Based off a Novel by Charles Dickens:

A Hyuuga Style Christmas Carol

Neji Hyuuga was many things. He was considered a genius, for one thing. The Genin had already accomplished the feat of mastering the Byakugan by the age of thirteen, something that his cousin from the Main Branch couldn't even do.

He was also considered quite handsome to many kunoichi. His long, smooth hair and lavender eyes attracted the attention of many young women. But none of them could attract his attention in return.

The third, the last, and most unappealing part of Neji, however, was his tendency to be rather unfeeling towards others. Many people have been the victims of Neji's infamous "Your destiny is to be a failure" speech. Although the traits mentioned above were very flattering to Neji, it was always this one that made him hard to get along with.

It was toasty and cozy in the Hyuuga Manor that December day. Hinata sat in the family room with a steaming cup of tea, making herself comfortable in front of a blazing fire. Next to her was Hanabi, wrapped up in a thick blanket and looking quite pleased about something. The only sound was the crackling purr of the flames, until the girls heard a pair of footsteps walk down the hall.

"Neji!" Hanabi called out to her older cousin. "Where are you heading? Aren't you going to join us?"

Neji stopped and looked over his shoulder. Both Hanabi and Hinata were smiling at him. "I was going out. Gai-Sensei said he wanted us to see him for a while."

"Oh." Hanabi's smile faded, and she looked disappointed. "When you get back, maybe you can spend time with us?"

"I even made extra tea, Neji." Hinata added. "Y-you can have some, if you'd like to."

"Hn." Neji turned his head to look towards the door again. "Perhaps." Without another word, Neji slipped out of the Hyuuga compound.

Hinata and Hanabi watched him leave. "I have a feeling that he won't be back." Hanabi sighed.

The air outside stung Neji's face as he made way towards Gai-Sensei's apartment. The man had wanted to show them something for Christmas there, and even though Neji wasn't thrilled, he was going. As he went along his way, he happened to see Naruto walking towards him. Neji averted his eyes to the snowy ground, hoping the blonde ninja wouldn't recognize him. But Naruto wasn't fooled as easily as Neji had wanted.

"Oh! Hey, Neji!" Was the first thing out of Naruto's mouth. "What are ya doing out on Christmas Eve? Shouldn't you be at home or something?"

Neji shoved his hands in his pockets. "Hn." He muttered. "I'm going with my team to meet Gai-Sensei. He wanted to do something with us."

There was a sparkle in Naruto's eyes. "Wow, Fuzzy-Brow-Sensei is doing something with you guys for Christmas? I wish Kakashi-Sensei would do something like that!" Naruto began envisioning a Christmas spent with his teammates, and he started to giggle with excitement. Neji, not wanting to continue being late for his meeting with Gai and the team, began to walk away.

"Hn."

Naruto noticed Neji try to sneak off. "Hey! Neji! Don't go yet, I gotta give you something!" To Neji's surprise, he pulled something out of his jacket and was handing it to him. Neji looked at the package oddly until Naruto said, "Well, c'mon, take it!" He seemed excited all over again. Neji sighed and removed the gift from his hands. "Are you gonna open it or what?"

"If you keep insisting." Neji unwrapped the present skillfully and patiently. Naruto, meanwhile, looked like he was going to explode. Once the box was opened, Neji pulled out a ramen coupon. He blinked. "You wrapped a coupon in a box?"

"Well, yeah, what else was I supposed to do?" Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Do ya like it?"

"It's thoughtful." Said Neji, rather mechanically. "I didn't get you anything though, Naruto."

"Um, that's okay." Reassured the blonde. "I already got something from your sister, or your cousin, Hinata's your cousin, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, yeah. She gave me something already." Naruto continued to smile at Neji, but the Hyuuga had no intention of staying to chat. He was already late. As he continued his short journey, Naruto's smile slowly disappeared. "Uh, you're welcome, I guess."

Neji had finally found his way to the apartments. He knocked firmly on the door that was Gai's and listened as the sound of voices stopped and footsteps approached the door. Gai-Sensei let Neji inside, where he could see Lee and Tenten sitting on his couch.

