Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Dawnwalker ❯ The Reunion ( Chapter 5 )

Dawnwalker

 

.V.

 

Neji stared out the window, watching a white cloud as it drifted through the blue sky lazily. He fingered the sling around his shoulder absentmindedly. It seemed he had not suffered from a concussion alone. His left arm was broken and he had a dozen or so abrasions and bruises decorating his body. He would have healed himself if it had not been for his position as an undercover ANBU—though he wondered how far his position was endangered courtesy of Sasuke's untimely arrival. The latter had said nothing to him after his formal, albeit mocking, morning greeting and left him alone for the rest of the day.

 

And if Sasuke's presence was not shocking enough, it turned out that this was not his house—rather, it belonged to an old woman by the name of Takahashi Aya. A few times during the day she came by with food and new bandages. She was a kindly woman and had fostered a terrific onslaught of questions on Neji whilst he could do nothing but answer as generally as he could and smile at her graciousness.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

At the sharply intoned question, Neji turned towards his doorway instantly to see Sasuke leaning against the post casually, arms crossed, and a deadly look in his eyes. The mocking glint that had shown itself earlier was gone—quivering in the shadows of Sasuke's almost hateful glare. Neji blinked once.

 

“I…”

 

“You put the contacts back on.”

 

Again Neji was silenced. In the back of his mind he wondered to himself if Sasuke had always been this flighty during conversations or whether this was some sort of trick. He nodded slowly. “Yes… You took them out when you brought me here I assume?” he replied, glancing at the dark-haired man for affirmation to his suspicions.

 

Sasuke remained impassive. “I would imagine it very uncomfortable to have lenses—as well as sand and grit—in your eyes when you woke up,” he said dryly.

 

Neji did not know what to say to this uncustomary show of thoughtfulness from the missing shinobi and remained silent. This whole ordeal seemed to him like a dream.

 

“You didn't answer my first question.”

 

“You made another comment before I could.”

 

“That's not like you to forget, though.”

 

Again with the teasing. Neji knew he did not have to look at Sasuke to see that mocking glint in his eyes. He could detect it perfectly through his voice. “I didn't forget,” he said evenly.

 

“Well, it certainly is taking you a while to answer then.”

 

Naruto had always attested to the dark-haired man's habit as a child to provoke his enemies—and even his comrades—but Neji never imagined he would be on the receiving end. He was the one generally doing the provoking, and to be the victim for once gave him a strange sense of entering some sort of peculiar parallel universe where the Sasuke standing before him was an evil doppelganger he had to overcome.

 

“I'm traveling,” he answered finally.

 

Sasuke arched an eyebrow. “Alone?” he inquired, though the look in his eyes suggested he already knew the answer.

 

Neji looked at him sharply. “It's of no concern to you,” he snapped back, at once returning to his usual, quick self.

 

“Of course not, Ueda-san. I was just curious. But even a traveler should know never to wander around a desert at night by himself.”

 

“I was distracted.”

 

“Apparently.”

 

Their debate came to a standstill as the two stared at each other—or in Neji's case—glared. This Sasuke seemed different from the one he remembered. As far as he recalled, Sasuke was generally a quiet person—emitting his arrogance rather than flaunting it around through words and actions. But now it seemed the young man had taken a liking to disrespecting people for no apparent reason. Or perhaps Neji simply did not know the reason.

 

Then for the briefest of moments, Neji considered the unthinkable. What if this man standing before him was not Uchiha Sasuke, but merely an amazingly good look alike? He had not mentioned anything about Konoha—and other than the insinuating remarks he threw out—it could almost appear as if he really was not Sasuke. Then it dawned on Neji that requesting a name might enlighten the situation.

 

“What's your name?” he inquired—slightly too snappily as was his habit when he focused too hard on accomplishing a goal to remember his manners.

 

Sasuke blinked once and Neji could have sworn he caught the slightest glimpse of surprise flashing in those deep depths before disappearing altogether. “My name? Are you humoring me or am I allowed to think that you're really that dense?”

 

It was Sasuke all right.

