Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the brand names I mention in this story. I also don't own any of the music lyrics that appear.
Chapter 7
Shikamaru's Match
The medics entered the room a couple minutes later. They convinced me to wear a robe or something so they could wash my clothes. All of them. My wounds were still leaking a little, which meant I still had to stay there either way.
"But I'm going to miss the next match!" I protested as I pulled on my shirt.
"We miss almost all of the matches, so I wouldn't be complaining," cloth man said. "Hm, that bleeding from your legs has stopped. Good."
I groaned and let my head collapse on the pillow.
"Are you a visitor?" they asked Lilian, finally noticing her.
"Sure, why not," she shrugged.
The door on the other end of the room opened again and I slowly lifted my head up to see who it was this time. Naruto and Shikamaru entered the room and Angel scampered across the tile, her nails clicking. She jumped onto my bed and started licking my face.
Are you alright?!
"Stop, Angel!" I pushed her out of my way and sat up.
"Madeline, that match was awesome!" Naruto cried wildly.
"But, I forfeited. How is that possibly awesome?"
Naruto blabbed on and on and I decided to ignore him by blocking his annoying voice out.
"You went up against Gaara when you didn't even know how to use your chakra," Shikamaru said, picking up Angel. "But that was a type of Taijutsu you used, so you only had to control the stamina in your feet, well at least you had to try to. Plus, you threw those shuriken and kunai so accurately as if you've been doing it your whole life."
"WHAT?!" the Clothing and Gauze guy whipped around.
"No wonder your stamina was used up," Gauze Man said.
"You should rest, now," Clothing Man pushed me back down.
"Let me think: No, match now, rest later."
They both sighed.
"Fine, but let me check your arm," Gauze Man said.
I groaned and held it out. The man removed all of the wrappings and examined my wounds. Both the cuts on my arm and my knuckles had dried, so had the one on my shin.
"They're fine. I guess you can leave now."
"I mean, it was so cool!" Naruto exclaimed, before noticing Lilian. "Who are you?"
"My friend, Lilian," I said. "She's from the same world as I am. I've known her since fourth grade and we go to the same school."
Naruto and Shikamaru shook hands with Lilian. Lilian picked up Angel when Shikamaru put her down and started to pet her. I then left the room with Shikamaru, Naruto, Lilian, and Angel, only nodding to the medics as thanks.
We made our way back to the waiting area, except for Lilian, who decided to walk back to the stands. Gaara was now back and the crowd booing.
"Come on! Start the next match!" some people shouted.
"That Sasuke, what does he think he's doing?" Shikamaru muttered. "Forfeiting?"
Naruto glanced at Gaara.
"Don't worry," he smiled. "He's definitely going to be here!"
Gaara looked at him and they glared at each other from across me, Shikamaru, and Shino.
"What are we going to do now?" Kankurou whispered to Temari. "If he doesn't show up, our strategy is ruined."
Temari whispered something back that I couldn't make out.
My eyes narrowed and I rested my chin in my hand. I looked up as I saw a man appear and speak to the Procter. He disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.
"Listen, everyone!" the Procter announced. "One of the competitors from the next battle has not arrived yet, so, we're going to postpone this match briefly and jump ahead to the battle that would've followed this one."
The crowd let out a loud shout.
"That's good," Naruto let out a sigh of relief.
"Hey! That means my battle is one match closer, what a drag!" Shikamaru cried.
"Then onto the next battle!" the Procter continued. "So, Shino and Kankurou, come down!"
Kankurou's eyes narrowed and Shino placed his hand on the rail. Temari nodded to Kankurou.
"Procter!" he shouted. "I withdraw!……Advance to the next match!"
Naruto and Shikamaru's eyes widened and I rolled mine, not caring. The crowd let out a loud shout of disapproval, making the Procter sighed.
"Due to Kankurou's withdrawal, Shino Aburame wins by default."
The loud shout of disapproval turned into a roar of anger. Temari pulled out her fan and whipped it open. A gust of wind blew in our faces for a split second and ended as Temari jumped onto the fan and rode onto the current to the ground.
"You are?" the Procter asked the same question as he did to me.
"My turn?" Temari smiled.
"You're an eager one, aren't you? Fine, let's start the next match then. Hey, you up there! Come down!"
