CHAPTER 14: Training

A.N.: Finally! I injured my wrist and couldn't type at all for a few weeks, and then I had soooo much work to catch up on. So, sorry for the loooong wait, but hopefully it will go faster now.

Echo-Uchiha, shogi is the Japanese version of chess. It's played very similarly (although there are some differences, like the drop rule, and the pieces are flat). Shikamaru loves the game and plays it constantly.

Disclaimer: Not my characters.

###

Shikamaru had two problems.

Both of them had long, silky hair, forceful personalities, and mercurial temperaments.

One of his problems was named Ino. The other was named Neji.

Both of them were very much on his mind as he got dressed and ready to go to training for the first time in weeks. Yesterday afternoon, Ino had kissed him. He hadn't expected that, and didn't really know how to react. Was he expected to be her boyfriend now? He really hoped not. He loved Ino, but not in that way. Not to mention that Ino would certainly be an enormously high-maintenance girlfriend. He would probably be expected to buy her flowers all the time and tell her how beautiful she was and take her shopping…. Just the thought exhausted him. That wasn't his style, and it definitely wasn't their relationship.

But it wasn't his style to kiss a girl and then act like nothing had happened, either, especially not a girl he cared about. What if she had secretly liked him for awhile? Would she be heartbroken if he said he didn't feel the same way? She had never acted like she liked him in that way; actually, it seemed like she had a crush on a different guy every week. But women were mysterious creatures, for sure.

He wished he could talk to someone about this. But his best friends were Chouji, and Ino herself. He didn't know how Chouji would react to the news that he and Ino were a couple, if that's what they were now. Chouji had often been left out of things, growing up, because of his size, and Shikamaru hated the thought that he would be left out on their team. His parents, he knew, would love for him and Ino to get together; sometimes they even hinted at it. He had tried talking to Neji, simply because he was there, but the Hyuuga had been distant and closed-off. No doubt he was one of those guys who could have his pick of girls, and thought it was ridiculous to waste a thought on any of them. Or maybe they had arranged marriages in his village, and he was mentally adding slutty to his list of derogatory adjectives about the South.

Neji. That was another headache. They would be training with not only his teammates but also Kakashi's team, as they always did after a break. That was double the amount of people for Neji to potentially offend or be offended by. Naruto and Kiba on Kakashi's team were notorious hotheads, and Sai, who often trained with them, was astonishingly socially inept. As for Ino and Sakura, they could turn on you at a moment's notice. Even normally placid Chouji would blow up if Neji called him fat – which Shikamaru wouldn't put it past him to do. Shikamaru could see so many ways things could go wrong it wasn't even funny.

They were the last ones to arrive at the training area, save for the senseis. Shikamaru had planned it that way, in order to get the introductions over with as quickly as possible.

"Everyone, this is –" – should he say Neji or Hyuuga-san? Neji would probably prefer the more formal way of being addressed, but Kiba and Naruto would undoubtedly mock them both, and he didn't even want to think about what would happen after that. "—this is Hyuuga Neji. He's staying with my family for awhile and he'll be training with us. Neji, you know my teammates, and Sai, and this is Kakashi-sensei's team…Sakura, Kiba, and Naruto."

Kiba and Sakura regarded Neji with surprise and curiosity. Naruto, Shikamaru's most clueless friend, squinted at Neji in confusion.

"What's wrong with your eyes?"

This earned him a whack on the head from Sakura. "He's a member of the Hyuuga clan, dummy!"

"Hya…whaat?"

Neji crossed his arms impatiently. Shikamaru moved forward, positioning himself between them. "The Hyuuga clan is one of the most prestigious clans of the North Country," he said, parroting the words Neji had drilled into his brain. "They're excellent fighters, and they can –"

Ino pushed her way impatiently to the front, decidedly not interested in anything the Hyuuga clan could do. "Shika, I need to talk to you. Alone," she added, and then, in case he didn't grasp what alone meant, "In private."

"Um…now?"

