Chapter 14: "New Additions (2)"

A faint smile played across Neji's face, as he led his little group down the halls of Shishio's fortress. He absentmindedly twisted a section of the shinobi zue, making the hidden blade slide back and forth. Turning a corner, Neji blinked and his smile disappeared as he saw Houji opening the door to the training room.

Neji's snuck up behind Shishio's right hand man, his zori making no sound on the wooden floor. Peering around Houji, Neji saw a very dead soldier hanging from the rafters with a sword and a spear stabbed clear through him. He then glanced to the side and saw Shishio standing in his purple kimono, his sword by his side.

"Shishio-sama," Houji began stepping forwards as the soldier was suddenly slashed in half. "The sword . . . left the scabbard . . .?" Houji finished, half-murmuring to himself.

'He doesn't train, yet his speed is still the same,' Neji thought to himself, hiding the blade again. 'Sugoi, Shishio-sama. Yumi-nechan, don't worry, he~ ' Neji blinked as Houji flinched, as the sound of sizzling meat filled the room. Neji's black eyes flashed up as the soldier's upper half burst into orange flames.

"Homura Dama, it's been a while since I saw that," Neji murmured, making Houji flinch again and turn around. The teen smirked at the expression on the older man's face before stepping into the room forwards and bowing slightly to Shishio.

"What'd he do, Shishio-sama?" Neji asked, peering at the charred corpse on the floor. "To deserve that?" Neji grinned.

"I caught him trying to steal a sword," Shishio replied, a slight smirk on his face as well. He turned to his nervous assistant. "Did you want anything, Houji?"

"Ye-," Houji cleared his throat and shook his head to clear his surprise, "Yes. I received word of Neji's return but . . ."

"I got here first?" Neji added, grinning. Ignoring the glare Houji sent him, Neji stepped forwards and pushed the carcass out of the way with the shinobi zue. "I just got back a few minutes ago, Shishio-sama, and I brought all of the Juppon Katana from Eastern Japan."

Neji stepped to the side to allow those following him to enter the room. Shishio walked towards them and smirked. "It's been a while, Anji. Have you completed your training?"

"Yes," Anji replied shortly, his black-rimmed eyes not changing in the slightest. Shishio nodded slightly and moved his gaze onto the black clad man next to the monk.

"Henya, I've been waiting for you. Your skills haven't gotten rusty, have they?" Shishio asked.

The flap of material tied around the small man's lower face moved slightly as the man exhaled. "Hardly." Another small nod, and Shishio was opposite of the short, fat man with a huge grin on his stupid face.

"Iwanbou, you look as stupid as ever," Shishio said, looking down on the man. The grin spread wider on Iwanbou's fat face. Neji shook his head and sighed.

'Fools like this want to protect Shishio-sama?' Neji thought as Iwanbou scratched his stomach. 'Foolishness, they wouldn't last a minute against Battousai.'

"Gufu." Neji sweatdropped.

The bandaged man then turned to the man in the white trench coat. "And you . . . you're the first outsider to enter this fortress. Welcome." Aoshi turned to face Shishio and his glare didn't change.

"Let me say this now, I'm here only for information on Battousai," Aoshi said, darkly, "I have no intention of working for you." Once again, Aoshi made no reaction even when Neji, Houji, and Henya turned to glare at him.

'Is he such a fool? Or just foolish enough to believe he can fight all of us?' Neji thought, a dark glare fixed on Aoshi's face. 'I'll destroy him myself.' Neji slowly moved his footing to a fighting stance.

Shishio stroked his chin with one black-gloved hand. "Well, that should be fine." Henya and Houji blinked and turned to face their master, Neji continued facing the Okashira but his dark eyes flickered to rest on his master. "I have a little theory about you. Everyone has his or her own position in life. There are those born to lead, those born to follow, and those, incompatible with anyone, born to live alone.

I don't need someone like you working for me. Someone who keeps to themselves is the key to dissolving an organization. But I like you. So what are we going to do? I could offer you information about Battousai or~"

"~Or, I could help you destroy Battousai," Aoshi replied, glaring at Shishio. Neji blinked and looked around at his fellow Juppon Katana. They were in a semi-circle shape, starting with Shishio opposite of Aoshi and curving in his direction.

