SHIKAMARU
Shikamaru lamented to himself over the loss of his planned enjoyment.
This was supposed to be an easy mission…
Sipping hot cocoa and eating biscuits by the fire…
Maybe a day skiing by the inn…
He put his hands together in a seal and focused his chakra on the incoming enemy targets. These miniature monsters were approximately the size of three fistfuls of snow. They moved quickly over the snow-laden ground and jumped on their prey. Shikamaru had gotten used to calling them rabid snow bunnies. They'd be cute if they didn't have icicles for teeth and a violent relentless to them. He'd successfully taken out about a dozen of them already but another batch was approaching him.
Getting rid of them was simple enough with his Shadow Possession Jutsu. He was able to grab them and smash them together mid-air before they got anywhere near him. Unfortunately, to his greatest dismay, whenever they collided, they let out a terrible screech that scratched his ears. And after a dozen smashings, it was really starting to get on his nerves. It was bad enough that these evil creatures disrupted his mission-slash-romantic-getaway – why couldn't they go down quietly?
He looked toward the sky between the narrow pine trees. The sun was already hanging low in the sky. And while the shadows were long now, he'd soon be without a light source - rendering him useless in complete darkness. Which meant that time was of the essence. He needed to call it in now before he ran out of shadows or before he ran out of chakra.
Now, where was that troublesome woman?
As if on cue, a howl of laughter echoed through the bare forest.
He couldn't help but roll his eyes.
What a spine-chilling sound…She must be enjoying herself.
A gust of wind blew in his face. The air was cold and biting.
Appropriate... given their circumstances, he thought to himself.
The wind blew even stronger and he had to widen his stance to keep his balance. He shut his eyes as the remnant snow crumbs of the mushed snow monsters were blown into his eyes.
Reign it in, woman...
But the wind grew greater and the laughter rang again.
Reign it in… Shikamaru urged again inwardly, bracing himself against the forceful wind.
At this rate, this entire side of the moutain would be levelled. And it was in the Shinobi Alliance's best interest that its key members not destroy a huge acre of soon-to-be-protected forest.
As if hearing his thoughts, the wind came to a standstill. There was neither a sound nor a movement around him and in the stillness, Shikamaru felt overcome with a sense of peace. in front of him, he watched Sun move toward the horizon, taking with it the day's light. The shadows of the tall narrow pine trees stretched long across the ground as the sky took a purple hue. He again lamented to himself.
He had imagined spending his first evening here very differently.
Then there was a loud crack followed by an earth-shattering boom.
With a groan, Shikamaru ran towards to sounds.