Shikamaru took a long sip of hot tea. He really would have prefered it to be coffee, but he wasn't going to say it. Just having tea was a blessing, and everyone had worked so hard in that camp to get to where they were now, that he wouldn't dare to say something negative about anything they gave him. He looked over his cup and saw Neji, sitting in the rocky ground in front of him, drinking his tea too. The deep scars around the boy's eyes shined with the morning sun.
Next to him, Choji let out a happy exhalation.
"Aaaah!", he exclaimed. "Breakfast is the most important part of the day!".
Shikamaru smiled to him, glad to have his old friend at his side again. They had woke up not long ago, and were now having breakfast together. Tenten was with them, talking relaxedly with Neji as they drink their tea.
That was nice, Shikamaru thought. Being able to wake up and hang out with his friends, like he used to do. Though at the same time he missed waking up next to Neji, feeling the Hyuuga's hand on his. He remembered the way the boy used to squeeze his fingers as he started to wake up. The memory made Shikamaru's feel a little empty inside.
In that moment, Ino approached to them with a bright smile.
"Good moooorning!", she greeted them. Putting her hands on her hips, she studied her friend's faces. "Are you guys up to a mission today? We need a good group to carry provisions".
Tenten started clapping her hands and Choji smiled broadly. They all liked going out on missions now, because the life inside the camp was sometimes pretty boring. Shikamaru knew Neji would want to go too, so he just shrugged and nodded to his friends.
"Neji, it is okay if you want to stay", Ino said, staring at the Hyuuga with compassionate eyes. "We could run into Zetsus' in the way, and we know you can't fight anymore…", she added awkwardly. She blushed a little, obviously uncomfortable. "Not that there's anything wrong with that. We totally understand".
Neji raised his eyebrows, but he stayed cool. "I can handle it", he answered firmly.
Tenten put a hand on his shoulder. "Neji, it's okay, really", she told him. "You don't have to proof anything to us".
Neji frowned a little, and Shikamaru feared he was about to lose his temper. He decided to intervene.
"He's fine", he said, waving a hand in the air to show everything was okay. "He can handle all the Zetsus you want".
Neji smiled at his words and nodded energetically. "I certainly do", he affirmed.
"Alright!", Ino exclaimed, clapping her hands once. "Go get ready to leave, then!".
They returned to the tents to get their things. Shikamaru took his backpack and put it on. He wouldn't even consider going out without it, and he knew Neji would bring the bō. Those were the only two thing they needed to fight against enemies. When they meet again in the same point, he saw the Hyuuga had the weapon on his hand and couldn't help to smile.
Ino was waiting for them, so when they were finally all back together, she turned around to lead them.
"Let's go!", she exclaimed. "Temari is waiting for us".
Shikamaru's heart jumped. Fuck, he thought. During the last week he had tried to talk with Temari to fix things with her, but the girl was very good at avoiding him. He was pretty sure she didn't want to see him, so he started considering staying out of the mission. But then he remembered Neji. He knew it was important to the Hyuuga to show the rest of the survivors that he could still fight, and he couldn't leave him alone. If he stayed, he had no way of knowing if the boy was okay.
He was still hesitating, when Neji approached and took his arm. Shikamaru stared at him and saw a soft, encouraging smile. Of course, he had realized he was having second thoughts about the mission because of Temari, and was trying to show his support. Shikamaru was glad for the friendly contact, so he touched Neji's hand with his. Then, they started walking behind their friends, heading to the gate.
In the moment they reached the meating point he saw Temari, shouting orders to the shinobis that surrounded her. Kiba and Akamaru were there too. They approached to the group and stopped. The girl met Shikamaru's eyes once, and then pretended he didn't existed.
"Finally, you're here", she said dryly. "We leave in ten". Then, she turned around and started discussing the route with another woman.
Shikamaru knew it was better to make peace before starting the trip, so he should probably try to do it now. He touched Neji's hand again to call his attention.
"I'll be right back", he whispered to him.
The Hyuuga squeezed his arm one last time. "Good luck", he answered, because he obviously knew he was going to try talk to Temari.
Shikamaru walked away from his comforting touch and approached to the girl. He stood behind her and coughed softly. Temari threw him a glare from over her shoulder.
"Hey, Tem...?", he started speaking, feeling extremely nervous. He knew the girl probably hated him now. "Can I talk to you for a second?".
