Caged

Caged

Persepolis130

If you haven't already seen it and you'd like to read a lemon about the end of Chapter 16 (you'll know what I mean when you get there!), check out "Waiting is the Hardest Part." I apologize for the brain-wrenching drama of Chapter 17-- it hasn't given anyone fits yet, but it sure has potential! Thanks for the great reviews, and this fic is almost done, so if you have any requests, let me know, and I might be able to fit them in!

XXXXX CHAPTER 15 XXXXX

Surprisingly enough, Tenten actually was at the training grounds.

Neji knew she heard him approaching, but she said nothing, not even bothering to look up from the dummy she was practicing with. He watched for a few minutes, assuming she'd acknowledge him when she finished her sequence, but he eventually got tired of waiting.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. He hadn't meant for it to sound like that. But he'd just gone out of his way to defend her honor, and now she was ignoring him!

"Training."

Neji shook his head, annoyed that she still hadn't stopped. "Why?"

"I'm going to be as good as Tsunade-sama one day. I have to work hard."

"You're supposed to be at Gai-sensei's banquet," he informed her.

"So are you."

Neji decided she was being purposefully obtuse, which entitled him to skip the pleasantries. "Why are they saying improper things about you? What did you do?"

Tenten's leg halted mid-strike. "What did I do? What did I DO?!" she demanded, snapping her foot to the ground. "How can you even ASK that?!"

Neji opened his mouth to respond but was cut off.

"I didn't do anything! You of ALL people should know!" she shouted. "This is all YOUR fault!!"

He'd never seen Tenten so furious, red-faced and trembling like a completely different person, but he couldn't fathom why she'd blame him. "You were the one who agreed to host the banquet, and for your information, I told everyone it wasn't true. But if it is, you'd better tell me, because I don't relish looking like a fool in front of your little friends!"

"Looking like a fool? Did you just say that I was going to make YOU look like a fool? Who do you think you are, you JERK?!"

No time in recent memory had Neji felt so offended, and he decided she should know. "You're being a bitch," he told her.

He probably should have expected what followed as she stormed up to him, or at least had enough ninja instinct to dodge her hand on its way to his cheek. The loud smacking sound rang through his ears, and he could feel a stinging welt raise. For a moment, he felt the irrational urge to smack her back, but he held back, settling for glaring at her instead. "You didn't exactly just prove me wrong."

"You ruined my LIFE!" she shouted, entire body trembling with anger.

Neji snorted, forcing his anger down. "I don't know what you're talking about, but don't you think you're being a bit melodramatic about it?"

"Melodramatic?! I can't even go into town without people giving me nasty looks! All the boys whistle and catcall when I walk by!" she fumed. "Does that make you happy, Neji?!"

"Why would that make me happy? What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about what you did to me in front of half the town, that's what!" she screamed.

"What I--" he cursed himself for being so slow to realize what she was saying, and his stomach felt suddenly and strangely hollow. "But that was months ago!" he protested.

This made her even more enraged, and she clenched her fists as if she meant to strike him. "Did you forget what you said? How you were practically screaming obscenities at me? Calling me a whore, saying I'd sleep with anyone?! Do you think people just forget hearing that sort of thing?"

Shaking his head, Neji tried to recall his exact words, but he found only a jumble of emotion as the scene from the sweets shop came back to him. He'd felt so horribly unwell that morning, still recovering from the events of the night before, and that same feeling came back to him now. The feeling that he'd just been wronged, dishonored, violated.

"I wasn't myself that day..." he murmured, running his hands up his arms as a sudden chill ran through him.

"Yeah, well how do you think I feel, Neji? Thanks to all the gossip, I haven't been myself for nearly six months!" she screamed.

"It wasn't meant for you," he said, mouth dry and tongue thick.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" she demanded. When he didn't respond, she asked again, louder this time.

