Chapter Two: To Get Him Out of Boredom
Hello, this is the second chapter of my fic: To Get Him Out of Boredom. Yesterday was my birthday, and to share the happiness, I’d like to give this second chapter. ^^ I like this chapter very much, and hopefully so will you! XD
This one is dedicated to brevityofwit. LOL
Title: To Get Him Out of Boredom
Genre: Romance, humor
Warnings: Languages, sexual references and OOC-ness.
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-sensei.
Summary: To the genius and basketball star, Nara Shikamaru, life was too easy. He was, simply put, bored. However, his faithful friends got an interesting idea to get him out of boredom.
To Get Him Out of Boredom
Chapter 02
By: Zielddhy
“Hey there, gorgeous.” Neji looked up from the book he had been reading and found himself staring at a pair of onyx eyes. Looking at someone he didn’t recognize, Neji scoffed and buried his head back.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. No one had ever ignored him before. Well, this one should prove to be interesting. He took a seat oi the opposite chair and tried again.
“Not much of a talker, huh? I like that.”
Rather than answering, Neji took a gulp of his soda, eyes continuing to read the paragraph. The Nara took a look in what Neji was reading: Das Kapital. Yikes. Fortunately, Shikamaru Nara was not known as a genius for nothing. He knew and had read Das Kapital before, he had a basic idea what the book was about. In fact, concerning the background of Karl Max, it was understandable that the man invented a higher appreciation of labour. But then again, every idealism had their own plusses and minuses, and he certainly wasn’t one who could judge which one was better than the other. Shikamaru, however, had a more urgent task at hand, and it involved getting the man across him to talk.
“A fan of socialism, are we?” Another try wouldn’t hurt.
Realizing that the other wouldn’t leave him alone, the Hyuuga finally looked up and glared.
“Do I know you?” he asked.
Ah, at last, a reaction. The captain flashed his most brilliant smile. “I apologize. I should have introduced myself. My name is Na-“
“I have not the slightest care.” Neji’s voice cut him short.
The long-haired male stood, gathered his book, and walked away, leaving the basketball star with a full tray of untouched sandwiches and soda behind.
Shikamaru stared at the retreating back of his supposed-to-be victim, unaware of the staring the whole cafeteria gave him. He could almost hear the snickering of his friends at this moment. Sure enough, as he turned, he saw the team all trying to muffle a laugh. A glare from him that promised three rounds of practice nonstop, however, shut them up.
----------------------------------
It was the end of P.E class and Iruka-sensei blew his whistle, indicating the class had finished. The students quickly scampered into various directions, leaving Iruka to collect all the equipments from their softball game earlier. He bent down to pick up yet another ball and a voice interrupted him.
“Iruka-sensei, may I speak with you for a moment?”
He looked up and saw Hyuuga Neji; the notorious bookworm was looking down, handing a bat at him. The teacher picked it up, muttered a thank you, and answered, “What can I do for you, Hyuuga?”
“As you’re probably aware of, I was participating in a science competition last week and so was unable to take a basketball test you held that day. Is there any possibility for me to have a make-up test? With the finals coming, perhaps today will be a suitable time for it,” explained Neji.
Iruka-sensei had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Trust Hyuuga Neji to use perfect etiquette for everyday conversation. “Ah, yes. The headmistress told me about it. Alright, first of all, congratulations on winning the competition, I know you worked hard on that.”
Neji mumbled something inaudible but suspiciously sounding like ‘thank you’ and Iruka continued, “I’ll be out of town in-“ he looked at his watch, “forty-five minutes, so I can’t give you a make-up test today,”
The Hyuuga opened his mouth in protest but his teacher quickly cut him off by raising his hand, “But, I will ask Kakashi-sensei to take over for me. He is the coach of our prized basketball team. I’ll set up an appointment between you two this afternoon. Meet him at the court, do whatever he’ll ask you, he’ll take some notes and give you the appropriate score you really deserve. How does that sound?”
As the long-haired student gave a cautious nod, Iruka smiled and continued finishing his task at hand: collecting baseball equipments.
Later that afternoon, as Neji found himself walking toward the court that afternoon, he wondered if it was wise, agreeing to let Kakashi-sensei take score of his test. It wasn’t that the coach was unfair or something, but he was notoriously known as unpredictable. Nobody could guess what he would do next. More importantly, Neji couldn’t guess what Kakashi-sensei would ask him to do to complete this test. Maybe it was better to postpone it and waited for Iruka-sensei.
