Chapter 6: Mixed emotions
Neji was already standing until his waist in the water, naked as he was born, and was just starting to clean himself when he heard someone coming. He quickly turned around and then glared at Sasuke.
"What are 'you' doing here?" He snapped, looking very angry.
Sasuke was trying not to look at Neji's body. Neji's naked body. Neji's perfect body. The shoulders and chest. The hips and.. OK no lower. He already felt himself getting hot. No time for that.
"I came to check on you because there 'are' monsters walking around this time of day. So. Just hurry it up. I'll wait here." Sasuke said.
"Turn around." Neji growled.
"Jeez fine." Sasuke said and turned around. But not before he inspected that just too perfect body of the boy before him one more time.
"..You sick fucking bastard..." Neji mumbled, almost too soft to hear. He continued washing himself, while muttering things.
"How am I a sick fucking bastard now? I turned around." Sasuke said, defending himself. Nobody could call him something like that, especially not people like Neji.
"Don't act like you are an angel, I saw you staring." Neji snapped immediately.
Neji didn't even knew if he really bothered if Sasuke was looking. A part of him told him he even wanted Sasuke to look..
"Oh come on, I just looked. Like I told you, I don't like boys or girls. And there's nothing wrong with looking." Sasuke said, crossing his arms.
"If you don't like them, then why were you staring?" Neji defended himself.
"I was looking. And you're naked, what did you expect me to do, think it was normal?" Sasuke said and rolled his eyes. Not that Neji could see, he still had his back to him.
"You knew I was going to bath you idiot." Neji snapped, quickly washing himself further.
"I didn't think you were already naked, you've not even been here a minute." Sasuke snapped back. It was Neji's own fault Sasuke looked. He shouldn't have been so hot if he didn't want Sasuke to look.
"Pfft. But you knew I 'would' be naked." Neji muttered, while going under water for one moment, to make his hair wet.
"Whatever, would you just hurry it up, I'm getting bored of just looking at the back of a cave." Sasuke said as he heard Neji had risen to the surface again.
"You don't have to wait here you know." Neji said, while walking out of the water, getting the towel of the branch where he'd hung it up to.
"There's monsters here and I told your uncle I'd protect you. Now stop whining." Sasuke said. That guy just really annoyed him. It wasn't Sasuke's fault the stupid boy had to come along.
"Oh come on, there's a cave behind me where you all are sitting. If something happens I'll just scream and then you'll hear me." Neji said, annoyed now. He knew Sasuke was standing here for an other reason, but he had no idea what that reason might be. He didn't mind, to be honest.
"Yeah and someone or something would cover your mouth and we'd never know something was happening to you. Just appreciate I don't just let you die here." Sasuke snapped. Damn that Neji. He should be happy he didn't mind to look after him.
Neji was silent now. It was true what Sasuke was saying. That spider had covered his mouth too... the only one who was allowed to cover his mouth was Sasuke though. Alright, there we go with those thoughts again, stop it! Damn.
"See, you agree. Now are you done dressing or is this gonna take forever?" Sasuke asked annoyed.
"Jeez, I'm doing that on my own tempo, I'm drying myself you know." Neji snapped. Damn that annoying guy. Now all those strange thoughts were gone and he could only feel huge disliking against that guy.
"Fine." Sasuke said and sat down. If he had to wait for the guy he might as well relax doing it. He'd just shove the sound of Neji out and ignore everyone. Yeah. That'd be nice.
"...Sasuke, are trees supposed to be moving?" Neji suddenly asked.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
"No." He said. Probably Neji was having a mental attack. He 'was' a psycho after all. Trees moving, jeez he really did travel with a psychopath.
"Then why is that one moving?" Neji said, almost sounding a bit panicked. It couldn't become much crazier. Moving trees? There was a tree walking through the water, at the other side of the cave! Neji was staring at it in disbelief. He just stood there, with his towel around his waist.
Sasuke turned his head around. A moving tree? He looked to Neji and then to the water. Yeah...there definitely was a tree moving. That couldn't be good news. Either Sasuke had just caught Neji's psycho virus or Neji was in danger. He just had to guess the last one.
