Hallo! Imma back! Not that I was gone... Soooo, to Tigrezz-chan, I know I'm using Naruto to rub Neji the wrong way, but canonically, doesn't he always do that? I mean when he meant to tell Sakura she had monster strength as a compliment, but she took it the wrong way? Anyways, you're right, it is amusing. Either that or I'm sadistic. XD

A/N: Naruto, Greek Deities, and Rome don't belong to me

A/N 2: Incorrect usage of Greek/Roman mythological characters

A/N 3: All flames will be used to sacrifice (the flamer XD) to Jashin

The Value of a Soul

Chapter 6: Emotions and Paranoia

Neji took inhaled deeply, his anger temporarily sated. He didn't usually kill on a whim, but the blonde, while he intrigued the prince, deeply infuriated him as well, for what reason the brunet knew not.

He peered down from the balcony and smirked sardonically. Well. Right through the skull. And he wasn't even aiming. Hm. He averted his eyes from the dead maiden, javelin through her head.

The brunet youth, turned and walked back into his quarters, headed for his aviary. His smirk softened slightly, until his face was again cynically blank. Why did he take care of the feathered creatures anyways? They would die eventually.

His eyes narrowed as he quietly hissed in annoyance. What were the blonde's motives?

Oh sure, the prince, like every other person of high rank, had to study history. He knew all about Elysium and Tartarus, but they were fake. He knew it. If he simply leaped off the balcony and broke his neck, that would be it. Nothing more. Right?

Oh wonderful. He sighed and did an about face. Now he was doubting himself. His gaze hardened. He was the prince, and heir to all of Rome. He had no room to doubt himself! Satisfied, he sat down on his bed, clearing his mind of the blonde.

Naruto travelled, unescorted, back to his prison cell. He winced as a fresh burst of pain erupted through his head. Instinctively, his hand flew to his broken jaw.

He inwardly smiled in amusement. Even when he didn't desire to, he always brought across things that were almost always taken the wrong way.

He strode casually into the prison, nursing his cheek carefully. Lee, who was in the middle of a conversation with Kiba, turned at the interruption. The legionary smiled, and opened the gate.

The blonde walked in, and sat down across from Kiba, running his hand along his jawline. When he was satisfied that it had been sufficiently healed, he gingerly brought his hand down, and grinned.

"Neji has a hard fist," he remarked sheepishly. Kiba chuckled.

"Do you have a motive behind all this, or are you just masochistic?" he asked. Naruto shook his head.

"Or maybe I have a habit of opening my mouth to say the wrong thing at the wrong time." Kiba cocked his head to one side, and ran his finger down his neck.

"You? Are you serious? You have the most silver tongue of anyone I've met, and you think you're prone to ambiguity?" Naruto laughed, a bubbly ringing laugh that echoed around the dank space.

"You'd be surprised," the blonde replied. "But Neji does hit hard. He broke my jaw. What is it about me that makes him so angry? It's like I have a special ability to unwittingly provoke him." Kiba shrugged.

"Maybe it's because you're attractive, and he's jealous?" he suggested. Naruto's utter 'what the fuck?!' face shone bright and clearly in the moderately dark cell. Kiba shrugged yet again. "Hey I thought I was perfectly straight until I ended up stuck in the same cell as the son of Aphrodite."

"...erm...Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Naruto asked. Kiba burst into laughter.

"It depends on how you take it!" he replied. Naruto groaned and rolled his eyes.

"And I thought I was ambiguous," he muttered. The brunet looked at him indignantly.

"Hey! It's not my fault you're the first youth I've ever seen as attractive, but honestly, I guess that comes as no surprise, seeing that you are the son of the goddess of beauty herself," Kiba rambled.

Naruto silently groaned complaints to his mother, who had always been known to make any god she wished fall head over heels for her. Unfortunately, this part of her genes were passed onto him, and apparently it made him attractive to both genders.

"Honestly Kiba? Thanks for the compliments and all, but if you keep rambling on about it, I swear I am going to eviscerate you and feed your entrails to Cerberus," Naruto teased. Kiba's eyes widened ever so slightly, and the blonde smirked, satisfied.

