Author's Note: Alright people!! Here is my first ShikaIno series. It includes other people, but there will be ShikaIno in this. And KibaOC. My summary is just below this. I hope you people will enjoy this series as much as I will enjoy writing it. And with Summer Break coming up soon, it will give me a wonderful opportunity to complete this!! Constructive criticism is always welcome. I will try my very best to update as soon as possible. I cannot guarantee anything though. Enjoy.
♪♫Shikamaru received a new mission to escort seven-year-old male and female twins to Lightning Country, Fire Country's new ally. They each contained half of the Six-tailed Youshun (Falcon). They were taken to Konoha by Jade Shinchiro and her team from the Village Hidden in the Sand. Jade remained with the twins when she arrived at Konoha, while her other teammates rested and then left for home. She was selected to carry out the whole mission. So, Shikamaru, Ino, and Kiba are to complete this mission along with the new Sand-nin. How will this go? Read and find out. (My summaries suck…)♫♪
Thanks to "Shikamaru the Novelist" for input on this story!
Disclaimer: I don't even own Naruto in my dreams…
Jounin, Shikamaru Nara stood before the fifth Hokage, awaiting his new mission.
"Shikamaru, I will be having you and a pre-set team of ninja be attempting a new A-rank mission." She handed the man a scroll from her desk and continued, "Our military strength is still a bit low from the attack from the Earth Country. And including the loss of countless other ninja from Orochimaru's attack seven years ago, our numbers of ninja still haven't quite been reestablished. You know Wind Country is our ally, and Lightning Country has just been added."
Shikamaru opened the scroll and started to read as she was speaking, "Who is this 'Jade Shinchiro'?"
Tsunade leaned on her desk, "She is a Jounin medical ninja from the Sand Village. She is a very offensive ninja, despite her medic-nin teachings. Any other questions?"
"What are the backgrounds of the people needing to be escorted?" he said as he read the mission objective.
"I was wondering when you would ask," sighed Tsunade. "They are female and male twins, each carrying half of the Six-tailed Youshun (Falcon). They are adept in barriers but lack experience with their ages being only seven. You will be taking them to Kumo (Village Hidden in the Clouds—Lightning Country's Hidden Village)."
Shikamaru stiffened, "So you want us to escort two children to Kumo? And this mission is A-ranked?"
"Yes. From what we've heard, the Akatsuki are after these two, just as with Naruto and Gaara. These children have a monster inside of them that the Sand Village had left in our care to transport to Kumo. Jade is the ninja they selected to see the mission out, full-length. The Akatsuki aren't foolish enough to attack the city, knowing that the twins will eventually just be escorted to Kumo." Tsunade's eyes darkened, "Chances of running into them are high. You must understand that."
The man nodded, "And you chose me, because I was the best strategist and had the highest success rate for the mission."
"No," said the Hokage. "I chose you because you know your weak points better than any of these other Jounin know theirs. You also know the weaknesses of these individuals, having worked with them before, allowing you to keep strength up where it is needed. You know as well as I do that this mission has to be given to someone that knows their limits. You being the best strategist in Konoha…" she smiled, "is just a bonus."
Tsunade stood up and looked out of the window. "Kumo will wait. The people know of the Akatsuki and will understand all means taken to keep the twins safe, regardless of time. I'm giving you a week here, in preparation time, to hopefully cut the travel time needed. I suggest you round up your team now and meet with Jade. She is in the hospital speaking with Shizune at the moment. They're expecting you."
"Understood," replied Shikamaru. He bowed and left the room, shoving the scroll in his vest and his hands in his pocket. How troublesome…
XXXxxx------xxxXXX
Noon rolled around as Shikamaru trudged into the Yamanaka Flower Shop. The scent of dozens of flowers put him in an even more relaxed mood than usual. Ino stood lazily at the cashier counter, a strand of hair falling in her face, as usual. She perked up at the sight of the Jounin, "Hey, Shikamaru!"
His insides melted, but they stayed put. He loved it when Ino said his name. It had a gentle ring to it that nobody could ever place.
