Secrets
Author's Notes: Ah, sorry I keep taking so long to update. I'm really into writing one of my original fiction pieces right now and it's pretty much taking all my time before work. I won't leave this hanging. I promise. I just have a sucky memory when it comes to updating. Sorry. *pouts*
So, what happened with Ranmaru? What's up with Orochimaru? Y'all will find out. And no, I don't know how a one-shot (chapter one) bondage sex scene became a full length novel with plot. I'm just rolling with it cuz this is what happens when I write for the Hell of it.
WARNING: Mention of mature subject matter including boobs, lesbians, bondage sex, swearing, killing, gore, blood, and violence...woah.
I don't own the Naruto-verse. I'm just borrowing for the Hell of it.
Hizashi stood outside the door to Naruto-sama's office as mom, dad, Sakura-sama, Naruto-sama, and Shikamaru-sama had a yelling match. Someone had put a jutsu on the door to keep it quieter but even so Hizashi could catch a word or two.
Hatomi stood beside him with her shoulders tense but no expression on her face. Her eyes were worried, happy, and best of all: alive. She was back to being her and Hizashi was glad for it. This was probably why he stood close enough to feel the brush of her arm against his. She wasn't complaining and didn't back away.
Lee-sensei and Metal were not with them. After a day resting in Suna they took off towards the Curry of Life shop Lee-sensei hadn't visited in the past year what with the chunin exam training, important birthdays and all. It wasn't a mission, a personal visit defined it better but even so, Naruto-sama had not been impressed upon hearing it.
The Hokage had quickly told Hatomi she was not allowed to take any missions for two months for disobeying Neji then booted him and Hatomi out of the room, especially when dad mentioned his thoughts about who had helped the Rain shinobi gain Ranmaru's power. The last bit of conversation Hizashi had heard before leaving was something about Orochimaru being a changed man coming from Naruto-sama and dad calling him blind.
"So, how'd the sleep overs go?" Hizashi asked.
Filling the almost silence had to be better then listening to the few choice words he could hear. Hatomi hummed at him but a flush had come to her cheeks. Hizashi blinked and was about to ask what was wrong about a sleep over then remembered Maiya wasn't a friend to Hatomi. This meant the two girls might have felt each other.
Hizashi kicked himself mentally and ignored the heat in his cheeks. Of course he'd remedy tense silence by making it awkward. Worse yet he was picturing Maiya naked. The imagery stopped when he thought of Hatomi touching naked Maiya which also killed any libido that had started.
"Pretend I asked something way less awkward," Hizashi said.
"Hn, Suna weather is much too hot," Hatomi commented.
Hizashi nodded, grasping onto the safe topic like a lifeline.
"Yeah, now I see why everyone keeps their hair short but how Kankuro-sama can stand being in all black there is nuts," Hizashi said.
Hatomi hummed at him but didn't make another comment. Trust his sometimes anti-social sister to stop a conversation. Oh well, Hizashi would have to deal.
"Did you see the camels? Someone asked if I wanted to ride one but that would've been weird, right? But they had some pretty awesome weapons there and I wish I would've thought to bring some ryo with me cuz there was this one set of trench knives that looked really cool. I could've added them to my B set scrolls for throwing initially then attached strings to catch them and learn to use them properly, you know? And I saw a really awesome katana that would've been great for my F set scrolls.
"Speaking of, I wonder what Shinobu's up to? He probably thinks I'm ignoring him cuz I haven't talked to him in like two weeks but I left my cell here. It's probably dead cuz it wasn't on its charger. You didn't bring your cell did you? I mean, are we supposed to on this kind of thing? I'd think not cuz getting a text message in the middle of a battle would be really messed up. Not everyone's going to give a shinobi a minute to answer a message, right?"
Hatomi raised her eyebrow at him but a smile came to her face. She started giggling and Hizashi grinned before rubbing the back of his head. Okay, so he'd started rambling. At least the awkwardness was gone and even the tension had left. All the stressful silence came back when the doors slammed open and dad came striding through them.
Dad's eyes were narrowed, his eyebrows knotted together, and the snarl on his face could've killed puppies. Mom's look wasn't much better and they both began walking, no, this was their "I'm going to kill something" stalk. They headed for the stairs. Shikamaru-sama, lit cigarette hanging from his mouth, followed after them at a brisk jog until catching up with them three yards away.
"Do we follow?" Hizashi whispered to his sister.
