Engagement Trouble

Summary: Neji's in super trouble and Shikamaru came to his rescue, well, accidentally. NejiShika.

Disclaimer: Neji belongs to Shikamaru and vice versa and Naruto is not mine.

A/N: Thank you to all who read and reviewed my fic! I'm sorry if I failed to update last week, my computer went ballistic and all my files were almost erased but thankfully, it's still safe.

Chapter 11

Neji quickly adjusted his behavior, his suddenly booming emotion kept deep inside him. He maybe a frank person but he knew when to use his candidness; in his condition right now, he might as well be mute. Forcing himself to be as obsequious as a Bunke should be, Hyuuga Neji slowly bowed his head in greeting, his eyes never leaving the well-polished floor where his reflection staunchly faced him, mocking him.

"Himena-sama." Neji said in acknowledgment of one of the Five Heads.

"Hyuuga Neji of the Bunke." Hyuuga Himena muttered elegantly in reply. The Souke was never established for some sole useless need the family had. Souke heads were positions many from the Souke aspired to reach though only a lucky few would achieve the title—particularly five. The Five Heads—these authorities were usually called. Power was only one of the advantages of being in that position. Aside from having the authorization to meddle with the different sub-clans of Hyuuga race they have the power to disinherit anyone they may find guilty of treason against the clan. Blood relation was something the Hyuugas never took for granted of. They used this limitation to create a larger clan—larger, more powerful and authoritative in any way. Hyuuga politics were as dirty as any politics in the world. Neji thought they were too afraid such tragedy similar to the Uchiha clan might occur.

Hyuuga Himena maybe a woman but her stunning looks as well as shrewdness made her one of the Five Heads. Assuming a position as a woman was never an easy task if you're a Hyuuga but her capability to manipulate and take advantage of other people for the sake of the clan's prosperity made her known in an intimidating way. A middle age woman, Hyuuga Himena is one of Hyuuga Hiashi's first degree cousins. With Hyuuga Hiashi as also one of the Five Heads, together with his cousin whom he's relatively close with, they both form an effectively impressive and cunning team.

All this time, Neji still kept his head bowed. He knew for a fact Hyuuga Himena's wrath and hatred among the Bunke and with him being accepted in Hiashi's home was something to be detested—especially by her.

"I believe it's your engagement today, isn't it, Hyuuga Neji?" Himena asked softly but traces of disgust seeped through it.

"Hai, Himen-sama."

"I also do believe that Cousin Hiashi celebrated your engagement though I don't know why he would participate in such lowly celebrations that are rather… for slaves alike." Himena said with a small smirk making her striking geisha-like features more attractive.

If someone said such a caustic remark to Neji, that person wouldn't see the light of a new day. But all Neji did was clench his fists tighter, saying nothing. Seeing that she made no initial reaction to the teen, Himena walked towards Neji, her decadent rust-colored kimono with pattern of bells elegantly swaying with her every step. Stepping too close for comfort, Himena stood facing Hyuuga Neji. She deliberately eyed the young Hyuuga from head to toe, her eyes lingering menacingly at Neji's stoic face.

"Such beautiful kimono." Himena stated as she slowly trailed a pale long finger on Neji's shoulder. "A cousin recently said to me that your uncle specially had this made for you at Hatsumomo's. Oba-san's talent even at an old age never falters but I think she should already retire with such a sickening kimono design. Hmm, perhaps a visit one of these days is necessary."

Neji remained passive and Hyuuga Himena took this as a sign to continue.

"So you are engaged to… oh from what clan is he, Neji? All I know is that he's not a Hyuuga… a choice I would expect from someone from the Bunke. You know, some from the Bunke are aspiring too much as to be converted into a Souke if ever they marry one. These poor clansmen of mine from the Souke are being dazed by harlots not knowing the consequences of such action.

