A/N: Hello there, chaps! This here marks the first chapter of the longest fic I have ever written. That's right! I am trying my hand at the infamous Long Fic. I recently read an amazing story called Places by shaLaLa.ohmy-my which had the pairing of Shikamaru and Neji. I had never come across this pairing before, and after having read the amazing story that was Places, I immediately went searching the internet for more of this fantastic pairing...And was disappointed with the results. There is barely anything on this pairing! So, I decided to write my own. I have no idea how this will turn out, nor if it will even survive past the first chapter. However, I shall give you the low down on the universe. It is set approximately seven years after the first time skip.

Neji is an ANBU assassination captain, and Shikamaru works for the Interrogation and Torture section of ANBU. Naruto has finally become the Rokudaime, after Tsunade stepped down to take the head position at the hospital. Naruto earned his salt, so to speak, gradually, however it was his retrieval of Sasuke that really proved his worth in Tsunade's eyes. More on that later. So Sasuke is back in Konoha and acting as sensei to a widdle genin team, which is humorous. Anyway, that's all I've planned at this moment, so on to the story!

Monday is shining, you know 'em Tuesday's rain,

Well, the days go by me like a southbound train,

Yes, it's funny thinking you will never call my name.

--

Moonlight shone through the thick canopy of the forest, casting an ethereal glare onto the giant trees of Fire Country. The encompassing silence was broken only by the faint hiss of chakra as a ninja, clad in grey and black, sailed through the trees. The ninja's face was distorted with bulging veins, pale eyes searching for an unknown target – his attire, splashed with dark blood, suggested signs of conflict. A shrill scream pierced the forest, causing the ninja to abruptly change course, veering off to his left. The ninja was sweating profusely, and his mouth was twisted in a sombre grimace. After a few moments, the density of the trees suddenly thinned, and he found himself in a small clearing.

"Sakura." Neji said, swiftly making his way towards the woman who was crouched over a corpse, her short pink hair covering her face. She jumped at the sound of his voice, hair falling away to reveal a face splattered with blood.

"Neji…" Sakura whispered, eyes wide, "Neji, I…" She trailed off, and returned her shocked gaze to the bloody kunai in her hand. Blood still poured from Anko's neck, which had been slashed in such a way that her head lolled grotesquely from her body. There was a foul stench permeating from the body, and Neji could do nothing but stand at Sakura's side, watching Anko's life flow over Sakura's discarded cougar ANBU mask.

A chakra flare near to the clearing brought Neji back to his senses, and he turned in time to see Tenten emerge from the depths of the trees, seemingly unhurt. "Neji, Sakura!" She called as she sped towards them, her eyes running over the mangled corpses of the two enemy shinobi at the edge of the clearing. Neji watched Tenten's expression turn from expectant to stupefied, and had to catch her as she raced towards him, any sense of direction obstructed by the burning vision of Anko's corpse.

"Anko!" Tenten's strangled cry sliced through the forest, forcing Neji to regain some self-control. His practiced eye assessed the situation critically and objectively, even as he held his sobbing teammate in his arms.

"Sakura," He said in a low, commanding voice, "confirm Anko's condition." He watched Sakura impassively, shudders rippling through her body as she placed two light fingers on the inside of Anko's wrist. Tenten had slumped at his feet; silent tears flowing uncontrollably down her cheeks. Sakura's voice only wavered slightly as she stated, "Deceased."

"State the cause and time of death." Neji heard himself say, the calmness of his voice ringing in his ears. Tenten's sobs had ceased, and Neji could hear her heavy, uneven breaths.

"Enemy shinobi ambushed us and inflicted Anko with a fatal wound," Sakura stated in a mechanical tone, her eyes fixed firmly on the grassy floor," I had no choice but to engage the two shinobi, who I defeated as quickly as I could. However, I did not succeed in saving Anko, who was suffering from extreme blood loss and fatal damage to her thoracic region. She requested to be relieved of her suffering, so, after…after confirming with Anko, I…" Sakura's unseeing eyes were searching wildly for meaning, for justification.

