This is me, writing, not owning the rights to Naruto. tear
You may notice Shika acting very out of character from here on out. It is intended. You may also be surprised by what happens (or maybe you won't. I don't know. I'm not in your mind.)
"Ungh…" Shika awoke on the ground. His arms were tied, thought he knew that would be easy to escape.
"Good. You're too heavy to carry."
Shika looked up at the man… or was that a woman? Let's call it a he. "Now, let's go, Naruto." He tugged on Shika's ropes.
Shikamaru looked down at his hands and pulled his wrists from the bonds. The man just stared at him. That's when Shika noticed the cloak. It was black with red clouds on it. He picked it up and started to walk away. The man finished his gaping and lunged at him. "Get back here you little brat!"
Shika put out his foot and tripped him. The man fell on his face. "Get back here Naruto!" Shika proceeded to jump from tree to tree until he was very far away. He sat down and examined the cloak.
"What the-" A little vial fell out of the cloak. Shika examined it. It appeared to have been filled with a red powder. Poison? He took the lid off and smelled it. It smelled like strawberries. Okay… Shika turned his attention back to the cloak. It was nothing extraordinary, but… Shika put it on. It smelled amazing.
He leaned against the trunk of the tree and fell asleep.
"Shikamaru!" Shika opened one eye. Ugh. Ino. "Where have you been? How could you just leave Hinata like that? She was worried sick!" Ino looked at Shika. "Where did you get that disgusting cloak?"
Shika pulled it closer around him. Ino sighed. "I found him!" Ten seconds later Kakashi, Gai, Lee, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and (last) Choji arrived.
"Shikamaru, what happened?"
"Are you okay?"
"Why did you leave?"
Sasuke pushed everyone out of the way. "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT CLOAK?!"
Shika looked at him. "Why do you care?"
"Itachi…" Naruto said quietly.
Shika's heart jumped. Itachi? What an amazing name! He pulled the cloak closer.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Shikamaru. "Give me the cloak," he growled.
"It's mine," Shika said.
"It belongs to Itachi." He spat the name. "You've seen him?" Sasuke took an offensive stance. Naruto gently put a hand on Sasuke's arm.
"Sasuke?" Sasuke turned his head slightly to look at Naruto. Naruto hugged him. Sasuke turned and hugged him back, burying his face in the boy's blonde hair.
"What's that?" Sakura pointed to the vial, which had fallen on the ground. Kakashi picked it up.
"Hmm…smells like," Kakashi shut his eyes. "A love gura."
"How do you know?"
"Well, I tried to make one once. It didn't work very well, but…Ahem Love guras are known for the way they smell. This one smells like strawberries and dandelions."
Lee lifted an eyebrow. "Okay…"
"Well, I don't really know much more about how they work. You'd have to ask him." He motioned toward Gai.
"Shikamaru," Gai said. "You have to give us the cloak."
Shika stuck out his tongue. "No!" Then he got up and ran away.
"Well," Kakashi turned toward Gai. "I guess we know who took that gura."
"Let's go!" Sasuke made to follow Shika, but Kakashi held him back.
"I suggest you leave him alone for a while." He looked at Naruto. "Besides, I think we all know who that potion was really meant for." Sasuke held onto Naruto. "When your brother realizes that he didn't hit his intended target, he'll be back. I suggest you save your energy for when you really need it."