Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.
Kasumi's hair shone under the sun, the fiery-red color intensified as it caught glimpses of the radiated light that was peeking from the tree leaves. Her emerald eyes glinted and looked more like precious jewels as they contrasted against the red locks that framed her face and her pale skin. Her cheekbones are high and her nose looked quite delicate. Her yellow kimono made her look like a perfect lady of elegance, with her golden-colored obi and the intricate design of pink fragile-looking sakura blossoms that seemed to spot and shower her kimono. She is the epitome of elegance. Her features and gestures seemed to reflect her prestigious upbringing.
But her painted lips were tilted downwards forming a small frown as she eyed her male escort.
It had been weeks and the tree travelers are nearing Tea Country, and the day Kasumi had been fearing is coming nearer and nearer with ever step that they took, and every tree that they've passed on the way. Her perfectly manicured hands formed a fist and clenched tightly at her frustration and in her inability to form an intimate relationship with the male Hyuga which had been her goal from the start.
The former captive didn't want to be separated from her savior.
Her lids closed and hid her green orbs, and her mouth opened slightly as she gave out a small sigh.
If I don't do something, I'll never see Neji-kun again.
She paused from walking, and her two escorts turned to face her, wondering why she suddenly stopped. The female of the two stared at her confusedly for a moment and asked, "Um, Kasumi-san, a-are y-you tired? D-d-do y-you want t-to rest f-for a while?" Concern was evident in Hinata's features as she observed her client with her pale-lavender eyes for any signs of exhaustion. They had been walking for hours anyway, and it's already getting late.
Annoyed by her escort's stuttering and her failure, the skin between Kasumi's eyebrows formed obvious creases and her emerald eyes glinted with frustration that she had been trying so hard to hide.
"Um, Kasumi-san? Is something wrong?" Hinata asked. Maybe something's hurting. Her feet, maybe?
The client closed her eyes and swiftly turned her head. "I want to rest." She said in a sharp, commanding tone.
She grunted, but too soft and small to be heard.
It's all because of her. She thought bitterly. She's the reason why Neji is so far away, if she had never come here...
Her resentment was becoming more evident on her face, the used-to-be faint outlines of infuriation became more darker and clearer, forming shadows against the pale whiteness of her skin.
Neji quirked an eyebrow at her, a little bit surprised at the change in her demeanor and voice. In the past few weeks that the three of them had been together, Kasumi had always spoken in a voice that is so soft and feathery, that you'd have to strain to hear it. Her tone was always so gentle and she had always been so polite, that Neji just smirked to himself as he wondered if this girl before him is the real Kasumi.
Watching her client turn in for the night in her own tent, the Hyuga heiress dropped to her bottom, landing on the soft, lush grass and gave out a small sigh of relief. She pulled her knees up to her chest and stared at the bonfire before her that Neji made. Her arms and legs felt a bit heavy and she bit her lip in annoyance, telling herself that she shouldn't think ill thoughts about her client because it's her duty to protect her and maybe even serve her until they reach tea Country. Good thing it's only a few days away, she thought.
"Are you okay Hinata-sama?" The male Hyuga with silver-tinged eyes asked her with his voice as cool as the night's air.
Looking up at him, she softly smiled and nodded. "J-just a bit tired." She replied.
"Hm." He eyed her carefully, his eyes keenly observing her arms, her legs, her face with marks of annoyance and irk, and her clothes that was dusted with brown dirt contrasting with the white unmarked cloth of his own. She is obviously tired and frustrated. "She had been pushing you too hard?"
The female kunoichi sighed, closed her eyes and shook her head in sadness and confusion. "Yes. I d-don't know w-what's wrong Neji-nii... K-kasumi-san seems t-to b-be mad at me... a-and... a-and..." She closed her mouth shut, not knowing what words to use. She doesn't want to talk bad about their client.
"...and ordering you around like a dog?" Neji continued.
Her shoulders slumped as the truth in his words reached her ears. "Y-yes." She squeaked.
