Challenge: Write an angsty fic with TemarixShikamaru, and without them being OOC. And I'm going to use as many complicated words as I can. A shark in Naruto's clothes is to be in the story, as is Shikamaru in a bee-costume.
Zillyeah's challenge: SaixShikamaru, without them being OOC. Of course, she's going to use as many complicated words as possible. Pink, fluffy handcuffs are going to be involved, and it's going to be angsty. And it's going to involve a Hello Kitty-costume.
Teeeej's challenge: Angsty. GaixKiba, without them being OOC. Gai's the angsty one. A pink afro-wig, and a matching umbrella. A hippo with pink dots are going to appear in the story.
A/N: So… challenge. I suck at this, and this story sucks. But it's a story. And I like stories.
Disclaimers: Blah-blah-blah, I do not own anything… I'm poor. No, that's not true, but I do not own any famous characters, but I found a baby bird today, which I'm trying to keep alive. Reviews make little birdie Chi happy?
MEMORY LANE
Shikamaru was lying in the grass, looking at the blue sky. Or, it was actually transparent, but people called it blue, because the universe is black, and with the transparent sky everyone call blue, it appeared blue. But Shikamaru wasn't really looking at the transparent sky, he was looking at the white dots called clouds, which really looked like cotton, or sheeps. But for some reason, people called them clouds. Shikamaru could think of so many better words for "clouds", if he just bothered doing so.
It was kind of cold, but Shikamaru didn't notice. He had his mind other places, and for once, he wasn't just thinking: "troublesome". It was something that happened long ago, something he could barely remember. It was like an old record inside his head, spinning around, skipping some parts, and in black/white. Something he had been hiding for so long, so good he could barely remember it himself. He didn't feel like thinking about it, not only because it was such a bad memory, but because it was too troublesome.
"Nothing's gonna harm you, not when I'm around," the girl sang, her voice dry as a leaf in the autumn. Her eyes were red, blood was spilling down her cheeks, and her mouth was smiling. It was at a costume party, and Shikamaru was only three. He was sitting by himself, dressed up in that silly bee-costume with antennas. He was staring at the black-haired girl, who was wearing black shoes, a yellow and white dress, and with yellow ribbons in her straight hair. She was moving as if her bones were broken, her body being ripped back and forth all the time.
"Come and play with me," she whispered, now mere inches away from baby Shikamaru's face. He raised a hand to touch her face, and she bared her teeth, sneering at him. Her face changed: it twisted like mud, and settled in another form, a form as a doll with blonde ponytails, green eyes, and a purple dress. Shikamaru screamed.
"What are you doing?" a voice asked, and Shikamaru opened his eyes. Sabaku No Temari was standing in front of him, one hand on her hip, and her huge fan on her back. Shikamaru kept a calm mask, but felt his heart speed up slightly by her blonde ponytails and green eyes. But he still was a genius, and he knew she wasn't the doll. So he looked away, closing his eyes again.
"Relaxing." He didn't bother say anything else, it was too troublesome. Temari sighed, and sat down next to him. She stared at the sky, leaning back and supporting herself on her hands. Her breathing was even, before she let a small laugh escape her lips. Shikamaru opened one eye, but didn't feel like asking what was so funny. He didn't care anyways.
They sat like that for a while, Shikamaru with his arms behind his head and one knee up, and Temari leaning on her hands. Then she shifted position, leaning forward, her knees drawn up and her underarms resting on them, her hands knitted together. She rested her chin on her hands, and closed her eyes too.
"Why did you give up?" she asked, and Shikamaru opened both of his eyes. Even though he probably was the smartest person in all Konoha, he had no idea what she was talking about. Even if he was smart, that didn't mean he had any social skills.
"Give up what?" he asked, though he wasn't sure if he cared about that either. It wasn't much that made Shikamaru care, maybe except from serious fights.
"The fight. When we fought during the Chuunin-exam, you just gave up. I know you could've beated me. So why did you give up?" Shikamaru closed his eyes again. So she was still thinking about that.
"It was too troublesome." Temari sighed loudly, before she dragged one hand over her forehead.
"Life is troublesome."
"Not if you know how to relax." Temari looked down at him again, and raised an eyebrow. Shikamaru had opened his eyes slightly, figuring it was polite to at least look like he was awake.
"So this is your way of living? How are you going to live the rest of your life?" she asked, and Shikamaru sighed. Why was people always thinking about the future? Fine, he had planned his future, but he didn't have the urge to tell everyone about it, or to think about it any further.
