A/N: Thanks guys for all the reviews! It made it alot easier to write knowiin someone wanted to read it! A day late, but all ready!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But if I do, first change will be to name it "Shikamaru" instead.

"Now then" Shikamaru said, turning to the girl, who was still standing over by the corner. "Just who might you be?"

The girl in question, however, was still taken aback by the first ten minutes of her meeting him. A lot of running, which wasn't necessarily anything new; but glancing down at the two goons that were chasing her, she realized that seeing that amount of violence was something new. How did he do that anyways? Was he psychic or something?

Hinata looked up at the boy in question. Actually, he seemed new too when you thought about it. She took a step back and promptly backed into the wall behind her.

Shikamaru noticed her shivering slightly. She wasn't wearing a jacket at all. Just what looked like a white shirt and a black mesh shirt under it, and shorts. It was cold outside after all. Well, it's best to take care of one problem at a time. He walked over to her, standing in front of her. He then raised one of his arms slightly, taking off his outer gray shirt. He then took it and draped it over her shoulders.

Hinata looked down at the jacket, then up to the boy whose face was surprisingly close, then jumped back and ran into the same wall as earlier. He wasn't coming any closer though, and still looked at her the same way he did before. Kinda like he was tired or something.

Now that she got a look at him, he seemed familiar. Swallowing and getting moisture in her mouth, she spoke.

"Thank you."

'For what' was the first thought that popped into his head. He raised his eyebrows slightly, causing the girl to jump a bit.

"Thank you very much for the jacket." As she said this she bowed deeply, causing Shikamaru to become slightly embarrassed. "And for saving me. And for… for."

At this she realized she wasn't making sense anymore, and stopped talking. She gradually raised her head from the bow and looked at his face. For a second his eyes were wide, then they narrowed and he sighed. Was she… not supposed to thank him?

"Don't worry about it. I figured that if you were warmer then we actually might accomplish something here." Shikamaru crouched down, sitting on his haunches while never breaking eye contact with the girl – the Hyuuga – in front of him.

"First off" he said, raising one finger into the air. "Who are you? The Hyuuga family has to be the richest family in this town. It isn't normal for a rich person like you to be down here at this time of night. Second off, why were you being chased by them?" he said, pointing his extended finger towards the two goons, who were now moaning on the ground.

"Umm," the girl said, pressing two of her fingers together. Of course she should introduce herself. Father always said that pleasantries come first. "My name is Hinata. Hinata Hyuuga."

'Well, I already knew that she was a Hyuuga.' Shikamaru thought. Something wet hit his face. He wasn't crying was he? Looking up to the sky, he felt another drop hit him in the eye.

"Ahhh damn it," he said in surprise, rubbing his eye. Figures that it would start to rain tonight too. Anyway, it was about time to be heading back. He didn't particularly want to be outside when it's wet.

"You should be heading home now" the boy said to Hinata, standing up from his crouch. "It's not safe out here. And make sure not to head down any more alleys." He turned and started to walk away.

Home. "I can't go home" Hinata thought. Not back.

The boy paused, and turned around. The rain was pattering softly, which served to dampen the jacket that was now draped around her, but not to dampen her words apparently. Eyes widening in surprise, Hinata realized that she had spoken the last thought aloud. That, combined with the crashing adrenaline, combined with all that she had seen tonight, and done that day finally hit her. And in turn, she hit the ground.

Shikamaru's eyes widened and he sprinted back over to her. He shook her arm, but she remained motionless on the sidewalk. Who faints now-a-days anyways?

Shikamaru sat back and pondered. He could just leave her here, but then if something else happened to her it would be his fault, wouldn't it? But he couldn't carry her the whole way back to his house. It had to be at least two miles.

'If mom found out that I left a girl passed out on the ground, I'd never hear the end of it. Plus that isn't the type of thing to do to a girl anyways.'

Shikamaru got up and untied his wallet from the rock, and stuffed it into his back pocket. Still deep in thought, a solution to the problem came to his mind.

Hinata slowly came back to consciousness. She was damp from the rain falling onto her head and back. Coming out of the fog, she felt herself moving up and down slightly.

"What am I doing?" she muttered foggily.

"Being troublesome."

Her head shot up, and ran into the back of the boy's head. He yelped and muttered some words that she didn't quite hear. Then she looked down.

Her feet weren't touching the ground, but she was moving. She felt arms under her legs, and realized she was being carried.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She said, bowing her head, and promptly running once again into the back of the boy's head.