"Of course, disinheritance is partially considered in such an effusive move from the Bunke. All in all whether you turn the world upside down, Bunke will be Bunke likewise with the Souke. Well I suppose I have to thank you for picking a low class person such as you, Hyuuga Neji. You saved Aya from a deadly bid. So tell me, Hyuuga Neji. Of all the people, why a lowly person like you from the Bunke picked a commoner?" Himena asked softly.

Not hoisting his head up, Neji forced an answer. "Because he accepts me for who I am."

A short charming laugh echoed across the long yet desolated corridor. "He accepts you for who you are, you say. Then he must me as blind as Aya is falling for a person like you.

"You're as idiotic as your father was nine years ago." Himena sarcastically said softly and finally noticed a slight reaction from the teen. Hyuuga Neji was tougher to break than she could've imagined. A little more and Himena would achieve her desired reaction from Neji. "If you're father were not that naïve to think that only he can save the future of this clan then he would've been here beaming with pride for his son on his engagement day. I've told Cousin Hiashi before that he never should've let his twin made a stupid sacrifice. And now everyone thinks that your father, my other cousin is the savior of our clan. It's such an absurd notion that I already find it purely comedic after all these years."

"I think it is only you, Himena-sama who thinks of my father as highly as that." Neji replied softly. He doesn't want his father's name ruined in any way. He was still a son.

Himena' smile widened a little. "Is that what you think? Well at least someone remembers your father's stupid act. He doesn't deserve the name Hyuuga. And neither do you, my dear."

Neji's head shot up with anger, his jaw clenched. No matter how hard it is to accept all the insults Hyuuga Himena shot him with, lifting a finger against a Souke was as punishable as treason. But when it was his father being slandered by an iniquitous and arrogant person as Hyuuga Himena, Neji would not disregard it no matter what the consequences maybe.

Himena smirked openly with triumph. She knew that Neji knew what she wanted and she was getting it effortlessly. She cocked her head and answered Neji's silent riposte. "Aaah, you know Neji, you have no such right to look at me like that. Much more show such raw emotion in your face. You're as naïve and dense as your father were, no wonder you are his son."

Neji's patience were all but nothing as his eyes started transforming into something more pernicious, veins rapidly getting salient. Himena's smirk was suddenly replaced by a serious look. Forming the necessary seals, Himena released a whisper Neji thought darkly familiar.

Without warning, Neji's senses were assaulted mercilessly as he cringed in pain; forcing himself not to cry out and give Himena the satisfaction she wanted. He could feel his spiteful seal on his forehead reacting from the jutsu Himena just performed. Almost ten years ago, he saw Hiashi casting the same jutsu on his father and it once snapped him back to reality: that he, a Bunke shall eternally despise the Souke. With his last ounce of anger seeping against the pain he was feeling, Neji shot Himena another abhorred look.

"Again, you don't have any right to look at me like that." Himena softly and Neji's mind temporarily went blank.

-----

Shikamaru cursed for the umpteenth time that day. Again, he was lost inside the Hyuuga mansion. Yeah well he asked Ino for some directions but Ino wasn't a Hyuuga therefore asking her was a wrong move. Instead of gaining some helpful information from his former teammate, he was assaulted with cheers and vivacious squeals he couldn't comprehend were that all about.

He turned to a corner and was greeted with something he never imagined; panic slithering into his body as he sprinted towards him.

-----

First he was standing in front of Himena and now he lay disheveled in the open garden, across the corridor where he was standing a few seconds ago. His golden kimono now stained with mud and dirt as his hair came undone from its chignon. His hand automatically cupping a side of his face as his whole body trembled. And suddenly, the slight drizzle felt like a rough storm. Someone was near him talking but no words were comprehended by his mind. Someone was cradling him but he couldn't find the courage to look up from his awkward situation. He thought tears were streaming down his face. No, it was the rain falling heavier as the night deepened. He wanted to die and he slowly wished for it to be done, now.

