Chapter 2

Okay… so now I'm stuck in a tree. On a branch one-hundred times thicker than me. And worse off, with Ino. I don't understand girls. I am now forced to carry her everywhere with me. God, my back hurts, and I'm tired and hungry. I want to go home and take a nap. Instead I'm here strategizing. And my hands in their usual bowl position… heh. Okay, prior to being stuck in this tree I ran off with Ino on my back into the forest so that no one in the village would be in danger and whoever it was who threw the needle almost into me followed me. At least no one in the village got hurt. I followed the direction of where the needle came from. I don't even think anyone knows there are intruders in the village and I'm just here, in the outskirts of Konoha by myself. Well not by myself but with Ino. I can see Konoha from here. The lights. So it means everyone is still partying while I'm out here covered in scratches and cuts watching a kunoichi who can't even help me at all. I'm just doing what Tsunade wants. Stupid female hokage. Now I'm watching Ino roll around and I have to hold onto her to make sure she doesn't roll off this tree and hurt herself then blame me for purposely letting her crash on the ground. Not to mention that I'll give away my position then those two creeps will come after me. They're not even a three-man cell and yet they still come after me. I'm just a regular ninja, what the hell do they want with me?

At first I thought they were just annoying little kids just poking fun but it turns out they're serious. I don't know their intent at all. Technically, I would have tried to think of a strategy or something but that guy just all of a sudden had blood coming out of himself and it came at me trying to asphyxiate my neck. The girl accompanying him kept throwing exploding tags at me as if it were the only thing she knew how to do. Having blood that's alive and coming to kill you made me freak out enough to not be able to think of a good plan. If only Ino were awake then I could have done something. And maybe if our cell was complete with Chouji here I don't think I'd have that much of a problem. I was on my own at the time. I noticed the boy's bloodline limit was that creepy blood and it was not capable of climbing surfaces so I had to climb up a tree or some sort of high surface. He seemed to be able to manipulate his own blood with Chakra. Creepy. It was kind of hard with Ino on my back but I managed to scamper up a branch. I took it that although the girl had no special talents at all except throwing tags that she was meant only to get the target down on the ground for the creepy blood guy. I wasted all my Chakra trying to get the exploding-tag girl with my shadow so I could control her for a slip second and throw an exploding tag at the blood guy. I wasted fifteen of them but that was okay since I would disarm her and she would be useless for creepy blood guy. I managed to hit the blood guy finally and then cancelled my attack and ran off with Ino. I ran like usual when I couldn't think of anything else or if I ran out of chakra for any other possible moves. I heard the creepy blood guy yelling at the girl for being obsolete and she yelled back at him. Apparently his name is Akakawa Jin. I don't know the girl's name, but what does it matter?

As far as any other possible moves I could think of, hiding for now would be safest. I knew there was a chance that the creepy blood guy would climb up but I'm tired like hell. If there wasn't Ino on my back I'd be able to run off and go back to Konoha and get some back-up. Now I'm getting fed up. While I'm all injured up I'm cradling a girl my age that is perfectly capable of fending for herself.

"Wake up!" I whispered loudly into Ino's ear.

Ino finally slowly opened her eyelids. She looked up at me with a look of surprise.

"What are you doing holding me!" she asked, immediately standing up, exasperated. She was so exasperated I had to catch her before she fell off the tree branch. Unfortunately I fell with her. She screamed as we crashed to the ground and I landed on top of Ino.

"Oh shit," I thought. "Now I'm gonna get it…" I rolled off her and pulled her up. I hope I didn't break her back. And of course, I got the tongue-lashing of my life from her.

"What the hell is the matter with you? You just let me fall down and you let your heavy self squish me! And why did you take me out of Konoha? It's Oshogatsu you moron! We should be celebrating!"

She just kept going on and on with yelling and complaining. And I thought I complained too much.

"Geez, shut up! You don't even know the situation!"

Her temper FINALLY disappeared.

"Now that we're back on the ground you'll have to stay behind me!"

"Why?"

"Just protect yourself!"

There was a rustle behind the bushes.

I hid behind yet another tree and Ino cowering behind me. She looked like she felt the aftereffects of drinking whatever hallucinogen was in that can she drank. I think that can has to do with that those guys also. And it points toward that they want Ino. Why in the world would they want Ino? She and I have inherited bloodline limits no one cares about. Sasuke or Neji I'd understand… but Ino? I don't know exactly what's going on except that I should protect Ino. Ino and I peered from behind the large tree trunk.

And there was Akakawa Jin looking like the terminator about to kill us. Ino freaked out and stayed frozen. I took her hand and ran.

"Where are we going?" Ino asked while holding her head.

"I don't know but can you think of any brilliant plans?" I talked back in a tired manner and running at the same time.

"No! That's supposed to be your job!" she yelled back vigorously.

I stopped running. Ino did likewise.

