The disclaimer applies.


The entire Hyuga manor was bustling to and fro. Maids and servants ran back and forth in blind panic as they quickly attended to their orders. Not a soul was slacking off, and even the laziest of them all stood in nervous attention. The silence that always befell upon the mansion had been broken—and almost effortlessly, too.

Despite the clamor that went off about him, the young Hyuga was not to be bothered. Deep within chasms of his dreams, Neji stood completely lost and completely oblivious to the ruckus that was reality. This was not the usual Hyuga Prodigy whose guard had not once been down, not even in slumber. And yet, as he stood on unknown grounds, clad in his typical garb, surrounded if not engulfed by thick mist, he was completely calm and at ease.

He fluttered his eyes open and allowed his gaze to wander. Everything around him was blurry. He could not make anything out, except for his very body. Even the floor beneath his feet was hazy. His brows met together in confusion, and he took deep subtle breaths—a force of habit that allowed him to assess his surroundings better. He was calm, and he knew there was no need to take a breather. But it was precisely the unnerving calm he felt that disturbed him. He darted his gaze back and forth pensively, willing his body to anticipate what was beyond yet—nothing.

"Calm down, Neji," a familiar feminine voice echoed from the heavens above. Neji twitched slightly, "You're not lost in some hellhole" there was something about the carefree tone that Neji felt so accustomed to that finally allowed him to accept the peace he felt, yet he could not put a finger on just why and to whom did the voice belong to, to begin with.

He raised his gaze, attempting to trace the voice's source, "Who are you?"

The voice was filled with mirth as it spoke, "Silly boy! There's no need to know!" Somehow, Neji no longer found the heart to bother, and merely went on with the voice, "Say, Neji, can I ask you something?"

"You already did," Neji pointed blankly. He heard a soft huff and felt a smirk tug on his lips.

"Very funny, Mr. Smarty Pants. I'm serious."

Neji sighed, "Alright; let's hear it."

He could almost feel the grin that the owner must be wearing as the words reverberated in the unfamiliar chasm once again, "Do you believe in fate?" The voice wondered, almost shyly. Neji's brows shot up for the slightest bit, before he stared at the nothingness above him blankly. He crossed his arms over his chest,

"Of course I do."

"Would you do what it tells you to?"

"Of course I would."

"Even if it means staking your pride for it?"

There was a pause, before an unwaveringly dedicated answer was voiced, "Of course I would."

"Wow!" The voice was clearly amazed, "That's wonderful! You believe in fate that much?"

"What are you saying?"

"Even if it means rejection, would you follow your fate?"

Neji thought about it. He wasn't afraid of rejection. His entire life had orbited around rejection. When his parents died, he was rejected. When the Main Branch would not allow him to be the next heir, simply because he was not directly part of it, he was rejected. Neji did not mind the thought of being declined, because he had been too used to it to bother. And he believed that it was for a good cause too, because being rejected meant one was too weak to take on what he yearns. And he grew stronger in hopes that one day, he would finally be accepted.

"Yes I would"

"Such steadfast dedication—you truly are amazing." The voice said in unmasked admiration. Neji felt something tug on his heartstrings upon hearing the pure kindness emanating from the voice. A sliver of a smile—a genuine smile—gazed the prodigy's lips.

"Who are you?"

"You're willing to face rejection?" the voice continued, oblivious to the question. It ticked Neji slightly, but he replied nonetheless.

"Didn't I say so already?"

"Confess." the voice replied bluntly.

Neji's eye twitched, "I'm sorry?"

"I said—"

"I know what you said," the prodigy cut off. Exasperation began to well within him, "I'm asking what you could possibly mean by it" he gritted his teeth.

The voice sighed, "Figure it out yourself, genius. If you know what I mean, that's good. Confess, Neji. I'm telling you you've got nothing to lose. If you don't come into terms with your feelings soon, don't be surprised when one of the greatest things in your life slips by your grasp. Good luck, kid".


Neji woke up with a start.

His eyes fluttered quickly, his breathing erratic, and the smallest twinkles of sweat glistened on his forehead. His heart beat quicker than normal, yet did not ram violently in his ribcage. He took deep breaths to calm himself, and quickly tried to recall the entirety of his dream. He realized it was futile, but he tried nevertheless. He pieced together what he could remember, and sighed. He sat up.

His ears perked with the sound of the hustle outside, and his feet padded softly against the carpet as he made his way over to the commotion. The halls were crowded with servants filing out quickly and dashing off to directions unbeknownst to him. He quirked a brow, before he halted one servant with a cold order. He beckoned the frightened girl and asked, "What's going on? Why is everyone on the edge today?"

