Prayer Box Christmas Special: Part 1! In October! Enjoy.
Pheonix: If I don't start writing in five minutes, I'll lose the idea. So shut the hell up and read what my genius mind concocts!
Contains the hugest spoilers ever imaginable! A LOT OF HUGE SPOILERS!
10:43 AM Konoha Marketplace, Konoha, Fire Country, Friday
"Ano-sa, Ano-sa, Kay-chan… What do you think Hinata would like?" Naruto whispered rather loudly into Kay's right ear, making the girl jump and almost drop the smooth porcelain in her hands.
It had been about a year and a half since her appearance in Konoha, and yet still she was trying madly to get used to the sense of touch. So the shiver sent by warm breath on her ear down her spine had been unusual. Still…
"GoddamitNarutoifyoueverdothatagainI'llslityourgizzard." Kay breathed, her chest heaving.
"GOASKHER!" After saying this, the girl returned to examining her porcelain companion, wondering if the children would enjoy breaking this as much as they had enjoyed ruining the last present.
"Ano-sa, Hinata-chan, what would you like?" Kay could practically feel the heat from Hinata's blush.
The whole group, every single young ninja in Konoha at the moment, was Christmas shopping for each other. It just made it seem so much more jovial, Kay decided, humming a rather depressing song that somehow didn't dampen her shining mood a bit.
Neji was raising his eyebrows at a novel in a showcase room, and jabbed his thumb in that direction. His companion, Lee, (who was dressed in a Santa-Claus hat, by the way), nodded vigorously. Kay noted this and giggled, obtaining a snort from Neji, who had already told her that if she kept stalking him with her eyes today, he wouldn't give her her present.
But there was a reason to giggle. Not too long ago, in an attempt to best Kakashi once again, Gai-sensei had started reading Icha Icha novels. Of course, he had tried to compete with Kakashi over script recitals, and Kakashi had started to recite the entire first novel, dirty words included. The newest novel was just out as of fifteen minutes ago, and Kay knew Lee was buying that book for Gai as she remembered this occurrence. But, as she looked inside she knew it was too late for poor Gai, because who else was standing in line with two copies of the new addition but a certain sick minded silver haired jounin.
This all ran Kay's mind back to Neji and present giving. She had already surmised his gift, but what was going through his head as far as hers was concerned!
And she was sad, because if she couldn't eye-stalk him, then she would have to wait until either tonight or tomorrow morning to find out what his gift was. But if she did eyestalk him to find out what he bought her, then she'd never see it outside of this day. And again, how would she know it was her gift?
"Dammit dammit dammit." She recited as if it was one of her beloved lyrics, picking up and paying for a lovely dog bone as she passed the selling booth.
"Ah! Wait, can I have another, please?" Kay yelped, turning back to look at the woman at the dog booth. Smiling, the blonde handed her a bone, waving off Kay's payment.
"No, take it. On the house." The woman smiled, and thanking her, Kay turned and ran to catch up to the large group of arguing and laughing ninja. One person had stopped in the middle of the crowd, and Kay watched as Neji was walked around. He had stopped to wait for her, and she smiled softly as she jogged to his side, showing him the dog bones. He rolled his eyes, and smirked.
"I hope that's not my present." He said, one hand in his pocket as he examined the label handing tactfully off of one of the dog bones in Kay's hands. Their fingers brushed together slightly, but he ignored the shock of electricity that rushed up his fingertips. Kay, of course, bit her tongue to keep down the surprised yelp, as every touch from him brought forth one, and she was still trying to keep some dignity in this life. Recomposing, she shook her head, giggling.
"No, tempting, but I thought Lee would appreciate it more."
Neji could tell from her sing song voice that this would turn into another of her 'inside jokes', and it made him chuckle on the inside.
"Speaking of Lee, look at that!" Kay pointed excitedly, and Neji's head turned to observe a showcase of some new revolutionary eyebrow plucking system. He looked to the sly smirk spreading across his companion's pinkish lips, and shook his head.
"You wouldn't," His smooth as silk voice made her turn to look at him impishly, and she stuck the tip of her tongue out at him.
"Watch and learn, Hyuuga." Kay said, sauntering over without the slightest detection from Lee, and swiftly purchasing the product. This was one of those inside jokes that Lee usually watched out for very carefully, but the jolly-ness of Christmas promises seemed to have lightened Rock's resolve. Kay came back, checking off another line on her list, tactfully keeping the notebooks back to Neji. The genius himself hadn't brought one, saying a documented list of practical jokes and trickery was dangerous to one's self image, and that his memory would surely be better equipped to handle such deviousness. Or at least, that's what she had twisted his words to mean. Really, he had just said it was a waste of his time. But let's not ruin Kay's mood.
