Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Fighting Spirit ❯ Amongst the Living ( Chapter 2 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Umikage 
Shikamaru waits patiently for his life to be saved.
Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Martial Arts / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 10.01.2004 | Pages: 6 | Words: 5.8K | Visits: 353 | Status: Completed
Shikamaru waits patiently for his life to be saved.
Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Martial Arts / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 10.01.2004 | Pages: 6 | Words: 5.8K | Visits: 353 | Status: Completed
Fighting Spirit
Chapter 02
Amongst the Living
-----
In his dreams, Shikato Nara was seeing his son dying. He had no idea what this Tayuya looked like, but the red-skinned horned apparition was good enough for the man's imagined death scenes. Tayuya held his son by the throat, and the creature held back its claws for the final blow...
And Shikato was helpless to stop it.
"Honestly," a voice from Shikato commented. "It was hardly so... tacky."
Shikato whirled around to be confronted with... his son.
Shikamaru stood, hands on his hips, looking at the scene as it played out. "A demon? Honestly, dad, she was hardly a demon." Another pause, and he added, "Unless, of course, you count all women as demons."
Shikato was speechless, he didn't know what to say.
Shikamaru looked his father dead in the eyes. "Look, dad, I know this is going to be hard to believe, but this isn't just a dream. I'm actually here. Well, in spirit, I mean. And-"
Shikamaru was cut off by his father's hug. "Son! You're alive!"
Shikamaru flailed his arms around, trying to escape from the man's affections. Unfortunately, he wasn't skilled enough to break the hold, and was forced to simply go "Daaaad!"
Shikato finally released his son, who took in several deep breaths.
"Look, I'm not alive," Shikamaru explained, looking downward. "At least, not yet." He looked up, his voice firming as he continued. "But that can all..." That's when Shikamaru noticed his father's form was fading, slipping out of the dream. "Damn it!" Shikamaru cried, just as his father woke up.
-----
Shikato sat up, holding a hand to his head. "What a dream," he muttered. "It was almost real." He could have sworn he was actually talking to his son, but it was only a dream. He just wanted his son back so much that his mind was playing tricks on him.
He obviously couldn't see the boy in question beating his head on the wall. It didn't work, as Shikamaru didn't have an actual body, but it was the thought that counted.
"That isn't going to help," Duo observed from his spot near the window. The somberly-dressed agent of death floated with his feet tucked under him, watching Shikamaru futilely try to bludgeon his head in irritation.
"Damn!" Shikamaru cried. "I was so close to relaying the message, but he had to go and wake up!" He let out a frustrated growl. "Now who knows how long it'll be before he goes to sleep again."
As if to prove his son's point, Shikato rose from his bed, restless. He walked over to the door and, after rattling the doorknob a few times, wandered out of the room.
"Well, that's not a problem," Duo said with a grin. "After all, he isn't the only one we can contact."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Well, who else can we go to?"
"Anybody who cares about you a lot," Duo explained with a grin. "Got any girlfriends?"
Shikamaru ignored the tone of Duo's question. "Nah, too much bother," was the simple explanation he gave.
"Well, then let's go to some other likely suspects."
-----
Shikamaru shuddered violently as he and his guide made their way to Ino's home. "I'm never, ever doing that again."
Duo sniggered. "C'mon, Shikamaru, it was cute."
Shikamaru turned on Duo, anger on his face, causing Duo to blink; since when did Shikamaru get angry? "It was necessary, nothing more." His fist was clenched at his side.
Duo couldn't help snickering. "It was still funny. You kissed him, on the lips."
Shikamaru threw his hands up in the air. "If he comes to my rescue, he'd better not mess up and come too early."
Duo's snickering turned to full blown laughter at that. "Now that would be hilarious!" Duo managed to get out between laughs.
Shikamaru sighed. "How much longer until we're at Ino's?" As he looked up, he noticed that he had actually passed Ino's home, though only by a few houses. "Oh."
"We there?" Duo asked, managing to stop laughing, though a huge grin was still on his face.
"And then some," Shikamaru replied, turning around and waltzing toward Ino's home. Duo followed, and the two stepped into and through the outer wall of the house. The team looked around to see where in the house they were at, and Shikamaru immediately recognized the living room, where he had seen Ino crying the day of his death.
"Nice place," Duo commented. "Looks better on the inside."
Shikamaru was barely paying attention to his guide, but replied anyway, though simply. "I guess." His concentration was more on where Ino's room was; he'd only been there once or twice. After a few moments of drawing a blank, Shikamaru shrugged it off. "Hell with it, let's just check every room."
"Sounds like a plan," Duo replied.
Shikamaru led Duo into the hallway, and from there into the first room he saw. It ended up being Ino's parents' room, so they quickly abandoned it and tried the next room. This proved to be the right destination, and the two walked over to the side of Ino's bed.
"Just concentrate to put yourself into her dreams completely," Duo explained again, as if Shikamaru would forget.
Shikamaru ignored Duo's advice, as it was the same advice given to him before both of his previous forays into the world of dreams. Closing his eyes, he placed a hand on Ino's head. "Here we go..."
The ninja immediately recognized the area as a small wooded area that Asuma had used for training Team 10. The trees were thick, but ended abruptly around the edges and a large clearing in the center. It was that center clearing where Shikamaru found himself, along with the form of Ino. Ino was busy practicing some taijutsu with Shikamaru, while Asuma was far off, training Chouji one-on-one.
This is a memory, dredged up in a dream, Shikamaru realized.
"Come on!" Ino protested, launching a quick series of kicks, all of which Shikamaru dodged. "Take me seriously!"
"Too much hassle," the dream Shikamaru replied, his hands in his pockets. "Besides, it's just training."
Ino stopped her assault, breathing a bit heavily. "You know, you'll never get anywhere with that attitude. Keep it up, and you'll be the only one still a Genin after the Chuunin exam."
Shikamaru watched his double shrugged. "Like I care. Being a Chuunin would be too much work, anyway."
Ino snorted. "That's what I mean. You just don't care about anything, do you?"
"I care about what's important," he clarified. "I just don't see being a Chuunin as very important."
"You're good, though," Ino said, though in a quieter voice. "You're great at planning battles, your ninjutsu is strong, and you're even good at taijutsu. You could be a Chuunin so easily, Shikamaru, I can see it. Why can't you?"
