Caged

Caged

Persepolis130

Notes: I might actually rewrite Chapter 9 a bit, extend it and whatnot, and publish it as a stand-alone. What do you think? And for the record, most sake has about the same amount of alcohol as wine. “Nindo” means “way of the ninja,” as in one’s own personal beliefs, and the word comes up at the very end of this installment. I started reading Naruto in French, and that’s how they write it, but I don’t know if it’s translated that way in English. I think it sounds better though.

XXXXX CHAPTER 9 XXXXX

Neji sat across the table from Hiashi, zabuton pillow soft against his shins, as his uncle poured a cup of sake. Setting it in front of Neji, he nodded, motioning for him to drink as he lifted his own cup.

After a moment's hesitation, Neji followed suit. Of course he wasn't twenty yet and shouldn't, especially since he only had an hour before he was supposed to meet Tenten. But he felt very adult with the cup in his hand, and as the chilled, undoubtedly expensive sake filled his mouth, he decided Tenten wouldn't mind.

"I have received favorable reports of your progress," Hiashi told him, hint of a smile on his lips. "I trust it hasn't been overly tedious."

"I've done as asked, nothing more, nothing less," Neji replied expressionlessly, taking another sip of the semi-sweet, entirely delicious liquid.

Hiashi looked about to say something, but he smiled instead and raised his cup to his lips, and the two drank in companionable silence.

Sitting in the tranquil evening stillness, knees warm under the short-legged kotatsu, Neji felt irrefutably relaxed. His cup refilled whenever low, the far-away sound of wind chimes and busy servants soothing his senses, he felt for the first time at home in his uncle’s presence. It raised a sense of pride within him.

Why he had no indication at this point of his fate was something he'd later ponder at length.

Perhaps it was solely due to the fact that, with Hiashi’s wrist almost continually tipping the decanter over his cup, the liquor overtook Neji much more quickly than he’d expected. Maybe he felt that he’d now truly become an adult, Hiashi’s equal. Or maybe he was just an innocent fool.

But in any case, his eyelids eventually started to droop and his hands became clumsy, and he swore as he tipped his cup too soon, liquid trickling down his chin. Looking down at his soiled shirt, he cursed again, attempting to set the cup down safely on the table, but succeeding only in dumping the rest of its flavorful contents across the fine inlaid wood top in his haste.

Hiashi laughed, and the sound made Neji pause. “Were you planning on passing out before admitting you’d had enough?” he asked. Neji’s head reeled as he focused on his uncle, who had risen from his place and was approaching him.

Neji frowned. “I spilled it...”

His uncle laughed again, the unfamiliar sound pleasant to Neji’s hazy senses. “The point wasn’t to get you utterly plastered,” he said, wiping Neji’s wet chin with his thumb, “just a bit more relaxed.”

Looking hazily at his face, Neji could see a light flush spread across his uncle’s cheeks. He seemed to have had a bit too much as well. Settling in beside him, Hiashi wrapped his arm around Neji’s shoulder, ducking his head in like a friend telling a secret. “Tell me about it. Did you like her? She was proper to you?”

Neji frowned. He was annoyed and wanted to tell him how disagreeable she'd been this afternoon. Oddly enough, what came out was, “She wasn't very naked today...”

At this, Hiashi threw back his head in laughter, pulling Neji closer to him. Their cheeks pressed together, Hiashi sighed. “Well, this is my fault, now isn’t it? Ah, but it’ll have to do.”

Neji blinked vacantly, wondering exactly how much alcohol he'd had. “Do what?” He thought he was more tipsy than drunk, but he wasn't sure what this strange, disconnected sensation meant.

Feeling himself being pulled into his uncle’s lap, Neji closed his eyes, his head heavier than usual, though not uncomfortably so. When he opened his eyes, Hiashi seemed to be evaluating him, the man’s elegantly squared fingers on his cheek.

“You’ll take care of my Hinata, won’t you Neji?” he asked, almost hesitantly. “Any of us who... you’ll take care of the Main House, Neji? When we ask it of you?”

