The setting for this story takes place right after the Team 10 Arc in the manga. I started writing this during the arc, and this story is how I envision Naruto to end from this point to the end of the manga. There will be pairings, but I'm intentionally leaving all of you out in the dark so you won't guess at future events. Sue me.

I hope you enjoy the story, and please leave your reviews!! Complements and/or criticisms are greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its affiliates, I only own this plot and my own original characters.

Chapter 1: Awakening

Shikamaru awakened to a bright light shining in his face. "Where am I? Am I dead?" He quickly arose upon realizing this as a possibility only to find himself inside a hospital bed. "How long was I out?"

The last thing he remembered was his battle with Hidan, if you could even call it a battle that is. "I must have passed out, but why am I here?" Shikamaru cringed at the thought that he was the only survivor. What happened to Ino, Chouji, and Kakashi?

"So you're finally awake," said a familiar voice. Shikamaru turned to see Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage standing in the doorway. "You have been out for days; we thought you weren't going to make it."

"Out for days? What exactly happened there?" Shikamaru's thoughts quickly diverted back to his team, as he recalled the events of the time he lead his friends in an attempt to rescue the renegade Sasuke. "What happened to everyone else? How did I get here? The last thing I remember was being defeated by Hidan."

Tsunade grinned at Shikamaru. "Typical thing of the group leader to question the well-being of his teammates first. Don't worry, everyone should be fine. Lucky for you guys Sakura was there, otherwise you and Ino would probably be dead."

"Wait a minute, Sakura? When did she get there?" Shikamaru thought only his team was in the battle. Did Tsunade send backup?

"I did not feel comfortable sending you guys alone, so I sent Sakura, Naruto, and Yamato as backup. We did achieve a victory against Akatsuki though. Hidan was killed by Naruto, but Kazuku escaped."

"Naruto killed Hidan? How, I thought he was immortal. Nothing I was doing had any effect on him." Shikamaru smirked at the thought as to how much Naruto has grown. "Heh, that baka was the dropout of our class, and now he just killed an S-Ranked criminal."

"Man it's troublesome being here. Am I free to leave?" asked Shikamaru. He wanted to get out of the hospital badly.

"You have clearance to leave whenever you want. Just don't do anything stupid like trying to take an Akatsuki member without sufficient backup again." Tsunade glared at Shikamaru, obviously not over the stunt he tried to pull earlier. "If I had not caught them, we might have four dead shinobi right now."

Shikamaru bowed his head in disgust. Although he had a plan, he now knew it wasn't the smartest decision he ever made. "Whatever. It's too troublesome just lying here in a bed all day. I'm getting some air."

He rose from his bed and left the room, leaving a grinning Tsunade. "Not even a goodbye or a thank you. Oh well, what else can you expect from him."

Shikamaru knocked on Ino's door. He wanted to see how she was faring, and more importantly, what actually happened with the other fight. "Come in," responded a voice that appeared to be Ino's.

Shikamaru entered the room and looked at Ino. She wasn't heavily bandaged, which surprised him. "Feeling better?"

Ino struggled to emit a smile. She was just glad to see him still alive. "Not really, but I'm trying to get by. Thanks for worrying though. I heard you had it rough. You should thank Naruto. Although he may act stupid at times, he did save your life." She quickly grabbed her ribs, making it apparent that speaking caused pain to her.

"I know it's troublesome, but I'll thank him the next time I see him." He knew that would add to his ego though, but that was alright for the time being. "What happened to you though, you don't look wounded, but something's not right." Shikamaru stared at Ino, making her know that he was serious about her condition.

"I am not completely sure what happened to be honest. I used my Mind Transfer technique on Kazuku, and felt immense pain once I entered his body." Ino began to cough forcefully. She was in obvious pain, and Shikamaru knew it. He raised his hand in an attempt to let her know he'd ask later, but Ino didn't listen. "I could feel very little that was human about him. It felt like he was in severe pain all the time. I couldn't take it, so I left, but the pain was transferred to me when I returned to my body. That's all I remembered."

Shikamaru nodded slowly at Ino. It seemed she had some psychological damage, but he knew she would recover with time. "Well I'm glad you're okay. You're obviously in pain, so I'll let you rest."

Ino nodded with a smile at Shikamaru. "Thanks for visiting. Say hello to Chouji for me!"

Shikamaru raised his hand in approval and left her room. From what he got from Tsunade, Chouji left the hospital yesterday, and Kakashi was never emitted. He smirked at that thought. Since when wasn't Kakashi in a hospital?

Shikamaru left the hospital, relieved to breathe fresh air again. Now he had to find that Naruto. "This is so troublesome. But at least I have an idea of where he is." He headed to the Ichiraku Ramen shop, almost certain he would find Naruto there.

Translations:
baka - Idiot