"I think we should, don't you?" Ino said, exchanging a significant look with Sakura. Great, so Sakura knew, and now everybody else would be wondering and speculating, too. Shikamaru let her drag him away. He was a little apprehensive about leaving Neji alone with everybody, but he definitely didn't want to have this scene, which he suspected was going to get uncomfortable, in front of the whole group.

###

As Shikamaru headed off with the blonde girl – who was now presumably his girlfriend? – Neji faced a motley collection of suspicious-looking South Country shinobi. There was chunky, chip-eating Chouji, rude and dimwitted Naruto, who like so many others here had never heard of the Hyuugas, pink-haired Sakura, who was more knowledgeable but didn't look to be a strong fighter, and wild-looking Kiba, who sat astride a large dog. From the red triangles on Kiba's cheeks, and the dog, Neji surmised he was from the same clan as the woman with the wolf-like dog at the business meeting. And off to one side, with his ever-present sketchbook, was the very strange Sai.

"So," Sakura said, casting a nervous glance in the direction Shikamaru and Ino had gone, "how do you like Suna?"

"And why are you here?" Kiba said.

"Show some manners!" Sakura hissed at him.

"He's visiting Shikamaru," Chouji said.

"I didn't know Shikamaru knew anyone in the North Country," Kiba said.

"He does now," Neji said succinctly, hoping to put an end to the questioning.

Naruto was still staring at Neji. "He's almost as pretty as Haku!"

"Yeah, you should cut your hair," Kiba advised. "It looks girly. People will think you're a Pet."

From his seat on the ground, Sai spoke up. "He is a Pet."

"What?" Naruto and Kiba looked from Sai to Neji. "Whose Pet? Asuma-sensei? But he has a girlfriend!"

Neji did not feel he owed these ill-mannered jerks an explanation. He was still burning over the suggestion that he should cut his hair. All the Hyuuga men had long hair; it was their pride. Still, judging from the agitated way Chouji was stuffing chips into his mouth, and Sakura was staring uncomfortably at the ground, those two already knew, and he didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.

"I am not actually a Pet," he said. "Nara-san doesn't believe in keeping Pets, and neither do I."

"Shikamaru's dad?" Kiba said. "What does he have to do with this? It can't be him – he's married."

"And it can't be Kakashi-sensei," Naruto puzzled, "he already has Sai. Can he have two Pets?"

"Are you completely dense?" Sai asked in his monotone. "He is Nara Shikamaru's Pet."

"Whaaaaat?"

"Shikamaru likes boys?"

"No, he probably just wanted someone to do his fighting for him on missions!"

"This is none of your –" Neji began, but was interrupted by Chouji indignantly speaking up.

"You guys should have some faith in Shikamaru! Neji's not really his Pet. He was captured by Orochimaru and Shikamaru paid the price to set him free."

Neji really hated that all these clowns knew his personal business. Especially this, which made Shikamaru look so noble and Neji so…pathetic. Everyone was staring at him, even Sai. Chouji looked satisfied that he had restored Shikamaru's good name. Sakura looked relieved that a secret she probably wasn't supposed to know was finally out in the open. And Naruto was gazing at Neji intently, his bright blue eyes alight.

"Hey, you're just like me! I was born a slave, and Iruka-sensei paid the price to free me. We're the same!"

Hell, no, we're not, was Neji's immediate thought. He had not been born a slave. He was not an ill-mannered idiot like this unruly blond.

Kiba was eying Neji skeptically. "If your clan is supposed to be so great, how come you got captured by Orochimaru?"

Naruto scratched his head. "Yeah, how'd that happen?"

Interested faces turned his way. He could see agreement in their eyes, even if they were too polite to say it. He glared back at them, fuming. Of course he couldn't tell the truth, but now they would all think he was a complete weakling.

"You idiots don't know what you're talking about." Kakashi-san strolled down into the training area, followed by a bearded man whom Neji guessed must be Asuma, Shikamaru's sensei. He was smoking a cigarette, which shocked Neji. High-level shinobi of the North would never have such bad habits.

"Orochimaru's very strong," Kakashi said. "Even the Kazekage and Lord Jiraiya weren't able to defeat him." Hearing that eased some of Neji's humiliation that he had fallen for Orochimaru's lies, although it still rankled that they saw him like this, as someone weak who needed to be rescued. He would almost rather have them think he was a spy.