"That's not true," the real Shikamaru said, causing Ino to gasp and turn to him. The dream immediately faded, leaving Ino and Shikamaru in a field of colors, shifting from red to blue to purple. "Strategies only take a ninja so far, my only good ninjutsu technique was originally a stalling tactic, and Rock Lee or one of the other ninjas would put my taijutsu to shame."
"But you still made Chuunin." Ino was obviously speaking herself, rather than her memories.
"And see where my battle skills got me?" Shikamaru asked with a snort. "I'm dead."
Ino began to sob. "Shika, why'd you have to die?"
The boy immediately began to sweat. "Er, Ino, stop crying, please?"
"I can't! You're dead!" Ino fell to her knees. "I never realized it, but you were always there when it counted, and now you're gone, and..." She couldn't continue.
Shikamaru waved his hands, trying to get Ino to stop crying. Why were girls so damned hard to please? "Look, Ino, I'm not really going to be dead for long!"
Ino stopped crying, though she still let out a sniffle before looking up toward Shikamaru. "What's that supposed to mean? Not dead for long?"
The dead ninja was glad Ino had finally calmed down. "It's simple, really. I've made a deal with the afterlife, so all I have to do is get my body an energy boost and it'll be running good as new."
"Really?" Ino asked, looking at Shikamaru with hope.
"Yep!" Shikamaru replied, almost cheerfully. "Just wait two days, Ino. Two days, and then you can give me some energy. Ill be up and running in no time!"
"How can I give you my energy, though?" Ino asked, blinking.
"Erm, it's kind of... um... how do I put it?"
Ino looked at Shikamaru, confused. "What is it, Shikamaru?"
Shikamaru gulped before answering. "You see, it's kind of a... lip-to-lip transfer."
There was a moment of silence, before Ino spoke. "So I have to kiss you?"
"Basically," Shikamaru replied.
Ino nodded. "All right, I'll do it. I have to for you to live, right? It's not like it means anything, right?"
"Of course not," Shikamaru hastily replied. "Not a thing."
"I miss you, Shikamaru," Ino said. "You're telling the truth, right? You're coming back in two days?"
"Yeah, just don't go putting this off as just a dream or something, okay?" Shikamaru paused, as if thinking about something. "You can talk to Chouji about this too, ya know. I told him, too. Then you'd know it's not a dream." He just prayed that Chouji wouldn't mention the fact that Shikamaru had been forced to demonstrate in Chouji's dream. The overweight boy hadn't been able to collect his wits in his own dream, so Shikamaru had been forced into more drastic measures.
"I'll remember, I promise."
-----
"We done?" Duo asked, noticing Shikamaru had left the dream. The agent of death looked bored, leaning against the wall of Ino's room.
"I guess so," Shikamaru replied. "Ino seemed to be more in control in her dreams than my dad or Chouji. I think it's because she practices mind jutsus."
"It's possible," the black-clad Duo replied. He had heard of people with exceptional control of their dreams, though he doubted Ino would be close to their skill level. "At any rate, where are we off to now, then?"
Shikamaru didn't have anywhere particular to go, so he shrugged, arbitrarily deciding on a destination. "Home, I guess. I'll check up on my body, then go somewhere else from there."
"Sounds like a plan if ever I heard one," Duo replied with a grin.
Shikamaru nodded. "No use hanging out here any more, so let's go."
The two made their way out of Ino's home and began their trip toward Shikamaru's house. The trip was short, being as they weren't hampered by such things as roads. Soon, the two found themselves entering the living room, where Shikamaru's body was being held. They were also surprised by who else was in the room.
"I can't believe you died like that," Temari commented snidely, looking over Shikamaru's corpse. "Honestly. I thought you had more fight in you than that."
Temari's two siblings stood on both sides of the door, watching as Temari paid her respects to the one she had been sent to rescue. Gaara and Kankuro both appeared bored by being there, but at Temari's request they had come with her.
"What are they doing here?" Shikamaru asked, watching Temari as she stood over his corpse. He had known about Temari, of course, that she was supposed to have been his backup, but she had arrived too late to help him. Likewise, Gaara and Kankuro were backup for Rock Lee and Kiba, though all Kankuro had been able to do was help Kiba escape. All three ninjas had been held up by something, and their tardiness cost Temari and Kankuro their mission.
But why were they at his house?
"You beat me, that day at the Chuunin exams," the girl continued, not noticing the ghost and his helper entering the room. "I recognized your skill, then. I thought you'd do better than what you did, being forced to use that jutsu. Stupid ass, I can't show you what I've learned after you go and kill yourself." She snorted. "I trained just to beat you, you know. I couldn't stand losing to a jerk like you. Now I'll never prove to your damn macho attitude that girls can be better than guys. You irritating ass."
"Is she done insulting me yet?" Shikamaru growled, ignoring Duo's laughter next to him.
Gaara stepped forward. "I think it's time to go, Temari. It grows late."
Temari glanced at her brother. "It's been late," she replied. "But I guess you have a point."
Gaara nodded. Together, the three Sand siblings left.
As they left, Shikamaru looked at Gaara. And Gaara looked back. Shikamaru paused, shocked that Gaara was obviously looking straight at him, and the Sand ninja left the house with his siblings.
When the three were gone, Duo looked over to Shikamaru. "That kid noticed us, you know."
"Yeah," the young ninja replied. That much had been obvious. Gaara of the Sand... he certainly was an interesting guy.
-----
The next morning was when Shikamaru noticed signs of life returning to his body. Some color existed in his cheeks, and his body was breathing, slow and shallow, but breathing nonetheless. It was a good sign.
"Come on," Duo said, in response to Shikamaru's observation, "you've been staring at your body for way too long. People could start saying you're one of those guys. You know, the ones in love with themselves?"
"A narcissist?" Shikamaru inquired.
"I see you've gotten that before," the long-haired man said with a grin.
Shikamaru didn't find that amusing.
"In any case," Duo continued, "we should probably go check up on your friends, or something."
"Like they're doing anything interesting," Shikamaru said. He sighed. It's not like he had anything better to do, though. Except maybe lay back and watch the clouds. That never failed him.
But Duo put his foot down. "No, I'm not wandering around alone again. Besides, it'd be much better if I had a guide, right? That'll keep ya occupied, Shika."
Shikamaru didn't know when Duo had picked up calling him Shika, but he didn't like it. It annoyed him when Ino did it, and having Duo say it was even more irritating. But he didn't say anything about it, instead saying, "All right, if you say so." Arguing would be too much effort, after all.
