A/N: Clocking in at 10,030 words, this hopefully makes up at least a little bit for the billion year delay in posting xD
Said delays brought to you by a huge fight with my sister and more mental health issues than I can shake a stick at, but I am still alive and doing my best to finish this fic!
(fun note, said mental health issues got so bad my roommate straight up called a therapist and scheduled appointments for me - with my knowledge, she didn't go behind my back, but she was like no you need help and if you can't make the phone call I WILL but it turns out the therapist has a waiting list for new patients so now we're waiting to hear back that I can go so *shrugs* we'll see)
Said roommate is also my beta reader, who was unable to beta read because shortly after said phonecall her body ended up deciding to pass a kidney stone and she's been MISERABLY sick from it. As her job is less typo correcting and more making-sure-the-characters-are-in-character, people MAY be more OOC than usual.
If anything is especially egregious, lemme know, and I'll make sure to fix those scenes before writing the next chapter.
I'm mostly worried about Shikamaru, and a little bit about Naruto, I think I did okay with the others.
As always, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!
Ino scrawls furiously in the dirt, one half-written insult turning into another between one stroke and the next in a mess of coded shorthand and natural characters, as she waits on her teammates to show up. Her stick jabs harshly, carving a deep line into the dirt.
Natsu doesn't make sense, and she needs Shikamaru to hurry up and get here already, so she can scream at him over it. Ino's usually the people-person out of them but all that genius has to be good for something and she could really use a second opinion here!
Technically, Choji's not supposed to know about anything, so if Shikamaru keeps dragging his feet - even though she told him to be early dammit! - she might have to ask sensei to work with Choji one-on-one for a bit… which she's not sure he'd go for, because Asuma-sensei has absolutely been briefed on everything, there's no way Papa wouldn't have warned him at least, but- she needs answers. And maybe if she's lucky, Shikamaru's already found them for her.
Because… it's just. It's not Sakura. Natsu isn't- and sure, Ino knew that, it'd all been explained to her before she went over for dinner but- seeing is different somehow. Natsu is different, and she'd tried to imagine, really, between the Harunos' and papa's own words, but none of it came close to how she felt when she finally met him face-to-face and-
The dichotomy, between Sakura's face and body and voice and that strange, confident person behind them- she couldn't even get a real read on his personality, constantly side-tracked by how un-Sakura-like he was and-
She needs a second opinion.
Sasuke-kun and Naruto, they're- they don't count, clearly biased. It's almost- Ino knows teams aren't assigned randomly, knows that Naruto, Sasuke-kun, and Sakura-chan were put on a team together for a reason. And those reasons usually have to do with either personality compatibility, or technical compatibility, or preferably both. Ino couldn't really… see either, with Team 7. When the teams were assigned, she couldn't have really guessed what would happen outside the second generation Ino-Shika-Cho, and even that wasn't guaranteed, but- when she saw Team 7, she didn't expect them to be the kind of team that really got along.
It's not really unheard of, she knows some clan members who have teams that they work with regularly, practically permanently, but don't actually hang out outside of missions and training, because they're great technical fits whose skills work great together but aren't actually friends. And maybe it's cruel, but she… sort of thought Team 7 would be like that.
Like maybe there was just something Ino wasn't seeing in their skills, that would make them a great combat team or something, and they were gonna be one of those technical legends like cousin Inosuke whose team is so good at infiltrations that they were too good, and couldn't even be in ANBU because they were too unmistakable and wouldn't be able to keep their identities quiet.
She's never even met her cousin's teammates.
And yet… Team 7 had a sleepover. And half the dinner conversation was them planning out pranks on their Sensei for some… slight that she never quite got out of them, and they were just-
They're a team. They bickered over prank suggestions and methods and spent way too long coming up with the perfect prank that included all of their ideas equally, but at no point did they ever feel like anything less than a closely-bonded team.
It hurts.
It hurts because, even though Sakura was there, even though Natsu offered her ideas with a level of brash disregard that she knows Sakura-chan didn't present them with, Ino feels like…
It feels like Team 7 grew around Natsu.
Not the other way around.
It feels like Natsu is what made Team 7 grow outside of what she expected, and- it's not right!
It's not right because Ino's not giving Sakura enough credit, because Sakura fits in her team, fits with the boys, so maybe they could have become this without Natsu but she can also see-
Ino sees the little things, the way Natsu thinks when he's listening to Sakura, and… she sees all the little signs of Sakura's nervousness and hesitation that don't even come across really, when delivered with Natsu's brash confidence that make anything Sakura said sound like a foregone conclusion.
Sakura's her friend. And she's so smart, when Ino originally teased her for her big forehead, she did so by saying it must be so large to fit her big brain in it and-
Sakura's always been really smart, and Ino's always seen it, but while Sakura was always happy to answer textbook questions and tell people what the right thing to do was in any situation, the moment the situations grew beyond her lessons Sakura, struggling with her civilian heritage, always defaulted to any clan kids on her team to have the right answer.
Natsu does no such thing.
He doesn't defer to Sasuke-kun's perceived expertise, and doesn't look to her or her dad either, just presents Sakura's ideas right alongside his own, completely disregarding anything Sakura might worry about.
It's-
It's everything Sakura has the potential to be, if she just gained more confidence in herself, shown through a distorted mirror of someone else's charisma.
It's. Not. Fair.
Sakura should have been given the chance to grow into her own confidence, her own charisma, should have learned to present her ideas with the certainty of knowing she's right and not worrying over opinions, and maybe she is growing, but she shouldn't have had to lose her life to do it.
There's a stranger wearing her face and speaking her words and it's-
It's not his fault.
Ino seethes but she knows it's not, she knows Natsu doesn't want to be here at all, would rather be home with his own friends and in his own body, she's good enough at reading people to see the homesickness he tries to ignore, saw that strange mix of thrilled and upset that flickered through his eyes when Naruto blabbed about her little thieving escapades.
She knows he found the accusation of her being a pervert both a painful reminder of his friend and also a comforting similarity.
Even if it is a dirty, filthy lie.
Naruto is dead meat when he shows up for training, she will personally make sure of it.
