A/N: 4th October 2014 – Well, I'm here to regale and frustrate you all with tales of our favourite Hyuuga - I thought it was high time for a peek into the inner circle. I know I'm pulling a bit of a GRR Martin but I guess the story is still moving along in its own way. Don't worry - Neji (and the playboy) and Tenten (and Miyako) will be back in action next month! I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

Syndicate

By Tanya Lilac

Chapter Eighteen – Monster

Hitomi woke up almost as suddenly as she had fallen asleep, as usual. For as long as she could remember, she had dreamed very infrequently, but this was something she was grateful for. She looked over to find Shinji in her bed, snoring lightly. He had fallen asleep on top of the covers, still dressed. She frowned. It was a waste of a good shirt when he did things like this.

The rest of the apartment was still silent as she padded barefoot to the kitchen. Neji's door was closed. She poured herself a cup of warm water, squeezed some lemon into it, and looked out over the city, which had long been awake – it was close to midday. What would today bring? Ever since the arrival of her cousin, things had been different to say the least.

He was an impulsive individual, or at least tried to appear that way. But of course they both knew better – they were both brought up in the austere traditions of the Hyuuga, and they were nothing if not calculated and logical.

Her friends were having trouble accepting him – Kazu was clearly unhappy about another 'rival' for Inoue Miyako's affections, but truly, he was the only one who thought he had a chance. Fumi-chan and Daichi still hadn't met him, and had no real opinions to offer besides being slightly intrigued. Hiro instinctively recognised Neji as one of his own kind, to an extent. Chiru-chan was torn between thinking he was sleazy and charming and mistrusted him for it. As for Shinji … Neji brought out a side in Shinji she hadn't seen in a while – that competitive spark one only found in inevitably complex relationships, but also the desire to control and meddle, and complicate things better left alone.

She decided to head up to her loft, her feet making no sound on the spiral staircase. Everything was as she had left it a week ago; she hadn't been working much since finishing the dresses for Sugimura Yuri. The name reminded her of Suzuki Ryo and his girlfriend Rina, and she frowned, spotting her cigarette lighter on the table. Out of sheer habit, she flicked it open and closed it sharply. Hitomi rubbed the engravings in the steel lighter with her thumb, and sighed. It was one of the few things she had of her mother's. In this alone, she was sentimental.

Hitomi, one day you will know.

She wondered now, as she did then, what those words meant. She had learned some things with age. She had learned that knowing almost everything about someone isn't the same thing as understanding them. She had learned that people could lie to her – especially her mother.

Hitomi put the lighter back on the table and looked over at her jewellery stand, laden with accessories adorned with black tourmaline. She opted for a hundred yen coin-sized pendant on a long chain she could tuck beneath her shirt, the stone cool against the skin between her breasts. Already she could sense Shinji stirring in her bedroom, but the things he thought of were images half formed from his dreams, and she ignored them as she snapped a cuff over her right wrist, which dampened her powers, until everyone's thoughts dimmed to background noise.

She turned on the television and skipped over channels showing comedy routines until she found something slightly interesting to fill the apartment with actual sound. Satisfied, Hitomi put on her glasses before she opened her sketchbook and began to draw, folds, darts and seams coming naturally to adorn the template figures. In clothes, a person could be anything they wanted, and tell all sorts of lies about themselves. Naked …

Shinji's thoughts grew louder and more coherent; his woes this morning were all about hangovers and wondering what had happened the night before. Hitomi didn't need to be psychic to know, so she let the thoughts swirl about, humming in her mind. From Neji, she heard nothing, as always – she could only ever sense he was near, or if he was awake or asleep. That was part of the reason why she had only ever lived with Hyuuga 'clansmen', as she liked to think of them, up until six or so years ago. At the time, though, it wasn't as if she'd had a choice.

Thinking about the past only made her feel bitter – a word she had learned as a child but an emotion she only come to understand as an adult, along with other things, like regret, contentment … desire. It was only after she had met Hiro that she had gradually become more intuitively able to recognise emotional impressions – before that, she had only been able to read emotions based on logic and observation. She swivelled her chair to watch Shinji plod to the kitchen, unknowingly tracing the path she had just walked minutes ago, to pour himself a cup of water. Upon seeing half of the lemon on the counter, he squeezed some in, too lazy to put slices in his cup like he normally did.

