Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Checkmate ❯ Chapter 1

“Checkmate”

 

 

“That one looks like a pineapple.”

“Or your hair . . . “

“Hey!”

“Admit it!”

“Well, maybe a little . . . troublesome girl.“

“Troublesome boy.”

 

You watched the clouds pass dreamily overhead as you and your best friend, Shikamaru Nara, engaged in playful banter.

 

You smiled. “Hey, that one looks like a Shougi board.”

“Hn,” he grunted in agreement.

“Do you want to play? Again?”

He looked at you out of the corner of his eye. “Are you prepared to lose? Again?”

You sat up, grinning. “I'll beat you this time. You see if I don't.”

 

*****

 

“Checkmate.”

Dang. You sighed in defeat. “Okay, you win. Again.”

His smirk widened just a little. “You were thinking further ahead that time, Kurai. You are getting better.”

A small smile crept onto your face. “Well, I am learning from the best.”

“She nearly beat me that time; I had to think for over five minutes before I saw her strategy, then she trapped me, countering my counter move. She nearly won!” Shikamaru thought, watching you closely while he set up the Shougi board again.

“What?” You asked.

He sighed, before deciding on an honest reply. “That's the closest anyone has ever come to beating me.”

Your eyes widened in surprise. “Oh . . . “

He smiled slightly, and you could have sworn you saw some new respect in your old friend's face.

 

At that moment, Kiba came bursting through the doors, Akamaru hot on his heels. “Guys! You'll never believe what we get to do!”

You and Shikamaru groaned at the same time. “What did you sign us up for, Kiba?”

“Hey, it wasn't me! All us Genin have to participate in this two-day survival training thing in the forest. It's to train us and 'subtly test our skills'! “

“It sounds like a drag.” Shikamaru complained. Kiba picked up Akamaru, grinning. “No, it sounds like fun!” He was about to run back through the door, when he stopped and whirled around. “Oh, Tsunade-sama told me to give all the Genin a copy of this message. Better hurry!” Kiba threw a small scroll, which Shikamaru caught, then dashed away, Akamaru sitting on his head. Shikamaru sighed and read the note out loud.

“ 'All Genin are to meet at the training grounds in half an hour. Bring a change of clothes. Accommodation and food pills will be provided. Treat this exercise as a mission - don't be late!' ”

You got up quickly. “I have to go get my stuff! See you in half an hour, Shika,” you yelled over your shoulder, running to get to your house in time. “Yeah . . . “ You heard him reply half-heartedly.

 

*****

 

You arrived at the training grounds with minutes to spare. After looking around for a moment, you smiled, taking note of the many different people already there. You began talking to Sakura, and Temari came up and joined you. “Hi. Gaara's in a bad mood, and Kankurou is being his usual weird self, so I'm just gonna hang out with you guys, okay?”

“Okay, Temari,” you both smiled. Sakura continued to chatter on about Sasuke, but you observed Temari closely. Something didn't quite add up. Suddenly, you realised what it was, and your face broke into a grin. “Nice try. Very nice. But not quite nice enough. As they say in Shougi, 'Check', Shika.”

 

Sakura looked at you like you were crazy, then turned back to Temari, probably about to apologise for your strange behaviour. However, Temari was smiling broadly. “Good spotting,” she said - but her voice was too masculine. She disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Shikamaru standing where she had been. “A transformation jutsu?!” Sakura cried, astonished. “But that means . . . you heard what I said about Sasuke-kun! Grrrrrr! If you ever tell anyone, I will personally tear out your tongue and make you eat it!”

Shikamaru took a step back while Sakura fumed. You were doing your best not to laugh your head off. “Okay, okay, I promise, “ he said, taken aback by her vehemence. “Good!” She growled, and stalked off.

 

Shikamaru turned to you. You were still trying to restrain your giggling.

“What's so funny?” He demanded.

“Your face was priceless!”

“Ha, ha,” he said, a little sarcasm creeping into his voice. “How did you figure out it was me, not Temari?”

You smiled angelically. “Easy. Temari doesn't know me well enough to pour out her 'brother issues' so readily. Everyone knows they're a handful, but she wouldn't admit it unless she deeply trusted the person she was talking to.”

He yawned. “Nice deduction. Clever way of letting me know I was busted, too.”

 

" 'Check', Shika."