She made a sign to the other woman to dismiss her, and then started folding her map, without turning around. "There is nothing to talk about", she replied coldly.
Shikamaru realized it was going to be very hard. "Please", he insisted. "I want to apologize".
The girl finally turned, though she didn't look at him. She simply focused on putting the map on her backpack.
"You don't need to apologize", she said. "You didn't do anything wrong. You simply don't have any feelings for me anymore. I can accept that". She tried so sound cool, but Shikamaru could see she was still angry. "Besides, I have more important things to care about, and I can't let a little amorous deception distract me". Then, she raised her stare and looked at the Nara with a very sober and firm expression. "There are worse things in life. Now just focus on the mission".
After saying those words, she turned around and started yelling orders again. Shikamaru returned with his friends with his head down and a bitter taste on his mouth.
"How did it go?", Neji asked softly to him.
"Not so well…", he answered.
In that moment, Temari asked to the guards to open the big gate. The earth started trembling, and he knew it was time to go. He extended his arm to Neji, who took it softly, and then they started walking with the rest of the team.
The mission was simple: travel to one of the control points that the survivors had established and carry provisions for the ten shinobis settled there. The team was composed of fifteen members, including the captain, Temari. It was a large number for such a simple mission, but when there were so many chances of running into Zetsus' in the way, it was better to count with a lot of people. Besides, that way all of them could take turns to drag the small carts where they were carrying the supplies. Doing this, nobody got tired, leaving them all prepared for a possible fight.
They walked during the whole day. Fortunately they didn't run into enemies, but they were still one day away from their destination. In the moment the sun started to descend, Temari ordered to stop and settle a camp. Traveling during the night was just too dangerous.
Some members of the team started preparing the sleeping bags, Shikamaru among them. They had left the tents in the camp so as not to carry more weight, meaning they would sleep in the open. Temari shouted orders again and a few ninjas made a big circle around the others to watch the perimeter while they worked.
Shikamaru knew perfectly that no tents meant no separation between the sleeping bags. For at least one night, he had a tiny chance of sleeping next to Neji.
He looked up. The sky was just beginning to get dark. There would be no moon that night. He wondered how much would be the light coming from the stars. In complete darkness, if he got the change to sleep next to Neji, maybe he would be able to take his hand without anyone noticing it. Even if it was just for a few seconds, he felt he needed to do it.
The sky started turning pink. Soon it would change to orange, and then to a bright red. Shikamaru had seen many sunsets over the past years, while he wondered around deserts lands with Neji. He remembered one in particular.
The two boys were sitting near the edge of a high cliff. They could see everything from there, or at least Shikamaru could. He was leaning against the solid mountain staring at Neji, who had his legs crossed and his back straight like always. The boy was watching directly to the sun, and the orange light shone on his pale skin, making it look a golden color. Even despite of the scars around his eyes, the Hyuuga had never stopped being beautiful.
While he was lost in this thoughts, he saw Neji letting out a deep breath. He looked slightly sad. Shikamaru needed to know what was worrying him so he could try to fix it, like he always did.
"Is there anything wrong?", he asked softly.
Neji pursed his lips for a brief moment. Shikamaru knew that expression: frustration. It happened when he started thinking about all the things he couldn't do because of his blindness. When the Hyuuga opened his mouth to start talking, Shikamaru already knew what he was going to say.
"It is just that…", Neji hesitated. He pursed his lips one more time, and the Nara couldn't held back a smile at the cute gesture. For the millionth time, he was glad the boy couldn't see him. "I wish I could see the sunset", Neji finally said. "It must look beautiful".
Shikamaru knew he had to take Neji away from that kind of thoughts. He straightened to be right next to que Hyuuga. "Actually it's not that great", he said. "Just the same lame sunset you've already seen hundreds of times".
Neji's mouth curved into a barely there smile. "Right", he answered ironically.
"Seriously", Shikamaru insisted. "It's even kind of ugly. So... orange. It's disgusting". The Hyuuga laughed at this last words, and his heart thanked for the sound. He kept joking. "Yeah, it's definitely the worst sunset ever. Trust me, you're not missing anything".
The melody of Neji's laugh danced inside his ears. He missed those moments so much. Shikamaru lowered his eyes to search for the Hyuuga, and found him working with the others. He wished he could walk towards him and take his had right there. He knew he couldn't, but he was definitely going to try that night.
