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In the Mountains	By : Ljiljana Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1060 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Chapter 12

It�s not that I didn�t believe him
when he said it. If Sasuke had thought it was Neji at the door, he probably had
a good reason for it. Maybe the doorbell ringed in a specific way, triggering
some kind of secret greeting between them, although nothing about it seemed odd
to me.

I asked anyway:

�How do you know it�s Neji?� Because the sad fact is, I was procrastinating;
I didn�t want to move from the bed. Sheets were warm
where Sasuke was only a minute ago, and I was feeling open, ripped apart and
still very raw. Even with Hinata�s brother on the door, I wanted to stay where
I was, and possibly ask Sasuke to ignore the bell and come back.

The last time I had that particular conversation � about
what happened when I was eight, my father snapped, killed my mother and cut
into my checks the whisker marks - it took days of begging and convincing on
Iruka�s side to get through it, and two months for me to stop shutting myself
in my room whenever I could. I said more that night to Sasuke in just a few
minutes; all he did was stroke me like I was a cat. Not
only that, I wasn�t feeling ready to get out of the
bed and deal with the world; I was still sorting out things I said. The lack of
Sasuke�s hands on my stomach felt like betrayal.

�I was expecting him.� Sasuke said. I could almost see in my
mind how well tapping the floor with one foot would go with the impatient look
he gave me. I don�t know what was it exactly that he
had in mind, but he obviously wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.

That answer was not what I expected to hear. If he knew�

A series of pictures on how would be like if Neji came just
fifteen minutes earlier, and decided to come in without knocking, flashed
through my brain. The walls started wavering around me. I spluttered:

�And you� How could you�He�ll kill you!� Or maybe not - I was amending for the glare. �Or
something. He will kill me!�

The glare toned down. That second thought apparently was not as unpleasant in Sasuke�s opinion. Bastard.
He wasn�t helping me want to move.

�If he was capable of murder, he would have killed me months
ago. Are you ready?�

�I�m dressed.� I told him. Feeling masochistic, I added,
knowing up front nothing he could say now would make it better. �What if he
kills me?�

Sasuke gave me an annoyed and mildly disgust look; he
outright ignored the question:

�Do you have to go around in those pants?�

I almost forgot they had a stain on them. Cursing under my
breath, I got out of the bed and grabbed the pants that were on the same chair where
I took the shirt earlier. The doorbell ringed again, longer this time.

�That�s not�� I started saying, but Sasuke walked out of the
room already

I heard it clearly when the front
door opened, because Sasuke left the bedroom one ajar.

�Neji.� I could hear him using the
name instead of the normal greeting, and the bizarrely mirrored answer:

�Sasuke.�

Oh, God, and what�s with the
clipped tone? It sounded almost like �good luck� sportsmen give each other
before the match. And by sportsmen, I mean boxers, and
by �good luck� I mean knocking gloves.

If they knock each
other unconscious, I wondered, tired and selfish, could I simply go back to bed?

�What are you doing?� Neji asked from down the hall, his
voice politeness itself.

�Wondering if you are planning to come in or you dragged me
out of my bed so we can stand on the front door.�

Sasuke didn�t sound annoyed, even
if his words were obviously meant to make sure Neji think he was. When Neji
answered, it was much closer.

He came into the house.

�Are you alone?�

I fought the wish to hide behind the door, like a bad movie
lover. Hopefully, Neji won�t go around the house,
inspecting closely every corner.

A closet would work better anyway.

�That�s the bedroom, Neji. Living room is right ahead.� Sasuke
informed him as if he honestly though it was possible for Neji not to know
that. At least he made sure Neji would not actually walk in, claiming he mixed
things up. Looks like Sasuke knew what it is that he�s
doing.

Hey, maybe he meant for me to eavesdrop, not come out. Neji doesn�t even have to know I was there! I was happy with the
thought for a very short time though, because as soon as Neji said, �I know
that.� Sasuke answered:

�Then let�s go there. I�m sure Naruto will join us as soon
as he figures out how to make the zipper work.�

Obviously, Sasuke really wanted me to hear what ever they
had to talk about by actually joining the conversation. Though
the last part was a bit insulting.

