Authors Note:

-Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's wonderful characters. -sob-

-Ok, Here's Chapter4! Sorry for the wait. Life screwed up my schedule. :P The 4th of July weekend, my mom having a garage sale and forcing me to help), plus cramps and just not feeling well in general does nothing to help writers block. Blah. I'll try to update once per week. But I'm also making the rest of these chapters quite a bit longer than the first 2 chapters were, so bear with me.

-Anyways… This chapter is the continuation of Team 10's mission in the land of birds. Now the fun can really begin!

P.S.- Reviews are appreciated.

EDIT: I have no idea why everything is italicized. I can't figure out how to fix it though! If anyone knows what causes it or how to fix it, please let me know!

-- -- -- --

I Didn't Know You Then

Chapter 4

Asuma was silent as he and his team walked back their rooms together. The meal and meeting with their employer had finished just 5 minutes before. The entire team had been shocked into silence when Lord Ishikawa had informed them that the "item" that had been taken from him wasn't an item at all, but was actually his 15 year old daughter Lady Chiyoko. The man that took her was one of Lord Ishikawa's guards. His name was Toshio. According to Ishikawa, Toshio had come into his employ only 4 months before, after he had saved Ishikawa from roadside thieves. He had been impressed by Toshio's physical skills and had offered him a job as a guard at his estate. Toshio accepted and did his job well, but did nothing to merit a raise of any kind. Upon learning that Ishikawa had no intention of promoting him to a higher position, Toshio's demeanor changed rapidly. He was no longer calm, kind, and efficient, but instead was often aggressive, arrogant, unreliable, and at times even cruel to other servants and people from the nearby village. Ishikawa had pulled Toshio aside, explaining why he had decided not to give the man a promotion and then threatened to fire him if his behavior didn't improve immediately. That very day, Toshio went back to the way he acted before and Ishikawa was certain that everything would be fine. Unfortunately, only three short days later, Toshio and Lady Chiyoko vanished.

Asuma sighed. According to Ishikawa and almost all of the servants of his estate, Toshio had not had almost any contact with Lady Chiyoko prior to her vanishing. And yet, there had been no threat or ransom note. What was Toshio up to? Was he waiting for something? Or-

"You know," Shikamaru said, startling Asuma out of his thoughts, "this whole "stolen" business is crap."

"Why do you say that?" Asuma asked.

"Because, there hasn't been a ransom for the girl. If this guy Toshio wanted something, he probably would have made demands by now. And just cause no one saw them having contact, didn't mean that they didn't have contact. Most likely, Lady Chiyoko simply ran away with the guy and Ishikawa is pissed cause his precious little heiress ran off with some loser below her station. Stolen, my ass. She's just another stupid girl." Shikamaru replied.

"Hey!" Ino cried indignantly.

"Behave you two. And Shikamaru, watch your mouth." Asuma said, hoping to stop a pointless argument before it started. "But you did make a good point. This could just be a case of a runaway, rather than… kidnapping."

"Um… Asuma-sensei? Is this still a C rank mission?" Chouji asked nervously, "You know, since it could involve kidnapping or something?"

"It depends on how skilled this guy Toshio is. So far, it sounds like we're dealing with a civilian. Most ninja are contracted out by their villages, and only missing nin aren't. And, I've never heard of a missing nin doing something as menial as guard duty. So yeah, I doubt he'll be much trouble to take down if that becomes necessary. But who knows. At most, it might turn out to be a B rank mission." He replied.

Asuma closed his eyes, pitching the bridge of his nose in irritation. Despite the likelihood that this guy would be a push-over for them, this mission was still not what it was supposed to be. Of course, his team's first big mission and it just had to get complicated. Kakashi's team had gotten a freaking escort assignment. They'd have it easy. Walk the guy there, maybe rest for a day, and then walk back. Piece of cake. And what made it worse was the fact that Asuma wasn't sure if he'd rather have it be a kidnapping or that Lady Chiyoko ran away. If she ran away, then they would both fight against being brought back, but if she was kidnapped then he doubted Toshio would hesitate to use threats of violence against the girl or them. Either way, Asuma pretty much figured that he was going to have to do the brunt of the work on this mission and keep his team back a bit. They weren't ready to deal with a real fight, a hostage situation, or trying to convince some stupid teenage girl that she needed to go home. Asuma sighed again. This was not going to be fun.

