Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor am I profiting from this fanfiction in any way other than intellectual satisfaction. Enjoy!

Arc I: Shortly after Shikamaru's squad failed to bring back Sasuke, a clever jokester has been setting off elaborate pranks in Konohagakure daily. Challenged by his sensei Asuma to uncover the prankster's identity, can Shikamaru succeed when there are unknown enemies on all side, including the appearance of a feisty Sunagakure kunoichi?

Chapter 1

The Prankster Game I

Monday

Welcome to the village of Konohagakure, the hidden village of the Land of Fire. It is normally a very peaceful place to live, the sole disruption to this peace being a recently failed coup d'état in which the Third Hokage was assassinated as we were betrayed by our ally, Sunagakure. Whatever. This troublesome experience is now behind us, and now we are back to boring times. Exactly how I like them.

"Hey, Shikamaru!"

Fortunately, we now have a new village leader: Lady Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage. Things are finally starting to revert back to normal. After the Chūnin Exam, I was successfully promoted to the rank of chūnin. It's a drag, but better missions mean more money. The more money I make, the sooner I can retire and not have to do anything.

"Shikamaru!"

The clouds look really nice today…so breezy. They just waft around gently, teasing me with their freedom.

"Dammit, Shikamaru! Stop spacing out!"

"Huh?" I blinked slowly, coming back to earth as I took in my energetic friend, Naruto Uzumaki. "Oh! Hey, Naruto! I've been worried about you!"

"Well…Sasuke's gone and I've come to terms with that," Naruto muttered, "and besides, I've found something to keep me distracted."

"Oh?"

"Hey! Naruto!" I cocked my head as a girl yelled in the distance. Naruto's eyes lit up as he stared at her, though I was more interested in the desecrated Hokage Monument, covered in graffiti once again. I fixed my gaze on Naruto, but he was completely oblivious.

"Sorry Shikamaru! I'm eating lunch with Sakura today!" As he ran off, I rolled my eyes. What's with guys being completely whipped by girls? Following Naruto's cue, I made my way to the Yakiniku Q for my midday meal, not at all surprised to find that the rest of my team had already assembled there.

"Shikamaru! What took you?" Ino chided me, turning red as her stomach growled loudly. "We've been waiting on you for the last twenty minutes!"

"You should have started earlier then," I replied as I sat down. Chōji, already stacking his third empty plate and pulling forward a fourth, grinned at Ino.

"I told you he would say that!" He bragged before the aroma of salted beef tongue with Welsh onion overwhelmed him. He sank his face into his plate indiscriminately, easily ignoring the disapproving stares around us. By this point, Ino, Asuma, and I had all learned to ignore it; actually, we even emulated our robust comrade from time to time, having grown rather fond of painlessly abandoning the public etiquette expected at a restaurant. In today's case, however, I felt it prudent to observe the niceties, seeing as it was Asuma's treat. Bowing my head in prayer, I dug in. Asuma had lit a cigarette as he watched the three of us, and I could tell something was bothering him.

"What's up, Asuma-sensei?" I asked him, chewing the beef on one side of my mouth. Chōji looked up with interest, moving on to the next plate as Asuma hesitated.

"Well…no offense Shikamaru, but how could you guys fail to bring Sasuke back?" I felt tension shoot up around us as Ino dropped her chopsticks in shock for a moment. Even Chōji stopped chewing in spite of himself, having been a part of the mission to retrieve the renegade Uchiha. I looked down carefully for a moment, not willing to shirk from my responsibility as squad leader, but also prepared to respond with the same bluntness that Asuma always exhibited.

"I screwed up. Simple as that. I underestimated our opponents and overestimated myself. It won't happen again."

"Sure about that? I'm kind of worried…" Asuma blew a cloud of smoke casually, much to our chagrin. "Whoops! Sorry about that," Asuma flinched as we coughed.

