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Everything had gone to shit so astoundingly fast that Shikamaru got whiplash.
It was all happening so quickly, but at least they had been on top. They had already taken down two of the five nukenin that had ambushed them. One was in Shikamaru's Shadow Hold, Ino had performed her Mind Transfer Jutsu on another, and the last one was well on his way to being smashed to death by Choji’s Boulder Jutsu.
Shikamaru and Ino -or rather, Ino’s body - were propped up on a thick tree branch, just about to finalize the execution of their technique. Shikamaru already wore that smug, mocking smile as the enemy struggled against his hold. He had been so sure that it was going to be an easy win that nothing could have prepared him for the disaster that struck moments later.
Ino gasped beside him, rousing to consciousness, holding her head as if she had been taking a beating inside the mind of the nukenin. Shikamaru didn’t even have time to ask her if she was okay before he saw the kunai with an attached explosive tag flying towards them.
He had just enough time to grab Ino by the waist before the branch exploded into a million splinters, and they were both ejected with the force of the detonation. Shikamaru must have lost consciousness for a fraction of a second, because it took him longer than it should have to realize they were rapidly gaining towards a body of water
Ino was screaming beside him, but everything sounded muffled. Shikamaru was sure he had suffered some hearing damage from the blast. He felt himself yell ‘ Chakra! ’ before they free-fell into the water that, from their distance and speed, would act much the same as concrete.
He could only hope that Ino had gotten the message as he infused the soles of his feet with chakra to the best of his abilities, just as he was about to be flattened by the water. His eyes clenched shut in an instinct, as he anticipated the impact.
The chakra control absorbed most of the collision, but they couldn’t have possibly stayed upright with such a violent current. The water was fast and unforgiving. One moment, Shikamaru was gripping Ino’s arm as tightly as he could, and the next, the current had carried her away from him with ease, throwing her around like she was nothing more than a rag doll.
“Shika!”
“Ino!” Shikamaru cried back, trying to move towards her as fast as he could. He enhanced his legs and arms with chakra, but it did little more than exhaust him faster. He could see a few feet away to Ino - the best at chakra control from their team - attempting to do the same fruitlessly.
Shikamaru’s muscles burned with the effort. He could feel chakra evading him by the second as he tried to swim uselessly against the bottomless river.
Shikamaru had never felt this helpless in his life. Right now, there was no strategy, or even the time to strategize a plan. The current fed into a huge, merciless waterfall that they were both approaching rapidly. They had to get the hell out of there or they were going to die.
Shikamaru tried to cling to a branch sprouting out of the river. He felt relief when he actually managed to hold onto it despite the force of the water, but it soon turned to anguish as his eyes found Ino. He watched her try to prop herself up on a rock using chakra, her body already halfway out the water. Her arms trembled against the sheer force of the water and she slipped, crashing her head against the stone.
Shikamaru felt the force of the impact, even from a distance. His body immediately went rigid as hers went limp, blood pouring down her face and staining the water surrounding her. He watched as it cascaded from the deep gash caused by the rock’s sharp edge before her body sank out of view.
He let out a feral scream he didn’t even know he could muster and dived under the lake, once again, enhancing his fatigued muscles with chakra as he swam with the current, trying to gain speed. He knew they were close to the waterfall, and he didn’t know what he’d do when they reached it, but he wasn’t thinking at that moment, he was acting.
The murky waters didn’t allow for much visibility, but he still quickly spotted a shock of purple from Ino and a worrying, crimson dark cloud seeping from her head. Shikamaru milked every ounce of chakra he had in an effort to get to Ino, who was being carried by the river’s increased speed.
For once grateful for Ino’s ridiculous hair length, Shikamaru managed to pull her towards him by the tips so hard he was sure that if she were conscious it would hurt. By some miracle, he managed to pull both of them up, gasping for air and coughing against the sprays of water.
Very quickly he realized Ino was not doing the same.
Shikamaru could barely keep his head above the water as he held onto Ino like a lifeline. He refused to let his grip falter even slightly, but he could see clearly that the river had widened, and the current seemed to have increased in speed by tenfold.
And Ino, despite Shikamaru’s efforts, was still unresponsive.
The current was at its most violent now, the gigantic drop of the waterfall mere meters away from them, and there’s literally nothing Shikamaru can do to stop it. Maybe if he hadn’t been so shellshocked, he’d cry, or maybe even pray, but he just held tighter to Ino.
For a second, Shikamaru couldn’t feel anything as they were forced down the edge of the fall by the indescribable pressure of the water. The assumption that he- most likely both of them - had died right then and there didn’t escape him. His senses returned moments later though, with the pain of at least more than one fractured bone, gashes and bruises. His lungs screamed at him as he tried to inhale mouthfuls of air, contracting against his own will, making him choke on the water that seemed to assault him from all directions as his heart seemed to explode from the shock of the fall.