Asuma stubbed out his cigarette. "We should get started training. Where are Shikamaru and Ino?"

"Talking," said Sakura, turning bright red.

###

Even though Ino had dragged him over here to talk, she wasn't doing much talking. She was just standing there, twisting her hands and looking nervous. That made Shikamaru doubly apprehensive. When had Ino ever been nervous around him? And when had she ever been tongue-tied like this, around anyone?

"Shika…you know I really like you, and…and that was my first kiss…"

Shikamaru nodded. "Mine too," he mumbled.

Ino looked stricken. "And you know how your first kiss is supposed to be with someone you truly love?"

Shikamaru nodded again, feeling as if he'd swallowed a block of ice.

"And I do love you, Shikamaru –"

Ohcrapohcrapohcraphereitcomes…

"— but just – not in that way. I mean, you're practically like my brother or something, it would just be –"

"—weird," Shikamaru finished the thought in a rush of relief. "Yeah."

"So – you feel the same way?" Ino exclaimed, sounding equally relieved. A thought struck her. "But – does that mean we wasted our first kisses?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "We'll consider it…uh, a practice kiss. Like training before a mission…so when we have the real thing, we'll know what to do."

"Wow, you make it sound so romantic!" Ino smacked him on the shoulder, but she was laughing.

"Yeah, see? I'd be a terrible boyfriend. Now come on, I want to get back there before there's any bloodshed."

As they started down the path, Ino jumped on his back, letting him carry her down. "You know," she said into his ear, "Neji's pretty cute…"

Shikamaru headed over to the training area, where Neji – and thankfully, the senseis – stood glaring at them. "Yeah, good luck with that," he muttered.

###

Neji felt his hackles rise as Shikamaru walked into the training area with the annoying blonde girl hanging around his neck. Over Shikamaru's shoulder, he saw her look at the other girl and give a thumbs up. So, he guessed, Shikamaru had pledged his love, or whatever boys did with girls. He wasn't sure why this should put him in such a bad mood, but it did.

As the relaxed-looking senseis put them through several drills, Neji threw himself into it with a vengeance. He would show these lazy dimwits what a Hyuuga could do. The rain days, it seemed, had actually been a blessing in disguise, giving him the time to recover from his injuries before he had to prove himself. Well, prove himself he would. He picked up his speed, going through the moves lightning-fast, clearing everything else from his mind. He was in the zone now; he was –

"Wow," he heard Naruto say behind him. He had a moment's gratification until Naruto went on. "He is like a Pet!"

"Yeah, like Sai," Kiba snickered.

Wheeling around furiously to confront them, Neji saw that, in fact, Sai was the only other one of their little band who seemed to be working hard. Sakura and Ino were whispering to each other surreptitiously, Shikamaru was slacking off as always, and the rest of them seemed content to just go through the motions while openly staring at the newcomer. Even Kakashi was lounging against a tree, reading a paperback book with a lurid cover. This outraged Neji more than anything else. He could not imagine Gai-sensei ever doing such a thing.

It infuriated him that they would think he was pushing himself simply because he was expected to, because he was now someone's property and would be expected to please that person. Did they think he had no personal pride or work ethic? He seriously wanted to kill someone.

"All right, step it up," Asuma barked impatiently. "Vacation's over!"

This got them moving. Naruto and Kiba now seemed to be in some kind of competition, as did the two girls. Only Shikamaru and Chouji were still hanging back and taking it relatively easy. Sai performed the drills with a machine-like precision, further solidifying Neji's certainty that North Country shinobi were far and away superior to the South. After all, Sai was Northern-born, even if he now resided in Suna.

After a couple of hours of drills (less than Guy-sensei would have done!), Asuma called a break. By then the day was getting hotter, and they gratefully flopped in the shade and gulped water. Everyone perked up, however, when Asuma announced what was next.

"Sparring!"

"Him!" Naruto announced immediately, pointing to Neji, as Kiba simultaneously yelled, "I want the new Pet!"