"Oh come on," Shikamaru muttered. "What are you doing moving these matches up like this? Why does it have to be my stupid match that has to be pushed up? Oh man, this is such a drag!"
"All right! Go on, Shikamaru, you can do it!" Naruto shouted, pushing him off the rail.
Shikamaru fell off and landed on his back. I glared at Naruto and punched him in the shoulder. I smirked when he started complaining about me and started to listen to my iPod. Shikamaru glared back up at us from the spot for about five minutes and let people throw garbage at him such as water bottles, cans, and banana peels.
"You planning on giving up too?" Temari smirked.
Shikamaru's pupils moved to the top of his eyes, so he could glare at Temari.
"Hey, Madeline," Naruto poked me.
"What?" I pulled out an earphone.
"There's music on that thing, right?"
"Yeah."
"Is there a song we can play to get Shikamaru off his ass?"
I smiled, nodded, scrolled down to the song, and showed him the title. Naruto grinned, took it, and made some hand signs. He then pressed 'Play' and Motivation by Sum 41 rang through the air. Shikamaru looked up at us and I just motioned him to fight by nodding.
"This song should motivate you enough!" Naruto shouted. "Come on, Shikamaru! Get up and fight!"
"If you won't move, then I'll will!" Temari ran at Shikamaru.
Just as he was reaching into his weapon pouch, the singing started.
What's the difference of never knowing at all?
When every step I take is always too small
Maybe it's just something I can't admit
But lately, I feel like I don't give a shit
Motivation such an aggravation
Accusations don't know how to take them
Inspiration's getting hard to fake it
Concentration never hard to break it
Situation never what you want it to be
What's the point of never making mistakes?
Self-indulgence is such a hard habit to break
It's all just a waste of time in the end
Don't care, so why should I even pretend?
Motivation such an aggravation
Accusations don't know how to take them
Inspiration's getting hard to fake it
Concentration never hard to break it
Situation never what you want it
Nothing's new
(Everything's the same)
Keep's on dragging me down
(It's getting kind of lame)
Falling further behind
(There's nothing to explain)
No matter what you say, nothing's gonna change my mind
Can't depend on doubt until the end
It seems like leaving friends has become this year's trend and now I can't pretend
I'm afraid to be mislead
It's not the same, but who's to blame for all those stupid things I never said?
Motivation such an aggravation
Accusations don't know how to take them
Inspiration's getting hard to fake it
Concentration never hard to break it
Motivation such an aggravation
Accusations don't know how to take them
Inspirations getting hard to fake it
Concentration,
Situation never what you want it to be
Never what you want it to be
Never what you want it to be
Never what you want it to be
As the song played and repeated itself, the fight continued. Temari jumped and brought her fan down. There was an explosion followed by a giant cloud of dust. Naruto's eyes were the only ones who widened. The dust cleared, but Shikamaru was gone. Temari looked up and found that Shikamaru was standing up against the wall.
"It really doesn't make a whole lot of difference to me whether I become a Chuunin or not, but I guess maybe I shouldn't let myself get beaten by a female."
Temari's eyes narrowed. I did the same and crossed my arms.
Temari whipped open her fan and a gust of wind hit Shikamaru. After the dust cleared, there was only two Kunai Knives stuck in the wall. Temari looked behind her and smirked. I sighed, rested my hand on my chin, and glanced at a tree in the shadow of the wall. I spotted Shikamaru sitting on a branch.
Temari put her still-open fan out in front of her. I followed Shikamaru as he climbed down the tree and squatted beside the trunk. He gazed up at the sky, daydreaming. He sighed and glanced at the hole Naruto had fallen into the First Round.
"Damn it!" Naruto shouted. "Let's go, Shikamaru! We didn't play this song for nothing! It actually has some meaning!"
"Don't get your ass whooped by a girl!" I shouted.
"Speaking of which, turn that damned music off," Kankurou growled. "It's fucking annoying."
"And you're a fucking asshole who plays with dolls, but I'm not complaining, aren't I?" I replied smartly without looking at him.
Shikamaru groaned as he stood up. He then grinned.
"Ninja Art, Wind-side Jutsu!" Temari lashed out her fan.
A strong gust of wind headed towards Shikamaru. He put his arms to protect his face. The wind was so strong, that it started to cut the trees. The wind rose up and blew fiercely. We all covered our faces.
