A Fatalistic Series of Events

Neji opened his eyes after a while, knowing he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again; at least not if he wanted to sleep at night as well. He glanced down at Kiba before staring up at the ceiling, a small frown on his face.

Kiba shifted a little, his head dropping from on top of his arms to behind them, rubbing his cheek against the fabric of the robe before stilling.

Neji sighed, quickly growing restless. He wasn't used to just resting without a purpose. He preferred to be active like the Inuzuka, just in different and more useful ways.

He didn't want to move though, afraid if he did, he'd never get Kiba to settle down again. He let out another silent sigh before deciding to train his doujutsu as he hadn't used it in days. He silently activated his byakugan, stretching his vision limits as far as they could go.

Two floors up Arashi silently crept through a dining room, moving into the bedroom where he began sifting through the bags of the sleeping occupants.

Neji paused in his exploration, eyes narrowing a little as he focused in on Arashi and suppressing his chakra more. What was he doing?

Arashi’s lips curled as he found a purse, opening it up and pulling out wads of money, slipping it into a pouch at his waist. He set it down exactly as it had been, moving on to a small jewelry box. He scoffed silently. Rich people.

Neji scowled as he watched him move around. He was just a lowly thief and didn't deserve to even be called a missing-nin. But they were on strict orders to not do anything and just gather information.

Arashi slipped small trinkets into the pouch, things that would make little noise and next to no bulge but still be worth a pretty sum. He slid his eyes over the sleeping two, smirked, and crept out of the bedroom and then the room entirely.

Neji seethed quietly, wishing he could go stop him and return what was stolen. It didn't matter that most of them didn't earn or deserve their wealth, it was just wrong to do that for your own benefit.

Not stopping there Arashi moved on down the hall, taking the stairs down a level and casually walking past a man, nodding and smiling, stopping to chat. As soon as he was gone Arashi stepped up to the next door, sliding a card through and opening the door.

Neji continued to follow him with his gaze, wondering when he would stop stealing for the night or how far he would go.

Concentrating so much on Arashi, it startled him when the phone beside the bed rang sharply in the silence. He squirmed out from under Kiba, quickly juukened himself again before releasing the doujutsu, and answered the phone.

"Moshi moshi?"

Because Neji had stopped watching he didn’t see when Yoko stirred from her sleep and consequentially, brought on her own death at the hands of Arashi.

“Is this Nanao or Kotsuke? We have a letter for you down in the lobby.”

"Oh, ah, yes. Thank you," he said. "One of us will be down to pick it up shortly." He hung up before waiting for an answer. Neji didn't want to go down and he was sure Kiba didn't either but it was better than having someone run into Arashi.

He bit his lip lightly before activating his byakugan again, looking back upwards through the floor.

“Yoko, Yoko, Yoko. You had to wake up, Yoko.” Arashi said sadly, holding her head at eye level before dropping it next to the body and tucking the red ninja wire into an inner pocket. He’d made sure only the wire touched her and he now left the body in its own personal bubble, barely looking at it as he scrounged haphazardly through her belongings.

“Now I have to leave Yoko. Can’t be around too much longer once they find your body. I had meant to stay long enough to pick off your newest little friend Nanao; I’d been saving her for last you know? Such a sweet girl. Kotsuke doesn’t deserve her, but then, most of them don’t. Ah well, I guess they should thank you for saving their money.” He finished talking to himself, pulling out an expensive looking necklace that was heavy with precious metal and gems. He whistled, stuffing it in with the ninja wire before turning and bowing to the body.

“It was nice knowing you, but I’ll be gone in three days and I’m afraid you’ll never be avenged.” With that he strode out, chakra flaring just enough to sense for others nearby before exiting and strolling down the hall, just as casual as when he’d walked down it earlier.

Neji's eyes widened and his mouth went slightly dry. Sure, he'd seen more than his share of corpses and had created them himself, but everyone in Konoha was always taught to spare the innocent.

He shuddered a little as he read his lips, deactivating his byakugan again and turning to shake Kiba awake.

Kiba grunted, opening his eyes.

“…Where’s the fire?” He said, sitting up and stretching.

Neji frowned but held his tongue at a reprimand-- Kiba didn't know what happened and was half asleep, after all.

"He's in the hotel, stolen from various people, and just murdered Yoko," he informed him quietly and briskly. "The message from Tsunade is also down at the front desk."

Kiba blinked at Neji, trying to comprehend it, his blinks shortening as his eyes widened.

“…Our guy? Arashi? He’s a thief?” He stood up, rubbing at his eyes and trying to get his energy flowing again. “He killed Yoko? Are we going after him? Where’s our weapons, Neji, how, what happened?!”

"Kiba, calm down and quiet down," Neji said with a sigh. "We can't do anything just yet. I want to read Tsunade's instructions before deciding what to do about Arashi."

