The Wanderers
Chapter 22 – Shikamaru – Old Companions
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Shikamaru would have a greater range of techniques.
***Previously-On***
After being separated from his companions by Shouri, a member of the group responsible for Konoha's destruction, Shikamaru found himself stranded in an extremely hostile desert. After an embarrassing encounter with a two metre deep cliff, Shikamaru took in an account of his situation. He decided to travel to the north-east in a vain hope to find civilization. After expending the remainder of his chakra on replenishing his depleted water source, Shikamaru began to hallucinate and see things in the desert. Eventually he collapsed, and after a near-death experience he found himself in a hospital in the Hidden Village of Suna. While recovering from his vast amount of life-threatening injuries, Shikamaru was confronted by a mysterious red haired woman with the ability to change her appearance multiple times, who admitted to helping heal Shikamaru, but only to the extent that he was useful to her plans. While being helped to see the roof of the hospital, the woman's plan came to fruition as she abandoned Shikamaru, who was then ambushed and pursuing by dozens of Suna shinobi, claiming that he had done something to the Kazekage. After a short lived chase, Shikamaru was forced to surrender himself to their forces, hoping that his struggle in the desert wasn't for nothing.
***End Summary***
***Four Months after Separation****
When the blindfold was removed from Shikamaru's face, the young shinobi could only see a pitch black darkness. All around him was black, though his eyes adjusted quickly. He flipped around in an attempt to see who had knocked him out, but to his dismay he found himself staring at a set of iron bars, with tiny pockets of light descending from the stone ceiling.
Glancing down at his hands Shikamaru struggling at the metal shackles that bound his hands together. They were made of an odd black material that cut into his wrists with a long steel chain binding them together.
Shikamaru recognised the bindings instantly; Konoha had used them in the past to keep violent criminals from escaping their jail cells. He tried to mould a small amount of chakra, but as he suspected the bindings began to tighten on his wrists, forcing him to cut off his technique.
"So what are you in for?"
Shikamaru turned at the voice, seeing an identical cell next to his. Inside stood a dirty looking prisoner, who Shikamaru could instantly tell was a shinobi, but one that had been in that cell for a long time, considering the long gaunt look on his dirt-covered face.
He ambled over to the bars on the side of his cell, taking notice of the fact that his feet weren't bound at all. His prison cell was a relatively small affair, a cot and chamber pot the only other occupants of his cell.
"Something about the Kazekage" replied Shikamaru with a sigh. "I just got out of hospital, and they threw me in here."
The other prisoner frowned at the mention of the Suna leader, but other than that Shikamaru couldn't read any other emotions from him. "I don't know either. I hope he's dead though, that bastard is the one who put me here."
"Well they chased me with a fervour I had not expected. Not sure why they thought I had anything to do with what they are accusing me of though." Shikamaru noticed that they were the only two prisoners in the dozen or so cells around; he took a few sniffs then regretted it as a hail of stenches assaulted his nose. "Damnit this place reeks…"
"Yes well, you'd best get used to it. They don't throw just anyone in here."
Shikamaru frowned and turned back to his compatriot, "What are you talking about?"
The prisoner indicated to the virtually empty prison cell, pointing out to Shikamaru that the only light sources were tiny holes in the roof that also acted as air holes. "If you are here, that means they consider you a serious threat to the village. Don't expect to be leaving any time soon."
"Fantastic" muttered Shikamaru, sitting down on the cot in his cell. "First the desert, then this. I must have pissed off someone on my travels."
They both heard a loud thump near the end of the corridor of cells, a small source of light piercing through the darkness that his eyes had just adapted to, causing him to wince in pain as his eyes readjusted themselves. "What now?"
He watched as three Sand shinobi slowly walked through the prison's corridor, an angry-looking ANBU masked shinobi leading the others. They glared straight at him as they stopped in front of his cell, the leader of the group taking a moment before motioning to his two companions.
Shikamaru watched in horror as the two guards walked into the other cell, and even despite the prisoner's protests they knocked him out with two blows from the clubs at their sides, sending him crashing into the ground with a spray of blood.
"What was that for?" demanded Shikamaru, stepping back in momentary fear of the Suna ANBU shinobi. "He had nothing to do with me."
The ANBU shinobi cocked his head for a moment before turning and indicating for his companions to leave. They nodded in compliance and walked out of the jail cell adjacent to Shikamaru's, placing their bloody instruments back on their belts.
He walked into Shikamaru's cell and closed the door behind him. "A demonstration, Nara-san. He was a criminal, such treatment is befitting of someone of his station."
The ANBU pointed to the cot in the cell with a gloved hand. "Take a seat, Nara-san. We have…much…to speak on."
Shikamaru looked down at the stone cot, taking a moment before shrugging and sitting down. "I suppose we do. Would it help any if I said that I was being set up?"
"What do you think?"
Shikamaru sighed. "Didn't think so. What did happen to the Kazekage? The people who brought me here refused to say."
Crossing his arms slowly, Shikamaru could feel the hatred through the ANBU's mask. "Did you ever hear of what happened to the Third Kazekage?"
Shikamaru shook his head slowly, he wasn't sure what the guard was getting at, but he wanted to delay the inevitable interrogation for as long as possible.
"Well then let me put this simply. Our leader has disappeared, the signs point to a kidnapping, and we have it on good information that you are linked to those responsible."
"And you think I'm responsible? I just got out of the hospital! I was barely in a condition to avoid my pursuers, let alone kidnap a Kage." While conversing with the ANBU, several things fell into place in Shikamaru's mind. The reason he had been saved, why he had been pursued so strongly, and the amount of information they likely had on him.
With an elaborate gesture the ANBU removed his gloves and placed them in a kunai pocket at his side, which he clearly indicated to Shikamaru was empty.
Shikamaru stared at the ANBU's mask, not able to read any emotions from the scorpion-faced Suna shinobi, not even the hatred he had sensed earlier.
Using some of the strength he had recovered from not being chased around a desert village, Shikamaru stood up and took in a long breath. "Talking won't make a difference, will it?"
Even under the mask, Shikamaru could sense a slight hesitation in the ANBU's acknowledgement. The Suna shinobi drew back a clenched fist slowly.
"No, it won't."
oOoOoOo
Shikamaru didn't need a mirror to know how bad he looked; though the disgusted look on his fellow prisoner's face told him volumes about his injuries.
"They worked you over pretty good" said the other prisoner, still nursing his head on his own cot within his cell.
