The breath was pulled out of him so severely that he felt light headed. He knew that Naruto was strong, that she was a great fighter, and could take on even some of the smartest enemies. But there was something about Naruto now that surprised him. Frowning at the figure, he realised what it was. He had never thought that Naruto could have such a demanding presence. The Pains, who had appeared in the crater shortly after Naruto, stopped short of attacking the blonde. Even though Pain's entire reason to be in the village was to capture Naruto, being confronted by her intimidating presences obviously caused them hesitation. He could see Pain trying to evaluate Naruto and the extent of the threat that she posed.
Surprisingly, Naruto didn't charge into the fight as was expected from her track record. Instead, she stood still. It was unnerving for Shikamaru to witness a woman he knew to be impulsive and constantly moving to be so still she could have been mistaken for a statue.
Finally, Shikamaru saw Naruto turn her gaze in his direction. Slowly, she turned to talk to the three large toads. The toads then began shifting. Their movements were small but appearing to be précised. They grounded their feet, they moved apart enough to have room to move if attacked. Most of all, they caused dust to be kicked into the air, clouding the scene. Shikamaru frowned, his view of Naruto being completely obscured as dust tickled his throat. He coughed and hacked. When a hand started to rub his back he jumped, causing pain to rack through his leg.
"Sorry. I had to create a cover. I couldn't risk Pain charging over here."
Looking over his shoulder he was stunned to see Naruto smiling gently at him. She was wearing her usual clothing, with a red and black cloak bellowing around her.
"Miss me?"
Unable to stand, Shikamaru pulled Naruto down to sit beside him. Wrapping his arms around the blonde, he pulled her close as he kissed her. Reluctantly, he released her enough to study her face. He could see the sadness in her eyes that he knew was from the state of the village. Other than that, Naruto looked healthy, strong, and… feminine?
"You're not wearing your chest binds!" Shikamaru stated in surprise.
Naruto gave a wet chuckle as she sniffled. "Had no time to put them on. Plus from the distance I don't think anyone will notice." She nodded down at the crates.
Shikamaru hadn't realised he was talking to a clone until he looked back at the toads, spotting Naruto and Lady Tsunade. It looked like the leader of the village planned to fight all six Pains on her own.
"Old Granny's chakra is too low for this fight." Naruto stated before looking at Hinata. "Good to see you're alright, Hinata. Your little sister is alright."
"Thank you, Naruto. Please be careful against Pain, and I'll help you any way I can."
"You need to focus on restoring your chakra." Naruto turned her gaze to Shikaku and Shikamaru, clearly evaluating their states. "I need you two to tell me everything you know on the Pains so it can be passed onto the real me. I doubt I'll be able to sneak a clone over here again so I need all you know now."
"I'm assuming that you now have Sage mode," Shikaku commented, sitting down on some of the rubble.
"Yeah." Naruto sighed, her hand sliding into Shikamaru's. "The real me is in it now. I could go into it as well, but I have to stay still to gather nature chakra and at the moment I need to release some of this energy."
Shikamaru looked down, only just noticing that Naruto's leg was jiggling rapidly. He tightened his hold on her hand, getting a tight smile in return.
"Well the first thing you should know, is that there is a healer among them. There is one that will bring the others back to life. You need to target him first."
"Except that the healer was the one that Konohamaru took down. I saw that same Pain resurrecting the one I took down. I would say that there were two but that doesn't fit any theory we have." Shikamaru sighed, trying to think over the other possibilities.
"Well was he killed or was the chakra that was going to the rods cut off?" Naruto asked, staring down at the six Pains in the distance.
"How did you know they were chakra receivers?" Shiho asked, not meeting Naruto's eye, but instead staring at Naruto's hand in Shikamaru's.
"In Sage mode I can sense all chakra in the village. I noticed the chakra going into the rods." Naruto shrugged, turning back to the two Nara men. "What do you think?"
"Highly plausible. So focus on destroying his body complete." Shikamaru proceeded to give Naruto a quick description of each Pain and their abilities. As they spoke, one of the Pains attacked Lady Tsunade. The Hokage was untouched, however, since the real Naruto jumped into the fight. With one punch she destroyed the Pain that appeared to be made of metal.
