Naruto: The Unwoven Threads of Fate

"Alvarcus we've got a problem!" Shirokumo shouts before the smoke that accompanied his appearance has a chance to clear. He darts out of it and starts frantically pacing back and forth on the floor.

"What's wrong?" I stop cleaning my lab to give him my full attention. Turns out I must have left an impression on everyone here, no one set foot in my lab since I left. That means the mess I made moments before departing was waiting for me when I got back.

Joy.

"She told them." Shirokumo quickens his panic fueled pacing.

"Right so couple of questions." I squat down so I'm closer to the freaking out spider. "Which she and who did she tell and what did she say?"

"Ino. Your friends. Everything." Shirokumo stops pacing like a madman. In this case a madspider?

"Could you please repeat that?" I pleasantly say to him. "I could have sworn you said Ino told my friends everything."

"Alvarcus she told them everything." All of his beady black eyes turn to me.

"Now when you say everything…" I trail off.

"The real reason you're at Oto. The real reason you won't go back. All of the stuff she saw in your head." He takes a massive breath. "Alvarcus she told them about you trying to stop the war."

"Did she mention the Akatsuki at all?" I ask him. "Did she tell them to run away from the red clouds?"

"No."

"Idiot." I snarl out. "I explicitly stressed that. It is the most important thing she could have said. Did she tell them about me spying on everyone?"

"Yes."

"Fantastic." I push myself up and stomp over to a upright table. Nine separate scattered sealing tags on the ground flutter into the air and land on the table in a three by three square. "At least she couldn't tell Naruto I am Spider. I only told her I was spying on Orochimaru."

"What do you plan to do now?" Shirokumo asks as he scales my body to rest on my head. "You can't make them forget it all, it's impossible. Your only Yamanaka friend is the one that told them, there's no way she'd remove their memories."

"I'm doing the only thing I can do, damage control." Nine brushes and inkpots float onto the table. The brushes dip into the ink pots in unison and start to intricately draw on the nine tags. "It's true that I can't remove their memories."

Quickly the seals start to take shape. Each one starts out with a square outline and slowly fills up with added lines. Each line is perfectly straight but none of them seem to have any sense of order. It looks like a shattered pane of glass.

"What I can do is make my very own curse seal."

That Night, Nara Clan Compound

"Shikamaru." Shikaku lazily leans against the doorframe to his son's room. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Shikamaru is laying on his bed, on top of the covers, and is staring at the ceiling. He didn't even bother to look at his father.

"Bullshit." Shikaku bluntly dismisses his son's words.

"Mom's out?" Shikamaru raises an eyebrow at his father's choice of words.

"Yeah. Just you and me." Shikaku strolls into the room and sits down at the foot of the bed. "You had one hell of a mission."

"Stupid jonin commander." Shikamaru grumbles. "I can't get anything past you. What's the point of being a teenager if I can't sneak around behind your back?"

"You're too lazy to sneak around behind my back." Shikaku smiles softly at his child. "Though if you want me to I'll look the other way once in awhile. Especially if there's a girl involved."

"DAD!" Shikamaru flushes red in embarrassment.

"Offer stands." Shikaku smiles back on his memories for a fleeting moment, remembering his own experiences with his father. They had a very similar deal. "Now what part about the mission is eating at you? You can talk to me, even if it's just to get it out."

Shikamaru doesn't reply instantly. Shikaku doesn't let the silence get to him, he's waiting patiently. He knows that Shikamaru likes to think everything through before acting, conversation is no different.

"It's not the mission that's bothering me." Shikamaru finally speaks after minutes of silence.

"Is it Tsunade telling you what Alvarcus did?" Shikaku guesses. It's not a bad guess, to him it's the only other option.

"How much do you know about Alvarcus?" Shikamaru asks. "And I don't mean as a person. I mean how much has he done for Konoha? Before he left for Orochimaru and after he left."

It's Shikaku's turn to be quiet as he comes up with a response.

