Hi all! Sorry for the big delay. You see, I was on vacation and I was also
very depressed because some jerk whom I wont mention (cough) CELLCLONEBOT
(cough) decided to go and FLAME EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER! Jeez, man, get a
freakin' life! If you hated it so much why did you read it?!
I didn't like the last chapter so much either so I'm not going to take suggestions for this fic anymore. Besides, this is probably the second-to- last chapter. If you want to make suggestions for a new story you want to see, review and tell me.
All you others.. REVIEW ANYWAYS! (Evil laughter)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I hate flamers! All flamers will be given to Shuukaku as toys! (Evil laugh)
Shikamaru sighed in annoyance as he looked at the motley crew he had assembled. Shino stood silently beside him, Naruto was jumping around like an idiot, Kiba was ranting happily to Akamaru about Lord of the Rings, Gai and Lee were... being Gai and Lee-ish, Jiraiya was writing madly with a sick grin plastered on his face and Neiji sat quietly under a tree.
Shikamaru still couldn't understand why Neiji had decided to help them. It was probably best not to ask, as Neiji was easily offended and may revoke his much needed assistance.
Deciding to hurry, as it was nearly dark already and they had to be at the party tomorrow, Shikamaru addressed the group. "Okay, everyone. Thanks for helping me out on this mission. We should get going now that everybody's here" he said, taking authority. Sometimes it was good to be a chuunin.
"We're going to wind country, right?" Naruto piped up. Shikamaru stared at him.
"You didn't know and yet you still agreed to the mission?" he asked incredulously. Naruto nodded.
"It's good training!" He grinned "-I need lots of training to become a great Hokage!" Naruto grinned even wider and flexed his muscles in a show of strength. Everyone stared at him and he stopped. "What?!"
"Moving along, does anyone have an idea how to get the necklace from Itachi once we find him?" Shikamaru questioned the small crowd.
"We could . . . Lure him into a pit and. . . "Naruto broke off. "- okay, that's all I have"
Shikamaru sighed. "Any more suggestions?"
"We should wait to see where he is and in what condition he's in before we make a decision on how to take the necklace from him" Neiji offered wisely. Shikamaru nodded in agreement.
"Alright then. Shino and Kiba, have you been able to locate his general direction?"
Shino nodded. "I was supposed to?" Kiba asked.
"Yes, you were." Shikamaru's eye twitched slightly.
"Oh." Said Kiba. "Well then, I guess I should get to work." He turned to walk into the woods but stopped. "Hey, Shikamaru? I think we should have a name for this group. You know, we're like the fellowship or something."
"Call it whatever you like, Kiba" Shikamaru sighed. "It really doesn't matter to me anyways. Let's go."
And so the fellowship of the necklace set off towards Wind country.
"Are we there yet?" Naruto asked for the 50th time.
"NO!" The rest of the group shouted. "SHUT UP!"
"But I don't wanna." Naruto pouted.
Naruto was then bound and gagged and tied to Jiraiya's back, just in case. Unfortunately for Naruto, he is a flunky ninja and hadn't listened when Iruka-sensei had taught them to escape from being tied up and strapped to the nearest Ero-sennin. Poor Naruto.
Shikamaru sighed and surveyed the desert surrounding him. It seemed to go on forever. Rocky cliffs protruded from the sand, looming over them. How were they going to find Itachi in time?
"We're being followed." Shino stated blandly. The rest of the fellowship moved into a defensive formation. (Except Naruto, who is tied to Jiraiya. Once again, Poor Naruto)
"It's about time you noticed." A voice came from above them. Shikamaru looked up, squinting at the figure who stood calmly at the top of the cliff.
"Oh no." He whispered to himself. "This is NOT good. . ."
"What are you doing here, Gaara?!" Gai shouted, pointing dramatically at the sand nin. Gaara would of sweat dropped but he doesn't show much emotion, so he didn't.
"I live here." Said Gaara. "What about you? Hidden sand wasn't informed of leaf nins entering wind country. Are you on a mission?"
Gai was speechless for a moment. He hadn't expected such a reply. It was so cool, almost like something Kakashi would say. Mentally he cursed Kakashi because Gaara's collected reply had to be his fault. "Yes!" He finally spoke. "We are on a great and AMAZING mission!"
"Oh really?"
Gai nodded enthusiastically, his hair flopping around in a manner that greatly annoyed everyone. "Of course! We are after the deadly criminal, Uchiha Itachi." He struck a pose.
"Why?" Asked Gaara.
"Because he has something we so desperately need!" Gai shouted back. "-And I, Maito Gai, shall retrieve it! Even if it costs me my life!" Gai put a fist to his green-spandex-clad chest and flung his hair back like an uninspired shampoo commercial.
This time Gaara DID sweatdrop.
–As did everyone else.
