The Underhanded Trickery of an Honorable Man (ShikaNeji, PG)
Title: The Underhanded Trickery of an Honorable Man
Author: dana_chaaan
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Nara Shikamaru x Hyuuga Neji
Letter/Prompt: 02. B (Bad-tempered; Table #12)
Rating: PG for light cursing
Word Count: 1,375
Warnings/Spoilers: Implied slash, light cursing, unbeta-ed, AUish
Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto or its characters.
Notes: I like making them older. It’s so much more fun that way. I hope no one else minds too much. :D And holy crap, do I like long titles or what? Haha. And it really has like practically nothing to do with the story. :D
Summary: Normally Shikamaru is a sensible guy, but three annoying genin can really wear down on his patience.
It was rare for Shikamaru to show any emotion that wasn’t fear, dull admiration, or boredom. He had gotten angry in the past, mainly at his mother or Naruto, but he normally didn’t care enough to get riled up. His energy, he thought, was much better spent doing nothing than getting frustrated.
There were days, of course, when not even the most patient person in the world could stay restrained.
“Now, go do your thing,” he stated plainly before ignoring the three genin in front of him. Normally he would want nothing to do with the little ninja, but their actual teacher had been forced to help a class at the academy and cashed in the debt Shikamaru owed him. At first, Shikamaru was adamant on refusing, but debts were tricky things and he hadn’t put stipulations on the debt when he made it, so he couldn’t put any on it then. (It was hard being an honorable man, he was quick to learn.)
The three genin - a boy with tanned skin and bright eyes who always smiled, a girl who hated other girls but was definitely the high-maintenance type, and another boy who constantly stuck his nose up at Shikamaru and demanded for their “better” and “stronger” original teacher - were all pains in his ass. Luckily, he had simply been instructed to let them have mock-fights and to watch their techniques and point out their flaws. So, because he didn’t feel like using any brain power, he gave them the same commands and lied down to stare at the sky.
Every other moment, he would glance in their direction to make sure they were still fighting. At one point he saw the girl move to pivot on unsteady ground with her arms already flailing and said, “You’re going to fall.” It was too late, though, so he could only watch as she continued the move and fell on her butt. The two boys snickered before helping her up.
With a red face - both from embarrassment and anger, he gathered - she stomped over to Shikamaru. Her voice was shrill but the ire was obvious. “Maybe if you had told me a little sooner or actually tried to teach us anything, I would’ve have made such a rudimentary mistake!”
“Yeah!” The two boys agreed. “All you’ve done is lay there when you’re supposed to be teaching us.” The three of them kept scolding Shikamaru without pause; however, he couldn’t care less. Once the clouds in front of him were blocked by a head, though, he shot the offender a glare and realized they had finished yelling and were waiting for a reply.
Shikamaru sat up, one pinky finger lodged comfortably in his ear, while a yawn cracked his jaw. “You guys are really annoying,” he said in a lazy drawl, blearily staring up at them. “I’m only here for today; isn’t it better just to treat this day as a day off?”
“No way!” The bright-eyed, energetic boy replied. “I want to be able to go on B-class missions soon.”
“And if we don’t even have the basics down there’s no way Teacher will let us!” The girl continued, eyes flashing.
Shikamaru looked to the stuck-up boy, expecting him to add his two-cents as well. When the genin didn’t speak, Shikamaru shrugged half-heartedly and replied, “That’s not my problem,” before falling back onto the grass.
His relaxation didn’t last long, however, as he was hauled up to his feet by three pairs of hands. Then they all started talking to him, scolding him, and telling him what to do. He easily ignored the three and lifted his gaze to the blue sky. A swift kick to the shin brought his attention back to the brats.
“What?” he hissed, glaring at the genin. He could only keep his wits against the three for so long.
“All we want,” the stuck-up boy started, “is for you to do your job.”
“Yeah, obviously Teacher thought you’d be able to help at least a little, or else he wouldn’t have asked you to sub for him,” the girl inputted, hands posed on his hips. Shikamaru couldn’t help but envision a younger Ino as she took that position.
“Lord knows why Teacher would even associate with something like you,” the boy grumbled. A sigh escaped Shikamaru’s lips as he fought the urge to put his hands around that skinny neck and squeeze.
“Oy, Shikamaru!” a voice called from behind. Four heads whipped around to greet the noise and were graced with the vision of an usually bright-faced Neji jogging toward them. As he grew closer and his pace slowed, his face closed off and his body regained its elegant poise.
Though he stopped in front of Shikamaru and looked ready to begin some sort of conversation, the three genin moved between them and started talking simultaneously. Each were complaining, in their own way, about Shikamaru’s behavior as a substitute teacher and how, if Neji was ever going to be absent again, they’d take Gai over Shikamaru.
“Stop that,” Neji growled, glaring at his three students. They immediately quieted. “Do not bad-mouth someone who is of higher rank than you.” Some moans and groans and “but…”s started but were easily diminished by another death glare.