Shikamaru left his home and took Duo around the village, pointing out interesting sights. At least, interesting to Shikamaru. "This is where I usually lay down to watch the clouds." "That's where I go to eat when my mom cooks something nasty." "That's Chouji's favorite restaurant, over there."
Duo was getting irritated. "Eh, Shikamaru, aren't there any landmarks, or something? You know, tourist attractions?"
"It's a ninja village," Shikamaru said, irritated. "The only people here are ninjas, ninja families, and merchants ambitious enough to provide stuff for ninjas, half of whom are retired ninjas themselves. We don't have much in the ways of tourism."
"Boring," Duo replied, putting his hands in his pockets.
Shikamaru didn't know how you could really call a ninja village boring, but he supposed it would be to a tourist, or somebody like that. "Wait, there is the Hokage monument, that's like a tourist spot."
"The Hokage monument?" Duo inquired.
"The giant faces etched into the cliff," Shikamaru replied. "You must've seen it at some point, almost the entire village has a good view of it." Where they were currently at didn't, but that was besides the point.
"I never really paid attention," Duo admitted.
Shikamaru sighed. "All right, I'll show it to you."
Duo grinned. "Good!"
The two walked off down a street, not really feeling like flying. Besides, Shikamaru reasoned, he'd have to get used to walking again after regaining his body, so no reason to get used to flying everywhere. However, the two ran into something interesting a few blocks into their trip.
"Who's that?" Duo asked, motioning toward a girl walking down the street, downcast.
Shikamaru noticed the black hair, cloak, and white eyes, even from a distance. "Hinata Hyuga. She's the heir to a rather powerful clan here in the Leaf Village."
Duo looked the girl over. "If she's so big and powerful, why does she look so bummed out?"
"Her family and blood inheritance might be powerful, but she's one of the meekest people you'll ever meet." Shikamaru was honest, though he tried to keep from being insulting. "She did grow a bit of a backbone at the Chuunin exam, though."
As the two talked about the girl, she glanced over in their direction, causing the two to pause.
"Can she hear us?" Shikamaru asked. It certainly seemed as if she did. That would make two people who could sense him, including Gaara.
"I don't think so," Duo replied. "But she must have high spiritual awareness. She probably detects ghosts and spirits all the time."
Staring almost directly at Shikamaru and his cohort, Hinata seemed even more nervous than usual. She turned on her heel and walked off, heading at a pace much faster than she would usually use. Shikamaru recognized it as somebody trying to rush while pretending not to.
"Let's follow her," Duo suggested, taking off after the Hyuga girl.
Shikamaru stood in his place for a few seconds, staring at the retreating form of his spiritual guide. "What about the Hokage monument?" Realizing he was being left behind, the boy flew off after Duo and Hinata.
So bothersome, honestly...
-----
"The mortal world. It has been a long time."
A trio stood amidst an open clearing. Forest spread in all directions out of the clearing, but the clearing itself was barren of trees, possessing only grass and wildflowers. The one who had spoken was a towering figure, purple hair and red robes a stark contrast to the green below him.
One of his companions, also clad in red and with long white hair, snorted. "Feh. You sound like you've missed it, old man." The speaker, despite his white hair, did appear younger than the purple-haired man. In fact, he appeared to be in his mid-teens, yet he still possessed naturally white hair. It had to do with his demon heritage, which could be discerned from his strange ears.
The purple-haired man smiled. "Indeed I did. After my banishment, I thought I'd never be here again."
The last of the trio, a young girl with black hair and a seductive dress, smirked. "Foolish human, getting banished to our world. If it weren't for us, you'd be long dead, eh?" She laughed a mirthless, cruel laugh.
The older man frowned. "Stupid girl, I survived in the Demon Realm for far longer than most demons." The tension mounted between the two as they exchanged harsh glares. It appeared the animosity between them had been there for a long time.
"Stop fighting, you idiots!" the white-haired boy reprimanded. "You split up this group, and I swear I'll kill both of you and take the items for myself!"
"You try that," the other man countered. "I have all I wanted, anyway. I care little for your pathetic little group endeavors." He pulled an old tome from his robes, holding it aloft. "With this, my power is unmatched, even with your sword, boy. I'd think carefully about trying to cross me."
"You dumbass!" the boy cried, reaching for the hilt of sword. Before he could pull it free of its scabbard, however, the other man muttered a few words and disappeared, leaving behind nothing but an empty spot for the boy to glare at.
The girl, too, decided to make her leave. "You're a big boy, I'm sure you can do whatever it is you're planning on your own. But I've got my own plans." She clutched a small mirror to her chest as she disappeared, not by magic, but simply by a speedy escape into the forest.
For a long while, the boy simply stood in the middle of the now empty field. After several minutes, though, he let out a blood curdling scream. His aggravation had reached new levels.
He wouldn't search out his ex-partners, but should they ever cross his path again, he'd be sure to kill them, slowly and painfully.
-----
Hinata was growing tired of running. Trying to outrun those she knew were following her, she ducked into an alleyway as she ran past. Just her luck, though, the alley was a dead end.
Turning around, she addressed the spirits she could only sense. "I know you're there! Get away from me, all ready!" She made a warding gesture with her hands.
Duo sighed. He hadn't meant to get the girl so worked up, really.
"She looks like she's gonna faint, or something," Shikamaru commented.
Duo was about to respond, but a deep rumbling voice cut him off instead. "So, you sensed me, did you girl?"
Hinata looked around, frantic. For that matter, so did Shikamaru and Duo.
The voice laughed. "I suppose now I must reveal myself." The shadows seemed to thicken, and a shape came forth. It stood a little shorter than an average human, but was still taller than the twelve year-old girl. It appeared humanoid, but had a dull red skin, shocking blue hair, and a pair of horns. Definitely male, as he was clad only in a loincloth, and he also possessed disproportionately long arms, with fingers ending in claws instead of fingernails.
Hinata was shocked, backing up into the wall behind her. Her hands felt the wall behind her, trying to find escape, but couldn't.
Duo actually appeared relieved. "That thing's a weak demon. Even normal humans shouldn't have too much trouble with it, if they're good fighters."
"It doesn't look like she's going to attack it, though," Shikamaru countered. "Her fighting ability is a moot point if it guts her before she moves." He clenched his fists, feeling useless.
Indeed, it appeared as if the ex-Hyuga heir was too shocked and horrified to even think about attacking. Her eyes were wide, her movements wild, backing into the wall as if she were still trying to back up. And with the demon drawing closer, she began to whimper. She was a tough girl, under normal circumstances, but a Genin couldn't be expected to face down a demon, especially with no warning.