"Well, I officially have a clock on my Sage mode now."
"Hinata, can you get your clan to find able ninjas to keep the Pains in the crater. We can't have them trying to hide one to revive the others." Shikamaru turned to Naruto, knowing the clone would dispel soon. "What else do you need?"
"I need you to stay safe. You're injured as it is. You've already pointed me at the right target. That's what I needed most. Well, I'm off to get justice for Pervy-Sage." Naruto leant forward, kissing Shikamaru. "Wish me luck."
When she dispelled, he turned his gaze onto the real Naruto who had started her fight with Pain. The Pains had wisely put their healer behind the remaining four. The summoner was at the front, allowing her to bring in large reinforcements for the front line. When Shikamaru looked around the perimeter of the crater he realised that Naruto had led them to the perfect spot to observe the fight, and had allowed the clone Naruto easier access to their location.
Whilst the summoning creatures were being dealt with by the three toads Naruto attacked the Pains. Since the healer was behind a wall made of the other four other Pains she couldn't aim directly for him. The blonde was able to take out the Pain that was weak to physical attacks. If she didn't take down the healer though, her two defeats would be for nothing. Next moment Naruto formed something above her head. It looked like it was composed of light, making it hard for Shikamaru to see. He turned to Hinata for an explanation.
"It looks like a shuriken."
"The rasenshuriken?! But Naruto hurts herself when she uses it!" Shikamaru went to jump up in the hopes of stopping her, only to give a loud yelp of pain. All his fears were for nothing though, when Naruto threw the jutsu.
It soared at the Pains, breaking their ranks. Whilst two went into the air to avoid it two other were still on the ground. The rasenshuriken expanded once it was next to them, succeeding in taking another Pain out. It was clear by how the jutsu exploded that Naruto had been aiming for the healer with every intention of obliterating his body. Unfortunately he was the first Pain to have fled from the attack. However, Naruto had effectively broken their line of defence, leaving the healer open. But the rasenshurikan would have cost Naruto chakra, shortening her Sage mode time significantly.
"I wish we could help," Shikamaru muttered, looking at the ninjas dotting the ring of the crater, all poised to push Pain back if necessary.
"Naruto is a Sage now, and is in a class of her own. The best way to help her is to stay out of her way. I saw Lord Jiraiya fight a number of times. Sages carry immense power and it is always best to give them the room needed to release that power. But Naruto is obviously taking your advice into account."
"Not to mention I'm making sure she can put the information with the faces," Lady Katsuyu assured, appearing on Shikaku's shoulder. "Naruto has asked me to pass on any strategies that you might suggest as well. She certainly seems to value your opinion."
"Do you know how much chakra Naruto lost in that last attack?" Shikamaru asked, his eyes not leaving the blonde in the distance.
"Too much. I am also connected to the toad that calls herself Ma. She has informed me that Naruto's Sage mode won't last much longer."
"Lady Katsuyu, can you suggest to Ma that they cut the visual link between the healer and the rest of the Pains?" Shikamaru said, looking at the slug. "I suggest utilising the size of the three other toads. Have them form a barrier between Naruto and the healer, and the other Pains. The others will do everything they can to protect the healer."
"Of course." Lady Katsuyu turned silent for a moment. "They were thinking along the same lines but thank you for the idea to use the other toads. Unfortunately the summoner is keeping the three toads busy and Naruto. None of them can get a visual on the one who resurrects the others."
"Which means he is probably going to try to heal one of the fallen. My bet is the one who is invulnerable to ninjutsu." Shikaku rubbed his head, looking thoughtful. "Tell Ma that they should aim for the healer still but warn Naruto that by the time they separate him from the others he will probably have resurrected at least one of the Pains."
"Luckily there is no trace of the one that was hit by Naruto's rasenshuriken. The body must have completely been destroyed," Hinata commented, her byakugan scanning the area.
A crash shook the village. Looking over, Shikamaru saw a giant dust cloud and noticed that one of the toads was missing. When the dust finally cleared only two Pains could be seen in the battle ground. He had to turn to Hinata for answers though.
"The summoner and the Pain that repels things are still standing. The Healer is in the toad's mouth with Naruto."
