
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/228026.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      F/M, M/M
  Fandom:
      Naruto
  Relationship:
      Hyuuga_Neji/Nara_Shikamaru, Akimichi_Chouji/Yamanaka_Ino
  Character:
      Hyuuga_Neji, Nara_Shikamaru, Hyuuga_Hiashi, Nara_Shikaku, Nara_Yoshino,
      Akimichi_Chouji, Yamanaka_Ino, Uzumaki_Naruto, Tenten, Rock_Lee
  Additional Tags:
      Genderswap, Hand_Jobs, Blow_Jobs, Friendship/Love, Matchmaking, Secret
      Relationship
  Stats:
      Published: 2011-07-25 Chapters: 15/? Words: 56620
****** Sign Me Yours ******
by irethsune
Summary
     Shikamaru and Neji form a tentative friendship while training. Their
     feelings grow, but will their relationship?
Notes
     I do not own any part of the Naruto franchise. All I own is the plot
     and writing. I am not making any money from this.
     This is a collaborative work with my friend Mali/essenceofthedark.
***** Chapter 1 *****
Shikamaru scowled to himself as he adjusted his position in the trees. He had
already done as much research as he could on the other's technique as possible
without having to actually watch the other boy. But he still had to gauge his
abilities-- he'd only seen so much at the preliminaries, after all.
Asuma-sensei was training him like a dog, but at least this way he didn't have
to actually move, just observe. Providing, of course, that the Hyuuga protégée
was too focused on his training to notice him spying in the trees boarding the
training field.
He watched Neji's moves with a bored disinterest, wondering how long he was
going to keep training; he'd been at it for hours now and Shikamaru had grown
bored and sleepy a while back, but he knew that his sensei would somehow just
know if he stopped watching before he stopped training. And that would mean
double training for him.
Looking up at the sun between his exercises, Neji noticed he had been at it for
a good four hours already and he decided it would be time for a break. He was
thirsty from working out beneath the hot Konoha-sun and a small break would
only enable him to train longer afterwards. Sighing, he picked up the water-
bottle from the ground and took a small gulp from it, before he, without
turning towards his watcher, sat down on the ground.
"Have you seen enough?" he called out, having long ago noticed his watcher, but
he had been too preoccupied to bother before now. After all, it was just his
normal morning exercise, not secret techniques or anything even remotely like
that he was training.
"You can come down now," he added after a while with a smirk. He didn't know
who it was; his chakra-signature was not familiar to him, or he had at least
not bothered to remember it had he met them before. Which would of course mean
it wasn't a worthy opponent.
Shikamaru let out a snort, debating within himself whether it was worth it to
even move. Since the other had obviously seen him, he could just start napping
finally. Of course, sleeping in a tree was never as comfortable as on the grass
or in a bed.
"Troublesome," he murmured to himself before swinging one leg to the other side
and jumping down into a squat. He ambled over with a yawn, stopping a few feet
from the Hyuuga.
"Ah..." Neji's eyes turned uninterested again once he discovered who his
watcher was. Nar...a. Nara, he thought was his name, but he was not certain;
not that it mattered. Raising an eyebrow elegantly, he remembered that the
younger boy had been one of those weak rodents that had asked for his autograph
during the second part of the Chuunin exam. It was almost enough to make him
snort in amusement; what kind of man wanted another man's autograph anyway? Of
course, he did not let his amusement show on his face.
"Water?" he offered silently once the other had sat down not far from him, and
he remembered that the other boy had been outside beneath the warm sun just as
long as him, although he had not trained during that time, the heat was enough
to make anyone thirsty. Not that Neji would ever admit to needing water, he
merely enjoyed the luxury of having it available during his training-sessions;
he could very well go without it.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow before nodding his thanks, reaching and taking the
bottle. He took a short drink from it and handed it back. He hadn't been aware
of how thirsty he really was until he drank the cool water, but it wasn't his
or a teammate's so held back from draining most of it.
It was an awkward silence now, but he didn't see the point of forcing small
talk. He covered his mouth as another yawn broke out and he reclined himself,
lying on the grass.
He was glad he didn't need to spy anymore, but he wasn't going to stop watching
just yet. And if Neji didn't want him there, he'd have to say so.
Taking his bottle back, Neji frowned at it a little, feeling the urge to wipe
off any spit that was left from the other nin, but for the sake of courtesy he
just put it down. While he didn't care if he offended some lower, less gifted
shinobi, his manners disagreed with him. He would just make sure to wash it
thoroughly later.
Pretending not to notice the pressing and awkward silence between them, Neji
closed his eyes and folded his legs. He could just as well do his meditation
while they were sitting in silence like that. However, after a while he could
feel the urge to twitch. Not used to company, he was a little unsettled by the
silent presence beside him, but, not wanting to admit that it was bothering
him, he forced himself to sit quiet.
Shikamaru glanced over, breaking his gaze from the clouds, and studied him. He
was sitting straight, legs folded, which he knew was correct, but he was sure
that the forced stiffness wasn't. Even with his loose shirt on, the Nara could
see the other boys' muscles tensing and quivering as he tried to calm down.
He could tell he was the cause of this uneasiness, but he also knew that had to
be something a ninja had to deal with-- especially one hoping to become a
Chuunin.
Rolling his eyes, he sat up and slumped forward, not caring about posture like
his companion. He rested his chin in his hand, elbow propped up on a knee and
he smirked.
"Meditating only works when you're relaxed, you know."
"I am aware of that," Neji replied rather stiffly, shooting the younger one a
glare. How dare he presume that he knew more than him? Unfolding his legs, he
sat normally, though still rigidly. It seemed it was useless to even try
meditating when this younger boy was nearby. It irked him, but so far only his
team, and his family, had seen him meditate, and he just wasn't used to having
anyone else there. Had he already started meditating he didn't think it would
have been a problem, because he would be too focused. As it was, he was not. He
made a mental note to improve just that. Doing some breathing-exercises he knew
would calm him, he tried again, and this time he did better. Though the fact
that the other had noticed was still annoying him.
Shikamaru's smirk widened as he continued to observe Neji. He wondered why he
didn't tell him to leave since he was causing that much turmoil. Maybe it was a
pride thing? He'd never understood why pride was such a huge issue, though.
Well, expect for against girls, but that was different.
After a moment's thought, he spoke again, "So how much do you train?"
Feeling the other's eyes on him, Neji blinked almost startled as the other
spoke up unexpectedly. Mulling a bit over the question, he peeked at the other
boy from the corner of his eyes.
"Why do you want to know?" he countered with after a while. The other was
probably spying on him train to learn some secret techniques, or... well, just
spying to know how to fight against him. After all, he hadn't forgotten the
exams weren't over yet. They might have to fight against each other in the
final part.
The Nara just shrugged, shifting so he was looking up at the sky again. "You
were training for a few hours and, unless you're too tired to even walk home,
it doesn't look like you're stopping yet," he said.
He shifted his gaze again, but kept his face tilted upwards. "And if I'm not
mistaken, you train every day."
"Hn," Neji just replied confirming what the Nara had said. He had to give him
that; he was good at analyzing people, even him. Which annoyed him. Neji was
not used to being easily read by anyone, much less a brat younger than him,
that was, probably, complete crap ability-wise.
"This is just my morning exercise," he added after a while, not having a clue
why he gave away that much to the other, but he felt that it needed to be said.
He wouldn't want the other to assume he was lazy like him.
So this was just a warm up to the Hyuuga, he thought, wondering how he hadn't
grown too tired yet. He would have stopped at least an hour ago-- there was no
use over-exerting yourself, in his opinion.
"Hm, I guess that explains why you missed the target a few times," he mumbled
to himself. He was hoping that had just been the extent of his ability, but
that obviously wasn't the case.
Neji stiffened at the last remark, and if he hadn't performed his breathing
exercises, closed his eyes angrily, his looks would have killed. He had not
missed! At least that was what he told himself, but he knew, deep down, that
the other was telling the truth.
"No," he replied stiffly, once he had swallowed his indignation, "it does not.”
That it was a warm-up session had nothing to do with it; it was the blind spot
of the byakugan, but the other did not need to know that.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, turning to fully face the other. "So then why did
you miss?" he asked, genuinely curious and not just fishing for information. He
knew Neji was ranked up there with Sasuke and with good reason. He wouldn't
just miss an unmoving target so easily.
Neji almost grit his teeth. Had this brat never heard of not letting his
curiosity get the better of him? Either that, or he was a damn bad spy, which
he had already proved by getting caught. Either way, he was not going to answer
that question, just in case it could be used against him. Remaining silent, he
dried off the other's spit on his bottle as discreetly as possible before he
took another mouthful of water.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes when he didn't get an answer. He was being overly
cautious, especially when the Nara hadn't even wanted to be in the Chuunin
exams in the first place. It had just been easier than being the target for
Ino's wrath.
But he wasn't one to pull teeth for information, so he just dropped it, letting
the silence stretch out.
Taking a last mouthful of water, deciding that if he had any more, it would
only hinder the rest of his morning exercise, Neji stood up after putting the
bottle back into his bag.
"I shall continue my training," he told the other, letting him know it was up
to him to stay and watch or leave; he did not care either way. Meditating was
one thing, but he could train in front of anyone without a second thought. As
long as it was nothing he should not show his enemies, it was nothing different
than sparring against a stranger. As long as you did not reveal too much, it
was alright, and Neji gave away nothing.
Shikamaru made in a noise in the throat in acknowledgment, eyes trailing after
the other as he moved away. He might as well observe as much as he could, even
better that he didn't have to be on alert.
Taking a deep breath, Neji got into his gentle-fist style and started training.
Smooth, flawless movements that looked like tai-chi in fast motion, he moved,
swirled and hit with a natural grace and flow that was not given to many people
alive. Losing himself in the familiar movements, he no longer was consciously
aware of his watcher.
Shikamaru watched him with a steady and critical eye, gauging his movements and
eventually he was able to predict what movement and direction the Hyuuga would
use. At times he could tell that Neji was holding back, trying to throw him
off.
After close to an hour, he starting letting his gaze and mind drift, eventually
lying down again and just cloud-gazing. Nothing new was happening, so why
bother waste good lounging time like that?
Just as the dark-haired boy lay down, a kunai, barely a few inches above him,
made a loud /thak/ as it embedded itself into the trunk of a tree right beside
the Nara. Obviously, Neji had started another part of his training. Other
sounds were heard at the same time, indicating that he had thrown several at
once and then the older boy stilled, looking up into the air.
He frowned, displeased with himself. Yet another time he had miscalculated, and
he silently damned his blind spot.
Shikamaru blinked, a bit startled, after the kunai flew over him. He let out a
sigh and lifted up his head a little to look at the other, frowning himself at
the other's expression.
He could guess what his problem was; he relied on his kekkei genkai too much,
but from what he'd heard from Naruto about Sasuke that wasn't something you
just told them, especially even if they weren't your teammate or friend, for
that matter.
Taking a deep breath, Neji made the hand-seals and called forth his byakugan,
using it to get a good, almost full-view of his surroundings. He would defeat
his blind spot even if it was the last thing he did. Sighing, he looked towards
the other genin. True, he could wait with that until he could train with
Tenten... But she was probably much too busy training herself privately from
messing up so horribly against that Suna-nin, and this one, though he should
be, was not so busy training.
"You!" Neji looked pointedly at him, making it clear that he was talking to
him. The brat was probably nowhere near Tenten's level, but it would do... for
the morning exercise. "I have a request."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes upward and heaved a sigh as he pushed himself up into
a sitting position. He looked at Neji was a small scowl, wishing he could just
relax now.
"What is it?"
"Attack me with weapons from all directions... if you can." He smirked at the
younger boy, taking it into account that he had no talent whatsoever with
weapons. However, he had to ask as he really needed the practice. And he would
like to break his blind spot without any help from his uncle, thankyouverymuch!
Of course, Hiashi had offered, but Neji had refused out of pride. However, that
meant he had some hard work in front of him; work he could not do alone, as
much as he would have liked to.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and muttered a quiet 'troublesome'. He glanced up,
studying the trees for a few seconds before forming a box with his fingers.
Less than a minute later, he stood up with a sigh and looked at Neji.
"If you have wire in your bag and will help gather up the kunai you threw
earlier, I will."
Just nodding, Neji took a second to find all his kunai with his byakugan.
"The wire's in the front pocket," he replied before he went off to find his
weapons, gathering them one by one, making sure they weren't damaged. When he
had gathered them all, he went back to the younger boy and dropped the weapons
to the ground.
"There's more in the bag," he said softly, sitting down to rummage through it
and find his other weapons.
Shikamaru nodded and went over to the other's bag, kneeling and taking out the
roll of wire. He fished through his own weapon's pouch, taking out his ninja
wire. He carefully tied the two ends together. He hoped there would be enough
length to circle the clearing.
He gathered up all the weapons without another word and disappeared up into the
trees. He made one shadow clone and started setting up the weapons, lining them
up sporadically along the wire. Minutes later, he had them in every tree
surrounding the clearing, the wire pulled tight as a trigger, himself on one
side and his clone on the other.
"Ready?" he called out.
Watching the other disappear, Neji waited patiently in the middle of the
clearing while the other set up his trap. While he waited, he did some
stretching, knowing the small break had made his body cool down enough to
warrant such exercise as not to obtain any physical damage. At the other's
call, he snorted softly to himself. How gallant.
"It is not much of a surprise if you announce all your attacks," he called back
arrogantly. "Shinobi have no need of such warnings."
Shikamaru smirked. "Just making sure I won't take off an ear of yours or
something."
He counted to ten in his head before physically throwing a kunai, making his
clone throw two in succession. He did this, building up the amount quickly,
taking a few second break before finally pulling the wire and setting the rest
of the weapons off towards the Hyuuga. Immediately after, he threw handfuls of
senbon and shuriken at the same time as his clone.
His byakugan already activated, Neji noticed at once when the first kunai was
thrown. Getting into his familiar stance, he quickly started spinning, turning,
twisting his body while his hands darted out; fending kunai away from him along
with the other weapons being thrown. Taking familiar steps to keep his balance,
he silently admitted to himself that the younger boy did know how to handle his
weapons. He wasn't Tenten's level, but he was pretty good. However, he would
never say such a thing out loud.
Shikamaru released his kage bushin after all the weapons had been thrown. He
observed Neji's moves from up the tree. He'd heard of this technique before,
but this was his first time seeing it in action. Heavenly spin.
He jumped down from the tree, landing in a squat and inwardly hoping he
wouldn't have to fight against him in the match. The only way to beat him would
be to immobilize him, which he could do but he doubted the Hyuuga would let
himself fall into his shadow possession jutsu.
Standing still with perfect balance once the last weapon dropped to the ground,
Neji smirked, satisfied. True, he had faced worse before when training against
Tenten, but still. Not one weapon had nicked his skin while out there, despite
his blind spot.
"It wasn't too bad," he acknowledged before he started collecting his weapons.
Looking at the sun, he decided that it would be the end of his morning
practice. While he normally wouldn't skip practice for anything, today he had
to start planning a more complicated training schedule for himself because of
the last part of the Chuunin exam that was only days away. There was no time to
waste, and if he doubted his regular training, it would cover it all. He was
going to be prepared when the time came.
Shikamaru smirked again, letting out a soft snort at the other's comment. While
Neji was gathering the weapons, he started re-winding the wire, cutting it when
it got to the knot-- no use wasting energy trying to unknot it. He started
doing the same to the other side, handing over one of the rolls to the older
boy once finished. He gathered up the rest of his weapons, putting them all
back away before looking at Neji again.
Once he had packed his bag and was ready to leave for a light lunch, he looked
over at the other boy. A second passed before he looked away again, slightly
irked that he had to thank someone his inferior for his... assistance. He
refused to use the word 'help' even to himself. Neji just didn't need help.
Ever. Period.
"Thank you for your assistance," he said stiffly, not mentioning with one word
the spying the other had done. After all, it was pretty much harmless, and what
did a ninja do if not spy on others? It was all part of the game, as stated at
the first Chuunin test. There would be no use in getting upset over such a
small detail. In fact, he probably should be flattered that someone wanted to
do research on him. Well, would be, if the other had been stronger, and it
hadn't been his job.
"I shall see you at the finals," he added before starting to walk away,
frowning at himself. Why had he said those words? It had been utterly
pointless, and Neji didn't do pointless.
Shikamaru shrugged. "It wasn't too troublesome," he said, though wondered why
it wasn't. It had been more work than he was hoping to do all day. But at least
he could tell his sensei that he'd trained. And (he inwardly smirked) he could
just imagine Ino's jealousy if he told her that he had trained with her second
biggest crush in Konoha.
He just lifted a hand in farewell, debating whether he should leave or just
slack off for the rest of the day.
Nodding in acknowledge he had heard him, Neji returned to his room in the
Hyuuga complex, thoughts already moving onto his training plan the next days.
--
The day for the exams arrived without further ado, much too fast. Getting up
early as usual, the Hyuuga started his morning exercise, stretching and
actively readying his body for the day. He also made sure to eat his breakfast;
perfectly balanced to give him all the nutrients he needed, but nothing more.
He was about to leave for some extra training before the tournament, but
hesitated for a second. Remembering the boy from yesterday, Neji smirked and
grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. Scribbling something down on the paper, he
carefully pocketed it and left.
Shikamaru covered his mouth as he let out a huge yawn, trying his best to tune
out Ino's yakking. His teammates had found him a few hours later after
‘training’ with the Hyuuga and before he could explain anything they'd started
ragging on him.
Now, the next day they had a little time, Ino had demanded that he did the same
so she could watch the Hyuuga in action. And it was easier to just not argue
against her, so they were making their way towards the same training area.
Neji was at his usual spot, once again trying to crack his blind spot in the
few short hours he had, and he smirked with satisfaction as he noticed the area
he couldn't see had narrowed the past days. Perhaps he one day would be able to
eliminate that spot completely.
However, he twitched soon as he heard several footsteps approaching and he
stopped, not even turning to see who it was.
"Bringing the fanclub?" he asked sarcastically, casting a wry look at the
female that had arrived with him, and the other boy, whom, he might add,
looked... fat. Not showing his distaste of the body-fat, after all, he had
heard of a clan that relied on just that, he frowned at the girl's skimpy
outfit. Not only did she look like a slut, but he was certain that if he looked
any closer, he would find her ribs sticking out from her dieting and starving
herself. He knew the type. It would be the type he would stray far away from,
and that Tenten would bitch about constantly whenever she was in a bad mood.
Shikamaru let out a sigh, scowling. "I wasn't even planning on coming back. She
dragged us here," he said, knowing that if Neji was any less good-looking, he
would have gotten slugged by Ino. Couldn’t look bad in front of him, right?
Instead she just glared at him and huffed before turning her attention onto the
Hyuuga, putting on a saccharin sweet smile.
The Nara rolled his eyes, making a face at Chouji, who laughed as he crunched
on his ever-present chips.
Narrowing his eyes as he eyed the blonde's fake smile, obviously trying to
charm him or something, he sighed and gave her a glare.
"Get lost," he just told them. Having the other boy, Nara, spy on him was one
thing (or at least attempting to spy on him), having to babysit a group of
younger Genin’s another. Besides, he had planned on testing his real skills
once more before the exams, to make sure what he had practiced really stuck. He
didn't think they hadn't, but he would rather practice one time too many than
not.
"I do not have time to waste on you," his words were cold, exactly like he had
intended to. Also, if the Nara's words were true, the girl was stopping him too
from doing some last training before the exams.
Ino pouted, twirling her bangs with a finger and trying to look coy. He had to
fall for her eventually, after all she was the top kunoichi in her year and
beautiful to boot.
Shikamaru snorted and just turned around. "I told you he wouldn't want us
around," he said to Ino.
"I said get lost," Neji eyed the female distastefully. "You are annoying," he
added, picking up a kunai. If she didn't, she might get an uncomfortable
surprise. Oh yes, indeed. Neji would send her running faster than you could
snap your fingers. Not by force, no, Neji did not do violence like that; it was
beneath his dignity, but there were other ways.
Shikamaru sighed and grabbed Ino's arm, starting to drag her off, Chouji
trailing along behind and glancing back at Neji worriedly every now and then.
Ino scowled once she wasn't facing the Hyuuga and started complaining under her
breath.
"Oh, like you thought you had a chance after in the forest?" the Nara muttered.
"Besides, you said you had to work a shift at your family's flower shop before
the exam tournament."
Sending the other boy a thankful thought, Neji went about with his training,
this time undisturbed by anyone.
--
A few hours later, he had done showering and drying his hair completely, and
went on his way to the exam itself, excited to know who he would get to fight.
Neji frowned; there were quite a few weak people that had gotten through to the
final round. He really hoped he would not be paired up against any of them. It
would be disgraceful for the clan, and he would not enjoy an unfair fight.
Making sure the note was still in his pocket, he walked towards the arena. He
was certain his uncle and cousins were already there, seated in the best seats
there were; aside from the Kage's, that is.
Shikamaru stood in the middle of the arena, wondering yet again why he was
still going along with this. He just hoped he wouldn't have to fight against
the Hyuuga, Aburame or that creepy Suna-nin. He thought he had a chance against
the others, though not much of one...
He glanced around, seeing all three of the Suna-nin's hudled together and Shino
standing silently. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, wondering when the
other four were going to show up.
Arriving, Neji noticed that most had already turned up even though the time had
still not run out for meeting up. Looking around, he noticed that the Uchiha
had not arrived yet. Oh well, there was still time for him to show up. While
the younger boy was clearly inferior to himself, Neji thought that if he was
paired against him, the fight would indeed be interesting.
Looking at the Nara, who looked bored to death, Neji slipped the note carefully
into his pocket, secure that no one would as much as notice. Besides, he
smirked to himself, the boy had indeed asked for it earlier.
On the note was To Nara - Hyuuga Neji scribbled down.
Shikamaru shifted, quirking an eyebrow at the sound of paper crinkling. He
brought out the piece of paper and glanced down at it. He blinked a few times,
turning it around but all that was on it was those four words and there
couldn't be anything hidden on it, Genin weren't taught things like that.
He looked up, over at the Hyuuga and raising his other eyebrow in question.
Lips twitching slightly in amusement, Neji made a small gesture that meant
'later' to the younger boy. After all, it would certainly be noticeable if they
started chatting before the exam. Slipping a piece of paper into the boy's
pocket was one thing, talking another. He could only imagine the gossip that
would spread between all the ninja of Konoha, not to mention what his uncle
would think.
Shikamaru sighed before pocketing the paper. He would just have to ask him
later, then. Now they were just waiting for Naruto, Sasuke and that Sound
Genin...
***** Chapter 2 *****
However, they didn't get the chance to talk because of what happened later that
day, the attack of the Oto and Suna shinobi and the funeral of the Sandaime as
well as several other things made a week pass before any of them would have the
opportunity again. Having spent some time alone in his room, contemplating what
happened the past days, among other things the truth about his father that his
uncle had not told him before now. It was a mystery, and Neji could not stop
thinking about it.
It was the same day he found himself walking back towards his regular training
spot, as he had not had the time for the past days and he longed for some
proper workout that did not include mulling over useless things; things of the
past.
Shikamaru was lying down in the clearing, wanting to be away from everyone.
With everything that had happened, his home was becoming chaos with how moody
his mother was getting. Asuma hadn't called any meetings in a while, not that
the Nara blamed him-- it had been his father that died after all. Ino was
spending all her time and home and when he was with Chouji all he could about
were the times as academy students when they would run into the late-Hokage.
He frowned, trying to push all those thoughts away and just stare up at the
sky. Not that it was helping for once...
Neji arrived at the clearing, only to raise an eyebrow as he noticed he was not
alone. What that boy was doing there, he did not know, but for some reason, he
didn't feel disturbed by the fact. The boy had seen him do his morning exercise
before, and he was not there to ogle his ass like the girl that had been with
him the last time. From seeing them together during the exam, he assumed she
was his teammate along with the chubby boy.
"Nara," he greeted him quietly, kneeling down almost beside him as he put down
his bag, taking a few weapons from it; going to use them for his practice.
Shikamaru glanced over at him, watching him for a bit before looking back up at
the sky. There was no use watching him now and he didn't think it would calm
his mind more than the clouds.
"Hyuuga," he greeted back.
Standing up, Neji walked a little bit away from him before he started his
exercise, not noticing that it was easier to focus this time. In the end he was
barely aware of the others presence, the silence between them had become more
comfortable.
--
A couple of hours later, Neji stopped what he was doing, deciding it was time
for a small break like normal. Walking back to his bag and the Nara, he sat
down. Taking his bottle, he drank some of it before glancing at the younger
boy. It seemed that he had been out there longer than he had, and though it was
not as warm outside as before, because autumn was coming, the sun was still
shining brightly, and it didn't seem like the other had brought water.
"Water?" he offered, having a strange sense of déjà vu as things almost
proceeded like the first time they had met in the same spot.
Shikamaru looked over at the question and sat up after a pause. He reached
over, taking the bottle and drinking from it; this time making sure his lips
didn't touch the bottle's neck.
"Thanks," he said, handing it back.
Just nodding his head in return, Neji put the bottle down, the silence once
again surrounding them with the exception of the birds twittering, the bees
humming and the light breeze rustling the trees. It was almost... enjoyable.
And he had achieved a tad more respect for the other boy when he heard what had
happened during the final part of the exams, except that he had yielded.
Shikamaru kept his gaze on the Hyuuga for a minute before turning his head
again. "So... what was that paper about?" he asked, remembering it. He still
kept it in one of his desk drawers, in case it was something important; though
he couldn't figure out if it could be.
Chuckling softly, Neji gave him a wry smile, amused.
"You should know," he told him, looking away from him again. "You requested it
yourself during the second test," he added, giving him a clue so he could
remember.
Shikamaru blinked slowly before his eyes widened and he blushed a little. "Ah,
troublesome..." he muttered, scratching his cheek. "That was Ino's idea, you
know..."
"Mm." Neji just nodded slightly. Of course he had known. Well, not whose idea
it had been, but that it had only been a ploy to flatter him.
"I knew," he smirked. "It was just too amusing not to," he added, noticing the
other's blush. For some reason, it looked rather good on the other boy; not
that the Hyuuga noticed such things. No, he didn't.
Releasing a sigh, Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head, scowling slightly and
looking at the ground. "At least someone was amused by that, I suppose," he
said.
Neji nodded. "At least next time you know it won't work," he chuckled softly,
watching the other boy in his embarrassment. However, he refused to admit that
the look appealed to him. Taking another gulp of water, he got up, seeing as
his break had passed.
Shikamaru snorted, reclining himself back on the grass again. "Maybe next time
I'll ask for some of your hair instead," he said with a smirk, now teasing.
Spluttering slightly, indignantly a soft blush stained Neji's cheeks, barely
there, yet still visible against his pale skin.
"Don't even joke about that." He looked away from the younger boy, mostly to
hide the slight heat in his cheeks. It didn't make sense; the other boy was
only teasing him a bit, so why was he blushing? Blushing! Hyuuga’s just didn't
blush; well, other than Hinata, they just didn't.
Shikamaru chuckled, his smirk widening as he watched the Hyuuga from the corner
of his eyes. "Why not? I'm sure a lot of people would kill to even just touch
your hair," he said. "Would you rather be asked for something else? Like your
clothes?"
"I think an autograph is enough," he coughed lightly. "Besides, I doubt anyone
would want my clothes." He wrinkled his nose. Would someone want any of that
from him, for real? Neji was seriously in doubt, it seemed strange. No, Neji
would never understand idol-worshippers.
"You'd be surprised," Shikamaru said. "Although I think it's more to see you
naked, than to actually have your clothes," he mused before rolling his eyes.
"Women are just too troublesome."
"Wh-what?!" Neji blurted out, whipping his head around to stare incredulously
at the younger shinobi, a nice, strong blush settling on his cheeks; left
eyebrow twitching slightly.
"B-but..." he spluttered, not able to wrap his mind around the idea of anyone
wanting to see him naked.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, subduing the urge to laugh at the older's
expression as he lifted his upper body, supporting himself on his arms. "Oh,
come on. Women like pretty boys. And, face it, the only person who could
compete with you there is the Uchiha. It's not that hard of a concept."
"But... naked?" the Hyuuga covered his mouth with a hand, still twitching
before he looked at the other, looking skeptic, as if he thought this had to be
a trick of some sorts.
"Do... people really think about things like... that?" he asked after a while.
Neji had never thought of such a thing before, to him it was a laughable
thought, but... The idea of girls wanting to see him... naked... He paled and
blushed at the same time. He was starting to feel slightly ill.
"Your teammate doesn't do that?" the Nara asked, surprised. He paused before
making a face. "All mine does is talk about who's 'hot and who's not' and why
they fall into that category," he said, using air-quotes with one hand.
He scowled and laid back down, using his arms as a pillow. "You can imagine how
annoying she gets."
"Ah..." Neji felt quite disturbed from this revelation. Then Shikamaru's next
words made him feel like someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over him.
Did Tenten think like that too? Did she want to see him... in the nude? He felt
a bit sick at the thought. Then again, hearing how Shikamaru described his
teammate, he remembered the horrible girl that seemed to drag him along all the
time.
"No... She does not," he replied. "Actually... she is usually complaining about
how annoying the other girls are... at least, those that are like your
teammate." His lips twitched slightly. Perhaps he had been lucky to have Tenten
on his team. At least if you compared her to that girl Shikamaru was talking
about.
"Well, you're lucky then," Shikamaru said, closing his eyes. "When it comes
down to it, she's okay, but most of the time she's just too troublesome to deal
with." At least, he thought to himself, he never had to worry about Ino
fantasizing about him. That would just be creepy.
"I suppose..." he nodded, hesitating, he caught himself looking the other boy
over once, and, finding nothing abnormal or repulsing about him, he hesitated a
bit more before he, for once, let curiosity get the best of him.
"Does she... Do girls... want to see you naked?" he asked, feeling rather
stupid for asking. Then again, he could not particularly see why someone would
want to see anyone naked.
"Not that I know of," he said, shrugging. "Ino doesn't at least. Not like I'm
anything interesting to look at anyway." He looked over at Neji again. "I know
I don't have a fanclub at least."
Neji blinked. It didn't seem to make any sense to him. Why would he be more
attractive than the Nara? He could see nothing wrong with him.
"Fanclub?" he asked. This... did not seem promising.
"You don't even know about that?"
Shikamaru sighed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "I... don't think it's
anything official but girls like to gather together to compare notes and gab
about who they like." He shrugged. "I don't understand it myself, but it
happens. And it's usually about yourself or Uchiha."
"Ah..." Neji turned to stare up at the sky, paling a little more. Meetings?
Since when? To talk about him?
"That is creepy," he said in the end, not knowing what else to say.
Shikamaru smirked again and starting to shake his head before deciding that was
more energy than needed. "Why do you think I try and stay away from them?"
Neji's lips twitched slightly.
"I see," he nodded, but then he remembered he was supposed to practice. Annoyed
with himself for forgetting about it, he got up and started his exercises.
However, while he went through familiar steps, familiar poses, his thoughts
went elsewhere. Neji wasn't exactly known for being talkative, and yet he had
talked a lot with this boy he barely knew. Somehow, he didn't mind the chit
chatter they had shared. It gave him a very strange feeling. Was this how it
was like having friends?
Shikamaru himself was wondering what was making him talk this much. The only
other person he said this much to was his mother and that was to argue with
her. It just didn't normally seem worth it for small talk. Why bother forcing
conversation?
He sat up after a while, watching the Hyuuga as he ran through his exercises.
He noticed after a while that Neji slowed down at a certain point during his
rotation, almost like he was hesitating.
The other boy was so different from himself, but not in an annoying way.
Perhaps that was why he didn't mind talking with him so much. Yes, that had to
be it.
Being too preoccupied with his thoughts, Neji did not see where he was stepping
and, all of a sudden, he found himself laying face in the dirt, having stumbled
and fallen. Silence stretched a bit while he wondered how that could have
happened. Neji just didn't lose concentration like that. He frowned, displeased
with himself before he stood up, brushing dirt from his clothes.
Had Shikamaru been anyone else or with anyone else, he surely would have
laughed. It wasn't everyday you saw a trained and skilled shinobi trip over
himself, after all.
"You were favoring your left leg for a bit there," he observed aloud.
Gritting his teeth, Neji refrained from snapping at the other boy for pointing
out his mistake, but then again, he was right, he had to face it that he had
made a mistake.
"Hn," he just replied, starting all over again, this time concentrating.
Actually, his mind reminded him after a while, he should be grateful that the
other had not mocked him for his mistake.
Shikamaru smirked, knowing how irked the other was with himself. He sighed,
glancing up at the sky before deciding that he should probably get back home
before his mother took it upon herself to search for him.
He stood up, absently brushing off his pants. He turned his gaze back onto
Neji, wondering if he should bother with a farewell or not.
Faintly registering that the other stood up, Neji was concentrating for real
this time, not letting anything distract him from those familiar moves. He'd be
damned if he let himself stumble once more, or make any more silly, or stupid,
mistakes.
Deciding against disturbing the older boy, Shikamaru just turned and started
walking towards the village. On a second thought, he stopped and called over
his shoulder, "It'll probably start raining in an hour. You might want to stop
before then."
If he didn't hear, it was his own fault.
Hearing the other boy call out, Neji stopped what he was doing, landing
gracefully after what had been a complex kicking move. Looking after the other
boy, he raised an eyebrow and looked up at the sky. Rain? Nonsense, the clouds
did not look threatening and to him, there was no sign that it would rain
later.
--
One hour and ten minutes later, a rather grumpy, soaked Hyuuga was stepping
into his apartment (his Uncle had let him get one just outside the Hyuuga
compound as long as he visited regularly). It was not his own fault, he
decided, it had looked clear just up until it started raining. And what a rain.
He frowned. His hair would take hours to dry this way. Sighing, he started
stripping down, deciding to take a shower. Nothing bothering to lock his door
(it was a ninja village, after all), he stepped into the shower. However, what
irked him the most was not the fact that his hair was wet, or that he was
feeling cold and uncomfortable. No, what irked him most was that the younger
boy had known exactly when it would start to rain. How?