Shikamaru nodded then immediately regretted it as huge spikes of pain shot through his head. He didn't dare touch his face with his hands, he had passed out after the first hour, but when food had been brought to the two of them he couldn't swallow any of the solids without fainting from pain.
"He didn't even ask me any questions…" It amazed him that it didn't hurt to speak, though he figured it was because the interrogator was quite skilled at his job, and a non-verbal prisoner didn't give out information. Shikamaru could barely feel the rest of his body, but if his assumptions were correct than he would recover almost completely within a few days.
The other prisoner laughed, and then held his head in pain. "Yeah, it'll be like that the first few times. Did you get an indication on what they want?"
The injured Nara heir placed up a hand to silence his fellow prisoner, sitting down on his cot with a wince before placing his hands together.
His companion frowned when he saw Shikamaru's odd handseal. "With those cuffs you won't be able to use any ninjutsu, you know that right?"
Shikamaru ignored the other prisoner, running hundreds of scenarios through his head before forming a feasible hypothesis. Since he was stuck in the prison, Shikamaru figured he would try to discern what his enemy's motivations were; there were certain things that didn't make much sense to him.
The other prisoner frowned at being ignored, but kept his thoughts to himself.
It took Shikamaru longer than he expected, but after an hour a few things clicked into place.
They are probably a country-wide group, not unlike Akatsuki. I suspect that the two that I've encountered are high-level leaders, and there are at least two others if that white-clad warrior is to be believed. They have a strange reaction to chakra, or a lack thereof, and are far more dangerous then we could have thought. Orchestrating the destruction of Konoha, our invasion of Otogakure, and my actions here…wait…
He thought about the exact words the strange woman had said, and the pieces slowly began to fall into place in his mind. He opened his eyes slowly and glanced up at the bright air holes in the roof of the prison.
Chaos…they want to destroy the world of shinobi. Destroying Konoha removed a large resistance base and destabilised the country. Now…by separating us…they want to cause the remaining powers to war amongst themselves. I'd be willing to bet that in the investigation into the disappearance of the Kazekage, they found evidence of another village's influence. And considering that they seem to despise shinobi, I'm also betting that they don't have ties to the other villages at all.
Shikamaru placed his hands on the bars of his cells, instantly knowing that he would never have the strength to break out, especially without the ability to use chakra.
"I won't be able to get out of here on my own…" Shikamaru kept his tone low, he didn't trust the other prisoner, but recognised he was likely in a similar position to him.
oOoOoOo
His injuries recovered after two days of sitting in his cell, after which the ANBU masked shinobi came back and sat opposite Shikamaru. He apologised for the beating earlier, which Shikamaru didn't believe for a second, and began the proper interrogation that Shikamaru had been expecting. Unfortunately when Shikamaru didn't have the answers he was looking for, he reverted to his original interrogation method.
After the first few 'discussion' sessions, the ANBU guard stopped showing up to the prison, the only visitors Shikamaru had were to the two guards that brought them food. They never responded to Shikamaru's questions, and after a while the Nara heir gave up on asking and just accepted the food without a word.
"So what happened after that?"
Shikamaru laughed with a grin on his face. "Just as he thought he was defeated, as the blade was approaching his back…he farted."
His companion lasted for two seconds before collapsing in a fit of laughter. Shikamaru smiled as he finishing recounting how Naruto had defeated a Cloud shinobi in the Second Exam of the Chuunin Exams, one that he had told Shikamaru a while ago. He had made sure not to mention names, but his reluctance to tell the other prisoner things had deteriorated over the past week, and without anything else to do he figured there wasn't much harm in general chatter.
The prisoner picked himself up from the ground and wiped his eyes. "You have some funny friends, Shikamaru-kun." He stared at Shikamaru with a smile. "Maybe they'll come and rescue you."
"I doubt it. Nobody even knows I am here." Shikamaru looked down at his bound wrists, glancing over the cuts on his skin caused by the shackles.
oOoOoOo
Shikamaru slowly lowered himself from the top bar, landing softly before taking a long breath and stretching out his tired arms. He cracked his neck before dropping to the floor and performing quick sets of push-ups.
"I don't know why you that to yourself. You are just wasting your energy."
"Twenty eight…twenty nine…thirty!" Having finished counting, Shikamaru leapt up and continued to regulate his breathing. He could feel a slight pounding in his chest, though he figured it was just his blood pumping through his muscles.
He turned to face his companion that he had come to know relatively well over the past month. "It's not as if there is anything else to do in here. Besides I'm beginning to understand why my friend trained so much."
After the first day he had been brought a change of clothes without reason. Shikamaru was thankful to be rid of the hospital gown, though his prison fatigues weren't much better. He was, however, grateful that they were spacious enough for him to train without showing his progress to the guards.
The Nara heir looked up at the ceiling again, as he had done after each training session. For a reason beyond his understanding they always shone with light. The only reason Shikamaru could tell how long he had been a prisoner was with the frequency of the food brought to them.
His companion shrugged as he always did and sat down on his cot. "You're still a weird guy, Shikamaru-kun. It's almost like you expect to break out of here or something. You'd think after a month you'd have learnt."
Shikamaru grinned and leant against the bars with his back. "What can I say; I'm discovering a stubborn streak I didn't know I had."
They both turned at once as they heard the door to the prison creak open, putting both of them instantly on edge. It hadn't been that long since they had gotten a meal, meaning the only other likely visitors were interrogators.
They watched as three cloaked figures entered the prison, Shikamaru frowning as he didn't recognise any of them from their concealed faces. He could tell one of them was a woman, but even by staring at their movements he couldn't tell anything about them.
One of the males flicked a figure near the door, closing it with a thread of chakra before all three of them turned to face Shikamaru at the front of his cell. In the corner of his vision Shikamaru could see a change in his fellow prisoner's demeanour; he had suddenly become rigid and formal.
The one that closed the door turned to the other prisoner. "Report."
There was something familiar about his voice but Shikamaru couldn't quite place it. The other prisoner gave the three of them a quick salute that looked fairly absurd when he took into account the fact that the two of them were covered in their own filth.
"His story seems legit. In the past month I've gotten no indications that he is anything other than what he says. However there is more to him than one might expect."
The cloaked female chuckled in response. "Yes…he always was."
Shikamaru could feel his blood freeze underneath his skin. Hers was a voice he couldn't forget, even in times when he wanted to. He watched in both horror and a slight feeling of relief as the three cloaked figures pulled back their hoods, revealing themselves to both of the prisoners.