"Well, that's one way to use the toads to break the sight." Shikamaru couldn't help but chuckle. "I think Naruto might have inspired that move a bit too much."
"Hinata, Lady Katsuyu, can you please keep us apprised on how Naruto fairs against the healer?" Shikaku asked, looking at the toads in the distance.
"Naruto has managed to take down the Pain but is no longer in Sage mode," Lady Katsuyu explained. "She is unable to destroy the body. But she says not to worry, she will be in Sage mode again in a moment."
Shikamaru looked at Hinata, hoping the dark haired girl would tell him how Naruto was.
"They're no longer in the toad's mouth and the Pain with the push ability is fighting Naruto. She looks exhausted though. A small toad has taken the scroll Naruto had and used it to summon a Naruto clone that is in Sage mode."
"That must be what Naruto meant. Lady Katsuyu, can you find out how many clones Naruto has in Sage mode?" Shikamaru sighed. He knew Naruto could make many clones but that did not mean she would be able to have them all in Sage mode. He still hoped it was a high number though.
"According to Pa, he can only summon one more clone."
"But I've seen Naruto summon hundreds of clones!" Hinata yelped, looked at the slug in surprise.
"Pa said that Naruto couldn't summon more than two clones or she would loose concentration… and risk turning into a toad statue." At Shikamaru's look of confusion, Lady Katsuyu continued. "I said that correctly! Apparently Naruto stretched her concentration by creating the clone she sent over here."
Shikamaru swore as he watched Naruto fire a rasenshuriken at the body of the Pain with the resurrection ability. Unfortunately, said Pain had had time to bring back the Pain invulnerable to ninjutsu before he had been defeated. The newly resurrected Pain absorbed the attack easily.
"Naruto can only do that move three more times in total." Lady Katsuyu looked at Shikamaru. "She wants to know if you have any suggestions? She can't use her rasenshuriken whilst that, in her words, 'spiky faced Pain' lives. But she can't leave the body where the others can get to it and revive him."
"Have one of the toads guard the body until we can find someone with the talents to destroy it." Shikaku went silent, thinking over his options.
"Do you know if any of the people in charge of burials are nearby and have chakra stored?" Shikamaru asked, getting confused looks from Shiho and the Hyuga man. Hinata started looking around as Shikaku looked thoughtful.
"What are you thinking, Shikamaru?"
"That if we can't destroy the body we can bury it deep underground to destroy after the fight. None of the Pains appear to have a way of digging up the ground and if they try to get at the body we have the perimeter forces to push them back." He watched his father nod before asking Lady Katsuyu to convey their orders to the toads and Naruto, who had engaged 'Spiky Face Pain' in battle.
Unfortunately, the Pains had abandoned their fighting strategy of having one fight Naruto as the others used their visual connection to see all of her attacks. Since they had been reduced to three the Summoner had sent creatures into battle Naruto along with Spiky Face. As this was going on the toad that had let Naruto fight in his mouth grabbed the Healer's body and jumped towards the edge of the crater. The one Pain who was not fighting Naruto, who Shikamaru believed was the leader of the six, took pursuit.
"Hinata, who are the forces at that area of the crater?" Shikamaru brought his hands together, watching the toad's movements closely.
"Genma, Anko, and the two gate guards. There is a Burial Master five meters back from them too."
"Lady Katsuyu, tell Genma and Anko to keep Pain in the crater. Stop him from going after the body, and after Naruto. Tell Izumo and Kotetsu they are to ensure the burial of that body. Make it as deep as possible! And send the toad back into the fight against the summoned creatures. The other two are barely keeping them off Naruto. At this rate Naruto will lose her Sage mode too quickly." Shikamaru breathed heavily after his explosion of instructions. Yet again he waited for his father to contradict his orders or make adjustments, but it never came.
Even from a distance, he was able to see that Genma and Anko weren't in perfect form. They had obviously already been in battle or had been injured during the explosion. However, the two were able to keep Pain distracted as Naruto dealt with the other two. Spiky Face had grabbed Naruto from behind.
"He's trying to take the chakra coating Naruto," Lady Katsuyu explained. "That's what Naruto used to defeat him the first time."
