Mshinata's Notes: Marshie-chan has granted me permission to continue this story since she won't be writing anymore. –Sad- Please enjoy this story to the fullest! Marshie-chan has wrote the first ten chapters. After the ten chapters, I will be continuing it.
Title: He Said, She Said
Author: Marshie-chan
Pairing(s): Neji/Hinata, Kiba/Hinata
Anime/Manga: Naruto
Type: Alternate Universe (AU)
Status: In Progress…
Disclaimer (Applied to all chapters!): I don't own NARUTO, HANA KIMI and W JULIET. This story is only fan-made and not associated with the Anime/Manga/TV Show mentioned.
Dedication: kawaiiS, the NejiHina Queen!
Summary: In order to stop the arranged marriage that their clan had prepared for them, Neji and Hinata decided to make a deal with Hiashi—but what if the deal is for them to cross-dress until high school graduation?
Based on: Shoujo Manga Hana Kimi (For You In Full Blossom) and W Juliet
Warning(s):
-Characters may tend to be OOC and there may be bad English. I'm not perfect so don't be harsh with my grammar and spelling mistakes. The story is switching with Hinata's POV, but I separated it with the lines so don't be confused.
-It was clearly stated that this is a Neji x Hinata fanfiction. If you think this pairing is gross/disgusting/sick, simply click the back button in your browser.
A/N: If you want to know what kind of AU setting this is, just imagine that it's the same as the second ending of Naruto Shippuuden (the Naruto high school style). Also, if you don't understand some Japanese words used in this fic, feel free to ask and I'll answer it right away. Hope you enjoy reading and please don't forget to review. Reviews make the update faster. Thanks.
Beta-Reader: The lovely DesertxRosexTemari, thanks for your help! I love you, dear!
Chapter One: Trust Me
At first, I thought everything was just a dream. My cousin Neji-niisan and I believed that we would just wake up and we'll be back in reality, to our normal lives… just as things had always been.
But no… we can't go back. This is reality.
We're now inside the car that will take us to Konoha High School, the place where we are going to risk our own pride and reputations…
"N-niisan, I don't think we should do this." I spoke up but didn't have the courage to look at him. I kept my glance glued outside the car window.
"…"
No answer. Well, I didn't expect an answer from him anyway. Once he had decided something, no one could change his mind. Niisan is really a man of his word.
"Worried?" My heart skipped a bit upon hearing his sudden reply, "Just do what I've taught you and everything's going to be all right… Hinata-sama."
That's what I like about him Even though he knew we would be put into shame if we fail to keep our secrets, he managed to retain his natural calmness and composure. By relying on him, we're both confident we'll be fine.
"Arigatou, Nii-" I turned my head to look at him and got the shock in my life, "-san?!"
If I wasn't able to get a hold of myself, I would have fainted. Changing our hair styles was hard enough, but…Neji-niisan? Lipstick? Heavens… this has got to be the most disturbing scene I have ever seen. I never thought he would go this far.
And the most unacceptable part is—when polished, he seems to be more of a 'woman' than I am. "N-niisan, you—"
"Ah." He touched his make-up covered face. "This? If I don't do this, I would still look like a guy. You should act manlier as well."
I sweat-dropped. This doesn't seem to disturb him at all. "W-watashi—"
"It's supposed to be 'Ore,'" He corrected."You're a guy now, remember?"
I sighed heavily before answering, "Uh… O-ore-wa…"
"Good. And please don't twiddle your thumbs, it bothers me. You will not only pretend to be a boy, you'll be carrying my name as well," He spoke seriously.
I reddened in shame and hid my hands behind me. "I understand. G-gomenasai."
Yes… it was on this fateful night that Oniisan and I have decided on something that will change our lives forever. Cross-dressing as each other until high school graduation—it's an indisputable deal we made with my father, Hyuuga Hiashi.
Even now, his voice still echoes in my mind: 'Therefore, if you want to get your freedom, spend all your remaining high school years pretending to be one another.'
