fic: abstruse ch10
Chapter Ten -
Author’s Note: The hiragana painted on the gates of Konoha mean roughly refuge/retreat or hermitage. I have chosen to loosely translate that to ‘haven’ for this story.
Hyuuga Neji stands at the gates of Konoha, eyes staring at the vivid hiragana as his mind wanders. Haven…he muses to himself. He has never stopped to consider the absurdity of those red brush strokes, a hidden ninja village proclaiming it's self as a refuge? Ludicrous. Yet no other place in Fire Country was so welcoming to the weary traveler, the besieged countryman, or the disenchanted shinobi. Konoha had built its reputation as not only a superb training ground for world-class ninja, but also as a refuge to the world.
Clenching the mission scroll in his hand he wonders what his mother must have felt the first time she laid eyes on those gates. Did she see them as the open arms of a loved one welcoming her home or as a strange and terrifying reminder of all she had left behind her? He had never been one for deep conversation as a child. Nor had he ever once considered asking about her life before she married his father. It was disheartening to realize that the woman who bore him may as well have been a stranger on the street for all he knew of her.
It was these thoughts and many others, similar in nature, which had been plaguing his mind since the night before when his Uncle had called him into his study.
Now as the sun passed its zenith he stood waiting for his team to assemble, unsure of what he was truly leading them to. He had read and memorized the details of their mission twice over in the early hours before dawn. He knew they could likely plan to engage hostile enemy ninja. He knew they could expect the temperature to be slightly balmier so close to the southern sea. Yet he didn’t know what to expect from those whose blood ran in his veins.
The uncertainty of what exactly they were walking into and admittedly, his personal connection to the clients had him worried. He could not afford distractions as the team leader. His colleagues needed him to have a clear head, something he felt nigh impossible at the time being. He had voiced that concern to not only his Uncle but with the Hokage herself. Both had brushed his concerns aside, leaving him frustrated but ready to focus on the task at hand.
A cheerful shout of his name draws his attention away from the gates. Jogging towards him were his teammates Tenten and Rock Lee, both waving merrily as if they were about to set off for a picnic. Neji snorts, not the least bit surprised. He nods in acknowledgement of their arrival.
Tenten checks one of the straps holding her large summoning scroll to her back, “Are we ready to go?”
Neji shakes his head, “No. There is one other.”
The kunoichi shares a questioning look with their green-clad teammate but Lee simply shrugs.
“Who?,” she asks with a curious tilt of her head.
“Me,” a smooth tenor replies.
Neji suppresses an amused chuckle as Tenten and Lee both gawk at Sai. The Hyuuga teen had felt the artist-nin’s approach, having become familiar with the other shinobi’s almost indistinguishable chakra signature, whereas his teammates had not. Sai’s assignment to this particular mission still baffled him but he would be lying if he said he was not glad for it.
“Good, we’re all here so we can get going,” Neji affirms. “I trust all of you have had an opportunity to look over the mission details. Our estimated length of travel is three days. Any questions will be addressed tonight when we camp. Let’s move out.”
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The four Konoha shinobi made good time, reaching the desired distance for the day easily. Neji nods to Tenten’s request for a cooking fire. They were still well within friendly territory and there was no reason to not enjoy a warm meal. Sai stood slightly aside, watching the long time teammates fall into their familiar routine of setting up camp. Tenten began building a fire, Lee quietly selected the crockery they would need for their meal, and Neji rolled out their bedding. Nodding to himself, Sai exchanges his pack for the water jug and sets off to collect water for their meal.
Half an hour later the four were seated around the small fire, sipping freshly brewed tea and waiting for the stew to finish heating. This was the moment Neji had been waiting for and dreading since they left Konoha. He was averse to openly laying his painful past before his companions but also felt they deserved to know exactly what they were walking into. His ties to the Takanoha family could have a significant impact on the success of the mission.
Setting his cup aside Neji meets the gaze of each of his comrades on turn. Assured he has their attention he begins, “There is something you all should know about our client that was not included in the mission scrolls. One of the men requesting our skills, Takanoha Shinsui, is my uncle. He is my mother’s brother but I have never met him.”
