fic: Abstruse 3/? [neji/sai]
title: abstruse (3/?)
pairing: sai/neji
rating: pg for now (mature in much later chapters)
disclaimer: not mine. i just want to play with them a bit.
notes: wip. beta'd by my dear sister, spazzy_kitty13. italics denote thoughts and/or emphasis
Hyuuga Neji was no coward, yet he couldn’t deny the chill of anxiety in his gut as he stood to the side of one eager Uzumaki Naruto at the door to Sai’s apartment. It was early afternoon and after finally wrapping up their extensive lunch with their comrades Naruto had all but dragged Neji across town, jabbering his ear off the entire way. Naruto could easily put Ino to shame in the category of chatty, gossiping blonds, Neji thought sardonically.
“Come on, come on open the door already!” Naruto exclaimed impatiently as he banged his fist against the door a second time.
Neji sighed and made to turn towards the stairs, “He must still be out…”
A click sounded from the lock and the door opened to reveal their fellow shinobi. Ebon eyes glanced from Naruto to Neji, widening minutely in surprise at the Hyuuga’s presence.
Sai’s voice sounded tired as he greeted them, “Konnichi wa Naruto, Neji.”
Naruto bounced on the balls of his feet as he smiled excitedly at his teammate, “Did you just get back today? Where were you? Are you okay?”
Sai shrugged with a smirk. He stepped back from the doorway and motioned into the apartment, “Why don’t you come in?”
Naruto practically leapt over the threshold, bee-lining for a cushy sofa set against the opposite wall. Neji paused in the doorway to exchange a glance with Sai, silently asking if his presence was welcome. Sai’s smirk softened into a smile and he nodded, closing the door behind Neji as he finally entered the small apartment. Neji took a seat on the sofa, carefully avoiding Naruto’s feet as the blond hung over the armrest thumbing through a stack of leaning canvases.
“Are these all new Sai?”
“Hmm, since your last visit? I believe so Naruto-kun.” Sai replied as he padded quietly towards the kitchenette. “Tea?”
“Yes, please.” Naruto agreed distractedly as he continued to peruse the paintings. Neji looked up to meet Sai’s questioning gaze and nodded. The dark-clad teen excused himself to the preparation of their beverage; allowing Neji to take a few moments to study his surroundings.
At first glance it was obvious the apartment was by no means large. Yet even with several stacks of canvases located throughout the room the space seemed open and airy. Neji mused that the effect was attributed to the minimal amount of furnishings in the room. Aside from the sofa the only other furnishings were a low table, a few floor cushions, a shelf built against the wall adjacent to the sofa, and a large desk. The walls were covered in framed paintings, charcoals, and sketches of every shape and size. Neji nodded to himself, impressed by the variety of the works presented. He had no idea Sai was so prolific.
“Oh! Look at his one Neji!” Naruto suddenly exclaimed beside him.
Neji turned, jerking back quickly as Naruto practically thrust a painting in his face. He scowled at the other teen; Naruto responded with a sheepish grin and pulled the painting back against his chest. Neji rolled his eyes, muttering about ‘baka blonde’s’ under his breath as he surveyed the work in front of him.
The canvas itself wasn’t terribly large, a mere three hands tall and two wide; but the composition itself was intriguing. The perspective was as if the viewer was seated on an en gawa looking out into the enclosed courtyard where a solitary figure appeared to be practicing katas. At the bottom left sat a bowl of small seeds or beads of some kind with a pale hand hovering, fingers poised to dip into the bowl. To Neji the most striking things about the piece was the fact it was painted completely in ruby tones and the twin moons hanging pale in the crimson sky like glowing eyes.
“Isn’t it cool?” Naruto gushed.
Neji nodded, “It is certainly eye-catching.”
Naruto twisted back around and held the canvas out toward Sai, “I really like this one…huh?”
Neji watched as Sai turned towards them to see what Naruto was carrying on about, keen eyes detecting the minute shiver of tension that shot suddenly through Sai’s lean frame.
