Simplicity Blossoms When Coercion Dies

Chapter One

"They're collecting at various points around us. They must be getting ready for an ambush," one Anbu black ops reported to the other two similarly dressed officers in his rank as they stood in a small circle and quickly formulated a plan of execution.

"What are their locations, Hawk?" another Anbu asked the first speaker, prompting him to activate his Byakugan from behind his white and red-striped hawk mask to provide his officers with accurate pinpoints of the enemy's locations around their current parameter.

"A squad of three men is north northeast of here at six hundred and thirty-three yards. Another squad of the same size is southwest and closing in from two hundred and fifty-seven yards. The last one has four members heading in from due west at approximately five hundred and twelve yards," the long-haired Byakugan user informed his comrades gravely as he continued his essential report with a low, hushed voice, "All of them are armed with kunai knives and are approaching at an astounding rate."

"I'll head to the north to cut off their reinforcements," the rabbit mask-wearing Anbu black ops said indifferently as all of them processed Hawk's information about the enemy locations and how much distance they needed to cover as quickly as possible.

"Right. I'll head west and handle the four-man squad," Hawk added calmly before all three of them sped off in their different directions, the third, squirrel-masked Anbu already having his indirect orders to take the last squad that was left to him without question or concern.

The Anbu black ops referred to as Hawk raced through the dense forestry with blinding speed, utilizing his expertise as an experienced, decorated officer of Konoha military to move as swiftly as the passing breezes while he honed in on his enemy, much like a fierce but patient predator tracks his unfortunate prey.

Keeping his inherited Byakugan activated, Hawk leapt through the enormous, aged trees that allowed only broken shards of direct sunlight to penetrate the thick canopy, before coming to an abrupt stop on top of one of the more shaded branches that overlooked a small clearing.

Hawk watched with his black and grey-colored, x-ray vision as the four members of the enemy squad still another hundred yards ahead him suddenly dashed off in multiple directions before disappearing completely from his line of sight.

"What…" Hawk whispered quietly to himself as he gracefully leapt down from his branch and into the grassy clearing that he had been positive the enemy would have run across as per their general direction that they had been travelling for some time.

Then, from up above his head, three of the enemy members, all dressed in light brown, long-sleeved shirts and pants, fishnet undershirts, and cream-colored masks that only covered their mouths and noses, suddenly appeared with their kunai raised high, ready to strike Hawk down now that they had him out in the open.

Hawk growled in his throat upon realizing that he had been successfully lured out into the clearing and that the vision of the four-man cell suddenly disappearing had been a cleverly-timed Genjutsu, as the long-haired Konoha shinobi deftly reached into two of his three back pouches and retrieved many shuriken in his gloved, pointed hands.

Within a blink of an eye, Hawk launched all of the deadly shuriken from his fingers, all perfectly aimed at multiple vital points on his descending enemies, while the Anbu was already anticipating his weapons being deflected as he backed up from his spot so that they would miss him as well.

Shrill, metal clangs reverberated throughout the crisp, clean air as the enemies skillfully knocked away Hawk's diverting shuriken, then proceeded to race towards the Konoha Anbu the instant their feet touched the ground, none of them seeming deterred by the fact that Hawk was smoothly slipping into his strange but graceful fighting stance.

Hawk had his left, gloved hand pointing out in front of him, fingers pointing up, while his right was kept hovering in front of his stomach in a highly advanced martial arts form that would allow for precise offense and defense maneuvers to be performed fluidly.

The long-haired Anbu officer took a deep breath from behind his mask, not feeling any fear or trepidation about his approaching battle whatsoever as he allowed for his 'warrior's calm' to fully overtake his senses, making them sharper, keener, ready for anything, as Hawk's body abruptly burst into action that surprised his advancing attackers.

Quickly reaching out with his steady, left hand, Hawk seized one man's wrist in an iron grip and jerked him forward, utilizing the enemy's moment of uncertainty to his advantage as he got behind the startled man and threw a swift side-punch to the back of the man's neck, pleased when he heard the man cry out shortly in pain.

The other two enemies had to hurriedly change their momentum now that their target was just inches behind them, but Hawk was already crouching down low, shifting his weight fast, as he moved to another man and slammed the heel of his palm harshly into his chin as he stood up straight from his squatting position.

The attacked man's head snapped back upon impact, and Hawk knew that he would not be able to take the third enemy by surprise now, as the chocolate-haired Anbu was already digging into another one of his pouches again for a weapon.

Another sizzling clash of sharpened metal sang out in everyone's ears as Hawk parried a blow from the third enemy with his own kunai, their masked faces close enough that the Anbu could clearly see the tiny beads of sweat starting to dot the enemies exposed forehead as they tested their strength against each other between their blades.

However, the enemy tried to twist his body away with enough time to throw a mid-range kick to Hawk's torso, but the Anbu had already suspected such a move that would ultimately put some distance between them, as the long-haired shinobi lifted up his foreleg and expertly blocked the kick that would have otherwise sent him flying backwards to crash into the trees.

With a labored grunt, Hawk used his position of having his body being turned partially away from his enemy as well to free a hand from his knife to hastily propel his body forward with his open palm aimed right at the brown-dressed man's stomach.

