Short summary: Reborn as Neji Hyuga's twin sister.
Full summary: A woman from the normal Earth realm suffers a death at the hands of a car accident. This, however, is not where her story ends, it is only the beginning. Upon meeting Death, she lear...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"I've slowly learned that you will always surprise me, Ami. It's a drag, but sometimes you're too unpredictable." He lazily says as we start the game.
"Took you long enough to learn." I sneer arrogantly at him as I set up a trap, just like I usually do.
"Then again, sometimes maybe you are predictable." He says confidently as he counters the trap I set up. I set up another one after a moment of playing defensively.
"You never know, maybe one day it will work." I say in my own defense as he once again counters my trap. I set up a third trap, and watch as he frowns, once again countering it. I can tell he is getting confused on why I keep using traps he can counter easily.
I don't know if he can see what I've actually set up yet though, I'm playing a strategy I've never used with him before. I then take my Bishop and set it up to be sacrificed. If he takes my Bishop, I win by giving my Rook access to take his king. If he doesn't take my Bishop, it will kill his king, and I'll win.
"Checkmate." I say confidently to him, though there's the hint of sadness in my voice.
"A sacrifice play?" Shikamaru stares hard at the board in surprise. "You never play those. You always work to keep your units all safe as much as possible." He stares straight at me, trying to see through me.
"Some pieces are worth saving more than others." I say quietly, touching the Rook piece briefly before standing up. I know that Shika will see through the metaphor for this game at some point. "Thank you for the game, Shikamaru. I will leave you to get some rest before tomorrow." I leave him before he can comment on what I said, and head home for the night.
I made a hearty dinner for myself and Neji, cooking all of our favorites. We ate in near silence, both of us too nervous for the battle to come. I took a bath before bed, and changed into my pajama's and walked to my door. I just stared at the door for a minute, knowing I wouldn't get any sleep due to fear and nerves tonight. I turned on my heal and walked to Neji's door, knocking and opening it before getting a reply.
"Nii-san?" I as softly, seeing my brother already in bed.
"Ami? What is it?" He asks me quietly in concern.
"Can I stay here tonight?" I ask him in a whisper.
"Of course." He says with a surprised smile, moving over and making room for me on his futon. I crawl in next to him, turning to face him and on reflex, grabbing his hand just like I used to when we were little. "We haven't done this since we were kids." He chuckles slightly.
"We fit better in the beds back then." I joke out quietly, noticing both of us take up the entire bed with no wiggle room.
"Yeah. I think the beds shrunk." He teases in a whisper. He sounds calm, but I can feel the slight tremble in his hand as I hold it. "Get some sleep, Ami. We will need it before tomorrow." He gently kisses the top of my head.