In a small whirlwind of sand, Gaara disappeared from the cliff top and reappeared next to Shikamaru. "What are you even after?" he asked.
"THE ONE NECKLACE TO RULE THEM ALL!" Kiba shouted enthusiastically.
"YEAH!" Lee added, throwing his fist into the air. Naruto just struggled more and let out a muffled noise that could have been 'alright!' or it also could have meant 'ramen!'. But we all know he meant 'alright'.
"You're after a necklace?" Gaara blinked. Everyone else nodded. "Why?"
Gai opened his mouth to reply dramatically only to realize he did not know the answer. "Why are we after this necklace again?"
"Because it is the necklace to rule them all!" Kiba yelled.
"Because . . . "Jiraiya trailed off with a shrug.
Naruto squirmed a bit more and yelled something that sounded like 'Ramen!' from behind his gag.
Neiji simply shrugged.
Lee scratched his eyebrow.
"Because it's Ino's birthday present" Shino spoke up. "Shikamaru wants to get her something special because he loves her."
At this point Shikamaru just wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Everyone had turned to stare at him. Silence descended upon the group for a moment.
It was, unsurprisingly, Gai who broke the silence. "Ah youth, the springtime of life!" He became starry-eyed and clutched his fist to his chest. "It's so beautiful!" He sniffed and wiped tears away from his eyes.
Lee followed Gai's example. "Hai, Gai-sensei!" The two green-clad ninjas hugged each other, sobbing.
"Lee!"
"Sensei!"
Gaara edged away from the sobbing teacher and student, seriously disturbed. "o-kay..." He turned to Shikamaru. "I'll help you."
Shikamaru gaped at the sand nin. "Really?! Why?" He had NOT expected this.
"Because I like your reason." Said Gaara. "You need to find Itachi, right?" Shikamaru nodded. "This way" He walked off towards the southwest, the rest of the group following him.
"Wow, there he is!" Kiba exclaimed, a little too loudly.
"Shhh!" Shikamaru hissed. Akamaru gave a small bark, as if scolding Kiba.
"Sorry" Kiba whispered, looking sheepish.
Itachi sat at the base of a large boulder, apparently clutching the box of doughnuts to his chest and looking around suspiciously.
"Now, how are we going to get the necklace?" Neiji asked, thankful for some screen time because the authoress forgot about him.
Shikamaru thought for a moment. "Some of you will create a distraction while I use Kagemane to trap him and someone can take it. Neiji, use your Byakugan to find where the necklace is."
Neiji nodded and activated his byakugan. "It's in the left pocket of his cloak." He said. "-Do you want the earrings too?
"Yes." Shikamaru nodded. "Naruto, Kiba, Lee, and Gai, you distract Itachi."
"Why?" Asked Naruto, who had finally been untied.
"Because you're distracting." Jiraiya offered.
"Can I leave now?" Gaara asked in a calmness that made Gai fume and curse Kakashi for no apparent reason.
"Yeah, thanks." Said Shikamaru. "We would've never found him in time without you."
Gaara blinked, shocked that someone actually THANKED him. He immediately reverted to his normal, emotionless expression. "Don't get too used to it" He said and disappeared in a whirl of sand.
"Strange guy." Jiraiya said.
Shikamaru nodded and turned back to the situation at hand. "Jiraiya and Neiji, you two get the necklace and the earrings"
"Alright" the two responded.
"Stop right there!" Kiba shouted, jumping out of his hiding spot to land in front of Itachi.
"He wasn't moving" Naruto whispered.
"It's you again!" Itachi screamed, pointing at Kiba. "Why don't you just leave me alone?! You can't have them!" He clutched the doughnuts closer.
"We don't want your stupid doughnuts!" Kiba hollered. "We want the one necklace to rule them all!"
Itachi stared for a moment. "Huh?"
To make things worse for our poor, confused, doughnut-loving Itachi Gai and Lee jumped dramatically out of the bushes. There weren't any bushes in the area but Gai had brought some from home. Why? To be more dramatic of course.
Itachi jumped up, Sharingan blazing. "How dare you!" He shouted.
Shikamaru decided to use this opportunity to use Kagemane. Thankfully, it worked. Things seemed to be looking up for him now. "Now!" he shouted.
Neiji and Jiraiya surrounded the immobile Itachi. "left pocket?" Jiraiya asked.
"Yeah" Neiji responded. Jiraiya ran towards Itachi as Neiji used his Byakugan to detect any traces of chakra that might tell if Itachi was beginning to break free.
"What the hell are you doing, you old pervert?!" Itachi yelled as Jiraiya dug around in his pocket.
"This it?" Jiraiya held up the necklace and earrings.
"Yeah, let's get out of here before I have to let go and he kills us all." Shikamaru advised.
As if on cue, the ninjas disappeared using their L33T ninja skillz. –Except for Lee, he just ran off.
