Three: Discoveries
When Naomi awoke in the hospital room after her exam, she momentarily forgot where she was. Slightly panicked, she sat bolt upright and swept her gaze around the room. Then she remembered. 'I must have fallen asleep before they even started... ' Probably for the better, she decided. Naomi stretched and yawned deeply, listening as her joints popped and cracked. A nurse walked in and smiled.
"Glad to see you're awake." Naomi smiled.
"How long have I been sleeping?" The nurse paused and tapped her bottom lip as she thought.
"Well... I'd say about... twelve hours. You slept straight through the night." Naomi couldn't keep her jaw from dropping.
"Oh... um... wow... I guess I needed it, then..." She shook her head to shake off her surprise. "Er, how did my exam go?" The nurse tried to hide the momentary falter in her smile, but Naomi caught it.
"Fine, just fine. You're healthy, inside and out, and you should have most of your strength and energy back now. Here." The nurse went behind a curtain and came back with a folded pile of clothes. "These are yours. Sorry, but we had to change you." For the first time, Naomi looked down and realized she was in a hospital gown. She blushed, but suppressed her embarrassment.
"Um, thanks." She took the pile and the nurse turned to leave, pausing before she shut the door.
"I'll send in your escort in just a little while." Then she was gone, and with no distractions, Naomi's nerves then began to kick into gear.
'Something about the exam bothered her...' Pushing those thoughts aside for the time being, Naomi went into the bathroom, splashed water onto her face, and re-dressed herself in the clothes Sakura had given her. Looking at herself in the mirror, she was quite pleased to see how much healthier she looked. Her fair skin had some flush to it, her eyes were clearer, and the shadows were gone. She smiled. "You can do this."
Naomi exited the bathroom just in time to hear someone banging enthusiastically against her door. She froze mid-step, wondering why this person was knocking so... boisterously.
"Um... come in?" The door swung open, and Naomi had to keep her jaw from dropping. 'It's... him.' The man she'd spotted on the street the day before was now posing in her doorway with a huge grin on his face. 'And he's still wearing that... leotard.'
"Greetings! My team and I have been assigned as your escort! My name is Guy!" He gave her a thumbs up, and she stammered.
"I'm N—"
"And I," The younger man she'd labeled as Guy's son jumped out from behind him and stood proudly in front of Naomi. "Am Rock Lee, and will be your very excellent escort!" Naomi took a step backward, feeling the windowsill against her back.
"I—"
"Lee!" A girl came up behind Lee and gave his head a good thwack. "Quit it! You're going to scare her away." Lee rubbed his head and sulked, moving to stand beside Guy.
"Ah, Tenten, must you always hit me so hard?"
"Yes." The girl, Tenten, glared at Lee and then turned, offering Naomi her hand and a smile. "I'm sorry, they can be a bit over the top... I'm Tenten." Naomi breathed a sigh of relief. The presence of someone sensible made her feel much more at ease. She shook Tenten's hand.
"It's alright. I'm Naomi, it's nice to meet you all." It was then Naomi's gaze flickered over Tenten's shoulder, past Guy, and onto a figure hovering in the doorway. A fourth person had remained silent at the back of the group. A young man with long brown hair wearing a white, loose, long sleeved shirt and one of those headbands around his forehead. He was staring off to the side, expression impassable.
'He's not even lookin—... oh...' As soon as Naomi saw his eyes, her thoughts stopped. They were pale, and sharp, staring intensely off into space. 'He's blind...'
"Well?" Naomi blinked and brought her attention back to Tenten.
"Um... I'm sorry, what?"
"I asked if you were ready to go."
"Oh, right... I am."
"Excellent!" Guy exclaimed. "It is always good to be prepared! Now... let us be off!"
vVvVv
The group guided Naomi around town, pointing out different shops, buildings, and roads along the way. She hung at the back with Tenten while the other three led. She missed Sakura's company, but seemed to bond just as easily with Tenten.
"Tenten?" she murmured quietly, slowing down a bit.
"Hm?"
"He never introduced himself—what's his name?" Naomi nodded toward the young man with long brown hair.
"Oh, that's Neji Hyuga," she whispered, smiling. "He's pretty aloof sometimes, but great to have on your side." Naomi nodded, not quite understanding but letting the subject go. Throughout their walk, she couldn't help but to keep throwing glances at Neji.
'How can he be walking without any assistance?' She kept expecting him to trip, or to run into someone, but he had no trouble navigating the crowds. After some time, she couldn't help but ask. She whispered to Tenten again.
"Tenten? How does he do that?"
"Huh? How does who do what?" Naomi nodded toward Neji.
"Neji; how does he move around so easily?" Tenten gave her a quizzical look, glanced over at Neji, and then back to Naomi.
"What do you mean? Why shouldn't he be able to?"
