---

two
CAPTURE

you think that we connect
that the chemistry's correct
your words walk right through my ears
presuming I like what I hear
and now I'm stuck in the
the web you're spinning
you've got me for you prey

sorry I'm not home right now
I'm walking into spiderwebs
so leave a message
and I'll call you back
a likely story, but- leave a message
and I'll call you back

- Spiderwebs, No Doubt

---

And there passed another unremarkable day, but with highly remarkable memories running through his mind.

Shikamaru could not work, but not because it was troublesome, because he was lazy- but because he kept on feeling his back pressed against the bark, feeling it scrape against the skin of his arm until it bled, feeling cold fingers tracing against the skin of his cheek-

Kakashi. He had to find Kakashi.

It was not his first kiss. Sakura had once stolen a kiss from Naruto- and had Naruto following her around at her heels for weeks after (even ramen did not tempt him away, and that was something). And Ino, of course, in her fiery jealousy, would not remain behind Sakura for long, and out of the blue a day or two later grabbed him and kissed him.

Ino had said that it was actually quite a good kiss, though she made sure that Shikamaru wasn't to expect anything more. He wasn't about to- Ino was one of those particularly troublesome women. Shikamaru hadn't understood what was so incredible about kisses, and had decided that they were highly overrated. Even now as he tried to remember, tried to imagine Ino's gentle touch- all he could think about was him- those searching eyes, the ferocity with which he pinned him down, the way that tongue painted across his teeth with saliva-

Where the hell was Kakashi?

He had seen the copy-nin around at times. At various places, always reading that book. Roof tops. Street corners. Training fields. Where could he be?

"You're taking too long, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru looked up. Neji's blank eyes stared back, his brows knitted in something that could either be frustration or concern, from across the board. Shougi was a game of tactics and patience, but Shikamaru usually did not take very long.

"Ah. Sorry, Neji." Shikamaru removed his hands from that trademark circle of his, and examined the board. After a day of rushed paperwork and failure in finding Sharingan Kakashi, he had found Neji and he thought that a good game of shougi could get his mind off things. He was evidently wrong, and now he had more troublesome things to deal with. Shikamaru had found a friend in Neji, his intelligence coming the closest to being able to rival his- there was just times when talking to Chouji did not suffice, and thankfully Chouji knew his friend enough not to take offense. Neji was far from oblivious, and he would have been able to tell ages ago that Shikamaru was not himself. Shikamaru made his move.

Neji blinked at the board and calmly captured the piece. "There is something on your mind."

"It's nothing." It was a horrible lie. He made another move.

Neji blinked slowly again and made his own move. At this rate, he might actually win the game. Something was clearly wrong. "Is Ino competing with Sakura again?"

"Not Ino."

"Sasuke?"

Shikamaru stiffened, and Neji nodded slowly.

"It was rather hard to miss," he stated matter-of-factly, "At least for me. I'm sure no one else did. Perhaps the jounin. Maybe not Gai-sensei," he added in afterthought, and this earned him a smile. "The way you stared."

"Kakashi noticed. I need to find him."

"I believe Naruto won some ramen off him today. But excuse me, Shikamaru," Neji said smoothly, standing up from the board. "I mean no disrespect, but if your mind is not in the game, it is hardly worth playing. I have some training to do."

Shikamaru only watched as Neji took his leave, realizing how pathetic he must seem.

---

"Shikamaru!" Naruto waved excitedly after swallowing a mouthful of ramen. His enthusiastic movements nearly knocked over the stack of bowls nearby on the table- the grin across his face was unmistakable as he beamed. "Shikamaru! I got Kakashi to treat me to Ichiraku ramen! Ramen! Ramen!"

"Hoy, Naruto," Shikamaru replied good-naturedly- as well as he could, given his current, shaken mind. Kakashi was seated calmly next to him, raising his arm in salute, smiling with his one eye and offering an off-handed "Yo" in greeting.

"Kakashi-sensei thought I couldn't do it," Naruto said with a grin, "But I finished twenty missions today! And now I have ramen!"

"That's nice, Naruto-"

"A lot of the missions were boring- they were easy for an elite ninja like me! Ramen ramen ramen!"