"OW! Stop that." He hoped that if she was conscious, she'd be able to walk again. The solution that he thought of was a troublesome one indeed, but his conscience wouldn't ever just allow for him to leave a helpless girl on the ground. But she was heavy. And he was tired. The entire chasing and running earlier had led them in the opposite direction of where he was going before all of this, so he needed to backtrack. And given what had happened in the alleys to cause all this, shortcuts were out of the picture. No more running tonight for him.

He heard an engine whirring behind him, and turned around to see his savior approaching. Letting his enthusiasm get the better of him, his face broke into a smile, and he dashed the final 12 feet, girl-on-the-back and all. Actually, her name was Hinata. Anyways, now at least one of the problems would be solved.

The door opened, and Shikamaru climbed aboard the bus, still carrying the gir-… err, Hinata, on his back. Shikamaru walked into the bus to the horizontal seats in front, and, turning so his back faced towards them, he dropped his package.

Hinata felt herself falling backwards, only to be stopped by a hard seat. She let out a squeak in surprise, and almost fell off of the seat before regaining her balance. The boy remained still for a second before turning his head back and looking down at her. Hinata felt her cheeks go red and looking up at the boy, saw him shake his head and walk back to the front of the bus. The boy dug into one of his side pockets for a second, before taking the hand out and patting around his pants. He let out a breath and reached into his back pocket, took out a couple bills and some change, and put them into the machine by the driver. He then walked back, and sat down in an adjacent seat.

"That was 1.25. You'd better pay me back later."

She nodded, and Shikamaru stretched his arms up behind his head, before wincing. He brought back one of his arms and saw that there was a large black discoloration on it. Isn't that where the short-haired goon touched him earlier? It shouldn't have been hard enough to bruise. He reached up to his face where he was punched and felt some tenderness. Then he reached back to touch the black spot. He winced again when his hand came in contact with it. What the-?

Hinata saw the boy wince, and then looked down to his arm. Her eyes widened when she saw the black. That was chakra-pathway damage! Without thinking she reached forward and grabbed his arm, causing him to scream in pain. She knew from the size of the bruise that it had to be treated soon.

Shikamaru for one was a bit stunned by the g-.. Hinata's sudden movements. And a bit more stunned, as well as annoyed, by the pain that shot into his arm when she took hold of it. Looking down at her hands, he was about to give her a piece of his mind when he saw her hands… glowing?

He brought up his free hand and rubbed his eyes, before looking down to her hands again. Yup, they were definitely glowing. Transfixed, he gazed down as the area around his arm gained a rosy tint, and the black bruise shrunk in size.

Breathing deeply, Hinata sat back in her seat. She looked down at his arm. There was a brown-ish discoloration on a few inches of his forearm, but all of the chakra pathways were repaired. The rest would heal in a few days.

Shikamaru flexed his arm. No pain. He looked up, and saw that his stop was next. Pulling the cord, he stood up as the bus came to a stop, and walked towards the exit.

Hinata saw him stand up. She had never ridden a bus before, so she wasn't used to it. Seeing him about to leave, she got up and followed him out of the door. The rain had slowed to a drizzle. Wrapping the boy's jacket to shield her head, she followed him down the street, unsure of what to say to him.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru was deep in thought. That Hinata-girl healed him. This means that that light must have been chakra. Shikamaru knew that healing using chakra was possible, but he had never seen it being done before. Chakra-use was a rare and protected ability – at least that was what his father had told him. He had also been instructed to not show other people it as well, since what he was taught was a clan secret.

"Well, I've already blown the 'not showing others' clause," he muttered to himself. Shaking his head, he realized that he didn't even remember to thank Hinata for healing him.

He came to a halt. Matter of fact, he forgot to even ask where she lives. He just left her on the bus. He quickly turned around, and saw that… she was behind him. He let out a sigh, before realizing that she had to just be following him at this point. That mansion that he had heard the Hyuuga lived on was on the other side of the town. Well, it's best to cover one thing at a time. Shikamaru took a deep breath.

"Thank you for what you did to my arm."He raised his arm up, indicated which one he was talking about. It was the one she had healed on the bus. Best to get that out of the way first. He saw Hinata bow her head down, and mumble what sounded like 'you're welcome', but there were more pressing matters at hand than getting bogged down in pleasantries.

"Why were you wandering around tonight in the first place?" he inquired. "And why are you following me? Shouldn't you be heading home about now? I know that your parents are bound to be worrying about you."

'Parents.' He shuddered, thinking about what HIS would do to him when he got home tonight. Or one of them at least.

Hinata heard the boy questioning her, and was at a loss for how to respond to him.