They ate cold food in the darkness, speaking in whispers to avoid attracting the attention of enemies. They would take turns to watch, and Shikamaru and Neji were in the last two groups. That meant they could go to sleep now.
There were five ninjas surrounding them, though they were all focused in the surroundings. Temari was circling around making sure everyone was in place. Shikamaru walked with his friends to the sleeping bags and got ready to lay down. While he took of his sandals, he made sure of placing himself next to Neji, while Tenten choose the other spot next to the boy. Ino and Choji lay down next to the Nara, and no one seemed to think that he had chosen that place on purpose.
He got inside the sleeping bag and covered himself with it. At his side, Neji was doing the same. Shikamaru lay down staring at the sky, still trying to determine if the darkness was deep enough. But before he could make a decision, Neji made it for him. Shikamaru felt the Hyuuga's fingers touching his wrist, searching for him. He met his hand immediately, taking it softly in his. If Neji wanted to hold hands with him, he didn't care if somebody saw them. He would never, ever reject the Hyuuga's touch. He simply couldn't do it. And also, he didn't want to.
Short hours later a sudden pain on his shoulder woke him up. He opened his eyes, startled, and looked up. He saw the silhouette of Kiba standing at his side and looking down at him, though he couldn't see his face.
"It's your turn to watch", the Inuzuka said in a hard tone. "Get up". A second later, he disappeared.
Shikamaru watched him go. Had he just kick him in the shoulder to wake him up? That sounded a bit rude, even for Kiba. He felt movement next to him and turned his head.
Neji had woken up too, and he was rubbing his eyes and squeezing his hand to get his attention. "What happened?", he asked with a sleepy voice.
Shikamaru's heart turn into ice. Had Kiba seen them holding hands? Could he be mad about it? He shook his head, to terrified of the idea to think about it. "Nothing", he said to Neji. "It's my turn to watch. Get back to sleep".
The Hyuuga let out a tired groan and closed his eyes again. Shikamaru had to free his hand, because the boy had not let him go. He stood up and walked to his position, looking for Kiba in the darkness, but he didn't found him. He prayed the boy hadn't seen anything.
The next day they walked from morning to afternoon, stopping briefly to take a little rest. Shikamaru realized how much the survivors had explore in those years, and imagined they had probably established many control points like the one they were heading to. He stood next to Neji all the time, just to make sure of being there if the boy needed him, though he was doing really good walking alone with the bō.
After long, exhausting hours, Shikamaru finally saw something on the horizon. At first he thought it was a house of some sort, but then he realized it was actually a boat. A pretty big and apparently strong boat. It was rocking gently on the shore of a huge lake.
"Where did you get that thing from?", Shikamaru asked to his friends as they approached to the ship.
"We made it!", Ino answered with a huge smile. "Well, actually Choji did almost all the work".
Shikamaru turned around to look at his friend. "Really?", he asked impressed. Choji just shrugged and blushed, embarrassed. "It looks awesome, buddy".
The Akimichi smiled broadly and walked proudly towards the boat.
Temari started yelling instructions. A few shinobis jumped to the ship and sat behind to the four oars. Now it was time for the rest of them to get on the boat. When Shikamaru's turn came, he unconsciously took Neji by the wrist. It was so evident for him that he had to help the Hyuuga get in and find a seat. The older boy didn't reacted at all, and simply let Shikamaru guide him to the boat. Once the Nara was in, he held Neji's hand as the boy entered too. Then, he help the Hyuuga walk among the others and took him to the front. They sat together at the bow. After everyone was settled, the boat started moving.
It was a very pleasant trip. Shikamaru looked around and saw rows and rows of huge trees surrounding the coast. The sun was just starting to descend, and its light was reflected in the leaves and in the calm water. It was a very beautiful sight, and the Nara realized everybody was enjoying it. Even the rowers, who watched the surroundings with dreamy eyes. Shikamaru turned to check on Neji, and found him watching straight ahead, like always.
He felt bad for the boy. Neji had completely overcome the fact of being blind, but he still couldn't enjoy a nice view like that one. Shikamaru wished so many times he could give him his own eyes, but that was impossible. An idea came to his mind, and he reached out to take the Hyuuga's hand again.