"Gentle Fist!" Hawk roared as he slammed his palm into the enemy's stomach, wisps of light-blue chakra curling up from the Anbu's gloved hand as he performed the rare but devastating attack.

"Gah…! Arg…"the man bellowed in horrendous pain, his bulky frame tumbling backwards as he choked on his own blood that was quickly coating the cream-colored mask in front of his mouth.

Suddenly, just when Hawk thought he had bought himself a bit of time, the fourth member of the enemy squad burst up from the solid forest floor, breaking apart the earth in chunks as the last man that had remained hidden all this time sprang up right in front of Hawk with his fists raised high.

Hawk grit his teeth as he had to instinctually leap high into the air to avoid the man's surprise attack, his long, low-kept pony-tail falling off of his broad, pale shoulders as he glided away from his previous spot, already sensing the remaining members reforming their rank to receive him.

Then, having blurred into vision up above Hawk, one of the enemies attempted to intercept Hawk's airborne position, preemptively throwing kunai knives with a furious growl escaping him at the seemingly vulnerable Anbu.

Hawk had seen the man's aerial attack via his Byakugan, so the long-haired Konoha officer had angled his own trajectory towards a huge, thick tree where he immediately set his chakra-enhanced feet upon to stand, before elegantly turning his body around with a sweep of his legs, making an astounding sphere of light-blue chakra swirl all around him, defending him from every one of the on-coming weapons that were, in turn, volleyed back towards the attackers.

"Shit! What the hell was that?!" one enemy hollered indignantly, having to duck away from the immediate area now that the Anbu had used their own weapons against them as he watched the hawk-masked man drop down from the trees to be on the ground now that he had gained some more space.

X

Meanwhile, at a different point in the landscape…

"Karin…I cannot even begin to tell you how horrible your face is. All of your swooning over Sasuke is totally pointless, unless you change your face," a mockingly chipper voice commented very matter-of-factly to his red-haired female companion as they, along with another two people, continued to trek through the orange-colored cliff pathways that overlooked much of the forest below.

"What was that, you fish-smelling freak!?" the glasses-wearing female roared heatedly at her ever-calm, white-haired teammate as she balled up her fists at his uncaring features as they strayed a bit from the other two members who were up ahead.

"Stop it, both of you," the raven-haired leader of the group announced somberly, having halted his steps as he turned his pale, handsome face towards the heavily wooded area off to the side of their mountain ranges.

"What is it, Sasuke? Who do you sense?" Juugo asked seriously, the orange-haired giant watching the Uchiha's expressions carefully to deduce if they had trouble to deal with or not.

Sasuke only concentrated for a moment more towards the far-off direction before smirking slightly to himself upon realizing the answer to Juugo's question.

"I'm going to go check something out," Sasuke informed his group curtly, his smooth voice holding a no-nonsense tone as he gave his team their orders, "I'll meet you at the inn that Karin had specified in the next town over. "

Juugo nodded at the Uchiha's confidant words, trusting him always and unconditionally.

"Whatever…just hurry up with your errand!" Suigetsu called after the oftentimes arrogant Uchiha as the raven swiftly leapt off of the rock ledge that they were all on, so he may swoop down into the crowded forests below and seek out the source of so much skillfully controlled chakra.

Karin had been about to protest the whole idea of Sasuke parting from the group, even temporarily, as her mouth was hanging open, but no words had been able to make it out before the avenger slipped away from the group and towards the dangerous woods.

Sasuke sprinted through the trees like a man on a mission, the fine-tuned chakra within the atmosphere positively calling out to him, luring him closer by the sheer intensity the user must be executing with experienced jutsus and manipulations of his power as he obviously squared off against multiple opponents at once.

The Uchiha's brow was slightly furrowed, however, as he assessed the chakra signature over and over again to the best of his abilities, but he simply could not place the information with a name or a face.

It felt familiar, but also like something he had never truly known at all.

Sasuke narrowed his midnight-colored eyes as he increased his already blinding speed through the obscure tree branches, determined to seek out such an owner of unique abilities that tugged vaguely at something else within him.

X

"Haah…!" Hawk yelled as he ran swiftly towards one of the singled-out enemy, his fingertips already buzzing with his powerful chakra kept masterfully honed over the years as he closed the distance between them and readied his advances.

The enemy threw a punch aimed for Hawk's head which was expertly avoided, followed by a hasty round-house kick that the Anbu blocked squarely with his shielded forearms, delivering the attacker a certain amount of pain from striking metal instead of flesh.

"Eight Trigrams…Sixty-Four Palms!" Hawk voiced boldly, neither his tone nor his mannerisms carrying that of malice or hatred, only bravery and valiance in the face of that which contradicts what he had sworn his life to as he performed one of his most terrifying jutsus known throughout the ninja world.

The next instant, Hawk jabbed his first fingers into specific places on his enemy's form, the latter's chakra supply within his body audibly fizzling out of existence, and the Konoha officer was a second away from delivering many more crippling blows, but the brown-clothed man hurriedly leapt away from the powerful Anbu and performed a series of hand signs.