"Oooh! Cerberus, the three headed dog? What's he like?" the brunet asked. Naruto sighed. He should have known better than to bring up an infamous dog to an apparent dog-lover.

"Well, he's actually really intimidating, but he is the guardian of Tartarus, so that's only to be expected. He's really great, even though he unintentionally hurts people. He doesn't realize his own strength. His snakes are okay too I guess..." He laughed slightly. "He can be a bit over-friendly at times, but he's just a really big softie one you get to know him. If he likes you that is."

"Wow! He sounds great and all. I wish I could see him, but I guess to do that I'd have to be dead... ah well." The brunet sighed. Naruto grinned.

"Yeah, he is great," he admitted.

"Hello?" a familiar soft voice called. The type of voice that did not in any way suit the prison they were currently in. Naruto looked up and smiled.

"Hello, Hinata," he greeted, raising a hand, before allowing it to drop. The raven-haired girl blushed ever so vaguely. Opalescent eyes drifted over to the brunet sitting across from Naruto.

"Legionary Inuzuka? What are you doing in there?" she asked. Kiba grinned cockily, and shot her a two finger salute.

"You can call me Kiba, your highness. I'm not a legionary anymore.I got chucked in here for badmouthing his royal pain," he replied cheekily. She smiled and shook her head.

"You really should...oh never mind." She slipped a tray of food under the grate. Naruto made a gesture at the tray.

"Help yourself," he offered. Kiba blinked uncertainly.

"You sure?" Naruto nodded.

"I don't exactly need to eat," he informed. The brunet raised an eyebrow at this, but needed no second bidding. He turned back to the princess. "Thanks, Hinata," he said. She blinked, blushed, and swiftly left the dungeon prison to swoon elsewhere.

"Hey Lee," he called to the bushy-browed legionary standing guard. "What were you two conversing about earlier?" The soldier ran his hand through his bowl-cut hair.

"Well, one of our friends, or at least acquaintances, is acting strangely. And what makes it more suspicious, is that he works for the emperor as a double agent."

"Oh?"

Lee nodded. Naruto leaned against the wall, thoughts rushing through his head. The emperor had a double agent working for him? Wasn't that rather risky? Seeing that the 'double' part referred to the the fact that the agent pretended to be loyal to one side, while secretly delivering information to another.

"I see..."

Naruto unhurriedly got onto his feet, and retreated to the back of the cell.

Naruto snapped out of his meditational reverie, as soon as his instincts told him that it was almost dawn. Stetching, he walked over to the cell gate.

A few second later, there was no sign of Naruto, only a small white dove that looked completely animalistic, except for the fact that it retained the blonde's brilliant eyes.

Silently flitting through the bars, he headed for the door, flying through the bars that created a small window in it.

When he was freed, he swooped up until his wings grazed the ceiling, and fluttered in a random direction, hoping to find one of the palace gardens.

The slight breeze sighing in the crisp morning air ruffled his feathers gently, as he flitted into a garden, landing softly on the dew dripping blades of grass.

Naruto became himself again, and sat on the grass, his head tossed back, facing the sky in contentment. His lips curved upward slightly as the sun's first beams struck his surroundings, bathing it all in a soft, warm, golden glow. Closing his eyes, he slipped back into his half conscious reverie.

Neji was never one to be a late riser. He instinctively always awoke right at dawn. Frowning, he picked at the snarls in his hair, pulling some of the dark brown locks out in the process. After fifteen minutes of painstakingly brushing through the mess, he sighed in satisfaction.

Throwing on a decent outfit, he fixed the silver coronet around his head, and fastened the clasp into his hair.

He walked out of his quarters, and strolled through the halls, his stoic expression relaxing slightly at his solitude. Changing his direction, he decided on a small trip to the nearest palace garden.

His mind wandered as he allowed his feet to lead him. Biting his tongue in thought, he almost didn't realize he had entered one of the gardens.