Neji decided that being referred to as "the new Pet" was more offensive than Naruto's simple cluelessness, and so it would be Kiba's ass he would be kicking. "Let's go," he said to the dog-boy, ignoring Naruto's roars of rage.

Kiba sprang forward into the center of the training area, and Neji assumed his stance. He could hear Kiba actually panting as they waited for Asuma's signal, but Neji felt cool and hard as polished stone. Then Asuma said, "Go," Kiba lunged, and Neji sidestepped swiftly and spun to land a Gentle Fist on his upper arm.

As he had expected, Kiba was a strong and rough fighter, but he lacked Neji's finesse and speed. Neji landed a couple more paralyzing blows on Kiba's muscles, while swiftly evading the dog boy's attacks. Kiba growled in frustration and his dog barked frantically. Neji decided it was time to end this.

"Fight like a shinobi, not an animal," he said in his most scornful tone. Kiba cursed and launched himself at Neji, but Neji was ready. Knowing there would be no force behind it, Neji simply put up his palm to take the blow. Kiba's expression changed from snarling triumph to utter shock as his arm folded like a wet reed. If Neji had been in a laughing mood, it would have been comical.

Neji spun and delivered a roundhouse kick that sent Kiba skidding backwards into Naruto. The two of them toppled to the ground; Naruto leaped up immediately, but Kiba lay twitching, temporarily disabled by Neji's Gentle Fist. His dog licked his face and whined loudly.

"Very impressive," Asuma-sensei said. His eyes were gleaming like those of a man who has just found gold, while everyone else had abandoned all pretense of sparring themselves and were watching avidly. Even Kakashi-sensei had lowered his book and was looking on with interest.

"Neji, right?" Asuma-sensei said. "So how are you with the sword?"

"I am the best," Neji said. He saw no need for false modesty.

Asuma-sensei went to his equipment bag and pulled out an armload of wooden training swords. He held one out to Neji. Sai and Naruto both reached for the other, as Kiba struggled up from the ground, demanding a rematch. Asuma, however, had other ideas.

"Shikamaru."

Shikamaru's expression said plainly, Why me? He plodded reluctantly forward, again over Naruto and Kiba's protests. Watching him sift slowly through the pile of nearly identical swords, Neji felt a stab of disappointment. He had seen Shikamaru's sword skills a few times during their indoor training, and they were serviceable at best. Not to mention that he didn't seem to care and would probably just give up in order to avoid having to work. Naruto at least appeared energetic enough to put up a good fight.

Having finally selected the one he wanted – or, as Neji would have put it, finished stalling around – Shikamaru stood formally with the sword in his right hand, signaling that he would not attack before the match begun. He made a deep, ceremonial bow to Neji. Neji was a little nonplussed at this – it was what he was accustomed to in training matches and before tournaments back in the North Country, but he hadn't expected it here. Indeed, Kiba had given only a rudimentary nod of his head before lunging for Neji's throat. He glanced at Asuma-sensei, who was watching them with his arms crossed, a look of deep concentration on his face.

"Go," Asuma-sensei said.

Neji immediately went on the attack, whirling and slashing. Shikamaru did not even bother to switch his sword to his other hand. He parried twice, stepped back, and took off, fleeing up the path. Neji shot an astonished look at Asuma-sensei, who gazed back with one eyebrow lifted, as if to say, Yeah, he ran away. What are you going to do about it?

Neji sped up the path in the direction Shikamaru had gone. He had one objective: to catch Shikamaru, end this nonsense, and establish the superiority of the North Country once and for all.

###

Shikamaru raced up the rocky path, searching for some large boulders or outcroppings to hide behind. He had one objective: to put enough distance between himself and Neji so he could try to come up with a plan. He could hear Neji's swift, sure footsteps, pounding after him. His only advantage right now was that he was familiar with this training area, while Neji was not.

Up ahead the path forked. To the right was wider and flatter, a winding trail through high rock formations. The left, narrower and more precarious, went up the stony hillside. It was a pain in the ass to climb, but it offered the advantage of overlooking the lower path. Shikamaru chose that one.

