Watching Clouds and Birds

'Dancing' in the Rain

Shikamaru was currently irked. It was a mixture of irritation, boredom and a faint indignation that was probably groundless. It was just...he thought being made Chuunin meant he didn't have to do troublesome missions like finding Naruto for Hokage-sama. The moron could be anywhere in Konoha. Or lost outside it, knowing him.

He'd tried the usual suspects. Ichiraku, the bridge, the hospital, the Bathhouse, his apartment (which had a suspicious smell he didn't want to identify) and now he was going through the training grounds. Of course, being a ninja village, there were a lot of public ones.

Still, it was better than listening to Ino complain about having no one to drool over any more. Or watching Chouji drool over what he hoped were crisps and not a certain loud, blonde kunoichi.

Approaching his fifth field and trying to work out how to make Naruto pay for this, he sensed someone's chakra ahead. It was familiar, which really didn't narrow it down that much. Turning the corner, he blinked.

Neji Hyuuga stood in front of a log, doing striking exercises. Presumably even prodigies like him needed to do repetitive exercises to train the body. From the stains on the padding on the log, and the sweat dripping over his skin, he'd been there a while.

"Neji," he called. The other didn't start, but that wasn't a surprise. He'd probably seen Shikamaru approach.

Walking forward, he stopped a few metres away and waited while Neji finished his set. He noticed darker areas on the bandaged hands where he'd bled through, and how he hit the log with more force than necessary.

Finally he stopped and turned, nodding. "Shikamaru," he greeted, panting.

"Hey. You seen Naruto?"

The other shook his head. "Not since yesterday."

Shikamaru frowned, then realisation struck. "Right, you had a mission with him."

Neji nodded, turning away slightly to tighten the loosened bandages on his arm. Coincidentally, this meant he couldn't meet Shikamaru's gaze. The boy frowned lightly, eyeing him. Something was wrong.

"Was it successful?"

Neji paused slightly. "It was."

Shikamaru continued to stare, and Neji moved his left foot slightly. If he didn't know better, he'd say the other boy was uncomfortable. "Well, good."

There was silence. Shikamaru began to wonder if he should politely leave when Neji looked up, finally meeting his eyes casually, like he hadn't just been avoiding them. "Naruto defeated the enemy."

Now, that was a curious statement. Not I, or we. Naruto. Shikamaru looked at him, wondering why the emphasise. Why Neji felt the need to stress the fact that Naruto had defeated the enemy. Why Naruto had been needed to defeat the enemy.

…Ahh. Naruto had been needed, because Neji wasn't strong enough by himself. That explained it. Of course Neji would be the type to take something like that to heart, to work harder, punish himself.

Then again, weren't all the genin facing that mindset? Have to get stronger, better, faster. Can't fail this time, next time, any time. Have to be the best. More, more, more.

Shikamaru smirked. "He has a habit of taking over, huh?"

Neji just looked at him, then smirked back in agreement.

Shikamaru looked at the boy, debating an issue in his mind. He didn't really know the other that well. Sure, they'd played a few games of Shougi, had talking occasionally during them, but he still didn't know him. Then again, what was there to know? He'd been there for the Chuunin exam, probably knew just as much about Neji as anyone, including his team. Heck, maybe even more. Did Neji even socialise with his team outside of missions and training?

I might as well. Who else is around that understands, and is willing to speak to him? After all, we're both in the same situation.

"I'm almost grateful to Sasuke, you know."

Neji blinked, then shot him a look that clearly said 'you're an idiot', and he smirked. He knew what it sounded like, but it was true. "That mission – it was a complete failure. But it made me see I couldn't just coast any more. I'm a Chuunin, which means I'm responsible for others. I have to be stronger. Otherwise my team will suffer."

Neji was staring at him in surprise. Slowly, he nodded, eyes glazing over slowly as he remembered the mission. Thinking of his injuries, and how close he'd been to death, the memories probably weren't too pleasant.

"I need to be stronger, so next time, I won't let my team down."

Neji frowned slightly. "Shikamaru, you-" He stopped, hesitating, before continuing. "We were six Genin-level, against five Jounin-level and another Genin. And we all came back. It may not have been a success, but the mission was not a failure."

Shikamaru was starting to regret starting this topic of conversation. The wound was barely healed, and here he was ripping it open again. It was something he was embarrassingly emotional about, but Neji's words woke something in him that was reluctant to let this go. "You almost di-"

"I lived." Neji's voice was firm. "I lived, and am stronger for it. And that is due to you."

It wasn't; Shikamaru knew he had nothing to do with Neji and Chouji's survival. It was because they were strong, strong enough to win, to survive a danger Shikamaru had put them in. But despite that, he almost felt lighter, as if a weight had been lifted. Maybe it was the fact that Neji didn't blame him.

Instead of arguing, he just nodded, and looked away. Neji did the same. Obviously the thoughts had been plaguing both of them for a while, otherwise neither would have spoken about it. Sometimes the water just gets too heavy, and the dam bursts.