He pulled a hand out of his pocket and lazily gestured a wave, "Hey."
"What's up?" she asked.
"We've got a new mission," he said, placing his hand back in his cozy pocket.
"What is it?"
"Well, first off we have to go meet one of the medic ninjas from the Sand Village, Jade. Right now she's at the hospital with Shizune and—" Shikamaru began.
"Ino! Could you come back here?! The shipment of flowers just arrived!"
"Coming Mom!" Ino turned to Shikamaru. "Sorry about that. We just ordered some new flowers, and I have to go help Mom unload the boxes. It'll probably be about an hour before we finish. Do we have to go meet her now?"
"It can't possibly take you an hour to take care of some flowers? How many boxes are there?" he questioned.
"About three dozen boxes. And it's not as easy as you think," she defended. "We have to take the flowers and set them up in the sun rooms in the back, so they won't die. Then we have to water them and put in our nutrient soil. So yes, it will probably be an hour or so until we're done. I'll come look for you when we're finished though."
"How about I just help you? We'd get done a lot faster, and then the Hokage wouldn't be ranting down my neck for keeping Jade and Shizune waiting," Shikamaru finished.
Shock covered Ino's expression from head to toe, "You mean you're offering to help? You Shikamaru Nara, the lazy genius, is offering to help with work?!"
What have I just done…? "Yeah, yeah," Shikamaru sighed. "It's just because I don't have anything to do now."
"But you never have anything to do," she pointed out.
"I was planning on taking you and the rest of the team to the hospital to meet Jade, as I was just saying two minutes ago," Shikamaru replied.
"Ino! Come help me!" her mother yelled.
Ino sighed, yet again, and said, "Well, I guess we could use your help anyways…" She untied the apron strings from around her neck and laid it on the countertop. "Come on, before Mom gets mad."
Shikamaru gave an exasperated sigh as she went through the back. This is going to be troublesome…
"I'm here, Mom," Ino said as she walked outside.
"Good. The shipment just came in and—" her mother spotted Shikamaru. "Well, well, well… who is this?" she looked him up and down, eyeing the impassive expression with slight distaste.
"Mom, you know Shikamaru. I've told you before that he's on Team Ten with me, remember?" Ino asked.
"Oh yes! So this is the Shikamaru Nara I've heard so much about. What brings you here?"
Shikamaru scowled. He'd never really spoken with Ino's mother, but he could immediately tell that the mother and daughter were identical and in more than one way. Ino answered the question for him, just as he had expected though, "He's offered to help us out with the shipment."
Her mother's mouth formed that sly grin Shikamaru had seen on Ino too many times, "Shikamaru Nara, the lazy genius, is offering to help with work?"
Isn't that exactly what Ino said two minutes ago…?
Ino chuckled slightly, "Yes, Mom. He's actually going to work, and of his own free will too!" she paused to smirk at Shikamaru but then continued, "Well, let's hurry up. Shikamaru and I have to go somewhere."
Her mother raised an eyebrow, "You do? Where? A date I should know about?"
"What?!"
"Mom!"
She giggled and winked, "Just kidding."
"Mom, that wasn't funny!" Ino complained. Her mother simply smiled, but Ino continued on saying, "Shikamaru just needs to take me to meet somebody. And we need to go soon, so let's hurry already!"
"Oh," her mom said. "Well, in that case, I'll just call your father over to help me."
"What?! I thought he was still on his mission!" Ino exclaimed
She smiled, "No. He got back late last night and he was still sleeping when you went to open the shop."
"And you didn't think to tell me Daddy was home?!"
"It didn't really cross my mind," she said, matter-of-factly. "But don't worry about it! Your father will be able to help with this, so go ahead."
"Well, I guess we should get going then, huh?" Shikamaru said.
The two of them started out the door when Ino mother spoke cheerfully, "Shikamaru, you take care of Ino, or Inoichi will have your head!"
"Mom!" Ino's face reddened with embarrassment and infuriation.