"What the hell is happening to him?" Shikamaru gasped, wishing he was close enough to see what was happening properly. Spiky Face's form was shifting and the bright orange of his hair was dulling.
"Naruto is letting him take her nature chakra. As I said, Naruto has to keep her concentration as she takes nature chakra into her body. She had to train for that."
"So does that mean…" Shiho started, looking a mix of awestruck and horrified.
"He's turning into a toad statue," Hinata confirmed with a giggle. "Naruto has turned his ability against him."
Smart woman! He couldn't help staring down at Naruto's form with a smirk on his face. The same feeling of surprise and intrigue from the Chunnin exams filled him. Naruto was always unpredictable but there was something in moments like this that made part of Shikamaru want to study every inch of the woman and discover how she worked and what made her tick.
Unfortunately, the Pain that Genma and Anko were dealing with pushed them back. Pain charged at Naruto who was yet again surrounded by summoning creatures. The three large toads were fighting the creatures, allowing Naruto to change her focus to the two remaining Pains. However, it was clear that she was breathing heavy. Shikamaru doubted Naruto's Sage mode was going to last much longer. Even so, Naruto continued to fight the two Pains, dodging attacks from the summoning creatures. After her Sage mode wore off she continued fighting, though it was clear that she didn't have it in her to defeat the Pains without Sage mode. The only reason Shikamaru knew she wasn't in Sage mode was by how sluggish her movements had become.
"Tell Naruto that the Summoner will be powerless if she can't do the summoning sign. She has no fighting abilities, and only hides behind her creatures." Shikamaru looked at Lady Katsuyu, hoping she could pass the message on quick enough to help the blonde. He noticed, however, that Naruto was moving faster, obviously in Sage mode again.
She aimed her focus at the Summoner, and followed Shikamaru's suggestion. Naruto grabbed the Summoner's wrist, slamming her arm down onto the Pain's forearm, breaking the bone.
"Oh, no!"
Shikamaru looked at the Hyuga man next to Hinata, wondering what he had seen with his byakugan. Hinata looked as confused as the rest though.
"Lady Hinata," the man started. "You may not know but a small number of people in the clan can not only see chakra flowing through the body but can see the quantity of chakra someone has. When Naruto defeated the fourth Pain I realised my fear was right. With each Pain that is defeated the chakra in the others increased. At first I thought their chakra was just recovering from their previous fights. But with each Pain's defeat their chakra has had a noticeable increase."
Looking at his father for guidance, Shikamaru swallowed the panic in his throat. His mind was moving with increasing speed but all his thoughts were going in circles and running into each other. His father, on the other hand, appeared to have a more comprehensive thought pattern.
"It's possible that the real Pain is dividing his or her chakra among the six Pains. With the defeat of each Pain the remaining Pains become stronger."
"But Naruto is in her last Sage mode! If she defeats one more Pain, the remaining one will be the strongest whilst Naruto will be at her weakest." Hinata clasped her hands together to stop them from fidgeting.
"And then she'll still have the real Pain to deal with." Shikamaru pointed out, his throat constricting. "We need to nullify the real Pain before Naruto finished her fight. The real one should be vulnerable as he keeps the jutsu connected. We have to work out where the real Pain is."
"The rods are chakra receivers. They would have a limited range, which means the real Pain would have to be close by." Shikaku rubbed his chin. "With the destruction of the village I think we can assume the real Pain is not in its borders." Shikaku thought for a moment before turning to his son. "Shikamaru, I want you to coordinate the search. I will lead one of the small squadrons. Once the enemy is found you can coordinate the attack."
Ignoring his heart, that had lodged its self in his throat; he nodded at his father's command. With the help of Lady Katsuyu, Shikamaru was able to assemble five squads of two or three ninjas to search the surrounding forest. He had been able to narrow the search down when he realised that the real Pain would have to have a way to broadcast his chakra to the other Pains and therefore needed some space and a high point. He made sure that the squads all had a sensory type in the party. Shikamaru was so focused on instructing the groups and crossing out areas of the grid that he had drawn in the dirt that he jumped when Hinata gasped painfully. He looked at the dark haired girl only to follow her gaze down to the battle field. Naruto had defeated the Summoner, leaving her only opponent the leader of the six. He wished that Naruto would have been able to defeat the last Pain before her Sage mode ended. Unfortunately, Naruto was no longer in her Sage mode and Pain looked for the most part unharmed. The blonde was still fighting, but was being easily thrown around. He watched in dismay as Pain began toying with Naruto. Pain punched the blonde in the stomach before using his push ability, throwing the woman across the crater. She landed heavily on the ground close to the rim Shikamaru sat at. Looking over the edge, he could see Naruto's anguished face. Next moment, Pain was looming over her, a long metal rod in hand.