"She's choking," Duo spat. "Damn it." He turned to Shikamaru. "Listen. When somebody knows you, and that person also has high spiritual awareness, you can take over their body. All you have to do is move into her body and anchor your mind to hers."
"You want me to possess Hinata?" Shikamaru asked, unsure if he understood the agent of death.
"Yes!" Duo replied, frantic. "Do it before she gets killed!"
Shikamaru didn't waste any more time. Following Duo's instructions, the boy soon found himself blinking with new eyes. "How odd," he muttered, a soft feminine voice coming out instead of his own.
The demon appeared confused. Why had his prey stopped struggling to escape?
Shikamaru looked the demon in the eyes. He was a bit perturbed; his vision was messed up, showing lines of white everywhere he looked, though lines of black were centered around the demon. It must have been the Byakugan. Even without chakra running through the Hyuga eyes, his vision still portrayed the powerful lines of chakra. Demon energy as well, apparently.
"This isn't your world, demon. Go back where you belong, or I'll put you there myself."
The demon chuckled, though it seemed a bit forced. "Weren't you whimpering earlier, girl? Your instincts are telling you how dangerous I am, you should listen to them."
Not feeling like revealing his true identity, Shikamaru replied with a simple lie. "Actually, my instincts were shouting that you're a weakling. I was just caught off guard by your looks is all." He cracked Hinata's knuckles, chuckling. "Now are you going to leave like I asked?"
"Stupid girl!" the demon cried, lunging forward with one arm cocked back, claw open.
Shikamaru calmly stepped to the right, his left foot lashing out in a kick that took the demon in his unguarded abdomen. As the demon buckled over, Hinata's foot lashed out again, taking the demon in the side of the head with a simple side kick.
The demon crashed into a wall. As he stood again, he tried to reorient himself.
Shikamaru smirked as his shadow lashed out. His shadow control wasn't a blood limit ability; rather, it was simply a technique known only to his family, though anybody could do it. He was unprepared, therefore, for his shadow to simply slide off the demon's, like its shadow had been greased. Duo said the demon had been weak, how could it be good enough to resist his attack, especially when disoriented like that?
In response to his unasked question, Duo's voice came from Shikamaru's right. "Chakra's useless against them! Only spiritual energy works, and we haven't shown you how to use that yet!"
"Great," Shikamaru muttered, this time not surprised by Hinata's voice speaking his words. "Guess I'll have to do this the hard way."
By that time, the demon was prepared for another attack, and much more wary as well. However, it didn't save him from the beating that followed. Shikamaru proved his worth as a purely taijutsu fighter at that moment, even if he rarely, if ever, showed it before.
Standing over the beaten form of the demon, the form of Hinata Hyuga dusted her hands off.
"Nice work, Shika," the flippant guide laughed. "You sure showed that demon a thing or two."
Shikamaru nodded absently, leaving the alley. The demon wouldn't be bothering anybody again soon, and by the time he was able to, he'd think twice about doing it in a ninja village. "I guess so." As soon as he was out of the alley, he detached his mind from Hinata's.
The girl shook her head, clearing it of cobwebs. Looking around, she saw she was out of the alley. "Did I... black out?" she wondered. Shaking her head again, this time in bemusement, she decided not to bother trying to figure it out. Something struck her as she walked away, though. Laughing, she turned around a blew a kiss, before taking off.
Shikamaru scratched his head. "That was odd."
"Lingering effects of your possession?" Duo offered.
The boy spirit shrugged. "I'd rack it up to the general weirdness that girls have."
-----
It was two days later that Shikamaru was hanging outside Ino's window. She was inside, getting ready to go and give the transfer. The boy wasn't peeping; she wasn't getting dressed, just brushing her hair, putting on earrings, and other stuff girls did to take up much more time than they needed.
"At this rate, I might as well just die," he muttered.
"Don't say that," Duo replied with a laugh. He elbowed Shikamaru in the ribs. "After all, soon your lady friend is going to give you a kiss. It's only natural she'd spend a lot of time getting ready."
The boy blushed. "It's not like it means anything," he muttered.
"Maybe to you," was the reply Shikamaru got.
Soon enough, the duo were trailing behind Ino as she made her way to Shikamaru's house, humming a small tune to herself. It took very little time, compared to how much she had spent inside, to get to Shikamaru's house.
Duo and Shikamaru passed that time with some conversation.
"You'll be back amongst the living in no time now, Shika," Duo said with a grin.
"Then I'll have to start working, right?" Shikamaru's tone implied he wasn't too happy with that part of the deal.
"In a few days," Duo replied, his hands behind his head. "Gotta give you some rest before we send you off to face demons."
Shikamaru smirked. "Unless I run into them in a dark alley, right?"
When they arrived, they found both of his parents were gone, leaving the house abandoned. Ino simply let herself in.
The sight that greeted her, as well as Duo and Shikamaru, shocked them to their very core.
Chouji was hunched over Shikamaru's body, giving the boy a kiss on the lips.
"Aaaaaaugh!" Shikamaru screamed in torment, just as his soul was sucked back into his body with a large tugging sensation.
Shikamaru continued his scream as he reentered his body, making Chouji back up.
"You're all right!" Chouji cried, happy to see his best friend, who had before been dead, back to his usual self.
Shikamaru wanted mouthwash very badly. "Depends on your definition of 'all right,' I suppose."
He was, however, glad he was back. That's why he didn't exact revenge upon Chouji ,and also why he didn't try and kill Duo, who was busy laughing his proverbial ass off.
Well, maybe he'd take care of Duo. Later, though, after he got some mouthwash.
-----
Fighting Spirit
Chapter 02
End
To be continued...
-----
Author's Notes: This thing was way too short, a bit shy of nine pages in Word with size 8 font. I usually aim for 5,000 words of story text, but this barely topped 4,700. But this is the only real place to end this chapter, so I ended it. And I'm not the kind of guy who'd add extra scenes just for word count, so I guess I'm stuck.
In other news, I'm not dead, as much as that might surprise some of you. Rather, I've been busy packing up and stuff, for moving. I haven't actually made the move yet, but this time I'll see if I can't do some writing anyway, even with being busy like I am.
In the next chapter, you'll get to finally see who the three mysterious evil-doers are. You did deduce that they're evil-doers, right? Because I thought that was pretty obvious.
