PROTECT THE KING

This is gonna be such a drag—was his thought exactly as he skimmed the numerous stalls lining each grimy wall. Most of them sold trinkets at first glance, but upon closer inspection, there were weapons hidden under the tables, scrolls tucked away in cloaks, and what looked to be jars of eyes cleverly disguised as cans of tea. Gross.

"Pain in the ass, more like."

Shikamaru reached over for the packet of cigarettes before Asuma could pocket it. He tucked one of the sticks in-between his teeth and turned to his left for a light. Ugh ... the smoke was going to irritate the hell out of his eyes, but it was a necessary measure. The people here either reeked of body odour or burnt paper. In comparison, they smelled a little too clean.

"We talk to the locals."

The chuckle that escapes him is muffled between closed lips as his lighter is slipped back into his pocket. His takes a quick scan around the room before it falls to the man Shikamaru had nodded towards, and then his gaze shifts to the jars stacked so neatly and carefully on the table. "Nasty." The labels were convincing, at least. Too convincing.

It sent a shiver down his spine, made him uneasy, but in an attempt to push the feeling aside and keep his expression relaxed, Asuma leans his head back and pulls his cigarette from his mouth for a moment with two fingers before tilting his head back to exhale a stream of smoke. Ash is flicked onto the floor at his feet.

"That's the first guy you wanna talk to first? Really?" His tone is hushed, just above a whisper, and despite his skepticism, Asuma shoves his hand into one of his pockets. There's enough room to slip through the small crowd without brushing against someone else so as Asuma makes his way over the vendor's table.

Soft steps bring her to the balcony and she finds him waiting in the cool night air. Kurenai shakes her head.

"I haven't been able to sleep." Kurenai steps out beside him, into the warmth of his side, and observes the quiet Konoha. It's so different from its busy days and yet no less familiar to her. Now she wonders how real it is.

Asuma shifts to wrap both of his arms around her now, eyes closing contentedly for just a moment before he looks down at the empty streets. "I was going to come back to bed. Needed a little fresh air first, I guess..." And a few smokes. The small ash tray he kept on the balcony's railing had cigarette butts in it but the smoke had long since been blown away in the light breeze. He hadn't bothered to light another yet.

Lightless eyes stared back at him, and for a F̷R̸A̵C̷T̸U̶R̸E̷ fraction of a second, he wrestled to accept that this was his own reflection in the mirror. Intuitively, he knew it was. This was his face, his flesh, his body, and his blood—but it felt borrowed. Like a skin suit tailored for his bones but draped in all the wrong ways.

Nothing made sense, and perhaps that's why he was here. Perhaps he was hoping that Asuma would have the answers he so sought.

Or perhaps he wanted to see how Asuma was really handling it behind closed doors.

It was sick of him, selfish, and so very despicable, but Shikamaru took some pleasure in seeing the ashtray filled to the brim with cigarette butts. Last he checked, Asuma was trying to cut back.

The faucet was running at full blast, but he didn't remember turning it on. He had the best memory out of the entire Nara clan; playing blind shogi with his father was his favourite past time. But he couldn't remember, for the life of him, when he'd turned on the faucet.

Or why.

He reached over to shut the water off, knocking over a toothbrush in the process. That got a scoff out of him. Asuma had been his teacher, his advisor, and his most loyal advocate for years now, but Shikamaru didn't know shit about him. Even now, he couldn't put into words what Asuma could be feeling. He tidied up the sink space, and after five or so minutes, he finally exited the bathroom.

There was nothing to be said. No excuses to be made.

Shikamaru scrunched the damp ends of his hair with a towel—his best attempt at looking less tense as he paced the living room. Any other time, he would've made himself comfortable on the couch, hands tucked behind his head, yawning so dramatically, it would nearly bring him to tears. But not tonight.

Tonight, he browsed the bookshelf, feigning interest in the pictures propped up in-between a sparse collection of books. His gaze lingered on the one of Asuma and his late father.

