(Ghost walks into a recording booth) Hey everybody, Ghost here! Today we have something very special, my first ever attempt at a "collaborative authoring no jutsu"! Assisting me with this jutsu is my long time writing buddy EmpressofMelnibone!

(Empress pokes her head in nervously and says in a small voice) Hi…

(Ghost chuckles) Come on, don't be shy, they're here to read your work! Don't worry so much!

(Empress comes in and sits down) Ok well, I'm Empressofmelnibone. I love Naruto, Bleach… (giggles) Princess Tutu, pretty much all anime except for the gorey horror stuff, yuck. Hayao Miyazaki is a God of animation and Mushishi is the anime by which all other anime should be compared. I am a great cook, love Scifi, and am a die hard Browncoat, for the heathens out there who don't know what that is it's a Firefly/Serenity aficionado made popular by the God of TV Joss Whedon, the man who gave us Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and Angel.

(Ghost blinks at Empress) Aaand would you care to tell the readers whose part you'll be playing for this story?

(Empress smiles brightly) I play the part of Hinata Hyuga because she's amazing and awesome (eyes flare up and hair spontaneously ignites) and got totally cruelly and unfairly sidelined by Masashi Kishimoto! (flames disperse as quickly as they appeared) Ok, Ok, I'm calm now…

(Ghost puts down the fire extinguisher) And I will be playing the part of Shikamaru Nara because of random assignment. Now then, will our substitute bodies please come in?

(Shikamaru and Hinata come in)

(Shikamaru yawns) Troublesome, what is this? We were told something about cookies.

(Hinata looks around nervously) I…I do not see any cookies…or Naruto-kun…

(Ghost waves their concerns aside) Not to worry, not to worry, we'll be sending you to spend plenty of time with your favorite blondes right after you help us demonstrate a little jutsu for the audience.

(Shikamaru's eyes narrow) What jutsu?

(Ghost and Empress smile and make the same handsign pointed at Shikamaru and Hinata) MIND BODY SWITCH!

(Shikamaru and Hinata wake up in a land of dreams with many Temari's and Naruto's waiting for them as Ghost and Empress stretch out their new bodies)
(Ghost grins in Shikamaru's body) Shall we get started then Hinata-hime?
(Empress nods) Let's.

(Ghost and Empress make a sign) Story start jutsu!

CHAPTER 1

==Morning, Three Days Before The Graduation Exam==

It wasn't one of those peaceful mornings. It was one of those jump-out-of-bed-in-terror-and-hang-from-the-ceiling-like-a-frightened-cartoon-cat mornings, and that is exactly what I did. I didn't for the life of me know how I was sticking to the ceiling, but as my mother gaped at me I quickly figured a lot of things out and sighed, "Troublesome."

I released the chakra holding my feet to the ceiling and then my hands, dropping the short distance to the floor and landing in a crouch before rising back to my feet. "I'm up, relax, and that bucket of cold water is highly unnecessary." On a whim I made my snake hand sign and made my shadow grab and toss me my jacket with Shadow Strangle Jutsu. I grinned and pulled it on.

"Did you just use Shadow Strangle Jutsu to hand yourself your jacket?" Mom asked me in shock. I shrugged and sent my shadow stretching for my pants, "Congratulations, you finally managed to get me up without getting me up on the wrong side of the bed." Mom raised an eyebrow, "Huh?" I smirked as I caught my pants, "It's simple really, there is no right side of the bed, so to not get up on the wrong side, which is all of them, one simply has to jump straight up and leave via the ceiling. So, having gotten up on the right side of the bed for once, it's only natural that I'm going to act a little differently today. Now if it's not too terribly much trouble, would you please close the door so I can put my pants on?"

She closed the door and as I changed into my day pants my mind reeled with a single question, why in the hell am I in Shikamaru Nara's body?!

==A Few Minutes Later==

I walked down the ceiling of the hallway to the kitchen and earned stares from both my/Shikamaru's parents as I dropped to the floor, my hair unrestrained out of its usual ponytail and sticking up in what I can only dub super saiyan spikes. "Strange day isn't it?" I asked as I started piling my plate. Dad/Shikaku stared at me as I started eating. I swallowed and looked at him, "I got scared awake this morning in such a manner that I actually managed to avoid getting up on any of the wrong sides of the bed. All rules of normal behavior have been scratched for today. Today is going to either be one of the most troublesome days ever, or one of the best." I took a swig of juice and shrugged, "I'm hoping for best, but on a day like this, who knows what'll happen?"

