Dreaming of Sunshine belongs to Silver Queen and anything, Shikako and lots of dialogue, belongs to her!

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Neji hears more rumors about Shikako than he sees her, these days.

It's not that much of a surprise since their village needs every able bodied shinobi running missions, to keep up the front of being unaffected by the invasion, and he is included on that front. Everything is beginning to ease with their new Hokage established but the supreme shinobi law is if something hasn't happened, it's a matter of time that it will.

But that is not the current matter.

He wants to know, exactly, what happened that caused Team Seven to temporarily splinter. He knows it has something to do with the Uchiha considering the tense energy and extreme bitterness during their training sessions and missions together. Perhaps, he lets his mind wander, it has something to do with a more personal aspect of their team.

There are not many who can down Kakashi Hatake; but he can think of some, and one of them was sighted in Konoha, according to the gossip lines.

Uchiha Itachi.

He can sympathize, grudgingly, with the Uchiha's anger and plight but it doesn't change the fact his temper sparks his annoyance, if ever so slightly.

Perhaps, it is an under-exaggeration considering the amount of times Tenten and Gai-sensei needed to act as a mediator.

Gai-sensei doesn't answer questions and if one deigns to ask, he warps the conversation to training, but he seems to know more than he lets on. Team Nine knows that he is always like that; speaking in layers, speaking but not letting you hear what he says. Neji hears more whispers of the incident from Ino Yamanaka, in passing, and if she speaks of it, then it is a confirmation.

(Neji makes a silent promise to, at the very least, try to protect his fellow Konoha shinobi.

The Hyuuga are loyal to their village and it's people, first and foremost.)

But, that is no longer a worry for their new Hokage is a miracle worker. The Tsunade Senju, the Princess of Konoha, came in a whirlwind with Naruto at her tail and he remembers quite well for his ribs still feel an ache from Tenten's excitement at the announcement. Shikako has just healed but taken off active duty as of the moment-he knows from the moment it happens considering it was in the middle of a training session when Gai-sensei informs their team and the Uchiha disappears without so much as a word to them. He remembers every aggravating mission and training session with the Uchiha and he's thankful for the reprieve.

If Shikako is healed and Lee is as well.

A long, agonizing wait of a surgery with a very high chance of failure. He still has marks from Tenten's worrying hands clasping his forearms, remnants of nail marks fading, and he hadn't complained. He had a hint of worry in him at the time, even if he will never admit it. Neji has never hated Lee, simply...misunderstood and misunderstood in return. He has never truly wished harm upon his teammates.

(And in the deep of the night, when no one is looking, he regrets ever laying a hand on his cousin that he used to love, dearly. He had acted out of anger; wanted to do more than disable her, wanted to hurt, and protecting her will be his penance. The Hyuuga are cold people, but deep in their hearts, they are from the Land of Fire and they burn like all their comrades. Their love is no different from theirs, despite how it's shown. He will spend the rest of his life apologizing to Hinata-sama, in silence for it is the only way he knows how to. Her forgiveness will mean something one day, when she is no longer suffering.)

He is almost thankful when Lee returns and Team Seven is reunited.

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The next time he sees Team Seven, it is under grim circumstances.

It seems that every time they meet, they're waiting for something greater to disrupt them.

The Rookie Twelve (bar Hinata, Shino, and the rest of his team) are gathered for a mission with the head of Torture and Interrogation for Team Seven's sake and it is to cow the plans of an S-Rank missing nin, Orochimaru, and his shinobi from Hidden Sound. He wonders; how exactly does Team Seven manage to encounter such...such unbelievable events and circumstances in their life, constantly? Even as a fellow nin, Neji cannot fathom how they continuously run into such problems while the rest of them, when not with Team Seven, do not.

He's heard many stories; they come around too often not to be true.

And it shows when Shikako takes the reins from Ibiki, establishing that she may be one of the lowest ranking shinobi as of the moment, but she has experience as the lead of Team Seven. She is not new to the idea of an A-rank mission and he keeps silent, with intent.

"Chouji and Ino need to be teamed with Shikamaru and I for the best effect," she says, surely with her dark and heavy eyes glancing over them. Her thoughts fly through her gaze, a whirlwind. "Chouji with Shikamaru, and Ino with me, probably, since I hae more close quarter abilities. Neji's Byakugan is probably more useful to the team leader, but that leaves Naruto and Kiba...so Naruto and Neji together and that'd leave Kiba with Ibiki."

