Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, otherwise ShikaNeji would be canon.
A/N: Thisfanfic is for the birthday-lady Okami Rayne-sama, who inspired me to fell in love with ShikaNejiShika (HAPPY B-DAY SWEETIE! ), and for Akira-kun-niiwho made me want to write in English and try to be as fucking awesome as he is :P . So I hope the plot is not too crack, the characters not too OOC, my English not too bad and the lemon not too stupid (difficult). This is my first English fanfic. I'm doing a hard job here - google translator 24/7, dictionary in hands, synonyms book open on the table. And if Kami-samahelps it will be a funny drive till the end!
BETA: SpyYoung, thanks for the amount of patience with all my PM and the hard work! I'll try to improve my English to easy the trouble ^^
Fanfiction for the Project WTF no Jutsu, Marauders Map Forum. Hope you enjoy this freakiness.
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When Shadows Surround You
-x-
Chapter One
Chakra Bond
"Troublesome…" he whispered. Hair tied with a black band to his crown. His expression blank deep in thought and his lips pressed together.
"Troublesome?" the other inquired. "You said 'Troublesome'?"
The second man was looking at the first one with a blank expression and veins around his eyes, Byakugan activated.
"Yes, I just said 'Troublesome'…"
"How can you be so calm?" He asked, couldn't move his hands to move his bangs far from his face. What he was seeing through his white eyes was tremendouslytroublesome.
He would never do a favor for the Hokage ever again.
Never again!
His eyes started monitoring the dark lashes again. Neji could see the huge flux of chakra all over the shadows that Shikamaru was manipulating. It was thick and intense; the chakra was running in the darkened lines, bonding both of them together.
And that was the problem. He was just there to help Nara to see and understand his chakra threads better, and after two hours, Shikamaru – after trying really hard – couldn't release the tight embrace of his shadows around Neji.
"So… What now?"
Shikamaru looked at him, his face without any expression, his eyes looking across Neji's body, thoughts travelling in his genius mind for an answer.
"I'll try again to cut the flux of chakra and when I say 'now' you should walk in any direction"
"Fine!" Neji was terrified. He could barely think clear with the weird trapping sensation. As if he needed another cage to belong in.
The pineapple boy put all his thoughts and feelings in his chakra, closing his eyes in a weird attempt of control. He could feel his own chakra over his body, and its projection, running on the ground and involving Hyūga's shadows, controlling it.
Trying to calm down he took a deep breath. He looked like he relaxed, but in fact he was freaking out. Never in his twenty years has this happened to him, to be tied up with another person without even trying!
He tried to cut the chakra floss, loosening it and finally feeling the release.
"Now!" his voice was deep with the strange strength he was doing to untie their shadows.
The Hyūga started to walk to his left, dropping their face contact and letting go a breath of relief. Four tiny steps, two more, two again and then it happened.
At the ninth step he felt the unpleasant sensation of being trapped. A huge crack sounded in his eardrums. He couldn't keep walking even with all the power of his chakra concentrated in his legs.
"FUCK!" Both yelled at the same time.
Their lungs without air, their guts full with weird pain, their legs working at the same time to put their bodies close together. Just two steps back and they were ok again.
Shikamaru curved his body, pressing his hands in his belly, trying to stop the acute pain. His brow started to sweat and his breath was uneven.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! What the hell was happening?
"What the FUCK, Nara?" he groaned angrily.
"I don't know, ok!"
Shikamaru was pissed. Reallypissed. He couldn't even imagine what was happening. His thoughts were running fast in his mind, looking for any explanation that didn't appear to show up.
Never. Never has it happened to him. He couldn't even create a silly explanation. What was the meaning of being a genius when you cannot even understand your own fucking jutsu?
"We should go to the Hokage, maybe she can help us" He said, giving up his pride and accepting that he couldn't do anything else. "Can you move?"
Neji moved his arms and attempted one step. He could move, even if Shikamaru was still in place, which was weird, but it worked.
"Hm. Think so."
And then they started moving.
Side by side, three steps between them, they walked the entire path back to the Hokage's Tower, wishing in their thoughts that she could help them, or at least destroy forever Shikamaru's chakra flux – but Neji wasn't that silly to say it aloud.