He paused, waiting until he thought Kiba was a little more coherent. "We already knew Arashi was a thief; he stole a forbidden scroll and money from Konoha as well as killed several nurses and a couple medi-nin's. I was using my byakugan and saw him stealing some couple's money and jewels. He went into Yoko's room and then I got a call from the front desk. When I looked back up there, she was dead, head severed, and he was talking to himself as he stole more jewels."

Kiba shook his head, rubbing one last time at his eyes.

“God damn Neji, don’t scare me like that when I just wake up.” He mumbled. “Are you gunna go down for the letter or me?” He said, finally on the same page of consciousness as Neji.

"It would be quicker if you went down," he said. "Your make-up's still not too smudged. It will be fine for just that short trip. Just make sure to avoid Arashi if you can."

“Alright. Is Arashi still gonna be in town tonight?” Kiba asked as he walked towards the door and out, heading towards where he’d kicked his shoes off.

Neji followed him to the bedroom entrance so he wouldn't have to talk as loud. "When he was talking to himself, he said he was leaving in three days. We have to see what Tsunade said and then act accordingly. We might have to go against orders and take him down ourselves if ANBU can't get here in time," he said, sighing.

He really didn't want to do that, but it was a better plan than letting the man escape again.

“Alright, so. Go down and get the letter, come up and read it, then decision making. Got it.” He scratched at his unruly hair, sighing. He opened the door, heading out and shutting it behind him. He headed down the hall, trying to go quickly without running.

Neji frowned to himself, not liking the situation they were in at all. He just hoped the message said the ANBU were already dispatched. He shook his head to clear it before heading back into the bedroom and sitting down on the bed.

“Hey, it’s Kotsuke. Our letter arrived?” Kiba said when he’d reached the front desk. The man behind it nodded, checking through the appropriate information to make sure he was who he said he was. Kiba had to resist smirking as he was finally handed the letter, helped greatly by the information Neji had given him earlier.

“Thanks.” He said, not opening it yet and heading back up to the room.

Neji broke from his short meditation at the noise and stood up, moving into the main room. "You have it?"

“Yeah, but I haven’t opened it yet.” He said, holding it out to Neji.

Nodding, Neji reached out and took the scroll, quickly breaking the seal and unrolling it.

“Well, what does it say?” Kiba asked, waiting for Neji to read it out loud.

Neji read over the letter twice before handing it over to Kiba wordlessly.

Kiba lifted a brow at Neji, reading it over himself.

“…So the ANBU aren’t on their way yet…”

Neji sighed and nodded. "They should be sent out tomorrow or the next day from what I can gather. It should be fine, but it would be a good idea to tag him starting tomorrow."

Kiba nodded, running a hand through his hair.

“Man… Do we… do we leave Yoko’s…” He swallowed. He hadn’t had to deal with a lot of death yet.

Neji bit his lip lightly, shaking his head. "We can't do anything about it ourselves. But her room is right above ours; we can claim we heard something strange."

Kiba blanched.

“…Right above us?”

Neji paused and studied him for a second then just nodded.

"Yes, she is... was one floor up."

Kiba stuck his tongue out in a disgusted manner.

“Sick… Well, what are we going to do now?”

"In a few minutes, we'll call the front desk about some noise we heard. I have a feeling that Arashi won't be at the party tonight, so we could just stay here instead."

“Alright...” Kiba said, moving further into the room. “So who’s gunna call, you or me?”

"You should. Nanao would probably end up being too startled," he said, lips curling just slightly into a small smirk.

Kiba moved to the phone, smirking back.

“Awww, don’t worry Nanao, Kotsuke will keep you safe from the big bad sounds.” He said with a snicker.

Neji's smirk grew and he shook his head. "Mm, but what will keep her safe from Kotsuke?"

“Aww, Nanao loves it.” Kiba said as he held the phone to his ear, waiting for someone to pick up. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Yeah, hey, it’s Kotsuke.” He gave his room number and information, rolling his eyes at Neji. “Yes, my fiancée,” He grinned at Neji, waggling his brows, “heard noises coming from the room above ours.”

Neji rolled his eyes, knowing what the next comment or question would be. There were usually noises coming from a couple's hotel room, after all.

Kiba bit his lip to keep from snickering.

“Yes, I know exactly the kinds of noises couples make. My fiancée is very familiar with those kinds of noises, I’m sure she wouldn’t make a mistake. Just send someone up, it would make her feel better.” He nodded, hanging up.

Neji snorted softly. "You don't have much tact, do you?" he asked, teasing.

Kiba shrugged.

“I don’t beat around the bush.” He grinned. “And besides, what I said was all true. Nanao does know the sounds a couple makes.”

"I'm not quite sure she would yet," he said, smirking again. "but I know."

Kiba smirked deviously.

“But you’re not a shy little innocent, are you?”

"Haven't been for a while," Neji said. "And neither are you."

Kiba snorted.

“Never said I was. Me and Kotsuke are both perverts.” He licked his lips. “But I bet Kotsuke loves the thought of being Nanao’s first.”

Neji chuckled. "And I'm sure Nanao would want him to be her first."

