Shikamaru was woken by Ino's cry of 'Kai!', and he kept his eyes shut, feeling like he was back in the academy. Sleeping in lessons, the best was to avoid reprimand was to remain (apparently) asleep so it didn't show if you were listening to the venomous reproach. He remembered Gaara and that awful chakra-construct with the demon's energy. Was it some kind of genjutsu hallucination? No, he thought, hearing voices and fighting around him. This is the attack. They put us to sleep. And – he was certain, now his mind had focussed – Gaara was the Sand's contribution to the attack co-ordinated by the Sound, a human weapon of doubtless unsurpassed brute force. The Sound would most likely have a task force, one to destroy key enemy – Leaf – figures, while Gaara attacked indiscriminately.
Ino shook him, vehemently hissing - 'get your lazy butt up before I start hurting you'. Kakashi and Gai's voices were audible, so she'd been commanded to wake genin by them. So he was expected to fight. To fight Gaara, even. But her voice was disgustingly concerned, so despite his reluctance he opened his eyes.
And looked into her worried face. Blue-black eyes staring straight into his own, caring even though she'd been harrassing him.
She moved forward and whispered into his ear, obviously not wanting to be overheard.
"Kakashi's sending a team after Gaara's team. Sasuke-kun ran off, so it'll be us with Naruto and Sakura. But listen, you can't let Naruto and Forehead-girl go after him alone. Promise me that, 'cause none of the rest of us can fight him and those two morons will want to try. Fucking promise me, okay?"
She shook him, and he realised she was scared.
He was tempted to think 'I'm scared too', tempted to mutter "troublesome" – it'd be so much easier. He could ignore her anger and maybe his own guilt too. But... no. That wouldn't be fair, because he could fight and had fought Gaara, and Team Seven hadn't and most likely couldn't, particularly not the chakra-depleted Naruto. Naruto had gone running into the middle of things before, and of course he would do so again. Shikamaru was a lazy ninja, but he'd decided after the preliminaries not to be a selfish one, so he would do what he knew was the right thing.
"I promise, Ino." He murmured.
She sagged in relief for a moment, then stood up. Sakura was looking at them and obviously getting the wrong impression, Chouji was sat on top of his chair, eating fast and nervously, and Kakashi, Gai and Lee were running around driving out the anonymous attacking ninja. Asuma was smoking and not helping them.
Shikamaru went over to his sensei and recounted the deductions he'd made while he'd been waking up. Asuma nodded, face unreadable. He looked like he was about to say something, but he kept quiet.
Kakashi appeared at the back of the stands, and started speaking as if he'd been standing there all day.
"Okay, Sasuke pursued the Sand team. They are dangerous, although two of them are badly injured, and Sabaku no Gaara is more than likely crucial to their plan. We jounin will be needed here, so you five will form a pursuit team and prevent them from carrying out their plan, by any means necessary. The team will consist of Naruto, Sakura, Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji, and a tracker."
He then knelt, and performed a summoning technique, creating a dog. Ino and Sakura conversed with it, and all the genin introduced themselves. Asuma spoke quietly to Kakashi, and, as Gai smashed an attacking ninja through the wall between them, he stepped back, unruffled, and declared:
"Nara Shikamaru, you will be team leader for this mission. You are to use any means possible to neutralise the Shukaku's host" He waved the boy forward to where the dog waited at the impromptu exit, gesturing for him to lead the newly-formed team through that. Shikamaru walked unhappily past the masked man, who leaded forward and murmured through his mask "Except reciprocating."
He gave Shikamaru a push, and the genin was forced to adjust his fall and jump. The dog hopped and clung to his back, and he felt that weight as if it was the gravity of all the responsibility he had just been given. And ... "except reciprocating"... To reciprocate, to do the same as someone else. Gaara's value as a weapon of mass destruction had to be the ability to take on the shape of the demon Shukaku that was sealed inside him. The Copy Ninja Kakashi feared that he could do the same with the creature sealed inside him. He remembered the tense pulse of chakra-energy under his skin, the instinctive understanding of how to fight with the Kyuubi's chakra. Troubled, he thought; everyone wanted him to fight Gaara, but how far did they expect him to go to to that? How could they expect him to match the other jinchuuriki in combat when he had sub-par ninja skills and the - alternative option - was completely untested.
