Yo, How's it going. Welcome back!
WARNING: This story hits pretty hard on depression and thoughts of suicide. If any of these things are triggering to you, I would read something else.
Neji silently followed Gaara toward the woods again for the second time this week. He hadn't come with him since Monday after a particularly bad week. Tuesday was fine but Wednesday, it pained him just to remember it.
~flashback~
Sitting on his bed, Neji found it hard not to slip into dark thoughts. What was he to do? Nothing was helping. He'd tried to find a new hobby, a new obsession, but nothing worked. Television bored him. The more he watched, the more he felt like he was rotting away. Music only reminded him of his paintings. Certain songs made him want to pick up a brush and paint what he saw, but he couldn't. He would go on long walks, very very long walks, but the environment was so beautiful subtly changing from summer to fall. He couldn't do anything to capture that. Sketching only helped a little bit but it made him more depressed because he couldn't paint what he drew. What was he to do?
It had been a little over a month since his uncle took away his soul. How long would it take for him to get it back? Should he ask? All pros and cons weighted in his head, playing out over and over. If he asked and it went well he could get his soul back; be his self again, but there's also the opposite. If his uncle said no, could he handle it? Neji looked over to his balcony as he had done more and more these days. It would be so easy to just... Neji smacked his palm against his forehead over and over.
"That's not the answer. That's not the answer. That's not the answer," Neji hushed to himself.
He got up from his bed and trudged over to his nightstand, opening the draw at the front. A small black coded lock box sat there, the numbers worn from use. He picked up the box and put in the code opening the box. It was filled to the brim with photos of him and his father in several different locations all over the world. Neji fell back on his bed flipping through the pictures one by one. Each one made him smile but also brought tears to his eyes.
"Where would we be if you were still here?" A harsh knock on the door caused him to jump. He quickly put the photos back, wiped his eyes and answered the door. His uncle stood there staring directly at him.
"Neji, I would like to congratulate you on your grades and your behavior as of late." He walked past Neji into his room. "It seems that that hobby of yours was causing more damage than I thought."
What? Could he not see him? Was his suffering not evident to him? Neji decided against saying anything; he wouldn't listen.
"I realize that you have been feeling a bit down since I took away your drawings, but I feel like these are just mild withdrawal symptoms. You must be strong and stick it out."
"What did you need uncle, I was about to start studying for a test." A lie, but he didn't care. He just wanted his uncle out of his room.
"Ah, well, let me cut to the chase then. I would like you to meet with some of my colleges at the office on Monday after school. I feel like it would be quite educational for you."
"I have somewhere to be Monday," Neji stated flatly.
"Oh? And where would that be?"
In all honesty, he didn't know. He refrained himself from looking up the address so he couldn't convince himself not to go. "Just meeting with my psychology partner. We haven't had time to talk much at school so...," he lied again.
"Ah, well as long as it's for school, I suppose that's acceptable, but I would like to set up a time to reschedule." Hiashi made his way back over to the door.
The question about his soul burned through his brain and out his lips before he could control it. "W-when will I be able to have them back? My paintings, I mean."
It seemed like an eternity before his uncle answered. "I don't think I will be giving them back for a while Neji. You are doing so well in school, and I would hate for that to regress."
His uncle left his room, closing the door behind him. Neji stood staring at the door.
"I shouldn't have asked," he whispered to himself. Was all this for nothing?
"I shouldn't have asked," he said a little louder. His brain was starting to fall apart.
"I shouldn't have asked." His voice was shaking, he couldn't breathe, couldn't see straight.
He swiftly turned toward his balcony ripping open the doors. He leaned over the railing, his grip on it turned his knuckles white. It was at least a thirty-foot drop to the ground; that would do it, right? He leaned a bit further. What if this didn't work? It could just severely damage him. He let out a harsh breath, his face wet from tears. Damage or not anything would be better than this. The wind blew against his face like it was pushing him back. He leaned against the wind. Almost there...
"N-Neji?"
He jumped at the soft voice that came behind him. He turned toward Hinata quickly then looked around his surroundings. What was he doing? What was he thinking? Backing away from the balcony slowly he ghosted over to his bed sitting down slowly.
Hinata took a step toward him, "I-I brought you some dinner. Are you hungry?"
Neji shook his head slowly. He wasn't hungry at all, in fact, he felt sick to his stomach. Hinata slowly walked over to his bed and set the tray of food on his end table. She sat down next to him rapping her arm around his shaking shoulders "Do you want to talk about it?" Neji stared at the floor. It wasn't fair, not to her.
"No..." he said, his voice shaking slightly.
It was another lie. One that Neji pained to say down to the bottom of his heart. She sat for a minute, hoping that he would change his mind, but he didn't. Sighing, she got up and left the room. When the door closed softly behind him, he looked up at his balcony again. What just happened could never happen again. Something had to be done.
~End flashback~
Neji shook his head at the memory. It was now Friday and he honestly still didn't feel the greatest, but he couldn't avoid this project. Just like before, Gaara led him past the gate and into the same clearing. He sat near the bench on the same patch of green grass while Gaara took out his jars again. Neither of them said a word to each other. Neji thought about asking him about the location written in his sketchbook, but he didn't want to find any reason to talk himself out of it. He began to pick at the grass again until Gaara stopped and spoke.
"Did something happen?" Neji looked up at Gaara who was staring straight at him; his face as blank as ever.
"No," he said sternly looking back down at the ground.
"Hmm..." Gaara started to continue what he was doing until he stopped again "I think we should come to an agreement."
"What," he bit back a bit too harsh.
"What I mean is...we have to talk more."
Neji stared at him for a second "Why?" He knew the reason why but for some reason he felt confrontational, he just wasn't into the mood.
"Nothing will get done."
He sighed through his nose. There wasn't any reason to get mad or frustrated any further, Gaara was right.
"And how do propose we do that?"
The shorter male stopped digging in the dirt and looked over to him. "Twenty questions...minus fifteen."
Neji stared at him for a second. Why word it like that? "So, five questions?"
"Yes."
"Okay..."
The redhead began to dig through the grass and dirt again, "There are rules."
Neji raised an eyebrow "Rules?"
"Yes."
He waited a minute for Gaara to elaborate, but he never did.
"Like," he growled lightly?
"If you're unconformable don't answer."
"That it?" he said slightly more annoyed, frustrated with his manner of speaking.
"More or less."
