Lee was dreaming. Neji. Neji. Neji. There he was Neji. Kunai in one shoulder, face covered in blood. He couldn't tell if it was the enemy shinobi's blood or Neji's. He didn't really want to know either. Neji's head was bowed slightly. A nod. No. No, Neji! But Neji was slowly fading. Fading in to the craggy background. And Lee could not do anything. All he could do was scream, and clutch his head in pain, until he blacked out.

…

Sasuke was gazing in to Neji's cell yet again. The man lay there on the hard unforgiving floor yet again. The blanket Sasuke had thrown over him was wound tightly around the small figure. Neji's waist, Sasuke realized was similar to Naruto's, in the way that it was small, and curved inwards like a woman's. Naruto… Sasuke would never regret meeting Naruto. Even if it killed him. But, Naruto had to stay away. For his own sake.

The figure stirred. Long hair hung over one shoulder. It was soaked in a strange and slightly revolting black substance. Sasuke supposed it had once been blood. Who's he didn't know.

A weak cough. It wrenched at some human emotion Sasuke had long ago buried deep within him. The unknown emotion burned through his veins, tugged at his heartstrings.

Pity. No. Sympathy.

Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction in realization. He hadn't felt sympathy for a long time. When was the last time?

Sasuke could not remember.

"Uchiha…"

Neji's voice was cracked, as though his throat was dryer than sand paper.

Sasuke walked away.

Neji slumped back to the floor. Sasuke was an asshole after all. He had redeemed himself yesterday, but now when Neji needed water so badly he would rather die than not have it, the Uchiha walked away?

A clanking.

Footsteps. Neji did not have the energy to look up. Probably a guard, come to make fun of him, or stare at him hungrily. Or laugh and cuddle him and pet him. Something not even Shikamaru had been allowed to do.

At the thought of Shikamaru Neji's eyes stung. He hit himself mentally.

Such a woman sometimes.

Neji's body was forced gently upwards in to an upright position. Neji did not care. He felt like a puppet who's strings had been tragically cut.

A cold glass was pressed against his chapped lips.

Cold water ran down his throat to sore the aching places.

Neji raised his eyes upwards as he drank. Sasuke… He really wasn't an asshole. Quite the opposite. Even human at times. Funny that.

Sasuke gazed downwards at Neji. He was strongly reminded of a baby deer he had once hand fed with his brother. The deer had strayed off Nara property most likely and had later been rejected by its mother because it had smelled alien. Itachi had brought it home. Sasuke had fed it warm milk, and felt suddenly proud of himself, like a father. The doe had looked up at him in much the same way as Neji was now. Large brown eyes were now replaced with large stormy silvery eyes, and long brown lashes were now replaced with long black lashes. Nostalgia, Sasuke had yet to learn, was a dangerous emotion for someone in his position.

…

Shikamaru and his team now stood outside a tree. An understatement. The tree was the biggest thing Shikamaru had ever seen in his life. It reached upwards and upwards until at some point it seemed to merge with the sky, and on a cloudy day like today, it disappeared in the clouds. The trunk stretched outwards for about twenty-five to thirty meters. The strangest thing was that this tree was only one of many that they were now encountering. Dozens and dozens of trees like this lay behind this one.

"N-Neh Shikamaru, if the trees are like this, do you think the animals will be just as big to match the surroundings?" Ino's voice was shaking slightly. She hated insects. And spiders made her faint.

Shikamaru didn't know. He could only guess.

"Shikamaru.. Neji's scent. It goes further… If they could get through here fine, then we should be able to."

Shino's logical, reasoning voice. Shikamaru had the urge to shake Shino. To knock all reason from his body. But this was only because Shikamaru was amazingly unreasonable.

Shikamaru forced himself to nod evenly. Forced himself to look strong for the others. For Ino. For Chouji. It made his head ache dully.

…

He loved mornings like this. Sometimes Neji would just lie in bed, burying himself beneath the covers so that all of which could be seen of Neji, were a few strands of dark hair.

Shikamaru loved mornings like this. He would get up drink too much coffee, smoke too many cigarettes, sometimes admire the rainy mornings, and would just love the feeling of loving Neji. So long Shikamaru had felt lonely. Chouji and Ino… They were getting closer and closer each passing moment, Asuma… Gone. Vanished from his life. From time to time he would see Kurenai. But there would always be some sort of strain. Completely invisible. There would be the unspoken words, trickling like sand between the long silences.

But now thee was Neji. Someone who had always been lonely. Someone who had built up walls. Isolated himself. Who knew why.