"Ok," Shikaku asked as though I had suddenly started spouting some dead language, "so you were walking on the ceiling because all rules of normal behavior have been scratched?" "Partly," I said between bites, "The other reason is because it occurred to me as I was pulling on my pants that all the plans in the world aren't much good if you don't have the tools to execute them. My chakra pool is currently too small to keep up with my plans. If I run out in the field when I really need to not, I'm going to be in a most troublesome situation which could very likely end with me or my teammates getting hurt, and that is highly unacceptable."

Dad/Shikaku nodded, "Ok, and why didn't you tie your hair up like you usually do?" I grinned, "I just want to see what happens." Dad nodded, still looking at me as though I were from outer space (perhaps it was the super saiyan hair?), "Your mom says you've learned Shadow Strangle jutsu well enough to use it casually?" I popped down another bite of deer sausage, "Knew the theory just had to apply it. Gonna work on Shadow Stitching later. Might as well expand my bag of tricks while I'm expanding my chakra capacity."

Dad/Shikaku blinked, "Um, ok…do you want some help?" I thought about it for a moment, "I'll letcha know this evening. If I get it as quick as Shadow Strangle then I may not need any. What time is it?" I looked over at the clock, enough time for one question, "Hey dad, is it possible to substitute with say a shuriken, or a kunai? I know most people use logs or clones, but shuriken and kunai are more likely to be available."

Dad/Shikaku thought about it, "I suppose it would be possible, but it wouldn't work to sucker your opponent into thinking they'd hit you…" I grinned, "Not gonna use it for that, I'll use it for maneuverability. Thought about it last night, I can't do the Fourth's technique because I have no idea how and I probably don't have the chakra for it, but given how fast Substitution is, I bet I can do a pale imitation if I practice with it enough, and I can definitely make more than standard use of it. I'll tell ya more later but for now, I think I better scoot before I'm late." I rose and took off, calling over my shoulder, "See ya this evening!" I broke into a sprint, Let's see what this body can do…

==Meanwhile==

Morning came in a haze of reddish light from the sun against closed eyelids. The soft texture of bed sheets too soft against my skin alerted me that something was very wrong. The last of sleep instantly faded as a presence washed over me, a prickling feeling all throughout my body like static electricity.

I could feel everything. The presence ebbed and faded but was there like the feeling when someone is staring at you when you can't see them.

The odd not-right feeling didn't stop I managed to crack my eyes and when looked around the room. A dresser, a closet with an assortment of clothes that looked far too expensive for them to be mine, a bookshelf neatly stacked and arranged. Then I started to panic.

It was the cleanliness and the rigidly manicured order that made the sick feeling in my stomach worm up to my heart and start taking bites out of it. The stresses and problems of managing daily life might make me a stickler for order and rigid adherence to cleanliness and management, but my room had always been my haven where various notebooks, writing utensils, clothes, paints from watercolors to colored pencils and other odds and ends were thrown around in a careless frenzy of activity.

"Breathe, just breathe," I managed to choke out, my tongue feeling too large and thick for my mouth.

A soft knock from just outside the door alerted me that someone was here, and another flash of "presence" washed through me like cool rain with small flashes of emotions. Resentment and tired but peppered with love.

"Come in."

The person who entered looked to be a young boy with a scowl taking over the entire bottom of his mouth pushing the rest of his features into a sharp relief. His eyes were a pale greyish-lilac and the clothes he wore looked to be a pale brown shirt and barefoot feet.

"Lady Hinata," he offered, his face never cracking from that harsh frown. I nodded in greeting. "Lord Hiashi demands your presence at breakfast." He waited a moment and at my nod left the door closed with more force than probably was necessary extremely loud for the quietness of the room.

"Lady Hinata…" I managed to say, my voice sounding far to hoarse and "young" for my liking. I was an adult not a child! Making my way over to the closet I chose a simple sky blue short sleeved shirt with carefully stitched cranes in flight and jeans. The shirt was made out of a sleek material I recognized as silk and felt comfortable. Looking around I noticed a pair of what looked like boots, but unlike the ones I remembered having which were far more for "style" these were definitely for function, a dull brown with simple straight laces and no adornment but some slight scuff marks.

