Shika 2

Playing with Knives

"Wake up Shikamaru!!!" Bakuna yelled as he banged on his sons door. "Your not going to sleep in again today!!!" "Come downstairs and help me clean up this house!" Bakuna groaned and walked down the hallway murmuring "Why do I have to wake him up…what a bother".

Inside Shikamaru's room sunlight slowly began to peek through his windows. The room was in disarray, as books, trash, and dirty clothing covered almost every corner.

In the middle of the room was a plain twin-size bed with brown sheets, currently occupied by a certain lazy ninja. "Everything is so bothersome…the Chunin Finals are over but I still have to train…Phhf" Shikamaru whispered to himself as he poked his head out from under his blanket and yawned. All of a sudden the door to his room burst open, "Hey rise and shine kid!!!" yelled Bakuna as he ran into the room with a bucket of ice water and threw it towards Shikamaru.

"Not again!" Shikamaru yelled as he quickly jumped out of his bed and into a nearby pile of clothes. "Looks like your getting exercise after all eh boy?" Bakuna laughed as Shikamaru stood up from the pile of clothes.

He peeked his head out of the pile and peeled a pair of underwear from his face. "Ha you'll have to do better than that old man," said Shikamaru as he slowly began to stretch and make his way out of the bedroom. "You should know by now that I'm very lazy but also a quick thinker, You didn't think I was going to fall for the same trick twice did you…. what a bother".

Bakuna stood still and patiently waited for Shikamaru to leave the room as if waiting for something, then he quickly tugged down on a hidden wire he set outside the door. As Shikamaru stepped a few feet into the hallway another bucket of ice water descended from the ceiling and fell upon his body. "Ahhhhhhh its cold its cold!!!" he jumped from the shock nearly hitting the ceiling and crashed to the floor just in time for the bucket to fall directly on his head.

He laid there soaking wet knowing what would await when he lifted the bucket. "Go ahead and say it old man…" Shikamaru murmured from under the bucket. Bakuna lifted the bucket from his son's head and struck a victory pose with a hearty thumbs up.

"Gotcha son!!!" said Bakuna as he helped Shikamaru up and whispered in his ear "you cant upstage the master hehehehe" he began to walk down the stairs but paused and turned around once again "Oh and before I forget Chouji stopped by and said something about you owing him lunch…did you lose a bet or something son?" Bakuna threw his head back and laughed as he walked down the hallway and descended down the stairs.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, walked into his room and began putting his clothes on "Phhf…. oh well at least I don't have to take a shower now" he thought to himself as he pulled the shirt down over his head proceeded to tie his shoes.

The weather in Konoha was fair as usual as Shikamaru stepped out his front door and began to walk to Chouji's house. The town had slowly begun to return to normal after the recent Sound ninja invasion and some people were still trying to fix their homes.

"Man this place sure is messy…. guess I cant complain my room is just as bad" Shikamaru thought to himself as he stopped to observe a nearby villager hammering his door. "There sure are a lot of dangerous things happening these days," said an unfamiliar voice from above Shikamaru. Shikamaru slowly turned around to see who was speaking to him.

Looking up on a nearby roof awning he noticed a young girl wearing green pants and a button up pink vest, she had short brown hair tied into two small buns. He had seen her before. "Ten Ten" what are you doing in my neighborhood don't you and Neji usually spar around this time?" Shikamaru asked the girl. "My your quite the busy body aren't you…I'm not always with Neji you know." Said Ten Ten as she gave a warm smile and jumped down to greet Shikamaru. Ten Ten was a seemingly athletic girl with a knack for weapons and long-range combat.

Shikamaru witnessed her skills during the Chunin exams when she fought against Temari. She was strangely happy to see him, which made Shikamaru extremely nervous. "Sorry I cant talk right now Ten Ten, I have to find Chouji and treat him to lunch before he hunts me down again" said Shikamaru as he yawned and grabbed the back of his head.

"Oh that's okay….I'll make this quick, but I should warn you this might hurt a little hehehehe" Ten Ten's face went from happy to evil as she pulled out two small scrolls from her hair buns and quickly began making handsigns.

" What the hell are you doing?!" Shikamaru screamed as he started backing away from Ten Ten. The look on her face was an odd combination of joy and malice as she finished her incantation. "This is for my honor Shikamaru…Temari was mine to defeat and thanks to you I can never restore my dignity" Ten Ten yelled as small waves of Chakra formed around her body.

"Whoa hang on a sec, were you watching that match at all I surrendered to her even though I won, so technically you ca…ahhhhhhh" Shikamaru quickly jumped out the way as Ten Ten went into a frenzy and began throwing kunai and senbon needles directly at him.

Shikamaru quickly turned and ran through the streets of Konoha knocking over fruit stands and running into people with Ten Ten not to far behind. "Man why does this kind of thing always happen to me…. what a bother" Shikamaru thought to himself as he continued running through the streets.

"Your only making this worse for yourself, just hold still and let me hit you once and I'll be satisfied!!!" Ten Ten yelled, as her accuracy became increasingly better shot after shot. "Damn it she'll skewer me at this point I have to make my move…. now!!!" Shikamaru quickly turned around as another needle zoomed directly across his face.

"Here goes nothing SHADOW IMITATION JUTSU!!!" Shikamaru's shadow elongated and grabbed Ten Ten just as she was about to throw another Kunai. Everything stood still as a silent wind blew through the area. Some people began to run fearing another invasion while some stayed to watch keeping there distance. "Look woman!!! What good do you think it's gonna do if you come after me!!!" said a flustered Shikamaru as he forced Ten Ten to drop the kunai in her hand.

"Temari's the one you want not me Ive got nothing to do with your girly rivalries and anoth…uh oh" the worry in Shikamaru's voice became obvious as his shadow slowly crept back towards him. His Jutsu had worn off.

Ten Ten smiled and opened her side pant pocket pulling out her last kunai. Shikamaru fell to the ground exhausted "Oh well life was good while it lasted who would've thought it would end like this?" he thought to himself. Ten Ten walked towards him and raised her kunai prepared to strike him. "Pay back time" said Ten Ten as she kneeled down and… gently scratched Shikamaru's cheek with the knife. "He he he thanks Shikamaru…sorry for the trouble I just wanted some practice that's all, Neji wasn't around today so you looked interesting" Ten Ten laughed and helped Shikamaru up.

"Oh and by the way I don't blame you for Temari or anything I was just using that as an alibi." Ten Ten giggled and took a small drop of blood from Shikamaru's cut with her finger. "I needed an excuse to fight and you seemed oh so convenient I hope you don't think I'm crazy or anything hehehe. Bye-Bye" Ten Ten returned to her usual giggly self, turned around and walked towards the nearby fruit vendor Shikamaru knocked over earlier to purchase a snack.

The audience they had drawn all shook their heads and returned to their everyday business leaving Shikamaru in the middle of the street. "(Sigh) Ill never understand girls…what a bother…. why did she cut me anyway!!!" Shikamaru fell back down in the middle of the street as the afternoon clouds shifted above his head.