But Neji turned away from her, the sickening feeling overpowering him, and he realized that what he'd done to Tenten may have been even worse than what his uncle had done. In Neji's case, he could just push the memories back, pretend it never happened. If he awoke every few nights in a cold sweat, his curse seal throbbing and fear constricting his throat, he could take a few deep breaths and tell himself it was all just a dream, that it was over, he was safe, and it would never happen again.

But Tenten couldn't. Every time she left the house, she was reminded of it, and Neji felt as though in some way, Tenten had been raped as well. He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, refusing to give in to the panic that gripped him at the thought that he could have done something so horrific without even knowing it. Did Hiashi realize what he'd done either?

"Neji," he heard Tenten ask in a quiet voice, all traces of anger vanished, "why did you say it?"

But he shook his head, knowing he couldn't tell her. "Don't think I'm proud of what I did."

Tenten's feet shifted on the ground beside him. "It was like a nightmare, Neji... I didn't think I could ever face you again. I just... I wished I was dead.... And do you want to know what the worst part is? The most horrible, agonizing part of this whole thing?"

Neji just looked at her, already knowing what she was going to say.

"It's that I still love you," she told him, smiling weakly. "You ruined everything, and I still wish you'd take me back..."

Turning his eyes to the ground, Neji said in a low voice, "You know I can't do that, Tenten."

"I know that, Neji," he heard her say, "But that doesn't mean I understand it!"

"It's not easy for me either." An uncomfortable silence passed between them, and Neji shifted uneasily, not sure what would follow.

"Hyuuga Neji," his teammate eventually said, smiling bitterly, "you are the most selfish person I've ever met."

Neji didn't like it. He wasn't selfish, he WASN'T, and it hurt that she'd say something like that, that she had no idea how he actually felt about anything. But what was he supposed to do, tell her? Talk about his feelings? What was he, a girl?

"I'll fix things, Tenten." But why did he say that? What did it even mean, "fix things"? He couldn't stand how her words stung, how guilty they made him feel for not apologizing earlier, for not realizing what she was going through. And besides, what else could he say? Honor demanded that he right his wrongs.

Tenten started to protest when she saw the look in his eyes, but Neji shook his head. "I'll think of nothing else until I do. I swear it, Tenten. I'm not selfish. I'll fix this."

She shook her head and turned away, walking back to her training dummy. "I wish I could believe you."

XXXXX

"Do you think I'm selfish?"

"Why would I think that, Niisan?"

Neji frowned, kissing the daintily-curved instep of the foot he was massaging. "Someone told me I was."

Hinata shook her head, giggling adorably when he found the ticklish spot. "You're the least selfish person I've ever met. Maybe not the most... open... but..." she shrugged, wiggling her nicely-shaped toes. "I think whoever said it must not know you at all."

Neji sighed at the flawless accuracy of his cousin's words. "If everyone were as sensible as you, Hina-chan, the world would be a perfect place."

XXXXX CHAPTER 16 XXXXX

All Neji could think the next evening as he walked the streets of Konoha, desperate for any hint of a solution to his problems, was that this was not happening.

Last night, lying in the damp, serenely contented afterglow with her body draped across his, he'd told Hinata about his talk with Tenten at the training grounds. He'd left out his own involvement with the cause of her predicament, of course.

He'd liked the way his cousin had reacted, saying how sweet he was to help her, how considerate for others' feelings. Her words making him feel warm and peaceful, he'd told her that it wasn't at all true, that she was the sweet one, the understanding one, the breathtakingly beautiful one, and that in the whole world, he couldn't hope to find a girl more perfect than she was.

Her shock was only fitting, since he'd never said anything like this before in his life and wasn't even sure what had coaxed it out of his mouth. Maybe it had been waiting there all along, brought out by the easy comfort he felt with her tonight. But after a few minutes of strangely heavy silence, Hinata's response had stunned him.

"I can't do this anymore, Niisan."

He shook his head, sliding his fingertips around her small, delicate hand, thinking he must have misheard. "I don't understand."

"It's not right. I..." she told him in a small voice. "I like this too much, Niisan."

"Hina-chan..."

