[REST]

What was that place? Countless bodies, and so many of them seemed haunted. Sakura didn't dare to take a closer look, but she could guess what those bodies meant to some of the people around her.

When she left her house, everything seemed so normal. Almost like nothing happened. She walked around the village, hoping to find someone from that place. Then she saw him - thank goodness.

"Shikamaru!" Her voice was too high pitched, too desperate. She walked over to him, and paused only to think of how to word her sentence. She didn't have any words. "Did- did any of that happen?" Maybe just for a moment, she needed assurance.

To think he understood how the world worked when he was—at his core—still a kid spoiled by the peace that came from wars, ignorant of what it meant to lose. Laughable.

He could lie to Sakura. Maybe if he kept convincing himself that this was a bad dream, he would eventually believe it. But Sakura wasn't stupid and neither, unfortunately, was he.

"I don't know," Shikamaru sighed, picking up a pebble and skipping it across the pond. He'd been doing a lot of that lately. Testing. "It feels like we're still in the Exams. Like this is the final test or something."

The next pebble sank after two skips. He tried not to think too much about it.

Why her? Why those others? It made no sense to her.

A voice snapped her from her thoughts, as he always seemed to do. Temari's face returned to stillness, her face unreadable.

"We're not heading back yet." This would be Gaara's choice when he wanted to return home, but she wasn't going to tell Shikamaru that. In the back of her mind, she remembered his question: the two of you grew up in the same house, right? She didn't want to hear it again.

Figuratively. Maybe also literally. It didn't matter; his reaction was as real as it could get. He stuttered in his step, the few fingers he'd lazily lifted twitching.

He didn't intend to ask her out. See, in his brilliant little brain, his regular self would've wished Temari well and sent her on her way. But he wanted to give the programmers a run for their money so he ... well. He supposed it could be interpreted as asking her out.

"Maybe," he intoned with a faint smirk.

Betcha being coy about it wasn't in his code.

Shikamaru strolled over to the restaurant's entrance, pushing the noren curtain aside before glancing back.

There was no way they couldn't lie to her. The poor, elderly woman was already teetering on the edge of insanity. She swore on her husband's grave that she saw her grandfather feeding the ducks outside.

(He loved those ducks. They were his children. When he died fighting in the first war, the ducks kept coming around. Look! They're still waiting! She jabbed her finger out the window where a couple of geese loitered, menacingly. Shikamaru didn't have the heart to correct her.)

Fortunately, her daughter seemed a bit more stable upstairs. She had given him and @theweaponsmistress an apologetic look before ushering her mother to the back and out of earshot.

Shikamaru helped himself to one of the goose-shaped cookies. It tasted like shit, but he didn't have the heart to tell Tenten either.

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."

An idea sown into the darkest recesses of his mind like a parasitic virus—resilient and highly contagious. An idea so simple and yet so powerful that it was almost impossible to eradicate.

This idea that their world wasn't real.

That their choices weren't entirely theirs.

He began going against the grain, acting out of character just to see what would happen. Sometimes, a tingle would run down his spine, his neck would crick at an odd angle, and he'd think—I'm being reset. But nothing would change. The world would remain as it was, and the day would start again.

Still, he kept on, stupidly, resolutely, like he had a point to make.

A streak of blonde caught his eye. Shikamaru raised a hand in greeting.

"Yo. Heading back to Suna?" He inclined his head in the direction of a donburi restaurant. "How about dinner first? My treat, as a thanks for saving my ass."

She stretched, feeling her muscles relax, even just a little bit. It hadn't been an easy road, and perhaps there'd be traps somewhere along the way. Maybe, or maybe it was finally just over.

"Do you think we have more waiting for us?" she couldn't help but ask him. He was good with traps; if the trip up had proven anything, it was that.

Actually, no. Shikaku would laugh in his face and make him recite the first rule of being a strategist: Never make assumptions.

But assumptions were made nonetheless. He got a few (illusionary) holes put through him because of it, and now, his mother had a funny story to tell at family reunions.

Troublesome ...

Exhaustion wore on his bones like a ton of bricks. His head was starting to throb from overuse. If they were walking into another trap ...

