Sorry for the long update...gomennasai, readers-san. Sigh...I only got nine reviews last time...MAN, IF I'M AIMING FOR 300+ REVIEWS, I HAVE TO GET A FAIR AMOUNT, RIGHT!
The Caged Bird: The above applies to you, you ingrate! Sheesh, four new chapters, and you only review the latest one? Man...just kidding though. You don't have to if you don't want to.
Chapter 16: The Chase
Sasuke gritted his teeth, weaving, swerving, and careening through the streets of Tokyo. He inwardly thanked whatever gods there were that his car was so slim; the streets were normally packed, and tonight wasn't an exception. Dodging in between cars and pedestrians, the Uchiha spun, twirled and yanked the wheel side to side like a seasoned expert. Making a harrowing left turn on two and a half wheels, Sasuke brought the car to a halt in front of Sakura's mansion. A retching noise was heard, and he turned to witness a slightly green Kabuto gagging for dear life in the back seat. The Uchiha raised a quizzical eyebrow.
"Choked on your breath mint, now did you?"
Kabuto nodded and spat said mint into Naruto's outstretched palm. The blond patted the man on the back reassuringly, opened the car door, shoved him out, and followed as well. Together the four dashed to the entrance of Sakura's mansion. Four pairs of eyes—obsidian, smoky indigo, charcoal, and silver-gray—narrowed in suspicion.
"The door's ajar...and it's too quiet." Naruto said in a hushed tone.
"She must have already fled." A moan was heard, and four pairs of heads turned to witness a shadowy figure stirring faintly on the floor. Without a word, Neji walked in long, angry strides to the man, easily picking him up by the collar.
"Where did she go?" He hissed. The man writhed and cowered.
"I-I don't know…" Neji drew back as if to strike the man, then lowered his hand and smiled a disturbing, feral smile. He reached out and laid one long, white digit against the man's neck.
"You don't know? Tsk tsk…Lady Sakura wouldn't be too pleased to find out you don't pay attention during guard duty, now would she?" The guard whimpered pitifully.
"P-please….I don't….I can't remember…" Neji quirked one elegantly shaped eyebrow.
"Is that so? If you can't remember, you must have certainly known at one point in your miserable existence. And I have my ways to clear a foggy, pathetic memory such as yours." The finger on the man's neck pressed ever so gently upon his skin. The man shrieked in horror.
"No…what…what are you doing!" The Hyuuga stroked the corner of his lips with his free hand, speaking in a very professional, businesslike tone.
"Memories, dearest. I must revive your memories." And with a sharp jab, Neji drove the finger straight into a nerve in the man's neck, embedding the nail deep within the flesh.
The man howled pitifully, roiling chaotically in Neji's grasp. The Hyuuga dropped him most painfully on the floor, watching disdainfully as he mewled like a newborn cat.
"Now will you tell me?" The man whimpered.
"She…she said she'd….she said she was….she said she was headed….headed for the inn right in front of the….right in front of the lake…." The man's eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed on the ground in a faint. Sighing, the Hyuuga left him and joined the waiting three. Naruto gaped openly at Neji.
"Where did you learn THAT?" Neji smirked somewhat smugly, yet it had a thin, underlying current of desperate sadness as well.
"You see, I was born into a pretty large family. All my cousins were older and more experienced than I was and therefore more eligible for inheriting the Hyuuga line of business. Yet my father saw something in me, and made me heir to the Hyuuga business after my uncle Hiashi was done with the business. And my cousins were always teasing me…."
He was running down one of the many hallways of the mansion, frantically chasing a boy about a few years older than he was. The boy turned and stopped, dangling a small bracelet in front of his eyes. Neji grasped for it, little hands flailing in the air, whimpering in frustration as his cousin jerked the trinket just out of his reach.
"Give it back!" A smug smirk made its way over the other's face.
"And why should I?" He sneered. Neji felt the beginnings of moisture well up in his eyes.
"That…that was kaa-san's bracelet. That…that's the only thing left I have of my mother, and I won't let you destroy it!" The last sentence ended in an impudent wail, implying sheer defiance. Surprise crossed the older boy's face as he witnessed the sheer defiance in his younger cousin's eyes.