-----

He didn't know why Neji didn't evade it. He didn't know why the woman slapped Neji all of a sudden sending the Hyuuga teen crashing towards the garden soil. But seeing the usual arrogant bastard he have known for the past week trembling with incomprehensible fear was something he would've never expected even his wildest dream.

His body instantly reacted as if his mind was trying to prevent Neji's fall even if he knew he couldn't make it. The corridor was approximately thirty meters long and with Neji and the woman almost at the other side of the hallway; he knew he couldn't make it against all odds but still….

"Neji!" Shikamaru yelled as he leaped from the corridor and rushed towards a trembling Hyuuga Neji lying half sprawled on the sodden soil. Not minding his immaculate white tabi getting filthy with mud and the drizzle slowly soaking his own kimono, Shikamaru was more worried of the older boy's condition. Neji's eyes seemed to look blank, his right hand weakly cupping his right cheek. "Oi Neji! What happened!"

Shikamaru knew Neji wouldn't be able to answer him but he was concerned that Neji might have received some psychological attack. He noticed Neji's forehead cover slipping revealing the sinister mark of being a Bunke glowing a chilling shade of green. He glanced dangerously at the woman standing on the corridor, her amazed look at the situation hastily making Shikamaru angrier.

Sensing a dangerous glare boring through her, Hyuuga Himena glanced at the man holding the defeated Hyuuga Neji in his arms. A small smile grazed her lips as she spoke. "You must be Neji's fiancé. Nara? Is that it? I've never heard of such clan. I'm quite sure that you're as low as a Bunke."

Shikamaru's glare never faltered and Himena didn't like it, somehow she was being threatened by the young man's look—more pronounced with hatred and adamant challenge. "Even you have no right to look at me like that, young man. But I will condone it for now." Then addressing to the Hyuuga, "Neji, you made my day bright amidst such an overcast weather." Looking up at the dark grey sky, Himena continued, "There's this saying that rain means forthcoming blessings."

Giving a last smile at the two figures exposed at the drizzle, Himena walked towards the opposite direction. She abruptly halted in her track and turned with an enchanting smile. "By the way, engagement troubles are usual among this clan, Nara-kun, don't worry about what happened. And oh, congratulations." With that she walked off never glancing back.

Shikamaru stared at the woman until she was out of sight before returning his attention on Neji who still seemed too shocked to act upon anything. "Come on, Neji. You'll get soaked if we stay here longer."

Assisting Neji, Shikamaru managed to gently pull Neji from the ground and walked toward the teen's room. Luck seemed to be on his side since Shikamaru's first guess was the Hyuuga's right bedroom. With Neji leaning almost all of his weight on Shikamaru, the lazy nin slowly made Neji sit inside the wide area. Quickly surveying the Hyuuga's bedroom, Shikamaru could already estimate that Neji's room as thrice as big as his room. It was a plain room with some low usual tables for old fashioned mansions.

"Let me see it." Shikamaru softly said as he tried to pry away Neji's hand from his cheek. Sensing that Neji wouldn't give in, Shikamaru pulled out his handkerchief from a sleeve of his kimono and gently wiped away mud from Neji's face.

"Look at you you're all messy when you're the one obsessed with neatness." Shikamaru tried to sound funny but it sounded more of berating to which Neji didn't react. "Even your hair is all dirty." Shikamaru added as he turned his attention on Neji's hair. As soon as his fingers touched Neji's hair, he was suddenly awed by its softness and texture. It was more groomed than Ino's hair that he could say frankly. And suddenly the thought of him wanting to touch Neij's hair didn't seem more of a denial. He longed to touch Neji's hair since knowing the boy more, he admitted to himself consciously.

The Nara teen surveyed Neji's appearance and in any way describable, Neji's demeanor looked uncharacteristic of him. Placing a hand on Neji's right wrist, Shikamaru spoke with honest concern. "Let me see it, Neji." And slowly he was able to pull Neji's hand from his cheek and instantly clenched his jaw seeing the damaged of the woman's hit.

