*******
"You sure you know what you're doing?" Ino starred at Shikamaru with her eyebrows raised. Shikamaru ignored her stare, his eyes stayed focused solely on Niera,
"It's the only way." Shikamaru took a hard inhale through his nostrils. Niera perked up and folded her arms. In a hoarse laugh she cracked her knuckles, "Finally. you're ready." Niera beamed as though she were a child on Christmas Eve. After a moment almost of immobility from the both of them, a broad smirk spread across Shikamaru's face. In a dash, he raced towards Niera, spinning an object in his finger tips so fast that you could not tell what it was. He and Niera exchanged hits, but Shikamaru continued to spin the object and Niera seemed to try to stay away from his shadow connecting to hers, which were the only shadows present in the fighting area. With a false punch, it caused Shikamaru to stumble backwards into a puddle of murky water, a splash occurred which then gradually subsided. Niera stepped into the murky pool and sneered, scrunching her nose. It slowly started to become a thicker reddish orange substance, the color leaking out of his object, which he dropped into the puddle as well. "You couldn't even contain your weapon?" The half damp Niera laughed pityingly. She picked up the object, curious herself to see what it was. She stared back at Shikamaru, "You're telling me this stupid paintbrush is what you planned to hurt me with? There's not even a spell on it! Oh. and you were probably having difficulty trying to get close enough to me to use your Shadow Copy No Jutsu? Neh shadow boy? And when I fight you, I know about you shadow boy." Niera leered, jumping out of the pool of water then sending shuriken, one after the other against Shikamaru, who didn't even seem to block. After a second later Niera came straight at Shikamaru with a large punch, sending Shikamaru skidding to the ground right next to Ino. He outstretched his arms so that he was against a tree and a shadow attached from his to Ino's, only taking control of her legs. Niera lifted a curious eyebrow at this, her emerald eyes flashing as she paid no notice at the moment. Ino was slightly hunched over, she lifted her head. "Well. now I think it's time you learned to dance in tune with the Earth." Niera grunted and then softly shut her eyes, putting her fingers together to form the symbol of nature. What was she trying to do? Like the clapping of her hands she did the same with her feet. Rumbling shook the ground all over the field. Ino stumbled backwards and bit her lip. Niera swung one leg upwards as though she was doing a kick then forming into a twirl in a primitive dance. Almost following the similar motions, boulder-sized pieces of earth zoomed across the field and smashed into Ino. The only problem for Niera was that all the rocks that tried to smash against Ino were deflected by a shadow that surrounded her. "Dammit! What's going on!" Niera snapped uneasily. Niera focused on the connection of the shadows, believing the boy was flowing his chakra as a shield for the girl. Niera twitched when Ino's started to run in a circle, her movements were calm and almost uncaring. Niera's feet turned her around, and almost as though she was being hypnotized, her eyes and feet followed Ino's circular motions. Ino then sprinted towards the center, almost purposely trying to create a straight line with her feet. Niera dodged the punches with ease, wondering why Ino was lacking her usual spontaneous ways; it was as though there was no rage, no care into those punches. When they final reached the center of the open field Ino gave a low hiss. The hiss pierced Niera's ears and she stopped, clamping her hands over her ears. Ino then fished something out of her pockets, a small tube of lipstick. "Need some help reapplying?" Mocked Niera scrunching her nose, inhaling the weird scent the lipstick gave off. Niera at first thought that Ino would have charged at her but then she once again remembered the connection of their shadows. It was also queer that Ino chose to say nothing. Instead she just jabbed the tube of lipstick into the ground and drew and odd image beneath her. She put her hands over it and then 5 tigers sprouted out from the ground. There was a queer presence about each one, none looking much like tigers. They each had majestic ways about them, their fur ranging in multicolor and the eyes glowed with a presence of wisdom. They had multiple tails that flowed whimsically. "Mom always taught me to keep cosmetics handy." Ino gave a droll laugh, petting the ferocious beasts. Niera tried her best to shrug the beasts off, yet they had elemental powers that put her in quite a struggle. They led her in different, puzzling directions, sometimes she felt herself jumping and landing even when she didn't feel it was necessary. When she finally got a hit on each one, she soon found out that they were nothing more than shadows. They were only illusions, shadows, but they still wounded Niera slightly, she was losing her stamina fast from the replenishing spell. it was going to wear off soon. Ino observed the area field almost mechanically; she closed her eyelids softly and had her hands in a queer position, relaxing her shoulders. "That doesn't seem like the Ino I was fighting before." "Yep. Shikamaru does that hand position when he's deep in thought." The supposed Shikamaru cackled, giving a large grin. "That means." Niera stuttered wide-eyed. "Yup. we can still make good use of an old technique." The supposed Ino nodded as she formed slowly into Shikamaru. His shadow was connected with that of Niera, because their distance was close and she was left no time to stop him. He started to back up a bit so that he was at the rim of this red painted circle which was still fresh in paint; Niera recognized it from the paintbrush from before. Shikamaru