Neji just stared at him again. He watched as Gaara dug his fingers through the slightly wet dirt. The redhead picked up a worm and brought it up to his eye level, watching it wiggle and writhe in his figures. Seeing the worm helplessly wiggle made Neji's skin crawl. He felt like that worm. As Gaara slowly put the creature back in the dirt, Neji looked back down at the grass picking at random blades again. The world around him filled with the sounds of the forest. Focussing on that was nice.
"When would you like to start?" Gaara said tearing him out of the lull the forest sounds put him in.
"Start what?"
"Questions."
"Not today."
"That's fine."
Neji stood. He didn't want to be here anymore. "I'm going to go."
Gaara stood as well "It would be better if we went together."
"It's only thirty minutes into class time, you don't have to..."
"Less risk can come with sacrifices." He began to put his jars back in his bag and slung it over his shoulder.
He walked away, while Neji stood still watching him go. He felt a little guilty not only because he was making him leave but because of his nasty attitude. "W-we can sta-"
"I can come back at a later time or date. It's fine." There was no hint of anger or annoyance in his voice.
Neji only nodded and followed behind. As they made their way past the gate and back down to the school, Neji spoke up. "I... I um. Monday, is there anything I need to know about?"
Gaara stopped before the doors and looked at him again; this time more at his clothes than in his eyes. "Don't wear anything fancy. The more beat up the better."
Neji tilted his head to the side slightly but didn't ask about it. "Okay?"
They both walked inside the school building, Gaara walked off without saying another word. Neji stood for a minute but then decided it would be best to just go back to class and maybe lay his head down for the rest of the period. He walked back into the classroom making his way to his now regular spot in the back of the class. Unfortunately for him, Lee spotted him step in and decided now was the time to talk to him. Before he could even fully settle into the seat, Lee was at his side. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking. His voice was quieter than usual.
"Hey Neji, how have you been?"
Neji didn't respond. He finished putting his bag down then laid his head on the desk. "Neji if you need someone to talk to, I..."
"Lee, I don't want to talk to you," he said coldly.
He was in no mood to deal with anyone today, especially Lee. Though Lee was slightly taken aback by this but didn't falter "Well maybe Ten Ten or Sasuke then. You must talk to someone, this isn't healthy. Maybe you could..."
"Lee," Neji said sitting his head up.
Lee almost looked excited for a moment "Yes?"
"Go away. I don't want to talk to anyone. I don't want to see anyone. I just want to be left alone." He wanted to glare at him, scare him into leaving but he couldn't bring himself to even look at him. It hurt too much. "Please just go."
Lee nodded "I'm always here." he said before walking away. Neji once again felt awful. It's not like he didn't want to vent, yell, and scream but that wasn't him. He didn't like divulging his problems to others nor wanted to burden them with those problems. He would deal with this on his own; in his own way.
Hinata walked quickly through the school with her mission in mind. If she didn't hurry her target would escape and she would have to try again. Due to her cousin's new attitude, her routine had been broken, and she went home a lot quicker than usual. Pushing through the mass of student in a hurry has been proving to be difficult, and she had lost her several times because of it. It took her a week just to figure out her regular parking spots and another two to attempt to catch her before she left. This time she was more determined than ever. In the past month, Neji hadn't been eating all that well, so she made it a point to bring him food to help him out. Last week, when she came in the room, he was at his balcony leaned over the railing farther than any person should be bending over it. When she called his name, he startled, quickly standing back straight like nothing happened. His eyes were red and puffy like he'd been crying his voice was shaky and cracked when he would talk. She cried for him that night. The next night she noticed that the balcony door was secured with a heavy chain and padlock. She had her suspicions of suicidal thoughts with him but seeing his balcony locked confirmed it. Usually, she would tell her father, but he was the main problem, so that threw that plan out the window. She could confront a teacher, but Neji was, despite his situation, an outstanding actor. He could convince them there was nothing wrong in a heartbeat and they wouldn't look twice about it. So that left her with her original plan. Find someone that he could talk to about her father possibly find him a girlfriend if need be. As she made her way out to the parking lot, she saw her targets car and her mark. She was about to get in her car after talking to, what looked like Lee based on the excess of green. Hinata broke into a run. She had to catch up to her no matter what. Just as the car was beginning to pull off Hinata slammed her hand on the side of the passenger side window. Ten Ten jumped in her seat almost hitting the roof of her car. Gathering herself, she rolled down the window.
"Hey Hinata how's it going?"
"Can I..." She breathed, all that running made her out of breath. "Can I talk to you for a second, please. I'll try not to take up to much of your time."
Ten Ten stared for a minute before nodding her head "Y-yeah sure, come on in."
She unlocked the car for Hinata to sit down. "Do you want some water? I have some in the back."
"No, I'm okay. Thank you for offering though."
"Yeah, sure." The air was a bit awkward between them for a minute. Though Neji and Ten Ten were good friends, Hinata didn't interact with her all that much other than a few greetings.
"So, you uh…wanted to talk about something?"
Hinata nodding slightly agreeing slightly to shake away the nerves. She realized coming up with a plan and carrying it out were two different mediums. How should she start this? "Um, well i-it's about Neji. I wanted to talk about Neji."
"Yeah? You know Lee and I were just talking about him. He's been overly cold lately, doesn't even want to talk to me anymore. Did something happen?"
Hinata hesitated. Once she told her there was no going back. If Neji found out about this, she could lose him forever, but if she didn't, she could also lose him forever. The potential for him to be helped was more critical. "My...My father took away Neji's paintings."
Ten Ten's eyes widened "What?"
"Not just the painting but his supplies to make new ones as well."
"Hmm, no wonder he's been pretty down lately but, I mean, it seems like that's something he'd get over right? Neji's never seemed like one to hold on to things like that."
"You don't understand! Neji's painting are, well." What were they to him? How could she describe it?
"Painting is Neji's light. It's everything to him. It's the way he talks. It's the way he expresses himself. The way he blows off steam, the way he travels, the way he connects with his..." She stopped. Going on could reveal a bit too much. Ten Ten could only stare in awe. She never knew it was that important. "Taking away Neji's paintings is like taking away his soul. It's hurting him. If we don't do something, then I don't know what will happen to him."
Ten Ten sighed through her nose and sat back in her seat. This was a lot to take in. "So..." Ten Ten stopped to think about what she could say, but no words came out.
"I'm sorry. This is a lot to take in, but I really need your help. I can't help him alone."
