Salt of Her Tears
Story # 0100
By Kaline Reine

WARNINGS: This is somewhat of an adult fic. You may or may not like the pairings. If not, then oh well I can't please everyone. There might be lemon in later chapters. I can tell you that it is not what it seems at first. I can also tell you that I am INSANE because this fic was inspired by watching an hour-long documentary about salt! SALT! Yes... I know. Run while you still can.

Disclaimer: I no ownies Kishi's stuffs. :P (Translation from Fangirl to English: I do not own any of the wonderful characters or settings created by the talented artist Masashi Kishimoto.)

Chapter 1: Shit

Hinata was worried that her father would be angry. She was already running late, and it was bad enough that Neji was waiting for her. Though it's not like it would have mattered much if she was late. The Leaf Village hadn't seen much business at all lately. There were no missions for anyone to go on, which meant that money was tight right now. But alternatively, it meant that everyone had tons of free time to do whatever they wished.

Frail hands grasped at the hem of her purple jacket, straightening it over her plain black pants. She was nervous about learning this new technique. Even Neji, the prodigy of the Hyuuga clan, hadn't learned to perfect it yet. Long black hair swished behind her as she ran to catch up with him.

"S-sorry, N-neji-san," She panted. "I d-didn't mean to be l-late."

He just looked forward, his face serious as always. "It's alright. But we've got to hurry. Hiashi-sama wanted you to master this technique before you go on your next mission."

She nodded, and they made their way into the forest that surrounded Konohagakure. It was a peaceful morning, and a joy to be out in this kind of weather.

And soon they were practicing, the breeze lightly stirring through the trees, as both Hyuugas concentrated on the ground.

"The key is to try to concentrate not on the ground, but on what is below it," Neji was saying. "Let your eyes go out of focus, and you will see just a bit more."

"I c-can see it!" Hinata exclaimed happily.

"It worked? That fast?"

It was odd. The heiress to the clan was usually slow and clumsy with everything. And here she was, outdoing Neji, the prodigy. This was highly unusual. But he was doing alright with the new jutsu too. They were trying to learn to see underground. They could detect enemy landmines in this way, and also help find other shinobi that had buried, or perhaps even traps along the way to a mission. There were all kinds of reasons they wanted to learn this.

"There's s-something there. N-neji, d-do you s-see it?"

"Yeah, I do. It looks like some kind of mineral deposit of some sort."

"Rocks?" She asked timidly.

"No, it looks more like... salt."

Hinata had no clue why this mattered, but she tried to focus on it. Neji seemed to be doing better than her after all, if he could identify what it was. There were various rocks and debris buried down there as well, but nothing of interest.

There was a huge cluster of... whatever it was. And solid white. It even looked like it led up to the surface in a few places.

"Wh-what do we do?" She asked.

"Let's go inform the Hokage."

"O-okay..."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"You found what?!" Tsunade was shocked, her long blonde pigtails flying as she stood straight up from her desk.

Neji was the one to speak, since he could do it more clearly. "We were practicing a new jutsu using our Byakuugan. And we discovered a very large salt deposit under Konoha."

"Which sector were you in?" Neji gave her the coordinates and she took a moment to consider it. "That's excellent but... I'm afraid we can't mine there. That falls on the Nara clan's property."

It just so happened that among the Ninja villages, salt was traded pound for pound with gold. It was a vital source of income where it could be found, and it had so many uses. People would pay a high price for something that was so sought after.

"Y-you mean it's p-part of their d-deer reserve?" Hinata asked shyly.

"Exactly. But maybe they would be persuaded to sell it."

Neji almost laughed. "No wonder all the deer stay there without a hassle. That place must be a natural salt lick. That's why they never try to leave the boundaries."

"Good point..." Tsunade was sitting down again, and she had her fingers laced together, resting her chin on them lightly. "But if Konoha could sell that area... to a mining company or something... we could be rich!"

"That's true," Neji stated dully. He was actually getting bored with all of this. "Well I felt that we should report it to you, Hokage-sama. Hinata-chan and I will go train someplace else."

"Yes, alright. Thanks, both of you."

They bowed and were let out of the office by the Tsunade's assistant. The two disappeared down the hall, leaving a very happy Hokage behind.

"Shizune! Do you know what this means?!" The blonde inquired, excitement showing in her tone.

"Tsunade-sama?"

"We will have an answer to our problems! If we can get the Nara clan to sell that section of their land to us, that is."

Shizune, being a reasonable woman, disagreed. "I doubt they will. I mean, Neji-san and Hinata-chan weren't even supposed to be on their property. They didn't know, but I'm sure the Naras will-"

"Shut up, Shizune. You talk too much," The Hokage stated flatly.

"And do we even have anyone who would be willing to buy that from us? As much as it costs?"

"I know of one potential buyer."

Shizune's eyes lit up with curiousity. Tsunade had her, then. She knew her assistant's weakness. "Who is it?" She asked all-too-eagerly.

"I'll only tell you if you do me a favor. Take Tonton and go over to the Nara's place at once. Ask them if they would mind selling it. I'll draw up a contract with the coordinates. It should only be roughly one-fourth of the land they own, and we can compensate them the minute it sells."