"Well... I mean... I've never seen a blind person get around without any kind of aid." Tenten's eyes nearly popped out of her head, and a roaring fit of laughter poured from her throat. The rest of the group turned to see what all the noise was about. Naomi looked awkwardly between them all, and then stared at Tenten, mortified. "What? What's so funny?"
"You... you..." Her hysterics only increased, and Guy beamed.
"Ah, youth! So full of joy!" He began to laugh along with Tenten, and Lee quickly followed suit. Naomi stared at the three of them incredulously. When she felt eyes on her, she glanced around, locking stares with Neji, whose expression remained hard and unreadable. Her breath caught in her throat.
'His eyes aren't white, they're...' The sunlight glinted against his penetrating gaze. 'Lavender.' She couldn't break her stare away until she felt Tenten's hand on her shoulder. The girl had managed to calm herself enough to speak coherently, her large brown eyes moist with tears.
"I just... wow, I can't believe you. Blind? You... you've never heard of the Byakugan?" Naomi blinked, feeling blood rush to her cheeks as the group's attention shifted onto her. She glanced at Neji briefly, feeling goosebumps rise on the back of her neck. His gaze was narrowed directly onto Naomi's, boring into her.
"Oh, right... Byakoogun. Sorry, I'm still a little out of it..." she lied, rubbing her head, desperately attempting to cover her slip-up. 'Must be some kind of disease,' she decided. Guy, like a godsend, interrupted her awkward moment.
"Such energy has inspired me! Team, let us go to the training field and demonstrate our excellence!" And, to Naomi's utter horror, Neji fell to the back of the group, and she could feel his eyes trying to break her down the whole way there.
vVvVv
The only thing that kept Naomi from bolting back into the forest and running far, far away from this place was Guy's arm slung around her rigid shoulders, jostling her and explaining every detail about the scene in front of them. The team had reached a large expanse of meadow surrounded by a thin wooded area. There were some dummies staked into the ground here and there, and other odd commodities, but they were hardly relevant. Naomi's wide blue eyes were narrowed onto Tenten and Lee. She didn't understand how two people could be moving so fast and with such precision.
'They're going to kill each other…' Naomi could barely breathe as sharp projectiles from Tenten were evaded and deflected by Lee. 'This must be… a martial arts camp… it must be…' And even that explanation did little to soothe her.
"Ah!" exclaimed Guy. "Such vibrant youth! See how their techniques are so close to perfection?" Naomi could only nod in response, swallowing dryly. She wanted to question everything she was seeing, but didn't expect Guy to be particularly helpful or understanding. Hardly able to peel her eyes away from the shocking scene, Naomi noticed Neji a little ways off, leaning with his arms folded over his chest against a tree. His expression was impassable as he watched his companions brutally attack one another. 'He must feel left out because of his… Byakoo-whatever it is…' Naomi couldn't keep from feeling bad for the young man—being at camp without really being able to participate couldn't be much fun. Suddenly, Tenten cried out and Naomi's eyes shot over just in time to see her being slammed into the ground. Lee stood proudly where he was, Guy was practically applauding, and Naomi was practically unconscious.
"Oh my God—Tenten!" Her legs tensed, readying to propel her to the fallen girl's side, but when she saw the smile plastered on Tenten's dirtied face as she sat up, Naomi froze.
"Ah, nice one Lee," she chimed a bit begrudgingly as she got to her feet and dusted herself off, beginning the process of recollecting her weapons. Lee beamed and struck a pose, fist aimed at the sky.
"Yes, Tenten! An excellent opponent, as always!" Naomi felt Guy remove his arm from around her shoulders and approach the others. He gave accolades and encouragement and went on and on about how the fight had been beautiful. Naomi took this moment to herself to slide down onto her knees in the soft grass, sighing heavily as her shoulders slumped. Everything felt as though it had gone through a tumbler, and nothing went the right way anymore. Her world was upside down. The voices of the others faded into the background of her mind, and she let her eyes close, leaning back until she felt rough bark against her exposed skin. So far she'd managed to go along with things with a fairly level head, but the longer she stayed here, the more real everything became, and she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to wake up.
"Naomi?" Tenten's voice brought the girl back to total awareness and she opened her cloudy blue eyes.
"Hm?"
"Guy wants you to spar to 'demonstrate your youth'..." Tenten rolled her eyes and then offered a sympathetic look. "Sorry." When she saw how Naomi's face had paled, and the way her arms clamped around her stomach, Tenten's eyes took on a look of pity and understanding. Without a word, she stood and approached Guy. Naomi's ears were drumming as her heart rate sped past any healthy means, but over the roar she could hear Tenten.
"Listen, Sensei, I really don't think she's up for anything. I mean, she's just barely regained her strength…"
"What better way to spend this newfound strength than in battle!" Tenten folded her arms.
