Background: The story takes place at the beginning of the war against Madara. Before the troops of the Land of Fire could organize against him, he freed a plague. Hordes of white Zetsus, wild and bloodthirsty, razed everything. Fields and cities were destroyed in its path. Their relentless strength and huge number made it impossible to stop them. Their bodies were toxic, and they destroyed the vegetation, polluted the water and vitiated the air. This resulted in everyone having to leave their homes, and a humanitarian crisis broke out.
Food is scarce, and people have become hostile to ensure survival. Everybody is a possible enemy. The world is in chaos.
Neji's POV
Neji felt a piercing pain at the side of his body and stopped. He ducked behind a bush and looked around, searching for the best way to escape. He couldn't remain immobile for a long time. He was being chased.
When the hordes of Zetsus invaded Konoha, he was quietly practicing with his team in the training field, as usual. No one saw them coming, because they simply emerged from the earth. They were fierce and hard to beat, and the worst part, they kept coming. He fought with all his strength, but after a long while he understood he couldn't do anything to stop them. At every second there were more and more. He tried to stay next to his team, but they had to separate in order to avoid the wild Zetsus that came running towards them, one after the other.
Neji fought them until he run out of chakra, and then he just confront them with his physical strength. But at this point it was very clear that his only opportunity was to run. He looked around and didn't see his team anymore, but he saw other people running from the Zetsus, leaving Konoha. Even shinobis had stopped fighting them.
Neji cursed, but turned around and accelerated towards the exit of the village. He tried to look for his family and team, but the picture was total chaos. Huge cracks opened in the streets, shaking the ground and collapsing houses. From them came more of those horrible creatures.
Damn. If he had save a bit of Chakra, he could have use his Byakugan to find his uncle and cousins, and then his team. A cold hand with sharp nails gripped his leg, and Neji looked down. One of those disgusting things was pulling him down. He shook his leg hard and got loose. He started running again, thinking that he needed to find a hiding place.
He left the village at high speed, avoiding the Zetsus that seem to come from every inch of ground. In the woods that surrounded Konoha, he could see people running in all directions, also trying to escape. Many of them didn't made it, and were torn into pieces by the beasts.
Without ever stopping, he thought about his family. Hinata, little Hanabi, and his uncle. Have they been able to escape from all that? And what about his team? Tenten, Lee and Guy Sensei?
He only could think in turning back and search for them, but there was just no way to retreat. The Zestus kept coming. If he stopped running for just a second, they would catch him.
After being chased for an hour, he was able to climb up a tree. The creatures could see him, but apparently they couldn't climb to get him. After stalking him for a very long time they finally went away. Neji saw them go, with their white bodies covered in the blood of those they had killed. He felt a chill running down his spine when he thought it might belong to someone he knew. He would definitely try to find them, but first, he would restore his chakra levels and hide until those monsters were out of sight.
He got off the three only when the sun came up again. He wondered the area, and discovered that there were still Zetsus out there, moving in small groups. But there was not so many anymore. Neji supposed they had stopped coming from the ground, and that a good amount of them had been defeated. He was able to avoid ones that crossed his way using his Byakugan, and started heading to Konoha.
He had moved far from the village during his escape, so he had to go through large portions of land to return. While there was almost no Zetsus, the atmosphere felt polluted. Neji noted that from the deep cracks that divided the earth came a strange green moss. It had spread rapidly almost everywhere. He saw it stuck to the barks of the trees, and covering herbs and plants. It must be damaging the vegetation, because the air felt different. As rotten.
When Neji arrived to Konoha, he found it uninhabited and empty. Everything was covered by that disgusting green thing, even the bodies of the dead. The air was almost impossible to breathe. After accepting that there was no one there, he resigned and left.
The Zetsus attack had affected the whole region. The earth and the waters were contaminated, so very fast there was nothing left to eat or drink. Neji run into a few groups of people, but they were very hostile. He had to run away from all of them, because they would try to steal anything he had. Hunger was making everybody crazy. However, he had nothing they could steal, because he had had no time to get his things before leaving Konoha.