Then he turned and looked up at her, and she couldn't help a smile.

Telepathy was a sense that was intimately connected to all of the others. Often, she could see or hear things moments before they were spoken, like hearing song before someone spoke the name of a person or a movie it was associated with. At others, she would see the subject of the conversation and the outcome of the story the person was telling – in most situations, the mind works faster than the mouth. If someone's strongest impression of a memory was associated with a scent, she could almost believe it was lingering in the air. In terms of touch …

"Good morning," she said, taking off her glasses and putting them on her desk.

"Continue working, by all means," Shinji said, his voice husky from sleep.

"I was just killing time," she said, making her way back down the stairs.

"I smell terrible," he cautioned as she approached him.

"Then you shouldn't have slept in my bed," Hitomi said archly, standing in front of him and placing her hands on his chest. Besides, she told him silently, I know what you need the most. She reached for his hand, and led him back to her room.

Her ensuite bathroom was bigger than what comprised the main bathroom in the penthouse. It always took a long time for the tub to fill up so they took their time showering and scrubbing each other down with her soap, filling the room with the fragrance of gardenias. Hitomi took off her cuff but left her necklace on.

"It would appear my cousin is awake," Hitomi murmured as Shinji massaged her back. "What did you two do yesterday?"

"I have sworn on my honour as a man – you know, male solidarity and all that jazz. Not that Neji's happy about it."

"No tales of debauchery, then," Hitomi said, amused. The bath was slightly steaming and just half filled when they rinsed off the suds and Shinji helped her into the bath, her back against his chest as the water came up around them.

"I needed this," he said quietly, his hands running up her arms. "Time alone, with you."

"I saw you the other day," Hitomi laughed.

"No, not like this," he said, breathing in the scent of her hair.

"Take your time then," she said, wondering what had brought this on. "Did Neji tell you something?"

"It's ancient history," Shinji said, leaning back. Hitomi shifted forward slightly so he could be more comfortable, turning to look at him. "But I think when he sees us together he remembers his ex girlfriend."

"That's strange."

"Well, our relationship might not be an unfamiliar scenario to him," Shinji reminded her. "I could see him having someone on the side, even as he swapped the eye candy on his arm, his ex might have been a few steps behind."

"I don't think so," Hitomi said. "Not many women are quick to leave themselves in the dark like that. Jealousy is a cruel master."

"Jealousy sounds like a very hot sex friend," Shinji said, with a smile. "Have you changed your mind?"

Hitomi turned to look at him over her shoulder. "Maybe," she said. "But most likely not. Not yet."

"Has Neji's arrival changed things for you?"

She thought about it for a few moments. "Sort of. When I see him, I feel like he's struggling against something. Maybe it's his past or his present situation, but he knows his future is unclear. And that's why he's been acting out. It just reminds me of how lucky I am."

"Lucky to have someone who has just as bad commitment issues as you do?"

She kissed him. "Exactly. This is enough." They lulled into a comfortable silence and Hitomi leaned back against his chest again.

"Did you sort out a replacement secretary for the new year?"

"About that…"

He didn't have to finish the sentence because she saw Inoue Miyako's face in her mind, dripping wet as she came out of the swimming pool, water running down her skin in little rivulets. She was strong and lithe, and she looked refreshed, her eyes sparkling from the exercise.

"That's an interesting solution you came up with," Hitomi said. And an interesting way to remember her. Mental images were a product of one's own biases – he could have seen her as looking tired, or strange with the swimming cap, but Shinji did not doubt Inoue's appeal. Nor did he try to hide it from her.

"She's looking for work, as you predicted."

"Ichiraku Suzune wouldn't permit Inoue to continue living under her roof for good reason," Hitomi said.

"I don't think it's got anything to do with her work ethic, beyond sleeping with Suzu's beloved Sugimura-sempai," Shinji scoffed. "Even I know that story won't end well, especially when she finds out Inoue dumped him for Neji."

"Neji's quite sure of himself," Hitomi sighed. "I guess the Hyuuga are also arrogant."

