The Way Things Are
folder
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male › Shikamaru/Neji
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
32
Views:
3,749
Reviews:
777
Recommended:
2
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male › Shikamaru/Neji
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
32
Views:
3,749
Reviews:
777
Recommended:
2
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 9
Oohhh...You guys are going to HATE me...*fears for her life* ^_^;
REVIEW REPLIES
Jamie: Ah, yes, I know I'm terrible. But just wait! I swear it'll come soon! No more than 2 more chapters...after this one anyhow. >_<
Dying Dreams: Thank you for reviewing nonetheless!! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter...for what you can. >_<
AngelicChaos: Hmmm...you might? lol I hope you'll enjoy the update!!
Syake: I'm so mean to the trees. XD lol And is something wrong with Neji? Hmmmm...read and find out. >:D
Drivven Labyrinth: Apparently my cliffhangers are the worst...I've heard that from so many people. lol I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter...
natalie: Thank you so much!! ^_^
luxeflex: I'm glad that you liked the idea for my rogue nin. ^_^ And sleep well!
PossessedMuse: Thank you. Yes, the bat was rather...dumb, but it worked. XD lol (And I'll gladly read your story!)
Im The Dobe: lol Yes it was a rather odd chapter. ^_^ I'm glad that it satisfied you. I can only hope that this chapter will do the same. *cough*
qwerty: Thank you! I hope you won't want to kill me at the end of this chapter. ^_^;
*******************************************************************************
Chapter 9
When Neji opened his eyes the next morning he had to keep himself from pushing on the body next to him. He took a couple of deep breaths to keep himself calm as he stared at the Nara’s neck. He stayed completely still, simply staring and began to relax back into the bed roll. The previous day ran through his mind and he completely relaxed and closed his eyes again. He had almost forgotten about the fact that he had lost so much blood.
As much as his mind was begging him to not move, other parts were calling for him to. On top of that he was feeling rather sick again. Groaning softly he pulled away from the Nara’s body heat, shivering as he rolled to get to his feet. Yet the minute he was standing the world started to spin. He closed his eyes and tried to regain some sense of balance only to actually make it worse. He grabbed his head as it suddenly began to throb and he fell to the side, knocking over the small stool that was holding both of their weapon packs.
Shikamaru started at the noise and was over by the other’s side in an instant when he saw the Hyuuga half lying on the ground, holding his head. When he realized that the other wasn’t feeling well again, he helped him to his feet and pulled him outside of the tent, cooing words of comfort into the other’s ear, trying to get him to hold on a little while longer. It wasn’t long before Neji was on his knees once again, puking up dinner and a little bit of blood.
The Nara had pulled back his hair and was gently rubbing his back as the vomiting stopped and Neji was sure he had never felt so miserable in his life. Sure he had been sick before, even with the flu, but spitting up blood was completely different. It left that awfully metallic flavor in your mouth, making you want to puke again. He pushed himself away from the disgusting puddle in front of him and leaned back against the Nara, panting and pale.
“Let’s get you some water, huh?” Shikamaru said softly, rubbing the other’s arms and Neji gave him a mere nod of the head as answer.
Once his mouth was cleaned, once again, he sat down on the ground and shivered. Shikamaru had started on packing the tent, having woken Sakura up and telling her that they were leaving soon. Upon seeing the Hyuuga’s state, she didn’t blame him. Neji felt so pitiful and he couldn’t explain why he felt so terrible. He had had injuries worse than this. What was going on? The woman’s punch may have been strong, but it wasn’t as bad as some that he had received.
Lee came into the camp and took note of how quickly things were being cleaned up. He volunteered to carry Neji’s pack, must the Hyuuga’s dislike, and Shikamaru made it an order so Neji couldn’t refuse. He was exceptionally upset when he was told that he was going to be carried back to Konoha and that there was no other option. But he didn’t have the strength to argue. That alone scared his companions. Lee helped Shikamaru set the Hyuuga on his back and the team was off, moving at full speed.
Hours later, they arrived at Konoha’s gate and ignored everyone who was giving them strange looks. After all it wasn’t often that you saw Hyuuga Neji riding on someone’s back. Shikamaru and Sakura raced to the hospital while Lee made a beeline for the Hokage’s building. Sakura was talented, but Tsunade was the epitome of healing unknown poisons and the like. Sakura got to the hospital before Shikamaru and was calling out orders the minute the Nara walked into the building.