But that's-
That's why she needs Shikamaru to get off his lazy ass and hurry up already, because she needs someone to take this whole… mess… in her head, and make it make sense, and help her find a way to both support Sakura in being the kickass kunoichi she's always had the potential to be, and also help her figure out how to handle Natsu, because… she's beyond lost with him.
She can admit that much.
And talking about men she's beyond lost with, where is Shikamaru?!
Ino stands in a huff, kicking dirt haphazardly over her scrawled insults - against Natsu or Shikamaru? …Probably both. They deserve it. - and storms off, fully prepared to march straight to the Nara compound and drag her lazy idiot out of bed by his stupid hair if she has to-
A kunai slams into the ground not an inch from her foot, buried to the hilt with the force of the throw, and Ino stumbles backwards. She's nervous, but not quite sure why.
"Haha, very funny sensei, did-" she cuts off, an ANBU right there, not inches from her face, and she tries to stumble back, something about the mask is wrong she's seen plenty of ANBU and it's not right-
Natsu grits his teeth against the urge to gag as he takes another deep breath, trying to decipher the mess of scents, nose overwhelmed with the scent of wrong, of death and rot that's simultaneously both snake-like and oily, like something half a moment away from catching fire.
And not in a good way.
Or maybe like it needs to catch fire, burn off all that bad stuff…
Well. No matter how he tries to describe it, it's disgusting, and if they'd done anything other than kidnap Sasuke, he'd turn around and go head towards the fighting they caught sight of while following the trail to the forest.
"They stopped here… for a little while, I think." Natsu grumbles, rubbing at his nose. There's a headache settling behind his eyes, but he can't deal with that so he ignores it. "Smells like there's even more foul people, I think they got backup… The scents are everywhere though, and I think maybe the new guys circled the area before joining up? It's all jumbled…"
Natsu moves a little further into the trees, taking another breath. Trying to find Sasuke beneath all the stench is hard, but he doesn't think their teammate was very cooperative, and there are traces of him around. Natsu's just gotta find em.
"So we're outnumbered now?!" Naruto groans, peering suspiciously at a bush when Natsu glances at him, "These guys can't be weak either, since they took Sasuke from his own front gate and no one in the village noticed… I know his compound's kinda far away but there's always people on that street! They had to have grabbed him so fast, or knocked out everyone else, but I didn't see any bodies, did you? And-"
"Genjutsu could have done it… most of the people over there are civilians, it'd be easy to make them just walk away, so they could snatch Sasuke-kun without attracting attention. I don't know how they would have dodged the patrols though, but Orochimaru was a Konoha shinobi, maybe he's got some insider-info…"
"Great…" Natsu grumbles, stomping around the circle and taking another deep breath. "Sakura-chan thinks they may have a genjutsu user, who just made the civvies walk away."
Huh… that smells promising. Natsu takes a few more steps into the trees, ignoring the building headache as he expands Sakura-chan's senses as much as he can.
"Why'ould they do that? Don't Sasuke's magic eyes make him immune to genjutsu or something?"
Got you. Natsu grins as he catches Sasuke's scent clearly a little deeper in. Kid must have tried to spit at someone, the dirt's not wet anywhere that Natsu can see but it's got that distinct tang to it that spit always does.
"Found the trail - we should hurry, if they got backup they may start trying to cover it so we need to move faster. Your clones find Kakashi-sensei yet?"
Naruto shakes his head as they pick up the pace, following that disgusting stench. "Found Inoichi, but no sign of sensei or ero-sennin. A lot o'the clones got destroyed when they tried to get closer to the areas with the fighting, and if either of those guys are in the middle of it, I'm not sure they'll get through…"
Natsu groans. He's all for fights, fair or not, and Sasuke can't be too hurt or he'd smell it, but he doesn't like the way these guys smell and the last time he picked a fight with someone who didn't smell right, he got himself cursed with the creepy snake guy to begin with.
"This forest is part of the Nara clan territory. Maybe we could see if any are around, and ask them to back us up? They probably won't appreciate having enemies on their territory anyway, and they know the forest better than us. Could maybe head them off before they leave the village proper…"
That's-
"But if we can't find them, we can't afford to waste all that time looking, Sakura-chan!"
"..."
"With clones, Natsu."
Natsu does not slip off the next tree branch. "Right. I knew that. I totally knew that. Hey, Naruto, wanna make some extra clones and have em look around for those Nara guys? Sakura-chan says this is their property and that they'll give us a hand!"
Naruto whoops. "You got it!" A bunch of small pops, followed by cries of excitement as the clones challenge each other to see who can find the Nara first.
Then Naruto's right beside him, as the clones scatter. "Inoichi said that Orochi guy was finally spotted near the Hokage tower, and that some of his guys stole ANBU uniforms? He said we should be s'picious if anyone dressed in a uniform shows up and tells us to leave Sasuke t'them."
Natsu scoffs, grinning at Naruto. "As if I'd listen to any asshole who said they were gonna get Sasuke back themselves anyway! He's our teammate, so it's our job to rescue him! Right?!"
Naruto grins back, fierce and predatory. "Right! He's a jerk but he's our jerk and only we get to punch his stupid smug face in, 'ttebayo!"
Natsu laughs, leaping to the next tree and taking another deep breath.
Still haven't split up or doubled back yet, it seems.
Good.
He refuses to miss anything. They're gonna find Sasuke and beat some losers up and maybe get to fight one of those giant snake monsters after, and as far as Natsu's concerned, that sounds like an absolutely perfect day.
Sure, maybe the village got a little blown up.
But Magnolia gets blown up all the time, they'll live.
He hopes someone got that stupid safe-house.
Maybe after they find Sasuke he can go… make sure of it.
Sakura-chan can totally help him make it look like one of the enemy's explosions.
No one has to know it was him.
Plan set, he picks up the pace again.
The faster they find Sasuke, the faster he can have fun.
It tries not to gag. Good thing Natsu's not here… it thinks, plugging its nose with one hand. It's a clone, so it shouldn't really matter how bad it smells, how disgusting this is, but it's still Naruto and the Boss wouldn't enjoy this either.
Boss'd probably puke. The clone chuffs, glancing up as the ground above shakes, dislodging… something, that splats unpleasantly against it's face.
The clone yelps, hastily scouring the gloop off with its sleeve - it doesn't even want to know what's stuck up there, so it tries not to think about it.
