Deep End (ShikamaruXOC)

16.

*AN: Sorry I'm not very good at writing fight scenes still! Trust the process lol. 

Smoke rose through the air above the trees before me and that was enough to tell me I was close to the Hidden Leaf. My heart pounded in my ears and my breathing was heavy, I wasn't sure how long I had been traveling but I knew I couldn't stop. It was only just past dawn, but the heat was undoubtedly growing as I neared what I could only assume was attempted destruction of the leaf. Shikamaru still hadn't caught up to me, a part of me was screaming to go find him and make sure he was alright, but another knew I had to press on, for our village. As I ran through the heavily wooded area surrounding the village I saw the crumbled front gate of the home I loved, the streets in dismay and bare of citizens. Pushing my legs to carry me that much further I rushed through the rubble and up to the nearest leaf shinobi.

It was Rock Lee.

His eyes widened wildly and he rushed to catch me as I felt my legs collapse from under me, "Choi!? What are you doing in the village I thought you were on a very important mission?"

"Lee please," I pleaded, "take me to Lord Sixth this is important."

His dark eyes flashed nervously, "We are kind of under attack here Choi, I'm not sure where Lord Kakashi has taken himself."

"Please, I need to find him."

The strong hold on me tightened and Lee nodded with determination before throwing me onto his back in a piggy-back fashion and took off running through the partially destructed streets of Konoha. We checked the Hokage's building first seeing as it was still thankfully unscathed and sure enough as soon as we burst through the office doors, Kakashi was rummaging through his things preparing for battle.

His dark grey eyes whipped towards us and a brief moment of shock went through his expression before it settled on one of anger, "Choi. You can't be here. What are you doing?"

Lee put me gently back on my feet and I wobbled slightly before attempting a confident stance, "Lord Sixth, I will not be hidden away or run. This is my battle for the sake of the leaf."

Kakashi approached me, the cold look never leaving his eyes, "Where is Shikamaru?"

I remained silent for a moment and that was all Kakashi needed for him to piece together what might have happened, his hands quickly reaching to grab me and apprehend me, only I staggered behind Lee who stood his ground for me, "Please do not hurt Choi, Lord Sixth."

The silver haired Hokage sighed deeply, "Choi this isn't about hurting you, we are all trying to protect you. The same way we protected Naruto; we are trying to protect you as much as we can. What did you do to Shikamaru?"

Furrowing my brow in thought of how I left the shadow ninja, I stood straight and faced the Hokage once again, "I used my jutsu. He is safe though. Lord Sixth please let me end this, these people are here for me. No one else in the leaf has to be hurt trying to hide me."

He closed his eyes thoughtfully, seeming to try and calm himself, "Lee, please return to your battle position from when you found Choi. As for me, I will be accompanying you to face this threat."

Lee bowed quickly and ran off muttering an affirmation to Kakashi. The Sixth Hokage approached me slowly and his eyes held a sort of soft nature to them, "This isn't just about you being a weapon to the leaf. You are one of the most powerful kunoichi we have currently and are incredibly valued by the people of this village. If you weren't so damn hard-headed Choi you would have been my first choice as a right-hand man in this whole Hokage operation."

"Kakashi?"

"Hm?"

"Let's go kick this son of a bitch enemy's ass out of our village for good."