-- -- -- --

Ino woke early the next morning, along with the rest of her team. They got ready and ate breakfast quickly, and then made their way out to the village nearby. It was only about 10 miles from Ishikawa's estate, so they got there in under 15 minutes. The four of them decided to split up and go from shop to shop, inn to inn, and restaurant to restaurant asking about Toshio and Lady Chiyoko. Ino paused a moment before setting off and pulled out the two pictures that each member of their team had been given. Chiyoko was three years older than her, but in this picture she certainly didn't look like it. She was small in stature, with fair skin, rosy red cheeks, blue eyes, and midnight blue hair. The girl in the picture almost seemed to be trying to hide herself from the camera. She reminded Ino of Hinata, except that her hair was much longer and she didn't have Hinata's cuteness. Toshio, on the other hand, was definitely older, though Ino wasn't sure by how many years. He looked fairly tall, had sandy blonde hair, green eyes, tan skin, and a mischievous smile. He was actually kind of… handsome.

Ino slapped herself mentally. What was she thinking? A few days away from Sasuke and here she was admiring some other guy. She tucked the pictures back into her waist pouch. This guy was either a kidnapper or had run off with some little twit of a noble girl, so he wasn't her type anyway. And besides, she had already given her heart to Sasuke, hadn't she? Ino shook herself from her thoughts as she arrived at the first shop. It was a small food stand selling an assortment of rice, noodles, and meats. Including barbeque. Ino smiled to herself. Chouji would be so jealous.

-- -- -- --

Shikamaru sighed, stuffing his hands down into his pockets as he ambled down one of the streets in the small town. He had already talked to several people at different shops and inns. No one had much if anything to say about Toshio or Lady Chiyoko. The biggest reaction he had gotten to his questions was from a group of teenage girls. Apparently, Toshio had a fan club and these girls were members. The girls had giggled and started talking about how handsome and cool the stupid guy was. Then the squealing began. Shikamaru gagged at the memory. Pretty boys were horrible in so many ways. Not only did they attract the stupidest girls and turn them from just stupid to outright crazy, but they also tended to be arrogant. Toshio was a classic example. He thought he was so great that he deserved a better job, when in reality he was just as mediocre as everyone else. And when he couldn't get a better job than everyone else, he just had to get a better girl. Moron.

Shikamaru wasn't jealous. Not one bit, despite what Ino thought. If he'd had crazy fangirls chasing him around and squealing and giggling about him, he'd go crazy and rethink his no-hitting-females policy. Nor did he care if people thought he was great at anything, being a ninja included. He knew what he was capable of, but what was the point in doing the extra work? He did very little in the academy and still passed along with people like Sasuke. Same results, less work. Sasuke thought he was so great and trained all the time. But what did that get him besides people talking about how great he was and a gaggle of obnoxious girls pining for him? Nothing. He was just another genin doing lame missions, just like everyone else. Shikamaru scowled. Pretty boys. They were nothing but a lump of ego and brooding, mixed with a dash of girlish looks. Since when was that something worth being jealous over?

"Fresh flowers! Buy one get one at half price!" A female vendor close by yelled, snapping Shikamaru out of his inner monologue.

Shikamaru paused for a moment, struck by a sudden thought brought on by the vendor's shout. If Toshio had wooed Lady Chiyoko, then he might have bought flowers during the process and therefore, this vendor might have some info for him. It was certainly worth a try. With that though in mind, Shikamaru approached the vendor with a little bit of hope and as much determination as he could muster.

