Blood in the Trees
It was as he feared.
The forest was filled with the screeching of metal on metal. The trees shook and swayed as techniques tore between them. There was a shout of pain followed by a roar. It was replaced by a series of explosions from the same direction, followed by screams and pleas for mercy which added to the cacophony of similar noises all around them.
And they were only about 5 meters past the gate.
Secret technique: False shadow. Shikamaru held his hands tightly in a modified rat-seal as another team approached. The shadows, already more concealing than normal, became even more opaque. The team passed them with little more than a glance.
They were laying facedown underneath the underbrush of the forest, concealed by an enhanced shadowing genjutsu that covered them from all directions. Even still, they had to keep a close lookout for any approaching teams.
"How long?" Ino's voice whispered quietly into his ear. He tapped her on the leg 5 times to indicate 5 hours. That was how much longer he could reasonably use the jutsu to conceal them. He only had to refresh it periodically after setting it up, but even the small amount of required chakra would drain on him after a while if it was the only concealment technique they used.
The False Shadow technique was just that. A yin style genjutsu used to conceal the user in artificial shadows, often in already existing ones. It was said that it was a useful jutsu invented for assassination. Of course, most people believed it was actually invented to help the Nara avoid work.
Whatever the purpose, it was certainly serving one now. With so many teams in such a small area, the forest had become a veritable war zone.
The only way to avoid wading into the inevitable bloodbath, Shikamaru had reasoned, was to stay practically at the gate and hide. Luckily, their gate had been off to one side of the arc of the forest, meaning most teams would pass by them as they traveled closer to the center, either along the edge or through the middle.
Six such teams had passed them along the gate, including a brutal battle between two of those teams. They were forced to watch as a totally unmatched genin was gutted and his teammates burned alive. He could swear he could still hear their screams.
Or was that just the forest's current soundtrack?
They had been there for four hours, but the fighting was still going on everywhere. The best they could do was keep their head down and hope no one with advanced sensing abilities or a fancy kekkei genkai found them.
Easier said than done.
Ino frantically poked him. Contact. And they were practically on top of them.
From the inside of the forest a team burst past them, stopping at their gate. Their gleaming New Iwa headbands did not give him any peace of mind.
The girl was carrying a large metal mace on her back. One of the guys had two hammers. The last wasn't carrying any discernible weapons, but he was the one looking dangerously close to their hiding spot.
"What's wrong, Kenji?" The girl asked. Her fingers tightened around the handle of her mace. The business end gleamed with crimson streaks, but the team looked no worse for wear.
"I thought I felt something." He walked a couple feet closer to their hiding spot.
'Felt something.' Shikamaru's blood went cold. A sensor. No, no, no, no. He was about to find them. Do something!
But he didn't; he was frozen in place. His mind was going a mile a minute, but nothing he thought of made a bit of difference.
Kenji ran through a few handsigns and touched the ground. His eyes widened and looked right at them.
All Shikamaru could think was that he should have come up with a better plan, laid traps, something. They were about to fight to the death and he really didn't like their odds.
Kenji opened his mouth, then stilled.
Suddenly, he turned frantically to his teammates. "This way! Hurry!"
He leapt away off to his left towards the eastern parts of the forest. His teammates seemed confused, but quickly followed after him.
Then there was a blessed moment of silence.
Shikamaru breathed. He didn't realize he had stopped actually. He also didn't realize what had happened until he felt Ino slumped against him.
A massive roar, shouts, screams, the trees shook again.
"Shintenshin no jutsu, successful." He whispered in relief. Shikamaru shook his head as if to clear it. "Ugh, that was too close."
"Won't-won't they come back when they get outside the range of Ino's jutsu?" Choji asked. The fear was evident in his voice. The violence and brutality of the second exam had been hardest on him.
"She'll probably lead them into a battle. Even if they win, they might overlook the lapse in memory." Kenji probably wouldn't forget spotting them though and Choji didn't seem convinced. "We'll have to ask Ino when she wakes up, but we might have to move anyway."
That satisfied Choji, but it didn't relieve his fear. And it shouldn't have. There was only one sure way to make sure that team wouldn't be back to attack them. A way Choji's kind-hearted nature might be inclined to resist.
He only hoped Ino was able to push the blade home.
"Fuck!"
A blast of blue fire met his next Pressure Break, igniting it in an explosion that traveled back to his outstretched hands and sent him crashing through the trees. His palms burned, but he had managed to save all of his fingers. What clones he had remaining around him shifted to cover him as his opponent weaved awkwardly through them.
A puff of smoke had all of the clones transforming to match his injuries. Naruto disappeared within them as his duplicates zigzagged past each other. He retreated into the trees as the ninja fought through them.
They had run into two teams almost immediately once they had entered the forest. No problem, Naruto had thought, a wave of clones surrounding the battlefield as they fought. But a stray jutsu and explosions had driven two more teams out of hiding. From there, the battle had devolved into chaos.
Flashes of the battle filled his head, but many of them were so quick and so short that they were useless.
A pain in his chest as Sakura weaved through the trees. Spasms of electricity. The girl's blast of water soared over Sasuke and hit him.