He's pulled from his thoughts when the other asks that question in such a small voice. It's not often that he hears Shikamaru talk like that, if at all. There wasn't a tension in the air but there was a certain heaviness to it and the topics they needed to discuss played a part in that. Perhaps it was the smoke too. It was making the air thicker. He'd get up to open one of the windows in a minute.

His brows furrow again, if only for a second, at the mention of his father, and his gaze averts downwards to the lighter in his hand. It opens with a flick of his thumb and the metal clinks together as it's shut again. "Yeah, he looked.... It didn't seem like he changed at all." Peaceful didn't feel like the right word. Definitely not. He was just laying there and it was unsettling. How were they supposed to make sense of all of this? "You remember the funeral, right? We put him in the ground."

That's where he should be. That's where he belonged.

"Did they dig up graves?" He knows the other likely doesn't have an answer but the question slips out before he's able to stop it. One of his hands extends out behind him, and he shifts his weight to lean back. At this point he's not sure it will help him seem more relaxed but he still tries. Maybe it's not what Shikamaru needs from him, but he doesn't want to lose his composure. At least one of the needed to be level headed.

The lighter was serving as a small distraction for his other hand, and it opens and closes with another quiet clink before he sets it on the counter next to him. There's another beat of silence. The jounin wants to leave it at that but he knows it won't be so simple. Not with Shikamaru. Instead, he forces the subject back to the other. His feelings about seeing his father again mattered little in comparison to what his student was feeling.

It didn't feel right to burden his student with his worries or insecurities. He was supposed to be the one with advice, and he was more worried about Shikamaru which is why the deflection is abrupt and a little more sudden than he wanted it to be. Anything to shift the subject away from himself.

Once he reaches her, one of his hands is shoved into his pockets and the other reaches to remove the cigarette from between his lips to flick away some of the ash. He's still trying to relax or find a way to ground himself, and every so often his eyes avert towards the forest. Maybe he'd feel more ready if the darkness opened again. 

"I just wanted to know how you were holding up after the---?" Exams, everything. Just everything that happened during the previous month. He cut himself off and holds his hand up in a vague gesture as if that would explain the rest of what he wanted to ask her. "If you need someone to chat with, all you gotta do is ask."

He's staring intently at the palm of his left hand. There should be a scar. A part of him wants there to be. It's normal to bleed. When Shikamaru shoved his fingers into the wound, it should have hurt. Asuma should have felt it but in place of flesh and bone there had been nothing but static. His hand closes into a fist and briefly, there's a flash of pain as blunt fingernails dig into his palm. He repeats the action a few more times in an efforted attempt to reassure himself that everything was still as it should be.

Footsteps inside pull him from his thoughts and then he's reaching to open the window further.  Either to invite Kurenai out or give himself enough room to come back inside. "Hey..." The tiredness he felt was starting to seep into his voice as he leaned his head back against the railing before looking at her and holding his right hand out to her. "Did I wake you up? I know it can be a pretty easy thing to do most of the time but I thought I was more being careful tonight. Sorry..."

Public opinion would argue otherwise; it was a mere quip, an accident. He had caught a glint of holographic light out of the corner of his eye and lashed out to grab it, but missed and grabbed his mother's wrist instead. She dropped the glass vase in shock, and they watched in slow, unfolding horror as fine prism shattered around their feet.

He left home that day. Apologies weren't enough, and he didn't have the answers his parents so desperately wanted. What happened to you? (I don't know. I don't want to know. Stop asking me. Nothing. I'm fine. Just tired.)

The trail through the Nara Clan Forest was long and windy, dirt paths lined with wild flowers and splintered branches. A steady stream took him to the heart of the forest—a pond where deer liked to wallow. They greeted him all the same.

...

