Arc I: Shortly after Shikamaru's squad failed to bring back Sasuke, a clever jokester has been setting off elaborate pranks in Konohagakure daily. Challenged by his sensei Asuma to uncover the prankster's identity, can Shikamaru succeed when there are unknown enemies on all side, including the appearance of a feisty Sunagakure kunoichi?

Chapter 11

The Prankster Game XI

Saturday

I lay in bed with my covers wrapped tightly around me. I had long slept past my chores; my parents probably thought that I was sick when I slept through the bucket of water that is normally reserved for getting me out of bed. I couldn't even say what it was that kept me unconscious; perhaps it was the mental fatigue of my all-nighter with Temari that had been followed by a day of investigation. Perhaps it was the laziness that always accompanies the arrival of the weekend. Or perhaps it was the overwhelming sense of fear that had taken ahold of me after learning that I was the target of the Sand Siblings. Worst of all, I don't know if Temari is in with them or not, but I have no choice but to assume that if I run into her, she will hunt me down as well. What in the hell was Lady Tsunade thinking when she hired them to go after me? The more vexing question is what would happen if they were to catch me? I seriously doubt they would kill or hurt me, but I wouldn't put it past them holding me captive for a few days. I never expected it to come to this, but there was nothing in the mission's conditions that made the interference of others illegal. I would fail this mission if I was incapacitated past the time limit, and hiring outsiders would be the perfect method of achieving this while maintaining the same level of productivity in the village. Whatever grievances I may have, Lady Tsunade sure knows how to maintain the status quo…

"Dammit," I rolled around in my bed restlessly and fell to the floor painfully. I lay there staring at the ceiling for a long moment, watching the ceiling fan rotate, casting shadows over me in the light of the midday sun. "I can't let them get the better of me. I'm not gonna learn anything new by staying here…"

But what if I already had all the information I needed to solve this mission? What if stepping outside of my home would only endanger me and cause me to risk losing my chance to make an accusation?

"I'll have to leave eventually," I muttered irritably. I couldn't exactly mail the results. I had to be there myself to ensure that they had received it and hopefully piece everything together. Gotta have closure if nothing else.

Maybe what I needed was a disguise! I pat myself on the back, congratulating myself for such a plan, as I quickly dressed and ran outside. "Henge no Jutsu!" I took on the form of an elderly woman and took off to see if anything had happened during the night. Was the prankster still at it or had the shenanigans reached an end?

I made it to the village and immediately noticed that Gaara and Kankurō were already on the prowl, asking around to see if anyone had seen me. Crap…I may be disguised, but my mannerisms can give me away if I'm not careful and act suspiciously.

"Hey, lady!" Kankurō ran over to me and I adopted a shrill voice for response.

"How're you today, dearie?" I asked sweetly.

"Have you seen this kid?" Kankurō asked, holding up a picture of me asleep with drool dripping down my chin. I'm sure I outwardly grimaced as I scrutinized it.

"I'm sure this child probably wouldn't appreciate you having a picture like this…"

"Cut to the chase," Kankurō snapped. "You see him or not?"

"I can't say that I have," I replied. Kankurō eyed me for a moment longer before taking off. I breathed a sigh of relief and hobbled off in the other direction.

Considering the lack of pranks yesterday, I anticipated a lengthy search to find out if anything had happened today, but I knew I was sorely mistaken as I noticed disgruntled customers fleeing every restaurant in the vicinity. Making sure one was watching me, I sprinted over to the nearest man who was sputtering curse upon curse.

"What's going on?" I asked him. He looked up at me passively before focusing on his hands. I looked at his hands as well.

"Prankster struck 'gain," he grunted. "Some kinda adhesive in all tha restaurants soap dispensers. Don't go in there today."

"Thank you for the warning," I pat his shoulder with a trembling hand as he walked away, his hands still glued together. I leaned against my cane as I moved towards a bench, sitting down with a huge sigh. I should be an actor; I pull off the old lady routine so well.

So the prankster struck again. I was hoping that it would have come to an end, but this further supports the theory that Temari is the prankster. Plus, where the hell was she last night? If it hasn't been her, who else could it possibly be? Perhaps someone is watching my every move and intentionally steering me towards Temari as a suspect. I could actually see that, but there hasn't been any evidence of such an infringement of my privacy, so I have to push that theory to the back of my mind for now.