“Neji!” a voice called out and he halted in his tracks. As Neji turned around, he saw his best friend, Uchiha Sasuke, walking toward him.
“You’re ready to go home?” Sasuke asked, indicating the bag and books Neji held.
“I am, but unfortunately I have something to do for my regrettable basketball test,” answered the Hyuuga with a sigh.
“And this is regrettable because…?”
“Kakashi-sensei will be the supervisor.”
“Ah.”
“Yes. I’m heading to the court right now. Do you want to walk me there?”
“I’d love to, but I have a meeting with Kurenai-sensei right now. I’ll see you at the court later? Great,” said Sasuke as Neji nodded. As soon as the Uchiha left, he continued his way down the court. As soon as he saw the building, Neji couldn’t help but feel his stomach churn. God help him deal with Kakashi-sensei.
Mustering his courage, he opened the door and was immediately greeted by the sight of the whole team doing laps around court. The disturbing coach, however, was conveniently perching on a hoop at one corner. How in the name of everything holy he could get there in the first place was beyond Neji’s comprehension. At a closer observation, Kakashi-sensei was reading book that with a single look at its cover Neji was certain he didn’t want to know what it was about.
The second Neji came in, Shikamaru stopped in his tracks, causing his friends to run straight into his back.
“What the hell, Shika-?” Naruto stopped his ranting once he saw the calculating look on his captain’s face. Following the direction his friend had been looking at, he whistled. “Ah, so that’s the reason.”
“What is he doing here?” Kiba asked Shikamaru.
The basketball star turned and frowned at his friend. “How am I supposed to know that?”
“Well, seeing we have a bet going on, and it has been three days already since you unsuccessfully tried to talk to him in the cafeteria, I imagine you should know the reason why he is here,” answered Kiba smoothly.
Shikamaru scowled and retorted, “It only has been three days, Inuzuka. And I don’t think I’m supposed to memorize his schedule all the time like a stalker.”
Kiba snickered. “Okay, whatever you say, captain.”
The captain fixed him with a stern glare and commanded, “Continue with your laps.”
“Aye, aye, sir,” the whole team snickered now and Shikamaru swore he saw them smirking.
Neji stood uncertainly under the high hoop. He looked up and saw Kakashi-sensei giggling as he read his book. Giggling. Weren’t all basketball coaches supposed to be strict? Neji indiscreetly shook his head. Apparently, not this one. The young Hyuuga cleared his throat in hope that the coach would notice him. When that didn’t work, he called out, “Sensei? Umm, sir?”
Kakashi put away the book he had been reading and looked down. “What do you want?”
Neji could feel a twitch coming, but as a Hyuuga, he maintained his manner. “Iruka-sensei mentioned that I should talk to you about a basketball test?”
“Ah, of course.” With a hop, Kakashi was standing in front of Neji. “The make-up test one.” At Neji’s nod, he continued, “Change your clothes. I’ll have someone play one-on-one with you.”
“Yes, sir.”
When Neji came back from the restroom (he refused to change his clothes in front of people, thank you very much), he saw Kakashi-sensei standing in the middle of the team. Hesitantly he made his way to where the coach was. As he walked there, however, he noticed that he had managed to capture the attention of the whole team. Not just one, but all of them were currently staring at the Hyuuga. Some of them snickered, some of them smirked, and one of them, to his surprise, remained emotionless. There was one other who was staring at him, but Neji paid him no mind. After all, it was not his first experience to being stared at. He had them on daily basis, and had since long ago refused to react in any way.
He stood beside Kakashi-sensei and waited for the coach to notice him. He was currently giving out a schedule list of the oncoming national basketball tournament, something which, of course, Neji had no interest in. He glanced around the court and noticed that their high school had indeed shown appreciation for the prized champion. This court was one of the best courts nationwide, he had read about that in a school magazine some months ago. Apparently, it was all thanks to a certain captain, but he couldn’t remember, nor did he bother to remember the name of that captain.
His gaze fell on the whole basketball team standing in front of him and Neji frowned as one of the jocks was still staring invitingly at him. He swore he saw a leer in those eyes. Was the jock flirting with him?
Ick.
“Alright guys, that’s it. I’m going to give a student here a make-up test, and meanwhile Gaara, I want you to lead the team practicing three-point shoots.” Kakashi-sensei ended his lecture
“What about Shikamaru?” Naruto asked. Usually the captain was the one who led them in practice.
