Shikamaru's POV
He woke up with the familiar scent of the Nara forest filling his lungs. He stretched in his bed, yawning lazily, and opened his eyes. As all mornings, the first thing he did was to think about Neji. It had been more than six months since the boy had returned to the border, but the last two weeks they had spent together in the forest cabin were printed permanently in his mind. The Hyuuga's small but strong body, climbing over him to sit on his lap, or letting himself be pressed against the floor by Shikamaru's weight, came back to him almost all the time. They had seized each second they got tasting and exploring the other. Once and again, they had kissed and touched and bitten passionately, until they runned out of energy. Sometimes, they had simply snuggled and sleep after doing so. But in other occasions, they had talked for hours, lying in the ground, before going for another hot and wet round. Those had been magic nights. Shikamaru had felt like he was floating around all the time, walking over the clouds he usually looked from below. That was how high Neji got him. To the freakin sky.
He stretched again. He hadn't slept in his bed in a very long time. During the last months, he had spent most nights on the forest cabin, sleeping in the floor over that clumsy pile of blankets he had used with Neji many times, and surrounded by papers and books he keep reading until almost morning. In no moment he had stopped looking for information about the Hyuuga clan. And that brought him some consequences. In the first place, he was drowsy all the time for the lack of sleep. And it didn't helped him that the activity in the village had increased. Many gangs of bandits had made moves in near locations, so missions were being sent in all directions to deal with them. Shikamaru had participated in a lot of them, generally leading. In the second place, he had almost constant headaches, probably for not stop using bir bain at any second. So he had mental and also physical stress. It was exhausting.
But even though it was, he hadn't stop. Every single day, he dedicated at least five hours of his time in pondering what he knew, or in looking out for more information. Very quickly he had realized that he wasn't going to find much about what happened and was happening inside the clan, because that was very well sheltered in their domains. So he decided that he needed to circle his objective, searching for approximate data.
First, he needed to learn more about the Bakugan. How did it exactly worked? And did it have any weakness? There weren't details on those matters anywhere, so he simply started reading everything he could find about ocular jutsus. He got a few books about the known kinds, and started having a general understanding of them. In particular types, the information he could gather was mostly of the Sharingan. He had took it from the criminal description for dangerous enemies. Many Konoha ninjas had studied the Uchiha jutsu in order to have more tools against Itachi, and Sasuke, after his change of teams. He tried to imagine which things in those red deadly eyes could have something in common with the functioning of the Bakugan.
At the same time, he started to be more and more interested in the village council. He meticulously investigated the three of them, assembling their stories to discover how had they growed up, what teams they had belonged to, what education they had received, and how they had gotten where they were now. All that was important, of course, in order to analyze the people which he was dealing with. But in the deepest part of his brain, what he wanted the most was to understand how they thought. To attempt this, Shikamaru had carefully read all the missions reports and requests the council had signed, and also everything they had rejected. With this he expected to find the logic of their judgment, reflected in their decisions. That would allow him to determinate their real objectives.
With all this data circling in his head, it was usual that his neurons got stressed and tired. When this happened, the only solution he found was taking one of the many infinitis equations he knew, and start calculating it. Going slowly through the numbers in that monotonous exercise, that was simple for his mind, but no too much to not require concentration, made all his worries disappear for a while, and gave him a nice pleasant tingle in his brain.
He lazily sat in the end of his bed and yawned deeply. That day, he had to check the reports of the last missions to make a resume for the Godaime. After rubbing his eyes, he stood up, put on his uniform and washed his face. Then, he walked sleepy to the kitchen, where he could hear his mother making breakfast.
-It's nice to have you at the house. -the woman told him when he entered the room. She had already put a dish for him over the table. -If you never come I can't make sure you are eating properly.
-I am. -he answered, sitting down. -Sometimes I sneak in at nights and grab some leftovers.
-I know. -Yoshino affirmed. -That's why I always leave you something.
Shikamaru ate in silence, pretending to listen to his mother while she talked at him. In his mind, he was already catching up with his last thoughts from the previous night. Every day, he started his ponderations right where he had left them.