Ten Ten nodded slowly "Okay y-yeah, Of course, I'll help. So, what are we going to do? Steal the painting stuff back."
Hinata had to think about what she said next. She couldn't just say 'I want you to try and be his girlfriend so he can vent about my father' "I was thinking of something a little subtler. Maybe if you can just talk to him more or take to more places. Defiantly not leave him by himself as much."
"Whoa whoa whoa, don't leave him alone? What does that mean? You don't think he's...you know? He can't be that bad right?"
"No! No," Hinata said quickly, maybe a little too quickly.
Ten Ten wasn't stupid. From what she could gather Neji was in trouble. But why come to her about this? Why not get an adult for the situation?
"T-there's an art show coming to town next weekend. Do...do you think you can take him?"
Ten Ten didn't respond.
"I-if money's an issue I can pay for your tickets. My father gives us an allowance every month s-so I have plenty."
"Why can't you take him? I mean, I'm happy to, really. But why me?"
Hinata fidgeted in the seat. How on earth is Neji able to do this day in and day out? She sighed, "I don't think he wants to talk to me or even be around me right now."
"Hinata you're like his favorite person why would he not..."
Hinata just shook her head "He doesn't want to talk to me, and he won't talk to anybody he doesn't know, so you're well..."
Ten Ten placed a hand on her shoulder "okay, I get it. I'll take him."
"Thank you."
They both fell awkwardly silent. "Um, do you think you could buy those tickets though? I don't have a job so..."
"Its fine I'll get them." Hinata began to get out of the car. "Thank you again. I'll give you the tickets on Monday."
"Okay, cool. Yeah." Ten Ten watched as Hinata quietly closed the door and walked away. From her understanding, Neji was in trouble, and for some reason, Hinata was reluctant to go to an adult about it. She decided to play along for right now, but if things got out of hand, she would have to go to a higher power.
The weekends were always extremely difficult for Neji. He just couldn't process what to do. Usually, the weekends were great, painting with little interruption. Now he often found himself sitting on his bed staring at the walls or just sleeping. Currently, he was staring up at his off-white ceiling, getting lost in its abyss. His mind didn't go anywhere; thoughts never wondered. They had nowhere to go. The sound of his stomach growling brought ideas back to his brain. He was hungry but didn't feel like getting up. Eating was never his top priority even before all this mess now it was even lower on his list. Most of the time he felt sick or nauseous. Just the thought of food made him want to vomit, but there were times when his stomach betrayed his mind. His body was numb or maybe asleep; he couldn't really tell.
A short squeezing pain shot through his gut as his stomach moaned again. He groaned but didn't move. The ache in his stomach was causing the numbness to fade away. Slowly, he moved his hand to his stomach and grabbed it hoping the pressure would cause the feeling to go away. The sensation of his ribs under his fingertips made him squeeze harder. Only a month ago there was a solid wall of muscle that would have made it difficult to even feel his ribs, but now he could probably play the xylophone with ease on his bones. Another pain twisted through his abdomen making him cringe. He slowly sat up from his bed still gripping his stomach.
"Trader," he growled as he moved out of his bed. He made his way down to the kitchen still grabbing at his gut.
When he made it to the kitchen, he saw Hinata already cooking something. Was it really that late for her to be cooking dinner? He never really kept track of time anymore. Not wanting to bother her or rather talk to her, he turned to leave the kitchen; he'd come back later.
"Neji?"
He stopped without thinking.
"A-are you hungry? I can make you a plate if you like?"
Neji stared back at her with hollow eyes. He wanted to go back upstairs and endure the hunger, but once again his stomach betrayed him growling loudly. Hinata put down the pan and turned off the burner. She walked over to him grabbed his arm and pulled him to the bar attached to the kitchen.
"Sit down, I'll get you a plate."
Neji slowly pulled out one of the stools and sat down. He almost prided himself in completely ignoring Hinata for the past month, but somehow, he couldn't bring himself to leave. He heard her rustle through cabinets then the scraping of the pan. When she placed the plate in front of him, he could only smirk. Stir-fried soba noodles with vegetables and beef, close to one of his favorites. She sat next to him with a plate of her own
"I would have put herring in it, but I didn't know you were hungry."
"That's fine," he whispered back softly.
They ate in silence, Neji was slower than Hinata. She was done with her plate before he made it a quarter of a way through his. By that time, he just picked at the plate.
"I'm sorry," Hinata sighed suddenly. Neji only looked over to her with a bit of confusion.
"I kind of piled it on," she said nodding toward his Neji could respond she started talking again. "I just got so excited that you came down to eat and I didn't want to give you too little and..."
"It's okay Hinata." There was almost a hint of humor in his voice. He missed her rambling, her voice.
"I miss you," she whispered stealing the thoughts right out of his head. He missed her too, but this was for the best.
"I um..."
"Well look who crawled out of his hole."
Both Neji and Hinata looked up to see Hanabi at the bottom of the stairs looking up from her phone.
"Hanabi please...," Hinata tried to say before more words came through Hanabi's mouth to no avail.
"You know, whatever this is that you doing you should get over it."
Neji only glared then got up to leave. He didn't want to deal with this right now. He moved to go back up the stairs, but Hanabi got in the way. "You're a selfish prick, you know that."
Neji sneered at her "Fuck off, Hanabi," he growled moving past her.
"I'd tell you the same thing if you hadn't been doing that all month," she said raising her voice slightly. Neji only continued up the stairs.
"Your behavior doesn't just affect you, you know," she yelled as he disappeared.
"Asshole," she growled under her breath sitting down where Neji was and began picking at what was left of his food.
"Why do you have to be so mean to him? You know he's having a hard time right now," Hinata said sternly, looking at her sister.
"He needs to grow up and move on like any normal person would do," Hanabi snapped.
"You just don't understand..."
"You're right, I don't understand!" she yelled. "I don't understand why he's acting this way. I don't understand why he can't see that it hurts us too and I really really don't understand how to help him."
Hinata looked at her sister in shock. It sounded like Hanabi was about to cry. She wrapped one arm around Hanabi's shoulders and pulled her toward her until Hanabi's head rested on her shoulder. "I don't know how either, but I'm going to figure it out okay? Just try to be nicer to him while he's going through this." She felt her younger sister nod against her shoulder. Hanabi was a tough girl. There was hardly a time when she was openly sad like she was now, but it was nice to know that she cared.
"Let me know if I can help," Hanabi said softly. Hinata only nodded holding her sister close for the time being.