"Oh, and look there." Kay darted into a clothing store, dragging Neji in with her, fighting the blush the contact she had brought onto herself created as she grabbed his wrist. He made no attempt to stop her or slip free, just followed, knowing that somehow if he didn't Christmas would be more of a minefield than an eggnog-filled experience.
"Black shirt for Gai, um-hmm, oh look! THEY DO HAVE THEM!" The girl nearly had a hemorrhage while trying to get Neji's attention, pull the thing off the rack, and still keep a hold of his wrist in the same second.
She at least succeeded in the first bit, and with his other wrist Neji reached over Kay, who was now twisted awkwardly in-front of him trying to reach two things at once, and collected a pair of pants. He noted the way she immediately stopped moving when his body slightly came into gentle collision with her, and taking it as discomfort he quickly handed her the pair of pants she had been reached for before leaning back into his casual stance.
"…Yes, well…" Kay took a moment to recover her train of thought, still ingraining into her memory the feel of him ever so slightly leaning against her.
"Icha Icha PJS! Isn't it amazing?" She finally found it, it seemed.
"Breathtaking." Neji replied, his voice still holding its calm resolve to hold in any and all thoughts.
The pants were really just green with red silhouettes of kissing figures all over them, and it had the Icha Icha titles scrolled all over the stretchy top.
"So that's Kakashi… Oh, we can handle her here, too." Kay bounced over to another rack, Neji following without much choice as the less experienced ninja in front of him reached out and yanked a bright pink, fluffy thing off the rack. Recognizing it as a rather large poofy scarf, Neji nodded. Sakura would like it, that was for sure.
"For Sakura, of course." Oh, he was so damned good. Neji 101, Kay flat out 0. As Kay's sentence hung between them, Neji noticed Kay was in deep thought.
"Don't hurt yourself." He said, his smirk evident in his tone.
"Oh shut up, meany." Kay referred to him with her old infantile nickname for him, and she reached out for a soft black fleece travel blanket.
"Who's that for?" Neji's first sign of curiosity all day went unnoticed as Kay pretended not to hear him, letting go of his wrist to hold her light load.
Walking out of the little clothing store back into the main market area, Neji and Kay realized that their little excursion group had gone on ahead. Kay was not at all bothered though, and she pointed out rather loudly that this left them to go shopping for their comrades without the hassle of hiding the gifts at the cash register. Neji agreed with her to save himself the pain of making another reason why the group's split up was good, and led the way into a bookstore. Kay immediately went traveling off by herself, checking her list vigorously.
Neji himself browsed easily. He, unknown to everyone else, had done his shopping at the proper time of a week before the morning of gift giving, not the night before. The morning festivities of Christmas had been planned by Kay, everyone was meeting at the Day-care, and by everyone Neji meant everyone. Then, a few hours after the 'adult and teen' get-together, Kay had arranged for all the young children to make their appearances.
Kay went shuffling past him carrying a box that said Fragile in bold letters, and he recognized the pattern to be that of a 'Go' board. That must be her gift for Shikamaru, he decided, turning back to his browsing. Five minutes later, Kay hurried by again with her arms full of books, and sighing, Neji turned to pick up two that she had dropped in her effort to reach the cash register. Breathing heavily, Kay leaned against the counter as the shop keeper hid her disdain at the large amount of books with a happy grin at the after thought of a lot of currency gain to the shop. Hell, the old woman decided as she rang through book after book, her arthritic fingers wouldn't matter if she could make enough money to retire now.
As he went back to the book shelf he had been examining, Neji looked to Kay and reflected their relationship over the last year and a half. With a rocky start out, they had managed to turn it around into a rather comfortable acceptance, and more often than not a day together would end in another chuckle and good bye wave. Ever since their first mission together, when Kay had regained her sense of touch, she had had an extreme urge to touch anything and everything, and Neji had learned that while before she had hated contact, when she could actually enjoy it she was a very huggy person. He actually had to watch behind him in an effort to keep from being tackled unexpectedly. And as he evaluated his feelings for her, and what he thought her feeling may be for him, he decided that if nothing else, there was at least one thing he enjoyed about her.
She was compassionate. She wouldn't ask him questions at stupid times, was quiet when he needed her to be, loud when such similar needs arose, and annoying at all other times. She didn't ask him about him. He knew why now, of course, though they never talked about it. She had been inside his head, heard what it sounded like there, even before she knew that he really existed. Even before he had known that she and the circumstances she had brought with her existed.