Next chapter is the last. The partay! Will Ino notice Shikamaru's efforts, or will she still be after Sasuke? R&R!
I didn't like the last chapter so much either so I'm not going to take suggestions for this fic anymore. Besides, this is probably the second-to- last chapter. If you want to make suggestions for a new story you want to see, review and tell me.
All you others.. REVIEW ANYWAYS! (Evil laughter)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I hate flamers! All flamers will be given to Shuukaku as toys! (Evil laugh)
Shikamaru sighed in annoyance as he looked at the motley crew he had assembled. Shino stood silently beside him, Naruto was jumping around like an idiot, Kiba was ranting happily to Akamaru about Lord of the Rings, Gai and Lee were... being Gai and Lee-ish, Jiraiya was writing madly with a sick grin plastered on his face and Neiji sat quietly under a tree.
Shikamaru still couldn't understand why Neiji had decided to help them. It was probably best not to ask, as Neiji was easily offended and may revoke his much needed assistance.
Deciding to hurry, as it was nearly dark already and they had to be at the party tomorrow, Shikamaru addressed the group. "Okay, everyone. Thanks for helping me out on this mission. We should get going now that everybody's here" he said, taking authority. Sometimes it was good to be a chuunin.
"We're going to wind country, right?" Naruto piped up. Shikamaru stared at him.
"You didn't know and yet you still agreed to the mission?" he asked incredulously. Naruto nodded.
"It's good training!" He grinned "-I need lots of training to become a great Hokage!" Naruto grinned even wider and flexed his muscles in a show of strength. Everyone stared at him and he stopped. "What?!"
"Moving along, does anyone have an idea how to get the necklace from Itachi once we find him?" Shikamaru questioned the small crowd.
"We could . . . Lure him into a pit and. . . "Naruto broke off. "- okay, that's all I have"
Shikamaru sighed. "Any more suggestions?"
"We should wait to see where he is and in what condition he's in before we make a decision on how to take the necklace from him" Neiji offered wisely. Shikamaru nodded in agreement.
"Alright then. Shino and Kiba, have you been able to locate his general direction?"
Shino nodded. "I was supposed to?" Kiba asked.
"Yes, you were." Shikamaru's eye twitched slightly.
"Oh." Said Kiba. "Well then, I guess I should get to work." He turned to walk into the woods but stopped. "Hey, Shikamaru? I think we should have a name for this group. You know, we're like the fellowship or something."
"Call it whatever you like, Kiba" Shikamaru sighed. "It really doesn't matter to me anyways. Let's go."
And so the fellowship of the necklace set off towards Wind country.
"Are we there yet?" Naruto asked for the 50th time.
"NO!" The rest of the group shouted. "SHUT UP!"
"But I don't wanna." Naruto pouted.
Naruto was then bound and gagged and tied to Jiraiya's back, just in case. Unfortunately for Naruto, he is a flunky ninja and hadn't listened when Iruka-sensei had taught them to escape from being tied up and strapped to the nearest Ero-sennin. Poor Naruto.
Shikamaru sighed and surveyed the desert surrounding him. It seemed to go on forever. Rocky cliffs protruded from the sand, looming over them. How were they going to find Itachi in time?
"We're being followed." Shino stated blandly. The rest of the fellowship moved into a defensive formation. (Except Naruto, who is tied to Jiraiya. Once again, Poor Naruto)
"It's about time you noticed." A voice came from above them. Shikamaru looked up, squinting at the figure who stood calmly at the top of the cliff.
"Oh no." He whispered to himself. "This is NOT good. . ."
"What are you doing here, Gaara?!" Gai shouted, pointing dramatically at the sand nin. Gaara would of sweat dropped but he doesn't show much emotion, so he didn't.
"I live here." Said Gaara. "What about you? Hidden sand wasn't informed of leaf nins entering wind country. Are you on a mission?"
Gai was speechless for a moment. He hadn't expected such a reply. It was so cool, almost like something Kakashi would say. Mentally he cursed Kakashi because Gaara's collected reply had to be his fault. "Yes!" He finally spoke. "We are on a great and AMAZING mission!"
"Oh really?"
Gai nodded enthusiastically, his hair flopping around in a manner that greatly annoyed everyone. "Of course! We are after the deadly criminal, Uchiha Itachi." He struck a pose.
"Why?" Asked Gaara.
"Because he has something we so desperately need!" Gai shouted back. "-And I, Maito Gai, shall retrieve it! Even if it costs me my life!" Gai put a fist to his green-spandex-clad chest and flung his hair back like an uninspired shampoo commercial.
This time Gaara DID sweatdrop.
–As did everyone else.
In a small whirlwind of sand, Gaara disappeared from the cliff top and reappeared next to Shikamaru. "What are you even after?" he asked.
