Roots
.
-Chapter Twenty-Eight-
.
.
.
"I took you out of that hole!"
Temari's words echoed in his head. Oh how wrong she was. He was deeper than ever in the abyss.
He felt despair taking over.
He ran thru the forest. The symbol on his left arm pressing hard against his skin. The more he got closer to Yumegakure's ground the more he felt the Root tattoo burn. He clenched his mouth, trying really hard to resist the pain. The damn chakra connection felt unstable. He could feel how Neji's chakra struggled to adapt to the new chakra that had invaded his body.
Shikamaru blinked hard. There in front of him stood the entrance to Yumegakure.
He had finally arrived.
He turned his attention to a large building not so far from him.
But, there was not relief when he turned his attention to the giant temple. He saw only three pillars standing. There was supposed to be five.
"Fuck..." He narrowed his eyes.
Shikamaru almost fell to his knees as the pain the Root symbol pressed harder than ever against his skin. That was the the signal that the Hyuga meters away. At the thought he shook his head and regained composure.
He began to run again.
It was absurd how the anxious sensation in his chest began to feel like a heaviness he couldn't shake off. He knew he had to expect something bad. He was left with nothing but to pray that he could do something, fix whatever had happened to Neji. He was unable to fix the Hyuga in the war. But, here was a chance to redeem his mistakes. His attempts to solve anything were never enough. An yet, he could only cling to hope.
He felt his heavy breathing and his exhausted body giving up. But, no his heart.
He pushed harder.
Then he hesitated abruptly. His eyes catching the image of giant pillars destroyed. A horrifying silence, and finally a putrid smell.
His knees began to shake. But knowing who was inside made his feet move towards the Temple without his control. He walked slowly, a step at the time. Going up the stairs. Then it hit him.
The fresh smell of blood.
He gave another step, and paused when he stepped in something rigid.
"What the hell-"
He met with a dead corpse.
"What-"
He stepped inside the temple. felt a dread when he watched a lake of blood and young corpses. It was unnatural. So twisted and gory at the same time.
The Root symbol burnt with more intensity.
That was the signal. Neji was in the Temple.
He began walking. Noticed the garments that the dead women wore. The same white kimono Hana had worn. The reminder of Hana made him nauseous. He had ripped every part of her without mercy. A hatred so intense had taken over him, knowing full well what Hana had done to him. She had ignited his anger. And there was no stop when she had told him what was to be done with Neji.
He felt no remorse. And that scared the hell out of himself.
His mayor regret was leaving a confused and broken Temari under the burning forest. Of course, he had abandoned her under hell fire while his stupid brain didn't know how to handle all the chaos that was happening. He only knew that Neji was in danger.
Temari wouldn't trust his reasoning after all she had sacrificed to pull him back. And like always, he had paid her with a bitter betrayal to her gratitude.
With each body he tried to evade, the more the chaos presented itself. God knows how Neji still handled all that monstrous chakra in his body. And Shikamaru was dying to know how much longer the poor Hyuga could take.
At the thought, Shikamaru hurried his pace. He was only able to see little, the only light that illuminated his way was the brilliance of the moon.
He saw something in the center of the Temple.
He heard drops falling in the lake of blood.
Drip...drip...drip.
He went cold. It wasn't a thing.
It was Neji.
His heart sunk.
The air became so unbearable to breathe. And yet, he let out a small gasp.
The sound attracted Neji's attention, he noticed the Hyuga's body flinch. That sole movement caused him to tremble in anticipation. The Byakugan-user turned his head.
He never expect it. But, deep down he knew this was gonna be the outcome.
Neji looked dead inside. His body was so rigid, the emotionless look was harder to swallow.
All his hair soaked in dark red, droplets of his long mane falling into the lake creating a horrendous echo that vibrated thru the deadly silence of the Temple. He stood in the center of the temple, piles of bodies surrounding him. No nightmare or imaginary hells could compare to this moment. This monstrous image that played in front of him. It twisted every sense and emotion so brutally. Stripping him away of everything.
But, what condemned him more was that he couldn't break the eye contact with Neji.
It was tearing apart the little hope he had left.
Neji's orbs penetrated him.
His eyes were different. A deep red glaring at him, telling him the damage was done. And there was the other pale orb. Giving a light sign of hope.
His body began to shake.
Neji moved closer.
Every step Neji took made something in his chest hurt more and more. The closeness was tearing him up.
"N-no...fucking no." He flinched as something cold pressed against his left cheek. Neji's palm touching his skin. "You bastard...I warned you...I-I warned you."
The touch killed him oh so slowly. It made all his reason vanish . He was so vulnerable to the old scar that Neji had left the day he had died in the war, Shikamaru never thought he could tear open that wound again.
He looked deeper in those eyes. He was unable to see any life in them.
"Neji...speak..." He smiled bitterly. "Dammit...Say something."
The crude silence that came from the Hyuga killed his last hope.
Then Neji began to step away. Slolwy taking a familiar stance. Shikamaru remained still. Until it hit him, literally. Neji's fists almost reached him. Until someone blocked Neji's attack.
"LION FIST!"
Hinata's fist connected to Neji's face.
She stood between them. Her words left a guilty charge on his heart.
"I'm sorry. I failed."
Shikamaru saw Neji transferring chakra to his palms. Then the Root symbol began to burn. He felt it. He felt Neji's chakra on him. He felt the cursed chakra thru the Root connection.
His mind began to work.
He had access to Neji's new chakra.
Thanks for reading!
Sorry for any grammatical/Spelling errors.
Author's note: First of all. Its been a long time. This chapter was hard to approach. I think reading Edgar Allan Poe somehow took me off that long Writing block. All I can say we got few chapters and we will reach the end. Oh boy, this fanfic has been with me thru many events in my life. To think I didn't took it too serious at the beginning. Thanks really to you guys for reading all the way up to here.