Chapter 9: The Oak Stalker
When Marcella tears her eyes from the floor and drags herself under the covers in the dead of night, it's to the thought of an unprecedented future and a dull wariness in her mind.
*****
The next day, she woke up later than she normally would, got dressed, and slipped out of her room. The house was empty, her parents having left earlier to go about their duties.
She doesn't bother eating breakfast, instead grabbing her father's wallet from the dining table and walking out of the house she now calls home.
She's not quite sure if it's out of nervousness or sheer boredom, but she opts to take the long route to meet the boy, sprinting down alleyways and weaving through unsuspecting civilians.
Her chest aches, and her breath comes out in labored puffs as she pulls back the curtain and takes a seat at the local ramen establishment.
Her eyes scan the area, getting a feel for the atmosphere. It's nice, she decides after a second, smiling at the man behind the counter. She can't remember the man's name, but surprisingly enough, it's his daughter's name, Ayame, that flashes through her mind.
She turns, facing the other stools in search of blonde locks, and comes face to face with the Jinjuriki himself. She watched nervously as his eyes gleamed, a surprised grin stretching across his features at the sight of her.
Suppressing the small smile she feels itching at her features, Marcella watches the boy expectantly.
There's a widening of his eyes and a loud gasp that leaves his mouth before he stumbles over to her, almost tripping over his own feet as he comes off his stool.
"You actually came!" He shouted, and she stopped the instinctual urge she felt to snap at the boy's volume and his proximity.
Yeah, of course I came. I did say I wanted to make it up to you, didn't I?" She sends him a small smile, just a tad strained thanks to the ringing in her ear, and doesn't expect the near-blinding smile he sends her in turn.
He's staring at her again, but there's something off about it, and by the way he shakes his head, smiles again, and sits down, he feels it in himself as well.
She doesn't know why being near him was putting her so off-kilter; maybe it was because the two of them meeting was earlier than she intended it to be, or maybe it was because of the whole jinjuriki thing she shared with the blonde-haired boy, but either way, she stores the thought for a later moment.
She sends the blonde a concerned glance, watching as a mirage of emotions flickers across his features before ordering for the two.
Watching the boy visibly shake himself from whatever vertigo-type shit was going on with them. She taps his shoulder and motions to the food in front of them.
"Lunches on me; order as much as you like."
He sends her another one of those blinding smiles before digging into his food with relish, ordering his second bowl before she can even put the chopsticks to her lips.
She can already feel the lightness of her father's wallet.
Naruto sits at her side for the next two hours, informing her of all the things he did yesterday, earlier this morning, and long before he even knew her. His exaggerated movements and rambunctious laughter drew cackles and drawn-out smiles from the young girl.
It was a break from her normal and somewhat basic routine, and she was surprised that by the end of it, she had enjoyed it a lot more than she thought she would.
That being said, there's so much she should be concerned about just from that one interaction alone, both for the boy and the village, though she doesn't particularly care for the latter.
The part of her that she expresses outwardly Marcella wants to smile in that non-threatening manner and ask the Hokage how the village ever lasted this long.
The part of her that slips through the cracks and wants to simply explain everything exceedingly stupid about this village, Athena, questions how the only outward threat to the village between the Kyubii attack and the Chunin Exam Arc is the Hyuga kidnapping because, let's be honest, Mizuki was not a threat.
If she were a skilled enemy shinobi, if she were a skilled anything, she would've just learned a variety of ways to both enter and exit the Hokage Residence and the Village, the anbu and jonin guard schedules, and how to get past some very unskilled chunin, all because a neglected child who had barely known her for twenty-four hours had finally gotten the attention he so desperately desired.
It had her questioning for what must've been the ten millionth time in both her lives combined how the original Naruto had the willpower, much less the pure, unadulterated enthusiasm, to protect and lead the village that both shunned and ridiculed him for something that was beyond his control.
Because if she were ever in his position, she'd learn as much as humanly possible with the abilities he possessed and dip. No looking back. No goodbyes, no nothing.
It's for this reason and so many others that she smiles as they part ways. The boy was so much more than she could ever be in either of her lives. She let that and the promise to treat him again hang between the two as she reminisced about the life he would no longer live.
*****
She stole a glimpse at the clock in the corner of her room, pleased to see she had a little more time before dinner.
Having come home a few hours earlier, she'd opted to clean her room since it seemed like an okay Wednesday and she hadn't done it the week prior.
Knock, Knock!
She glanced up at the door on the other side of the room as she continued to fold the rest of her clothes. "It's open"
"Dinner's almost ready, you know." Her mother murmurs as she pushes open the door. She meets her mother's gaze as she walks over and smiles as she's pulled into a hug.
Reiko always seemed to have a growing need to hold her whenever she was around, and Marcella had learned to mind it a lot less.
She lets out a sigh as her mother loosens her hold.
"Mom, why did you leave me with Naruto yesterday?"
Reiko hums as she looks down at her daughter, idly pushing a strand of hair behind the girl's ear. They both knew she wouldn't be getting an answer that easily.
Marcella sighs, a chuckle leaving her at her mother's contemplative expression.