Scanning the landscape, he almost smiled at the peace that reigned in the small enclosure. Almost. His eyes landed on a certain blonde, sitting quietly in the grass.

Neji blinked, and stared at the slender, well muscled, tan figure of the blonde. Said blonde had a small sparrow perched on a slender finger, and was humming to it softly. His eyes were closed, and light danced around the long golden lashes of the youth. The edges of his full lips were curved up into a slight smile.

If he had not seen the blonde on many an occasion before, the brunet would have thought he was an angel.

The prince mentally cursed himself for making such observations. What was Naruto doing here in the first place? How on earth did he get out of the cell? Well, there was the ever popular bend the bars with abnormal strength. And yet, something troubled Neji.

"A wonderful morning to you, Neji."

The brunet was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of an annoyingly familiar voice. He was rather antagonized by the fact that the blonde refused to acknowledge his superiority.

Naruto's aquamarine orbs eyed the prince, not sure what to make of the situation. Trapped in his trance-like state, as opposed to sleep, he nearly hadn't heard the youth enter into the garden. When he had, he decided to feign unawareness.

"Naruto," the brunet blandly acknowledged. The blonde smiled hazily, inviting him to sit. Against his more intelligent, better judgement, his feet carried him to the blonde, and sat him down on the damp turf. He mentally facepalmed.

They sat in distinctly uncomfortable silence, each fully aware of the other's presence.

"What are you doing here?" Neji asked in a monotone, his voice void of emotion. In fact, he was in such a good mood at the time, there was no emotion in his voice whatsoever, postive, or negative. "And if you can escape from your cell so easily, why are you here and not fleeing?"

"I came here because I missed seeing the sunrise. Back home, the sunrises were always so beautiful...I always awoke to witness it," Naruto answered, a tinge of wistfulness entering his voice. He sighed, and leaned back slightly, allowing his arms to support him as he gazed up at the vibrantly coloured sky.

"Neji, have you ever noticed the array of colours at dawn and dusk? It's a priveledge to see the sky at those hours, when you never see them at any other time of day. I love sunrises and sunsets because they're art that no one on this earth can ever truly replicate," he murmured, his eyes growing slightly sad as he heard no apparent reply from the youth next to him.

"Colours..." the prince finally murmured softly, his mind rushing back at mach speeds. His voice abrutly dropped in temperature. "Colours," he repeated. "The things that were most notable that night." His voice grew slightly haunted. "That cursed godforsaken night."

Naruto internally groaned. From experience, he knew the prince was not going to be happy. He didn't like seeing people like the brunet snap like this.

"The sky was so black...the colour of death. The stars glittered darkly... so hostile...like the eyes of my enemies. But those weren't in the least forboding compared to what I saw next. The moon..." He paused, feeling a warm liquid in his hands. He cupped them in front of his face, blatantly staring at them. "The moon was the colour of blood."

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek. Even the times when Neji had raised his voice in anger against the blonde, was more preferable to this. The youth's voice was barely above a whisper, yet it was dark enough to rival the night sky, and laced with enough hatred to put Medusa to shame. The brunet looked like he was going to say more.

"Silence," Naruto ordered. Surprisingly, the youth by him obeyed, inhaling sharply. Naruto reached over, and took a slender porcelain hand in his. The prince froze. "Neji, I can understand that what you speak of is a painful topic. If it truly hurts you so, do not speak of it." Neji's eyes hardened as his lips curved into a bitter smile.

"There's something in you that forces my mind to relieve that moment," he bluntly stated. Naruto stood up and let go of the cold hand, smiling sadly.

"If I remind you of something painful, I will leave. I don't want to force you to think of something that troubles you."

Before Neji had a chance to respond, the blonde was already out of sight.

Wellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllp. I uhm...whatever. Have a cookie, and hit the plot bunny on the nose for me before I go insane. OH WAIT I ALREADY AM! Pleez hit him still! Ooooh I know, hit him and you get a Gaara plushie!

Plot Bunny: Blackmail! It's blackmail, I tell you!

Me: Shut up and be a good punching bag.

-Jeya-