"Hey stupid, would you get the hell away from the water?!" He yelled to Neji as he stood up and pulled his sword.
"Don't overreact, it's at the other side of the lake." Neji snapped, but then moved to stand behind Sasuke, quickly dressing himself.
At that moment the tree made one of his branches stretch all the way towards Neji and Sasuke. Sasuke chopped it off just in time before it could hit them. "Well you just noticed why I told you to get away from there." Sasuke said to Neji.
Neji frowned. "What does a 'tree' want from us?" He asked. He didn't understand this at all, how could even trees be an enemy? In the meantime he kept dressing himself, now putting on his shoes.
"Nothing. It's a monster. They come in all kinds of shapes." Sasuke answered, chopping off another branch as it tried to attack.
"...But is it really dangerous?" Neji asked, since the fight was going very slowly. It almost wasn't a fight.
"Not really, unless it grabs you." Sasuke said. "So would you just get out of here already?" He added as once again one of the branches stretched out to them.
"But then I have to go past it." Neji protested. "Well not fully, but I have to walk away from you, and closer to that thing."
Sasuke gave out an annoyed sigh. 'Why' did he agree on taking this guy with him? He couldn't even defend himself. Sasuke turned around and threw Neji over his shoulder, cutting another branch and then walking past the tree.
"Hey! I didn't have 'that' in mind you know!" Neji yelled, angry that Sasuke was just tossing him over his shoulder like that.
"I had enough of your whining." Sasuke said. He gave a slight grin. Oh how he loved this. Neji was such a dumbass sometimes. At least this got him closer, which, Sasuke had to admit, didn't bother him at all. He cut of another branch and then took a corner to the entrance of the cave.
Neji gave a growl as his response. When they arrived the entrance, he growled again. "OK let go of me now."
"Jeez easy." Sasuke said and put Neji down. "You could also thank me for saving your butt again you know." He walked into the cave and sat down. Neji was such an egoist. No thank you's or whatsoever would come out of that mouth for sure.
"Thanks." Neji muttered. He sat down somewhere too. "You just don't toss a priest over your shoulder."
"If he's scared of walking trees you do. I didn't really feel like standing there forever." Sasuke said.
"Walking trees?" Shikamaru asked, raising an eyebrow.
Kiba snorted while Neji got red.
"I wasn't scared, I was only thinking of a plan to get past him you know." Neji snapped.
"Should we leave you guys alone?" Kiba asked. He could feel something starting in here.
"No. We're done. Neji can whine all he want, but he was scared and he knows it." Sasuke said and lay down on his back, hands behind his head. He was done with Neji and definitely not in for a fight with the psycho.
"Tsk." Neji said.
"I'm going to walk a bit with Akamaru though. See ya." Kiba said.
"Don't be out long, it's almost dark already." Shikamaru said.
"Yeah yeah I know. Perhaps it's best if you come with me, then it's safer. If you guys get attacked Sasuke has to protect both Neji as you." Kiba said. Inwardly he was smirking. He wanted Neji and Sasuke to talk, because he could feel something happening between the two of them. He never thought of Neji to be a good priest anyway.
"Pfft fine." Shikamaru said and stood up with a sigh. He 'so' was not in for a walk, but he knew Kiba just wanted the other two to talk. He could tell. He walked to Kiba and pulled him with him.
Kiba grinned and walked with him, at a quick pace. Akamaru followed happily.
"...I have a question, Sasuke." Neji said when Kiba and Shikamaru were gone and he and Sasuke had sit their for quit some time.
"Ask away." 'Great.' Sasuke though. What did Neji want from him now?
"..Can you learn me how to fight?" Neji asked, with a serious look on his face.
Sasuke looked at Neji. He was still lying on the floor though, and it was dark so he couldn't really see.
"Depends on 'how' you want to fight." Sasuke said. He was very sure Neji would never learn how to handle a sword.