"THE ONE NECKLACE TO RULE THEM ALL!" Kiba shouted enthusiastically.
"YEAH!" Lee added, throwing his fist into the air. Naruto just struggled more and let out a muffled noise that could have been 'alright!' or it also could have meant 'ramen!'. But we all know he meant 'alright'.
"You're after a necklace?" Gaara blinked. Everyone else nodded. "Why?"
Gai opened his mouth to reply dramatically only to realize he did not know the answer. "Why are we after this necklace again?"
"Because it is the necklace to rule them all!" Kiba yelled.
"Because . . . "Jiraiya trailed off with a shrug.
Naruto squirmed a bit more and yelled something that sounded like 'Ramen!' from behind his gag.
Neiji simply shrugged.
Lee scratched his eyebrow.
"Because it's Ino's birthday present" Shino spoke up. "Shikamaru wants to get her something special because he loves her."
At this point Shikamaru just wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Everyone had turned to stare at him. Silence descended upon the group for a moment.
It was, unsurprisingly, Gai who broke the silence. "Ah youth, the springtime of life!" He became starry-eyed and clutched his fist to his chest. "It's so beautiful!" He sniffed and wiped tears away from his eyes.
Lee followed Gai's example. "Hai, Gai-sensei!" The two green-clad ninjas hugged each other, sobbing.
"Lee!"
"Sensei!"
Gaara edged away from the sobbing teacher and student, seriously disturbed. "o-kay..." He turned to Shikamaru. "I'll help you."
Shikamaru gaped at the sand nin. "Really?! Why?" He had NOT expected this.
"Because I like your reason." Said Gaara. "You need to find Itachi, right?" Shikamaru nodded. "This way" He walked off towards the southwest, the rest of the group following him.
"Wow, there he is!" Kiba exclaimed, a little too loudly.
"Shhh!" Shikamaru hissed. Akamaru gave a small bark, as if scolding Kiba.
"Sorry" Kiba whispered, looking sheepish.
Itachi sat at the base of a large boulder, apparently clutching the box of doughnuts to his chest and looking around suspiciously.
"Now, how are we going to get the necklace?" Neiji asked, thankful for some screen time because the authoress forgot about him.
Shikamaru thought for a moment. "Some of you will create a distraction while I use Kagemane to trap him and someone can take it. Neiji, use your Byakugan to find where the necklace is."
Neiji nodded and activated his byakugan. "It's in the left pocket of his cloak." He said. "-Do you want the earrings too?
"Yes." Shikamaru nodded. "Naruto, Kiba, Lee, and Gai, you distract Itachi."
"Why?" Asked Naruto, who had finally been untied.
"Because you're distracting." Jiraiya offered.
"Can I leave now?" Gaara asked in a calmness that made Gai fume and curse Kakashi for no apparent reason.
"Yeah, thanks." Said Shikamaru. "We would've never found him in time without you."
Gaara blinked, shocked that someone actually THANKED him. He immediately reverted to his normal, emotionless expression. "Don't get too used to it" He said and disappeared in a whirl of sand.
"Strange guy." Jiraiya said.
Shikamaru nodded and turned back to the situation at hand. "Jiraiya and Neiji, you two get the necklace and the earrings"
"Alright" the two responded.
"Stop right there!" Kiba shouted, jumping out of his hiding spot to land in front of Itachi.
"He wasn't moving" Naruto whispered.
"It's you again!" Itachi screamed, pointing at Kiba. "Why don't you just leave me alone?! You can't have them!" He clutched the doughnuts closer.
"We don't want your stupid doughnuts!" Kiba hollered. "We want the one necklace to rule them all!"
Itachi stared for a moment. "Huh?"
To make things worse for our poor, confused, doughnut-loving Itachi Gai and Lee jumped dramatically out of the bushes. There weren't any bushes in the area but Gai had brought some from home. Why? To be more dramatic of course.
Itachi jumped up, Sharingan blazing. "How dare you!" He shouted.
Shikamaru decided to use this opportunity to use Kagemane. Thankfully, it worked. Things seemed to be looking up for him now. "Now!" he shouted.
Neiji and Jiraiya surrounded the immobile Itachi. "left pocket?" Jiraiya asked.
"Yeah" Neiji responded. Jiraiya ran towards Itachi as Neiji used his Byakugan to detect any traces of chakra that might tell if Itachi was beginning to break free.
"What the hell are you doing, you old pervert?!" Itachi yelled as Jiraiya dug around in his pocket.
"This it?" Jiraiya held up the necklace and earrings.
"Yeah, let's get out of here before I have to let go and he kills us all." Shikamaru advised.
As if on cue, the ninjas disappeared using their L33T ninja skillz. –Except for Lee, he just ran off.
Next chapter is the last. The partay! Will Ino notice Shikamaru's efforts, or will she still be after Sasuke? R&R!