Author's notes: Here's a chapter... :)

To the guest who kept reading and supporting this story.. Thank you very much! I am actually having a bad day yesterday and your review really made my day... :) Thank you!

Of course... to the other readers who continue to read this story.. I owe you a lot... :) Thank you very much for sticking to this story until this chapter... :)

Disclaimer: Yeah.. I do not own Naruto...


It was all so fast; Shikamaru charged towards Orpheus, shouts and cries of their allies, Konoha 11 and the sand sibs quickly following him with some other ninjas, and Ino's widening eyes.

Shikamaru stopped abruptly a little distant away from Orpheus and Ino. He saw Ino open her mouth to throw up some blood. He quickly inspected what happened to her and saw a kunai deepening on her stomach.

"Thank me Nara! I haven't killed Ino."

"Bastard!"

"But I won't be that merciful. Let me go, I'll take your wife with me and I'll make sure she's not harmed." Orpheus proposed.

'As if...' Shikamaru thought. He quickly thought of plans on how to defeat Orpheus without inflicting any pain to Ino. He saw Orpheus whip signs and opened a swirling black portal behind him. He didn't even know why the guy could not just teleport or something.

'Or maybe he doesn't know how to do that. Wait...'

Shikamaru gestured Naruto to come before he glanced at Choji. Choji got the message and run towards Orpheus. Kiba and the others followed.

"What is it Shikamaru?"

"I know you know how Hiraishin no jutsu activates. And don't worry, I have already thrown the marked kunai near Ino when Choji and the others were about to attack. I doubt Orpheus saw that since he was preoccupied with Choji." Naruto nodded, "Get Ino while we attack Orpheus. Got it?" Naruto nodded again.

"At my signal, go to her and get back here." Shikamaru did some hand signs.

"Kage no Kami no jutsu." He whispered. Shikamaru watched as his shadow extended towards the battle where Choji and the others are trying to get their hands on Orpheus. Naruto took this as a sign to go to Ino.

As Naruto disappeared, he felt something got tangled to his shadow. BINGO.

Shikamaru stood and walked towards the battle; his allies giving way for him. He saw Naruto got back to their original place with a weak and tired Ino. He saw Naruto lay Ino softly on the ground.

He fought the urge to ran back and lash out on Naruto. It was supposed to be him who saved Ino, nobody else. But he doesn't have the capacity to do the Flying Thunder God technique, besides he saved her in a different manner. He just wished it was him who's beside Ino and not Naruto, but that was selfish of him. Ino needs someone who can cure her, and that's not him though he knew a lot of medicines, it's just not enough.

Medical ninjas went immediately to Ino and Shikamaru saw Naruto following him and letting the medic nins to do their magic on Ino.

He smirked, as he gazed at the fallen enemy. 'Not dead yet, still not enough. But soon... soon this man shall die... after what I'll do with him.' Shikamaru thought.

Choji, punched Orpheus the last time before retreating beside Shikamaru. Now, they are all towering in front the forsaken enemy.

"What are you waiting for? Kill me! Kill me now!"

Shikamaru sadistically smirked, "Tch. Tch. Tch. Too excited to die, are we Orpheus?"

Shikamaru saw Orpheus shudder. Of course the bastard will shake, it was his tone Shikamaru was imitating when he said those words, the Nara head grinned widely. He peered closer to Orpheus.

"Bastard, you cause too much pain to too many people. I don't think I can let you get away just like that." Shikamaru whispered in Orpheus' ear. "You'll die the way you deserve, slowly but excruciating."

His shadow bonded itself tighter around Orpheus, it marked on every part of the enemy. He was almost turning blue when Shikamaru loosened his shadows a little bit and stabbed the guy repeatedly until he was too weak to almost not breathe.

Shikamaru gazed at a medic nin and quickly healed Orpheus. Then after seeing the enemy was fine again, he repeated his actions. Over and over and over and over again, just like what Orpheus did to Ino.

XxXxX

Choji watched his best friend torture the enemy. For him, Orpheus deserved all the revenge he got with Shikamaru. But he was unhappy and worried.

Because he saw he gaze at Shikamaru's eyes, there was no life. It was the same eyes as Sasuke before when he was in Akatsuki. Ruthlessness, mercilessness, and vengeance reflected on them.

He watched as the others look away when Shikamaru chopped Orpheus fingers and toes just like what that guy did to some of the villagers. His best friend also shaved the man's silky hair that he had used to allure and victimized the women on the ship Ino sailed before they were captured.

He watched as the others stopped themselves from vomiting as Shikamaru pierced Orpheus ears, just like what he did to some ninjas when they bounded in that damn room.

He watched as Shikamaru took out Orpheus' eyes while his best friend says, "That's for all the sins your eyes had seen."

But from all the tortures he received, Orpheus is still alive. Bleeding, broken, wounded, and almost dead but still he was alive. Almost dead is not enough. The guy could still have some tricks up to his sleeve even in his weakened state.

When he was about to tell his friend to stop playing with his prey and just kill it, they heard shrieks. And when he looked back to its origin, he was mortified.

