Disclaimer: Suheil373 owns a lot of things, but Naruto isn't among them.

Author note: Hee! Hello! This is my first Naruto fan fiction. Neji x Hinata, of course. I tried my best for this, because I had never even imagined myself liking Naruto, so, this is surprising even to me. Anyway... This is centered mostly around Neji. And Hinata barely stutters. I don't like it when she stutters uncontrollably. It affects my brain. Here she stutters reasonably. XP

So, anyhoodles, read on if you like this pairing, and if you don't, the back button must be somewhere around the top of the computer screen.

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Title: This Morning

Summary: Hinata was acting weird. Neji makes it his business to investigate. Tenten makes it her business to hurt Naruto. Naruto makes it his business to break Hinata's heart. And Neji... well, he makes it his business to mend it.

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Pearly-white eyes slid open, as sunlight poured into the room, lighting up the handsome yet delicate features of the 'Hyuuga Prodigy.' Neji sat up on his bed, his long, dark hair framing his pale face. Blinking, he threw the plain, white covers aside, revealing himself to be wearing only a pair of white shorts. He stood up, making his way over to the window.

'It's a nice morning,' he thought, yawning as he threw open the window with one hand, and covered his mouth with the other. 'What should I do today? I have no missions, maybe I won't have training, either...'

For now, he decided on changing into something more appropriate for going outside, and getting some breakfast. He changed into his usual outfit and, as he tied his hair back loosely, Neji looked at the clock hanging on his wall: 6:22 AM. Probably nobody would be wandering outside as of that hour. It was light out, but it was also very much early.

He quietly made his way out of his room, closing the door behind him, and strolled down the corridors to the main house's kitchen. Though Neji belonged to the branch family, he was one of the few allowed to use all the facilities of the main house, he wasn't exactly sure why, but he didn't complain. He imagined that it was probably because of his position of being his cousin's protector.

'Almost there... What will I eat, anyway?' he asked himself. Neji was just about to turn the corner, when he saw the smaller form of his cousin, almost... sneaking?

As soon as the navy-haired girl saw her elder cousin standing centimeters in front of her, she gave a sharp gasp, immediately putting one hand where her heart would be and holding that hand with the other. What was he doing wandering at this hour?

"Good morning, Hinata-sama... Sorry for startling you," said the brunette, taking a short bow, then staring intently at her.

A deep blush covered her cheeks, and Hinata gave a small, weak smile, a very fake smile. "Ne-Neji-niisan! Hehe, good morning. What are you doing up so early?"

Still, he stared at her, which made her uncomfortable beyond belief; he noticed. "I just woke up and decided to get myself something to eat... What are you doing up so early?"

"Um... I was just taking a quick walk, and then I'm going out... to train! Well, I better get going, can't leave my teammates hanging," she gave him that fake, nervous smile again--almost causing him to scowl--and scurried off as fast as she could.

This did make Neji scowl. What could she be hiding? Where was she really going? And at this time in the morning?

He sighed, giving up on it for now. After all, he was very hungry, and there was more than enough time to find out what his cousin was up to.

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A content sigh escaped Neji's lips, as he closed his white-as-pearl eyes in satisfaction. That had been a pleasant breakfast: fried eggs, pancakes and a glass of milk. Not much. But he wasn't the type of person that enjoyed eating in large amounts.

'I wonder what Hinata-sama had for breakfast...' His mind trailed over their encounter a measly thirty-five or so minutes ago, causing him to furrow his eyebrows.

Neji wasn't one to go minding anyone's business but his own; but with his cousin, things functioned quite differently than other people. Though he had known Tenten and Lee for a large amount of time, he never once cared what they did or didn't do. But everything Hinata did, he had to know. He was her protector, and even if he didn't care for her, he had to at least have some sort of clue as to what was going through her head. Otherwise, if anything happened to her, he would pay the consequences.

