"Give it up, Mokuto!" Shikamaru yelled as Team 10 surrounded the ninja. "Your tricks end here."

The ninja snickered. "Ha! You think I'd give up that easily, kiddo?" He laughed maniacally. "Mokuto the Ninja Magician has got more tricks up his sleeves!"

With that, he took out ten kunais from his left sleeve and hurled them at the trio. They evaded the attacks successfully. Then, Shikamaru used his Shadow Imitation Technique to disable Mokuto from moving. Chouji moved into position and did his Meat Tank Technique, filling the area with dust and smoke. The three of them coughed and waited for the debris to clear to make sure that Mokuto was defeated. However, when the debris cleared, there was no sign of the Magician anywhere.

"Find him!" Shikamaru said. "Chouji search those bushes over there! Ino check the fallen trees!"

The two nodded and obeyed Shikamaru. The black-haired ninja searched the surrounding area but found no sign of Mokuto. Chouji shook his head as soon as he found Shikamaru.

"No sign of him. That guy is just slippery as an eel."

Suddenly, they heard a shriek from somewhere in the woods.

"That was Ino!" Shikamaru said. "Let's go! She must have found Mokuto."

So the two of them sped to where Ino was. Shikamaru was right. There, on one of the trees, lay a fainted Mokuto. Ino was grinning at them.

"See! I found him first!" She said, still grinning. "He was crawling away when I saw him but, oh thanks to me, I punched him squarely on the face and there!"

She pointed at the fallen ninja, proudly. Shikamaru sat beside the enemy and inspected the damages. Then he frowned his usual frown.

"That must've hurt..." He commented. "Okay, let's go back. Chouji, you carry him."

Chouji took the man and carried him on his big shoulders. The trio then proceeded to go. But as soon as they started to walk, Mokuto regained consciousness and performed some hand seals. Then he looked at Ino with evil intent in his eyes and started to mutter a jutsu.

"What's he saying?" Ino asked.

"How should I know?" Shikamaru answered, yawning. "Anyhow, let's continue walking. That guy is hurt pretty badly and will be unconscious again in a few seconds."

So they continued walking. It was a fine day and the forest seemed to be going along. Bees were buzzing here and there. Butterflies and dragonflies often flew past them. Colorful flowers fringed the otherwise lonely dirt road. The sunlight filtered down through the gaps in the numerous trees and leaves. An occasional squirrel popped out of bushes every now and then. The walk was certainly an enjoyable one, even for Chouji who was ordered to carry Mokuto. He had even begun to hum a nursery rhyme. Only Shikamaru felt horribly bitter.

Along the way, Ino felt a mysterious feeling in her body. It was like something was pulling her away. It unnerved her so much that she stopped in her tracks.

"Hey, what's the big idea of stopping? You saw some pretty flowers?" Shikamaru asked, completely annoyed. "Hurry up and pick them."

"No... It's this feeling I have like something is being pulled out of me and- Ow!" She said. "Ow! Ow! There it goes again!"

Shikamaru cocked his head to one side and laughed. "How troublesome... Come on."

"Wait!" Ino placed a hand on his shoulder. "Wait... Wait for me, okay?"

"Yeah... Whatever... What can I possibly do?"

Shikamaru removed her hand from his shoulder and looked at her. Chouji did the same. Ino was squirming now. She seemed to be in some kind of pain but nothing was visible that could cause it. It was pretty weird to see her flustered. She was panting and sweating profusely, as if she'd done a very heavy workload. Then, they heard a maniacal laugh coming from Mokuto.

"What did you do to her?" Shikamaru asked, accusation in his tone. "What was that jutsu?"

"Heh heh... It was a switching jutsu... Heh heh..."

"A what?"

"A switching jutsu. It switches the spirits of two people."

"What? What does that mean?"

"Oh, kiddo... I thought you were a genius." Mokuto laughed maniacally again. "It switches the spirits of two people, like I said. I cast it on her so whoever she touches first..." He grinned slyly. "Their spirits will switch."

"What? Ow!" Shikamaru yelled. "What the-! What's happening?"

He felt dizzy all of a sudden. He felt like his strength was being sucked away. He, too, began to pant. Shikamaru's vision gradually darkened. His legs turning jelly-like, he landed with a thud on the ground. He saw Ino do the same. Then, everything became black.

"Hey... Hey..."

Shikamaru felt someone nudge his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see. It was Chouji but what was this yellow thingie that's blocking his view? He tried to take it away but try as he might it didn't go. It felt like it was a part of him. Then, something weirder happened. He could see his body four meters away from where he was! His interest growing, he immediately sat bolt upright.

"Hey... Cho-Chouji! What's happening? Why am I seeing my body lying on the ground when I'm here talking to you?" He asked. "What's the meaning of all this?"