Naruto continued to gape at the back of the canvas where Neji could just barely make out faintly penciled kanji. Wide blue eyes slowly rose to meet apprehensive sloe and Neji couldn’t help but feel he was missing something.
“Sai…this…you named this piece.” Naruto intoned reverently.
Sai kept his eyes to his task as he poured hot water into a small tea kettle, “I did, didn’t I? It’s not that…”
Naruto interrupted whatever Sai was about to say with a joyous burst of laughter. “This is fantastic Sai! But…what does it mean? Pomegranate? Like that weird fruit?”
Neji’s slender brow arched with interest. Pomegranate, huh? Interesting. His mind wandered back a few days, the market and a fruit stall, and a bizarre conversation with the dark-eyed teen.
He looked up to find said dark-eyed teen watching him carefully as he returned with the tea tray. Those obsidian eyes seemed to draw him in, silent questions floating just beyond his grasp in their depths. The feeling caused a shiver of something...unexplainable... to wash through the Hyuuga. There was something there he wasn’t understanding and he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to know what it was.
“Neji-kun?” Sai’s gentle voice roused him from his thoughts to focus on the cup of tea being offered to him. He nodded his thanks and took the cup, bringing it to his nose and breathing deeply of the fragrant beverage.
“Jasmine?” he asked, intrigued.
A small smile and a nod, then Sai turned his attention to Naruto as the blond began rehashing the same stories he’d shared at lunch. Neji found himself tuning the blond out as he watched Sai over the rim of his tea cup.
Neji knew that Sai’s expressions were a carefully constructed mask, the habit so completely ingrained into the other shinobi as to be completely subconscious. The layers were many and the secrets they kept concealed even more numerous. As he watched he noticed a slight tightening of the skin around Sai’s eyes…he knew he was being watched, studied, but said nothing. This meant he had nothing to hide or was confident that Neji would not or rather, could not see beyond the surface.
Neji frowned, unhappy with this observation. For some unexplainable reason it irked him that Sai underestimated him. Or perhaps, Neji ruminated; the other teen simply underestimated his own value as an object of concern. That thought seems much more reasonable. Sai had on many occasions downplayed his own worth beyond a living tool to be used solely for the good of the village. It was a sentiment that at its core held a grain of truth for all shinobi but somehow left a sour unsettled feeling in Neji nonetheless when one actually tried to apply it to the value of a man’s life.
The Hyuuga teen began to gather what he knew in his mind, outwardly appearing to listen idly to Naruto’s tale as he sipped his tea. Sai had been assigned a mission from Root, one that even the Godaime Hokage had been unaware of. The artist-nin had sustained some form of injury resulting in the limp he had witnessed on the street earlier that afternoon. Sai’s entire being radiated a bone deep weariness from his mission, even if he was doing an excellent job of hiding it from their blonde friend. Neji took one last sip of the aromatic tea and set the fragile cup down. Sai’s eyes slid to his questioningly, though he remained silent.
“Naruto, I believe it is time we left Sai to rest.” Neji intoned, calmly rising to his feet.
Naruto blinked, obviously confused by Neji’s suggestion, “Nani?”
“Your concern is appreciated but un-“ Sai began to assure them but Neji interrupted the feeble attempt.
“Nartuo-kun, he is newly returned from a mission and needs his rest. As his teammate his well-being should be of great concern to you.”
“Of course it is Neji!” Naruto snaps and stands, spilling tea in the process. He scrubs a tanned hand through blond locks and smiles apologetically at the still seated Sai. “Gomen ne Sai. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Sai nods absently, cool façade falling to reveal the tension in his slight frame. He gathers their cups and returns them to his small kitchenette before showing them to the door. He bows slightly as they step past him dark eyes lowered to the floor. Neji herds Naruto towards the stairs, the blond teen squawking indignantly the entire way, but pauses at the top step. He looks back and meets Sai’s fathomless eyes, “If you are injured it would be wise to seek medical attention. Have a good day.”