"Well apparently we're going to have to strategize differently if you wanna get out of here! Chouji's not here to help us so we're going to just have to deal with it!" I paused while Ino was against a tree with me in front of her. "Look, all we have is my Kage Mane no Jutsu and my other shadow techniques and your Shintenshin no Jutsu. So I'll think of something. You just do what I say. I don't know these weird guys. We'll find about it later. This is troublesome as it is. I was supposed to just sit around and do nothing watching the village and now I get myself into this. With you. Now if you don't mind, that blood guy is catching up to us. Now let's go!"

We ran some more. This was completely useless. This was just like the Chuunin Exam second test. Running around mindlessly.

"Okay I think I thought of something,"

"What?" Ino asked, out of breath. "I don't even know why I'm running around with you. You know, I could just walk back to Konoha."

"No! Ino you can't."

"Why not?"

"Ugh, I didn't want to tell you but I think the people we're running from seem to be after you."

"Me? Why me?"

"I don't know yet. But that guy is strong. He nearly choked me to death. If you didn't drink that can of stupid juice we would have been in this predicament. Man, I'm tired."

"You're blaming me for something as petty as drinking liquid? And you call yourself smart. Oh gee, if you're so tired, why don't you just lie down here and let those guys kill you?" Ino scoffed.

"Okay, we're going to have to stop hiding and just face these morons okay? Since you're their main target, you'll have to stay behind me and just follow my lead."

"Why should I follow you?"

"I'm a chuunin. You're not."

"Err… fine…"

I took a few steps back with Ino doing the same. All of a sudden something exploded behind us. It was an exploding tag. Damn, I thought I wasted all of that girl's stupid weapons.

"Oh shit!" I yelled.

Ino immediately yelped and jumped behind me as if I were a human shield. It was the duo again.

"God, what the hell do you want?" I asked.

"The girl," Jin replied as he made a seal and a big fat lake of blood came dripping out of his pants.

"Is that guy on his period?" Ino whispered to me.

I couldn't help but smirk at Ino giving a joke at the most innapropriate time ever. "No stupid, it's his bloodline limit. You should watch out for it."

The blood came lunging at me like some red blob. I didn't think I'd have enough to time reach him with my shadow. At least it was night and I'd be able to stretch my shadow wherever I felt.

Kage Mane no Jutsu!

And I caught that Jin guy. The blob goop was barely three inches in front of my face ready to come strangle my neck or suffocate me to death. I was lucky. I wiped the sweat from my brow and Jin did the same.

"I think you can figure what to do here, Ino" I yelled back at her.

Shintenshin no Jutsu!

I could not take care of Ino's body so I will be expecting her to shout at me when she returns to her body for letting her body lay immobile on the ground. I just stepped sideways and motioned my head to let that Jin guy bang his head against a tree trunk repeatedly.

"Ino what are you waiting for!" I grunted back, my muscles getting tired of having to do the same motion over and over.

She wasn't doing anything in the girl's body. Then she FINALLY came up with an idea. She took several exploding tag and put them all over herself, cancelled her technique and returned to her own body. I cancelled the shadow bind and ran off with Ino. I think we'd better get back to the village and report this. We ran for our lives. There were huge explosions behind us. I didn't stop until we finally reached the outer gates of Konoha. I held Ino as if she were my life.

"I think we're safe now," I said, panting.

We walked back in looking as if nothing happened. Now Ino was limping. After all, she was running around in a kimono. And I was covered in scratches and a few cuts here and there.

"Shikamaru… I…" Ino stuttered.

"You what? You have to get to the hospital and get yourself checked. Tell Tsunade I'm tired and going to bed."

"Well, just a thanks is what I wanted to say. I think we'd better get to the hospital."

"No I'm fine. I think you'd better go. You're the one who drank that stuff. I'm off."

"Can you take me? I feel really dizzy."

"Fine," I grumbled. I guess going to bed would have to wait. She tripped a few times on the way and I had to catch her. Finally, the hospital appeared.

I waited for Ino to get some medication. The people who were actually available took a look at her. It was worse than I thought. Those creeps put poison in her drink, not hallucinogens. I wonder how they managed to do that without anyone seeing. Or how they even got inside Konoha in the first place. All I could figure out was that they were from the Rain Country, as I could remember, looking at their headbands earlier. And the guy's name. Akakawa Jin. Well, I wouldn't really make a big deal about it since it's nothing major but there is harm going towards my teammate.

So now I have to protect her. All the time. Every fricken moment.

I sighed. This night sucked. Fighting for no reason. Running away. Well, it wasn't so bad. I am the master of running away anyway. Though I should report about the intrusion as soon as possible.

"You can see her now," the nurse told me.

I walked in. I was scared. Mostly because I let my team mate be in danger and I did yell at her and kind of mocked her. Ino really isn't that bad. Then I opened the door. I saw her with solution hooked up to her arm.

"She'll be okay but the poison she ingested made her severely weak. She can go home in the morning. Are you the boyfriend? Because I have to have an adult take care of her, not a minor."

I think I turned red but I reassured myself I wasn't and there was no mirror anyway. "No I am not the boyfriend. I'm just a part of her team."

I whispered a faint 'sorry' to her and curled up on the bench. I was tired. This was all too troublesome.

End Chapter 2.