Day 27

"Sensei, I know you don't feel so hot, but..." Tenten attempted the gentle approach when it came to waking up their teacher, but it wasn't working at all. Gai merely shoved his head under the pillow and pretended not to hear her. "You said yesterday you had some information. You were going to go see this man, something about the black market? Sensei, please get up."

Gai peeked out from under the blankets and pillows, only one of his eyes revealed to them. At least it meant he was awake and listening to them.

"We allowed you to sleep in, but now it's time to get up." Lee added.

"Um...I said something about information last night?" Gai mumbled, slowly sitting up in the bed, squinting his eyes. The light was far too bright.

"Yes." Tenten and Lee shared a look of uncertainty.

"Did I say anything else?"

Tenten frowned and took hold of her sensei's shoulders, shaking him violently, "Are you saying you can't remember? Sensei!" After several more seconds she let him go, her momentary anger dissipating. "Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I just can't seem to remember anything after we started talking about basketball...Or was it baseball? I'll remember if you give me a little bit of time."

"There's no need for that." They turned to see Shino standing in the doorframe, apparently having been listening to them, "I came here after realizing it was taking you a while."

"What do you mean 'there's no need'?" Tenten asked.

Shino put out his hand, one of his small bugs crawling across his palm, "I've had all of you tagged since we arrived. This one came to me last night when Gai-sensei returned, and it told me everything that passed between you and the samurai last night. You were talking about football, I believe, by the time you had drunk enough for memory loss."

"Oh..." Gai muttered, embarassed but relieved at the same time. At least the information wasn't lost.

"So? What's the info Gai-sensei got last night?"

Both Lee and Tenten stopped paying attention to him, so he happily fell back onto the pillows. He covered his eyes, but not his ears. Through the pounding in his head and the nausea in his stomach he was able to hear Shino's explanation. It frustrated him that he'd drunk himself into such a state, being unable to recall the prior night, but he blocked that feeling. He was thankful that Shino had taken precautions, and good ones at that, and that his actions held no repercussions. Not including the hangover of course.

"There is a man, who spends his time on the corner of 50th and 51st street, who appears to know a lot about this village. As long as you say please, he will seemingly tell you anything you want to know."

"Hm...That seems promising. I'll go check it out then." Gai said, beginning to sit up.

"No need for that either. I do suggest you be the one to go, you have shown that you have a way with words. You know more about these things than any of us, and I have little doubt that you could get out of him whatever we need. But I also suggest this be done at night. You currently have an image in this village that you need to protect, and being seen in such an area would cause people to talk. We don't need that, especially not right now."

"Oh, I see. That makes sense." Tenten agreed.

"You're right, Shino. Tonight is the best time, and Gai-sensei will be perfect for the job!" Lee added.

"Do you think you'll be better by tonight?" Shino asked Gai, the actual leader of the mission, despite the fact that he made most of the calls.

"I'll be better than ever!" Gai exclaimed, "Just...Give me a little more time to rest. And perhaps some aspirin...And then I'll be better than ever!"

Tenten and Lee laughed, but agreed to the demand. They closed the light before walking out, and Gai sighed. The headache was still there, and he layed down again, ready to rest. But the heartache was worse. They hadn't spoken their missing teammate's name in days, afraid of the hurt that would come with it. They hardly spoke of the reason for their being in Ame in the first place. It was emotionally exhausting to have to pretend it was simply a routine mission.

At least he had an excuse to do nothing but sleep it all away.

OoOoO

"You stumbling idiot! Can't you stand on your own two feet? Kids are getting more incompetent every day." The last part was mumbled angrily.

Neji approached the door cautiously, listening to the voice on the other side. It was one of the workers who was walking past his room with a child, he assumed. It happened frequently, and the men tended to say nasty things to them, but the man seemed more frustrated than the others. Either he was in a bad mood, or the child has put him in a bad mood. Either way, Neji didn't allow it to trouble him.

"Can you be any slower? Put the kid in his room! The boss wanted to talk to you. He really ain't happy about your last mission." A new voice said.

"I know, Goddamnit!"

"That's what happens when you don't clean up after yourself."

"There were no traces left behind! Besides, it's not like anyone found us."

"Yeah, but somebody could have. Don't get sloppy again, or the boss will get really angry. I don't wanna have to scrape your guts off the walls."

"Fuck...Whatever! Get in there you stupid brat!" The man snapped at the child.

Neji had been telling himself he wasn't listening, but was, and then he suddenly found himself unable to pretend the outside world didn't concern him. His eyes were empty as they watched a little boy be shoved into his room, trip over his own feet and fall to the ground. The door closed with a bang and the steps grew fainter as the men went to their destinations in a hurry.

He said nothing as he continued to merely watch the little boy. Small hands groped the surrounding area, as if he was unable to see what might be around him. He shook in fear, his blond hair a mess and his blue eyes wide, but empty. Neji frowned and stepped closer to him, and saw that the boy was staring but wasn't seeing. He was blind. His emotions, instead of being in his eyes, were in his actions and voice.

"I wanna go home." The child muttered brokenly. He sat down and wept, his hands resting on his lap. He didn't need to wipe away the tears to see, and thus used his arms to comfort himself by wrapping them around his own torso.

The kid was giving himself a hug, and Neji was surprised to find that he was a little jealous. A hug would never be enough to comfort him, or so he believed, having never received one. (Well, one that wasn't forced upon him.) But for the child, it seemed to be all he needed, for the tears eventually subsided.

"Kid, what's your name?" Neji asked gently, remaining standing in front of the little boy.

The child stayed still for a moment, not frightened by the sudden voice, but surprised. He chose to speak after a while, "I...I don't have a name."

"Hm." Neji stepped forward, bent down, and took the small hand into his own. Tugging gently, he brought the child to his feet, "You can't see, can you?"

"No. I used to have a cane to help me find my way, but the boss took it away."

"Well, I'll show you the way for now. Would you like to sleep?" The boy nodded hesitantly, and Neji slowly walked towards the bed, the child taking small steps beside him. Having been dragged behind for so long, he wasn't used to having someone walk slowly by his side.

"What's your name?" The child asked.

Neji lifted him up and placed him under the thin and riped blanket, pulling it around him. He ran a hand through the little boy's hair, untangling it a little, then pulled back, "I don't have one either, kid." He replied, his voice completely monotone. He hadn't heard his own name in so long, and he didn't think he ever would again, and so he'd decided to let it go. What was the point of hanging on to one little thing when the rest had been taken from him?

Names weren't important anyways.

"Are you a guardian angel?"

The childish question would have once made him roll his eyes, or have them soften slightly, but he didn't feel anything towards the words. It was hope and it would be lost soon enough. He'd wished for the same thing at some point in his emprisonnement, the child was no different.

"No, I'm not."

And a slap of reality was all he'd needed to give that up.


AN: Hello! Why is it that every time I say I can write more, I don't? Anywho, it was a busy week. I hope you enjoyed this chapter though.

Okay, I'ma go straight to this. Holy hell! I hafta thank SilverWillowfly, Cole-Hyuuga, Angelheart17, AUehara, EatEmUp, appletree98, donotstalkme, la tar de michael jackson, darkstardragon432, and Reeserella for reviewing! You are all simply amazing! Have I ever said I love you guys? Just putting that out there.

Thank you for reading,
-MewMew