Hallo! I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Miss me? Naw, of course you haven't. The day someone misses me will be the day Hidan stops cussing. Anyhoos, Neji's been through a lot of mental torment, no? Is it just me, or do I seem to enjoy doing this to him?

Disclaimer: Naruto, Greek Deities, and Rome do not belong to me. (I'M STILL F*CKING WRITING THIS?)

A/N: Incorrect usage of Greek mythological figures

A/N 2: All flames will be used to sacrifice to Jashin. The more the merrier! NOT.

The Value of a Soul

Chapter 14: Toying with Minds

"Wha? What am I doing here?" Voluminous blue eyes blinked open. A face looked down worriedly at him.

"That was exactly what I wanted to ask you, son of Ares," the stranger stated. Naruto looked around.

"Wait... Charon? Why am I here? I shouldn't be here!" he exclaimed, dismayed. The stranger, Charon, glanced at his boat, already full of souls.

"Lord Naruto, you can't come with me. I've almost filled my quota for today, and you weren't on my schedule." Naruto blinked, eyes narrowing.

"I'm not supposed to be here. I'm supposed to be in Rome. What am I doing here?" he asked yet again.

Charon stepped off the bank of the river Styx, and into his boat, ready to head off to the underworld.

"There is only one logical explanation, son of Ares," he replied, turning around, about to push off. "You are either dead, or close to death."

With those words, Hades' ferryman began to sail off. Naruto blinked uncomprehendingly. He was what? Biting his lip nervously, his mind flew back to the previous events. He knew the prince would hurt him badly, but was he really provocative enough to sign his death warrant?

Wandering upriver, he looked down at his body. Long gone were the wounds on his limbs, neck and chest. Were they healed? Or was this just his soul? He gritted his teeth. He couldn't stay here, he had to go back! He had given Athena his word after all, and his word was his honour. He wondered how long he was out.

Walking until the river changed it's course, he strolled in the opposite direction, breaking into a run, knowing that his time was of the essence. Dodging past foilage, and buildings, he ran, speeding up, whilst angling down.

His feet slammed past stars as he made his way back to Earth, Flashing a quick greeting to Atlas as he flew past, and headed for Rome. The carrier of the world blinked, barely catching the blonde as he dashed frantically down into the god's burden. Atlas groaned.

"Great. More weight."

Naruto hurried through the bust streets, noting that no one seemed to notice, him. Finally reaching the palace, he took a quick breather, before walking past the oblivious guards.

Quietly, he paced through the many halls and chambers until he reached a particular one. He didn't know why he stopped at this one, as he had never seen this part of the palace before.

Pushing the door open, he found three people around a bed, one standing a ways off, looking over with an unreadable glazed expression on their face. All four seemed oblivious to his presence, their attention, instead on the figure in the bed.

Curious, Naruto ambled over to where he could get a clear view, and gasped in shock. His body, was on the bed. His body was on the bed. What's worse, is that the wounds marring his otherwise perfect figure were grisly, and deep.

Leaning down, he placed his head against his chest, searching for a heartbeat, or at least anything that would give sign of life. Hearing nothing, and feeling nothing, he moved to his pulse. Searching desperately on his wrists, then on his neck, he found nothing.

Biting his lip anxiously, he straightened up, and stared at the three standing across from him.

"Tsunade?" Sakura asked, fearing the worst. The blonde took the youth's limp hand, and again searched for a pulse, refusing to give in so easily. She searched desperately for a few more minutes, before drawing back her hand, and sighing resignedly.

"Sakura, I'm afraid..." she stopped mid-sentence, and bowed her head. Sakura bit her lip until blood flowed, and stared at Naruto's body in a way that said, If you're dead, I'm going to kill you!

"Damnit Naruto! You can't die! You can't be dead! You...you just can't..." The usually loud brash voice fading to a pitiful whimper. Naruto glanced at the owner of the voice in vague surprise. He could see barely suppressed tears blossoming in the narrow eyes.

"Kiba?" Naruto, or at least his soul, whispered in surprise. He knew the dog-boy liked him, hell, the youth had even admitted it, but Naruto didn't actually think he truly liked him.

Said dog-boy sank to his knees, and buried his face in the blonde's bloody torso.

