A/N: Wow, its been… a while. I've been away from FanFiction for far too long. Hopefully I'll be able to continue with the unfinished business I've left on my page at some point, but for now have this short story! This plot bunny has been brewing in my head for months, so I'm finally putting all the notes I've jotted down together to form a (somewhat) coherent story!

Rating: T (for some language and violence and good ol' angst)

Pairings: NONE (strictly friendship/family-ship between all characters)

Timeline: This story takes place pre-Shippuden, right before Naruto would go off to train with Jiraiya.

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Naruto. (because why would I write fanficiton if I did?)

"You guys go on ahead. Get back to the village."

"Don't try and play the hero right now Shikamaru!" Ino yelled.

"Do you really think we'd just leave you-" Kiba started to growl.

"Yes, I do. It's an order from your squad leader." Shikamaru's voice took on a hard edge that shocked the group into silence for a moment. The wind whipped against their faces as they raced back to the Leaf. Shikamaru sighed. "Look, I know it's a drag, but it's the only thing we can do right now. Lady Tsunade needs to be warned about this guy."

"So just send one of us back!" Naruto said, brow creasing. "The rest of us can stay and help you fight!"

"That's not possible now. I can't risk sending one of you off alone and getting ambushed. Besides… I think I'm the only one who can fight him with any chance of holding him off."

"But… Alone?" Ino asked, exasperated.

"He's from a clan that possesses a very powerful paralysis jutsu. Taking all of our abilities into consideration, I think my Shadow Possession is the only thing that could even hope to slow him down."

"But Shikamaru, that Ueno guy has all sorts of cronies with him too." Choji added worriedly. "Even if you were able to fight him on his own, it'd be insane to try and hold them all."

"… I know." Shikamaru considered his friend's point. It was valid. "I'm already going to be out of my league with just Ueno…"

"So let at least one of us stay!" Kiba urged. "We can back you up! Take care of all those other faceless jerks." Akamaru yipped in agreement.

Shikamaru's jaw tightened. He knew they didn't have much more time to discuss the matter before trouble caught up with them. "… Fine."

He halted on a tree branch, signaling with his arm for the rest of the squad to follow suit. After a moment of consideration, Shikamaru turned around and scanned his friends' determined faces.

"Naruto. I don't know how many goons this guy is packing, but I'm sure it'll be more than I can handle alone. Your Shadow Clones seem to give you the biggest advantage when dealing with groups. Whaddya say?" He smirked. "Help me clean up this mess?"

"Hell yeah!" Naruto pumped his fists in the air, a fiery blaze in his eyes. "Those freaks won't know what hit 'em!"

Kiba crossed his arms in an obvious pout. Shikamaru knew how competitive the Inuzuka could be with the Leaf's number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja.

"If you think Naruto is the man for the job, then he is." Choji said.

"Show those asshats a thing or two, Naruto!" Ino said with a grim smile. Her brow furrowed. "Just be careful. I know how crazy you can get. And Shikamaru-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it Ino." Shikamaru had been scrawling a message on a piece of parchment. He folded it up and handed it to Choji. "Make sure the Hokage gets this, Choji. It's vital to dismantling this coup he's planning."

"Right." Choji nodded and carefully tucked the paper away in his pants pocket.

"Naruto and I will attempt to hold Ueno off until reinforcements can come. Guess I don't have to tell you guys, but time is of the essence. We're counting on you."

"Don't worry about a thing, Squad Leader!" Kiba grinned. "We won't let you down. Just watch it out there."

Shikamaru nodded and gave his team one last smile before seriousness settled back onto his face. "Get going!"

With that command, the three Genin scattered, leaving Naruto and Shikamaru holding their ground in the trees.

"I think I can already hear them." Naruto muttered, cracking his knuckles. "Bring it on."

"Remember what I said, Naruto. Ueno is not your immediate concern. You worry about the goons. Keep your distance from him for as long as you can. If you get caught in his paralysis, there's nothing I can do."

"I got it." Naruto nodded. "I'll keep your back safe from the lackeys." He locked eyes with Shikamaru. "But as soon as I'm done with them, I'm coming to help you. Don't do anything stupid."

Shikamaru snorted. "You're telling me that?" He gave his attention back to the incoming attack. "I appreciate it. But don't worry about that. I'm not prone to heroics like you."

"Heyy, what-"

"They're coming!"

"You must be the squad leader." Ueno smiled slowly, eyeing Shikamaru's vest. "Sent off your little friend to take on all of my men? That wasn't a very wise choice, young Chuunin."

Shikamaru smirked. "Maybe not. But maybe it wasn't wise for you to underestimate a Leaf ninja."

