The smell... It was the first thing he noticed. There was the scent of wet earth and growing things all around him. But there were other impressions too. Like a newborn who was discovering the world for the first time, everything seemed new and interesting to the young man. Well, at least as interesting as things could get for someone like him. He hadn't opened his eyes yet, and honestly, he wasn't even sure if he had the strength to do that. But he could feel! The warm glow of the sun and the soft caress of a light breeze upon his skin and the rustling of leafs overhead. Actually he didn't need to open his eyes to know where he was, or at least where he was supposed to think he was.
Despite being a lazy bum, or maybe because of that, the forest of Konoha had always been one of his favorite places. Ever since the first time his father had taken him along on one of his trips into the woods to look after the deers, he had grown to love this place. All the troubles and worries of a bustling day-to-day life just seemed so much farther away when you were dozing off in the shades of an old oak tree. Taking a short nap actually seemed a pretty alluring idea now that he thought about it. Why would he want to struggle to fully wake up anyway? After all this was most likely just another an other genjutsu to lure him into feeling secure and at ease. What would be next? One of his friends showing up and asking him about his mission, trying to coax a few secrets out of him? He definitely would not let his guard down that easily. So instead of opening his eyes and getting up to rejoice in his alleged return to Konoha, he did what he knew he would enjoy even more. Sighing contently he allowed himself to slip back into blissful unconsciousness.
Readjusting the strap of the bag over her shoulder, the girl's emerald eyes scanned the foliage around her. It had only taken a moment to tuck away the reference book safely between the samples they had been collecting all day. But when she had looked up again, her fellow ninja had disappeared behind some bush once again. She shook away an amused smile while waiting for him to return. One had to admit Tsunade definitely had known what she was doing when she had sent them out together. It would have taken them most likely at least twice as long to get everything the Hokage wanted if they had been out on their own. Well, that wasn't entirely true. More precisely it would have taken her that long if she had been alone. Her partner wouldn't have needed her at all, she guessed. He didn't seem to mind her company either, though. Although it was hard to tell with him, silently concentrating on getting the job done and only speaking when necessary. At least it wasn't an unpleasant silence she assumed. By now she was used to working with people who were as talkative as a gravestone. Some of them in a more friendly, just quiet way, and others in an apparently constant pissed-off way. Fortunately her current partner fit into the first category.
„I am sorry Sakura to have you kept waiting but there was one more bug I had to collect." The stoic voice drifted out behind some trees to her left and forced her to leave her silent contemplations forgotten for now. Turning around to face him she waved her hand as if to brush his words away. „There is nothing to apologise for, Shino. I'm sure you would have been finished hours ago if you hadn't helped me finding those herbs. So it would be more fitting for me to thank you."
Accepting her arguments with a silent nod, the young man in question came up next to her. Indicating the small plastic container in his hand with a subtle gesture of his head he went on: „Since we have both accomplished our set tasks it would be reasonable to return before darkness falls."
The kunoichi gave a quick nod in response and together they set out towards the general direction of the gates of Konoha. It was, by no means, that long a distance they would have to cover. But still it would take them longer than usual. While leaping from branch to branch they had to move carefully as not to damage their respective cargo. In Sakura's case a bag filled with a wide array of samples from various plants and fungi, neatly packed away in small glas bottles. Although she had handled them with great care and tried to stash them as safely as possible, she had already broken one rather delicate vial and was now determined that it would remain the only one. Shino on the other hand seemed equally intent on keeping his delicate insects us undisturbed as possible. So, while not wanting to dally, they had to keep their pace a tad slower than they would have liked to go. But it wouldn't matter in the end as long as they reached the gates before sundown.
Their track had been a quiet one, just like most of their day had been up to that point. So it was hardly surprising that Sakura jerked to a sudden halt as Shino's composed but firm words drifted to her ears. „Wait. There's something, or rather someone over there."
Immediately the young kunoichi snapped to full alert. They were near the village and it wasn't unusual for people to roam the surrounding forests but being the Hokage's apprentice she also knew, that the people of Konoha weren't the only ones lurking between the trees these days. Their mission forgotten for now they silently prepared to face what ever was waiting for them in the shades of the towering trees. Sakura watched patiently as Shino sent out a handful of his bugs to scout the area. His face gave no indication what he might have been thinking whatsoever but she know he was just as curious as she was. The young man beside her might have been even better at keeping his emotions to himself than Sasuke or Neji but she had spent enough time with him by now to know that he was by no means as dispassionate as he pretended to be. Especially when it came to fighting. She was all the more intrigued when a hint of surprise flickered over what little of his face she could see between his colar, the hood of his jacket and the omnipresent sunglasses.
