Wow. I've managed to post this chapter in record time...mainly because I already had it halfway written when I posted the first one. I'll still try to update as often as possible - I'm having fun writing this. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far; hope you like this next chapter.
Three days later…
"Well here we are again," Temari smirked at him in the entranceway to the village.
Shikamaru shifted his eyes to the other person standing slightly behind the jounin. "What's your brother doing here – is he also helping with the chunin exams?"
Without looking back, she jabbed her thumb at the other jounin, "Who him? He's just here for the buffet, that's all."
"Actually, I'm here because Temari and I are supposed to go on a mission together after she's finished here," he corrected while giving his older sister a dark look.
"Whatever," shrugged the chunin, "You can go ahead and get settled in your quarters if you want and I'll take you to your meeting with the fifth later this afternoon."
Outside the Hokage's office several hours later, Shikamaru and Kankuro sat on opposite sides of the room trying to ignore one another. Shikamaru was feeling especially tired and irritable due to the fact that he not only had Chunin exam responsibilities to take care of, but he also had both of his parents on his case about the whole Tina incident. His mother had, of course, ratted him out (he'd expected nothing less from the treacherous woman) but his dad had been equally if not more upset even though everything had worked out fine in the end.
The tension at home had mounted so high he'd found himself actually looking forward to getting away and helping out with the chunin exams – what he hadn't counted on was having to deal with Temari's annoying brother tagging along.
Luckily, he'd come prepared. Shikamaru casually reached back and pulled a rolled up issue of Auto Restorer Weekly out of his kunai pouch. The days following the discovery of his uncle's house and old station wagon he'd spent primarily holed up in his room reading car magazines; he still wasn't sure where he would go in order to get all the working parts he needed to get the old clunker started (it wasn't like Konoha had an AutoZone or anything) and was beginning to think that his project might soon be destined for the scrap heap.
"So, you interested in cars?"
Shikamraru glanced up to see Kankuro gazing intently at the magazine he held. The boy gave a half-hearted shrug, "Only just recently."
"Yeah? Why's that?"
The chunin turned the page without looking up, "because I recently acquired one."
"Yeah right," the puppeteer smirked, "what kind?"
The first boy glanced up sharply, "It's a wagon."
Kankuro stared at him for several seconds longer before letting out an obnoxious guffaw, "Wow, I can totally picture that."
"Whatever," Shikamaru again raised the mag to his face, he thought, effectively shutting down the troublesome sand-nin.
Kankuro obviously couldn't take a hint, however. "So how and why do you now own a shaggin' waggin'?"
"… I guess you could say I inherited it."
"Drive around a lot," he asked with a stupid giggle which the chunin ignored.
"No, it isn't running; I'm trying to fix it up, but it's pretty much a hopeless case."
Kankuro leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on a nearby coffee table. "Well Tamari's probably going to be a while in there…why don't you take me to see it in the meantime?"
The leaf-nin frowned irritably at him, "Why are you suddenly so interested in my lame old car anyway?"
"Look, I'm bored and I couldn't care less about the stupid chunin exams; Temari doesn't need either one of us right now. Besides, I happen to know a thing or two about mechanics; maybe I can help you out." He grinned reassuringly at the other boy's cynical face – "Seriously."
000
"Well here it is," Shikamaru pushed past the rotted garage door and held it back for Kankuro. Everything remained the way the younger boy had left it, including the slowly deteriorating car in question.
The Suna puppet master walked leisurely around the large automobile, letting his eyes run appraisingly over its rusty surface; Shikamaru thought he saw a strange glint in them for a moment, but decided it was must have been a trick of the lighting. At last the older teen came to a stop beside the chunin, a hand thoughtfully stroking his chin.
"Y'know, I can really see potential here…some new parts, a paint job and a new interior – we could trick this bad boy out!"
The fifteen-year-old turned to him incredulously, "Whaddaya mean, 'we'?"
The painted kid crossed his arms, "Well, do you not want my help? This project could get very expensive – or are you just so individually wealthy and knowledgeable about cars that that you don't need my jounin salary and expertise?"
