Strip Sparring: Shikamaru and Temari's Rematch!

Later that Night…



A deep hue of midnight blue fills the night sky, accentuated by dozens of twinkling stars, and the moon in its full glow. Shikamaru lies down on a small patch of grass, staring up at the night sky and letting his mind wonder. He puts his hands behind his head and takes a deep breath before breathing out, content with just lying there. So far, since he was convinced into playing a prank on Temari, he’s seen no sign of retaliation from her. Even at the grand dinner, as Temari stared at him and grinned between her intakes of meals, no retaliation.



“I wonder what she’s planning.” He asks himself, unsure if she’s planning anything at all. “Eh, maybe she doesn’t even know it was me. I did keep the shadow line thin from the human eye.”



Deciding not to give the matter anymore effort of thought, he resigns himself to enjoying the night sky. The cool breeze of the wind rolls over him and sways the blades of grass back & forth. Most of the academy members have already retreated back into their quarters, including Naruto, Kiba & Choji. Shikamaru basically has the area to himself, and enjoys the silent solitude that came along with it. Unfortunately, that solitude comes to an end when a familiar & annoying voice is heard yelling his name.



“SHIKAMARU!!!”



That’s followed by a kick-nudge to his side, snapping him out of his daydreaming state. He glances a little to his right to see his teammate Ino staring down at him, upset as usual. “Get up! It’s time for us to get inside!”



Letting out a dissatisfied sigh, he pushes himself off the grass as he sits up. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices Choji and Asuma making their way into the main house. Shikamaru climbs to his feet as Ino roughly brushes off the blades of grass stuck to his back.



“I don’t know why you lie on the dirty ground like that.” She tells him. Once finished, she heads for the main house. “Now come on.”



Shikamaru takes a moment to stretch out, moving his arms behind him and extending them as far as they’ll go. Once loose, he takes one last look at the full moon, before shoving his hands into his pocket and slowly trotting towards the main house. Already he can hear loud shouting coming from inside, the two dominant voices coming from Sakura & Ino. As he gets within a few feet from the door though, he feels a slight breeze roll across him again. But this breeze brings a weird sensation for Shikamaru…and a very familiar one.



“Aw, man…”



He quickly leaps off the stone path and behind a large tree, just as a huge, violent gust of wind blows past. The gust is chakra-powered, as it cuts and slices all trees in its path, including Shikamaru’s cover. After a minute, the wind dies down, and Shikamaru steps out into the open to see where the source of the wind came from, Temari.



“I take it you’re angry?” He asks.



“You think?” She answers sarcastically.



“Look, I apologize for that prank I pulled.” He tells her, wanting to avoid a battle. “It was immature of me, and I had no right to do it.”



“Actually, I don’t really mind it now.” She tells him, causing a confused look to appear on his face. “At least that prank tells me that you’re not so boring all of the time.”



“Heh…” Shikamaru lets out a half-hearted laugh, knowing the joke was at his expense. But as he tries to enter the main house, Temari opens her war fan and blocks his path.



“Oh, we’re not done here, yet.” She says.



“We’re not?” He asks, dreading the worse.



She closes her fan and grins over at him. “It was a good prank, but you did use your Jutsu outside of battle. And I don’t think Tsunade or Asuma would approve of how you used it.”



Shikamaru closes his eyes and drops his head, noticeably upset. “So you want payback. You want me embarrassed just as much as you were.”



“Maybe…” Temari answers, confusing Shikamaru even further. She walks in an arc around Shikamaru, stopping once she comes within inches of the Spring’s warm waters. There, she slams her fan into the ground, and leans one arm against it, grinning deviously at Shikamaru.



“Have you ever heard of…Strip Sparring?”



Those words go through Shikamaru like a shockwave, and though it’s barely noticeable, a look of shock fills his face. He has heard the term, and is familiar with it. He first heard of it when he overheard Asuma talking about it along with his ‘Chunin days’, then when his father discussed a ‘warm-up’ with his mother. It’s a regular sparring match, but with each clean hit, the victim has to take off an article of clothing, until one is left completely naked. The victor can then decide what they wish to do with the clothes of the defeated. Often it ends as the winner keeping the clothes as a trophy, and the loser walking home in naked embarrassment.



“I knew she’d be a pain.” He thinks. “Why did I ever pull that prank?”



“Well…” Temari asks, feigning impatience.



“So, you wanna strip me down naked and embarrass me that way.” Shikamaru says.