"Whatever," Shikamaru replied. Inoichi will have any guy's head if they're with Ino.
XXXxxx------xxxXXX
"So who else is coming?" Ino inquired.
They were walking along the street towards the park. The leaves crinkled under their feet and the wind chilled them a bit. It was smack in the middle of autumn, so the conditions were only predicted. Ino wore her usual attire but had taken a jacket on the way out. It was white and fell down around her mid-thighs. It was a fleece-like material on the inside and leather on the outside. Shikamaru wore his usual outfit as well, his vest being his main source of insulation.
"Kiba Inuzuka," he replied.
"Wait. Why isn't Chouji coming?" she asked.
Shikamaru sighed, "You know how badly he was beaten up on the last mission he went on. He only got back a few days ago, and he's still in the hospital. You have visited him, haven't you?"
"Yes. I went as soon as I heard that he had gotten back, but they weren't allowing visitors. The medic-nins were still working on him. I went the next day and we eventually go to talk. I just thought that, you know, since we're all on Team Ten together, I'd go pay him a visit. I knew you'd go to visit him, but… I didn't know if anybody else would… so I thought that visiting him was the least I could do, you know?"
Ino's kinder than most people give her credit for… just like Chouji.
"Well, at any rate, you know he can't accompany us, so Kiba and Akamaru will."
"But why that loud-mouthed Dogboy?! He's about as annoying as Naruto!" she complained.
"But he's improved a lot. Besides, neither you nor I are very good at close-ranged battles. Kiba's physical strength is what we need to try to balance out the team," Shikamaru stated.
"I guess, but you don't even know where he lives, do you? Where do you expect to find him?" Ino asked.
"Where is Kiba always 'walking' Akamaru?" he asked sarcastically.
"The park…" Ino sighed.
Yes, the park. Kiba was always out with his dog, racing and yelling wildly. Thus, he was generally easy to spot, if one knew where to look.
"I told you they were out here, Akamaru! Shikamaru! Ino!"
Akamaru appeared out of nowhere and screeched to a halt, Kiba clinging to his back.
"Hey, I already got news of the mission," he said, dismounting.
I still can't get over seeing Kiba ride his unnaturally large dog… Shikamaru thought.
"How'd you find out so quickly?!" Ino infuriated.
"Oh, well I just got a scroll at the house a couple minutes ago, so I went out to look for you guys. Lucky me you were already together," Kiba scratched his head.
"But I never got anything! Shikamaru had to come to the shop and tell—"
"Since we're all here…" Shikamaru interrupted. "We should head over the hospital now to see Jade. The Hokage said she was there with Shizune. I'll explain the mission details along the way."
XXXxxx------xxxXXX
Upon arriving at the hospital, Shikamaru spotted two women near the receptionist counter. One he immediately recognized to be Shizune, or rather her back. He realized the other to be Jade Shinchiro.
In all honesty, Jade appeared her part; she was dressed as a Sand ninja. Shikamaru had previously seen the rather interesting clothing of the familiar Sand siblings, including the Kazekage, and had a relative idea of their style of dress.
From Shikamaru's point of view, he could see her black hair that fell to just past her shoulders, with bangs framing her face. He saw that she wore a long-sleeved tan shirt, matching her skin exquisitely, under a three-quarter length mesh shirt, like his own. Atop that rested a sand-colored wrap with turquoise patches. The sleeves revealed the mesh shirt, while the front wrapped around her side, like a kimono. A brown belt rested on her waist, holding weapons and whatnot. The kimono-like top was asymmetrical, stopping the right side off at her hip, and the left, falling to her knee. Dark brown shorts protruded from under her shirt, and a brown kunai belt with a white stripe was strapped to her right thigh. Bandages were wrapped up and down her legs, and the stylish ninja sandals—in dark brown edition—covered her feet. Her Sand Village brown headband was tied to her left shoulder, over the sleeve.
