His Little Bird [A Naruto Fanfiction] [Shikamaru x OC]

[21] Airborne

AN: Dun dun duuuunsdlkfjsdlfkjsdlfk I'm back with another chapter because I'm stuck waiting for my boyfriend to get back from stupid Ohio right now and I'm trying to surprise him bc he doesn't think I'll be home, he thinks I'm gonna be at my parent's house >:D

I'm evil. It's fine. Just let it slide.

Anyway yeah, I hope you enjoy. I'm so glad it's the weekend I wanted to die all week ;-; working 40 hours a week again is rough as heck.

Enjoy!

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The three genin soared above the trees, Ukon on Gorudo's back, and Hiroe on Akaihane's. Sen had refused to carry either of them just in case she was forced out of her transformation somehow. That way, only one of them would end up seriously hurt or dead. The two raptors had let out angry squawks at that particular train of thought, but she ignored them. This time, she was in Akai's likeness, choosing speed over strength. She tilted her wings and banked to the left, her feathers almost brushing up against Go's. Akaihane took the lead in their triangle formation, his head swiveling back and forth to make sure there were no impending dangers.

Below them, in the forests, the sounds of battle raged on. Sen's enhanced hearing made it possible to almost hear each individual kunai strike, or blade against blade. Apparently everyone had the same idea as them - move at night. In reality though, it gave them a bit of an advantage. People were less likely to look to the skies if they were in the middle of a battle. Now the only thing they really had to worry about was a jutsu or kunai flying wide - though she doubted any of them would reach high enough to hit any of her companions.

Minutes passed, with no issues arising, and the center of the forest finally came into sight. Though they hadn't been flying for very long, the air here was just...heavier somehow, and it tired the three avians out. There was no wind on which to bank, meaning they had to almost constantly flap their wings to stay in the air. Sen's muscles ached, and she knew she would feel it the moment she transformed back into her human form. She wasn't used to such exertion, and it showed as she slowed slightly, falling behind Gorudo just a little bit.

Suddenly, a flash of what she could only describe as alarm streaked behind her eyes. She glanced down, and saw a huge...something streaking upward at her. Seconds before it would have collided with her underbelly, she twisted midair, dodging the object. As it missed its target, it crumbled, falling into dust that floated back down to the earth. 

"...Sand?" Ukon's voice was an octave higher than normal, thanks to the stress that still laced the air. 

"I think it's time we land. We're close enough to the tower. We're far too visible up here." Hiroe's voice rumbled quietly, and Sen nodded as she let out a massive breath. That was far too close to death for her liking, and she didn't feel like dodging massive sand pillars all night. The only question that remained was where in the world they were coming from. 

Alighting down on the soft earth, Sen felt her talons sink into the slightly muddy ground. She shook her talons rapidly before poofing out of existence in a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, the girl stood before the group in her human form. "So if we can't travel by air, what do we do? Trees?"

"It couldn't hurt, but we'll have to be extra alert, there could be traps." Hiroe murmured and Sen nodded.

"I could use my Eagle Eye." Her suggestive tone was mild and she glanced at the two boys, who nodded in agreement. With that decided, they leapt into the trees, racing off in the black of night. Sen's powerful eyes guided them most of the way to the tower without incident. Admittedly, that wasn't saying much, as they only had a short distance left to travel after leaving the air, but at least everything had gone off without a hitch. As much as Sen wanted to, though, she knew she couldn't relax. And the next three seconds that would pass would be a perfect example of why.

Sen's weight sunk down onto a branch just a bit above her two companions, and it snapped clean in two, as though someone had cut it to ensure this happened. Unable to stop herself, she let out a shriek of surprise and terror as she plummeted to the ground below. She landed with a harsh thud, the air knocked from her lungs. She lay there for a few moments, wriggling her fingers and toes, blinking and moving her head, trying to ensure that nothing vital was broken. When she was sure she wasn't paralyzed, she attempted to rise, only to find what appeared to be a current of air was keeping her pressed firmly to the ground. Ironic, really, she thought. That her own element would be the one restraining her. 

"Sen!" Ukon called out from above as her two teammates descended, "Are you alright?"

"Fine! But I think this is a-" She tried to say the word 'trap', but before she could, a massive thud echoed through the trees. She felt the ground tremor from behind her, and she tilted her head as best she could to see what they were about to be confronted with. Behind her stood a positively massive ninja. She was awestruck, wondering how someone so large could be only a genin. Even accounting for the distortion of his size due to her rather compromised position, he still easily towered over six feet, probably even nearing seven. His thighs may as well have been tree trunks, with how thick they were. Boy, they were in for some trouble with this one. There's almost no way they would be able to overpower him. Everything here would depend entirely on jutsu and speed. There would be no strength competitions this time around, unless of course they wanted to lose.

"You have both scrolls." His voice was gruff and cold, almost as hard as the earth beneath her back. Thanks to the darkness and her position, she couldn't see the hitai ate of the opposing nin, but she assumed he must be from Kumogakure. They were always overly large, those lightning ninja.

"You will either give them to me, or you will die."

Sen swallowed. This was about to get rough.

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AN: lolololol I suck so much I edited this just now bc it was terrible but it's still sooosdofisdofsdf bad.

I'll try and update more tomorrow?

Ja ne ~ <3