Yes, I killed them.

Shikamaru let go of Neji's shoulder, took a step, threw his head back and laughed out loud. It was a forced sound and there was nothing funny about the situation. Neji watched the Nara carefully until he finally stopped laughing. He began shaking his head as he sat down on the bed next to Neji and took the Hyuuga's hands in his.

"Neji, that was a good joke," he said with a strained smile and his lips quivered with the effort to keep it there, "but you have to tell me the truth now."

Neji looked away from Shikamaru's face down to their joined hands. His attention was drawn back to the Nara when Shikamaru cupped his face with a tenderness that Neji had never felt before in his life. A sob locked itself in his throat.

Shikamaru traced his cheek lightly with his thumb before leaning in to kiss him. Neji was shocked but he didn't push Shikamaru away. Nor did he react. Eventually Shikamaru pulled away, his hand still touching Neji's skin.

"Neji…." it was an almost piteous beg.

"I – " Neji's voice hitched unexpectedly and he swallowed before speaking again, "I killed them."

The energy went out of Shikamaru and his hand fell to his side limply as he staggered backwards, somehow managing to stay vertical. It felt like the world had stopped and Neji's words were playing on a loop.

I killed them.

Neji killed the Kieuse. Neji killed two innocent people. Neji killed them.

Yes, I killed them.

"They were innocent," Shikamaru breathed out, not knowing if he had thought those words or if he had said them out loud. He couldn't hear himself over the buzzing in his ears.

"Orders are orders," Neji said. Was he calm? Was he annoyed? Was he guilty? Was he remorseful? Shikamaru didn't know. He couldn't tell.

"Orders," Shikamaru echoed toneless as his words to his father came back to him mockingly.

"But you know why they do it, son?"

"Orders."

Shikamaru's breathing quickened and his hand shook at that memory. Orders. Right. He had said it himself. Orders.

"To protect Konoha," Neji continued and there was no way Neji was mocking him since he hadn't been there when Shikamaru had uttered those same words.

"Orders." His father's voice.

"To protect Konoha." His own voice.

To protect Konoha. Those were his very own words too. Shikamaru suddenly felt sickened as the weight of his words fell on him. Those words that he had uttered so thoughtlessly, which he had actually thought were justified reasons.

No wonder his father hadn't been pleased.

"How is killing the innocent protecting Konoha?" Shikamaru asked as he scrambled to get a grip on reality. He was flickering between two worlds – one where his words made absolute sense and another where those same words didn't make sense coming from Neji.

"Someone has to do it."

"You called them cold-blooded killers, but someone has to do all these things."

Shut up.

"Shut up," Shikamaru told himself aloud, not bothering to check if Neji had taken offense to those words. He closed his eyes, told his emotions to shove it and let his analytical side take over. He inhaled deeply and waited ten seconds before releasing a long breath.

When he opened his eyes again, the storm was over.

Temporarily anyway.

"Why? Why was that mission necessary?"

"ANBU missions are confidential."

Bullshit.

"You've already told me so much," Shikamaru pointed out, feeling more certain of himself and taking charge of the conversation properly now that his emotions were in check. "What's a little more?"

"You want the whole file," Neji stated plainly and there was a hint of disdain in his voice which rubbed Shikamaru the wrong way, "that's not a little more."

"So give me the damn file," Shikamaru snapped, finally tearing his eyes away from the floor to stare into Neji's eyes. Blank moonstones looked back at him, a violent clash of black and white. Almost like the shogi pieces Shikamaru loved so dearly.

Shogi pieces that were always on opposite sides.

The look that Neji was giving Shikamaru was indecipherable. A part of Shikamaru wanted to turn away but he hated not being able to figure things out so he stood his ground, looking into those eyes and searching for a glimpse of something. A clue to Neji's emotion, a hint to what Neji was thinking. Something. Anything. Whatever. He just needed to be sure of something.

Something that would tell that that maybe, just maybe, that the mission made sense. Maybe the Kieuse weren't innocent. Maybe they were trained assassins and were sent to murder Heiwa-sama or worse, maybe even Tsunade. Maybe they used their bloodline limit to commit unforgiveable atrocities. Maybe this. Maybe that. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe but Kibou was just a –

"Fine, I'll tell you. But you won't speak a word of this outside this room."

Shikamaru didn't have time to contemplate why Neji suddenly gave in but he certainly wasn't complaining.

"Done."

Neji turned his head away and his hair fell forward, hiding his face away from Shikamaru. The Nara wondered if it was done on purpose. A part of him hoped that it was because Neji didn't want to face him because Neji couldn't face up to what he did either. Yeah, he could deal with remorse.

"Those rogue-nins were after the Kieuse and the random massacre was but a farce," Neji started in a low voice, almost inaudible, but Shikamaru could hear him fine in the quiet of the room. "It was the first time Kawagakure banded together and that was a call for alarm. And if any of the other nations found out about them, it might possibly be disastrous for Konoha as well."

"So you were ordered to put them out of the picture?" Shikamaru clarified. It was a clear enough mission objective.

"Yes."

"What did they do?" Shikamaru asked earnestly and it was clear that he actually believed that the Kieuse had done something to earn their deaths. That had to be it because Neji wouldn't just kill two people who hadn't done anything to deserve being on an assassin's list.

"What?" It wasn't confusion in Neji's voice, but Shikamaru didn't know what it was either.

"What did Nozomi-san and Kibou-kun do to warrant death?" Shikamaru elaborated obligingly because really, there must be a reason why Neji agreed to kill them. They couldn't have been innocent lambs waiting to be slaughtered all along.

Unless they were.

It took a while for Neji to reply but the silence already told Shikamaru all that he needed to know.

It didn't make the truth easier to hear.

"Nothing."

Shikamaru closed his eyes and balled his hands, trying to still his nerves. He hadn't even realised that he was trembling. Neji killed innocent people who didn't deserve to die. They hadn't been using their power for evil. They were killed for simply existing. That was all kinds of fucked up and it was a hard pill to swallow. Especially when Shikamaru was already fighting to keep his food down.

And then there was the fact that –

"You manipulated me," Shikamaru said suddenly. Those words had burst out of his mouth earlier because his brain pieced things together faster than he could process, but he still wasn't entirely sure what that meant exactly. Answers. He needed answers. He needed viable answers.

Neji was silent, neither affirming nor denying the accusation.

Shikamaru dragged a chair over and sat down. One thing at a time.

"Was our fight planned?"

"We would have engaged them either ways."

In other words, yes. Though what Neji said wasn't a lie either. Their mission had been to kill those rogue-nins after all.

"Why did you choose me to go fight with you?"

"Our mission wasn't a lie; Sakura and Ino needed to heal those people."

Shikamaru had thought as much.

"You didn't kill Rai," Shikamaru said before correcting himself, "You didn't kill Rai initially."

"No, I didn't."

"Why?"

"Because he would have wanted revenge for Ami."

Shikamaru stopped breathing as the whole picture came into view. Neji hadn't just manipulated. Neji had staged the whole freaking thing, right from the start. When he finally took a breath again, all he could feel was fury coursing through his veins, overwriting the calm analytical part of his brain.

"Fuck, you really planned it all out, huh?" Shikamaru couldn't keep the contempt and sarcasm out of his voice. But Neji didn't react to them.

"Instructions."

"Oh, so you were explicitly told to use Rai?" Shikamaru was going to have to hold back on the sarcasm if he didn't want Neji to up and leave. Though, knowing the Hyuuga, if he had wanted to leave or if he were offended, he would have left already. There was something that made him want to stay.

"No," Neji said, voice as toneless as ever and Shikamaru couldn't help but wonder how he could recount every single sinister thing he had done so serenely as if he had done no wrong. Actually, it did seem that Neji did believe that he had done no wrong. "They gave me details. I planned it. It's exactly like every other mission we receive."

Except that it wasn't. Normal missions involved death, yes, but not the unsympathetic spilling of innocent blood and certainly not by their own hands.

"You left Rai alive so that he would come look for revenge," Shikamaru pieced together as the horror dawned on him, "so that you could make him the scapegoat for the murder of the Kieuse."

"That would be correct."

"You made it look like Rai killed the Kieuse."

"Yes."

"You killed him to cover everything up."

Oh gods but Neji's plan was flawless.

His strongest alibi was himself because there was no way anyone would have doubted him. He pushed all the blame onto a man (who was ironically innocent in this matter) who no one would have any qualms believing was the murder; after all Rai had massacred the villagers.

Shikamaru had been unwittingly made an alibi too because he was the last who had seen Neji and he would have had testified that Neji had been in no state to fight Rai. Except of course that the Hyuuga obviously was.

"The house was on fire… were you behind that?"

"No. Rai wanted to fight me."

"So you strategically made sure he burned the whole place down?"

"Yes."

Shikamaru could picture it. It wasn't hard to actually. Rai, in his undoubtedly furious state, would have been mindless attacking Neji with his fire jutsu without caring about proper aim. But that didn't explain why he didn't use his water technique to put out the fire when he realised that he was surrounded by flames. There was the chance that he had just simply not cared in his rage but it could also have been because –

"You manipulated Rai's chakra network so that he couldn't use his water techniques."

Neji actually looked over at Shikamaru, his hair sliding over his shoulder, an almost impressed look almost making it onto his face. Shikamaru squashed the inane and utterly inappropriate desire to run his hand through Neji's hair.

"Yes."

Focus.

"You said Rai could halt his heart for a few minutes."

"Lie."

Shikamaru's jaw locked automatically and he swallowed thickly. Of course there would be a few lies in this. He breathed harshly and pushed on.

"How did you know Rai would come for you?"

