323Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Naruto and Harry Potter and all rights go to the rightful authors. This is merely a work of "what-if" fiction derived from my imagination.
Everything happened all too fast for Shikamaru.
Out of all of them, it was Asuma-sensei who acted first and whipped out a kunai then proceeded to stand in front of the genin. He was a jonin who had years of training and experience after all, and he was their teacher— which makes them his responsibility and their life rests on his hands.
"Well, well, well," one of the rogue ninjas drawled. In Shikamaru's arms, the kitten hissed. "Look what we have here, some Konoha babies who have the unlucky pleasure of running into us."
There were five of them, Shikamaru silently counted in his head.
Too many. And other than being outnumbered, there were skills to be considered too. By the killing intent their enemy is releasing, they're most likely at chunin to borderline jonin level. Shikamaru quickly scanned the area for anything that could help them if they were to escape. They were in an open area considering they took the civilian road and opted to walk back home, but the road was also surrounded by various trees. If they were lucky, they could confuse the enemy when escaping and plant traps.
"Shikamaru," Asuma called. "I trust that you know what to do. You're in charge while I handle some of them." The rogue ninjas sneered at his words.
Eyes hardening as different plans of every possible scenarios formulated in his head, Shikamaru nodded. "Yes." He placed the small kitten in his pocket hidden inside his grey jacket, securing it so the animal won't accidentally fall off from all the running that would come. His posture shifted in readiness and his teammates copied him.
In a flurry of movements, Asuma had launched shurikens at the rogue ninjas. They automatically blocked it with their kunais but they were then caught off guard by the sudden smoke screen.
"Now!" At Asuma's signal, Shikamaru left quickly along with Choji and Ino.
While running, Ino asked said worriedly, "What about sensei?"
"He'll be fine." Shikamaru answered.
Because unlike last incident, Asuma was at his full strength this time. Despite their teacher's laid-back attitude, he's a highly talented jonin of Konoha. Shikaku even praised the Sarutobi for being a formidable shinobi of Konoha.
"Ino," Shikamaru called. "Did you bring your ninja wire?"
"Yes." Ino replied as she fished it out.
"Good. Let's set up some traps. We won't be able to escape by only running. We're too slow, and they'll be using the trees to catch up to us."
Ino and Choji moved swiftly as they followed every word of Shikamaru's instructions. After setting up in less than a minute, they moved quickly in hiding their selves secretly. They hid separately as per the Nara's advice and made a clone. They didn't have to wait long when two of the rogue nins came and tipped off the trap. The bomb went off but they were able to shield themselves. Through the smoke made by the explosion, the pursuers saw three hurried movements going east and the two rogue nins went after them.
The genin team waited until they were gone and Shikamaru signaled the clear. Ino and Choji came out and breathed out sighs of relief as the rogue nins were gone.
They were about to head off on their way when the two rogue nins from earlier dropped right in front of them, and they were both smirking.
"Tut, tut. You thought that would fool us? That was a very predictable move, even for a genin. I had expected more considering there's a Nara in your team." Rogue Nin One spoke. "Too easy, I must say."
"Well, sorry for letting you down." The Nara boy answered with an uneasy smirk on his own face.
"What are we going to do, Shikamaru?" The girl answered, and it was clear there was fear in her eyes. It made the rogue nin who spoke earlier get excited for blood to spill.
"Oh," the rogue nin answered. "You don't have to do anything!" his voice went up as he swiftly threw a kunai straight to her head. The fatso genin reacted by pulling the girl out of the way but stumbled and got hit instead. And the rogue nins were surprised when he dispersed in a small cloud of smoke.
"A clone?!"
"Heh," the Nara boy, who the rogue nins suspected by now is also a clone too, taunted them. "Too easy, huh?"
The other rogue nin growled in anger, and proceeded to lash out with his tanto to disperse the clones.
.
He was running out of breath. Shikamaru knew there's not much time before his body would protest. He had the least stamina in the group, he already knew that fact as Asuma liked to point it out during their daily team training.
By now, their pursuers would have found out that they were fooled and will catch up to them soon with blood boiling. Considering the factor in which soon, Shikamaru would have to stop from running so as not to wear out his physical body, he will have to stop and let his teammates go on.
But that would be impossible.
The young Nara held back a resigned sigh. Considering his teammates personalities, they would undoubtedly disagree with him and most likely drag him when it comes to it or they would stay back with him.