"You're late, Neji." Gai commented. "But that's okay, at least you made it!"

"Hey Neji!" Tenten waved. "What took you so long? We've been missing you!"

Neji took a seat between her and Lee. "Naruto stopped me along the way to give me a Christmas gift." He explained in a bored tone of voice.

"Ah!" Said Lee, "Naruto's Christmas spirit is just as youthful as his regular spirit! Right, Gai-Sensei?"

"Sounds just like it, Lee!" Gai chuckled. "Naruto is some kid… He knows how to embrace every moment of life!"

Neji decided to lean into the sofa. It seemed like they might be stuck there awhile.

"Gai-Sensei, everyone's here now. What was it that you wanted to see us for?" Tenten asked. "My parents don't want me out too long on Christmas Eve."

"Hm? Oh, yes!" Gai smiled one of his famous "Ping!" smiles. "I wanted to give you three something that I think is very important! Wait right here, I won't be long at all!" Without hesitating, Gai rushed out of his living room to another part of his home.

"I wonder what Gai-Sensei is doing?" Wondered Lee. "It must be very special."

"I think I know what it is." Said Tenten, almost laughing. Lee was only puzzled more, but Neji had caught on.

Soon, just as he had promised, Gai returned with three gift-sized boxes, each one with a name on them. He handed them to their respectful owners, earning him a tearful face from Lee.

"G-Gai-Sensei." He choked. "If I had known you would be giving us Christmas presents, I would have brought what I have for you with me!"

"It's okay, Lee. I'll get it tomorrow!" Gai gave his students the thumbs up. "Open them!

The trio obeyed their teacher's wish, and each of them unwrapped a unique gift, along with a picture of the team from a mission they took in the spring.

.Lee's eyes began to water. "Gai-Sensei! This is such a perfect and sentimental present! Thank you so much!"

Gai's eyes began to water as well at his pupil's show of emotion. "It was nothing, Lee!" He said. "Anything for one of my pupils!"

"G-Gai-Sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-Sensei!"

"Lee!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

The two embraced in a hug, with the sun setting behind crashing waves, despite the fact they were indoors.

Neji and Tenten exchanged bored glances.

"Alright, now that that's out of the way, you can all stay here for a while, if you'd like!" Gai invited. "I've got Christmas treats in the kitchen, and a few festive ideas to keep us entertained until you need to go home!" Another "Ping!".

Lee's face lit up at the thought of spending Christmas Eve with Gai-Sensei. "Of course, Gai-Sensei! That would be spectacular!"

Tenten, even though she couldn't stay long, thought that she could at least spend some time with her Sensei, since he didn't have any other company. "Sure, sounds okay to me." She said.

"Hn." Neji got up from his seat. "I made a promise to some members of the Main House that I'd be with them." He placed his presents back in their box carefully, concealing them within his jacket. "I'm afraid I can't stay."

"Aw, c'mon Neji. Just five minutes?" Tenten pleaded. She didn't want to be left alone with Gai and Lee, even if it was just for the holiday.

"I mustn't keep them waiting for me." Was Neji's response. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." He left Gai's apartment, heading straight back to the Hyuuga compound.

Gai looked slightly disappointed in his pupil's lack of youth. But his disappointment was soon gone when another knock came to his door. He opened it to see Naruto Uzumaki looking up at him with a large grin plastered on his face.

"Gai-Sensei!" Naruto was holding another gift box. "I brought you something for Christmas!"

Gai opened the door and happily let Naruto inside. "Thanks, Naruto! I didn't think to get something for you, but you can help yourself to anything you like in the kitchen!"

"Thanks, Gai-Sensei!" Naruto looked around the apartment. "Say, wasn't Neji supposed to be here? I met him on the street and he told me he was coming here."

"Yes, Naruto." Tenten confirmed. "Neji was here, but he left to go back to the Hyuuga Manor."

"Oh." Naruto's face was blank for a moment. "He left you too, huh?"

