The beginning of his investigation alongside Harika was going to last relatively little, considering he had to return to the village, and he told her so.
"We only have four days before I have to go back," he admitted reluctantly. Harika nodded, unsurprised. "But first... I have to ask you a few questions."
"I figured as much."
They were sitting under the tree that had witnessed their first kiss. The children were already home, eating with their families, so they were alone. The chaotic and frantic energy that had pushed him to run through the forest had calmed the moment he held her in his arms. So much so that he had to sit down to regain his strength. Clearly, he wasn't used to such emotional swings. As soon as his back touched the trunk, he couldn't help but grab Harika's hand and pull her closer. She laughed as she fell into his arms again.
"If you feel like I'm crossing a line, tell me," he warned, kissing her cheek. "Otherwise, I won't be able to let you go."
"Shikamaru, you might not have realized this yet, but I'm greedy and possessive too. For a long time, I was taught that I couldn't be selfish, that what was mine wasn't really mine..." Harika confessed, sitting between his legs and resting against his chest, looking at him through her long lashes. "At least until I told them to go to hell."
"And now?"
"Now I want to be selfish."
Shikamaru observed Harika's determined expression, feeling a smile tug at his lips as he instantly understood that Harika wanted to be selfish when it came to him. The thought of her being possessive over him thrilled him. That was what he wanted, after all. Someone who would love him as intensely as he did.
"Sounds good to me," he said quietly, leaning the short distance to kiss those red lips again. "Perfect, actually."
They kissed for a few seconds that felt far too short. Damn, if this was what being in love felt like, he totally understood why some people went crazy. It was like half his brain disconnected the moment her lips touched his. Interestingly, disconnecting like that was actually comforting.
"What questions do you need to ask me?"
"You have powers, don't you?"
"...," Harika looked at him, sighing, unsurprised once again. "Of course... Yes, I have powers."
"Are those powers related to why you can't go home?"
"What I'm about to tell you is going to sound crazy, but it's the truth."
Shikamaru nodded, seeing that she meant every word. He could feel her steady heartbeat under his fingers which assured him she wasn't lying. Not to mention her serious, stern expression and sincere eyes. Yes, there was no doubt she was telling the truth. He said nothing as she took a moment to figure out how to begin. He stayed quiet and gently stroked her hand, unable to stop himself from comforting her.
"This past year, I've been working as a photographer on a world expedition. At one of our stops, the researchers had to leave the tour temporarily, so I was left exploring the city on my own for a few days. On one of my walks, I unknowingly wandered into an abandoned area where I found a temple. I wouldn't have even noticed it if not for a bell ringing," Harika sighed, turning her gaze toward him. "I got curious and..."
"And you went to explore."
"Yes. It was an abandoned temple. No one was there. I checked with my powers," she assured him when she saw his raised eyebrow. "Anyway, there was a painting. Actually-"
He watched as Harika rummaged through her leather bag and pulled out a camera that must have taken up half of it. Clearly, her bag had some kind of spatial seal, like the ones scrolls had. He said nothing, simply noting that down mentally. He took the camera she handed him. There was a small screen showing what appeared to be one of her photos. It was the temple she'd spoken of, lost between what looked like two large buildings. Harika pressed a button, moving to the next image. Shikamaru observed everything with full attention.
"That's the painting I'm talking about."
The painting itself was more rectangular than square. It was divided into two scenes centred around a well. On one side, a person was emerging from the well; on the other, a person was entering it. If Harika was mentioning this painting, it was because it was important, and if she saw what happened in the painting as a warning rather than just a piece of art... it wasn't hard to connect the dots. Now, did the well actually exist as a portal, or was the portal more metaphorical? He looked at Harika.
"You fell through a portal?"
"...Yes. The well was real. It was hidden beneath the rotten wooden floor. It gave way under my feet and I fell in."
"I see."
"I hit my head on the camera during the fall and lost consciousness, so I can't tell you what happened next. I woke up at night, in the middle of a forest," she pulled out a map and handed it to him. "Here. I searched the area in expanding circles, but nothing. At least, nothing I could find."
"And I'm guessing you tried using your powers too..." he murmured, assuming as much as he studied the map. "You bought this map in the Land of the Sea?"