"Naruto-"

"Do you want some ramen, Shikamaru? It's on Kakashi-sensei! Ichiraku makes the best ramen!"

"Naruto, I just wanted to talk to Kakashi-sensei."

"Hm?" Kakashi looked up from his book, cocking an eyebrow in curiousity. Naruto blinked for a moment, and then went back to devouring bowls of steamy hot ramen. "What is it, Shika-kun?"

"Ah…" he sighed, rolling his eyes back and scratching his head uncertainly. This was so troublesome. But… "It's about Sasuke."

Shikamaru noticed as Naruto froze, strands of ramen spilling out of his mouth. Kakashi's single exposed eye narrowed, but it creased quickly again into what everyone always assumed to be a cheerful smile and he patted Naruto on the back. "Alright, Shika-kun. I'll be back to pay soon, Naruto-kun," Kakashi added as he stood up, and instantly Naruto went back to devouring as much ramen as he possibly could to get as much out of the free meal as his stomach would allow.

"Shall we?" Kakashi said brightly, gesturing to the road, indicating that it'd be best to walk as they talked- and Shikamaru knew that they both agreed they did not want to be overheard.

Yet still they did not talk for awhile, walking in step, Kakashi merely reading his book in a calm, expectant silence, understanding that the chuunin would speak when he felt comfortable. Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets and grumbled to himself- just what had he gotten himself into? He'd just had to ask Kakashi-sensei- Sharingan Kakashi, the copy-nin of a thousand jutsu, respected ex-ANBU jounin and at times a shameless bastard- for help. Regarding something likethat. He felt like a child sitting at the back of a sex-ed class, mind brimming with questions he was too embarassed to ask.

Kakashi coughed a little. "I understand you may need time, Shikamaru," he said, "But at this moment Naruto is trying his hardest to burn a hole in my pocket and making a shop owner very happy."

"Eh- Sorry, Kakashi-sensei. But…" Shikamaru faltered. This was not a battle. There was no battle plan. It was conversation. Troublesome as conversation always was, he always took it in stride- but right now, he felt he needed a plan, and cursed himself for not thinking it through earlier. I can't tell him what happened! He argued with himself desperately. But then what? 'I'm sorry for bugging you, sensei, but nothing happened, I'll go home now?'

"Hmm?" There was so much that could be read into that sound- especially for someone like Shikamaru. Kakashi had a hmm for every damn situation.

"Sasuke. He- ah…"

"Hmm."

"He- what happened to him?" Apparently that was all he could manage. Great. This was probably the most troublesome thing he had ever willingly gotten himself into. So little benefit for so much effort. What was he doing?

"You've heard the stories, Shika-kun."

"But they're still stories," Shikamaru pressed. He winced when he heard his own voice- other people may not have noticed it, but he had, and he damn well knew Kakashi would. He sounded almost desperate. He was normally calm. Collected. Analytical. He was getting himself involved. "What really happened?"

"The stories are true, for the most part," Kakashi replied simply. He sensed the strangeness in Shikamaru's voice, the unease in his steps- he was holding back. Something had happened, Kakashi could gather that much. Something that Shikamaru wasn't quite willing to say. "His older brother was a true genius- but he turned and killed his entire clan, except his brother."

"Why?" no matter how many times he heard the story, Shikamaru always wondered. Why would someone kill their entire clan- and leave their younger brother alive to suffer?

"No one is sure." Kakashi lifted his gaze off the pages, searching the younger shinobi- but Shikamaru was intelligent enough to conceal what he did not want known, even if he was shaken.

Shikamaru knew what Sasuke was like when they were in the academy. But, then… "… and after we rescued him from the Sound."

"He withdrew."

"Why?" Why was such a troublesome question. It could be asked of anything. And more often than not, it had no answers. It was why he always hated it when other people asked it- brushed it off as troublesome and ignored it. Because he wasn't sure, he didn't know… and because he himself asked it, all the time.

"He didn't want to depend on us- didn't want to be rescued. What I think," Kakashi pointed out thoughtfully, "nothing more, is that he didn't want to be so pathetic that he had to depend on us to rescue him. That he had to depend on anyone else to get stronger- to kill Itachi."