"Damn you Naruto! You weren't supposed to die! You're too powerful to die! How could you die?" the brunet sobbed angrily. Naruto smiled softly. Even in a situation like this, Kiba would never cease to be brash. He swallowed a lump in his throat, and winced as he felt his body. It was already cooling.

Not buying any more time, he placed his hands on his body's chest, and muttered something under his breath, sinking into his corpse.

Neji watched the scene expressionlessly. He didn't know what to make of it. It had been five days since he had hospitalized Naruto, and he still felt that tugging pain in his chest, only increased when Tsunade had...admitted defeat.

He ground his teeth, refusing to show anything but his usual expression, still not understanding what that feeling in his chest was. He averted his eyes from the scene, the Inuzuka's curses ringing in his ears.

Why had he felt so pained when the brunet had confronted him? Why did he not want to strike the lowly servant ar kill him for his insolence? Why? Neji growled silently as he proceeded out of the infirmary, and headed back to his room, his insides feeling oddly empty.

The pink haired maiden watched him go out of the corner of her vision, and muttered something about 'ungrateful bastardly prince-soon-to-be-emperor masters'. Luckily for her, neither Neji, nor Tsunade had heard. If the blonde woman had indeed heard, she gave no sign of it whatsoever.

"K...Kiba..." Naruto croaked, his eyes cracking open slightly. He retched, and hacked up blood. Apparently his body was still healing. His bloodied lips curved into a crooked smile. "Stop...stop leaning on me...it...hurts..." he pushed out.

Tsunade promptly threw the brunet off Naruto, and began examining him furiously.

"What did you do to yourself?" she asked, a hint of anger in her voice. Naruto opened his mouth to speak, before retching, and coughing up some more blood.

Quickly, Tsunade pulled out a liquid filled vial, and poured some into his mouth, before forcing him to swallow. Naruto arched, and coughed, before blood came pouring out of his mouth, staining the sheets, and his body red. After a few more minutes of vomiting blood, Naruto sighed, and fell unconscious.

Kiba ran back to the blonde's body, smiling his head off, and rubbing his eyes furiously, trying to staunch the salty liquid that incessantly threatened to escape.

"Damn you Naruto! I was worried!" Sakura turned around, a vein throbbing on her forehead. Her pale fist collided with his skull, and he winced. "Oww...what was that for?" he asked. She glared at him.

"He needs plenty of rest, peace and quiet, and no disturbances, if he is to get better sooner, so get out!" she yelled. He 'eeped', and scuttled out of the room, nursing his head.

That night, Naruto awoke to the sound of faint cheering. Moving over slightly, he winced as fire shot through his body, tearing him apart. A muted scream emitted from his throat.

With quite a bit of effort, the blonde moved his hands along his wounds, taking the time to heal them. He was able to discern the cheers as congrtulations for the prince, as Neji was now the emperor. He smiled softly, wincing as a fresh burst of pain erupted through his bady, especially at his throat.

Slowly, his hands moved up to the wonded neck, and in a span of approximately fifteen minutes, the appendage was completely healed.

Having already closed the injuries on his hands, he moved to the base of his legs, leaving his chest for last, as it did not seem to be in critical condition at the moment.

Finally, he reached for his heart. Or rather, the dry blood encrusted gash barely missing his heart. Sighing, he waited until it was properly repaired, before collapsing, exhausted onto his bed. A few moments later he had drifted into his death-like slumber.

About an hour later, perhaps approximately two before the dawn, the two medics had dropped by to check the status of their patient.

To their everlasting surprise, Naruto's wounds were no longer in existence as the blonde slept, peacefully unaware of the presence of the two.

Tsunade immediately began to examine the blonde, and drew back with a baffled expression as she saw no sign of internal injury either. His body had returned to it's normal perfectness.

Naruto's breathing stilled, and his deep blue orbs made themselves known. He glanced up at the two and smiled.

"Thank you," he whispered, a serene smile plastered on his features as he stood up, and left, giving each of them in turn, a grateful smile. Sakura had in turn, forgotten to brain the blonde for his carelessness.

Snickering softly to himself, he grinned at how effective his mother's abilities could be at times. Carefully, he suppressed the mischievious grin on his face under a stoic mask. For the time being at least. Padding quietly through the darkened halls, he stopped in front of guarded doors. Silently, he asked them for permission.

As soon as it was given him, the blonde slowly opened the door, and walked in, only to barely miss getting hit by a knife.

