Author's note: I'm sorry I didn't specify earlier that this was a multi chapter effort. But I thank those who gave me positive reviews and good advice. Hope this one's good. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own nuts.
"You want us to what !" Shikamaru asked incredulously.
The young man had abruptly stood up, slamming his fists on the heavy wooden table. His chair was knocked over by his sudden movement and fell to the floor with a heavy crash. Everyone in the room jumped at the loud noise, including the Godaime Hokage herself. Neji bent to right his teammate's fallen chair, trying not to seem nervous at this tense situation that was beginning to unfold.
Shikamaru was breathing fast, his face flushed red with anger and outrage. He couldn't believe what he had just heard and his teammates had the same look of shock on their faces. Partly because of the unexpected outburst from the usually composed shinobi, and partly because they couldn't accept as true what Tsunade had just asked them to do. And now, he was staring down at her intently, fury burning in his ebony eyes. He couldn't care less about being disrespectful and he couldn't care less about what she would do to him in return either.
"I want you to spy on the Tsuchikage." She repeated, lifting her chin and proceeded to get up on her feet as well, her fists were clenched on the table like his. As though she was daring Shikamaru to try her patience and to undermine her authority again. The two continued their staring match for what seemed like an eternity to the others in the room, each not wanting to be the first to back down. In the end, Shikamaru let out a long sigh and fell back on his chair heavily as he muttered an apology to the stunning blonde. He knew that a conflict now would only serve to worsen things and that sometimes its best to swallow your pride, to just give in. Furthermore, Tsunade was the Hokage, their esteemed leader and as much as he disagreed with her decisions, he had to respect her no matter what.
And there never was a time that he disagreed with her as much he did now.
The Earth country was one of the Five Great Shinobi countries and thus had a powerful ninja village, the Hidden Rock. The Rock ninjas were allies with the Leaf and both countries had enjoyed warm relations with one another since the end of the great wars. The Third had worked hard to build this friendly alliance and once Tsunade took over office, she strove to maintain peace between the two countries. However, things had gotten uneasy in recent days, as the village had been experiencing unrest due to severe disagreement between the Tsuchikage and the elder council. They had disagreed on important matters regarding the administration of the village and those divergences in opinion led to the formation of factions in the village. Conflict continued to grow out of hand and ultimately resulted in the removal of the Yondaime Tsuchikage from power in a coup masterminded by an Earth Country advisor named Takeshi. He then named himself as the Godaime Tsuchikage.
And as a result of this sudden shift in power, the alliance between the Leaf and Rock was greatly affected. Takeshi had a reputation of being a warmonger and the tendency of not being hesitant to use violence to get what he wants. There were also rumors that he tortured his prisoners. Understandably, Tsunade was concerned of how this would affect the Fire country and was afraid that war might break out if the fragile alliance fell apart, for Takeshi had an old score to settle with the Hidden Leaf Village. But there was not much other information on the situation that she needed to make a decision on whether to interfere with the affairs of another country or to weather the storm from afar. Though a war might still break out either way, the least she could do was to ensure that they were prepared when it did. She didn't want to risk another incident such as Orochimaru's surprise attack and the death of her shinobis or the innocent villagers. Thus, a reconnaissance mission in the country had to be conducted. It was a highly dangerous mission and there was no one more qualified to handle it than the Strategy Task Force. Getting caught in a foreign country without proper documentation is bad enough, but when its leader is looking for a reason to start a war with your country, things couldn't be worse.
"When do we leave?" Sakura asked, wanting to ease the tension that was hanging so thickly in the room. She was nervously drumming her painted fingers on the table.
Tsunade's attention turned from Shikamaru to her young apprentice. She sat down wearily and rubbed her temples with her delicate knuckles. She hadn't gotten any sleep since the coup in the Hidden Rock occurred, and the lack of rest was taking a toll on her.
"Tomorrow morning. We need information as soon as possible if war is to be avoided." She answered, still massaging her throbbing head.
"What sort of information exactly?" Neji asked.
"The size of Takeshi's military. Specifically, how many ninjas he has under him and how they are organized. Also, try to find out where they are keeping the Yondaime Tsuchikage imprisoned and where his remaining supporters are." Tsunade paused to look at Shikamaru and the young man nodded, acknowledging that he understood the requirements for this mission. The busty woman continued. "Once you have the information, send it back with a bird in code. Then return safely."