"Doubt it."

They had an escort with them, along with the fox summons curled up around Sakura's shoulders. Mindlessly, Shikamaru reached out to poke its cheek. This little creature celebrated their demise, so why should he allow it to sleep soundly? Poke poke.

The fox once again found a home around Sakura's neck. She reached up and stroked it again. This thing was surprisingly cuddly. She didn't know what to think about that. It was warm, and soft, and it was kind of comforting.

That was a dangerous thought.

Perhaps the calm praises had lulled him into a false sense of security. Perhaps he'd been too focused on the two-tailed fox leaping between his and Sakura's shoulders. Perhaps that's why he didn't catch a figure darting out from the shadows, her hands molding into signs that he'd only seen from his own clan.

Shikamaru knew, a split second before it happened, that he was done for. It was just unfortunate that his body couldn't move as fast as his brain.

"Unfortunately, you can't bypass all of our traps little Deer."

Blood spewed from his lips as his own shadow attacked him, piercing his flesh in staccatoed succession. "You're a Na—" He coughed up the iron taste clogging his throat and doubled over, hands tucked against his chest, eyes widened in surprise as his knees met the ground.

...

"Kagemane no Jutsu complete." Shikamaru peeked up from his knelt position, the hands that were once pressed into his chest now formed into a sign that mirrored the proctor's.

But before he could do or even say anything else, the world around them shattered like fine glass, and he found himself in a well-lit cavern, staring at the pentagon, the proctors, and ... Kakashi? A melodic strum grazed the hairs standing up at the back of his neck. And just like that, they were whisked into the forest again.

"ANBU." It was the last thing he'd caught a glimpse of—that signature mark on Tanamo's shoulder. "The fox is an ANBU."

What did it mean? Why was ANBU directly involved in the Exams? More than that ...

Shikamaru winced as he stood up, his wounds still sore from the strike. Sakura had been beside him. Surely, she'd seen everything too, but it was worth saying out loud:

Why did it guide her attention to the mountain? What was it trying to say? Foxes were cunning creatures; it could be leading her astray.

"Ah ah! Higanbana look she's doing better than the mangly old mutt did! Can we keep her please please please?" the fox said. Accompanying its words were two world-weary sighs.

"Keep me? Mangly old mutt? What are you talking about?" Sakura asked.

The fox leapt from Shikamaru to throw itself around Sakura's neck. She started to see why some of the richest people had scarves made of fox fur; the little creature was warm, and soft.

"We're always looking for strong Shinobi! As for who we are? Well Higanbana says that unlike when I told everyone how badly Asuma missed in the first week I absolutely cannot tell you under any circumstances who we are! You have to figure that out for yourself!"

Strong shinobi, huh? She hadn't felt strong since the exams started - she hadn't felt strong for a couple of months now.

Asuma missed? Sakura had no idea what the fox was referring to. She looked to Shikamaru for answers; if anyone would know, it might be him.

As for Sakura's other question, "Kakashi obviously! He spent a month in here training about oh.... a year ago! Didn't manage to evade quite as many traps as you two have!"

If the fox's intention was to provoke them by mentioning both of their teachers, it had worked. Heat simmered at the base of his throat, though he was diligent in putting it out before cutting his eyes to the tinge of fire that sparked between him and Sakura.

A raven landed on his head then, its regal voice soothing in contrast to the fox's delighted yips.

"Shikaku-san would be very proud of you."

"Sounds like you're well acquainted with my old man," he mused, a little perturbed at his father's choice of acquaintances. "So are you gonna tell us what item we're looking for once we get up the mountain?"

I'm sure if you put that intellect to good use little heir you'll figure out our little game quite fast~

Shikamaru was good at this kind of thing, which Sakura knew. If there was anything that looked like a puzzle, or just plain weird, she'd point it out to him. Sakura would usually rely on her own skill and talents, but after the last two exams, she was rapidly losing faith in herself.

"Mmhm. Five days, huh? Doesn't that remind you of our first exams?" As if those exams could ever leave her mind. They swirled around her head more and more with each passing moment.

