"Oi! Open up!"
Startled, I sat bolt upright in my bed, gathering my wits just as another barrage of fists banged on my door.
"I know yer in there! Open up, now!" The landlord? What did he want?
"Coming!" I rasped groggily, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and cheeks. I felt for the doorknob, hastily twisting it before the grumpy man could attack the wood again. "Is something wrong?"
"Ya better believe somethin's wrong!" While his voice sounded scary, his heart sounded just plain scared. "I jus' got word that yer some kinda spy!"
I froze. "Who told you that?" I breathed, horrified.
"It don' matter! I want ya outta here! Get out!" I imagined a large finger pointing in the direction of the stairway. "Yeh've got thirty seconds, ya hear?"
"But. . . but. . ." I muttered weakly. "But, sir—"
"Twenty-five seconds!"
My hands took care of the thinking part, since my brain was still in shock. They grabbed the first outfit within reach, shoving them over my pajamas and stuffing what was left of my money into the pockets. The sandals came last, and before I knew what was happening, I was being manhandled down the stairs and out the door, which slammed angrily behind me.
I simply stood there, trying to make sense of what had happened; I suddenly had nowhere to live, nowhere to sleep. Just like that, the petty life I'd built for myself had vanished.
Should I tell someone? No, that'd make things worse. . .
Not knowing quite what to do yet, I walked, letting my body guide me instead of the other way around. It was still really early in the morning; I hazarded a guess at three o'clock, since the crickets were still chirping and the crisp air was stinging my lungs.
He wouldn't come around until seven at the absolute earliest— what would he think about this unfortunate turn of events? It would frustrate him, to say the least; now that I had no place to stay, he'd probably have to keep a constant watch over me, never resting, never going back to his own home. . .
Shut up, Keiden. . . he doesn't have to know about this. . . just pretend you're leaving the apartment when you sense him! That'll work!
Well, it was better than doing nothing. I turned toward the apartment again, making my way to the back, where there weren't any windows. I was still tired, but sleeping here probably wasn't the best option at the moment. Sighing, I sat down and pushed my palms into the ground, marveling at the vibrations the earth contained. If I concentrated hard enough, I could feel the landlord stomping back into his room, the other tenants tossing and turning under their covers.
Slowly but surely, the warmth of the timid morning sun began licking my forearms, and the air became slightly heavier. This was a much more familiar feeling— and, with that, came the knowledge that he'd be here soon enough.
Buh-dummm, buh-dummm, buh-dummm. . .
I scurried to the front of the apartment again, trying to make it look as if I'd stepped out the door only moments earlier. Good— he hadn't seemed to sense anything awry.
Shoot! What about tonight, when I had to come back?
I don't even wanna think about that right now. . .
Suddenly, he gave an exasperated sigh, and I held out my hands, wondering what had caused it. Oh. I'd somehow ended up at the training ground again. Sorry if I'm boring you, but it isn't on purpose this time!
Playing with the bushes and flowers around me, I thought about today's agenda, trying to come up with something more productive to ease my stress. My fingertips found the wide trunk of a strong pine tree, and I instantly got a strange idea; I remembered overhearing various treatments in the hospital, and one of them had included something called the "Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique." Apparently, a young shinobi had attempted to climb a tree by focusing chakra into his feet, only to land on the kunai he'd left on the ground, fatally puncturing one of his lungs. This technique had, supposedly, saved him. The only part of this discussion that had piqued my immediate attention, however, was the actual climbing part— focusing chakra into one's feet? Well, I knew I didn't have any chakra to begin with, but could the same method be applied to muscular strength alone? I figured it wouldn't hurt to try, since I really had nothing better to do with my time.
Removing my sandals, I backed away from the tree, only to sprint toward it again and brush my toes along the trunk, grabbing a tight hold. Blood pumped fiercely to my head, not used to this sudden change in position.
No— concentrate on your feet! Your feet!
I grunted, already feeling my toes giving way. The fall wasn't painful— at least, not physically. My dignity was another story. However, I wasn't about to give up.
"Again," I told myself.
I moved away from the tree again and ran directly at it, knowing I'd made it a little higher; I could feel new knots and cracks beneath the soles of my feet. I flexed my calves, pushing my weight deeper into the bark—
And I fell again, this time with a pathetic "Oomph!" Okay. . . that one kinda hurt. . . My tailbone throbbed in protest.
"Third time's a charm," I chanted, thrilled at the rush of adrenaline. I could do it this time, I definitely could! Racing toward the stubborn tree once more, I applied just the right amount of pressure against the woody surface, clamping my toes around the nooks and crannies before immediately lifting my legs over and over again. At the next step, I felt the beginnings of a thick branch beneath my left foot, so I grabbed it, swinging like some wild animal and perching on top of it.