“I want him to help me with Hyuuga here. He needs to play one-on-one. I want him to face Nara.”
That shocked the hell out of Shikamaru and the rest of the team, although, obviously, for different reasons.
Before the captain could react, Kakashi had already walked toward the opposite direction and Neji quickly trailed after the older man.
Kiba gave his captain a playful punch on the shoulder and said, “Now this is interesting, huh, captain?”
Shikamaru scowled. “I thought you wanted me to fail.”
“I do. But I’d love to see him slap you around once again.”
The basketball star fixed his teammates a death glare and before he could verbalize any response, a voice had called out to him. “Come on, Nara! Get your ass over here!”
“Keep your eyes on the ball, would ya?” a snickering Naruto piped in.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes and jogged to where Neji was standing with his coach. God helped him with this.
“Alright, Hyuuga, I’m going to make this easy for you. You only need to score a shoot on that hoop. My guy here will try to prevent you from doing so, and you’ve gotta pass him, you understand? One shoot is all you need.”
“Yes, sir.” Damn, even his voice was perfect. Shikamaru had to stop himself from drooling hearing that voice. Taking a deep breath, he moved into position. His hands automatically dribbled the ball and felt a familiar adrenaline rush through him as he walked. With Neji watching his every move, the feeling had multiplied. The basketball star took one look at those pale eyes and immediately realized that he needed to have a tighter grip on himself. If he didn’t, Shikamaru knew he would have made a fool out of himself. He took yet another deep breath and mustered himself, tossing the ball to the other. “Your ball.”
The Hyuuga dribbled a few times, trying to get used with the way the ball bounced and felt in his hand. Once he had had enough, he looked up at the guy in front of him. “Are you ready?” he asked out of politeness.
The Nara smirked and replied, “How about: are you ready?”
Getting the indirect challenge, Neji made a move. With his fastest speed, he took a run and much to his dismay, his opponent blocked his way in as much speed as he had, if not faster. Frowning, he opted for the left and actually managed to take a few steps until he found himself face to face with this jock again. He tried again going to the right and quickly found himself in similar situation. Looking at the hoops, he understood he was only a couple of steps away from it. If he could somehow distract this guy, then he could try a three-point shoot. While his brain was trying to figure out what he could do at this moment, his hands still automatically dribbling, Neji unconsciously licked his lips.
And that was when Shikamaru froze.
Realizing that his opponent was somewhat distracted for reasons that were beyond him, the Hyuuga quickly seized the chance and threw the ball. It went through the hoops smoothly.
The Nara watched as the ball bounced off the court’s floor and cursed his own stupidity. Damn! He, the captain, had been beaten by some amateur?! If only Neji weren’t so…captivating. But then again, that tongue was so beautiful. Come to think of it, it was a breathtaking gesture Neji did back there. If Neji licking his lips already made Shikamaru freeze like this…
“Good work, Neji!” The yell from Kakashi-sensei snapped him out of his musing. He turned around just in time to see Neji giving the coach a curt nod and walking back towards the restroom. Not wanting to lose this chance, Shikamaru jogged and chased after the Hyuuga. His unsuccessful attempt in cafeteria a few days ago had been unfortunate, but this time he wouldn’t fail. Keeping that in mind, the captain began to make a small talk.
“You’re not too bad,” Shikamaru sounded impressed.
“Hn.” Neji responded shortly while continued to walk.
“You’re familiar with the ball.”
“Yes.”
“You dribbled the ball without even looking at it.”
“Yes.”
Feeling irritated by Neji’s lack of answer, Shikamaru had an idea.
“Your footwork is quick.”
“Yes.”
“You can move quite fast too.”
“Yes.”
“Go out with me.”
“Ye-What??” Neji stared at the jock in disbelief as a smirk made its way to Shikamaru’s face. Got you.
“Go out with me. As a date,” he elaborated.
The look Neji gave him somehow made Shikamaru felt like he had done a hideous crime. Without saying anything, the Hyuuga opened the door to the men’s room and silently slipped inside. Ignoring the jock who was following him, he took his bag and gathered his books, ready to go home. Walking out of the restroom, Neji saw Sasuke standing by the gym’s door, obviously waiting for him.