He wondered for weeks, finding temporary refuges. Hunger was constant, and there was absolutely nothing to eat. The only relief came with the rains, when he could at least drink some water.
He was heading to the next village, hoping it wouldn't be abandoned and rotten like the last one he had check, when he ran into a group of men. They had no distinctive clothing, so Neji couldn't tell where they were from. They recognized the Byakugan right away, and started asking him random questions. He could see them exchanging excited smiles.
Neji had imagined this could happen. In a catastrophe like this one, it was sure that some people would be interested in the most powerful Dōjutsus. They surely wanted his eyes, and apparently didn't know that if they killed him to steal them, the Cursed Seal would get activated and destroy them. Neji wasn't going to tell them though. They attacked him, and he fought fiercely, taking down two of them. But there were four left yet, and he was weak from the lack of food. Once more, he couldn't do anything but to start running.
He heard them approaching to his hiding spot. They were good fighters, skilled enough to break a couple of Neji's ribs. In this conditions he wouldn't be able to defeated them. He stood up and started running again. He looked over his shoulder and saw a kunai flying directly to his face. Without stopping, he ducked to avoid it, but slipped in the moss and lost his balance. He crashed against the ground, and a second after, he felt strong hands grabbing his body.
The men took him and tied his wrists tightly behind his back. He was forced to walk in the direction of a huge mountain. At the base there was a dark cavern, which went deep into the rock.
Inside, he was taken to a tiny cell. His broken ribs hurt, so he couldn't do anything but to sit on the dirty floor and wait. A few minutes later, he was presented to a young man with round glasses that seemed like the boss. He was very happy his team had found a Hyuuga, and he approached to study Neji.
The man lick his lips at admiring his eyes. But then, he noticed he was still wearing his Hitai-ate. He frowned, and took a hand to Neji's forehead to take it off, along with his black ribbon. He saw the green mark over his skin and let out a loud curse. He apparently knew what his team didn't.
The man left and Neji heard him yelling to his men. After about an hour, he came back looking more calmed.
"Well," he said, opening the cell fence for two men to get him out of there. "Let's take a look at those eyes. I can't wait to learn it's secrets".
"If you kill me the Cursed Seal will destroy my eyes", Neji said seriously. "You will never have them".
The man simply laughed and waved a hand in the air. "I know. That's why we are not going to kill you. I can study them from their place in your face. It will hurt a little, but only to you, and I really don't care about that".
From that moment on, every day was an indescribable torture. Neji was attached to a cold metal table, and no matter how much he fought, he could not free himself from his bonds. That crazy man and his team spent hours over his face, trying to find out the secrets of the Byakugan. With sharp tools, they made several cuts on his eyelids and on the sides of his eyes, in order to analyze them better. The pain was unbearable, because they did not use any type of anesthesia. For months, they exposed his eyes to powerful lights, and placed drops in them that burned like fire. They carefully wrote down all the reactions they could notice. In the evenings, Neji was taken back to the cell, where he was fed only enough to keep him alive, with a disgusting paste that tasted horrible. At no time did they take care of the wounds they had cause on him, which gave him a feeling of constant fever. More than once he wished to die, to finally end that suffering.
He had no idea of how much time he had been in that place. Deep inside the mountain it was impossible to distinguish night from day, but even if they had been outdoor, Neji couldn't open his eyes. His eyelids simply hurted too much. Everyday they forced him with their tools to open them again, but he couldn't do it by his own. He had no strength at all because of the bad food, the lost of blood and the constant fever. He could only lie on the cell floor, shaking and sweating in the complete darkness, and wait for a miracle that came to take his life.
After a time that seemed like an eternity, he was finally took out of the cell and carried outside. He felt the sun over his cheeks, and the air moving his hair. It still smelled strange, but it was way better than the enclosure. Neji couldn't open his eyes yet, and his wrist were strongly tied, so he couldn't scape. They put him on a horse and he felt himself moving forward.
He had no idea of where they were taking him, but he didn't ask. During the whole trip he felt dizzy because of the fever, but the warm sun over the painful cuts on his eyes felt nice. They stopped after a long while and he was taken off the horse. He could hear people talking, and he tried to imagine in what kind of place they were. He hadn't seen any settlement with people before he was captured, only groups that wandered around, like he had done.
