Author's note: apologies for the late update. Both ill health and tragedy has delayed writing.

Shikamaru leaned back into the shadows, pressing his back against the stonewall hoping to dissipate some of the heat. He, Ino and Takara were using one of the small training areas. More accurately, though, Takara was using it while Shikamaru and Ino watched.

"Keep your wrist straight, Takara." Shikamaru called out as she prepared to throw another kunai. He didn't expect her to acknowledge his advice, but the next throw was a little better.

"You like teaching," Ino observed.

Shikamaru thought about his response for a minute. "It's like Shogi. You have a goal, but you have to make a series of moves to accomplish it."

"And Takara is your opponent?"

He shook his head. "No, failure is. I win by seeing her reach her maximum potential."

"I'm always impressed by the way you can compare everything to Shogi. Makes me wonder why you never got more involved in politics. People always say it's the greatest game."

"It's not." Shikamaru shifted his weight, his mind had been shifting towards that since Temari and he had talked.

"So, you think politics play into this situation?Think things are finally heating up between the old and new guard?" Ino asked.

He let out a long sigh. "I don't know."

"What exactly is old and new guard?" Takara asked without looking over at them.

"She has good hearing," Ino muttered under her breath.

Ignoring his old teammates comment, Shikamaru called out. "Come over here and I'll explain it as best as I can."

Takara threw her last two kunai in quick succession before plopping down next to him, taking a long swig from her thermos. "All right, explain."

Shikamaru rubbed his nose. "Well, you know how the village system works. Ninjas make up the primary fighting force of any given country. A strong hidden village equals a strong country. When countries go to war it's the villages that do most of the fighting. Several years ago, there was a threat that united all the villages together, at least temporarily."

"Yeah, you told me about that." Takara reminded him.

"Yes, well, Naruto played a pretty big part in that. It's one of the reasons he's going to be the next Hokage. Now this is where things start to get complicated. There are some ninjas who liked fighting together. They don't necessarily want to form one large village, but at least not fight each other. I guess you could say they want to form something like an international police force. Some people refer to them as the New Guard, but that's not really official or anything." He paused for a second, trying to think up a better way to describe it before deciding to qualify it. "That's an analogy that is not completely accurate."

Takara nodded and Shikamaru knew she was being honest. Whenever Takara didn't understand a word she asked. He had been just like that as a child and had never realized how annoying it could be, especially when she was just eavesdropping in on a conversation. His parents found it amusing, though.

"As for Old Guard, they really don't want to see a change. Sometimes they might be referred to as Traditionalists. Now to make things more complicated, some people are in between. Pretty much, if you can imagine a combination between those two extreme points of view, there's someone who thinks that's the right way."

"So, why don't the people who want to form a police force just go off and do that and let everyone do what they want?" Takara asked.

Shikamaru ignored Ino's smile, she was enjoying this too much. "Well, partly because that wouldn't work. Say one village had 30% of its ninjas who want to join the police force, but another only had 5%. It would throw the balance of power off. Then you have some clans who would fear losing their secrets or their identity as a clan."

Takara dismissed this with a shrug of her shoulders. "So that's what Naruto is going to do?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "He doesn't really have a concrete plan. It's just more of his way of thinking." When he and Naruto talked about it, Naruto was a little put off by what some people thought he was doing. "He just wouldn't prosecute a war like they have been in the past. Of course, his way of thinking becomes the way he's going to act and it worries some people. Most think it's just sort of a dream and don't worry about it."

"I guess that explains Naruto, but what about Gaara?" Takara asked, looking up at him.

"Gaara and he are close personally and most think they would be close allies. I'm not exactly sure where Gaara stands on the whole issue though." Shikamaru could hear someone approaching. The conversation was coming to a natural end, but it would look suspicious to a newcomer. "So, Takara, what do you think?"

Takara thought for a moment and Shikamaru could hear whoever it was come down the stairs. He didn't turn to greet them because Takara was shaking her head. "There's too much stuff I don't know. Old guard, new guard? I just learned about them."

"That's a very good answer." Temari said, walking into Shikamaru's peripheral vision and confirming they had been listening. "Knowing you don't know enough can be a hard thing to realize."

"True," Ouga said, coming to a stop one step in front of Temari and looking directly at Shikamaru. "But I would be interested in hearing your take on the subject."

