Title: T E K N O L O G I K

By: Erika Kurruo

Summary: Team Kakashi is ordered to assist a foreign military squad in defeating a horde of super-intelligent machines. AU/OCs/POV of many characters

A/N: Before you read, the name before the chapters begin is the person who is telling the story. Mostly it will be Naruto, but it will switch to different characters (like Kakashi, Sai, or an original character for example).

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Chapter One:

..::Naruto::..

An infinite gloom hung in the air over Konohagakure. A beloved shinobi was K.I.A., and the towns people huddled into the center of the village to mourn the death of Shikamaru Nara, the most intelligent (but laziest) ninja ever to grace the walls of Konoha.

His mother, looking-a-mess, was knelt by the picture of her only son with tears rolling down her face like a waterfall. Her groans could be heard throughout the city, making the village seem more depressed and lonely. Shikaku, Shikamaru's father, was in a state of depression mixed with shock. His eyes were distant, and all of his other senses seemed to have left him. His body basically shut down.

I don't blame him. He lost his son who never made it to his eighteenth birthday.

I averted my gaze from the heart-wrenching scene of his parents to Shikamaru's former team mates. They were all huddled together, shoulder by shoulder, showing no emotion like a ninja was trained to do. Although they did not show it on the outside, I could tell they were fighting a hard battle on the inside.

Poor Choji. His eyes were shut tightly, and I believe that he was imagining that he was sleeping and this was all just a dream. Choji and Shikamaru have been best friends since they came out of the womb. He was mouthing unintelligible words.

I know how losing a friend feels, I thought solemnly. I'm so sorry.

I shifted my eyes to Ino. No matter how hard she tried, she could not keep a single tear from falling down her face. More tears were waiting in the rim of her lower eyelids. Her blue eyes sparkled, not happily though.

Asuma, the team's leader, seemed lost. He was mindlessly staring at Shikamaru's ceremony. A single white flower was suffocating in his hands, and the cigarette in his mouth needed to be flicked. Instead, he just let it fall to the ground. A thin trail of smoke wafted up into the air.

I turned my gaze back to Shikamaru's framed picture. It stood up on a long wooden table that had a clean white sheet draped across it. Flowers of many colors were laid beside that bored-faced boy. I didn't know him as well as I had hoped, but I left him a blue wildflower from his favorite hill. Ino thought of the same thing when she laid an identical flower next to mine. It just seemed nice that he should part with something familiar.

When the early morning sun rose higher in the sky, the people who didn't know him left, but not before resting comforting palms on Shikamaru's parents. Others, who kind of knew him, stayed for a little while longer, but his closest friends and his clan were planning to stay longer.

I stared off into space, grasping my hands in front of me and bowing my head. A tap on my shoulder broke me out of my trance, and I slowly turned to see Sakura watching me carefully. Her short, pink hair was pulled back into a bun, and the black dress she wore was fitting. She looked pretty.

"Sorry to bother you, Naruto," she whispered as quietly as possible, "but Lady Tsunade would like to speak with us."

I nodded once without replying and pivoted towards the Hokage's office. I took a small step forward, but turned around to look at Shikamaru and his mourners for one last time before heading off. I wish I knew how to comfort people, but it always seemed to come out wrong.

So thinking the better of it, I followed Sakura into the alleyways to the building.

xXxXxXx

"I know this is a sad day, losing one of your classmates," said Lady Tsunade solemnly, "but I have a very important mission to assign."

Her voice was not as strong or as alpha-female like it usually was. I think she was trying not to hit a nerve.

When none of Team Kakashi replied, she continued, "I have received a notification from a foreign continent called Sanasia. They seem to be having a big problem with super-intelligent machines, and they have been searching for help all over the world."

"Machines?" Sakura asked. "What kind of machines."

"War machines," Tsunade replied. "Sanasia is known for using machinery for war."

"I'm sorry to object, Lady Tsunade, but couldn't you have chosen a more equipped squad?"

"Well, Sakura, you four are very equipped in my book." A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips, but it faded quickly. "Although, I do warn you to be careful. Some of these machines I've been hearing about are dangerous and can kill you with a single shot."

I could feel the room get heavy. Sakura was in shock, Sai was (of course) emotionless, and Kakashi's eyes narrowed seriously.

"Will we be by ourselves?" I piped in. Sakura looked at me like she had forgotten I was still in the room.

"No. You will be under the command of a squad named SX-47," Tsunade said.

I nodded slowly and crossed my arms. What a cool name for a squad.

"I'm sorry to have informed you at a terrible time," Tsunade continued. "You will all leave on the boat on dock seven and leave at ten o'clock sharp. If you are not there on time, you will be left behind and severely punished."

She looked at me. I furrowed my brow. I'll be there.

Lady Tsunade sent us away to go off on our own to get ready. I took the long way home so I wouldn't have to pass by the funeral. I don't feel like being depressed before a mission to a strange land, but when I unlocked my apartment door, it hit me like a charging bull.

I slammed the door behind me and mechanically walked to my bedroom. I didn't bother getting dressed in something more comfortable, and I sat on the bottom corner of my bed. I zoned in and out of reality, thinking about Shikamaru and the mission in front of us.

Machine's that can kill with one shot? That seemed improbable, almost like it was fantasy. I hoped she was lying to keep us on our toes.

I managed to look at the clock to see it was only four in the afternoon. Time was going by slowly, and for some reason, I couldn't waste it. So, I just stared at the neon green numbers, watching as zeros became ones, and ones became twos, and so on. Before I knew it, it was six in the evening.

I wasted two hours watching the clock, but I couldn't stop looking at it. Every minute was another reminder of death becoming nearer.

I decided I was getting bored without really processing it in my mind. I stripped to my boxers and laid down on my back on the comfort zone of my bed. I put the palms of my hands on the back of my hands and stared out the window. Everything appeared golden from the lowering sun, and just like the sun, I felt my eyelids droop.

In only a few seconds flat, I was out like a light.