I’m falling asleep here.
The smoking area outside the venue was reserved for Shikamaru’s personal party of one. Everyone else was utterly swept up by the summit inside, so naturally, no one was tearing themselves away to come out for a cigarette.
Lying on the long bench likely set up there in a hurry before the meeting, he stared absently up at the sky.
Inside, the representatives of the many participating nations were giving their speeches. Before the start of the summit, those who wished to speak had indicated that intention so that they could be allocated a certain amount of time, and they now came to the podium in order, one after the other. All of these arrangements had been splendidly executed by the samurai of the Land of Iron. Their experience in handling Five Kage summits over long years spoke volumes at times like this. And it appeared that any country that applied in advance was being given the opportunity to have their say. The voting probably wouldn’t even start until quite late.
“So boring…” How was he going to pass the time until then?
Most of the voices that spilled out from the hall to reach his ears were in agreement with the Land of Fire and Naruto. Some countries even severely censured the Land of Earth. What Shikamaru found deeply strange, however, was the fact that one of the countries at the heart of the matter, the Land of Flowers, was not on the list of speakers he’d seen before the meeting started. They were not going to speak at this critical juncture despite the fact that they were the ones facing an invasion at the unilateral decision of a great nation.
It had been a while now since he’d left the meeting. During that time, the only people who invaded his private smoking space were a couple of samurai on guard, apparently taking a break. Neither of them spoke to Shikamaru sprawled out on the bench in the corner.
A familiar voice drifted out from inside. “I cannot disregard the Hokage’s magnanimous concession.”
Kurotsuchi. Her voice was as cool and collected as it was when speaking with the Five Kages, despite the much larger platform she had here.
“The inequality in battle power caused by Konohagakure’s excessive might will most assuredly become the seed of war. To protect my own nation, I resolved to accept the Land of Earth’s petition and cooperate in the invasion of the Land of Flowers. However, the Hokage’s speech today and the brave decision of the Land of Fire’s daimyo, Lord Ikkyu, have caused me to realize that the situation that I feared was an evil vision born of my own weak heart. There was absolutely no outside interference such as genjutsu at work when I made my decision. It stemmed entirely from my own weakness.”
The self-possessed Tsuchikage looked at even her own self with her sharp, penetrating eyes. She wasn’t a stupid ninja. When the situation changed, she was able to pull back on what she had previously asserted in an almost pleasingly refreshing way rather than cling to a foolish agenda for the sake of her ego.
“I would like to accept the petitions of the Hokage and Lord Ikkyu. If these motions are accepted, then the village of Iwagakure will no longer have a reason to fight.”
“Yes!” Shikamaru clenched a fist, still lying on his back.
If Iwagakure pulled out, then the Land of Earth would lose the majority of their fighting strength. The five great nations had essentially abandoned their own national armies by relying on ninja over soldiers, and they no longer had the power to go to war on their own. Kurotsuchi’s declaration told the entire world that a war had just been averted. There was no longer any need for a vote. The fact that Kurotsuchi had bent decided their victory.
“Fwaaaa.” He yawned, assaulted by a sudden sleepiness. Tears filled his eyes and spilled out, sliding down past his ears. It was entirely the fault of this yawn. He definitely wasn’t so overcome with emotion that he was crying. He wasn’t just playing tough here; these were simply tears brought about by yawning.
All of this—the meetings, the speeches, the maneuvering—it was absolutely a real fight for Shikamaru. A very difficult fight, in fact, one he couldn’t even have begun to tackle under his own power alone. Compared with this epic battle, he’d just been playing house on his previous missions.
And this was actually the story of Shikamaru himself. Up until now, the fight had been his and his alone. Although he had worked with his teammates, in the end, he fought directly himself, testing his own abilities. When he was hurt and defeated, he only had his own inexperience to blame. He could have died, and it would have had no effect on the country or public order. No sea of blazing flames would swallow up the continent.
But this time was different. Their loss, of course, wouldn’t have meant that Shikamaru died right then and there. As a ninja, his abilities were beyond question. But if they’d lost, the situation would have been much more serious than his own death. A defeat would have led directly to war among the nations, and the grave pressure of that fact weighed more heavily on him than any pressure he’d ever felt before this.