There was danger here, Shikamaru knew it. "I don't have a problem with the philosophy, but I think there would be some structural difficulties. However, I know Naruto and I've learned not to bet against him. Of course, because I know him, I also know he sees it more as a philosophy than any structural change." Naruto probably wouldn't have put it that way. To him, you do the right thing because it's the right thing.

Ouga remained still as a statue. "And you, Yamanaka?"

Ino shrugged. "I fought in one war, didn't like it. That said, I don't think you can outlaw war."

Shikamaru wondered if that was what she really felt, or did she recognize the danger they were in, too? It wasn't something he identified himself as, but both of them came from clans, even if small ones.

Ouga had begun to open his mouth to ask another question when Temari cut him off. "We didn't come here to interrogate you, we came here to announce that it has been decided that you should be allowed to continue your investigation into the assassination attempt on Naruto. However, until you're all cleared of any involvement in our own assassination, you will not be permitted to leave the village."

"I'm assuming you've informed Konoha?" Ino asked.

"Of course," Ouga interjected. "We are currently in lockdown. Except for official dispatches, nothing in and nothing out."

"Hopefully this won't interfere with your research," Temari spoke up to take control of the conversation. "We've collected all of project Rainbows files and set them aside in one of the archive rooms for your perusal. If you need any additional documents or assistance the archivist will assist you. The archives are located at the bottom of the building you are staying at. They have your descriptions. Best of luck with your investigation, and if you need anything else, you know who to ask."

"Thank you for your assistance." Shikamaru made sure his tone was professional knowing that Ouga would interpret everything he said and did. Temari excused herself and Ouga followed after.

Shikamaru wasn't sure what to make of Ouga. On the face of it he could see why he would be a suspect, and, in fact, if Ouga wasn't considering him as a suspect, he would be remiss in his duties. The trouble would be if he started to fixate on him, which would also make him remiss in his duties. The part of his brain that always looked for the unexpected realized that if Ouga was part of the assassination attempt, pinning it on him would be the next best thing.

Shikamaru closed the last personnel file and carefully placed it on top of a pile. The files had made for dull reading. The three researchers and four assistants had not been remarkable people. Reading through their files twice had taken a little less than an hour, and that had included a bathroom break.

He glanced up at Ino, who was going through the medical files. "Anything useful on your end?" Shikamaru asked.

Ino shook her head. "Lots of theory, but I don't think they actually got that far with experiments. I only came across one experiment where they were having people do small things they weren't aware of. Nothing complex like what we've seen. How are things on your end?"

"The people involved with this project seem to have been a bit unlucky. Only two of the seven of them are alive. Two died on combat missions, the last one seven years ago. One committed suicide ten years ago while another died of cancer three years ago and the last one died only a few weeks ago of a heart attack at the age of 76. Noteworthy, but not automatically suspicious." A 71% casualty rate from any one group was high but the deaths were spread out over such a time that it didn't seem suspicious.

"Were all of their bodies accounted for?" Ino asked.

"Yes," Shikamaru answered. If one of them had gone missing, that would've provided an actual lead.

"Does that mean you're going to talk to the other two?" Takara asked.

Shikamaru turned around and looked at his apprentice who was lying on the floor, using the book she was supposed to be reading as a pillow. "Hopefully, but not until you actually try reading a little." Takara groaned as he turned his attention back to his old teammate. "So, are you thinking this is a dead-end?"

Ino didn't answer at first, but slowly she shook her head. "I'm not sure. I mean, just using this data, I don't see how someone could do it, but if they started with this data perhaps they were onto something. The idea is here, but just the seed of it. Aside from test subjects, though, there's really nothing special that is required."

Shikamaru felt a shiver go up his spine at the mention of test subjects. "Who were they using?"

"Volunteers," Ino said, picking the file up again before slamming it down. "Shikamaru!" He flinched at her tone. "You know human experimentation is necessary. I have even volunteered to be a subject once myself."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply-"

Ino waved him silent. "I know you didn't." She let out a little sigh. "It's just people just assumed things and it's frustrating. We try to save lives, not destroy them."

Shikamaru didn't know what to say in the silence that followed and then there was a short laugh. "She told you."

