!*!*! PAY ATTENTION... CYFLOG SYLW... chú ý !*!*!
Disclaimer: Does Rock Lee wear green spandex? Yes, yes he does. That's how you know I own no part of Naruto. Now that that's out of the way, read on my friends and enjoy this weirdness.
Nagisa stood a few yards away from another girl who Shikamaru assumed to be Tori.
Etsu looked down at the two. "Okay, are you two ready?"
Twin nods greeted this statement.
"Good. Now I want you two to just spar using Taijutsu. No ninjutsu. I don't want to have to ask for the training grounds to be refitted. Three times in one week is just too much," Masago said, sighing.
Tori, a pretty girl dressed in questionably tasteful clothes that consisted of very little fabric, asked, "Can we use weapons?"
"Yes. Now, ready?"
Nods again.
Etsu and Masago stepped away from their prospective students, back to Naruto and the rest, and then Masago yelled, "Begin!"
For a moment, neither girl moved. Bodies tense, they eyed each other. Then, Tori sprang into action, sprinting forwards towards Nagisa.
Nagisa barely had time to react as a fist came hurtling towards her chest. Training and skill kicked in as she let the fist get within range and then she slid her arms up, hands catching Tori's wrist and stopping it with a jolt. Three gleaming steel tips quivered, inches away from penetrating her skin.
Tori held three kunai between her fingers like claws.
Shikamaru's eyes widened fractionally. Nagisa could have been seriously injured. Wasn't this merely supposed to be sparing? This was more serious than any genin sparring he remembered in Konoha.
Before Tori could take advantage of the fact both of Nagisa's hands were occupied, Nagisa jerked Tori forward harshly, using her momentum to flip over her. Then, Nagisa kicked the other girl in the back hard, propelling her away from Tori. Still in mid-air, she flung out her hand and a shuriken sped along a deadly arc to Tori.
At the last moment, Tori dropped, hugging the ground, and the sharp projectile passed harmlessly overhead, only to imbed itself in a tree, inches away from a horrified ninja's face who looked as though he would faint any second.
The fight went on.
Nagisa unleashed a flurry of well placed punches, and Tori stumbled back, winded and clutching her chest.
She glared at Nagisa. "Just because you've got no chest doesn't mean you need to flatten mine! Jealous, much?"
This comment got several kunai launched at her. One nicked her cheek, and blood dripped down it. "I'm not flat!" Nagisa yelled. "Anyways, it'll be fine in a few years. Sadly, the same can't be said for your face. A few more years won't help it. It'll just get worse, if that's possible. I don't think anything would help it, except a bag to cover it up."
It wasn't just a sparring match, Shikamaru decided. It was also a cat-fight, and it bore a striking resemblance to the fights Ino and Sakura had had, except less annoying, more dangerous, and they were actually fighting instead of standing around screaming at each other.
To his left, a group of boys and girls were yelling encouragement to their favorites, and also placing bets, of course.
Tori dashed forward with a scream of fury. She lashed out with a kunai. Steel met steel with a flash of sparks and the harsh clang of metal on metal. Red blossomed on Nagisa's clothing from a glancing blow, and then, simultaneously, they knocked the weapons out of each others hands. They turned back to hand to hand combat. Punches, kicks, elbows, and knees flew in a blur.
Shikamaru was pretty sure he saw some biting, too.
Suddenly, Tori dropped down with a sweeping kick, only to stop mid-kick and switch direction to aim for Nagisa's head.
But, with a pleased smirk, Nagisa caught her leg firmly. She'd been expecting it. She threw Tori by her leg into the hard packed dirt ground viciously, and was on her before Tori could get up. Within a fraction of a second, she sat on Tori's back, one hand gripping the immobilized girl's arm behind her, the slightest pressure causing excruciating pain, and her other hand holding a glinting kunai to Tori's throat.
"Give up?" Nagisa asked.
