Destiny– the Bravado of the Byakugan!
A collection of ten incidents involving a certain hard-working Bushy-Brows, a particularly loud Jinchuuriki, the laziest Chuunin in Fire Country, and our favorite snobby Branch-Hyuuga
The First Incident:
A Cage Built Alone – Neji's Solitude!
Neji was pissed.
Never ask why, dear reader – anyone who knows Neji knows that he is always pissed. You would be pissed, too, if destiny dictated that your life would slide down into a steaming pile of horse shit; and Neji has convinced himself that this is his fate. And why bother defying it? After all, a failure is a failure, a rose is a rose - you can't stray from your fate. The path is already laid before your feet, and you are doomed to follow it-…
Rock Lee threw a rice-ball at his comrade, derailing his train of thought. Apparently, Lee had issues with his rival's mantra on destiny – he snarled at the Hyuuga, nearly singeing his bulky eyebrows off with his own flaming gaze.
"Destiny is not for you to decide for others, Neji-san!" Bushy-Brows screeched, aiming another rice-ball at Neji's forehead. The Hyuuga deflected the food with a well-timed swat, but failed to dodge the third projectile; Neji was pile-driven into the grass by this last rice-ball. Kuso, Lee had a good arm.
(Much to Neji-san's chagrin, this is his destiny.)
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Neji was sulking.
Never ask why, dear reader – anyone who knows Neji knows that he is always sulking. You would be sulking, too, if destiny dictated that your life would spiral down into the sloshing waters of the proverbial toilet; and Neji has convinced himself that this is his fate. And why bother defying it? After all, a failure is a failure, a genius is a genius - you can't stray from your fate. The path is already laid before your feet, and you are doomed to follow it-…
Shikamaru planted his foot firmly on his fellow cloud-gazer's forehead, rerouting the Hyuuga's fortune-oriented thought process. The searing heat of Neji's rage threatened to burn the Nara's foot to a crisp, but sharp intellect protects from foolish anger and self-important words, leaving Neji weaponless against the intelligent Chuunin. Shikamaru lifted his foot just in time to avoid Neji's misaimed death glower, which opened a hole in a cloud directly above the pair. Kuso, that boy had a glare that could skewer Kami-sama's hand.
"Destiny is not for you to decide for others, Neji-san!" Shikamaru barked, dropping his Chuunin vest onto the Hyuuga's face. Neji almost gagged – something that had touched the Nara was now touching his face. He immediately jumped to his feet and bolted back to the Hyuuga compound, fearing the Chuunin's lazy-germs might have gotten into his bloodstream. Uncaring, Shikamaru resumed his cloud-watching, mentally reminding himself not to invite Neji to his hilltop after he had been around Lee or his clan.
(Much to Neji-san's chagrin, this is his destiny.)
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Neji was acting arrogant.
Never ask why, dear reader – anyone who knows Neji knows that he is always acting arrogant. You would be acting arrogant, too, if destiny dictated that your life would be spent defending an ancient and haughty bloodline and not expecting any thanks or recompense for your services; and Neji has convinced himself that this is his fate. And why bother defying it? After all, a failure is a failure, a Hyuuga is a Hyuuga - you can't stray from your fate. The path is already laid before your feet, and you are doomed to follow it-…
Naruto upturned his half-empty bowl of Ramen onto his friend's head, interrupting Neji's muttered monologue. Obviously, the orange-clad Genin had issues with his old opponent's opinion on fate – he silently ordered a second bowl of Ramen as our Hyuuga tried to delicately remove the bowl from his head; he didn't want to get any more broth on him than he had to. He struggled to peer through the noodles veiling his prized Byakugan, but managed to shoot Naruto a death-glare that stopped an elderly passerby's heart.
"Destiny is not for you to decide for others, Neji-san!" Naruto shrieked, upturning the second bowl of steaming noodles onto the Hyuuga. Neji then proceeded to make a complete fool out of himself and Naruto: still wearing the bowl – noodles and all - and dripping with broth, the disciple of fate blindly chased the foolish Uzumaki around Ichiraku, the employees dancing around to avoid the frenzied pair. Eventually, Naruto got away and ran to Kakashi's aid, but not before Neji landed a knee to the groin hard enough to cripple a prime bull. Fate's disciple was promptly punished by Kakashi via A Thousand Years of Pain.
Satisfied but butthurt, the Hyuuga headed back to the compound. He grimaced mentally – he would be washing his clothes for weeks to get the broth stains out, and he doubted the smell of miso would ever come out of his hair.
(Much to Neji-san's chagrin, this is his destiny – and he cannot take a hint that it is changeable.)
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A/N: Never be fooled by serious titles. ;3 I love making a mockery of the show. Don't get me wrong – I love it, but the episode titles are a bit…laughable. xD So I laugh. This small collection of incidents takes place after the Chuunin Exam, and before Naruto leaves with Jiraiya in the end of Common Naruto. It is a small, unheard-of window after Sasuke has escaped and Neji has accepted his terms with his Clan, but remains a bitter, uncertain Genin – fate still holds sway in Neji-san's tortured mind. Yes yes, a bit of seriousness in my notes, but never in this tale.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Neji, Shikamaru, Rock Lee, or anything related to the show or Manga that should show up in this story. I only own the silly, silly plot.