Yeah, I was originally just going to make the story from Ino's POV, but I thought, 'ah heck. Neji's already OOC, so why not make it official?' Just btw, if his OOCness made you sad, I have an explanation. You see, Neji liked the blonde already (not that she knew at the time) and didn't want to scare her off. So he showed her the side of him no one else ever saw... Anyhoo... onto the chapter.

Disclaimer: *sigh* I STILL don't own Naruto. Dammit.


Neji

A Reason For Uchiha's Jealousy

As Ino and I watched the raven-haired boy leave, I wondered why he was being such an ass. Could he really be jealous? I thought. When I said it, I was only trying to piss him off, just wanting to push his buttons. I didn't think about it, it was all impulse. I said the first thing that came to mind, nothing more. But when I saw the reaction… I stopped and thought about it. I saw real, fiery jealousy in his eyes as he looked at me.

I shuddered. Being friends with Ino could be more dangerous than I thought. Even though I was at least a year older than him, everybody knew that Uchiha was not someone you wanted to get in a fight with. Neither of us were. If we were to fight, neither one of us would leave without a scar or two.

But then I saw Ino look at me worriedly. I had totally spaced out on her, just to think about fighting. What kind of a friendareyou?I thought. I then sighed. Wish I was more than just a friend. Then, maybe, Uchiha would have a real reason to hate me. And I'd have an even better reason to fight for it… but more people than just him to fight off. Ino isbeautiful, after all. I'd have half the guys in school hot on my trail if we dated. Not that I would mind. Dating her would be worth it. But then I chuckled as another thought popped into my head. I might have few girls pissed at me, too.

"Neji?" Well fuck, I did it again. I scolded myself as I once again slipped back into reality. Ino really was looking at me worriedly now. She waved her hands in front of my face, trying to snap me out of it.

"Right, sorry about that… kind of spaced there."

She laughed. "Yeah, I noticed that." Her bright blue eyes glimmered as the murky depths of worry became two vast oceans of amusement. She playfully tossed her hair and said, "Well… if I'm not mistaken, we have a date with a volleyball net."

I chuckled.

(()) (()) (())

Half an hour later, both of us were sitting on the bench near the door panting. I was exhausted. Ino really had a lot of stamina, and she was fierce with the volleyball. I was sovery thankful that she was on my team during gym. I was not up for having my ass handed to me every day. I could now understand why everybody groaned when they went against our team. It must be a living hell going against us.

Nonetheless, Ino still beat me, 7-5.

"Man, Ino… you're a beast."

"No… I got lucky on the first one… I never serve line…" she pants out. "And the last one, you were just not paying attention."

For some reason, when I looked at Ino, I saw someone other than my best (possibly my only) friend. I saw someone I wanted. Someone I needed. I needed so much to reach out and hold her. But I didn't. I probably wouldn't be able to anyway. I reasoned. If I'm able to walk after this, it'll be a miracle. I wasn't used to this. Part of me kept screaming, "Just reach out and hold her. I'm sure she wouldn't mind," while the other was another saying, "No! She's just a friend; nothing more."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ino look at me. Not just look at me, but really look at me. She seemed so innocent, the way her eyes swept over me wistfully. Like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time. And trust me, it did nothing to help me keep from holding her.

"Neji… may I?" she asked, holding out her hand.

My heart stopped. "…May you what?" She tilted her head slightly, causing her golden bang to fall partially in front of her eye. She looked playful, but calm and sincere as well.

"Please… just say yes…" she whispered, leaning forward.

"Alright…?"

And before I knew it, the beautiful blonde had her arms wrapped around me and her head rested on my chest. Yet somehow, I wasn't tense. I hugged her back, like I had known this was what she had wanted all along. And every part of it just felt right, like we were the only two pieces left of a puzzle, and we fit so perfectly together, not needing anyone else to complete out own little picture. I couldn't help but tilt her head up enough that I could kiss her.

At first, she did nothing; she just sat there and let me kiss her. But then, she kissed back hungrily. Like if she wasted anything about this moment, her life could end. She placed her hand where her head had been on my chest while I weaved my hands into her hair. Our mouths parted…

And she pulled away, gasping for air with her head tilted downward. I could see that her eyes were still closed, as if she was re-experiencing the kiss over again in her mind. And then, her lovely ocean eyes fluttered open, and she looked at me with a smile. I gave another swift kiss before she let her head fall onto my chest once more. I don't know how long we sat there, but it seemed to go by in an instant.

Soon the light coming from the windows became darker, and looking out of them we saw a pool of orange and pink.

"Lets go outside… I like sunsets," Ino told me quietly. I nodded, and we stood up from the chair and walked outside, my arms wrapped around her shoulders, her arm around my waist, and her head resting lightly on my shoulder. We sat on a hill facing the sunset, still as stone, except for me occasionally turning my head and kissing her forehead, or her burying her head in my neck.

We sat there till the darkest shade of purple was gone, and the sky was now a velvet blanket of darkness. I walked her home, still holding onto her, her still holding onto me. When we got to her house, I kissed her softly before letting her escape my arms. I left before she opened the door, as to not be seen by her parents, especially her father. He could find out later.

(()) (()) (())

Later, at my own house, my uncle scolded me about how late it was the minute I walked in the room. Hinata looked at me apprehensively, inquisitively. I just walked by the both, straight into my room. I heard my uncle complain about how 'irresponsible' I was. It went on for a few minutes, but died down to an occasional murmur. A few minutes later, I heard a quiet knock on my door.

"Yes?"

The door cracked open, and I saw Hinata pop in her head. "Neji-nii-san, may I speak with you?" she asked quietly. I nodded. The blue head of hair retreated and her body entered my room, slowly closing the door behind her. "Neji… were you with Ino?"

"Why?"

"I got a call from her parents… they were worried sick about her."

"Well, yeah… we were together…" I blushed slightly, recalling how we spent our afternoon.

"Neji-nii-san, be careful with her… she's not like-"

"I know what she's like, Hinata!" I snapped. "I've spent a hell of a lot of time with her. I know exactly what she's like."

"Neji-nii-san, forgive me. I did not mean to make you upset, nor did I mean to pry. I am merely looking out for a friend. I apologize," she said quietly.

I sighed. It's damn near impossible to stay mad at that girl. "It's okay, Hinata. You meant well." I put my hand on her shoulder to reassure her that I wasn't mad. "But I would never, ever hurt her. I… I think I love her. "

The girl gasped. "You… you love her?"