Next to him, Neji heard the voice of his captor, the man with round glasses.
"Are you interested in this one? He's a Hyuuga".
Neji felt steps getting closer, and sensed he was being studied, as someone was considering the question.
"He looks pretty bad…", the stranger said.
"Yes, we were going to kill him", the man with glasses answered. "But then we thought that someone would pay to have a Hyuuga, even in this state".
"Well, I guess I can probably find a buyer", the stranger answered. "I will have to cover his eyes to hide those cuts, it causes a bad impression. But yeah, I'll take him".
And just like that, Neji was sold. Sold like an animal, or a piece of furniture. Now he was in the hands of a slave trader. Apparently the world had kept collapsing after he was captured, if slavery was now possible. He was taken to a room where he could hear that there were other people, probably in his same situation. Well, not exactly the same. They could at least see. Many of them tried to free themselves fighting, like Neji would have done if he had had his strength and his eyes, but the trader and his man punished them brutally every time.
For days, he could only lie against the wall in a corner, feeling too sick to even stand. They had untied him and they were feeded once a day with another disgusting paste, though he had almost no strength to eat. He could feel his body getting weaker every day.
On one specific morning, the trader's helpers came to take them out of the room. Apparently they were going to be put up for sale. At noticing the deep cuts on Neji's face, a woman put a bandage over his eyes, securing it around his head. That was probably not good publicity for a product. After making them walk for half an hour, they made them climb a few steps and placed them over a tiny stage, one next to the other. Neji could hear the trader offering his commodity with loud exclamations. He wondered what kind of people could buy slaves, and felt a chill at thinking who could buy him.
Two hours went by, and he was feeling worse. The fever was stronger than ever, and his eyes hurt behind the bandage. He needed to sit up, but he would probably earned a whiplash if he did. He had heard the trader punishing other slaves like that.
Suddenly, a voice reached him over the trader's exclamations.
"How much for the Hyuuga?", it asked. Neji thought it sounded familiar, but his mind was too blurry because of the fever.
"35000 ryo", the trader answered
"35000?", the stranger repeated. "That's ridiculous, for anyone. And besides he's in a very bad shape. Don't you take care of your merchandise?"
Neji heard the trader laughing.
"He was like this when I got him. Besides, do you have any idea of how much money I'd spend if I had to heal all my slaves? C'mon kid, do you want him or not?".
The stranger seemed to be thinking, but finally he answered.
"30000", he said, but the trader clicked his tongue.
"No deal. This is a Hyuuga, boy. Surely someone willing to pay the full price will appear soon".
Neji felt devastated, as he heard how his life was being treated like a product.
"Fine, fine. I take him", the stranger finally said. An instant later, Neji felt a hand grabbing his wrist, as he was taken to his new owner. After the money exchanged hands, the stranger put a hand on Neji's shoulder and started directing him towards the exit. He tried to set himself free, but he was too weak. He could only let himself be carried out, feeling the fingers of his buyer strongly grabbing his shoulder, while his mind wobbled.
A minute later they were out, and he felt the sun over his face again. He wished he could take the bandage off and open his eyes. Neji could hear people walking next to them, which meant it was a crowded place. Suddenly, the stranger got closer to him, leaning over his shoulder, and Neji could feel his lips next to his ear.
"Neji, can you hear me?", the voice asked.
So he knew him. The stranger knew who he was.
"Who are you?", Neji questioned in a weak tone. Yes, the voice still sounded familiar, but he couldn't recognize it yet.
"It's Shikamaru", the stranger answered. Neji felt his heart jump. That was why the voice sounded familiar, he had hear it many times before. He felt an indescribable happiness at meeting with someone from Konoha again, after all that time.
"Shikamaru?", he asked, a bit incredulous. "What are you doing here?"
"It's a long story", the Nara replied. "Are you okay?".
They kept walking, getting away from the voices of people.
"I…", he started answering, but then he realized something. "You bought me?".
