Broken Helix: part III: Break
Little Neji pounded on the large wooden door that stood as the barrier between him and the village. He was always stuck inside of his Uncle Hiashi's large estate, not allowed to go outside. The little boy ached to see what was out there. He knew there was more than this household, but he could never get out. The door was always sealed, and he could never find any way to pry it open. And the walls always seemed to get higher no matter how long or how hard he tried to scale them.
Sometimes he heard voices on the other side of the gate. They said things like, "Wake up," or "Come back," or "Do you remember…?" or "Please don't die!" He didn't understand any of it. But the voices sounded so familiar and warm to him. They always called to him, the people outside. He wanted to meet them. But he was always stuck in here.
"Didn't I tell you to stay away from the door?" someone said.
The little boy froze, but then pushed away from the door and tried to run. But the other person was so much faster than he was. He felt himself being slammed hard against the wall, held off the ground so that he was eye level with the older boy.
"You don't deserve to go out there! You don't deserve them!" the older boy yelled. "Your fate is sealed."
This boy looked so much like he did, as though he were an older brother. But the little boy had no brothers or sisters. He had no one. And it was odd, because this older boy called himself Neji also. He looked as though he were around twelve or thirteen. That age sounded right to little Neji.
"Stop trying to free yourself!" the older Neji yelled, slamming him against the wall again. "You'll only hurt and destroy everything you touch out there! You don't deserve to be out there! There is nothing good in you!"
Little Neji started to cry. This older boy was always so frightening. And the older boy probably had a right to be angry. Once, Little Neji had tried to kill him. He caught the older boy in a dark, dark room, with a dead girl at his feet. The girl looked had blood seeping from her mouth and bruises everywhere. She had white eyes too, and short hair, and she was very sad and pretty looking. For some reason, the whole sight made little Neji go into a rage, and he dove at the older boy with a kunai. He managed to stab him twice, but for some reason he couldn't manage a third strike. It was as if something held him back. And then he realized that his own chest and stomach were bleeding in the same places as the older boy's. Perhaps this older Neji was so fast that he didn't see it when he attacked as well? And little Neji heard voices outside the gate screaming for him to stop.
But now, all of the voices were silent.
Sakura walked in early that morning and got quiet a surprise. She expected to see Neji awake, but what she didn't bargain on were the many people crammed into his room. From the looks of things, they were all from the Hyuuga clan. There were people with white eyes, the vine-like X-shaped curse seal on their foreheads. There were also people without white eyes and seals, most likely people who had married into the clan or who simply hadn't inherited Byakugan. The latter still grew their hair very long, and had the X-shaped symbol embroidered into their clothing.
Considering recent events, Sakura found their presence very alarming. But when she saw the way they treated Neji, she was put at ease. A few of the children stood on their toes, trying to get his attention from his bedside. An elderly woman brushed his long, dark hair, and occasionally she would say something to him about her family or the weather. One of the young boys talked about his recent achievements in his favorite sports as though Neji could fully listen to him and understand him. A few other adults showed him pictures or simply said hello.
Sakura reminded herself that the Hyuuga clan was extremely large, and they couldn't all be out to get Neji. In fact, it would make more sense that the majority of the clan liked him. The way they spoke to him, it was obvious that they loved him very much.
It took a few moments for Sakura to notice that Lee was asleep in a chair in the very corner of the room. Someone had placed a blanket over him to keep him warm, and the people in the room now were very careful not to wake him.
"He's been here all night," an old woman said to Sakura. "That's what a nurse said. Neji always speaks so highly of that boy Lee."
"He does?" Sakura asked, surprised. Neji had grown into a very kind person, but she couldn't picture him praising Lee to his family.
"Of course!" the woman chuckled. "It's been fun coming in from time to time and meeting all of Neji's friends. He only has nice things to say about all of you. Thank you for watching over him."
Sakura smiled and glanced around the room. But suddenly, her mood darkened.
