Of the Leaf

Darklight

Disclaimer: Yeah, not mine. Too bad though I would give Kankuro a bigger part in the show if I did. (sighs)

A.N.: This chapter to me is kinda fragmented but I did that for a reason. Trying a slightly different writing style. Hope you all like it!

--

/Three months earlier/

People tended to think that without the Byakugan the Hyuuga fighting style would be extremely weakened. Granted, it did heavily rely on being able to see an opponents chakra pathways, but it was a form of taijutsu. The Hyuuga clan did not become the greatest and the best known ninja clan by relying on a fighting style that had limits. In every fight there was the possibility that the family blood limit would or could be rendered ineffective.

So, at some point in time, one of the Hyuuga ancestors decided to slightly alter the fighting style. The result was a style that spawned the name Gentle Fist. While very much resembling the original Hyuuga fighting stance it was all together another style. This style was meant to cause pain, and a lot of it. Instead of using the Byakugan to target the opponent's chakra they targeted the muscles and organs underneath the skin and possible armors. A bolt of their own chakra pushed into the opponent's body could rupture blood vessels, tear tendons and sever ligaments, causing massive bruising and damage with just a gentle tap. Later the two styles were combined and the legendary Hyuuga Gentle Fist was born.

Shikamaru was getting a crash course in the more painful side of Hinata's fist. Wincing he brought his arms up in a cross block and deflected a blow to his temple. The pain of her chakra exploded across his nerve receptors and caused the Nara to bite down his onto his lower lip. Whipping out a kunai he slashed down at her exposed side, but Hinata twisted away and dodged the attack. Her shirt ripped open along the area where the knife had separated the material, showing just how close he had come to getting her. Blood stained a few areas of her clothes as well as his own.

They had been sparring for the better part of the day now. Shikamaru had conceded to her demands that he learn how too 'fight off the cuff', as she had put it. She had insisted that one of his biggest weaknesses was the inability to fight on the fly. He needed to take time and think out a plan. He had been slightly insulted by that and insisted that his fighting style worked just fine. Hinata had dared him to prove it. Now here he was, panting, bloody and badly bruised. 'And learning to fight on his feet' Hinata thought to herself with a smile.

Though he had been right, his fighting style did work and worked well. But if he ever fought against someone who refused to follow logical courses and surprised him he would be in a world of hurt. She had been surprised to learn that there was no Nara style of fighting. The family generally gave the children basic instructions on fighting then left the kids to develop on their own.

In true Shikamaru-like fashion he had promptly ignored that form of fighting in favor of using his mind to get him out of sticky situations the easy way. It wasn't until he made chunin and Asuma riding his back about responsibility did he begin to work on his hand to hand skills. As a result he was further behind than Naruto on that front.

It was also this lack of ability that had forced him to use his mind and his ninja tools more than the most did and, in reality, it wasn't that bad of a thing. Yet sparring with Hinata reminded the shadow nin that, though he was adequate in hand to hand combat, if he came into a battle with a taijutsu master or someone like Naruto, he would more than likely lose. He needed to be able to fend his enemy off long enough so he could make one of his infamous plans to win. He couldn't very well do that if he was dead, now could he?

So he fought the heiress on even terms, no ninjutsu, no genjutsu and, more importantly, no planning in advance for him and she also agreed not to use her Byakugan. He was surprised at how tough it was. Every time he had a moment to think she would explode into action, forcing him to react and put his mind back on just surviving. This wasn't to say he couldn't think in advance, he just was having a hard time... doing something. He just didn't know what.

Again she launched herself at him giving him only seconds to breathe. The fight lasted several more hours until he finally closed in, accepting a few painful strikes in exchange for tackling and pinning the young woman to the ground. Sitting on her thighs and twisting an arm behind her back he held a kunai to her side, pressing firmly enough for her to understand that it was over. Just a bit more pressure and the blade would slip through her side into her lung and heart. A painful jolt went through his legs and crotch as she let one final and powerful burst through her chakra points into his body.

Pressing harder on her side he kept his seat, though he would have a hard time getting up now.

