Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Naruto or anything pertaining to the anime or manga. The characters, places, etc… are not mine, nor do I lay any claim on them. This is not an attempt to infringe on any rights or copyrights, as this is purely for entertainment.

Authors Note: What can I say? Ah hahaha, I suck. --

Again, I've tried something different. I am not used to writing in this way, so forgive the awkwardness. And I warn you now – this experiment in writing was quite unsuccessful. If you manage to trudge through the chapters, and read the entire thing; I humbly thank you for giving my story a chance. - Or, for having the patience to make it to the end, giggles or agitation be damned. So, thank you. (Naruto future, au: I was imagining Naruto and company in their 20's for this story. ) –

Edited/revised chapters 1 and 2 – minor differences – some rewrite, some additions. Corrected some spelling/grammar/etc. in other chapters. :D

Title: 'Down They Fell'

Author: run dog run

Series: Naruto

Characters/Pairings: various characters, various pairings

……………...………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Down They Fell

………………………………………..

"Does a tree, in autumn, mourn the leaves that fall?"

1

Three weeks after the treaty revisal with Kusa no Kuni, there was a small skirmish on the border.

A faction of Grass Nin had found the negotiations unsatisfactory and had violated the tentative peace that had fallen between the two nations. Hi no Kuni responded by deploying a small team of Shinobi to the border; their intent was only to quell the uproar with diplomacy. The mission was simply to maintain the peace; they were ordered not to engage in battle unless absolutely necessary.

Necessity arose even before Shikamaru's team had reached the border.

--------------------

The soft thud of metal sinking into flesh draws Shikamaru from his concentration; his head spins in the direction of the sound, the motion quick and dizzying, and his eyes catch only a bur of skin and gold hair and a smear of blood that drags his stomach into his throat. Ino's soft cry echoes in his ears as he rushes sideways to catch her in her fall. Her skin is clammy and his calloused fingers pull roughly against that soft flesh as he drags her back into the trees. A bark of breath bubbles from her chest, its edges drawn in bright blood that seeps over rapidly paling lips.

"Ino, Ino! Stay with me." His frantic voice is weak even in his own ears. A shuriken whistles through the air, slicing the breeze with its glittering edge; Shikamaru throws his arm up to catch the spinning blade before it can imbed itself into something vital. Another cough and Ino spatters blood across her chin and his face, but she pushes her self upright and manages a ragged breath; the sound is wet and thick and frightening. Shikamaru can tell she is drowning on her own blood.

"I…fine." Her voice is a weak wheeze between coughs, but she fights for control. Her eyes are hard and her fists are clenched as she forces herself to stand. "…nuff left… one more." Shikamaru doubts she can walk two steps without collapsing, but he doesn't say it; instead he tugs the shuriken from his arm and tosses it to the ground, uses his waning strength to keep her upright.

"You should rest." His voice is strained as he speaks, and his vision blurs momentarily as he forces more of her weight onto his shoulder.

"Dying… Shika." Her hand swipes roughly at her mouth, smears blood and saliva across her cheek. Shikamaru fights against his breath, nearly choking, and shakes his head. Her smile is weak. "I am. Lemme… fighting." Let me die fighting. The whole exchange seems unreal, like a nightmare.

The sound of growling echoes somewhere off to the left and a crash shakes the trees. A great mass of fur tumbles past, claws and teeth and fur matted and bloodied. Kiba's scowling face emerges from the tangle, his body pinning a pale haired man to the ground; a moment later and his claws rip the man's throat away. A trail of blood and soft flesh sweeps sideways from the ruined neck.

"How the hell did this happen?!" Kiba's rough voice slices through the air, drags itself across Shikamaru's ears like a growl. "Where the fuck did they all come from?" Shikamaru shifts Ino's weight as gently as he can and frowns.

Intelligence had reported no more than twelve members of the rogue faction, and only half of them were reported to be Jounin level Shinobi. Upon arriving, they had come to the sick realization that there were three times that many members, and more than half of them were Jounin level. A significant percentage of the village had obviously decided that the treaty was worthless – they were preparing to wage a war against Hi no Kuni.