Neji was raced off into an emergency room with Tsunade not far behind. Lee had raced to drop of Neji’s things before he had come back to the hospital, a worried look on his face. The two could only sit and wait for news. After all, it wasn’t everyday that someone was spitting up blood constantly merely because they had been punched in the stomach. It worried Shikamaru and scared Lee. The taijutsu master was pacing back and forth while the Nara was simply sitting in a seat, looking forward.
Hours passed and Shikamaru was sure that Lee was going to create a hole in the area that he was walking. Hiashi had showed up as soon as he could, Hanabi close behind. When he asked for a brief rundown of the situation, Shikamaru had been blunt and straight to the point. At first the Hyuuga lord didn’t appreciate the tone, but simply realized that the Nara was worried over the other’s current state and dismissed it.
The group of four waiting for another hour before Sakura emerged wiping the sweat from her forehead. Hiashi was up on his feet in an instant and walking over to the kunoichi, Hanabi hanging on nervously to Lee’s hand. The spandex-wearing shinobi had tried to be comforting, but with as worried as he was hadn’t done a very good job. Sakura merely let out a sharp breath and informed them all that Neji was going to be fine. They had extracted the venom that was eating away at his veins.
“Venom?” Lee asked. “From what? I never saw that woman bite him.”
Before Sakura could tell them that she didn’t know, Shikamaru cursed quietly to himself. “Damn it, why didn’t I recognize it?”
“Recognize what, Shikamaru?” Sakura asked, confused.
“She licked him,” Shikamaru muttered, “right after she had punched him.”
“There’s no possible way the venom would have seeped into his skin like that,” Hiashi argued, but Sakura shook her head.
“No, it was…very thin, very slick venom. It could easily sink through the pores,” she stated. “I should have recognized it.”
“The point is that he’s going to make a full recovery and the venom has been extracted. You people don’t need to worry about anything else.”
The group to find Tsunade looking at them, her face stern. “He’ll be awake in the morning and ready to move back home in two days. You can all relax.”
Hanabi smiled and pulled happily against Lee’s hand, to which he smiled down at her as well. Hiashi let out a relieved sigh and grinned. Shikamaru merely closed his eyes before he opened them again, his naturally bored look on his face again.
Tsunade smirked and pointed at the Nara. “You. In my office for a full report in ten minutes.”
Shikamaru nodded and proceeded to use a jutsu to head home for a few minutes before he would head to the Hokage building to retell the story. In his mind he was berating himself for being so stupid. Last time he hadn’t paid attention to the details, Neji had almost died. Granted that was back when they were 12 and 13, but he had promised to never fail another mission. He found himself to be making another silent promise to himself as he made his way to report.
***********************************
Three days had passed since the group had returned from their mission and Neji was walking quietly through the compound of his home. He had been rather surprised when Sakura had told him what had happened, but that there was no more reason to worry as he had made a complete and full recovery. But Neji was frustrated. He should have been able to block the woman’s attacks or dodge them. She had been as fast as Lee and he could do one or the other with his friend. He had underestimated his enemy. And that bugged him.
He made his way to the training fields feeling a little better. Lee had been more than willing to have a rematch of sorts with him since their last spar had been interrupted. There was no one else there today. No teachers, no students, no one. Just him and the green blur heading his way. He couldn’t help but smirk. Lee was so excitable. It could easily be turned into a game to see what got Lee excited and what wouldn’t. Spars with him were easily placed towards the top of the list.
“How are you on this beautiful day, Neji?” Lee smiled, the sun reflecting off of his teeth.
“Just fine, Lee,” Neji smirked.
“Are you ready to have a youthful bout?” Lee exclaimed, stretching his muscles. “Hopefully we won’t be interrupted this time.”
“If we’re lucky,” Neji stated. “We won’t have a proctor today so I’ll let you know when to start.”
“Yosh!” Lee nodded, running to the opposite ends of the training field. “Try not to get distracted.”
Neji snorted and rolled his shoulders as he walked to his end. Shaking his head he set himself into his stance, watching as Lee did the same, a smile on his face. Neji smirked and simply waited for his muscles to calm. It wasn’t easy as the thought of spar always made him excited, especially with Lee. Lee went all out. He never held back unless it was a potentially dangerous move that could kill Neji it one hit should it land. He focused his attention on the other and focus.
“Go!”
Lee didn’t wait and was racing across the field towards his opponent. Neji easily dodge his first move and blocked the next. He tried to land his own, but Lee dodged it with amazing grace, managing to get a blow of his own started. Neji rolled out of the way and got ready to activate his Byakugan. It would seem that Lee wasn’t starting out slow this time. Not like he usually did. Neji grinned to himself as his vision spread to the 360° and he got ready to dodge whatever attack Lee was going to throw at him.
