Note: Written for a challenge at the nejisaku LJ community, although this ended up being more NejiSakuShika. It's more implied than anything else, though, so it's safe for all to read. XD

Rated for language. Set post-timeskip, although with no real spoilers. This is set when Shikamaru and Sakura are about nineteen and Neji twenty. (Also. The circumstances leading to the beginning are made more clear as one continues to read the fic.)

One last thing: Genii is the plural form of genius.

-

"You there! Girl in pink!"

Shit. Shit. Shitshitshit.

Sakura throws a panicked look at her companion, who grimaces. "This makes things so much more troublesome."

"Shut up and keep picking the lock! This was all your idea in the first place!"

"Hey, I'm not the one with pink hair. My hair blends into this environment. Now, go and create a distraction."

"Whaa—?"

Shikamaru fiddles with the lock, and Sakura can tell that he still has a little bit of work to do on it. "Do you want to save Hyuuga's sorry butt or not?"

Sakura opens her mouth and closes it again. "Fine!"

And she is off like a shot, slamming the door to the Hokage's records office behind her. Sorry, Tsunade-shisou, she thinks, even as her hands form a quick pattern of seals. Within a second, nine other Sakuras stand with her in the hallway; when she nods to them, they all sprint off in different directions.

From somewhere behind her, she hears the head guard's yell of dismay.

Nice work, the kunoichi congratulates herself, as she slips into a meeting room of some sort. She presses herself against the wall near the door, in an attempt to hear the orders that the leader is barking out to the others.

"Izumo, corridor seven. Kotetsu; eight. Yuugao, go through nine. I'll take ten. Aburame, you do the rooftops. Hyuuga, you get the meeting rooms and the other ones used for meetings of state."

Sakura unwittingly takes a step back, running through her mental blueprint of Hokage Tower. Only then does the last of the leader's words register in her head.

Hyuuga. Meeting rooms.

Damn.

Sakura throws the door open and takes off down corridor six at her fastest run, praying that the Hyuuga in question is Hinata. Sweet, soft-spoken Hinata.

She thinks she hears another's footsteps somewhere in the distance, so without really thinking about it, she rushes into the nearest unlocked room, closing the door behind her and sinking down onto the floor with a relieved sigh.

Sakura almost has a heart attack when a lamp switches on, seemingly of its own accord. Her face pales and she presses herself up against the door, but her sharp eyes register everything—the dingy room, the rickety table and old chairs, the peeling paint, and the white-eyed man standing with his hand on the lamp pull, a predatory smile on his face.

"A-aren't you supposed to be searching the meeting rooms, Neji?" she stammers.

Neji walks over, obviously enjoying the sensation of towering over her. "Takuya sees a girl in pink inside the Hokage's records office. How many girls in pink capable of creating nine perfectly animated replications in less than two seconds exist in Konoha?"

Silence.

"Exactly. I waited you out, and I predicted your moves. And I was even able to beat you to the interrogations room. I had expected better, Sakura."

She hears the teasing note in his voice, and buries her head in her black-covered arms. "You win, your most almighty, superior, great, all-seeing Hyuuga-ness."

Neji kneels down to her level. "While I am tempted to take you to Takuya and let him…probe you for information… I have to admit that I am curious to what you are doing here at this hour. I'm going to give you five minutes to satisfy my curiosity."

"Oooh, Takuya," retorts Sakura. "Big deal. Ino's the best Interrogations specialist in Konoha."

"I don't think you quite understand me, Sakura. When Takuya probes you for information, he probes you for information." Neji emphasizes this point by poking the soft area between her shoulder and collarbone, unable to stifle a smirk. "Get it?"

Sakura wrinkles her nose, unable to stifle a deep and heartfelt, "eeew! Disgusting!"

The corners of Neji's mouth quirk up in a smile. "I'm sparing you. For now." He takes her by the hand, pulling her up and over to one of the chairs, before taking a seat across from her. He props both elbows up on the table, interlacing his fingers, and resting his chin on the tops of them. "I'm waiting."

Sakura feels her cheeks heat up. "Do you really have to know?" she finds herself pleading.

Neji's foot touches hers under the table. "Yes. I'd also like it if you included your accomplice in this tale."

Sakura takes a deep breath, deciding that being surprised would be a waste of time and energy. "Well, it all started when Shikamaru came up to me at lunch yesterday…"

--

"What's this about, Shikamaru?" Sakura asked, after swallowing her ramen. "It's not often that you ask me to lunch on a work day."

The tactician yawned, prodding his food. "I have reason to believe that you are familiar with a certain Hyuuga Neji."

Sakura's cheeks heated up, and she took a drink in an attempt to mask it. "What 'reason' do you have?"

"Ino," he said, by way of explanation.

"…Of course."

"So, are you familiar with him?"

"We're friends," Sakura said, almost defensively. "Why?"

"I'm a little worried about him."

Sakura sat up straighter. "What's wrong?"

"What isn't wrong? He's a workaholic. He's had more missions this year than anybody else in Konoha, in addition to being ANBU captain."

Sakura blinked. "…Neji is one of Konoha's best…" she said, sounding unconvinced of her own reasoning.

Shikamaru chewed a piece of chicken thoughtfully. "Needs more salt. Neji is also one of Konoha's prime candidates for burnout. You're a medic; you should know that the amount of work that he does isn't healthy."

"I've told him that! He thinks that it's his duty as a shinobi to work himself to the bone!" Sakura stabbed a stray noodle, frustrated. "He completely ignored my instructions for a week's bed rest after his last sojourn in the hospital to take on another mission."