He suppressed a yawn as the servant nervously answered, "H-Hiashi-sama had an accident."

Neji jolted the slightest when he heard the news, before the usual façade masked his concern, "What might that be?" He wanted to lean on his doorframe as traces of sleep still lingered within his body, but he knew that was rude and unbecoming of him. He stood ramrod and crossed his arms over his chest instead. He ignored the way the servant's eyes traced his movements, and lingered the briefest over his [well-toned] chest.

"A…ah a f-fragment of the roof by the old garden fell on him while he was enjoying his tea."

Neji's brow twitched upward once more, 'I don't think he's that stupid', "I find that hard to believe" he admitted. The servant smiled and bowed her head politely,

"None of us think it's quite possible too, but I'm afraid what matters most right now is that the Master is not in a very good condition. I'm truly sorry, Young Master, but I have my duty to fulfill."

Neji waved his hand in dismissal, before he spun on his heel and closed the door behind him. He sat on the edge of his bed and collected his thoughts.

For the time being, it was either he or Hinata who would have to take over. He crossed out his cousin's name, realizing it was quite impossible for someone like her to manage a clan whole, especially with her inferior disposition. Had Hanabi Hyuga not been such a spoilt brat who does not seem to care about her family at all, or if she had had the same rigorous training her sister underwent, Neji considered she would have made a better heiress.

He sighed. That left him. But would the Main Branch accept? Certainly Hinata would concede without a second word, and if the heiress were to adhere to the sudden shift in leaders, the rest would follow soon. Neji never doubted his skills once, but he was afraid the elders might not be too appreciative, and act otherwise to his leadership. That would be troublesome, considering the Main Branch would definitely side with the elders, rather than their temporary leader.

Temporary—but their leader nonetheless.

Neji closed his eyes and willed himself to calm down. He took a long shower to further relax himself, and decided to vent his frustrations out during sparring. Now that he thinks about it, he doesn't even understand the need to be frustrated to begin with. He wasn't from the Main Branch, even if his father happened to be the leader's twin. Yet, it was mandatory in the Hyuga family that the leader be the strongest and the smartest among the members, regardless of their standings within the family—although it was often a given that the best choices come from the Main Branch.

Neji happened to be the ANBU's present captain, and one of the core members of the elite Konoha 12—a specialized squadron that deals with the most difficult S-Class missions, made official by Tsunade on one of the regular announcements the village leader would make.

It was almost automatic he is the next leader, should Hiashi be out of the count. And the old man presently was. Neji groaned as he jogged over to the training grounds.


Hiashi Hyuga saw white.

In fact, he was enveloped in white.

And then, before him, a blinding streak of light pierced through the mist the engulfed the Hyuga, as a familiar form materialized in front of him. His eyes widened, as he was suddenly unable to mask his emotions. Hiashi did a double take, realizing the lack of control he had over himself. He stepped closer to the light, as though he was beckoned by sheer amazement—as he was.

As though separated only by a reflective mirror, Hiashi found himself gazing at his self—only in his younger years, before he was crowned the leader of the Hyuga clan and before his heart was frozen in ice after the death of his brother. He stared at the young boy before him, whom, despite the difference in their age, seemed to be a splitting image of the older Hyuga, in his eyes. His body did everything exactly. He was convinced it was only an image, until it spoke for itself and nearly socked Hiashi off in surprise, "Hello", the voice began awkwarsdly yet cheerfully. Hiashi cocked a brow,

"Are you me?" He asked, not out of curiosity (it was a given), but out of confusion, and the need to confirm his theory that he was actually looking at himself years ago.

"That's stupid, especially for you" the image replied bluntly. Hiashi was irked.

"Where am I?" he ignored the mockery.

"In your head," the image smiled.

"This is a dream" Hiashi said defiantly, as though testing the very existence of the image before him. Instead, it smiled cheekily at him.

"If that's how you see it, yes." The image replied ambiguously.

"You are not me."

"I'm not."

"Are you…my subconscious?"

"If that's how you see it, yes"

"Stop that."

"Should I?"

"I told you to."

"No one bosses themselves."

"You're not me."

"Yes and no."

"I don't follow."

"You don't have to" the image grinned, before it suddenly materialized as a puff of smoke that blended with the mist around Hiash that suddenly swarmed and completely engulfed him. He found himself in a pitch black void, where he could feel absolutely nothing. It was Slumber. He tried to fight it off, but to no avail. He tried to shout, but no sound came out. Indeed, he had literally been reduced to nothing.

Surprisingly, he didn't seem to mind.