"Alvarcus was an asset to Konoha. He was quickly becoming one of our best." Shikaku dances around giving a specific answer.

"But not anymore." Shikamaru intently studies his father who is not betraying a single emotion.

"Yes." Shikaku confirms. "Not anymore."

"We should honor our debt to him." Shikamaru shares his thoughts. "I know that him fleeing the village is supposed to nullify that debt. He deserves it. He's earned it. Dad he saved my life, how can we not honor that?"

"You know something I don't." Shikaku correctly accuses his son. "What is it?"

"A lot. I think." Shikamaru admits. "I'll tell you first thing tomorrow morning when I have it all sorted out. It's a lot for me to process and I want to make sure I have it straight before I tell you."

"Deal." Shikaku rises up off the bed. "First thing in the morning. I'll hold you to that."

"Thanks for the talk Dad." Shikamaru says as Shikaku leaves the room.

"Of course. You can talk to me whenever you need to." Shikaku shuts the door behind him.

POOF

"Hey." A large white spider appears in the corner of the room. "I'm not here to fight. I'm here on behalf of Alvarcus. Mind releasing me from the shadows now?"

"How can I trust you?" Shikamaru asks without removing the shadows from Shirokumo. "I don't even know if I can trust Alvarcus and you're not him."

"Right well I'm just here to drop this off." Shirokumo attempts to point at the letter on his back but his limbs refuse to move. "This being the letter. If it makes you feel better you can pull your shadow back just enough for me to move then I'll drop the letter and leave. That way you'd have me trapped in a corner if I'm up to no good. Deal?"

"Fine." Shikamaru's shadow retreats until it's a hairsbreadth away from Shirokumo's. "Now drop it and go."

The letter flutters to the ground. Shirokumo is gone in smoke before it lands.

"Now what the hell could he have to say to me?" Shikamaru spawns a clone into existence. It walks over and picks up the letter. "Didn't dispel. Should be okay to touch then."

The clone hands the letter to his maker. Shikamaru unfolds the piece of paper only to feel a sudden burning sensation on the back of his left hand.

"OW!" Shikamaru drops the letter in shock to stare at the new black mark on his hand. "What the hell is this?"

After studying it for a few minutes Shikamaru gives up on trying to figure it out. He knows it's a seal of some sort but he has no idea what it is supposed to do.

Dear Shikamaru,

Blame Ino for your fancy new seal. I trusted her and she betrayed that trust. I've taken matters into my own hands, or technically yours. You'll find that speaking about what she told you just got a lot more difficult. Painfully difficult. Don't bother trying to find a workaround. There isn't one.

Alvarcus

"DAD!" Shikamaru shouts out as he flings his door open. "I need a sealmaster!"

Akimichi Clan Compound

"There!" Chouza heartily slaps his son on the back. "Nothing a good meal won't fix!"

"Yeah. Food always helps." Choji sighs in contentment. "Do you mind if I turn in early? I had a very trying day today. Kinda need to process some stuff."

"Of course." Chouza nods his acceptance. "It's hard to learn that someone you knew is capable of all that. Even more so when that someone was your friend. You know that I'm here for you and if you don't want to go to me you can always go to your mother."

"Thanks pops." Choji rises up and makes his way towards his room. "But I just need to sleep on it. Let it all sink in before I can really accept it. Something like this… it's crazy."

"Take your time." Chouza waves Choji upstairs. "Now get some sleep! I'll see you bright and early tomorrow for training!"

"Ugh can't we make it noon tomorrow?"

"No! Ten! I'm already giving you an extra two hours! Be grateful you got that much!"

"Thanks pops." Choji drawls out. "You're the best."

"And don't you forget it!"

Choji leaves his father behind and enters his room. It's exactly as it should be except for one folded piece of paper sitting on his pillow.

"What's this?" Choji picks up the paper. "OW!"