Shikamaru screamed when Pain started to repeatedly bring down rods, stabbing Naruto. Naruto was pinned to the ground with rods throughout her body. One was clearly more painful than the rest though. Whilst the others were stabbed into nonfatal areas, there was one stabbed into her stomach. It would have killed anyone else but a jinchuriki could handle more than others. Without even realising, Shikamaru had wrapped his leg in a tight cast of shadows. He threw himself over the edge of the crater, running to Naruto. When he was close enough, Shikamaru sent out his shadows, towards Pain. He aimed to stab the man in his head, chest, and stomach. He reached Naruto, only for his strength to give out, causing him to collapse next to the woman. Pain racked his body as his chakra waned. Black spots danced in his vision. Crawling to Naruto's prone body as he put every last bit of strength into killing Pain with his shadow, he tried to pull the rod out of Naruto's stomach. Putting his weight on his knees and gritting his teeth against the pain, he yanked as hard as he could. The metal was slick with blood. Naruto's blood. His stomach swirled in a sickening manner as he looked down at the blonde. Tears leaked down his face, dropping onto his arms.
"Naruto, get up, please!"
The woman's eyes came into focus enough to see him. "Shikamaru…" A terrified expression covered her face. "Run! RUN!"
Still trying to pull out the rod, Shikamaru followed her gaze. His shadows had disappeared completely. With nothing to distract himself, Pain had set his sights on Shikamaru. The Nara man had never felt more like an annoying insect in his life. Pain raised the rod grasped in his hand, aiming at Shikamaru.
"SHIKAMARU, GO!" Naruto yelled, her voice having a gurgled quality to it. She coughed at the end of her words, blood splattering her lips.
Grabbing one of the rods imbedded more shallowly in Naruto's body, he ripped it out and threw it at Pain. The man knocked it aside but he was clearly annoyed. He knew removing the rod hurt Naruto, but trying slower would have caused more pain.
"Shikamaru, please, go!" Tears leaked out of the corners of Naruto's eyes as her hand twitched, clearly trying to reach out to the man.
"I'm not leaving you, you idiot," Shikamaru snapped, stretching his shadow out to the abandoned rod. His body burnt, his broken leg screaming in protest.
With his shadow, he stabbed the rod into Pain's back, enjoying the look of agony that covered the man's face. It was short lived, and Shikamaru was still unable to pull the metal pole out of Naruto's stomach. Pain used his push to throw Shikamaru away from Naruto. He landed awkwardly. Slowly, he pulled himself to his feet, limping back over to Naruto. With each step it felt like his broken leg was going to give out from under him. He ignored Naruto's pleas for him to stop. He ignored Pain who was asking him why he was continuing to fight. He ignored the blood running into his eyes and clouding his blurred vision. All he could see was Naruto, broken, and bloody, and willing to die if only he would run. He felt something slam into his stomach before he felt the rush of air surround his body. With a sickening plunge, he hit the ground. The only thing that reached him through his pain was the sound of Naruto's voice.
"SHIKAMARU!"
The next thing Shikamaru knew, he was looking up at Ino who was worried. He looked around the best he could. His body protested even the smallest of movements that came with breathing. Seeking out the bright blonde hair of Naruto, he spotted something in the air. It was red and black, and covered in white bone. Putting a hand over one of his eyes to stop his double vision, he was able to make out five tails flying around.
"Is that – ?" he gasped, only to flinch violently at the pain that ran through his body.
"Naruto, yeah." Ino sighed, not looking up from healing him.
