Chapter 1: Set slightly before Naruto's return to Konoha.
Shikamaru stood with a lazy slouch as he stared out at the clouds of mist interweaving with the mountains before him and let out a long sigh, feeling months of pent out exhaustion and stress leaving his body with it. He really should be heading back to Konoha – the simple delivery mission could be easily completed by any Genin, much less a Chuunin. Even one who tended to take things as slowly as possible.
He had met with the head monk, Tsukimichi-sama, of Moonlight Temple the previous night and finished their discussion within two hours. It was all very basic, mandatory stuff that really didn't require the week that he was given; Moonlight Temple was a mere day away from Konoha. Shikamaru was starting to wonder if Asuma hadn't planned this on purpose after all.
The memory of the Jounin smiling at him way too widely as he sent him off played in his mind.
Tch, troublesome, he thought even as a fond smile tugged wryly at his lips.
The droning of the monks chanting from the main hall gradually came to a stop and Shikamaru took it as his cue to return to his room. As he passed the hall where monks were streaming out from, familiar mocha strands caught his eyes. Unlike the abbots, this particular man wasn't wearing the standard white outfit of the temple. Rather, he donned the same midnight blue yukata as Shikamaru, marking his identity as an outsider. Shikamaru tilted his head a little to cast a sidelong glance at the man who bowed deeply to Tsukimichi-sama.
As he turned around, sharp opal orbs met dull onyx ones.
Shikamaru raised a hand in greeting, not bothering to turn around fully, while Neji nodded back politely. Shikamaru shifted to stare out at the mist, feeling Neji approaching.
"Nara," Neji greeted with surprisingly amiability as he stood next to Shikamaru, looking out at the mountains.
"Hyuuga," Shikamaru returned casually, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "What are you doing here?"
"A side-op of sorts," Neji replied simply, quirking an eyebrow, asking for the same information.
"I'm here on a mission to deliver a message to Tsukimichi-sama," Shikmaru said with a slow roll of his shoulders, his body expressing what he didn't bother verbalising – what a drag.
Neji's eyebrows rose with slight surprise and that would have been enough to confirm Shikamaru's suspicion that Asuma probably did plan for him to take a break if he hadn't already figured it out. "Such a simple task? You?"
It was an innocent enough question, which didn't explain why the mist that Shikamaru was appreciating a while suddenly felt like it was suffocating him. He swallowed slowly but something must have flashed across his face because the Hyuuga started talking again without missing a beat.
"I'm shocked that such a simple D-rank mission was given to a Chuunin."
Shikamaru scoffed, the rock in his heart dislodging swiftly as if it had never been there. "You can blame Asuma for profligate deployment of resources. Also, add abuse of authority and shrewd manipulation of the Hokage to that count."
Neji looked amused, a small smile touching his lips. "So your sensei wants to cut you some slack. Of all people, I thought that you'd appreciate it."
"I do appreciate it," Shikamaru concurred, a lazy smirk on his lips. "Doesn't mean he didn't commit all those offenses."
"I'm sure the jury would find him guilty," Neji deadpanned and Shikamaru felt eyes on him.
"On all counts." Shikamaru let out a sad sigh, as if Asuma was to be really apprehended at any moment.
Neji snorted softly but it sounded like he was trying to cover up a laugh and that had Shikamaru turning but he was stopped short as he realised something that he didn't noticed before from the Hyuuga's side profile. His eyes were instantly drawn to the green mark stamped across Neji's forehead and he couldn't stop the shocked frown from forming on his face. The Jounin always made sure to wear his hitai-ate for more than one form of protection.
Neji quickly averted Shikamaru's prying eyes, his shoulders tensing a little as if he expected the Nara to bring the curse seal up and use it against him. That was more than slightly offending but Shikamaru let it slip; some things were better left ignored.
"Shikamaru-san!"
The Nara let out an irritated as the overenergetic voice of Ishi, a temple boy, broke through the peaceful lull of the early morning. Skidding to a halt beside the two Konoha shinobi, Ishi beamed up at them with a brightness that seemed to be stolen from the sun.
"Ah, Neji-san! You're here too!"
