Zero Hour!

(A/N) Enjoy this crazy side story about Neji ----------for future reference I’m pretty sure Nise is the adjective for Fake in Japanese. Although, I could be wrong.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.


Chapter XII
His Heart’s A Battle Ground


The sun was bright, warm and it filled his room. Neji rolled over in his bed to hide from the sunlight. His arm fell over something warm next to him. Neji pulled the covers back and stared in amazement. Gaara was lying next to him, sleeping. Neji rubbed his eyes. He knew he had to be dreaming. He could count how many times he’d seen Gaara sleeping. That was all but twice.

Neji swallowed and touched Gaara’s cold shoulder. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and his body shivered when Neji removed the covers. The Hyuuga was half expecting Gaara to be lifeless like he always was. The redhead was breathing though. He chest rose and fell as he laid on his side. Neji could hear his own heart beating loudly. Gaara turned on his back and then onto his other side so he was facing Neji. His eyes slowly opened and he stared at Neji.

“Gaara.”

The boy picked up a pillow and covered his ears. Neji noticed for the first time that the shower in his bathroom had been running and now someone had turned it off. Who was it that was calling Gaara? He knew it wasn’t him. He hadn’t said anything, in fact he couldn’t. Neji reached over and tried to touch Gaara to get his attention. He could almost feel the pillow but his hand phased right through it. He pulled his hand back and looked at it.

“Gaara get up, we’ll be late.”

Neji looked up towards the bathroom door and saw…Neji? He frowned. What was he doing across the room? Correction, what was his body doing across the room? He was sure he was actually sitting right there next to Gaara. He could feel the bed and the boy’s warm body. He could feel Gaara’s skin but the boy couldn’t feel him.

“I’m not going.” The red head pulled the covers back over his head. “Graduations are pointless. It’s just another reason for you to remind me your going off to college, alone.” Gaara mumbled. Neji (which will now be referred to as Neji-nise the ghost-ish one) looked down at Gaara’s body under the covers. Did he just hear right? Was he graduating today? He got up off the bed and walked carefully over to his desk.

June 26, 2007. Yeah, he was graduating today. He looked back at Gaara and watched Neji sit on the bed next to the boy. Neji’s hair was wet from the shower and he was sporting his slacks and nothing more. He looked awfully different from Neji-nise. His face was calm and he eyes were full of something Neji-nise couldn’t place. He looked…happy.

“You’re obligated to go, Gaara. I’m pretty sure it’s written somewhere that it’s your job as my boyfriend to go to functions like these. Stop being a baby and get up. I want you to go, I’m not going without you so come on.” Neji pulled the covers from over Gaara and turned him over. Neji leaned over and kissed Gaara’s shoulder. “You know I’m not going to leave you.” Neji smiled down at him and his hair dripped lightly onto Gaara’s chest.

Neji-nise stared at the two of them. He was having a hard time trying to figure out just what exactly what was going on. Had they gotten back together? Did they even break up in the first place? Was this a dream or was it a piece of the future? Neji-nise watched closely as Gaara got up and dragged himself into the bathroom.

Neji-nise watched his other self lay back on the bed and stare up at the ceiling. He wanted to walk over there and shake the boy so he could find out what was going on. If only he had some kind of ‘Dreamish’ powers then he would seriously be talking to the Neji laying in the bed. He wanted some answers or he wanted to wake up.

“You still don’t know what’s going on, do you?”

Neji-nise looked around the room and made sure no one else was around. Had Neji been talking to him? He tried to answer just in case but his voice was lost.

“You can’t talk for a reason.” Neji said, sitting up. “You’re not here to talk, you’re here to learn.” Neji stared at Neji-nise and frowned. “You’ve already hurt him once. Do you want to do it again? Why can’t you just admit that you love him?” Neji asked. He couldn’t answer the question himself. He hadn’t lived it. Neji-nise lowered his head and sighed. It’s no wonder he couldn’t talk. He would have said a billion things to deny it probably.

“You remember how easy it was to love him. I know you do. You don’t belong with Haku or anyone else for that matter. You wouldn’t be having these strange dreams if you weren’t meant to be together.” Neji got off the bed and started shifting through his closet to find a shirt. Neji-nise sat on the floor and crossed his legs. Some of what Neji said had been making sense.

Neji-nise waited like that for a long time. Neji had stopped talking to him and was now ironing his shirt. When Gaara came out of the bathroom fully clothed Neji smiled.

“Ready?” He asked, sliding his shirt on and buttoning it up. He grabbed the tie off his dresser and threw it over his shoulder. Gaara didn’t answer as he sat on the bed and slid his shoes on. Neji sat next to him and put his arm around Gaara’s waist.

“Do you remember back in September when you came to my house and I told you I love you?” He questioned and Gaara nodded absently. “What were you thinking when I told you I still loved you, honestly.” Neji stroked the side of Gaara’s face and got close.

