A/N: Well, it's time to begin the final part of this fic in earnest. I've been looking forward to this part of the story. I get to write my favorite character

Time for chapter 41

Enjoy!


Generally speaking, morning was indicated by the streaming of sunlight through one's window. The reassuring warmth of a new day. The comfort of a set of clean and personally chosen bed sheets that fit your preferences. These were givens. Things that a person could always look forward to. As it turned out, such luxuries were quite assuredly not afforded to hostages. Shikamaru Nara instead awoke to the same darkness that had coerced him into repose the previous night.

Properly speaking, the shadow user had no clue what time his conversation with Gaara had occurred. For all he knew, it had happened in broad daylight that was only shielded by the sandstone walls of his confinement. Despite the uncertainty, Shikamaru groaned and threw his legs over the side of his bed, firmly planting them on the floor before tentatively standing to his feet. To his relief, his balance was sound enough for him to remain upright with no detectable issues. After stumbling around in the dark for a minute or two, Shikamaru discovered the handle to the room's door.

Upon entering the hall, the Nara's eyes were assaulted by light, causing him to flinch and back up the wall. Recovery took a few moments, but came fairly quickly. With his bearings regained and his vision restored, Shikamaru began his trek down the corridor, crossing numerous people who appeared to be service workers along the way. The looks they gave him were telling. They knew exactly why he was in Sunagakure. Each and every time the genin attempted to make eye contact, the person in question would avert and scurry away.

'I'm an alien to them. Just a strange tumor. I disrupt their daily routine. I'm not supposed to be here' he thought to himself as he approached a room that was located at the end of the hallway. Throughout the walk, previously nonexistent aches and pains had made themselves known to the shadow user, most of them stinging rather than throbbing. It took no more than a brief consideration for Shikamaru to solve the mystery of their origin.

'So, they didn't patch me up after they brought me here. I guess I can't complain. Gaara gave me a bed' he sighed internally. At that thought, he entered the room he had been plodding towards. In stark contrast to the populous state of the hallway, the space he now stood within was only occupied by two people. Fortunately and unfortunately, they made up roughly sixty-six percent of the total number of people he knew the names of in Suna.

Sitting at a small table situated a tad off to the left of the room's center was Temari and Kankuro, who were both eating. The puppeteer was chewing on a piece of sharp cheddar while his sister bit into a nugget of dried meat. If either ninja had noticed his entrance yet, neither one of them had chosen to let him know. For an uncomfortably long stretch of time, Shikamaru stood in place watching them eat, well aware of the game being played. They were trying to force him out of the room by sheer social pressure.

'Alright, this is getting old' Shikamaru thought to himself as he took a step forward and cleared his raw throat. The noise elicited the subtlest of shifts from both siblings. Taking the cue to speak, the shadow user posed a simple question.

"It's either seven in the morning or three in the afternoon right now, and I want to know which it is. Would one of you mind answering clarifying for me?" he asked bluntly. Kankuro glanced up at a clock that hung from the left wall.

"It's two-thirty. Good guess, though" he replied, his voice holding an undertone of defeat at the Nara's continued presence in the room. Shikamaru nodded and made his way over to the table, which, as he discovered, only had two seats, both of which were occupied. Seemingly out of hospitality, but more born of discomfort, Kankuro stood and walked away from the table to silently offer the seat to Shikamaru.

Despite the unexpected and odd nature of the offer, the Nara accepted and sat himself down. The puppeteer then wordlessly exited the dining room, casting a look of something resembling sympathy Shikamaru's way as he disappeared into the hall. He had also unintentionally left the bag of cheese he had been eating from sitting at his chair, prompting the shadow user to help himself to the bland cheddar.

"You look like shit" Temari said matter-of-factly after a lapse of silence. Shikamaru snorted and gave her a sideways glance while he munched on the cheese.

"You've only got yourself to blame if you're disappointed. You're the one who cut me up and knocked me out" he pointed out boredly. The fan wielder shrugged and tossed aside her empty bag of salted meat.

"Yeah, but you could have at least taken a shower before coming out here" she countered. The shadow user popped another piece of cheese into his mouth and shook his head.