An ugly sneer slowly came over the face of the boy before him. Right there before the Hyuuga's horrified little eyes, the boy slowly ripped apart the bracelet bead by bead, letting each individual gem fall on the ground before mercilessly crushing it beneath his foot, laughing maliciously as he did so.
"Serves you right for being such a whiner." Sniggering mockingly, he turned and ran down the corridor, disappearing from sight.
Neji slowly bent and picked up the remains of his mother's bracelet so pitifully scattered across the floor. He gritted his teeth, hands clenched tightly at his sides, willing his eyes to stop smouldering. Biting his lip so hard that he drew blood, the small boy picked up each small, broken bead, cradling it gently in his hand before stuffing it in his pocket. When he'd completed the task, he stood up and plodded slowly to his room.
He spent the next three hours painstakingly gluing and stringing the beads with meticulous care. Relaxing slightly, he stepped back to admire his handiwork with a critical eye. It wasn't as perfect as it was before…but it would do. As long as it was whole, then he was happy. Gingerly picking up the mended trinket, he laid it carefully under his pillow, giving it a last loving pat before trotting off to dinner.
He'd gobbled up his food, eating as fast as possible to save time before bounding upstairs in eager leaps. Flinging open the door to his uncle's study, he whirled into the room and shinnied up the bookshelves, selecting a choice book on the anatomy of the nervous system before plopping down amongst the many plush pillows on the wide, saffron couch. He found it rather annoying that he couldn't hold the book up properly; it was such a heavy book, and after all, he was only five; but then discovered he could get in a somewhat comfortable position if he lay on his stomach with the book out in front of him.
Another two hours passed as the little boy furiously absorbed all the difficult information with the utmost care, childish gray eyes narrowed in intense concentration. It was there that his father found him, propped up on his elbows, his feet swinging to and fro and his nose but an inch away from the leaves of the book. Chuckling slightly, Hizashi gently pried the book away from Neji's reluctant hands and patted him on the head. Leaning close to his ear, the older Hyuuga spoke.
"You know, I can show you all the pressure points you will ever need lest one try to harm you. After all, you're my boy, and it is only expected of my boy to learn to defend himself." Hizashi laughed heartily at the sudden wild, eager sparkle that overflowed from Neji's childish eyes. The Hyuuga bounced up and down, locked in perpetual motion.
"Can I? Can I? Please, please, please?" Hizashi smiled warmly.
"Of course you can." Letting out a whoop of sheer joy, Neji bobbed up and down in circles around Hizashi's amused form. The older Hyuuga patted his son on the head.
"We start tomorrow."
Over the next few weeks, Hizashi taught his child all that he knew about pressure points, from the ones that could heal, to the ones that could harm, to the ones that could kill (a rather disturbing glint glazed over Neji's eyes when he learned the death-inducing points; Hizashi just laughed and warned him not to use it on his cousins). The boy progressed in leaps and bounds, surprising his father with his sheer determination and skill. Not only that, Neji possessed a latent talent Hizashi had never known about, and it pleased him that Neji had such confidence and perseverance locked away in his soul. He'd make a good heir, thought the older Hyuuga. He'd make a good heir to the line of Hyuuga business.
Hizashi was snapped out of his thoughts at the small mewl of Neji's voice.
"Is there anything else for me to learn, chi-chi-ue?" The other shook his head.
"Congratulations, my son. You've just mastered one of the most prized arts in the Hyuuga bloodline. Only the worthy are allowed this rare, precious knowledge." Hizashi leaned down and winked teasingly at his son.
"Don't you think this would be the perfect time to…oh…test out your skills on a poor, unsuspecting sap?" The older man coughed.
"He should be around the fifth floor by now. Mind you, don't do anything drastic now, hear?" A wild, secretive glint made its way into Neji's eyes.
"Hai."
Scampering off, the Hyuuga scurried up to the fifth floor of the Hyuuga mansion, making straight for his prey. He found his cousin leaning lazily against a pillar, tossing a small ball back and forth. The older boy caught sight of Neji's small frame standing boldly in front of him and turned, an evil smirk making its way over his features. Catching the ball, the other grinned a feral grin at the Hyuuga.
