Listen With Your Heart

(Chapter title song from Pocahontas ;) just in case homies!)

Shikamaru sat in his bed, his alarm clock just went off and he was already over the entire day. The rain hadn't stopped since last night and it didn't look like it was going to, and worse it was cold outside because there was no sun and nothing to stop autumn from coming now… "What a drag…"

Mesuko looked outside the tiny window in her wagon, she had been forced to put up a rain tarp or else the roof would leak from all the water… She was starting to wonder if Neji was still going to come and train her… Her bruises from yesterday were already healed, in fact there was no pain at all, which was an entirely new experience for her. Before she knew it someone was already knocking on her door.

"Come on! Get up it's time to go!"

'Oh yay… it's Neji… if I ignore him will he go away?'

"Mesuko I can see you!"

"Ughhhhh!" she groaned, "It's raining go away!"

"Were going somewhere it's not raining! Now let's go!" he opened the door without being let in. "And put on pants, you can't expect to fight in a skirt like that." She sighed and motioned for him to leave.

Neji lead her to a spacious training field, outside the village with lots of trees and a large river.

"I thought you said it would be inside?"

"I never said inside. I said it wouldn't be raining. And I lied."

"Well it's raining, and I'm already soaked… so."

"You're not leaving."

"Why not?" she asked.

"Do you want to become stronger?"

"I… maybe." She said.

"Then I'll help you. But it wont be easy."

"It never is…" she sighed, the rain hadn't stopped and the two of them were officially drenched.

"Today you are learning about chakra and how to control it." He smiled at her, but she couldn't help but feel like it was a 'pain-is-on-the-way' smile. He explained into great detail the yin and yang of chakra and hand signals and how to focus chakra to different parts of the body.

"Okay I get it and all but… why are we in the rain?"

"Because instead of learning how to climb trees first, I want you to walk on water."

"But that's easy." She said quickly.

"What?" he asked her with a quizzical expression.

"I can walk on water, and climb trees."

"Show me then." Mesuko didn't make a hand signal or act like she was focusing her chakra, instead thick black markings began to spread over her body where her skin showed. Neji activated his Byakugan to watch the tattoos spread. And sure enough when she stepped onto the water instead of sinking she stood on the top, and she ran forward straight for a tree and climbed straight up it! "How do you not know about chakra and yet you can already wield it like a genin?"

"Well…" she said returning to him, "I wasn't really taught about chakra, but I was told about my heart."

"Your what?" he asked intrigued.

"My heart, the Majo tells us that if we listen to our heart we can focus our spirit to help lead us through obstacles… so that's how I learned to do that." She gestured to the lake.

"What you think is your spirit is only your chakra, that's what these markings are, this tattoo of yours is a reservoir of chakra, and when you need it, it spreads over your body to supply you with chakra."

"Ok." She pretty much understood that…

"If you grow stronger then your body wouldn't need to rely on that tattoo so much, so from now on we are going to focus on taijutsu and meditation until you have a buildup of chakra at your disposal."

"It… I get what you're saying Neji, but what good will any of this do me?"

"For one, you won't be helpless against anyone who aims to hurt you." Shocked at what he said she hadn't realized that someone would actually want to hurt her, and yet just the other day Lee had almost put her in a coma…

"Right…" she looked into his grey orbs, "Why are you helping me?" she asked with upmost seriousness.

"I-I… just wanted to learn more about your clan, there is so much left to rumor there are hardly any facts out your clans talents."

"Oh I see." She smiled, "I guess we're both learning then." Her smile seemed to brighten her entire face and it made him feel… happy, that he was helping her.

"Well then," he cleared his throat, "We will begin with building your body strength. It's time for pushups."

"What! In the rain!" she argued.

"There is never a good excuse, you are only looking for a way to make this training easier, now get on your hands your starting with one-hundred."

"Ughhhh…." She fell to the mud… and started the ruthless training…

Mesuko had barely made it to thirty pushups before falling then Neji was yelling at her to start over. "You won't be leaving till you complete a hundred in a row." He said callously.

'Almost there!' "Eighty nine….." she pushed with all her might, her arms burning with more pain than she had ever felt in her entire life, 'I'm so close! Only a few more and….' The rain poured down on her but it didn't stop her from sweating, water spilled over her face in droplets and her hair was thick with mud that clung to her face, her body was damp and muddy she was covered in dirt from constantly falling back into the puddle that was just under her. "ninety… three" she started crying, feeling her knees buckle she was too close to let it slip away. "ninety nine…" she sobbed out 'just one more.' She was not about to restart after everything. "one hun…." She didn't get in the last 'dred', but fell full into the puddle after pushing herself all the way up. "I-… I did… it. I did it I got to 100…" she breathed, everything ached but nothing more than her arms and she was cramping like hell and didn't even want to move them after all that. "Don't touch me though man, I can't…" she was completely out of breath and never been so thankful to be laying in a puddle of mud on a rainy, dreary, grey day.

