Konoha's Own Blue-Eyed Puppeteer

The Written Exam

Naruto jumped infront of Kiba, pointing at him. "Yeah right!! Sasuke might lose to you guys, but I sure as hell won't!!" Hinata twiddled her fingers, and slowly then walked over to Naruto. "Sor-rry N-naruto.. Kiba d-didn't mean it li-ike that.." Her soft voice barely reached the loud mouth blonde's head. I smiled to myself, watching the scene. A sweet, quiet girl with an active, stupid boy? They do say opposites attract.

"What are you smiling about, hm?" Shikamaru asked as he stepped closer to me. "Huh? I was thinking that Naruto and Hinata would make a cute couple." Shikamaru sighed drastically, almost making me laugh to see how little he's changed in these few months. "What is it with you women, always pairing people up?" I shrugged, seeing his point, but not what's bad about it. "Surely you thought about it too. I mean, everyone thinks about what kind of person they'll end up with. Heh, maybe you even thought if you would end up with someone?" Shikamaru's face flushed, yet only slightly. I leaned in closer. "Ah! That's a yes! Maybe a girl from the academy?"  I smirked, going on. "Come on! Surely you thought about what troublesome woman you would go with?" I mimicked his catchphrase.

Shikamaru scoffed and looked away. A few minutes passed before he let go of a tiny, "Maybe.."

Huh. That was unexpected of him... "R-Really! Who!?" Excitement coursing through my voice made Shikamaru flinch. "Jeez, calm down... That's what I don't like about you women, all of you always make the littleist of things a big deal." I let out a tiny sigh, staring at him. "I won't deny it, but this you. The guy who refuses the thought of dealing with a girl." He sighed, a longer sigh than I had let out a few seconds ago, and then shook his head. "Nevermind you troublesome girl."

I almost felt the need to whine. "Hey you started this! Come on, I'm curious! It's not Ino is it? How about that one girl who was always quiet in class? Granted she was a Sasuke fangirl, but they're not all bad-" Shikamaru stopped my rant. "You haven't changed much, you know that?" He smiled a tiny smile, looking at a dumbfounded me. "I-Uh-Well-... Yo-You think so?" He laughed a little. "Yeah, not a bit." A sudden thought hit me. "Stop that! I know what you're doing! Avoiding the subject won't help you." He groaned, ready to fall to his knees. "How about just a hint? A tiny hint?" I pleaded, pinching my fingers to symbolize ''tiny''.

Shikamaru seemed to consider his options. "Fine... I wouldn't go for a troublesome woman." His voice sounded lighter, like he was tip toeing around something. I tapped my head in a thinking way, trying to understand the hint. However, a teasing smile tugged at my lips as my mind couldn't help but to shove out, "So, you're gay?"  

***Shikamaru's POV***

G-Gay? That's what she came up with? Out of all the things this blue-eyed girl could have thought up, she had to say that, didn't she? Her teasing smile only made me feel worse. I couldn't help but to groan at her, and face palm. "No, you idiot." She laughed, a light cheerful sound. "I know, I was playing around with you... Hey, what about-"

"QUIET DOWN YOU WORTHLESS BASTARDS!!" Sharply, I twisted my neck, looking to my right as did everyone else. A larger, tall man stood at the entrance to another door. Intimidating scars stretched across his face, yet it was his eyes that struck me with the intimidation I felt. His eyes were cold, and hard, baring down into whatever he looked at.

"Hey Ki! Let's go!" 

Ki? Who's Ki? 

Akisha turned to me, a nervous smile breaking across her face, whether for our departure or the look of the man over there, I couldn't tell. "Gotta go! Kiba's calling me!" Akisha's nervous smile faded into her normal light-hearted smile towards me. She waved a goodbye, then ran off to her teammates who were waiting.