Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. That said, enjoy and please give me feed back!
Chapter 4
All of the Genin teams gathered in front of the examiner Anko. The location where they were told to meet at was a strange place. Near the village of Konoha there was a fenced off forest in the middle of a grassy meadow. From what Shikamaru could see it looked dangerous. His thoughts were confirmed when Anko announced the location was called The Forest of Death. He sighed thinking of just how troublesome this exam was really getting to be. The examiner went on to explain more things and handed out a consent form to all the teams. When questioned why she handed out the forms, by Naruto of course, she responded with "because from here on out people may die." There was a tense silence that followed the statement. Shikamaru frowned 'time to get serous huh?' he thought as he followed his team to fill out the forms and turn them in to the Chuunin examiners.
He saw the sand team standing nearby waiting to turn in their forms. He tried to make eye contact with Temari but she didn't look at him. He frowned and tried to not act as disappointed as he felt. He turned away giving up. 'Now is not the time to get distracted anyways' he told himself as his team walked back to the examiner and waited for the start of the exam.
Anko went on to explain how this part of the exam was a survival test. "Your teams will be in the forest for five days, and your mission is to collect either the heaven or the earth scroll from another team while protection your own scroll. So basically get the opposite scrolls together and don't die" She gave every team a wicked smile after concluding her extremely brief explanation of the test. Shikamaru looked at his team's scroll which read heaven. He raised his hand slightly and the examiner looked at him, "can we quit during the test?" he asked. She laughed in response then said "no one can quit this time." Ino hit him on the arm lightly for asking such a question. He shrugged at her, "better to know right?" Choji took his side and nodded, he smirked as Ino sighed defeated. Anko then had Chuunin examiners come over and lead every team to a different opening gate all around the perimeter of the forest. Shikamaru looked lazily at the forest from in front of the fence and noticed a sign on the fence next to the entrance they were standing at that read 'Caution. You may die.' Ino and Choji read it too and looked at Shikamaru with worry in their eyes. "Don't worry" he said to them giving them a slight smile, "we'll complete this easily." His teammates smiled at him and nodded confidently. "Now before we start let's look at the terrain map." They opened the scroll that they had been given with a map in it. It showed the forest was round with a river running through the middle that split off into two at the end. In the center of the area there was a large tower. "Remember our goal is to get to the tower with both scrolls and all our teammates alive." His friends nodded in response, he could see they were scared but eager to start the second test. Soon after, the Chuunin at their gate signaled it was time to start and they got in position. When the gate opened they sprinted into the forest.
Temari watched the lazy shinobi out of the corner of her eye. She could see he was looking at her and she refused to look back. 'I can't do this anymore… it puts him in danger' she clenched her fist angrily at the thought. She saw him frown at her then turn away giving up on trying to catch her eyes. She sighed both unhappy and relieved at this motion. She saw her youngest brother give her a look and she quickly turned away praying she hadn't aggravated him. Her attention was called to the examiner when she began explaining the rest of the second part of the test. After hearing all the details the sand ninjas followed the Konoha Chuunin to their starting gate. Kankuro shifted his feet impatiently making Temari laugh. 'Kankuro, impatient as always. He's been looking forward to a fight.' She tensed when their Chuunin gave them the signal for the start of the test. "Alright!" Kankuro exclaimed excitedly as the gate opened and they took off into the forest.
Their formation has always been Temari in front with Gaara behind her and Kankuro at the end. Temari could easily counter attacks with her fan from any enemy who attacked in front. Kankuro was perfect for the last man because his puppets could grab anyone who tried to sneak up from the sides or behind. They had Gaara in the middle to protect him, but Gaara never needed protecting from them before so it was really a pointless act. Kankuro brought that point up once but was quickly silenced by the glare Temari had shot him when he said it. "I'm not going to put Gaara in anymore danger then he has to be." She had said fiercely to her then shocked brother. Temari smiled as she thought of the memory. After she had snapped at Kankuro she had looked at Gaara apologetically, thinking that he would have been mad that she was treating him like he was week. It was just the opposite, she could still remember the shock she felt when on her youngest brothers face was a small smile. It had only lasted for a second before his normal impassive face came back, but his eyes had held a softer look then they normal did when looking at her. It was momentous for Temari having for the first time, felt like Gaara was more her little brother then a monster. Since that day she has kept that feeling.