"Anyway, what's your point?" I asked him as I resumed the use of my lungs. Asuma looked thoughtful for a moment. "Shikamaru…you're a chūnin now. You need to act like it."

I scowled. "How exactly am I supposed to act like it? I failed a mission. I'm going to get stronger and smarter so that none of my comrades ever gets that close to death again. That's all I can do…"

"Yes," Asuma had a gleam in his eye, "and you aren't wrong, but I thought I would motivate you some. Shikamaru, do you like games?"

"You know I do," I replied despite knowing it was a rhetorical question. Asuma wasn't an idiot. He leaned forward so that Chōji and Ino were out of earshot, beckoning me to lean in.

"Have you noticed the recent increase in pranks throughout the village over the last few days?" He whispered. I thought back to the Hokage Monument that I had seen earlier, complete with squiggly marks and unnecessary facial features.

"Yeah, what about them?"

"Let's play a game," he smirked. I stared at him.

"Like what? Shōgi? You already know that's pointless. I'd just kick your ass." Asuma leaned back for a minute, recoiling from the brunt of my verbal blow, before he leaned forward again.

"As soon as you are done eating, head to the Mission Assignment Desk in the Ninja Academy to learn more. It will be worth your while." Chōji and Ino yelled out in alarm as Asuma disappeared with a puff of smoke.

Recovering and stuffing his face with more Korean food, Chōji turned to me. "So what was that about?" I shrugged and resumed eating, ignoring Ino's hard stare. Asuma rarely displayed such a secretive attitude, and telling me to head to the Mission Assignment Desk for a mere game? I felt my blood boiling as I smiled through my chopsticks. Perhaps this will be fun.

"So what's up?" I asked. It hadn't even taken me five minutes to finish eating and dash to the Ninja Academy. I think my sudden enthusiasm surprised Ino and Chōji even more than Asuma's random departure. Asuma and Lady Tsunade both looked taken aback by my preemptive appearance, but pleased nonetheless.

"Shikamaru Nara. Please, have a seat," Lady Tsunade motioned to the chair that had clearly been placed there specifically for my benefit; most ninja were required to stand when receiving missions. I pulled up the chair, waiting as Lady Tsunade shuffled through some papers. Asuma helped her as the other ninja behind the table discussed various missions and potential squad combinations to send.

"I thought you told me there would be a game," I spoke to Asuma accusingly. He exchanged a glance with Lady Tsunade and grinned.

"You bet there is! Feel good, Shikamaru. Lady Tsunade is making a very special exception for you."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Shut up for a moment," Lady Tsunade replied, pulling out a scroll. "Normally I don't allow this, but Asuma was very insistent and, well, I lost a bet with him, so I sort of owed him…Asuma, you can go ahead and explain."

"Thank you, ma'am," Asuma replied before turning to me. "It is both a mission and a game," he explained, taking the scroll from the Hokage and unraveling it. My eyes scanned the details of it as Asuma elaborated. "There have been a series of pranks throughout the village as of late. I know who the guilty culprit is, as does the Hokage, but I want you to identify the perpetrator."

"Why do you want me to identify the prankster if you already know who it is?" I asked skeptically.

"You are the newest chūnin of Konohagakure. Rumors of your prowess have been circulating throughout the village ever since the exam ended, and even though Lady Tsunade wasn't around to watch the fight, you are the son of the Jōnin Commander, so naturally she has an interest in your abilities. We know who it is, but we are going to assist the prankster. If you are still able to successfully identity the guilty one, you will have completed the mission."

"It can't be that hard…" I muttered, to which Asuma gave a mischievous grin.

"I'm glad you think so. I'll make it even easier for you. The perpetrator made it to the preliminary round of the most recent Chūnin Exam." My eyes widened. That narrowed down the list considerably.

"What are the conditions of this mission?" I asked, already taken in by this battle of wits Asuma had arranged.

