This is a character study of Neji were he female. As such, this is an AU and there's plenty of serious OOC going around, but there's a reason for everything I do. What that means is everything in this fic should be considered canonical to the confines of this fic only.
This is a serious work and from now on the chapters will most likely be drabble sized, but not necessarily drabbles. Each and every chapter contributes an important parting note and will not exist for the sake of existing. There also won't be any romance.
Otherwise, I am keeping characters in character within the confines of this fic. People will change. Interactions are different. Relationships that never existed before in canon suddenly appear, while other canon existing relationships will be shown in an altered light. I will remain true to the canon plot and my Neji is only similar to canon!Neji because both will generally experience the same things, but both may react and grow in different ways.
That said, an agnostic is someone who intellectually acknowledges the uncertainty of all claims to ultimate knowledge. We all know what the canon, fate-spouting, cocky ass Hyuuga Neji was like before Naruto knocked him out with a punch. This is how I pull off mine.
When Neji was an academy student, she was a small slip of a girl. Secretly, that was one of the pettiest causes of agitation for her during recess, training, and study hours. Somehow, she appeared as dainty and refined as her surname implied despite her despairingly unfeminine habit of throwing on whatever clothes suited best at the time. It served well enough for formal occasions that called for such demeanors, but in everyday matters...
Despairingly is an apt term because it was the Hyuuga women who liked to look out for her who despaired over her choices in clothing. They never understood that with Neji practical was everything. They also were a large majority of housewives with little shinobi in their ranks.
The clan wasn't a good enough reason, nor their reputation. Her rapidly growing favor with the academy administration and the admiration of allies and rivals alike put a stop to any grumbling complaints of Hyuuga elders who saw one of the clan in riffraff clothing.
But she never was one of them, even when she bore honor to the clan.
And because Neji knew all of that, she had become increasingly frustrated with the sycophantic behavior of the village. In her eyes, only the Hokage was the true dignified front of the world's strongest hidden village.
In her academy days, such cautious reverence from chunnin instructors, due to her clan, was also frustrating. She felt disappointed, cheated even, with the curriculum of the school because it didn't seem to suit her at all and she couldn't quite grasp how it was supposed to help her.
Despite what others may have thought of her, she was not dignified, thoughtful, soft spoken, or even a genius. All she had were slights against her by her own clan and drive.
It was when she was being proclaimed prodigy, genius, talented that finally sent her off in a fury, pushing past hapless villagers and running off into the forest, of all places.
Unfortunately, it would be her first real encounter with the boy named Rock Lee. She still had to decide whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.
Rock Lee was a marginally normal boy if you only ignored his fanaticism involving painful after school workouts, as his taijutsu was too pathetic to be attributed as training, and his particular drive to show the world that he, too, could become a shinobi. It was an attitude that was off putting to Neji simply because he was that loud. His energy sickened her, his enthusiasm made her cringe, and overall he was a strange creature that she did not understand.
They collided that day. Not literally, but in a way that clashed so much it was a little painful to see. The results could only be described as horrifying.
Rock Lee dropped his training at a heartbeat and challenged her, more of an awkward assault than anything, really. However, Neji easily, and furiously, complied, finding her future teammate a convenient object to vent upon.
Unsurprisingly, Lee lost, and that marked his first defeat at the hands of his self-proclaimed rival. Years later and he was still challenging her, although by then it would simply be a force of habit and genuine desire.
After that day, though, Neji felt a little calmer, a bit more composed to face the world again. What she didn't expect was a new component in the equation of her tiring life.
Rock Lee.
One thing led to another, and suddenly the hot-headed dropout was following her around everywhere leading to the disgruntling medley of annoyed instructors, jealous classmates, and one irate Hyuuga. It was clear who was the most aggravated out of the bunch.
And although the attitude of his peers degenerated and worsened and Neji was learning sharper, newer insults, none of that ever deterred Lee. Eventually, Neji tiredly accepted her fate and moved on, but always on edge when the next glomp would come around the corner.
Finally, she realized, in some twisted way, Rock Lee actually liked her. Having this revelation gave an unpleasant churn in her gut and, disgusted, she confronted the boy about his supposed feelings when she realized the problem was much worser than she thought.
The boy wasn't crushing on her or even in love with her. No, even the latter would have been preferable. Instead, Rock Lee was obsessed with her.
Disturbed, even more disgusted, and now uneasy with the situation, Neji pounded his face into the ground only to see that he was grinning earnestly at her, as if elated to know that Neji finally knew of his true, true feelings. Towards her. And it was such an unorthodox situation that, alternatively frustrated and exasperated, Neji left the scene in a hurry to forget the previous events.
It was not to be. Years passed and Lee's continued embarrassing episodes never ceased, and then they were put on the same team.
There were...no words to describe Neji's displeasure.
Ah, but they'd been through the same routine over and over so Neji, at least, knew what to expect. What she didn't quite predict was the unfortunate...effect Gai-sensei would have on the boy. A very undesirable effect, a change that warped Rock Lee into a boy Neji found more horrifying than the last.
It was honestly not long until Lee started to dress in green. Much to her mortification, he still insisted on gross displays of public affection. It was absurd. It was abnormal. It was...Lee.