The paper falls down onto his bed as he tenderly rubs the back of his hand. A unique black square has formed on it.

"What's going on? What is that? Some kind of seal?" Choji picks the letter back up. "Who would want to put a seal on - oh. Bastard."

Dear Choji,

Blame Ino for your fancy new seal. I trusted her and she betrayed that trust. I've taken matters into my own hands, or technically yours. You'll find that speaking about what she told you just got a lot more difficult. Painfully difficult. Don't bother trying to find a workaround. There isn't one.

Alvarcus

"Uh pops?" Choji makes his way back downstairs. "I've got a problem."

Aburame Clan Compound

"Do you know how to remove this?" Shino holds his recently defaced hand to the light so his father can study the new mark.

"How did you acquire it?" Shibi asks as he takes Shino's hand in his own and twists it around to get a better look at it.

"Ino shared some information about Alvarcus with me. Somehow he found out and sent me a letter. Once I touched it that seal appeared." Shino sums up the fiasco rather astutely.

"You still have it?" Shibi asks and Shino produces the letter.

Dear Shino,

Blame Ino for your fancy new seal. I trusted her and she betrayed that trust. I've taken matters into my own hands, or technically yours. You'll find that speaking about what she told you just got a lot more difficult. Painfully difficult. Don't bother trying to find a workaround. There isn't one.

Alvarcus

PS, If this hurts your hive at all I'm very sorry. That wasn't my intention.

"He cares about your hive?" Shibi asks. He's slightly caught off guard by Alvarcus's caring despite being a missing nin. "Peculiar."

"He is a very peculiar person." Shino admits without shame. "Do you know how to remove the mark?"

"No. We should go see the Hokage about this." Shibi decides. "She may know what to do about it."

The Inuzuka Clan Compound

"Hey Ma?" Kiba hesitantly pokes his head into his mother's office. "You got a minute?"

"What's up pup?" Tsume looks up from her paperwork and waves her son in.

"I've got a… well I wanted to ask you something." Kiba nervously walks in and sits down in one of the chairs opposite his mother.

"Ask away. I'm your mother, you can ask me anything." Tsume assures her son.

Kiba isn't too sure of that. His mother is known to be quite… expressive in her reactions.

"Okay. So. Let's say that there's this pack. One of the members of this pack leaves and the rest of the packmates shun him and hate him for leaving. But then they find out that the one that left did it to protect the pack. He left for the benefit of the pack as a whole by sacrificing himself. Would… would you let that lone wolf back into the pack? Or would you insist on continuing his exile?"

"That…" Tsume devotes her full attention to Kiba. "Is a very difficult question. In most cases no, I would not let that lone wolf back in. The pack is a unit, abandoning it in any way is a grave sin. But if that lone wolf did it for the pack… well that's where it gets difficult. I would need more information to go off of to give you an honest answer. What brought this up?"

"Alvarcus." Kiba hesitantly admits. "I've learned some stuff about him recently."

"That's your pack." Tsume tells her son. "You have to make the call about how you'll treat him. I know that he's a missing nin. I also know that he was once a packmate of yours. It's… difficult to put a packmate down. I'm speaking from personal experience. If you decide that you won't or can't I will not shun you regardless of what everyone else thinks."

"Right. I'll-"

"No." Tsume cuts off Kiba. "Don't decide now. Think on this. Alphas do not act impulsively, I am no exception. Every action of mine is thought out, from how I act around certain people to when I fly off the handle in rage. Take your time and truly think. You may not be the alpha of your pack but that does not mean you won't become one eventually. You better start acting like one now."

"What do you mean I'm not the alpha!" Kiba almost shouts at his mother. He has more sense than that, it's just a slightly raised voice. "Of course I'm the alpha!"

"Sure. Keep telling yourself that." Tsume turns back to her paperwork. "Now scram! Us alphas have work to do!"

"Gah!" Kiba rises up and stomps out of the room. "Even when giving advice she insults me!"

