Chapter two: Suna.
Shikamaru paced silently on the wooden floorboards of his room, trying hard not to burst into the fit of bliss he knew was only held back by a single thread of self-control. He couldn't believe Tsunade had actually changed her mind! No wonder she had someone else deliver the message.
He let a tiny smirk escape his blank face as he pictured seeing Temari again… but wait. Would she feel the same way? Of course she would, she seemed just as attracted to him as he was to her. Shikamaru shook his head slightly, ceasing his slow pace to a stop. He had to clear his mind.
It must have been Kankuro and the other two that had persuaded her from her previous decision. The name of the guard came to him clearly now, Chikurin of the first guard. Yes, that was it. Though it still frustrated him that he couldn't find out who the other man was… He would have to think about it a bit more.
Shikamaru jumped slightly at the abrupt pounding at his door. Moving quickly to the entrance, he pulled the round door hold open.
Choji stared at him with a large grin.
Shikamaru smirked slightly, standing to the side and opening the door a bit more, creating room for his friend to enter.
"So, when were you planning to tell me?" Choji asked, trailing over the entrance into the room. "Or were you just going to leave?"
"Sorry, Choji. I guess I just forgot." He apologized, scolding himself inwardly for forgetting something.
Choji just laughed. "Now that's something I'll have to remember, you actually forgetting something! It doesn't happen very often."
"Thanks for reminding me."
Choji had left some time ago so that he could pack what belongings he needed for his mission. After he was finished, he striped himself of his vest and shirt and strode out of his room and though the exit of his back door. After deciding on where he wanted to go, he set off to the closest destination in his mind. A very familiar park. Once he arrived, he slowly took a seat on the cool grass beneath his feet. The wind blew gently through his loose hair as he reminisced.
Then a sudden cringe set itself upon his face as he remembered a particularly unpleasant memory. Imagine, if you would, an unbelievably drunk woman hanging off of you in the middle of a bar… and then being caught by your father in the awkward position. And then having to return to your house with said woman after making out with her in a park.
Shikamaru flinched slightly again as he remembered the fight he had gotten in with his mother. Though, Temari had saved the day by intervening. Afterwards, he was glad that he had brought her.
A slight noise brought him out of his memories with a quick jolt. Leaning up on his hands, Shikamaru looked back to see a tall figure standing behind him.
"Shikamaru?"
He relaxed at the familiar voice. "Hmm?"
His father came down next to him and took a seat beside his son. The two of them said nothing for the first few moments; they simply gazed up at the stars. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Shikaku turned his head towards his son, a tiny smirk gracing his rugged features.
"This place brings back great memories, don't you think?" He inquired, nudging the boy in the side.
Shikamaru almost blushed. "What are you talking about?"
His father laughed. "You don't really think I went straight back home after I left the bar searching, did you?"
This time, his face turned pure scarlet. "What?"
"We were met with quite an interesting sight when we arrived here, too."
Shikamaru paused for a second…. Wait…
"We?"
Shikaku laughed even harder. "God, half the bar came out after you to see what would happen! I don't really know why, but it seemed like they were content with what they saw, and all decided to leave… After a while, anyway."
No wonder people always gave him funny looks whenever he passed by that bar…
Shikaku cleared his throat, gaining back Shikamaru's attention. His fathers face suddenly became serious. "Your mother actually sent me out here for a reason. We have to talk about something." He started, worrying him a little. "About you leaving."
Shikamaru sighed with relief. Good, it was just about that.
"Well, your mother wanted me to talk to you, seeing as you'll be," He seemed a bit uncomfortable about something, "living with that woman and all…"
Shikamaru suddenly froze… What! "What are you talking about?!" Shikamaru exclaimed. His blush was back again. "Who told you that?"
Shikaku recoiled a tiny bit, shocked by his son's uncharacteristic outburst. "You mother and I only assumed…"
Shikamaru cut him off. "Stop assuming!"
Blotched out by large gray clouds, the sun hid completely from sight. Drops of rain fell relentlessly from the sky, drenching everything underneath it within seconds of exposure. All around, birds and insects alike fled the moisture as four figures below leapt swiftly through Konoha's outer forest not ten minuets from the gate.
Shikamaru slowly brushed a thin piece of hair out of his face as he sped on towards his destination. On his left Kankuro and his younger brother Gaara, to his right was the Kazekage's guard, Chikurin. They all traveled in complete silence. After several attempts at conversation, Shikamaru just left it as it was. Apparently, the Kazekage wasn't in a particularly good mood, and none of them really wanted to get on his bad side.
Though he normally didn't mind the rain much, at the particular moment he was in, he was sure that if it were a person, he would kill it. He hated the feeling of heavy cloth dragging from his body as he moved on through the brush. It was as if he were being weighed down by another person, persistently holding on with all their worth.
Man, he hated it.
Their departure hadn't been as simple as he had imagined, though, being that three hours before dawn he was awoken by his mother, claiming that she had suddenly decided that he couldn't leave. It had taken both him and his father to persuade her otherwise. By the time she had given in, he only had less than ten minuets to rest before he had to depart.
Shikamaru sniffled back a yawn that was threatening to emerge as he remembered how tired he was. He decided that the first thing he would do when he arrived in Suna would be to take a nice long nap. After finding a place to stay, of course.
"Shikamaru?"
The shinobi turned to Kankuro as he continued to leap to the next mossy tree. "Hmm?" He answered lazily. Finally, someone decided to say something…
A sudden noise from behind stopped all four shinobi in their tracks. All four sets of eyes focused on a single kunai as it flew past them, digging itself firmly within the bark of a large tree. As if on queue, dozens more came following the first.