Neji nodded politely in response. If Shikamaru didn't know better, he'd have thought that the Hyuuga was ignoring the temple boy on purpose. Then again, Ishi did resemble a certain Rock Lee a little too much and Shikamaru imagined that Neji would want a little respite from his ever youthful teammate every once in a while.
"Shikamaru-san, I have been tasked by Tsukimichi-sama to give you a tour around the place!" Ishi announced with unconcealed pride, puffing out his chest as if he had been promoted to head monk. Yeah, Shikamaru could totally see Rock Lee in him.
A harassed look came over Shikamaru's bored features but Neji cut in before he could reject the young apprentice.
"It's alright, Ishi-san, I'll show him around."
Shikamaru's eyes widened in surprise as he looked over at the Hyuuga whose attention was on the excitable monk. Ishi looked ready to protest, opening his mouth but snapping it shut as he seemed to think better of it. He nodded joyously, bowed to them both and whisked away with the wind.
A smirk settled onto Shikamaru's lips once more as he turned to face the Hyuuga. "Already terrorised him I see," he teased good-naturedly.
"Contrary to popular belief, Nara, I do not go around terrorising people," Neji retorted with a scoff.
"Could have fooled me," Shikamaru countered, his smirk becoming wider as Neji turned to throw him a mild glare. "And there is the proof."
Neji eased his expression back into neutral blankness. "Because you provoked me."
"Come on, Hyuuga," Shikamaru drawled lowly, "that doesn't count as a provocation."
"Different standards," Neji dismissed coolly, shooting Shikamaru an equally calm look.
"Where yours are too high."
"Whereas yours are subpar."
"I must say, though, it doesn't seem like it takes a lot to ruffle your feathers."
"The only feathers ruffling here will be yours if you keep up with that self-assuming view of the world."
"I merely go by facts."
"Facts that you cannot back."
"But are nonetheless set in stone."
"Carved by you," Neji scoffed, seemingly disinterested in continuing the conversation if not for the light of mirth burning in his eyes.
"Well," Shikamaru said, closing his eyes and feeling the warmth of the rising sun playing against his eyelids as his lips curved into a grin. "I do have an affinity for Earth."
Shikamaru peeked an eye open to glance covertly at the Hyuuga. Neji was biting back a smile which he smoothed over into the same blankness as before with relative ease, causing Shikamaru to frown a little. Neji tilted his head and gestured for Shikamaru to follow him.
"Come, I'll show you around."
The path Neji led him involved more stairs than Shikamaru could care to count. They eventually stopped at the foot of the grand Buddha statue that oversaw the entirety of the temple grounds. It was enclosed by hedges of stone walls, just tall enough to keep people from reaching over and touching the statue.
Shikamaru let his gaze drift from the bottom of the statue and slowly made his way up only to stop short when his eyes landed on a very familiar looking sign. He stared at it for a moment before subtly turning to sneak a peek at Neji or more specifically, Neji's forehead. Without a doubt, the curse mark on Neji's forehead was identical to the one stamped onto Buddha's chest.
"Have you heard of the Monkey King tale?" Neji inquired softly, tone wistful and Shikamaru would have believed he was talking to himself if not for the acute gaze pinned on him.
"Who hasn't?" Shikamaru returned to his languid slouch, the wheels in his mind racing as he wondered where this was heading.
"Do you know the headband that he wears?"
Shikamaru blinked slowly as he realised exactly where this was going. More than the shock that Neji was actually opening discussing this, Shikamaru was more concerned with why the heck Neji was choosing to talk about it with him.
"Yeah."
"Do you know what it does?"
He's not gonna make this easy for me.
Shikamaru straightened a little and turned to look at Neji straight in the eyes, trying to gauge where the hell the Hyuuga was going with all these but the cool gaze that he met revealed nothing. The opal orbs were frozen over with a layer of ice that prevented Shikamaru from seeing what went on behind them. He could see why people were so terrified of simply looking into that endless white, especially Neji's. They were cold enough to freeze in.
But Shikamaru wasn't afraid.
