Troublesome Fate
By: Lone Ronin
Author's Notes: I originally didn't plan to use Hayataru's team all that much, but now it seems they'll be playing minor comedic relief in my story. While Hayataru their leader has a good head on his shoulders (and a small thing for Yumi, if I haven't really hinted that enough), Asahi, Genki and Heiki are basically like those amusing morons you knew back in high school who did nothing but go through their older brother's porn and booze, work on their car, and have sex with those skanky bitches who thought they were so cool. Their one redeeming feature is that they're undyingly loyal to Hayataru and will do anything he orders because they respect his awesome leadership.
Hayataru wields the sword like his father Hayate used to and is something of a hypochondriac. Asahi uses a billhook (basically a butcher's cleaver with a hook at the end for more damage) with a medium length handle while Genki and Heiki both use gloves equipped with hooked blades that allow them to scale walls as well as deliver a nasty punch. Hayataru and Asahi are 17, while Genki and Heiki are 16. As Roka already mentioned, Hayataru's family makes chemicals used in things like explosive notes and smoke bombs, Asahi's parents are accountants and Genki and Heiki's family sell clothes out of a storefront.
Part 7: Rising Waters
Unaware of Orochimaru's plans for them as they rested, the remainder of the night unfolded into a comical scene for Neji and Shikamaru, each one unaware of the other's feelings as they did their best to keep their own teenage hormones and bodies in check.
"Shikamaru? Are you awake?" Neji whispered, feeling him stiffen slightly in response to the kiss.
Shikamaru didn't answer, he simply sighed and rolled off Neji, mumbling something about wanting to sleep more.
"You're still asleep." He whispered to himself, relieved that he didn't have to explain why he was kissing his roommate and rubbing his back.
Doing his best to control his teenage body, Neji somehow managed to fall asleep again.
Shikamaru quietly rolled off Neji and pretended he was still fast asleep, not wanting to embarrass him. He felt Neji settling next to him and falling asleep again before losing consciousness himself and the next thing he became aware of was the warmth of the morning sun peeking in the window. Slowly waking up, he felt good, secure, all wrapped up in the soft covers, when he was suddenly aware of someone behind him. Then he remembered he had been sleeping next to Neji.
Who was now pressed up against him.
And spooning him.
'Oh God.' Shikamaru fought back his panic and tried to squirm out of Neji's arms.
But Neji didn't let go. Instead he hugged Shikamaru tighter and moaned his name as he moved closer to his bedmate started pushing a leg between Shikamaru's thighs.
Hearing Neji saying his name in his sleep, Shikamaru blushed a bright red. He was usually tolerant and laid back about most things, but enough was enough, he was not letting Neji hump him like a buck in heat! Then he remembered what his mom said she sometimes did to his dad when he snored.
Neji was having the greatest wet dream involving Shikamaru. Both their shirts were off, as they lay curled up together, Shikamaru was moaning, panting as Neji used his bloodline ability to stimulate the pressure points on his back, before Shikamaru punched him in the side…
'Ow, shit!' he thought as he woke up sputtering.
His first instinct was to be upset, until he became aware of his body's reaction. He quickly sat up and turned to Shikamaru, seeing he was still asleep with his face down and buried in the covers.
'Good thing he woke me up, or he would found out I had a hard on.' Neji thought with relief as he got up and went to the washroom.
Shikamaru lay on his stomach with his face down in the pillow to hide his teenage body's natural reaction, feeling relief as he felt Neji sit up and look at him for a moment before getting out of the futon and leaving the room.
'Good thing he woke up, or he would found out I had a hard on.' Shikamaru thought as he did his best to pretend to be asleep, too panicked about his own body to realize Neji's had been reacting too.
Back in Konoha, Sakura got a crash course in leadership and wartime strategy, quietly observing as Tsunade barked orders, making the Hokage's offices a makeshift command center. Fire country had 2 seasons: wet and dry. The rainy season usually wasn't a major problem for Konoha, but once every ten years or so the rains were really bad and the lowlands flooded. It wasn't just property damage and hampered trade that was a problem, Rain-nin took advantage of the waters to make raids to supplement their impoverished country and no one doubted Orochimaru wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to at least attack and at most try to destroy the Leaf at such an inconvenient time.
"Shizune, are all the medics aware of their new schedules? Good. Izumo, have the dikes been shored up enough? Well, double check. Have the messenger birds been sent out to get everyone back? Well, tell that last party to hurry up. Rain-nin are always a nuisance, Kotetsu, it's these stupid monsters and Sound-nin that are going to be a major thorn in our side. Hurry up with that paperwork, get that last group back to the village now, be ready to fortify the gates when everyone's inside and someone get me some sake!"
Neji and Shikamaru didn't have time to enjoy themselves for very long, because as soon as everyone had dressed and eaten breakfast, a messenger bird from Konoha had arrived, telling them to get home, now. However hot and humid the conditions had been when they left before, it was even worse now on the return trip. The rainy season had come hard and early to Fire Country. It was cold, raining, wet and muddy as the group made the final part of the trip back to Konoha, everyone was soaked and miserable. The trees in the area weren't strong enough for them to leap through in the way that Leaf ninja were best at traveling, so they were forced to walk quickly on the muddy pathway.
Hayataru had taken a turn for the worse and become too weak to walk. Kakashi carried him on his back while Hayataru's team kept a defensive formation around him as Anko led the way. Subatsu's team walked behind them, with several other teams behind them. Gai's team was shuffled to the back so Neji could monitor activity behind the party. Everyone was wet and caked in mud up to their knees, all their belongings might as well have been thrown in a lake, it was all soaked through. Subatsu took the time to tell his team about the serpents that had sharpened his combat skills during his younger days.
