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Kakuzu
08-31-2007, 03:35 AM
Hell all, here is a little story I'm developing at the moment. Please take time to read it. :D



Shikamaru Nara woke up in a sweaty startle. Hot, salty beads of thin sweat lazily rolled down his tanned skin, a picture of absolute terror frozen on his surprised face. The only sounds he could hear the in the dark, eerie room were the slight whispers and pants of himself. His eyes were dry from the tears rolling down his cheeks, and his hair was drenched, along with his pajamas. He rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand. When he brought it up to his face, he saw a small puddle of water. He gasped a bit at the sight of a small amount of blood on his lower lip. The bland taste filled his mouth, and he desperately tried to suck the red, oozing liquid out of the torn flesh. Apparently, he had been chewing on his lip while he was asleep. This he could understand, this wasn’t the first time he had bit down on his lips while in a deep sleep. Once he had figured out where he was, and what had happened, he tried to pull the memories he had thought about in his dream. “Asuma…” he muttered under his heavy breath. He vividly remembered the vulgar scene of his mutilated Jounin instructor on the floor, gasping for one last breath. A tear formed in his eye as he slowly attempted to rub it away. More images of Asuma on the floor, trying to reach for his battle weapons to combatant his enemy, even on death row. Sadness swelled inside of the young Chuunin as the final image of Asuma lying oh so very still on the floor, dead.

Before a second wave of sadness could travel through his body, Shikamaru heard a thud right outside of his apartment. Despite his condition, the Nara quickly jumped to see what was causing this noise to be heard. As he leaped from his bed, onto the rug floor, and directly to his window, he saw a shadowy figure dart over a rooftop in Konoha. Shikamaru tried to get a closer look, but his eyes stung from his weeping. “Who’s out this late?” Shikamaru whispered to himself as he checked the clock set above his bed. 3:47am was the exact time on the clock’s face. The young teenager immediately grabbed his Chuunin vest, and slung it over his pajamas. Carefully, he reached for his bag of kunai, which contained the chakra knives he used in battle against Hidan. “Whoever he is, he shouldn’t be out this late…” the boy muttered as he lifted his window and jumped downward onto a lower rooftop. Silently, he blended into the night, making sure he didn’t cause an uproar as he followed his figure with great haste.

Whoever this perpetrator was, he was damn fast. Even with Shikamaru’s keen sense of sight and smell, combined with his advanced speed, he couldn’t seem to keep up with his target. The thought of throwing a kunai and lodging it in his leg was a very pleasant but forbidden thought for the weary Shinobi. Had he have done that, he might have gotten into serious trouble, considering that no ninja in Konoha is allowed to attack someone until that someone was considered a threat. Nevertheless, the two kept playing the game of cat and mouse until Shikamaru finally saw his opening to get in front of the masked trespasser, and get some answers. With great skill, the Nara leaped into the nip, frosty air. His eye still stuck on his target, he managed to land his feet down on the ground, about 3 meters in front of the unsuspecting lawbreaker. Holding a single extended hand up, the green vested ninja uttered a small amount of words. The unknown ninja jumped backwards in startled manner, as if a Konoha ninja following him was the last thing he thought could happen.

“Stop right there. Tell me, what are you doing out so late,” Shikamaru ordered. In a flash, three shurikan were sent at the Nara. The boy’s eyes widened in shock as he dodged the oncoming metal weapons with ease. Bending backwards, he gave plenty of time for his target to leap over his immobile body, and begin to flee. Regaining his posture, he gritted his teeth a bit, anger swelling to his head. “Why do things have to be so troublesome this late a night?“ he whined. With those words, he dashed forward, trying to see in the darkness in front of him. Shikamaru tried to keep up the obviously taller, more muscular man. Before Shikamaru could get within three meters of his fleeing enemy, the target made a left turn. With great maneuvering, the 16 year old managed to grab a hold of a long silver pole, twist his body upside down, fling himself in the air, and land feet-first onto a tall building. At this height, Shikamaru could easily see the intruder as he made nearly impossible twists and turns between Konoha constructs. “Who is this guy? He’s obviously Jounin level…Or at least around it,” a worried Shikamaru thought to himself as he gained speed and tried to find the skilled enemy.