…the Kyuubi's sewers were definitely much nicer than the cesspit beneath Konoha's streets.
But they were still sewers.
…maybe the Boss should see if they can make it nicer in there? Just 'cause the Kyuubi hasn't taken a massive dump in their mind doesn't mean he couldn't and the clone is suddenly very concerned by the prospect.
Can the Kyuubi poop?
He's literally imprisoned in a sewer in Naruto's mind, that's- that's a really concerning question! It may not be the clone's mind but it's like- their parent? They're born from Naruto's mind so that creepy sewer place is like their mom or something-
Wait no BAD THOUGHT BAD THOUGHT-!
Right.
Make Boss get that sewer out of their mind somehow. The clone doesn't want these existential crises.
But that's for later. Now-
Aha!
Up ahead, the clone spots the ladder it was looking for, and rushes forward to climb it. Finally, freedom from this cesspit of grossness and poop!
Something plops off it's leg, and the clone chants a chorus of don't think about it as it scrambles up the ladder.
Not important.
Freedom now.
Disgusting poop gloop never.
The Boss can deal with that.
It climbs a few more rungs, keeping track of the sounds of fighting above. It can't be too slow, or Kakashi-sensei will run off to another fight and it'll be stuck in the sewers even longer, but it knows that if goes too fast it'll come out in the middle of the fight and probably pop.
…the ladder is slick.
Hopefully with sweat-
Wait. Do… do clones sweat?
It pulls a hand off the ladder, trying to pat at its armpits, when the ground shakes again, even bigger than before, and nearly throws it from the ladder.
…another existential question to haunt the Boss later, then.
Wait, it got quiet! Did the fight end?! The clone shoves the plate off the sewer entrance, hastily trying to scramble out, and nearly loses an eye as a kunai just barely misses it.
The clone yelps and its foot slips on the ladder as it tries to back away from the blade and-
A hand firmly grasps its jacket, saving it from a fall to certain death, and the clone cracks open one eye slightly as it's pulled out of the sewer.
"Sensei!" The clone cries excitedly, and heedless of its state of general disgustingness, wraps his waist in a hug.
…maybe not entirely heedless.
Boss'll be so mad that it got the first prank in.
Kakashi-sensei shoves him away gently, scowling. "Naruto. You're a clone, right? What are you doing out here."
It's a demand more than a request, and the clone bites back a cheer of success. Sensei did not appreciate the mysterious gloop! HA! Take that!
Oh. Right. Shaking its head and gently slapping itself in the face, the clone kicks over the sewer cover before answering. "Some assholes kidnapped Sasuke from his house. Natsu an' real-me are runnin' after 'em, but us clones were s'posed to try and find you or ero-sennin for backup cause there's lots of 'em and they all smell really really bad. Boss thinks the creepy snake guy's involved an' we wanna make sure we can take 'em."
Sensei freezes, then spits a string of curses. "I can't help, and Jiraiya likely can't either," he growls, body language a display of coiled fury, "the Suna jinchuriki is missing. And we know there are Suna shinobi working with the invasion forces. If we can't find him before he unleashes the demon, who knows how many they'll kill? He could be anywhere, and Jiraiya and I are the best suited for fighting him. You're going to have to find another jonin to help - try Gai, or even the other team sensei, Asuma or Kurenai. Asuma'll probably be closer to Administration, but Kurenai and Gai should be working to escort civilians to the bunkers and evacuating them from the walls. They'll be able to help, just tell them I requested it. And if any of your other clones see the jinchuriki, try to distract it until Jiraiya or I can catch up - he's a midget like you, red hair and a marking here, on his forehead. Got it?"
Oh, didn't Boss fight that guy's team once?
Feeling Kakashi-sensei's weighted stare, the clone snaps into a salute. "Yes sir! Right on it!"
It dispels before that twitching eyebrow of sensei's can turn into a lecture.
Naruto stumbles, the memories of his clone slamming into him mid-word. Natsu stops as he catches himself, offering him a hand that Naruto waves off. "What's wrong?"
What isn't?! Naruto almost cries, desperately trying to suppress thoughts of sewers, sweat, and the Kyuubi pooping in his head. Why are his clones so weird?!
Natsu's hand settles on his shoulder, and Naruto hastily buries those thoughts as deep as he can. Natsu can't read minds, he tells himself, because Ino said her family jutsu don't work like that so he must not be able to read minds but also, just in case…
"Naruto? You there?"
Naruto jumps. "Right! Yeah! I'm here!" He slaps his face, trying to focus and sort through the clone's memories.
The important ones, anyway. "Uh… my clone found Kakashi-sensei. But he can't help us."
An angry look crosses Natsu's face, and Naruto hastily waves it away. "It's not his fault! There's- uh, apparently there's another jinchuriki working with the people who attacked… Sensei thinks he's gonna let the demon out in the middle of the village to try an' kill people, and he an' ero-sennin are apparently th'only ones who can fight him? Or stop him, or something, he wasn't clear. He told me where to find some other jonin t'help, but he can't come…" Naruto shrugs uncomfortably. "Th'clones are lookin' for em now so we can keep going for Sasuke, just might take a little longer for backup. We can hold 'em off tho if we gotta, so we should get moving again."
He hops two branches before he realizes Natsu isn't following, and glances back to see his teammate standing there, arms crossed and head tilted as it usually is when he talks to Sakura-chan.
Natsu scowls, opens his mouth, closes it, then looks grumpy, then annoyed, before settling on something like determination.
The quiet extends a moment longer, until Natsu nods sharply, and glances up at Naruto. "Gimme like, six clones. As sturdy as y'can without wasting too much chakra."
Naruto's half-way to making the handsigns before his brain catches up. "Wha- I mean, sure, but why?" he asks, clones popping into existence around him. They all glance at each other, equally as confused, and Naruto has a moment to wonder if any of them can sweat or if the sweat stains are fake and-
No, no, not going there-
Fortunately, Natsu's explanation is a great distraction. "Cause we're gonna split up," he starts, and no, NOT a great distraction, no way can he just send Naruto away, and he opens his mouth, ready to refuse, when Natsu hurriedly starts speaking over him, "and you're gonna find that other jinchuriki and make him help us with Sasuke."
Naruto's brain slams to a halt, silence ringing through the trees as he and all his clones stop talking.