Hawk's pale eyes widened from behind his mask as he watched his enemy's form swirl out of view, almost as if he had disintegrated into thin air, before hurriedly turning around on account of hearing charging footsteps from behind.

As Hawk knowingly grabbed onto the arm of the rapidly approaching enemy who had wanted a chance to attack the Anbu's back, and tossed him over his shoulder onto the ground, the Anbu black ops finally understood a key element about his strange enemy.

These men were obviously skilled at stealth jutsus, including different kinds of Genjutsu, which was why they were not only trying to keep Hawk at a distance while fighting, they were taking to distracting him while another man was stationed elsewhere to execute a surprise attack.

This enemy was not particularly skilled at close-range combat, but they could decipher special dimensions and know exactly where the Anbu was going to end up possibly even before he did.

…but what else?

There had to be another reason these squads of this enemy force had to be so deadly that Konoha would choose to send Anbu black ops officers after them.

Hawk could feel it in his gut that he was overlooking something about these men.

Just as the previously tossed man was getting back up again, Hawk brought his clothed palms close to his body, his stance wide but confident as he glared at the enemy member and readied his strike, channeling his chakra into almost tangible folds of current around him.

"Eight Trigrams…Empty Palm!" Hawk shouted fiercely as he sharply shot out both of his palms at his target, delivering an unforeseeable force of powerful wind infused with chakra that punched directly into the enemy's torso like a blunt stone being shoved into it on it from absolutely nowhere.

The man gurgled his own spit mixed with blood as his proximity to the deadly, accurate Anbu officer had been too close, rendering the win-borne palm strike a fatal blow to his person as he crumbled to the ground with his eyes opened wide, wanting to scream but unable to any more.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

"Grr…ugh…!"Hawk mumbled through painfully grit teeth as his right arm was abruptly jerked away from his body, ultimately breaking his stance from his destructive jutsu where his arms had been outstretched in front of him, on account of the three, razor-sharp shuriken being embedded into the side of his forearm.

X

On an elevated, grassy hill that scooped over a small clearing within the woods, Sasuke Uchiha remained hidden behind the rich, green shrubs and trees that cloaked his presence perfectly.

The highly-adept Uchiha had easily found the location of the battle and had immediately taken to hiding a little ways away from the main fighting grounds as he simply observed what was happening, and, more importantly, that Anbu black ops who was the one executing all of the advanced chakra techniques.

"Sixty-four palms…where have I heard of that jutsu before?" Sasuke mentally questioned himself as his dark eyes remained glued onto the scene before him, finding it quite intriguing how the aforementioned Anbu was using his attackers' own methods against them as he parried their weapons and their blows with ease.

However, Sasuke had quirked up a thin, black eyebrow upon seeing firsthand how the one attacker remained from view, due to his Genjutsu, had lodged a few shuriken into the side of the Anbu officer's arm while he had been busy defeating another opponent.

"Stealth tactics…what a disgrace," Sasuke sneered to himself once more, finding it rather cowardly how that four-man squad operated and fought battles, always having one man in hiding to deliver quick blows when the one foe was occupied.

Nonetheless, Sasuke watched adamantly as the long-haired Anbu from Konoha schooled his pain, steadied his breathing, so he could be ready for more – the sight of which almost bringing a light-hearted smile to the avenger's beautiful face.

X

His fists clenched in pain, Hawk tried desperately to steel his nerves, forget the raging, red-hot ache now throbbing in his arm, while he activated his Byakugan once more and spun around in his spot as he could see a lone enemy charging at him at full speed.

"The shuriken must have come from the fourth man who used Genjutsu to disappear," Hawk analyzed out loud to himself only a second before having to duck away from the man's barrage of fury-driven attacks, making him more reckless and unpredictable.

"Wait! If one of them is using close-range attacks on me again , then that means…!" the long-haired shinobi mentally surmised too late, for as soon as he blocked another few punched aimed at his masked faced and chest, the fourth and last remaining member of the squad materialized directly behind the Anbu and kicked him hard in the back.

"…oof!" Hawk grumbled as his air left him too quickly upon falling to the ground, the genius Anbu officer starting to notice that his vision was beginning to swim before his eyes, his senses becoming much too hazy for his liking, and his usually lightning-fast reaction time was far from adequate as he lay there on the mild forest floor.

"Ha ha ha!" one of the two enemy males laughed cruelly from up above the fallen, disoriented Anbu black ops, before sitting down harshly on top of his slender, vest-clad back, "Looks like we caught him!"

Hawk squirmed underneath the heavy-set man currently sitting on top of his back, mocking him to his comrade as he grabbed one of his black-clothed arms and raised it high at an excruciating angle.

"Arg!" the Konoha officer said in a strangled voice as he felt the man sitting on him painfully pry his arm off of the ground as he continued speaking to his fellow rogue ninja.

"I say we break his arms before we take him back. What do you think?" the hulking man carried on indifferently to the second ninja whom Hawk could feel step to his other side from his spot on the cool, grainy earth.

"I think that's the best idea you've had in a while," the second ninja agreed maniacally, his voice sounding like nails on a chalkboard, as he seized the long-haired man's other arm and held it up in the air in between both of his hands to start applying horrible pressure.