Tori didn't answer, instead staying stubbornly silent, a sulky expression on her face.
Nagisa pressed the blade harder against Tori's throat, and a faint red line appeared. "Give up or die." It wasn't a question this time; it was a statement.
Still reluctant, Tori said, "I give up."
Nagisa sprang up off of her, almost gauntly, and was immediately surrounded by people.
Shikamaru was still staring. What the hell. That couldn't have been a friendly sparing match. What did a death match look like then? This made what they did in Konoha look like play.
Masago noticed his shock. "Don't worry," she assured him. "We could have intervened if it had gotten out of hand, and the girls know the difference between an enemy and a friend. They weren't actually trying to kill each other."
He wasn't too sure about that last part. He was pretty sure that he'd heard threats of ripping out intestines and then choking the other person with them. That didn't sound like exactly friendly. But, he could have been mistaken. Then again, he was a genius, therefore seldom wrong. Well, that and the fact that you'd have to be a complete and utter idiot to think that someone threatening to disembowel you meant they wanted to be friends. Right…
"Your students are learning quickly, Masago, Etsu. Especially young Nagisa. I have no doubt that she will became a highly skilled shinobi under your tutelage, Masago." Came a familiar voice. It was Takeshi.
Masago blushed faintly, and looked down, something that Shikamaru had the feeling didn't happen often. "Thank you, Takeshi-sama," she sounded almost shy.
That didn't feel right. Masago seemed like a no nonsense type of woman. Then it dawned on Shikamaru. Masago had feelings for Takeshi. The whole damn village seemed like a mash of love, assassination plots, perversion, death threats, and kami knows what else. Shikamaru firmly pulled his attention back to the spar that was going on.
After an hour, and several more sparring matches, most of the fighting was over, and almost everyone had settled down and were eating at one big picnic. There had been several impressive genin, including a boy who defeated his opponent with whip-like movements, a girl who fought on all fours part of the time, and a boy who none of the other students would fight.
Now, all he wanted to do was stare at some clouds and think about what he had learned. Seeing that Naruto was talking to Kotone and there didn't appear to be any perverts about, Shikamaru threw some food in a napkin and sneaked off, intent on finding somewhere to watch clouds in peace.
It didn't take long to find a spot, either. It was a small glad, little more than a gap between tree trunks above which the small the sky showed through their leaves, far enough away from the other shinobi that their loud, energetic voices were muffled to a soft drone. He plopped down on the thick moss carelessly, and gazed up at the sky. Wisps of clouds rolled by over the blue sky. Shikamaru studied them thoughtfully, once in a while taking a bite of the food he'd brought with him.
There was a lot to think about. First and for most, the assassination attempt. He had several possible suspects, and absolutely no proof. What was more, he had the feeling that poking around for answers would not help. Whoever wanted Kotone dead was someone he knew, was watching them all closely, and was meticulous.
Another think to think about was the issue of genin and the academy. He had no doubt that the majority of them would give genin from Konoha a run for their money. Plus, he'd noticed that after their spars, a medic nin had been there to heal any injuries.
Takeshi took in any ninja who wished to live in the Yugakure. No, more than that. He was actively going out, finding Shinobi in trouble, and giving them a new home, a sanctuary. He was getting different skill sets, techniques, and bloodlines from those people, too. The Yugakure had everything necessary to become a strong, and potentially dangerous, ninja village. If they turned on the hidden leaf village, it could be disastrous, and that was exactly the sort of thing that might happen if Kotone was murdered while under their protection.
Shikamaru groaned.
Lady Tsunade was not going to like this, and when she didn't like something, sake, well more sake than usual, and fists were involved. Fists meant injuries, which meant bruises and pain, and not even the type of injuries to keep him off missions, just the type to be troublesome and annoying. The whole situation was annoying and troublesome… almost. There was one good thing about the situation and that was that he got to spend time with Naruto. Naruto was, of course, highly abnormal, but also fun to be around, kind, a good person, and not just a pretty face, although she did have a pretty face. More than just a pretty face, in fact. She also seemed to be a bit of a pervert magnet. First Kakashi, then the great toad sage, and now Kazuo and the rest. He wasn't on the pervert list… yet.
