The Way Things Are

I'm so sorry about the late update! It's my Spring Break and I've been spending a lot of time with my family and friends. I'm really really sorry!! I hope you guys will like this chapter and I also hope you won't blame me if it's two or three more days till the next update. I plan on being pleasantly busy this week. :D

Also, thanks to those of you who suggested things for Shikamaru's revenge on Sasuke. XD I really appreciate them all.

REVIEW REPLIES

Admiral ShadowWolf: Hmm...well, now that I know my boundaries...XD lol I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter. ;)

charmpit: I do too. Sleeping without his lover? How terrible. :P

Ino-chan: Oh come on! Pervy ideas are the best ones!! lol Yes, he did say I love you. It's about time, right? And yes. Drama. Lots of drama. ^_^;

countdown: lol hmm...I'll consider your suggestion. I might use it with some others. XD lol I'm glad you liked the chapter!

Chibi-Berry: Yes, you will have to wait...about 5 more seconds to find out. XD lol Happy reading!

MiZuNa: lol Yes, I'm dastardly evil, making you guys wait. XD lol I hope you'll enjoy the chapter.

Dying Dreams: lol Being patient is all you can really be at the moment. Especially this week. ^_^; No worries about being cruel. I do it to everyone else so I get my fill. XD lol

Syake: Killing Sasuke is a bit extreme...lol Any future suggestions are welcome, if you can remember to add them. XD And is something bad going to happen? You'll just have to read to find out. XD

jess249: Oh, I did. And that's not mean. I make mistakes in my typing all the time. I'll go fix that immediately. That's for pointing that out! You really like the forest thing, don't you? lol I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't mind seeing Sasuke as the uke. XD lol Read to find out if Neji is careful!

ElfenDream: I'm so glad that you liked it. ^_^ And yes! I did have an awesome birthday! Thank you so much!

KatFO: Oooh! I really like that idea! XD I'll have to see what I can cook up with that! XD lol Thanks for the review!

qwerty: Thank you! You're idea is very much appreciated! XD lol I'll have to see how I can work that in. XD As for the bandits, I'm sure that a lot of people hope that they don't kill Neji.

Starry: Oh dear. I'm glad that you didn't choke! I would have felt terrible. And yes! He finally said it! Destroying Sasuke's pride, huh? hmm...I think Shikamaru can manage that. XD

SG21: Oh yummy!*omnomnom* lol Yes for foreshadowing. It can be a bad and a good thing. *ehem* Let's hope nothing terrible does happen to Neji...lol I'm really glad that you liked the line. XD lol

Im The Dobe: I don't know how it feels, so I can only imagine. I'm glad that I portrayed it well. Yay Neji finally said it! *blush* I really am glad that you love the story. It makes me so happy to hear that from people! Thank you so much!

amith: Thank you very much! And it's a wonderful idea for a present! Thank you! ^_^ I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

lo: I hope you'll enjoy it too. :) I really hope it lives up to your expectations!

Damp: ^_^;...oh dear. I think I've upset you. XD Excellent! lol I hope you'll enjoy this chapter! Thanks for the suggestion on how to get Sasuke back. XD That would be terribly mean!

XoXgaaraXoX: Yay for our redheaded Kazekage! :D

Zenith-Kaitou: Thank you. :) I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter!

AngelicChaos: Thank you! I'm glad that you enjoyed it! And thank you for the suggestion on how Shikamaru could exact his revenge on the dear Uchiha. XD lol

D.A. Maxwell: lol I suppose all of your questions can be answered in this chapter. ^_^ You'll have to read to find the answers!

Tia: Oh, thanks for the idea! I hope I'll be able to use it! :D

lonelydove: I hate it when people die too.

Nickles: ...you'll have to read to find out. ^_^; OH, I like your idea. XD lol I do hope that the tooth ache is taken care of!

yaoilovergirl: lol Any review is appreciated! Thank you very much!

luxeflex: Yup! There's definitely more! I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter!

nm1716: I hope you'll enjoy the update. :)

Annieme: lol It's alright. I've already gotten plenty of ideas. The jar is overflowing. XD lol I'm not sure when they're in season, but keep your eyes open. They are very yummy!