“I thought we already talked about this before. You’re making me feel like I need to reassure you. Are you trying to leave me again?” Gaara asked looking away. Neji turned Gaara’s face back around and pretended to wipe away a tear that wasn’t really there.

“I could never leave you. I just want to hear you say it again. I don’t know what kind of things we’re going to be forced to deal with after we leave this room today. I just wanna hear you say those words to me. I promise I’ll never let you go.” Neji’s eyes were big and pleading. He was merely trying to show Neji-nise how easy this was but he forgot and fell into his own weakened state.

“I told you…” Gaara wanted to look away as he cheeks flushed but Neji held onto him. “I felt like we had never been apart. I wanted to touch you and hug you. I wanted your embrace and I waited for it. I knew that there was no on else out there that could make me feel like I absolutely couldn’t breathe anymore. I wanted to forgive you and be with you. I couldn’t stand being apart but I was afraid so I pushed you away. I shouldn’t have. I loved you then, I always loved you.” Gaara leaned into the crook of his neck. “If you leave, Neji…I don’t know who I’ll turn into without you.”

“Gaara.” Neji-nise could hear himself say. He reached for the boy he loved so much but his vision began to fade. He cursed himself. He wanted to stay here, he wanted to live where things were calm and nothing could be broken. His body fell through the floor into the darkness. He floated in the black abyss of his mind. He closed his eyes and tried to keep himself from fading away. Gaara was affecting him. Neji-nise’s eyes were cloudy and he felt like he had been crying for an eternity.

Was that how it was supposed to end? Would he finally get Gaara back if all he did was tell him he loved him? Neji-nise could feel his chest pounding as something tried to break free. He laid a hand over his chest as the pounding increased.

“You’re hiding it from yourself. Let it go, Neji.”

The voice in the dark was his own. What was it talking about? What was he supposed be letting go of?

Neji-nise’s chest began to throb with pain and he felt like it was ripping open. He could feel the blood on his hands as he tried to push down on himself. He was trying to keep something in but that something wanted out. He tried to talk again, tried to ask his other self what was happening but his speech was still muted.

“You’ll be fine if you just let it go, Neji. Free it, or you will perish in the darkness.”

Neji-nise shook as his chest ripped open and a bright light cut through the black. The light shot up to a small orb that floated above him. Neji-nise reached for it. He wanted to see what it was, wanted to get out of there. The farther he reached the closer he got. He grabbed the small orb and closed it up in his hands. He didn’t want to let go of it again, he felt empty without it.

“Do you still not know what it is, Neji?”

Neji-nise didn’t know what to do with it. He looked at the gaping hole in his chest where his heart was still pounding. Neji used the light from the orb to look at his beating organ. It pounded slower and slower. It was growing black every second. Neji-nise looked around trying to find out where the voice was coming from. He wanted to know what was happening.

“That ball of light is the love that should reside in your heart. Even now you’re selfishly keeping it to yourself. Let it go.”

Neji-nise clasped his hands tighter. He didn’t want to lose his life in here. He didn’t want to die yet. He still wanted to love Gaara-

“That’s it, say it now.” Neji said, his voice was fading. Neji-nise could feel something warm building inside of him. He could feel his voice coming back to him. He held on to the light tighter.

“I…I love him.” Neji-nise said.

“You love who?” The voice was almost gone this time.

“I love Gaara. I’ve always loved him. I don’t know what came over me. I was just so afraid that things were moving too fast. I needed space but when he was gone I still couldn’t breathe. I…I need him back. Gaara, I love you.” Neji was himself again. He could feel his heart beating regularly. He could see the darkness around him fading. He could see everything he knew. He was back in his room, or looking into it. He turned around and saw a long empty road. Off in the distance he saw…Gaara.

Neji took a step and tripped over himself. The orb fell from his hand. “No…” It bounced forward into the darkness. Neji stood up and went after it. He watched Gaara move farther and farther away from him. Neji closed his eyes and stopped moving. He took a deep breath and let the orb go. He watched it begin to float and move around. It killed what was left of the black and found it’s way to where the redhead was standing, waiting. It fell into his hands lightly.

Gaara turned around and looked at him. He looked down confused as the wind blew through his hair. Neji could barely see him but he smiled then Neji fell. He fell through nothing. He just kept falling until he was no more.

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Neji woke up in his bed with a start. He sat up and pulled his shirt off. He looked down at his chest. He had a bruise over his chest in the shape of a small circle. He caught his breath and got out of bed. He looked at himself in the mirror of his bathroom. He could see the difference in his face. He looked calm, like a burden had been lifted off him. He smiled to himself and turned off the light. He got back in his bed and closed his eyes. He’d let it go and he could feel that warm feeling he had when Gaara had smiled at him. There was no more darkness.

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End Chapter

A/N- This explains why Neji just suddenly fell back in love with my kawaii little redhead. If this seemed vaguely familiar its because I played Kingdom Hearts I and II for 6 days in a row! The fall scene where Neji was in the darkness was what I feel like when I listen to Passion by Utada Hikaru.