X

Having still not moved from his spot on the knoll, Sasuke slightly parted his lips in a silent gasped as he finally put all the pieces of the puzzle together to figure out the truth about the masked Anbu officer, his jaw sort of ticking to a side as he considered the weight of him now knowing what he did.

The ability to virtually see all angles at any given moment; the advantage and preference for close-range combat; the fact that this long-haired man was at the rank of Anbu at his age, Sasuke Uchiha understood whom he had been watching all this time now.

Neji Hyuuga.

This time, Sasuke did smile.

X

Pushing away his bleary senses, completely ignoring his blurring vision, Neji gathered every once of strength he could as he filled his lungs with precious air, stilled his warrior mind, and controlled his chakra as he had done so many times before – the young Anbu black ops knowing that his life depended on him keeping a cool and collected head right now even in spite of the two, bickering fools on top of him wishing to break both of his arms.

"E-eight…Tri…Trigrams…"Neji began, trying desperately to reign in his accumulating anger so that it replaced his unnatural fatigue, "…Mountain Crusher!"

"What the…AHH!" the larger man sitting on top of the Hyuuga voiced in utter confusion before being suddenly pummeled by a massive explosion of chakra that had erupted out of the long-haired shinobi's every pore, the offensive jutsu providing more than enough damaging force to shove the remaining two enemies off of him and careening into trees at opposite ends of the clearing.

Through his own heavy pants of air, Neji did not hear the last two men move from where they had collided with the trees, so he sluggishly stood up from lying on the ground but was not yet able to stand up perfectly straight as he kept his shoulders hunched over a bit.

The forest was quiet, no more sounds of weapons meeting or the huffs of air one often produces when engaging in heated battle with others; and the Hyuuga attempted to calm his failing, exhausted body down, figure out what was wrong with him, and, hopefully, reconvene with his Anbu comrades as soon as possible.

Finding it harder and harder to keep his lovely eyes open, Neji forced himself to bring his fingers to his injured arm and snatch out the deeply-embedded shuriken from his own flesh, only now noticing how much blood was running down his black-clothed arm and dripping off of his pointed fingers as a result.

"Ugh…urg…"the Anbu growled low in his throat as he finished pulling out the small, star-shaped weapons from his forearm, letting them clatter to the ground carelessly as he wavered on his feet for a bleak and fading moment, totally oblivious to the ominous eyes watching him, the mysterious person quickly closing in on him from his spot up on a nearby hill that overlooked the small scenery.

Neji briefly licked his lips from behind his mask, his genius mind unfortunately failing with being able to properly consider forest routes back to his comrades' locations or how important it was to seek them out straight away, for the next instant, the Hyuuga was rushed backwards a few feet until his back slammed up against the rough, but familiar bark of a humongous tree.

The Anbu officer had closed his eyes upon feeling his back meet the tree, and could not help but keep them closed as per his weary, lethargic state where he barely registered how his left arm was being pinned to the scratchy bark of the tree above his head in a solid grip.

"It's definitely been a while…"Sasuke purred deceptively sweetly, acid lining his charming words, as he lifted his free hand up to the Anbu's hawk mask and carefully pulled it away from the Leaf shinobi's face, "…Neji Hyuuga."

Neji's milky, lavender eyes were half-lidded and staring dreamily at the ground, long, straight locks of his chocolate-colored mane hung thickly around his pale, beautiful face, as he slowly blinked his eyes up to look upon his unexpected visitor who somehow knew his real identify; his strength almost completely vanished from his body, however, as he did not even struggle against the hand holding his left wrist against the tree.

"Sasuke Uchiha…?" Neji voiced breathlessly with some effort, the Hyuuga not believing his unfocused eyes as he beheld the smirking, attractive face of one of Konoha's most outrageous criminals standing right before him, the raven looking at him almost affectionately as he obviously enjoyed seeing the Hyuuga in such a comprised and frazzled state.

"I'm glad you remember me, Hyuuga," Sasuke continued in his velvety-sweet voice as his onyx eyes took in how the long-haired man was trembling and panting beneath his touch as he kept him sandwiched in between his own body and the solid tree at his back, finding such information about the gorgeous Leaf ninja unforeseeably arousing in spite of the circumstances.

"T-the…sh-shuriken…"Neji attempted to inform the grinning rogue ninja with whom he knew he should be trying to fight and defeat instead of chatting casually, his mind far too muddled to stay conscious any longer, as his eyelids had become unbelievably heavy, along with his dire need to try to recuperate from his practically intoxicated state while he finished his broken statement, "…poison…"

And with that, Neji's light-colored eyes closed and the Hyuuga fell limply against the Uchiha's broad chest, the avenger having to obligingly release his grip on the Anbu's wrist so he could properly catch the lax bundle in his arms.

Again, Sasuke quirked up an eyebrow at the Anbu officer that was now leaning unconsciously against him, finding the situation quite endearing that such a proud man like the Hyuuga male would use his last cognizant moments to alert him what was wrong with him before, effectively, passing out.

