Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Duh.
Summary: A battered boy is found in the woods during the course of a mission and placed in Neji's care. But this boy may be more than he first appears as secrets Konoha tried to bury come to light.
Building Trust
By: TailFear
Chapter 01: The Boy in the Woods
The sun beat down from high overhead, making the late fall day unusually warm as the rays filtered through the dense canopy to create moving dappled patterns on the forest floor. A few leaves fluttered to the ground, swirling up in the wake of the rapid footsteps moving in their midst as three people darted through the trees.
Neji held up one hand, a signal to stop, and slowed down, white eyes searching the surroundings for whatever had made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. A simple thought activated his bloodline limit, veins pulsing around his eyes as the doujutsu enhanced his sight in every direction. His two teammates came to a stop behind him, concealing their presence amidst the leaves as he methodically searched for anything out of place in the afternoon light.
There, sparkling in the dappled light were bright drops of crimson blood splashed across the dead leaf litter of the forest floor, magnified and gleaming. It was fresh, still seeping into the ground as it trailed away from their position in an awkward weaving line. Dried blood wasn't a cause for concern, but fresh blood was, especially fresh blood leading away from where the target of their mission was rumored to be staying.
A few hand signals and the others spread out, following him as he deviated away from their original course to follow the splatters trailing though the forest. A few times the trail thinned and they had to stop for a moment until it could be picked up again, Neji casting around the leaf litter for signs of a body passing through.
"Neji, what if we run into someone dangerous who is bleeding for a reason?" Tenten's voice crackled over their wireless communication units, tension lacing her words.
"We're shinobi. If we can't avoid being spotted and harmed then we aren't fit for our position."
Both the weapons expert and taijutsu specialist looked at each other doubtfully but dropped the subject, knowing that their teammate could see them without even turning his head.
Soon the splatters were larger than drops, giving them a strong trail that didn't seem to be giving out anytime soon unless they ran across the body. Neji raised a hand and they slowed, keeping a careful eye on the surroundings as the trail came to an end. The object of their search was somewhere close; probably hiding under one of the large bushes scattered throughout the small clearing.
Once again Neji used his bloodline limit, casting about the small clearing until he found what he was looking for under the largest bush on the far side of the clearing. A scrap of cloth was sticking out near the roots, as was a bloodied hand. Neji signaled to the others, then approached, flanked by his teammates in case of an attack. They waited until they were almost directly over the bush before dropping to the ground, barely making a sound in the dry leaf litter that covered the forest floor.
From the ground it was easier to see the body half wedged under the large bush. Apparently the person had tried to shove themself as far under the bush as they could get, but had passed out half way. The three shinobi crept forward, continually on the alert, but no attack came from the body or the surrounding area. Once Neji was close enough he leaned down and shook the body, and when he received no response flipped the body over.
It was a boy, a short blond boy with dirty clothes, shaggy hair, and blood splattered everywhere across his body. Neji's eyes hardened as Tenten joined him, leaving Lee as their only lookout as the two started to look the boy over. There were a few bruises on his cheeks, arms, and what they could see of his legs and hands as well as on his chest. Blood was splattered all over his body and leaking from one of his sides, his knuckles and a split lip as well as covering his hands, some of his forearms, and his face.
"Someone worked him over well. I'm not even sure how he made it this far," Tenten whispered, eyes hardening with anger. "He won't make it unless we take him back to the village with us."
"We're in the middle of a mission," Neji said, his bloodline ability still active as he examined the boy's chakra pathways. There was a disturbance around the boy's stomach, but he couldn't figure out what could be causing the disturbance or the imbalance in the boy's chakra itself.
"It won't take all three of us to complete this mission. One of us could stay behind with the boy as lookout while the other two finish up," Lee suggested, keeping his eyes away from his partners as he continued to scan the area for enemies.
Neji and Tenten shared a look for a moment before looking back down at the boy. After a second Neji nodded and Tenten moved forward, gently scooping the boy up into her arms as she and her teammates returned to the trees. He was larger than he had looked on the ground, taller but not heavier, upping Tenten's first estimate of his age.