They hadn't changed as much as Shikamaru had expected, but they were not the kind of visitors he had been expecting. The puppet-user Kankuro seemed to be taller, and his purple 'war-paint' had changed to several lines across his face, and instead of the one puppet that Shikamaru knew he used, there were two large scrolls. The demon-like Gaara seemed to look a lot calmer than Shikamaru remembered, though he still had that intense look in his eyes that unsettled him something fierce. However it was the female of the three that drew most of Shikamaru's attention. Beneath the Suna robes he could see she was wearing a long short-sleeved black kimono and wore her forehead protector around her forehead as opposed to around her neck. She still had her blonde hair tied into four ponytails, and still had that smirk that drove Shikamaru insane.
"What are you guys doing here?" he asked cautiously.
Gaara turned to his older brother with an indifferent look. "Kankuro, take the other one outside."
The puppet user nodded and opened the other cell door with a flick of his fingers. The other prisoner kept bowing his thanks to the three of them, but to Shikamaru's surprise Kankuro simply knocked him out with a blow to the back of his neck, unceremoniously hefting him over his shoulder and carrying him out of the prison.
Temari turned to her youngest brother, still keeping her eyes and smirk on Shikamaru though. "Do we have time for this? We should leave as soon as possible."
A small line of sand appeared around Gaara's head, running down into the door of his cell, after a few seconds the door swung open. "Father has been missing for a month. He can wait five more minutes."
"I suppose you are right." Temari reached back and removed the half-sized fan from her back, snapping it into its full length before walking slowly into the cell.
Shikamaru took a cautionary step backwards, unsure what to make of the situation. He prepared himself to fight if necessary, but knew that even without the chakra-inhibiting bonds he doubted he could beat either of them in a straight up fight. He particularly had no interest in harming Temari, though he was unsure about how he felt towards her. They hadn't left on the best of terms, and he knew it was his fault.
She pressed the edge of her fan onto his shoulder. "So, what is the story Shikamaru? Any particular reason you disappear for a year and then appear in our prison accused of kidnapping our father?"
Shikamaru reached up and threw the fan off his shoulder, squaring up against Temari. She seemed to notice that he was now taller than her, and there was a look in his eyes that she didn't recognise from their previous encounters. "Why should I say anything? The other people didn't listen to me. In fact they went out of their way to ignore me."
Temari went to say something back, but stopped as she saw Gaara enter the cell with the two of them. The same sand that had unlocked the door travelled across the cell and entered the lock on the shackles attached to his wrists, taking only a second before the dark metal bindings struck the floor.
Shikamaru rubbed his wrists sorely but before he could even think a large cloud of sand erupted from the gourd at his back, taking position around the three of them.
"You have two choices. Either you can tell us what your role in this situation is, and how you got here…or I can kill you."
"Cold as always" came a voice from the entrance, Shikamaru watching as Kankuro walked back into the prison, this time without the other prisoner on his shoulder.
Shikamaru hesitated momentarily, wracking his brain in an attempt to find a proper solution to his situation. "Why do you want to know? Aren't I your enemy here?"
Gaara slowly pointed to his sister. "Temari expressed a legitimate concern over your imprisonment. We would have had this conversation a month ago, but we only just learnt of the situation. Besides, we know that the Kazekage is somewhere in the Land of Fire, and you are the only one in this land that would know that terrain well."
Shikamaru considered the points that Gaara made, the situation was getting better for him than he had expected. He still didn't trust them, a month in jail had soured his faith in people, but after thinking about it there was little choice in his mind.
He sighed and sat down on his cot, indicated for the three of them to take a seat. He took a deep breath and came to a decision.
He told them everything.
"I've kept it to myself throughout the whole story but you really stink, Shikamaru."
The Nara heir didn't need to sniff his underarms to tell that he smelt awful, it was clear by the dirt on his skin despite having become used to the smell over the past month. "You try living in a prison for a month with nothing to wash yourself with. You wouldn't smell so pretty either, Temari."
"We'll have to stop at a bathhouse before we leave" said Kankuro, already on his way out of the prison.
"Hang on, I'll handle it" said Shikamaru, running through a short set of handseals.
Both Temari and Gaara jumped backwards out of the cell instinctively as a large pool of water appeared above Shikamaru, hovering momentarily before crashing down on the freed prisoner. He grinned and sighed at the same time, it felt wonderful to have water on his skin again, though by the look on their faces he knew he wouldn't be able to rid himself of the smell that easily.
"I'll need a towel of some sort" he said, instantly regretting his action as he saw Temari unfurl one of the dots on her fan, a wicked grin appearing on her face.
"Wait…Temari let's talk about this for a min…" He never got to finish his protest, a large gust of wind sending him crashing into the side of the prison cell.
With a laugh Temari placed her fan on her back and turned to leave, her brothers just shaking their heads in response while Shikamaru struggled to pick himself up from the ground.
"Why…should I go with you? It makes more sense for me to just escape." Shikamaru tried to sound confident, but he was still gasping for breath after being 'dried' by Temari's fan.
The three Suna siblings turned around as one, with the eldest at the front offering him a hand up. Shikamaru hesitated again; she was acting strangely compared to his memories of her during the Chuunin Exams, but nevertheless he thanked her for the help and pulled himself up with her hand.
"You've had a hard time, haven't you?"
Shikamaru frowned, he wasn't sure he had heard her quiet rhetorical question, but as he turned to ask her to repeat it he saw that they were already on their way out.
"You guys still haven't answered my question" he said, jogging slightly to catch up to them. Thanks to his training within the cell he hadn't lost any of his stamina, and the joy of being free was enough to give him the strength to keep up with them.
Gaara turned his head slightly as Shikamaru accompanied them up the stairs. "You assist us in the retrieval of our Kazekage, and we will render our assistance in finding your companions for you."
"Hmm…I suppose that makes sense. But what will the other shinobi think? You are releasing a prisoner possibly involved in a serious crime."
Temari laughed again and clapped him on the back. "Don't worry about it. Gaara is a Jounin, nobody will question his judgement."
"Quiet. We have to make a few stops before leaving the village."
Shikamaru noticed that his two siblings seemed to be obeying Gaara's commands without question, but unlike in the Chuunin Exams they didn't seem to fear him as before.
