Fugitives
Chapter 1
Ino
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My name is Nara Shikamaru. Up until I was twelve, I lived a normal life with my father. However, just after I graduated ninja academy and became a genin, the Kage Wars broke out. It was between all five hidden villages, and Hokage-sama called on all of the jounins. My father was one of them.
It wasn't supposed to get out of hand, but by the time I was fourteen, it was a living nightmare. Dead bodies were all over the once busy streets. People barely come out of their houses. ANBU were on high alert, just in case of another surprise attack.
And so, at the age of fifteen, with no family anymore, I decided to set out. I'm only a genin, but with jounin fighting ability, and so the ANBU are after me, just because I happen to be near battle scenes. Deaths that could've been caused by any ninja are blamed on me. And there's no way in hell that I'm staying around to get killed.
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"Nara Shikamaru!"
A man stood tall, clearly an ANBU due to the mask. "Come out with your hands up!" He was standing in a fighting pose, clearly signifying that he was ready to fight if necessary. Around the man stood many other elite jounin, all facing a large tree and ready for battle. Some had kunai or shuriken ready in their hands, while others were ready to do hand seals.
There was a large storm that night. The rain beat down hard, causing the roads to slippery. Large bolts of lightning flashed through the sky which was always soon followed by a loud burst of thunder. It was enough to keep everyone inside; the only people out were the guards of the city.
Behind the large tree stood none other than the infamous ninja, Shikamaru. His back was against the trunk of the tree and he was panting heavily. His hair had long since fallen out of its pineapple state and was covering part of his face. The rain was slowly washing away the dried out blood located by the wounds on his body. He could feel the stinging sensation run through his body as the rain fell over his cuts. He closed his eyes for moment before opening them once more. Taking a deep breath, he connected all of his fingers, trying to think of a plan.
The leader was growing frustrated. It had been a long chase and they had finally gotten him tired down and hiding behind a tree. But he never knew what that guy could be planning, as they were also tired out from everything. If they attacked now, he could easily counterattack and everything would've gone to waste. But waiting around for him to do something was definitely worse. His fellow jounin looked towards him for signal, receiving a firm nod. They nodded as well as they prepared an attack. In a fury of kunai and hand seals, the attack on Shikamaru had started. A few shinobi had stayed in their spots with kunai and shuriken ready in their hands. Some created clones and went for a full frontal assault. There were a few others who used some type of jutsu to attack from far away, the ANBU captain being one of them.
The black haired ninja cursed softly as he quickly jumped out of the way in hopes to dodge the attacks. He managed to escape with only a few bruises and some kunai marks. He stood near the side of the tree, now in line of the kunai armed ninja. They threw their weapons just as he jumped, which caused a few to slash at his ankles. Pain consumed his body as he landed, but he ran forward regardless.
The jounin quickly turned around, watching him escape. "Quickly!" Pointing towards the runaway, he quickly advanced towards him, just as the others did.
Shikamaru didn't need to turn around to realize that they were coming after him. He did a few quick hand seals before ten clones of himself appeared around him. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Half of them took out their own weapons and attacked as the other half fled in random directions, the actual following.
The ANBU stopped abruptly as he watched the clones before him. He cursed under his breathe as he got ready to fight. Now he knew what those other jounin meant by him being a genius.
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The runaway clones had disappeared a little while after Shikamaru summoned then. He figured that the majority of the jounin would stay to fight the clones, only a few following the runaways. Either way, they were off his back for now.
He paused for a moment, leaning against a thick tree trunk. Dropping down to the wet grass, he rolled up his pants, wincing at what he saw. Most of his lower leg was covering in blood, now dry, that was slowly being washed away. He could feel the pain of his cuts now. Taking a look at them, he noticed that they were pretty deep. He was no medic-nin, but he could tell that those cuts should be wrapped up, and quick.
"Shit!"
The wanted ninja's head snapped up, his body alert. The voice sounded like it was coming behind him. He was in no condition to run anymore, so he could only hope that it didn't come from any jounin. However, he wasn't about to take any chances.
Slowly, Shikamaru rose to his feet, trying to ignore the pain from his ankles. Using his stealth skills, he quietly went towards the figure, which he assumed was a girl from the voice. He arrived at another tree, seeing a girl near by. Keeping himself hidden and using the tree for support, he quietly watched her. Being the talented ninja he was, he wasn't too worried about hiding himself, since she didn't look too strong. Either that or he was just too tired.
"Damn it,"
Now closer, he noticed she looked strangely familiar. The darkness of the night kept him from seeing too much detail, but he could make out her long, blonde hair and purple outfit. She seemed injured as well, wrapping an injury on her left arm. After a moment of watching her, her head shot up. Her sky blue eyes landed directly on him and his body immediately tensed. Quickly, she stood up and readied herself for a fight, the band aids on her arm forgotten.
"Who are you?" She demanded, her right hand inching towards her kunai pocket.
He silently cursed at being so careless and took a few steps back, not wanting to get involved in another fight. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you." He raised his tired hands in the air, still on high alert just in case she attacked him. Man, running away was so troublesome.
"And why should I believe you?!" She spat, her hand already in the kunai pouch.
