Disclaimer: The story of “Naruto” just like its characters does not belong to me.

Main parings: Sasuke x Neji, Itachi x Neji.

Rate: R to NC-17

Summary: (Sequel to “Because of you”) AU, Sasuke has an obsession with Neji. The Hyuuga belongs to him he has decided, but if he had to fight against the past to keep him, maybe then he would understand how much he’s hurting them both.

Warnings: Yaoi, Some OOCness, dark themes, abuse, angst and my bad English (sorry, not my mother language)

Notes: Okay, story line…. Hum, I think I screw up the story line a little. Sorry. Anyway this fic starts somewhere after the chunnin exams but before the Retrieve Sasuke Arc.

Don’t like it? Leave now, thanks!

“A Distant Cry”

By Yersi Fanel

(Beta, TenshiXXX)

Chapter 1: His picture.

It was raining, but he did not notice. The rain was cold but it did not bother him just yet. His silver-white eyes were fixed in the back of the boy walking in from of him. He could see the Uchiha fan’s colors getting darker as the rain soaked the cloth. Neji clutched his elbows, embracing himself as he walked behind Sasuke, who had his hands inside his pockets and was not paying attention to him. Or at least Neji wished.

Sasuke suddenly stopped, causing Neji to almost collide against him. The Uchiha boy saw Neji over his shoulder. The boy was a mess. His hitai-ate was hanging from his neck, as he could not put it back on just yet; his forehead was killing him, while his hair band was the one covering his cursed seal. For the same reason his hair was not being held back as usual, so strips of dark brown and soaked hair were on his face. His creamy jacket was stained with mud same as his pants. His eyes were fixed on his shoes and he was trembling a little.

Sasuke couldn’t help but smirk.

The dark haired boy started to walk again, but this time Neji did not follow him. Sasuke noticed this when he was a couple meters away from the Hyuuga boy. Sasuke turned back and took Neji’s right wrist and dragged him the rest of the way.

Neji was lost is his thoughts. He couldn’t believe what has just happened. It was almost surreal. He refused to believe it, but then again, his sore body was telling him otherwise. The firm grip on his right wrist also confirmed the reality.

How could he let this happen?... Why he couldn’t prevent it?... What was he going to do now?

He did not wanted anyone to know that he was just been assaulted by a psychotic Uchiha Sasuke, who now seemed to see him as a possession. Neji couldn’t understand a single thing Sasuke had said to him as the whole…thing happened. He still couldn’t understand anything. Maybe that was what angered him the most, after the sole fact that Sasuke has just taken his chastity of course.

The boy was snapped out of his thoughts when Sasuke stopped again, this time in one of the currently lonely streets of Konoha. He let go of Neji and kissed him. Neji glared at him. Sasuke just smirked and took off to reach the Uchiha estates.

Neji stood there under the rain half an hour. He was clenching his fists so hard that his knuckles were white and if his nails were longer they would have pierced the flesh and made him bleed. He turned to walk to the Hyuuga manor but in the middle of a side street he tripped over his feet and fell onto the muddy ground.

Neji clenched his teeth, hard.

-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

The taijutsu specialist, Rock Lee, was walking down the street with a bag of groceries in one arm and a traditional Japanese umbrella in the other hand. He was humming while walking, not really paying attention to the street, until something caught his attention. His team mate, Neji, had just fallen onto the floor and was not getting up.

Lee ran to where he was, kneeling besides him to cover them both with his umbrella, though it looked useless after seeing Neji’s already soaked cloths.

“Neji?” asked the boy. But there was no reply “Neji, what happened?” It was more than obvious that something was wrong now, but Lee could not tell what.

Silver-white eyes encountered deep black. Neji tried to back off. Black eyes, black eyes, Sasuke’s black eyes, was the only thing his mind registered. Lee dropped the groceries and caught Neji by the arm before he could get up. The expression on his face got even more worried. Then was when Neji processed the reality. The person in front of him was Rock Lee, not Sasuke.

“L-Lee?”

“Yes, it’s me” confirmed the green beast “Neji, you are hurt! Let me take to the hospital!”

“No!” shouted the boy in almost horror “No…no, I’m fine, I’m fine”

Lee could see that Neji was everything but fine, but he did not wanted to drag his friend to hospital if he really seamed so disturbed by just the idea. However, he was not going to leave him there.

