So...it occurred to me a couple of days ago that maybe I should have given Genma a safe-word or something, but upon further reflection, I decided that the card can replace the safeword, and besides, that's kinda the point of the whole exercise and the reason Kakashi's staying in the room. So if that omission offended anyone, sorry, and I hope that explanation helps. :)

See chapter one for disclaimer information.

Shikamaru stopped his fist from connecting just inches from Genma's jaw.

"Ready to tell me yet?"

The restrained jonin just raised a bleeding eyebrow, and Shikamaru sighed before resuming his menacing expression and completing the punch.

This had been going on for just over an hour, varying the abuse with periods of silence and spending a little time just talking with the 'informant.' Kakashi was leaning against the wall, and he had pulled out his book about three minutes into the simulation. He was still paying attention to make sure Shikamaru didn't get overly zealous, but there was little danger of that from the lazy genius.

Genma was looking a little worse for the wear. There was a cut on his lip from his senbon and another on his eyebrow, where the angle of a particular punch had been just right. He would have a couple of visible bruises tomorrow. He also had some bruises around his ribs and abdomen that would make him uncomfortable for a while, but no major injuries.

Shikamaru looked at Kakashi. After another few hits, it would be time to move to the next stage of his plan. So far, the scowl hadn't left Genma's face except to alternate with a goading smirk or grin, though Shikamaru knew from one fleeting glance at the beginning of the simulation that the restrained jonin wasn't sure exactly how far Kakashi would allow the simulation to progress.

Shikamaru punched him again, this time with the back of his hand, and followed it with a fist in his stomach. While Genma was doubled over as far as the restraints would allow, Shikamaru walked around behind him and gestured to Kakashi, indicating the door to the small room. The white-haired ninja nodded almost imperceptibly, and Genma saw nothing.

The genius walked back around to the front, drawing a kunai as he did so. Genma watched him warily, licking the cut on his lip to see if it was still bleeding.

Genma felt the weapon against his throat and rolled his eyes. Clearly he was getting bored.

"Seriously, kid?"

"Seriously. This is getting too troublesome. Tell me what the card was."

Genma tipped his head to the side for a moment as he pretended to consider the demand.

"…No."

Shikamaru backhanded him and pressed the weapon to his throat a little harder. He could feel Kakashi watching intently from behind his book.

"Tell me what the card was."

"No."

Shikamaru made no sudden moves this time, but after a couple of seconds, Genma's bored expression faltered into a wince. A single drop of blood trickled casually from under the blade down toward his collar.

Genma's eyes darted over to Kakashi with an expression somewhere between questioning and worried. The Icha Icha book snapped shut and its owner pushed off the wall.

"Shikamaru, a word."

Instantly the kunai left Genma's throat, and the seated ninja relaxed noticably.

Kakashi strode over to the door, and Shikamaru returned the weapon to its holster as he followed the older shinobi.

Once the door closed behind them, Kakashi crossed his arms and looked at Shikamaru, who nodded back toward the door.

"Can he hear us out here?"

"Only if you shout."

He nodded.

"I didn't go too far with the kunai, did I?"

Kakashi cocked his head to the side.

"Almost, but no. No deeper than that cut was, it'll heal in a few days. It was a good strategy to get out of the room. What's up?"

"I have an idea and I need your help."

Kakashi just raised his visible eyebrow.

"And what might that be?"

"I want to use a henge, but I can't use Kage Bushin."

"I see. So you want me to create a shadow clone version of you?"

"Is that alright?"

"What'd you have in mind?"

. . .

Genma looked up when the door opened. It had been nice to have a short break, but now Shikamaru was coming back in…alone?

"Where's Kakashi?"

"Had a quick errand to run."

"Great. Wanna untie me for a minute until he gets back?"

Shikamaru just sat down backwards in the second wooden chair, which had been neglected for most of the morning. He just looked at Genma for several seconds, with the silence growing in the dark, cell-like room.

"Why did you let him rope you into this?"

"I told you that already."

"Yeah, I know. 'Training is important.' I mean why didn't you make him find someone else to sit there?" Shikamaru gestured toward the chair the senbon user was tied to.