But still, despite logic itself, he was still holding onto Ino, his grip so tight on her torso he wouldn’t be surprised if he’d accidentally broken one of her ribs. Shikamaru couldn’t even be sure that she was breathing between the turbulence, but he’d do anything in his power to see that they made it out alive.
Shikamaru tried to take as deep of a breath as he could manage before they reached the plunge pool, still clinging onto Ino as tightly as he possibly could. His efforts prove useless though, as they reach the bottom and they’re inevitably torn apart.
Shikamaru can’t move as the crushing weight of the waterfall pushes them downwards to the very bottom of the river instantly, but he’s still - to his surprise - alive and conscious.
He can’t say the same for Ino though, who’s being pummelled by the water like driftwood. In a last-ditch attempt, he stops fighting against the waters, instead letting his body be abused and battered until he’s close enough to snatch Ino. Using the very last ounce of chakra left on his body, Shikamaru kicked as hard as he could, just about managing to pull them away from the crushing current.
Still submerged though, Shikamaru somehow managed to pull them up to safety. The edge of his vision was beginning to turn dark, and his lungs felt like they were about to collapse from the pain of being neglected oxygen for so long. Finally, after several teeth-gritting desperate kicks, they managed to break the surface. Sweet relief and bitter agony flooded his senses as his body hungrily gulped in air.
Shikamaru had never been this exhausted in his life, and that really was saying something. Every bone in his body ached and every muscle trembled. He was well aware that his chakra reserves were all but depleted, and the urge to crash down and rest when they got to the shore was immense.
But Ino wasn’t breathing as he dragged her onto the rocky shore. Her lips were already turning blue, and her complexion ashen.
The only reason he doesn’t assume she’s dead is because there’s a pulse. A weak, arrhythmic and slow pulse, but it makes his stomach lurch with both relief and anticipation. He wasted no time in starting compressions.
The effort of pushing against Ino’s chest was unexpectedly agonizing, and Shikamaru’s sure his wrist is broken, but he didn’t even dare to pause for even just a moment. Nothing changes though, and his eyes are burning with unshed tears and he screams her name, as if this would stir her up.
He pinches her nostrils shut and forces her mouth open, connecting his lips and exhaling inside her. Her chest rises from the sudden influx of air, and he’s hopeful she’ll cough up and breath on her own, but nothing happens.
Desperation was gnawing at his chest as he repeated the process countless times. Ino couldn’t die. Not on him. Not like this.
Shikamaru swallowed back tears, looking around hopelessly for something, anything. He couldn’t hear Choji through the sound of the waterfall, and his chakra was too low to even be traceable.
“Don’t do this to me!” He snaps. If it was directed towards Ino, himself, or some higher entity he didn’t know, but either way, he pressed all his weight behind the heels of his hands. If he had to make her heart beat then dammit he would.
“Don’t you fucking die on me, Ino!” There was fury behind his action, and he barely registered the familiar crack as Ino’s ribs gave under his palms.
Shikamaru had never done compressions on an actual person before, his only experience being with a dummy all the way back at the Academy when they were learning about survival and first-aid. Ino had been his partner that day, and he could remember how much she had nagged him about how he was doing it wrong.
He had never wanted to hear her nagging so desperately in his life.
There had to be a way. His brain worked a mile a minute, trying to think of something - anything - to change the odds even though he knew that this, with the resources he had and the state he found himself in, was the very best he could do. He swallowed against the sick terror that climbed up his throat, his own broken ribs aching terribly as sobs racked his torso, the grazes on his cheek stinging from the tears running down his face.
Shikamaru can feel himself go dizzy as the tips of his fingers go numb with chakra exhaustion. This was way more strenuous than he had anticipated, and he couldn’t remember ever being quite this weak before in his life. But this was Ino. Yamanaka Ino. Sworn-alliance-since-birth Yamanaka Ino.
He had sworn to protect her and Choji under all circumstances, and they had done the same for him. Despite the constant butting of heads, Ino was one of his very best friends, and Shikamaru couldn’t even begin to comprehend how deep these feelings went until the fate of her life was on his hands.
But then, just as Shikamaru felt his consciousness begin to evade him, Ino convulses. He barely believes it, but his body freezes as a gurgling sound could be heard from very deep inside her throat. Water pooled on her open mouth as she started coughing and gasping desperately.
For a second, Shikamaru feels like he’s unable to move, torn between cheering and sobbing and hugging Ino with no intentions of letting go, but the rational part of his brain kicks in, and he adjusts Ino to her side to keep her from choking, with all the care in the world, as though she might disintegrate before his eyes. He’s surprised she doesn’t.
“Ino?! Can you hear me?” There’s relief and wariness in his voice. She could be concussed, or had gone without oxygen for too long, or both, and he didn’t know what to expect as she stirred. Her half-lidded eyes tried to focus on the direction of his voice, but failed
“Ino?” He repeated, his voice shaking.
