"He knows the Crimson of Rage and the Azure of Despair… but his eyes will never change; the Purity of White."
That, my friends, was a little drabble written by Kishimoto, on the first page of Chapter 187: Praying for mercy. So pretty. And partially the inspiration behind this fic. The title was originally Things Orochimaru Does Because He's A Bastard, but I moved away from Orochimaru and onto Neji, because Neji's pretty and can't do creepy things with his tongue. It gets a little trippy in parts, and I have absolutely no real knowledge of fighting, so please be aware of that. So now I throw my delicate little heart out for you people to step on in an attempt to answer the question that I've been tossing around my head since I first saw the Byakugan in action: Why the hell doesn't Orochimaru want a body with a Byakugan? After all, even Kakashi said it had stronger powers of insight than the Sharingan- that the Sharingan was supposed to have come down from the Byakugan. It has it's own personal style that's be honed for centuries, it's a pillar of Konoha, and the Hyuuga family is considered noble to boot. Why?
Maybe he already has one.
The day was absolutely glorious. Had to keep that in mind, didn't we? Don't want to lose perspective while hearing the slice of kunai through flesh. Not that he was heartless, which would have been a completely acceptable adjustment, rational, even, considering what he'd been through. He just detached himself- no, that wasn't it. He just poured every atom of his being into what had to be done and stopped thinking. Easy.
In any case, the day had been glorious when he'd been called to the Hokage's office, gold and crimson spattered all over the sky. Big fluffy clouds, all lit up. One of the very few days he might have considered cloud watching. Falling asleep in some sunny place sounded nice. But he had a mission.
"Neji, let me make this clear. This place has been abandoned, but it's still one of Orochimaru's old bases of operation. You're to gather whatever data you can, and if any…" Tsunade let out a breath, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. "It's extremely unlikely, but we know he used to conduct experiments there. If you find anyone alive…" the woman was obviously torn. On the one hand, the medic nin in her told her that she needed to help people, but the part of her that she had come to think of as Hokage warned her of danger. "If you find anyone alive, bring them to me. No matter how bad they look."
"Hai, Hokage-sama." Neji bowed slightly.
"And Neji…" she stopped. He turned towards her.
"Hai?"
"Try not to get killed."
"Hai, Hokage-sama." He walked out the door. A fifteen minute weapons check and he'd been ready to go. The old castle was going to take at least five hours to get to. He had stretched and started off.
As the sun rose to it's zenith, the sky turned an azure of heartbreaking clarity. The clouds started to spread slowly across the sky, pouring out like whipped cream. When he'd finally seen the old castle, he'd taken a soldier pill, looked at the sky again, and set off.
Apparently the base wasn't as abandoned as Tsunade thought. So far he'd run into at least ten Chunin, dealt with them without too much trouble. He made sure to memorize all the turns he made, count every room. He didn't want to get lost. So far he'd found several scrolls that would be of interest to the Hokage. He turned a corner. Left. What he saw next surprised him.
It was a bedroom. It looked completely normal- that's what was so odd about it. You'd expect a bedroom in a secret base to be… strange, somehow. But this was a completely normal room. A dresser standing next to the window, a neatly made bed against the far side of the wall, a tiny shrine on a shelf above it. Pictures all along a desk, scrolls organized just so, a bookshelf right next to him.
And then he realized what was so strange about this room. It had been used recently. Otherwise, the crisply folded bed would have dust in the rigid creases. Come to that, this base wasn't supposed to have been used since before the Chunin exam, almost four years ago. Everything should be moldering and uncared for. But there was even ash in the incense burner, couldn't have been made a day before. He looked at the pictures on the dresser.
He recognized several faces in them. There were the three Genin from Sound in some of the pictures, and the sound five in others. There were also scattered pictures of a redheaded child, and others of a dog. He guessed that the room had belonged to the red haired child. He pocketed them, taking them out of their frames, thinking to ask Tsunade about them later.
He also looked through the scrolls, searching for information of any kind. Many of the scrolls he recognized from when he was studying for the Jonin exam, basic manuals. A few looked old and rare. And then there was one with the title "Maya", looked to be a log book of some kind. He pushed the unusual scrolls in his pocket and looked at "Maya". The first part seemed to be a family tree of some kind, with only first names. Underneath it was written "Uchiha Taki" and "Uchiha Yumi". He rolled it up and put it in his pocket.
He left the room and rounded another corner. Right. He used his Byakugan to survey the area surrounding him. There were seven nin hidden around him. If he pulled it off, he could get past with minimal effort. He put up a genjutsu around himself, thinking that with any luck it would disguise him in shadows that would have cloaked him anyways.
The first two didn't see him, nor did the squad of three hiding in one of the rooms off the corridor. Unfortunately he fell into another ninja's trap as he left the hallway. At the last moment he dodged the rain of kunai the trap set off, but it attracted the attention of the two who set it up.
They were two bulky looking Chunin. He hit four critical points each on their bodies, and they slumped and fell to the floor, the edges of their mouths already seeping blood. The other nin didn't notice.
He used the Byakugan again. There was a concealed lab up a little farther. He walked around another corner, Right, and punched through the wall. The hall behind it twisted. He scanned the shelves and removed a few files, working quickly, quietly, and above all efficiently. He didn't miss a single item to be confiscated or take anything that didn't matter. He paused for a moment when he saw a tall glass jar. It was dusty, but he could tell it was filled with preserving fluids. A dusty label that had been torn read "ya". He dusted off the cylinder to see what was inside, he could see the slightest form of an orb. As the white orb floated gently to face him, he dropped his hand in shock.
It was a Sharingan. That was impossible. Sasuke had deserted Konoha, but Orochimaru would hardly mutilate what he hoped would become his new host. Besides, it seemed as if it had been there for a long time.
Neji debated what to do with it. He should take it with him, but it was too ghastly. He reached out for it, then decided he would come back for it. He didn't want it to break. He would come back when he was done.
He walked into an adjoining room, took what he could, and left, going down the winding hall again. Left. He found the door to the hidden lab, wondering how anyone could ever live in a place like this and stay sane.
His hand paused before he opened the door. There was a familiar scent lingering in the air, a smell he knew undoubtedly, but that he couldn't place. It had been such a long time ago… he slid back the door.
The shadows merged and divided, but in the center of the gloom was a figure he knew well.
Wheet. Finally done. Thanks for taking time to read, I appreciate it. I'd like it even better if you'd review (smile).
Oh, and if any of you out there are really big fans of Neji, I would appreciate it if you were to look over my work before I post it and make sure Neji isn't OOC. I will love you forever and give you cookies.