The L Boogie- Okay so this update was a bit lengthy. I've been working (which is a good change of pace, however I've only found time to write again because…well…I'm not working again…god bless a failing economy and a job that gives me plenty of hours one week and zero hours the next…)
So yeah, I will agree with you Bonclaysfan. I really haven't given much of an antagonist…thought I'd keep things laying low, however I think this chapter might help you with that. Otherwise this one is mostly fluff. It's gonna be more of a two parter (though I didn't intend that…I just got to writing, and next thing I knew, I was at 6 pages…I usually try to stay around the 8 page marker for chapter limits, unless I won't need more than a few more pages…)
On a side note, I told her I would, so here I am. Go read 39 days by Mussim. I'm damn serious when I say this. Go read it. If you absolutely have to choose between this and 39 days…read 39 days. See this face? This is my serious face. Grrr. Now go read it. Then come back and read mine. If you can't find the story…it should be under my favorites. While your at it, go read her other stories too, if you haven't. They should also be there as well. There, my shameless plug for the moment!
Legal Jargon- I don't own Naruto. The world, the characters, the…well…everything. Except for the Author Created stuff. So don't try to sue me, cause you can't get blood from stone.
The Darkhorse: A Naruto Fan Fiction
Caravans Return
" Why aren't we moving in?" asked a high pitched female voice.
" Because we haven't received the signal." spoke another female voice.
" But they're asleep. It'd be like taking candy from a baby!" spoke the first female again.
" Would you two knock it off?" said a more stalwart and tenor female.
" Come on…are you serous? There's four of us! It's be two to one! We're ranked S class, they're barely A rankers. If you both have cold feet, then I'll be happy to go ahead and do it for you." the high pitched female offered.
" I said not until we get the signal!" rasped the second female.
Quickly, another figure shot from out of the woods at lightning speed, placing a Kunai to each of their throats with enough force to draw a couple of drops of blood.
" I can hear you. And if I can hear you, they may too. If I don't think it's safe…then nobody moves in. Got it?" the woman hissed.
The two nodded fearfully and the figure released them, turning back.
" Now I'm heading back to keep watch. If I think it's safe to move in…then I'll send the signal. Otherwise if we were to go in now, we won't come out of this unscathed. Hell, we may even see a casualty or two…and that would be bad…" she warned, turning away and heading back to her position.
The remaining three looked between each other, then decided to spend more time trying to keep their chakra's and persons masked.
The next two days of traveling passed on uneventfully. The Caravan was successful in making it to Konohagakure with no losses or casualties to speak of. The worst that did end up happening was Kankurou making a pass at Kiyara, in which provoked a strong rejection to the point where they were ready to kill one another. Thankfully, Shikamaru was there to prevent such an occurrence and scolded them both for their behavior before he released them from his Shadow Possession Jutsu. Kiyara's excuse was that Kankurou came off as demeaning and untoward. Kankurou simply stated that she was a cold bitch who had no sense of taste in men.
Their testimonials were probably both true, Shikamaru thought. As they neared the city, they exchanged guard duties, leaving Kiyara alone in the front while Shikamaru and Kankurou brought up the rear of the Caravan, allowing them more time to talk as old friends.
" God, I can't wait to get back. You two are driving me insane…" said the Shadow Nin in a drawl voice.
" You seem to think that this whole mess is my fault." Kankurou responded with a huff.
" If you hadn't put your hand where you had and made an out and out pass at her, things would be nice and calm. Who knows…maybe you'd have even had a chance with her." Shikamaru accused.
" What the hell is wrong with that? All I did was put my arm around her, tell her she was cute, and asked her if she wanted to come have a drink with me once we got back." the Suna Nin defended.
" It'd be one thing if you had just put your arm around her. But you know how women are Kankurou, and I know how you are. Hands at the small of the back. Just think of it like the equator. Definitely not much above, and definitely not much below…and I heard you were heading a little far south for comfort." he chided.
" Tch…that little skirt thing was coming up, I swear…I was just going to try and smooth it down before she embarrassed herself." Kankurou lied with a big grin.
" I swear…" Shikamaru sighed, shaking his head.
" So how's my sister been? We haven't had much time to talk." the Suna Nin asked, his expression and voice now a bit more serious, if not also with a hint of compassion.
" She's doing well enough I suppose. I assume you read the report that Hokage-sama sent?" responded the spiky haired ambassador.
" Well yeah. But that's all official business. I'm talking about a more personal thing. Besides myself and Gaara, your probably the next closest person to her. I'd imagine she'd talk to you about stuff." elaborated the Puppet Ninja.