When he finished his breakfast, he got out of the house and started heading to the Hokage Mansion. He was walking relaxedly with his hands in his pockets when he spotted the figure of his best friend leaving his home too. The big boy saw him, and waited for him with a huge smile.
-Good morning, Shikamaru. -he said when the lazy ninja reached him.
-Hey, buddy. -Shikamaru smiled as well. -Ready for another damn day of work?
Choji giggled, and answered with a joke. But the Nara didn't quite heard it. Something had suddenly caught his attention. At it was that his friend looked noticeably different. Shikamaru realized immediately of what it was: the boy's hair. It looked… white. But, extremely white. Like, hoary. Actually, it reminded him a little of Jiraiya's hair. Had Choji changed his look? Maybe Ino had finally convinced him of letting her dye it. But anyway, how had he not seen it when he was approaching?
Shit. Should he say something? His friend was very sensible about his appearance, and critics affected him deeply. Maybe if he didn't said anything, he would feel bad too. He decided to erase that possibility.
-You look good. -he commented lightly.
Choji looked at him with a hint of surprise, but then smiled friendly.
-Thank you. -he answered, and they both started walking to the Hokage Mansion.
The morning passed by slowly and tediously. He spent most part of it sitting alone at an office, reviewing mission reports. Some of them were so damn bored. While he read, his mind paid the less attention possible, while it wonder about things he matter more about. All of them regarding the Hyuuga clan. Lately his brain was divided like this almost all the time.
He was immersed in this mix of thoughts when a voice sounded right in front of him.
-You always do this. -it said.
Shikamaru jumped in his chair and looked up, finding Asuma, who was staring at him with a half smile, smoking a cigarette.
-Sensei! -the boy screamed, taking a hand to his chest. He hadn't even heard the man coming in. -Cough or something. You scared me.
But Asuma didn't reacted at that. He continued as nothing.
-You make me talk, get me distracted, and avoid training all day. -he said. -Well not today. I want fifty push ups, no excuses.
Shikamaru rose an eyebrow, not following. Was he mocking him?
-What? -he asked.
But his sensei didn't answered. He just stood there, smiling and smoking.
Almost a minute passed, and his expression didn't change. So the boy started figuring something was wrong.
-Sensei? -he called, studying Asuma's face.
But the man didn't stir. After another minute, Shikamaru was completely sure that things weren't right. He lifted an arm and waved a hand in front of his master's eyes.
Nothing. Not even a blink. So something was going on with the man. The young Nara stood up and slowly surrounded his desk. He stopped next to the man, and called him again.
-Sensei? -he asked.
No reaction. Slowly, he put a hand on Asuma's arm, and squeezed lightly. But it passed unnoticed.
What the hell? He should ask for help. Maybe the man needed medical attention. He was about to turn to the door to go find the Godaime, when something in his surroundings stopped him. The walls, the floor, the hole room in which they were, started trembling.
He clenched harder to his sensei's arm, startled. Once more the man didn't react, not to him, not to the strange effect around them. "What the hell?", Shikamaru thought again. Was that an earthquake? No, the lamps weren't balancing. Actually, they weren't moving at all. Besides, it was more like if the texture of things was shaking. Maybe even changing.
He look to one side and to the other, trying to understand what was happening to decide what to do. But things kept getting weirder. Gradually, the floor under his feet started turning into a red, tender grass. Around him, the walls disappeared, and a vast and beautiful field came into sight in front of him. The intense light of sunset hurted his eyes.
"The fuck?! What on earth is going on?!". He knew what there was behind that office. The park that surrounded the Hokage mansion. And he was absolutely sure that there was a big stone fountain right there. It looked nothing like that immense field, in the end of which he could see a width calmed laker. Besides, it was like eleven in the morning. There was no way the sun could be going down.
He looked up, and discovered that the ceiling was gone too. Letting go Asuma's arm, he turned around to look in all directions, and saw that the door had disappeared, along with the rest of the Hokage Mansion. They were in a completely different place now. And apparently, alone.
-Sensei, what's going on? -he asked, turning to the man again.