Hinata relaxed suddenly and tapped her free hand on the ground signaling her concession. Gingerly he rolled off of her and landed on his own back, panting and groaning. That last move of hers hurt! It felt like she had kicked him three times in the crotch. A voice piped up in the back of his mind, wondering if he would still be able to 'function' properly after that. Shikamaru resolutely squashed that voice and worked on just opening his eyes and getting to his feet.

A cool hand touched his face and he felt the relaxing touch of healing chakra. Hinata's hands flitted over his body checking for wounds and applying salve where she could. Her chakra was low too; she didn't want to exhaust herself further. Cracking his eyes open Shikamaru looked at her when he felt healing chakra flow into his upper thigh and hip. It helped with the pain, but he really needed her to go a little to the right with her hands. A little voice that sounded suspiciously like Jiraiya erupted into raucous and perverted laughter inside his head.

Closing his eyes he wondered, not for the first time on this mission, if he was going insane. Little voices popping up in his head at odd times… voices popping up at all, in fact, caused the young man to worry about his mental health.

"Shikamaru? Will you be alright?" the breathy voice came from above him. A little tingle spread through his body and made its way down to his recently abused abdomen. He grunted in response. The familiar haze that he had come to associate with lust and lovemaking started to cloud his mind. Physically shaking his head to rid himself of the thick blanket creeping into his brains he worked on motor functions. Sitting up and rolling away from Hinata, he carefully climbed to his feet.

"Owowowowowowow" he whined before sucking in a lungful of air. Turning slightly in her direction Shikamaru glared at the young woman. "That was a little underhanded, don't you think?"

The sudden innocent face he was met with and baffled blink of her eyes told him that she thought she was just so clever. Because in those eyes he could see smug amusement and pride. Harrumph.

"Shikamaru-kun, you said yourself to treat this as if it we were really fighting. Though you had me pinned I had to ensure that you would be delayed as long as possible. In a real mission I could have had teammates backing me up and they would have possibly finished you off because of that move. There are no fair moves in being a ninja. You know that."

Sending another glare in her direction he didn't bother to justify that with a remark. She only used the 'kun' if they were around their hosts or when she was feeling mischievous. The little vixen. Deciding to change the subject Shikamaru looked around and was reminded of the time.

"We need to get back, see if our informants have anything on those guys by the docks." Hinata sent him a knowing smile but acknowledged that his change of topic was justified. Standing up and stretching she began to move around the field where they had been practicing, and collected both hers and his weapons.

In all honesty Shikamaru had to admit, that night a few months ago really helped with their freedom. Now allowed to wander freely and separately the two shinobi were coming and going as they pleased for the most part. They still attended a mandatory dinner every night and still met with Tenchi and Namiko regularly to discuss different merchandise and possible trade specs. But the family made no move to begin seriously negotiating a trade deal. Yet.

That night also broke a little bit of the ice between himself and Hinata. That, and he was allowed many 'special' privileges with her, too. Part of him liked the added physical closeness they had acquired, another part (a larger part, surprisingly) found that he really enjoyed her company.

They played shougi late into the night, read scrolls and books together, discussed politics between Fire and Wind and within the Village itself. She confided in him about her problems at home and he related his woes to her. (Though compared to her home life his was a walk in the park, he had gladly acknowledged.) They discussed Asuma and Kurenai's previous relationship and their subsequent child. They had watched clouds together and he helped her with her medical remedies.

Hinata proved to be witty, sarcastic, smart, kind, inventive, sweet, original, fun, and slightly kinky. That last thought brought a small grin to his face. After finding out some of her kinks he had often used them against her. In all honesty that sounded like fun after what she had done to him a few minuets ago.

That grin had been popping up on Shikamaru's face more and more often lately and it was causing a large amount of curiosity in the young Hyuuga heiress. Hinata had found that her curiosity had been noticed by the Nara recently, and she fought to control the unruly emotion. She had loved that night a week ago but had no desire to repeat it any time soon, in this place anyway.

When he wanted to, he could turn her on quicker than she could say 'Byakugan'. Hinata felt a shiver go through her delicate frame at the thought of him actually working to turn her on. So far it hadn't been too hard for him, perhaps to easy even? Making a mental note to play hard to get next time, Hinata began looking around. Perhaps it hadn't been the smartest of ideas to come here after sparring.