Neji's lower lip was bleeding and a red mark was starting to be visible on Neji's right cheek. Shikamaru reached out to wipe away the blood and dirt and tried to smile sarcastically. "Look now you have to apply some make-up on your cheek to cover up the bruise. You'll look like a woman."

As much as Shikamaru wanted the old Neji back, he couldn't and he suddenly found himself wishing for something to make Neji be the arrogant teen he knew. Then silence reigned on for some moment, with Shikamaru occasionally wiping some dirt here and there away from Neji's face and hair. He wanted to comfort the Hyuuga badly he was quite sure of that but he didn't know how to do it.

Glancing up at Neji's dead stare which was boring on the tatami mat they were in, he could only worry more and he hated himself for not being able to do anything. He clenched his teeth unconsciously—this was like before, six years ago. During his first mission when his misjudgment nearly cost him Chouji's life—his best friend and ironically, the pretty boy in front of him too, Hyuuga Neji. He owed Neji too much, he grimly thought. Like it was a natural thing for him to do, Shikamaru reached out and tucked some of Neji's long hair behind an ear.

Suddenly, Neji's left hand seized his in a soft yet firm grip. Neji was still shaking, badly. Neji held onto Shikamaru's hand for some time, not able to say anything. If he were about two years younger, he would've bawled his guts out from what happened. He was a coward in such emotional stuff. He just wished Shikamaru wasn't the type of person who asks too much.

"Please…" Neji tried to sound more stable yet he couldn't as what his voice showed. "Don't tell uncle… about what happened."

Shikamaru remained silent and continued to assess Neji's appearance. Even while the Hyuuga talked, he kept his head lowered, dark hair covering half of his face. Shikamaru remembered Neji saying that their seals were used by the Souke for protection—in case the Bunke tried to go against the main family's wishes. Neji said that several years ago, while he fought Naruto in the Chuunin exam. He looked at Neji's seal, a sickening mark grazing Neji's forehead.

"I don't know, Neji." Shikamaru said honestly. He knew Neji's uncle cared for him. Hyuuga Hiashi wouldn't accept Neji in his home if he weren't. Neji kept something that held him from saying anything.

Neji slowly raised his face towards Shikamaru, his eyes not yet gaining the usual chutzpah he has. He still held on to Shikamaru's hand—posed beside his cheek. He could see Shikamaru's worried expression clearly. He didn't need it. He needed nothing of it.

"I understand." Neji almost whispered it but Shikamaru heard it undoubtedly. Neji released Shikamaru's hand and stood up; Shikamaru followed suit and remained silent. As Neji stood with his back against his now formally engaged fiancé, his voice seemed to regain more strength. "You can go now, Nara. We have nothing to do tomorrow, go home and take some rest."

"But you're wou—"

"I can take care of myself. Please close the door when you go out." Neji walked towards a side of the room and opened a sliding door, disappearing behind it.

Shikamaru stood there for awhile and sighed. Neji was damn stubborn for a girly looking man. The lazy nin shrugged. Oh well….

Inside the bathroom, Neji stared at his gory reflection. His skin was paler in contrast to the blood forming on his lower lip. A dark bruise was already noticeable even from a distance. His abhorred seal still aching from the assault. And it was his engagement day. He wanted to laugh out loud.

Stripping from his soiled kimono, he stepped into the shower and basked in the hot water almost scalding his skin. He didn't mind it. He stayed there for an hour not wanting to think of anything. Covering his body with a soft white robe, he exited his bathroom quite refreshed and calmer. He could still feel his body trembling. He smiled bitterly; he was having a trauma already, with just one attack. Fuck it. He was weak.

Neji turned to his right and almost cursed out loud with surprised. He suppressed it with a gasp. There in the corner, Nara Shikamaru sat watching his sudden display of emotions with a small smile.

"Why are you still here?" Neji said icily. He hated being surprised. Shikamaru tapped the space in front of him. Neji raised an elegant brow in question.

"Sit here." Shikamaru said. Somehow his worry was relieved seeing Neji's old self again. He didn't know a shower could do some miracles.