It was strange, because the electricity was still there, dormant but present, sending little shocks all over their bodies. They couldn't see the shadows on the floor, but it was there, like a ghost remembering its existence with every single weak pinch of chakra down their spine.
They made the walk in silence, sometimes Shikamaru would sigh and glance at the sky, looking for calm clouds to keep him in a light peace of mind and forget what was happening. But Neji couldn't stop the strong wave of thoughts, it was stupid, because he knew he couldn't find an answer by himself, but it was uncontrolled, in a kind of desperation he was not used to feeling.
So there they were, looking expectant to the door, waiting for Shizune to come back and say they could walk in. The door spread open and the med-nin looked them with a small smile.
"You can come in" she said with the stupid smile on her face before disappear in the hallway.
They did, and a big headache struck Neji in his temples when he saw Naruto, Kiba, Sakura and Kakashi in the room. No, he didn't deserve it! It was not his fate to be so damned unlucky, it couldn't be!
"So, how was it?" the Hokage asked, looking to Shikamaru with a calm expression.
"Ridiculous" Neji muttered.
"Hm?"
"It went bad" Shikamaru said.
"Bad? Tremendouslybad, you mean" the Hyūga scrutinized.
"Yeah, deeply and troublesomely bad"
Tsunade widened her eyes, looking straight from one to the other, waiting for some explanation.
"Shikamaru's chakra is ok" the long hair man started "But it stuck us together" And he felt a huge homicidal sensation when Naruto and Kiba started laughing like idiots.
"It's not funny" Kakashi commented, stopping the boys in the act, his voice sounding completely serious – which was odd considering his carefree character.
"C'mon, Kakashi-sensei! They're stuck together!" Naruto said with his stupid loud voice.
"How did you do that?" Sakura asked, looking as they were some kind of freak or something.
"If I knew I sure would not be here to ask Hokage-sama's help" Shikamaru said monotonously.
"Gosh, that's sweet! They need helpto be apart!" Kiba squealed stupidly.
"Quit the bullshit, Inuzuka!" Neji was pissed, his eyes narrowed in the dog-nin's direction, dangerous screaming in his white orbs.
"Fine, explain it" the old lady ordered.
"After two hours trying all the kinds of jutsu for Neji to understand my chakra flux and point out the weakness in it, we're going to stop for today, but my fucking shadows really didn't want to cooperate!"
"Watch your mouth, young man."
"Whatever!" he rolled his eyes and kept talking "We did all we had in mind: different jutsu, chakra repealing, weakening my chakra power, everything! But this fucking shadows look like they're not under my control!"
"Nara…"
"Sorry!" he snorted, tired of this.
"Looks like we need Shikaku's help" Kakashi pointed, scratching his head.
"Finally a good idea" Neji murmured, looking the floor.
Thanks Kami-sama. I knew my fate wasn't that bad.
"But my father is not in Konoha!" Nara's voice sounded squeezed. Neji felt his death approaching around the corner.
"Yes, but he will be back in ten days" Tsunade explained "Now show me what happens"
"NO!" both yelled at the same time, and looked each other painfully.
"Don't be spoiled, Shikamaru" the Fifth said quietly, observing their angry expression.
"Fine!" he almost shouted.
Shikamaru wanted to kill someone, why the hell was this happening to him? He was just trying to control even more his shadows and jutsu. He wanted to improve it, which was weird from him; to strive for something, he would never do that again. The young men started to walk at the same time, the Hyūga shut his eyes, preparing him-self for the pain.
Seven steps were not enough. Shikamaru huffed loudly and killed the distance in one large step.
"FUCK!" he shouted angrily and Neji frowned, breathing uneven, crossing his hands in his belly, pressing his jaws together.
Nara stepped back, feeling the pain start to dissolve inside him. He crouched like a little boy in pain, feeling the relieve brush his gut and lungs.
"Holly shit!" Naruto was watching both brunet with amusement "That's pretty strong, eh?"
"It's almost poetic" Kiba joked.
"Shut up!"
Neji's voice sounded so cracked that Kakashi almost drop his jaw in a surprise expression. That wasn't good at all. He observed both of them, Neji with one hand in his hips, maintaining his cool appearance, eyes still closed. Shikamaru was shaking hands against his eyes, coughing.