"Is Neji still… going to die?" she asked, not caring how tactless she sounded.
A few of the people near here went silent and looked down at the floor.
"We've been trying to find evidence to save him," a man said. "But we can't."
"We'd all take his place if we could," a young woman said.
"Take the place of a criminal?" someone said from the doorway.
Sakura turned to see a few young men from the Hyuuga clan standing there.
"He's not a criminal!" yelled a young boy.
"Don't mind us," one of the young men growled. "We just came to look into the eyes of the guy who raped and tortured our sisters."
Suddenly the voices erupted around Sakura, and she quickly moved out the of the way as the argument exploded in the room. She could hardly tell who was speaking, but for some reason, she felt it wasn't her place to bring order to the situation.
"How could you think he did it!"
"Why are you so convinced he's some kind of saint!"
"Get out!"
"Fuck off, old man!"
"Mind your manners! What has gotten into you!"
"Maybe we're tired of people sticking up for this asshole!"
"Leave Cousin Neji alone!"
"Your Cousin Neji is a rapist and a murderer!"
"And your sister was a lying whore!"
And then, the fight broke out. The young children screamed and backed up against the walls. Sakura was pushed backwards roughly, but she felt someone catch her, and turned her head slightly to see Lee. Lee didn't concern himself with breaking up the fight. Instead, he made Neji his first priority, getting between his bed and anyone who might threaten him.
"Enough!" came a girlish voice from the door.
Hinata stood there, hospital staff standing behind her nervously. Some of the clan members managed to break the fight apart, but arguments were still continuing.
"Neji is dying soon," growled one of the young men who began the fight. "He's dying, and you all need to face facts! All the evidence points to him and you're treating him like some condemned angel! What the hell is wrong with you people! Say your goodbyes and let this worthless scum die a slow and painful death!"
"I SAID ENOUGH!" Hinata yelled with such fiercness in her voice that some people drew back from her. Sakura and Lee stood in shook, as did everyone within view. "Please," Hinata said, the gentleness in her voice returning, her eyes falling to the floor. "I need you all to leave now," she said.
The head family member had spoken, and as everyone cleared out of the room, Hinata felt a pang of guilt for using her power over the branch families. She slowly made her way to Neji's beside, standing opposite of Sakura and Lee. None of them spoke until the last of the clan members had left and shut the door.
"This is horrible," Lee said softly.
"You did the right thing, Hinata," Sakura smiled gently.
A tear slipped down Hinata's cheek. "M…my family, all of my relatives, my friends… my entire clan is falling apart," she said softly.
And then came the whisper, barely audible, almost like an illusion. "Save them…" Neji said softly, his eyes closed as if in thought.
The three friends gasped and asked him to repeat himself. They asked him to open his eyes and talk to them. They asked him for a simple sign that it wasn't all an illusion that they shared. But when Neji opened his eyes again, they were still empty. Once again he was a shell.
"He most likely did it," Sai said as he ate his bowl of ramen.
"WHAT!" Naruto yelled, startling the other customers in the ramen shop. "Are you insane!"
"All of the evidence points to him," Sai shrugged. "He probably fooled you all. It's not that hard. So many of you are stupid."
"If you had any idea of the kind of person Neji is--"
"What do you know about him?" Sai asked calmly, turning to Naruto.
"He's a good person!" Naruto said firmly.
"A good person? Like Sasuke?" Sai asked, raising a brow.
Naruto fell silent and stared at his food.
"You always insist that Sasuke is a good person," Sai continued. "When I spoke the truth in the past about him being a traitor to the village who seriously injured you, you would always get angry at me and Sakura would hit me. But none of that was a lie. What do you consider 'good' then? All of the evidence pointed to Sasuke and yet you have still always called him 'good.' All of the evidence points to Neji now and yet, to you, he is still 'good.' What then, is good? From what I can tell, you base good on how much you like a person. That, Naruto, is not good. That is delusion. The bonds you form are strong. Perhaps too strong."