The battle between them continued on for the space of 20 minutes when it started to grab attention from passing shinobi. It wasn’t long before they had quite a crowd around them, half cheering for Lee, half cheering for Neji. The Hyuuga would have shaken his head had he not been so concentrated on Lee’s movements. The spandex-wearing shinobi left you no time to think in between his moves and Lee had gotten much more challenging since they were 15.
“Neji! Neji!”
Ignoring the cries coming out to him, Neji continued to focus on the battle. Whatever it was, it could wait until they were done. At least, that’s what he thought. Apparently Hanabi didn’t and was racing onto the field before anyone could stop her. Neji acted quickly. If he didn’t, Hanabi was going to get hit in their fierce battle. Dodging a blow aimed for his shoulder, he rolled out of the way and grabbed his younger cousin before Lee even noticed she was on the field.
The taijutsu master stopped moving immediately and looked over at the two Hyuuga’s half frowning at the younger. “Hanabi, you should not run into the middle of a battle. You know that.”
“I-I know, but this is important!” the 13 year old yelled, clutching onto Neji’s clothes.
Neji sighed and let his eyesight return to normal as the crowd of shinobis started to disperse. “What is it, Hanabi? What was so important that you felt like you needed to interrupt our spar?” So much for being lucky…
“She’s come back!” Hanabi stated, with a look on her face that showed worry. “Hinata’s come back!”
Neji simply stared at her for a moment before he was racing back to the Hyuuga compound. Hinata was back? When had she returned? And why did Hanabi look worried instead of happy? Shouldn’t she be glad that Hinata was home? Scratch that, shouldn’t he be happy that Hinata was home? Why was he being filled with dread the closer and closer he got to the compound? Shouldn’t he want her to be back? It would mean that he wouldn’t have to marry Shikamaru.
The thought laced pain through his heart. He stopped in front of his home as his brows scrunched together. Why was that such a bad thought?! Shouldn’t he be happy? As he pushed forward and into the Hyuuga house, he used his Byakugan to locate Hinata. She was currently in one of the larger rooms, sitting in front of Hiashi and the elders. He made his way to the room and stopped himself from standing outside of the door, merely listening.
“…was completely disrespectful and shameful. We hope you realize this, Hinata.”
“Yes, elders, I do.”
“You will be punished accordingly.”
“I understand…”
“What of the two shinobi that were helping her stay away?”
“Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba wasn’t it?”
“We cannot punish those from another clan.”
“We can demand that their own clans deal out a punishment.”
“Such disrespectful and shameful behavior.”
“Lady Hinata, why did you run?”
“…”
“An answer might prove to lighten your punishment.”
“You do not wish to hear it, dear elders. I am sure.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
“Forgive me, but it is nothing that can change the task you have put before me.”
“Hmm…we suggest that you speak with your father then. It might enlighten him at least, as leader of the clan.”
“I will consider it.”
“Hiashi, now that the girl has returned, should she not retake her place in the engagement with the Nara clan?”
“The engagement is to be announced in three days, elders, and Nara Shikamaru knows nothing of Hinata. Isn’t that a bit cruel?”
“Nonetheless, it is her duty to the clan to take on these responsibilities. We demand that Neji be released from this task.”
Neji heard no more. His world was crashing down. He felt sick. Felt so utterly sick. And he knew why. He made his way to his room, eyes staring out distantly. Once inside the safety of his room, he slid down the nearest wall as tears began to prick at the corner of his eyes. Why? Why was he so upset? He should be happy! He was being freed from having to marry someone. He was being allowed to go back to his original plans of living alone.
He covered his mouth as the tears continued to fall, trying to silence the sobs coming from his mouth. He didn’t want to admit it, didn’t want to change his wants. But he couldn’t deny it. He had fallen in love with the Nara. He had fallen for Nara Shikamaru. Maybe the other had simply been nice because of the situation the two were in, but Neji had grown to love it. Grown to love the attention the other nin gave him. Grown to love everything that the other person was. Gods, he didn’t want to admit it, but he had to.
His heart was breaking, falling apart. He had been so ready…so ready to give his life to the other. And now…he was going to be forced to live on the sidelines and watch as Hinata married the person he had fallen in love with. The tears fell faster and Neji couldn’t stop the painful shakes of his body. He fell to the floor, letting his hair cover his face. He curled up on himself and cried. Cried like there was never going to be an end to his tears. He had fallen in love with Shikamaru…and now it was too late.