They followed the blood trail back to where Neji had first spotted it, then continued on to their destination, which happened to be a large hut set deep in the woods with only one small overgrown path leading to it. It was a simple track and kill mission to take out a small group of drug dealers that also had a reputation for kidnapping and selling young girls and boys.
The woods surrounding the hut were silent, making the hairs on the back of their necks stand up as the approached what was supposed to be a bustling center of criminal activity. When the initial scouting mission report came back empty Neji signaled to Lee and they dropped to the ground, picking their way through the undergrowth as they approached the seemingly empty hut. The cawing of a crow stopped them in their tracks and gave them enough time to disappear into the vegetation before two shady looking characters walking up to the hut could catch a glimpse of them.
"Where are Ashitaka and Shiro?" the shorter of the two asked, sneering in disdain at the apparent lack of people populating the hut.
"Probably boozed up with Takeda over one of those teens," the taller said, rolling his eyes at the idea, even though he'd participated a few nights before.
Neji and Lee shared a look before trailing the two through the undergrowth. A few moments later there were two thumps as the men dropped to the ground, necks snapped at an odd angle. The two shinobi ghosted through the brush the rest of the way to the hut, stopping in the doorway in order to listen for sounds of anyone moving inside. Neji nodded and they entered, opening the door quickly for the element of surprise.
The door swung open, but Neji and Lee didn't follow. They stood in the doorway in a state of shock as they got a look at the inside of the hut. Blood was smeared everywhere, splashed on the walls and floor and pooling under two dead bodies that seemed to be partially torn to pieces. Slowly they entered, keeping their eyes open for the third man that the dead men outside had made reference to, but they only found more blood, dirty magazine, drugs, and a few rusty weapons.
"Watanabe, Mitochi?" the voice was reedy with fear and came from the man hidden away under a dingy sink. Neji and Lee made eye contact before advancing, slowly moving into place as the man crawled out from under the sink, lifting his head to search the area before crawling out even further. He let out a sigh when he had fully emerged and found himself alone, only to let out a strangled scream as Neji and Lee materialized beside him. "You aren't Wata-"
His shout was cut off by a kunai in his throat as he fell backwards, dead by the time he hit the floor. Neji and Lee shared another look before quickly leaving and heading back to where Tenten was positioned as lookout with the boy, their targets dead.
"Is the mission complete?" Tenten asked, her voice crackling across their headsets as her teammates approached.
"The mission is complete, but it looked like someone got to two of the targets before we arrived," Neji said, watching the terrain as they headed further away from the hut.
"Good, because we need to get this guy back to Konoha as soon as possible, he's still losing blood," Tenten said, watching the boy in her arms with apprehension. "I've bandaged him as much as I can, but he seems to still be bleeding heavily."
"How can he still be bleeding heavily if he left that much blood in the forest?" Lee asked, worry lacing his voice.
"I don't know, this is beyond my knowledge," Tenten admitted, momentarily looking down at the boy in her arms.
Neji appeared beside her wordlessly, looking over the limp boy in her arms as they moved from limb to limb high above the ground. After a moment the longhaired teen motioned for them to stop on a thick branch so that he could look at the boy's chakra pathways again. Tenten stood still as Neji looked at the boy, veins bulging around his eyes as he watched blue and red chakra swirl within the unconscious boy.
"He's healing," Neji said with certainty as he disengaged his technique. "He shouldn't be, but he is. I'll take him in case he wakes up and starts to fight."
Tenten nodded and handed the boy over, watching her teammate's eyes widen slightly at he size and weight of the boy before his face smoothed into its normal stoic expression. With Lee taking point and Tenten taking the rear they continued through the trees on their way back home.
"Lee, make contact with the chuunin at the gate so that we don't have to stop. We need to get this boy to the hospital as soon as possible," Neji said.
Lee saluted and sped up, becoming a bright green blur amidst the browning leaves as his two teammates kept up their own quick pace. Within minutes they reached the gates and found Lee waiting to follow them into the village.
"Tenten, Lee, you two go report. I'll take care of the boy," Neji said.
"But, Neji, we can't leave you alone with him," Tenten protested.
