Haimalos, people! My bad for the hiatus, I just kinda ... drew into a shell. Anyway, at the request of wolves134, I have written a sequel to "Neji the Pirate". And, as it is approaching one of the funnest holidays of the year, I have decided to make it Halloween-themed! Let's hope it comes out as good (if you can even count it good) as the last one! And awa-a-a-a-ay we go!
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Youth! Youth! The world colored the bright colors of youth!
Lee twirls in a field of blooming wild flowers, with Gai dancing not too far away from him. Tenten and Neji stand tall and proud in the beautiful green jumpsuits, talking about youth this and youth that. Tears come to Lee's eyes at how beautiful it all is.
"Bye, bye!" A voice booms in the meadow.
All of the flowers wilt, Gai gets set on fire, Neji and Tenten begin arguing, and Lee feels a huge shadow looming over him.
"Lee-e-e-e-e," It is a parrots voice; loud and moaning. Lee shakes as he turns around.
"Game over," The parrot's glowing, red eyes fix on him. Then, it lunges forward to swallow him up whole.
Lee wakes up with a start, yelling. He quickly looks around for the parrot, but it isn't in his room, to his utter relief. Lee runs a hand through his sweaty hair, trying to sort out what was real and what was not.
It has been almost three months since he played the prank, got punched, and returned the parrot. And yet, ever since, he has been having nightmares about that parrot. It haunts his every thought now when he goes to sleep.
Lee looks out of his window, to the full moon. It is so calming ... so soothing ... so youthful ...
He falls out of his bed when something slams into his window. Something suspiciously white, and with feathered wings. He falls onto his butt with a shout, and hides behind his bed. Carefully, he peers out the window, and the parrot is gone. He must be going crazy.
So, he goes to sleep. His day is normal, as always, but it is when he goes back to sleep that there arises a problem.
He hears a scratching sound. Something digging into his wall. Lee doesn't dare take the blanket off of the top of his head, and instead forces himself to go to sleep. The next morning, he finds something that look dangerously like beak scratch marks. And these marks have carved out the word 'Lee' into his wall.
Needless to say, Lee walks to practice on shaking legs.
Neji and Tenten regards him curiously as he enters the training ground, but Tenten is the first to speak, "What's been wrong with you lately, Lee? You look like you haven't slept in days."
"It is nothing, Tenten. Just a-" The words die on his tongue as he sees something white sitting up in a tree behind them. He points to it, "P-p-parrot ..."
Neji raises an eyebrow, "What?"
"Parrot!" Lee shouts, getting ready to draw out a kunai.
Tenten is quickly at his side, holding his hand so he can't take it out, "Lee! What are you doing?"
He struggles to free his hand, "It is the parrot!"
Tenten gathers her strength and punches him over the head so hard he sees stars. She huffs as he falls over, rubbing her knuckles, "Calm down, Lee. There's nothing there. You shouldn't go shooting at anything you think you see."
"But, I did see it, Tenten!" Lee exclaims, "It was at my window, and scratching on my wall, and in the field of youth! Always there! Everywhere!"
Tenten glances back at Neji, who looks just as lost as she does. She turns back to Lee and says slowly, "Lee ... maybe you should go home. Get some rest, maybe."
"No! The parrot will find me!"
"It is time to train, my little flowers!" Gai picks that moment to enter the training grounds with glorious splender.
They do not consult Lee again until the end of training, when the sun is already setting. Carefully, Tenten begins leading Lee out of the training ground with Neji following behind at a safe distance. She assures Lee that; no, they are just going to dinner, and no, the parrot will not be there, and no, the parrot will not eat him when he lets his guard down.
A quick meal at one of the restaurants, and Tenten concludes that they have to walk Lee back to his home. Lee gratefully accepts, but is constantly glancing backwards to make sure that the parrot isn't following them to his house. Tenten's worry is deepened.
She and Neji send Lee into his home, and wait.
There is a sudden shout, and Lee's window opens. He jumps out of it and onto the next building's roof, then begins running away, "The parrot is in my room! It will kill my youth! I won't let it!"
"Lee!" Tenten takes off after him desperately.
Neji, who has stayed behind rather quietly this whole time, holds out his arm and whistles. Out of the open window flies Kawagami, the parrot, who lands on his arm obediently. Neji strokes the parrot's head soothingly with a twisted smirk on his face.
"Happy Halloween, Lee."