"I still don't think they'd like people mining so close to their property," She recieved a glare from the Hokage, as she was about to exit the office. "Alright, I'm going!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

'Just my luck,' Shizune thought. 'Of all the people it could be... I end up having to deal with Shikaku...'

Shikamaru's Dad was a scary man. He had answered the door with that permanent scowl already on his face. She had asked to speak with Shikamaru, but it appeared he wasn't in. He was the most reasonable of his clan, but unfortunately now poor Shizune was forced to deal with this dreadful man.

"I was sent here on behalf of Hokage-sama," She hoped this would work. Hopefully he wouldn't yell at her. Shizune hated being yelled at, above all else. "But we received a report from the Hyuugas stating they had found something extremely valuable on your property."

"And what were they doing on our property in the first place?"

"Oh wow, you sound mad... Well you see uh..."

Tsunade stepped into the room. Shikaku's wife had let her in. "Shizune-san, I knew you couldn't be trusted with such an important endeavor. Now, Shikaku-san... I am basically ordering that you are to sell us your land. As Hokage, I can do that. But in return, we are prepared to give you-"

"Wait, hold on," He held up a hand to silence them, before tugging at his beard nervously. "Just what was it they found on our land?"

"Salt," The busty blonde smiled brightly, while Shizune and Shikaku both just shrugged. They didn't get it. "And we are prepared to pay you a large sum of money when we sell it to miners. We will give you Twenty percent, and that's after we purchase it from you."

Shikaku had a thoughtful look for a moment. There was no else he needed to consult. And even if he did, the Hokage was ordering him to sell it to her. He had no choice. So rather than argue, he decided it would be best to keep his dignity.

"I see... Well that sounds like a fair deal to me."

"Perfect," Tsunade offered him a triumphant smile. "I'll draw up a contract, and have Shizune bring it out to you within the hour."

That being said, the two troublesome women made their way back to their office.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Shikaku thought everything would be fine... That is until Shikamaru came back from training with his team mates. He was acting tired and lazy, as usual, and had his signature look of pure indifference that he wore like a mask.

It was dinner time and their whole family had gathered around the table. Shikaku's wife was rambling on about something else which no one paid attention to, as usual. She was so troublesome...

He didn't know how to address this particular problem, so he just spat it out. "I sold about a quarter of our land today."

Shikamaru reacted with a heavy sigh. "Which section?" When he heard the coordinates, he happened to be taking a drink at the moment. It ended up being sprayed across the table. "That's where he is buried!"

"Who?" The boy's mother wanted to know. Now there would be no keeping it from her.

"There was a shinobi that I couldn't kill," The young Nara tried to think of a way to explain it without having to go through the trouble of so many words. "He is buried out there. In pieces. He's immortal."

Everyone was silent for a long time. Then finally, Shikaku spoke. "Hmm... Well that's going to be a problem. We sort of... sold him."

Shikamaru's eyes went wide. "You already made the deal?!" The normally lazy Ninja was having a fit. "You have to go back on it! We have to stop them, we-"

"Shikamaru! Calm down," His father spoke in a very calm, even tone. "It's a done deal. And I was practically forced into it by the Hokage herself. So it's too late. But all you need to do is go tell her tomorrow. It's no big deal."

"How is not a big deal?!"

"Simple. Now he's their problem." Shikaku chuckled.

Shikamaru got up and left the dinner table, leaving his food untouched. His parents' gazes followed the troubled boy all the way to his room. They wanted to talk to him, but he just had to be alone right now.

"All that trouble..." He muttered, setting up a shougi board. It was how he dealt with most of his problems. Ever since Asuma died, it hadn't been the same. "I went through all that to avenge me sensei... And they screw it up! He'll get out, he'll... Try to kill me."

This was indeed a very big problem he would face. And what if Tsunade sold their little piece of land to the wrong person? He would make sure that was the first thing he did tomorrow. He would tell her that they had to find another way to destroy him. One way or another, there would be hell to pay, that was for sure.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After a night of fitful sleep, having barely managed to dance on the very edge of unconsciousness, Shikamaru made his way straight to the Hokage's office. Something had to be done, before it was too late. He wanted to run all the way there, but could not risk alarming people.

Each step he took was painstaking. He had to use an enormous amount of self-restraint just to keep from sprinting through the door. When at last he did make it, Tsunade looked as calm as ever.

"I had a feeling you might be here, Shikamaru-san," She said in a voice that was expectant, yet calm.

"I came here to tell you that my father made a huge mistake. We can't sell that land to you."

She laughed- actually had the audacity to laugh- at him! This stubborn, obstinate woman was trying his patience. "It's already been sold."

"To who?!"

"To Sunagakure."

"...Oh. Shit."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A/N: Before you go thinking it, this is NOT a HidanXHinata fic although I do love that pairing and there will be a fic like that later on. The pairing will be revealed in due time. Yeah I am inspired by the strangest, oddest things. I was watching an hour-long documentary on salt, on the history channel a few days ago... And I came up with a plot from it. I hate the way my brain works. S.A.L.T. can also stand for Sexy Akatsuki Licking Time. Yeah... *stabs brain with fork* I know. I'm such a geek. RUN!!! I actually did a lot of research for this fic so I have you have fun with it! I can't help but feel that maybe Shikamaru is a little bit out of character here?

-Kaline Reine