Chapter 3:
It didn't take long for people to notice Shikamaru's absence and his friends were getting concerned. Naruto went to see Kakashi to bring this to his attention, running into Ino on his way there. It seemed she was concerned, too, and went to do the same thing.
Kakashi informed them that he was aware that Shikamaru had left the village but didn't think it was a call for concern. After a brief talk, he decided to grant them permission to go look for him if it would make them feel any better.
Ino knew where to start. She told Naruto and his team that Shikamaru started behaving different while coming back from their latest mission. They had passed by rest area for travelers and Shikamaru seemed distracted by something in that area. She encouraged them to start there.
Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Ino all left the village to go to the same rest area to see if Shikamaru had been by there. The worker running the shop said they remembered seeing Shikamaru but he had left the other day. They had seen him leave down the road, so the shinobi went in that direction.
They happened upon a village and asked the locals if they had seen Shikamaru, but they hadn't. The last person they asked said they thought they had seen Shikamaru and pointed up the road, saying they had left in that direction but wasn't alone.
They came to another rest area and the worker serving tea in the shop said they had seen Shikamaru recently and believed they were still nearby, telling them to look near the street sign for their shop. "People tend to congregate there because there are benches and it's near the road."
They didn't have to look very far before finding Shikamaru exiting a small shop near the tea house. Ino called out to him and he jolted. Rather than look pleased to see them, he looked like he was caught doing something he shouldn't and turned away, walking briskly and pretending he hadn't seen them.
Confused, they followed. Shikamaru looped around the building and used several tricks to make his escape, but his friends were shinobi, too, and weren't easily thrown.
Before long, they found him at the bottom of the hill, chatting with a small group. One was pointing near the bench by the street sign and Shikamaru was nodding, a small wooden crate in his arms. They waited until the people moved on and then Ino was at his back and asked pointedly why he was avoiding them. She would not be ignored anymore.
Knowing he couldn't avoid them, he turned to face her.
"Guys, what are you doing here?" he asked, acting like their presence was a nuisance. However, he did seem surprised to see them. Apparently, he didn't think they would track him down so quickly.
"Came looking for you," said Naruto. "You disappeared from the village two days ago."
"I didn't disappear. I left to go do something."
"Without telling us?" Ino asked, annoyed.
Shikamaru adjusted the crate in his arms. "I sort of… You know what? I'm not going to get into it."
"But we…" Naruto stopped when one of the people Shikamaru had been talking to approached the group.
"Shikamaru, Camellia needs a water bottle. She's about to start."
"Coming." Shikamaru took a bottle out of the crate, balancing it on his forearm. "Actually, you give this to her. I'm wrapping up here."
The boy took it and left with a shrug of his shoulders.
Shikamaru turned back to his friends. "Listen, I'm kind of in the middle of something right now, so… Could we talk about this later?"
Ino and the others wanted answers. They pressured him to explain but he was adamant about keeping his reasons a secret.
"Look," he said, taking a step back to hint broadly that he had other places to be. "I needed some time off to do something. As you can see, I'm alright. I didn't mean to worry you, but I'm ok and kind of in the middle of something important. Can I talk about this later?"
They watched him go over to the boy he had been chatting with, said something to him, then started to unload the crate into the grass. He straightened up when a girl his age started speaking to him. She was shaking her head and looking over her shoulder. He faced her, said something and gave a reassuring smile. He said something else; she seemed unsure. He gave a shrug, made a comment, grinned and she gave a small laugh.
"Who's that?" Naruto asked.
"I don't know, but they seem to know each other," said Sakura, watching.
They got closer to hear what they were saying. When Shikamaru saw them approach, he stopped speaking, looked their way and said to the girl, "Give me a minute, Camellia. It'll be fine."
She walked a short distance away and started speaking to the two who were setting up near the bench. The boy held her hand and looked to be saying something encouraging to her and she nodded. Another girl was with them and said something as well.
"Guys, please," said Shikamaru, sounding like they were interrupting a really fun game. "Can we not do this now? I'm busy."
"Doing what?" asked Ino. She looked around at the surrounding area. They were by the side of the road near a bench. Several people were standing around chatting and some were looking at maps. There weren't many people around and all of them appeared to be travelers.
"I'd rather not get into that right now," said Shikamaru.
"Shikamaru," said the girl, turning around. "Is everything ok?"
He nodded and called back to her, "You're good to go. I'll be right there."
She nodded and walked to the bench near the road. The two she had been speaking with helped her step up onto it.
"Who's she?" asked Ino, looking at the girl in question.
Shikamaru wouldn't meet her eyes. "Her name's Camellia. I'll be staying with her for a bit."
"What? Why?"
"I don't want to go back to the Leaf just yet," he told Ino. "I want to stay with Camellia for a little bit longer."
"You haven't told me why." Ino knew Shikamaru was hiding something and not just because of how antsy he was behaving.
