In the world of shinobi, sleep was something that was considered both necessary and dangerous. Necessary to restore depleted chakra reserves as well as to let any injuries heal. Sleep rested the body and the mind, allowing for a shinobi to function in a much higher capacity than he otherwise would have been able to.

Dangerous because sleep was when one was most vulnerable. In the few brief hours that a shinobi needed to recuperate, he would be left completely defenseless, unable to see approaching danger or prevent it. He left himself wide open for any potential enemies to strike.

A good shinobi would therefore train himself to sense any disturbances around him, even while he slept. This meant that most shinobi were light sleepers, and the slightest noise or fluctuation in chakra could wake them and have them springing into immediate action. This in turn meant that they were not always able to get the deep, restful sleep that their bodies needed, and it was only their skill and years of experience that sometimes kept them going when their bodies were exhausted (this had proven very helpful during the war, when time for sleep decreased every day as they were forced to push themselves to their limits and beyond. They had run on pure adrenalin).

Lee was not one of these shinobi.

Lee's intense method of training always used up every ounce of strength that he possessed, every day. So when Lee slept, it was as deep as the sleep of the dead.

But this wasn't a problem for him. Lee had developed the unique ability to be in a state of battle readiness even in the deepest of sleep. He had fought unconscious more times than he could count (especially since he didn't remember a single instance… being unconscious and all). This meant that Lee was consistently able to get a deep restful sleep and wake up refreshed and ready to attack the day with all the fervor and gusto of Guy Sensei.

Which was why, when Lee suddenly jolted awake, feeling drained and sick, he was thrown into confusion.

Darkness pressed into him, and tried in vain to blink it away before realizing that it really was just that dark. He tried to move, but found that simple task nearly impossible. A heavy weight seemed to be pressing down on his chest, though his eyes told him there was nothing there. Drawing in breath felt as though he had a wet cloth pressed over his mouth and nose, and he had to suck in air slowly.

Everything felt heavy, everything felt wrong, and the churning in his gut did nothing to help the matter.

In short, Lee had never felt worse in his entire life. Not even when he had been crippled in his very first chūnin exams when he went head to head with Gaara. A deeply unpleasant memory, and one he never quite cared to revisit no matter how many insights he could gain, but at least then he had been able to move.

Or, as he had later been told, get up and attempt to fight the future Kazekage once again. Just another great example of his deep fighting instincts.

And now, here he was, struggling just to draw breath.

He felt deeply ashamed, and was briefly glad that Guy Sensei wasn't there to see him in such a state. He had worked his entire life to become stronger. So where was his strength now, when he needed it?

Lee managed to suck in one large breath, and immediately wished he hadn't. The air sent sudden stabs of pain through his chest. His heart contracted painfully, blood the texture of mud flowing through veins, struggling to deliver oxygen to starved muscles. Tendrils of agony shot through his bones, piercing the dark veil that had clouded his mind. He was suddenly wide awake, though before he had been unaware that he hadn't been.

But now he could see that the darkness of before was not nearly so suffocating as he had thought. There was a dim flickering light dancing on dirt walls.

Lee was not satisfied just lying there like a dead man. Slowly, he curled his fingers, the most movement he could manage at first. And then slowly, arduously, he moved more and more, pushing himself into a sitting position and scooting so that his back was against the wall.

The brief journey had cost him what little energy he had and left his gasping for breath. Sweat trickled down his brow and stung his eyes.

"You're awake."

Lee's head snapped up at the sound of the hushed voice. Directly across from him, sat Neji. Alive, which was the most important thing in Lee's opinion. Lee had been so focused on his task of moving that he hadn't even noticed the jōnin's presence in the small room. And now that he really looked, he was surprised at himself. Besides a small stool with a oil lamp on it, the room was bare, occupied only by the two leaf shinobi.

"Neji," Lee rasped happily, wincing as his dry lips cracked. He probed them with a thick, cottony feeling tongue, and tasted blood. "What happened?"

Neji drew his left leg up to his chest and draped his forearm across it but didn't answer. Lee furrowed his brows.

"Neji?"

Neji looked at Lee blankly and then turned away, long hair falling forward and shielding his face. That was when Lee noticed the missing hitai-ate.

Neji had always had a sore spot when his curse seal was concerned, but it wasn't as though Lee hadn't seen it before. Surely, that wasn't what was bugging him?

Lee frowned. "What happened, Neji?" he repeated.

Neji blew out a long breath. Lee saw his hands curl into fists, tight enough to turn the knuckles white.