Lady Hinata. Lady Hinata... my mind worked around those words like a dog chasing its tail. Hinata from what I remembered was a noble from the Naruto franchise, a reclusive girl with no real confidence at all, who constantly let others walk all over her and had a more semi-realistic reason for liking Naruto than the other fangirls in canon.

I could feel a headache coming on. "And now through some accident of the universe I've now been put into her body." Hand-forehead-repeat. Ok so what do I do? Survive. Try to figure out what's going on, and don't draw attention to myself. That sounded like solid advice for now.

Once done I followed my nose to the kitchen and stopped dead. It was huge... the table was glass and very elegantly arranged with flowers which I vaguely recognized as Hyacinth blossoms. At the table was man about middle aged with proud hawk like features and the same grayish-purple eyes I recognized as the same as the boy, no Neji the boy's name was Neji, my cousin and more skilled than myself. Hinata's father, looked up at me with a look that made the back of my neck itch. It looked disappointed and curiously sad and interested in a way I didn't like at all.

"Please sit Hinata." I sat and didn't drop my gaze as I probably should have but I was shocked, scared, and not in any mood to show weakness.

In his right hand he held a piece of thick paper and opened it, a scribble of what I recognized as kanji but I couldn't read a word of it and various numbers were in careful boxes divided into various sections.

"Your report card is quite good, but your low taijutsu scores concern me," He said, his voice carefully neutral of any emotion. I waited and finally nodded in understanding, "you will spend any free time you have working on your taijutsu is that clear." Silent nod, rinse, repeat. A careless wave of his hand to the outside signaled my dismissal. "Go on, you have school" his tone sounding curiously defeated. I would remember that for later.

The sharp light of sunrise was like water to a starving person as I followed two girls towards the academy. One I recognized as Sakura and the girl she was racing with had to be Ino. I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Why waste a perfectly great friendship over some guy? A guy who for all intents and purposes had made his distaste for fangirls crystal clear.

Following them at a slower pace, I walked through the door into the room and was greeted by the sight of many, maybe 70 people and felt a rush of embarrassment come over myself. Looking around for a familiar face, I recognized the Konoha 12 but not much of the others. Then came the screeching of what could only be an angry young girl.

It was two of them actually, Sakura and Ino fighting over who was going to sit next to Sasuke who was in a cotton beige and brown shirt and jeans with the same brown slip on boots as myself.

The noise was rapidly getting on my nerves and soon I couldn't take it anymore. Wrapping my annoyance around me like a shield I stepped between the two girls and grabbed them by the back of their shirts.

"Hinata?!" both girls gasped, shock evident on their faces. I flashed them a nervous smile.

"Good morning Sakura, Ino" I said as politely as possible. "Ya know the way you're treating each other and Sasuke is disgusting," I managed to say, my eyes burning with disapproval.

"What?!" both girls gasped out, their eyes wide. Everyone, even Sasuke was staring. I ignored them and took a quick breath to clear my head, and calm down my racing heart.

"Acting like Sasuke is some prize to be earned when he's made it clear he's not interested just shows yourselves to be immature and selfish. Allowing your friendship to be destroyed over this selfish game of yours marks you as being childish and immature. Maybe you should have more respect for yourselves and Sasuke to put your emotions aside when you can't have something you want just because he doesn't want you." Silence reigned in a heart stopping series of seconds before Sakura moved down two tiers to sit next to a Nara with a crazy hair-sticking-up style that reminded me of Vegeta's hairstyle from Dragonball Z, and Ino moved to a seat in the very back, her eyes wet with tears. Sasuke gave me a grateful smile tinged with bitter apology. I nodded in understanding.

The Nara returned to my attention by staring right at me, his gaze taking in every detail before an unsettling grin spread over his face. I felt myself start to sweat ever so slightly, that can't be good…

==Shikamaru==

I grinned as the pieces fell into place and turned back to face the front, So I'm not the only one. It's possible that she could've just had a sudden spine transplant, but I'd call that highly unlikely. Now how to test her to make sure she's like me without giving myself away? I smiled slightly as an idea formed in my head, Yeah, that'll work.