Neji stood up from his chair, picked up his plate and glass and went to wash them. Thinking, meanwhile, of his cousin. 'Did she really go training? I don't think so. She must have gone do something stupid, since she was acting so suspiciously.' He couldn't even begin to imagine what, since at that precise moment, Hinata's father decided to interrupt his trail of thought.

"Good morning, Neji," he said in his calm but, at the same time, thundering tone.

The young boy turned to his uncle, and bowed, "Good morning, Hiashi-sama."

"We have training to do," and with that, he turned and left.

'I suppose Hinata will have to wait for later...'

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At approximately 9:30 in the morning, the Hyuuga Prodigy was freed from his training. He managed to maintain focus and even forget about Hinata throughout the whole thing. But as soon as they took a break, and his uncle noticed that she was nowhere to be seen, he remembered their encounter that morning, again.

Neji decided on taking a walk around the village. Perhaps he would run into her.

"Neji!"

Or perhaps he would run into his teammates.

"Neji!" Waved Tenten as she ran over to the Hyuuga.

He turned slightly and watched as she approached him, "...Hi."

She looked the same as she always did. Brown hair styled into two cute buns at the sides of her head; wearing her signature pink shirt and dark pants. As she reached him, she flashed him a bright smile, "Good morning! Where are ya' headed?"

"I'm just taking a stroll..." replied the dark haired teen, looking around. "Where's Lee?"

Her expression suddenly became one of boredom, "Oh, he's on a mission with Gai-sensei, yada yada, same as always."

"Hm," he nodded, and started walking once more. Even though he didn't ask her to come with him, somehow he knew that she would follow him anyway.

"I saw Hinata a little earlier," said the girl, making conversation. "She was with Kiba and Shino training in the forest... She didn't seem like she was into it very much, though."

"Really? Did you see her after that?" Neji was quite curious about the matter. 'Not very much into training..? Maybe, even though she didn't lie about the training thing, she wasn't very keen on doing that... maybe there was, or is, something else.'

"Well... yeah," replied Tenten dully.

The boy slid his white eyes shut, at the same time crossing his arms over his chest, ready to analyze whatever his teammate threw at him, "Where?"

"Right there," she said, pointing straight ahead.

Neji immediately snapped his eyes open in alarm. Sure enough, there she was; his younger cousin, crossing the path in front of them, mumbling (words of courage) to herself as she stared at the floor, not noticing them. Curiously enough, none other than Naruto was walking straight toward her, his hands held together behind his head nonchalantly.

The dark-haired teen looked at Hinata and watched her reaction as she saw the blonde fox strolling casually toward her. She blushed, bit her lip and started fiddling with her fingers. Suddenly, she seemed to have gotten much smaller. Upon seeing that, and seeing Naruto stop right in front of her, Neji became more curious, and a bit anxious at the same time. He looked over at Tenten, who was about to make the younger couple aware of hers and Neji's existence, and swiftly grabbed her by the arm and dragged her behind a small, wooden fence.

"Ne-!"

He covered her mouth and glared, whispering, "Don't say a thing."

The brunette raised an eyebrow at her teammate, "Tell me again why we're spying on your cousin..?"

"We're not spying. I'm protecting her," he whispered hotly and looked over the fence at Hinata.

"Right," replied Tenten, following suit. "I think this is wrong. It's cruel to spy on her and her crush."

"..." Neji cocked an eyebrow, "You're... not serious."

"...Well, well, even the genius knows nothing of love! Of course I'm serious," remarked the girl, smirking, earning a glare from him.

Naruto stared at the pale, white-eyed girl squirming in front of him, "Uh, so Hinata, what did you wanna talk about that you called me all the way over here?"

The small girl's blush intensified, and her cousin was sure that he would murder Naruto as soon as he was alone and unaware. But he didn't understand why, it was simply a sudden urge to shower himself in the fox-boy's blood victoriously.

"Well, I wanted to tell you something important," she said softly. Still, she fiddled with her thumbs.