"I knew you would make it, eventually…" Neji said, he was sitting in a tree a good deal away and she couldn't hear him from that distance, when she opened her eyes and didn't see him he jumped down from his perch and helped her out of the mud. "Come on, I suppose I'll go easy on you for today, let's get you to a bath." To be frank he was surprised at just how dirty she was. Her entire front was covered in mud and the ends of her hair were dipped into it as well as half her face. "Tomorrow won't be as easy, rain or no rain." He warned her.

"Okay… tomorrow… sure, but after work right?" she asked him.

"Work?" he asked her raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah at the flower shop, Ino gave me job." She said happily smiling and nudging his elbow.

"Well, good for you, I suppose this means you're going to stick around?"

"Huh? No way!" she said, "I can't stay, I have to get back to my clan I'm supposed to be the next Majo, this year is very crucial to my training."

"I see. How will you find them?" She thought for a while about this but then remembering what the Majo usually does.

"I'll listen to my heart," she smiled proudly at him, "If I just listen it'll guide me back to my family."

"You seem… very confident of that." He smirked.

"I am." She put her hands out in the rain, "I know that I can find them, even though I don't always get along with everyone and I'm a little unusual compared to them but they're my family and I don't want to be separated from them. Besides, I don't want a home just for me, what is a home with no one to share it with?" she wore a smile but her eyes had a faraway look and she was lost in a day dream.

"My house is this way." He lead her to the Hyuga family estate, where she went inside a very large house, in the center was a large dojo style courtyard, empty but big enough to train a lot of people at one time.

"Whoa, this is the biggest house I've ever been in…" she smirked, "Does it have a pool too?" she laughed.

"No but there's a pond out back in the garden." He knew she was joking but he wanted to throw her off guard with his own remarks.

"You have a garden? Is it big? Are there a lot of flowers?"

"You like gardens I take it?"

"I like all plants, or well… I like all nature, I guess." She started to feel a little self conscious, was it weird to like gardens?

"I guess working at a flower shop would be the perfect job for you then." He smiled, picturing her wander around picking up all the flowers she liked instead of working. When they reached a small hallway he opened a door to a room that had a small living space and two other doors. "The bathroom is the door straight back, I'll find some cloths for you to change into."

"I… uhhmmm. Thank you."

"Hm?" he looked at her questioningly.

"For being so kind to me."

"You think training you like this is kind?" he chuckled.

"No! I- I mean." She stuttered out trying to think of how to say something.

"Its fine. I know what you mean." He laughed, "And, it is fine, I understand how you feel, or at least I understand a little." He turned to walk away again but looked back once more, "You will always find someone here who is willing to help you, and maybe even think of you as a friend after time."

Mesuko entered the bathroom looking at the toilet, and tub, "Cool."

"Mesuko," Neji knocked on the bathroom door, "I have some cloths for you, they should fit, you're about the same size as my cousin so…" he trailed off holding a pair of Hinata's pants and a tan shirt.

"Okay, thank you…"

"I'll be just outside, we can head to the kitchen for some dinner."

"Dinner?" she said "What time is it?"

"Yes you took all day to do one hundred pushups…" he skipped the bullshit and just deadpanned it to her. He heard her chuckle nervously behind the door. "I'll be in the hall."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" Neji asked Mesuko after dinner, she was standing at the entryway to the house.

"I'm sure, thank you so much for your hospitality." She bowed lowly to him.

"There is no need to be so formal, I'll come by the shop tomorrow to take you to the next training ground."

"Oh yay…" she said sarcastically.

"I hope you're ready for it."

"Yeah me too…" they exchanged smiles and she took off running through the rain again, her muddy cloths in a paper bag.

By the time Mesuko reached her wagon once more it was almost dark out, the tarp, thankfully had stayed in place the whole day, even though it was still raining fairly roughly. She was wet again and just as she was going to change into new dry cloths she heard a loud cracking noise making her jump. When she looked out the window she saw no signs of trouble. "Is… there someone outside maybe?" just when she reached out her had to grab the knob of the door a frightening sound reached her ears making her heart stop in sheer fear, the sound of falling rocks and tumbling dirt. Before Mesuko even had a chance to open the door her wagon was sent crashing to its side sending Mesuko bumping around like rag doll. When she reached for the door once more it wouldn't budge… she pushed as hard as she could but the door was trapped against a heaping pile of mud and rocks. Her wagon was now trapped under a landslide… The echoing sound of dirt sliding over her wagon was loud enough to make her cover her ears.

"Shikamaru!" his mother called out to the sleepy boy after they had finished dinner.

"What?" he asked with a new level of indifference.

"We have enough leftovers to feed two more people…" she said.

"And?" he said, still not giving a damn.

"Take some to that Akusho girl." She demanded with light tone, that she was well aware that would piss him off.

