Chapter 14:

Neji happily chased the fireflies into the park, jumping and swiping at them with a big smile on his face. Nothing mattered to him. Not a care or worry in the world. He playfully swatted at a flickering bug and watched it fly off and land on a bench. Like a lion stalking its prey, Neji crouched down low and snuck after it. Its tiny light flickered out, forcing Neji to squint in the dark to find it. In a few short seconds, the light returned and Neji made his move. He punched.

The firefly took off, causing Neji to slam face-first into the bench seat. He sat on the ground clutching his head in pain. That really hurt. He no longer wanted to play anymore. He took a look around. He couldn't remember how he got here. It must have been another cat-lapse. He stood up, brushing himself off and thought about what he should do next. He should really go home like he had planned. Now the question was which road should he take?

Before he could decide, another light flashed before his eyes. More little lightning bugs. He gave his head a shake, trying to resist. He was not going to chase them. Keeping his eyes fixed on the ground, Neji started walking.

Then a moth startled him. It was following the light from the street laps above his head. Neji shook it off and continued to walk. It took him a few seconds to realize that he wasn't walking in the direction of his home anymore, but rather in the direction the moth was traveling. Why his legs were carrying him this way was unknown to Neji, but he couldn't bring himself to stop. His cat-like curiosity had taken over now, willing him into the trees.

More lightning bugs danced around him, calling him to play. He would not.

But perhaps someone else would. They were going to someone. They weren't just wandering aimlessly. Neji was sure of that. He followed after them.

Soon he discovered a shadowy figure hunched over next to a tree. Neji moved closer for a better look.

It was Shino. He was gathering up lightning bugs in a jar and observing them. He brought the jar closer to his face, the insects' tiny lights reflecting in his dark glasses. Neji hid behind a tree, watching him. He liked the way his glasses lit up with their greenish lights.

Shiny… Sparkly…

Now he wanted to play all over again.

He made a grab for one of the fireflies flocking towards the other ninja and tripped.

"Who's there?" Shino asked, turning around.

Neji lifted his head, ashamed that he had fallen prey to his instincts once again. He picked himself up and over to Shino. "I was just taking a walk," he lied. "What are you doing out here?"

"I live right over there." Shino gestured down a dark street. "Besides, I couldn't sleep. Too many fireflies. I couldn't pass it up."

"You collecting them or something?"

"No." Shino held up the jar, peering at his specimens. "I'm simply observing them. These ones are glowing unusually brightly for some reason. I wonder why that is...?"

Neji didn't know that much about Shino, but he knew that he was a major bug-nerd. And he was a little creepy to boot. Therefore, he didn't find it that unusual to find him out here looking at lightning bugs.

"By the way…" Shino said, still watching his bugs. "Hinata wanted to ask you something, but you're never around anymore."

"Oh?"

"She said that her father is willing to train with you next week. He's too busy training her younger sister to do it sooner. That's all she wanted to tell you."

"Oh. I understand. Thanks for telling me."

Shino lowered the jar. "Now on to my question."

Neji nearly flinched. What did Shino want? "Yes?"

"We're not on the same team, and we don't know that much about each other…"

"Your point?"

"My point is that I know enough about you to know that you couldn't possibly find yourself attracted to Naruto, correct?"

His heart stopped. Then it started to beat at a faster pace once it got going again. He didn't know what to think. All he knew was that he was very confused and feeling very warm and not in a good way. "O- oh? W- what's that supposed to mean?"

"I saw you and Naruto earlier… In the alley outside the Yamanaka flower shop."

Crap! He saw!

Shino kept a good grip on the jar, but his face remained unchanged. It was as if the embarrassing ordeal was nothing more than watching a leaf fall from a tree. "Anything you want to say before I jump to conclusions?"

"My intentions were-! It's not what you think! I was just… I just… I was… It's not what you think!"

"I get that. Now tell me what I should think."

Neji's eye twitched. He stuttered, unable to speak. He was starting to panic. He had no answer. This was so unexpected. Shino saw!

"You were rehearsing a play… You were getting ready to perform CPR… You were drunk even though you are under age… All of them are good. Just pick one."

"Huh?" Neji didn't know whether to feel angry, harassed or what. Was Shino teasing him or something? "Just what are you getting at?! I didn't do anything!"

"Then tell me." Shino opened the jar and released his lightning bugs.

Neji watched them fly away with curious eyes. Then he quickly came back to himself and tried to explain. "Listen, Shino… I…"

"Yes?"

He took a deep breath. "I can't tell you what's really going on, but I assure you that there is nothing perverted going on between me and Naruto, or anyone else for that matter."

Shino was still watching Neji's movements very carefully. It was almost as if he were looking for something. Studying him. "Hm. I get that."

"Good, because I can't tell you anything more than that."

"I'm sure."

"Huh?"

"You don't need to. I think I have it pretty much figured out." Shino collected his empty jar and started to walk away. "Good night."

Dumbstruck for a moment, Neji felt the weight of a thousand thoughts popping into his head at once, making him feel dizzy and even more confused than ever. What did Shino mean by that? Did he know? And if he didn't, then what was his theory? Neji spun around and chased after him. "Wait a minute, what's that supposed to mean? Get back here and tell me!"

Naruto woke up to a stabbing pain in his chest. Opening his eyes, he could see Sasuke sleeping on top of him with his chin digging into his chest. He gave him a tap in hopes of getting him to move. When it didn't work, Naruto tried poking him even harder and called out his name.