"Yes, he did." Lee tapped his chin. "I wish there were some way to get Neji into the holiday spirit."

The four of them were silent, trying to come up with ways to cheer up Neji. Naruto wandered around the apartment, when his attention was drawn to a lonely-looking Rubix cube.

"I know!" Tenten finally said. "It'll be really tricky, and very risky, but I read a book once…"

So Tenten launched into the storyline of a Christmas novel she'd read. Gai and Lee listened very intently, as Naruto played with the Rubix cube. When Tenten had finished explaining things, Gai confirmed that it was the most youthful idea he heard all night.

"Then we'll start the operation tonight!" Gai instructed them. "Naruto, it'd help if you were the one to- NARUTO!" Gai's eyes became large, pupil-less circles, and his jaw had dropped to the floor. "IT TOOK ME FOREVER TO GET THAT SOLVED!"

"Umm…" Naruto sweat-dropped, holding a certain mixed-up Rubix cube closer to him. "It looked easier than it is!"

Gai sighed and hung his head. "Nevermind. I can solve it again." He reassured him. "But I need you to be the one who 'warns' Neji. Got it, Naruto?"

"Uh, I guess." Naruto chuckled nervously. "What am I warning him for?"

It was late at night, and the Hyuuga family was asleep, Neji included. Naruto had successfully snuck into the Hyuuga Mansion, and was tiptoeing towards Neji's room. He opened the door just a tiny crack, but it awoke the slumbering ninja.

"THWAK!"

A kunai narrowly missed Naruto's head.

"Who's there?" Neji demanded.

"Whoa, whoa, Neji! It's just me!" Naruto explained. "I needed to send you a message."

Neji, who easily recognized Naruto's voice, was suspicious. "At this time of night?"

"Um, yeah! It's urgent!" Naruto informed him. "Tonight you will be haunted by three spirits! At midnight! So you should know… you know… not to throw a kunai at them."

The light switched on, and Naruto could see Neji clearly now, and Neji could clearly see him. "Spirits, huh?" Neji asked, skeptically. "What if I don't believe there are such things as spirits?"

"Well, you believe in destiny and fate and stuff, how much of a stretch is it to believe in spirits?"

Neji blinked, then shook his head. "You don't understand." He said. "Now, I don't care about these spirits. Just leave now if there's nothing serious that you have to say."

"Rrr…" Naruto crossed his arms. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn ya!" With a "poof!" he left Neji's room.

Neji shrugged and crawled back into bed, switching the light off.

It was midnight, and Neji was peacefully asleep again. The wind blew his curtains back, and a pair of eyes peeked in. Quickly and silently, the window slid open, and the owner of the eyes slipped inside. He stood in front of Neji's bed, and looked down at him. "Neji!" He said cheerfully. "Wake up and embrace the youth!"

"Wha?" Neji's eyes snapped open to see Gai-Sensei, standing in the middle of his room. "Gai-Sensei? What are you doing here? HOW did you get in here?" He demanded, pulling his covers closer to him defensively.

"I'm not Gai-Sensei!" Gai protested. "I'm the Spirit of Christmas Past-Youth!"

"The Spirit of Christmas What?"

"Christmas Past-Youth!" Gai repeated. "I am here to show you what Christmas was like for you… five years ago!"

"Hn." Neji scoffed. "How do you think you're going to do that?"

"With these home videos!" Gai pulled a video cassette out of his tactical vest. Neji's eye twitched.

"How did you get that?"

"Oh, I saw it lying around on the way by."

"But where?"

"Shh!" Gai pressed a finger to his lips. "It's starting!"

The video began to play.

A very shy-looking Hinata smiled at Neji, whose back was turned to her. The boy was eight years old, his front teeth were missing, and he was waving at the camera.

"Neji, look behind you!" Said an off-screen voice. Neji turned as he was asked too, and was happy to see Hinata standing there and gave her a hug. The younger Hyuuga hugged back, and the cameraman spoke again. "Give each other the presents you picked out!"

