Shikaoi found himself bringing up the rear as team seven and Tazuna made their way to the Land Of Waves.
He couldn't afford to get distracted, because according to his dreams Shikaoi needed to be cautious.
For the first time in a long time Shikaoi found himself without a solid plan.
He hated going into situations partially blind. He knew that his being there meant that things wouldn't go the same as they did in his dreams. Shikaoi was not Sakura and he would never forgive himself if he held his comrades back by being...useless.
Shikaoi spotted the puddle that he knew to hold the demon brothers and slowed to a stop. Not only had it not rained for a while, but the nuke nin didn't even suppress their chakra. 'Seriously?' Shikaoi thought sweat dropping.
Shikaoi focused in as Kakashi was replaced by a splintered log and resisted the urge to check on the jonin who he knew wasn't really dead, but the others didn't, so he needed to act fast, before anyone got hurt.
Forming the rat seal Shikaoi jumped into action, "shadow strangle jutsu," he muttered as he captured the demon brother that was trying to attack Naruto. The Nara's shadow began to choke the chunin as Sasuke apprehended the other brother with his own chain and a Kunai.
Shikaoi grunted at the effort it wasn't his go to jutsu, because he lacked the chakra, but he knew that Kakashi would kill the ninja and if he used shadow possession he would feel it as well.
Kakashi flickers between the two nuke nin and after disposing of them he starts to interrogate Tazuna.
Shikaoi quietly listens as the bridge builder explains and can't help feeling pity despite the obvious attempt at manipulating them into continuing the mission.
"Shikaoi agrees! Don't you Shikaoi?" Naruto pleads looking at his friend pleadingly.
Breaking out of his musings. Shikaoi sighs,"what a drag..."
Shikaoi nearly has a heart attack when Naruto throws a kunai into the bushes; frightening a white rabbit. Shikaoi feels a spike of chakra.
"Get down!" He shouts, while tackling Tazuna and Naruto to the ground. Kakashi and Sasuke hastily followed suit as the large blade of a sword cuts through the air where their heads had been and lodged itself into a tree.
A man wrapped in bandages lands on the hilt.
As Kakashi fights, Shikaoi struggles to come up with a plan to avoid another battle. 'Maybe I should expose the fake hunter nin? No, if Kakashi wears himself out he won't be able to apprehend them, but what about the villagers isn't it Zabuza that stops the Gato guy? But, unless the fake hunter nin jumps in front of Kakashi's attack then Zabuza wouldn't be able to kill Gato. Im that case, maybe I shouldn't expose the ice user. Naruto is going to be devastated, but what if Kakashi gets killed? What if the fake hunter nin decides to actually kill Sasuke? What if Naruto dies, because he can't access the fox's chakra? What if I die, before I can protect them from..."
"I won't allow my comrades to die!" Kakashi announces breaking Shikaoi out of his internal panic.
'This is...killer intent from a true ninja,' the twelve year old thought. Zabuza appeared in the middle of the formation and despite knowing some of what was about to happen, Shikaoi found himself jumping in front of the blade in an effort to protect the bridge builder.
'Shit,' he thought as the blade connected with his right shoulder in a burst of red.
"Aoi!" Naruto shouted. Kakashi's clone quickly engaged the other in battle once more.
Shikaoi's hand reached for the wound he put pressure in an effort to stop the bleeding.
Naruto worriedly reached for the shorter boy as he swayed.
The blood gushed out of the wound quicker, 'oh, I'm in shock,' Shikaoi idly mused. He stared at the red between his fingers despondently.
The last thing he saw as the darkness swallowed him was Sasuke peering down at him and Naruto charging at the eyebrow-less nuke-nin.
"He doesn't have eyebrows!" He giggled as his vision faded to black.