He came to what felt like hours later. Troubled hands clawed at dirt mounds as he dragged himself up to shore, coughing and sputtering, chest heaving with each gasp of air. He collapsed onto his back. And in the darkness of the night, a deer wandered over to gently nudge him with its nose. Ten seconds. He used to be able to do two minutes.

...

"Can I come in?"

His voice tired with the weight of restless nights, but that was the least of his concern. He was soaked to the bone, dark hair fanned across his shoulders and sticking to the sides of his face. Instead of his usual vest and chain mail, he was in a plain shirt and joggers, open and unarmed, almost like he was inviting casualty. Maybe he was.

Shikamaru shifted his footing. A shadow of a puddle had pooled underneath, the consequence of standing at Asuma's doorstep for too long before he knocked.

His apology was an unasked answer.

"I tried to drown myself."

Perhaps he shouldn't be up so late either but what they had seen on the computers and in the darkness was unsettling. In the moment, he hadn't really known what to think but now that they were back in Konoha, there was no evidence left behind of a rift in the first place, there's a sense of dread and doubt that weaseled into his head. Every so often, no matter where he is, his head turns in the direction of Akagahara Forest in search of the rift that had opened up.

There's a thin cloud of smoke encompassing his apartment, swirling and parting around him as he walks towards the entrance. Ino's voice echoes in his ear more often now than before, reminding him his smoking habit isn't good for his health. Yet one of the ash trays he kept on the coffee table is filled to the brim with cinders and cigarette butts anyways, and now it seems like he's always going to need an extra pack stashed in a pocket of his vest.

His brows furrow once he's opened the door and he sees Shikamaru, soaking wet, standing in his doorway. It's not his normal reaction when he sees the other but the words that come out of the boy's mouth are far more concerning than anything he's ever heard the kid say.

"What'd you just say? What the hell is wrong with you?" Both questions are rhetorical, he doesn't want the other to repeat himself. Asuma only needed another second for the words to sink in. Shikamaru's hair was down, he wasn't wearing his usual clothes, no pouch of ninja tools.

"Get in here." It comes off more stern than he wants it to and the hold he's managed to keep on his composure grows ever thinner but in the moment he shoves that aside in favor of focusing on his student. Asuma reaches out to gently grab Shikamaru by his elbow to pull him inside, uncaring about the puddles he would leave on his apartment floor. The door is closed with a bare foot before he wanders off to his bedroom for a set of dry clothes and a towel. It was just a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, much like what Asuma was wearing at the moment but it seemed a better option than leaving him soaking wet and freezing.

"i don't think they'll be dangerous. before, there was a far more intimidating presence to worry about." shambling about in the dark, he can't help but wonder where he is now. would the proctor's tell if asked?

his nose scrunched up at the scent of the cigarette and he continues forward. "if they're talking our weapons, then stay close to me." this time he won't let shukaku show himself.

She's back again, the woman that has become Asuma's personal nightmare, skipping alongside you as you hand over the caltrop. If you could see her face, it feels almost like she's smiling at you like one would a friend as she takes the Caltrop from you willingly. "A gift for me Gaara-kyun? If Higanbana wasn't my bestest friend in the world.---" The Squawk of a raven, unamused as you hear a shout of "WE LIVE TOGETHER IDIOT." before Tanamo continues as if totally oblivious to the unamused raven. "* --- you could be! I need these for my toys!*"

he shouldn't hide how much hearing that makes him happy, even if he is giving over what he should be using to better navigate this forest… maybe- a squawk cuts off his thoughts and a small smile crosses his lips. "does it matter who's the bestest? as long as we help each other, that's what friends do, hm?"

A smile like sunlight, that's how others have described it, yet its almost a pity you cannot see it as she suddenly tilts her head, a pair of fox ears moving with her that would seem almost real if not for the telltale porcelain that creeks. "Very good! You understand the will of fire. keep up the good work!" Suddenly she skips away… backwards the way you came as she disappears before your very eyes

He agreed that they didn't seem entirely dangerous. More playful and cryptic than anything else but they were also given choices between walking into a trap or sacrificing one of their ninja tools over during their encounters. Hopefully whatever they gave weren't used against them. "I guess we'll find out. Either soon or once we reach the summit." Asuma shrugs, shoving a hand into his pocket as they walk. "Seems like Tanamo likes you, at least."