"Hn,"
It was her unsure sound which was never a good sign. Hizashi stared at the three adults as dad whirled on Shikamaru-sama who raised his hands in a half-assed pacifying gesture.
"What is it Nara?" dad asked.
Uh-oh. Dad was referring to a good friend by his family name. This wasn't ever a good sign. Hizashi didn't mind playing invisible against the wall. Maybe if he concentrated hard enough he would become invisible which would help him nicely avoid the walk home with his two enraged parents.
"You know Naruto has to take everything into consideration," Shikamaru-sama said.
"What is there to further consider? Who else do we know in this world who has experience transplanting eyes so effortlessly and duplicating them besides Orochimaru or Kabuto? We have Shin captured and in Ibiki's hands. We know Orochimaru took on no other apprentices unless he lied about it. So why is it such a stretch to consider Orochimaru helped the Rain shinobi transplant Ranmaru's eyes into other shinobi? Give me a name, Nara, of someone else who would do the same," dad said.
Yeah, this wasn't a good conversation. Hizashi shifted his arm against Hatomi's and she looked up at him. He gestured towards the room behind them with a brief twitch of his head and she nodded.
"Sending Lee off—"
"I did not send him off. I suggested he visit his favorite restaurant on the way back to Konoha, one he hasn't been to in a year since he had been on a strenuous mission,"
Dad had the best logic. Hizashi ducked into the room with Hatomi and they came face to face with three genin and their wide-eyed jonin in charge. He didn't recognize the genin but did know there had been another graduating class right behind his. Hizashi forced a grin on his face.
"Hey-ya folks, we're just gunna use the window behind you," Hizashi said.
They nodded. He opened the window as dad started yelling at Shikamaru-sama about never forgetting their training and trusting their instincts. Hatomi jumped out the window first but Hizashi wasn't far behind. They hit a roof top at the same time then took off running towards home. Maybe they could get Shi, Shun, and Yusa-sama out of the house for lunch or something before mom and dad made it home.
Shun especially didn't need to see the raging look on mom and dad's faces. They would give him nightmares which his little brother definitely did not need on top of being the civilian in the house with a Caged Bird Seal. They made it home in what Hizashi knew was record time and he opened the door to see Yusa-sama getting ready to prepare lunch while Shun and Shi had started setting the table.
"Oh, you're—" Yusa-sama started.
"Home, yeah, but it's, um, complicated. Lee-sensei and Metal went to go visit one of their favorite restaurants on the way back to check on a certain red-eyed friend," Hizashi said.
He hoped Yusa-sama picked up on his strange code despite his wildly waving hands. Hatomi nodded when Yusa-sama looked at her and she considered. An eyebrow raised and a small frown came to her face. Shi and Shun looked utterly confused.
"Hm, Shi, Shun, why don't we go to Ichiraku's for ramen?" Yusa-sama asked.
Oh she was good. It probably came from living with Lee-sensei for so long and listening him ramble on about youth. A person could pick up a lot from living with a shinobi like Lee-sensei.
"But mom and dad are home. I wanna give them a hug," Shun said.
"Yeah," Shi said.
"Guys, seriously, just head out for a few hours, okay? Mom and dad aren't in the greatest of moods and you don't wanna see them right now," Hizashi said.
There was nothing better than the truth when it came to his brothers. Yusa-sama began turning off burners but set everything near the stove so if someone wanted to cook lunch they could. Shi scowled and Shun pouted.
"As bad as the incident?" Shi questioned.
His eyes flicked to Shun briefly but Shun didn't notice. Hizashi hated Shun hadn't noticed the obvious motion.
"Worse. Do not mention this conversation when you return," Hatomi said.
Shi winced then nodded. He grabbed Shun by the wrist and began leading him to the door. Yusa-sama thanked them both then walked out with Shi and Shun. Hizashi let out a breath then headed for the stove. He and Hatomi set their bags by the laundry room to sort through later before beginning on lunch.
Five minutes later, the door opened and Hizashi felt the malicious chakra enter. He turned to see mom and dad stride into the house. Mom headed straight for the yard, pulling open the patio doors so hard they slammed in their tracks and the glass shuddered but didn't break. Dad stood in the hallway between sitting room and kitchen, staring at them with an infuriated expression on his face.
"Lunch?" Hizashi offered.
