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Shikamaru wanted to be alone. There were really few people he could peacefully be alone with, Naruto wasn't one of them.
"My arm is getting better, I wonder what Sasuke says when he sees my new jutsu!"
"Wind makes fire stronger, did you know? We can make fire-rasen-shuriken together!"
"Imagine Sasuke's face when he hears that I had beaten that creep!"
Shikamaru would rather not imagine Uchiha's prissy face. There were times he would just tune out Naruto and let him ramble about Sasuke nonstop, but after burying Hidan alive, Shikamaru found his nerves were strung too tight.
"Do you think Sasuke..."
"What the fuck is your deal with Sasuke anyway?!"
Naruto stared, his mouth still open in a mid-sentence. Shikamaru flicked ash from his cigarette and stared back, surprisingly, he didn't feel guilty.
"What the hell do you mean, Shikamaru?!" Naruto got over the shock quickly, jumping up and jabbing finger at Shikamaru's chest. "Did you lose your memories? Do you forget who Sasuke is?"
Shikamaru took a long drag, man, he needed a patience. "He was fellow Shinobi from Konoha, your teammate, got it, but I asked what the fuck is your deal with him."
"He is a friend, why are you asking such bullshit?!" Naruto's voice started to go up as he got more upset. "Don't you know he is my friend?"
"Don't you have many friends? I don't see you talking this much about anyone." Shikamaru leaned back to the wall, studying Naruto's angry stance. "It's weird really, don't you think?"
"What do you mean?! Shikamaru, why are you being like this?!" Naruto was facing him fully now, his bandaged arm twitching in arm sling.
"You tell me," Shikamaru shrugged. "You know, Choji is my best friend but I don't want to talk about him all the time, or to show him all the things I have seen, or to know his reaction on everything, or to fucking always know where is he and what is he doing..." Shikamaru stopped talking, realization dawning. Well damn, it was the can of worms he would never want to open... But what he hell.
"I don't... I'm not like that..." Naruto suddenly sounded uncharacteristically quiet. "I just want him to be back."
"Yeah," Shikamaru took another drag, already regretting his life choices. "But you know Naruto, I kinda get him now."
"You? You don't even know him, have you two ever spoken? How can you understand Sasuke? He..."
"Hold up," damn, last thing Shikamaru wanted, was Naruto getting jealous. "I mean, I had lost someone I cared about, and all I could think was to avenge him, I couldn't rest, I couldn't think about anything else."
"Shikamaru." Naruto's hand came up to his shoulder and finally Shikamaru felt guilty for snapping at him.
"I know obsessing with a revenge is not right and that fucker was a wanted criminal, but I didn't blow him up for justice, I did it avenge Asuma. If I hadn't been able to do it I wouldn't stop Naruto, even if I had to go against orders. Even if I had to leave." Shikamaru squeezed cigarette butt on the balcony railing and turned to Naruto, who was now watching him with a frown. "I can't just agree with you on this anymore, can I really wish Sasuke to quit his revenge after I nearly turned into someone like him?"
"That's not..." Naruto's fingers were digging into his shoulder painfully. "I know why he wants to kill his brother, I know. I never said he shouldn't do it, but..."
"It's his family, it's personal." Shikamaru wished he had no understanding for Uchiha, but he did.
"I'm... I'm his family too." Naruto said softly, his hand dropping at his side. "We have a plan, we are going to hunt Itachi down. We are going to get him."
Shikamaru snorted. "Yeah, I've heard about it, catch Uchiha Itachi alive, lure Sasuke back. That's one shitty plan." Shikamaru wished he had brought another cigarette outside. He didn't ask Tsunade who made the plan, but it looked like team 7 handwork. "Do you really think you guys can capture Itachi Uchiha alive?" Shikamaru had a feeling, Tsunade and Kakashi were just humoring Naruto, keeping him busy so he wouldn't rampage after Sasuke on his own.
"We can, just wait and see, Shikamaru." Naruto jabbed finger at his chest again. "Kakashi sensei thinks two teams will be enough."
If Kakashi really planned to go against Itachi Uchiha and his partner, because his partner wouldn't just stand and let them capture Uchiha, he would take Guy and his team, not Kiba and Hinata. Shikamaru pushed back from the wall and stretched his arms. "Alright, fine, scratch that. So you think you gonna serve Itachi's head on a platter to Sasuke and he'll be all happy and come back?" Shikamaru held up hand when Naruto opened his big mouth again. "Or still won't allow Sasuke to kill him? You hadn't thought this far, have you?"
"No," Naruto admitted begrudgingly, but he remained stubborn, of course. "It doesn't matter, first we must catch up with Sasuke."
"No, Naruto, think about it before you go charging at him. What are you going to do? Fighting him and screaming in his face obviously doesn't work, as we know from the experience."