A flurry of motion sends Kiba back against a tree, his shoulders slamming roughly against the stiff trunk; the impact forces his breath out in a rush. A thunder of growls escape Akamaru's wide throat as he streaks across the small space to Kiba; the distance is closed in a matter of seconds. From the other side of the clearing, Shikamaru watches in sick fascination as the sharp hooks of the great dog's claws rake down the enemy nin's back, shredding through clothes and flesh as if the man were but a paper doll; broken bone and ruined flesh jut and spill from the bloody trenches in the man's back. Kiba smirks down at the man's surprise as Akamaru's massive jaws clamp down on the man's neck and shoulder. The beast growls around the body seized in his jaw, slings it sideways into the brush; the man's mouth is stretched in pain, but his voice is silent.

Kiba shoves himself away from the gruesome scene and limps to where Shikamaru waits, takes up Ino's other side, and helps the two into the thick of trees. Ino's slumps to the ground in a gasp of wet breath, her lungs gurgling around the kunai still pushed into her chest. A moment later, her breath stops.

"Ino…?" Shikamaru's fingers tighten on the girls arm; dig into her soft flesh with desperation.

"She's… Shikamaru," Shikamaru watches in silence as Kiba leans in to press his ear to Ino's chest; his slitted eyes drift closed a moment later. When Kiba lifts his head, his eyes will not meet Shikamaru's. "She's gone." I'm sorry. Shikamaru can hear the unspoken sympathy in the man's soft tone.

Sudden, anti-climactic. Shikamaru chokes on the stray thought.

"Something isn't right. Where are they?" Kiba's voice splits the silence, but Shikamaru ignores him, his cloudy eyes are fixed on still-bright blue orbs.

Ino's eyes are still open, but she cannot see him.

Kiba's hand reaches from somewhere off to the side, his fingers gently slip Ino's eyes closed. Shikamaru turns his head away from the scene; he can't watch. A whisper of motion draws Shikamaru's eyes to the side as Kiba's hand falls on his shoulder. The dark haired man jumps suddenly, unprepared for the contact, and his hand flings up to scrub at his face roughly; his nails scrape across his cheek and leave read lines in the skin. He doesn't notice.

"We have to leave her. Something isn't right." Shikamaru's hands tighten on his thighs as he rises to stand. The air is quiet; even the birds are silent.

"They are regrouping." Shikamaru's brow creases with tension and his eyes flick to Kiba's. "We should retreat, return to Konoha and assemble more teams." Shikamaru fists his hands. "This isn't something we can handle on our own. We're fighting a war with two men and a dog." Kiba's laugh is humorless.

"I pity the army that comes to face us." The arrogance, Shikamaru realizes, is tainted with resolved desperation, hints at the worry that the Inuzuka will not face.

A growl whittles its way into the conversation and Kiba's answering curse sends a chill through Shikamaru's bones. Kiba's eyes are narrow, fierce, when he turns back to his friend.

"Doesn't look like we'll be retreating any time soon." A smile cracks Kiba's face, his fangs peek from between his lips; Shikamaru shudders at the sight. It was, he realized, the smile of a man resolved to his fate. "If we don't make it out of this alive…" He shrugs nonchalantly. "I've always liked you Nara. Always respected you the most out of all the Shinobi of our generation." Kiba's hand waves the words away in a gesture. Shikamaru's lips twist down into a frown.

"We'll make it." Shikamaru's words are low and they disappear quickly into the ambiance of the wood as the dark haired man flings himself into the cover of the canopy above. Kiba's eyes soften a brief moment, his sharp toothed smile dulls and he shakes his head. A moment later he, too, is deep in the forest canopy.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

AN2: I will probably revise or rewrite this and the following chapter at some point… especially if any one can give me some advice on how to re-do Ino's death. I am unhappy with the transition from her sudden death to Shikamaru's reaction. Although, on some level, in a war it might be something equally as quick and confusing – with no time to really react – something feels very off about it and I can't figure it out right now. I think I've looked at it far too much in the past 2 days.

If you are re-reading this for the changes, is the bit with Ino's death any better, or should I switch it back to the way it was? All help is appreciated!