"Interesting…"Sasuke commented aloud to himself as he effortlessly scooped up Neji's slightly smaller frame so that he could carry him bridal style, almost immediately registering how empowered he felt as he beheld the Hyuuga's creamy, angelic face resting comfortably against his collarbone, the warmth of the long-haired shinobi's body flooding into him as Sasuke held him securely.

"Perhaps I should have given you my name after all…Neji…"Sasuke thought pseudo-sinisterly, recalling their first, brief encounter when they had been participating in the Chuunin exams, as he made to dash off back into the trees in the opposite direction, his highly strategic mind already laying out possible shortcuts if he continued to utilize the forest paths instead of the nearby mountain ranges in order to arrive at the appropriate inn where he knew his team would be.

X

A little while later…

"Ugh! Suigetsu…that does it!" Karin shouted heinously before throwing a violent punch at the sharp-toothed and smiling ninja in front of her, his last comment of her even existing in the female race was beginning to make him look at males a little more fondly totally pushing the chakra-sensing kunoichi over the edge.

Juugo remained sitting cross-legged by the opened balcony doors, a small, yellow bird resting on his outstretched finger as the bi-polar young man appeared to be speaking quietly to the flying creature, while Karin and Suigetsu fought loudly in the large space of the fore-room of their suite.

Upon receiving Karin's punch to his face, Suigetsu's head exploded into a huge splash of water, soaking Karin's long, purple sleeve a little as she had to steady herself from not having made any impact from her blow.

"Ha ha…"Suigetsu goaded the fiery young woman once more as the dispersing water conformed back together and made up his unmarred and smirking head that seemed to aggravate Karin all the more.

"Why you…"Karin started to voice but was instantly hushed by the low, baritone of Juugo's voice speaking to both of them.

"Sasuke's back," the orange-haired man informed his teammates serenely, merely watching as his yellow-feathered friend flittered away from his large hand.

Karin and Suigetsu quickly ceased their childish yet unresolved spat as they turned to see the raven-haired avenger gracefully leap onto the wooden railing that bordered their balcony just beyond the sliding doors, a form of some kind nestled securely in his arms as he did so.

"Sasuke! Welcome back! Dinner is almost…"Karin voiced cheerfully at the stoic Uchiha as he elegantly stepped down from the railing and entered into the wide room along with everyone else, until the red-haired woman saw exactly what Sasuke had had in his arms, "…y-you brought an Anbu black ops here?! Sasuke, they're dangerous!"

Ignoring her incessant voice that personally grated on his nerves, Sasuke carefully lowered Neji onto the floor, making sure that the back of the Hyuuga's head was comfortably placed on the solid surface before setting the rest of his long, strong form down on the smooth flooring.

"For once, I have to agree with Karin, Sasuke…"Suigetsu chimed in as he joined the raven and the red-head around their 'guest,' "…although, I must admit…he is a looker."

Sasuke snorted at Suigetsu's shameless comments, but then cast his sharp, black eyes on Karin's blushing face before he spoke to her.

"He's been poisoned. I need you to make an antidote," Sasuke ordered tersely, making her feel just how serious he was with his words alone as the female instantly snapped out of her flushed state while he held her gaze evenly with his own.

"O-oh! Right!" Karin replied back loyally to the Uchiha before looking over the fallen Anbu once more to begin her assessments of his current condition.

Sasuke scrupulously watched as Karin pulled off Neji's torn, bloodied glove that covered his entire arm and chucked it to the side before moving onto the other one, the raven admittedly observing out of his own curiosity of just what exactly the Hyuuga's body looked like underneath all those garments.

"It looks like it was just his right arm that got injured; "Karin said as mindfully ran her fingertips over some of Neji's bloodied skin and then brought her fingers to her nose, "Suigestu, bring some fresh water and a clean cloth!"

"Okie dokie," Suigetsu agreed in his own way before rising to his feet and then exiting the room to retrieve the aforementioned items, leaving Karin to sniff at Neji's blood on her fingertips to assess what was out of place, what elements were there which were not supposed to be there.

The glasses-wearing kunoichi then cautiously licked one of her fingertips, running Neji's poisoned blood inside her mouth for only a small moment before spitting the contaminated contents into a handkerchief from her pocket, now knowing exactly what she needed to do in order to save the mysterious Anbu officer before her.

"Juugo, I need for you to find some gawo herbs, echinacea extract, and root of knotwood plant. Go!" Karin barked at the patient giant, her frantic words already informing everyone else in the room that the large, ex-prisoner needed to hurry in order for Neji to have a chance at surviving.

Wordlessly, Juugo sprang up from his spot on the floor and dashed out of the suite as he leapt off of the balcony and down onto the city streets below to retrieve all the items Karin had just named to him.

"How long does he have?" Sasuke asked coolly as shifted his eyes from Neji's shallowly breathing form up to Karin's worried expression across from him as the kunoichi unclasped the fasteners on the Anbu's grey flak-vest.

"It's hard to say exactly..." Karin replied honestly as she finished unfastening Neji's vest and began pulling it off of his unconscious form, "…all I know is that I need to make this medicine as soon as possible."

