Hello people. Here I am again. :D Hope you enjoy this!
Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto.
Neji's Problem
Neji has a BIG problem.
A super huge problem that nobody else knows.
He doesn't know what to do about it.
It might be unusual for the great Hyuuga Neji to have a problem and he doesn't know how to solve it, but it's not his fault!
It's his first time to have this kind of thing.
You know what it is?
Neji likes – oh wait – loves a girl, and he doesn't know how to ask her out, nor tell her his feelings.
You know who?
Oh, you know who she is. The only female kunoichi that he would want to spend 24/7 of his entire life with. The only one who can understand him, laugh with him and would never get bored with him. His best friend, teammate, sparring partner, best friend, a good comrade, best friend and his classmate! And oh yeah, did I mention best friend?
Neji let out a snort here. Hah. Best friends. That's how it all started.
Well yeah, she and Neji had been best friends ever since their genin days. Though he did not completely acknowledge her before, her persistence to be a good kunoichi had made him accept her for who she was. She had been the one who knocked some sense in his life.
His team, together with Lee and Gai-sensei, had been a lot closer as they grew up. They are now Chuunins – scratch that – she and Lee are now Chuunins and he is now a Jounin. But his bond with the single female in their group is lot stronger than any other bond that he has with anybody else that he knew.
As they spend more time with each other during their sparring sessions and missions given to them, Neji had started to feel different about her. He often told her things that nobody else knows, he would tell her about his deepest darkest secrets. He thought that once she knew about his flaws and uncertainties, she would begin to avoid him and realize what kind of a person he is.
Despite knowing everything, she stayed and listened, and comforted him whenever she felt that she had to.
And that's when he began to accept his growing feelings for her to himself.
He's always been a cold person and he's known for his emotionless face. He rarely showed emotion, and he would never in front of anybody. Until she came...
He never really noticed how he became nicer to her, or how he helped her when she fell down during their spar, or how he smiled in her presence. He began to think how she changed him.
For other people, they had been shocked to see Neji smile. He rarely does that, and they had been wondering why.
He cringed at the thought of him becoming mushy.
But then again, love can make you do wonders.
And he suddenly thought about her walking out of his life and would never come back.
He wouldn't know what to do.
Just the thought of it makes him shudder. He would never want that to happen.
So he planned to tell her his feelings before she fell for someone else.
I'm sure you know who she is. And you guessed right!
She's Tenten.
x-x-x-x-x
Tenten had been feeling depressed lately.
You know why?
Because one guy wouldn't talk to her. Her best friend wouldn't talk to her!
For these past few weeks, Hyuuga Neji, her best friend in the whole wide world, had been avoiding her.
She didn't know why. She was sure that she didn't do anything that would make him mad.
Or did she?
She though hard about it. Nope, she was 100% sure she did not.
Her thoughts flew to the last time they had been together. They were at Ichiraku Ramen, eating for they had just returned from their mission. And that was four weeks ago.
She had been laughing her head off. She, Neji and Lee were talking about the guy who was with them during the mission. She remembered telling them that she thought that he was kind of cute, and how he fell down clumsily as they were walking added to his cuteness.
She remembered Neji's hand became stiff and then grew quiet after that.
As you all know, they had been best friends ever since they were genins. She would know if something's bothering him.
So after eating and all that, they all went home. Neji walked her home as he always did, and since her house is on the same way as the Hyuuga compound. She asked him what happened to him back then, and he answered nothing's wrong. She then rolled her eyes and pointed out to him how his hand stiffened. But then, they've reached her house, so Neji told her he'll tell her some other time.
And that's all she can remember. She didn't know why he suddenly became upset while they were all talking.
And so she thought of how they first met in the Academy.
He was an arrogant kid back then, and she didn't like him when she first saw him.
But then, they had been put in the same team, along with Lee and Gai-sensei as their teacher, and she saw how much of a lonely person he is.
She had been trying to be his friend, she never gave up whenever he pushed her away, and she remained cheerful despite his arrogant nature. Soon after, she noticed that he had begun to warm up to her, and accepted her as his comrade.
Her growing feelings for him had not faded nor lessen as they grew up. They had been a lot closer and Neji began to warm up to her. He became her sparring partner and they would often fight about things. She wasn't sure how it happened, but one day they just became the best buds.
When he told her about everything about him: his problems, his uncertainties, jealousy; she didn't know how to react. It was the first time he opened up to someone, and she just didn't know what got into him. So she just listened to every word that he said and patted his back.
"Don't worry, Neji. Everything will be fine." She remembered saying to him.
And she gained a soft smile from him.
Because of that smile, her heart just melted. And she knew that what she felt was no longer a simple crush.