Temari closed her fan and stood there as the dust started to clear. Suddenly, a shadow appeared from the cloud and made its way towards Temari. Her eyes widened and she backflipped. The shadow kept coming when she stopped, then suddenly pulled back. Temari drew a line in the ground with her fan.
"Now I get it," she muttered.
The dust finally cleared, revealing Shikamaru kneeling and making a hand sign.
"Almost got me. Aren't you clever? With that Shadow Possession Jutsu of yours, you can manipulate any shadow you're in. The wall shadow for instance, but there's a limit, isn't there? No matter how thin you stretch it, it'll only reach so far. Isn't that right?"
"You got me," Shikamaru smiled weakly.
Temari dug her fan in the ground where the line was drawn. Shikamaru leaned up against the wall and stared up at the clouds. He then looked straight, closed his eyes, and connected his opposite fingers together. It almost looked like a hand sign.
"What is he doing?" Naruto asked.
I glanced at him and sighed, bored.
Shikamaru opened his eyes and reached into his weapon pouch.
"So, you're actually going to fight," Temari opened her fan.
She whipped it, sending a gust of wind towards Shikamaru. Shikamaru covered his face and moved behind a tree. The wind finally died down and Temari started to look around.
"You can't hide forever!" she cried. "Come out, coward!"
Temari once again flung out her fan. Another strong gust of wind was produced, followed by leaves flying and explosion with dust swirling. A Kunai Knife shot out of the cloud and landed a couple of inches ahead of the line. Temari dodged out of the way and quickly used her fan to block another knife.
Suddenly, a shadow emerged from the dust and raced towards Temari. She paused, smirked, and sat there, but backed away when the shadow passed the line. It stopped after a couple of feet.
"You're pretty quick on your toes," Shikamaru said.
"Now I've see you've been up to," Temari panted. "You weren't just hiding, you were killing time, waiting for the sun to get lower and the shadow of that wall to get longer...The longer the shadows, the farther you're range is, right?"
Shikamaru gave a weak smile. Temari just squatted there, and thought. She looked up and smirked.
"Temari!" Kankurou shouted. "ABOVE YOU!!"
Everyone in the waiting area looked up. Temari's head rose. Shikamaru's jacket tied to a Kunai Knife slowly drifted to the ground. Its shadow started to appear on the ground and the wall shadow advanced. Temari jumped back as the shadow slithered towards her.
"I've got you!" Shikamaru cried.
I glanced over at him. He was kneeling and making a hand sign. Temari jumped and slid backwards before the shadow stopped and retreated. Temari got up, opened her fan, and had the outside rest on the dirt. She smirked.
"She's about to lose," I murmured.
"Huh?" Naruto looked at me.
Angel whimpered.
You've been watching the episodes too much. Make sure not to spoil anything for anyone. It COULD change the outline of the show...
"Yeah, yeah," I muttered back to her.
Temari dug the outside of her fan, creating a barrier that she could hide behind. She smiled and half-stood, half-squatted. She made a hand sign, then froze.
"It took awhile," Shikamaru grinned. "But my Shadow Possession finally worked."
Naruto looked up from the rail.
"How the heck did he do that?" Kankurou muttered.
"Look behind you," Shikamaru turned his head.
Temari did the same and her eyes widened. She shook slightly.
"Don't you recognize that hole?" Shikamaru asked. "It's where Naruto popped out of the ground and knocked Neji through a loop. The hole in front of you is where he went into the ground, the two are connected."
"Now I see, I've never thought of the shadows underground."
"That was your mistake."
Shikamaru walked forward, forcing Temari to do the same. Temari gritted her teeth as she stopped in front of Shikamaru.
"Yeah!" Naruto cried. "He did it!"
I smirked and gave him the thumbs up.
The two on the field both raised their hands.
"Okay, that's it," Shikamaru said. "I give up."
"Huh?" Temari asked.
The people started screaming, shouting, and booing.
"I used up all my chakra on that Shadow Possession Jutsu," Shikamaru explained. "I'm good for another 10 seconds, that's it. Bummer, and here I'd already planned out the next 200 moves in my head, but my chakra's running low."
He put down his arm, so did Temari.
"Anyway, if I was to win this thing, it would just mean more work."
"The winner is, Temari," the Procter said to the crowd.
Yeah, so Shikamaru's match is over…Sum 41 ROCKS!!