"You don't seem to tire of self-torture, now do you?" He cracked his knuckles ominously. Rather than turning tail and running, the Hyuuga stared down the other, a cold yet utterly defiant manner to his gaze. This rather unnerved his cousin who sneered at the boy.
"Nasty little parasite, aren't you? You need to learn a few lessons!" With that, the older boy lunged for Neji, arms outstretched menacingly at the other.
Neji merely dodged, thrusting his shoulder out of the way and helping his cousin over his head with a foot. The older boy crashed painfully into the opposite wall and collapsed on the floor, clutching his head painfully. Growling, he whirled and slashed at the Hyuuga with his nails, raking three long scratches into Neji's leg. Neji whipped out his other leg, catching his cousin cleanly on the jaw and snapping his head to the side. The older one cried out, nursing his throbbing jaw, swinging his fists to and fro, blundering blindly for any sight of his adversary. Seconds later, a searing pain burst into his head, flowering at his skull. Turning, he found two slender fingers jammed neatly into his neck, pressing most painfully on a nerve. Neji's triumphant gaze loomed in his face as the Hyuuga deftly plunged two more digits right smack in the middle of his spleen.
A shriek was heard, and Neji's cousin was found doubled up on the floor, rolling back and forth in agony, his eyes screwed shut and tears leaking out. When he finally decided to open them again, the Hyuuga had disappeared. Gasping, the older boy whipped his head back and forth, scanning for his opponent. He inhaled sharply as he heard a telltale voice up ahead.
"Hey, up here you overlarge pus-ball."
He looked up to see Neji's form perched victoriously on the overhanging chandelier. With a last and final smirk, the Hyuuga reached up, nimble fingers deftly unscrewing the bolts that held the chandelier in place. The boy below tried to scream, to run, but his body would not obey and he stood frozen in place as Neji slowly loosened the last bolt.
"This is for ruining the only memory my mother left me when she died." And with an exultant whoop, Neji yanked the last bolt out of its socket.
The chandelier swung once, dangerously rocking to and fro before plummeting down onto the boy's frightened form. The older one tried to run and succeeded, but had no more gotten three steps when the chandelier smashed downward onto his body with a tremendous crash of china, glass, and shrapnel. An explosion of glass shards hailed down as an aftermath, tinkling on the ground in an almost victorious manner to herald Neji's victory. The Hyuuga savored the brief moment to its fullest, one pudgy fist in the air before strapping on a mask of surprise and concern, jumping down and kneeling at his cousin's side with an expression of horror on his face just as his father and his uncle rounded the corner.
"Chi-chi-ue! Help! The chandelier just fell on my cousin!" Hiashi and Hizashi ran to Neji's side, gently pulling the great chandelier off of his cousin's still form. Hizashi tried his best to keep a straight face as he inspected the damage as Hiashi questioned his nephew.
"What happened?" Neji looked up with tears in his eyes.
"We…we were just playing…and all of a sudden…that…that chandelier came crashing down on my cousin. He didn't have time to move out of the way." Neji sniffled and wiped his nose on his yukata.
"Is…is he going to be okay? I'm worried, Hiashi-sama." The Hyuuga got up and clung to his uncle's shirt, sobbing profusely into the cloth. Hiashi rubbed his back reassuringly.
"It will be fine, he's only unconscious. We will treat him; don't you worry." Neji nodded, inwardly applauding himself and giggling madly at his feigned act.
"May I go now?" He whimpered. Hiashi nodded kindly.
"Yes you may. It was not your fault; we should've replaced that rickety chandelier ages ago." Sending off the Hyuuga with one last little pat, Hiashi returned to help his brother with the still form of his nephew.
One week later, when his cousin had fully healed, he made all sorts of accusations towards the Hyuuga. Neji put on a drastically horrified face at such obviously false implications; Hizashi promptly stuffed his fists in his mouth to refrain from the chuckles while Hiashi, oblivious to the squirmings of his twin, harshly berated his wounded nephew for even daring to accuse his cousin of such outright behavior when it was obvious that Neji had run to his rescue. The memory of his victory still brought giggles to the small boy weeks after the incident, and much to his pleasure, his cousin never dared come within a ten-foot radius of him again.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Kabuto stood in enraptured awe as Neji ended his story, chuckling slightly as he did so.