"Ami." Neji turned back to look at the sheets, tracing invisible patterns on them. Shikamaru looked away quickly; it was oddly hypnotising and he needed to focus.

"You knew they were in a relationship."

"It was in the files."

"That's why you attacked Ami in front of Rai."

"So he would remember me."

"How did he know where to find you?"

"He was a sensor-nin; I didn't bother covering up my chakra."

"No, you didn't just not cover it up. You made sure he knew where you were. You practically gave him the signals."

Neji didn't say anything but he didn't have to. Shikamaru wasn't wrong.

"Did you plan for my injury?"

Neji turned his head sharply and Shikamaru saw a brief flash of annoyance in his eyes. It was quick but there was no way anyone could have missed that pure look of irritation. "No." Neji practically spat the word out, the most emotion he had shown so far.

That really shouldn't make Shikamaru feel better.

Luckily, he knew just the thing that would make him feel annoyed again. He had been trying to avoid it because he didn't want to know even if he already did know. There was just really something to be said about having confirmation.

"You made use of me," Shikamaru muttered and even the words made him feel sick. He stood up and started pacing the floorboards because he was feeling an uneasy and biting tingle running all over his body from not moving.

Neji was silent once more and he had resumed staring at the bed sheets and drawing patterns on them.

"You sent me to speak to Heiwa-sama on purpose. You knew that he would mention the safe house because you knew that he would want us to protect them."

"Yes."

"You knew I'd suggest moving you there."

"Yes."

Shikamaru let out a harsh bark of laughter as the information sunk in. "You fucking manipulated me."

Shikamaru had been the freaking pawn that Neji had used in order to get to where he needed to be so that he could checkmate the king.

"And once you reached the safe house, you got rid of me," Shikamaru whispered listlessly, his feet coming to a halt as he stared at the door, the realisation hitting him harder than he had expected.

Because I had fulfilled my function.

Fuck, the whole mission had just been an orchestration.

Neji had made use of everyone so cunningly and cleverly that no one had suspected anything. Not Shikamaru. Not Ino. Not Sakura. Not Heiwa-sama. Not the Kieuse. Gods, how could Neji have behaved so damned calmly and nicely speaking to Nozomi and then murder her and her nephew a mere few hours later?

Shikamaru stumbled a little as his words hit him like a freight train.

Ino's gonna call me a bastard for this but I don't freaking care. All I care about it that you made it out alive, okay.

Those words that he had really meant… now they just made him feel so disgusted with himself. He had said that he was all right with the Kieuse dying. He had been comforting their murderer without knowing it. Gods, this was all so fucked up. Right, and he had even told Neji it's okay.

It so fucking was not.

Killing the Kieuse was not okay. Manipulating Shikamaru, Ino and Sakura was not okay. Nothing about this whole damned situation was okay.

Shikamaru, Sakura, Ino – they had all been just pawns on the board and Neji had been the player, moving them as he had seen fit in order to secure a win.

No.

Shikamaru felt a fluttering of hope again.

Something didn't make sense. Because if Neji felt no remorse then why had he cried?

"You were in a daze after that. You didn't want to kill them."

Right?

Shikamaru knew that he was sounding overly eager and hopeful again, like a stupid kid who only saw the best in the world. Neji kept his silence, and that killed the little hope that Shikamaru had managed to find again. He wasn't sure how long he could keep doing this.

"You said that you let them die. You said that you should have protected them."

See? Neji did regret his actions.

"Would you have believed me otherwise?"

A literal stab in the heart – it would have hurt less. Reality came crashing down on him like a violent and ill-timed wave and the world was reduced to two opal orbs staring back at him. Neji was staring at him but there were no emotions in those eyes, no regret, no sadness, no guilt.

Just nothing.

Shikamaru chuckled dryly, feeling his sanity snapping like a dry twig that had been stepped on. "You played your part well. So, tell me, Hyuuga, why did you sell your soul to the devil? So you could tell yourself you're better than other people? I bet you must have been so smug hearing Kiba call ANBU awesome."

"Does it matter why I joined?" Neji retorted and there were still no emotions in that silky voice.

Shikamaru was so angry he could set things on fire.

He strode up to Neji and gripped the Hyuuga's arm harshly, pulling it so that Neji was forced to look at him. Moonlight reflected off Neji's eyes and up till then, Shikamaru had never noticed how empty they were before. Had they always been this empty? Had he imagined everything that he had ever seen in those eyes? Maybe it had been all part of Neji's grand scheme.

"What did they offer you, Hyuuga? Or was the rank itself enough for you?"

Neji snatched his arm back forcefully but his voice was still deadly calm when he spoke. "I owe you no answers."

"Yeah, you don't," Shikamaru said and it might have been a gentle concession if it wasn't for the bite in that musky voice. "But you told me anyway. Why? Maybe because it was killing you that no one recognised your hard work?"

A twitch from those pale hands. From those blood-stained hands. But it was enough to let Shikamaru know that he was getting to him, even if Neji's expression remained blank.

"Or is it because of the curse seal? You think that that mask will save you?" Shikamaru snarled and a part of him knew that he was just being downright cruel but his anger was the ruler that everything else had to obey.

Neji's eyes slipped shut and his hands were gripping the sheets. Subtle but Shikamaru took note of every single detail. Still, the Hyuuga refused to say anything.

Shikamaru snorted and laughed dryly, sitting back down into the chair and lounging in it languidly, a picture of lazy ease even if his muscles were taut with tension. Neji wasn't meeting his eyes anymore, not that it mattered; it wasn't as if he could see anything beyond the opaque walls.

"Funny though, that you agreed to take up that mission," Shikamaru started off calmly and it must have been the sudden shift to the idle tone that made Neji look up. The Nara had changed tactics. He let the statement hang in the air, knowing that Neji would cave soon and it didn't matter how long; he wasn't in a rush to get anywhere.

Silence pulled them apart but this time Shikamaru wasn't as eager to bridge the gap.

"And why is that?" Neji smoothed the covers as he again started drawing those damned patterns. Shikamaru felt like ripping those covers off and apart but he needed to maintain his indifferent mien.

"Well, I mean," Shikamaru said casually, deliberately not getting straight to the point. "Kinda like you father, huh?"

Neji visibly flinched and his hand trembled and the sheets crinkled slightly but Neji didn't stop tracing. Shikamaru didn't wait for an answer this time. It wasn't as if he was going to get one anyway.

"Right?" he said, actually sounding amused as if he were recounting a hilarious tale. "You see the similarity too, right? I mean you killed the Kieuse in order to prevent a potential war and your family killed your father to prevent a war," Shikamaru explained even though he already knew that Neji had worked out what he was trying to say.

The Hyuuga inhaled sharply and he finally stopped drawing those damned patterns. His hand balled but still he wouldn't look at Shikamaru. The Nara's eyes remained on Neji's hand as it unfurled and furled periodically. Eventually Neji placed his hand flatly against the sheets.

"He chose to die."

"Yeah, and the Kieuse didn't. Tell me, did they know? Did you enjoy watching them dying with their eyes wide opened just like the Main Family enjoyed watching your father walk himself to his death? Did you feel the same thrill? Was it – "

Shikamaru never saw the hit coming. One moment he was in the chair and the next he was splayed on the ground, his left shoulder aching with an electrifying burn. Neji stood over him and his eyes whispered murder as he stared down at the Nara.

"Do not," Neji said steadily in a low voice, pressing venom in each word, "do not ever compare me to them."

Shikamaru stood up, ignoring the flare of pain and fixed Neji with a cold look. "And how was what you did any different from them? Orders? Mission? That doesn't make it better, Hyuuga."

Neji didn't say anything and Shikamaru didn't think he could anyway. The truth hurt but it was still the truth. What could Neji say when faced with it? The Hyuuga's jaw was locked as he met Shikamaru's stare with unwavering eyes.

"I'm not like them," Neji said, his tone chilly enough to lower the temperature of the room and catching Shikamaru off-guard, "because I don't regret it. I'm not like them because they received my father's consent and I didn't. I'm not like them because they killed a man who wanted to die and I killed two people who didn't want to. I'm not like them because they killed an accomplished man and I killed a woman and a child who was barely old enough to know how to write his own name, much less have the chance to accomplish anything. I am not like them."

Every word felt like a stab and Shikamaru staggered backwards, his façade of nonchalance falling away like sand and it felt like he was drowning in it.

No, you are far worse.

"I specifically requested you for the mission."

"What?" Shikamaru snapped his head up to Neji so fast he almost sprained his neck.

"Naruto and Kiba are too unpredictable, my teammates were unsuitable, Chouji and Hinata-sama are too nice. But you were perfect. I had a better chance of knowing what you would do than any of the others. I'd say you were the reason the mission went as smoothly as it did."

Neji had requested for him. Not because he trusted in Shikamaru as a comrade. Not because he thought that Shikamaru was a good strategist and a valuable addition to the team. Not because he respected Shikamaru. Wait, had that been a lie too? Shikamaru wasn't sure.

Neji had requested Shikamaru because he had the best chances of manipulating the Nara.

That was all Neji had been doing from the start. Neji had been manipulating him from the start. But where was the start? Moonlight Temple? No, Asuma was the one who sent him there. Kigakure? That was definitely when he got to know Neji better. Was that what Neji wanted? To get to know him better so that he could manipulate him easily?

Maybe Neji had already known about the village mission then. It wasn't too far-fetched a theory.

There was too much to process and his brain was going into overdrive. He could feel a migraine coming on.

So Shikamaru solely contemplated the village mission instead.

The first thing Neji had done was ask Ino and Sakura to heal the injured villagers while he and Shikamaru searched for the assailants. There wasn't anything suspicious about that; it was just proper deployment of resources.