And Shikamaru comtemplated this. As Sasuke's obsession so great that he would let Itachi consume his life to that degree? That nothing else mattered? So great was his need for it that as it lurked behind his eyes it had stayed with Shikamaru for days- but what did he had to do with him? Yesterday night… he didn't understand.

Kakashi broke the silence. "Now if you don't mind, Shika-kun… why?"

He didn't need to ask for clarification. Why was he asking all this? Why did he want to know? He didn't need to ask for it- because he already knew. It was the same question he was asking himself, all the time- and he didn't know. "It bothered me," he replied lazily, shrugging it off. "I had questions without answers, and they were troublesome."

"Ah." He was lying.

And they walked through the village, making their way back to Ichiraku's. It came to that point in their path when it was clear that one would be walking the other way, Kakashi merely waved in a cheerful farewell.

"Wait- Kakashi-sensei-"

"Hmm?"

"That night. The dinner." He was looking at you, before you saw him. "…do you know why?"

Kakashi blinked, and replied as he turned back to continue walking away, "I don't- but I asked you to ask Sasuke that, Shika-kun."

---

He was at the training field again.

To look at the clouds, he kept telling himself- it was always his favourite cloud-watching spot, apart from some of the roof-tops of Konoha- not to look for Sasuke. They'd get his mind off things- they'd help him think straight. Besides, it was late in the afternoon. The Academy students would be loose by now and nowhere in the village was safe from their nerve-racking din.

Yeah, keep telling yourself that, the voice in his head teased.

The grass was soft, comfortable, and a low, cool breeze rippled waves through the fields- it was a beautiful day, the kind that Shikamaru would find remarkably pleasant and would usually spend staring contentedly at the sky, if only he could get rid of the ghost of a taste in his mouth. The clouds drifted lazily overhead, oblivious to his troubles as they were to the world- scarcely caring of the wind and where it would take them next. He watched the shadow of a bird riding the wind, sweeping low over the trees and gliding with widespread wings- he watched the shadow of a hawk, it's cruel beak and hardened talons just visible to the shinobi's trained vision, as it rode the wind but flapped it's powerful wings- always going higher, higher, always searching for prey. And he thought of Sasuke.

And he waited. He watched the sky and he waited, and waited, but as the sun sank towards the horizon and painted the clouds with pale rose-light, nothing happened. Nothing came.

What are you waiting for?

And normally he would've stood up by now-stretched, sighed, taken a last lazy glance at the sky before slouching off home or to meet Chouji and Ino for a good meal. But today he stayed. He stayed and watched until the sun vanished under the distant mountains, until the red light faded from the clouds, until the sky grew dark and the clouds could hardly be seen and stars began to dot the darkness.

It was then when he sensed someone approaching. He tilted his head and squinted his eyes at the silhouette- his body tensing- but it did not take him long to recognize Chouji's familiar build and friendly waving, and the tell-tale sound of crunching chips. Chouji sat down next to him, munching hungrily- and jabbed Shikamaru in the side.

"There you are, Shikamaru," Chouji said. "We were wondering. Ino and I."

"Sorry, Chouji," he muttered, still distracted- his eyes scanning the forest fringe, searching.

"We were going to eat at that buffet," Chouji pointed out inbetween his mouthfuls.

"I lost track of time."

Chouji frowned, watching his friend, falling into silence. He knew Shikamaru well enough- he liked the silence, appreciated it the way many couldn't. Yare yare… mendokusee, Chouji thought to himself, was Shikamaru in a nutshell. Every day Shikamaru would wake up in his bed and getting up was troublesome, working was troublesome, eating was troublesome- the day was troublesom. Whenever Shikamaru did something, Chouji knew, it was because he had to. Something was wrong. Neji was right.

But Chouji also knew that if Shikamaru wanted to tell him about it, he would have- a long time ago. He would've been complaining and groaning about how troublesome it was. But here they were, in there was silence.

"We should go back, Shikamaru," Chouji said, standing up. "It's too late for the buffet but we could always get some late dinner," he grinned cheerily.

Shikamaru looked up at his friend's cheerful, beaming face, and smiled, standing up and stretching. "Hai, hai… I'm hungry myself."

