1I thought this would be a cool fic. Putting everyone's lazy chuunin in the shoes of the worlds greatest adventurer? Gold! There might be some Shika/Temari later in this, but that's still tentative.
There isn't too much action in this chapter, but it does explain a bit.
I don't own either Naruto or Indiana Jones.
--
Shikamaru crept up to the pedestal. He was sweating, and rubbed his hands with a cloth.
"Target is in sight." He whispered into the mic on his ear.
"You are clear to go." Asuma's voice whispered back.
He let out a sigh, and stood next to the target, a little black box, for a minute. It was definitely booby-trapped, no doubt. How could he get it? The classic swoop and go? The painstaking pull? Numerous solutions ran through his brain, but Shikamaru decided it was all too troublesome, and just grabbed the stupid thing. The room rumbled, and he had to duck as an axe blade swung out from the wall, threatening to take off his head. Shikamaru chose to high tail it out of there, and had to dodge pits, spikes, and even a boulder. These designers were getting really creative. He lept out of the door entrance, and was greeted by a kunai in his face.
"You fail again." Asuma said, tucking away his kunai. Shikamaru grunted, and lay down.
"That attitude isn't going to make you a better ninja." Asuma warned. "You've got to pick yourself up and try as hard as you can."
"You're starting to sound like Gai." Shikamaru said, not even looking at his mentor. The clouds sure were nice today...
An ANBU messenger appeared, and walked up to Shikamaru.
"You are to meet the Hokage at six o clock this evening. No questions." Then, just like that, he was off.
"Ha! Maybe this will get you off your rump." Asuma scolded. He left to go enjoy some smokes. Shikamaru let out another sigh, and fell asleep.
--
Later, at six, Shikamaru was sitting in front of the Gondaime's desk. Tsunade peered between the mountains of papers to talk to the ninja.
"Now, I have a mission for you." She said. Shikamaru sighed once again. This was going to be troublesome, he could tell.
Tsunade ignored the sigh and continued.
"We have intercepted this message coming from a sound ninja campsite in the desert. What you are about to hear cannot leave this room." Tsunade said, also glancing to Shizune.
This mildly piqued Shikamaru's interests.
"If this is so important, why don't you have a jonin do it? Or at least give me some teammates."
"Most of the Jonin are very busy lately. And giving you teammates is only going to draw attention." Tsunade finished. Shizune handed her a scroll.
"It reads as follows. Farouk has been located. Map room under excavation. Tallas medallion requested."
Tsunade slid the scroll to Shikamaru to look over himself.
"Do you think they are talking about the Farouk?" Shikamaru asked. "The one where the lost scrolls are?"
"Most likely." Tsunade answered.
Shikamaru's brow furrowed. He never really paid attention in class, but for some reason the legend of the lost scrolls appealed to him. Maybe it was just some boyhood fascination.
"But aren't the lost scrolls just a fairy tale?" Shizune spoke.
"That's what I thought too." Tsunade said. "But Orochimaru wouldn't put this much effort into something that didn't exist."
"Okay, so Orochimaru found some ruins that might be Farouk, where some scrolls that only might exist are. What do you want me to do about it?" Shikamaru asked.
"I want you to go find out what exactly is going on over there. If the lost scrolls actually do exist, I want them intercepted and brought back to Konoha. You leave tonight. Tell no one of this mission. You are dismissed."
Shikamaru walked out of the office, dejected. This sucked! He had his whole week planned out too. Sleep, and watch the clouds. Was that too much to ask? Still, this mission seemed somehow interesting...
Once he got back home, he began to pack up his things. Shikamaru picked up a book of the floor and flipped through. It was one of his favorite books, Shinobi Legends and Myths. He flipped through the book until he got to the chapter 'The Lost Scrolls'.
"Long ago, when man first laid foot on the earth, the gods of old passed down the ancient scrolls to the first shinobi. These scrolls contained vast amounts of power and knowledge, and were eventually sealed away. The scrolls were hidden in the wind country, in the ancient city of Farouk. However, only a few days after the scrolls arrived in Farouk, the city was swallowed by a vicious sandstorm that lasted over 50 years. No one ever saw the city or the scrolls again."
Shikamaru glanced at the picture on the next page. It had a group of shinobi opening one of the scrolls. Fire flared out of them. Lightning leaped about. Enemies were falling. The ground cracked, and mountains fell. No wonder Ororchimaru wanted his hands on these things. Shikamaru kept reading.
"It is said that in the city was a map chamber that showed the exact location of the lost scrolls. But to read this map, one would need the Tallas medallion. The medallion has instructions on how to read the map on it. Proof of such a artifact has yet to be found, but purists still believe the tale."
Shikamaru sighed and tossed the book aside. That's all this was. A stupid fairy tale. He finished packing his bags, and went out the door.
--
"I hate the desert!" Shikamaru moaned aloud. It had been two days of this stupid, hot travel. Only about 7 more hours until he reached Sunagakure. That was seven more hours than he could bear. It was scalding out! The wind would whip him mercilessly, and the heat crept into every part of him. Sweat poured out of every pore of his body. His shoes were filled with sand. Shikamaru took another swig from his canteen and adjusted his hood. Bloody sun. Suddenly he spotted some dust moving on the horizon. Another sandstorm? No, it was too focused. He lay down flat (damn sand is too hot!) And waited.
---
Tayuya adjusted her glasses and looked at the digging site. She was wearing a huge hat, and had covered herself in sunscreen. It gave her the impression of a angry pink haired ghost that was afraid of the sun.
"God damn it! It is way to frickin hot!" She shouted. "Are they even making progress?"
Kimimaro, who was just wearing his normal clothing, glanced back at her. "Yes, they are. We have found the map room, you know."
"It doesn't matter if we don't have the damn medallion."
"Operatives are inside sunagakure right now, retrieving it. We should have it by nightfall."
"Good." Tayuya grabbed her megaphone. "C'MON YOU SLOBS! FASTER!"
---
Gaara sat at his desk, signing paperwork. Being Kazekage could be really annoying sometimes. Temari and Kankuro were out investigating a excavation not too far from Suna, and he was stuck indoors filling bills. There was also news of a konoha ninja coming to investigate this dig as well. Gaara sighed, a rarity for him, and stared at the oddly shaped medallion on the mantle...
---
That's it for chapter one! I know it's not much, but at least I'm having fun writing this! Please review!