Despite all of that, the main thing that caught his eye was the staff she carried. It was made of a lighter colored wood, slightly darker than her skin. It was simple enough, only having bandages tied around the upper middle portion and a metal top. Two straps of the bandaging fell, hanging about two feet each. The staff rested against her body as she stood with her arms crossed, hands clad in brown gloves with the fingers cut off.
Jade looked over at Shikamaru and his group then Shizune turned around, having seen Jade's eyes move.
"Shikamaru," Shizune greeted. "Ino. Kiba. This," she gestured a hand, "is Jade Shinchiro."
"Hello," Jade stood, apparently not phased. Her bright green eyes struck Shikamaru with force. The eyes weren't cruel, just… oddly familiar. They didn't have the kind look of Sakura, or the cold look of Sasuke. They were similar to that of his own eyes. They looked at him accusingly; they searched for any hint of definition to his being. She was analyzing him.
Ino smiled with her good-girl look, "Hi." Kiba nonchalantly greeted with a smirk, "Hey."
There was something about this woman that was just too subjective to him. The two of them continued to stare, continued to scrutinize each other.
"Shikamaru! You shouldn't be rude! Say hello!" Ino chastised.
"Troublesome," Yet he didn't disconnect the eye contact. For if he did, Jade would have the upper hand. People are just like a battlefield. Whoever figures out who you are first, wins.
Jade soon dropped her gaze when Shizune began to speak, "Shikamaru have you explained the mission to your teammates yet?"
Shikamaru nodded, "Yes."
Shizune said, "I think it wise of you to meet the twins then."
Ino suddenly stiffened. Shikamaru thought, These kids are demons after all… I would imagine Ino to feel uncomfortable. Apparently, Jade had read the kunoichi's body signals. "Don't worry. The Six-tailed is firmly sealed inside of Akira and Ruki."
"I know," Ino replied. "Do they at least know the demon resides inside them?"
"Akira, the brother, he's more mature than any seven-year-old should be and fully accepts the Six-tailed Falcon. Ruki, the younger sister, knows, but she doesn't let it get in the way of living. These twins are special. All of you must treat them with respect," she eyed Shikamaru vehemently with the last word. He had a strong feeling that the two of them weren't going to get along very well on the mission.
XXXxxx------xxxXXX
Shizune lead the group into a room. Two ANBU members were inside and soon left as Shizune entered.
ANBU? These twins must be more important than we thought.
A young girl sat on the bed, swaying her legs. She had a short ponytail of black hair, with bangs outlining her face. She wore a shorter version of a kimono in shades of blue and green with brown shorts and mesh on her legs along with the brown sandals. She looked up as the team entered. "Hi!" She smiled and jumped off of the bed. "I'm Ruki! And my brother over there is Akira."
Shikamaru looked over at the brother as he stood leaning against the wall. He was dressed similar to the Kazekage, Gaara. The only difference is that the clothing was in shades of brown. His pants were dark brown, while his over-coat (his top that reaches down to his ankles—I don't know what to call it) was a light brown/sandish color. The vest was a dark brown matching his pants. Short black hair lay flat on his head, resembling Sai's.
He looked up at Shikamaru for a moment, but then turned his head to Jade, leaving him with only a glance at the child's eyes. They were angled slightly with golden orbs and small black slits for the pupils.
Ruki walked over to the group, a smile plastered on her face. Shikamaru noticed that she had the same eyes. That must be the Youshun's—the Six-tailed's—feature.
The girl dropped her grin and asked, "Are these the people that are helping you take us to Kumo, Sis?"
"Sis?!" the group exclaimed.
"What's so surprising about that?" Jade asked. "Did Hokage Tsunade not tell you?"
"No," Shikamaru replied. "But I'm guessing we should introduce ourselves anyways." I wouldn't have guessed the three of them are siblings. He thought.
"My name is Shikamaru Nara."
"Ino Yamanaka. It's nice to meet the two of you."
"I'm Kiba Inuzuka, and this is my pal Akamaru!" Akamaru woofed at the sound of his name.
"These," said Jade, "are the Leaf ninja Hokage Tsunade has sent to accompany us."