Shikamaru scowled, walking down the streets, an umbrella in one hand and a
package in the other. He stopped in front of the apartment complex and stared
up at it before pushing the button to alert the resident someone was there to
see them.
Seeing Lee and getting the information out of him was both a blessing and a
curse. Now he had to actually go through with what his mom insisted he do, but
on the other hand he didn't have to wander out in the rain.
Sometimes the Nara wondered if his mother was hypnotizing his father and him-
- how else could she get them to do all they did? Honestly, he didn't see why
he had to go bring Neji some food. He was a capable ninja and if he hadn't
taken his warning earlier, a little rain wouldn't hurt him. But of course his
mother didn't see it that way.
Hearing the doorbell ring, Neji grumbled slightly to himself. Well, at least he
was just done with rinsing his hair. Getting out of the shower, he padded over
to the speaker and turned it on. Glaring at his wet tracks on the floor, he
turned to the speaker again.
"Who is it?" he asked, wondering who would be visiting him? The only ones that
ever visited him were Lee and Tenten, sometimes Hinata or Hiashi, but he
couldn't think of any reason why any of them would be visiting him at a time
like this, while it was raining none the less. He'd expect them to stay indoors
at a time like this. Well, maybe not Lee, but... sighing softly to himself, he
awaited the reply.
"Tch, it's me," Shikamaru said, voice obviously showing his annoyance at being
out there. "Nara," he added as an afterthought, not sure if Neji would
recognize his voice through the intercom.
"Ah..." Neji blinked in surprise at the speaker. What was the Nara doing there?
It was not like they hung out on a regular basis, or... well, they couldn't
exactly consider each other friends or anything. They just happened to be in
the same places a few times.
"…Come up," he pushed the button, unlocking the door downstairs to let him into
the complex. The ‘what’ would have to wait until he came up. With that thought,
Neji looked down at himself.
"Just walk right in, the door is unlocked," he added, letting him know he
wasn't going to be there to open the door to his apartment, seeing as he had to
get dressed.
"Mm," he sounded in acknowledgment, opening the door while the buzzer was still
going. He closed the umbrella once inside, shaking it a couple times before
giving up and just dragging it as he started up the stairs.
He stopped in front of the other’s apartment door and turned the knob, opening
it. He glanced around and not seeing a holder just tossed his umbrella to the
floor and stepped further in, closing the door after him.
Cursing the fact that the lazy boy had used so little time getting up the
stairs, Neji left his hair half-brushed (not that it mattered, he did not care
much about looking good for the other boy, and besides, his hair didn't look
that bad when unbrushed either) and wrapped the towel around his waist.
Sighing, he cursed the fact that he had not brought any clean and dry clothes
with him to the bathroom, he stepped into his living room where the other boy
was already standing.
"I'll be ready in a moment," he told him as he walked towards his bedroom,
"just get comfortable." Hurrying up, not comfortable showing that much skin in
front of anyone, Neji swept into his bedroom and got dressed quickly. Then he
went back out to the other boy.
"Sorry, I was in the shower when you rang," he apologized for not being able to
greet him properly.
Shikamaru shrugged, waving it off. "It's fine; not like you were expecting me."
He still stood despite what Neji had said, not sure how long he'd actually be
staying here. No use sitting down only to have to get up a minute later.
"Ah, this is for you," he said, not quite looking at him as he offered over a
wrapped bento box.
Neji blinked and looked down at the bento box, which looked much too big to eat
alone. "Ah... thank you...?" Neji looked questioningly at the other boy,
wondering what this was all about.
"If you don't mind me asking, what... why...?" he's unsure of how to phrase his
question, but he assumed the other would get the idea.
Shikamaru sighed and finally looked at him. "Maa, my okaa-san insisted that I
find you and bring something."
He shrugged, setting it down on a nearby table when Neji didn't take it. "I
don't try to figure her out, just find a way to get her to stop screeching. It
probably has something to do with forming friendships with other clans," he
said, shaking his head and scratching the back of it in exasperation.
"I see," Neji nodded, before pausing, following the Nara with his eyes before
something occurred to him. For the Nara's mother to make her son bring him
food, she would have to have heard something about them spending time together.
Almost raising an eyebrow, Neji refrained from asking how she knew; it was
trivial anyway.
"Would you like to stay, then?" he asked, slightly amused at the younger boy's
description of his mother. "It is too much for me on my own, and if your mother
want you to form friendships with my clan, she probably intended for you to
stay for a while." He pushed back the small voice in the back of his head that
questioned him for giving a reason for his request. It was pointless and
stupid, and was not like him at all.
Shikamaru looked out the window for a second before looking back at Neji.
"Sure. Might as well stay until the rain lets up anyway," he said, sitting down
at the table, sitting cross-legged.
"You have a spare pair of chopsticks?" he asked as he unwrapped the bento,
revealing rice, steamed vegetables, and deer meat teppanyaki.
Nodding, Neji went to find them plates and chopsticks. He did have chopsticks,
plates and bowls for more than just himself, even though he rarely used it.
Putting it on the table, he sat down, crossing his legs as well.
"I hope your okaa-san is a good cook," he joked lightly, putting some on his
plate, putting it down in an almost aesthetic way, the vegetables neatly beside
the teppanyaki and a small pile of rice in his bowl.
Shikamaru smirked, gathering a good amount of the meat to put on his plate, not
caring if it looked nice or not. Despite taking care of all the deer in Konoha,
the Nara's rarely got to keep the meat for themselves, selling most of it to
make money for maintaining the forest and medical experiments. So he was going
to enjoy it while he could.
"She got better with time," he replied, half joking.
Lips twitching slightly in amusement, Neji muttered a soft 'itadakimasu' before
he started eating, doing so slowly, really tasting the food instead of just
swallowing it all hurriedly. Finding it actually rather tasty, he nodded
slightly in approval as he took another mouthful. It was certainly much better
than most food he ate. He knew how to cook, but he was not the best at it. He
had never cared to hone his skills in that department though; it was merely to
feed himself, not to make an impression on anyone. His food was decent enough,
but this was delicious.
"Give her my compliments," he said after a while, remembering his manners,
chewing on some vegetables.
Shikamaru nodded, swallowing the mouthful of food before speaking, "I will, but
then don't be surprised if she gives you something daily from then on."
Neji raised an eyebrow at that before taking another bite. He could not say he
would object if she did, he would be eating much better that was for sure, but
he was unsure if he could accept such a thing.
"I cannot accept such I am afraid," he spoke as if his uncle or other members
of his clan was present. "It would be too much, really. I wish to make no
trouble for your okaa-san."
"It wouldn't stop her if she wanted to do it," Shikamaru said but just
shrugged, taking another bite of food.
--
It was almost an hour later when they had finished most of the food. The Nara
placed his chopsticks down on the holder, letting Neji have the last bites
since it was made for him, after all.
When he had eaten the last of the bento, Neji bowed his head in thanks as he
gathered their plates and bowls to put in the sink, intending to clean them
later, before he returned to the table where Shikamaru was still sitting.
Shikamaru looked out the window again and frowned as it was still raining. With
the food gone, there really wasn't a reason for him to stay. But he really
didn't want to go out in that even if he did have an umbrella.
Seeing the other look out at the rain that was still pouring down, and now the
wind had picked up quite a bit. Not even an umbrella would help in such
weather.
"It seems you are staying," he concluded after a while, not even asking. It was
obvious that the other boy did not want to go out in that weather, so it was
his way of inviting him to stay until it stopped. Now, the only problem was
finding something to do. He could not very well sit down and read a book while
having a guest over, nor was he very skilled in the art of conversation.
Shikamaru nodded, leaning forward on the table and resting his head in his
hand. "It's troublesome, but it's probably for the best."
After an awkward minute of silence, he looked over at Neji again. "Do you play
shogi?"
Relieved the other had found something, Neji nodded.
"Yes, to some extent," he replied, getting up to find the shogi board he had
standing on the shelf. It was a very fine board, befitting someone belonging to
the main branch, not someone like Neji, but he had received it as a gift from
his uncle, and as much he disliked the man, it would have been too rude to
throw away such a fine gift.
"You may start," he said as he began setting the pieces.
Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly at the board. It was an expensive brand, far
more than he would ever receive unless he bought it himself. For not being a
shogi-fanatic, the Hyuuga had an impressive board.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, moving to help him set up. "You sure?"
Noticing the Nara's eyes widen at the sight of his board, Neji chose to ignore
it. Finishing setting the pieces, he looked to the younger boy and nodded.
"Positive," he confirmed what he had said previously. What host would he be
otherwise? Despite being a terrible conversationalist, he still knew a lot of
etiquette and rituals, which was a result of his clan being rather old-
fashioned.
Inwardly shrugging, Shikamaru looked down at the board and reached over, moving
a pawn eight spaces forward. He folded his arms on the table, waiting for Neji
to make a move.
Contemplating how he should open, Neji used a moment before he made his opening
move. This would be interesting. Neji was not a bad player, but he was playing
against someone that was at least equal with him in the game (because he would
not admit that the younger boy could possibly be better than him) and he looked
forward to the challenge.
Shikamaru moved another piece forward, not paying too much attention yet and
just getting a feel for how the other boy played.
Moving another piece, Neji looked up to study the other by while they played.
It was interesting to see how unfocused the other boy looked at the moment, but
then again, they had just started the game.
***** Chapter 3 *****
"Checkmate," Shikamaru muttered, leaning back and stretching. He was actually
impressed with how long the match had lasted. He knew Neji was a genius, but he
hadn't said he played often.
Looking over the whole board, Neji confirmed that he was indeed in a check-
mate. He was most certainly impressed by the younger.
"It was a good game," he commented with a small smirk, glancing over at the
other.
Shikamaru mirrored the smirk and nodded. "It was. Only my sensei and otou-san
last this long against me," he said, not bragging but just stating fact.
"Oh?" Neji raised an eyebrow, not knowing whether to feel good about his own
accomplishment or exasperated over others' stupidity. He decided on a mix of
both.
"I have only played against Hiashi-sama before," he said after a while.
"Did he teach you?" he asked. He started to put away the pieces, noticing that
the storm had calmed down some and it was quickly getting dark and he didn't
want to chance receiving a lecture if he stayed out any later.
"Yes," Neji replied with a nod, helping Shikamaru to put the pieces away. "I
did not like it at first," he admitted with a twitch of his lips. Quite the
opposite. He remembered having sulked a lot because his uncle always beat him.
At least in the beginning. Then again, he had been a child back then.
Shikamaru chuckled, looking up from the table. "I thought it was pointless at
first, but Asuma-sensei kept challenging me. I guess it just became a hobby out
of habit," he said with a shrug.
"Hn." Neji agreed with him. "I used to be angry because Hiashi-sama always beat
me at it," he admitted. Something was strange. Neji never spilled his guts to
anyone, or ever admit he had, or had had, flaws, but something told him the
other boy would not make a big deal of it, or use it against him other than
maybe tease him lightly.
Shikamaru nodded. "That's why I don't usually play against my friends. Either
they're not interested in it or they complain too much. It just gets too
troublesome so I gave up."
"I see," Neji nodded. "I started enjoying the game when I sometimes managed to
beat Hiashi-sama. It made me determined to become even better." He chuckled
softly.
Shikamaru smiled and nodded. "I only got better so my otou-san would stop
teasing me. Sometimes I think he regrets letting me progress so far," he said,
smile shifting into a smirk.
Neji chuckled softly, imagining Hiashi tease him for losing instead of just
looking disappointed at him like he always had.
"I bet he does," he nodded, agreeing.
"Unfortunately," he said, standing up. "I should probably start heading back
home. I'm sure she didn't expect me to stay out this late."
"Probably not." Neji looked at the watch at the wall, almost shocked to see
that it was already eight in the evening.
"Remember to thank her from me," he reminded the younger boy of his earlier
words. It was just then that he noticed Shikamaru's wet umbrella from earlier,
laying on his floor and making a small mess. Frowning, displeased at it, but he
smoothed out his frown by force. It was too late now, and he could not really
complain. He had made a small mess on his own when he got out of the shower. In
fact, it was because he had dried up that water he had been late getting
dressed.
Shikamaru went over and picked up the umbrella. He looked over at Neji and
scratched his cheek. "Ah, sorry about the mess..." he mumbled, figuring the
other wouldn't appreciate it if the rest of the apartment's cleanliness was any
indication.
"Hn." Neji gave the umbrella and the puddle a glare before sighing. "No matter,
it is just water," he replied, walking over to the door.
"...thanks for the visit," he murmured after a while. "It was not overly
annoying." He smirked, letting the other know he was not serious.
Shikamaru let out a small snort, returning the smirk. "Mm, you're not as
troublesome as I thought you'd be, either," he said. "Maybe we could play a
game again sometime."
"Maybe." Neji nodded. "I think it would be enjoyable," he replied in earnest,
lips twitching slightly.
"I will put up more of a fight next time," he added.
Shikamaru chuckled, nodding his head slightly. "Good, I'd hate for you to
always lose and then hate the game again."
"Not a chance," Neji smirked, amused. However, he did not mention that he
actually wouldn't anyway. And in any case, he could always beat Hiashi-sama.
The Nara reached out and grabbed the doorknob, turning it. "So, I'll see y--
" He cut himself off and looked down at the door, the knob not turning all the
way.
Raising an eyebrow as the door would not budge, Neji sighed and, after a few
tries to get it open, he grumbled to himself.
"I can't believe they still haven't fixed it," he growled annoyed.
Frowning, Shikamaru set his umbrella down again. "Does this happen a lot?" he
asked. If it did, he hopefully got a discount on his rent if he had to pay any
at all.
Neji was frowning by now, not at all pleased.
"Only when it rains and is cold outside. The door gets stuck, and it takes
hours for it to be able to open," he sighed.
"I called a month ago about that problem," he muttered. Oh yes, those that
would eventually come to fix it, would not meet a very happy Hyuuga.
Shikamaru sighed and glanced to the window again. It was nearly completely dark
and he could still hear the rain. He could always go out there that way, but
that meant using chakra...
Well, he could always just say they were caught up in talking and it was too
late to go back home. His 'kaa-san would believe that, especially if he put
emphasis on them getting along.
"...I suppose I'm staying the night then?"
"Seems like it." Neji nodded with a sigh. No point in waiting up. Who knew how
long it might take. Looking at the clock again, he started walking to the
kitchen. It had been quite a while since they ate the bento.
"I shall make us something to eat," he said quietly.
Shikamaru followed him back into the kitchen and took a seat at the table
again. "You don't have to make me anything if it's too much trouble."
"It's not." Neji shook his head as he started making some sandwiches quickly.
"It's not much anyway," he smirked at the other as he made them three each. It
was perhaps too much, but it was better than too little.
"Here." He put the plate in front of the younger boy.
Shikamaru nodded, another smirk forming on his lips. "Itadakimasu," he said,
picking up one of the sandwiches and taking a bite out of it.
Muttering the same, Neji did the same as the younger boy, taking one for his
own. Chewing a bit, he watched the other boy.
"I apologize it is not as good as your mother's cooking," he said after a
while.
Shikamaru shook his head, smiling slightly after he finished one of the
sandwiches. "It's fine; I'm not picky about food. Besides, 'kaa-san doesn't
usually cook like that."
"Good," Neji replied, slowly finishing his sandwich before taking another.
"Wait, she does not?" Neji blinked slightly confused. Why would she go so far
as to make him something extra?
Shikamaru shook his head again. "No, she says we don't appreciate her enough or
something so she doesn't bother putting in the extra effort. If she didn't nag
constantly, I'd appreciate her a lot more," he said, muttering the last part to
himself.
Amused, Neji shook his head as he took another bite of his sandwich.
"I see," he just nodded, not showing his amusement. Once they were done eating,
other things came to mind.
"Ah... about sleeping..." he began.
Shikamaru leaned back on his hands, cocking his head a little. "I'll be able to
sleep with whatever you have, I'm sure," he said, not worried about it. He
could sleep outside easily, so why not in an almost-friends house?
Contemplating what Shikamaru was saying, Neji decided immediately that it was
out of the question.
"You can have my bed," he said, and it was not a suggestion, it was a
statement. He had already made up his mind.
Shikamaru blinked before sitting up straight again. "I won't throw you out of
your bed," he said, frowning. "If you have a spare futon or even just a couple
spare blankets I'll be fine. Really."
Neji was quite for a small while. "That... is sort of the problem..." he
replied, sighing softly. "I don't have that. I have never had anyone sleep over
before," he told the younger boy seriously.
"As I said, you can have my bed."
Shikamaru sighed, standing up. "How big is your bed?" he asked as he bent down
and picked up the plates, putting them over in the sink. It was the least he
could do for housing him anyway.
About to protest as the other put the dishes in the sink, Neji stopped himself.
It was not like it would be of any use.
"The bedroom is in here," he murmured, waiting for the Nara to follow him,
showing him his bedroom. Other than his towel from earlier, the room was
spotless, just like the rest of his apartment, and in one corner was one bed,
probably big enough for four people, if you were comfortable with one another.
Shikamaru stepped into the bedroom, staring at the bed for a few seconds before
smirking and looking back at Neji. "It'll be big enough for both of us," he
said flatly.
"Ah... okay," Neji was starting to feel slightly nervous. He had, as said,
never had people sleeping over at his house, but that wasn't the whole truth,
no... Fact was, Neji had never shared a bed with anyone, not even a distant
cousin or something when he was little.
"It's plenty big enough," Shikamaru said, sitting down on a corner. "I'm pretty
sure it's bigger than my parent’s bed anyway. I doubt we'll even brush against
each other."
"Alright," Neji nodded, slightly relieved he had such a big bed; it would
certainly make it easier to share with someone. At least, he assumed so.
Grabbing his used towel, slightly embarrassed at the mess it made, he walked to
the bathroom.
"I am afraid I don't have a spare toothbrush," he said, putting the towel into
the box with clothes to be washed, "but I'll put some towels on the counter in
here you can use." Looking at the Nara, he hesitated a little.
"Do you need to borrow night clothes?" he asked, having no idea what the Nara
preferred. As long as he didn't sleep naked, that was fine with him.
"Ah... do you have a casual t-shirt I could borrow?" he asked. "If not, I'll be
fine in just my boxers."
He shrugged off his cropped jacket, forcing himself to fold it and not just
throw it on the floor like he'd do at home.
Amused as Nara seemed on the verge of dropping his jacket to the floor before
starting to fold it, Neji went to look for a t-shirt he could use. Finding one,
white with a soft, light purple pattern almost like a yukata, Neji went back to
the Nara.
"Here," he told him, handing him the t-shirt.
Shikamaru eyed it in distaste for a second before nodding his thanks and taking
it from him. He had no right to complain, even if it was incredibly girly-
looking.
He un-snapped the clasps on his chain-mail shirt and took that off as well,
repeating the process as he did with his jacket. He undid his two weapon's
pouches before sliding off his capri pants and then finally pulled on the
shirt. Which, he noted glumly, was long on him and made it look even more
girly.
"What?" Neji raised an eyebrow, seeing the look Shikamaru was giving the t-
shirt. Turning around to let him change in peace, Neji did sneak a peek every
now and then without really thinking over it.
"You can put your clothes in the bathroom, on the chair," he suggested as the
Nara had pulled his t-shirt over his head.
"Nothing," he muttered as he stood up and gathered his clothes, walking into
the bathroom. He set the clothes down and untied his hair, letting it fall
around his face, putting the hair tie on top of his clothes. He ran his hand
through it once and came back out, not caring about cleaning up. If Neji
complained about it, he'd do it but otherwise he didn't care.
Blinking, Neji could not help but stare as the other let his hair down. That
was a sight he had not seen before. It was probably thicker, and harder to keep
than his own, so it didn't seem as girly as he had thought it would look.
Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow at the older boy. "What? Do I have something on my
face?"
Neji shook his head, smirking.
"You just look different with your hair down is all." He let his eyes glide
over the other's hair once more. Walking into the bathroom, he found his
toothbrush, starting to brush his teeth.
Shikamaru blinked then smirked, glancing over his shoulder at the Hyuuga. He
shook his head a little to himself before asking, "Do you prefer a side of the
bed?"
"No," Neji shook his head. "Take whichever side you want," he added, his
speaking slightly muffled as his mouth was full of toothpaste and his
toothbrush. Spitting out and rinsing his mouth, he put the brush back in the
cup he had standing by the mirror. Then he grabbed his hairbrush. He was not
going to bed without brushing his hair and tying it up; otherwise his hair
would be a right mess in the morning, and that took too long.
Nodding even though the other couldn't see, Shikamaru climbed onto the bed,
rolling onto the far side so Neji wouldn't have to walk as far or climb over
him to get there. He eyed the one pillow before moving it so it was fully on
the other side for Neji to use.
Having brushed and braided his hair loosely, and put on a pair of boxers and a
t-shirt much like the one Shikamaru was wearing, Neji washed his face before he
went to join the other in bed. Feeling slightly nervous, he got on the bed and,
eyeing the pillow, he looked to the other.
"You can use the pillow," he said. "I rarely use it anyway."
"You sure?" he asked. "I'm already taking over half your bed." He could tell
the Hyuuga wasn't very comfortable but he'd be more comfortable without a stiff
neck in the morning tomorrow.
"It's too fluffy and soft for me anyway." Neji smirked at him, pushing the
pillow towards the other before laying down. It wasn't exactly true that he
never used it, but he didn't need it. Having been on quite a few missions that
had lasted about a week or so, had made him grateful for anything softer than
his own jacket as a pillow. His bed was softer than his jacket, so Neji felt no
need for the pillow.
Releasing a sigh, the Nara just nodded and grabbed the pillow, stuffing it
under his head quickly before settling down again. He was actually glad that he
didn't have to go home; it meant he could sleep more and not have to do any
chores. Although he wouldn't be surprised if he'd have to clean the whole house
tomorrow.
Watching the Nara from the corners of his eyes, Neji noticed that the other was
settling down and closed his eyes. Focusing on nothing, as if he was
meditating, he made himself relax a bit more as he readied himself to sleep.
Come to think of it, it wasn't that uncomfortable having to share a bed with
someone.
Shikamaru let out a yawn and closed his eyes as well, letting his mind unwind
as he relaxed and started to drift off.
"Night," he muttered softly.
Almost raising his eyebrows, Neji nodded slightly.
"Good night," he replied just as softly before he made himself fall asleep.
--
Shikamaru grunted slightly, the bright sun waking him up unwillingly. He
refused to wake up, clinging to the last strings of sleep, pressing further
into the warmth surrounding him. He blinked open his eyes, it registering that
this wasn't normal.
He pulled back-- or at least as far as the others grip would let him-- and
looked down at the Hyuuga in confusion.
Frowning in his sleep, Neji hid his face in the Nara's chest as he tried to
avoid the sun waking him up. Normally, the Hyuuga would have woken up long
since, but the warmth beside him was so comfortable, and made him so relaxed,
that he had slept in, not noticing what the warmth was or that it wasn't how it
was supposed to be.
Shikamaru couldn't stop the small chuckle from escaping his lips, gazing down
at Neji with an eyebrow raised. He studied the other boy, surprised at how
different he looked when asleep. Looking so calm and peaceful and, well,
pretty.
The Nara blushed slightly at that thought and minutely shook his head. He was
probably still tired; that's why he thought it. He let out a sigh and settled
back down, trying to sleep again, not wanting to wake the other either.
Then the door slammed open and in bounced a perky, yet annoyed Tenten.
"Neji!" she began, not yet having noticed that Neji was not the only one in the
bed, "You're late for practice! Honestly, and you always remind us not… to be…
late..." she trailed off, eyes widening as she took in the scene in front of
her. A still sleeping Neji cuddling with... another boy. Nara Shikamaru if she
didn't remember wrong from the exam.
"...What?!"
Shikamaru cracked open his eyes again, cursing his luck and the female
population. He wanted to sleep more, damnit. He glanced over at the kunoichi,
studying her and recognizing her.
Neji had said she wasn't like normal girls, but she sure screamed like one.
Opening his eyes, Neji sensed immediately that something was wrong and he sat
up abruptly. Too sudden, seemingly, as it caused his head to swim. Looking
toward the source of the noise, he raised an eyebrow.
"Tenten?" he asked, not at all pleased she had barged into his bedroom like
that. It was rude. "What are you doing here?" he asked calmly.
"You... you're late for practice..." she said rather lamely before puffing up
her cheeks slightly, looking almost angry.
"Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend, huh? I thought we were supposed to
be friends!" she accused, she'd be damned if she let him get away with this.
Shikamaru turned over and half sat up, supporting his weight on his arms,
watching them both with disinterest through the conversation. His eyes widened
at the last comment. This was getting too troublesome fast.
"W-woah, we're not..." he started interrupting.
"What?" Neji frowned slightly, what was she talking about? Wasn't he even
allowed to have friends?
"I am sorry I am late for practice, now get out," he snapped, getting annoyed
with her, although he was probably more annoyed with himself, letting himself
oversleep like that. It just wasn't like him. "I'll be there in a moment."
"But..." Tenten frowned, looking from the Nara to the Hyuuga. Interpreting
their reactions, there seemed to be nothing between them, especially seeing as
she knew Neji had no clue about relationships and such. Still, there was
nothing to explain the cuddling she had witnessed. "What is he doing here
then?" she finally asked, now confused.
"Hm? Oh," looking at the Nara, Neji shrugged. "The door still hasn't been
fixed," he explained.
Shikamaru sighed, slouching forward and bringing one hand up to rub at his eye,
hair falling down and covering his face from view. He blocked out their
conversation for the most part, wondering if he would be allowed to stay here
and sleep for a while longer and avoid everyone else...
"...that's all?" Tenten raised an eyebrow, not really believing it.
"Should there be more?" Neji just countered, getting confused. "Look, just get
out, go to Lee... or something. I'll be there right away."
Shaking her head, not thoroughly convinced, Tenten just exited the room. It was
obvious that she wasn't getting anything more out of them right now. But she
was so going to do some research on this. Neji Hyuuga, don't think you can keep
any secrets from me...
Shikamaru glanced up as she left, looking over to Neji. He could tell that he
was annoyed and confused as well. He let out another sigh and asked, "You don't
care that she thought we were boyfriends?"
Looking back at the younger boy, Neji tilted his head slightly. Why did it seem
so horrible if people thought they were friends? Which, they weren't quite, but
who cared?
"Why should I care what she thinks?" he asked. It was not like other peoples'
opinions mattered much to him.
Shikamaru blinked, nodding after a few seconds. He wasn't completely sure that
Neji understood, but it would be too troublesome to explain either way. And he
did have a point.
"That's true," he said, voicing part of his thoughts. "I guess I should get
dressed and go, hm?"
"Mm," getting out of bed, Neji stretched slightly to get rid of any eventual
stiffness, but surprisingly, there wasn't any. Shrugging it off, he told the
younger boy he could have the bathroom first. In the meantime, he went to
prepare breakfast, that is, after having washed his face and hands in the
kitchen sink; he wasn't going to let his hygiene go off like that just because
he had visitors over.
While he prepared breakfast, he made sure he would have to ask Tenten about her
peculiar behavior this morning.
Shikamaru was quick in relieving himself and washing. He frowned a little to
himself, knowing his breath couldn't be pleasant, but he couldn't do anything
about that anyway. He shed off the borrowed shirt and slipped back into his own
clothes. Not sure where to put the used shirt, he just folded it (albeit
messily) and put it where it own clothes had been.
He re-tied his hair as he walked out of the bathroom and made his way out into
the kitchen, not caring if his hair looked perfectly tied up or not.
Looking up as the other entered the kitchen, Neji's lips twitched a little. The
Nara's hair looked really messy, although it was probably because he didn't
have a hair brush to use.
"Could you finish making breakfast while I get ready?" Neji asked, wondering if
he was asking too much of his guest. Then again, it was kind of a forced visit,
so he decided it hadn't been rude to ask.
Shikamaru smirked slightly and nodded. "Sure, just don't blame me if it's not
up to your standards," he said, teasing as he went over and looked at what he
was cooking, hoping that he could actually help make it.
"I'm sure it will do," he shrugged, knowing that his own cooking wasn't exactly
of high standard either. Giving him some quick instructions as how to finish
the food and making sure the Nara knew where to find the necessary tools, he
went into the bathroom, frowning slightly as he saw how his braid had loosened
during the night.
Shikamaru sighed and pulled a chair over to sit at the stove. He was still
tired and if he didn't have to stand, why do it? He did what Neji had
instructed, idly poking the food with the spatula as it cooked.
Finally ready, Neji cast a last glance at himself in the mirror, thankful for
the fact that his hair was easy to take care of. Knowing nothing was out of
place he went back into the kitchen, wondering if the food was done or if it
needed a few more minutes cooking.
Shikamaru had fallen into a light sleep in those few minutes, head resting in
the crook of his arms on the counter next to the stove. The food was starting
to get overcooked, ignored by the Nara.
Hurrying over to the stove, Neji pulled it off and turned the stove off then he
gave the sleeping Nara an irritated glare. Honestly, who couldn't stay awake to
watch the stove for a few minutes? Huffing to himself, he let the Nara sleep
while he prepared the food and put it on the table. Then, smirking, he turned
to the sleeping boy on the counter and pushed him down, knowing he'd fall face-
down on the floor, hopefully without breaking his nose.
"Food's ready," he just told him, a small, smug smirk on his lips.
His eyes snapped open just before he hit the ground, the impact forcing a grunt
out of him. He pushed himself up with a groan, wiping the bit of drool from the
corner of his mouth.
"You could've just shaken me awake," he grumbled, not pouting up at him.
Because men did not pout, especially not Nara men.
Neji just shook his head. He really couldn't have, it had not brought anything
close to the satisfaction of watching the Nara like that. He also found it
particularly amusing that the younger boy was pouting up at him. He did
decidedly not just think that it was almost becoming on him; no, he certainly
did not.
Shikamaru sighed, standing up and brushing off his pants more on instinct than
anything else. If he was any less passive, he'd have done something back to
Neji, but as it was he just eyed the food.
"I didn't mess it up, did I?"
"No," Neji shook his head, sitting down with folded legs at the table, waiting
for his guest.
"It's still edible," he just said, making himself a mental note not to ever let
the Nara close to a stove again if he could help it. Not that he would have any
use of it another time; he really didn't think they would ever be in a
situation like this again.
Shikamaru nodded and sat down cross-legged on the other side of the table, not
bothering to hold back a yawn though he did at least cover his mouth. "So
you're going to train again?" he asked.
"Mm," he nodded, putting some food on his plate. "I always do my morning
training with my team once a week." He put some food into his mouth, chewing
carefully on it before swallowing. There was one thing he was wondering at
though... how could he have overslept? Even worse, he had slept through his
alarm, and usually he woke up before it even rang.
Shikamaru did the same, though taking a decidedly less amount of food. He made
a sound of acknowledgment but otherwise kept quiet, noticing the other was lost
in his thoughts and he always liked to be left alone when he was.
Pushing away those thoughts, Neji decided not to fuss over it, even though it
was strange. Looking over at the Nara, he sighed.
"Aren't you going to train?" he asked, having been wondering when the younger
boy trained, seeing as whenever he saw him, he was only watching him do his
exercises.
Shikamaru shrugged, swallowing his bite of food. "I will eventually. My sensei
hasn't called any meetings since the funeral so I don't see why I should bother
if he's not going to be there helping."
Raising an eyebrow, Neji almost didn't believe his own ears. So there existed
someone that didn't train unless he was with his team.
"That is strange," he just replied, giving the younger boy a strange look.
"What is?" Shikamaru asked before taking another bite of his food.
"Nothing," he just replied. "Still, you should train some more. It would do you
some good."
"I guess. I can't really train properly unless it's with someone, though," he
said, putting his chopsticks down, finished eating his share. He didn't like
eating much in the mornings anyway.
"Hn." Nodding once, Neji finished eating his share as well, noticing there were
leftovers. He had thought the other would eat some more, but he guessed that
when someone used as little energy as him, one didn't need to eat more.
Gathering the dishes, he left them with the dishes from yesterday, still irked
that they seemed to be piling up, before he put the leftovers in a box.
"Ready to go?" he asked the other, seeing as he had to leave soon because of
his friends.
Shikamaru nodded and stood up, holding back a sigh. At least he could still
avoid his mother until that night.
Putting the empty bento box in a bag, Neji handed it to the younger boy.
"Tell your mother I am sorry I didn't wash it before returning it," he told
him, pulling on his jacket.
...Well that plan was ruined. He didn't want to wander around the village
holding a bag that would end up smelling in a few hours.
"It's okay," he muttered. "Doubt she expected it back clean anyway." He bent
down, picking up his umbrella.
Nodding, Neji locked them out, although, frankly, when living in a ninja
village simply locking a door was foolish; half of the citizens would be able
to enter your house at any given time should they want to.
"Well, I'll see you," he gave the other a slight inclination of his head as a
good-bye.
"Yeah," was all he said, lifting a hand in a slight wave as he started walking
off towards his home.
***** Chapter 4 *****
Increasing his speed, it didn't take long before Neji arrived at his team's
usual training spot, wondering what his teammates would say that he was so
late. Not that he cared, but he was in no mood to deal with nosey teammates.
Tenten jumped back, dodging a mediocre kick from Lee and swung a restrained
punch at him which he managed to dodge as well.
They went on like this until Lee spotted Neji and straightened up as best he
could, waving at his teammate with a wide grin. "Ohayo, Nej--" He was cut off
with a kick to the face that sent him sprawling, Tenten not able to stop in her
attack when he was distracted.
Tenten landed on her feet and looked down at Lee, huffing a bit but concerned.
"You can't get distracted, Lee, especially when you’re still recuperating!" she
admonished as she turned her gaze to Neji, calculating.
Shaking his head at the oh-so-typical behaviour of his teammate, Neji came to a
halt in front of them.
"I apologize for being late," he said stiffly, watching Lee get up on his feet
again after dragging over a crutch and using that for help, noticing him
rubbing his cheek. Tenten was not one to take lightly as an opponent, not even
during training.