All three of the mysterious trio are from anime, though you might not recognize them all immediately. I was purposely vague, though I imagine some of you figured out the white-haired guy's identity, anyway. No, it's not Yoko Kurama....
Ciao, for now.
-----
EternallyLost
spiffystudios(AT)hotmail.com
"This is such a hassle..."
Chapter 02
Amongst the Living
-----
In his dreams, Shikato Nara was seeing his son dying. He had no idea what this Tayuya looked like, but the red-skinned horned apparition was good enough for the man's imagined death scenes. Tayuya held his son by the throat, and the creature held back its claws for the final blow...
And Shikato was helpless to stop it.
"Honestly," a voice from Shikato commented. "It was hardly so... tacky."
Shikato whirled around to be confronted with... his son.
Shikamaru stood, hands on his hips, looking at the scene as it played out. "A demon? Honestly, dad, she was hardly a demon." Another pause, and he added, "Unless, of course, you count all women as demons."
Shikato was speechless, he didn't know what to say.
Shikamaru looked his father dead in the eyes. "Look, dad, I know this is going to be hard to believe, but this isn't just a dream. I'm actually here. Well, in spirit, I mean. And-"
Shikamaru was cut off by his father's hug. "Son! You're alive!"
Shikamaru flailed his arms around, trying to escape from the man's affections. Unfortunately, he wasn't skilled enough to break the hold, and was forced to simply go "Daaaad!"
Shikato finally released his son, who took in several deep breaths.
"Look, I'm not alive," Shikamaru explained, looking downward. "At least, not yet." He looked up, his voice firming as he continued. "But that can all..." That's when Shikamaru noticed his father's form was fading, slipping out of the dream. "Damn it!" Shikamaru cried, just as his father woke up.
-----
Shikato sat up, holding a hand to his head. "What a dream," he muttered. "It was almost real." He could have sworn he was actually talking to his son, but it was only a dream. He just wanted his son back so much that his mind was playing tricks on him.
He obviously couldn't see the boy in question beating his head on the wall. It didn't work, as Shikamaru didn't have an actual body, but it was the thought that counted.
"That isn't going to help," Duo observed from his spot near the window. The somberly-dressed agent of death floated with his feet tucked under him, watching Shikamaru futilely try to bludgeon his head in irritation.
"Damn!" Shikamaru cried. "I was so close to relaying the message, but he had to go and wake up!" He let out a frustrated growl. "Now who knows how long it'll be before he goes to sleep again."
As if to prove his son's point, Shikato rose from his bed, restless. He walked over to the door and, after rattling the doorknob a few times, wandered out of the room.
"Well, that's not a problem," Duo said with a grin. "After all, he isn't the only one we can contact."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Well, who else can we go to?"
"Anybody who cares about you a lot," Duo explained with a grin. "Got any girlfriends?"
Shikamaru ignored the tone of Duo's question. "Nah, too much bother," was the simple explanation he gave.
"Well, then let's go to some other likely suspects."
-----
Shikamaru shuddered violently as he and his guide made their way to Ino's home. "I'm never, ever doing that again."
Duo sniggered. "C'mon, Shikamaru, it was cute."
Shikamaru turned on Duo, anger on his face, causing Duo to blink; since when did Shikamaru get angry? "It was necessary, nothing more." His fist was clenched at his side.
Duo couldn't help snickering. "It was still funny. You kissed him, on the lips."
Shikamaru threw his hands up in the air. "If he comes to my rescue, he'd better not mess up and come too early."
Duo's snickering turned to full blown laughter at that. "Now that would be hilarious!" Duo managed to get out between laughs.
Shikamaru sighed. "How much longer until we're at Ino's?" As he looked up, he noticed that he had actually passed Ino's home, though only by a few houses. "Oh."
"We there?" Duo asked, managing to stop laughing, though a huge grin was still on his face.
"And then some," Shikamaru replied, turning around and waltzing toward Ino's home. Duo followed, and the two stepped into and through the outer wall of the house. The team looked around to see where in the house they were at, and Shikamaru immediately recognized the living room, where he had seen Ino crying the day of his death.
"Nice place," Duo commented. "Looks better on the inside."
Shikamaru was barely paying attention to his guide, but replied anyway, though simply. "I guess." His concentration was more on where Ino's room was; he'd only been there once or twice. After a few moments of drawing a blank, Shikamaru shrugged it off. "Hell with it, let's just check every room."
"Sounds like a plan," Duo replied.
Shikamaru led Duo into the hallway, and from there into the first room he saw. It ended up being Ino's parents' room, so they quickly abandoned it and tried the next room. This proved to be the right destination, and the two walked over to the side of Ino's bed.
"Just concentrate to put yourself into her dreams completely," Duo explained again, as if Shikamaru would forget.
Shikamaru ignored Duo's advice, as it was the same advice given to him before both of his previous forays into the world of dreams. Closing his eyes, he placed a hand on Ino's head. "Here we go..."
The ninja immediately recognized the area as a small wooded area that Asuma had used for training Team 10. The trees were thick, but ended abruptly around the edges and a large clearing in the center. It was that center clearing where Shikamaru found himself, along with the form of Ino. Ino was busy practicing some taijutsu with Shikamaru, while Asuma was far off, training Chouji one-on-one.
This is a memory, dredged up in a dream, Shikamaru realized.
"Come on!" Ino protested, launching a quick series of kicks, all of which Shikamaru dodged. "Take me seriously!"
"Too much hassle," the dream Shikamaru replied, his hands in his pockets. "Besides, it's just training."
Ino stopped her assault, breathing a bit heavily. "You know, you'll never get anywhere with that attitude. Keep it up, and you'll be the only one still a Genin after the Chuunin exam."
Shikamaru watched his double shrugged. "Like I care. Being a Chuunin would be too much work, anyway."
Ino snorted. "That's what I mean. You just don't care about anything, do you?"
"I care about what's important," he clarified. "I just don't see being a Chuunin as very important."
"You're good, though," Ino said, though in a quieter voice. "You're great at planning battles, your ninjutsu is strong, and you're even good at taijutsu. You could be a Chuunin so easily, Shikamaru, I can see it. Why can't you?"
"That's not true," the real Shikamaru said, causing Ino to gasp and turn to him. The dream immediately faded, leaving Ino and Shikamaru in a field of colors, shifting from red to blue to purple. "Strategies only take a ninja so far, my only good ninjutsu technique was originally a stalling tactic, and Rock Lee or one of the other ninjas would put my taijutsu to shame."