Dad blinked. White eyes shifted to look around the house for a moment but they landed back on him and Hatomi. Hatomi cooked stiffly while Hizashi found he wanted to bolt. He couldn't run out the kitchen window. The darn window was above the sink and it would be a weird move to get through it especially since it was closed.
"Hn,"
Dad's angry but (slowly) coming down from it sound. Dad tossed his bag towards the laundry room then turned on his heel and headed towards the yard where the steady and rapid thunk, thunk, thunk of weapons hitting targets came from. He kept the patio doors open and headed towards where mom would be. Hizashi couldn't see either of them well because the blinds were half-closed and the half walls of the patio didn't help.
"That went better than expected," Hizashi said.
"Hn,"
Hatomi's agreement sound complete with a relieved sagging of her shoulders. They finished cooking lunch and set the table for four. Mom and dad came back as Hizashi was helping Hatomi load up plates. Both looked way calmer than before and Hizashi couldn't help feeling grateful.
"Where are your brothers?" mom asked.
"Yusa-sama took them to Ichiraku's for a treat," Hizashi said.
He pointed to the note Hatomi had made at some point which mimicked Yusa-sama's writing perfectly. Mom nodded and the meal went by nicely. As they cleaned up, the door opened and Shun gasped. He ran towards them then hugged mom around the waist.
She stumbled forward a bit from the surprising force of it but smiled before patting Shun on the head. Shi hugged dad briefly then moved onto Hizashi and Hatomi while Shun kept snuggling into mom's back.
"Lee-sensei's visiting the Curry of Life shop with Metal," Hatomi said as Yusa-sama came towards the group.
Yusa-sama smiled softly at the news but Hatomi could see the worry in her eyes. Shun moved onto hugging dad who smiled down at him softly.
"Good for them. It's been so long since they have been there," Yusa-sama said.
"Yeah," mom said.
General questions were asked about what happened when they were gone and soon Yusa-sama was heading back out the door to check on her own home. She declined the offer of staying with them for another few days but mom didn't look like she minded too much.
"Shi, shall we train for a bit to see how far you have come without my presence?" father asked.
"Of course," Shi said.
"Shun, why don't you play with Miruku on the patio?" Mom suggested.
This couldn't be good. Shun noticed as did Shi but neither argued as they headed towards the open patio doors with dad. Hizashi finished putting away the last plate and waited for mom to start talking. She let out a puff of air and fixed her side-sweeping bangs.
"Naruto doesn't think Orochimaru is part of this," mom said.
"We gathered," Hatomi remarked.
Mom snorted but a smile had come onto her face. Hizashi tried not to laugh as Hatomi raised an eyebrow.
"Anyway, he's unwilling to send another group out till Lee comes back. Your dad suggested sending Lee some back up but Naruto flat out refused since it's not an official mission. They'll be okay, I'm sure," mom said.
Hizashi had to believe in mom's words. Besides, how would the Rain shinobi even know Lee-sensei and Metal were going to the Curry of Life restaurant? The place wasn't even near Rain's boarders where the shop sat in the Land of Rivers. Mom knew the most about Green Beasts so she had to be right.
Mother had not been correct. Lee-sensei and Metal had been gone for over a week, more than long enough to have gotten to the Curry of Life restaurant and return. Naruto-sama had broken down yesterday and sent out a group of shinobi consisting of father, Kiba-sama, Sakura-sama, and Sasuke which was why Sarada sat on Hatomi's bed with her on this night.
Sarada did not sit relaxed on Hatomi's bed nor did she wear her regular pyjamas. No, Sarada wore long pants with a long-sleeved shirt both so baggy she looked like a child in them and sat so stiffly Hatomi could not help being impressed. Sarada also sat much further away from Hatomi than normal. Hatomi sat near the pillows while Sarada sat at the foot of the bed, almost falling off. A cot had been set up on the floor for them but normally Sarada did not mind sharing Hatomi's Queen-sized bed since they were friends, practically sisters.
"I will not molest you while we sit here nor while we sleep. You are like my sister, not a potential lover," Hatomi said.
Sarada blinked at her from behind her glasses then started flushing. Her fingers twined into her shirt sleeves as Hatomi watched.
"Oh," Sarada said.
The sound did not give Hatomi much to go on but Sarada's body language spoke volumes. Hatomi let out a breath and understood her friend's nervousness. Sarada did not know how to react around Hatomi anymore. It had been evident all week especially since Sarada used the excuse of training to avoid Hatomi.