"Yeah…", Shikamaru said, sounding a little uncomfortable. "Not to enslave you, ofcourse. But if I didn't do it any maniac could have bought you".
Neji hesitated. It had been a very kind gesture from someone who didn't even knew him so much.
"It was a lot of money", he finally said.
"Yeah. I'm broke", Shikamaru admitted. "I'm sorry for bargain the price, but that was really all I had left".
Neji felt guilty about that. He lowered his head. "Thank you…", he whispered.
"Forget about it. We have to take care of your wounds, I can see blood behind your bandage", Shikamaru said. "Let's get out of here. Come".
During the next half an hour, Shikamaru carefully directed him, firmly holding him by the shoulder. Neji had always considered himself a cold person, but that was the first friendly touch he felt in a long time, and he secretly thanked for it. They began to climb a steep hill, and the ground soon became rocky. Climbing was difficult, especially not being able to see, but Shikamaru helped him at all times, not letting him fall. They stopped at a considerable height, and entered what Neji believed was a small cave.
"I've been hiding here for the last days", Shikamaru said somewhere close to him. "Zetsus still appear at nights, but they are not very good climbers, so we will be safe if we stay up ground level. Sit, I have to take that thing off your face."
Neji sat in the cold ground, feeling his cracked ribs hurting. They had never healed completely. His fever had not gone down, and he felt even weaker than before. He heard Shikamaru searching through his things, and then sitting in front of him. Neji felt the Nara's fingers carefully beginning to remove the bandage that covered his eyes.
Shikamaru let out a curse. He must look really bad. His wounds had not healed yet, and some of them were still bleeding.
"Fuck, Neji, what happened to you?", the Nara asked with a bitter tone.
"I was traped by a group of men", Neji explained in the most steady voice he could manage. "They were interested in the Byakugan, so they spent months studying my eyes. When they got enough they simply sold me to the slave trader".
Shikamaru kept silent for a long moment. He must feel sorry for him, which Neji didn't like at all, but he owned him too much, so he said nothing.
"I have some of my mom's balms", the Nara finally told him. "It will help those cuts to cicatrize, and after a little they'll heal. But I should probably clean them first".
He stood up and came back with a canteen of water, that he had probably collected during the rains. Then, with a wet cloth, he started cleaning Neji's eyes with extreme delicacy. After doing so, he put some balm on his wounds. It burned a little, but the smell of medicine was pleasant.
"How did you end up here?", Neji asked after a few minutes, while Shikamaru kept applying the blam, slowly sliding his fingers over his face.
"When the Zetsus came, I was lazing around with my team", he told Neji. "The cracks on the earth made us separate, and I couldn't find them anymore. I went to my house looking for my parents, but they weren't there. So I grabbed all I could carry and left Konoha. I came back a few days later, but there was no one left, and everything was rotting because of that green shit".
"Yes…", Neji whispered. "I came back too…"
A long silence came after. They had both seen their village destroyed, so they already knew it, but say it to another person made it even more real.
"You should probably remain without the bandage tonight." Shikamaru finally said, ending the silence. "So that it dries and the wounds have some air. I'll wash it and you can use it tomorrow. You must be hungry too, right?"
Neji heard him stand up and walk a few steps, to return seconds later and sit in the ground in front of him again. "Here", he said, approaching something to Neji's hand, slightly touching his skin with his fingers to let him know where the food was. Neji opened his hand and Shikamaru put something that felt like a flat rock on it. The Hyuuga felt with his fingers what was over it, and the familiar smell of meat got to him. But how was it possible? All the animals had starved after the Zetsus came, and their bodies had rotten by the green moss.
"What is this?", Neji asked with surprise.
"It's a bird", Shikamaru answered. "I don't know exactly which bird, but it's pretty good. Try it".
Neji did, and it was the most delicious thing he had had in a very long time. It was cooked, apparently on fire. It was just like what he used to eat in Konoha, completely different from that horrible paste with which he had been fed lately.
