As Neji entered the Hyuuga compound, he saw a girl with long, dark hair sitting on the porch with her back to him. As his footsteps were heard, however, she turned and rose rapidly and ran towards him, her face alight with welcome.

"Neji-nii-sama!"

She came to a stop just ahead and smiled up at him. "Okairinasai."

Nii-sama? he thought. "Hinata-sama, tadaima desu." He started to walk again, and she fell into step beside him.

"I'm glad you're back," she said in her usual soft tone. "I trust your mission went well."

"It did," he replied, glancing down at her.

She smiled again, turning towards him with a slight bow. "I'm sure you must want some rest. I'll let Chichi-ue know that you're home for dinner."

"Actually, Hinata-sama, my team is going to meet for yakiniku."

"Oh." For a moment, it seemed to him that she was a little disappointed, but then the same soft smile emerged. "Then I'll tell him that you've returned and will not be joining us for dinner." She turned to enter the main house.

"Hinata-sama."

Turning back, "Yes?"

"Would you like to go with us?" The invitation left his lips almost before he thought about it.

"Oh," she said in surprise. "Mm, well, it's your team, I don't want to-"

"You can invite your teammates along, if you like," he said, at the same time thinking, Great, with Kiba along, it will be even noisier than usual.

He was rewarded though, by the full smile that brightened her whole face. "OK, I'll ask them," she said and dashed away.

Neji put one hand up to his head for an instant, then shrugged and turned to his room.

At yakiniku, it was even noisier than usual, with Lee and Kiba arguing about the toughest opponents that they had met, and Tenten yelling at them to settle down and stop hogging all the meat. Hinata seemed to be enjoying herself, though. She said as little as usual, but a gentle smile hovered over her lips, her eyes were bright, and her face rosy with pleasure. Sometimes, as when Tenten rapped Lee's knuckles with her chopsticks, she would giggle a little behind the screen of her long hair.

After the meal and everyone said their good nights and parted ways, Hinata surprised Neji by saying on their way home, "That was fun. I'm glad you have such reliable teammates, Neji-nii-sama."

Neji looked sidelong at her. "That's twice you've called me 'nii-sama', Hinata-sama. Why-?"

"Oh!" Hinata seemed a little embarrassed. "Well... that is... I suppose," she said, slowly, "I suppose I feel that you deserve more respect than I have given you up til now. Much more respect than I can express, in fact." Her voice, hesitant at first, grew increasingly earnest. "After all, Neji-nii-sama, I owe you so much - you've helped me so much - I've become a much stronger person because of you. I can stand on my feet and meet my father's eyes because of you. I can believe in my own competence because of you."

Neji's mouth quirked in a half-smile. "You speak almost as if I were Naruto."

Hinata's cheeks were pink. "I-I feel very much the same way about you, Neji-nii-sama," she said, and Neji's eyes widened in surprise. "I-I mean, if I look up to Naruto-kun as a role model, I certainly feel that way about you, too. But, more... more than that - You've helped me to be a better ninja, certainly... But beyond that," she said, meeting his eyes earnestly, "all of what used to be wrong and so painful between you and me, and you and my father, I feel like that's been cleared away now, and that's because you made it that way. You chose to change yourself," she ended, her voice growing softer. "And I'm so glad, and so grateful."

"Hinata-sama..." Neji looked away for a moment, covering his mouth with his hand. Then he looked back at her, a hand outstretched uncertainly, which came to rest gently on her head. "I'm afraid you rate me too highly, Hinata-sama."

"I'm sure I don't," said she. She took his hand in both of hers. "You are too straightforward a person, to accept my father's teachings, and to train with me, and still hold resentment or malice in your heart. And I'm sure it was one of the happiest days of my life, when I realized that you no longer hated me." Her eyes, earnest to the point of filling with tears, were fixed on his. "You are a very important person to me, Neji-nii-san. One of the most important people in the world."

Neji felt a slight buzzing in his chest. His mouth moved almost of its own accord. "I'm sure you are the most important person in the world to me, Hinata-sama."

Neji saw Hinata's eyes widen, and her face glow pinkly in the moonlight. She squeezed his hand once before letting go and clasping her hands tightly together. Her tear-filled eyes smiled up at him as she bobbed her head and whispered, "Thank you for inviting me tonight. Oyasuminasai!"

Hinata turned quickly toward the house, her long hair swirling before his dazed eyes. Neji brought his hand up to his face, as he felt it burn crimson. His heart thudded in his ears while he watched his cousin's retreating back. "Im-impossible!" he muttered.

*Okairinasai: "Welcome home"; tadaima desu: "I'm home"; Chichi-ue: Father (formal); yakiniku: barbecue; oyasuminasai: "good night"

**If you're wondering about Neji saying "Impossible!" at the end, the Japanese word I was thinking of was "bakana", which translates as "impossible" or "ridiculous", and which seems very like something Neji would say when confronted with the sight of Hinata's eyes shining and cheeks blushing for him. ^_-

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