Because of our clan's political powers, we were able to transfer to a local school in Konoha, with me carrying Neji-niisan's name and him carrying mine. This is the first time we have ever done anything like this, and I can tell that even a genius like Neji-niisan is unprepared for the turn of events in our lives.
Niisan already swallowed his pride and applied make-up and lipst—No! No! What I mean, is that… just as he tries, I also have to try my best to be a real man! Hopefully luck will be on my side.
I gathered all my courage to speak. "Neji-niisan." That's right… I've been unfair with Niisan. We're in this together and we must try our hardest so that our covers won't get blown.
He stopped powdering his face and shifted his gaze back to me. "Hn?"
I cleared my throat and tried hard to speak manlier, "Trust me! I can do this! We'll never lose to him!" I clenched my fist in determination. Yes, we'll definitely show Otou-san what we're made of.
He smiled warmly with an amazed look on his face. "You're weird…"
"Eh?" I feel my cheeks warming; I don't know if that's an insult or a compliment. But for the first time in awhile, I get to see him smile. He hasn't smiled ever since that day—that day when Father decided something on his own without even asking our opinions. If Neji-niisan hadn't made that deal with him, we would have—
My thoughts were interrupted when the car stopped.
"We're here." Neji said as he glanced outside the window to stare at some unfamiliar buildings.
"AYa? You're the Hyuuga clan's Neji-kun and Hinata-chan?" An older woman gasped in surprise while looking at the two figures outside the dorm gate that evening. Hinata looked at the woman from head to toe. She could tell that this lady was already in her late-twenty's. She was wearing rugged clothes and slippers, and she was eating some 'odd food' on a stick. (Those are squid balls.) Maybe she's… what's the word? Juvenile?
"Is there anything strange about it sempai... hmm?" Neji, dressed up as a girl, replied calmly with a surprisingly feminine voice.
'Sugoi. Not only does he look a lot prettier than me with that dress and make-up but he also managed to make his voice sound like a girl… as expected of Neji-niisan,' Hinata thought while looking at him. 'Yosh, I'll try my best as well! I must look tough to give off the best impression as a man!' She slouched a bit, shoved both her hands in her pockets, and forced herself to frown.
Neji, who had been observant of this, looked dumbfounded. 'Hinata-sama, I think you're overdoing it,' He thought.
The woman sighed in disappointment. "Well, it's just that you're the exact opposites of what the rumors said about the both of you."
Hinata's eyebrows met in confusion as she spoke, "What do you mean, sempai?" She smiled secretly. 'Great. It seems I made my voice really manlier. This is an achievement!' She clenched her fist in joy.
The woman scanned their features before she replied. "Looking at the two of you, I didn't expect Hinata-chan here to be taller than her elder cousin… and…" She glanced at the boy, "For a guy, your face looks kind of… girly. Could it be that…" Suddenly she fell silent, looking to be in deep thought.
Both gulped nervously. 'Crap… did she figure it out?' Neji thought. Droplets of sweat started to form on his forehead.
Her eyes sparked as she declared teasingly, "Ah! Could it be that this Hyuuga Neji-kun is gay?"
"G-gay?!" Hinata blurted out in shock while her cheeks began to redden in embarrassment. 'Oh no! A guy shouldn't blush! Go away, stupid blush! Go away!'
Neji was shocked as well and confronted the woman. "W-what nonsense are you talking about? I'm not ga—I mean, him! My cousin is straight!"
She raised both her hands in defense. "Hey, calm down, Hinata-Ojou-san. I was only joking. You two looked so tense." She chuckled. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Mitarashi Anko, one of the dorm heads. You must be tired; I guess you need to rest. Follow me." The woman introduced as Anko led them to the dorm hall and the two followed.
Neji's mood had darkened. "That was… a joke?!"
'My goodness, Nii-san, don't forget you're a girl now!' However, Hinata wasn't able to voice it. "Calm down, Ne-, I mean H-Hinata-chan."