"What?! But its raining! Dad!" he looked to his father to bail him out of it.

"Listen to your mother son." Shikaku said with an even better nonchalant tone than Shikamaru's.

"What? Ughhhhh! Fine but don't expect me to stay and chat!"

"Keep up that tone and I'll make you bring her food every night!"

"UGH! Whatever stop being such a drag woman!"

"Shikamaru don't talk to your mom that way." His father said giving him a stern out of the norm' look. Shikamaru only shrugged and jerked the food out of her hands.

"Whatever…" he stomped out into the rain and ran off to her wagon.

Mesuko panicking punched at the window, it might be small but it was large enough for her to possibly squeeze through it, and hopefully the landslide wasn't as tall as it was long, she could tell by the sound the mud on top was thin and might be able to climb out of it. Although after getting the window open finally, mud came pouring in think and quick after so much rain slamming her against the cabinets! "Ahhh!" she started to panic more now that her wagon was filling up quickly with watery mud. "Help!" she screamed, but she knew no one would hear her…

Shikamaru was running fast through the forest, "The hell am I supposed to say?" he thought angrily remembering what he had said last night, ", 'Here, it's not a piece offering or anything,' no, no, 'my mom made me bring you these', no that's not good either, ugghh what a pain, maybe I'll just be like 'here bitch eat the food' Man what a drag!"

He heard this strange noise and it made him stop under the shade of a tree, "What the hell is that sound?" he took off again running faster this time, when he came into the clearing he dropped the food in utter shock, a landslide large enough to practically level the gorge had completely covered the space, and in that ugly mess somewhere was Mesuko's wagon. "Oh no that is not good! Mesuko!" he yelled as loudly as he could, "Where are you!" his eyes scanned the muddy terrain for any trace of a wagon, he jumped onto a large fallen tree branch "Damn it where are you!?" he called out again, just when he was going to search farther down the gorge he saw a place where the mud was practically funneling into an empty space, "That has to be it!" he jumped blindly into the mud landing on something hard and hollow just underneath the flowing mud, "Mesuko!" he shouted but he didn't know if she could hear him or not, or if in fact it was the wagon at all, he only had hope that it was.

When Shikamaru stuck his hands into the opening he traced the sides hoping to feel something that would identify what he was dealing with, his heart jumped when his hands felt slender fingers no doubt gripping for their life onto what he now assumed to be the window. He trailed his hands down her arms and jerked her up as fast as he could, Mesuko's head poked out of the window followed by her waist, but suddenly stopping at her hips… "Shikamaru!" she cried in relief and fear and through heavy tears, "Shikamaru..!" she cried wincing as he tried to tug her out of the wagon.

"Put your hands around my neck! This isn't gonna feel good." He warned her as he started to pull her they both heard something that made them freeze in fear, up the mountain they heard a massive cracking sound followed by swift tumbling and more cracking sounds, "Come on come on!" he shouted pulling her as hard as he could without snapping her in two.

"Ahhhhh!" she shouted as she could feel her skin tearing a little from the wood, he joined her shouts of pain as the gigantic landslide was racing towards the pair of them. He let her fall a little before harshly pulling her out the window. "Ahhhhhhhhh!" she screamed in pain as her body came loose from the wagon as Shikamaru was starting to fall backwards he turned on his heel jumping out of the space farther and faster than he ever had in his life she clutched his neck and shoulders and he cradled her body against his chest, Mesuko watched as the valley was swallowed up along with her wagon and the very last of everything she owned. Not even her clothing was with her now, and she had lost Hinata's pants… Shikamaru raced through the trees back to his house running so quickly that rain felt like hail when it hit the pair of them, stopping at his door he opened it with a kick of his foot.

"I thought you said you wouldn't stay and chat." His dad snidely said.

"Mom!" he yelled out of breath, his dad, worried from the panic in his sons voice came to see the commotion, only to find that the two of them where covered in mud, and small trembling girl clinging for her life onto his only son. He was lucky however that she was completely blacked out by the mud because she had no pants on save for her panties… Scratching marks and blood were around her tender hips and it was obvious what had happened to said pants.

"Landslide?" his father asked relieved that his son was alright.

"Yeah… the wagons gone…" His mother quickly came into view and after seeing Mesuko she rushed Shikamaru up to the restroom with her. Shikamaru set her in the tub cloths and all and his mother began to pet her head tenderly motioning for him to leave.

"There, there dear." She said washing Mesuko's face, the girl was in a state of shock and Yoshino slowly coaxed her out of it. "Alright, go ahead and wash up, I'll get you some cloths."

Shikamaru was waiting for his mother outside the bathroom, "Well?" he asked her a little less panicked now.

"She's fine. Just shaken up give her some space, use our restroom to clean up, I'm giving her some of your clothing to wear."

"Fine…" he said walking away towards his parents bathroom.

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