"I'm… not wanted… at home. I don't want to go back."

Shikamaru raised his brow at that statement. Unwanted? The Hyuuga family was supposed to be pretty rich. But he remembered that there were two branches of the family supposedly, with one being higher than the other. Could she be from that lower one? He guessed from how she held her head down it was more than likely.

"Alright," he said, trying another tack. "Why were you being chased then? I noticed that one of the goons back there was a Hyuuga too. Did you do something to them?" Her head shot up

"No!" she answered rather forcefully. Realizing she just yelled, she blushed and fidgeted for a second, before looking at his face. He wasn't reaching over to hit her though, and instead just continued to look at her, albeit with a slightly more surprised expression. "I didn't do anything to them."

Shikamaru frowned a little. This was getting nowhere. He tried at getting her to see the common sense position she was in.

"Well, if you can't go home, then where will you be sleeping tonight?"

Hinata indeed hadn't thought of this. Where would she go? Everyone she knew lived at the compound. Now that she realized it, she didn't really know that many people.

"I don't have anywhere to go."

Shikamaru sighed loudly. Then you should just head home then. He then said this aloud.

"I… ran away from home."

This situation was now heading to a place beyond troublesome. He was actually beginning to get a bit frustrated. He took a deep breath, calmed himself, and thought about the situation. So this girl – Hinata – was a runaway. She was being chased down for some reason, but the Hyuuga there didn't seem like the 'dutiful parent' type. So that means that they are probably looking for her right now.

A gust blew past. Shikamaru shivered. He was cold. And wet. And tired. And hungry. And this situation was troublesome.

"Well, being that I have a home, I am going to head to it." He said this in a callous manner, hoping that she would get the hint and turn to her senses. Anyway, continuing this discussion outside was going to give him a cold.

Noticing that Hinata simply continued to stand there in silence, he thought of a variety of lines that he could say to her. Something harsh like 'get lost' might cause her to go home. But he still didn't know where 'home' was exactly for her. Even the mansion he knew of he only had a vague idea of how to get to it from where they were now. He looked her up and down. She didn't seem like the type to be able to fight off someone either, so if she got into another situation like he had found her in…

He shook his head, and sighed again. There was only one solution to this problem.

"Well, you can come to my house. Then at least we can get out of this rain. Then in the morning we'll drive you back to your house." He turned to show where he was headed. "Come on."

--

"What are you doing back so late? I get a call from work from your school, and I come home early in order to talk to you, but you don't get back until after sundown? And then you come back with a girl? And you say you got into a fight?!"

Shikamaru sighed. He knew that this would happen. It was only natural really. But from such an innocent start you wouldn't think that this would all have happened anyways.

But still, he had to face her. It hadn't been a pretty site when he had walked in the door. His mom was sitting just inside the door, ready to pounce on him as he walked in; and she almost did to, when she had seen the growing bruise on the side of his face.

Much to his surprise, she flew into a flurry of motherly concern as opposed to the fury that he had expected. Maybe he would get out of all the trouble here after all.

Then she saw Hinata. She froze for a moment, before turning to Shikamaru.

"Just, who, is this….?"

"I can explain everything mom." He already expected her to freak out a bit. During the walk home he used the silence in order to plan out his response. It was simply really. He would paint the picture of how he had rescued the girl from obviously bad people. He was the hero of the situation. Heroes… don't get grounded, right?

But what he hadn't counted on was his mother talking to the girl in person. Hinata was flustered by the conversation, but explained everything in detail after some prompting. Shikamaru wasn't even in a situation to get in a word. When he tried, the response was.

"You sit right there and be quiet. I'll deal with you in due time."

Hinata was afraid. This woman was scary. She kept asking questions, but seemed to calm down after Hinata started talking. Except whenever the boy spoke up. Then she was reminded of what a scary woman she was.

During one of these occasions, Hinata took the opportunity to look around the house. The word that struck her was… there really wasn't a word to describe it. The living room had a mantel piece over the hearth with two antlers attached to a polished backing of wood. There was a computer in the corner, past the… hair?

She looked closer. There was another man sitting in a brown leather chair between her seat and the corner of the room. When did he get here?

Shikamaru felt Hinata scoot closer to him on the couch. When he had sat down after entering and the initial chaos, she had sat down next to him. He shivered. She was wet. Well, he was wet too. But it wasn't fair to be reminded of that just now. He was cold enough as it is without feeling more from her.

"So then," his mother turned fully to face him from her chair. "What are you going to do about all this?"

'What I'm going to do about all this? This isn't all my fault you know' he thought to himself. He took a glance over to his father on the But his mother continued to stare at him. He had to say something.

