I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! NOR DO I OWN SHIKA!
Chapter 8 – Traveling With Kankuro
Kankuro looked at me, knowing I would never give up. "It's gonna be ok, Shika. Trust me…" He walked over to me swiftly. You'll be safe…" he murmured as a small, genuine smile graced his usually smirking lips.
"Ya…" I murmured, my head hanging low. I could see pictures of home flash through my mind. My parents, my friends, Iruka and Asuma, hell…even Sasuke! A tear slipped down my tanned face, disappearing into the material of my jacket. "I'll be ok…" I murmured, rubbing at my eyes slightly. "Thanks, K'ro…"
Kankuro smiled again as I uttered my made-up nickname for him. "K'ro…I like that!" he laughed. I smiled up at him as he grasped my hand firmly, pulling my lithe form off the ground. "Let's get going, Shika…"
Chapter 9 – Ambush!
"Shika?" I looked up to see Kankuro looking at my face inquisitively. He rubbed the back of his head nervously, running calloused hands over the soft brown locks. "Do you miss your friends?"
I jolted to a start. Where did that come from? "Uh…of course…every day!" I mumbled. I was staring down at my feet, Naruto's words caught in my mind.
"Wish you would come back home. Your friends miss you…as do I…"I looked up and grinned. "Don't worry, K'ro! I am not going back to Konoha! Trust me…" Kankuro sighed out of relief and nodded. "K'ro…besides…you're my friend as well…"
The puppet master looked surprised. "Really? I thought you were only nice to me cause I'm helping you out!" His words struck me harshly. "I count you as a friend, too."
A flash raced beside me, cutting of my next sentence. A burst of smoke appeared in front of me, cutting off the view of K'ro.
"Give it up, Nara! You're outnumbered!" a female voice cried. I gasped when the smoke cleared to show my ex-teammate. "If you don't, I can't guarantee that you'll live!" Ino warned.
"You better listen to her, Nara…" I turned sharply to see Kiba and Akamaru beside me. "I don't want to hurt you. But if you resist I will be forced to take measures!"
"Get away from him!" Kankuro cried, taking out one of his scrolls. He nipped his finger and ran it over the white parchment. The next thing I knew, two puppets attacked Ino and Kiba.
"No you don't!" A blur of white hit the puppets aside. "You're going against the leaf ninjas?" Neji stood above the puppets, which were pinned by shurikan.
"Ya…on my own choice!" K'ro lied. He defended his little brother and his home. He stared defiantly at Neji. "I won't allow you to hurt him! Shika's my friend!"
"'Shika's my friend'" Ino mocked cruelly. Her face hardened slightly. "If you don't realize that he's our friend, too, then you're stupider than you look. And even that's pretty stupid! I don't want to hurt him, but he's not giving us a choice!" I could see traces of tears fill her eyes. "Shikamaru is a jerk! He left us for no reason!"
"There was a reason…" I murmured. She stared coldly at me, daring me to continue. I decided that they should know. "Ever since I became a chuunin I was ignored. People were jealous and angry with me. You all started treating me like a whole different person, like an enemy, instead of the person you knew. Ino, you treated me like a rival when in reality we were friends since we were like two years old. Chouji was jealous, as were you, Kiba. Shino talked to me even less. Even Naruto was bitter with me!" I cried, tears filling up my brown eyes. "You all acted as if it was better if I never even existed!"
Ino glared at me. "You have no right to say that, Nara!" She faced me fully. "Mind Transfer Jutsu!"
"No!" I cried as my body went numb. If she searched my mind, then the Sand Village is in trouble! They kept me safe and helped me escape!
Neji caught Ino's empty body. "Make it quick, Ino! This way we can get you to possess him to come with us."
"You forgot about me!" K'ro cried, pulling out another scroll.
"No you don't!" Kiba growled, hurling kunai at him. All I could do was watch helplessly as they tore through Kankuro's chest.
"GET OUT OF MY MIND!" I cried, breaking free from Ino's jutsu. How? I have no clue! "K'ro!" I screamed, running to his fallen body. I checked for a pulse. Nothing. I turned to Kiba, glaring savagely. "You killed him!"
"I-I-I…" Kiba stuttered uselessly. "He was going to attack Ino!" Akamaru stood by Kankuro's body. Sorrow was shown in the pup's posture. "I…" Kiba walked over to his dog. "I'm sorry, Kankuro…"
"You're not getting away, Nara. I'll make sure of that!" Ino stood in front of me.
I reacted before I thought. I tossed shurikan at her, making her jump back. I leapt into the surrounding trees. "Get lost!" I snapped, using a smoke jutsu. As it filled the clearing, I snatched K'ro's body before Neji could see where I am. Then I escaped!
As I buried Kankuro's body, I couldn't help but collapse in tears. "I'm sorry, K'ro…I'm so sorry…" I fell to my knees, soaking the newly dug earth with fallen tears. I stared at the stone making his grave. "I'm sorry…"
I then stood up and escaped into the moonless night…
I killed Kankuro! Oopsie!