"Yes. I bought all the maps. Mainly because I quickly realized I wasn't in-"
Shikamaru looked up from the map when he heard her choke on her words, as if she was struggling to admit the truth. Harika swallowed hard. He set the map aside and hugged her tightly, wanting to protect her from something he couldn't even fight. Harika buried herself in his neck, clutching his vest tightly.
"I realized I wasn't in my own dimension," she whispered.
He said nothing as he absorbed those words. He hadn't known what to expect when wondering where she came from, but this... A different dimension? What did she mean by that? Why was she so sure?
"How do you know it's not the same dimension?"
"Same stars and positions, but I couldn't find the cities from my dimension."
Harika's report was almost military. Despite needing comfort, she hadn't cried or screamed or hesitated. Clearly, she wasn't a civilian. Maybe there was some sort of in-between rank in her... dimension that would explain why she didn't feel like a civilian but wasn't exactly a ninja either. In fact, did ninjas even exist in that dimension? Or was it just people with powers who weren't civilians but not quite military either? The questions kept piling up.
"I also heard that same bell again before I fell into the well. I heard it after picking up that painting and flipping it over like an idiot."
"Could be that was what triggered the mechanism. But you heard the bell before that, right?"
"Yes. I've come to the conclusion that either there's more I don't know about the bell or the portal was used minutes before I fell into it. I didn't see anyone enter the temple, but who knows."
Shikamaru thought about everything he had learned, his mind racing, connecting the dots and solving mental equations while staring blankly into the distance. No matter how he looked at it, he kept coming to the same conclusion based on the limited information they had.
"So?" Harika smiled, kissing his cheek and reviving his thoughts with her touch. "What has that genius brain of yours figured out?"
"Well, I think it's possible the portal was used... but in the opposite direction."
"What? You mean someone used the portal from here to there?" Harika asked, surprised.
"You said the well—the portal—was gone when you woke up, right?"
"Yes."
"It seems the portal hides once it's used. Maybe it needs time to recharge… I don't think traveling between dimensions is exactly easy, energy-wise. However, you found an access point in the temple. If someone used it to travel to your dimension, I believe it would have vanished too. I have two hypotheses. The first is that the place where you fell had two portals: one leading to your dimension, which had been used before you arrived and therefore disappeared, and another leading to this dimension, which disappeared after you used it."
"And the second hypothesis?"
"That there's only one portal, but it can only make one trip in each direction before it disappears to recharge. If someone used the portal before you did, in the opposite direction, it means you 'used up' the last trip. And that's why the portal in this dimension wasn't there—it had already been used."
"So, since I used the portal to come here… the well in the temple should have disappeared too, right?"
"Exactly."
"But why wasn't there anything where I fell? If there had been a temple, I'd understand. Or a mark, anything."
"Maybe the portals for traveling are inside temples, but the exit is random. That would make more sense than finding another portal in the middle of nowhere. Or maybe we're just missing key information that would explain the coordinates of where you landed."
"Either way, I've been combing the terrain for documents or clues, but nothing. I've made copies of everything," she admitted, smiling mischievously at her confession of theft, "just in case I need to go over something again."
"I see… It was a good idea, but I think you'll find more in key locations like villages, the capital, or even temples."
"Yeah, but that's exactly what I wanted to avoid," Harika sighed, admitting what they both already knew.
"I figured, but the truth is, small villages aren't going to have anything important. It'd be a potential risk for them to hold key documents that could affect a ninja country, and interdimensional travel is definitely serious business."
"Mmm… So, where do we start?"
"Honestly, I'd use these days to come up with a plan for when we're not together. First, we need a way to communicate. Then, I'd focus on what you can do alone and what I can do while I'm in Konoha. Since you've already searched part of the Land of Fire, I'd keep going and see if you find anything important. I don't think you will, but we can't rule it out until you've checked all the villages," he admitted reluctantly. "If you were short on time, I wouldn't recommend sticking to this plan."
"The truth is, I'd like to go back as soon as possible, but I've been going through every village just in case. What if I skip one and it turns out it had what I'm looking for?"
"I know, but you also need to factor in the time you're spending."
"I know…" Harika sighed, frowning.
Shikamaru gently lifted her chin with a finger.