Yes!
I laughed, happy about this accomplishment. It was then that I remembered I had company. I sighed. He'd certainly have questions about this. But. . . did I really want him to know I'd sensed him all along? You're probably gonna have to tell him about the apartment fiasco, anyway, since he'd find it odd that you're not going inside at night anymore. . .
When put that way. . .
"You know," I called out, still buzzed by my feat, "I don't bite!"
Buh-dummm-mm.
Yes, my friend, I know you're there. Just come out already!
Shinobi were supposed to be deathly quiet— and they were— but I'd grown so accustomed to the noises made by this particular shinobi that even his masked footsteps produced a grassy chorus as he made his way toward me.
"How on earth. . .?" Neji began. Soon, he was on a branch as well.
The utter disbelief in his tone made me chuckle again. "I'm blind. Not deaf."
He was doing that awkward silent thing again, but his questions still rang throughout my ears as if he'd spoken them aloud. So, he wanted to know exactly how I'd sensed him, huh?
"Your heartbeat," I admitted. "I recognized it immediately, the day you started tailing me."
"That was weeks ago," he interrupted. "Why not say anything sooner?"
I shrugged, enjoying myself. "Benefit of the doubt?"
"On whose behalf?" Are you really that thick?
"Yours, of course. As much as I wanted you to squirm right off the bat, I decided to spare your pride for a while." It would be quite interesting to learn what he'd make of that. Oh, nope— he was doing it again.
"What made you change your mind?" he asked after a while, his voice stiff.
"I got bored." I wasn't lying; as much fun as it was to bug Neji, the sound of his heartbeat just didn't seem like enough anymore in terms of human interaction. "Maybe I just wanted someone to talk to."
"Maybe?" he pressed.
I rolled my eyes, concentrating on keeping my condescendence at its barest minimum. "Okay, fine, I really wanted someone to talk to. It's not very fun, knowing someone's watching your every move, but he's unwilling to stop and make friendly conversation."
His heartbeat stuttered again. Odd. "I should go."
Huh? "Don't you have orders?" I asked, doubt creeping into my tone for the first time today as I wiped my palms on my pants.
The rustling of Neji's thick clothing indicated that he'd stood up. "Surely you've realized how late it is? You usually go back to your apartment at this time."
Was my sense of time really that far off? It only felt like a few minutes had gone by since I'd left the apartment this morning. One of the many perks of being blind, I guess. "You're right, but. . . well. . ." I couldn't back out now. "I don't have an apartment anymore. I was evicted this morning."
He was quiet again for a minute. "I didn't know about that."
You weren't supposed to know, genius! "I was evicted early this morning. Apparently, someone informed my landlord that I'm suspected of being a spy. He obviously doesn't want to risk the safety of his more. . . trustworthy tenants." Now that I'd said it, it made a lot more sense.
"Where will you stay, then?"
It was kind of nice that he was concerned about this affair, but I had a feeling this last response of his wasn't totally conscious.
Using my hands this time as well as my feet, I climbed higher up the tree, settling onto an enormous branch above the young man's head. "This seems all right." And it was— it was thicker than me, and the smaller branches sprouting from it provided sturdy hand-and footholds.
"No," Neji said. "Follow me." His heartbeat then hit the forest floor.
More curious than wary, I obeyed, straying a few feet behind him and keeping my mouth shut. However, we soon made our way out of the training ground, and I could practically taste the suspense.
"Why are you doing this?" I finally blurted.
Once again, his pulse stopped in its tracks. Oops. I guessed he couldn't sense me, since I didn't have chakra like he did. Wait a minute— he couldn't sense me? Then how did he know where I'd been during those rare moments when I'd lost track of his heartbeat? Oh, right. He was a Hyuga— he had the Byakugan, and, whether I had chakra or not, he could see me if he needed to.
I groaned inwardly. I was quite sure I wasn't supposed to know that particular detail, so. . . how did I know it? This was really starting to get on my nerves.
"Doing what?" Neji finally managed.
"You're not going to speak to my landlord, are you?" That would most certainly not be pretty. "I appreciate it, but I seriously doubt he'll even listen to a Hyuga at this point."
"Hn." You're kidding me, right?
Nope. He wasn't kidding.
The stress from this morning was already making its way back into my system, and I quickly tried formulating a plan to keep Neji away from the apartment; I wasn't fond of being the cause of unnecessary bloodshed. As I imagined dragging an angry Neji off the unconscious stump that was the landlord, a new scent prodded my nose: green tea. Suppressing my panic, I retraced my steps a few blocks back— and I gasped.
"I'm not familiar with this route," I whispered. Oh, dear, where was he taking me? "We're not going to the apartment."
"No. We're going to the Hyuga Compound."