Naruto's face grew gloomy, right, that fight almost 3 years ago was still touchy subject for Naruto, but guess what, it wasn't easy for Shikamaru either. It was the first mission he led, and his team had barely escaped death. Sometimes he still dreamed about it, sitting in hospital waiting room and waiting endlessly to hear whether Choji and Neji survived or not. "I get that you want to bring him back Naruto, but what about what he wants? He doesn't really seem to want to be here."
"This is our home." Naruto looked really pissed off now. "What the fuck is wrong with you, this is Sasuke's home, here he was..."
"Happy?" Shikamaru asked, boy did he regret starting this conversation, but he was in too deep to leave this unfinished. "Place where he lived with his family and now is just bloody memories? You think he was happy? I didn't know him well, right, but he never looked happy to me."
"But we were like a family." Naruto was nothing but a stubborn mule, Shikamaru could give him that. "When we went on missions together, when we trained, you have no idea Shikamaru."
"You know what, I have a pretty good idea." Damned Naruto, making him think about wrecked Uchiha psychology in the middle of the night. Shikamaru shook his head. "I think you are mistaking Sasuke for yourself. Sorry, Naruto. I don't think it was 'like family' for Sasuke, he used to have real family, and trust me, no team and training is going to replace that. It was family for you, wasn't it? It was the closest thing you ever had to family." Naruto's face was blank and his hands were shaking, but Shikamaru couldn't stop. "Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, four of you meant family for you, you are trying to bring him back to keep this illusion up, because without him family's not complete, is it? You want him back for you, you don't care what he wants."
"Shut up Shikamaru." Naruto growled. "Shut the fuck up."
"I was with you before, you know? I didn't want him to go to Orochimaru. Sure, it was dangerous for him, I understood your worry, but now? Why are you still chasing him, Naruto, why won't you let him do his thing? He's strong enough to kill Orochimaru, he can probably defeat his brother. It serves Konoha's goals, why do you still want to force him back here, to come and play a family with you and Sakura? To live up your phantasy? Or are you trying so hard because you promised Sakura? Are going to force Sasuke to come here and marry her? Really, Naruto, what are you going to do when you meet him? He won't come back on his own will, will you beat him into it? Keep him into a cage under the Hokage tower? What is your fucking plan, Naruto?"
The punch was unexpected, but deserved. Shikamaru wasn't even mad when he lifted himself from the broken wall and looked up the balcony where Naruto stood, shaking with anger.
The door burst open and Sakura and Ino began to scream in tandem.
"What happened?!"
"Shikamaru?"
"Are you two fighting?!"
"Naruto! What did you do?!"
"Leave me alone." Naruto flinched back when Sakura tried to grab his shoulder and leaped off the railing, disappearing between the buildings.
Shikamaru checked his jaw, not broken. So Naruto's left hook wasn't that good, or he still held himself back. Wincing, Shikamaru went back into the barbecue house and walked up to the second floor again.
"Shikamaru, what the hell happened?" Ino was back in the room, now everyone was silent. Choji stopped eating when he saw Shikamaru's face.
"Nothing." Shikamaru had no wish to rewind that. He had enough talking for an year. He picked up his vest and cigarettes. "I'm going."
"Shikamaru." Sakura tried to stop him. "Let me see your face."
"Leave it, it's not broken." Shikamaru was really starting to feel guilty. Sakura still looked shocked. Probably Naruto had never rejected her like that before.
"What did Naruto do..."
"Leave it, Sakura." Shikamaru cut her off. "It's between us." Ignoring the calls from Ino and Choji, Shikamaru jogged down the stairs and stopped outside to lit a new cigarette. The burn inside his injured cheek intensified but Shikamaru paid no attention. What the hell came over him? No sane person with meddle into team 7's dysfunction.
***********
"Just how much did you smoke? It's literally fog in here."
Shikamaru didn't think he would come, or else he wouldn't smoke that much. He dragged heavy stare across the room, to where Neji's silhouette stood.
Neji moved around with practical ease, opening up windows, before stopped in the middle and spun. Small waves of chakra burst out of him, clearing most of the smoke out.
Shikamaru raised eyebrow. "Should you use kaiten like that?"
Neji ignored his question. "What did you do?"
The difference, thought Shikamaru. Sakura had been Naruto's teammate for years, yet first thing she did when she heard their fight, was to put blame on Naruto. Neji knew better. That's why Shikamaru liked him, his mind was fascinating.
"We just talked."
Neji stood still, his lavender eyes seemed to glow under the moonlight. "You can't just talk to Naruto. He can't handle that from you."
"Then what am I supposed to do?" Asked Shikamaru, putting hands under his head as he stretched more comfortably on the bed. "Act like Tsunade and Kakashi? Pretend they are going on some holy mission and it'll end well? Sure, Kiba and Hinata are going eat Uchiha Itachi alive."