Neji didn't flinch at the contact, and let Shikamaru guide his hand even if he didn't knew why he was doing it for. The Nara brought the older ninja's hand to the water, and made him sink the tip of his fingers in it. Neji widened his eyes at the strange sensation. The stream flowed gently between his fingers, and he smiled. Shikamaru smiled as well, happy to see that the Hyuuga liked feeling the water on his hand, probably because it was almost as if he could see it. He let go Neji's hand, and the Hyuuga sank it a bit deeper into the stream. He played with his fingers inside the water, just enjoying the sensation. Shikamaru reclined on his seat with a grin of satisfaction.
But his expression was wiped right away when he saw his friends faces, staring at him with questioning eyes. Even Temari was looking at him with suspicion. This got him very uncomfortable, and he felt his face starting to warm up. Was the way he behave with Neji really that weird? He knew he had to reduce the contact with the Hyuuga as much as he could, but most of the times his body just moved alone. Shikamaru swallowed hard and looked away, praying no one would make any awkward comment.
They finally reached the other edge of the lake. By crossing through the water hey had shortened the trip. On foot it would have taken them another full day. All the members of the team got off the boat. Shikamaru helped Neji again, this time taking the bō and hooking it to his backpack so the Hyuuga could move freely for a bit. They started walking to the control point, following Temari. Short minutes later, Shikamaru saw a tall construction where a few shinobis were watching the perimeter.
As soon as they reached the control point, ten ninjas approached to them and helped them unloading the carts that carried the supplies. While they worked, everybody talked relaxedly.
When they were about to finish Shikamaru approached to Neji, just to see how he was doing. But in the moment he got near the Hyuuga, he saw the boy was frowning deeply. Before he could ask him what was going on, the older ninja talked to him.
"There is something wrong", he said, staring ahead with his white eyes.
Shikamaru got closer. "What is it?", he asked.
Neji moved his feet, feeling the ground behind him. "The earth…", he whispered. "Is trembling".
"What?", Shikamaru questioned in confusion. He tried to feel what Neji was feeling, but he got nothing. Anyway, he knew the Hyuuga's senses were now more developed, so he surely could detect things he couldn't.
"It is getting stronger", Neji said, looking absolutely convinced. Shikamaru stared at the ground, trying to understand. It didn't took him long, because he remembered the deep cracks in the earth from where the Zetsus had came. Suddenly, he felt a slight tremor under his feet as well. His heart gave a jump, and he knew he had to alert the rest of the team.
"ZETSUS ARE COMING!", he yelled. In a reflex, he took Neji's wrist to keep him by his side. If the earth started cracking in that moment, he wouldn't let it separate them.
"What?", a few shinobis asked, as they looked around searching for the enemies. The ground was now shaking evidently.
"SPREAD OUT!", Shikamaru screamed again, just one second before a big fissure started opening in the ground. He pulled from Neji's arm to get him away from that place.
Countless of those white creatures began to emerge from the earth. This time nobody panicked, because they were all shinobis, and they were ready for any possible confrontation. With great courage, they started fighting the fierce beasts. When a ruthless Zetsu approached to them, Shikamaru had to let go Neji's wrist and push him to a side.
He knew he couldn't let the boy defenseless. The Hyuuga could still use his deathly Gentle Fist, but it was better to avoid melee fights with those things. Shikamaru took his fingers to his mouth and let out a loud, penetrating whistle, while he unhooked the bō trom his backpack. Neji straightened at hearing it, and lifted his hand in the air. The Nara threw the weapon on his direction, knowing that the Hyuuga would hear the tiny bells even despite of the noise. Neji caught the bō without difficulty, just in time to turn around and hit a Zetsu on the head with it, sending him down.
Now that the boy had his weapon, Shikamaru needed to take care of himself. As fast as he could, he took a kunai from his backpack, because it was the only weapon he had. After fighting so many times against Zetsus, he knew exactly where he had to strike to kill them with one single stab. He focused on aiming at the soft area behind their necks, and managed to knock down two of them. Near him, Neji was hitting them with the bō, managing to keep the creatures away from them, but they kept approaching.
Even though they managed to defeated many of them, they kept coming from the ground. Shikamaru turned around searching for their capitan, and saw Temaril fighting fiercely with her huge fan. She seemed to realize they were being outnumbered, because she gave the order to retreat to the nearest trees. The team started running, followed by the bloodthirsty monsters.