 

Neji closed his eyes for a moment before looking at the younger man sharply. “Then why don't you drop the `Ueda-san' and the rest of your fake routine,” he retorted blandly.

 

Sasuke feigned a hurt look. “That stings—really. And to think we were once comrades. I heard you even risked your life in that mission to retrieve me eight years ago. That was very considerate of you and the others, but you all wasted your time,” he said.

 

The scars from that fight still lingered on his body—and sometimes when it was an especially cold night, Neji could feel a light ache in his shoulder. The dark-haired man glowered at Sasuke. It was one thing to mock him—but to bring up a painful memory in such an insulting manner was foul. Neji wondered to himself what in the world Naruto saw in Sasuke to believe in him so strongly even to this day. The Uchiha prodigy had changed. There was no longer that self-assured look in his eyes despite the chiding comments. His eyes were emotionless—like a perpetual void of black—staring back at him in the most haunting way imaginable.

 

It was like staring at glass. A single touch and it would shatter into a million pieces—never to become whole again. Neji stared at Sasuke a while longer. As biting and cold as his words and tone were, he failed to emit any type of real emotion. It frightened him somewhat. This was what Lee had warned him about. This was what Neji himself could turn into if he buried himself even deeper.

 

“You've been hiding yourself well.”

 

“Did you expect anything less?”

 

Sadly, Neji could find no reply to that. It was true after all. If there was anyone who could escape from Orochimaru's grasp and keep himself completely obscure for five years—it was Sasuke.

 

“Have you really been here the entire five years since you fled Sound?” Neji inquired, not bothering to hide his amazement.

 

Sasuke's gaze remained utterly impassive. “What do you think?”

 

“I think there's more to this than you're letting on. Why didn't you just come back to Konoha? Tsunade-sama would have welcomed you back—after proper punishment of course.”

 

There was a shift of emotion in Sasuke's eyes. Suddenly, Neji detected regret and anger before they slipped under black pools. “I have my own reasons,” Sasuke said quietly as he raised a knowing look towards Neji. “Just like you have your own for having to wear those contacts.”

 

This time Neji hardened his gaze. “What exactly do you know?” he asked slowly.

 

A faint smirk placed itself on the younger man's face. “I don't think you're in any position to ask questions, Hyuuga-kun,” he replied, stretching out Neji's surname contemptuously.

 

Neji narrowed his eyes. “Where is Aya?”

 

“Hoping she'll rescue you?”

 

“No, hoping she'll tell me more about you and your situation here.”

 

Sasuke uncrossed his arms and suddenly his eyes flashed crimson. Neji stared at him, aghast.

 

“I can make you feel great pain you know. Itachi's not the only one who's mastered the Mangekyou.”

 

For the first time in a long while, Neji felt fear. It was not a great fear—but there was a certain glint in Sasuke's eyes that intimidated him enough to build up his shields instinctively. But injured as he was, he could provide himself with no protection. Neji's hand tightened around his blanket before Sasuke's eyes suddenly returned to normal, his face expressionless.

 

“Aya went to buy some groceries. She'll probably be back in a few hours.”

 

With that he turned and left the room altogether. Neji stared at the empty space before him in a slight daze. It was quite random—these little visits—and he was not too fond of them. Sasuke had a special knack for appearing suddenly without warning. And his timing was impeccably imperfect.

 

The others must be panicking now—especially Naruto. Neji knew the latter's tendency to allow his overactive imagination take over and reduce what little reasoning he possessed to nil. Most likely Shikamaru and Lee were pacing themselves to not jump on him at the same time and crush him to death. Neji sighed. He had to get away soon. But he still had no clue where he was. Neji kneaded his forehead with his knuckles impatiently. He was beginning to feel the twinges of a painful migraine coming on. It seemed luck was not with him today.

 

“Oh, Tetsuya-kun! You're up!”

 

Neji put on a polite smile as Aya shuffled into the room, holding a tray carrying a steaming bowl of soup. She placed it by his bedside and sat down at the chair by the desk. She smiled warmly. “Eat up! I just got it fresh from the market. It'll help you recover faster—granted, the flavor might not be the best.”