But then again, she would not be stupid and just blurt out her feelings for the Hyuuga male. She knew that all she can ever be to him is a friend.
Hah. Just a friend. These simple words may be small, but for her, it meant a lot.
Though he may act a lot nicer to her than anybody else, it doesn't mean that he may also have feelings for her, right?
Right?!
But it's not her fault that sometimes she just wishes that she would mean a whole lot more for him. She just wishes that one day, Neji would say that he loves her too, as much as she loves him.
She unconsciously heaved out a sigh. Here she was again, stupidly thinking about all these romance stuff.
"Oh god, I swear I won't listen to Ino again."
And she got up from her bed and walked out of her apartment.
"I seriously need to talk to someone."
x-x-x-x-x
Tenten then began to walk towards the busy streets of Konoha. It was unusually loud today, especially at the area near the Ichiraku Ramen shop.
"Hmm... I wonder what's up there." She wondered to herself.
And she almost fell to the ground by more people trying to squeeze there.
"Geez! What's up with these people?!" she muttered quite loudly.
She then saw a man holding a coupon and yelling quite loudly, "Give me the next serving!"
Oh. That's why.
They're gonna get a free one if they buy one.
She rolled her eyes at them. People these days...
Hoping to find a quiet place, she strolled down the road. She stopped in front of an old playground. Just as she though she found a peaceful surrounding, she heard something.
"Please!"
Intrigued by the voice, she hid behind a tree and looked.
And was surprised when she saw Neji.
With a pink-haired girl.
Her eyes widened, and she tried to listen to their conversation.
"Please, Haruno-san. This is the only way."
"But... Why me?"
"You're the only girl that I could think of for this."
Her eyes widened again when she heard this.
WHAT?!
Could it be...
The Neji Hyuuga is asking Sakura Haruno for a date?!
It can't be!!!
She quietly fell down as she felt her world crashing down right in front of her eyes.
She thought hard about this: when did Neji have feelings for this girl?!
How come she never thought about him liking her?!
He never gave any hints about liking someone...
He never told her about him, liking someone!
And she was supposed to be Tenten, his super best friend?!
Suddenly, she became angry.
He should have told her!
She felt her face becoming hot because of Neji not telling her things...
Him not saying anything about Sakura...
And her being jealous that Neji likes a girl...
A girl which is a completely different person from her.
And that girl is not her.
She doesn't know what to do anymore.
Should she intrude?!
Should she go up to them and tell Neji that she loves him in front of Sakura?
Or should she just leave them alone?
She thought for a second then stood up.
Yehp, she'll go with the second one.
So here's what she did.
"Oh Neji, there you are! I was looking for you all along!" she said as she walked towards them.
Neji and Sakura almost jumped. She snickered at this.
Heh. They were so into their lovey-dovey conversation they didn't even notice me spying on them.
"I thought it would be fun to have dinner. Just the two of us..."
She then looked at Sakura.
"But since you already have someone, I guess I'll just eat by myself."
Neji and Sakura stared at her, mouths hanged open.
"Well, see you guys then. Love you, Neji!"
She then left, with Sakura's mouth still open and Neji redder than a tomato.
Suddenly, Sakura laughed. Loudly.
"Neji! You never really needed my help, did you? And you came up to me to ask for advices on how to ask her out. But since you and Tenten are already together, I guess you don't need me anymore."
Sakura then walked off, still laughing, leaving Neji still dumbfounded.
Now, all he needed to do is find the girl who stole his heart to confess, and to have dinner with her.
x-x-x-x-x
Earlier with Sakura...
"Haruno-san, I need to ask you a favour..." Neji started.
"Sure Neji-kun. What is it?" She replied cheerfully.
He looked around nervously and said, "Okay, but can we go somewhere private?"
They went to the park and Neji started.
"Well, I want to ask you an advice on how to ask a girl out."
Sakura stared at him. Neji, liking a girl?!
"Or how to tell her my feelings with making sure she loves me back."
Just who is this lucky girl?
He stopped then looked down. Sakura can clearly see his cheeks becoming red.
Wow. This girl sure has a lot of effect on this guy.
"Who is she?" she replied excitedly.
"You don't need to know..."
"Then I won't help you."
Neji stared at her. Suddenly, he became irritated. "What?! Why?!"
Sakura smiled mischievously. "Cause, you won't tell me who she is."
After a few minutes, Neji answered.
"Fine, Tenten."
Sakura then laughed at and said quite loudly. "I knew it! I always knew from the start that you're in love with her!"
x-x-x-x-x
So... how was it? Did you guys like it? :D
Hehehe. Tell me about it. Please review! :3
And oh yeah, thanks for all the people who read and reviewed my first fanfic. :D Love you guys. Hope you can help me improve. xD