This is a weird situation, but I can't complain. But something is off here. If she wanted to cause chaos, she would have pinned the kidnapping on one of the other villages…but they claim he is in the Land of Fire. This reeks of a trap, but for the life of me I can't work out what it is.
oOoOoOo
They didn't make much distance from the village before night fell, Gaara calling for them to stop at a collection of dead trees in the desert, the three of them quickly setting up a pair of tents.
"We aren't going to keep going?" Shikamaru knew they were in a hurry, but was amazed by their calm demeanour in the stressful situation.
"No wonder you nearly died in the desert. You Konoha people know nothing of this land" said Kankuro, pulling up the tents with his chakra strings.
Shikamaru could tell that the puppet-user didn't like him, but wasn't complaining in the slightest. They had taken him to a proper bathhouse and given him a change of clothes, the Nara heir holding off on asking the questions he needed answers to until they took a break, but setting up camp was the first instance of a break.
With dramatic gesturing, Gaara raised up four large chunks of sand from the ground, hardening them instantly to the point that they looked like dense stones. The youngest Suna sibling pulled off his gourd and sat down on one of the seats.
Kankuro finished setting up the tents and sat down next to his brother while Temari set about cutting down the trees for firewood, using the wind from her fan to cut through the bark like it was paper. Shikamaru had asked if he could be any help, but apparently they did this kind of camping all the time, Gaara mentioning in a dull tone that it was a 'bonding' exercise for the three of them.
After the fire was going and the sky was completely dark, Shikamaru set about asking the question that had bothered him since they had sprung him out of prison. "Why did you guys wait a month before pursuing your father?"
The three of them looked at each other for a moment before Temari crossed her legs and moved her kimono so that it was more comfortable to sit on.
"We didn't know until this morning. The three of us have been on a mission for months and out of contact until we returned to the village."
"You'd think that would be something they would pull you out of your mission for though" said Shikamaru.
"It wasn't that kind of mission" said Kankuro, picking at the fire with a long stick.
Shikamaru gave him a confused look, but before he could ask Temari indicated that she wasn't finished, coughing to get his attention. "You probably haven't heard, considering you guys were travelling around, but there is a food problem around the country. For some reason food costs more than it should, so we went undercover to try and find out why."
Shikamaru leant back in his stone seat. "That makes sense. But how do you know where the Kazekage is? Did you get a ransom note?"
Reaching into a pocket on his sash, Gaara produced a small compass that pointed in the direction they had been travelling, towards the Land of Fire. "After the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, our father implemented a technique that would allow the three of us to track him wherever he went, if such a situation were to occur. Only blood relatives can use this compass."
"That's a clever system. Suna seems to be doing well."
"We are better off than most" said Kankuro, yawning as he scratched his chest idly.
oOoOoOo
Shikamaru stared into the flames, having been forced to seat particularly close in order to keep himself warm he found himself drawn to the contained fire. Gaara and Kankuro had given him the first shift, and Temari had offered to keep him company. They hadn't said a word to each other since the other two had gone to bed in their tent, but Shikamaru occasionally caught her glancing at him, unsure on whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. His discussion with Gaara, while the Suna Jounin didn't let on to much he got the feeling that it had been her idea to free him, though he suspected she would never admit it.
She's more stubborn than my mum was. I suppose I should really say something. What I said after the Chuunin Exams wasn't fair, even if it was completely accurate. Girls are far too troublesome.
He turned to speak to her, but upon seeing her serious face staring at the fire he felt a tightening in his chest. All the things he wanted to say seemed to escape him, and all he could do was look away with a sad look on his face.
Across from him Temari noticed him glancing away, but as she went to laugh at him for his unmanliness she found that she couldn't bring herself to do it. She stared back into the flames, feeling the warmth through her black gloved fingers. She glanced over at him again, and for a split second their eyes connected, though neither of them could keep the contact for long.
"Hey…"
"I…"
They both turned as they cut each other off, neither sure of what to say.
"What I mean…"
"We should really…"
Shikamaru felt a smirk come onto his face but he squashed it, as the two of them continued to try and speak at the same time. Eventually Shikamaru placed a hand up, silencing the young female shinobi.
"Please, let me speak first" he said, keeping his tone as neutral as possible. He couldn't stop the strangely fast beating of his chest, but he wanted to get the problems out of the way so that he could move on with their mission.
He looked over at her past the flames, noticing a slight blush on her cheeks. Makes her look almost cute. Almost. Damnit, don't get distracted Shikamaru.
Temari indicated for him to speak, albeit reluctantly. Shikamaru nodded his thanks and coughed awkwardly, trying to think of a good way to phrase what he wanted to say.
"I…um…look what I…damnit why can't I say it!"
Temari stared at him for a few seconds before a slow smile appeared on her face. She stood up slowly, keeping her face hidden from his view. "That's because you think you were right, you idiot."
"I was right! I take nothing back! Bloody troublesome woman." Instantly Shikamaru braced for the inevitable blow to the head that happened every time he said that, but to his surprise no blow came.
He removed himself from his brace and looked over at her seat, noticing that the blonde shinobi had sat back down and was leaning on her black fan with a sad look on her face.
Shikamaru stood up slowly, an apology already on his lips but before he could say anything he saw Temari turn her face slightly to face him.
"I…am treated like royalty in Suna. As the daughter of the Kazekage, whenever I asked for something, I got it. I waited to take the Chuunin Exams so that my little brothers could participate with me, but I was guaranteed a promotion regardless of the outcome."
"Really? That's a strange way of doing things."
Temari glared at him with a force so strong that Shikamaru nearly fell off his chair. The Nara heir swallowed slowly and indicated for her to continue.
"Then you come along, with your stupid indifferent bald face…"
"I'm not bald."
"With your bald head, and you defeated Kankuro and I in the Third Exam. I…hated you."
"Seriously, I'm not bald. I just tie my hair back."
Temari could feel her arms shaking, which caused the fan to nearly fall to the ground beside her. Before the weapon could strike the ground, however, it moved back up to her side. She looked up to see Shikamaru passing her the end of the fan with an awkward but indifferent look on his face.
She glanced away from him with a blush and continued talking.
"I hated you. This stupid bald Konoha shinobi coming in and showing up the best Genin in Suna. And you were so laid back about it, you seemed so lazy, yet you were much smarter than us. But every time I tried to talk to you, you just called me troublesome and fell asleep."
Shikamaru sat back down, unable to say anything in response. He hadn't thought about any of that stuff, he had just assumed she was angry about what he had said when he left Suna.