 

“Thank you,” Neji responded quietly as he placed the bowl to his lips, taking a slow sip. It was bitter—quite bitter to be honest, but it warmed him up greatly. Neji consumed the whole thing in a matter of a minute before placing it back on the tray tidily. “I'm sorry to have intrude on your home for so long…”

 

“Oh, nonsense! You were gravely injured—I couldn't let you die! Sasuke was the one who brought you in, you know. He said he spotted you half-buried in the sand a few yards away from here and took you back immediately. He was actually the one who took care of you last night. I only saw you this afternoon—so you should really thank Sasuke, the sweet boy.”

 

It was as if he had suddenly taken a deep plunge into a frozen lake. Neji's mind iced over for a few seconds before finally registering Aya's words.

 

“He's such a mysterious boy… He stumbled into this town two years ago with no memory whatsoever. The only thing he had with him was his name. Poor thing—I couldn't very well leave him alone so I took him in as my apprentice. This place is a shop too you know—for my business. I'm a doll maker.”

 

“Sasuke…is your apprentice?”

 

Aya laughed a bit, her bright eyes crinkling around the edges. “Oh, it does seem strange doesn't it? I mean Sasuke hardly looks the type to be into dolls and toys, but he's actually very talented. I was amazed by how quickly he learned. I will probably leave this place to him when I die. I don't have kids you know and I guess Sasuke has become something of a surrogate son to me,” she continued softly.

 

Neji watched her steadily. There was no deceit in her eyes. She was completely and utterly truthful—and it pained him greatly. Sasuke had no doubt fooled her. But he could not say anything to disprove her notions of him. It would be too hurtful and a woman like Aya deserved any happiness she could find. And apparently she was happy thinking of this—missing-nin, this deserter, this betrayer—as a son; he could not ruin that joy. Neji wondered faintly to himself if Sasuke even knew how she cared for him.

 

“He never tried looking for his home?” he inquired quietly.

 

Aya shook her head. “No, he didn't. I think—or I like to believe—that he is happy here. But I'm just an old woman. What would I know about a young man's happiness?” she replied, chuckling softly.

 

“He's never done anything…out of the ordinary?”

 

At this Aya stared at Neji bewilderedly. “What do you mean?”

 

“Nothing,” murmured Neji quickly before smiling politely. “I should be leaving you soon. Um…I should repay you somehow…”

 

Neji blinked at this idea and speculated faintly to himself where his old clothes went. He knew he carried some money with him last night. But now he was adorned in plain white garments—not so uncommon from what they gave patients at the hospital.

 

“Oh, I couldn't possibly let you do that! And if you're wondering where your clothes went, I took the liberty of washing them for you. They were so dirty, what from the sand and all—I didn't want you to be uncomfortable,” chirped Aya.

 

“Than—”

 

“You're spoiling him, Aya-san.”

 

Both heads turned around to face Sasuke, who had entered the room once again, an armful of clothes in hand. He threw them semi-hazardously at Neji's feet. Aya looked appalled.

 

“Sasuke! He's our guest! You could show a little more manners!”

 

For a moment Sasuke continued his cold gaze on Neji before finally shrugging. “Sure thing,” he muttered as he left the room.

 

Aya shook her head slowly and sighed. “Sometimes I do wonder about him. He's usually such a respectful and considerate boy—but then he gets his mood swings and he doesn't want to talk at all.”

 

Neji blinked several times. “I'll be leaving this afternoon.”

 

**

 

Naruto was not in a good mood. It was nearing early afternoon and there was still no one around to tell him what the hell was going on. Naruto knew he was a deep sleeper. He also knew that the others tended to think of him as a bit unreliable—but that did not mean they could take the liberty to leave him behind in what was obviously an important calling. Naruto glared around the bare room. There was nothing. Shikamaru hadn't even left a note. It annoyed him to no ends.

 

“Shiro! Are you up yet?”

 

Suddenly, the door swung open and in walked Shikamaru and Lee. Naruto blinked in surprise before leaping to his feet indignantly. “You left me! Where the hell did you guys go? Couldn't have at least left a message?!” he exclaimed.