"I can take care of a beaten boy. Besides, he'll need somewhere to go after the medic-nin is through with him, and I'm the only one with a place of my own," Neji replied, slowing a moment so that he could face his two teammates. "Besides, I wouldn't want to put either of you in danger if this boy wakes up and goes berserk."
"Neji! The flower of your youth shines brightly for this boy! We won't let you go through this alone," Lee promised, eyes shining as they usually did when he started to get excited. "Your efforts will not be in vain!"
"Lee, just go. Meet me at the hospital when you're done," and Neji was gone, darting over the roofs in the direction of the whitewashed Konoha General Hospital, leaving Lee and Tenten to turn towards the Hokage Tower to report in and write up a mission report.
When Neji entered the Emergency Room of the Hospital chaos erupted as nurses and doctors rushed forward to take the body from his arms before asking if he was injured or if it was the other boy's blood soaking through his standard blue shirt. The Hyuuga could only watch as the boy was taken from him, strapped onto a gurney, and wheeled away as nurses stripped the boy of his clothing to try to find his wounds and stop the blood flow.
By the time Lee and Tenten arrived at the hospital the boy had been in a doctor's care for an hour, and Neji had been shown to a waiting room after he refused to go home and change, despite the blood on his uniform that was distressing the non-shinobi who were waiting. They didn't have to wait long. Tenten and Lee had only been sitting for a few minutes when a frazzled medic-nin appeared at the entrance of the waiting room, obviously looking around for someone.
"Can whomever brought the blond boy in please come here?" his voice was strained and weary, but his eyes were sharp as they ran over Neji and his teammates.
"We brought the blond in," Neji said, meeting the medic's eyes and waiting until the older man decided to talk.
"I don't know where you found him, or what you did, but he seems to be healing at an exceptional rate. He's very battered, and seems to have been abused for a long period of time, but his condition is stable and he can be removed from the hospital as soon as someone has a place for him to go. Normally I would want to keep him longer for observation, but no one seems to know who he is," the medic looked at the team seriously before continuing, "and if you just found him, as it seems, it would be best for one of you to care for him in case he wakes up and tries to fight. We don't have the facilities to deal with a berserk ninja who wakes up in unfamiliar territory."
Neji nodded, understanding where the doctor was coming from, but not liking the situation. Tenten and Lee shuffled nervously behind him, as uncomfortable with the situation as he was. The medic sighed and looked over the teens in front of him, recognizing the dilemma that this abandoned boy was causing the team of chuunin.
"I can send you home with pain pills, vitamin supplements, and a list of instructions on how to care for the boy when he wakes up. I understand that you three are working and taking missions, so I'm telling you now that this boy will take months, maybe years of work and attention to even come close resembling a normal person," the medic eyed the three of them before sighing. "Since you brought him in I can release him to you, otherwise I don't know what options are present."
Neji thought it over for a moment, eyes blank as he mulled the options over in his mind. He was the only one out of the three who could even take the boy in, Tenten and Lee both lived with their parents. Neji, on the other hand, had moved out of the Hyuuga compound around a year ago and now lived in his own small house that he had bought from an apartment landlord who had been looking to sell off his smaller rental properties because they hadn't been generating rent like the larger complexes were.
"I'll take him," Neji said after a few moments of thought. He was the only one who could take the boy. Besides, he felt sorry for the small blond. There was no reason that anyone had to go through that, especially someone as seemingly fragile as the boy was. It was also possible that the boy had come from the hut and the carnage, but with how beaten the boy was when the found him he didn't seem to be able to hurt anything at all.
"I'll need you to sign him out then, and will take the bill out of the general hospital fund that covers situations such as these," the medic said, nodding to Neji and his teammates as he went to retrieve the proper papers.
"Are you sure that you're willing to do this? We know that you are the only one with your own house, but we can help and take him home or find someone to help him," Tenten said, watching Neji as he focused on the medic's retreating back.
"No, I'm taking him," Neji said after a moment of silence. Then he frowned, "I can't leave him behind. I don't know why, but I can't. Besides, I am the only one with my own place, and I can easily take care of him if he wakes up and freaks out."
"If you need anything, just tell us and we'll be right there," Lee promised, looking up to the Hyuuga prodigy.
