Hello minna-san! I just discovered they have computers with internet at my camp, so I'll post from here, yes?
Chapter six: What Lurks Within
Monokuromu University
"NAH-RUE-TOE, WHERE IN THE SEVEN POINT FIVE HELLS HAVE YOU BEEN!"
Another day, another lecture. Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Mou, Irukaaa—"
"DON'T YOU 'MOU IRUKA' ME! THIS MAKES IT THE FIFTH TIME YOU'VE BEEN LATE THIS WEEK!" Spittle flew from the brunette's mouth and spattered Naruto with flecks of saliva. The blonde hastily drew a sleeve across his face.
"Hey, it isn't my fault that—"
"OF COURSE IT'S YOUR FAULT! HOW ELSE WOULD YOU EXPLAIN YOUR PREPOSTEROUS BEHAVIOR!" The class snickered in unison, earning a glower from the blonde.
"But—"
"I TAKE IT YOU ACTUALLY ENJOY DETENTION, YOUNG MAN! FIVE HOURS TODAY, AND YOU'LL BE CLEANING OUT ALL THE BATHROOMS IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSITY WITH A TOOTHBRUSH!" At this, the whole class burst out laughing.
Neji felt a jagged pain as Naruto brought a heel down sharply on his toe.
"Ouch-vay or-fay ee-may, urry-hay!" He hissed. Neji blinked.
"What?" Naruto shot a quick, furtive glance at the raving teacher, leaned back, and shot out the words from between closed lips.
"Vouchformehurry!" Naruto positively danced on his toes.
It flashed across Neji's mind with the speed of a bullet cutting through wet paper.
"AND ANOTHER THING—"
"Wait, Iruka-sensei." The teacher stopped in shock as Neji fluidly stepped forward, his lean, lithe body sinking into a respectful dip. The Hyuuga bowed deeply, gracing the frazzled Iruka with a deeply intense look through long, dark lashes.
"Please forgive him. He was late because of me; I kept him in bed for a moment too long." He murmured in a low, husky tone.
Iruka's face shot straight to an exceptionally peculiar shade of red and he staggered back, a cross between an outraged yelp and a stunned gurgle emitting from his throat. The class promptly exploded into a number of different reactions, ranging from utter shock to stunned silence to hysterical laughter. After a long moment of chaos and utter pandemonium, Iruka rehinged his jaw, flapped a feeble hand at the two figures before him, and bellowed at the class to sit down and shut up.
"Ahem…anyhow…Naruto, since Hyuuga-kun has covered your lateness…this will not count against you…however, Hyuuga-kun will have to take responsibility for the lateness. Neji, you will receive one hour of detention after class, polishing trophies in room 678-BC." At this, the class broke out in raged protest.
"Mou, sensei, you should at least give him the benefit of the doubt."
"Yeah, he might have had a good reason."
"Besides, the traffic was horribly bad today, and most of us showed up late." Iruka reeled backwards with the sudden verbal onslaught, then gave in entirely.
"Very well, I'll cut it to a half-hour of detention then." Seemingly satisfied, the class settled down, talking in a buzz of hushed whispers.
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, then turned and flashed Neji a grateful smile.
"Sorry about that, I didn't know he'd give detention to you of all people." Neji waved off the apology.
"It is not a major concern. I have nothing to do after school anyway." At this, Naruto brightened.
"Hey, maybe I can help you!" Neji looked over at the blonde, a brief smile flicking over his face.
"And why, of all people, would you wish to do that? You spend enough of your time in detention as it is." Naruto flashed him a grin that made his heart drop to his feet.
"Hey, we're friends. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." He giggled at the expected crimp in Neji's mouth.
"You have the oddest expressions, Naruto." The blonde looked smug.
"I know. That's what I'm famous for, dahlin'." He pressed a hand to his chest and cocked his head to the side, startling a laugh out of the Hyuuga. Just then a chalkboard eraser bounced off the side of his head and he turned to see a pair of livid brown eyes glaring holes into his head.
"NARUTO! YOU WILL BE JOINING NEJI TODAY IN DETENTION!" To Iruka's great surprise, both Neji and Naruto dissolved into silent, restrained laughter.
"I told you so, didn't I?" The blonde laughed, jabbing a quick elbow into Neji's side. The Hyuuga let out a chuckle.