"It is not a problem, my friend!" Lee said, putting another grin on despite his
cheek already starting to bruise and swell. "I am sure you were only late
because you were taking time to build your Youthful Spirit!"
"Youthful is right," Tenten muttered to herself, shaking her head. "So, Neji,"
she started, casually walking up to him, eyes curious. "Just how close are you
with that other boy?"
Raising an eyebrow at Tenten's question, Neji felt as though she was implying
something, but he couldn't seem to figure out what. Deciding that he would
figure it out later, he replied rather neutrally.
"He was visiting yesterday," he just said, leaving out why because it didn't
seem important. "It was raining, and the door sticks shut sometimes in that
sort of weather. So he stayed the night. That's all." He looked at his team-
mate, slightly curious, "What were you thinking of?"
Tenten gave a pout, cheeks puffing up a little, putting her hands on her hips.
"If that's all, then why were you two all cuddled up and cozy together in your
bed?" she asked, voice just short of accusing.
Lee blinked, looking at his two teammates in confusion. What were they talking
about? He hated being left out!
Frowning faintly, Neji was by now a hundred percent sure she was implying
something, but, because he had been overprotected all his life, he knew there
was something he was not getting.
"I do not know," he replied flatly. "Do you control everything you do in your
sleep?" he asked back, although this news troubled him slightly. They had been
cuddling when she entered the room? What irked him was that, usually, he was in
control of himself, even when asleep. It was unusual for him to move around.
Tenten narrowed her eyes a little, staring at Neji. There had to be something
else going on. It just didn't make sense otherwise! Of course she knew her
teammate was sheltered, but he wasn't oblivious. Right?
She heaved a sigh and crossed her arms, looking off the side, eyes still
narrowed. "Whatever. Let's just train," she said, dropping it. For now. Oh, she
was going to find out what was going on...
Nodding, Neji agreed to what his team-mate had said, however... he did
decidedly not like the look she had gotten in her eyes. It was a look that said
she was nowhere near done with this subject, and she would not stop until she
got to the bottom of it. It was a look he and Lee had gotten to know quite
well.
--
Sighing to herself, Ino was bored to death where she was standing behind the
counter of her family's shop. It was one of those silent days with not many
visitors or customers, and nothing really to do. She had checked that all the
flowers were fresh; twice. She had made sure they were all priced correctly and
she hadn't seen the shadow of her friends and team-mates all day. And now
boredom was slowly killing her, she was sure of it.
After thoroughly exhausting Neji with a barrage in weapons (not that he'd ever
admit to being tired) to help him master his byagukan and saying farewell to
both him and Lee, Tenten meandered down the villages streets, wondering just
how she was going to get to the bottom of this... mystery.
It's not like she could just go up to the Nara and attack him with questions;
they didn't know each other well enough for that! And obviously Neji wasn't
going to say anything. Or had nothing to say.
She was getting nowhere and quickly frustrated, wanting to just take a kunai
and stick it in someone's--
She paused her train of thought and looked at the sign hanging in front of her.
She smiled slowly; if she remembered right, the Yamanaka's ran this shop and
Ino was her teammate's potential lover's, well, teammate. Maybe she knew
something.
Tenten turned and opened the door to the shop, bell chiming as the door hit it,
and walked in.
Looking up as the door bell chimed softly, announcing a visitor, Ino stood up
straight immediately, wanting to look her best for whoever it was, and she most
decidedly did not look her best slouching over the desk like that. Blinking at
the unusual visitor, she smiled in recognition of Tenten, one year her senior
that, like her, had attended the Chuunin exam and almost gotten through to the
final test. Almost.
"Irrashaimase," she greeted her fellow kunoichi, giving her a friendly nod. "Is
there anything special you are looking for?" silently adding a 'you're not
someone we see often in this shop' in her head.
Tenten glanced around the shop for a second, taking it all in quickly. She
really didn't like talking with other girls much but as obviously annoying the
other girl could get she did need help.
Taking a breath, she walked over to the counter, returning the smile with one
of her own. "Actually, I was wondering if I could talk with you."
"With me?" Ino raised an eyebrow in surprise. Tenten wasn't exactly a girl that
liked to hang out with her kind of people; at all.
"Ah, alright," she smiled then, before looking around. "Here? Or somewhere
else?" she asked, secretly hoping that the other girl had come to tell her
about her teammate (Neji obviously, not the other one!) having a crush on her
or something like that.
"Um," Tenten paused, worrying her bottom lip a little. "Somewhere a bit more
private would probably be better." Who knew who would over-hear them talking
and as much as she wanted to know about this, spreading it around (yet)
wouldn't be smart.
"Alright," Ino nodded, looking into the backroom, and, spotting her mother
there, she yelled.
"Okaa-san! I'm going out, watch the shop for me!" taking her apron off, she
pulled the older girl with her out of the shop before her mother could
retaliate. Feeling satisfied that she had gotten out of the most boring
afternoon ever, they rounded the house until they got at the back door. Opening
it, she invited the older girl into the part of the house where they lived, and
into her own bedroom. Somewhere more private was near impossible to find.
Tenten blinked, allowing herself to be pulled along. She glanced around what
was obviously the other girl's room, trying her best to not show how stupid she
thought it looked; who needed all those knick-knacks and, well, everything
else?
Casting a look out the window, Ino pulled her pink curtains for to block out
everything else before going to sit on her flowery-decorated bed, letting
Tenten have the only chair in the room.
"So... what did you want to talk about?" Ino asked cutely at the brunette,
wondering what it could be.
Tenten sat down in the chair with a small sigh and fixed her gaze on the
younger girl. "Well, uh," she started, realizing she hadn't really thought up a
way to talk about or ask this. "Did your teammate, uh... Shikamaru? Has he said
anything to you about the previous day?"
"Huh?" Tilting her head, Ino was confused. What the hell? Shikamaru? Why did
Tenten want to talk about him? As if he ever did anything strange... well,
strange enough to be talked about, by older shinobi nonetheless.
"Um... no?" she looked questioningly at the older girl, noticing the way she
fumbled with her words. "I haven't really talked to him in a while... he's just
not been around, I guess... What has he done now?"
Her lips tilted upwards in a slight smile. "That's what I'm trying to find
out," she said.
"See, this morning, my team was going to train like usual, right? But oddly
enough, Neji didn't show up," she started to explain. "And he's never late; not
for training. So I left Lee by himself to go see what was wrong. I got to his
apartment and he was still asleep and, well... cuddled up and all-but clinging
to Shikamaru. In his bed."
Listening curiously to Tenten's tale, Ino's eyes widened considerably at the
end. It wasn't what she had been hoping for, but it was the juiciest bit of
rumors she had heard in a long while. It was almost as good as what she had
hoped for, she decided.
"Really?" Ino giggled at the thought of her teammate with Hyuuga Neji; it was
strange, yet certainly appealing. Maybe she could ask for some pictures... that
certainly would be hot.
"Gee, I never knew that Shikamaru had a knack for guys..." she paused, "but I
should'a guessed." She giggled; so that was why Shikamaru would always moan
about women being troublesome. However, her inner self pouted, if it was true
that the two boys were together like that... no way Shikamaru would get away
with not having told her! Never mind that if he had, it would have been a known
fact in the whole village within twenty-four hours after she was told.
Tenten smiled, inwardly rolling her eyes a little, "Yes, but... Neji says it
was nothing. I mean, I know he's socially inept, but he can't be that much,
right? I was hoping you'd know if something was actually happening between them
or not."
Almost groaning at how stupid guys could be at times, Ino cursed whatever it
was that made some shinobi messed up in some way or other. Neji was one of
them.
"Sorry," she shook her head, pursing her lips. "Shikamaru isn't one to talk
about his social or private life, except maybe with Chouji... and he's not
gonna tell on him." Then, a mischievous smile crept over her lips.
"We'll find out though." She stated confidently. They were kunoichi after all.
Tenten's smile shifted into a smirk and she nodded. "Neji said his door was
stuck, which does happen often, but that still doesn't explain why Shikamaru
was there with him in the first place."
There were just so many things that didn't sit right with the weapon's girl.
But either way, she thought to herself, they'd make a pretty cute couple
anyway.
Ino nodded, agreeing. "You know..." she said thoughtfully, remembering
something she had forgotten (mostly because her beauty had been insulted by the
Hyuuga). "Come to think of it... Not too long ago, Shikamaru mentioned watching
Neji train," she grinned at the memory, definitely leaving out a few details
about her own behavior.
Tenten's eyes widened a little. "Neji mentioned something before about that,
too," she said, leaving out that he'd said the boy was annoying. "If it weren't
for us being his teammates, I'm sure Lee and I wouldn't be welcome to train
with him."
She nodded slightly. "There has to be something going on..."
"Mnhm..." Ino was already thinking about how they were going to find out the
truth. They would definitely have to stalk them a bit. She doubted that Neji
would ever admit to having a lover, and Shikamaru... well, he would think it
was too troublesome with all the rumors there were bound to be.
"I'll at least have a chat with Shikamaru today," she smirked. Oh, the brunette
would have no idea what had hit him when she was done with him, should it show
that their suspicions were correct. How dare he keep something juicy like this
from her?
Tenten raised an eyebrow at her smirk, wondering just what she would do. She
almost felt sorry for the other boy.
Looking at the other girl, Ino grinned as they started going through plans for
"Operation Stalk Shikamaru and Neji" as she named it.
--
Training in his usual field, Neji was aware of how it now almost resembled a
real battlefield after he had finally gotten to practice on his own, which
meant, no one that could see him at all, enabling him to use some techniques he
wanted to keep secret, as a back-up just in case. Not that he would need them,
but it couldn't do any harm. However, soon enough he took a break, his mind
going to the younger Nara. He used to be there, in the field cloud-gazing, at
this time of the day, and he wondered faintly where he was before frowning at
himself. What did he care anyway?
Shikamaru sighed as he idly ambled over towards his usual spot. He watched the
sky as he walked, wishing he had more time to laze about like normal. Yoshino
had scolded him sharply for not coming home and then he'd actually had to train
with Asuma and Chouji.
Lucky Ino, he thought. Gets to just sit in her shop all day and do nothing
since her parents were too busy...
Just then, a kunai swooshed through the air going close enough to Shikamaru's
face to make a thin, shallow wound, drawing a little blood.
Freezing in his tracks as he watched a little blood trickle down the younger
boy's cheek, Neji just stared, almost paralyzed. He hadn't meant to hurt the
other, or even to throw anything even potentially dangerous at him, even though
he knew the other was probably able to avoid them, but he hadn't noticed the
other before the weapons had left his hands. Now it were embedded in the target
he had hung up on a tree a little to Shikamaru's left, having hit the bulls eye
perfectly, just like all the other kunai he had thrown.
Shikamaru blinked and brought a hand up to his cheek, feeling the small sting.
He took it away and glanced down to see the deep pink tinge to his finger now.
He breathed out a soft 'troublesome' before glancing up again, spotting Neji.
"If you're aiming for me, you need a lot more work," he said, smirking,
obviously not caring much. Besides, who knew how many cuts and bruises a
shinobi got daily anyway? Another wouldn't make a difference.
Crossing his arms a little defensively, Neji glared half-heartedly, feeling
slightly guilty.
"It's your own fault anyway," he snapped back, starting to feel a little
annoyed with both the way the other shrugged it off, and the fact that he was
bothered a little by it. Hyuuga’s didn't do bothered. "Coming into the training
grounds like that, as if you were strolling in the park," he almost sneered, if
it wasn't for the fact that Neji didn't sneer, or let himself get worked up
about anything. Right. He was certain that the younger genius had long since
figured out when he started practice and when he ended it by now.
Shikamaru absently wiped his hand on his pants before stuffed said hand back
into his pocket. His smirk just widened a little.
"I know no one comes here except for you, and, silly me, I'd figured you'd be
able to see me with your byakugan," he responded teasingly.
"Which I'm not using at the moment," Neji felt himself flush ever so faintly in
anger over the Nara's insult. Yes, while he did most of his practice with his
byakugan, it still took chakra to use it a lot. During missions he would not be
guaranteed he would always have enough chakra to have his eyes activated, so
today he was doing something different. Because Hyuuga Neji, no matter how
unnecessary, didn't like not being good in some things, and while proud of his
bloodline, if not his clan in general, he did not like relying too much on it.
The Nara resisted the urge to roll his eyes and just shrugged. "Either way, I'm
fine and you hit your mark. Unless, that is, you were aiming for me?"
"Don't be stupid Nara!" Neji frowned slightly before settling with glaring at
the younger boy. "Just get to your usual spot and stop interrupting my
training."
To be honest, Neji didn't know why he felt so grumpy that Shikamaru was late or
that he had interrupted his practice in a way that had gotten him hurt. It
really shouldn't matter, and he was sure Shikamaru had had worse injuries than
that.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, lips twitching into a smirk again. "Yeah, yeah.
Don't get your panties in a twist, Hyuuga."
He snorted softly. "I'm glad you've reserved this spot for me then," he said,
walking over to said spot lazily before just-short-of flopped down on his back.
"I'm not a woman, Nara!" Neji replied, eyes narrowing at another insult. What
the hell was Shikamaru getting at? He had been much more friendly (if you could
put it as such, polite maybe?) at Neji's apartment the previous day.
"And at least I know where you are then," he huffed. No, he hadn't reserved a
spot for him, but it was beneath his dignity to tell him that. He had simply
noticed the other had a preferred spot to stay in while doing his cloud
watching.
Shikamaru just made a vague, acknowledging noise in the back of his throat and
waved a hand a little before partaking in his favourite pastime.
If only the Hyuuga could take a joke, it would be so much more fun, he thought
with a soft sigh.
Narrowing his eyes, Neji decided that the Nara would need to be taught a
lesson. Well, later, when he was done with the first half of his training.
Refocusing on his task, he continued persistently what he had been doing.
Shikamaru's attention shifted between the sky and the other ninja every now and
then. He wasn't sure why, but the other's movements were oddly... hypnotizing
as he trained.
Almost raising an eyebrow, he caught the other looking at him every now and
then, without actually giving away that he had caught those puzzling gazes. For
some reason, it hadn't bothered the Hyuuga when he had been spied on, but
these... less concealed gazes did bother him a little. It was simply because
Shikamaru normally didn't even as much as look at him while he was training
otherwise; at least, that's what he told himself.
Shikamaru scowled to himself slightly, closing his eyes and just relaxing in
the grass. He let out a long breath, somehow relaxing his muscles further,
except for the small frown that stayed on his face.
Just then a soft thak could be heard right beside him as a kunai embedded
itself in the ground, only a handful centimeters away from his head.
Shikamaru tensed slightly, opening one eye to look at the weapon. He opened the
other and turned his gaze onto the Hyuuga, raising an eyebrow as he sat up
slightly, resting his weight on his lower arms.
Smirking slightly from the branch he was sitting on, Neji threw another on,
this time missing the Nara's head with only a couple of centimeters. Hm, he
thought to himself. Not bad.
Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly and he forced himself not to flinch lest he
move the wrong way and get cut again.
"Uh, Neji? You do know what I said earlier wasn't an invitation to use me as
target practice, right?" he asked.
Another kunai followed, and another, both missing the other with only a few
millimeters this time around. Neji was satisfied.
"It sure sounded like one," he just called back, smirking at the suppressed
flinch of the Nara. His byakugan was activated this time around, enabling him
to see the other clearly, and to aim right, even from that distance.
Shikamaru scowled and just mumbled a 'troublesome' before lying back down.
Normally he wouldn't care and might even be willing to help, but now he was
just tired from his earlier training. Besides, he trusted the other enough to
know he wouldn't actually get hurt.
But that didn't mean he wanted to now. He fought back a smirk as he started at
the Hyuuga, letting his shadow stretch out as thin as it could, creeping
towards the tree.
Throwing another kunai, this one nicking Shikamaru's jacket slightly, but
didn't touch skin, Neji pretended not to notice the chakra-filled shadow
creeping up on him. Did the Nara think he was totally oblivious to his methods?
Not likely, not after the Chuunin exam. Moving as fast as he could, he moved,
almost casually, beside the younger shinobi with a smirk.
"Think I'd be trapped that easily?" he asked rather cockily, not really caring
if the shadow caught him now that he was sitting close by; he had been thinking
about taking a break in practicing anyway.
Shikamaru smirked before raising a hand and gripping the cloth at Neji's
shoulder. "Got you now, don't I?" he asked in the same tone (though far less
practiced, because, really, Shikamaru's no Hyuuga in smugness).
On impulse, he leaned up and pulled the older boy down, their lips connecting
harshly and clumsily for a few seconds before Shikamaru's brain functioned
correctly again and he froze.
Tensing up, Neji's eyes seemed to widen impossibly as he was pulled down so
their lips met clumsily, awkwardly, stealing his first kiss. He hadn't minded
when the other had grabbed his shoulder, that was normal, but this... this
wasn't normal was it? At least, not among friends.
Seemingly frozen like that, Neji was starting to panic, his mind running a mile
in a minute, telling him he should pull away, no push the other away harshly,
and run. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on who was thinking, Neji's
body didn't listen to his brain.
Shikamaru's grip loosened on the other's shirt before letting his hand
completely fall off as he pulled back from his first kiss. His lips parted
slightly and he glanced away, tongue absently flickering out against his own
top lip.
He put more space between them, lying down before rolling away and pushing
himself to his feet. He chanced a glance back at the other, putting his hands
into his pockets. "U-um," he started, clearing his throat a little as his voice
broke, "See... you..." he muttered, walking away at a faster pace than normal.
Eyes still wide, and unreadable, Neji couldn't do anything but stare at the
younger boy as he let go of him and sat back. Silently, he felt grateful his
bloodline made it hard to read his eyes, and his control stopped him from doing
anything stupid in the almost-panic he was feeling.
As Shikamaru disappeared, Neji just sat there, staring into empty air, having
forgotten all about his training.
***** Chapter 5 *****
Shikamaru wandered down the streets aimlessly, eyes still wide and mind racing
and wondering what in god's name had made him do that. Sure the Hyuuga was nice
to look a-- no, he did not just think that.
He squeezed his eyes shut, pausing in his step, and brought a hand up, rubbing
the heel of his palm into an eye.
"Troublesome."
"Hmm, what's gotten you so riled up today?" Ino smirked, having seen him long
since before she came up to walk beside him. To most people, Shikamaru didn't
look like he was riled up, or bothered by something, but Ino knew better.
Shikamaru was walking way too quickly for nothing to be up. And Ino was eager
to get to know why.
Shikamaru froze for a second before lowering his hand and opening his eyes,
sending a withering look at Ino. "What do you want, Ino?" he asked, trying to
sound as bored as possible.
He really didn't feel like putting up with her, not when there was so much he
needed to sort out now.
...Maybe she could be a welcome distraction instead, but he doubted it.
Grinning at the look he was giving her, Ino was rather used to it, and it only
made her even more certain that something was up. And she was definitely going
to find out about it, no matter what!
"Nothing," she replied innocently, playing a little with her bangs, smiling
sweetly at him, trying to look like she was just a concerned friend. Which she
was, but not like that. "Just wondering what got you in such a rush..."
Shikamaru heaved a sigh and glanced away slightly, jaw jutting out in a small
pout. "Nothing's 'got me in a rush'," he said, not enjoying the other's
scrutinizing one bit.
"Mnhm," Ino clearly didn't believe him, looking at him searchingly. "You just
woke up this morning, feeling like going for a brisk walk. Shika... this is you
we're talking about!" Ino was amused at her friend's pout. It was rather
adorable, though she still didn't know what Neji saw in her best friend. It
didn't matter, if he made Shika happy, she wasn't going to question it.
"So, Shika..." she began, completely changing the subject. "What have you been
up to lately? I haven't seen you around..." she smiled sweetly once again,
making the question sound as casually and innocent as possible.
Shikamaru glanced back at her from the corners of his eyes, looking at her
suspiciously. "...I was training earlier," he finally said, giving a safe
answer. "Don't you have other people to bother?"
"Nope!" Ino chirped happily, latching onto Shikamaru's arm in a friendly
manner. "And you? Training? On your own?" Ino raised an eyebrow. "I'm impressed
Shika!" She smirked up at him. Now how to go on about this... she might not be
as good a strategist as her friend, but she wasn't stupid either.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, not even bothering on trying to detach her. He
learned long ago that the female was like a leech when she wanted to be and
nothing short of Sasuke himself asking her out would bring her away.
"No, I trained with Chouji," he said, correcting her.
"Chouji...?" Ino looked puzzled on purpose. "But I've been with Chouji for at
least an hour, hanging out at the barbeque..." she replied innocently, knowing
she had got him. "And he didn't mention anything about you being so...
energetic today," she smiled sweetly.
Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow, not sure whether to believe her or not. Not that
it really mattered. "I haven't been training with him this whole time anyway,"
he said with a small shrug.
"So what did you do after...?" Ino asked rather suggestively, while trying to
remain sweet and innocent in her questions.
"Ino..." he paused, giving her a weird look. "If I didn't know any better, I'd
think you were flirting."
"Don't be stupid, Shika."
Giggling slightly, feeling a bit uncomfortable at the thought of flirting with
her best friend, she raised an eyebrow at him. She had always been clinging to
him since they were little, in a best friend kind of way; she wasn't interested
in him like that. "We both know better than that."
"Yeah..." he mumbled, staring at her for a bit longer before looking away
again. He was feeling a bit awkward and nervous and he wasn't sure why. There
was just so much going on and he still hadn't sorted out anything and it was
aggravating him and he couldn't figure out that either.
"Sorry, I just..." he frowned a little, glancing at her again and before he
could think he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her mouth.
Eyes widening considerably as Shikamaru leaned over and kissed her. And they
weren't just anywhere either, but in the middle of the street! She only thought
what the hell?! before, quite forcefully, pushing him away.
"What the hell, Shika? What was that about?" She screeched, not happy with the
turn of events, hitting him none too gently on the head in anger. Damn him, he
had probably ruined lots of her chances of getting a boyfriend now if everyone
thought they were together.
Shikamaru scowled, rubbing the place of impact before he let his hand drop, not
caring that his head was throbbing a little. He sighed and shook his head.
"I... Sorry," he said, not quite looking at her. "I'm just... really confused
about something right now."
"See, told you something was bothering you," Ino replied smugly, forgetting she
was supposed to be mad at him, but she didn't cling to him again as she had
done previously. Not after he had kissed her; ew. It was as if a brother had
kissed her, and she had found it pretty revolting. Grabbing his arm, she pulled
him along to his house, deciding to have this conversation in his room, not on
the street.
"Now, spill!" she turned to glare at him, her hands on her hips once she had
locked the door behind them, pushing Shika to sit on his bed.
Shikamaru looked up at her and supposed he shouldn't be as surprised as he was
at her actions. He sighed and glanced down to the floor, frowning and rubbing
the back of his neck.
"I... think I might be gay."
Ino blinked. And blinked again. Then she sighed and sat down beside him, an
amused smile on her lips.
"That's hardly a surprise Shika," she teased softly, trying to make him feel a
little more at ease with it. "I'd figured you were at least bi ages ago,
nothing wrong with that."
Unless you were Uchiha Sasuke, she thought to herself. If Sasuke turned out
gay, she'd definitely have some angry screaming to do.
Shikamaru looked back at her, a waning smile on. "Well, there's... nothing
wrong with it," he said. "It doesn't really matter; just... it's not what I
expected." There goes that average and unexciting life he'd wanted.
"Well..." Ino thought a bit. "Then find yourself an average guy, and adopt two
average kids," she sighed at the thought.
"Won't be much fun though, you know." She looked at him unimpressed. "What's
the point of marrying someone average, boring, that you're probably not much
interested in anyway?"
Shikamaru let out another sigh and shook his head. "It doesn't really matter,
as long as they're not annoying," he said, lips twitching a little into a small
smirk.
Of course this wasn't helping his real problem, but at least he knew he had
Ino's support for... whatever.
"There are lots of non-average people out there who aren’t annoying," Ino
chuckled before giving her best friend a hug. Sure, she wanted to find out
about this Neji-affair or whatever it was, but her best friend had just told
her he thought he was gay, so of course, she'd encourage him.
Shikamaru smiled and returned the hug, glad that she was fine with it and that
she wasn't still mad about the kiss. He felt bad, seeing as it was probably her
first, too. He frowned a little again, hoping the he hadn't stolen Neji's first
as well, though was almost certain he had.
"So..." Ino giggled, pulling back. "What would your type of guy look like?" she
asked, curious, biting her lower lip a little. Who would have thought she'd
have this kind of talk with her best friend; ever? It was funny, comical
almost, but at the same time, this meant they could be talking about cute guys
without her feeling she was embarrassing or bothering him. Too much.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes before giving up half way and just looking at the
ceiling. He glancing down at Ino again and shook his head, fighting off a
blush. "Just because I might be gay, doesn't mean I'm going to act like a girl,
Ino."
"Oh, I know that silly," Ino giggled at the thought of Shikamaru discussing
fashion and make-up with her; a ridiculous thought. "But you know, you've got
to know some things that attract you more than other things. Besides, if I know
what you're looking for, I could help." She grinned at the thought of setting
him up with someone on a blind date.
"I... don't know. Not sure," he said, glancing down at his bedspread. Right
now, the only one who came to mind was Neji (of course) but... while, yes, the
other was quite good looking, the same traits could be found in many others
around the village and he didn't find them nearly as attractive. Sasuke for
example, though if he said that, he was sure Ino would hit him again.
"Okay, let's eliminate some people then from the list of your possible future
boyfriends," she grinned.
"Chouji?" she asked first. Well, despite his chubby-ness, it did make sense.
Other than her, he was Shikamaru's best friend, and he had, after all, kissed
her.
Shikamaru shook his head, smirking a little. "I'm comfortable with him, but not
that comfortable," he said. "Besides, he's one of the straightest guys I know."
Of course he didn't mention the crush he'd always had on Ino; that was a secret
between best buds.
"Hmm, I guess we can easily exclude Naruto and Kiba," she grinned. Those two
were some of the most troublesome ninja she knew, if she were to use
Shikamaru's way of describing people. Of course, she was avoiding the one she
wanted to ask about to lull Shikamaru into a sense of security before his name
was brought up.
"Sasuke?" She asked, before she corrected herself. "No, he'd be too troublesome
for you. Besides you'd have to compete with me and all the other girls in the
village for him," she grinned. "It'd be troublesome, right?"
Shikamaru gave a snort, shaking his head again. "Ino, you know my opinion on
Sasuke," he said. "He's a good shinobi, but that's about it." Just thinking
about the Uchiha was giving him a headache, really.
"Hmm, Shino?" Ino asked, this time really curious. The Aburame was kind of
mysterious with the way he acted and dressed. It was kind of hot... If you
ignored the fact you'd never really seen all of his face, never mind his eyes,
and, well, she hated bugs. Hated them a lot. But Shikamaru had never been
bothered with bugs, so maybe...
Shikamaru paused for a bit before shaking his head yet again. "No... He's nice
enough and I don't really have anything bad to say about him, but I doubt we'd
get along like that. He's too much of a recluse like me for anything to come of
it."
That meant that team Kurenai, Kakashi and Asuma was out of the question... Ino
smirked to herself. It was becoming more and more obvious who Shikamaru liked.
Having heard him talk now so... freely about other guys and actually giving it
thought, she doubted they were together but she was damn sure they were
interested in each other.
"Lee?" she asked, repressing her mirth. While Lee was a nice guy, she just
couldn't picture him like... that. Besides, he had Sakura, or was at least
starting to get somewhere in courting her, though her pink-haired friend-slash-
rival was still resisting.
Shikamaru stared at her for a good long while before just deadpanning, "...Do
you want me to kill myself? Because, hell, he's a nice guy but I know if I
spend more time than I need to with him, I'll be asking Gaara to 'Sand Coffin'
me next time I see him. Hell, I'd look for him and you know I don't do anything
I don't have to."
"Gaara then?" Ino asked, finding this very amusing. Shikamaru seemed to have a
very selective taste in guys. Oh yeah... next time she wanted to make Shikamaru
do something for her that he didn't particularly want, she'd just threaten to
set him up with Lee.
Shikamaru sighed and shook his head. "Psychopaths, reformed or not, don't
interest me," he said.
"I just don't really like anyone," he added before flopping back on his bed and
turning onto his side, back facing the blonde. "I don't need to be dating
anyone, you know."
"Sure you don't." Ino smiled sweetly at him. "Doesn't mean it wouldn’t be fun
to try, though." She grinned before continuing.
"How about any of the sensei’s?" She asked, giving him an amused smile.
"Asuma?"
Shikamaru glanced over his shoulder at her then said, "You're an idiot," before
grabbing his pillow and then proceeding to put it over his head to block her
out.
Giggling, Ino grabbed the pillow from him.
"Aww, come on, I was joking... Kakashi-san? Iruka-sensei? Gai-san?" She shook
with mirth. "Oh god, if you fancy Gai-san, I'll commit hara-kiri," she giggled
almost hysterically at the thought.
Shikamaru half-heartedly glared at her before sighing and rolling onto his
back, side now close enough to touch Ino's knee.
"If I'm ever going to date someone, they're not going to be close to my dad's
age, Ino." Although he had to admit that Kakashi was good looking but just...
no.
"Alright then... how about Neji?" Ino let the trap spring, hoping she was going
to get a good response, trying to look as innocent as possible, as if it was
pure coincidence she was bringing his name up. But this was the name she had
wanted to bring up all day; he'd better give her something good to go on.
Shikamaru stared at her for a second before glancing away. "...no," he said,
voice more subdued as he rolled over again on his side. "We wouldn't be
compatible either." More for the fact that he's probably pissed at me, he
thought.
Oh yes, that was a reaction if she ever saw one. However, she was a little
worried about his... behavior, almost sounding depressed about it.
"Oh, come on Shika... when did you turn that pessimistic?" she asked, now very
worried as she hugged him from behind. Shikamaru just... wasn't a pessimist,
not like that. Sure, he sometimes assumed the outcome would be bad, and was
negative to most things, but not depressed. He was never negative towards
things without trying to calculate other possibilities. "What makes you say
that?"
Shikamaru sighed, body closing it on itself a little in subconscious defense.
"Nothing, we just wouldn't be," he said, lying through his teeth. "I don't
think he could stand having me around anyway," he added with a chuckle, "I just
interrupt his training."
"Oh come on Shika,” she repeated. “You've gotten to watch him train several
times while he brushed me and Cho off just like that. He's got to be gay. And
since he lets you watch, he's got to like you; at least a little bit," she
reasoned, now seriously worried about her friend. If Neji had done, or said,
something to hurt her friend, she was going to... well, she didn't know what
she was going to, but the Hyuuga would pay dearly, so there!
Shikamaru glanced at her from the corner of his eye, a minute blush dusting his
cheeks. "Maybe, but even if he did before, I doubt he does now."
"Why?" Ino challenged him, spotting the blush covering her normally unfazed
friend's cheeks. Well, well, this was certainly something alright. So now she
was certain that Shikamaru was definitely interested in the sexy Hyuuga, but
for some reason he didn't think he had a chance.
"You know, if he doesn't like you he's stupid," she smiled a bit at him. "And
not a genius as they claim."
Shikamaru gave a small smile, grateful to the girl for being a good friend. But
it quickly slipped to neutral again and he glanced away. "I'm no genius
either," he said.
Ino scoffed at that, if she'd ever heard a bunch of bullshit before, this was
it.
"Bullshit!" she replied, softer than she wanted to. "You're clearly the
smartest around, even smarter than a few, if not all, the Jounins."
Shikamaru sighed and sat up, extracting himself from her grip. He turned to
face her, sitting back against the wall, slumping forward.
"Ino, I... I kissed him," he explained. "And I'm pretty sure he didn't like
it."
"You kissed him?" Ino's eyes widened in shock as her friend slumped back
against the wall.
"And? What did he do? Did he slap you? Hit you? Shout at you?" she asked
skeptically, not quite believing he had done any of that. Except for a small
cut on his cheek, Shikamaru looked fine to her.
Shikamaru shook his head. "He didn't do anything. He froze and just stared
and..." He shook his head again, this time more to clear his head. "I didn't
want to see his real reaction so I left. Then you found me."
"But he didn't push you away like I did," Ino stated, rather satisfied. Now,
what guy wouldn't be surprised, shocked, by getting kissed by another guy? Even
if you were gay, she assumed that would be pretty rare unless you had a
boyfriend-slash-lover or you were very open about it.
"Shika... that's not the worst reaction," she tried reassuring him. Not even
she knew what Neji would think about being kissed by another guy. From what
Tenten had said, Neji should have liked it, but still, she didn't personally
know the Hyuuga, so what did she know?
"...I guess," he said, still doubtful. "But it was still a stupid thing to do
on my part." And he really didn't want to be around Neji, afraid that his kunai
really wouldn't miss next time he saw him.
"We all do stupid things sometimes," Ino smiled, not liking this depressing
part of Shikamaru. She'd rather have him complain about how troublesome
everyone else where or something trivial like that.
"Sometimes they pay off, and other times... oh I know!" she clapped her hands
together before getting up from bed.
"Come on; let's forget about this for now. I want to bake that cake you like so
much with you before your okaa-san returns," she grinned, hauling him off to
the kitchen.
Despite all his complaints when she did this, she knew he loved that cake she
had in mind; it was a recipe she had gotten from Yoshino herself. The woman was
obviously hoping for her to get together with Shikamaru, which wouldn't happen,
but she knew Shikamaru loved his mother's cakes. Hopefully this would cheer him
up a little.
Shikamaru sighed and gave a small pout, not bothering to resist her. The cake
actually sounded like a good idea right now. He wasn't one to eat when down,
but sometimes it really did help.
"As long as I don't have to do much," he said, easily falling back into his
normal mood again.
"Che," Ino grinned at him, happy to see the old Shikamaru back. "As if I
expected that from you. Just help me find the ingredients!"
--
About an hour later, Ino opened the stove to take the cake out, putting it on
the counter to cool a bit before she started putting on the icing.
"There," she smiled, satisfied with her and Shikamaru's work.
Shikamaru smirked and reached over, swiping a finger over the cake and
gathering some icing. He sucked his finger, knowing that Ino hated when he
messed it up before they actually cut the cake.