-- -- -- --

Chouji finished his third tenderloin kabob and was about to order another helping when the clock on the wall behind the counter caught his attention. It was almost time for him to go meet up with his team. He seriously hoped that they had faired better then he had. After walking up and down several streets asking nearly everyone in sight about Toshio, he had come up with no leads. Sure, he had gleaned plenty of useless bits of information about the guy, but nothing substantial about where he might have gone or why he had taken Lady Chiyoko with him. After a couple hours of fruitless work, Chouji had decided to take a break. He figured he deserved one, after all the effort he had put into this particular part of the assignment.

Speaking of effort, Chouji wondered if Shikamaru was having as bad of luck as he was. And if so, had his lazy friend given up yet? This town had several areas on the outskirts that were nothing but nice open fields with a few small trees. Chouji wondered if perhaps he should go check to see if Shikamaru was there sleeping before he headed to meet up with everyone else. After a few moments of deliberation, he decided against it. Shikamaru was never late for meetings, despite his slothful tendencies. He didn't need Chouji to look after him. And so, Chouji forced himself away from his empty plate and headed to the center of town.

-- -- -- --

It was just before noon, but Asuma already felt like he'd been out all day. He had gone into every decent place, talked to everyone who was willing to talk, and yet he'd gained nothing particularly useful. The only places he had yet to look and ask questions were the bars and other such places that were definitely not areas he wanted his genin students visiting. So he waited. He had told his team that they were to meet back together in the city center at noon to report their findings. He had little doubt that his team had the same bad luck that he'd had gathering useful info. So eventually he would end up going to a few bars to find out what the local scumbags knew. Lowlifes tended to have more information than regular people anyways.

Asuma arrived at the appointed meeting place to see that two out of his three students were already there waiting. Shikamaru and Ino were standing in the shade of one of the taller buildings and, much to Asuma's surprise, seemed to be having a conversation. Neither were yelling, scowling, arguing, or even looked annoyed for that matter. Asuma paused for a moment, savoring this moment when his students, who often seemed more like archenemies than teammates, were actually getting along. Where was a camera when he needed one? Asuma resumed his walking and was soon joined by Chouji, who had just come up one of the streets joining at the junction that made up the city center. Together they made their way over to Shikamaru and Ino.

"Hey guys." Chouji greeted.

"Hey." Ino and Shikamaru echoed in unison.

"Alright, down to business. Report. Ino?" Asuma said, getting straight to the point.

"Right. I actually… I didn't really find out anything much that was useful. A couple people said the guy was a jerk and he was arrogant, a couple girls said he was great, most of the shop owners didn't really seem to know who he was, and everybody else… Honestly, all I really got was a bunch of different opinions on his personality. No one seemed to know where he lived, hung out, who his friends were, or anything!" Ino said exasperatedly.

"Me too. That's the same stuff I heard." Chouji piped up.

"That's pretty much what I got too." Shikamaru began, "Except for one thing that was kind of interesting."

"What? What was it?" Ino asked, the curiosity obvious in her voice. Asuma and Chouji turned to him as well, waiting to hear what could've possibly piqued his interest.

"Well, I talked to this one lady. She owns a floral shop. I asked her if Toshio ever dropped in to buy flowers or anything or if she ever saw him with Lady Chiyoko." He began, "She got this sour look on her face and told me that yeah she'd seen the guy. She said just about a week ago or so, she was pruning the flowers outside her shop and she had seen him standing across the street with a few other guys. She overheard him bragging to the guys about some redhead he was hooking up with. After him and his buddies said their goodbyes, he walked by. She said since he had mentioned being with a girl, then maybe he'd like to buy her some flowers. So when he walked past her, she told him she'd give him a good deal on a bouquet to give his little redheaded girlfriend." Shikamaru stopped for a breath and then resumed the florists story. "She said he got real pissed. Knocked the flowers out of her hand and got in her face. She said she seriously thought he was gonna hit her or something. He started cussing, called her a bitch, and told her if she didn't mind her business and keep her trap shut that he'd be putting those flowers on her grave."