Monday couldn't have come soon enough. After the incident with Hanabi, Neji just stayed in his room for the rest of the weekend. He didn't want to run into her again not knowing if he would be able to control his words or actions while around her. Despite being locked in his room all day Sunday, he was in a better mood than he had been that last week. He didn't know if it was Hinata or maybe the mystery place he was going to, but he felt more normal. As he went through his usual routine, he made sure to grab an extra set of old clothes for this whatever it was he was doing after school. Everything played out as a typical morning for him. He waited in the car for Hinata, drove them both to school then went to his psychology class without a word to anyone. After roll was called, Gaara got up to leave, and Neji followed him. They walked silently outside to the usual hole in the fence. Gaara did as he did the two times before opening the hole and holding it open for Neji to crawl through. He was still always taken aback by the sheer beauty to the forest. He never really looked at where they were going because he was too busy looking at his surroundings. Maybe one day he could capture it. They made their way to the same clearing they always go to. Gaara walked off with one jar in his hand while Neji fully laid down by the bench in the grass letting the blades tickle his face and arms.
"Would you like to start the questions today?" he heard Gaara say from a distance.
"I'm fine with that." Neji droned out. He didn't really want to, but he might as well get this over with. Five questions couldn't be too hard.
"Would you like to start?" Gaara asked.
"No, you go ahead." This was more of a test than him being polite. He wanted to see how personal Gaara was going to go with these questions. If he went to private, he could always refuse to answer, but it also gave him the opening to ask something just as personal. There was a long silence for a while before Gaara spoke again.
"What's your favorite color?"
If Neji weren't already laying down, he would have hit the floor. Favorite color? What kind of question was that? Neji sat up on his elbows and looked at the redhead with a confused look, but Gaara wasn't even facing him.
"Um, hmm..."
Now that he thought about it what was his favorite color? He loved all colors and the words they spoke. If he had to come down to it, he really liked the color purple. It was a rarity in nature which made it stand out beautifully no matter what you put it in. He loved how mysterious it could make a painting but how it also somehow brought peace and wisdom. But the color purple wasn't enough. There were so many different shades of purple to choose from; each holding their own place and meaning. The actual color purple was much too saturated for his liking while something like lavender wasn't saturated enough. Violet was much too dark, plum held too much red and heather might as well be gray with some hints of purple mixed in. Neji sat up fully and began to pick at the grass racking his brain through all the different shades he could choose from. What Neji didn't realize was Gaara was looking at him with slight amusement on his face. He turned away just as Neji looked up with an answer.
"Orchid," he said seeming finite in his decision.
"A flower?"
"Yes, it's a flower, but it's also a shape of purple." To be honest, Neji found it hard picking between orchid and amethyst, but amethyst was just a gentle touch too dark for his liking.
"Alright, your turn then."
Neji scratched at his chin. He was so busy trying to think of his favorite color that he forgot to think of a question for Gaara. And thanks to his fundamental question Neji didn't feel comfortable asking anything personal.
"Uh, what's your favorite food?" He felt stupid not being able to think of anything better but they had to start somewhere.
"Spicy duck tongue and gizzard is really nice."
Neji immediately regretted asking as he put on a face of disgust. He couldn't be serious right? Maybe this guy was a murderer because only murderers could possibly like something that sounded so vile. And it was spicy too. To this day, Neji never understood people who loved or even tolerated spicy dishes. Why would anyone want the feeling of their mouth and insides burning like a hot furnace?
"Do you like animals?" Gaara said snapping Neji out of his thoughts.
"Yeah, I like them." Neji had entirely no problems with animals, in fact, he would own one if his uncle didn't think it would be a distraction. He especially loved painting them. They made an environment more real and added a particular type of movement that helped a painting flow. Gaara didn't need to know all of that though. It was once again Neji's turn to ask the next question, and once again he really didn't have anything to ask.
"Do you like Tv, or have a favorite television show?"
Neji felt like he was back in elementary school where teachers would try to force friendships by asking stupid basic questions. Honestly, he didn't care about the answer to this one; he didn't like television. Most kids his age couldn't stop going on and on about the next new show that just aired or a returning season of whatever the hell. Neji never understood the craze behind it. Why watch television when he could paint. Ten Ten would even call him a grumpy old man when he complained about have to watch a show with her. Gaara stopped snapping twigs off of trees and tilted his head to the side. Neji figured he was racking his brain through different shows much like he did with the color question.
"I don't watch television at all. It's just so…"
"Boring," Neji finished his sentence without thinking.
Gaara nodded and looked over to him "Predictable."
"A waste of time."
"There are more important things."
"Exactly." Silence drew over the two boys again.
Neji was kind of shocked that someone his age had the same opinion as him and didn't know what to say afterward. The sounds of the forest filled his ears again. Even though he was a bit anxious about these questions, he felt relaxed. In fact, this was the only place where he felt relaxed now and days.
"Time of the year."
Neji looked up at him. "Time of the year?" he questioned.
"A season."
Oh, he was asking was his favorite season. That was another hard question. Much like color, he loved each of season because they spoke their own words. Once again, when it came down to it, it depended on which one he liked painting more. Summer and winter were defiantly out. When it came to Konoha, these two seasons were the most boring only showing off two main colors white and green. Spring and fall though that was hard to choose from. Both offered a plethora of colors and practically transforming the entire environment. He found it funny that spring brought forth such cool colors: blues, purples, green, while fall provided warmer tones: yellows, red, oranges but the temperature was doing the opposite. Once again, he couldn't decide.
"Um, spring or fall. It doesn't matter which." He started picking at grass again.
By the end of the year, the place he sat would become barren if he didn't stop. Gaara didn't respond to his answer which seemed to mean he was satisfied with the answer.
"Do you listen to music or have a favorite type." Another fundamental question but they really haven't gone past the basics.
"Modern classical of any form is fine."
Neji looked up from the grass. "Really? Like who? What composer?"
Gaara turned and looked at Neji curiosity was hinting on his face. "Thomas Bergerson. The song promise is...nice."
Neji hadn't heard of that composer, but he might check him out.
"I suppose you like the same?"
Neji nodded, "Zack Hemsey."
Gaara smirked, nodded then turned back around. Neji didn't expect to have anything in common with Gaara, in fact, he imaged they would be severe opposites. It was weird having someone like the same things he did. No one his age really liked the same things he liked not even Hinata. He didn't get to talk about music or go into great detail about his paintings because no one cared that much about it or just didn't understand. He wondered if Gaara knew anything about painting or art in general.
