Hello fan-fiction-world!

Well I am back [albeit a bit late] for round two. I hope this piece does as well as chapter one [thank you to Ayrmed and an unknown guest for their generous reviews]. There isn't a lot I can say about this chapter besides the fact that it is short [random Ed Elric comment here]. Trust me though, the next chapter will be longer.

Please remember to review: tell me how I did what the chapter was like, what you think the next chapter will be like ... stuff like that.

I do not own Naruto and neither do I pretend to own such an awesome manga: all rights belong to Mr Kishimoto Masashi and associates.

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Shikamaru Nara

Shikamaru couldn't have been more grateful to leave the room, the tears, the questions. They say it gets easier, but he was feeling the deep, intense pressure Tsunade had warned him about when she called him in for his first pre-mission conference: the pain of informing others of what they have now lost. It hurt more than the pain he felt as he stood by, watching them cry; he, however, had no tears left to shed.

Even through the door he could hear the sharp cries of vented despair and anguish. Guy and Rock Lee: Neji's master and his rival team-mate, Shikamaru thought they would be the hardest to tell, that they would pass the news on to Tenten, the third side of Team Guy and, more often than not, Neji's training partner.

With his fingers crossed, Shikamaru had waited for a good time to leave, but he anticipated the next words a split second before Lee whispered, "Tenten's at the training ground. She doesn't know yet, but you'll tell her. Right, Shikamaru?"

He absently nodded because his brain was still too numb to notice what its uncontrolled body was doing, what the mindless shell was agreeing to. Stupid thing did not feel emotional pain. So long as there weren't any kunai flying it would do anything.

He cursed repeatedly under his breath as he tried to control his shaking hands.

I can't stay here. The thought was almost subconscious. Who's next? Naruto.

The wailing gradually faded as he ran down the hall until it was just a figment of sound echoing in his head. Somehow the memory seemed much louder in his mind then it had been in real life. Shikamaru knew it was a memory that would never go away.

Naruto's door was wide open.

Shikamaru took a quick look inside, hoping that Naruto was alone. I'm sure everyone in the hospital already knows, but … he couldn't come up with a decent reason, he just wanted to be the one to tell Naruto. Maybe it was because they, along with Kiba, Choji, Neji, and even Lee in some respect, were a team, and he, Shikamaru, was the leader. The team's bonds were now broken, and he had to fulfil the dreaded role of telling his team what had befallen one of their trusted friends.

Though the window shades were closed, soft golden sunlight permeated through the gaps, washing the walls and the metal bars of the single hospital bed in its saffron glow. Beneath the white sheets shaded with sunlight lay the mummy-wrapped form of a human. Naruto was almost unrecognisable if not for the dark blue eyes and tufts of bright blond hair that poked through the white wrappings. He was alone in the room, a single miserable soul staring solemnly at his bandaged fingers, and Shikamaru was thankful for their privacy.

I wonder if he heard already from Kakashi-Sensai or Tsunade and that's why he's so quiet? I wouldn't put it past them … this whole mission is troublesome, and the trouble doesn't go away, even when it's over. An acute stab of guilt hit him somewhere in his gut. I'm sorry, Neji.

He knocked on the door-frame.

The bandaged head turned slowly his way, hollow eyes attempting to fill their empty depths with him. "Shikamaru? What are you doing here?" The voice, though raspy, still sounded a bit like Naruto – the thinnest traces of Shikamaru's excitable classmate finding a way through the solemn, broken syllables, just close enough to be words. "I haven't seen anyone else from the team yet. Are they okay?"

"Kiba and Akamaru took some damage, but they're recovering. Lee's fine, Choji's fine. Neji …"

I am the team leader: I must be strong.

He prayed Naruto wouldn't cry like the others.

Naruto was looking him in the eyes, his expression slowly shifting into a mask of horror and unreleased emotions. Though unpredictable and, according to Ino, colour blind, Naruto was not stupid, he would figure it out before a single word left Shikamaru's mouth.

Shikamaru looked at the floor. He wanted Naruto to guess, he wanted to leave, he wanted someone else to have this troublesome job.

As the team leader it is my job to tell him.

"Neji didn't make it." He spat the words, Naruto staring at him, shocked speechless and caught in awe. Shikamaru turned his back to the boy and started for the exit.

He was reaching for the door knob when Naruto asked, "How badly was he hurt?"

Shikamaru glanced back. "Badly enough that it killed him. I don't know the details; you'll have to ask Tsunade about that."

Naruto's eyes returned to his hands. "Did you tell the rest of the team?"

"Yes, you were the last."

Naruto's gaze went back up, tears running down the curves of his cheekbones, dripping from his jaw to the blankets. "I suppose we are all alive because of him."

Shikamaru nodded.

"I hated him, at first because of what he did to Hinata and now I want to hate him for not keeping his promise to make it back alive, but it's harder to hate someone when you know you're alive because of them." His blue eyes closed and he leaned back into a heap of pillows. "Thanks for telling everyone. I know it was hard, but the higher-ups must have a lot of trust in you if they trust you like this. Usually the medical team tells everyone else, or the Hokage makes an announcement. The chūnin leaders just make the report, I think."

Shikamaru curled his hands around the doorknob. Some genius I am, he had never thought that Tsunade was trying to help him as much as the rest of the team by placing more trust in him.

"You know, if you keep beating yourself up, Tsunade won't trust you as much."

"Having to fight my way back up would be such a drag." He pulled the door closed.

Naruto really knew how to dig at someone, but he also knew how to dig someone out of trouble. You always left him feeling irritated, yes, but also like you wanted to laugh in the world's face … or paint the stone hokages'.

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As always, thank you for reading and remember to review!