Chapter Sixteen
"Here you are, Ren-chan." Yami said, laying down a bento box on the table beside the chair I was sitting in while reading a scroll. I had been staying at the Hospital when I wasn't training or sleeping, waiting beside Kakashi's bed for him to wake up. Yami looked from me to Kakashi's prone figure with disapproval in her eyes. "I don't know why you stay here, by him. Would he do the same for you?"
"Okaasan." I said, frowning back at her. "If it wasn't for Kakashi-san and Rin-san, I would not be able to sit next to anyone even if I wanted too. He just.. Doesn't know how to act around me. Too many bad memories. Besides, he doesn't have anyone else to be here besides Sakura and a couple of Jounin."
Yami didn't say anything, although she didn't have to because the look in her eyes and the words she had spoken before had said plenty. She left soon and I returned the the scroll I was reading about battle tactics and strategy. It was an interesting piece of writing and some of it could be applied to Shogi, which was part of the reason I had gotten it, so that I could possibly beat Shikamaru the next time we played. Smiling a little, I touched my lips with my hand as I thought back to that night a couple of weeks ago. I hadn't been able to see Shikamaru since then because of both of our training schedules and a mission he had been given. Clan training with his father was taking up most of his time and then the rest was team training. He had left me a message at my apartment though, saying he hoped we could get together soon, and I had left one at his house with Yoshino-san to give to him when he returned from his mission. A noise out in the hallway interrupted my thoughts, it was a loud and excitable voice that was coming down the hallway - it sounded like Naruto, but he had been gone for at least three weeks, when had he gotten back?
Naruto burst through the door, his signature orange almost as bright as I remembered it, and behind him he dragged a woman who was wearing a green haori over her tunic and had a jewel in the middle of her forehead. She looked a little exasperated at Naruto's antics but her golden brown eyes framed by brown hair were fond as she looked upon the young shinobi. It was hard not to like Naruto with his sunny disposition and everlasting optimism, even if he could get a little annoying sometimes.
"Alright granny Tsunade, heal Kakashi first." Naruto said, coming to a stop in front of his bed before noticing me sitting beside it. "Oh hey Ren! I didn't know you knew Kakashi-sensei!"
"Yes." I replied absentmindedly, my eyes on the woman he had just said was going to heal Kakashi. "Did you say Tsunade? As in, the Sannin Tsunade, the legendary medic-nin?"
"Yeah!" Naruto said, before looking puzzled. "How do you know her?"
I looked at Naruto, wondering how any shinobi from Konoha could grow up not knowing who the Sannin were, before bowing low to Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama, it is an honor. Thank you for coming to help Kakashi-sensei."
"She's going to be the next Hokage!" Naruto added in, making my eyes widen and Tsunade to hit him over the head.
"Brat! You can't just go around telling people that, there will be an official announcement!" Tsunade said, rolling her eyes and going over to Kakashi with her hands glowing green with medical jutsu. It took a few moments but Kakashi's eye, the one that was unbandaged and without the sharingan, opened after weeks of being closed and he blinked blearily at the light from the room.
"Kakashi!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning widely. "Okay, Sasuke next! Come on granny Tsunade!"
With that, Naruto led Tsunade and another woman with short, dark hair down the hall to where I knew Sasuke Uchiha was staying. I only knew that because Sakura had told me when she was visiting Kakashi and it was where she spent the majority of her time. Kakashi looked a little dazed but he tensed up when he noticed me sitting by his bed. I lowered my eyes from his one, gathering my scroll and the bento box Yami had left, before getting up silently and walking towards the door. Just before I reached it, I hesitated and turned back around, laying the bento box on the table beside Kakashi.
"Get well soon, Kakashi-sensei." I murmured, leaving the room before he had a chance to respond, feeling his one eye burning a hole into my back the entire way out. I went to the training ground after, I had been trying to train harder in Ninjutsu, but had spent too much time in the hospital lately and my training had therefore suffered because of it.
"Guess that won't be a problem anymore." I muttered to myself, slightly miffed with the reaction I had gotten from Kakashi and with Yami's words floating around my head. Regardless of the petty emotions, though, I was mostly just glad Kakashi was up and about instead of lying prone in the white bed, his breathing the only sign of life from the man. It was always strange seeing someone like that, a strong ninja who most everybody looked up too, in a bed injured. It reminded me of how mortal people truly were, as though I needed a reminder after what had happened with Akari and Rafu. We had thought we were invincible and look where it got us. I sighed, stringing my bow and pulling an arrow back as I practiced the seismic arrow technique.