"Honestly, I am not attracted to you in that way. I believe for some reason it is only Maiya who attracts me as such," Hatomi said.
"Really?" Sarada questioned while blinking rapidly.
"Hn,"
Sarada chuckled at the sound and Hatomi saw her shoulders relax marginally. At least now Sarada did not look ready to bolt. Hatomi considered this a success.
"So, what exactly attracts you to Maiya if you don't mind me asking," Sarada said.
Hatomi considered for a moment. What had brought her to like Maiya as a potential mate?
"Her fighting skills, the way she stands up for herself, her morals, and her humor," Hatomi said.
Sarada grinned then started giggling. Hatomi did not understand what Sarada found so funny.
"So, the same things that made you crush on Metal?" Sarada asked.
Hatomi opened her mouth to protest but stopped. Sarada made a good point. Hatomi had enjoyed the fact Metal could stand against her, the way he stood up for his beliefs (and for her), and how he could make her smile.
"Apparently," Hatomi said.
Sarada kept laughing. Hatomi grinned softly as Sarada got a hold of her fit.
"So, the physical qualities don't matter so long as they can fight well enough against you, stand up for what they believe in and can make you laugh?" Sarada enquired.
Hatomi nodded and Sarada beamed. It made sense to Hatomi she would be attracted to a person's heart and soul before their physical attributes. She did not want a lover who could not keep up with her in every sense of the word.
"But you do think she's pretty, right?" Sarada asked.
Hatomi thought about it. Maiya had a heart-shaped face with large sea-green eyes. Her lashes were full, her nose slender but petite, and her lips lusciously shaped in a cupid's bow. Her skin had no blemishes except the beauty mark to the right of her lips and she had proven to be evenly tanned with perky breasts, a flat stomach with definition in her waist, and legs.
"Yeah, you think she's pretty," Sarada said with a laugh.
Hatomi blinked and tilted her head to a side in question while Sarada grinned. Sarada moved closer to her, a normal kind of closeness and Hatomi saw Sarada completely relax.
"Hn?"
"You started staring off into space like you used to do when Metal walked by except this was more intense," Sarada explained.
Hatomi inclined her head as Sarada kept smiling. The entire relationship seemed more intense but it had hardly been a week officially. They texted daily and sent pictures to each other of what they did or what they wore that day. Hatomi had mastered the art of taking a self-shot photo in the bathroom to show her face and outfit thanks to the mirror.
"You probably miss her, huh?" Sarada questioned.
Hatomi nodded. Maiya had gotten her hair evened out while Hatomi had been in Suna and it fell to her shoulders. The other day she had cut it even shorter so it had a long fringe of side-sweeping bangs and barely two inches of length in the back. It suited her though and Hatomi enjoyed the cut as much as Maiya seemed to.
"We send pictures over text but it is not the same," Hatomi said.
Sarada shook her head.
"I can't imagine what it's like. I can't even imagine how Shikamaru-sama and Temari-sama did it without all the technology we have now," Sarada said.
Neither could Hatomi. Writing letters back and forth which would occasionally take three days depending on the weather as the single form of communication, it was no small wonder Shikamaru-sama liked going home early when he could and why Temari-sama always visited him in the day.
"I want something like that one day, not long distance but that kind of love, you know?" Sarada said.
Hatomi smiled as Sarada considered. Sarada opened her mouth but at that exact moment, Hatomi's door opened and Hizashi came striding into the room. Hatomi raised an eyebrow at her brother but he kept smiling. He wore a pair of fitted shorts with a white shirt that had small sleeves and fit well against his chest, showing off his muscles almost as if he wasn't wearing a shirt.
Long hair had been just washed and hung in damp waves down his back, the shorter bits framing a face with a strong jaw, small nose, and golden eyes. He wore slippers on his feet at least, black ones that contrasted well against his pale skin.
Hatomi caught Sarada flushing a deep shade of pink across her cheeks and nose as a smile took over her face. Hatomi noticed Hizashi did not exactly walk, no; he swaggered into the room before sitting on the edge of the bed near Hatomi. She almost laughed when he flexed the bicep closest to Sarada and she practically drooled over the muscle in question.
"What's up girls?" Hizashi asked.
The reason Hatomi always went to Sarada or Chocho's house for sleep overs was this exactly. The girls had never wanted to be interrupted by the sheer amount of boys in Hatomi's home especially while talking about boys, make-up, clothes, or whatever else caught their attention like jutsu or weapons.
