Disclaimer: Refer to chapter 1.
AN: Chapter title: No Time Like Now! Gather the Genin! Part 2
Shikamaru waited outside the compound that was home to the Aburame Clan and their many colonies of insect. The constant buzzing and chirping from within, even with the majority buried to varying extents underground, had either driven their neighbors out or drawn in those fascinated by insects and looking to examine them in person.
The Nara personally thought those guys were a lot weirder than anyone in the Aburame Clan.
A kikaichu landed on him, one of a few dozen that had done the exact same thing in the past few minutes. It took a small sample of his Chakra, something he wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been waiting for the bug to do it, before flying off, heading off to whichever Aburame had wanted to investigate his presence. He didn't know if one of the bugs that had taken off so far belonged to Shino but he hadn't squished any of them as he waited for the Aburame to show.
In his experience, the clan didn't like it when their bugs died out of combat.
"Shikamaru." He didn't jump at the voice next to him, merely turned his head and caught sight of Shino standing at his side.
"Nice to see you outside Shino." Shikamaru turned his eyes back to the clouds above the village. "I figured one of these guys belonged to you." A kikaichu had landed on his shoulder and seemed content to stay there.
"I was surprised when I heard you were outside. I thought you would be asleep all day." Shino earned a short laugh from the Nara.
"I was trying to do that but Ino busted in and dragged me out of bed. She's got something big planned for today." Shikamaru nodded towards the streets. "That's actually what I wanted to talk with you about. It's nothing crazy but Ino has me and Choji getting everybody."
"I should have known she was behind it. Only her or your mother could get you to do work on such a nice day." Shino's grin went unseen by the Nara thanks to his high collared jacket. "I'm interested in what she has planned. I'll be happy to be part of it."
"Good to hear." Shikamaru pushed off of the wall. "Let's go meet up with Choji and, if he was lucky, Kiba."
"Knowing my teammate, he's probably cleaning out the Inuzuka kennels."
The two shared a laugh at Kiba's usually chore when he, inevitably, ended up in trouble. Shikamaru had seen Tsume show up to drag Kiba off when he got in trouble back in the Academy and Shino had seen Kurenai-sensei drag Kiba to his mother when he had messed up bad enough. The two Genin set off with Shikamaru leading the way, explaining things in depth to his companion as the two jumped from rooftop to rooftop.
"-and that's the whole story. Ino wants everybody together for a big party and we're getting the guests now."
"I see. Ino certainly has big plans for today."
"You don't know the half of it."
Shino and Shikamaru continued to jump across the rooftops side by side. The Nara caught sight of the waiting pair of Kiba and Choji, the Akimichi tossing a chip every now and then to Akamaru with the ninken clearly enjoying himself as he jumped up to snatch them out the air. Kiba was laughing next to him, offered a scratch here and there, and seemed just to be happy he was outside.
'Was probably inside all day then.' Shikamaru landed in front of the two Genin, Shino joining him a moment later.
"Kiba. I'm surprised you're not cleaning out the kennels again." At Shino's words, Kiba grinned.
"I know this is a surprise but somebody messed up even worse than me. They're stuck on kennel duty for the next couple weeks. And my mom's busy on missions so she doesn't have the time to ground me for anything I do." Kiba celebrated with a fist pump. "As long as Hana says everything's alright when mom checks in, I'm good."
"She probably won't drag you back once she hears what Ino has planned." Shikamaru yawned, stretched his arms over his head. "But, right now, we've got to figure out a way to spring Hinata and Neji. Ino wants most of us there for this big idea she's got in mind."
"It should be rather easy." Shino earned a pair of rather disbelieving looks from the Nara and Akimichi thanks to his claim. "Trust me. Why? Because I have done this before."
"You guys should listen to Shino." Kiba threw an arm over the Aburame's shoulder. "He knows what he's talking about. This guy is the brains on Team Kurenai." The Inuzuka flexed his other arm and gave a toothy grin. "I'm obviously the awesome muscle."
"Strange. I could swear Hinata was that. I thought you were the pet." Shino's grin once more went unseen as Kiba deflated at his words.
"Hinata beats me in a spar and I'm not even the handsome guy anymore."