Naruto couldn't keep track of everything; the enemy ninja were happy to eliminate any clones he made as quickly as possible. There were small groups transformed to look like himself or his teammates, but their numbers had all but dwindled away.
Two of the weaker teams had fallen, but their battle suddenly overlapped with yet another battle of three separate ninja teams, with two Kumo teams taking on a team from Waterfall. That was when the three of them had been separated.
Naruto still knew that they were okay—the benefit of his clones' ability—but they could hardly coordinate with three other teams in between them at any moment.
With another memory, Naruto veered towards Sakura.
It seemed what remained of the Waterfall team was nowhere to be found, and she was at the center of eight Sakura-shaped clones. Her staff glowed green, stretching out to ward off the two Kumo ninja attempting to attack her.
They avoided the dangerous blade. Another Kumo ninja lay on the ground to demonstrate its effectiveness.
But that wasn't the biggest problem. An arrow punched through five of the Sakuras at once, crashing into the ground in a spray of earth. Sakura screamed as the barrage of dirt and sharp stones cut into her face and eyes. One of the Kumo ninja advanced on Sakura as she tried to rush to find cover behind a tree, only to have his shoulder explode in a shower of red mist when another arrow punched through it. He fell with a terrible sound.
Naruto rushed towards the archer, weaving through the canopy to find him crouched on a branch as he notched an arrow aimed at the temporarily blinded Sakura. He spun at the last second, raising his arrow to block Naruto's kunai. The sharp blade hit the arrow with a dull clang as if it was made of stone.
The archer flipped down from the trees, notching and releasing his arrow right at Naruto. Naruto leaned back at the last second, the weighty missile skimming past his head as he fell from the branch.
Naruto grabbed onto another tree branch as he fell, flipping up to right himself. Three arrows shot toward him, faster than before. He dodged to the side and the wooden projectiles stuck harmlessly into a tree. The archer disappeared into the underbrush.
The good thing was that Sakura was okay. She was making her way towards Sasuke, he realized in a flash of insight.
"Shi-!" Naruto's eyes widened as clones frantically dispersed and he spun to deflect an attack. His arms raised too slow and a hard shin cracked across the side of his head. He fell from the trees, ears ringing.
He righted himself as he tumbled awkwardly through the branches, stumbling into a crouch. His hands came together in his signature seal, and clones burst into existence, jumping up towards his attacker.
The last Kumo ninja's eyes were wide with fury as he smashed through the clones. The odd kunai found its mark, but it did nothing to deter him as he landed and tackled Naruto to the ground.
Naruto strained to free himself as they landed, but the genin was much bigger, older and stronger.
"Get. Off." Naruto pushed and twisted, managing to slip a kunai in between his blackened fingers.
The Kumo pulled up to smash his fist into Naruto's face only to rear back with a roar of pain as Naruto frantically slashed the knife across his eye.
Naruto squirmed to get free, but couldn't as the older genin smashed down on top of him, slamming his sweaty shoulder into his face before elbowing him repeatedly across his nose.
Naruto coughed and sputtered as his nose broke and a dull ache built behind his eyes. His arm was pinned. Blood trailed down the genin's wild face from his mangled eye, but he struck again.
Three of Naruto's remaining clones were able to jump onto his back, holding the genin back as he struggled against them. Naruto pulled his arm free to sloppily dig a kunai towards his liver, once, twice, and he howled with pain, backhanding the kunai out of his hand. He tried to slam down on the blonde again, but Naruto's clones half-pulled, half-tackled him to the side, freeing Naruto.
The Kumo genin struggled against the dog pile, getting weaker and weaker.
Naruto, stumbling to his feet, was already chasing after Sakura, who rushed toward Sasuke. He didn't think, he couldn't. There wasn't time for that.
Keep moving.
His breaths came heavily as he ignited the Fox's chakra. It did little to resolve the pain between his ears or the exhaustion of his injuries.
Naruto weaved through the trees. Sasuke had been dealing with the lion's share of the teams, six other genin around him. There were three Kumo ninja, one Pine ninja—the last of the team—and two from Grass.
The two Grass ninja were fighting the archer from before, keeping him at bay with shuriken and senbon.
Sasuke was weaving between the trees, dodging the lone Kumo ninja attempting to pin him down. He used a naginata. The blade of the spear shot off toward Sasuke, attempting to impale him, before magically returning to the shaft of the genin's weapon.
Sasuke had a cut on his chest, but he seemed okay. Shuriken weaved through the trees. There were wires attached to them that the Kumo ninja cut through as best he could to avoid being tangled, but the distraction meant more and more cuts were opening up on his skin.
Sakura suddenly engaged the spear-wielding genin, giving Sasuke the opening he needed to sink a kunai into his skull.
One of the Kumo ninja attacking the Pine girl roared, turning towards Sasuke, but it left him open, and the girl sunk the push dagger at the end of her fist into his back. The other Kumo ninja electrocuted her with a sparking palm in retaliation, stunning her, and Sasuke's fuma shuriken ripped through her stomach before detaching to stab into the Kumo ninja as well, expertly taking advantage of the opportunity presented.
Naruto landed on the battlefield.
The blue flame ninja had joined up with his archer teammate to push through the Grass ninja towards their fallen teammate.