Lee was like a fungus. After a very long time, he grew on you.
That was another source of agitation for her, that Lee had grown on her to the point where long silences seemed strange.
Throughout their history, they eventually came to an unspoken agreement. It was left unsaid that if Lee toned down his behavior a little around her that she would deign to train with him as an equal would. Surprisingly, despite her inbred Hyuuga arrogance, she held true to her word. She treated him as an equal, but only on the battlefield.
It was also left unsaid that while Neji had the sliest, subtlest, and quickest method of fighting, her taijutsu was subpar. She never learned the Hyuuga taijutsu style and had to compensate through feverishly studying the academy standard and scrutinizing clansmen in their rare, unguarded moments.
But Neji covered her faults and thatched it over in the only way she knew how, by creativity. Forcing her mind to develop in such a way that she was endlessly watching, noting, remembering, and dissecting, Neji could be tentatively called a genius in the true sense of the word through mind power alone.
However, it was a small reward for what she considered to be one of the greatest slights done against her in all the years that her clan had done her wrong.
Kunoichi training was strictly a supplement to a regular rank. It was optional, but eventual experience in this field was preferred the higher you progressed. The rumors of whether men could participate were sketchy, at best, so it was assumed that, just as the name implied, training as a kunoichi was only for kunoichi.
Poisons. Blades. Subterfuge. Obfuscation. These were all valid points in favor of the specialized training and, contrary to belief, kunoichi didn't sell themselves out as whores even if they went around town proclaiming what should have gone unsaid. Strangely, and frustratingly, most non-kunoichi cannot separate the two preoccupations from each other while the elite simply shook their heads and sighed.
However, as all female shinobi were trained to some degree in arts during their academy years, it was hard to tell who had the basics and who had the true training because the shrewder women kept it under wraps.
But in a clan like the Hyuuga there was no excuse for having a taste of anything of the sort. For example, despite the huge medicinal potential of using Byakugan during procedures it wasn't allowed. Hyuuga, whether men or women, never expressed a desire to become a medic-nin for the shame and dishonor it would bring to their immediate family. Said family would fall in stature within the clan hierarchy, and there were different repercussions for both main and branch house members.
There was a particular taboo for main house Hyuuga to engage in such a common practice and the consequences were more severe for the more regal, nobler half of the clan. It was strange because the elders preached that the branch family members were supposed to protect and serve their stronger counterparts by being warriors and yet the taboo was not so harsh were medic-nins to come from that half.
Another irony of the conflicted clan, it seemed.
But by entering the medical field, a person was declaring themselves a ward of the state. Meaning, the protection of the village was given immediately to the decider once they stepped forward and claimed their status.
There was no such protection for kunoichi.
Kunoichi training was supposed to be a supplement, never the primary. Taijutsu was not taught in that field because the focus was on the technical with little regards to actual practical in terms of the norm of taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu.
Therefore, combining everything stated above, it could be said that Hyuuga Neji was never taught how to fight. Until she was enrolled into the academy, she never properly learned taijutsu. It was because she had come from such a prominent clan that the instructors never paid much special attention to her because it was assumed that she had already been formally taught by her clan before coming into a public school aimed towards first and second generation shinobi.
Not long after being enrolled, Neji quickly learned of her failed training and that to hide it and to shape it into something useful was the first step to achieving her goal. She worked furiously to make up for her failings, but succeeded too well.
No one ever saw that behind the genius facade was a student struggling to keep up with ordinary, mediocre children who were just playing at shinobi and never had the true drive she had from the start.
However, Neji was still part of a clan and as she was part of a clan she was able to acquire knowledge that ordinary children never could have and was able to gain a mentality that demanded perfection. Therefore, when Neji started to actively use ninjutsu and even dabble in genjutsu, her academy instructors naturally assumed that they were the ones to inspire the drive of learning in her. Neji was a Hyuuga, they would exclaim, and yet she used ordinary techniques and skills that other intensely traditional clan-oriented shinobi would otherwise sneer at.
They patted themselves on the back and moved on.
The fools.
Neji was, unfortunately, not aware that the better she was getting at appearing perfect, the further she was alienating herself from her own peers, how successful she was at driving away teachers.
Consequently, like most kunoichi previously training in the arts, Neji became very good at using weapons.
Through her different explorations of weaponry, it was inevitable that she would run into Tenten sooner or later. The two girls hit it off because of the mutual understanding that they could improve through each other. They were not friends. They were not even allies. They were two kunoichi in a hostile classroom training to enter a hostile world with only a determination to be the best.
There was cautious respect in that loose association, a kind of security in that shallow world where most girls playing at ninja were not at all sincere in their efforts to graduate.
Tenten acted very cool towards her fellow kunoichi. The Hyuuga had a reputation that preceded them and it was not the first time that she encountered someone from a clan who would have sooner spit on her than train with her. There must have been some sort of ulterior motive, she reasoned. Subsequently, there was always a sense of vague distrust in that relationship, but simply by associating herself with Neji was Tenten was able to pick up things and benefit from the Hyuuga's knowledge and intelligence.
