a/n: Hello everybody! Gina-Thank you for your review Yes, Neji is a very strong…boy, lol. Anyways, Disclaimer on my profile, no warnings…this chapter, we meet some new characters and Neji comes up with a weird backstory Yes, my creative genius was kind of down the drain at the point when I wrote this…oh well.
Chapter 7
Over the past few days, it had been increasingly difficult for Neji to travel through the forest; the storm that had broken over head was the sort that went on nonstop over several days, and the path was soggy and difficult to get through. Neji was grateful for the water impermeable boots he was wearing, but it didn't make things easier.
Neji was also concerned about staying dry; it was nearly impossible to build a fire, and Neji didn't want to get sick but he was already sniffling and coughing a bit. He continued on through the forest in a determined haze, unaware of the passing of the days through his fever.
Finally, Neji spotted smoke off to the right of the path. He blundered toward it, too exhausted to do anything but move his legs and keep his pack from falling off his back when he finally reached the front door of a cottage with a merrily smoking roof.
The never-ending rain beat down on his head, but Neji didn't care as he knocked on the door.
The door flew open to reveal a boy with a pudding-bowl black hair cut, very nice teeth, and huge eyebrows.
Neji saw an identically odd older man moving towards the door before he collapsed on their doorstep, too shattered in both mind and body, to carry on.
XXX
Neji woke in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room; it took him a moment to remember what had happened.
The next thing he noticed was that everything hurt; his muscles were completely stiff, his head was throbbing and his throat felt dry, raw and bloody.
Neji must have made a pained noise because in the next instance, the odd-looking boy was at his bedside. "It appears you are awake, my youthful friend!" he boomed.
Neji winced; his head really was very sore. The boy noticed and quieted down instantly. "My name is Rock Lee. You are safe here, stranger."
Neji tried to tell Lee his name, but before he could do so he'd already fallen asleep again.
XXX
The next time Neji woke, he felt much better. His body was still sore, but his head hardly hurt at all.
Neji gingerly propped himself up on his elbows before cautiously surveying the room again. It was night, but this time, the older man was awake.
"You're awake again? Here, drink some of this." The man supported Neji's head as he forced a bitter tasting tea down his throat. "I know, it tastes nasty, but I'll certainly help your throat. Your youthful voice will be back in no time!"
Neji blinked in confusion. What is it with these two and youth? And…where am I anyways? It probably wasn't the safest idea to come here and-
"My name is Might Gai, and that boy over there is my adopted son, Rock Lee. You're safe here; we'll take care of you until you are well and able again. Now, rest, my boy. You still have a ways to go in recovery."
Neji's eyes fluttered closed at the reassurance of safety.
XXX
The third time Neji woke up, he finally felt at peace. His body wasn't in any pain anymore, and he propped himself up on his elbows before looking curiously around the room.
The two occupants of the little house heard the rustling noises and rushed over instantly. "Awake again? Are you finally feeling better?"
Neji coughed weakly. "Yes, thank you. Thanks for taking care of me all this time."
Gai waved his hand dismissively. "It was nothing; and you were certainly in need of help. If you hadn't found us, you would mostly likely have died from your fever."
Neji stilled at the sobering thought. "H-how can I repay you? I-"
"No repayment is needed. We would have done it for anyone-particularly a blossoming youth such as yourself!" Gai stood in his good-guy stance.
Neji blinked, and then decided to go with it. "I owe you my life."
Lee smiled and patted Neji's head. "You're persistent, aren't you? But if Gai-sensei says so, than it must be right!"
Neji stared as the two started crying tears of joy while hugging each other. Those two have the most sickeningly exuberantly joyful father-son relationship. But then again, who am I to talk?
Over the next few days as Neji slowly regained his strength, he learned several things. First of all, Lee and Gai never ran out of energy. Ever. Hell, they even slept energetically; they both had these intense expressions on their faces and tossed and turned quite a bit.
Secondly, both of them were trained in self-defense. Neji could beat Lee because of his ability to see the tenketsu nodes in his body (the joining points of energy pathways), but Gai was a different story entirely.
Thirdly, they were both heading to the Uchiha capitol named Kunimitsu city to find work at the palace; apparently, the palace had no shortage of available job positions.
Fourthly, the Uchiha kingdom had very strange laws. Both Gai and Lee (and himself, Neji supposed) were classified as a certain group of fighters known as 'street fighters'. In the Uchiha cities, rather than having a local militia or police force, street fighters gangs kept the peace in various parts of the city. The gangs weren't so bad depending on where you were, but Gai and Lee were heading up to Kunimitsu to join up with some old friends in the gang run by Hatake Kakashi. From what Neji had gathered, Gai and Kakashi seemed to have a rather odd hate-love relationship with each other. Anyways, Neji was apparently welcome to join and make new friends since it seemed like they would be staying together for a very long time.