“Who’s to say?” Temari replies, pushing herself off of her war fan. “You might end up stripping me down. All I want is a rematch, and nows the best time.”



“Look, I don’t hurt or hit women.” Shikamaru tells her.



“Who says you’ll even lay a hand on me?” She teases back with a confident grin.



Shikamaru sighs, and removes his hands from his pockets. “There’s really no way out of this, is there?” Temari shakes her head ‘no’, keeping the grin on her face. “Fine…what are the rules?”



“Taijutsu only.” She starts, stretching into her fighting stance. “For every clean hit that’s landed on you, you must remove an article of clothing. No weapon usage…oh, and one more thing…no quitting.”



Temari lets out a smirk with that last statement, as Shikamaru prepares himself for battle. “Why did I have to antagonize a spunky one?” He thinks to himself. “I hate spunky…”



As the moonlight beams down upon the now quiet and nearly vacant Hot Spring, the two shinobi slowly circle each other, both of them calculating 10 moves ahead of their first. They shuffle their feet slowly, digging into their stances and preparing for whatever attack or defense is issued. After a moment, Temari initiates the attack, charging forward looking for the quick hit. Shikamaru responds by quickly flipping into the air, avoiding her lunge. Planting her feet, she looks up to see Shikamaru above her. He uses the wall as a mid-air springboard, scrunching up against it before uncoiling and diving at Temari. She dodges the attack and turns around to take the fight to him. Upon landing, Shikamaru rolls to his feet and is greeted by a flurry of rights & lefts. He successfully parries them all, when Temari switches up and attempts a roundhouse kick. Shikamaru dodges that and goes for a counter when Temari comes back with the same leg and nails him cleanly in his side.



He grabs his torso and stumbles back a step as Temari teases him, holding one finger in the air. “First hit…”



“Alright…” Shikamaru grumbles, unzipping his flak jacket. He takes it off and drops it to the ground, revealing only his mesh undershirt, before stretching back into his fighting stance.



The smug grin on Temari’s face grows even wider as she prepares herself to continue the battle. Lunging forward, she executes several straight punches that are easily parried by Shikamaru. She then switches up and tries three side kicks, all blocked, before attempting another roundhouse. Shikamaru dodges it easily just as he did last time, and Temari smiles.



“Got him again.” She thinks. But as she comes back with a reverse kick, she hits nothing but air.



“What the…” Before she can react, she spots Shikamaru out the corner of her eye, on the ground. He delivers a low hurricane kick, swooping Temari’s planted leg out from under her, and sending her to a rear-end landing. She slowly stands back up, rubbing her backside as Shikamaru mocks her, putting up one finger.



“Looks like it’s tied.”



She lets out a low growl of disapproval, before heeding the rules. Undoing her sash, she tosses it aside before letting her mauve-colored robe drop off of her to the ground. Shikamaru now has a full view of her mesh undergarments, consisting of a tank-top and boyshorts.



“Let’s go.” She says eager to continue the sparring match.



“So impatient…” Shikamaru groans lowly. Complying with her wish, Shikamaru charges forward this time, intending to grapple her in close for another takedown. Unfortunately, she anticipates the move and leaps into the air, causing him to run under her. He skids to a stop just as Temari lands and watches as she jumps back into the air, this time at him. She executes a perfect flying bicycle kick that sends Shikamaru reeling backwards as he tries to deflect every kick. He maintains his patience though, and waits for the desired opening to counter. Once seen, he grabs her left leg, putting an end to her flurry of kicks…he thinks.



Temari grins and plants her right foot into Shikamaru’s chest. The force of the kick sends him sliding back a dozen feet, holding his chest in pain. Temari lands and puts up two fingers, her index & middle, indicating two clean hits.



“This is so lame!” He thinks to himself, unbuckling his trousers. He lets them drop down to his ankles and steps out of them to resume the fight. Now with his mesh undershirt he only wears a pair of forest green boxers.



“I’ll bet she’s enjoying this.” He thinks. “Right now I could be asleep in bed, but she wants me embarrassed. I gotta end this.” He scans his opponents’ body, and plots out a potential path to winning this match. “If I land one more hit, she’ll remove her top, exposing her breasts. She’ll probably think it’ll distract me. From there, I can finish the fight with one more blow. It’ll be a shame to strip her down naked, but at least she’ll probably leave me alone after this.”



“What’s the hold up!?” Temari yells, snapping him out of his thought train. “Thinking about quitting? That’s against the rules.”



Shikamaru responds with a smirk. “Actually, I was thinking about ending this quickly.”