Shikako formulates and gives out the orders, more natural to her than anything he's seen before, but she withdraws back into herself when she realizes that they're all watching intensely. He's trying to peel back her layer and understand her, the others are more curious and assessing.

"Or whatever you suggest." She shifts, uncomfortable now that she is more aware of her surroundings.

He settles back, satisfied.

She will be an Elite Jounin, five years from now, as there is no other path for her.

(He's willing to put money on it, and Hyuugas do not make bets.)

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Jiroubou is a difficult opponent.

Alone, he could have defeated him, but not without injury. Tenten joins and they are teammates for a reason; the task is split, evenly, between them and they dispatch Jiroubou with the typical weave of close and long distance attacks. They never give him a chance to breathe and it isn't until long before they have a captive to return to their village with. His Hyuuga eyes see, more than he lets on, even as he returns to Konoha.

Hinata-sama beats him for range, but he can make out the faintest hints of the battle between Shikako, Kiba and another. He will be of no use to them when they need the rest of the Sound Four for interrogation but he did wish, as did Tenten, that he could be of more help.

The fight leaves him with injuries, much less severe than what he knows of Chouji Akimichi and others who participated in the fight against the Sound Four. He is in the hospital bed for no longer than half an hour before he is gone and sent off with a warning to rest. He wanders the halls of the hospital, checking in on his teammates and the rest of the Rookie Nine as they file into the hospital. He knows that Hinata-sama's teammate, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shikako suffer from damage more severe than the others.

He does not expect to see the two, and the Uchiha is whisked away before he can even lay eyes on him. The rest of the Rookies are waiting together, listening for the outcome, because their mission can only be a success if everyone survives. He leans against the wall with Hinata-sama by his side and they should return to the compound but he knows that she will refuse until she hears what she needs to. It is not his place to force her so he leans against the hospital wall.

There are words he wishes to hear, too, he admits to himself.

They barely need updates considering all the gossip floating in from the medic-nin bustling about, their words too low for civilian ears but loud enough for them to pick out each and every word. He pays more attention when he hears Nara, however.

"Her chakra readings were in the single digits!" The furtive whisper does nothing for the surrounding ninja who have much superior hearing than the average person.

The entire group of Rookies tense.

"I can't believe..."

"Shikako Nara, right?" It's a shocked murmur that does not betray the identity of the speaker, but he has no interest in the nurses besides the subject they're speaking about. He's content to listen without investigating, head tilting against the walls. "No one will believe this...I've never seen reading this low and she's alive. It has to be a record."

"We shouldn't have made Shikako walk on her own." Hinata-sama's voice is small, hints of a stammer.

Neji wants to sigh when they finally hear about Kiba and the rest of the Rookies in terrible condition.

"Hiashi-sama must be waiting," he says, trying to urge her to return, "it is nearly time for dinner, Hinata-sama."

She acquiesced, with much hesitation, but they return to the Hyuuga compound. They are now behind walls that are safe, where he no longer has to worry, where he can forget (for a second) that he is a shinobi.

He wonders if Shikako ever forgets that she is a shinobi.

(From what he hears, from every side, from every story, the answer is a no. He wonders how she does it.)

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He meets her again in the hospital, always passing but never colliding.

There is no reason to approach her, despite his curiosity. He finds it's satiated enough with the amount of gossip constantly surrounding her. There is never a day where he does not hear her name in a conversation. Tsunade-sama tasks him with finding the Rookies that went on the mission and he runs into her at the hospital.

In the almost literal sense.

She almost hits him with a door and runs into him herself.

"Sorry," she says, flushing, much less grace than usual.

"Hokage-sama has sent me to inform you that we will be debriefing in an hour in conference room seven, now that everyone is awake."

"Everyone?" She nods, almost absent-minded, before she sharpens to attention. "Ino is awake?"

"I have no more information than that." He wants to apologize but that is no fault of his own. They will not give him more information than he needs.

"Thank you."

Her gaze is considering in ways her words are not; they're short, but polite. He expects nothing less from her; it seems that she is, at the very least, always polite when possible. This, however, is not the end of their conversation. There is more he wishes to know and he does not know how to ask, per se. He hesitates before he steels himself; tentativity is not in his nature, not in the Hyuuga blood.

"I have heard," he says, treading carefully with his words, "that Hinata-sama was one of those that assisted you."