Behind the fence, Tenten giggled, "Aww! That's cute! She's going to confess! What do you think about that?" She turned to look at Neji.

He fantasized about himself ripping the blonde's limbs off, and clenched his fists. He might have never admitted it to anyone, maybe even to himself, but he knew felt something for his cousin that went farther than caring for a cousin or even a sister. He had always thought she was cute. And even though they had a big misunderstanding, they got over it and he resumed his duty of caring for her, paying more attention to the things she did, which resulted in that need to protect her, and murderous intent toward anyone who did anything to hurt her.

After several quiet seconds of fist-clenching and evil thoughts, the brunette responded, "I think... I'll rip his ears off if he makes her feel bad."

"WHAT?" Naruto yelled in Hinata's face. It may have seemed like a rude gesture, but he hadn't heard what she said. He leaned a little closer to the navy-haired girl, "I'm sorry, could you repeat what you said? I didn't hear you."

Her blush seemingly went berserk, but nevertheless, she spoke louder, "I... I... wanted to tell you something... important."

"Oh. So, what is it?" Asked the blue-eyed blonde, smiling.

She bit her lip, and trembled a bit. 'Get a hold of yourself Hinata. Just tell him and ask him how he feels. No big deal. He's just... the real Naruto, not just your imagination. Oh, God.' After that thought, she felt hopeless, but she had promised herself that she would confess her feelings to him today. "I... like you. A... a lot. I always have."

'Don't you dare hurt her, Naruto...'

"Oh." Naruto stood up straight. He hadn't been expecting that. "Hinata... I... That's cool and all, but... I just... I don't like you that way. I hope you understand. Sorry."

Tenten sighed, "Aw... I was cheering for her and everything. Well... it is pretty obvious that Naruto is into Sakura, but one can hope, right?" She looked at Neji, noticing his tightly clenched fists and angered expression, and decided to pretend she didn't speak at all. "Okay... ignore that."

Hinata's eyes watered instantly. Heartbreak. That was the only word that fit in her head. The pain in her chest and the headache she suddenly felt coming was way too overwhelming to think of any other words to describe what she was feeling at the moment. But, still, she nodded, understanding. "O-okay... S-sorry I bothered you."

And so, she turned and ran off...

The brown-haired Hyuuga stood up, and went over to his current nemesis, closely followed by Tenten. The blonde boy looked at him, wondering if they had heard and seen everything that had just happened. Upon noticing the glare that the boy was directing in his direction, Naruto was sure that the other boy was going to assassinate him if he didn't defend himself.

"I'll get you," said Neji, narrowing his pearly eyes and placing his fist in front of him, then ran in the direction through which his cousin had gone, leaving the brunette girl with the blonde boy.

She shook her head, then punched Naruto over the head, "You idiot!"

"Ow!" He rubbed his swollen head and glanced at her, annoyed, "What did you do that for?"

Tenten giggled, "I don't know, it was just a sudden urge." She stuck her tongue out at him as she finished saying that. Causing him to silently plan her accidental death.

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Neji ran fast, but not as fast as he could. He knew his cousin. He knew where she would go. She always wound up where she would, whenever something happened to her. He had looked after her enough to know. So he gave her time... to clear her head a bit, and settle herself where she continually did. He didn't need to rush. The brunette knew that he wouldn't know what to say to her. He just knew that now... he had a chance.

'A chance to what? Face it... she would never like me. I'm her cousin! What sort of bastard would she take me for?'

He was getting close to her.

By now, Neji was in the forest outside of the Village. There were, obviously, a lot of trees, and the soft whispering of the flowing river could be heard. He started to walk. The river's sounds becoming increasingly distant, and the small voice of a girl weeping grew clearer. His white eyes scanned the area, looking for her exact location of the girl.

There she was... sitting before a thick tree, embracing her own legs; chin resting upon her knees, eyes swollen and cheeks rosy. His breath was taken away at that instant, as he glimpsed at his harmless and pure-hearted cousin in such a tattered state.

