It had been some time before either of them spoke to him, touched him. Even when they lay curled around his shaking form, the most Neji had heard was giggling, and ominous whispers in a language that lasted through the night and into his nightmares.
In that time Neji couldn't help but question his sanity. It had tasted like pork, Neji was sure that it was. But seeing that golden coin, even though it was in the apple, unnerved him to the point of tears. But then, a little voice picking at the back of his mind, reminded him with every tear, that he shouldn't care.
Why care?
He hadn't known Chouji, and he had tried to save him. Chouji's death was his own fault. Neji just wish he had done more. He could have warned the man, told him off or away.
And again the angry voice hissed.
Why should you care?
It sounded suspiciously like the demon Haku and Neji couldn't stop himself from shuddering. Neji rose from the bedding, making sure the two demons were actually gone. They were save for the raccoon creature in the corner, resting on a smoldering pile of coins. He couldn't believe at first but the past days, weeks were proof that the diamonds, and coins, and jewels, were the souls of people like Hidan, and Ino, Asuma, Chouji.
What Neji could not figure was how, no… what Gaara truly planned to do with him. Would he become some jewel on the mound, a bed for a demon raccoon to rest on? But as Gaara had said with Haku to confirm. Other things were waiting for him. He was suppose to be here getting revenge and yet, somehow, he had ended up touched, fondled, petted, and swooned. His revenge seemed like nothing more than a witty hoax to these demons and Neji was tired of being laughed at. Having a demon at one's disposal was suppose to make getting vengeance easier. Said demon had yet to. It killed Hidan yes but it was a far cry from the man responsible for the death of Hinata and Hanabi.
Kicking the furs away, Neji crawled as best he could to the edge checking again and a third time. No demon Gaara or the other one, Haku. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was much more fond of Haku. Strange since Haku seemed to radiate more danger than Gaara. Haku's scent compared to Gaara's was soft, like petals, sweet like cream, and spiced like ginger. Despite how comforting the scent was, Haku's presence seemed sinister, a terrifying contradiction to the feelings swirling in his gut.
Neji was beginning to fear being left alone with him and Gaara seemed keen on leaving them alone more often. The red haired demon scared him but the other demon Haku, terrified Neji to the point of voiding his bladder, and that's only if he didn't submit to the erotic touches first. Thought alone roused tingles up and down his arms and legs, the arousal making his cheeks darken as a dream he'd been quelling resurfaced. He wanted Haku to do more than touch him. He wanted…
Stop it.
Neji smacked his cheeks chanting to himself. He needed to leave.
Runaway.
Escape.
Just as the Hyuuga managed to plant both feet on the ground, Shukaku rolled to its back, tail falling limp, feet up in a mocking of death. It didn't move any further and Neji took the opportunity to embrace a dream that was just at his fingertips. To escape and find a means to slaughter Orochimaru on his own.
Demons be damned.
When the creature made no further movement, Neji got to his feet grabbing a tunic laying on the fur rug. Draped over his form Neji realized it was for sleeping and surmised bitterly, that it would have to do. With another lingering gaze to Shukaku, Neji slipped down the cavern, toes curling with every step on the cold stone. Stray piles gleamed, glinting and dimming with an unnatural light. Again Neji shuddered. He could easily picture the screaming of every soul trapped within those coins and jewels. Forgotten and uncared for as they constantly traded hands.
Will they ever be remembered?
Only family or friends could attest to that, and from his own knowledge, Asuma didn't have any. He was barely missed. Even Neji could admit he'd forgotten until he met Haku.
The light at the end of the tunnel gave him pause, and he checked again to be sure neither demons were in the area. When he saw none, he continued eyes squinting as he came up to the woods, barren and tall, wildlife scarce. Rocks and dirt clung to the bottom of his feet, leaves crunching and crumpling. In the distance Neji could see the outline of Konoha the sun high in the sky. Should he go home? He didn't want to but…
I want to go home…
Determined, Neji pushed forward ignoring the odd chill that crept up and down his spine. Like he was being watched. Perhaps he was. Neji quickened his pace clutching his tunic as he rushed through the woods. Before long he broke free of the clawing branches coming to a clearing that lowered into another patch of woods, and past that patch, the plains that would lead to Neji's home. Its possible, Neji surmised as he descended the hill, that his old home had been claimed by Orochimaru or burned at his command.