The maids' eyes widened as the man ran his gaze around the room. A glint of fascination mixed with confusion twinkled in his eyes. They all stared at him flabbergasted. Not a soul seemed to breathe, as everyone took in the sudden turn of events. Hiashi Hyuga sat on the bed, completely mum. His fingers were crossed over his lap, as he eyed everyone innocently. The lump on his head only seemed to accentuate his innocent expression.

"H-Hiashi-sama…?" one maid stepped forward and reluctantly asked her Master.

"Yes?"

"Are you alright?" Hiashi shrugged and smiled. All the eyes in the room widened in utter surprise. Everyone was rendered speechless. The soul that braved to face the sudden peculiar twist of events stopped in mid-step. She stood agape.

"I'm fine! Better than ever, actually" Hiashi hopped off the bed and skipped his way out of the room. Whether he ignored it, or if he was simply oblivious, no one could tell, but Hiashi heed no attention to the people he passed by in his wake. They all stood still as though they had been turned into statues, and none of them could make a sound. All eyes were glued on the stoic and fearsome Hyuuga head that, a few hours ago, graced the very grounds they stood on and commanded authority with every step he took, yet now was frolicking around the mansion and parading with a very happy smile, humming cheerfully to himself with seemingly no particular direction in mind.

Comically, after a few moments of awkward and utter silence went by and tumbleweed rolled before them, everyone fell.


Someone was excitedly rapping on Neji's door.

The prodigy secured his belongings in his knapsack before he went over to welcome the visitor with a gruff inquiry on their purpose, and possibly a rude slam of the door if their reason does not satisfy him. He was in a foul mood after the endless reruns of his dream in his mind, and the unsolved mystery of the voice plagued him. He yanked the door open, determined to lash his anger out on the brave soul, instead, his words failed him and his emotions were given away.

He stood wide-eyed at his uncle, who wore a grin from ear to ear. "H-Hiashi-sama?" he blurted uncomfortably as the said Hyuga walked inside his nephew's room. He hopped on the lad's bed and jumped and jumped and jumped and giggled.

"Weeeeeeee!" he bellowed heartily. In his mirth, he was completely oblivious to the younger boy, whose soul seemed to have left his body, "This is fun! Why is your bed so bouncy? That's not fair! Mine isn't, you know!"

Neji was dumbfounded.

In fact, the word was understatement of the utter bewilderment he felt. He could no longer put up his stoic façade and he had forgot how to manage his surprise, as he stared at his uncle—his cold-hearted, ruthless, bastard for an uncle who always had a stick stuck in his ass—who was bouncing up and down his bed.

Like… what in the name of—fuck?


Neji was late.

Tenten tapped her foot impatiently on the grass beneath her. With her arms crossed over her chest, she stretched her gaze as far as it could to the endless lines of trees before her. Standing at the very heart of the forest where the only clearing was, she initially lengthened her patience and drove her worries her away when she arrived before her teammate did.

The always-punctual Hyuga Neji who took pride in his promptness was nowhere to be found—and it had been three hours since.

Deciding the merely tapping foot repeatedly did not lessen her apprehension, Tenten began pacing back and forth. It was a habit she long grown out of for she knew it always ticked the Hyuga, but said lad was absent for the moment. It bothered Tenten greatly. This was new. More than that, this was monumental. Neji was never late. Tenten stopped abruptly and spun on her heel.

She was heading over to the Hyuga mansion right now.

When Tenten arrived at the mansion and when she noticed that no one tended to her, she knew something was wrong—too wrong. As she had been with Hyuga Neji for practically half her life, everyone in the mansion knew who she was, and had made friends with her along the way. She knew the mansion by heart and could find her way around. Yet when she set foot on the regal grounds, she felt oddly lost. The surroundings seemed unfamiliar and there was tension—an inexplicable and unfamiliar tension—caking the atmosphere.

She walked over to one of the guards, and asked if she could go in—an unusual act for her, for the guards were all familiar with her and let her in without a second word. "Is something going on that I wasn't informed about? Neji didn't come to sparring either…" she knew it was presumptuous of a nobody like her to be aware of everything happening within the Hyuga household, but the maids and the servants and the guards informed her nevertheless, because they all had been under the impression that the lass was going to be a part of the family someday anyway.

"It's just that…" the guard eyed her warily, "I'm sorry. We're all seem out of it. Our leader—Hiash-sama…something happened to him, and we're all on the edge right now, and we're just thankful no one's attacking because we're in a messy state right now…" he sighed tiredly and flopped down to his chair, "You can come in. Sorry about that. But don't expect anyone to attend to you, alright?" he offered her an apologetic smiled, and Tenten grinned back.

"That's fine. But what happened to Hiashi-sama? Is it something serious?" she wondered.