So that plan is crossed out and crumpled and thrown from his mind.
The best course of action would be…
.
Shikamaru tensed when the two rogue nins appeared in front of him, his own kunai already drawn as a defense in front of him. Earlier, he had let Haru the kitten off from his person so it wouldn't get hurt in the coming confrontation. It was up to the animal to stay hidden under some bush or walk away from the fight which is the better option, in Shikamaru's opinion.
Rogue Nin One from earlier spoke again. Seriously, he was too talkative. "You kids are wasting our time, I'm getting bored already. All you do is run, run, run. Though, I wouldn't expect much from a bunch of genin of Konoha softies."
Shikamaru smirked for show. "I'm not running now, am I?"
"Clearly, I can see that." Rogue Nin One eyed the footprints— false footprint, Shikamaru said internally— behind the only genin in the area. "They left you behind, huh. Poor you." He nodded at Rogue Nin Two as a sign for the latter to pursue the rest of Shikamaru's team.
"I won't let you!" acting fast, Shikamaru made the sign for his shadow imitation technique and trapped Rogue Nin Two who let out a shocked noise. He couldn't actually make the enemy move as he still had a problem in holding his shadow in the enemy's when he moves, but freezing them would have to do.
Now!
"You-!" Before Rogue Nin One could finish his outrage, he was met with a barreling Akimichi in the face.
Ino landed in front of Shikamaru and proceeded to use her mind transfer jutsu on Rogue Nin Two. Shikamaru retracted his shadow and caught Ino's body before her head could land hard on the ground. He placed her body gently and proceeded to speed towards Rogue Nin Two who Ino had possessed, she had thrown away the tanto it was previously holding and was awaiting Shikamaru's killing blow with determination. In no time he was at less than a foot away and his arm was already swinging.
"Ino, out now!"
Rogue Nin Two did not have a chance of recovery, not even a blink when it was about to start to sink in his mind that the young Nara was already upon him before he was already choking in his own blood and gurgling. Barely five seconds, that was all it took before the life faded from his eyes.
He stared at the corpse for a moment, at its wide, unmoving, empty eyes. Shikamaru could feel something deep in him he couldn't describe, he didn't know what it was. Probably because it was drowned out from the heart pounding rush of adrenaline, but he won't dwell on it now. The threatening situation they were in wasn't over yet.
One down. Now for the other one—
Shikamaru's thoughts were cut off by a pained yell from an all too familiar voice.
"Choji!" he could hear Ino scream in her high-pitched voice.
He turned to look, and it was a sight that he knew that if ever he was going to survive from this mission, it will forever stick on his mind, haunting him for his mistake that he will never be able to correct.
The remaining rogue nin's back was facing them, but that didn't fail to obstruct the horrifying view of their teammate being impaled with a sword. Choji was already lying on the ground and let out another scream when the rogue nin deepened and twisted his weapon for his sick satisfaction.
Shikamaru didn't know what to do, his feet were glued to its place. He couldn't even hear Choji's scream because it felt like a sharp noise was next to his ears— a deafening silence.
Ino expected Shikamaru to be charging straight by now so when a second passed and she didn't hear nor see him sprinting, she looked his way to see he was frozen in place. "Shika- tch!" there was no point. If she learned anything from her training as a member of her clan, one would be knowing when a person dissociates themselves as a freeze response during threatening situations when she sees one.
Acting fast, she swiftly pulled out a kunai and threw it to the enemy. The rogue nin noticed quickly and responded by pulling out his sword to block the attack. He then calmly walked to the remaining genin, leaving Choji to bleed out as he wouldn't be able to do much anyway. Despite his calm demeanor in his approach, his blood was boiling inside. He was too pissed off at these genin now that his partner was killed, might as well make them suffer a long, agonizing death. It was why he didn't immediately finish off the Akimichi. To make him suffer in pain.
Ino's heart leaped as the enemy was nearing. She gripped another kunai to defend herself, but her teammate beside her was still frozen in place, still staring at where Choji was lying down bleeding to death.
"Shikamaru snap out of it!"
The harsh slap to the face that came with it finally did the trick that had Shikamaru snap his head to the side by the force. He blinked, then caught himself and fixed his posture in a ready stance. Gripping tightly the kunai in his hand that was still dripping blood from the other rogue nin earlier, he ignored the stinging pain on his face.