Neji did not miss the widening of those dark eyes or the shock of being discovered on Sai’s pale face. Nor did he miss the whispered “Arigatou….Neji…” as he descended the stairs.
pairing: sai/neji
rating: pg for now (mature in much later chapters)
disclaimer: not mine. i just want to play with them a bit.
notes: wip. beta'd by my dear sister, spazzy_kitty13. italics denote thoughts and/or emphasis
Hyuuga Neji was no coward, yet he couldn’t deny the chill of anxiety in his gut as he stood to the side of one eager Uzumaki Naruto at the door to Sai’s apartment. It was early afternoon and after finally wrapping up their extensive lunch with their comrades Naruto had all but dragged Neji across town, jabbering his ear off the entire way. Naruto could easily put Ino to shame in the category of chatty, gossiping blonds, Neji thought sardonically.
“Come on, come on open the door already!” Naruto exclaimed impatiently as he banged his fist against the door a second time.
Neji sighed and made to turn towards the stairs, “He must still be out…”
A click sounded from the lock and the door opened to reveal their fellow shinobi. Ebon eyes glanced from Naruto to Neji, widening minutely in surprise at the Hyuuga’s presence.
Sai’s voice sounded tired as he greeted them, “Konnichi wa Naruto, Neji.”
Naruto bounced on the balls of his feet as he smiled excitedly at his teammate, “Did you just get back today? Where were you? Are you okay?”
Sai shrugged with a smirk. He stepped back from the doorway and motioned into the apartment, “Why don’t you come in?”
Naruto practically leapt over the threshold, bee-lining for a cushy sofa set against the opposite wall. Neji paused in the doorway to exchange a glance with Sai, silently asking if his presence was welcome. Sai’s smirk softened into a smile and he nodded, closing the door behind Neji as he finally entered the small apartment. Neji took a seat on the sofa, carefully avoiding Naruto’s feet as the blond hung over the armrest thumbing through a stack of leaning canvases.
“Are these all new Sai?”
“Hmm, since your last visit? I believe so Naruto-kun.” Sai replied as he padded quietly towards the kitchenette. “Tea?”
“Yes, please.” Naruto agreed distractedly as he continued to peruse the paintings. Neji looked up to meet Sai’s questioning gaze and nodded. The dark-clad teen excused himself to the preparation of their beverage; allowing Neji to take a few moments to study his surroundings.
At first glance it was obvious the apartment was by no means large. Yet even with several stacks of canvases located throughout the room the space seemed open and airy. Neji mused that the effect was attributed to the minimal amount of furnishings in the room. Aside from the sofa the only other furnishings were a low table, a few floor cushions, a shelf built against the wall adjacent to the sofa, and a large desk. The walls were covered in framed paintings, charcoals, and sketches of every shape and size. Neji nodded to himself, impressed by the variety of the works presented. He had no idea Sai was so prolific.
“Oh! Look at his one Neji!” Naruto suddenly exclaimed beside him.
Neji turned, jerking back quickly as Naruto practically thrust a painting in his face. He scowled at the other teen; Naruto responded with a sheepish grin and pulled the painting back against his chest. Neji rolled his eyes, muttering about ‘baka blonde’s’ under his breath as he surveyed the work in front of him.
The canvas itself wasn’t terribly large, a mere three hands tall and two wide; but the composition itself was intriguing. The perspective was as if the viewer was seated on an en gawa looking out into the enclosed courtyard where a solitary figure appeared to be practicing katas. At the bottom left sat a bowl of small seeds or beads of some kind with a pale hand hovering, fingers poised to dip into the bowl. To Neji the most striking things about the piece was the fact it was painted completely in ruby tones and the twin moons hanging pale in the crimson sky like glowing eyes.
“Isn’t it cool?” Naruto gushed.
Neji nodded, “It is certainly eye-catching.”
Naruto twisted back around and held the canvas out toward Sai, “I really like this one…huh?”
Neji watched as Sai turned towards them to see what Naruto was carrying on about, keen eyes detecting the minute shiver of tension that shot suddenly through Sai’s lean frame.