"But you still made Chuunin." Ino was obviously speaking herself, rather than her memories.
"And see where my battle skills got me?" Shikamaru asked with a snort. "I'm dead."
Ino began to sob. "Shika, why'd you have to die?"
The boy immediately began to sweat. "Er, Ino, stop crying, please?"
"I can't! You're dead!" Ino fell to her knees. "I never realized it, but you were always there when it counted, and now you're gone, and..." She couldn't continue.
Shikamaru waved his hands, trying to get Ino to stop crying. Why were girls so damned hard to please? "Look, Ino, I'm not really going to be dead for long!"
Ino stopped crying, though she still let out a sniffle before looking up toward Shikamaru. "What's that supposed to mean? Not dead for long?"
The dead ninja was glad Ino had finally calmed down. "It's simple, really. I've made a deal with the afterlife, so all I have to do is get my body an energy boost and it'll be running good as new."
"Really?" Ino asked, looking at Shikamaru with hope.
"Yep!" Shikamaru replied, almost cheerfully. "Just wait two days, Ino. Two days, and then you can give me some energy. Ill be up and running in no time!"
"How can I give you my energy, though?" Ino asked, blinking.
"Erm, it's kind of... um... how do I put it?"
Ino looked at Shikamaru, confused. "What is it, Shikamaru?"
Shikamaru gulped before answering. "You see, it's kind of a... lip-to-lip transfer."
There was a moment of silence, before Ino spoke. "So I have to kiss you?"
"Basically," Shikamaru replied.
Ino nodded. "All right, I'll do it. I have to for you to live, right? It's not like it means anything, right?"
"Of course not," Shikamaru hastily replied. "Not a thing."
"I miss you, Shikamaru," Ino said. "You're telling the truth, right? You're coming back in two days?"
"Yeah, just don't go putting this off as just a dream or something, okay?" Shikamaru paused, as if thinking about something. "You can talk to Chouji about this too, ya know. I told him, too. Then you'd know it's not a dream." He just prayed that Chouji wouldn't mention the fact that Shikamaru had been forced to demonstrate in Chouji's dream. The overweight boy hadn't been able to collect his wits in his own dream, so Shikamaru had been forced into more drastic measures.
"I'll remember, I promise."
-----
"We done?" Duo asked, noticing Shikamaru had left the dream. The agent of death looked bored, leaning against the wall of Ino's room.
"I guess so," Shikamaru replied. "Ino seemed to be more in control in her dreams than my dad or Chouji. I think it's because she practices mind jutsus."
"It's possible," the black-clad Duo replied. He had heard of people with exceptional control of their dreams, though he doubted Ino would be close to their skill level. "At any rate, where are we off to now, then?"
Shikamaru didn't have anywhere particular to go, so he shrugged, arbitrarily deciding on a destination. "Home, I guess. I'll check up on my body, then go somewhere else from there."
"Sounds like a plan if ever I heard one," Duo replied with a grin.
Shikamaru nodded. "No use hanging out here any more, so let's go."
The two made their way out of Ino's home and began their trip toward Shikamaru's house. The trip was short, being as they weren't hampered by such things as roads. Soon, the two found themselves entering the living room, where Shikamaru's body was being held. They were also surprised by who else was in the room.
"I can't believe you died like that," Temari commented snidely, looking over Shikamaru's corpse. "Honestly. I thought you had more fight in you than that."
Temari's two siblings stood on both sides of the door, watching as Temari paid her respects to the one she had been sent to rescue. Gaara and Kankuro both appeared bored by being there, but at Temari's request they had come with her.
"What are they doing here?" Shikamaru asked, watching Temari as she stood over his corpse. He had known about Temari, of course, that she was supposed to have been his backup, but she had arrived too late to help him. Likewise, Gaara and Kankuro were backup for Rock Lee and Kiba, though all Kankuro had been able to do was help Kiba escape. All three ninjas had been held up by something, and their tardiness cost Temari and Kankuro their mission.
But why were they at his house?
"You beat me, that day at the Chuunin exams," the girl continued, not noticing the ghost and his helper entering the room. "I recognized your skill, then. I thought you'd do better than what you did, being forced to use that jutsu. Stupid ass, I can't show you what I've learned after you go and kill yourself." She snorted. "I trained just to beat you, you know. I couldn't stand losing to a jerk like you. Now I'll never prove to your damn macho attitude that girls can be better than guys. You irritating ass."
"Is she done insulting me yet?" Shikamaru growled, ignoring Duo's laughter next to him.
Gaara stepped forward. "I think it's time to go, Temari. It grows late."
Temari glanced at her brother. "It's been late," she replied. "But I guess you have a point."
Gaara nodded. Together, the three Sand siblings left.
As they left, Shikamaru looked at Gaara. And Gaara looked back. Shikamaru paused, shocked that Gaara was obviously looking straight at him, and the Sand ninja left the house with his siblings.
When the three were gone, Duo looked over to Shikamaru. "That kid noticed us, you know."
"Yeah," the young ninja replied. That much had been obvious. Gaara of the Sand... he certainly was an interesting guy.
-----
The next morning was when Shikamaru noticed signs of life returning to his body. Some color existed in his cheeks, and his body was breathing, slow and shallow, but breathing nonetheless. It was a good sign.
"Come on," Duo said, in response to Shikamaru's observation, "you've been staring at your body for way too long. People could start saying you're one of those guys. You know, the ones in love with themselves?"
"A narcissist?" Shikamaru inquired.
"I see you've gotten that before," the long-haired man said with a grin.
Shikamaru didn't find that amusing.
"In any case," Duo continued, "we should probably go check up on your friends, or something."
"Like they're doing anything interesting," Shikamaru said. He sighed. It's not like he had anything better to do, though. Except maybe lay back and watch the clouds. That never failed him.
But Duo put his foot down. "No, I'm not wandering around alone again. Besides, it'd be much better if I had a guide, right? That'll keep ya occupied, Shika."
Shikamaru didn't know when Duo had picked up calling him Shika, but he didn't like it. It annoyed him when Ino did it, and having Duo say it was even more irritating. But he didn't say anything about it, instead saying, "All right, if you say so." Arguing would be too much effort, after all.
Shikamaru left his home and took Duo around the village, pointing out interesting sights. At least, interesting to Shikamaru. "This is where I usually lay down to watch the clouds." "That's where I go to eat when my mom cooks something nasty." "That's Chouji's favorite restaurant, over there."
Duo was getting irritated. "Eh, Shikamaru, aren't there any landmarks, or something? You know, tourist attractions?"