"Don't you get a break from your chuunin duties, tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you train with us?" Chouji suggested. "Ever since Sakura-san's dinner some of us have wanted to catch up- we've been training together."

Training. Getting stronger. Shikamaru knew why he trained… but Sasuke… he cast it aside. He needn't care about the troublesome jounin, Sasuke having been the other among them who had advanced beyond chuunin, and he shouldn't. "Sure, but lets go get some food first. But…"

Chouji looked at his friend questioningly.

"Training's troublesome," Shikamaru sighed.

Chouji laughed.

And as they walked off, someone watched- hidden, unnoticed in the shadows of a tree, following them until they vanished into the village, sinking back into the trees.

What were you waiting for?

---

"Yatta! We did it, Akamaru!" Kiba said victoriously. Beneath him the gigantic dog gave a low growl of agreement. Kiba held a piece of red cloth in his hand, grinning tirumphantly at it. "We finally found it! Now all we have to do is get back. Lets go, Akamaru!"

A pause.

"…Akamaru?"

Kiba frowned and glanced down at his furry companion. His eyes widened- the shadow… "… Kagemane?" he whispered.

"Yo, Kiba."

Kiba turned around to see Shikamaru crouched in the trees, grinning boldly. Instinctively he leapt off his dog onto the floor- only to be ensnared by the same jutsu a second or so later. He growled at his own stupidity.

"I'll take this," Naruto said cheerily, popping up from the nearby forest and retrieving the hard-won red cloth.

"It took me a long time to find that!" Kiba protested, though with a wide grin on his face.

"We said Naruto would hide it, but I did," Shikamaru smirked. "You tracked the wrong scent, didn't you?"

"You're the same as always, Shikamaru," Kiba laughed.

"Yeah, go Shikamaru!" Naruto agreed, grinning and tackling Shikamaru in glee.

Shikamaru allowed himself to be bowled over, laughing. So far, so good. They had turned up- he, Chouji, Naruto, Neji, Kiba, Shino, Tenten and Lee, and they trained, and they sparred- but after awhile Naruto and Kiba got into abit of a contest, and soon enough they were split into teams of four for a rousing game of capture the flag. He kept on thinking that it was a very good distraction. It was- effective training, and yet enjoyable. He didn't have to think about anything else. No, not at all.

"So I'll go to the prison, then," Kiba said pointedly, still trapped by Kagemane. Any of them who were 'captured', it was agreed, would go to a designated prison on the capturing team's side- to be freed by team mates, of course.

"You won't need to!" Naruto said boldly, leaping upright, the bundle of enthusiastic energy as he always was.

"Why not?"

He needn't have asked- as moments later Neji appeared in the clearing, pursued by Tenten and Lee. He came to a grinding halt and held up the blue flag in his hand, a triumphant smirk on his features. There was a pause, and Naruto yelled in victory and practically ran in circles. Lee, of course, was waxing poetic about his melodramatic loss and how he would one day vanquish his rival, and Tenten was trying to poke him into calming down. Shikamaru released the jutsu on Kiba and congratulations were shared around. Shino appeared soon after, pushing his sunglasses further up his nose, and looked pointedly at Kiba. The Inuzuka stood up and offered the opposing team captain a handshake, and Shikamaru took it.

"A good run," Shikamaru said, grinning as the sweat trickled down the sides of his face.

"One more round?" Kiba suggested.

Shikamaru looked around at his team- Naruto as bouncing up and down, and Chouji, who had just stumbled in munching on his chips, gave him a thumbs up. Neji gave him a small nod, and Shikamaru grinned. "One more round."

---

Naruto with his speed and strength worked very well for defending- and the team silently agreed that his noisiness would hardly help the offense. Neji had pointed out that while Chouji's powerful attacks helped them on the attacking front, they would be much more efficient if Shikamaru came instead- his disabling skills would allow them to achieve the same effect without going through the trouble of a fight. Byakugan was, of course, invaluable.

"Byakugan!"

Shikamaru watched as Neji scanned the area around them. They could not, obviously, make an attempt on the flag until they found it. They had traps set up the last time, Neji had said, and they fell into one accidentally, costing them time. They'd hve to be more careful now.