He held still, crouching behind a rock, as he heard Neji come to the fork in the path below. Neji stopped momentarily; Shikamaru guessed he was trying to figure out which way Shikamaru was likely to have gone. He exhaled in relief when Neji continued along the lower path; as Shikamaru had hoped, Neji had evidently assumed he was too lazy to try to climb the rocks.

He continued climbing, pulling himself up. The sun was at his back, beating down. Shikamaru moved from shadow to shadow, trying to be as silent as possible. A couple of times he almost slipped; the ground here was usually rock-hard, but the recent rains had softened it.

He knew he didn't have much time. Not that much further along, the lower path would open up into a wider expanse, and Neji would be able to see better that Shikamaru was not there. Then he would be coming up this way, and he was fast.

Ahead was the narrow ledge that overlooked the open area below. Cautiously, he moved out onto and peeked down. He didn't see Neji; either the Hyuuga hadn't gotten there yet, or he had gone down a side trail instead. The sun was hot on his back; under his vest, he could feel his mesh undershirt damp with sweat. He marked this place in his mind as a good spot for an ambush, and continued on.

His heart sank momentarily when he saw what lay at the top of the hill: a flat plateau, bounded on all sides by unforgiving rock. There was a small crevice on the far side, too small to hide in. This was at the highest part of the hill; peering through it, he could see a sheer drop below. He jabbed the tip of his sword into the ground and ran through his options in his mind.

###

Neji emerged from the winding trail through the rocks into a larger, open space. No sign of Shikamaru. He had spent several fruitless minutes checking behind boulders and down side trails, to no avail. He hadn't thought the lazy Nara would have gone up the mountain, but perhaps he had. More likely, though, he was hiding somewhere around here. What a coward, Neji thought in disgust. He scanned the area with his sharp eyes, running through the options in his mind.

He wondered why the sensei had selected Shikamaru to fight him. Having seen Neji fight, he must have known he was highly skilled; why pair him with such a weak opponent? But according to Iruka, Asuma thought Shikamaru was some kind of genius. Or maybe Asuma just wanted to be rid of his charges so he could hang out smoking and reading porn like Kakashi-sensei. Truly, the South was useless. No wonder Orochimaru had been able to waltz in here and set up his evil empire.

A whisper of sound, like a bird, and Neji spun quickly to confront it. What he saw made his mouth drop open in disbelief. Falling slowly toward him was what looked like Shikamaru's vest, the ends tied together to make a parachute. A round bundle dangled from it. A peace offering – or a trap? Neji slashed upward with his sword, cutting it open.

Sand poured down, into his hair, his eyes, momentarily blinding him. Cursing, blinking, he swiped at his face with his sleeve. A flash of movement caught the corner of his eye and he struck out, swift and hard, still not able to see clearly.

Craack! His sword hit solid rock with a jarring impact that splintered the end of the sword and sent shockwaves through his arm. He blinked the last of the sand from his eyes, disbelieving.

A shadow. He had lunged at a shadow. Shikamaru stood above him, the sun at his back. Furiously, Neji leaped up the rocks after him.

"Do you think I can't defeat you with half a sword?" he called contemptuously. "It still has a point, you know. Why don't you stop these tricks and stand and fight?"

Shikamaru retreated, fending him off and parrying. He was not as bad with the sword as Neji had thought. He was growing tired, though, Neji observed; he was breathing hard, and his moves were growing clumsier. Neji managed to nick him a couple of times on the arm.

Shikamaru dropped his left arm a bit, flexing his shoulder as if it hurt him. Neji couldn't believe it. He was leaving his chest exposed! Neji attacked, striking swiftly and surely. Shikamaru jumped back in the nick of time, his eyes widening in alarm. He dashed backward several paces and stood, gasping for breath, his sword raised protectively again.

"Everyone has a weak spot, Shikamaru," Neji called. "I can read you like a book." Looking around him, he saw that they were on a high, flat, rocky plateau. Behind Shikamaru were steep, unclimbable cliffs; he could only retreat so far. He could see from Shikamaru's expression of dismay that he had noticed that too. Shikamaru was swiveling his head around frantically; he seemed to be searching for a place to hide. There was a small crevice behind him, but Neji was pretty sure it was too small to hide in, and only led to a sheer drop down the face of the cliff.