Shikamaru looked from Camellia to his friends and said hurriedly, "Listen, I gotta go. I'll head back to the village soon, ok? I just want to do something first."
He walked away from them to stand among the assembled people near the bench. The girl using the bench as a makeshift stage looked out over them, took a deep breath and started singing.
The people gathered nearby gradually took notice of her and before long, all eyes were on her. Some people exchanged looks, gave nods of approval and faced the girl with smiles. Others started moving their bodies to the rhythm of her song while others just stood and listened.
"Seriously?" Ino said with a raised brow. "This is where he's been sneaking off to? To see some stage performance?"
"She's a street performer," clarified Sakura. "Maybe Shikamaru's been helping her out. People passing by might not notice her. I mean, there's only six people in the crowd."
Ino sighed with her hands on her hips. "We were worried for nothing. He could have just told us."
"What if he thought we would think he was cheating on Temari?"
"Him? Shikamaru's not a player." Ino crossed her arms with a pout. "Though the thought did cross my mind when he didn't say anything and decided to sneak off."
The two girls were so wrapped up in their own conversation that both failed to notice Naruto and Sai were absorbed in something else.
At first, the song was just a performance going on in the background. However, the more they listened, the more captivated they became. The girl's voice was drawing them in, leaving them standing spellbound with their mouths hanging open in awe.
"Enough of this nonsense. He's going to get an earful from me about this," said Ino.
"Is that really necessary?" asked Sakura. "You did kinda barge in on him. You following him around probably got him upset, right guys?"
"Camellia, Camillia, the voice in our heart."
"Huh?" Both Sakura and Ino turned to give the boys their full attention. It wasn't what they said that alarmed them. It was the fact that they were singing it.
"Truly is miraculous, she's a work of art," Naruto and Sai sang in perfect unison.
"Guys?" Sakura bent sideways to get a better look at their faces. "What's gotten into you?"
Naruto and Sai weren't looking at Sakura. They were staring at the girl singing a few feet away. Coupled with their unwavering gaze, serene smiles spread across their faces. Sakura knew something was wrong and tried to get their attention but neither of them noticed her and continued singing.
"Camellia, Camellia,
the voice we adore.
No matter how much we listen,
we'll always ask for more.
Camellia, Camellia,
her beautiful song.
Our wonderful goddess,
we know where we belong."
"What's wrong with them?" Ino asked, getting panicked.
"I think they're in a trance." Sakura looked from the boys to the girl singing further away. "I think it's her. They weren't doing this before she started singing."
Stepping forward, the boys walked past Sakura like she wasn't even there and moved steadily towards the singer.
"Camellia, Camellia,
that wonderful voice.
We'll follow you anywhere,
we don't have a choice."
Worried and frightened about what was to come should they do nothing, Ino desperately grabbed Sai's wrist and held him back. "Sai, stop!"
"Camellia, Cam…" Sai looked back feeling a tug on his arm. He recognized Ino's voice and stopped singing. He seemed confused about what he was doing, looking from his arm to Ino and then at Naruto who was still marching towards the singer. Suddenly back to his senses, Sai pulled his arm from Ino's grasp and quickly covered Naruto's ears. "Don't listen to her!"
Naruto stopped abruptly and tried to look behind himself to see who was covering his ears. Sai looked at Ino, urging her to retreat. She and Sakura were already aware that they had to get away as quickly as possible and assess the situation. The foursome ran as far up the road as they could and collapsed once they felt it was safe.
"What happened back there?" Naruto asked. "Am I crazy or were we singing?"
"You were," confirmed Sakura. "You remember that?"
"Sort of," admitted Naruto. "It's like I was aware but wasn't."
"What did she do to you guys?" Ino was certain it was the singer who did this.
"I have no idea but it felt really good," said Naruto.
Sai had a hand to his heart, taking in a shaky breath. "I felt it. Right down to my core, I felt it. I've never experienced anything like it before."
"What?" Ino asked gently, putting her hand on Sai's back to comfort him. Sai seemed to be very upset about something and she could only hope that girl hadn't harmed him.
Breathing deeply, Sai tried to find the words. "When she sang, I felt this joy. But not like regular happiness. Like her voice was reaching out to touch me in a way I've never felt before. I got swept up in her song and, even though I don't know the lyrics, her voice drew them out of me and I couldn't help myself. What I felt in that moment… I felt like she was singing just for me."
After saying all this, Sai felt like he had only scratched the surface of his experience. He didn't know if they would understand what he felt without feeling it for themselves. Music would often evoke some type of emotion from him, but this was on a whole other level. Hearing a nostalgic or favorite song amidst a crowd of cheering fans recognizing it after the first few notes was not a good enough comparison. It made him happy beyond words. Excited him in a way he seldom felt.
"That's no normal girl," declared Sakura. "It's genjutsu, I'm sure of it."