"Continue, shinobi." Neji heard himself order. He watched Sakura compose herself, closing her eyes and drawing in deep breaths, shutting away emotions that could only bring complications during missions.

"I cut the shinobi's throat using a kunai. Time of death occurred approximately two minutes after." Sakura's green eyes gazed up at Neji, brimming with the unnameable thing that was festering in Neji's heart also. Her composure faltered slightly as Tenten crawled towards her, her questioning voice cutting through Neji like a knife.

"Neji? Neji, I didn't know what to do…She was dying …I could see her intestines, I just…" Sakura bowed her head as Tenten grasped her hand, "Her scream was so terrible, I couldn't just leave her…I'm sorry, Anko. I'm so, so sorry…" She broke off, her free hand fisting on her knee as shining tears dropped lightly onto the ground next to her. Neji watched, detached, as the stream of tears met the stream of blood, the two joining and mixing in a lurid mockery of duty and camaraderie.

Neji's hands intuitively formed the jutsu for disposing of bodies and he watched as the two enemy shinobi's faces melted away, storing the images in his head so that he would never forget the sacrifice that was made in that clearing. Tenten and Sakura, their eyes red and dull, made a makeshift stretcher out of blankets and branches, carefully lifting Anko's body onto it and covering it with the fly of the tent. Silence reigned throughout the forest, and Neji made the signal for the team to move out. He and Sakura were first in carrying the stretcher, with Tenten uneasily guarding their rear. They flew noiselessly through the trees: the journey back to Konoha would take little more than an hour, and Neji wanted to get back before daybreak.

The weight of the stretcher seemed to bear down on his heart as well as his muscles, and Neji found himself searching for a third outline in the darkness, the silhouette of a spiky ponytail where there were only leaves and shadows.

--

They had arrived in Konoha just before daybreak, Neji going straight to the Hokage's office as Sakura and Tenten transported Anko's corpse to the hospital. The Rokudaime (it still seemed strange to Neji to have to call Naruto by that title) had appeared sombre and resigned as Neji reported the events of the mission. After Neji finished, he followed Naruto to the hospital, where Tsunade was preparing the body for storage. Neji joined Sakura and Tenten in an examination room, where they had been looked over for injuries. No words passed between them as Neji settled onto the bed where they were sitting, the three of them lost in their own thoughts as they watched the sun slowly rise, blood red, through the window.

After filling out all the necessary forms given to him by a solicitous Tsunade, Neji had deposited Sakura into the capable hands of Lee, and Tenten her parents. He made it all the way to the front corridor of his apartment, at which point all the emotions of the mission that had been crushed so deeply within him surfaced. He slid down the wall of the corridor, leaving a dirt-streaked stain in his wake, and finally allowed himself to mourn for his deceased teammate. Neji could vaguely hear his muffled gasps echo through the room, and wondered what Hiashi would think if he could see him now. After some time, Neji felt his breathing become deeper as his vision swam before him. He fell sideways onto the ground, unconscious, his mind full of images of faceless corpses.

--

Neji awoke to warm, beautiful sunlight streaming onto his face. He opened his eyes slowly, and was greeted with the sight of Hinata quietly moving about his kitchen. Neji lay there for some moments, watching her timid movements, her long, dark hair glistening in what must have been the afternoon sun. He quickly took stock of any injuries, causing the sheets to rustle slightly as he flexed and relaxed his muscles. The noise caused Hinata to turn abruptly, and Neji could see frown marks on her brow as she watched him.

"Neji-san." She said in her small voice, making her way towards the couch, "Are you feeling better?" Her eyes gave away no sign of emotion, but Neji had known her long enough to read the tension in the corner of her mouth, in the V of her elbow, in the slight waver to her voice.

"Yes, thank you," He replied, shifting into an upright position. The cover slid off him to reveal a pale expanse of chest, his black ANBU pants contrasting sharply with it. Hinata immediately blushed and her hands came together in a familiar gesture.