Sasuke licked the roof of his mouth as he processed his teammate's words, watching with a seemingly bored expression as Karin stripped the Hyuuga of his grey vest, revealing the sleeve-less, form-fitting black shirt that lay underneath for all eyes to greedily take in.

Fishing out some bandages that were inside one of the many pockets adorning the Anbu's elite, military-style vest, Karin made short work of using a small amount to wipe away the dark red blood from Neji's pale, firm skin, before using a few, much longer strands to wrap around Neji's entire forearm, applying just enough pressure to stop the bleeding but not cut off his circulation.

"I got the water!" Suigetsu announced as he entered the room and sat down next to Sasuke who had not even spared his white-haired teammate a glance as he continued to look gravely over the Leaf shinobi's slender form, now bandaged and with people seeing to his recovery.

"Good, alright…let's take off his headband so we can put the damp cloth over his forehead," Karin instructed knowingly, wise to the fact that Neji was battling with a fever as he lay there taking in unsteady breaths.

Poking his tongue out in between his lips in concentration, Suigetsu brought his hands up to the back of Neji's head, turning it slightly to a side so he may have better access to the small knot of the two, black straps underneath his long, chocolate hair.

Sasuke kept his eyes fixed on Suigetsu's hands in the Hyuuga's long, soft hair, just waiting for any foul play from the rambunctious sword-wielder, as the latter nimbly untied the Konoha headband from Neji's head and carefully pulled it away.

"…bandages? …another injury, perhaps?" Karin said aloud, confirming everyone's initial thought upon seeing the lines of thin, white cloth that wrapped around Neji's forehead a few times before she decided that she would be the one to remove those.

Delicate fingers were timid as Karin pulled the bandages away from Neji's head as well, their circled formation fluidly giving way until it was only a single, flowing strand that the kunoichi held in her hands as all beheld the puzzling sight before them.

Sasuke could not help but be completely baffled by the sight of the strange, leaf-green symbol etched into Neji's forehead in between two, curved lines, something the Uchiha had never seen before nor knew what it was.

"Oh my God…is that a…do you think it's a…brand?" Karin asked hesitantly as she eyed Sasuke and Suigetsu in front of her who looked equally as perplexed about the matter as she did.

However, upon hearing Karin's question, Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the mention of Neji being 'branded' by someone, the ominous green ink marring the Hyuuga's smooth, pale forehead already making the Uchiha consider what incredible amount of pain had to be associated in receiving something like that, what utter humiliation.

Thankfully, Suigetsu was the first one to snap back to his senses as he quickly dipped the folded, white cloth into the small pail of water he had brought, and then laid it over Neji's marked and sweating forehead to try to cool the mysterious Anbu down.

"The poor thing…"Karin commented in a small voice as she eyed Neji's injured form with a sympathetic expression, immediately catching Sasuke's attention as he turned his narrowed, cynical gaze towards her.

"Don't feel too bad for him, Karin. He's still in the Anbu black ops, so he isn't exactly helpless," Sasuke rationalized sternly, perhaps even trying to convince himself to not get too worried over the Leaf ninja who was technically his enemy.

"Just how do you know this not-so helpless Anbu, anyways, Sasuke?" Suigetsu questioned, genuinely curious as to why the cold Uchiha had even bothered bringing someone else into their vicinity that was supposed to be kept secret from anyone else…especially potential enemies that could very well have orders to capture any one of them.

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment, his supple lips smirking at his comrade's otherwise nosy question as he took it in stride.

"He's an old friend, "Sasuke somewhat fibbed to his teammates who looked impossibly shocked the moment the Uchiha had stopped speaking.

"…you had friends?" Suigestu asked obnoxiously but was immediately punched in the arm by Karin before he could be taken seriously.

"I have everything you requested, Karin," Juugo's towering frame suddenly appeared on the balcony, his arms full of various objects, including a small vial that everyone assumed was the plant extract that was in a liquid form, as he approached his sitting comrades and placed the items down next to the female.

"Excellent! Okay, now to get to work…" Karin said, relief evident and unbridled in her voice as she began sorting through the items, laying them out in some sort of specific order, before hurriedly standing up and padding across the room to retrieve her own set of cups and a few knives from her belongings.

"So…"Suigetsu prompted the Uchiha once more, now that they had a minute where Karin was preparing her things for the medicinal concoction, "…does this friend of yours have a name?"

Sasuke snorted at Suigetsu's extreme lack of tact when it came to the white-haired man's obvious interest in something, but he decided to humor him just the same.

"His name is Neji," Sasuke answered flatly, almost daring his sharp-toothed teammate to make some kind of snarky remark about that as well.

"Neji, eh? That's a pretty cool name, I suppose," Suigetsu chatted unperturbed with the deadly, vengeful Uchiha by his side, "…but, if it was up to me, I think I would just call him sweetheart."

Sasuke gnashed his perfect, white teeth together as Suigetsu laughed at his own comment, before the Uchiha said with pure venom in his voice, "You don't know him."

Of course, images of Neji's younger self were what flashed in front of Sasuke's mind when he had made his reply, making him remember the insufferably haughty way Neji spoke, how holier than thou he held himself, and the way he practically demanded to know Sasuke's name the first time they bumped into each other at the academy in Konoha.