"It was true. He never did lay eyes on me again. Even now I don't think he does when he visits—he lives in the southern end of Japan with his brother—always finding some excuse to avert my eyes." A splendid yet mischevious grin exploded onto Naruto's features, promptly melting Neji's insides to liquid sun as he witnessed the magnificent sight.
"Wow! I wish I had a chandelier in my house…" Sasuke and Kabuto burst into laughter at the innocent look on the blonde's face. Naruto still managed to retain plenty of his charm despite the harrowing situation they were facing.
"Anyhow, we mustn't lose time. Sakura must be captured no matter what." Naruto nodded determinedly. Turning, he dashed back into the car, the other three in tow.
"We're ready to leave, Sasuke." He turned to the Uchiha only to find a rather sheepish expression on his normally stoic countenance.
"What's the matter?" Sasuke smiled a little half-smile and rubbed the back of his head.
"Umm…I don't know the way to this inn." Three consecutive thumps were heard as Neji, Kabuto, and Naruto hit the ground. The silver-haired man immediately got back up and elbowed the Uchiha into the back seat, nimbly crawling into the driver's chair, a smug look on his normally polite features.
"Stand back, you amateurs and let the master perform his repertoire."
Winking over the top of his spectacles, Kabuto nimbly twisted the keys and started the ignition. Slamming his foot on the accelerator, the man maneuvered the car from Sakura's mansion and onto the mainstream in a series of hair-raising teeth-grating twists. Chuckling at Sasuke's look of a combination of nausea and disbelief, the silver-haired man careened onto the highway, pushing the engine as fast as it would go towards the direction of the lake. What seemed like a nerve-shattering five seconds later, Kabuto stopped and hopped delicately from the driver's seat, opening the back door. Sasuke landed face-first on the hard, rocky ground, followed closely by Naruto and Neji. The Uchiha lifted his head and blearily addressed his butler.
"And here I was…under the illusion you were too polite…too well bred to do anything that involved remotely high speeds or risking your neck. Good lord, I think you just might've rearranged my vital organs during that trip." Kabuto chuckled.
"You know not much about me, young master Uchiha." Helping the others to their feet, he dusted them off and adjusted their clothes before running to the inn in front of the lake. Naruto drew his hood about his face, motioning the others to do the same.
"We mustn't let her know we're here. Neji, Sasuke, and yes, even you, Kabuto, you have to stop walking with such fluidity. Normal people have a more clipped gait, slightly choppy and not as coordinated. And lose some of that confidence, as a start." The Hyuuga grinned playfully and tweaked Naruto on the nose.
"We can't help it, you know. We've been taught to walk that way ever since we were born into our traps of high social status." Naruto sighed and rubbed his temples while Sasuke and Kabuto sniggered.
"All right, all right, just don't look so at ease with everything!" Muttering along the lines of "troublesome ingrates", Naruto whirled and stalked towards the inn, entering the door. The landlord looked up, quickly masking his fatigue with a welcoming smile.
"Ah, and what may I get you fine folks? A room?" Naruto declined politely.
"No thank you, our friend has already reserved us a room. We would like to meet her, please. She was a girl, pink hair…" Naruto trailed off, looking expectantly at the man before him. The landlord rubbed his chin in thought, brows creased in concentration. The crow's feet at the corners of his eyes suddenly loosened and the man's eyes snapped open in recognition.
"Ah, yes! A young girl, fairly pretty, with hair the color of bubble gum?" Slightly wrinkling his nose at the odd description of Sakura's tresses, Naruto nodded eagerly.
"Yes, that's the one. Can you remember what room she's lodging in?" The landlord winked.
"Room 307, third floor, eighth door on your right." He flicked a brief, interested gaze at the four before him and smirked.
"Lucky girl she is, having four handsome beauties after her." Naruto scowled slightly.
"We're relatives." Nodding as if he didn't quite believe them, the landlord chuckled and ushered them up the stairs, returning to his duties.
Anyhow, review review review and I might update faster! (wink)