" Let's see…she hurt her shoulder…but Tsunade took care of the injury and I helped her with some of the soreness. Otherwise she's pretty fit to go. Any of her injuries have already been taken care of. I told her that if she has any other troubles, to go see Hinata." Shikamaru answered.
" Hmmm…Hinata…which one is that again?" Kankurou asked, trying his best to put a face to the name.
" The shy Hyuuga. Timid with long black hair, those platinum eyes…uhhh…" Shikamaru described, trying to really give him a better picture.
He realized then that even though he knew what Hinata looked like, she had such little presence that even he had a hard time putting a proper description to her.
" Not really getting much, but I'm sure my sister would remember her." shrugged the black suited Shinobi.
" Well your sister is the smart one…" Shikamaru jested.
" What the hell does that mean?" Kankurou growled.
The other Shinobi laughed as the Puppeteer grew more frustrated. At a glance, Shikamaru and Kankurou didn't seem like they could be anything less than begrudging teammates, however they both understood the simple nuances of how each other worked. For Kankurou, Shikamaru was about effort. He wanted to put as little in, and never really wanted to know more than he needed to, unless it was serious. And that was fine, as Kankurou didn't really mind. They could have a drink, talk a bit, and nothing had to be complicated and few things needed any real explanation. Simply put, there would be no hard feelings if one party was offended, and neither cared to pry too far into the others affairs.
For Shikamaru, Kankurou was a man all about respect. He liked to play the role of a tough guy, and for the most part, fell into Shikamaru's overall expectations for a man. Though he had a tendency to be rather rough around the edges, Kankurou was very much a man who did deserve respect. So all Shikamaru had to do was just maintain a healthy respect with the man, and nothing went wrong and nothing got complicated.
Though, they did love to ruffle each others feathers.
" So are you taking good care of my sister?" Kankurou shot back at Shikamaru with a grin.
" Why am I suddenly her keeper?" Shikamaru argued, now becoming frustrated in return.
" Oh, I dunno. Heard some crazy rumors about you two. You guys ever gonna get married? You'll need to speak with Gaara though…and that's something that you'll have to do on your own." Kankurou joked, now turning the tables on his Leaf friend.
" Look, nothing is going on. I keep telling people that. And why would you care?" Shikamaru asked, his voice reflecting irritation.
" I'm her brother. It's only natural that I would. But seriously, if you hurt her…I'll kill you." he spoke in an eerily serious tone.
The two shared a moment of silence as their eyes met one another, until Kankurou's expression broke and he let out a loud laugh.
" God I love that look on your face, you lazy old man. Seems that things are as slow as ever with you two. I figure I'll give her some hell about it once I get to the embassy, then see who else is in town. Kiba owes me a drink and I intend to collect!" Kankurou boomed.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Shikamaru sighed again. Kankurou was a good friend, if not a little obnoxious from time to time.
Finally, the Caravan entered Konoha, just as the afternoon sun was low in the sky. Waiting at the gates was none other than Temari, who wore a sour expression on her face. Kiyara stopped for only a moment and exchanged words and mission details with the guard while Temari wadded through the small sea of her country men and women, until she found the person she was looking for. Before he had a chance to escape, a powerful hand reached out and grabbed Shikamaru's collar, pulling him close for a point blank scolding.
" I swear…I'm never going to entrust any task to you ever again!" Temari spat.
" Why? What's wrong this time?" he whined, trying to break her vice grip.
" You were supposed to have all the vendor sites cleared. It took me half a day to go through your crap paperwork and chicken scratch handwriting to find out that you only had cleared the ones that Anko had signed on four day ago. What…did you not have the insight to think that maybe there would be more vendors? God damn it Shikamaru…I had to get the construction crews to take down half the attractions and move them. I had to round up all my security people to help out, which means that we're going to be over budget for the extra work. Did you ever think that maybe this would be a successful festival? Huh? DID THAT THOUGHT EVER CROSS YOUR ENORMOUS PINAPPLE SHAPED HEAD?" she raged.
" Uhhh…hey sis…" Kankurou greeted meekly.
She shot him an angry glare, which told him to keep his mouth shut. Despite being her bother, and being bigger than her, there was something dwarfing about his big sister that he could just never put his finger on. Shikamaru glanced away as Temari continued to explode with insults and threats, sighing as she began to shake him violently when it became clear that he was simply not in a mood to care.