Reaching for a kunai, the forbidden thought of lodging a kunai in the intruder’s leg was now an option the boy could select. Of course, with every weapon thrown, a million problems would follow. This was especially true for someone who has no team or witnesses at the scene. If I don’t hit him, he’ll get away… I can’t keep up with him… But if I throw it, and hit him… There can be some serious consequences… After a mini debate in his mind, the Nara finally made up his troubled mind; hit him. The boy glided in midair as he slowly reached for a weapon. It felt as if he were in slow motion… Sweat began to pour down his face from his head, his heart pounding faster than before, he gripped the smooth, hard metal that was crafted into a long, pointy assault weapon, and brought it to eye’s level. Holding his breath, he brought it back, and flung it in the direction of his enemy, who had his back turned.

Right before the weapon connected with the flesh of his enemy, the masked Shinobi instantly turned around, and deflected the metal knife with a long weapon of his own. Even though the Nara could not see perfectly, there was something odd about the weapon the ninja was holding. Not to mention that his movements were lightning fast, about twice as fast as Shikamaru’s himself. “This guy is too much…” Before the pineapple-shaped haired Shinobi could utter a second sentence, the masked ninja stopped dead in his tracks, and lunged at Shikamaru. Shock, confusion, and fear were all visible on Shikamaru’s façade as the older man threw his weapon directly at his face. The silver-plated, double bladed kunai-looking weapon was three inches from the Nara’s face before Shikamaru jeered to the left. Just dodged it… The boy thought, his eyes still wide from shock.

“Argh,” Shikamaru grunted as he felt a slight bit of blood drizzle down his right left cheek. Before the masked ninja could reach the boy, Shikamaru stopped, ducked, let the man pass him overhead, and put a hand on his cheek. The skin on his cheek was raw, torn, and stinging. Just before the injured Chuunin could look up, the weapon was already spinning back to stab him in the back. This time, however, Shikamaru was now more alert, and easily dodged the oncoming attack. Still, the Nara felt unsafe fighting this enemy. Glancing down upon the discarded metal, he was shocked by what he saw.

“Double edged kunai? Only ANBU Black Ops members are permitted to use these…” this question was added to his already growing supply. The boy quickly lifted the bloody assault-weapon, and looked up at the assaulter, a pang of fear in his stomach. “Okay now, I have questions, and I expect you to answer them right now…” The dangerous ninja stood still on top of a rather large market. In a monotone voice, he spoke. “So, that didn’t finish you off, eh? You must be pretty skilled to have avoided that attack.” Shikamaru was quite taken back from the sound of his enemies voice. Concealing his voice with a mechanical-operated voice transmitter, huh? The annoyed Nara lunged at the enemy who was already meeting him eye to eye.

The skilled enemy sent a fist into Shikamaru’s chest, but it was effortlessly blocked by his elbow. With his other free hand, the assailant tried to choke the boy, unfortunately for him, Shikamaru already ducked, and attempted a back fist to his face. The unknown Shinobi bent backwards, freed himself from Shikamaru’s grip, planted a foot on the boy’s head, bounced off Shikamaru, grabbed a hold of a pole, twirled around, and launched at the confused boy, and punched him hard in the cheek. There was a clean, sharp crack as Shikamaru was sent flying down from midair, and into a barrel filled with potatoes.

Xinobi
08-31-2007, 12:49 PM
What about Shikamaru's injuries? He is gonna bleed to death!!

Good story though.

Kakuzu
08-31-2007, 06:33 PM
Nah, Shikamaru took worse. I have chapter 2 done, and chapter three is nearly done. Sasuke and Gaara are going to fight. I might post chapter 2 sometime tomorrow, or at least until I get another reader.


...To avoid double posting.