“Nanao’s got taste then.” Kiba said with a smug grin.

"That or she hasn't had many options," he said back, teasing.

“Ah come on, you know Nanao totally digs Kotsuke. She wouldn’t choose someone else.” Kiba said, waving the comment off.

"Oh, I don't know," Neji started, "if her father wanted to back out for some reason, I doubt she'd protest much."

Kiba pouted, crossing his arms.

“Are you telling me Nanao doesn’t like Kotsuke after all he’s done to play nice for her?”

"No, she just wouldn't have a say in what happens to her if that happened."

“Right, right. Nanao’s clan is all old fashioned that way.” Kiba sighed. “I’m pretty sure Kotsuke doesn’t get half of what Nanao says about clans anyway, you know, cuz his is all care free.”

"Well, he should probably try to learn about them." Neji shifted, leaning slightly against the wall.

“What’s the point of Kotsuke learning about Nanao’s clan? If her clan decided to say ‘no’ I doubt he could do any more about it then Nanao.”

"She'd probably appreciate it either way. It would show Kotsuke cared enough."

Kiba shifted a little, eyes downcast.

“Well, maybe Kotsuke doesn’t know how to learn. Nanao doesn’t seem so talkative about her clan.”

Neji stared at him for a few seconds before glancing away. "It's a sore subject, Kiba. You know that," he said quietly.

“Yeah I know that. How can you expect me to learn anything though? Neither of us wants to talk about it.” Kiba said, lifting his eyes to Neji.

"You know enough," he said. "You just have to understand it."

“…Do you purposefully try to confuse me?” Kiba said, lifting a hand and running it through his hair. “I should learn about your clan, but you won’t tell me about your clan, then now I already know about your clan and don’t need to learn?”

Neji couldn't help but laugh. He shook his head, calming down after a minute.

"No. Kiba," he paused, sighing. "What you said before... Some of it, most of it, was true. But it's one thing to know and another to understand."

Kiba raised both hands in the air, shaking his head.

“Okay, so what? You’re destined to be with a chick anyway, anything we do is just a time waster until then.”

"I know," Neji said, giving another sigh. "I know that. But I have at least a year until then."

“Oh well that’s good, I know exactly when it’s over then.” Kiba said, a little irritated. Sure, he didn’t expect it to work for more than a year, but on the off chance it did…

Neji closed his eyes, knowing he was going about this the wrong way. He knew it wasn't a good idea, either, but...

"...That's not what I meant. I don't need something serious," no matter how much I'd want it, "I just... I'd like to enjoy my limited freedom with someone who I get along with. For the most part anyway."

Kiba had to smirk at that last.

“You realize it would be like, just sex then?”

Neji rolled his eyes. "There can be more than that. If I wanted to just fuck there are others too."

“See, you do it on purpose, I swear you do.” Kiba grumbled, shaking his head again. “So you don’t want anything serious and you want to have fun but it won’t be just sex? That’s messed up.”

Resisting the urge to smack Kiba, he just said, "Like friends-with-benefits, you idiot. We can spend time together without sex or doing anything romantic."

“You hate spending time with me though.” Kiba said like it was obvious. “We’d kill each other.”

"...Forget it," Neji said, moving away from the wall. He walked back into the bedroom, sliding the door shut behind him, not knowing why he even tried.

Kiba sighed as well, running fingers through his hair.

“See? We just can’t work.” He muttered to himself, moving to the couch. He knew he could go in there and antagonize Neji until he got a section of bed but honestly, he’d much rather sleep on the couch.

Neji laid out on the bed, closing his eyes and trying to clear his mind. Now wasn't the time for those thoughts anyway; not at such a crucial point in the mission.

Eventually he dozed off during his meditation, falling into a light sleep, half on his back, half on his side.

Kiba grumbled, stripping down to just his boxers and flopping down. The conversation bugged him. Why the hell did Neji even say all that? He just proved that they couldn’t get along.

“No, it can’t work. It can’t.” He turned on his side, the words eating at him until he fell into a fitful sleep.

--

Neji woke up hours later, sitting up and rubbing an eye. He sighed, not feeling too good, but he knew they couldn't just stay in the room all day again.

He swung his legs over the bed and stood up, retying the robe around him again before walking out.

Kiba shifted in his sleep, not much rested despite being asleep for the entire night. He curled on his side, knees up to his stomach and arms to his chest.

Neji hesitated to wake him up, watching him worriedly. He sighed softly and turned around, getting a spare blanket and carefully draping it over the Inuzuka.

It wouldn't hurt to let him sleep longer; the party wasn't for quite a few hours and they didn't have to do anything before then.

Kiba shifted as something touched him, curling further, feeling his body heat up as the blanket trapped his warmth.

"Mmm, n...ej..." He sighed, sinking back into a deeper sleep.

Neji blinked, raising an eyebrow and shaking his head. He turned back around and returned to the bedroom, picking up his regular sleeping clothes and heading into the bathroom to clean up for the day.