It was like throwing water on a grease fire.
A half an hour later, Shikamaru, Anko, and Temari, whom which were accompanied by Kankurou and Kiyara were all gathered in Tsunade's office. Shikamaru was nursing a growing sore under his left eye with a bag of ice while Temari refused to sit next to him in the office. Kiyara took the lead in reporting the Caravan mission.
" The trip to the meeting point went as predicted. No trouble what so ever. On the night of the meeting, we were attacked by what we believe to be Rogue Ninja's, as Shikamaru had predicted, based on intelligence from the Suna ANBU, Kankurou." she stated, taking a hard glance at the aforementioned Suna ANBU, giving him the opportunity to speak.
" Yeah…we had been tracking the movements of a small band of Rogue Shinobi. About twenty five in number roughly. Seems that they had caught wind of the Caravan and wanted to do some looting. We dealt with the bulk of them, however it seems their leader and a couple of his subordinates escaped unharmed." he explained.
The Hokage sighed heavily, placing a pair of fingers on the bridge of her nose in order to relieve herself of some physical stress.
" Okay…so everyone got here safe and sound, right? Then lets have a report on the progress of the festival. Anko…you were in charge of Vendor conscription. How did it go?" the elder woman asked.
" Ma'am. I was able to sign on eighty seven vendors from Konoha, as well as thirteen from Suna. Business and profit margins have been discussed, as well as necessary taxations." she spout in cadence.
" Good work. Temari, you were in charge of security. Are we set for tomorrow?" Tsunade asked, her attention redirecting to the blond.
" Very well. I have fourteen Jounin and thirty three Chunin stationed as guards. Numerous Genin are being employed to help in directing and organizing the crowds just in case. I also have a handful of ANBU on hand for added weight in the event of emergency." the aforementioned blond reported.
" And you Shikamaru? I assume a schedule of events as well as coordination was well in order?" the tall blond asked, now directing her gaze his way.
" Yes Ma'am. All's ready for tomorrow." he stated, not really filling in any details.
Her eyes adjusted hard, piercing into him sharply.
" What the hell happened to your face?" she asked.
He took a glance at Temari, who returned the glance with a smug grin.
" I was playing Janken with Temari. A word of advice…if she picks rock, don't beat her…" he jested, causing her to redden slightly in anger.
After giving herself a moment to appraise the situation, Tsunade looked directly at Temari.
" So we're ready to go tomorrow night?" she asked.
" Yes Ma'am. Decorations are up. Attractions in place. Security hand picked. Events planned and coordinated. Vendors are already getting their booths situated…it's all on schedule and ready for tomorrow." she stated.
" Good. Then you're all dismissed." the Hokage announced.
As they all stood up, the older blond reach out and caught Shikamaru by the wrist.
" Hold on…I have this note for you. Your mother wanted me to make sure you got this." she said, while Shikamaru's expression seemed to darken slightly.
He unfolded it and began to read it as he slowly walked out of the office.
Shikamaru,
Your father is on an important mission, and I myself am needed in a nearby town to tend to some family business on my side of the family. Now, I know you just got back, but someone has to take care of those deer. I'll be back tomorrow night, so I expect you to have made sure everything is all clear.
You had better behave yourself at the festival young man…
He sighed as he continued reading it, not really minding his footstep, until he bumped into Shizune out in the reception area of the office. Hearing the untimely thump of the middle aged woman, he immediately let go of the paper, and offered her his hand. Seeing her sprawled out on the ground the way she was in her robe made him feel terrible. It was only made worse when she tried to stand up on her own.
" No…I can do this Shikamaru…" she said meekly, slowly pushing herself off of her rear and now into a prostrate position.
The Shadow Nin knelt down and offered her his hand again, however she shook her head.
" Please let me try Shikamaru…" she said, as she lurched her body forward onto her hands and began to push herself up.
Her arms strained as she tried to pull one of her legs forward and plant her foot firmly on the ground. Though her form was shaky, she was successful in making it to this kneeling position. Unfortunately, getting her other leg up would prove more difficult. Throwing as much strength as she could muster into her arms, she again lurched her weight forwards and tried to bring her other knee up, unsteadily guiding her leg into a position to set her foot down squarely. Just as she had almost succeeded in standing, her knee buckled and she began to collapse.
Thankfully, Shikamaru was there to catch her, and with his help, she steadied herself and he raised her back to her feet.
" I was so close this time…oh well I guess. Thank you Shikamaru…" she said, very congenially.