Neji reached down towards the Hyuuga Christmas tree and handed Hinata a small box. In return, Hinata gave Neji a wrapped gift too. They both contained toys, and for the next several minutes the camera showed Neji and Hinata, happily sharing their Christmas with one another, before the camera swerved to show a different family member.

Gai turned off the video. "See how nice you were to Hinata?" He asked. "That was so youthful!"

"That was unusually short." Neji commented. "But yes, I can even remember that year in my own memories… that had been my father…"

Gai blinked. "Oh."

Neji ejected the tape. "Was that all, Gai-Sensei?" He asked. "Because I found that to be really pointless, if you ask me."

The green beast threw back his head and chuckled heartily. "I'm not Gai-Sensei!" He insisted. "I'm the Ghost of Christmas Past-Youth!"

"Yeah, whatever."

Gai shook his head before continuing. " I am only one of the three spirits that will visit you tonight! And before I can even go, I need to know if you understand why I showed you that homemade video! So, do you understand it?" Gai pointed at Neji dramatically, which he assumed was supposed to be a pose.

"Was it to annoy me late at night and make me extremely tired the next morning?"

"Err." Gai rubbed the back of his head. "No. It sounds like you're not a morning person, my pupil."

"I thought you said you weren't Gai-Sensei?"

"Umm. I'm not."

Neji raised an eyebrow. Gai-Sensei was terrible at disguising himself. "I'm not a ridiculously early morning person. Now please get out of my room."

"Very well." Gai sighed. "Farewell until we meet again!" With a poof, he left the Hyuuga's house.

Neji went back to bed and shuddered. He had never even imagined he'd ever say that in his nightmares.

Time slipped by, and Neji was finding it hard to fall asleep. He couldn't help but feel as though he was being watched, but he felt too tired to check. The wind blew against his window and made it rattle, causing Neji's paranoia to heighten. Was another one of his teammates going to break into his home?

Finally, after a long time, there was a firm knock at the door. Neji rolled out of bed to answer it, to see Lee standing in front of him.

"Lee? What the…?"

"I am not Rock Lee!" Lee declared. "No, I am the Ghost of Christmas Present-Youth! Because Youth is indeed a Present!" He smiled at his own joke. Neji stared at him and yawned.

"Look, I'm tired, I need sleep, and if you people keep breaking in I'm going to be very, very unpleasant tomorrow."

"Come with me!" Lee took his rival's wrist and pulled him away from his house, ignoring everything Neji said as they ventured deeper into Konoha.

"Lee, let go of me if you want to keep your arm!" Neji threatened. There was nothing "youthful" about being dragged into the snow in the early hours of winter. "Really Lee, I'll do whatever it is you guys want, just leave me alone!"

Lee finally came to a stop. "I am the Ghost of-"

"We already went through this. So, Ghost of Christmas Present-Youth, what did YOU want to show me?" Neji shivered.

"Look over there!" Lee pointed towards a figure in the distance, and Neji squinted to see it was Naruto.

"Man, Neji was soooo mean to me! He is such a jerk!" Naruto said, draping his hand over his forehead. "I am so sad!"

Neji's eye twitched. "Uh…"

Then Gai and Tenten joined him. "Neji is so unyouthful!"

"Why is he so cold and bitter like the snow around such a joyous occasion?"

"Oh, if only Neji knew the consequences of his actions!"

Neji glared at Lee, who was grinning at his friends' performances. "Okay, you have got to be kidding me." Neji crossed his arms.

"Do you understand the reason why I am showing this to you?"

Neji growled under his breath. "Yeah, it's because you're a-"

The wind cut Neji off, and Lee blinked before giving him the Nice Guy pose. "Prepare to meet the final spirit!" He advised.

"Hn." Neji turned around and began to head back home. He just about had it with his teammates.

Neji had just reached his warm, comfortable room again, when he heard a tap from his window. There was Tenten, holding what looked like another cassette. Sighing, he let her in. After this, they would have to leave him alone.