Shikamaru also noticed Sasuke standing there, but didn’t comment on it, fairly convinced that the two were only friends. Best friends, perhaps, but still friends.
Realizing that Neji was there, continuing to walk and ignoring him, the Nara chased after the Hyuuga. He then stopped in front of him, successfully blocking the other’s path. As Neji scowled, Shikamaru flashed his most charming smile. “You should join our team.”
Fighting the urge to cross his arms, Neji responded shortly, “No, thanks.”
“Why not?” Shikamaru questioned.
“I have no interest in basketball.”
Shikamaru had an idea and a wicked smile found its way to his face. He took a step closer to Neji, invading the other’s privacy and smirked at the way Neji tensed. Leaning down, he whispered in the other’s ear, “But I know you are interested in me.”
The Hyuuga scoffed, and readjusted his bag and books. As he passed the captain, he leaned in and whispered, “Dream on.”
“The name is Shikamaru, by the way, Nara Shikamaru,” the captain called out.
--------------------------------------------
“The name is Shikamaru, by the way, Nara Shikamaru.”
Neji turned and saw the captain still looking at him. He gave him a glare and left, deliberately ignoring the smirk on the other’s face.
“Nara has the hots for you, I see,” said an amused-looking Sasuke.
“And why should I care about that is beyond me.”
“Neji, I’m saying that the most popular guy in our school, the famous captain of our prized basketball team, has the hots for you.”
“Oh, is that what his name is?” Neji replied sarcastically.
Sasuke chuckled, “Come on, Neji, you heard the man in the first place. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have turned and glared at him.” Neji turned his glare to Sasuke, who by the way was still smirking, and huffed. “I’m tired. Let’s go.”
Kiba and Naruto looked at each other as they watched the interaction between their captain and the pristine princess. Well, it seemed that the plan was working just fine; at least Shikamaru had something to do now. The problem, however, was perhaps seducing the Hyuuga proved to be somewhat a little too challenging for the captain. Jogging over to where the Nara stood, they stood at each side of him, also looking at Neji. “Are you finally in something out of your league there, my friend?” Kiba put a comforting hand on Shikamaru’s shoulder.
Shikamaru eyed Neji’s retreating back and said in determined voice, “Nothing is out of my league.”
Author Notes: Well, what do you think? Shikamaru had made his first move and Neji remained impassive towards him. LOL Please leave comment below, it’ll be the best birthday present! XD
This one is dedicated to brevityofwit. LOL
Title: To Get Him Out of Boredom
Genre: Romance, humor
Warnings: Languages, sexual references and OOC-ness.
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-sensei.
Summary: To the genius and basketball star, Nara Shikamaru, life was too easy. He was, simply put, bored. However, his faithful friends got an interesting idea to get him out of boredom.
To Get Him Out of Boredom
Chapter 02
By: Zielddhy
“Hey there, gorgeous.” Neji looked up from the book he had been reading and found himself staring at a pair of onyx eyes. Looking at someone he didn’t recognize, Neji scoffed and buried his head back.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. No one had ever ignored him before. Well, this one should prove to be interesting. He took a seat oi the opposite chair and tried again.
“Not much of a talker, huh? I like that.”
Rather than answering, Neji took a gulp of his soda, eyes continuing to read the paragraph. The Nara took a look in what Neji was reading: Das Kapital. Yikes. Fortunately, Shikamaru Nara was not known as a genius for nothing. He knew and had read Das Kapital before, he had a basic idea what the book was about. In fact, concerning the background of Karl Max, it was understandable that the man invented a higher appreciation of labour. But then again, every idealism had their own plusses and minuses, and he certainly wasn’t one who could judge which one was better than the other. Shikamaru, however, had a more urgent task at hand, and it involved getting the man across him to talk.
“A fan of socialism, are we?” Another try wouldn’t hurt.
Realizing that the other wouldn’t leave him alone, the Hyuuga finally looked up and glared.
“Do I know you?” he asked.
Ah, at last, a reaction. The captain flashed his most brilliant smile. “I apologize. I should have introduced myself. My name is Na-“
“I have not the slightest care.” Neji’s voice cut him short.
The long-haired male stood, gathered his book, and walked away, leaving the basketball star with a full tray of untouched sandwiches and soda behind.
Shikamaru stared at the retreating back of his supposed-to-be victim, unaware of the staring the whole cafeteria gave him. He could almost hear the snickering of his friends at this moment. Sure enough, as he turned, he saw the team all trying to muffle a laugh. A glare from him that promised three rounds of practice nonstop, however, shut them up.