"Akamaru takes rather good care of you. He is a good owner." From Akamaru's barks, the ninken's laughter was rather obvious to the two other Genin. Kiba fell onto his back on the ground.
"That's it. I'm done. This is it for me. That one was too much. I see the light. I'm heading towards it." Akamaru jumped off of Kiba's head and started licking his face, the Inuzuka's misery gone as he began laughing. He ran a hand over the ninken's head to get him to stop, scratched him behind the ears. "Alright already Akamaru. I guess I'm still alive for now."
The ninken let out a happy bark before plopping down on his chest.
"You haven't changed much at all, have you Kiba?" Shikamaru couldn't help but smile at the sight in front of him. He couldn't help but think of much simpler times only a handful of months ago. Everything had made a lot more sense back when he used to be just another Academy student.
No pressure on being the next Ino-Shika-Cho Trio.
No pressure on being part of Team Sarutobi, their sensei one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja and the Hokage's son.
There had been no pressure at all. Every day had been spent, for the most part, ditching class with friends and looking up at the clouds.
There had been no life or death battles either.
He stared up at the clouds now.
'Too bad it had to change.' Shikamaru closed his eyes, let air flood out his lungs. 'Nothing makes a lot of sense anymore now.'
The Nara snapped back by the time Kiba had gotten back to his feet, Akamaru dozing off in his now zipped up hoodie.
Away from the four Genin and one ninken, Ino sat down with Sakura in her room.
"So, I didn't say everything that was going to happen in front of your parents." Ino didn't break eye contact. That would probably just put Sakura on edge and she didn't want that. "Shikamaru suggested something else once we've got everybody together for this party I'm planning."
"Naruto." Sakura's sole word earned a nod from the Yamanaka. She was almost glad Sakura caught on so fast, got to the root of the problem. She didn't exactly know how she was going to get to the idea of Sasuke and, more importantly, Naruto being there. "Shikamaru talked to you about inviting him and Sasuke, right?"
"Shikamaru suggested we put it to a vote with the others, see if everyone wants them there or not. But, if you really don't want to see them, I won't even suggest it. Shikamaru and Choji will back me up about it too. Just say the word."
Sakura was silent for a moment. She was clearly thinking it over, considering everything. Her past few experiences with her two teammates had been less than stellar. The three of them could barely really even be considered a squad anymore with the ever-growing divide, the two of them on one side and her and Kakashi-sensei on the other. She considered it a blessing that she hadn't seen either of the two since the night she had followed Ino and the others to the ruined gates, where the heiress had confronted Sasuke.
"No." The pink haired Genin shook her head. "No. I…I want to get past this. You can invite them if you want. I'll just…I just won't talk to them."
"You don't even have to see them if you don't want to." Ino grabbed her hand. "You know I don't like those two. I'll kick them out the second they try anything. You know I will."
"Naruto will just make a big scene out of it. You saw him during the Chunin Exams, he's always looking for places to make speeches and be the center of attention." Sakura squeezed her hand. "I'll be fine. We can spend some time together at least and I do want to see everyone. We haven't really all been together for something good since we graduated."
"Alright. But, if he tries to make all of this about him, I'm going to switch with him and make him embarrass himself in front of everyone." Ino gave her best impression of Naruto's voice for her next words. "Hear me for your Caesar speaks! I sleep with a stuffed frog named Gama-chan! I sing him a lullaby every night and kiss him goodnight! Hear me as I say Gama-chan is my best friend in the whole wide world! Gama-chan is frog among frogs, my most loyal ally! He keeps nightmares of me being a Caesar in his underwear at bay! I dream of nothing but ramen and conquest with my precious Gama-chan in my arms!"
Sakura couldn't help but laugh. Her imagination did wonders of putting Naruto in his full armor holding up a toy frog up for everyone to see.
The two Genin both fell into a bout of laughter by the end of Ino's impromptu speech.
In a few minutes, Sakura bid farewell to her parents as she followed Ino out and over the rooftops of the village.
"So now we've got to figure out a way to break Hinata and Neji out?" Sakura was side by side with Ino, keeping pace with her rather easily. "Any ideas?"