started to move in queer movements, making hand signals that under his shadow copy no jutsu, Niera was helpless but to follow what he did. Niera suddenly felt steam rising from her feet and all around her. The trail of paint she left behind started to glow, her pants sopping wet from it. "Oh and one more thing. I forgot to mention that that paint is for creating seals. If you create it yourself and make the signs. well you get the picture. leading you around in those exact movements was really easy." Shikamaru gave a lazy yawn as he peered at Ino "Ready?" "Bind!" Ino, who has just turned back to herself yelled and then cocked her head to the side, "Well looks like you'll have difficulty getting out of this Niera." Niera was stuck to the ground, the paint stuck at her heels and she couldn't move. Suddenly she began to twitch, her eyes glowing a darker green and with final scream the seal and Niera disappeared. "Fweh." Shikamaru gave a loud sigh as he fell to the ground closing his eyes. His dropped his hands to the side; his breaths came out in heavy pants. "Hey Shikamaru! Get up! " Ino growled, "We have to make sure everyone else is okay! We only just won one lousy battle!" She had her hands on her hips and a scowl covering her face. "Why? You want to help your precious Sasuke? Humph. You shouldn't talk; I was the one who had to jump in there and save your sorry ass." Shikamaru grumbled. Ino scrapped her teeth against one another, rage building in her eyes. She then let out an exasperating sigh and fell to the ground next to him. He was right and that was one of the few times she admitted to someone else being right. No one else saved her, no one else cared. Had Ino really taken Shikamaru the wrong way? She closed her eyes and rested her head on Shikamaru's shoulder, nuzzling his neck softly. Shikamaru's eyes snapped open and he turned his eyes over to look at the resting Ino. He flushed and gulped slightly. He then became suspicious and returned to his grumpy self, "You sure you think I'm Shikamaru. maybe you think I'm Sasuke. Whadduya want?" "To be by Shikamaru's side." Ino replied softly, almost in a dreamy manner. Shikamaru gulped again, his flush increased as he just replied with a simple "urk". The only sound that seemed to come from his throat. He was in shock and the more he sat there the more he denied it. "If you really want that. maybe I'll just have to give it to you." Shikamaru finally gaining some confidence wrapped an arm around Ino's shoulders. They would stay there, just like that only just for a little while right? It would pass as soon as Ino would see Sasuke again, right? Maybe it was all just a dream, but he had a little bit of a right to stay in a dream. just for a little longer. Sitting there in complete silence, Ino finally spoke up, "So Shikamaru, what do you think about girls?"
"Humph. I guess they're not so bad." ****** Chapter 10 End To be continued..
"You sure you know what you're doing?" Ino starred at Shikamaru with her eyebrows raised. Shikamaru ignored her stare, his eyes stayed focused solely on Niera,
"It's the only way." Shikamaru took a hard inhale through his nostrils. Niera perked up and folded her arms. In a hoarse laugh she cracked her knuckles, "Finally. you're ready." Niera beamed as though she were a child on Christmas Eve. After a moment almost of immobility from the both of them, a broad smirk spread across Shikamaru's face. In a dash, he raced towards Niera, spinning an object in his finger tips so fast that you could not tell what it was. He and Niera exchanged hits, but Shikamaru continued to spin the object and Niera seemed to try to stay away from his shadow connecting to hers, which were the only shadows present in the fighting area. With a false punch, it caused Shikamaru to stumble backwards into a puddle of murky water, a splash occurred which then gradually subsided. Niera stepped into the murky pool and sneered, scrunching her nose. It slowly started to become a thicker reddish orange substance, the color leaking out of his object, which he dropped into the puddle as well. "You couldn't even contain your weapon?" The half damp Niera laughed pityingly. She picked up the object, curious herself to see what it was. She stared back at Shikamaru, "You're telling me this stupid paintbrush is what you planned to hurt me with? There's not even a spell on it! Oh. and you were probably having difficulty trying to get close enough to me to use your Shadow Copy No Jutsu? Neh shadow boy? And when I fight you, I know about you shadow boy." Niera leered, jumping out of the pool of water then sending shuriken, one after the other against Shikamaru, who didn't even seem to block. After a second later Niera came straight at Shikamaru with a large punch, sending Shikamaru skidding to the ground right next to Ino. He outstretched his arms so that he was against a tree and a shadow attached from his to Ino's, only taking control of her legs. Niera lifted a curious eyebrow at this, her emerald eyes flashing as she paid no notice at the moment. Ino was slightly hunched over, she lifted her head. "Well. now I think it's time you learned to dance in tune with the Earth." Niera grunted and then softly shut her eyes, putting her fingers together to form the symbol of nature. What was she trying to do? Like the clapping of her hands she did the same with her feet. Rumbling shook the ground all over the field. Ino stumbled backwards and bit her lip. Niera swung one leg upwards as though she was doing a kick then forming into a twirl in a primitive dance. Almost following the similar motions, boulder-sized pieces of earth zoomed across the field and smashed into Ino. The only problem for Niera was that all the rocks that tried to smash against Ino were deflected by a shadow that surrounded her. "Dammit! What's going on!" Niera