The latter was much more likely.
The sun was sunken and fading behind the trees, his breath fogging as the air chilled. The Hyuuga was past the trees running across the fields at a half trot and a limp. His old log home was in sight, dark and ominous, secluded from the village. It appeared empty and as he circled the home to the front door, a sudden thump convinces Neji otherwise. The night was beginning to settle forcing Neji to squint as he came up to the hanging front door. Large chunks of the door was missing, the latch broken and clinking with every gentle breeze. He touched the door interrupting the soothing rhythm, the door creaks and Neji peers into the poorly lit room. The most he can make out were the broken remnants of bowls, and scraps of loose dirty cloths. Another clutter and a rat scuttered across the floor, disappearing into a hole beneath the window.
It was empty.
Abandoned and forgotten like his family.
Sinking to his knees Neji couldn't stop himself from sobbing, acknowledging for once the weight of his loss. They were gone and he was here, still alive, and alone. No one to remember him, to call his name, bring him comfort.
No one.
He jumped at the creak of the door, turning to face the one demon he expected the least to come after him.
Haku…
"Why are you here?" Neji hiccupped with a rasp, trying and failing to get up from his knees.
"Why are you crying?" Haku stepped forward , appearing for the most part, a shadow in the growing darkness. "Neji?"
"No!" Neji pushed forward only to slip on his knees. "You will not!" Neji stumbled into his old room and collapsed near the bed. The woolen blanket was exactly how he left it, crumpled near the end of the bed. Dust had long since settled but Neji paid it no mind as he dragged it around his body.
"I'm not here to take you back." Haku was in the doorway, but Neji could barely see him. "You ran and I wanted to make sure you were alright."
"Go away." Neji quivered, the cold air of the night stealing his breath away. "Tell that demon that I will kill Orochimaru by my own means. Our deal is off."
"That is expected." Haku quipped undisturbed in his stance. "I won't take you back."
They stared at one another. Unfortunately, the longer Neji stared at the dimming image of Haku with the growing darkness, the more unnatural he appeared. Almost as if Haku was giving off his own light in the dark. After some silence Haku left the doorway disappearing just as the moon cleared a path into his bedroom. Finally free of his gaze, Neji curled into a tightly coiled ball shaking as more of the frosty air settled. Winter wouldn't be far away now. Not with such chilling air flitting through the night. Thinking such things was a better distraction to the reawakened feelings Haku had brought forth with.
The sound of creaking wood roused Neji once more, and he stared at the darkness past the doorway, hoping that the faint glow of the moon would shine some light on the sound. That sound is soon followed by thumping and more creaking, and it continues for quite some time. Then the unmistakable sound of fire begins to crackle just as Haku returned to the doorway.
"Come." Haku stepped closer the moon framing him in an ethereal glow. "Come sit by the fire. Let me spoil you. No tricks. I promise."
With gentle hands, Haku guided Neji to his feet and into the newly lit room. A fire crackled in the hearth, a cache of furs laid before it. The dirtied cloths and broken fragments seeming to have disappeared. The hole the rat had scurried through had vanished, the door restored and the latch secured against the increasing winds. There was a table underneath the window filled with a few selection of vegetables and a leg of meat waiting to be roasted.
Neji swallowed, feeling as overwhelmed as he did during the so called feast with Chouji. Everything he and his sister had was poor, dingy, few, far, and scarcely in between. They never had enough. And somehow, Haku had taken his home and made it into a warm, quant, and abundant home filled with whatever he needed. He was used to begging and even then he got nothing.
Let me spoil you…
That is what Haku had said and Neji blushed a dangerous hue when Haku sat him down on the pile of furs and wrapped him in another. The demon placed a chaste kiss to his cheek before moving away. Crackling gave way to chopping and slicing, and Neji watched with a growling stomach as everything Haku laid his hand on, was placed in the pot. Soon roasting meat filled the small room and Neji caught himself as drool gathered.