Turning his lead foot slightly, he darts forward towards the Sand ninja, just as she expected. “What a fool.”



She times her retaliation until he’s just in the right position…and lunges forward with a hard kick, only to hit air.



“What?”



A shadow dragging across the ground gives away his position, but it’s too late for Temari to react. Shikamaru is already behind her, and delivers a double-foot dropkick to her back that sends her flying. She manages to avoid a painful landing by rolling into a landing on the ground. But the damage has been done, and a clean hit has been landed.



Shikamaru digs his hands back into his pockets and grins to himself. “It’s almost over.” He thinks, watching Temari stand up. “One more hit and I’ll send her on her way. Maybe then I…”



As the young Shinobi turns his head to face his opponent, his plan begins to circle the proverbial drain. Temari isn’t removing her mesh top as he anticipated. Instead, she pulls down her boyshorts to her ankles. Slowly stepping out of them, her actions confirm that she indeed is going to go bottomless for the remainder of this match. Shikamaru was ready to see her breasts. Her lower region though…



“Aw, man…” He utters to himself. “Looks like I’ve miscalculated.”



Temari gathers his attention again as she smirks at him. “You won’t land another hit again!” Like a gazelle on the chase, she sprints forward and attacks with a flurry of straight-arm shots, all of them easily deflected by Shikamaru. He stays well out of range for a close attack, but it slowly starts to backfire for the young Nara. He catches glancing shots of Temari’s bare snatch, which causes his focus to wane slightly. It’s just the opening she wanted, as she switches up her attack and goes for a jumping spin kick. Shikamaru sees the attack almost too late, and flips himself backwards to avoid it.



He lands on his back, but quickly jumps up to his feet, no worse for wear. “I can’t keep battling her at range. Or else I get…distracted.” Shikamaru can feel the result of the ‘distraction’ in his boxers. “I have to get in close, wrap her up quickly and take her down to the ground to end this.”



Confident of his new plan, Shikamaru nods to himself before charging forward. Temari readies herself for an attack and, once Shikamaru’s in range, performs a perfect roundhouse kick. But Shikamaru ducks the kick and rolls across the rocky ground, behind Temari. Before she can counter, he rises up and wraps his arms around her waist, intending to slam her to the ground and end the match.



It’s his intention, but not his action.



Shikamaru hesitates to slam his foe, even to move in general. His plan didn’t foresee the position he’s currently in needed to slam her. Through the fabric of his boxers, he can feel his manhood pressed against her soft but firm rear cheeks. He doesn’t want to move from this spot…and Temari knows it.



“What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to finish your takedown?” She teasingly asks. “That is what you’re in position to do, right?”



She places her hands on his arms and playfully rubs them back & forth. “Not that I mind you being back there.”



It’s then that it hits Shikamaru; so hard that his lazy side reemerges and he rests his head against her left shoulder. “You were planning this, weren’t you?” He deduces. “That’s why you took off your bottom first. You were planning on me to take the fight in close and for…this to happen.”



“Maybe,” she replies with an even wider smirk. “But you still can win the match. One quick blow should do it. Or…maybe you want to try something that’s a lot less painful.”



She turns her head to the shinobi with almost glowing eyes, wearing a look of seduction that’s almost hypnotic. Subtly puckering up, she almost baits him in to press his lips against hers. Mesmerized by the moment and the feeling of her body, Shikamaru falls in and the two lock lips as he experiences his first kiss. As their mouths move in unison, Temari pulls Shikamaru’s hands arms up higher, placing them on her breasts. Already, Shikamaru is finding this situation more stimulating that any battle he’s taken part in. The taste of Temari’s lips are worth more to him now than any game of Shogi or Go, and her breasts feel too good to release. The moment is well for Temari as well. She did plan for a little one-on-one action, though she desired more of Shikamaru’s skin to be showing at this point. She won’t complain though, as she pulls away from the kiss.



“You are smart.” She tells him, turning around to face him.



The two continue their kiss, as Shikamaru places his hands on her waist and slowly moves them lower. Temari wraps her arms around his neck and pulls her body close, causing her nipples to collapse into his chest. Soon, they find their feet shuffling along the rocky floor, moving towards the main house door until Temari’s back slams into it, making her break the kiss.



“UHN!”



Her mouth immediately rejoins with Shikamaru’s though, as she shakes off the bump. She wraps her right leg around his and holds him close, his muscular body intoxicating her with each passing second. The feel of Temari’s body is just as enthralling to Shikamaru as well.