The emperor stared at him, the barest glimmer of shock in his eyes. Naruto calmly closed the door, before meeting the brunet's eyes.

"How are you here?" said brunet asked, eyes flashing with an unreadable expression. "You...You're supposed to be dead!" Half of the emperor wanted to believe this was Naruto in the flesh, and that confused him. The other half believed he was dead, and that satisfied him, but hurt him at the same time.

"Do you really want me dead that bad?" Naruto asked softly, a hint of sadness in his voice. Neji blinked, trying to see if his eyes were decieving him.

"You're supposed to be dead. You're not really here. You're a ghost," he almost tripped over his words, trying to maintain a steady voice. Naruto laughed slightly, amused.

"Such a thing for one like you to say. You do not believe in the gods, yet you believe in ghosts." Neji's jaw clenched.

"What are you doing here?" he spat out between gritted teeth. Naruto looked mildly surprised.

"Why I'm doing what I've always been doing before the...incident..." he replied, immediately regretting his choice of words.

"You...what do you want with me?" Neji asked, his voice droping to glacial temperature. Naruto shook his head.

"I want nothing of you," he replied. "But what will it take to prove to you that I am not dead?" Neji growled. Naruto fixed sapphire on pearl, and he found himself trapped in those vibrant bottomless depths. He bit him s lip until blood flowed.

"Come over here," he commanded. Naruto willingly obliged. Neji reached out and grabbed his arm. Naruto moved closer to a less straining distance. Neji's finger's searched for a pulse, and he immediately recieved the strong steady flow in which Naruto's blood was flowing.

Moving up to his neck, he settled two fingers there, and got the same response. His hands strayed down to Naruto's heart and he discovered a strong steady heartbeat. His arms dropped, defeated.

Naruto shuddered softly as the alabaster hands ghosted across his figure. Was the prince always that cold? That seemed to be the case. Every time the prince had touched him, or vice versa, his skin was as cold as a corpse.

"I can find everything," Neji stated. "But I am still unsure whether you are truly alive. Mayhaps this is all a dream." Naruto's calm demeanor disappeared at the prince's stubborness.

"What more do you want to know?" he asked. "What more do I have to do to prove to you that I am me?" Neji's eyelids slid over his twin opals, and he sighed.

"I...why would you let me if not kill, then almost kill you?" he asked. Naruto's anger diappeared, and he sat by the prince, wrapping a tan arm around him in an amiable manner. Again, there was no response from the brunet, positive or negative.

"Neji, you've been holding all your emotions in. It's not healthy. I couldn't let you injure any of my friends, but you needed to take your wrath out on something that would give you satisfaction. I was willing to be that 'thing'." Neji stared at the ground.

"Satisfaction," he repeated silently, voice void and empty. "I was supposed to feel satisfaction from that?" Naruto removed his arm, and stared out the balcony at the night sky.

"That was what I had hoped for," he answered quietly. "I hoped you would be satisfied by seeing damage inflicted on me, since you don't even like me to begin with. Thus, by literally breaking me, you would no longer have to vent your rage on anyone else."

"Then why...why did every blow I strike create a dragging pain in my chest? Why did your scream seem to rip my heart to shreds? I don't understand what this is..." Neji said, his voice emotionless. Naruto drew in a sharp breath.

"That Neji, is for you to find out and exploit. I am not one to delve into matters like this so rashly, although I do admit, I am rash. But Neji, tell me. Have you ever felt like this before?" Surprisingly, the brunet nodded.

"Yes. When my youngest sister had died, and when Hinata had blamed me for both my sister's and my father's deaths. But none of them hurt as bad as it did with you. I don't know what this is," he replied. Naruto blinked slowly.

"I see..."

"Perfect. I did not expect our new emperor to hold out so long. Be it as it may, the plan will proceed as normal. Rally them, we will begin when our new emperor is...weakened."

"As you wish, My lord."

"But I still get the emperor. I refuse to comply with any of your windblown suggestions unless I get what I want out of it."

"Ah, yes. Do not work yourself up over such trivial things. Once he is apprehended, you may do as you please with him."

One figure out of the three walked out of the room. The other turned to face the taller figure.

"Are you sure we can trust him? He is after all...a double." Amused, sinister laughter resounded around the room.

"Don't fret. I've already made...arrangements if things don't go as planned."

There. Hope y'all like it! Was half asleep when I typed it!

-Jeya-