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Italics are flashbacks and thoughts to oneself
Bold is Demon's talking
Bold Italic is the demon holders talking back to the demons
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Disclaimer: Is Lee getting chased by Seme's that want him as their Uke? No? Then I don't own Naruto.
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Title: Ikiryou
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"Shikamaru-kun?" Lee said, holding the door open as he stared, he felt that now familiar blush rising to his cheeks and viciously forced it down, not wanting to embarrass himself, "H-hello! What are you doing here? N-not that I am unhappy to see you- I mean…"
Shikamaru chuckled, his lips quirking up into a crooked smile that made Lee's knee's feel strangely weak.
"Hey," Shikamaru said, pushing his hands into his pockets as he slowly shifted on his feet, "You got time? Mom has been wanting to invite you over to eat."
"Oh," Lee blinked, surprised. Despite Yoshino taking a shine to him, he didn't think that the woman would want him over again. Did Shikaku not tell her what he was? No, stupid question, Sarutobi made it classified information. Still, it was Shikaku…
"I would love to." Lee finally said, smiling a bit shyly at the shadow user.
The crooked smile became a full one and Shikamaru nodded, "Whenever you're ready then."
Lee nodded and simply got his sandals, "Ready now!" he said, closing the door behind him.
Lee looked at Shikamaru and shyly smiled again before moving close and slowly threading his arm through Shikamaru's. He spied red tinting Shikamaru's ears but the boy gave him another crooked smile that made his insides flutter and Lee felt happy.
And maybe his kittens would be back after?
"How have you been? Has training been good?" Lee asked and giggled as Shikamaru sighed a groan.
"It's been a drag. Ino's been nagging me but she hates it when she gets sweaty so it's pointless and just more yelling." Shikamaru rolled the shoulder Lee wasn't against in a shrug, "I'd rather watch the clouds or sleep."
"Hm…" Lee frowned lightly, "Is she not taking her training seriously?"
That wasn't good, she was Shikamaru's teammate. She could be the cause of Shikamaru getting hurt or dying. No, he didn't like that at all… Maybe he should visit them when they were training? Sarutobi's son didn't know who he was… Maybe if Sarutobi 'allowed' it, Asuma would 'let' him help?
"It's Ino." Shikamaru shrugged again.
"Ino-chan is a very lovely girl but…all of you can get hurt once you three go outside the village gates. I do not want that to happen…" Lee said, slightly hugging Shikamaru's arm.
"Don't worry, I plan to be an average ninja, no life-threatening mission's for me." Shikamaru said and Lee almost smiled wryly.
'Plans almost never turn out how you want them where it concerns the future.' Lee thought to himself
"Still…do you think Asuma-san will mind if I check on you during training?" Lee said out loud and Shikamaru sighed.
"What a drag. You're going to be scary aren't you?" Shikamaru sighed again but continued, saying, "He's a pretty cool guy, so I think he'll allow it."
Lee pressed a smile against Shikamaru's shoulder and nodded, "Good."
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Lee decided that he liked the Nara's immensely. Shikaku was by far his favorite adult and Lee knew that if need be, he would very willingly listen to the man. Shikaku was smart and very easy going and open minded as well, it made Mother say that she almost wished that the man was not married. That was high praise indeed!
But Lee also liked Yoshino. She was a very sure of herself woman and Lee could find himself hanging out with her more. She was headstrong and it was very obvious that she was the 'boss' of the family, with the way that Shikaku gave into her. It was actually pretty funny and it made his respect for her grow, but he noticed that she did have a sweet side. Even her smile was a bit sweet. She gave him a ribbon to tie his hair when his elastic broke mid meal. Well, she gave it after re-braiding his hair and tying it with the dark green silk.
He…he thought that he would really like to be in that family.
But that was just a dream that Lee knew wouldn't come true. Even if he could give birth, which he would need to since Shikamaru was the clan heir; he was still a demon holder. Being a demon holder alone might just barely be okay because Shikaku was an open minded person but he was Ikiryou. He wasn't all right in the head and Lee knew that no matter what, it was all too likely that he would not have just one mate. As much as it saddened him, Lee very much doubted that Shikamaru would be open to sharing him.
Still, at least he could enjoy this while it lasted.
That's why Lee stayed for as long as they allowed, only keeping his senses out for Kurama's chakra as he could sense that further than regular chakra.
As night began to fall, Lee grew worried. He couldn't feel his kittens or Kurama, it made his lips turn down in a subtle frown.
"What?" Shikamaru asked, looking up from the game they were playing. Lee blinked is surprise then gave Shikamaru an apologetic smile.
"I apologize, it is just…Team Seven was meant to be home today…" Lee said then softly sighed, "Yet I cannot feel their chakra anywhere."
"You're a chakra sensor?" Shikamaru asked before saying, "Anyway, I'm sure they're okay. Naruto's pretty resilient, plus, it's a C-rank, right? Not too much danger on those."
"Well, I can…" Lee took one of Shikamaru's moves and shrugged, then he bit his lip, "And…I do not think it is a C-rank anymore. I can only hope that Kakashi is keeping his promise."
Shikamaru gave Lee a questioning look but when Lee didn't say anything more, he changed the subject and said, "You are on first name bases with a few people."
Lee blinked and tilted his head in question.
"You must be very close with them..."
Lee hummed and thought about it, "I suppose...in different ways. I do not really think I am."