Neji could feel his heart begin to ache for her, and was caught with an urge to be there for her, because deep inside, he knew... Not having anyone for so long, made him realize that nobody wants to be lonely, and he didn't want to be a hypocrite and turn his back on someone who was clearly wounded and in need of support when he was there and could aid her.

He began to walk toward her, straight ahead. And as soon as he was ten feet away, he stopped, "Hinata-sama..."

Hinata looked up at him, but quickly turned away, "Neji-niisan... Please, I-I want to be alone."

He sighed, "Don't lock yourself in. Let it out somehow. Talk to someone. Even talking to yourself works. But, don't make the same mistake I did and keep it inside you. It hurts now, imagine if all that stress builds up on your chest?" The brunette said, not thinking about his words; he let his heart speak for him.

She bit her lip, trying to suppress the overflowing tears. In a matter of seconds, she got up and dashed toward Neji, clinging to his shirt, crying freely into his chest.

At first, he found himself with his mouth agape. His mind went numb and he couldn't think of what to do next. But he let his instinct take over and limply wrapped his arms around the shaking girl.

"Why, Neji-niisan? Why w-won't N-Naruto l-like me?" She managed to stutter the words out in between sobs.

Neji held her, staring sadly into space, "Please, Hinata-sama... try to get rid of those thoughts. I... understand how you feel, and I know it hurts but don't allow yourself to drown on those feelings." He gently lifted Hinata's chin with one of his hands. Now he was staring directly into pearly-white pools that almost mirrored his own. His heart beat faster, and he could feel his voice becoming smaller, yet he forced himself to say something else, "Don't give in, or feel alone, there are a lot of people who care about you... including me. And I'm willing to make you feel better however I can."

Upon hearing those words, the navy-haired girl felt as more tears welled up in her eyes. She bit her lip, trying to keep herself under control but she unwillingly burst into tears, "Th-thank you, N-Neji-niisan!" She buried her face in his damp shirt once more, clinging tighter to it, more tears flowing down her face.

For the second time, Neji felt himself at a loss of actions, 'What do I do now?' He stared down at her, and occasionally patted her back, but aside from that, he wondered if there was anything at all that he could do to make her feel relief.

After a few awkward minutes of silence, staring, crying and patting, Hinata started to gather herself, and her sobs began to subside. She pushed herself away from her cousin's body, not looking up at him, and wiped her remaining tears away, sniffling. Her cheeks were flushed, and the boy couldn't see her eyes, but he guessed that they were red as well.

Her hands found their way to each other, and started fiddling nervously with one of the strings hanging from the (thrown-back) hood of her jacket. "Thanks for b-being there for me, Ne-Neji-niisan," she said softly, involuntary hiccups making her stutter as they racked her chest.

He nodded, silently.

Hinata looked up at him, and tried her best to smile, yet the hiccups made it hard to speak and even to smile, "D-do you want to take a w-walk with me? A-around the forest?"

He nodded again, and began to walk. She quickly followed and after walking fast for a few seconds, she kept up to his pace. Neji didn't look at her. It was awkward enough for him to be walking with her deep into the woods, he was afraid that if he looked at her he would make a mistake and say something out of place.

"Neji-niisan..."

"Hm," he averted his gaze toward her, without turning his head.

"Um... Let's talk about something. And... let's walk slower, you're almost making me run," she said smiling shyly.

The brunette smirked, giving a soft chuckle as he slowed down, "Sorry, I was just... caught up in my thoughts, Hinata-sama. Is there anything that you want to talk about?"

"Um," the usual blush covered her cheeks once more, as she looked away from him. "Have you ever liked someone?"

Neji blinked in surprise, and had to keep himself from blushing as well. He had been expecting anything but that, "Well... I suppose... I do."

Hinata giggled, covering her mouth with one of her hands, "Ah! Neji-niisan is in love!"

