The Choices We Make

Chapter 2: My Betrothed

"Class dismissed." Iruka sighed heavily. With Graduation Day tomorrow, his students had mentally checked out, their eyes completely glazed over as he talked. He smiled at the ones who waved goodbye to him, wishing them a good afternoon.

"Bye, Iruka-sensei!"

"Take care, Asami," Iruka called to the blue haired girl who walked out with her best friend Kohaku. He knew those two would easily pass the graduation exam, but he knew there was still a lot of growth in store for both girls.

Asami and Kohaku left the Academy building and walked toward the town.

"Are we still going to Ino's this afternoon," asked Kohaku.

"That's today?!" Asami hit her forehead, and smiled apologetically at Kohaku. "I totally forgot."

"How could you forget," Kohaku whined, scowling at Asami. "We've planned on going for the past week!"

"I know," said Asami, "I forgot I had to meet-uh, I have something planned this afternoon and I can't change it."

"Woah." Kohaku abruptly stopped in front of Asami, her arms folded. "What are you doing that I don't know about?"

"You don't know everything about my life," Asami said, folding her arms over her chest. "I'm not that predictable."

"Sure you are," said Kohaku, and held up a finger. "You go to school, then you help out at your mom's shop, then you eat dinner, then you go on a walk to a flower field. If you aren't helping out at your mom's shop, you're training. If you're not doing either of those things, we're usually together."

"Damn it," Asami muttered under her breath. Kohaku knew her almost too well.

"So, what are you doing," asked Kohaku. Slowly, her lips spread into a sly grin that reached her chocolate brown eyes. "Do you have a hot date?"

"..."

"ASAMI YOU HAVE A DATE!"

"It's not a date," said Asami, her face bright red. "It's a pre-arranged meeting-"

"Who's the guy?"

"..."

"Asami," whined Kohaku, tugging on her best friend's arm. Asami wasn't the type to volunteer information about herself, but her reluctance to tell Kohaku who she was seeing was suspicious.

Asami squirmed, pulling the sleeves of her burgundy long-sleeved top down over her knuckles, even though it wasn't cold. "Okay, but you can't tell anyone." Asami's purple eyes met Kohaku's brown eyes with intensity. "No one."

"Of course," said Kohaku, quickly nodding her brunette head. "Not a soul."

Asami breathed out a sigh. "I'm seeing Hyuuga Neji, and a few times a month we meet up. Once formally, and the other times to train. He's my...betrothed."

"BETROTHED-"

Asami clamped a hand over Kohaku's mouth, as they drew stares from other villagers. Kohaku quickly pushed Asami's hand away from her mouth and offered an apologetic smile. "Betrothed," she exclaimed in a whisper.

"Yeah," said Asami, rubbing the back of her blue head. "Since we were kids. Apparently my mom and his parents were on a team together during the Third Shinobi War and they saved each other so many times, that they made a pact to marry their children off. I didn't know people actually did that."

"Do you like him," asked Kohaku, raising a skeptical eyebrow. She didn't know much about Neji, except that he was a genius, or so they said. That, and that he had weird eyes and long hair and always looked angry, a sheer contrast from Asami who tried to make every moment optimistic.

"Sometimes," said Asami with a shrug of her shoulders. "We don't talk very much outside of our meetings. Sometimes he can be kind, and other times...he's...Neji."

Kohaku nodded solemnly. Asami didn't answer her question.

"Anyway," said Asami with a smile, starting to walk backward. "I should go now. Tell Ino I'm sorry I can't make it! See you tomorrow, Kohaku!"

"Catch ya later," said Kohaku, without enthusiasm. She watched as Asami skipped away, a resting smile on her face. Kohaku frowned again. She didn't know much about Neji, but she knew now that should would be watching him closely. Very closely.

xXx

Asami arrived a few minutes early to the flower field where her and Neji often met to train. Sitting on the soft grass that tickled her bare thighs beneath her black shorts, Asami smiled at the flowers around her. Something about the vibrant colors of nature always soothed her.

Removing the thin black and gold headband Asami wore around her forehead, she then undid her long braid, shaking out her thick and wavy hair. Carefully she re-braided it and pulled her headband back on, fixing her long side-swept bangs above it. Nervously, Asami plucked a yellow flower beside her and twirled it in her fingers before putting it behind her ear. Neji would be here soon.

Smiling to herself, Asami thoughtfully plucked the petals off another flower in her hands one at a time. This was the field Asami took Neji to when they were little kids and she kissed him on the cheek, telling him she would wait for him. While it was true that some days she didn't know if she liked him, it didn't stop her from mooning over him the way Kohaku and other girls mooned over Sasuke when he did something cool. And one day, she would marry him.