Surely that wouldn't repeat itself, right? That awful demon, the destruction of Konoha-

Shikamaru stilled in his step. The air hushed around him. It felt a bit cooler, but nothing alarming. He quickly caught up.

"I've got a bad feeling about this. We could be heading up a—"

"Nara-Kun. Do try and dodge won't you?"

"Dodge wh—shit!"

Shikamaru sprang to his left just as a glint of silver flew past his eye, and if that wasn't enough to disarm him, the gleeful yipping from their summoned companion did. What the hell?

"Very Good, the clan head will be pleased."

The fox settled, and for a moment, Shikamaru heard nothing other than the sound of his own heartbeat ramming against his eardrums. His grip tightened around the kunai he'd instinctively drawn out.

The thicket of trees spun overhead, dancing in unadulterated mockery. If he listened hard enough, he could've sworn they were chittering with laughter too. Shikamaru pushed himself upright. Man, he should really work on his landing ...

"So we just need to get up there?"

Shikamaru fell into line next to Sakura, but he didn't follow where the fox's tails were guiding her eyes. Instead, he gingerly reached out, the pads of his fingertips brushing along the silvery white head.

It leapt into his hands and began to speak.

"Oh! Commander's kid! We were meant to tell you something... oh right! If you fail you get to train with us for a week from dusk to dawn~"

A summons. And one with too much information. "Did my old man put you up to this?" Despite the lighthearted twinge of annoyance in his tone, he still nuzzled the underside of the fox's chin with a finger.

"We should get a move on," he told Sakura then. "Giving us five days to go up and down a mountain makes it sound like there's something in store for us."

"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.

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.

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.

Ino suddenly comes on over the mic and reality comes back to her. They're on a mission and shinobi shouldn't fall prey to distractions.

Shikamaru comes on next and once he's finished, she nods and presses her hand to her ear piece. "Good job, Shikamaru. Asuma and I will stay hidden until she passes."

As if on cue, Komorebi's loud footsteps echo through the hall, her chakra signature at it's peak as she passes by their current hiding spot embedded in the wall. Asuma inhales and holds his breath for a moment, only releasing it when it her presence begins to fade again.

"The teacher's lounge is nearby. Sounds like she's headed in that direction next. She'll be back on the east side afterwards." If he remembered correctly, it was also down the hall. This part of the academy wasn't very large.

Kurenai rests her hand on his chest and a small smile tugs at the corner of his lips. She always turned stoic while she was working, and while he didn't get distracted very easily, her seriousness still served as a reminder for him.

With enough time, they could grasp any patterns in Komorebi's movements, but prolonging this test is sure to have risks. Knowing her movements in advance is a great advantage.

And now, more than ever, Ino is dying to get out of here. To fully freak out and shake Shikamaru by the shoulders. To see Asuma and Kurenai in this new light.

Emboldened by the new intel, Ino tiptoes to the stately windows beside the Hokage's desk. Far below, she can't see anyone on the ground on this side. Slipping back out into the hall, Ino spots a narrow staircase that only leads up. There's only one place in the building higher than the Hokage's office.

As much as she wants to stay silent and hear what's happening between the teachers, she can't very well ignore them.

"I'm okay, sensei," she replies, deciding to leave out her close call with Komorebi. "I'll check out the situation from the roof, to see if anyone's waiting for us below those windows, Kurenai-sensei."

Up on the roof, Ino takes a deep breath and--strange. The wind isn't as refreshing as she'd expected. As she edges closer to the eastern side of the building, she realizes can barely feel the outside air at all.

A fence rings the roof, with an opening for the handles of a drop-down ladder. Before Ino can take a look, an owl's hoot sends her scrambling for cover.

"Roof looks clear so far. The fence is still up, but so is the ladder down."

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.

Silently, she slips from the vent and into the hallway. She can hear Komorebi through the hallways. Judging by the sounds and her other senses...she's closer than Kurenai thought. But there's still time to search and they need every advantage they can get.