She sat up, pulling his arm off her, a concerned look on her face. "And when you say things like that, calling me that name, I think you like it too much, too..."

"But isn't it good that we both enjoy it? I do my best to make sure you're always pleased," he insisted. Was this his fault for opening his mouth, for revealing his emotions?

"I know. It's more than I ever imagined it would be, but..." she slid her feet off the edge of his bed, turning her back to him. He followed, running his hand across the smooth, hot skin of her back. "It's... starting to scare me now. Because I... can't see it anymore..."

Neji leaned in, placing soft kisses along the exposed ridges of her spine as he contemplated how to talk her out of this foolishness. "See what?"

She turned, taking his hand in hers, not meeting his eyes. "His face," she whispered. "Whenever I used to close my eyes, I saw him there, smiling at me, his big blue eyes laughing, but... now I don't."

Pressing his eyes shut, Neji pleaded silently for her to stop. Because if she said any more, he wouldn’t be able to forget it. He wouldn't be able to push it to the back of his mind when they were together, to pretend she was thinking of him when he touched her instead of dreaming of Naruto...

"He's been gone training for so long, and he probably never even thinks of me, but... I feel like I'm betraying him, Niisan. Like I'm betraying my love for him."

Neji shook his head, turning Hinata's face toward his so that their eyes met. "But what about my love for you? And what about your promise and... your father? Please reconsider, cousin! You don't even know if he'll ever come back!"

He'd hoped she'd lower her eyes, taking everything back to please him, as she once would have. But she didn't. "I'll talk to father. I'll tell him you're mine and he can't touch you. That if he does, I'll tell everyone. I have to be true to myself. I have to follow my Nindo."

Neji shook his head, reaching out to her as she gathered her clothes. The moonlight lit her face like that of an angel as he gazed at her through parted fingers. "...but I love you..." he murmured.

She smiled sadly back at him. "I love you too, Neji-niisan, just... just not like that... I'm sorry, I... thought you knew."

And with that, she went, sliding the door shut after her and leaving him alone in the cold silence of his bedroom. It was all like a terrible nightmare you couldn't wake up from, even though you knew it was only a dream. Any moment, he expected to be jolted awake, sheets drenched in cold sweat. But it never happened.

This morning's mission, which he'd completed in a semi somnolent daze, had been miserably hot, and the evening was an unseasonably warm one, making Neji sweat beneath his bandages. Walking through town, he found a larger than average crowd gathered for dinner at the various small restaurants in the area, probably because it was simply too warm to cook.

All the carefree, happy diners should have put him at ease, but instead they made him feel even worse. After all, this was the place the ordeal with Tenten had occurred, and he didn't particularly revel in the memories it brought back or the work he'd have to go through to correct his error. He'd given his word that he'd help Tenten, but how would he do it?

It seemed impossible to make everyone change their opinion, especially with such juicy gossip involved. Realizing he was pacing anxiously and concerned citizens had started staring, Neji came to a halt outside a ramen stand, backing up against a post in an half-hearted effort to make himself look like he belonged there. He wished he'd kept his mouth shut yesterday at the training ground, ignored her when she'd called him selfish. Because though he'd made her his responsibility, she wasn't the one he was actually concerned with.

He couldn't let Hinata end it. He wouldn't give her up. He'd dreamed of what it would be like to have her as his own, to call her his wife. He'd imagined the loving kisses he'd receive from her when he returned home from a long, hard mission. He could picture their smiling children running to greet him, little hands upraised and adorable faces bright and unmarred by a hideous seal burned across their foreheads.

He had to have her, Naruto be damned. He'd gone though too much, gotten himself too involved to see it end now. She had everything he was looking for: kindness, intelligence, tolerance, and strength. She was beautiful inside and out, touching his heart in a way no one else ever had. Not to mention she had the most amazing set of breasts on the planet. Just thinking about them made him ache, the humid warmth of the night, so much like her embrace, even more noticeable against his tingling skin.

Neji sighed heavily at the absurdity of it all. He needed to win over her heart, and all he could think of was her body drenched in sweat beneath him. Would Fate never do him any favors?