Compound? I calculated the length of each of his footsteps before twisting myself around and stopping in front of him. "I don't understand." Eye contact was, obviously, impossible— however, I attempted to direct my gaze to where I thought his face was.
He sighed. "All of our guest rooms are empty. The entire clan knows that I'm under orders to keep an eye on you. They will not question this."
I glared at him, annoyed at the presumptions I wasn't okay with. "You don't trust me. What makes you think they will?"
"I'm under orders." Now he sounded annoyed. What, he didn't like repeating himself? "You pose a threat. You're not sleeping in the woods."
"Is that an order, Neji?" I threw at him, my eyebrow twitching by the most miniscule of degrees. I prayed he hadn't noticed. "In case you've forgotten, the ANBU have been given specific instructions to kill me the second I threaten Konoha— your Hokage was kind enough to tell me that much before I left the hospital." He was given the mission to keep an eye on me; he'd surely know this scrap of information by now. I pointed at myself. "I may be short, but I'm not a child." The sounds of people's heartbeats coming from a place level with my eyes when standing next to them had told me that much about my size.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Neji said.
Now this captured my attention. I folded my arms. "Just how old d'you think I am?" I inquired, wondering how onlookers perceived me.
There was another brief silence, soon broken by the words, "No more than thirteen."
What?! My fingers found my shoulder, grabbing it as if it had been stabbed. "Ouch— that stung."
Was Neji seriously doing what I thought he was doing. . . again? Playing instigator once more, I continued with, "I'm at least a year older than you." I immediately shoved the thought that I wasn't supposed to know this fact out of my mind, while simultaneously planting a smile on my face.
"You're eighteen."
"Nineteen, actually," I snickered, reveling in the trace of incredulity I'd sensed in his voice.
He didn't say anything for quite a while, and yet, his silence spoke volumes. Was he aware that a person didn't necessarily need words to convey his thoughts? This time around, said thoughts were flinging themselves at my face.
I cleared my throat, embarrassed. "I can feel that, you know."
"Hn," he grunted. I took that to mean, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
We continued on toward the Compound, and I decided to remain at Neji's side, instead of behind him— I didn't want to scare him again, no matter how fun that had been. Suddenly, a cool gust smacked my head.
All right, now he was just being rude. "What're you looking at?" I piped up. Just because I couldn't see him, for crying out loud, didn't mean I wasn't able to sense him staring at me. "I can feel the air from your nose hitting my forehead."
"You're not wearing your sandals," Neji mumbled. The gust went away.
Good. That was payback for embarrassing me earlier. "I'll fetch them in the morning."
"How did you manage to climb like that?" he said abruptly, catching me off guard for a second.
Oh. . . I get it. "I was testing my strength, to see whether or not I could do some things without having the chakra to do them. I focused a lot of energy into my toes, and it just. . . worked."
"But after only three tries?" Was that jealousy, hidden within the formality?
I grinned at that. "Hey, third time's a charm. I like to think of that as my motto." Since when? Two seconds ago? I was such an idiot.
"Hn," Neji muttered again. "We're here."
Though I couldn't see the Hyuga Compound, the aura of the building itself was disconcertingly ominous. I continued to follow Neji, staying as close to him as I could without touching him. A tight pressure forced an even tighter bubble around me, and I had the sudden feeling I was being observed. The knowledge of the Byakugan flooded into my mind again.
"They're watching me." Very interesting. . . could they feel it, too, when they stared at each other?
Neji, gentlemanly as ever, ignored me. I took this opportunity to memorize the Compound's hallways, twisting and turning, albeit symmetrically. Then the young man stopped, his feet shifting on the smooth floor as he faced me and his breath, once again, hitting my forehead. I played with my braid, waiting for him to say something.
"You're to stay in this room. I'll come and get you in the morning. I suggest you don't wander around the Compound alone, if you know what's good for you."
I so, so badly wanted to snort at the dangerous layer his tone had taken on— who did he think he was fooling, anyway?— but I settled for an assumption. "You're not going to drag me around all day."
"No," he sighed. "But I need to train, and I obviously can't just leave you here. You're to accompany me, and I will not hesitate to take you down the moment you try to sneak away."
Had he already forgotten the scene at the hospital? I placed my hands on my hips. Yeah. . . probably. "Threats are wholly unnecessary. Don't strain yourself."
A squeaky drawl answered me. I took this as my cue to get the heck inside the guest room before a pack of Hyuga's decided to make me. Tracing the gloriously polished frame, I stepped inside, overwhelmed by the smell of lemons and more green tea.
Neji's buh-dummm began to fade away. Aren't you forgetting something, Keiden?
"Thank you," I said softly. I knew he'd heard it.
With that, I closed the door of my new home.