"Xuanzang activates it to control the Monkey King when he steps out of line," Shikamaru answered, choosing the words carefully, wondering what sort of reaction it would trigger in the Jounin.
Neji's lips curled into a sardonic smirk that Shikamaru had never seen on the Hyuuga's face before. An inextricable coldness jolted through him. But that look was gone in the next second when Neji looked away and Shikamaru wondered if he had really seen it. The coldness melted away, leaving an unsettling boil in the pit of his stomach.
"Ironic, isn't it?" Neji asked instead, tipping his head towards the mark on the Buddha's chest.
"Your ancestors had a twisted sense of humour alright."
Neji obviously hadn't been expecting any response, or even if he had, he definitely hadn't anticipated that kind of a response. A slight look of surprise took over his once stoic features as he turned to stare at the Nara.
Shikamaru lifted an eyebrow. "Or they had a twisted sense of religion."
The surprised look faded away from Neji's face and he chuckled softly, the warm sound sending inexplicable warmth rushing through Shikamaru, the complete opposite of the coldness that griped him just a few moments before.
What the hell is wrong with me?
"I know a place you'll like," Neji told him with a small smile.
"Is that so?" Shikamaru asked with a raised brow as if doubting that when really, he was just latching on to the chance to escape from that complicated knot that was building up in his stomach.
"Come with me, Nara," Neji replied simply, meeting Shikamaru's challenge effortlessly.
Neji led him round the giant Buddha statue and inclined his head towards the pockets of mountains situated beyond the temple boundaries. Jumping up onto the railing and leaping downwards, Neji made a swift descent down Moonlight Mountain with Shikamaru close behind.
At the bottom of the holy mountain was a clear stream separating the two regions. Neji crossed it easily, sending chakra to his feet to keep him afloat before he began climbing up the opposite mountain. Shikamaru did likewise and after five minutes of ascending, found himself at its peak, the golden back of the Buddha facing him. He turned around and found Neji at the edge of a miniature cliff. Shikamaru made his way up and raised a questioning eyebrow.
Neji merely lifted his gaze up to the skies, Shikamaru's own eyes following the action.
Layers of clouds lay around in the sky, so seemingly near yet so obviously out of reach. Soft sunlight flitted through the slots in between the clouds, keeping the place just sufficiently warm and bright, like when Konoha has one of its good weather days. Being located in the Country of Fire meant that afternoons were usually warm and sultry and while Shikamaru could care less about the weather when he was cloud-gazing, he didn't particularly like his clothes sticking to him afterwards. And he hated it when he had to cut his sessions short simply because the sun was glaring right into his eyes. This was definitely a welcomed change.
"You bought me here for cloud-gazing," Shikamaru stated, shaking his head with disbelief even as a smile made its way onto his lips.
Who knew Neji to be the empathetic type? It was a nice, even thoughtful, gesture on the Hyuuga's part and while Shikamaru had never once fallen for that icy attitude bullshit that Neji liked to throw away, he hadn't exactly thought of Neji as the attentive type either. Clearly, there were many things he didn't know about the Jounin.
"No, I brought you here to worship Buddha's back," Neji intoned drily as he sat down, gracefully crossing his legs in one swift motion.
"I just didn't expect you to do this for me." With a shrug, Shikamaru collapsed onto his back in a less than elegant manner, using his arms to cushion his head as he stared up at the clouds. This was perfect.
Neji scoffed. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Nara. I found this spot perfect for meditating. The clouds were but supplementary."
"Didn't expect you to share," Shikamaru taunted lightly, turning his head to see Neji with his eyes already closed.
As with meditating, Neji sat with a straight back but he looked relaxed at the same time, a ghost of a smile lingering on his lips.
Without meaning to, Shikamaru's eyes once again drifted to Neji's forehead where the curse mark was embedded. Shikamaru had always thought that the one thing that would throw Hyuuga Neji into a mega bitch fit would be to remove his forehead protector. Sure, he let the whole stadium know about it during the Chuunin Exams but he was trying to make a point then.