'Shishio-sama has his sword but, I doubt he'll enjoy having to destroy this fool by himself,' Neji thought, fingering the section of the shinobi zue. Letting the shinobi zue slide from his shoulder as naturally as possible, Neji prepared for the attack. 'This time~'

"Don't be impatient. You can fight Battousai purely of your own free will. You'll be doing it for us both," Shishio added, his smirk not diminishing.

"In other works, not as your underling, but your equal."

Neji frowned as a silence fell in the room. 'Damn Shinomori! Does he want us to kill him?'

"Do you have news of Battousai?" Aoshi asked, still staring at Shishio, who turned to glance shortly at Houji.

"After his fight with Chou, we haven't heard anything . . ." Houji said after a pause. Aoshi exhaled slightly and turned towards the door.

"Then I have no need to speak with you."

Neji blinked as he remembered something. "There's one clue," Neji said, making the man stop dead in his tracks and turn to glare at him. He smirked back calmly. "The old man that you met before, Shinomori, wouldn't he be in contact with Himura? We could get information if we attacked the Aoiya and tortured him."

[Flashback]

Neji leant in the dark alleyway, his dark blue gi against the wooden walls. He turned his head slightly to gaze upon the cloth-covered benches of a outside café. An old man with a walking stick came up to one of the low, knee height benches and sat down. A smirk spread across Neji's face as he saw Aoshi come and lean against one of the café's posts.

'Damn, I can't hear them clearly . . .' Neji thought, straining to hear their conversation through the idle chattering of passer byers and shop owners. 'But, that old man . . . isn't he . .'

Aoshi's eye narrowed slightly and he raised his sword just as slightly. Neji blinked and fled back into the alleyway. 'Kuso, he has good senses. Maybe . . . he would be useful to Shishio-sama?' Neji thought to himself, walking down the dark alleyway and sensing his three companions up ahead.

"Shall we go greet the Okashira?" Neji asked, a smirk on his face.

[End Flashback]

The others had fallen silent. Neji twirled the shinobi zue around. "Well?"

"Hmm. If that's true . . . well, what are you going to do, Okashira?" Shishio asked, glancing at the man who was silent for a few moments.

"I don't care." Aoshi said flatly, making Neji raise his eyebrows. "Battousai's death is my all." Neji smiled inwardly at the triumphant look in Shishio's eyes, then wondered when Anji closed his eyes.

'It's like . . . he's praying for Aoshi?' Neji thought, before being broke out of his thoughts by Shishio.

"We have an alliance then." Shishio said. "Neji, find him a room." Neji nodded and rested the shinobi zue on his shoulder once again.

"Follow me, Shinomori." The young man turned the corner and walked off, the silent trench-coated figure trailing behind him. Neji walked slowly, trying to listen to the final conversation between Houji and Shishio.

"Houji, choose the soldiers for the attack on the Aoiya. The rest of you are free to go." Shishio ordered, starting to walk off. Houji nodded and followed his master down the hallway.

"Shishio-sama . . . is this right?"

"What?"

"Is this right? He's . . . certainly very strong, but it seems as though he once betrayed his comrade." Houji said tentatively. "He looks at people like he was destroying them. . ."

Shishio slowed down slightly then turned to face Houji. "It's fine." A smirk appeared on his burnt face. "We'll be doing some destroying of our own." Neji grinned as he quickened his pace.

"Right here, Shinomori." Neji turned to bow slightly to the man, showing him the room, with his face as deadpan as the Okashira's.

END

Only gonna make 2 notes this time . . .

note 1 - in the anime Shishio hacks a piece of meat (beef?) hanging from the rafters instead of the dead soldier, which I think is . . . stupid to say the least ~glares at animators~ I doubt Shishio would spend his time slicing meat! Grrrrrrr . . . its really stupid! Who hangs meat and slashes it with a sword? Da dead body isn't dat graphic! . . . well maybe when it gets cut in half but . . . a chunk of meat?? O_O gomen . . ranting I think

Note 2 - I dun really have high opinion of iwanbou or Houji . . . so if I call iwanbou "the fat idiot" or anything like dat . . . sorry ne ^^; an Houji he kinda annoys me . . .

Kurtain - etto . . . ~holds up hands~ gomen kurtain-san but am not good at writin romance fics . . . also dat if other ppl dun like sou/Misao relationship they'll get angry at me ^^; ne . . . that sounds like a good fic, but not for me to write ~sweatdrops~ u want to try it? ~not bein sarcastic~

Craz_psycho - thanks for likin neji :P an also for da review ne? ^^

Lord Cirenmas - thank u for da review cirenmas-san ^_^