“I don’t know how we got to this,” He thinks, “But I don’t want it to stop.”



Unfortunately, it does come to a stop as Temari gently pushes him away from her lips. He leads him near the warm waters of the hot spring as a devious smirk forms on her face. “Well, since we can’t possibly continue our sparring match…how about we play another game?”



Shikamaru looks back at her with a hint of shock. “Games? Of all the times, right now she wants to play games?”



“Just a little something to make this moment more interesting, and fun.” She tells him. “Are you familiar with 69?”



A light & barely noticeable shade of red appears on Shikamaru’s face as he nods his head. Choji’s secret stash of adult ‘ninja’ magazines informed him plenty on that position. Temari grins seductively and stares deep into his eyes as she slides her hand into his boxers. She gently grips his erecting manhood with her left hand, while placing her right hand on his shoulder. “How about a face-off, then? First one to cum loses.”



Before Shikamaru can give his answer, Temari uses her agility and leaps into the air, holding herself up by her hand on his shoulder. She then removes it, and starts to fall face first to the canvas, until Shikamaru instinctively grabs her by the waist, stopping her plummet. The two are now in a standing 69 position, which Temari takes full advantage of.



“Nice catch.” She tells him, pulling his boxers down to his knees.



“She’s unstable.” Shikamaru thinks. “Pulling off such a dangerous move? She must not be…be…oh, man…”



Shikamaru’s mental assessment of the Sand Ninja disintegrates in his mind as he feels her moist lips wrap around his cock. Temari’s already started on her end of the position, and she locks her thighs around Shikamaru’s neck, wanting him to join in.



“Oh well, looks like there’s no turning back now.” Putting one arm around her, Shikamaru looks down at her warm, inviting vulva and lowers his mouth onto it. His tongue splits her now wet lips and ventures between her inner walls, exploring them to no end.



The sensation is enough to break Temari’s focus, as she raises her head from Shikamaru’s cock and moans in startled pleasure. “He’s more skilled than I thought.” She thinks. “For someone who’s so lazy, his tongue sure can get some exercise.”



She turns her attention back to Shikamaru’s thick rod. But as she engulfs it again, she finds it hard to concentrate with wave after wave of pleasure pulsating through her. Shikamaru gives her wet snatch a good tongue-lashing, licking up & down her moist lips and probing between them sporadically, but thoroughly. To make things even more heated for the Sand Ninja, his mouth finds its way to her stimulated clit. A quick brush across it with his tongue nearly causes Temari to lose her grip and fall from the pleasure overload. But she holds on.



“DAMN! He’s good!” She thinks. “I’m gonna cum soon if he keeps this up. I gotta make him cum first, though…and I think I know just how to do it.”



Closing her eyes, she calls upon her wind-based chakra and eases her head movements. Slowly, a concentrated vortex of wind guides her movements, causing her head to bob back & forth much quicker that she could unassisted. The surprising increase in speed, combined with her tongue movements, are enough to send Shikamaru storming towards his limit, and past it.



“UHN! Where did…all that speed…come from?” He thinks, unable to hold on much longer. “I…can’t…last…”



Letting out a loud grunt, Shikamaru unloads a hot stream of jizz directly into Temari’s mouth. A moment later, his legs give out from under him, causing his grip to release. As he falls down to one knee, Temari calls upon her agility and lands on her knee in front of him. She takes a moment to get her bearings before spitting out the excess jizz unloaded into her mouth, then wiping her lips.



“You must’ve been saving up to shoot out that much.” She says teasingly.



Shikamaru slowly raises his head to look at her. “You…cheated…”



A mixture of shock and amusement comes across Temari’s face. “I what?”



“You had to have used your jutsu for your head to move that quickly.” He clarifies. “It’s wind-based, just like Asuma’s. I saw him in battle, and he used his wind chakra to increase the speed of his arms, making it possible to slash his enemies at lightning speeds. It’s no thought that you would apply the same method to blowing me.”



Temari can’t help but smile at his accurate analysis. “He is one of the smartest shinobi this village has to offer.”



“You’re absolutely right.” She tells him. “But you can’t say that you didn’t enjoy it.” Suddenly, she lunges forward and pounces on Shikamaru, pinning his shoulders to the ground as she straddles him.



“Hey, what’re you doing?”



Temari gazes down at him and grins. “Don’t play stupid, it doesn’t suit you.” She says lovingly. “You know exactly what I’m about to do.”



