Chapter 55

The coin felt like a weight in Mai's pocket whenever she carried it around. It got to a point where it was the only thing the ninja thought about. It wasn't healthy dropping the object into a drawer in the bedroom. Mai's thoughts were still a jumbled mess to a point it was starting to affect her performance. She was off balance from dizzy spells, would experience headaches more often, and there was a nauseating feeling that would come and go without warning. At least the Be Fong hadn't violently thrown up since finding out about all of the deaths among No Face. The young woman made a face at the memory. She was working herself up so much that it was making her incredibly sick.

"Mai?" Her head picked up from the fruit stand to find Shikamaru. "You have a few hours to spare?"

The young woman nodded. "Something up?"

His shoulder shrugged. "I just need a partner to play Shogi."

Ms. Nara came by with water and some snacks before leaving them be out on the porch of their household. Shikamaru had the first move, the first few games filled with small talk and comments on one another's strategy before he asked,

"How are you getting by, Mai?"

The Be Fong glanced up at Shikamaru across the board, contemplating her next move.

"I feel like I'm suffocating from all the attention," Mai admitted.

The young man smirked.

"Why is it that when everyone thinks something is wrong with me they come around more? Even Ino's been trying to follow me around..."

"She means well. All of them do. There are some of us that do that because we want you to know that we're here if you need help. Even if that's not what you want and hate the attention. At least Kakashi, Hinata, and Naruto's presence seem to be a welcome. A lot of us don't understand you. We've tried over the years, but you're a pretty guarded person."

"I have my reasons."

"I know you do, but is being alone really fulfilling? Humans crave companionship and other emotional connections. Out of all of us even Sai has more interaction with us than you do and we haven't known him as long. Many of us will never comprehend what it is you see in the field, but we try. We want you to accept us. It's taken this long for you to fully accept Naruto, Kakashi, and Hinata. Even Sasuke after everything he had done before the war."

Mai really wished Shikamaru had not said his name. Her eyes turned back down to the board and made her move.

"I'm not even sure where I fit into your life and we've trained strategy for years. I hope you consider me a friend. Though unlike Sakura, Ino, Shino, Kiba, and Choji – who have no tact when it comes to approaching someone like you – we know when to be there for you when you need it. And right now, you need us. No matter how much you try to deny it. These killers are no joke and we want to protect you because some of us would rather die than see you turn up like the others from No Face."

They're deaths in the file had been absolutely brutal.

"I'm safe as long as I'm inside the walls," Mai reasoned.

"We both know that being inside Konoha is not where you really want to be."

No, but she couldn't wander without having more ninja on her back. If Tsunade or Ibiki found out the Be Fong wasn't in the Village they'd send out their elite to track her down. Attempt to drag her back. And then shadow her, probably, for the rest of her life if the man saw fit.

"Have you thought about telling Sasuke what happened whenever he comes back?"

Yes, because when he did return, everyone would talk to him about the failed mission. How his childhood friend was in trouble of being killed. They agreed that he would most likely drop everything and return to the Leaf. Stay permanently if need be until she was safe.

"I've talked to the others... and asked them to not say anything to him."

That surprised Shikamaru greatly. "What? Why?"

"He has enough on his mind..." She didn't want the Uchiha to find out about her involvement. That the young woman was the missing number. The Be Fong wasn't ready to face the issue head on yet. "I don't want him to get himself killed by hunting down these serial killers since I was involved."

"Point taken, but you may have to tell him eventually."

"I know, but I want to be the one to say something. When I'm ready. In the meantime, I will make him aware of the danger so he is careful."

"Your secret is safe with me." She nodded in thanks. "As for staying in Konoha, just try and bear with it for the time being. The Hokage means well."

"I'll try and remember that." She watched the Nara move a piece on the board. "And you aren't a nobody to me, Shikamaru. I see you. I respect you. More so than some of my own colleagues I work every day with. You're important to me."

The admission made him smile.

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Mai didn't return home till late that evening. Once again, she refused Ms. Nara's dinner invitation saying she needed to get going. The streets were fairly quiet, hands shoved into the pockets and maneuvering through the shadows. She wasn't being too stealthy, but people still didn't notice her, which was fine. The sight of the Be Fong's own home was a welcome–

There was a light on inside.

The Be Fong's brows pinched in confusion not expecting company. Slowly, Mai stalked forward. The Chakra Strings slithered out in front searching for signs of someone's presence. It didn't take long and didn't slow her walk, throwing open the door and closing it swiftly behind her.

Pausing in the doorway to the living room their eyes met. For a moment neither spoke or approached each other. He looked completely fine and untouched from all of the fights he had been involved in beyond the gates. Unfazed. His eyes were different. They weren't sadistic, dangerous. Even his body language didn't make Mai on edge. The Uchiha looked... normal. As if nothing ever happened. As if he never went against No Face and hunted them down. As if he wasn't a murderer. Sasuke looked at Mai as if she was the best thing in the world. His whole demeanor was nothing like when he faced off against Beon.