Genma tilted his head and fixed the young man with a questioning look for a minute, then finally closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Lemme put it this way: Never let that guy catch you doing something you don't want the world to know about, no matter how drunk you may be. And never ever let him help you hide the evidence of it."

Shikamaru's expression showed that he was curious to know a little more about what could possibly be worth going through a hostile interrogation simulation to cover up, but he didn't pry.

Probably too 'troublesome,' Genma smirked to himself, and the two sat in silence for a brief time.

A couple of moments later, the door opened again. This time Kakashi entered, followed closely by a young blonde woman dressed in purple.

It was Shikamaru who spoke first while Ino's shocked eyes took in the sight of the battered jonin tied to a chair.

"Hi Ino."

His voice seemed to make her snap back to life. She turned an angry glare on her seated teammate.

"Nara Shikamaru! How could you!?"

Shikamaru didn't answer. Instead, he looked around the room as if she hadn't spoken at all, and that just seemed to tick the blonde off further.

"Out. Both of you." She turned to look at Kakashi to emphasize the fact that she wasn't too impressed with him at the moment either for condoning the situation.

Shikamaru looked at Kakashi, who surveyed Genma's visible injuries quickly. When his eyes landed on the cut from the kunai just above his collar, he nodded and turned back toward the door. Shikamaru rose from his chair to follow. When Kakashi was about to pass Ino, who was still glaring at both of them, he leaned down to whisper something in her ear.

Ino's glare darkened, but she responded with the formal 'hai' of a subordinate receiving an order that she didn't like.

The door clicked shut, and Ino walked over to stand in front of Genma. He raised one eyebrow curiously as she looked him over.

"Why did you let them do this to you?"

Genma didn't say anything. Instead, he just continued to regard her coolly. She sighed and knelt in front of him, reaching to unzip his jacket.

"I'll use my medical jutsu to undo the damage they've done, and I would untie you if Kakashi-sensei hadn't just specifically ordered me not to."

"No jutsu."

"What?"

"Ino, right?"

She nodded, bewildered that he didn't want her help. He sighed.

"I knew what I was getting myself into and there's a good reason for it. Don't use any jutsu on me or it'll negate the time we've already spent."

She scowled.

"Fine. But I am going to clean you up, and I hope you'll get yourself out of this mess as soon as they come back in." She was reaching into her medical bag as she gave the implied 'order', and she produced a clean white cloth.

"Now why would I do that?"

She glared at him as she dampened the cloth with something from a bottle, probably water or antiseptic.

"Because it's doctor's orders?"

Genma chuckled as she started to dab at the cut over his eye, looking upward to watch her hand. "That's never worked on me before."

"Shizune says otherwise."

Genma's eyebrows shot up. "Does she now?"

A devious grin spread across the blonde medic's pretty pink lips. "Is it true?"

He matched her grin with one of his own. "It might be."

She moved to the cut on his lip, and she sensuously brushed the cloth over his lower lip before bringing it to wipe away the blood.

"And how many of the other rumors 'might' be true?" She tugged at her own lower lip with her teeth, and his eyes flicked down to watch.

"That depends."

"Oh? Depends on what?"

She pulled the cloth away a little and ran her finger along his bruised jawline, applying just enough pressure when she reached his chin to tell him to tilt his head back. He complied.

"On how many you've heard."

"Enough to be…intrigued." She gently wiped a clean part of the cloth over the cut on his throat, soaking up the single drop of blood that had fallen. His eyes closed.

"Then some of them are true."

"How about the one…that you're good with your hands?"

He smirked without opening his eyes.

"That one's true."

She unzipped his vest and parted it, and he raised his head to see what she was doing. She explained.

"Shikamaru's my teammate, so I know his style. He didn't just keep to your face."

"You sure that's your only motive?"

She looked at him with shock in her eyes, and he almost laughed. Instead, though he just gave her a flirtatious smirk and a wink. Feminine charm quickly replaced the shock on her face.

"Should it be?"