"People make mistakes!" Naruto said. "That doesn't make them bad people. Sasuke… he was just confused! There were things he didn't understand…. He just needed… he needed…" Naruto sighed softly. "I don't know what he needed. But he was good. He is good. He risked his life for me and Sakura plenty of times. He smiled and had goals and deep thoughts. He wasn't evil!"
"People change," Sai said, as calm as ever. "Sasuke changed. And from what I know of Neji, apparently he didn't change."
"What the hell do you know about Neji!" Naruto snapped.
"Do you think that because I was in such a secretive position before I joined your team it means that I was under a rock all my life?" Sai sighed. "Neji was always at the top of his class and was noted for his strength and power that grew exponentially. The most potentially dangerous ninja in our clan do not go unnoticed."
"You think a bunch of simple notes in your stupid books down in the Roots section of the Konoha library can tell you shit about anyone!" Naruto said lowly.
"Isn't it true that he nearly killed Hinata years ago? He was cruel, obsessed with putting others down to make himself feel more in control of his life. Isn't that accurate?"
"You just said people change!" Naruto said. "Who the hell told you that anyway! Some idiot from the Hyuuga clan who is living in the past!"
"I said Sasuke changed. Neji didn't. He was cold-hearted back then, and apparently he is now. Accept the evidence against him, Naruto."
Naruto felt his hands shaking. "Sai," he said softly. "You're always talking about people like you know them. You always talk about them like you know the pain they went through. You never listened to Sasuke tell his story. You didn't hear Neji's story. You have no idea. No idea…. You weren't around when Sasuke saved me again and again when we first became a team. You weren't around years ago when Neji almost got killed sacrificing himself just to buy me enough time to try to get Sasuke back." While his face looked calm, a tear landed on Naruto's hand as he sat there. "Sasuke is my best friend. But it was Neji who was one of the first people to put all of his faith in me. And you know what? I think you want me to come right out and tell you what happened in the past and how he changed for the better. You want me to tell you so you can figure out why so many people are trying so hard to save his life. Well, I'm not going to do that Sai. When he's back to normal, look him in the eye and tell me if you see any evil there. Then we'll talk."
Their meal had finished. Naruto got up to leave.
"It's too late," Sai said without looking at Naruto. "He's out of time. In a few days from now, he'll be dead."
Naruto stood completely still for a moment. He then slowly walked away.
"It's time you said goodbye to him," Kurenai said, her crimson eyes focused on her students.
Kiba and Shino stared at her for a moment. Hinata was elsewhere, so they stood together on the bridge without her.
"Hey! We've still got a few days!" Kiba said, trying to grin. "I mean… anything can happen in a few days! Right?"
"We will make something happen," Shino said. "We will make him wake up."
"You're out of time," Kurenai said, remaining calm. "Say your goodbyes, or you'll regret it. That's a request from me. Right now, Kakashi is telling Naruto and Sakura the same thing. Asuma is telling Ino, Shikmaru, and Chouji the same thing. All of you must not leave this undone. Say goodbye to him. And go quickly."
She then left to allow them time to think about what she had said.
"This is stupid," Kiba said, staring at the water below. "We're going to save him. It feels sick to say goodbye."
"She wants to make sure we have no regrets," Shino said, standing straight and calm as usual, his sunglasses hiding his eyes.
"I hate goodbyes," Kiba growled. "Isn't that like giving up!"
"But what would Neji think if we didn't say goodbye to him?" Shino said. "In the event that he became conscious again, it would hurt him. He would think we didn't care."
"If everyone started saying goodbye to me I would think they had given up!" Kiba said.
Shino stood silent for a moment. "I would say goodbye to you if it were you in his position," he said finally. "But I would not give up."
Kiba glanced to him, but said nothing.
"I would express how sad I was at the thought of never seeing you again," Shino continued. "I would tell you that I valued your friendship. I would tell you that I would take your place. And I would tell you that I would work until the end to save your life."
