Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or its characters.

He was fourteen when he first met Yuu. Neji clearly remembered that cold late-autumn afternoon.

He had just finished a spar with Tenten while Gai and Lee were doing another ridiculous dare to jog around the village for twelve hours with ankle weights or something like that.

"Neji, this is Yuu." Tenten introduced with a grin from ear to ear and Neji wished he didn't have the decency so he could roll his eyes then and there without a care.

But of course, being the well-bred boy that he is, he remained poised. He lowered his head to a bow though he didn't bother feigning a smile. Then again, it's not the Hyuga's style to smile. No one expects him to.

Probably due to the lack of reaction from her teammate, Tenten continued: "The childhood friend I told you about!"

If it were for another reason, he would be delighted to see his partner-in-crime so happy with her eyes sparkling and bright it almost blinded his eyes. But he couldn't bring himself to be happy because unfortunately, she's introducing her boyfriend to him. As in a friend who is male. Yes. Hopefully that's all there is to it, thought Neji.

"Nice to meet you Neji-kun." Said Yuu who is a year older and is thus a few centimeters taller than the young prodigy. Noticeably cheerful demeanor and a rather muscular build. He seems like the guy Tenten would hang around with. He had a carefree vibe though his physique begs to differ. It's obvious just how much training he's been going through. While he is very much confident and secure, Neji just couldn't help but compare himself to the brown-haired boy in front of him. He had to. He wanted to make sure he's still better. Of course he is. No need to fret.

"Hn." Was all her could reply. He may be well mannered but he is not the type to lie to himself as well.

Tenten rolled her eyes to his reaction like she always does. That's how they operate. They're very different from each other. Tenten was always the positve energy. And Neji, well, he's the one who's harder to deal with.

Tenten wrapped her arm around Yuu's and playfully pulled him away. "We'll be on our way, Neji! See you next Tuesday!"

Neji watched the two skip away to god knows where. Neji finally rolled his eyes. Oh the satisfaction! Tenten mentioned about some dinner with a childhood friend the other day. He didn't expect the friend to be a guy. Either way, it's none of his business.

Neji recalled all of this as he sat on one of the benches by the park. It's already six in the evening and the sun is setting. That meeting was almost three years ago. He's seventeen now. And every single time he would catch his best friend crying quietly in a corner, or whenever he would notice a scar, a bruise, which he's certain isn't from a mission or a spar, he immediately regrets not having done or said anything at that time.

"Oh, this? It's nothing!"

Tenten has never really been a good liar. She's always so kind and caring that lying is something she can never do well even if her life depended on it.

He first pointed out a really big bruise on Tenten's left wrist around a month after first meeting Yuu. It was winter at that time. Even though the weather was working with Tenten to hide the bruise with her long sleeves and parka, a Hyuga's eyes cannot be deceived.

"I just banged by wrist on the doorknob!" She laughed. "I'm clumsy so this happened!"

Neji stared at the panicking Tenten. He stared at her for a good three seconds, trying to extract the truth from her, hoping she'd cave in and tell him the truth. But she remained silent about it. So Neji just frowned and didn't say anything more. Whatever she's hiding from him and how it's related to the bruise, it shouldn't matter to him. Why should he pry into it? It could be something extremely shallow. So even though it bothered him, he let it go.

At that time, he never really thought it had any relation to Yuu. It never occured to him that it had a connection to the bastard. He didn't even realize that. How stupid of him! Had he said something from the very beginning, had he gotten in the way as early as his first encounter with Yuu, he could've done something about the situation.

But he didn't.

And that was a mistake his seventeen-year-old self regrets to this very moment.

Thank you for reading!

This is going to be a chapter fic which could get pretty dark. It is a NejiTen fic though so it will be in favor of that pairing.
Let me know what you think so far! I don't want to give away too much info but I want to know what you guys think and deduce from this introduction :D

Let me know in your reviews!

Thanks again! Next chapter will be up the day after tomorrow :)