But he wasn't there anymore.
Shikamaru froze. He was starting to feel fear. Had the man really been there? Or had he imagined it? And most importantly, where the hell was he now? Had he been transported somehow? Or was it all an illusion? Maybe he was inside a Genjutsu. But if that was the case, who was provoking it?
Time passed. The wind ran free, stroking his face. It felt so real. And his sensei arm had felt real too.
-Hello? -he asked to the emptiness.
But there was no answered. Maybe he should start walking, and try to find people.
He was about to do this when he heard a dragged sound behind him. It was like a heavy hiss.
He turned around and had to let out a cry of terror. In front of him, an enormous creature was writhing. It was like big, fat worm, with a threatening jagged mouth. It advanced slowly, smelling the air and lettin a green slime behind.
Shikamaru made a step back. Where the hell did that thing came from? And when? It wasn't there a few seconds ago. It had just appeared from out of nothing, like his sensei, and like that field.
Things didn't happened like that in the normal world. Reality was definitely not working right. And that had to mean that he was under someone's control. He had to get out of that situation.
But he didn't had time to order his thoughts. The big worm retreated a little, just enough to take impulse. It was going to go for him.
Shit. If everything felt so real, even if he was inside a Genjutsu, that beast could hurt him. He had to stay away from it's teeth until he found a way to fix things. The disgusting creature made a jump forward, and attacked him.
Shikamaru moved to the right as fast as he could, and managed to avoid it. He rolled in the ground a couple of meters, and then kneeled, facing the worm. But in that moment, a throbbing pain exploited in his brain. It was like being stabbed in the top of the head. He took a hand to his temple, and the feeling got so strong that he had to close one eye. With the other one, he kept the worm in sight. The beast was accommodating itself to attack again.
Fuck. He needed to avoid the creature again. But his brain hurted so much that he was having trouble to move. He couldn't made his body stand up. Even though he shouted the order mentally, his mind wasn't able to communicate it to his legs. He wanted to scream for help, but he didn't remembered any word. It was like if all the vocabulary he knew had vanished.
The pain got sharper. He felt as if his skull was breaking. Shikamaru closed both eyes, frowning deeply and clenching his teeth. He couldn't look up to face the worm, and he couldn't got up to run away. In a second he would feel the creature mouth tearing his skin.
But an instant later, that preoccupation disappeared. Because a deafening sound brusted in his ears, and everything turned white behind his lids. His brain shut off, and he fell heavily to the ground.
He woke up about an hour later. The first thing he noticed was that his face hurted, and that is was being pressed against a hard surface. The second things was a strange tingle in his head. His brain felt like a soft mass. He opened his eyes, whining.
After a few painful seconds, he realized he was lying on the office floor, in front of the desk in which he had been working sooner that day. He tried to remember what had happened, but his mind was blurry. Taking a hand to his head, he sat down and leaned his back against the furniture. Drops of blood fell from his wounded mouth to his vest.
The recent events came back slowly. The images he had seen unleashed the same questions than before. What had happened? If all that had been a Genjutsu, where was its owner? And what had been his or her objective? Trying to stay calmed, he started analyzing everything by parts.
First, his sensei. The man had looked completely out of place since the moment he appeared. He remembered the words Asuma had said to him:
"You always do this. You make me talk, get me distracted, and avoid training all day. Well not today. I want fifty push ups, no excuses".
That sounded familiar. Shikamaru was sure of having heard it before. In the training camps, during some afternoon with his team. Had it happened in the past? How the hell was it possible?
Then, the field. At that moment, the Nara thought that he had never been in that place before. But paying more attention to the details, he started doubting. Actually, it was very similar to the green extension that surrounded Fukanzen. He had seen the grass turning red under the sunset light many times, when he traveled with his father. But how had he suddenly appeared there? And how had he came back?
Finally, the worm. He was sure of never having seen a thing like that in his life. Not in a mission, not in a training exercise. Nowhere. So it was completely new.
Or wasn't it? He remembered something about giant carnivorous worms from a zoology book. A detailed description, and a tiny drawing, that matched with the beast that had attacked him. So somewhere in his mind he might knew that thing already. And that was even more disorientating.
