During the next two days, Neji's fever remained constant. His body burned like lava, though he felt freezing. The pain from the wounds around his eyes was a torture, and it still made it impossible for him to open his eyelids. The only relief came from the comforting sensation of the balm on his scars several times a day. Although Neji couldn't see him, he knew that Shikamaru had not left his side at any time. The Nara made sure to wash his wounds and carefully put the medicine on them every day, repeatedly. He even tried to feed him, but Neji felt too bad to eat. However he did accept water every time Shikamaru reached out his canteen for him.
If it had not been for Shikamaru's constant care and for his mother's medicine, perhaps Neji would not have survived those last two nights. On the third morning he felt considerably better, and was able to sit over the blanket and eat.
"When you feel good enough to walk, we should move", the Nara told him from somewhere near him, while Neji drank some water. "There's nothing else here, so there's no point in staying more time".
The Hyuuga nodded in silence. Despite of the fever, he remember everything from the last two nights. How Shikamaru had cleaned his wounds and taken care of him, whispering once and again that everything was going to be okay. But what he remembered the most was the sensation of waking up not knowing where he was, paralyzed and terrified by the infinite darkness. Everytime, Shikamaru had took his hand and held it firmly until he was able to fall asleep again. That simple gesture had kept him from losing his sanity.
"Thank you…", he murmured, still holding the canteen between his hands. "For everything you have done for me". He took a deep breathe, and before Shikamaru could answer, he added: "If it hadn't been for you, I would probably be dead by now".
The Nara didn't say anything for a little while. Then, Neji heard him approaching and sitting next to him. "I doubt it", he replied, sounding calmed. "You are alive because you are tough. I couldn't have survived in your place, that's for sure". The Hyuuga heard him stretching to take something. "Now you're feeling better, I think you should change those clothes". Neji realized he still had the same clothes he was wearing the day he left Konoha, which were probably torn and stained with blood. "You can put this on".
Like he had been doing every time he handed Neji a plate of food, Shikamaru slightly touched his hand with one of his fingers. The Hyuuga extended his hand to grab what the younger boy was giving him. After inspecting it for a few moments he realized that it was a pair of pants and a light juban.
"You brought this from your house?", Neji asked, doubting that the Nara had had enough time to take a change of clothes when he was escaping Konoha.
"No", Shikamaru answered. "I found it in one of the last villages I checked".
"All the villages I checked were destroyed and rotten", Neji said.
"I know", the Nara agreed. "But you can still find things in some of them, where the moss did not penetrate. Sometimes I find trunks or closets full of stuff that are not contaminated. When you can stand, we'll look for another village".
Neji rested for another two days, and then he communicated to Shikamaru that he was ready to leave. He didn't feel completely recovered yet, but he didn't want to make the Nara waste more time because of him.
They left their shelter early in the morning, advancing through the rocky mountains, because Shikamaru insisted that they should not descend. Neji knew that Nara always went down from the mountains and only went up to take refuge, and he imagined the boy was probably worried about running into Zetsus or enemies now that he was dragging the Hyuuga with him. Neji was blind, and too weak to use his capacity of sensing people's chakras. He would definitely have been a burden in a fight, and that was enormously frustrating for him.
He didn't complain, though, and tried his best to walk between the rocks without falling. Just like he had done the day he found him, the Nara stayed close to him all the time, taking his hand now and them to help him climb, and making sure that Neji wouldn't lose his balance. He appreciated it, but at the same time he had never felt so incapacitated in his life.
They walked for hours, until Shikamaru decided they should stop because soon it will be dark again. They didn't find a cave this time, so they simply stretched the blankets in the open and sat down to eat. Neji couldn't tell if the sun was already setting, because all he could see was darkness behind his closed eyelids. He focused, and felt that the temperature was getting down. He hadn't spent so much time outside since the day before he was captured, and he told himself he had to learn how to use his others sens to feel his surroundings, at least until he was able to open his eyes.
After they ate, Shikamaru cleaned his wounds and applied the blam over his eyes again. Neji was feeling exhausted from the long walk, so in the second the Nara finished, he lay over his blanket to get some rest. He heard Shikamaru lying next to him. They didn't talk, mostly because there was not much to say. Next day they would continue they trip, hoping to find another village.