Chouji gave him a quizzical look. "Ino, what are you saying? That's Shikamaru over there-"

"I-Ino?" Shikamaru asked. "What the-?"

He ran to a brook that was flowing nearby and glanced into his reflection. The water was sweet and cool. It would have been delightful had he been a tired adventurer but, sadly, he was not. What he saw made him gasp. It was true! He was... No! It couldn't be! He looked at his body. It had begun to wake up and sit. Then it looked around. It also let out a gasp.

"Why, stars! There's my body and... Here I am in..." It gave a loud shriek, a very girly shriek. "I'm in Shikamaru's body!"

"A switch!" Shikamaru yelled. "It's that switch Mokuto was talking about! It was true, after all!"

He glanced at Chouji. The boy was obviously clueless as to what was happening. His eyes were full of questions. Thankfully, that vermin named Mokuto was on the ground, unconscious.

"Chouji, look at me." Shikamaru asked desperately. "What's my name?"

"Why, you're Ino!" Chouji said good-naturedly. "And that's Shikamaru over there. Why are you asking me such an obvious question?"

"NOOOOOO!"

"Huh?" The chubby boy couldn't quite understand. "Why?"

Ino (in Shikamaru's body) crawled over to where Chouji was. "Chouji... Please tell me I'm not Shikamaru. Please tell me I'm not Shikamaru." She said in a sort of chant. "Please tell me I'm not Shikamaru! Anything but that! Chouji, please!"

Chouji laughed heartily. "Why, Shika... Why are you talking like that? Of course you're Shikamaru! Now, I'm pleased to see that you're both awake. I wonder how you hatched up this plan of pretending... Anyway," He said, lifting Mokuto onto his shoulders once more. "Let's go back to Konoha!"

"No!" Both of them said in unison. "We can't go back to Konoha! Not yet!"

"Whatever is the matter, you two?"

"Why, can't you see?" Ino asked. "We've switched!"

"Switched?" He thought and gave them a smile. "It's either you're playing a trick on me or the two of you are just plain hungry. Come on. When we arrive at Konoha, I'll treat the two of you. So let's get going! I can already smell that yakiniku..."

So the chubby boy began to walk, carrying Mokuto on his shoulders. Ino sighed. How on earth did this predicament come to happen? And why Shikamaru's body of all bodies? She would have liked to switch with Sasuke; now that would be beautiful! But, here she was, stuck in her teammates with the only consolation that it wasn't Chouji's. She looked at Shikamaru (who is in her body).

"He won't listen to reason... Oh, what must we do?" She wailed. "What must we do?"

"Well... I... I don't know." He blushed. "Seriously..."

"WHAT!" She slapped him (which is, of course, her body). "You're just privileged!"

"What privileged?" He asked, holding the cheek she had just slapped. "Excuse me!"

"You're very much lucky because you got my body and... and... you'd... Aah!" She was in hysterics. "The thought is too terrible to think of!"

"Hey, no! I'd never peek! I swear, I wouldn't!" He said, placing a hand on his (Ino's) chest.

"NO! Stop that!" She demanded, slapping off the hand. "Stop that! You cannot do that!"

"What? Then how am I supposed to take a bath in this body of yours?"

"Well... Now... I... I dunno." She said, sheepishly, calming down for the moment. "I have no idea."

"Then, it's decided!" Shikamaru declared.

"Decided?"

"I won't take a bath." He said simply. "So I won't peek at you."

"WHAT? Unforgivable! You have to take a bath! I'd smell stinky! Sakura will laugh at me!"

"What do I care? Don't you value your virginity better than how you smell?" He asked slyly. "And, by the way, don't you go peeking at me."

"Hell no! Whatever put that idea in your perverted head? And what does this have to do with my virginity anyway?"

"Well... Nothing, really... Calm down, will you? I just can't find a term for it... Now. What do we do?"

"Why, extract the cure from Mokuto of course!" She said, matter of factly. "Are you so dull not to have thought of that?"

"But it'll take some time..." Shikamaru said with resentment. "In the meantime, we'd have to live each other's lives."

Ino did not even think about it. "I refuse." She said sharply.

"Refuse? Hey, you'd see I got a pretty good life!"

"If being lazy and sleeping all day is your idea of a pretty good life then I'll refuse!"

"Fine! If you mean it that way..." He crossed his arms. "I refuse, too... And most of all... I'd never take a bath in your body!"

"Hey... Come on! Don't do that! I need to take a bath..."

"What do you want me to do? Close my eyes while I'm bathing?"

"Yeah! Whatever it takes! Just take care of my body!"

Chouji looked back. "Hey, you two! Aren't you gonna start walking?"

"Then, it's decided!" Shikamaru said. "We'd live each other's lives while searching for a cure."

"Hey, what? I didn't agree yet!" Then, seeing that there was no other choice, "Fine... Be it!"

Author's Note: What do you think? Heh heh...