"You shouldn't have left without a word if you weren't expecting something like this."
She ducks under her mother's arm and down the stairs to the kitchen, pasting a saccharine smile on her features as she watches her father share their dinner.
They eat in silence for a few minutes, the sound of the cutlery echoing around them.
"Hon?"
Marcella raises her dinner knife at the sound, idly pointing it at her mother.
"Why did you leave me with Naruto?" She asks again, stabbing her Teppanyaki with the knife's edge once she feels her mother's gaze.
"I don't mind the boy; Marcella continues trying to find the right words for the situation: "he's sweet, has a good amount of street smarts even while still being stupidly naive, etcetera, etc."
"But before yesterday, I hadn't even known Naruto's name outside of passing conversations and inane village gossip. Why'd you and Dad just leave me with him?"
She continues eating vaguely, feeling the two exchange glances from the other side of the dining table.
"Well, Her father starts speaking for the first time since they'd begun." We've seen him around, and he looked lonely.
And you don't have any friends right now."
Reiko, bless her heart, continues. "No one likes to play with him or talk to him, so we thought we could kill two birds with one stone and have you gain a friend while playing with the young boy."
She nods in understanding, waving her fork at the two, her voice taking a small, lilting tone as she eyes them.
"I understand, She starts, and there's a sarcastic bite to the words that she hastens to clamp down on: "You two were and are just trying your best to help him, and there's obviously more to that story than making friends, but at least tell me before you two disappear to who knows where."
For a silly little moment, she feels like a parent scolding her child, seeing the near-chastened look on her father's face.
Turning her attention back to her mother, she watches as Reiko simply nods. Satisfied, she turns back to her meal, the silence and whatever exaggerated tension she felt bleeding from her father's frame dissipating into the air. The three ended their meal on a good note with banter and idle chatter.
A tired yawn escapes her as she enters her room, stumbling her way to the bathroom, brushing her teeth, and changing into her sleepwear before stumbling into bed.
That night, Marcella goes to bed with a quiet sigh. If she were anyone else, she'd have gone to bed with more questions than answers, but knowing what she did, Marcella knows her parents are just trying their best to aid Naruto, their friend's child, while obeying the orders of Konoha's spineless Kage.
*****
Marcella sighs quietly to herself as she rereads the same page of her book for the umpteenth time that morning. The early morning sun blares down on her as she lays across her picnic blanket.
She'd gained permission after that meeting with Naruto to do a lot of things a kid her age wouldn't have been able to do back in her old world, but it was boring and unentertaining compared to what she was used to.
She'd woken up to a note on the fridge and breakfast on the counter. Marcella, used to this despite it not happening all that often, simply ate, changed, cleaned up, and left.
At this time of day, the park where she found herself was filled with mostly civilians since she went to a park in the civilian district, but a few ninjas were there chatting, exercising, or loitering about here and there as well.
One of the ninjas had sent her a smile and commented on how cute she was, which kinda dampened her mood but otherwise didn't interrupt the morning.
Now here she was, staring up at the sky, watching the clouds pass by as her head filled with boring, meaningless thoughts.
She sighs once again before picking up her stuff to head out of the park. She'd only made it a couple of meters before pain bloomed across her forehead and she landed on her ass.
She dares to look up amidst pained groans and forehead rubs, only to be met with someone in a similar situation.
Brown eyes met hers as a small ponytail swayed in the morning breeze.
As if the staring had finally caused all the gears in her head to damn well click, she finally put a name on the baby-faced boy.
Nara Shikamaru.
Future Hokage Assistant
Killer of the Immortal, Akatsuki Hidan
A genius among a clan of geniuses
Member of Team 9
They stood staring at each other for far too long to be considered normal before she turned and walked away.
She's already met Naruto; she didn't need Nara around her as well.
She walks as far as the entrance before Shikamaru seems to snap out of his dazed state and chase after her. As he fell into step at her side, Marcella could feel an oppressive silence fill the place between them—or maybe that was just her—but not even the chatter of the civilian crowd seemed to be enough to distract her from Shikamaru's curious and bordering on stalkerish gaze.
And wasn't that interesting? She meets two characters that have major impacts on the plot, and they stare at her as if they can already tell she's a walking, talking enigma.
They wandered in silence, passing by Ichiraku as they did. The urge to check if Naruto was there so she could pawn him off to Shikamaru briefly crossed her mind before she banished it.
As she spied the entrance to the academy in the distance, she spun around to face Nara. "What do you want?" she asked, slowly looking down at the boy as she eyed him.
"You're stalking me at this point. It's weird, and I don't even know you." She lied, shoving a finger forward and poking him in the chest. "If you have nothing to say, then leave me be."
Shikamaru, looking up from the finger still poking at his chest, sighs while looking up at her. His typical slouch and disinterested look were in place, but the slight glint in his eyes gave him away.
"Don't do that." He replied, pushing her finger aside. "You were the one who bumped into me and didn't even apologize."
She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Is that all? Fine. I'm sorry I bumped into you." She rolled her eyes as she finished, "Now will you leave me alone?"
He doesn't reply, turning in the opposite direction and walking away from her just as she did earlier.