WhenYouToldMeYouLoveMe: A knight in shining armor? Shikamaru? I don't think so (although the idea is entertaining XD). lol You'll have to read to find out what happens.

Lavinia: ^_^; I'm so sorry for my late update! I really am! Things have just been busy on my end of things. I'm glad that you're enjoying my story. ^_^ Makes me happy!

KajiMori: Yay! I'm really glad that you're enjoying the story! *cheers* Makes me so incredibly happy! And cookies! Yay! *omnomnom* ^_^ Thank you so much!

CrimsonEmbrace: lol "Check out the first episode of 'The Way Things Are', an original Naruto soap opera!" XD lol I'd love to see that. I'm glad you like the position I've put Shikamaru in too. ^_^

Elizabeth Mary Miller: Yes! Another Shikamaru/Neji fan! Let the fandom spread! Mwahahahahahahahaha! *ehem* I'm really glad that you're enjoying the story and I hope you'll continue to do so! Thank you!

Serenity: Hmm...I'll have to see what I can do with your request. Hope you'll like the update!

Lith: Thank you! I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter!

PotionsPet: lol I hope what I cook up will be entertaining and very enjoyable. XD

Revine: Thank you for the reviews on both chapters. :) I hope you're feeling much better! *blush* I'm really not that great. ^_^; But thank you nonetheless! And yay for cookies! *yummy*

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Chapter 26

Activating his Byakugan, Neji scanned the forest, looking for a chakra source that didn’t belong to anyone in their group. Contrary to popular belief, not all of Wind Country was sand and desert. A good chunk of land to the north was covered with trees in a lush forest. He gazed slowly till his eyes picked up a strange thing. A dome, made of chakra, was in the middle of a clearing nearby. He motioned for other’s to follow him but stopped them as soon as they were closer. Inching forward slowly, he examined the strange thing.

It was indeed a force field of sorts and as Temari had predicted it was chakra. But it was strangely out of place and Neji wasn’t sure as to what to think. Pushing past the thoughts, his eyes scanned carefully around the shield hoping to find the source of it. His eyes connected to a thin string of chakra and he followed it with his eyes to where it connected with a nearby tree. He made his way over to the connection and studied it, looking around for traps. Upon seeing none, he made a chakra sword and snapped the string.

The enemy nin were immediately exposed and they started to scatter and split up realizing that their shield was down. Unfortunately for them, several sand nin were ready for them. They were backed into the clearing, most living while a few continued to fight to their deaths. Once they were detained, Gaara made himself present, all of the bandits opening their eyes wide as they stared at him. They were scared and it was clearly showing.

“Is this all of them?” Gaara asked one of the sand nin’s by him.

“Yes sir,” the man answered. “Only three were killed. The other nine are fine.”

“How!?” one of the men screeched. “How did you get past that shield?! It should have ripped you all to pieces!”

“I simply snapped the wire,” Neji explained.

“Damn, it’s a Hyuuga!” another man hissed. “You won’t get away with this!”

“There’s nothing for him to get away with,” Kankuro sneered. “You’ve already broken enough rules.”

“Kazekage, sir, we found these on them,” one of the sand nin stated, lifting up a hand band for Gaara to inspect. Neji blinked. It was the same as the one the man had been wearing the day Naruto had received Gaara’s call for aid.

“Kumo,” Gaara said quietly. “This is…frustrating. We are returning to Suna. Immediately.”

“And these enemies, sir?” the sand nin asked.

Gaara looked down at the group on the ground, all who were staring nervously at his gourd. “We will take them with us. If they are indeed Kumo shinobi, they deserved to be prosecuted in their own country.”

Neji smiled. Gaara had changed.

