Story by: Iamghost

Disclaimer: i do not own Naruto or any of its characters

A week had passed.

The redhead was staring at the ceiling, bored beyond comprehension. He had tried to stand up from the bed a thousand times, only to stumble back, with reopened wounds and protesting body, so he had opted to just lay down and wait for someone to go and give him something to do or at least talk to him, but his wish was not granted, for he was all alone in that bloody room for the rest of the day.

The sun was already setting, bathing the small room in an orange glow. He folded his arms behind his head and tried, maybe for the thousandth time, to remember anything, but it seemed that his brain was blank, empty, devoid of one single thought that could lead him even to discover his name or why the hell he was all bruised.

Finally, his ears perked up when he heard steps and he hoped it was the brunette with a new plant to grind in his mortar and more clean bandages to clean his wounds and redressed them, but his hope was shattered when a young woman darted in, her face hidden with her short black hair.

He sat up on the bed, his eyes wide with curiosity. He had seen the girl many times before, she always brought him delicious food but she never said anything, let alone dare to look him in the eyes. She would always walk in; put the dish in his nightstand and leave. Was she just shy?

"Hey…" the redhead said, trying to gain the attention from the silent girl. Said girl turned around and stared blankly at him. Her eyes reminded him of the nameless boy…the only difference was that his eyes were lighter and had a lilac hue in them.

"y-Yes?" she stuttered, a pink flush engulfing her face. "I just want to thank you and your family for keeping care of me" he said, a gentle and true smile tugging at his lips softly. "And if there's a way I can repay you…" he trailed off, uncertain o f what to offer, because he didn't know if he was poor before he lost his memory, he didn't want to disappoint them and he surely didn't want to be a burden.

There was something like torment and regret in those shy eyes, he was not sure if he had imagined it though, because as soon as it had settled it disappeared, masked with indifferent cheeriness. "Don't worry; maybe when you're completely healed you could help us with the maintenance of the farm" she said in her sweet voice before bowing and leaving the room. The redhead sighed. The last thing he wanted was to make uncomfortable his food supplier. He just wanted to stark a conversation, but it seemed that somehow he had managed to offend her.

He stood up carefully, making sure to not reopen any upset injury and limped towards the window, trying to see anything else but wood. He was tired of dull brown sceneries.

There was a moderately long patch of dark soil where small sprouts peeked its way out to the shinning sun, a lake with a watermill, an empty stable, two barns and a bickering flock of chickens chased down by a small little girl with long dark hair. He smiled; maybe it wasn't a bad idea to stay a bit longer.

Just as he was about to flop down again on the bed, he saw the nameless boy walking down the road towards the watermill, carrying a large bowl with him in which he took water greedily before disappearing at the backdoor of the house.

The redhead quickly threw himself in the bed, wincing when his injuries protested, but his heart was beating fast and he was smiling contently, for he was sure that he was going to see the unidentified boy again.

Neji walked into the kitchen, throwing the bowl of fresh water into the dining table. "Go and cure the redhead" he commanded, not looking directly at the woman kneeling in front of a stone oven, preparing what appeared to be mutton. "I'm preparing diner, go and help the man yourself" the brunette narrowed his eyes with displeasure and Hanabi, who had been playing with the pretty shells she had collected from the river was staring at both of them with sudden apprehension. The atmosphere had turned tense, but gladly for both the man only tensed his jaw, picked up the bucket of water and left, showing his discontentment by shutting the door hard. "Sister…" the little girl said feebly, her pretty grey eyes holding tears, when the short haired girl turned around to face her with a questioning look, Hanabi threw herself at her, holding her close. "Why is cousin acting so weird lately?" Hinata closed her eyes and played with her little sister's hair, trying to calm her down. "Death changed him" the little girl buried her face in her sister's comforting arms, feeling content and protected. "Is there a way to make him happy again?" Hinata wiped away her sister's tears, and she asked herself the very same question before falling to the painful conclusion. "No if the redhead stays any longer" with those words spoken she turned around and paid attention to the mutton. The last thing she wanted was the mutton to have ashes and her sneering cousin telling her that she couldn't even prepare a decent diner.
He was not sure if it was alright to be feeling this way, if it was alright for him to be admiring so shamelessly the beautiful boy, but even if it was wrong, he couldn't help but stare.

"it seems that your wounds have healed perfectly…you should be able to leave tomorrow if you want" the brunette said, a look of concentration marring his face as he took away the last bloodied bandage before replacing them with clean ones.

The redhead's eyes widened with fright and apprehension. He didn't want to leave yet…if he did, where would he go? What will he do without his memories? "I want to stay a few more days…" he explained, trying not to sound too desperate. "I mean, I still want to repay you all for your kindness...I would be glad to help in the barn" he trailed off, staring at the white bed sheets that somehow had entangled around his legs. The boy in question merely raised a delicate eyebrow at him. "I'll ask father when he returns home" the redhead's eyes glimmered with renewed hope and he said a few thank you's until the boy decided to go. "If you need anything you can go out to the kitchen, there's always someone in there-" "wait" the redhead exclaimed, grasping the brunette's attention. "What's your name?" with a mere quirk of an eyebrow and a small "Neji" as an answer, the boy turned around and left, capturing the attention of the mesmerized redhead, who was now enraptured by the movements of his hair as it fell over his shoulders like ink on the finest parchment.

The redhead was not a fool. The fact that he had lost his memory didn't mean that he had lost his better judgment and conscience. He was sure that that strange attraction towards the other male was not something good. In fact it was quite the opposite. He should be by now hitting himself with the nearest object around, or trying to think in other things, such as women and food and manly matters…

The redhead growled with despair and annoyance. His better judgment and conscience be damned. He just wanted to kill himself. He rather wished to confront that dishonor than being mentally troubled for the rest of his life, but here he was, whispering that name over and over again, a remnant of a smile curling his lips into a small smile.

When had his masculinity decided to abandon him so recklessly?

"The Normans offered me a very tempting fee for the redhead, but I decided to wait until they're desperate enough to pay more than the accorded" father said to his audience, consisting of a little girl playing with his ragdoll, an indifferent young woman serving dinner and a young man that was actually paying attention to him.

"About that matter, uncle Hiashi…the warrior is completely healed by now and he should be able to leave, but I convinced him into staying a bit longer; he even asked me if he could help us with chores, he's so desperate…but actually I think it would be a great idea to have another pair of hands to help us with the cattle and sheep." The impassive brunette said, gaining the attention of his uncle and the disapproving eye of Hinata, who, afraid to be smacked again for her "insolence" bit her tongue and refrained of doing anything that might upset them. Foolish men, they thought they were the only ones graced with brains, she angrily thought to herself while cutting bread aggressively.

After a while of thinking carefully the older man approved for their guest to help with chores, if the chores only consisted of helping in the Hyuuga grounds. He didn't want to have the misfortune of someone recognizing the infamous redhead.

"You will be the one responsible for the redhead; you need to be around him as much as you can and do not, I repeat, DO NOT let the redhead interact with outsiders. Understood?" the young man nodded courteously, but that didn't assure that he was very devoted and thrilled by the idea of being too near to the despicable redhead at all; but he had to, for his family's sake.

Hiashi was drinking a glass of cheap wine, a content smile gracing his usually grim face. If the Normans happened to raise the payment his family would have enough money again to consider themselves as rich as they were once. His smile turned into a nasty sneer. But oh, what an irony, he thought, for the very same redhead that had sent them into poverty all those years ago was going to make them rich again, filthy rich.

AN: i love reviews, they are my life source...so click that pretty little button, smile and tell me if you like it or not. (i hope it is the first one)