He shrugged. "Dunno, but it'd be a pity if it was."

She smiled at him as she pulled the hem of his shirt up to inspect his stomach and lower chest, tracing the tip of her index finger straight down the center of his chest and stomach. The muscles jumped under the light touch.

"Well, no cuts here." He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, and she lowered her voice. "But I can't really check any lower with you tied to that chair."

"That's too bad."

"Yeah, cause there's another rumor that I'd really like to know whether it's true…" She looked up at him and tapped her nails on his belt buckle.

"Maybe you can find out later on tonight, after I get done with this simulation."

She pouted.

"But I have a mission starting tonight. It's solo, but I really can't delay it."

"That's too bad."

"What is this stupid 'simulation' for, anyway?"

A hint of suspicion rose behind his flirting eyes. "They didn't tell you?"

"Just some type of training or something." She scowled. "I'm really going to kick Shikamaru's ass for this, too. There's no way he should've consented to this! You're not the fucking enemy!"

She seemed like she was about to get carried away, but Genma just chuckled.

"Calm down, love. It's alright."

"But I was really hoping for a date tonight, and if you're still in here by the time I leave…"

"How long is your mission?"

"Undetermined. Anywhere from two weeks to a month."

Genma frowned, and she continued.

"What's the point of this damn simulation, anyway?"

He studied her carefully for a moment, but all he could see in her eyes was indignation. Surely that kid wouldn't have the balls to try something like this, right?

"Your friend has to get me to tell him what card Kakashi showed me at the beginning."

Ino's face went blank. "You're shitting me."

Genma raised an eyebrow. "I'm not."

"Then tell him already! Do you like this kind of pain?"

"Only in certain contexts." Her eyes widened at his playful wink. "But that's not the point."

"That makes me sad." She gave him another flirty smile. "I was hoping for a little…'stress relief' before I have to leave on my mission tonight, but Shikamaru said this thing was going to last until tomorrow morning if he couldn't finish it early."

Genma's eyes widened, first at her suggestion, and then at the idea that he was going to be stuck here until tomorrow morning. He'd known Kakashi to run this simulation that long once before, but…would he do it again?

…Shit. Of course he would.

"Please tell him the damn card? Otherwise, I'll probably be all alone for the next five hours until I have to leave. That's bad luck, you know." She winked at him.

"Is it?" he muttered absently as his eyes wandered over her, so she continued.

"I know. I'll hang out at that little tea house by the flower shop –you know the one?"

He nodded warily and she lowered her voice.

"If you change your mind before I have to leave, then come let me know. Fair enough?"

He didn't get a chance to answer before the door opened and Kakashi stuck his head in.

"Ino. Time's up."

She stood up and winked at him as she re-zipped his vest, whispering 'remember, five hours from now.' She then turned around and headed out the door without looking back.

When Kakashi and Shikamaru came back in a moment later, the latter of the two suspiciously looked Genma up and down.

Well, I guess he knows his teammate pretty well. He met his gaze evenly, giving nothing away.

Shikamaru pulled a long strip of cloth out of his hip pouch as he walked over to stand behind the seated jonin. In a matter of seconds, he'd been blindfolded in such a way that no light at all was peeping under the cloth.

"Feel free to tell me what card that was at any time."

Then, after what Genma supposed could only be a justu of some kind served to render all sounds inaudible and paralyze his body, he sat waiting for whatever would come next.

At least he's changing it up a little. Naptime.

The lazy genius apparently had no intention of letting him go to sleep. After a couple of minutes, Genma was startled by a painful uppercut. He couldn't even move his body to react to the pain or to pull his head back forward, though, because of that damn paralysis jutsu, so he was left alone with his thoughts, which he allowed to drift back to that beautiful blonde medic.

Every so often at random intervals, pain would punctuate his thoughts and keep him from going to sleep in the dark, silent nothingness.

. . .

Three hours and fifty minutes later, Shikamaru walked around behind Genma, drawing a kunai as he did so. With a flick of his wrist, the wire holding the jonin's hands fell uselessly to the floor.