Then the fight had happened. Even if Neji had know the stats of the people beforehand, he couldn't have had predicted the entire fight. No, he couldn't have…

So he made me do it, Shikamaru realised, because he was the strategist and even if fights do not always turn out the way he planned them to, there was still a higher chance of that happening when he was the one planning the moves, and Neji obviously knew that.

The dread within the Nara just grew and grew, numbing him and all his feelings so that he was in a state of constant buzz as his brain automatically processed and analysed information after information stacked up in his mind.

Neji only had one true objective in that fight – to make sure that Rai would come looking for revenge.

Shikamaru had blacked out after that fight. Neji had fixed his chakra flow but that was just obligation. Wasn't it? They had returned to the village. Ino had healed him and Neji had sent him off to meet Heiwa-sama.

So that he could get the information about the Kieuse and their whereabouts and tell it to Neji.

Neji's words rushed back to Shikamaru.

"I don't suppose I should rest in here though. You two need the space to work."

Oh gods but that had been the Hyuuga's intention from the start. He had just wanted to get to the safe house, knowing that Sakura and Ino would advise him to rest someplace quiet and that Shikamaru would recommend that very place. It was all just simple priming. He made sure Shikamaru found out about the safe house which would obviously be in a relatively deserted place and when Sakura and Ino had suggested someplace quiet, that was obviously the first thing that Shikamaru would have thought of.

It was awfully clever but Shikamaru felt much too betrayed and furious to praise the fucking Hyuuga.

It was all a set-up. A fucking play. Neji had staged everything; he had written the script and Shikamaru (and Ino and Sakura) had followed it to the letter. To the freaking punctuation mark.

He had been manipulating them all along and they hadn't even known it.

Shikamaru chortled, a mirthless sound. And then he began laughing full out. He laughed so much till there were tears in his eyes and he had to clutch his stomach. And then he began clapping. Standing up straight, he smirked frostily at Neji who was regarding him with a look of absolute indifference.

Gods, Shikamaru wanted to punch that face.

"Congratulations," Shikamaru said instead and the mocking in his tone was definitely sincere. "You've surpassed yourself."

Gleaming milky quartz met solid obsidian orbs.

"Thank you."

They continued staring at each other.

Shikamaru was the first to look away.


Hiashi stared at the budding myrtle flower in front of him. Love, home, duty – these are the qualities represented by this flower. As with any other plants, it had to be watered adequately; too much water and it would die. Unlike other plants, you were supposed to stop watering it when winter comes.

A delicate balance.

An extreme measure.

Love. Home. Duty.

Separate entities yet at the same time one and the same. Was one more important than the other? Or were they all interdependent?

In the Hyuuga clan, perhaps duty would be the most significant of the three.

Duty.

"Iroha."

The Branch Family member on duty entered the room. Standing a respectful distance away from the clan leader, Iroha bowed deeply before standing up when he was told to do so.

"Summon Neji."

Iroha stiffened immediately. Hiashi didn't miss it.

"Is there a matter, Iroha?" Hiashi asked and there was no mistaking the impatience in his voice; he wasn't used to his orders not being immediately obeyed. The younger Hyuuga hesitated. "You may speak plainly."

"Sir, does this have to do with the incident the other day?" Iroha asked before he could stop himself.

Hiashi regarded him coolly for a moment before tilting his head forward slightly. Iroha did everything he could not to take a few steps back. A few hundred steps back.

"Indeed."

Iroha inhaled sharply.

"Sir, I'm sure Neji didn't – "

"I will not have a Branch Family member tell me what to do," Hiashi interrupted, icy tones making Iroha bow again and murmur a quick apology for overstepping.

"Yes, sir, I shall bring him here."

Iroha had just inched open the shoji door when Hiashi stopped him.

"Iroha, that was the last time. I will not tolerate insubordination."

Iroha felt fear rising in his chest as his thoughts immediately flew to his curse mark. He had done well in toeing the line all these years, making sure not to anger or even agitate anyone from the Main Family, even if it was sometimes unfair.

The last time his curse seal was activated, he had spent two weeks in the hospital. It still gave him nightmares sometimes and some nights he woke up screaming because he could still feel the pain there, frying his brain.

Phantom pain, Tokuma had called it.

Iroha was not going to offend anyone from the Main Family ever again.

"Also, you will do well to inform Neji about his recent conduct."

"Yes, sir."

Iroha left to find Neji with one thought occupying his head: Neji was in trouble.


"Tsubame."

It was an unfriendly snarl. Neji didn't expect anything else.

"Or should I say Neji. Because you're obviously not cut out for ANBU."

Ibiki really knew where to hit to make it count.

"I apologise, sir," Neji said calmly. Ibiki knew that he hadn't reported straight back to Konoha after his mission but he didn't know why.

"You were supposed to be back two days ago," Ibiki stated. Explain, was what he really meant.

"I was severely injured, sir," Neji replied. As expected, Ibiki inspected him from head to toe, checking for a lie, and making Neji feel really uncomfortable. So this was how people felt when he so much as stared at them. Ibiki didn't even need the Byakugan to give Neji, or anyone else for that matter, goose bumps though.

"You are indeed hurt," Ibiki said before his face darkened. "Or should I said were hurt. You've been healed."

To lie or not to lie.

Naruto has a big mouth.

Right.

"Nara Shikamaru helped me, sir."

"You exposed yourself."

"He discovered it himself."

Ibiki contemplated Neji's answer for a moment, eyes narrowed in concentration. It wasn't too implausible, really. Shikamaru was a genius and he was Shikaku's son. And then Shikaku might have dropped a hint or two to his son regarding his friend's involvement in ANBU. That wily old fox always liked doing things his way. Probably the main reason why he didn't join ANBU; he'd died before taking instructions from Ibiki. The Morino snorted internally at the thought.

He was sure that there was more to the issue than met the eye but he was in a good mood so he was going to let it go.

This time.

"This is the last time, Tsubame," Ibiki warned, his tone making it clear that the next time would result in immediate dismissal from the elite forces.

"Yes, sir."

A knock came from the door. Ibiki barked a sharp 'come in' and an ANBU officer wearing a dog mask came in, holding a girl by the shoulder. Neji put her at 12. At most. What was she doing here?

"Hinoko, sir," the ANBU agent announced.

Ibiki nodded. "You've accepted?"

"Yeah, of course," the girl replied casually before seeming to remember whom she was speaking to. "Sir."

"New recruit," Ibiki told Neji who was shocked that such a young girl who had no doubt just graduated from the academy was being recruited straight into ANBU. Did she even know what she was signing up for? "Tsubame here just joined a few weeks back too," Ibiki told Hinoko, "you'll probably be working together. If you last."

Ibiki was talking to Neji as much as he was talking to Hinoko.

"Tsubame-senpai," Hinoko greeted, much politer than she had been when she was first brought in.

"You can leave now, Tsubame."

"Yes, sir."

Neji had just changed back into his normal robes and step foot into the streets when Iroha walked up to him, a grim expression on his face

"Hiashi-sama has summoned you."

If it was meant to come, it would come.


Shikamaru entered his house, shouting a loud 'I'm home' before making a beeline for his room. Naruto had covered for him with Tsunade so he didn't need to deal with that though he was sure that his blonde friend would be bothering him soon enough. In the meantime, he just really wanted to crash on his bed.

His mother intercepted him.

"Mom," Shikamaru said, conveying a significant amount of displeasure in that word.

Yoshino scoffed and folded her arms. "I want to talk to you."

"Mom, please, later. I'm exhausted."

"Now, Shikamaru."

The Nara boy was about to protest when he saw the shadowed look on his mother's face. He had never seen her look so ashen before and worry started gnawing at him.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Yoshino replied, a bit too sharply. "Let's go outside."

Shikamaru agreed, quicker and nicer that he ever had. He trailed after his mother, watching her closely as he pondered over what would have gotten his mother into such a state. With alarm, he wondered if his father had met with some sort of trouble but rationalised the thought with the fact that his mother wouldn't have wasted time changing the location if that had been the case.

They came to a stop at the riverbank that flowed through the Nara forest. Shikamaru's favourite cloud gazing spot was the hill that overlooked this stream. Yoshino sat down and a few little does immediately ran over, all vying for her attention. She laughed lightly, some of the tension easing out of her body as she petted the baby deer. She lifted one up gently and placed her in her lap, stroking her slowly.

The other does ambushed Shikamaru and he entertained them for a little bit before turning to his mother. The does made themselves comfortable around the two Nara, one snuggling particularly close to Shikamaru, earning an airy laugh from his. The little animal practically beamed with smugness.

"What do you wanna talk about, mom?" Shikamaru asked, frowning at his mother's faraway gaze.

"ANBU."

Shikamaru stiffened at the mention of that wretched organisation. He felt annoyance flare up in him but managed to push it down for the sake of his mother. It was obviously something important and he didn't want to blow her off because of N- him.

Yoshino was silent.

"Mom?" Shikamaru prompted and his mother turned to him, cupping his face so suddenly that he almost flinched away.

"You're still my precious little baby, you know that right?" Yoshino whispered as she trailed her fingers over his face, tracing every line, every curve.

"Mom," Shikamaru said, closing his eyes out of embarrassment more than anything.

Yoshino chuckled at his discomfiture and slowly removed her hands. Shikamaru could still feel her lingering touch on his face, He looked at his mother for a moment before saying, "I'm not gonna join ANBU, you know."

The reaction was instantaneous. Yoshino's laughter died away and her lips turned into a bittersweet smile.

"I had a best friend who was in ANBU," Yoshino started before sighing deeply. Shikamaru moved over to hold her hand and she smiled at him – the smile not reaching her eyes – as she squeezed his hand.