The steps halted.

�Naruto?� Neji asked, not sounding
nearly as surprised and upset as I expected him to.

�Living room.� Sasuke said, as if
that was a valid answer.

The steps went away. I could hear my heart thundering in my
chest in the silence.

Okay, I guess it�s a good thing
Sasuke was not hiding me like some dirty little secret. But,
that was bold. And kind of stupid, even if not
actually dangerous. He didn�t really want for Hinata
to hear about his cheating from her brother, did he?

My curiosity tickled, I decided not to try to hide after
all. After a long, deep breath, I was as ready as I could be, so I courageously
stepped out of the room.

They were both quiet when I walked into the living room, but
the tension was like thick syrup over their shoulders.

�Hi.� I said, not nearly as enthusiastically as I would
otherwise.

Neji gave me a tight grimace that was probably supposed to
be a smile. Sasuke gave me a crooked but real one, though it was
most likely meant for Neji to see and not really for me.

�Do you want something to drink?� Sasuke asked, looking
mostly at Neji, but he glanced as me for a moment as well. I really did want a
drink, something cold and refreshing.

Neji barely managed to nod when I remembered what Sasuke
considered a drink.

�No!� I yelled. That seemed a bit rude, so I added, maybe
too quickly, �Not at all, I�m not thirsty. At all. You don�t have to go
through all the trouble!�

Sasuke left the room without answering, a little smirk
tightening the corner of his lips.

After a while, lots of silence and shifting in our seats, left
with nothing else, I turned to Neji.

�So� What�s up?� Brilliant opening, don�t
you think?

Neji gave me another fake smile, to match my own but less
skillful.

�I came to talk to my brother in law.�

�Oh.� I said. �Do you want me to go?�

�Well�� Neji started with some relief, but he was interrupted in the middle of the sentence.

�He�s staying.� Sasuke�s voice relived some of the tension
in my back.

I wanted to stay. Even though it was awkward and
uncomfortable, Neji�s odd reaction was making me wonder, so I didn�t take Sasuke�s commanding words as too much of an
insult.

He brought a glass of green liquid with him, as I predicted,
and put it in front of Neji. There was no glass for me, I was thankful to
notice. For some reason, even though Neji never did anything wrong to me, I was
watching in fascination and on the brink of laughter the look of horror, he
gave to the glass.

�I came to�� He started, but Sasuke interrupted him sharply:

�Drink.�

Neji shot him an annoyed look through narrowed eyes and
picked up the glass. I suppressed the need to pull a face and squint at another
look of horror on Neji�s face after he took the first mouthful. So, it did taste as awful as it looked. I was
glad Sasuke never managed to make me try it.

�What is this?� Neji asked

�Elder jus Hinata made last may. It was her first try.�

Elder jus? What
the hell was that? And if it didn�t work, why were
they giving it to people? Why was Sasuke
giving it to people?

It must have been some weird way to show a misplaced loyalty
to his wife - you�d expect that sort of thing from Sasuke.
Like, �I don�t� really want to share the bed with you, but I can make people
drink stuff you bothered to make, I can do that much�. I doubt even gentle
Hinata would stay married to him just because of that, especially after she
finds out what came out from my absolute unwillingness to try it, and Sasuke�s
attempts to make me.

Neji looked at the glass once more with a dismayed scowl
that clearly said Hinata should stick to gardening, and never try to make any
kind of jus, ever. I almost felt him
as a kindred spirit for a minute there, forgetting about specifics of this
little gathering. He efficiently reminded me with his next words, directed
solely to Sasuke, as I was not even there:

�I wanted to talk to you about Hinata.�

I opened my mouth to say �I should really go�, more because
this conversation will obviously be held above my head than because I wanted to.
Sasuke cut me off, without even looking properly at me.

�Shut up.� And then, he said to
Neji, �Fine. Let us talk about Hinata.�

It�s not that I was cheering in
what was obviously going to become a clash, or maybe even a brawl, but Sasuke
made it sound like he wanted to talk
about all this. I would have placed my bet on him, if I had anyone to bet with
right then.

