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Gentle-Fist Massage: The Series	By : PrplGrl Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Shikamaru/Neji Views: 1803 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- 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 List
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Gentle-Fist
Massage VI: Night of the Dead
Part 1: �How We Go
On�

Shikamaru Nara calmly ate the rice
that had been handed to him.� He kept his
dark eyes focused on the food in his hands; trying to hide the disappointment
he knew was showing.� It had been about
two months since Neji Hyuga had left him alone in the world, and since then the
dear Lady Hokage had forced Shikamaru to work exclusively at the Academy.� He had been twitching for a couple weeks now
to be given an actual mission.� The Nara
wanted to show his friends and family that he was ready to get back into the
field of fighting other ninja and putting his life on the line.
Several of those close to him would
disagree.
It was no secret that Shikamaru
still missed his lover; he figured that feeling, an emptiness
in his heart, which had firmly frozen over, would never leave him for the rest
of his life.� He had come to accept that
fact, and decided that the sadness accompanying was normal.� Shikamaru let it play out, some days being
better than others, but hoped that perhaps by just being away for a few days
would help.
Imagine the Nara�s excitement at
finally being summoned to Tsunade�s office for a mission briefing.� At last, he was going to be able to forget
about the past few months, even if for a little while, and start focusing on
his job once more.
He was joined with Naruto Uzumaki
inside the Hokage�s workplace and was slightly irritated by the concern
floating through those brilliantly blue eyes.�
It was rare now for anybody to just give Shikamaru a simple smile and
basic greeting.
It happened then; Lady Tsunade
explaining the mission.� The Nara�s heart
fell at hearing it to be nothing more than helping out at the official resting
place for the dead shinobi of Konoha.�
What.� A.� Gyp.�
This so-called �B-Ranked� mission was in all reality nothing more than a
very expensive D-Rank.
Troublesome.
Shikamaru had complained about it,
but immediately shut his mouth when the hard-assed Hokage told him that she�d
been more than happy to give them an actual D-Ranked mission� to carry out
right alongside a team of genin.� �Manipulating bitch,� he thought
bitterly.
Naruto hadn�t been much
better.� The entire trip over to the
cemetery had been nothing but one long list of complaints from the blonde as to
why this mission was just a waste of his time and talent.� He did shut his mouth, though, after
realizing he�d said something stupid.�
The Nara merely dropped the subject.
Even now, sitting in the dining
room of the small house situated close to the graveyard having their meal,
Shikamaru could feel Naruto�s blue eyes giving him sideways glances.� He decided to ignore them, instead focusing
intently on his food.� It wasn�t until
their hostess entered the room several minutes later that the blonde finally
stopped staring at him.
Kyoko was a tall middle-aged woman,
deep violet-colored hair drifting around her still attractive features, greatly
accenting magenta hued eyes.� A small
smile was on her thinning lips as she came to sit across the ninja at the
table.� Her son, a young man not much
older than the shinobi present, entered a moment later, carrying some green tea
for them as Shikamaru and Naruto finished eating.
�Thank you, Kiyoshi,� Kyoko
whispered when her son filled her cup.�
She carefully sipped the liquid as her guests did the same.
Shikamaru watched her with a
quizzical eye as Kiyoshi began to take the dirty dishes away.� Kyoko and her son were a part of a very
secretive ninja clan in the Leaf Village.�
It was rare to see any of them enter the village, as their specialty was
protecting the lands on which the cemetery stood.� Any techniques given to the clan were kept
quiet and nobody really knew how many survivors there were.� The Nara had heard that many of them had been
eliminated during the wars several years ago, leaving only a few to continue
protecting the graveyard.
�Why would she want us here?� he wondered, taking another sip of his
tea as he watched her magenta eyes move to the window on the other side of the
room.
The sun was just beginning to set
behind the horizon, casting a foreboding shadow over the many tombstones lined
neatly along the wide, grassy plain.� The
sky was lit up with fiery oranges and reds, making the few clouds hanging in
the air seem evil or deadly.