The Nara felt a lump, and some pain on his forehead. Despite the fact that he was an accomplished Chuunin, this intruder was on a whole different level. Shikamaru rubbed his forehead, only to be greeted by several kunai flying towards him. With great evasion skills, Shikamaru managed to avoid being hit by the weapons. He heard a squishy sound as the spuds in the barrel were sliced open with ease. Grunting uncomfortably, the Nara controlled chakra to the soles
Of his feet, and was standing sideways on a building.

Clear moonlight shone on the masked Shinobi’s face, and, to Shikamaru’s surprise, the face of his enemy was that of an ANBU mask. Shikamaru gasped, the sight of an ANBU made him not only confused, but nervous. “An…ANBU?” Shikamaru muttered under his breath. Right before the boy could try and reason with what was happening, the masked ninja completed a series of simple hand seals, and muttered “Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!” Immediately, after the ANBU member muttered that, a large, orange ball of a fiery inferno expelled from the man’s mouth, and charged at Shikamaru viciously. The boy’s eyes burned from the ash and sheer fire that was crackling in the gigantic fireball in front of him. He knew that he needed to get out of here, and out of here fast!

The giant, roaring fire soon died down, the smell of ash still hung in the air. “Got him,” the defected ANBU muttered in a mono tone. Before he could leap away, he felt himself being held down to the floor. “What the hell?” he said, looking down to see a shadowy, beastly hand moving up his tightened leg. “Uh? Shadow Possession Jutsu? When did you get the chance?” the man asked in an angered tone. Shikamaru laughed a bit, materializing from the wall in front of the ANBU.

“Heh, funny how you didn’t inquire on how I survived.” The ANBU man simply grunted a bit, struggling to move. “Well, I guess I won’t need to explain it, but let’s just say it’s just a matter of how I manipulate shadows…” the boy curled his lip in a pleased manner. “Also, about this being the Nara clan’s specialty, the Shadow Possession Jutsu, you’re wrong…” The ANBU man gasped a bit.

“It’s actually one of my favorite techniques, a one hit kill attack we Nara’s call Shadow Neck Bind Jutsu.” The shadowy arm extended upward towards the man’s body, until it reached his neck. “It’s time for you to die, unless you answer some questions I have for you.” Shikamaru glared at the man with a fiery passion for his village, and an anger for those who tried to hurt it. “Go ahead…Just try it,” the man said, not a hint of fear in his voice. Shikamaru’s eyes bulged, surprised, confused, and perplexed. The Nara carefully placed his hand over the man’s neck, and delicately snapped it. Expecting the man to fall before him and die, Shikamaru lowered his guard. In that second of carelessness, the body exploded into smoke, blinding the Nara for a few seconds.

“What the?” Instantly, the Nara realized what had happened. “Smoke bomb clone!” Shikamaru was angered he could fall for such a simple trap. The blackness covered the few meters around Shikamaru. “Konoha Style: Crescent Moon Dance,” Those following words made Shikamaru jerked to many different places. “He’s using that forbidden Jutsu?” Shikamaru cried in despair as he saw seven figures, each wielding a katana. Involuntarily, the muscles in Shikamaru’s body jerked him to the left. He was rewarded by not being decapitated. However, he still felt a large tear in his left arm. Wincing in pain, the Nara reached for the only weapons he had to combatant the enemy: His chakra blades. Instinctively, Shikamaru let chakra flow to his hands and knuckles, the knives glistening a thick, blue blaze.

Gritting through the pain, he managed to destroy one Shadow Clone with his left chakra knife, of course, there were plenty more, each equally dangerous. Which is the real one? I can’t sense his damned chakra… Shikamaru muttered as he dodged another fatal slash from a blade. The smokescreen was still pretty thick, thick enough so Shikamaru was partially blind. Just before the Nara could turn around to see a potential enemy, a large, thin blade sliced through his right shoulder blade. “Arh!” Shikamaru gasped as he fell onto one knee. A wave of pain surged to the raw, exposed skin of his shoulder. Before a second blade could land, Shikamaru jumped in the air, escaping the massacre below.