He was hungry.
When everything was roasting comfortably over the fire, Haku settled down next to him, pitcher in hand and offering it to Neji. "It's water. I swear it."
Neji took the pitcher, the liquid cool and quenching a thirst he wasn't expecting to have. Then he remembered he spent most of the day running away from the demons.
"Thank you." Neji mumbled staring into his lap. He was warm, drowsy and hungry. And when Haku pulled him into his arms, he didn't fight. Fingers combed through his hair the embrace warm, and Neji could feel tingles rising as the skin of his shoulder touched Haku's chest. He gasped and that was all it took for Haku's mouth to close over his own.
A new kind of warmth began to settle in his stomach and dripped even lower when Haku's tongue dipped into his mouth a moment before vanishing. He was deposited gently onto the furs fingers tips caressing his cheek.
"Lovely creature." The demon murmured.
When he pulled away Neji felt this tug in his gut that made him question his sanity once more. Of all the emotions he expected to feel within the arms of this demon, arousal and hunger were the least expected combination. Haku's embrace was warm, and gave forth a feeling of safety that contradicted the belief that he was dangerous.
"Is it alright for you to do this?" Neji asked. He needed something else to think about. Less he be tempted for more.
"Perhaps you are confused as to who serves who." Haku rubbed a thumb over his lips before claiming them, and Neji had to force himself away twice. When the demon pulled away from the bed, Neji regretted rejecting the demon. The bedding had gone cold and the loss within itself brought forth a paranoia he couldn't pinpoint.
After some time as Neji lay dozing and lost in conflicting thoughts, Haku returned to his side holding a bowl with a generous helping of meat, potatoes, and carrots. Neji stared at the bowl, his memories of a piggish Chouji, flashing, and flickering to the point of vomiting. After a final lurch Neji turned away trying to avoid the scent that once tempted him.
"I understand. Perhaps it is too soon." Haku whispered standing again and returning to the table.
When the demon knelt before him a second time. The meat was gone and in its place was another helping of of carrots.
"Try to eat something." Haku insisted as he sat next to him waiting for Neji to take the bowl. "I'm sure you are hungry."
The first bite quivered even as he swallowed. Haku's gaze unwavering, glowing in the light of the flickering flame. Neji shivered and not from the cold. Each bite after however came easier, and Neji's stomach growled less. When the bowl was cleared, Haku set the bowl on the ground, and pulled the Hyuuga into his lap. Fingers combed their way through tangled locks as the other hand trailed across Neji's abdomen. Before Neji had time to speak, HAku spun him around to face him, and laid kiss to his neck and jaw.
Neji could feel himself fluttering, swooning further into the demons embrace as Haku's hand dipped underneath the tunic he was wearing, sliding across his thigh to touch his most intimate place. Neji gasped, panting and keening as Haku began to stroke him, hugging him tighter the closer he came to release. With a shudder he did and Haku kissed him sweetly until the shaking stopped.
Feeling completely drained, Neji allowed himself to lean forward, only to feel a knot beneath him. The demon was aroused and Neji wondered if the demon would go further. But he didn't. Haku continued to pet him, laying gentle kisses to his cheek and temple. Slowly Haku pushed him onto the furs once again and rose.
Dreary eyed, Neji watched as he took the bowl back to the table before returning to his side again. The bowl was filled with a smaller helping, only this time the slab of meat, halved, rested alongside the potatoes.
Neji was too tired to protest.
XXXXX
When Neji awoke the next morning, the furs were tucked tightly around him. The table was clear, the fire having died, nothing but embers remained. The demon however, was nowhere in sight.
Rising from the furs, Neji spotted a bowl on the table that he hadn't spotted before and after shuffling over, saw that it was filled with berries. Next to it sat a small pitcher of milk. Nothing remained of the feast from the previous night. Neji took the bowl and pitcher back to the pallet of furs, and while plucking the berries, blues and red, the Hyuuga was forced to recall the memories of last night. The touches, the kisses, the way the demon held him.