"Sensei, really, she's not—" Guy was making his way over to Naomi before Tenten could get in his way.
"Naomi!" When the shaken girl heard her name and saw the green flash approaching, her hands turned to ice and her stomach churned. She began shaking her head even before he could voice anything further. He didn't notice. "On your feet! There's nothing better for a rejuvenating body than an expression of one's youth and skill!" Guy pulled Naomi to her feet by her arm, the motion making her stomach dance unpleasantly. Ignoring Tenten's audible objections, Guy all but dragged the blanched girl into the designated sparring area. The horrified expression she wore did little to calm Guy's enthusiasm. "Neji! It's your turn!" Naomi did not miss Tenten's startled gasp. 'This isn't happening…' She couldn't decide who this was more unfair for—her, because she had no idea what was going on, or Neji, because of his handicap. When Guy released her arm, Naomi used what little spare energy she had to keep her legs from giving out.
"Sensei, you cannot be serious! I was going to challenge Neji!" Lee's voice was loudly disappointed.
"Sensei! She's not up for this!" Tenten's voice was angry and quietly desperate. Neji hadn't moved from his shady tree. Though she couldn't be sure, Naomi thought she could see him glaring disgustedly at Guy.
"Neji! Let us not waste time! Naomi here is anxious to begin!" Naomi hadn't been prepared for the boisterous slap on the back from Guy. It was absurdly forceful, causing her to fall forward onto her hands and knees. The blow from Guy and the impact of the ground sent her stomach reeling.
Tenten saw Naomi's vomiting as enough of an excuse to call it a day.
vVvVv
"Ugh… God, Tenten… was he really gonna make me do it?" Naomi groaned and clutched her stomach as she sat with her newfound friend on a bench just outside of the imposing Hokage Tower. Tenten massaged the sickly girl's shoulder and nodded, biting her cheek.
"Yeah, when he gets something into his head there's no use trying to change his mind. It's the thick skull." Tenten nodded sullenly, and Naomi couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry he made you sick—he tends to have that effect on people." Naomi's laughter continued and Tenten smiled brightly, glad to be able to cheer her companion.
"So, are he and Lee…?"
"Related? You would think, wouldn't you?" Tenten chuckled. "No, Lee just idolizes Sensei."
"Oh…" Naomi wanted to ask "Who in their right mind would idolize a man who never changed his leotard?", but left this question unvoiced. "Um, Tenten?"
"Hm?"
"Have I… have I done something to insult Neji? He hasn't said two words to me, but won't stop giving me these weird… looks." Tenten sighed and nodded resolutely.
"Don't worry, he's always been like that. You'll get used to the group dynamics soon enough. Lee and Sensei are the eccentrics, Neji's the arrogant brooder, and I'm... well, I'm just the most fantastic kunoichi 'round these parts." The two shared a laugh, Naomi pausing to ask "Is that slang for something?"
"Is what slang?"
"What you called yourself, 'kunoichi'." Tenten's laughter died quickly and she stared at Naomi with a hard expression of scrutiny. Naomi recoiled at the sudden change, about to stammer out an apology just as Tenten was about to open her mouth, but before either could make a sound, the others returned to the scene.
"Alright! It has been decided!" Guy's disappointment that he had gained neither girl's attention did not go unseen. Tenten's eyes remained fixated on Naomi's, trying to find something in the younger girl's cloudy stare. To resolve this, Guy slammed a hand onto Naomi's shoulder and jostled her slightly. "Naomi! After discussing the situation with Lady Tsunade, it has been decided that you will be spending your nights on the Hyuga compound, at least until Lady Haruno returns in triumph with her team!" Naomi blinked, tearing her eyes away from the still silent Tenten.
"Uh…um…I'm sorry, where?" As the pieces began to fall together, Naomi's eyes drifted slowly over to the arrogant brooder leaning against the tower's outer wall, arms folded and eyes closed. Tenten's voice from earlier that day rang through her head "Oh, that's Neji Hyuga." 'Neji Hyuga… Hyuga… Hyuga compound…'
"The Hyuga compound!" Guy exclaimed.
"But, wait, why? I thought… Tenten?" Naomi stammered, looking back to her friend for clarification, but Guy continued.
"Given your circumstances, Lady Tsunade believes this will be the most secure place for you to stay. One of the safest places to be in all of Konoha!" He rambled on, but Naomi wasn't listening. Her eyes were locked onto Neji, who had yet to give the situation any attention. As though feeling her eyes narrowed onto him, Neji's eyelids slowly lifted. He met Naomi's stare evenly, reading every expression, every sign of protest that flickered across her face. He said nothing, gave no indication of welcome or sympathy, and the look in his eyes made Naomi's blood run cold. All at once, she knew what that weird look she'd been getting from him all day was.
He watched her like she was an enemy.