Tenten gasps outright in surprise, Sai simply appears thoughtful, while Lee gives a shout, “This shall be a most joyous meeting then I am sure!”
Neji scowls, “I wouldn’t be so sure. My mother also resides at the Takanoha estate and we have not….spoken in nearly ten years. Our relationship last we were together was strained at best.”
That seems to cool Lee’s exuberance somewhat so Neji continues, “I was specifically requested for this mission, the reasoning for which is unclear. I expect Takanoha-san hopes my connection to the family will influence the outcome of our mission. He obviously underestimates the tenacity with which all Konoha ninja pursue the successful completion of a mission, especially one with significant impact on Fire Country’s relations to another nation.”
Tenten chuckles at this statement, “Oh Neji, always so dramatic.”
He replies with a smirk where once he would have replied with acid. But that was another Neji, one he left behind years ago on the ruined ground of the chuunin exams. Pale eyes leave the kunoichi to graze Lee’s smiling face. It was rare for the energetic youth to be anything but cheerful, almost to the point of naivety, but Neji had come to appreciate that positivism. He knew Lee would follow him without question, the brushy-browed teen’s faith in his teammates infallible.
At last he turns to Sai, suddenly nervous of what he may see in those inky dark eyes. He is surprised to see calm understanding and nothing else. His gaze lingers for several more breaths, the Hyuuga entrances by the play of firelight and shadow in those dark orbs. A slender brow arches on the artist-nin’s pale face as Neji continues to watch him, silently questioning the attention. Neji fights down a blush and tears his eyes away, fervently hoping his teammates hadn’t noticed that exchange.
He is not so lucky. Tenten’s warm brown eyes now dart quickly between the two of them, and he knows she’s putting the pieces together. He hasn’t forgotten his uncharacteristic display by the river a few weeks ago and he knows neither has she. He shoots her a look that quietly screams this is none of your business though he knows it is an exercise in futility. The answering quirk of her lips is all the sign he needs to know that there will be questions later…lots of them.
Lee fortunately, hasn’t been around as much lately, and isn’t aware of Neji’s growing interest in the newest member of Team Kakashi. He seems intrigued but remains silent. Many people confuse Lee for a man of lesser intelligence but he is by no means slow of mind. Unlike Tenten he considers what he observes, filing it away for later, allowing him to focus solely on the task at hand. He will make no mention of the occurrence until all other matters have been but aside. Neji frowns, wondering if suddenly being bombarded with speeches proclaiming the superb youthful pursuit of springtime pleasures was really the better alternative.
Having concluded that conversation was done for the evening the shinobi eat in comfortable silence, Sai and Lee splitting off after the meal to clean the crockery. Tenten of course decides this would be the best possible chance to tease her normally collected teammate about his increasingly obvious affections.
“You like him, don’t you?”
Neji cringes, “What are you talking about?”
Take the hint, please for once, take the hint.
“You like Sai.”
“Of course I like Sai, he’s my friend.”
“Don’t be obtuse Neji, it doesn’t suit you,” Tenten replies smartly.
Neji sighs, “This is not the time for this conversation.”
“Why on earth not? We’re alone for a few more minutes at least. Unless Lee decides to turn dish washing into a contest of ‘youth and manliness’ it’ll be a while before he and Sai return. I’d say it’s the perfect time to discuss this.”
“After the mission is complete would be ideal in my opinion.”
She snorts, hand falling to her hip, “You’re impossible.”
He can’t help but grin at that, “I do try my dear Tenten.”
The clearing erupts with her laughter, “Fine. Be the stubborn ass you have always been. I’ll get it out of you sooner or later, just you wait and see.”
She lets the matter go, humming quietly to herself as she banks the fire. A few minutes later Sai and Lee return, the latter looking chagrined while the former is decidedly….wet. Neji blinks at Lee then Sai, “What happened?”
Lee gives a nervous chuckle, rubbing his head in Uzumaki-esque fashion, “Well, uh, I challenged Sai-kun to a contest…”
“He knocked me in,” Sai interrupts coolly, looking highly annoyed; quite the feat for the normally stoic teen.