"What are we going to do after that? Help to reinstate the Yondaime Tsuchikage?" The silver-eyed man queried again.
"We will decide our next course of action when you return." The Hokage replied.
'IF we return from this suicide mission you're sending us on.' Thought Shikamaru and he shifted anxiously in his seat. Tsunade turned to look at him, and the shadow-user froze at her gaze, wondering if she could somehow read his mind. But it wasn't what he had thought.
"Shikamaru, you're the team leader." The deceptively beautiful woman said and she tossed him a scroll. "This is a detailed map of the Hidden Rock village, you'll need it for your mission."
Shikamaru caught it deftly and fingered the seal on the scroll nervously. 'Can I come up with a strategy that will ensure this mission's success and our survival?' He shook his head dejectedly.
Shino spoke up for the first time that day.
"We're done then?"
"Yes." Tsunade replied, mildly taken aback that the usually silent shinobi had spoken. She couldn't remember the last time she had heard him talk and wasn't surprised when she found she couldn't recognize that deep baritone voice. Then again, it had been a long time since she has had a leisurely chat with her subordinates, these people whom she had known since they were children.
Tsunade recalled the times she used to visit the academy where Shikamaru had been appointed to inquire about the new students. He would lazily reply that everything was fine and when she questioned him further, he would mumble "mendokusai" under his breath, thinking that she couldn't hear him. She knew that he didn't quite fancy the idea of a woman being in charge, although he didn't seem chauvinistic, and that he couldn't be bothered to assert himself in anything he does. She had to chuckle remembering the times his sensei, Asuma, had to resort to ungainly measures to get him to train and practice his techniques. But, in the rare moments when he did undertake something, he would put all his effort and cunning into accomplishing it. Tsunade knew that the moment she had assigned him to bring Sasuke back. And that was one of the reasons why she had selected him to be in the task force – as well as his extraordinary intelligence and his undying sense of responsibility. The minute his promotion to jounin was announced, Tsunade jumped to get him appointed.
Hyuuga Neji, on the other hand, almost didn't make it into the team. When Tsunade had first arrived, the young man had seemed haughty and aloof. His sensei, Gai, had informed her about his complicated family and that though he respected his teammates, Neji still couldn't function well in a team. The woman's first impression of the ninja was that he was a lone wolf. And she knew that attitudes like that could affect the success of a mission. Neji worked alone, and thus she was surprised that Shikamaru had chosen him to retrieve Sasuke. The dark haired boy had returned severely injured but his personality had also changed. He became warmer and made efforts to be a part of his team more than before, working well with Lee, Tenten and the ANBU team he had been assigned to prior to joining the task force. The one that many called genius quickly rose through the ranks and it was evident that he was extremely talented, bestowed with qualities that eventually earned him a place on the task force.
When Shikamaru was appointed, his first undertaking was to ask for a medic as a teammate. Tsunade understood the nature of this request and immediately chosen to the team Konoha's brightest medic in this generation – Haruno Sakura. The young woman had advanced greatly in her skills since her genin days and picked up many techniques from her teacher – including her unnatural strength. Sakura could bring down a 20-foot tall brick wall with her bare hands, an ability that had belonged only to Tsunade and now her. Her acumen, second to none except Shikamaru, also contributed immensely to her appointment to the team. Tsunade felt a sense of pride whenever she laid eyes on Sakura- the child she trained and watched over had now grew into a wonderful, capable young woman.
Aburame Shino was the last addition to the team and was there by virtue that no one else met the criteria to complete the first team of four. He was quiet, to say the least, and never spoke unless it was absolutely necessary. However, he was exceptionally observant and had extensive knowledge in the field of survival training. While his selection to the team was unintentional, Tsunade was pleased that his skills complimented the others' quite nicely – Shikamaru was the strategist, Neji was an expert on pursuit, Sakura was the medic and he would ensure their survival. And like the others on the team, he was an intelligent man and always had an air of unshakeable confidence around him. That confidence didn't seem cocky nor did it seem like misplaced trust in his abilities, but it was more like the young man knew his strengths, enough to utilize them to the fullest and his weaknesses, enough to not let them trouble him.