Naruto ran towards Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke's eyes widened frantically, his mouth opening and Naruto hit the dirt. A crackling blade flew over his head. He rolled to see a redheaded girl with amber eyes stabbing down towards him.
Not another team from Kumo!?
Her sword crackled with energy. It missed him as he rolled, sliding through the ground with ease, a bright discharge shooting off of it that caused his muscles to spasm and twitch painfully. His mouth opened in surprise and pain as she pulled her sword out to stab him.
She broke off her attack, jumping back as a glowing green blade stretched out to impale her. Sakura rushed to his aid.
Naruto coughed as he recovered, still resisting the urge to blow his shattered nose. He pulled himself up carefully, and Sakura slid beside him, her hands glowing green as his head—but not his nose—began to clear.
"Thanks, Saku-"
There was a hum of energy building then an arc of lightning discharge left the Kumo ninja's sword. It whizzed past Sakura, whose eyes went wide as she weaved out of the way before raising her staff, which flashed blue in panic, to deflect the follow-up sword. The lightning covered blade bit slightly into the wood of her staff regardless.
Clones burst into existence to shield them, and it didn't come a moment too soon. A wave of blue fire covered all three of them, and they scattered. Naruto and Sakura rushed back toward Sasuke; the other two, new Kumo ninja pushed him into the trees.
There was a rush of air, a dull whine as they ran, and the Pine ninja landed in a blast of blue flames that destroyed Naruto's clones and sent Naruto and Sakura tumbling in different directions.
Naruto rolled to his feet to see the Pine ninja charge the prone Sakura. The archer raced into the trees after Sasuke and the other Kumo ninja. Sakura cut surreptitiously into the blue-flame ninja's leg from the ground and he sprawled to the ground with a shout of pain. Sakura crawled to her feet and ran into the trees.
Naruto ran after her, only to be cut off by the redheaded Kumo ninja once again.
He made clones to protect himself and follow them. Her electrically charged sword sawed through the ones he sent toward her with ease. She was still fresh whereas he could feel himself slowing as he reached for more chakra.
He ducked out of the way of her slashes, hopping backwards to pepper her with kunai. She deflected them carefully as she advanced.
Then Naruto's clones disperses in a wave of pain. Sasuke was cornered. Sakura screamed.
Naruto grabbed a handful of the Kyuubi's chakra with little more than a blink. A Pressure Break slammed forward, clipping the redhead in the shoulder as she dodged and sending her spinning away.
Naruto tore towards the forest. At the same time, the other two Kumo ninja ran out, coughing painfully, their eyes watering. The blonde pulled her teammate out of the way as Naruto barreled past them.
"Sasuke! Sakura!" He shouted. There was a yellow mist that burned at his eyes and skin, but he had to find them. He rushed to where his clone dispersed with his breath held.
He landed to see Sakura's staff broken and sizzling from the caustic mist. "Sakura!" He shouted, coughing. He released another, huge Pressure Break, clearing the mist.
Two Pine ninja advanced on a fallen Sakura and a limping Sasuke crouched in front of her. The larger one had metal claws on his hands, the other a Jo staff.
Naruto landed with a crash in front of them, clones swarming to push the two of them back.
But another deluge of yellow mist poured out of the clawed one in all directions. Naruto's clones popped with ease as the acid spread through them and the clawed Pine ninja disappeared beneath it with a dark grin.
His teammate met Naruto's frantic eyes calmly, his staff held down in front of him. Scores of clones still stood between them as the mist spread to pop them. They wouldn't last.
Sasuke's leg was drenched and twitching. And Sakura...
There was a lot of blood. Her upper arm had a deep, vertical gash that sizzled and burned as it grew deeper and wider; her flesh sloughed off in putrid chunks. What had started as a cut had spread to a hole of emptiness where her upper bicep had been, breaking down muscle and arteries as it raced towards the bone.
The genin watched impassively as Naruto grabbed his teammates and ran.
The last of the blonde's clones popped behind him, writhing in pain as the mist consumed them and the ninja completely.
Byakugan!
As dusk settled, the veins around Hinata's eyes bulged. She nodded slightly to Kiba. He smirked and began talking loudly about laying traps near the tower.
Team 8 was exceptionally good at tracking enemies, but those same abilities meant they were also exceptionally good at avoiding the brutal battles that had filled the forest during the day. As night fell, they would take advantage of the local wildlife and pick off the teams that fell into their traps.
The leeches fell down around the team, sucking them dry as Kiba gloated and Hinata stared on impassively. She had seen far worse already throughout the forest. Even if she hadn't...
She wouldn't fail. She needed to be strong.
Naruto-kun...I won't give up!
It had been a long day for Samui and her team. They were a capable team that focused on close combat. To take advantage of this without overextending themselves, they traveled from battle to battle, waiting to strike after other teams had worn themselves down fighting each other.
They were fairly successful, having acquired two scrolls already. And, as long as they kept to their strategy, the danger should have been limited.
Wreathed in purple chakra, the beast roared and charged, smashing through the meager water wall and its user.
"What is that?!" Omoi yelled. His katana crackled with electricity, but his opponent had rushed towards the monster in a vain attempt to protect his teammate. Karui and Samui had landed beside him.