"We should head back," Gaara said packing his jars back in his bag.
"We haven't gotten to five yet."
"I've learned enough for today."
Neji was slightly confused by this. What did he learn from all this? Maybe the same things he did, that they had some things in common. They began to walk out of the woods in silence until Neji's curiosity got the better of him. "What exactly did you learn?"
Gaara stopped. "Nothing much, to be honest, I didn't quite know what to ask you. I had no thoughts in my head."
"But you said you learned something?"
"You like art don't you or at least some form of it?" How on earth did he gather that? The questions were so basic, elementary even. What could have possibly given him that impression? "Why would you say that?" Neji didn't want to give a yes or a no.
"Most people don't think so hard about a favorite color or season."
Damn, he was right. Not many people think for five whole minutes about something as simple as a color. Seasons are usually chosen because of temperature or allergies not on what looked more pleasing to the eye on canvass. Well, there was no use in hiding it now.
"I paint environments." He wasn't going to go as far as to tell him that he could no longer do so. That shouldn't matter to him. He looked up to Gaara to find him, to his surprise, smiling a small almost unnoticeable smile.
"I would like to read them one day. If you wouldn't mind."
This time the shock on Neji's face was utterly apparent. His eyes wide and mouth agape. Did he really care about that? Did it matter? It's not like he would be able to see them anytime soon. What did he mean by read them? "Uh sure." It was all he could say as they both continued to walk back to the school.
For some odd reason, Neji was in deep thought about the questions and answers from this morning. Maybe there was more to these questions than what he was thinking? Gaara was able to deduct the most crucial thing about Neji through some fundamental questions, and all Neji got was that they had only two things in common. There had to be more behind his answers. Neji was now leaning against his car looking up to the white billowy clouds floating by.
"Doesn't like television, modern classical and salted tongue," he whispered to himself. His face contorted into a grimace when he remembered his answer to the food question.
"Disgusting," he growled out.
"What's disgusting?" Neji jumped slightly and looked in front of him.
Ten Ten was standing there with a small smirk on her face. "Nothing," Neji said shortly looking away from her. He didn't want to talk to her and was honestly a little upset that she interrupted his thoughts.
"So, uh, I wanted to ask you something?"
"What?"
She pulled her bag around to her front and dug into one of the pockets pulling out a small slip of paper. "I know you've been kind of down lately and I want to help so here."
Neji took the slip of paper from her hand and looked at it. It was a ticket to an art show very specifically for environment painters. "Since you didn't go to that party I figured we could go to something that you liked you know. So, I got these."
He looked to see she also had a ticket in her hand as well. It seemed like a waste. Ten Ten wouldn't enjoy something like this nor would he enjoy going with her. Yes, it was better to go to these things with someone, but it needed to be someone that also enjoyed or respected the craft. It was either that, or they just take one look say it's pretty and move on. He did want to go through. Maybe he could wander off on his own without her noticing.
"Thanks, I'll go," he said quietly.
Ten Ten jumped with joy, "Awesome them I'll see you next weekend," she said practically bouncing away.
Neji stared at the ticket in his hand then Ten Ten bouncing away. Maybe he shouldn't go.
"Hey, Neji." He turned to find Hinata on the other side of the car. He didn't say anything, just unlocked the car and sat inside. Hinata was fidgety in the car again. It had become commonplace for their car rides.
"Um, w-what did Ten Ten want to talk to you about?"
Neji shook his head "Just an art show," he said flatly.
"Oh, I bet you'll really enjoy that. Maybe there will be an artist there that you'll like."
"Hmm," was his only response. He knew Hinata had something to do with this, but he didn't want to make her upset. Maybe this was her vision of helping him. Speaking of that "I going to drop you off at the house today, I've got to be somewhere."
"Oh, where are you going?"
"I don't know."
Though she probably didn't see it this way, what he said was the complete and utter truth. "Oh, ok," Hinata said sadly.
They went silent for the rest of the ride home. As Hinata got out of the car, Neji stopped her. "Hey, I wasn't lying earlier. I really don't know where I'm going."
"Y-you're coming back right?"
Neji seemed to think for a minute. Would he come back? "I don't know."
Hinata nodded "Just be safe okay?"
"Okay."
She stared at him for a second before walking inside the house. Plugging in the address into his GPS, Neji pulled out of the garage to head in the right direction. As he drove his and the time of arrival grew shorter and shorter, his anxiety began to shoot through the roof. The environment started to shift around him from the large houses and people walking their dogs on the sidewalk to nothing but trees and a long windy road with no people in sight. Neji took a deep breath and blew it out his mouth.
"It's okay," he said to himself. "This is meant to help."
The grip on his steering wheel increased as he drove up on the first man-made thing he's seen in the past ten minutes. A large gate easily twenty feet tall stretched as far on both sides. As he pulled up further a sizeable wooden sign clearly carved from a tree trunk came into view. 'Kohana Forest Animal Sanctuary' was cut into it along with a picture of a raccoon and an owl below the letters. Neji stopped just to stare at what was in front of him. An animal sanctuary? Was he in the right place? Neji slowly drove up to the gate were a call box was located. He hesitantly pressed the button waiting for someone to answer.
"Hello, how can I help you?" A woman answered through the intercom.
"Um, I was told to come here by Gaara Sabaku. My name is Neji Hyuga."
"Huh? Why would he? Hold on." The intercom went silent.
Neji squeezed the steering wheel again, it squeaked under pressure. He could feel his palms begin to sweat and his heart rate increase. Maybe he should turn around. It didn't sound like he was supposed to be here. After a minute Neji almost did just that until the intercom came back on.
"Listen Neji, I'm going to let you though. Just drive straight until you hit the main building. Okay?"
"Uh sure."
A loud buzzing noise rang through his ears, and the large gate began to pull open. Neji drove through the gate slowly. The road changed from gray concrete to brown dirt and gravel. There wasn't much to see as he drove, just more trees the occasional fence here and there. A large white building came into view where a familiar shade of red became to make itself apparent. Gaara was leaning up against a wall still in his school uniform staring at nothing-in-particular. Neji parked the car and walked up to him paying attention to his surroundings. Though the forest was nothing new, the sounds coming from it were very different. Squeaks, roars, and bellows of different animals filled his ears.
Neji gave a small wave, "Hey."
"Hello."
They stood in awkward silence for a second. "So, an animal sanctuary?"
