Author's Note: Hey everyone! I hope everyone has been enjoying the story so far! I also hope you all don't mind how fast I'm updating. I've just been having a lot of inspiration with this story, so I thought I'd type it out before I lose it. Anyway, just out of curiosity, how many of you listened to my song recommendation for last chapter?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Last time:

"Naruto shook his head and threw himself onto Shikamaru's shoulder and cried. Shikamaru just held him and whispered soothing words to him. They stayed that way until they fell asleep, each knowing the other was alive. The nurses found them this way, and sighed. But, they just fixed Naruto's IV needles and covered him up. They knew how ninjas could be."

Chapter 13: Ibiki's Dilemma

It's been two weeks since the I'll fated "mission". Shikamaru was still in the hospital, and even though Naruto has been cleared, he refused to leave his friend's side.

"Naruto," Shikamaru whispered to his stubborn friend. "Are you awake?"

"Mhm," Naruto hummed.

"What are you thinking about," Shikamaru asked.

Naruto didn't answer. He just have his friend a small secretive smile as he continued to listen to Kyuubi talk about what it was like living with the Sage of Six Paths.

Just then the door opened and Ibiki walked in, Iruka—or as the boy's thought, the mother hen—trailing behind him.

"How are you boys doing today," Ibiki asked.

"A lot better," Shika said. "The doctors said I could leave today, but I shouldn't do any heavy training."

"That's good," Iruka said sighing with relief.

"How's Kiba doing," Shikamaru asked.

"He's fine," Ibiki answered. "Though, he's still blaming himself for not getting back faster."

Iruka nodded and said, "Tsume said he's been running himself into the ground to get stronger."

Naruto started to look guilty, but Shikamaru just gave him a stern look and put a had on his shoulder.

"Do you boy's want anything," Iruka asked, changing the subject.

Both boys soon their heads, and Shikamaru said, "The only thing I want is to get out of this hospital."

Ibiki chuckled and said, "It shouldn't take too much longer. But, I came here for another reason. I wanted to let you know that we're going to have training tomorrow. And, don't say anything yet. It's not going to be hard training, I'm merely going to introduce you to Psychology and how to gather information. We can get into hard training when everyone is healthy again."

The two boys looked at each other and nodded.

"That sounds good, but can you also talk about how we could've handled Anko's "mission" better?"

Ibiki sighed as he ran a hand over his scared head.

"Gakis," he said. "I'm not usually so nice, but you did well for just getting out of the Academy. What she put you through would actually be ranked as a B or A Rank mission. Your just genin; just days out of Academy. She's lucky you three survived. Your strategy was sound, and having Kiba get help saved your lives. You did wonderfully for the situation you were in. However, the mission was just to difficult for your rank and power at the moment. There wasn't anything else you could have done."

Shikamaru nodded, and a slight tension left his shoulders and he nodded to Ibiki. The two men stayed for awhile longer, but then left to let the boy's get some rest.

…The next day: T&I…

The tree genin were gather around in Ibiki's office waiting for their sensei to arrive. There was a semi awkward silence as the three were still thinking about what happened in the forest. Kiba was thinking about how he needs to get stronger, faster. He believed that it's his fault that his teammates became injured. Shikamaru was beating himself up because he didn't keep his promise. Because of him and his weakness, Naruto got hurt again. Naruto was thinking about how Shikamaru almost died.

"What's with the glum faces," Ibiki said as he walked in.

"It's…it's nothing, sensei," Kiba said.

"Are you all still thinking about what happened in the forest," he said, his eyes sharp.

The three nodded.

"I've already told you all that you all did all that you could do," Ibiki said. "None of it was your fault. Anko went waytoo hard on you. Now, gakis, we're going to start on your training."

The three nodded and Ibiki started to lecture them on body language and the use of subtext in confusing the enemy. He preached about looking "underneath the underneath" when gathering information. He made them do exercises with using red hearings to make them get used to finding the truth in a sea of lies. And, at the end of the day, he had them interrogate each other—using only psychology. Ibiki was sad to see that Naruto still refused to speak most of the time. However, now and again, he would lean over and whisper something to Shikamaru, who would then announce what Naruto had told him. At least the boy was making progress, even if that progress was slow.

Ibiki sighed as he saw the three genin leave the building. This "excursion" that Anko pulled has grated on the boys' confidence. Ibiki tore off his bandana and rubbed his head. He knew what failing such a mission felt like. He knew how it screwed him up, but how does he make sure that his genin come out stronger for this?

Ibiki groaned. Why did he want a genin team again?

…At the shinobi tavern…

Inoichi was laughing with his friends at their favorite bar when, all of a sudden, it got real quite. He looked over his shoulders, and walking up to his table was Ibiki.

"What are you doing here, Biki," Inoichi asked. " This isn't your normal place…or your normal time for that matter.

"I need your advice," the scared man said.

"With what," Inoichi asked, clearly confused.

"Does this have anything to do with my son and Anko's supposed mission," Nara Shikaku asked.

Ibiki nodded and sat down.

"This has affected them all very negatively," Ibiki said. "They're all doubting themselves and I'm not sure how to comfort them. I've already told them it wasn't their fault. That the mission was too advanced for them at the moment, but all that can see is that they almost saw a comrade(s) die. I'm out of my depth here. In usually on the other side of the spectrum, breaking minds. I don't know how to repair them. Hmph. The only good thing that came out of this is that Naruto started talking."

Once the last sentence processed, Inoichi spit out his drink.

"Naruto's talking," Inoichi asked.

"Yeah," Ibiki said, his brow wrinkling. "Didn't you hear?"

Inoichi nodded and said, "I couldn't get him to say anything to me, so I thought it was a rumor."

Ibiki snorted and said, "He only talks to Shikamaru, and then it's only whispers if other people are around."

Inoichi nodded at this, and made a note of it.

"At least it's progress," he sighed. "I've been trying to get him to talk for seven years. I wonder what he was thinking when he finally spoke again. What made him change his mind exactly?"

"If what I heard was true," Ibiki said. "He yelled Shikamaru's name when the snake bit him. Kiba told me he heard him almost a mile away."

All three of the InoShikaCho team's eyes widened at this.

"Anyway," Ibiki said, changing the subject. "What am I going to do?"