Jynx opened her eyes to find Shikamaru standing over her with a wet cloth.

'For someone who's got all their muscles snapped, you sweat a lot in your sleep,' he smiled.

'Damn… That Naruto…' Jynx replied wearily. Shikamaru's eyes widened but he smiled even more.

'I see that you can talk again. She did her work quickly.'

Jynx's Byakugan activated and she looked around the room.

'Where am I..? Oh no! But that means that…' she gasped.

'Don't worry. Neither of my parents know that you're here,' Shikamaru comforted Jynx.

'But I've also got to see Kakashi-sensei and 'Ruka-anii'll be wondering where I am… And the mission…'

'Don't worry yourself, Jay-onee. Kakashi-sensei can come here, Iruka already knows that you're here, he visited yesterday and the mission was completed successfully.'

'How long'll it be until I'm back to normal?' Jynx looked concerned.

'Well, as soon as I can figure out how, you can start going on missions again. Maybe with Kagemane or Shadow Puppetry… Maybe that Kankuro could teach me some stuff…' Shikamaru appeared to be talking to himself but Jynx still listened intently, 'It could be days or weeks, maybe never. But I'll look after you until you're better. Promise.'

'What is he doing up there?' Yoshino asked her husband impatiently, 'SHIKAMARU! Get your ass down here RIGHT NOW!'

'Please, Yoshino… Leave him be. He'll come down when he wants to…' Shikaku replied, 'It makes me wonder though… why did Iruka-sensei visit yesterday?'

'Apparently to give Shikamaru some extra-credit work… Don't look at me like that!' Yoshino was quickly losing her temper with her husband.

At that exact second, Shikamaru walked into the kitchen and straight to the fridge.

'What do you think you're doing, young man?' Yoshino asked, or more shouted at, Shikamaru.

'I have some extra-credit work to do so I'm going to eat upstairs,' Shikamaru replied calmly, taking quite a few things from the fridge and returning upstairs.

'Something tells me that there's something he doesn't want us to know about…' Shikaku muttered.

'Well, that was close…' Shikamaru muttered, placing the food down on a tray.

'Your mum shouts REALLY loud… Besides, you're going to eat all of that by yourself?' Jynx wondered.

'Nope. At least half of it's for you,' smiling, Shikamaru placed a hand behind Jynx's back and gently lifted her until she was sitting upright. He then used his Shadow Endgame Technique to collect cushions and pillows from around the room to prop the red-head up.

'Okay, I guess that's fine. All my involuntary muscles still work. But that means that… why do you bother? Isn't this a drag for you?' Jynx changed her mind-walk into a direct question.

'Nope. When you're around, Jynx, not much is a hassle. It's all I can do to help. Besides, when we're done, we can watch the clouds,' Shikamaru smiled, taking off his flak jacket, 'That thing's great for ninja stuff, but rubbish when you're taking a day off.'

'You've got a day off?' Jynx asked in reply.

'Not really, but needs must, ey?'

'Tsunade-sama's gonna kill you…'

A knock at the door made Yoshino look up from her chopping board. She answered it to find two boys standing outside. One was dressed completely in black and had purple paint on his face, the other had a gourd on his back and the Kazekage hat on his head.

'We're here to see Shikamaru,' Gaara said simply, 'May we come in?'

'Certainly, Kazekage-sama,' Yoshino replied before turning around and yelling, 'SHIKAMARU! You've got visitors!'

Shikamaru ran downstairs.

'Ironic, I was just thinking about you guys… where's man-strength woman?' he asked, referring to Temari as the new nickname he'd thought up for her.

'If you're meaning Temari, she's trying to reverse a complicated chakra sealing jutsu,' Kankuro replied.

'Okay then. Come on up to my room,' Shikamaru started walking up the stairs, followed by the two guests. Once they arrived in Shikamaru's room, Gaara's eyes widened. Kankuro remained rather unresponsive, however.

'What's happened to you?' Gaara asked, sitting down on the bed beside Jynx. He took off his hat and placed it on the desk opposite the bed.

'Someone used a chakra scalpel to destroy almost all of her voluntary muscles. Which is part of the reason why I was thinking of you guys. Kankuro, is it possible that you could teach me the art of puppetry?' Shikamaru first replied to Gaara's anxious question and then asked Kankuro his own question.

'Well, it's a tall order… but you seem determined so I'll take you up on it. I'll warn you now, it's a hard technique to master,' Kankuro replied, smiling.

'Well, for once I have motivation so… when will we start?'

Kankuro looked around, summing up the size of the room.

'Right now, if you want.'

A/N: This chapter's just the start of the action. Will Shikaku or Yoshino find out about Jynx? Will Shikamaru be able to master the Shadow Puppetry? Will Jynx ever recover? Find out next time!