Even as they lay amongst the bedding, warmed by the fire, the way the demon petted and fondled him made Neji blush. Neji gasped as a familiar warmth reawakened phantom tingles across sensitive flesh. After several long pauses, Neji's fingers dipped lower and lower until he was a hair's breadth away from exploring himself for the first time. The image of that sultry demon flashed briefly as fingertips teased himself just a little.
The door creaked, Neji snatched his hands away.
WHen Neji checked the door for any possible intruder, even Haku himself, Neji huffed when no one of the sort past through. He almost touched himself. Almost. Well, he touched but… didn't quite. With a harsh sigh Neji threw the bowl and pitcher across the floor and buried his palms deep into his eyes. The pain helped to clear his thoughts and Neji realized bitterly, that despite his sturn resolve to escape both demons, he fell into the arms of the most dangerous of the pair.
Willingly…
Forcing back tears, Neji heard the door creak again, fingers cupping the door's edge as it was suddenly pushed open. It was someone he didn't think he would see again. His eyes grew wide as Kabuto dropped the small handful of flowers he had been holding.
"Neji?" He stepped closer and Neji scampered away. "It can't be…"
Neji stared, unsure if he should run or hug the familiar face of Kabuto. The man was kind, always giving what he could spare for Neji and his sisters. With Kabuto being poor like his own family, Neji knew better than to ask for too much. After the death of his father, Neji scarcely saw Kabuto and figured the man left like most did, but to see him here now.
Neji swallowed.
"I thought you died…" Kabuto trailed off dropping to his knees. "When Orochimaru was named king, I-I feared the worst for all of you. For you."
Neji turned away, eyes brimming with tears he did not want to shed. A knot was forming in his stomach making him ache. It was fear but for Kabuto or himself he wasn't sure.
"The worst has come." Neji replied.
Kabuto was staring, Neji noticed, more so at his state of dress, which was a draping tunic, than any other thing. When he pulled the furs around him, Kabuto's gaze jumped to his eyes. The odd feeling was beginning to return.
"I was bringing flowers for you. To remember you." Kabuto smiled his hand picking the flowers that he had dropped, weeds mostly but he held them out for Neji to take, "I'm glad you are safe." His face grew stern. "But you should not stay here. Why would you come back?"
Neji shrugged, wondering for the first time, where the demon had gone. Would he have gone to Gaara despite promising not to? What if either returned? There was no possible way Kabuto would survive. Everyone Neji has ever encountered, have all perished. Kabuto was a kind man, as far as Neji was concerned, the man should not linger any longer.
Collecting his resolve Neji asked, "Why are you here?"
"The flowers." Kabuto held them up again.
"You can not stay." Neji stared at the furs, hands shaking beneath. "Please leave."
The man's brow curled in on itself his gaze harsh. "No." He rose to his feet to tower over the Hyuuga. "Come with me.." Kabuto extended his hand and Neji shrank away.
"No." Neji replied quickly scooting further away. Any further and he would be cowering beneath the table. "Just leave. Please." He begged.
Kabuto frowned getting to his knees, leaning forward until he was crawling toward Neji, increasing the Hyuuga's panic and paranoia.
"Who are you afraid of?!" Kabuto glanced to the side then to Neji again. "I swear it. Orochimaru will not harm you. I will keep you safe."
"It is not Orochimaru I fear." Neji pushed himself under the table. "If those creatures… demons capture you. They will kill you. Neji exhaled a shaky breath before continuing. "If I can help it I will do all in my power to keep others from harm. So please, just leave Kabuto."
When Neji caught Kabuto's eye the man's gaze held a ferocity that dropped Neji heart to his stomach. His ankle was grabbed through the furs, the grip harsh and bruising.
"Let me help you." The man pulled dragging Neji from under the table. "I will not leave you here." He then proceeded to pull Neji into his arms as if to comfort him. But Neji felt less than that in the man's arms. "Don't be afraid."