Neji knows that she will understand.

"She did. She was brilliant." Her gaze is as sharp as a knife, voice firm as metal. There are no doubts in her about Hinata-sama's abilities and use as a kunoichi of Konoha. "If it hadn't been for her arrival, both Kiba and I would be dead and Sasuke would be gone."

"Hiashi-sama was," he paused before plowing forward as neutrally as possible, "not pleased at her impulsive actions."

Her eyes narrow. "He should be. She fought Kimimaro one on one and was barely injured where the rest of us nearly died. She was brilliant."

He is glad that while he was not protecting Hinata-sama, while he might not be there, that she has people like Shikako on her side. Perhaps, he will never fully entrust Hinata-sama to others but he can count on them to watch her when he cannot. He is trying to be better, to do better, and these are the first steps.

There is no reason to linger any longer for he will see her again, soon, but he walks away as if it will be another lifetime between them. In some ways, he always walks away from her, the slightest bit changed.

Something about Shikako Nara...makes him wonder, always.

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The debriefing is smoother than he suspected it would be, despite some rude awakenings.

Like the fact Hinata-sama, despite her demeanor, is much more talented than any Hyuuga within the clan gives her credit for. A fact that does not seem to surprise Shikako Nara, at all, considering the amount of indifference she has towards the revelations. It seems that many things, unless threatening those around her, do not obstruct her strides. He learns, of his wrongs and rights and dark secrets he would have never uncovered on his own, in the debriefing. There are slights he will have to make reparations for, slights he was not aware he made.

The revelation of Naruto as the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki surprises many that are not close to him; Hinata-sama seems much less surprised than her teammate, and those heavily involved in taking down Gaara of the Sand are much less shocked than his team. It is not an easy revelation to hear or uncover, considering the forced smile of Naruto.

"To carry a seal that can never be removed," he echoes his past self, feeling more foolish as the pieces fall into place. "I see. I apologize."

You are much greater than I ever suspected, Naruto. The Rookie Nine forgives much too easily for Naruto smiles at him as if he's done no wrong.

When it is his turn, he speaks shortly and concisely. There is not much to tell with what he did compared to the others; there were no complications in light of what he knows about Kimimaro and the much needed arrival of the Sand Siblings. Team Nine is a team for a reason; two out of three is good enough to take down someone of Jiroubou's level. There were never any worries about them.

He finishes and Tsunade-sama shifts the focus of gazes back to Shikako and Hinata; where everything he knows continues to unravel.

His belief are mere ribbons now.

"I intercepted several attacks," Hinata-sama says so softly, her stutter is almost unnoticeable. "Both Shikako and Kiba were heavily injured, a-and...I didn't do very well, but then Lee came."

"If you don't mind me asking," Shikako intercepts, expertly, and her gaze is so piercing and knowing that he wants to urge himself to look away. "What was the attack you used…Protection of…"

She nudges, she posits Hinata-sama ever so gently, as if there are no others in the room. A bolster of confidence for his cousin to lean upon.

Hinata-sama is poking her fingers together, looking down as she fidgets. "Protection of the Eight Trigrams; Sixty Four Palms." She steels herself despite her stammer. "I-it is my failing that I cannot use the Kaiten, b-but I will not give up!" She looks up; a hint of fire in her cold (yet warm) Hyuuga eyes. "So I trained very hard and I created my own defence."

And his world falls, ever so slightly.

Among the many clan children in the room, all should know the magnitude of changing the Gentle Fist or creating new techniques. There is no such thing, not in the many years since it's creation. Their clan is saturated with traditions and new techniques are rare, especially those made of the Eight Trigrams. He does not know what to think, and many people in the room do not either, but Shikako Nara must see more than his own eyes can for there is no surprise. She seems...as if she expects Hinata to be more than what everyone believe of her. Even her teammate shows more surprise than she does and he trains with her, almost daily.

The debriefing is concluded, and Neji leaves with Hinata-sama to the compound. Silent as he deliberates on his next actions. He wants to know more about the Protection of the Eight Trigrams, wishes to see it in person, and to test it. Neji is only a genius for he tries; no matter what Lee says. He walks home, wondering about Shikako Nara, as he always does after an encounter with her.

There are so many questions, and so little answers.

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Unbeta'd.

I think Neji/Shikako is cute. Sue me. Not v good but I tried. I lose character voices when it matters most and this is one of those times.