 

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes slightly. “Oi, calm down. We were in a bit of a rush. And we knew you could take care of things on your own,” he explained before sighing. “But man, do you knock out quick. As soon as Tetsuya left last night you were out like a baby.”

 

“SO?”

 

“So, Tetsuya is gone. There was a sandstorm that occurred just after Tetsuya left and it went on through the night. We could only begin searching for him this morning—but since you were sleeping so soundly, we decided to leave you here to watch over things for a while.”

 

Naruto paused. “Tetsuya's gone?”

 

“Well, we have no idea where he is. He's not dead, I'm sure—but he could be injured. That storm was pretty violent,” remarked Shikamaru.

 

“Where's…aah…Megumi?”

 

“Still out. She suggested we come back here to make sure you didn't go crazy.”

 

Naruto bit back his reply to Shikamaru's words before glancing over at Lee. The latter was unusually quiet and he sat on the floor with a dejected gloom around him. Naruto watched him for several moments. “Hey, Shuu…I'm sure he's okay. Tetsuya's strong!” he said encouragingly.

 

“Eh? Of course he is, Shiro.”

 

Lee stared at him bewilderedly. Naruto scratched his head confusedly. “You're not worried about him at all?” he asked.

 

“Well…it's Tetsuya. I know he's okay. His pride would never let him die so easily,” replied Lee brightly.

 

Naruto arched an eyebrow. “So why do you seem so depressed?” he continued.

 

This time Lee heaved a great sigh and resumed his silence. Shikamaru snorted and Naruto turned to him for an answer. The former waved his hand and said in a whisper, “We passed by a stranger on the way back. She tripped and Lee the gentleman decided to give her a hand. As soon as she looked at his face, though, she screamed and fled altogether.”

 

The two dissolved into barely restrained chuckles.

 

“It's not funny you know. I mean…did I do something wrong? I wasn't trying to hassle her or anything…”

 

Naruto grinned. Over the years those who knew and cared for Lee had become accustomed to his rather unusual appearance. However, there was still the occasional passerby that looked down upon him like a beast. It angered Naruto in the beginning, but he soon realized that Lee never even noticed it. He always assumed they were hostile or fearful of him because of something he had done or said. And it was this that made those occurrences so hilarious. Lee's obliviousness to his own appearance and how it affected other people was something that always caused laughs—especially when he took it upon himself to impress a girl.

 

“Come on, Shuu. You can't stay depressed over that,” Naruto said sympathetically.

 

Lee shrugged helplessly. “But I don't understand. What did I do?” he whined.

 

Shikamaru hid behind his hand as he covered up his laugh with a cough. “Well, uh, Shuu, there's no use crying over spilt milk. We have to meet up with Megumi,” he said.

 

“All right,” sighed Lee as he stood up and left the room.

 

Naruto shot Shikamaru an inquisitive look. “Was the girl really cute or something?”

 

“She was attractive.”

 

The redhead blanched. “You're actually complimenting her? That means she must have been hot,” he remarked incredulously.

 

Shikamaru gave a shake of his head. Lee suddenly scrambled back into the room, flushed.

 

“Did you hear it?” he cried out.

 

“What?” Naruto and Shikamaru simultaneously asked.

 

And then there it was: an ominous rumbling in the horizon that sounded distinctly like a bomb being set off. Shikamaru flew to the window and pulled the shutters open, displaying the picturesque afternoon sky and the deathly black smoke gathering in the far distance.

 

“What the…?” he gasped to himself before Naruto tugged on his arm. He gestured wildly to a walkie-talkie in his hand that crinkled out a message from Kakashi.

 

“Get…here…now! There's…attacking!”

 

Shikamaru nodded. “Let's go then,” he ordered without hesitation.

 

The three left the inn and into the dusty road outside. Naruto turned around to smile at Shikamaru as they passed by the shocked townspeople as they gazed at the distant scene. “How typical of Megumi to have all the fun without us!” he exclaimed.

 

Shikamaru's expression remained impassive. “This might be more dangerous than you think,” he advised.