Shikamaru had never heard of this best friend before which meant that... He glanced at his mother uncertainly. "Did she…?"

"KIA," Yoshino muttered softly, confirming his thoughts.

Shikamaru frowned, not knowing what to do. You certainly do not offer condolences to your own mother, right? That was too formal and impersonal. He opted for squeezing her hand instead.

"I received the news just when I was offered a promotion to Jounin and just before I was about to marry your father."

Shikamaru waited patiently for his mother to continue. The does had moved closer to his mother, obviously having sensed her distress and wanting to comfort her. Even some of the older animals have come out. Rikumaru emerged, though he opted to stay among the trees as he watched over them steadily.

He wasn't the only one.

"It was too much for me to take," Yoshino finally said, sighing again as tears sprang to her eyes. She wiped them away furiously with her free hand and Shikamaru felt his heart wrenching painfully. He hated seeing women cry, especially his tough, overbearing mother. "I rejected the promotion and postponed the wedding. Your father was so sweet – " a small, sweet smile graced Yoshino's smile and for some reason that made Shikamaru's heart ache painfully too " – he was the one who suggested postponing the wedding and he stayed by my side throughout the entire ordeal. And even when I said that I wanted to retire from being a shinobi, he supported me and talked to my sensei and teammates for me when I couldn't."

Geez, you old geezer, and you always act so aloof.

Yoshino shook her head as she turned to Shikamaru, eyes hard and jaw set. "That's why you can't join ANBU. I can't lose you too."

Shikamaru smiled in understanding. "You won't lose me, mom."

It wasn't an empty promise. It was true that shinobi always face the risk of death but that just meant that Shikamaru would have to try harder to stay alive. For his mother.

A smile made its way onto Yoshino's face and she ruffled his hair, laughing when he swatted at her hand.

"Go to sleep, you look exhausted."

Shikamaru grunted in response and stood up, startling some of the baby does. He snickered apologetically and petted their heads before making his way back to the house.

Shikaku gave a final pat to Rikumaru before stepping out of the shadows. He approached his wife carefully and sat down next to her, placing an arm around her shoulder. She leaned into embrace, his familiar smoky and petrichor smell making her relax. Shikaku rubbed her arm soothingly.

"You can let it out," he murmured against her hair.

"It still hurts," Yoshino mumbled against his neck and he instinctively held her nearer to him. "Some days it's better but… it still hurts."

"I know," Shikaku said, pulling back so that he could wipe the stray tear away from her cheek. "I know."

He leaned down to kiss her, cupping her head gently as he slowly laid her down against the grass. Yoshino was panting softly when he pulled back, a satisfied smirk on his face. She rolled her eyes though she didn't remove her hand that was tightly fisting his shirt.

"Watch the sunset with me, dear," he murmured, pulling her hand up and placing a soft kiss on it before pulling back. He flopped down onto his back next to her, stretching his arm out so that she could lie there.

Safe, Yoshino decided as she moved closer to her husband and rested her head against his chest, his heartbeat strong and steady against her eat.

Her safe place was and always would be Shikaku.


Hiashi placed his teacup down, Neji's gaze following his uncle's movements. Hiashi hadn't said a word ever since he had entered the dojo five minutes ago. Neji contemplated speaking first but figured that it would be imprudent. Besides, maybe that was what Hiashi wanted. From Iroha's warning to watch his mouth, he already knew that it had something to do with the Hibi Incident, not that he hadn't already figured that out on his own.

He knew that Hiashi would want to talk to him; he just hadn't known when.

"Neji," Hiashi started, his even tones giving no clue whatsoever to his mood, though Neji could hazard an intelligent guess. "Are you aware of the purpose of your being here?"

"I think so, Hiashi-sama," Neji answered.

"Do tell."

"Does it have to do with what happened with Hibi-sama?"

"Indeed," Hiashi said and the corner of his lip twitched upwards a little, not quite a smirk and definitely not a smile. "That is part of the reason, yes."

"And the rest, sir?"

"ANBU, Neji," Hiashi said, his lips finally turning upwards but his expression remained firmly blank. "Though I suspect both matters might be one and the same."

Neji didn't reply. It was painfully obvious that Hiashi wasn't pleased in the slightest.

"Do you know who Hyuuga Hibi is?"

Trick question?

"A Hyuuga Elder, sir," Neji replied simply. That was all the old man was to him. Hiashi must have seen it in his face for the smile (however unfriendly it was) vanished.

"He is also my father, Neji," Hiashi said tersely and eyed the younger Hyuuga critically. "Your grandfather."

There were so many things he could say to that but Neji bit his lip, Iroha's and Hoheto's words ringing in his head.

Watch your mouth when you're in there, Neji.

You've always been a handful.

I do not have a mouth on me and I am not a handful, Neji thought to himself, feeling indignant more than anything.

The look on Hiashi's face was an odd mix of suspicion and surprise.

I do not have a mouth on me, Neji repeated to himself.

"Neji," Hiashi started again but there was no malice in his voice. "Tell me something. Why did you join ANBU?"

First Nara. Now him.

The thought of the Nara caused a wave of nausea and pain to overcome Neji so he banished the stupid deer boy to the darkest depth of his mind.

Bastard.

"To improve, sir," Neji replied and that was actually the truth. Partly anyway.

"Hmm."

Silence.

"You shouldn't have done what you did," Hiashi stated. Apologise.

Neji inclined his head slightly. "And what is it that I did, Hiashi-sama?"

"You disrespected a Hyuuga Elder, and more importantly my father, the ex-clan head, in front of the whole clan. Do you not think that you were in the wrong?" Hiashi had clearly already decided that Neji was the guilty party in this.

Again, Neji stopped himself from saying anything rash.

"It was self-defence," Neji said instead, keeping the defiance out of his voice as much as he could but Hiashi's eyes narrowed anyway.

"Self-defence? A Main Family member has the right to punish a Branch Family member."

"Indeed," Neji agreed amiably and then his tone dropped, "and pray tell, exactly what offense had I committed, Hiashi-sama? You were watching."

Hiashi's jaw locked tight, his eyes fixed on Neji. The Jounin didn't waver.

"I did nothing."

"You – " Hiashi cut himself off, blinking once and when he opened his eyes again the opal orbs gleamed with anger.

"But it's not as if the Main Family members need a proper reason to activate the curse seal, right? And Hibi-sama definitely doesn't need one. Tell me, Hiashi-sama, how many people did he torture that day after I left?"

Hiashi's eyes flashed.

"None, Neji," Hiashi said, an edge in his voice.

None.

Because I stopped him.

Hiashi closed his eyes again and even so he could feel that Neji's gaze did not dither one bit. He opened his eyes and set the tea tray to the side properly before rising. He looked down at his nephew who hadn't looked away from the spot where he had sat. Hiashi hummed softly before moving to one end of the hall.

There was a reason he picked the meeting to happen in this particular dojo. For one, only his direct family and Neji had access to this place so they wouldn't be interrupted. And mostly, only he and Neji used this particular dojo for training.

There was also a reason why he opted for a dojo.

"Let us spar, Neji."

Neji glanced over to Hiashi and the elder man saw the calculating look in his eyes. Hiashi remained impassive and soon enough Neji rose, moving to the other side of the dojo.

"As you wish, Hiashi-sama."

They slid into position at the same time, veins flaring at their temples as they activated their Byakugan.

Hiashi waited, purposely choosing not to make the first move. Neji struck first, aiming for Hiashi's chest but not his heart. The clan leader grabbed Neji's arm and made to block the tenketsu in that arm but was forced to abandon the move in order avoid the jab made to his ribs made with Neji's free arm. They both moved back, circling the other, assessing the other.

The clan leader watched Neji's eyes and saw that the calculating look was gone. Instead, it was replaced by a blank white sheen. Emptiness in place of where emotions should be. People usually couldn't tell what a Hyuuga was thinking not because they didn't have emotions but because they knew how to build defensive walls. Neji used to do that too, but now his eyes were just hollow. His eyes weren't Hyuuga; they were –

ANBU.

Hiashi gritted his teeth and launched forward, deciding to take the offensive first this time round. Neji intercepted his attack and they exchanged a few blows, chakra pouring out of their tenketsu with each hit. Feinting a left, Hiashi aimed for Neji's right arm but the younger Hyuuga had anticipated that and made to move back, leaving his ribs temporarily exposed. He noticed it a little too late but managed to move back in order to avoid a direct hit. But Hiashi's chakra managed to nick his skin a little and Neji fell back. It must have hurt but Neji didn't even cringe. His expression didn't even falter.

Without letting Neji assess the situation like he normally did, Hiashi moved to attack once more. Striking continuously, Neji was forced to be on the defensive as he blocked each and every one of Hiashi's moves. It was impressive to say the least since most people couldn't even block a single one of his attacks. Hinata definitely couldn't and even Hanabi failed sometimes.

Hiashi kept this up for at least two minutes, Neji skilfully deflecting every blow. Hiashi didn't give him a chance to stage a comeback at all; all of Neji's concentration and effort went into blocking the strikes. There was no time for him to look for gaps in between Hiashi's moves. The clan leader was moving so fast that he was practically a blur. His attack was as good as a defence.

When he finally dropped back, he noted that Neji was already starting to show signs of fatigue – he was panting slightly, chest heaving. That was to be expected. After all, Hiashi had never gone at his nephew with such a speed before.

For the record, Hiashi wasn't even out of breath and he regarded Neji calmly.

Again, not saying anything, Hiashi moved to strike. Neji was almost caught off-guard but Hiashi had evidently trained him well and he sidestepped the jab aimed for his heart. Hiashi dropped to the ground and did a leg sweep. Neji hadn't expected that and he jumped backwards but before he could land on his feet, Hiashi delivered a hard blow to his sternum, moving so swiftly that it took Neji a moment to process what had happened.