"Orochimaru has had the ability to summon snakes for a long time, so I'd suggest you all learn how to fight them when we get back. A little more then 20 years ago, when Fire country was at war with Rock he made an alliance with Manda, the Snake Emperor and was granted the right to summon them. Sandaime didn't trust the snakes, but the Kyuubi was a very real threat, it was crucial that we deal with Rock country and Orochimaru was his favorite student at the time, so he looked the other way.
Orochimaru was driven from Konoha when it was discovered that he was experimenting on citizens to develop new jutsus. It took a while to find out, many disappearances were being blamed on the war. But many bodies whose names were listed and checked off in his books were unaccounted for and it's believed he was also passing on some snacks to Manda, for he was obsessed with immortality and believed that the snakes knew the secret to it. After Orochimaru turned on Konoha, I fought many of those things and that Orochi is a powerful general in Manda's army, even at my best I had trouble fighting them, since I lack a summon.
Summons are very dangerous, I hope you all realize that the peaceful times might be over soon and I'm not what I once was. You all have a huge responsibility to protect Konoha, I know you all have great potential and valuable skills. Especially you Shikamaru, that you have both a bloodline ability and summon gives you an advantage against Manda right from the start, do you understand what I'm saying?"
"Yes, Subatsu-sensei." Shikamaru replied.
"Why are we only seeing snakes bothering Fire country now after all these years?" Roka asked.
"As near as I can figure it out, Manda was probably lying low with Orochimaru, waiting until we weakened to strike. The nomads told us that there have been many disappearances lately; whole caravans with supplies have vanished. His servants are probably looking out for food for their master, Manda becomes stronger when he consumes human sacrifices. It's probably also strategic, if I know him well enough. That attack during the chuunin exams didn't destroy us, but he was still able to weaken us and fulfill his grudge against Sandaime, now he's trying to slowly choke us off by harassing Fire country's travel, trade and supply routes, if I know his next move right, we're probably going to be under siege when the wet season starts." Subatsu continued, which was why they were now hurrying to try and get back to Konoha before they found themselves behind enemy lines.
"Hey, Roka?" Shikamaru asked as he walked beside his teammate.
"Yeah?"
"How does Subatsu know so much about Orochimaru?" Shikamaru did his best to keep his voice down.
"Shikamaru, you know how a good ninja never fully trusts anyone, right? Orochimaru was his teacher." Roka whispered.
While Orochimaru was now a sort of bogeyman to the younger generation of Konoha, many of their parents and grandparents remembered the bitter legacy he had left behind about 20 years ago when he betrayed and abandoned the village in a time of need. While many jounin took pride in training students and passing on their skills and knowledge, Orochimaru had difficulty as a teacher. He had problems forming a close bond with his students, he didn't like taking on squads of three, only reluctantly accepting single apprentices at Sandaime's insistence and even then only taking on recommendations of those who showed talent. Of the students he did teach, many felt he didn't provide the guidance and help expected of a jounin teacher.
Subatsu had made the most of his genin and chuunin days under his unpopular mentor, learning how to train himself and achieving his own independence as a jounin teacher with genin students. He was an ANBU now by this time. Even after all these years as a teacher, Orochimaru was known for not taking the role of teaching too seriously. So it came as a surprise to everyone, when he passed by the Academy on business and intervened when he saw a new student, Mitarashi Anko, being bullied by some older children. After frightening off the bullies, he spoke with Anko and seemed to see something that he liked in her. Later that same day, he visited her home, unannounced and asked her parents if he could take her on as a private apprentice.
"I know she's still just a baby, but I have a good eye for talent. I think with the right coaching she could reach chuunin status by 10, maybe even jounin level before 18." Orochimaru's flattery was everything a parent wanted to hear, offers of a free, exclusive education from a gifted teacher to provide their child with lots of opportunities.
Subatsu was also a friend of the Mitarashis, who quickly learned how happy they were about the idea of sannin such as Orochimaru asking to personally train their daughter. Subatsu couldn't help but feel bothered by their trust; not only were her parents happy about it, but Anko told him how she thought Orochimaru was 'So cool'. His odd behavior around Anko only made Subatsu more suspicious about his intentions, so they were no longer student and teacher, but rivals to the point of almost being enemies.
"I don't have a grudge against him, Hokage-sama, it's just that I know something is very wrong, this is completely unlike him." Subatsu pleaded with Sandaime for help after learning about Orochimaru's request.
"Perhaps he's finally trying to be a better teacher and sees promise in the young girl, what could be wrong with that?" the Hokage wasn't deeply concerned, but finally agreed watch his former student to make sure nothing was wrong.
The extra monitoring at Subatsu's request finally uncovered Orochimaru's dirty little secret of his experiments to find immortality that almost went undiscovered in the fog of war with Rock country. Not really believing that Sandaime had followed through on his promise to monitor Orochimaru, Subatsu had used his ANBU training to shadow his old teacher as Anko followed him to a hidden area at the edge of town.
Worried for Anko's safety, Subatsu ambushed Orochimaru, but the sannin was prepared, and threw a sticky acidic mixture he had prepared at his former student. It was formulated to cling to the skin and burn deep, causing massive injury and searing pain. Subatsu instinctively clawed at the acid on his face, but all he did was get it on his hand, burning his fingers. He struggled through the pain of his injuries to crawl up the steps and out of the lab, knowing Orochimaru was about to kill both him and Anko.