"A jinchuriki," Samui assessed coolly.
The artificial jinchuriki batted aside the teammate with a swing of one of his purple tails. The genin rolled to his feet in time to see his teammate ripped in two by huge purple claws of chakra.
He screamed.
"What-what the hell?! How are there still jinchuriki in the chunin exam-Don't you fucking say it!" Karui yelled, rounding on Omoi as he opened his mouth. Her finger pointed at him accusingly, but it trembled all the same.
"What if...it comes for us?" Omoi said.
"We should retreat," Samui said after a moment.
They ran, leaving the roars and screams behind.
Night had fallen.
"Where's Mirai?"
Kiryu didn't answer. He couldn't answer, his feet slapping frantically over the tree roots and burnt grass as he weaved through the forest. Honami coughed, warm spittle spraying against Kiryu's neck as he slowed to a stop in a safe spot.
He slid Honami off his back as gently as possible, which was hardly gentle at all as he stumbled and fell. She groaned in pain, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes.
Kiryu pulled himself to his knees, sliding over to look at his teammate. Her lips were bloody. His trembling hands checked her vitals quickly, airway, breathing, circulation.
There was a dull crunch as he pressed gently against her chest, and she stifled moans of pain that finished in hacking coughs tinged red.
The drops of spittle were cold against Kiryu's neck.
"Kiryu," Honami said again, her eyes were dilated, and unfocused. "Where's Mirai?"
He couldn't answer, couldn't think about it. He had to worry about Honami, had to help her. Her ribs were broken, her breaths coming faster and shallower. There was blood in her lungs, filling them up.
The proper treatment was...was... He spilled his pouch open, discarding the useless first aid equipment and ninja tools.
"It hurts," she said. She tried to sit up, her face contorting in pain as she coughed and fell. Kiryu caught her, guiding her gently back down.
"Hey, hey, don't do that," he said. It would only cause more damage. But if he didn't do something soon...
He threw the empty pouch away with a yell of frustration. His fist hit the ground with a dull thump.
It hurt.
"Kiryu," she said more softly.
His eyes closed tight. He knew what she was going to ask. He couldn't answer.
Mirai was 700 meters behind them. Mirai had been surrounded by enemies. Mirai's mouth was gently agape as he fell to the floor. Mirai had a hole the size of a human head in his chest. Mirai wasn't coming.
Mirai was dead.
"How bad is it?" Honami asked him quietly.
Tears spilled down his cheeks.
And then, he couldn't answer.
Honami's eyes were glassy as she stared at him. Her cheeks were tinged pink not with excitement at a new mission, but with tears and blood. Kiryu had failed the only people he loved.
He thought about that, gripping his kunai so hard that his nails bit into his skin. He wailed and cried, uncaring of the teams that might find him. What more did he have to lose?
He thought about that, staring at his knife until it reflected himself in its sharp edge.
It fell, red, from his hand.
They had survived the day.
For that, Shikamaru was grateful. A combination of traditional stealth and his Nara clan techniques had avoided any more close encounters.
When Ino woke up, she said that the team was blindsided by a green blur and an explosion, and she pulled out to avoid mental injuries.
She seemed shaken but firm. Good work.
They moved anyway a bit later and were able to stay out of the battles and rotate on watch to get some sleep.
Now, however, there was a problem. Getting scrolls. The upside of avoiding the bloodbath that had occurred was somewhat canceled out by the realization that many of the weaker teams hadn't. The survivors would be far more difficult to defeat.
There were advantages as well. Injuries and exhaustion would give them an otherwise unlikely edge. Similarly, as teams settled in for the night, they would have the element of surprise on their hand.
Ideally, at least.
Shikamaru knew that they couldn't be the only team with this kind of plan. There was a small likelihood that there would be a second bloodbath where the nocturnally aggressive teams collided. He did not want to be a part of that.
The trick was to find a team quickly, take them out and retreat back into hiding as soon as possible.
Not exactly an easy feat. And that was why Shikamaru was so shocked to find a team almost immediately. He signaled Ino and Choji.
There was a lone shinobi keeping watch. He was wearing a headband from Rain. Suddenly, he froze.
"What the-" He cut himself off, his eyes growing dull. He walked towards his teammates, but didn't wake them up.
Ino-shika.
Shikamaru captured his teammates as well with another Shadow Possession Jutsu. They woke up, yelling and struggling against the control, but not for long.
Cho.
"The girl has the scroll." Ino said as she awoke, looking down at the three unconscious Rain genin.
Choji grabbed it and handed it to Shikamaru. The bright white of the Life scroll stared up at him.
One down, one to go.
"Fuck," Naruto hissed as the remains of the bandage fell apart in his hand. Sakura moaned quietly, her skin unnaturally pale. He pulled out new bandages from her pack.
Naruto had managed to carry his teammates away from the brutal battle. In his desperation, he sent clones in every direction, all searching for a safe place to rest away from potential enemies. It had brought them South. They were nearly at the fence that surrounded the small forest.
As they traveled, his teammates carried by two clones, Naruto had tried to take stock of everything that had happened.