Neji took a while to answer, and when he did, it was without emotion—a dead tone.

"We were captured," Neji said quietly, and the undercurrent of deep fury in his voice was unsettling. Lee felt another painful stab of remorse as he remembered the last moments of their battle, when he had been unable to do anything except lie on the ground.

"Neji," Lee choked out, "I am the one responsible for what happened. I do not deserve to be called a shinobi."

"Don't be ridiculous, Lee," Neji chided, turning his dull gaze back onto Lee. "It was in no way your fault."

"But how else could you have been defeated if not because of me?" Lee cried, desperation coloring his voice. "We took out all those rogue shinobi, and yet you were defeated by one man?"

"That man… is no ordinary shinobi. We would have been defeated no matter what." Neji sighed and leaned his head back against the wall, letting his eyes drift shut. "We played right into his hands from the very beginning. We didn't stand a chance."

Lee frowned, thoughts becoming even more confused, though he was glad that Neji at least didn't blame him. "Who was that man? And what power does he possess? I remember in the clearing, you said he was channeling our chakra?"

"Hn. I don't know who he is, and I don't know exactly what power he possesses. I have a few theories, but I am fairly certain that he wasn't channeling our chakra."

"Then what?"

"I believe," and Neji grimaced, "that his jutsu is much more complicated than that. And much more powerful."

Lee hesitated, a sudden thought occurring to him. "I still feel as though I have no strength, and it is incredibly difficult to move. Does this man have something to do with it?"

"Most likely," Neji sighed. "As I said, I have a theory. I believe that his jutsu has the ability to… well, suck out a person's strength."

Lee blinked. He hummed thoughtfully. "You mean physical strength? That would certainly make sense. Did he do the same to you?"

Neji winced slightly before he managed to catch himself. "Not exactly." He sighed in resignation. "When I say strength, I don't necessarily mean physical strength. That just happens to be your greatest strength. No, what I mean is individual strength. The very essence of what makes someone a powerful ninja. His jutsu targets each of us uniquely, taking our greatest assets."

"So he took my strength." Lee's heart skipped a beat. "Neji, what did he take from you?"

No answer.

"Neji," Lee pressed, feeling increasingly panicky as seconds dragged by with no answer from his comrade. It just couldn't be.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Neji lifted his head from the wall and opened his eyes, pinning Lee with dull, blank eyes. "In the clearing, after you passed out," said Neji with an equally dull tone, "I used Rotation until I was out of chakra. I couldn't see him or sense him. He took my kekkei genkai."

Shikamaru had thought that his day could not get any worse. He was wrong.

He had woken up at exactly 6:29 that morning, despite it being his day off and therefore not having an alarm to usher him out of bed. He had been groggy, sleep-deprived, and all-in-all not in the mood, when he heard the sound of his mother answering the door—

For Ino.

Shikamaru had been through his bedroom window before the women's first hello's had been exchanged.

He didn't have a problem with Ino... not usually. He loved Ino like a sister, trusted her implicitly in battle, and would fight to the ends of the earth for her.

But hell would freeze over before he enjoyed one of Ino's recently created and dubbed "Deep-Discussion-Bonding-Sessions".

If one of those sessions was torture, and the second was death, then Shikamaru obviously had more lives than a damn cat.

And he just couldn't take any more.

Everyone grieved in different ways. Ino's was to become incredible chipper and pretend that nothing was wrong. What was worse though, was that she had become increasingly clingy in her chipper-ness, and she felt that Shikamaru, who was a fellow griever, deserved an extra dose of said chipper-ness. This led her to corner him every couple of days and try to extract deep feelings from him or trick him into spilling his soul to the world. And it really didn't help that she was working on her mind reading jutsu.

So Shikamaru didn't want to be anywhere near the blonde when she would inevitably bombard him with an "I know how you feel" or a "You can't hide it, Shikamaru", all accompanied by the biggest, most unrealistic grin he had ever seen. He had put up with it for a while...

But he was just not in the mood at six-freaking-thirty in the morning.

Chōji could deal with it today. The Akimichi wouldn't mind at all.

So Shikamaru had fled, without even eating, and found himself meandering through the village with nothing to do and nowhere to go. Normally, he might be inclined to visit his best friend…

But that was definitely where Ino was headed next.

And to top off the brilliant morning in a spectacular fashion, he was suddenly summoned to the Hokage's office...

By her pet pig.

It was just one of those days that was nothing but a damned drag.