"I've never seen something like this… Looks like a mean trick" Sakura said, kneeling beside the chūnin and putting some healing chakra in his chest and stomach.
"Hyūga, can you see with your Byakugan what exactly happens with the chakra when you are far from each other?"
"Hell no!" Shikamaru whimpered, almost feeling the pain shock his body again.
White orbs focused in the other young man, Neji knew the Nara boy didn't have the same strength he had, and the pain in his face was so obvious he felt pity. It wasn't just because of the pain, but what man would like to be that weak in front of this amount of comrades? He could understand Shikamaru's view on that.
"Stay quiet" he said and activated his Byakugan.
And there it was: the chakra was okay, inside Shikamaru's body and in their connected shadows too, intense and firm. He could see his own chakra doing ok inside his chest, so he began to walk backwards, paying attention at their chakra connection and keeping his breath at a measured pace.
Soon he felt pain bashing his gut, ripping his lungs, making his Byakugan almost deactivate from the agony.
"Stop it!" Shikamaru shout in his knees.
"Just a sec" Neji murmured, putting his focus in their shadows and then in their bodies.
"THE HELL, HYUUGA!"
And then he moved: his shaking legs creating even more distance between their bodies, the ache growing stronger, tearing at his chest.
"NE-JI!"
The white orbs widened scared, he couldn't believe it. And then he felt like fire in his lungs and couldn't support it anymore, stepping forward to be closer to the other guy.
"You ok, Neji?" the concern in Kakashi's voice sounded weird.
"Man, you look like you just saw a ghost" Kiba muttered, patting Akamaru's head beside him.
"Our chakras…" he whispered "They are bonded"
"What the fuck?"
"Naruto, shut up!" the Hokage ordered "How bonded?"
"Intrinsically"
Shikamaru sat, barely breathing, trying to recover from the suffering, and pale for the large amount of pain, but his eyes focused on the other shinobi, searching for more explanations.
"Each chakra point is connected, so when we go far apart it starts pulling us back together…" he finished explaining, his tired expression warning of his weak amount of energy.
Kiba and Naruto were staring at them open-mouthed. It wasn't just weird, it sounded way too difficult to really understand what was happening.
"Troublesome…" Shikamaru said, coming back on his heels, rubbing his temples in a lazy movement.
"And now what?" Naruto asked looking at the two shinobi stunned.
"I would like to know…" Neji muttered, moving the bangs away from his eyes.
Tsunade sighed, hiding her face in her palms. That was a big pain in the ass. And when the fuck Shikaku was coming back? She asked herself if Kakashi was seeing the same big thing behind it or not. The Fifth looked at the grey-hair ninja and tried to read his unexpressed face, she couldn't, but something deep in his eyes showed her how concerned he was.
"Kiba, Sakura and Naruto you can go now, you did well in the mission"
"Oi, baa-chan! What is going to happen with them?"
"Naruto quit the gossip and leave!"
"But-"
"I'm trying to think but you're too loud and too orange"
"Orange-nin!" Kiba burst in laughs and Tsunade rolled her eyes, asking for some patience.
"Inuzuka…" she warned, eyes shut and breathing fast "Maybe my fist would speak better than my mouth."
It was enough, Naruto and Kiba ran out of the room in a flash with Akamaru on their heels. But Sakura stayed quiet, looking concerned at them.
"Do you need any healing?" she asked, watching him shake his head "Neji-san?"
"I'm fine, thanks Haruno"
And then she went out.
"Finally…" Tsunade muttered "Well, we will need to wait for Shikaku, now we just need for you two to stay quiet and keep together, till he's back"
"It's ten days!"
"I know that Shikamaru. It's not a nice situation for me either, but I can do nothing, it's your clan's ability not mine"
He rolled his eyes.
"You're a lazy kid, enjoy your days off"
"Days off?" the deep voice of Hyūga's made her look at him concerned.
"I can talk with your uncle if you want"
"And tell him that I'm bonded in the stupid jutsu of another shinobi?"
Kakashi breathed loudly.
"Maybe Hiashi-sama can help us seeing the chakra problem, taking into consideration that you're in pain while you tried to focus"
"It was crystal clear, Kakashi-sempai"
"Fine, we can think about it tomorrow, you need to rest, look at your faces… Maybe sake can help" she said with a sad smile, watching both turn around and walk away "Comeback at noon, we will try to fix it, or at least understand it…"
"Thanks, Hokage-sama" Neji's voice sounded inexpressive, before they cross the door-frame and disappear.
