Hey there! Finally another update, yay!

Thanks for those lovely reviews and thanks to all you wonderful people that actually read my story! I love you all!~~

Since eyams are just 'round the corner and Physics finally succeeded in killing my brain, I tried to resurrect it with updates! Now I have to find a way to survive that Prof with his random exams... Without killing my brain again... Some people were seriously worried that I finally lost it!

So here's another chapter for you my lovely readers, so enjoy!

Gods' Game

Chapter 11: Heaven, Earth and everything in between

"Hahaha, seems like you had your share of trouble out there." I said laughing and amusedly leaned forward to the three teens in front of me.

"But you're finally here. You guys made me worried, you know."

"Tze, if those two slackers wouldn't have dawdled, we could have arrived much sooner." Ino scoffed pointing with her thumb to the two males next to her. These two returned the nice gesture with rolling their eyes.

"And if you didn't have to butt into team 7's troublesome fight, we not only would have already arrived at the tower but also averted a lot of trouble." Shikamaru countered with his annoyed attitude and Chouji nodded approvingly while munching on his favorite BBQ-flavored chips.

I didn't reply anything and kept laughing. I knew Shikamaru well enough by now to know when he really was serious about something and that he would never leave a friend in trouble behind. He just had to stick to his reputation as the Number 1 slacker of Konoha and complain about everything that made work for him.

So the sullen boy sighed and sat down on one of the sofas that was standing in the lounge we were occupying right now.

"So troublesome. I hope the exams are over soon." he mumbled. I snickered and slumped down next to him, Choji taking his other side.

"Don't worry, just a little bit more and you made it." I said encouragingly and winked at him with a broad grin which he replied with a light smile.

"But it's great that we got the chance to meet you here." Ino remarked happily sitting down next to me.

"Yeah, I was lucky to get summoned by you." I beamed. Thinking back, that really made my day. Especially after my first summoning that is...

PUFF!

WAMM!

"Ouch, damn it!" I cursed as again after the summoning I landed hard on my butt. Stupid summonings always being so sudden!

And again familiar chakra signatures caught my attention. But unlike the last time, now a broad grin spread across my face. The smoke didn't dissolve yet but I already jumped to my feet and tacklehugged the nearest person to me.

"Shikamaru, Ino, Choji! You did it!" I cried out of joy as I clung to the girl's neck.

"Nicci?" the three genin asked disbelievingly. I released the blonde to continue giving a hug to each of the boys. Then I took a step backwards to eye the victorious team in front of me proudly.

"I'm happy to inform you that you officially passed the second test of the chunin exams. As a tester I'll now explain this year's motto to you." I pointed behind me where the huge scrolls with the motto written on it were hanging on the wall.

"Heaven refers to the human mind. And Earth refers to the human body. So basically if you lack intelligence, study hard and if you lack strength train hard. And if you're smart as well as strong, you don't have to be afraid of anything. Or something like that."

"Yeah, that's what an examiner should say." Shikamaru retorted with a crooked grin and I smiled back sheepishly.

"Just be happy that you made it." I replied quickly and stuck my tongue out.

Relief was seen on their faces as team 10 cheered for their success. But one thing still bugged them.

"Nicci, how come you're here?" Ino asked confused.

"Right, in the first test, too." Choji noted.

"Well, I got this mission to help out in the chunin exams. And somehow I ended up as one of those official helpers." I summarized with a clueless smile. Seriously, what were the higher-ups thinking?

"And they still didn't find a fitting uniform for you?" Ino mused as she watched my petit body getting eaten by my oversized clothes. I was still wearing the too big vest with the sleeves completely covering my fingers and the gray trousers dangled loosely around my legs with the ends stuffed into my sandals so I wouldn't trip on them.

I just shrugged my shoulders.

"I guess the rented uniforms are all one size."Seems no one ever expect some girl like me needing one."

"You mean, some girl as small as you." Shikamaru added with a lazy grin.

"I'm just reduced to the best." I huffed and stuck out my tongue at him.

"But you're really tiny." Ino mused, probably thinking back just like me.

Although I was one year older than the others, with 4.8" (1,46m) I was still the smallest of them. 'Them' being the rookie 9. I was even smaller than Naruto!

"It's not my fault. No one of my family ever grew that tall." I defended myself. Stupid genes making me a midget. And why did they have to make fun of my height? They aren't that much taller themselves!

