Chapter 2

Helping Neji

"Shikamaru! That way!" Sakura yells while pointing towards a direction.

"Okay!" Shikamaru replies.

Shikamaru holds Neji tighter and starts running faster to where Sakura pointed to.

"We're gonna get you help. Stay strong Neji!" Shikamaru tells Neji.

Neji could only barely smile at Shikamaru. Shikamaru is fine with that, it shows that Neji is still alive.

Sakura points out the hospital. "Right there!"

"Ah, perfect!" Shikamaru says with a smile.

Sakura and Shikamaru run inside the hospital with a wounded Neji. Surprisingly, there is no one inside the cold and quiet hospital except for the receptionist.

The receptionist sees Neji and gasps. "Oh no! This poor boy! Let's get him into surgery now!"

"Surgery!?" Shikamaru asks.

"Yes!" says the receptionist. "I'm going to get a stretcher and I'll have the best surgeons take care of this boy!"

"Less yappin', come on...," Sakura says then leans in to read the receptionist's name tag. "Yui!"

Yui ignores Sakura's comment and gets a stretcher. Shikamaru quickly yet gently puts Neji's wounded body on the stretcher on his side. Yui quickly runs Neji back to the surgeons.

"What do we do now?" asks Shikamaru. "Should we wait for Neji, or should we go back to the battlefield?"

"Someone needs to stay for Neji," Sakura says. "I vote for you to stay. I'm a medical ninja, I will be needed!"

Without giving Shikamaru a chance to speak, Sakura runs out of the hospital and goes back to the battlefield. Shikamaru watches Sakura run out with an annoyed expression. Shikamaru looks around the empty, quiet hospital. He shrugs his shoulders and takes a seat.

"Man, this is such a drag," Shikamaru mumbles to himself.

Shikamaru leans his head back and closes his eyes. While resting, Shikamaru hears the chimes of the hospital doors opening. Being curious, Shikamaru opens his eyes to see who came in.

"Hm?"

When Shikamaru realizes who came inside, he jumps up and prepares himself to fight. At the door is the write zetsu that Obito sent.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Shikamaru asks the white zetsu.

"To make sure that you, that pink haired girl, and the long haired brat dies!" the white zetsu says.

"That'll never happen!" Shikamaru says.

"Say, where would the rest be?" asks the white zetsu while looking around.

"You'll never find out! You'll be dead before that happens!" Shikamaru yells.

"I guess I'll just have to find them myself," the white zetsu says.

The white zetsu starts to run towards the back of the hospital, where Neji was taken.

"Hell no," Shikamaru says.

Shikamaru uses his shadow possession jutsu. "Shadow possession jutsu!"

Shikamaru freezes the white zetsu in place.

"I- I can't move!" the white zetsu says.

"How about we play a little game?" Shikamaru asks with a smirk.

Before Shikamaru could make his next move, Sakura bursts into the hospital with one leg in the air. Sakura then kicks the white zetsu right in the face. The white zetsu falls to the ground while still under Shikamaru's jutsu.

The white zetsu looks up at Sakura. He gives Sakura a creepy grin. "Oh perfect!"

Sakura looks down at the white zetsu. "What are you doing here?"

"To make sure that you and the other 2 boys here die!" the white zetsu says.

Sakura screams to gather strength and punches the white zetsu in the face hard.

"HAAA!" POW!"

The white zetsu's body sinks into the ground as Sakura punches him. With the flooring breaking underneath him.

Sakura looks up at Shikamaru. "He's dead."

"Good," Shikamaru says.

Yui comes out from the back room and sees the mess Sakura just caused.

"What the hell just happened?!" Yui asks.

"A white zetsu tried to attack us," Shikamaru says.

Yui looks down at the dead zetsu.

"Well, I should head back to the battlefield," Sakura says. "Are you okay staying here for Neji?"

"Of course," Shikamaru says.

"Neji is seriously injured. It may take quite a while before he'll be able to wake up then go home," Yui says.

"How long do you think it could take?" asks Sakura.

"It could take a few hours, days, possibly weeks," Yui said.

"I'm willing to wait however long it takes!" Shikamaru says with determination.

"Okay, good," Sakura says. "Try to keep me updated. I'll talk to you through Ino's mind body transmission."

"Wait! Before you leave!" Shikamaru quickly says.

"What?" Sakura asks. "I need to go!"

"How did you know to come back? How did you know that a white zetsu was here? asks Shikamaru.

"Oh that. When I was originally heading back to the battlefield, I saw a white zetsu come out of the ground through my peripherals. I turned around and saw him walk inside the hospital. I knew something bad was about to go down," Sakura explains. Sakura then quickly runs out of the hospital.

Shikamaru looks at Yui. "Neji is gonna make it, right?"

"He should," Yui says.

Shikamaru takes a deep breath and looks up at the ceiling. "I believe Neji will survive..."