Author Note: First Naruto fanfiction. Be gentle.
They had to stop soon, Shikamaru knew. The fading light made their flight through the trees treacherous, and even if the others could see in the shadows as well as he did, they were fatigued and half-starved. The mission had taken longer than expected, and rations had run out the day past. They were still three days away from Konoha.
"Ne, Shikamaru, when are we going to make camp?" whined Chouji at the back. He swiped at his eyes and shook his head to clear his vision.
The shadow-nin turned his head slightly in his friend's direction. He let out a low sigh, and merely replied, "Soon."
"This mission took so long. Ah, I can't wait to get home and visit the bathhouse!"
Shikamaru didn't answer.
"Hey, Shika, have you seen, Ino lately? I couldn't find her before we left. I don't think she's on a mission, so I wonder what she's been up to lately." A ghost of a smile sat on Chouji's lips when Shikamaru turned to face his friend.
Furrowing his brows, he said tiredly, "Chouji…"
"You know, we should go out for some barbeque! It's been a while since we've all been together."
Chouji dodged a low-hanging branch to alight beside Shikamaru. With a gentle smile, he said, "How about it?"
Shikamaru leaped onto the next tree branch and closed his eyes mid-flight, confident he'd land where he intended. "Not now, Chouji."
Up ahead, his teammates turned their heads and gave him a questioning look. Shikamaru nodded in acknowledgement and ordered them to stop for the night. As they flittered to the ground, he veered off to the side where a small grove stood shrouded in flickering shadows.
Isamu landed on the forest floor with a thump and sprawled out, panting lightly. Kenchiro landed with more grace and immediately went about setting up camp. He threw Isamu a chiding look, which the younger shinobi returned with a sheepish smile. He stood and began to help unpack their bags.
"Hey, should we go check on the captain?" Isamu asked hesitantly.
Silently they both looked in the direction that Shikamaru had wondered off to. Kenchiro shook his head, brown hair flopping about as he unpacked the game they had hunted earlier.
"No," he said. "Everyone has their demons to deal with. Let him tend to his."
Throwing one last look over his shoulder, Isamu grabbed nearby wood to start a fire. A kind boy by nature, he was worried for his superior, knowing that Shikamaru had seemed particularly distracted on this mission. It was simple enough, an information-gathering assignment that required them to infiltrate a local lord's mansion when he was supposedly absent on vacation. However, the lord hadn't left on the day predicted, opting to stay a few more days to see to unfinished business, so they had waited two extra days for the lord to leave, all the while their supplies dwindling. Nothing trained Konoha shinobi couldn't handle, but the captain had chosen to delegate tasks rather than tackle them himself, his unease evident by his usually-steady shadow flickering at the slightest disconcertment.
A ways from camp, the shadow-nin wearily slid down the trunk of a tree, letting his head fall back onto the rough bark. Chouji followed suit at his right, the moonlight casting his figure in an ethereal glow. Shikamaru tugged at his leather gloves, frayed with overuse and in desperate need of replacement. He sighed, and turned his gaze toward the sky, darkening with the oncoming night, stars twinkling in the heavens.
"Chouji," Shikamaru began. "Why'd you come with me on this mission?"
At the question, the bigger shinobi answered softly, his spectral voice paper-thin, "You've been distressed lately."
"I have not," Shikamaru protested weakly.
"You have, I can tell. Who else is going to watch your back on missions?" Chouji asked.
"I'm fine on my own, Chouji. I know you're just worried, but you don't need to be here. You shouldn't be here." The Nara sighed, and Chouji could give nothing but a sad, haunted smile. "Besides, there's Isamu and Kenchiro."
"They don't know you like I do. I'm your best friend! Ino-Shika-Chou, remember?" Chouji flicked his ear, the gift from Asuma-sensei giving off a phantasmal radiance in the moonlight.