"Don't kill him, or I'll destroy your research!" Anko threatened as she grabbed a scroll and tried to rip it up.
Sandaime and the backup ANBU he had arranged for intervened 2 seconds too late, just as Orochimaru bit Anko and placed his cursed seal on her. The Hokage dumped the contents of his water bottle on Subatsu to try and wash the acid off before Orochimaru let Anko go and came at Sandaime. As Manda and Enma battled alongside Orochimaru and Sandaime, more shinobi joined the fight, driving Orochimaru away from the Hokage and out of Konoha. Seeing Subatsu stumbling away from the confusion, then chuunin-level Raido dragged his screaming older brother to the river.
When Subatsu woke up from his medic-induced coma after 3 months in hospital, Orochimaru was long gone and his younger brother also bore scars; some of the acid had smeared onto him as Raido had carried Subatsu to the water, causing the skin to raise and buckle on his face and shoulder as it healed unevenly. His act saved his older brother's life, washing off the acid before it killed, but the damage was done and Subatsu was left disfigured and tiring easily in harsh conditions. Against the expectations of the medics, Anko had survived the odds and woken up, completely fine after lying unconscious for 3 days in the hospital. Sandaime had felt terrible guilt over what had happened, blaming himself for Anko, Subatsu and Raido's injuries.
Persevering in the face of their trauma and betrayal, Anko studied hard and did become a jounin at 18, Raido was later promoted as well. While Subatsu's days as an ANBU were over, he was still valued for his experience and requested to continue work at the chuunin level, resolving to be a better mentor then the one he had.
Before Shikamaru could answer this shocking piece of information, the situation went from miserable to dire in a heartbeat as 4 wounded Sand genin stumbled out of the brush and collapsed at the feet of the Leaf ninja. Their unexpected appearance almost got them stabbed by the jumpy group.
"We were to deliver a message to the Hokage, but we were ambushed by nagas." The jounin leader moaned in pain.
"What are nagas?" Shikamaru asked.
"Nagas are snake-like creatures native to Wind Country, they are usually peaceful and shy, with purple scales. They avoid humans and only come out at night. These ones are green and attacked us in broad daylight without provocation. We tried to get to Konoha, but they chased us, they climb trees and have sharp claws, they're very intelligent, watch out." The leader warned them.
"There's about 30 blocking the path to Konoha and 10 are behind us in a Pincer Move." Neji detected the ambush as they ran to try and avoid being boxed in.
Despite their attempt to evade the trap, the main group of monsters managed to catch up to them, while the group from behind cut off a retreat.
"Snake creatures, what do you want?" Subatsu called out.
"Give us the one in your party with the white eyes, and we will let the rest of you pass." The creatures hissed.
"What do you want with me?" Neji called out.
The creatures didn't give an answer.
"The rest of you better figure out something while I stall for time." Anko whispered as she began to ask the creatures for compromises, handing over Neji was out of the question for them.
The adrenaline of extreme danger they were in put Shikamaru's mind into full gear as he analyzed the situation. The only way back to Konoha was to break through their main ranks, there were unable to retreat but they were low on strength, chakra and weapons. Not only that, they also had to protect and carry Hayataru, as well as the injured Sand team.
"This looks bad, my Kage Mane no Jutsu won't work in these dreary conditions, my shadow just dissipates." Said Shikamaru.
"So does my Katon no Jutsu." Yumi added.
"We're outnumbered, have almost no weapons and almost a third of our party can't fight, we're so fucked." Asahi complained.
"Stay calm. We're not in any condition to get through the main party. Our only option is keep them at bay until we can kill their leader, then they should retreat, look for a naga with black paint under his eyes." Said Subatsu before turning to Neji.
"Neji, can you see any weak points on them?" he asked.
"Not many, the scales covering their bodies are thick and their claws are razor sharp. They could easily break a limb with a strike from the tail. Their hearts are protected by thick ribs and enveloped in muscle, a shot there is possible, but hard. A good option is to aim for the eyes, but they're set deep in the skull. Only thing I would consider a weak spot is a small hole in the skull between their eyes. Hit it exactly and you can get the brain, but the hole is small you have to accurate." Neji analyzed the monsters.
"What about traps and explosive notes?" Yumi asked.
"We don't know how effective those are and we don't have many left, but that's a gamble we have to take." Subatsu was about the instruct the chuunin on a strategy, but now the monsters were tired of Anko's stalling and decided it was time to attack.
Kakashi, Gai and Hayataru's team defended their injured as the others used ranged attacks to try to break up the monsters into smaller groups.
"Medics are weak, kill this one, kill!" several monsters hissed as they surrounded Yumi.
Yumi stayed calm, switching herself with chunk of wood using Kawarimi no Jutsu, then setting off some explosive notes in a square around the monsters. The monsters quickly caught on and started to approach more carefully. Tenten cut several down with projectiles, but they were running low on throwing weapons and the main fighting was falling to hand to hand combat with close range weapons. Things were looking bad as the monsters focused on trying to get at the weak and injured. Genki and Heiki defended their captain, slashing hard with their bladed gloves, but the monsters kept closing in.
"Shikamaru, give me some of your bats!" Roka yelled out.
'When did he learn that?' Neji wondered as he watch Shikamaru summon some bats to help Roka's crows.
The flock of summoned flying animals pushed the monsters back with more explosive notes as Anko and Subatsu looked for the leader.
"There's that son of a bitch!" Anko screamed out as she threw a kunai.
The commander saw it and dodged, then caught sight of Shikamaru and went for him with murder in his eye. Shikamaru jumped and twisted his body, feeling his weapon hitting the weak spot as he reached his arm over before he hit the ground and rolled away like Asuma had taught him.