"We are talking about boys," Hatomi said.
"I can boy-talk," Hizashi said.
"We were going to move onto make-up afterwards," Hatomi mentioned.
Hizashi opened his mouth then blinked. He grinned and Hatomi saw Sarada watching him, silent as if she had lost the ability to speak with Hizashi sitting so close.
"You'd be surprised to know certain make-up can make some pretty good smoke bombs," Hizashi said.
Hatomi raised her eyebrow at her brother. She had wanted to keep the two apart for father's sake. He would implode if he found out Hizashi and Sarada liked each other. Father wanted nothing to do with the Uchiha name or helping to revive a dead clan.
"Is that why you keep stealing my mascara and top coat polish?" Hatomi asked him.
As expected, Hizashi went red in the face. He hid his nails in the covers but kept his eyes on hers.
"Yeah of course. What else would I use it for?" Hizashi said.
The fullness of his lashes spoke differently. She used clear mascara as the clumps were not as visible if it did clump and her lashes were dark enough. All she enjoyed doing was fluffing them up. Apparently Hizashi had the same thought in his mind.
"Your lashes beg to differ. And no one has nails as shiny as yours without a top coat," Hatomi said.
Hizashi went completely red then sputtered. She did not care Hizashi took her make-up to emphasize his features. He had good features and may as well do a minute of work every morning to make them stand out. Father did the same as did mother.
It was considered embarrassing for a male to admit to doing his nails or emphasizing his eyes. If any of the boys found out Hizashi did such they would make fun of him. Sarada would not say a word to the boys, nor would Chocho if Sarada decided to reveal Hizashi's secret.
"Well?" Hatomi asked.
"You, you, er, fine, talk about boys and make-up," Hizashi said.
All the self-righteous anger of his thirteen year old boy mind made him puff out his chest, pout, and flick his hair in a Kingly way before stomping off with a slam of the door. Hatomi kept her smirk to herself then turned to Sarada who had started to pout.
"Aw, why did you have to run him off? You know I like him," Sarada said.
Hatomi had no intention of telling Sarada her true motives. There were other alternatives and it worked wonderfully when Hatomi questioned:
"Have you seen what you are wearing?"
The Curry of Life Restaurant had been obliterated. Where it had once stood was a crater five yards deep, five yards past where the outer walls of the restaurant once stood. Neji felt a pain in his chest for the loss of the place. He had not particularly liked the spiciness of the food but Karashi and Sansho had been kind enough to tone down the spice when he came to visit with Lee.
He had watched as Ranmaru grew up until his children took up the majority of the time but Lee had given him many reports. Hell, the three had come to Lee's wedding and made an immense pot of the Curry of Life that knocked half those in attendance onto the floor because of its spiciness. Lee had loved it.
Now, the restaurant had been destroyed and the location of the occupants unknown along with the location of Lee and Metal. Neji took a deep breath and let it out slowly, scanning the area for any kind of clue. Bits of pots, pans, wood, and other parts of the place were scattered around the area. He spotted a picture in a broken frame of the three with Lee, Metal, and Yusa taken sometime last year.
A photo album lay near it, pages open to reveal more pictures of the six, all posed in front of a timed camera Neji knew Sansho owned. The camera itself lay five yards away from the album in a ruined heap. If Sansho was alive it would break her heart to see her home, her memories, and her life as annihilated as it was.
If Sansho was alive.
The destruction around him spoke volumes and no civilian would have survived such an assault if someone had come looking for Ranmaru. Why blow up the restaurant when Ranmaru had never been trained as a shinobi? His defenses might have helped for a few moments but the man (28 now, Kami how time passed) had not learned how to fight shinobi.
Karashi, almost forty, might have been able to defend for a few moments and even Sansho at sixty-five would have done something to protect her well being. They would not have lasted long by any stretch of the word. Ranmaru would have been taken and the restaurant destroyed to be rid of witnesses.
But where did it leave Lee? This had happened long ago, at least sometime in the past six months as every bit of what used to be the shop had either gone moldy or rusted from time exposed to the elements. Why no passing traveler had mentioned it stunned Neji as well but most civilians saw an obviously shinobi destroyed place then avoided it as if it had a plague for their safety. Few would inform anyone besides their civilian friends or family and eventually no one would come down this path.
Lee would have seen this and come back to Konoha. Someone had stopped him. Stopping Lee was next to impossible especially since Metal would have been involved and Lee tended to get ridiculously powerful when it came to protecting his precious people.
