The Price of Love

Danzo looked at the picture of the woman that killed his father. Her hair was tied in two short blond tails at the back of her head. Her fringe was parted in two and stops just above the eye brows. Her almond bluey green eyes was slanted, and in this photo, was full of anger.



“You killed my dad as revenge for betraying the man you love. For a man that did not love you. He was married to a woman by force and he had a lover he could not hold. In his heart, there was no room for you. Yet, you still went out of your way to avenge him. Now I know what its means when people say: love was blind. You didn’t give a shit that he had a son nor a wife, only that indirectly he made Shikamaru Nara kill himself. And now, are you trying to finish what you started? No, it can be. I saw you die with my own eyes. No one could survive a death blow like that.



Well if you did, here I am, come and get me. I’m ready for you any moment. Just let me finish with my father’s and now my mother’s wish. I need to let Minato and Shikaku know of their past.



No, it could not be you. You would like the mystery to be solved, and those two to be happy. For that would have made Shikamaru happy. You could never hurt Shikaku. So, who is it? Who is tying all those loose ends, and killing people off?”



Could it be him? No, it can’t be.



_______________________________________________________________________



After five minutes, Miki finally gained her composure and wiped away her tear and looked at Shikaku with a gentle smile.



“You look actually like that serious boy lived by the motto of “life was troublesome”. Ah, you be none other then a Nara. You must be Shikamaru’s son. If I remember rightly, those two boys were inseparatable. A friendship bond that turned to a undying love that was never meant to happen. Ah, very much like Shapesphere’s Romeo and Juliet, the two ill fated star cross lovers.” She said the last phrase soft and with sense of hopelessness.



“A strong friendship, just like the one I had with your grandmother, Yosino. Our families, no, as a matter of fact the families that are all involved, seem to be interlinked through the generations. As if it was genetics, not coincidences that made this story so close to home.”



Shikaku was up on his feet at once. “You know my grandmother?” he exclaimed



Minato looked at his lover, a little puzzled. Shikaku never seemed to agitated till now. This woman was clearly an important aspect of his past.



“Yes, Yo-yo, as Shikamaru would call her, was a powerhouse of a woman. She tried so hard and was a perfectionist that drove everyone mad around her….all except your grand dad – Shikaku senior. That man was definitely Shika’s father, he was calm against his wife’s storm, smart and smoothing with a small genuine smile, and a tenacy to get distracted by clouds. Yes, Shikamaru was uncanny like his father. His mother on the other hand…was loud, abrupt and hot tempered and like both father and son would say

- troublesome.



But that did not say she was beautiful to look at. Their marriage may have been a little arranged but that was because Shikaku senior, just could not be bothered to ask Yosino to marry her! She took matter in her own hands and dragged him to the chapel herself!” Miko stopped and joined in the peal of laughter coming from the two men.



They could just imagine Yosino in her white elegant and sparkly gown, with a beautiful long veil, pulling a reluctant young Shikaku down the chapel’s red carpet by the ear. They could imagine the guess smirking behind their hands and the groom in jeans.



That started another round of laughter. They wiped their eyes, this time with tears of joy.



“I needed that” Miko simply stated.



“My grand mother….um….how did you know her?”



“Oh, it was two years before you were born when she as an innocent eighteen year old girl trying to live through tough time. There was an economic recession, being the oldest of four siblings she had to find work to feed her family.



I took one look at her, and decided to treat her like a daughter. I was feeling lonely when Tsuande was forced to leave my arms. By how she talked and act, I knew I had her absolute trust, respect and loyalty. This girl would walk through fires if I asked her to. Thankful it didn’t get to that point.



Did you know Shikaku? In this very mansion, was where the head gardener Shikaku Nara of so many years ago, meet the beautiful sweet young thing by the name of Yosino?”



Shikaku was engrossed in his personal history. That was understandable. Yet the person who was not blinking an eye and focused totally on her with look of wonder was Minato. Shikaku has rarely talked about his family. He was always self conscious about not knowing his past. Then there was the fact that their pasts was so closely linked, intrigued him too.



Miko suddenly buried her head in her hands again.



“It was my fault. If I didn’t miss the look Madara had for your grand father….your mother wouldn’t have to go to that much length to get revenge and then committing suicide with a nihonto.



Why must it all be due to love? Love was meant to bring happiness, but all it gave us was despair. I really wonder how we could live in hope of happiness, knowing this?”



Shikaku was numbed. Minato was shock.



This story just getting more and more complex by the minute. With every revelation there are more questions.



“Who was this Madara guy? Why did he hate my grandfather so? Was he in love with my grandmother?”



“Madara Uchiha, sixteen, the young master of the Uchiha family, one of the biggest Yakuza clans. Don’t be mistake boy. Madara would never love Yosino. He hated her to the bone. She took his beloved Shikaku away from him after all. He was a arrogant boy that knows he will get anything he ask for, and right when he asked for it. But it wasn’t a thing he want it was a body, a heart, a love. He wanted my head gardener, your grand father as his lover, and he was an obsessive bastard. It mattered not that Yosino was six months pregnant, or that they will be married when the baby was born.



And with the power of the Yakuza, he imprisoned your grandfather for nearly a year. Chained him up, like a dog to the bed. Make him follow Madara everywhere, and f*cked him every night. Madara thought that Shikaku was his and belonged only to him”



Minato was now was concerned for Shikaku. He knew how delicate Shikaku’s state of mind can get. He just don’t know how he feels. Shikaku does not talk about his emotions, he find it hard to express them fully. But by the look on his face, Minato knew he was hurting from this new light on his past.



He had always thought his parents were lost to each other. Always fighting and cruel words was thrown careless around. Shikamaru never loved Ino. So Shikaku had given up hope on finding true love. He had not seen anything but despair when it comes to the L.O.V.E word. That was before he met Minato. And now, he wonders was it worth all the trouble that his grandparents went through.



He looked at Minato. Minato gave him a quirky smile. That was all that needed to make him believed with the bottom of his heart, that love was worth all the hassle.