Marcella sighed as she watched him go.
When she slams open the door to her home a few minutes later, she doesn't expect the Jonin Commander, His wife, and the very person of her ire to be sitting on her couch.
As she opens her mouth to snap at the boy, she finds herself unable to form any words to relay her ire. It wasn't until Shikamaru's mom spoke up that she realized they'd been speaking.
"Hello, Marcella uttered quietly. "I don't know who you people are or what you're doing in my house, but I hope you've enjoyed the hospitality."
She then marched over to Shikamaru and grabbed him by the ear.
"What are you doing in my house, Stalker Boy?"
"I dunno." He grumbled, reaching to cup his ear. "Ask my parents; they're the ones who brought me here. I didn't even know you existed until today!"
She turned to the adults in the room, watching as strays of amusement danced in their eyes as they watched the interaction take place. She could feel a sigh settle itself into her bones as four sets of eyes bore into her.
Shikaku broke into deep chuckles, and the other occupants of the room brought in their fair share of laughter.
She can feel the sigh set in, and she exchanges a look with the boy she intended to berate mere minutes earlier. He looks just as tired as she feels. She can feel the almost minuscule twitch of her eyebrows as Shikaku wipes a tear from his eye. Ignoring her mother's smirk as her father got up to pat her head,
Brushing the man's hand aside, Marcella turned to face the Nara couple, sending a small half-glare at their heir as she did.
Shikamaru, the annoying little brat, slowly shook his head. His presence was reminiscent of that of a patronizing diva.
"Mr. Jonin Commander #1, Wife of Mr. Jonin Commander, she says, feigning boredom. "Why are you here?"
This time, Shikamaru gives her a look. "Am I just a ghost to you, or is it a personal punching bag?"
"You don't get to talk, Stalker child," she responds, bemused.
"Now why are you here?" She stresses her arms coming up to cross over her chest.
Shikaku studies her. " Well, he starts, "We're here to talk to your parents, but if you have something to say too, we'd be happy to hear it, and I thought you said you didn't know who we are?"
"I lied. Now answer my question and stop being a smartass about it."
"You," Nara tries before trailing off into what she'd call Nara's silence, like father, like son.
Marcella isn't sure if the man is surprised by her response or just trying to clear the air. She watches him watch her in response to her statement.
She walks over to her parents and eases herself between the two, leaning into her mother's side so she'll still have a good view of the man's face.
"Marcella dear, Her mother chides, "It isn't nice to question our guests so aggressively; try for a more subtle approach."
It's suspicious to just question people in this world half the time, and bringing anything from her old life to use is just like begging to be suspected.
And she's expected to be questioning people like this?
If this were her old life and she were the age she is now, her mother would've slapped her on the mouth with a ruler for even uttering a word.
Which, if she's looking back on it, was looked at as a much more mundane punishment in their household.
Anyways... Asking her to be subtle now is like asking her if she wants a brand new rainbow-painted target on her back.
It could be done, but not without looking suspicious as hell.
As if to prove her point, her legs move on their own accord, and she's once again up on her feet.
She makes a grand show of getting into a curtsy and batting her eyelashes as she mockingly bows in front of the Nara family.
"Good evening, sirs, ladies, and stalkers alike," she starts sarcastically, ignoring the heir's eye roll. "It is an honor to be acquainted with people of such great influence, but what, may I ask, are you doing in our home?"
And there it is—that glimmer of something near-dangerous hidden behind Nara's eyes.
Marcella sees the way they watch her now and hates herself for the involuntary shiver that runs down her spine.
She likes Nara; truly, she does. Their clan is awesome, even though nobody fully realizes it because of the laziness they hide behind sometimes. What she doesn't like are the traits the people of that clan come to possess.
Their observance and instinctual need to figure out things that intrigue them are both useful and annoying. Don't let their laziness fool you; once a Nara gets hooked on something they find intriguing, they stay hooked for as long as they need to be to get answers.
She can see why and how the Ino-Shika-Cho trio became what it is.
Having their attention on your person can be one of the most dangerous or helpful things in the world, Malia once theorized to her. If need be, they'd upheave every secret on your person to sate their hunger, or they'd help you find all the answers you'd be looking for as payment for your aid.
It's both impressive and annoying in its complicity, with disadvantages and advantages alike.
*****
Somehow she must've wronged the world in her last life, because not only does she have Naruto to deal with, but she's earned herself a playdate with the Nara heir.
Marcella understands that her bouts of sarcasm and repetitive questioning display a level of intelligence unmatched for someone her age.
But she can easily answer using her parents intelligence as an alibi if necessary. That does not mean she wants a playdate with Nara, however smart he may be.
What's worse, she has no choice but to attend said playdate unless she wants no privacy for the rest of her childish life. Imagine having enough anbu to round up a civilian mob following her around and her just barely grasping that it's happening.
It's infuriating, and one of the only ways her parents know she'll even bother to attend to such childish things without their constant pushing.
So even if not entirely by choice, she runs a hand down her face, grabs an ink pen from her desk, and marks down the date on her calendar.
In exactly two weeks, she's gonna be 'playing' with the Nara heir.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone