Disclaimer: I like this episode in Naruto. Very amusing. Doesn't belong to me though… sigh…
Shikamaru stared up at Naruto's and Hiyony's grinning faces. His eye gave a slight twitch as he looked at them with slight irritation and laziness.
Damn you guys…
He laid on the ground for so long that people began to throw their trash at him, yelling at him to go away.
"Michiko! Shikamaru's fighting! Don't just keep reading!" Akio shouted. "Do something!"
Michiko looked over her book to see Shikamaru laying down on the ground. She grabbed some random person's shoe and threw it at Shikamaru's face, who didn't flinch… Michiko went back to her book.
"There I did something," she replied with a grin.
"….."
"Is Shikamaru going to be all right?" Kairen wondered.
"Psh, he'll be fine!" Hiyony assured.
It looks like they were looking forward to Sasuke's match, and now they have to watch some no-name's match… Shikamaru thought to himself at the crowd's riot. So now they're like, "What the hell! Get out of here!" There's no point in fighting in this match when no one expects anything from it… And Michiko… the shoe wasn't necessary… You're still going to win that troublesome bet you had with Asuma-sensei…
"What's this? You're going to give up as well?" Temari taunted.
Another women? he sighed.
"What's he doing?! OI, SHIKAMARU! STOP FOOLING AROUND, DATTEBAYO!" Naruto shouted.
"If you're not going to attack, I will!" Temari declared.
"Oi, the match didn't even start yet," Genma's words were useless to the charging girl.
"Ah.. She seems really excited about this…" Shikamaru took out two kunais.
Temari jumped up into the air and slammed down her fan on Shikamaru's head. But as the dust cleared, it was only the ground she had come in contact with. She gasped and looked up at the wall where Shikamaru was practically floating on.
"I don't care if I become Chuunin or not, but a man can't lose to a woman…" he smirked. "Maa, I guess I'll fight."
Temari violently blew her fan at Shikamaru only to have hit the two kunais he took out. Temari looked to the trees and smirked.
This guy is quick at running away.
But then again, a man can't really hit a woman… Shikamaru thought, peaking from behind a tree. I don't want to get hit, either.
They were both merely examining each other, or recollecting what they know about the person's power. But as Temari was thinking of a way not to get captured, Shikamaru was complaining to himself and staring lazily at the clouds. He finally stood and sighed, giving Temari a smirk.
What's with that stupid look? Is he underestimating me!? Temari glared. "Ninpou Kamaitachi (Sickling Winds)!"
With one swing of her fan, there was wind that filled the entire stadium. It even cut the trees. Before the smoke even cleared, Shikamaru's technique came after her making her jump back. After a few jumps, his technique stopped. She smirked and made a line across the ground.
This is as far as his shadow will stretch. Temari smirked.
Shikamaru looked to the clouds once more, and went into a stance. His four fingers faced the floor and were placed together at the tip of each. It was the same with his thumbs, but they were faced up. He closed his eyes and kneeled like that for sometime.
"What's that? What seal did he form?" Kurenai asked.
"That's not a seal. It's a habit of his," Asuma smirked.
"What the freak is Shikamaru doing?" Akio asked aloud.
"This guy is like an old man. He likes a lot of games…" Michiko replied.
"But this isn't a game!"
"Hmm.. He's good at strategies…"
"Shikamaru is good at strategies?! But he practically has the same grade as me and Naruto! We're not good at strategies!"
"He doesn't even want even want to pick up a pencil?!" Michiko started laughing like crazy.
"I made him do an IQ test making it look like it was a game," Asuma smirked.
"And?" Kurenai wondered.
"Heh.. He's a clever guy all right… He's a super genius with an IQ over 200," Asume turned back to Shikamaru.
"2-200?!" Kurenai was astonished.
"WHAT!?!?!?!?!" Akio stood up from her seat. "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"
"….Huh?" Michiko looked up from her book. "Did you say something?"
"……WHY DO I BOTHER!?"
"Did you hear all that, Kairen?" Mizu smirked.
"Sugoi," Kairen clapped.
Shikamaru opened his eyes with a different look in them.
"YOSH! GO, SHIKA-CHAN!" Hiyony cheered.
"Looks like you're a bit more motivated to fight now," Temari smirked. She opened her fan and wind swirled toward Shikamaru once again.
He took out a kunai and jumped behind a tree while taking off his jacket.
"He can't get close to her like this. Get her, Shikamaru!" Ino cried.
"This may be pointless. He'll give up soon anyway," Chouji said munching on his chips.
"That won't happen! I think… But maybe…"
As the wind died down, Shikamaru remained behind the tree, hiding. Temari was panting heavily from all the Chakra she used for her attack.
"How much longer are you going to run!?" she called out. "Come out already!"
As she caused another huge dust to form, a kunai flew straight at her. She gasped and jumped out of the way. She was forced to open her fan to block another kunai coming from beside her. Suddenly, she saw the Shadow technique coming at her again.
Useless. As long as I'm behind this line, I won't get caught. Temari smirked. …Wait, no! this is bad!
She managed to jump away in time as the shadow stopped past the line she had made.
"Good insight!" Shikamaru commented.
"So you were killing time to wait for the sun to set and increase the wall shadow's line to increase your shadow's surface area. When the sun starts to set, shadows grow. Correct?" Temari concluded.
"Aw.. He almost got her," Kairen pouted.
"I almost thought Shikamaru was going to lose the moment he entered," Mizu said. "Temari's good, but I guess we both underestimated Shikamaru."
"But we both always wondered why he was so quick at coming up with something," Kairen pointed out.
"Yeah, but freaking 200?! That's madness!" she exclaimed.
"But how can he use a shadow when he's inside the stage's shadow?" Chouji wondered while eating his chips.
"As long as there's light, there can be a shadow inside a shadow," Ino explained. "You know nothing about Shikamaru!"
"A shadow inside a shadow..?" Chouji repeated curiously.
Shikamaru kept his shadow there as if it was struggling to reach Temari's shadow. Temari stared down at it and examined it once more. She concluded that it wouldn't go any further since the sun won't be setting for a while. Gaara blinked and looked up to the sky.
"TEMARI! ABOVE YOU!" Kankuro warned. He was earned with a punch over the head.
"YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HELPING CHEATER!" Hiyony cried and jumped back to her spot pouting.
"Why you!" Kankuro growled.
Gaara leered over, signaling Kankuro not to do anything. Kankuro flinched and just growled at Hiyony. A small shadow was slowly forming right above Shikamaru's technique. Temari was squinting her eyes to see what it was. The shadow became bigger and her eyes widened.
Shit! she cursed.
Temari jumped back as Shikamaru's Shadow technique chased after her. In the air was Shikamaru's jacket tied to his headband, tied to a kunai, making it float in the hair like a balloon. The shadow was mere centimeters away from Temari's as she jumped back again.
"I'm not letting you get away!" Shikamaru claimed.
I didn't expect him to use his jacket as a parachute to create a shadow! What a guy… If I noticed the parachute above, my attention to my feet would lessen. What a sick way to catch a person off guard! But this makes one thing clear… Kagemane is like a stick dough that uses other shadows to capture the enemy.
Temari slid back to a certain spot as the Shadow struggled to reach her once more. Temari opened her fan behind her and smirked triumphantly.
"So you've dodged this trick, too, eh?" Shikamaru stared.
"AHHH! HE WAS SO CLOSE AGAIN!" Akio cried.
"LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID, MAKE-UP BOY!" Hiyony threw a rock at him.
"Actually, since she was distracted by looking up, she didn't notice his shadow moving," Kairen explained after both observing and hearing Temari's thoughts.
"Oh… I knew that…" Hiyony said as she threw another rock at Kankuro.
"…Where did she even get those rocks from…?" Mizu muttered.
"The wind probably blew them up here."
Temari gazed at the setting sun, knowing well that time was wasting. She had to act quick and finish him off. She began to form a plan to trick him into capturing the wrong one while she attacked from the side. She waited for his shadow to retreat.
Yosh! Temari hid behind her fan and formed seals. Bunshin no-!
Temari's eyes widened. Everyone stared down in wonder.
This can't be… My body…! Temari panicked.
Shikamaru sighed. "Kagemane finally succeeded," he smirked.
"Eh?" Naruto gasped.
"How did it happen?" Kankuro wondered.
"How many steps ahead does he predict?" Kurenai shook.
"That's Shikamaru's ability," Asuma smirked.
Why… won't my body move? His shadow shouldn't reach up to here! Temari still didn't understand.
"I'll show you what's behind you," Shikamaru turned his head and smirked.
Temari was also forced to turn around and she saw exactly why she was captured. His shadow had caught her from behind a hole. The hole that Naruto had dug to beat Neji. It was connected with the first hole.
"Did you use the shadow inside the tunnel of the holes to…?" Temari asked.
"Correct," Shikamaru turned his head back.