He felt the wind caressing his face, and the distant sound of owls. It should be dark already, and Neji wished he could at least see the stars. He wanted so much to open his eyes, but everytime he tried his eyelids hurted too much, sending waves of pain through his whole body. Again, he felt frustrated, and trapped. Trapped by the impenetrable black. He clenched his fists, not noticing that he was shivering. Panic started to take control of him, and breathing became hard. Was his body paralyzed again? He was about to scream, when Shikamaru took his hand.
This time the fever was gone, and Neji was completely awake and aware. The Nara had sensed that something was wrong with him, and had taken his hand to remind him that he was not alone. Neji had no words to thank him for the gesture, so he just squeezed Shikamaru's hand to show him his gratitude.
During the next three days the routine was the same. They woke up at early morning, walked for hours through the slippery rocks, and stopped before sunset. After eating, Shikamaru would take care of his wounds, and then they would lie over the cold ground together.
Every night, when he was about to fall asleep, he was assaulted by a sudden sensation of panic. He tried to open his eyes to free himself from the darkness, but couldn't. Neji was sure that it was the most terrifying feeling he had ever experienced. But every time that happened, Shikamaru took his hand. Amazingly as it could sound, it made the fear slowly fade away. It was a tender gesture, and possibly the most intimate that Neji had ever shared with anyone. In the past, his proud character would have made him reject a touch like that one, but now he was only relieved to feel that there was someone next to him. He knew it was a bit strange for two men to hold hands like that, but he was sure that Shikamaru did it only to give him some comfort. So every time the boy took his hand, he accepted it in grateful silence. And that way he could sleep.
They were walking slowly through the mountains. Shikamaru was in front, and Neji followed behind, paying close attention to the sound of the Nara's steps to evade the rocks. The breeze caressed his face, and he felt a different smell in the wind. Water?, he thought.
"I think a storm is coming", Shikamaru said ahead of him, speaking the words Neji was thinking. But he heard a strange tone of preoccupation in the Nara's voice.
"That is a good thing, right?", he asked. "To collect more water".
Shikamaru clicked his tongue. "Well, yes and no", he answered. "Come, let's find a shelter and I'll explain you".
They went up for a few more minutes, because apparently Shikamaru wanted to be as high as possible. The Nara finally found a crack in the rocks where they could take cover from the rain, very close to the edge of the cliff. As soon as they entered, the first drops began to fall. At first it was a soft drizzle, but it quickly became a dense rain. Neji heard the water falling above the surface of the rocks, and felt a few drops splashing his crossed legs.
"Well, that was fast", Shikamaru murmured, sitting next to him.
"What?", Neji asked, confused.
"The Zetsus", was the boy's answer. "They always come out with the rain. They love it".
"Are you seeing Zetsus now?", the Hyuuga questioned, wishing he could open his eyes and see for himself.
"Yeah…", the Nara replied. "They are simply there, standing in the rain. About a dozen of them". Neji frowned instantly. A dozen? That was a lot for how relaxed the Nara sounded. Shikamaru must have seen his reaction, because he added: "Don't worry. We're very high, totally out of their reach. They don't even see us".
Neji's frown softened, but he still wasn't convinced. He felt the horrible sensation of having to trust another person because he could not keep himself safe by his own. Luckily Shikamaru kept talking, and that silenced those thoughts. "It seems that they get stronger with the rain, as if they were some kind of plant. I think they feed mainly on water. I've seen they don't eat the bodies of the people they kill".
That sent a chill down Neji's spine. He couldn't help but to imagine the bodies of his friends and family, torn apart by the Zetsus and abandoned under the rain. Shikamaru probably realized about it, because he tried to lighten the mood. "Okay, that came out a little too creepy. Let's talk about something else. Did you wander for a long time before being captured?".
Neji shook his head slowly. "Only for a couple of weeks", he answered.
"Really?", Shikamaru asked, and the Hyuuga could hear surprise in his tone.
"What?", he questioned, turning his head to the Nara, even though he couldn't see him. The younger boy hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Do you know how much time has passed since then?".
Neji considered the question. The true was he didn't. The time he had been a prisoner of the man with glasses had seemed like a lot to him, but he had spent most of that time unconscious or delirious because of the fever, so he really had no idea. "No", he admitted.
Shikamaru didn't answer right away, which gave Neji the clue to suspect that a lot of time had passed. "It's been more than eight months since then", the Nara finally said.
Neji was stunned. That was indeed a lot of time. So he had been tortured and starved almost to death for almost eight months before being sold to the slave trader. After all the damage his eyes had suffered, it would be a miracle that when he could finally open them he could still be able to see. Once again, he felt dark thoughts dragging him down.