His shuffled steps along the hall that led to the Hokage's office were only delaying the inevitable. Dragging his feet would not stop him from reaching his destination, though it might tick off the kunoichi. His hands were shoved firmly in his pockets in the small amount of rebellion that he permitted himself before he faced his boss. He would go, but he didn't have to be happy about it.

He wasn't even wearing his vest.

He couldn't be bothered to care about that minor detail though. If he was being summoned before it was even a reasonable hour to be awake, then he doubted that the Hokage would call him out on it.

At least he was wearing shoes.

Shikamaru had to knock only once on the Hokage's door before he received a curt "Enter".

He paused briefly, eyebrows sliding upwards. Yep, he was now positive. Something was definitely going on. Steeling himself, he pushed the door open, took one look at the expression on her face, and almost shut the door again.

Almost.

Fully entering, feeling deeply disconcerted, he gave himself over to his fate. "You wanted to see me, Lady Tsunade?" he asked.

Tsunade steepled her fingers under her chin and studied him. "Shikamaru, I'm in need of that intellect of yours."

Well, naturally. She wouldn't have called him in otherwise.

He remained respectfully silent, open to hear his orders. While he was determined to privately feel however put-out he wanted, he refused to show it on the outside. He owed that much to his old man.

Besides, he was actually becoming interested... and it wasn't as if he had anything better to do anyway.

Because Tsunade looked as troubled as he had ever seen her. Her brows were drawn, creased with anxiety that was not totally unexpected, but neither was it completely understandable. The war was over. The cost had been high. And now relations between the Five Great Nations were stronger than ever, but there was still that risk that the peace that had been established could crumble at a moment's notice. And Shikamaru was aware of the strained tensions among the villages that hadn't participated in the war. The Hidden Rain Village had never exactly been on good terms with the Great Nations, and there were many other smaller villages that might view this new alliance as a threat. Political tensions were at an all-time high. But despite all this, the young Nara could tell at a glance that it wasn't this that was troubling the Hokage. (He was glad. He really didn't feel like getting mixed up in a game of politics. That would be a drag.)

Shikamaru studied the Sannin for any clues as to what was going on, but found her face closed off from anything besides obvious worry. The war had aged her. Despite the jutsu she used to keep her youthful appearance, Shikamaru could tell that inside, she felt older than her 56 years.

Tsunade finally spoke. "We have a team that's gone missing."

Shikamaru blinked. His mind was already whirring with just that small tidbit of information. "Which team?"

Tsunade pursed her lips. "Isamu's."

Shikamaru raised a brow, incredulous. "Two jōnin and two chūnin don't just go missing. What was their mission?"

"Standard C-rank. Delivery of some documents."

It was just getting better and better. "Isn't that a bit overkill?"

Tsunade grimaced.

Shikamaru continued. "Even if you were worried about the… delicate situation the villages are in right now, it doesn't explain why you would send that team on that particular mission."

Tsunade hesitated, some emotion Shikamaru couldn't identify flashing across her eyes briefly. She sighed. "I was originally going to send only Isamu and Neji on the mission."

That would have been infinitely more sensible in Shikamaru's opinion. Two experienced jōnin trumped a team full of hot blood when it came to delicate matters and avoidance of confrontation.

"But," Tsunade continued, breaking the jōnin out of his inner thoughts. "Isamu requested a larger team."

Now that was interesting, and it had Shikamaru's mind racing. A hundred different scenarios opened up. A thousand reasons why Isamu would request such a thing. "Did he say why?" he pressed.

"He claimed it was for strategic purposes," Tsunade said, though her tone suggested that she no longer believed that to be the case. "I didn't question him. I'll admit that my mind was preoccupied with the... political situation. So I assigned the only two chūnin that I had available."

Shikamaru hummed. "Lee and Toru." Pieces began slotting together in his mind like a puzzle—a hazy image formed, but it was still too unclear. He needed more information. He closed his eyes. "Where was the last location? Have you sent trackers?"

"Yes," said Tsunade and Shikamaru opened his eyes. "I sent team 8 to follow their trail. It led them all the way to the rendezvous point of the mission." Her expression turned distasteful. "It was a battle ground."

"An ambush?"

Tsunade nodded. "It looks that way. It appears they put up a fight, but there was no trace of them beyond that point. They vanished. The only thing we found was Neji's hitai-ate."

