Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. It is the property of Masashi kishimoto.
I Am No Hyuuga
Through liquid pools of silver that define nothing beneath, I, Hyuuga Neji, looked out at the breathing world and found nothing to catch my interest. There is little that attracted my searching gaze, but when I found my probing eyes drawn to something, it was truly something indeed. The birds soaring freely above are not worthy of my jealousy, but as I stared up into the summer breeze, bitterness grew within.
Always have I watched these feathered creatures with longing, a heartfelt ache to feel their freedom, if only for a moment. Sighing, I had turned my head from gazing upwards to look down at my clenched fists. There was no hope to free myself. I was bound as tightly to fate as the fact that the sun rises by day and the moon by night. Or so I thought.
Staring at the wall ahead of me so I wouldn't have to look at my teacher pacing back and forth in front of the classroom, I listened boredly to his lecture on the dynamics of the V2 rocket and its predecessors. We had been covering the subject of dynamics and their effects on objects for almost a week now and, I admit, it has become an extremely boring subject. Sighing, I tapped my pen on my desk a few times and shifted in my seat. My foot began tapping on the floor and I rested my elbows on the desktop with my head in my palms. The teacher turned to me.
"Neji, would you like to add anything on the subject? You seem to be pretty knowledgeable about it." Orochimaru-sensei's voice was dripping sarcasm. He waited for a moment. "Well?"
I sat up straight, stilling my feet beneath me, and sighed. Somewhere along the way, I had lost track of the lecture. There was no avoiding it. I either had to guess and try to get it right, or tell the truth. Or wing it and come up with something completely unbelievable. Usually, I would have told the truth. But some small spark of defiance decided to rear its head and I opened my mouth.
"This is stupid. I've been listening to you preach on the exact same area of discussion for an hour every day, each day of this week. Why don't you just shut your mouth, sit at your desk, and ogle your assistant like you do when you have nothing better to do?" I crossed my arms and glanced at Yakushi Kabuto, Orochimaru's assistant. The man blushed and turned his eyes away. Orochimaru, however, leveled me with a hateful glare, ignoring the muffled laughter and whispers.
"Hyuuga Neji," The pale skinned man rasped. "You will report to the office immediately. Don't bother waiting for your pink slip. I'll send it up." With that, he turned away in an attempt to forget my lingering presence as I gathered my textbook and back pack.
I stepped out into the hallway, all too aware of how silent it was. I could hear the hushed babble of a TV set in one of the rooms. Certainly that class was watching some form of animated children's movie, Finding Nemo, or some such. I pass that class, stepping quickly over to my locker and depositing my school books, and instead taking out a worn, dog-eared novel from the back. My hand is familiar to its shape, easily fitting into the slight curve the book's hard cover had taken over time.
It was a collection of stories by authors barely known to even the most knowledgeable of literary persons, compiled over a hundred years ago and printed well before my time. The characters were vivid, a reader easily falling into their world and feeling their plights and freedoms. Animals, all of them, mostly birds. I fashion myself the stoic Kingfisher on dreary days. Others the wily Crane. Even the incessant Woodpecker, when it befits me. Once I even compared myself to the stalking Panther at night, his pale, luminescent eyes focused on some small creature perched below. Right now, I feel like the rambunctious Jay.
My feet carry me into the office, the door sliding with a soft sigh across the carpet as it closes. The receptionist looks up, surprised when I seated myself in one of the chairs reserved for those having come in on bad behavior. I ignore her, settling down in the last chair left, the last one in line. I put a foot up on the cushion, propping my hand and the open book it holds on my raised knee. Minutes pass. Finally, my name is called and I snap the book shut, standing slowly and making my way towards the principal's office. Trading one chair for another, I seat myself in front of Principal Tsunade, noting her wry expression. Her words seemed to surprise both of us.