Gaara nodded, "The one that helped me is here."
"Hmm." The amount of awkward Neji felt shot through the roof. These surroundings were not as calming as the forest at school, and Gaara's short manner of speech wasn't helping. Gaara simply turned and opened the door.
"We should probably change first," he said holding the door open for Neji.
Neji only nodded and followed behind him. The front of the building was large and an immaculate front lobby, reception area. The colors were in his eye's odd. It was all to white, it reminded him of a hospital. The only color that was different was the baseboard trim and the furniture. It was dull and downright clashed with the colors outside. It immediately put a frown on Neji's face. As Gaara walked toward two double doors that said 'employees only' the receptionist looked up from her computer.
"Gaara can you please let me know next time you bring a guest. I don't want to hunt you down again."
He nodded in response "I apologize, I will let you know next time," he stated as he went through the double doors. The strange noises of birds squawking and other random animal noises were overwhelming as they passed by several rooms with cages off different sorts of animals. It also didn't smell too great either.
Both boys entered a locker room, Neji setting his bag on one of the many benches. Gaara opened one of the lockers, took out a pair of clothes and began to unbutton the collared shirt he was wearing. Neji just stared without really realizing what he was doing "There are private changing rooms beyond those doors if you more conformable."
Neji shook head and began to unbutton his shirt as well. He had no problem changing in front of another guy, several years of gym taught him that but he turned around never the less. Neji changed into an old black t-shirt and some worn jeans while Gaara wore a forest green t-shirt with the same signage as tree stump out front and some old jeans.
"So, you work here?"
"Only for a little over a month."
"Right before starting school?" Gaara nodded then held his hand out. "I can put your bag in my locker."
Neji nodded stuffing his school clothes into the bag and handing it off. After putting it in the locker, Gaara headed for the door again.
"If you follow me I'll introduce you."
Neji followed him out of the locker room and down another hallway. They passed by a few people that he didn't recognize even though they would wave hello as they passed. Neji would only slightly bow his head in response. Gaara finally stopped at a door that had the word 'Procyonidae' on the front. He opened it once again holding the door open for Neji to go first. He walked in only to step to the side for Gaara to make his way through. Looking around the room, it was full of large metal cages that lined both sides of the room leaving a vertical path straight to another door. The room was mostly silent other than a few shuffles here and there, and a weird growling noise coming from the far back left cage in the room. Neji leaned in to see if any other animals were in the cages, but they all seemed to be empty other than that one cage. Gaara walked over to the cage while Neji hesitantly followed. The noises from the cage didn't seem friendly at all. As soon as Gaara kneeled in front of the cage, the noises changed from growling and hissing to a noisy chatter. Neji walked over to him and kneeled next to Gaara who had a small smirk on his face. He was slightly surprised at what was in the cage. An overweight raccoon chattering and doing circles in the cage waiting to be released. It wasn't necessarily the animal that shocked Neji but his coloring. The normal black and gray fur was more of a blonde sand color, and the black mask was instead a light brown color. Gaara opened the cage, and the raccoon immediately jumped out and tried to shuffle to his shoulder, but its big belly got in the way. Neji couldn't help but smirk at the raccoon's attempts. Gaara picked up the animal and placed it on his shoulder where it started to go through his hair.
"This is Shukaku. He's the one that helped me."
Neji could only stare with a mixture of confusion and amusement as Shukaku began to chew on Gaara's shirt.
"Uh, well it's nice to meet him." Neji raised his hand for the raccoon to sniff, but the creature growled and slapped his hand away. Neji jerked his hand away while Gaara chuckled. "Sorry, he doesn't really like anyone else."
"Okay," Neji said slowly. "So how is he supposed to help me?"
"It's not necessarily him that will help you but what he is."
"A raccoon?"
"An animal."
Neji gave a slightly confused look as Gaara pulled Shukaku off his shoulder and placed him on the floor on his back and began to scratch at his big belly. The raccoon chattered again nibbling at his hands as he scratched. "It might seem silly, but you can talk to them. Vent if you have to. They also keep you busy."
Neji nodded, understanding what he meant. Instead of keeping things to himself like he was he could get a pet of some sort. Taking care of one would also be something he could do when he felt lost, but there was one problem. His uncle wouldn't allow a pet in the house.
"I can't get a pet, and I'm sure I can't come here every day to talk to the animals."
"Get a job here."
Neji's jaw slightly dropped. He said that so nonchalantly like it was that easy. Before Neji could protest the door behind them slammed open causing Shukaku to jump and try to run back on Gaara's shoulder only getting there with Gaara's help. Neji slightly jumped as well watching a young man with wild brown hair and gray hoodie walked in.
"There you are. That little turd wouldn't come out of that cage for anyone today. He bit four people, including me."
Gaara stood giving a small bow, "Sorry about that. I'll try to teach him better."
Neji stood as well looking at the boy. He seemed very familiar but couldn't place him.
"Hey wait a minute, your Neji Hyuga right?"
"Yes, and you are?"
The boy slightly scoffed, "What do ya mean and you are? I'm like one of your cousins' best friends. I came over to hang out just a few weeks ago."
Neji shook his head, "I don't recall."
The boy let out a frustrated sigh "Kiba Inuzuka, alright. Don't forget this time."
Now that he heard the name Neji remembered him. Out of Hinata's loud friends, Kiba was about second to Naruto which meant that he ignored him as much as possible.
"What are you doing here anyway? This doesn't seem like your kind of scene."
"He wants a job," Gaara spoke before Neji could get a word out.
"What?" both Neji and Kiba said at the same time looking at the redhead.
Gaara didn't respond any further than that absently scratching the top of Shukaku's head.
"So, you, Mr. Neji perfect Hyuga, wants to work in the dirt and shit huh? I have to say I'm a little surprised. Figured you'd want to work at some fashion agency or something."
Neji glared at the boy, what was it with people thinking he wanted to go into fashion. Just because he dressed nice and groomed himself properly did not mean he was into clothing.
"If there is a job position available then I would gladly apply for it," Neji said back with venom lining the words. Though the idea of working here was sudden, the idea of this actually helping was hot on his mind. He didn't want a repeat of last week. Not only that, but Kiba's comment made him want to prove himself.
"Do you even have any experience with animals?"
"I didn't when I started here," Gaara spoke up before Neji could speak again.
"That's not the same Gaara, you have that devil incarnate you've been taking care of. Neji doesn't have that experience."
