Chapter 1
"Nara Shikamaru, get out of my room!" the dark-haired girl shrieked. The boy named Shikamaru groaned.
"And I spent so long getting in too…" he muttered as he slouched outside the room. Takeda Shiori glared at him.
"Baka!" she snapped. "You can't come into my room when I'm half-naked, Shika!" she exclaimed.
"Calm down, troublesome woman." Shikamaru muttered. "Besides, I'm your best friend, remember?" he reminded her. Shiori sighed.
"Yeah…Sorry, Shika. Just, please, do NOT wake me up." She sighed. Shikamaru groaned. Shiori stood up, her blankets falling off her slender form. Shikamaru groaned again.
"You say that I can't come into your room when you're half naked, and then you show me by yourself." Shikamaru pointed out. "How contradictory." Shiori tossed a glare his way, stalking into the washroom.
"Shut up and let me shower, Shika." She called. Shikamaru sighed, sliding down the wall.
"Troublesome woman…" he muttered before falling asleep. Shiori giggled before showering and changing. As she walked past Shikamaru, she shook him.
"Shika, wake up! Breakfast time!" she laughed, running downstairs to prepare breakfast for them as was the routine. After breakfast, the two walked to the Academy, where they would be sorted into their teams that day.
"Shiori…" Shikamaru started.
"Ne, Shika. I hope we're on the same team!" she exclaimed. Shikamaru nodded.
"I do too." He said as the class began and both faced forward. Iruka began announcing the teams, progressing to team 7.
"Team 7 will be compromised of…Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura…" Iruka said, only to be cut off by a cheering Naruto and a sulking Sakura. "Uchiha Sasuke…" At which point the roles reversed. "And since we have an uneven amount of students, Takeda Shiori." He finished. Shiori groaned, banging her head on the table. Looking up at Shikamaru with teary, chibi eyes, she whimpered.
"Why did I get stuck with an obnoxious loudmouth, an obsessive fangirl, and the emo prince?" she whined at Shikamaru, loud enough for the entire class to hear, including Iruka-sensei. The class erupted into laughter, except for the afore mentioned three.
"Hey! Who're you calling an obnoxious loudmouth?!" Naruto yelled, glaring at Shiori. Looking incredibly bored, Shiori glared at him with a glare that rivalled Sasuke's.
"You, Uzumaki. Keep your mouth shut, I can beat you any day." She retorted, glaring at him. Naruto looked stunned. Then he recovered quite rapidly.
"Bring it on!" he yelled. Shiori sighed.
"Very well." She sighed, walking out the door of the classroom and going to the training grounds. Sasuke smirked.
"She's not even that strong…" he muttered. Shikamaru overheard him and shook his head.
"Don't underestimate her." He warned. "Go easy on him, Shiori!" Shikamaru yelled at her. She merely nodded back at him.
"I'll try not to kill him." She replied. As the fight started, she sat down on the grass, looking bored. Naruto just stood there, staring at her. "Well? Are you going to attack me or not?!" she demanded. Naruto glared.
"Why are you sitting down?!" he screeched. Shiori winced, covering her ears.
"Shut up and get going." She said flatly. Naruto charged, yelling.
"It's your death!" he cried, holding kunai at the ready. In the instant before the kunai was to slice her, she disappeared. Reappearing with Naruto's kunai at his own neck, she smirked.
"Dead." She whispered menacingly. Naruto froze. There was silence all around the battleground before applause broke out. Whispers flitted around. 'I've never seen anyone do that!' 'Wow, that was so amazing! The battle was over in the blink of an eye!'
"She's better than I thought." Sasuke admitted reluctantly. Shikamaru groaned.
"I told you not to underestimate her." He muttered, only to find Sasuke missing. Sasuke had stood up and walked over to where Shiori lay, bored, on the grass.
"Takeda. Fight me." He demanded. Shiori just glared up at him from her position on the grass.
"Move, Uchiha. You're blocking the clouds." She snapped. Sasuke stayed firmly put.
"Not until you fight me." Sasuke repeated. Shiori groaned.
"Troublesome idiot…" she muttered, standing up and looking bored. Immediately, the battle began. Sasuke threw shuriken and kunai at her, while she effortlessly dodged. She reached her hands into her weapons pouch, throwing 10 kunai and shuriken at him. He dodged these easily, only to find that he was grasped from behind around his waist, cold metal touching his throat.
"Dead." She hissed into his ear. Again, silence reigned in the battlefield. This girl, whom no one had ever thought twice about in terms of skill, beating the Uchiha Sasuke in battle like that? Sasuke stood stock-still, thinking. Shikamaru had said… 'Go easy on him, Shiori!' Sasuke's eyes widened.
"Did you go easy on me?" he grimaced. Shiori grinned devilishly.
"Good job, Uchiha. Somewhat, I did. I knew you'd be more of a challenge than the dunce." She smirked, Sasuke smirking as well. Shiori pulled away, but not before giggling into his ear. "Not bad…for an emo prince." She disappeared in a flash. The rest of the class trudged into the classroom, only to find Shiori waiting patiently in the room. After the rest of the teams were announced, the class dispersed to eat lunch. Shiori found a secluded building in which to transform; only to find moments later that it wasn't quite as good as she had thought it was. Sasuke jumped in the window, to find a sleek black cat with white paws curled up there.
"Why is a cat here?" Sasuke said out of curiosity. The cat didn't move, apparently asleep. Sasuke walked over to it, kneeling down next to its peaceful body. Pulling it into his lap, he stroked it absently. The cat's golden eyes opened lazily. It meowed at Sasuke, snuggling deeper into his comforting warmth. He smiled absently down at the cat, who purred back up at him. All of a sudden, Shikamaru popped in through the window. Noticing Sasuke, he began asking him a question.
"Oh, Sasuke. Have you seen –…" he began. Noticing the cat, he stopped abruptly. "Ah, so that's where she went. Never mind then, she seems to like you." Having said that, he leapt back out the window. The cat meowed gently, leaping out of Sasuke's lap. Rubbing against his leg, it curled up, going to sleep. Lunch was about to end, and Sasuke decided to take the cat to his house. Placing it on the couch, he locked the door behind him and flopped next to the cat, just unwinding. He sighed, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep. The cat got up and stretched, before transforming into her human form. Her medium length black hair swung lightly, and her dark onyx eyes examined the house.
"Not bad…" Shiori muttered.
Tsuki-chan: So, how did you like it? 5 reviews before next chapter!
