Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Ice Picks and Hand Grenades ❯ What Begins... ( Chapter 18 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: I hate the radio.
Chapter 18:It begins…
I make my way to the crowded streets past my house, and as I do, all of the resolve I previously held deteriorates into nothing. Damn. To think I’d lose my will to be lazy. All I can think of now is getting to the gates, getting out of Konoha, and getting back. I’m even willing to put effort into it if I have to this time. Maybe it’s the extended leave from classes making me so antsy, or maybe all this added stress is finally making me go insane. I dunno. I don’t want to know. I just want out.
But, as is customary, I’ve got to make one side trip before the inevitable. I think Tsunade-baba will understand. I doubt anything of significant importance would be going around the Hokage tower at this time of day, anyway.
Leaping from rooftop to rooftop at a pace quicker than casual, but far from breakneck, I aim directly for the tall building that sits right between the city and the rising of the sun. I expect my arrival will be a bit of a surprise. Okay, not quite shocking though. Nothing shocks Tsunade-sama anymore. Not after dealing with Naruto and the likes for so many years.
I stop at the foot of the tower, unsettling a cloud of dust because I really just don’t care. Twenty years and it never seems to lose its enormity. Even as I got bigger and everything around me seemed to shrink, this place seemed completely untouched, like it grew with me. Impossible, I know… though I ask myself what impossible even is anymore. I cross the five feet that lie between me and that huge door, turn the knob briskly and with purpose. At least that’s how it feels.
The hallways inside are dark and empty. Somewhat like a morgue… sterile tendrils creeping from the edges of something that’s completely unseen, but obvious even to the most dimwitted passerby. Granted I know where it comes from, but that kind of place is far out of my domain and definitely something I’m just fine without. I let the shiver down my spine straighten my back and turn sharply to the left. How anyone could be a medical nin, I’ll never know.
It’s almost a relief when I come face to face with the half shrouded, half asleep forms of Izumo and Kotetsu, first watch having not started but an hour or so ago. How they’ve done such a boring job for almost ten years… ack. I wave until the latter notices my presence, his alertness awful slack for a ninja of his abilities, and push back my irritation with a cough.
"Oh, shit, Shikamaru-kun," Kotetsu squeaks before shoving the door behind him open. "I, uh, didn’t see you there."
I groan to myself and step past the men with two large steps. "Wasn’t sneaking," I murmur.
Like everyone else in this damned place, when I reach the Hokage’s desk she’s already passed out on her paperwork, an unsightly amount of drool pooling on a hopefully unimportant document, pretty much destroying any of the words that might have been printed on it. But unlike the two doormen, Tsunade is quicker to wake on her own accord, though her response is just as groggy. Of course, I can’t understand quite what that response is.
"Tsunade-sama, I’ve reconsidered." I say bluntly, hoping to pique her interest.
And yes, it works like a charm. "Wh-what?" She stutters as she tears herself fully into the waking world. "Reconsidered? What? Is this about the-"
"Yeah." I cross my arms. "I guess it’s about time and all. I wouldn’t want to break a promise now, would I?"
She sits up straight, this time. "I though you were waiting for two or three more years." This curious inquiry doesn’t go unnoticed… though I seriously consider pretending not to.
"I figure the missions are coming whether I want them or not so… you know what they say."
"You never fail to surprise me." She says with a smile.
"If you kill me before that kid makes it to thirteen, I’ll haunt you for the rest of your life." And while my tone suggests the same flat and bored tone I usually use, I’m sure she knows I’m dead serious this time.
"Wait a minute, Nara. That’s your job! You can’t blame me if you can’t keep yourself alive!" And yet she jests. What a bitch… and you think I’d be used to this kind of crap by now.
"Yeah, well whatever." I shrug. "Just move me up, will ya. I can’t really stay long."
"I know, I know." She says with a bright and far too exuberant smile. "I sent out the mission, you know. And speaking of which, your mission should run about… two weeks total. So how about next month?"
"Hell no." That response, however, is not what she was looking for. A dumbfounded expression crosses her face. But before she can spit out any of her absurd comments I pick up my hand. "Not that soon. I can’t do it before the school year ends."
The look on her face is replaced by a knowing smirk. "How could I contest that? You’ve become so responsible, not wanting to leave your students so late in the year. Shikamaru, I bet your father would be proud."
Yeah, probably. But I have a feeling that pride would be pretty short-lived. I curl my lip indifferently. He’s always wanted a son to follow in his footsteps, yeah, but once he finds out he’s probably outta luck when it comes to heirs he’ll shit bricks… and all that pride comes to a screeching halt. Not that I see myself necessarily spending my life in a same sex relationship, but as I’ve said before… if my choice in female companions continues to looks so fuckin’ bleak… well… I have a feeling I’ll be living alone for quite some time.