"Kakashi?"
"Hum…"
"What do you think about it?"
"I would prefer to do not think, but as you ask: Shikaku will not be very happy when he comes back."
She turned to face him "So you really think the same as me?"
"Nara's secret jutsu has been one of my favorite myths since I was an ANBU."
-x-
They walked slowly to Shikamaru's house, simple words were enough to make Neji accept that they better sleep there. It almost made him laugh like a little boy, because the stupid excuse that convinced him was: "Don't you know my mom? She will totally freak out if I don't comeback without warning her about it first!" but the long haired man just hid a smile and kept walking.
Nara Forest was a peaceful place, not that he was happy about being there under these conditions, but he needed to stop the unhealthy flux of thoughts. So he observed deer pacing around, calm and slowly… He could understand why Shikamaru was like he was, living in a smooth place like this, without cages in his mind, family hierarchy or hateful relatives who look at you like a vassal.
The younger one was watching his feet, hands in pockets and a sorrow expression. He felt the gaze of one of the stags and shivered just Ino and Choji use to come there; they were not used to having many visitors. Shikamaru could sense the curiosity of the animals in the air, twenty years was a long time and he was one to understand this herd as he belonged to it.
"Neji"
"Hm?"
"I'm sorry"
His voice was low, but the other could listen perfectly.
"It's not your fault, you know that. I think you hate this as much as I do, and that's enough a burden to handle."
"Yeah…"
The Hyūga looked over his shoulder at the guy beside him. He could feel the absent mood, the thick air involving the Chūnin, he wasn't just feeling guilty, he was certainly looking for a strategy to solve their problem. Neji smiled ruefully and looked forward again.
"They are curious about you" Shikamaru told simply.
"Who?"
"The herd"
Pearly eyes narrowed over the fence that separated the unpaved path and the forest, seeing the movement of the animals. They were still calm and relaxed, but keep stalking them across the pen.
"How do you know that?"
"I've know them since I was a baby" he said hunching.
"So…" Neji smiled, not letting his gaze fall in the other man's direction "Should you introduce me?"
Shikamaru grinned, amused by the flash of joy in the elder's tone.
"Maybe tomorrow, it's getting dark out; we should just go home…"
"Fine"
The rest of the way was quiet.
The light of the porch was on, and shadows moved behind the kitchen window. Shikamaru opened the door and welcomed his guest. The traditional house style made Neji feel less uncomfortable.
"I'm back" the host shouted and the sound of footsteps announced his mother's presence.
"Hey, sweetie" she said, crossing the door-frame and reaching the lobby "Oh, Neji-kun, welcome"
"Sorry to be intruding, Yoshino-san" he said politely.
"Don't worry. I made food for a bunch" she answered smiling.
The guest took off his sandals and reminded quiet, looking at his bare feet.
"Mom…" Shikamaru looked at her seriously "Neji is going to spend the night, ok?"
"Of course…I will go get the guest room ready"
"No mom"
The brunet woman noticed the weird look in her son's face and waited. Someway she already knew it was something he preferred not talking about. Yoshino crossed her arms in her chest and waited patiently.
"Neji is going to sleep with me in my room"
So there was a weird silence and she uncrossed her arms looking at her son.
"Should I get a futon?"
"I don't know it depends on how Neji and I will feel about being apart"
"I beg your pardon?" the woman looked at him disoriented.
Neji tapped on his forehead, premeditating the weird conclusion Yoshino-san was about to have, distorting her son's words. Shikamaru watched his mom's face without guessing that.
"What?"
"Are you going to sleeptogether?"
"I just said that I don't know yet"
"Shikamaru-" Neji was cut in the middle of his statement.
"Hey young man, you know the rules of this house. You never brought someone to spend the night, not even Ino-chan or Temari-san!" she stated almost angrily "Nothing personal, Neji sweetheart"
Shikamaru was speechless, glaring at his mother with a strange look.
"Yoshino-san, it's not what you're thinking…" Neji started.