But, he'd promised Ino, and now it was more than a promise that bound him, it was the specifications of a mission. Rules had never concerned him overly, but he was in charge, and that responsibility to his team overrode any laziness or reluctance he had. He'd do his best.
After landing from the long drop, Pakkun jumped down and took the lead. Naruto and Sakura overtook Shikamaru (naturally those two were concerned about Sasuke, but that pace would mean they'd arrive out of breath. They'd realise and slow down shortly, though, so he didn't mention it), and the lazy genin moved automatically in synchrony with Ino and Chouji. Sakura didn't slow down, although Naruto dropped back to behind her. The entire group followed Pakkun without noticing the scenery they passed, silent.
Four minutes travel, and they ran into Kankuro. It was a measure of the puppeteer's stealth skills – as well as the lack of practice of the pursuit team – that they didn't notice him. Not until he leapt from the foliage behind Sakura and pulled a chakra thread across her exposed neck, standing against her with hands ready to twist and garotte.
"I'll kill her if any of you take another step." He threatened, "You Konoha bastards broke my Karasu, I'd enjoy returning the favour."
The painted leer looked threatening now, and Naruto stopped dead. Shikamaru grabbed Ino before she could advance further, and whispered instructions.
Ino moved to half-way between Naruto and Shikamaru, while Chouji moved to Shikamaru's side, was commanded by the lazy genin, who didn't look at his friend or move his lips, and who then moved to obscure Shikamaru.
Ino pulled Naruto backwards, wary and obviously fearful for Sakura's safety. Naruto continued backing away until he was in turn mostly hidden behind Chouji, while Ino wailed loudly and melodramatically. Sakura, who was by no means stupid, began to shake and sob and raised her hands to hold Kankuro's arms, tugging ineffectively. He couldn't use his hands while holding the threads in place, so he had to hiss at her to be still, narrowed eyes turned to her threateningly.
And Naruto, Chouji and Shikamaru advanced (after a highly suspicious pause) while Kankuro was busy with Sakura. Naruto stayed in front of the shadow-ninja, who was edging to put the sun between himself and Kankuro.
But Kankuro had seen Shikamaru fight, and he backed away and pulled the chakra-string tighter in warning. He kept his eyes on Shikamaru, even when the others tried to draw his attention, and warned the Nara against using his shadow-bind. But – Naruto was moving to one side too, and positioning himself to catch Kankuro in his shadow! They must have used henge to switch while they hid behind the fat one!
He was furious with himself – he'd already badly under-estimated one Leaf genin, thinking that the green spandex-wearing freak would be an easy target, and Karasu had been literally scrapped as a result. And he'd nearly just made the same mistake again!
In fact, he had made the same mistake again. As he moved his hands to cut a trail of blood across Sakura's neck, the real Shikamaru froze the puppeteer in place with the kagemane from his position high in the trees. He raised his hands high, and so did Kankuro.
"Now, Ino." It was her cue to use the shintenshin. He then spoke to the confused and angry puppet master: "The Shikamaru on the ground is Naruto's bunshin, henge'd. They do say no-one ever looks up."
The bunshin vanished in a puff of smoke, and Kankuro grinned and called "mission accomplished" in Ino's voice. Shikamaru released the hold and dropped down.
"Okay. Chouji and Ino, back to the town. Chouji, take her body" -for he was holding the Yamanaka's limp form- "If you can get someone to look after our prisoner, get orders from a jounin and help the situation back in Konoha." He turned to Naruto, who was with Sakura, fussing over her. "You two, we'll go onwards with Pakkun. Unless you need a medic." He directed the last comment at the kunoichi, who shook her head.
The team split up, Ino and Chouji wishing the others luck.
"Well, that's us out of the game" Ino said, the words drawled oddly in Kankuro's voice.
"Don't complain!" Chouji retorted.
"I dunno, it's not like we'd have done much with five of us there" Ino answered. "And I kind of wanted to see Shikamaru fight Gaara."
Chouji gave her a suspicious look, adjusting the body slung over his shoulders.
"What? It's not often you see Shikamaru actually put effort into something. And, Gaara. You can't say that wouldn't be an impressive fight. He's not dumb enough to let some Sand guy beat him."
They continued on in silence.
"I'm sure he'll be fine, Ino. Shikamaru's too smart to put himself in a situation where he won't be okay." Chouji said.
"Yeah..." She sighed, as far as it is possible to sigh when bouncing from branch to branch at high speed. But he's not smart enough to deny a request from me. And I made him promise.