Could it be that…? The attack using that jacket… was intended to move me to this location? Temari recalled. She finally realized. That was just a play?! This guy!
Shikamaru began to walk forward, forcing Temari to walk forward also. She was trying hard as she could to stop, but her body wouldn't let her. Everyone stared intently, wondering what this boy, who know one ever noticed until now, would do. Naruto and Ino cheered for Shikamaru to finish her off, while Chouji madly ate his chips.
"Checkmate," Asuma smirked.
Shikamaru raised his hands slowly and held them up in the air. Temari held her eyes shut, awaiting for whatever move he was about to unleash on her. Shikamaru closed his eyes and stayed like that for sometime. Everyone was waiting anxiously for his move. Shikamaru finally opened his eyes and looked at Temari.
"I lose. I give up," he said.
Temari opened her eyes in shock.
"..Huh?" Naruto stared.
"……."
"EH?!!?!?!?" the whole crowd shouted.
Chouji dropped his tenth empty bag of chips on the floor. "That's why I told you that he would give up. You know nothing about Shikamaru, Ino."
"What did you say?!" Temari exclaimed.
"I used up too much Chakra using Kagemane so many times. I can only hold you for an additional ten seconds," he explained. "So, I've thought about 200 possible moves… but time's up. It's too troublesome to do more…One match is good enough for me."
"Winner, Temari," Genma smirked at Shikamaru's decision.
"That was unexpected," Mizu blinked.
"I wonder why he didn't just give up the first time," Kairen wondered.
"WHAT THE HELL!? YOU FIGHT HER AND WIN, BUT YOU GIVE UP?! YOU'RE A FREAK!" Akio complained. "MICHIKO! DO SOMETHING!"
"……"
"…You're not going to do anything?"
"No. I am doing something. I'm reading!" she grinned.
"WHAT KIND OF BOOK IS THAT, ANYWAY?!"
"Bad, Shika-chan! Bad! Bad!" Hiyony pointed at him.
Of course, Shikamaru merely ignored all of them and started to stretch. "I'm tired…"
Mizu stared down at the stadium with no emotion. She glanced over at Kairen who was doing the same thing. Kairen also turned to her and nodded.
"Ahh!! Why did he give up!? I'm so pissed off!" Naruto stomped. He was about to jump down toward Shikamaru, but Shino stopped him.
"Matte. There's another match," Shino said.
"Eh?"
Naruto turned over to Kairen and Mizu who both stared at each other intently and determinedly.
"Shikamaru, you better come back up here," Shino called down to him.
"I know, I know," he sighed and walked slowly back up the stairs.
"Will the next two contestants come down?" Genma ordered.
Mizu jumped to one side and Kairen jumped to the other, both facing each other. Hiyony was slightly whimpering as she stared down at them.
"Hiyony? It's okay. I'm sure they won't kill each other," Naruto tried to assure her.
"That's not it. If one of them wins… I'LL BE THE NEXT TO FIGHT THEM! I DON'T WANT TO! I REFUSE!" she shook her head madly.
"Eh? What's wrong with fighting them? From what I heard you guys are all strong! I saw your fights!"
"YOU'VE NEVER FOUGHT AGAINST MIZU OF KAIREN BEFORE! Kairen went easy on Chouji! Mizu went easy on Akio, too!"
"But I recall she got a sprained ankle from Akio," Shino glanced over to Hiyony.
"Psh. It's just going to heal…"
Shino stared at Hiyony through his glasses. In the beginning, they were never normal. My team and I all sensed it. We've already seen why Akio wasn't normal, but can their powers be that dangerous?
"GO MIZU! GO KAIREN! I DON'T CARE WHO WINS! JUST SCARE THE CRAP OUT OF HIYONY!" Akio cheered.
"I HEARD THAT!" Hiyony cried from the railings.
"WHAT OF IT!?"
The Hokage sighed. He knew he had promised them that since this was their final exam, they could go all out. But now, he was wondering if he made a mistake. The crowd talked amongst themselves. Many knew these sisters, so they wondered what to expect from a troublemaking family. Others who knew nothing of them, merely shrugged it off and simply watched, not expecting anything.
Kairen and Mizu continued to stare at each other, no hesitation within their eyes.
"This is it," Mizu started.
"Yup."
"All out."
"There's no better way."
"May the best ninja win," Mizu got into her stance.
"And the best sister," Kairen also got into her stance.
Genma looked back and forth at them, sensing their excitement and determination. He raised his arm up in the air and brought it down.
"Begin."