That made Shikamaru pause and he lifted his gaze from the board and onto Lee. There was a slight furrow in Shikamaru's brows as he asked, "What do you mean?"
"Ah..." Lee placed his hands in his lap as he was the one to turn his eyes to the board now, "I find myself not wanting to tell you..."
Shikamaru let his intelligent eyes roam Lee's figure. He pushed aside his attraction and tried to see anything that could give him a clue as to what Lee was thinking. Only, Lee was sitting straight backed, his body giving away no clues beside the fact that he wasn't looking at him. It made Shikamaru frown and he found himself frustrated that he couldn't read the older boy. He rubbed the back of his head in that same frustration and said, "You know...you can tell me. Pretty sure nothing could change my opinion of you at this point."
The smile Lee gave Shikamaru made something twist in the Nara's gut. It was wry and humorous in a way that made Shikamaru know that Lee was saying 'Oh Shikamaru-kun. If only you knew.'. Shikamaru's eyes sharpened and he sat up straight.
"Do you have something to tell me?" Shikamaru asked.
"...I suppose..." Lee said, "There are many things I want to tell you. For now...I will say that I am not a nice person."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and waited.
Lee chuckled softly and said, "They know who I am. They-" Lee paused then changed what he was going to say, "That is usually what allows me to call them by their name. There is only one who does not know is Naru."
"Know you?" Shikamaru repeated.
Lee lifted his gaze and stared at Shikamaru. His stare seemed to make Shikamaru subconsciously straighten up even more. Lee tilted his head and slowly shifted, moving to his knees and crawling towards the Nara heir. His stomach felt like butterflies were in it and when he got close enough, he put his hand on Shikamaru's chest. He could feel Shikamaru's rapid heartbeat under his fingertips and smiled at Shikamaru's intense gaze.
"Yes..." Lee whispered, "You see...I am-"
Lee paused and cocked his head before he was suddenly in his seat again and the door slid open. Yoshino poked her head in and opened her mouth but then she paused and stared at Shikamaru before grinning.
"Lee-chan, will you be spending the night?"
Lee blinked in surprise and looked at Shikamaru in question. The boy kept his eyes trained on the opposite corner of the room. Lee huffed out a slight chuckle then turned to look at the woman with a smile, "I would not want to trouble you, Yoshino."
"It's no trouble at all!" She said and her grin was full of energy. She then turned and left the room, yet they could both hear her yell. "Shikaku! Help me prepare a room! Lee-chan's staying with us!"
They didn't hear a reply but both could easily imagine the sigh that Shikaku would give before getting up and helping his wife. Lee smiled and shook his head in amusement before thinking about what he almost did. Just what was he going to say? That he was a demon? That he was Ikiryou, a name in the bingo book that had a 'kill on sight' and a 'do not approach alone' tagged to it. Or…was he going to tell Shikamaru the he was, for all purposes, insane?
Any one of those could have forever pushed Shikamaru away and that thought…that thought sent something cold plunging to his stomach.
Shikamaru stared at him for a long moment then sighed and motioned to the game they'd been playing. Lee smiled and they continued until it was time to sleep. All in all, Lee really liked being with Shikamaru.
That night, it wasn't as nice. Lee tossed and turned in his borrowed bed. It felt strangely large and cold and Lee didn't understand until Mother pointed it out to him. He'd grown used to sharing his bed with the boys. He'd shared with Naruto for months now and he'd even got Sasuke to sleep beside them when Lee knew that he'd had a nightmare. Lee liked those nights the most when he would hold both of them close like they were his real kittens. They would always press hard against his sides but it always made Lee feel a bit sad that they would cling to him so tightly.
Lee growled softly and sat up. He felt vaguely irritated for not being able to sleep for going on three days now. He hadn't even been able to have his catnaps! Lee didn't even give it one thought as he got out of bed, fixing his borrowed sleepwear. He locked onto Shikamaru's chakra and left the room with single minded determination. He found Shikamaru's room quickly and slipped in, closing the door quietly behind him before going to the bed. He saw Shikamaru sleeping and had to pause for a moment.
The Nara heir really was handsome…it made Lee's cheeks warm but he pushed away the thought. He just wanted to sleep. So he crawled onto the bed.
That was when Shikamaru woke up. He frowned and his eyes shot opened before they quickly widened at the sight of Lee crawling towards him. His hair was slipping out of its usual braid and he had a…rather adorable irritated look on his face.
"Lee…?" Shikamaru whispered, not even realizing that he'd dropped any suffix. His heart was beating fast and his ears were burning. He felt too awake for just waking up but Lee usually had that effect on him.
Lee looked at Shikamaru and subtly pouted, feeling annoyed with himself, "I do not like sleeping alone anymore." He said before slipping under the covers. He began purring the moment he felt the warmth already there from Shikamaru's body heat and scooted closer to get more.
"Purring?" Shikamaru question when he heard it.
"Shh, morning." Lee said, "Sleep now…Shikamaru." He smiled and closed his eyes.
It was silent for a moment then Lee felt arms wrap around him and pull him to Shikamaru's chest. His purring got louder and he heard Shikamaru chuckle. Lee decided to be nice and ignore it, instead, pressing closer to Shikamaru, nuzzling the hollow of Shikamaru's neck where his head fit perfectly. Oh~ he could hear Shikamaru's heartbeat, how pleasant…
Lee fell asleep happy and content.
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