"Maybe you should eat more." Choji suggested, making Ino roll her eyes.

"Then she'd only grow in breadth, fatty."

"What did you call me just now?!"

"You heard me, fat ass!"

"Troublesome." Shikamaru mumbled and inconspicuously moved to the sofa diagonally to the occupied one to avoid the crossfire, me sticking to his heels. So while the two squabblers were at each others throat on one sofa, we made ourselves comfortable on the second one.

"So, tell me. How did you get your earth scroll?" I asked the lazy boy efficiently ignoring the shouting of the other two.

"We came across a team that looked quite worn out. They probably just battled another team successfully taking their scroll since they had both scrolls, so it was an easy win for us." he explained boredly and rested his arms on the backrest.

"Aw, that's mean." I cooed and poked his side. It made him cringe but he was too lazy to do more than that what made me laugh.

I nestled into his side and made myself comfortable ignoring his strange looks. "I'm really happy that you made it." I said softly, bathing in the heat the boy's body was emitting.

We remained in that position while watching our friends trying to rip each other into shreds. Nobody was seriously worried that they'd actually hurt each other, since this situation was nothing new. Every here and then Ino'd provoke Choji to get him into fights. Asuma'd then always say that this was Ino's way to show her affection or something of those lines. If she didn't fight with Choji she'd nag on Shikamaru. But I think there's more to it. My theory was that she simply tried to act strong. You don't have it easy as a kunoishi, you're not allowed to show any weakness. That's what I already learned in my training to become a ninja.

But that was okay. The boys knew this after all. And it did them good that at least someone called the shots and kept them on the run, I thought grinning.

"Hey, do you two really have to flirt right in front of our eyes?" Ino grumbled and glared at us. Shikamaru simply ignored her with a sullen look while I glanced at her with a cocked eyebrow.

"You're one to say."

"What do you mean with that?" the blonde asked skeptically while trying to fix her messed up ponytail.

"Teasing is a sign of affection. Well, third grade affection but it seems to apply here oddly well. And since you love picking on Choji so much..." I explained with a sly grin.

"Then you must really have the hots for me, Ino." Choji remarked also grinning, even though the grin looked weird since his cheek was swollen from one of Ino's punches.

"Che, as if any girl would actually fall in love with you, fatso!"

"What did you just call me?!"

"And here they go again." I sighed but couldn't suppress a small grin.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru affirmed.

And still leaned together we enjoyed round two of Ino and Choji's daily quarrels.

"Shika?" I asked after 10 minutes of Ino and Choji still being at it.

"Hm?"

"I can't get that strange motto out of my head."

"The motto?" the boy inquired with a questioning look.

I nodded.

"Well I possess neither heaven nor earth. How could I ever become a decent ninja this way? And should I really become one anyway? Sensor abilities are well and fine, but what good do they do if I can't even survive two minutes on a battlefield?" I explained and huffed in frustration. The smart boy reflected on my words for a moment. Finally he sighted and his gazed lingered in the distance.

"There's more than heaven and earth. There still exist so many things in between. In my opinion it's not necessary to send you to the battlefield. Your gift is far too valuable to risk it in battles. And there are far better ways to exploit your full potential." he explained with a seriousness in his voice that I wasn't used to hear, making me look up at him. I didn't doubt his intelligence one bit and this time, too, I knew I could fully trust his estimation.

"You know." I said with a wide smile "You're really fit to become a teacher. Maybe Asuma rubbed off on you?"

He rolled his eyes irritatedly and opened his mouth to answer but I beat him to it.

"But you're right. I just hope that the higher-ups come to realize that. And hopefully soon!"

Then I gave him a sweet smile as I said those next words.

"Thank you. Really."

Shikamaru averted his eyes, a pink gleam on his cheeks.

"No problem." he mumbled. "Che. Girls."

I snickered, then stood up to pull Ino off Choji while she tried to strangle the plump boy, because he said something against her beloved Sasuke.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru grumbled before he too got up to help his best friend fend off the blonde.

Whoopdidooh! NicciShikaFluff! Even I have my romantic moments here and then!

So enjoy this fluff as much as you can since the next chapter will be e~~vi~~l! *sings*

If you wanna, leave me a review to tell me your thoughts. Reviews als always appreciated and keep me from going nuts~~!