After briefly considering what he said, the other ninja frowned, "So what's in it for you?"
"Well, since I'm going to be providing a substantial amount toward this restoration, I think it's only fair that I'm allowed to choose stuff like the paint and interior colors, you know, that kind of thing."
"Um, I'd definitely like any kind of cosmetic decisions run by me first," Shikamaru inwardly shuddered as he pictured driving around in a car with Kankuro's trademark purple streaks decorating its top and sides.
"Also, I want free access to it. In other words, we share it fifty/fifty."
"Okay, first of all let's set up a few ground rules; one: we agree to let the other know before we use it, two: when not in use, it stays here. Also, let's not forget that I'll probably be doing most of the actual work seeing as how it's in my backyard and you live all the way in Wind Country."
It was Kankuro's turn to look dubious, "Whatever; you're such a lazy bum. Can I really count on you getting anything done without me here?"
"Hey, you haven't even proven that you can deliver yet – where are you gonna get all the parts we need?"
"Uhhh, there's this new thing now – it's called the internet."
"Shut-up," growled Shikamaru, annoyed at his own dumbness.
"Anyway, first let's take an inventory of what we need and what's still salvageable – this piece of crap looks like it's probably been sitting in here for at least ten years now."
After twenty minutes or so of examining each part as well as raiding the toolbox the two gradually made their way back to the Hokage's office where a very noticeably pissed off Temari already stood waiting for them.
"Wow, eh-heh, you sure got through earlier than expected," her brother grinned uncertainly at the blonde kunoichi.
"Where the hell have you two been," she snapped, "I've been waiting for almost an hour out here for Shikamaru's bony ass so we can check over the examination grounds while it's still daylight!"
"Relax, we've already taken care of it," Kankuro lied before the younger boy could say anything, "figured it would be better than sitting around waiting for you to get out of your meeting."
Temari halted in mid-tirade to give him a startled look "Wait a minute; you did?"
"Sure," he shrugged, "now come on and let's get something to eat already – I'm starving!" Kankuro glanced slyly back at the leaf-nin as he steered his still confused sister away, throwing a backward wave over his shoulder as he did so. Shikamaru, meanwhile, was left to self-consciously ponder whether he really didhave a bony ass.
000
The hour was earlier than he liked to be up, but he had a busy day ahead of him and he needed to use his time wisely. Shikamaru sat on the floor sorting through the hundreds of rusty parts he'd managed to salvage. At his side was a large pot containing a dubious black substance he'd swiped from the kitchen counter that morning and into which the boy dropped particular pieces from time to time.
He and Kankuro had made some nice progress the previous day he'd had to admit – perhaps having the sand shinobi help him out wasn't going to be such a bad idea after all. The two had agreed to meet later that day while Temari met with the representatives from the various other ninja villages participating in the upcoming examinations. With a sigh, the fifteen-year-old stood and stretched his stiff muscles before heading out to take care of a few errands before the other boy arrived.
He found Ino busily arranging a flower display outside her family's shop window. "Hey Shikamaru, fancy seeing you around this early in the morning," the girl teased as she spotted him. "Are you meeting Chouji for breakfast or something?"
"No," he answered, "I'm actually out looking for a few things for a project I'm working on."
Ino went back to arranging her flowers. "Oh really, that's interesting," she said without sounding interested at all.
"Yeah, actually I was wondering if you might be able to help me out with it."
His slightly startled teammate now looked inquisitively up at him, "What do you mean; what kind of project are you talking about?"
"Well, I don't really need you to do anything. I was just wondering if you had a stethoscope I could borrow or something," he explained.
The medical-nin's mouth fell open like he'd just asked to borrow a pair of her underwear. "What in the world are you planning to do with my stethoscope?"
"Oh I don't know, I thought I'd use it to perform brain surgery."
"Shikamaru…"
The brunet rolled his eyes, "It's just so I can hear what's going on inside the engine I'm building."
Ino's look grew even more incredulous as she began to laugh, "I liked the brain surgery line better – seriously, what are you up to?"
