A/N: Enjoy! Dedicated to all the NejiHina fans out there.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
He hates her the most.
No, it's not because she's from the main house. Perhaps it used to be because of that, but now he is no longer bothered by that. He hates her because she steals away his attention from everyone else.
She is a thief.
He follows her with his eyes, because she is so graceful. Every moment enchants him, and he forgets the world around him. Yes, he hates her the most, but why did she have to be so damned beautiful? No matter what he does, he cannot look away, and every moment of Hinata-sama's beauty is captured within his mind.
He hates her the most, because he can never look away.
If he hates her so much, why does he want to protect that kind of beauty? He has always thought of her as a single rose. Fragile and beautiful, something everyone desperately wants to protect.
The other day, just the other day, his spandex-clad teammate and teacher were preaching something about youth, and then she walked by. With her innocent smile and doll-like beauty, she completely captured him. Only when she had left did he return his attention to his teammates, only to find Tenten looking at him worriedly while Lee and Gai cheered about something he had missed. Apparently he had nodded his head as they were talking about youth, leading them to believe that he was agreeing with them. He still couldn't forget that embarrassment.
No, Neji Hyuuga does not space out.
Unless it involves Hinata-sama.
Even then, he only spaces out sometimes.
He supposes that he inherited it from his father. The feeling of wanting to protect the heiress, that is. Maybe it did have a little to do with Hinata-sama herself, but what he felt was probably inherited. As his father wanted to protect his uncle, Neji wanted to protect his cousin. She was too delicate to weather the storms of being a ninja(still is), but she is one anyway, and he has to be her protector.
She steals away more than his attention. She steals away his very breath when she walks into the room wearing a dress. She steals away his mind and forces him to think about nothing but her.
His heart skips a beat when she awkwardly tries to make peace with him. Yes, she steals that too.
She steals away his happiness when she acts the way she does around Naruto.
He hates her. Of that there is no doubt. The feelings of wanting to protect her and the feelings of hate mix so perfectly that he can't tell one from the other anymore. Sometimes, but only sometimes, he wonders if he really hates her for stealing his attention away from others. Sometimes, but ever so seldom, he wonders if he hates her because she has stolen his heart, too. Then he shakes his head. That cannot be. He has always guarded his heart since the death of his father. There is no way someone as weak as his cousin could waltz in and take his heart away.
Did it really matter? She had already stolen everything else, anyway.
Sometimes, but only sometimes, when he spars with her, he starts to imagine that he is kissing her when he leave injuries on her body. He pretends that the marks mean that she is his. He spews out nonsense that he doesn't really mean. Yes, sometimes. During the Chuunin exams, for example. Still, he loves to hurt her because it means that he gets to touch her skin.
It's always hard to admit it, but the truth is, she has already stolen all of Neji himself.
Hinata-sama is a thief, a master thief.
A/N: For those who are wondering, yes, Neji does love Hinata in this fic. He's just in denial. And please, do not flame the couple. It said NejiHina. Deal with it. If you have to flame something, flame the writing:)