The Tournament

Ranma was having trouble sleeping. He tried to bore himself to sleep by going over the pieces and movements of shougi. It didn't help. So now he was bored and having trouble sleeping.

It seemed to him that he was worried, but not about any one thing. First, Akane was somewhere out there, probably scared and alone, just waiting for him to rescue her. Ranma scoffed at that last thought. Akane never waited for anything. The fact that she hadn't saved herself yet was what was really worrying him. Akane was just about as proactive as you could get.

Second there was the fact that Ukyo was acting weird. Ever since Ranma showed her the flier with Akane on it, she had been acting all... girly. She twirled her hair and batted her lashes, and even laughed at his jokes, even the ones that weren't funny. She didn't do this with anyone else, just him, and it was beginning to bug him.

Finally there was that Shikamaru guy. He seemed okay, but he knew things about Ranma that he hadn't told him, like the fact that he lived in Nerima. Also, Shikamaru was going to play in the tournament. Why would he train his opponent?

And what was up with that Hinata chick? First some slick guy comes strolling in and takes over his training, then he quits and puts some chick in charge? 'With my luck she's yet another fiancé that Pops set me up with,' Ranma thought as he stared at the dark ceiling.

He wasn't saying that she wasn't pretty, but she was too quiet. She lacked fire or something like it. That and her eyes were freaky. He had never seen anyone with white eyes that could also see. They seemed to look through him, which he didn't like. It was just...creepy.

Ranma shook his head, trying to clear it of all thoughts. It only worked a little, instead his mind was filled with pictures of Akane. He wasn't really sure what would happen when he got her back, after all technically she would be his slave, not his fiancé. Sometimes he wanted her to be that way, just do as he says without arguing, but that wasn't often. He really liked her fire. He liked that she stood up for herself and others. Ranma definitely didn't want to lose that, but losing Akane would be worse.

“Where are you Akane?” he asked the ceiling as he punched his pillow and turned to his side. Through sheer force of will he finally fell into a fitful sleep.

His dreams were plagued by images of Akane screaming and pounding against a wall, trying to escape. Even though he could see her mouth moving and her her fists pounding, there was no sound. Not even when blood started dripping down her hands and onto her wrists. Ranma tried to get to her, tired to stem the tears leaking out of her eyes, but there was something keeping him in his place. She seemed to be beyond his help, and that was something Ranma couldn't stand.

“Akane!” he shouted into the silent space. He needed her to know that he would save her, That it wasn't too late... that he wasn't too late. “Akane! Don't give up! I'll save you!”

Akane stopped pounding on the wall, cocking her head. Her tear stained face moved, and for a second he could swear that she was looking directly at him. Her lips moved, but he couldn't hear what she said.

His eyes flashed open and he stared at the ceiling. “Damn,” he whispered fiercely. He fought against the tears that threatened to course down his cheeks. “Damn,” he repeated, just for good measure. 'Guess there's no sleeping for me tonight.'

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Hinata was having a surprisingly easy time falling asleep, staying asleep was the problem. Once she was changed and groomed for bed, she had emerged from the bathroom to feel an odd tightness in the room. She smiled at Shikamaru to let him know that it was free.

He gave her a tense look, then made his way into the empty room. Hinata was having a difficult time determining what the look meant. For a second she entertained fantasy that the look was of unfulfilled lust. It was kind of nice thinking that he was thinking about her that way. Especially considering some of the thoughts she had had about him that afternoon in the shower.

She felt her cheeks heat up as she climbed into bed. Briefly she debated posing provocatively, for when he returned from the bathroom, but the second her body touched the bed she realized what a long day she had had. Hinata scrambled under the covers, put her head down, and fell asleep.

Scenarios kept flashing in and out of her mind. Some were of her barging into the bathroom while Shikamaru tried to relieve himself of the lust she was causing him. Of course being the kind and caring person that she was, she would help him to relieve that tension. Possibly by kneeling before him placing his manhood between her lips. He would taste salty and maybe a little tart on her tongue, but she would continue her ministrations until...

There was a comforting weight on her body. Coving her in warmth as she moved slowly with the rhythm of his hips. Hinata was lost in the sensation of his hard length against her core. There was something keeping them separate. Something keeping her from reaching...

It was her own whimper of need that caused her eyes to snap open. She felt incredibly hot under the covers, and tried to relieve some of that heat by removing some covers. That's when she discovered that most of the heat was caused by the man who was wrapped around her, not the blankets.