The rest of team 10 stood still, some in shock, some in thought. Ino was disgusted. Toshio had officially lost all appeal. But though she and Chouji agreed that it was an interesting tale, neither understood how it helped them with their situation. Ino was first to voice her confusion.

"Ok, so the guy is a complete jerk. But how does that help us?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Think about it Ino. If Toshio was chasing some redhead around just a week ago, then do you really think he could have a serious relationship going with Chiyoko?"

Ino paused, realization dawning on her. So that was why Shikamaru bothered to tell them the florists tale. It wasn't cause Toshio's actions shocked him, it was because it gave them good reason to doubt that his motive for taking Chiyoko was love. Therefore, they could expect Toshio to treat Chiyoko like a hostage, even if Chiyoko herself didn't realize his true intentions. And because they knew this, they could better prepare themselves for the situation. Despite all of his flaws, Ino had to hand it to him; Shikamaru was great at piecing together little clues that most ninja their age would have completely overlooked. Asuma clapped his hands together, bringing everyone's attention to him.

"Alright. Well done Shikamaru. But unfortunately we still have no idea where the guy is. In order to find out, this next part of the mission is one that I have to do alone."

Had Asuma been stating this to team 7 or team 8, he would have heard complaints, protests, or some form of disagreement. But… he was not. Instead what he got were two genin who stared up at him with blank expressions, and one who drawled lazily, "Does this mean we get a break?" Asuma sighed. Enthusiasm was not a big thing for his team. The only thing Ino was enthusiastic about was jumping on the moody Uchiha kid, while Chouji's enthusiasm was only aroused when in the presence of large quantities of food. And Shikamaru… well, Asuma wasn't really sure if Shikamaru even understood the word. Asuma shook himself from his slight bewilderment and continued.

"Since it's obvious that average citizens have had little meaningful contact with our boy Toshio, and since the guy sounds like a creep, the best place to find information now would be a bar or tavern of some kind. That's why you can't help. You're under aged." Asuma said, finishing with a grin.

-- -- -- --

Four hours had passed since their meeting and still Asuma hadn't returned. Before the team had split for the second time, Asuma heading to various bars while the three genins went to have lunch, Asuma had instructed the kids to keep a low profile and wait for him just outside of town by a small lake. After taking a long lunch break, once Chouji had finished eating enough food to feed a small country, they had gone to the lake to wait. It was a nice place. Surrounded by fields of lush grass and a few tall, bushy trees; the lake had a very peaceful atmosphere. Shikamaru wasted no time in finding the most comfortable spot he could, laid down, and in a matter of moments had fallen asleep. Chouji and Ino sat down on either side of their sleeping teammate and so, the wait began. After a few minutes of staring off into space, Ino decided that scoping out the area would be a good way to kill some time.

She was gone for 20 minutes and when she returned, found that Chouji had followed Shikamaru's lead and fallen asleep. Ino shook her head. She wondered vaguely if all guys were as careless as her teammates when they were young and, if so, how had the male species managed to last so long? But Ino had to eat her words when, after another hour of doing nothing but waiting, she too fell asleep.

It was just past 6 o'clock when she was shaken awake by Shikamaru. Asuma was finally back. He sat atop a small boulder a few feet from where she lay and puffed on a cigarette. Ino controlled the urge to roll her eyes. Her sensei was without a doubt the worst chain smoker she'd ever met. She and her teammates had once considered trying to force Asuma to quit. Their plans never came to fruition, mainly because Shikamaru shot down every plan any of them came up with and made several good points about the shinobi way of life and some other stuff that Ino couldn't quite remember. Occasionally Ino still considered stealing his cigarettes, but she knew it'd never work even if she actually did manage to swipe his smokes.

"Well, now that you're all nice and rested up, it's time to get going." Asuma said, blowing out a long line of smoke. "I got a lead. Apparently Toshio didn't spend that much of his time in this village. My informant told me that he would usually stop in for a drink before heading out of town in the opposite direction of Ishikawa's estate, towards a forest a few miles away."