Lee nods, shooting Sai an apologetic look. Sai ignores him instead rifling through his pack for dry clothes. Holding the clothes carefully away from his body Sai meets Neji’s eye. “Allow me to change then I will take first watch.”
Neji nods, forcing his eyes away from how the wet fabric clings to the other teen’s muscular legs as he slips beyond the light emitted by glowing embers. He hears Tenten giggle and shoots her a scathing look, which she blatantly ignores as she wiggles into her sleeping bag.
“Night Neji, Lee,” she singsongs.
Lee frowns at Neji, “It really was an accident. The water is very shallow but Sai-kun…he was very rattled by his...er, unexpected swim.”
Neji takes in the information, waving Lee towards his own waiting bedroll, “Sleep. I’ll wake you for your watch.”
He lingers in his own nighttime preparations, wondering what is taking the artist-nin so long to return. Finally, huffing under his breath, he goes in search of the other shinobi. It would be easier to use the byakugan to locate the wayward teen but Neji always loathed such a needless waste of chakra. Besides which, he wanted a moment alone with Sai before turning in himself.
He finds Sai just a few paces away from camp, leaning against a tree, his wet clothing hanging limply from his hand. Ebony orbs blink slowly open at his approach, they slide towards him like ink and Neji stops dead. Something in their depths warns him to tread carefully around the Root member for the time being.
“Are you alright?” Neji asks softly.
Sai nods slowly, “I am fine. Tired I suppose.”
The young Hyuuga frowns, recognizing the diversionary tactic for what it is. He steps closer, hand ghosting down the bare skin of Sai’s arm and feeling the other teen tremble at his touch. “Why are you lying to me?”
“I am not lying, I am tired,” Sai whispers back.
“You may be tired, but there is more than that,” Neji practically hisses.
Sai’s head tilts back against the tree, eyes shifting away from Neji, “I did not react well to suddenly falling into the water. It was….embarrassing.”
Neji blinks, surprised, “What do you mean? Lee led me to believe it was a little thing.”
“It is…was…I just, panicked for a moment. I got more wet from my own flailing than from the initial dunking.”
“Why would you panic?”
He can just make out a darkening of Sai’s cheeks, realizing that the artist-nin is blushing. Sai heaves out a resigned breath, “I do not know how to swim. It startled me and I started to panic when the water splashed over my head. My reaction was…humiliating.”
The plaintive, self-depreciating tone of Sai’s voice actually brings a smile to Neji’s face. He leans in and brushes a kiss against a reddened cheek. “So, the seemingly perfect warrior has a flaw.”
“What on earth ever led you to the conclusion that I was perfect?” Sai snaps testily, fearing he is missing a joke at his expense.
“Shh,” Neji whispers, brushing damp hair away from Sai’s eyes. “I’m not joking on you. I called you perfect because you have a unique sense of your limits. You know how hard you can push yourself and others. You know what your weaknesses and strengths are, using both to maximum advantage. That makes you an uncanny opponent. So you don’t know how to swim, it is not a big deal. If it you like, I’ll teach you.”
“You…will?”
Neji nods, “Yes, I will. It isn’t very hard.”
A smile curls Sai’s pale lips, deepening Neji’s need to press his own against them, to taste Sai’s unique flavor once again. Neji shows an excellent amount of control pulling away from the temptation. He glances at Sai’s eyes and instead of ridicule sees amusement, the other having recognized how close Neji had come to succumbing to his wants despite being on a mission.
Sai’s fingers suddenly curl around his, squeezing gently. “Come on. We’ve been gone long enough.”
Neji allows Sai to lead him back to camp, their hands only falling away from one another as Neji veers towards his waiting bedroll. He curls into the warmth of his sleeping bag and forces his eyes closed, falling asleep to the sound of Sai’s pencil scratching lightly against his paper.
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Back in Konoha an old man kneels before his kotatsu, brush in hand. The fluid movement of hair against paper pause as another enters the room. The old man sets down his brush and lifts the gaze of his sole eye to his visitor.
“Is it done then?”
“Hai, Danzou-sama,” replies the masked Root member. “Word has been sent to operatives in River that the one known as Sai is not to return to Konoha.”
Danzou smiles, “Good, that tool has long outlived its usefulness to our cause.”