Ueno scoffed. "Ah, they really have you trained well, don't they… With all that 'Will of Fire' nonsense. I don't think you understand how many young promising ninja have had their lives cut short by that sense of overconfidence instilled in them from the Leaf." His smile grew wide. "But I suppose you'll understand soon."

"You sure do like to talk a lot." Shikamaru muttered. "Why do people like you always have to go on about your evil plans?"

Ueno threw his head back and laughed. "This isn't a plan, young ninja. It's in motion. The dominoes are already falling."

"And I suppose my squad and I are just some of those dominoes."

"Oh, don't flatter yourself." Ueno launched himself at Shikamaru.

Startled into action, the young Nara leaped backward, pulling out a kunai in defense. "Don't lock eyes with him. You'll have to rely on your peripheral for this one."

Ueno propelled his fist forward towards the boy. As Shikamaru pulled his kunai up to deflect the blow, Ueno used his other hand to grab his wrist and pull it back. Shocked, Shikamaru had barely a second to respond as Ueno's fist met with his exposed stomach. Pain shot up his body and forced him to gag, blood and bile in his throat.

As his body ricocheted backward from the force of the blow, Shikamaru used his left hand to mirror Ueno, grabbing hold of the arm that just made contact with him. Ueno blinked in surprise as he felt himself freeze in place. Shikamaru's mouth curved in a grim smile as his shadow began wrapping itself around his adversary. "Shadow Strangle Jutsu…" He began to push back against Ueno's grip with the hand that still firmly held the kunai knife.

"Sneaky." Ueno hissed. He searched Shikamaru's face, trying to make solid eye contact, but the boy's gaze darted around.

Ueno pushed back against Shikamaru's shadow. The young Nara struggled to keep his shadow wrapped around the man's arm, but it began to inch backward. Sweat ran down his face and his teeth clenched together painfully. Finally, Shikamaru felt the black line connecting him to his adversary snap. Ueno pulled out of Shikamaru's grip and wheeled his leg around to slam hard into the Leaf ninja's side.

Shikamaru cried out in pain as, all at once, his shadow returned to him and he was sent flying to the side, making contact with the ground painfully. Dirt and rubble sprayed out from the point of impact.

Shikamaru coughed jaggedly, blood dotting the earth beneath him. He hoisted himself up to his elbows, then shakily to his knees.

"Ah, what's the matter? What happened to all that 'Will of Fire' bravado you were so full of earlier?"

"Go to hell." Shikamaru choked out, barely audible.

"No points for originality there." Ueno shrugged. "It looks like you have some talent as a ninja though. I must admit, I didn't expect you to be able to hold me for so long."

"Keh. It was for barely 20 seconds…" Shikamaru thought as he wobbled up to his feet, facing the rogue ninja once more. "How did it come to this..." He took a deep breath to steady himself. "Damn this guy anyway, we were so close to getting back to the Leaf."

Ueno's gaze fixed on Shikamaru. The young Leaf nervously trained his eyes away from those of his counterpart's, choosing to focus on his feet instead. Ueno seemed intrigued, "Oh, you've already grasped my technique. Clever for your age, aren't you."

"Kohaku Ueno," Shikamaru stated, eyes narrowing. "I don't mean to toot my own horn, but your technique is obvious."

Ueno laughed, "Obvious, huh? Get off your high horse. Typical Nara." Shikamaru's eyes widened in surprise. Ueno clicked his tongue at the boy. "Are you really so surprised that I would know, shadow thief?" His gaze grew animalistic, a sneer curling along his lips, "You are the spitting image of Shikaku after all."

"Sounds like you're not the biggest fan of my dad." Shikamaru smirked.

"You could say that I suppose. But it goes for all the Nara, really. Guess there was only room for one paralysis jutsu in the Leaf Village."

Ueno suddenly threw a fistful of shuriken Shikamaru's way, startling the boy into action. He jumped into the air, stiffening when he heard Ueno's voice right behind him: "So how about I send a little present to Shikaku, hm?" He swung a leg down hard on Shikamaru's shoulder. The Chuunin cried out in pain and flew back to the forest floor with a loud crash. Ueno landed gracefully behind him. "I think I'll bring his son's corpse back to the Leaf Village. Wouldn't that just be fitting?"

"Damn..." Shikamaru coughed, more blood dotting the grass. Pain bloomed in his shoulder, and he made the grim realization that it was probably dislocated. He struggled up to his knees, vision going in and out of focus. "This isn't good..." He thought, "He's been beating the snot out of me. It's all I can do to not get caught in his paralysis."