Neji staggered backwards, gasping in pain but still holding his ground. Other people would have been on the ground by then. Hiashi hadn't been holding back; he had used chakra and he had used strength. A deadly combination. Hiashi scanned Neji's chakra system and confirmed that he had hit three vital points on Neji's chest with that last blow.

Hiashi deactivated his Byakugan. The fight was over. Neji may not want to concede defeat and he may stubbornly hold his front and no doubt he would be able to because of his insanely high threshold for pain, but his body would eventually give out.

It just wasn't possible for his body to sustain itself when more three quarters of his tenketsu were blocked.

Neji held out way longer than Hiashi had expected but he couldn't say that he was surprised. After all, this was the boy who suffered 3 and a half minutes with the curse seal activated and refused to say anything. Hiashi had stepped in and he was glad he had done so when he did – Neji had been a few seconds away from incurring permanent damage to almost all of his cranial nerves. The boy had been bed-ridden for an entire month but when he had left his room, he hadn't even looked like he had been immobile for a week.

And he hadn't looked the slightest bit remorseful.

Hiashi should have taken matters into his hands then and there but he had been weak and had decided to leave Neji be. Out of a remorse that Neji had taken for granted.

That was a mistake. Because look at where they were now. Neji had gone overboard and he was out of hand. If Hiashi didn't put a stop to this nonsense now, things would only worsen.

Hiashi merely blinked when Neji finally collapsed to the ground. His hands were tightly curled by his sides and his whole body was tensed but he didn't make a single sound. Neji finally deactivated his Byakugan.

"How? I blocked everything."

Hiashi raised an eyebrow. "I don't need my fingers to block your tenketsu, Neji."

Neji's eyes widened as what Hiashi did finally clicked. He was sure that he had block every blow from Hiashi and his tenketsu hadn't been blocked when he checked them earlier. It had been sudden. One moment he was fine except for the sore bruising to his chest and then the next it was like his entire system had shut down. To his horror, he had discovered that almost of his tenketsu had been blocked. Even though Hiashi's fingers had never reached them.

Hiashi could block tenketsu with any part of his body.

Neji closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He was still so far away from his uncle.

A shadow fell over him and Neji opened his eyes, glancing up slightly so that he could look at the clan leader. Neji would have scoffed out loud if he could but even that felt like too much effort at the moment. This position was befitting though, he supposed, an all-powerful Main Family member towering over a Branch Family member who was defenceless on the ground.

"I could have used the curse seal any time," Hiashi told him, a statement of fact. Or it would have been one. In the past.

"No, you couldn't have," Neji spat bitterly because really, Hiashi couldn't. He had made sure of that.

Hiashi's lips curled into a cruel and merciless smirk. "And now you'll never know whether it was because I didn't want to or because I couldn't."

The pain Hiashi inflicted on his body suddenly paled in comparison to those words. Neji's mouth turned dry and for the first time in his life, words failed him.

"Do you know how many times I've consciously decided not to use the curse seal on you in the past two years?" Hiashi asked as he turned and walked away from Neji.

"No," Neji answered.

"I don't either. I wasn't counting. I just decided that I wasn't going to," Hiashi said as he completed a small circle and returned back to stand in front of Neji. "But this time, you won't know whether I didn't activate that curse seal out of volition or out of obligation."

Neji closed his eyes and exhaled softly.

"You've activated my curse seal before," Neji finally said, spitting out the first words that came to his mind.

Hiashi laughed mirthlessly; a short, cold sound. "People change, Neji. I thought you of all people would know that."

A pause and Hiashi observed Neji in an almost mocking and sympathetic manner. "I guess I was wrong."

No! Neji was screaming in his head.

"I thought that you changed but you just keep asking for a mile when I give you an inch. You're never satisfied. You always want more. "

"If you know that people change, Uncle, how can you not see that I have changed?" Neji whispered softly to the ground, somewhat afraid to look at his uncle and the expression on his face and the look in his eyes.

"Because, Nephew, you haven't."

Neji mustered the courage and looked up at his uncle. His breath hitched when he looked into Hiashi's clear opals. They were gleaming but that wasn't the thing that bothered Neji.

Hiashi turned away and stalked to the doors. He slid the shoji door open forcefully and was about to step out when he paused.

"Morino came to me before he recruited you."

Neji inhaled sharply at that. He hadn't known about that. Why hadn't Ibiki or Hiashi for that matter mention anything?

"One word from me, Neji," Hiashi said, his hand gripping the edge of the sliding with enough force to crush the wooden frame. "One word and you would have been barred from joining."

Hiashi left the dojo and closed the door behind, leaving Neji on the floor with his words.

Neji closed his eyes again, and try as he might, he couldn't get his body to stop trembling. He knew it had nothing to do with Hiashi's attack and everything to do with Hiashi's words.

And those looks in his eyes.

It wasn't anger. It wasn't guilt. It wasn't even remorse for choosing to teach Neji.

Hiashi had looked betrayed.

And not just that.

Hiashi had looked betrayed and disappointed.


Shikamaru collapsed to the ground the moment he made it to his bedroom, the physical and mental exhaustion finally catching up to him. The moment he shut his eyes, Neji's face came to him and he immediately snapped them open, the anger and sadness at seeing that face spurring him to get up and off the floor and into his private training room which was a part of his bedroom.

His training room was only dubbed as such in order to fool his mother. His father had snorted when he heard that Shikamaru had made a training room. Shikamaru knew that he couldn't fool Shikaku but he also knew that he could count on his old man to keep his secret for him.

Shikaku had helped him install a transparent ceiling in that part of the room, hidden underneath a cloaking jutsu. A few hand signs and that cloak would disappear and reveal his beloved clouds to him. Shikaku had already warned him that if Yoshino ever found out, he would claim to have no part in it and Shikamaru had begrudgingly agreed. If not, Shikaku would have never agreed to help him install that ceiling in the first place. Trust his father to cover all his bases. Even with his own son.

So, yeah, his training room was actually more accurately described as his cloud-watching room. On days when he was to lazy to go outside, he would just lounge in this room and stare up at the sky of clouds. It was convenient on rainy days too since he obviously couldn't be outside to cloud watch when it rained. But he didn't like looking at the clouds on rainy days as much; clouds just looked better on a clear, sunny day. Sometimes he also liked to sleep in this room just so the clouds would be the first things he saw when he woke up.

That being said, appearances had to be maintained and there were several training equipment scattered around this room that had never been utilised.

Until then, that is.

An hour later, Shikamaru was panting harshly on the floor. His clothes were drenched and sweat was dripping from his forehead. He was practically kneeling in a pool of his own sweat. It was disgusting but it was also oddly satisfying. Maybe that was why Lee like training so much. The green-clad man probably received the full package of endorphins and all too which was why he was so fucking happy all the damned time.

On the other hand, there was something wrong with Shikamaru's body because his endorphins weren't kicking in at all. And while his body was completely wasted and ready to give up on the conscious world, his brain was still furiously spinning. In fact, it hadn't stopped for even one second throughout his entire training regime despite him throwing himself into it completely.

He just couldn't block the analyses his brain was desperately trying to conjure up.

What was he trying to prove anyway?

Neji had manipulated him.

Straight and simple.

Fuck, the man had even admitted it himself.

So why the fuck was Shikamaru here, working himself into a right mess, trying to come up with an alternative, preferably one where Neji did not fucking make use of him?

Shikamaru punched the ground with a force that would have made Ino proud and Chouji wince in sympathy but he couldn't even register the pain in his hand over the soreness that was literally everywhere.

The Nara scrapped his nails along the wooden floor as he slowly furled his hands. Taking in a deep breath, he let out a loud and long scream, throwing all his anguish and frustration into it. He screamed and screamed because it wasn't like anyone could hear him anyway; his room was completely sound proofed. He screamed until his throat was raw and he hacked violently because his throat was just so dry.

At least his brain finally got the message to shut the fuck up.

It was peaceful for all of two seconds.

Because with that tranquil silence came the fucking clarity.

It was true that Shikamaru couldn't get over the fact that Neji had murdered innocent people in cold blood. In fact, he still cringed physically whenever he thought about it. He couldn't condone it. He just couldn't. No matter how noble the reasons were, he just couldn't accept it. It was just wrong.

Neji, in killing the two innocent Kieuse, had turned into a merciless, heartless, cold-blooded bastard.

Shikamaru didn't even know how the hell he was going to face Neji anymore.

But more than that, he realised something else with shocking lucidity.

The thing that had gotten to him the most was not the fact that Neji had callously robbed two people of their lives, it was the fact that Neji had manipulated him. In fact, with a start, he realised that that was the only thing that had been plaguing his thoughts ever since he had left the Nara Research Facility.

He really didn't want to know what that said about his inner self.

Whatever.

Regardless, Shikamaru really just couldn't accept that.

He wasn't used to people predicting his moves and making use of that knowledge to manipulate him. He wasn't used to people reading him. He wasn't used to being controlled and moved according to another person's wishes.

Because fact was Nara Shikamaru was a strategist; the fucking player, not a fucking dispensable pawn.

So he just couldn't for the life of him reconcile with the fact that he had been played so effortlessly and thoroughly. By someone he had fully trusted at that. Neji only had had to say the word and Shikamaru would willingly comply. Neji was a person for whom he had been fine with giving up his life.

But Neji had betrayed that trust. He had played Shikamaru.

Shikamaru was the one who was supposed to be able to see ahead and plan accordingly. People moved according to what he saw, not the other way round. But Neji had gone and done just that, turning Shikamaru's world upside down and knocking it plain off its axis while he was at it.