*******************************************************************************
*runs away and hides* Don't kill me. >_<
REVIEW REPLIES
Jamie: Ah, yes, I know I'm terrible. But just wait! I swear it'll come soon! No more than 2 more chapters...after this one anyhow. >_<
Dying Dreams: Thank you for reviewing nonetheless!! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter...for what you can. >_<
AngelicChaos: Hmmm...you might? lol I hope you'll enjoy the update!!
Syake: I'm so mean to the trees. XD lol And is something wrong with Neji? Hmmmm...read and find out. >:D
Drivven Labyrinth: Apparently my cliffhangers are the worst...I've heard that from so many people. lol I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter...
natalie: Thank you so much!! ^_^
luxeflex: I'm glad that you liked the idea for my rogue nin. ^_^ And sleep well!
PossessedMuse: Thank you. Yes, the bat was rather...dumb, but it worked. XD lol (And I'll gladly read your story!)
Im The Dobe: lol Yes it was a rather odd chapter. ^_^ I'm glad that it satisfied you. I can only hope that this chapter will do the same. *cough*
qwerty: Thank you! I hope you won't want to kill me at the end of this chapter. ^_^;
*******************************************************************************
Chapter 9
When Neji opened his eyes the next morning he had to keep himself from pushing on the body next to him. He took a couple of deep breaths to keep himself calm as he stared at the Nara’s neck. He stayed completely still, simply staring and began to relax back into the bed roll. The previous day ran through his mind and he completely relaxed and closed his eyes again. He had almost forgotten about the fact that he had lost so much blood.
As much as his mind was begging him to not move, other parts were calling for him to. On top of that he was feeling rather sick again. Groaning softly he pulled away from the Nara’s body heat, shivering as he rolled to get to his feet. Yet the minute he was standing the world started to spin. He closed his eyes and tried to regain some sense of balance only to actually make it worse. He grabbed his head as it suddenly began to throb and he fell to the side, knocking over the small stool that was holding both of their weapon packs.
Shikamaru started at the noise and was over by the other’s side in an instant when he saw the Hyuuga half lying on the ground, holding his head. When he realized that the other wasn’t feeling well again, he helped him to his feet and pulled him outside of the tent, cooing words of comfort into the other’s ear, trying to get him to hold on a little while longer. It wasn’t long before Neji was on his knees once again, puking up dinner and a little bit of blood.
The Nara had pulled back his hair and was gently rubbing his back as the vomiting stopped and Neji was sure he had never felt so miserable in his life. Sure he had been sick before, even with the flu, but spitting up blood was completely different. It left that awfully metallic flavor in your mouth, making you want to puke again. He pushed himself away from the disgusting puddle in front of him and leaned back against the Nara, panting and pale.
“Let’s get you some water, huh?” Shikamaru said softly, rubbing the other’s arms and Neji gave him a mere nod of the head as answer.
Once his mouth was cleaned, once again, he sat down on the ground and shivered. Shikamaru had started on packing the tent, having woken Sakura up and telling her that they were leaving soon. Upon seeing the Hyuuga’s state, she didn’t blame him. Neji felt so pitiful and he couldn’t explain why he felt so terrible. He had had injuries worse than this. What was going on? The woman’s punch may have been strong, but it wasn’t as bad as some that he had received.
Lee came into the camp and took note of how quickly things were being cleaned up. He volunteered to carry Neji’s pack, must the Hyuuga’s dislike, and Shikamaru made it an order so Neji couldn’t refuse. He was exceptionally upset when he was told that he was going to be carried back to Konoha and that there was no other option. But he didn’t have the strength to argue. That alone scared his companions. Lee helped Shikamaru set the Hyuuga on his back and the team was off, moving at full speed.
Hours later, they arrived at Konoha’s gate and ignored everyone who was giving them strange looks. After all it wasn’t often that you saw Hyuuga Neji riding on someone’s back. Shikamaru and Sakura raced to the hospital while Lee made a beeline for the Hokage’s building. Sakura was talented, but Tsunade was the epitome of healing unknown poisons and the like. Sakura got to the hospital before Shikamaru and was calling out orders the minute the Nara walked into the building.
Neji was raced off into an emergency room with Tsunade not far behind. Lee had raced to drop of Neji’s things before he had come back to the hospital, a worried look on his face. The two could only sit and wait for news. After all, it wasn’t everyday that someone was spitting up blood constantly merely because they had been punched in the stomach. It worried Shikamaru and scared Lee. The taijutsu master was pacing back and forth while the Nara was simply sitting in a seat, looking forward.