Hinata-chan? Gosh, have I ever heard Neji-niisan calling me that? (Well honestly, I wanted him to call me that—Aah!! What am I thinking?) I thought this would be easier but I was wrong. We're not even in school yet and I've already made a lot of blunders. To think, we've rehearsed it for weeks and I've been so confident that I can do it… Neji-niisan might be angry with me right now.
Aside from that, I've never seen Neji-niisan react so badly to someone's words. Maybe it's because… his sexuality had been threatened? Well, it wasn't even exactly directed at him, but somehow, I can't help but smile about it.
"Were you smiling because you find my reaction earlier unusual?" Neji suddenly spoke as we were walking down the hall way. I turned to him and our eyes met. Even in girl's clothes, Neji-niisan still looked manly when you look at his eyes.
I quickly looked away. "Er—no… I just remembered something funny." It's like he can read my mind! Am I really that easy to figure out? Well, we've known each other long enough, so it's natural, but I hate it when he looks at me like that! It makes me feel so… uncomfortable.
"Hinata-sama," He muttered in a near whisper. "Are you still worried?"
My eyes widened. "Eh? Why do you say that all of a sudden?"
"I know it was reckless to do this kind of thing, but I assure you that I can give you your freedom. You won't be tied up with our clan's stupid policies anymore."
I looked back at him and he held my eyes. This time, his gaze was more meaningful and made my heart beat unusually fast. "Niisan—"
"That's a promise," He cut me off. "As of now, you don't need to worry about anything. Trust me, I'll watch over you—no. I'll protect you."
Hearing those sincere words made my heart fill with warmth and security. I smiled. "Hai. I trust you, Niisan."
"Damn it, he's late again, huh?" Anko blurted out furiously as she glanced at her watch. "It's freakin' 9:30 in the evening! Where in the hell did that bastard go?"
"A-ano… may I ask—" 'Wait Hinata, a guy isn't supposed to act like this. Be more masculine!' Hinata thought. She cleared her throat before she spoke up in a forced 'manlier' voice, "Ah, whoever we are waiting for sure took a long time, eh? I'll beat him up for you, Anko-sempai!" She clenched both her fists as if ready to fight someone.
Anko sweat-dropped but still forced a smile, "Ah, that's very sweet of you, Neji-kun…"
Neji's eyes widened. 'What the hell is she doing? I don't act like that at all!' He gently held his cousin's elbow and pulled her closer to him. "Hinata-sama, just relax. You don't need to force yourself too hard."
"D-demo—" Hinata was about to say something when out of nowhere came a person wearing a mask.
"Good evening, minna-san!" The 'masked man' greeted.
"Don't you 'good evening' me! We've been waiting for hours! These kids are already sleepy!" The woman shot back in anger and pointed her finger towards them. "Do you have any idea who they are?!"
The man scratched his gray hair. "Well, I got lost on my way—Oh?" He took a closer look at the two of them. "Are they the ones from the Hyuuga clan?"
Anko nodded her head. "They are. The principal instructed us to give them a proper welcome when they arrive."
The gray-haired man looked at them suspiciously, his eyes betraying the emotion while the mask hid the rest of his possible expressions. His face drew closer to Hinata. "So you're Hyuuga Neji-kun?"
'Oh no, he's too close. But he seems to be testing me or something.' She raised an eyebrow and exclaimed, "Y-yes I am! You got a problem with that?"
'Darn, she's overdoing it again,' Neji thought as he shook his head in disappointment.
"Hmm… tough kid. Hey Anko-san," The man approached Anko and whispered in her ear, "I didn't expect Hyuuga Neji-kun to be such a worm."
Anko whispered back, "Yeah, me too. And that Hinata-chan is bigger than him, but it seems like her chest is rather small…like an A-cup size!"
Neji gritted his teeth in anger and murmured to himself, "You damn sempais; we can hear you, you know."
"Neji-niisan, you look scary," Hinata whispered when she noticed Neji's anger. He looked like he was about to explode.
