"Let's stop here," Kankuro called out to the rest of them.
The group seemed to sigh in unison. Thank goodness. They had been going for hours and really could use a break. Everyone jumped down into a clearing near to the group of trees they had just cleared to rest and set up camp.
"If we continue at this pace…" Kankuro started after they had a fire and tents set up, "We should be able to reach Sunagakure by tomorrow afternoon; maybe sooner."
Group nod.
"Hey, anyone seen Shikamaru?" Naruto asked, looking around the makeshift campsite, "After we stopped, it seemed like he wandered off…"
Everyone exchanged glances of confusion, saying without words that none of them had the slightest idea where he could've run off to.
"Well…" Choji said nervously. The group turned to him, waiting for further explanation, "… Shikamaru's been acting a little… Weird… Since that jutsu was put on him."
"How do you mean?" Kiba asked as Akamaru wriggled his way into his master's jacket.
"Well…" Choji started to fidget a little, "Back when we were still moving, he kept on looking over his shoulder, like he was really paranoid about something…"
"Paranoid?" Once again, Naruto was clueless.
"Does he think they're going to attack us again?" Kankuro asked.
"…"
"Choji?" Naruto cocked his head to the side.
Suddenly, the chubby ninja stood up, his hands balled into fists. Without as much as a word, he pivoted around and started walking into the blackness of the forest.
"Hey, Choji, where are you going??" Naruto said, halfway yelling.
"To find Shikamaru; I'll be right back," He answered flatly.
"What's eating him you figure?" Naruto said, once again clueless, "Shikamaru can't really be in that much trouble, can he?"
"We should follow him, shouldn't we?" Kiba asked, "I mean, he seemed pretty worried about Shikamaru."
"No," Kankuro said bluntly. The two Leaf shinobi that remained looked at him with confusion. Kankuro specified, "He said he'd go find that lazy Chuunin of yours… Well, his tone and facial expression said, 'Don't follow me.'"
Kiba and Naruto exchanged semi-surprised glances, as if they didn't expect Kankuro to be paying that much attention.
There was something definitely wrong though; Choji could feel it in the very back of his head. A little voice that warned him something was going to go very wrong very soon and he couldn't help but feel that it involved his best friend in more ways than one.
"Shikamaru," Choji called out- a tad nervous- when he finally spotted the young Nara sitting stop a rock face, overlooking the view below; where the sand started and the trees stopped.
Shikamaru glanced behind, "Hey," He greeted dryly, immediately averting his attention back to his first 'scenic' view.
"Are… You ok?" Choji finally asked from behind him, not quite knowing how he should ask. He fumbled a little on his words, "I mean, you've been kinda off since that atta-"
"Choji," Shikamaru interrupted, still not looking at his good pal, "I told you earlier I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
Almost without warning, Choji's demeanor grew a little fiercer, "You know it's no use lying to me Shikamaru. I know you better than anyone else on this mission; acting like this isn't… Well, it isn't you! And why'd you walk off as soon as we set up camp?"
Shikamaru sighed, the brick wall that was his emotion guard crumbling, "I don't know if I can explain it to you without you thinking I'm nuts."
"Try me," Choji sat next to him.
"I'm hearing… Voices," Shikamaru seemed to struggle with the right words. But how do you say you're insane in a dignified way?
"Voices?" Choji raised an eyebrow.
"Mm-hm," Shikamaru agreed, "And here's the thing… It's the voice of that guy who put the genjutsu on me earlier…"
"What??"
"During the jutsu, I didn't want to have to explain this, but… Well, during the jutsu, he talked to me too. While… While the ripping pain in my head grew worse and worse."
Choji felt the taste of sour in his mouth. He felt like he needed to punch something; dealing with Shikamaru's pain just made him lust for the blood of whoever caused him said pain. Maybe lust was too strong a word though… Crave maybe?
Then something dawned on Choji, "Do you think it's part of the genjutsu?"
"Well, there's really no other explanation, is there?" Shikamaru sighed again and put a hand to his temples, "I came out here to try and think about it… But…"
There was a silence as Choji waited for Shikamaru to finish his explanation. But it didn't feel right; it was too long. Finally Choji leaned forward so that he could see Shikamaru's face; what his hand had been covering.
His brow knitted together in wild worry, "Shikamaru!?" He shouted as he looked at his friend's face.
Shikamaru's eyes had gone unnaturally wide, and his face had gone unnaturally white. His whole being was unnatural at that moment! It was like he was frozen in place.
"Shikamaru!!" Choji finally took Shikamaru's shoulders and shook him, "Answer me! What's wrong??"
Ten seconds later, Shikamaru blinked, dazed, like he was suddenly aware of the world around him. Choji groaned in relief.
"Are you alright? What happened??" He demanded breathlessly.
No, there was no time for explanations now.
Shikamaru darted up from his sitting position, his hands clenching into fists, "Come on Choji!" He shouted as he sped back towards their camp.
"W-Wha-" Choji was confused, but immediately followed, "What's going on??"
"The Sand… We have to get to the Sand…" Shikamaru's thoughts raced through his head, blocking out whatever questions of What or Who Choji threw at him.
He hated the voice in his head; the voice of Katsuo Mashima. However, what he had just heard could not be ignored. It threatened lives, and God knew Shikamaru wouldn't have lives on his conscious… Not again.
Author's Note:
This chapter mainly revolved around Choji and Shikamaru, and there was no real action, so I apologize. (I just keep on leaving you anxious people on cliffys; I'm horrible! XP)
ALSO! Please do not ever think, if I do one of these sorta friendship-ish chapters… DO NOT think that I am intending Yaoi. It is pure comradeship. I have and will not write any stories with Yaoi, Yuri or Hentai in them…. Sorry, just wanted to get that point across.
Fortunately, we're going to get some more action here in upcoming chapters; it may slow down a bit for a chapter or two, but I have a very good (in my opinion) ending for this story. Please note good can mean happy, sad, or meh. (Translation for meh: Characters aren't totally happy nor are they totally sad.) So, I hope you all keep reading and enjoying!
Reviews please!