"Hey", Shikamaru whispered softly next to him. "You know what? We should take this chance to bathe, especially you. No offense, but you stink a little".
He had just said that to distract him, and Neji knew it. But he appreciated, so he gave the Nara a tiny smile. "I probably do. I haven't bathed in more than eight months".
Shikamaru let out a soft laugh at hearing him, which for some reason made Neji feel much better. They took of their clothes and left them inside their temporary shelter, to sit at the edge of the cliff and let the rain wash them. He realized that the fact of not being able to see made it way easier to be naked in front of the Nara. He didn't feel ashamed, although he knew that Shikamaru could see him. He let the water flow over his body, enjoying the mild cold of the drops on his skin.
After two more days of long walks through the mountains, Shikamaru finally announced that there was a village in sight. Neji thought the Nara was going to propose that he wait there while he went down to see if he could find anything useful, but the boy didn't do that, although it would have been well justified. Shikamaru probably believed that he could also be attacked while he was gone, and preferred to have him by his side to protect him. Neji hated that feeling of vulnerability and complete dependence, but he said nothing, and followed the Nara down the mountain.
According to Shikamaru, the village was covered in that filthy toxic moss, and it was as rotten as the others. The smell was penetrating, so they had to cover their faces with their shirts to create a minimal barrier that allowed them to move forward. They circled the deserted streets for more than an hour, until the Nara ordered him to stop.
"What?", Neji asked, as he heard Shikamaru walking to a side of the street.
"This house", the Nara answered. "It seems closed. And the interior looks good".
Neji imagined he was looking through a window. A second later, he heard strong blows on a hard surface. It seemed as if Shikamaru was kicking a wall. After a few tries, Neji recognized the sound of a door giving in.
"Well, this place looks clean", the Nara said. "Come".
Neji followed his voice, and searched the air with his hands to find the door. When he finally did, he heard Shikamaru walking in circles inside.
"There's not much", the Nara told him. "Just a tiny room, it has probably been a guest house room in the past. But at least there's a bed. It'll be good for your recovery to rest in a soft surface for a change".
Neji took some hesitant steps forward, until his legs crashed softly against the bed. He sat on the edge, listening to Shikamaru lock the door behind him again. After that he heard him moving things around and stirring the drawers.
"Anything interesting?", Neji asked, waiting patiently with his hands over his legs and his head fixed ahead.
"No, just a couple of very ugly adornaments", the Nara answered. "But the bed has a good cover. We will take it. It'll be useful when the winter comes".
Since there wasn't much there they could take with them, they decided they would only stay for one night. The next morning they would leave again, in search of another village. They still had the last leftovers of the last bird Shikamaru had hunted and cooked, so they settled down to eat. The Nara sat on the floor, leaning his back against the bed, while Neji stayed in the same place.
They ate in silence, and that allowed Neji to hear the sounds of the night birds that were beginning to come out. That told him it was night already, and he wondered how many days had passed since Shikamaru had found him. Eight? Ten? Maybe more. He didn't remember how long his fever had lasted.
"Do you want some more? ", Shikamaru asked, and Neji knew he was reaching the rest of his food for him. "I'm full".
That was a lie. He couldn't be full, no with just that tiny ration of food. He was trying to get Neji to eat more, which indicated that he must still look remarkably malnourished. "You are not", he answered, leaning to put the flat stone he always used as a plate on the floor.
"I am, I swear", he heard the Nara insist, while Neji sat straight on the edge of the bed again. He was glad he couldn't see Shikamaru now, lying directly to his face for pity. The Hyuuga bit his lip, feeling more helpless and pathetic than ever.
"You do too much for me", he finally answered. It didn't matter how hungry he was, he didn't want more favors for compassion.
"No, I don't", Shikamaru replied softly. "We have to share what we have, right?".
Damn Nara. Why did he have to be so nice? It only made Neji feel even worse. He clenched his fists over his thighs with frustration.
"You would be much better without me", he said in a bitter tone.
He heard Shikamaru leave the rest of the food aside too. "I wouldn't", the Nara simply whispered.
Neji shook his head. "Please. You could walk at a normal pace, or move much faster, and you would not have to worry so much about running into enemies".
"Maybe…", Shikamaru replied, and Neji heard a strange tone of anguish in his voice. "But that doesn't mean I would be better".
Neji couldn't believe that, and he wouldn't. "How is that possible? I am just making things more complicated for you".