"...what?"
Natsu shrugs, shifting his weight and tossing his hands behind his head, scrunching his nose as a strand of hair decides to fall in front of his face. "Well, this whole thing, y'know, about sticking demons inside kids t'turn em into weapons n'all, it's… pretty evil, right?"
"...yeah…?" Naruto agrees hesitantly, though he can't help the small smile at the reminder of how different Natsu is to everyone else. To so many people Naruto is the evil one, the demon incarnate, but-
Even though Naruto doesn't think Jiji is evil, it's-
It's nice to hear Natsu say that even if there's evil here, it isn't Naruto's evil. To him, it's the evil of old men wanting power, but Naruto himself is just-
A friend. A teammate. A sometimes-demonically-empowered regular old genin. It's so weird but it's so Natsu and Naruto loves it.
"Right. Well, Sakura-chan and I figure that since no one liked you cause you were a jinchu-thingy, that probably means no one likes him either. So, you're gonna go find him, and tell him that if he helps us find Sasuke we'll hide him from the assholes who ruined his life and help him do whatever he wants after! It's a perfect plan, yeah?"
Naruto would argue that some people totally liked him before Natsu, but gets distracted by the entirety of their plan. "...will that even work?"
Natsu just laughs, dropping his arms and hopping up to share the branch with Naruto. "Would it have worked on you?"
Naruto's first response is to say that Jiji would never order Naruto to do something like that, but- well, that's not the question, right?
So, would it?
He wonders at it a moment, but then… didn't he steal that scroll from Jiji just because that Mizuki bastard pretended to care about and want to help him? If Mizuki had really cared, and not just lied to him, would he have done more than just steal that scroll?
It's not like he'd even tried to talk to Jiji about his issues with the standard bunshin, he hadn't wanted Jiji to be disappointed, but-
Naruto's not sure. He can't really think it all the way out, can't imagine not being a genin, not being on his team, but… maybe Sakura-chan and Natsu have a little bit of a point? Naruto had precious people before Iruka-sensei saved him, he had Jiji and Teuchi-san and Ayame-chan, and he doesn't think he'd have ever betrayed them really.
But… that Suna guy… Ga-... Gaara? His own team had been so afraid of him, Naruto remembers that, they'd immediately stopped picking a fight with Team 7 and just jumped to do everything he said, and… Naruto can't imagine his teammates being afraid of him. Maybe, once, he was scared they would, but then Sasuke was just the same sort of jerk he always is and Natsu just didn't care, and Naruto can't even remember how he thought they'd react.
If Gaara's own teammates were afraid of him though, maybe that's because he doesn't have precious people? Even most of the villagers only hated Naruto, he doesn't recall a lot being afraid of him, so there's got to be something different, and maybe Gaara needs to know someone isn't scared of him?
Maybe his precious people need help? Maybe Suna took them and said they'd kill his precious people if he didn't let out that demon, and Naruto knows even he would be pretty scary if someone took his precious people so maybe he just needs to find them and help get them free so Gaara doesn't have to hurt anyone?
He remembers how satisfying it was to beat Mizuki's face in, when he hurt Iruka-sensei-
Naruto shoves that thought away, then nods firmly.
Right. So, find Gaara, figure out what happened to his precious people, help them, and then get Gaara to help him find Sasuke and free him from those jerks, if Natsu and whatever other backup is coming doesn't do it first.
He looks to his clones, hoping they either had the same thoughts he did, or will at least not argue. "Alright, you guys gotta stick with Natsu and follow whatever plan Sakura-chan has for you. But if something goes really wrong one of you's gotta dispel so I know. I'll help, somehow. Got it, 'ttebayo?"
He ignores Natsu's grumble about how it could totally be his own plan, Sakura-chan doesn't come up with everything, as his clones chorus out, "Yeah boss!", and then turns to leave.
Natsu stops him with a hand on his shoulder and a sharp grin, eyes framed by messy hair and alight with challenge.
"Bet we'll find Sasuke before you find your friend!" he declares, forceful and confident.
Naruto's eyes narrow as he offers his own challenging grin in response. "You're on!"
Shikamaru regrets ever getting out of bed.
Or maybe he regrets not getting out of bed, unnatural as it is.
He shouldn't have taken so long.
Ino had demanded he show up early to training this morning, and, ugh, so troublesome, he hadn't wanted to deal with her harping and complaining about the whole mess with Sakura, so he'd rolled back over and gone back to sleep.
Right up until the explosions rocked through the village and tore him awake.
Then… well, he's a genin, and an invasion is serious stuff, for a long moment he figured the orders would be something like making sure civilians made it to the bunkers, maybe secure certain clan secrets that shouldn't be left out for looting, either way he started to head out of his room to figure out what the job was supposed to be so he could get done with it and then go back to napping but-
Napping.
To avoid Ino.
Ino who is not home with her family, who is in fact waiting, alone, in the middle of a training field, for him to show up.
He can't send one of the older shinobi after her. They're needed at the front, wherever that is, but fresh genin aren't, so he needs to meet up with her and then find someone to give them orders. It's fine. She'll be careful, she's not stupid even if she is annoying, she wouldn't do anything reckless-
He's running.
Why is he running?
Something feels wrong, his body tells him, and no shit he's running when he doesn't even have to, of course something's wrong, he shouldn't even be awake yet-
The field is empty.
She probably met up with Choji, he tells himself, but he canvases the field anyway. To figure out what direction they went so he can meet up with them.
The grass is trodden, crumpled in the strides of what must be Ino's pacing back and forth as she waited on him.
Scrawled in the dirt is a bunch of insults only passingly kicked over, as though it was an afterthought. He wonders if they were directed at him, or at the situation with Sakura, and spends a moment considering it before something snags in his mind.
It's… a small hole in the dirt, a few paces away from the scrawled curses.
His brain fixates on that, and for a long moment Shikamaru can't say what's so important about it, she probably stabbed it with-
A kunai?
Yeah, that indentation looks like it'd fit a standard issue kunai, stabbed pretty deep too.
Konoha standard issue, probably, he thinks, definitely not Kiri at least, and then- Ino doesn't pull knives when she's annoyed.