Landing safely on his feet on the top of a weapon-shop roof, Shikamaru began to survey the damage he had sustained. It seemed as if he had critically injured his left ankle on the previous escape, a very nasty twist. He could barely feel his right arm and shoulder, and his head was filled with confusion. “This guy is way too much for me…He’s obviously an elite ANBU Squad Captain,” Shikamaru analyzed. Gripping his side, he unraveled a single kunai, an explosion tag wrapped around it. “This may cause an uproar, but frankly, I can’t beat this guy alone.” Pulling the knife back, Shikamaru threw it into the thick smoke. A few seconds after the release of the weapon, a large, earsplitting boom was heard by the Nara as more smoke churned from the area.

As the black smoke hung in the air, the only question racing through Shikamaru’s mind was: Did he hit him? Leaning over slightly, Shikamaru could make out a figure…Someone was sprawled along the ground. Shikamaru half grinned, as soon as the smoke cleared, and the figure was fully visible, Shikamaru smiled fully, stood up. “Guess he was susceptible traps, eh? Better bring him to the Hokage for observatio-” Shikamaru winced in pain as he felt a metallic projectile enter his ribcage. He swiftly jerked to the left to see the same ANBU guy he thought he has just killed.

“You…You’re supposed to be dead…” he muttered in extreme pain. The man laughed, reaching back to grab a traditional ANBU Black Ops sword. “A pity, to think someone of your rank would fall so easily…” Lifting the thin, silver blade, he brought it in front of him. “It seems as if this village is crumbling by promoting second rated failures like you.” With great care, Shikamaru ripped the kunai from his ribcage, his face wet and pale from the pain, he dropped it to the floor.

“What are you’re intentions?” he asked fiercely. The masked ANBU shook his head slowly, as if amused. Shikamaru grunted a bit as a wave of fresh pain was directed right to his biceps. “I have no time to inform you on anything, get ready to die,” the man harshly muttered in his mono-tone voice as he swung the katana around, stopping it when it pointed directly at Shikamaru. “I’ll make this as quick, and painless as possib-” The man was stopped, frozen solid. Shikamaru gasped a bit as the man keeled over, dead. At first glance, he didn’t see anything remotely wrong with the dead ANBU, but once he glanced at his back, he saw the endless amount of shurikan, kunai, and knives deeply placed into his spinal cord. Whispering in terror, he managed to control himself to glance upwards, and see the killer of Shikamaru’s overpowering enemy.

“He was a pitiful ANBU, brings disgrace to the name,” a figure spoke in a deep, warm voice. Shikamaru relaxed a bit, exhaling some pent up breath. As the figure got closer, he realized it was another ANBU ninja! Shikamaru stood up, dusting his legs off. “Who…who are you?” he stuttered a bit. The friendly ANBU chuckled, and removed the bear mask that he wore. Once the white covering was gone, the face of Yamato appeared. “Yamato? How did you find me here?” Shikamaru asked as he surveyed the dead assailant.

“Removing the many metal weapons from the corpse’s body, he replied quite comfortably. “It was nothing, really. I was on night duty, and I instantly picked up the Genjutsu he placed over Konoha. I dispelled it, and just began to pick up his chakra with my Chakra Hounds,” Yamato said as three hefty canine’s walked materialized from the darkness, each one sniffing viciously.

Yamato gently placed a hand on their furry heads, rubbing it affectionately. “These guys have been with me for ages, since I first entered the ANBU.” Shikamaru smiled a bit at the heartwarming scene. Yamato smiled back, but after a while, he grew serious once more, and stood up. “Okay, I think it’s about time we go tell Tsunade of this incident…If I’m right, there was a rumor of an ANBU member undercover for Orochimaru. We better go find out.” Yamato lifted the man over his shoulders, and began to set out for the Hokage’s office.

Shikamaru looked on as the ninja dogs followed their master, and, in a few seconds, he was following the four towards finding out what this masked ANBU perpetrator was really doing in Konoha.

Tac602
09-01-2007, 12:31 PM
Please do not double post, either wait for a comment or edit your first post plz.

Kakuzu
09-01-2007, 05:06 PM
No double posting to add a chapter of a story? Really?