Ino caught her last word, "Wait a second. Shikamaru didn't say anything about escorting a Jounin too!"
"That's because you're not escorting me," Jade stated. "I'm a Sand Jounin. I don't need Leaf ninja help, but I can't protect both my brother and sister at once. Besides this is a task proving the Sand, Fire, and Lightning's alliance. It's only natural to have all countries take part."
Kiba complained, "Why is it that you know more than the rest of us do? I even got a mission scroll, and all it said was that we were going to escort some twins to Kumo. It didn't even say anything about you."
Jade raised her eyebrows, "That surprises you? I'm not all that important to the mission. Escorting my siblings to Kumo is the mission. I've no accordance to it."
"She's got a point Kiba," Ino said. "Shikamaru had to tell me about the mission, and the fact that Jade wasn't mentioned on your mission scroll makes sense to me."
"I guess…" Kiba trailed off.
Shizune turned to Jade, "I'm guessing you all will be fine then. Jade, you and the twins will be staying at the Hyuuga estate for the week. They are very hospitable people, and one of these three ought to know where it is. Have them take you there whenever you finish. I'm sure you will like the Hyuugas." She then turned and left.
"The Hyuugas?" Ino questioned after Shizune left.
"Yes. Hokage Tsunade already told me, and don't worry; I know where the estate is," Jade finished.
Ruki put her hands on her hips in an adorable fashion, "No you don't, Sis! You've only been from Miss Tsunade's office to right here. Even Miss Tsunade said to ask one of these guys! You just don't like asking for help!" she concluded.
Jade rubbed Ruki's head in a sisterly manner, "You caught me, you brat."
"Well, if that's the case, I know where the Hyuuga Estate is," Kiba smirked. A moment of silence passed.
The two sisters are close. Shikamaru decided. But the brother, Akira was his name? He hasn't said a word yet. Shikamaru looked over at him, and the boy walked over to the group.
"We may as well start our way to the Estate. There's nothing to do here," he said. He didn't skip a step as he walked out of the room. Ruki frowned and followed him out calling, "Akira, wait up! You don't even know where you're going." Jade shook her head and smiled.
"Has… Akira always been this way?" Ino asked Jade.
"Akira?" Jade started, "I guess so. He never was the social type, but once you get to know him, and he opens up… he's a really nice kid. Even if he's ten years younger, he's the perfect brother." She finished.
Shikamaru pointed out, "So you're well accomplished for a seventeen-year-old Jounin then, aren't you?"
"You could say that," she said. Her heels spun, and she walked out after her siblings.
"She's nice…" Kiba stated under his breath, after Jade was out of earshot. Akamaru whined in agreement. He looked over at Shikamaru. "What do you guys think?"
"Jade seems nice, but I don't know her well enough to say much. I really like Ruki though. She's just too cute!" Ino squealed. "Shikamaru?"
He continued to look out the doorway, ignoring Ino's question. "Shikamaru. What do you think of her?"
"She's different," he said, lingering on the last word.
"Well, we should probably be following them then," Ino stated.
"Yeah. Seeing as they don't know where they're going," Kiba added. "Let's go, Akamaru." The large dog followed Kiba out of the room.
Shikamaru said quietly to Ino, "I don't like her that much."
Ino eyed the scowl on his face, "Why not? She's not done anything has she?"
"She's troublesome," he continued.
"Oh, Shikamaru. You say that about everybody. Now lighten up!" Ino coaxed
Shikamaru followed the kunoichi out of the room, down the hallway, and outside to the waiting siblings and a laughing Kiba.
Very troublesome.
-grins- Now leave ♥! Sorry if you guys get overwhelmed with three new characters. Forgive me! I have put TONS of time and effort into this series ahead of time, so that writer's block will be less likely. PLEASE review, so that I know my Naruto research and procrastination of school work was worth it! The more I get, the faster I update!
Next Chapter: A
humorous training session!
(The series title may change in the future. The only thing I didn't put thought into was the title! Silly me. This was one I thought of off the top of my head.)