"Hey, we're going to figure this out, okay?"
They spent the next few hours going through documents, but to no avail. They didn't know exactly what they were looking for, but as Harika had said, none of her copies seemed to contain a single clue. Despite their search, they didn't limit themselves to just research, they also talked about everything, more openly than they had a week ago, now that he had acknowledged knowing about her powers and shown he wouldn't betray her.
"So, you don't use chakra?"
"No. I have no idea what it is or had no idea until I came here."
"And how do you have powers if it's not chakra? What kind of energy is it? Does it come from within or from nature? How does it work?" he asked. He couldn't deny that this mystery had kept him up some nights, and it truly intrigued him.
"In my dimension, as far as I know, there are only civilians without powers and people with magic. Magic comes from within us, so each person has a different potential: some are stronger, and others are practically 'muggles,' as we call those without powers. Since the magical source inside us is limited, that means we can only cast a certain number of spells, among other things, before we collapse. But with food and rest, we recover quickly."
"Like chakra, then… Magic, huh? Interesting. From what I've deduced, you can do some things with your magic that we can do with chakra, so it's possible people might mistake you for a ninja."
"You're telling me. In fact, the first day I arrived here, I got kidnapped."
"What?" Shikamaru asked, suddenly feeling cold. He should've guessed, but just the thought of something happening to her while he hadn't been there… "Who was it? How?"
"Well," she laughed, blushing, "I started yelling in frustration in the middle of the forest, and a ninja from Kirigakure heard me. Before I could protect myself, he knocked me unconscious and carried me for a while. Fortunately, I woke up in time and disabled him. Once I had him down, I interrogated him. It was pure luck, really, because with his knowledge, I figured out where I was. After that, I bought the maps to orient myself and started investigating how to get back home."
"What happened to the ninja? Did you kill him?"
"…I erased his memories," she confessed after a tense second, watching him with a worried expression.
Shikamaru, however, didn't react as she seemed to expect. In fact, if she had killed that ninja, he wouldn't have thought it monstrous. It's exactly what he would have done in her place. He relaxed when he realized Harika had done what she needed to, but with more mercy than he would've shown. She could've killed him but instead, she chose to erase his memories. This woman… she was kinder than he could ever be. Still, the fact that she could erase memories was both fascinating and concerning. He didn't even want to imagine what a ninja village would do if they found out about that ability.
"It's better if you don't tell anyone else what you can do."
"I know. Somehow, I know I can trust you."
"If I didn't feel the same way, I'd say you're crazy," he laughed softly, "but strangely, I also know I can trust you."
Maybe it was a mix of what he had deduced and what he irrationally felt for her, but he knew Harika didn't want to hurt him. If she had, she would've done it already. It was clear they could have an amazing relationship if they both worked at it. The connection they felt was surprising, stronger than anything he'd ever experienced, and he didn't want to let it slip away without trying. He had tried. He'd taken the first step, and now he knew she felt the same. That meant he had to do everything he could not to screw it up moving forward, so he had no choice but to tell Harika something he'd wanted to forget. He had to talk to her about Temari.
It wasn't that he wanted to bring her up, but it was obvious that if he put it off or didn't tell the truth, it would backfire eventually, because Harika would find out anyway. He also knew that the longer he waited to tell her, the more she might distrust him, and he didn't want to give her any reason not to rely on him. He wanted to be able to tell her anything, and he wanted her to feel she could do the same with him. Communication. It was something he'd rarely practiced with others, but Harika truly mattered to him and he didn't want to lose her.
He realized this was the first time he was actively working toward something. Until recently, he'd always let others carry the weight of his relationships or friendships, but a romantic relationship was something else entirely. If he wanted things with Harika to last, he had to do his part, especially because Harika wasn't someone he'd just see once or twice a week like his friends. If things went how he hoped, she would be his woman. He'd live with her every day for the rest of his life. Maybe one or two kids would depend on them. No, it was clear he needed to put in much more effort than ever before. What surprised him and, strangely, made him happy, was realizing that he wanted to make that effort. He was excited to do it.