However, Neji didn't even seem to remember that it existed right then. Shikamaru had never seen the older shinobi more comfortable in his own skin before. Whenever he saw the Jounin in Konoha, he always thought that Neji was too rigid, seemingly always on alert and ready to bolt if needed despite that calm and cool exterior.
Today was different.
Today's Neji didn't seem eager to go anywhere.
"I share," Neji answered lightly and then that ghost of a smile turned into a small smirk. "Sometimes."
"Feeling charitable today, are we?"
"I wouldn't call this charity."
"Generosity?"
"That's closer to it."
"But that's not it?"
"Not quite."
Shikamaru let out a chuckle. Neji was really laying on the surprises today. Who knew the passive Hyuuga had a sense of humour and would willingly partake in light, senseless banter?
How many sides are you hiding, Hyuuga? Shikamaru thought with an almost too gentle tenderness which was immediately followed by a jolt of panic which pulled him back to reality and roughly slammed his feet on the ground.
What the hell was that? It was dangerous ground, ground that Shikamaru had no intention of trekking at all. Shikamaru pulled his thoughts away from that danger zone and focused instead on the clouds, unwilling to spend even another second to try and figure out what that was.
He let his thoughts wander around as his eyes tracked the swaying of the clouds.
He must have fallen asleep at some point for the sun hung high up in the sky the next time he opened his eyes. He yawned widely and turned onto his side, sneaking an eye open. Neji was still in his meditating position. Shikamaru almost thought he was asleep till white orbs opened and peered at him.
"Afternoon," Neji greeted pleasantly.
"Afternoon," Shikamaru replied, sitting up and using the motion to stretch his arms above his head, smiling in satisfaction when his shoulder joints cracked. "How long was I out?"
"About two hours."
Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly before a sheepish grin appeared on his face. "It is a nice spot."
"You're tired," Neji said pointedly, his tone making it clear that Shikamaru couldn't fool him.
"Nah, it's a nice place."
"Your chakra flow is all messed up. Slowing and quickening at random intervals with blockages appearing at times. You're lucky they only last for a few seconds. If not, I would be forced to do something about them and trust me, it'll hurt."
Shikamaru stared at Neji in a mixture of disbelief and amazement as he registered what he just heard. "Did you seriously check me out with your Byakugan?"
Neji gave him another pointed look at the innuendo but chose to let to slide. Another surprise. "I don't need my Byakugan to see how tired you are."
"Trust me, it's not my choice." Shikamaru sighed and closed his eyes as if that would block all his problems.
Neji must have sensed something was wrong for he didn't press that point. He didn't, however, let up about the Nara needing to rest.
"You should rest more."
"Uh-uh. Don't wanna hear that from you."
"And why is that?" Neji actually sounded offended.
"You're the most hardworking person I know."
"Isn't that Naruto?"
"... Aside from that idiot. But that's because he's an idiot."
"Same difference."
"You snatch missions up left, right, centre."
"I don't snatch. I request."
"With your Byakugan activated?" Shikamaru couldn't resist tossing that in.
Neji rolled his eyes at the allusion to their previous conversation.
"I don't threaten. Like I said, I merely request."
"And somehow your requests all get through?"
"Perks of being Gai-sensei's student."
"..."
Somehow, Shikamaru couldn't imagine Neji screaming about the youthfulness of missions and how they were the essence of being youthful. Neji caught his appalled look and rolled his eyes again.
"They're afraid I'll set him on them," he clarified with a tone of finality as if the thought of him screaming about anything youthful was personally offending.
"But Gai-sensei would want you to rest."
"What they don't know won't hurt them."
"... You're a genius alright."
Neji laughed then. Okay, well, it was more like a scoff of laughter and only lasted for about a second but Shikamaru could tell that it was genuine and that coaxed a smile out of him even before he knew what was happening.
"We should get back." Neji stood up and straightened his clothing, dusting off the specks of debris from his immaculate robes. "It will be time for the afternoon prayers to commence soon."
Shikamaru pushed himself off the ground with much effort, a pang in his heart knowing that he wouldn't be coming back to this spot in a while if ever.
Tch, shouldn't have wasted so much time sleeping.
But Neji was right after all - he was really tired. "I didn't peg you as the type to pray."