----------------------------------
It was the end of P.E class and Iruka-sensei blew his whistle, indicating the class had finished. The students quickly scampered into various directions, leaving Iruka to collect all the equipments from their softball game earlier. He bent down to pick up yet another ball and a voice interrupted him.
“Iruka-sensei, may I speak with you for a moment?”
He looked up and saw Hyuuga Neji; the notorious bookworm was looking down, handing a bat at him. The teacher picked it up, muttered a thank you, and answered, “What can I do for you, Hyuuga?”
“As you’re probably aware of, I was participating in a science competition last week and so was unable to take a basketball test you held that day. Is there any possibility for me to have a make-up test? With the finals coming, perhaps today will be a suitable time for it,” explained Neji.
Iruka-sensei had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Trust Hyuuga Neji to use perfect etiquette for everyday conversation. “Ah, yes. The headmistress told me about it. Alright, first of all, congratulations on winning the competition, I know you worked hard on that.”
Neji mumbled something inaudible but suspiciously sounding like ‘thank you’ and Iruka continued, “I’ll be out of town in-“ he looked at his watch, “forty-five minutes, so I can’t give you a make-up test today,”
The Hyuuga opened his mouth in protest but his teacher quickly cut him off by raising his hand, “But, I will ask Kakashi-sensei to take over for me. He is the coach of our prized basketball team. I’ll set up an appointment between you two this afternoon. Meet him at the court, do whatever he’ll ask you, he’ll take some notes and give you the appropriate score you really deserve. How does that sound?”
As the long-haired student gave a cautious nod, Iruka smiled and continued finishing his task at hand: collecting baseball equipments.
Later that afternoon, as Neji found himself walking toward the court that afternoon, he wondered if it was wise, agreeing to let Kakashi-sensei take score of his test. It wasn’t that the coach was unfair or something, but he was notoriously known as unpredictable. Nobody could guess what he would do next. More importantly, Neji couldn’t guess what Kakashi-sensei would ask him to do to complete this test. Maybe it was better to postpone it and waited for Iruka-sensei.
“Neji!” a voice called out and he halted in his tracks. As Neji turned around, he saw his best friend, Uchiha Sasuke, walking toward him.
“You’re ready to go home?” Sasuke asked, indicating the bag and books Neji held.
“I am, but unfortunately I have something to do for my regrettable basketball test,” answered the Hyuuga with a sigh.
“And this is regrettable because…?”
“Kakashi-sensei will be the supervisor.”
“Ah.”
“Yes. I’m heading to the court right now. Do you want to walk me there?”
“I’d love to, but I have a meeting with Kurenai-sensei right now. I’ll see you at the court later? Great,” said Sasuke as Neji nodded. As soon as the Uchiha left, he continued his way down the court. As soon as he saw the building, Neji couldn’t help but feel his stomach churn. God help him deal with Kakashi-sensei.
Mustering his courage, he opened the door and was immediately greeted by the sight of the whole team doing laps around court. The disturbing coach, however, was conveniently perching on a hoop at one corner. How in the name of everything holy he could get there in the first place was beyond Neji’s comprehension. At a closer observation, Kakashi-sensei was reading book that with a single look at its cover Neji was certain he didn’t want to know what it was about.
The second Neji came in, Shikamaru stopped in his tracks, causing his friends to run straight into his back.
“What the hell, Shika-?” Naruto stopped his ranting once he saw the calculating look on his captain’s face. Following the direction his friend had been looking at, he whistled. “Ah, so that’s the reason.”
“What is he doing here?” Kiba asked Shikamaru.
The basketball star turned and frowned at his friend. “How am I supposed to know that?”
“Well, seeing we have a bet going on, and it has been three days already since you unsuccessfully tried to talk to him in the cafeteria, I imagine you should know the reason why he is here,” answered Kiba smoothly.
Shikamaru scowled and retorted, “It only has been three days, Inuzuka. And I don’t think I’m supposed to memorize his schedule all the time like a stalker.”
Kiba snickered. “Okay, whatever you say, captain.”
The captain fixed him with a stern glare and commanded, “Continue with your laps.”
“Aye, aye, sir,” the whole team snickered now and Shikamaru swore he saw them smirking.
