Naruto: Lost In Kishimoto - Revenge [Book 2]

Chapter Seventy: Cat & Mouse.

Beth POV

"Sasuke, the more you move, the longer this will take." Sakura lectured, her palm forcefully holding Sasuke down.

"These daily check-ups of yours are tedious and redundant." Sasuke muttered under his breath, his jaw clenched.

"The nerve of you two, honestly. How could you perform a procedure like this without my assistance? Do you have any idea how many things could've gone wrong?" Sakura continued.

"Karin was more than capable." I argued, receiving a sneer from Sakura. "Isn't the important thing that Sasuke's eyesight is completely healed?"

"Well, yes, but I just want to be sure that there aren't any complications." Sakura countered.

"I'm fine." Sasuke responded, staring at Sakura.

"Are you still lethargic?" Sakura asked, ignoring him.

"No." Sasuke grunted.

"Any pain from the eye or surrounding areas?" Sakura continued, shining a small light in Sasuke's eyes.

"No." Sasuke repeated.

"Well this is fun, but I'm heading off." I announced, moving towards the door.

"Leave Shikamaru alone." Sasuke stated, his tone of voice monotonous. I paused, turning back to face him.

"Whatever do you mean?" I replied, placing a hand over my heart.

"You have more pressing matters to attend to then hunting down Shikamaru" Sasuke scolded, raising an eyebrow as he shifted his gaze to me.

"For your information, I intend to go to the training grounds." I corrected.

"By way of the Nara residence I expect." Sasuke added.

"I'm not going to kill him" I retorted.

"Just maim him."

"Depends on how long he intends to hide from me." With that, I opened the door to Sasuke's apartment and exited, closing the door behind me. As I made my way down the stairs and out of the building, I felt a wash of adrenaline flow through me. I had spent days attempting to hunt down Shikamaru, and yet he had evaded me, clearly afraid of incurring the wrath I promised I would deal unto him. But then again, what was I to expect? Shikamaru was a master strategist, and what's more, he knew me very well. He would probably have guessed every move I had made and acted accordingly.

Since returning to Konoha with Sasuke, I had been intensely working on the Flying Thunder God Technique, as well as my light abilities. I hadn't perfected either by any means, but the more I practiced, the better my control over the techniques became. The injuries I sustained from using the Flying Thunder God were minimal now, and my accuracy at teleporting to my markers was improving with each use. The same could be said about my light abilities. With each day I was gaining more control over the power. I was now able to mould the light into different throwable weapons, from knives to spears, a technique I knew would come in handy when the time came.

Running through the village streets, I made my way to the Akimichi estate, my plan in motion. As I approached the residence, I swiftly knocked on the door. Waiting a few moments, I watched as Choji opened the door, his expression a mixture of joy and unease at the sight of me.

"Hey Beth." Choji greeted, a smile on his face.

"Hey Choji." I replied. "I'm heading to the training grounds, care to join me?" I asked, a joyful tone to my voice.

"Oh, Beth, I would. But I have to meet, umm... Ino. Yeah, I promised to meet Ino for lunch." I stared at Choji, a smirk decorating my face.

"You've always been a lousy liar, Choji. Look, I know you're meeting Shikamaru. So, can you just give him a message for me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Choji stayed silent, thinking of how to react before slowly nodding in defeat. "Tell him, that I'm over it. He can come out of hiding. We have bigger things to deal with. Okay?"