"Why would I?" Neji refused to cringe when his felt another jolt of pain on his forehead.

Shikamaru presented him with a white box with a small red cross on it. Neji was skeptical but walked towards the lazy nin. He sat in front of Nara a little uncomfortably.

Shikamaru adjusted his proximity and sat closer to Neji. He prepared some ointment and placed in on his index finger and with his left hand, tilted Neji's bowed head upright. Neji instantly slapped it.

"Watch it." Neji said with a threat.

"How the hell can I put this when you're bowing?" Shikamaru argued. If he wasn't in the mood for sympathy and some altruistic values, he would've made Neji eat the ointment. He was getting irritated, here he was presenting himself with help and here was his fiancée looking at him like he was maniacal or something.

Shikamaru suppressed the urge to strangle Neji with a big sigh. Aside from that, Neji's scent was utterly distracting. Jasmine scent was invading his olfactory system quite badly. Add it with Neji looking… wet and wild in his white robe which was quite revealing. With Neji's hair still quite heavy with water and sitting too close for comfort, Neji in the lazy nin's opinion looked like a… virgin. Argh! Relax, Shikamaru. Don't think of that. Neji's a bastard behind his damn good looks.

"Are you going to do it or what?" Neji said impatiently. Shikamaru looked like having some inner struggle before Neji interrupted him.

Shikamaru reached out to hold Neji's chin and quite surprisingly, the Hyuuga remained quiet. As gently as his manly strength could present, Shikamaru placed some ointment on Neji's wound. Suddenly, Neji's head snapped backwards.

"Ouch! Damn it! Can't you do your job a little more gently!" Neji said with annoyance. Shikamaru was a little rough.

"I'm trying, okay?" Shikamaru retorted. "Why not try moving too much! Geez, I'm not a doctor."

"Try to be in my position, Nara." Neji said seriously.

Shikamaru grew silent and applied some more ointment. Both men were silent for quite some time before Shikamaru spoke.

"I won't say anything to your uncle." Neji looked at him with surprise and settled back in the comforting silence.

"All done." Shikamaru finally said as he stood up, Neji following him.

"Where did you find that kit?" Neji asked.

"I'm a good finder of things." Was all Shikamaru replied.

Shikamaru walked towards the door and stepped out of Neji's bedroom. He faced the Hyuuga and gave a crooked smiled. At least Neji can cope with what happened, no matter how difficult it was. He knew better than meddle with some Hyuuga business.

"Thank you." Neji said with honesty though a little bit coldly.

"I'll check on you tomorrow morning." Shikamaru surprised himself when he said that.

"You don't have to. I'm fine." Neji replied.

Shikamaru shrugged openly. "I'll still check on you."

Neji nodded. Both men looked at each other for some time then Neji broke the tensing situation. "Goodnight then, Shikamaru." Neji reached out to the sliding door and started to close it only to find Shikamaru's hand stopping it halfway.

Neji looked up to him and Shikamaru stepped into Neji's bedroom. His left hand reaching out towards Neji's nape as he drew the shorter boy towards him in an awkward embrace. Neji remained still in Shikamaru's embrace, neither did he grew stiff from the contact nor tried to get away from it.

Shikamaru's cheek was already caressing Neji's soft dark hair and the jasmine scent grew stronger. His right hand slowly encircled Neji's thin waist pulling his fiancée closer to him. "I don't want to leave yet." He whispered.

Neji rested his chin on Shikamaru's shoulder as if it was such a usual gesture for him. Somehow, he found his fiancé's small act a big comfort. Hearing Shikamaru's soft yet firm voice, Neji buried his head on the crook of Shikamaru's neck.

"Then stay a little longer." Neji uttered as he closed his bedroom door behind his fiancé.

TBC

A/N: Review? Thank you. I'm not sure if I can update next month but if I can't, I'll try to post another NejiShika one-shot. Have a good day, people.