Previously...

Shizukana jumped back to create distance between her and Takada. Taking a breath to plan her moves, Shizukana raised her arms in defence as Takada reached into his pouch and pulled out a small metal baton.

The baton glowed a bright blue before it elongated into a staff. "Let the battle begin," Takada muttered.

Third Persons P.O.V.

A flash of lightning filled the sky with light as Takada sprinted towards Shizukana.

Dodging his attacks, Shizukana moved around the rooftop, trying to come up with a proper solution. Eyes landing on a metal pole, Shizukana picked it up in time to deflect the incoming staff.

Both the metal poles gave out a loud 'twang' as they crashed into each other. Manoeuvring the pole, Shizukana aimed her attack at Takada's legs, which the Shinobi dodged with ease.

Continuing her attacks, Shizukana pushed toward Takada with all the strength she had.

Takada skillfully deflected the attacks before he lifted his weapon and struck Shizukana in the shoulder.

Stepping back, Shizukana winced when she felt a sharp stinging sensation engulf her shoulder. Tiny droplets of water fell from the sky as it began raining.

Flashing Shizukana a sneaky smile, Takada transferred Chakra into his staff before running towards Shizukana. The Kunoichi lifted the metal pole to defend herself but just as the weapons touched each other, Shizukana's pole shattered into pieces as she was forced to back away.

Cursing under her breath, Shizukana tried to find another weapon to defend herself, but to no avail.

Having no choice but to use her bare hands, Shizukana dodged most of the attacks, deflecting a few with her forearms. Cursing every time the staff hit her arms, Shizukana quickly searched for an alternate plan. Going for a terrible idea, Shizukana caught the staff and attempted to pull it away from the Shinobi but Takada merely let go of the staff causing the young kunoichi to fall back.

Falling to the floor, Shizukana lifted her body off the ground just in time to avoid the staff hitting her face. She placed her hands back on the ground and swiped Takada's legs, causing the man to fall to the ground.

Using this moment, Shizukana grabbed the staff and brought it down on Takada. Takada dodged all her jabs. Before he could reach into his pouch to grab a weapon, Shizukana struck him in the hand, causing the older shinobi to curse.

"I regret teaching you how to handle a staff," Takada muttered before he lunged at Shizukana. Grabbing the staff from her hands, Takada threw it away and engaged Shizukana in a taijutsu battle.

Shizukana dodged and swerved many attacks. All she wanted was a few seconds to make the hand signs. Usually, Shizukana didn't need to form the hand signs to teleport short distances, but seeing as her chakra was affected by the curse mark, she couldn't afford to make a mistake and get stranded in the space-time dimension.

Just as she brought her hands together, Takada swiped Shizukana's legs, causing the younger kunoichi to tumble to the floor.

Without hesitation, Takada brought out several kunai and pinned Shizukana's sleeves to the floor and pointed one kunai at her.

"Checkmate," Takada said, flashing Shizukana a smug smile. He walked towards her and all Shizukana could do was try to wiggle out of the kunai's grip.

"I trusted you," Shizukana spoke, her voice breaking. She didn't stop her attempts to remove the kunai. Shizukana hoped that talking might give her some time to come up with a plan.

"Well then," Takada spoke, pausing his movement for a moment. "You can't exactly blame me, can you? It was your mistake for trusting me."

As soon as he said those words, he began walking toward her before grabbing Shizukana and lifting her.

Trashing in his grip, all Shizukana could do was panic. She had no plan to accept defeat, but she felt helpless. She didn't know what to do. She grabbed Takada's arms and tried her best to get out of his monstrous grip.

Coming with a plan, Shizukana stopped moving, taking Takada by surprise. For a split second, Takada's grip loosened and Shizukana seized the opportunity.

Getting away from him, Shizukana eyed Takada as she brought her hands up in defence.

Letting out a deep exhale, Takada reached into his pouch and pulled out a long whip. Taking an offensive stance, Takada lunged toward Shizukana.

Dodging and swerving every attack, Shizukana realized she was moving toward the edge of the roof. Feeling utterly helpless, Shizukana activated her time manipulation before she slowed down time. An eery quietness enveloped the air as the rain drops seemed to halt in their position. Takada also had stopped moving.

Just as she began to move, Shizukana felt a sharp pain in her chest as she found herself unable to breathe. Her time manipulation faded as Shizukana grabbed her chest in pain. The pitter-patter of rain continued. Shizukana collapsed to her knees, desperately trying to catch her breath.

Takada stepped back in confusion. To him, the situation had changed within a nanosecond. Concern flooding his face, Takada dropped the whip and knelt in front of Shizukana. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Takada moved Shizukana's hair away.

Distracting herself from the pain, Shizukana fell backwards the second Takada laid his hands on her. About to fall off the edge, Takada grabbed her and pulled her back. "Shi-Chan?" His worried voice cut through to the sound of rain.

Clenching her jaw at the pain, Shizukana quickly focused on moving away before her eyes fell on the discarded whip. Pushing away from Takada, Shizukana reached for the whip. Just as her fingers were about to touch the weapon, Takada cried out in panic. "No, wait!"