"Neji!" Tenten smiled. "I am the Ghost of Christmas…. No-Youth-At-All."

Neji stared at her. And stared at her. And then he started laughing uncontrollably.

"What's so funny?" Tenten asked seriously.

"I can't believe that they would… oh, nevermind." Neji looked at the cassette in Tenten's hand and sighed. "Just get it over with."

Tenten inserted the tape into a nearby TV. "This is what Christmas will be like… 50 years from now!"

The tape showed Lee, Tenten, Naruto, and Gai all surrounding a casket. Lee, Tenten, and Naruto were wearing fake beards and glasses, but Gai looked the same as he always did.

"And here lies Neji, the unyouthful student of mine." Said Gai.

"It is too bad he was not nicer to people. Maybe then more of his friends would have come to the funeral." Lee shook his head sadly.

"What friends?" Tenten tried to keep her beard on. "Neji was alone when he… passed away."

"I'm just here for the food." Naruto was the only one that was smiling.

"Good idea, Naruto!" Said Lee.

"Yes! Let's go get something to eat!" Agreed Tenten. Then they all tore off their fake beards and ran off-camera.

"See? See your future?" Tenten pointed at the TV.

"Yes. Yes I see." Neji sighed. "Now leave me alone."

Tenten took the tape back out and left, going to the others to announce a job well done.

The next morning was Christmas. Neji was very, very exhausted, and when he got downstairs to where the family room was, Hinata was already dressed.

"G-good morning Neji." She said. "Merry Christmas!"

"Hn." Said Neji. "Maybe it would have been, if a bunch of losers hadn't disturbed my sleeping last night."

"What do you mean?"

So Neji explained everything to her. He explained how Naruto had broken into the house first, then how Gai-Sensei had somehow gotten in through the window with a Hyuuga home video. Then he explained how cold it was when Lee had drug him outside to watch a fake act about the present, and how Tenten had shown him a poorly made movie about his destiny. When he had finished explaining, he expected Hinata to understand. But the younger girl had started to laugh, and she seemed happy.

"What are you laughing about, Lady Hinata?"

It was Hinata's turn to explain. "Well, it's obvious that your t-teammates love you a lot, or else they wouldn't have tried to ch-cheer you up."

"Cheer me up?" Had Hinata gone mad? "They broke into this house, into my room, and forced me into the cold!"

"B-but they're intentions were good." Hinata pointed out. "They didn't want you to be sad around Christmas, so they tried to help you see a way to enjoy it."

"Hn." Neji looked down towards his feet. "They sure had an annoying way to do it."

"W-well… that's what friends and family are g-good at somet-times."

Neji thought this over. True, his teammates were annoying, and sometimes he couldn't stand them. But no matter what, they were teammates, whether they were a part of Team Gai or later in life when they would become mere comrades of the Leaf Village. And maybe, if he acted pleasant for just one day, then last night may not have had to happen…

Neji had walked to each of his teammates houses, knocked on their doors, and wished them a merry Christmas. He had to stop his sensei from hugging him, but for the most part they all looked pleased. Now there was only one shinobi left for Neji to find. Knowing there was no where for that shinobi to go, Neji found him in his house.

"Oh! Hey, Neji!" Naruto grinned, remembering the stunt he helped pull on Christmas Eve. "What brings you here?"

"Naruto…" Neji looked him in the eyes. "I thought… since you don't have anyone here at home, why not spend Christmas at the Hyuuga Household?"

Naruto's eyes widened. "Whoa! Are you serious? You guys want to spend Christmas with me?"

"It's the most peaceful day of the year, is it not?" Neji continued to hold his gaze. "I'm sure that Lady Hinata wouldn't protest."

Naruto grinned like mad. "All right! Let's go then!" He said, walking outside. He closed the door behind him and went ahead of Neji.

"Oh, and Naruto-"

"Hm?" Naruto turned his head. "What is it?"

"Thank you."

Naruto chuckled to himself. "You're welcome, already! Let's just get going, I'm freezing!" He ran ahead, leaving Neji behind a few feet. The Hyuuga shook his head, but followed Naruto to make sure he was going the right way.