At the moment, it would also seem that I've bought myself a temporary reprieve from the Sand Siblings. I don't know how long my transformation will work on them, but who knows? Maybe I can pull it off for the rest of the day. They don't know me or any of the villagers well enough to see through my transformation, but they are resourceful. This isn't going to last until Monday; I can't drop my guard for a second.

"Shikamaru!"

"What the hell?" I squawked as I opened my eyes to find Naruto gazing at me. He snapped his fingers in triumph before he burst out laughing.

"I KNEW it was you!" He clenched his fist with a grin. "Only you could space out like that!"

"Dammit, Naruto," I muttered looking around nervously. "It isn't safe to talk here. Follow me." Naruto looked bewildered as I took off. It didn't matter if anyone saw me moving quickly; my cover was blown anyway and a new transformation would probably be best, just to be on the safe side.

"Where are you going?" Naruto yelled after me as I dropped my transformation.

"Where do you think?" I asked as I nodded towards the forest. Running up a tree, I sat on a branch and faced Naruto who was panting heavily.

"Why did you run?" He gasped.

I did not answer him for a moment; I was even more out of breath than he was. "It's…complicated."

"Well, simplify it," Naruto demanded.

"Basically, I've got the Sand Siblings after me," I admitted awkwardly. How much of this information could I trust Naruto with?

Naruto went wide-eyed. "You mean they're trying to attack you or something?"

"Pretty much sums it up." At this point, everyone is an enemy…Naruto included. There's no helping it…I'll have to go it alone from here.

"Wait, slow down," Naruto's hands rapidly shook in denial. "What would the Sand Siblings be doing trying to attack you inside OUR village?"

"Look, Naruto," I pleaded, "I really can't get into this with you…I'm sorry, but I think our investigation together will have to end here."

Naruto stared at me for a long moment. "What? Why?"

"I need to go it alone," I tried to comfort him. I could practically hear the sad loner music in the background as I attempted to sever our partnership, but Naruto wouldn't have it.

"No…we've been investigating together from the beginning! I know we can solve this soon! I know we're close to uncovering the prankster!"

Why was there so much pleading in his voice? "Naruto," I said weakly, "it's just a stupid prankster…"

"It might just be a stupid prankster," Naruto's voice rose excitedly, "but solving this mystery with you has been the only thing that has kept me my mind off Sasuke. I need this, Shikamaru. I need to finish what we started together."

I stared into his eyes and saw the passion burning brightly. "How do I know I can trust you?" I asked him directly.

"You think I'll betray you just because Gaara and his crew are after you?" Naruto snorted. "I'll pulverize those guys!"

"That's not what I asked."

"Shikamaru," Naruto solemnly looked me in the eyes, "I swear that I will not double-cross you. The Hokage never betrays his friends, and I won't betray you."

I knew then and there that Naruto was innocent. It might be dramatic to call conspiring against me in a harmless game "betrayal," but Naruto would not allow himself to go even that far. His word was his bond, and if I had learned anything during the Chūnin Exam, it was that Naruto would never go back on his word. I extended my hand slowly and Naruto gripped it enthusiastically as my face regained an appearance of utter peacefulness.

"My bad, Naruto," I apologized. "I was freaking out because of how things have been, but I know I can trust you. Let's see this through, together."

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered enthusiastically and I grinned in spite of myself.

"I can't tell you everything I know just yet, but I promise you'll know in two days. Until then, will you trust and help me?"

"Of course I will!" Naruto exclaimed confidently.

"Thanks," I graciously replied. "Well, first thing's first, let's go back and pump our peers for information!"

"Why our peers?" Naruto asked.

"I trust their intel more than a random villager's," I lied. Well, under normal circumstances, that wouldn't have been far from the truth, but I needed to find the limits of the genins' involvement in the Prankster Game.

Naruto clapped me on the back with a grin. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Author's Note: So here is the reason I have been updating so frequently: my school councilor asked me to pick a personal goal to realize for the semester, and completing a fanfiction was the one I picked on a whim. Technically, this fanfiction won't be finished, but I will consider my goal accomplished if I successfully conclude The Prankster Game arc before the new year. Support is always appreciated (I know that review from ShukakuGirl1 in the last chapter really made my day), so please continue to motivate me towards my goal!

Crow