I was walking across a bridge on my way to my apartment from Yami's house where I had been visiting with her and Akio for an hour or so. Tsunade had been instated as the new Hokage and it seemed like the village was beginning to heal. I still thought about Rafu and Akari often, and even though it hurt, sometimes it didn't hurt quite as bad as it did. The wound was healing, I suppose. While I was lost in my thoughts, Shikamaru jumped down from a nearby roof into the street ahead of me and I grinned a little when I saw him, glancing down almost shyly thinking about the kiss we had shared, but when I looked up and saw the serious expression on his face any shyness was gone.
"What's wrong?" I asked instantly, moving forward a little faster.
"No time to explain. There's a mission, we have to get the others before I explain so I only have to once. Ready?" Shikamaru asked, looking at me seriously. I nodded and together we jumped up to the nearest roof and began jumping across them as fast as we could. Shikamaru was slightly ahead of me, leading the way, and I followed with my thoughts racing through what could the mission could be. It was obviously important if Shikamaru looked as serious as he did. It took me awhile to notice but we were heading towards Naruto's apartment. The two of us arrived in front of the door at the same moment, Shikamaru knocked on the but I rolled my eyes, opening it and walking in. The door wasn't trapped, which was strange for a ninja but this was Naruto. We found him lying on his bed, spread out and drool coming out of his wide open mouth as his snores filled the room. I shook him awake and stifled a chuckle as his eyes opened, blearily taking in Shikamaru and I standing in front of him.
"Wha's goin on?" Naruto asked, a yawn interrupting his speech.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes and looked like he was going to say something before glancing at me and seemingly shrugging to himself. "Sasuke left the village to join Orochimaru, we need to stop him. We only have twenty five minutes to find everyone else we need and get going."
I stared at him in disbelief but it didn't compare to the way Naruto shot out of bed. "What?! You have got to be kidding!"
Shikamaru closed his eyes, pressing a finger to his ear, and I cringed at the loud shout Naruto let out at hearing what the mission was. Shikamaru looked at him with dry exasperation, taking in Naruto's blue pajamas and ridiculous sleeping cap. "You just woke up, and you're already this annoying?"
Naruto didn't seem to hear him, glancing down for a moment, before shoving us out of his room unceremoniously. "Hold on a second! I'll go get dressed!"
The door shut and I exchanged a wry look with Shikamaru, wondering if bringing him was such a good idea, but I didn't question it because I'm sure Shikamaru had his reasons. I used the time to look Shikamaru over, taking in his new Chunin jacket, and thought that it fit him really well. In fact, he looked really good.
"Thanks." Shikamaru said, smirking at me. I looked back up at his face, startled, and felt heat begin to come over my cheeks. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but maybe now isn't the time, yeah?"
"Shut up." I grumbled, not believing that I had said it out loud. What the hell was wrong with me? I should be way cooler than that. I WAS way cooler than that. What was it about this guy that made me a complete idiot? I didn't have anymore time to think on it though because Naruto's door opened and revealed him, in his bright orange eyesore of an outfit, with a big smile on his face. The three of us promptly left his building and headed to the next location, following Shikamaru's lead.
"So, besides me and Ren, have you come up with any other top notch guys to ask?" Naruto questioned, glancing between us as we ran down the streets of Konoha.
"A few." Shikamaru said, smirking a little bit. The next house we stopped at had Shikamaru banging on the door, calling for the occupant to wake up, but then he sighed when no one answered and sat on the floor in front of the door.
"Plan B, I guess." Shikamaru said, getting out a bag of barbeque potato chips.
"Plan B is potato chips?" Naruto questioned incredulously
"They're barbeque. Feel free to help out." Shikamaru replied lazily, stuffing a few in his mouth and offering the bag to me. I rolled my eyes, grabbing a handful, and eating them quickly. I couldn't believe we were seriously doing this. As we finished off the bag, Shikamaru stopped at the last chip, a smirk on his face. Just as he lifted it up, the door slammed open and Choji came flying out snatching the chip out of Shikamaru's hand. He came to a stop in front of us, a serious look on his face, and the chip in his hand.
"Even for a bag of potato chips, I refuse to let anyone else have the last bite." Choji said
"Choji and I have been on the same team for a long time. So asking him is a no brainer." Shikamaru said calmly
"I get it, you know the guy, but don't you think for something like this your first pick should be someone like Shino?!" Naruto yelled, making me wince. Kami, why was he so loud?
"Do you always have to yell?" Shikamaru asked, a finger pressed to his ear in irritation. Just then a dog came flying out of nowhere to try and eat the potato chip still in Choji's hand, but he quickly stuffed it in his mouth.
"Shino can't do it. He's off on some special mission with his father right now." Kiba said, a small smirk on his face as he took in the rest of us.
"Oh no, not them too!" Naruto complained
"Yep, they're on the team." Shikamaru replied calmly, and I came behind him to cover his ears as Naruto yelled loudly.