"Normal people have to work for things you know," Shinji sighed. "She seems reluctant. Perhaps if you could ask –"

"You shouldn't ask for things that will be given," Hitomi said. "She'll come around eventually. You reminded her of that obligation by going to see her. It'll take time, but she'll come to you and ask if you still need a secretary."

"I had no idea you were a fortune teller. Can you read my palm next?"

"I can humour you," Hitomi said, with a smile. "If that is what you desire."

"What I desire is something else completely," Shinji whispered, taking off her necklace, and she gasped as the full force of his desire crashed over her like a wave.

Later that afternoon, when Shinji had left to get ready for a business dinner with his father, Hitomi dressed properly and tucked her laundry away, made her bed and took the plates of fruit that had ended up in her room back to the kitchen. As she was putting the dishes in the sink, Neji came up from the lobby, still looking tired. He was wearing a pale lilac shirt, covered by a grey v-neck cashmere sweater and a casual black military jacket with gold buttons and simple epaulettes on the shoulders.

"Welcome home. I didn't know you had left," Hitomi said, crossing the room to lie back on the couch.

"You and Okuchi were sufficiently distracted," Neji muttered. Hitomi took the slight bitterness to mean that things were not going well with his courtship. She had heard the other day that he had taken her to some crane machines and won her a stuffed horse, or was it donkey? His moves were about as smooth as a high schooler's. Or maybe middle school, she couldn't decide.

Hitomi decided not to comment. "And how is Inoue Miyako today?"

"She's doing well," Neji replied, his voice clipped. He took a bottle of sparkling water from the fridge and opened it briskly before pouring it into a glass.

"When are you going to bring her around? I'd like to see her again."

"You or Okuchi? Or everyone else in your circle of friends who wants a piece of her?" he growled.

"What … happened?" Hitomi asked, frowning. His obvious anger was strong enough to jolt her out of her afterglow.

"She called me this afternoon to say that bastard, Saito, had been following her non-stop for the past few days, and that she felt like there was no privacy in the hotel because 'presents' kept arriving for her. He even waited for her in the foyer when she was on her way out to do some shopping. It's getting beyond ridiculous."

"At least before he had a thin pretext of wanting coffee, but you're right, that is going a bit far. I'll have a word with him."

"Do more than that. Things could get dangerous."

"I doubt Kazu would try anything. Inoue will be safe," Hitomi said.

"She's not the one I'm worried about," Neji said darkly. "And do something about Shinji while you're at it."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"He invited me out to drink last night and conveniently drained my phone battery so Miyako couldn't contact me."

Ah, that was the source of this fury.

"What happened?" Hitomi asked, although she already had a good idea.

"Kazuma decided to pay Miyako a visit, only this time he went up to her hotel room. She couldn't leave and when she called security, he explained to them who he was and they backed down. How the hell is she supposed to stay there if the people who are apparently protecting their patrons won't even do their job?"

"What happened after that?"

Neji didn't meet her eyes. "She called someone else to help her."

"Sugimura?"

"No. She called Yori."

Hitomi blinked. "Wait. Are you talking about Yori Daichi? About this tall, hair colour that's always going out of style and a blinding smile? That Yori Daichi?"

"Yeah, they're apparently childhood friends. I didn't even know she had his number," he said, sounding injured. Men and their pride.

"I didn't even know they knew each other," Hitomi said. "It's a small world. Six degrees and all that nonsense. What happened after that?"

"Yori talked Kazuma down and they left," Neji said.

"So Inoue hid behind her hotel door the whole time, calling people like a damsel in distress." Hitomi sighed. "Nothing happened."

"This time. Talk some sense into him or someone will make him come to his senses."

"You or Inoue?" Hitomi asked, as a joke.

"She'd take more pleasure from it," he said.

Just as Neji was closing the door to his room, Hitomi took out her phone and dialled Kazuma's number. Even though it was just past five in the evening, it sounded like he was already at a cabaret bar of some kind. Chasing another lead, perhaps.

"Hello? Tomi-chan?"

"Hi, Kazu. Did you ask Shinji up to take Neji out so you could go and harass Inoue Miyako?"

"You don't beat around the bush, do you?"

"I wouldn't need to do any of this if you were a decent human being. Answer me," she said, her voice cutting through his words like steel.

