Trouble

As the days went by, one repetition following another, Ning Xue's school life seemed to settle into a fixed routine.

He left home each morning with his mother's reminders ringing in his ears, then built a quiet barrier with earplugs and notebooks in a corner of the noisy classroom.

During theory lessons, he immersed himself in a sea of ninjutsu ideas. At noon, he spent a brief, peaceful while with Neji on the rooftop.

In the afternoons, during physical conditioning or basic training, he kept his performance precisely under control, maintaining that unremarkable, slightly-above-average level.

Finally, after school, he met up with Neji and headed to the training ground for a real, thoroughly satisfying sparring session.

His life had become utterly regular and monotonous.

And with each day of repetition, Ning Xue gradually faded into the background, like a little fish in the deep sea, carefully keeping his movements small so as not to cause too much of a disturbance, afraid of attracting the attention of the predators lurking below.

Yet beneath the calm surface, undercurrents were always stirring, and one day, even the most regular rhythm would be broken.

"Hey, Hyuga."

Ning Xue looked up and saw Nara Shikamaru standing beside his desk, both hands in his pockets and an expression that said he couldn't be bothered.

"What is it?"

Ning Xue's tone remained even, though something stirred faintly within him.

Shikamaru was one of the few people he paid a little attention to, because the other boy's gaze always carried a keen sense of having seen too much.

Shikamaru scratched his trademark pineapple-shaped hair and yawned.

"Ah, it's nothing special. I just wondered—aren't you tired of putting on an act every day?" (There was no other reason. He really was curious, and he was also letting him know in advance that he knew he was hiding something. Maybe that knowledge would come in handy if trouble arose in the future.)

Ning Xue's hands paused almost imperceptibly as he packed his books, but his expression didn't change.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Then never mind." Shikamaru pursed his lips, though his gaze meaningfully swept over Ning Xue's arms, which showed almost no sign of fatigue after the high-intensity physical training he had just completed.

"During Taijutsu sparring, when you throw Shuriken, even when you run—you're way too efficient.

"You could clearly do better, but you always stop at 'pretty good.' Once or twice might be a coincidence, but every day..."

He drew out the last word and didn't continue, but his look clearly said, You can't fool me.

Ning Xue gazed silently at Shikamaru. He knew the boy, who hated trouble, hadn't come to expose him or pick a fight. It was more like...

An observation-based confirmation, or perhaps he simply wanted to ask: If you have the ability, why pretend to be weak? Isn't doing that just troublesome?

"I just don't like drawing attention to myself." Ning Xue offered an explanation that barely qualified as one.

"Ah, I get it, I get it."

Shikamaru yawned again, a big one, looking as though he'd expected as much.

Having confirmed his suspicions, he turned and waved, as if he'd completed some task, then ambled out of the classroom.

Only Ning Xue remained in the classroom.

He stood where he was, watching the doorway through which Shikamaru had disappeared.

After a moment, he murmured to himself,

"Hate trouble, do you? But if I don't make trouble, even bigger trouble will come along. That would be a real nuisance."

After saying this, he finished gathering his things, then turned and headed for the path where he was supposed to meet Neji.