�She deserves more then this.� Neji said, nodding his head
between Sasuke and me.

Oh. Good start. I agreed with him with my whole heart. Hinata
was such a nice girl; she really didn�t deserve this from Sasuke, or me.

�Does she?� Sasuke murmured, making me shudder a little on
the sound of it. His voice was low, sardonic against all the odds and dark,
dense with the promise of a kind I didn�t understand,
but I could feel it under my skin anyway. I hoped Neji didn�t
notice; it was really inappropriate. �You really think so?�

Neji locked his spine, and gave Sasuke a haughty look. For
the lack of a better word, I will say he looked defensive.

�You�re cheating on her. She deserves better then you.� Neji said it with the clear intention
to provoke. Sasuke was more collected than I thought he would be on a comment
like that:

�Maybe. But it is not a decision
for you to make.�

Neji narrowed his eyes.

�I will tell her
what I found here.�

Not before I get the chance, you won�t. I thought. She promised me a talk, and I didn�t want her to find out from Neji, for some reason. Well,
not for just any reason � it felt
less like a betrayal when I was assuring myself she would know what was going
on as soon as possible.

Sasuke surprised both Neji and me by laughing aloud.

�If you think Hinata doesn�t already know, you are blind and
an idiot. Why do you think she went away?�
Through my head flew the question I asked earlier: �Did she really have to go away right now?�
and Sasuke�s answer: �Probably not.�
Why did she go away?
�You made her.� Neji calmly stated, as if that wasn�t a horrible accusation out of his mouth.

It was probably a very bad thing to say. Sasuke�s eyed
narrowed and darkened, and I couldn�t blame him he�s
angry. I felt guilty I thought about it myself for a moment before, but it�s not as I believed it. Or actually
said it. I just wanted it to be the
truth.

Of course, that was before.

�I did not.� Sasuke replied, his voice just as reach as
before but with a sinister edge. Also, I noticed his
shoulder was going down. That was not a good sign. �I�m not you; I do not order
her around, and I�m not playing with her life.�

I cringed a bit on that. So what�s
this all about, if not playing with her life? She has no saying in any of this,
what is it that we�re doing here? The defensive manner
Neji answered with made me concentrate again.

�I only want what is best for her!�

�And what do you think it�s best for her now?� Sasuke asked
quietly, still giving away the impression he would jump any moment and strangle
Neji.

�Not being married to you.�

�Ah.� Sasuke said, smirking now, more relaxed - as if Neji
fell into a trap, but he said almost the exact same thing earlier and Sasuke didn�t react like this. The tennis match they were having
was starting to make my head ache. �I guess Kankurou is better husband material for your sister right now. He has his
family money. That is what you need, right?�

�I want her to have the life she deserves.� The pride in
Neji�s tone was evident. What was Sasuke on about anyway?

�She is having the life she chose. She can change it whenever she wants. You are shoving your
nose in what is none of your business, Neji.�

The subtle darkness finally turned into outright warning. I
guess it had to, for Neji was oblivious to it.

�My sister is my
business.� Neji gritted out.

�How well said.� The mild bitterness
in Sasuke�s voice surprised me. �She is just business for you, isn�t she? You
made a mistake after mistake, ever since your father died. Not even golden
Hyuuga reserves could keep up with your losses. And now you would like to get
your hands on Sabaku money.�

What?

�I hardly think it�s better for her to stay with someone who
is cheating on her.� Neji didn�t even deny the
accusation. Because it was too ridiculous to even bother, or
because it was the truth?

�No, it�s better for her to leave me, and marry the heir �
the legal heir - of the richest family in the country.�

Neji stood up, pale in face and angrier then I ever saw him.

�I will not sit here and listen to your nonsense.�

So
Sasuke knew what he was talking about. No wonder he wanted to get this
conversation over with immediately. He did have a solid defense built up for
his case.

Sasuke was on his feet as well, blocking
Neji�s way out. His shoulder was again way too low, I
could almost feel his need to work this out using physical force, rather then
verbal.