Standing to his feet, Shikarmaru was about to answer when a scream pierced the lull of night. Cursing himself for leaving his team, he ran toward the direction of camp, pulling out a kunai from his pack. He slipped from shadow to shadow, glad of the low moonlight, and kept hidden as he approached the open expanse of forest where his team had set camp.
At the edge of the opening, he pressed his back to a tree, scanning the area. The scream had clearly been Isamu, who lay on the grassy earth, blood beginning to pool around him from an open wound on his chest. Standing over him was an enemy shinobi, eyes as black as the midnight sky, a grisly smirk adorning his face. His white hair fell in stringy rivulets down his face, and he was clothed in dirt-smeared garments that needed mending. Isamu attempted to stand, but a foot from the enemy shinobi ground into his back, forcing him back to the forest floor.
Shikamaru cursed again. Kenchiro was busy fending off three other ninja, his tanto flashing fiercely as he deflected their attacks. Three against four wasn't out of their skill range, but given that they were exhausted from travel and lack of rations made the situation dire. The white-haired shinobi standing atop Isamu seemed content to stand back and watch the others take down Kenchiro, so Shikamaru figured he was the leader.
Shikamaru couldn't use his shadow skills in all the dark. There were far too many shadows cast by the expansive forest, and attempting to capture an enemy when his shadow was connected to the rest of the forest's would result in him controlling miles and miles of shadow, which was completely out of his chakra range. Thinking quickly, he jumped behind a ninja who strayed too close to his hiding spot and slit his throat easily.
The white-haired shinobi seemed unaffected by the death of his minion, and when it appeared that Shikamaru and Kenchiro would quickly dispose of the last two ninja, he merely grinned and ground his foot harder into Isamu's back.
Things were going too easy, Shikamaru knew. The three ninjas now dead at their feet were hardly chuunin level. The leader shinobi continued to smile, and Shikamaru realized something was wrong. The white-haired ninja kicked Isamu out from under him, and raised his right hand to admire it in the moonlight. Panting, Shikamaru narrowed his eyes and prepared himself for an attack. What he didn't expect was for the ninja's raised hand to seemingly grow, skin and muscles pulling away and stretching and remolding itself into a longer limb. It was grotesque how the newly grown skin rippled and expanded to an additional five feet, the end of the limb not reforming into a hand, but congregating into a sharp point.
"What the hell?" exclaimed Kenchiro.
Shikamaru, still shuddering at the sight of the deformed limb, barely registered the sudden approach of the shinobi, his arm swinging out and pointed directly at Kenchiro's chest. He was too swift for Kenchiro to react, but Shikamaru quickly shoved his teammate out of the way, cursing when a shot of pain burst in his side. He fell to the ground, too stunned to pick himself up. Feeling blood running through his fingers as he gingerly touched his injured side, he turned his head to see Kenchiro dodge another swipe of the enemy's arm. He tried to stand, but it felt as if he were tethered to the ground, his shadow pulling at his physical form to retreat into the safety of the dark. He dropped back onto the ground, propped up by an elbow. His other hand clutched at the throbbing hole in his side, blood spilling freely between his fingers.
As his vision began to fade, he spotted Chouji at the edge of the clearing, that small, haunted smile still dancing on his face. The Akimichi gave Shikamaru a sympathetic look, turned, and melted into the darkness of the forest.
"Chouji…" Shikamaru coughed out before falling unconscious.
It felt as if he dreamed for an eternity. Flashes of his childhood filtered through his mind, harshly reminding him of earlier times. He forced them away, preferring to peruse his more recent memories, such as his jounin initiation or his year-long ambassadorship to Suna. It was less satisfying, but thankfully less depressing. When he resurfaced into consciousness, a vague memory of campfires with Team 10 on missions escaped his grasp before he attempted to open his eyes.
The sounds of a crackling fire reached Shikamaru's ears before his eyes registered what he was seeing. The dark of night swam before his vision, stars faintly dotting the black sky. His head throbbed slightly, his thoughts fragmented as he tried to gather his wits. His hand fell to his side where he expected to find a grievous wound festering, but to his surprise, his fingers fell on clean, blood-free cloth. Underneath, where a gaping hole should have been, was only smooth skin. It was still tender to the touch, and would take a few weeks to heal, but the wound was closed. Also concerning was the fact that his flak jacket was missing, his usual attire replaced with a simple, black shirt.