"As much as I love my dad, I’m not doing this for his respect." The air around me sparks with an inkling of anxiety. "His respect is hard to earn, and a very fragile thing. I learned long ago to focus on things more important than those that came before me."
"Almost a spitting image…" Tsunade says within a chuckle. "Though you definitely don’t smoke as much."
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.
When the gates of Konoha finally fall beneath my range of sight the sun has already crept far enough into view that the entire sky is illuminated with the vivid blue of late morning. There aren’t any clouds lining the sky, however, which makes for a good clear trip, but a pretty boring view, if you ask me. I pan my eyes over the five ninja waiting at the gate curiously. Well, I wasn’t aware I was late or anything. Not that it matters now.
"Shikamaru! You’re late!" Naruto shouts, snapping a finger in my direction firmly enough to stop me in my tracks. But it only stops me for a moment before I let out a defeated sigh and push his hand away as I walk past.
"Geez, Naruto. Don’t you know it’s rude to point?" He doesn’t respond. Not that I really expected him to. "Isn’t Gaara supposed to be here?"
"Went ahead." Temari shrugs. "You know how impatient he gets. I’m sure we’ll catch up, now that the whole team is assembled."
The whole team, huh? Eh. Naruto I expected, and even Tenten was a give in… but when I notice Kiba has been thrown in the mix, what can I do but be a little suspicious? She’s a devious one, that Temari, and I know she has a certain way of getting what she wants. Probably held Kankuro in a chokehold until he gave in.
I guess it’ll be a good conversation starter if we get bored along the way… insert inner groan.
And without much more than an equipment check we start off. After all, there’s no point wasting words. I’m sure enough word wasting will be done on the trip’s lows.
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.
Less than six hours into the trip we stop for the first time. Gaara still out of reach, it feels like our progress has been nil. But our luck is about to change. What else could it mean when Akamaru stops in his tracks, brisling the hairs on his back aggressively and barking in that imposing bassy tone? Everyone’s stances stiffen up a little… everyone save Kiba, who listens intently to a pissed off sounding dog like they’re having a friendly chat. I guess living with some of those animals he does, Akamaru would be the least of your worries.
One time when we were younger a few of us were over at his house for a sleepover, and when I haplessly wondered into the dark hallway trying to find the bathroom I had the scare of my life. The biggest, meanest fucking dog you’ve ever seen came outta nowhere and I guess I was crossing somewhere I shouldn’t have been, because next thing I know I’m pinned under the son of a bitch and I can feel his teeth on the side of my cheek. The only reason I didn’t get killed that night was because Kiba’s mother has quick reflexes and she had her hand right in the beast’s mouth, yanking back that strong jaw like it was nothing. Kiba later told me that’s why he never goes near his mother’s room at night… I guess even family members weren’t an exception… and hell. I never figured out which one of their mutts that big ass fucker was, but truthfully, I don’t care. I never spent the night over again, either. All parties and such were thereafter moved to Chouji’s house, where the biggest danger is his mother trying to feed you donuts at three in the morning.
"He found Gaara." Kiba says just above a whisper. "But he’s not alone."
"That was quick," Temari growls, whipping her fan over her shoulder and grinding it into the ground with a loud crunch, "I didn’t think they’d have the balls to take us inside Fire Country borders."
"Good news then. These guys aren’t too bright." If we don’t take them out quick, border patrol would catch whiff and join the battle. Odds are on our side, for once.
We take to a sprint, following Akamaru’s lead to the area where he caught Gaara’s scent. Not far off the beaten path we start to hear the scuffle, and when I take a quick glance at the sky I see a blast of sand rise momentarily from the scene. This battle is just beginning. Our timing might be a little off, but not enough to make significant difference.
The forestry is still dense when we finally meet up with our seventh and final companion, and just as we expected, about more than three dozen enemy ninja have the Kazekage surrounded, followed closely by a pair of larger-than-your-average snakes. Gaara has one hand outstretched, and he looks cooler than stone, surrounded by four equally emotionless sand clones.
We start our attack with a barrage of weapons that spreads the expanse of the battleground, striking down anything in visual range. Those that aren’t caught off guard by the tactic dodge behind trees to evade the blow, but six ninja are taken out by the first wave. Tenten stays back as the second wave, and the rest of us spread out. There isn’t a lot of sunlight for this battle, but there’s enough. If I can catch eight of the remaining ninja with Kage Mane, Tenten can handle the stragglers while Gaara and Naruto, being the strongest, handle the snakes. Kiba, Kankuro and Temari would be left to wipe out the captured shinobi and whoever else gets in their way. I hope they catch my plan, since I haven’t had time to give out orders. I mean… it’s just the common sense of playing to our strengths, right?
