"So, why am I smelling you, again?" asks Kiba, looking very confused.

" So annoying… I told you… her scent would be on my jacket…" mumbled Shikamaru.

" Whoo, sheesh, what were you guys doing? Mackin'?"

" Shut up. Now do you have her scent or what?" Shikamaru decided that, even though it was a pain in the ass, he had to see her.

" Yeah, yeah. Hm… her scent is like …muffins…" (Shikamaru: Kiba's too weird…) "So who is this girl anyway?"

" I'll tell you on the way. Let's go." Kiba and Shikamaru bounded off towards the forest.

" Well, her name is Misaki and I met her a few days ago. She went to the ninja academy and she's cool, I guess…" muttered Shikamaru.

" Oh, really… Hrrn…Misaki… Yeah, quiet girl… cute, but sleeps a lot, not my type," thought Kiba, aloud…

" I didn't ask your opinion."

" Pssh, whatever, so are you guys, you know, wink wink, eh, eh?" insinuated a grinning Kiba.

" Whatever… I just need to find her for…something… I dunno…" mumbled Shikamaru.

" Oh. Well. She's somewhere around here, apparently." They were in the very edge of the forest and just ahead there was a large clearing, in which Misaki was. "Yeah, well, uh, I have to go find Hinata (or something…), soooo see ya later!" Kiba dashed away as Shikamaru gave a small wave. Shikamaru then positioned himself in a low tree branch on the edge of the clearing. He saw that she had her hands on the ground and feet in the air and seemed to be trying to walk this way.

" What the hell are you doing?" he called out blandly. Startled, she wavered off balance for a second, but then landed sloppily on her feet.

"Who…? Oh, Shikamaru, hi!" He waved a hey, " So, uh, how did you find me or do you just go walking through the forest regularly, or something weird like that….?"

" Whatever, I have my ways… So, really, what are you doing?" asked Shikamaru.

" Oh, well, I'm practicing walking on my hands to develop chakra control. Watch me; I'm getting pretty good." She then demonstrated her (A/N: freaking amazing hand walking ability! I wish I could walk on my hands! ) With her eyes looking forward and her legs bent, she walked a few yards. Shikamaru could see the concentration of chakra in her hands. He understood that if you overdid it, you would blast a hole in the ground, but if you didn't apply enough chakra, you wouldn't stick. She bent over on her feet and stood up.

" There! Cool, right?"

" Yeah, sure, but you haven't showed me any special techniques. I showed you mine." said Shikamaru.

(Oh, an I-showed-mine, you-show-yours…whatever) " Okay… Well, come down here." She gestured him down and they stood a few feet apart. None of the awkward events of the previous day seemed to affect them then. " Okay…here goes…" She performed a few hand seals and held them up to her mouth like (A/N: think like when Sasuke blows fire out his mouth) She aimed down and blew an icy gust at his feet. Solid ice covered them and froze him (literally. tee hee.) to the spot.

"Uggh, how troublesome… Is this sort of attack close range only?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. But that's not all! I can melt the ice, too." She knelt down, made some seal and placed her hands over the ice. It melted almost instantly. " Cooler (heh heh…) than your Shadow jutsu. Nyah, nyah!" He flipped back, away from her.

" Let's spar," she said, excitedly.

" No way. I'm not going to hit a woman." Shikamaru said, crossing his arms.

" Well, you don't have to hit me… and I wouldn't hit you. How about… the first to touch the others forehead wins?"

" Bah, (I don't really feel like it, but) fine." He uncrossed his arms and pulled out a kunai knife. He threw it at her knowing that anyone could dodge it easily. She put her hands up to her mouth and blew solid ice in front of her where to kunai would hit. The ice fell to the ground when the knife hit it.

(Heh, heh…now see this…) Misaki blew the ice solid over her arm to create a sort of sword. She hopped over to Shikamaru and began jabbing her arm at him. He dodged each jab easily with a smile on his face (hmm, interesting technique), but she had backed him into a tree. He had, however, predicted this; he quickly made to perform the Shadow Bind.

Misaki melted the ice on her arm and put the hand seal up to her mouth. She aimed for Shikamaru's shoulder and blew before he could enact the Shadow Bind. He hadn't dodged it, but he did screw up her aim. His left shoulder was frozen to the tree and so was…

"Auugh! You froze, like, half my face!" Shikamaru's face wasn't covered in solid ice; it was just (she could imagine...) very, very cold. He glared at her in a Shikamaru-ish way, but it was done jokingly.

" Ha, ha! I'm sorr-…" (Inner Misaki: Do it, you clever devil-whore, do it…you like him, I know… heh heh)

" Thaw me out here, before I get bored…" trailed off Shikamaru.

" Yeah…yeah, I'll thaw you out …" Misaki stepped slowly towards him, her eyes on his. She pressed her lips to his and put her hands on his face. They shared a "a thawing" kiss. Shikamaru put his index finger to her forehead. Misaki pulled away, startled.

" I win." he said.