The Chuunin slammed his head against the floorboard, half hoping that it would give him a concussion so that he could just stop thinking about this messed up situation. He wasn't given a concussion but he suddenly felt so exhausted which he guessed worked just as well. He completely collapsed on the floor, regardless of the state it, or he for that matter, was in and closed his eyes.

Let sleep come so that he could escape this world for a little while.


Shikamaru had been chewing on the same piece of meat for the past five minutes and he hadn't so much as uttered a word, not even a cursory 'troublesome' when Ino had purposefully spoken in his ear with an annoyingly loud and shrill voice.

The three other members of Team 10 exchanged vexed looks. Asuma looked like he wanted to get out of his seat to literally wring an explanation out of Shikamaru. Ino was about to tear her hair out in frustration and even Chouji wasn't eating as enthusiastically as he usually did. Shikamaru was never this quiet when with them. Something was definitely wrong.

"Shikamaru," Asuma started casually, taking a long drag of his cigarette until Shikamaru looked at him questioningly. "Is there something wrong?"

Shikamaru finally swallowed his meat and was about to reply when Ino decided that enough was enough.

"Shikamaru, what the hell! If there's something wrong, you have to tell us! You can't, you can't, keep everything bottled up inside. You'd die! And I don't want you to die because I love you too much for that. Even if you don't die, you might suffer a heart attack and you're too young for that. Healthy not so much but definitely too young. And, oh my god, though it pains me physically to say this, I actually miss you saying 'troublesome' despite how annoying it is. So you should just say it. I mean – "

"Ino."

" – it's really annoying but it's you – "

"Ino."

" – and although you usually say it to me because you're an ass like that – "

"Ino."

" – I know that you say it with love and – "

"INO!"

"Oh gee what! There's no need to shout," Ino snapped, glaring at Chouji who looked rather embarrassed at his outburst.

"Actually there was," Asuma said with a slight snigger. "You wouldn't stop talking."

"Yeah, well, I mean you could have just called my name or something," Ino said, annoyance thick in her voice as she flipped her ponytail behind, whacking Shikamaru's face in the process. The Nara scowled and moved a little further away from the blonde who took no notice of his action.

"I did," Chouji mumbled, only sounding slightly indignant.

"No, you didn't," Ino said pointedly and the case was close. The male majority of this group had learnt early on that you just didn't want to contradict or go against Ino. Firstly, the argument would never end and secondly… yeah, the conversation would never end. It was really just safer to give in to her.

"Anyway," Shikamaru croaked, sounding a lot like a toad and three comical faces turned to look at him. He rolled his eyes. "Sore throat."

They blinked owlishly at him.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes again.

Three.

Two.

One.

The laughter was loud enough to shake the whole building.

"Oh my god, silly Shika," Ino said in between laughs, wiping tears from her eyes, "you sound like a fat baby toad."

There was one too many adjectives in that sentence.

"Sorry, buddy," Chouji said, looking abashed that he had laughed so openly and joyfully at his best friend's misery.

"It's okay," Shikamaru said and immediately wished that he hadn't when that sent the Akimichi and Yamanaka into another laughing fit.

"Sorry," Chouji said while still chortling, "I tried but I can't. It's too funny. You really sound like a toad."

"A fat baby toad," Ino gloated as Shikamaru's expression turned sour.

And Best Comedian goes to… my voice.

Shikamaru turned away from his sniggering and heartless teammates to find comfort in his more compassionate teacher and froze at the look Asuma was giving him. The Sarutobi had laughed when Shikamaru first opened his mouth but now Shikamaru was just thinking that it had been for show because Asuma was levelling him with a look that said he knew Shikamaru was bullshitting.

Though Shikamaru really wasn't. His throat was sore.

The rest of lunch passed by rather uneventfully and Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief when he finally parted ways with his team. He had wanted to reject the invitation at first but had decided to accept because it would have seemed too suspicious otherwise. It had been so hard to resist the urge to bolt though (because he kept thinking they'd figured something was up sooner or later) so he wondered if it wouldn't have been better if he had just stayed home instead.

Asuma had certainly been suspicious. Luckily the man had left.

He turned around and stopped dead in his tracks.

Speak of the devil.

Asuma was lolling against a tree, smoking a cigarette without a care in the world, as if he had been there all along. Shikamaru swore that his sensei had gone the other direction.

Asuma waved a hand in greeting as if this was the first time they were meeting today before plucking the cigarette out of his mouth and dropping it to the ground, squashing it with his foot. Shikamaru was about to say something snarky about littering but the words died on his tongue when he saw the look Asuma was giving him.

"Now, why would we be relieved to see our team go?"

Troublesome.


Hiashi had spent all night thinking about how the recent events had come to pass. When had Neji become so out of hand? And when had he decided that it was fine to let Neji be?

He had come to one conclusion. There had been one particular event that he was sure had been the turning point.

"Iroha."

The younger Hyuuga entered the room as he did the previous day and bowed deeply before straightening up.

"Hiashi-sama."

"I want to speak with Tokuma."

Iroha stiffened again and looked like he wanted to ask why, but in the end he just answered a quick 'yes, Hiashi-sama' before he was out and on his way.

Hiashi watched the younger Hyuuga go before picking up a watering can and feeding water to the myrtle plant that was sitting beside him.

Duty.


"Hiashi-sama wants to speak with you," Iroha informed Tokuma, not keeping the anxiety out of his voice. He had found the other Hyuuga in the compound library, along with Hoheto. Tokuma didn't look too surprised and Iroha thought that it looked like Tokuma had even expected to be summoned.

"Why would Hiashi-sama want to speak to you?" Iroha pressed because anyone expecting to be called for by Hiashi was a cause for worry. It usually meant that they knew they had done something wrong (read: the Main Family had decided that they had done something wrong) which invariably led to the activation of the curse seal.

Even Hoheto who was usually calm in the face of anything wore a concerned expression. To his credit, Tokuma looked impassive as ever, his Hyuuga mask firmly in place.

"Tokuma, do you know what this is about?" Hoheto tried asking and the slight twitch of Tokuma's mouth was telling enough.

"What is it about?" Iroha questioned but Tokuma deigned to answer. Iroha almost groaned in frustration but Hyuuga did not do that and he looked at Hoheto in exasperation instead. The older Hyuuga was no help; he merely shrugged slightly as if to say Tokuma will tell us if he wants to.

Tokuma moved towards the door, releasing a sigh as he did so. "It's about Neji," was all he offered to his relatives before he exited the room.


Asuma stared down at the board, the cigarette falling out of his mouth as it slackened its grip on the stick.

What the hell?

Only two minutes had passed since they had sat down and before Asuma had even thought of what to say, the game had ended. That was it.

The end.

Shikamaru was never this vicious. There was something wrong with the boy. He wasn't even poking fun at Asuma for looking like a goldfish.

The Sarutobi snapped his mouth shut as his expression sobered. His brows furrowed together tightly as he watched the young Chuunin in front of him. Shikamaru was staring down at the board intently, a dark glint in his eyes. Usually, the Nara would be mindful of his teacher's emotional state and ego, and go easy on him. Besides, their shogi games were always just a platform for them to hang out and chat; there was no reason for Shikamaru to end the game early even though he could.

Not today though.

Today, Shikamaru had been playing with one sole purpose: to win. And not just to win. He had wanted to win so thoroughly that his opponent was left devastated with no chance of staging a comeback. Asuma was pretty he had never in his life seen a shogi game end with one side having only one piece left. That piece being the king and since it was checkmate… Asuma had just freaking lost all of his freaking pieces.

"Someone's having a bad day," Asuma commented casually as he lit up another cigarette, more for the sake of keeping up with appearances than actually craving a smoke. Besides, he didn't want Shikamaru to overthink him not smoking his beloved cancer stick, even if the Chuunin liked to nag at him not to smoke too much.

Shikamaru peeled his eyes away from the board. When they settled on Asuma, his eyes widened and he looked down at the board again, surprise invading those black orbs. The Nara scratched the back of his head awkwardly and laughed somewhat embarrassedly.

"That wasn't intentional."

Asuma plucked the cigarette out of his mouth and scoffed loudly, half pretending to be annoyed and half actually feeling really annoyed.

"Not intentional?" he repeated sardonically, gaze falling onto the board where his army had been wiped out. "You sayin' I'm dumb or something, kid?"

"No," Shikamaru was quick to say, sounding so panicky that the situation was almost hilarious had Asuma not already figured out that Shikamaru hadn't been aware that it was Asuma that he had been playing. Shikamaru had seriously wanted to defeat some someone else. The question was who? "I'd never say anything like that."

"I know, Shikamaru," Asuma said lightly as he began setting up the pieces again. "I'm just messing with you."

Shikamaru's hands stilled as they hovered over the board. Asuma had hit the jackpot surprisingly early today. His usual strategy consisted of him throwing out general statements that could be applied to almost all situations and hoping that something he said would strike a chord or two in Shikamaru. Usually, it took him at least two games which translated into roughly two hours. He glanced at his clock. Five minutes. He was getting so good at this; it was not just luck.

"Would you do that, Asuma?"

And Shikamaru had lost him.

What?

"What?"

"Would you ever mess with me, Asuma? For real?"

What the actual fuck.

"No," Asuma said simply as he swatted the Nara's hands away and busied his own hands with arranging Shikamaru's pieces as well. Because right now they were itching to be around some bastard's neck. "I'd never do that."

"Plenty of other people would," Shikamaru muttered quietly, his hands falling into his lap.