"I don't," Neji confirmed as he prepared to take off. "I meditate while they pray."
"... You've just meditated for two hours..."
"And you can watch clouds the entire day."
"Fair enough."
The prayer session lasted for an hour. Shikamaru hadn't want to join in but Neji insisted and the Nara couldn't decline when Tsukimichi-sama was practically boring a hole into his skull.
"That was sadistic," Shikamaru complained as the two Konoha shinobi made their way back to their rooms.
"Just thought you needed help to get more rest."
"The mountain was good."
"Pity we can't always have what we want in life."
It was a joke. Shikamaru knew that. But there was still just something about the way that Neji said it that somehow hinted at something deeper. Something more personal and closer to the heart. Shikamaru simply snorted in response before adopting the safest tactic of changing the topic before it strayed to unfamiliar terrain.
It wasn't like he expected Neji to suddenly open up and spill his lifelong secrets or anything like that but there was still that 1% probability – or 0.5% really since he had already thought up of 200 likely scenarios – and he wasn't about to take that risk.
"Surely it's not too much to ask for a game of shogi."
Neji spared him a glance out of the corner of his eyes. "Why not?"
Ishi proved himself useful when he produced a shogi board out of nowhere and even set up the board for them even though Shikamaru had to rearrange the pieces afterwards. That didn't bother him too much though. The prospect of playing Neji was exciting. He had never played against the Hyuuga before but it was clear even before they started that Neji was going to be a tough opponent to beat.
Neji didn't fail to deliver. Ten minutes into the game and Shikamaru's gears were already spinning at full speed. Twenty minutes into the game had him putting his hands together in his trademark thinking position.
"You don't have to go easy on me, you know." Something in Neji's voice suggested honesty and not mockery; the Hyuuga seriously believed Shikamaru was giving him a handicap. He cracked his eyes open.
"You see my hands?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh."
"Yeah, I'm completely serious."
At one point, it looked as though Neji was going to lose, his king being too close to Shikamaru's pieces for comfort. But then turned out to be a plot to capture Shikamaru's knight. A splendid decoy tactic.
"But you know," Shikamaru said with a smirk. "Using the king is way too obvious."
Within the next two moves, he reclaimed his knight.
"And you insult my intelligence," Neji returned as he took his turn and recaptured Shikamaru's knight.
Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as he analysed the pieces on the board. Clever. The king was seriously just a decoy. By making Shikamaru think that he was baiting him with the king, Neji had made Shikamaru go after the king with his knight with the full knowledge that Shikamaru would be able to revive his knight soon. But his actual goal was to put his knight out of commission for good, that is, to kill the revived one. And Shikamaru had played straight into his hands, thinking that Neji hadn't factored that into account.
"You're really a genius alright."
The game lasted for two hours which was already way longer that Asuma could ever hope to last. It had looked like Neji was winning at the beginning but Shikamaru managed to reclaim his knight afterwards. Neji had tried to recapture it to no avail. Soon, Shikamaru was able to turn the tide bit by bit and started reclaiming all the pawns he lost and stealing Neji's pawns. He finally launched a devastating blow that snatched Neji's king right under from the nose of his rook and knight.
"Brilliant," Neji praised, eyes still scanning the shogi board in admiration. "I've never had such a challenge before."
"You're not bad yourself," Shikamaru returned, genuinely impressed as well while wondering why the heck he never thought to play Neji before. "You gave me a serious run for my money."
"Good game, Nara."
"Good game, Hyuuga."
Shikamaru smirked.
Wait for it.
"Another round?"
"You're on."
Shikamaru didn't think it was possible but the next round lasted even longer. It seemed that Neji had somewhat gotten a rough idea of his playing style and was hoping to capitalise on his weaknesses. While that might have worked on lesser players who relied on fixed strategies to advance the game, it hardly put a dent in Shikamaru's armour.
After all, he played each game differently, only coming up with strategies on the spot after analysing and dissecting his opponents' movements. He would have won easily but then again Neji wasn't an idiot either. By feinting moves, he was able to get information regarding Shikamaru's game plan and they came pretty close to a draw.
