Sands of Time, Winds of Change (1)

Yesh! Another ShikaTema! This takes place a while after the timeskip, and it'll be revealed what has happened soon. So stay tuned!

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Shikamaru woke to the rattling of his door, and a certain blonde ninja swearing at him.

"Get up dumbass! Shikamaru! C'mon!" Naruto, number one obnoxious and determined young ninja of Konoha, was banging on the door of his small apartment. And apparently he didn't give a shit.

"Shut up Naruto." He said, half-asleep. "It's my day off." He closed his eyes and sighed. Images of cloud-watching and relaxing filled his mind. He lived for his days off.

"C'mon, you lazy bum! Tsunade's got a message for you! Come on before she gets Sakura to beat you up!" Shikamaru sat up slowly, which was pretty quick for him.

"Tsunade? That can only mean one thing. Torture or another mission." He muttered. He got up and got dressed.

Five minutes later, he opened his door to a scowling Naruto. Shikamaru showed no emotion on his usually plain face – just boredom.

"What does Tsunade want now? Something troublesome, I presume." He asked in a bored tone. He even let out a sigh for effect. Naruto slapped his forehead.

"You do know that you have no motivation whatsoever. Being a ninja is so cool, though! And you were, like, one of the first Chuunins! And a leader of a team! That's, like, a huge honor! A million ninjas would die for your job."

"A million ninjas died IN this job." Shikamaru pointed out with a smirk. Naruto's face fell.

"Fine, I give up. Let's just go."

---

Fifteen minutes later, Naruto and Shikamaru ented the Hokage's office. She looked displeased. "Where were you? Naruto, I told you to bring back Shikamaru quickly. If this is as quickly as you can go, I am afraid to see you in the battlefields."

"No, Tsunade! He's just a lazy bag is all! I had nothing to do with it!" Naruto pleaded.

"You stopped for Ramen."

"I DIDN'T HAVE BREAKFAST, HOKAY!" Naruto growled. Shikamaru smirked. Tsunade's hand slapped her forehead. Suddenly the door opened. A tall man with long dark hair stepped in quietly. Tsunade smiled.

"Neji! Thank you for coming. I expect you are doing well?" Tsunade said. Neji's face didn't change. He just sort of shrugged.

"As well as one can hope for." He said curtly. Tsunade nodded.

"Very good. Now if only the others hurry u—"

"Here!" A man with spiked hair skidded in, hopping through the door. After him came in a huge dog. It flopped down on the floor, leaving the others with hardly any room to stand.

"KIBA!" Naruto cried happily. Kiba smiled.

"Sup, guys?" He said, looking from Naruto to Neji to Shikamaru. Shikamaru shrugged.

"If you could just tell me what's going on maybe I can get back to my day off." He said with a cold tone. "This is getting troublesome, I know something's up." He said, his gaze shifting to Tsunade. She just kept grinning. 'She sure does know how to handle bad news like a carried person of great status. I have to keep that in note for times to come.' He thought, narrowing his eyes. Suddenly a rapping was heard on the door.

"Do come in!" Tsunade called. Choji walked in, smiling.

"Shikamaru! I haven't seem you in ages!" He said, walking over to him. They pounded fists.

"Just got back from a troublesome mission. Which is why I would like to get back to my day off now!" He said, a little exasperated.

"Settle down, Shikamaru." Tsunade said sharply. He quieted down, but kept glaring. "Now that we're all here – I have a mission of grave importance for you."

"Yes! Another mission!" Naruto yelped in glee. Neji sighed.

"It's only if things get bad. Everyone – I have put you into the team you were in years ago – led by Shikamaru – because of an attack by a nearby village. A new village has been formed. It is deemed the Village of the Sky. Ryuu, they have named it." She said quietly. "It has been attacking other villages too. They have strong jutsu, and even stronger weapons." They looked shocked. She continued. "If they choose to attack us...it could be the end of Konoha."

"That can't be right! Where'd they come from!" Kiba said. Akamaru barked.

"We're not sure yet. But at the first sign of attack...I need you all to travel to Suna."

"Suna?" Shikamaru asked, suddenly interested. Tsunade nodded.

"I am sure Gaara will offer assistance. Although he hasn't sent a representative to Konoha in more than a year...nonetheless, he is a friend. I am sure as Kazekage he will do his best to keep peace." They nodded.

"So we're just going to wait?" Choji asked. Tsunade nodded again.

"It's all we can do at the moment. If we attack Ryuu, we will surely fail. All we can hope for is peace." She said. She sounded hopeless. They nodded, and left.

---

"I can't believe this! Do you think the others know!" Naruto said.

"We shouldn't tell anyone. Don't go blabbering about it Naruto. It could cause panic." Neji said.

"We should get ready. Just in case." Kiba said. Akamaru barked again.

"Maybe we should come up with a plan?" Choji said, looking at Shikamaru.

"No. Tsunade has told us all we need to know. Spying will just lead to war; planning makes a war start. We will wait. When the first attack comes, if it comes: we will have a countermove." Everyone looked uncertain, but nodded anyway.

"We can't lose Konoha.." Naruto whispered.

"We won't lose Konoha. We are shinobi. We fight for Konoha until our last breath leaves our body." Neji said. Kiba grinned."And we must be stronger than them! Tsunade's overreacting. I'm sure they want nothing to do with us!" The five hopefully exchanged words of relief, hoping that the war would not come.

But in the sky, the clouds showed a different sign...

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Yay! Chapter 1 fin!
There will be hopefully MANY more to come, and yesh, some ShikaTema of course!
Tune in next time!

WudaiMarsWind