Disclaimer and warning in first chapter.

Chapter 12

Shikamaru, Neji found, was quite nice to be around.

First of all, Shikamaru didn't gossip. It was a relief for Neji to talk to someone who didn't immediately fire questions at him about his secret admirer.

Shikamaru had inquired where Neji got the chess-board. Neji figured it was an inquiry out of curiosity for the board itself and not Neji's personal life.

When Neji told Shikamaru he had received the board as a gift from his secret admirer, Shikamaru simply nodded.

He then commented that Neji's secret admirer must care a lot because it was an expensive board.

Neji simply thanked him with a small blush.

Shikamaru was also very smart. He wasn't called a genius for nothing after all because playing chess with Shikamaru was a delight for Neji.

Hinata couldn't play and playing against Hanabi was never any fun; she wasn't very good and on top of that she was a sore loser.

Playing against Hiashi was nice sometimes. But with Neji being a prodigy and all, he was bound to be smarter than his uncle.

And even though Neji was known for his pride, even to him always winning got boring sometimes.

So playing against Shikamaru, doing his very best and still end up losing was nice for once.

Well into their second game Shikamaru suddenly yawned and looked at his companion with a frown. "Aren't you tired? It's almost three."

Neji looked at Shikamaru and shook his head. "I've slept for almost two days; I really don't think I can sleep any more," Neji looked over Shikamaru's posture for a moment and smiled. "But you're almost asleep now, aren't you?"

"Perhaps. Why don't I go home when we finish this game?" Shikamaru asked with a small nod towards the board.

"Sure. I'm on the winning hand anyway," Neji answered a bit too enthusiastically.

"That's just because I'm tired," Shikamaru grumbled.

Neji laughed at Shikamaru's words. It seemed that Shikamaru was in a bit of a sour mood because he was losing.

It was a bit understandable that one would be disappointed if he lost if that person never lost.

"Then we'll just have to do the game over again when you're wide awake," Neji said.

Shikamaru looked at the long-haired boy in front of him and smirked. "I'll be sure to beat you then, next time."

Fifteen minutes later Shikamaru yawned and stretched his arms above his head. He was standing in front of the window, ready to go home and sleep.

Neji looked at his bed, saw the mess on it, and looked at Shikamaru. "What about the scrolls?" he asked.

"I'll pick them up tomorrow afternoon, okay? Maybe we can play another game then." Shikamaru said with his bored tone back in place.

Neji nodded at the offer. "I'll make sure I've read them all by then," he said.

Shikamaru nodded and with a last goodbye, jumped out of the window.

'Well,' Neji thought with a sigh, 'at least I can entertain myself now.'

By ten in the morning, Neji had worked his way through six of the eight scrolls, reading them and writing advice for the Hokage about what he'd read. It was a boring and ungrateful job but always better than sitting on the bed and deciding what shade of white his wall was.

"How hard is it to just listen once in your life?"

Neji had figured the moment he received the scrolls that Hiashi would not be amused by that. Judging from the current look on his uncle's face, Neji had been right in his assumption.

"If I am not allowed to leave my room for a week, I need to do things to occupy me." Neji told his uncle who now stood in the middle of the room.

"It's only three more days. This can probably wait until the three days are over." Hiashi said with a frown.

"Probably, yes," Neji muttered. Suddenly he felt very tired for a moment and yawned. Big mistake.

"If you're tired, you should just go to sleep."

"No, Shikamaru will be here to pick up the scrolls in a few hours." Neji said. He wanted to have the scrolls finished when Shikamaru came. Hiashi apparently didn't agree.

"Ah, the Nara-boy brought you the scrolls then. Does he know of your condition?" Hiashi asked.

"I don't know, but the Hokage does." Neji answered. Why would his uncle and to know?
"So, are you going to sleep now, Neji?" Hiashi asked, sounding urgent.

"No. As I said, I need -"

"You need to sleep. Otherwise the doctor will probably agree with me that another week of rest is needed to get you back to your usual self," Hiashi spoke on a stern tone.

Neji paled at his uncle's words. The thought of having to spend another week in his bedroom actually terrified him.

Hiashi seemed satisfied enough by Neji's expression. He took the scrolls from Neji's bed as if his nephew was a little child and lay them down next to the desk.

"Don't worry about your friend coming by; I'll wake you up when he is here." Hiashi said before leaving Neji alone.

Neji sighed as he lay down on top of his blankets. He was a bit tired he had to admit. He just hated that there was nothing else to do besides reading boring scrolls and sleeping.

God, he would be so lazy when he was finally allowed to get out of his room again.

But of course, Neji wasn't allowed to be lazy. So why not enjoy this chance to lay on his bed and simply rest?

'What the Hell!' Was all Neji could think as he felt hands on his shoulders. 'I'm finally resting and now someone is trying to wake me up?'

Irritated he pushed the hand on his left shoulder away. "I'm asleep," he muttered.

He really didn't feel like waking up now that he was comfortably nestled on the sheets of his bed.

"You sure are a difficult person to get out of bed.'

Neji frowned. Was that Shikamaru's voice? It couldn't be, his uncle had promised to wake him up before the boy would come over. Neji sighed and buried his head in his pillow.

"Are you sure you're not enjoying this week off?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow.

Was it just him, or was the long-haired boy acting like a little kid?

With a sigh of his own, Shikamaru sat down onto the bed.

Neji, still lying with his face buried in his pillow, could only wonder what Shikamaru was planning if he didn't sit up soon. But he was sure he looked like a mess and he just didn't feel like getting up already.