It was too late. Shizukana's fingers had already touched the whip when she screamed in pain. Electrical shock travel from her hands to her entire body. Unable to hold herself up, Shizukana collapsed to the floor as her entire body was engulfed in a numbing sensation. Shizukana let out large exhales before she felt that numbing sensation slowly fade. As it faded, it was replaced by unbearable pain. Shizukana bit her tongue, hoping to stifle her screams. She couldn't hold it in when she felt her chest burn in pain.

She clutched her head as she felt as if it split open. She lets out a scream that made Takada widen his eyes. Standing still for a moment, Takada watched as Shizukana struggled on the floor.

He cursed at how stupid he was. Takada rushed towards Shizukana, but she pushed herself away from him. She kept moving back until she couldn't, as her focus was on trying to stop the pain.

Once Takada had reached Shizukana, he scanned her for any sign of danger. That's when he noticed some black marks creeping up her arms. He ripped apart the bandages that were wrapped around her wrists before letting out a gasp in horror.

The elegant black marking that was on Shizukana's wrist had doubled in size as they seem to engulf Shizukana's pale skin. They seemed to move around, wrapping them around her forearms in a manner that caused Takada to shudder.

The root member exhaled sharply as Shizukana let out another string of screams.

In fear of being caught, Takada grabbed Shizukana before teleporting them away from the hospital and to the nearby forest. "Let me go," Shizukana cried through the pain. She had no idea what was happening to her but she would rather suffer the pain than let Takada accomplish his goal.

"You shouldn't have touched the weapon," Takada muttered as he looked around in caution.

He watched helplessly as tears flowed down her eyes. Takada held Shizukana close as she writhed in pain. Her eyes were shut as she kept on crying out in pain. Snapping her eyes open, Takada watched as her pupil transformed into a clean slit as the white sclera in Shizukana's eyes suddenly changed into a jet-black colour. This transformation made her golden eyes glow.

His face morphed into horror as the clear tears that flowed from her eyes turned into a blood-red. The blood flowed down her cheeks before they were washed away by the rain. Muttering to himself, Takada was about to lift Shizukana when he sensed someone or something coming his way.

Soon he found himself face to face with a pack of dogs. Cursing to himself, Takada stood up and took a defensive position as he faced Kakashi's Ninken. There were eight of them and Takada knew he won't be able to take them all down without being injured and by the time he would be done with them, Kakashi would be close.

Weighing his pros and cons, he glanced at Shizukana, who was still writhing in pain. She kept trying to keep her eyes open.

Taking in a breath of air, Takada exhaled loudly. "Ninken," Takada yelled at the summons in front of him. "Take care of her."

Just as those final words were muttered, Takada disappeared in a flash.

Confused at the sudden comment and disappearance, Pakun stood still for a moment before remembering his mission. He barked once and all the dogs rushed to Shizukana. Forming a ring around her, Pakun climbed onto Shizukana before licking her face.

"Please help," Shizukana cried out. She had never felt this much agony. It was as if her entire body was being ripped apart, limb from limb. All Shizukana wanted was to stop all this pain.

Pakun turned around and faced one of the Ninken, Akino. "Get help from anyone nearby." Pakkun barked out orders, causing the dog to nod and run in the opposite direction. Pakkun then turned to others and howled, hoping that their master was alright.

Oblivious to what was happening, the two Naras of the head family stood under a tree as they watched the rainfall on the ground. They were supposed to meet the other members of the Nara Clan to discuss the usage of the forest. "Well, I don't think they'll be coming to discuss anything in this rain," Shikaku spoke as he glared at the sky.

"Glaring will change nothing," Shikamaru said as he watched his father in amusement. Stretching his hand out, Shikamaru felt the water droplets fall into his hand.

"How is Shizukana doing?" Shikaku asked, making the younger Nara smile subconsciously.

"Last I checked, she was excited about being discharged. It's nice to her to have that spark again." Shikamaru said as he shook the water out of his hand. "I think everything will go back to normal."

"She's a good person. She'll get through this." Shikaku replied as he watched the smile on his son's face widen. "Let's go in. I bet your mother has made some tea."

Just as they spoke, the faint sound of barking and howling filled their ears. "You hear that?" Shikamaru asked as he looked out into the distance.

A blurred figure was making itself towards them. Recognizing what it was, Shikaku's eyes widened as he ran towards it. Following his father, Shikamaru rushed forwards. The rain soaked them both as they stared at a shinobi ninken. Shikaku noted the symbol on the dog's back. "It's Kakashi's," Shikaku muttered as he looked at his son.

Seeing the two humans, Akino the ninken turned around, prompting the Naras to follow him. After a few minutes, both Naras froze in their step as they found a pack of dogs surrounding someone. Their howls filled the air as the Naras rushed to their aid. Shikamaru's heart skipped a beat when he recognized the familiar white hair.

"Shizukana!"

A/N. Hey guys. Alright. So I made some major changes in the middle that will be vital for the future.

It's quite alright that you decided to skip it entirely as everything will unravel itself in the future.

Hope you enjoyed it! Stay healthy.

Ciao...

P.S. Made something for the chapter ^^