Little Fox Kit: Nice try, I already have a Neji plushie (dangles it in her face). Nyaaaaah.
A/N: Thanx for the inspiration! (giggles)...kitten...very well, mein leetle cygnet, I shall think along the lines of your suggestion.
Chapter 13: A New Twist
Naruto took a pinch of the powder Kiba had delivered and deposited it on a slide, slipping the coverslip under a machine. The device hummed and whirred, making a series of complicated clicks before spitting out the results. Naruto took the shred of paper that had popped out of the machine, scrutinizing it carefully with the Uchiha.
"It's definitely opium. One of the more potent kinds, I'd say." Sasuke looked over.
"I thought I smelled a rat." Naruto shook his head.
"No, you smelled something far worse. Forget issues, Sakura has a full subscription." Sasuke grimaced and uttered a short, humorless bark of a laugh.
Just then the wail of the phone cut through the air like an extremely sharp knife. Naruto jumped up and snatched the phone from the cradle, holding it to his ear.
"Hello?" Lee's voice answered his call, tinged with the edges of panic.
"Naruto? Naruto, is that you?" Naruto started to nod, then remembered Lee couldn't see nods over the phone.
"Yes, yes it's me. What's wrong?" The panic level in Lee's voice skyrocketed upwards.
"Naruto, it's Neji. Kiba just found the scent of blood mixed with Neji's and Sakura's scent. There were clots on the ground; we're guessing Sakura did something horrible to Neji." Naruto's eyes widened.
"She….she couldn't have…" he stopped, unable to bring himself to say the dreaded word.
"I'm afraid she did, but I highly suspect that Neji's still alive. From my experiences, Sakura does love our master, and I assume she only wounded him so he wouldn't resist when she dragged him out of the house." Naruto clamped his teeth together so hard, he could've sworn they cracked. Oh that goddamn bitch…what she needed was some serious therapy and a hefty quart of iodine in her thyroid gland.
"Stay there. Sasuke and I will do the rest." Slamming down the phone, he turned to the Uchiha with a grim expression on his face.
"She's playing dirty, Sasuke. She's taken Neji." Sasuke scowled.
"That bitch…oh that bitch…" Naruto looked down, a look of deep concentration in his cornflower eyes.
"Do you know where she resides?" Sasuke nodded thoughtfully, obsidian orbs grim.
"Yes, but it's a fair trip to get there. You'll have to travel in my car, and we have to leave right away. She doesn't know we're in on this with Neji, so that'll give us the element of surprise, unless one of her minions discovers us first." Naruto turned abruptly and whirled out of the room, returning with a knife in his hand. He tossed it to the Uchiha who caught it deftly.
"Here, you'll need this. We'll leave immediately." He bolted from the room, Sasuke in tow.
The Uchiha lead the blond down a series of intricate corridors until they came to the garage where a slim, black car was parked. Sliding his lean frame inside the door, Sasuke got in the car, Naruto entering in the passenger seat. With a roar, the car started up, shooting out of the garage and into the night. Sasuke artfully maneuvered the vehicle into the traffic, making several hair-raising turns through spaces Naruto would've never thought possible to turn into. The car zipped in and out between others as Sasuke twirled the wheel back and forth with all the skill of an experienced driver. Naruto almost giggled at the sight of the Uchiha; Sasuke's brows were deeply furrowed into such intense concentration, it made him look somewhat professional.
A few hours later, the car roared into a deserted alleyway next to a huge iron gate. Sasuke killed the motor and sat, eyes roving back and forth for any guards. Finding none, he started to get out of the car. Naruto started to follow, but his peripheral vision suddenly caught a flicker of movement off to the side. He watched in horror as a guard came out of the foliage, a gun in his hand.
Sasuke's fingers had just brushed the handle of the door when he was yanked backwards and thrown roughly on the seat. He gasped in surprise and was about to protest when Naruto leaned down with surprising speed and just about dissolved his lips with his own. The Uchiha yelped softly in surprise, the sound muffled against the other's lips, only to have them press harder on his, deepening the kiss and taking it to levels of passion Sasuke had never before experienced. His eyes widened in surprise.
"Don't move," Naruto muttered against his lips. Sasuke let out a muffled sound that indicated a question.
"There are guards right in front of us here, and if we get caught, we need an excuse. We'll be able to say we were just enjoying each other if they catch us."
Sasuke nodded in comprehension, a bit disappointed that that was the only reason for the kiss. Naruto momentarily took his lips off of the other yet hovered millimeters from Sasuke's mouth, a glimmer of love and something the Uchiha only dared to guess was lust in his eyes.