Tsunade had to smile, thinking about these four very young but very talented individuals that she had come to care for and love. She was proud of ALL her small leaves, proud of what they had become and what they had grown up to be. She had tended to their wounds, listened to their dreams and fears, and her heart went out to all of them – but more so these four whom she had gotten close to in the past year. She had laughed with them (it was quite a feat, considering she never knew that Neji and Shino had the capacity to laugh, or that Shikamaru could bring himself to do such a 'troublesome' thing), and though she was their leader, Tsunade had come to see them as the offspring she never had. And now, she was sending her children to their deaths. 'Sarutobi sensei, what would you do if you were here? What would you do? What should I do?'
"Then we'll go prepare ourselves, Tsunade Shishou." Sakura's words brought Tsunade out of her thoughts and she looked up to see the sole kunoichi in the team get up from her chair and bow respectfully to her. She turned to join Shikamaru, Neji and Shino who had also risen from their chairs and were already at the door of the room. They were about to leave when Tsunade spoke again.
"Be careful." She said softly.
The team nodded in agreement and left the room. Shikamaru noticed that Tsunade had avoided looking them in the eyes when she said those words. But he could have sworn that he saw a flash of tears in her clear, brown orbs.
Ino was sitting on her bed, her knees brought up to her chest. The clock in her room showed the time at 3 in the morning, which was way past her self-imposed bedtime, but sleep was far from her mind.
"Shikamaru's going on a mission tomorrow morning."
"He didn't say what it was about and told me not to worry, but I don't think I can do that. He's my best friend after all."
"Though, I think it's a very dangerous mission, and I think it has something to do with the recent trouble in the Earth Country."
"I hope he's going to be okay, Ino."
Chouji had come over in the evening for dinner. She had invited him and Shikamaru as well but the shadow master had turned down her invitation regretfully, saying that he had something to take care of. But when she asked what it was, he wouldn't answer. So, she had dinner with Chouji alone and they began talking about everything and anything. Then somewhere in their conversation they had come to talk about Shikamaru and the pleasant and unpleasant memories they had together as Team 10. Then the conversation shifted to Shikamaru's imminent mission, and that's when Ino felt a sense of impending doom descending on her heart.
After he had thanked her for the food and left for home, Chouji's words still haunted Ino's mind.
"… Dangerous mission…"
"… Dangerous mission…"
"… Dangerous mission…"
Those words kept playing in her mind and no matter what she did, Ino just couldn't get them out of her head.
'Dangerous mission?' She reflected bitterly. 'Since when hasn't Shika gone on a dangerous mission?'
She looked out her window and stared at the stars in the night sky, silently wondering when she had taken to calling him Shika.
'Why am I feeling this way? Its not like he hasn't gone on dangerous missions before.' Ino asked herself, her lovely face still turned towards the window. The moonlight illuminated her pale skin, giving her an angelic but sad look. Like a beautiful flower during a hot summer day – hurt by the burning touch of the sun but its beauty magnified by the golden rays.
'Because you know this time he might not come home.' A voice in her head replied.
'He will. He always does, just as he always promises me he will.' She countered.
'He didn't promise this time.' The voice shot back and Ino almost jumped out of her warm blankets.
He… didn't?
Shikamaru's face appeared in her eyes, the small wave of his hand and that impish grin.
He didn't?
"Sigh… Yes, Ino. I promise I'll come home."
"Mendokusai… I promise, I promise! Now get off my back!"
"I, Nara Shikamaru, solemnly promise that I will return home from my mission alive. Happy!"
He always said it. But this time…
"I'll try not to disappoint you."
He didn't. He didn't promise.
He hadn't said the words.
Ino felt her world spinning violently out of control.
'Trying isn't enough, Shika.'
Ino pushed her face deeper into her arms as she wrapped them around her knees.
'You better come home.'
"Ino, Shikamaru asked us to come send him off tomorrow. Will you come?"
"Yeah, I'll be there Chouji." Ino answered absent-mindedly. Her mind drifted away from Chouji and towards images of Shikamaru's smiling face.
"Good! My mother says its bad luck not to send someone off when they ask you. So Shikamaru will come home safe and sound if we're there, right?" Ino didn't know what to say.
'Why am I feeling this way?'
'You know why, Ino.' That voice had returned. But it was right.
She DID know why.
'You better come home, Shika.'
Endnote: Please tell me what you think. : )