Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Sober ❯ Shaken ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter One: Shaken
Shikamaru ran towards the village, panting all the while. There was a fair amount of activity behind the Konoha gates. He could sense every last bad vibe. His teammates had rushed ahead about five minutes ago while he took care of the last two enemy Sound ninja. Now, he wished that he went on with them quicker. "And what is going on up there?" he thought angrily, looking at the village walls. He frowned, finally getting to the gates.
"Shikamaru!" Choji called from ahead.
"What?" he asked, trotting to him. His eyes widened as he turned the corner. Three innocent villagers were unconscious on the ground. Two medic ninja were tending to them.
Choji hit him in the arm and rushed away, "come on! Don't worry about them!"
Shikamaru followed, "what's going on, Choji?"
His friend glanced at him and frowned, "Sound ninja invaded and attempted to take back one of the scrolls your team recovered just now."
He cursed under his breath, "I am so sick of overlooking things, damn it."
"It wasn't your fault," Choji said, turning a corner.
Shikamaru ran with him closely, "but, one of us could have noticed. We are so-"
"Enough!" Choji snapped, stopping at the hospital. "The enemy was captured here. Kakashi-sensei took care of them easily."
His eyes cut to the building, "what are we doing here?"
Choji lowered his eyes, "Ino tried to stop them by herself. She was trying to protect the smaller academy students."
Shikamaru fell silent. He was speechless... Ino was hurt for fighting alone. She fought alone! He took a step back out of reflex. "Please don't be the worst; please be a graze, a little stab wound, or a knock out to the head. Anything," he thought.
"She was beat up pretty badly after..." Choji explained, "after...the kunai snagged her chest."
Shikamaru lost his breath, "what? How deep? How serious was it?"
"Calm down," he said quietly. "It wasn't too serious, but she did lose alot of blood. It wasn't a vital area really, more like in her shoulder."
"So, she's okay?" he asked worriedly.
Choji shrugged, "she needed a blood donor. So-"
"I'll do it!" Shikamaru snapped. Choji held his hands up in defense, making Shikamaru realize how worried he actually was. He blinked and blushed. "I mean...I'll do it," he said, toning his voice back to its normal state.
"Her father did it already," Choji said cautiously. "You might can go see her if you ask nicely. But hell, don't take it out on me."
Shikamaru blushed even more, feeling more and more embarrassed, "I know what you're thinking, and-"
"And it's true?" Choji questioned with a wry smile.
Shikamaru walked past him, "I don't have to talk about it to you anymore." He opened the door and went in.
Choji smiled wider at his friend's attempt to hide his feelings.
Shikamaru stepped inside and immediantly saw Tsunade. He frowned, "oh, man... Troublesome."
"There you are," she said to him. "Inoichi is waiting for you." She pointed to the hallway.
Shikamaru wondered why Ino's father wanted to see him. It bothered him; he and Inoichi never really talked. So what could they possibly discuss....other than Ino. He sighed heavily as Inoichi met him at Ino's door. "Evening, Yamanaka-sama," Shikamaru said politely. He had better; his mother was on his ass for weeks the last time he didn't say yes ma'am to Tsunade.
"Hey, Shikamaru. I wanted to ask something of you," he said quietly.
He nodded, "yes?"
"I already asked Choji, but I wanted to know if it was okay with you, too."
Shikamaru frowned, "what was?"
"If Ino stayed with you until I returned from my mission," he said. "And...her mother is in Tea-"
"What?" Shikamaru blushed lightly, "s-stayed with me? What about Sakura?"
"Sakura is going to be busy," he said. He crossed his arms and waited.
"Wait a minute here," Shikamaru choked out. "You want me to take care of her?"
Inoichi's eyes narrowed, "anything wrong with that?"
"No, Yamanaka-sama. Nothing at all," he said quickly. He frowned, "I can do that."
"You sure?" he asked. "I know you two kinda broke up."
"We never really were going out," Shikamaru mumbled.
"When you spend that much time with my daughter, then you were going out," he snapped.
"Okay, so we were, but did she tell you why we....?"
"No, she wouldn't talk to me." He leaned in and whispered, "was it her fault?"
"No sir," Shikamaru sighed.
"Inoichi, let's go," Choza said, walking to them.
Inoichi smiled at Shikamaru, "take care of my little girl. You better take extra care with her."
Shikamaru nodded, "don't worry about it."