Sasuke had waved off his concern for his leg. One of the Kumo ninja had stabbed it with those lightning swords. He couldn't walk on it.
Sakura had been bleeding out, whimpering quietly as she drifted into unconsciousness. Naruto had panicked. Sasuke had retrieved two blood replenishing pills, popping them into her mouth.
Sakura woke, staying so long enough to instruct them as best she could to deal with her injury as they landed. They washed it out and wrapped it tightly to stop the massive amounts of blood loss.
Two of Naruto's clones had returned, holding a black Death scroll. The Kumo genin he had stabbed had it, Naruto could remember. He didn't try to.
That was yesterday night.
However, as they rested, Sakura's wound grew, the acid eating away at her arm, tearing through the bandages as it reopened the wound and, as Sakura had eventually observed, interfered with its ability to clot. By the time they realized the problem, Sakura had lost as much blood as she retained and then some. Her skin was drawn in, pulse slow and thready, and had been unconsciousness for who knew how long.
They had given her two more blood pills.
Which, technically, was two more than was supposed to be administered in such a short period of time.
But it had brought Sakura back from the brink of death. Now she merely drifted in and out of consciousness as they tried and failed to stabilize her. Sakura couldn't heal herself. She lacked the chakra to do so and the vitality to generate it.
It was the early afternoon on the second day of the exam.
Sakura needed to get out of here. She needed proper medical attention.
Sakura glanced up at him with pain and fear in her eyes. He swallowed hard, scrubbing water into the gaping hole in her arm. She was getting weaker. He wrapped the bandages around her arm tightly as her eyes closed.
He looked to Sasuke. He was heavily favoring his left leg. The right one spasmed occasionally as the clean white bandages were slowly discolored by a growing stain.
Naruto's own fingers hurt, not just from the gentle sting of acid, but from the flames he nearly ate the previous day. His clothes were similarly scorched. His nose—reset by Sasuke's less than gentle hand—still ached. The bruises he'd gathered gnawed at him. He had slept fitfully.
But he could walk.
He could fight.
"I have to go," he said, rising suddenly. Sakura had drifted into a pained sleep. He turned to Sasuke. "Sakura needs to get out of here. We need the third scroll."
Sasuke wanted to protest, putting weight on his right leg for an instant before he hissed in pain as it spasmed. He glared down at it accusingly.
Sasuke's hair hung over his eyes as he tried to find a reason to explain why he could fight with one leg. Finally, Sasuke looked up, meeting his eyes. "You'll be on your own," he said.
Naruto stared back unflinchingly.
Sasuke turned away first. "Just," he began. There was something painful in his voice. "Don't die, okay?"
Naruto nodded stiffly. He wouldn't. He couldn't. If he did...
He couldn't think about it. He just had to win.
Keep moving.
Naruto jumped into the trees.
Shikamaru woke with a sudden stiffness. A flash of lightning illuminated their hiding spot. It was followed by shouts of frustration which gave way to a roar of defiance and then panicked screams.
They were in a more traditional hiding spot this time, nestled in a small hollow under the roots of a tree covered haphazardly with fallen foliage. Choji or Ino must have woken him. It was a precaution they stuck to whenever a battle got too close to them. They might have to abandon their spot to avoid a stray jutsu or in the event of sudden discovery.
The sun had just set on the second day of the exam. Still on his stomach from sleeping, Shikamaru glanced out from their hiding spot. Looking through a small, shadowed opening he saw four ninja attacking what seemed to be a team of Suna ninja from their garb.
It seemed two teams had ganged up on the one from Suna.
Although, if the other two, non-Suna ninja were any indication, they weren't fairing as well as they'd hoped.
A rain of senbon landed across the battle field, followed by what looked like a wave of kunai. Neither reached the two Suna ninja. There was a beat before a string of explosions went off.
Then, whoever their last teammate was must have done something. The non-Suna ninja's terror seemed matched only by the two Suna ninjas' cavalier attitudes. They almost seemed bored.
Then he heard one of the non-Suna ninja, maybe from Grass, speak clearly for the first time. "What are you!?"
The lone Suna ninja out of sight might have responded. If he did, it was too quiet to hear. There was a rush of something, more screams, a series of sickening cracks and squelches, then silence.
Was that sand?
Choji and Ino were very tense beside him. They must have seen a lot more of the battle leading up to this point. If there was more of it, that was.
It seemed to be over. His head was already back down, his breathing slow and quiet as he waited for the team to leave. They seemed to be discussing something, from the indecipherable murmur. Finally, he heard footsteps begin to retreat. He felt himself relax, but Ino and Choji were still tense beside him.
Then, he heard something that made his heart stop. "I know you're there. Come out now."
Ino shifted beside him, but she didn't slump. She must not have had a clear shot. Troublesome.
"Mother does not like to be kept waiting. And she is still hungry, yes, very hungry. Yes, mother. Yes..." The voice was getting closer, but it was abundantly clear Ino needed a distraction to make this work. He whispered to Choji and Ino. The sand ninja continued raving maniacally, "They will taste so good. I promise. Let me get them for you."
Team 10 burst out from their hiding spot. Choji and Ino zagged left while Shikamaru went right. Just in time too, a hand of sand erupted from beneath the tree to where they had been previously.
