Chapter Thirty-Seven: Shikamaru's Escape
"SHHIIIIIKAMMAAAAAAAARRRUUUUUUU!" Naruto ran through the streets with a cackling Inuzuka Kiba behind him.
They ran past a few barrels next to a grocery store, Naruto stopped and looked around for a moment. "Ne, where did he go?"
"Snrrk... He probably went hiding somewhere." Kiba was still laughing. "After what you just put him through he might just defect from Konoha."
"It wasn't that bad!" Naruto crossed his arms. "If he wasn't such a lazy bum this would be easier!"
"So what now?"
"We won't find him if he thinks we're lookin' for him, so let's go hang out with some of the Akatsuki members."
"Ar-are you sure that's safe?" Kiba looked wary and even Akamaru whimpered.
"Yeah!" Naruto dismissed cheerily. "They're just a bunch of old men, you should see how grumpy they get when eight p.m. hits. It's hilarious."
"... I don't know."
"What are ya scared? Hinata-chan and the girls have been hanging out with Sakura and Karin all day and their in the Akatsuki."
"Their girls," He argued. "And our age!"
Naruto shook his head disapprovingly. "We are around too many powerful women to say things like that. They would tear you apart."
"You're right about that." Kiba slumped his shoulders. "Let's go."
"Right!" Naruto skipped ahead.
When the two were out of sight one of the barrels started to shift before it's form changed completely and a dark haired boy stood in it's place. "Man..." he sighed. "What a drag, those two won't let up."
Shikamaru thought back to the moment he was disturbed from his nap under a large tree.
**Flashback
Naruto and Kiba had jumped down from the branches and attacked him with pine cones. Luckily his eyes had opened when he heard Naruto's cackle and rolled out the way. He felt like a startled animal being cornered by hunters, everywhere he turned one of the two boys were suddenly in his path throwing whatever they could grab. "Stop running Nara!"
"Naruto!" He called over his shoulder. "What are you two doing?!"
He heard that bone chilling cackle again. "We came to play! I thought maybe I could make some kind of puzzle, but that was too boring."
Kiba tackled him from the left. "Besides, this is way more fun!"
Shikamaru kicked him off and rolled into a handstand before flipping back two feet away. "Troublesome..."
"Right!" Naruto flipped and landed with a snarl. "It's time we kicked it up a notch!"-
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Shikamaru blanched in terror and took off.
"Come back here!" Kiba snarled.
"You can't hide for long!" The chorus of the same voice sent a chill up his spine.
Flashback**
Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. It took two hours, but he ended up escaping them and hiding in town.
He was going to hide out at Choji's until those two troublemakers got bored with looking for him.