Shikamaru reached a tall tree and climbed it quickly. He sat on a thick branched and took his fingers to his mouth, to emit another loud and penetrating whistle. He saw Neji hearing the signal and approaching to the same tree. Already knowing the procedure, the Hyuuga raised the bō with one hand so Shikamaru could grab it. The younger boy did, and lifted Neji up to sit him between his thighs, like he had done many times in the past. He surrounded the Hyuuga's waist with one arm, and took the bō with his free hand, while the older boy clung to his knees. The whole team was now safe in the trees, but the Zetsus were still circling around, trying uselessly to reach them. Shikamaru looked at the deep crack on the ground, and noticed they had now stop coming.
Temari shouted orders not far away and the archers put themselves in position. With amazing skill, they started shooting arrows to the creatures, eliminating them slowly.
How did they know where to emerge from the earth?, Shikamaru thought. If Madara was sending them, could he somehow tell them what their position was? Maybe the man could see everything at all time, somehow. That sounded very extreme, though it was possible. But even if that was the case, how did he manage to communicate that information to the Zetsus? Those creatures only seemed able to communicate with each other.
Then how did they know where the control point was?, Shikamaru asked himself again. A tiny voice inside his head told him that maybe they didn't. The crack was not right under the watchtower, but in the exact point where they had been working. That was just to precise. But if the Zetsus could tell were there was people, why hadn't they came from the ground while he was traveling with the Hyuuga, or during that same trip? He felt Neji's hands squeezing his knees, and remembered what he boy had said. That the earth was trembling. He had felt it himself, just as the day the Zetsus invaded Konoha. Right before a crack opened, strong vibrations started shaking the ground.
Vibrations… That was how Neji had perceived the Zetsus coming, by the vibrations he felt coming from below. Maybe the creatures could feel the vibrations from above too. That would explain why he and the Hyuuga hadn't been attacked in the past, because two people probably didn't produce much vibrations. The Zetsus had attacked when they joined the other ten ninjas in the control point, while they were moving the carts around and unloading heavy stuff. Maybe that had caused more vibrations, and revealed their exact position. That would explain why they didn't attack the camp, because the thick rocky ground didn't let them hear the people steps. And it would also explain why they had stop coming out of the ground when all the shinobis climbed to the trees.
Under his feet, the Zetsus were now dead. The archers had managed to eliminate them all. Temari ordered to return to the ground, and Shikamaru's skin bristled. If they were all together down there again, more creatures would know where they were. He saw a few ninjas starting to descend from the other trees.
"NO!", the Nara screamed, trying to stop them. "DON'T GET DOWN!".
Everybody stopped and and turned to look at him.
"We have to get back to the camp", Temari answered loudly to him. "And I give the orders here. Everybody down!".
"NO!", Shikamaru screamed again. "THEY CAN HEAR US THROUGH THE GROUND!".
The shinobis exchanged looks, now hesitating. "What?", Ino asked from a near branched.
Trying to sound clear, the Nara started explaining his theory in a very loud voice, so everybody, and especially Temari, could hear him. The girl was watching him with a deep frown, but as he kept going, she seemed to start considering his words. "We are too many now. If we get down all together more of those things will detect us", he concluded, relieved at seeing that the team was listening to him.
There was a brief discussion. The shinobis started circling his theory, and with each opinion, they all started to think it made a lot of sense. Shikamaru kept silent, waiting for the capitan to make a decision. He knew the girl was mad at him, and she probably didn't want to take advices from him. The Nara realized his heart was beating fast with the anticipation. In than moment, Neji squeezed his tights softly with his fingers. He could probably feel Shikamaru's fast heartbeats against his back, and was trying to calm him down. The younger boy tightened his grip on the Hyuuga's thin waist, returning the gesture.
After a little while, Temari finally spoke. A few ninjas would get down first with the ones who stayed at the control point to help them carry the last supplies that had not fallen down the big crack when the Zetsus came out. Then, they would spread out a little, and in that moment the team which was returning to the camp would get together to leave. That way they would avoid being all together in the same place.
The sky was now almost completely dark, but Temari decided they couldn't wait for the morning. If the Zetsus could feel their vibrations, it was better to stay in low numbers. Following her lead, the team started heading to the boat to cross the lake again.