The gaze Neji saw was gone and replaced with something he couldn't identify. Something dangerous, not evil like Hidan or the demon Gaara, but something odd. What ever it be it only increased Neji's fear.
"There are demons after me!" Neji blurted trying to break Kabuto's hold but the man was reluctant.
"Demons?" His tightened his grip. "Demons?"
Neji was expecting disbelief, to be called a harlot, pushed away.
"The people say Orochimaru sold himself to a demon." Kabuto sighed, his gaze drifting to Neji's lap. "What kind of demon?" His tone was dark.
Frozen Neji stuttered, desperate to get away, the embrace a complete contrast to the way Haku held him. In fact the hold reminded him more of Gaara, that horrible demon with blood hair.
"Please let go of me." Neji whimpered. "Please." Tears were building as quickly as the fear in his belly. He just needed Kabuto to let go.
"Tell me what kind of demon it was?"
"Red hair!" Neji squeaked out. "Hollow green eyes, like jewels."
"I see. He was the one to..." Kabuto's grip loosened somewhat and Neji pulled eagerly away scooting back until he was under the table again. Kabuto didn't seem to care, his eyes vacant and staring at the space Neji left. "Was there another? Long hair and beautiful?"
A knot formed and Neji almost uttered the name of the demon he wished was here. "No." The Hyuuga mumbled not understanding why he would lie for the demon. "No." He didn't want to believe that he held affection for the demon but everytime he thought of Haku, his heart fluttered. As he peered at Kabuto from under the table, he recalled that Haku asked that he call for him or Gaara if he ever felt in danger. But he did not want the demon Gaara to know he was here. He would rather it be Haku, he felt safer in the arms of the worst kind of demon.
Kabuto seemed disturbed by Neji's answer and his eyes took on a look he had seen before.
Like Hidan.
"How do you know about demons?"
His eyes jumped to Neji and he crawled closer. "I have always wanted you to know, how much I…" He stopped a hair's breadth away. "I have always…" He moved closer as if to kiss, and Neji couldn't stop himself from kicking out.
"NO!"
Kabuto grabbed his leg and pulled dragging Neji from under the table. His breath is sticky when they touch his cheek. And Neji doesn't really realize he is screaming until Kabuto's hand covered his mouth.
"Stop please!" Neji tried kicking again but being trapped under the table made movement difficult. Kabuto seemed intent on taking him under the table. To think all this time Kabuto wanted to do such a thing. All the kindness, caring for him and his sisters, was it a pretense? Just a pretense to satisfy this form of end? Kabuto's hands were all over touching places that Neji would only want Haku to touch.
Only Haku...
"NO!" Neji screamed when the hand moved lower pulling at his tunic.
"Am I interrupting?"
Kabuto tensed hard enough that he hit his head on the table above him. The voice, Neji realized, brought some relief and he kicked again effectively getting Kabuto off and out from under the table.
"It is you." Kabuto eyes are wide.
"Neji?" Haku was looking at him tilting to the side. Neji swallowed when he saw the demon's eyes, his gaze was hard a look he had seen before. "Can you explain to me what is going on?"
"I-I-I…." Neji shuffled from under the table scooting away from Kabuto until he was near the fireplace.
"The other demon. Where is it?!" Kabuto rose from his knees pointing back at Neji. "It promised me he would be safe. It promised…"
"Is he not safe?" Haku answered moving around the perturbed man to crouch beside Neji. "Are you alright?"
Neji nodded.
"Did he hurt you?"
"No." Neji whispered. "Please don't hurt him. He was kind to me and my sisters."
"Perhaps…" Haku stood once more leveling Kabuto with a frightening gaze. "But the deal he made with Gaara will drive him to do more than what progressed before I walked through that door." The demon offered a hand, pulling Neji to his feet. "And to be honest my lovely pet. I can't have you tainted by the pathetic lost inhibitions of a frail human. One who foolishly gave his soul for what he thinks is love."
Neji stared at Haku eyes wide. Kabuto was in love with him. When he looked back at Kabuto, the man was staring at the floor form hunched in on itself from shame. But then a thought occurred to Neji, a strange and peculiar one. Perhaps he could bargain with Haku for the man's soul.