"Very well, very well, I concede…"
Later
A soothing summer breeze combed through the trees, ruffling wheat-bronze locks. For a brief moment, Naruto stood still, head uplifted to the azure heavens as he relished the cool, calm wind on his face. The moment passed and Naruto opened one misty-eyed orb, staring at Neji with a succulently nostalgic expression on his countenance. Neji smiled in return, then resumed walking towards his next class, stopping only to bid goodbye to Naruto. The blonde yelled back a farewell, then skipped off in the opposite direction.
So engrossed in his thoughts was he that Neji utterly failed to notice his surroundings and walked headlong into a stray passerby.
"Owww…."
The Hyuuga recoiled, then bent down to retrieve the considerable amount of pencils, books, and other paraphernalia that had fallen from the girl's arms. Neatly arranging them in an easily portable fashion, Neji straightened and helped the girl up. She staggered and briefly leaned on his arm, then straightened, flashing him a breezy, frazzled smile.
"I'm so sorry…" Neji waved off the apology.
"No no, I wasn't watching where I was going." He offered in return, then handed his books back to the girl. She thanked him meekly, then extended one slender hand in his general direction, nut-brown eyes sparkling.
"I'm Tenten…what's your name?" Neji grasped the hand briefly.
"I am Hyuuga Neji. Pleased to make your acquaintance." He said, then turned to leave, only to be stopped by a gentle hand on his arm. Tenten smiled up at him through heavy lashes.
"What class do you have next?" She asked cheerfully.
"Government. It's a bore, really…" He intoned. Tenten giggled, touching a finger to her lips.
"Do you? So do I. Will you walk with me?" She asked. Personally the Hyuuga thought it was rather bold of her to say so, but he brushed it off and obliged, finding nothing wrong with having a companion.
She was a readily joyful creature, was Tenten. Her walk was nicely accented with a light bounce, and she seemed to have a perpetual smile upon her face. A light song wafted out of her throat as she walked, humming tunelessly on her way to class. Neji felt a strange connection to the girl, almost as if he'd known her a long, long time ago. He highly suspected that Tenten knew it as well, for what else could have prompted her to act in such an open manner towards him? Then again, he did act somewhat similar towards Naruto, that time in the ramen store…
"Oh, we're here!"
The slim brunette slid open the door to the classroom and walked inside, gesturing Neji to sit down beside her. She piled her books on the floor and plunked elbows down on the table, still humming the meaningless melody. She caught the Hyuuga watching him and looked him dead in the eye, smiling playfully; Neji suddenly felt viscera knotting into a most complicated series of twists and turns. Tenten had beautiful brown eyes that were complimented by her bangs and twin-bun hairstyle, and her smile only served to flatter her oval face. Neji felt another jolt in the general region of his entrails, and it suddenly became extremely difficult to breathe.
"Ready to learn about POLITICS, MY LOVELY CLASS OF EVERLASTING YOUTH!" The bushy-browed bowl-capped green-clad large-nosed teacher breezed into the classroom and struck a gallant pose in his polyester suit. The class groaned in unison and began their studies. Neji had to hand it to Gai-sensei though….no one but no one ever fell asleep in his class.
Memo
To: QPC
From: SRN
Subject: Antidote released
Sir,
The antidote has located the subject. Within x months will release drug into subject.
Memo
To: SRN
From: QPC
Subject: Re: Antidote released
Precautions indicate that drug will be released in three months.
He lay with his head in his hands, mentally cursing the stubborn clock for being so goddamned precise. The seconds went by far too slowly, and it seemed like they were going even slower due to the fact that class would be ending in five minutes. Naruto groaned and pressed his nose against his notebook, positively shredding the edge of the desk in anticipation. It seemed like an eternity before the bell decided to take pity on the poor blonde, sending Naruto blasting from his seat and through the classroom door like as if his heels were on fire. He tore across half the university in less than a second, making a beeline towards a sheet of flowing, ebony mane floating in the distance.
Neji felt the impact before he saw it, and the next thing he knew, he was sprawled on the ground, his books and various papers were scattered at least three meters away, and Naruto was currently perched atop his stomach, apologizing profusely for mowing him down.