"I didn't realise…"
"Just…let me finish. What you said…that day…really hurt. All those things you said…they were things I knew about myself but didn't want to admit. For someone like you to say those things…so blatantly…"
Shikamaru felt a sharp pain in his chest as he could see how difficult it was for her to talk about what had happened, her arms seemed to be shaking more than before. It was an unsettling sight for him to see, the one thing he had admired about the wind-user was her near unshakable attitude.
"But after some consideration…and thinking you were dead…I came to a conclusion."
"And that was?"
She took a few moments before shaking her head and standing up slowly, turning to face him. "That someone like you…was someone I could forgive so saying such things."
Shikamaru frowned and stood up as well, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "I…don't really understand, that sounds like some strange girl-logic, but…thanks?"
With a smile, Temari placed her fan on her shoulder and turned to face him. "That's okay. But in saying that…"
In a single fluid motion she held up her heavy metal fan with one hand before sending it crashing down on top of his head. The Nara heir read the movement and instinctively went to move out of the way, but a part of him held him back, forcing him to take the blow straight.
"Now we are even."
Shikamaru slowly tried to pick himself up from the ground, clutching his head in pain. "F…fair enough. Troublesome woman…"
Temari sheathed her fan with her trademark grin, this time not bothering to offer a hand to the fallen Konoha shinobi, instead sitting back down with a laugh.
Shikamaru tired again to pick himself up from the ground, but resolved to just lean on the stone seat with a sigh, staring up at the clear night sky.
"The clouds here are pretty nice…"
Once they finished packing up the camp early in the morning they moved quickly through the desert terrain. As they moved through the terrain, Shikamaru learnt more about the area that surrounded the sand-covered village. Apparently there were certain areas of the desert that were impossible to escape, even with their shinobi survival abilities, but they had been mapped and were easily avoided, if you knew what to look for. Shikamaru just sighed upon hearing that, it still rubbed him the wrong way about how he was saved from that peril, though Temari was more than happy to poke fun at him.
They picked up the pace once they realised that Shikamaru was in better shape than they had expected, the Nara heir surprising himself with how much he had improved physically, considering his previous confined living situation. He, of course, had no interest in continuing such a rigorous training measure; Shikamaru still had very little motivation to speak of.
After a day's travel they passed from the Land of Wind to the Land of Fire, Shikamaru feeling a strange sense of homecoming as they passed into the woodlands. Gaara indicated that the area the compass was pointing was to the north of the ruins of Konoha, and upon looking at a map and considering the angle and positioning Shikamaru made an educated guess as to the area that they were aiming for, a small underground facility that Konoha had used during the last Shinobi War.
"Does it feel strange coming back here?" asked Temari as they leapt through the trees towards their target area. After their bizarre, at least Shikamaru's view, conversation she seemed to have warmed up to him, though he could tell she hadn't changed that much over the past year, at least not socially.
"I have no interest in seeing the crater, if that's what you mean" responded Shikamaru, enjoying the soft breeze against his face as they moved through the trees.
"Really? No interest in rebuilding or anything like that?"
Shikamaru shook his head as he leapt off another branch, the two of them jumping side by side while the two Suna brothers led from the front. "Nothing to rebuild. Once it was destroyed, and our families murdered…it stopped being our home, and became a graveyard. We…have to make new homes for ourselves."
Temari didn't say anything for a while after that, out of the corner of his eye Shikamaru could see a solemn look on her face but he didn't make a comment.
They leapt out of the tree line to a long chasm with rocky sides, Gaara and Kankuro jumping quickly across the gap but Shikamaru skidded to a halt on the edge of the rocks. "Wait…this area looks familiar…"
Temari landed next to him. "Really?"
She placed a hand to her lips to enhance the sound, yelling at her younger brothers "Oi! Come back!"
Shikamaru jumped down into the chasm and began searching around the rocky sides, placing his hands on the cool stone with a curious look on his face.
"We don't have time for sightseeing" said Gaara as the three of them jumped down to join him.
Shikamaru moved to the side, motioning for them to wait as he stared at a particular stone of the wall in front of him. "This place…I think this is…"
He turned around and asked Gaara if he could point in the direction they had to go, nodding slowly when he saw the direction the youngest sibling pointed at before turning back and staring at the stone wall. "As I thought."
After a few minutes of searching Shikamaru found the stone he was looking for, running through a set of handseals before placing his hands on an inconspicuous rock. The ground beneath them began to shake as the rocks in the wall shifted unnaturally, moving in and around before a path opened up to reveal a spiralling staircase leading down into the ground.
"What is this?" asked Kankuro, popping his head into the hole, not able to see where the stairs led.
Shikamaru pointed to the new opening with a smile. "There is a large system of tunnels in this part of the Land of Fire, built during one of the old wars, before the villages were established. My father used to talk about them as a structural weakness for Konoha, but I suspect they were used during the Shinobi Wars to keep the village from being ambushed."
Gaara crossed his arms and frowned slightly. "The point being?"
Shikamaru frowned in turn, "You seem more impatient than I remember."
"Ignore him, Shikamaru. This is just how he shows his concern for his father. Can you just tell us where to go? If the Kazekage is dead, we don't want to waste any more time."
Placing his hand on the edge to show them in, Shikamaru frowned but didn't say anything about it. "It's a shortcut. Sorry I just thought you would want all the information before…"
Gaara pushed past him and walked through the opening, descending down the stairs without a word. Shikamaru looked at the others in the group with a confused look on his face. Temari just grinned and walked past him, patting him on the head as she followed her younger brother.
"It's a bit like that at the moment. You'll have to be patient with us; this isn't an easy time for us."
Shikamaru was surprised to hear the puppet-user speak in such a way, but before he could say anything something clicked in his mind.
"You…you guys don't you'll find him alive, do you?"
Taking a step back, Kankuro turned and faced the shadow-user, a solemn expression on his face, which was exemplified by the purple lines across his face. "What do you think? It's been a month, Konoha shinobi. We…are just here to confirm what we already know."
oOoOoOo
Unlike the tunnels in the Hidden Village of Sound, the underground system wasn't lit by rows of torches; the four of them were forced to light their own torches as they made their way through the dark tunnels. To Shikamaru's surprise the tunnel they had entered was littered with false tunnels and confusing trails, ones that even he struggled to figure out. If it hadn't been for the compass Shikamaru was fairly positive that they would have gotten lost.
"Are we getting closer?" he asked quietly. Being inside an enclosed space for such a long period of time had put him on edge, and after the first few hours he had regretted taking the tunnel shortcut.