The veins that popped out across Neji's face and brows were intimidating- the gaze cold and intense, Shikamaru observed quietly. But not nearly as hate-laden as-

Neji shook his head. "Not on the east side. I'm going to try the west."

"I'll run through and check," Shikamaru offered. Neji nodded- the Byakugan was not perfect and missed things, sometimes.

"Careful. I saw something moving there." Shikamaru nodded and vanished into the woods- just to double check, Neji cast his gaze eastward again. And there it was again- that figure in the trees…Wait, he frowned- this wasn't the same figure he saw just now. Is that…?

---

Whatever doubts Neji had, Shikamaru already wasn't around to notice. He leapt quietly from tree to tree, watching for small details the byakugan might have missed. The flag was supposed to be in plain sight, so he didn't check that thoroughly, but he made sure to watch for traps. Neji had said he had seen people over here. It was logical that the defending team would only stay around their flag so as to best defend it- spreading out too much could after all enable their opponent to simply swoop in and out with the prize without so much as a hitch. But after one round, they may have realized what a powerful weapon Neji's byakugan was- they could have feasibly set up traps to defend their flag and have their defenders move around the forest instead. It wasn't easy for Neji to pick up the flag alone- how they found it the last time, he had said, was by finding their defenders gaurding over it.

All things considered, it was best to check… Where is that flag?He grumbled inwardly. Searching is troublesome. I just had to wait for them to come to me last time.

Something moved thorugh the foliage behind him- he spun around, cautious. He waited, perfectly still, but as nothing happaned again, he progressed on- his muscles tensed and ready to react to the slightest hint of an enemy attack.

There it was again- he spun around again, frowning. There was no tell-tale glint of metal through the trees, no shine of Tenten's weapon strings threaded through the foliage- he would have worried about Shino's bugs, but he had decided that they would have realized he was far more valuable in tracking down the opponent's flag alongside Kiba. But he saw something rush through the treees- around him, past him, the jangle of metal. He turned- and stopped, dead in his tracks.

Sasuke stood infront of him, his eyes boring into his. Shikamaru swallowed, sweat trickling down his skin- was he going to do that again? Here? Now? Every instinct told Shikamaru to run, but he simply couldn't tear his eyes way. Kagemane? No, what could would binding Sasuke's movements to his do in a situation like this!? He was sure Sasuke was strong enough to break out of it, anyway. Why was he here? What was he doing? Why? Sasuke merely stared, smirking softly, finally allowing something to pass over his features and empty, hate-laden eyes- amusement, it seemed, and a searching interest.

"Shikamaru!" Shikamaru heard Neji's voice- merely glanced backward for a second, looked back, and Sasuke was gone- gone, and had left a blue cloth where he used to be. Eyeing it distantly, he picked it up.

"You have one? It didn't trigger anything?" Neji asked as he suddenly appeared through the trees.

"What?" Shikamaru managed to ask, trying to snap out of it.

He's stalking me. He's after me. Is he trying to kill me or something? Do I have something he wants?

"They laid down- a fake flag. Triggered a trap. They're after me now."

"Fake flags?" he echoed, trying to sound thoughtful, but mostly trying to give his mind time to process information.

Maybe you should go find him.

"Yes. They're after me," Neji repeated- frowned. There was something wrong again. That figure he had seen before… was it really-?

I can't go find him! He's after me! If he wanted something normal or nice from he could have just asked- but-

"We don't know if this one is real," Shikamaru muttered.

You're just afraid of asking. Why? Afraid he'll kiss you again?

"It doesn't matter. We should run."

"Lets go!" Shikamaru turned, allowing panic and alarm to seep into his voice- he could hear pursuers in the distance, and he began to run without waiting for Neji's reply.

Afraid he'll pin you down again- slam you against a wall? Afraid of the way his fingers drew blood, the way his tongue searched your mouth?

He ran faster, trying desperately to ignore what was running through his mind. He could be running the wrong way. Or into a trap. The game was the last thing on his mind-

Afraid of the warm, ragged breath against your neck? Afraid of the feel of his sweat-stained clothes as he pressed against your chest?

He could sense Neji behind him, and he just ran.

Afraid you won't push him away?