XxXxX

He was cruel, Shikamaru knew that. He did every torture he knew Orpheus did to the villagers and it the ninjas. He even slashed that damned sex of Orpheus who violated his wife way too much than forgivable.

He saw Choji's look, traces of wariness in his best friend's eyes. He knew the message behind it; Kill the bastard, NOW.

He was about to. He decided a single stab on his heart or forehead would be be this bastard's end. But then there was a shriek from behind them; a shriek he knew originated from where Ino is. And he was mortified.

He saw a black portal, much like the one earlier before they attacked Orpheus. 'So the bastard still has a tramp card., eh?' Shikamaru thought. 'Why would he-'

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw Ino floated and got sucked by the portal. He quickly rushed to her but it was too late. Ino was stuck in the portal.

He smashed his fist desperately to the portal. The portal seems to enclose once someone entered it; something Orpheus would have since he doesn't want to be followed.

At first it was only Shikamaru's fist which came in contact with the glass-like portal. But he was getting desperate so he resorted to smashing his whole body to it.

"Stop." Shikamaru heard his wife said. Ino must have woken up when he was smashing the frozen portal.

"No... I will get you out from there." Shikamaru said as he continued to smash his self to the portal. He can see the others trying to help him break the glass like damn thing but it was unsuccessful.

"You're hurting yourself Shikamaru... just let it go." Ino said. Shikamaru, frustrated, tapped the portal and bowed his head as he lean in towards it.

"No... I'm not going to let you go." He was crying. "I'm not going to lose you ever again."

Shikamaru could feel Ino's stare at him. "There's nothing we can do... just accept it."

"No... I'll do something, everything, and anything. I'll do what I can to get you out, to be with me again." And he smashed his body again to the portal.

"Stop... stop hurting yourself. Do you know it pains me to see you like this?" Ino cried.

"I don't know what to without you." Shikamaru whispered.

"I'm not going to die. I'm in a portal for Kami's sake Shikamaru. You can see me again. I can be with you again."

"But...-"

"And while this portal sends me to wherever place it takes me, live. For me, for you, for our future, live Shika-kun. And find me."

Shikamaru saw the portal whirling again and it was slowly sucking Ino in it again. Shikamaru panicked.

"INO!" He said, smashing the portal again with his fist. But Ino was sucked to it.

"I believe in you." That was Ino's last words before the portal grew smaller and Shikamaru fell to his knees again.

Laughter echoed throughout the place. Shikamaru shook. And in a flash, he went to the source or laughter.

XxXxX

Sakura saw the whole event. She even shed a tear for her best friend. When Shikamaru left the portal and everyone just seems to be mesmerized by what he was doing, Sakura ran towards the portal.

"Katsuyu..." Sakura summoned the slug.

XxXxX

He was mourning. He knew Ino was not dead... yet. But she was too weak, the medics haven't got much time to fix her; with everything in her broken.

But then someone laugh. That laughter, he loath it. That man doesn't need to laugh. He doesn't need to rub on Shikamaru's face how much he had failed Ino. He stood up and in a flash ran towards Orpheus.

"Where is Ino?! Where did you take her?!" Shikamaru demanded but Orpheus only gave a choking laugh.

The man, surrounded with a pool of blood and his toes and fingers and hair, laughed like there's no tomorrow. He was mocking Shikamaru.

His vision darkened, and he was blinded with rage. He didn't know what came to him. In his blurried vision, he can see his own hands stabbing Orpheus wherever his kunai will lead his hands, even when blood splashed to him.

His kunai struck Orpheus' forehead but Shikamaru was still not content, he deepened it and screwed his weapon in his enemy's head. He left the weapon stuck on Orpheus head but Shikamaru won't be too sure.

He struck Orpheus again to the heart which was not beating anymore and did what he did with Orpheus' forehead. But Shikamaru is still not content.

He ripped Orpheus's arms and legs then chop it to pieces. He pulled Orpheus' head off from the body. That was when his vision cleared.

Shikamaru had killed people before but not as ruthless as he did with Orpheus. He looked at his hands and his body and he was covered in blood. He touched his face and felt some thick liquid and when he saw it was red, he knew it was blood.

Not his blood, no, Orpheus'. He killed the guy, murdered or slaughtered even but he was unhappy. Everyone was supposed to be happy since the main antagonist was dead but not a single cheer can be heard. The aura of everyone was eerie and grief.

No cheers, no laughter, no cries of joy when it was supposed to be a day of victory. Everyone bowed their head and mourned for the loss of another comrade and for another lost soul.


A/N: Thank you for reading... please review! :)

anyway.. I don't know if the portal goes like that.. It's a bit fantasy I can see but hey... the ninjas in Naruto have powers... LOL...

The jutsus I mentioned are real... I think the Kage no Kami no jutsu is on chapter 633... I'm not sure... but i dunno if in real life there are stuffs like that...

Anyway... I think there would be 2 more chapters left and this story would be complete... again...

I THANK YOU ALL FOR STICKING WITH THIS STORY... :)