“And if they are not?” Kankuro asked, glaring at the bandits.

Gaara smirked and a flash of malice came to his eyes. “Then they are ours to deal with. Let’s move.”

Neji laughed in his head. Then again, maybe he hadn’t.

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“I was expecting more a fight,” Kankuro growled as they entered the Kazekage’s office. “That shield of theirs must have been the only tough thing about them and Neji got rid of that with a swipe of his hand.”

Neji smirked. For some reason, Kankuro was always the first one to complain.

“Stop your whining, Kankuro,” Gaara said, rolling his eyes. “At least you weren’t here dealing with paperwork.”

“He’s right, you baby,” a voice called from an adjoining room. Temari marched into the room, smirking her trademark smirk and her fan resting on her back. “I was wishing the entire time that I could have gone with you.”

Gaara grinned at his sister. “How are you feeling, Temari?”

“Never been better,” the blonde woman answered, beaming. “It hurts every now and then, but other than that I’m just peachy!”

Kankuro snorted and received a whack on the head with the kunoichi’s fan. “Damn it, Temari! Shit, that hurt!”

“It was supposed to, you idiot,” Temari growled. Adjusting her giant weapon on her back, she turned over to look at Neji and smiled. “So you made everything possible, huh?”

The Hyuuga was slightly perturbed at how quickly the woman could change her mood. “I suppose. I don’t want to take all of the credit.”

Temari waved a hand dismissively. “I’m sure my brothers weren’t much help.”

“Oi!” Kankuro yelled, jumping out of the way as the fan came towards him again. It created a small crater in the floor.

“Temari, Kankuro,” Gaara sighed as sand slithered over to the rock floor, “I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t destroy my office. Go to the training fields or the desert if you wish to spar.” Neji watched as the sand repaired the crater before his eyes. How useful, he thought with a smirk.

“Who’s sparring?” Kankuro grumbled, rubbing his head where he had gotten hit earlier.

Neji turned towards the redhead. “Kazekage, if it’s-“

“Gaara.”

Neji paused. “I’m sorry?”

Gaara raised his head from his papers and looked at the Hyuuga. “When we’re not in a council with others, I’d prefer you to call me Gaara. We are friends, aren’t we?”

“Of course we are,” Neji replied immediately. “After all, you’ve saved me from Gai’s speeches many times.”

Gaara smirked as Kankuro and Temari cringed. “Damn, how do you manage to stop those?”

“It’s very simple,” Gaara responded, returned to the scroll he was writing. “I simply tell the man that I wish to spar with him. He immediately changes subjects.”

“So that’s how you do it,” Neji said thoughtfully.

Gaara nodded. He rolled up his scroll and sealed it shut before he walked over to a glass orb sitting in the far corner of the office. He sat down in front of it and placed his fingers on top of it. Neji stared in awe as an image of the Raikage filled the glass.

“Ah, Kazekage! It is a pleasure to see you! What may I do for you?”

“I’m sending you a scroll that I wish for you to look over. It contains a detailed report of the most recent mission I’ve been on,” Gaara said smoothly. “I believe there are things in it that would interest you.”

The Raikage smiled. “Very well. Shall we prepare the jutsu?”

Gaara nodded and placed the scroll in the middle of his lap. In time with the other, he created the necessary seals before he placed his hand on the orb. The glass rippled at his touch and Neji stared as the redhead pushed the scroll through the glass. Moments later, he saw the Raikage staring over the scroll. He blinked his eyes and his jaw dropped slightly.

“Amazing isn’t it?” Kankuro smirked. “We reacted the same way when we saw it for the first time.”

“It takes too long to send a message to Kumo from here,” Temari explained, “and there are more chances that a scroll will be caught by enemy hands. This jutsu is rarely used, but it works well for when you need an immediate response.”

Neji nodded his head. “I hate to interrupt, but I’d really like to be on my way home. It has been three weeks after all.”