Inexorably now, Neji pursued, closing in methodically on his prey. Shikamaru parried desperately in an ever-smaller space, ducking and backing up. He stumbled, glanced behind him at the crevice, and seemed to realize that it was hopeless. His shoulders sagged and he let his arms drop a bit, exposing his chest again.

Exultantly, Neji charged forward. He had Shikamaru now!

Nimbly, Shikamaru sprang to the side, hooking a foot under Neji's ankle. Neji stumbled; he tried to regain his balance, but the ground was crumbly and slick under his sandal, and he slid and tumbled forward, directly into the crevice. Instinctively, he drove the point of his sword into the ground to keep himself from falling over the cliff.

To his chagrin, he now found himself wedged precariously into the crevice, his left arm awkwardly under him to brace himself, and his broken sword stuck in the sand. He scrabbled at the ground, trying desperately to gain a foothold, but it was all loose sand, not solid at all.

Shikamaru stood over him, not looking half so weary as he had a minute ago. He grasped the hilt of Neji's sword, just above where Neji was clinging onto it.

"Everyone has a weakness, Neji," he said. "Yours is underestimating your opponent." He leaned forward, and Neji wondered if Shikamaru meant to push him off the cliff. But instead, Shikamaru raised his own sword and tapped Neji once on the forehead and once on the chest – symbolically administering the killing blows – before grasping Neji's arm and pulling him up out of the crevice.

Neji stood in shock for a moment, still not able to believe what had just happened. Then, recalling his manners, he made a little bow. "Congratulations. You beat me." Seeing Shikamaru's lazy smirk, he could not resist adding, "But you know you could never do any of that stuff in an actual tournament."

"I know," Shikamaru said. "But we're not training for tournaments. We're training for missions." He sat on the ground with his back against a rock and took a long drink from his canteen. Neji followed suit. It was getting hotter now and the cool water tasted good.

"So, you and your sensei planned all this?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "I had no idea he was going to pick me. To tell you the truth, I was hoping he wouldn't. He was testing both of us."

And Shikamaru had passed, Neji thought in chagrin, but he had not. He ran over the battle in his mind, from the beginning.

"But wait…if this wasn't going to be a tournament battle, then why –" Neji broke off, realizing. He had been about to ask, Why were you so formal when we faced each other? "You wanted to put me off guard," he said.

Shikamaru nodded.

"And then you set that trap…and you pretended to be weaker than you are," Neji said. "That's a good strategy, I've done it myself."

"Really?" Shikamaru laughed. "I can't picture that."

"Then up here, luring me over there….You could have pushed me over the cliff. Why didn't you?"

Shikamaru looked surprised. "It's just a training battle. I didn't want you to fall off the cliff. If it had been a real mission, I might have, depending on whether I needed information from you."

"Lucky for you the ground is so crumbly there, otherwise I could have freed myself, and defeated you."

"Yeah," Shikamaru said, smirking again. "Lucky."

Neji looked more closely at the ground around the crevice. Now he noticed that it was torn up, more so than would have been expected.

"I loosened it before you came up here," Shikamaru said.

Neji leaned his head back against the rocks. He was beginning to see how every step, every move of their battle had been planned and choreographed by Shikamaru. He looked over. Shikamaru was sitting with his eyes closed, wearing only his mesh undershirt on top. Neji watched the muscles in his arm move as he raised his arm to drink from the water bottle.

Abruptly, he stood up. "We should head back," he said. Shikamaru put the bottle back in his pouch and reached out a hand, asking Neji to help him up. Neji wanted to turn away, and he didn't. He took Shikamaru's hand, feeling it warm and strong against his own, and pulled him to his feet.

"Thanks," Shikamaru said casually. He started down the path. Neji followed, feeling a heat that had nothing to do with the blazing sun.

The others were standing in a rough circle, watching Sakura and Ino battle. They all left off and turned toward Shikamaru and Neji.

"Who won?"

"Shikamaru," Neji said quietly.

"I was about to concede," Shikamaru said. "He almost had me, and I didn't have much energy left."