"No, see, you're wrong;" Suigetsu continued to smirk almost knowingly at the Uchiha as he tilted his head towards the unconscious Hyuuga, motioning to him, before he continued, "sometimes you just know things about people…what they're really like, without ever having been told….you know?"

"Hmph," Sasuke typically replied to his comrade, his tone speaking of his disinterest to the whole matter, while, in reality, the Uchiha could not help but think a little more on what Suigetsu had just said to him about Neji.

Meanwhile, Karin had just finished chopping up a fair amount of the knotwood root which was expertly placed inside one of the cups, and then switched to the herbs that were inside another, smaller ceramic cup that needed to be ground down into a finer powder.

That task done, the grounded herbs were added in with the knotwood, and then Karin opened up the small, brown vial of the extract and dripped exactly four drops of the milky substance into the mixture as well.

"Okay, this needs to boil for a few minutes until it becomes a thick liquid, and when it cools, he needs to drink it," Karin announced to her three teammates, a bit of sweat on her brow from working so quickly and so diligently, especially upon hearing that Neji was a rare friend of Sasuke's from his past.

"Got it," Sasuke replied to Karin's information without hesitation, taking the ceramic cup from her hands and placing it down in front of him, away from all the others.

All eyes were on the bold Uchiha, everyone knowing that Sasuke was about to do something amazing, and that they did not want to miss it.

Keeping his chakra under immense control, Sasuke made the appropriate hand signs for a Fire Ball jutsu, and then carefully blew an extremely concentrated fire only on the white cup, heating it and nothing else until everyone clearly saw the brown liquid inside begin to boil over.

"Wow! It's perfect!" Karin chided in awe at her leader's impressive performance of chakra control and skill as not even the flooring around the cup had been scorched under so much intense heat.

Sasuke watched Karin stand up to retrieve the cup from the floor with her sleeves pulled over her hands protectively, before casting his dark, unreadable gaze back down on the injured Anbu.

Slowly kneeling down next to the Hyuuga, Sasuke took the cloth off of his forehead, dipped it in the pail of water beside him, wrung out the access water from the material, and then brought the damp folds to Neji's cheek.

"Neji," Sasuke said out loud, trying to rouse the Hyuuga male from his restless sleep as he swept the cold cloth over the fine contours of Neji's pale, lovely face," …Neji, you need to wake up so you can drink this."

"Huh…? Ugh…"Neji voiced groggily, barely awake as he was made to sit upright by a couple sets of hands holding onto his shoulders and back.

Suigetsu held firmly onto Neji's tired form opposite Sasuke as he watched the Uchiha free a hand from Neji's arm to take the cup from Karin's outstretched hands and carefully bring it closer to the Hyuuga's mouth.

"Neji, drink this," Sasuke spoke again to the weary, partially responsive Anbu officer within his grasp as he touched the rim of the small, white cup to Neji's lips, letting him know that there was a cup right in front of him and that he needed to obey the Uchiha without question right now.

Much to Sasuke's astonishment and shrouded delight, Neji slowly tipped his head back and parted his full, petal-soft lips expectantly for the brew, although the whole gesture seemed far more sensuous to the Uchiha than it should.

Sasuke cleared his throat before cautiously tilting the cup over in a gradual manner, letting the brown, medicinal concoction pour slowly into Neji's opened mouth while still minding exactly how he was pressing the edge of the cup against Neji's supple bottom lip in the process.

The avenger watched in unabashed interest how Neji had closed his lips and swallowed down the liquid provided him, his Adam's apple briefly bobbing up and down his throat as he did so, completely trusting the solemn Uchiha in every way as he did exactly what he was told before lowering his head again.

"Whew! It's done; that means he's going to be okay!" Suigetsu proclaimed cheerfully as he smiled at Neji and Sasuke, the Hyuuga having closed his eyes again as he leant against Sasuke who was still helping him to sit up straight.

"Yeah…" Sasuke agreed as he slipped his arms underneath Neji's smaller frame, easily hoisting him off the floor as he stood so he could move him into the adjacent room where he could give the Hyuuga some privacy and allow him proper rest, "I'm going to make him a bed. He'll be staying with us tonight. And Karin…you did good work."

Karin's mouth fell open, not at all used to hearing praise of any kind from the typically harsh and curt Uchiha, as her blush returned to her cheeks as she clasped her hands together in gratitude and said, "Thank you, Sasuke! It was no trouble at all!"

Sasuke allowed the smallest of smirks to curve his lips at his comrade's undying loyalty to him before briskly walking into the next room, Neji's lithe form in tow, as he brought him into another long room where some of them were to sleep for the night.

A few futons already made up ahead of time, Sasuke, again, respectfully laid down the long-haired shinobi amongst one set of sheets and pillows, before sitting back on his haunches as he prepared to ready his wonderfully incapacitated captive for bed.

Neji's black shoes were pulled off his feet, his black-cloth wrappings around his calves were undone and set aside and Sasuke demonstrated tremendous patience and care as he hooked his fingers along the bottom hem of Neji's tight, black shirt and lifted the garment off of the charmingly unaware Hyuuga.