"And... t-the food..." She continued, but suddenly decided to stop. Her head slightly tilted downwards at the memory of what happened earlier at dinner time. When she cooked and handed her beautiful client a plate, and Kasumi, after taking one bite-the bit of food coming in contact with the inside of her mouth-she then suddenly spat it out, and said something like, it's the most horrible thing that she had tasted in her life.
"D-did i-it really t-taste that bad?" She asked him, her voice soft, quiet and barely heard, she did not raise her head or eyes to look at him.
"No" The older Hyuga said as he shrugged his shoulder; some of his long brown locks rose and fell with them as it attached to the cloth of his shirt. "I actually like it."
Hinata looked up at him, meeting his silver gaze, her mouth never moved to speak, but her eyes spoke of nothing but gentle gratitude. Happy to be appreciated by her protector, even if he said it using only a few words. And she perfectly knows the fact that to him, it doesn't matter at all, but to her, those words mean so much more.
The young genius wouldn't admit to her that to him, she's the best cook in the world, and how much he loathed going on missions where he had to cook for himself, or worse, his teammates would insist on cooking for him.
He ran his hand through his brown-colored hair and quietly sat down beside the indigo-haired female. His face was turned towards the yellow flame before them, feeling it's radiated heat against the exposed flesh of his face and neck.
"Don't worry" he murmured to her, his eyes never leaving the dancing flames ahead, "It's only a few days left before we reach Tea Country and return back to Konoha."
She nodded and her lips turned into a small smile, the second one that she gave him this night.
Allowing her body to relax and let go of all the stress that happened the past few days involving her strange client, Hinata breathed deeply, in and out, her chest rising and falling with every ounce of air that she took in or exhaled. Neji watched her silently from the corner of his eye, his body unmoving. She placed a hand on the grass between them, her fingers unconsciously brushing against the brown cloth tied around his waist and feeling the soft grass tickling the rough skin of her palm.
She held her breath for a moment as her ears listened to the gentle rhythm of the silver-eyed jounin's breathing. She matched his relaxed pace and in that moment of peace, she felt the small urge tugging inside her to move her body closer to him. Close enough to feel his body move even if it's just by an inch, close enough to feel his breath against her skin, close enough to feel the steady rhythm of his heart beat, wanting to hear it until she falls asleep.
Eyes wide, resisting to sleep to make this time with him longer, she stared up at the ink-black sky, her eyes focusing on the solitary orb of light peeking against the grey clouds of the night.
And something inside is telling her that they remind her of a certain Hyuga's eyes.
"What did you say, Hinata-sama?" Neji blinked at her, a small tinge of confusion was evident in the rising of his brows that seemed to mar the permanent stoic appearance of his face.
"W-what?" She asked. Confused.
"The moon, what about it?" He continued. His face turning away from her and and tilting up, wondering to himself what she saw so interesting about something permanently placed on the night sky. Something that she can almost see every night.
"O-oh... That..." She looked down at her small, delicate hands as she pushed her index fingers together, her face heating up with an embarrassed red tint. "Y-your eyes." Neji's silver-tinged orbs looked down at her. "The m-moon r-reminds me o-of your eyes."
He smirked.
"Oh? Why is that?" His tone half-amused.
She shifted uncomfortably, feeling his gaze never leaving her. She bit her lip, wondering to herself how stupidly she acts around him.
"I-it looks j-just like y-yours. Same c-color, s-same shape."
All seeing, all knowing. Mysterious, silent, and beautiful.
Hypnotizing. Like, I can easily be drawn to them, and lose myself in it's depth.
Her throat ran dry at her unsaid thoughts, and Neji is smirking still.
After a few moments, the air became more chilly and Neji told her to rest. Hinata nodded, obeying the older Hyuga, and silently walked towards her tent
Inky black locks of long dark hair were scattered everywhere, staining the floor of her tent and pale skin. Hinata could barely sleep, but she kept her eyes shut, and her body still, pretending to repose, knowing that the person outside has his Kekkei Genkai activated, and he would know that she's still awake.