The limp body of the commander keeled over with the weapon stuck between its eyes while the other nagas scattered like roaches. The party gathered around it, as Gai's team still needed a specimen to take back. Asahi approached the body and prodded it with his billhook, then avoided being slashed in the naga's death throes as Anko lopped the head off.
"Just a friendly reminder that the monster isn't considered dead until it's turned into a new pair of shoes." Anko was clearly pissed as Asahi's stupidity.
"Let's hurry up and drag the carcass back before the nagas regroup and slaughter us all." Kakashi remarked dryly.
Soaking wet, dirty, low on supplies, weapons and strength, the only thing they could do was drag themselves and their injured party back to the safety of Konoha, wading through the deep mud.
The rain turned out to be a mixed blessing, washing out most of the dirt and blood by the time they reached Konoha. As everyone began to wearily limp home, Yumi took the injured to the hospital for treatment and Roka left to help his older brother with the messenger birds, while Neji approached Shikamaru.
"Shikamaru?" Neji licked his lips, his mouth was dry and he was nervous all of a sudden.
Realizing that they could have been killed in that last fight, Neji suddenly wanted to tell Shikamaru that he had developed feelings for him; his ability to read body language made him suspect that the feeling was mutual, but having never had a crush on someone before, he wasn't completely sure.
"Yeah?" Shikamaru suddenly felt really self-conscious about being all muddy and wet under Neji's gaze, even though Neji was just as muddy and wet as he was.
"Shikamaru, I was, d-do you want to-" he fumbled for the right words to say, when Ino and Chouji came running to the gates and tackle-hugged their friend and former teammate.
"Shikamaru-kun!" Ino squealed.
"You're back!" Chouji cried out, they were so happy to see him.
"We heard your mission was a success, so we have to celebrate!" Ino said excitedly.
"Come on, we'll treat you to barbeque!" said Chouji.
'Oh man, there goes that guy who always picks up flowers for the funeral home, I always see him snacking on something, yet he's thinner then me, it's just not fair.' Ino's voice suddenly sounded in Shikamaru's head as she watch Roka walking away with Yumi.
'Did I just hear Ino's thoughts?' Shikamaru felt surprised.
That had never happened to him before. He had heard it as clearly as if she had said it right in his ear. But her lips hadn't moved.
'Why did his friends show up now? Should I tell him? No, not in front of them…' Shikamaru barely heard it, but he recognized the far more faint, depressed tone.
'That was Neji's voice! What's going on?'
"Are you okay?" Chouji asked his best friend.
"I just, don't worry, it's nothing." He replied.
As his friends dragged him off, Shikamaru turned back to where Neji had been standing, only to see he was gone.
Not having anything better to do and not wanting to go home at that particular moment, Neji followed Shikamaru and his group from a distance. They arrived at the door of the restaurant where Shikamaru's parents were waiting for them and his mother fussed over him as she dried and cleaned him off as best as she could with a towel before they went inside Chouji's favorite Korean Barbecue restaurant.
He felt his heart sink as he sat by himself in the pouring rain and watched through the window in envy as Shikamaru sat in the restaurant with Ino, Chouji and his parents. It was completely different from what he had to go home to, a huge mansion with Main and Branch House members who wouldn't speak to him, Hinata, Hanabi and his Uncle the only ones who would want him around at all. But they were usually busy with their own lives, so he would probably just sit down to whatever a servant set in front of him and pick up his chopsticks, without anyone at the table to chat with.
Tenten and Lee were friendly enough to him, but he really couldn't consider them friends in the sense that Shikamaru counted his friends. Genin couldn't choose their teams, but Shikamaru chose to be friends with Ino and Chouji even though they weren't on the same team any more. While well educated by Konoha's standards and highly trained in combat, Neji suddenly felt profoundly ignorant, not knowing at all how to deal with his inner feelings or approach someone he felt attracted to.
"He has friends and family who would do anything for him and give him their time, why would he need me?" he thought miserably as he left.
Minako and Shikaku snuck off to their own table, knowing their son was at the age where being with friends was preferable to family, leaving Shikamaru to chat with Ino and Chouji. Their time apart seemed to have only strengthened their bond, as they all caught up with how they had all been doing. Ino and Chouji were more confident now, eagerly looking forward to passing their exam this time around and forming the Shika-Ino-Chou trio again.
"…so Asuma says they're assigning us someone else for the exam." Ino talked on after they placed their order.
"Did they say who?"
"No, all we know about her is that she's our age and takes private classes." She answered.
Shikamaru was doing his best to act normal, but he was still trying to adjust to this strange new awareness. He wasn't sure if really was hearing other people's thoughts or going crazy, but it seemed like Ino and Chouji were worried that he now liked his new team better then his old one and they were worried about passing the test. If he strained, he could hear his parents over at the next table, his dad was thinking about what sake to order, while his mom was happily thinking about how wonderful it was to have her son reaching chuunin level already…
"Shikamaru? Did you hear me?" Chouji asked his best friend.
"Huh?" Shikamaru snapped out of his daze.
He hadn't even heard what Chouji had been saying. His hot meal had gone by in a rush as his mind kept wondering back to the moment that Neji kissed him. For some reason, every time he thought about it, it made him warm inside and he wanted to blush. Chouji didn't notice it, but Ino's eyes were sharpened from watching flustered suitors picking out purchases for the objects of their affections at the flower shop.
"Shikamaru, do you have a crush on someone?" Ino asked with a look that said she already knew the answer.