"It's a ninja village," Shikamaru said, irritated. "The only people here are ninjas, ninja families, and merchants ambitious enough to provide stuff for ninjas, half of whom are retired ninjas themselves. We don't have much in the ways of tourism."
"Boring," Duo replied, putting his hands in his pockets.
Shikamaru didn't know how you could really call a ninja village boring, but he supposed it would be to a tourist, or somebody like that. "Wait, there is the Hokage monument, that's like a tourist spot."
"The Hokage monument?" Duo inquired.
"The giant faces etched into the cliff," Shikamaru replied. "You must've seen it at some point, almost the entire village has a good view of it." Where they were currently at didn't, but that was besides the point.
"I never really paid attention," Duo admitted.
Shikamaru sighed. "All right, I'll show it to you."
Duo grinned. "Good!"
The two walked off down a street, not really feeling like flying. Besides, Shikamaru reasoned, he'd have to get used to walking again after regaining his body, so no reason to get used to flying everywhere. However, the two ran into something interesting a few blocks into their trip.
"Who's that?" Duo asked, motioning toward a girl walking down the street, downcast.
Shikamaru noticed the black hair, cloak, and white eyes, even from a distance. "Hinata Hyuga. She's the heir to a rather powerful clan here in the Leaf Village."
Duo looked the girl over. "If she's so big and powerful, why does she look so bummed out?"
"Her family and blood inheritance might be powerful, but she's one of the meekest people you'll ever meet." Shikamaru was honest, though he tried to keep from being insulting. "She did grow a bit of a backbone at the Chuunin exam, though."
As the two talked about the girl, she glanced over in their direction, causing the two to pause.
"Can she hear us?" Shikamaru asked. It certainly seemed as if she did. That would make two people who could sense him, including Gaara.
"I don't think so," Duo replied. "But she must have high spiritual awareness. She probably detects ghosts and spirits all the time."
Staring almost directly at Shikamaru and his cohort, Hinata seemed even more nervous than usual. She turned on her heel and walked off, heading at a pace much faster than she would usually use. Shikamaru recognized it as somebody trying to rush while pretending not to.
"Let's follow her," Duo suggested, taking off after the Hyuga girl.
Shikamaru stood in his place for a few seconds, staring at the retreating form of his spiritual guide. "What about the Hokage monument?" Realizing he was being left behind, the boy flew off after Duo and Hinata.
So bothersome, honestly...
-----
"The mortal world. It has been a long time."
A trio stood amidst an open clearing. Forest spread in all directions out of the clearing, but the clearing itself was barren of trees, possessing only grass and wildflowers. The one who had spoken was a towering figure, purple hair and red robes a stark contrast to the green below him.
One of his companions, also clad in red and with long white hair, snorted. "Feh. You sound like you've missed it, old man." The speaker, despite his white hair, did appear younger than the purple-haired man. In fact, he appeared to be in his mid-teens, yet he still possessed naturally white hair. It had to do with his demon heritage, which could be discerned from his strange ears.
The purple-haired man smiled. "Indeed I did. After my banishment, I thought I'd never be here again."
The last of the trio, a young girl with black hair and a seductive dress, smirked. "Foolish human, getting banished to our world. If it weren't for us, you'd be long dead, eh?" She laughed a mirthless, cruel laugh.
The older man frowned. "Stupid girl, I survived in the Demon Realm for far longer than most demons." The tension mounted between the two as they exchanged harsh glares. It appeared the animosity between them had been there for a long time.
"Stop fighting, you idiots!" the white-haired boy reprimanded. "You split up this group, and I swear I'll kill both of you and take the items for myself!"
"You try that," the other man countered. "I have all I wanted, anyway. I care little for your pathetic little group endeavors." He pulled an old tome from his robes, holding it aloft. "With this, my power is unmatched, even with your sword, boy. I'd think carefully about trying to cross me."
"You dumbass!" the boy cried, reaching for the hilt of sword. Before he could pull it free of its scabbard, however, the other man muttered a few words and disappeared, leaving behind nothing but an empty spot for the boy to glare at.
The girl, too, decided to make her leave. "You're a big boy, I'm sure you can do whatever it is you're planning on your own. But I've got my own plans." She clutched a small mirror to her chest as she disappeared, not by magic, but simply by a speedy escape into the forest.
For a long while, the boy simply stood in the middle of the now empty field. After several minutes, though, he let out a blood curdling scream. His aggravation had reached new levels.
He wouldn't search out his ex-partners, but should they ever cross his path again, he'd be sure to kill them, slowly and painfully.
-----
Hinata was growing tired of running. Trying to outrun those she knew were following her, she ducked into an alleyway as she ran past. Just her luck, though, the alley was a dead end.
Turning around, she addressed the spirits she could only sense. "I know you're there! Get away from me, all ready!" She made a warding gesture with her hands.
Duo sighed. He hadn't meant to get the girl so worked up, really.
"She looks like she's gonna faint, or something," Shikamaru commented.
Duo was about to respond, but a deep rumbling voice cut him off instead. "So, you sensed me, did you girl?"
Hinata looked around, frantic. For that matter, so did Shikamaru and Duo.
The voice laughed. "I suppose now I must reveal myself." The shadows seemed to thicken, and a shape came forth. It stood a little shorter than an average human, but was still taller than the twelve year-old girl. It appeared humanoid, but had a dull red skin, shocking blue hair, and a pair of horns. Definitely male, as he was clad only in a loincloth, and he also possessed disproportionately long arms, with fingers ending in claws instead of fingernails.
Hinata was shocked, backing up into the wall behind her. Her hands felt the wall behind her, trying to find escape, but couldn't.
Duo actually appeared relieved. "That thing's a weak demon. Even normal humans shouldn't have too much trouble with it, if they're good fighters."
"It doesn't look like she's going to attack it, though," Shikamaru countered. "Her fighting ability is a moot point if it guts her before she moves." He clenched his fists, feeling useless.
Indeed, it appeared as if the ex-Hyuga heir was too shocked and horrified to even think about attacking. Her eyes were wide, her movements wild, backing into the wall as if she were still trying to back up. And with the demon drawing closer, she began to whimper. She was a tough girl, under normal circumstances, but a Genin couldn't be expected to face down a demon, especially with no warning.
"She's choking," Duo spat. "Damn it." He turned to Shikamaru. "Listen. When somebody knows you, and that person also has high spiritual awareness, you can take over their body. All you have to do is move into her body and anchor your mind to hers."
