Yo!! I have good tidings for those waiting for Tales of a Sun Nin and Misadventures of an American Nin: I will be continuing those stories on August 15th, one day before I head off for college. So set your calendars, and get ready! For now, enjoy the story.

Chapter 9: Z Prism Team: The River Rapids!!

"Why are you forcing me to travel with you again?" Shikamaru muttered. "Because Crybaby. You let him escape." Temari said, and Shikamaru sighed. "I told you. My name isn't Crybaby. It's Shikamaru." He explained, and Temari smirked at him.

"Well maybe if you didn't whine so much, I wouldn't call you a crybabay." Temari said, smirking. "And if you didn't act like a bitch, I would listen, troublesome woman." Shikamaru said, and Temari scowled at him.

"No time for you two to be flirting with each other. Wait till we save Gaara." Kankuro said, smirking at Temari. Temari blushed unnoticeably. It wasn't noticed because they could see in the distance a giant black raccoon dog.

"What the hell!?" Kankuro yelled, and Shikamaru whistled. "Wow. These guys know how to greet their guests." Shikamaru said, and Temari and Kankuro prepared their weapons. Both nin hopped back, while Shikamaru sighed.

"Both of you attack from a distance while I distract it." Shikamaru said, and both nodded. "Man. That green guy is nothing but trouble…" Shikamaru said, as the giant raccoon dog roared in anger. "You know the old saying about bigger opponents. The bigger they are, the harder they fall…" Shikamaru said, and the giant demon roared, and swung its hand, causing black sand to shoot out.

Shikamaru hopped out of the way and took to the trees. The monster was about to follow him, but a large burst of wind slammed into the beast, merely causing it to slide over a little. Kankuro launched a large flurry of poison bombs at the monster. It hit the giant thing, but didn't really affect it.

"You would think a little poison would slow it down a little." Shikamaru muttered, as the giant raccoon dog roared in anger, and launched a large flurry of black sand at the trees, destroying them in the process. Shikamaru couldn't find Temari of Kankuro, but he assumed the worst.

(Hope they are smart enough to get away if they are still alive.) Shikamaru thought to himself, before he turned to the giant beast that gave him full attention. "You have really backed me into a corner, but now I guess I have no choice but to try a new Jutsu I have been working on." He made 5 quick seals, before his shadow began to fluctuate oddly.

"Now. Ninja Art: Shadow Birth Jutsu!" Shikamaru said, as his shadow began to coil around him. Shikamaru slammed his hand into the ground, and the shadow shot out from under him, materializing into a giant deer. "You have a dark being in front of me, so I counter it with my Shadow Beast." Shikamaru said, as the deer charged into the raccoon dog, slamming it into the trees opposite of where Temari and Kankuro were.

(I have to make this quick. This kind of jutsu takes up way too much chakra.) Shikamaru thought to himself, as his shadow slammed into the giant Raccoon Dog. The dog flew into the trees, and slammed into the ground hard.

"Man. I hope that finished that thing off…" Shikamaru said, as he prayed it was done. So when it hopped back up and roared in anger, Shikamaru scowled, and groaned. "Guess it doesn't understand what it means to stay down." Shikamaru muttered annoyed. And to top it off, his chakra was gone, which meant the deer was about to go as well.

"Guess this is it." Shikamaru muttered, as he brought his hands up. "I couldn't think my way through this one…" Shikamaru said, before he smirked. "But then again, I think I may be alright." As Shikamaru said that, a giant red spinning tank fell from the sky, and smashed right into the giant monster. It flew back, and slid into the trees, leveling everything. "Sorry I'm late, Shikamaru!!" The tank then stopped spinning and was now a boy with long red hair and red armor.

Chouji Akimichi.

"Better time than any other, Chouji. Can you handle that thing while I check to see if my captors are alive?" Shikamaru asked, and Chouji chuckled. "You would check on the ones who captured you? That's odd." Chouji said, while Shikamaru smirked. "Can't be helped. I'm a bleeding heart." Shikamaru said, as he vanished in to the direction of the Puppet Man and the Fan Girl.

Chouji shook his head, as he turned to the giant raccoon dog that roared at him. "Want to play the giant game, huh?" Chouji asked, as he brought his hands into a seal. "Ninja Art: Expansion Jutsu!!" Chouji said, as his body began to grow into epic proportions. He was now the same height as the giant beast, and he smirked. "Let's see you pick on someone your own size." Chouji said, as he reared back for a punch.

"Don't tell me you two troublesome people died on me…" Shikamaru said, as he looked around for Kankuro and Temari. "I can sense them, that much I know, I just can't find them…" Shikamaru muttered, before he saw a fan hanging from a branch. A bit of a ways from the fan was Temari and Kankuro.

"Hm. Still in one piece." Shikamaru said, as he walked over to them. "Well, they are both still alive." Shikamaru said, as he pulled out a first aid kit. He dragged them to an open area, and began to patch them up as Chouji re-appeared, smirking. "That thing stood no chance." Chouji said, and Shikamaru smirked.

"That's good. Now let me finish this, so we can continue looking for Ino." Shikamaru said, as he finished patching them up. "Why did they catch you?" Chouji asked. "They seemed to be chasing this thing that looked like a demonic power ranger." Shikamaru muttered, as he stood up. "Well, this is done. Let's find Ino." Shikamaru said.

"You looking for the blond girl in purple?" Both turned to see Green there, standing on the edge of a cliff, smirking. "You know where she is?" Shikamaru asked, as Chouji began to clench his right hand. "Maybe I do, but if you want to know, Shadow Master, then you have to beat me!" He said, as he hopped off the cliff.

Both nin ran to the edge, and saw a giant cruiser moving across the river, quite a bit of a distance away. The green enemy was heading for it. "Bastard." Chouji said. "I guess we have a lead on Ino." Shikamaru said.

Before they hopped after the fiend, chakra strings were wrapped around Shikamaru's legs, causing him to fall over the cliff, hanging by one leg. "What happened, Shikamaru?" Chouji asked, while Shikamaru looked annoyed.

"You don't think we are letting you abandon us, are you crybaby?" Chouji turned to see the girl smirking, while the boy was using strings to hold Shikamaru. "Troublesome woman…" Shikamaru muttered, while Chouji chuckled.

"Seems like we have some allies." Chouji said. "More like troublesome acquaintances…" Shikamaru muttered, while Temari and Kankuro joined them. "Let's go!" Temari said, hopping off the cliff. Chouji followed, and Kankuro left Shikamaru to hang. "Hn. Ass." Shikamaru cut the thread, and followed them.

ShadowRonin: Things have gotten interesting. Gaara has been kidnapped, and Shikamaru and Chouji have a mission to save Ino. Their only clue is this man in green who says he knows of her whereabouts.

Next Chapter: Blade and Link pride themselves on doing anything to help their friends. Even if it means getting along with people they hate, namely each other. Can they find their common ground, or will their differences drag them apart? Find out on:

Chapter 10: Z Prism Team: Infiltration of Blue!!