It All Started With A Smell

There's No Place Like Hell

His body felt heavy and slow as he sat up. He listened to Ino's explanation of what happened after he and Choji faced two of the Sound Four. It took him more focus than usual, which he found very troublesome, but he ended up getting the idea that Ino was able to use her chakra to keep theirs flowing and therefore alive. She let them know that Shino was able to do something similar for Kiba and Neji. It was a relief to Shikamaru to hear that. It would have been a bitter victory for them if two of them died from their souls being sucked out of their body. Honestly, that was not a thought he expected to have but he had a feeling he was going to be having stranger thoughts before the war was over.

Pulling himself to his feet, he looked around at the Allied Forces that were still unable to move around liberally. He could see some ninjas off in the distance that were beginning to argue. He groaned, wondering if his sluggish body would be able to make it to them before kunais were pulled. Before he could even take a step, he saw an orange blur dart passed the men. Next moment three all turned on a fourth ninja who was revealed to be a Zetsu.

The blur kept darting around the battle field, Zetsus showing themselves where ever it went. Whenever the blur attacked a hidden enemy a tree appeared. Shikamaru chose not to question it and instead let his heart rate increase as the new force of nature came closer to him. It didn't even cross his mind that there was a Zetsu near him.

His narrow, brown eyes flickered across the field, never leaving Naruto. She moved so fast he couldn't make out anything about her. He knew that she must be a clone. His father would have insisted on the real one hiding, and even if he didn't Naruto often used clones to throw off enemies, so why wouldn't she now. Shikamaru wondered if this clone had the same hair style, and the same orange with black markings that he had only gotten a glimpse of before.

After dotting around the rather large battlefield, including the camp, Naruto skidded to a halt a mere metre from Shikamaru. He went to move towards her but noticed how she held herself. Naruto wasn't watching him and instead her large, blue eyes were unfocused, her head tilted to the side in the way she commonly did when sensing people. As he waited for her to come back to him, he wondered what it was like to sense so many chakras, so many personalities. Did she see it in her mind's eye or did it feel like a breeze against bare skin?

Finally, her eyes cleared, and focused on the man in front of her. "No more Zetsus." She instantly dashed to him, giving him barely a moment to brace himself before she collided with him, wrapping her arms around him.

Shikamaru heard the shuttering breath she took as her hands ran over his back in a wild frenzy. He shivered when her lips pressed against the pulse in his neck. He found reassurances tumbling from his lips as he pulled her close. "I'm here, I'm okay. You saved me."

"Why didn't you tell me about the war?" She asked accusingly, her voice wet.

"I couldn't. It was decided that you would be put into hiding. Even if I had disagreed with that decision, I was under orders to not say anything."

Naruto tensed at that before taking a breath and relaxing. "I guess we can both understand being in that position."

Shikamaru wasn't certain what she meant by that but given the context he knew not to ask. No matter how much they cared for each other they were ninjas and that meant there would always be a level of secrecy they couldn't share with each other. He couldn't hold it against Naruto for following orders. Instead of commenting on what she had said, he pulled back, cupping her jaw and cheek in his large hand.

Long gone were the times where he would only kiss Naruto in private, even finding a small thrill in privacy that could have been easily interrupted. Now, he kissed her, sparing no mind to his two team mates just behind them, or the Allied forces that he commanded and who had been staring at Naruto in awe since her appearance on the battlefield. All he cared about in that moment was Naruto. Of having her in his arms, of being able to see that, for the moment, she was safe, being able to convey to her how important she was to him, not because of the war, but because of who she was. He held her to him tightly, feeling Naruto match his grip on the back of his vest. At the neckline of the vest Naruto's fingers kneaded into the muscles of his shoulder, her short-clipped nails pinching into his flesh in an oddly comforting manner.