Neji stood uncertainly under the high hoop. He looked up and saw Kakashi-sensei giggling as he read his book. Giggling. Weren’t all basketball coaches supposed to be strict? Neji indiscreetly shook his head. Apparently, not this one. The young Hyuuga cleared his throat in hope that the coach would notice him. When that didn’t work, he called out, “Sensei? Umm, sir?”
Kakashi put away the book he had been reading and looked down. “What do you want?”
Neji could feel a twitch coming, but as a Hyuuga, he maintained his manner. “Iruka-sensei mentioned that I should talk to you about a basketball test?”
“Ah, of course.” With a hop, Kakashi was standing in front of Neji. “The make-up test one.” At Neji’s nod, he continued, “Change your clothes. I’ll have someone play one-on-one with you.”
“Yes, sir.”
When Neji came back from the restroom (he refused to change his clothes in front of people, thank you very much), he saw Kakashi-sensei standing in the middle of the team. Hesitantly he made his way to where the coach was. As he walked there, however, he noticed that he had managed to capture the attention of the whole team. Not just one, but all of them were currently staring at the Hyuuga. Some of them snickered, some of them smirked, and one of them, to his surprise, remained emotionless. There was one other who was staring at him, but Neji paid him no mind. After all, it was not his first experience to being stared at. He had them on daily basis, and had since long ago refused to react in any way.
He stood beside Kakashi-sensei and waited for the coach to notice him. He was currently giving out a schedule list of the oncoming national basketball tournament, something which, of course, Neji had no interest in. He glanced around the court and noticed that their high school had indeed shown appreciation for the prized champion. This court was one of the best courts nationwide, he had read about that in a school magazine some months ago. Apparently, it was all thanks to a certain captain, but he couldn’t remember, nor did he bother to remember the name of that captain.
His gaze fell on the whole basketball team standing in front of him and Neji frowned as one of the jocks was still staring invitingly at him. He swore he saw a leer in those eyes. Was the jock flirting with him?
Ick.
“Alright guys, that’s it. I’m going to give a student here a make-up test, and meanwhile Gaara, I want you to lead the team practicing three-point shoots.” Kakashi-sensei ended his lecture
“What about Shikamaru?” Naruto asked. Usually the captain was the one who led them in practice.
“I want him to help me with Hyuuga here. He needs to play one-on-one. I want him to face Nara.”
That shocked the hell out of Shikamaru and the rest of the team, although, obviously, for different reasons.
Before the captain could react, Kakashi had already walked toward the opposite direction and Neji quickly trailed after the older man.
Kiba gave his captain a playful punch on the shoulder and said, “Now this is interesting, huh, captain?”
Shikamaru scowled. “I thought you wanted me to fail.”
“I do. But I’d love to see him slap you around once again.”
The basketball star fixed his teammates a death glare and before he could verbalize any response, a voice had called out to him. “Come on, Nara! Get your ass over here!”
“Keep your eyes on the ball, would ya?” a snickering Naruto piped in.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes and jogged to where Neji was standing with his coach. God helped him with this.
“Alright, Hyuuga, I’m going to make this easy for you. You only need to score a shoot on that hoop. My guy here will try to prevent you from doing so, and you’ve gotta pass him, you understand? One shoot is all you need.”
“Yes, sir.” Damn, even his voice was perfect. Shikamaru had to stop himself from drooling hearing that voice. Taking a deep breath, he moved into position. His hands automatically dribbled the ball and felt a familiar adrenaline rush through him as he walked. With Neji watching his every move, the feeling had multiplied. The basketball star took one look at those pale eyes and immediately realized that he needed to have a tighter grip on himself. If he didn’t, Shikamaru knew he would have made a fool out of himself. He took yet another deep breath and mustered himself, tossing the ball to the other. “Your ball.”
The Hyuuga dribbled a few times, trying to get used with the way the ball bounced and felt in his hand. Once he had had enough, he looked up at the guy in front of him. “Are you ready?” he asked out of politeness.
The Nara smirked and replied, “How about: are you ready?”
Getting the indirect challenge, Neji made a move. With his fastest speed, he took a run and much to his dismay, his opponent blocked his way in as much speed as he had, if not faster. Frowning, he opted for the left and actually managed to take a few steps until he found himself face to face with this jock again. He tried again going to the right and quickly found himself in similar situation. Looking at the hoops, he understood he was only a couple of steps away from it. If he could somehow distract this guy, then he could try a three-point shoot. While his brain was trying to figure out what he could do at this moment, his hands still automatically dribbling, Neji unconsciously licked his lips.