Shikamaru stared at the movements of the fight, noticing how the fight was moving further away from the village. Letting his gaze sweep around the area he noticed how he was no longer in the crater, but instead close to where he had been sitting before. Hinata stood off to the side, staring at the fight with horror. Shiho sat at his feet, and Uncle Inoichi stood behind Ino, staring up at Naruto.
"Naruto lost control when Pain threw you," Ino explained. "It was explosive. We were afraid that you had been killed but when we went into the crater to find you, you were in a cocoon of chakra. Your friend, Shiho, couldn't get through it but when dad and I touched it, it went away. It was red and blue. I think Naruto used some of the Nine-Tails' chakra to create it."
"Shikamaru, what you did was amazing," Uncle Inoichi said, kneeling down next to his daughter. "… Never do it again!"
He tried to laugh but winced instead. "Ino…"
"Yeah?"
"Wake me up when Naruto wins!" He let the darkness take him again, feeling the ground rumble under him. The sound of fighting was almost lulling to him.
/ / / / /
He felt fingers stroking his forehead, pushing locks of hair aside. Letting the gentle feeling over take him, he slowly opened his eyes. The bright light of the sun blinded him. Turning his gaze to the side, he saw Naruto smiling down at him. She sat calmly, running her fingers through his hair.
"I swear you are trying to make me grey or something!" Naruto joked.
"I couldn't let him kill you."
"He nearly killed you instead!" the woman stated before sighing. "But you're alive. And your hair band is broken."
"Technically, it was dad's one. You stole mine." Shikamaru gave Naruto a smile before a sobering thought entered his mind. "Naruto, I need to tell you about Kakashi-Sensei."
"He's fine, Shikamaru. A lot of the dead are back." Naruto stroked his hair again. "I'll explain later. I'm tired."
He laughed when Naruto threw herself down into a lying position with an exaggerated groan. Since he couldn't move without shooting pain, he didn't sit up to see her. Instead, he reached out and took Naruto's hand in his.
"Alright, I found a stretcher," Ino declared, joining the two. "Since the hospital is packed, and we're setting up tents for more injured people, we thought we'd take you to your house. Airi found us and said that your estate is completely intake… okay there is one or two houses who suffered some damage from the earthquakes."
"My bad!" Naruto declared, raising an arm that she then dropped over her face.
"So my mum, the deer…"
"They are all safe. Sorry, I figured you'd realise when I didn't mention them," Naruto muttered at his side.
"I did. I know you would have said something to me if you knew they were dead, but I was worried they might be injured."
"No, they are all fine. Your mum was able to take mine with her into the forest. I'm glad because my estate was hit pretty hard." Ino sighed, waving someone over. "I'll heal you at the estate. Eiji is going to look you over, Naruto, especially after the Nine-Tails got loose."
"How bad did it get?" Shikamaru turned his head, looking at the blonde.
"All nine tails nearly came out but the seal has been done back up so he won't be getting loose. I promise I will explain everything… after I have a nap. I'm nearly out of chakra."
"Then why have you transformed yourself into a boy?" Ino snapped playfully.
"Because the villagers just started coming at me suddenly and it scared me," grumbled the blonde as she sat up.
"They were showing how much they appreciated what you did for them," Uncle Inoichi stated calmly, putting a stretcher next to Shikamaru. He and Shikaku lifted Shikamaru gently onto the stretcher to carry him. "I understand your hesitation but I am so proud of you and the village isn't going to hurt you. Naruto, not a single person gave you up. Pain only found out where you were from forcibly reading the information in Shizune's mind."
Naruto smiled softly as she walked beside Shikamaru's stretcher. When they reached the estate, however, she backed away, trying to hide behind Uncle Inoichi. She stared, wide eyed, at the group of people waiting for them. When they spotted Naruto they had started clapping. Naruto slowly stepped out from behind the blond man when Shikamaru held out his hand for her to grasp. Holding tight, she faced the Nara clan, only to put a hand to her head as she swayed. Ino grabbed her shoulders as her transformation jutsu disappeared.
The clan had no real time to reach thanks to Shikamaru's mother running forward, Ino's mother a step behind her. Yoshino kissed her husband before bending down to kiss Shikamaru's forehead. Aunt Momiji enveloped both Ino and Naruto into a hug, tears running down her face.