"Yeah, I know this cliché. Been there done that"
"Mom-"
"You should have warned us you were seeing someone!"
"Mom, don't!"
"I know it's kind of different, and your father will be really upset about not having grandchildren, but we love you just the way you are, and we will support your relationship-"
"Mom, stop it!"
"Oh baby, it must have been hard for you-"
"Yoshino-san, I think you're misunderstanding the situation-"
"Neji, you're a Hyūga, it must have been terrifying for you to be through that" her expression of pity making him wants to vomit.
Merciless fate of mine.
"Mom, quit the bullshit!" Shikamaru shouted, making his mother widen her eyes.
"Yoshino-san it's not like that at all"
"Yeah, we're not a couple, we're bonded by a failed chakra experiment, if we are separated we almost die in pain, so please stop with this nonsense!"
She looked at him with blank eyes, then turned around and went into the kitchen:
"You should have said that from the beginning, Shikamaru"
He tapped strong on his forehead and looked at the Hyūga.
"I'm so sorry, Neji, I told you she's insane"
"She looks like what a mother should be"
And Shikamaru felt like a hand was pressing inside his chest. Neji's mother died in his childbirth, and there he was complaining about his own mother.
Goddamn it!
"Yeah, you'll get use to her…"
-x-
It was a huge bed. Not just that, it was completely exaggerated for a single person. Of course with this big thing in the middle of the room, there was just a tiny space to put a futon in the floor, and it could be worse than sharing the king-sized mattress with Shikamaru. So Neji just nodded and said for him it was ok since they maintained the distance.
"Sure" Shikamaru opened the closet, looking for pajamas.
Neji took off his robe, and waited with his trousers on. Then the other handled him a smooth pajama, taking off his own clothes and shoving it on the floor to dress just a grey t-shirt and fall on the bed. The Hyūga saw Shikamaru turn his back to him, making he feel a little less uncomfortable to put the pajamas on.
"Left or right?" He asked getting into the sheets still giving his back to him.
"Don't matter"
The Hyūga took a deep breath and changed the trousers feeling weird, he was not used to change clothes in front of anyone, not even in his missions, so he fasten the strings of the black pajama and prepared himself to feel even worst. Turning around he noted that the brunet was just wearing the t-shirt and black boxers, closed eyes and his hair down spreading in the white pillow. He has never saw Shikamaru's hair that way, loosen nicely, black messy locks all around his sleepy face.
He lay down, feeling the amazing mattress on his back, so different from his futon, and allowed himself to feel the peace of being in a really good and expensive bed.
"Shikamaru, why do you have such a big bed if you never sleep with someone else?"
The man sighed with joy, putting his hands under his head.
"It was the first thing I bought all by myself… I wanted a good bed as I enjoy sleeping…"
"Hm…"
"And in fact I did sleep with someone else, the old lady just doesn't know about it" he grinned, and Neji felt something odd over his body, he wasn't the kind of person that likes to talk about intimacy subjects.
"You must be good at lying" he teased, trying to kill the annoyance with his words.
"No, I'm good at hiding"
"It's the same" he insisted.
"No, it's not"
"So you lied when she asked about bringing guests to spend the night?"
"No, it was true. I didn't bring anyone to spend the night."
Neji didn't ask for any explanation, he was not comfortable talking about sex. So he just closed his eyes and enjoyed the bed, pushing down all the weird waves of nuisance. There were a lot of things to do in the next day, he needed to rest a little bit…
So someone knocked at the door and spread it open, making him almost jump on the bed and sat still, back on the headboard. Yoshino's lovely eyes pointed at them kindly and smiled through the door-frame.
"It makes me feel so nostalgic" she murmured, bringing a futon and putting it on the table beside the door. Then she started to take the clothes off the floor, folding it and putting on the chair, appreciating how well organized Neji's clothes were near the bed "Shikamaru and Choji used to sleep like this when they were younger" she explained to a blushing Hyūga.
"Mom, please!" the younger squawked, putting the pillow over his face like a spoiled child.
"Don't be ashamed, Shikamaru. It was a good time, and I could hear you two speaking through the night… Such a peaceful lulling sound… and the morning after Ino would wake you both up screaming… Inoichi never allowed her to spend the night, as protective as always…"
"Mom, Neji sure doesn't want to listen stupid old stories, we need to rest, tomorrow will be a long day!" the pillow muffled his voice.