Neji wouldn't be pleased about that. "Hn. Kabuto had the ability to erase his scent," Shikamaru mused. He sighed. "We need to figure out why the team was ambushed to begin with. The documents couldn't have been sensitive if it was only a C-rank mission."

Tsunade shook her head. "They weren't classified. Just some information on a few of our shinobi that had gone-" her lips curled into a sneer of disgust, "-rogue. There would be no reason to steal them."

If that was the case… "Then the team itself was the objective. Someone wanted shinobi from the Leaf."

At his words, the air in the room seemed to still, growing thicker. Even the noises from the village, that drifted through the open window, didn't disturb the sudden tension that thickly blanketed the office.

Tsunade squeezed her eyes shut. Her reaction told Shikamaru that she wasn't at all surprised. "What are your thoughts?"

Shikamaru briefly scrubbed a hand over his mouth, eyes growing distant as he ran through possible courses of action. "This whole scenario seems off. I don't know what it is yet. I need more information. Some research."

"I'll take care of it." A wicked gleam entered the Hokage's eyes. "I'm sure Kotetsu and Izumo would love to get away from their desk to do a little research. In the meantime, I want you to lay out every possibility of where the team could have disappeared to."

"Right," Shikamaru said, before adding, "and don't forget, the Sand ambassador is arriving tomorrow."

From the blank look Tsunade pinned him with, he took it that she had forgotten. Tsunade passed a weary hand over her eyes.

"That's right. Temari."

Shikamaru nodded. His lips quirked upwards in a smile he couldn't quite suppress.

Tsunade sighed, missing his expression. "I don't have anyone available to escort her around the village. And now with this…"

"I'll handle it," said Shikamaru, perhaps a little quicker than necessary. "Both things," he tacked on.

Tsunade shut her eyes and sighed. "Very well. If you think you can handle it." She looked at him again, brown eyes sharp and just slightly desperate. "We lost so many good people. Shinobi too young to be exposed to war. We can't lose any more."

That was as far as she was willing to go, and Shikamaru knew it. So with a brief nod, Shikamaru turned to leave.

"Shikamaru," Tsunade's voice halted his steps. "You'll make a great jōnin commander someday."

There it was. That push. The one that should have come from his sensei or from his father. Then he could have brushed it off with a "too troublesome". But coming from the Hokage put it into a new context. It made it a very real possibility, and one that somehow didn't seem so far away either. Though she would never admit it, the Hokage needed support in a world that had inevitably become changed by war. Shikamaru could see things happening in the future, some good and some bad, but nothing would be remain the same.

Not for him, not for the Hokage, and not for the Leaf.

He ducked his head, but didn't turn around as he said a simple, "I know." And then he was gone.

Lee couldn't express in words how Neji's sudden revelation made him feel.

"Oh, Neji… is it… is it...?" He couldn't quite get it out.

Neji reached up to rub at his seal, an involuntary gesture, and closed his sightless eyes. "Permanent? I do not believe so. Theoretically, once we are out of range of his jutsu, your strength should come back… and my Byakugan."

There was a thin undercurrent of doubt in the Hyūga's tone, nearly imperceptible, and only someone who had known him for a very long time would have picked up on it. Even thought their situation was grave, Lee felt oddly pleased that he was able to hear it. "I have no doubt!" he said, putting as much strength into the words as his lungs would allow. "For no mere man can keep us from our youth!"

Neji didn't reply, and Lee felt his resolve flicker. He could only imagine how his friend felt. He himself felt rather useless in his current physical state, but for Neji, his Byakugan was everything. The Byakugan was one of the three great visual jutsus, highly coveted by many villages and shinobi. And because they possessed it, the Hyūga clan was widely regarded as one of the strongest clans amongst any of the nations, and they were certainly the strongest clan of the Leaf Village. Especially since the Uchiha had been nearly wiped out years ago. And Neji was the one who possessed the strongest Byakugan the Hyūga had produced in generations. Of course, He was still a genius even without it, but for the prodigy, his world had been surely turned upside down in only a mere matter of moments. To top it all off, he didn't even have normal vision. To be a shinobi and not be able to see… well it just didn't happen.

By that point in his internal musings, Lee would have already sprung to his feet and dragged Neji out of his despondent state in a glorious display of youth that could not have been ignored. Sadly, that wasn't possible, if the pain lancing through his muscles was anything to go by. So he was forced to use only his words to inspire his comrade into action. "Do not worry Neji! You're sight will soon return then, for someone will surely notice that we are missing, and this mysterious foe will be discovered and defeated!"