"Asami."

Asami stilled at Neji's voice behind her, a blush creeping up her face. She hated being such a fangirl around him. Standing, she turned and smiled at Neji who walked into the clearing. He nodded at her in greeting, the ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Neji-san! Good to see you," said Asami. "How've you been?"

"I've been well," Neji responded, stopping in front of Asami. "Hinata-sama told me that your graduation exam is tomorrow?"

"Yep," said Asami, nodding her head. "I'm not worried though, I'm told it's easy."

"Good," Neji said. "Well, are you ready to train?"

"Let's do it," Asami said as an answer. "What technique should we work on this time?"

"Are you still struggling with Taijutsu?"

"I wouldn't call it "struggling"," Asami muttered with a heavy sigh, but she knew Neji was right.

"Whatever you call it, you still don't throw punches very well."

"Can't we climb trees instead," Asami asked. She dreaded taijutsu, especially against Neji who excelled at it.

As an answer, Neji slid into a fighting stance that told Asami he would be on the offense for now. Again with a heavy sigh, Asami walked a few steps back and slid into a defensive position, irritated that Neji seemed immune to her charms.

Neji rushed at her, and Asami quickly brought her arms up in front of her to block the sea of punches and kicks Neji delivered. Glancing around, Asami allowed Neji to continuously attack her until her back was pressed against a tree. Neji went in for another punch and Asami quickly ducked so that Neji punched the tree instead. Asami quickly brought a leg under Neji's feet, connected with both of them. Instead of toppling over, Neji back flipped away, landing gracefully into a crouched position. Straightening up, he smirked ever so faintly. Asami was getting better.

"Again," said Neji, and quickly he rushed at Asami.

Asami's eyes narrowed and she blocked again and again, but this time, she became more confident in her attacks, even though they were deflected. Neji still didn't use his Byakugan against her, which was helpful.

Again, Neji back Asami against another tree, and this time, Asami jumped up, grabbing the lowest branch that was in reach and used it to swing herself behind Neji. Neji turned just in time to grab Asami's wrist before her right hook connected with his jaw.

For a few seconds, Neji and Asami paused, breathing heavily, watching each other. Neji still had her wrist in his grasp. Neji searched Asami's face that was dripping with sweat. Somehow, she managed to still keep the yellow flower tucked behind her ear.

Neji looked down at Asami's fist in his hand. Carefully, he pushed back her sleeve. Asami, startled, looked down at her hand.

"Neji-san…"

Carefully, Neji undid her fist, pulling her thumb out from behind her closed fingers and put her thumb over her fingers instead. He looked back up at Asami. "Your thumb never goes against your palm when you punch," said Neji, "or else you'll break your thumb. You'll do more damage to yourself than your enemy."

"R-right," said Asami, breathless. Carefully, she drew her hand out of his, and held it to her chest.

Neji walked back to the center of the clearing. "This time," he said, sliding into a defensive position. His eyes now had small veins around them. "Come at me with an intent to kill. You may use kunai and shuriken if you want."

"I don't have them with me," said Asami, thinking of her new set of weapons at home. "I'm not supposed to carry them until after I become a genin unless I need to use them for class."

"Come here," Neji beckoned, momentarily sliding out of his stance.

Asami joined him in the middle of the clearing, watching as he unhooked his weapon pouch on his hip and handed it to her.

"Use this for now."

Asami looked down at what Neji offered her. Carefully she took it hooked it to her left hip. As Neji slid back into a defensive position, Asami tested the weight of the pouch on her hip. Even though she hadn't taken the test yet, with the weapons on her hip, she suddenly felt like a real shinobi.

With a smile, she launched into attacks against Neji, throwing punch after punch and kick after kick. Neji deflected them with ease, his eyes concentrating on her every move. Asami knew she was ineffective against Neji. Her only hope was to tire him out.

Neji proved to have more stamina than her.

When Asami felt as though she was soon to be at the end of her rope, she reached into the pouch, having memorized the weapons Neji had given her. First, she threw shuriken in rapid succession before pulling out kunai.

She launched two kunai at Neji who spun and caught each of them in either hand. Asami smirked as she threw two more. Neji caught both of them again, this time, however, Asami tugged on a thin rope that could barely be seen. The kunai flew out of Neji's hand and, with a flick of her wrist, Asami made the two kunai attack Neji from the air.

With amazing speed, Neji deflected both kunai and severed the rope. Glancing at Asami, he quickly appeared before her, grazing her chin with his foot with a kick powered by his chakra. Asami flew back, but instead of falling flat she quickly flipped backward and landed in a crouch. Touching her chin, she pulled her fingers back to see there was blood.

