Title: Finding Elysium

Author: paws-bells

Characters/Pairing: Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru

Type: One Shot/Drabble Collection (InComplete)

Genre: Romance/General/Humor

Word Count: 2053

Rating: T (Contains content not suitable for children)

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

Summary: ShikaIno. Hades and Persephone inspired AU. A retelling of the classic myth…with a twist.

Completed on: 19/11/16

Chapter Last Revised on: 19/11/16

Chapter One

This entire situation had been nothing but a gigantic pain in the ass – his ass – from beginning to end, Nara Shikamaru thought not for the first time and with no small amount of vexation as he hunkered down by his hiding spot and waited rather crossly for his 'target' to make an appearance. The sun was sweltering overhead, he had been cramped for the past few hours into an uncomfortable nook by a huge tree at the edge of the fields where the 'target' was known to often frequent, and the prickly thorn bush that was unfortunately situated beside him kept threatening to poke out his eye every time he so much as turned his head. He was hot, he was miserable, and he was extremely unhappy with this predicament that he was stuck in, and if there was a way for him to bail out of this mess without dire repercussions (read: his mother's wrath), Shikamaru would have done so a long time ago.

What the hell was the first Hades thinking, anyway, when he figured that it was a great idea to kidnap himself a bride? Thanks to the entirely dumb, unthinking actions of that one distant ancestor, the rest of his descendants were now all paying for it, in this entirely troublesome, time-honored tradition that every Nara elder swore up, down and sideways would ensure the longevity of the clan for future generations to come.

And now it was his turn to partake in this bothersome madness just because every Hades before him had done so unfailingly – no excuses. It was already aggravating enough that Shikamaru's entire life had revolved around the 'family business,' if that was what he could even call it, but apparently he was now about to stoop further to the abduction of a young woman in order to carry on the Nara line. Go figure. There was no way for him to wiggle out of this exasperating task especially considering his position as the clan heir and the successor of the current Hades (whom happened to be his father); his parents had already made that much clear.

Shikamaru grumbled lowly under his breath as he recalled his last conversation with his folks. Find your Persephone, they had told him. When he had tried to beg off on, or at least postpone, the troublesome task, his mother had promptly grabbed the nearest item she could reach to attempt to brain him with it. Repeatedly. His woefully henpecked father had tactfully ignored the scene of domestic violence lest he got inadvertently embroiled in this entirely bothersome state of affairs, opting to stand by and watch idly as his spirited, high strung wife proceeded to pummel some much needed motivation into their only child.

Thanks for nothing, Pops.

And then he had been very unceremoniously evicted from the realm of the dead to the Upper World and then told not to return until he had his bride in tow.

Tch. Mendokuse.

All Shikamaru wanted to do was to find a nice, tranquil spot in the Asphodel Meadows and take a nice, deserved, uninterrupted nap but of course that was too much to ask. The entire process of taking a wife was already bothersome enough; it most definitely did not take a genius to figure out just how much more bothersome it would be to have to take an unwilling one. Shikamaru grumbled some more inwardly. He wasn't even ready to take a bride – he was pretty sure that he didn't even want anything to do with one for the foreseeable future, but such was the fate of one destined to be Hades, and no amount of complaining could get him out of this annoying situation. Not for the first time, Shikamaru grumpily bemoaned the fact that his clan had unfailingly represented the God of the Underworld for centuries. Why not Hypnos? Or even Morpheus? His life would suck less all the way around if the Nara had chosen to champion the Gods of Sleep or Dreams – hell, he would have happily thrown himself into his duties, no need for his mother to keep nagging – but no, of course only the clan who was known to control and manipulate shadows could rule the Underworld – the Shadow Realm.

And part of his duties as the next Hades required him to be married, and not just to any random woman, but Persephone. The Persephone. Of course, like the title of Hades and every other divine being out there, Persephone was not just a name, rather, it was a position – the Goddess of Spring, the Queen of the Underworld. It changed from person to person every generation – just like his mother had once been Persephone, the yet unknown woman whom he would bring back with him to the Underworld would carry on that title when he took over his father's place. The Nara heir privately hoped that his new bride would not be anywhere near as troublesome or demanding like his mother – after spending his entire life watching his poor Sire be henpecked and badgered by his exasperating Dame, Shikamaru was absolutely certain that he had no desire whatsoever to live out the rest of his existence like his unfortunate male parent.

Maybe his bride would not be that troublesome. Maybe his bride would be quiet, would leave him alone, would be perfectly plain and average and would not give him any trouble. Maybe- Oh who the hell was he kidding? He had seen all the Nara family portraits over the generations. All the wives in his family were fiercely beautiful and just as aggressive, and the men could only submit passively in the face of their ferocity. Knowing his luck, his bride would just be the latest member in the long line of Nara tigresses and he might as well just give up the good fight right now and kiss his carefree, relaxing lifestyle goodbye.