�No. You wanted to talk about Hinata, so we did. Now we will
talk about things I want to talk
about.�

Neji was not giving up on trying to find an opening to slip
away, so I stood up as well, and tried to place myself - not between them, but
close enough not to allow them to get into a fight. Because, honestly, I don�t think Neji would survive it, by the look on Sasuke�s
face.

�What things?� Neji asked through his teeth, giving away he
knew exactly what was it about with the angry damn-I�m-trapped flash in his
eyes.

�Oh, you know. Things like - how you rottenly used my
godfather and Naruto, and what the fuck
were you thinking, inviting Itachi here?�

Was Itachi really so
annoying, that inviting him over was considered a taboo? And
was that my name there? What came out
of my mouth was a thing that was not worrying me as much as those two:

�Your Godfather?�

Sasuke glanced at me, apparently grateful for the prompt.

�Kakashi. He got Kakashi drunk and
questioned him in detail about me on the last Hinata�s birthday.�

�Kakashi is your godfather?!� I
asked, bemused.

�Focus!� Sasuke snapped. �What ever
Kakashi told him, made him organize martial arts class and employ you as the teacher.�

I got this job because� Because Neji was using information he got from Kakashi in his attempts to break up
his sister�s marriage? No, that must not be right.

�It was the good idea. The kids love it.� Neji said, like
that meant something right then.

�All right.� I said, starting to
feel angry myself. �Someone spell it out for me, before I jump to the wrong
conclusion.�

But the both of them were quiet,
looking at me. I burst out:

�You gave me this job so I could help you destroy your
sister�s marriage?! Doing � this?!� This
was forms of sex in Hinata�s matrimonial bed, but they � Sasuke in more detail
� knew that.

Neji sneered a bit.

�It�s not much of a marriage.�

�How would you know?!� I demanded,
quite a bit upset with him. �Are you picking through their windows at night?�

Sasuke barked. I wanted to kick him for laughing in such a
situation when he wouldn�t when everyone else would,
but that would require of me look move my piercing glare from Neji, and I
couldn�t make myself do that.

�What?� Neji had the nerve to sound insulted. �He�s not even
� he�s gay!�

Well, yeah, we all knew that,
thanks to Tenten. But there was a �no� missing in that
sentence.

�So you wanted to see with your own eyes how a thing like
that affects a marriage? I guess we can consider it acceptable then - because
it for educational purposes.�

I didn�t mean to pick a side,
because I was a big part of the problem. I was insulted and outraged to find
out I was misled and maneuvered into this situation. Sure, if there was nothing
there in the first place, Neji wouldn�t make me jump
Sasuke like I did � couple of times. But I was brought
here because he hoped something will happen, and not because I was a good at
martial arts.

For once, it was Kakashi who had a
talk waiting for him as soon as I got back home.

�That is sick, Naruto!� Neji said; pale
and very, very angry.

�I agree.� Sasuke put in. �He is not such a big moron after
all.�

For those who do not speak Sasuke�s language, that was his
way of saying �Pure genius! I might be in love with you!�

Okay, maybe not the last part. But the first one definitely!

�And why did she marry him anyway?� I asked, as the thought
occurred to me.

Why did she marry
him? They all say � Sasuke got married for money, and that is most likely
truth, but what did Hinata accepted a thing like that?

Neji opened his mouth. Then he closed them. Then he opened
him again.

Both Sasuke and I waited patiently (or not) for him to
speak.

�Because she doesn�t know how to say
�no�.�

Sasuke�s infamous speed showed itself useful. Even if I wasn�t gaping in horror on the very thought, I wouldn�t had
been able to stop him from hitting Neji.

�What? You forced
her�?� I started asking incredulously. Sasuke jammed an elbow into my rib. It
hurt, but not too much. I guess he blew out quite a bit of steam into Neji�s
face.

I suppressed the urge to hit back, in the benefit of hearing
what he had so say.

�She married me because she was asked to do something for the first time in her life, and not
ordered into it. She was doing a favor
to a friend.� Sasuke said, forcing out every word through clenched jaw, glaring
a bit at me, and then a bit more at Neji.