Neji totally agreed with that, but he said nothing, looking at his hands stroking the sheet's fabric systematically. God, he wanted so badly to die, or to lost all his memories of this day and never ever remember all this nonsense…
She's not seeing me just wearing Shikamaru's pajamas, she is not, and it's just a nightmare… Oh, stupid fate of mine!
"Fine! Have sweet dreams, boys" she said happily "Neji, if you felt uncomfortable or this lazy bones starts kicking you during the night you can take this futon" Yoshino indicated said futon with her chin "And, Shikamaru" her gaze turning to her son before closing the door "If I hear some weird sound, I'll never thrust you anymore, with or without grandchildren"
"MOM!" she grinned at him and closed the door before a ball of socks struck it. "Oh dear lord, she's a complete troublemaker, shameless woman…"
The other didn't answer, his cheeks were red and his eyes closed. Well maybe she wasn't exactly what a mother should be, but she was a good woman. Then he started breathing again and listened to the "click" of lights turning off. He opened his eyes and narrowed them to the ceiling, noticing that Shikamaru was seeking for a more comfortable position, putting his hand down the pillow and shoving his leg out of the sheets, showing some well-defined muscles.
Neji felt his stomach jump, he yearned and tried to concentrate about something else – like the white sheets, or the messy bed-table, but it was weird, he couldn't sleep like that. Fine, so he would spend nine nights or so without sleep.
God, I'm an obnoxious brat!
"Neji?"
"Hm?"
"If you want we can talk about tomorrow" he said turning on his shoulder and facing the older man.
Neji accepted the idea.
"We can sleep all morning, that way we don't need to think much about this troublesome bond, then we wake up and go straight to the Hokage's Tower"
Lazy bones.
"We should wake up at 8AM and try by ourselves to find another solution to this bond" Neji stated.
"You're right. But it's too troublesome…" Shikamaru was staring at the ceiling with the light of the moon touching his bare legs over the sheets, his feet stroking the smooth textile and teeth biting his bottom lip in a thoughtful expression. "How did I do it?"
"We will find out tomorrow, for sure"
"I hope so… For me it's not comfortable either" he muttered, trying to be sincere "I know it's my home, but as you already discovered I have a crazy old lady freaking me out"
His concerned tone made Neji smile, a wave of warmth feeling bringing him some peace again, with his back on the hard wood of the headboard, and his head on the cold wall.
"She's funny" he decreed, eyes lost in thoughts and a velvet and smooth voice that made the other man look at him from the pillow.
"She can be pretty scary when she's pissed" he said smiling, eyes memorizing that cool ghost smile in the jounin's lips.
"We should sleep" Neji laid down again, turning to his left giving face to face with the other in a weird situation. White eyes scrutinizing dense black locks concealing Shikamaru's eyelashes.
"Oh, that's a good one" he said jokingly, closing his eyes in a slow movement.
Neji hummed and went silent again. He could barely feel his body with this stickiness all over it while observing the man's face; it was odd to sleep with him in a nice bed, not in a sleeping bag or a tent, feeling the gentle heat of the bedspread touching his body…
Fuck! Think about this like a mission.
Maybe, in the middle of the night he could finally sleep, induced by the comfort, but who knows when he would guard down and just relax on the warm mattress?
"Don't worry, tomorrow we will explain everything to your uncle, he will understand that it's my fault." The other said with a sleepy tone.
"Hm, so tomorrow is fated to be a better day" he answered, turning around on his right shoulder.
"Fated, uh?" Shikamaru said into the pillow, muffling his voice "Troublesome, Hyūga"
"Indeed, Nara."
-TBC-
A/N: uff . too much trouble, poor boys :P well, hope you like it! Reviews are always welcome! It would be nice to hear what do you think about this first chapter and what do you think that will happen with our bonded boys ^^
Again, Rayne, this is for you, for making me understand that we need to put our hearts in any single word we write ^^. Akira-nii if you had not taught me to love yaoi this fic would never exist! U. May-nee, thanks for reading this over my shoulder in the and helping to not be too OOC :P
Love, love & love.
See you next chapter! \o/
(sorry the vocab and grammar ;_;)
Tai xxxx