His thigh was thrown over her legs, effectively pinning them to the mattress. His arms were wrapped around her torso and one of his hands was nestled in between her breasts. 'Who knew Shikamaru was so affectionate when he slept?' she asked herself as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp. It wasn't that she didn't like being in his arms, but she was feeling so uncomfortably hot, what with her dreams and all the body heat.

Once she had cooled and calmed down, she tried to sleep again. It was surprisingly easy to sleep again.

The trip to the S&M brothel must have effected her more thoroughly then she thought, because the next scenario in her mind was of Shikamaru using his shadow bind technique on her. Using phantom hands to hold her in place while he teased her body mercilessly. It seemed that no matter how she begged he didn't listen. It was all becoming too much, she was going to...

There was a mouth moving restlessly against her own. Hinata definitely liked kissing, and this guy knew just how to do it. Teeth scraped down her neck pleasantly before biting gently on her collar bone. Hinata tried not to make a sound just in case it was another dream. Slowly but surely the mouth moved down her naked body, nipping, sucking, and licking all the way. By the time the mouth reached her hips it was too much for her. Teeth scraped gently against her hop bone, causing Hinata to gasp.

She stared at the ceiling, not happy that she had just had another set of erotic dreams, with no way of taking care of the throbbing they caused. It was still to early for a shower, which would wake everyone else up, and taking care of the problem with Shikamaru in the same bed was out of the question. Although it was tempting. Maybe she could wake him up and... 'No! Bad Hinata!'

Hinata glanced sideways towards her bed mate. She was mildly surprised to see that he wasn't sleeping like he had been last time, but staring at ceiling, blanket pooled around his waist, arms crossed behind his head.

Curious, Hinata turned her body towards him. He glanced at her, saw she was awake, and turned his body to face her. He raised an eyebrow at her, the exact same look he had had in her dream as he tortured her with his shadow bind. Hinata blushed and avoided his gaze. They didn't really know each other well enough for her to explain her reaction.

Shikamaru smirked at her and shook his head. Hinata glared playfully at him for his reaction, then smiled at him so he knew she was joking. There seemed to be nothing left to say, so she closed her eyes.

Something still felt unfinished, so she opened her eyes again. Shikamaru had returned to staring at the ceiling. She thought about their exchange and her dreams while she admired his profile. He must have sensed her looking at him because he turned to look at her again.

Before she could change her mind, she gently reached out a hand to caress his cheek. His eyes widened slightly, before returning to normal. Hinata smiled at him then leaned forward a little. He must have followed her lead because their lips met sweetly and innocently, at first.

Their kiss deepened, lips wrestling just for the fun of it. Soon, she felt his tongue gliding against her lips, seeking entrance. Immediately her lips parted and her tongue rushed forward to meet his. They twisted together sensually before retreating and tangling again. By the time they parted, Hinata was panting slightly. Shikamaru had a slightly glazed look in his eyes.

“Goodnight Shikamaru,” Hinata whispered quietly into his ear. Then she pressed her lips hotly against his one more time before snuggling into her pillow and drifting into a happy but dreamless sleep.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Kiba was sitting in a field watching Akamaru chase butterflies. Never catching them, just chasing them, because Shino would bitch if Akamaru if he actually caught one. He used to bitch that Akamaru chased them at all, but he got over it when he realized that Akamaru had a soft spot for the colorful insects.

From out in the distance he heard someone calling his name. He turned to see his teammates, Shino and Hinata waving at him. Eagerly he got up and ran towards them. Right before he reached them Shino started to leave.

Kiba called out to him, because he hadn't seen Shino in a while and wanted to talk, but Shino ignored him. Soon Shino's shape became fuzzy and he started fading into the background. 'He's gone,' Kiba thought as he stopped to stare at the space Shino used to occupy.

“Bye Shino,” Hinata said cheerfully before turning in the opposite direction and walking away. She passed Kiba as she left, not even acknowledging him. When Kiba tried to get her attention by grabbing her arm, his hand passed through her.

Kiba stared at his hand, but it looked pretty solid to him, so he returned his gaze to Hinata. She was no longer there. Far away barks had him looking up and into the field. Akamaru sat there, looking at him expectantly. Kiba slowly started moving towards him. As he got closer, he noticed that Akamaru was fading away. He ran forward and tried to grab the last bit of Akamaru...

'They're gone...' Kiba thought brokenly, staring at the spot where Akamaru had sat. “Come back!” he ordered, wanting the joke to be over. They wouldn't really leave... would they? “Come BACK!” he shouted when he got no response. “Please?” had asked hopefully. The only response was wind blowing across the meadow.