Shikamaru took a few moment to answer, an the Hyuuga wished he could see his face. "That's not true", the Nara finally said. "I've been alone for almost nine months. You are the first familiar person I find since I left Konoha. The company is a good change".
Neji frowned. He remembered his feeling of relief when he recognized Shikamaru's voice after the boy bought him to the slave trader. At that time he didn't care that they hadn't been close back in Konoha, he was just happy to hear a familiar voice after so much chaos and loneliness. "So...", he started saying. "You prefer to drag with me than to be by yourself?".
The question faded in the air. After a long pause, Shikamaru answered. "I do", he simply said.
There was something different in his voice. It sounded hoarse and serious. A very long silence came next, in which Neji felt a little lost. Was Shikamaru okay? Why wasn't he speaking? When the Nara finally talked again, his words seemed distressing.
"During the last months, I started thinking I was never going to find someone from Konoha. That maybe nobody had been able to escape, and they were all dead… To see you, after I had completely lost hope, was…". He stopped. Neji could hear his words starting to choke. "If you were still alive, maybe my parents… My team…".
Neji heard him exhale hard, as if he was holding an incipient cry. It was so sad. The boy had spent many months alone, fearing for his friends and family, thinking that he was probably never going to see them again, and that he had absolutely no link to his past and his home anymore. Neji had been so sick and weak that he didn't have time to worry about those things. He wished so much he could look at him in the face and say that everything was going to be okay. Instead, he reached out a hand to softly grab Shikamaru's shoulder. In the instant he did, he realized the Nara was shivering.
The boy didn't reject his touch. His breathing became agitated, starting to come out in short bursts. Neji squeezed his shoulder gently, and the Nara began to tremble more violently. A second later, the older boy felt the warm sensation of Shikamaru's forehead over the back of his hand. His skin got wet, and he knew the Nara was silently crying.
A powerful wave of compassion filled Neji's chest. He didn't feel sorry for Shikamaru, he actually understood how he felt. Nothing had ever produced such empathy in him, and perhaps that empathy was what the Nara had felt for him when he saw him for the first time, right before buying him.
Threads of tears fell down the back of Neji's hand. He squeezed his fingers harder on Shikamaru's shoulder, but that wasn't enough. Without letting him go, he slid down the bed to sit beside him, and placed an arm around his shoulders.
Not only did the boy not push him away, but he wrapped his arms around his waist and hugged him tightly, hiding his head in Neji's neck. The Hyuuga held him firmly, while Shikamaru shook by the harsh sobs that had finally broken him. He had been so lonely, crossing paths only with enemies, and this was the first time in months that someone gave him a bit of comfort. Neji placed both arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, thinking that they only had each other in the whole world, and they didn't know for how long it would be like that. They were alone, but at least they were alone together.
Shikamaru cried for long minutes, letting out all the anguish and pain he had been feeling. The Hyuuga waited patiently, simply listening to him in the complete darkness of his closed eyes. After a while, the Nara loosened his grip on his waist and took a deep breath, without yet removing his face from Neji's neck. When he managed to calm down a little, he let his arms slide down and leaned against the bed. Neji sat quietly beside him, wishing he could see him, but thinking that if he could, it might have been harder for Nara to show himself in that state to him.
"Thank you…", Shikamaru whispered in a tired voice. Neji didn't know what to say, so he simply smiled, expecting that the Nara saw it. He couldn't explain how he knew it, but after a few seconds, he could swear that the boy was smiling too.
They were silent for a while, just sitting next to each other. For some reason, the atmosphere between them felt comfortable and nice. Neji thought he hadn't felt so good in months.
"It's late", Shikamaru said softly, ending the silence. "We should go to sleep so we can leave in the morning". Neji nodded, and stood up slowly. He heard the Nara reaching for his backpack. "Take the bed. You still need to rest more that I do. I'll be just next to it".
The Hyuuga sat on the edge of the bed and felt it with his hand, checking the size. "There is a lot of space", he said, turning his head to where he thought Shikamaru was. "We have to share what we have, right?", he added with a smile.
He heard a soft, relaxed laugh. "Right", Shikamaru answered, and approached to sit next to him. They lay down in the bed together, with their faces toward the ceiling. It didn't take long for Shikamaru to take his hand. And Neji accepted it, squeezing it gently.
Hi! I hope you enjoyed chapter two!
Thank you all for your nice comments, you have received this story really well and that makes me so happy! I couldn't ask for more sweet and faithful readers than you: ')
I can't wait to know what you guys think!