As they continue their trek towards the summit, Asuma is unsure of how much time has passed. The forest is dark, quiet, and he can't shake the feeling that they're being watched yet if they encounter other shinobi besides the proctors, the jounin can't say he'd be entirely surprised. It was important that they remain alert. And yet... The rest of the hike is uneventful, even as they reached the top.

where asuma approaches to help, the hairs on the back of gaara's neck stand in edge and as the woman fades into a plume of smoke, his sand has barely enough time to soften the blow off metal to the back of his head.

it's a whine, the childish sort he hasn't made since he recalls looking up at yashamaru. "i'll be-"

fine???

as he takes a step forward, once again his sand swirls along him for reasons he can't begin to understand. when he looks down, a kunai has fallen

A feminine form appears where the old woman once was. One that is recognisable instantly as the Proctor, Tanamo. Even unable to see her features you can sense she intends to play with you, watching every action taken as you've fallen into one of her many many traps. "A treat for me Gaara? Oh you really shouldn't have~"

were kunai's tasty? he's never thought to put one in his mouth but all that's fallen from him was the one on his side. why did it fall? he doesn't know, only that sand seems to have knocked it from its place judging by the grains on the handle. "…will it make our path forward easier?"

If she had ears they'd almost be raised in pleasure as you notice a fox dart out from beneath her skirt to retrieve the Kunai. Her head tilts, as if weighing your word and the unconscious offering before a hand outstretches, reaching past where sand would so quickly raise to defend. You feel lighter for the touch of the nail infact, as if it's relieved some striking burden. "Aaah who knows? Maybe if you find us your offering might reward you~"

A rustling sound echoes all around you, accompanied by the strumming of harp strings before you notice her, a woman who's vibrant black hair flows behind her like waves. Tanamo lurks in the distance, watching waiting before you hear a click as she darts forward with nails extended. There is no kindness, no gentleness in the almost deranged laughter that spills forth from beneath the mask before you find yourself with a fresh wound upon your face from how deeply she seems to have scratched. "Too slow, Too slow, no wonder we were told to spread how bad your aim is A-su-ma." Yet, before she leaves you notice how her gaze falls on Gaara, the friendly little energetic wave from her. "Hi Gaara! Bye Gaara! Thanks for the Kunai~"

The proctor moves too fast for him to react. Maybe it's a jutsu, maybe it's the way his skull is throbbing from the impact of the frying pan but amidst that, one of the next things he feels physically is a stinging pain on his cheek. A hand reaches up to wipe a thin line of blood away, and he takes a short moment to stare at it before taking a deep breath in and then out. Before he got angry, he needed to remind himself to stay calm, though he wasn't sure how successful he would be depending on the answer Tanamo gave him. "What's your deal? You like making fun of me?'

Tanamo stops and twirls on her foot, almost comically overextended as her gaze falls onto you, listening to your question with amusement before deciding to answer it with a reference that only Asuma could truly understand. "He already told you, the minute you got out he was telling the nearest ANBU how badly you missed cute little Byakko-chan~"

Another deep breath, in and out. Damn Kakashi. Asuma grit his teeth for a moment and the frustrated look faded into a small smile. "It was his plan first. Poor execution on account of all that wind." The jounin pauses, pulling his lighter and pouch of cigarettes from his pocket. Kakashi hadn't been at the edge of the forest before the test began. He didn't know where the other was but… "Can you give him a message for me or is that against the rules?"