…Had he already mentioned that he was really unhappy with this whole turn of events? Yes. Yes, he had. He would have protested and griped further but that would mean he would have to expand even more energy to do so and he would still have gotten nowhere in the end. Shikamaru really wasn't a great fan of doing things that required him to exert even more than he absolutely had to, and senselessly beating his head against the wall really wasn't his style. Just thinking of all the fuss made him feel tired as it was – perhaps he should take a quick nap here and now since there was nothing going on-

And of course, just when he was about to figure out how best to enjoy his siesta in this awkward position that he was currently stuck in, the troublesome woman whom he had been waiting for finally made her appearance. Or rather, much to Shikamaru's displeasure, it was an entire group of women, complete with high pitched voices and plenty of headache inducing squealing and giggling, and he really couldn't tell which was the one he was supposed to grab and run off with. They were all beautiful enough as most deities were, he supposed grudgingly, and most of them also kind of looked somewhat…aquatic to him, like some species of water nymphs or naiads, though Shikamaru didn't appear very interested by the bevy of females and would have preferred to stare at the back of his own eyelids at the moment. However, since it was time to get down to business, he straightened slightly and turned his attention to the females just venturing into the clearing. The pineapple-haired male felt uncomfortably like some perverted creep as he observed the nubile, frolicking women undetected – not for the first time, he concluded that the first Hades must have been more than a bit touched in the head to be so obsessed with the first Persephone.

Scowling disagreeably, Shikamaru stilled and simply waited. He had been told by his father that he would eventually be able to make a distinction of the one female whom he was supposed to bring back with him but right now they all looked the same to him – troublesome.

Shikamaru resisted the urge to complain and slouched in his hiding spot to bid his time and wait out to see which of the females here would take the bait that he had laid out plainly a few meters away from him, plunked down there rather unceremoniously and very conspicuously on the only plot of soil in the entire meadow that was completely lacking in vegetation safe for the one he had placed there since his reluctant stakeout.

It was a single stalk of the Narcissus plant in full bloom; plain, white, elegantly beautiful in its quiet, understated simplicity. His mother had once told him in passing that it was a flower of Spring, but at the same time, contradictorily enough, it also symbolized Death. It was a fitting flower for a Persephone, Shikamaru thought while still safely hidden from sight within the shadows. Unfortunately, the women tittered, gossiped and cavorted in the small stream that ran though the meadow, and none of them had spotted his trap yet. Judging by how they were all getting ready to sit around to start braiding each other's hair or whatever it was that young goddesses did in their spare time of leisure, Shikamaru groaned inwardly and just knew that his ordeal wasn't going to end anytime soon.

The Nara heir silently glowered at the gaggle of females from his hiding place, willing just any one of them to notice his trap. It wasn't even like he had been particularly subtle about it. Notice the stupid flower already!

That was when one of the women finally did so.

She was dark haired and had already been in the process of wandering around the meadow picking flowers, as evidenced by the lush bouquet of blooms nestled in her arms. She started to wander closer, and so Shikamaru observed her intently. There was a graceful elegance to her ladylike movements, and most importantly, the expression on her face was gentle and kind – her sweet demeanor reminded him of a genteel maiden. Could she be the next Persephone?

In hindsight, Shikamaru should have known better.

"Hinata-chan, I'll get that! You can finish up over here!"

His attention immediately cut over to the source of the voice. Loud, confident, bossy.

It was not a tone he was unfamiliar with – his mother had yelled at him ALL the time with that indomitable attitude, after all. Awareness rippled through him. The hairs at the back of Shikamaru's neck started to stand. There was a distinctly unpleasant feeling as if someone was walking over his grave…or was that supposed to be the sensation of Destiny drawing a noose tighter and tighter around his neck?

In short, a horrible sense of doom fell over him.

And the woman behind the voice. She was absolutely beautiful, stunning, even by the standards of the gods. She glowed like a jewel. Long, silken hair like shafts of moonbeams rippling down her slender back. An exquisite, delicate face like an angel's. Her large eyes, framed by long, dark lashes, a shimmering pair of mesmerizing, turquoise gems.

No matter how he looked at it, she plainly embodied all sorts of trouble, and he was never wrong about this sort of things.

That feeling of complete and utter doom increased.

She skipped over to where the Narcissus stood, humming softly under her breath as she bent over and reached for the simple bloom.

Shikamaru blanched.

Oh, shit-

She registered his subtle start from the edge of her peripheral vision, and flower in hand, turned towards him. Their eyes met. She froze. He froze.

Then, she opened her mouth and screamed loud and long.

That shrill volume and incredible lung capacity was no joke. Shikamaru wanted to scream too, just envisioning subjecting his poor eardrums to this aural torture for the rest of his life. He hurriedly started to stand up, the shadows at his feet rippling ominously in response to his rising agitation.

Not that she was intimidated, even in the least. No. Bristling with feminine indignation and ire, she hiked the hem of her gown to her knees, stomped over, and punched him squarely in the jaw.

"Pervert!"

::tsuzuku::

Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:

Annnnd there I go with yet another crackship.

ShikaIno is a longstanding ship of mine, though I have never written for them before. Until now, that is. This particular plotline has been floating around in my mind for quite some time already, and I'm amused because Hades!Shikamaru has been complaining bitterly in my head from the very moment I conceptualized his existence. Persephone!Ino nagging him relentlessly through the realms of the Underworld is seriously cramping his style, apparently.

You know how Hades in the original myth was so very obsessed with his Persephone? Well, let's just say that this Hades here is going to need a lot of convincing before he even remotely gets that way, and even then he'd probably fall asleep halfway because that's just too much effort, ahaha.

Anyway! In this AU, the titles of gods are inheritable, not just across bloodlines, but partly in due to individual ability and character as well. Not really sure where I'm going with this new series, but this was fun to write either way and I may turn it into something like my ItaSaku's 'Dessert of the Day' with its many random AUs and prompts. Regardless, I hope that you readers have enjoyed this first installment at least!

Thanks for reading!

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Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic!

-paws