"..I.. Well perhaps with bow and arrow, perhaps even a sword. I just don't want to be defenceless. I know I'm not allowed to be able to fight, being a priest, but well.. I just want it." Neji answered, a bit uncomfortable.
"So you're giving up being a priest? You're ready to kill?" Sasuke asked in disbelief. There was no way Neji'd ever be able to kill anything.
"No, I'm not giving that up, I just want to be able to defend myself. I don't want to be helpless anymore." Neji said, now becoming ashamed. "..I hope the Gods will forgive me.." He muttered.
"Being able to defend yourself means you have to hurt people or kill them if necessary Neji. And for as far as I know, killing is a sin. And a big one. You have to give up being a priest if you want to do that." Sasuke said. He had no problem with training Neji, but Neji had to know the consequences. Being able to fight meant being able to kill.
"...It's only for self defense." Neji protested.
"And if you have to kill someone because there's no other way out or you have to hurt them, it's self defence too." Sasuke simply said.
Neji sighed.
"..I guess you're right then.. I'll just train more with my energy shield."
"That'd be wise. What's up with the whole priest thing anyhow? Why would you ever decide on something stupid like that?" Sasuke asked as he sat up straight.
"...It's not stupid." Neji snapped after being silent some time. This wasn't an easy subject for him to talk about.
"That's not an answer to my question." Sasuke said and looked at Neji. He just couldn't understand why 'anyone' would want to be a priest. It seemed so...boring.
"I'm a Hyuuga." Neji said, shrugging.
"And that has anything to do with you being a priest because..?" Sasuke asked. What the hell did Neji's family name matter?
"All the Hyuuga's are priests. The children are being raised to become a priest. So you don't really have a choice. But now, not many Hyuuga's will be priests anymore, since all of them promised themselves to the Gods.. so." Neji answered.
"Then how the hell did those Hyuuga's all become priests anyhow. Are they 'that' unfaithful?" Sasuke asked. That just didn't makes sense, they had been having babies but no sex was allowed.
"We have a big family. A few of them chose the life of a priest, but the rest didn't. Their children, a few of them, chose to be a priest too. And you can go on like that. But by now, every Hyuuga is a priest. So I guess after a hundred years there won't be any Hyuuga alive anymore." Neji answered.
"That's stupid. So you don't even like being a priest?" Sasuke said, raising an eyebrow. What was with all those people these days? What happened to 'live your life the way you want it'?
"...I do." Neji lied. He didn't liked to be a priest at all, but he wasn't going to tell that to Sasuke.
"You're the worst lair ever Neji. You don't like it." Sasuke said. He could hear it in Neji's voice. And why should anyone like that kind of life? All they could do was pray and stay in their temple. Sounded more like hell to him.
Neji looked at him for a moment and then looked away again. He wasn't going to complain about his life, because he just was destined to be a priest.
Sasuke gave out a sigh and laid back down. "You're weird. Start living your life already." He said.
"That's not possible."
"Because?" Sasuke asked. Everyone had a right to live their life their way, even priests.
"I already told you that you have a destiny." Neji said, grumbling a bit.
"And I already told you that's bullshit. You live your life the way 'you' want it not because someone else choose it for you." Sasuke snapped back. Stupid Neji. Well if he wanted to live his life in misery, Sasuke sure as hell wouldn't stop him.
"It's like that in times of peace." Neji said. "You have to do what you can for your country."
"Oh yeah, everyone really is doing so much. Yeah, relying on a single person is a real tough job, you're right, I'm sorry." Sasuke said sarcastic and annoyed. 'Why' wouldn't it get through to that dumbass that it was just all bullshit?
"..Shut up." Neji snapped.
"Don't tell me to shut up. When is it gonna get through to you that all this is just a stupid waste of time. There IS no chosen one. There just isn't. And nobody has their lives written on a piece of paper. It's only written as far as you are now in life. The rest will come with the days and months and years. All those pages are still empty now." Sasuke said angry and sat up again.
"Everything is written on the day you are born." Neji spat out.