Neji didn't believe this for a second, and, from the expression on his face, neither did Asuma-sensei.

"Can I fight him next?" Naruto demanded eagerly.

"No one's fighting anyone right now," Kakashi-sensei said. "It's lunchtime. Go take a break and we'll see you all back here in a couple of hours."

"A couple of hours?" Neji asked, sure Kakashi must have misspoken.

"Yeah," Asuma said. "You're in the desert now, kid. We rest during the midday heat."

You might, Neji thought to himself, but I will not be slacking around just because it's a little hot. Now that he had been beaten by Shikamaru, he intended to redouble his training.

While the senseis left to do who knew what, their charges moved to a shady area a short way from the training fields to have lunch. All the talk was of Shikamaru and Neji's battle, everyone wanting to know all the details. Neji ate quickly, not joining in the conversation, and fortunately Shikamaru was not a braggart and simply announced he was tired and going to take a nap. He stretched out in the shade, his head pillowed on Chouji's ample, adoring lap. Again Neji felt irritation at the sight, as if the sand from his hair and clothes had gotten under his skin as well.

As the others chatted, laughed, or dozed, Neji slipped away and made his way back to the training areas. He would spend these two hours productively, doing his own training regimen and practicing all his moves. Shikamaru's words to him on the mountain still rankled.

We're not training for tournaments. We're training for missions.

In Konoha, he had trained for both, of course, and he had done both. Did Shikamaru see him as some kind of pampered, insulated rich kid who had never actually fought a real enemy? Or was that what Pets did – fought only in tournaments, but never in real missions? Was that his expected function now? Well, he would not settle for that, just as he would not spend half the day sleeping.

He was a shinobi. He had been training since birth to do this.

He had killed a man. With his bare hands.

The sun was indeed blindingly hot, the sand blistering against his bare toes. His shirt and hair were soaked with sweat. Even the air was almost too hot to breathe. Neji ignored it all. Again and again he ran through the kaiten, making his moves faster, harder, sharper. He would not be defeated again…he would…he had…

The desert landscape seemed to swim in the heat, rearranging itself. A trio of figures was coming toward him, and Neji stiffened, his heart pounding. But in the next instant he realized it was only some rocks and a scrubby tree. His mouth felt dry as bone. He willed himself to think clearly through the haze…. He should probably drink some water…maybe sit in the shade for just a second…. He took a couple of shaky steps, before his knees buckled and he fell forward into the sand.

###

Shikamaru was stretched out in the warm sand, dozing, when he felt that crazy sensation again, as if a horde of tiny bees was stinging the back of his hand. In the next instant he felt hot, dizzy and weak all over. He sat up quickly, scanning the area for Neji, who was nowhere to be seen.

"Did you guys see where Neji went?" No one had, but Shikamaru had a pretty good idea where Mr. I-Must-Train-Every-Second-Regardless-of-the-Weather had gotten to. He jumped to his feet, cursing under his breath, and started jogging back down the path to the training area.

He spotted Neji when he was some ways away. The Hyuuga was half-sitting, half-lying in the middle of the training area.

"Hey!" he called. Neji looked up blearily as Shikamaru approached. "Are you stupid or just plain stubborn? It's over a hundred degrees out here!" He unscrewed the top of his canteen, made Neji drink some, then poured the rest over Neji's head. He expected fury at this, but Neji only gave him a weak frown. Shikamaru decided more drastic measures were needed. Reaching down, he hauled Neji to his feet, and half-marched, half-dragged the Hyuuga a hundred yards or so past the edge of the training area.

"Recognize this?" he asked Neji. It was the creek they had cooled off in, now swollen by the rains so that it was up to the edge of the banks. Neji just stood there blinking at it. Taking matters into his own hands, Shikamaru lifted him up and heaved him into the cool water.

Neji sank like a stone. For a few seconds there was nothing, no sound, no movement. Shikamaru started to worry. Was Neji unconscious? Maybe he couldn't swim. He was preparing to dive in, and hoping he remembered his lifesaving techniques, when he saw ripples, as if something was swimming toward the bank.