He was blank. Had someone got inside his head and mess with his memories or something? But why? And how? What kind of jutsu allowed to bring things from your rival's mind and make them real again?
Everything was too odd, and he just couldn't find an explanation to it. Thinking that if he stood there someone could see him, he decided to finally stand up. The first thing he did was to inspectionate the room. He searched for signs of anything, an anomanity that could tell him that reality was being manipulated in some way. But he found nothing. He looked outside the window, and saw nothing strange. Just the usual park with it's big fountain. Everything seemed in place.
After checking two more times, he returned to his chair. The still disorientated boy stared at the reports in front of him and tried to resume his work. But he kept rising his head to watch his surroundings at almost every minute. After about and hour and a half, he started filling a slight tingle in his brain. Like an itch. He ignored it, and intended to concentrate.
He worked very slowly, transcribing the most relevant notes of all reports into a new one with an ink pen. From time to time he stopped, just to check if the strange sensation was still there. And it always was. In little time, he also started having a mild but evident tickling behind his eyes. It was similar to what he felt when he spent a whole night reading. But he knew that was exhaustion. And he had slept pretty well that night, in comparison to previous ones. He couldn't be that tyred.
He spent so much time trying to understand his symptoms while he worked that he forgot about eating. He just went on with his task, keeping note of his own state. When he finally finished with all the reports, it was already getting dark outside.
Shikamaru reunited the papers in a pile and put his inform on the top. Then he grabbed them and stood up. Walking slowly he let them in the Hokage's office, making just the necessary conversation, and left the building.
With slow step and his hands stuck in his pockets, he took the path to the forest. The weird images of that morning still filled him with questions. He licked his lips and felt the cut he had made to himself in the fall. His brain continued bubbling, and it was starting to generate a headache.
When he arrived to the cabin, he didn't even turned the candle on. He simply took his vest and black sweater off, walked straight and threw himself over the pile of blankets, where he grabbed his head with both hands, covering his eyes. The sensation in his brain was getting annoying.
He must have stayed like that for about two hours, going in and out of dreams. Or at least that's why he thought, because different voices started sounding in his mind, though he couldn't see anything.
-And so he told me I am a spoiled girl, can you believe it? -Ino's words came to him. -I don't know who he think he is to talk to me like that. Especially when he is a stinky caveman who doesn't know what a shower is. I better be spoiled than to smell like dog.
He remembered his friend complaining about Kiba like that. But why the hell was he dreaming about it? It was a complete waste of a dream. The girl kept talking, but someone else started speaking over her.
-The objective of this exercise it to get to the finish line without casualties. The three members of each team must make the whole haul or you'll be disqualified. We senseis will act like obstacles on the road that you'll have to overcome.
That was Kurenai's voice. And she was talking about the first time the whole teams had trained together after the chunin exam. He remembered it perfectly, it had been a very troublesome exercice. But short later, another speaker joined in.
-You should be proud about that test, boy! No many people can say they have an IQ that goes over the hundred. Stop complaining about everything and just be happy for once!
Those were words Iruka had told him after Asuma made him took the intelligence exam. He hated that everyone knew he was smart because of it, and his teacher had tried to cheer him up. Damn, his memory could be so freaking retailer. He could remember too many things that were just no that important. But why were this conversations coming back to him now? Ignoring the growing pain he tried to understand, but there was no case. He found nothing in common between those apparently aleatory impressions of the past.
Slowly, his head filled up with people talking. His mother, his friends, his teachers. He even heard the voices of some persons he had met during missions and then never saw again. And they all kept talking at the same time. It didn't matter that a new memory was starting in his mind, the previous ones went on undisturbed. That way, in short time he had the feeling of having about forty different individuals speaking to him inside his skull.
It was overwhelming. Shikamaru inhaled deeply and pressed his eyes with his fingers, to shortly after release a sharp breathe. He needed a cigarette.