�I can�t believe we�re missing
Halloween for this,� Naruto whispered, politely sipping his tea.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes at his
companion.� It had not been the first
time the blonde had said that and he got the feeling it wouldn�t be the last.
�Do you know the origins of
Halloween?� Kyoko asked voice silky and seeming to be genuinely curious.
The Nara returned his gaze to the
tea in his hands, finding himself not really
interested.� It had seemed a bit odd at
first that the mission request had been for the night of the creepy holiday,
but in the end he decided that it didn�t really matter.
�Not really,� the blonde admitted, his tone a bit small.
Kyoko gave the ninja a small
smile.� �Halloween is an ancient
tradition that has been passed down throughout the ages.� It was based off the day of All Hallows Eve,
a day were the dead were supposedly able to walk on the earth once more.�� Her deep pink eyes gazed out the window again
as she continued, �However, this old festival could be dated back several
thousand years ago.� There was once a
culture, where the people worshiped the dead almost as much as the living.� The funerals were extravagant and very
religiously thought out, as they believed very much in there being a life after
death.�� The violet-haired woman took a
sip of her tea.� �One of you has recently
lost someone close to you, correct?�
Shikamaru�s eyes shot up at the
question.� He looked at the woman with a
bit of shock as she gazed back with empathy shining in her expression.� The Nara gave Naruto a sideways glance, but
the blonde seemed to be just as shocked as he felt.� Shikamaru released a small sigh and nodded;
troublesome.
�I am very sorry for your loss,�
Kyoko said softly.� A few minutes of
silence passed, the Nara staring sadly into his almost empty cup.� He never did like it when people apologized.� It wasn�t anybody�s fault and the �sorry�
didn�t help.� All that did was make
Shikamaru go through all the things he wanted to apologize for to his lover,
which led to the sadness growing within him and a small spot of darkness to
grow within his chest.
�Did you know that there�s a full
moon tonight?� their hostess asked.
�Yeah,� Naruto said with a little
chuckle, �that�s why this year�s Halloween is supposed to be really cool!�
Kyoko softly laughed.� �Indeed.�
It is also a blue moon.�
��I�ve never seen the moon blue
before,� the blonde commented.
�Idiot,� Shikamaru answered, giving
his comrade an irritated glare.� �I can�t
believe you�ve never heard of a �blue moon� before.� It�s when there are two full moons in a
single month.�
Naruto grumbled something under his
breath about hating geniuses as he looked away from the Nara.
�The last full moon that fell on
this night was nineteen years ago,� Kyoko noted, magenta eyes glazing over a
moment as if recalling the past.� �It was
so beautiful�.�� She paused for a few
moments before lightly shaking her head, violet locks waving around her face as
a cherry blossom on a tree branch wavers in the wind.� Her orbs focused on the ninja once more.� �They say the full moon has� special powers,
especially on Halloween night.�
Shikamaru snorted.� �Like raising the dead from
their graves?�
The woman�s smile broadened a
bit.� �Well, I didn�t say it.�
�Why do you really want us here?�
the Nara asked, crossing his arms.
�During this time of year,� Kyoko
explained, face turning serious, �it is quite common that people sneak onto the
grounds and vandalize the headstones.�
Usually, it�s nothing more than kids pulling pranks, but it can become
quite time consuming to clean up after them.�
I would like the two of you to not only help us in preparation but to
also protect the graveyard during the night.�
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.� �Preparation for what?�
The violet-haired woman cocked her
head to the side a little.� �It is
Halloween night, after all.� On this
night, my clan gives a special thanks to those who have passed on by placing
flowers on the graves and saying special prayers.� There are quite a few markers out there, and
it is always nice to have a helping hand or two.�
Naruto chuckled.� �We�ll have no problem getting those flowers
out, lady!�
Shikamaru just released a small
sigh and rubbed his forehead in slight irritation; he had a feeling that this
was going to be a long night.