Kiba didn't know what to say to this, but it made him feel better.
"So, are you going to say that to Neji?" Kiba asked.
"No," replied Shino. "Someone else will say that to him. Someone closer to him. That is something I would only say to you."
Little Neji sat with his back to the large door that kept him inside the estate. He looked around at the plants and flowers of the front lawn area. They all looked so drained of color… so lifeless. He looked around to make sure older Neji wasn't watching him, then he shut his eyes, listening to the voices that came flooding through the door one by one.
"This is troublesome," one person said. "And it would be naïve to say that this isn't goodbye, because it might be. But we'll work to the end. I'm trying to think of everything I can, but this isn't like a game of Go. But nothing is too troublesome to save a comrade…."
"Kurenai-sensei said that we should come say goodbye to you," said another. "I thought it was stupid at first. I mean, we're still going to save you. But Shino told me that you might need the support now, so, I'm coming to give that support. I'm not saying goodbye. Neither is Akamaru, right Akamaru? Exactly… it's not goodbye at all…."
And then came a voice that sounded like it held incredible hidden pain. "Hey…. I, um…. Look…. This isn't goodbye, okay? Kakashi-sensei just wanted me to do this. He made me actually. But, damnit! Neji, wake up! I hate feeling powerless! It's stupid, isn't it? I've always wanted to be Hokage and yet I couldn't save Sasuke years before and now I can't save you, and you're right in front of me! Neji, you said I had better eyes than you, so why the hell can't I see a way to save the people close to me! You're the genius, so wake up and tell me what to do! You can't die this way!"
Little Neji turned towards the door and knocked on it, but no one could hear him. He called to them, but no one answered. They only kept talking and talking, but he couldn't ask them to let him out. And he wondered why they always spoke where only he could hear them. They couldn't possibly know him, after all. He was always trapped. And according to older Neji, he didn't deserve them.
More voices drifted though, more sadness and desperation. But finally, there were a few voices that sounded different. They sounded more determined.
And the last words he heard were, "Let's go, Neji."
Hinata ran through the hospital that night. She hadn't seen Neji in days because of the issues she needed to attend to in the Hyuuga clan. But it hurt her that she couldn't see him. He didn't have much time left. She made it to the correct hallway and slowed to a walk. But when she made it to his door, she wasn't the only one there.
"Grandfather?" she said softly, lowering her eyes.
"Leave," he said gruffly. "We are removing Neji from the hospital and keeping him in your father's household until his execution in a few days."
He stood there with a group of male members from the clan. Members who clearly couldn't care less what happened to Neji. Hinata panicked. Once Neji was back in the hands of the clan, there would be no escape for him. His friends and comrades couldn't come see him there. Time will have run out too quickly.
"He needs the care of the hospital a bit longer," she said gently. "He should be comfortable."
"It matters not," the old man said. "He is denied nourishment from this point on. No food, no water, no sunlight. Pure and precious resources need not be wasted on him. He will be locked away until he is dealt with for all the clan to see. This is what his rebellousness cost him. Remember it well."
Suddenly Hinata found herself in front of the door to Neji's hospital room, blocking their entry. She stared at the men with wide, frightened eyes.
"Please don't do this to him," she said, her voice shaking. "I can't bare this…!"
"Restrain her," the old man said.
Before Hinata could blink, three men pulled her out of the way and held tightly to her.
"The rest of you," the old man said, his eyes not leaving Hinata, "take Neji. When you get him back to the main house, drain him of enough blood to keep him weak, but still alive." His eyes pierced Hinata with a dark satisfaction. "Alive… and suffering."
"No!" Hinata cried out once the door was knocked open. "You can't do this! You defy my father! He wouldn't want this!"
The old man rose his hand to strike her, but was stopped by the voices that burst from the inside of the hospital room.
"He's gone!" the men inside called out.