Genma pulled his arms in front of him, rolling his shoulders and stretching each arm across his body.

"Damn. It's been a while since I've sat that still for that long."

Shikamaru quickly unbound his feet the same way, and Genma stretched his legs in the same manner for a moment before standing up.

Kakashi shut his book and returned it to his hip pouch. Then he pulled his friend's bandana out of his pocket and tossed it to him.

Genma caught the wad of dark blue fabric and adjusted it on his head. That helped him to feel more like himself again, though he knew he still looked pretty rough. He gestured toward the door.

"Shall we?" He grinned at Shikamaru. "I have a date with a pretty blonde medic that I'd hate to miss."

Kakashi answered by opening the door and leading the way out into the hall. Genma followed, and Shikamaru exited last, turning off the lights and closing the door behind him as he spoke.

"No you don't."

Genma turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow as the trio headed back up the corridor toward the stairs. Kakashi chuckled softly.

"Did I miss something?"

"You might say that." There was a grin in Kakashi's voice, and Genma's eyes narrowed. He looked at Shikamaru, who continued staring at the floor ahead of him.

"What's he talking about?"

Shikamaru casually met his gaze for a moment, but broke the eye contact before answering.

"That wasn't Ino."

There was a palpable silence for a moment, and the only sound was three pairs of boots scraping the floor on the way back to daylight. After several tense seconds, Genma's suspicious expression cracked and he just shook his head and grinned.

"Damn."

"I told you he was good."

"I was looking forward to that date, too. Kakashi, when did you learn to act like a girl?"

They reached the stairs and headed upwards, and Kakashi turned his head to look at Genma with a raised eyebrow and silent laughter in his eye.

"That wasn't me."

"Then…wait." He turned to Shikamaru as they climbed the stairs. "You were in the room the same time she was, which means…either you can create shadow clones, or you had Kakashi make a shadow clone of you."

"I can't make shadow clones."

Genma looked between the two of them a couple of times before laughing.

"I can't believe I fell for that. I must be getting rusty."

"I'm sure I can find someone else who could use a little training, if you need the practice." Anyone who didn't know Kakashi very well would have missed the subtle teasing in his tone.

"Not that rusty." Another thought seemed to strike him because his eyes landed calculatingly on Shikamaru. "Then…that was Kakashi…so you didn't hear…which means…" He turned to look at Kakashi again. "It was you asking those questions."

"Mm-hmm."

"Have I told you lately that you're a bastard?"

"I think you mentioned it." There was a bemused smirk in Kakashi's voice.

They passed quickly through the entryway and found themselves back in the glaring sunshine. The two unmasked ninjas winced at the brightness, but as usual, nothing fazed the masked one. Kakashi stopped on the steps and turned to face the other two, who also stopped.

"When do you want to do the next part of the training?" The question was directed at Shikamaru.

He didn't answer immediately because he was too busy wondering what the next part might be. After a couple of seconds he decided on a nice vague reply.

"I'll have to check my mission schedule. I should have something coming up with Ino and Chouji in the next day or two, whenever Ino gets back from her current mission."

Genma's eyes widened for a second, and then he just closed his eyes and chuckled, shaking his head at the ground.

Kakashi seemed satisfied with Shikamaru's vagueness, because his visible eye closed in a friendly grin. He disappeared with a wave, leaving a poof of leaves and two shinobi staring after him.

Genma descended the rest of the steps and motioned for Shikamaru to walk with him. For a couple of moments, the two continued in silence. Then Shikamaru reached into his pocket and produced a box of cigarettes along with the senbon he'd snatched away earlier. He offered the weapon to its owner, who accepted it.

"Thanks."

"Sure. You smoke?" He pulled a cigarette from the box as he spoke.

"Nah." Genma wiped the oversized needle against his sleeve before returning it to its rightful place in his mouth. "Those things'll kill you, you know." Shikamaru knew it wasn't a jab; he was just making conversation.

"Only if I live that long."

"Hm."

"Do I want to know the next stage?"

Genma's eyebrows lifted, and the senbon followed suit. "Lung cancer?"