"He's going to need clothes, but I don't know what else from there," Neji said, frowning as he remembered how small the boy had been.
"I'll take care of clothing," Tenten offered, watching her teammate scowl. "Need anything else?"
"No, that'll do," Neji turned away from his teammates as the medic came back with a clipboard and a pen.
"Here's the release forms. I'll also be sending pain medicine and vitamin supplements home with you. Despite the boy's rapid healing he is still in an immense amount of pain due to malnutrition and a weakened system. I'm sad to say that we may have to find someone more skilled than anyone in the village to properly heal him, but for now he's stable enough to be moved home and taken care of," the medic said, taking the forms back from Neji after he'd signed them.
"Is there any possibility that this boy could be a ninja?" Tenten asked, watching the medic as he sighed and tucked the clipboard under his arms.
"He has the potential, and probably the largest store of potential chakra I've ever seen, but the doesn't have any of the normal callouses and scars associated with any kind of ninja training. He may have some knowledge or experience, but it probably shows in bursts when he feels threatened or cornered. I would say that he does have some knowledge of traps judging by some of his scars, but anything else is doubtful," the medic said, looking over the team. "Be careful, he's very much a wildcard."
Neji nodded and the medic disappeared again, leaving the team alone in strained silence until he came back with a bag that contained the pills and instructions.
"Follow me, and I'll show you to where the boy is. Normally you could wheel him around in a wheelchair, but with you being shinobi it may be hard to get a wheelchair to where you live," the medic said as he lead the team through the hospital. "I would still suggest a wheelchair, but if you could carry him without jarring him too much that would be the most convenient."
"I can carry him," Neji said.
"We've sedated him, so he shouldn't wake up for the next couple of hours. Get him settled, get him dressed, then keep an eye on him. You don't want him to wake up in an unfamiliar place and freak, so try to be there when he wakes up. Make sure you move slowly and explain the situation, otherwise he may panic anyway," the medic said as he opened the door to the boy's hospital room. "He'll need to get regular check-ups, but until we can get someone with greater knowledge that's all we can do for him. Let him set his own pace, he's got some bones that didn't heal correctly as well as lacerations and some rapidly healing minor internal bruising. Give him the pain medication only when he needs it, otherwise he could develop an addiction, which would end up even more painful in the long run. We'll be in contact concerning check-ups."
With that the medic ushered the trio inside where the dirty boy was curled up in the bedspread, face smoothed in sleep. Neji moved forward until he stood over the boy and just looked down at the figure curled in the starched white sheets.
"You'll also want to let him speak as his leisure. Don't force him, or he probably won't open up. Find out his name if you can, and his education. If he's a foreign ninja, you know what to do," the medic finished, watching Neji as he stood over the smaller boy.
"How old do you think he is?" Tenten asked quietly, watching as Lee went over to Neji and started giving enthusiastic advice.
"Probably about fifteen or sixteen. He's naturally small and slight, but malnutrition has made him appear younger than he really is. With regular meals and the vitamins he should gain back his lost weight and possibly grow a little taller. He'll look older when he cleans up as well," the medic looked at the boy and sighed. "It's sad to see someone in this condition. I hope that he doesn't cause you too many problems as he recovers."
"We'll be able to deal with any issues that may arise," Neji said, tuning out Lee's bubbling enthusiasm.
"I want to reiterate that we'd continue to keep him in the hospital, but we just aren't able to deal with the potential threat that this boy may be. So we're releasing him to you as shinobi so that you will be able to deal with any situation that may arise. If you need anything, feel free to drop by. We'll notify you as to the situation with a better medic-nin. I'm sorry to say that while we are equipped to deal with most war wounds and general situations, we aren't able to deal with the precise chakra control needed for this patient. We'll be in contact," the medic said before he sighed and left, leaving the three to take the boy and transport him to Neji's residence on their own.
The longhaired Hyuuga sighed and bent down, scooping the small figure into his arms before following his teammates out of the hospital. The boy was limp in his arms, limbs dangling over Neji's arms as the taller boy moved. Neji's movements were smooth as he moved and jumped from roof to roof, fluid as he followed his teammates over Konoha's ever-changing landscape of rebuilt and remodeled buildings.