 

Naruto gave a whimsical laugh. “The more dangerous it is, the more pumped up I get!” he said eagerly.

 

They were fast closing in on the site. The towns and shops were all beginning to diminish slowly until they were surrounded by practically nothing. All that stood before them was a smoldering house and several small shops scattered around the area. Shikamaru focused on the burning house as people swarmed out of the other shops in dismay.

 

“Aya-san!”

 

They were all crying out the same name. So this place must belong to an Aya, thought Shikamaru idly as he scanned the area. Where's Kakashi? Then he felt it—a surge in chakra levels coming from beyond the burning house. Shikamaru nodded at the others and they left the scene inconspicuously before making a run into the desert.

 

“What the hell is Kaka-sensei doing?” cursed Naruto.

 

“It's forbidden to fight in Fenaru. And with all those people watching…it wouldn't wise anyhow for either sides,” explained Shikamaru.

 

Lee strained slightly as he ran. “I can sense Kakashi-san—and Neji! And there are at least five other shinobi and…someone…else…”

 

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. “There's something familiar about this chakra,” he murmured before glancing at Naruto. “Have any ideas?”

 

The latter remained silent for a while—all humor and emotion gone from his face. “I know who that is,” he finally said. “It's Sasuke, no doubt about it.”

 

Lee and Shikamaru did a double take. “Are you positive?” Lee asked in alarm.

 

“Trust me.”

 

They continued the rest of the way tensely. About three kilometers away from the burning house, they found their targets. Kakashi was fighting most of the shinobi off himself while Neji appeared to be struggling slightly. Naruto, Lee, and Shikamaru leapt onto the scene offensively, taking out some opponents by surprise alone.

 

“What took you so long?” Kakashi greeted.

 

“There was a burning house that caught our attention,” answered Naruto with a grin.

 

Neji shot him a severe look. “A burning house?” he repeated sharply.

 

The redhead nodded dubiously, unsure of what to make of the grieved look that made its way onto Neji's face.

 

“What's up?” inquired Shikamaru.

 

“Aya-san… No… Sasuke should have been able to protect her.”

 

Naruto froze. “He is here then?” he cried out as he barely dodged a kunai flying into his face.

 

Neji faced him slowly. “Yes…he is—he's probably back at the shop, though…”

 

“Actually, I'm right here.”

 

The remaining three shinobi were taken out immediately in a blur. Everyone else remained still as Sasuke walked up to them, eyes as cold as ever. Neji took a deep breath. He felt something terrible was coming.

 

Sasuke's gaze barely swept over the others before concentrating on Neji. “So. Mind telling me exactly how this happened,” he said, his tone so deadpanned that it only increased the feeling of wariness within Neji. He felt as if this was the calm before the storm. Sasuke appeared utterly immovable.

 

“We were…”

 

Neji could not find the words to describe what he was feeling. He could see it now in Sasuke's eyes—only for the briefest of seconds—but it was strong. Pain, grief, anger—all in such high intensities that it overwhelmed him.

 

But Sasuke had now begun taking the others into slow consideration, pausing specifically on Naruto and Kakashi. “Well, well, well. If only Sakura were here as well,” he commented idly.

 

Naruto could not stop gaping at him—his jaw slackened. Kakashi, too, seemed to be speechless. Sasuke looked at Shikamaru. “Captain, are you? Well then, Captain, I have a proposal,” he began slowly, enunciating each of his words almost painstakingly.

 

Neji knew what was coming. And he attempted to stop it.

 

“What about Aya-san?”

 

Sasuke's gaze remained fixed on Shikamaru. The latter stared back dazedly. “She's dead. She was dead when I came back. They did this to her,” he replied, waving to the shinobi sprawled out on the ground. He narrowed his eyes, an almost maniacal glint shining in them. “As I was saying, however, I have a proposal. I'll help you on this mission of yours.”

 

Shikamaru finally stirred as he looked upon Sasuke cautiously. “Why?” he asked.

 

“Why? To find and kill the bastards who did this to Aya—that's why. And if you have a problem with me tagging along with your dream team—deal with it because I'm going nowhere.”

 

TBC

 

One more to go…