“Then I’ll take to my house. Like I said, you are hurt. I can’t leave you here” Neji blinked when Lee offered him his hand and a soft smile. Neji sighed. He was so tired…

He took Lee’s hand.

-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

Sasuke was staring at his brother’s old room. He reached the door and opened it, walking in the dark could room. The boy turned on the light and searched with his eyes for something. He kneeled in front of where the futon was suppose to be and reached a floorboard on the floor. In the hole was a large box. He took it and opened it.

Inside the box were Itachi’s journal, some scrolls, pencils, carbon pieces, and a portfolio filled with drawings. Sasuke blinked. On his face was no emotion. He opened the portfolio taking some of the drawings, then placed four on the floor and kept some in his hands.

The first pictured was of a little boy with long black hair. He was blindfolded, hugging himself. The picture ended at the boys waist. In the second picture was the same boy, dressed in a black yukata, blindfolded again. He was standing by a tree in what seemed to be snow, holding a bloody kunai. The snow was stained in some parts. The third pictured showed the same boy, still blindfolded, sitting on the edge of a river. His mouth was slightly open and his head was inclined to the side, making his hair fall into his of his hands was supporting him and the other was resting on his lap.

The fourth picture was the one that, the first time he saw it, reveal the identity of the boy. In this picture, the boy was a little older. He was standing against a tree, his hair was in the air, he wasn’t smiling and his eyes were looking at the floor…

White eyes without pupils.

Sasuke looked at the other pictures; almost all were of the same boy… Hyuuga Neji.

The first time Sasuke saw his brother drawing, he was doing a picture of Neji. But he didn’t know the boy was Neji. Sasuke always thought of the boy in the pictures as one of Itachi’s strange ways to represent his ideas on paper. Sasuke didn’t understand why the boy was always blindfolded in the drawings.

Sasuke looked at the drawings in his hands. There were some of him, some of landscapes around Konoha and other things, but there were more portraits of Itachi’s mystery boy than other themes.

The young Uchiha stayed there by a candle light in silence, just staring at the drawings.

“Niisan!”

“What is it, Sasuke?”

“What are you drawing?”

“A portrait” The little boy crawled around his brother to look over his shoulder. He stood up and saw it.

“Who is he? I have never seen someone like him in the estates”

“He is not an Uchicha, Otouto, that’s why you had never seen him” Sasuke blinked at the picture. A little boy standing in the middle of a river, blindfolded. The water was covering him to the waist and his hands were trying to reach the sky.

“Why is he blindfolded, Niisan?”

Itachi smiled at his little brother and gave him a piece of paper and a carbon crayon. Sasuke got distracted, took the items and started to draw beside his brother, forgetting about the question.

Sasuke was holding the drawing of the boy in the river. He closed his eyes and looked over his shoulder. There was his brother’s journal still inside the box. The young ninja was not sure if he wanted to read it again. Sasuke looked at the pictures again, then at the journal. The genin let go of the picture and crawled to the box, taking the journal in his hands.

-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

Lee was making some tea. He looked over his shoulder to Neji. Said boy was on the couch wearing some clothes that he had borrowed from Lee. Green loose pants and an oversize black shirt with the Konoha leaf on the back. His hitai-ate was hanging on his neck.

Neji had his knees against his chest and his arms around his legs. His eyes were closed and he had not move since Lee let go of him after treating his wounds. He had bandages on his forehead, wrists and torso. Lee didn’t asked how he got the wounds, since Neji seemed like he didn't want to tell him. The taijutsu specialist was worried.

“Tea’s ready” Lee’s voice made Neji open his eyes. The boy saw the cup filled with a steaming liquid. Neji reached the cup and drank a little, tasting the different spices of it.

“…thanks”

“You like this particular tea the most, right?” Lee sat besides him and was trying to make Neji feel more comfortable. That was why he almost destroyed his kitchen trying to find the tea. It was a variety called chai which was made with black tea as a base and different spices.

“Yes…” the boy answered looking at the cup “Where did you get it? The only person I know that makes it here in Konoha is Hinata-sama”

“She gave it to me as a gift a while ago” was Lee’s reply “She also toll me you like it” the boy took a bit of his own cup and smiled. Neji blinked at him, nodding slowly and returned his attention to the tea. “Oh! I’m sorry; it was suppose to be made with milk, right? Sorry I got it wrong”

“Its okay Lee. I like it both ways, milk or water, thank you” Neji was starting to relax a little. Lee smile from behind his cup at this.

