It was supposed to be a quiet morning.

Shikamaru had been halfway through a report in the mission office, slouched in his chair with a pen lazily spinning between his fingers, when the knock came. Not a casual knock either—sharp, clipped, urgent. The kind that never meant anything good.

He glanced up, already annoyed. “Yeah?”

The door slid open to reveal one of the gate guards, slightly out of breath. “We’ve got someone at the north entrance asking for you by name,” he said. “Wouldn’t give much information. But… you’re going to want to come.”

Shikamaru frowned.

By the time he made it to the gates, the wind had picked up, tugging at his ponytail as he stepped past the line of guards gathered around the entrance.

And there—held between two of them, wrists loosely restrained but body still tense—stood someone unfamiliar. At first glance, she didn't look particularly threatening. Just... intense. Sharp-eyed. And focused solely on him the moment their eyes met.

Shikamaru slowed.

There was something in her gaze that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Not just anger—though it was there—but something colder. More personal.

He scanned her face again. The bone structure. The pale hair. The markings.

And then it clicked.

The way she looked at him like she already knew exactly who he was.

Like she hated him.

“…Hidan,” Shikamaru muttered under his breath, eyes narrowing slightly.

The resemblance was undeniable. There was no question.

He exhaled through his nose, forcing his voice and expression into neutrality as he stepped closer. "Let her go," he told the guards quietly. "I'll handle it."

They hesitated.

“Now.”

The guards obeyed, stepping back.

She didn’t move—just stood there, that burning look never leaving him.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his neck and gave a dry sigh, already knowing this was going to be far more than just a conversation.

"...Figures today's the day that comes back to haunt me."