"Both you and I know you're human, and Orochimaru can be damned annoying," This sounded as if from personal experience. "So, I'm letting you off the hook, Neji. However, there had better not be a repeat, or there will be consequences. Now, you are going to walk out of my office and skip the rest of this period by sitting in the waiting room over there," Tsunade's slender, manicured finger pointed to the door I had come in at. "and I am going to write this off." The pink slip was picked up and waved.
I stood and turned to leave, but the woman's voice stopped me.
"Oh, and Neji? You owe your teacher an eight page essay on dynamics. It's due Wednesday." She smiled before shooing me out of her office, ready for the next student in line. I oblige her, removing myself from her presence and stepping back into the waiting room. All of the people from before were gone, but there was one new person that I had never seen before. Probably a new student. And he was sitting in my chair.
Normal POV
The slim Hyuuga approached the chair he had been sitting in before being called in to see Tsunade and stood patiently in front of it. Its new occupant was staring off into space, mouth slightly open and eyes unblinkingly focused on the wall to his right. A hand slowly dragged itself through the air in front of his face several times before those eyes centered and focused on it. Then, in logical order, they traveled to the wrist and up the arm, over and up to look at Neji.
"Earth to new kid, office is vacant." It sounded like the tall brunet had been repeating himself for some time. "Alive?" Neji smirked, when the green eyes slowly blinked up at him.
"Erm…yeah…?" Definitely a question. The petite redhead blinked again, becoming more aware with each flutter. "Uh, what'd you say?"
Neji arched one slender eyebrow in mock disbelief.
"I said, 'Earth to new kid, office is vacant'. Meaning, its your turn to see Tsunade-sama."
"Oh…" Looking around, the teen who looked to be about sixteen reached under the chair and pulled out a messenger bag and pulled the strap over his shoulder.
"Thanks, man." He stood, and Neji noticed he only came up to Neji's chin, mouth if you counted the wayward spikes sticking straight up out of the general melee. Neji held out his hand, and the other hesitated only a moment before shaking.
"Hyuuga Neji, at your service." The name was given with a friendly grin. "So, do you have a name, or should I just call you 'Space Cadet'?"
"Sabaku no Gaara. From Suna." Gaara's head tilted to the side and his red spikes listed dangerously. "Everybody's a little weird there." Gaara's head whipped around to look at the door to Tsunade's office from which a shout had resonated, and the entire back section of spikes collapsed. When Gaara turned back to Neji, the rest of it lost most of its vertical potential and fell in soft spikes sticking every which way, regardless of the hands that reached up to correct them.
"Shoulda used the hair glue if I wanted spiky spikes." Gaara informed Neji solemnly, hands giving his uneven hair one last pat and tug. "I gotta go see her." A careless finger pointed in the general direction of Tsunade's office, missing it by a fair margin. "Later, Neji." The redhead abruptly spun on his heel and strode towards the far door. Sitting down in the now empty chair, Neji opened his novel and began to read.
"N-Neji-niisan, c-can I borrow you-your laptop?," Hinata, Neji's cousin, asked softly. Almost everything the dark-haired girl did was soft, but Neji didn't mind. Once upon a time, he had, but that anger has long since dissipated.
"Sure, Hinata." I reached over from my spot on my bed and snagged the corner of my laptop where it sat on my dresser. Once it was within easy reach, I handed it up to her and asked her to bring it back when she was done with it. Turning back to my homework, I plugged in the twenty-fourth equation I had been assigned into my calculator and glanced up at the clock. It was 9:00 PM, Friday night and I had nothing to do once I finished my Calculus work.
The light summer drapes on my window billowed in the gentle breeze, letting the night scents and sounds of the estate into my room. It was quiet outside, mostly just the chirruping of crickets and the hypnotic buzz of cicadas riding on the breeze amongst the rustling of treetops. Every once in a while, I would catch the distinct murmur of lowered voices drifting up from the downstairs rooms. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I made a game of trying to match the voices to whomever they might belong.
