The Nara household was, as usual, subdued. Golden sunlight poured through the windows of the house.

Nara Yoshino glared at her son. "Hurry up! Since your father already has a mission, there won't be much time this morning for training!" She brought out a bowl filled with buns, setting it on the table.

"Yeah, yeah." Rolling his eyes, Shikamaru grabbed one of the buns and stuffed it into his mouth.

"One yeah is enough!" Yoshino snapped back. She turned on her heel, surprised at a knock on the door. "I wonder who could be here this early." She left, walking to the door.

"I'd like to know, dad," Shikamaru whispered to Shikaku as his mother left, leaning across the table. "Why'd you marry such a woman?"

Shikaku shrugged. "Well, at certain times, your mother is happy and cheerful too. That's why." He took a drink from the cup nearby.

Shikamaru waited. After a moment, eyebrows furrowing, he asked, "That's, that's it? That's the only reason you would do it?"

Shikaku nodded, his expression unchanging.

Shikamaru's brow dripped with sweat. What kind of mental illness do you have? he wondered to himself, his eyebrow twitching.

Yoshino reentered the room, her eyes bright. "The Fifth Hokage has requested your presence!" she declared with pride.

Shikamaru gulped. What have I gotten myself into? Snatching one of the buns from the table, he dashed out of the room, rapidly pulling on a Hidden Leaf headband.

"Don't forget to be polite!" Yoshino shouted at Shikamaru, her expression sour.

Shikamaru drew in a heavy breath. If that's what love's like, I want no part of it. He dashed up the street rapidly.

Flight

The Hokage's office shimmered. The white papers rested against the table, stacked in disarray against the folders.

Tsunade nodded swiftly. She gestured to Shikamaru. "Orochimaru-san has taken Kōju-chan."

Shikamaru looked out the window, his black eyes narrowing. Hm."How did you determine this information?" he questioned quickly.

"One of the Inuzuka family caught a scent they haven't smelled since the invasion, intermingled with Kōju-chan's scent. On top of that, when we checked using the old Hokage's method, we couldn't find Kōju-chan anywhere." Tsunade paused. "That's all the data we need.

Shikamaru looked at Tsunade. "If there's no other data, then I'd like a team fully comprised of jōnin and chūnin." He rubbed his chin. "Hidden Sound did a number on us the last time they attacked, and they attacked without the benefit of home territory. We're probably going to be outnumbered and at high risk."

"That may not be possible." Tsunade folded her hands, regarding Shikamaru between the interlaced fingers. "Most jōnin and chūnin are away from the village at this time, having been occupied with various missions related to the activities of Hidden Rain. If we wish to make a successful team we'll need genin as well." She glanced downwards. "Gather as many as you feel are appropriate and get going. I trust your analytic abilities."

Shikamaru nodded. He turned away.

"One more thing. If you can recover her without getting hurt, that would be best. I don't want that." Tsunade's voice trailed off. She muttered something that sounded like 'one of my fans' under her breath.

Shikamaru swallowed. He ran out of the office, a bead of sweat running down his face. Seriously, that woman's weird.

Flight

The door of Team Seven's flat opened swiftly, banging against the adjoining mellow-brown house.

"What?" the frazzled Hidden Leaf ninja demanded, shocked.

"Kōju was taken," Shikamaru stated calmly.

Naruto frowned. "Hang on a sec!" He rushed back into his flat, switching out his clothing in a matter of moments. "Okay, ready!" He threw up his thumb. "Let's go get her back!"

Sasuke stood motionless against the wall, her arms folded. "Ready when you are, blockhead. We need to get moving, quickly."

Naruto frowned. "I already get that!"

"Before we go. It's our fault, likely, that she's gone." Sasuke closed her eyes. Her face grew heavy. "And I apologize to you, and to the rest of the village, for that."

Naruto blinked.

"Uh, look, the important thing is getting her back. No matter how sorry you are, it won't mean a thing until you back it up with action." Shikamaru's brow dripped with sweat. "You can assign blame after you have brought her back safe and sound."

The sun and clouds of the village steadily dispersed, color and light falling onto the steps Naruto raced down.

"So I'm one of the great genin you hired?" Naruto asked Shikamaru. "Well, of course, Sasuke's on the list too."

Shikamaru nodded after a moment. "Yes."

The ninja reached the second rise.

Sasuke ran beside Naruto, her face drawn with a stern determination.

Rubbing his eyes, Chōji stepped out of the apartment after the knock.

"We'll be counting on you therefore. Get ready quickly. We'll be at the main gate in ten minutes and we'll leave in twenty." Shikamaru waved at his friend, his teeth showing in a grin.

Chōji nodded amiably. Stuffing his hand into the bag of chips, he turned around and waddled back into his room.

"Excellent ninja, huh? I can't see how—" Naruto began hotly.

"He works well with me. I think you probably will too," Shikamaru remarked, shrugging. He turned back towards the center of the village. "Well, I called a few others already."

Kiba waved at the party. They approached swiftly. "Well—hope we won't stand in your way."

Akamaru barked in a small gruff voice.

Shikamaru shrugged. "You guys are pretty useful." He rubbed his head slowly. "I'm just curious as to who else we can get."

The wind blew up across the ground. Several moments passed in silence.

Shikamaru nodded slowly. "And it looks like that's about it. Hm. Okay, let's go find the Hyūga."

"His name is Neji." Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Please, use the proper term to refer to him, if you intend to."

The birds chirped in the sky.