Despite the smile he gave and a quick wave good bye, he felt an overwhelming pity for her. Had it not been for Tsunade, Shizune would have remained lost to the world. Though Shikamaru did not fully know the details of what happened and how Tsunade saved her, he had uncovered enough evidence to suggest that Tsunade was only able to revive Shizune through some arrangement she made with Orochimaru. While he didn't know much else, he had decided to keep his mouth shut on his discoveries, and instead did a little tampering to ensure that no one else would figure it out.
However, having your Soul ripped from your body was in the very least, taxing to an individual. Since then, Shizune became very frail and weak. Her Chakra didn't work for her most of the time, and she was practically without strength. But still she tried very hard, and was still a figurehead of knowledge when it came to medical Jutsu. In fact, Shikamaru learned most of his medical Jutsu from her, since she was the only medical Nin he liked dealing with, as well as just an overall pleasant woman. It was hard to imagine that she was once a rather formidable Shinobi on par with most Jounin.
Once getting outside, he made his rounds through the village. First stop was the library, where he knew he would find Kasumi, and her guardian. Being his Genin, he had an intimate knowledge of their lives. Kasumi preferred to keep her life as private as possible, considering that she bore a heavy burden of sadness, having lost her parents at a very young age. Often times, a guardian was appointed to children who had no parents, especially in the case of those who's parents were also Shinobi. Very few exceptions existed, such as the case of Naruto, whom which most of the villagers had bore an unfair hatred.
As he walked into the large double doors of the library, he was greeted with numerous nods from the staff, as he was well known for spending some time in here when he was doing research for Cryptology. He navigated the book shelves and halls with ease, until he came into a clearing where he found Kasumi seated in a chair, looking over a book on Trapping strategies. Sensing him enter, she stood upright as he approached.
" Sensei…I wasn't expecting you here." she stated in surprise.
" Yeah…I just got back. So where's the old guy?" he asked with a smirk.
" What old guy are you talking about, Nara? I certainly hope you don't mean me." Ibiki interjected, standing only a few inches behind Shikamaru, " You're the only 'Old Guy' around here."
" Hey there, Morino. I'm just paying Kasumi a visit. I'll be hitting up Kinta and Karin afterwards." Shikamaru revealed.
" I see. It's been a while Shikamaru, how has Kasumi's training been going?" Ibiki asked gingerly.
" She's doing fine, despite those personality quirks that rubbed off from you onto her. Maybe if I had a lazier Genin, I'd have more time on my hands. But I suppose I could say the same about Karin." the spiky haired Jounin joked.
" Good. Despite your age, you're a good teacher Nara. I'll be looking forward to seeing her progress in this years Chunin exams." he stated proudly, almost as if he were her real parent.
" I suspect she'll do just fine. Now then, I guess I should get onto my business. Kasumi…tomorrow night is the festival. My goal is to leave in three days. We'll be gone for a month at least, so make sure your bags are packed. I wanna leave in the morning. The sooner we get to Suna, the better." he commanded.
" I'm all ready to go Sensei. I packed my bags last night." she said with a slight military pep, which Shikamaru figured was only there since she was in front of Ibiki.
" Well…good. Then I'm off to find Kinta. Please tell me you know where I might find him?" her Sensei asked, not wanting to go on another manhunt to find the young man.
" No, but I need to talk with him anyways. You want me to inform him?" Kasumi asked.
" Good, that'll help. I'm going to be busy with some family affairs to take care of, so I don't have a lot of time." he admitted.
" I see. Taking care of the deer again?" she asked.
" Yeah. And quickly…are you going to be at the festival?" he added, knowing the girl was somewhat antisocial as well as not well liked among most the other kids her age.
" Oh…well I wasn't…but Karin is forcing me to go. So I figure I'll drag Kinta along too. I shouldn't have to suffer alone after all." she finished with a slight grin.
Shikamaru let out a soft laugh as he left, waving to his Genin and her Guardian. Without the need to track down Kinta, he headed for the practice fields where, sure enough, he found Karin.
" Karin…" he called out.
His voice calling out her name caught onto her ears instantly, and tripped her up in mid stride. Before she landed face first into the training post, a trio of shadowy tendrils stopped her, and set her back on balance. Upon reaching her position, she turned to him and bowed, trying to hide her flush of embarrassment.
" Thank you Sensei, and I'm glad to see that you're back!" she said, cheerfully as always.
" It's good to see you too Karin. How's your training going?" he asked.