Kurenai moves confidently through the darkened hallway when a strange sight along the ground catches her eye. The outline of something. Her hand moves along its outer edge until she can fit it into the indent of a handle. Soundless, the heavy door opens to reveal a dark space. It doesn't go anywhere but it is some kind of secret hiding spot.

And then she feels him, Asuma, at her side pulling her into this dark space. She doesn't resist, simply fits herself against him as they take up the entirety of the hidden area. It's not a smile that greets him however but a frown.

"Asuma, why are you smoking here?" She plucks the cigarette from his lips and puts it out immediately against the wall that they're cramped up against. "The smoke and smell will give you away." He knows better.

One of his hands deftly reaches for her glowing scroll at her hip to secure it in one of the leather holders he'd found, and then once it's fastened shut, he places it back in the pouch she'd been keeping it in. "That'll help block the light." The hand lingers for a moment, his thumb gently circling over her hip before he pulls it back to shove it into his pocket.

His other arm extends to rest against the wall above her head though (as much as part of him wanted to) he doesn't make an attempt to further crowd her space. His stance might suggest he's a little too relaxed but he's kept his eyes peeled, he's been listening, and he's still aware of Komorebi's chakra.

After seeing him off, Ino pauses, her hand on the doorknob. Komorebi's chakra grows more and more oppressive by degrees. It's water about to hit that intense boil once again. Time to move.

She makes her own way into the hall and in the direction where the scent of smoke is weakest. She's creeping down the passage that leads to Lady Hokage's office when her earpiece crackles, fuzzy staticky noises that sound like frantic movement.

Ino freezes. Ducks into a nearby pocket of shadow. Waits to hear the situation.

No way.

No WAY.

Asuma and Kurenai are hiding. Together. And they're being so cute about it. This test really is her reward.

Hands clapped over her mouth (because if she doesn't, she will squeal), she listens intently. Was that static from them? What kind of hiding spot are they in right now? Did Kurenai take Asuma's cigarette away? Did their hands touch?

The oppressive feeling of Komorebi's chakra is on her again, and nearing its boiling point. She'd completely lost focus.

As quiet as she can, Ino makes a dash for the nearest room: Lady Hokage's office. Fortunately, the heavy door opens soundlessly, and Ino slips behind it just as Komorebi's presence hits its peak.

Shakily, she presses her hand to her mouth again, this time to hold in the sharp exhale that wants to burst from her lungs.

When the coast is clearer (because it'll never be clear, not until they leave), Ino opens her mic to the other three.

"Komorebi's in the north hall, heading—"

She closes her eyes, hones her senses, feels the proctor's presence trickle weaker and weaker.

"—east. Hokage-sama's office is unlocked."

Then she hurries to switch communications to Shikamaru's line alone, and hisses, half-harried from tension and half-giddy with delight.

"Did you hear them just now, Shikamaru?! New plan: we are not following the sensei. Not unless it's life or death."

He's crouched behind an armchair, hands pressed into the Rat seal. Beside him, moonlight bleeds into the lounge, soaking the marbled floors all the way to the door. But Komorebi doesn't come back.

A frown pinches his brows. He lingers for a few moments more before letting the seal fall to his side. Perhaps the hallway is longer than he'd assumed ... or they're in another genjutsu.

There's rustling in his ear. Movement. Shikamaru sets them aside as he squints at the bulletin board hammered into the east wall. Is that ... ? A patrol route, looking eerily similar to the layout he has mentally mapped out in his own head—except with more spaces north. And if Komorebi was just here, around the teachers' lounge, then ...

He reaches up for his mic but stops mid-way.

There's more rustling then. Whispers. Asuma's voice. Kurenai's voice. Whatever thought Shikamaru had in that moment dissipates, and he finds himself pressing his earpiece in, as if that would help him make sense of what he's hearing. What's happening? Are they—

Ino comes through, and Shikamaru damn near rips the earpiece out.

"Could've chosen a more elegant way to tell us," he grumbles, rubbing the base of his neck. His gaze returns to the patrol route. "North Hall, heading East ... yeah, that tracks. Looks like she patrols—" Right. He should probably loop Asuma and Kurenai in too.

He switches his mic back to the main line.