"It's motherly love!" Tsume calls after him. "If I don't encourage you to do better than you never will!"

"You have the worst form of encouragement ever." Kiba mutters under his breath.

"I heard that pup!" Tsume shouts at him. "You'll thank me in five years, just wait!"

"Yeah whatever you say Ma!" Kiba leaves his mother alone and makes his way to his room.

"Yip!" Akamaru instantly assualts him the second he opens the door.

"Whoa down boy! I was gone for five minutes! Geeze you'd think you'd like the nap!" Kiba affectionately places the small dog on his head. Pretty soon he won't be able to do this, Akamaru is hitting a growth spurt. "Hey. What's this black spot on you?"

Kiba runs a thumb over a new patch of black tinted fun on Akamaru's front left leg.

"Yip!"

"A spider left me a note?" Kiba asks in confusion. Then his eyes land on the piece of paper on his pillow. "Okay. So either I'm crazy, you're crazy, or you're telling the truth."

"Yip!"

"Right… spider left me a note." Kiba walks to his bed and scoops up the letter. "OW!"

A shattered square appears on his hand.

"You've gotta be shitting me." Kiba groans out as he reads the letter.

Dear Kiba and Akamaru,

Blame Ino for your fancy new seals. I trusted her and she betrayed that trust. I've taken matters into my own hands, or technically yours. You'll find that speaking about what she told you just got a lot more difficult. Painfully difficult. Don't bother trying to find a workaround. There isn't one. Even for adorable puppies.

Alvarcus

PS, Woof. Woof woof woof. Bark. Woof. Snarl. Howl. Woof. Yowl? Snort. (That says sorry about ruining your fur, but it had to be done. Blame Ino. Incase you don't read dog.)

The Hyuuga Compound

POOF

"Can't trick a Hyuuga to read a letter without looking at it first so sorry about this!" A white spider appeared at Hinata's side and lightly touched a slip of paper to her hand before she had time to react.

"OW!" Hinata shouts out as the spider drops a different piece of paper.

"Read that!" Shirokumo says.

POOF

"What just happened?" Hinata asks the empty room as she's staring at the innocent looking paper on the ground. Her veins in her face bulge for a brief moment to study the letter but she sees something else.

"NEJI DODGE!"

"OW!" Neji didn't hear her warning intime. However he had better reaction time than her because there's now a hole in the floor that needs patching. He busted it while attempting to flatten the spider that tagged them.

"Neji?" Hinata asks as she joins her cousin in his room. "You got hit too?"

"Yes." Neji seeths as he's glaring at his hand. "Another one for the collection."

"I got a letter." Hinata hold up the piece of paper the spider left behind.

Dear Hinata,

Blame Ino for your fancy new seal. I trusted her and she betrayed that trust. I've taken matters into my own hands, or technically yours. You'll find that speaking about what she told you just got a lot more difficult. Painfully difficult. Don't bother trying to find a workaround. There isn't one.

Alvarcus

"Did you get one too?" She asks Neji.

"I did." Neji picks his up off the ground. "How considerate. He apologized."

"He apologized?" Hinata asks in confusion.

Neji shoves the letter into her hands and stomps away. "I'm going to go see if the Elders know how to remove whatever this is."

Dear Neji,

Blame Ino for your fancy new seal. I trusted her and she betrayed that trust. I've taken matters into my own hands, or technically yours. You'll find that speaking about what she told you just got a lot more difficult. Painfully difficult. Don't bother trying to find a workaround. There isn't one.

Alvarcus

PS, I am sorry if this conflicts at all with the Caged Bird Seal. That was not my intention and I built in a failsafe that should kick in and remove the seal if you experience pain lasting longer than five minutes. You should note that I specified that it will only be the first five minutes after the seal is put on you so don't bother trying to torture yourself out of this. It won't work. Blame any pain you experienced on Ino, if not for her than none of this would have happened.

"I'm coming too!" Hinata hurries after Neji.