"Dear Neji is stubborn," Shikamaru said, shaking his head.

After pushing her bowl away, the pink-haired kunoichi gave him a curious look. "You're concerned about him, aren't you?"

"Feh, you sound so shocked," he muttered grumpily. "Genii need to stick together, if you ask me."

"Mm-hmm." Sakura nodded to herself. "So, what's your great plan?"

"Great plan?"

"Don't give me the stupid act, Nara. The great Shikamaru always has a plan."

"Brains and beauty," Shikamaru slumped, rubbing his eyes. "You and I both know Hyuuga isn't planning to take a vacation anytime soon."

Sakura envisioned Neji relaxing on a beach, soaking up the healing rays of the sun. She snorted. "Nope."

"In these times, I don't see Tsunade-sama just giving one of her best shinobi time off, either."

"Your point?"

"Tsunade-sama has him listed for another ten missions before December." He watched Sakura's eyebrows rise, and lifted a hand to forestall her indignant reply. "Neji wouldn't mind doing all ten, even if it is detrimental to his health. Should we let that happen?"

"No!" Sakura smoothed a lock of hair behind her ear, looking pensive. "But how?"

"Those mission records can be changed," Shikamaru said, lowering his voice.

Sakura stared back at him, momentarily uncomprehending. "But—oh!" Her eyes widened. "You don't suggest—"

"Yeah. At night, of course. In, out, with nobody the wiser, and Neji gets to lie back and relax for a while."

Sakura bit her lip. She had seen what happened when shinobi pushed themselves past their limits, and she already saw those signs in Neji. The circles under his eyes. The stiffness of his movements sometimes, during their morning spars—from wounds that he hadn't given enough time to heal. It took a longer time to heal him whenever he landed in the hospital.

"Well?"

Sakura met Shikamaru's eyes squarely, knowing that he was as concerned about Neji as she was. "I'm in."

"Excellent." Shikamaru closed his eyes for a moment. "Shall we take a walk after our shift ends, to discuss this?"

"Sounds good."

--

There is silence in the interrogations room.

"You're doing this for me?"

To anyone else, Neji's voice would have sounded the same as always, but Sakura can hear the notes of incredulity in it. She smiles at him, a little. "Yeah. If my clones are still running around, Shikamaru should be finishing up clearing your schedule for a while."

Neji closes his eyes. When he opens them again, he sees Sakura giving him her best 'innocent' look. "I don't know whether to be flattered or to turn both of you in to Takuya for tampering with the Hokage's mission records. Besides, I don't need rest—what are you doing?"

His voice has suddenly gotten much quieter, but Sakura continues to trace the dark circles under his eyes bravely, although her hand shakes a little. "You're taking night shifts. How many hours of sleep do you get at night?"

"Three to four and a half," he mutters. Her fingers are cool and soft against his skin.

"That's not enough. That's nowhere near enough for the amount of hours you put in a day." Her voice remains soft and soothing, although this time there is an edge of steel to it.

"Sakura, you're being ridiculous—"

"Neji, I'm not going to let you neglect your health."

They glare at each other for a few moments. To Sakura's intense surprise, Neji turns away first, closing his eyes and sighing. "My head aches," he mumbles, almost to herself.

She gets up; walks over to his side, and places her hand on his forehead, leaning the other arm around the back of his head to support it. The hand touching his forehead is veiled with a thin sheet of her pale green chakra, and Neji almost moans with the relief he feels at her touch.

Sakura holds him like that until the pounding in his head and neck cease. "There, better?" she asks, letting go slowly.

"Mm-hmm," Neji says, looking up at her. "Thank you."

Sakura just smiles at him tentatively, until there is a bang from another area of the building, and they look toward the door, startled.

"Shikamaru," Neji says. "Is he all right?"

As if in reply, the very shinobi in question runs into the room, shutting and locking the door behind him. "Lovely," he says, as soon as he catches sight of Neji and Sakura. "You two are in here, all nice and cozy, and I've been running around the building trying to evade those nutcases."

Sakura has to smile at his entry. "Shika, did you…edit…the records?"

"Yeah," he mutters, before looking over to Neji. "I trust she's filled you in, Hyuuga. You can thank us for saving your butt later."

Neji smiles as well, despite himself. "I'll consider doing that after we get out of here."

"And how do we do that?" grouses Shikamaru. "Sakura and I hadn't anticipated all this trouble when we initially planned this."

Neji walks over to the door. "Leave it to me."

"Yes, your almighty Hyuuga-ness," Sakura and Shikamaru chorus in unison. Before Neji turns the light out, they look at each other and share grins.

--

Thirty minutes later, Neji, Sakura, and Shikamaru are strolling down the streets, savoring the sweet taste of triumph.

"So, Neji, what do you plan to do on your two glorious months off? There are some wonderful sales going on; you can do some Christmas shopping in advance…"

"I think you should go cloud-watching, myself…or, some sleep would be good, too, come to think about it…"

Neji tilts his head upward, feeling the night breeze. "No offense, Sakura, but I think I like Shikamaru's suggestions better."

Sakura pouts, and Shikamaru elbows her. "Don't you have something to say, Neji?" he points out mildly, while shooting the medic-nin a look that says we can't miss this.

"Thank you," Neji says obligingly, and his two companions exchange high fives. "But, really…why go to such great lengths?"

Sakura smiles, linking arms with Neji and Shikamaru. "Because genii need to stick together."

-

Reviews appreciated!