"Is something wrong?" Sasuke asked.

Head shaking, she answered softly, "No, it's nothing." He was in front of her in an instant, kissing the Be Fong's forehead tenderly. "I just missed you is all."

"As did I. I came by three months ago and saw you're note. You were gone a long time."

"Top secret mission. I had to leave the mainland."

A lie. Because she didn't have the heart to tell him what she witnessed. The young woman was a coward. Looking into his eyes the heartless expression wasn't present like it had been those weeks ago. No longer dead set on killing someone. The Uchiha appeared to be content, at peace being here with her.

"Happy birthday," she whispered. He too had turned twenty. Two months before herself and was certain he must've forgotten as well.

"You as well."

This time he kissed her fully on the lips will so much heat and passion it made Mai's head swim and clutch him close. Why? Why couldn't she say anything? Bring up the fact that everyone was onto the movement of the killers beyond the walls of Konoha? She needed answers, yet couldn't think straight. Not with him. Almost never around him.

They were always drawn to each other, as her arms wrapped around his neck tightly. Mai squeezed her eyes shut wishing to will all the terrible memories away. To pretend that it was all a horrible dream she would wake up from. That Sasuke wasn't the serial killer. That the both of them weren't such fucked up individuals. That things could be normal for once. Yet in the back of the Be Fong's mind she knew that in the morning that dream would disappear and she would be hurled back into reality with consequences.

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Mai grumbled to herself as she sat in the doctor's office annoyed she was here in the first place. But Hinata could be pretty scary sometimes. The young woman cursed to herself for being careless when a dizzy spell hit her as they were training at the Hyuuga compound. The Be Fong didn't manage to catch herself in time and collapsed to the ground rather roughly. Holding her head and sitting up, she groaned loudly trying to stop the world from spinning. Naturally, the Hyuuga panicked and fused over Mai, who continued to state that she was fine... only then did she accidentally let slip this wasn't the first time it happened.

"Hello, Mai," the doctor greeted. Thankfully it was Sakura's day off. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I don't think it's anything, but a friend of mine threatened to drag me here if I didn't go by myself," the Be Fong said.

The woman smirked in amusement. "Why don't you start from the beginning?"

Mai listed everything that had been bothering her for over two months. The doctor decided to run tests to be safe.

"Results should come tomorrow," the doctor said. "Come by in the afternoon and we'll see what I can prescribe. For the time being I suggest you take it easy."

The Be Fong didn't like waiting, but relented to everything the woman asked. She found the Hyuuga standing outside.

"Didn't trust me, huh?"

"Naruto has stories of you skipping out on hospital visits," Hinata stated. "Wasn't about to take any chances."

A smirk twitched at the edge of Mai's lips. "You two are starting to rub off on each other." The young woman blushed and her grin widened. "I have to come by tomorrow after the tests are done."

"Will you tell me what's wrong when you know?" Hinata asked.

"Sure, I'll come by after my appointment."

"Will you tell Sasuke?"

"No, he doesn't need to know... and neither does Naruto. I don't want them to worry, even if it's just a cold."

Besides, Mai had still been very wary about the Uchiha since his return two days ago. He told stories of his travels beyond the wall. Some of them may have been true, but Mai couldn't be sure. Yet she couldn't talk to Sasuke about No Face either. The young woman didn't know how to bring it up and it was eating her up inside as she lay in bed at night beside Sasuke wrapped up in his arms. She was harboring a fugitive which made her a criminal as well. Equally guilty.

"Mai?" The young woman was startled out of her thoughts sitting in the hospital room the next day. "Sorry, you were deep in thought," the doctor apologized.

"I have a lot on my mind," the Be Fong said.

"I understand."

Mai sighed, "What seems to be the problem?"

It was a complication, but not something life threatening. It would pass, the symptoms, just not right away like the Phantom Ninja hoped. There was medicine she could take. As the woman went over next steps, Mai was barely listening from the ringing in the ears.

"I would suggest coming back every few weeks. Just to be sure you're in top shape. I'll make a report with Ibiki and the Hokage to make them aware–"

The doctor was unable to finish that remark before a clone appeared behind her and knocked the woman out. Mai grabbed the file reading the contents to discover the doctor wasn't lying. She burned it quickly. This had to be handled. This situation needed to be altered so nothing was said to the other nurses and doctors. Before Sakura found out. All documents of her test results had to be deleted or destroyed. It's a good thing that she was trained for this with Phantom. This had to be done swiftly. The others couldn't know about this or worry. There were more important matters to deal with. The Be Fong couldn't be put on constant watch more so than she already was or forced to sit on the sidelines.

This could not get out.