"How did you know?" Shikamaru asked.
"I know you hate being wet unless you're taking a bath because you think it's troublesome to take off wet clothes, but you keep smiling with those soaking wet clothes and you're hardly listening at all to us."
"I don't have a crush on anyone, but they have a crush on me." Shikamaru stumbled.
"The cool and calm Shikamaru, all blushing and stuttering, I never thought I'd see the day." Ino was radiating all the adoration of someone looking at a newborn baby, but Shikamaru could sense nothing but dread from poor Chouji.
"It's not Yumi, is it?" Chouji's lower lip trembled.
"W-what?" Shikamaru was stunned that Chouji was so off the mark.
Was he growing apart from his closest friend? Or was it just a case of dealing with first romances clouding judgment?
"I know she's really pretty and smart and nice, I could understand if she really liked you. I even got a gift for her, you could give it to her instead, as long as she was happy." Chouji looked crushed at the prospect of losing Yumi to his best friend before he even got a chance to talk to her.
"Of course not, she's just a friend." Shikamaru's reassured him.
"See, I told you Chouji, come on, who is it?" Ino asked.
"Ah, I'd rather not say…"
"…they also seem to understand some human culture and customs. They let me try to negotiate before attacking and were also able to distinguish Yumi as a medic from her clothing and assumed she had no combat abilities." Anko finished submitting her report on the mission.
"It that everything?" Trunade asked.
"Yes."
"Thank you for your report, let me know if anything else of relevance comes up." The Hokage dismissed Anko.
Tsunade buried her face in her hands in frustration for a moment, then asked Kotetsu to bring her some of her old research papers, it seemed like it was time to do some homework.
'Looks like I better do this now while I have some time, this flood will probably keep me busy for a while. Though I preferred Physiology, Genetics was never my forte. What are you up to, Orochimaru?'
The rain poured down for the next few days until Saturday, and Neji trained by himself as he did his best to push the incident of the stolen kiss to the back of his mind. It might have stayed there had it not been for the unusually heavy rains. While more of the central village was built on high ground, some homes around the edge wound up underwater.
Tsunade had ordered a greater focus on defense, so many shinobi stayed in the village and used their powers to walk on top of the water. They just had to ferry supplies, move civilians flooded from their homes and control the damage. Missions continued, but those whose families had other businesses important to Konoha were encouraged to keep their work going to keep the village running. As Yumi pulled double shifts at the hospital and Roka's birds kept a watch out for snakes and Rain-nin who had an advantage and liked to make trouble in the high water, Shikamaru had to ensure that the deer were still able to graze and ensure a steady supply of meat and antlers among other things.
Other shinobi weren't idle either. The Inuzuka's dogs helped the birds patrol while the Aburame searched for rare water insects for research (looking at water striders had helped them develop the classic Leaf training technique of walking on water). The Akimichi churned out their pharmaceutical products while the Yamanaka grew water vegetables instead of flowers to preserve in preparation for the event of a food shortage.
As for the Hyuuga, being the last of the noble families of Konoha, they felt the need to keep face. Meaning that the old attitude of the aristocracy persisted even in the face of the truth. The truth being that while the Hyuuga clan had a vast estate and valuable assets of kimono, jewelry and shinobi equipment, they had actually used up much of their cash savings and were languishing in Branch and Main House politics and gentleman's poverty. While some Main House Members struggled to try and do civil servant and clerical work, no one was able to hold onto a job for long since they were not used to working for a living. To make matters worse, they still wanted to maintain the lifestyle they had grown used to, being waited on hand and foot by Branch House family members while wearing the most fashionable kimono and eating the most expensive and trendiest foods. Branch Family members seemed to have the solution of getting jobs in Konoha, applying the various skills they had learned from managing the estate into jobs and income to support both houses.
But the Main House saw this ability to earn money and independence through jobs as a threat to their control over the Branch House and fought their efforts to get work every step of the way, using favors and pulling connections, making Branch House family members suspicious and resentful of the Main House every time one of them was suddenly let go from a job without explanation or told their was no work available for them after an interview. The biggest income earners were Neji and Hinata from their mission work, but even this was a source of tension. The Main House viewed Hinata as doing 'dirty' work, not being properly groomed into a noble ladylike heir who danced and practiced tea ceremony to present the right image of Hyuuga to Konoha. They were upset with how Neji was favored by his uncle, doing and saying things other Branch House members wouldn't dare. The Branch House saw Hinata's work as competition for their own attempts to get jobs to earn money and independence, another attempt by the Main House to control them. They also saw Hiashi's favoring of Neji as being a Branch House member siding with the Main House rather then being one of them.
Seeking to carefully protect what remained of their money and property, Hiashi ran a strict house, crowding family members from flooded homes into the higher grounds of the estate and tension broke out from lack of space. Main and Branch family members quarreled over food, rooms and clothing, being forced to share each other's supplies and quarters when the floods cut off access to or destroyed stored property and lands. Main family members argued that it was necessary to show that the Hyuuga were still strong even in Konoha's hard times, while Branch family members argued that everything was in short supply and they needed to adapt. Both Houses united in berating Hyuuga Yuroshi, the estate's financial manager, complaining he wasn't handling the money wisely. Those few who held down steady jobs simply avoided the squabbling by working from early dawn to late night, including Neji and Hinata.