The Hyuuga prodigy lived on the outskirts of the village proper, closer to the training fields and far enough away from other people that there was a feel of solitude to his home. He landed softly on the grass in his front yard, bending his knees in order to soften the impact so that he didn't jar the boy in his arms. Tenten had already unlocked his door and was now holding it open for him as he walked up the front steps. Lee was also inside, moving around in a green blur as he put away the pills and did something (Neji wasn't sure he wanted to know) to the guest bedroom.
"I'll be back in a few minutes with clothes," Tenten said, closing the door as soon as Neji had walked inside.
"Take some of my money, I don't want you to burden yourself," Neji said, turning to face his teammate as she started to leave.
"Nah, I've got it. Besides, we're a team, right? We aren't just going to leave you alone with this boy. I'll cover it, don't worry. See you in a few minutes."
And Tenten left, leaving Neji alone with Lee. Neji watched Tenten's retreating back for a moment before moving further into his house to deposit his new charge onto the futon in the guest bedroom. The boy just lay on the bed for a moment before sighing deeply and curling onto his side, dirt and blood rubbing onto the sheets. Neji frowned and left the room to get a bowl of warm water and a washrag, leaving Lee to whatever he was doing in the house. Sometimes it was just better to let his green partner run rampant and hope that nothing broke.
Neji frowned as he started carefully wiping some of the grime off of the smaller boy. There were strange markings on the boy's cheeks, like old scars or strange wispy birthmarks under his bruises. Once the boy's face was cleaned Neji moved to the boy's neck, torso, and arms, stripping the small figure of its tattered shirt. At the boy's stomach Neji paused, frowning at the faded spiral markings and seal characters. It was tied to the chakra disturbance in the boy's system, it had to be, because there was no other explanation.
Tenten appeared in the doorway of Neji's guest bedroom in time to see the frowning teen finger the spiral seal running around the sedated boy's belly button. She cleared he throat loudly, gaining his attention as she held up the bag of clothes.
"I got a few pairs of drawstring pants, some long and short sleeved shirts, some general undergarments, and a toothbrush," Tenten said, digging through the bag as she spoke.
Neji blinked at her for a moment before nodding, "That sounds fine."
Lee popped his head around the doorframe blinking at the sight of Tenten rooting around in a bag of clothes, "What happened to Tenten?"
"What do you mean, what happened to me?" Tenten asked, giving Lee a sharp look.
"You don't normally look through clothes…" Lee trailed off as Tenten glared and shifted the hand not holding the bag towards her kunai holster.
"Drop it, Lee," Neji said, stopping the squabble before it could start.
"Well, here are the clothes," Tenten said, dropping the bag by the door. "We'll leave you alone with your charge. Our headsets will be left on in case you need anything."
"We will stick by you in the springtime of your youth! Don't let this obstacle get in your way!" Lee wailed as he was dragged away by his teammate. "We're here to help you!"
Neji shook his head as he shut the door behind his teammates, leaning against the closed door as silence once again permeated his house. It was odd, feeling another presence in his house besides his own. He'd gotten used to living alone, away from the rest of his family in the clan compound where he could feel everyone else's presence close to his own. Housing a beaten boy wasn't something he'd planned on at the beginning of the day. Hell, it wasn't even something he'd ever thought of before.
Doubts about housing the boy were still fresh in his mind. The medic's advice hadn't been particularly reassuring when they discussed whether or not the boy was a ninja. While it was good that someone more skilled was going to be called in, Neji had the distinct feeling that the medic hadn't been telling him the whole truth concerning the boy.
After a few moments Neji just shook his head and picked up the book resting on an arm of his couch before heading to the guest bedroom. He opened the door slowly, checking to make sure that the boy was still out before entering. After closing the door softly behind him Neji made himself comfortable against the wall as he started reading and waited for the boy to wake up. The medic had said that it would take a while, but Neji had the suspicion that the boy would wake up sooner than expected.