"Hey!" she cried, slapping his hand lightly, although she was happy to see him
act like himself again. She just knew that the cake would help. It always did.
"No touching the cake yet," she huffed before finding a knife to cut it into
pieces with.
"Yes, ma'am," he said, teasing, with a chuckle. Of course he wouldn't try
anything once she had the knife, even if he knew she wouldn't hurt him. She was
creative with threats either way.
Cutting it into pieces, Ino put two pieces of the cake on two plates, handing
one of them to Shikamaru.
"There; now you can wipe off all the icing for all I care," she grinned, using
a spoon to attack her own piece with.
Shikamaru shook his head, grinning a little. "Now it's no fun," he said,
digging into his own piece. He savored the first bite, obviously something he
had picked up from his friendship with Chouji.
Grinning to herself, Ino enjoyed the comfortable silence that had settled
between them as they ate cake.
***** Chapter 6 *****
After Shikamaru had fled the scene so to speak, Neji was still sitting unmoving
in the field, gazing into nothingness. After about an hour or so of just
sitting there, repeating the scene over and over in his head, Neji got to his
feet, that, he noticed, were a little shaky. Not sure what it all meant, but
refusing to let himself get ruffled by it (more than he had already been), Neji
walked back to his apartment, determined not to let it bother him.
Lee had dodged his hospital visit and was hobbling around the village, trying
to build up his stamina when he spotted his teammate. A bright grin spread
across his face and he started waving, stopping in place.
"Konnichiwa, Neji-kun! It is a wonderful day, is it not?" he greeted, before
moving over to him as quickly as he could.
"Hn," Neji just replied, not greeting him properly like he used to do, his mind
still on what had happened earlier. Not even the flowery talk of his teammate
seemed to bring him out of it, despite his earlier determination not to let it
get to him. But seriously, Neji was lost. What did that kiss mean? You didn't
kiss your friends like that... did you?
Lee titled his head a little in confusion. Obviously something was bothering
his friend, so he had to figure out what.
"Is something troubling you, Neji-kun?" he asked. He would challenge himself
again later, this was obviously more important, if his friend was being so Un-
Youthful!
"No," Neji shook his head. Nothing was wrong, except... he had just received
his first kiss from his only self-made friend. No, absolutely nothing was
wrong. Except, he didn't know how to deal with that. At all. And he wasn't one
to go to someone for advice, much less Lee. Lee was as far from the real world
you could get. Not that Neji hadn't grown a little fond of Lee, but... he
wasn't the type he would go to for advice.
Lee frowned a little. "You must not be so down, my friend! It is not Youthful
to be so saddened! You must express yourself, Neji-kun!" he exclaimed, grinning
again at the end.
Sending his team-mate an annoyed glare, Neji clearly conveyed that he was not
in the mood for any flowery, Youthful or otherwise, talk. Of course, he didn't
expect Lee to pick up on signals like that. Gai-sensei and Lee were as un-
subtle as possible, much unlike the Hyuuga.
Lee was quite used to his teammate’s glares by now, now more worried than
before. If something really wasn't bothering the Hyuuga he was sure he'd be
told off by now and not just given the silent treatment.
"Are you sure nothing is bothering you?" he asked again, a little more subdued
than before.
Looking over at his... well, friend, he supposed, Neji was actually surprised
that he actually had dropped his usual way of talking. Not that it was a bad
thing, just... surprising. And a sign that Lee seemed to be genuinely worried.
About him? Why would Lee be worried about him? It wasn't like they were close
or saw each other much outside training.
"Not here," Neji just replied. If Lee could lay off his flowery speech,
maybe... well, he obviously needed to talk to someone, and Tenten and Gai were
out of the question. And just the thought of coming running to his uncle to
tell him another boy had kissed him... well, that was ridiculous. But he was
not going to tell anyone anything in the middle of a rather busy street.
Lee quickly nodded and, with a grin, tugged on the other's wrist, prompting him
to follow, and started off towards the Hyuuga's apartment. He was sure he'd be
more comfortable talking in his own place and anything that helped him open up
was worth trying.
He stopped in front of the entrance door and let him go so he could open the
door for them, trying his hardest to contain his anticipation.
Sighing, Neji followed him. It seemed that even though Lee had dropped the
annoying and rather stupid sounding speech of his, he was still the same,
bouncing, energetic fool as always. Maybe he had made a mistake when deciding
to try to confide in him.
Another sigh leaving him, Neji fished his keys from his sleeves before
unlocking the door, letting them in. Come to think of it... this was the first
time Lee was in his apartment. Neji started fearing a little for his furniture;
was it strong enough to handle Lee should he get a bit over-excited about
something? Probably not.
Lee glanced around the apartment, wanting to memorize how his friend and rival
lived. He walked further in and started to inspect everything more closely
before remembering why he was actually here.
He straightened up as best he could with his crutch and turned to look at Neji
with a small grin. "So what is bothering you, my rival?"
Sitting down by the table, Neji gestured for Lee to sit as well, sighing. He
might just get a headache from dealing with this. Now, waiting for Lee to sit
down, Neji found he had no clue where to start, or what to say. It was awkward,
to say the least, and a Hyuuga was never awkward.
Lee quickly sit down, bending one leg and letting his bandaged one lay
straight, giving the Hyuuga his full attention. Which probably made it more
awkward; having his large eyes glued to the other, but Lee had no such
etiquette.
Twitching silently at the way Lee sat at the table - did he mention just how
horrible that looked with Lee wearing a green spandex-suit? - Neji just stared
back for a while, trying to gather his thoughts.
"Ah... Lee?" he asked, feeling very uncomfortable with this talk. "Have you
ever been... kissed?"
Lee's eyes grew impossibly wider and he shook his head, flushing just slightly.
He had not yet won over his Cherry Blossom and no one but her would do for
that! He was about to explain that before he thought better of it and kept
silent.
Nodding as he understood. He knew of Lee's affection for the younger, pink-
haired kunoichi, as much as he disliked her, but he was not going to butt into
his teammate's love affairs, it wasn't something he really was interested in.
"Well..." he blushed faintly, not quite knowing what to say next.
Lee stared at him for a second before perking up, realization dawning on him,
mouth opening in a small 'o'.
"Have you had your first kiss, Neji-kun?"
Well, perhaps Lee could show a faint hint of perceptiveness every now and then,
but only a hint. Cheeks coloring a bit more, he looked away from his team-mate.
Then, with a small sigh, he gave a small nod.
Lee started trembling a little, a wavering grin growing on his face. "This is a
most joyous occasion, Neji-kun!" he exclaimed, tears starting to stream down
his face. "Who has captured my rival's heart?!"
He gasped, bringing a hand up and clenching it into a fist. "We must tell Gai-
sensei and celebrate!" he yelled, the leg in the cast moving, hitting the table
and tipping it away from him and towards Neji.
Just managing to block the table, Neji grit his teeth in annoyance as he leaned
over. And hit Lee on the head before sitting down again, putting the table back
in place. Lee better not have managed to give it some damage.
"No one," he replied harshly, closing his eyes as he crossed his arms in
annoyance, glaring at Lee, promising if he didn't stop with the flowers and
sparkles, he'd be kicked out in less than three seconds.
Lee whimpered softly, tears clearing up as he rubbed his head. He settled down
again and clasped his hands onto his good leg, leaning forward a little.
"I do not understand," he said, looking confused. "If you do not love them, why
did you kiss them? A kiss is to be shared between those who care for each
other!"
"I didn't kiss anyone!" Neji tried to clarify what had happened. Hell, if Lee
didn't understand how would he? But... if what Lee said was true, did that mean
the Nara cared for him? But, he frowned, friends didn't kiss each other, and
why would another guy want to kiss him?
Lee blinked, now looking even more confused. "But... you said you got your
first kiss! Neji, what happened?"
Sighing, Neji glared at his teammate. He really was dense, and it seemed that
Neji, no matter how embarrassing it was, had to spell it out for him.
"Someone kissed me," he said shortly, not telling him who or anything more than
he had to, giving him an extra glare, daring him to make fun of the fact that
he, Hyuuga Neji, had let someone get close enough to kiss him, as if he was
completely defenseless.
Lee stared at the other for a few seconds before frowning a little, starting to
be put off. "Did you not enjoy it?" he asked.
"I..." Neji spluttered, turning a light shade of red as he tried glaring at the
other. However, a flustered, blushing Neji glaring was not very effective.
"How would I know?" he asked in the end, feeling rather annoyed. "I was
shocked." Oh god... he hadn't thought of that before now; had he enjoyed the
kiss? Well, it hadn't been totally unpleasant, but... why was he even thinking
about this?
"But that's not the problem," he added, trying to cover over his initial
reaction to Lee's question, pulling himself together.
Lee opened his mouth to respond, pausing as Neji added his last comment. He
tilted his head slightly, leaning back again so he was sitting up straight.
"Then... what is the problem?"
Neji looked away from Lee, focusing on the clouds outside. Shikamaru liked
watching those clouds, didn't he? His brain brought him a mental picture of
Shikamaru cloud-gazing while he trained. No, why was he thinking about him
again? Neji felt the need to bang his head hard against something.
"...it wasn't a girl," he said softly in the end, knowing Lee was still waiting
for an answer.
Lee waited as patiently as he could, eyes widening when he finally got an
answer. He stayed silent, thinking to himself before starting to speak with his
head bowed, looking at his lap, "I can understand why you would be surprised,
Neji-kun, but I do not see a problem."
He looked up, smiling widely, but for once not showing his teeth with a grin.
"I think that Love knows no bounds and should be free to be expressed, no
matter the gender. If it is something you like, or would like, I think you
should go for it!" he finished with a thumbs up, now showing his usual grin.
Neji blinked. And blinked again before turning to stare at Lee. And he stared
for a long time. Lee wasn't... surprised? Or confused?
"T-two guys can like each other... like that?" he asked, confused. Nothing made
sense anymore to him, making him almost forget to act like a proper Hyuuga
should. B-but..? Guys were supposed to like girls, not... not other guys,
right?
Lee’s smile dropped a little and he put his hand down, eyebrows furrowing. "If
two people care for each other and share their joy, why should it matter what
gender they are? Are the feelings not there to embrace either way?"
Neji frowned a little, trying to wrap his mind around this new concept.
"I... I had no idea," he murmured, covering his mouth with a hand. And well,
what Lee was saying did actually make sense for once, but...
"Anyway," he said, straightening his back a little, remembering to act a little
more like himself. "I don't think of him like that, and even if I did, there's
nothing to 'embrace'," he said, using Lee's own word.
Lee was disappointed that there was nothing to rejoice about now but he just
nodded. "If you do not feel anything for him, you should probably tell him so,"
he suggested, smiling a little sadly. "While it may hurt him, it is always
easiest if you know where you stand in a relationship, romantic or not."
"What I think does not matter." Neji glared at his team-mate. "I think he was
just messing with me." He closed his eyes a little. Damn, he was truly getting
a head-ache from this. After all, Shikamaru had just left after he had kissed
him, not even waiting to see his reaction. He frowned to himself. He didn't
even know why Shikamaru had kissed him in the first place.
"Why would you think that?" Lee asked, shocked. It would not be Youthful if
someone did that! Lee really was curious as to who had kissed his teammate but
he was trying to pry as little as possible, knowing the other was
uncomfortable.
Neji was about to reply before frowning, changing his mind.
"It doesn't matter!" He snapped. "It's none of your business!" And with those
words, Lee was thrown out of Neji's apartment.
Lee blinked at the door, face not more than an inch from it, not sure if he'd
even seen Neji move that fast in training. He frowned then clenched his fist,
eyes shining in determination.
If he did not find a way to put Neji's mind at ease, he would run one thousand
laps around Konoha! Backwards!
…Once he was able to.
Clenching his fists once the door was closed, the faint blush was still present
in Neji's cheeks. Why had he said all that to Lee? Maybe he was coming down
with something, he decided, stalking into the kitchen to take some vitamins. If
he was catching a cold or something, he could at least do something to try and
prevent it.
--
In the meantime, Ino had left Shikamaru and was currently heading towards
Tenten's home. This was certainly something she would have to share with the
older girl. Stopping in front of her apartment, Ino hesitated only a few
seconds before she rang the door-bell, hearing it faintly through the door.
Tenten looked up from where she was polishing and sharpening some of her
weapons at the doorbell. She stood up and brushed herself off before walking
over to the door, peering out the peep-hole, then unlocking and opening the
door.
She looked a little bit confused as she asked, "Did you want something, Ino?"
"Well, yeah, actually." Ino smiled up at the older girl, peeking in slightly
curious how her place looked. "Can I come in? It's about you-know-what."
Well, okay, she had to admit that maybe it wasn't very nice to Shikamaru to
tell Tenten about what he had told her, but at the same time, she wanted to
help her friend and if she had to tell Tenten to make that happen, then so be
it. It was all for his own (and Neji's) good.
Tenten quickly nodded and stepped back to give her room to walk in. Her
apartment was very plain compared to Ino's house; very utilitarian. She didn't
need all that extra stuff that the Yamanaka liked and it would only distract
her in being as great a kunoichi as the legendary Tsunade.
"Well, you see, I got some very interesting news today," Ino smirked at her,
inwardly frowning a little at how little decorations there were on the walls
and how... empty... the apartment seemed. She didn't mention it though, after
all, that's not what she was there for. Right now, she had something much more
interesting to do.
"Oh?" Tenten asked, raising a questioning eyebrow. It had only been a day and a
half, how much could she have learned? "What is it?"
"Yeah," Ino smirked, delighted that it seemed Tenten hadn't even managed to
worm anything about it from Neji yet. Oh, how she loved to be the first to know
about new gossip!
"You see, I talked to Shikamaru today... and it seems that this morning, after
he had trained with Chouji and Asuma..." she proceeded telling Tenten about how
Shika had kissed Neji, and left without waiting for his reaction. Of course,
she left out that he had kissed her to make sure he was gay, and some of his
reactions later. She wasn't going to tell how depressed he had been unless it
was necessary. Necessary for his own happiness, that is.
Tenten's eyes widened and she glanced down slightly, thinking to herself. If
the Nara hadn't stayed there afterwards and there really hadn't been anything
between them before...
She winced slightly, frowning. "...I wonder how Neji took that," she murmured,
knowing that whatever his reaction was, it wouldn't be a perfectly positive
one. They needed to find him and do some damage control.
"Well, yeah..." Ino laughed a bit nervously. She knew that the Hyuuga was a
bit... uptight about things, which probably included kissing. There was no way
to say what the older boy's reaction was. "That’s kinda the problem. Shikamaru
was... worried." Well, that was the understatement of the year.
Tenten sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, I guess we should go
see what's going on with Neji, then," she said, starting out of her place,
heading towards Neji's apartment.
She spotted Lee heading their way and inwardly winced, hoping that he wouldn't
distract and talk to them too much-- they had to get to Neji. She blinked and
stopped walking, glancing behind her as he just continued walking, not saying a
word to them.
That was... weird.
She frowned and turned around before calling out, "Lee!"
He just kept walking, forehead creased in thought.
"Lee!" Tenten yelled, jogging over and grabbing his shoulder. "Lee, are you
okay?"
"Huh?" Lee turned his head, pausing in his step. "Ah, uh, sumimasen, Tenten!"
He pulled away, making an awkward bow, especially with him still using the
crutch as support. "I was not paying attention. Did you need something?"
Tenten shook her head, smiling slightly. "No, you just seemed... worried about
something?"
"Ah!" Lee's eyes widened slightly and he nodded. "Yes! Something is bothering
our dear teammate and I must figure it out!"
Tenten sighed and glanced back at Ino, frowning slightly.
Watching Tenten and her teammate as Tenten had to basically force him into
communication, Ino started to get very worried. Was Neji going to break
Shikamaru's heart? It certainly started to seem like it.
"Uh, well... we were just going to discuss something with him," Tenten said,
looking back at him. "You... have you talked with him?"
Lee nodded, facial expressions warring between being happy and worried. "Neji-
kun has received his first kiss and is... disturbed? Confused?" He shook his
head, still not understanding.
"Y-yeah," Tenten murmured. "I know..."
"What did Neji say?" Ino interrupted the two teammates, getting up into Lee's
personal space, anxious to hear what exactly had been the enigmatic brunette's
reaction. She was going to find out, even if she had to be a bit forceful.
Lee blinked, looking down at the younger girl before turning his gaze to
Tenten. He didn't want to betray Neji's trust, as small as it was, but...
Tenten nodded. "It... Ah, it was her teammate who kissed Neji," she explained.
His eyes widened and he looked back at Ino before sighing. "Neji did not know
that two men could feel for each other that way. He said he did not think of
him that way."
Ino's eyes widened before they narrowed dangerously. Oh yeah, if Neji dared
hurt Shikamaru, she'd definitely have to do some damage on the stoic Hyuuga.
Letting go of Lee, she put some more space between them. Now, what did she do?
It wasn't possible for her to really change people's feelings, and she was
aware she couldn't threaten Neji into something. So all that was left was
scheming, and hoping luck was on her, and Shikamaru's, side.
"But-- but, Neji-kun just seemed to be very confused," Lee hastily added once
seeing Ino's expression darken. "He was flustered about it and... I do not
think I helped that."
Tenten sighed, giving him a slight smile. "He knows you only have good
intentions, Lee. Don't worry about that."
"So... like... is this Neji's first experience when it comes to kissing and
stuff?" Ino asked, feeling confused. To her, Neji sounded like he was in...
denial. If that was the situation, this could be fun.
Both of the teammates just nodded, Lee looking a little relieved.
"Yeah," Tenten started. "Neji has been... really sheltered all his life. He
doesn't think about relationships or any of that."
"Well..." Ino's grin gained a hint of wickedness in it. "Then perhaps it's time
to do something about that, don't you think?" If Neji had been flustered when
he told Lee about it... thinking about what Lee had told them... yes, it should
be possible to make him and Shikamaru a couple. Hopefully without either of the
two boys noticing them plotting and well, guiding them, from the shadows.
Tenten smirked lightly and nodded. "He needs to be more open anyway," she
added.
Lee just looked confused but nodded anyway. If it would help his friend feel
better, he'd do whatever he could.
"So, what way do you think we should do this? Since you guys know Neji best, I
mean," Ino asked the two, a little amused at Lee's confusion. He probably
didn't know what was going on, but now it was too late. He was in on it whether
he liked it or not.
Tenten frowned slightly in thought. "...maybe set them up somehow?" she
suggested, though not sure how to go about it.
"That might just work," Ino nodded in approval. "Shikamaru wouldn't go near
Neji of his own free will as things are now. He is a coward after all..." she
mused. Now where and how? It couldn't be somewhere too shabby or casual, or
somewhere too romantic as much as she loved that thought. That just wouldn't be
the boys' style, she guessed.
Tenten bit her lip, trying to think. The easiest way would be a restaurant,
but... Ichiraku was way too... lowly for Neji, as were the dango and tea
stands.
"What about that place your team is always at?" Lee suggested. "Yakiniku Q?"
"Hmm, that might work..." Ino nodded. They had good food there too, which might
be a plus if Shikamaru and Neji could enjoy a good meal while clearing things
up them between.
"It's not too... common for Neji?" She asked Tenten, hoping it was something
Neji would go for. If she asked Shikamaru out to a real fancy place... well,
he'd know something was up.
Tenten slowly shook her head. "He'll be reluctant and might complain, but I
think that'll be fine."
"Good." Ino grinned. "So... eleven-thirty tomorrow? Lunch? Table… three? I'll
take care of Shikamaru and you'll make sure Neji gets there?" She asked,
knowing that Yoshino would have harassed her lazy son to be up before then, and
that he'd still be a bit tired, making her task easier, especially when it came
to not having Shikamaru sense that something was up before it was too late.
Tenten nodded, grinning as well, though it was much more subdued than the other
girl's.
Lee nodded, giving a thumbs up. "We will make sure that Neji-kun shows up, or I
will do two-thousand push-ups!"
And for once, Ino didn't feel bothered by Lee's display of weirdness. No, that
was exactly the spirit needed to get their two friends together.
***** Chapter 7 *****
Shikamaru hid under his blankets, wrapped up like in a cocoon, trying to his
best to block out his mother's screeching and pounding. He just didn't feel
like moving today, was that such a crime?
After a while, Yoshino's screaming stopped, and some conversational sounds
could be heard downstairs. Three minutes later, the door to Shikamaru's room
slammed open before Ino strode in, having no sense of privacy. Not when her
best friend's happiness was on the line.
Shikamaru jerked awake, having nodded off again during the three-minute lull in
noise, and peeked his head out from under the covers, sleepily glaring at Ino.
"What?" he asked, voice still scratchy from sleep.
"Get up!" Ino ordered, smiling brightly and sweetly at her friend. "We're going
to have lunch with Chouji at Yakiniku Q. So get dressed and proper and we'll
go," she told him almost chirping before she pulled the blankets off him.
Shikamaru groaned, rolling onto his stomach and putting the pillow over his
head before saying something, voice muffled completely.
"I didn't hear you!" Ino pulled the pillow away from him as well.
"It's a lovely day out, so you better get up. Can't stand Chouji up, now can
we? Come on... for god’s sake, Shika, have some decency and get dressed. It's
not decent to be dressed in only your boxers in front of a woman!" she half-
scolded.
Shikamaru heaved a sigh and rolled back over, sitting up and slumping over. He
scratched the back of his head, glaring at the girl.
"I don't see any women around here; just an annoying, troublesome girl," he
said, obviously cranky from sleep still.
"Well, then girls," Ino rolled her eyes, yet refused to let Shikamaru's
crankiness affect her mood (not that she wasn't used to it, Yoshino had her
wake her son quite a few times through the years). Hopefully everything would
go according to plan, and she was just too excited to snap back at him and be
childish like she had used to do.
"Just get dressed," she told him, throwing his clothes at him, hoping they were
clean. You never knew in the young Nara's room.
Shikamaru just sat there, a shirt over his head before he decided he really
didn't want to be hit. And if Chouji really was waiting for them, he couldn't
just stand up his best friend.
He sighed and pulled the shirt off, looking at Ino. "Fine, fine. Just wait out
there."
"Good!" Ino beamed at him. Oh yeah, she had learned a thing or two about
getting her best friend up from bed over the years. Walking out of the room,
she let him have the privacy to get changed.
Tempted to once again just go back to sleep, Shikamaru just sat there for a
couple minutes before sliding off the bed and getting dressed.
About twenty minutes from when Ino had left, he came out of his room, covering
his mouth in a yawn.
"You sure know how to take your sweet time," Ino teased him lightly from where
she was standing.
"It's not very nice to let your friend wait that long, you know," she gave him
a small wink, before looking him over. Proper clothes that were clean and
wouldn't make Neji wrinkle his nose in disgust? Check. Hair set up like usual,
not messy? Check. Acceptable deodorant? She leaned in a little to smell him.
Check that too.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, looking at her suspiciously. He scowled a little and
shrugged his shoulders.
"Whatever. Let's just get going."
Nodding as he seemed ready to go, Ino grabbed his wrist and pulled him with her
towards their usual place. Obviously, Chouji was not waiting for them, and she
wouldn't be staying. Looking over at Shikamaru, she found herself thinking that
he actually looked better with his hair down. Hmm, but that something could be
done about that later. Looking at her watch, she was glad to see that they
still had ten minutes before Neji would show up.
Shikamaru stumbled at first before catching his footing and following after
her. He inwardly sighed, feeling more like his father than ever; at least he
knew that he and Ino would never actually be together, but it was a small
comfort.
Walking into the barbecue, Ino sat down at table three like planned, looking
around surprised. Well, she wasn't really, but she was damn good at pretending
to be. At least she thought so.
"Chouji's not here yet?" she asked, pouting. "Gee, I wonder if he's sick or
something, Cho never misses a chance to eat." Looking around, she sighed.
"Wait here, I'll go look for him." And with that, she got up and yanked the
hair-tie out of Shikamaru's hair before she ran to supposedly look for their
friend and teammate.
Shikamaru blinked as his hair fell to frame his face, sitting up straight and
turning around. "H-hey, Ino! You--" he cut off, knowing she wasn't going to
just come back, and made a disgruntled noise. He slumped back in the seat,
crossing his arms over his chest.
If she wasn't back in five minutes, he was leaving.
About three minutes later, Neji walked into the barbecue, looking around. He'd
never been to this place before, even though he’d heard it was nice. He
supposed he just wasn't used to barbecue food; his clan would certainly never
do something as lowly as hold a barbecue. Sighing when he didn't catch a
glimpse of his friends, he walked over to the table that Tenten had mentioned,
startled when he saw someone sitting there already. Oh well, must be someone
else Tenten or Lee had invited.
His eyes widened when he sat down opposite of the other, getting a better look
of him, and saw who it was. It was all he could not to splutter or curse, so he
wisely held his tongue until he actually could speak.
Shikamaru's eyes widened as Neji sat down, wondering what he was doing there
and chose to sit... here.
He flushed lightly and stiffened, feeling his insides twist a little when the
other boy had no different of a reaction. He swallowed in nervousness, glancing
away, not sure if he should say something or if he should just leave.
...Oh, he was going to kill Ino.
Before either of the party could leave, or say anything, one of the waitresses
came over to them, smiling cheerfully.
"Ready to order?" she asked sweetly, eyeing them both as if they were eye-
candy. Of course, Ino was one of her friends, not a close one, but still a
friend, and she had explained that it would be only those two boys there to
her, but the two boys were still pretty hot in the waitress' eyes.
Shikamaru looked over at the waitress, panic crossing his features for a second
before he forced himself to calm down. He was a ninja and that meant, if
anything, he could control his emotions.
"We'll, uh," he glanced shortly at Neji, hoping he wouldn't attack him too much
later, "we'll share the family beef platter. And just ice water is fine for my
drink." If only he could order sake...
"...Ice water, please," Neji said rather stiffly, a bit put out that Shikamaru
had dared order for him, but he played indifferent as usual. It really was not
a big deal, other then it made them seem closer than they really were. There
was an awkward silence as the waitress jotted their orders down and departed,
going to fetch their food and drinks.
Looking out the window, Neji was starting to see through his teammate's plan.
Lee had obviously told Tenten everything he had said yesterday, and Tenten must
have conjured up some plan to embarrass him further. Oh, they were so dead...
"So..." he started, still not looking at his companion, and his voice made it
clear he was a bit grumpy after yesterday. “What was the big idea of that prank
you pulled?"
Shikamaru glanced up, having been completely engrossed in studying the
woodwork's patterns in the table (read: doing anything but looking at Neji).
"Prank? I didn't..." He paused, realizing what he meant. "Oh, um... I... I'm
sorry, I didn't mean to... I mean, I-I hadn't... planned... to do that," he
said, stumbling awkwardly over his words.
Eyes narrowing, Neji was about to say something when the waitress returned with
their drinks and raw barbecue meat for them to grill. Waiting for her to leave,
Neji was glaring at the other, feeling a slight blush taint his cheeks, which
made his mood even worse.
"If it wasn't a prank, what was it?" he asked, putting the meat on the grill,
using his chopsticks elegantly.
"Why did you kiss me?" he asked, lowering his voice, not wanting the people
around to hear what he was saying.
Shikamaru blushed, fiddling slightly with his chopsticks as the meat started
cooking with a sizzle.
"...I don't know," he said, looking back down at the table. He sighed, shaking
his head. "No, I do," he murmured. "I guess... I didn't know it, but I've
started to... really like you, Neji."
Obviously the Hyuuga deserved to know, but he still didn't think that telling
him was the best idea. But he also knew that if Ino found out he'd missed this
chance, she'd never leave him alone. Ever.
Feeling his blush deepen slightly, Neji just increased his glare, not letting
up just yet. The Nara actually... liked him? It was impossible. Unheard of.
Neji just couldn't believe it yet.
"...If this is some kind of sick joke, I swear you'll never regain the full use
of your tenketsu!" he said coldly, not even taking a moment to consider why he
was getting so riled up about this, or why he found it worth getting angry
over.
Shikamaru shook his head, finally looking up again at the Hyuuga. "Do you think
I'd really do that? This is as humiliating for me too, you know," he said,
reaching out as calmly as he could to turn over the meat.
He didn't want to get any closer in case he followed through with his threat
despite his admission.
Neji twitched slightly, looking embarrassed out of the window, hearing the
uncooked side of the meat sizzle, readying the treat for them.
"So..." he coughed as he felt a bit awkward. "So you... like me?" he asked,
trying to wrap his mind around that idea. He didn't know how to feel if that
was true. How did you react if you found out another guy was... well, crushing
on you?
Shikamaru's blush flared up again and he nodded.
"Y-yeah. I mean, you're a good ninja and, well, you're not that troublesome.
I've had a good time hanging out with you. And the only other people I could
say that about, I've known since we were in diapers."
"Oh..." Neji looked down, feeling a bit more embarrassed by his outbursts and
threats earlier, which was reflected in a nice deepening of his blush. Reaching
out with his chopsticks, he grabbed a piece of meat that looked ready and
started chewing, pointedly not looking at his companion as another awkward
silence settled between them.
Shikamaru relaxed a little when it didn't look like Neji was going to yell or
attack him, waiting a little longer before gathering up a small portion of the
food.
After eating four pieces of beef, he started chuckling to himself, shaking his
head.
"What's so funny?" Neji narrowed his eyes, his gaze snapping up to the younger
boy's face, feeling slightly suspicious again. Neji did not enjoy being made
fun of. Ever. However, he had had time to think about this whole... thing...
while they had been silent, and he had concluded that this thing about
Shikamaru liking him... well, he didn't mind it, surprisingly enough.
Shikamaru stopped, blinking and looking at the other. He put his chopsticks
down and smiled slightly.
"Nothing really. I was just thinking how different it is eating with Chouji. He
grabs as much food as he can, as quickly as he can. And, well, you know me. Too
much work to be quick and fight for food," he said, shrugging. "It's just
nice."
"Oh..." Neji visibly relaxed a little, putting another piece of meat into his
mouth. "I... see." Come to think of it, this was pretty nice and quiet. Nothing
compared to going out with his own team; he shuddered at the thought. Both Lee
and Gai, and especially together, made him want to go home and stay there for
the rest of his life, claiming a permanent headache. At least when they weren't
training; then those two could be a little silent and serious.
Shikamaru grew quiet again, just watching and observing Neji. He really was
good looking; pale skin, dark, silky hair, and his eyes just blew him away
sometimes. He blushed faintly when he realized he was staring and picked up his
chopsticks again, reaching for more food as he silently berated himself for
acting like just such a girl.
Noticing the other was staring at him, Neji smirked slightly to himself,
several cheesy lines coming to mind, but he didn't voice any of them: it was
far below his dignity, not to mention he doubted he could say any of those with
a straight face. Instead he just settled for watching the other boy silently
when he wasn't looking at him, making sure the other didn't know he was
looking.
--
About an hour later, they finished their meal and Shikamaru silently wondered
where the waitress was. Why did they never show up when you wanted them to?
"So... Uhm..." Neji fumbled a bit with his words, which he just didn't do! Neji
just didn't fumble with his words; ever! "Are you coming to cloud-gaze today?"
he asked, looking away from the other, knowing that if he looked at him, his
faint blush would deepen a lot.
Shikamaru looked back at him at the question. He smirked slowly, leaning
forward a little so he could prop up his head on his hand.
"...Do you want me to?"
Looking at him from the corner of his eyes, Neji could feel his blush increase;
damnit. It wasn't fair how that smirk seemed to mock him so.
"...Just wondering," he replied, sounding a little too defensive for his own
liking.
"Mm, if you want me to, I will. I've really got nothing else planned today," he
said, making it seem like an offhand comment. Well, he really wanted to
strangle Ino, but that could wait until later.
Nodding, Neji was too embarrassed to say it out loud, but actually... he had
missed the other's presence when he was training. It was much easier to admit
it without voicing it, though.
Now where was that waitress? Neji needed a distraction from all this thinking
and these strange thoughts that seemed to heap up in his head lately.
Shikamaru's smirk widened a little, glancing around after a bit. He sighed then
scooted out of the booth, motioning for Neji to follow him. He wandered up to
the front, looking for anyone that worked in the place.
Following him, Neji didn't know why he did. Well, they had finished eating, and
talking he supposed, so it was only logical. But still, he didn't like doing
what others told him to do.
"Yes?" The waitress that had served them came out from the staff-only room,
cleaning her hands with a towel.
Shikamaru stopped and looked to the girl. "Put the bill on Yamanaka Ino's tab,
will you?" he asked, trying his hardest to keep his face straight. It was the
least the girl could do after putting him through this, despite that it had
turned out well. At least... he hoped it had; they really hadn't concluded
anything yet about where they stood.
Raising an eyebrow at him, the waitress hesitated a bit before doing as he
said. Ino had never specified who was paying for all this, and she had been the
one to order the table... The waitress smirked, Ino wasn't that close of a
friend that she wouldn't do something like this to her.
"Come again," she smiled after them, silently checking out Neji's butt as the
boys left.
Shikamaru nodded his thanks before they left, heading down the street towards
the usual field. He ignored the stares he got-- no one but his family, the
Yamanaka's, the Akimichi's, Neji, and Tenten for a brief minute had ever seen
his hair down before, after all-- and glanced behind him before looking over to
Neji and commented, "You know she was checking you out, right?"
"Wha--?" Neji's eyes widened slightly. No, he hadn't actually noticed that, not
that he cared what the waitress was doing. However, he was soon showing a small
smirk.
"Jealous?" he asked. Neji was considered a genius. Yes, it would take a while
before he got comfortable and used to these new ideas that had been presented
to him, but that didn't mean he would be slow learning the game.
Shikamaru faultered for a second before nonchalantly giving a shrug. "And if I
was?" he asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.
Ah, he supposed he had more to learn before managing to catch Shikamaru totally
off guard, but he was satisfied with the reaction. At least... he thought he
was.
"Nothing," Neji just shrugged, looking back at the younger boy with an even
stare.
Shikamaru just gave a smirk in response, falling back into silence until they
arrived at the training field.
"Are you still going to train?" he asked. "Or actually relax for once?"