The third round lasted well into the night, both of them skipping dinner in favour of this invigorating exercise. Except for his father, Shikamaru had never found anyone else who could match up to him in intellect. Until now that is. In fact, Neji was probably the toughest opponent he had ever had since his father. Shikamaru managed to end that last round in his victory though if he had let the game last just even two more rounds, it was almost certain that Neji would have won.
This game was his as well.
"Checkmate."
"I give up; you're impossible to beat." But Neji didn't sound disappointed or upset. If anything, he sounded genuinely awed and happy. "It has been a while since I lost."
"It's been a while since I've come so close to defeat as well." Shikamaru smirked while Neji looked at him in exasperation.
"Show-off."
"Not everyone gets to brag about beating Hyuuga Neji."
"That is true." Neji's lips curled into a smirk.
"Now your ego is just expanding."
Neji shrugged as if to say that he couldn't help it. Shikamaru laughed, feeling the tension seep out of his body. While he loved playing shogi, it wasn't exactly a game where he could stay relaxed. He had to keep planning ahead and adjusting his plans as he went along. With Asuma, it wasn't usually much trouble to stick to one main plan. But with Neji it was like trying to merge five different plans simultaneously while making up for any drawbacks each one possessed. His wheels couldn't afford to stop turning.
"Gai-sensei needs to let Lee play this," Neji said, sounding pained as he no doubt relieved a memory. "It's much better than running a hundred rounds around Konoha."
"That doesn't sound too bad."
"At 3am."
"We do work at odd hours sometimes."
"On a specific day where there's a thunderstorm."
"A little rain never killed anyone."
"While carrying 20kg worth of items."
"That actually sounds like good training."
"Screaming loud enough about the essences of the youthful spirit so as to overpower the thunder."
"... Do you need me to ask Asuma to talk to Gai-sensei? Heck, do you need me to talk to my dad? Because that is some unorthodox training going on right there."
Neji burst out laughing then, a real laughter and not the suppressed version from earlier. It pulled a laugh from Shikamaru as well. They settled down soon enough, exchanging understanding smiles.
"Well, I guess I should turn in for the night now." Neji stood up and made for the door. "It is already pretty late and we'll have to leave rather early tomorrow."
Shikamaru nodded, the fatigue of three intense games finally catching up to him. Mental workouts were always more draining than physical ones.
"Yeah, my brain needs to rest after that beating you gave it."
Neji gave him a pointed, exasperated look. "You exaggerate."
"No, really. I have a pounding headache. That bell they ring at dawn? It's ringing in my damned head."
Neji laughed again, a clear chime in the peaceful air and Shikamaru found that he really liked listening to the sound of Neji's laughter as his lips automatically curved into a smile. The laughter soon died down and Neji looked over at Shikamaru with a soft, tender look on his face. It made the Nara's heart speed up and the blood rush to his ears, a caressing warmth filling his body.
Shikamaru felt like running away as much as he wanted to stay right there.
"Thank you, Shikamaru."
And then Neji was gone, leaving Shikamaru to wonder exactly what he was being thanked for.
Ugh, thinking about all these before I sleep is so troublesome. Ugh. Troublesome, I'm gonna sleep.
And so he did.
After tossing and turning and not being able to come up with a legit reason as to why Neji would see the need to thank him. He wasn't very happy when he was woken up the next day.
"I do wish you would hurry."
He looked up with bleary eyes. Neji stood at the doorway of his room, already dressed and ready to go.
"Morning."
Neji quirked an eyebrow. "I do not have time for morning pleasantries, Nara. I am expected back in Konoha by 8am. I will not be able to wait for you. Goodbye."
Neji strode off and the shock forced Shikamaru all the way to awake and alert, skipping his usual long steps of attempting to orient himself and staying conscious long enough to get out of bed. What was that? Neji was like a totally different person from the day before. Yesterday he had been pleasant and even enjoyable to be around. And now he was being...
Himself, his brain supplied. Neji was being himself today.
And that should be reassuring if anything. Strange then, how Shikamaru felt more bothered than reassured. How he felt more concerned than relieved.