She barely had time to stand straight before Neji was in front of her again, his hand outstretched. The tips of his fingers pressed gently in the middle of Asami's chest, a couple inches below her collarbones.

Asami glanced down at Neji's fingers against her chest, his fingers against her bare skin. "You win," Asami breathed. "If you used your family's jutsu, I would be dead."

Neji closed his eyes and removed his hand, deactivating his Byakugan. "You're getting better but-"

"Not good enough."

Asami sunk to the ground, lying on her back, breathing heavily. She peeked up at Neji and patted the ground beside her. Quietly, Neji sat beside her.

"You gave up again," said Neji, bracing an arm over his knee. "You always do that half way through."

"It's because I know I'm no good," said Asami, staring up at the clouds.

"You're good at genjutsu," Neji reminded her. "We can in that if you wish."

"With your byakugan, you'll see through it, so I know I'll lose."

"You did well using your surroundings too," said Neji, remembering the way Asami used the trees to help her gain leverage. If she was relentless instead of apologetic, she could have done some damage. "You might not beat me, but if you train more, you might become a very formidable shinobi."

"Thanks," said Asami, unconvinced.

Neji sighed and shook his head. "Asami, you often give up before you really try. By doing so, you don't know if you're a failure or if you have skill."

Asami sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. Neji watched the flower behind her ear fall onto the ground at her abrupt movement. "I'll get better," Asami said in a quiet voice. "I'll train very hard to be a shinobi you can be proud of. I might not beat you, but I'll be good enough to keep up. After all, you can't marry a failure, can you?"

Neji's stomach dropped. Asami turned her head so he got a clear view of her face. Her purple eyes were closed and her lips barely parted into a smile he'd come to learn was fake. After training with Asami for years he knew that somewhere within her, Asami had some source of hidden talent, she just refused to reach it for some reason.

Neji sighed again. "Asami...you're a quick learner, which shows talent. You're not a failure. You just need to try harder." Rising I his feet, Neji offered a hand to Asami.

Looking up at Neji, Asami saw Neji offering her the slightest of smiles. Carefully she placed her hand in his, allowing him to pull her to her feet. For a moment they stood and stared at each other. Asami was almost Neji's height. As she searched his eyes, Asami remembered she used to think Neji was blind. She had come to learn Neji saw more than he let on, as he was so often silent.

"You'll pass tomorrow," said Neji, with confidence. "You'll become a genin and you'll be on your way to be a great shinobi."

"How do you know?" Asami bit her bottom lip, feeling unwanted tears. She had never cried in front of Neji, and she wouldn't now. No matter what, she would never let him think she was weak, even if she couldn't throw a punch.

"Because I've met with you since we were little," said Neji, "and because of that, I know you. I know that you're talented, you just limit yourself. Once you surpass your limits, you'll see the full extent of your talent."

"Neji-san..." Asami remembered her hand was still in Neji's and she gently squeezed it. Now she smiled with sincerity. Today, she decided, even though she'd be black and blue tomorrow and sport a cut on her chin, she liked Neji a little more. "Thank you."

xXx

"Hey, Asami!"

Kohaku quickly pounced on Asami who sat in the back row of the class, as the instructors called students one by one to take the Graduation Exam.

"Ow ow ow!" Asami winced underneath Kohaku's crushing hug.

"What's wrong?!" Kohaku searched Asami's face and saw a cut on her chin. Asami offered a smile, rubbing her shoulder.

"Neji-san and I trained yesterday and I'm pretty bruised..."

"Asami it looks like he beat you up!"

"No it's not like that," Asami said worriedly. "We just train hard."

"Mhm," said Kohaku, unconvinced. She now had a personal vendetta against Neji for beating up her best friend.

"Hirayama Asami."

"Oh that's me!" Asami jumped up from her seat. She smiled at Kohaku before leaving the classroom. "Wish me luck!"

"All you have to do," Iruka explained as Asami stood before him and the Hokage, "is perform a perfect shadow clone jutsu."

"Easy," said Asami with a smile. Bringing her hands together she muttered "Transform."

Standing beside was a perfect mirror image of her. Both she and her clone looked at Iruka and gave him the peace sign.

"Congratulations, you pass," the Third Hokage said with a smile. "Come get a headband."

Skipping to the desk, Asami bowed to Iruka and the Hokage and took a black headband, leaving the room. Asami stared down at the headband in her hands, gripping the metal tightly.

"I won't let you down," she muttered, thinking about the people in her life who counted on her, especially Neji. Carefully she tied the headband over the thin headband around her forehead, standing a little taller.

She was a real kunoichi now.