"I do relax in my breaks!" Neji protested, turning to face the younger boy. And
he wasn't going to slack just because Shikamaru had admitted being attracted to
him, if he did that every time he received a confession... well, he'd not be in
the shape he currently was. Only… most of his confessions he had either ignored
or bluntly turned down. And they were from girls. However, Neji didn't want to
think about that right now.
Shikamaru held up his hands in a placating gesture, giving a small chuckle.
"Calm down, I didn't expect you to just lie down and do nothing."
"Hn," Neji just replied before jumping off to do his daily training, knowing
that Shikamaru would probably just lie down and alternate between watching the
clouds and him. Now that he knew that Shikamaru liked him, why didn't he have a
problem with him watching? He shrugged off the question. He was a ninja, he
couldn't be bothered with people watching him, interested in him or not.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes before lying down on the grass. He probably should
train, too, but he really didn't want to bother with it unless he had to.
About an hour later, a slightly out of breath Neji sat down beside him,
plopping down in a way that wasn't as rigid as usual, indicating that he was
more comfortable around the Nara now than in the beginning, even though he
wasn't aware of it himself. Having trained himself hard this time (it wasn't
his morning-training), he grimaced as his shirt stuck to his skin because of
the sweat he had worked up.
Shikamaru opened one eye and glanced over at him, sensing the movement despite
that he had been dozing lightly. He wrinkled his nose a little as the other's
slight stench wafted over him but didn't make a comment.
"Break time already?"
"It's been an hour," Neji confirmed, sitting a bit further away from him, not
pleased with the look he was getting. What? Had Shikamaru never trained until
he was sweating? Perhaps he hadn't seeing how little he did train.
"Ah," he muttered, eyeing him weirdly as he scooted away. Did the Hyuuga think
he was weird now, after having some more time to think over the confession?
Shikamaru quickly shot that thought down. He wouldn't be trying to act nice if
he didn't want to be around him.
Right?
Neji almost felt the need to glare at the other as he was given a weird look.
What was it now? The Nara seemed to be complaining without even uttering a
word, and it was starting to get on Neji's nerves.
Shikamaru resisted to the urge to roll his eyes at the look he was given in
return. He glanced away, back up at the sky.
"So..." Okay, he was going to hit himself later for sounding so girly, but he
had to know. "Uh, you... never really gave much of a response earlier..."
"Ah... well..." Neji didn't look at the other, knowing he was already blushing
faintly as his response was... well... warranted. And he knew very well what
Shikamaru was talking about.
"About that... I don't really know... I..." he took a deep breath. A Hyuuga
didn't stutter like that, he just didn't. "I didn't know two men could have a
relationship like that," he replied finally, a little stiffly, this time
sounding like himself. "I am a little confused."
Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly and he looked back over, sitting up slightly,
supporting his upper body by his arms. Homosexuality wasn't something that was
talked about, but it wasn't exactly kept a secret by those who were. He just...
assumed that everyone knew about it; after all, he'd known what it was since he
was two years old.
"Well, ah..." He inwardly scowled, blushing a little at his next words. "I-if
you... picture me as a female, would you have given it a chance?"
Neji frowned a little at Shikamaru's words. While he wasn't a sexist and knew
clearly that many kunoichi surpassed many of their male colleagues, there was
something that just screamed wrong in his mind as he tried picturing the Nara
as a female.
"Don't degrade yourself," he huffed slightly, not able to picture Shikamaru
with, well, breasts. "And I don't know. I have never been interested in having
a relationship before," he replied, the last word slipping out before it hit
him with what he had just implied.
Shikamaru sighed, a bit relieved at his response but not sure exactly why. He
tried not to fidget as he asked his next question.
"...Would you be interested in one now?"
"...I don't know." Neji looked at him, sighing softly before running a hand
through his hair. However, his mind couldn't help shooting in helpfully, you
haven't turned him down yet, and you're still wanting to be around him, that’s
got to count for something. Great, now he was taking advice from himself.
"...Maybe..." he added after a moment’s hesitation. Oh, fuck this. Okay, he was
still confused as hell, but he hadn't disliked the kiss or anything, and he had
to admit he was curious, if only a bit. Perhaps having a relationship for once
wouldn't be such a bad thing?
Shikamaru smiled a little, scratching the back of his head as he leaned forward
so he was sitting up straight.
"Well, then..." He pushed himself to his feet, pausing for a second before
starting to walk. "Just... let me know what you decide, okay?"
Watching the younger boy walk away, Neji didn't get back to training as he just
sat there, watching the clouds.
A few hours later though, he was on his way home, having forced himself through
a little more practice before he counted himself as finished. Besides, it would
be dinner time soon.
***** Chapter 8 *****
Ino walked out of her family's shop, finally done with her duties that day, and
she was dying to know how Shikamaru's 'blind date' had went. In fact, she was
very eager, so three minutes later, she found herself at his home.
Shikamaru had been lying out on the roof, trying to avoid everyone as best he
could. He sat up and crawled over, peeking down as he heard someone approach.
His eyes narrowed at Ino before he signed Rat, letting his shadow extend down
the house, trapping her.
About to knock again, Ino's eyes widened as she couldn't move. Oh yes, she knew
this jutsu very well.
"Shika! Let me go, damnit, I know you're here somewhere!" she yelled.
Shikamaru smirked then let his hands fall to the side, standing up and just
jumping down onto the street; movements that obviously Ino couldn't mimic.
"Well, well, well, looks like I've caught a conniving, little pig," he said,
mocking.
Ino just glared at him, though she didn't seem as confident anymore, not being
trapped like that.
"I got you a date, well sort of, with him, what would you have done had you
been left to yourself? Brood and never show yourself to him ever again?" she
challenged, mentally crossing her fingers that her plans had brought some
fruit.
"That's not the point, Ino," he said, eyes narrowing. "He obviously didn't know
what was going on either. You told someone else. Without my permission. You had
to; he wouldn't have come on his own."
He paused, fighting off the urge to grip his hair, or hers, or something,
calming his anger down only to feel the nervousness again. "Do you know how
awkward and embarrassing it was? Stuck there with him and trying to make small
talk? Admitting it to him?"
He stopped in his rant for now, wanting to hear what she had to say, not
knowing-- or maybe caring-- that he'd been almost yelling that on a semi-public
street.
"H-hey now..." Ino seemed to be getting a little nervous, which was completely
her right, being at the mercy of a very pissed Shikamaru at the moment.
"I didn't tell them that much..." she at least had the grace to blush.
"Besides, they aren't going to tell anyone else, they're just as concerned
about Neji as I am for you." she tried smiling at him to soften him up a
little.
"Come on, Shika... I didn't say anything that put you in a bad light."
"That doesn't matter. You still told someone, Ino," Shikamaru responded,
shaking his head, unintentionally making Ino do the same.
"And they told me in turn about Neji," Ino stood her ground, annoyed as her
head was shaking.
"You..." he stopped and sighed. "I don't even know how it's going to be
anymore. At least before I could've waited until it blew over and then just...
acted normal again."
"But would you have wanted to just act normal?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Come on... you fancy someone! It's the first time I've heard you take an
actual interest in someone and as one of your best friends it's my duty to help
you out."
"And what if he'd had Juukened me to the grave when he saw me? He threatened me
with it, and there's nothing stopping him if he still wanted to," he shot back,
leaving out that Neji was at least trying to understand, wanting to make her
feel as bad as possible short of having her cry.
He avoided her question; of course he wouldn't have wanted to act like that
normal again, but he would have.
"Honestly, Shikamaru!" Ino gave him an almost hurt look. "You think I'd let you
go if I thought he'd do that? Uh… those I told, they... well, they know Neji
better than anyone else, they wouldn't have let you go if they thought you'd be
in any kind of danger!"
"Who, his teammates? His family? You know he keeps himself closed off from
everyone as much as he can. No one but himself knows what he's really thinking
or going to do."
He had plenty more chakra-- probably enough to hold Ino for another hour if she
didn't struggle against it-- but he didn't feel like wasting it, hoping this
discussion would end soon enough.
"Lee and Tenten know him better than you!" Ino glared at him. "I think they can
read him better than anyone. Besides, Lee had a talk with him and we could kind
of conclude he wasn't pissed about what you did from it." Ino was getting more
confident now. Shikamaru hadn't done anything to hurt her yet, which meant he
probably wasn't going to at all.
Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly before narrowing again. "It-- Kind of isn't
good enough when it comes to these things, Ino!" he yelled, surprised that she
had really done this with so many unknown variables. They had learned better
than that and the basics didn't change from a ninja mission to everyday life.
"He was really confused about it and testy and, yes, pissed off."
"Because you left before he could say anything..." Ino said innocently, knowing
she had gotten the upper hand.
"Besides, had he been really pissed, he could have just left you there. No one
forced him to stay, I'm sure he's bright enough to understand that.”
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "And I'm sure you'd have stayed around to wait for a
reaction if you kissed, oh, I don't know, Sakura?" he snapped.
Ino tensed. Then came the imagery.
"Ew, Shika!" She glared, not happy about the suggestion of who she could have
been with. Then again, boys were such perverts. She huffed, and had she been
able to, she would have put her hands on her hips.
"That's not my point!" She pouted. "My point is that I knew what he was mad at
you for, and it was not the kiss! You don't hurt someone badly for walking out
on you, you just don't! Hyuuga Neji or not!"
"But you didn't know," he pointed out. "You just assumed that was the reason."
He sighed then grinned slightly, chuckling. He walked closer to Ino, making her
do the same, and then leaned in a little.
"Just next time, make sure your assumptions are fact, I-no-chan," he said, name
rolling off his tongue, knowing she hated the suffix ever since Sakura decided
not to be her friend anymore.
He leaned back again and stepped around her, walking to his front door as she
walked farther away. "Oh, and Ino?" he added, glancing over his shoulder.
"Thanks for paying for our lunch. We'll have to do that again sometime."
He opened the door and walked in, closing and locking it before releasing the
jutsu, letting her mind draw her own conclusions from his wording.
The streets were silent for a moment, before a loud SHIKAMARU! was heard,
creating an echo in between the houses. Oh, that was it! Ino stalked away
angrily. Like hell she would ever help Shikamaru again. He could beg as much as
he wanted to, she'd just laugh and watch his demise! Yes, that's exactly what
she would do. Ino Yamanaka was seething.
Said boy just laughed, leaning back against the door. He half-wondered if he
had pushed it too far, but then just shook that off. She had deserved all of
that and if she couldn't take it that was her problem.
--
The next day, Neji looked up to see the sun glare brightly at him, as if
mocking the fact that he had gotten no sleep that night. It wasn't that he
hadn't been tired, but he hadn't been able to sleep. Having tried to make sense
of all that had happened in just two days, he was now very sleepy. Sure, he'd
go train later today, he had to, but he was for once considering just watching
clouds, just like a certain Nara he knew.
Shikamaru was lying on the grass in his spot, having been there for a few hours
already. He had thought of not showing up today but just decided that would be
an even stupider move than hiding from Neji in the first place had been.
Then he'd frequently thought that he should get up a leave before the Hyuuga
showed up, but something kept him anchored to that spot.
Finally showing up, about half an hour later than usual, Neji dropped down
beside the other unceremoniously, closing his eyes with a sigh, finally
relaxing. At least here his uncle wouldn't catch him relaxing.
Shikamaru glanced over, both eyebrows raised in surprise. He held back a
comment, though, not wanting to push the other away before they even started
talking.
However, time stretched and the Hyuuga didn't speak. Closing his eyes, he let
himself drift, and before he knew it, he was asleep. Granted, it was a light
sleep and practically any noise might wake him up, but he was asleep.
Shikamaru smiled and slowly turned himself so as to not disturb the Hyuuga. He
propped his head up on his hand and just watched him, utterly content and happy
that Neji felt that comfortable near him.
He took his time, studying his face, not really having had much time during the
so-called sleep over until Tenten had come barging in. He really was amazed how
calm and soft and just... gorgeous the Hyuuga looked when really relaxed.
After what might have been about an hour, Neji stirred again, his mind still
having trouble letting him rest. Groaning softly, he opened an eye, feeling
slightly bewildered at first, not really knowing where he was.
Shikamaru rolled back onto his back, acting like he hadn't just been staring at
Neji for who knows how long.
He gave a chuckle, letting it be loud enough to help wake him up. "Morning,
Sunshine."
Huffing a little, hearing Shikamaru's voice, Neji turned to face him, glaring
slightly as he remembered where he was and who he was with.
"Shut it, I didn't get any sleep tonight," he muttered, closing his eyes again,
silently wanting some more sleep.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, sitting up. He decided not to press on the why,
hoping that it hadn't been a bad thing and about him.
"Then why'd you come out here? If you're tired, you should rest. You can't
train if you're not in good health," he said, almost scolding.
"...my uncle would find out," Neji explained shortly, still keeping his eyes
shut. It was nice to lay there like that, now if only he could get some more
sleep... A small yawn forcing itself from his lips, Neji put his arms behind
his head, using them like a pillow.
Shikamaru smirked, observing to himself how like himself the other was acting
right now. But he knew Neji wasn't used to sleeping on the ground, at least
always having a sleeping roll during missions, and he wouldn't be surprised if
he was cranky and upset later on when he was sore.
He shook his head and stood up, leaning down and tugging gently at one of his
arms. "Come on, you can take a nap at my place," he offered.
"Hm?" Neji cracked an eye open, looking up at his... friend? Boyfriend? That's
right, he still hadn't answered him. However, he decided that could wait until
he wasn't ready to fall asleep on the other.
"...is that really alright?" He asked.
Shikamaru gave a short laugh, shaking his head. "I slept over at your place;
it's only right I return the favor. Besides," he added, "when have I ever
offered something that was stupid or troublesome?"
"Fair enough," Neji smirked slightly up at him before getting up. Then he
realized he didn't know where the Nara lived.
"Lead the way," he murmured, blushing slightly at the thought of sleeping in
the younger boy's house. The phrase sounded so suggestive, even though they
both knew it was purely sleep that was the goal. At least for today.
Shikamaru nodded and started walking, shoving his hands into his pants pockets.
Eventually they reached his house, small comparatively to those around the
village, especially when placed alone against the big forest surrounding it.
He really hoped his mother wasn't home, too late to back out if she was,
opening the door.
Walking beside the Nara in comfortable silence, Neji felt a bit strange as
about everyone out on the streets stopped to stare at them as they passed by.
So, alright, Neji may not have many friends, Neji may not hang out with someone
that often, and it might be a bit strange for people to see him and Shikamaru
together, but this was getting ridiculous. He was tempted to ask if he had
something between his teeth.
If Shikamaru had been asked, he would have claimed that Yoshino had literally
swooped down upon him and started asking questions about where he had been and
why had he skipped breakfast and just disappeared on her.
She suddenly stopped talking, spotting Neji, surprise taking over her features.
"Oh, and who are you?"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "'Kaa-san, this is Hyuuga Neji. Neji, this is my
'kaa-san," he reluctantly introduced them, wondering why she hadn't recognized
him by his eyes.
"He wants a place to relax for a few hours and he can't anywhere else with his
family breathing down his neck," he emphasized, giving her a look. "We'll be up
in my room. Please don't interrupt unless you have to?"
Yoshino frowned slightly at her son's tone of voice but nodded. "Fine, but
you're helping out with dinner tonight, then, Shikamaru." She turned and gave a
smile to Neji. "Nice to finally meet you. I'm glad you liked my cooking."
"Nice to meet you too, Nara-san." Neji bowed respectfully, not looking anything
like he needed sleep. When he had to, that is when he represented his clan, he
had to force himself to behave like a proper Hyuuga would. Thanking her for the
bento, he complimented her cooking yet again, before exchanging quite a few
polite phrases before politely excusing himself and retreating after Shikamaru
up to his room.
Yoshino, though knowing that the Hyuuga's were nice and proper, was still
surprised at how nice the young man was. It made her want to smack her own son
for how rude he always was.
Shikamaru heaved a sigh as they were finally away from her and in his room.
"Sorry about her being here," he said, noticing how cluttered and messy his
room was. "And... Uh, the mess," he ended lamely.
"No... it's to be expected," Neji shook his head, before trailing off, entering
the Nara's room. And yes. It was messy. Neji was not aware a room could be that
messy, or at least, he hadn't been until now.
"Ah..." he was going to say that it didn't bother him, or that it didn't matter
to him, but the words somehow stuck in his throat.
Shikamaru sighed and gave a small smirk. "Go lay down, it's clean over there.
And I guess I'll straighten up a little," he said, inwardly wincing. If Ino
knew he was suggesting that, he'd never hear the end of it.
"If you're sure you don't mind.." Neji nodded, before looking at the mess. "I
could help you clean it up first?" he suggested, finding the idea of going to
sleep while others worked, especially if it seemed they did it for him, quite
rude.
Shikamaru shook his head. "No, it's fine. You haven't slept," he said,
reassuring him. He bent down, starting to pick up the clothes scattered around
his room.
Nodding, Neji wasn't going to press matters further. He would have, had he not
been so incredible sleepy. Pulling off his jacket and his pants, leaving him in
a fishnet-shirt and boxers, he climbed into the bed, barely able to cover
himself with a blanket before he was fast asleep.
Shikamaru blushed, trying to not watch him as he undressed. He held back a
chuckle, glad that someone else thought his bed was comfortable.
It took him another good half an hour before his room was looking decent again;
clothes stuffed into his hamper or in his drawers and any books and papers
piled in three stacks on his desk, not bothering to straighten his small
bookshelf.
After he deemed it clean enough he sat down on the floor and leaned against the
twin-sized bed, resting his head back, ready to doze off himself.
--
About three hours later, Neji woke up again, his tummy grumbling this time,
hungry for some food. Sitting up, he looked around sleepily, before spotting
Shikamaru on the floor. He noticed the room looked much better now.
"Shikamaru?" he asked softly, wondering if he was asleep or not.
He was but he stirred slightly, never sleeping deeply at his house unless it
was nighttime. There were plenty of things that his mother, father, and Ino and
even Chouji had done to wake him up over the years. Cruel and unusual, he
claimed every time.
He took a deep breath and opened an eye, glancing around until he spotted Neji,
then opening the other.
"Ah..." Neji blushed a little. "Do you... have you any food in the house? I'm
kind of... starving," he admitted once his stomach decided to growl loudly,
making his blush deepen.
Shikamaru blinked and nodded slightly, pushing himself to his feet. He
stretched with a yawn, his back popping. "Come on, we'll sneak down and raid
the fridge," he said, not wanting to run into his mother and have to actually
cook something.
"’Raid the fridge’?" Neji asked, almost incredulously, as he watched the Nara
for signs that he was lying.
"You're serious?" He asked after a while, getting up to pull on his pants, not
wanting to walk around in his boxers.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Yeah, why not? If we don't, 'kaa-
san'll keep us there for a few hours."
"I see," Neji smirked amused. Well, this was something he had never done
before. Raiding the fridge... it sounded so childish, so immature... It was
irresistible for the usual stiff Hyuuga.
"Let's go then."
Shikamaru chuckled, more than amused by the other's small rebellious streak.
This was something he'd have to explore more. After all, what good was he but
for corrupting others?
"Just be careful to not let her spot you," he warned, opening the door and
walking silently down the hall and then stairs.
Nodding, Neji felt like a disobedient child as he snuck out of the room after
Shikamaru, moving with the same stealth he did on missions, masking his chakra
just in case. He didn't know if Yoshino could sense chakra, but he didn't take
risks. Being caught raiding the fridge did not sound appealing, especially if
Hiashi would find out later.
Shikamaru slowed down as they got to the first floor, poking his head around
the corner, looking into the kitchen. He relaxed a little, seeing Yoshino was
nowhere in sight. Hopefully she had just gone out to tend to the deer; that
normally took an hour or two.
He motioned for Neji, letting him know it was okay as he walked into the
kitchen, heading over to the fridge.
Following the other, Neji was amused that such an easy task could be so...
satisfying. Opening the fridge, he looked into it, wondering what would be okay
to grab.
"Take whatever you want," Shikamaru said, grabbing a peach for himself. "Just
don't touch the left-over bean curd, that's my 'tou-san's."
Nodding, Neji grabbed some ham, some cheese, as well as a tomato and a half
cucumber.
"I'm done," he looked at Shikamaru, saying it as if he had found all groceries
he needed at a store, telling him they should be going to the exit, pay and go
home. Or something like that.
Shikamaru nodded, looking over what he'd selected, flushing slightly as he
spotted the phallic-like green vegetable. Which they would be taking up to his
room. Where Neji had been half-naked.
The Nara inwardly shook himself, pushing those thoughts far, far away from his
mind.
"Let's go back up, then," he muttered, turning and making his way back up the
stairs again.
Following the other again, Neji was pleased that Yoshino hadn't caught them. If
she had, and told his uncle, who would in turn tell Hinata and Hanabi... he
would never live it down. Hinata wouldn't be a problem. Hanabi would. Sitting
back down on the bed, he smiled, feeling like a mischievous child that had
succeeded whatever mischief he was up to.
Shikamaru took a seat on his desk chair, sitting in it backwards and straddling
it, arms resting on the back. He took a bite of his peach as he watched Neji,
wondering if the other knew how cute his face looked just then-- all giddy and
mischievous.
Not conscious of that smile on his face, Neji started eating the food he had
taken, delighting in for once eating with his fingers, not having to fix a
sandwich even, just taking a bite of this, a bite of that. It wasn't something
he had done before at home, or on missions, and it was all new.
Shikamaru did his best to not laugh at the Hyuuga, but it was just so...
different. He was really glad that Neji felt he could let go around him now.
He opened the window once he finished the peach and threw the pit out, aiming
towards the forest part instead of the street. With any luck, they'd have a
peach tree after a few years.
Having eaten everything but the cucumber, Neji took some of it into his mouth
before biting off a piece, chewing on it happily, the smile now fading away,
yet he still looked rather pleased. The question now, was what to do? He didn't
think he could go back to sleep, besides it'd be rude to do so. Glancing over
at the Nara, he frowned a little at the other's obvious amusement.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
His eyes widened slightly, remembered his train of thought from earlier. He
shook his head, glancing away slightly. "Nothing," he muttered. "You, ah, look
happy." He smirked lightly, looking back over as he added, "It's a nice change
from your usual 'grumpy' or 'insulted' moods."
"Hn," Neji didn't quite know what to reply to that, having never had anyone
complement him on him looking… happy. However, he couldn't find it in him to be
displeased by it either.
"So... about what we talked about yesterday..." he looked away from the younger
boy, a faint blush staining his cheeks again.
Shikamaru blinked, letting out a small sigh. "It's okay, Neji," he said,
shrugging lightly, resting his chin on both his arms, staring down at the
floor. "It's... no big deal." He just didn't want to actually hear Neji reject
him; if it happened, fine, he'd move on, but he didn't want to hear it.
Tensing at Shikamaru's words, Neji bristled a bit before he took back control
of himself.
"If that's how you see it..." he replied coldly, getting up from the bed and
starting to put on his jacket, his movements a bit sharper than usual. It's no
big deal... perhaps he had done a major mistake actually considering the Nara's
words seriously.
Shikamaru furrowed his eyebrows, confused. He sat up straight, starting to
stand up. "Neji? I... I just mean, if you wanted to-- to stay friends, it's
okay. And you don't have to answer yet if... you're still unsure."
Whirling to face him, glaring, Neji walked up to Shikamaru, getting into his
personal space as he stared into his eyes.
"Do you want us to stay friends?" he asked, voice still cold.
Shikamaru fought the urge to take a step back, hands tightening on the back of
the chair.
"I-I--" He cut off, turning his gaze away and sighed before bringing it back to
him. "...No," he said. "Not, not just friends. But I will be, if that's all you
want."
Staring at him with an unreadable look for a while more, Neji finally took a
step back and sat back down on Shikamaru's bed, crossing his arms.
"If I chose to accept," he started, giving the other a piercing stare, "it
better not be… not a big deal," his eyes narrowed slightly as he repeated
Shikamaru's previous words.
Shikamaru looked startled for a second, shaking his head as he slumped back
down into the chair.
"N-no, it won't be; I-I mean it will!" he said, half covering his face with a
hand, laughing derisively at himself. This is why he hated relationships, but
the other just seemed... worth it.
"I meant that if you wanted to stay friends, you didn't have to worry about
hurting me. I... don't want you to feel pressured about it."
"Then I say no," Neji looked at him, seemingly calm, but there was an edge to
his words.
***** Chapter 9 *****
"Since you don't seem to care much if I say yes or no." He got up from the bed
again. "I am not going for someone that obviously doesn't care much,” he
huffed. He had been right; it was a mistake even considering it from the
beginning. So whether he wanted to give dating Shikamaru a chance or not wasn't
that important to the other brunette, then he certainly didn't deserve him
taking the chance. Especially since it would be his first relationship.
Shikamaru frowned, hurt flashing across his eyes. He stood up again, moving
away from the chair and taking a step towards the Hyuuga.
"I do care, Neji," he said, "And I want you to say yes, but not because I want
you to. It has to be your decision and I don't want you to say yes just because
you feel you have to. I'd rather just stay friends before forcing your hand
into something that you would hate."
Turning slightly to glare at him, Neji was very tense, very aware, very
controlled at the moment.
"Do you think I am the kind to be forced into something?" he asked, his voice
deadly calm as he continued to stare at the young Nara. Did Shikamaru really
think he was weak enough to be bullied into things he didn't want? This was
getting annoying.
Shikamaru froze for a second before letting out a sigh. "No," he said,
automatically closing off his expression. "No, you aren't. But I still can't
help feeling like that, because if the situation was reversed, I probably would
be. ...I'm sorry that I want to make sure you're happy with your choices."
"I have been perfectly happy with my choices so far." Well, a small white lie
never hurt anyone... "I don't see a reason to stop now. If I decide I will try
a... relationship, with you, I am not going to settle for something that is
'whatever'." He glared a little at the other.
"And don't try to make my choices 'easier', Nara. It's not needed."
Shikamaru glared back, doing his best to hold back his temper; which had been
easier to set off as of late.
"Well, then what do I need to do to show you that it won't be..." he trailed
off, waving his hand in a wild gesture, "whatever. Get you flowers, chocolates?
Write you poetry? Bring you on a picnic to the beach? Because, dammit, I'll do
all that if it'll show you that I'm serious!"
Flushing at the Nara's words, Neji turned a little away from him to hide his
rather dark blush.
"You don't have to do those things if you don't want to..." he murmured, not
sure if he liked how it sounded like Shikamaru didn't want to do those things.
Not that he had hoped he would, of course; that would be just silly... right.
Moving on.
"Fine," he said a bit more clearly, once his blush died down, and turned to
face the younger boy. "I'll try having a relationship... with you."
Shikamaru blinked, shocked speechless for a second. He really had just expected
the Hyuuga to start punching him for implying he'd want to be treated like a
girl. He wisely kept his mouth shut, though, visibly relaxing and deflating.
"Neji, I'll... I'll gladly do any of those things, I just..." He stopped,
giving a short laugh. "Think about it; if I had shown up, offering you a
bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates, what would your reaction have been?"
"...out of the blue?" Neji asked, raising an eyebrow at the Nara before
thinking about it. Well... no one had so far tried that, but...
"I would think you were crazy or that you intended them for Hinata-sama," he
replied after a while, refusing to acknowledge that he had basically admitted
to being feminine enough to be mistaken for his cousin.
Shikamaru nodded, smiling lightly. "And then I'd bet you'd avoid me like the
plague, right?"
He went silent for a bit then asked, "So, we're, uh... boyfriends, then?"
"Probably," Neji's lips twitched slightly in amusement, looking over at the
other boy. However, he could feel his stomach do a slight flip-flop at the
mention of what they were now. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling though.
"Yeah..." he nodded, blushing faintly at the term Shikamaru had used.
The Nara relaxed more and moved over to sit on his bed, leaving plenty of room
for Neji to sit too. He was just glad that he hadn't messed everything up.
"...This is my first relationship, too, you know," he said quietly. "So I'm
sorry if I ever do something stupid."
Blinking as he sat down, Neji turned to look at Shikamaru, checking that he
wasn't kidding with him. When he was sure he wasn't going to spout a 'gotcha!'
like Naruto would, he cleared his throat a little.
"Really?" He asked, still a bit skeptic. "What about Temari?" he asked, knowing
there had been a few rumors about those two, if not dating, having taken an
interest in each other.
Shikamaru looked at Neji like he had grown another head. "Temari? That girl
with the fan from Suna?" He shook his head. "I just fought against her in the
finals. And helped Naruto and Sakura catch up to her and the other Suna
participants after he went crazy or something," he pointed out with a shrug.
He really hadn't gotten the full details about what happened after Asuma had
rescued him, but he did know that Suna was trying to work out a treaty with
Konoha-- though that proved hard without an official Hokage.
Neji just shrugged at the look he was getting. Which made him remember
something.
"Ah, Shikamaru?" he asked, frowning a little, puzzled. "When we walked here...
there were lots of people... staring at us. Do you know why?"
Shikamaru blinked, thinking back. Ino was mad at him, but he doubted she would
just turn and gossip about what had caused their--
His eyes widened slightly and he heaved a sigh, cradling his head in his hands.
"Ah... I'm not sure, but... I fought with Ino yesterday. Outside. About how she
set us up and... maybe some names accidentally slipped or something?"
"...you were arguing about me?" Neji raised an eyebrow. "In the middle of the
street?" and the other followed. Yeah, that would explain the many stares. He
groaned a little, hoping against hope that Hiashi-sama would never even hear of
that. It wasn't that he was ashamed of having a relationship, he just didn't
imagine his uncle react pleased to the news.
"Yeah, uh, sorry," he said, sitting back up straighter. "She was just making me
mad and, despite that it worked, she was out of line, setting up our meeting at
Yakiniku Q."
"She was in good company," Neji huffed a bit. "Tenten and Lee had definitely a
hand in that." He looked up at his... now... boyfriend. It was strange to refer
to someone as his boyfriend, but it was strangely pleasant to do so.
Shikamaru nodded before pausing, sitting fully straight now. He glanced over at
Neji, a smirk growing. "Want to get them back?"
"Hmm?" Neji raised an eyebrow at the other.
"Get them back? How?" he asked, liking the sound of that. Scooting a bit closer
to the Nara, he found himself staring at the mischievous smirk.
Shikamaru chuckled, turning a little so he could fully face the Hyuuga. "Well,
their goal was obviously to set us up so we'd be dating, right?" he asked,
continuing, not waiting for a real answer.
"Why not have them think the opposite happened for a while? I already told Ino
that you had threatened me, so it shouldn't be much of a stretch. Unless you've
spoken with your teammates between then and now?"
Neji shook his head. He did generally not hang out much with his teammates, it
was limited almost only to training when he did see them. Listening to the
idea, Neji's smirk came to almost match Shikamaru's own. It sounded amusing.
"It's a good plan," he nodded.
"We have to make it convincing, though," the Nara continued. He knew they could
both act, at least a little; ninja's had to for infiltration missions. "But...
I also know, if it gets too far, Ino will end up plotting against you and, if
your friends act the same, I'd rather not become a human pincushion."
"You'd have nothing to fear from Lee." Neji was amused at what they were
planning. "Tenten on the other hand..." he shook his head.
"We should do it when all three are around..." he suggested thoughtfully, that
way they didn't have to act twice. "That way we can tell them the truth before
it goes too far." He added.
Shikamaru nodded, mind half going off and starting to plan things out better.
"We can play it out in our training field," he said, not realizing what he'd
called it. "You can bring Tenten and Lee there on the pretense of training and
I can manage dragging Ino for some... cloud-watching," he finished, grinning
lightly.
"Our training-field?" Neji asked amused. It wasn't that he minded the other
calling it that, but he found it amusing since the Nara had only helped him out
with his training there, once. Of course, that could be changed.
"That could work," he nodded, approving of the idea.
Shikamaru flushed lightly, giving a shrug. He calmed down as he went back on
track again, giving another smirk. "So we'll bring them there at the normal
time we meet up?"
Neji nodded, then smirked.
"I think I can manage getting pissed off at you and Yamanaka for disturbing our
training." He chuckled slightly. He'd just pretend it was only the Yamanaka
girl disturbing them, and it would be piece of cake. While she was Shikamaru's
friend, he found her quite annoying, although he supposed she wouldn't be that
annoying anymore, seeing as he was now dating her best friend.
Shikamaru's smirk widened. "And I'm sure I can get annoyed by you all making so
much noise while I'm trying to rest," he said before shifting again and laying
back on his bed, arms under his head and legs still hanging off the side.
Nodding, Neji lay down beside Shikamaru, his hands resting on top of his tummy,
unsure of what to do now. What did couples do again? Kiss? Hold hands? Not
sure, Neji just lay still, listening to their quiet breaths, enjoying the
silence between them, reminding why he hadn't felt bothered by the other's
presence in the first place; unlike most ninjas their age, Shikamaru wasn't
noisy, nor did he babble about unimportant things.
Shikamaru turned his head to look at the other, rolling his eyes slightly as he
lay a little stiffly. He turned to his side and reached over, grabbing one of
Neji's arms and tugging him closer.
"H-hey..." Neji protested slightly, but he allowed himself to be pulled closer
to the other, so it was hardly a real protest. However, he did wonder why
Shikamaru did that.
Shikamaru smirked, head resting on one of his arms, the other resting across
Neji's stomach. "Much more comfortable," he murmured against the side of Neji's
head.
Tensing a little at all the physical contact, Neji turned his head a little to
look surprised at the other, who was suddenly very close. So close in fact,
that if he turned his head fully, their faces would touch. Flushing slightly,
he brought his hand up to rest beside Shikamaru's on his stomach, hands
touching, but not holding. Making himself relax a little more, he nodded,
turning his head back to keep his gaze on the ceiling.
Shikamaru tucked his head against the other's shoulder and closed his eyes,
content. After a few more minutes of silence, he chuckled softly and opened one
eye, still feeling the other’s muscles were less than relaxed. "Relax, Neji.
I'm not going to do anything."
Neji felt his blush deepen slightly when his brain helpfully pointed out what
Shikamaru thought he was thinking he'd do to him. Which wasn't why he couldn't
relax completely.