"You say that like I know my way around. I would have asked for directions, but all of your serfs seem terrified of me" he said as he chewed. Temari scowled.

"They aren't serfs. We pay them an hourly wage for their services" she snapped irritatedly. Shikamaru chuckled a bit at her indignation and opted to keep pressing.

"Oh really? Are you sure you didn't kidnap them like you kidnapped me? Or am I going to be paid too?" he asked jokingly. Temari snatched away his bag of cheese in response to his remark, taking it just out of his grasp.

"Your payment is the fact that you're still breathing right now. Don't take it for granted either. Get on my nerves and that might change" she said threateningly. The menacing remark did more to irritate the shadow user than it did make him fearful.

"Do it then. Finish the job you couldn't wrap up last time" he challenged, standing up from his seat, the shadow of a long-suppressed temper becoming visible for the first time in many months. The fan wielder was briefly taken aback by the outburst, but soon rose to match him.

"What's gotten into you? I never took you for an ungrateful brat, but I guess I've never been great at reading people" she said scathingly. The Konoha genin gave her a bored look.

"And why should I be grateful to you? Nothing about my current situation is enviable. Nothing. Alive or not, this isn't something I'm ever going to thank you for, if that's what you're waiting for me to do" he replied sharply. Temari narrowed her eyes.

"A person saves your life and this is how you treat them?" she asked angrily. The shadow user smirked internally. It had taken virtually no prompting for the words he had been fishing for to present themselves.

"Have you ever considered that maybe I would have rather you killed me in that dark hallway? And while we're on the topic, why don't you explain to me why the hell you brought me back here? By Gaara's own admission, this wasn't his idea" he demanded. The sand kunoichi, for the most miniscule of moments, hesitated.

"Isn't it obvious? You're a hostage. You're only here to be bait" she responded a tad too confidently. Shikamaru shook his head.

"No, that can't be it. Our fight only lasted around fifteen minutes, and according to Gaara, he and Naruto fought for triple that time in total. Naruto hadn't run off yet when you drugged me. What was the real reason?" he pressed. Temari remained silent and stagnant for a moment before turning her back to the shadow user and making her way to the nearby kitchen.

"My reasoning is none of your concern. It won't matter in the end. Your capture has accomplished all the goals it was supposed to. Take pride in that" she replied a bit less aggressively. Shikamaru watched her rummage through the cupboard for several seconds before she glanced back at him again.

"Want a late lunch?" she asked suddenly. The shadow user opened his mouth to firmly decline, but his stomach betrayed him before he could speak. After pushing down his embarrassment, the genin sighed.

"Why the offer?" he asked in response. Temari smirked and launched a knife in his direction, grazing the side of his face and lodging the blade into the far wall.

"I'm an awful cook and an even worse waitress. Think of it as your punishment for mouthing off to me. That and the little trench I just carved in your face" she said smugly. Shikamaru glanced at the small stream of blood dripping down his cheek and twitched.

"Fine then. Make me puke"


Hiruzen straightened his posture as Naruto entered his office with Hinata close behind him. The elderly kage silently chuckled at the presence of the heiress. Based upon the look she was wearing on her face, she had argued her way into accompanying Naruto. After both children had situated themselves on chairs across from the Hokage's desk, Hiruzen cleared his throat.

"I requested Naruto specifically. I don't recall summoning you, Ms. Hyuga" he said in a falsely menacing tone. Hinata shrugged and maintained eye contact with her leader.

"As it stands, his business is my business. If you can tell him, you can tell me" she replied calmly, earning a smile and a nod of approval from Hiruzen.

"I'm glad to hear it. Just a test. Now, on to why you're both here. As is common knowledge by this point, your teammate was captured during the Invasion. The identity of his captor is currently under investigation" he began, stopping when Naruto raised a hand.

"He was captured by the girl he beat in his finals match. Her name is Temari" he clarified. The Hokage leaned forward over his desk.

"Tell me all that you know" he ordered. The Jinchuuriki took a deep breath and pulled forth all of his memories regarding Shikamaru and the Chunin exam.

"After I left to fight Orochimaru, Neji stepped in and took my place to keep Gaara occupied. After a little while, the Sand Village decided to retreat. According to Neji, Temari showed up and called Gaara off to leave Konoha. She was carrying Shikamaru's unconscious body" he explained, frowning throughout.