All through the morning and afternoon, Neji pushed his body to his limit even as the rain started to pour down. Usually he would have been training inside, but the dojo that was part of the far end of the vast Hyuuga estate was flooded to the roof in the unusually high waters. Tenten was helping her family cast more weapons, making use of the extra water available that was needed in the steel forging process while Gai trained with Lee on solid ground since Lee couldn't mould chakra and navigate over the flood waters without a boat or swimming and getting his green suit wet, something he didn't want to do. Neji simply went to the flooded training grounds and trained by himself on top of the water. The trees were bushes and the muddy water lapped at the leather of his sandals and wrecked them, but he didn't care, he just wanted to be alone with his thoughts about his foolish attempt to abandon Konoha and his feelings towards Shikamaru.
'He doesn't love you and he never will, so just forget about it and move on.' The thought hurt him, but he kept on telling himself over and over. It was like stabbing over an old wound, it hurt to do it, but he kept on going.
He was reluctant to admit it, but Neji found himself thinking about Shikamaru more then he really wanted to. And even though he did his best to be stoic about it, he knew that everyone was worried about him. He had trained all though dinner in the pouring rain, even after Hinata came back from her mission and sent a servant in a boat with a lovely oiled umbrella. But with Neji training it was impossible for the servant to keep the umbrella over his head and steer the boat at the same time.
"Why are you bothering me?" Neji finally said in irritation.
"Why is that all you ever want to say these days when someone asks you about something? Neji-sama, please go back inside to the house with me and dry off, Hinata-sama is worried about you." Noyuuren, The kitchen girl who was also Norima's gentle and sweet daughter, begged as she tried her best to keep the rain off him, which was futile as Neji moved around and was already as wet as he could get.
Neji finally convinced her to leave as he kept on training, hoping to exhaust himself to the point where he would be numb and couldn't think or care about all his family and personal problems anymore.
Shikamaru walked down the village street with Chouji, leading several deer on ropes behind him for delivery to the Inuzukas.
"Here she comes now, why don't you ask her out?" Shikamaru pointed out Yumi as she walked by with some medical supplies.
"Uh-" Chouji stammered.
"You didn't like your clothes, so Ino picked out a nice set, you got a present for her, what's the problem now?" Shikamaru asked.
"I don't think she'll like me because I'm fat." Chouji looked down at his gift for Yumi with a trembling lower lip, when sure enough, the female medic passed by them, her shift at the hospital finally finished.
"Hi Chouji, hi Shikamaru. Aw, you're taking the deer for a walk, what are their names?" Yumi gushed as she approached them.
"I wouldn't get too attached to these ones. The Inuzukas ordered them." Shikamaru's answer made it obvious they weren't going to be pets.
"Chouji, don't you have something you want to say to Yumi?" he nudged his best friend.
Chouji blushed and stuttered, his hands trembling as Yumi looked at him.
"I got you a present for taking such good care of me at the hospital." He finally managed to say as he bowed and presented the parcel with both hands.
"For me? That's so sweet of you, Chouji." Yumi happily accepted the package.
"Are you all right?" the medic asked Chouji as he blushed and sweated and played with his fingers in a way that made Hinata look bold.
"I-I have to go now, bye." Shikamaru fought the urge to smack his forehead as Chouji turned and ran off down the street.
Almost on cue, the daily downpour of rain came as Chouji left.
"Banzai!" Roka suddenly yelled as he came bouncing from a rooftop down to the ground.
The roads in Konoha were designed with large gutters to each side to drain water away from the middle road. This was what Roka aimed for to land in, wanting to splash his teammates for a joke. But what he didn't know was that the gutters had been deepened, the bottom hidden by the silt and he disappeared in the mucky water before he came up sputtering and soaking wet.
"Do you know a guy called Naruto by chance?" Shikamaru asked his goofball teammate.
"Holy crap, when did the gutters get this deep?" he coughed out.
"Don't you know that Hokage-sama had the gutters dug deeper to deal with the extra flooding? Roka, you never think before you act." Yumi scolded him.
"It's not like we can get any more wet at this point anyways. Do you always just randomly jump off roofs and into large puddles of dirty water?" Shikamaru asked.
"Actually, I came to give you guys some messages, my birds are kinda tired from all the work they've had to do. Yumi, you have another shift at the hospital, gotta show Tsunade's newest apprentice the ropes. And Shikamaru, you have to substitute at the Academy on Monday, Iruka-sensei's sick." Roka climbed out and wrung some of the water from his clothes, a useless gesture since it was already raining anyways.
"But I don't know what to do." Said Shikamaru.
"Pppfffttt, substituting at the Academy is easy, you just follow the lesson plan they give you. They'll probably stick you with the little kids and all you do is watch them finger-paint or something."
"Doesn't sound too troublesome."
"Don't be so sure, but it's less troublesome then a mission at any rate. I also have to ask you, have you started to feel, ah, unusual lately?" Roka asked.
"I'm not sure what you mean."
"Well you see, it goes like this; when you get a summon, sometimes those animals will also imbue you with their abilities."
"You mean, as in give you special powers?" Shikamaru asked.
"Not exactly, it's more like enhancing what you already have. For example, when I first got my birds, I found my eyesight had really improved and it made me a lot faster. I also seem to get the munchies a lot more, but that could just be puberty." Roka explained.
"So that's what it was. I kept hearing the thoughts of my friends and family the other day. I thought I was going crazy." Shikamaru realized.
"Well, I do remember hearing somewhere that bats have a good sense of hearing. Can you hear my thoughts?" Roka asked him.
"Just barely. It seems to depend on how close I am to someone, physically and emotionally. Hey, what are you doing?" Shikamaru asked Yumi as she suddenly grabbed a paper bag from the items she had been carrying and plunked it over his head.
"Let's do a blind test." Yumi answered, pulling out a coin and flipping it.