Still grabbing his head, he sat down in the blankets and opened his lids. But what he saw made him freeze with fear. Under the white moonlight that came from the window, he could see figures moving around inside the cabin. It belonged to dozens of people. Who were they? And how had they entered?
He was able to distinguish the features of some of them, and he finally understood. They were the owners of the voices that were sounding in his head.
Yes, that was it. They were all looking at him, and talking to him. Ino, Kurenai and Iruka, but also so many others. He just stared at them not understanding a thing, and the pain in his brain got stronger.
This were memories. Just like it had happened in the Hokage Mansion that day. Things he remembered, apparently random, were appearing in front of him from out of nothing. Why was that happening?
He was inside the Nara forest, so if there had been people dangerous to him in there the wood would've took them out, or at least tried to. So this was maybe about him. There could be something wrong with his mind.
He needed to learn more. Despite of the enormous ache, he stood up and focused on the closest interlocutor. It was Choji, who looked at him with a smile while he ate from a bag of chips. First, Shikamaru had to know if he could interactuate with those memories.
After walking the short distance between them, he stood in front of his friend and stared directly at his face.
-So, what's up? -he asked.
But the big boy didn't responded. He continued eating and nodding with his head. Maybe in that memory he had been the one talking, and Choji was just listening to him.
Time for next try. Paying attention to any possible sudden change, Shikamaru raised one hand and put it on his friend's shoulder. Just like it had happened with Asuma, it felt very real. He looked at his fingers and pressed them a little, seeing the fabric of Choji's clothes moving under them. It was just too realistic to be an illusion. Even despite that, the boy simply kept eating and nodding.
Did that meant that if something like the worm episode happened again, those images of the past could actually hurt him? That put him into a very vulnerable position. He was removing his hand to touch his face and wonder about that when a seductive and lustful voice sounded somewhere next to him.
-Look at me...
He turned his face, and widened his eyes at finding Neji. He was wearing a long coat, that hanged from his shoulders completely opened showing his bare chest and stomach. Besides from that, he only had a pretty tight and short underwear. His dark hair fell disheveled over his pale skin, and his cheeks were red with arousal.
-Shikamaru… -he purred, nailing his stormy eyes on him.
-Oh, holy, shit. -he almost stuttered, unable to stop wondering the Hyuuga's body, which shone like the sculpture of a muse under the moonlight.
In no moment neither of the voices stop talking though, and he felt his brain complaining from the hyperstimulation. But Neji's sight was more breathtaking that the pain and the dizziness. He watched the boy with hungry eyes.
The Hyuuga held his stare, and walked slowly to him. Then he stopped, and grabbed Shikamaru from the fabrics of his t-shirt, very softly. Seeing that he was trying to approach his face, the taller boy immediately lowered his to meet him. The Hyuuga licked his own lips and exhaled his familiar sweet scent against his mouth.
-I want you… -he murmured, panting heavily.
Shikamaru's body got an adrenaline shock.
-Fuck. -he cursed, shaking at the proximity.
Those were words he had always wanted to hear coming from Neji's mouth, though he had never admitted it even to himself. Listening to them made his blood turn into lava.
But wait. That was impossible. He had always wished to hear those words, which meant he had never heard them. That situation had never happened before. He had never saw the Hyuuga wearing those clothes, and he had never said that phrase to him.
So this wasn't a memory? What the hell was it, then? He felt a penetrating jab in his skull, but in that moment Neji's lips crashed with his.
It was so real. The slippery tongue that invaded his mouth tasted exactly like he remembered. Unable to control himself, he took the smaller body by the hips and pressed him closer. They kissed hungrily, and he felt heat rising between them.
This could definitely qualify like interacting. But he couldn't stop to considerate it, he was just too tangled in Neji's delicious tongue.
The older boy took his hands to Shikamaru's neck and then to his hair, sticking his fingers in it and grabbing it strongly. So fierce, so desirous. The Nara moaned into his mouth, fully aroused.
Around them, the other people kept talking at the same time.
After long and hot seconds, they broke the kiss for air. He looked into the Hyuuga's big eyes and found that mesmerizing pink he had already seen before. Pain exploited in his brain and he frowned an eyebrow to control it, because he didn't wanted to stop staring at the boy in front of him. The sight of him filled his chest with a warm tingle of longing.