„It's Shikamaru... but something seems wrong..." he stated hesitantly. „I knew he is lazy but that might not be the case this time... Come." Without offering any further explanation he dropped down to the soft forest floor and darted away. Torn between a tiny fit of annoyance at his odd behavior and her growing curiosity she needed a slightly longer moment than normal to make up her mind before she also leaped down skillfully and took off after him. Her mad dash to catch up with her fellow shinobi was unexpectedly short-lived and she had to repress a little shriek from escaping her lips as she nearly tripped over Shino's hunched form. Quickly gathering herself again she also kneeled down beside him to get a closer look at what he had found. The young man's form lying face down in the grass in front of them was indeed that of Nara Shikamaru. Being a notorious sluggard it was not really out of the ordinary for him to steal off for a quick nap. A little melancholic smile tugged at the corner of her lips as some almost forgotten memories came floating back. Who would have thought that a guy like him, who had even tried to weasel out of defending the village by pretending to be asleep, would turn out to be such an extraordinarily talented shinobi?
Wordlessly shaking off her equally silent musings she concentrated at the task at hands again. Shino's quick assesment of the situation seemed to prove true upon closer inspection. The young Nara was not only simply asleep. He was out cold and probably under the influence of some kind of drug or genjutsu. If there were drugs circulating through his system she could probably remove them on her own. Her skills had improved greatly since she had become the Hokage's apprentice. Nevertheless it would probably prove to be more difficult than she felt comfortable with to do it right then and there. Without the proper preparations this would most likely turn out to become a very time and chakra consuming procedure, not to mention the almost non existent room for failure. Furthermore there was still the not too small chance of this being the result of a powerful genjutsu. Being rather adept in this field herself she would probably be able to dispel most genjutsus up to a certain level immediately. But then there was still the possibility of encountering something far beyond her skills and with the maybe not immediately detectable presence of some kind of drug or poison in his system she didn't dare to try anything on her own. The damage she might unintentionally cause by settin of some sort of chain reaction could quite easily outweigh the healing she could apply.
If Tsunade had taught her one thing it was to keep a cool head under all circumstances. As a medic-nin she couldn't afford to let feelings cloud her otherwise clear judgment when lives depended upon it. Taking a couple of deep breaths Sakura tried to calm herself while evaluating her options at hand. As far as she could tell there was no reason to jump the gun on waking the unconscious nin lying before them. Whatever had caused his state initially hadn't killed him so far and had not done him any physical harm she could detect during her hurried check-up. The numerous cuts and bruises covering his body hadn't gone unnoticed. But since they were partly healing already and not particularly severe altogether and, most importantly, not related to his unconsciousness, she could keep them out of the assessment. The degree of mental damage he might have suffered was a totally different story though. She had no idea what he had been through and if he was alright now. But there was little she could do for him right away even if she knew that his mind had suffered. Mending broken bones or even ripped organs was, in a sense, a less delicate task than healing an abused mind. In no case was it something you did hastily.
There really wasn't much of a question what to do if she thought it through matter-of-factly. There was no good reason to treat him immediately but more than enough reasons to bring him back to Konoha as quick as possible. Her decision made she looked up to meet the solemn gaze from behind tinted glasses. Shino had been waiting patiently and not even once disturbed her while she had been processing all information she could get out of Shikamaru's motionless body. But he had by no means been idle in the meantime, she now noticed as a couple of flying insects settled down upon his open palm and immediately scurried up his wide sleeve. Offering no explanation just yet he waited with patience for her to go first which she did.
„I can't come up with a reliable diagnose under the current circumstances. It would be unwise to admister any therapies based upon uncertain facts and assumptions. Furthermore he seems to be in no critical condition for now and we should be able to move him without causing any damage." Her eyes drifted back towards the still unconscious form of the young Nara. She had no idea what had happend to him. She wasn't even certain why they had come across him in a place like this. Wasn't he supposed to be off on some kind of mission in the Land of Rain?
It hadn't taken very long for the pink-haired kunoichi to discover one of the greatest benefits of being the Hokage's apprentice. Spending quite a lot of time in Tsunade's company provided her with some of the freshest and juiciest pieces of information in the entire village. Her mentor didn't seem to particularly mind being used as the village's prime source of gossip as long as any kind of confidential data didn't leak out. In fact she even seemed to be rather fond of gathering information, as she used to call it, herself. It hadn't taken Sakura very long to find the fine lines separating confidential information from potential gossip. Ever since that moment she had found herself spending quite a lot more time with Yamanaka Ino again.
It was almost eerie how the blonde girl seemed to sense it when someone tried to keep a secret from her. Initially she had had to use all her interrogatory skills to get Sakura to spill the news but the pink-haired girl soon found herself enjoying their regular exchange of highly valuable information about the daily life of Konoha and its inhabitants. It was strange how petty things like these could mend such a delicate thing as a strained friendship. They had been on better terms for quite a while again, but there still remaind a hidden gap which couldn't be bridged just yet. There had been a lot of awkwardness and too much uncomfortable silence whenever they had met alone and neither of them had seemed to be able to break through this last remaining wall. Not until they had found a new common interest.