Maybe it would have been easier to cope with if Shikamaru could have talked to someone, but adults didn't cry to their parents any more, and no matter how old you were, when you left the Academy you were an adult. Ino hadn't been there, wouldn't understand, and Shikamaru felt too guilty to even mention the topic to Chouji. He remembered the first thing his friend had said to him after waking up – I showed you were a good leader, didn't I?. – and sometimes felt sick thinking that Chouji had almost died because of him.

But Neji understood. He'd been there, had been as close to dying as Chouji, and understood without Shikamaru having to explain. Despite all the previous missions, all the training, all the injuries and scares and kills, it hadn't been real.

But that mission; that mission where they would have all been wiped out if it hadn't been for the Sand Shinobi, it had made everything abundantly clear. This wasn't a game, or a way to pass the time – it was real. It was deadly. And to survive, they all had to be so much more stronger.

"I should have just worked with the family deer. Or become a medic-nin. This is far too troublesome." His sigh was weary and rueful.

Neji looked at him, and smirked. "You wouldn't give it up."

Shikamaru thought back to that moment in the hospital, when he was sure he'd killed two members of his team. When he was responsible for a terrible failure and thought he couldn't do it again. Wasn't good enough to lead, wasn't strong enough, just wasn't enough to be a shinobi. He would have walked then. Maybe he would have come back, or maybe that mission would have been his last, but for that moment, waiting to hear the news that his best friend was dead, he was certain

But now? "No. I wouldn't give it up." Not until he had proved…no, not ever.

Silence fell once more, but this time it was comfortable. Easy. The awkwardness that Shikamaru would have expected from such a raw conversation didn't appear, and he let himself relax.

"Naruto…" Neji trailed off, seeming uncomfortable. But then his back straightened, and he looked Shikamaru straight in the eyes, as if gaining confidence. "Naruto told me about your fight in the third exam. You surrendered before you could lose."

Shikamaru nodded, wondering where he was going with this.

"I wondered…why you kept going on the mission. Even after you knew we'd have to be sacrificed one by one. Why you would risk it."

Shikamaru looked away. It was something he wondered about as well. To be honest, he still didn't really understand. Unless, foolishly, he'd clung on to…"Hope. I'd hoped we'd succeed." He chuckled darkly. "I guess I calculated wrong."

Neji didn't answer, but there were no recriminations on his face. No blame. No anger. Just an acceptance that faded into his habitual composed expression. A silence fell that seemed relieved, all the unanswered questions and unspoken words quietened for once.

After a couple of minutes, Neji shifted on his feet. He looked towards the training grounds, then at Shikamaru. "Would you like to spar?" he asked politely. Nothing in his voice gave away what they had just been discussing.

Shikamaru realised this was his way of being friendly and returning the gesture of openness. He also realised that Neji was, at least in hand to hand combat, far superior to Shikamaru, and it would be far too troublesome to actually spar with him. But how to say no without seeming to reject Neji's attempts at friendship?

"You know, Ino sometimes calls sparring dancing."

Neji stared "What?"

Turning his head to the side, Shikamaru hid a smirk. "When two opponents of reasonably equal skill spar against each other, it does look like they're doing an intricate, carefully choreographed dance." Especially the way Neji fights. Smooth, quick and graceful, each movement perfectly controlled and elegant. Beautiful to watch.

He dared to look back at the Hyuuga's face, and almost laughed at the expression of barely-suppressed horror. "That…that is untrue!" Neji spluttered.

"Not really." He made sure to keep his voice casual. "Ino says sparring can sometimes look pretty."

Neji's eyes widened, and then narrowed. Apparently he had picked up on the fact that he was being teased. "Then would you like to see how well you dance, Shikamaru?" His voice was dangerously calm.

"Ah." An almost inaudible crack, the distant sound of splashing, and Shikamaru felt drops sliding down his neck. Looking up just in time to get another raindrop in his eye, he held in a sigh of relief. "Look at that, it's raining."

"That seems to happen a lot around us," Neji replied, voice suspicious. Shikamaru laughed it off. It wasn't like Neji could blame him for the weather, after all.

"Maybe another day, huh?"

He felt his heart sink as a smug smirk crept over Neji's face. "Shikamaru, have you never trained in the rain before? That's a terrible oversight in your training. Who is your sensei?"

Shikamaru stared at him, hearing the unspoken threat. "Well, of course I've trained in the –"

"Then you have no problem in sparring in the rain, of course."

Shikamaru looked helplessly at him. "…of course."

This time, it was Neji who won the match between them.

Shikamaru returned home, bruised, battered and wet, and vowed to win the next one.

A/N: This one was harder, 'cause I had to show their relationship progressing. That meant that had to talk, but being Shika and Neji, not too much otherwise it would run into OOCness. I hope I got the balance right. This is after the mission where Naruto joins Team Gai to fight Raiga, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Basically, Neji gets knocked out in the final battle and Naruto (as usual) saves the day. I just thought that Neji, being an obsessive, independant perfectionist, would be mad at himself for this.

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed! They made me smile, and made me finish this chapter off. Thanks: SunSlayerMoonSlaughter, KT, essenceofthedark, eat.it.in.the.kitchen, BrevityofWit, dimonyo-anghel, souko, Hanai-Kun, Dreamsofdragons and kaylakaiba.