Gaara turned away from the orb and looked at the white-eyed nin. He nodded his head. “I understand. Will you give Lee my best? I…don’t know when I’ll be able to see him next.”

Neji grinned. “I’d be very happy to. Thank you.” He bowed politely to both Temari and Kankuro before he turned and left the office. Several minutes later, Gaara received a report that Neji had officially left Suna and was on his way back to Konoha. Temari and Kankuro sat down in respective chairs in the office and started to discuss nothing in particular. Hours later, Gaara was getting slightly impatient with the Raikage, but did not show it. How long did it take to read a scroll that wasn’t very long at all?

A sudden gasp from the man caught all three siblings’ attentions. “That young man you dismissed hours ago, he was from Konoha?”

Gaara nodded his head slowly. “Why does it matter?”

“You must stop him!” the Raikage exclaimed. “There is a group outside of Konoha exactly like the one you faced here! I will send a scroll your way explaining the details, but you must send someone out to stop him! If you don’t, he could die!”

Gaara wasted no time. “Thank you and goodbye, Raikage.” He stepped away from the glass ball and got to his feet, his hand summoning his sand to form his gourd. Temari and Kankuro quickly followed after him. The redhead only stopped momentarily to explain to Baki where he was going and that the man was in charge till he returned. As soon as that was finished, the three started to make their way across the sands of Wind Country, hoping that they could reach the Hyuuga in time.

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Neji was racing through the forests. He had been traveling for two days straight and if he were lucky he would be able to reach his home by nightfall. He smiled as the thought crossed his mind. It had been three weeks since he had seen Shikamaru. Three long weeks that had gone over his birthday. Three weeks that he had spent under the blistering summer sun of Suna. Now he was going home. He was going to be able to return to the person he loved most in the world.

His mind raced back to the memory he made before he left. He had told Shikamaru that he had loved him. Yes, it was something that he had felt from the moment of Hinata’s return, but he had never said it to the other. Shikamaru hadn’t reacted badly to it, a blush crawling over the Hyuuga’s cheeks as he remembered the kiss that had followed after his confession. Despite that he had thoroughly enjoyed the kiss, Shikamaru hadn’t said the words back to him.

The thought made Neji’s heart break a little, but he quickly shoved the thought aside as a kunai came down from the trees. He easily dodged it and landed on the forest floor activating his Byakugan. He was well into the Nara’s forest. Who would be attacking him like this?

“Well, if it isn’t the man we’re looking for!”

“It’s a shame that he tripped our detecting chakra wire, isn’t it?”

Neji growled low in his throat. Who were these idiots? His question was answered as a group of five ninja made their way down from the trees, effectively surrounding him. How had these guys gotten into the forest? He’d have to speak to Shikamaru when he saw him.

“This is the guy that got the rest of our group caught?” one of the nin asked, sneering. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

“Don’t take him lightly, Daichi,” another stated.

“Kenta’s right,” a soft voice murmured. “He’s a Hyuuga after all.”

Neji’s eyes darted towards the sound of that voice and simply stared. The man that had been in Naruto’s office before he left was standing directly in front of him. So the blonde had been right. They should have detained him.

“So, Hiroto, what do you propose we do?” a tall, slim man asked. “Souta was the one that told us that he’s at fault for their capture. It was his field that was destroyed after all.”

The only one who hadn’t spoken, who Neji quickly deduced as Souta, merely glared at him. He almost smirked. Almost.

“Patience, Osamu,” Hiroto smiled, “we just have to decide whether we want him alive or not. He could easily gain us some supplies from Konoha.”

Neji glared. He’d rather die.

“But if we kill him, we could pull out the secrets of the Hyuuga family from his eyes!” Daichi exclaimed.

“No, he’s not of the main branch,” Kenta snorted, the statement no longer holding a sting to it.

“So what?” Daichi growled.

“The side branch has a curse mark placed upon their foreheads,” Osamu stated matter-of-factly. “It prevents other countries from gaining information from them should they be killed in battle.”

“Smart people,” Souta growled.