"Ah-h-h, I'm so sorry Neji…" He mumbled sheepishly, one hand rubbing the back of his head. Neji just lay there, any past thoughts of survival abruptly dissipating.
"Yes…now if you don't mind, I do find the cement rather cold." He said in a perfectly calm voice. Naruto sent a blazingly carefree grin towards his way and stood, pulling the Hyuuga up.
An alien giggle cut through the silence and Naruto turned to witness a fairly pretty brunette laughing gaily at the scene. He slanted a bewildered glance at the Hyuuga beside him; Neji apparently seemed to know who she was, for he was smiling as well. Naruto shot a look back and forth between the two, his grin diminishing in intervals.
"Neji, who's this?" At this, the Hyuuga looked up.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Naruto, this is Tenten. I ran into her on my way to Government, and we had class together." He said lightly. Naruto smiled and extended a hand, grasping Tenten's outstretched counterpart.
"Pleased to meet you."
"Likewise." Tenten responded.
Naruto winced slightly; was it his imagination, or was Tenten grasping his hand a little too tightly? Perhaps it was just her strong grip…but then again, he could have sworn to whatever gods existed that a brief flash of cold animosity had just flashed through her chocolate eyes. A sibilant, sinister trickle of ice suddenly curled around his heart and he stepped back slightly, suddenly wary of the new girl. And the way she was looking at him…though she smiled, her eyes remained like steel, cutting into him, flaying him alive, raping his soul through and through.
Are you there, Naruto? Are you there? I know you are…come, let me kill you…let me tear you apart and feast on your soul…
"…aruto?"
He was being drained, his blood sucked out of him like dirt into a vacuum…a deadly void of sheer and utter night…
"Naruto?"
The blonde snapped out of his trance and looked up, only to find that Neji was staring directly into his eyes, a worried gleam in his opalescent orbs and a frown marring his exquisite visage.
"Are you alright?" He probed apprehensively. The smile that immediately clung to Naruto's face was exceedingly phony in every possible way.
"I'm fine, don't worry about it…must be the heat…it is rather warm….must be me…" The blonde swatted dismissively at his head graced the puzzled Hyuuga with another fraudulent grin.
"Hey, why don't we go out to eat to clear your head? It might help…" Tenten chirped, bobbing on the balls of her feet.
"That sounds wonderful, Tenten. Naruto?" Neji said.
"Uhm…sure, that would be…fine…"
Was it his imagination, or was something seriously wrong with Naruto? He didn't appear the least wounded in any physical way, but then again, mental problems didn't exactly have visible symptoms…and then Neji remembered the critically crucial genetic mutation he'd been graced with. Turning slightly so that his hair fell over his eyes, Neji activated the Byakugan and peered directly at Naruto, searching for any disturbance that might be the source of the blonde's severe aberrant behavior.
The vision hit him dead in the eye and nearly cost him his balance. Neji choked back a gasp of horror as he witnessed the perpetual chaos that roiled spastically inside the blonde's slim frame. Though Naruto had calmed down and was now acting entirely normal, the turmoil of spasmodic energy still writhed around the blonde's innards like some sort of maladjusted electricity. For some reason, Neji found it highly unwise to question the blonde about the current state of his viscera, but nevertheless retained the information for further reference.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" The Hyuuga hastily deactivated his bloodline and brushed the hair out of his eyes, offering an innocent smile.
"I was merely lost in thought…"
"Are we going to lunch or not? The restaurants will have been filled by now, guys." Tenten cut in from Neji's right.
The Hyuuga dazedly turned and followed Tenten off campus, Naruto trailing not far behind. For just a brief moment, Neji reactivated Byakugan and looked through the back of his head, focusing on Naruto's inner system once more. He gazed uneasily once more at the violently turbulent crests of energy, and for a moment, he was utterly bewildered at how Naruto could act so…so carefree when his insides indicated otherwise. How could the blonde act so flippantly cheerful when his circulatory system was so hopelessly imbalanced? Still, Neji felt a little guilty…he was violating the blonde's privacy…and Naruto himself didn't seemed at all disturbed by the instability, so the Hyuuga withdrew his bloodline with a resignated sigh and temporarily put the matter out of sight and mind.
Sorry for the long update wait, minna-san! Please read and review...i'm not getting many reviews here...TT