Subconsciously centering herself and her chakra she looked for traps, enemies or trouble of any kind. They had arrived in the more 'colorful' side of town. 'Colorful' was the term Kanna would have given it. She had heard Shikamaru once say this is where all of society's shit had dumped itself and was trying to make it look like roses. Either way Hinata couldn't help but agree. Ruffians and thugs hung out here, leftovers of the past when the town had been a haven for crime and poverty.

Now the city was experiencing a boom in crime, and the need for protection money from businesses and normal civilians was increasing. Raids on merchant ships and convoys were becoming very frequent. If Hinata and Shikamaru were to negotiate any type of trade deal for Fire they had to make sure that it was a safe one. To do that they needed to take out the resident crime and yakuza bosses and make it as unfriendly as possible for anyone to screw around with anything related to their Village.

Spotting their nervous informant Hinata hitched an eyebrow up. Something was wrong, her sixth sense was screaming at her. Lowering her head and looking intently at her feet, carefully walking over piles of rope and trash (at least giving the impression of doing so, in reality she had activated her Byakugan).

In the building to the right were seven thugs, down by the corner three more with crossbows, on the surrounding roofs five more with crossbows and four were tailing her and Shikamaru. To their left was a wharf which offered no protection or escape - at least for a normal person. Why did they come here after a long day of practice again? Ah well, the thugs would be sore in the morning, that was if Shikamaru decided that they weren't a threat to the town anymore. Seeing as he was already pulling out explosive tags in a slight, almost unnoticeable movement of his hand, it wasn't very likely. Hinata deactivated her bloodline and lifted her head.

Their informant was greeted with a smile and a nod from her and a grunt from Shikamaru, the next second the turncoat was lying dead on the ground and the two ninja split apart. Hinata appeared on the rooftops, disposing of the archers and Shikamaru had dived through a window into the building where the thugs waited. Seconds later Hinata jumped down behind the men at the corner and killed one, knocked another unconscious and the third was tripped by Shikamaru's foot allowing a spike in the fence to impale his head from behind. The last four had turned on their heels and begun to run when they suddenly froze, unable to move. Fighting to make any sort of movement they men blinked in surprise when the girl they had been tailing earlier appeared in front of them. The look in her eyes brought fear to the supposedly fearless men.

The remaining thug woke up in time to see the warehouse where his friends had been stationed, blow up in a spectacular fire bomb. Crouching in front of him was a teenage kid with a spiky ponytail and a bored look on his face. Beside him was a freaky looking girl with veins puffed up around her eyes. One look around him told the guy he was all alone.

Crawling away from the two freaks the guy started to panic. His panic rocketed up several notches when the boy shot his arm out and caught his ankle in an iron grip.

"Whoa there pal, looks like you're the only one left. No need to rush off, we still need some information, and guess what?" The kid smiled ruthlessly. "You've got it."

--

/Present time/

Shikamaru was mentally kicking himself. What had he been thinking, challenging Naruto to a spar? Just because he was torn up about his problem was no excuse for such idiocy. Now, come to think of it, he would be fighting not just Naruto but Team Seven in the mother of all battle royals. That meant Sakura, Sai, Naruto, Kakashi, Yamato and…

"He came back about a month and a half after you and Hinata left for your mission. He's on probation, can't go to the academy, can't leave his apartment after dark, has to report in every morning and has had ANBU guards on him until just this week. He wasn't even allowed to practice or spar till just a few days ago… hehee; I'll bet he's rustier than my kitchen sink Shikamaru. Don't worry; he'll be easy to take down."

'Sorry, I'm not taking that bet Naruto.' thought the shadow Nin as he gazed into the black black eyes of one Sasuke Uchiha. Though Shikamaru knew that Naruto was just spouting off more to piss off Sasuke than really talking to him, a covert glance between Sakura and Sai alerted him that they, too, knew. Kakashi had given a funny eye crinkle and said something about "the more the merrier". Shikamaru wondered if he worked on being a jerk or if it just came naturally to the gray-haired man.

Sasuke had said nothing but his gaze that leveled on Shikamaru told volumes on how much he actually wanted to fight the 'other' genius. Undaunted, Shikamaru stared back, looking bored, then suddenly yawned and stretched comfortably. His actions had the desired effect of pissing the Uchiha off, if the flash of red said anything. What's more Sasuke became even more ticked when his Sharingan reveled that the action was real and not contrived.