"What!" roared the old man. He hurried into the room to see the empty bed. The window was wide open. "He's escaped! Evading the arrest of the clan and not accepting his due punishment. Find him and bring him back! Break his limbs if you have to! He's a dangerous criminal! Put an alert for his arrest out in the village! If he resists, then kill him if you must. But I want him back alive to suffer what he deserves!"
He motioned for the men holding Hinata to release her and join the search. Once they were gone he moved close to her and spoke lowly so that only she could hear him.
"I was being lenient," he said darkly. "But now your dear cousin will suffer the pain and humiliation of having his eyes removed while he waits locked away before his execution. He will suffer and die in the same darkness that taints his soul."
Hinata backed away slowly, then turned and burst into a fearful run. She had to find him. She had to find him before they did!
He sat on the hillside, taking a break from the various reports he was getting from his spies. He slid the glasses from his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing deeply. No information about the surrounding countries and villages would get past him, no matter how hard people tried to conceal things. And being so far from those villages, no one would ever suspect a thing. The Sound clan was too hard to track, so he hardly worried that he would be found.
He loosened the silver hair in his ponytail and sighed again, slipping his glasses back on before continuing to look at his reports. He could be doing this indoors, but unlike the one he worked for, he needed the sunlight.
"Kabuto, sir!" another spy said, appearing beside him. "Information about Konoha and the Fire Country," the man said, handing him another report.
"Thank you," Kabuto said, adding it to the pile.
As soon as the man left, Kabuto glanced at the file and picked it up again. Konoha always held more interest than the other countries. He glanced through the information gathered. Most of the notes were hearsay from the outlying areas of Konoha, nothing of great importance. Tsunade was a fine leader indeed. Nothing about power struggles with other villages, nothing about possible collapse… absolute nothing of concern. He was just about to toss the file when something caught his eye.
"Conflict within Konoha's most noble and dangerous Hyuuga clan," Kabuto read.
This information wouldn't have seemed worthy of a second thought to anyone else, but Kabuto was fully aware of what the fall of a single clan could mean. If Konoha lost a clan as powerful as the Hyuugas, their forces in battle would be greatly weakened. Many years ago, when the Uchiha clan fell, it was the same.
Kabuto kept reading and found rumors of a possible execution that was dividing the clan, as well as mysterious deaths. But all he could really do right now was keep all of this in mind. He skimmed the rest of the information for anything significant. He checked to see if there was any unusual movement from Konoha's ninja. There was nothing out of the ordinary, but he did notice one thing. Maito Gai was spotted with his team, heading west. They appeared to have an injured person with him, whose face remained hidden by a cloak at all times.
Kabuto realized that the Akatsuki, enemy to both the Sound and Konoha, had been spotted in the same area as Gai not long ago. He doubted the two were related, or that Gai would be stupid enough to take an injured person into battle against the Akatsuki, but he still felt uneasy. While the Sound and Konoha were not allies, the Akatsuki were a common enemy. And the Sound clan needed Konoha to help them manage the Akatsuki's behavior. If Gai were to run into them now, that would be one less powerful Konoha team to help thin the Akatsuki forces for the Sound.
Orochimaru, Kabuto's "employer" and leader of the Sound, would want to know this information. Orochimaru made it his business to know what the most dangerous Jounin were up to, as well as anything else related to Konoha, no matter how slight. But there was someone else who would be interested in the Akatsuki movement….
But maybe, just for kicks, along with the Akatsuki information, Kabuto would "accidently" slip a copy of the Konoha file under Sasuke's door. It was always fun to test the young man's affiliation and resolve.
Hinata woke up an stared at the ceiling. It had been two days, and still no word. And each time she woke up over these past couple days, it depressed her that Neji wasn't sitting there, ready to question why she was asleep in his bed.