Now that he was out, he could see the Suna team clearly. A small redheaded maniac flanked by the blond girl and boy in the cat-suit and makeup. The only blessing was that those two looked just as disinterested in this fight as the previous one.
He could work with that.
His hands had almost immediately clasped in the Rat seal. He slid to a stop as his shadow streaked out towards the redhead.
Before it could reach him, he had to break it off to avoid a wave of sand in his direction. He jumped back towards the forest, scaling backwards up a tree at the edge of the clearing. He threw kunai with an exploding tag at the sand, but he was pretty sure what was going to happen.
The tag went off, disrupting the sand slightly, but barely deterring it. Shikamaru darted right to avoid it.
At the same time, Choji had begun the offensive. His Spiked Human Meat Tank deftly avoided the blasts of sand sent his way and barreled toward the redhead with deadly force. Just before it could hit him, a wall of sand appeared between Gaara and Choji. The spiked ball that was Choji spun futilely against the wall, but ultimately slowed to a stop.
At the same time, the sand chasing Shikamaru and Ino had slowed. Interesting.
Choji was repelled violently by a wave of sand that sent him rolling back towards the forest. In no time, he regained traction and slammed into the redhead's shield again. And again. The third time however, the redhead stuck out his hand.
The sand chasing Ino and Shikamaru had retreated to protect him, but as the wave repelled Choji again a series of sand bullets accompanied him. Choji cried out in pain as his concentration broke and he returned to regular size. He was bleeding, but standing.
Luckily, he had done his job. The redhead's hand was still extended, his whole body frozen. Shadow Possession Jutsu successful.
Ino put her hands together. Mind-Body Transfer!
The redhead stilled. His sand slumped to the floor. For a moment, his teammates looked concerned.
"Gaara!" the girl called. She tried to move to help, but couldn't.
Like he'd said, Shadow Possession Jutsu successful. They should have paid more attention.
Meanwhile, Gaara felt another presence in his mind. It was a strange experience. Mostly because his mother had also felt the presence and had no problem entertaining the guest.
But, for a brief moment, he had felt what little mental strength he had bolstered by this foreign presence. The voice of his mother dimmed. It felt as if taking in a small breath of air after years of drowning.
Then, the drowning resumed in full.
Ino screamed with such agony that Shikamaru almost let the Shadow Possession drop. Choji rushed towards Ino's side and was blindsided by a blast of sand. The same almost happened to him, but he rolled to the side and watched as all three of the Suna ninja copied his motion. He knew there was a way to capitalize on that. But then a tendril of sand wrapped around his ankle. It lifted him off the ground and slammed him into the tree behind him.
His vision blackened for a moment as he made contact, then returned in a disoriented mess that focused into a terrifying reality.
The redhead—Gaara—had a maniacal grin on his face. A blast of sand hit Choji as he tried to roll into him again. As the jutsu disrupted, sand grinded into him. Then the same sand tore into Ino and then into him.
A wave of sand knocked him back into the trees again. He spun, sliding past the tree he had crashed into last time and landed on the forest floor. But, even the grass felt like fire against his raw skin.
Choji wasn't so lucky. He crashed into the tree line. It seemed his continued aggression had warranted the most of Gaara's attention as wave after wave of sand crashed into him. Ino was already slumped against a tree to the side, either from the mental backlash or Gaara's attack.
Shikamaru stumbled out from behind the tree line. "Stop!" Gaara, wide-eyed and grinning turned to him. "Stop, here, here look. Take our scroll. That's what you want, right? Just take it." He placed the Life scroll on the ground. Ino had their other scroll.
Suddenly the scroll leapt from the ground into the cat-boy's hand. "Nice, a Life scroll." Then his eyes slid slyly to Shikamaru. "That's another set."
What.
Gaara stopped staring at him and looked at Choji. He was breathing deeply like some sort of wild animal. "I will validate my existence." The sand which had stopped began pooling around Choji.
"No, stop! I gave you our scroll. Do you need a different one? We have it. Take it, don't kill him." He stumbled again. Troublesome. His body hurt. A lot. He was really far away from cloud-watching on this one, huh?
"We'll gladly take your other scrolls too, little boy," the girl replied haughtily, "but that's not going to stop Gaara from killing you. Sorry!"
"Yeah, once he gets it in his head, nothing will stop him. Best say your prayers now. Or you could run away. He might not notice you. Too bad for your teammates though." The cat-boy spoke with a similar nonchalance but he was still looking pointedly away from Choji.
Choji was almost completely covered in sand. Shikamaru had no ideas left and not enough chakra, but he had to do something. "Desert Coffin," Gaara said as the sand stopped spreading. He stretched his hand out.
"Desert-" He tried to close his hand, but couldn't. Shikamaru kneeling across the clearing held desperately onto his handseal. It wouldn't be enough; he could feel his control slipping. Gaara could feel it too.
Partial-expansion jutsu! Choji's upper body expanded to nearly three times his normal size, bursting out of the sand. He smashed his oversized hands at his feet to free himself before throwing an oversized fist at Gaara. Again, it was stopped.
Choji punched again, but his movements were weak and sluggish. Ino was still slumped against the tree. And Shikamaru realized they weren't going to win this battle.