Naruto continued to gape at the back of the canvas where Neji could just barely make out faintly penciled kanji. Wide blue eyes slowly rose to meet apprehensive sloe and Neji couldn’t help but feel he was missing something.
“Sai…this…you named this piece.” Naruto intoned reverently.
Sai kept his eyes to his task as he poured hot water into a small tea kettle, “I did, didn’t I? It’s not that…”
Naruto interrupted whatever Sai was about to say with a joyous burst of laughter. “This is fantastic Sai! But…what does it mean? Pomegranate? Like that weird fruit?”
Neji’s slender brow arched with interest. Pomegranate, huh? Interesting. His mind wandered back a few days, the market and a fruit stall, and a bizarre conversation with the dark-eyed teen.
He looked up to find said dark-eyed teen watching him carefully as he returned with the tea tray. Those obsidian eyes seemed to draw him in, silent questions floating just beyond his grasp in their depths. The feeling caused a shiver of something...unexplainable... to wash through the Hyuuga. There was something there he wasn’t understanding and he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to know what it was.
“Neji-kun?” Sai’s gentle voice roused him from his thoughts to focus on the cup of tea being offered to him. He nodded his thanks and took the cup, bringing it to his nose and breathing deeply of the fragrant beverage.
“Jasmine?” he asked, intrigued.
A small smile and a nod, then Sai turned his attention to Naruto as the blond began rehashing the same stories he’d shared at lunch. Neji found himself tuning the blond out as he watched Sai over the rim of his tea cup.
Neji knew that Sai’s expressions were a carefully constructed mask, the habit so completely ingrained into the other shinobi as to be completely subconscious. The layers were many and the secrets they kept concealed even more numerous. As he watched he noticed a slight tightening of the skin around Sai’s eyes…he knew he was being watched, studied, but said nothing. This meant he had nothing to hide or was confident that Neji would not or rather, could not see beyond the surface.
Neji frowned, unhappy with this observation. For some unexplainable reason it irked him that Sai underestimated him. Or perhaps, Neji ruminated; the other teen simply underestimated his own value as an object of concern. That thought seems much more reasonable. Sai had on many occasions downplayed his own worth beyond a living tool to be used solely for the good of the village. It was a sentiment that at its core held a grain of truth for all shinobi but somehow left a sour unsettled feeling in Neji nonetheless when one actually tried to apply it to the value of a man’s life.
The Hyuuga teen began to gather what he knew in his mind, outwardly appearing to listen idly to Naruto’s tale as he sipped his tea. Sai had been assigned a mission from Root, one that even the Godaime Hokage had been unaware of. The artist-nin had sustained some form of injury resulting in the limp he had witnessed on the street earlier that afternoon. Sai’s entire being radiated a bone deep weariness from his mission, even if he was doing an excellent job of hiding it from their blonde friend. Neji took one last sip of the aromatic tea and set the fragile cup down. Sai’s eyes slid to his questioningly, though he remained silent.
“Naruto, I believe it is time we left Sai to rest.” Neji intoned, calmly rising to his feet.
Naruto blinked, obviously confused by Neji’s suggestion, “Nani?”
“Your concern is appreciated but un-“ Sai began to assure them but Neji interrupted the feeble attempt.
“Nartuo-kun, he is newly returned from a mission and needs his rest. As his teammate his well-being should be of great concern to you.”
“Of course it is Neji!” Naruto snaps and stands, spilling tea in the process. He scrubs a tanned hand through blond locks and smiles apologetically at the still seated Sai. “Gomen ne Sai. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Sai nods absently, cool façade falling to reveal the tension in his slight frame. He gathers their cups and returns them to his small kitchenette before showing them to the door. He bows slightly as they step past him dark eyes lowered to the floor. Neji herds Naruto towards the stairs, the blond teen squawking indignantly the entire way, but pauses at the top step. He looks back and meets Sai’s fathomless eyes, “If you are injured it would be wise to seek medical attention. Have a good day.”
Neji did not miss the widening of those dark eyes or the shock of being discovered on Sai’s pale face. Nor did he miss the whispered “Arigatou….Neji…” as he descended the stairs.