Spreading her knees apart, she reaches down and plays with his erect rod, teasing the thought of it penetrating her womanhood as she smiles down at him. In truth though, that very thought aroused her to no end, and made her wet with anticipation. While stroking it, she rubs the shaft against her moist lips, bringing a gritted grin of pleasure to her face. Shikamaru decides to join in, and moves his fingers in unison with hers as they rub his manhood. After a minute of this, Temari becomes impatient and tires of just feeling his cock.



“I think it’s time that we get to it.” She seductively suggests.



“Huh? Wait!” Hesitation fills Shikamaru as Temari prepares to puncture herself with his rod. “Shouldn’t we get some protection before—!?”



“UUUUHHHHHNNNN!!!!!”



The sound of Temari’s moan indicates that protection is no longer an option. Shikamaru feels the warmth of her inner walls surround his manhood as she takes in every inch, down to the hilt. Shock runs through Shikamaru’s body, as he lies motionless for several moments. This was not how he’d picture the night ending up. He pictured himself in bed right now, in a deep slumber; not deep inside the same volatile woman who tried to rip through him mercilessly at the Chunin Exams.



Temari leans down close to Shikamaru’s face, breaking him from his state of shock. “You were saying?”



Shikamaru looks into her surprisingly sparkling eyes, and lets out a tired sigh. He then lets his head drop back against the ground and gazes past her and at the stars. “Well, this isn’t how I planned out my first time.” He utters.



That makes the grin on Temari’s face grow from ear to ear. “So I’m your first, huh?”



“Yeah.” He replies. “And without protection, I’ll probably come inside of you. We’ll end up having a kid and…”



“Must you over-analyze everything?” Temari interrupts, crossing her arms and leaning them against his chest. “There’s nothing wrong with a miscalculation every once in a while. The unexpected is what makes life worth living. You might even learn to love it.”



Letting herself drift downward, Temari ends up with her lips pressed against Shikamaru’s again. The words she spoke ring loudly in his mind. Letting go of the worry about the unexpected, he wraps his arms around the Sand ninja and holds her close. She does the same as she pulls him up off the ground. The two are now sitting up, as Temari wraps her legs around him. Shikamaru clenches her firm ass cheeks with his left hand, while keeping his right arm around her. Their tongues exchange spaces between each other’s mouths as their jaws move in unison. Temari sucks on his lips, adoring the taste of them as Shikamaru brings his right hand to her warm front. Lifting up her mesh top, he immediately gropes her bare breasts as they break their kiss, leaving a thin line of saliva connecting their mouths.



“Now you’re getting into it.” She tells him.



“It’s better than what we were doing.” He replies, before attaching his mouth to her nipple.



“AH!! Much better!” She agrees, feeling his tongue on her erect fleshy tip. Her right hand drifts down her body until she reaches her clit. She rubs it circularly with two fingers as she moves herself back & forth slowly, moving almost completely off of Shikamaru’s cock before moving forward, taking it all in again. After a minute of slow grinding & gyrations, she gently pushes him away from her bosom and lays him back down. Now in a squatting position, she moves herself up and down on his manhood, keeping her hands on her knees for balance. Shikamaru lifts his knees up slightly, giving her a brace. The moonlight shines off their bodies, and as Shikamaru gazes up at his lover, he sees her with a heavenly-like glow. The two remain silent, save for their occasional moans and sounds of affection. This changes as Temari glances down at Shikamaru and grins.



“So how do I feel, Shika?” She asks lovingly.



“Warm…and tight…” He answers, grinning back at her.



Her grin grows a little wider on her face as she brings an end to her bouncing and switches motion. With his cock nestled deep in her snatch, she slowly grinds herself against him again, moving her hips in a circular motion.



“Your cock is filling me up.” She tells him seductively. “I hope you don’t cum too soon. I’ll be surprised if you can hold out for two more minutes.”



Shikamaru gives a silent groan and tries his best to hold back a displeased look. “She’s teasing me again, playing mind games. Probably about to use her jutsu to increase her speed so I do come first.” And with that last thought, a devious idea pops into his head. “Unless I beat her to the punch.”



Suddenly, he grabs firm hold of Temari’s ankles with both hands, startling her. “Wh-what are you doing?”



“You said you wanted to have fun, I just wanna join in fully.” He replies. “I’ve been doing some training with my jutsu, and now’s the perfect time to put it to the test. You wanted pleasure, I’m about to blow your mind.”