What the hell was wrong with him?

Just like the last time-

He ran faster-

Afraid you won't want to?

---

Kakashi added one more name to his rounds.

Konoha was a hidden village- a ninja village. That was their purpose, something they all knew and accepted. They led dangerous lives, more often than not short. None knew that better than the jounin. Not the newer jounin either- the older ones, who had been on their dangerous missions- who had seen friends go. And the ones who knew the most out of the jounin were the ANBU. And Kakashi had been one.

Kakashi knew more than most of the ANBU, infact. Many of them had dealt with their trials as a Jounin and joined the ANBU, thinking they were ready. Many of them had collapsed. Many had failed. But Kakashi had already lost all his precious people when he was younger- he understood the loss, and he knew how to defend it. To never have precious people again.

His students did not know enough about him to know how his mind worked. He was afraid to call them friends, would not call them acquaintances, so he fell back to the relationship of student and mentor. Many of his students would call him a friend, if given the chance- and Kakashi didn't know how to deal with that. He had them call him sensei, instead.

The other jounin knew of his plight. They were also acquaintances- not really friends. They did like him. He did like them. But they never really hung out or anything- they did, but Kakashi never joined them. They never asked. It was understood. They knew why.

The third had berated him for it. Tsunade did, as well. Sandaime had said that he needed to open himself up again eventually- that all shinobi needed their precious people to defend. It reminded him of Yondaime- of what he used to say to him and Obito and Rin…

He shook his head out of it, peering into Naruto's window. He slept soundly, limbs sprawled across the bed, an empty instant ramen paper bowl on the nighstand, chopsticks still in his fingers. Satisfied, he continued on his way.

He even went to check on Asuma- though he saw Kurenai there and decided he would not stay for very long. He saw Genma as well, and Raido. Somehow even Gai made his list. He was not sure why he checked on these people. It was difficult, and he struggled with himself, whether or not to call them friends.

Genma had seen him, and for a moment they had both seen each other. Genma had merely nodded quietly and continued sucking his senbon, going back to his daily business. It was understood.

It was something all jounin- and sometimes other shinobi- did, and something they never spoke of. It was an unmistable urge to go out and check on their loved ones- just to make sure they were still breathing. They were still alive.

Sakura was fine. Iruka was fine. He went by Sasuke's window, as he usually did- and as usual he wasn't there. He checked by Sasuke's usual training haunts- but he was never there. Sasuke kept on relocating. He never wanted to be found.

Naruto and Sakura called him sensei, but Sasuke never did. Kakashi knew that at first it was nothing but his defiance- his downright stubborn hatred of authority. But after awhile, he thought it might have been something different. There as once, when Kakashi was making his rounds, when Sasuke saw him. He was busy thinking up excuses of the inevitable question- but it never came. Sasuke merely nodded sullenly and walked away. And he had wondered to himself if Sasuke made these rounds, too- and it reminded Kakashi that Sasuke, too, had already lost all his precious people. That it was why he pushed Naruto and Sakura away- why he pushed everyone away.

Kakashi had allowed himself to worry more about that student than he should.

There was something he saw in Sasuke now that worried him- something that almost frightened him. That obsession and need for vengeance that burned in his eyes, that one-minded desire to find and kill. He needed to be saved from it. Somehow.

Kakashi peered through the window- and saw Shikamaru, sleeping lazily on his bed, the name that was added to his list to check. He had a soft spot for the all the shinobi that were genin alongside his own team, but he had never found the need to check on them. But Sasuke saw something he was interested in in this boy- this lazy genius that beat him at shougi nearly all of the damn time- and Kaksahi didn't know why. But Kakashi knew, given Sasuke's current mental state- that it couldn't be good.

---

NOTES:I don't know about you people, but school starts tomorrow for me. It'll be awhile yet before I update.

Wow gee, imagine my surprise when I see emails about +favs within an hour or two of me putting it up.

Thanks to: I've Got the Curse of Curves, xXInu-SamaXx, andTatealya and Killer Asian on the Loose for your reviews! D

My stories always tend to be abit on the dark side. nn;

Thanks for reading, and please leave a review! Let me know what you think!

A/N: Also updated.