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Neji flinched as a sunbeam neared his ivory skin. His family was one of the lucky ones, if that’s what it could be called. Neji himself did not believe in luck, at least, not that it existed anymore. He believed that only misfortune still dwelled in the present and there was no one that was exempt from having it.

Although, one might still call him a bit spoiled.

The Great Raft had been drifting for as long as anyone remembered. Even the oldest of the elders had been born on it, as had their great grandfathers before them.

Neji came from the Hyuuga clan, a family that had been prestigious for as long as the Great Raft had been. The Elders believed that in the gathering of the Great Raft, the ancestors of the Hyuuga had been wealthy and contributed the most. For this reason the higher members of the Hyuuga clan did not go out in the sun, because they did not have to labor like everyone else.

He sat down in the hulls with a few air holes here and there to keep oxygen fresh and some windows to allow the light reflected from the water in. This was the only form of light that touched him during the day. At night, when he and his close relatives went into the open it was always by the moon.

Neji laid in his small cot, eyes closed, breathing even. To most it looked as though he were asleep, only his uncle, Hiashi, who had just entered the cabin was aware that his nephew was awake.

“Neji,” He said in a firm tone “The day is a time to be sleeping”

The younger Hyuuga frowned in his feigned slumber and replied without opening his eyes, “I know that, but I’m not tired”

Hiashi sat at the edge of his cot, “I know you did not sleep yesterday either. Is something wrong?”

Neji sighed, “I feel restless… But I’m really not tired” He finally opened his eyes and stared at the wooden ceiling that was illuminated by the light shining through the window. He knew Hiashi was staring at him, waiting for any sort of clarification, but he had none.

He listened as Hiashi got up and left, headed for his own cabin. Neji turned onto his side and stared at the wall. There was something going on, something that made his heart pound. When he did sleep, his dreams were like memories of events that had yet to take place. It frightened him.

He shut his eyes tight; things were not as they used to be, despite everyone else being blind to it. Neji opened his eyes, surrendering to the energy that burned through his body and prevented him from drifting into dreamland. It wasn’t like he actually wanted to sleep anyway.

The Hyuuga sat up in his bunk, his white shirt looking blue in the underwater light that barely lit his room. It was enough though, his eyes were special, they could see almost anywhere. He brushed invisible dust off his off-white, high water pants; movement was what he needed, just to keep moving.

The room that was his home during the day was only 8 feet by 10, with a bed, a window, a shelf and a small dresser. On the Great Raft, this was like royalty, but to Neji it seemed like a prison. His clothes were hard for him to look at, for some reason, while everyone else dressed in the scraps of material they managed to find, the Hyuuga saw fit to look at ghosts. The only part of him that would stand out against a cloud was his waist long, dark brown hair.

He idly brushed some away from his face as he looked at the floor solemnly, his hair remained silky and beautiful because he stayed out of sun, while everyone else on the Great Raft had hair that was bleached by the sun and dry from the salt sea air.

Neji’s ears perked up, there was a commotion above him. He looked towards his doorway and stood up.

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Up on top Neji had to wrap a large sackcloth around him to protect his sensitive skin. His eyes scanned the people as they rushed past him, grouping at one of the loading docks. He frowned and looked around, after a moment he spotted a ladder leading up to a small balcony.

He twisted his way through the mass of people and began to climb. Halfway he was able to see the figure that stood, surrounded by yelling men and women. He squinted in the bright sunlight, it was a boy, he looked kind of young, but he had the oddest, bright red hair that stood out in the crowd of brunettes and blondes.

Neji climbed down the ladder and began to weave through the people yet again, intent on getting closer.

Because most people were able to recognize who he was from his clean, white boots, he made his way easily to the edge of the deck where the mob had the redheaded boy pinned. When he reached his destination, he was able to hear the words.

“Where did you get these things boy?” Growled one of the large, burly men

“How did you get your hair that color?”

“Have you been to land?”

“He’s a thief!”

“He’s a freak!”

“He’s a monster!”

“Monster!”

“MONSTER!!”

