A Couple Steps Back

Chapter 40

This was written on my cellular device so I apologise for any typos present.

Third person pov

Shikamaru's heavy breathing was the only sign that he was still alive as the chakra waves finally stopped. His body was pale, shaking and covered in sweat. He was definitely unconscious, or close to it. The Hokage sucked in a slow and deep breath of air, releasing it into a sigh.

"Take him in." He ordered calmly. "And get me Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha."

~

"Oh, it's the pedophile." Gaara said in a drawl and bored tone. His eyes narrowed considerably as he stared at the homeless-looking snake man. He was wearing a man bun, and Gaara didn't trust people with man buns. Especially not when they looked homeless, were basically a human snake in human form and a child predator.

"Gaara, dear, you make me feel so attacked." Orochimaru placed a hand over the rock he had the audacity to call a heart. "Now, are you going to hear me out or do I need to find Sasuke-kun and his Foxy little friend?"

"No. Let's roll. Wheelies to escape the feelies, bitch." Rasa raised his middle fingers, excited and ready to exit the scene with all the swag of a 2016 struggle rapper. He'd payed a lot to get these wheeled shoes-

"Father, no. We need to listen to him, and we certainly can't leave him roaming about if he really is like us. He could foil their plans." Gaara said, referring to their fellow time travellers. Rasa immediately let out a loud, long groan that made Orochimaru furrow his eyebrows. The snake man gave Gaara a questioning look. The boy simply shrugged. He'd stopped asking questions a long time ago.

"Fine. The snake guy can come with us. How do we know he doesn't want to kill us though? What if he's our enemy?" Rasa had some surprisingly plausible questions concerning the current situation. With the way he'd been acting lately, Gaara felt he could readily say that he was pleasantly impressed. Although his inquiries almost didn't count because of the whole... Wheelie thing, or whatever he wants calling them.

"Rude!" Orochimaru gasped, walking closer to them. "I fought on your side of the war, you know. I'm offended."

"He did?!" Rasa shrieked in question. Last time he'd been alive, which he admitted hasn't been for quite a while, Orochimaru had been a vile man. He'd convinced Rasa to turn against the leaf, and then killed him and taken his body as a disguise so they could get in and so he could have a rather botched invasion. From what Rada had gathered, Orochimaru's attempt had been rather pathetic in comparison to Pein's, who'd literally made a crater out of the town.

"He did." Gaara sighed. "Which is precisely why we should hear him out."

"Thank you, Gaara." Orochimaru huffed, folding his arms over his chest. "Now, take me to your residence. I'll even make you a casserole, even if you are vermin."

"...Omg daddy?"

"Father, no!"

~

"You're sure Shikamaru's been taken, and you're sure you found this note here? Not on the floor of some depressing poetry club?" Ibiki was tense. All of them were, really. First this note, and then Shikamaru's chakra waves blasting across the whole damn village, signalling that something was wrong. Naruto had to assume it was his father. After all, the man was a genius, and Shikamaru had been the most suspicious of them all by far.

Not as lazy as he was before, Shikamaru was different in the eyes of his parents. The whole ordeal with Hidan hadn't helped, and the Kazekage incident had only made it worse. He was constantly surrounded by geniuses, and even Naruto could only keep his act up for so long. The blonde couldn't imagine how much he'd struggled.

"What the fuck do we do? We ain't shit without blow-your-ass-up kid." Hidan wouldn't admit it, but he was worried! These brats had grown on him, and he finally felt as though he had some real friends. He was making bonds, the kind that weren't there because someone forced them there. This wasn't like the relationship he had with Kakuzu back in the day. These people asked his opinion, and they had experiences together and inside jokes.

"We have to go get him." Ibiki said gruffly. "He's strong willed, but not equipped to stop a Yamanaka from invading his mind."

"Ugh, okay. We need a password though." Naruto insisted. If one of them was captured, since they weren't sure who they were facing, they'd need to know if someone was being forced to do something. That, and Naruto still wasn't that great at sensing chakra. Someone could easily use the transformation jutsu to trick him, especially since he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box.

"A teenager, an asshole, four kids and a Kage walk into a bar. Which one screams daddy?" Hidan asked, grinning at the laugh Naruto sputtered out. Ibiki looked mildly confused and possibly a little annoyed, his shoulders bunched up and his brow furrowed.

"The answer is the Kage." Naruto said. He continued before Ibiki could ask questions. "It's a long story. Now, let's hurry and grab him! We have this guy to deal with." Naruto waved the note about.

"Fuck yeah." Hidan cracked his knuckles. "So who the fuck knows where he is?"

"Somewhere dangerous I bet." Naruto grinned.

"Idiots." Ibiki sighed.