Hours passed and Shikamaru was sure that Lee was going to create a hole in the area that he was walking. Hiashi had showed up as soon as he could, Hanabi close behind. When he asked for a brief rundown of the situation, Shikamaru had been blunt and straight to the point. At first the Hyuuga lord didn’t appreciate the tone, but simply realized that the Nara was worried over the other’s current state and dismissed it.
The group of four waiting for another hour before Sakura emerged wiping the sweat from her forehead. Hiashi was up on his feet in an instant and walking over to the kunoichi, Hanabi hanging on nervously to Lee’s hand. The spandex-wearing shinobi had tried to be comforting, but with as worried as he was hadn’t done a very good job. Sakura merely let out a sharp breath and informed them all that Neji was going to be fine. They had extracted the venom that was eating away at his veins.
“Venom?” Lee asked. “From what? I never saw that woman bite him.”
Before Sakura could tell them that she didn’t know, Shikamaru cursed quietly to himself. “Damn it, why didn’t I recognize it?”
“Recognize what, Shikamaru?” Sakura asked, confused.
“She licked him,” Shikamaru muttered, “right after she had punched him.”
“There’s no possible way the venom would have seeped into his skin like that,” Hiashi argued, but Sakura shook her head.
“No, it was…very thin, very slick venom. It could easily sink through the pores,” she stated. “I should have recognized it.”
“The point is that he’s going to make a full recovery and the venom has been extracted. You people don’t need to worry about anything else.”
The group to find Tsunade looking at them, her face stern. “He’ll be awake in the morning and ready to move back home in two days. You can all relax.”
Hanabi smiled and pulled happily against Lee’s hand, to which he smiled down at her as well. Hiashi let out a relieved sigh and grinned. Shikamaru merely closed his eyes before he opened them again, his naturally bored look on his face again.
Tsunade smirked and pointed at the Nara. “You. In my office for a full report in ten minutes.”
Shikamaru nodded and proceeded to use a jutsu to head home for a few minutes before he would head to the Hokage building to retell the story. In his mind he was berating himself for being so stupid. Last time he hadn’t paid attention to the details, Neji had almost died. Granted that was back when they were 12 and 13, but he had promised to never fail another mission. He found himself to be making another silent promise to himself as he made his way to report.
***********************************
Three days had passed since the group had returned from their mission and Neji was walking quietly through the compound of his home. He had been rather surprised when Sakura had told him what had happened, but that there was no more reason to worry as he had made a complete and full recovery. But Neji was frustrated. He should have been able to block the woman’s attacks or dodge them. She had been as fast as Lee and he could do one or the other with his friend. He had underestimated his enemy. And that bugged him.
He made his way to the training fields feeling a little better. Lee had been more than willing to have a rematch of sorts with him since their last spar had been interrupted. There was no one else there today. No teachers, no students, no one. Just him and the green blur heading his way. He couldn’t help but smirk. Lee was so excitable. It could easily be turned into a game to see what got Lee excited and what wouldn’t. Spars with him were easily placed towards the top of the list.
“How are you on this beautiful day, Neji?” Lee smiled, the sun reflecting off of his teeth.
“Just fine, Lee,” Neji smirked.
“Are you ready to have a youthful bout?” Lee exclaimed, stretching his muscles. “Hopefully we won’t be interrupted this time.”
“If we’re lucky,” Neji stated. “We won’t have a proctor today so I’ll let you know when to start.”
“Yosh!” Lee nodded, running to the opposite ends of the training field. “Try not to get distracted.”
Neji snorted and rolled his shoulders as he walked to his end. Shaking his head he set himself into his stance, watching as Lee did the same, a smile on his face. Neji smirked and simply waited for his muscles to calm. It wasn’t easy as the thought of spar always made him excited, especially with Lee. Lee went all out. He never held back unless it was a potentially dangerous move that could kill Neji it one hit should it land. He focused his attention on the other and focus.
“Go!”
Lee didn’t wait and was racing across the field towards his opponent. Neji easily dodge his first move and blocked the next. He tried to land his own, but Lee dodged it with amazing grace, managing to get a blow of his own started. Neji rolled out of the way and got ready to activate his Byakugan. It would seem that Lee wasn’t starting out slow this time. Not like he usually did. Neji grinned to himself as his vision spread to the 360° and he got ready to dodge whatever attack Lee was going to throw at him.
