Notice: Sorry but somehow won't let me post links in my fic...
(Thanks to MysticMoon for pointing this out... sorta) Anyway, I have
made a funny little comic strip about Sasuke by cutting and pasting
from the manga and changing the text. Take a look at it if you're
interested, you can find a link to it on my bio (profile page).
Disclaimer:
Seriously,
everyone is saying this. The owners of Naruto should get it by now, no?
I don't own Naruto, but I do own a PC, a copy of Microsoft Office 2003,
and a twisted mind that demands that I write a fanfic for Naruto...
Arrgh, it's the voices in my head again... No!!!
Author's Note:
I
was in a saddening, unmotivated despair... But as I read the few, but
lovingly encouraging reviews from my beloved reviewers, I can feel
their warm and energetic encouragement, pushing me forward to complete
this fanfic... So, my beloved readers... You have my warm and
wholehearted promise that I will complete this fanfic. Yeah!!! does Gai
and Rock Lee stupid thumbs up pose... sparkle sparkle... (eww...)
Thanks
too all reviewers for their support and especially Xoni Newcomer for
reminding me to enable anonymous reviews, yourbonesakin for giving me
another nice list of suffix uses, and MysticMoon for informing me that
the address to my little comic strip was messed up.
Finally, the
third chapter is complete. Personally, I don't like this chapter, but
it is necessary evil to prepare for the grand finale.
This is my
first story for , but please don't go soft on me just because of that.
I strive for improvement, so any and all constructive criticism is
appreciated. But no flames please, my innocent mind cannot tolerate
such mindless acts. Thanks to all reviewers in advance.
Girls, I hate them... I think
A Nara Shikamaru Fanfic by Yeo Kian Bung
Chapter 03: Different, Yet Same
The alarm clock tore Shikamaru from bed the next morning. He followed his daily routine lazily and almost unwillingly, but as usual, a strange force pushed him forward. That force - he had never noticed it before, but he had always felt it. 'Bah, I can't imagine why I even bother getting up...' He tried to ignore his thoughts.
He had breakfast, and soon was on his way to the usual meeting place at the training grounds. Last nights thoughts drifted into his mind, and it seemed like a dream. He still couldn't believe he had acknowledged his affection towards his blonde team mate. 'Sheesh. This is annoying...'
He was the earliest as usual, and he slumped down at his usual spot by the tree. His team arrived soon after, and they started to discuss the agenda for the day with their Jounin sensei.
"Today, you will carry out a mission," Asuma announced to the dismay of his three students. Shikamaru yawned, "Aww... Fine, as long as I don't have to move around too much."
"Oh, don't worry; this is an easy one," Asuma said cheerfully, "just a simple retrieval mission, a rank D, or so they claimed." The bearded Jounin proceeded to explain the details.
It turned out that some mountain bandits have stolen some artefacts from a convoy coming in from a neighbouring country. According to witness reports and detailed analysis, the bandits possess almost no fighting skills whatsoever, so a small group of rookies can probably handle them without much effort. Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief from the thought, "Without much effort, eh? Good."
Ino started to berate her lazy team mate, "Damn it, Shikamaru! Can't you be a little more motivated?! You're so lazy, you idiot! You're so lazy that the only time I see you actually putting effort into something is when you make my - !" She suddenly stopped and her cheeks turned red as she realised that she almost spewed out an embarrassing, yet flattering fact. '... my birthday presents every year...' She stared at the ground, her normally talkative self at a loss of words.
"Make what, loud-mouth? Geez, you're annoying. You're so annoying that you come into my dreams every night and bother me..." Shikamaru mumbled in defence without much thinking. Asuma snorted and Chouji tried to stifle a laugh. "What..?! You even dream about Ino?" Chouji said while trying to hold back his laughter.
Shikamaru's eyes widened in shock as he realised his carelessness, sweat forming at his face as he tried desperately to conceal his blush. He could merely give a snort, "Bah. Shut up. Let's get the mission over with, I want to go home." He feigned a yawn.
With that, Asuma started to plan the strategy for the mission with Shikamaru. Actually, Shikamaru did most of the planning, his tactical genius far surpassing his Jounin sensei and probably every other Shinobi in the Hidden Leaf Village. Shikamaru groaned, "That's as far as I can plan with current information. We'll have to complete this when we get there... Anyway, if they're as bad as you say, you can probably finish them off by yourself," the boy complained to his sensei.