I do my part without another thought, at the last moment capturing nine of the shinobi instead of the eight I calculated. From the corner of my eye I see Naruto split into at least five Kage Bunshin. We can do it this way too.
"Naruto! Keep on the mobile ones!" I shout. That will be my only vocal order, this time. I can’t keep up with that many punches without getting myself pummeled in the process.
By this point, very little of the battlefield is visible to me. All I can see is the heads of the snakes and a whole lot of yellow and orange.
"Shikamaru!" I hear Temari shout from the sidelines. I snap my head in her direction right as she leaps onto a sturdy tree branch and fully extends her fan. She’s not messing around here.
"Ready?" Kiba shouts from a tree branch directly ahead of Temari’s, and it’s only then I realize he’s gone through with his usual Beast Man Transformation skill. I watch with curiosity as Akamaru and Kiba start to spin. This looks like low level jutsu… and it makes me wonder what’s up their sleeves. Temari cocks her fan…
The blast that follows is nothing if not immense. If I don’t let go of my jutsu, something very bad is going to happen. I throw myself backward and cover my head when I get the full picture. Temari has actually used her wind attack on Kiba and Akamaru! But instead of injuring the two, it seems the force of their spin against the wind has propelled them forward at what couldn’t be less than three times their usual speed. They hit the ground with a hard bounce, cratering the earth with the force and shoot forward like a bullet. The two seem to bounce back and forth, feeding from each other’s kinetic engergies as they plow through everything, earth, trees, everything. Not even Naruto’s Kage Bunshin escape the move’s wrath. How they can even remotely control the path of destruction is far beyond me.
When the path clears I make a break for the Kazekage, knowing that at this point the severely reduced numbers of enemy ninja will cause desperation, and if the Kazekage is their target, the best thing I can do right now is defend his blind spots. Gaara barely risks a glance from the corner of his eyes as I approach, but that’s how it should be.
"I tire of this." He says simply as he unfolds his arms and forms a seal. Instantly some of the sand tossed about the ground begins to rise and spin, starting at a very close proximity. As the sand gains speed and density, the whirlwind moves away from us, and as we stand in the eye of the storm I start to hear the damage without. Chunks of wood and rock start appearing in the whirlwind, and maybe other things, I don’t want to know.
The sound is utterly deafening, and it’s hard not to clap my hands over my ears and shrink to the ground, but I manage to hold out, kunai still firmly in hand.
The shriek of a snake pierces above the rest of the noise, and as it forces its head through the tornado I do nothing but grip my weapon tighter. I don’t know how such a creature could have the strength to be doing this, but the instant I catch sight of it much of its skin has already been shredded away, streaking the whirlwind around us with red ribbons before being yanked back into the wind. By now the thing must have poofed out of this plane but the sight of that, grating away the flesh of that creature… that’s gonna stick with me for a while.
So by the time the winds subside, it was no surprise to find we were surrounded by a whole lot of nothing, trees, rocks, people… no traces of any of it.
"What the hell!" We hear from behind, in Kankuro’s direction. But when I turn my head it seems Naruto was making all the noise. But he looks just fine, if not pissed off in that rather comic Naruto sort of way. Whatever jutsu he used to defend himself looked to have worked as well, judging from the small, round patch of grass that lies directly under his feet. Gaara says nothing in response, but there doesn’t seem to be any tension really, not unless you count that silly look on Naruto’s face as tension.
"I’m tired." The Kazekage suddenly says through a sigh as he begins to walk back toward the path. I let my shoulders drop.
"You want to make camp now?" Temari inquires from a tree a ways away, dropping down as if unfazed by the previous events.
Gaara stops for a moment, looking over his shoulder. "A little further. Then we make camp."
That sounds great. Even though I’m far from exhausted, I’m real fucking tired of saving my ass from my own companions. That kind of thing can wear on a guy. I sheathe my kunai and start to follow after the Kazekage. After all, that was the basis of the mission, was it not? "It shouldn’t be hard to dodge their reinforcements for the night." I say, calmly. "Well, hopefully."
Kxsxkxsxkxsxkxsxkxsxkxsxkxsxkxsxkxskx
NEXT TIME: Everyone knows about the four elements. Wind that is wild and free. Fire that is unstable and destructive. Earth that is sturdy and unbreakable. Water that is clear and adaptive. All have their strengths, weaknesses, and their own unique reasons that draw us to them.
But sometimes, our attraction connected to memory, rather than the element itself.