"Damn, I miss you.", he thought.
In that moment, and without warning, a hard surface impacted with his cheek. The hit got him out of Neji's hold and sent him staggering many steps to his left. His cheekbone hurt intensively, and he took a hand to his face before turning around to see where that had came from.
His breathe froze inside his throat. Nara Shikaku was standing in front of him, with a maniac expression and his hands fisted like rocks. His father's face had never looked so scary and demoniac before.
-You little piece of shit. -the man spat between his clenched teeth. -I can't believe you are my kid. You're so pathetic.
Those words penetrated him like a stab in the heart. He had always imagined his father felt something like that towards him, but the man had never really say it out loud. He was very afraid he might, someday, and he thought it was very possible. But to the date, it had never happened yet.
So that wasn't a memory either. What the fuck then? What he was seeing were no situations from the past, but simple probable things that could and could not happen? How was a thing like that even likely?
The constant pain went deeper, making him feel as if his skull was braking. Millions of penetrating needles pinched his brain, and he took his head with his hands, clenching his teeth and shutting his eyes.
It was unbearable. He had never felt a pain like that one before. Without realizing it he started walking backwards, completely losing the notion of where he was. When his back stumbled against the cabin wall, the ache in his brain was just too strong. He frowned deeply, begging for something that would stop that hell.
-Aaah! -Shikamaru screamed with all his lungs.
In that moment he sensed something crawling up his legs. Startled, he opened his eyes and looked down, to find black tentacles surrounding him.
They looked like the shadows from the Kage Nui jutsu. Was he generating them? He didn't had a second to think about it, because the dark tentacles kept going up fast, grabbing his arms and surrounding his neck. They got tighter with every passing moment.
He was about to scream in panic again, when a shrilling sound boomed in his ears.
After that, he widened his eyes, and his mind simply stopped. The last sensation he got was that his brain was melting, because a blinding whiteness covered his sight, and he ceased feeling at all. He didn't even realized when he fell through the wall to the floor.
Next morning, he felt the tingle in his brain before even opening his eyes. Or at least that's how it looked from his perspective, because he had actually never closed his eyes in the first place. Shikamaru shook his head, but it only increased the dizziness.
-Shit… -he mumbled, taking a hand to his forehead.
Had he slept all night after that weird meltdown? The sun was already entering through the cabin's window, so it was at least morning. But if he had been sleeping for the last hours, why was he so tired? He felt like he hadn't actually slept in days.
His lids were heavy, and he didn't had the strength to fight. After one final blink, he closed his eyes and let himself fall to the side. He was already sleeping when he touched the floor.
During the next days he was anxious and at alert all the time. Sometimes everything was fine. Normal. But other times, strange fragments of the past simply appeared in front of him. And in happened anywhere. In the forest, in the Hokage Mansion, in Konoha's streets. He had tried to run away from them, but apparently they didn't existed in space, because wherever he went, they went with him.
He considered millions of possible explanations to the problem, but he couldn't actually confirm any of them. The one that haunted him the most was to think that the Hyuuga clan could have discovered that he was gathering information about them, and had came up with a way to miss with his brain. That could be really bad, because if they knew he was doing it for Neji, the boy would definitely be in a dangerous situation. They had a magic trick to kill him in a second, after all. And thinking about that made a cold wave run down his spine.
"Calm down", he told himself. "You have no proof of that, so you can't just freak out about it". He realized he was getting paranoiac.
The first he thought was that he needed to get medical attention. Someone had to check his mind to see if it was broken somehow. Maybe a Yamanaka could do it. It would be really easy to just ask Ino to help him.
But he immediately realized he couldn't do that. It someone got access to his mind, they will found out that he was investigating the Hyuuga clan, and that could make him look suspicious. Besides, they would also see what had happened between Neji and him, and he didn't wanted that to be known by anyone.
So he had to deal with the situation on his own. That was fine. He just needed to get some information about mental breakdowns or something like that.