Slowly Kiba's eyes opened, tears leaking out of the corners. Akamaru was already awake, quietly sitting up with his head next to Kiba's chest. Silently Kiba reached out and hugged the giant dog, needing the solidity he provided.

Kiba didn't sob into Akamaru's neck, even though he was very tempted to. Instead he breathed in deeply, trying to compose himself before his companions woke up. He glanced at the bed that Hinata was sleeping in. He couldn't see her, but he did see Shikamaru with his back to him.

A hand reached out from the bed and placed itself on the side of Shikamaru's face. Kiba's eyes widened as he realized that the had belong to Hinata. Shikamaru leaned his head forward, and Kiba could hear the unmistakable sounds of kissing.

'She's leaving me...' he thought is shock as he listened to the excited breathing of the couple on the other bed.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Ms. Friday hadn't allowed the slave to sleep. She was working on the slaves bodily control. Sleep first, then hunger, and finally excrement. Some masters wanted to control all aspects of their slave, without any of the housebreaking involved, so as a precaution Ms. Friday trained her slaves to the best of their ability.

After the biting incident, Ms. Friday had watched the slave closely, but there had been no indication that the slave was fighting the jutsu since. Now the slave stared blankly at the floor in front of her. She hadn't been given any orders, so she knelt on the concrete floor, hands resting palm up on her knees.

Ms. Friday was quite pleased that she hadn't fallen asleep yet, or moved a muscle, even though the concrete embedded in her knees couldn't be comfortable. The slave had been awake since this morning, doing strenuous training. She knew that the slave was tired, but she stayed awake, because that was what she was told to do.

“Slave, rise,” Ms. Friday ordered. When the girl followed the order, Ms. Friday smiled, even though she frowned shortly after that at the condition of her knees. 'Those will have to be taken care of before the auction,' she noted.

Small abrasions due to training would be healed the night before the tournament. She was to be unblemished when presented to her new master. After that, any marks on her skin were the responsibility of the master.

“Did you bite my assistant?” she asked, looking for deception on the slave's face. The girl nodded. She wasn't lying.

“Why?” The girls brow furrowed in confusion. There was a long silence as the girl thought. “Speak!” Ms. Friday snapped.

“During the instruction portion of the lesson, before I was to practice, you said that some men prefer the use of teeth, sensei,” the slave answered honestly.

Ms. Friday glared at the girl, then pointed to the chains attached to the ceiling. “You are to be punished for excessive use of teeth. You are not to bite unless so ordered. Assume the position for the chains.”

Obediently the slave went to the chains and raised her arms, back to the wall. Briskly Ms. Friday snapped the shackles into place around her wrists. “You will sleep now.”

Instantly the slaves eyes shut and her breathing evened out. As best as Ms. Friday could tell, the slave was asleep. She nodded in satisfaction, then turned to leave the room. The room was completely silent except for the sounds of Ms. Fridays boot heels clicking on the pavement as she left the room.

For just a moment Ms. Friday paused at the door way, in the shadows so that the slave couldn't see her. She watched patiently for signs that the slave was faking her compliance, but found none. The slave didn't so much as twitch as she hung, asleep, from the shackles.

Ms. Friday twisted away silently, sure that all was well with the way things were going. In fact, it wasn't until she made her way into the room where her assistant sat at the control panel, watching the slave on a television screen, that there was even a hint of anything wrong.

“She's leaking,” the assistant said when she opened the door.

“What?”

“There's a liquid hitting the floor. I can't tell the exact source of the leak, but the liquid is definitely coming from her,” her assistant explained, pointing at the screen.

“Change cameras,” Ms. Friday opened. “I want to find the source of the leak.” If the slave drooled in her sleep she would need extra training.

The assistant pressed some buttons and the image on the screen changed angles. The slaves front appeared on the screen. Liquid dripping down from her bent head. There was no way to see the source of the leak from that angle.

Ms. Friday sighed deeply, then returned to the training room. She was tempted to wake the slave, but understood that if she were to do that, the leak would stop. Instead she gently tipped the slaves head up so that she could look at her face.

The good news was that the slave doesn't drool. The bad news is that she was somehow able to surpass the jutsu, which no one should be able to do at all. Coursing down the slaves cheeks were tears. 'How is this possible?'

She released the slaves head and returned to her assistant in the viewing room. He raised an eyebrow in question. She shook her head dismissively. She needed to keep this little bit of information to herself.

Tomorrow her assistant would conduct the lessons on grace to the slave, while keeping the lessons of control in effect. No food for the slave until she returned. Ms. Friday had some research to do.