“ Shi...ka… ” She slurs, her voice raspy and distant, but it’s enough to send Shikamaru over the edge. Ino is breathing. Her pulse is rather weak but stable. She’s alive.
Ino is alive.
Shikamaru’s overcome by emotion so quickly that he can’t really do anything to stop it. He’s not even sure that’s something he wants to do. His tears are now of relief and not despair. Her eyes are half closed and she’s out of it, but she still asks why he was crying, asks if he’s okay with the same innocence as that of a toddler.
“I’ve never been better.”
It didn’t really take long at all for the adrenaline to wear off and for Shikamaru to get a grip of himself again. He gently bandaged Ino’s head to the best of his abilities with a ripped sleeve from his shirt. His body was begging him to collapse on the rocky ground and go into a comatose state until somebody found them, but Ino wasn’t nearly out of the woods yet. She most likely had a concussion and there was still the very high risk of dry-drowning, so against both of their wishes, he had to fight to keep them awake.
“Why? ‘M tired…” Ino sputtered, and Shikamaru couldn’t remember her voice ever sounding so weak.
“Because I need to make sure you’re okay.” He realized she had no idea what they had both been through, and suddenly his eyes welled up with tears once again.
He barely believed it himself. Nothing about either of them making it out of this alive, let alone both, made sense. It was surreal.
But yet he had never been so painfully aware of reality. He was hyper-sensative to each individual rock pricking his back and legs as he rested his body against the stone wall, the cold air biting against his skin, the weight of her head putting pressure on his bruised thighs, and the fact that he had no idea where to go from here.
“... What …?” Ino tried after a moment, but even trying to formulate a question seemed to be painful.
“You hit your head. We fell down a waterfall. Almost drowned.” Short answers seemed to be the best bet at that moment, both for Ino’s understanding and Shikamaru’s own sake.
Ino merely grunted in response, making Shikamaru worry about the extent in which her brain was damaged.
“Ino, I need you to stay awake!” He shakes her until she’s barely focusing on him again, which was the best that he could have hoped for. “C’mon. Talk to me.”
“‘Bout what?” Ino hummed, her voice raspy.
“Uh,” His own effort to come up with something doesn’t go unnoticed, but he couldn’t afford to think about that at that moment. “Explain to me the Mind-Transfer Jutsu. Step-by-step.”
“Um…” Her eyes meet his for a moment, eyebrows furrowed as she very clearly racks her brain for an answer that should roll off her tongue. Shikamaru takes this opportunity to lay two fingers on her neck and keep track of her pulse. “We…first, we have to turn our consciousness into…into spiritual energy, and then…”
Ino seemed to perk up slightly when she went into detail about her technique. It was a testament to how much of an expert she truly was that even in her state she could recite a perfect tutorial with hardly any trouble. Shikamaru would have been more impressed if the brunt of his own injuries hadn’t finally caught up to him, adrenaline evading his body completely.
He fought against the burning of his eyes as they begged him to sleep, and he doubted his chakra levels had ever been so low. He couldn’t control the shivering of his body, especially after he had used his flak jacket as a makeshift blanket to cover Ino after her lips began turning blue again.
The bitter cold air that assaulted them as night settled in seemed to aggravate the extent of his injuries, making him aware of just how much everything just hurt .
He tried to make sure Ino was still talking despite being silent himself. Breathing became painful and strenuous, and so did talking. He opted to focus on Ino, despite his vision swaying. The bleeding from her forehead had stopped, but the length of her blonde hair was red and caked with blood. Her face was puffed up and bruised badly. For a split moment, Shikamaru was thankful that she was only half-conscious, because he couldn’t imagine the fit she would throw over her disheveled appearance otherwise.
There was also a significant gash on her lip that stained her perfectly white teeth scarlet. Suddenly Shikamaru can taste metal on his own lips, which is odd considering he couldn’t feel them sting…
And then he felt his cheeks heat up when he realized the blood on his lips wasn't his own.
“Stupid…” He muttered to himself because yes, it absolutely was a stupid thing to be thinking, especially considering the circumstances.
“What?” Ino questioned, narrowing her eyes at him slightly.
“Nothing,” He answered quickly. “Keep going.” Shikamaru seemed to be trying to speak through a mouthful of cotton. His words were jumbled and slurred, and after Ino went back to talking he remained silent.
Fatigue was causing his eyes to swim and his head to loll around dangerously. He couldn’t let himself sleep. He just couldn’t.
but then the bitter cold was replaced by warmth, and he was consumed by the darkness that sat ominously in the edges of his vision. The ringing in his ears had stopped, along with Ino’s voice and the noises of nature that surrounded them.
Along with the sounds of the waterfall.
He thought Ino might have called out his name, but consciousness evaded him quicker than he could have tried to cling to it.
What a heinous drag.