Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ 30 Loving Hates ❯ Blood Red Eyes ( Chapter 1 )

Title: Blood Red Eyes.
Author: Kitsune of Darkness
Pairing: Itachi/Neji
Fandom: Naruto
Theme: # 19. Red Ô
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I don’t own it nor do I imply that I do. I am only borrowing the Naruto characters and world for my fun, only to return them once I have had my fill of them. (Though they may be slightly more wrinkled/torn/disturbed/or whatever else then when I took them.)
A/N: Alright this came to me suddenly and wouldn't let go so I had to write it, I only hope it's good enough for this pairing. Please tell me what you think.

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Neji had always hated the color red.

It had always haunted him as a child, reminding him of blood. He always refused to wear it, even when Hinata would hold up a beautiful silk shirt for him to try on when they were younger. The boy would shake his head backing up slowly until he reached the door, always leaving a hurt girl to stare at where he had been.

For Neji red always brought a deeply inner fear out of him...A fear of blood. The ninja never told another living soul of the fear he harbored, even when he was young. A ninja to be scared of blood! Neji could hear the taunts that would have rang so loudly. A ninja that would shed the blood of others and be covered in his own.

When he saw a robin with a deeply crimson breast, Neji never saw a beautifully colored bird. Instead he only saw a small bird that had blood gushing from his chest. Neji had learned over the years to hide his reactions to the color. Soon he had learned to steel himself against the real thing too; Neji learned to never flinch when he saw blood gush from a wound, to hold back that gag reflex when he tasted his blood from a punch that had jolted his teeth. He learned to steady himself before he forced the final blow that would cause blood to fly from his enemy.

But as ready as Neji had made himself, he was unprepared for what a pair of red eyes would do to him.

The first time he had seen Itachi, Neji barely looked towards the covered ninja. He was on a mission to the battlegrounds and random people along the way were no worry for him. The ninja radiated of power- but so did almost everyone else in the town- but he seemed content enough on not provoking an attack. So Neji passed by him, casting a quick enough glance at the other's face to notice blood red eyes.

The silver eyed teen shuddered as he glanced quickly back at the ground; those eyes had been too close to the color of blood. More then any shirts that Hinata had given him, more then the red-breasted Robins he saw flying around. But it had not mattered to him.

But as time went on, Neji noticed the red eyed ninja around more and more. Most of the time he stood off to the side, staring into the town from the gates. And he noticed every time he saw those eyes, the initial disgust he felt, melted away until all that was left was wondering.

Wondering why he had such red eyes, who he was, and why he always stood by the town's gates.

Day by day he found a reason to get closer to those eyes...A mysterious cat that somehow found a way to jump the impossibly high walls. A false threat that Neji 'thought' he felt.

Always he gave the red eyed ninja a side glance, forcing himself to look into his eyes.

Then one day it happened, Neji was unable to give a good reason why he was standing next to Itachi.

"What do you want?" The taller ninja spat barely giving Neji a second look.

Neji had no tale to tell...So he stood there, shrugging his shoulders, looking off to the side, pretending to be bored.

Itachi had shook his head before disappearing into the thick woods beyond the gates.

And that had started it all. From that point on the two would hang out, neither would talk at first. Each spending the time in their own thoughts. Neji would loose himself in Itachi's eyes while Itachi would stare into the village in silence.

Slowly as time went on the two would begin to form a relationship. At first they talked about stupid things...Neji would talk about what had happened the day before. Itachi would tell stories of his family and his brother...Long ago stories. The stories always were sad, and if Neji was more inclined to show his emotions he would have cried at some of them.

That had been four months ago. And what a weird way to meet each other, almost like those 'how I meet your mom' on crack moments. They no longer stood along the gates of Kohona. Instead taking refuge deep in the middle of the woods where no one would happen upon them. Neji had learned two months ago that Itachi was a missing nin- though his crimes remained hidden. Itachi's status never fazed Neji- he never thought of turning the taller ninja in. Something in those red eyes would never have allowed him to.

Standing in the middle of the forest Neji glanced over at Itachi, who was resting on the ground, his left leg bent so that his knee was at chin height. His arm rested lightly on his knee. Neji knew that this was the most rested the other would ever allow himself to be. Tired of the silence that was looming between the two of them, Neji walked over to the giant tree, sitting next to Itachi.

"Can you promise to keep a secret?" Neji stared at his clenched hands, out of the side of his eye Neji saw Itachi nod slightly. Breathing deeply he added, "And promise not to laugh." Another nod.

"Alright, remember when we first used to meet inside the gates. I always had some lame excuse for why I was around where you were." Itachi grunted in agreement at the lameness of the excuses, smirking Neji lightly slapped at the other's arm before continuing, "The real reason I always hung around was I was looking at your eyes." Neji leaned against the rough bark his eyes searching the branches above. "Your eyes are red," Neji glanced over at Itachi's eyes, staring at them as he continued, "and red is the one color I used to hate. It always brought a fear of blood to me. A stupid fear considering I'm a ninja. But still... I learned to hide it, but your eyes just struck me. I mean they are the closest to blood that I had seen in a while."

Itachi blinked at the confession, slightly confused at what brought it on. "Do you still feel that way about red?"

"Hmm," Neji looked back up at the branches as he tried to think of an answer, one that would not sound as lame as the excuses he used to come up with or as wimpy as his fear of the color red. Pushing himself to his knees, Neji smiled as he stared into Itachi's eyes. "No, not anymore. Now I can think of red as something else then red. I can connect the color red with your eyes." Leaning forward he pressed his lips to Itachi's in an awkward kiss.

Itachi could tell that it was the teen's first real kiss that he had shared. Gently he brought a hand up, his thumb caressing the back of Neji's head as he gently took lead on the kiss. Slowly he pulled away, enough to let Neji gasp for air before bringing their lips together again. Neji grasped Itachi's shoulder, squeezing it lightly as he moaned into the newly started kiss. Pulling away Neji stared at the blood red lust filled eyes.

"Mmm, yeah now I can think of red eyes that I love to stare at all day long." Leaning forward Neji brought his lips back to Itachi's drowning in another soul searing kiss.

For some reason I just don't like how this one turned out. It just seems off somehow. Hmm....Wanna tell me what you think?