Gaara pulled out the compass for a few seconds before placing it back in a pocket on his sash. "Not far. We need to return to the surface."
"That might be a problem…I'm not sure where the exits are in here." Shikamaru placed his hands on the stone walls, closing his eyes for a moment before turning to the others. "We are probably twenty or thirty metres from the surface."
Kankuro turned around and looked at his younger brother. "Gaara?"
The sand-user didn't move from his position, but after a few seconds they could hear a slight rumbling above them. Shikamaru frowned and tried to look around for the source, his eyes widening as he saw Gaara place a hand over one of his eyes, a long line of sand flowing from his gourd through a small hole in the roof.
"The area above is a clear field of grass. No visible enemies."
"Wait, what are you going to do?" asked Shikamaru, unfamiliar with the majority of Gaara's techniques, he had only ever seen him in his battle against Naruto over a year ago.
He felt a tug on his shirt as Temari pulled him away from Gaara's position, Kankuro nodding in agreement as he stepped away from him as well.
"Do I want to know?" asked Shikamaru.
The two Suna siblings smiled and simply pointed to the roof where the hole had been. Shikamaru couldn't help but gasp in amazement when he saw what Gaara had done. Temari pushed him onto a circle of sand underneath Gaara's feet, while Kankuro simply shrugged and joined the others.
The sand underneath their feet hardened and began to rise slowly; taking the four of them up through the large hole that had just been created.
Gaara didn't appear to be strained at all by the effort of raising the four of them, though he did turn around and faced Shikamaru. "I can turn any earth-like materials into sand quite easily. Don't appear so surprised."
Shikamaru just shrugged in response, he was in awe of the sheer amount of power and ability it would have taken a normal person to carve out such a high, perfectly shaped hole, let alone carrying four people through said hole using only sand.
Shikamaru stared up at the open sky as they neared the top, jumping up to the grassy land. "I suppose with Shukaku's power stuff like this is possible, huh?"
The three of them followed suite, Gaara gesturing slightly to cover the hole with a layer of sand. He glanced at the compass again before walking silently away.
Kankuro ran to catch up to him, while Temari shoved Shikamaru with her shoulder as she walked past him. "It's got nothing to do with Shukaku. That is all Gaara. He very rarely calls on the tailed beast's power."
From in front of him, Gaara turned around without breaking stride to face Shikamaru. "How do you know about Shukaku? That isn't widely known beyond Suna."
"Oh, Naruto told me. He said that you had a tailed beast sealed inside you, just like he used to."
Shikamaru thought he saw a slight change in Gaara's expression at the mention of the blonde shinobi's name, but said nothing as the sand user turned back around.
"It's good that he is well. Uzumaki Naruto…you said he had his beast removed, yet he survived?"
"Why, you thinking of getting rid of yours?"
Gaara shook his head slightly as they moved into another set of trees. "Despite his irritating fascination with funk music, and the bad singing, Shukaku isn't so bad. We've learnt to…get along."
Shikamaru jumped off a tree branch and landed on the grass, taking a long breath as they saw a large building in the distance. "I'm impressed that you have some control over him. Naruto couldn't control the Kyuubi at all. Is that it?"
Gaara nodded slowly before indicating to his siblings to prepare themselves. Temari unsheathed her fan, unfurling it to its three dots before smiling in her usual manner as Kankuro cracked his fingers in anticipation for the battle.
"Wait…do we have a plan of attack?" asked Shikamaru, who had nothing to prepare besides chakra since they hadn't given him any weapons on their journey. Initially it had been his assumption that it was because they didn't trust him completely, which was understandable, but when he asked the answer had been surprisingly simple. He wasn't needed for offensive, or his combat abilities, just his assistance in getting to the target area.
Gaara crossed his arms again. "We go in, we find the Kazekage, we bring him home. What else is there to discuss?"
"Formation? Plan of attack? Anything like that?"
"Without knowing who our enemies are, is there much point?" asked Kankuro.
Shikamaru had to admit he had a point. While he didn't like going in blind, they didn't have much choice either. "Fair enough I suppose."
He grinned and moulded a small amount of chakra, the air around him shaking for a second before settling down. He was uncharacteristically looking forward to the coming battle, though for all his genius he couldn't figure out where his motivation came from.
"We are going in" said Gaara, walking towards the building as the three of them nodded and followed suite.
oOoOoOo
Shikamaru had suggested they adopt a stealthy approach to entering the enemy building, but before he could justify his reasoning Temari unleashed a devastating wind blast from her fan that obliterated the entrance of the building.
He turned to the grinning blonde with a sigh. "Can you do anything subtly? Do you even know the meaning of stealth?"
Temari just grinned back at him. "It's more fun this way."
"Enough chatter. We've wasted too much time." Gaara moved quickly through the large gap his elder sister had created, a large cloud of sand surrounding his head as he disappeared into the darkness.
"Come on you two. You know how hard it is to catch with him when he's like this, Temari." Unwrapping one of the figures on his back, Kankuro followed his younger brother with his offensive puppet wrapped around his shoulders.
Grabbing her fan with both hands, Temari ran in as well. Shikamaru let out another sigh before running in after them; the Nara heir was reminded of several of his old companions as he passed through the ruined threshold.
The inside of the building didn't seem particularly strange to Shikamaru as he tried to catch up to the others. He had been expecting heavy resistance or at least a few traps, but after the third set of large rooms he found no such resistance. Despite himself, Shikamaru was disappointed by the lack of enemies, though he shook it off quickly when he remembered that they were facing foes that could best a Kage level shinobi.
After five minutes of searching Shikamaru still hadn't found the three Suna siblings, or anything to indicate they had come to the right location, and after another five Shikamaru found himself back at the ruined entrance, with the sun shining onto his skin.
I could just go. It's not like I have that much an obligation to help them…particularly after how I was treated in that prison. I'd get away too, we aren't that far away from the Nara forests and it wouldn't be difficult to lose them in this terrain.
He went to take a step forward, but hesitated, a strange feeling rising in his chest. He looked back into the dark rooms of the building for a moment before turning back to the entrance. Considering what he knew about his situation, it didn't take him long to make a decision.
It'll be easier with their resources…and then there is that other thing…
He sighed again, turning around and moving quickly to the area he hadn't searched yet.
After a few minutes he came across a large stone door that appeared to have been untouched for a long time. He went to place a hand on the doorknob, but before he could he was yanked away by a set of chakra strings attached to his shirt.