He thought of his comrades, making their way back to the Leaf. He'd hoped the message he gave Choji was urgent enough to make the boy realize that time was of the essence. And Naruto... That idiot was probably still fighting Ueno's cronies. In the back of his mind, Shikamaru hoped the kid hadn't bitten off more than he could chew. "Then again..." He thought tiredly, "Maybe I shouldn't worry about him... If things continue, I'm screwed. If backup doesn't come from the Leaf in time..." He got back up to his feet, sparing a hateful glance in Ueno's direction.

"What could you possibly do now, Nara? Tell you what, if you give up right now, I promise I'll make your death quick-" The rogue ninja froze in his spot, shocked. A long black line of shadow extended out from Shikamaru's feet to his. The Leaf ninja smiled mockingly.

"No, I think you should give up."

"I should give up, huh?" Ueno muttered through clenched teeth. "That Leaf hubris will indeed be the death of you, boy."

Shikamaru's hands suddenly started to shake as an unfamiliar frozen feeling started to crawl over his consciousness. "What's going on…My body-" His panicked mind spun.

"Surprised?" Ueno grinned. "For a Nara, I'm disappointed. I thought you had already grasped what a danger my technique is to yours."

"Wait, so this whole time…" Shikamaru thought aloud, his mouth going dry when the gears clicked together. His hands were forced apart, and he stood up with jerky slow movements, trying to resist.

"You did put up more of a fight than I thought." Ueno shrugged. "But in the end, all I had to do was wait for you to ever so kindly extend your shadow to me. My paralysis is tricky that way."

"Then, why didn't you… Before…"

"I was having a bit of fun! And I will admit I was caught off guard for about half a second. You might have become a skilled ninja if you never ran into me. Alas, fate is cruel."

Ueno pulled a short slender katana out from his weapon holster. He flipped it around in his hand skillfully. It shimmered in a way that made Shikamaru's stomach clench. Connected by shadow, the young Genin mirrored his foe's movements and pulled a kunai out of his own holster.

Ueno looked briefly at the blade in his hand, cradling the tip gently with his gloved hand. "This katana is special. I'm sure you've already noticed the particular way it gleams." Looking back up at Shikamaru, Ueno smirked. "It's coated with a mixture of venoms from several extremely poisonous spiders." He noticed the way Shikamaru paled. "I'm sure you understand what happens next. I estimate that it will take ten minutes at most to kill you."

Shikamaru squirmed as hard as he could, trying to at least loosen the grip Ueno held on his shadow. The man began walking towards him, forcing Shikamaru to do the same. The steps were agonizing, and Shikamaru's brain spun trying to think of a solution.

Suddenly Ueno stopped and cocked his head to the side. "Ohh… It would seem your little friend is coming to save you. I must admit, I didn't expect he would deal with all my men."

Shikamaru's stomach lurched to his throat. Naruto! How could he have forgotten? The orange-clad shinobi didn't know that Ueno's paralysis was eye-based. If he came launching out right now…

"Stop it right there, you bastard!" A familiar voice bounced off of the trees as Naruto jumped through an opening above them. A blue ball of swirling chakra whirred in his hands.

"That must be the Rasengan I've heard so much about…" Shikamaru thought. He took in the boy's scratched face and torn clothes. "Beating those guys must have taken a lot out of him… He doesn't stand a chance-!"

Ueno turned his body to face Naruto, who was barreling down at him full speed. He smiled with a calm expectation, body language almost welcoming the blow. Shikamaru's body turned in the same way, and his heart pounded in his ears. His eyes darted to the long black shadow still holding them together, then widened as the realization hit him. "Shit."

Naruto's glare pierced Ueno's own amused stare as he came down with the Rasengan. He glanced to his left to where Shikamaru was standing. In the moments after the fight, he would recall the last few seconds before hitting Ueno with the Rasengan when time seemed to slow down. He could just barely register the look of panic on his squad leader's face before the Rasengan plowed into Ueno's stomach.

The rogue ninja's feet planted firmly on the ground as he met the attack head on. His feet created skid tracks as the force of the blow pushed him back. Rasengan's final burst caused Ueno to stagger backward, clutching his burned stomach. He wavered on his feet for a moment before gaining his bearings. Head hanging down, Ueno's mouth slowly grew into a smile and a deep rumbling laughter started to shake his body.

Naruto flipped back into a defensive stance, chest heaving. "Rasengan didn't even knock him down…" His teeth clenched. Something about the man's laughter made his skin crawl. "Shikamaru, are you-" Words died in the Genin's mouth as he looked at his friend.