He knew he had been using his brain a lot lately. Actually, the morning of the first episode he had been reading reports while he thought about his last information on the Hyuugas. He did that thing in which he divided his brain to think about different things at the same time, and that had probably messed up with his ideas.
The most important thing was to keep people from noticing it. He went to work like usually, but made the less interaction as possible with the rest of the ninjas. He stood away from his team and his sensei, because those were the ones that knew him the most. If he took the risk of having any kind of hallucination in front of them, they would probably see it. So he tried to complete his work fast every day to then return to the forest without stopping.
Most of the time he locked himself in the cabin and smoke in the floor with his back against a wall. Sometimes some figures appeared, and he just stayed there, looking for a way to block them, but not achieving anything. When he was not having any kind of vision, his brain just kept tingling like a nest of ants.
In other moments, he let himself fall against a tree and watched the lake in the heart of the forest, expecting that his mind will find some peace. But it was frequent that instead of doing that, his mind transported him to another place. Sometimes a room, sometimes a park, sometimes another village. He could only lie there, filling his shadows crawling up his back and to his wrist and neck.
They didn't always hurted him. It only happened seconds after passing out, when the pain in his head got insufferable. He always woke up over the green grass of the forest, with red marks from the shadow's grasp and his head resting over Suimin fur. The deer had appeared next to him every time, and then had helped him to get on his feet, and supported him all the way back to the cabin. Shikamaru didn't knew how, but the animal always found him.
He was leaving the Hokage Mansion after an exhausting day of trying to concentrate in his work despite of the recurrent hallucinations, when a girl stepped on his way. It was Tenten, who looked at him with a big smile.
-Hiiii, Shikamaru. -she greeted him with a rogue tone.
The boy stared at her boredly, intending to look lazy as always, and not exhausted like he really was.
-Hi. -he replied.
-Guess what? -the kunoichi asked him with enthusiasm.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.
-What? -he questioned.
-Neji is coming back! -the girl answered with a happy grin. -It's been almost seven months. He just wrote to me confirming it.
Great. If the Hyuuga came back, and they were alone together, how the hell was he going to hide his condition? The boy was very perceptive, after all.
-Yay. -Shikamaru said with sarcasm.
Tenten put her hands at her hips.
-Ha-ha. Act indifferent all you want. I know you are happy about it. -she affirmed.
Shikamaru just shrugged, and walked past her. He didn't wanted to stay for too long, or he could have another weird episode in her presence.
He walked towards the forest without losing a second, thinking. So Neji was coming. He wasn't going to pretend he didn't wanted to see him. He did. And that stupid vision from the other night had made it very clear to him. He missed the boy. The Hyuuga had left for such a long time that he couldn't help it. Being with him again was an idea that made his heart beat faster.
But he wasn't on full use of his senses, and his mind wasn't exactly a well oiled machine in that moment. Neji was smart, and very observer. He was definitely going to see that something was up.
Shikamaru was only sure of one thing: he didn't wanted Neji to know that he was investigating the Hyuuga clan. The boy would simply freak out about it. He had reasons to do it, of course. His life was the one that could be erased in less than a minute with a simple spell. And that was why Shikamaru was being very, very careful, and intended to keep that way. But he felt totally capable of discovering those guy's dirty crimes, and maybe even made them pay for them. Neji wouldn't trust that he could do that, he was just too afraid of their power over him. So he had to keep all he knew to himself, at least for now.
Neji's POV
He arrived to Konoha with the first lights of morning. There were already many people up, starting with the daily work, and Neji walked among them through the familiar streets. The three other members of the border that had came with him that time said goodbye and parted ways to their homes. He moved slowly to the center of the Village, just wondering his gaze, taking everything back again.
He didn't doubted a second about coming back after seven months. He wanted to see his family and his friends. And of course, he was expecting to meet with Shikamaru again. The last two weeks they had spent together had been so intense and nice. Everything had flown naturally between them. And they had accorded they weren't in any sort of relationship or anything, but they could enjoyed each other's company anyway.
Neji entered in the Hyuuga domains and reached his house, where his cousins and his uncle received him with great joy. He stayed with them until late afternoon.