When they got back to the survivor's refugee, everybody went right to their tents to sleep, except for Ino, who headed to check on Sakura in the nursing, and Choji, who went to see if he could get some leftovers to eat. Shikamaru lay down over his sleeping bag, feeling he could sleep for days. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the caml, but suddenly the sound of somebody at the tent's door made him open them again. He turned his head and saw Kiba stepping in, searching around. When the Inuzuka realized he was there, he stopped.
"Oh", he said, frowning a little. "Sorry, I was looking for Ino".
"She's with Sakura in the nursing", Shikamaru answered, sitting up.
Kiba nodded, and started turning around. "Right. I'll go then", he responded, sounding too dry for his usual character.
"Wait!", the Nara hurried to stop him as he stood up. Kiba did and stared at him from over his shoulder. The tension in the air was evident. Shikamaru knew the Inuzuka was being cold with him, and he needed to be okay with the boy. They had always been very good friends, after all. "Is there something wrong, man?", he asked.
Kiba shook his head shortly. "No", he answered. "Why?".
Shikamaru took a step forward. "I don't know", he said. "I kinda have the feeling you're mad with me or something". Kiba hesitated, and the Nara could see him clenching his fists. "C'mon, what is it?".
The Inuzuka frowned again, and this time he turned around to be face to face with him. After a few seconds, he lifted his head and stared at Shikamaru with distrust.
"What's going on between Hyuuga and you?", he asked in a hard voice.
The Nara felt his heart jump, and got suddenly nervous. That was a very complicated question, and lately he had been fearing someone would ask it to him. But he shouldn't feel that way, because there was nothing going on between Neji and him. Why did he feel caught between a rock and a hard place, then?. He tried to stay cool. "What do you mean?", he questioned.
Kiba clicked his tongue, still frowning. "It's... weird", he answered. "You touch a lot. Like, all the time. And what the hell is this?". He made a very creepy face, twisting his mouth into a strange smile and opening his eyes like he was an amused child.
Shikamaru moved his head back and arched an eyebrow. "I don't know. What the hell is that?".
Kiba returned to his previous annoyed expression. "That's you, when you're staring at him!", he spat. "You put on this creepy face and smile like a lunatic. And you always do it. Even when he's talking to you, you just stare at him with what weird look".
Shikamaru shook his head, a little offended by Kiba's impression of him, but he thought he knew what the boy meant. "I don't do that…", he whispered. "And I just stare at him because…". he hesitated. "I don't know, I got used to do it, because he can't see me so it doesn't get awkward. But it doesn't mean anything".
"I don't know, dude", Kiba answered. "The way you act with him, is not normal".
He knew he had to dissipate those suppositions about him and Neji, so he took another step towards the Inuzuka. "I understand it may look a bit weird", he said. "But it's only because we spent a lot of time alone, just the two of us, so we got pretty close. But there is nothing between us. We're just friends".
Kiba pursed his lips and stared at him with a very serious expression. "You sleep holding hands", he growled.
A chill ran down Shikamaru's spine. So he had seen them holding hands that other night. The Nara wanted to kick himself for not having been more careful. He opened his mouth to answer, but he didn't know what to say. He stuttered a little. "I… That's because… Well…". Kiba narrowed his eye. Shikamaru realized his cheeks were warming up. He felt embarrassed, and terrified. He started talking really fast. "At first he seemed to be afraid of something. All nights he panicked. I just started taking his hand to show him I was there".
"Couldn't you just tell him -Hey dude, I'm here-?", Kiba asked, still looking really angry.
Shikamaru felt trapped, while a great pressure on his chest started making it hard for him to breathe. "You don't get it", he answered, realizing his voice was trembling. "You weren't there. When I found him he was almost dead. Sick, and malnourished. His body was pure bones. And his eyes…". Shikamaru clenched his teeth, trying to control himself, but it was in vane. "He was so week… I talked to him but he didn't hear me. I really thought he was going to die". He closed his eyes at remembering those terrifying moments. "He was the first familiar person I saw in months, and I couldn't abandon him. Taking his hand was the only thing that seemed to work...". Shikamaru felt his heart beating so fast in his chest that it hurted. "I wanted so desperately to save him...".