He went to comment but was silenced by a gesture from the puppet-wielder, who had detached his chakra strings from Shikamaru and moved his puppet to the other side of the door. He shook his head in a strange manner before reaching into a pouch and taking out two notes of money, giving one each to his siblings.
"What is that about?" asked Shikamaru, keeping his voice to a whisper.
With a smirk Temari pocketed her note while Gaara used a small portion of sand to place it in his pocket. "Just a little bet on whether you'd come back or not."
He gave her his best are-you-kidding-me look before shaking his head and placing his hands together in a handseal. He nodded his readiness to Gaara, who in turn signalled to Temari to open the door.
The grinning blonde kunoichi gave her acknowledgement and drew back her fan, making sure that she was facing the door at an angle.
"Kuuhakukaze!" (Vacuum Wind)
In a huge gust of wind the door was sucked straight off its hinges, splintering as it sailed past the four of them. As one they jumped into the room, with Kankuro's puppet accompanying them with its arms extended with poisoned blades at the ready.
Inside they found a large empty hall, one that had been likely used as a dining hall in decades past, but now contained little more than collected dust. To their surprise there were only two figures near the centre of the room, but they couldn't see them clearly as the cloud of dust settled slowly from their entrance.
Shikamaru placed his hands together into a handseal and fell to one knee. "Temari! Cover me!"
He heard the blonde kunoichi call out her attack name as a large gale of cutting winds flew over his head, slamming into the two targets while Shikamaru's shadow sped towards them. He frowned as he saw that neither of the targets seemed affected by the wind, not even flinching, but he figured it made little different as he connected his shadow to both of them, feeling the technique activate fully.
Hopping up from his position Shikamaru began running towards them while maintaining the technique, since the closer he was to his target the stronger the technique was. The three Suna siblings moved up with him, taking positions to cover him with their respective weaponry on hand.
"It's about bloody time you lot got here. Been waiting a month, I have!"
All four of the attacker's eyes widened in surprise when they saw who the two figures were. Standing at an imposing eight feet tall was a red armour clad warrior with a giant sword on his back, an angry frown on his dull-looking face as his ice blue eyes glared at the four of them. However he wasn't the complete reason why they were so surprised. Standing next to the angry-looking giant was a figure covered in shining gold, standing perfectly frozen as if he were a statue.
Shikamaru frowned as he looked at the golden figure's feet, it had a shadow like all objects, but he could feel the connection to it as if it were a living person, whereas the attached shadow to the armoured warrior registered in the same way that he had felt with the red haired woman.
"This…this is…"
Even the stoic Gaara couldn't hide his surprise at the sight of the golden figure, though he still kept a close eye on the warrior.
Shikamaru glanced over at his companions, not quite understanding why they were so surprised by its appearance until he took a closer look at the statue itself. It barely took him a second to realise what they were seeing, though he didn't quite understand how it was possible.
Temari lowered her fan slightly, while Kankuro's puppet slumped slightly.
"Father…he's…"
"Oh? You're this bastard's kids? Where the hell have you been? I've been waiting here for like a month. Do you guys realise how many people I could have killed in that time?"
Ignoring the warrior's rant, Temari turned to her youngest brother. "Gaara…isn't that…"
The sand user tilted his head slightly but gave no other visual indicators. "Yeah. It looks that way." He placed up a hand to direct the sand flying around his body. "We take him out, then worry about that."
With a flick of his hand he sent a large column of sand directly at the red armoured warrior, his intention to exploit the weakness of such heavy-looking armour by confining him in a coffin before crushing him to pieces, a move he hadn't performed since his defeat in the Chuunin Exams.
The enemy didn't even flinch at the sand attack, watching as the deadly attack sped towards him, but as the sand reached his position it fell to the ground lifeless. Taking a step onto the sand, the warrior let out a deep foreboding laugh. "Fantastic! It's been ages since I've had a fight. My sword has been itching for blood."
Gaara frowned slightly and moved his hands in an attempt to manipulate the sand that lay under the warrior's boots, but to his unseen surprise it didn't respond to his command.
Behind the three Suna shinobi, Shikamaru cancelled his shadow technique and stood up with a frown. "Watch out, these guys seem to be able to repress chakra, or something similar to that."
"Oh? The Konoha boy is here too? I'm surprised they didn't kill you. The evidence put against you was fairly damning." He reached back and removed his large sword, letting the heavy blade strike the sand-covered ground with a resounding thud. "Nonetheless, I'm not complaining."
A huge gust of wind screamed towards him but as with Gaara's sand its power depreciated to the point that it was barely a soft breeze against the warrior.
"What the hell is going on?" demanded Temari, unsettled by his apparent immunity to both hers and Gaara's attacks.
The warrior went to take another step forward as Kankuro began manipulating his fingers, but as loudly as he could Shikamaru called for them to stop.
"Wait! Who are you people? Why did you do this?"
He knew it was unlikely that he would get an answer, but he needed the time to work out a battle plan against such an opponent.
With a cocked head the warrior picked up his sword with one hand and rested it on his shoulder. "Ah, where are my manners? I am called Kyouran, the First of my mistress, who I believe you are particularly acquainted with, Konoha boy. Don't worry; she has that effect on people."
Shikamaru smirked, "I don't doubt. You didn't answer my other question though."
"And I won't. It is not my place to question my lady's will." He moved to grab at his sword with both hands but instead moved his free arm up to block a trio of poisoned kunai sent towards him by Kankuro's puppet. The projectiles bounced off his red armour and landed harmlessly on the ground.
Drawing back his puppet Kankuro swore under his breath and fell back next to his siblings. "That armour is troublesome. Combined with that defence…"
They all flinched as the ground beneath them trembled, taking a moment to look up to see the warrior dragging his sword along the ground in a path directly at their group. He roared in an unseemly manner as he hefted the giant blade with both hands. Both Temari and Shikamaru jumped back immediately, while Kankuro leapt to the side and, in a single fluid motion, unwrapped his second puppet, revealing a cloak-covered puppet with a bucket head and six arms, holding both puppets in front of him in defence.
Ignoring the retreating shinobi, the red foe moved to strike at the immobile Gaara who, like he always did, never flinched as he saw the sword striking down at his head. As it always did, sand exploded outwards from his gourd and moved to cover him, hardening as it hovered above his head.
The warrior's eyes flashed a bright red as his sword came crashing down onto the sand shield. "Crushing Slash!"