"Yeah? Well then you shouldn't be so worried about being able to defend yourself because if 'the Gods' had plans for you they wouldn't have written that you would die. So just accept it then and go stand in the middle of a fight hoping you'll survive and if not, well the Gods just didn't think you should live very long from the beginning." Sasuke snapped back.
"Perhaps." Neji muttered. He got a bit of a headache of this guy. "Just stop talking."
"Fine." Sasuke said and again he laid back down. That guy was exhausting him. He had a real urge to just tell him to head back and leave him the fuck alone. But he couldn't...
Neji sighed and laid down on the floor too. He stroked his hair behind him so it wouldn't get in the way. He got tired of this so much. He just needed to sleep a bit probably..
Sasuke fell asleep not a long time after that. He just got too tired of being with other guys 'and' Neji especially.
When they arrived at a city, more in the south, the next morning, they were surprised when they entered the city. What a mess. Everywhere there was shouting to be heard, it was dirty, people were everywhere.. it was a whole chaos.
"..Holy crap.." Kiba muttered.
"So...this is a nice city." Shikamaru said sarcastic.
"..Are we really going to sleep here?" Neji asked with a disgusted tone in his voice, while they were walking further.
"We don't have a choice. Besides it's not that bad." Sasuke said. He really had seen worse, but this wasn't a hell of a pleasant village.
"Where should we sleep?" Kiba said, looking around. There were bars and clubs everywhere, and most of the times they had some sleeping rooms above.
"We should just ask around. Let's go there first." Sasuke said as he walked to one of the clubs. It didn't really look promising, but it looked the best so far.
Kiba nodded, walking there too. Neji sighed and followed them, not feeling like going in there at all.
Shikamaru followed too. He just wanted a place to sleep.
Sasuke walked inside. A couple of drunken guys were talking. Loudly. And the club keeper didn't really seem reliable too, but they could at least try. Sasuke walked up to him.
"We need a place to stay." He said demanding.
The club keeper looked at him.
"This place is not for little boys you know." He said, grinning. He stomped the arm of an other club keeper, probably his partner.
The other one laughed.
"Yeah if I were you I'd try to find another place, before it gets dark." He said, grinning.
"Come on, let's search something else." Neji said to Sasuke.
"No. How about, we stay here or I'll take your head instead." Sasuke said, already annoyed by those stupid guys. He wasn't gonna let a bunch of idiots try to scare him away.
The grin on the club keepers' face disappeared.
"How dare you, kid! You have no right to talk like this! If anyone is going to loose his head it will be you! Though that would be a waste hm." The club keeper said.
Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Just give us a room or you won't be able to give one to anyone else in the near future." Sasuke said.
"Heh, sure kid." The club keeper said, grinning. "You know what, if you sleep with me tonight, you can stay." He smirked.
Sasuke gritted his teeth. No one, absolutely no one was gonna talk to him like that and get away with it. He would 'never' sleep with such a low life. He didn't even like sex. Sasuke pulled his sword and held it against the club keeper's neck.
"Take that back." He growled.
"Jesus! Somebody help him!" The other club keeper yelled to the bunch of drunken guys in the club.
"Sasuke what are you doing?!" Neji yelled and tried to pull Sasuke back.
Some of the drunken guys stumbled forward and one of them managed to get the sword out of Sasuke's hands.
Sasuke pulled out two more swords and held one of them to the club keeper's neck and one to the guy who took his sword.
"YOU! Give me back my sword! And you, should be lucky that I'll spare your life! We don't wanna spend the night in the club of a paedophile like you!" Sasuke yelled. These kind of things just got him over the edge. And now some idiot tried to take his sword? He had to pay.
"Sasuke just calm down." Neji hissed.
The club keeper grinned. "You don't know where you are starting with boy." He said.
"No! I will never tolerate men like that!" Sasuke yelled. "And you have no idea what I can do!" He yelled to the club keeper.
"Well, then you will just have to find out. Men?" The other club keeper said and signed something to the drunken guys.