"Where did you get this from?", he asked, not hiding his astonishment. "All the animals died because of the moss"
"Well, not all", Shikamaru replied. "Birds can fly, so they simply moved to farther or higher areas. Remember I said Zetsus can't climb very well? And remember that green thing that covers everything? They produce it. They spread it with every step they take and to everything they touch. Because they can't climb, they didn't reach the top of the highest mountains, and that thing didn't got here. You can find birds and some little lizards. I don't especially enjoy the part of hunting and killing them, but is the best food I could find".
That was a lot of information to process for how sick Neji felt in that moment, but he listened with attention. "How do you know so much about the Zetsus?", he asked.
"I've spent a lot of time watching them", the Nara simply answered.
They ate in silence. At being with Shikamaru after all that time, Neji couldn't help but to remember Konoha. Even the worst missions they had had would have been better than that horrible chaos.
"Do you know anything about the others?", Neji asked lowly after a long time.
Shikamaru took his time to answer, but he finally did it. "No", he said dryly.
And that was it. Uncertainty, and the horrible feeling of knowing that the people they cared about could be dead. He had never imagine a future like this one. Shikamaru didn't talk for a long while, and Neji wished he could see his face. Was he having the same horrible thoughts he was?
"You should rest", he younger boy spoke at last. Then, Neji heard him placing a blanket or something on the cool floor, so he could lay over it.
"Where are you going to sleep?", he asked, thinking that the Nara had gave him too much already.
"Don't worry, I have another one of those", he answered. "Here, you can cover yourself with this".
Shikamaru gave him a big coat, and then made him a pillow with his backpack. He was being extremely nice, though Neji knew why: he was blind, hurted and malnourished. That was obviously making him look like he needed all the possible help he could get.
He heard Shikamaru walking to the exit of the cave and starting to wash his bloody bandage. Neji lay down over the blanket set for him, and covered himself with the coat. He listened to the Nara's sounds until he fell asleep, imerse of the pleasant smell of the warm coat, more comfortable than he had felt in a very long time.
Blinding lights blinked before his eyes, while sharp knives tried to cut him to death. He shook, but his body was trapped. He could not move. He heard a desperate scream in the silence of the night, and realized that it was him. He was sweating, though he felt freezing, and at the same time all his skin burned. His fever was even stronger now. He wished so much he could see.
He felt a hand on his arm, and words he couldn't understand. Seconds later, the hand moved away and came back with a wet cloth, which was placed on Neji's forehead. An arm slid behind his neck and he was drawn closer to a warmer body.
"It's okay…", he heard the voice say. He wanted to open his eyes, but the pain was just too strong. "It's okay…", the voice repeated. Neji caught the smell of the person holding him and realized it was Shikamaru. Blurred memories of the last hours came back to him. The Nara was trying to calm him down and lower his fever. Neji turned his head to him to say he was fine, but the only thing that came out was a cry of pain. "Shhh…", Shikamaru hissed lowly against his lips. "You'll be okay now… I got you..."
Somehow, those words brought him a bit of peace. After a little while, all the sensations faded away and he fall asleep again.
He woke up a few hours later, not screaming this time, but still feeling the fever burning him. He had no idea if it was day or night, or if he was still dreaming. Or maybe the last day had been a dream, and his encounter with Shikamaru had never happened. He couldn't feel the Nara next to him, so he tried to move his hand to reach him, but realized he couldn't move. He felt panic. Had Shikamaru returned to his spot, or had he never been there? Was he still in the hands of the trader? Was he still over the cold table of the man with the glasses?
He couldn't see, and had absolutely no idea of where he was. Darkness became terrifying, and he started shivering without noticing it. Suddenly, a hand took his, squeezing with gently fingers.
"It's still night...", the drowsy voice of Shikamaru murmured. "Go back to sleep".
He was there. The Nara had not separated from him, and was sleeping right next to him. Neji slightly squeezed his hand too, and the sudden panic disappeared. He was not alone in the dark. Shikamaru was there with him.
Hello! Well, this is a new fic that I've been wanting to write for a while. I am already working on the next chapter, but I am also continuing another story that I have already started, so you'll have to be patient with the updates.
Please give me your opinion and tell me if you would like it to continue!
Pace*