Analysis of the Entry

Hinata stood outside of Shikamaru's closed bedroom door, her pale eyes scanning over Shikamaru's neat handwriting again. Her hands shook slightly as a bizarre rush of emotions passed through her as a small smile crept onto her face. After three long months, this was the first breakthrough that Shikamaru has had. She snapped the book closed and headed towards Neji in the kitchen.

Neji was making tea for both of them when she walked into the kitchen; his back to her. She quietly drummed her fingers against the cover of Shikamaru's notebook as Neji looked over his shoulder at her, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"How did it go?" Hinata smiled and held up Shikamaru's notebook, waving it slightly.

Neji's eyes widened in surprise as he picked up both cups of tea and walked towards her, placing the cups on the kitchen table. They both sat in silence and Hinata slid the notebook towards him, sipping her tea quietly.

"Shikamaru said you can read it if you want." Neji flipped the notebook open and was greeted by neat handwriting.

"How did you get him to give this to you?" Neji asked, looking up at his cousin.

"Well, I gave him a puzzle book and asked him what he was working on." Hinata took a sip of her tea. "He was really hesitant at first, but then he said that he heard that writing is therapeutic; so he figured he'd give it a try." Neji raised his eyebrows briefly.

"That's it?" Hinata nodded.

"Just be casual about it and let him control it from there." Neji directed his eyes back down to Shikamaru's handwriting, not sure what to expect.

Silence fell between them again as Neji read what Shikamaru had written, his brow furrowing the more he read. For the most part, he understood what Shikamaru was saying; but then there were parts that he didn't understand. He looked up at Hinata, who was sipping her tea slowly.

"Do you understand all of this?" He asked, causing Hinata to shake her head.

"There are parts when he uses third person…like he's talking about a group of people and not just him. Or that he's talking to a specific person."

"Could he be including us in this? He uses 'your' and 'us' at parts." Hinata took a sip from her mug, a slight smile on her face.

"I think he's talking about you." Neji blushed, swirling his mug. She pulled the notebook back towards her slightly and pointed:

Deliver us from sorrow's hold.

"I think he's going to talk to you about his mother than he will me." She paused, giving him a small smile while looking up at him. "If you two are going to be something, his grief impacts you too." Neji looked down, not wanting his cousin to see his cheeks become more red. His eyes caught a line and he smiled lightly as he pointed:

Open your eyes to the light
I denied it for so long, oh so long

"I think this is about seeing the good in him." Neji said quietly, his face softening. Hinata nodded.

"I agree. He has a long way to go, but this is a really fantastic start." Neji nodded in agreement.

"Definitely, probably the biggest breakthrough in the three months since he's been like this." Hinata smiled lightly when Neji voiced her earlier thought.

"He's still hurting himself though. He doesn't have his blade anymore, but he's biting and scratching himself." Neji said as Hinata placed their tea back on the table.

"That's expected. We have to remember how long Shikamaru has been self-destructive. It's not something that's easy to overcome, especially without professional help. Remember, it's just us." Neji nodded. "I am curious about the scratching and biting though." She said thoughtfully into her mug as she took a sip. Neji bit his lip. He hasn't told Hinata about Shikamaru's drug problem.

"What's itchy blood?" Neji asked after a few moments of silence. Hinata quirked an eyebrow at him.

"It's basically when the inside of the body feels incredibly itchy to the point where the person feels an insatiable need to scratch." She paused and darted her eyes at her cousin. "It's commonly caused by drug withdrawal." Silence fell between them again. Neji tapped his fingers nervously against his mug.

"That's why Shikamaru scratches himself so much." Hinata felt a pang of anger towards Neji for not telling her this when she first started stopping by four weeks ago.

"I know I should've said something earlier." Neji said quietly, as though reading her thoughts.

"It's fine." She said shortly. "We're making progress and that's the important part."

Silence.

"How long has the withdrawal been going on?"

"Since the breakdown."

"Cold turkey?" Neji felt a pang of guilt.

"Yeah." Hinata bit her lip, not only because of the guilt in Neji's voice, but also because it was an extremely bad thing to stop something like drug addiction all at the same time. They left each other in their own thoughts. The only noise being the ticking clock mounted on the wall. Neji swirled his tea slightly as he stared down at it, feeling his thoughts and emotions rush through him, blurring together. His pale eyes wandered to Shikamaru's notebook that lay between him and his cousin. He tried to make sense of what he and Hinata tried to figure out, but he sighed quietly and turned back to his tea.

He stood and picked up the notebook, causing Hinata to look up at him.

"I'm sure Shikamaru will want this back." Hinata nodded and looked down at her tea as Neji walked towards Shikamaru's bedroom. She directed her eyes up at a pile of books that Shikamaru had lying at the end of the table, her eyes falling on the book at the very bottom.

"Neji!" She called after and quickly stood from the table. Neji hurried back towards her, looking around for something out of place.

"What's wrong?" Hinata shook her head and stared up at him with glowing eyes. She pointed to the stack of books she was previously staring at; Neji's eyes drifted to where she was pointing at.

"I see a pile of books."

"What do you see at the bottom?" Neji hesitated, his brow furrowing.

"A…black one." Hinata smiled.

"There is one person who knows Shikamaru better than anyone could ever hope to." Neji's eyes widened.

"Alecto?" Hinata nodded vigorously.

"Since we can't figure out certain things that Shikamaru is saying, I'm sure Alecto can help us." Neji smiled.

"Good thinking. Let's go."

NejiXShikamaru

Alright Gang,

As always, patience and reviews/PMs would be appreciated!

When-Rabbit-Howls