 

“Like I would in a game of Shougi,” you smiled. “Hey, I think the meeting thing is about to start.”

You looked over at the main group of Genin. They were assembling into smaller groups of four, each one led by a sensei. You and Shikamaru hurried over. “Ah, here are the last two, Asuma,” said a low female voice. You looked up to see the Godaime Hokage herself, Tsunade, standing with Asuma. “I should have known you'd be late, Shikamaru.” Asuma muttered. “I guess you two are on my team, then.”

Tsunade smiled. “Alright, last team, Sarutobi Asuma, Nara Shikamaru, Aburame Shino, Asheda Kurai, and Uzumaki Naruto.”

 

*****

 

The once-peaceful forest now echoed noisily with Asuma's encouragement. “Okay, team, just sixty-three more push-ups out of the two hundred to go!”

You, Naruto, and Shikamaru groaned. Shino stayed silent, but you noticed the sweat beading on his face. Asuma grinned. “Just do it - if you don't finish in five minutes, you get four hundred sit-ups as a replacement exercise.”

Your faces went blue, and you all struggled to complete your push-ups. Finally, you got up to two hundred, promptly collapsing. “How did I do that?!” Naruto yelled, lying with his face in the dirt. You were all exhausted. Asuma let you rest for a few minutes, then said, “Good work. Now, let's set up camp,” making you all groan again. Dragging yourselves upright, you slowly walked behind him to another clearing. He sent you all out to look for firewood as he quickly set up the tents.

 

*****

 

You came back, laden with dry sticks, to see two small tents in the middle of the cleared patch of ground. Asuma was just finishing the second one. You dumped your wood next to the fire pit and walked up to the tents, but hesitated before you entered. “Asuma-sensei, do you need help with putting up the last tent?”

He grinned, accidentally blowing cigarette smoke in your face. “Oops, sorry. Thanks for offering, but there is no last tent. This is it.”

You coughed, then stared for a moment. “Oh, okay . . . “ Just then, you felt someone standing close behind you. Very close. They whispered lightly in your ear. “ 'Check' “.

 

You jumped, twisting around to see Shikamaru grinning at you. “Sorry, did I scare you?” He asked innocently.

“Very funny . . . “ you grumbled quietly.

He ignored your comments, addressing Asuma instead. “Where's Kurai going to sleep? There are five of us, and she's the only girl.”

Asuma got an anime sweatdrop on his temple. “Dang, I didn't think of that!” He rubbed the back of his head. “Well, they're only two-person tents! I guess she'll just have to share with one of you guys!”

 

Suddenly, Naruto fell out of the tree behind you. “What?! Share with a girl?! No way!”

“Uh, Naruto, why were you in that tree?” Asuma asked.

Naruto grinned. “Hehehe, I was practicing my awesome ninja skills!" You and Shikamaru sweatdropped - 'He was trying to get out of gathering firewood, more likely'.

Naruto continued, "But there's NO WAY that I'm sharing my tent with a girl!”

Just then, Shino arrived, dropping off his load of firewood as he joined the increasingly awkward conversation.

“What?” He asked, perplexed. “Naruto, no girl would want to share a tent with you. Why are we talking about this?”

Asuma said, “We have two two-person tents, and four people who need sleep. One is female. How does this equation work out?”

Shino stared. “Are you kidding?”

You were very uncomfortable with the way this conversation was progressing. Figuring that sleeping under the stars would be better than this embarrassment, you said, “Don't worry about it guys, I'll just - “

“- share with me.” Shikamaru's voice interrupted.

All eyes turned to Shikamaru. He shrugged. “Not my fault you guys are all afraid of a girl.”

Naruto started yelling. “HEY! We are not! We - “ Here he was cut off by Shino and Asuma, both growling at the same time. “Shut up, Naruto!”

 

You thought to yourself. “Wow, it was nice of Shika to jump in and rescue me like that. That situation was getting embarrassing! And I'm relieved that I don't have to share a tent with someone I don't really know. At the same time, though, I feel sort of awkward about sharing with Shika. There's this vague idea hanging about in my head, the idea that sharing the same tent isn't really what 'just friends', or even 'best friends', of opposite genders do.”

You glanced at Shikamaru. He seemed utterly unconcerned about the whole situation.

“His attitude is so reassuring! He makes it easy for me laugh at myself and get rid of my doubts. Why was I thinking such foolish things in the first place?”