She could hear him shudder. "I'd forgotten how scary you can get."

Her silence only made him sigh.

"Yes, I did," he confessed.

"As much as I know you like to play these stupid games of yours, don't you think there's a line?"

"We crossed it the moment we made that stupid bet, as you put it. I didn't hear your objections then," Kazuma said flippantly. "Besides, Neji probably has some tricks of his own –"

"Don't you dare turn this on me. These games are just that – and I abide them because most of the time, no one means any harm. But you stalking her is unacceptable!"

"Spare me the lecture, mother," Kazuma sighed. "Shinji himself has visited her hotel room."

"That is Shinji's personal suite," Hitomi snapped. "And he didn't visit her with the intention of propositioning her."

"You always jump to these conclusions about me," Kazuma whined, as he always did when he was in the wrong.

"It's because I'm right," Hitomi said. "I want you to apologise to Shinji, Daichi and Neji. And don't bother Inoue anywhere near the hotel – I'm talking at least a one kilometre radius. I don't need to go around finding people to make them shut up about something you've done. You know what happened last time."

This, at last, sobered him up. "Yeah."

"Alright, so we have an agreement here." Hitomi sighed. "Where are you tonight?"

"At Aiko-chan's place," Kazuma said, thankful for the change in topic.

"How are things looking?"

"I don't know, I guess I'll see what the night brings."

Hitomi didn't have to tell him he had already visited the same place two weeks ago, to no avail. She hung up and sighed, her arms falling onto the sofa above her head, still thinking about what Neji had told her.

Daichi was a bit of a mixed bag. Despite knowing him for more than four years, he was a naturally suspicious person, always hiding something from her whenever they spoke, and he carried around a large, engraved silver medallion in his pocket. She didn't blame nor resent him for it. Some secrets were not meant to be known.

Like always, shortly after Shinji left her, she yearned to have him at her side again and he was constantly in her thoughts. Being with Shinji was a luxury she'd never been able to afford. His presence always comforted and warmed her, but left her wanting more. He brought her walls down and while she found it easy being with him, it was also easy for her to lose control of her powers the more she lost herself in him.

Sighing, she closed her eyes and let the images and thoughts of others flow over her, turning into a hum and clip show of lives. In the same way she couldn't analyse the detail of everything she saw with her eyes, she let her mind absorb the information unconsciously – if she suppressed her powers for too long, she would become unable to control them.

Hitomi wondered what happened to undisciplined people if they also had her abilities. Would the thoughts and impressions of others just become whispered instincts? Her upbringing as a Hyuuga had prepared her for much in life – developing her powers, dealing with the press and other unsavoury people, and knowing how to choose her words or use silence as a weapon. Unfortunately, it had not prepared her for her dependence on Shinji. Groaning, she tried to remove him from her thoughts. She was spared the effort when the elevator bell chimed and opened.

"Ah, Tomi?"

There was a pause – he was taking off his shoes.

"Finished work early today, Hiro?"

"Yeah. You look like you didn't even start."

"I've had things to do," Hitomi sighed, opening her eyes. Hiroki was in the kitchen, just as Neji had been moments before, opening a bottle of water and pouring it into a glass. "What's up?"

"Nothing much, just thought I'd drop by."

Hitomi arched an eyebrow. "What have you been up to?"

"Meetings – the usual." Hiroki said, checking his phone for messages. He was busy texting when he said, almost a little too casually, "So I heard about Suzuki's girlfriend, Rina."

It was funny – none of them remembered her last name; most of the time, she was just Rina. "Ah. The Nakagawa girl." They had all met briefly, a few months ago. The sight of Hiroki had shredded her nerves and brought back images of her uncle, unbidden. Hitomi had tried to shake the impression from her mind but like always, the effort only made her fixate on it, unconsciously probing for more information.

"Her boyfriend Suzuki was Shinji's 'friend', wasn't he?"Hiroki said, coming over to sit on the other couch. Hitomi sighed and sat up.

"Yeah," she said, wincing. "I had to … take care of him when she killed herself. Shinji believes legitimacy suits him, and wants to keep it that way."

"He turned out to be a great judge of character." Hiroki looked towards the bedroom doors, and Hitomi shrugged. "Neji's home."

