Through the endless days and nights
She waited for a shiny new tomorrow
Love was sleeping
- "Love Is Only Sleeping" by The Monkees
"What's our ETA, Kiba?"
"The target will be within retrieval distance in thirty-five minutes, sir."
"Kiba, I've known you for fifteen years. Cut the formalities, at least when I'm the senior officer within hearing."
"Haha, sure thing, Shikamaru."
"What, you're not enjoying your promotion, sir? I would think the first Jounin Captain among us would at least make us clean his quarters or do his laundry."
"Then I'm glad I made Captain before you, Sakura. I don't think I want to know what troublesome chores you'll have everyone else do for you once you start moving up."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Eh, nothing. But I do have a couple of shirts waiting for pick-up at the dry cleaners, now that you've reminded me."
"Hmph, you're lucky I've got a skirt waiting there too, sir."
"So it seems. Give me an analysis on the target, Haruno."
"Heart rate… normal, breathing is steady, though mechanically assisted."
"Shino? Your end?"
"I still have not obtained access to her personality-based UI, and have no neuro-electronic readings, but that is not surprising considering we're trying to remotely access a target sitting in the middle of an asteroid field. I would assume her breathing is assisted due to her recent thaw, but I'm the engineer. Sakura-san is the med."
"And as the ranking med here, I can attest that it has nothing to do with the thaw. We started the thaw process as soon as we had remote access. When was that, Kiba?"
"An hour and a half ago, at least."
"Then she should've started breathing on her own a minimum of one hour ago."
"And that's accounting for the fact that she's been in cryosleep for three weeks?"
"We've left soldiers in cryo in deep space for months-long spans, and a handful for years. I know what I'm talking about, Shikamaru."
"Right, right."
Orbiting the largest rock in the asteroid field was a lone gunmetal-gray fighter, reflecting a slight violet gleam from nearby stars, as its owner intended when picking out the ship's color. At first glance, it looked abandoned, but upon closer inspection a small person-sized pod was visible, attached inconspicuously to the rear of the hull.
A few multi-colored lights twinkled on the dashboard of the pod, controlling and maintaining the conditions necessary for cryosleep. With a loud beep, the entire board lit up, and a rush of air filled the pod. Wisps of midnight hair blew away from a pale, sleeping face. A pair of lips turning blue and a few more beeps were followed by an oxygen mask quickly fastening itself on the girl's face.
And so the unconscious girl waited. Not much more could be done remotely, and her ride was on its way.
The carrier ship slowly and steadily navigated its way through the asteroid field, not without a few dings from man-sized chunks of rock and ice. There was no rush; the target had been waiting for three weeks. What was another few minutes?
Recently promoted Jounin Captain Nara Shikamaru scanned the floating rocks, allowing an extra second or two to study the largest ones. It was unnecessary with Jounin Lieutenant Inuzuka Kiba navigating, but he did it anyway. It was similar to cloud-watching, except it was permanent night, and the objects being observed could easily destroy the Captain's spiffy new ship he so cleverly named Keima for his favorite Shougi piece.
"I have visual confirmation of the target, sir," Kiba announced over his shoulder to Captain Nara. And he received his name on a long-suffering sigh.
"Kiba…"
"Ah, sorry, sorry! I see the target, Shikamaru. Better?"
"Much." Shikamaru smirked at his own informality. It was his ship, he could run it as he saw fit. And with quite a few of his old academy friends as his ranking officers, he could have everyone call him Shika-cakes if he damn well pleased, as long as there was no other brass in sight.
He turned to his officers, his trusted friends. Both engineer Aburame Shino and medical officer Haruno Sakura were Tokubetsu Jounin, the highest rank one can achieve in a specialized corps. Not only did he attend the academy with them, he also worked closely with them on a successful project that put him in the fast lane to Captaincy and commanding one of the Konoha fleet's most advanced ships that he was privileged enough to have a hand in designing.
"We've approached the target, Shikamaru. We can safely guide her into the hangar, just give the word."
"Thank you, Kiba. Reel her in and let Lieutenant Sarutobi know that we're on our way down."
Chuunin Lieutenant Sarutobi Konohamaru had seen his Captain run of his own volition three times in his life. The first time was when Shikamaru was a young teen and had taken Asuma-jisan's cigarettes in an attempt to save him from emphysema. The second was when he was 18 and finally beat his father at Shougi. This was the third time and it was still startling as ever, though more humorous with the jingling metal attached to his shirt front displaying his status and achievements. However, Konohamaru quickly gathered that something must have gone wrong if Shikamaru had the top officers of the engineer corps and the medical corps running down with him. With a worried frown, he immediately turned to his control board to detach the pod from the battle-worn fighter as it powered down.
By the time Shikamaru, Sakura, and Shino reached the dock, Konohamaru was already heaving open the pod. The girl inside laying inside was still unconscious and breathing through the oxygen mask—not a good sign. Shino and Sakura brushed past him, Shino inserting what looked like earbuds into the girl's ears that connected to his handheld computer and Sakura poking and prodding wherever she could reach.
"I am still unable to access the UI or take neuro-electronic readings. I initially believed this to be a glitch with the remote control system, however I am more inclined to deduce that she has sustained a head injury," Shino reported.
With careful hands, Sakura moved to confirm or deny Shino's deduction. "I don't see any visible head wounds, no significant bumps or bruises," she said, before her hands trailed to the base of the skull and pressed lightly down the subject's neck. "The vertebrae are aligned properly to the third thoracic. I can't reach further without moving her," she concluded. Shikamaru already had a team waiting to transport the comatose girl and was conveying instructions.
"You heard Tokubetsu Jounin Haruno. The initial injury report is inconclusive, so move her carefully. Notification and further instruction have been sent to the medical bay. Just give them her ID information, they'll know where to put her," Shikamaru directed.
"What is the subject's identification, sir?" the lead Chuunin transporter asked.
"Bio-android H-1178. Given name, Hyuuga Hinata."
--
Author's Notes:
First off, thanks for reading! This is my first attempt at fanfiction, so I'd appreciate constructive criticism, if you have any. I doodle more than anything, and if you've ever visited my DeviantArt page, you'll know that this story will eventually be ShikaHina. :D Just thought I'd point that out before people get their hopes up for something else.