"That's no fun," Asuma explained and smiled, "I'm going to hang back and see how my team performs."
The team set off, leaping from tree to tree towards their destination - a deserted cave in the mountains. As usual, Shikamaru lagged behind, constantly complaining about everyone hurrying too much. "Come on, lazy bum! You're lagging behind!" yelled Ino. She hadn't realised it but she enjoyed picking arguments with the genius, for some reason.
The cave was surrounded by an improvised fence made of hard wood from freshly cut trees. The team could hear the bandits chatting inside the protected compound, laughing every now and then. 'One, two, three...' Shikamaru started counting the voices inside while remaining hidden in the bushes.
"There's around nine or ten bandits inside," he whispered to his team mates which nodded in acknowledgement. Off in the distance he could sense his sensei observing them, ready to jump in should his plan go awry. 'Not that that's going to happen anyway...' Shikamaru was confident that his plan would work out. He started to explain his battle-plan to his team mates, who listened attentively.
It was more like a game than a mission. With a nod from the mastermind, Chouji executed the first phase of the plan. "Multi-Size no Jutsu!" Chouji expanded several times his normal size as he roared.
"Yee-haw!" the upsized boy hollered as he pulled in his head and limbs and started to roll towards the fence. He effortlessly tore a hole in the seemingly impassable wooden barrier and crashed towards the bandits standing guard.
In mere seconds Chouji had knocked out three of the bandits like pins in a bowling alley. "Retreat to the cave! The fatso can't fit inside!" the supposed leader of the bandits yelled and started running to the cave, probably praising his own supposed strategic genius.
The simple-minded bandits were no match for the genius that was Shikamaru. They gasped in shock as they all froze the moment the last of them stepped into the cave's darkness. "Hmph. Idiots. You have just entered the domain of my Kagemane no Jutsu," Shikamaru announced half-heartedly. The darkness of the cave expanded the binding area of his jutsu almost completely throughout the entire interior of the cave.
Without hesitating, Ino immediately used her Mind Transfer no Jutsu on the bandit brandishing a large stick. Her lifeless body slumped into Shikamaru's gentle arms. He really liked the job as caretaker of her lifeless body when she was using her mind transfer technique. Her fragrance tingled in his nostrils again as he gently and discreetly ran his fingers through her hair, enjoying the soft silky feeling. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Chouji teased from behind, snapping him back into reality. 'Damn, I've got to concentrate on the plan...' He slapped his forehead and the bandits followed his action.
Shikamaru released the bandits one by one, which Ino knocked out immediately with the stick the bandit she possessed was brandishing. Soon, all the bandits were on the ground, groaning in pain or unconscious. The Ino-possessed bandit walked towards Shikamaru and turned around. The moment she released her jutsu, Shikamaru gave a swift whack at the back of the bandit's neck, knocking him out immediately. "One down," he gave a triumphant smirk, "we win."
Ino stood up in her own body and started ran into the cave, excited. "Now, let's look for the stolen artefacts!" she shrieked in joy.
"Ino, you idiot, don't! There might be - !" Shikamaru roared in a tone with ferocity never present within him before as he made a mad dash to the careless blonde.
It was too late. Ino tripped on a wire hidden carefully within the cave and a sharp snap could be heard from the cave wall beside her. She sprawled onto the ground and saw a spear sailing swiftly towards her.
Asuma saw what was happening and immediately began to dash towards the helpless girl. 'Damn it, it's too late...'
The grotesque sound of ripping was heard as cold steel tore through delicate flesh. Blood sprayed everywhere and splattered onto Ino's face.
Ino screamed.
Chapter 03 End!
Ending Notes:
Haha! Yet another cliff-hanger. Did you know that cliff-hangers are psychological tricks to get you to come back and read the next chapter? Seriously, I just can't help myself. (Well, actually this scenario is a duh - cliché one... yet again) Anyway, I apologise if they seem a little merciful leaving a bunch of bloodthirsty bandits alive and merely unconscious, but I'm rather against mindless killing. (influence from Rurouni Kenshin... or Samurai X as some people call them...) I know you hate me, but just bear with me, I'll update as soon as possible. I still haven't learnt how to release the stupid Kage Bunshin, so my clones are fighting over my PC. Hopefully they won't delete this story by accident. (Yikes)