"You must have successfully deduced the culprit for us in seven days. Since today is Monday, you must have an answer for us by 3 pm on Monday. You do not have to capture the prankster; identification is your only mission. You are to accuse one person only, in writing, who was a participant of the previous Chūnin Exam. You can ask anyone any questions you want, but you cannot reveal that you have received this mission. Be careful; you do not want to be working side-by-side with your enemy in this mission."

"Interesting…and you said this would be worth my while?" Asuma chuckled as I sipped from a canteen of water I had brought with me.

"Indeed I did. This mission, "The Prankster Game," has been successfully approved as an A-rank mission." I spit my water everywhere, causing Lady Tsunade and Asuma to jump back.

"But…how?" I coughed, looking up teary-eyed. "An A-rank mission to catch a harmless prankster?"

"How do you know the pranks won't become harmful?" Lady Tsunade sharply asked me.

"Obviously, you wouldn't allow it to continue if you knew they posed any threat to Konohagakure," I replied. "In fact," I stared at my sensei closely, "my guess would be that you instigated the pranks in the first place."

"That's a sharp student you have there," Lady Tsunade sounded impressed as she turned to Asuma.

"Don't I know it," Asuma muttered, "but it does you no good to accuse me, Shikamaru. You have your conditions. Anyone outside these conditions is rendered an invalid influence to this game, even though I can assure you, the prankster is not your only opponent."

"Why are you willing to make this an A-rank mission?" I asked, still confused.

"Shikamaru, you are the pride and joy of your generation," Asuma stated simply with a hint of pride in his voice. "The entire village will be potential enemies to you for the next week. If you can defeat everyone in this game mastered by me, as you've correctly assumed, then you can only ascend from here. Besides, A-rank missions are generally in the best interests of a village or country, and I believe that your growth definitely falls into this category. "

"You do realize that the minimum amount an A-rank mission pays is…"

"150,000 ryō,"Asuma flinched but nodded. "I've done plenty of high-ranked missions, so I have the money to pay off if you successfully succeed."

"If? You mean when." I corrected my sensei with a smirk. "You'll lose this game, just like you lose shōgi."

"I guess we'll see."

I stepped out of the Ninja Academy with a grin on my face and the mission scroll in hand. I was not particularly obsessed with rank or status, but Asuma had all the cards in this game, meaning that it would be the most fun I could possibly have. I made my way to a shady tree, sitting down cross-legged on the soft soil to think. Closing my eyes and connecting my fingers into a circle, I began reviewing what I already knew.

Firstly, the conditions for this game were absolute. Someone in the previous Chūnin Exam who had at least made it to the preliminary round. Sasuke Uchiha is out, as are the Otogakure ninja of Team Dosu, all three of whom were reported murdered. Odds are, the Sunagakure ninja are long gone, but they cannot be completely eliminated as suspects just yet; Asuma is a sneaky bastard. The Konohagakure squad consisting of Yoroi Akadō, Misumi Tsurugi, and Kabuto Yakushi are probably no good as well; there have been a lot of rumors circulating about them being traitors that I need to confirm later.

What I cannot forget, however, is that the perpetrator is going to be assisted by Asuma. I assume this means there will be help from various jōnin and chūnin, but I have no clue what sort of help. I've got to keep vigilant.

"Shikamaru!"

I've got to stay alert and single out the most likely suspect. Out of everyone I know, who has a reputation for pulling pranks? Who would be most eager to inconvenience others, finding joy and satisfaction in the results?

"Shikamaru!"

That's a no-brainer.

I opened my eyes irritably. "Hey there, Naruto."

Author's Note: As usual, I cannot help but keep things canon. I have been dying to tackle the mystery genre for a while now and I figure Shikamaru is the perfect medium, plus my main Naruto fanfiction, Chūnin Exam: Revamped, has already attracted a surprisingly large fan base, so I am hoping to attract more readers. Review, favorite, and follow. The more love I get from readers, the quicker I am to update.

Crow