With that, Shikamaru begins to pump his hips off the ground, deep into her wet snatch. He closes his eyes and focuses his chakra energy, calling up a shadow form of himself. As Temari looks on, Shikamaru’s movements begin to leave a shadow trail…a solid shadow trail. His jutsu has worked perfectly, as the shadow trail gives the illusion and feel that he’s doubled his speed. As he thrusts up into her pussy, his shadow trail pulls out. And as he pulls back, his shadow trail shoots up inside of her.



“AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!”



The force of his thrusts causes Temari to bounce up & down, gritting her teeth as her breaths become short. “Oh god! It’s like he’s fucking me at twice the speed!” She thinks. “I didn’t know his jutsu could do that! I…I don’t think I can hold on…”



Letting out a stalled moan, she takes one hand off of her knee and puts it on Shikamaru’s chest, trying desperately to hold her balance. Beads of sweat rolls down her glistening frame until thrown into the air by Shikamaru’s thrusts. While Temari tries to strive off all urges to come, Shikamaru fights desperately to do the same. The taxing task of maintaining his jutsu while staving off an orgasm is enough for a mental meltdown, and he’s about ready to erupt like a volcano. Luckily, Temari barely beats him out.



“AAAAHHHH!!! GOD, I’M GONNA CUM!!!”



A final stroke by Shikamaru is enough to send her to her limit, as her inner walls nearly collapse around his rod. Her body trembles as an orgasmic wave washes over her, one strong enough to force her balance away. She falls forward onto Shikamaru, who quickly wraps his arms around her as his climax arrives. Letting out a groan, his cock explodes inside of the luscious Sand ninja, shooting his jizz and filling her up. The excess amount drips and seeps out through his soaked pussy lips and down his shaft, as the two lie there near the spring’s waters, panting heavily. They both face the same direction, and stare off onto the still waters of the spring and the moon’s reflection off of it. Silence reigns again between the two lovers, until once more, Temari breaks it.



“So…what do you call that move?” She asks playfully, between breaths.



“I was thinking…Double-Fuck Jutsu.” Shikamaru jokingly responds.



“Good name.”



Shikamaru lets his hand drop into the warm water, and he moves it gently in a circle. A moment later, Temari’s hand joins in as she mimics his motions. Another moment passes before he remembers back before their sparring match, and what she told him.



“So, is this the embarrassment I’m gonna endure?”



“I never actually said you were going to be embarrassed.” She replies.



That comment brings Shikamaru to the ultimate realization of this moment. “So it really wasn’t about embarrassment. You did all just so I would fuck you.”



Temari grins in response. “Don’t act like you didn’t enjoy it, either.” She tells him. “Because we both know that’s not true. Besides, this is a lot better than playing your board games, right?”



“Heh.” Shikamaru continues to move his finger around in the water as a grin crosses his face. “Yeah…it is.”



The Next Morning…



The sun slowly creeps over the horizon, illuminating the calmly quiet hot springs. It shines through the windows of the main house, giving each room of the house an orange glow. In one of the rooms, the front door slowly slides open to show Shikamaru. The remainder of his night was spent with Temari, getting better ‘acquainted’ with the lovely Sand shinobi. Now, low on energy and chakra, he just wants to lie down in his own bed and get some much needed rest. Unfortunately, a loud, familiar voice prevents that from happening.



“SHIKAMARU!!!!!”



He cringes at the sound of it rattling through his eardrums, before turning to his left to see Ino leaning against the wall. Her arms are folded over her chest as she glares a hole through her teammate. To say she’s pissed is an understatement.



“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN???” She yells, waking up Choji, who’s in a nearby bed. “You were gone the whole night! What if some Sound Ninja attacked you and…”



“Ino!”



The fiery young woman’s rant is interrupted by Asuma, who emerges from the back room fully clothed. “Shikamaru never left the grounds here, so calm down. I’m sure he was out practicing his jutsu, right?”



Shikamaru scratches the back of his head and grins nervously. “Uh yeah…that’s it. Practicing.”



“You see? There’s no reason to go biting his head off, Ino.” Asuma tells her.



Ino lets out a quick groan of disapproval, before storming out of the room, leaving the men alone. Shikamaru takes this moment to climb into his bed as Asuma walks past.



“Getting some rest in before our Shogi game later today?” He asks.



Shikamaru lies down on his back and stares up at the ceiling. “Actually, if it’s alright, I have plans to play Shogi with someone else today.”



Asuma grins as he pulls a cigarette from his pocket and puts it in his mouth. “Of course you do, kid.” He says, lighting it as he exits the room. Shikamaru closes his eyes, and as sleep begins to set in on him, a similar grin appears on his face.