“I was wondering why you didn’t come to the train today. It is unusual for you to skip training sessions” he said in low voice. Neji moved his legs to press his knees against his chest a little more.

“I…I…”

“Its okay if you don’t want to tell me” said Lee. Neji looked at him then closed his eyes, gripping the cup “I’m just worry… because you are my friend”

“Lee… is just… I don’t… sorry”

“Don’t apologies. It's fine” Lee smiled at him, trying to support his friend. If Neji did not wanted to talk right know, he would wait.

The brunette finished his tea end left the cup on the table. Lee watched the clock. It was already passed midnight.

“Stay here tonight. It’s late and is raining. I’ll set a futon for you, come one” Lee offered. Neji did not feel like going home at the moment, so he stayed.

-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

Sasuke stared at the pages of Itachi’s journal. He was trembling with rage a little and clenching his teeth, reading every word carefully.

“Today I found what I can describe as the single unique thing that holds back my frustration towards every one…well, may be not Sasuke. He’s too naïve to know what is to get advances using others… like father does with me… I cannot say if that is a positive or negative thing for him. Honestly, at the moment I don’t care.

Because today I found this lovely creature… long dark brown hair, bright opal eyes. He was in the woods near were I use to train, trying to find something as I far as I could tell… such a gorgeous creature I found…”

The boy closed the journal and looked at the drawing at his feet. The little blindfolded boy in the woods, looking for something… if the boy was looking for something, why Itachi draw him blindfolded? Sasuke shook his head; it didn’t matter, because Itachi could not have him anymore. Neji belonged to Sasuke now, and he was going to make sure that the fact stayed sole.

Even repeating that to himself, he was curious about what was going on in Itachi’s mind. At least at that time. Which was what drove him to read his brothers journal and to keep the drawings

Sasuke let out a heavy sigh and opened the journal again…

“I followed him closely this morning. He is being trained in to his clan’s bloodline limit. Today there was a little girl with him. She is pretty, but I’m only interested in him. The little girl is fun to watch though. She has been rejected and she knows it, but I can tell she holds great power that her foolish father can’t see. Anyway… that is not my problem. That mistake is going to cost him and his clan a lot in the future, I’m sure.

Looks like he is trouble in how to act with this girl, because he seems to care for her but hates her father with passion. I wonder why.

Returning to my previous statement, now I know why he comes near my training area. Part of his training consists of locating objects that his mentor has hidden in the village and the training areas… maybe I can use that to my advantage in the future”

Sasuke spotted one of the portraits that was not about Neji. This one showed Hinata. Her eyes were covered by her hair and her hands were against her chest as if she was praying and were bound. She had wings that enclosed her body like a shield and was on the top a cage. In the bottom of the cage was Neji, still blindfolded. His wings were broken.

The younger Uchiha closed the journal and placed it with the drawings back in the box, closing it after everything was in order again. He didn’t return it to the hole in the floor though. Sasuke took the box with him and went to his room.

Smiling to himself, Sasuke prepare to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day. Because he was going to see Neji.

-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

Lee opened his eyes in the middle of the night. He had just heard unusual little sounds. Looking to his right the saw the cause. Near him was Neji. The boy was sleeping but seemed to be having a nightmare. Lee sat up and watched his friend in the futon besides his own.

Neji was gripping the sheets and moving. His face showed a pained expression. He rolled on his futon and went into a fetal position, clenching his teeth.

“Stop…” he whispered in his nightmare. Lee was going to touch him but he didn’t, unsure of what was going to be Neji’s reaction “…please stop”

Lee moved Neji and the boy woke up.

“You where having a nightmare” the dark haired boy explained. Neji looked at him with blank eyes and nodded, then went back to sleep.

Lee watched Neji for about 15 minutes, making sure the boy was plain sleep without having another nightmare, and then sighed.

“What happened to you, Neji?...”

-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

In the morning, Neji came back to his house and the first person he saw was Hinata. She was getting ready to train with her team.

“Neji-niisan. Good morning” she said. Neji nodded as a greeting.

“Good morning Hinata-sama” She looked at Neji’s clothes. He was still wearing the ones he borrow from Lee. In his arms were his dirty ones.

“You stayed training until late with Lee-kun?”

“Yes…” he lied “I just came to take a shower and get another set of clothes. I’ll go and train today too”

“I understand” she said without looking at him. Neji could tell that she was not saying something, but he hoped that she would not ask him anything.