Was it weird that he thought her reaction was cute? "Ah... I wouldn't exactly use that phrase, but it could be... something along those lines," he said, trying to defend himself and gather his dignity.

She smiled, looking up at him, "So, can I know who it is? Oh! You never hang out with any girls, except for Tenten. I-is it her?"

"No way! Definitely not her. She's... weird," that wasn't the word he was looking for, but he didn't think that any word would fit better than that one.

"Oh? The only other girl that's ever around you is me. Is it someone you barely talk to? Sakura-chan?" Somehow, he guessed that she was determined to find out.

He shook his head, "No, it's not Sakura. Or Ino. Or any other girl that you might think of."

This caused her to take in a sharp gasp, which scared him, "No! You like a boy? Do you... like boys?" Her eyes were wider than he had ever seen them before, but so were his.

The mere thought caused him to shake his head frantically, his hair whipping behind him, "NO! I don't like boys! How could you think that, Hinata sama?" He was almost angry, but let it slide. He hadn't been clear, so it was obvious that she would think something like that.

She giggled, her blush returning to cover her pale cheeks, "Sorry... You know... once... I liked you."

Neji stopped in his tracks. 'Did she just say what I think she said?' Were his ears deceiving him? "What? I didn't understand what you said."

She stopped walking a few feet in front of him, and turned to face him. Her cheeks were a deep pink color, and she was biting her lip, "Um... I said th-that, I used to like you. But, don't think I'm weird, Neji-niisan, it was just silly and for a very short time! I-I don't even know why I said that. Please don't hate me!" Her eyes became tearful, as she pleaded.

He couldn't contain his startled expression. Once more, he had been expecting anything but that. The brunette walked over to his mortified cousin, "I could never hate you, Hinata-sama. I thought I once did, but that was the biggest mistake of my life." He lifted her chin up, and their pure-white eyes met, his lips formed into the briefest of smiles.

Hinata blinked, letting the tears in her eyes slide down her cheeks. She stared at him in awe, "You're... not mad at me?"

"No," he replied, slowly leaning closer to her. 'Should I even take the risk? ...What if she rejects me? She did say that is was for a short time. It was most probably a long time ago too. Ah... screw that.'

The girl was about to speak again, but was surprised when the brunette boy pecked the corner of her mouth. Her cheeks suddenly felt incredibly hot, and things seemed to be happening in slow motion. She looked at his face as he was backing away, and noticed the light blush covering his cheeks, but when she realized that he was already standing up straight and wasn't face to face with her anymore, it had already vanished.

"Neji-niisan..."

Neji looked down at her, "Hinata-sama, you may not like me anymore, but... I do like you. I have for the longest time. I'm sorry if it offends you, and I'm sorry I tell you this soon after you've been going through so much, but... I had to." His eyes narrowed, his gaze lowered toward the floor, and he felt remorse for having said and done what he just did

Hinata simply stared at him, deeply shocked, 'Neji-niisan... He kissed me. And he said he likes me! I can't believe this!' She smiled, and let out a giggle, catching his attention, "Thanks, Neji-niisan. You've made me feel a lot better." She took a step forward, her body a mere inch away from his, and wrapped her arms around his neck, her head resting on his shoulder, embracing him tightly.

He blinked, confusedly holding the smaller girl. "You're not mad, Hinata-sama?"

"Not at all," the navy-haired girl kissed his cheek, still hugging him, "Thanks for making me feel better. I... I don't need Naruto when I have someone like you who really cares about me."

This last sentence caused him to smile. This morning, he never would have imagined any of this, but he definitely had a chance.

The end.

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Soooo, what did you think? I know Neji was a bit OOC, but that was just the way he turned out. Any constructive criticism will be gladly accepted. Now, please review. Let me know what you thought of my story.

Was it any good? Corny? Boring? Too OOC? Cute? Should they have made out?

Just don't ask me to make a sequel or to continue it. I don't do sequels, EVER, no matter how many people ask. Don't waste a perfectly good review asking me to continue. XP Byeness!