"I could obviously charm the Hyuga guarding Hinata into letting her go for a few hours." Ino threw her hair over her shoulder while Sakura giggled. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Neji's actually easy. Once we tell him we've got Lee and Tenten to agree, he'll show up. The big problem is Hinata. She's been under lock and key since she vanished from the Hyuga watching her and showed back up."
"Can't we just say Neji's guarding her?" Ino shook her head at Sakura's suggestion.
She glanced around before she spoke her next words.
"You didn't hear it from me but the Main Family in the Hyuga don't exactly like Neji right now, Hinata's dad especially. I don't really plan to tell them Neji's going to be there with us if they ask. The less they know the better." Ino's speed dropped as she fell deeper into her thoughts. "Maybe if I mention all of us are going to be there, they won't make a big deal about it. Me, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and Shino are all going to be Clan Heads when we get older so they may let her come just to butter us up. I doubt they'll disagree but it's better to try the easy way before we try to break her out."
"Let's hope. It would suck if we got this far and couldn't get those two to show up." Sakura matched her pace. The pink haired Genin hoped everything would work out. The less problems they had today, the better.
In no time at all, the two Kunoichi reached the rest of the Genin that Shikamaru and Choji had managed to gather. Ino was almost surprised to see Kiba among them. She was almost certain he would be stuck cleaning out dog kennels or something equally as bad. He was a magnet for trouble most of the time.
"Hey Ino." Shikamaru raised a hand in greeting. "I'm surprised you got Sakura here so fast."
"You know my charm is impossible to ignore." Ino smiled as the Genin grouped up. "So, how are we going to break Neji and Hinata out? Any ideas?"
"Is going up and asking her an option?" Shino pointed behind her, towards the street.
Hinata Hyuga actually stopped as she walked, a member of the Hyuga branch family accompanying her, and she offered a timid wave to the group with her teammates.
"I'll do it." Ino was already rushing over to the Hyuga heiress, calling out her name to get her to stop. She did so.
A whispered conversation later had Hinata, and her escort, join the group of Genin.
"This is great!" Ino clapped her hands together, drew all eyes to her. "Lee and Tenten should have grabbed Neji already so all we need to do is head to meet them! So let's go!"
Ino was already bounding off by the end of her sentence. Shikamaru sighed but followed after her with a muttered 'What a drag' and Choji followed the two. Kiba made sure Shino and Hinata were with him before he took off too, Shino following only a moment later.
Hinata stayed, her pale eyes were focused on Sakura. She said nothing, merely stared at her.
Sakura followed after Ino.
Hinata followed behind her, her escort suppressing her shock at her charge's unexpected speed. She had thought her to still be far too injured to move as a Shinobi. She hastened to follow, kept the heiress in her sight as she had been ordered to by the elders, by the Clan Head himself.
The penalty for a dissatisfactory job was already great, the punishment for failure too severe to risk it.
In time, the group of Genin reached the training ground Ino had in mind for the impromptu celebration.
Lee, Tenten, and Neji had clearly been waiting for them.
Ino chose a post in the middle of the training field to stand on, address the group she had gathered rather quickly. She clapped her hands together to make sure she had everyone's attention before she began speaking.
"So…you guys all know why we're here but there's one more thing we have to do before we can celebrate some of us getting promoted to Chunin." She glanced to Sakura, caught her, thankfully, discreet nod to go ahead. "I want to know how many of you want to invite Naruto and Sasuke too."
The immediate response was interesting.
Hinata brightened at the very mention of the blond showing up. It was a little concerning how swiftly she went from her normal rather subdued nature to outright excitement even just mentioning him brought on. She knew the girl had a crush on the Uzumaki but it was a little ridiculous how quickly her switch flipped now.
Kiba and Shino looked to Shikamaru and Choji almost immediately, saw their lack of reaction, and seemed to agree on what to do. Shino gave a nod to Kiba and left it at that. She had almost forgotten that Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji all used to be friends with Naruto in the Academy, had even regularly ditched class with him only to get yelled at by Umino-sensei by the end of the day.
She wasn't surprised. She didn't really hang out with Shikamaru or Choji outside of class, hadn't thought to spend time with them outside the Academy for years. She was nothing but obsessed with Sasuke back then, had thrown away her entire friendship with Sakura all for a stupid boy.