" Not bad, but I'm trying to tie a couple of movements together, however they don't end up following fast enough. Whenever I do them, I almost fall over and the second blow never lands where I want it to. Could you help me with it?" she begged.
He gave a nod, and watched as she took a couple of steps back. Taking her typical pose with her fans drawn and in the closed position, she took a fast and wide step forward and brought both of the fans down hard where the targets shoulders and collar bone would be. Then, spinning on her left heel, she brought her right heel around to cross against the first attack. Immediately the problem was noticeable to Shikamaru, as there was a lengthy delay between her attacks, which any Ninja would be able to capitalize on. The combo was a good trick, especially when trying to pressure an opponent, however failed to deliver.
" Do it again." he instructed, and she followed.
As she spun around, he caught her, holding her by her outstretched arms and right knee.
" You stick your arms out too much, creating an awkward balance for the speed your looking to rotate. Try instead to cross your arms as you begin to turn. Do it quickly and you'll create additional momentum. Then, once you bring the right heel to cross against the first blow, invert the stick lengths so that you've only got a few inches to the top, then thrust them straight towards the target as your right heel begins to land." he analyzed.
With a nod, she began again, taking the broad first step with her left foot as lead. Bringing the pair of clasped fans down onto the targets shoulder and chest area, she was quick cross her arms and invert the way she held the fans as she spun on her left heel and brought the right to strike along the same zone as the first attack, then as her right heel landed, she took the stumpy ends of the fans that she had so well choked up on, and thrust them into the same zone for a doubling blow that would even affect someone wearing armor.
" Good work. Now I need to talk to you for just a minute, then you can continue doing that for the next half hour." he stated, garnering the girls completely undivided attention, " Now then, in three days, we'll be leaving for Suna. I want you to have your stuff packed and ready to go on that morning. Got it?" he asked.
" Of course Sensei. I'll make sure that Kinta is packed and ready to go too." she offered.
" That's good, I suppose. Though I feel like maybe he shouldn't have to let you ladies do all his work for him." he mused.
" Oh, he'll do the work. I'll just make sure to remember." she beamed.
" That's good then. Guess that's all I have for you Karin." he said, turning to leave, until she caught his sleeve.
He turned back around and gave her a quizzical look.
" Something else you wanted to ask me about?" he asked the girl.
" Err…yeah. Hey Sensei…what are you doing for the festival tomorrow?" she asked.
" What? Oh…I dunno…I wasn't really planning on going." he admitted.
" R…really?" her voice asked while deflating.
" Not my kind of thing usually. Is there a reason you wanted to know?" he pried.
" Well…I thought that since the rest of us are going together…I was hoping that you could come with us to. Even if it's just for a little while…" she revealed, holding back her embarrassment as much as she could.
He stared at her for a minute, allowing his thoughts to collect as he gave her words consideration. Finally, he sighed in defeat.
" Okay…fine. But just for a little bit." he offered.
" Yay!" Karin cheered, leaping onto him in an embrace.
He rarely allowed her to embrace him, however would indulge her once in a while, only to make her happy and nothing more. Finally able to part from her, he was quick to head back towards his apartment, looking forward to a hot shower and a short bout of relaxation before he tended to the deer that evening.
Of course, Shikamaru could never quite have everything just the way he wanted it.
Standing there, in front of the door to his apartment complex, was the blond Suna Nin in which made his heart race slightly, and his head ache more so.
" You better not be here to scold me some more. I already said I was sorry." he shot, trying to get past her.
Taking a quick step, she impeded his movement, allowing their bodies to clash briefly.
" I'm not here to scold you. I actually wanted to speak with you…" she asked, her voice trailing off slightly.
" Well, I'm pretty busy right now. I've got a hot shower to take and some paperwork to fill. Can't this wait until tomorrow?" he said in his drawl tone.
Deep down, he didn't really mind…but after socking him in the face earlier, he wasn't about to just roll over for this woman.
" Well it is important, and I'd prefer to get it taken care of before tomorrow." she shot
" Troublesome…Fine. I know I've shown you where the entrance to the Nara family woods is. You do remember it, right?" he asked.
" Don't patronize me Shikamaru, I know where your damn forest is…" she badgered in return.
" Good. Then meet me there around seven. I have work to do, but as long as we keep our voices down everything should be fine. And whatever you do, don't go into the woods without me. There are special seals and all sorts of nasty traps designed for outsiders who are not welcome. Got it?" he asked, pointedly.
With a simple nod, she let him pass finally, and he disappeared into the building to go take a little time and relax before his duties this evening.