He scowls at the mark. Ino takes care of her weapons, she doesn't stab them into things randomly when she's upset. She'd have sooner marched straight to his house and dragged him out of bed before she resorted to scuffing her blades in some fit of temper.
Shikamaru walks carefully around the indent, until he's standing between it and Ino's dirty insults.
…
The kunai mark is directly between him and the road he'd take to get back home.
Ino wouldn't start walking to his place and then stop to stab a kunai into the dirt and then continue on.
But if she were walking that way, someone else might be interested in stopping her.
A warning shot then. To get her to back up? There's no signs of a fight, but Ino's not a close-combat fighter, really. Take her by surprise, close in fast, and her clan techniques wouldn't do much good.
Most of her training with them is team-play oriented. Without Choji or himself to support her, she'd have been easy pickings for any chunin who decided to target her.
And unlike Konoha, invaders have the luxury of not bringing genin to fights.
He'd already been suspecting, hadn't he? That the Suna team definitely wasn't genin-level, and the Oto teams had some really unique specializations, uncommon in such supposedly new shinobi; specializations like that tend to show up in early chunin more than genin, unless they're clan, and those guys did not feel like clan kids.
A village can only explain away so much by insisting that they only brought their best genin to the exam, and it's been bugging him for ages-
Shikamaru curses, before carefully scouting around the training field. Maybe he's wrong. Maybe there's another explanation.
There isn't.
There's no trail either. No sign he can see to point to where Ino might have gone or been taken.
No visible sign, at least, though maybe there's something else to find.
Mom always said sleeping in would get me into trouble.
…but it was only supposed to be me. Not Ino. Not my team.
He'll find them.
He can't afford not to, and when he puts his mind to it, Shikamaru knows he's smart. Whoever took her, they won't get away with it.
Akamaru barks a warning, and Kiba curses, shoving the roll of half-wrapped bandages gently into Hinata's hand. Behind them, he catches sight of Shino finishing off his own bandages, and offers his teammate a nod as he pulls a kunai from his pouch. He turns in time to see Shikamaru slowly approaching, hands raised but posture casual.
"Stop right there." Kiba snarls, placing himself between Shikamaru and his team as Shino moves to help Hinata finish her bandages behind him.
He's… not quite sure what he'd do if Shikamaru - if it even is Shikamaru - doesn't stop, but luckily he doesn't have to find out, as his possible-classmate does actually stop, eyes narrowed as he scans the field. Then he relaxes, dropping into a slouch and sliding his hands into his pockets. Kiba can't help but tense, though Shikamaru doesn't make any threatening moves.
"Just a random fight, or did someone try to kidnap you guys too?" the probable-Shikamaru asks, glancing between Hinata and Shino.
Kiba's guard is half-down when Shino steps to his side, offering a blank look to their classmate. "We cannot trust you. Why? Because those who attacked us were chunin-level at least, and could easily pretend to be a comrade to make us drop our guard. Can you prove you are sincere?"
Shikamaru grumbles something that sounds suspiciously like, "troublesome…" one hand coming up to scratch at his head. Then he shrugs, clearly coming to a decision. "Kiba bribed me to cheat on a test for him once, with promises to keep Ino distracted for a few days. Iruka-sensei caught us and made us both sit through a lecture on all the test material, and restarted the lecture from the beginning every time I fell asleep. We were in that classroom for six hours."
The exasperation in that voice is absolutely real, and Kiba feels it in his soul. Shikamaru can't even take all the credit for how long they were stuck there, even Kiba fell asleep once. He nods at Shino's questioning look. "Yeah, that's what happened. You said someone tried to kidnap you guys too? Cause yeah they were totally trying to take us alive, hunted us down and everything-"
"I believe they were after Hinata specifically," Shino interjects, pushing up his glasses slightly, "Why? Because she has been a target for kidnapping before, due to being of the Main House of her clan, and also because at one point they could have knocked you unconscious but did not, and instead turned their attentions to Hinata."
Shikamaru curses, scowling. "They didn't try for me, and I haven't met up with Choji yet, but Ino's missing, we were supposed to meet up at our training field. I came looking for you guys cause I was hoping you could find a scent to follow, there weren't any visible trails and sensei's likely at the epicenter of this mess of an invasion, so I can't ask him. There were no signs of a fight either, but Ino's not really a close-range fighter, so that's not saying much…"
Kiba spits his own curses, turning to help Hinata pack away all their bandages. "Got it. Yeah, Akamaru and I can totally help, you know if they've kidnapped anyone else? We'd been supposed to meet up with Kurenai-sensei here before this whole mess, maybe we could leave a note…"
Shikamaru shakes his head, taking Hinata's pack without complaint when Shino holds it out to him.
Kiba is Officially Worried.
"A note could be intercepted by any enemies who double back, we don't want them to come up behind us while we're chasing after whoever took Ino. If we catch sight of any allied shinobi on the way, we can brief them."
"Makes sense," Kiba nods, breaking into a jog as they head out, "but hey. Why were you meeting with Ino at the training field? I thought you guys were doing missions today, Choji'd said you were meeting by Administration last time I saw him?"
Shikamaru groans. "Change of plans. We were supposed to have group training with Team 7 today, and Ino was all up in arms about how annoyed she was, it was so troublesome…" Shikamaru pauses for a moment, then continues, "Though now that I mention it… I haven't seen Team 7 at all this morning. There weren't even any signs of them in the clearing, so I don't think they ever made it. Huh."
Kiba resolutely does not glance at Hinata, even as something drops like a rock in his gut. "Do you… think someone might have tried to kidnap them too?"
Shikamaru groans. "Kami-sama I hope not. Everything's already troublesome enough…" he picks up the pace anyway though, which does not make Kiba feel better.
Great.
Even their resident genius thinks they've been kidnapped.
He's gonna have to give Hinata so many feel-better gifts after this.
Maybe as long as they can find Naruto unharmed that'll be enough? Naruto always cheers her up.
Hinata tries to keep a lookout for enemy shinobi as they follow Shikamaru back to Team 10's training field, but-
Kiba's words keep ringing between her ears, endless and unignorable. Team 7's back in the village - since when? Hinata hadn't heard anything, but if Team 10 was going to train with them they must be here, and now there's the sudden attack on the village too, the kidnappings- it's all too much.