"Hn," said Neji. "That's another thing I'm worried about."

Lee frowned, the spark of hope in his chest sputtered and then died completely. "What do you mean?"

A muscle in Neji's jaw twitched, and Lee could see that whatever the Hyūga was thinking about was not pleasant.

Finally, Neji spoke. "While I don't deny that it would be nice to be rescued, I am not all that optimistic on our chances of being found. Our enemy has been two steps ahead of us the entire time, and I have no doubt that we have been taken far away from our last location, and that our trail has been covered.

"Also, it has already been close to a week since we were due back in the Village. They will have already undoubtedly have sent someone to search for us by now."

Lee was confused. "Is that not a good thing? This enemy must be captured."

Neji shook his head, his expression grim. "This particular enemy has a huge advantage over us. If he could steal the strength of every ninja they sent after us, not only would there be panic, but they would most likely be captured as well. Even if the ANBU were sent, I don't think they could take this man down."

"What about Naruto?" Lee pressed, unwilling to give up. "Naruto is stronger than any shinobi in this world."

Neji opened his eyes again and gaped at Lee, some of the flabbergasted expression leaking into his eyes. "Do you really think that the Hokage would let that happen? Besides, they don't know where we are. We don't even know where we are. We could be outside of any of the known nations at this point. There's an entire uncharted wasteland to the north of the Land of Earth. And you know what Naruto was classified as once the war was over. Lady Tsunade would never put the Leaf in that position, just to find a single missing team carrying information that wasn't even of any importance."

Lee spirit had disappeared as fast as a popped balloon at Neji's words. It was true, he had forgotten for a moment that Naruto, his friend and rival, was now considered, by every nation other than the Five Great Nations—

A weapon.

His strength had risen to the point that, while he was still regarded as a hero, many of the smaller, weaker nations feared the power he possessed. It didn't matter that anyone who had ever known the jinchūriki realized right away that Naruto would never abuse the power he held. He was still feared just the same.

Held in awe…

But still feared.

And Neji was right. The Hokage would never send Naruto into foreign territory just to retrieve a few missing shinobi, especially not when it could incite another… not war, but certainly no hanami party either.

Neji made a sudden noise, and it took Lee a moment to realize that it was a chuckle. "Of course," the Hyūga said, "knowing Naruto, I think the Hokage is going to have her hands full keeping him from charging off anyway. He's always been like that." His lips tugged upwards in the semblance of a smile.

Lee had to blink several times to make sure he hadn't imagined it. Finally, his own dazzling grin was back on his face. "That is for sure!"

The air suddenly seemed much lighter, and Lee took a chance to ask once final thing.

"Do you think they have any chance at finding us?"

Neji sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. "Honestly, I hope not. They'd be walking into a bloodbath."

Down a dimly lit hall, lined with stones cracked from age, not very far from the tiny room where Neji and Lee were discussing their predicament, there was another room. This one was much larger, and filled with an odd assortment of tools and equipment, all of a scientific nature. A large tank in one corner gave off a green glow as liquid swirled within it.

The room was occupied by only two people. One stood at a workbench, dark locks of hair falling forward into his face as he hunched over a microscope. The man frowned and fiddled with the knobs on the device for a moment, bringing the image of the sample he was viewing into sharper detail. He released a quiet hum of approval and straightened. His eyes traveled across the room, fixing momentarily on the large tank before resuming their journey. They landed on the other occupant—a hunched figure in one corner of the room, bound and gagged for good measure.

Their eyes met, and the dark haired man let a slow smile stretch across his face. "Yes. We are nearly ready now. So clossse." He let the end of his sentence trail off into a hiss, satisfied when his prisoner visibly flinched further into the corner, as though it could escape through the walls. A ridiculous notion. His prey had never escaped from him before, and this time around would be no different.

Smile still in place, the man turned back to his work, quickly jotting down a few notes on the paper beside the microscope. So close, yes. So close. He could nearly taste it. The pure ecstasy of success was within his grasp. He felt something humming through his veins, powerful and potent, and he had to swallow down the laughter that threatened to burst from his lungs. Smile widening to the point of pain, the man extracted a syringe-full of glowing liquid from a beaker on the table, tapping on the plastic to remove the air. Turning around once more, he fixed his dark eyes on the trembling figure in the corner.

The light caught the metal tip of the syringe, looking more dangerous than any dagger. "Let's begin," the man purred.

A/N: Yo!...

That's all I've got :P

Thought? Feelings? Reviews?