Neji did smirk at that. They were more than just smart. In fact, he wasn’t surprised at all when the five suddenly jumped him. He simply did his Heavenly Spin, effectively knocking them back. With enough time to break free of their circle, Neji made his way back into the trees, racing towards his home. If he could simply get close enough to Konoha where someone could feel his chakra, he was sure he could gain aid.

He hadn’t expected them to catch up to him so quickly. Grumbling in his throat, he reached to the back of his pouch and pulled out a kunai. He didn’t have the strength to fight all of them, especially after his exhausting run from Suna. His ears picked up the slight sound of air being cut and he turned around to block whatever attack was coming his way. He easily dodged most and blocked a few of the shuriken and kunai sent his way before he was forced to go to the ground.

He was instantly engaged in a battle from both sides, Osamu and Souta keeping him busy while their teammates prepared to enter the fight themselves. Quickly, Neji started to close their chakra points, hoping that would be enough to get two of them off of his back. Three were easier to handle than five. Souta was easily taken down and had to struggle to the side as Neji turned to face Osamu head on. Both were defeated in under five minutes, but Kenta arrived as soon as they had struggled to the side.

Neji wasted no time and executed his Air Palm and was relieved that Kenta was hit by it, sending the man cleanly back into the trees. About to resume his race towards Konoha, Neji turned only to find a fist heading towards his face. He dodged it, with some difficulty, and brought his palm to Hiroto’s stomach. The man fell over and Neji turned to face Daichi on his own, as Hiroto’s stomach was sure to have been severely injured. The gentle fist was always lethal.

But Neji had made an error in thinking that Daichi was the last one. He only had time to turn around before the blade of a sword was shoved through the center of his chest, straight through his sternum and barely missing the vital line in the center of Neji’s spine. He opened his mouth in shock, soft gasps of pain escaping his mouth as Kenta let go of his blade with a sneer. Neji stood for a moment before he dropped to his knees, staring straight in front of him, his hands reaching to touch the hilt of the blade.

“Should we finish him?” Daichi asked.

Kenta snorted. “No. Let’s leave him here to die. I’m sure he’d like to have his last thoughts quietly to himself.”

Neji coughed, blood pouring out the sides of his mouth as his heart convulsed. No…not here…

“If we’re lucky, someone will find him soon,” Hiroto smirked, getting to his feet despite his violent coughs. “They’ll report to the Hokage and then Kumo will be forced to fight a war.”

“Serves the Raikage right if they do,” Souta snarled. “Stupid bastard…”

“Let’s move,” Osamu said quietly. “Someone could come this way soon.”

The five nodded to each other, not bothering to look at Neji before they left. The Hyuuga was shaking from the simple effort of staying upright. Slowly he gathered his strength and pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the pain and grabbing onto a nearby tree. He coughed violently, blood pouring from his lips before he started to make his trek homeward. He flared what he could of his chakra, despite how small it was and pushed onwards, blood making its way down his white shirt and through his mouth, sword still sticking into his body.

He couldn’t die. Not yet. There was so much left for him to do. So many people he couldn’t leave behind. Tears started to pour down his face as it started to get harder to move. No, he couldn’t give up. He had to get to Naruto and tell him to capture these men. He had to inform his ANBU superiors of the trouble that was resting inside of the Nara forest. Tell Shikamaru how sorry he was…sorry that he was going to die…sorry that he couldn’t have even spent a full year as his spouse…His world started to go black and Neji stopped, tempted to just fall to the earth and let death claim him.

“Come back to me.” Neji closed his eyes painfully at the memory as he forced himself to move forward. He had made a promise. He was going to keep it.

Shikamaru…Help me…
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OK, so most people would die from that in a matter of minutes, but because this is in the Naruto universe, I'm doing what I want. :P It makes the suspense even better. *cackles*

And...as I said above...I won't be updating for two or three days. ^_^; My apologies!

Let me hear your frustrations in the form of a review! XD