Choji's fist slammed into the shield again. Sand wrapped around it. As Choji struggled to pull it free, dozens of bullets of sand tore into him again. A massive wave of sand sent him flying back into the trees.
Shikamaru stumbled towards Choji. "Choji!" The Partial-Expansion Jutsu broke and Choji crashed into the ground.
Shikamaru threw exploding tags at Gaara as Choji landed. The sand, instead of nailing Choji again, retreated to reinforce Gaara's protection. He made it to Choji.
"Choji."
Choji looked up at him. He was very badly battered, but conscious. He stood back up slowly, but looked more determined than Shikamaru had ever seen him. He felt a surge of warmth and pride at the sight. It made him feel better about what he was about to do. "Choji, take Ino and run."
Choji's eyes widened in surprise that morphed quickly into fear as he realized what Shikamaru was saying. He wanted to protest, Shikamaru could tell, but he would listen. There was no time for arguments.
A wave of sand separated them. Shikamaru landed in the trees. Despite himself, he took one last look at the clouds.
The Shadow Possession Jutsu was originally devised as a delaying tactic. What a drag.
He charged.
A kunai with an exploding tag flew toward the redhead. Gaara's sand protected him. But it left him open for another Shadow Possession.
Shikamaru's body felt numb as his energy depleted completely, but he started backpedaling, forcing Gaara to do the same until he had passed back slightly behind his teammates. They still hadn't participated in the battle and he hoped it stayed that way. Sand had spread across the floor and it reached out to trip him. He landed painfully.
He had pushed Gaara back maybe ten meters and spared maybe ten seconds, but it was enough.
Choji and Ino were gone.
He rolled slowly to the side, hoping to push himself up and run, but the sand grabbed onto his arms. He felt himself flip over before he slammed onto his back again. And again. And again.
His vision flickered in and out with each landing; he lost count of how many times he hit the ground.
Finally, the sand slowly surrounded him. It felt...cold. It spread until only one bleary eye remained uncovered.
Gaara held his hand out. He looked pissed, Shikamaru observed, probably annoyed about not getting to kill Choji and Ino. And that thought, Shikamaru decided, was one he could take to the grave.
Shikamaru didn't see the green blur crash into Gaara's face. He did, however, feel the sand grow colder, painfully colder around him. It got weaker too, before falling away entirely. He didn't have the strength to stand, but someone caught him.
Gaara's teammates looked shocked and outright terrified. Perhaps it was because of the identical green-clad figures holding them each at needle-point.
"You...hit me." Gaara sounded almost confused. But as was often the case, that confusion was quickly giving way to rage.
"I am quite fast." And that was his savior, dressed in a green robe with long black hair tied behind her back. Most shocking, perhaps, was the Kiri headband. "You have what you need. Leave. There is no reason for any more loss of life."
"Uh, lady, what kind of ninja are you?" That was cat-boy. He didn't seem concerned by the clone holding him at "knife" point.
She smiled. "Please go."
Gaara was seething again. "Yes, mother, I will get her blood for you. It will taste so much better than all of those weaklings. Yes! Yes, I will kill her!" He turned to the Kiri girl. "I will kill you and prove my existence."
A wave of sand flew towards her. She raised her hand in front of her in a half-seal. A mirror of ice appeared, colliding with the sand. As the sand bore into the ice, water poured out of it. Even once it broke through, the sand became slower and slower and slower. Eventually it stopped just in front of the girl, the water it had absorbed freezing solid around it. The girl made another half seal and the frozen sand flew back towards Gaara, shattering at his feet.
"You want to prove your existence..." She repeated back to him. She almost seemed sad.
"It's the only way to prove your existence! You want to erase me. So I will erase you and confirm my existence again and again until no one is left."
"And yet, you will still be alone," She replied quietly.
Gaara's eyes widened. "Just shut up and die!"
Tendrils of sand rose from around her, stabbing into the Kiri ninja. She exploded in a shower of water. Gaara roared in anger.
Haku reappeared on a tree branch above with Shikamaru slung over her shoulder. Mist filtered in behind her, shrouding the trees in a heavy fog.
"My name is Yuki Haku, and I know we will meet again. So know this: as long as you fight only for yourself, you will never defeat me." Another streak of sand chased them, but it was futile.
They disappeared into the mist.
Gaara roared. The clones pinning Kankuro and Temari dispersed, and they ran away as Gaara tore the surrounding forest apart.
When he was done, the resulting desert was far larger than the previous clearing and Gaara was at the epicenter clutching his head.
Kankuro approached slowly. "Come on, let's go."
"We should set up another trap soon. That way we'll be able to get the Death scroll we need!"
"Good idea!"
Another set of leeches fell on the ninja watching them. The ninja fell from the trees, covered in the blood sucking creatures. There were only two ninja this time, both wearing Pine headbands.
But something was wrong.
The leeches squirmed awkwardly before falling off the ninja completely, some twitched and spasmed, the others sizzled and burned with an acrid smell.
Akamaru growled beside her as her team slipped automatically into formation.
The Pine ninja shook the last of the leeches loose. "Well, that was terrifying," one said with a deadpan. He had a staff on his back.