"Could you take a break and get it for me," he asked, "I'm kind of pressed for time; I'll explain on the way."
000
"I think you're nuts," said Ino as she and Shikamaru walked up the steps to the hospital.
The boy shrugged, "It's just a hobby."
"But what are you going to do with it after you're finished?"
"I don't know – drive it."
"Where," she snorted, "And when are you going to find the time much less patience to work on a car between giving the chunin exam and going on missions? I mean, the only thing you ever do in your spare time is sleep and play shogi after all."
He gave the blonde an annoyed glance, but realized she brought up a valid point. "I've got someone helping me out."
"Who around here knows anything about car repair," Ino continued to scoff as she pushed the door open.
"Hey lazy kid," a familiar voice suddenly shouted from the street. Ino and Shikamaru both turned to see a dark-clad, hooded boy waving up at them. "I've been looking for you!"
The teen in question looked back at his female companion with a deadpan expression before wordlessly pointing to the wildly gesticulating puppeteer.
"You've got to be kidding," groaned Ino.
Together the two guys followed the kunoichi into the hospital and back to the locker room where the medics stored their supplies and other personal items. She walked up to one of the lockers and opened it, rummaging through the metal baskets inside, "I think I have one here; let me just open up these drawers and check the equipment," muttered the blonde girl.
"Would you like to open up my drawers and check my equipment," offered Kankuro unhelpfully.
The medical-nin wrinkled her nose in disgust, "Go check your own 'equipment', creep."
The puppet master laughed heartily while Shikamaru resignedly rolled his eyes.
Presently Ino whipped out a stethoscope which she thrust at her teammate, "here; just don't bring it back with grease or any other crud all over it – and I do want it back!"
"Thanks," replied the examiner, pocketing the instrument.
"Great," Kankuro clapped his hands together, "now let's get going while Temari's still busy and out of our hair."
000
"You know, I think that teammate of yours is an even bigger buzz-kill than my sister is." The two guys had made their way back the Nara residence and were now standing in Shikamaru's uncle's garage once again.
The younger boy said nothing, but merely grunted noncommittally as he bent down to check the rusted objects he'd placed in the pot of tar-like liquid earlier that morning.
The sand shinobi shot him a sly glance, "You've got the 'hots' for her don't you?"
The chunin's droopy eyes suddenly popped wide open, "What the hell are you talking about, - I don't even like older women!"
"Wait a minute – who are you talking about," inquired Kankuro, "I meant your teammate."
"Right, um, are we going to work on this thing or not," the Nara boy grumbled, quickly recovering his compsure.
The jounin's attention was abruptly pulled toward the malevolent-looking pot the other sat over. "What's that nasty black crap and why are there engine parts soaking in it?"
Shikamaru held up a large bolt to his smiling face and scrutinized it before answering. "My dad's infamous coffee – it's undrinkable, but it's ideal for cleaning the rust off machinery."
They were able to work for a couple hours until Temari finally finished with the last of her meetings. Dutifully, the chunin examiner saw off the Sand Village ambassadors.
"Well, I guess I'll see you again in another six months," said Temari with one of her haughty, lopsided smirks, "provided I'm still in charge of handling these arrangements at that time."
"Yeah, maybe I'll come out to greet you then – if I don't have anything else better to do," the leaf ninja replied with a sneer of his own. Behind the girl, her brother grinned suggestively while wagging his tongue between forked fingers at Shikamaru who shot him a withering glare.
"I should be back before too long," the male jounin put in, "since I don't have any other missions lined up after this next one, so don't fart around too much while I'm gone, 'kay Nara boy?"
The chunin languidly shot him the bird.
Temari looked questioningly between the two guys for a moment, but when neither one offered to explain the cryptic exchange she merely shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Whatever, let's get going Kankuro."
Shikamaru watched the pair depart until they were no longer visible, then slowly turned back toward the village and began walking. He would have to leave the car for another day. For now, he thought with a heavy sigh, he had exams to prepare for.