"Okay then," Shikamaru continued, not in the least put out by Sasuke's irritability. "Where is Neji?"

"If I know him, he's practicing in the woods outside Hidden Leaf." Sasuke smirked. "Follow me." Turning around, she hurried into the darkness of the foliage.

The others followed rapidly behind.

Flight

The waterfall glimmered, droplets of water splashing against the grey stones. The sky darkened as a cloud momentarily passed over the sun.

Water rushed over Hinata's face as she finished a sweeping turn with the kunai. Without looking, she hurled the kunai behind her rapidly.

The kunai skewered a small rat at a distance of ten paces.

"Wow!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning as he looked at Hinata. "That's pretty impressive!"

Hinata gulped. "Naruto-kun?" Her cheeks flushed slightly.

Neji walked forward. "Naruto-kun," he said coolly, extending his hand to the chūnin.

Naruto grinned. "YEAH!" He thrust his fist in the air. "Okay, I think that's everybody! Let's go!" Naruto shouted, pointing to the gate of the village.

Neji raised an eyebrow. He was appointed to lead our team?

Hinata pressed her fingers together.

Shikamaru groaned. "How troublesome. Neji, follow me. Hinata, we probably won't need a second Sanshigan user. Listen up, everybody. Orochimaru-san kidnapped Kōju-chan, taking her away to the Sound Village! We'll be taking her back under my guidance. Any questions?"

Sighing, Hinata left the group behind.

A silence followed.

Shikamaru rolled out a map on a nearby stump. "Here's our battle formation." He pulled out several chess pieces and played them on the board. "Since we're pursuing, ambushes and unusual squad formations won't work well. So let's follow our orders and survive, shall we?"

The group gathered around the stump, studying the formation.

Kiba gulped.

"We'll be proceeding in formation single file. Each person will be part of a team, starting with the first person." Shikamaru pointed firmly at Kiba. "You've gone through the territory of the Hidden Leaf a very long way. You've also got a good sense of smell. And you can tell booby traps pretty easily. That sense of fear, of danger, will be essentially necessary to win this battle. Get going, Kiba-kun."

Kiba nodded after a moment. His smile showed his fangs. I guess we got this. With such a smart leader, there's no way things could go wrong.

Shikamaru turned swiftly around. He gestured at Sasuke. "You'll be accompanying me. As the team leader, I'll provide information to the people around me and relay information from scouts. If I'm taken out of commission, Sasuke-chan should be a working backup leader."

Sasuke's lip curled upwards slightly. She nodded, touching the sword at her side.

Shikamaru pointed to Naruto. "You will be working as cover and assistance."

Naruto growled. I could definitely handle this myself! Does Shikamaru-kun not trust me or something?!

Shikamaru circled again. "Which leaves us at our heaviest hitter—Chōji Akimichi." He pointed to the genin.

Chōji nodded shortly. He reached downward. Rummaging around in his bag, he removed a potato chip.

"When one of our scouts points out something, it'll be the job of you to take it out." Shikamaru glanced back at Neji. "Finally, there's Neji-san. He'll be serving the same function as Kiba-san, but to deal with attempted ambushes from behind." He hesitated.

Neji inclined his head, his expression distant and unemotional.

"Now, the most important part. I don't think I know Kōju-chan all that well. To explain further, I have barely met her. But today that doesn't matter, because Kōju-chan is a ninja of the Hidden Leaf! It's no longer about my opinion—on a day like today, or any day, this can't be allowed to happen. As of right now I am responsible for all your lives, as well as hers."

Kiba blinked. "Wow. That's heavy stuff."

Chōji grinned.

Naruto set his bags down on the ground, his eyes distant. Poor Kōju-chan. Why her? She wasn't always the nicest, but her heart was always in the right place.

"Worried you might fail, moron?" Kiba demanded, grinning.

Naruto shook his head. "We'll bring her back! That's my ninja way! Believe it!" Grinning, Naruto moved through the trees to the gate.

Shikamaru sighed. "Everyone get in order." He gestured rapidly.

The line reluctantly shuffled into assembly outside the gate.

"What did you mean, it's our fault that Kōju-chan went missing?" Naruto hissed to Sasuke.

"You really are an idiot." Sasuke rubbed her temples. She spoke in low whispers. "Well, just for a second, think about what she said earlier. Do you think that she's leaving for any other reason?"

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. "You seriously think that she's leaving just because she lost?"

"It's not because she lost." Sasuke drew in a deep breath. "The reason she's leaving us is because we never treated her as an equal. We thought of her as just some idiotic kid that didn't know any better. We treated her the same way our classmates treat you. Some dunce whose opinions don't hold any weight."

Naruto closed his eyes. He reached upward, rubbing at his eyes. "Oh, Emperor."

Sasuke nodded grimly. "That's why it's your duty, and mine, to make sure she comes back safely."

"Hush up back there!" Shikamaru barked, his voice completely serious. "We can't afford to goof around, even here. A mistake in battle could be fatal."

Both Naruto and Sasuke stopped speaking. Naruto swallowed. Shikamaru makes a pretty good team leader.

"Recovery Team, move out." Shikamaru lowered his arm.

The group moved out of the gate one by one. The dark forest swallowed them up.

A/N: The only major change here is the addition of Sasuke to the initial squad. The reasons for including her:

Sasuke:As a member of Team Seven, both other members of Team Seven should go to rescue the missing member. This is an obvious enough reason that I won't be including any further reasoning.