"I'm hearing, heads." Shikamaru replied.
Yumi flipped the coin again.
"Tails."
Flip.
"Tails." Shikamaru took the bag off his head.
"So you are hearing people's thoughts. Well, you should get better at it over time, at any rate, Subatsu-sensei has a mission on Monday, but he asked me to help you work on your summons after-"
"Watch out!" Yumi squealed as a juvenile crow swooped past them and crashed into a nearby wall.
"Kotetsu must be really desperate if he's using you to deliver messages. How many times have I told you to watch where you're landing?" Roka angrily said to the bird.
The crow squawked a reply as it gave them each a small white envelope with their payments for the mission abroad.
"Aw, you're full of excuses." Roka answered before it began cawing again.
"They're there again? He says those 3 Rain-nin punks who fail the chuunin exam each year, have been snooping around in the eastern sparring grounds again." Roka translated.
"You mean where there's twelve feet of water?" Shikamaru asked.
"Yeah, it's strange, we haven't had trouble with those guys in a long time. I wonder what they want."
Under normal conditions, even three Rain-nin genin would have been no match for Neji. But the fact that he was tired from training all day, out of his element and that his Byakugan and Jyuken didn't work very well underwater tilted the odds in their favor. Rain-nin were made for the water, their specialized equipment let them dive to crushing pressures and perform stealth attacks underwater, while Leaf-nin were better trained for open combat in jungles and forests. Their clones trapped and wore Neji down further as the real ones wielded large gaffing hooks and tried to pull him under the water's surface in a sadistic type of reverse fishing. Neji found himself literally fighting for his life. His Byakugan couldn't see in the muddy floodwater and the Rain-nin simply ducked under the surface where chakra dissipated. Trying to go after them where they had the advantage was suicide, so Jyuken was useless.
In desperation for an opening to dry land, Neji performed Hakkeshou: Kaiten to throw back the clones and clear an escape route. Having never performed it on water, he didn't realize his mistake until it was too late. Pain suddenly shot Neji's right foot as he was pulled under the water. One of the Rain-nin had managed to hook him on his foot while he had spun and pulled him right to the bottom of the water in a matter of seconds. A less powerful ninja would have passed out from the sudden change in pressure and lack of air, or at least been left disoriented and blind from the silt. But Neji was determined to fight to the last. Feeling something touching him, his Jyuken managed to connect with one of the Rain-nin. He pulled out his kunai and slashed at his attackers, using the limited range of vision that Byakugan gave him in the mucky water. The Rain-nin hadn't expected a struggle at this point and Neji broke free, then pushed off the bottom in a desperate attempt to surface for air. But the hook was still caught in his foot and he couldn't get it out. He felt water entering his lungs and his consciousness just starting to fade a few feet from the top of the water before he felt himself being pulled back up to the surface.
"Go get help! Don't let them surface!" Roka instructed his birds as he and Shikamaru caught Neji by the arms, pulling his head above the water.
Shikamaru struggled to haul Neji up for air and drag him to dry land as Roka's crows forced the Rain-nin underwater, clawing at their respirators when they tried to resurface.
"Ack, I can't hit them!" Roka yelled in frustration.
"Water bends light! Strike above the image!" Shikamaru reminded Roka.
But there was no need by this time. Realizing they had lost the advantage of surprise and numbers as Roka's birds raised the alarm, the Rain-nin fled. Roka and Shikamaru dragged a half-drowned Neji to shore where Yumi helped perform CPR. Neji cleared his lungs, coughing and spitting up the dirty water.
The Hyuuga estate was on the other side of town, so Roka and Shikamaru simply dragged Neji to Shikamaru's house since it was the closest. The Naras never really bothered to keep a guest room and Shikamaru didn't think his parents would appreciate him sticking a friend into their bed, so their only option was to put him in Shikamaru's bed.
Yumi took out a scissors from her medic kit and cut Neji's dirty, wet clothes off him, then gently washed and bandaged his wounds, the worst being the deep gash in his foot from the nasty barbed gaffing hook.
"Can't you use Chiyute no Jutsu?" Shikamaru asked.
"I would, but my chakra is drained from my work at the hospital." She replied.
"Maybe we should take him to his own house." Roka suggested.
"And let his foot touch that nasty water and get infected after I cleaned it? He's staying right here." Yumi answered.
"We can't just leave him in my bed without clothes!" said Shikamaru.
"Sure we can. It's warm and clean here I know and you're not going to hurt him." Yumi answered.
"No, but he might hurt me." Shikamaru muttered under his breath what he figured his prospects would be when a sulky Neji woke up without any clothes.
"What was that?" The medic was occupied with taking her patient's temperature and checking his other symptoms before measuring out some medicines.
"Will he be okay?" Roka asked.
"His foot should be fine if he keeps it clean, doesn't look like there's any part of that hook left in it. But I'd be more worried about that dirty water he swallowed, it's going to make him sick for a bit."
"How sick?" Shikamaru asked.
"Ever had a really nasty case of food poisoning?" Yumi asked.
"It happened to my Dad once." He answered.
"He'll be like that for the next day or so." The medic checked Neji's vital signs.
"He's got a fever, I have to go check his records at the hospital and make sure he's had a tetanus shot. It'll be best if he just sweats it out and doesn't move around too much. In any case, the hospital wards are either full of people or flood water. These herbs should help him feel better. Boil them with enough water to cover and have him drink the water when he wakes up. Call me if the fever goes on beyond this line on the thermometer or lasts beyond 4 days. I'll come back to check on him later, okay?"