"Well?" Sasuke asked.
Neji loathed being on a team with the man but had to push this emotion aside for Lee's sake. Neji turned to stare at the Uchiha as Kiba and Akamaru sniffed around the area.
"This happened sometime in the past six months, too old for me to see any footprints or other details the shinobi would have unintentionally left behind. I see no bodies though but I can tell Lee may not have made it this far. There are no signs of a struggle in the area that would indicate he fought off enemy shinobi," Neji said.
"Yeah, I'm not picking up his scent either," Kiba mentioned.
"He wouldn't have come from the path we took," Sakura said.
Neji inclined his head in agreement. Lee would have come from the opposite direction as he had been coming from Suna. They would have to leave this mess behind so they could attempt to find Lee.
"Then let's keep moving," Sasuke said.
Neji let out a breath and took a moment to pick up the picture in its broken frame. The others said nothing as he took the picture out of the frame and tucked it into his bag for safekeeping. They took off down the path Lee had to have taken from Suna.
Every step brought more worry to Neji's heart. The further they came from the former shop, the more Neji's heart clenched and his stomach coiled into a knot. He saw it before everyone else. At the edge of his vision field came the signs of the struggle they looked for.
"Seven hundred and fifty meters ahead: craters from Lee and Metal's attacks," Neji said.
The group nodded and they sped up. Neji scanned the area as it was revealed to him bit by bit. Kami, Lee could tear up a place when he had the mind and need to. Bodies of Rain shinobi littered the ground, dozens with their heads smashed in or chests caved into nothing. Broken limbs, snapped spines, every hit showcased the frailness of the human body under an assault from a force known as a Green Beast.
Neji stumbled when he caught sight of the giant crater in the middle of the path. His eyes began to sting but he swallowed down the emotion in his throat. Kami, let his eyes be wrong for once. Please.
Neji overtook the others and ignored their shouts after him. They would catch up in moments but Neji wanted, needed, to see for himself. He landed in the crater and turned off his dojutsu. Color came back to him which made the scene at his feet worse.
Lee lay in the middle of the crater on his back, eyes closed with his green suit torn in multiple places, not from weapons but from opening the Seventh Gate. Both arms hung at his side at awkward angles and his right leg had gained a second knee from a break in his shin. Lee's entire body showed the stress of opening the Seventh Gate: burn marks from the heat of his own blood, misplaced muscles from over-pushing his limits, and bruises from where he had hit an enemy with a body part so hard.
Lee's knuckles on both hands were shattered which left his hands a crumpled mess of tissue and muscle. Blood had flowed to leave Lee in a congealed puddle. He had been lying here like this for at least three days. Metal was nowhere in sight.
Neji bent until his knees hit the ground beside Lee's right side. He placed a hand on Lee's cheek and felt the heat of Lee's flesh, rendered as such because of the sun. The faintest whisper of breath tickled across Neji's thumb and he let out a little breath. Alive but injured to the point where it might not matter.
"Oh Kami,"
Neji saw the others had made it to the crater. Sakura held both hands in front of her mouth as her green eyes teared up. Kiba snarled as his eyes became damp while Akamaru whined low. Sasuke bowed his head and closed his eyes.
"He is alive," Neji said.
Sakura was opposite him a moment later, hands lit green with her healing chakra as she applied it to Lee's body. Neji removed his hand and turned on his Byakugan. He had to find some trace of Metal.
The issue with having a father and son with the same battle style was Neji could not tell which crater or broken body had been made by which Green Beast. He did spot a trail of blood, a few drops here and there which led into the forest.
"Kiba, there is a path of blood," Neji said.
Kiba followed him as Neji pointed it out. Kiba took a sniff then scowled.
"Metal,"
Neji held back his wince then followed Kiba while Sasuke stayed with Sakura. Neji did not have to tell Kiba where the blood was as the man could smell it now but they kept going deeper into the trees. Neji did not enjoy the thought of this.
His eyes picked up corpses at the edge of his vision field and he took off with Kiba falling into step beside him. Neji gritted his teeth when he saw what sat in the middle of the corpses. He took a breath through his nose to attempt to calm his pattering heart but it did not help as much as he had hoped.
Metal lay on the ground like his father though not as injured. A few broken ribs, a broken arm, and a cracked knee cap along with bruises and jammed fingers were what Metal suffered from. Kneeling beside him was Ranmaru, pushing his chakra into Metal's limp body.