The sand wavered underneath the blow momentarily before collapsing completely, allowing the blade to strike directly at Gaara's head. His three companions called out for him to move, but the warrior's speed was too great for the slow sand shinobi, the blade hitting him square on the forehead.
He completed the slash and spun around, ignoring his fallen target as he looked over at the pile of sand from Gaara's first barrage. He frowned as a figure slowly rose from within the sand, forming into Gaara's stoic face, which was unable to hide his discomfort over his sand shield's failure to block the attack.
"Shikamaru…did you see it?" asked Temari, thankful that her younger brother had been able to substitute away in time, she had frequently said that Gaara relied too much on his subconscious sand shield.
The Nara heir frowned and nodded slowly. "I think so. Tell Kankuro to send a hail of projectiles at him, and warn Gaara to fall back. His chakra-based sand is a liability."
Temari did as he asked; watching as the Konoha shinobi placed his hands together and extended his shadow across the ground. The black form grew out of the ground near Gaara's position, grasping at two of fallen kunai with his shadow technique before holding them up.
The warrior ignoring the raising kunai, moving his sword up to charge towards the retreating sand user. He spun around instinctively and grasped at a long spike that had been shot out of one of Kankuro's puppets, aimed at the back of his head. "Not good enough, shinobi."
I can see it. So that's what is it.
"Kankuro, unload everything on my mark" called out Shikamaru, indicating to Temari before changing his handseal and concentrating.
Gaara had fallen back to their position, the warrior throwing away the poisoned spike and snarled at the puppet user, hefting his sword and moving to charge at him. He ducked and weaved between the projectiles, holding up his blade as the defensive puppet moved between him and the puppet user, large blades appearing along its arms.
"Pointless…"
His blade cleaved straight through the puppet's body from top to bottom, its outstretched arms collapsing before they could attack his armour, the chakra strings attached to it mysteriously disappeared, though Kankuro wasn't concerned about his puppet's destruction. With a flick of his hands his other puppet exploded into action, its arms and legs detaching themselves from its main body while its head flew high above the warrior near the ceiling.
The puppet user grinned and placed his hands across his chest. "Kurohigi Endoresuichou Meshi!" (Secret Technique: Endless Curtain Call)
A hail of poisoned needles shot out of one of the puppet's hovering arms at the warrior, who was forced to shield his exposed face with a red gauntlet. At the same time the other arm shot out a small purple ball that landed at his feet, which began to slowly leak a deadly poison gas.
The red warrior swore and went to fall back from the growing gas cloud but cried out in pain and dropped to one knee, reaching back to try and pull out the two kunai that had struck him in the back of his neck. Across the room Shikamaru bit at his thumb nervously, his shadows had lost much of their momentum during the attack due to the chakra failing near the warrior, he knew that the cuts weren't deep enough to cause enough damage but was hoping the poison would at the very least slow him down.
Manipulating his fingers rapidly to take advantage of the warrior's fall, Kankuro shot out two sets of spikes from his puppet's legs, which bounced harmlessly off of the warrior's chest armour, but caused enough of a distraction for Kankuro's final attack. While the warrior struggled to pick himself up from the ground as the paralytic poison from Shikamaru's thrown kunai seeped through his body and the gas smoke bypassed his armour and entered his skin, Kankuro made several dramatic motions before slamming his hands downwards in the direction of the warrior's position.
The enemy tried to glance around to see what the puppet-user was trying to attack him with, his sword lying discarded in front of him, but before he could reach out to grab it he froze for a second before collapsing into the ground, a large pool of blood slowly forming underneath his fallen head.
Shikamaru stood up from his kneeling position, taking a moment before realising that he had been holding his breath, releasing it in relief. He was happy that his calculation about the enemy's nullifying ability once being in a small area around him was accurate, but he knew, and suspected the others knew as well, the reason they had won was that their opponent had underestimated them.
Kankuro slowly walked towards the fallen enemy, using his chakra strings to remove his puppet's head spike from the warrior's skull with a sickening sound before reforming the deadly puppet back to its original form. "It's a shame I had to lose Kuroari, but he was a strange opponent. I've never heard of someone able to nullify chakra, at least not on that scale."
Gaara and Temari nodded their agreement before the four of them walked over to the golden statue, Shikamaru regarding it with fascination. With the Kage robes and distinct features it was clear that it was the Fourth Kazekage, but he had no idea how or why he was in such a form.
"Can you get him out of there?" he asked, knowing that there was something alive inside the gold, otherwise his Kagemane no Jutsu wouldn't have attached itself to him.
Temari reached out and touched the golden statue's face carefully, feeling the hard exterior with a solemn look on her face. "This is Father's technique. The Kinzou or Golden Statue. He likely used it when he realised that he couldn't defeat his opponent's using chakra. But I've never seen it like this…it's never been this dense before. There is no chakra running through it at all. I wouldn't have the first clue how to get him out of there."
Collecting his residual sand from the battle into his hands, Gaara began to manipulate the sand in his gourd around the statue, an arm formed around its stomach before holding it up carefully. "We need to get him back to the village."
Shikamaru moved to block the three of them as they went to move out of the building. "Wait. Something here doesn't add up."
"What are you talking about?" asked Kankuro, having collected the ruined parts of his old puppet into a scroll placed at his side.
Placing her fan on her back, Temari nodded slowly. "I agree with Shikamaru. If this was meant to be a trap, it was poorly executed. He said he'd been waiting for a month, meaning they expected us to pursue and find them."
Shikamaru's eyes widened as it clicked in his mind, a terrible conclusion that he felt he should have thought of before they had left. He turned to the three of them with alarm. "How many of your forces are outside the village searching for the Kazekage at this time?"
Gaara crossed his arms as the sand arm holding his father hovered by his side. "Half, if not a little bit more. Why?"
Temari gasped as she realised what Shikamaru had, swearing loudly. "He was bait. They wanted to draw us away from the village…"
"…so they can attack it in force" finished Shikamaru, looking down at the fallen red warrior. He didn't doubt that they thought the warrior could kill them, by all rights he should have, but it made a frightening amount of sense.
"We need to get back to Suna. Right now."
Author's Note:
I'm still working out what the best writing style, so if it seems confusing in this chapter that is why.
There is one more chapter with Shikamaru, than there will be a Naruto chapter.
Please review and tell me what you think. I try to reply to each review, and believe me I read them all. Tell me what can be improved, what you liked, what you didn't, everything. I'm a writer so I'm always open to criticism.