“I’m sorry about that, Shikamaru,” Neji said in a softer tone. He turned to face the other and caught the slight shrug.
“I agree with them. I couldn’t get any decent cloud-gazing with their constant nagging.” Another jaw-shattering yawn erupted.
Neji blanched as he understood the implications of that statement. “You didn’t teach them?” he snarled at the Nara. “I gave you specific instructions that were so easy even the laziest ninja - aka you - could follow them!”
The three genin cringed at the venomous tone of their instructor, but each felt oddly victorious that Shikamaru was finally getting scolded for his inactions. They were shocked to find the sub unaffected, however, and were even more surprised by the bored voice he replied with.
“Relax, Neji,” Shikamaru said as he waited for the Hyuuga to cool down before continuing. “I can do two things at once, you know. It’s not that hard to cloud-gaze and watch a couple of genin fight. Besides, there was nothing to teach them. They’ve got the basics down pat and you told me not to teach them anything beyond that. The only time any of them fouled up was when Ami,” he jerked a thumb in the girl’s direction, “made an unstable pivot where the ground had just previously been disturbed.”
He let a quick huff of air then flashed Neji an uncharacteristic smile. “They’re doing great. I’d expect nothing less from the students of the Hyuuga prodigy.”
A pink hue colored Neji’s cheeks (even the genin were baffled at the out-of-the-blue compliment). He gaped like a fish for a moment before regaining his impeccable composure. “Thank you, Shikamaru,” he said sincerely and hoped Shikamaru understood the thank-you wasn’t just for the compliment. “I’m sure these three are grateful of your praise as well.”
“Yeah, well, now you’re in my debt for making me go through this torture,” Shikamaru responded, a sly smirk curling his lips. A questioning look passed over Neji’s face, so Shikamaru continued with his demand. “I’m gonna need a drink tonight after all this, and it’s always better to drink with company.”
With a single eyebrow raised, Neji answered with a small smile gracing his lips, “Must not be a very large debt, then.” When Shikamaru’s expression didn’t change, he chuckled softly. “I could use a drink tonight. Eight at Miashi’s, then?” He waited for the other’s nod before turning back to his team.
An odd sort of triumph bubbled in Shikamaru’s chest as he started to leave the training area. He hadn’t really expected to ask the Hyuuga out like that, but once he’d begun he couldn’t possibly retract the invitation. (Being an honorable man just got harder and harder.)
He idly wondered if Neji caught onto the real meaning of this outing. But as he heard the high-pitch squeal of “Did he just ask you out on a date?” that received no audible reply, he figured if Neji hadn’t known before, he definitely had his suspicions now.
Author: dana_chaaan
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Nara Shikamaru x Hyuuga Neji
Letter/Prompt: 02. B (Bad-tempered; Table #12)
Rating: PG for light cursing
Word Count: 1,375
Warnings/Spoilers: Implied slash, light cursing, unbeta-ed, AUish
Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto or its characters.
Notes: I like making them older. It’s so much more fun that way. I hope no one else minds too much. :D And holy crap, do I like long titles or what? Haha. And it really has like practically nothing to do with the story. :D
Summary: Normally Shikamaru is a sensible guy, but three annoying genin can really wear down on his patience.
It was rare for Shikamaru to show any emotion that wasn’t fear, dull admiration, or boredom. He had gotten angry in the past, mainly at his mother or Naruto, but he normally didn’t care enough to get riled up. His energy, he thought, was much better spent doing nothing than getting frustrated.
There were days, of course, when not even the most patient person in the world could stay restrained.
“Now, go do your thing,” he stated plainly before ignoring the three genin in front of him. Normally he would want nothing to do with the little ninja, but their actual teacher had been forced to help a class at the academy and cashed in the debt Shikamaru owed him. At first, Shikamaru was adamant on refusing, but debts were tricky things and he hadn’t put stipulations on the debt when he made it, so he couldn’t put any on it then. (It was hard being an honorable man, he was quick to learn.)
The three genin - a boy with tanned skin and bright eyes who always smiled, a girl who hated other girls but was definitely the high-maintenance type, and another boy who constantly stuck his nose up at Shikamaru and demanded for their “better” and “stronger” original teacher - were all pains in his ass. Luckily, he had simply been instructed to let them have mock-fights and to watch their techniques and point out their flaws. So, because he didn’t feel like using any brain power, he gave them the same commands and lied down to stare at the sky.
Every other moment, he would glance in their direction to make sure they were still fighting. At one point he saw the girl move to pivot on unsteady ground with her arms already flailing and said, “You’re going to fall.” It was too late, though, so he could only watch as she continued the move and fell on her butt. The two boys snickered before helping her up.
With a red face - both from embarrassment and anger, he gathered - she stomped over to Shikamaru. Her voice was shrill but the ire was obvious. “Maybe if you had told me a little sooner or actually tried to teach us anything, I would’ve have made such a rudimentary mistake!”