And that was when Shikamaru froze.
Realizing that his opponent was somewhat distracted for reasons that were beyond him, the Hyuuga quickly seized the chance and threw the ball. It went through the hoops smoothly.
The Nara watched as the ball bounced off the court’s floor and cursed his own stupidity. Damn! He, the captain, had been beaten by some amateur?! If only Neji weren’t so…captivating. But then again, that tongue was so beautiful. Come to think of it, it was a breathtaking gesture Neji did back there. If Neji licking his lips already made Shikamaru freeze like this…
“Good work, Neji!” The yell from Kakashi-sensei snapped him out of his musing. He turned around just in time to see Neji giving the coach a curt nod and walking back towards the restroom. Not wanting to lose this chance, Shikamaru jogged and chased after the Hyuuga. His unsuccessful attempt in cafeteria a few days ago had been unfortunate, but this time he wouldn’t fail. Keeping that in mind, the captain began to make a small talk.
“You’re not too bad,” Shikamaru sounded impressed.
“Hn.” Neji responded shortly while continued to walk.
“You’re familiar with the ball.”
“Yes.”
“You dribbled the ball without even looking at it.”
“Yes.”
Feeling irritated by Neji’s lack of answer, Shikamaru had an idea.
“Your footwork is quick.”
“Yes.”
“You can move quite fast too.”
“Yes.”
“Go out with me.”
“Ye-What??” Neji stared at the jock in disbelief as a smirk made its way to Shikamaru’s face. Got you.
“Go out with me. As a date,” he elaborated.
The look Neji gave him somehow made Shikamaru felt like he had done a hideous crime. Without saying anything, the Hyuuga opened the door to the men’s room and silently slipped inside. Ignoring the jock who was following him, he took his bag and gathered his books, ready to go home. Walking out of the restroom, Neji saw Sasuke standing by the gym’s door, obviously waiting for him.
Shikamaru also noticed Sasuke standing there, but didn’t comment on it, fairly convinced that the two were only friends. Best friends, perhaps, but still friends.
Realizing that Neji was there, continuing to walk and ignoring him, the Nara chased after the Hyuuga. He then stopped in front of him, successfully blocking the other’s path. As Neji scowled, Shikamaru flashed his most charming smile. “You should join our team.”
Fighting the urge to cross his arms, Neji responded shortly, “No, thanks.”
“Why not?” Shikamaru questioned.
“I have no interest in basketball.”
Shikamaru had an idea and a wicked smile found its way to his face. He took a step closer to Neji, invading the other’s privacy and smirked at the way Neji tensed. Leaning down, he whispered in the other’s ear, “But I know you are interested in me.”
The Hyuuga scoffed, and readjusted his bag and books. As he passed the captain, he leaned in and whispered, “Dream on.”
“The name is Shikamaru, by the way, Nara Shikamaru,” the captain called out.
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“The name is Shikamaru, by the way, Nara Shikamaru.”
Neji turned and saw the captain still looking at him. He gave him a glare and left, deliberately ignoring the smirk on the other’s face.
“Nara has the hots for you, I see,” said an amused-looking Sasuke.
“And why should I care about that is beyond me.”
“Neji, I’m saying that the most popular guy in our school, the famous captain of our prized basketball team, has the hots for you.”
“Oh, is that what his name is?” Neji replied sarcastically.
Sasuke chuckled, “Come on, Neji, you heard the man in the first place. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have turned and glared at him.” Neji turned his glare to Sasuke, who by the way was still smirking, and huffed. “I’m tired. Let’s go.”
Kiba and Naruto looked at each other as they watched the interaction between their captain and the pristine princess. Well, it seemed that the plan was working just fine; at least Shikamaru had something to do now. The problem, however, was perhaps seducing the Hyuuga proved to be somewhat a little too challenging for the captain. Jogging over to where the Nara stood, they stood at each side of him, also looking at Neji. “Are you finally in something out of your league there, my friend?” Kiba put a comforting hand on Shikamaru’s shoulder.
Shikamaru eyed Neji’s retreating back and said in determined voice, “Nothing is out of my league.”
Author Notes: Well, what do you think? Shikamaru had made his first move and Neji remained impassive towards him. LOL Please leave comment below, it’ll be the best birthday present! XD