Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, don't own Deja Vu no Jutsu, don't own Dreaming of Sunshine, do own a sweet new laptop but that's neither here nor there

"Kunoichi like you make me sick," the dark-skinned Kumo genin snarled at me.

I blinked my eyes, first left then right, in that slow way that Mum had passed down to us. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," she smirked, lifting her chin to look down on me better. "You come to an exam like this and you spend all your time hiding behind the men."

Okay. Firstly, that's a perfectly valid technique for, say, a medic-nin or a Genjutsu user or any other type of support specialist. Secondly, wow was she wrong. But while I was busy trying to figure out how she had gotten so mixed up, the arrogant girl had kept right on talking.

"We all saw you in the dining hall. And then you got carried through the second exam. Well you're out of luck here; it's just you and me now. There's no one here to protect you."

Mum had told me many times never to monologue. But one-liners and trash talk? That was fine. And it just so happens that even if nobody else in the arena got the joke... "You're wrong. I'm not trapped in here with you... You're trapped in here with me!"

The proctor took his cue, dropping his arm for the start, and Netsui charged forwards. And then promptly fell on her face.

Up in the stands, an ANBU captain in full black armor and a bone-white cloak smirked behind her mostly-black Cat mask, sharing a brief amused glance with the Hokage, there to watch the largest Chunin Exams in several years. Both brother and adoptive sister knew how unfair Natsumi's kinjutsu could be, and now it had been passed on to the next generation.

"Shadow Possession complete," I smirked. I was torn now. I could monologue, draw the match out and give her time to break free, to put on a good show for the examiners and increase my chances of getting a promotion. Or I could utterly tank her chances, not that she had any from the moment I managed to trap her in Mum's kinjutsu. With a roll of my eyes, I leaned backwards and then forwards, as if I was headbutting an imaginary opponent. Sprawled on the floor, Netsui was not so lucky, and the 'thunk' of Kumogakure genin head against rocky arena floor was a lot louder than I thought it would be.

"Winner: Nara Shikako of Konohagakure!"

AN: In pre-emptive celebration of my birthday, I'm releasing the next idea I had for Dreaming of Deja Vu: the Grass Chunin Exams through the eyes of a Nara Shikako who was raised and trained by Natsumi. This is mostly a proof-of-concept, because I'm still trying to get my ideas in order for the next fight and how it would differ (or decide if I'm just going to skip it altogether - there are some advantages to just doing one-shot-ish snippets like this after all). Deja Vu!Shikako vs Gaara should be spectacular.

And once again: if you haven't read both fics, go read Dreaming of Sunshine by Silver Queen and Deja Vu no Jutsu by Vixen_Tail. Now.