So. You don't actually mind the timeskip. I'll explain everything. Eventually. But I will explain it. Anyways, it's time for all that sappy cliché romance stuff that I try to stay away from, but never manage to. Prepare for unoriginality, and if it satisfies me, I'll either be surprised at myself, or disgusted at myself.

Disclaimer: Neji doesn't die. Well he wouldn't have if I owned Naruto. Which I don't. -sighs-

The Value of a Soul

Chapter 24: My Immortal

"I still...I'm dreaming," Neji convinced himself out loud. Naruto's eyes clouded over sadly, and he held him in his arms.

"When then I'll make your dreams a reality," he replied, laughing slightly. "You aren't dreaming, Neji." The brunet sighed.

"I'l just allow this," he said. "But if I wake up, then this must be the cruellest dream of my life," he finished. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"You may have changed, but you're still as stubborn as ever." The blonde unwound his arms from the brunet, his eyes practically glowing in the dark. The emperor sat down on his bed. Unbidden, the blonde rested next to him.

"Hinata's changed too, hasn't she," he remarked. The brunet's lips unnoticeably flicked upward for the barest of seconds.

"Yes," was the simple reply. Naruto glanced outside at the sky.

"I was going to ask you something, but since you think this is a dream, I'll save it for the morning," he informed. The brunet bit his tongue.

Naruto seemed so sure of himself when he continued to try and convince the emperor that he was real. Perhaps...just maybe...he was telling the truth? Neji bit back a sigh, and stared outside. Naruto grinned.

"Neji, do you remember Charis?" he asked. The brunet was confused. Of course he remembered the serval, but what did that have to do with anything?

"Yes," he replied. Naruto licked his dry lips.

"Do you mind her company?" he asked. Neji shook his head.

"She doesn't try to eat my birds, and she's not bothersome, so no I didn't mind her company," he replied. Naruto grinned.

"I spoke with her, and as it turns out, she wants to stay with you," he informed. "Would you mind?" Neji turned to face the blonde.

"Wait. Are you trying to say..." Naruto nodded.

"Yes. She hopes you'll say yes. She says that she likes you, and since I trust you, she wants to stay with you. You see, her homeland is rather harsh, if you understand. Will you?" he asked. Neji bit his lip.

"Y-you still trust me? After I barely gave a damn about you for the past two years? After I did all of that when I first met you?" he asked. Naruto frowned.

"Don't talk like that!" he reprimanded. "You're used to hiding your emotions, so it came naturally. However, I could see through your façade. And I could care less about what you've done to me. If I didn't want you to, I wouldn't have let you." Neji sighed.

"What?" Naruto nodded.

"You heard me," he said. Neji sighed, and his eyes softened ever so slightly.

"All right. I wouldn't mind if she stayed," he answered. "After all, if this is a dream, she wouldn't be here in the morning," he added. Naruto shook his head, and bit his thumb. Muttering something under his breath, he placed the appendage on the floor.

The large cat padded over to the blonde's legs, and wound around them, purring. Naruto smiled, and scratched her ears, before directing her to Neji.

The golden creature jumped onto the bed, and lay behind Neji, her upper body lying alongside the emperor. He stroked his back absent-mindedly, and she purred. His face contorted into a tiny smile.

Naruto's sharp gaze softened as he watched the brunet. No matter how small the smile, it made the emperor look so much better. Not that he didn't already look good, just that it made him look better. Naruto inwardly rolled eyes at himself.

"You don't need to collar her. I had a nice chat with her, and she understands," he stated. Neji shot a brief glance at him.

"I had no intention of putting such a creature under bondage," he answered blandly. Naruto smiled.

"You've changed, Neji. And for the better," he informed. Neji's smile barely widened, but it did.

"It's thanks to you," he answered. Naruto closed his eyes in content.

"Then I can say I have succeeded in completing my mission," he said. Neji didn't comment. They sat in silence, staring outside. Naruto, due to his instincts, could discern that it was nearly sunrise. He smiled. "Hey Neji, want to go for a walk in the gardens?" he asked. The brunet shrugged.

"Which one?" he asked. Naruto stood up.

"The one farthest to the east," he replied. The brunet didn't argue with the suggestion, seeing as it would do him no harm.

"All right," he responded, standing up. Charis leapt off the bed, and paced over to them as they left the room.

Quietly, they made their way through the silent palace, stepping on the cold stone floor with bare feet. As they stepped outside, the slightly frigid air bit at their skin. Naruto smiled, and rested on the cool grass, that was at the time, a touch damp.

Inviting Neji to sit next to him, the brunet obliged, and rested next to the blonde, staring up at the sky. He could see the stars growing slightly dimmer as the sky grew a touch bluer. He glanced over at the blonde. Sunrise would decide whether this was real, or a cruelly nostalgia-inducing dream.

"What will I do if this is just a dream?" he wondered out loud. Naruto laughed.

"Nothing, because I can assure you this is no dream," the blonde reassured. Neji wasn't quite convinced. He sighed. He'd just have to wait and see. His pale fingers ran along sleek fur. They stopped on the feline's back, as the pinkish hues of the sunrise began to make their appearance. He closed his eyes.

"Neji?" he bit his lip. "Neji, open your eyes," the voice commanded. The brunet found himself facing a pair of bright aquamarine orbs. He could feel a strange warmth flooding through his body. This was real.

He reached out and laid a pale hand on the blonde's cheek. Naruto's eyes widened as the hand touched his skin. This... Neji's hand didn't feel cold. It had a perfectly normal temperature instead of it's normal icy coldness. A smile stole over his face until he was beaming brightly.

