People Are Troublesome

Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine.

One of the main issues with having a relatively deep conversation with someone is that after the actual conversation, there is generally a feeling of awkwardness. This was particularly obvious the next day when Shikamaru emerged from Hidan's room. The bed wasn't bad but he had still struggled to get to sleep. This was unusual for him and he put it down to the way that the bed was filled with random objects he kept finding. These included such wonders as a corkscrew and several pairs of (hopefully unused) boxers.

Hidan was awake and lounging on the sofa but he soon sat up when Shikamaru appeared. For a minute he just stared, something that made Shikamaru feel pretty uneasy.

"Good morning?" This was the customary greeting after all.

"…Hi." Hidan looked away and it was obvious that he was feeling awkward. Shikamaru wasn't surprised. It wasn't a situation he was used to either.

Normally his friends knew a lot about him because they'd spent time with him. The information they'd gotten, and information he got about them was all surface level stuff. Few people knew how much he actually got bothered by things that happened, such as his dad being an ass and the Asuma situation.

Hidan was the first to really get much insight. Choji had some awareness but even he knew relatively little. Not only this, but he now knew a lot more about Hidan. As it was clear neither of them were used to sharing personal information, the awkward silence was to be expected.

This is getting uncomfortable… Shikamaru had sat on a chair at the other end of the room. Occasionally he glanced towards the silver haired boy who was staring into space. He thought Hidan had forgotten he was there until he glanced over and ended up staring into violet eyes. This took them both by surprise and they quickly looked away.

"…I should probably get going." A whole day of this was not a good way to spend your spare time. He couldn't even sleep.

"Go?" Hidan seemed surprised and even a bit dejected by this.

…What do you want? He wouldn't talk to him while he was sitting there but he didn't want Shikamaru to leave either. The boy was very indecisive.

"Unless you want me to stay?"

"If you want…" Hidan had a mostly non-committal look on his face.

Why is he always so complicated? In some ways Hidan was simple to read but understanding him was where it got difficult. His motives were rarely clear. Shikamaru knew that he had to choose the day's activity or end up being stuck inside all day.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Not the best idea in the world but it was all he could be bothered to suggest.

"I guess…" He sounded unbothered but it was clear he was pleased.

"Where?" Hidan stared at him again but this time his eyes were unfocused. He thought for a while before his eyes lit up.

"Ok." That wasn't an answer to my question. Hidan didn't care about this and instead hopped up and started digging through the pile of apparently clean clothes. He pulled out a couple of things and tossed them to Shikamaru. "Here."

"What?"

"You don't have any clothes, right?"

"Umm…." These are way too big. The shirt would probably be fine, but he would be tripping over the trousers everywhere they went.

"You want me to help dress you?"

"I'm going now!" Shikamaru practically dashed into the bedroom. He emerged not long after to find Hidan just pulling on his shirt.

"So…Where are we going?" Hidan clearly had a destination in mind.

"Somewhere." I'd have though that much was obvious. Shikamaru had to hurry to catch up as the other boy dashed to the door.

He had little problem with this except for the fact that as they walked he kept nearly tripping over the damn trousers. Rolling them up didn't work since Hidan was practically marching for some reason. It was a Sunday so Shikamaru couldn't understand what the rush was. After the fourth time he nearly fell into a lamp post and so he had to stop. He didn't want to end up breaking his nose.

"What's wrong with you?" Hidan hadn't even noticed.

"Your trousers. I'm pretty sure you're at least three inches taller than me." Hidan just gave him a blank stare. "I keep tripping." He pointed to the bottom of the trousers that basically draped over his feet.

"Ohh." Hidan only pondered this for a moment. He then decided the best solution to this was to pick the smaller boy up bridal style. Being picked up by another guy was bad enough but bridal style was just plain embarrassing.

"What are you doing?" There was no one around but someone could still see. He could feel his face going hot. As blushing wasn't something he normally did, this freaked him out.

"Helping?" He even sounded confused about this. Their faces were pretty close and Shikamaru could even smell him. This was an unusual occurrence and even more awkward. It was amazing that Hidan was unfazed by this.

