Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto manga/anime/characters/settings etc
Chapter Ten
Invitations
The night was still young. Hinata had volunteered herself to be on watch after Ten-Ten began to doze. It was surprising to see that Neji wasn't at all fazed by Ten-Ten sharing a tent with Naruto, although it had been a little pinch of pain on her side of things.
Sighing quietly, she watched the flames of the fire flicker. Her mind was doused in thoughts of Naruto. For the sole reason of closeness she hadn't thought of anything but him. It'd been awhile since she actually thought of him – at least in this way. It hurt to think of him otherwise.
She knew her comrades must have noticed the immediate discrepancy. She saw the glances now and then. Everyone always wanted to sneak a peak at her reaction whenever he was near. "Poor, Hinata-chan…" she thought to herself almost sarcastically. She sighed once again. That's what everyone must have thought after that massive display of humiliation.
When she proclaimed her love for Naruto during his battle with Pein, what was she expecting? Of course it wasn't an open invitation into his personal life, but maybe a window. A sliver of a chance was all she wanted. Maybe even less, but to be forgotten after the initial fight was something she didn't even think to happen.
Naruto had been ambushed by medic nins as soon as he entered the facility. Legions of people swarmed him, friends and medics alike standing by awaiting instruction.
Tsunade was quick to speak. She yelled for everyone to exit into the hallway.
Outside the hospital room door where most of his friends stood waiting anxiously, a hoarse, muffled voice could only be mustard through the filter of medical nin surrounding his crucially damaged body, "Sa- kura-cha-…"
He couldn't properly articulate the name, but everyone knew. Hinata remembered standing there as still as possible as Sakura urgently shoved her way into the room. As she entered, the door - left ajar, it was her window.
From the hallway she couldn't tear her eyes away from Naruto's affection.
Sakura's hand securely in his as he tried to lift himself up…
Her hushing him, yelling for him to stay still…
Her worried face, and saddened eyes, as he smiled up at her with a significant amount of effort…
And when she leaned down, face close to his – Kiba took Hinata then, tugging her out of the hospital, away from Naruto's unambiguous rejection and the rookie nine's impossible gaze.
It was an ache so strong. The deepening pain as she was held by Kiba's limp embrace was beyond anything she ever felt. She could hardly breathe.
She remembered Kiba holding her against him lightly, as if giving her a chance to take herself away. "He's – He's stupid." She heard him say more than once, but it was like an echo in the distance.
She was robbed. Her feelings cast aside almost as if their worth was nothing. Her devotion picked apart, left - abandoned. She was ignored.
Biting her lip, she realized she still has yet to cry from the experience. She avoided Naruto because of it, Sakura as well. She wanted nothing to do with them. Hinata wasn't completely cross towards them, but her feeling of despair amplified with every mention of the couple. She'd rather not get herself involved in such horror.
Drawing lines in the dirt she stood to clear her mind. Suddenly she felt too close, suffocated even. What was she doing here? Why was she in this situation?
Tired and frustrated, not knowing what to do, she paused to breathe. Her lungs filled finally and when she exhaled she felt nothing less than empty – hollow.
Neji couldn't help but watch. He was beyond sleep by this time. He was trained to go days without sleeping let alone be at peace.
He noticed the change of chakra once Ten-Ten went off. He was quick to move, seeing as Hinata took her place. He must not have been discrete seeing as how they both looked his way. He gave a curt nod and settled back into the tent, uneasy.
From the opening of the tent, he saw the two girls exchange a few words. He saw Hinata smiling sweetly, and Ten-Ten sauntering off, flailing her arm as she entered the tent with Naruto.
Watching curiously, he saw Hinata set herself in Ten-Ten's place. Sitting limply at the end of a log she stared, mesmerized by the dying fire. She was still, and blank. Eventually she began dragging her finger against the floor in front of her.
He wondered what she was thinking about. Most likely it was something he didn't fancy. He made note of what she liked, and it was obvious their similarities ended where the bloodline started.
Once he saw her get up, he hadn't known what made him move but he was suddenly there in front of her.
Turning slowly Hinata came to see his face. Surprised he was even up at all, "N-Neji…" She thought he may have gone back to bed, along with the others.
He hadn't said anything, a look similar to surprise etched into his face.
"I couldn't sleep." He finally stated.
"O-oh…" Hinata paused, "Would you like to take over?"
He shook his head.
Hinata felt the rush of awkward drown her when he focused his attention in her direction. A twisting anxiety flooded her system as she stared at him momentarily. His hair was undone and his traditional Hyuga attire was dismayed. He was impossibly handsome.
A feel that was much too strong erupted in her belly. She needed to look away, avert her gaze, yet somehow she spoke with little fear, "Would you like to take a walk?" She didn't know why she said it. The only thing in her head that made any logical sense was that she wanted to move.
Taken aback by this, Neji stood baffled. He didn't expect this.
Hey you guys, I'm sorry for the delay, like always. This was stewing in my documents for awhile so I decided just a few seconds ago to post it. Yay!
Also, I have written a new oneshot that's been slowly developing since the middle of this summer (NEJI/HINA). I posted that. People have been saying it's a confusing concept to grasp however delightful. :D Enjoy and please review.