Her head tilts, bringing a gloves hand to cup the bottom of her mask before she decides, or perhaps she's wondering if Higanbana will scold her again. Yet, she nods, watches you as if waiting for you to speak rather than leave her standing here twirling on the spot. "Tanamo-chan can pass a message to him!"

"Awesome. Tell him I'll get him back for that." In what way that was, he didn't know yet but he'd figure it out. His tone is more playful than threatening and the small smile that formed a moment ago becomes a little more mischievous to reinforce his words.

She laughs, she actually laughs loud and hearty that you get the distinct impression that you have, in truth, managed to properly impress her by taking this as seriously as she likes. "He says if your mouth keeps making bets your brain can't cash you owe him a new book, bye-bye~" And in a flourish she's gone as fast as she appeared, skipping off to Inari knows where.

With no clear path towards the summit of the mountain, he supposes the only way to navigate there would be to keep their eyes on the horizon. Yet in the midst of the trees and thick branches, they find a clearing filled with flowers of almost every color imaginable. Some of them remind him of the flowers he knows Kurenai likes: red poppies with yellow and black centers. If he weren't so suspicious of the old woman sitting in the center of the clearing, he'd pocket a couple to give to her when this test was over but...

Instead he pushes those thoughts aside as the smell of the food is carried towards them by the gentle breeze. It's familiar, comforting, and initially there's an alarm bell in his head that warns him not to approach the old woman sitting among the flowers but he pushes that thought aside and closes the distance anyways. 

Before Asuma can open his mouth to call out to the woman, she fades in a puff of smoke and is carried away by the wind, and just as he's about to continue walking, something makes an impact with the back of his head with a loud clang. His ears ring, and he stumbles forward as his hands immediately come up to cradle the back of his head. "Ow! You've got to be kidding me." His brows furrow, and he shoves a hand into the pocket where he keeps his cigarettes. It was tempting to light one, to distract him from the reverberating sound in his head but he shouldn't yet. "We need to keep our guard up. You okay?"

"I'll go first." She nods to Asuma in the darkness, then opens the trap door and disappears through it back into the academy's halls.

As expected, Komorebi is nowhere near her, and so there's no one to witness the dashing shadow that makes its way from the hallway to the classroom. The window Asuma spoke of is still open.

Kurenai moves toward it. Moonlight and fresh air spill through and caresses her skin, a welcome feeling after hiding in the hallway's shadows for so long, but she remains focused on the task at hand. The area is clear and it's time to make her escape.

With practiced ease, Kurenai slips out of the window and down the side of the building, barely disturbing her surroundings until she lands on her feet beneath the shadow of a tree.

"I'm clear." She speaks into the mic. The academy looks quiet from here. Hard to believe there's several ninja trying to escape its confines.

He takes a moment to shut the door behind him, as if that would conceal the path he'd taken. They were aware of the proctor's route she was taking through the halls. She hadn't entered any rooms, though Asuma supposes it hardly matters now. They all had a clear path to escape.

The classroom is dimly lit by the moon's rays pouring through the open window. The smell of smoke still lingers, though just barely now. Asuma smiles to himself and makes a break for the window, channeling just enough of his chakra towards his feet to run down the outside wall of the academy. Once he spots Kurenai in the line of trees, he runs towards her and takes cover in the underbrush.

Shikamaru was five years old when he learned how to suppress his chakra. And he was twelve, crouched behind a tree in the Forest of Death, when he realized there was no way for an ordinary shinobi to conceal it completely. His mother had known the entire time.

It seems like Komorebi's trying to teach him the same lesson.

After her silhouette glides past the teachers' lounge, Shikamaru slips out. He leaves the door cracked with a coat rack stand hidden in the shadows by the west-side wall, which separates the lounge from the hallway he's in. If the team needs more time, he can make noise and emit chakra. From where Komorebi is, she would be able to sense his general direction; he can only hope that she'd investigate the lounge first.

Kurenai's voice crackles in his ear. Then Asuma's. The tension in his shoulders soothes over. Two safe, and he knows Ino can make it.