Flustered, Neji murmured something about duty and Hinata’s legs which could only be taken as an affirmative. Warm and comfortable, he wrapped his arms around Hiashi, bringing his head down to rest on his uncle’s shoulder. He could definitely sleep just like this. Was he drunk?

“Ah, I’ve done badly tonight. This is not at all fitting, Neji. Not at all,” he heard, accompanied by the sensation of something moving against his chest. Looking down, he saw Hiashi’s hand at the closure of his shirt, tugging it gently open.

For a moment, Neji might have been upset, but he soon found he didn’t particularly care and slid his chin down Hiashi’s neck, coming to a stop at the aperture of his uncle’s kimono. Warm, strong hands under his shirt coaxing him, Neji’s own hands clutched clumsily at the finely woven fabric, managing it pull it open enough to slide his mouth across a well-muscled chest. Neji dimly felt his tongue flick out against the upraised nub he found there, and it made him feel warm inside.

Failing to see any reason not to, he edged closer, somehow managing to drag his right leg around his uncle’s knees to straddle him. Now of equal height, Neji drew the pads of his fingers across Hiashi’s cheek, gaze re-affirming his belief that Hyuuga eyes were the most beautiful. Lost in the pearly white depths, Neji let himself be guided in by a powerful hand on the back of his neck.

“Good... very good...” Hiashi murmured, sweet, humid breath puffing against Neji’s skin as he brought their lips together.

And suddenly Neji realized what he was doing.

"Ah!" he shouted, pushing Hiashi back with such misestimated force that the man had to let go of Neji to break his fall.

Scrambling to his feet, Neji caught his toe against something. He felt himself pitch forward, uncoordinated arms flailing, and he barely managed to catch himself before his head hit the table.

"Calm down now," Neji heard as he felt himself being raised by a strong grasp. "Too much too soon, that's all. You're just not used to it. And you haven't have dinner, have you? That's my fault."

Neji's head swam, and for a moment, he thought he might be sick, but the feeling quickly passed. What the hell had he done? He was definitely drunk.

"I don't know why..." he started.

"Nothing to be concerned with," Hiashi told him, releasing his grip on Neji's shoulders. "I just thought it might be easier, that's all. She said this wasn't something you'd been entirely pleased with."

Neji frowned as he tried to interpret his uncle's words about his trainer. There was only one thing he'd ever resisted. Why would the woman have told Hiashi about it? And why was his brain so distressingly slow?

"Come here," Neji suddenly heard, and he looked toward his uncle, vision focusing only after his head had finished its rotation.

He didn't know immediately what was going on.

Hiashi was standing beside a newly-unfolded futon, evidently pulled down from a nearby cabinet. As Neji watched, he untied his obi, dropping each belt beside him as he went. His kimono now sliding open, the vividly pale skin was in brilliant contrast to his dark garment. Bringing his right hand to his chest, Hiashi slid it along the edge of the kimono, pulling it open to reveal even more to Neji's blank gaze.

Neji had never been one for relaxation, and that included public baths and hot springs. He couldn't remember ever having seen a full-grown man naked before. And now, with Hiashi sliding his kimono off his well-built shoulders, Neji was rather in awe of the sight. His eyes swept over the muscular plains of his uncle's chest, across his well-toned abdomen, with the type of admiration he had for a well-executed jutsu. Trailing downward, Neji's keen eyes took in the well-groomed bed of dark curls from which Hiashi's member rose, swollen red and glistening at the tip, longer and broader than his own.

It was then that Neji realized exactly what was happening.

"No," he said, his head spinning as he shook it. "No, No, NO!!"

"Undress."

Neji backed blindly away, eyes unable to leave his uncle's form. "No, I won't! I WON'T!!"

Hiashi's jaw clenched. "You WILL. It's your responsibility."

His mouth refusing to form words, Neji's eyes widened in panic, hands raising before him. He stumbled as he inched away.