"I know that," he looked down on the other, well, he didn't know that, but he
hadn't gotten the impression he would. "I... have never had physical closeness
before," he tried explaining. Well, he had gotten the occasional hug from
Hanabi, but that didn't count, besides, he wasn't very fond of that either,
because that usually meant she had been, or was going to be a brat.
Shikamaru opened his other eye and frowned a little, pulling his head back just
enough so he wasn't going to go cross-eyed trying to look at Neji. He recalled
the sleep-over and how that proved him very wrong. But he knew better than to
tell him about it and he just sighed, giving half a shrug.
"Well, you'll just have to get used to it," he said. "I'm not all... touchy-
feely like Naruto or Kiba, but it's still nice at times."
Neji blinked, looked at Shikamaru and blinked again.
"Have you... been... with Naruto or the Inuzuka?" He asked, wondering how
Shikamaru knew they were touchy-feely and forgetting what he had said before.
It wasn't that he was jealous, he decided, he just didn't like the thought of
them all over the Nara.
"No. You've seen how Naruto is; he wants to be noticed, and physically touching
someone is the easiest way," he said, closing his eyes again. "Kiba's not much
different, really."
Shikamaru paused, peeking open one eye. "Plus when we'd skip class back in the
academy, they'd always start a wrestling game or something like that. Hasn't
changed."
"I see." Neji nodded, having never ever skipped classes, but he guessed... he
could see Naruto and Kiba doing that.
"Why did you skip class?" He asked after a while. It didn't make sense. He knew
the Nara was intelligent, as opposed to Kiba and Naruto, and he wasn't hyper
like them either. All in all, he didn't get why the younger boy had been
skipping classes.
"Mm, they were so boring," Shikamaru answered. "I understood and knew what was
going on in the class, so why bother stay around for longer than needed to
understand it?"
Neji thought about it for a while. Well... he could sort of understand that,
though he had never even entertained the thought of skipping class, because
Hiashi-sama would have found out and that would not have gone very well.
"Besides," he started, voice taking on a more playful edge, "I couldn't let
them have all the fun and cloud-gaze without me."
"Mm, I suppose they had much time left to watch clouds while picking fights
with each other," he replied drily, knowing that both Naruto and the Inuzuka
was much too hyper to enjoy laying still for more than a minute, watching
clouds nonetheless.
"What about Chouji? Did he just tag along after you?"
Shikamaru pushed back any irritation, knowing Neji hadn't meant the question to
sound degrading to Chouji.
"No, we've been best friends since before we even went to the Academy. He
doesn't tag along, he joins me," he clarified.
Smirking slightly, hearing the slight irritation in Shikamaru's voice. He
hadn't meant to insult the Akimichi in any way. At least he hadn't mentioned
his chubbyness. He doubted that would sit well with Shikamaru.
"I mean, why did he skip class?" he tried clarifying his question. He was a
little amused of the protectiveness he could feel from the other when he talked
about Chouji, though he supposed he could understand it. "Does he have the same
interest in the clouds as you, or does he join you because you are his best
friend?"
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling like he was being mocked, albeit
with no malice behind it.
He let it slide off him, though, as he answered, "Truthfully, I think it was
because he didn't want to be left behind. I wouldn't have excluded him from
anything and now it's just become a tradition between us. We'll watch the
clouds and share a few bags of chips."
Nodding, Neji was satisfied with the answer, closing his eyes again as they
just lay there like that. However, what Shikamaru had said had gotten him to
think. How would it have been to have friends when he was that age, and go skip
classes with them, and getting in trouble? He supposed he would never know, but
it was an interesting thought.
Shikamaru's lips curved up in a smile before he closed his eyes too, letting
himself relax more against the older boy. He hoped the other didn't mind if he
ended up falling asleep because he could feel himself already drifting off.
Just as Neji was about to doze off as well, the door opened, and someone
stepped into the room, followed by some rustling from an open bag of potato
chips.
"Oi, Shikama-- ru..." a voice, decidedly male, trailed off before the bag hit
the floor. Neji imagined potato chips all over the floor as he opened his eyes,
startled by this new presence.
***** Chapter 10 *****
"Y-you... what..." Chouji spluttered, eyes wide from the sight in front of him,
seeing Shikamaru cuddled up to another guy. And not just any another guy, but
Hyuuga Neji!
Shikamaru inwardly winced, pulling himself back from the sleep he'd been trying
to get. He knew Chouji didn't know anything yet, having apparently been away on
some sort of family business.
He sighed and opened his eyes, turning his gaze over to his friend. "Quit being
troublesome, Cho," he muttered, smirking lightly. "Close the door and your
mouth, then we'll explain."
Blinking, Chouji sighed and did as he was told before looking sadly down at his
dropped bag of chips. Eyes lighting up after he realized the room was clean for
once, he scooped it all back into the bag; his chips weren't ruined after all.
However, it was suspicious that Shika's floor was clean, but seeing him cuddled
up to Neji, he supposed that explained it all.
"So what's going on?" he asked, putting a handfull chips into his mouth,
looking curiously at his friend and the other boy.
Shikamaru sat up, though snuck his hand over and took hold of one of Neji's.
"After some things happening, all too troublesome to talk about and having to
do with Ino, I... found out I was gay. Or at least Neji-sexual," he said,
smirking. "And we decided to try a relationship."
"'Neji-sexual'?" Chouji chuckled, taking another mouthful of chips, looking at
the two of them, noticing the faint blush in the Hyuuga's cheeks and the way he
refused to look at him. From what he was seeing, the Hyuuga did seem to at
least have some feelings when it came to his best friend. Which was good
because Chouji had never seen any other emotion but anger on the Hyuuga's face.
"Whatever makes you happy," he shrugged, after having deemed Neji good enough
for his friend. And just like that, they were back to normal, though Chouji
thought that it might take a while getting used to.
Shikamaru grinned, sure that he'd actually talk more about it with Chouji
later. But that's when Neji wasn't there.
"No one else knows we're together," he said. "So be careful what you say out in
public, okay? Tomorrow we're telling Ino, Tenten and Lee but not before we get
back at them for making it so awkward."
"No one knows, right," Neji snorted slightly, amused. "Forgotten about the
stares we were getting earlier? About all of them will assume we are, thanks to
you and Yamanaka-san."
Chouji raised an eyebrow at the two of them, taking another mouthful of chips.
"You're going to tell me everything later," he pointed out to Shikamaru,
letting him know he didn't even have a choice about it anymore. Not that
Shikamaru would hide anything from him, of that Chouji was sure.
Shikamaru nodded at Chouji before looking back at Neji. "No one knows that
we're together," he emphasized. "All they would have gotten at the time was
that I liked you."
"Yes, but people do assume, Shikamaru," Neji raised an eyebrow at him. "Most
people don't wait for you to spell it out to them, so they assume." He
explained, as if Shikamaru was a small child that didn't understand such a
common phenomenon.
Shikamaru scowled and reached over, poking at Neji's forehead, pushing him back
down on the bed. "Which is why rumors are hardly ever right."
"Yeah, but that leaves us with a handful people that think they know," Neji
frowned slightly as he was pushed back on the bed, but he sat back up again,
finding it strange to act like that in front of Chouji.
Shikamaru sighed and sat back. "Okay, so... some people, who don't even know us
personally, might think we're together. Which we are," he said, putting all
those facts down. "The problem is?"
"Those people gossip," Neji shrugged, smirking up at the other. "Ino or Tenten
may hear." There wasn't really a problem, he had just felt like pointing out
the flaw in Shikamaru's statement.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, smirking back at him. "Are you afraid you won't be
able to pull off your role?" he asked, teasing.
"Don't be stupid." Neji crossed his arms over his chest, half-glaring at his
boyfriend. "I can pull off any role, at any time!" He huffed, now having
forgotten that Chouji was there, munching chips and watching the two of them as
if he was at a theatre and they were the movie that was playing.
Shikamaru chuckled, grinning lightly, knowing Chouji was still there somewhere
in the back of his mind. "Good. I don't think I could pretend to hate you if
you sucked at it."
Neji smirked amused at his boyfriend, inwardly convinced that he was a much
better actor than his boyfriend. "Think you could pretend to at all?" He asked,
teasing slightly, implying that Shikamaru couldn't act at all.
"Oh, I'll be able to. Don't worry your pretty little head off," Shikamaru all
but cooed to him.
"My head's not pretty!" Neji protested, huffing in a way that made his cheeks
look almost like he was puffing them up childishly.
Shikamaru just chuckled and nodded to humor the Hyuuga. "Sure," he said before
dropping it and looking back over at Chouji.
"So do you want to come too, when we mess with them?" He knew Chouji was much
nicer than him when it came to those sort of things, but you never knew.
Chouji fidgeted a little from having the two stare at him like that, and he put
another handful of chips into his mouth, chewing a bit slowly. He supposed it
could be fun, but he was hesitating because Ino would be there, and she would
get angry. And she might believe he was in on it.
Shikamaru understood his hesitation and shrugged. "She shouldn't suspect you;
you've been away for two days and she doesn't know you're here, right?"
Nodding slowly, Chouji swallowed the chips before agreeing to come. It would be
fun to watch, even though he felt a little sorry for the ones Shikamaru and
Neji were going to mess with.
Neji on the other hand, watched the exchange between the two best friends,
feeling like he was missing out on something, though that was hardly a
surprise. They were, after all, best friends, and had been for years.
Shikamaru gave a small grin. Now it would be easier to convince Ino to come.
She may not enjoy cloud-watching but she hated being left out when it was all
three of them.
"So... Akimichi-san," Neji started, a smirk adorning his face, making the
younger, chubbier boy gulp a little. "You don't happen to have any embarrassing
stories about Shikamaru, do you?" he asked, voice almost silkily, making the
Akimichi squirm uncomfortable. He didn't like refusing people their requests,
or not answering questions, but he wasn't going to tell on his best friend
either.
Shikamaru's eye twitched slightly and he gave a sigh. "Sorry Neji, but we
haven't been going out long enough for you to hear those stories," he said with
a small smirk.
He didn't really care if Neji ever heard his embarrassing moments, but he
wanted to at least feel more secure in their relationship before putting his
dignity on the line.
"Hn." Neji huffed again, pretending to be offended, much to Chouji's amusement.
He found he approved even more of the Hyuuga when he didn't act like he had a
stick up his ass.
"Now, maybe if you shared something of your own first..." he prompted even
though he knew that the Hyuuga would never willingly humiliate himself.
"You wish," Neji smirked at him, knowing that if Shikamaru found out that he'd
have a very willing source in Hanabi, he would never manage to live it down.
Shikamaru laughed, giving another shrug. "I'm sure I'll find out something
eventually."
"So will I," Neji just replied, not quite liking that smug look on the other's
face.
Shikamaru just smirked and shifted on the bed, laying down and propping his
feet up on Neji's lap.
"Hey!" Neji looked at the feet in his lap, then up at the owner of the feet. "I
am not some kind of furniture," he spluttered slightly.
Shikamaru's smirk widened and he raised an eyebrow. "No, but you are
comfortable," he said.
Pushing his feet off his lap without a further thought, Neji's eyes turned to
Chouji.
"What time is it?" He asked suddenly, having just remembered that he had
promised to take Hinata out shopping for some new clothes, even though he
didn't really want to. Still, he couldn't say no to Hiashi.
"Uh... twelve-thirty?" Chouji shrugged as Neji stood, suddenly seeming a bit
hurried in his movements.
"I have to go, I have an appointment, and I'm already late. Bye." And with
that, he was gone.
Shikamaru blinked, a bit surprised at his sudden departure but he just shrugged
it off. It wasn't like Neji to lie, so he obviously had forgotten something. He
stared at the door he'd left through before rolling his eyes and crawling over
on the bed, closing it again, then turned to look at Chouji.
"Ah, congrats then," Chouji smiled at his best friend, happy he had found
someone he liked. It wasn't a big deal that it was another boy, rather than a
girl, though it was a bit surprising that it was the Hyuuga prodigy. For some
reason, Chouji would have deemed him too 'troublesome' for his lazy friend.
Shikamaru smiled and sat cross-legged on the bed, facing Chouji. "Thanks. So
you're really okay with all this?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Chouji smiled good-naturedly at his friend. Shikamaru put
up with so many of his habits, it was the least he could do in return, even
though by now Chouji wasn't thinking like that anymore; they were friends, and
friends supported each other no matter what.
"As long as you're happy. I'm a bit surprised it's Neji though..." He put
another handful chips into his mouth, chewing before looking a bit sadly at the
empty bag in his hand, wishing it had been bigger, or that the bags contained
more chips.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes and reached over to the other side of his bed,
pulling out a bag of chips and tossing it to his friend. He always had a stash
for Chouji but Yoshino didn't like junk food in the house, so he kept them well
hidden.
"Why? He's not loud and annoying like everyone else," he said, obviously not
including Chouji in with that generalization, but that went without saying.
"Ah, thanks!" Chouji's face lit up as he caught the unopened bag of chips,
immediately starting to munch on it. "Well... I suppose you’re right." Chouji
shrugged a little. "He seems very... stuck up though, and he's probably high-
maintenance too," he chuckled a little. "He seems like someone you'd call
troublesome anyway."
Shikamaru laughed, settling down into the bed again. "Probably," he agreed.
He'd already cleaned up his room without being asked, after all. "But I'm
pretty sure he's worth the trouble."
Chouji actually stopped eating for a second, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
Now, this was highly unusual for his friend. Seemed like he really had fallen
for the almighty Hyuuga.
"It's nice you've found someone you think is worth it," he merely said, smiling
before continuing to munch chips.
Shikamaru blushed a little, realizing what he'd said, though he still stood by
it. He did his best to brush it off and shrugged. "Just don't go telling him
that yet," he said, grinning. "Don't want his ego swelling even more."
Laughing a little, Chouji shook his head. Shikamaru was still Shikamaru though,
even though things had changed slightly.
Shikamaru fell silent for a big before grinning again. "So... When are you
going to tell Ino you like her?"
Flushing a deep, dark scarlet, Chouji shook his head before looking down, still
blushing, yet feeling a bit miserable at the mention of his hopeless crush.
"I-- Ah... she'll just reject me..."
Shikamaru sighed, scooting off the bed to sit next to him. "You don't know
that. She may be hung up on that stupid Uchiha kid right now, but she doesn't
love him," he said, then smiled. "Eventually she'll realize that her perfect
man can't be broken like a toothpick."
"Maybe..." Chouji sighed. "But we are talking about right now. I'm not gonna
ask as long as she's like... that." He looked down, not wanting to say
something bad about the girl he was crushing on.
"You mean being a bitch?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Even though they were
friends, he had no qualms about insulting Ino or, in this case, stating facts.
He just didn't understand why she was like that when someone who obviously
worshipped her was right here.
"...infatuated with Sasuke," Chouji hung with his head, not even bothering to
frown at his best friend for insulting his love-interest. Chouji had been
crushing on her for quite a while now, and he was used to having Shikamaru call
her names, even though he didn't like it.
Shikamaru sighed and inwardly winced, regretting bringing it up. He had hoped
that seeing him of all people dating someone, he would have enough courage to
at least think about asking Ino out.
"...So, uh, what were you doing these past couple of days?" he asked, trying to
change the subject.
"Ah... well, you know... training with my family..." Chouji grimaced. He didn't
mind training, well, not as much as Shikamaru did at least, but he didn't quite
like what he had learned.
Shikamaru frowned, not liking the grimace. He knew Chouji didn't like training
with his dad because he felt inferior to him but he'd always took it in stride
before.
"What did you do?"
Grimacing again, Chouji started telling him about the pills and the effects
they would have on his body. It wasn't very... pleasant to think about,
although he knew that when it came down to it, he would use them if it was
necessary.
The more Chouji got into it the more Shikamaru grew angry. He knew it wasn't
his place, but how could they use such a thing? Sure it gave them more power,
but it obviously came with a price-- and one that was too high to pay, in
Shikamaru's opinion.
"...Don't ever use the red one, Chouji," he said, serious. "Promise me."
Looking at Shikamaru, Chouji felt a little better seeing Shikamaru's
expression. While the other didn't say it outright, it was obvious what he was
thinking. It made Chouji feel a little fuzzy that the other genuinely cared.
"I won't unless it's the only way out," Chouji said seriously.
Shikamaru watched him for a few seconds, not liking that answer but knowing he
would have to accept it. They were shinobi, after all, and death was always
lurking around them.
Finally he sighed and nodded back, showing that he understood.
Smiling a little at his friend's unwillingness to accept that he might have to
use it, Chouji reached out the bag with chips, offering his friend some.
Shikamaru's expression softened and he reached over, taking a chip from the bag
and biting it in half, letting a more comfortable silence settle over them.
They shared a companionable silence for a while, only disturbed by the munching
of chips, before Chouji smiled.
"At least the Hyuuga looks like a girl," he chuckled amused at the thought.
Well, the Hyuuga was in many ways masculine; his voice, his posture... it all
told that he was clearly male, but his long hair and fair skin could cause him
to be confused with a girl, at least from a distance.
Shikamaru choked slightly as he inhaled too much air, starting to laugh. He
shook his head, wiping at the corners of his eyes as he caught his breath. He
looked at Chouji, a wide smirk on his face.
"Sometimes, he acts like one too."
Chuckling, glad he had managed to cheer up his friend, Chouji grinned at him.
So the Hyuuga acted like a girl sometimes too? That was just amusing. "He
does?" he asked.
Shikamaru nodded, chuckling softly. "Yeah. Maybe I'm generalizing it a bit, but
he does."
"How?" Chouji wasn't usually one to enjoy gossip, or talking about someone else
behind their back, but this was a too good opportunity to miss.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and had Chouji been anyone else he would have
hesitated telling him, thinking it would come back to bite him in the ass. But
he knew that whatever was said in his room was never repeated.
"When I slept over his apartment before, it was... annoyingly clean. And he had
a bunch of shirts that were all girl colors; purple, pink, those colors. And,
uh... Well, I don't really know if it's a girl thing or not, but..." He trailed
off, cheeks coloring a bit. "He cuddles in his sleep."
Chouji blinked. Then blinked again.
"Wait, wait... you slept over at his apartment? When?" he looked at his friend,
although he grinned. Yes, the Hyuuga did sound like he had a few girlish
habits. Sure, Chouji did like his own room clean, but it did get messy every
now and then without it bothering him.
"Oh, uh..." He frowned, thinking back. "Two days before you left for training,
I think. It was before I even thought I liked him."
Chouji looked at him for a while before grinning.
"Alright, you have to tell me the whole story," he chuckled.
Shikamaru groaned and gave an unconscious pout. He gave his best friend a half-
hearted glare and started with how his mother had found out he had left Neji
training before it started to rain. He flushed a little, glancing away when he
started explaining the kiss, still thinking it was the stupidest thing he'd
ever done despite it all working out.
Amused throughout the whole story, Chouji's promise to himself about not
laughing was broken when Shikamaru explained the kiss, making him burst out in
laughter, shaking where he was sitting.
"Only you, Shikamaru, only you..." he shook his head in mirth.
Shikamaru scowled, huffing slightly. "Yeah, well... Ino didn't make it any
better," he muttered, grimacing.
"Actually..." Chouji was still laughing as he patted Shikamaru on the back. "I
think she should be given some credit in getting you two together," he
chuckled, knowing that Shikamaru wouldn't agree with him, but it was the truth,
he now saw why she had done it. If she hadn't, Shikamaru and Neji would be in a
stalemate, neither able nor willing to move, and it would probably have gone on
until it all cooked out into nothing.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you would think that," he grumbled before
putting Chouji in a headlock, giving him a noogie. "You're a hopeless romantic
like that." He smirked and let go, adding, "She still should have gone about it
in a better way."
Grinning, Chouji mock-struggled against Shikamaru's hold on him, letting him
give him a noogie, laughing all the while.
"I don't think so," Chouji smiled, amused, once Shikamaru let go. "If you
caught one whiff about her planning to get you and Neji together and you'd have
avoided her like the plague."
Shikamaru scoffed. "That doesn't excuse her. Besides, if she'd told me that she
thought Neji returned my feelings I would have searched him out or... found
some way to confirm it first." There was a pause. "Okay, no, I wouldn't. I
wouldn't have believed it, but still."
"Exactly," Chouji grinned, agreeing with the last thing Shikamaru had said. His
friend, just like him, had no guts when it came to things like that.
"I think you owe her a thank you... after you have paid her back," he grinned.
Shikamaru chuckled. "Maybe." He smirked before nonchalantly saying, "Maybe I'll
return the favor and get her a boyfriend."
"H-hey!" Chouji whined, giving his friend a look that reminded much of a kicked
puppy.
Shikamaru's smirk widened a little and he shook his head. "Don't worry, I won't
set her up," he reassured, though was actually growing fonder of that idea by
the second. Of course Chouji would be his other victim, but he didn't need to
know that.
"...you better not." Chouji tried glaring at him, though his glares were
considerably less effective than, say, the glares of Neji and Sasuke, of this
he was very well aware. He supposed he just wasn't made to look scary or
intimidating.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes before giving the other an exasperated look. "You
know I wouldn't do that to you, Cho," he said. "Besides I think you're the only
one who could put up with her in long intervals."
Chouji nodded before blushing slightly at his friend's next words. "Think so?"
Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, I know I get sick of her after a couple hours."
"But that's you," Chouji chuckled, knowing his friend thought most girls
troublesome, and would get sick of any girl after too long. Come to think of
it, that made him slightly worried about his friend's new relationship; he had
described Neji as a bit girlish after all. But it wasn't his business and his
friend was smart, so maybe the worry was unneeded.
***** Chapter 11 *****
The next day, Shikamaru faux-kidnapped Chouji from his house and walked with
him to the Yamanaka's shop, hoping Ino would either be there or in the back
where their actual house was.
Standing at the counter, Ino sighed. Yet another boring day. Sure she had had a
few customers, but it was too early for there to be much traffic in and out of
their shop. Also, the flowers had already been tended to, and there wasn't
anything to do, except wait for someone to walk in the door.
Shikamaru pushed open the door, strolling in and walking towards the back
counter. "Yo," he said in greeting, raising a hand slightly.
"Shikamaru!" It was a mix between a yell and a growl, and a bucket hit the
brunette's head, a pissed-off blonde glaring at him from behind the counter.
"You dare show up after yesterday?" she asked coldly, none-too-happy. She had
obviously not forgiven him yet.
Shikamaru scowled and rubbed his head before picking up the bucket and setting
it on the counter.
"If anyone has the right to be mad still, it's me, Ino. But if you want to be
upset over something so childish, fine," he said calmly, knowing the other
considered herself mature.
"You... you-- AUGH!" Ino growled, crossing her arms over her chest, still
glaring at him. "Why do I even bother with you, now get lost!" All she had done
was help him get a boyfriend, she would have at least expected a thanks from
him. Honestly, boys could be so rude sometimes!
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Me and Chouji
were gonna go cloud-gaze and he insisted we invite you, too, though I'm not
sure why," he said, using the other boy as an excuse, knowing he wouldn't mind
and it was more believable.
Looking over at a slightly blushing Chouji that was munching on his chips, Ino
sighed, knowing that she wouldn't say no. She wasn't mad at Chouji, so she
wasn't going to say no to spend some time with her friends. Didn't mean she had
forgiven Shikamaru though.
"Fine, I'm coming. 'Kaasan! Going out!" she called to her mother. At least she
was getting out of this boring shop.
Shikamaru turned around before giving a smirk of triumph. Step one complete.
--
Neji had just finished talking to his uncle about something concerning Hanabi,
and on his way out he stumbled into his team-mates. Perfect, he smirked
inwardly.
"No, Lee! You can't do it like that!"
"But why not?" said boy asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he looked down
at the paper in his hand before the weapons girl tore it away from him.
"Because it's too forward," Tenten tried to explain again. "If Sakura didn't
like you yelling out your love before, I doubt she'll want to read a sonnet
about it."
Lee sighed and nodded dejectedly. This was so hard! But he couldn't give up!
Sighing, Neji would have rolled his eyes at his team-mate had he been anyone
else.
"You should quietly ask her on a date, quietly," he told the martial-artist. He
could very well understand that Sakura didn't want to go out with someone as
loud as that. He also knew that Lee could be quiet if he wanted to, if
anything, that was his best shot. "Take her on a picnic or something."
Both ninja started slightly, not having noticed Neji appear; Tenten feeling
slightly ashamed about that.
Lee turned to face him, eyes widening a little before he nodded, determination
shining in his eyes. "Yosh! I shall go find my Cherry Blossom and ask!" he
yelled before turning to go search for her.
Tenten scowled and grabbed the back of his unitard before he could move.
"Quietly, Lee!" she reminded him. "Besides, I heard her team went out on a
mission."
Neji nodded, sighing.
"Lee, if you want her to like you, learn to do things a little more quietly,"
he said and gave him a pointed look. The Green Beast of Konoha should know
exactly what he was talking about. After all, even though he hadn't cared at
all at the time, he knew that Lee had thought Gai-sensei was just as weird and
slightly scary in the beginning, just like him and Tenten.
Lee nodded slowly, looking more put out by the fact Sakura wasn't in the
village than anything else. Then he remembered what they had done a few days
before and glanced at Tenten, grinning.
If Neji was talking with them, obviously something had gone right since they
had, after all, ditched him. Unless of course, he just hadn't shown up which
could be quite possible. But he didn't want to think about that.
"Let's go," Neji gave them a cold look, having noticed the grin on Lee's lips
when he looked at him. They should know by now that he mostly talked to them
because he had to, not because they really were his friends, so it didn't
matter if he was mad at them.
"Did you want, ah... assistance with your training, Neji?" Tenten asked as she
followed him with Lee hobbling along behind, catching herself before she said
'help'. She never said that word to Neji anymore; not after that one time.
Giving a curt nod, Neji just walked towards his usual training-field, now also
Shikamaru's usual cloud-gazing spot. He wondered who would get there first,
him, or his boyfriend.
--
Shikamaru was contentedly lying back in the grass and eating a chip he had
'stolen' from Chouji's bag, eyes shifting around every now and then, wondering
when Neji would show up with his teammates.
As fast as lightening, Neji and Tenten were standing beside them, a seemingly
pissed Hyuuga eyeing them, his arms crossed and a clear frown adorned his face.
In the background, Lee was slowly hobbling to catch up with his team-mates.
"What are you doing here?" Neji eyed the younger team angrily.
Shikamaru was actually surprised at his sudden appearance but quickly recovered
and slapped a scowl on his face.
"Lying down. I'd think it was obvious, Hyuuga," he drawled, voice mocking. "I
guess those eyes of yours need to be fixed, hm?"
Tenten's eyes widened and she immediately took a step back. That was not
something you said to Hyuuga Neji unless you wanted to be hurt. She worriedly
turned her gaze to Ino. What had gone wrong?
Shit. Ino looked wide-eyed at the Hyuuga that was glaring at them-- at
Shikamaru to be more specific. Hadn't their date gone well? Shikamaru hadn't
let on anything other than that Neji hadn't physically harmed him even though
he had threatened to. Scooting a bit away from her friend, she did not want to
be in the Hyuuga's line of fire.
THACK.
A kunai stood in the ground, one millimeter from cutting Shikamaru's throat and
pulse.
"Have a death-wish, Nara?" Neji asked, voice cold as he glared daggers at the
younger boy, internally amused, but not showing it. "I'd be more than happy to
assist!"
Tenten let out a squeak and retreated further just as Lee finally caught up,
looking just as worried.
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes and sat up, reaching over and pulling the kunai out
from the ground. He studied it for a second, looking contemplative though
really trying to school himself so he wouldn't let a grin slip.
He sighed heavily, rolling his head a little as he looked back up. "You're
troublesome, Hyuuga. Just go train somewhere else."
"Get lost, Nara!" Neji spat, enjoying seeing the blonde girl, Ino, scurry
further away, pulling Chouji with her. Giving him a kick in the side that made
him roll over, Neji made sure it looked like it hurt more than it actually did,
having used the tip of his foot to roll the Nara around, instead of hitting him
with it in the side.
"This is a Hyuuga training compound." he added, another kunai suddenly sticking
into the ground between Shikamaru's legs, so very close to his crotch, actually
cutting a little of his pants, but doing no real damage.
Lee winced, looking concernedly at his friend. He normally wouldn't give a
cheap blow like that; obviously he was really upset about something.
Shikamaru's eyes widened and he tensed, head snapping up and looking at him in
surprise. That had been way too close for comfort. He mentally shook himself
and the next moment he was on his feet, glaring at Neji and pointing the kunai
at his throat.
"That doesn't give you the right to attack me like that!" he snapped.
Holding another kunai to Shikamaru's throat, Neji returned the glare. He had
caught the surprise in Shikamaru's eyes, but he would settle that later. After
all, the Nara didn't seem to know he couldn't possibly miss from such a short
distance.
"Says who?" He asked haughtily, pressing the kunai slightly more into
Shikamaru's skin, not yet drawing blood, not that he intended to anyway. He
knew how much pressure he could put before anything happened.
"Hey, hey!" Ino yelled, not going to let anything happen to her friend, despite
the fact that she was scared to death of the Hyuuga when he got like this,
knowing she was no match for him. "Stop this at once you two!" she put her
hands on her hips, trying to act like she was completely confident in herself.
"Stay out of this, Ino. It doesn't concern you anymore," Shikamaru growled,
inwardly smirking and satisfied. He moved his wrist, turning the kunai sideways
and pressing it under Neji's chin, next to his throat.
Tenten trembled slightly then shouted, "Neji, stop it! Whatever happened at the
restaurant can't be enough cause for this!"
"Tenten, I have told you to stay out of my business!" Neji shot a glare at the
girl, before refocusing on Shikamaru, pushing the kunai just enough to draw a
small drop of blood. He assumed that since Shikamaru hadn't been mad at him for
the accident with the kunai earlier, he could draw just a little, for effect.
"Shikamaru!" Ino glared at her friend. "Stop being such an ass! Tenten's right,
there's no reason to be like this!"
Tenten flinched, not wanting his rage turned onto her, as Lee frowned, eyes
darting back and forth. If only he had his full strength, then he could pull
Neji away!
Shikamaru took a sharp intake of breath, scowl deepening but quirked an
eyebrow. "There's a really good reason to 'be like this', Ino," he said, before
lowering his arm suddenly and turning around, grinning. "To mess with you."
Lowering his arm as well, Neji couldn't help the small smirk that adorned his
lips, amused as he watched the flabbergasted looks of Ino, Tenten and Lee. "And
it went rather well," he added, smirk widening.
Shikamaru chuckled and nodded, bending down to pick up the other kunai and
handing both back to Neji. "You might have over-did it a bit, though," he
commented, grabbing his arm and leading him away.
He felt a bit bad that he was leaving Chouji back there with the other three,
but there was no way he was going to be present when they recovered from the
shock. At least Chouji could claim innocence.
"Hn." Neji took the kunai, putting it back in his weapons bag. "But it was
convincing, wasn't it?" he chuckled slightly, letting Shikamaru lead him away
from the others, silently agreeing. He really didn't want to be there when
Tenten recovered. She couldn't best him, but he had learned from experience
that a pissed-off Tenten was not easy to handle.
"I guess," Shikamaru acquiesced, as they started getting far away enough that
he felt comfortable. "But you're buying me a new pair of pants."
Neji just shrugged, he could live with that. At the moment, he was too amused
with his first practical joke ever. And he decided that it did feel good.
Tenten blinked, not in her right mind to even turn and watch them leave, and
blinked again. And blinked again. Then her eyes narrowed, turning around.
"Hyuuga Neji, you better be using your byakugan every minute of the day from
now on because you better watch your back!" she yelled out after him, fuming.
Lee, on the other hand, had watched them, forehead creased. He was more hurt
than angry, wishing that his rival could have shared in the joy if what he
could gather from how he and the Nara had interacted was true.
"I can't believe them!" Ino was just as fuming as Tenten. "Those... those...
BASTARDS!"
Eating his chips, Chouji was having a hard time trying not to laugh.
Lee sighed and turned back to look at the other three still there. His eyes
caught on Chouji and thought back to the past couple of days; no, he hadn't
been there.
He grinned slightly, then asked, "They are together, are they not, Chouji-kun?"
Looking up at the black-haired boy, Chouji smiled, swallowing some chips.
"They are," he confirmed, nodding, amused at the show, but he kept a small
distance from the two fuming girls.
Lee smiled and hobbled over to a tree, using it to help him sit down on the
ground. "I am glad," he said. "Neji had seemed almost depressed when trying to
understand earlier."
"He did?" Chouji scooted over, making more place for the injured boy to sit,
offering him chips. "I can't imagine Neji being depressed..." Sure, the Hyuuga
was reserved, he got angry, and frustrated, and perhaps angsty, but not
depressed.
Lee declined the chips with a shake of his head.
"He does not show it, but he was very unsettled before," he said, smile
widening. "I am glad he is happy now."
Taking another mouthful of chips, Chouji nodded thoughtfully. Even though Neji
didn't seem to understand it all the time, he supposed that Lee was to Neji
what he was to Shikamaru.
"He's lucky to have you as a friend," he grinned.
Lee's eyes widened and he stared at Chouji for a second before grinning widely
and diving over and giving him a one-armed hug. "Thank you, my friend!
Shikamaru-san is lucky to have you too!"
Eyes widening a little at the hug, Chouji was, mildly said, surprised. Though
he shouldn't be, considering the other's personality. "Thanks," he smiled after
he recovered, munching on his chips some more, finding he didn't mind the
spontaneous hug.
"Lee!" Tenten snapped, making him flinch slightly and move away from Chouji,
looking at her with wide eyes. "Aren't you upset?!"
Lee shook his head, a little confused. Sure, the prank had been a bit much, but
shouldn't they happy for them?
"At least they're together," Chouji pointed out, looking up at Tenten, smiling.
"Cho..." Ino came up to them, her voice too calm for comfort. "Did you know
about this?"
Tenten huffed a sigh and crossed her arms over her chest. That was true, but
still!