The journey to the capitol took three days to reach the greater city by foot, and another day to secure a job position at the palace.
Neji pondered what position he should apply for at the palace; he was well-rounded in a number of different subjects. He could clean, cook, read, fight…Neji sighed, and struggled to keep up with Lee and Gai's fast pace as they journeyed through the last stretch of the woods. In all, including the time he'd been passed out in their cottage, the journey had taken seventeen days; he'd been travelling alone for a week by his reckoning, passed out at their cottage for another five days, and then he'd been recovering for three days and they had set out two days ago.
Neji's thoughts wandered as they continued along the path; he had yet to provide Gai and Lee with a story on why he was traveling alone through the woods. When they'd tried and asked him, it hadn't taken much acting to cry and act distressed so that they backed off, but he knew he was pushing his time.
That evening, he was proven correct when Gai-sensei (since Gai kept teaching Neji extremely useful things about the forest and the Uchiha, Neji had provided him with the nick-name) asked him where he was from as they sat around their little fire. (The rain had stopped about a week ago after a week-long rainstorm).
Neji opened his mouth to speak, and then shut it, feeling mildly panicked. There were so many holes in his story; he just had to hope that they would fall for it.
"Well," he murmured softly. "I'm ah-running away from home."
"Why?" Lee asked immediately, but then shrank back under his foster father's disapproving gaze. "Bad timing?"
"A bit, yeah. Continue, Neji."
"I come from a secluded community in the far stretches of the forest that runs along the border of the Uchiha and Hyuga. I had plenty of books from my mother and trading caravans passed through occasionally, so I'm very well-learned, but unfortunately my father didn't approve of the Uchiha government. I know next to nothing about my own country, but I know nearly everything about many others." Neji smiled bitterly. "Ironic, isn't it? Well anyways, my mother died barely a year ago, and my father was hit very hard by the loss…I'm sixteen years old. And…" Neji bit his lip. "I can't tell you why I'm running away. I'm very sorry."
"Why can't you tell us? We won't think badly of you-"
"You don't understand!" Neji shouted, and then flinched at his own outburst. "I mean…you will. It's horrible, you'll…you'll think I'm disgusting," Neji whispered softly. "Please, please don't make me tell you."
Gai relented at Neji's tearful expression. "Very well then. I'm sorry about your mother, by the way."
Neji wiped his eyes. "Thank you. She was very beautiful."
"You're very beautiful yourself, Neji! Your youthful face has a certain quality to it!" Lee beamed at him.
"I do have another question for you," Gai interrupted. "Why ah…Lee and I, we're both aware that you are very male. Why do you…?" he gestured vaguely at Neji's dress.
Neji flushed. "My…my mother, she wished for a daughter but I was born a boy. She raised me as a girl and my father didn't mind and so…here I am now." Neji chuckled nervously. "You…you don't mind too much, do you?"
Gai shook his head and smiled warmly. "I don't mind at all, I was simply curious my youthful student! Now, eat up-we have the last of the journey ahead of us tomorrow."
Neji sighed with relief; a relatively simple lie and it would make up for his extreme lack of knowledge about the Uchiha government. He chanted the lie in his head. I come from a secluded village in the forest. My mother is dead. I'm sixteen years old. I'm well-learned because of the trading caravans, and thus well-cared for. Neji carefully went over the lie in his head as he lay on the ground that night. I act and dress like a girl because my mother wanted it. My father was the head of our community. And…if I absolutely have to…I'll tell them the truth.
Neji scowled; the lenses in his eyes were irritating him again. He would have to put in the medication tomorrow morning, before the others woke up.
He knew he wasn't supposed to sleep with the colored lenses on, but for now he would take no chances. Hopefully when he found work at the palace, he would have more privacy and be able to sleep at night without them.
Neji sighed and rolled over so that he faced the little fire, oddly drowsy from the rhythmic snores of his companions.
Reassured that he was no longer alone, Neji, former Princess of the Hyuga kingdom, closed his eyes and fell in to a deep, dreamless sleep.
a/n: And that's chapter 7! Next chapter, we meet even more new people and…Itachi-kun! So, that means you need to stick around heh. Anyways, don't forget to review (it only takes two seconds guys! I really want to know what you think whether it be about the direction of the story, grammatical errors, or plot inconsistencies just drop me a line. I feel so sad about only getting one review for each other last two chapters.) and I'll see you next chapter!