 

Naruto subsided into a grumpy heap, mumbling something about how unafraid of girls he was.

Asuma coughed slightly to get everyone's attention. “Okay, team, this is the sleeping plan: Shino and Naruto in one tent, Shikamaru and Kurai in the other. Everyone alright with that?”

Silence.

“Any questions?”

Naruto asked, “Where are you going to sleep, Asuma-sensei?”

Asuma took a long drag on his cigarette. “All we senseis are sleeping under the stars. We're close enough that we'll know if you need us, but far enough away that we are immune to any pranks you might try to pull. Great system, right?”

Everyone just looked at him. He got an anime sweatdrop and said brightly, “Okay! Bedtime - we have another big day of training tomorrow!”

You all groaned in utter misery, only just realising how tired you really were. Asuma disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving you four Genin to stumble wearily into your tents.

 

You looked down at yourself. So did Shikamaru. “Man, you're a mess,” he observed.

You growled at him. “So are you! I would kill Asuma-sensei for making us do all that training - if I wasn't so tired.”

Shikamaru smiled ruefully. “I know the feeling. Believe me.”

He looked down at his own clothes. “Wow, you're right. I look even worse than you do!”

“Hey!”

“Well, it's true. 'Check'.”

“Your humour astounds me. Aren't you ready to drop?”

“Yeah. But not like this - I'll get the mattress all dirty.”

He slipped off his outer top and sandals (they were caked in mud and dust), leaving him wearing his fishnet shirt, pants, and bare feet. Then he collapsed onto the far side of the mattress. He muttered, “Goodnight . . . ” as he drifted off to sleep immediately.

You yawned. “So . . . tired . . . “ You sat on the mattress, pulled off your sandals and sash, and slipped out of your baggy over-top, now caked in mud. This left you wearing your modest red spaghetti strap under-top and your pants. Unable to keep your eyes open any longer, you lay down on the edge of the mattress farthest from Shikamaru's and fell into a deep sleep.

 

*****

 

In the morning, you were woken up by a bright flash and lots of chuckling noises. You lazily opened one eye, before you realised where you were and both eyes flew open with shock. You were facing away from Shikamaru, but he was facing towards you. You had met in the middle of the mattress, and were snuggled up together! Your back pressed against his chest, and his left arm wrapped securely around your waist, preventing you from moving. Your arm brushed against his, and his lips and chin rested on the back of your head.

You tried to sit up, but he held you tighter and mumbled something. It sounded like “Five more minutes . . . “

He seemed to be gradually waking up, but much less quickly than you had.

 

You twisted around a little, so that you could see his face. When you did, you gasped, the full reality of the situation hitting you. “Shika!”

He finally achieved full consciousness, lazily opening one eye, then both quickly, much as you had. You were blushing fiercely, aware that you were closer to him now than you had ever been before. Your faces were only centimetres away!

He removed his arm immediately, and you both sat up quickly, scooting to opposite sides of the tent, blushing and staring at each other. Suddenly, another smothered laugh made you break eye-contact and look toward the tent's entrance.

There stood a grinning Naruto, holding a camera.

“Everyone but you two is already awake. Asuma-sensei sent me in to wake you up, but you looked so happy together, I had to get a photo! Here!”

He threw two bits of paper to you and Shika. You stared at yours blankly for a second, before registering that it was a picture of you two. It made an innocent, accidental position look very . . . intimate, to say the least.

 

Your jaw dropped, and you jumped up (discreetly shoving your copy of the picture into your back pocket), and yelled at Naruto. “Give me the camera!”

He grinned. “That's no fun! I want everyone to see how cute you two are!”

Still grinning, he turned and ran. You were after him in a second, chasing him around the outside of the tent. You had been doing this for about two minutes before you stuck your head inside the tent and hissed at Shikamaru. “Don't just lie there! Help me!”

He sighed and got up. You kept chasing the laughing Naruto, until he suddenly stopped. You grinned. “Thanks, Shika. It's about time!”

He smirked just a little. “Too easy. He ran right into it.”

Naruto was immobilised in Shikamaru's Shadow Possession jutsu. You smiled sweetly as you took the camera. ''Thank you! I think this belongs to me.''

You took the memory chip out of the camera, breaking it in half before hanging the camera back around his neck.

He grunted unhappily. ''Fine.''