Basking in quasi-defeated misery enhanced by an uncomfortable level of arousal, Neji was suddenly jerked out of his reverie when he saw someone approaching. He stiffened for a moment before he saw the telltale blonde ponytails and noted who it was: Temari of the Sand. She'd been made a Chuunin at the same time he had and was often in Konoha on account of the new alliance with Suna, though he'd never fought her personally or had much occasion to speak with her.

He found it strange that she wasn't carrying her fan, but then her cheeks were flushed and her smile inviting, and she seemed not at all in the mood for fighting. He wondered if it was some sort of act.

"Warm night, huh?" she asked as she slid in beside him, throwing him an oddly heated gaze through half-lidded blue-green eyes.

"Hn." No. Not now. He had to work through his problems. What about his training? That and it was distracting fantasizing about his Hinata naked while another girl-- and a rather enticingly curvaceous one at that-- stood nearby. If only it were his cousin standing there, eyelids heavy and palely glowing skin covered by a fine sheen of sweat...

Damn, he wished this girl would leave!

Instead of leaving though, she drew a hand across her sweaty chest, running her slick pink tongue over her bottom lip. "Nights like this..." she said, tilting her head back sensually as she shifted her hips, "make me so hot."

Neji swallowed. This wasn't good. At all.

"You wanna know what else makes me hot?"

Oh god.

Grinning wickedly, she jerked with her chin and started away from him. "C'mon. I'll show you."

Watching her hips sway beneath the tight purple fabric of her uniform with only a blurry realization of what was happening, he followed her. A few blocks over, she led him down a deserted alley where the only light was a pale reflection of neon signs off the main road. Away from the prying eyes of the villagers, she leaned back against a broken brick wall, sent him a wanton gaze as she tilted her head back, and spread her thighs.

He wasn't sure he was going to do it until she untied her outer halter top with sweaty fingers, and her breasts fell loose beneath the gauzy material of her shirt. Seeing the hard, dark nipples pressing through the wetly clinging fabric, he knew he couldn't stop himself.

Pressing her hard against the wall, her thigh thrown around his waist and tongue plunging wetly into his ear, he fucked her, a girl he neither knew nor cared about, without a moment's hesitation. The pain he'd caused Tenten and the love he felt for Hinata flashing like lightning through his mind as he thrust into her tight heat, he felt as though he was betraying everything he believed in and everyone who'd ever believed in him.

He wondered if it even mattered anymore.

XXXXX CHAPTER 17 XXXXX

"So let me get this straight. After you left here, you somehow managed to get everyone in town believing your teammate, who’s in love with you, is a whore. Then, though you swore you'd never touch her, you fell passionately in love with your cousin, but she’s only sleeping with you to keep you from your uncle and just told you she's in love with someone else. On top of all this, some Sand girl you just banged in an alley left a bite on your neck so deep you'll be explaining it for weeks. So now your task is to convince the whole village of your teammate's integrity, keep yourself from ever being alone in your uncle's presence again, and come up with some plausible way to account for the Love Bite from Hell. And all you really want is Hinata back in your bed. Is that about right?"

Neji scowled and looked away, fingers pressing against the still-bleeding wound on his neck. "Yes. Fix it."

He'd never understood the woman's sense of humor. Or anyone's sense of humor, really. But he was fairly sure this wasn't funny, and he felt undeniably perplexed when she burst into loud peals of laughter. He looked on in irritation as she clutched her stomach beneath her silky blue dress, gleeful tears running down her elegantly reddened cheeks.

"This is serious!" he told her finally, feeling both guilty and annoyed. “I don’t know why I keep doing these terrible things!” Sighing, he slouched down in the chair beside the woman's desk as she attempted to compose herself, wiping the dark streaks of mascara away as she chuckled quietly.

At length, she replied, "We all have a weakness, Neji. It seems this is yours."

Fidgeting with the pages of an open journal, he muttered, "What a shitty weakness."