Shikamaru cracked a smile around his cigarette as he lit it. It was easy to see why Kakashi was friends with this guy.

"Training."

"Not really, but let me ask you this: How far are you willing to go to learn this stuff?"

Shikamaru took a long drag on his cigarette. He held the smoke in his lungs for a moment as he searched for his answer, then blew it out. He could feel the senbon user watching him nonchalantly as they walked, and he flicked the ash off the end of his cigarette.

"As much trouble as it is, I've seen too much to quit…at least, until…" he trailed off, but Genma didn't press for an ending to the statement. Instead, he asked a different question after a moment's hesitation.

"What'd you see?"

Shikamaru glanced at him and returned the cigarette to his lips. "Kakashi-sensei."

Genma nodded knowingly. "Ah. That'll do it."

They walked a bit further without speaking, and then Genma had another question for the genius. "So your teammate's not even in the village?"

"…nope."

"She really a medic?"

Shikamaru looked at him. "Yeah."

"She really that…spunky?"

"That's a kind word."

"Hey, don't knock it till you try it. The 'spunky' ones tend to be a lot of fun."

"You mean spunky as in domineering or spunky as in…?"

"Either one."

"…you do realize she's my age."

"I figured. That sucks."

"Prefer the older 'spunky ones'?"

The senbon shifted to the other side of his mouth. "Not so much 'older' as just 'more experienced'."

"Ino might surprise you then."

Genma gave Shikamaru a surprised look. "Then maybe an introduction would be in order."

"Are you serious?"

"Sure, why not? I'm harmless enough. Unless you and her…?" He could see the shock on the younger man's face followed closely by disdain, and he smirked. That's definitely a 'no.' "I'm not saying I want to do anything 'improper' with her, but she seems interesting, at least."

"She is that."

"You protective of her?"

Shikamaru shook his head, blowing out another cloud of smoke. "You mean do I cock-block for her? Hell no. She's too much trouble to try to control, and she actually does a decent job of that on her own. She likes to flirt more than she likes to carry through. Usually, anyway."

"Heartbreaker, huh?"

"I guess."

Genma nodded thoughtfully as Shikamaru looked around. He hadn't bothered to ask where they were walking, but he decided now that it might be a good thing to know.

"Where are you headed?"

"The clinic."

Shikamaru didn't look at him this time, but his lack of eye contact betrayed his thoughts anyway. Genma stopped and sighed, and Shikamaru stopped too. He still didn't look at the jonin.

"I told you before, don't worry about it. I'd be fine just going home, but there's a certain pink-haired medic on duty and I can't see missing a chance to go flirt with her."

"I thought you preferred the more experienced ones?"

Genma laughed. "Oh, I do. Sakura knows that too, so there's no harm in a little innocent flirting." He shifted the senbon. "And she'll have my head if I don't go let her patch me up."

He could still feel the lingering awkwardness coming from Shikamaru, and it wasn't doing anybody any good. Genma dropped his voice back into seriousness. "I knew Kakashi had a lot of faith in you, and now I can see why. That was a good strategy you used to trick me. Was that your paralysis jutsu?"

"Yeah."

"The shadow thing, right?"

"No, but it's similar."

"It was good. You know, I'm actually impressed you were able to pull that off."

Shikamaru knew he was referring to the whole plan. He finally met the speaker's eyes, and it was clear that he was on the verge of believing him. Genma lowered his voice confidentially.

"Besides. I won't tell, if you won't. But I do want you to introduce me to Ino sometime."

"You're shameless, aren't you?" Shikamaru's voice lacked any form of rebuke.

"'Fraid so." Genma grinned.

Shikamaru shrugged casually and nodded, and Genma was satisfied that the young man wouldn't beat himself up over the events of the day. He extended his hand and Shikamaru took it, looking a little unsure.

"I'll see you around, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru felt his last bit of anxiety over the simulation melt away. Genma's eyes were warm and friendly, and he had called him by his name instead of 'kid.' Shikamaru used his free hand to pull his cigarette from his mouth as they shook hands -like friends.

"Yeah. Later."