Ino's triumphant smile was shaky as she bent to pick up the scroll from the wet ground. "Mission accomplished! Come on, let's go meet Sensei."
"Are you sure you're all right?" Chouji asked as the other two members of Team Ten fell into step with her.
"Sure, fine!"
Shikamaru turned to look at her, but she didn't meet his eyes. "The poison gas..." he began.
"Pssh, I'm a medic, what's a little poison gas!" Brushing her rain-soaked bangs from her face, Ino flashed him a dazzling smile before collapsing silently to the ground.
Shikamaru thought his heart would stop before he could reach her, even though she was only a few feet away. Dropping to his knees beside her, he tentatively felt her wrist. Nothing.
"Shikamaru," Choji whispered, "she's not breathing."
The words seemed to hang in the air, and it took Shikamaru some time to register their meaning. This couldn't be happening! He and Chouji were friends, sure, but Ino was what held them together—what made them a team. Shika-Ino-Chou would be nothing without Ino. He couldn't bear to lose her, and now she was lying there so still and he had to do something.
"What are you doing?" Chouji asked as Shikamaru's shadow stretched and began to wrap around Ino's body.
"Saving our teammate, get out of the light," Shikamaru replied shortly. Theoretically, the Shadow Imitation Technique forced whoever was on the receiving end to copy every movement of the caster. He could only hope that that actually meant every movement.
Breathing deeply, Shikamaru fairly begged his idea to work. The cold air stung, but he continued taking deep breaths of it.
Suddenly, he felt something across the shadow link. It was only the tiniest little pull, but when he looked over, Ino's eyes were open.
"Ino!" Chouji shouted, wrapping her in a hug, "you're all right!"
"Of course I am, I told you, I'm a...Shikamaru, why are your shadow hands on my chest?"
[A/N: I just got the idea of Shikamaru using his shadow technique for artificial resuscitation and had to get it down. I don't usually ship ShikaIno but I think this turned out okay, at least.]