Lee turned his gaze to Ino, feeling a little intimidated. He didn't know the
Yamanaka, but he had learned that whenever a girl went from hysterics to calm
like this, it was never a good thing.
"No," Chouji took another mouthful. "I just don't get upset when my best buddy
is happy," he shrugged, trying to ignore the glare he was getting from the
blonde girl. He didn't like lying to her, but... he couldn't let her know he
knew; that would hurt more.
Lee nodded quickly in agreement. "Yes! We must be happy that they had worked
things out for the better!"
"Still, the least they could do is thank us!" Ino huffed, crossing her arms
over her chest. "If it wasn't for us, they wouldn't be together!"
"Exactly!" Tenten said, putting in her two cents. "They should have been at
least grateful enough to not scare us like that!"
"It probably was their way of thanking you," Chouji shrugged again, flinching a
little at the growl Ino emitted.
"What kind of retarded thanks is that?!" she almost screeched.
--
Shikamaru was still smirking, arms behind his head as he walked. "That was more
fun than I thought it would be," he commented.
Neji smirked, agreeing with him. "So now what?" He asked. They could obviously
not go back there, they would be torn to shreds by two furious girls. That
could hardly be very healthy.
He turned his head slightly to look at him. "First I want to change my pants
since someone over-did it and ripped them," he said, though was obviously not
upset.
"Alright," Neji's lips twitched in amusement. "I hope you know I couldn't have
missed," he added after a while, glancing over at the younger boy. He still
remembered the startled an slightly uncomfortable look the other had sported
right after.
"It's still not something you want to chance happening," Shikamaru said,
rolling his eyes a little. "I'm sure you wouldn't have hit me, but it's still
unnerving."
"I suppose," Neji nodded, not really feeling guilty; the look on the blonde
girl's face when he did it was absolutely priceless. "I apologize then."
Shikamaru shrugged. "It's fine; as long as you buy me new ones or fix these,"
he said as they arrived at his house, opening the door.
Muttering something about not being a woman, Neji turned away from him once
they were in Shikamaru's room, giving him privacy to change his pants. "I'll
buy you new ones then."
Shikamaru snorted, remembering the conversation with Chouji the day before.
"Alright," he said as he undid his pants, peeling them off and just throwing
them randomly on the floor before grabbing a new pair from his chest of drawers
and slipping them on.
Turning back around when he deemed it safe, Neji frowned a little at the pants
thrown on the floor, but he didn't mention it. One, it was not his place, and
two, the room was no where close to as messy as it had been the first time he
was there.
"I'll be right back; make yourself comfortable," he said, walking out and
heading to the bathroom. He knew it wasn't big, but he wanted to clean the cut
on his throat. If Yoshino saw it, who knew what she'd think?
Nodding, Neji looked a little around the room, studying Shikamaru's book-shelf
before pulling one out, it having caught his attention. Laying down on the
other boy's bed, knowing he wouldn't mind, Neji started reading the book.
About ten minutes later, Shikamaru walked back into his room, neck smeared
slightly with a salve to heal it faster.
Not looking up from the book, Neji's face was beat-red as he stared down at
the... the... abomination that had been hidden inside the book. He had been
flipping through a few pages when he discovered it, and a few of the pictures
were... well, just not proper.
Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow at Neji's expression and went over, leaning over
him slightly. "What's wrong?"
However, the only thing leaving the Hyuuga's mouth were splutters as he looked
from Shikamaru to the book with the perverted pictures and back to the younger
boy again.
Shikamaru blinked, looking confused, and glanced down at the book. His eyes
widened and his face grew red to match Neji's.
"I-I... T-that-- Ah, troublesome," he huffed, now scowling, and took it from
Neji, closing it and peeling off the fake-cover. "It's my 'tou-san's," he
explained. "He likes to hide them around so 'kaa-san doesn't find them."
"Ah... I see..." Neji was still feeling highly disturbed by those images. He
considered using bleach on his brain to try to forget them. Sitting up, he
couldn't bring himself to look at Shikamaru after that, feeling embarrassed,
though for what exactly, he wasn't sure.
Shikamaru sighed and tucked the book under his arm. "Be right back again," he
muttered before strolling out, dropping the book off in his parent's bedroom.
His father deserved any lecturing he got for hiding it in his room without him
knowing.
Forcing down his blush while Shikamaru was out of the room, Neji looked around
for something to distract him from the disturbing book. Spotting a go-board, he
smirked lightly, remembering when he and the Nara had played shogi during the
storm. It had been fun, he admitted that, and interesting. Shikamaru was a
strong opponent, someone he had to think hard to beat.
Coming back in, Shikamaru unceremoniously flopped back onto his bed, not caring
if some of his limbs draped over Neji in the process.
"Did you think of something you want to do?"
"...Go?" He asked, not coming up with something else; after all, this was his
first relationship. What did you actually do with your boyfriend or girlfriend?
Neji had no clue, having never had one or even had an interest in having a
relationship before.
Shikamaru shrugged then nodded, sitting up. He'd rather just relax, but one
game wouldn't hurt.
"Sure, bring the board over."
Nodding, Neji got up from the bed and brought the board and the pieces over to
the bed, placing them in front of Shikamaru, sitting on the opposite side of
him.
Shikamaru took the tops off the pieces containers then looked at Neji. "Black
or white?"
"White." Neji said, never having really cared for being the one to begin.
Shikamaru nodded, sliding the right container towards him and brought the other
one closer. He picked up a piece between his fingers and placed it down on one
of the star points.
***** Chapter 12 *****
About two hours later, Neji was biting his lower lip in concentration;
Shikamaru was good at this, very good. Gazing up at his opponent a little, Neji
had to admit to himself that chances that he would win were starting to look
slim.
Shikamaru studied the board for a bit before placing a stone and blocking off
more of Neji's pieces.
Sighing, Neji removed those of his stones that had no more liberties. Studying
the board some more, he placed a stone down, slightly annoyed that he couldn't
block as many pieces as Shikamaru could in one move.
Shikamaru studied the board again then shrugged, sitting back a bit. "Pass," he
said, scratching the inside of his ear with his pinky finger. He really didn't
see the point of playing much more; they'd been at it for over two hours now.
Sighing, Neji looked at the board as well before deciding it wasn't worth
continuing; Shikamaru was completely winning.
"Pass," he nodded in agreement, before looking up at the younger boy.
"Congratulations."
Shikamaru gave another shrug and glanced down at the board for a minute before
smirking. "I only won by three points," he said. "It was a close game."
Neji frowned, he could have sworn Shikamaru had won by more, but he wasn't
going to argue. "Next time I'll beat you," he just said.
Shikamaru chuckled, starting to clean up the Go stones. "Maybe you will," he
said, voice half-teasing.
A small amused smile grew on Neji's lips as he helped cleaning up the Go stones
before taking it all and putting it back in place where he had found it.
"What do we do now?" he asked, sitting back down on the bed.
"You getting hungry?" Shikamaru asked, realizing it was past noon already.
Thinking a little, Neji inclined his head. "...a little, I suppose," he
admitted.
"Do you want to chance venturing out, then? Or continue to avoid the public for
a little longer?"
"...I'd like to avoid going public yet..." Neji looked a little troubled. "I...
wouldn't want Hiashi-sama to find out from rumors..." Last time that had
happened, rumors were going around town about him and Tenten dating, which they
had not, and his uncle had heard of it. He had barely avoided being forced to
marry Tenten 'because that was the only honorable thing to do' when he had
'deflowered' her, which, again, he had not done. He shuddered slightly at the
memory. That had not been fun.
Shikamaru blinked, shaking his head. "I meant just... not going out to avoid
running into Tenten or Ino," he explained. "But... yeah, I figured that." He
knew enough about the Hyuuga Clan that dating was not taken lightly. Or
anything for that matter.
"Oh..." Neji's cheeks was tinted a light pink at his mistake. Then he thought
about it a little. "Well, I wouldn't want running into them either," he said
after a while. He didn't know about the Yamanaka girl, but Tenten did have a
knack for being irritable for a long time, even if she wasn't still angry, he
would prefer not to confront her just yet.
"Alright," Shikamaru said with a nod. "Want to see if there's something to
snack on in the kitchen then?"
"Sure." Neji nodded, before hesitating a little. "Are you sure that's fine? We
can go out and eat if it's too much trouble?"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, scooting off the bed. "Would I suggest it if it
was?" he asked before sighing. "If there isn't anything that's quick we'll go
out somewhere."
"I was more thinking about your mother. I wouldn't want to offend her or eat
all your food," Neji replied, getting off the bed as well.
"You're hardly eating everything," he said, waving a hand in dismissal as he
made his way downstairs. "And even if you did, it's not like we're not used to
it every now and then. The Nara's and the Akimichi's have been friends for a
long time, after all."
"Ah... I see." Slightly amused at the thought of Chouji sitting in front of the
fridge, stuffing his face, Neji followed him, hoping that Yoshino wouldn't be
home. It wasn't that he disliked the woman, but as Shikamaru said, she was
troublesome. Besides, he was certain that if she found out he was actually
Shikamaru's boyfriend... well, she probably wouldn't like it. And she would
tell his uncle.
Shikamaru walked into the kitchen, going over to the fridge and digging through
it. He brought out a container of leftover chicken, hoping that his mother
wasn't planning on using it for dinner tonight.
"Having your boyfriend over?" Shikaku's lazy drawl, that his son had inherited,
could be heard as he leaned against the door-frame, watching the two boys raid
the fridge, a smirk on his face. "Oi, Shikamaru, your mother was going to use
that chicken for dinner," he added, noticing the red tinge in the other boy's
face. If he wasn't entirely wrong, he assumed it was a Hyuuga.
Shikamaru heaved a sigh and chucked it unceremoniously back into the fridge,
turning around to look at his dad. "Tch, 'tou-san, next time you hide your
tasteless porn in my room, don't."
"Really?" Shikaku drawled, looking Neji up and down as if measuring him. "So
that's why he's blushing like a sunset?" He chuckled, making Neji want to hide
his face. Stupid old geezer!
"Shut up, old man, and go jack off to your porn," Shikamaru grumbled, grabbing
Neji's wrist and dragging him out. "Come on, we'll just get something to eat
out."
"Make sure to bring your boyfriend to dinner sometime," Shikaku called after
him, amusement in his voice. "I'm sure your mother will want to meet him!"
"That..." Neji let himself be dragged along with Shikamaru, "was embarrassing."
Shikamaru sighed, letting go of Neji once they were away from his house.
"Sorry, he's always like that."
"Ah, so... he doesn't really think that we are... I mean, we are, but..." he
stopped, willing himself not to say another word to make an even bigger fool
out of himself, willing his blush away.
Shikamaru shrugged. "He might now, probably does in fact, but really he just
likes to embarrass everyone. Thinks it's his duty or something."
Neji sighed, hoping he wasn't getting in trouble for this, who knows what his
uncle would do if he found out he wasn't only dating, but even going as far as
date another boy. While he didn't see anything wrong about it, for once Lee was
right, he didn't know how Hiashi would take it. He probably hoped of marrying
him off sometime to breed more Hyuuga branch-members.
"So where do you want to eat?" the Nara asked, changing the subject.
"As long as it isn't ramen." Neji gave a small smile. Naruto had, for some
reason, sometimes popped up at his door-step after the exam and invited him out
for ramen. Not that Neji minded, it was... sort of nice to have a, well, he
supposed, friend, but there was a limit as to how many times he could eat
ramen. "And as long as it's a nice place," he added.
Shikamaru chuckled and nodded, having the same experience with the blond as
well as Chouji on occasion. "Well, what do you consider nice, then?"
"The barbecue we were at was acceptable," Neji said after a while, remembering
how they had been tricked into meeting there. Come to think of it now, it was
rather amusing. Especially now that they had paid the girls back.
"Alright," Shikamaru said with a nod. "We'll just go there." He smirked,
stuffing his hands into his pockets. "And if the same waitress is working,
maybe we can get a free meal again."
Snorting slightly, Neji shook his head amused, but followed him. Unfortunately,
this time the waitress they had had last time wasn't there.
Shikamaru sighed and leaned back in his seat once they were lead to their
table, already knowing the menu by heart from how many times he'd been there.
"Are you ready to order?" A black-haired waitress came over to their table,
smiling at Shikamaru as she recognised him.
Shikamaru smiled back, remembering how she had always given a little extra food
when they ordered another round for Chouji after a hard practice.
"Just the usual for me. Except... a normal, one-person portion," he said.
"I'll have whatever he's having," Neji nodded to Shikamaru, not having decided
on anything yet. Besides, he was not very picky with his food as long as it
tasted good.
"Alright." The waitress smiled brightly, winking at Shikamaru, making Neji
frown faintly.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow slightly but didn't say anything, staying quiet and
just relaxing back in his seat.
Neji looked out of the window again, just like he had last time, glad the
silence wasn't pressing like last time and he could relax as he did so. But, he
decided to himself, he did not like that waitress.
Shikamaru watched him, glad it wasn't awkward this time around. Though they
needed to find a different place to eat eventually because he knew he'd get
sick of his place between this and his team coming here.
"Do you come here often?" Neji asked after a while, wondering seeing as it
seemed the waitress seemed to be a bit familiar with the Nara.
Shikamaru smirked at the unintentional line and just nodded. "Yeah, Asuma-
sensei takes us here after every successful mission and sometimes after a long,
hard training day."
Neji nodded, feeling slightly confused. "Why would he do that?" he frowned.
They most certainly did have no such habit in his team.
"It's in celebration of a job well done. Plus it motivates Chouji to do a
better job when there's a free meal at stake," he explained, chuckling. "And
it's just fun to hang out anyway."
Nodding again, Neji contemplated that. It obviously wasn't need for any
motivation for his team, that was sure. Lee would always put his heart into
everything he did, Tenten strived to become the next Tsunade, and he would
always be pushed by his own expectations.
"Do you do anything special after missions?" Shikamaru asked, curious, leaning
forward a little to rest his arms on the table.
Neji just shook his head, leaning back against his seat, looking at the Nara.
"My team is not as close as yours," he pointed out. It was rather obvious
seeing as Shikamaru had his two best friends on his team.
Shikamaru shrugged, waving off that point. "Doesn't mean you can't become
close," he pointed out. "Though, I can understand not wanting to be around Lee
too much."
"You think I would go even if Gai-sensei treated us?" Neji raised an eyebrow.
He could handle Lee outside missions, but both Lee and Gai? No, just no.
Shikamaru chuckled, putting his hands up. "Okay, point taken."
"They're double as bad when they are together," Neji sighed, knowing he had no
choice but to endure it.
"Remind me to never be around when they are then," he said, smirking lightly.
"You have my sympathy."
"Thanks," Neji replied dryly, resisting rolling his eyes. He was almost certain
the other was just counting his luck that he wasn't on Gai's team with him.
Shikamaru sat back as the waitress brought their food and drinks over. He
nodded his thanks and broke his chopsticks, starting to put the meat on the
grill.
Staring at the waitress for any sign she was flirting with Shikamaru, Neji was
relieved when she just left to attend other customers. Breaking his own
chopsticks apart, he started putting the meat out as well.
Shikamaru set down his chopsticks, waiting for the food to cook, and took a sip
of his tea.
"So..." Neji took a sip of his own tea, feeling a little awkward as he asked a
question he felt like he should know. "What do couples do together?"
Shikamaru blinked then shrugged. "I haven't been part of a couple before
either, remember? Well, I mean, there's some stuff, but..." he trailed off,
blushing slightly.
Blushing lightly as he caught on to what the Nara was thinking about, Neji
looked away from him.
Taking another sip of his tea, Neji coughed, trying to ignore the awkward
silence.
Shikamaru fidgeted slightly, reaching over after a minute and picked up his
share of the meat on the grill.
Doing the same, Neji put one into his mouth, trying to think of something to
talk about. Unfortunately, Neji had never been one to talk much, and his social
skills were untrained, so he couldn't find anything to talk about.
Shikamaru swallowed the food in his mouth before asking, "So is there anything
you have planned later today?"
"No, not really. Why?" Neji looked up, putting some more meat into his mouth.
Well, he had planned to wash the dishes, but... that could be done in the
evening.
"No reason," he said, shrugging. "Just wondering if you have the whole day free
or some prior engagements."
"No appointments," Neji shook his head before taking a sip of his tea.
"Are you good over here?" The waitress came over, just checking that their
customers were content with the food and that there wasn't anything else they
wanted.
"...yeah." Neji gave her a small glare as she was looking coyly at Shikamaru,
batting her eyelids a little and twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
"Yeah, we're good, thanks, Kameko," he said, giving a half smile. He inwardly
grimaced; she was a nice enough girl, just it got too annoying when like this,
but at least she was a good worker.
"You sure you don't want something extra?" Kameko was clearly hinting to
something else than what the barbecue itself offered.
Giving her another glare, Neji huffed softly before turning to look out of the
window.
"No, thank you. I'm sure what I have right at the table will fill me quite
enough," he said smoothly, understanding what she meant.
Blushing at Shikamaru's words, Neji stared intently out of the window, trying
to find an interesting stone out in the street, willing his blush down. He had
to admit he had no idea how... sexual intercourse, especially among men, was
but he had an idea, especially after viewing that perverted book Shikamaru's
father had put in his room.
"If you say so... but if you change your mind, just call for me," she winked at
him before retreating, making Neji grit his teeth slightly.
Shikamaru vaguely acknowledged her last words before eating another chunk of
meat, smirking lightly to himself.
"What are you smirking at?" Neji asked, giving him an almost-glare, taking
another bite of the meat, internally deciding that they would never ever go to
this place again.
Shikamaru chuckled, shaking his head. "Nothing, Neji," he said, relaxing
against the seat's back again.
Narrowing his eyes, Neji huffed before taking another sip of his tea.
His smirk just widened before he reached forward and grabbed the last piece of
his share of the food.
"Are we done here?" Neji asked, getting even grumpier at the annoying smirk on
Shikamaru's lips. He wanted to leave this place as fast as possible, he
decided.
Rolling his eyes, Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, we can go," he said, taking out
enough money for the food; like the menu, he'd memorized the prices as well.
Taking out his wallet, Neji looked up at Shikamaru.
"How much did it cost?" He asked, having not looked at the menu.
Shikamaru shook his head, standing up. "Don't worry about it. I had enough
money."
Neji frowned, tilting his head. He hadn't protested last time, but only because
they had put it on Ino's account.
"I can pay for myself," he said, slightly indignant, wondering if the Nara
thought he couldn't afford a decent meal, and if that wasn't it... why would he
want to pay for him?
Shikamaru sighed and fought the urge to roll his eyes. "You can pay the next
time we go out," he suggested. "Let's just go."
Neji frowned, but got up and left with him, not going to argue, even though he
still didn't get it.
"Why would you want to pay for me?" he asked after a while, keeping his voice
low.
Shikamaru glanced at him, frowning a little. "Do I need a reason?"
"Why would you do something without a reason?" Neji raised an eyebrow, before
pausing. "Is this part of what couples do? Paying for each other?"
Shikamaru shrugged. "Yeah, but that's not why I did it. I wanted to; it was
less troublesome."
"...right," Neji blushed lightly, looking away from him, wondering if he should
bring up the waitress and how she had flirted with Shikamaru, but decided
against it, figuring it would make him look jealous.
Shikamaru's lips curved into a smirk at the blush. It really was adorable.
Walking together in silence, Neji was busy trying to force his blush down,
looking away from Shikamaru, hoping he wouldn't notice it.
Shikamaru inwardly sighed, fighting off the urge to reach over and grab the
Hyuuga's hand.
Noticing Shikamaru glance over at him every now and then, Neji looked at him,
noticing that something was troubling him.
"What?"
"Nothing," Shikamaru muttered, glancing away with a blush dusting his cheeks.
It would be too embarrassing if he had to admit what he was thinking.
"Hn." Neji wasn't convinced, but he let it lay seeing the blush covering
Shikamaru's cheeks.
His blush faded away quickly enough and he gave a half-smirk, realizing their
legs had carried them back to 'their' spot.
Blinking, Neji quickly looked around before relaxing again.
"At least they're not here still," he said, not mentioning any names, but they
both knew who he was talking about.
Shikamaru nodded, sitting down like usual. "Yeah. But I doubt they'd wait
around here for hours on the off-chance we'd come back."
Nodding, Neji sat down beside him, feeling like skipping training for once.
Just once; next day he would go back to his normal schedule.
"They could have been training though," he replied.
"Ino can't train if she's angry," he said, chuckling softly. "When she doesn't
focus, she completely misses her targets and her special techniques won't work
unless she's completely centered. Don't know about your teammates, though."
"Tenten's most likely to train until she drops when she's angry," Neji smirked.
"Gets rid of tension and such. Lee was probably not upset though."
Shikamaru snorted and shook his head, not knowing why anyone would want to
train until they dropped in any situation. Short of threats, that is.
"Could Lee even train? With... well, you know what happened."
"...officially, no," Neji sighed, closing his eyes. "He does it anyway. Sit-ups
and push-ups and such."
"Idiot," he muttered, but there was hardly any contempt in his voice. As goofy
and over-the-top and annoying and, well... everything Shikamaru avoided in life
he was, he did respect Lee.
"Mnhmm," Neji nodded, agreeing but, like Shikamaru, not meaning anything bad
about it. "I wonder how he and Chouji handled the girls after we left..." he
mused after a while.
"Well... considering there's no blood on the grass here, I'd say it went as
well as could be," Shikamaru said, smirking.
"Perhaps..." Neji's lips twitched slightly before he went silent, closing his
eyes, feeling content laying there beside Shikamaru.
Shikamaru watched him for a bit, slightly surprised that he wasn't doing his
own training. Not that he was going to say anything; that might get him to do
so and leave him to just lie there alone. He smiled to himself as he settled
back down into his spot, closing his own eyes and relaxing.
--
Opening his eyes with a start, Neji looked around, realizing he had fallen
asleep outside in the training field. He relaxed again when he saw that
Shikamaru was still there.
Shikamaru was still in a light sleep himself, stretched out slightly in the
grass.
Sitting up, he noticed that his hair had become slightly messy from him laying
on the ground. Neji looked over at the boy and scooted a bit closer to him, a
light blush dusting his cheeks as he watched him sleep. He enjoyed watching him
like that, even though it made him feel slightly perverted.
Shikamaru twitched slightly in his sleep, subconscious picking up on being
watched, but he just continued sleeping.
Reaching out, Neji let his hands slide through the other's hair, feeling the
coarse hair slide between his fingers before pulling his hand back.
Shikamaru stirred, blinking open his eyes and giving a yawn.
"It's getting late," Neji looked at the slightly darkening sky, knowing it was
dinnertime at the Hyuuga compound tonight and that he had to attend it. "I
should be getting home."
Shikamaru sighed, continuing to lay there for another minute before sitting up.
"Alright; let's go then."
Getting up as well, Neji stretched, feeling rested. Maybe it had paid off
skipping training for once.
Shikamaru stood up, doing the opposite of Neji and slumping forward a little,
hands going his pockets like usual.
Walking in silence to his apartment, Neji did not look forward to dinner that
evening. He still didn't get why his uncle required him to attend the family
dinner at least once a week-- he was clearly not really one of the family.
Shikamaru stopped in front of the building, turning to look at him. "So I guess
I'll see you tomorrow?"
Raising an eyebrow at him, Neji's lips tilted slightly into a light smirk.
"I don't know much about dating... but aren't you going to kiss me goodnight?"
He asked, half-teasingly to cover his own nervousness.
Shikamaru blushed, eyes widening a little. "U-uh, y-yeah, okay," he said, doing
a good impression of Hinata. He took a step closer to Neji and leaned up,
tentatively covering his lips with his own.
Blushing lightly but feeling a little better knowing that he wasn't the only
one who was embarrassed, Neji closed his eyes as he kissed him back. He was
silently thankful there wasn't anyone out on the street at that moment.
Shikamaru let his eyes slide closed, deepening the kiss for a second before
pulling back, face still flushed.
Blush deepening, Neji opened his eyes. "Good night then," he murmured, leaning
forward, giving Shikamaru a short peck on the lips before he retreated hastily
into his apartment, face pretty much red by now.
Shikamaru's eyes stayed on the closed door, lips slowly tilting into a smirk
before he turned and started walking back home.
Noticing his heart had sped up a little, Neji made his way quickly up the stars
to the door of his own apartment. Was he supposed to react like that to a kiss?
***** Chapter 13 *****
A few weeks later, they were at the normal training field and Shikamaru, like
usual, was lying down and cloud-slash-Neji-gazing.
Being done with his training, by now having no qualms with using all techniques
in front of Shikamaru, Neji sat down beside his boyfriend, panting softly.
"You wouldn't want to join me training sometime?" he asked after a while,
wondering when Shikamaru got the time to train.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, lips tilting upwards in a smirk. "No thanks, I'm
perfectly fine just watching."
Blushing lightly, Neji lay down beside him, as he had taken to do when he was
done training, having started to enjoy watching the clouds as well. Today, he
was fully rested, so he turned his head to watch the Nara as he watched the
clouds.
The silence dragged on for a while before Shikamaru glanced at him from the
side of his eyes. "Something on my face?"
Shaking his head, Neji smirked lightly.
"...no, it's missing something," he replied softly, blushing as he leaned over
to give his boyfriend a light kiss at the corner of his mouth.
Shikamaru blushed a little too but smiled and lent up, giving him another kiss.
Not pulling back this time, Neji deepened the kiss slightly.
Shikamaru was a bit startled but fell easily enough into the kiss, reaching a
hand up and threading it into Neji's hair.
Eyes widening a little before closing, Neji could feel his cheeks heat up a
little more at the touch, but he didn't protest or pull back.
After a few more seconds, Shikamaru broke the kiss, letting his head fall back
into the grass again, catching his breath.
Breathing slightly heavier from the kiss, Neji's cheeks were pleasantly
flushed.
"...Shikamaru?" He asked after a while, sounding slightly unsure, although he
had gotten courage enough to ask after that kiss; it had been slightly more
than the kisses they usually shared.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow to show he was listening, still not yet taking his
hand away from in the other's hair.
"Hm?"
"You... like me, right?" Looking away, Neji's face was getting slightly redder
by the second as he tried not to fidget.
Shikamaru frowned and nodded, confused. "Yeah, Neji... why? Is something
wrong?"
"Ah... I was just wondering..." His blush increased. "You rarely even touch
me... Aren't couples... supposed to be a bit more...?" he made a vague gesture
with his hand, not finding the right word for it.
Shikamaru sighed, relaxing a little now that he knew it wasn't something bad.
He smiled softly and turned his head gently so Neji was facing him again.
"I don't touch you because you wanted to keep us a secret."
Neji frowned a little. "You still kiss me," he pointed out. "But you don't
touch me."
"I still only kiss you when no one else is watching," Shikamaru said. "Do you
want me to, then?"
Flushing darkly, Neji still couldn't bring himself to look at his boyfriend.
"...Maybe?" he murmured in reply, too embarrassed by how forward he was being.
Heaving another sigh, Shikamaru lowered his arm. "Neji, I can't do anything you
want if you don't tell me," he said. "I may be a genius, but I'm not a mind-
reader."
Huffing slightly, Neji sat back, still not looking at him. He wasn't going to
spell it out for him, he just couldn't! He'd have thought the Nara should be
able to figure out that much from the subtle hints he had been giving. Alright,
so they very, very, subtle, but still.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, watching the other expectantly. His lips twitched
slightly. "Well?"
Swallowing slightly and licking his lips nervously, Neji cast a quick glance at
him before looking away again. How could something so simple be so difficult?
He nodded finally, slowly.
Shikamaru's smirk widened and, without saying anything, reached an arm out and
dragged him closer, wrapping his arms around him and bringing Neji half on top
of him. "Better?"
Making a startled sound, Neji flushed again as he suddenly found himself draped
halfway over his boyfriend.
"Y-yeah..." he nodded, relaxing a little as he laid his head down on
Shikamaru's shoulder.
Shikamaru hummed in satisfaction, closing his eyes and relaxing under the
Hyuuga.
Feeling the slight rumbling in Shikamaru's chest as he hummed, Neji closed his
eyes, finding he rather liked being close to his boyfriend like this.
After a few minutes, Shikamaru started drifting off to sleep again, the extra
heat and weight making it easier to fall asleep.
Chuckling softly as he noticed that Shikamaru was going back to sleep, Neji
shook his head slightly, pressing a soft kiss against his cheek, still a light
blush staining his cheeks.
Shikamaru gave a sleepy smile, hold on the Hyuuga tightening momentarily in a
hug.
Shivering slightly, Neji closed his eyes, smile almost disappearing. How long
had it been since he had been given a proper hug? He couldn't remember. Not
that it mattered. Pushing those thoughts away, he just enjoyed it.
Shikamaru peeked an eye open and pressed a light kiss to the side of his head.
Making a soft noise that sounded almost like a purr, Neji shifted slightly into
a better position.
"This is nice," he murmured.
"Mm," he sounded in agreement, closing his eye again and smile widening.
"Well aren't you two cute like that?" Ino's voice was suddenly heard, making
Neji tense and quickly sit up, glaring at the girl that was sitting a bit away
from them, camera in her hand.
Shikamaru scowled, half from the loss of warmth and contact and half from Ino
herself. "Ino, just leave us alone."
Ino just giggled, taking another picture of them, making Neji splutter and
scramble off of his boyfriend, his face completely red.
"Oh, don't mind me, Neji," she said with a grin. "I'm just getting my revenge!"
She gave Shikamaru an evil look.
Shikamaru's eyes narrowed and he sat up. "You better not get those developed,
Ino," he growled out. Not that he wouldn't mind having a picture of him and
Neji, but if anyone who shouldn't see them, did...
"Hmm~" Ino pretended to think it over. "Why not?" She asked rather sweetly,
teasing. "I was planning to post them all around town."
Shikamaru frowned, glaring at her. "You know, you really should think through
your plans like I told you," he said. "What do you think would happen if Neji's
uncle found out he had a boyfriend?"
"Oh, I don't know... Maybe he'd give you both a good spanking?" She smirked at
them. Of course, she would never do such a thing, or even consider doing it-
- she wasn't that evil, but it was fun to tease them about it.
"You certainly deserve that after the prank you pulled!"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, falling back down on the ground again. "Get over it,
Ino."
"Hah!" Ino turned her nose in the air. "Perhaps I'll just show it to your
mother." She grinned at the thought. Yoshino would freak out totally if she
found out her son had hid a relationship, and a boyfriend, nonetheless, from
her.
Shikamaru sat up again, glaring at her. "Don't you dare." He knew his father
still had suspicions, but his mother would freak out.
"Yeah, like you didn't dare make me and Tenten fear for your lives!" She bit
back.
Shikamaru sighed, grumbling inaudibly to himself. "That was to teach you to
butt out of everyone's lives."
"So? You wouldn't even be together if we hadn't!" Ino huffed. "I'm not going to
forgive you until I get a proper 'thank you, Ino, for helping us hook up’!"
Shikamaru scowled, an idea coming back to him. "How about instead I hook you up
with someone," he suggested, trying his hardest to keep a smirk from his lips.
"Please!" Ino rolled her eyes amused. "You wouldn't be bothered to get yourself
a date," she snorted before pausing.
"With who?"
Shikamaru let the smirk appear then, giving a shrug. "If you're not interested,
then oh well, but I know someone who said they liked you."
"Hmm..." Ino gave him a calculating glare before nodding. "If it works out,
I'll forgive you," she decided. "If not, your mother gets to see the picture."
Shikamaru nodded, having full confidence that his best friend could woo Ino if
she only gave him a chance. "Okay, but when I do set up the date, you can't
leave him hanging if you don't like him. Give him a chance and see the date
through to the end. That's my only condition."
"Yeah, yeah, okay." Ino grinned. "Now get back to cuddling, I've got stuff to
do." And with that she was gone.
Shikamaru's smirk just widened as she left, lying back down, satisfied with his
work. Now he just had to get Chouji to agree with it and not get nervous.
A bit apprehensive about lying back on top of Shikamaru, Neji glanced at him,
still blushing. It had been alright when the Nara had pulled him to lay there;
it was quite something else to take the initiative.
Noticing Neji hadn't moved and glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow. "Had
enough touching already?"
Flushing lightly at the question, Neji scooted closer to him, pausing a little
before he lay back down on top of him, rather awkwardly.
He smiled before wrapping his arms around the Hyuuga again.
Closing his eyes, Neji buried his face in Shikamaru's neck, breathing in
deeply.
Shikamaru's smile widened and he closed his eyes, ignoring the small pleasant
tingles the contact caused and just relaxing.
"Perhaps we should do this somewhere else?" Neji said after a while, lifting
his head. "We were lucky it was only Ino that saw us previously."
Shikamaru sighed, giving an unconscious pout. "But that means moving," he
whined softly. He was comfortable where he was!
"Lazy..." Neji smirked, although he made no move to get up or go anywhere else.
Shikamaru chuckled, giving a half-shrug. "You knew that coming into this
relationship," he said, still not opening his eyes.
Nodding in agreement, Neji just let out a soft, amused chuckle.
Shikamaru just smirked, tightening his hold on the Hyuuga again.
"Now it would come in handy to know that jutsu Gai-sensei and the others use to
just appear and disappear..." Neji sighed softly.
Shikamaru made an agreeing noise, peeking open one eye. "Yeah, but they don't
teach you that until you're promoted to Jounin."
"I know." Neji nodded, rather annoyed at that.
Shikamaru sighed, closing his eye again. "I'm sure you'll be promoted next time
around, Neji, and you'll be closer to that," he said. "It's not like anyone
could be this time. I heard Naruto's out with someone looking for the next
Hokage anyway."
Neji just sighed, although he knew he would do his absolute best to be promoted
at the next Chuunin-exam.
Shikamaru pulled away a little and leaned down, kissing Neji again.
Kissing back, Neji closed his eyes, shivering a little at the gentle nature of
Shikamaru's kisses.
Shikamaru broke the kiss before the urge to do more overcame him and settled
back down.
However, Neji was not letting it go just yet. Leaning up, he kissed him again,
his grip on Shikamaru's clothes tightening slightly.