The guard shook his head, "I wouldn't know. News hasn't spread this far outside to us. But we'll know soon. I think he's regained his consciousness now, but something's still wrong. Why not go see for yourself? And if you won't mind, tell me once you're out."

"I will," Tenten made her way inside the familiar abode of grandness and headed towards the giant alabaster staircase. She turned right, then left, then walked a few meters forward, before she arrived at a door whereupon she rapped softly. "Neji?" she called out.

It was only a few minutes later when the door cracked the slightest bit open and Neji reluctantly peeked out, "Tenten," he mumbled, visibly dazed. Tenten flinched—this was not Neji. Whatever was going on, it had to be monumental to sock the Prodigy off his feet. Tenten's eyes widened as she hurriedly forced herself inside. Neji was too weak to fight her off.

When her eyes landed on the cause of the lad's distress, everything quickly gravitated upon her and pushed her to her knees.

"W-what…what's going…on?"


Tenten was trained to become an elite ninja. Her parents had abandoned her as an infant, and instead brought her to an orphanage. She never had any friends and she never knew why. She taught herself never to rely on others, and honed her skills to become stronger. Her ideals centered on being independent—on facing life alone without seeking the help of others.

Alas, she realized her potentials as a ninja, eventually. In a blind rage one day when the lady from a few blocks away—the only one nice enough to care for Tenten every once in a while—was almost killed by a band of goons, a sudden surge of weapons materialized behind Tenten and attacked the hoodlums. No one survived, and the blood that splattered everywhere was the only remainder of what had transpired.

Frightened beyond anything, Tenten was taken in momentarily by the old lady, who encouraged her to attend the village's ninja academy. "You have a potential as a ninja. You have the power to protect this village—to protect more people. You can control weapons. Use that ability to protect those who are dear to you. Who knows, one day you might be acknowledged for you skills and become this village—no, this country's—next Weapon Mistress?"

Living on that very principle, Tenten strived hard to perfect her skills. Along the way, she met and befriended the stoic Hyuga Neji, whose very attitude was a complete opposite of her carefree one, yet shared the same pain of a troubled past, and Rock Lee, who always found a way to cheer her up and on, no matter how dire things are.

The three of them teamed up to journey as ninjas. They have been through thick and thin and have seen the best and worst battles. Nothing scares them anymore (except bugs. Although that's a different issue for Tenten altogether), and nothing catches them off-guarded. They have been prepared to face the most adverse situation head on, without falter and fear. They have been trained for anything—or so Tenten and Neji would like to think.

In retrospect, none of the Konoha 12 elites were trained to handle a clan head that, having dealt amnesia by a peculiar yet serious accident, seemed to believe he was 11years old.

"Hey!" Hiashi hopped off the bed at last and sat on the edge instead, "Is she your girlfriend?"

The comment snapped Neji back to reality. He immediately donned his aloof mask and eyed the man detachedly, obscuring his wariness perfectly, "She's not." He deadpanned. It was the coldness and bitterness coloring his tone that awakened Tenten out of her distant reverie. Her gaze whipped to the Prodigy, whose rigged disposition exudes a no-nonsense aura that alienated Tenten. He was trying hard to regain control over himself—and nursing his pride at the same time.

Of course. His pride took quite the beating after she—of all people—saw him in such a pathetic state. She smiled slightly at this, forcing his previous remark in the deepest gorge of her subconscious. "Hiashi-sama…do you not remember me?"

"No. Then are you my girlfriend?" Both teens blanched visibly upon the statement. Tenten coughed awkwardly, before Neji amended the situation immediately.

"She's not. She's no one's girlfriend, but—" he quickly added upon seeing Hiashi open his mouth as if to speak, "She isn't available, either." A blush generously coated Tenten's cheeks, and a faint line of red ran across Neji's as well. Hiashi eyed them calculatingly, and for a brief moment, the ANBUs thought he was back to normal. But he smiled afterwards and stood up, slightly tipping his head upwards to meet his nephew's gaze.

Determinedly, he said, "Oh, that's fine! Let's make her your girlfriend then!" He giddily walked away from the baffled duo, and closed the door behind him.

That had better appeased you. Return my body at once!


Chapter two is down!

I just got back from a youth congress in Baguio City and unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to bring my laptop along (not that I could have written his chapter, even if L-kun tagged along). I was browsing through the past version of this fan fic and I realized, to my horror, that the context of proper grammar was a little farfetched for me back then. There were too many grammatical errors to be called typographical. I'm just thankful that I'm improving my writing skills as I go by.

On a side note, I'm terribly beat with our excursion, and by no means thrilled to return to school tomorrow, even if we had this day off. (- Nov. 21, 2011).