Neji stood, speaking with another shinobi, one that he had been working with recently on a large mission. They were preparing a file on the mission, to keep all data of what happened, who they fought and which allies died.
"So is that all of it?"
"Almost, I can finish the rest on my own."
"Why not get some assistance from the others or as much as I hate to say this, me?"
"Because I do not need it besides, isn't there something you should be doing right about now?"
"Sure..."
The figure then walked off, threw the streets and towards a grassy plain that was all too familiar, though not before muttering something along the lines of 'so troublesome.' They said their goodbyes as they both set off in the opposite directions. The mission details held tightly in his hands because he had to give this in to the Hokage, thankfully not until the next day. He sighed; thoughts of the previous mission were rather overwhelming. So many people had died, whether they were villains, to villagers to allies of his own. It was a depressing thought, to think if people you grew up with were just gone like that. Like Tenten, she was practically the only one he could stand during his training years, thankfully she had just gotten hurt and not killed, she was one of the lucky ones.
A sigh escaped his lips; at least most of his allies and all of his friends had survived. He rounded a corner leading to the Hyuuga clan. He wasn't to far away so he would be able to rest soon, the very thought made him feel rather contented. He wouldn't admit it out loud but he really wanted to see his shy cousin Hinata because he enjoyed how she would give him a welcome home hug. It made feel like he was wanted, not like he wasn't though, it was just that Hinata was always able to cheer him when he was down.
The sun was shining down on him as he neared his home but there was something strange in the air, a musky, deathly feel to the area. Now being the jounin that he was, he began to suspect trouble, big trouble. Taking no time to stop, he ran towards his home, activating his Byakugan as he picked up the pace. As his vision went further and further he stopped, silent. The image that awaited him was horrendous, his home...his family...were dead. It was completely massacred, everything gone, destroyed. He would have dropped to his knees and cried if he wasn't stronger than that. The horror of it all was overwhelming but there was this one strange occurrence that baffled him at the moment. When he looked at the bodies, there was almost invisibility to them like they weren't even there. He closed his eyes, sealing the Byakugan calmly. Reopening his eyes, he focused his chakra, at first allowing it to flow from head to toe and then stopping it, constricting it's flow until it was at the point of burst from him. A sharp intake of breath was heard as he released it, allowing it to jettison from his every chakra point and to surround the area around him.
Deep breathing, trying to regain his breath he stared out again, reactivating the Byakugan and looking towards his home. He sighed in relief, now what awaited him was a home, they were alive and Hinata was waiting at the gate. She would always wait for him there; despite her shyness she would always show her affections to her cousin or her 'Onii-san' as they would call it. He was not exactly sure when she got over her shyness towards him but it didn't really matter. Walking forward again, he was content but deep in thought, mind racing with possibilities, thinking "who would use a genjutsu to make me believe the Hyuuga clan was dead...and why."
He could only think of one person who would do that for their own sick pleasure but he shook it off, he shouldn't think such thoughts at least not yet after all he did just get back and he had those papers to file out. As he neared the gates, as expected Hinata ran at him and held him tightly in her arms.
"H-hello Hinata-Chan..."
A big smile on her face as she held him tighter, "Hinata-Chan...I'm going to suffocate to death if you hold me any tighter..." Of course he was being sarcastic but still understood though; she released him from her grasp blushing in embarrassment. Another thing he liked about Hinata, she was, well since he liked her now unlike years ago, funny to be around, the way she would blush usually made him feel like laughing. She whispered softly "s-sorry Neji Onii-san and welcome back home. How was your mission?" She was so curious, it almost made him forget about upsetting the mission was. He just placed his hand on his temple and rubbed it in a circular motion before replying "it...could gone better but over all it was a success. Which reminds, would you like to come with me to see Tenten in the hospital?" She looked like she was thinking but he knew she wasn't, she would come, she liked Tenten and besides even if she didn't, Tenten was one of Neji's friends. Ten seconds later she replied "sure, Onii-san. When shall we go?"
"Tomorrow at noon, Tsunade-sama won't let any visitors see her just yet; she just got out of surgery." Hinata smiled at Neji, why was she smiling, she couldn't possibly be happy about Tenten getting hurt. No that wasn't it, while deep in thought; she grasped his hand and pulled him with her to the Hyuuga training grounds.
"Neji Onii-san would like to see the technique you showed me; I believe that I've mastered it now."
"In only three days, hmm, took you longer than I thought."
She huffed; she knew he was joking, wasn't he? The techniques he showed her were incredibly complicated and took precise chakra measurements. One mistake and there could be serious, SERIOUS consequences, not on the person of course but on everything else around them. The rest of the day passed by and Hinata was huffing, completely out of breath. He scanned her, he had watched her every movement, every stance. Thinking it over, she was watching him, she knew he was thinking, his eyes were closed and his head was tilted up to the sky. It was an unconscious reacting that he had. She remembered asking about it once and his reply was that he had no idea what she was talking about. She just guessed that he did not realize that was what he would do.
After a few moments passed, he reopened his eyes and looked directly at her. He'd come to a conclusion, he stared directly into her eyes seriously, unnerving the girl, leading her to believe that maybe she did something wrong. As he stared at her reaction, he couldn't help but chuckle, a smile adorned his features as he stated "Hinata-Chan, you did well, you've completely mastered the technique, congrats." She kept her hands to her side and an overjoyed look on her face.
'I made Onii-san proud!'
He smiled at her, thinking "she must have worked hard to master it because the proof is right on her hands." He had noticed that her hands had small bruises, they heal but it showed she put effort into it. Suddenly a gust of wind rushed past them both and swept the files off of the hardwood floor. He jumped to his feet, he thought 'damn!' He would have rushed at them but Hinata insisted that he stay there and let her retrieve them since he had just returned from a mission. So he stayed and watched her chase after the flying pieces of paper until she was gone, only for a short while of course.
A cold breeze swept past Neji, chilling him to the bone, shivering he just froze in place. In his mind he knew there was someone behind him, not of the Hyuuga clan. The figure walked up to him and held him tightly against them, whispering "tomorrow..." He just closed his eyes, refusing to acknowledge the presence on the inside but reacting on the outside. A wicked laugh echoed in his ears before it vanished, the air warmed back to its past temperature as the person left. Hinata returned shortly after with the papers in hand, she was smiling until she saw the disturbed look on Neji's face. Her sprint came to a halt for a moment before she walked slowly to him.
"Neji Onii-san?"
He did not reply he merely looked at her, anger written on his face; calmly he took the papers from her and walked away.
"Neji Onii-san!?"
He ignore her calls and kept walking, he headed inside, right before entering the Hyuuga manse, he said "I'm just a little tired right now...I'll see you later." Afterwards he entered the building and vanished leaving a rather upset Hinata behind. She was confused, frustrated but most of all worried. She thought 'I don't understand Onii-san...why do you change? One minute your happy and the next you're angry...this all started the day that I got hurt." She stared into the horizon, watching as orange clouds danced across a yellow sky and a red sun. She sighed now; it was going to be dark soon. Deciding that there really was nothing she could do now anyways, she headed inside. She passed by Neji's room, she thought about using the Byakugan many times to see through his doors and check on him, maybe find out why he was upset. In the end though, she dismissed the idea and continued walking down the hall, as she always did.
Akuma: Hiya,i've hit a major slump with my previous story so i decided to work on a new one.
Hinata: I...I'm sure you'll get the other story finished soon...you're so close.
Neji: You are destined to finish it.
Akuma: I thought you were done with that destiny stuff
??: Finish it now
Akuma: Who's that guy!? (cowers)