"Though you do realize this isn't the only reason I'm doing this, right?" The blond whispered breathily, the words emitting a sensual tone that sent a stroke down Sasuke's groin. Naruto swooped down once more and connected his lips with the Uchiha, nipping softly on Sasuke's lower lip.
A deep, throaty moan reverberated from the very back of the Uchiha's throat, reverberating around his body. Shivers racked his body, making their way down to the tips of his toes before swirling in the general area of his loins. Sasuke opened his lips to allow the blond access to his mouth; Naruto took full advantage and dipped his tongue slowly into Sasuke's lips, running it over his teeth before dancing with his tongue. Sasuke stiffened his own tongue and ran the tense appendage slowly back and forth across the roof of Naruto's mouth. The blond let out a whimper, begging for more, and in the instant he uttered that very sound, something in the Uchiha completely snapped.
Growling, Sasuke flipped them over so he dominated on top. Baring his teeth, he lunged for Naruto's neck, biting down on the soft, creamy flesh. Naruto whimpered in a mixture of pain and pleasure as Sasuke lapped up the blood, kissing his mark on the blond before continuing to lay siege to the rest of Naruto's neck with a series of passionate licks, nips, and kisses. It was the blonde's turn to moan as Sasuke trailed his tongue down Naruto's collar, his fingers clawing at the blonde's shirt to expose more tantalizing skin.
Naruto dug his hands into Sasuke's back, nails raking painfully into the flesh. The Uchiha planted an open-mouthed kiss on Naruto's collarbone, drawing a quick design on the sweet, marvelous skin before traveling south. Naruto writhed and threw back his head, screaming in silent pleasure as Sasuke continued his ministrations. Gasping, he continued to roil as the Uchiha licked at his side, nibbing gently at his ribcage. Panting heavily, Naruto bucked once more as the raven-haired youth dug his teeth into his side, hard enough to sting but not enough to break the skin. It spun to a new level of ethereal quality, raw, frightening emotions so new to Naruto dashing themselves again and again against his poor, tattered psyche with renewed energy. The blond felt his body melt and turn to liquid sun, blazing, flaming hot; he felt his mind tear itself from his body and hover somewhere off in space, emersing itself in the exquisite torture the Uchiha had bestowed upon him.
"Sasu…ke?" The muffled reply came from somewhere around his navel. Slender fingers fumbled with the zipper on Naruto's pants as Sasuke gently stroked Naruto's waist with seductive swayings of his tongue.
"As…much….as….I'd love to continue….don't you think….we should….retrieve Neji now?" The Uchiha replied negatively, nibbling on Naruto's hip.
"No…not now….it feels too good to stop now…" Naruto's answer was harsh.
"Sasuke, Neji could be dead." The command was issued in a sharp, urgent tone. Sighing, Sasuke reluctantly withdrew himself from Naruto's hip.
"Very well. We shall continue where we left off later." Naruto rezipped his pants and sat up, buttoning up his shirt.
"I don't know….I love you, Sasuke…but I also love Neji. It's just so hard to choose one or the other, and if I do choose, I'll either hurt one or the other." He sighed and wrapped his arms around the Uchiha's waist, resting his head on his chest.
"Sasuke, what should I do?" The other gave a smirk.
"Well, if you want my opinion that involves my personal interests, then by all means you should choose me…" He was silenced when Naruto rapped him smartly on the head.
"I'm serious, Uchiha." Sasuke exhaled.
"Naruto…you should choose whoever you wish to choose. Neither of us would be injured emotionally. You of all people should've realized that." Naruto smiled and snuggled into Sasuke's chest.
"Very well, I'll leave my decision to later." Gently the blond extracted himself from the Uchiha's grasp and exited the car, beckoning for Sasuke to do the same.
"We can't even breathe loudly in an atmosphere like this." Sasuke nodded warily, eyes scanning back and forth for any sign of guards.
With a quick series of short leaps and bounds, Naruto deftly scaled the ivy-streaked walls, finding ample handholds using the vines. Sasuke followed, vaulting expertly over the edge and landing catlike on the other side. Together the two noiselessly made their way down to the front steps of the mansion, blending in perfectly with the darkness and shadows. Finding the coast clear, Naruto leaped noiselessly over the railings of the stairs and landed artfully on the other side, Sasuke at his heels. Pressing himself to a nearby pillar, he rendered himself as skinny as possible as a guard passed by. Relaxing, he pulled the Uchiha from his loft in the nearby bushes and slunk quietly down the hallways, darting to and fro in the company of the shadows.