I looked over at Sakura who was trying hard to keep the tears from falling. The possibly-not-Hinata's little lecture had been a rather mild reprimand as far as I was concerned, but I also knew it was unbelievably harsh for little Ms. Perfect-in-pink who'd probably never set a toe out of line in her life. I nudged her, "You know, if you land on his team and can prove yourself a competent kunoichi, he might give you half a second glance, provided you patch things up with Ino that is." Sakura looked at me with watery eyes that were screaming of pain, humiliation, and a strong desire to lash out at somebody or something, "What would you know about it?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Well for one, I'm a guy, which means I know how guys think. I can tell ya right now that ol' duck butt up there isn't looking for some airhead who falls all over herself at a smile from him. If he were, he'd have picked one by now, probably would've gotten bored of her in a month and moved on to the next one in line. Feminine wiles, charm, good looks and the like don't mean jack to a guy like Sasuke if you haven't got the power and skill to impress him because you won't even merit his attention if you don't have that. He's looking for an equal, not a maid. You treating him like he's the hottest thing in the world just tells him you're not worth it because you're automatically putting yourself beneath him."

Sakura was looking rather stunned by the revelation, "Another thing, if you smother a plant, how's it ever going to grow? People are the same way, you smother them, no growth. Sasuke wants to grow and grow and grow some more until he's the biggest thing since Madara. If he feels smothered, he's going to feel like you're holding him back, and he'll do everything in his power to get away from you. We become genin in three days. I'm gonna level with you Sakura, if you don't get your mind off of Sasuke and into high shinobi gear, you'll probably wash out or get yourself killed in a year or less. Surely you know enough to realize that would be the death and burial of any chance you have of impressing him."

Sakura looked as though her world had been rocked, rolled, and mildly nuked. I drew a smiley face on a piece of paper and slid it over to her, "You're a smart girl Sakura, it's time to start putting that big brain of yours to use."

Sakura sniffled, "Since when do you care? I thought you were on Ino's team." I thought about it for a moment, "Well…" I drawled, "I suppose it's since I woke up on the nonexistent right side of the bed this morning and felt like throwing the usual play book out the window. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth Sakura, I don't need an excuse to help a girl who's looking like someone kicked her puppy, and right now that's you. So cheer up, smile a bit, and get your game on. This isn't the end of the world, hell, the story's just getting started. You don't want watery eyes when your future decides to show itself do you? How would you ever see it coming?"

Sakura wiped her eyes with a watery smile, "Thanks Shikamaru. Maybe you're not so bad after all." I snorted, "Whoever said I was bad? Lazy I get regularly, but I assure you, there's a lot more under the lazy façade than you'd ever guess." Sakura looked at me in surprise and as Iruka-sensei walked in I gave her a smug wink.

==Hinata==

Before long lunch reared it's much-needed head. Using a mini-body flicker I made my way ahead of everyone. The scent of fresh ramen and dango made my mouth water. Naruto was like Pavlov's dogs, absolutely shaking with enthusiasm (seriously did he ever not get excited about eating ramen?).

Conversation ebbed and flowed around me. Who liked who, family troubles, teenage problems, and various other topics came and went peppered with actual meaningful conversation. Seriously what did I care if another girl had caught Sasuke fangirlitis when the Inuzuka clan had a new crop of dog-nin's and not enough clan members to take in all of them? Perhaps a dog-nin would be a lucky battle partner.

Finally after getting my food and paying, I looked around for somewhere to sit and noticed Sakura openly glaring while Ino was doing a good impression of ignoring me. Were they angry about earlier? A flash of alarm wormed its way from the back of my neck down to my stomach and inflated into full blown worry. At a pace slightly less that running I made my way over to the two girls, noticing that Sakura's open dislike had settled into frosty rage.

Finally the sting of embarrassment/worry caused my tongue to loosen. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said what I did, or at least not that bluntly," the words came out in a rush of social embarrassment and terror that I might lose the only two girls who'd accepted me. Sakura and Ino looked at each other and then at me. I knew my face was as red as an apple and my eyes were just barely kept from open-faucet tears.

"It wasn't nice to stomp all over our feelings like that," Ino said, her voice authoritative and oddly mature for her age, "But I don't hate you, not anymore." "Sakura," I managed to choke out. Her eyes were down cast enough for her eyes to be covered and her face shadowed, "I think it was rude and really mean. I, I can't accept you acting so rudely Hinata." "I'm sorry! I really didn't mean for it to come out that way, but you're always talking and thinking about Sasuke and he doesn't like that ya know?" "Yeah, I know," Sakura said in a sad and closed off voice, "If you promise to be nicer, maybe we can be friends again. Deal?"