“Yeah!” The two boys agreed. “All you’ve done is lay there when you’re supposed to be teaching us.” The three of them kept scolding Shikamaru without pause; however, he couldn’t care less. Once the clouds in front of him were blocked by a head, though, he shot the offender a glare and realized they had finished yelling and were waiting for a reply.
Shikamaru sat up, one pinky finger lodged comfortably in his ear, while a yawn cracked his jaw. “You guys are really annoying,” he said in a lazy drawl, blearily staring up at them. “I’m only here for today; isn’t it better just to treat this day as a day off?”
“No way!” The bright-eyed, energetic boy replied. “I want to be able to go on B-class missions soon.”
“And if we don’t even have the basics down there’s no way Teacher will let us!” The girl continued, eyes flashing.
Shikamaru looked to the stuck-up boy, expecting him to add his two-cents as well. When the genin didn’t speak, Shikamaru shrugged half-heartedly and replied, “That’s not my problem,” before falling back onto the grass.
His relaxation didn’t last long, however, as he was hauled up to his feet by three pairs of hands. Then they all started talking to him, scolding him, and telling him what to do. He easily ignored the three and lifted his gaze to the blue sky. A swift kick to the shin brought his attention back to the brats.
“What?” he hissed, glaring at the genin. He could only keep his wits against the three for so long.
“All we want,” the stuck-up boy started, “is for you to do your job.”
“Yeah, obviously Teacher thought you’d be able to help at least a little, or else he wouldn’t have asked you to sub for him,” the girl inputted, hands posed on his hips. Shikamaru couldn’t help but envision a younger Ino as she took that position.
“Lord knows why Teacher would even associate with something like you,” the boy grumbled. A sigh escaped Shikamaru’s lips as he fought the urge to put his hands around that skinny neck and squeeze.
“Oy, Shikamaru!” a voice called from behind. Four heads whipped around to greet the noise and were graced with the vision of an usually bright-faced Neji jogging toward them. As he grew closer and his pace slowed, his face closed off and his body regained its elegant poise.
Though he stopped in front of Shikamaru and looked ready to begin some sort of conversation, the three genin moved between them and started talking simultaneously. Each were complaining, in their own way, about Shikamaru’s behavior as a substitute teacher and how, if Neji was ever going to be absent again, they’d take Gai over Shikamaru.
“Stop that,” Neji growled, glaring at his three students. They immediately quieted. “Do not bad-mouth someone who is of higher rank than you.” Some moans and groans and “but…”s started but were easily diminished by another death glare.
“I’m sorry about that, Shikamaru,” Neji said in a softer tone. He turned to face the other and caught the slight shrug.
“I agree with them. I couldn’t get any decent cloud-gazing with their constant nagging.” Another jaw-shattering yawn erupted.
Neji blanched as he understood the implications of that statement. “You didn’t teach them?” he snarled at the Nara. “I gave you specific instructions that were so easy even the laziest ninja - aka you - could follow them!”
The three genin cringed at the venomous tone of their instructor, but each felt oddly victorious that Shikamaru was finally getting scolded for his inactions. They were shocked to find the sub unaffected, however, and were even more surprised by the bored voice he replied with.
“Relax, Neji,” Shikamaru said as he waited for the Hyuuga to cool down before continuing. “I can do two things at once, you know. It’s not that hard to cloud-gaze and watch a couple of genin fight. Besides, there was nothing to teach them. They’ve got the basics down pat and you told me not to teach them anything beyond that. The only time any of them fouled up was when Ami,” he jerked a thumb in the girl’s direction, “made an unstable pivot where the ground had just previously been disturbed.”
He let a quick huff of air then flashed Neji an uncharacteristic smile. “They’re doing great. I’d expect nothing less from the students of the Hyuuga prodigy.”
A pink hue colored Neji’s cheeks (even the genin were baffled at the out-of-the-blue compliment). He gaped like a fish for a moment before regaining his impeccable composure. “Thank you, Shikamaru,” he said sincerely and hoped Shikamaru understood the thank-you wasn’t just for the compliment. “I’m sure these three are grateful of your praise as well.”
“Yeah, well, now you’re in my debt for making me go through this torture,” Shikamaru responded, a sly smirk curling his lips. A questioning look passed over Neji’s face, so Shikamaru continued with his demand. “I’m gonna need a drink tonight after all this, and it’s always better to drink with company.”
With a single eyebrow raised, Neji answered with a small smile gracing his lips, “Must not be a very large debt, then.” When Shikamaru’s expression didn’t change, he chuckled softly. “I could use a drink tonight. Eight at Miashi’s, then?” He waited for the other’s nod before turning back to his team.
An odd sort of triumph bubbled in Shikamaru’s chest as he started to leave the training area. He hadn’t really expected to ask the Hyuuga out like that, but once he’d begun he couldn’t possibly retract the invitation. (Being an honorable man just got harder and harder.)
He idly wondered if Neji caught onto the real meaning of this outing. But as he heard the high-pitch squeal of “Did he just ask you out on a date?” that received no audible reply, he figured if Neji hadn’t known before, he definitely had his suspicions now.