Sasuke stirred and rolled off to the side.

Naruto sat up, adjusting his nightcap. "What were you sleeping on me for?"

Sasuke gave him no response other than rubbing his eyes and yawning. He was still quite drowsy. He lay on his back in the middle of the bed and gave his exposed stomach a scratch.

Leaving him to finish sleeping, Naruto got out of bed and started to get ready for the day. After he had finished getting dressed, he returned to find Sasuke curled up on his pillow. He couldn't believe that he had slept through the night and was still tired. A little concerned, he approached the bed and lowered his face to Sasuke's level.

"Are you still alive?"

Sasuke cracked open an eye to glare at him. "What do you think?"

"Just checking." He stroked Sasuke's back, listening to him purr. "Heh, it still works. Hey, you want some breakfast?"

Sasuke stretched his body out like a cat, flexing his fingers and arching his back. Then he sat up and gave his eyes another rub. "Anything but ramen, please…"

Now that was a tough one. Most of what he had consisted of ramen. He had very little else. He started to wander around the room, trying to find anything that might be to Sasuke's liking. When he overturned an empty cereal box, something scampered out from underneath it. It was a rat.

He was used to bugs in his house, but he had gotten very few rats so this was a bit of a surprise. He jumped back away from it. "I wonder how it got in here… I didn't leave the window open, did I?"

As he turned to get Sasuke's opinion, he couldn't help but notice a predatory gleam come to his eye. His eyes were following the rat Naruto had pointed out to him with a hungry look passing over his face.

"Sasuke?" he asked, unsure what to think. "Are you ok?"

Licking his lips, Sasuke crouched down on the corner of the mattress, ready to pounce. He only saw the rat as one thing and that was breakfast. With a nimble pounce, Sasuke flew across the room and trapped the rat in the corner. He held the poor creature down with both hands, watching it squirm. It was a rather cruel thing to watch, but Naruto was too shocked to do anything else. Meal in hand, Sasuke lifted the rat up high over his head by its tail. He opened his mouth and shoved it in.

"Sasuke!" he barked. The ninja paused and turned back to him, the rat's tail hanging from his mouth. Kneeling down beside Sasuke, Naruto pointed at the rat in his mouth. "Spit it out!" He gave Sasuke a few whaps on the back, trying to make him cough it up. "Spit it out right now!"

Sasuke choked on the rat and spat it out when Naruto gave his head a good hard smack. It was still alive. He didn't have time to bite into it yet, but the rat was covered with saliva. Sasuke cast a sad eye at the rat that was staggering over to the door, trying to escape. He glared at Naruto vehemently but it was ignored.

"What the hell were you doing?!" Naruto snapped.

"I was eating my breakfast, you idiot! What did it look like?"

"It looked like you were eating a rat! A live rat! A rat!" Naruto stressed that last word just to make sure he was being clear to his teammate.

Finally coming to an understanding, Sasuke's face turned white and he started to spit the taste out of his mouth. "Gross! I was! I was eating a rat, wasn't I?! Disgusting!" He ran to the fridge and guzzled an entire carton of milk to wash the taste off his tongue. "Nasty!"

"Why were you eating a rat?!"

"How the hell should I know?!" Sasuke spat. "I wasn't even aware that I was doing it until you pointed it out to me!"

"Ok, ok, don't yell at me. I'll get you something to eat. Good stuff, this time." Naruto looked in the fridge, pushing Sasuke aside. "Hmm… Maybe I should do some shopping for you guys…"

"Never mind. I'll just go home to eat. I'll see you later." But as Sasuke made for the door, he realized something. "Where's Neji?"

Naruto looked around. He was missing. "Do you think he went home?"

"I'm not sure…" Sasuke gave a shrug. "Not that I care or anything."

Neji had a whole list of bad days now, all happening in the same week. It was hard to pick which one was worse, but this day seemed to take the cake. In order to help Neji 'get over his fear and strengthen his nerve', Gai had called them all together to train for the day. He almost wished he was still chasing after Shino for answers. Why did he give up? Anything was better than this.

"Neji, my little prodigy!" he declared in a loud voice. Neji shuddered. "Never fear! Might Gai will aid you in any way he can and help you overcome this unfortunate anxiety of yours. Not to worry!"

"Yay…" Neji moaned miserably.

"Alright! Let's get down to business!" Gai turned to the two standing behind him. "Tenten, Lee… On my count, attack Neji full force!"

His head snapped up. "What?!"

"Why, it's just the thing for you, my dear boy!" Gai gave him his trademark pose coupled with a shiny smile. "It's the surefire way to cure you of your nervousness. You'll never have to worry about running off during a battle again."

"Yeah, because my legs will be broken." What was he thinking?!

"Neji, Neji, Neji…" Gai put an arm around his shoulders. "You try so hard… A noble thing and I'm proud of that aspect of you. But once in a while, it's nice to let someone else help you for a change. Do you see what I'm saying?"

Neji groaned out a 'yes'.

"Wonderful!" Gai stepped away. "We'll toughen you up in no time at all. Ready, you two?"

Tenten was unsure, but Lee was pumped.

"Great! Ok, go!"

"Huh?!"

Obeying Gai's orders, Tenten picked up a handful of kunai and Lee took a running leap, ready to kick Neji in the face.

I hate you, Gai…

Please review! Neji needs comfort! ^-^

(And to set the record straight: NO Neji is NOT gay) Just keep reading. The next one will be up soon.