Sasuke mindlessly licked his luscious lips at the sight of the perfect, slender body laid out before him, Neji only wearing his simple, black pants, while the Uchiha's hungry eyes took in and appreciated all the various lines of lean muscle that carved the Hyuuga's truly erotic form where even his various, vicious-looking scars seemed to draw him in and arouse his senses.

The Anbu's broad chest sported one, round-shaped scar in particular where it seemed that something must have passed straight through him, but Sasuke's eyes hardly stayed on one place for too long as the Uchiha could not help but appreciate the sigh of Neji's strong shoulders and thick forearms, trim waist, and sinfully flat stomach.

However, Sasuke knew that making any kind of move on the elite Leaf ninja would be highly inappropriate and, more or less, inadvisable to his current situation of travelling the countries as a rogue, wanted ninja, and the handsome avenger pseudo-calmly got to his feet so he may find a spare kimono from one of their assembled packs.

The quiet raven finally located a light grey-blue kimono from Suigetsu's things, figuring that Neji was closer to his size anyway, and brought it back to the slumbering, recuperating Hyuuga before him, Neji's attractive face turned to the side as some of his lengthy, dark-colored mane spilled across his naked chest and over his shoulders.

Using fast, efficient maneuvers, Sasuke slipped the simple kimono around Neji's creamy, trim form, the thought fleetingly occurring to him that he was dressing a beautiful, life-size doll, before, with more affection in his touches, the Uchiha brought his hands to Neji's hair and pulled out the small, elastic band at the end that kept his long locks together.

Neji's silken tresses free now, Sasuke could not help but run his hands through the thick, mocha-colored mane, relishing in the sensations of the soft strands caressing in between his fingers as he combed through the Hyuuga's hair and made it so the long strands would drape over one of his shoulders.

"Beautiful," Sasuke whispered aloud, taking in the Hyuuga's rare, non-existent defenses as the stunning Anbu rested safely on top of the futon, now in comfortable attire and with his hair better fixed for him.

Finally, Sasuke drew one of the light-weight blankets up to Neji's chest, performing the last of tucking him in, before the Uchiha settled unceremoniously onto the futon next to him, breathing deeply now that he was off of his feet at last and was about to call it another day – the events of reuniting with Neji and then almost losing him proving to be more taxing to the Uchiha than he had originally surmised.

Then, Sasuke blinked his charcoal-colored eyes over to the peaceful, powerful man lying next to him as Neji began to softly stir in his sleep as he tiredly moved to lie on his side, his back now facing the observant Uchiha.

Sasuke turned on his side as well; facing the Hyuuga's sleeping form, as he propped his head up on a bent arm, looking over Neji as he considered him seriously for a moment.

"…sometimes you just know things about people…what they're really like, without ever having been told…"

Sasuke recalled the enigmatic words Suigetsu had said to him earlier, words that had made the Uchiha really ponder their merit and how they translated into what Sasuke was currently feeling about Neji – like he should know more about the elusive Hyuuga male since there was obviously so much that he did not, even though he could tell without a shred of doubt that it was there.

An intangible puzzle where he could already see some of the pieces clearly; Sasuke could absolutely feel that the Neji that had been ultimately trusting him with his life ever since they had met in the forest, was the real Neji behind all of his layers of training, problems, and strife.

Gingerly, Sasuke brought a deadly, strong hand up and swept Neji's hair down his back again, letting the lengthy, silken tresses pool in the space between their bodies, as Sasuke consequently rested his hand on the Hyuuga's upturned shoulder.

The nearly silent sounds of Neji's easier breathing were soothing as they were inebriating to the handsome, skillful Uchiha as he tenderly ran his hand down Neji's upper arm until his fingers coasted smoothly over the curve of Neji's waist, trailing even softer as they went back up the same path on his body – Sasuke's eyes on Neji's profile never wavering as he performed such intimate praise of the Leaf shinobi's frame.

Sasuke's large, sword-calloused hand resting on top of Neji's shoulder again, the Uchiha involuntarily rubbed his thumb up and down the kimono-covered flesh there in a loving, repetitive gesture that he was not completely aware that he was doing, before dipping his spiky, raven head down low towards the back of the Anbu officer's head.

The avenger serenely closed his eyes, genuinely cherishing such a silent, problem-free moment as a welcomed, velvety night neared around them, as he breathed the Hyuuga's scent in deeply, able to distinguish the light aromas of mahogany and cotton as well as some kind of sweet-smelling flower that hung heavily within Neji's long, cascading hair, Sasuke finding it impossibly effortless to calm his every nerve and well-honed alertness from such a combination of scents filling his senses.

"I think it's time…"Sasuke whispered into the rich, mocha tresses that tickled his cheeks as he nosed affectionately through some of the silken locks behind Neji's ear, his breath moving the strands only slightly as he remained possessively close to the resting Hyuuga while he spoke with multiple meanings lacing his words, "…that we become properly acquainted, Neji Hyuuga."

Author's Note: The crazy awesome title of this story is the name of the 57th verse of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu. Good stuff, people. Review it if you please, be sure to check out some of my other wacky stories, and have an outstanding day, yeah?