A pair of soft footsteps sounded, almost unnoticeable on the soft ground, and he opened his eyes, alert behind half closed lids. It was the person occupying his thoughts.
"How did you find me?" he asked. The spot he'd chosen was fairy secluded, and his chakra signature was hidden.
Naruto tapped the chakra earring that she had created, and both of them wore. "They're connected, so it leads me right to you."
Yep. She was definitely an idiot savant, much smarter than she let on about certain things, though.
She sat down next to him. "Hisoka showed up, and Kotone's surrounded by some ninjas she told me she'd trust with her life, so she told me to go and spend some time with my boyfriend, since it might look a little off that I never left her side."
Shikamaru's brain barely processed anything after "spend time with my boyfriend." Fake boyfriend, he reminded himself sternly. Naruto lay down on the ground beside him, and because of how the ground slanted because of the tree roots, her body pressed against his, warmth radiating from her sun kissed skin.
He silently thanked nature, and the trees almost seemed to rustle in reply. Maybe that was one more reason he liked her; she reminded him of the sun and the sky.
"Hey, Shika?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah?"
"I know I shouldn't say this, because we're on a mission, and it's serious, but this is really nice. Do you want to like hang out when we get back to Konoha?"
"That sounds troublesome…" he started to say, and felt her tense up and edge away, and then he finished, "But I'd like that."
"Really? Great!"
Shikamaru looked at her.
She was grinning hugely, and he suspected that she was trying not to punch the air in victory. Now was the perfect opportunity to kiss her, but he didn't want to mess anything up, and, besides, if he tried anything, Kotone would somehow interrupt.
So, instead he let her use his shoulder as a pillow, and idly messed with her long, blonde hair, as they watched the clouds drift by overhead. Everything was utterly peaceful, and almost lazy.
That was, until a scream pierced the air.
Shikamaru jumped to his feet and ran after Naruto, who was already speeding through the trees. He cursed silently. Couldn't the universe just give him a few minutes of peace without someone getting killed? It wasn't too much to ask for, was it? Apparently, it was.
For a moment, he wondered what it would be like to be a civilian, because, while he did like it, being a ninja was completely, entirely, totally troublesome.
Okay, here's another chapter of the story. Sorry it took so long, but I'm still getting things back together. Anyway, hope you all enjoy it. Oh, and I'm sending review replies back the way I'm supposed to. Unfortunately, some people either don't sign in when they review or don't have an account. I know I've been told that I might get in trouble for putting my review replies up here, but I don't want to leave anyone out.
Ja ne,
Rumer Hasit
Silver Ghost: Thank you, thank you, and thank you. I do try to keep my character fairly close to the original in terms of personality. The only major change I thin I've made it obvious. Naruto is now a female. I also try to make sure that the story is well written in terms of punctuation and spelling. The review thing has been taken care of for the most part as well. It was getting a bit long. Anyway, glad you liked it.
Unimportant: Best one that you've read about Shikamaru and Naruto? Well, that's high praise and I'm glad to accept it. Thank you very much. I'll try to make sure that Shikamaru gets a little more loving as well, since you requested it. He does seem to be off his game, if he has one. Thanks for reviewing.
KatelySmiling: Yep. I'm back. Glad you missed me. I hope this update is soon enough for you.
Nara-chan: It's nice to know that my story is worth the wait, even if the wait was annoyingly long. Sorry about that again. And, yes, I had a pretty good time in the mountains and camping with my family. I still missed the computer though... Anyway, I hope you like this chapter.
hana-chan: Yes. I finally updated. A miracle, right? And here's the next chapter for your viewing pleasure.