Part Nine

Ino, Temari, Naruto and Deidara stood nervously waiting for Shikamaru and Chouji to tell them who was out.

"Well," said Shikamaru slowly, "Yesterday was fun. But… Well. There's a decision to be made. Ino, you're safe. Temari, you too."

The two boys left looked at each other, and both seemed shaken. They had been sharing a room for the whole competition.

"Sorry, Deidara," said Shikamaru. "But you'll be in that room alone from now on. Naruto, you're out."

Deidara gasped in relief, then turned guiltily to Naruto, who looked devastated. He turned and ran back to the room, trying not to cry, as Deidara followed him a little slower.

Group One

Ino looked at herself in the mirror, wondering how much longer she would last. She was in the top three… but that only meant it would hurt all the more if Shikamaru rejected her. Shaken a little, she tried to organise her thoughts and focus on the present, rather than worrying about what-ifs.

Group Three

Temari was sat on her bed, trying not to freak out about how close to the final she was. With a shock she realised that all of the remaining contestants were blondes.

"Well, well, well…" she muttered with a sly smile, making a mental note to never dye her hair.

Group Four

Naruto was gathering up his things as Deidara sat, holding the little model of him. At length he finished, and they both stared at it for a few moments.

"Do it." Naruto said, and Deidara made the model explode. Then, bursting into tears, Naruto ran from the treehouse and back towards his home.

Deidara poured the fragments back into his pouch, shaking his head sadly.

"Today," Chouji said, "Is a very special day for the three of you. Because today, each of you is going to have two hours to spend by yourself with Shikamaru." He munched a few crisps as he spoke. "You can do whatever you want in those two hours, so use them wisely!"

Shikamaru, holding a piece of paper, cleared his throat. "First of all is Ino, from 12 noon to 2pm. Then from 2.30pm to 4.30, it will be Temari's turn. Last of all, Deidara is in charge from 5pm to 7pm. With that in mind, you now have two hours to prepare and plan. Good luck."

Ino's Date

When Shikamaru met Ino at the foot of her treehouse, she smiled sweetly at him.

"Come on, Shikamaru. We're going into the village!" she said, grabbing his hand and tugging him forward.

They walked quickly to Konoha. Once there, she led him to the Ichiraku ramen stall. They shared a bowl of ramen, talking quietly as they always did. Shikamaru found himself smiling. This wasn't troublesome at all. It was just like normal.

After the ramen lunch, she led him back out into the streets.

"How about you help me choose a new outfit?" she said enthusiastically. "Since, if I'm going to be your girl, I want to look my best!"

"Uhh… sure…" Shikamaru replied, even though shopping bored him out of his mind. Her two hours, her choice.

She tried on at least fifty different items, and had to do a full turn in front of the mirror and then in front of him with each. He tried to remain focused, but before long he began to play out a game of chess in his mind, thinking of the best strategies.

"Are you paying attention?" Ino asked suddenly.

"What? Yes. You look great." Shikamaru said, startled out of his thoughts.

"This is what I usually wear!" she replied, looking a little annoyed.

"Exactly. You look great in it." Shikamaru replied, thinking on his feet.

They bought a few items of clothing, and then walked back to the camp. And that was it. It never failed to amaze Shikamaru how long girls could spend on shopping.

Temari's Date

Temari was waiting for him when he emerged after his half-hour break. Since it was 2.30, there was no chance of another lunch, so Shikamaru let her lead him off to a mystery location.

They finally reached a clear area, with trees all around them in a circle, making the place seem like an arena.

"Here we are!" Temari said, reaching into her pocket. "Now… THINK FAST!"

She threw several kunais at him suddenly. Shikamaru blocked them – just.

"What are you doing?!" he exclaimed.

"Training." Temari replied. "You still need to beat me properly. You gave up in the exam, remember?"

"Y-yeah…" Shikamaru began, about to protest. However, it was too late. Temari began attacking him relentlessly, even cutting his arm at one point.

After the two hours were over, Shikamaru took advantage of the break to clean up his arm and rest. He was exhausted, his chakra nearly all gone! How on earth did people go on dates? His had so far only been boring and exhausting… what was the point?!

Deidara's Date

Deidara wasn't wearing his Akatsuki robe any more, but was instead dressed in the clothes he had worn in the fashion contest. Gai, his most vocal supporter, had given them to him as a gift for being his favourite contestant in the well-dressed stakes.

"Er… ready, stag?" he said, sounding a little nervous.

"Sure." Shikamaru sighed. "Where are we off to?"

"Well…" Deidara began. "I just tried to pick something you like that I could do to, and, well… I couldn't really find anything. So I thought maybe we could take a walk up to the hills, and watch the sky together, un?"

Shikamaru looked at him for a moment, surprised, before nodding. They set off, quickly finding a suitable place. After a few minutes they settled into a comfortable silence, watching the clouds moving across the sky.

When they had been there for about half an hour, Deidara slowly inched his hand across until it was in Shikamaru's. Shikamaru didn't protest, or move. He was feeling peaceful and laid-back now. They stayed like that for another hour, occasionally pointing out strange-shaped clouds to each other, before going back to the camp.

"Well?" Chouji asked.

"Girls are really troublesome." Shikamaru sighed.