I don't own Naruto…

Ask

They never needed him to ask. Not really. They did not expect him to; that was not the kind of person he was. But at the same time, they knew that, if he was ever going to grow, to reach his full potential, to finally connect with them, he would have to ask. And so they waited.

When they first met him, he had been at the bottom of an ancient well, drowning in its dark, dank interior. And although he resented his fate, he was resigned to being trapped among the stones and the damp forever.

He never intended to have them burst in upon his silent brooding and jar him from his quiet existence.

From his position at the bottom, with nothing but damp moss and rock for company, he heard their voices echoing down to his ears, their joyful, energetic, determined voices. At first he tried to block them out, constantly reminding himself of his fate and letting his bitter anger slowly eat away at his true self. Eventually, though, the voices took on a slightly disappointed tone and began to fade farther and farther away from the well. He had to strain his ears to catch snippets of their conversations, hints to a world he had never known. Soon, they went so far away that he was afraid they had gone forever, leaving him alone once again.

For the first time in his life, he panicked. He got to his feet, legs protesting beneath him, and stared up above him, straining to hear them, to let them know that he wanted them back. He even went so far as to open his mouth, to yell up and command them to return to him.

But they didn't come.

He sank down into the mire, feeling more lost and alone than ever. He felt himself slowly sinking into the cool, dark, mud, and he was almost glad for it. Why fight my fate? If am I meant to become nothing more than a part of this well, why try and do something different? What's the point?

Farther, farther into the ground he sank, slowly becoming nothing but a breathing section of the well bottom. He was almost gone.

Before his eyes sunk into the mire, he glanced upwards, bitterly checking one last time to see if they had returned. He did not hear anything. Instead, he was almost blinded by a burst of sunlight that reached all the way down to the bottom of the well.

He screamed, closing his eyes, trying to shield himself from the pain, and yet he could not keep them closed. His eyes sprung open, forcing their bearer to see the light of day. And then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone, leaving him in darkness once again.

For a moment, he was silent, lost and confused.

And then he heard them.

First nothing but a dull rumble, the boy thought he was going insane. But they continued to grow, louder and louder, and he realized he was not going insane.

They were real. They came back. They were in that warm, welcoming light above him.

And he was going to join them.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he pulled himself back, gathering what pieces of himself he had lost and putting them back together. Once he was whole, he stood, dusting off what mud and grime he could. Then, facing the slimy moss and stone before him, he began to climb.

Digging his fingers into every crack and crevice he could find, he pulled himself up the well shaft. His fingers would slip on the moss or water, and occasionally he would slide back down, but he would stop himself. Other times, he would feel so tired, so sick of the effort, that he would almost let himself fall into the mud and the darkness. But no. There was no going back.

The voices were getting louder, and soon, he realized that they were yelling encouragements to him, urging him onwards and upwards, toward the beauty and the light that lay above. Occasionally, he would call back to them, but only in response to things they would say to him. More than once, they offered to help him, to cast him a rope and pull him the rest of the way.

But he refused.

With every inch he scaled, the light at the end grew bigger, brighter, more welcoming. And soon, he began to see faces, leaning over the edge, watching him in his ascent. They were the first people to see him for what he was, see him doing what he believed. They were the ones to see him fight his fate, and they were the only ones cheering him on.

He was so close. He could see every detail of the people's faces, every eyelash, every freckle, every tooth in their smile. He was so tired, but he had to continue. Fresh air wafted over him, sweeping away the years of pain and loneliness from his face. The people had stopped offering to assist him, and now they stood, silently encouraging him to go on.

He was at the top. His hands grasped the ledge, and all he needed to do was swing himself over the smooth stone. Then he would be free.

But he couldn't do it.

There was no strength left in his body, no burst of energy to go over the last hurdle. He had climbed this far all by himself, and now found that he could not complete the task.

His friends were standing feet from him, anxious and excited. They so obviously wanted to help him, but they did not. They waited.

He hung there, mind working furiously. What do I do?

Had he gone through all this effort, all this pain, to simply let go? The light was warm on his face, the air cool on his face and fresh in his lungs, he could see the people he had been yearning to join, he could almost touch them; and yet, he could not enjoy it. All his energy was focused on holding himself up, keeping himself in that world he had wanted so desperately.

But wait…was this what he had wanted in the first place? To breath air and see light? Was that what he had climbed all this way for?

No…I wanted something else.

Neji turned his pale, needing eyes to the girl and boy before him.

"Lee…Tenten…please…help me…"

Together, boy and girl stepped forward and leaned into the well. Grabbing their friend securely by the arms, they tugged, providing the last burst of energy needed to get him out of the dark.

No matter how strong a person Hyuuga Neji had become, no matter how independent-minded he was, there was only so much one person alone could do. This took Hyuuga Neji a long time to realize, and once he did, it was just as hard to bring himself to do what he needed to do. Lucky for him, he had two friends who had been waiting for this exact moment, to help him to grow in the way that he had helped them grow, was still helping them grow. No one inspired Rock Lee to train more than his rival and best friend. No one provided such a challenge to Tenten's weapon-based attacks as Hyuuga Neji and the kaiten. He had forced them to grow towards their fullest potential, and now they wanted to return the favor, by helping to free him from his fate and bring him to the outside world full of freedom and joy.

Neji wanted that too, and he did his best to get there by himself. But he eventually realized he could not do it alone. He needed his friends, but could not bring himself to involve them. He did not know how. But that was foolish, they told him later.

All he needed to do was ask.

Well, well, well. What's this? The Reading Maid posted a new story? Say it ain't so!

Actually, it is so.

I've wanted to post something new for so long, and now I've finally done it! And I actually like what I posted. Hooray! I've been debating about whether or not I like this enough to post it, and I finally did. So tell me what you all think, pretty please.