~~~~~

The sun finally set behind the
horizon, releasing millions of stars from their daylight prison and granting
the perfectly full moon to rise in its place.�
Pale moon light gave the cemetery a bit of an eerie feeling as Shikamaru
walked the grounds.� He had placed
flowers on graves and joined in the prayers for the dead shinobi of the village
and was roaming the graveyard looking for anybody that shouldn�t have been
there.
For the most part, the area was
quiet; only the crickets and an occasional bat swooping around were the only
things making any noise.� It suited the
Nara just fine.� He found that he liked
the quiet times he had ever since his lover had passed away.� If he thought about it hard enough, Shikamaru
might have equated the silence to Neji and that�s why it seemed to bring him
comfort.
Dark eyes looked down at the path
before him.� He was still amazed at how
much of the world around him reminded him of the older man he had loved so
much.� Long hair, light-colored eyes, a
brilliant mind, a soft laugh� such simple things always brought a picture of
his pale lover into his mind and with it a fresh wave of pain.� Sometimes tears would accompany the tightness
within his chest, which he�d always release.�
Shikamaru just didn�t feel like he had the resolve to keep them at bay
anymore, not since Sai had become a part of his life.
The Nara stopped walking as the
artist came to mind.� Since the kiss they�d
shared the shadow wielder had pretty much kept his distance from the paler man,
who seemed to be doing the same thing.�
They shared very few words and hardly looked at each other, but when the
dark coldness of heavy depression started encompassing Shikamaru, he�d always
find himself at the artist�s bedroom door, silently asking for some comfort and
receiving it every time.� He�d found
himself becoming reliant on Sai for this and knew it couldn�t have been a good
thing.
This was why the Nara felt a bit
happy when the Hokage finally decided that Sai�s mission was over and told him
to return home.� The artist left with a
smile, one Shikamaru couldn�t tell was real or not, and he went back into a
routine.
Two days.� Shikamaru was only alone for two days before
he knocked hesitantly on Sai�s apartment door and damn near begged the paler
man to live with him.
The house had been too empty and
the Nara had been too used to living with somebody.� His home seemed huge to him and it was too
troublesome to move into an apartment; he�d just moved into the house a few months
earlier!� In all reality, Shikamaru knew
there was really nobody else he�d rather live with.� Sai was quiet, keeping mostly to himself and never got in the shadow wielder�s way.� Besides, most everyone else he knew was
seriously dating and living with somebody, had moved to another village with
someone, or was engaged.� Shikamaru really
didn�t want to deal with any kind of couple right now.
He sighed heavily and continued
down the path.� Shoving his hands into
his pockets, the Nara raised his eyes a bit, deciding to visit his lost
love.� He never did get any answers, but
somehow Shikamaru felt that Neji was listening to him whenever he was at the
grave.� That in itself was extremely
comforting.
Shikamaru rounded a corner and
slowly walked the familiar trail along rows of headstones.� Among the marble markers, he saw what looked
like a small bundle of light ahead, right around his lover�s grave.� He squinted his eyes
but couldn�t make out exactly what it was.�
As he neared, it almost seemed like the light� stretched?� No� maybe more like� it seemed to move� like
it was standing up.
The Nara rubbed his dark orbs as he
reached his lover�s row.� The damn moon
was playing tricks on his eyes.� He
parted his lids only to have his dark eyes widen in shock and a gasp to escape
his lips.� A man stood at Neji�s grave, dark
hair trailing down his back, skin pale and almost seeming to glow, face perfect
and oh so familiar as he turned to look at Shikamaru with white
chocolate-colored eyes.� Lips the Nara
had missed for so long curled up into a small smile as a heart wrenching voice
reached his ears, �Hello Shikamaru.�
Shikamaru�s lips parted, his voice
nothing more than a strangled sob as he whispered, �N-Neji�.�
- 11
- 12
- 13
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Gentle-Fist Massage: The Series