Ranmaru wore bandages around his eyes, a tattered pair of deep blue pants, and a bloodstained shirt that had at some point been white. His pale purple hair, normally neatly held in at the back of his head in a pony tail was a mess of tangles to his middle back, covered in grime and dried blood. He bore bruises, scrapes, cuts, and other minor injuries over his exposed arms and face.
Metal's heart beat but not powerfully. Neji could tell the boy had been revived by the man they had been looking for which meant Metal had succumbed to some internal injury moments before. Neji switched vision fields and spotted the internal injury: ruptured aorta likely from the pressure of pumping blood to a body that had over used the Gates.
The strain had likely come a few days ago and kept building until the aorta simply could not take it anymore. Luckily Ranmaru had found Metal or Konoha would be down a second Green Beast permanently. Neji stopped beside Ranmaru, fascinated as the man's chakra slid out of his form and into Metal's to heal the aorta and keep Metal alive.
"Neji," Ranmaru rasped.
Neji knelt beside Ranmaru but did not touch him. There were so many unknowns about the man's dojutsu Neji did not know if placing a hand on him would hinder the healing process.
"Rain Shinobi, dozens of them, killed Karashi and Sansho then took me to their base. He took my eyes. They were going to kill me back at the shop so it looked like I died there but Lee and his son attacked. I tried to help but,"
"It is fine. You are doing what you can," Neji said.
Neji could see the strain this healing put on Ranmaru. The man would not live past this day. Neji noted Kiba had taken off to get Sakura here. Perhaps she could heal Metal so Ranmaru did not have to sacrifice his life. She had two minutes.
"Who took your eyes?" Neji asked.
"Don't know his name. He was tall, pale, long dark hair, amber eyes like a snake with all these black marks around them. He looked much too young to be able to do what he could and hissed his 's' sounds like a snake. I thought he was a woman at first,"
Orochimaru.
Neji clenched his hand into a fist then realized something of vital importance. No one else had heard Ranmaru's description of the man to back Neji up. Neji clenched his fists in frustration as Metal's aorta healed completely and he began to live without assistance with Ranmaru.
Ranmaru stopped the healing and started to fall forward. Neji caught him, cradling him gently, and Ranmaru smiled up at him. Neji said nothing as Ranmaru lightly touched the side of Neji's face as if trying to gauge his expression.
Ranmaru's chakra was weak, dangerously so. If Sakura did not get here soon she would have no one to save. Neji did not see her near his vision field. He cursed fate and held Ranmaru a little bit hard.
"Here to save me again," Ranmaru said with a light laugh.
"I try," Neji said.
"He wants to take over Konoha,"
"The man who took your eyes?"
"No, the one he works for,"
The one Orochimaru worked for. Orochimaru never worked for anyone but himself or his interests. What in the Hell was happening? Ranmaru coughed but Sakura hit the edges of his vision field, alone. Neji let out a breath of relief.
"Sakura is coming, hang on a bit longer," Neji said.
Ranmaru kept smiling but did not respond. Neji saw his chakra paths still moving, his heart still beating and willed Sakura to hurry the Hell up. Occasionally Neji hated being able to see so far off. This happened to be one of those times.
Metal coughed and Neji glanced to his god-son. Metal opened his eyes, squinting in pain and Neji frowned. Sakura hit the bushes and stilled.
"Ranmaru first, he is a witness to much," Neji said.
Sakura nodded and Neji placed Ranmaru on the ground softly. He took a deep breath then another as Sakura applied her chakra. Neji went to Metal who stared up at him in agony. Neji wished he could take the injuries away. He could do nothing but kneel beside the teen and hold his hand.
Eventually Sakura proclaimed Ranmaru was healed enough to be moved safely. Neji lifted Ranmaru into a piggy back position and Ranmaru chuckled. Neji tried not to think of how Ranmaru had been carted around in much the same way for a long while over twenty years ago.
Sakura lifted Metal in a bridal carry and again her hands glowed so she could walk as she healed Metal. They joined up with Kiba and Sasuke who had gotten Lee onto a make-shift stretcher. The trip back to Konoha would be long but they would be bringing back living shinobi and the witness to how little Orochimaru had changed.
Sometimes Neji loathed being right.
As if I would kill off Lee or his son. Jeez. Orochimaru working for someone? *whistles innocently* Till next time: reviews welcome.