When he finally left his house, he walked to the Hokage park, looking for his friends. Tenten knew he would arrive that day, so she and Lee were probably expecting him. He activated his Bakugan to find them faster, and he did. When he appeared behind the two of them, happy cheers filled the air. Tenten hugged him and Lee dropped a few tears.
They hanged out together for hours, just catching up. When the sun started descending, he excused himself, saying that it was time go have dinner with his family. But he actually headed to the Nara forest. He knew that if Shikamaru was already in there, he wouldn't be able to find him with his Bakugan, but he might run to him in the way. With calmed step, he approached the acces he always used.
He had only be walking for about fifteen minutes when he felt a particular chakra sign not far away. It made his skin bristle.
There was no doubt. He could never be wrong about Shikamaru's chakra. It felt like no other one he had knew in his life.
But though his heart made a happy jump at recognizing it, he noticed there was something strange in it. A slight sensation of mess, but he could not explain it. Anyway, it was very light. Maybe it was just due to all the time they had spent apart.
If he could perceive his charkha, that meant that he was still outside then. Neji had caught him just in time. He activated his Bakugan, and localized the boy not far away from him, heading to the forest. The Nara walked with his hands in his pockets, looking as bored and relaxed as always.
Neji took a shortcut, and waited for him behind a turn. When Shikamaru took it, he quickly lifted his eyes from the ground and stopped, freezing at the sight of the Hyuuga.
The older boy simply held his stare, and smiled softly.
-Hello, Shikamaru. -he said.
The Nara kid didn't moved. And for a few seconds, he didn't answered either. He was looking at Neji with wide eyes, petrified. Too much time passed, and then he saw the boy turning his eyes to one side to the other, and then back at him. Finally, he spoke.
-Hi, Neji.
The Hyuuga raised his eyebrows, surprised. He had imagined that Shikamaru knew he was coming to Konoha, but he looked really surprised. After a short silence, the taller boy added:
-Welcome back.
He still seemed a little startled and tense, but Neji decided not to scrutinize him.
-Thank you. -he answered, and smiled lightly again. -How have you been?
With those words, Shikamaru finally relaxed. It was weird, like he couldn't believe he was having that conversations a few seconds ago, but now he did. Neji doubted he could be that much excited to see him.
-Pretty good. -the Nara replied, smiling too. -What about you?
Neji watched him, feeling his chest expanding. That familiar half grin, he definitely had missed it. He caught a scent of Shikamaru's fragrance, a mixture of cigarettes and wet earth. His whole body reacted to the rencounter.
-Good too. -the Hyuuga responded.
Then, they simply looked at each other in silence for a while. Shikamaru's black pupils nailed on his took him back to the turbulent trip that had been the last year they had shared. Neji was just so glad to be alone with the boy again after so long.
-I have to go. My uncle wants us to have dinner all together for my arrival. -he explained in a soft voice, feeling bad for breaking that comfortable silence.
Shikamaru just nodded. He was still smiling, and looking at him with dreamy eyes. Neji felt them caressing his soul.
-But I'll see you tomorrow, okay? -he continued.
The Nara smiled wider, and nodded once more.
-I'll be waiting for it. -he said.
Neji couldn't help to exhale a little laugh. Without even stopping to think about it, he approached to Shikamaru. He put a hand over one of his arms, stood in the tip of his toes, and then planted a soft kiss in the boy's cheek. The Nara just breathed his scent in the air, and let it out with a slow exhalation. They stared for a few more seconds, and then Neji started walking again, knowing that Shikamaru was watching him leave.
Hi to all!
Well, this is the first chapter for the sequel of my other story, "The Beginning". If you have not read it, you'll probably won't get anything of what's going on XD
I wanted to thank very very match to all the readers that had followed this fic to this point! It makes me so so happy to know that you like the story enough to keep reading it! Every comment or reaction of yours always makes my day! Oh I've got to stop I'll get emotional T.T
I really hope you like this first glance of the new part, and if you want to I'd love to know what you think!
Kisses and hugs and infinite love for all of you! ^^