Neji frowned, while he looked slightly older up close Neji still couldn’t imagine that he was any older than 16 or 17. He scooted closer, the redhead had dark green eyes that were glinting with annoyance. He blinked there were large dark rings around the boy’s eyes that faded as they got further away. ‘He probably sleeps less than I’ Pondered Neji, ‘… He must be a trader’

The boy sighed, “If there is nothing you can trade for me, then I will gladly leave”

Beliefs confirmed, Neji stood on his tip toes to see what was in the box at the redhead’s side.

Such things Neji had never seen before. There was a circular object, with numbers and two arrows that pointed to them(1 Clock); a small rectangle that had a bunch of smaller rectangle and more numbers and letters(2 Remote Controller); a metal thing that had another piece of metal sticking off of it(3 Hammer) and a stick that hooked at the end and had cloth and wire coming off it. (4 Umbrella)

Neji stared at the things curiously and then turned his eyes to the boy. He was dressed in a long sleeve white shirt, a black vest and dark maroon shorts that went halfway down his calves. His feet were bare and wet, he had obviously just arrived.

The man who had spoke first took a step forward and grabbed the collar of the boy’s shirt, “Yer not leavin’ yet! Where’d you git this stuff huh?”

The boy’s upper lip twitched and he grabbed the man’s wrist. The crowd of yelling people went silent when the man yelped loudly and fell to his knees. The redhead shook his head and fell backwards off the edge, into the water.

Neji gasped and ran to look over the edge, but the boy had already swam out of sight.

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Back in his cabin Neji sat on his bed. His excursion to the top during the day had been hours ago, ending with his uncle finding him and dragging him back. He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling still.

His thoughts stayed on the boy, he had left his things behind which had been divided by the crowd. No one knew where his boat was, all they knew was that he had suddenly appeared at one of the stations, asking if they would trade for food.

He frowned, so many questions ran through his mind as he thought of the boy. He hadn’t gotten as close as he wanted, so he did not get to ask.

As he mulled over his thoughts a tap at the window snapped him to attention. He looked over and gaped at the sight of the redhead from before floating in the water outside, glaring at him.

Neji stared at him silently for a moment and then blinked. The redhead crossed his arms impatiently and made the motion of tapping his foot in the water.

The Hyuuga was baffled, why was he able to be so at ease underneath the water? Then again… Why was his chest moving like that? Up and down, almost as if….

Neji kept his composure and mouthed ’the dock’ and pointed upwards.

The boy’s green eyes narrowed warily and Neji grabbed his blanket and held it up so the boy could see, then wrapped it around himself, indicating that he would be wearing it.

After a moment the stranger nodded and began swimming straight up.

Neji opened his door as quietly as possible and looked down each hall. After making sure the coast was clear he stole back up the stairs, feeling amused that he was doing it twice in one day.

He reached the dock yet again, it was nearing sundown so many people were back in their makeshift homes or near the bonfire that was lit every evening for roasting fish that had been caught earlier that day.

He ran to the dock and began walking along the edge, trying to catch a glance of red hair. Had it been any other normal person they would have searched all night. But Neji, with his eyes, caught the irregular movement of the water just before the young trader broke the surface.

Neji kneeled down and held his hand out, “Hurry, my family will be coming out soon”

The boy reached up and grabbed his hand and used the leverage to hoist himself up. Neji didn’t waste a second before he wrapped his blanket around the boy, covering his head and body and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, “Let’s go, now”

The redhead merely walked along with him, having to nearly jog as, Neji noted with a small amount of amusement, he was nearly a head shorter than the brunette.

They reached Neji’s cabin safely and the Hyuuga quickly shut the door and locked it. Before he could even turn around he heard the boy say, “To be honest I was sure you were going to get someone to try and harpoon me”

He turned and quirked an eyebrow, “Then why did you come to my window?”

The redhead shrugged as he absently ruffled his wet hair with Neji’s blanket, “You were the only one who was awake”

“I’m probably the only one who wouldn’t ‘get someone to harpoon’ you, Mr…”

The boy let the blanket fall to the floor, “Gaara, my name is Gaara”