Trying hard to fall asleep, her thoughts unwantedly wandered, thinking about her mission, then her family, then her home, then her thoughts turned to the person outside her tent.
Is it wrong to love him? She asked herself, squinting her eyes shut.
Marriage between cousins is not forbidden nor uncommon in her clan, or among all the other clans in Konoha who wished to keep their bloodline pure. But intermarriage between the Branch House and the Main House had never happened before, nor had it been requested or approved of. Or even just heard for that matter.
She doesn't exactly know when she had developed feelings for the Hyuga genius, but she suspected that it had been when he became more gentle towards her, when he became more supporting. When instead of Naruto, Neji became her hope, believing in her when she is losing hope in herself, he is the reason why she wanted to change, to be strong.
That maybe someday he'll need her just like she needs him,
and she'll be able to protect him, just as how he had always been protecting her.
She remembered that he always told her to get up and never give every punch and kick that she took, and every weapon that tore and pierced her skin in training, he would always be there, silent, strong and unwavering, looking at her with eyes that spoke in words that she couldn't hear but always understand.
She understood him best, because she knows how to read all the emotions that lay in his eyes that he had always tried to hide.
I'll be stronger for you Neji.
She knows that when they were still young about twelve and thirteen, Neji used to talk with hatred about their fate and how unchangeable it is; but after losing his battle with Naruto and his views had changed, he started to believe in her more. Saying that she can be strong if she tried hard enough, if she trained more. And he promised her to help her. Hinata admits that her progress had been slow compared to that of her peers and especially her younger sister, but never did she see or feel Neji's chagrin in her, with her every defeat and fall, she would look into his eyes and it always looked cold, containing not even a flicker of emotion. No pity, pride or malicious happiness within his pale orbs, she was happy that that there's no disappointment there, but she can always feel her disappointment with herself.
But despite his coldness in her failures, his steely-white eyes seemed to soften and shine with a bit of pride whenever she mastered a skill, managed to defeat an opponent or come back from a high-ranking mission. That look in his eyes made her smile and her inside melt with joy that she's determined to see it again, even if it's just a glimpse. It had always stayed on his face for only a second, and his impassive expression seemed to take over again.
And in her determination to make Neji proud of her, she became stronger, and that made her protector and trainer all the more happy, and she sees his eyes shine.
But will we be together?
She groaned weakly, turning on her side and clutching her warm blanket.
Ten-ten-chan...
Hinata bit the inside of her cheek at the sudden thought of her friend.
She knows that the brown-haired kunoichi had interests for the Hyuga genius. But if he likes her too, she doesn't know.
She avoided seeing him train with her, afraid of what she might see. Afraid of their interaction, afraid of being just second in his attention.
Her mind went back to the time when Ten-ten was sitting beside her, in a small ice cream shop near the marketplace. She had been confused at first at the invitation, and she had been more confused when she arrived, with only the weapons-master before her, and no Neji in sight.
She clearly remembered the older woman's motions as she waved for her to sit, and how she ate her strawberry flavored ice cream, and her own was almost melting, barely touched. Uncomfortable at the other woman's attempts to make her talk about the likes and dislikes of the silver-eyed Hyuga.
Hinata wanted to be selfish then, to keep all the precious information to herself. She held them all dearly to her, because it allowed her to understand him best. She wants to be the only one who will be able to comfort him and maybe even predict his movements and thoughts when the time comes, but the bright, expectant, pleading eyes of the older shinobi made her sigh and give up, crushing the wall that she had built up between the two of them answering the older shinobi's question about the one that she adored.
He had always told me that I'm too soft-hearted. She sighed.
And most of all, she doesn't know what to feel or say, when the weapons mistress took hold of her hands with gentleness, her rough palms being held by the older woman's elegant hands, her calloused flesh against the softer woman's skin, she stared at their hands for a moment, wondering to herself how strange that is, a kunoichi with soft hands. But her curious thoughts were shattered when she heard the soft words that left the brunette's mouth.
"I'm inlove with Neji-kun...
Please wish me luck on our date tonight."