There's no way they'll hold their sensei back now. With Shikamaru keeping tabs on Komorebi, and with both their escape routes secured, all that's left is to finish executing the plan.

Ino sits on the edge of the roof, using her heel to press down on the ladder. The joints are caked with rust, but it feels nice and stable.

Halfway into her descent, Ino notices the ladder's not fully extended after all. She gives the drop-down ladder another nudge with her foot. This time, its lack of movement is less welcome, but she can jump the rest of the way down if she has to.

"I'm heading down n—eek!"

With a grating clang, the bottom half of the ladder falls away just as she lifts her foot to keep descending.

Jumping it is, then.

Landing on the grass, Ino looks over her shoulder to make sure the noise didn't draw any eyes. She then glares at the broken ladder beside her before moving to rejoin Asuma and Kurenai.

His eyes sweep the darkened corridors of the Academy one last time. They've grown a lot since the first time they stepped foot in here—him, Ino, and Chouji.

Ah, well. No use dwelling on the past when he's got her, Asuma, and Kurenai waiting for him outside. A faint smile rides his lips as he pulls open the transportation scroll.

It tires quickly thereafter.

"Ugh," is the first thing Shikamaru lets out in his team's presence. He tugs at his ear, still ringing from the ladder's sudden malfunction. "That felt like a humiliation ritual. Dunno what the higher-ups got in mind, putting us through the Exams again. It's such a drag ..."

But hey, everyone got out. That's all that matters.

The time between Ino's and Asuma's reports on Komorebi's movements isn't particularly long either. At best ... "We have about two or three minutes before she restarts her round." More, if he's able to hold her back. "Ino, can you make it down the ladder in two?"

Footsteps pad along in the distance.

Shikamaru moves behind the coat rack, his hand still poised over his mic as he watches the door.

"I can't tell if there's a direct path from where you are to the rooftop, Asuma. It's a pain in the ass, but I would go back and try the window."

A silhouette appears at the far end of the frosted glass. He reaches into his pouch.

Though the lack of Komorebi's footsteps up here are a welcome repreive, but she's not out of the woods yet. As if to reminder her, the evening air sits still and stagnant.

Ino positions herself against a corner of the fence. From here, she can keep an eye on the windows in question, and maintain a quick path to the ladder. Clambering up the fence and down the other side would leave her too exposed, make it too difficult to keep an eye on the situation while moving.

A Yamanaka doesn't take those risks without an ally to cover her. Not unless romantic intrigue is invovled.

"Asuma-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, I've got a clear line of sight on the east side. Once you're out, we'll follow."

"I'll go first." She nods to Asuma in the darkness, then opens the trap door and disappears through it back into the academy's halls.

As expected, Komorebi is nowhere near her, and so there's no one to witness the dashing shadow that makes its way from the hallway to the classroom. The window Asuma spoke of is still open.

Kurenai moves toward it. Moonlight and fresh air spill through and caresses her skin, a welcome feeling after hiding in the hallway's shadows for so long, but she remains focused on the task at hand. The area is clear and it's time to make her escape.

With practiced ease, Kurenai slips out of the window and down the side of the building, barely disturbing her surroundings until she lands on her feet beneath the shadow of a tree.

"I'm clear." She speaks into the mic. The academy looks quiet from here. Hard to believe there's several ninja trying to escape its confines.

He takes a moment to shut the door behind him, as if that would conceal the path he'd taken. They were aware of the proctor's route she was taking through the halls. She hadn't entered any rooms, though Asuma supposes it hardly matters now. They all had a clear path to escape.

The classroom is dimly lit by the moon's rays pouring through the open window. The smell of smoke still lingers, though just barely now. Asuma smiles to himself and makes a break for the window, channeling just enough of his chakra towards his feet to run down the outside wall of the academy. Once he spots Kurenai in the line of trees, he runs towards her and takes cover in the underbrush.