The battle between them continued on for the space of 20 minutes when it started to grab attention from passing shinobi. It wasn’t long before they had quite a crowd around them, half cheering for Lee, half cheering for Neji. The Hyuuga would have shaken his head had he not been so concentrated on Lee’s movements. The spandex-wearing shinobi left you no time to think in between his moves and Lee had gotten much more challenging since they were 15.
“Neji! Neji!”
Ignoring the cries coming out to him, Neji continued to focus on the battle. Whatever it was, it could wait until they were done. At least, that’s what he thought. Apparently Hanabi didn’t and was racing onto the field before anyone could stop her. Neji acted quickly. If he didn’t, Hanabi was going to get hit in their fierce battle. Dodging a blow aimed for his shoulder, he rolled out of the way and grabbed his younger cousin before Lee even noticed she was on the field.
The taijutsu master stopped moving immediately and looked over at the two Hyuuga’s half frowning at the younger. “Hanabi, you should not run into the middle of a battle. You know that.”
“I-I know, but this is important!” the 13 year old yelled, clutching onto Neji’s clothes.
Neji sighed and let his eyesight return to normal as the crowd of shinobis started to disperse. “What is it, Hanabi? What was so important that you felt like you needed to interrupt our spar?” So much for being lucky…
“She’s come back!” Hanabi stated, with a look on her face that showed worry. “Hinata’s come back!”
Neji simply stared at her for a moment before he was racing back to the Hyuuga compound. Hinata was back? When had she returned? And why did Hanabi look worried instead of happy? Shouldn’t she be glad that Hinata was home? Scratch that, shouldn’t he be happy that Hinata was home? Why was he being filled with dread the closer and closer he got to the compound? Shouldn’t he want her to be back? It would mean that he wouldn’t have to marry Shikamaru.
The thought laced pain through his heart. He stopped in front of his home as his brows scrunched together. Why was that such a bad thought?! Shouldn’t he be happy? As he pushed forward and into the Hyuuga house, he used his Byakugan to locate Hinata. She was currently in one of the larger rooms, sitting in front of Hiashi and the elders. He made his way to the room and stopped himself from standing outside of the door, merely listening.
“…was completely disrespectful and shameful. We hope you realize this, Hinata.”
“Yes, elders, I do.”
“You will be punished accordingly.”
“I understand…”
“What of the two shinobi that were helping her stay away?”
“Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba wasn’t it?”
“We cannot punish those from another clan.”
“We can demand that their own clans deal out a punishment.”
“Such disrespectful and shameful behavior.”
“Lady Hinata, why did you run?”
“…”
“An answer might prove to lighten your punishment.”
“You do not wish to hear it, dear elders. I am sure.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
“Forgive me, but it is nothing that can change the task you have put before me.”
“Hmm…we suggest that you speak with your father then. It might enlighten him at least, as leader of the clan.”
“I will consider it.”
“Hiashi, now that the girl has returned, should she not retake her place in the engagement with the Nara clan?”
“The engagement is to be announced in three days, elders, and Nara Shikamaru knows nothing of Hinata. Isn’t that a bit cruel?”
“Nonetheless, it is her duty to the clan to take on these responsibilities. We demand that Neji be released from this task.”
Neji heard no more. His world was crashing down. He felt sick. Felt so utterly sick. And he knew why. He made his way to his room, eyes staring out distantly. Once inside the safety of his room, he slid down the nearest wall as tears began to prick at the corner of his eyes. Why? Why was he so upset? He should be happy! He was being freed from having to marry someone. He was being allowed to go back to his original plans of living alone.
He covered his mouth as the tears continued to fall, trying to silence the sobs coming from his mouth. He didn’t want to admit it, didn’t want to change his wants. But he couldn’t deny it. He had fallen in love with the Nara. He had fallen for Nara Shikamaru. Maybe the other had simply been nice because of the situation the two were in, but Neji had grown to love it. Grown to love the attention the other nin gave him. Grown to love everything that the other person was. Gods, he didn’t want to admit it, but he had to.
His heart was breaking, falling apart. He had been so ready…so ready to give his life to the other. And now…he was going to be forced to live on the sidelines and watch as Hinata married the person he had fallen in love with. The tears fell faster and Neji couldn’t stop the painful shakes of his body. He fell to the floor, letting his hair cover his face. He curled up on himself and cried. Cried like there was never going to be an end to his tears. He had fallen in love with Shikamaru…and now it was too late.
*******************************************************************************
*runs away and hides* Don't kill me. >_<