Finally, finally, it was late enough to go Hinata hunting. He'd checked every once in a while and found that Naruto was extra hungry; he consumed five large bowls of ramen and only ran to the restroom to throw up once. Hinata had waited politely for her date to be satisfied, boring as it must have been. Then again, with Hinata, nothing could be more occupying than just being in that baka's presence. Neji felt his face flush slightly as he realized the same thing was true for him when he was with Tenten. They never had to be doing much of anything for him not to be bored.
Neji waited for Hinata to say goodbye to Naruto outside the rear gate of the Hyuuga estate at approximately 3:00 pm, before cutting across her path on her way to the sliding back door.
"Hinata."
Startled, she looked up from the stone path. "What is it, Neji?" She asked, stammering slightly.
"I need to ask you for advice."
Hinata nodded, slightly flustered. What kind of advice could Neji need from her? "Of course I'll help you. What would you like to talk about?"
"Not here," Neji said, eyeing some elders that were walking peacefully and silently through the rock garden thirty meters away. Hinata followed his gaze, and decided whatever he needed to discuss must be private and important, for him to act in such a manner.
"Come to my room and we'll talk."
Seated cross-legged on the full-sized bed, the two Hyuugas faced each other as if in meditation. Neji gazed intently at his younger cousin, while Hinata cast her eyes on the beige bedspread.
"What's this all about, Neji?" she asked softly, lifting her lavender eyes to his face.
"I need to know..." Neji began uncomfortably, "...exactly what it it that I'm feeling. It's Tenten. When I'm with her I feel so at ease but so vulnerable at the same time. And when she touches me...it's like sparks fly all over my body. And then when I'm not with her, well...it's only her that I think about. Do you think I spend too much time with her? Maybe that's all it is. It's as though I've grown another limb and I can't function properly without it. Do you know...what I mean?"
Neji waited silently.
"I can give you an answer," Hinata started, "But I'm not sure that you'll like it."
"Just tell me."
"Neji, you're in love."
Neji hung his head. His suspicions had been confirmed. So Hyuuga men really did love their women? And he'd always thought it was all for the clan. How stupid of him. Unless, he was the only soft one?
"Hinata, it supposed to happen like this? For me, I mean?"
She lauged quietly. "Neji, you're only human. Your father chose your mother and my father chose his wife. Their wives also had to choose them."
"So we can love...in that way." Neji's eyes glazed over in thought (oh, because it's not like he doesn't already look blind) and he looked almost whimsical.
"Neji, did you think that Hyuuga men were devoid of emotion? I know My father can be a bit, um...cold sometimes, but don't you at least remember yours?" Hinata cocked her head to one side.
Silence.
"Yes, I do."
Neji got up, still deep in thought, and left without saying "thank you." Hinata understood...as much as she could.
He reached his bedroom, and fell face first onto the blue-gray comforter. He rolled over violently, scattering his too-long hair in ripples across the cloth, and kicked his shoes onto the floor. Staring intensely at the ceiling, he felt all of his strength then evaporate suddenly from his veins, so that the muscles of his face relaxed, and his eyelids dropped over his troubled first vision.
***FLASHBACK
He was four. He lay awake in bed, the faint sounds of music and singing coming from downstairs. Neji crawled to the edge of his bed and swung his feet onto the hardwood floor as quietly as possible. If he was quiet enough, he could watch and listen. That always made him happy and helped him sleep. He crept to the stairs in his sock-covered feet and lay on his stomach, looking down. His parents' feet waltzed across the floor; his father singing. Their faces came into view, and he could see his mother's head resting on his father's shoulder. Tenderly, he stroked her soft brown hair with loving fingers. His other hand rested on the small of her back, over the blue fabric of her cotton dress. They were smiling. Neji's eyelids drooped. I should go back to...my room... he thought. Moments later, he was asleep on the floor.
The next thing he knew, he was encased in Tou-chan's large, loving arms. Kaa-chan was close by, he could hear her whisper. Tou-chan lay him in his bed and Kaa-chan straightened the sheets and blankets. She planted a light kiss on his forehead, and Tou-chan caught a loose strand of Neji's hair behind his ear. Neji's eyes flickered open long enough to see his parents smiling at him, his father's arm around his mother, who leaned against him. Tou-chan kissed Kaa-chan on her mouth, tenderly, then they both turned and left. The last thing he heard was his father whispering "I love you, son," as he softly closed the door.
END FLASHBACK***
Neji's eyes shot open. He leaned over the edge of his bed, and vomited. Slumping back on the pillows, he tried to emotionally disconnect himself from the pain in his heart. But his vision was blurred. He was cold and clammy. His head was about to split open. The prodigy, Hyuuga Neji, had contracted Influenza.
Moaning slightly, he rolled out of bed, trying largely successfully to avoid the pool of vomit. He staggered down the hallway and towards the stairs. Warily, he reached for the railing, missed, and tripped...all the way to the bottom. For the next few seconds all he could feel was the pain each time a stair struck him on the back, shoulder, shin, or head.
Dazed from his illness and stunned by his fall, Neji lay in a heap on the floor. The next thing he knew, Hanabi was leaning over him, screaming hysterically for her older sister. Hinata and another cousin rounded the corner at the same time.
"Oh my...oh my...HIROKE, GET FATHER!" Hinata screamed at the older cousin, who was just as stunned as she. You see, generally, Hyuugas don't fall down the stairs. Especially with the Byakugan. So...needless to say, something was wrong. Oh yeah...and Neji was choking on bloody vomit.