Shikamaru blinked, startled, but returned the kiss happily.
Breathing slightly heavier as he pulled back, Neji gave him a small smile
before laying down, his head on the Nara's chest, listening to his steady
heart-beat.
Shikamaru couldn't help but smile back, tightening his hold on Neji again
before moving one hand to stroke his hair.
"Mm..." moaning softly, Neji didn't notice that his body started responding to
the gentle treatment of his hair.
Shikamaru's hand stilled and he looked down at Neji, eyebrows raised in
surprise.
Tensing once he realized what was happening, Neji jumped away from his
boyfriend, face beat red as he sat beside him, trying to hide his problem.
"S-sorry..." he blinked, still surprised he would react like that to having
Shikamaru stroking his hair.
Shikamaru shook his head, face heating up a little as he sat up. "It's fine,"
he muttered. "No big deal."
Not able to look at him, Neji's face was completely flushed. That was something
he didn't want to happen again unless that was their intention-- and at that
thought, he flushed some more.
"So... Uh..." Shikamaru cleared his throat in nervousness.
"I… suppose I should... go home..." Neji glanced nervously about, pretty sure
that Shikamaru didn't want to be around him at the moment, and his
embarrassment made him wish he could be swallowed by a hole in the ground.
Shikamaru frowned a little, nodding after a while. "...If you want to," he said
finally.
"Ah... that's not really it..." Neji couldn't just say that he was too
embarrassed to stay around someone else like this, or that he'd prefer to get
rid of his problem quickly. It didn't mean he wouldn't have wanted to stick
around for a while longer had it not, well, happened.
Shikamaru studied Neji for a while before nodding slowly again. "Okay; it's
fine. I should find Chouji and talk with him anyway."
Nodding, Neji leaned in, ghosting his lips over his boyfriend's before he was
off.
Shikamaru smiled, watching him as he walked off. He waited another minute
before forcing himself up and starting his search for Chouji.
--
At his home, Chouji was busy eating dinner, the food disappearing quickly from
his plate.
Shikamaru knocked on his front door, running different scenarios through his
head on how this would all plan out.
"Door's unlocked!" Chouji called in between chewing and swallowing, not
bothering to get up and answer the door.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, smirking a little. Chouji was getting to be more
like him. He opened the door, strolling in and heading straight for the
kitchen. "Hey."
"Hey," Chouji grinned up at him, pausing in his eating. "How was your day with
Neji?" he asked, amused at how much his best friend had taken to hang out with
his boyfriend, despite the fact that they didn't have much in common; Neji
enjoyed training and working out, Shikamaru was pretty much the opposite,
enjoying his rest and not giving a damn if he was good at something or not.
Shikamaru smirked, pulling out a chair to sit down in. "Fine. Up until Ino
showed up and tried to blackmail me, that is."
"Oh?" Chouji smiled, curious about what Ino had done to annoy Shikamaru this
time.
Shikamaru let out a sigh and nodded before resting his head on his hand. "She
snuck up when we were laying down and started taking pictures. Said she'd show
'kaa-san unless I apologized."
"So..." Chouji started, amused at the aspect of Ino showing Yoshino the photo.
It was something he wouldn't want to be around for if that happened. "Did you
apologize to her?"
Shikamaru shook his head, smirking lightly. "No, I made a deal with her," he
started casually. "I told her I knew someone who really liked her and I'd get
her a date with him. If it goes well, she'll forget about everything; the
pictures, the prank and the fight."
Chopsticks falling from his hand, Chouji stared at his best friend.
"...you didn't..." he shook his head slowly.
Shikamaru stared back, sighing softly. "Chouji, you know she likes you as a
friend. The only thing stopping you from being more is yourself. Just show her
how much you care."
"You know she won't," Chouji looked down, sighing. "She thinks I'm too fat,
she's said so herself!"
Shikamaru frowned. "If you show her you're serious, I doubt she'll turn you
away. Besides I made her promise she wouldn't cut the date short. You're the
nicest guy I know, she'd be stupid to not appreciate you."
"We can only hope..." Chouji shook his head, knowing that Ino, while a great
girl, was superficial when it came to who she wanted as her boyfriend.
Shikamaru nodded, giving his friend a smile. "So you'll do it?"
"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Chouji looked at his friend, not very
hopeful. "Not unless I want you to find someone else to go with her."
"I wouldn't do that," Shikamaru said. "I think you should try and do this, but
if you really don't want to, I'll tell her... I don't know, that the guy died
on a mission or something." He shrugged, smirking softly. Obviously he'd come
up with a better lie if Chouji didn't want to.
Chouji shook his head, a faint blush in his cheeks. "No... I'll do it, but if
it goes wrong I'm blaming you!"
Shikamaru chuckled, knowing very well that if something did go wrong in their
friendship it would be his fault.
"I know, but nothing will go wrong," he said before his smirk widened. "So have
any ideas on what you want to do on the date?"
"...I don't know." Chouji blushed a little more; after all, he hadn't been on a
date before, so he guessed anything would do.
"Well, you'll have to do something special," Shikamaru said. He didn't know
much about dates either, but he did know that Ino would be expecting something
amazing and special, especially since she was spoiled by her family anyway.
"...fancy restaurant?" Chouji asked, making a note to eat before going there.
He doubted his wallet could handle eating the amount of food he usually did eat
at a fancy restaurant.
Shikamaru nodded after a while. "Yeah, but plan something else too. You know
how she is with her diets," he said, scowling. He really didn't see the purpose
of dieting; it was the stupidest thing anyone could do.
"... isn't there supposed to be a festival in a week?" Chouji frowned a little.
Normally he didn't pay attention to stuff like that, but he seemed to remember
his father mentioning it.
Shikamaru blinked, wondering how he had forgotten that. Probably had to do with
that he avoided festivals and their crowds like the plague.
"Yeah, there is," he said, grinning. "That's a good idea."
Grinning, Chouji picked up his chopsticks, continuing his meal.
"What about you and Neji? Isn't it time you two go on a real date?"
Shikamaru sighed, blushing a little. "It's troublesome, but yeah, probably..."
Chuckling at his friend's choice of words, Chouji grinned. "You should go to
the festival too. No one would find out you aren't just friends going
together."
Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, I know," he said then he reached out and stole a bit
of food from his friend before that 'last bite' would be the only thing left.
"So, have you guys gone any further than kissing?" Chouji grinned, not able to
help the fact that he was a bit curious about his friend's relationship, and
last time he had checked, they hadn't done anything more than a bit innocent
kissing.
Shikamaru looked at Chouji in surprise and shook his head. "N-no, not really.
He... complained earlier that I wasn't touching him enough, so we, well,
cuddled for a while. Which is when Ino showed up."
Chuckling again, Chouji shook his head a little.
"What do you think? Do you want to do more than kiss?"
Shikamaru flushed, glancing away. "...Maybe. I don't know," he said, sighing.
"I wouldn't mind it."
"Then perhaps you should try it." Chouji shrugged. "If Neji complained you
weren't touching him enough, I don't think he'll freak out. Worst case, he'll
say he wants to wait with whatever you want to do a little longer."
He grumbled inaudibly for a second but just nodded. "Yeah, I know," he said
finally.
Chouji did find it a little strange to talk Shikamaru into doing... stuff with
his boyfriend, but he supposed that as long as they didn't go into details, it
was all fine.
"So," the Nara started, smirking again, "which of your festival outfits will
you wear?"
Flushing slightly as he didn't like dressing up, Chouji shrugged. "A black
kimono and a pair of simple hakama, I suppose..." he muttered after a while
Shikamaru inwardly winced and smacked himself for what he was about to say. It
would sound so gay and girly.
"You need something better than that if you want to impress Ino, Chouji. It's
too plain."
"Then what?" Chouji raised an eyebrow at his friend. Since when did Shikamaru
think about things like that. "That's traditional wear."
Shikamaru nodded, letting out a sigh. "Yeah, but you should at least wear
something with a pattern. And I remember her saying once that you'd look good
in blues," he said, muttering the last part.
"What?" Chouji's head snapped up, blush covering his cheeks.
"It was a couple months back," he said, shrugging. "When she was on that make-
over kick after she cut her hair in the preliminaries. Said you were a 'winter'
and would look good in blue."
Still blushing, Chouji just nodded, almost making a good imitation of Hinata as
he fidgeted a bit.
Shikamaru smirked, amused by how bashful Chouji was being. "So do you have a
kimono or yukata you could use?"
"I... I guess I have a blue one somewhere..." he murmured, still blushing.
He raised an eyebrow, slightly skeptical since he hadn't seen his friend wear
any formal wear for a few years now.
"One that you're sure fits?"
"...I don't know..." he blushed further.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Well go look and try one on. If it doesn't fit,
we'll go shopping." He was fairly sure he needed a new one anyway, if he was
going to go with Neji. The one he owned he knew was ragged and probably had a
few moth-holes by now.
Nodding, Chouji finished his dinner quickly before he walked up to his room,
starting to rummage through his closet in search for the blue kimono he knew he
had.
Shikamaru waited downstairs, knowing his friend preferred to change behind
closed doors even if he knew Shikamaru didn't care what he looked like.
After a while, Chouji came back down, still wearing his usual clothes. "It was
too small," he sighed.
Shikamaru nodded, not surprised, and stood up. "Want to go get one fitted
then?"
Chouji nodded, knowing it had to be done sooner or later, and it wasn't wise to
wait too long before the festival. Two or three days before it, no one would
probably have the time, having gotten too many orders.
"You have your money then?" he asked, wanting to get out and get it done with
as quickly as possible.
Nodding again, Chouji grabbed a bag of chips, walking outside with his best
friend.
After a few minutes, they walked into a tailors, looking around at the
different kimonos on display while waiting for a worker to, well, work.
"Can I help you?" A male tailor approached them, smiling in that way people did
when dealing with customers.
Shikamaru glanced over at him and nodded. "Yeah, we both need a kimono for the
festival next week."
"Ah, I see" he bowed a little. "Do you see any fabrics you like? We have some
very nice ones..." he said, beginning to talk about the different kinds of
fabrics they had.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, blocking out the man's voice after a while. "This is
fine for me," he interrupted, gently fingering a green fabric with bamboo
shoots patterned on it.
"Very well," the man bowed again before clapping his hands. Soon another man
came over to them, and told Shikamaru to follow him to get the measurements.
Chouji took a while longer to decide, but ended up with a midnight blue fabric
with white star-pattern.
Shikamaru followed the other back, soon inwardly complaining about this whole
process. It was really too troublesome. It wasn't until almost an hour later
that he was let go with instructions to come back in three days to pick it up.
Done around the same time, Chouji looked a little sick. He most definitely
didn't like the measuring process, but he had done as asked, knowing it would
be over sooner that way.
Shikamaru smiled at his friend before slinging an arm around his shoulder.
"Come on, I'll treat you to some barbecue."
"Really?" Chouji seemed to perk up a little at the thought, some colour
returning to his face. He was lucky to have a friend that knew how to cheer him
up, and willing to do it.
Shikamaru nodded, smile widening a little as he steered Chouji out of the
tailors. "Yeah, just try not to eat up all my money, alright?" he asked, half
joking.
"I'll try," Chouji grinned back, letting himself be lead towards the barbecue
by him.
***** Chapter 14 *****
About a week later, Chouji was sitting at one of the finer restaurants in the
village, his hands shaking slightly as he waited for his date, knowing that she
had no idea it was him she was going to a date with. He was wearing a black
hakama and his new kimono, a slightly lighter haori over it all.
Ino walked into the place, hair up in a braided bun and a light purple kimono,
thoroughwort patterns littering the bottom of it as well as the sleeves. She
looked around curiously, remembering Shikamaru telling her that she would know
who it was when she saw them.
Her eyes widened when she caught sight of her own friend, pouting. Shikamaru
had pranked her again! Oh, he would so get it...
Catching sight of his love-interest and close friend, Chouji blushed slightly
before looking away. He felt a little guilty for letting Shikamaru set them up
on this date when it was obvious that Ino didn't like him like that.
Ino let out a sigh through her nose and headed over to him. She had promised
Shika she'd spend the day with the guy. At least she knew they wouldn't fight.
She put a smile on and sat down gracefully at the table.
"Hey, Chouji."
"H-hi..." Chouji swallowed a little, letting out a nervous chuckle. "Ah... s-
sorry about this..." he looked away, feeling very awkward.
She gave him a weird look but just waved it off. "It's fine. I should've known
he'd pull something like this anyway," she said, huffing.
"'Pull something like this'...?" Chouji asked, slightly confused at the way she
phrased it, as if she thought Shikamaru had pulled a prank on them or
something.
Ino rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, yeah. He said
he'd get me a date and then goes and does this," she said, waving a hand
slightly before tucking it back into the crook of her arm.
"W-well, uh... you see..." Chouji stuttered, feeling his face go red as he
attempted to explain that it wasn't a joke. That it actually was a date, but he
found himself unable to say so.
Ino raised an eyebrow, staring at her friend. Okay, something was going on
here.
"What is it, Chouji?"
"…N-nothing," he murmured, not having the guts to admit it to her. "Are you
ready to o-order?" He asked, trying to cover up his embarrassment.
Ino frowned. She didn't like being left out of the loop! But then she just
nodded, letting her arms hang back by her sides and rest in her lap.
Handing her a menu, Chouji hid a little behind his own, trying to will the
blush in his cheeks away.
She took the menu, looking through the salad section, a little surprised at how
expensive even those were. Definitely not something that could be in their
everyday budget.
"...Isn't this place a bit... much?" she asked.
"Uh... no... it's fine," Chouji replied, grimacing a little behind his own
menu, trying to find an excuse. "It is a festival, you know."
Ino eyed him from behind the menu again before nodding and dropping it. It's
not like she would order much anyway.
When a waitress came over to them, Chouji ordered only about a tenth of what he
usually would.
Ino ordered a small salad, the dressing on the side, a little surprised that
Chouji ordered that little. Sure it was expensive, but if it had been planned,
shouldn't he have a lot of money for it?
"So… what do you want to do when we're done here?" Chouji asked after a while,
trying to start a conversation; normally Ino would just chatter on and on, not
leaving many awkward silences. "At the festival, I mean."
"Hm." Ino tapped her chin in thought. "Well, we definitely need to stay for the
fireworks later," she started. "Oh, I want to try catching a goldfish." It was
a tradition for her at every festival, even if she had only ever gotten one
once, and that had been when her father had been with her and steadied her
hands.
Nodding, Chouji smiled a little, agreeing with her. "It sounds fun," he replied
with a grin, glad that it seemed that the awkwardness was over.
Ino smiled, giving a nod of her own. "Mnhm. We should go watch one of the
kabuki dances too," she suggested.
Nodding, Chouji made an agreeing sound, watching her as she was thinking about
things they could do; finding that thoughtful look on her face really cute.
Ino continued chatting, talking about what sort of things she used to do when
her whole family used to go to the festival. She didn't notice that Chouji was
just staring at her, almost forgetting that Shikamaru had set this up as a
prank.
Listening to her, Chouji was getting this dreamy, far-away look in his eyes as
he watched the girl talk, noticing that she was looking very cute tonight. She
had probably expected someone completely different from him, maybe even the
Uchiha.
"--ji? Chouji!" She pouted, her eyes narrowing a little and she reached over,
waving a hand in front of his face. "Are you even listening to me?"
"Of-- of course I am," flustering, Chouji looked down at the table, trying to
hide his blush. Luckily for him, the waitress came back with their orders,
telling them pleasantly that she hoped they would enjoy themselves before she
disappeared again.
Ino huffed slightly but just smiled at the waitress before saying,
"Itadakimasu," then starting on her food.
"Itadakimasu!" Looking down at the food, Chouji started digging in, savoring
the delicious taste of the food. There was no doubt the prices matched the
quality.
About half an hour later they were done and the waitress had brought the check
over.
Taking a look at the check, Chouji wanted to grimace, but instead he paid
without batting an eyelash, even going as far as give her a tip. "So... going
fishing?" He asked, starting to get up from the table.
Ino blinked, startled, and slipped her money pouch back into her sleeve, having
expected to pay for herself. She smiled and gave a nod, standing up,
straightening her kimono out.
Smiling back at her, Chouji was thinking of offering her his arm before
walking, but decided not to. Not when she clearly didn't see him as more than a
friend. Starting to walk, he tried not to be self-conscious of what he was
wearing.
Ino studied him while they walked, quiet for once. He didn't look too bad when
he tried. Not anything close to Sasuke, still, of course, but he cleaned up
well.
She let another smile come to her lips and said, "See? I told you that you'd
look good in blue."
"Eh?" Startled, Chouji's cheeks pinked before he looked away from her again.
"R-really? You think so?" he asked, feeling a little better. "You... you look
pretty--" no, beautiful "--like always." No matter the colour.
Ino giggled, smile brightening. "Come on," she said, grabbing his hand and
pulling. "Let's go catch those fish!"
Just nodding, Chouji let himself be pulled along, enjoying the way the blonde
girl's hand fit into his.
Ino stopped in front of the stand, letting go of Chouji's hand and smiling as
she observed a few of the younger kids try to get a fish on the small paddle.
"Here," Chouji bought paddles, smiling good-naturedly at her. "Give it a go."
Ino grinned. "Thanks," she said, carefully rolling up her long sleeves and
knelt on the ground with a paddle in her hands. She slipped it into the water,
tongue sticking out slightly in concentration.
Amused at how cute she looked, Chouji just watched her, not really caring if
she managed to catch a fish or not.
Ino pouted, sulking a little, as the fish broke through the thin paper of the
paddle and back into the water.
Smiling to himself and repressing a chuckle, Chouji just gave her another
paddle.
She looked up when another paddle was offered, pout shifting into a smile
again. Ino took the paddle and waited for the fish to calm a little before
trying to catch one again, the same thing happening in the end.
Chuckling at the girl, Chouji just handed her the rest of the paddles, figuring
she would need them all.
Ino glared up at him, huffing, but accepted them anyway. She kept trying,
almost catching the same fish twice but it kept breaking through. Letting out
an annoyed screech (but subdued enough that only the two closest vendors could
hear it through the festival's noise), Ino threw down the last two paddles and
stood up.
"I give up!"
Lips twitching slightly, though he didn't dare really smile for fear of Ino's
wrath, Chouji picked up the two paddles.
"I'll give it a go," he said with a smile, rolling up his sleeves.
"Hn." Ino watched him, sulking and crossing her arms over her chest.
A minute later, Chouji was grinning as he received a goldfish in a bag of
water. "Here," he smiled, handing it to Ino.
Ino was ready to complain to him about how come she couldn't get a fish that
easily and that he could and it just wasn't fair but stopped before she
started, blinking confused at him.
She took the bag hesitantly. "Oh... Um, thank you. Are you sure?"
"I'm sure." Chouji smiled at her, pulling down his sleeves again. "Now where
to?" he asked.
Ino smiled brightly and threw her arms around Chouji in a hug, pressing a quick
kiss to his cheek. She didn't think anything about it seeing as they used to do
that before the academy and then just pulled away, tugging him in a random
direction.
Blushing darkly and tensing at the girl's actions, Chouji let himself be pulled
along like a marionette, gazing at the girl with a dazed look in his eyes.
Ino stopped mid-step, eyes narrowing as she spotted her Sasuke getting his ear
chatted off by Billboard Brow; she would not have that!
Leaving Chouji, she stormed over and put on a sickeningly sweet smile, latching
onto Sasuke's other arm.
"Sasuke-ku~n," she cooed, batting her eyelashes. "Let's ditch Billboard Brow
and have a good time!"
Chouji watched the blonde girl run off to latch onto the raven-haired boy,
eyebrows furrowing sadly for a moment. With a sigh he went to find himself some
snacks, knowing he could never compete with the Uchiha for Ino's attention.
Less than ten minutes later, Ino watched Sakura run off in hopes of finding the
Uchiha again with angry tears welling up. She clenched her hands into fists,
pausing as she realized she still had the fish with her. She bit her lip and
slumped down against a wall, wrapping her arms around her knees and resting her
forehead on them, letting a tear roll down her hidden cheek.
Returning with a few snacks on sticks, Chouji blinked as he saw Ino sitting on
the ground in her kimono, obviously upset by something. Having expected to find
her and Sakura still quarrelling, he sighed and scratched his head with his
free hand. He knew he would regret this, but he couldn't just leave his date
like that, even though she had technically ditched him first. Chouji felt at a
loss what to say as he sat down next to her.
"Here," he murmured, handing her a dango, not knowing what else to do. He knew
he felt better when eating something, but he had no clue if it was the same for
her.
Ino glanced up, more tears welling up. She ignored the offered dumplings and
half-clung to him, pressing her face into his shoulder. She shook slightly,
biting her lip to hold back a sob.
Dropping the dango in surprise, Chouji looked down at the girl. He felt bad for
her, hated the Uchiha for hurting her like that, hated himself for having
fallen in love with her, and hated his conflicting emotions. Sighing softly, he
reached up, petting her head, trying to comfort the distressed girl.
Ino squeezed her eyes shut, a sob breaking through despite how hard she tried
to keep them back.
"I-I'll never be good enough f-for hi-im," she whispered, more tears spilling
out and soaking Chouji's shoulder.
Wincing slightly at the familiar line, Chouji knew that Ino probably felt the
same way with the Uchiha as he felt with her; he would never be good enough.
Feeling his heart clench a little, slowly breaking, he took a deep, slightly
shaky breath as he hugged her closer. He just couldn't be mad at her for this.
"No..." He shook his head, voice slightly thick with emotion. "You're too good
for him."
Ino sniffed, shaking her head. "How can you say that?" she asked, voice
wavering. "He's perfect and I... I'm just pathetic. I'm weak and stupid and
just... just..." She broke off with another sob.
Chouji closed his eyes and hugged her closer, trying to stop his own shivering,
not wanting to break down in front of her.
"Because I know you," he replied after a while, his own voice wavering too. "If
he can't see how special you are, he's either blind, or doesn't have a heart."
Probably the latter, he thought to himself.
Ino took as much comfort as she could from his words and warmth, falling silent
and just trying to compose herself. She didn't like feeling weak and helpless
like this. Eventually her trembling stopped and she let out a shaky breath,
pulling back a little and wiping at her eyes.
"Thank you, Chouji," she whispered.
"You're welcome," he murmured, giving her a pitying, sad, and slightly bitter
look.
She didn't notice, still trying to pull herself together. Another minute and
she pulled herself from Chouji's embrace, standing up. She plastered on a
bright smile before gasping as she spotted the dango ruined on the ground.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Chouji!" she said, feeling bad that she had wasted more of his
money, albeit indirectly. "I'll buy you a new one, okay?"
"No... it's okay." Chouji shook his head, slowly standing up and brushing dust
from his hakama. "It was my fault. Don't worry about it." At the moment, he
didn’t have his usual want for food, his appetite lost.
Ino sighed, looking a little guilty. "Are you sure? I don't mind..."
"I'm sure. It's fine." Chouji almost interrupted her, his voice slightly
crosser than usual, but not much. He just didn't feel like he had the energy to
keep it all in, but at the same time he couldn't lash out at the girl; she had
no idea what she made him feel.
Ino just nodded meekly, feeling like something was wrong but not sure what. She
knew that her two friends didn't approve of her infatuation with Sasuke, but
neither had ever reacted like this before.
"...Did you want to see what performances are going on?"
"Sure..." Chouji nodded slightly. Truth to be told, he didn't, but it would,
hopefully, take his mind off things, reminding himself to pull himself together
and keep the act up for his friend. He'd just feel worse if she discovered why
he was feeling down.
***** Chapter 15 *****
Shikamaru twitched slightly as his kimono was tugged on by another little kid
passing by. Damnit, he hated festivals!
"I wonder how their date is going," he muttered out loud with a sigh, repeating
himself again.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Neji just huffed and looked away from his
boyfriend. He could understand that he was worried for his friend, but this was
getting ridiculous! He shouldn't have let the other persuade him to go on a
real date with him, because he sure as hell wasn't enjoying himself with the
way Shikamaru constantly worried and fussed about his best friend that wasn't
even there.
Shikamaru let out another sigh and pushed his hair out of his face. He didn't
know why he'd let Ino convince him to keep it down; it was such a hassle. He
smirked as he got an idea and turned to look at his date. His smirk turned down
a little when he saw how grumpy Neji was, but shook it off.
"Hey, if you want to snack on anything, buy it now. I want to show you
something."
Raising an eyebrow elegantly, Neji looked questioningly at his date, mulling
over it in his head.
"I'm not hungry," he said after a while, slightly more pleased now that
Shikamaru was paying attention to him again. "Lead the way."
Shikamaru nodded and reached out, grabbing his hand and leading him through the
crowd. Slowly it started to filter out as they got farther and farther away
from the main streets and closer back towards the Nara house.
Wondering silently what they were doing there, Neji just followed him, a faint
hint of pink in his cheeks from them holding hands in a crowd.
Shikamaru glanced back and pressed his finger to his lips, signaling him to
keep quiet just in case. He crept around his own house and started leading him
through the thick forest in the back.
Still puzzled, Neji just nodded and kept silent as he snuck around the house,
wondering where they were headed as they walked through the thick forest,
knowing that was probably where they kept the deer.
Eventually he stopped in a large clearing on the top of a hill and let go of
Neji's hand. They could vaguely hear the sound of a babbling brook, further
back in the woods.
"Look," he said, gesturing over the hill, some of the sparkling lights of the
city in full swing able to be seen perfectly from there. "Still fun to look at,
we'll be able to see the fireworks from here and, best of all, no crowds."
Eyes widening slightly at the sight Shikamaru showed him, Neji smiled a little,
not letting go of his boyfriend's hand.
"I like it," he said softly, somehow not wanting to disturb the silence of the
forest too much.
Shikamaru smiled slowly and curled his fingers, grasping Neji's hand again.
"I'm glad," he said, happy to see the other boy smile. He leaned in, pressing a
soft kiss to his lips.
Kissing him back readily, Neji just tightened his hold on his hand a little,
starting to get comfortable with having a boyfriend, finding it more and more
pleasant as time passed by.
Shikamaru smiled into the kiss, taking a step closer and closing his eyes.
Eyes falling shut as well, Neji reached up, wrapping his arms lightly around
the Nara's neck, pulling him slightly closer.
Shikamaru wrapped his arms around Neji's waist. Remembering his friend's
advice, he hesitantly snuck his tongue out, tracing Neji's bottom lip.
Making a soft noise, Neji's lips parted without hesitation, his own tongue
coming out to meet Shikamaru's.
A little surprised but falling into the deeper kiss, Shikamaru moved his tongue
along Neji's and into his mouth, pressing closer.
Neji felt a little clumsy as they kissed like that, and his cheeks flushed, but
he didn't complain in the least.
Shikamaru pulled back after a minute, needing to take in oxygen properly. He
opened his eyes and licked his lips, finding more than a bit of saliva clinging
to them.
Panting softly as they broke apart, Neji didn't open his eyes immediately, as
if savouring the sensations he had felt during that kiss.
Shikamaru smirked lightly and gave a quick, soft kiss to his lips before
pulling back completely.
Almost startling at that, Neji's eyes snapped opened, a blush staining his
cheeks.
"Ah... thanks for showing me this place..." he murmured softly, turning to
admire the view again, not quite knowing what else to say.
His smirk softened into a smile and he gave a small shrug, following his gaze.
"It's nothing that special, but you're welcome."
"It's more special than the training-field," Neji pointed out, sitting down on
the ground, content with watching the festival-lights.
Shikamaru gladly sat down beside him, reclining back on the grass. "I guess
that's true; it's less public here."
"Are there deer around here?" Neji asked, a bit curious as he looked around,
wondering if they might stumble into some on their way back in the darkness.
"Yeah," Shikamaru said with a nod. "They're around; just not used to you yet,
so they'll take a while before they come out. Especially if there's lots of
noise. The more they see you, though, the more they'll trust you and show
themselves sooner."
Neji nodded, activating his byakugan silently, curious if there were any around
right now, and true enough, there was a small herd not too far away from them.
Deactivating it again, he lay back down.
Shikamaru smirked a little, amused at how much the other seemed to want to see
some deer.
"What's with that smirk?" Neji asked, turning his head to look at his
boyfriend, an eyebrow raised.
"Nothing," he said with a chuckle. "You're just cute." He leaned over and
pecked the tip of his nose.
Eyes widening a little, Neji flushed. "H-hey... I'm not cute!" He frowned a
little.
Shikamaru chuckled, smirk widening. "Ofcourseyou're not, Neji," he said,
teasing.
"No one's described me as cute before!" He gave his boyfriend a soft glare.
He quirked an eyebrow. "Maybe not to your face, they haven't," he said. "But
I've heard it quite a bit. Besides..." He paused, scooting closer and draping
an arm over his waist. "I'm your boyfriend, I can say it; I have privileges."
"Oh really now?" Neji raised an eyebrow amused. Okay, so it was a bit creepy
that people went around and called him cute, but at the moment that was not
important.
"Does that mean I can call you cute in return?" He teased back.
Shikamaru snorted, giving a half shrug. "If you really think I am, go right
ahead," he said, not thinking he, himself, was much attractive in any way.
"Hmm..." Neji thought about it for a while, before smirking. "Cute is, perhaps,
not the right word," he muttered to himself. "I'd rather say you're... sweet
and handsome." Blushing, he looked away from his boyfriend, not used to receive
or give any complements.
Shikamaru's eyes widened a little and he blushed, smiling softly. He pressed a
gentle kiss to his cheek before settling against him, content.
Just then a thin whistling noise was heard, followed by a small explosion,
indicating that the fireworks had begun, all sort of colours exploding all over
the sky.
Shikamaru turned his head at the noise, smile widening a little. Okay, so now
he was glad that Chouji suggested he go too. Again, he wondered how his friends
were doing but pushed that thought away, just wanting to lie here and enjoy
this time.
"It's much better to watch it from here." Neji nodded, turning his head as
well, just watching the fireworks.
Shikamaru chuckled and nodded. "Definitely. No kids running around and trying
to trip you."
Chuckling a bit, Neji agreed, but the best part, he decided, was that no one
was staring at them as if trying to figure out if they were just friends or
something more. Not that he would voice that out loud of course.
Comfortable silence settled over them and eventually Shikamaru let his eyes
drift closed, happy to just listen to the sounds of the fireworks.
Looking over at his boyfriend, Neji shook his head in amusement. He was still
lazy like usual. Leaning over, he gave him a soft peck on the cheek, before
laying back again.
Shikamaru smiled before turning onto his side and shifting closer, head tucking
in and resting on the other's shoulder.
Holding around him lightly, Neji lightly let his hands slide through the Nara's
hair, liking that he had let it down for once.
Shikamaru made a contented noise in the back of his throat, knowing that he'd
be falling asleep in a few minutes if Neji kept that up.
"...I like your hair," Neji said after a while, continuing to run his fingers
through it. It was slightly coarser than his, more manly in fabric he supposed.
Shikamaru just mumbled something inaudible in response, most likely having
nothing to do with what Neji had just said.
Chuckling, Neji just let him lay there like that, not minding if he fell asleep
on him. Continuing touching Shikamaru's hair, Neji blushed when he remembered
when Shikamaru had done that to him. It had been embarrassing, sure, but at the
same time... it had felt good.
Not more than five minutes later, Shikamaru was asleep, unconsciously snuggling
closer as his body heat naturally dropped.
Sighing, Neji knew he had to wake the other boy up, he could easily get sick
like this.
"Shikamaru?" He asked, shaking him lightly.
"Mmngh." Shikamaru grumbled, shutting his eyes tighter and burying his head
deeper into Neji, refusing to wake up.
"Come on... you can get sick like this," Neji sighed, continuing to shake him
gently.
Shikamaru whined low in his throat, obviously awake now but trying not to be.
"Either you get up now and we walk home, or I'm leaving you here for the
predators to get you," Neji huffed, seeing as Shikamaru was awake, but refusing
to get up.
Shikamaru let out a small snort, knowing the only predators in the Nara forest
were the birds that could fly from place to place. But he looked up, trying to
give the best helpless look he could muster.
"Carry me then?"
"You..." Neji blushed, glaring at him, before sighing, knowing it was no use.
"Fine, princess," he rolled his eyes.
Shikamaru just smirked in triumph, letting the name roll off him, unfazed.
Leaning down, Neji picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder before he
started walking, hoping he remembered the direction correctly. What he didn't
pay attention to was how Shikamaru's head was right above his ass.
Shikamaru squawked in protest before going silent and blinking. He smirked
slowly, staring at his ass as he moved. What a lovely sight.
Not aware of the staring, Neji finally found the trail they had been following
when they came there. Following it, it didn't take long before they were at
Shikamaru's house.
Shikamaru inwardly sulked as he knew Neji would now put him down since they
were out of the forest.
Putting Shikamaru down, Neji was quite sure his parents would not like seeing
their son carried like that. "Satisfied?" He asked with a smirk.
Shikamaru sighed and gave a nod, a slight pout going unnoticed by himself.
"I'll... see you tomorrow, then," Neji was amused at the way Shikamaru pouted a
little.
Shikamaru nodded again, smiling now. "Yeah, usual plac-- oh, uh, I kinda wanted
to see how... it went..." he said.
"I see," Neji chuckled softly, smirking. "So you'll be a bit late?"
"Yeah, probably not until after your second break," he said. "You don't mind,
right?"
Neji shook his head, kissing Shikamaru's nose with a blush. "I don't mind," he
replied, not mentioning that he would probably be able to concentrate better
when he wouldn't be there.
Shikamaru smiled and pressed a quick kiss to his mouth. "Thanks," he said, then
joked, "Maybe you won't trip over yourself."
Huffing, Neji gave him a light hit on the head, smiling despite that. "I'm not
tripping all over myself!" He crossed his arms.
Shikamaru chuckled, smirking lightly. "Okay, have it your way."
"Hn," smirking back, Neji kissed him shortly on the lips again. "See you
tomorrow." Turning and walking towards his own apartment, Neji smiled slightly
to himself; it had been a good evening.
Shikamaru smiled as he watched him walk away. Turning, he slipped into his
house, for once glad that he had gone to a festival.
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