"Tell me, Ino, were we ever that disrespectful to our sensei?" Shikamaru didn't look over his shoulder, but knew his words had struck hard. Takara put up a tough front, however, that didn'tmean she was indifferent. If he even hinted at disapproval, she reacted. He had learned that the hard way. He only used it when she stepped over the line and felt bad for doing it. There was no right way to teach like there was no right way to parent. You accustom your strategy to the child and not the other way around. That was something he had learned from Asuma.

Shikamaru shifted uncomfortably and addressed Ino. "Do you think it would be worthwhile to look up the test subjects? Might they have some knowledge?"

"Doubtful. Test subjects are usually given the minimal amount. If, for example, you were testing a new drug, you would divide the initial test group into two groups. One would be given a placebo and the other the real drug. That way there's no subconscious reactions and in the test like this that would be devastating. The subjects were given numbers, so it's just the even-numbered people in one group and the odds in the other."

"So there are only two people to talk to." Shikamaru said, standing. "I'll go request their personnel files so we can see where they are now."

Sunagakure's hospital was a single story building, which surprised Shikamaru at first. That was until he realized, instead of building up, they had built down. Once he started to think about it, it made sense. The big rock walls provided ample protection and didn't burn. In that aspect, it was probably safer than Konoha's hospital.

Arata was now the head of the rehabilitation wing here. He had been one of the assistants to the three researchers on projects Rainbow. At the time he had been young, and he had gone on to have an uneventful career. He was a medical-nin who, after the research project, had been transferred to the hospital and had apparently not taken on any missions since. That wasn't unheard of for people in his profession.

The receptionist was nice enough to direct the three of them down one level to the floor below. Waiting by the elevator to go down, the doors opened to reveal Temari and Ouga standing there. There was a moment of mutual surprise before Ouga spoke. "Hello again, what business do you have here?"

The elevator doors started to close, and for one childish moment, Shikamaru imagined the man disappearing so they wouldn't have to deal with him. Unfortunately, it was his hand that shot out to keep the doors open. "There are only two living members of project Rainbow. One of them works here. We were hoping he would be able to fill in some details. What brings you here? I hope nothing's wrong."

Temari answered this time. "Mikka had physical therapy here."

He struggled for second trying to remember where he had heard that name before. "The assassin? I recall her having a considerable limp."

"It was an injury she sustained almost two years ago on a mission. It seems she had been quite depressed recently." Ouga said. "Now we must be going."

Shikamaru stepped aside to let the two of them pass, but not before noticing the look Temari gave Ouga. As the elevator doors closed, he had the uneasy feeling that there was something more going on here.

The rehabilitation room took up the entire second floor. It was one large open room with various pieces of equipment and several people. Some people were patients, others worked there. One man with salt-and-pepper hair was sitting on one of the pieces of equipment. He looked a bit ruffled, like he had just answered some unpleasant questions. Taking an educated guess, Shikamaru said, "Arata, may I have a moment of your time."

The older man startled and looked up at them. He frowned. "What do you want?"

Shikamaru tried a small smile. "I have some questions for you. It's about a project you worked on years ago called Rainbow."

Arata smiled. "Are you looking in for a joint research project?"

That had not been one of the answers Shikamaru had anticipated, but he decided to roll with it. "We are just looking into the project now. What can you tell us about it?"

It was rare that Shikamaru felt lost, but for Arata, project Rainbow wasn't just a project that had been discarded decades ago, it had become a cornerstone of his life. He wasn't obsessed with assassinations, but the idea that it could help people recover from head injuries. From what he heard, the brain, if damaged, could rewrite itself. Children were better at this than adults and females better than males. He thought project rainbow could've taken advantage of this. How exactly was beyond Shikamaru, but Arata was convinced the research could help people. After a while of this, though, Shikamaru wished he could be like Takara. She had wandered off and started amusing herself with a larger rubber ball.

"Thank you, we think we have enough information." Shikamaru blurted out as soon there was a lull in the conversation.

"Well if I can be of any further assistance I would be more than happy to provide you with any information I can." Arata said, grinning.

Shikamaru nodded, but then his curiosity got the better of him. "I heard Mikka was a patient here? Is that true?"

Arata's expression fell as he looked down at his hands. "Yes, she was a patient here. A very sad case. She was very badly injured on a mission two years ago." He looked down and to the right. "There are a lot of factors that can affect recovery. I was aiming for her to get 50% of her movement back, but she was determined to fully recover. She had a standing appointment and had been skipping them for about two weeks now. I was starting to worry about her, but I never thought she would do something like that."