She had told him more than even the Third Hokage had been told. She had told him the exact plotline up until the latest episode she had watched before her sudden leave to Konoha.
All this, of course, had been after a rather healthy Sasuke had been retrieved to Konoha forest, though slightly disgruntled; the Uchiha had come to his senses. Kay had said that she had only told him because he would be able to understand, but he knew she had just wanted to spend an hour talking while enjoying his full attention. He knew these things because she wasn't too good at hiding them. But he also had a feeling she didn't reciprocate any feelings that may have budded in his testosterone filled, 'secret' half. Yes, he was still human, he thought of these things. But it was more like how a mature teenager would analyze the flaws within her and resolve to not change them, he did not question what he felt nor try to advance or reclaim them into the recesses of his minds or others.
No, it was better they remained friends.
"Neji!" Said woman's voice interrupted his thoughts. What was Kay now, 14? 15? He was pretty sure she turned 15 soon…
"…eat- Hey, are you even paying attention?" Kay's voice once again broke through the fifteen year old Hyuuga's thoughts yet again, and he nodded.
"Eat, right. Let's go." Neji really was a genius in saving face and figuring things out quickly, leading the way to the food court. Kay sauntered alongside him, stealthily persuading him to carry one of the heaviest shopping bags full of books. Not that he minded, it was easier for him to carry than her.
Stopping and getting some white rice and beef in oyster sauce, the pair sat down. Neji had settled for Green Tea as his drink of choice, while Kay just grabbed some ice water and called it a beverage. Finishing his meal quickly, Neji propped himself on his elbows and drank his tea while listening to Kay explain a possible new fighting technique for the team. It involved her usual mind tricks and some more of his effective follow-up, with an interesting musical twist added in throughout. Neji listened intently, as he always did while talking of Team Gai. Kay had really brought a sense of extra uniqueness to their extended group, her songs always lightening the mood on their trips and her and Lee's antics getting the group into more mischief than necessary. This was where the good times were, Neji knew.
12:01 PM Konoha Marketplace, Konoha, Fire Country, Friday
Ino and Sakura hid their squeals behind their hands while Tenten collected money from Lee, saying 'I told you so' in a quiet tone. The two first mentioned girls both had their cell phones out, clicking the picture button extremely quickly. They had the flash off, and nodded happily as they showed each other their results. The food court had always been a good way to find out who might be a couple or not, and this was perfect blackmail material.
Neji and Kay, leaning close to each other across the table making idle conversation while looking into each other's eyes seriously.
How perfect. How so very perfect.
12:03 PM Konoha Marketplace, Konoha, Fire Country, Friday
"Did you hear something?" Kay asked Neji, her thin eyebrows furrowing in curiosity as she looked around. Somehow the girl managed to miss three head disappearing from view under a small popcorn vendor, as did Neji who looked but a few seconds later.
"No. What did it sound like?" The boy asked, putting down his finished tea.
"Like Ino and Sakura laughing insanely." Kay sweat dropped as the sound came again, but Neji dismissed it.
"Kay, everyone in here is laughing. It's Christmas Eve's morning, for god's sake, ease up."
"I just feel like their laughing at me."
"Well, think on it." Neji began, pulling on an over serious face just to see if she would smile. She did. "I mean, really, what have you done to deserve a practical joke?"
"Really want me to list things?" Kay asked, leaning forward a bit more in a challenge.
Slightly uncomfortable with their closeness, Neji leaned back in his chair, closing his lilac eyes for a moment.
"Right, never mind." He said, and Kay nodded decisively as she got up. She also managed to miss a gigantic group run behind her, at the very second that Neji blinked and she turned around to push in her chair. Neji opened his eyes, said group had made it to cover, where they had collapsed, nearly killing an innocent old woman in their stampede as they sniggered.
Neji felt her presence beside him, then she was gone. Raising an eyebrow, he ducked, expecting her to go flying overhead, but nothing. And so, without losing much face by his random evasion technique, he turned and activated his Byakugan stealthily. Kay was to be found quickly darting out of a tee shirt store with a bag, and as she rejoined him and his now deactivated blood line limit, she smiled, making a comment on how chilly it had been in that store.
After another half an hour of ambling after his chocolate haired friend, he noticed that she seemed to be lost. They had passed the food court three times now.
"Having trouble?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No." She sniffed indignantly, hiding the map from him. He knew from experience that she wasn't good with paper and routes…
It was going to be a long day yet.
Pheonix: Part one over! This may be a three part, if I drag it out long enough. I hope you enjoyed this short little introduction into spoiler fantasy land!