"Thanks." Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes in exasperation, and I winked at him before shaking myself mentally. Life threatening mission first, flirting later. Akamaru barked happily and then the rest of us were running once again towards the gate. On the way, Shikamaru explained to Choji and Kiba about Sasuke leaving the village and how Tsunade had told him to get a team of skilled genin together to retrieve him.
"Is this everyone?" I asked Shikamaru, raising an eyebrow and glancing at him out of the corner of my eye.
"Unless we can find someone else on the way out of town." Shikamaru said ruefully "Ino is on a mission, Shino is with his dad out of the village, and Hinata is still hurt."
A thought crossed my mind and I thought about where we would find him before I remembered who else was hurt at the moment. "We should stop by the hospital on the way out of town."
"Why?" Shikamaru asked with a curious look on his face. I grinned back at him, already guiding us a little to the left to head in that direction, before I answered him.
"Neji." I said confidently, knowing he would be with Lee since the taijutsu expert had just had surgery not to long ago. I closed my eyes and activated the Sakimonagan, knowing that now that we were planning on seeking Neji out I would be able to see where we would find him and save time. I directed us towards the bottom of a staircase, where we gathered, all of us looking up at the Hyuuga prodigy expectantly. I had grown to trust Neji during our mission, even if he wasn't my favorite person in the world, and he was one hell of a fighter. Neji made his way down to the where we were gathered with Rock Lee's arm swung around his shoulder. Shikamaru explained the mission for the last time quickly, just hitting the high points.
"Yes, I understand." Neji said, an unfathomable look on his face.
"Yeah, it's kind of a drag but I figured the more guys we have the better." Shikamaru said to him, and I noticed Rock Lee's depressed look at not being able to come with us. I felt bad for him, but there would be other missions and right now we needed to go. Rock Lee got out of Neji's grasp and started walking towards the steps he had just gotten down form. The two teammates said their farewells and then we were off once more, gathering in front of the gate right before we left Konoha.
"It's time to go." Shikamaru said, looking at all of us with a forced casualness.
"What are we waiting for, let's go!" Naruto exclaimed, looking ready to sprint into the forest by himself. I suppose he would feel secure since he was basically a one man army with that technique but that's not how this mission needed to go.
"Shikamaru is team leader. We go when he says." I chided Naruto, shaking my head slightly in disapproval. Shikamaru gave me a nod of thanks and I just nodded in return.
"Are you sure you're the best guy for the job?" Naruto asked unsurely, making me scowl a little bit.
"What's up with you, Naruto?" Kiba asked, petting Akamaru unconsciously. "I mean, why the sudden urge to take charge? Taking orders from someone as lazy as Shikamaru wouldn't be my first choice either but.."
"It's not up to you. Shikamaru is the only chunin, which means the village elders think he has what it takes to lead this mission." Choji said reproachfully, making me feel a warm surge of affection for the Akimichi after hearing how good of a friend Choji was standing up for Shikamaru.
"In that case, shouldn't you be coming up with some kind of plan?" Neji interjected before more words could become into a spat and waste more time. "From what I hear, there may be enemy shinobi with Sasuke."
"Well, for starters, this is a rescue operation. Which means we will be in pursuit and the enemy already has an important advantage over us. That said, I'm arranging us in a deployment formation that can respond to any attack by the enemy." Shikamaru said seriously, glancing around at all of us. "If any of you don't follow my exact orders, we could all die."
It seemed to have the effect Shikamaru had desired because Naruto and Kiba, the two hotheads and therefore most likely to break rank or orders, recoiled at his words. Hopefully, they would take the words to heart and not endanger us by not following whatever plan Shikamaru has lined up. My ears perked up in attentiveness as Shikamaru continued speaking, describing the formation to us.
"Alright, the most important position is the spearhead, so that is going to be; Kiba. With all the walks you and Akamaru go on, you know the terrain. With your sensitive noses, you'll be able to track Sasuke's scent and sniff out any booby traps the enemy set." Shikamaru said seriously, then glanced to me. "Second is Ren, who has some of the best eyes to go along with Kiba's nose and he will see a trap coming a mile away. Thir-"
"Wait, what do you mean he has the best eyes?" Naruto interrupted, a confused frown on his face. "What about Neji?"
Shikamaru glanced at me, grimacing, and I knew why. He wanted me there to keep an eye on the future and see if we fell into a trap but couldn't explain that to them without breaking his promise to me. Sighing, knowing that Naruto couldn't keep a secret but that it was bound to come out sometime, I opened my mouth to tell them. "I have a dojutsu as well, Naruto."
"What?" Neji asked, alarm on his face as he turned to me. I avoided his gaze, hoping he wouldn't be too angry for not divulging the information to him during our last mission. I could feel it piercing me in the side of my head though.
"Awesome! Is it like Neji's? Or Sasuke's?" Kiba asked, a feral grin on his face as he evaluated me. The look in his eye was as if he was seeing me for the first time. I shook my head in the negative, glancing at Shikamaru who looked impatient, and I grimaced knowing we didn't have time for this.