"So, we're heading to the forest then?" Ino questioned. "Do you think he has a house in there or did he just go through the forest to somewhere else?"

"Not sure." Asuma replied. "But, from what my informant said, Toshio went there almost every day and only spent a few hours there each time. So most likely, he was doing something in the forest itself."

Shikamaru sat, his brows furrowed, thinking hard. What could Toshio have been doing in that forest? Meeting with people who paid him to kidnap Lady Chiyoko? Building a prison? Building a house? The list was endless. The only way to find out was to go and investigate. The four members of Team 10 wasted no more time. They set off towards the forest at a quick pace. They had just over an hour before it started getting dark. Asuma led with Shikamaru and Ino just behind him, and Chouji bringing up the rear. Shikamaru was still considering all the possibilities of what they could find in the forest, when out of the corner of his eye he saw Ino silently trying to get his attention. He turned to look at her, giving her a puzzled glance. Ino grinned widely and pointed to Asuma's neck. Shikamaru looked and for a moment was confused about what it was Ino had been pointing at, but then… he saw it. There, just above the collar of his vest. A smudge of the most awful, blood red lipstick. Shikamaru looked back at Ino and smirked.

"So, Asuma…" Shikamaru began smoothly, "was your informant a woman, by any chance?" Ino stifled a giggled while Asuma, with a puzzled frown, answered.

"No, why?"

"Nothing, just curious." Shikamaru replied, before asking another question. "So then, it was a guy?"

"Yes."

"And, um…did he by any chance wear red lipstick?" Shikamaru asked, keeping his voice deceptively even. Ino's face was red with suppressed laughter and Chouji had paused his eating in utter confusion. Asuma was confused as well. Why on earth would Shikamaru think the guy wore lipstick? Then it hit him. Before Asuma could stop himself, his left hand flew to the back of his neck. Shikamaru and Ino laughed out loud, Ino with tears beginning to leak out of the corners of her eyes.

"Gee Asuma, not batting for the other team are you?" Shikamaru prodded with a devious grin. Chouji finally caught on and promptly began to choke on his chips. The four of them stopped so that Ino could pat Chouji on the back and thereby save him from death by his favorite snack. Asuma took the moment to clarify that the lipstick came from a woman he was trying to get information from earlier, but he got nothing from her because talking didn't seem to be what was on her mind. This confession did nothing to save him from teasing though. Instead, it added Ino to the fray.

"Breaking a woman's heart just for some information? My, my Asuma sensei. What would Kurenai sensei say?" Ino cooed playfully.

Asuma's face turned redder then any of the genins had ever seen it go. He spent the next few moments sputtering out an awkward denial and then threatened them with extra endurance training if they didn't zip their lips. That shut them up straightaway, though all three of them continued to grin madly. They continued on and after a few minutes, they reached the edge of the forest. After a word of caution from their sensei, the four entered. Had the guy they were looking for been a ninja, they could have simply searched for any chakra signatures. Asuma had been teaching them how to locate a hidden enemy by their chakra and though they had yet to master it, it certainly would have made things easier. Their next best thing was Ino. Of the three of the genins, she was the best at tracking. Using one of her prized family jutsus, shintenshin no jutsus, Ino possessed the body of a bird and soared through the forest looking for signs of their quarry. The three remaining members of team 10 didn't have to wait long. Less than 10 minutes after she performed her jutsus and set off, Ino returned to her body with a smile on her face.

"About 7 miles from here, to the northeast. He has a fire going just outside a small hut. I couldn't see inside, but I bet our little lost girl is in there." Ino said with a prideful smirk.

They wasted no time, setting off immediately. Toshio had been alone tending to a small fire when Ino had seen him. If they were lucky, they could have both him and Lady Chiyoko back before dinner time. Asuma was hopeful. No matter what Toshio's intentions were, if they could catch him off guard then Chiyoko would be safe from him. From what Ishikawa said, Toshio didn't seem to be especially bright. So, most likely, he would have stuck with a simple plan and kept Lady Chiyoko close by. They would probably find her tied up in the hut. Hopefully she'd be alive still. Asuma quickened his pace.