He could understand why Shikamaru lazed around a lot. It was actually quite nice to do nothing at all.

Meanwhile Shikamaru was thinking that he had actually looked forward to play another game of chess against the Hyuuga prodigy so he wasn't going to be disappointed. He finally had found an opponent who didn't lose after ten minutes of playing.

"Can I borrow a pillow?" He asked in a lazy tone. He smirked as Neji shot up with wide eyes and hair looking like a bird's nest.

"What?"

Neji didn't know how to take the words of the lazy ninja. He stared at the boy but as soon as he saw the smirk on his face he felt irritated.

Had he just been tricked into sitting up and showing he was fully awake?

Neji grumbled softly as he glared at the boy sitting in front of him. "What do you want?" He asked.

"A pillow," Shikamaru deadpanned.

Neji raised an eyebrow. Was this guy joking? "What do you need a pillow for?"

Shikamaru smirked. It seemed that Neji was a good target for some jokes and pestering when just woken up. "To sleep, what else?"

This was getting out of hand, Neji decided. They were acting like little children and were, obviously, not.

"You wanted me to get out of bed," Neji said as he indeed got out of the bed.

"Yes, and you did," Shikamaru said sounding bored instead of proud.

With a sigh Neji rolled his eyes. He made his way to the only mirror in his room and took a good look at himself.

He frowned at his 'just-out-of-bed' look. He certainly wasn't the kind of person who could wear this and get away with this. He looked awful.

His hair looked like all the birds in Konoha had decided to have a party in it. His clothes were creased. He certainly had to change into another pair of pants and a new shirt wouldn't be a luxury either.

Neji turned to Shikamaru and said: "I'm going to change and do something about my hair." He said. He didn't care that he sounded very much like a woman and simply ignored Shikamaru's amused smirk as he made his way to the bathroom.

'I still look like a mess.' Neji concluded as he looked in the mirror.

His clothes were better with a simple t-shirt and a pair of grayish pants he normally wore when training.

His hair though… well, let's just say Neji even had had an urge to simply cut if off. Out of frustration he'd simply grabbed an elastic band and tied it all together in a tail.

He frowned as it looked a bit feminine though. Ah, it was just Shikamaru who was in the other room anyway.

Shikamaru though did raise an eyebrow as he saw Neji emerge from the bathroom. "The hairbrush won the battle I assume?"

Neji glared at his visitor. "Don't get cocky or I'll kick you out."

Shikamaru didn't say anything, simply gestured towards the chessboard.

Neji looked at the chessboard and frowned, thinking back at what his uncle had told him. "Hiashi will never let me leave my room again." He muttered, his words not intended for Shikamaru to hear but spoken too loud nonetheless.

"That's not true," Shikamaru said as he was already putting the pieces back onto their destined places on the board.

"And how, may I ask, would you know?" Neji asked as he pulled up a chair. The chessboard was placed onto his nightstand and Shikamaru was still sitting on the bed.

"I asked. And he said I could go ahead and wake you up, since you wouldn't listen anyway. Besides, playing chess would be much better than reading scrolls he said," Shikamaru explained. Then he looked at Neji with a smirk. "He just doesn't realize it is me you're playing against."

Neji laughed at the words. This was going to be a very interesting game.

About half an hour into the game both Neji and Shikamaru were having a hard time winning.

They were playing evenly well at the moment but Neji could already see that Shikamaru was probably going to win the game.

The other boy was just too smart. The reason why they were going even was because every attack Neji had planned was stopped by one by Shikamaru. He predicted almost every move Neji made and moved his pieces on a way so that Neji couldn't make the move he wanted to.

So five minutes ago Neji had decided to simply not try to plan his moves anymore when playing against Shikamaru.

"You're good." Shikamaru said as he looked at Neji.

Neji looked at Shikamaru and smiled gratefully. He was glad that Shikamaru considered him a worthy opponent. He wasn't going to get egoistic and claim he could win a game against the boy. "Thank you. But you're better as you must hear all the time."

Shikamaru chuckled. "Perhaps," he muttered. For a moment he seemed to gaze out of the window before turning back to the board again. "Ah," he said as he moved one of his pieces. "Check."

Neji, a bit shocked, looked at the board. He would really have to give everything he had if he wanted to win now.

But before Neji had a chance to think about a counter-attack, he could make someone knocked on his bedroom-door.

"Yes," he said, followed by a sigh.

This would probably be someone who was going to interrupt the game and tell him to lay down in his bed and sleep, or else…

To his surprise though, it was Hanabi that entered his room. A very happy Hanabi. Complete with a big grin and twinkling eyes. Neji immediately knew that something was going to happen.

"I guess uncle didn't send you to ask if I am willing to go to sleep. Am I right?"

While Neji asked his cousin what she was doing in his room Shikamaru was watching Neji converse with her with interest. He seemed very different from how he normally was when he talked to her.

"No, he didn't." Hanabi giggled. She moved from one foot to another and laughed softly.

"Hanabi…" Neji warned her.

"There's someone at the door for you." Was Hanabi's answer.

Being very able to calculate that one plus one was two, Neji paled slightly. He had that nagging feeling that he already knew who was at the door without Hanabi telling him.

Suddenly someone called out, loud enough for probably the entire compound to hear: "Neji, my Youthful rival, I have returned!"

Hanabi burst out laughing and Shikamaru could only look surprised.

All Neji could think was: 'Oh, Lee is back.'

TBC.

Note:
The next chapter will probably take a while. I'm going away on a three week trip and won't update during that time. So I expect to update again within two months. Sorry for the delay, but even authors need a rest sometimes…