But Neji did have an ulterior motive. She knew their alliance would not last and as graduation loomed near so, too, did Neji's panic. She needed to become the best. She had to become the best. And as Tenten was so willing to give up her knowledge, Neji took full advantage of the situation. She used Tenten, and did so gladly. Otherwise, she would never have found worth in the girl and moved hungrily on for newer pursuits, better sources that would train her into a better, stronger fighter.
The two girls hungrily fed off of each other's talents, and they were glad.
Somehow and somewhere along the way, Tenten began to see Neji as something more than a partner and Neji was able to tentatively call the weapons specialist a friend.
What began as a hesitant alliance grew into routine and then into comfortable camaraderie. They were both in it for themselves, but at least with them there were no lies, no disappointments. They knew exactly what to expect, what they were getting out of it, and how to milk the circumstances for all it was worth.
Neji had grown too comfortable with the unorthodox friendship when she was rudely woken up and shown that she was pathetic, useless, and weak.
Most enrolled at the academy when they were around six. Some enrolled earlier, but none came later because it was essential to develop chakra coils for a around six years, five for the natural, and four for the gifted, and training had to take place before seven years of age. Genii like Sandaime Hokage, Orochimaru, and Hatake Kakashi, though, set the precedent for the truly talented to graduate with a minimum of only two intensive years of chakra training before it was declared safe to proceed as shinobi.
During those six turbulent years of developing chakra coils, the earliest eligible date for graduation was legally at least roughly four years of academy experience. Eventually, even clansmen had to enter the academy in order to get the official certification to become genin despite whatever previous training they'd already received. Any protests were soundly cut off because many a councilman reasoned that to in order to keep control over a hidden village, one must have all shinobi registered.
Neji was confident that she would succeed and be able to graduate at the earliest time possible.
However, the lack of taijutsu experience she had, the one she so despised, proved to be her downfall. She failed the exams, was driven into a rage, and couldn't quite endure the knowing smirks of family members when they passed on by. School had become unbearable. She was restless, agitated, and was prone to snapping at any ill attempts of condolences that had once driven a young six-year-old fangirl to tears.
Neji's next response to her failure was to train until she was driven into the ground, half-sobbing and half-screaming. She couldn't quite understand why her taijutsu was failing her, why her fists bled red, why her bones felt like they would shatter, and why she couldn't even properly throw a punch.
Exhausted, she let herself curl on the ground, letting her usual pristine appearance mingle with sweat, blood, and tears until she felt let herself shiver in front of that damned log. Dirt clumps stuck to her clothes like tumorous parasites would, and the next hours after that masochistic training spree would have Neji lying there until her skin felt stiff from the cold and her limbs ached at the angle they rested in.
Too ashamed to go home, to stubborn to leave, she wondered in that hazy sort of sense whether it was worth getting up in order to avoid the coming rain.
Too late. Miserable, cold, and tired, she crawled under the shade of a tree and thought to herself why she even bothered.
The labeled genius was just beginning to drift off when something was yelling at her, calling out to her, and the squelching of mud was her only warning when she was suddenly lifted into skinny, scrawny arms and carried away.
Cutting wind and heavy, beating rain rushed together into a stream of meaningless babble, and the sudden shock of the journey woke her up completely to her screaming, aching body, which felt slow and stupid and sluggish and it was all she could do but blink and bite out, "Lee?" before she felt an incredible urge to laugh in hysteria because, hell, what else could a person in the situation do but laugh?
But the look on Rock Lee's face was very clear to her. Sometime later, she would feel mortified at what could only be termed as a rescue but she couldn't quite forget how intense his expression was or how he was shaking and she knew it couldn't have been from some measly rain.
The weird, hot-headed dropout wanted to save her? He was a stalker for sure because the training grounds she stumbled across was old, worn down, and forgotten, but he was a...sweet stalker? The very imagery put a bad taste in her mouth and the next day she demanded to know why, pointedly ignoring the fact that she somehow made her way inside a hospital with no memory of such an event. She wanted to know why. Why did he do that, see her at her most weakest, pathetic? How could he subject her to that shame?
But that strange boy only smiled at her and replied, "But Neji-san showed me yesterday that she, too, is a genius of hard work."
And he said no more. She was tired and hungry and she just wanted to sleep, but she managed to wrangle up a twisted smile-smirk thing for him before turning away, overwhelmed by recent events and thrown by the sudden change in their relationship. And that was when she knew he was there to stay because Rock Lee was a fungus. He just sort of grew on you.
This is the prologue and, as such, is written in a style dramatically different from the rest of the fic with the exception of a few future interludes. Expect almost all of the chapters from now on to be consistently short, but each are punctual, snapshot moments in time that contributes a little more to the development of this Neji. This story will be chronological, beginning sometime after Team Gai forms and ends after the Chunnin Exams; I doubt I'd continue.
Also, don't be expecting random OCs, over-the-top OOC, and for the fic to suddenly swerve off course with no reason whatsoever. The concept of a butterfly effect is subtle, gradual, and sneaky as hell, only becoming truly damning when the show's finally over because even though this is an obvious AU, I still strive to be as canonical as possible