Hinata had found the spare key to his apartment at her father's house. She was more than happy to escape home and all of the hatred there. With her father in his coma, things were in utter chaos. She returned there every day to manage what she could, and to settle the disputes that were possible to settle, and then she came to Neji's apartment at night, not telling anyone where she was headed. It was just becoming so unbearable to deal with the fighting within the clan, and she needed some time to herself. This place had been searched enough, and she knew they most likely wouldn't return.
Neji's scent drifted from the pillow, a sensual, insense-like scent from the herbs he used when meditating in his bath. She felt a little indecent taking in that scent, as if it were too private to make her own. His entire room spoke of who he was on the inside… the person he hid from so many. She doubted that he let many people see this place. There were small crystal fountains on the tables that emitted faint colored light at night, as well as the soothing sound of running water. The bed was large to accommodate his height, but it was so soft and relaxing. She knew he meditated a lot, but even for him, the whole place spoke of comfort.
She rolled onto her stomach and inhaled again, her large breasts against the soft mattress. But her eyes snapped open and a deep blush crept over her face. Had Neji ever had a girl in this bed? She quickly sat up and got dressed.
But when she got to the front room, she was startled to find someone waiting for her.
"Leaving the door unlocked is very careless, Hinata," said the deep, cold voice.
"Uncle?" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"
"Unlike you," he said, "I'm allowed to be here. I'm searching for some evidence."
"There is nothing," Hinata said softly, "because there were no crimes committed."
"Why do you defend him so?" he said, his voice growing even more cold and unfeeling. "Do you love him so much that you are blinded to the facts?"
The word 'love' nearly caused Hinata to turn a shade of scarlet.
"He's my cousin," she said timidly. "Of course I love him."
A dark smile spread across the man's face. "Oh, is that all? Then it should be easier for you to get over his death then."
Hinata blinked at him, not understanding.
"Didn't Neji tell you before all of this started?" he continued with a triumphant smile.
"Tell me… what?" she asked.
He chuckled. "My dear child, I was not here searching for Neji's crimes today. Rather, I was searching for evidence of the crime of his father, Hizashi."
"Uncle Hizashi is dead," Hinata said softly. "What could you need from him?"
"Hizashi's crime," he said, drawing closer, "was the crime of letting us all believe that Neji is actually his son."
Hinata stared for a moment, not sure she had heard correctly. "That can't be right," Hinata said. "Father would have told me."
"Perhaps your father didn't know. That disgusting boy is not your cousin, and I see no reason why he should be allowed special treatment by the head family as someone from some distant, forgotten branch family who has been so far removed by the ages that he is no longer of any relation to Lord Hiashi."
"No…."
"So if blood is what holds you to him," he chuckled coldly, "then you need not fear for him anymore."
Hinata stared at the floor, her pulse racing. It was getting harder and harder to protect Neji's life. If all of this were true, the head family would have a harder time saving him. If her father woke up, many people in the clan would think he had little reason to give Neji protection.
"One more thing," the cold voice ripped into her thoughts. "I'm the one carrying out Neji's punishment."
"What!" she cried.
"I don't plan on using pain-killers when I take his eyes from him. Perhaps I will take his hands as well?"
Suddenly she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him as she looked up with pleading eyes.
"Please," she begged. "Please, don't torture him! Please Uncle… please!" She sank down to her knees in front of him, "I beg of you, spare him the pain if you must take his life…."
And he stared down at her vulnerable form. Her down on her knees. Her eyes filled with tears that slowly lowered to the floor. Her soft hands clenched into fists on her lap. Her long hair cascading around her body. Her mouth begging for him to grant her this wish.
Her mouth… lips so soft… so warm….
The sound of his pants coming undone….
The sound of a forbidden deal being made….
The sound of consent so reluctantly given….
…The sound of Hinata's mouth… though no words could escape it now.
---To Be Continued---
(Sorry this took so long everyone! But the next chapter is nearly finished, so I hope you forgive me! Comments loved! Special thanks to Key-chan for the character analysis.)