Shikamaru's head hung low, back hunched, entire body shaking with the effort of staying upright. His hands hovered over his stomach. A large circular pattern had ripped through his Chuunin vest, edges charred as if burned. The mark was unmistakable, but Naruto's mind was frozen in incomprehension. He opened and closed his mouth in attempts to speak. Shikamaru raised his head, face screwed up in a pained glare. Naruto suddenly remembered Ueno. The man's laughter was now almost overpowering, and the cackle jarred Naruto's brain into grim realization.

"Ahh, what deliciously cruel irony!" Ueno yelled in between laughs. "That is indeed an impressive move, kid, for someone of your… stature." He wiped a speck of blood from his lip.

"No, I… I couldn't have-" Naruto's eyes trailed a shadow leading to his friend, and his heart fell into his stomach. "I-I didn't mean to… Shikamaru, you…"

"Oh, of course you didn't mean to." Ueno chided the blonde ninja. "It's an interesting double-edged sword, that Nara shadow thievery. They can feel everything the one they're attached to can. The only thing keeping him standing right now is my grip on his shadow. Quite the marionette."

"Son of a bitch…" Blood dripped from Shikamaru's mouth as he spoke. His voice was hoarse and weak. "That was… a coward's tactic."

"Don't talk to me about tactics, boy." Ueno made eye contact with Shikamaru, grinning. "Ahh, no longer evading my eyes, huh? I guess there's not much point to it anymore. Facing your fate like a hopeless fly caught in the spider's web." He brandished the blade still firmly in his hand.

Naruto's anguish quickly turned to anger as he caught the gleam off Ueno's blade. His fists shook in rage as he turned back to face the man. "You… Don't you dare take another step towards him!" Naruto stepped protectively in front of Shikamaru.

Ueno looked at Naruto in amused surprise. "That's an awfully loyal and sweet sentiment, young Leaf. But I wouldn't have to take another step to finish off your half dead friend there if I really wanted to." At Naruto's confused expression, the man continued. "If I was really feeling tragic…" He flipped the long katana in his hand around so its tip pointed toward his own heart. "I could just end myself. We're still connected you see. It'd be that easy."

Naruto's heart pounded, panic rising in his throat. He took a step forward. "Don't-!"

"Oh please." Ueno turned the blade back around. "Drama is one thing, but I would much rather be alive to watch my triumphant takeover of the Leaf."

Naruto shot forward at Ueno, fist reared. "You'll never even get close!"

"Naruto, stop!" Shikamaru winced in pain as he tried to move forward, encumbered by his wounds and Ueno's continuing hold on his shadow.

"Not as clever as your friend, are you?" Ueno's harsh gaze pierced Naruto's own, and suddenly he couldn't move. The young Leaf struggled to break free, earning a chuckle from Ueno. "You are feisty, though."

Shikamaru stumbled backward, Ueno's grip loosening on his shadow. He tried to keep on his trembling feet, but pain pulsed from the Rasengan's mark and he crumbled to his knees with a gasp, clutching his stomach.

"Shikamaru…" Naruto tried to look back at his friend, eyes panicked.

"What did I tell you? Ueno drawled. "My jutsu was the only thing keeping him up." His eyes moved back to Shikamaru, who was trying to control his breathing amidst the pain, and he smiled contentedly. "Bringing your corpse to your father won't take any time at all now, will it?"

Naruto growled, pushing against Ueno's hold in a rush of adrenaline. Ueno twitched in surprise as the young Leaf began to break through his control. He stepped forward physically, forcing Naruto to retract his movement.

"Keh…" A bead of sweat slid down Ueno's face. "You are just full of surprise, aren't you? Guess I can't mess around much longer."

Ueno kicked him straight up, nailing Naruto in the jaw and sending him flying back with a stifled cry.

"Naruto…!" Shikamaru grunted. Watching Ueno advance on his friend with the blade of spider venom sent his brain spinning for solutions. His body still refused to listen to the furious commands of his head, exhausted to a breaking point. Shikamaru's eyes flitted down to the kunai still clutched firmly in his left hand. "Damn it… There's no other way…"

Naruto struggled to sit up, held down by the extra gravity of Ueno's paralysis. The older man stepped down on the blonde Leaf's arm, eliciting a groan of pain.

"Unlike those shadow thieves…" He gestured to Shikamaru with his head. "My clan's jutsu doesn't leave me open to my opponent's injuries. More than a convenience, as I'm sure you've noticed." He hoisted the katana in the air. "Goodbye, foolish boy."

A/N: Because what's a good welcome back fanfic without a little cliffy, eh?

At any rate, I hope you guys like it so far. I have most everything written out, so I'll be regular with updates. This one shouldn't be more than a few chapters.

I'd like to thank every one of you who reviewed and PMed me and (im)patiently waited for my return for all these years! I hope to be able to get back in the swing of things.

Love, Izumi