Normally Neji would have been training or meditating almost to the point of collapse in his effort to become better, faster, stronger until he was able to surpass his family and become more than just a Branch House prodigy with a curse seal etched into his forehead. While he could read, it wasn't something he allowed himself time to do unless it was for training, so having the luxury to sit and just read a book was something he took a slightly guilty pleasure in.
A quiet moan drew his attention away from the book as the figure on the bed started to curl and uncurl, pain lacing his motions as he started to wake up. As the boy's eyes started to flutter Neji stood up, leaving his book on the floor as he moved close to the futon. The boy curled into a ball again and whimpered, eyes shut tightly as he took choppy, halted breaths.
The small blond had part of his face smashed into the futon, his hands fisted into the soft material of the sheets as he fought to control his breathing around the pain. Slowly the boy uncurled his body, taking deep breaths as whimpers escaped his lips every time something moved uncomfortably. One cloudy brilliantly blue eye snapped open and focused on Neji, watching the dark-haired teen as he stood next to the bed.
Suddenly the boy burst into motion, startling Neji with his speed as the boy hurled himself off of the bed and between the futon and the wall, effectively hiding most of his body from view. Neji took a deep breath and moved slowly around the futon until he was near the boy's head before crouching down.
"Calm down. Don't panic. No one is going to hurt you," Neji said quietly, trying to calm the boy down.
The boy looked up, bright eyes meeting Neji's before moving across the room, looking for a way to escape and not finding one. With only a small movement for warning Neji found himself knocked on his back, the boy crouching on his chest as the small blond's breathing sped up as he started to panic. Neji kept as still as possible, his eyes on the boy sitting on his chest, watching for any indication of movement as the boy slowly looked around the room.
Another whimper escaped the boy before he rolled off of Neji, looking for another hiding place as he crouched close to the floor. The longhaired boy sat up slowly, keeping his hands in plain sight so that he didn't frighten the boy further.
"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you," Neji said, keeping his irritation under wraps as he watched the blond.
The boy shot him another panicked look before scrambling around Neji and making a break for the small window set in the middle of the wall on the other side of the futon. Neji swore and dove after the blond as the smaller boy hit the window and scrabbled for the lock, slamming himself into the glass as hard as he could in the hopes that it would break. A split-second later Neji pinned the blond to the wall before hauling him away from the window and pinning him to the floor, putting his weight on the boy's legs and arms so that the small blond couldn't wiggle away.
"Neji? What's going on?" Tenten's voice crackled over the headset that Neji had forgotten to take off.
"Nothing, Tenten. Everything is under control," Neji said, watching the boy closely as he listened to the crackling in his ears.
"We're heading over anyway. I'll grab Lee."
Neji sighed and took a deep breath before looking down at the boy pinned under his weight.
"You can't hurt me!" the boy whimpered, blue eyes wide as he looked up at the white-eyed Hyuuga. "I won't allow it. The last people who tried ended up dead!"
"I'm not going to hurt you," Neji said, still keeping the panicking boy pinned to the ground. "I'm going to help you recover."
"I'll heal any damage, it won't matter!" the boy babbled, starting to fight Neji as he tried to get the bigger boy off of him. "And I'll heal and get better and then you'll end up like those guys in the woods. Just don't hurt me. Don't hurt me!"
"I'm not going to hurt you," Neji said, eyes widening as the boy's chakra flared and the boy's efforts suddenly gained more power. "I'm going to help you, not hurt you! But if you keep fighting me you'll end up worse."
"DON'T HURT ME! I haven't done anything, I HAVEN'T done anything!" the boy started screaming, tears streaming down his face as he tried to get away. "DON'T HURT ME!"
"I'm NOT going to hurt you!" Neji snapped, causing the boy to cower.
"Neji? Neji, are you alright?" Tenten's voice crackled over the headset again, making Neji growl in irritation which further terrified the blond.
"Tenten, I'm fine," Neji snapped before freeing one hand in order to rip the headset off, making the boy cower further.
"Don't hurt me," the boy whimpered, tears still streaming down his face as he shut his eyes tightly. "Don't hurt me, don't hurt me, don't hurt me, don't hurt me."
"Look, I'm not going to hurt you," Neji said, slowly easing up on the boy as he rolled off of the blond. "I'm here to help you."