He couldn't kept talking. His whole body was shaking. The Nara clenched his fists at the sides of his body and lowered his head, breathing fast. He imagined more accusations would come next, but instead of that, he heard Kiba's steps approaching. A second later, Shikamaru felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Dude, calm down", the Inuzuka said. "I'm sorry". He sounded a lot nicer now, so Shikamaru opened his eyes, thought he couldn't look at him yet. "I get it. It was hard for everybody... I shouldn't have attack you like that.". The Nara lifted his stare a little. Kiba was being honest. "You actually did a good thing by helping him. If it wasn't for you, he'd probably be dead now".
The Nara clenched his teeth. He hated having lost control like that. For some reason, he didn't feel comfortable talking about his feelings with Kiba, or with anyone. Probably because during the last years he had only opened up like that with Neji.
"There is nothing going on between us", Shikamaru whispered.
Kiba squeezed his shoulder a little. "I know", he answered. "It's okay".
Finally, the Nara lifted his stare to look at his friend. To see that he was smiling made the fear fade away, at least just a bit.
The two boys got out of the tent together. Kiba went to find Ino, and Shikamaru just started walking without direction. He couldn't sleep now, because he couldn't stop thinking about the Inuzuka's words. Yes, his relation with Neji was kind of unusual, but it hadn't been intentional. Things had simply turned out that way. And there was nothing he could do to change it. Or maybe there was, but why did he had to do that? He liked being close to Neji, and he knew the Hyuuga liked it too. Why should other people care about it?
Shikamaru walked away from the tents so he could be alone for a while. He didn't want to talk to anyone, because he didn't want to answer more uncomfortable questions. Unfortunately for him, the night wasn't over yet. He was dragging his feet across the camp when a woman's voice sounded at his back.
"So that's why you don't have feelings for me anymore", it said.
Shikamaru stopped and turned around to find Temari. She still looked a bit angry, though not as much as a few hours ago. The Nara raised his eyebrows, not following. "What?", he asked.
The girl held his stare firmly. After a short silence, she spoke again. "It's because of Neji, isn't it?".
Shikamaru simply looked at her. She wasn't entirely wrong, but he didn't want to have that conversation again. He shook his head and frowned. "What?", he asked again.
"Cut the crap, Nara", she answered, making a step towards him. "I'm not stupid. And I have eyes, you know. So, is it?".
In any other occasion he would have answer with a lie, just to avoid the issue. But he was just too tired. He took a deep breath and let it ot slowly, lowering his shoulders. "Umm… Yes and no", he replied.
Temari frowned at him. "What?", she questioned. "What does that mean? Are you together or not?".
Shikamaru didn't like the tone of accusation on her voice, but he had no energy to fight. "Yes, and no", he repeated.
The girl frown got even deeper. She was starting to get annoyed. "Could you stop answering like an idiot?", she asked roughly.
The Nara couldn't help to roll his eyes. He was just too exhausted. "I'm sorry, but it's the truth", he responded. "In the last years we have done everything together, so in a way, we are. We are very, very close. But not in the way you think".
Temari's expression softened a little. She didn't look mad anymore, though she seemed a little confused. "So…", she started asking. "Nothing has happened between you two?".
Shikamaru went silent for a moment. For some reason, that question hurted more than any other. He closed his eyes and started turning his back to her, intending to leave. "No", he answered, feeling a bitter taste on his mouth at pronouncing those words. "Never".
He started walking away slowly, hoping the girl would drop it. But she didn't. Before he could take another step, she spoke again. "But you wish it had", she whispered.
Shikamaru opened his eyes and stopped. That was not a question, but an affirmation. And it opened a box he had been trying to keep closed for a very long time, because he didn't dare to face what was locked inside. He wanted to turn around and tell her she was wrong, but he couldn't. Now that she had said those words out loud, there was no way of running away from them. He felt his heart shrinking, and a deep sadness spread across his chest. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, letting the silence speak for him.
Hello everybody!
First I want to apologize for making you wait for so long for this chapter. I've been really busy lately. That's why it took me so long to post, so sorry for that!
I also wanted to thank you for your comments in the last chapter. Back when I posted it I had just have a job interview for a job I really needed, and it went terrible so I was feeling really down. But your awesome comments made me feel so much better! So thank you very, very much for all the love and support. You are definitely the best readers ever ^^
I hope you have enjoyed this chapter! If you did, please let me know!
Till next one!