Still, Shikamaru had to admit that Neji had become a little less tense about a lot of things in his life. The clan robes, Neji now wore, he also trained regularly with his uncle, and had stopped terrorizing his cousins. Shikamaru had to envy the man who had brought about this change. Naruto.

Naruto had changed him so much. In subtle ways, but you could still see a tremendous difference. Sometimes Shikamaru often wanted to ask Neji why Naruto had changed him. But maybe it was best to leave it. Still…

"Sh…" Neji broke off and yawned. "Kamaru?"

Shikamaru turned and made his way slowly to the bundle of blankets in his bed.

"Yes…?" He teased, stroking Neji's hair back in to place.

Neji immediately swatted him.

"Drink?"

Shikamaru sighed inwardly.

"Of course Neji."

…

Hands. Crawling like spiders up and down Neji's legs. Tugging insistently at his clothing, playing with his hair, roughly grabbing, hot breath.

It was repulsive. Neji's wanted to die. He would rather die than let them do this. But right now, he didn't have the choice. Why wasn't anyone here? Why weren't they rescuing him? Why was this happening anyway?

If only he hadn't gone on that mission. He could hear Gai's voice now.

"… if you don't want to, you don't have to, it is after all easy, and wouldn't exactly improve your standards…"

But still, Neji had gone. Because he had felt bored… God, how he regretted it. How much he would like to go back and change what he had done. Maybe in a parallel world, he might not have gone. Might have instead stayed to train with his uncle. What did his uncle think of all this? How was Hinata doing? Would he ever teach Hanabi how to aim properly?

"What's going on?"

The men surrounding Neji, immediately fell back. Stupid brutes. Neji's skin prickled from the cold, which had now replaced their wandering hands.

"Nothing… We were just…" here the speaker paused, "having a laugh, Sasuke-sama."

'Sama… So they really do respect him… Funny how that is.'

"Go have your fun some place else."

Sasuke's eyes had merged in to a threatening shade of magenta.

The men scampered pathetically away.

"Cowards." Neji spat the word out bitterly.

"Are you unharmed?"

"Yes. My pride isn't, nor is my dignity."

Sasuke said nothing, instead he stared somewhat suspiciously and the bruised hand prints on Neji's torso.

"Why?"

"Why what, Hyuga?"

"Why protect me?"

Sasuke hesitated. What did he have to lose?

"I know… I know how much you mean to Naruto." The tone was so flat Neji had to blink before he comprehended its full meaning.

"Why do you do this? Why do you seek revenge?"

"You wouldn't know. You don't know what it feels like to have everything you love, everything you need, torn from you."

Neji paused. He knew full well what that felt like. His father…

"You are immature. It doesn't give you a reason to hurt everyone around you, because of what happened years ago. You have to learn to do the right thing, even if it's the hardest, and the right thing for you would be to let go."

Sasuke's expression hardened.

"It's easy for you to say. But you don't understand."

"How do you know?"

"You've never had anything taken from you."

An image swam in to Neji's foggy mind. His father's face. His father was smiling. Then his father's dead face. Pale. Paler than it was in life. Lips blue. Red staining the bandage which had been carelessly wrapped around his torso.

"Uchiha. You have no idea."

…

Hiashi's eyes were stinging. What had he done? First hi brother he had lost. Then he had lost his nephew. His beloved nephew. Neji. Hinata was worried sick. She was now lying in bed with a fever, and Hanabi had stopped eating. She was constantly training. She kept saying to him, that she had to perfect her aim for Neji, because he had always told her it was shoddy and had then taken to giving her extra lessons, at four in the morning. Hanabi's palms were red, patched with blisters and covered in nasty gashes. Hinata had dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep, and nightmares.

And now Hiashi himself crumbled. He sobbed brokenly.

…

Hinata gazed from her bed out of her window. There were dark rain clouds gathering on the horizon. The first few patters of raindrops hit her window. And right at that moment she couldn't help but hate herself for being safe, for being tucked up in bed, for being warm. And she hoped vainly that perhaps, in that rain storm, Neji was alive, was dry, was safe, was warm. She needed him to be safe.

…

Hanabi let the rain soak her. After all, she had to perfect this stupid aim. Had to. The rain pelted hard on her shoulders, small needles, mercilessly pounding down on her small frame.

Her body was aching. Still, she thought, if she couldn't get through this difficult rainy time, then there would be no rainbow on the other side. Would there?

…

Shikamaru and his team came to a halt.

The rain was pouring.

'No… No god damn it!'

"Kiba!!!"

"The trail ends here Shikamaru! There is no way we can make it at this rate!"

"Shino!"

Shino said nothing.

…

"You know what you remind me of Neji?"

Neji sleepily muttered something about Shikamaru being a 'silly, soppy, sentimental, disconnected drainpipe'.