Shikamaru released his jutsu, and Naruto ran away, hiding his smile. He couldn't help but chuckle once more at the thought of the other three copies of the photo, safe in his pocket.

 

You looked down at the broken memory chip and blushed faintly. Turning around, you walked back into the tent, only to find Shikamaru getting dressed. You closed your eyes instinctively.

“Oh my gosh, I'm so sor - “

Shikamaru cut you off. “It's okay, Kurai, I'm only putting a coat on.“

You opened your eyes slowly. He was just standing there, fully dressed, looking at you strangely. You watched as his gaze subconsciously travelled down, looking at your red spaghetti-strapped camisole-top.

Your eyes widened, and you quickly turned around, pulling on the spare loose over-top you had brought.

“Hey, I'll race you to the training area.” He said abruptly.

You swung around again, so that you were facing him. “Why are you suggesting exercise?” you asked suspiciously.

He smirked. “Just because I can.” Suddenly, he leaned in close to you, and whispered, “'Check',” before racing away through the trees. You grinned. “It's on!”

 

*****

 

You saw him running a little below you. You jumped into higher branches, racing along at top speed. Suddenly, you were at the clearing where you had trained the day before. “Too easy,” you smiled, panting a little.

“Hey,” a voice called, startling you. You turned around. He was lying down under a tree, not even breathing hard.

“What? But how? You . . . I . . . ”

He smiled as he stood up. “I work in mysterious ways. While we're here, do you want to do some training?”

You nodded, still shocked that he had won the race. It didn't even cross your mind to be suspicious about the (yet more) exercise that he was suggesting. Nara Shikamaru - actually suggesting exercise.

 

You fell into your fighting stance, standing still as he shot out his shadow towards you. You had anticipated this move. At the last possible second, you jumped back, out of his range. “Missed.” You smiled.

He mimicked your satisfied expression. “Did I?”

Your eyes widened as you tried to move but couldn't. He said, “Go ahead. I'll let you see.”

You felt your head moving. You looked to your left, only to see Shikamaru facing you, his shadow firmly holding yours. He turned his head and you were once again looking at the one in front of you. Suddenly, it disappeared in a puff of smoke. “A clone!” You exclaimed. "You rotten cheater! That's how you beat me here! The clone probably arrived before you even suggested the race to me - I knew you were up to something! Mysterious ways my ass."

 

You weren't angry - just surprised at his careful planning. Then again, this was Shikamaru, the secret genius. He grinned. "Well, it worked, didn't it?"

You muttered non-commitally as you felt yourself turn around and walk towards Shikamaru, who was also walking towards you. He stopped just in front of you, looked you in the eye, and said, “'Check'.”

To his bewilderment, you smirked. “Despite your underhanded tactics, it's all under control,” you said. And disappeared.

“A clone! How?”

A voice drifted down to him. “'I work in mysterious ways'! 'Check'!”

 

Suddenly, a bucketful of water splashed down on his head. You grinned, enjoying the view from your seat - on a large tree branch, directly above him. Looking down, you expecting to see a drenched Shikamaru. Instead, a soaked log sat in a puddle of water. Substitution! Your eyes widened as the intended victim landed high and dry on your branch, directly in front of you. Before you could move, he grabbed your waist and lifted you onto his lap. "Nice try. In fact, you nearly got me. But now, I've got you." His hand slipped into your pocket, and reappeared straight away, holding the photograph that you had saved. He held it up near your face. You blushed fiercely. Your mouth fell open, but none of the words, phrases, excuses or reasons racing through your mind came out. He smirked as he slid the picture into his own pocket. "And now, I have two copies."

 

If it was possible, your cheeks became even redder. One of his hands was at your waist, and the other slipped around to the back of your head, twining through your hair - holding you in place as he gently pressed his lips onto yours. You gasped, and he took the opportunity to slide his tongue into your mouth. Your eyes slowly closed as you got used to the new sensation, and you began to kiss him back.

After several moments, he gently pulled away from you. You were blushing a dozen different shades of red. Suddenly, you grinned, trying to hide your embarrassment and pleasure. "You planned this all along, didn't you?"

A faint smile played at the corners of his mouth. He leaned in so that his lips were touching your ear, sending shivers down your spine, and whispered playfully, “You know, Kurai, as we say in Shougi, 'Checkmate'!”