"WELL THEN!" Anko looked back at them. "We apologize for the wait! I am the head of the Girls' Dorm and this old man here is Hatake Kakashi. He's the one in charge of the Boys' Dorm. From now on, I'll be taking charge of this fine young Ojou-san," Anko said as she shoved Neji to the building on the left. "As for Neji-kun, he'll go straight to the Boys' Dorm with Kakashi—"
"What the—?!" Neji exclaimed in surprise and tried to stop Anko from shoving him. "Does that mean we're going to be separated?"
"Of course! Even though you're related, the fact that you have different genders would make it inappropriate for you to stay together. You should live in separate dorms."
"Ch-choto-matte…" Hinata insisted. "We didn't hear anything about this!"
"Anko-san's right," Kakashi added. "You don't need to worry; you'll see each other in school anyway. Come on, Neji-kun!" He placed his arm around Hinata's shoulder and led her to the building to the right.
"Hey!" Neji called out. "Who give you permission to touch he—him?" Neji bit his lip as realization struck him. 'Shit… what am I thinking? Since when did I start being so reckless?'
Kakashi looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. "Huh? You seem to sound… jealous?"
Abruptly, Anko let out a loud laugh. "Kakashi, I guess this young woman has mistaken you as a HOMO! Hahahaha!"
The gray-haired man sighed in disappointment. "Well, I guess it can't be helped." He moved his hand away from Hinata. "I'll keep my distance. So don't worry too much…" Kakashi looked at him with an amused look in his eyes, "…Oujo-san."
Neji forced a nod. He can feel that Kakashi's smiling beneath the mask and it's pissing him off. 'Someday I'll rip that silly mask of yours, I swear.'
"Anyway, you don't need to worry. You're from the Hyuuga clan so we treat you as V.I.P. in our school. The principal already decided that we will give you private dorm rooms."
"Well, that's a relief," Neji said calmly and looked back at Hinata. "I'll see you tomorrow… Neji-kun."
She smiled. "Hai, Hinata-chan." Inside, however, they were both thinking along the same lines: 'Ugh, this is really inconvenient.'
They exchanged meaningful glances that weren't able to escape Anko's and Kakashi's keen eyes.
Anko flashed a naughty smile. "Hmm… it seems like both of you share a very close relationship. Could it be that you two are… lovers?"
"L-LOVERS?!" Both blurted out in shock.
Hinata shook her head vigorously with her cheeks blushing intensely. "Nothing of the sort!"
"Of course we're not," Neji spoke seriously and looked away. "We treat each other as siblings. Nothing more."
Hinata's eyes widened upon noticing the red marks on her cousin's face. 'Huh? Neji-niisan is… blushing?!'
"Hai, hai, no need to be so defensive," Kakashi said and took a look at his watch. "It's getting late; we'll take you to your rooms."
That night, Kakashi-sempai led me inside the Boys' Dorm building and showed me around. At first, I was quite reluctant if I should enter or not, but since Neji-niisan managed to make it inside the Girls' Dorm, I believe I can do it as well. It was really a good thing that we arrived at school in the evening. There was no risk of anyone bothering us yet.
Sigh! I've just started to realize how hard it is to conceal our gender. I have to be more careful!
"Uh, I forgot to say something, Neji-kun," Kakashi suddenly said. "We didn't expect that the majority of the students enrolled this year would be guys. Unfortunately, the dorms weren't prepared for it. Sumimasen…" He bowed his head as a sign of apology.
I have a bad feeling about this. "Uh, what are you trying to say, Sempai?"
He opened the door of a room before he replied, "You have roommates."
I opened my mouth in shock. "Nani?!" The moment the door opened, what flashed before my eyes were two men—a weird guy with dark glasses sitting at the edge of a bed (the lower part of the double-decked bed) reading a book while the other one was lying on the carpeted floor eating some snacks. Both of them stopped what they were doing and turned their attention towards me.
"Konnichiwa, Hyuuga-san! I'm Inuzuka Kiba! Nice to meet ya!" The brown-haired guy greeted with a cocky smile. He pulled himself up the floor and walked towards me. The other one remained silent, but I can still feel him staring at me despite the dark glasses he's wearing.
Oh no, I want to faint. Why do I have to share a room with two guys?!
TBC