-- -- -- --

The four members of team 10 were stationed in trees around the open area where Toshio and the hut were located. Toshio was still there, setting a cast iron caldron over the fire and preparing to start dinner. So far, he seemed to be completely oblivious to their presence. Asuma gave the signal and they moved into their final positions, readying themselves for their attack. Ino and Chouji were stationed behind trees and bushes to the east and west of the fire, which sat in the center of the clearing. Asuma was in a large tree to the south of the fire, hiding amongst the leaves on a branch that hung almost half way across the clearing. His move would be the start, and hopefully end, of the fight. Shikamaru was the back up plan incase Toshio slipped through the others fingers and headed for Lady Chiyoko who, they assumed, was in the hut. Shikamaru was stationed to the south, crouching down behind the hut. If Toshio came within three feet of the front step of the hut, Shikamaru would capture him in his shadow and it would be over.

Asuma leaned over as far as he could without falling off the branch. He had wrapped an explosive tag around a small rock and was aiming to throw it into the caldron of water. The cast iron pot would keep it from causing too much damage, but would blast the hot water straight out of the pot. Hopefully the blast would knock Toshio off his feet, and the steam from the overheated water would give Asuma enough cover to drop down and pin Toshio before this encounter could actually turn into a fight. Unfortunately, plans didn't often translate smoothly from thought into real life. Once Asuma had dropped the tag covered rock into the pot, he hastily jumped back to keep from getting steamed or splashed. With a loud bang, water went everywhere and Toshio was knocked backwards onto the ground. Asuma dropped down and approached Toshio's seemingly unconscious form cautiously, while Ino and Chouji emerged from the bushes to flank them on either side just incase. Just as Asuma reached Toshio's side, the man rolled over, laughed manically, and, with a loud pop, changed appearances. Asuma gasped in shock. He was now looking into the face of none other than his informant.

-- -- -- --

Preview of Chapter 5-

The door to Shikamaru's room opened and he winced as whoever had entered turned the rest of the lights on. He shielded his eyes with him right arm; the left one was still causing him a bit of discomfort. After a minute of letting his eyes adjust, he opened them fully. Ino was standing at the side of his bed with a tray of food. He had apparently slept through dinner.

"Glad to see you're finally awake. Hungry?" Ino asked with a small smile that did little to hide her concern.

"Yeah actually." Shikamaru replied groggily, taking the tray as Ino passed it over and helped him set it down. "By the way, what time is it? And what's going on?" he asked before starting to eat. Ino made herself comfortable in a chair beside the bed, which Shikamaru hadn't noticed before.

"It's just after 10 o'clock. Chouji's in bed sleeping. Asuma and Ishikawa are in with Toshio. I wasn't allowed in until just 20 minutes ago, probably because Asuma's had to beat the information out of the idiot-head." Ino said.

"Has he said anything yet?"

"Yeah actually. Quite a bit. He told us why he and Kenshin- oh yeah! Kenshin is the name of that other guy by the way. The one that pretended to be an informant and was disguised as Toshio." Ino began, "Anyways, he told us why they were here and why they took Lady Chiyoko."

Shikamaru sat still, listening intently. When Ino didn't continue, Shikamaru scowled. "And?" he asked in a mildly irritated tone. Ino went slightly red in the face.

Authors Note: MUWAHAHA! Another cliff hanger! I'm evil, I know. But don't worry, the fight will continue in the next chapter. It will get even more twisted and you'll find out what Shikamaru is doing during all of this. :D Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'm planning to wrap up this story arc in the next chapter, so yay to that! Next arc- CHUUNIN EXAM!! Anyways, I proof-read my own writing, so it takes me a tad bit longer. GAH! Anyways, please review and tell me what you think thus far!