The End

Hey, reader! Yeah, I know, I'm like a year late with this thing. Sorry, it wasn't intentional! I wanted to post this on Christmas Eve, but the weather wouldn't allow me out of the house until now. My house has really slow internet, and I couldn't get the document to upload from there. So, sorry! If you'll be so kind to forgive me and review, I will now present you with a short story that takes place during a most wonderful time of the year… it's crack, and it's based off of my other fanfic, "Kakashi, Iruka, and Gai, Oh My!", which takes place before the canon and they're all still little kids. It should be funny. Enjoy, and Merry Belated Christmas and Youthful New Year!

Kakashi, Iruka, and Gai were sitting around, boasting about the things they got for Christmas.

"I got a Nintendo Wii! And they haven't even been invented yet!" Kakashi said, lifting the gaming console so the others could see. They oohed.

"Well, I got a Yo-Yo!" Gai said. He pulled it out from behind him and began to show them a few tricks.

"How's a Yo-Yo better than a Nintendo Wii?" Kakashi demanded.

"It can do this!" Gai explained. He twirled the Yo-Yo around, as Kakashi and Iruka watched it closely. Then Gai slammed the Yo-Yo into Kakashi's left eye.

"AURGH!" Screamed Kakashi. "NOW I'M GOING TO NEED SURGERY ON THAT!"

Gai giggled menacingly.

"Um…" It was Iruka's turn now. "I got a few books…"

"Books?" Kakashi and Gai said in unison. "What kind of dorky present is that?"

Iruka's face turned red. "It's not dorky!" He defended.

"Seems dorky to me." Said Kakashi.

"Well, it's not! I bet you can't even read!"

Kakashi gasped, and covered his damaged eye. "Th-that's not funny." He whined.

Gai glared at Iruka. "You're mean." He stated.

Iruka was about to say that at least he didn't try to gouge Kakashi's eye out, but decided against it. "Let's move on." He suggested. "There's another important day on the way really soon, and we should come up with a way to celebrate!"

Gai's face lit up, and Kakashi realized that it was soon going to be New Years. "That's right!" Kakashi said. "We need to go to the party store and get stuff!"

"Yay!" Gai cheered. But Kakashi and Iruka just ignored him as they ran to the party store.

"Let's see, we got everything?" Iruka asked. He was holding a large list. "Noisemakers?"

"Check." Said Kakashi.

"Balloons?"

"Check!" Said Gai.

"Party hats?"

"Check."

"Those glowy stick things?"

"Check!"

"Milk?"

"Milk?" Kakashi echoed, looking confused.

Iruka re-read the list until he got back to milk. "Oh, wait a minute, the second half of this is my grocery list." He threw it aside. "Looks like we have everything!"

Gai was still beaming. It looked like his head would explode in excitement. Then it did. Really.

Okay, so it didn't. Happy?

It was New Year's Eve, and the trio was watching the countdown in Konoha. Gai looked the happiest out of everybody, as the village started to count, led by the Hokage.

"10! 9! 8! 7! Whatever comes after 7! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!"

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Everyone cheered.

Kakashi and Iruka happily played with their noisemakers. Meanwhile, Gai was looking down at his feet, looking upset.

Eventually, his friends noticed something was wrong. "What's the matter, Gai?" Iruka asked. Gai looked up, his face was covered in tears, and he began to yell.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR? HAPPY NEW YEAR? WHAT ABOUT MY BIRTHDAY, YOU INSENSITIVE… YOU INSENSITIVE…!" Gai stopped, unable to finish his sentence. Then he ran away, possibly to lock himself in his house.

Iruka and Kakashi looked at each other, then at where Gai was running to. Then, they knew what they had to do.

"What a self-centered kid." Iruka commented. Kakashi nodded.

I hope you liked that story too! Happy birthday, Maito Gai! We didn't forget it! And have a happy new year anyway… (Gai's birthday was January 1st, New Year's Day)