Turning his back on the Uchiha, Shikamaru ignored the widening of Yamato and Sakura's eyes and faced Naruto. A familiar flicker of mischievousness in blue eyes reminded him of their school days when he, Naruto, Kiba and Chouji stayed after school doing various detentions for Iruka. This reminded him of something else. He had a partner in crime once again, he hoped, because it was the only way he was going to survive this afternoon.

"He reminds me of Rajura-sama.", Shikamaru stage-whispered, leaning forward conspiratorially. The wicked grin that blossomed on Naruto's face told the Nara that, yes, he did indeed have an ally. His words confirmed it.

"Yeah, teme does remind me of that gaki." Thank kami for being one of the trouble makers in class.

Ignoring the raised eyebrow of Kakashi and the eye roll of Yamato, the two strolled out into the practice field, chatting. One final shared grin and both ninja settled back into normal roles. Turning a half step Naruto hollered out asking if they were going to get going anytime that day. Kakashi simply pulled out his trademark book and said one word.

"Start."

An eye blink later the entire area was silent and apparently empty. Leaves and cherry blossoms danced on the sudden wind and the trees moaned in response. The sun danced on boughs and created elegant shadows on the forest floor. It was a beautiful day for a spar.

--

Kiba watched as Hinata devoured her second bowl of ice cream, his fingers tapping lightly on the kitchen table. He was beginning to wonder if she could ever get full. Two roasted sandwiches with bananas on them, olives rolled in salt, steamed rice mixed with peanut butter, and now it was ice cream and coffee. Blech. Thinking about what she had just consumed made him shiver in disgust. His mother just smiled.

At Hinata's contented sigh Kiba leaned forward and gingerly took the bowl away from his teammate. She proved to be as snappy as a stray dog when it came to her food, now that she was pregnant. Getting up and setting the bowl in the sink after washing it, Kiba returned to his chair and waited patiently. He knew that when he looked at her like that she'd cave in quickly.

True to her ways Hinata started to fiddle with her fingers and looked at the floor. Crossing his arms over his chest Kiba raised an eyebrow at her when she peeked through her bangs at him. Akamaru added onto the pressure by padding over and putting his huge head down on her knees and looking up at her. Silently watching, Tsume and Hana were mildly surprised at how Kiba was reacting to this. They expected him to start pestering her the second she looked up from her food.

Hinata sighed and laughed quietly. Pushing back her hair behind one ear she looked at Kiba and smiled sheepishly. Taking a deep breath she prepped herself for a long talk. Looking at the three Inuzuka's she quietly asked them if what she revealed here would stay in this room. Three nods and several woofs later Hinata launched into her tale. When she finished Kiba sat there shell shocked. Drugged? Hinata? Shikamaru? Drugged with an exotic aphrodisiac? SHIKAMARU?

Launching himself at Hinata he grabbed her by the shoulders, ignoring her 'eep' of surprise he buried his nose in her hair and started to inhale her scent. Trailing down to the spot behind her ear he breathed in a tell tale scent of smoke and musk. Moving further down, closer to the nape of her neck and the junction of her shoulder he breathed again. Smoke, musk, earth, and something intangible as fresh wind or fluffy clouds. Several days old to be sure but still it was Shikamaru's scent sure enough.

Leaning away from the young woman that he had just realized that he was deeply in love with he tried to process the information. Hinata was married to the genius and was pregnant with Shikamaru's child. Hinata. Shikamaru.

Hinata.

Blinking he looked at the young woman and saw the tears rolling down her cheeks. One clawed hand came up and wiped a tear away. He wasn't the only one hurting here. She didn't want this any more than he did. She probably didn't love the Nara but would stay with him for the rest of her life because of her new duty. As wife, mother, and, most of all, as heiress to the Hyuuga clan.

Hinata.

Opening up his arms he allowed her to launch herself at him. He held her tightly and rubbing her back and soothed her white she sobbed. Looking over her head he saw his mother's sad eyes watching him. She obviously knew the pain he was going through. Hana reached out and rubbed her brother's back, soothing him as he soothed the woman he loved.

Hinata.

--