Without a word, Shikamaru flung himself behind a large tree, pressing his back up against the hard wood. Once the attack stopped, he turned his head off to the right to check on his companions. Two of them had followed what he had done, seeking the trees for protection. Gaara simply guarded himself the way he usually did; with his sand.
Kankuro, knowing full well not to shout out to lose their position, simply nodded to Shikamaru. Nodding back, he turned to Gaara, whose eyes were narrowed to slits.
As if noting where they were, the kunai suddenly came from the opposite direction, forcing the three shinobi to the other side of the trees as well. Shikamaru noticed a bit too late that each one held an explosive note…
A large, simultaneous explosion emitted from the kunai in a wave of destruction, leaving everything in the area completely obliterated. Two figures slowly slipped out into the now open area. They were completely covered, head to tow, in black. The only openings in the outfit were the thin slits in the face for sight.
The shorter of the two spoke first, in a slightly feminine male voice. "Well, that was easier then expected. I had almost dared to hope that they might not be dead…"
The taller held out a hand and pointed his index finger out in front of him, to a small object far off into the crater they had just created. The first one leaned forward and squinted his eyes a bit to focus at the spot. It was a… a globe of sand!
The man visibly brightened. "I had thought that our attack was a bit straightforward for the Kazekage! I am quite pleased!"
A small portion of the sand orb gave a bit, to reveal a stoic faced Gaara and his bodyguard.
"Oh, so there were two of them! That's even better!"
"What is this guy?"
The two men turned quickly to the right to see two other shinobi, the one from the leaf, and the other Gaara's older brother, Kankuro. It had seemed like they used one of Kankuro's defensive puppets for a shield.
"Well, it seems Konoha's ninja aren't completely ignorant, they just can't look out for themselves." The shorter one chuckled to his companion.
The leaf ninja gazed straight back at the enemy. "It seems as if all these two can do is insult people and throw things. We might as well get this over with as soon as possible."
Kankuro smirked slightly, nodding. "Agreed."
The short ninja snickered. "Come then, let us see who will be dealing with whom." In a deft spurt of speed, he vanished, leaving nothing behind as an indication that he had even been there.
As the dark haired young man crouched low, he reached into his pockets for a few kunai. However, before he could pull them out of their case, Kankuro held out a hand to stop him. When the boy looked at him curiously, he just nodded over to his younger brother.
"I believe Gaara wants to deal with them."
The battle had only taken a few short moments before the two unknown ninjas were thrown face-first onto the cold forest ground. The shorter one muttered a curse as he attempted to regain his footing, only to receive a good kick in the back by Kankuro.
"Stay where you are." Was his short command.
Shikamaru and the other two came up to the fallen shinobi soon after. Again, the same ninja muttered a new chorus of curses. As a reward, Kankuro shoved the male down hard with another brutal kick. "I said, stay there."
Shikamaru turned from face to face, expecting one of them to do something. When no one made a move, Shikamaru gave up.
"We might as well find out who these two are while their laying there so kindly for us." He commented, peering around Kankuro's back to take a quick glance at the two shinobi.
The puppet master agreed silently, and with a slight nod from Gaara, knelt down to pull the black mask from the loud one's face. What he was met with shocked him. "Tsubaki?" Kankuro exclaimed, stepping back from the young sand shinobi.
Now Shikamaru was thoroughly confused. Kankuro knew him?
Tsubaki smirked. "Surprising, humm?"
Gaara let out a frown. "Why are you—" He was cut off.
"Trying to kill you?" He interjected. "Why not! Ever since you became the Kazekage, everything's gone from bad, to worse for us!" He accused. "With your Idiotic treaty with Konoha." He spat, glaring for a moment at the confused Shikamaru. "How can you rely on such a pitiful country such as the fire?"
"So you decided to revolt? How stupid are you?" Kankuro scolded, amazed at the young shinobi's utter stupidity. "And I'm guessing this was all your idea?" He inquired, knowing full well that it couldn't have been. Sure, Tsubaki was tough; however, he couldn't believe that he had come up with such an idea on his own. Deep down, the ninja was a coward.
"Of course not!" He replied right away, falling for his trap in an instant. Right as he was about to blurt out the name of their leader, a sudden shock coursed though his body. His eyes shot wide, akin to his silent but gapping mouth.
"Tsubaki! What—" The other unknown shinobi started before he too froze.
Before long, both shinobi were dead. There was nothing any of the four ninjas could do about it.
After arriving in Suna…
"Where exactly am I supposed to stay?" Shikamaru asked as a particular conversation with his father surfaced on his mind.
Kankuro turned to him with a slight smirk. "You'll be staying with us, duh." He sounded like it was completely obvious from the start. "I'm not exactly sure why, but Gaara insisted."
Shikamaru quickly suppressed a blush as he shook his head, staying silent as his guide brought him to what would be his home for the next month. His job was to simply attend the meetings, and report back to Konoha every month, sending a simple note by carrier bird every week. Not to hard.
Throwing his mind back to his surroundings, Shikamaru viewed the buildings around him. Tall, gritty and brown. That is what he originally thought they would look like. All around him, he couldn't find a single building that looked similar to another. It amazed him at how detailed the buildings actually were.
As they continued on their path, the two of them stopped for something to eat, and then continued on their way.
During the whole trip, Shikamaru couldn't stop thinking about the two ninjas they had encountered in their trip. Their death was something completely confusing to him. How did it happen? Was it some sort of jutsu? It must have been. Shikamaru thought as they came up to a group of middle classed sized buildings.
"So," Kankuro started, throwing the door open to one of the houses, "This is it."