He rolled his eyes as she began laughing again, but she caught herself and walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pressing a kiss onto his cheek. "I'm afraid this is something you have to deal with yourself. I know hundreds of ways to get someone to undress, but very few to get them not to."

"But why does it have to be so complicated?" he demanded, "If it were just sex, like with you, I'd be fine. It's all this about ... relationships and... feelings... none of it makes any sense!"

She hugged him tighter, her eyelashes fluttering against his cheek, as he ran his finger aimlessly down a long column of numbers. "It's all part of growing up," she said. "You need to decide for yourself what's best, especially after the girl tonight. How much do you really love Hinata if you can do something like that? And is it really right when she's so closely related to you? You can't have everything, you know."

Frowning, Neji sighed, sure that if Fate weren't against him, he could. "What is all this, anyway?" he asked motioning toward the book.

Reaching over to flip a page, she told him, "That's the accounts book. The letters here are girls' initials. They pay rent on the rooms plus a per-customer premium."

Neji shook his head as he came to the last recorded figure. "But that's a small fortune!"

She pulled his hand away and eased the book shut, sliding it into its place on the nearby bookshelf. "Business is good."

Crossing his arms, Neji scowled, neck stinging. "Someone should report you to the Hokage. No good could ever come of a place like this, or people like you."

"You think you're so smart, don't you?" she snapped. He couldn't identify the look in her eyes, but it was anything but friendly. "Would you like to know where I'd be if I hadn't come here? What I'd be doing?"

"Not particularly."

"When I was fourteen, my grandfather en--"

"I said I didn't want to hear."

Her hand came down with a sharp crack on the edge of the desk. "You know, Neji, to look at you, one would think you'd be just like your father, a good and decent man. You look so much like he did at your age. But on the inside, you're nothing but a selfish brat."

"I am NOT selfish!" Neji fumed as he jumped from his chair, mortified by the reference to his father and infuriated that someone else had labeled him with the term. "I'm NOT! I'm just more important than other people!!"

They stood in silence for several moments before the woman shook her head, a sad look on her face before she turned to gaze out her window. "I'm sorry things turned out this way with you. Your father was a great man, Neji. I loved him with all my heart."

Neji was taken aback. "What?"

"I loved him. Madly. Heart-wrenchingly. I suppose in a way, I still do. Maybe that's why I'm so hard on you," she shrugged. "That and the fact that you're an egotistical little prick."

"Stop insulting me!"

"After his training, I asked him to come back. Not as a customer, mind you."

"Don't tell lies about my father!" Neji accused, "He'd never have done something like that!"

"I wouldn't tell you anything I didn't think you needed to know. But he said something that might help you with your girl problems."

Neji crossed his arms and glared at the floor. "Fine."

"You know he was trained just as you were, but most often by a man." Though Neji had presumed this, he still flinched, but she continued without pause. "I never asked him about it, and he never complained about his duties, not once. In fact, he never even mentioned his other training or whether he ever made use of it, though we both know the truth."

Neji swallowed, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "Please don't talk about this."

She nodded, hand gently touching his shoulder. "I know. But you see, I know he did use the training I gave him. He told me."

"What does this have to do with me getting Hinata back? I don't care about the rest."

"Neji..." she said with a sigh, "If I'd thought this would happen, I'd never have agreed to train you. I know you think you want to be with her, but it’s best that she have someone else."

He frowned. This wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"I don't know quite how to tell you this Neji, but Hinata... may not be your cousin..."

Baffled, Neji could only gape. "Of course she is! What are you talking about? If she weren't my cousin, she wouldn't have the byakugan!"

"I'm not saying..." she faltered, shaking her head. "You know both your uncle and your father were active jounin before Hiashi became head of the family. They were both gone on missions frequently. Shortly after your birth, your uncle was away for some time, and your aunt..."

Eyes wide, Neji shook his head in disbelief. "...you're lying..."

"Neji, those who marry into the Main House are also entitled to its... benefits..."

"No. Don't say things like that!"

