me, "it was a kind of spiritual reminder of our forefathers."

You were all mad.

"We're burning that place to the ground once we're all finished destroying Morgue," I decided, "but we need to get there before he can do anything. Do we have the ingredients?"

"No," Lloyd looked down grimly, "that's the most important thing that's on the wall, the phrase to be spoken is on a scroll though."

"A scroll?" I asked, "I might have it here."

"If you do, it'll be old, quite small and have a red ribbon around it," he told me, I nodded and jumped up before walking to the rug and throwing it back.

I broke the seals and opened the trap door and walked down the stairs to where all of my fathers stuff was.

I broke the seals around that stuff and started searching.

"See it?" Shikamaru asked.

"Give me a minute," I replied, looking over all the scrolls that were in my sight, "damn it. I don't have it."

"It must be in Sora's vault in his house then," Lloyd called down as I replaced all the seals and went back upstairs, doing the same and throwing the rug back over the door.

"That's irritating," I shook my head, "Morgue has everything handed to him. Not to be the bearer of bad news but if he manages to do whatever this jutsu ritual thing is... We're all as dead as the people who'll come after us."

"You ain't wrong," Lloyd shook his head.

"What a drag..." Shikamaru muttered, we both looked at him confused, "You're both accepting the worst. Now. I'll start coming up with a plan, I suggest Lloyd you go and round up the l/n's no children though, we can't risk it after Morgue went after them straight away. Y/n, go and find any leaf nin who'll be willing to help."

We both nodded.

"We're counting on you, Shika," I smiled before grabbing my jacket and going to the door, pulling my shoes on and leaving.