snapped uneasily. Niera focused on the connection of the shadows, believing the boy was flowing his chakra as a shield for the girl. Niera twitched when Ino's started to run in a circle, her movements were calm and almost uncaring. Niera's feet turned her around, and almost as though she was being hypnotized, her eyes and feet followed Ino's circular motions. Ino then sprinted towards the center, almost purposely trying to create a straight line with her feet. Niera dodged the punches with ease, wondering why Ino was lacking her usual spontaneous ways; it was as though there was no rage, no care into those punches. When they final reached the center of the open field Ino gave a low hiss. The hiss pierced Niera's ears and she stopped, clamping her hands over her ears. Ino then fished something out of her pockets, a small tube of lipstick. "Need some help reapplying?" Mocked Niera scrunching her nose, inhaling the weird scent the lipstick gave off. Niera at first thought that Ino would have charged at her but then she once again remembered the connection of their shadows. It was also queer that Ino chose to say nothing. Instead she just jabbed the tube of lipstick into the ground and drew and odd image beneath her. She put her hands over it and then 5 tigers sprouted out from the ground. There was a queer presence about each one, none looking much like tigers. They each had majestic ways about them, their fur ranging in multicolor and the eyes glowed with a presence of wisdom. They had multiple tails that flowed whimsically. "Mom always taught me to keep cosmetics handy." Ino gave a droll laugh, petting the ferocious beasts. Niera tried her best to shrug the beasts off, yet they had elemental powers that put her in quite a struggle. They led her in different, puzzling directions, sometimes she felt herself jumping and landing even when she didn't feel it was necessary. When she finally got a hit on each one, she soon found out that they were nothing more than shadows. They were only illusions, shadows, but they still wounded Niera slightly, she was losing her stamina fast from the replenishing spell. it was going to wear off soon. Ino observed the area field almost mechanically; she closed her eyelids softly and had her hands in a queer position, relaxing her shoulders. "That doesn't seem like the Ino I was fighting before." "Yep. Shikamaru does that hand position when he's deep in thought." The supposed Shikamaru cackled, giving a large grin. "That means." Niera stuttered wide-eyed. "Yup. we can still make good use of an old technique." The supposed Ino nodded as she formed slowly into Shikamaru. His shadow was connected with that of Niera, because their distance was close and she was left no time to stop him. He started to back up a bit so that he was at the rim of this red painted circle which was still fresh in paint; Niera recognized it from the paintbrush from before. Shikamaru started to move in queer movements, making hand signals that under his shadow copy no jutsu, Niera was helpless but to follow what he did. Niera suddenly felt steam rising from her feet and all around her. The trail of paint she left behind started to glow, her pants sopping wet from it. "Oh and one more thing. I forgot to mention that that paint is for creating seals. If you create it yourself and make the signs. well you get the picture. leading you around in those exact movements was really easy." Shikamaru gave a lazy yawn as he peered at Ino "Ready?" "Bind!" Ino, who has just turned back to herself yelled and then cocked her head to the side, "Well looks like you'll have difficulty getting out of this Niera." Niera was stuck to the ground, the paint stuck at her heels and she couldn't move. Suddenly she began to twitch, her eyes glowing a darker green and with final scream the seal and Niera disappeared. "Fweh." Shikamaru gave a loud sigh as he fell to the ground closing his eyes. His dropped his hands to the side; his breaths came out in heavy pants. "Hey Shikamaru! Get up! " Ino growled, "We have to make sure everyone else is okay! We only just won one lousy battle!" She had her hands on her hips and a scowl covering her face. "Why? You want to help your precious Sasuke? Humph. You shouldn't talk; I was the one who had to jump in there and save your sorry ass." Shikamaru grumbled. Ino scrapped her teeth against one another, rage building in her eyes. She then let out an exasperating sigh and fell to the ground next to him. He was right and that was one of the few times she admitted to someone else being right. No one else saved her, no one else cared. Had Ino really taken Shikamaru the wrong way? She closed her eyes and rested her head on Shikamaru's shoulder, nuzzling his neck softly. Shikamaru's eyes snapped open and he turned his eyes over to look at the resting Ino. He flushed and gulped slightly. He then became suspicious and returned to his grumpy self, "You sure you think I'm Shikamaru. maybe you think I'm Sasuke. Whadduya want?" "To be by Shikamaru's side." Ino replied softly, almost in a dreamy manner. Shikamaru gulped again, his flush increased as he just replied with a simple "urk". The only sound that seemed to come from his throat. He was in shock and the more he sat there the more he denied it. "If you really want that. maybe I'll just have to give it to you." Shikamaru finally gaining some confidence wrapped an arm around Ino's shoulders. They would stay there, just like that only just for a little while right? It would pass as soon as Ino would see Sasuke again, right? Maybe it was all just a dream, but he had a little bit of a right to stay in a dream. just for a little longer. Sitting there in complete silence, Ino finally spoke up, "So Shikamaru, what do you think about girls?"
"Humph. I guess they're not so bad." ****** Chapter 10 End To be continued..