"Of course, no one could ever know either way, since your father and uncle were identical twins, and genetically, Hinata is--"

"No, No, NO!!" Neji shouted, fists clenched. "You can't say things like this! You can't lie like this, telling me things that aren't right! You CAN'T!!"

"Please calm down. Hiashi has no idea, and--"

"Calm down? You tell me something like this about the woman I love, and you tell me to CALM DOWN?!"

"Neji! If you don't lower your voice--"

"You think she's my sister? My SISTER?!"

"Neji--"

"But I'm going to marry her! She can't be my sister! You're LYING!"

"I'm sorry, I truly am," she soothed. "It's just something he told me. It may or may not be true, even he wasn't entirely sure, but... you can’t marry her, Neji... "

Suddenly, it was just too much to take, and Neji slid down to the ground, clutching his ears to block her out, to shut out the truth, as he heard himself shout over and over, "No, No, NO, NO!!"

Still shouting, Neji heard pounding on the door and felt strong hands on his shoulders, but it all seemed very far away and unimportant. His head felt thick, almost like he was underwater, like he was drowning, and the world darkened around him.

Hinata was all that mattered to him now. He couldn’t imagine his life without her in it, without her shining eyes and sweet laughter, her soft hands and warm kiss. He’d have done anything to have her as his and only his. It couldn’t be true!

He dimly felt himself being lifted, his head lolling back like a newborn's. Suddenly, he felt a swift smack to his back, and he gasped, barely having time to recover before the hand struck him again, even harder this time, and he let out a startled little "Ah!"

Pulling his head forward as he struggled hazily to extricate himself from the firm grasp he was being held in, Neji's eyes came to focus, and he saw only one thing: eyebrows.

Blinking, he backed up slightly, tottering a little, to see a concerned Gai-sensei bent down, his hand gripping Neji's shoulder. "Neji! Speak to me!"

It took Neji a moment to realize exactly what was happening along with the fact that his sensei was minus his ninja vest and had his green bodysuit pulled halfway off one shoulder. It wasn't a particularly pleasant sight.

"Ah, the complexities of youth!" his flamboyant sensei declared, one hand striking Neji's back, though not quite so hard that it brought tears to his eyes this time. "The lessons we must learn!"

Neji scowled and pressed his palm over Temari's bite, hardly in the mood for another lecture on the Springtime of Life. "Shouldn't you be... running laps around the village or... climbing a tree upside down or something?"

Gai gazed at him as if Neji had just said the most brilliant thing ever. "Climbing a tree upside down! It's perfect!"

Neji groaned.

"However!" Gai declared, pulling his student closer, "I think you and I need to have a little talk. A talk about," he gave a thumbs-up, "LOVE!"

No. Not that.

"I understand your frustration, Neji! This sort of thing can be terribly embarrassing, especially for someone so youthful!" Gai announced.

Oh, what the hell was he talking about...?

"I will tell you," Gai leaned closer and lowered his voice, expression conspiratorial, "that most men have this problem at some point in their lives. Even I, the stunning example of manhood that I am, was once afflicted!"

Neji closed his eyes. "You always misunderstand everything."

"Ah!" Gai laughed, hand rubbing at the back of his neck, "Is that so?"

Neji sighed, sagging against his sensei, feeling oddly comforted by his presence. When big arms came around his back, he didn't push away but allowed himself to be held, leaning his forehead against Gai's chest and feeling very young and vulnerable. He stayed there motionless for some time, steadying himself against the one person in his life who never demanded anything of him but what he was. And for whatever reason, as wrong and Lee-like as it was, the world somehow seemed like a better place.

"Sensei... I know we don't see eye-to-eye and you’re terribly embarrassing and it's really disturbing how you and Lee dress alike and cry all the time, but..." Neji mumbled against his chest, "I'm glad you're my sensei."

Gai tugged him closer, patting his back gracelessly. "Don't worry another second, Neji. Nowadays, they have pills for this sort of thing!"

Neji sighed and wrapped his arms around his sensei, wishing it were really that simple.