Can you guys believe it? Chapter 3 already! Enjoy.
"It was something that had been born into her and her only- the something different from anyone else in the two families. It was what God or whatever is His equivalent puts into each soul that is given life- the one different thing such as that which makes no two fingerprints on the face of the earth alike.
-Betty Smith
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Chapter 3
He is fifteen. She is fourteen.
It's been a long day. So long, so long. So many dead, so many wounded, such a long time. Such a long, long time.
This is what he thinks as he leaps from tree to tree, exhausted and listless. All he wants is to return home from the mission, take a shower, eat some food, get some sleep. That's all he wants.
"Neji, please!" a high voice pleads from behind him, "I'm serious, let's take a break. I'm so tired, and we're in no hurry! We still have two days until we're expected back. Let's rest!"
"Yes, Neji!" another voice chimes, "Let's rest! My sweet youth is draining!"
Unable to ignore his teammates' cries any longer, he stops near a small waterfall and listens to the water crash against the rocks.
"Okay," he says quietly, "ten minutes."
Tenten tries not to groan again and flops on the ground. Lee happily sits and gazes at the sky.
"I have fools for teammates." he thinks, "Absolute fools."
He walks toward the waterfall, gently running a hand through his long locks. The kind sun has warmed his hair, leaving it soft and shiny. It is his one source of vanity, his hair, and irresistible to everyone. Sitting near the edge of the pool, he touches the water, finding it refreshingly cool and clean. His eyes fix into the small waves that lap up against the shore and they find his somber reflection gazing back.
It's so clear.
And so it is. He can see the minnows darting back and forth, the tender plants ebbing and flowing with the water, the stones shimmering back at him.
The stones…
Yes, the stones. They wink at him, their whiteness reflecting the sun's rays and making the water sparkle. They are smooth, small, sloping. They enchant, entrap, ensnare. He can't pull his gaze away and lets himself relax into the dreamlike state that he spends so much time in when he thinks.
These stones are so familiar. They remind me of someone…..of her…. yes… her.
Her.
Hinata-sama. They remind me of her. They're so white, so quiet, so polite. Just like her. Yes, it's her. I wonder… is she at home? What is she doing? Probably making tea or something like that.
The chuunin exams had redirected his thought patterns towards his cousin. They had revealed a different side of her and deemed her worthy of a little of his attention. Yes, their relationship had improved; however, progress was minimal. But every time, every time she trained, every time she made food for him, every time she bandaged his wounds, every time she took care of the Hyuuga children, every time she would smile or wave, he would feel a miniscule piece of the old hate dissolve.
Old habits die hard, they say. But…..it's like trying to hate a baby duck.
Reaching out with a scarred hand, he dips into the water and selects a stone. He brings it up and holds it in the sunlight. It glitters, and he listens to its silent song. Slipping it into his pocket, he rises again.
"We have to leave." he gravely states.
Lee gently shakes Tenten awake, and she's cranky.
"Why the hell are you waking me up? Wake yourself up! Just let me sleep, damn it!"
"Tenten…." Neji growls, his voice becoming louder. She looks at him and knows he's serious, so she stands.
"Fine, fine, let's just get home already."
In a moment of cleverness, she turns to Lee.
"Eh, Lee-kun, you know, I think you could gain so much strength and youth if you could challenge yourself to carry me home….."
"What a wonderful idea, Tenten-chan! I swear, I will carry you all the way home, or I will run five hundred laps around Konoha backwards on my hands! Gai-sensei will be so pleased!"
Scooping her up in his arms, he launches into the nearest tree and speeds in the direction of home.
Hopping onto a nearby branch, Neji clasps the stone tightly and looks hopelessly at his team.
Fools.
A few hours later they are at the gate of their village. Lee exhausted, Neji stoic, Tenten asleep in Lee's arms. But they are home, and each has someone to welcome them back. Lee has Gai, Tenten has her ever-worrying mother, and Neji has the cousin who he had been thinking upon just a few hours ago. The three teammates go their separate ways after promises of lunch in a couple of days and training.
"Hinata-sama," he begins hoarsely as they walk down the road.
She looks up at him, quietly, innocently.
"I…. I have something for you."
"Nii-san?"
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the stone. Taking her hand, he gently places it in her palm. Her fingers fold over the gift, and she turns it over into her other hand. She stares at it for a few moments, contemplating this oddity of a gift.
"T-thank you, Nii-san. It's lovely."
"It kind of reminds me of you," he said, voice so low that she almost couldn't hear him.
"Wonderful," she replies in a voice just as soft, and slips it in her pocket.
Later, as she lays on her bed, Hinata pulls the stone out, and turns it around in her hands. Such a strange gift from such a strange person.
To her…. it is gray, boring.
It reminds me of you.
It is awkward-looking with its ungainly shape.
It reminds me of you.
It is hard, cold, unloving.
It reminds me of you.
It is a rock, not a stone. A thing such as this does not deserve such a romantic name.
It reminds me of you.
She looks at the rock one last time and sighs. Putting it once again in her pocket, she quietly walks toward the kitchen to make her "brother" a nice, hot dinner.
Well, chapter 4 may take a while... sorry. It's coming to the part where I really have to make sure everything is right. Plus, there's school. Enough said.
Review and fuel me on!
Thanks for reading.