"Deal," I replied with a smile and a hand extended to shake which she returned.

==Shikamaru==

I glanced over to where Hinata Sakura and Ino were sitting and then I grinned slightly as I saw the majority of the Sasuke Fan Club descend on them like the vultures they were, no doubt intent on finding out whether or not Sakura and Ino actually intended to back off of Sasuke. Hinata quickly excused herself and went to eat by herself. I scarfed down the rest of my lunch with such speed that Choji, Naruto and Kiba stared at me, and then I grinned at them, "So, since Hinata seems to have had a spine transplant this morning, I'm going to go over and see if she too woke up on the mysterious right side of the bed this morning. Wait here, I'll be right back with a report on the strange happenings with our lovely Hyuga heiress." Before anyone could say anything I got up and took off.

I walked over to Hinata, feigning casualness as she sat there eating, trying hard to control the manic grin that was fighting with great vigor to spread across my face. I sat down next to her and in a voice that would be audible to her but hopefully nobody else unless they were listening, "Ya know lahsy, ya don't ahct moch like Hinata." Now it was simple, if she asked me why I was speaking with a Scottish accent, she was from my world. If she just asked why I was talking like that, give her the "it's a topsy turvy sort of day" excuse and then try some other tactic to test her later.

==Hinata==

I jerked my head up, shock washing over me as I stared into the bright sunshine smile the normally bored and laconic Nara had on his face.

"Why are you talking like a British guy?!" The words were out of my mouth before I could censor them. The grin became wider and slightly catty. Shivers ran through my mind and I couldn't help but imagine a cat that had just caught a canary. CRAP!

==Shikamaru==

Gotcha! I thought and then in a low voice, "I'm not British, and neither of us is from this world if you know what the hell British is." Cue stunned reaction and yep, there it is. If my grin got any bigger I think my head would've split in two. It was definitely Naruto sized. I stuck out my hand, "Chuckling-Ghost, or Cackling Shadow, whichever you prefer."

"Empressofmelnibone," she managed, her voice coming out a small squeak, "It's based on the empire of dreams and magic from Michael Morcock's famous series…" Then she seemed to get over her shock, "Now what the hell is going on here?!"

I couldn't help it. I almost jumped for joy, and I did give her a hug. My writing buddy was here! There was someone with sense in this world! I sat back and she looked decidedly flustered and unamused as I grinned at her like a Cheshire Cat, "I haven't the foggiest. Woke up this morning as Shikamaru Nara, all his knowledge and enough chakra control that if it's not beautiful I can't tell. By the way it's very nice to finally meet you in person even if we're rather not. You?"

==Hinata==

This was so messed up, waking up in a new body in a new life, just what the hell?! At least I had someone around who wasn't crazy and could hopefully help me navigate this mad world, "Ok, first thing's first, how to fake reading and writing kanji?"

==Shikamaru==

I tilted my head slightly to the side, "You…Oh…" A pit of worry formed in my gut immediately, "You didn't get Hinata's memories did you?"

I had seen her struggling with the textbook during class, but this was bad, REALLY bad. "You can't remember any of it?!"

==Hinata==

"I wouldn't be asking if I did?" I replied, managing to keep my voice calm and the bitchiness to a minimum, "I remember bits and pieces from the series I watched, but nothing much else."

==Shikamaru==

I ran my hands back and forth through my spiky hair, thinking frantically before it hit me. I'm surprised there was no light bulb appearing over my head. "Ok, clearly it's just our souls that have been switched into these bodies, not our brains or we'd probably be having seizures and be dead soon either way from our bodies rejecting the foreign tissue. That means all of Hinata's memories are still in your head, so all you have to do is refresh them. If you read some kids books or something…"

A thought hit me and I changed tack, "look over some old homework with me under the excuse of studying for the Graduation exam, which is in three days. Since your brain still has the right memories coded in, if I'm right then it shouldn't be nearly as hard as learning a new language normally would be. We'll do a little taijutsu practice as well and see if we can jog your memories of Gentle Fist as well, because if you don't have the faintest idea about it then people are going to realize something's up."

She nodded, the concern still clear on her face, "Ok Sensei."

