❝They wanna see you do good, but never better than them. Remember that.❞ - Neji

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THREE:

A STRANGER IN THE NIGHT

Steam wrapped around his naked body as he stood beneath the hot water. His muscles welcomed their refreshing touch, and he relished in the feelings of being alone. Dry blood melted into red tears that streamed along the goosebumps on his skin, leaving behind clean wounds and deformed scars as they propelled towards the marble floor.

Neji hadn't bothered turning a light on before stepping inside the small bathroom, having realized there was no point in doing so. With no bandages covering his eyes, hiding them from the glaring world felt easier when only darkness surrounded him. Placing a hand on a slippery surface, he let the comforting waters soak him and take away his worries and confusion - if only for a moment.

With the drip drip from the last drops of water echoing in the background, he searched for his trousers and almost tripped over the hem before managing to put them on.

Three days had passed, three days of dullness and dejection. Family and friends had visited during those lonely hours, yet their attempts to cheer him up had always ended up falling in a cloud of empty promises. There was a hole in his damaged heart that only became bigger with each passing day, with each visit; with the suffocating realization that the world he knew was fading in a dark pound of distant memories.

People moved on from a devastating war and witnessed new sunrises, taking back their lives and growing together. But he was stuck in the past; unable to see the world changing, to hold hands with those shifts and push towards new beginnings. And that realization only made him feel disconnected from everyone, alone in a world that became less recognizable by the minute.

Hands reaching and gliding along the wall, Neji pushed the door open and shuffled towards his worst enemy - that bed in the corner of the room, next to a widow which never opened. A precaution, the nurses had explained. He had scoffed.

His bare feet made no noise as he carefully made its way over, but he winced as his toe bumped in the leg of the bedside table. He chastised himself for having forgotten about it, before his hand knocked the lamp on the floor.

"Damn it," he muttered while reaching down to pick it up.

Neji felt her presence just as his fingertips found hers in the darkness. Startled, he froze and remained crouched as she grabbed his hands and helped him up.

"Let me."

Unable to utter a word in his shocked state, Neji could only let her guide him. Her skin was cold, but incredibly smooth; her touch was firm, yet soft.

"Sayoko?"

He felt her pause, before a hum echoed in the air between them.

"So you remember," she commented in her light, melodic voice.

As her hand let go of his and she stepped away, part of his mind complained about the sudden lack of warmth. But he caught himself, surprised by his own thinking. He heard her place the fallen lamp on its natural spot, and he followed her footsteps with a tilt of his head.

"You figured it out, didn't you?" she inquired after some seconds of palpable hesitation. She walked inside the bathroom as her voice echoed around him, and he noticed she hadn't flicked the switch to turn the light on.

"I know you're not a nurse," Neji granted while using a towel to dry his long hair. "I know you're not from Konoha; otherwise you would just visit during the day, instead of sneaking inside."

As she approached his sitting form, she hummed again. "What else?"

Nothing, he replied mentally. But his pride made him swallow his words, and he remained silent.

"I'm going to venture to guess that your curiosity is what's keeping you from mentioning me to your friends," she mused. "You sense no threat from me, which also helps your reasoning. And you think I could have the answers you're seeking."

A smirk formed on his lips before he could catch himself.

"Am I that easy to read?"

There was an amused edge in her voice when she replied, "Your actions speak for themselves. Why else would you stay up late, on edge as if waiting for something - or someone? You're curious, and dare I say, interested."

His nose scrunched as he hardened his features. "Have you been watching me?"

Quiet laughter escaped her and mingled with the hot air, and his ears found the sound rather pleasant.

"You're an interesting man, Neji. It's only natural that I'm curious as to why - of all people - you'd be the one she decided to save from death," Sayoko said cryptically, and he could almost feel her intense stare watching his reaction. "There must be something about you that made her do it."

His body stilled, and all traces of amusement faded from his pale face.

"You know who saved me," he stated, which earned him yet another hum from Sayoko.

"You could say that."

Opening his mouth to ask more about that person who had saved his life, he was abruptly interrupted by her.