�Her family would have never approved of it.� Neji managed to
stand up on his own, even though I did get nearer, just in case. He was not as
hurt as I thought he must be after that spun he did before hitting the floor. So Sasuke was going easy on him after all. �That is why you
talked her into marrying you while we were away.�

�That,� Sasuke
answered, but he wasn�t as angry anymore. �Was her idea. I
didn�t even know where you were, I just asked her to help me as soon as that
horde of police inspectors and bank managers started knocking on my door.�

On Neji�s face, you could see the haughtiness through the
flickers of pain-caused grimaces when he said:

�I don�t believe you.�

�I don�t care.� Sasuke�s apparently
had enough. About time. I wanted a break. And something to drink � even Hinata�s elder jus sounded
good at that point. �You will find out just how capable Hinata is of saying
�no� when you tell her about your plans. Now get out.�

I was glad to hear that. She did seemed very different from
when we were younger - more confident. I had to wonder if that was just how she
was meant to grow up, or it had something to do with
the fact she was married to Sasuke.

�This is my house.� Neji said.

�It�s my wife�s house. I can find papers to prove it, if you
want.� Sasuke showed him the door in quite the cartoon-ish
way, holding one arm up and pointing with one finger. �Out.�

Well, easy for him to say that when he knew everything
anyway.

�But I didn�t hear what I have to do all of this.� I
complained to Sasuke.

�Yes, you did.�

�I want to hear more!�

�Then ask him outside.� There were still some force left in
is voice, but Sasuke looked tired to me. Exhausted.
Neji was walking to the door.

I didn�t want to go outside. I
wanted to stay with Sasuke, so I just yelled after Neji:

�What did Kakashi tell you exactly?�

I was curious about that thing more then about the rest of
it. Neji looked back � obviously thinking if he should say it. Then he
shrugged.

�If you really want to
piss Sasuke off, just ask him about Naruto.�

Then the door closed. I wondered aloud:

�What does that
mean?�

Though, I guess it had some sense, if he really knew back in
high school about the possibilities our private little rivalry had, while I was
oblivious.

Sasuke didn�t answer, not that I was
asking him. He set in the armchair,
with his hands joined under his chin, looking drained and unhappy. If there was
something I could do to make that expression disappear, I would have - no
matter how much bloodshed and torture induced pain would that involve. Sasuke was supposed to be nothing but rude
bastard with a bed temper, and he had no right to act like normal human after
that conversation.

�So, you�re staying?� He asked after a while. There was
nothing in his voice indicating if he wanted me to stay or not, but I wanted to. It was just�

�I wish I could call Iruka.� I said, but my guilt was fading
again.

�Neji will tell him you�re not dead.� Sasuke made it sound
he wanted me to stay without actually inviting me. It�s
a nice talent to have.

�After this?� I asked, doubtfully.
Neji didn�t look he was willing to play a messenger boy to me � more like he
would gladly inform my guardian I was dead in the forest and half eaten by a
particularly vicious group of ants.

�He was mad at me, not at you. It�s just simple politeness,
and he knows he owes you more then that.�

I decided to believe Sasuke. He knew Neji better then I did,
and I just wanted to believe it, because that was maybe my only chance to spend
a night with him.

Besides, I spent a night or two before at places Iruka knew
nothing about, without calling. He would probably wait at least to the next
morning before he calls the police.

Probably.

�And Mr. Umino is not blind, you know.�

The though of Iruka having any actual idea about what was going on here - and why - made my
stomach crumble pitifully. I wanted as away as possible from that conversation,
so I bent lower to be in the same height with Sasuke, and gave him a bright
smile.

�Feed me?�

The devilish glint his eyes gained when the smirk once again
tightened the corner of his mouth, leaving no doubt we were thinking about very different food categories. It made
my mouth as dry as if I swallowed a mouthful of styptic lotion.

My curiosity was prodded. If he was
going to be looking at me like that�

Well, I guess I could
work a bit for my food, I thought and dropped down on my knees in front of
the armchair.

tbc
- 11
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In the Mountains