My mouth twitched back into the perpetual grin that had always been plastered across my face as I caught on to something I hadn't thought about and consciously switched back over to English, "Also, I know you've got Hinata's memories in there somewhere because you're speaking Japanese like a native." I had to stifle a small laugh at her expression.

==Hinata==

I was speaking Japanese. Just whaaa?! No I wasn't, or maybe I was doing it unconsciously or something… Oh hell this was creepy. My face must have been a sight because Chuckling Ghost/Shikamaru Nara's smile was getting bigger, if that was possible.

I needed a drink. A whiskey tonic on the rocks with a splash of lime. I groaned in annoyance as the headache I'd managed to ignore these last few minutes came back full force. Annoyance I knew made me look more intimidating and it had the desired effect as my accomplice in this madhouse suddenly bit his tongue nervously. I suppressed the urge to fist pump in victory.

==Shikamaru==

I raised an eyebrow at her as she suddenly radiated Killing Intent at me, biting back my next statement in surprise. Even though Hinata's face was physically incapable of doing "intimidating", the Killing Intent went halfway to making it work, "Don't gimme that look, I'm crazy not a troll. Just thank whatever's done this to us that you've got Hinata's memories. If you weren't able to speak and understand the language Hinata's been raised with, your cover would be blown immediately. For now, just roll with it. The fact that you don't even realize you're doing it is a good thing, it means you know it as well as English. People who go abroad and learn the language like natives slip into their second tongue without realizing it all the time."

I snapped out a pulled punch at her head without warning and her hand snapped up to block and return an open handed strike to my shoulder that made it go slightly numb as the chakra went wonky. She scowled at me, "What was that for?!" I grinned, "Think about what you just did."

==Hinata==

It took me a second, but then I realized, I had just gone after an opponent and not died? My mind was curiously electrified by adrenaline and joy while being slow and thick like thinking through honey. It was a weird and unsettling feeling but strangely pleasant once I got used to it. If this was what it felt like to be a fight I was going to like it here. Now if I could just find some exploding tags and alcohol, I always knew I thought better on alcohol.

==Shikamaru==

My grin widened slightly at the smile spreading across Empress/Hinata's face, "See? It's all still in there, you've just gotta find it."

"The other advantage to all this," I added in English, "Is that nobody here speaks or understands English, they don't even use the same alphabet. That means we come with built in code that nobody can understand. Should help us get our bearings straight since we can discuss what's going on without people thinking we're crazy and/or prophets," I added.

I could see her roll the idea around in her head before smirking, "Sounds like fun."

I grinned, "If you keep smiling like that Hinata, you're going to have Emo-king Duckybutt III and the bright orange wonder fighting over you." She rolled her eyes at the declaration, "Dating and romantic stuff don't interest me, but they're welcome to beat themselves to a bloody pulp if they wish, it might prove entertaining."

I chuckled, "Just be sure you give me time to sell tickets and take bets." Then I sobered up, "On a more serious note, we've gotta keep those two off the same team if we're going to prevent their team from imploding." She nodded and we spent the rest of lunch talking about it, continuing the planning through the afternoon via notes in English, and by the time we headed home, we had a plan.

END CHAPTER JUTSU!

(Upon releasing the jutsu, Shikamaru shakes his head and looks around with a wild look in his eye) Wh-where? Mari-chan?! What?!

(Hinata faints from a nosebleed) N-naruto-kun…

(Ghost grins) I take it you two had fun in our Heaven Viewing Technique?

(Shikamaru glares and Hinata picks herself up)

(Empress smiles) Want to see what we got up to while we were in your bodies?

(Shikamaru pales slightly) You what?

(Empress turns on the projector with the highlights reel)

(Shikamaru grows gradually paler and Hinata watches wide eyed)

(Ghost grins) Oh, and one more thing…

(Temari bursts in with Naruto hot on her heels) WHERE IS HE?! WHERE IS THAT PERVERT?!

(Naruto doesn't say anything, he just scoops up a glowing red Hinata and bolts as Temari proceeds to demolish the room chasing Shikamaru)

(Empress looks at Ghost) Is there something you forgot to tell me about that jutsu?

(Ghost sniggers) Whoever they were thinking about was having the same thoughts the whole time.

(Empress stares) You are evil.

(Ghost grins) The evilest evil genius there is!