The blond spied a guard dozing lightly on his watch, his head slumped forward in sleep. A slow grin spread its way over Naruto's foxlike features and he melted into the shadows, slinking quietly up to the guard. Checking to see if he truly was asleep, the blond turned and beckoned to Sasuke, who materialized immediately in front of him. Touching a finger to his lips, Naruto executed a series of long, sinuous movements, sneaking quietly down the hallway. Poking his head inside a door, he opened it just enough to fit his lean, lanky frame and slipped in, pulling Sasuke inside with him. Once in, Naruto checked to make sure no one was listening before quietly addressing the Uchiha.
"We have to locate Neji, and we have to do it fast. I'm guessing this is an extremely immense building, so we'll have to split up." Sasuke nodded.
"Good luck." Naruto leaned up and pressed his lips softly to those of the Uchiha. Wrapping his arms around Sasuke's neck, he pulled the raven-haired youth down onto his mouth for a deep, passionate kiss before letting go.
"We meet back here in about three hour's time. If one appears but not the other, we'll know that one has been captured." Whirling, Naruto gently eased open the door, took a quick peek around, and slid silently out into the night.
The first thing that came to his mind was that his head felt all fuzzy. His vision was blurry and he couldn't see straight; a very odd thing, because his genetic ability rendered him invulnerable to any sort of sight hindrance whatsoever. Neji shook his head in an attempt to rid the fuzziness, frowning when only spots danced across his vision. A searing pain tore across his head and he winced, rubbing his temples in slow, circular motions. The room swayed and he collapsed onto an elbow, taking deep, calming breaths, rubbing his eyes to soothe the pain. His vision cleared; it was then that he noticed he was not in his room.
He was lying in a fairly comfortable bed; the sheets couldn't hope to rival the softness of those he possessed at home, but it was comfortable enough all the same. The room had a warm quality to its surroundings; moonlight streamed through the open windows like tendrils of pure white hair, and a pleasant breeze blew through. Several lanterns dimly lit the room, splashing a warm glow throughout every nook and cranny, and a desk of ebony sat against the wall. Silvery-gray eyes roved over the furnishings; there was a couch in the corner of the room and a small coffee table in the corner.
Neji's pearl-white eyes narrowed and he stood, the blankets pooling in a rush of white at his feet. The room tilted dangerously and he quickly sat once more, massaging his throbbing head. Wincing, he made another valiant attempt to stand, succeeding for a grand total of two seconds before his knees gave way and he collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath. This was a serious matter; never before had he felt so weak. One hand gripped the bedpost in an iron grasp, and Neji hauled himself once more onto the bed, perching himself precariously on the edge. It was then that a shadow loomed outside of his door. The door slid open, and Sakura came in with a worried look on her face, delicately balancing a tray filled with food on her arm.
"Neji, you shouldn't be moving just yet." The Hyuuga grimaced.
"Where…am I?" Sakura smiled softly.
"You're in my house. Rest now; you'll need your strength." Neji turned his head to the side, a troubled look in his opalescent eyes.
"What happened to me?" He could've sworn he saw a faint flicker of guilt flash through the emerald eyes of the other, but blamed it on his aching head, for when he did a double take, Sakura looked just as chipper as before.
"I…don't really know," She rubbed her head and looked down. "You just collapsed all of a sudden, and…" She trailed off. Neji nodded.
"And how did I come to this place of yours?" Sakura smiled.
"Don't you remember, I was there when you fell." She looked expectantly at the other.
Neji closed his eyes and concentrated, grasping in his mind for the memories of what happened before he fell. The pain….he definitely remembered the pain, how could one not forget such searing pain...and there was something else….something crucial….Neji shook his head. He remembered everything…his wedding to the one before him….Naruto….Naruto….his eyes widened. Naruto. Yes; he flinched as the painful memories of how he'd broken the boy's heart flooded back to him. How his blond had fled to the Uchiha….how the Uchiha had comforted his blond…how he finally came to realize that his blond had loved him….Neji turned to Sakura, an urgent look in his eyes.
"Sakura…Sakura, I have to go." The pink-haired girl shook her head and gently pushed Neji back down on the bed.
"Not now, Neji; you need your rest." She silenced the Hyuuga's protests with a finger on his lips and turned.
"Eat now, you need it. I'll see you in the morning." Winking, Sakura sauntered out of the room.
I have decided the pairing for this fic, though to save my head and my life, I shan't disclose it until the very last chapters of the fic. You cannot change my mind; I've decided. And don't try to bribe me (unless it's Neji merchandise of considerable value). However, for those who are disappointed/outraged with my choice, I will still make three separate endings, though there will still be the main pairing I've decided on. The Alternate Endings are only for my safety.