"And I'll bet she's using it on Shikamaru," Ino added angrily. No longer annoyed at her teammate, Ino stood firm, realizing this was a rescue mission. Obviously Shikamaru hadn't left the village on purpose. None of this was his fault. "We have to save him."
"Uh, not that I disagree with you, but why?" Naruto asked.
"What do you mean why?"
"No, not about the rescuing thing," he clarified. "I mean, why would she use genjutsu on Shikamaru? I didn't see any headband or anything, so she might not be a shinobi. And even if she was, why do this to Shikamaru?"
"We can figure that part out later," said Ino, determined to rescue her friend. "Right now, what's important is saving him."
Naruto looked at Sai with a meek frown. Something about this just felt wrong. Sai didn't seem to share in his misgivings, given the blank expression on his face. It seemed he was willing to do whatever the others decided.
When they returned to the place by the side of the road, the crowd had already dispersed and the girl was chatting to a man and woman further away. Shikamaru was by himself gathering supplies which had scattered across the ground.
When he heard his name, he looked up. Before he could say anything, Ino was pulling on his arm, causing him to drop a small drawstring bag. "Come with us, hurry! Before she gets back."
"What are you doing?" he asked, annoyed.
"We're taking you back to the Leaf."
"What? Why?"
"What do you mean why?"
Shikamaru pulled his arm free and looked at her seriously. "Ino, I'm not going back to the Leaf. I don't want to."
"You don't really mean that," she insisted.
"Yes, I do."
"No, you don't."
"Yes… I do," he said firmly. "I told you before that I intend to stay here with Camellia." He pointed his thumb in the girl's direction.
As he bent down to retrieve the fallen bag, Ino jabbed him in the temple with her fingers. "Release!"
"Ow! Ino, stop that."
"Did it work? How do you feel now? Ready to come back to the Leaf?"
Shikamaru groaned, rolling his eyes. "Ino, please. I told you I don't want to."
"This must be some powerful genjutsu. I thought I broke it."
"Ino, I am not under genjutsu. Will you stop?"
"But you have to be," she reasoned. "Why else would you decide not to come back to the Leaf?"
Sighing, Shikamaru glanced around before saying in a softer tone, "I'm just not ready to go back yet. There's still something I have to do first."
"Like what?"
Shikamaru bit his lip, glancing away. "I can't tell you that. Just trust me. I'll come back when I'm ready."
"I don't accept that," she told him. "I'll use my jutsu to force you if I have to."
Shikamaru got closer to Ino and said quietly but firmly, "Ino, this is important to me. You don't have to accept my answer, just respect it. I have every intention of going back to the Leaf Village, just not now. I will go back when I'm ready but not sooner than that. Ok? Just… Please, Ino. Trust me."
"How can I trust you when you won't tell me what's going on?"
Refusing to say anything else, Shikamaru picked up the fallen bag and started to turn away, pausing only to repeat the same answer before walking away with a bitter look on his face.
"Take it the plan didn't work?" Naruto asked, seeing Shikamaru walk away. "You know, maybe…"
"We gotta go back to the Leaf and tell the Hokage," Ino said affirmatively. "We can get reinforcements. This is clearing a powerful genjutsu we can't break on our own. The Hokage can help us."
"I can't help you," answered Kakashi after hearing their report.
"What?" Ino was shocked by what she heard. "But Shikamaru won't come home with us and this girl clearly knows genjutsu…"
Kakashi stopped her there to explain. "First of all, this isn't a mission assignment. Therefore, you don't have to do anything. Second of all, this girl isn't doing anything illegal or harmful and no one has asked for help, ergo, there isn't much we can do on the subject. We also don't have any proof Shikamaru is under genjutsu."
"But he has to be. There's no other explanation," she argued.
"From what you told me, he isn't acting the way these two were, so it's possible that he isn't. And, you also used genjutsu removal techniques to no avail, further supporting the possibility that he isn't."
"Can't you send someone after him and bring him back?"
"Shikamaru hasn't abandoned the village and he left on his own. There's no reason to bring him back by force. He's also made it clear that he intends to come back when he's ready which means he will return. Which also means there isn't much I can do nor should I. There's no proof he needs rescuing."
"But-"
"I understand that you're worried about your friend but none of this is call for immediate action," Kakashi reasoned. "He told you that he had something important to do and I think we should respect that. Just because it's not what you want doesn't mean it's a situation where we need to take action. I'm sorry, but there's really nothing I can do. We can keep an eye on the situation and if there's call for concern, we'll reopen discussion."
Ino did not accept this answer. After leaving the office, she ranted about the situation and was already making plans to go after Shikamaru themselves. "The Hokage never said we couldn't handle this ourselves. And how else would we know if the situation's changed if we don't keep an eye on things and get involved?"
"Nice loophole," Sai commented, though he wasn't as gung-ho about this mission as she was.
Naruto also had some reservations about this but Ino wouldn't listen to any of them, determined to do this herself no matter how anyone felt about it.