"I told you Neji," he murmured. "This is real." Brushing the dark brown locks off the emperor's face, Naruto leaned in, and joined their lips together in a soft chaste kiss. Before Neji could realize what was going on, he found himself returning it, hesitantly at first, but soon with more confidence, and the same gentleness.

After a small five seconds they broke apart. Neji's lips curved into a radiant smile.

"This is real," he murmured. "This is real..." Naruto smiled.

"It hasn't sunk in yet?" he asked. Neji stared at him, the smile replaced by a look of wonderment.

"This is real," he breathed. Naruto embraced him.

"Yes," he whispered. "This is real." Neji stared at him, and unconsciously, a lone droplet of water coursed down his face. Naruto wiped the offending liquid off the empeor's cheek with his thumb.

"But...how?" he asked. Naruto closed his eyes temporarily.

"I remember being...well... when my uncle, Hades, discovered me dead, of course, he ended up interrogating me, and admonishing me for getting killed. At the time, I didn't realize why he was talking about it like that, like it wasn't a big deal.

As it turns out, Uncle Hades told me that only he and the three main rulers, my Uncles Zeus and Poseidon, who you may know as Jupiter and Neptune, knew a way that I could return. Apparently in rare cases, a someone like me, if dead, could return to life on the date where he or she gains immortality," he explained. Neji glanced at them bemused.

"Wait...are you saying you're immortal?" Neji asked. The blonde nodded.

"I don't have to worry about dying anymore, which means I can protect you to any extent without fear," he informed. Neji glanced at him, shocked.

"Y-you would...you would suffer that," he said, resting a finger atop Naruto's wound. "All over again...for me?" Naruto chuckled.

"Of course I would," he affirmed. "I would give my life a thousand times over to save yours," he added. "You may never know just how much I love you." Neji placed a hand on his chest.

"Love? Is this what I'm feeling now?" he asked. Naruto laughed.

"That's for you to decide, but I can tell you that I love you," he replied. Porcelain fingers reached out, then faltered, before dipping into his not-quite-fresh-but-not-quite-healed wound. He could see the blonde flinch slightly as the encrusted skin broke under his light touch, and blood flowed out.

"Oh no..." Neji murmured. Naruto shook his head.

"No worries. Even with Kurama back in me, this has been untreated for over two years. It's only logical that it takes a longer time to heal," he said. "It doesn't hurt too badly." Neji lowered his eyes to the ground, before lifting them to meet sapphires.

"Let's go," he stated. Naruto nodded, and they got up, and began to walk away, the cat padding silently beside them.

As they entered the bedroom, Naruto flashed the brunet a glance before stepping out again. Neji sat on the bed, his mind whirring wildly.

Naruto headed to the kitchen, and spotted the young council member speaking with one of the cooks. Walking up to them, he inconspicuously cleared his throat. They turned to him, and froze. Even their lips didn't move as they didn't have anything to say. Naruto looked at them questioningly, before he spotted the tray.

Walking over, he held it on one palm as he waved at the two before stepping out of the kitchen. As he rounded a corner, he could hear thing along the lines of "You look like you've seen a ghost," and answers of "We just may have." Naruto snickered in amusement.

Opening the doors, he stepped in, and set the food by one of the mats. Neji glanced at it, before looking back to the blonde.

"How did you manage to get your hands on that without being noticed?" he asked. Naruto averted his eyes.

"I was noticed, but only by Shikamaru and one of the cooks," he answered. Then he giggled. "But their faces were priceless!" he stressed. Neji glanced at the tray, and Naruto looked at him, the mirth fading from his eyes.

"Neji, You have to eat. Like I said, I've been watching you, and you haven't been eating well for the past two years," he informed. Neji sighed.

"All right," he agreed. Naruto smiled.

"And be quick about it," he added. "If I remember correctly, training starts in the next half-hour."

When the brunet wanted to be quick about something, he was quick about it. In no more than three minutes, the dishes were empty. Naruto glanced at his chest.

"I guess I'll have to deal with that later," he commented. Heading for the balcony, he bit his finger again. He smiled, as the light grey indoubtedly majestic figure smoked into view.

"Hi, Pegasus, how've you been?" he asked. The avian answered with a whinny. Naruto smiled. "All right. Do you mind bringing us to the coliseum?" he asked. The horse glanced at it's cargo, before nickering. Naruto turned to the brunet.

"All right, he agrees on taking us there. Charis will follow on foot. She's abnormally fast, so it shouldn't be too much of a bother," he explained.

The youth clambered onto the mammal's back, motioning for the emperor to do the same. Neji obliged, and bit his lip as they took flight. Below them, he could see the serval leap down from the balcony, and begin to run. Naruto wasn't joking. She was fast.

They flew through the crisp morning sky in the hours just before Rome turned into the bustling busy city it was renowned for being.

Pegasus landed on the soft arena sand, and allowed his two passengers to safely jump onto the ground. Naruto stroked his muzzle, before sending him back to Olympus.

At that moment, the feline jumped into the arena by way of one of the many windows in the monument. Naruto smiled. It was a while since he'd spoken to his friends in the flesh. He glanced at the gate of the coliseum, and waited for the five other gladiators.

"What the hell, I'm hallucinating, yeah!"

If you don't know who that was at the end, all I can say is...just...wow. Just wow.

Edited: Owari. Yeah. End. I'm lost for inspiration, and since this could be called end, end. Unless I can think of something awesome. Which I can't. So end. See ya!

-Jeya-