Rivers Of Blood
Chapter One: Finding My Savour
Fang: Hey guys I am back in business to bring you my first ever Neji/Gaara fanfiction, I own none of the characters and ect...
Neji: I have been warned about people like you (shields Gaara) you are up to no good...
Fang: who me? Never! But this is going to be a little sad and it is also in another world where they are in fact not ninja...
Neji: You're going to take away my Byakugan?
Fang: sorry Neji-kun... It's going to be a good story though so don't let it put you off...
Neji POV:
Chilly night air nipped at my bear creaks as I wandered from the enormous compound that belonged to me and my family; the icy claws of winter still holding on to the trees, the grass and the rocks all around the path. More and more I find myself lazily plodding along this path, lost in thoughts of my recently appointed position as head of my clan; a big weight on my shoulders especially considering I only just turned nineteen.
I draw a deep, soothing breath into my lungs; watching as my warm breath mixed with the frigid air forming a thick cloudy mist, vanishing into the night's sky. I couldn't help but think that this is how I spent the last few nights, just off in my own little world where nothing else mattered except the path in front of me.
Tonight was especially cold, turning the melting snow back into ice as it desperately tried to escape the leaves of the trees. I let a small smile spread across my face at the sight of the tiny icicles forming all around me. A bridge in the distance was rapidly coming into focus up ahead; it was painted a bright red and stretched across the deep, clear, fast running water of the river I stared out over each night.
I wasn't quite there yet when my keen eyes noticed something large caught on one of the protruding rocks in the middle of the rushing water. I quickened my pace a little; curiosity suddenly peaked as to what the mass was. It could be one hundred different things, but it seemed most likely to me that it was a sack full of unwanted kittens; it wouldn't be the first time I had seen that happen in this river, just a month ago I found a tiny homeless puppy in this very river, I did my best but I couldn't save the poor abandoned animal.
As soon as I reached the edge of the river however the imagery of the puppy I couldn't save was washed from my mind by the new, confronting image of the half naked body of a young male, a little younger than me, laying face down water. Blood covered the visible portion of his pale back covered in deep, bloody gashes.
"Shit!" I hissed, tearing of my thick heavy jacket and jeans off so they wouldn't slow my swimming down.
Jumping in the water without a second thought for my own safety and swimming over to what I was almost certain was nothing more than a corpse by now. It was cold. It was damn freezing, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't at least try to reach the young male in time to save him.
It took mere seconds to reach the redhead and immediately wrapped my strong arms around his frail form and tip his head gently back against my shoulder to keep it above water. I wasn't shocked when he didn't gasp or try to draw a breath, I was almost certain that he was gone even before I got into the waters of the river, yet something inside me died as I paddled back to the shore as quickly as my legs would possibly allow me to go while carrying the extra weight of the cold, breathless young man.
I half carried half dragged the boy up the steep rocks and onto the grass, lungs heaving for air and body shivering from the cold. My own condition however didn't concern me in the least, all I could do was focus on the bear chest of redhead, pale and unmoving with cuts of various lengths and depths', braking up what was otherwise a perfect male form.
It took a few moments for my genius mind to kick in and I reached my shaking hand up to the cold, pale flesh of the other male's neck, hoping to find the pulse that would indicate that I was not too late. I could feel the muscles in my body tighten up in distress; I am normally very calm however this is almost too much to bear. I was about to give up when I felt the faintest of throbs under my fingers.
"Y-you're alive!" I called to the boy, knowing full well that he wouldn't last much longer without my help, "Hang on!" I order the cold body, moving to position his head back so I could breathe for him, pinching his nose and lowering my warm lips down to cover his cold bluish ones.
I forced my breath deep into the red heads lungs, his chest rising only a little before falling back to its previous position, I gave him another quick breath before rolling him onto his side briefly trying to drain as much water from his body as I possibly could before rolling him back over and sealing my lips around his once more.
"Breath," I choke out still trying to bring the younger back into the world of the living, "Come on kid." I half beg as I pinch the boy's nose, ready to deliver more much needed oxygen into his severely wounded body.
As if on command with the next breath I gave he managed to draw one of his own, gasping painfully and vomiting up the rest of the offending substance from his lungs. Slowly I roll the smaller male over, trying my best not to hurt him any more then I knew he was already.
"You're going to be okay." I cooed to the unknown boy, rubbing his arm in an attempt to provide some comfort.
I looked over the shivering body once more. his skin was so pale and sickly, which only served to make his multiple wounds and bruises to become all the more odious. he appeared to be dressed nothing more than brown sweat pants which were now waterlogged and probably making him colder rather than warming him up. Scruffy, deep red hair framed the smooth skin of the boys face; a bright red tattoo of the kanji for love resting on his forehead above his left eye, which was squeezed tightly shut as he continued to cough and choke.
The worst of the redhead's wounds was a deep gash just below his ribcage which trickled blood down into a crimson pool that was quickly forming on the once green grass. Knowing that that such an injury could be fatal to a healthy person didn't help to ease my worries at all, and it was all I could do to run and grab my cloths, tearing my shirt into long strips to use as a makeshift bandage.
"I am Neji," I told the boy while still tearing the cloth, "can you tell me your name?" I ask gently.
"G-Gaara..." he choked in reply, still shaking violently from the cold and the pain.
"Alright Gaara, this may hurt but I need to stop the bleeding okay?"
Receiving a weak nod in reply I quickly move to bind his blood covered torso in the thick fabric that was once my shirt. Gaara tensed visibly as he tried to fight back what must have been massive pain; even though tried to be as careful and gentle as possible.
Just after I finished the redhead finally opened his eyes to look up at me with helpless, innocent, green eyes that shouldn't have belonged to the dying body lying in front of me. Those deep green pools burned into my mind and caused strong sadness to well up in my stomach.
"I am going to try and carry you back to the Hyuga complex." I inform the young man while wrapping my thick woollen jacket around his bare chest, "Try to take deep breaths for me."
Gaara nodded once again, gritting his teeth in preparation for the pain that he knew was coming.
Slowly I slip one arm under the boy's knees and the other under his shoulders. Lifting him above the ground and pulling him close to my chest, I whisper comforting words into his ears as I take the first steps toward my home.