Part Eight

"Well done for making it down to the final five," Chouji said to the contestants. "Now, as I am sure you know, we will have to say goodbye to one of you. Shikamaru has the results of the fashion contest."

"Yes, thanks, Chouji," said Shikamaru. "I'm sure it was very troublesome to choose a winner, but after much discussion the judges handed me this sealed envelope. I don't know who won yet, myself…" he opened the envelope, and read was written inside briefly. Then he looked up again. "The winner… well, it was a draw. The winners were Naruto and Deidara, for two different but extremely well-thought-out outfits. That means you two are safe for today.

"As for the others… Temari, you are also safe. Which means… I'm sorry to tell you, that Gaara, you are no longer in this competition."

Gaara nodded calmly, but there was a red flash in his eyes and the sandy forest floor around them began to lift slightly as he subconsciously summoned it. Seeing this, Temari was quick to lead her brother out of everyone else's way, before anyone got hurt.

Group One

Ino brushed her hair again as she looked out of the window. It was a fine, sunny day, and she hoped that the challenge would be outdoors. She wasn't disturbed by having been in the bottom two. It made no difference to her – she knew she was still in with a chance. As one of Shikamaru's oldest friends, she couldn't go wrong.

Group Three

Temari sat miserably in her room. She felt lonely now her brother was gone. Admittedly, it had been strange, competing against such a close relative for Shikamaru's heat… but at least they knew each other and could talk. She felt alone now, since she hardly ever saw the leaf ninjas, and had never even spoken to Deidara.

Group Four

Deidara exploded the little model of Gaara, and as he did so a thin stream of dust flew into the air and piled upon the floor, as if the model had Gaara's powers over sand. Naruto gasped, amazed, then quickly pretended it was nothing.

"Hhn, you should spend more time focusing on Shikamaru, not those stupid things," he said quietly.
"Today, everyone," Shikamaru said cheerfully, "We're testing social skills. So, we're all going… swimming!" he finished with a large and uncharacteristic grin. His announcement was met with a moment of shocked silence, then wild cheering from Naruto and Ino.

They were all instructed to meet at a nearby stream in an hour, and everyone arrived on time. They were all wearing light summer clothes over their swimming costumes, and carrying various towels, beach balls, sun hats, and other swimming equipment.

Shikamaru shrugged off the towel he had wrapped himself in to reveal green surf shorts, and said, "Let's swim."

What followed was havoc. Ino was wearing a purple bikini with black polka dots, and she stretched out on a rocky overhang to sunbathe. Temari, in a black one-piece swimsuit with an open back took one look at her, and jumped into the stream with as much force as she could muster. Immediately, Ino was soaked by the spray. Naruto, wearing orange-and-black shorts of a similar design to Shikamaru's, also jumped in, and began to swim about underwater. Deidara hesitated, then pulled of his black robe to reveal black shorts. He sat on the banks with his legs in the water as Shikamaru lay back and floated along, watching the sky.

Naruto pulled Deidara in by the legs as Ino jumped in and pushed Temari's head underwater. Temari soon got the upper hand and pushed Ino under, while Deidara frantically tried to keep his hair dry. Shikamaru thought he saw a cloud shaped like a dragon in the sky. Chouji sat on the riverbank and watched, with a packet of crisps in each hand.

Naruto swam up behind Ino and Temari as they fought each other and pulled at the strings that held up Ino's bikini. She screamed and tried to hold it on as Temari laughed at her plight, but Deidara decided at that point to get revenge on Naruto. Jumping towards him, he knocked into him so hard that he fell under the water, grabbing at the nearest thing as he fell, which just happened to be Temari. She reddened and stumbled as she, too, was pulled under the stream. Shikamaru smiled peacefully as he watched the wind change the dragon into a castle.

Eventually, they all managed to get themselves upright, and began to whisper together at one side of the stream. After a brief plan was made, they all took up positions on the banks, ready to jump into the water. Deidara raised his hand for a few seconds, then lowered it, and as he did so they all simultaneously jumped at Shikamaru.

Soaked and sputtering, Shikamaru looked round at all the innocent faces, wondering who had planned to jump on him. Wiping the water out of his face, he put on the angriest expression he could, and dived under the water. Within a few seconds he had pulled them all under again, one by one.

A little later, they tired of swimming and stretched out on the rocky banks, relaxing in the sun. They had quiet conversation amongst themselves and ate a few snacks.

"You should wear suntan lotion, Stag." Said Deidara suddenly. He reached for his robe and pulled a bottle out of the pocket. "Good job I bought some… you'd burn otherwise."

Shikamaru tried to protest, but before long he was sat with his back to Deidara as the Akatsuki ninja rubbed the lotion into his skin. By adding a bit of chakra, Deidara made sure that Shikamaru enjoyed his massage a lot, and by the end of it he was so relaxed he could fall asleep.

Then the bottle was passed round all the others as Deidara received a few envying looks. Determined to win favour, Temari volunteered to make everyone a little food, and gathered some fresh fruit from nearby. She fed Shikamaru a few fruit slices, which he found delicious and thanked her profusely for.

Ino and Naruto felt like they were losing, and so Ino began to share with him memories of all the missions they had completed together, while Naruto tried to interrupt and impress Shikamaru with all his dreams of becoming Hokage.

Chouji, a silent observer, shook his head in wonder. Shikamaru was being treated like a prince. There was no wonder he was enjoying this contest!

"Well," said Shikamaru as they all finally headed back to the treehouses, "I'm glad I came up with that idea."