"We all have to start somewhere," Gaara said back with no real emotion to his voice. Though it didn't seem like Gaara cared, Neji could tell he was trying to help him out and couldn't help but feel appreciative.
Kiba let out a slight growl "Fine, I'll take you to my sister. She'll give you the application, but I'm not making any promises," he said turning toward the door.
Gaara and Neji followed behind in silence as they made their way further into the building. They walked until the hit a more office like section of the building. Kiba knocked on one of the doors until he heard an answer then walked inside followed by the others. The room was a typical office space with a desk, file cabinets and random pictures of families and animals. A woman that looked a lot like Kiba sat at the desk typing on her laptop.
"What is it that you need Kiba? You're supposed to be feeding the wild dogs right now."
"I wouldn't be here for no reason Hana. I have someone that wants a job," he said flatly.
She looked up from her laptop at the three boys then let out a sigh. Neji immediately straightened his posture and held his breath. He hoped, prayed that she wouldn't turn him away. He needed this.
"Gaara I've told you a thousand times you can't bring Shukaku into the office area."
Neji let go of his breath through his nose relieved that she didn't shoo him away. "Now go put Shukaku in his enclosure and do your job. I'm sure the rest of the Procyonidae's are hungry by now." Gaara gave a small bow again "Yes ma'am, I apologize for breaking the rules again." He said flatly.
He turned and left without another word making Neji feel a lot more unconformable. "Kiba you go do your job as well, and you, young man, I'd like you to sit here." She pointed at the chair on the other side of her desk.
"Yeah yeah whatever," Kiba said leaving the room. Once Kiba had gone and shut the door behind him she started to pull out some papers from a drawer and placed them in front of Neji.
"What's your name?"
"Neji Hyuga," he said shortly.
"You eighteen yet?"
"No, I turned seventeen just a few months back in July."
"Alright, well fill out this application, and because you're not eighteen, I'll need you to have this form signed by your parents."
Neji's heart sunk. There was no way his uncle would allow him to work here with permission. He must have made a face without realizing because she spoke up again. "If you can't get it signed you can still work here, you just wouldn't be able to touch any of the animals. To put it simply you'd be on cage duty."
Neji nodded though that isn't particularly what he would want. The whole point was to interact with the animals there.
"Fill out the application by Friday and have it back to me okay?"
"Yes ma'am, thank you."
"I got a lot of animals here kid. I need as much help as I can get. Now run along. If you get lost someone in the halls should help you out," she said turning back to her laptop, typing again.
Neji got up slowly, taking the papers and walked out the door shutting it behind him. He was about to try and find someone when he heard a familiar weird chatter to his left. There Gaara was kneeling down scratching Shukaku's belly while the raccoon decided to bat his hands away and nibble at his fingers. Neji felt slight relief when he saw Gaara there. He wasn't looking forward to getting lost in this place.
"I thought you had to put him up," Neji said walking over to him. Gaara stood up picking up his fat raccoon in the process and helping him on his shoulders.
"I didn't hear that."
Neji almost fell over. "You and I both know that's bull." Neji slightly chuckled.
Gaara only smirked and began to walk down the hallway "Hearing can be selective."
Neji was slowly beginning to realize that Gaara wasn't very good at following the rules which right now he was okay with. "Well, thanks for waiting."
Gaara gave a small nod in response. The two boys made their way back to the locker room but not before a lady tried to stop Gaara from going past the double doors because of Shukaku. Neji thought they would get in trouble, but Gaara just blew her off like she didn't even exist. An added bonus was when she reached for his shoulder, and Shukaku scratched her hand with his sharp nails. Neji almost felt the need to apologize but kept walking with Gaara instead.
"You're not going to get in trouble for that are you?"
"For what? I didn't see anything?"
This time Neji laughed out loud at his antics. "You have selective sight too?"
Gaara chucked "Maybe."
Neji left the sanctuary with a lifted spirit. For once in a long time, he felt kind of happy. This might actually solve his problem at least for a little while. Even if he could figure out a way for his uncle to sign the paper cleaning cages would be better than sitting in a lifeless house. He didn't want to get his hopes too high though, there were still things that could go wrong. Even though Hana seemed kind of desperate, he could still not get the job because of his lack of experience. Then there was the real trouble, his uncle. He didn't know how his uncle felt about part-time jobs but, knowing him, he wouldn't approve. Anything that wasn't psychology or school was a distraction, and nothing could get in the way of that. Plus, though this was minor, working with Kiba didn't sound all that exciting either. Never the less, the pros outweighed the cons heavily his mind flashing back to his locked balcony.
He took a deep breath "It won't come to that," he whispered to himself as he pulled into the garage of his house. He was slightly shocked to see his uncle and Hinata prepping for dinner in the kitchen. Was it really that late?
"Neji, your back," Hinata said with a bit of relief in her voice.
"And just where did you go to be out so late," his uncle questioned not looking up from mixing whatever was in the bowl?
Neji thought for a moment not wanting to give too much information. "I told you, I was with my psychology partner. We didn't get a chance to talk in class, so I met with him at his job."
Hiashi only grumbled at his answer. Neji took notice and figured this would be his chance to ask. "Do you not approve of him having a job," he said walking over to one of the bar stools and sitting down.
"You kids should be worrying about school and your future, not your next paycheck."
Well, that answered that question. There was no way he was getting that signature. Maybe cleaning cages wouldn't be that bad. Hiashi's phone ringing snapped him out of his thoughts. He handed the bowl to Neji and walked into the dining room. Neji looked down at the bowl seeing a white and dark green mixed with a half-beaten egg in it. He was about to question it when Hinata spoke up "It's for spinach puffs. Can you continue to mix that for me?"
"Yeah, of course," he nodded.
The both of them went silent the only noise coming from Hiashi's phone call. Even with seeing and talking to his uncle Neji's mood was a lot better than it had been in a while. If he could just figure out a way to get Hiashi's signature things would be better. Hinata tapped him on the shoulder causing him to jump. "That's enough mixing. Thank you."
"Oh yeah, no problem."
Hinata took the bowl and began to spoon it on the pastries. "So, um did you learn anything about your partner?"
"What?"
"U-um your psychology partner. You said you met with him. How'd it go?"
"Fine, he's very um...peculiar. Kind of, weirdly funny. I don't know."
That was defiantly the best way to describe his partner. No other words really worked. Hinata let out a small laugh "Do you still think he's a murderer."
