A second later, Neji recognized the chakra signatures heading there way. He groaned. The last thing he wanted to deal with was immature, foolish children, and an idiotic sensei. A second later, Lee, Sasuke, Kiba, and Kakashi, stood in front of them. Kiba's eyes locked on to the dog at Neji's side. " Who's hound is that?" asked Kiba. " Why do you want to know?" asked Shikamaru. In a bored tone. " Neither of you could own a hound without us seeing it around the village with you." said Kiba. Smugly. Sasuke smirked at the foolish dog's comment. Suddenly, a black mass shrouded Shikamaru and Neji in a fluttering, leathery, shadow. Neji realized they were wings. Suddenly Shikamaru let out a chakra burst. All three took off under the cover of the black, concealing, cloud.
They ran through the seals on the compound. Hiashi's head snapped up when he heard feet pounding on his floor. A second later, Shikamaru and Neji burst into the room, looking like they'd ran a marathon. Shikamaru bent over and gasped for breath. Neji face was flushed. He wasn't in any better shape. Suddenly Neji pitched sideways. Shikamaru straightened up and he look at Neji. Neji's hand was on Shadow's back and he was on his knees. Shikamaru dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around Neji as he was in front of him.
" Are you alright?" asked Shikamaru. " Yeah." gasped Neji. " I just got bombarded with chakra from Kiba. The madder he got, the more chakra hit me." Shikamaru's voice lowered and he said, "You know Hiashi is watching us. Shadow's still here." Neji nodded. " I know, I don't care I need him. And you, if you don't mind." said Neji. Shikamaru nodded.
" Nephew, what is going on?" asked Hiashi. Neji didn't answer. Shikamaru slipped his arms underneath Neji's and stood him up. Neji tightened his grip on Shadow. Shadow turned around and so did Neji. Shikamaru sat down behind him, his arms extended and ready to catch him at a moments notice.
Hiashi knew he didn't know his nephew, but could it be possible he had a ninja hound without his knowledge? Hiashi saw Shikamaru's arms out. He was surprised when Neji let go and fell backwards into Shikamaru's chest. Shikamaru's arms wrapped around him like a snake. Shadow stepped so his front legs were on one side of Neji and his back legs were on the other. He laid down on Neji's legs. " Neji, who's hound is that? Because I know that's not one of the Inuzuka bred hounds." said Hiashi.
" Your right, it's not. He's mine." said Neji. Hiashi's mouth dropped open. " What?!" screamed Hiashi. Shikamaru knew Neji's ears were extremely sensitive. When Hiashi had screamed, Shikamaru's hands went over his ears and he channeled chakra through them to muffle the scream to almost a whisper.
Neji nodded against Shikamaru's chest. " Your welcome." said Shikamaru. " Don't worry, you won't see him much at all." said Neji. To his uncle. Suddenly Neji stiffened in Shikamaru's arms. Shadow got up and moved to Neji's side, facing Hiashi. " What's wrong Neji?" asked Shikamaru. " Get out. Shadow take him to the forest. You know how to get back in." said Neji. Shikamaru stood and walked around to the front of Neji. He bent down and wrapped his arms around Neji in a hug. He slowly rose into a standing position. He stepped back and put his hand on Neji's shoulder. " I'm here when you need me."said Shikamaru.
Neji walked forward to the spot next to Hiashi and turned around to face Shikamaru and Shadow. He leaned against the wall, breathless. Suddenly Shadow was underneath Neji's hand. " I'll be OK. Take care of him, Shadow." said Neji. As he stroked Shadow.
Neji felt Shadow disappear from underneath his hand and saw him appear at Shikamaru's side. Shikamaru's hand rested on Shadow's back. Shadow channeled chakra through his fur and they disappeared in a puff of smoke. Neji straightened up and moved away from the wall. " Is the hound really yours?" asked Hiashi. " Yes he is. His name is Shadow." said Neji. Hiashi looked at his nephew out of the corner of his eye and saw Neji was as stiff as a board. He'd never been able to read his nephew this clearly before. He was glad Neji was letting him see him. He was not going to mess this up.