Neji took off, Shikamaru by his side. " Where is Diamond in this formation?" asked Shikamaru. Neji sent out a chakra burst and Diamond landed on his left side. Neji sent out another chakra burst that threw Diamond off his feet. As Diamond flew through the air, he flipped and landed behind Neji. Shikamaru guessed that was their formation. Him to the right of Neji, Diamond to the left and falling back when necessary, and Neji in the middle. " Why this formation?" asked Shikamaru. " Because it covers all positions in battle. I can use Byakugan to strike down enemies. you wield a katana plus your clan's jutsu, and Diamond can use his own abilities in battle." said Neji. Shikamaru mused as they were running, on why Neji had chosen that particular formation. Besides what Neji had already told him.
Shikamaru snapped out of his musing, when he heard a bloodcurdling scream. Shikamaru whirled around. He hadn't realized he'd gotten so far. When he turned around, he saw Neji standing there hands at his side. Neji's hands were twitching violently as if they were itching to grab on to something. He ran towards Neji. When he got there, Diamond stood there staring at Shikamaru. Diamond jerked his head in Neji's direction and turned around.
Diamond lashed out with his back legs like a horse would. Shikamaru was surprised at this. Neji slammed into him with about as much force as a bolder through glass. Shikamaru's balance was harshly thrown off. Then not a moment too soon, Shikamaru felt Diamond's chakra wrap around them in a thick, compressed bubble grounding them. Neji's arms wrapped around Shikamaru's waist in a vise like grip. He buried his head into Shikamaru's chest. Neji shook violently. " Neji what is going on?" asked Shikamaru. " My eyes. I'm getting my sight back. Chakra builds up behind my eyes on top of that engorged vain, you felt earlier. Trying to fill the chakra canals that lead directly to my eyes." said Neji. Shikamaru's heart wrenched when he heard the agony in Neji's voice. He slipped his hand into Neji's hair and cupped the back of Neji's neck. He started massaging his neck with his fingertips in a circular motion. Gradually , Neji's shaking slowed down and his grip loosened. Finally, it stopped. Though, Neji still kept his head buried in Shikamaru's chest and his arms loosely wrapped around Shikamaru's waist.
" How many times have you gone through this?" asked Shikamaru angrily " Too many times to count."said Neji. " An exact number, Neji." said Shikamaru. Through gritted teeth. " 10 times this would make 11." said Neji. Shikamaru's eyes widened. This is what Neji meant. This is why he'd said " Diamond, if I need help from someone in the village, you go to him." because Neji knew he needed someone to help him through it. " Are you alright now?" asked Shikamaru. Softly. " Yeah I'm OK." said Neji.
Diamond sent out a chakra burst. It was with such force that it knocked them off their feet. It was like a balloon had been blown up and expanded past it's limits. As they went flying through the air, Shikamaru righted them. Arms still around Neji's waist. Neji bent his knees to absorb the impact and clamped his hands down on Shikamaru's shoulders. They hit the ground hard, still standing. " Lets not do that again." said Shikamaru. Slightly breathless. Neji snorted. Soon, the snorting turned into full blown laughter. Honestly, Neji couldn't help it. It was so funny. He removed his head from Shikamaru's chest and tilted it upwards to get a look at Shikamaru's face. He almost busted out laughing again at the look on his friends face. And covered his mouth with his hand. But not before Shikamaru saw the beautiful smile on his face. Shikamaru was happy to see Neji smiling and laughing. Neji stepped back and Shikamaru let his arms drop. When he did, he saw what Shikamaru really looked like. He was amazed.