“I’ll leave then” He pass her but she took his hand. Neji looked at her over his shoulder.

“Take care, Niisan” She let go of him, took her shoes and went out of the house.

Neji looked at the door for a minute. Yes, Hinata saw pass his mask. He cursed himself for it, even though he knew that Hinata could read him every single time, he was actually hoping that this time she couldn't.

The boy took a shower, letting his sore body be splashed with the warm water. After a few minutes, he finished and dried out himself with a towel. In his room he got a set of clean cloths. His normal black shorts and his cream jacket. He changed the bandages on his forehead and put on his hitai-ate. The pain was less now and he could used it in place again.

Neji brushed his hair and the tied it in a lose ponytail. He looked at the mirror. His image was normal again, yet he felt so empty…

The brunette sighed and went out of his room, walking to the main door of the Hyuuga estates. Once he got his shoes one, he open it.

“Morning” Neji’s eyes encountered with Sasuke’s and the Hyuuga wished he had never opened the door.

“What are you doing here?” Neji closed the door behind him. Sasuke glared as if he had just asked a very stupid question.

“I came to pick you up, obviously” was the reply “Let’s go” Sasuke started to walk but Neji stayed still. The Uchiha looked at him “You want me to drag you? Because I’ll do it if you stay there”

“Uchiha, leave me alone” Neji glared daggers at him but Sasuke ignore him completely. Neji was about to take off in another direction when Sasuke appear behind him and took his right arm against his back, pressing in an almost painful angle.

“You come with me, Hyuuga. You belong to me now, in case you don’t remember” Sasuke’s voice whispered in his ear. Neji closed his eyes clenching his teeth.

“I’m not an object, Uchiha” Neji broke free of Sasuke’s grip but when was about to attack him, his eyes meet sharingan and Neji felt as if someone has just took his breath away. Remembering the night before, he stayed still.

Sasuke took Neji’s wrist and dragged the boy with him.

-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

He didn’t liked the Uchiha estates. Everything was so silent that you could almost hear you own heart at a normal pace. He also didn’t like the place because Sasuke’s house was very deep in them, leaving the alive streets far behind.

Neji was sitting against a wall in Sasuke’s room, his knees near his upper body and his hands at his sides. The Uchiha took a large drawing book and a set of carbon crayons from a box and sat in front of him.

“What are you doing?” Neji asked but Sasuke did not bother to answer. The black haired boy looked at him with a cold face.

“Take off your clothes”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. You do it or I’ll make you. You choose” Neji narrowed his eyes. Sasuke put the drawing book aside and crawled up to him, getting a grip on his jacket.

“Stop!” But he didn’t. Sasuke used one hand to press Neji’s face against the wall and the other to take off his jacket, shorts and boxers, leaving him just with his hitai-ate covering his forehead.

“Now put your knees up again and your arms at your sides then stay still” Neji didn’t move. “You are too stubborn for your own good”

Sasuke forced him into the position he wanted and then crawled away from him. Neji then opened his eyes. Sasuke was drawing. The Hyuuga blinked in confusion.

“Let your hair fall free” Sasuke ordered, not looking up from his drawing book. Neji didn’t wanted Sasuke near him in his current state, in other words naked, so he did as Sasuke had commanded.

Neji was silent the whole time. The same held true with Sasuke. The opal-eyed boy was feeling a strange atmosphere of dejá vu, but he couldn't decern the reason.

Sasuke was drawing with great grace. Just like Itachi, he could draw Neji perfectly with his sharingan. But it was not necessary. Sasuke was not going to copy his brother’s drawings of his Neji. He was going to make his own, now that he had the model to himself.

The Uchiha looked over his drawing. Neji was looking at him with confusion in his bright opal eyes, not moving a muscle, trying to cover his lower body. Sasuke smirked.

“Perfect” he whispered looking at the drawing. The first of many. Sasuke put the drawing book to one side and now crawled towards Neji. Opal eyes saw red coming closer. Neji closed his eyes as a voice whispered in his ear.

“Perfect…mine”

To be Continue…

I have a very, very evil alter-ego and poor Neji-kun is my victim because I love him. Muhahahaha! …What?

Chai Tea: It is an India variety of Tea that I enjoy very much. It is delicious. Made with ¾ milk and the rest with water and sugar, or just plain water and sugar.

I’m trying to get better at speaking English. And, well, practicing is the only way I know to achieve that. So, enjoy the story, thanks for your time. Any questions, I’m at your service.