"No you're not," the boy said, curling into a ball as soon as he was free. "Everyone hurts me. No one helps me except him. He tells me not to trust anyone because they only try to hurt me."
Neji frowned at the mention of 'him', but let it go as he worked on trying to calm the boy down, "I promise, on my honor, that I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to help you get better, I'm not going to hurt you."
The boy opened his eyes and watched Neji warily, tears stopping as he calmed down. The blond's eyes were suspicious and calculating under his fear, watching Neji with the intensity of a predator as the taller boy slowly got to his feet and moved closer.
"Look, I'm not going to hurt you. My team and I found you in the woods and brought you back. You're going to be living here until you're better, or until we find your home," Neji said calmly, crouching down until he was on the same level as the boy.
"I don't have a home," the boy looked away from Neji's gaze and curled into a tighter ball, ignoring the pain coursing through his body. "So why bother? Why take me in?"
Neji considered the boy for a few moments, watching pain contort the blond's face as his breathing hitched.
"I'm taking care of you because I found you beaten and bleeding in the woods. No one deserves that, no one," Neji moved until he could look the boy in the eyes, "I promise you that I'm not going to hurt you, no matter what happens."
The blond boy watched as Neji sighed with frustration, blue eyes wide at the conviction in the dark-haired boy's voice. Slowly Neji sat on the floor in front of the boy, making sure that the other could read each movement clearly. The boy continued to watch him, eyes never leaving Neji's hands as the other boy settled himself onto the floor, almost too close for comfort.
"What is your name?" Neji asked as he watched the boy slowly uncurl and settle onto the floor.
"Uzumaki Naruto," the boy whispered.
"Naruto. I'm Hyuuga Neji."
Naruto continued to watch Neji as the larger teen got up with a frown.
"Are you still in pain?" Neji asked, watching the blond wince as he stretched something the wrong way.
"Yeah," Naruto whispered, watching the standing boy warily as Neji started moving around the small room.
"Come with me and we'll get you some pills," Neji said, stopping in front of the blond and reaching his hand down to help the smaller boy to his feet.
Neji resisted the urge to hold on to the blond so that he couldn't escape, but after the boy's reaction to being pinned he decided that keeping a hold of the boy wasn't the best idea. The trip to the bathroom took longer than Neji had expected due to Naruto's habit of warily checking out each new room to determine possible threats to his person. The blond almost seemed to cling to the walls as he moved, making himself as small as possible whenever they turned a corner. The blond's actions were enough to make Neji wonder what exactly had happened to the small blond to make him take such care when checking out his surroundings.
"Here, the label says to take one as needed," Neji said once they were in the bathroom, handing the small blond a cup of water and a large pill. Neji also handed him one of the vitamins, and watched the boy grimace as he swallowed the large pills. "We should get you something to eat as well, most pills don't go down well without food."
Naruto followed Neji as he led the way to the kitchen, slowly relaxing as he continued to be unharmed. As Naruto found somewhere comfortable to hide in the kitchen Neji opened the refrigerator and brought out some rice and steamed vegetables to be reheated in the microwave.
Naruto had just started eating when Tenten started pounding on the front door. Before Neji could reassure the blond that everything was alright the boy had abandoned his food and hidden himself under the sink. Neji sighed and bent down, only to hear Tenten picking the lock on the front door and letting herself in.
"Neji?"
"NEJI! DON'T LET THE LIGHT OF YOUR YOUTH BE EXTINGUISHED!"
"What are you doing?"
Tenten and Lee turned to look at Neji who was leaning against the doorframe leading to the kitchen.
"We heard the commotion through the headset, then you got cut off, so we decided to come help you," Tenten said, blinking when Neji glared at them. "What?"
Neji shook his head and went back into the kitchen, leaving Tenten and Lee to share looks of confusion.
"Naruto. Naruto?" Neji crouched down in front of the sink and opened one of the cabinet doors to reveal the terrified blond who had been hiding.
Naruto's terrified blue eyes locked onto Neji before he looked around the longhaired boy and saw Tenten and Lee standing in the doorway. With a small squeak the blond ripped the cabinet door out of Neji's hands and shut himself back under the sink.