"Do it, or I will MAKE you do it," Neji heard, but he wouldn't, couldn't. Not here, not like this.

"Then you leave me no choice."

The feeling started with a light twinge, almost like the twitching of an overused muscle. But then the sensation took hold, rippling through him like a muscle spasm, gripping tightly at his flesh. Neji's hands flew to his forehead, fingers ripping off the headband, and he heard himself scream in agony. He felt as if his skin were on fire, a scalding hot iron pressed against his seal, and no matter what he did, no matter how loudly his own anguished voice rang through his ears, it wouldn't seem to ease.

Neji was only vaguely aware when strong arms took hold of him, pulling him up from the heap he'd collapsed into and dragging him to the bed, divesting him of his clothes on the way.

The pain stopped just in time for Neji to feel himself hit the cushion, but his hands still clutched at his forehead in memory even as he felt himself flipped onto his stomach, hips pulled into the air. He didn't make a sound as his uncle entered him, the stiff, lubrication-slicked member entering smoothly into Neji's now relaxed, unresponsive body. Lying in a daze, the only thought that entered his mind was how grateful he was that the unbearable, searing pain had stopped; the discomfort from Hiashi's quickening thrusts was nothing in comparison, a mere afterthought.

It ended more quickly than Neji would have thought, but then in his current state, he couldn't really be sure how long that was. He only knew that he was relieved it was over when bruising fingers gripped his hips, mouth muffling a cry against his neck, as his uncle buried himself one last time, hard and deep.

The last thing Neji remembered as the welcome darkness overtook him was a warm blanket being pulled over him and soft lips against his.

XXXXX CHAPTER 10 XXXXX

Neji awoke the next morning in his own bed, stiff and hazy, sometime before sunrise. His head throbbing dully and tongue feeling like cotton, he managed to drink the glass of water set at his bedside and read the note telling him his sensei had been alerted as to his absence today.

He couldn't manage to think about anything other than the fact that he really wanted to go back to sleep, so that's what he did.

When he next awoke, the sun's rays through his window showing the morning had begun some time ago, he felt as if he'd been sleeping for days. The headache was gone though, and Neji wondered if there had been something medicinal in the water. When he looked for the glass, he found that it had been removed, along with the note; he couldn't say who'd left them.

Drawing himself slowly out of bed, he realized the bandages that usually covered the right side of his body were also gone. On closer inspection, he found that he'd been bathed sometime during the night; his skin was soft and clean, and his hair was slightly damp. Filing this information away (since there was nothing he could do about it anyway), Neji re-wrapped himself and pulled on some clothing with the idea of training. With any luck, his team would still be there.

He managed to leave the estate without anyone seeing him, most likely because it was near mid-day, and preparations were being made for lunch. On his way to the training grounds, his stomach began to protest, so he decided to stop on his way for something quick, preferably food he could eat as he walked. Winding through the narrow streets of Konoha, Neji entered the dining district, scanning the signs for easily digestible fare.

He was about to pass the sweets shop, with its nauseatingly sugary odor and gigantic horizontally-suspended model of dango when he was noticed.

"Neji!"

Turning, he saw Tenten, along with two other girls, eating sweets. He supposed he had no choice but to join them, at least for a moment.

"Oh, I was so worried!" Tenten exclaimed, rushing toward him. "You weren't feeling well yesterday afternoon, and you didn't show up for our date, and then Gai-sensei said you were sick! Do you feel better now?"

"I'm fine," he told her, wishing she wouldn't say things like that quite so loudly.

"Here, come sit with us!" she said, grabbing his hand and leading him inside. The other two girls giggled and blushed, one of them waving. He recognized them as the female components of Kakashi and Asuma's teams, but he'd never bothered to learn their names.

Finding Tenten's behavior overly familiar, he pulled his hand from her grasp.

"She was just telling us about the restaurant you took her to. I SO want to go there!" the blonde told him, waving her dumpling stick for emphasis. He noted the bad manners with disdain.

The pink-haired girl nodded. "I wish somebody decent would ask ME out! I mean... not that Lee-san isn't sweet, but..."