Sighing, I closed my text book and slid it into my backpack, along with my papers and the calculator I had been using. I pushed the bag to the floor with my leg and rolled over onto my stomach. The scent of lavender washed into my nostrils, a product of the incense bulbs hanging from the ceiling. It was a nice, relaxing aroma that made me almost want to sink into the soft sheets I lay on and stay there. But, the fact that I was in sore need of entertainment kept me from doing that.
Instead, I rolled on my side and propped myself up using the window ledge, looking out at the estate grounds. Far off in the distance, I could see the guards patrolling the fence line with their dogs. Even farther, the lights of the town peeked over the roofs of the houses. It was a quiet, inviting night, and I wanted to be out in it.
Pulling myself up using the window sill, I moved off of the bed and to my closet. It was nice out, but not weather for my trusty purple bathrobe. Albeit, a very warm and fuzzy purple bathrobe. I pulled out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, but decided to trade the shorts for a pair of jeans a moment later. I almost never wear jeans. So, wearing my almost new jeans and a white t-shirt, I trotted out of my room and down the hall. I stopped at the head of the stairs, considering doing something I hadn't done in ages.
Listening and looking in all directions, I found that there was nobody to see me. Up I went, onto the banister, and down the long flight of stairs. Completely, improper but extremely fun. My, chocolate hair flowed out behind me as I glided down the banister sidesaddle-style. I caught myself right before I would have racked myself on the banister post and got onto the rail for the last flight of stairs. This time, I didn't use my hands. As I reached the end, I put out my hands and went leaping over the post to land with a thump on all fours on the carpet. Just like how I used to do it.
Grinning, I ran to the door before anyone could catch me when they came to investigate the commotion I was making. Just before the front door closed behind me, my ears picked up the dry voice of the butler, Geoffrey.
"I do believe that may have been Master Neji, taking the star-rail express." The laughter of one of the maids followed.
Jogging down the graveled path, stone crunching beneath my feet, I let the wind drag my hair across my shoulders to beat at my back. Each warm breath was whisked from my lips by its cool touch. I felt like I could fly, even if I knew I couldn't.
Finally, I was standing at the front gate of the Hyuuga estate. The gatekeeper's job was keeping track of who entered and who departed, So I wrote my name on the sheet he handed me and glanced at the clock to write the time. Now, I could leave.
Doing so, I set out at a quick jog, intending to make it into town in only a few minutes. The blacktop was like a hole of deeper blackness in the spaces between streetlights. Around me, the night was far from still. Furtive rustling in the brush, twitters of disturbed birds shifting on their perches, and the faint sounds of a dog barking came to my ears. Peaceful.
As I neared the town, I was glad to note that it was quiet here as well. Sounds were reduced to a low murmur by the late hour, it seemed. Passing Konoha's gates, I waved at the men standing guard and headed for the town center.
It was brightly lit, strings of colored lights hanging in the fronts of shops and stretched between lamp posts. A few dozen people wandered about, looking at wares in the shops, sitting on benches with their loved ones, teens hanging out with their friends at the open air restaurants, even just people here for the enjoyment of other people. There had to be something to do here. Spotting a piece of glaring orange through the door flaps at the Ichiraku Ramen stand, I pushed my way past them and found that y guess was correct.
"Neji!" Naruto exclaimed. "What are you doing up so late? What happened to the prude I know?" It was said teasingly, taking away most of the sting the words would have carried.
"I'm bored." I told him, sitting down to his right. The look on his face was memorable, though it quickly changed. No doubt, the rascal was trying to come up with a way to tempt me into participating in one of his schemes. At this point, I might actually be bored enough to join in.
"Go for it." Naruto looked surprised at this, but forged on.
"Okay, Neji. You see, there's something I've really, really been wanting to do. It'll take at least three people, and I want you to be one of them." I nodded, and he continued. "Sasuke-teme'll probably be the other one, besides me. So, we go to the housing district and put something in Orochimaru-sensei's mailbox. I already have it, but I'll need some help. Then I have a few other things I want done. That's where you and Sasuke come in. You in?"
I thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Sure."