She was so lost in her memories and thoughts that she didn't notice another team below them until the kunai flew past her cheek leaving a deep cut in its path. She cursed as she stopped and crouched on the next branch and pulled out her fan. She touched her cheek feeling a sting as blood slowly flowed out of the cut. She ignored the small pain and opened her fan as she faced her opponents. Before she could react she saw a huge stream of sand shoot down and slam into the three Genins with the hidden village of cloud symbol on their forehead protectors. Temari tried to ignore the relief she felt at seeing their village symbols were not that of Konoha's. They screamed as the sand wrapped around them. Temari looked over at her brothers who were standing on the large branch nest to hers. Kankuro had a smirk on his face as he watched Gaara control the sand flowing out of his gourd. Gaara's face had its same impassive look to it as his hand went up and made a fist. "Desert coffin" she whispered as she looked back to the opponents who were now large piles of sand. There was a sickening crunch as the sand crushed the bodies it had trapped. She had watched Gaara kill so many times with his technique that she no longer felt anything when watching it happen. 'A shinobi isn't suppose to feel remorse right?' she thought as she looked at Gaara's impassive face. After a moment Gaara motioned the sand back into the gourd, it flowed back slowly as it was now slightly wet and heavy with blood. She watched him replace the cork and then both boys jumped over to her branch. She stood up and smiled an apologetic smile at them, "sorry I didn't see them…" her voice was cut off by a gasp that escaped from her when Gaara's had reached out and touched her cheek gently wiping some blood that was still there off. She met her youngest brother's eyes and softened her expression when she saw that his eyes held slight concern in them. 'He… cares about me?' She smiled as she pulled out a bandage from her pack and stuck in over the cut on her cheek. "I'll go check the bodies" Kankuro said and leapt down to the ground in front of the mangled corpses. Her gaze returned to Gaara who was still looking concerned.
"I'm fine now Gaara, thank you." She said to him gently and got a nod in response. Soon after Kankuro returned with a few bloody kunai and an earth scroll. "Damn, they had the same scroll as us." Temari said as she noticed what Kankuro held. The black jacketed boy smiled wickedly at her, "that just means we'll get to fight another team then." She smirked at the excitement in his voice. "How about letting me have the next group Gaara?" the boy said joking at the unsmiling red head. Gaara only turned and jumped to the next tree without even looking to see it they were following him. She sighed and nodded to Kankuro who was looking nervous at Gaara's response. With that they took off after their brother into the forest.
Shikamaru relaxed after he watched the sand ninja's disappear through the trees. They had heard the screams and came to see the fight hoping to get a chance to steal a scroll. They had hidden close by in a bush right when the fight had started. He looked over at his teammates who both wore shocked expressions. He had seen Ino start to shake in fear when they first heard the screams of the Genin from the cloud village. He noticed her still shaking and put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. She jumped slightly at the touch and yipped in fear. She relaxed when she noticed it was him and not an enemy. "It's ok Ino" he whispered to her, she nodded in response. He got up slowly looking around as he did, making sure no other teams came over after hearing the fight. 'It had been over so quickly maybe no one other than us heard it' he shifted his focus back to his teammates who were still looking scared. 'Better to not find out' he thought as he motioned for them to reform their positions. They got up from behind the bush and hurried away from the scene. He tried unsuccessfully to not look at the bodies the sand ninjas had left behind. It was a gruesome sight, there were bones that were sticking out of torn skin and still bleeding limbs lay in unnatural positions around the mangled bodies. He fought back the urge to throw up as he tore his eyes from the bloody ground.
He heard Ino gasp behind him and knew that she had looked at the post fight scene too. He closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself down. He felt an overwhelming feeling of grief and disgust after having witnessed the massacre. 'They hadn't even stood a chance...' he cursed silently to himself as he remembered the look on all their faces. He didn't know what was worse the happy smirk the face painted guy had on or the expressionless mask the redhead had wore the entire time. 'Even Temari had looked uncaringly at them…' anger swelled up inside him at the thought. All he wanted to do now was shake her and demand she care about the lives her brother took. His fist clenched angrily at his side and he as he and his teammates got farther and farther away from the horrid sight. He had made it a point to go in the opposite direction the sand shinobi's had gone. 'There is no way I'm ever going to let my teammates face them.' A resolve came over him as he made that thought into a promise, he silently looked back at his team who was looking more sad now then afraid. Choji looked up as they hopped off another branch and met Shikamaru's eyes. His best friend knew him well enough to guess what he was thinking. He saw Choji nod in acknowledgement of his silent promises. Shikamaru smiled a small smile at his friend and turned back to focus on where they were going. "Let's stop soon and make camp for the night… I'll take first guard when we set up" he said to his team who replied positively, they then made their way to a small clearing. Night had fallen quickly as they set up a small make shift camp. In their packs they had a survival scrolls all ninjas carried on missions. With these scrolls they could summon many things from something as large as a tent to something as small as a matchbox. They all took out their scrolls and summoned themselves each a sleeping bag. Choji then worked on gathering some food from around them as Ino made a small fire.
Shikamaru stood watch over their small little camp as the night really began to set it. It was very dark in the forest they had entered. He looked around intently when he heard a bush rustle, thankfully only a snake slithered out. He walked over and picked up the snake careful not to get bit. It hissed in protest at the motion. Shikamaru walked away from the camp and threw the snake away from their small clearing. He heard a twig snap heavily to his left and pulled out his kunai turning to face whoever made the noise. Out of the shadows a figure appeared smiling and began walking over to him, his breath caught as he recognized the figure that was no more than a foot away now. "Temari?" he said confused and relaxed his position. The girl grinned at him as she got closer still. He looked at her questioningly as she silently stood just inches in front of him. "Um...Temari..." he said again blushing at her closeness when he felt her hand grab his arms roughly. He looked at her shocked as he tried to get out of her grasp. The blond kunoichi laughed as she began to change into that of a tall male shinobi. The boy towered over him laughing. Shikamaru cursed and studied his captor, the boy had spiky blue hair and a few piercings in his left ear. He had slim black eyes that held menace in them and a large smirk upon his face. As he looked down he saw the boy had on a light blue jacket lined with red on the outside that went down to his hips which then led to black pants and black combat boots. Shikamaru glared as he saw the hidden village of rain's symbol on the forehead protector that was tied to the boys arm. The ninja laughed as Shikamaru struggled in his grip. 'Shit, I can't move my arms. I can't use any jutsu's!' he thought angrily as he tried to free his arms from his captors grasp.