"Naruto, they aren't going to hurt you. They're my teammates, they were with me when you were found," Neji said, feeling a little stupid for talking to a closed cabinet door.
There was a mumbled reply from under the sink, causing Neji to sigh as he picked Naruto's unfinished food off of the floor before sitting down in front of the sink. He looked up at Tenten and Lee before motioning for them to sit down. The less intimidating they seemed the better Naruto would probably do, especially since he didn't trust any of them.
Neji opened one of the cabinet doors slowly, making sure that Naruto could see everything that he was doing as he was doing it.
"These are my teammates, they helped find you in the forest," Neji kept the irritation out of his voice as he spoke, watching Naruto carefully in case the boy decided to bolt again.
"We aren't going to hurt you," Tenten's voice was sincere as she spoke, her dark eyes watching Neji and taking the appropriate cues. "We're just here to meet you and check up on Neji."
At the sound of Tenten's voice some of Naruto's fear faded and he peeked his head around the closed cabinet door, watching the three teens suspiciously. It took a few more minutes of coaxing, but Naruto finally crept out from under the sink and resumed his cooling meal.
"Naruto, this is Tenten and Lee, my teammates," Neji did the introductions as soon as Naruto had started relaxing again.
The blonde was sitting closer to Tenten than either of the males, his back to a corner so that he could watch the whole room. No one mentioned it, but the three shinobi recognized the signs of someone who was used to expecting the worst of everyone.
"So, Naruto, where do you come from?" Tenten asked, watching the small boy finish off his meal faster than expected.
"I don't know where I lived when I was little, but I know that's where my name came from. I used to live in a small village close to the border of Fire Country in the north, but then those guys in the hut caught me and I lived there ever since," the boy replied, snarling a little at the thought of the hut.
"Can you read? Write?"
Naruto turned a quizzical look towards the brunette kunoichi, "Why?"
"No reason, I'd just like to know," Tenten replied, keeping her thoughts from her face. She didn't want to make the boy suspicious, but if he couldn't read or write they were going to have to teach him.
"I can read and right just fine. I got some schooling in the village. Had to," Naruto cut himself off and closed up, once again regarding everyone with suspicion. Tenten looked like she was going to press the subject, but Neji shook his head when Naruto's eyes lost focus as if he were listening to a voice in his head.
Suddenly Naruto snapped out of whatever funk he'd fallen into, eyes clear as he looked around the small kitchen. Neji, Lee, and Tenten sat absolutely still as Naruto tensed, still looking around the small kitchen for any potential threat, eyes running critically over their forms. They relaxed only when the blond did, conversation starting up as idle chatter meant to fill the strained silence forming around the skittish blond.
After about half an hour Tenten stood up slowly, stretched, then turned to Lee and bullied the boy with the bowl cut into leaving with her. They waved as they left the kitchen, leaving Naruto and Neji in silence as they listened to the front door opening and closing.
"There are some clothes in the bedroom for you, and you're welcome to take a shower," Neji said, taking Naruto's dishes and rinsing them in the sink as the blond continued to sit in the corner.
"Bedroom?" Naruto asked, blinking up at Neji when the boy sighed.
"The room you woke up in. You already know where the bathroom is, and you're welcome to use anything in there that you need," Neji said, drying his hands off on a towel as he turned around.
"No tricks?"
"No tricks."
Naruto watched the tall boy warily as he got up, hugging the wall as he slowly made his way around Neji and into the rest of the house. The Hyuuga listened to the light footsteps as they moved towards the guest bedroom before closing his eyes and leaning against the counter. Taking care of this boy was going to be harder than he initially thought, especially since the boy's first reaction to everything new was to bolt and hide. He turned his head when he heard the light footsteps re-emerge from the bedroom and disappear into the bathroom. The boy hadn't even noticed his lack of shirt and grime he'd been so preoccupied with his new surroundings.
AsNeji put the dishes away he was struck with the distinct thought that this was probably going to get worse before it got better.
TBC…A/N: I don't really know where this came from, but it ate away at my brain until I typed it. Whoops.