"Both have earned the right to celebrate with us if they want to." Lee didn't hesitate to speak his mind, drew the eyes of the others to him. "I intended to speak with Naruto before the day is over regardless of what is decided here. I will be glad to take a message from any of you to him!"
Hinata's blush returned when the Uzumaki was brought up. Ino didn't know what was going through her head but she was getting a little worried for her fellow Genin. She knew she had a crush on Naruto as big as she used to have on Sasuke but she didn't know Lee just mentioning him would get a reaction like that out of her.
"Inform me of when you intend to go. I have to speak with him." Neji was unexpected. He drew Hinata's shocked eyes to her but something else as well.
There was something approaching rage in her eyes, near hatred as she looked to Neji.
She had to look again.
It was gone.
'What is going on with her?' Ino shared a look with Sakura, gave a small nod towards the Hyuga Clan heiress. Sakura shook her head.
"Geez, the atmosphere here is pretty heavy." Kakashi broke his silence, and revealed himself, as he appeared to the assembled Genin. "I thought you kids were supposed to all get along or something."
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura seemed the most surprised at his presence. The rest of the Jonin appeared a moment after him. "All of you were with him?"
"We had to catch him to bring him here." Asuma let out a cloud of smoke, tossed his cigarette to the ground. "Otherwise, he would have gotten conveniently lost for the next few hours."
"My Eternal Rival is one easily sidetracked on the road of life!" Gai was vocal as always upon his arrival, a thumbs up and a smile accompanying his words. "If my ever-burning flames did not guide him, he would never find the way!"
"That's definitely the truth Gai." Kakashi had already pulled out his book from wherever he kept it and opened it to a seemingly random page. "If only everyone had you guiding the way for them."
"Ah! My Eternal Rival! Your nonchalance shall not dim my flames! Even if such an attitude makes you popular with the next generation I shall not allow my enthusiasm to waver!" He rose a fist into the air despite the tears in his eyes.
The bored tone was practiced. Gai's despondent state after such words also seemed to be the same.
It was obvious to Ino. The Jonin were doing their best to derail the conversation. The only question she had was why?
Kurenai approached Shino while most of the Genin were focused on the antics of Gai and Kakashi. She smiled as she handed a message to him, Shino putting the pieces together rather swiftly. Opening the scroll, reading over its contents, merely confirmed what he now knew. If not for the tall collar of his jacket, his smile would have been obvious to all present.
"Thank you, Kurenai-sensei. Without your teachings, I would never have achieved this." He bowed to the Jonin, Kurenai not willing to share her own thoughts on the manner.
She still had questions, needed answers from Shino, from Kiba and Hinata as well. In all of a day, it was as if her entire team had fractured. She had been unable to find time to speak to any of them alone since the attack, since she had been in and out of the village on mission after mission.
She could only hope they could all talk after the ceremony, that she could finally get the team back on track.
"It was still your own dedication and skill that earned recognition from the Hokage. You fought as a true Shinobi despite your age, despite your own personal struggle, you remained focused on the mission." Kurenai could give him honest praise at least. Shino and Kiba had both defended the village during the invasion, had watched each other's backs like she knew they would, and saved more than a handful of lives thanks to their efforts. "I'm proud to be your sensei Shino. You and Kiba followed my teachings and improved them all on your own. I couldn't have asked for a better team."
"I can again only thank you for such things Kurenai-sensei." The Genin, soon to be Chunin, could only repeat his prior gratitude as he pocketed the scroll.
AN: First off, thanks to anyone who's read Orange Legion and kept with it despite the massive gaps between updates. Hopefully this was substantial enough to be entertaining.
Second, props to anyone who took the time to drop a review.
And in third place! Well...this update took a while. Like. A long while. For a number of reasons. At this point general disinterest in Orange Legion/struggle to make sure it still makes sense. Hopefully this update as a whole has been a mixture of plot progression and things not involving Naruto directly.
Anyway...anybody just tired of waiting for me to update and want to take this story over full stop? I'm partially serious about that bit too. I'll just say it: Updates will just be random now. Sometimes I have inspiration on this thing and sometimes I don't. I'll still write chapters to update in bulk but this is kind of the result. Things click instantly while I write some portions and then I've got nothing for long stretches of time with other portions.
Peace.