Shikamaru stayed by the bedside, watching Neji as he tossed and turned, muttering with fever in a restless dream. Feeling to see how bad his fever was, Shikamaru rested the back of his hand on Neji's forehead. To his surprise, he could 'hear' Neji's dream; it was rather fuzzy and not that clear, like an old scratched up recording, but he could still make sense of the images flooding his senses.
On his fourth birthday, Neji woke up early and was fed his favorite food for breakfast. He didn't quite understand what was going on, all he knew was that something important was about to happen. Still sleepy, he wasn't completely sure what was going on until he saw members of his immediate family from the Main and Branch houses gathering into the room. Neji suddenly realized what was happening as he was tied down, he had seen it before and now it was his turn. Only this time he wouldn't be able to cover his ears and he was going to be the one screaming and crying.
"Bite down on this." Neji's father stood next to him and put a strip of tough leather in his mouth.
"It's going to hurt!" the four year old panicked.
"Be brave for me, Neji. It will be over soon, I promise." Hizashi leaned over and hugged his son tightly as he was blindfolded.
Neji had never been so scared before. He screamed in pain while he ground his teeth into the strip, the pain on his forehead was like a hot iron brand.
"It will be over soon, it will be over soon." His father whispered in his ear.
It was, because he soon passed out.
Sensing Neji's distress, Shikamaru wondered if he could send emotions as well as hear them. So he laid his palm on Neji's burning forehead and thought about the most tranquil thing he could.
The clouds.
Neji's mind responded by calming. It sort of pulsed a little feeling like an odd fluid sort of humming to Shikamaru. Then Neji's dreams started to form again after a few minutes. Shikamaru felt where the dream was going and blushed as he decided it was best to take his hand off now.
His dream fading into more pleasant images, Neji finally felt himself waking up to a bright and sunny day. He then realized that he wasn't in his own bed; this one had an interesting, but good scent. Sort of like pine, earth and musk. Suddenly realizing that he wasn't wearing anything under the sheets, he quickly woke up and looked around the room he was in. Seeing the room was empty, he turned outside to see the waters were still high in the lower lands of Konoha. But the rain had stopped and the floodwaters were now calm and still, with an almost surreal beauty as they reflected the buildings and trees. He looked on the floor and realized that he was in Shikamaru's bed, the proper occupant had set up a mattress next to the bed and slept on that, as evidenced by the made up, but slightly crumpled sheets.
Neji turned to the chair in the corner and saw a set of clothes that had been laid out for him. Hearing movement Shikamaru came into his room just as Neji finished dressing.
"What happened?" Neji asked.
"You passed out from your fever and your clothes were wrecked. My house was the closest place I could take you, so I brought you here." Shikamaru answered.
"Thank you. How long was I asleep for?"
"It's Sunday afternoon." Shikamaru answered.
Still weak and feverish, but able to stand, Neji followed Shikamaru downstairs and both sat adjacent from each other at the corner of the table. Shikamaru gave him a bowl of what looked like boiled swamp water.
"It's yarrow and feverfew. Yumi left it for you. How is it?" he asked as Neji accepted the medicine.
"It tastes like it looks." Neji said with a straight face, but it did help him feel better.
Their eyes met for a moment and their minds froze. They both started to talk at once, then stopped at once to let the other speak.
"Don't you, have work to do, since you're a chuunin now?" Neji started.
"I don't have to worry about much until tomorrow. I fed the deer while you were sleeping, and my parents are out until the evening." Shikamaru shrugged.
Before they knew it, the day faded into the evening as they chatted. They could relate to each other on so many experiences, from the chuunin exams, to the failed mission to stop Sasuke, even the recent difficulties of the flooding and what it meant for the future. Neji only felt his attraction growing as time went on, he could see Shikamaru felt something for him as well in his movements.
Finally, Neji's hand brushed Shikamaru's by accident as they both reached for a drink from the table.
The gentle touch sent a sensation down Shikamaru's spine like an electric shock as he heard Neji's thoughts in full force.
They both knew the other had felt something as they looked at each other.
"Is that also related to your bat's summon?" Neji asked.
"I can sense other people's thoughts sometimes, when they want me too." Shikamaru answered.
"Can you hear my thoughts?" the Hyuuga asked.
Shikamaru nodded, then blushed as Neji wrapped his arms around his waist.
"Nara Shikamaru, I have feelings towards you." Neji pulled them close together as they shared a gentle but firm kiss.
Author's notes: Okay people, the new title of this story is 'How Close can I get to all out Lemon Before you Murder me?'. I bet you all thought there was gonna be a hot make-out scene in the first part of this chapter, but I decided to throw a curve ball and make it funny. Then somehow the last part of this chapter wound up being cavity causing sweet before I cut it off at 16 damn pages.
I originally wanted to write Orochimaru's betrayal and the days of Konoha before Kyuubi's attack as a separate story, but I decided to scrap that idea and just put snippets of my discarded story and its effects into this story. I read Anko's 24, but since I think Orochimaru left Konoha before the Kyuubi's attack 12 years ago, I would have guessed that he trained Anko at a young age, so that's how I wrote it in the flashback. Subatsu would have been in his 20's by this time, around the age of many chuunin, jounin and ANBU and his experiences of the time now sort of account for his less then sunny disposition and strict but loving attitude as a teacher.
I can really relate to Shikamaru, so he's easy to write, but I'm struggling to keep Neji in character. If I want to hear a sappy, angsty fuck, going on about his shitty life, I'll go listen to Linkin Park music. If Neji seems slightly OOC, keep in mind that you know how a crush can make a person act.