But ever since that moment they had been growing closer again, building a new friendship upon the foundation laid out so many years ago. Sakura was thankful for this second chance she had been offered and she would never forgive herself if she let her best friend down now. It was true, she didn't know Shikamaru all that well, had not spent much time with him, but she knew very well how Ino felt about him, how much she cared about her teammates. Even if he had not been one of her friends, that knowledge alone would have been all the reason she needed to keep him save at all costs. Just like she knew that Ino would give her life to keep Naruto save in turn. Their trust in one another had probably never been stronger and Sakura was determined not to disappoint her now.
Shino gave her a curt nod to acknowledge her words before answering. „I had my bugs scout the surrounding area but there is no trace of any further human presence. Or at least none that I could detect. It should be safe to take him back to the village without fear of running into an ambush." Although his voice remained as calm and controlled as ever, Sakura knew, that he was eager to get back as soon as possible. It was good to know, that there was no immediate danger to expect, but, with nightfall approaching fast, the likelihood of detecting a possible trap in time was shrinking. Above all she couldn't tell how stable Shikamaru's condition really was. For all she knew he could fall into a coma any minute. Time was truly a pressing matter.
Without losing any more time they began to prepare their departure. After helping Shino getting the limp man's body securely onto his back and checking his condition one more time, Sakura gathered up Shino's discarded plastic container. The sun had already gone down almost half way behind the distant mountains and the shadows in the dense forest were growing longer and darker by the moment. This time they set off at a much higher pace for what they now carried had become considerably more precious to them than some rare herbs or bugs.
Their mad dash for the beaconing village gates in the distance had only been disrupted two times when Sakura insisted on checking on their injured comrade. Slowly relief began to ease the tension they had been feeling as the gates came into view. Shikamaru's condition remaind unchanged but for now that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Actually it was a good thing in Sakura's opinion. Transporting people with unknown injuries was always a somewhat risky thing and she appreciated that there had been no unforeseen complications so far. After they had reached the hospital Tsunade would surely be able to help him. So for now their job was to get him there safely and hopefully in a stable condition.
The tall gates were not yet closed for nighttime when their small party finally approached. The sun was barely visible above the hills at the distant horizon and casting long shadows on the hard-packed dirt road leading up to the village entrance. They practically flew past the guards sitting insider their small shelter, only slowing down a little to give them enough time to recognise their faces. Being the Hokage's personal pupil had given her voice a lot more weight when it came to giving orders without being questioned. So Sakura was the one to call out to the stupefied guards who had been watching their retreating backs down the street.
„Inform the Hokage that Nara Shikamaru had been found outside the village unconscious and that I will require help treating his injuries."
Their answers never reached her ears as she increased her speed to catch up with Shino again who hadn't slowed down at all and was now quite a bit ahead of her despite his heavy load. By the time she had closed in on him the hospital was only a few more steps ahead. Without bothering to slow down they almost smashed through the main entrance doors. If she had take the time to think it through she would have wondered why they had been rushing through the streets like that. Surely Shikamaru was injured and they had to get him to the hospital as quickly as possible. But there was actually no reason to go at such a breakneck speed. After all he wasn't bleeding to death in their arms or something like that. He didn't even have any visible injuries. Still she had felt responsible. She had been almost impatient to get him back to Konoha after she had had to admit that there was nothing she could do for him out in the field.
Her brows slightly wrinkled she looked down at Shikamaru's perfectly calm face as Shino helped a nurse to get him onto a stretcher. He looked as if he was just sleeping and if she hadn't known better, that would have been her first guess. The memories of a younger boy's face who had been so unwilling to get involved in a battle for the village's survival were still there in the back of her mind. But she could see clearly now how he had grown since then. Not only physically, which was getting a bit hard not to notice in all honesty, but also in his behaviour. From what she had witnessed whenever he had had to report to the Hokage and hearing Ino talk about him, she had gotten a slight inkling of how mature his actions and decisions had become. Gone was the lazy coward, replaced by a more responsible and forthcoming version of himself. In retrospect it only made sense that he had been the only one who had initially been promoted to Chuunin level back then.
He had never let his friends down and now it was her time to repay him for the constant loyalty he had displayed despite his obvious dislike of getting involved in things not concerning him. Bending down so she could whisper in his ear, she made her quiet promise as they wheeled him into an operating room: „Don't worry. You will be alright again in no time. I won't let you down." Then the doors closed behind them, leaving a lone Shino behind to wait.
a.n.: Well, I guess there isn't much to say so far. Since there are no reviews yet I guess there are no questions either. I know the story is not that fast-paced but that's how I like things. You'll have to deal with me there.
Maybe a little warning is in order: I'll probably not be able to update as often as I would like to. To be honest, the main reason for that is my terrible laziness. But I also blame the shitload of other things I have got to get done. So please, be patient with me.