It was a simple scenario, Shikamaru thought. Anyone losing control of their body could be devastated by it and a ninja's identity was tied into their body. There techniques, their ability to move. To be demoted to be merely serving food would be a devastating blow. However, why did she do it in a roundabout way? Did she want the man who had sent her on that mission to suffer or was she being controlled? Why risk walking in with all those explosive under her? Her reasoning would be sound, but her technique was flawed.

"Why do those doors open the wrong way?" Takara asked from where she was laying on a ball.

Everyone glanced over at Takara, and then followed her finger to a set of double doors that swung inwards. There was a carpet in front of it with some red stains that didn't look like old blood. Shikamaru looked around and noticed the few other doors that led to bathrooms and offices. "What do you mean, Takara?"

Takara bit her lower lip, a habit of hers when she was trying to explain something. "Your doors swing inwards when you go from a crowded area to a less crowded area. We're in a big room so the door should swing outwards. Right?"

Shikamaru had to think for a minute before realizing she was right. It was a matter of perspective. If you were trying to leave the bathroom you would pushed the door towards yourself, but if you are entering the bathroom he would push the door away from you. It made sense for the door to open on the side where it was least likely to hit someone.

"Oh, that is the entrance to the tunnel network." Arata said casually.

"Tunnel network?" Ino asked?

Arata shrugged. "That's right; you're not from around here. You've probably never seen one of our sandstorms. You notice how we're surrounded by a rock wall? Well, occasionally we get hit by a sandstorm. They can last for days, but that doesn't mean we can just stop in our tracks. There's a series of tunnels connecting all the buildings. They parallel the streets." He shrugged, "It's not exactly a secret. That's our entrance to them. Most people don't use them unless there's a sandstorm because you end up collecting red dust on your sandals."

That explained the stains, Shikamaru thought. "Well, thank you for your time. We will be going now. There's another person we have to talk to. "

The trio's next destination was the residence of Kanaye. He was the oldest living member of project Rainbow and had retired several years ago. Shikamaru was expecting some old man to answer but instead it was a woman slightly older than himself.

"How can I help you?" She said.

"We're here to see Kanaye, is he in?"

An expression flickered across the woman's face too fast for him to catch, then she was smiling. "Perhaps I can be of assistance. I'm his daughter, Chika. What do you need from him?"

Shikamaru didn't hesitate. These interviews were on thin ice and giving pause would only give a person time to consider. "We have some questions about a project he worked on years ago. We really do need to talk to him."

This time, Chika's expression fell. "I'm sorry, well... " she shook her head and opened the door all the way. "It'll be easier if I just show you."

Shikamaru glanced at Ino, not liking where this was going. However, instead of being led to a bedroom like he had feared, they were led to the back of the house, which had a greenhouse attached to it. There, an old man sat trimming a tomato plant.

"Father," Chika said a bit too loudly, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. "These people are here to talk to you about when you were a ninja. You remember being a ninja, right?"

The man looked around as if for a second he was trying to place where the voice was coming from before locking on to his daughter's face. "A ninja?" Kanaye questioned before repeating in a more cheery voice. "Yes, I was a ninja!" He turned to face them, "I'm a ninja."

"You were." His daughter corrected, patting him on the shoulder. She looked over at them and smiled sadly.

Ino spoke up. "Thank you for your time sir. We will be going."

Kanaye smiled, "Come again?"

Chika gestured them out of the room, and with a surprising amount of relief, Shikamaru was happy to oblige, pulling a stunned Takara with him.

"My father isn't in any position to answer any questions, as you can see." Chika said in a low voice when they were a safe distance away. "If there's anything I could do, though…"

"It's all right," Shikamaru said. "We'll see ourselves out."

The three of them stepped back outside into the heat. Shikamaru let out a sigh. "Well, that was a dead-end."

"Yes, but Arata struck me as interesting. He's been doing some research on the side. I bet if I could chat him up, I would be able to find a little more. You know, as one professional to another."

"It can't hurt." Shikamaru said. He tried to think of what else to do when Takara pulled on his arm. "Yeah?"

"That guy had the same red stains on his sandals that the hospital rug had."