Summery: Five years since the attack on Konoha, two geniuses who don't see eye to eye are captured by the Rain during a routine surveillance mission. Without the use of jitsus will Neji and Shikamaru be able to rely on each other for survival? NejiShika

To find the link to the Rain Nin Character Art: Check out my profile page. Their costumes are a bit to elaborate for me to literate without being confusing

SO SORRY FOR THE LONG ASS DELAY! Oooookay, first of all I would like to call this the $300 chapter. My computer crashed (from a hotmail virus which also killed my account) nearly a year ago, and it is only until recently that I was able to afford the cost to retrieve the data (with graduating expenses and things like food, bills, etc. the priortity of retrieving fanfiction from computer limbo gets left behind somewhere) in other words, the only reason that I forked over the monies was to save all my fics! Not just this chappie, but all my other unpublished fics (including the sequel to 'More than a Genius') Again, so sorry for the long horrendous wait!

White.

Shikamaru cracked his eyes open and was immediately blinded by the stark whiteness of a florescent light. Voices sounded all around him.

He was back in the cell.

Fear cut through his grogginess like a knife. Shikamaru tried to lash out at the voices, but a strong grip held him down. All Shikamaru could do was scream for his partner. "Neji! Where's Neji! Where is he?"

"Settle down Shikamaru!" A stern feminine voice commanded.

Shikamaru's eyes snapped open. His mind swirled in disorientation as he attempted to get his bearings. He found himself staring up into the ceiling of a sunlit room, not the cell he dreaded. "Where...am I?"

"You're in room 209 of Konoha Hospital." Tsunade's smiling face appeared above. "You've been asleep for three days. It was a good thing Shizune went with that rescue party, otherwise I doubt either you or the Hyuuga would have made it back alive."

Shikamaru gripped Tsunade's arm. "Neji? Where is he? I have to see him! I have to–"

"Calm down Nara, I'm right here."

Shikamaru pulled himself upright to find the source of the voice. Neji sat across from Shikamaru's hospital bed. The Hyuuga was dressed in his casual fall kimono, and appeared perfectly healthy. Neji sipped his tea and smiled at his comrade. "You're so noisy."

A smile played across Tsunade's features. "The Hyuuga Clan's durability never ceases to amaze me. I've seen patients succumb to less severe battering even without the dangers of exposure and infection." The Godaime's smile faded. "Neji reported that the both of you were captured on behalf of obtaining information on a certain 'Tsunade's legacy'." The Godaime sighed and rubbed her temples wearily. "My so called 'legacy' is merely a collection of my personal medical journals that I'm about to publish. Who would have thought that a title of a book could cause so much grief?"

Tsunade glanced over to notice Shikamaru staring silently at his bed sheets, and recognized the unspoken request for privacy. She stood up from her chair. "I'll come back later to fill you in on the specifics of your condition." She patted Shikamaru's shoulder reassuringly. "You'll make a full recovery."

Once Tsunade closed the door behind her, Neji put aside his tea and slowly stood up from his chair. In doing so, Shikamaru spotted several pink lines marring the exposed skin on his arms.

Neji noticed Shikamaru looking at his scars, and pulled back his sleeve to show them off. "Thanks to Tsunade-sama's chakra, my body is almost completely healed. Even the redness on the scars should fade within a couple of weeks."

"I'm glad." Shika smiled faintly.

Neji continued. "Your hallucinations should stop. Tsunade said that it was caused by a chemical imbalance in your mid-brain–"

"Gah! I'm not sure if I want to know!" Shikamaru shuddered. "I had my brain scrambled enough as it is, I don't need to hear the details!"

Neji shrugged. "Very well." He sat down next to Shikamaru. "You're going to hear it anyways from the Godaime."

"Lucky me." Shikamaru grumbled and ran a hand through his loose messy hair.

For several long minutes, the two leaf shinobi quietly sat. The windows had been open to let in the early autumn air, which was tinged with the woody smell of freshly fallen leaves and some smattering of the waning rain cloud's last drops. The mood between the two leaf nins turned somber.

"We made it." Shikamaru whispered, he studied his hands splayed out on his lap. "It feels like it was all just a dream."

"A very bad dream." Neji nodded. "Its amazing to think that we had only been gone for five days." Neji turned to Shikamaru, his face serious. "I want to thank you for saving my life."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "I should be thanking you. If you weren't with me I'd still be rotting in that cell."

Neji smiled faintly. "But you dragged my body from the river, and rescued me from Soruyo."

Shikamaru went back to staring at his blankets. "We helped each other out, its what comrades do."

"I suppose..." Neji replied, and watched Shikamaru nervously wring his blankets as the conversation again lapsed into an awkward silence.

With eyes still locked onto the bed sheets in his hands, Shikamaru broke the tension in a rush of words. "Neji–I-I can't go back to how it was–I mean, how it was between us. I can't go back to my empty apartment with you just being a stranger outside. I-I-I don't want you to leave me. Dammit!" Shikamaru scratched his head nervously, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment as he mumbled an apology. "Sorry, my head is still messed up. I'll be fine a few days. Just forget what I–"

"I can't go back either." Neji closed his pale grey eyes in an attempt to hide the strain that seeped into his soft voice. "It wouldn't feel right if you're not around. I don't want to lose you."

Shiakamaru's eyes widened. "Neji, I–" he swallowed, then a small genuine smile washed the worry from his face. "Thanks."

Neji returned the smile, then leaned over to brush his lips across the Nara's cheek. Shikamaru closed his eyes and responded by wrapping his arms around Neji. The Hyuuga rested his head into Shikamaru's shoulder, his pale hand sliding around the back of Shikamaru's neck pull them closer together in a gentle embrace. Together, they remained where they were, no words were needed to express the contentment they felt in each other's arms.

Outside, the grey skies had stopped raining.

To be continued in 'Geniusly Compatible'