Mustering remnants of his strength, he sat up from his makeshift bed on the forest floor. Not far from his bed was the small fire he heard as he woke, small flames rising to cast tendrils of shadows over a person kneeling near the fire.
"Finally awake, eh?" came a gruff voice.
Shikamaru froze. He was sure he was silent when he moved, and yet this stranger had sensed his awakening. A shinobi then, and a medical-nin at that.
The stranger stood, and walked over to a backpack situated not far from the fire. Pulling out a small pack, he stood and made his way over to the shadow-nin. Shikamaru tensed, unsure of the stranger's intentions, but when the other man held out a small bag of rations, he took it without hesitation. The shinobi stalked back to the fire and sat, his back to Shikamaru.
A thought came to Shikamaru and he blurted, "My teammates, Kenchiro and Isamu—"
"They're dead," came the stranger's voice without preamble. He didn't even bother looking back. "I've already buried them. It's a miracle you survived. Be glad I came when I did, Leaf ninja."
Shikamaru bristled. "How long was I out?"
"Only a day."
He glanced at the ration pack in his hands. Did he trust this man enough to take his food? He raked his eyes over to the stranger, taking in the image of short, light blonde hair caught in a tight ponytail at the base of his neck. "Who the hell was that freak?" he inquired.
The man finally half-turned his head, long bangs covering the right side of his face casting more shadows over his visage. "Hiiruke. I've been tracking him for some time. Dangerous and malicious man. Kills for the fun of it. Takes over a village and demands payment for what he calls protection."
The Nara narrowed his eyes, eyeing the stranger's backpack. A long sheet of fabric was tied around the pack, a symbol of a circle with vertical lines weaving through it was stitched onto the cloth. "What hidden village are you from?"
The shinobi turned away from him. "None."
"Never knew a missing-nin to have mercy on a stranger."
"I'm not a missing-nin. There are other reasons a shinobi severs ties with their village."
"So why are you following Hiiruke?"
The man turned back to the fire. "I…have my reasons."
Shikamaru opened the rations and began to pick at the food. "Does it have anything to do with why you left Konohagakure?"
The man stiffened, then slowly turned around, a smirk accompanied by half-lidded blue eyes that danced humorlessly adorning his face. "Nothing gets past you, ne, Shikamaru?"
"Not when it comes to you, Ino."
The man—Ino—scoffed. It was hard to reconcile the androgynous individual before him with the memories he had of his feminine teammate, but he had made the connection the minute she spoke. Her figure, however hidden by loose clothing she once would never wear, further gave her away, and the manner in which she walked to her pack merely solidified his assumptions. A shadow never forgets.
Ino spoke again, her voice returning to its normal pitch instead of the slightly lower one that would allow her to pass as a man. "You're far from home."
Shikamaru's brows furrowed over cloudy eyes. "Konoha's only three days away."
Another smirk. "I meant Suna."
"Suna's not my home."
"Could've fooled me," Ino said with spite, bowing her head. "How fares Konoha?"
He paused. What should he tell her? Many things had happened in the four years she had been gone, none of which mattered to her personally. "Fine," he said succinctly. It was too troublesome to go into detail. "Sakura's back."
Ino froze immediately at the name. When she spoke next, her voice was soft. "How's she doing?"
"Better. Furlough did her a lot of good."
"How long was she gone?"
"Two years."
"Her forehead's still as big as ever, I bet." A soft chuckle. He could hear the longing and fondness in Ino's voice, despite her insult. "I wonder if she ever forgave me. Guess I'll never know, huh?"
A silence fell on them, seeming to suffocate the small fire. Anxious to fill the air, Shikamaru said, "She was shocked to hear about you when she came back. Hounded me for answers, but I didn't have any."