"You want me to possess Hinata?" Shikamaru asked, unsure if he understood the agent of death.
"Yes!" Duo replied, frantic. "Do it before she gets killed!"
Shikamaru didn't waste any more time. Following Duo's instructions, the boy soon found himself blinking with new eyes. "How odd," he muttered, a soft feminine voice coming out instead of his own.
The demon appeared confused. Why had his prey stopped struggling to escape?
Shikamaru looked the demon in the eyes. He was a bit perturbed; his vision was messed up, showing lines of white everywhere he looked, though lines of black were centered around the demon. It must have been the Byakugan. Even without chakra running through the Hyuga eyes, his vision still portrayed the powerful lines of chakra. Demon energy as well, apparently.
"This isn't your world, demon. Go back where you belong, or I'll put you there myself."
The demon chuckled, though it seemed a bit forced. "Weren't you whimpering earlier, girl? Your instincts are telling you how dangerous I am, you should listen to them."
Not feeling like revealing his true identity, Shikamaru replied with a simple lie. "Actually, my instincts were shouting that you're a weakling. I was just caught off guard by your looks is all." He cracked Hinata's knuckles, chuckling. "Now are you going to leave like I asked?"
"Stupid girl!" the demon cried, lunging forward with one arm cocked back, claw open.
Shikamaru calmly stepped to the right, his left foot lashing out in a kick that took the demon in his unguarded abdomen. As the demon buckled over, Hinata's foot lashed out again, taking the demon in the side of the head with a simple side kick.
The demon crashed into a wall. As he stood again, he tried to reorient himself.
Shikamaru smirked as his shadow lashed out. His shadow control wasn't a blood limit ability; rather, it was simply a technique known only to his family, though anybody could do it. He was unprepared, therefore, for his shadow to simply slide off the demon's, like its shadow had been greased. Duo said the demon had been weak, how could it be good enough to resist his attack, especially when disoriented like that?
In response to his unasked question, Duo's voice came from Shikamaru's right. "Chakra's useless against them! Only spiritual energy works, and we haven't shown you how to use that yet!"
"Great," Shikamaru muttered, this time not surprised by Hinata's voice speaking his words. "Guess I'll have to do this the hard way."
By that time, the demon was prepared for another attack, and much more wary as well. However, it didn't save him from the beating that followed. Shikamaru proved his worth as a purely taijutsu fighter at that moment, even if he rarely, if ever, showed it before.
Standing over the beaten form of the demon, the form of Hinata Hyuga dusted her hands off.
"Nice work, Shika," the flippant guide laughed. "You sure showed that demon a thing or two."
Shikamaru nodded absently, leaving the alley. The demon wouldn't be bothering anybody again soon, and by the time he was able to, he'd think twice about doing it in a ninja village. "I guess so." As soon as he was out of the alley, he detached his mind from Hinata's.
The girl shook her head, clearing it of cobwebs. Looking around, she saw she was out of the alley. "Did I... black out?" she wondered. Shaking her head again, this time in bemusement, she decided not to bother trying to figure it out. Something struck her as she walked away, though. Laughing, she turned around a blew a kiss, before taking off.
Shikamaru scratched his head. "That was odd."
"Lingering effects of your possession?" Duo offered.
The boy spirit shrugged. "I'd rack it up to the general weirdness that girls have."
-----
It was two days later that Shikamaru was hanging outside Ino's window. She was inside, getting ready to go and give the transfer. The boy wasn't peeping; she wasn't getting dressed, just brushing her hair, putting on earrings, and other stuff girls did to take up much more time than they needed.
"At this rate, I might as well just die," he muttered.
"Don't say that," Duo replied with a laugh. He elbowed Shikamaru in the ribs. "After all, soon your lady friend is going to give you a kiss. It's only natural she'd spend a lot of time getting ready."
The boy blushed. "It's not like it means anything," he muttered.
"Maybe to you," was the reply Shikamaru got.
Soon enough, the duo were trailing behind Ino as she made her way to Shikamaru's house, humming a small tune to herself. It took very little time, compared to how much she had spent inside, to get to Shikamaru's house.
Duo and Shikamaru passed that time with some conversation.
"You'll be back amongst the living in no time now, Shika," Duo said with a grin.
"Then I'll have to start working, right?" Shikamaru's tone implied he wasn't too happy with that part of the deal.
"In a few days," Duo replied, his hands behind his head. "Gotta give you some rest before we send you off to face demons."
Shikamaru smirked. "Unless I run into them in a dark alley, right?"
When they arrived, they found both of his parents were gone, leaving the house abandoned. Ino simply let herself in.
The sight that greeted her, as well as Duo and Shikamaru, shocked them to their very core.
Chouji was hunched over Shikamaru's body, giving the boy a kiss on the lips.
"Aaaaaaugh!" Shikamaru screamed in torment, just as his soul was sucked back into his body with a large tugging sensation.
Shikamaru continued his scream as he reentered his body, making Chouji back up.
"You're all right!" Chouji cried, happy to see his best friend, who had before been dead, back to his usual self.
Shikamaru wanted mouthwash very badly. "Depends on your definition of 'all right,' I suppose."
He was, however, glad he was back. That's why he didn't exact revenge upon Chouji ,and also why he didn't try and kill Duo, who was busy laughing his proverbial ass off.
Well, maybe he'd take care of Duo. Later, though, after he got some mouthwash.
-----
Fighting Spirit
Chapter 02
End
To be continued...
-----
Author's Notes: This thing was way too short, a bit shy of nine pages in Word with size 8 font. I usually aim for 5,000 words of story text, but this barely topped 4,700. But this is the only real place to end this chapter, so I ended it. And I'm not the kind of guy who'd add extra scenes just for word count, so I guess I'm stuck.
In other news, I'm not dead, as much as that might surprise some of you. Rather, I've been busy packing up and stuff, for moving. I haven't actually made the move yet, but this time I'll see if I can't do some writing anyway, even with being busy like I am.
In the next chapter, you'll get to finally see who the three mysterious evil-doers are. You did deduce that they're evil-doers, right? Because I thought that was pretty obvious.
All three of the mysterious trio are from anime, though you might not recognize them all immediately. I was purposely vague, though I imagine some of you figured out the white-haired guy's identity, anyway. No, it's not Yoko Kurama....
Ciao, for now.
-----
EternallyLost
spiffystudios(AT)hotmail.com
"This is such a hassle..."