Why did they want Ino? Why did they want her? Or maybe they didn't, maybe they just needed distractions to keep the village from noticing something else but-
Hinata's useless. She proved that well enough in the second exam, she couldn't- she'd thought, Naruto would want me to be strong! But it was Neji she was fighting, and she just-
She couldn't be just another member of their family choosing to hurt him.
She probably wouldn't have won even if she'd tried, but-
Did they try to take her because she was so useless? Because she didn't even try to fight they thought she'd be easy to take? But that doesn't make sense because Ino did fight! She fought so hard, and even won, she's been training all this time for the final phase - Hinata watched her sometimes, wondering if she could ask Ino how-
Hinata couldn't have fought Kiba. And Ino, her entire style doesn't lend itself to a close-quarters fight like Hinata's does, but Ino managed to win anyway and sometimes Hinata wanted to ask how but-
But she was still too useless and scared, and couldn't ask, just like she could never talk to Naruto even though he was always so strong and so lonely and-
Maybe if Hinata knew how to be braver, she could…
Could what?
Stand by their sides?
…would they even want her there?
They make it to the field, and she can't help her nerves as Kiba and Akamaru start pacing, looking for scents. Shino's hive, small as it is, start fluttering through the air, looking for traces of chakra, and-
What can she do? There's nothing to see here, nothing at all, she activates her Byakugan and still doesn't see anything, and she's injured too.
Well, so is Shino, but he's still useful, something dark in her says, dark and sad and lonely, but- no. Hinata can't think like that. She has to be strong, there has to be something she can help with. Just not here.
And then Kiba's jogging back to the group, shaking his head. "I can't even catch a single whiff of Ino, nevermind whoever may have taken her. You sure she was even here?"
Shino interjects before Shikamaru can say anything. "There is quite a lot of chakra in the air. Why? Likely because there are a number of jutsu that can dispel scents or mask them from trackers, and this would be an ideal way to escape with a clan shinobi without being followed."
"Shit, what do we do?" Kiba shifts uncomfortably, "we can't just leave Ino with whoever took her, and if we wait for the fighting to end, there's no telling how far away they'll be…"
"We could-"
"You should-"
Hinata cuts off when she realizes Shikamaru's also speaking, but the Nara doesn't continue either.
"You had an idea, Hinata?" He asks after a long moment of silence, and Hinata tries not to quail under the attention.
"U-um- well- I just thought- th-that sort of jutsu, is it just in one area? M-maybe there's a trail somewhere else…"
"Aa. That's what I wondered too. Kiba, can you and Akamaru run a perimeter through the neighboring field? I doubt they'd have taken the road, but if you don't find anything in Ground 18, we'll check that out while heading back towards my place. It's where Ino was trying to go before she was snatched, so if she got away she'd head there."
Kiba nods. "Got it. Shino, come gimme a hand?"
"Of course."
Then it's just the two of them, alone in the field, as Kiba and Shino go to check out the areas around them. The silence drags, long and awkward, until Hinata finally works up the courage to ask, "You saw Team 7?"
Shikamaru glances at her, and suddenly she feels awful, his teammate's been kidnapped and she's asking about other people, but-
Shikamaru doesn't get upset, or tell her off, he just answers, shrugging as he does as though he can brush off the words. "I only saw them from a distance, it's Ino who actually met with them, her dad's involved in some of the stuff they're involved in, so she went over to their place for dinner, or something, I dunno, it's what she wanted to talk to me about this morning. I checked in on them a little a couple days ago, got a glimpse or two, and then Inoichi-san came by my place last night to talk to me about them before our training this morning, cause there's some confidential stuff going on and he was worried I'd put it together and then say something they were trying to avoid talking about. So I guess I've got a bit of an idea, but I can't really say more than that…"
"O-oh…" Hinata had known something confidential was going on, but she'd still hoped…
Almost like he was reading her mind -perhaps he learned a trick or two from Ino-chan?- Shikamaru turns to look at her. "Naruto seemed pretty happy, when I saw him out shopping with his team. Looked like they'd lost some supplies and had to restock, they were having a bunch of fun sniping at each other. He didn't seem to be injured, and he seemed pretty excited about some sort of plan he had. With everything going on with them… Team 7 seems like they're doing pretty well. I don't think we have to worry too much about them. Even if these guys did kidnap them, I don't think it'll end too well for them. Heh. Maybe if we're lucky they'll keep Team 7 and Ino in the same place, and then Team 7 can save me from having to do all this work by rescuing her themselves. Wouldn't that be nice?"
Hinata laughs a little at Shikamaru's obvious pleasure at the thought, and she- she appreciates how normal it suddenly feels, like Shikamaru complaining about having to do work has suddenly made things less scary because he's relaxed enough to do so. She hadn't realized how unsettling it was, to see him so focused, without a single complaint about all the effort he's putting into things, just to find his teammate.
She's still smiling when Kiba and Shino make their way back, though it drops as she sees the unhappy lines in their posture.
…they didn't find a trail.
"Tch. Nothing at all?" Shikamaru asks as they get close enough, and Kiba scowls.
"Not even any chakra like they used another jutsu. Akamaru says he caught a scent that he recognized from the first phase of the exam, but Shino found no traces of chakra and when I checked it out…" he shrugs, and Shino finishes.
"It seems as though the scent was from the shinobi heading towards Ino, not after he'd taken her. Why? Because it did not have the lingering after-effects I would expect from anything left after such a jutsu was cast. It tells us which way our kidnapper came from, but not which way he went."
"Yeah, what he said. I couldn't recognize it either, though I agree with Akamaru, it was someone in that room during the first phase of the exam…"
"Hardly narrows it down," Shikamaru grouses, scowling back the direction her teammates had come from, "but maybe someone else will be able to take it from there. We need to head back to my place, my dad will have left a runner there, since we border the wall and need to be able to alert people if someone comes through the forest… We can let them know about the kidnappings and that we suspect one of the exam competitors. Probably need to ask them to check up on Choji, make sure no one's gone for him too. Then… then we should see if we can find out where Team 7 went. If they went towards the fighting or potentially got kidnapped themselves, we need to know one way or the other. Sound good?"
Hinata nods sharply, as Kiba and Shino both voice their agreement, and so they're off again.