"We don't have time for me to explain, but basically? I see the future." I said seriously, causing silence to come up in our group before Naruto busted out laughing as if I had made a joke. He was the only one but I still narrowed my eyes, feeling the resentment I carried from my old foster parents not believing me and almost putting me in an asylum for it welling up inside of me. "I'm being serious."
"He can see the future." Shikamaru confirmed, looking at me with an apology in his eyes but I shrugged minutely. What was done was done. "Third in line will be me so I can direct everyone behind me using hand signals while being able to react to the situation with Kiba and Ren in front of me. Ren will be able to warn me by at least a couple of seconds so I can warn the rest of you. Next is Naruto, because he is the most capable for executing quick moves in front or behind him. Next, Choji, who has the biggest amount of striking power. Naruto, Ren, Kiba, and I will open with attacks and then you come in to finish them off; you are the second wave of our attack. Finally, on the end, will be Neji. Your position is the most dangerous, I want you to constantly scan ahead for weakness in our ranks while also making sure we don't get hit from behind."
"Got it?" Shikamaru asked us, waiting until we all nodded, and then he knelt to the ground to begin drawing a diagram that showed which part of the perimeter we were each responsible for. Next, he asked us all to show him the ninja tools we all carried. I obligingly showed him my six shuriken, the four kunai, the ten exploding tags, and then of course my bow and arrows. Once he was finished looking over our stuff, he stood up from his kneeling position and looked at each of us once again. "Any questions?"
"Alright, since none of you have anything to add, I saved the most important part for last. For as long as I've known him, Sasuke and I haven't exactly been close buddies. In fact, I don't really like him at all." Shikamaru said honestly, shocking those of us gathered. "All the same, he's a ninja of the hidden leaf village. A comrade and I'll put my life on the line to help him. That's the way of our village. I know I usually seem like a lazy guy but not today. Because now I'm responsible for your lives too."
"Wow, I never thought I'd see Shikamaru acting like a Chunin." Kiba commented, ruining the serious moment but making some of the tension leave the group, which I could appreciate. "Very impressive."
"Alright, let's move out." Shikamaru said, and we all got ready to go, only stopping when a female voice called out to us to wait.
We turned, seeing Sakura standing there looking at us, and Naruto asked if she was alright. Shikamaru spoke up before she could reply, taking in her distraught expression and downcast eyes, telling her that Tsunade informed him about what happened and that he couldn't take her on the mission with us.
"I know you tried, but even you couldn't convince Sasuke, could you?" Shikamaru said rhetorically, causing the girl to look up. I couldn't look at her face, seeing the pain there, so I looked at Shikamaru instead as he continued talking. "Our only option now is to bring him back by force. I'm sorry, but there's nothing else you can do for him."
"Did Sasuke turn his back on you, Sakura?" Naruto asked disbelievingly. I glanced around uncomfortably as Sakura began to cry.
"Please, Naruto. This is a once in a lifetime request. Please bring Sasuke back to me." Sakura pleaded, tears rolling off her face as she stared into Naruto's eyes. "I did everything I could. I tried. I couldn't stop him from leaving the village. Now there's only one person who can stop him from leaving the village, one person who can save him. Naruto, it's all up to you."
Naruto looked back at her, determination and sympathy in his eyes, and then he promised her that he would bring him back. I had to fight the wince on my face, no one should ever promise an outcome; even if they were as confident as Naruto, because it would only hurt them both if the mission did not succeed. Kiba voiced my thoughts and Naruto dismissed them easily, a confident grin on his face as he told him that when he gave his word people could count on it, that it was his ninja way. I wasn't sure if I admired or despised his naive, childish behavior. I tried not to think too much on it because it was time to leave and there could be no distractions on a mission this important; who knew what kind of enemies we would be facing?
"Alright, this distraction cost us too much time. It's time to get going." Shikamaru ordered, and as one we all dashed off down the road before getting into the formation Shikamaru had designed for us. I fell into step behind Kiba and Akamaru, feeling reassured that Shikamaru was behind me and had my back. I didn't know Kiba, Choji, and Naruto very well but I did know Shikamaru and Neji to an extent. That was enough for me. I steeled myself and we put up a grueling pace, trying to catch up to the enemy who had gotten a decent head start.
'Alright, Sasuke. I don't know you, but ready or not, here we come.' I thought, activating my Sakimonagan as we ran. We could do this. We had too.
A/N: Alright! Sasuke Retrieval Mission Team is formed and the next chapter is going to packed full of action! Give me three Reviews between now and Tuesday, and I promise that it will be posted before 9:00PM Eastern Time on Wednesday. ;) Thanks for the support! Hope you all enjoy!