"Don't ask me about her. I may know her, but only as an acquaintance." Her voice was harsh, with an underlying tone of annoyance that only increased his curiosity - but in a different way. "I have no idea why she did it. And I'm not here to fulfil your fantasy of finding her."

Neji was speechless by her sudden mood swing. Not only did she feel completely different from the collected, confident person he'd met three days ago, but her voice was also that of someone dangerous - someone in darkness, like he would say.

Instead of pressing on the matter, he accepted her wish and directed the topic somewhere else. Knowing for a fact that she had answers, the last thing he wanted was for her to recoil and disappear with them. Besides, if he were to be honest, there was something oddly soothing in her presence.

She was a stranger, and perhaps, that was what he needed at that moment: Someone willing to listen and help; someone who wouldn't judge or try to cheer him up with empty words.

"Why are you here, then?"

He felt her stepping closer, fumbling with something and placing things on the bed next to him. The mattress sank under their light weight, and he frowned when his attempt to find out what they were was blocked by a slap of her hand.

"I'm familiar with the technique performed on you to save your life," Sayoko murmured. "Call it fate or pure coincidence - I don't care. But I stumbled upon that glade when you had just died. I watched you get revived."

A chill rolled down his spine when her cold fingers met his hot stomach, causing him to jump in surprise.

"Some of your wounds have reopened," Sayoko explained calmly, but his body didn't ease up. "Relax, I'm just patching you up."

Unable to stop himself, he opened his eyes. A wave of disappointment clenched around his heart; there was nothing for him to glimpse at, only darkness. Her hands paused in what they were doing, before a sigh escaped her.

"I told you not to use them, Neji. It's way too early," she said in a soft voice. "You'll only hurt them more by doing this. Close them."

Obliging, Neji kept his negative emotions at the back of his mind and held in a breath when her fingers pushed his wet hair away from his face. Why was he letting her touch him? Swiftly, he snatched her wrist and pursed his lips in a thin line.

"What are you trying to do, Sayoko?" he demanded to know, voice hard. "Why are you helping me? You don't know me, so tell me. Why?"

His fingers dug into her wrist, and he felt her pulse - steady, calm; as if his reaction was expected.

"This person who saved you... I hate her - what she is... I don't understand her, and it's unnerving," she hissed, but made no attempt to rip her wrist out of his tight grip. "When I saw her saving you, I realized something. I wanted to understand her mind, and for that, I needed to figure you out. Why you?"

His eyebrows pulled together, but he let go and stayed still as she wrapped new bandages around his head. Once his eyes were covered, Neji ventured to ask, "Why are you adamant to understand someone you hate?"

Sighing, the woman shuffled away and took her warmth from him again. "Because only when you understand someone are you able to defeat them. Because she has something I've always wanted but never found."

Neji tilted his head, trying to see her through layers of obstacles. "What?"

"Real happiness," she replied without hesitation.

Taken aback by her honest answer, Neji could only wonder about that mysterious woman - about her past, too. What kind of history must one have in order to not know real happiness?

"So, the only reason you're here is to be one step closer to the person you hate?"

"Oh? You almost sound disappointed," Sayoko teased before sobering up. "Don't get too involved, Neji. Think of this as a mutual agreement. Since I know the technique used on you, I can simply extend it day by day until your heart and eyes recover; instead of treating your wounds and giving you rest. In return, I will find out what makes you so special."

The young man ran a hand along his face, mulling her words over. He wanted to say that there was nothing special about him, but her first sentence made him pause. Don't get too involved? What kind of request was that?

"Fine by me," he ended up muttering.

After all, there was nothing he wanted more than getting his sight back and being able to leave that place.

"Understand that as soon as you can see again and I've found my answers, I will leave," she added while placing a hand on his bare chest. "I'm a drifter, Neji."

His heart betrayed him by jumping in surprise, but Neji allowed her to push him back, until he was lying on the hard mattress. Feeling her small hand over his covered eyes, he took a deep breath.

"Who really are you, Sayoko?"

Two fingers tapped his forehead lightly, and his conscience slipped away. Before darkness consumed his mind, however, her voice echoed in his head.

"That's for you to never find out."