Shikamaru chuckled lazily.

"You sort of remind me of the smell before the rain. You're absolutely lovely, but you're only brief, and sometimes that hurts."

Neji sat up.

…

"Shino… Please?"

Something about Shikamaru's tone scared Shino. Begging. That wasn't like Shikamaru at all. Shikamaru was calculating, a genius, mathematical. He was never dramatic, emotional or poetic. And suddenly it clicked.

Neji and Shikamaru.

Shikamaru and Neji.

Lovers.

"I'll do my best."

What else should he have said?

And with that Shino sent his bugs flying through the air.

Kiba had the sense to start tracking.

…

Neji's mind was foggy. Odd images seemed to flicker in his head. Shikamaru's face came up frequently. What Neji wouldn't give now just to be help by the lazy moron.

…

Hinata stood resolutely outside the Hokage's room. It was painfully silent. Usually there would be children, making mischief sometimes, dragging a black cat for an old lady, screeching at the thought of their first mission. But the rain. It had driven them all away. And even though Hinata's fevered brain could not think properly, she had somehow snuck from the Hyuga compound and had stealthily made her way through the foggy, rainy village.

She watched her hands move forward, watched as her fingers brushed the doorknob. She felt completely detached. As though she were a ghost watching her body move by itself. The cool doorknob did not register on her touch senses.

Tsunade lay slumped over a pile of paperwork. Her blonde hair was knotted, her face a paler shade of white, her eyes had dark circles surrounding them. She had after all lost one of her best ninja. And the others were on a wild goose chase. Finding suitable replacements had not been easy.

A strong smell of drink wafted to Hinata's nose. Unpleasantly.

"Hinata!" The said girl winced.

Tsunade did not realize due to drink how loud she was being.

"Tsunade-sama… Is there… Any news o-on Neji?"

She cursed inwardly. Her old stutter had just shown itself.

…

"Are you happy?"

The question was so unexpected Neji was suddenly caught in the headlights, so to speak.

"I'm sorry?"

"Are you happy?" Shikamaru repeated slowly.

"Of course I'm happy."

"Sure. Neji… Are you happy?"

Neji was beginning to be slowly annoyed.

"Yes, I am happy, are you happy now that I've answered?"

"When was the last time you were happy?"

Neji opened his mouth. Thought. Then closed it again. When was the last time he had been happy?

Oh god… The last time he had been truly happy was when he had defeated that spider ninja. He hated spiders.

How many years ago had that been now?

Five? Six even. He hadn't been happy. During all that time. Oh god.

"You're not happy… You never will be. Please Neji. Let me in."

"We've been through this before, you stupid-"

"Neji." Shikamaru clamped a hand over Neji's mouth.

"I love you, Hyuga Neji."

Neji felt terrible.

...

Neji's throat hurt.

It was dark. Three in the morning he estimated.

Here he was, at three in the morning. All alone. Alone with his thoughts and his memories.

Neji hated it. Hated facing his emotions. Hated knowing that he did love Shikamaru. No matter how much he tried to deny it. He tried saying it, alone in the dark. But no matter how many times his mouth opened to form a sentence, no words could fall from his lips. The words were caught in his throat. Totally trapped. As a butterfly in a web.

Neji hated these times. During the night and day, and the nightmares and dreams. Hated the sleeping wake state. He hated hearing the thoughts echo resoundingly in his head.

…

Shikamaru stared fixedly at the waterfall.

"Neji's in there, Shikamaru. We're sure of it."

It was Kiba who spoke.

Sakura squinted up at the fall. The craggy rocks glistened coldly down at her. Sasuke was in there. Sasuke must be in there. This was, after all Orochimaru's hide out. Wasn't it?

Naruto caught her stare for the corner of his eye. It annoyed him, that even now, despite everything Sasuke had done to her, she could still love him, so unconditionally. But maybe Naruto had yet to learn, that loving, it wasn't conditional. It was learning to see through the mistakes and imperfections, and learning to love every burden the other carried. And maybe this is our fault, as human beings.

Ino unconsciously gripped Chouji's hand. Chouji gazed down at their interlocked hands in surprise. But decided not to say anything.

…

Alone, in a lab, with a cold blue screen glowing in the darkness, the only source of light in the room, Kabuto smiled.

"They've arrived."

…

Alone, in his cell, Neji gasped.

And almighty explosion ripped through the air, shocking everyone in the hide out in to complete and utter silence.

Then.

"NEJI!!!"

AN: Ahem. Hello? You know, I coulda sworn green and yellow walls didn't work together... Ahem. I say Ahem a lot. -cough- Criticism. Which is of the constructive nature? :)