Not at all in the mood, Neji decided to end this. "If you'll excuse me, I have to find something with some semblance of nutritional value before I train."

"Oh, just a minute, then we'll go!" Tenten told him, motioning toward the bench next to her. "Come, sit."

He hated this, being shown off.

"You two are SUCH a cute couple!" one of the girls exclaimed. Neji glowered. He hated her saying that; he hated her.

"Yeah, Tenten, like you were meant to be together!" the other added. Neji gritted his teeth. He couldn't stand this anymore.

Grasping his arm, Tenten giggled. "Well..."

And suddenly, it was all too much.

He flung Tenten from his arm, sending her flying across the room. She crashed into the next table, falling to hit the mat-covered concrete floor with a dull thud.

The other girls gasped, frozen with shock.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded harshly. "Taking hold of me in public! I put up with your brazen advances as far as it pleased me, but now you've crossed the line!"

A look of utter astonishment covered Tenten's face as she peered up at him from the ground.

"Any girl can lift her skirt like a whore, and a man has every right to take advantage of it," he announced. "If you want to be slut, it's no concern of mine, but don't assume it means you're something special to me!"

Her eyes widened, filling with tears, and she shook her head in disbelief. "...no..." she whispered, "...Neji, don't..."

He ignored her plea, glaring down at her. "Your reputation may not matter to you, since you're a NOBODY who'll amount to NOTHING. But I am a Hyuuga, a member of a noble family, and I don't want people thinking I'd lower myself to your level for anything more than a casual fuck!"

"No, no, no!" Tenten cried, tears streaming down her face as she rose to her feet, reaching out a trembling hand. "It's not true! It's not! Neji, I love you! I swear it!!"

Neji turned his back to her, crossing his arms. "Well, I don't love you. Now get the HELL out of my sight before I get angry."

He noticed how loud the sound of her footsteps was as she fled, only now realizing that a hush had fallen over all the usual, happy lunchtime buzz. The entire street had gone silent, everyone stopped dead in their tracks. They were all gaping in the same quiet disbelief, some with shaking heads or hands over their mouths in shock.

Raising his chin high, Neji paid them no heed.

"You..." he heard a loud voice break the silence, and he turned his head disinterestedly toward its owner. "You," the pink-haired girl's face was a burning crimson, her fists balled at her sides, "are a TOTAL ASSHOLE!!"

Neji grunted, meandering off in the direction from which he'd come. "Yeah," he said over his shoulder. "That's me."

XXXXX

He managed to make it a few blocks away to an uninhabited alley before the burning acidic contents of his stomach reemerged, and he braced himself against a wall as his abdominal muscles convulsed painfully. The vomit splattered against the broken brick walkway, some of it hitting his toes, but he hardly noticed.

He was trying too hard to hold back the tears.

Because all those horrible things he'd accused Tenten of, none of it was about her. Tenten was a sweet, hardworking, reliable girl who'd never done anything to deserve that kind of treatment. She wasn't a whore, a slut, a nobody.

Neji was.

Spitting the taste from his mouth, he was trying to wipe the tears off his cheeks when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Ah, the vicissitudes of youth! One moment, we are soaring in the clouds of victory, and the next, choking on the dust of defeat!"

Neji hung his head at the sound of his sensei's voice. This was NOT the person he wanted to see right now.

"I know life can challenge a man's spirit, but with courage and strength, you will prevail, Neji!"

This was not helping his mood. Really.

"And tomorrow, the next stage in your life begins! You are now the captain of your team, set to lead them to glorious triumph! Your first mission, Neji, your first chance to show the world your fortitude and wisdom!"

Oh, shut up! Please...

"For your illness, I have procured a remedy straight from the Hokage herself! ...or... well, actually... not quite STRAIGHT... though I'm fairly sure she'd approve it... hahaha!"

Neji groaned.