Asuma paused in setting the pieces up and glanced at Shikamaru. It was true that the Chuunin's intelligence was highly coveted throughout the Fire Nation. The boy had, after all, been offered a position as the Fire Daimyo's guard just the previous week. But this wasn't about that. This was something more personal, because only something like that could affect someone like this.

"Did someone?" Asuma enquired, attempting to sound nonchalant but the concern in his voice leaked through anyway. He used to be good at this. The other Guardians never really knew what he was thinking (except Chiriku) and all of his previous team members were none the wiser as well. Team 10 however… they were something else entirely.

Maybe it was the whole Sarutobi and Ino-Shika-Cho thing, but there was no denying that the three of them had grown on him as individuals and he had come to love that slacker, that loudmouth and that glutton as if they were his own children.

Shikamaru wasn't looking at him. "No."

"Bullshit," Asuma stated so quickly that he overlapped with the end of Shikamaru's word.

"I – "

"If it's a lie, I don't wanna hear it."

Shikamaru started to sulk, not that the genius would ever admit it. It wasn't obvious when Shikamaru sulked, not like when Ino did. She would frown so deeply that her eyebrows would almost touch (though she always immediately soothed them out because wrinkles) and she would fold her arms tightly across her body, a petulant pout becoming a permanent fixture on her face until her grievances were redressed. It was easy to tell with Chouji too because his entire body would sag and he would look as if he was dragging his whole body weight with him when he walked. Shikamaru, on the other, was in his own league.

It took Asuma a month to realise that Shikamaru was not in fact zoning out but sulking.

The Nara's eyes would be drawn to something far away and he would look, for all intents and purposes, as if his soul had taken leave of his body for a while. But he wasn't contemplating some complicated theory or puzzle that only his higher mind could solve. No, he was just contemplating how unfairly he was being treated.

"Any time you're ready," Asuma pushed but gently because if he pushed too hard, Shikamaru would bolt like the deer his family took care of.

Shikamaru was awfully silent for a long time and Asuma went through two cigarettes before the Nara finally spoke. When he looked up at Asuma, the Sarutobi immediately clocked the uncertainly and sadness in his eyes.

"I don't really want to talk about it. Not yet."

Asuma really didn't like hearing those words because he wasn't a Nara and he needed more than a couple of clues (read: he had to be told) to figure out what was going on, especially with people because people were complicated and liked to make the world complicated. Hence the invention of the Rubik's Cube. Or so Asuma thought because he had never once managed to solve that blasted thing.

But he also knew that Shikamaru needed his space and time, and that he would come to Asuma when he had gotten a grip on things. All Asuma could do now was let him know that he was here for him, and that he could come to Asuma whenever things got too tough, whether it be because he needed someone to talk to or whether he just needed a place to hide.

But Asuma would never say that out loud and freak the poor kid out.

So instead, he said, "Another game?"

The smile Shikamaru gave him spoke of his gratitude more than any word ever could.


"Come in," Hiashi stated calmly and Tokuma entered to find the clan leader inspecting a petal of a myrtle plant between his thumb and forefinger.

"Hiashi-sama," Tokuma greeted, bowing deeply and only rising when he was told to do so. He stood in front of Hiashi, his head still bowed slightly in respect.

"Have a seat, Tokuma."

The younger Hyuuga complied, already feeling his nerves working up. Hiashi had never once asked him or any Branch Family member (except Neji) to sit before, not to his knowledge anyway. He had no idea how this was going to turn out.

"Do you know what plant this is?" Hiashi asked, eyes never straying from the flower in front of him.

"A myrtle flower, sir," Tokuma answered as he tried to work out what Hiashi was trying to get at because there was no way the Main Family member had called him over to discuss flower arrangement.

"Indeed, Tokuma. Now, tell me, do you know what they represent?"

"No, sir."

"Love, home and duty."

"I see. Thank you for enlightening me, Hiashi-sama."

"What do you think is the most important among the three, Tokuma?"

Trick question.

If he said love, he'd be questioning the curse seal system. If he said home, then he'd be questioning the Main and Branch Family split. But if he said duty… he'd be insulting Hiashi for making an exception for Neji.

Oh, so he was right after all. This was about Neji. And he had a feeling that it was because of something that he had done two and a half years ago.

With a start, Tokuma realised that Hiashi had at some point switched from looking at the plant to looking at him. He wondered if his answers had been written on his face.

"Do take all the time in the world, Tokuma. I have no other appointments."

He couldn't tell if Hiashi was being sarcastic or not. It was just like with Neji.

You are you uncle's nephew, Tokuma thought dryly.

He could say they were all important. That didn't mean that he was insulting Hiashi on all three counts, though it could very well be taken that way. He could always say that he thought none of them were important but then that'd made him look heartless and irresponsible. He was in between a very jagged rock and a very hard place. Oh, and let's not forget the boulder hanging over his head as well.

What do you do when every option leads to certain death?

Just activate my curse seal, Hiashi-sama, Tokuma thought dryly because surely his silence thus far was a show of disrespect as well. But saying that was just being plain facetious.

Maybe he should just choose any random answer since he was going to offend Hiashi any- wait.

So don't make it about Hiashi-sama.

Hiashi didn't look annoyed when Tokuma finally raised his head to look at him so he guessed that was a good sign at least.

"As a shinobi, I would have to pick duty, Hiashi-sama."

"I see." Hiashi seemed pleased. Good.

Calm before the storm. They still hadn't gotten to the crux of the matter yet and it was anyone's guess as to how long the clan leader intended to drag this out. Hiashi certainly didn't come here to talk about Tokuma. He didn't warrant such attention from the clan leader. The Best Byakugan – that was all he was to Hiashi and the Main Family.

"And as a Hyuuga?"

"Duty," Tokuma responded immediately and immediately wondered if he hadn't signed his life away with that when Hiashi smirked in response, the side of his lip curling up ever so slightly. There was amusement in the clan leader's eyes but it was not of the friendly kind. It was amusement that came from knowing someone had just said something very wrong.

But the answer couldn't have been love or home. There was no love in the Hyuuga Family and the Compound was certainly no home.

Home is where the heart is.

Tokuma had remembered scoffing when Muta had told him that once after they had chanced upon a poor but happy couple living out on the streets. The mission had dragged on for far too long and Muta had gotten sappy while missing home. Tokuma still remembered his response very well.

"Well, then I have no home, for the Hyuuga are heartless."

Muta had patted him on his back sympathetically and that was already nicer than anything the Main Family had ever done for him. And then Muta had gone the extra mile and showed him what familial love was all about when they had returned to Konoha. He had invited Tokuma for a family dinner at his house and Tokuma had never known dinners to be so light-hearted and relaxing.

The Aburame had shown him nothing but kindness and included him in their conversations and he had been stunned speechless at a seemingly rough banter between an uncle and his niece. He had asked if it was alright to not intervene but Muta had laughed and told him that it was always like that during dinners. He told Muta that if such a thing had happened in the Hyuuga Compound, punishment was imminent and that if it had been a Branch Family member who had done so, the curse seal would have been activated immediately.

He hadn't realised that he had drawn the attention of the other Aburame and when he had looked away from his friend, almost all the eyes in the dining room had been on him. He hadn't been able to see their eyes beyond their spectacles but he could feel the sympathy and pity coming from them. His Hyuuga hackles had risen and there had been a few brief seconds where he had felt outraged at being looked at like a poor child to be commiserated but mostly, he had felt so bad for running the lively atmosphere at dinner.

But then someone had cracked a joke and all had been well again. And when he had left, the head of clan had offered him an open invitation, telling that he was welcomed to join them any time he so felt like it and that there was no need to inform them beforehand. Having been so overwhelmed, Tokuma had been only able to thank him dazedly before he had left.

He still remembered that warm, fuzzy feeling from that night. It was like the pleasant afterglow of alcohol except a hundred times better.

And then he had stepped into the Hyuuga Compound and that dreamlike illusion had shattered to smithereens, the glimmering glasses on the floor smirking up at him mockingly.

Had he thought he could escape his fate?

Some Branch Family children had accidentally spilt drinks on a Main Family child. That was normal; they were children. The drinks weren't hot but apparently the poor Main Family child was injured. The children didn't know what was going on and the "injured" kid hadn't wanted revenge.

But his father did. Punishment, after all, had to be meted out fairly.

It was a farce, just an excuse. Everyone knew that Main Family Hyuuga Abura had always lost to Branch Family Hyuuga Mizu in spars and that had been the perfect opportunity for Abura to exact the revenge that he had always craved. Who could stop him? Not the Branch Family. Who would stop him? Not the Main Family.

Tokuma still couldn't get the sound of screaming children out of his head.

Ever since then, he had never been back to the Aburame Residence. It had become too painful a reminder of what he didn't have and would never have, and he felt as if he didn't deserve to be there, to intrude on their happiness. But he held that one night close to his heart and returned to it when things became too hard to bear.

"Duty," Hiashi repeated tonelessly and Tokuma refocused his attention on the clan leader. "And what is your duty as a Branch Family member?"

"To serve the Main Family and protect them," Tokuma replied, the mantra something he had been telling himself every day since he had gotten his curse seal.

"Indeed," Hiashi said and then his demeanour turned cold as he turned his nose down at Tokuma, "so, Tokuma, what is your motive?"

Tokuma was more than taken aback. He had no idea what Hiashi was getting at.

"I beg your pardon, sir, but I do not have any motives."

"I believed you then and now I'm starting to wonder if I should have."

"Hiashi-sama, please, I really do not know of the matter which you speak of."

"I'm referring to your request two and a half years back, Tokuma," Hiashi sneered, the look somehow more intimidating on the man than on other people.

His request two and a half years back. So he was right after all.