"Does he know about anything?" he asked.

"No, and I intend to keep it that way. He knows about Nakagawa, because he reads the papers and asked me if I knew her the other day."

She slid off the couch and walked back to her room, closing the door behind them. Hiroki sighed and reached for his cigarettes, thought the better of it, and put them away.

"So what happened to her?" He asked, sitting down on her bed, crinkling the sheets. Hitomi paused for a moment before taking a seat on the chaise by the foot of her bed.

"Rina started remembering repressed memories maybe as soon as she started taking Lucia," Hitomi said, rubbing her eyes. "At least that's what I'm guessing. Her uncle used to abuse her when she was a child… you know how easy it is for victims to fall back in to this."

"False modesty doesn't suit you – we all know how good your guesses are."

Hitomi was silent for a few moments. "In any case, Suzuki believes she was clean when they took her body in."

"Was she?"

"Of course not," Hitomi sighed. "Daichi pulled some strings and emailed me her autopsy report, which came back with her testing positive for traces of a psycho-active drug, but the test came back inconclusive. And alcohol."

Hiroki frowned. "So what was the cause of death?"

"Blood loss – the drugs were too low in concentration, apparently, to have been the cause of death."

"So there won't be an investigation?"

"Not as far as I'm aware," Hitomi said, noting the slight exhale of relief on Hiroki's part. "She didn't overdose and that's the main thing we get to take away from this."

He shoved his hands in his pockets. "None of us are dealing, Tomi – Shinji was the last one; everyone's been lying low for the last half of the year."

"We'll see," Hitomi sighed, thinking about the curt email Daichi had sent her. "How much do you have left?"

"Not much," Hiroki admitted. "I haven't felt like it lately, and Michiru doesn't really like it anyway."

"So much for the better," Hitomi said. "It seems like I'm the only one who has a decent amount left."

"You actually need it, though. But wait, Kazu took the most out of all of us!" Hiroki exclaimed. "Surely he's not –"

"He's slipping it into drinks so he can get information out of cabaret girls," Hitomi said wearily.

"About what?"

"That's all I'm presently able to discuss," she said, lying back on the chaise and staring at the ceiling. "He might tell you."

"I'm not that interested to know about his sick methods," Hiroki groaned. "Shinji?"

"He says it makes him dull, and I agree," she smiled. "It's been an interesting year for all of us, I'd say."

Hiroki stroked his chin. "You could say that."

"What would you do if Neji brought Inoue to the New Year's Party? I get the feeling that's where this is leading, with your ridiculous bet."

"I don't really care about her, or the outcome, to be honest. She's broken up with that idiot, and that's pretty much all I care about," he said, rubbing the face of his watch to remove smudges on the surface.

"And they call me a monster," Hitomi sighed. "You used my cousin to break them up."

"He didn't have any objections – in fact, he seems to be enjoying it more than he has any right to."

Hitomi frowned, thinking about how worked up he had gotten. "What did you hear?"

"Shinji drunk texted me saying he had drained Neji's phone battery and might end up in a gutter somewhere because of it," Hiroki chuckled. "I don't get what Kazu's trying to do, but I do enjoy taking his money."

"He's quite overprotective of her," Hitomi said.

"I can see why," Hiroki grinned. "She seems a little … slow."

"If you really believe that, you're more of an idiot than Kazu," Hitomi sighed.

Hiroki stood, and Hitomi walked to her walk-in closet. "Wait, let me give you something."

"Christmas already passed," he said, putting his hands in his pockets. For each of her friends, she had made an item of clothing – Hiroki had received a blazer and Michiru a pair of tailored pants. Fumi had received a skirt that fluttered about her thighs as she danced, and for Daichi, she had made a vest lined with vibrant green paisley. For Kazuma, she had made a few pairs of silk boxers, as had been their tradition since they had met a few years ago – he had tried to pick her up by asking her to check if the ones he had been wearing were real silk, and had asked her to make him some when she had revealed that he had been thoroughly duped.

"But you can't leave empty handed, it's suspicious," Hitomi said, and picked out a bow tie from a selection of accessories and ties. "You wanted to borrow this last time, right?" she said, emerging from the closet with the bow tie in a box.