"But anyway! Come with me, Neji, and no one shall tie you down! Never shall you be downtrodden, crushed beneath the heel of society, forgotten by--"

"Gai-sensei, I won't tell anyone I saw you there," Neji muttered. "Our secret. Honest."

His sensei looked sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck, a strange and disturbing blush raising to his cheeks. "Ah... alright then..."

Neji sighed and spit once more, wiping his eyes again for good measure. "I'll be ready for the mission tomorrow."

Fist in the air, Gai beamed forth the tearfully joyous smile he usually stored up for Lee, and Neji shook his head as he turned toward home.

To tell the truth, he wasn't displeased Gai-sensei had found him though. After listening to his ridiculous proclamations, he felt so much better he could almost contemplate one day thinking about smiling again.

After all, Neji might be a worthless whore, a slave to the Main House's desires, but at least there was still one person on this planet more pathetic than he was.

XXXXX CHAPTER 11 XXXXX

The serow mountain goat population in the fire country had outgrown its native habitat, and the animals had recently been encroaching on neighboring soybean farms. The result was devastating for the already hard-pressed farmers, resulting in severe damage to crops and huge financial losses. In order to maintain environmental equilibrium, the animals needed to be tagged and numbered before determining an appropriate course of action.

This was Neji's first command mission.

On the surface, it didn't seem like much, but it immediately became clear why a ninja team had been employed. The logistics ended up being rather tricky, considering that the animals needed to first be captured, and then tagged, a feat that involved almost a week and any number of goat-inflicted bruises. Come to find out, serow had incredibly keen senses of both smell and hearing, and the males especially were more rambunctious and harder to catch than one might think. Before the first day was over, Lee had two black eyes.

Neji thought long and hard about apologizing to Tenten. Just thinking about what he'd done made him feel agonizingly guilty, and he knew it was the only honorable thing to do.

Surprisingly though, his teammate seemed fine, if a little quiet. Being a girl, she'd decided the hideous, malodorous goats were exceedingly cute and seemed content with nabbing the smaller ones, soothing them with soft pats as she tagged them.

And what if his apology upset her, caused her even more grief? Or what if she took it the wrong way and thought he wanted to get back together again?

In the end, he decided he couldn't risk it. If she could bear it, then so could he. Besides, he'd never apologized to anyone before, so he wasn't quite sure how to go about it.

On guard duty four nights later though, near the end of their mission, he noticed Tenten curled up in her sleeping pack, arms around a tiny, sleeping kid whose mother was nowhere to be found. He'd been angry at her before for taking care of the goat, wanting to tell her it would just die anyway, but she'd been so enamored of it, he let her keep it. Looking at the tiny, helpless creature now, sleeping soundly in her arms, he felt an intense wave of jealousy wash over him.

That's where you should be, part of him murmured, warm and safe in her embrace. You liked it there.

He knew it wasn't his brain talking though, or even his heart; it was another part of his anatomy, one that only got him into trouble, so he shut it out. Given that he hadn't been with a woman for over week, he found his restraint commendable. After all, even though he'd had a bad experience, he'd been doing it with delicious regularity for what seemed like forever.

He now decided he missed it.

So it went without saying then that when he got home two days later, all he wanted to do was clean the grime and goat smell off his skin, give his wind-damaged hair a good conditioning, and jack off. This in mind, was it a shock to him to see the figure in front of his door, bearing an elaborately wrapped package, barring his way to orgasmic paradise?

Of course not. When did he ever get what he wanted anymore?

"N...Neji-niisan..."

"Hinata-sama. You look well," he told her, not really looking. She was wearing her usual heavy coat and baggy pants anyway, her head tipped toward her toes, so what good would it have been?

"Ah... thank you..." she began, shy eyes not meeting his as she held out the package, "Father wanted me to give this to you..."

"Could you set it inside?" he asked, opening the rice paper fusuma door. "I'm filthy still from my mission. I'd only ruin it."

"Mmm," she nodded, following him into his bedroom, a blush spreading across her cheeks. Once inside, she set the large box on his bedside chest, standing beside it with down-turned eyes. He doubted she'd even been in a boy's room before.