"I'm going to take a job as a ninja. Then I'm going to find a wife, one who's not beautiful, nor ugly. And I'm going to live my life in peace." Temari just stared at him, before she huffed and turned away. Shikamaru pulled his shoulders lightly, and closed his eyes again.
Some time went by without either of them saying anything, before Temari moved. Shikamaru didn't even have the time to open his eyes, before she kissed him softly, and walked away. He blinked, and sat up, looking after her disappearing form. He thought about it for a few seconds, before he pulled his shoulders. Too troublesome.
"Want to join me for the aquarium?" Temari asked, walking beside Shikamaru. The Nara looked at her, and pulled his shoulders.
"Sure." Together, they walked towards the big buildning with a huge fish on top of it. Shikamaru didn't really know why Temari was even talking to him, when he made it clear that he wanted a calm life without any struggling or mess. And Temari ment both struggle and mess.
She was a pretty girl, a few years older than Shikamaru, and the older sister of the two boys named Kankuro and Gaara. Gaara was the little guy with the sandmonster sealed inside of him, and Kankuro was the pissed-off boy who wore purple makeup and played with dolls. Okay, that wasn't fair of him: Kankuro was a puppeteer, who used puppets to attack with.
While Gaara had his fancy-sand gimmicks, and Kankuro – as said eariler – had his puppets, Temari had a huge fan which she kept attached to her back at all times. Shikamaru had seen her attack with it, and to be honest, he was scared like hell. The first thought that crossed his mind was: "Damn, she's scarier than my mom!". Which was awfully true.
"What are you thinking about, Shikamaru?" Temari suddenly asked, and the nin looked at her. He pulled his shoulders, and looked ahead of him again. They were almost at the aquarium, and Shikamaru was happy to see that it was almost empty.
"Nothing much." Temari rolled her eyes, and pulled out her wallet to pay. Shikamaru handed over some coins to the man in the ticket window, and grabbed his ticket lazily. Temari did the same, just not as lazy as Shikamaru did, and followed the younger boy into the building. They walked side by side, without speaking a word. Shikamaru was just too lazy, while Temari couldn't come up with anything to talk about to the genious beside her.
"Let's stop here," she suddenly said, pointing at the shark's tank. Shikamaru pulled his shoulders, and leaned on the metal fence in front of the glass window. A shark came swimming towards them, crashed into the glass, before it swam away – in small sircles. The two youths looked at each other, before they both started laughing.
"Dress that thing up in Naruto's clothes, and you can't tell the difference!" Shikamaru stated, which made Temari laugh even more. Just the image of a shark in Naruto's bright orange clothes was enough to make anyone laugh. Then they both fell silent again, and Temari looked down on her hands. Then she pushed herself away from the fence again, and smiled at the guy beside her.
"So, let's move on!"
Someone was there. He could feel it. He grabbed his lamp which was standing on his bedside table, and placed his feet on the cold floor. He pulled away the covers which was draped around him, and tip-toed his way over to the window. It was open, not as he left it. He didn't bother closing it, he wasn't that stupid. Someone was in here, he could still feel the precence of someone, though he couldn't feel who. They had sealed their chakra good. He slowly looked around, letting his eyes grow used to the darkness, before he slowly made his way over to the closet. He quickly opened the door, and faced – darkness. He sighed, and was just about to turn around, when a hand was placed over his mouth. He was pulled back by someone quite strong, one arm around his waist and one hand over his mouth. He cursed himself for trying to act like a genious while being half-asleep: his brain didn't work correctly then.
"Maa, maa, Shikamaru… what a terrifying weapon you have there," a silky voice whispered into his ear, and his eyes widened. That voice, that soft voice… the person behind him giggled, and stopped in the middle of the room. Shikamaru could hear a kunai being pulled out of it's scabbard, before it was pressed against his throat.
"Mmmf," he tried, but only a soft laugh met him.
"Come and play with me, Shikamaru," Temari whispered, before she quickly dragged the kunai over his throat, making everything go black. It was over before he hit the ground.
A/N: Hahha… this is the shittiest fic I've ever written, no kidding. But it's a challenge, sooo… I guess I suck at challenges, or what? Well, flame me if you want, but please, don't write something like: "If I was constipated, I'd probably actually not read this." And yes, I actually got that review once. She never managed to explain to me why the fuck she wrote it, so if you're going to flame me, please do it good. Or I'll flame your flame.
The title is a song from the band McFLY, and it's called – as it is written – Memory lane. McFLY is my favourite band, in case you wanted to know.