"I also came across the site of a stalking in the lower hallway system of the Arena, which is where Nara-san went to escort my sister out of the premises. It stands to reason that Temari subdued and captured him" Hinata chimed in. Hiruzen nodded and considered the presented information.

"If I'm hearing this correctly, then it sounds like this Temari appeared with Shikamaru's body after your battle with Gaara had concluded, Naruto. That complicates things quite a bit, as it creates a fine line between her motivations and Gaara's. But that's neither here nor there. The point is, we know who captured Shikamaru and likely where he is as well" he said. He then reached into his desk and produced a scroll. After looking over its contents for a moment, he resealed it and sighed.

"We're a tad short-staffed at the moment. Guy and Asuma are out of the village already to discuss the Invasion and what it means with the daimyo on my behalf, and Kakashi is going to be more or less bedridden for the next month. As such, that leaves Kurenai Yuhi to lead you and two others to the Sand Village" he said. Naruto nodded.

"Fine with me. I do have a few conditions, though" he said. The Hokage raised an eyebrow and motioned for the blonde to continue.

"When we arrive, leave Gaara to me. Let Kurenai handle crowd control if things bleed out into the village. If that doesn't happen, her job is to keep the other two safe" he said firmly. Hiruzen frowned.

"And why should I agree to that? Kurenai is a perfectly capable kunoichi, and likely a stronger one than you" he said. Naruto tilted his head to one side.

"I never said she wasn't competent, but you and I both know the second part isn't true, not anymore. Her chances against Gaara are slim to none. I can beat him, I know I can" he said confidently. The elderly kage stroked his chin and contemplated for a moment.

"Make a compelling argument. Explain your specific reasoning for believing this. Convince me, and I'll write out a mission description that matches your request" he said. The Jinchuuriki took a deep breath and began stating his case.

"Kurenai is probably more skilled than I am in literally every way, in fact, she definitely is. The reason I don't really think that matters is because I really doubt that she can avoid just being overwhelmed by Gaara's power. She wouldn't get the chance to make her skill and experience mean anything. She'd be killed too quickly. The only way I was able to get anything going against Gaara was by refusing to let him out of a distance where I could punch him" he began, accepting the offer of a water canister from Hinata.

"Let's say she somehow finds a way to survive the first wave of the onslaught. Would you trust her, no, anybody who doesn't have the ability to heal wounds passively to stay alive long enough to find an approach that works?" he asked. Hiruzen pursed his lips and wrung his hands.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but your argument is essentially that when faced with a large enough power deficit, skill becomes a nonfactor?" he questioned. Naruto nodded and awaited a response.

"Just how powerful is this Gaara, Naruto?" Hiruzen asked skeptically. The blonde sighed heavily and glanced down at his still-bruised fists.

"To be honest, I don't know. What I do know is that he wasn't really trying all that hard when he fought me. He showed a little bit more of what he can do to Neji, but that was just posturing. I'm pretty sure that I can exceed him in terms of raw power, but that's only enough to give me the chance to plan. Kakashi-sensei and Guy could kill him, but that's irrelevant right now" he replied. The Hokage remained silent for a few seconds before relenting.

"Alright, fine. I'll grant your wish just this once. Gaara is now your responsibility. I will however, be giving Kurenai permission to step in and take over should you be at risk of dying" he said. Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but stopped when Hinata shot him a sharp look.

"Take what you can get. Don't push your luck, Naruto-kun" she said seriously. Naruto begrudgingly nodded and stood up from his chair.

"I want Neji and Hinata as my teammates on this mission" he said. The Hokage chuckled and gave him a thumbs up.

"Already written. It was never going to be anybody else" he said, earning a grin from the blonde. The old man then shooed the pair out of his office while he prepared the particulars of the perilous assignment.

The countdown had begun. Soon, a Jinchuuriki would fall.


A/N: From here on out, these chapters are going to be split between Shikamaru's endeavors in Suna as a hostage and the rest of the cast, so be ready for that. Should be fun. Tell me what you thought :)

See you next chapter! Read and Review!