Hinata wants to ask what makes Shikamaru so certain they got kidnapped, because he doesn't sound like he expects them to have run off to the fighting, but she doesn't want to distract him, and- well, she knows something's not right.
She's known for a while, really, and maybe since Shikamaru actually knows what is going on, it makes him more sure that someone would try to kidnap them.
Were Ino and Hinata distractions, so people wouldn't realize the real targets were Team 7?
Naruto-kun… ever since we graduated, something's been wrong, hasn't it?
Maybe… maybe even before graduation? She'd known Naruto failed the test, saw with her Byakugan as his clone failed, watched as long as she could as he struggled to laugh it off until he was alone, but then- she'd had to go home, and then all the shinobi were up in arms about something being stolen, and then she didn't hear anything more but Naruto was at the Academy for team assignments after, and Iruka-sensei acted like he was supposed to be there, so…
How long ago did everything start?
She'd seen Naruto and his team around the village doing D-ranks, even found Naruto buying groceries or eating ramen, but-
Something had still been off back then, hadn't it? Was it leftover from his graduation, or was it something else?
Wasn't there something odd about how Team 7 interacted? They never got to do team training with them, even though they'd worked with all the others. She'd tried to follow them more closely, for a little while, but then it suddenly seemed like her clan or her team were always finding her really quickly, almost immediately sometimes, and then, after the second phase of the exam, when she went to look for Naruto…
When she went to look for him, to maybe actually ask about why his team wasn't participating, and an ANBU told her to stay away, that she wasn't allowed to speak with Team 7 at that time-
And then shortly after that, Team 7 was removed from the village entirely, even though Hatake Kakashi was still around for another day or so, and she couldn't help but wonder…
Had the village made Team 7 leave so she couldn't find answers? Or had it had something to do with that sudden fire in the jonin quarters that her father was so upset about? Was it something else?
And now they're back, apparently only just recently, and the village is being invaded, and-
Hinata knows Team 7 would never betray the village, but. She's missing something.
She's always missing something, but there's some connection there, she can practically feel it, something tying together Naruto's graduation and Team 7 not being allowed to participate in group training, not being in the chunin exams, the fire, the village, the invasion, there's- There's something there.
Hinata knows there is, there's something that makes everything make sense, but what?
What does Shikamaru know that makes him so certain they were kidnapped?
What's the piece that brings the whole puzzle together-?
"Choji! And- Naruto?"
Hinata's head snaps up, something straining in her neck as she processes Shikamaru's words, hastily scanning her surroundings until she lands on the bright orange that is Naruto, and something she hadn't even realized had tensed relaxes as the blond laughs brightly, rubbing at his hair.
"Actually, I'm just a clone! Real-me is busy with Na- uh, Sakura-chan, chasing after some jerks who kidnapped Sasuke. I'm s'posed to find backup for 'em cause there's a bunch of those guys an' we think they're not quite right, y'know? Sakura-chan said this was Nara territory and there might be some clan guys who could help us out, yeah?"
Hinata finds her mind snagging on that half-spoken name Naruto hastily avoided saying, even as Shikamaru answers.
"Someone kidnapped Ino as well… and tried but failed to kidnap Hinata. We were going to report it and then go looking for you guys, make sure you were okay. Guess I've got the answer to that one… do you have a trail?"
Naruto- or his clone? Bobs his head quickly. "Oh yeah, scent is unmistakable, like, I can't smell half as well as- uh- anyway, but even I can smell it, a little, we've been following it for a while. No sign of Ino last I knew, but they could be planning to meet up somewhere. I gotta dispel though, so the boss knows you're coming. You can find another clone waiting by that really funky tree you guys got here, he's the one sort of coordinating the rest of us, he can lead you to the Boss when you're ready."
"Wait-! Naruto-kun-!" Hinata's words come too late, the clone dispelling in a puff of smoke, leaving them, or at least Hinata, with far too many questions.
Shikamaru doesn't look worried though, as he slouches with his hands in his pockets. "Brief Choji on everything while I go find my clan and let them know what's going on, alright?"
Then he's walking off, further along the path, and Kiba eagerly starts regaling Choji with everything that's happened, but-
Hinata finds herself fidgeting, uncomfortable, and even when Shino steps closer to her, trying to offer reassurance, she can't help but worry.
Who is traveling with Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan? A tracker, like Kiba-kun, but why was Naruto-kun afraid to talk about them?
Why was he hiding them?
What… what's really been going on with Team 7?
Sasuke grinds his teeth against the coarse cloth of the gag, forcing himself to ignore the flare of pain as the asshole carrying him lands harshly on another branch.
Definitely not a Konoha nin, he scoffs, and if he could he'd mock them, bring up Jiraiya and complain that even he had smoother landings despite carrying two genin and a pack, but that red-headed harpy had gotten tired of his pointed insults and resorted to gagging him last time they'd stopped.
In Sasuke's opinion, if they didn't want to be insulted, they should maybe try being competent first.
He hopes her fingers are still bleeding, not that he could appreciate the sight if they were. Maybe if he's lucky she hasn't bothered to bandage it because they were in such a hurry and she'll leave a trail for someone to follow.
The blindfold is another annoyance, and as far as Sasuke's concerned, further proof of their incompetence. It's not like it matters if he sees where they're going, he knows they're still in the village, it's hardly anything new, but then, he's pretty sure it's just cowardice on their parts.
Sasuke knows there have been Uchiha able to cast genjutsu without hand signs, just using their Sharingan -don'tthinkdon'tremember- but he doesn't know how, if Kakashi-sensei knows he hasn't had time to teach Sasuke yet.
Sasuke figured there was nothing to lose by trying to make it work anyway, but when they realized what he was trying to do, well.
The blindfold got added to the mix. Fury bubbles up again at the thought, that they would just-
Break into his home, kidnap him straight from clan compound and then drag him off, tie him up and blindfold him, and when he gets free he is going to gouge their eyes out, toss them to the ground and then grind them beneath his heel, he'll grab that sword and stab them, slit their throats, disembowel them-
No, no, don't remember, not here, not now-
Sasuke grits his teeth against the gag, shoving those memories down down down-
That red-headed girl and her genjutsu. He didn't even realize it was there at first, auditory-based genjutsu are so much more uncommon than visual, and by the time he recognized that he was in a modified version of the hell-viewing genjutsu-
It had crept up so slowly, she's good, he'll give her that, first it was just footsteps and maybe a distant shout or two, and then he started to realize they sounded familiar, like he'd heard those exact shouts before, and then there was the blood spattering against the cobblestones and the cries of, "Itachi why-!"