The men grinned and without any warning, two of them grabbed Kiba and put his arms behind his back, doing the same with Shikamaru too.
"Hey! Let go of me!" Kiba growled, immediately starting to struggle fiercely. The club keeper saw that Sasuke was distracted now and took his chance by grabbing Sasuke's sword and pulling it out of Sasuke's hands.
Shikamaru stayed still. He had learned that a lot less happened if you cooperated then if you, like Kiba, fought back.
Sasuke immediately turned to the club keeper. Stil having a sword he knocked the one in the drunken guy's hand out of it and caught it, keep both of them towards the club keeper and pushing Neji behind him with his back.
"Let them go." Sasuke growled.
"Only if you leave my club, now." The barkeeper grumbled.
"Fine, but you release them first." Sasuke said and looked at the club keeper with intense eyes.
"Don't worry boy, we see no need in killing them. So you are going outside first." The club keeper said.
"No, you'll release them first or I'll release you from your life." Sasuke snapped.
"Which will lead 'them' to kill your friends." The club keeper said, pointing to his comrades.
"They won't get the chance for it. How about you give me my sword back first, we all go outside and you'll release them there." Sasuke had it with these guys already. He'd rather kill them all, but he couldn't risk it now that he had company.
"Not a chance boy. Not a chance." The club keeper said. "Just walk outside, we'll give your friends your sword and they'll walk outside too. Done."
"And I should trust you 'why'?" Sasuke asked. He didn't trust them. They probably would rape those two and go after him and Neji too. He was getting ready for a fight.
"Because you have no choice." The club keeper said and grinned.
"Don't I?" Sasuke said and smirked. At that moment he pinned the his sword out of the club keeper's hands and at almost the same time, dug a sword into the guy's shoulder who was holding Kiba. He knew that if he got Kiba free, he'd help Shikamaru and they'd be save.
The guy screamed out in pain but then, to everyone's shock, he grabbed one of his own knives and dug it into Shikamaru's back with a pained grin on his face.
"Shikamaru!" Neji yelled, and ran into Shikamaru's direction, to heal him.
Shikamaru gave out a pained scream and dropped to the floor on his knees. He tried to get the knife out, but it was too far for his arm.
"Neji!" Sasuke yelled and grabbed Neji arm pulling him behind him again before cutting open the neck of the guy who had hurt Shikamaru. Neji couldn't go to him yet, he'd get hurt too, maybe even killed. "Kiba, do something will ya!"
"I'm trying to fight off these guys off Shikamaru you idiot!" Kiba yelled, who was standing over Shikamaru, defending him.
"Sasuke I have to heal him!" Neji yelled at Sasuke.
"You stay here, you can help him once these guys are dead!" Sasuke yelled back as he dug a sword through some guy's heart who was trying to hurt Kiba.
"You can't kill them all you idiot!" Neji yelled. Suddenly the two club keepers arrived and one of them pushed Neji away, grabbed Sasuke from behind, at his hair, and pressed a knife against his throat. "You really are an ignorant kid, making such a mess in someone's club. You're going to pay kid." With that, he kicked Sasuke in the back hard.
Sasuke held back a moan. He moved his arm holding his sword to the club keeper's neck in return.
"Would you just give up and let us go!?" He yelled. They would never win this.
"Didn't think so kid. Yo Joe, why don't you kill the other?" The club keeper said, moving his head into Neji's direction. He himself grinned when he saw Sasuke's shocked expression and then he gave Sasuke a huge hit against his cheek, with a kick in the stomach after it.
"Leave him alone!" Neji angrily yelled and hit his elbow as hard as possible down to the club keepers head.
The club keeper gave a moan and cursed when he landed on the ground.
The other club keeper, Joe, grabbed Neji with both hands, pulling him with him.
"You won't get away with that!" He yelled into Neji's ear.
Sasuke in the mean time restored himself and dug his sword into the club keeper who was lying on the floor. He turned around to see Kiba still fighting off some guys and Shikamaru in pain. This was getting one hell of a sticky situation. Neji just had to wait now.