I had actually had this chapter written already but it was too short so I had to edit it. I hadn't planned this story to be this long but the characters insisted.
Everywhere one looked, ninja were fighting against ninja. Enemy ninja fighting against Suna and Konoha Ninjas. And it reminded one of the fight during the Chuunin Exams when Sound and Suna attacked but luckily this time, Suna was on Konoha's side. The first attackers had come through the large decorated windows and had shattered the glass on first impact. It was a nice way to enter but also a very obvious and loud entrance.
Enemy ninja had started to attack out of nowhere, thinking that at a fancy gathering like this, there would be none prepared for a straight out assault.
But clearly they underestimated Konoha and Suna Ninja, for they had ninja tools hidden among their kimonos, already prepared for an attack and were fighting back with various tools and such. But there was also a lot of civilians unprotected and a few ninja who had forgotten to bring weapons. Thankfully others were able to protect them and guide any civilians outwards and away from the fighting. Shikamaru saw a ninja heading straight towards Ino and Kankuro and he realized that the attacker was ready to kidnap Ino before she even knew what was happening.
But the next few events happened so quick, Shikamaru barely had enough time to register that he wasn't wearing his usual kunai pouch but it was too late for regrets for he had already jumped straight in front of Ino and Kankuro. But when the speeding attacker leaped over his head, he thought his heart would stop.
The attacker wasn't going for Ino, instead they were heading straight for Temari, who was trying to open up a scroll that she held on her person. Temari might have escaped but she had a some trouble trying to locate the scroll she had since she was unused to the clothing she wore.
The offending ninja smiled at the time-consuming distraction and swiftly landed a blow which promptly knocked Temari out. They tossed her over their shoulder and sped off leaving behind many ninja who were still fighting the battle. The reception area looked like a battlefield, and it had lost its glamour from earlier.
"Here take this," a tough yet sweet female voice called out throwing something toward him as he spun back around to face the owner of the voice.
Shikamaru caught whatever was flying through the air, and realized it was extra kunai pouch. He glanced at the person who threw it and smiled gladly at Tenten who was still locked in a battle against some big guy. Neji was right beside her, intending on protecting her from any attacks if they should fly towards her. He had a calm but concerned look on his face, and Shikamaru believed that Neji would never let anything happen to Tenten unless he was injured enough not to jump in front of her in order to defend her against enemy attacks. Shikamaru sadly thought that he could have done something to stop Temari's kidnap and he silently reprimanded himself for not doing so. If only-
"Hurry up, before you lose track of her," Neji informed Shikamaru interrupting his chain of thoughts, his Byukagun turned on and focused directly on his opponent. Shikamaru nodded and jumped forward toward the broken glass window pane that had been the ninja's entry and exit. He didn't know why the ninja had been aiming for Temari but he was going to find out. Quickly.
Following after the ninja was a whole lot harder than the time he had traveled with Sakura, Naruto and Pakkun to pursue Sasuke. It was as if the person in front of him had stored enough energy to keep going for a long time at high speeds.
"I'm gonna find you," Shikamaru muttered, his eyebrow slanted downward as he concentrated all his efforts into following the rapidly vanishing enemy who carried a unconscious victim upon their shoulder. Shikamaru glared at the person, desperately trying to catch up to the dizzying speed. A few times the Leaf Ninja would have to pause and catch his breath for a few moments before picking out the trail again. Either way the ninja ahead of him had stamina like Naruto. One time he had to completely stop and focus hard on pulling on his chakra back to his feet before he could continue.
"This is such a drag," Shikamaru mumbled, fumbling in his borrowed kunai pouch hoping against hope that there was a small little helper somewhere deep inside it's hidden depths. He reached in with one hand and would have sighed in relief if he had the air to do so. He stuffed the Hyorogan pellet into his mouth, and thanked Tenten for actually carrying the much needed Soldier Pill. He was gonna need it big time to keep up with this guy. Shikamaru's chakra raged and would have doubled if it wasn't for the fact that he had been using so much of it. But it was enough to relax him and give him a boost in his energy pills. And he was gonna need it to keep up with this speed ninja in front of him.
Shikamaru kept up with the offender for quite some distance and just as he thought he could go no more, the guy up ahead was finally slowing down and he was able to actually catch glimpses of him instead of simply trying to follow his chakra trail. Shikamaru knew that this fact was the main reason to why his adrenaline suddenly raged upwards. Carefully focusing on the target, Shikamaru thanked the heavens for the crucial piece of sunshine that suddenly found its way through the trees. In a matter of seconds he had captured the enemy with his shadow and Shikamaru noted that he only accomplished this feat because the enemy had been slowed down by Temari's unconscious body before laying her to the side none too gently. He thought of what could he have done to stop this, but now was no the time to think of what ifs. It was time to strategically trap the other ninja and get Temari back into the safety of his arms. Shikamaru needed to stay calm, even if anger was trying to bubble up to the surface. . . Calmness was the only way his plan would succeed.