He almost forgot he told her that. Honestly, the more he talked to Gaara the less that thought was even in his head. "I think I was over thinking things when it came to that," he chuckled.
Hinata stopped filling the pastries and looked up at him in shock. Neji looked at her confused a small smile gracing his lips "What?"
"T-that's the first time I've heard you laugh in a while, and you're smiling too."
Neji looked down at the table slightly ashamed. "Oh, well. I feel better than I have in a while."
Hinata almost jumped for joy, "That's great Neji!"
Neji smiled at her sheer joy. He loved seeing her happy, and unfortunately, that was somewhat rare now and days. He was about to reply when Hiashi came back into the kitchen.
"Is everything okay?" Hinata asked.
"Yes, someone forgot to make copies of a patients records that's being transferred. I have to run up to my office and fax them then I'll come back and help you."
Neji's eyes widened as Hiashi left the room. Copy. That was the solution. He would just copy Hiashi's signature. The only problem was he didn't know what it looked like and if he was going to do this, he was going to do it right. A quick trip into his office would fix this problem, but he would need to make sure Hiashi didn't go in there for at least a few minutes. It shouldn't be too hard, but he needed a guarantee.
"Hey, can I get your help with something?"
"Of course. What do you need?"
"When uncle comes back down here, can you make sure he stays down here for a few minutes."
"U-um okay but why?"
"I'll tell you if I'm able to do what I need to do. I don't want you getting in unnecessary trouble." That was a half-truth. Hinata was a horrible liar, and one stern look made her break. If he revealed too much, she would defiantly tell without meaning to.
"A-ah okay. I-I can do that. I'll just um..."
"Hinata, I'm not asking you to lie for me. Just keep doing what you're doing. I only need...two minutes, at the most okay."
She nodded but looked like she was about to jump out of her skin. Neji got up from the bar stool and began to walk back upstairs. "Thank you, and I promise I'll explain later," he said to her as he walked up the stairs.
Hiashi's office was a few doors down from Neji's own room, so he just had to wait for the quick footsteps to walk past his door. He shut the door behind him and pressed his back against his door staring into his room. As he let his eyes wander around his mood slowly started to slip. The colorless, lifeless room always made him feel soulless. His eyes shot to his balcony doors still locked with the chain and padlock. He shut his eyes tight and turned around pressing his forehead against the door. After taking a few deep breaths, he attempted to turn but couldn't bring himself to do it; his body just wouldn't let him. Thankfully the footsteps he was listening for passed by his door getting his mind back into focus. He waited for about thirty seconds before leaving his room and heading straight for his uncle's office. Luckily, Hiashi never locked his office door so walking in was easy. Hiashi's office was disgusting in Neji's opinion.
Bland, boring white walls with brown trim. Paintings that were bought and copied by a machine making them uniform and plain. Annoyingly fake looking nick knacks and small statues littered brown shelves making them look generic. The only thing redeemable was the few family photos on the desk and shelves. Neji slapped a look of disgust on his face and walked over to the fax machine still running papers through it. He should be able to find his signature on whoever's file was going through. He looked through the documents that had already gone through the machine looking for his uncle's name, but instead, he found a name he wasn't expecting.
Gaara Sabaku kept popping up over and over again. His curiosity spiked through the roof. Why was Gaara going to his uncle's psychiatric office? He picked up all the papers looking through them. IED was the one disorder that was repeating over and over again, but he didn't know what that meant. Looking down the paper, he finally found what he was looking for, a signature. He pulled out his phone and took a picture of the name and made sure the papers were put back on the fax machine. He was started to walk out of the door when he ran straight into his uncle which caused them both to jump.
"Neji? What on earth are you doing in here."
"I-I was looking for you. I thought you would still be in your office." Neji lied smoothly thanking whoever gave him the ability to think on his feet so quickly.
"No, that fax was taking longer than I thought so I went down to check on Hinata. What did you need?"
"Uh that meeting that you told me about, last week. Did you reschedule that?"
Hiashi raised an eyebrow "No, I'll have to talk to my colleagues again to set up another meeting."
His voice was questioning, and Neji prayed that he wouldn't ask any further as he backed out of his office. "Great, just let me know." Neji continued to step away until Hiashi was entirely out of sight. He made his way back downstairs where Hinata was putting the finishing touches on dinner. She about jumped out of her skin when she saw Neji come down the stairs heading toward her.
"N-Neji I... I'm sorry. I just couldn't."
"Hinata." She stopped rambling and looked up at him.
"Thank you," he said with a genuine smile on his face pulling her straight into a hug. She was too shocked to say anything back as he pulled away and went back upstairs to his room. He would have to tell her later about the job. He had work to do. As soon as he got to his room, he grabbed his sketchbook and sat on his bed facing away from his balcony. He had to practice signing the name before he put in pen on the sheet.
Hiashi looked through his office very carefully. Though Neji was a perfect lair, he could tell he wasn't telling the truth. The question was why? Nothing in the room seemed out of order. All things were in the right place. He stood in the middle of the office and thought, the noise of the fax machine was the only thing prevalent. Maybe he was telling the truth and was just overreacting. The fax machine beeped notifying him that it was done. He walked over to the fax machine and looked through the papers one by one to make sure he included everything. They seemed to be okay at first glance, but then he noticed something. He flipped through them two more times to make sure he saw things right. One of the pages was out of order. This small detail probably wouldn't affect most people, but Hiashi was very particular about his filing and knew for a fact they were number correctly when he put them through the fax. That could only mean that Neji did something to them but what and why? A few reasonable explanations scrolled through his head like a falling paper or if machine jammed but there was no reason to lie about that. So why would he be looking through work files? He couldn't think of an idea now, but he was going to find out, one way or another.
So a few things,
1) Modern classical music is a vast genre of music, but it does include epic music which is what Neji and Gaara talk about in this chapter. Listen, if you have never listened to Promise by Thomas Bergerson, please listen to it. It is so beautiful. I would suggest headphones, closing your eyes, and letting your imagination run wild. Also, that song probably will be mentioned again in later chapters.
2) Shukaku is what's called a blonde raccoon or a cinnamon raccoon. Their coloring is, well blonde and they have light brown masks and tail rings. I liked this idea better than a standard colored raccoon because it made him stand out and it's closer to the show. They are also adorable, and I would Google a picture if you've never seen one.
And that's it, second chapter. Please let me know what you think by review or PM, whichever suits you best. There are probably a TON of mistakes, feel free to let me know about them. Thank you so so much for reading.