"How did you like my genjutsu boy?" the rain ninja teased him as his grip tightened on Shikamaru's arms. Shikamaru glared at the boy and refused to answer. "It shows a person's true weakness" the boy sneered at him.
'Calm down, think. Choji and Ino will notice you're missing and come looking. Wait where is his team?!' Shikamaru looked around the now dark forest for any sign of movement. His captor laughed noticing his movements "don't worry they're already after your team" he told Shikamaru with a smirk. With that Shikamaru heard a scream from behind him. "Ino!" he yelled fighting the arms that held him again. He could hear the sounds of a fight start up close by. "Dammit!" Shikamaru gritted his teeth in lifted his leg in an attempt to kick the rain shinobi away from him, but his captor knew what he was doing. The boy dodged and laughed as he released an arm to punch Shikamaru in the face. Shikamaru's head snapped back and pain suddenly came over him. With the rain shinobi's other hand, the boy threw Shikamaru onto his back and stomped on his stomach forcing all his air out. Shikamaru gasped for breath as the boy started kicking him and did it over and over until Shikamaru coughed up blood. Shikamaru raised his head trying to see the next attack, he saw the boy pullout a kunai, "sorry mate, this is it for you" the boy said as he lunged forward at Shikamaru. The boy suddenly stopped just inches away from Shikamaru, he eyes widened in surprise as his position mirrored that of his opponent.
"How?" the blue haired boy said shocked and angry.
"Shadow imitation technique" said Shikamaru as he smirked at the boys shocked expression. He then made the boy draw his arm away from him.
"I knew you'd release me if I moved to hit you. And as you hit me I stored up chakura and waited for an opening." He stepped back from him making the boy mimic the action too and brought the rain shinobi's kunai over to his own hand. The boy yelled as he unwillingly stabbed himself, his hand now dripping blood. He released the jutsu and ran over to the boy who had fallen to his knees cursing as he cradled his bloody hand. Shikamaru struck the boy in the head with a kick and watched him slump down unconscious. He then turned and ran to the campsite in search of his teammates. 'Please be ok!' he thought desperately as he ran into the clearing. He heard a clash of metal as Choji stopped another ninja 's kunai with his own. Looking around he saw the other enemy ninja circling behind his friend. He immediately crouched down and released is shadow bind technique and stretched in toward the two unsuspecting ninjas. He caught them just as the back one tensed to lunge, "Choji! Now" he yelled at his friend. "Yosh!" replied his friend as he activated his own technique, human bolder, and ran over the two captive rain ninjas that fell down unconscious. Shikamaru released his technique and ran over to his friend "you alright?" he said as he panted out of exhaustion, he had used up a lot of chakura already. "Yea" his friend replied weakly. Shikamaru smiled at his friend happy that he was alright, his mood quickly shifted when he realized someone was missing. He looked around franticly "where's Ino?" he said as he continued to search the dark ground for his blonde teammate. Shikamaru head snapped in to the left when he heard a noise. He saw a faint cloud of white smoke where the body of one of the rain ninja had been. 'A shadow clone?' he frowned as he looked around for the real ninja. His eyes detected a movement in the trees beside him as a kunai shot past him and hit a tree. His eyes widened when he saw an explosive tag on the kunai, he turned and yelled for Choji to run. The boys sprinted away from the now lit tag and flew into the forest once more. They had run the way the kunai had come from and were looking for the shinobi who threw it. Not far from the clearing they found a piece of paper stuck to a tree by a kunai. Shikamaru read the message that was scribbled hastily on the paper, 'bring your scroll to the river 50 km south of here by noon or your teammate dies' he cursed after he read it and handed the note to his teammate. Choji read it too and punched the tree trunk out of anger, earning a few bloody knuckles.
"Shikamaru…" Choji started but was cut off when Shikamaru held a hand up.
"I know Choji… I know… I'll think of something." He said closing his eyes he was trying to think when fatigue hit him. He stumbled slightly and felt his friend put an arm around him steadying him.
"Come on" his friend said helping him stand "let's find a place to rest…we're no use to her if we can't even walk" he said half jokingly. Shikamaru smiled at his best friend "your right." They traveled a mile away and concealed themselves in the branches of tree. They had set up traps around the tree in case the rain ninja returned. He felt his friend relax beside him as sleep overcame him, he closed his eyes as sleep took him as well.
_x
Authors notes: This was my favorite chapter to write so far and in writing it i got a lot of good ideas for things i want to come up in later chapters. hope you guys enjoyed it! and once again thank you guys so much for the feed back from the last chapter, i really appreciate it! 3