"And who wasn't shocked? I'm surprised I wasn't executed on the spot when they dragged me back."
Ino stood suddenly and returned to her pack. She dug through her things for a moment, then brought over a small amount of food to his side. "It's all I can give you," she said, shoving the items into his hands, "and it's more than I can afford anyway. But it'll last you two days if you ration it, although it'll take you four days to get back to Konoha with that wound."
Shikamaru fingered his side. Ino had been proficient with medical ninjutsu, but never at the level needed to heal something so grave. Had she been trained by someone?
"And take it easy," she continued. Tch, still as bossy as ever. "It'll be at least two weeks before it heals properly, even though I did speed up the process a bit." Ino paused a moment, lips pursed. "Although, knowing you, you'll never listen to what I say, so do what you will." She returned to her pack and settled it on her back.
"You're going?" Shikamaru asked quickly. He made as if to stand up, but found he still had hardly any strength.
Casting a cool eye on her former teammate, Ino spoke, "There's nothing more to do, is there?"
No, Shikamaru thought critically, but so much more to discuss.
She took his silence as an affirmative answer. "Well, then, I'll be off." She strolled to the edge of camp, her back to the fire and Shikamaru.
As she reached the darkness of the forest, she voiced quietly, "For what it's worth, I didn't leave because I wanted to."
"Please," came Shikamaru's scathing voice, suddenly angry, "you walked out of those gates of your own free will."
Ino turned sharply, her bangs fluttered to display boiling rage in her blue eyes. "And should I have taken the alternative?!" she demanded. "Stripped of my shinobi status, my chakra forever sealed, and seven years of prison?" She scoffed loudly, indignant. "The only way it could possibly have been any more humiliating was if my father were still alive to see how far I'd fallen."
"What did you expect, Ino? A free pass?" His anger now piqued, Shikamaru retorted, "How did you think the council would react to a Leaf shinobi burning down a civilian village?!"
Ino's eyes flashed with resentment. Her voice, gravelly, was low with fury . "Don't speak as if you know what happened that day."
"How did it feel, Ino, when you heard the screams of innocent men and women as they burned to death? As the walls of their home fell down upon their children, crushing them?"
Her eyes widened with shock and grief for the briefest of moments, and Shikamaru was suddenly ashamed of his words. The feeling faded quickly when Ino reached up to her ears and yanked out the studs Asuma had given them.
"I kept these for Chouji's sake, hell, perhaps even yours, but now I see that was a mistake." Eyes narrowed in rage, she threw the earrings at his feet and turned sharply, hastily making her way to the forest.
"Ino!" he called after her desperately.
She stopped at the tree line, keeping her back to him. "Ino died that day in the fire. I'm Kasei now." She stood still, her hands clenched into fists. "I chose to be exiled because leaving Konoha was better than giving up all the hard work I put into being a kunoichi. My jutsus are all I have left of my family." Turning her head slightly in his direction, she threw over her shoulder before withdrawing into the darkness, "Swift travels to Konoha, and may I never see your face again."
It was several moments before Shikamaru tore his eyes away from the spot where his former teammate had disappeared. He sighed, and reached for the earrings on the ground. He cradled them in his palm before sliding them into a pocket and laid himself down on his bed. Four years and that's how he greeted a lost friend? He pressed his palms into his eyes, suddenly very weary and exhausted. The fire was burning low, and would go out within the hour, but he was too tired to add more fuel. As he slept, he dreamed of Team Ten and Ino's look of grief all night.
How troublesome.
Extraneous Author Note: I would really appreciate your thoughts on this, especially considering this is my first foray into the vast Naruto fandom. I know I've completely changed Ino's personality, but hopefully it makes sense given the circumstances. As far as Shikamaru, I don't think I've quite got his character down, so I apologize if he comes across as out-of-character. Also, apologies for reducing Chouji to a plot device. ;o; I do love all of Ino-Shika-Chou, I promise!
Review, please!