We won…
And yet, strangely, he felt no sense of accomplishment. This was not his victory—it was the world’s victory. They had been led to this fortunate result because the people on this continent desired true peace.
“Not too shabby.”
He’d given up his just-right life when he decided that he would hold Naruto up. This was Shikamaru’s battlefield now. It was a battlefield where he held no sword, where he didn’t even use his jutsu. And he himself had chosen to live here, irritated all the while. He had no regrets.
“But, still, it really is a drag,” he muttered and smiled.
He didn’t feel a sense of accomplishment, but the feeling he did have was all right. The days of quiet tranquility were back. Just the thought of it made his heart grew lighter.
He closed his eyes. The darkness behind his eyelids reached out, intent on sucking him in. Which reminded him that he hadn’t been sleeping too well lately. He’d been too on edge to sleep.
Let me sleep today at least.
“…maru.”
A voice.
“Shikama…”
Who?
“Shikamaru!”
The world shook violently, and he rolled off of the bench. He looked up with red eyes to find his friend outlined against the night sky.
“Naruto,” he murmured, dazed, squatting next to the bench. He’d been having a good dream, but now he couldn’t remember what it was. His mind was half-drifting in sleep even now.
The Hokage looked down, exasperation on his face, hands on his hips. “It’s over.”
“Yeah?”
“You hear the result?”
“Nah.”
Hands still on his hips, Naruto sighed.
The moon had risen quite high in the sky. The last quarter looked down on them from its perch in the darkness.
“Not even interested?” Naruto asked, almost sulking.
Shikamaru snorted with laughter and shook his head from side to side.
“Why not?”
“I heard up to Kurotsuchi’s speech,” he replied and yawned. After wiping away the tears that had welled up in the corners of his eyes, he offered his unconvinced friend some additional words of explanation. “It was obvious that we won the minute she accepted the proposal from you and Lord Ikkyu.”
“So that’s why you were sleeping out here?”
“Yeah.”
“Sounds about right for you.” Naruto laughed. “Shikamaru?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks,” he said, a curious look on his face. “I was able to get this far because you were right there with me the whole time. I would’ve given up ages ago without you.”
“Liar.” Shikamaru snorted. “You would never have given up, with or without me.” The words give up weren’t actually in Naruto’s vocabulary.
“I’m telling ya, I wouldn’t have known what to do without you. You always shine a light on the path I’m supposed to follow.” His friend held out a hand. “Keep being there for me.”
Shikamaru grabbed the offered hand, and a powerful force pulled him to his feet.
“Naruto. Shikamaru,” Kurotsuchi called out, approaching them with her aide in tow. Coming to a stop in front of Naruto, the Tsuchikage smiled gently. “I see how far you were willing to go. And I get it. I wronged you. I’m sorry. I just apologized to Chojuro too.”
A smile spreading from ear to ear, Naruto shook his head. “You were in a tough spot because of that daimyo, yeah? Don’t worry about it.”
“I appreciate you saying that.” She bowed her head slightly.
“Let’s keep things moving forward, Kurotsuchi.” Naruto stretched out a hand, and the Tsuchikage gently accepted it with her own. Hands clasped, they smiled at each other for a moment before Kurotsuchi pulled hers away and turned her back to them.
“Oh, right! Shikamaru?” She looked at him over her shoulder. “Be good to Temari.”
“I know.”
The corners of her mouth curled upward, and then Kurotsuchi left them alone again.
“It’s over, huh?” Shikamaru took a cigarette out of his pocket and put it to his lips.
Naruto frowned. “You gotta quit smoking already.”
“I’ll think about it,” he said and lit the cigarette. It tasted better than any cigarette in recent memory. The smoke drifted around him, and the visceral feeling of their victory rose up inside of him. “Should we get back to the village?”
Naruto’s shoulders dropped. “We’ve got a mountain of work to do.”
“That’s a good thing, though,” Shikamaru replied. A vision of the piles of papers popped up in the back of his mind. Instantly, his spirits plummeted. He had no time to delight in their victory.