AC_D4: Hedwig to the Rescue

This is a prompt fill for Haley Novak “Hedwig delivers a letter to one of Harry's ninja friends just in time to save their lives in a serious situation(Harry is not involved)”

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“They asked for me?” Shikamaru asked. “Me, specifically?”

His father nodded as he sipped on his steaming tea. “You must have made an impression people while you were in Suna.”

“I was in meetings the entire time.” Shikamaru felt the need to point out.

“We can't say no to the request without a proper reason.” His father, the heartless man that he was, grinned.

Shikamaru ignored his father's amusement. “You think they're finally open to making a proper deal with us?”

“It's a possibility.”

“Then do you really want me to go? I haven't even finished aunt's lessons on clan trading and negotiations.”

“Your aunt would say that nothing teaches better than first hand experience. Besides, I'm sure you know the basics. Don't sign any paperwork. Don't insult or threaten them openly.”

Shikamaru stared at his father with something like disbelief. “Harii was right. You do think that you have a sense of humour.”

“Trying to get me angry won't help you skip the meeting.”

Shikamaru sighed. “If we're never able to buy glass from them, then I hope you're ready to take the blame.”

His father stared at him with a considering look. “If you mess up that horribly, your mother will definitely step into fill in the gaps of your education.”

Shikamaru sighed in defeat. “Anything I should do during this meeting?”

His dad considered for a moment and shook his head. “Just be there. The request is strange but it shouldn't be too much to deal with.”

With his father's dismissive but still reassuring words in his mind, Shikamaru stood outside the chosen hotel and waited until a guard led him in and left him in one of the more expensive rooms.

The moment the guard closed the door, an inside door opened and a girl his age stepped out, clad in a copper kimono that didn't look very secure. “You came,” she smiled.

Shikamaru had spent enough time around Ino to know that the smile was dangerous. “Is your father here?”

“Of course not, silly,” the girl said with fluttering eyelashes.

“Then I apologize for intruding. I'll take my leave,” Shikamaru said, hoping that he could escape. Before he could turn away, she said, “I can convince my father to make a deal with your clan if you want.”

Shikamaru stayed silent, keeping his eyes fixed on her face.

She frowned, “I can also tell him that the Nara clan don't deserve our business. He's a firm believer in being respected. And you are not respecting me right now, Nara Shikamaru.”

As much as he hated to acknowledge it, the girl in front of him was right. Her father, the owner of the biggest glass makers in Wind Country, was a man known to take even the smallest of slights against him or his family seriously.

She grinned and walked forward, seeming to think that her threat had made him more plaint now.

While Shikamaru knew how important it was to try and maintain connections with the glass makers, he didn't particularly care for being threatened. Especially being threatened so poorly.

But as much as he would have liked to teach her a lesson, any action from him would reflect badly on the Nara clan as a whole.

As he considered how to get out of the situation without getting into trouble, a large white owl swooped in through the window and landed on Shikamaru's shoulder with a loud hoot.

The girl yelped and clutched at her kimono front as she flailed away from Shikamaru.

Seeing a chance, Shikamaru grabbed the rolled up paper from the owl's leg and said. “I'm being summoned. I need to go.” Taking advantage of her silence as she stared at the owl with terrified eyes, Shikamaru jumped out of the window with relief.

When he was a good distance away from the hotel, he unrolled the paper and laughed. “This was just a test letter to see if you could reach the right person? For a treat?”

The owl stared back at him and hooted as though asking for her treat.

“You have earned much more than a simple treat. You have earned a complete feast.”

The owl looked plenty pleased with that as she hooted at him. 

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Bet you didn't see that coming.

 

Polar