"Harika, there's something I need to tell you that you're not going to like. When I'm done, you can ask me anything you want, but just… let me tell you first," she nodded silently. "Until recently, I was dating someone. Her name is Temari, and she's a ninja from the Wind Country. I'm not in love with her, and I never was. I'm telling you that before you can even start thinking otherwise. We only dated for a month, and it was because she asked for a chance. At first, I refused, but Temari isn't the type to take no for an answer… Once I met you and realized what it's like to feel truly attracted to someone… Well, I knew I couldn't keep seeing her because I wasn't doing either of us any favours."
"So… when we met, you had a girlfriend?"
"If you can call someone you only saw three times in a month a 'girlfriend,' then yes. As soon as I got back to Konoha and we ran into each other by chance, I ended it with her. I swear."
Harika watched his face with a neutral expression. She didn't look sad or angry, but she didn't seem happy either. He wouldn't be, if he were in her place. That's why he hadn't tried to sugar-coat it. He had to tell her right away that he wasn't in love with Temari and never had been, that they had only been together for a month, and that he had ended it as soon as he could. He felt nervous while she seemed to think things over, her eyes gleaming but not distant. Finally, she nodded.
"How were you supposed to know that we'd meet?" she shrugged, sighing. "But I'm glad you told me so quickly. I don't like it, obviously, but I know it's irrational to feel bad about something that happened before we knew each other. The fact that you were honest really puts me at ease, to be honest."
Shikamaru sighed, relaxing against the tree trunk. Damn. He hadn't even realized how tense he was until Harika showed she wasn't mad. Harika laughed when she saw him slump against the tree like a lifeless rag. He hugged her tightly, savouring the fact that he hadn't messed it all up on their first day together.
"How could I be angry about something that was out of your control?" she whispered against his neck, as if reading his mind. "I would've been mad if you were still with her or if you'd hidden your past relationship for weeks."
"I've never really dated anyone before, so I'm learning, but it was clear that if I didn't want to hurt you, I had to tell you as soon as possible."
"And I'm glad you did, Shikamaru. I'm glad you were honest, even if it hurt me or even if you didn't want to talk about it because it's uncomfortable… or annoying."
"Are you sure you're not reading my mind?"
"Who knows?" Harika replied with a mischievous smile against his skin as she traced his hand with the tip of her fingers.
Shikamaru savoured that moment of peace, feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and watched the sunset in the distance. He still had another couple of days with her, but even that wouldn't feel like enough. He could already imagine himself back in Konoha, worried again, wondering if she was okay, if she had found anything, if someone had discovered her… He was getting ahead of himself, but he couldn't deny the concern.
"Don't think about it, Shikamaru," Harika interrupted his thoughts, squeezing his hand. "Everything will work out. You'll see."
"How do you know?"
"Are you going to let it not work out?"
Harika tilted her face up to look him in the eye, and with just those few words, she managed to silence his worry completely. Harika had saved herself from an attack before, so she clearly could do it again, and she was also right in saying that if he wanted to, he'd find a way to fix this. So, what was the point in worrying?
Then, like a blow to the chest, he realized something deeper. Harika, even without saying it directly, was showing him just how much she trusted him. She knew the answer to her question was "no," and she was also implying that she believed he would find a way to make things right because she trusted him. He swallowed hard as he understood it. Harika, unlike his friends and ninja allies, had no idea of his actual skills or talents, but she trusted him instinctively. Because somehow, they had deeply connected days ago in a way he had never experienced with anyone.
"You're right."
Harika would continue her route through the Land of Fire while he searched for clues in Konoha, and sooner or later they'd find something valuable. But before parting ways, he needed a plan to stay in touch.
"Leave that to me, Shikamaru," she said with a mischievous smile, inspecting a gold coin with bright eyes. "I have an idea."
"Then let's find a place to sleep so we can talk," he said, feeling like he could trust her. He stood up from the ground, offering her his hand. "How about we go have dinner?"
"A date? You're not wasting time, huh?"
"I don't want to lose a single second."
Harika's expression softened, more tender than playful, and she stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. Then she kissed the corner of his lips, which involuntarily curled into a smile, and finally kissed him on the lips. Shikamaru couldn't help himself. He brushed her lips with his tongue, gently bit her lower lip, and kissed her deeply, their tongues intertwining again and again.
He was going to savour every second they had together before they had to part ways. After all, he didn't know when they'd see each other again.