Memories crawl up again, a blade in his hand and his parents kneeling before him-
NO!
Sasuke shoves the memories down again, jaw aching as he grinds his teeth into the gag.
He's going to kill her.
Before anything else, the moment he's free, he's going to kill her.
He just barely suppresses a flinch when the asshole carrying him jars to a sudden stop.
"Kabuto-sama!" one of the new guys cries, and Sasuke wonders if they've found more backup, or if this guy will just be leaving.
"Ah, so you've succeeded. Good. No issues, I hope?"
The guy carrying him laughs, shrugging the shoulder Sasuke's thrown over. "He's pretty stubborn, but-"
"Asshole fuckin' bit my finger half-off, the fetid piece of shit-!"
"No one followed you?"
Sasuke smirks at the red-head's snarl of fury as the newcomer cuts her off, and offers a silent wish for her finger to get infected.
"With the whole attack going on, who would? No one saw us grab the kid, we're totally in the clear. But, Kabuto-sama, uh… no offense but that doesn't look like the pink-haired girl you were supposed to grab. She get a dye job or something?"
"Aa. She was missing, and I don't have time to hunt her down. This one met with her recently though, so she should have what we need. She was even waiting all by herself, right on my way here. Almost a sign, really," the new guy purrs, before continuing in a sharper tone, "You at least covered your trail, I expect? Just because they're busy doesn't guarantee that someone won't notice two missing genin, three if our diversion works. We can't afford to be careless."
A long pause, and then:
"...you did cover your trail. Right?"
They wanted to snag Natsu? Heh, almost wish they'd found him, that'd be free entertainment, least until the fires started…
Sasuke grins a little, as he listens to his even more incompetent-than-expected kidnappers babble excuses and swear that there's no way anyone followed them really, it's fine-!
He almost expects his teammates to burst in on the conversation, it's the exact sort of dramatic timing they both like, but even when the excuses trail off into silence, no one comes.
Eventually, Kabuto gets irritated, either with the excuses they'd been giving or the silence once they stopped, and Sasuke only has a moment to realize someone's approaching and brace himself before he's pulled sharply off the shoulder of the guy carrying him and tossed into the dirt.
He bites back any sound, refusing to let them know it hurts, and then freezes sharply when a kunai presses just to the side of his eye.
It takes a long moment to register the pain as both blindfold and gag begin to sag off his face, and he feels blood start to slide down his cheek. Hesitantly, he reaches up to pull both away, getting his first good look at both the newcomers from before, and Kabuto.
His Sharingan whirls to life as he recognizes Ino tossed over Kabuto's shoulder, and his sorry pile of kidnappers tense when they catch sight.
Sasuke meets Kabuto's eyes and tries to once more figure out Sharingan-based genjutsu, to no effect.
Kabuto sighs. "You're making things very difficult for us, Sasuke-kun." he starts, clearly giving up on Sasuke speaking first, "Orochimaru-sama offers you power beyond anything your pathetic village can even dream of, and we know that you want it. You can't attain your dreams living in this stagnant village that decries true power as heresy. Any power you attain, it will never be enough. They'll make sure of that. You can't be too powerful after all, or you might follow your dear brother's footsteps. They'll take any power you gain, leave you weak and helpless and feed you excuses for why you have to stay here, unable to grow to your true potential, and they'll never give you your revenge. Surely you can see it yourself, see how they've treated your civilian teammate the moment she woke up a latent kekkei genkai, see how they treat those with power they can't understand. And yet, despite all of this, you refuse Orochimaru-sama's gift. Why don't you understand, Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke almost retorts, because it's impressive how right and simultaneously wrong Kabuto is about his teammate. He's seen 'power the village couldn't even dream of', seen it in Natsu's indescribable fire, in the way he bends an element as easily as he breathes, like it's just another limb for him to move however he'd like, and however messed up Konoha is, they didn't try to imprison Natsu until after Orochimaru started messing with their heads.
Natsu's power doesn't come with a side-effect of mind-control, and maybe it's not something Sasuke can learn, but it doesn't need to be.
He only needs to ask, and he knows Natsu would be there, standing against that man for him.
It's- almost a terrifying truth to face, that reality, that somewhere between graduation and now his team has clawed so far into his head that-
He can't lose them.
He can't.
They're his and Sasuke isn't letting go, no matter who tries to take them. He doesn't need Orochimaru. He doesn't even need Konoha, not as long as he's got them, and Sasuke is… terrifyingly certain that if he asks, they'll stay with him. Go with him. Help him hunt down Itachi and stay together beyond even that.
He feels like, if he asks, Natsu will take him with him when he goes. Will fight all of Konoha to let Sasuke choose what he wants to do, how he wants to live his life.
It feels like Natsu would defy death itself with a savage grin and crackling flame, if Sasuke just asked for his help.
And maybe, it even feels a little like Sasuke could actually ask.
But-
None of that is stuff Kabuto deserves to know. Orochimaru doesn't deserve his words, doesn't need any more reason to be interested in his teammates, and Sasuke owes them nothing.
So he spits in Kabuto's face.
Fury sparks bright in Kabuto's eyes, and Sasuke braces for a blow, ready to roll with it-
A terrible roar slams into him like a physical force, pushing him into the dirt even as everyone around him stumbles and tries to cover their ears, Kabuto awkwardly dropping Ino in the process-
And in the distance, a gigantic shape rises, towering above the trees as it once again roars a challenge to the world.
Sasuke shakes his head, tries to focus past the ringing in his ears, Ino landed badly and he thinks he heard something snap, he needs to stand, when he hears another snap, behind him now.
"Aw shit, I totally lost that bet huh?"
Sasuke twists awkwardly as Natsu sighs, staring up at the giant in the distance, hair unbound and in almost nightmarish disarray, every inch of his posture practically pouting at the sight of the giant abomination as it roars a third time and grows, somehow, even bigger.
Sasuke is once again forcibly reminded why he doesn't ask Natsu for help.
He has, inexplicably, been placed on a team with complete and utter morons.