"Quit it." Neji finally moved and Shikamaru released breath. He hadn't realized how cold he was until Neji's warm fingers touched his face. "You aren't okay."
Shikamaru shook head. He wasn't.
Neji didn't offer his condolences. He didn't say it would get better. He didn't say he knew how Shikamaru felt. He just sat down next to him, saying nothing when Shikamaru shifted to put his head on Neji's lap.
The silence felt nice. Neji was just meditating. Did he know his presence kept Shikamaru's demons away? He must have known. There weren't many people with whom Shikamaru could be alone peacefully, Neji was one of them. And his fingers felt heavenly on Shikamaru's scalp.
"I'm sorry I hurt Naruto." Shikamaru voiced after a while. "But I'm not taking back what I said, he needed to hear it."
"You think that, whatever you said, will help him?" Neji didn't ask what he said, but he definitely thought same at some point, Shikamaru was sure of it.
He closed his eyes. "I hope so."
********
The mission failed, as expected. Shikamaru said nothing when he heard debriefing from Kakashi. Naruto was mopping, as Kiba put it, not coming out off his apartment, neither for ramen nor for training. This sounded serious.
With a heavy heart, Shikamaru stopped by his apartment.
"Get lost." Was Naruto's reaction when he saw him. He didn't even move from the bed.
Shikamaru closed the door behind him and looked around. Naruto's apartment was always a mess, but this time it looked just abandoned, except for unmoving Naruto on the bed. Was he even eating?
"I've heard what happened."
"Are you happy now?" Naruto had barely glimpsed up from the pillow. "I couldn't..."
"I'm not happy." God, Shikamaru felt farthest from the happiness. "Naruto, I'm sorry the way I said things."
"But you meant it." Sometimes Naruto was sharp, it was disorienting.
When Shikamaru didn't answer, Naruto finally dragged himself up. He looked awful, Shikamaru thought.
"We could have brought him back, if only we'd get there first. Itachi's dead, he has no reason to not return. But that guy..."
Shikamaru frowned, yes, the mysterious Sharingan user who came out of nowhere.
"Now Akatsuki has him. What are they going to do with him? Are they going to hurt him? Are they going to get Sasuke to join them? I don't know what to do!" Naruto's voice rose slightly in panic and Shikamaru stepped forward.
"Hey," he gripped Naruto's shoulder, taking seat next to him. Abruptly he remembered Neji sitting down in his bed in silence. Naruto didn't have anyone like him. "Sasuke is too important for them to hurt him, and you know Sasuke, right? Has anyone ever succeeded to control him? He's always unpredictable."
"Why are you telling me that?" Naruto's doubtful stare was making Shikamaru sad, well damn it, he really shouldn't have run his mouth like that.
"I guess I'm really sorry, and I really think so. Sasuke does what Sasuke does. What Akatsuki wants now, is to have another Uchiha under their control."
"You are right Shikamaru." Naruto said suddenly, making Shikamaru pause.
"About what?" He asked carefully.
"Everyone wants to control him, no one is asking what does he want."
"What do you mean?" There was something more into it, then Naruto's obsession.
"I've met Itachi Uchiha's clone, he trapped me under some kind of genjutsu."
"Did he torture you?"
"No," Naruto hesitated. "It was weird, he just wanted to talk, about Sasuke. He asked what would I do if things didn't go my way, if I could kill Sasuke if he turned against Konoha."
"Why would Sasuke do that?" Sure Sasuke didn't want to come back, but what grudge could he hold against them?
"I don't know, he said Sasuke is blank canvas. But why did he care even if Sasuke attacks village? He was Akatsuki member, he killed his own clan. He hurt Sasuke. Suddenly he's worried about Konoha?"
"What else did he say?" This was all too suspicious, Shikamaru didn't like it even a bit.
"Well, after I said I wouldn't kill Sasuke, he made me swallow his crow, and said he gave me some power. But I don't feel anything wrong." Naruto swallowed, but his gaze was firm. "It was like he wanted me to say that I would... I would kill Sasuke and when I refused, he did that weird thing."
"Crazy Uchihas." Shikamaru rubbed his forehead, this matter was already giving him a headache. "I'm gonna need to do some research. Meanwhile, don't do anything stupid."
"I know you don't like Sasuke." Naruto hesitated, "but I don't know how..."
"I don't like him." Shikamaru agreed. "I'm your friend though. And besides, I think I need to get to the bottom of this."
"I'm sorry, Shikamaru, for hitting you."
Now, Shikamaru wasn't the one with a bleeding heart, but fucking Naruto. He sighed. "I deserved it. We good?"
"Yeah." Naruto met his gaze head on. "We good."