How he felt that Neji had gone back into hiding.
This was insane. If anything, Neji's behaviour yesterday was the one that was weird and the one that should have set his alarms ringing.
And yet it didn't...
Ugh. This was definitely going straight to the top of his Things Too Troublesome To Think About list.
Tch. Troublesome.
"Welcome back! Welcome back!" Asuma greeted, slamming a large palm on Shikamaru's back with a huge grin on his face.
Shikamaru grunted in response. He had already expected that his sensei would be waiting at the entrance for his return.
"So… how was the mission?" Asuma asked casually, trying to play the cool sensei card again but the effect was completely ruined with how he kept glancing at the Chuunin for his reaction.
Shikamaru's stare conveyed a single word – really?
"Besides the tragic event of discovering that my sensei is a criminal, it went pleasantly well."
Asuma chuckled nervously, knowing that his cover was blown.
"Well, did you rest well at least, kid?" Asuma asked then, the hidden concern in his voice suddenly becoming very obvious to Shikamaru. The older man laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head and averting his gaze when Shikamaru looked at him knowingly.
"Tch. Troublesome man."
Asuma looked visibly pleased with himself.
"I expect the mission report by the end of today," Tsunade ordered commandingly, arms folded before her in a display of fierce authoritarian despite her eyes being constantly trained on the endless pile of paperwork instead of the Chuunin before her.
"Can't it wait till tomorrow?" Shikamaru rested his weight on his left side. It was worth asking even if Tsunade would probably not allow it. Not asking meant 0% of that happening. Asking increased the odds to about 3%.
Indeed, the Godaime Hokage slowly looked up from her work, the rage in her eyes speaking volumes. Shikamaru held up his hands in surrender.
"6pm."
"3pm!" Tsunade all but shouted at him, looking prepared to hurl her chair at him as he so much as breathed.
"Okay, okay," – and then under his breath – "troublesome woman."
Tsunade glared daggers at him, her hands clenched into tight fists.
Time to go.
"I'll be taking my leave then." Shikamaru stuffed his hands into his pockets and turned towards the door. His hand was already on the doorknob when he suddenly thought to ask. The answer was pretty obvious but, "did Neji report in already?"
He twisted his body back slightly so that he could look at Tsunade. Great. Now she was giving him a strange look for asking a stupid question. Score one to Shikamaru's brain. Obviously the answer was –
"No."
"No?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, hand stilling on the doorknob as an unfathomable anxiety crashed over him. He removed his hand and turned around fully.
"Why would he need to report in if he wasn't on a mission?" Tsunade questioned, frowning deeply, seemingly wondering if Shikamaru was pranking her or not. Her attention certainly wasn't on the paperwork anymore.
Shikamaru was about to answer when a sharp rap on the door distracted them.
"Come in!"
Shikamaru barely made it out of the way when Morino Ibiki slammed the door open, obviously not caring if there were any poor souls standing behind said door. He spared Shikamaru a brief glance before looking at Tsunade. There must be some code in his look or something because Tsunade immediately told Shikamaru to leave.
Thank God. He wasn't exactly looking forward to having a conversation with the Godaime Hokage on why Neji was supposedly on a mission he wasn't supposed to be on.
But then, Neji did say that it was a side op. So it could be the case that Tsunade-sama already thinks that he has returned from his previous mission. Which doesn't make sense seeing as Tsunade-sama doesn't even think he's on a mission.
Too weird.
Shikamaru decided to leave it at that. He would ask Neji about it if he saw the other shinobi.
How troublesome.
TBC
So, how do you guys like it? Some feedback would be nice. xD That's really just another way of saying please review! But really, I love hearing from you guys and what you think so please go ahead and say whatever you like. Constructive criticisms are more welcomed.
More information about the Monkey King can be found here: wiki/Sun_Wukong. The part about the headband is under the section 'Magical Headband'.
I was watching a movie on the Monkey King when I realised the parallel between the headband and the Hyuuga curse seal which made me really agitated during the screening. xD Sadly, while the headband can be removed, the curse seal can't.
Once again, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please review! xoxo
~Witherwolf