"I can walk." The tripping over was a bit irritating but less weird.

"This way's quicker." Hidan marched on quite quickly until eventually he stopped. It took Shikamaru a while to realise where they were.

"Why here?" Being reminded that Hidan had seen him having what was essentially a nervous breakdown was embarrassing. They were standing in the very place he had seen this. It didn't really look like a proper quarry since it hadn't been used in decades and had been partly filled in. "Could you put me down now?"

"Hn." As soon as he was put down, Shikamaru practically tripped again after a few steps. Hidan made a slight sniggering noise but looked away when he was scowled at. Shikamaru attempted to pull the stupid trousers up. He really regretted agreeing to stay the night in a random person's house. Hidan walked over and leant next to him. Before he could ask what he was doing, Hidan had grabbed the bottom of the trousers and started ripping.

"Are you sure you want to rip your clothes?"

"I don't wear em that much."

"Oh… Why didn't you do this earlier?" It would've been easier for him than carrying Shikamaru.

"…Because fuck you." Apparently it hadn't occurred to him before. After destroying his trousers, he sat down on a rock next to Shikamaru. They both surveyed the surrounding area. It wasn't somewhere you'd go for views, especially as they were in the lower area where you couldn't see anything.

The main reason Hidan had wanted to come up here was likely to be because of their shared bit of history. All Shikamaru could think of was that Hidan had seen him at his worst.

"…Why were you here?"

"When?"

"When you saw me… having a bad day." He was sure this was an understatement. He'd broken his mobile. It had been hard to explain to his parents.

"Oh then." He remembered Hidan had hesitated last night. "Stuff."

"You've seen me break my phone." He considered it a second.

"I was doin' that." He pointed towards an opposite wall. In the rock, someone (apparently Hidan) had carved lines. Loads of lines. It seemed he was counting something.

"Why?"

I thought I'd stop punchin' people if I carved a line in the wall every time." Shikamaru looked back at the wall. There were a lot of lines. "It didn't work…"

"It was a good attempt… Do you still do it?"

"Yeah… Oh!" Hidan grabbed a rock off the floor and walked over. He began adding more. It seemed he'd punched six people since his last visit.

"How long have you been doing this?"

"Two years." Hidan sat back and admired his handiwork. There were a good couple of hundred there.

"I'm not sure if I should be impressed." Probably not.

"I can see why everybody fuckin' hates me." He didn't even sound depressed by this idea, just matter of fact.

"Most people aren't worth making an effort with." Not that this excused violence.

"…Do you hate the punchin'?" He wasn't looking directly at him.

"Well you've never done it to me." As long as he didn't he could ignore it.

"So you don't care?"

"Are you planning on doing it anytime soon?"

"No."

"I don't care then." This made him less violent than Ino after all.

"Oh." Hidan didn't say anything else but he moved slightly closer. This wasn't bad until it started drizzling.

By the time they got back to civilisation it was basically tipping it down and Shikamaru could feel his hair starting to droop. He could also barely see where he was going so when Hidan suddenly stopped in front of him he walked into his back.

"What-?" He looked at Hidan's face. The boy was staring ahead. Before Shikamaru could ask what was going on, Hidan quickly turned and started walking off at full speed. This oddness was explained soon after.

"Woah, Shika you are soaked." Kiba and Shino had appeared from down the road.

"Forgot my coat." I guess Hidan isn't coming back. "Where are you going?"

"Shino's place. He has a new bug or something."

"It's a tarantula." Shino was never too fussed with Kiba's lack of interest in his hobby. As long as Kiba was willing to spend time with him he didn't complain. They were the last people you'd expect to be best friends.

"Yeah one of those. You coming?" Luckily Kiba was too stupid to show interest in the weirdly oversized clothes he was wearing and Shino wasn't interested in anything that wasn't an insect.

"Sure." He was still slightly bothered by Hidan. The guy had disappeared just because his friends were there. It was possible he was kind of scared. Or perhaps he thought Shikamaru wouldn't want to be seen around him. Considering his recent actions this was a bit contradictory.

Why are people so damn complicated?