"I'm so glad my girls are okay."
"Aunt Momiji, you should be resting. All this stress will make you sick." Naruto stared at the woman, trying to evaluate her condition.
The petite woman gave a wet chuckle. "We got word of what happened. Both of you have came so far." She wiped at her eyes. "Now, you two need to rest!"
Naruto went to reply only to be engulfed in another hug with Ino, this time caused by Yoshino. Naruto awkwardly patted Yoshino's back, clearly not sure how to respond.
"Eiji is already in the Main House. He wants to make sure you're okay," Yoshino explained, starting to lead the group to the house.
"Can I have a shower first?" Naruto muttered with a yawn. "I was training all day before we noticed that one of the toads left the roster. That reminds me… someone killed a toad… I'm gonna have to find out who."
"Leave that to me, Naruto," Shikaku spoke up. "We owe it to the toads to find out what happened to one of their own."
His father and uncle were kind enough to take Shikamaru to his room so that he didn't have to make his way there once his leg was bandaged. Unfortunately, Ino was to be his healer, meaning she cut off his ruined pants to see his leg. He had known Ino since he was a child so being in his boxers around her wasn't as awkward as it could have been but it still wasn't comfortable. The fact that Naruto had giggled before dashing from the room didn't help.
"Congratulations, idiot," Ino declared after she had examined him, "you managed to break your leg in three places. You also have contusions, cuts, and bruises, and a nasty gash on your head. In medical terms, you're a mess!"
Naruto laughed as she walked back into the room. Her appearance made him choke on his own saliva. Even Ino looked stunned. Somehow, she had gotten her hands on one of his button up shirts and a pair of his old boxer shorts. The shorts were a little too small for her, looking more like underwear. The pain in his leg was able to force his mind to focus.
"The shirt thief strikes again," he joked, wincing when he chuckled.
"And I'm not even sorry." Naruto crawled onto the bed, looking down at Shikamaru as he laid on the ground.
Ino, who was applying a cast to Shikamaru's leg, looked over at the blonde. "Has Eiji checked you out?"
"Yeah," Naruto muttered as she pulled the blankets over herself. "He said that I had a few scratches and bruises but nothing too back. When the Nine-Tails took over he actually healed all my wounds bar the little ones. By the way, I'm not moving! I'm sleeping here."
"I kind of figured," Shikamaru admitted. "And thank the Nine-Tails for me."
He was given a confused look from both blondes, making him shrug, only to regret the movement. "He saved your life when Sasuke tried to kill you, and he saved you now. Not to mention I noticed how he took the fight away from the people. Even if he didn't do the last one on purpose, I still want you to thank him for me for saving your life."
"He says 'piss off'… I might have paraphrased since he used some very inappropriate words," Naruto mumbled, her eyes closed.
Ino and Shikamaru paused before looking at each other.
"Is she asleep?" Ino whispered.
"I think so. And I think sleep would be great. Are we done here?"
"Yes, just take these. Two, three times a day, on an empty stomach. They are designed to stop pain, stop infections, and to speed up the healing process in ninjas." Ino handed him a bottle of tablets. "I'll get Uncle Shikaku to help you up and I'll get you a drink."
The moment he was lying on his bed and had taken the tablets, he felt himself falling asleep. Sleeping in a full leg cast was not easy, especially when he turned onto his side to hug Naruto. The only up side was that Ino had used a jutsu she leant in her medical training to dry and harden the cast quickly. He pulled Naruto close, kissing her shoulder and enjoying the feel of her heartbeat against his chest. Somehow, they had managed to defeat Pain. The village was in ruins but Ino had explained some of what had happened when he was unconscious. Naruto had somehow gotten the real Pain to use his powers to resurrect many of the dead in the village. The woman had somehow taken their biggest enemy and convinced him to give his life to save the villagers. At times it was hard to believe how much force of will the woman had. But he shouldn't have been surprised. She had swayed an entire village into wanting to give their own lives for her, even though she would never ask them too.
Yey, no cliffhanger. Obviously, Shikamaru doesn't do as much against Pain personally as Hinata did, but that's mainly cause he had a broken leg a little chakra left. I could have changed it but I thought it fit better like this.
R and R.