In the next instant Neji's head broke the surface, and then Neji came charging halfway up the bank, grabbed Shikamaru, and yanked him down into the water. The cool water closed over his head, and Shikamaru let himself sink down to the bottom. When he surfaced, he heard yells and splashes. Naruto, Kiba and Sai had followed them and were stripping off their shirts and jumping into the water as well.

"Water war!" Kiba yelled, and Naruto whooped in agreement, splashing everyone around him. The two of them turned their attention to Neji, who glared back at them. Shikamaru could see in his eyes that he didn't think this was a game, and was ready to fight all four of them. He tried to swim closer to Neji, so that the situation wouldn't seem so charged, hoping it wouldn't turn ugly.

The day was saved by Chouji, appearing at the water's edge. Surveying the scene, he gave a mighty shout.

"CAAAANNNOOOONNNBAAAAAALLLLL!"

Everyone dived for cover as Chouji hit the water with the force of a meteor crashing to earth. Kiba and Naruto now turned on him, splashing him wildly, while Shikamaru laughed and Sai and Neji looked bemused.

Amidst all this, Sakura and Ino arrived at the water's edge, to be enthusiastically greeted by Naruto. "Hey, Sakura-chan, wanna join the water war?"

"No thanks," Sakura said, looking a little appalled.

"You guys should grow up," Ino said, as the girls moved downstream to a shallower area to cool off.

"Grow up? Never!" Kiba yelled.

"What's her problem?" Naruto wondered. "Hey, Neji, are the girls in your country so stuck-up?"

Neji looked a little surprised, but then he actually answered. "Some are. But my teammate Tenten, she does everything the boys do."

Naruto looked like he would like to continue the conversation, but Kiba had other ideas. "Water war!" Pointing to where Neji, Shikamaru and Chouji were grouped, he called, "You three against us!"

Shikamaru looked at Neji, a little apprehensively, but Neji did not look hostile. Instead there was a relishing gleam in his eye. He raised one arm, then brought it down, sweeping the flat of his hand across the surface of the water to make a huge spray of water that enveloped Kiba, Naruto and Sai.

What followed was an all-out water battle royale, with everyone getting splashed, dunked and ambushed. Far from not being able to swim, Neji proved quite strong in the water. The concept of sides dissolved after a few minutes when Sai pushed Naruto aside to battle Neji and was promptly soaked in retaliation by an outraged Naruto. In the ensuing free-for-all, Shikamaru felt strong hands grasp his ankles, and in the next second he was pulled under the water. Spluttering and shaking water from his eyes, he surfaced to see Neji smirking at him. Shikamaru grinned back.

It lasted a good long time, until finally, exhausted and drenched, they all straggled from the creek to sprawl out on some flat rocks in the sun and dry off. Shikamaru lay back on his elbows, watching Neji wring water from his hair.

"It's good to take a break from training sometimes," he told Neji, "and just have a little fun." Neji looked unconvinced, so Shikamaru added, "Doesn't your team back home do the same, play a game now and then?"

"No," Neji said. He was quiet a minute. "If we ever are in a game, we play to win."

###

No, his team did not play, unless they were competitive training games run by Gai. They never just goofed off and did silly things. Even as a child, Neji realized, he had not played much, at least not after his father's death. That was when he had gotten serious and decided he would become the toughest shinobi ever seen, and grow up to rule the clan. That he had spent so much of his life on that futile goal was something he didn't want to think about.

It seemed foolish to start playing now, now that he was of age – legally no longer a child. But although the water fight had felt foolish at times, and awkward, and a waste of time, he had to admit it had not been entirely unpleasant. Indeed, at times, it had even been…yes, fun.

"Well," Naruto announced cheerfully, "we got our bath for the day out of the way!"

Neji sighed inwardly. He had had a quick wash that morning, of course, but with the rains over he had been looking forward to a good soak in a real bathtub. But he guessed that since water was so scarce in the desert, it made sense to take your baths where you could find them.

He sat back on the rock, near where Shikamaru was stretched out, and tilted his face to the sun, feeling its warmth.

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A.N.: Thanks for reading, everyone! Please leave a review and let me know what you thought!