"I…thought you would be more comfortable if I removed your amour," She said, her eyes fixed to the floor, "I hope you don't mind." Neji rose silently, and stood before her, gently stopping the restless movements of her hands.

"No," Neji said, his arms falling to his sides, "Of course not. Thank you, Hinata-san." She blushed once more, but her eyes rose confidently to meet his, searching his face for a trace of something. After a moment, Neji broke his gaze, turning to make his way to the bathroom.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

Neji paused briefly in his walk, torrid emotions churning in his stomach, making him feel ill. He did not turn, and when he reached the bathroom, he vomited repeatedly into the toilet.

--

By the time Neji had finished in the bathroom, Hinata had gone. Neji sighed loudly, fingers running through the long, wet tendrils of his hair. His relationship with Hinata had been flawed from the beginning: watching Hinata during his childhood, he had seen in her the weakness of the main branch of the family. He had seen his father, Hizashi, dying in the place of his twin. He had seen the culmination of a life's worth of bitterness, and most of all, the workings of Fate that he had been so sure of. Neji had changed since then, he knew, but twenty-three hadn't settled any closer to Hinata's bones than fifteen: she was still a comparatively weak ninja, and Neji was attracted to refinement and skill more than anything else.

Only a year older than Hinata, Neji had surpassed her abilities long before it really mattered. Now, at twenty-four, Neji was an ANBU captain. Up until the previous night, he had been leader to a four-man cell of assassination experts. The team had consisted of Tenten, who had proven herself to be skilled in the area of strategy and planning; Sakura, a highly talented medic-nin who had saved each one of them more times than Neji would like to remember; and Anko, the veteran of the group. Anko's experience and rather…unusual skills had served the team well, and she never failed to lighten the atmosphere with her truly disgusting jokes. Never had Neji had to fight the urge to blush so strongly than when in Anko's presence, because really, did any Hyuugas (save for Hinata) actually blush?

However, ANBU cells were nothing like the genin teams formed at childhood: those strong bonds of friendship Neji had formed in Team Gai could never be re-created in an ANBU environment. His teammates, naturally excluding Tenten, were just fellow shinobi with whom he had to work. Neji was not willing to sacrifice his life for Sakura or Anko, however it was impossible for Neji not to be affected by death when it occurred so close to him. He would miss Anko for being the fine shinobi that she was, and he would give his polite condolences to those who knew her better.

Neji dressed slowly, handling his white jounin garments with unexpected tenderness, his hands relishing the lightness of the touch. He felt airy and detached, as if someone had cut the bonds of gravity from his body. Neji reasoned that he needed to meditate: he always felt this way after a death, and refocusing on his centre would help him both to recover and to pay his respects to the dead. The time on the clock resting on his bedside table flashed 4:24 PM. After securely fastening his hitai-ate over the curse seal, Neji left his apartment for his favourite meditation spot, a grassy hill not far from the river.

He decided to walk to his destination in preparation for the mediation ahead, and was surprised to see few people, civilian or shinobi, on the streets of the village. As he walked past one of the entry gates to the village, he did see the Uchiha returning from a mission with his genin team, looking even more irritated than usual. He had been given a genin team by the Rokudaime as punishment for betraying the village, and while Neji knew that Naruto had a keen sense of humour, he also knew that he wouldn't like to be anywhere near either of them when Uchiha gave his report later that day.

Uchiha and children did not mix, especially when they were children who had been given permission to wield sharp objects. Having said this, the natural genin incompetence they shared with all other genin teams was being slowly outweighed with signs of future promise. Neji had heard especially of the kuniochi Yuhi Amaya, the seven-year-old daughter of Yuhi Kurenai, who had inherited not only her mother's striking looks, but also her father's legendary chakra control. The combination was apparently very successful.

Neji arrived at his meditation spot, and, not sensing any other shinobi, sat down at the top of the hill where the view of the village was best. In front of him was the cluttered centre of Konoha: behind him, its winding river. The heat of the day was now dwindling in the late afternoon sun, and great, puffy clouds floated lazily through the sky, their sides tinged with golden rays. Neji closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and thought.