"Well" he began, finally able to say part of his prepared conversation, "It's pretty late tonight, so I was figuring that for right now we can get to sleep. Hinata seems to have some family issues to take care of, so I could figure that she could call home in the morning. This would allow her family to know that she's safe, and then she'll be picked up later."

Shikamaru closed his eyes and crossed his arms. That was a good plan, and takes in consideration the time and the relative condition of both her and him in default.

"Why doesn't she just call them now? I know that if I were her father I would be worried right now."

Shikamaru glanced at his father. Of all the times to speak up in a conversation. But it was reasonable. But if her problems really were with her family, then alerting them to her whereabouts isn't necessarily the wisest course of action. There wasn't yet enough information to solve the problem. The smartest course of action was to gather more information first before taking action.

"That sounds like an excellent idea dear. Hinata-chan, would you be able to call your family tonight?"

Hinata sat up with a start. They wanted her to call her family? But then they would know where she was wouldn't they? And they would come to get her. She looked over to the boy, who was looking right back at her. She quickly averted her gaze away from his.

"I have to call them?"

Shikamaru's mom caught the hint of nervousness in her voice. What was this girl doing out late at night anyway? She observed the girl for a few moments, and saw that she was shivering ever so slightly.

She glanced over at the clock. "Well, it is pretty late dear, and I think that these two have been through a lot tonight, like our son said. It can be done in the morning. I'll stay home tomorrow to make sure everything wraps itself up."

Shikamaru's eyes widened as he listened to his mother speak. In what seemed like mere seconds his mother had done a complete 180 degree turn. Wait, 180 degree? That sounds like math. Bah, dumb teacher.

'In any case' he realized, 'I just might get out of this situation alive after all.' He stood up, ready to put the endgame in motion. Anything else he could deal with tomorrow.

"I'll get bedding together for her to sleep down here." Shikamaru started to walk away to freedom – or the linen closet. Whichever you prefer.

"You'll be getting them for yourself. You'll be giving up your bed to the lady. It's a fitting START to your punishment young man."

"But mom-" he finished his sentence right there as he saw the look in her eye. Any more conversation would be meaningless. Turning around and raising one hand, he gestured with the thumb behind him.

"This way to 'your' room."

--

Shikamaru sighed. This was a long night. For what seemed like hours he had pandered to his mother's fetch quests in getting all of the things he needed together for 'her' room as well as dry clothes, bedding, towels and the like. Hinata was sitting down in his bed, wearing one of his t-shirts, and looking at him.

"Is there anything else you need?" He was genuinely tired at this point. And tired of this whole situation at this point. When you're tired you sleep. It sounded like a plan.

His brow knitted in concentration. Wait, when did he think that before?

Hinata blushed in embarrassment. He had already done so much for her. She shook her head vigorously side-to-side. Nodding, he said good night and before she had managed a response, he was already out the door.

Lying back on her bed, she took the chance to look around the room. It was fairly tidy - his mom was yelling at him earlier to clean it for her. She regretted making him go out of his way for her, but to tell the truth the room did look a lot better now. Turning her head to the side, she took comfort in the bare beige walls. They reminded her of her of her room at home.

Home. 'I wonder if father misses me' she wondered. But he has Hanabi-neesan now. Hinata moaned softly to herself. She was no longer needed there anyways.

She reached out blindly to grab her pillow to put it over her face, but her hand met with the small stand next to the bed. The crash of items falling onto the floor made her sit up. Then chatter met her ears. Turning her head about in surprise, she located the source of the sound. It was coming from a clock on the other side of the room.

She jumped up and ran over to the clock. How do you turn the radio off? Her hand went to a button on the top of it, but it met with fuzz before switching to some blaring music. Covering an ear with her hand, she saw the off button to the radio and shut it off.

Turning back to the bed, she saw all of the items from the stand strewn on the ground. Picking them up, she placed them all back onto the desk. On instinct she looked nervously to the door. No one was yelling. The door remained shut as it was left when he left. She let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She wasn't there anymore. There was no reason to be worried.

She fell forward on the bed, her fatigue seemingly hitting her all at once. Clutching the pillow to her chest, she burrowed her head into the soft down, closing her eyes and drifting towards unconsciousness. Her thoughts replayed the actions of the day. The running, the chasing. The boy. As sleep took her, her final thought made its way up to the top of her muddled brain.

'I… haven't even asked him… his name….yet.'

A/N: And done for chapter 2! Look forward to the next installment, and as always, input is always valued! Matta ashita!