"If he traded his soul for my safety and the safety of my sisters… But they were still killed. Gaara didn't hold up his end of the bargain. He should be allowed to go free."
"The deal Kabuto made was focused more so on the village people who sought to harm you." The demon slipped its arms around Neji's waist holding him close. "Besides, Orochimaru caused both deaths."
"But_"
"And," Haku shushed him with a finger, trailing it along his lips and chin. "Orochimaru is not from Konoha. Therefore the bargain would not apply to him."
"But there must be some way…" Neji trailed off tears burning in his eyes. "Please is there some way… Is there anyway to save him?"
Why should you care?
Haku lured Neji away from the fireplace, trailing him until they reached the door.
"There is." Haku cast a glance toward Kabuto, his lip curling with disdain. "He needs to leave. And you can never see him again."
"But what of Neji?" Kabuto asked taking a step toward them but then thinking better of it.
"Neji will be fine. However, Neji," Haku caressed Neji's cheek. "When he leaves, you can't stay here anymore. Once you have gone this place can not remain standing. We will have to burn the place."
"But this is my home." Neji pulled away a knot forming in his throat as the tears he had been holding finally fell. "I will have nowhere to go. I-I-I refuse to go back with that demon."
"If you stay, Gaara will kill him." The demon reiterated.
"No! I will leave!" Neji wiped the tears away sniffling. "I will leave. But where else will I go?"
"If you like, you can stay with me." The demon pulled Neji into an embrace hugging him filling Neji with a confusing sense of relief. "Gaara will be upset with you but well, he isn't foolish enough to cross me."
There was an odd feeling pulling at Neji's gut as he recalled the conversation from the merchants store. "What do you want with me?"
"In time." Haku pulled the door open, the sun peeking into the room alighting Haku's eyes to a smoldering amber color. A color Neji never noticed before.
"Come."
Neji looked back to Kabuto, still standing in the shadow of the room. He looked lost and fearful.
"Don't go." He whispered and Neji turned from the man to look at Haku.
Unlike Kabuto Haku was bathed in sunlight casting him in an ethereal glow. The demon seemed angelic to him despite the horror the demon forced him to endure with Chouji. Even so his options seemed slim. It was either Gaara who may kill him, Kabuto who he feared may give in to his lust, or Haku.
Haku who turned Chouji into a pig. The demon who touched him so intimately as one would a lover. The demon who killed the tavern woman Ino. He should be saying no. But this demon was willing to spare Kabuto and keep him safe from the demon Gaara.
He turned to Kabuto tears falling past his cheeks. He could not let this man die because of him. He just could not. Even so, something was nagging him, filling the Hyuuga with a sense of unease.
Why should you care?
"Goodbye Kabuto." Even as he said those words, Neji felt numb. As if he didn't mean them. As if he didn't care.
Still he grabbed Haku's extended hand grimacing as he was pulled into the light of the sun. Past the doorway, he realized the sun was again beginning to set, sitting just above the trees. At this angle the trees seemed set ablaze by some unknown fire.
It was unsettling.
"Why?" Neji questioned turning back to the house, the door closing behind them. The last image of Kabuto would haunt him. Neji had never seen a man look so broken.
"You should not care for him so much."
"I-..." Neji had nothing to say.
"Well… Regardless we still can't leave this as is."
"What?" As the words fell from the Hyuuga's lips he suddenly smelled smoke. "What?"
Haku pulled him further away from the wooden structure, smoke billowing into the air from the roof.
"No!" Neji tried to grab at the handle. "He is still in there."
"He had the freedom to leave. If he stays it is his choice."
"Kabuto!"
The entrance caught fire then, a red and orange flame consuming the fragile wood in a span of moments. Wood cracked and creaked as pieces of wood gave out, the roof crumbling in on itself. The man who had shown so much kindness during his younger years had yet to emerge. Soon the small home was smoldering, more wood giving out within the fire.
"Kabuto."
Haku scooped the Hyuuga into his arms holding him close as the place Neji called home was reduced to broken wood and ash.