His teammate grinned toothily, his hands covered with metal claws that dripped with caustic liquid.
"Two for me," he said with a savage smile. Then, he charged.
Haku carried Shikamaru through the forest. She carefully avoided nearby teams and wildlife. For a long time there was silence, interrupted only by the rush of air as they flew through the trees.
Shikamaru still couldn't believe he was alive. Part of him was convinced this was a very convincing illusion caused by excessive head trauma.
"We will be meeting up with your teammates soon," his savior told him calmly. All he wanted to do was groan and slip into blissful unconsciousness, but his curiosity was peaked.
Why?
"Thank you," he ground out. She looked over her shoulder to smile at him. She was quite pretty, he analyzed with difficulty. Better log that fact away for later.
They landed on the forest floor, near a hill that had the roots of a tree growing through it, making something resembling a cave from the vine-like roots.
She placed him gently down along the outside of the cave.
"Wait!" He said.
She hadn't actually started to leave yet and just smiled at him again.
He pulled himself together, focusing as best he could. "Why did you save me?"
There were a hundred reasons why she shouldn't have. Not least because they were from different villages.
She seemed suddenly uncomfortable. She pulled in on herself, looking away. Finally, "Because I'm right," she said almost to herself, and there was a hint of desperation in her voice.
"Right about what?" He asked, his confusion evident. It snapped her out of her thoughts.
Then, she was close to him, right next to him as she stared deep into his eyes. Shikamaru resisted the urge to squirm. His headache didn't help.
She spoke gently. "You have it, don't you?"
"Lady, I'm far too concussed for these kinds of questions," he said, and she moved back slightly. Shikamaru closed his eyes for a moment to keep his head from pounding. "What the hell are you talking about?"
She regarded him carefully. "I believe that there is something that can make one truly strong. When one has it, they can force past their limits and succeed in the impossible." Then, more quietly, "Do you know what this is?"
"Are you-are you asking me a riddle?" Now? When he was half-concussed and exhausted? It sounded like work he wouldn't bother with if he was 100%.
She serenely inclined her head in the affirmative.
"Pass," he responded.
Her serene exterior faltered. "W-What?"
"Pass. I give up. Sounds like a drag to be honest."
She stared at him for a long time. "You are...not quite what I expected."
"Yeah, well, I wasn't expecting a nagging woman to save me," he said, grumbling to himself.
"I should have let you been crushed then," She said gently as if dutifully accepting the reprimand and resigning to allow him to be killed in all future circumstances.
Shikamaru cut off his complaining with a noisy exhale and looked away. "Troublesome."
Haku laughed. "No, you are not what I expected, but your heart is noble."
"Whatever you say."
She didn't respond, just smiling that same smile as she turned away to check their surroundings.
Shikamaru tried to use the time to clear his head. What was going on? A foreign ninja had saved him because he had some special something? What, a love of cloud-watching? An unapologetic avoidance of work? Low expectations for himself? He better figure it out. Who knew if she might suddenly decide he didn't have it anymore?
"Are you thinking about it?" She asked as she returned.
The stream of Shikamaru's thoughts ground to a halt. "No," he said warily.
She laughed triumphantly, a clear, ringing sound. "Yes, you are!"
Shikamaru did his best to change the subject. "Why aren't you getting scrolls?"
She gently patted her side. "I have the complete set."
That made even less sense. She didn't even need to kill him and take his scroll to win. "So..." Wait, what? "Then, why aren't you going to the tower?"
"We're waiting for your friends," she said it as if the answer should have been obvious, but there was a glint in her eyes that meant she was beginning to enjoy his confusion. Shikamaru resisted the urge to groan.
Honestly, he was still having a hard time putting everything together. The conclusion was she was...just...nice?
"I don't intend to 'nag'," she began again, "Nara-san, I see in you a great strength. It is the same strength that allowed you to push past your limits just now. Don't you know why?"
He didn't. "I think you're going to tell me," he replied with mild exasperation. He had pushed past his limits? When? Fighting that monster? He was just going crazy trying to keep his friends from dying. It wasn't like he won.
Haku met his eyes as he considered the previous events. He felt like squirming under her gaze once more.
But she found something in his eyes. "I think...you already know," she responded slowly. And then she smiled, nodding with increasing certainty and jubilation.
There was a rustle in the trees, and her cheerful demeanor disappeared in an instant. Haku looked up tensely, a senbon needle in her hand as if it had always been there, before relaxing. She looked back to Shikamaru, her intensity replaced with something else as she moved closer to him.
Then she kissed him, her cold lips pressing into his forehead, her cold fingers against his cheek, whispering, "I know you will understand. And, when you do," she pulled back just far enough to stare into his eyes, so that her face filled his entire view. She laughed laugh softly at a joke only the two of them knew, "you won't need me to rescue you."
She disappeared.
Shikamaru watched the tiny pinpricks of snow fall where she had stood.
Choji and Ino came through the trees. They stumbled over to him with tears in their eyes.
They said things to him too, but whether because of the concussion or something else, he barely heard them.
He hoped it was the concussion.
Idly, he scratched his cheek.
How troublesome.
A/N: femHaku is only Haku.
Thanks for reading!