"Thank you. Your father is very kind to give me such a gift, and you're very kind to deliver it for him," he told her, hoping she'd leave shortly. He couldn't have cared less about the present, not planning on opening it any time soon, but his loss of alone-time was really perturbing him.

"Ah... um... Father said you had something to tell me... about... training...?" she asked, seemingly fascinated by the way her index fingers joined.

For a split second, Neji panicked. He felt his face get hot, heartbeat speeding in his chest. He hadn't expected this. He wasn't at all prepared. How the hell could he explain?

But he realized almost immediately that he couldn't explain. There was no way on the face of the earth he could tell Hinata something like that. Tell his own cousin that he was her own personal sexual outlet. That he'd been taught sex with the objective of pleasing her every carnal whim. If he did, she'd be doing a lot more than staring nervously at her fingers. Like passing out.

So he made a gamble, praying that it wouldn't backfire: "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

She shifted her feet, bringing her hands nervously to her mouth. Her dark bangs hung down over her eyes, partly obscuring her confused expression. "...oh."

"You'll have to ask your father if you need to know. I can't help you." He could always claim to his uncle that he'd misunderstood her question; he was tired and she'd been too vague. It was best that Hiashi explain it himself. After all, how could he talk to his sweet, innocent cousin about something so dirty and immoral without sending her straight to the hospital?

Crossing his arms, Neji waited for Hinata's reply. She looked like she wanted to say something, but as his cousin usually did, she decided the better of opening her mouth and nodded a goodbye.

Neji felt unbelievably relieved when the screen closed behind her, leaving him finally alone.

Even more relief came in the bathroom ten minutes later as he breathed hard through clenched teeth, imagining Hinata's hot little mouth wrapped tightly around him. Picturing her with his cock shoved down her throat sent him to instant bliss, biting his lip to silence himself as he came in jerking spasms.

He felt sickeningly dirty afterwards, in disbelief he was capable of something so perverse, inventing such a scene involving his gentle, modest cousin. But he told himself it wasn't his fault. If she hadn't come into his room, he never would have thought of it. And anyway, it was just a fantasy, and everybody had them. He'd be abnormal not to think of such things.

Right?

After his bath, urges sated, he decided to look over some of his father's old scrolls, so he settled down at his small desk, studying contently until a servant came in with dinner. She was an old, hunched woman with failing eyesight, and Neji thanked her graciously for her effort. She smiled and shuffled out, leaving him alone for the rest of the night, save for an hour later when she came to retrieve his tray. Neji liked her; she'd once told him he did his father's name honor.

Neji had just decided to call it a night, eyes sore from examining the old documents, when he heard someone outside his door. Thinking it was the old woman again, he said she should come in.

He was more than surprised to see Hinata enter his bedroom, wearing a thin violet nightgown, face red as she closed the door behind her. Standing shakily in front of the door, her hands clenched so tightly together in front of her that her fingers were turning white.

"Hinata-sama! What's wrong?" Neji asked, jumping up from his desk.

"I'm... not scared," she told him quietly.

"What are you saying?" he asked her, worried, "What happened?"

"Father told me," she said.

Neji swallowed. "Hinata..." This was surreal.

"I want to," she said, voice shaky but determined. "I want you to do it to me."

"You don’t." Neji shook his head, moving toward her. "Hinata, I don't know what he told you, but--"

"No." She looked up, and Neji saw the set of her jaw, the way her eyes shone, and it reminded him of when he'd faced her in the chuunin exams, when she’d resolved to die instead of giving up. She wouldn’t back down. Not then, not now.

“But... why?” he asked, stomach tying itself in knots.

“Because...” she took a deep breath and brought her hands to her collar, pulling her nightgown open over large, firm breasts, “it’s my Nindo.”

Neji averted his eyes, not wanting to be looking at his own cousin this way but knowing he had no choice. Hinata knew the consequences as well as he did, and he couldn’t even pretend he didn’t want her.