"Are you referring to when I implored you to move Neji into the Main Family side of the house?" Tokuma asked because that was the only request that he had ever made of anyone in his entire life.

He had never dreamt that he would ever do such a thing because he was a firm believer in accomplishing things by himself but this was out of his league. Tokuma had sought Hiashi out had made that appeal because he had seen the necessity in it. All he did was ask Hiashi to move Neji into the Main Family side though; Hiashi had been the one who surprised him when he asked Neji to move into his private residence where only the clan leader's direct family members stayed.

"That is the request that I am referring to. Did you remember what you said to me back then, Tokuma?"

"Yes, sir," Tokuma replied. Every word he had said back then was as clear to him as if he had uttered them just a few moments ago. After all, he had taken weeks to come up with that he wanted to say.

"What did you say?"

Was Hiashi testing his memory?

"I said that Neji should move to the Main Family side of the Compound so that you can better bond with him, especially since you were already training him personally," Tokuma answered, almost as if he was reciting from a script. Of course those weren't his exact words; they had been much more formal and lengthier than this, each word tailored carefully so that they couldn't be taken the wrong way.

"Were you perhaps not hoping that someone from the Branch Family would be able to defy the system?"

Everything clicked into place at that. Hiashi had come to the conclusion that it was his accession to Tokuma's plea that had led to the recent unfolding of events. He thought that Tokuma had wanted this to happen when he made that request. That was shrewdly accurate of Hiashi… if only it were true.

"I assure you, Hiashi-sama, that that was not my intention and that I have never harboured such thoughts," Tokuma said just that bit forcefully, and for the first time he mustered enough courage to meet Hiashi's eyes.

It was more terrifying than he had initially thought and he briefly wondered how Neji had always dared to stare at the clan leader straight in the eyes. Well, there was the fact that Hiashi was the exact copy of Hizashi… though Tokuma would have thought that that would have made it harder. He usually didn't dwell on things like that because they were none of his business but it was easier to distract himself with these thoughts rather than focus on Hiashi's sharpened, penetrating gaze. It felt like he was seeing straight into Tokuma's soul.

"I see." Hiashi's eyes didn't waver and it was silent for a few minutes, the two man staring at each other.

Tokuma wondered if this was the last thing that he would do and whether those eyes that were so similar yet so completely different from his own would be the last things he saw.

"Is that the only reason?"

Tokuma's instinctive reaction was to drop his eyes and he immediately cursed himself for it. For that innocent action had given him away. Hiashi knew it too because his face was closed off and a thunderstorm was brewing in them. Tokuma had only ever seen Hiashi this furious on two occasions – one when a clan from another village had the audacity to insult the Hyuuga in their own home and the second when he had gone after the cloud-nin who had abducted his daughter.

Hiashi didn't do anything though. He simply watched Tokuma with hawk-like eyes. Tokuma couldn't figure out what Hiashi wanted at all; it could be anything from his death to something as simple as just letting him leave.

"The whole truth, Tokuma," Hiashi finally uttered and the threat was clear in each punctured word, "you will do well not to withhold anything from me."

Time to come clean then.

"It wasn't safe for Neji to stay in the Branch side of the Compound," Tokuma confessed, his words having an immediate effect on Hiashi who frowned deeply.

"Neji is a strong boy who is more than capable of taking care of any Branch member jealous and stupid enough to take out their aggravation on him," Hiashi stated and Tokuma just knew that the clan leader didn't even realise the inherent pride in his own words.

"Trust me, Hiashi-sama, I know that too," Tokuma said steadily, "that is not what I'm worried about. Besides, I would never let any of them lay a hand on him."

"So what are you driving at, Tokuma? You cannot possibly be talking about outside threats. No one would dare to so mindlessly trespass into my property."

"I'm not worried about that either, sir."

"Then what are you…" Hiashi trailed off as he finally realised what Tokuma had been trying to tell him without words. "The Main Family."

Tokuma nodded, not sure if his voice was working.

"They know better than to recklessly look for trouble with Neji."

If only you knew how many times he had chosen to keep those incidents to himself. He is protecting you as much as you are protecting him.

Hiashi was losing patience with Tokuma – the younger Hyuuga could sense it. He didn't want to say it, he really didn't but he couldn't be so selfish now. Besides, Hiashi wasn't exactly wrong; Tokuma did have a part to play in all this. After all, if he hadn't opened his mouth to Hiashi, maybe things would have been different now.

That was not to say that he regretted his decision though. Turn back the clock and he would have chosen to do the same thing.

"Neji is a beautiful boy," Tokuma started monotonously, feeling himself go into a slight trance as past horrors caught up to him. He idly noted that Hiashi had narrowed his eyes at those words. He didn't know if Hiashi had already understood what he meant but he really didn't feel like elaborating. He had been a beautiful boy himself and when he saw Neji as a child he already knew that the younger Hyuuga was going to turn out even more beautiful than himself. So Tokuma had taken matters into his own hands to ensure that Neji would never go through what he did.

Tokuma let out a shuddering breath.

"We can't say no to Main Family members, Hiashi-sama. We say no and it's the curse seal."

Hiashi's sharp intake of breath was impossible to miss, and Tokuma might have felt proud for being the one to draw such a reaction out of the clan leader if he wasn't so busy trying to calm his furiously beating heart. He hadn't even realised his breaths were coming out in shallow, short bursts until Hiashi placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

Tokuma jumped away and was about to jab the offending arm when he realised who it was. He bowed immediately, apologising rapidly for zoning out.

"It's alright, Tokuma," Hiashi said, his voice the gentlest the tokujo had ever heard.

Tokuma looked up slowly and saw that Hiashi had placed his impassive mask back on.

"You may go," Hiashi told him kindly.

Tokuma bowed and made to leave but stopped when Hiashi called him again.

"Why would you go so far for Neji?"

Because I owe them that much.

"Because of Hizashi-sama," Tokuma answered, cutting himself off before he said anything else and pretending that he didn't hear the hitch in Hiashi's breath.

"And why have you not come to me about this matter sooner?" Hiashi actually sounded sad; Tokuma was sure he had imagined it.

Tokuma slowly released a sigh.

"Hiashi-sama, if I could help it, I was never going to let you know."

"And why is that?"

"Because we're supposed to protect the Main Family, and that includes your feelings, right?"


How was it? I'm really anxious to know because I feel that this chapter is the turning point of sorts? This is also the first chapter that I would actually consider dark though even then I don't think it's that bad. Just slightly dark really. I think. Many of you have gotten back to me and all of you seem to be in agreement that the darker the better so I'm just going to go all out. Thanks for your opinions, everyone!

That was also my take on why Yoshino didn't become a Jounin. Kishimoto is misogynistic and paid too little attention to the women and I'm a bit of a feminist so I'm just trying to give the female characters more credit. Does anyone else not feel annoyed that all the wives somehow end up being housewives (and I'm talking about Ino, Sakura, Hinata and Temari here too) except Tsume and that's only because her husband isn't around?

Hiashi and Tokuma played a more significant role in this chapter and I hope you like them here. They're not really shown much in the anime and stuff (especially all the minor Hyuuga) so I'm just really making up their character and personalities as I go along.

That being said, I want to get your opinion on something. The conception of this fic started because of Neji and Shikamaru. My focus had only been them and I thought that that was the way it was going to be but then the more I write, the more I start thinking about how interesting the other characters are and how much I want to explore them as well. So, I guess what I really want to know is whether you guys would be okay if our mains share some of the spotlight with other characters? Don't worry, I'm not going to mince any of their parts; I'll just be adding stuff. Which will make this story crazy long and not just focused on Neji and Shikamaru.

Another thing I realised is that I've been neglecting poor Shikamaru. No worries. He'll have his own problems soon enough. I'm going to get called a sadist again but what can I say? I love torturing our boys.

Aaand I have a few more things to say.

Firstly, I want to thank Alex-Mellois and Ghofran because they're the reason for the existence of the scene with Tokuma being upset with Hoheto for forgetting about the Aburame. I actually have this headcanon where Tokuma and Muta are BFFs but for some reason I just forgot about it (read: Muta) until they mentioned him. Anyone else getting the irony?

Also, I want to thank all my readers and reviewers. The journey thus far had been short but tiring but mostly, it was just satisfying. You guys are all so great and make me so happy with the things that you say. I love talking with you guys about Hyuuga politics and the characters and everything. It's really great to see so many people being passionate about the same things.

Next, Elaine Weasley has this amazing prompt for a Shikamaru fic which I want to share and here's how it goes:

When Shikamaru is in charge of that one division and he's allied with Sand nin, Tobi/Obito attacks with the giant Gedo thingy. At one point, Shikamaru actually catches Tobi in his jutsu. He realizes what Tobi wants with the "ninja tool" (I am just going off a clip I watched on YouTube so forgive innaccuracies) and he says so. Tobi is impressed, and says something to the effect that it's sad Shikamaru is on the other side. He then tries to flatten Shika with Gedo but Choiji pulls him out. Tobi leaves with the ninja tool.

What if: Shikamaru is noticed by Tobi earlier for some reason and taken, or Tobi is really impressed with him and instead of trying to smash him in with Gedo, he takes Shikamaru with him then?

We're both too busy to write this but it'd be great if someone decides to do it! Thanks!

And the next thing is about me. I'm doing summer school and I start classes tomorrow which really sucks but I have no choice but to do it if I don't want to delay graduation. Word of advice? Do not do a double major. I kind of regret it but I hate giving up halfway so. But fret not, I still intend to update weekly. It's just that I might skip a week or two when I have my exam. Just a heads up.

Okay, that was really long. Sorry about that.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I look forward to hearing your feedback.

Till next time!

~Witherwolf