Her Mask (Shikamaru x Oc)

Chapter Twenty-Two

After the announcement of the chunin exams that were to be held in a week, Shingami had yet to sleep a good full night. Ibiki and Genma noticed and were constantly bugging her about it. Anko ignored it as best she could and was making a plan for her big entrance as a protractor.

Asuma and her team didn’t know because she had stopped taking off her mask for the past week or so because her eyes were so puffy and black.

Now she was looking over the files for all the participants for this year. She was glaring at the paper and had a throbbing headache but that’s what she gets for not going to bed at a reasonable time every night for the past month.

Shingami finished looking over the page and pushed it to the side ignoring the deep look that Ibiki was giving her. She picked up a different list of Genin and could easily point out the names she knew and the names that she didn’t.

The door was broken off its hinges and an overly excited Anko was in the room. Before the woman could open her mouth shingami walked over to the couch and shoved her head under one the old throw pillows that were there.

Anko and Ibiki looked at the girl as they spoke but they knew something was up with her so they kept their voices down.

It was so quiet that Shingami ended up falling asleep a few minutes later knowing that nothing would happen as long as Anko and Ibiki were in the room with her. Even with the long-forgotten memories resurfacing after so long.

_______ 

“Shingami? Sweetheart, are you alright?”

Her mother asked in her normal sweet light tone that she always had even though her nose was gushing blood while she tried to comfort her daughter who had a busted lip.

The girl nodded while staring blankly at the door that her father just stormed out of hoping that he wouldn’t come back in.

The woman struggled to stand but did it all on her own not wanting to show weakness in front of anyone and pulled the little girl up into her arms.

The woman set her down on the counter and wet a towel with cold water and held it to the little girl’s lip. “Hold it there.“

Her mother wiped the blood from her nose away with her arm. “...I’m so sorry, Shingami…”

The little girl remained unresponsive but hopped off the counter and hugged her mother around the waist smearing a little blood on the woman’s ripped up clothes.

No words need to be spoken the five-year-old understood and knew her mother was not to blame.

The door slammed open again making the woman and the little girl flinch.

_____

Shingami shot up into a sitting position before she even opened her eyes. She shuddered at the memory before seeing Ibiki and Genma looking at her then at each other then back at her again. Anko was gone and by the state of the office, it seemed like she’d been gone for a while.

Shinigami used her fingers to brush her hair out of her face and grabbed the mask that she must have knocked off while she was sleeping.

She sat there for a couple of minutes holding her mask, waiting for the two men that were staring at her to say something.

They didn’t so she just stared back at them as they did her and they were like that even as an anbu in a bird mask came into the room only for their stares to turn on him making him uncomfortable. 

“Er…? Shingami is needed in cell four…” He nervously puffed away in a cloud of smoke.

Shingami wordlessly stood from the couch stretched her arms above her head, before slipping her mask over her face and walking out the door leaving Genma and Ibiki to talk about the exams.

She walked through the cell blocks all the way to where cell four was and opened the door, closing it silently upon her entrance.

The man inside was as still as stone. 

“You will address me as Shingami. From this day forth, your worst nightmare.”

He didn’t even blink. The girl noticed the lack of reaction and sat down in the chair across from him picking up the information folder and glanced down at the file.

Nothing new or interesting about him.

“Iwa, huh? Your Tsuchikage is a piece of work.”

That got a reaction his eyes stared down the girl but no words left his mouth. His scarred skin told a lot about him even if he didn’t say it himself. He’d probably fought during the Third Shinobi War.

She set down the file and stared at him intently, not knowing what to do with the seasoned shinobi. Then he spoke up.

“...Why’d they send you in here?”

Her eyes flashed with interest. “I’m the best of my craft, getting people to talk is a specialty of mine.”

“You’re not from Konoha.” He stated, he didn’t even have to ask.

“Nah.” Was all she said before leaning forward slightly. “I know that those bindings aren’t intact, why haven’t you attacked me yet?”

A smirk crossed the man’s face as he crossed his arms over his chest opposed to having them behind his back. “You’re a lot sharper than you seem, Shingami.” He tested out her name on his tongue and nodded in approval. “They don’t make ‘em like you here.”

There was a familiar knock on the door behind her but the girl watched the man with keen eyes as she leaned back in her chair and said. “Enter.”

Ibiki walked in with a file in his hand. “There’s been some confusion, Shingami. This man is a genin instructor.” He noticed how the bindings were off his arms. “...He’s allowed to leave.”

Shingami stood up, stretched her arms over her head and took the folder from her mentor. “Figures. I never get to have any fun.”

She turned to leave but the man’s voice stopped her. “I enjoyed our talk, let’s hope next time it’s under better circumstances.”

She didn’t turn around. “Same here.” with that she left the room silently letting Ibiki clear up the mess on his own going back to Ibiki’s office but more importantly, to Ibiki’s couch.