Another step closer to the genin and the rogue nin would have swung his sword by then but stopped to brace himself when he felt a strong presence coming fast. The strong killing intent that came with it made it hard to ignore.
Shikamaru heard the clinking of metal before it registered in his mind that he was currently looking at Asuma's back.
"Asuma-sensei!"
"Ino! Shikamaru! Get to Choji!" their sensei commanded. Both genin nodded and ran to where Choji lay. When they got there and kneeled on both of Choji's side, they could see him with ragged breathing and his hand on top of his bleeding stomach. He couldn't press on it because he felt too weak with the blood loss. It was clear by his pale and sweating form.
"Choji, hang in there!"
Troublesome, so fucking troublesome. Why do they keep on getting C ranked missions that happens to have them accidentally confront rogue ninjas? God, he just wanted to rip his hair out and roar in frustration at their nonexistent luck. He removed Choji's hand on his wound to replace it with his so as to put pressure on the wound, but he didn't know if it would help because the wound was too deep.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
Choji was dying.
He can't have that. He can't.
Choji was his first friend, his best friend, his most trusted person, the only friend that truly understood him. Ino would equally take it hard. She'd cry nonstop. Shikamaru won't be able to look directly at Chouza in the eye ever again.
Fuck, he doesn't know what to do if Choji died. He doesn't know what to do other than continuing to press on the wound. He doesn't know, he doesn't know, he doesn't know. So much for being a Nara, so much for being even an heir.
Shikamaru thought of his father, and what he would say at his mistake.
I'm such a failure.
He squeezed his eyes shut, desperately hoping for a miracle to happen. Just anything, please.
A meow sounded.
What?
He heard it again and he looked up, just noticing a shadow over them.
Hari had a grim look, her eyes showed that as it roamed over all of them then to the ongoing fight not far from them. She kneeled down with them, next to Ino and it was only by then that Shikamaru noticed the weird kitten from earlier in her arms. Gently, she put down the said animal on the ground to her side.
"Let me." She said and Shikamaru removed his hands, he ignored the blood on them.
Hari put her right hand on the wound, her eyes serious and that prompted them to not question her. At first, Shikamaru thought she wasn't doing anything until he heard her mumble. Her voice was too faint to hear what she was saying exactly. She removed her hand and Ino beside her gasped. Shikamaru was sure he was gaping too.
The wound was gone, in place of it was unmarred skin. Like there was never a wound on it before but the blood soaking Choji's clothes were evident.
"How…" he started, but he wasn't sure which words to say.
"I only simply closed his wound, there is still a possibility of infection in it but I would need my potions for it." She eye-smiled at them and placed the kitten in her arms again. "My potions are all in my place. I didn't exactly know that I'd need it when this little guy took me here. I suggest that we go to my place to use my potion, and to have you rest. You guys look tired."
They didn't notice that Asuma was done, who was surprised at Hari's presence but didn't attack.
"Hari-san." Hari nodded back at Asuma as she stood up. She proceeded to explain to Asuma of Choji's condition, and that they would need to go to her place for the potion. Asuma sighed in relief.
"We owe you yet again, Hari-san."
She waved it off. "It's no problem. Now, hold on to me." Asuma was confused but did so on her shoulder. "Make sure you hold onto Choji, Ino."
Ino, having an idea of what Hari was about to do, didn't question and did what she was told.
"Shikamaru?" said boy snapped back to reality. His mind hadn't exactly registered that the danger was gone now, and that Choji was safe and far from a threatening situation.
The words were stuck in his throat for a moment, before he voiced out, "He'll live?" he hadn't meant to say it in a shaky voice but he couldn't exactly fix it now.
Hari smiled at him, and Shikamaru felt the rush leave him as reassurance replaced it. She nodded.
Oh.
Oh, thank god.
He couldn't stop the tears that was building up and grabbed on to her with his head bowed.
Choji will live.
Years from now, Shikamaru would look back to this very moment. This unforgettable moment that made him want to change to what he was now. His debt to Hari would last a lifetime because of this, and it won't be the only one.
Author's note:
To cut things short, I wasn't able to update for a long time because a LOT of things happened. Majority of it is family matter. I won't go into details because it's private and takes long to put in words.
Please don't message me. I don't like replying because I have a bad experience on some plain weirdos.