Shikamaru growled silently, wishing he had just not watched her in the first place. He was in no condition to run; his legs were extremely worn out. Fighting wouldn't be any better though. After racking his mind for a proper answer, he opened his mouth, only to closer it again.
"There's Nara!" The two ninja swiftly turned their heads towards the source of the voice, only to see an ANBU, readily armed. Behind him, a small squad of other jounin were following.
"What the? Nara?" The kunoichi turned towards the jounin, then back at him. "Do you mean—?" Before she could finish her question, she felt him grab her arm and began to run off. The two began to weave between the trees in the forest, trying to avoid the jounin chasing them.
"Hurry up! He's getting away!"
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The blonde ninja quickly pulled her arm away once he began to slow down.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She asked, still panting, as he took the time to catch his breath. The two were only a few steps ahead of the jounin who had kept hot on their trail for the past half an hour. However, she never received an answer, for the jounin had caught up.
"Nara!" The ANBU was standing in the front with four jounin aligned behind him. "Hands up, and we won't have to fight!"
"Troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered softly before turning to face the jounin. After making a few hand seals, shadow began to change shape, becoming longer and thinner. "Kagemane no Jutsu!" The moonlight washed over them, casting shadows on the ground. Soon, his shadow blended in with the ones from the trees and within seconds was connected with the shadows of the five jounin.
The ANBU cursed as he felt his hands move up to touch his head against his will, just as his fellow jounin. Soon, they would be beaten and he would've gotten away again. Their only hope was that he would soon run out of chakra. From what he heard, this jutsu ran in the bloodline of the Nara clan, but took up a lot of chakra when used for a long time.
She just stared in awe, watching as all six of them moved in unison. She had only heard of the jutsu used by the infamous Nara Shikamaru, but she had never seen it first hand. After a moment, it clicked in her mind. That was Nara Shikamaru. That was the infamous ninja. That was one of the most wanted shinobi in Konoha. And he had just saved her from ANBU.
Shikamaru gave a smug smirk, happy that he seemed to have the upper hand. All he had to do was subdue them for a while. After a moment of remaining in his hands on his head pose, he put his hands down, turned towards the side and began running full speed, all of the jounin doing the same. He kept running down the road, getting faster and faster. As for the other jounin, they were running into the large cluster of trees right next to the road, only to be knocked unconscious from the force. After the last of the jounin had been knocked out, his shadow returned to a normal shape and he stopped running. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he turned towards her.
"Let's go."
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Once they were sure they lost any other possible followers, the two stopped. They had found an old, run down storage house, clearly abandoned for some years. Plus, it was hidden amongst destroyed buildings and trees, a good way to keep it hidden for the night.
"This'll be perfect for the night." Shikamaru stated as he walked into the dark building. The only source of light was the moonlight coming in from outside. Looking around, the ninja sat himself in a corner, exhausted and ready to sleep. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, trying to collect his thoughts.
The kunoichi sat down as well, also tired from the running. She made sure to keep a good distance away from him. Now that she new exactly who he was, there was no way she was going near him. "What do you mean 'perfect for the night'? I'm not staying here, alone, with you!"
Opening his eyes, he looked at her. "What are your other options? If you're out there, not only will you freeze, but the jounin will be more likely to find you."
"And why should that concern me?"
"Well, from what I can tell, they probably think you're part of my group. And if you're with me, then you're an enemy to them. So you can either go back on your own, where they'll probably find you and kill you, or," he paused as realization finally hit him, "you can stay with me and we can get out of here."
"What?" A surprised look crossed her features. She was certainly not expecting that response out of him. But he did have a point, the jounin now-a-days didn't take chances with anything.
He again closed his eyes, in hopes to get some rest before they set out the next morning. It was already late at night, maybe even early in the morning. He had no idea. All he knew is that he wanted to sleep some.
As the blonde ninja thought over her situation, she looked over his way. From the looks of it, he was ready to sleep. He just seemed so vulnerable like that, eyes closed and worn out from the day. He looked so innocent, not at all like an elite ninja that could wipe out fifteen jounin in one, slick move. If she really felt like it, she could just go and turn him in to the Hokage. But if what he said was right, someone would've found her and killed her first, or at least take her away. And there was something else about him that told her just not to do it. He didn't look all that bad.
"Hey." She watched him for a reaction, hoping to at least get a formal introduction. "Hey, don't you just fall asleep!" She said again, this time more annoyed.
Grumbling, he opened his eyes to look at her. "What do you want?" He stared at her with that same bored expression that had settled on his face since their encounter with the jounin.
Slightly annoyed by his rude behavior, she crossed her arms in a huff. "I was hoping for a proper introduction or at least something like that."
"You already know my name."
"Yeah, but you don't know mine, do you?"
He looked at her with a rather uncaring face. Clearly, he didn't find her name all too important. Or at least right now, when he could've been sleeping. But he knew the common courtesy of giving your name first before asking someone else's, even though she already knew his. "Nara Shikamaru."
She couldn't help but grin that she got a response out of him. And a polite one at that. She let herself relax a tad bit more, ready to go to sleep. There was no way, genius or not, that he would try something at night when he was exhausted.
"My name's Yamanaka Ino."
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