In front of the elevator, as Hiroki was putting his shoes back on, Hitomi asked him what he was doing for dinner that night.

"I'm going to sit in front of the TV and watch Michiru on whatever variety show she's been taping all day in Tokyo … and then wait up for her."

Hitomi smiled and gave him a reassuring pat on the back. Michiru didn't get much time in Sendai - it was only over these holidays and golden week that were her usual, guaranteed days off where she would be able to return.

"Did you see Shinji today?" He straightened and pressed the call button for the elevator.

"How can you tell?" Hitomi asked, surprised.

He grinned. "You get really touchy-feely with everyone, and you're a total bitch to Kazu." Nonetheless, she sent him off with a fond kiss on the cheek and told him to text her if he got bored. Fumiko had plans with her brother, Kengo, and Daichi was mysteriously unreachable. Which just left Neji, alone in his room. Hitomi knocked on his door. There was a pause.

"It's open."

He was sitting at his desk, typing something up on his laptop. He had hung his coat on the back of the chair, and was burning a candle on his bedside table, perhaps for relaxation purposes. Like many of the Hyuuga family, he still meditated – a practice ingrained in all of them from a young age. Hitomi wondered briefly what he was working on and she looked around before sitting on the end of his bed, somewhat awkwardly. He had not offered her a place to sit but this was her penthouse after all.

"So I had a chat with Kazu and I don't think this issue will happen again," Hitomi said, watching him. She couldn't see the words on the screen but what he was doing was taking a lot of concentration, apparently.

"That's good. Thank you," he said, his back still turned.

"Do I make you nervous, cousin?" Hitomi asked suddenly. So sudden, that he turned to face her.

"No, but I don't appreciate your prying," he said, his eyes narrowed.

"I don't pry, it's rude," Hitomi said. "But I do not appreciate your attitude towards me. I have had nothing but indifference and suspicion."

"What was I supposed to do? Open my arms wide and hope you'd come running?" He asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "My concept of family is far from conventional."

"I'm not so stupid as to believe that."

"What do you believe then?"

"You're running from something, or running towards something that you cannot catch – I can't decide. I don't need a brother or a friend, I would just appreciate some … positivity. Your doom and gloom outlook is really throwing me off."

"You can't even read my mind," he said dismissively. "I will do as I please."

"No, you will not! You will take me seriously, because right now, I feel like you're nothing but a spoiled brat who thinks of himself as being all high and mighty!"

"That, I'm afraid, is a privilege reserved for members of the Head family," he said, pushing up his left sleeve, his wrist upturned.

Hitomi flew at him, pushing his wrist down and slapping him across the cheek. He didn't stop her.

"You have no idea!" She said, tears coming unbidden. "None! I was deaf in that family, I heard nothing, except for the resentment of servants and the half-born! I could see them, I could feel them, all of them, flicking on and off like light bulbs when they saw me – so much scorn and fear… And you were no different," Hitomi growled, standing over him. "You thought you were such a victim, that Hizashi-jii had died for nothing but the whims of an older brother, but now you clearly know better, and you were rewarded with a place amongst the elite. My mother never, ever loved me! I was never welcome, never trusted, never one of the family I thought I belonged to. I was only a tool in her eyes – a weapon."

"You're seriously crazy, bringing up the past all of a sudden," he said, his eyes sliding off her. He was surprised and uncomfortable – and that was fine. "You've just been crying this whole time for someone to pay attention to you."

"You cannot make me doubt myself!" Hitomi spat. "I know what I see when I see you – you're nothing but a coward, who does Konoha's bidding, who will always see himself as a victim because you were too weak to do anything! That's the real reason why our engagement was broken off – it was because you were worthless! My mother was going to-"

"Hitomi."

Hitomi turned to find Shinji standing in the doorway, phone in one hand. The other was tightened in a fist.

"Hitomi, please," he said quietly, and Hitomi realised how far she had gone – her rage was seeping into the atmosphere around them, tendrils choking those nearby. Neji was tense and his heart was pounding, but Shinji had broken out in a sweat, his face red. She blinked, and tears rolled down her cheeks, scalding her.

"I'm sorry," she said, letting go of Neji's left wrist. When had that happened? Then she looked up at Shinji. "I'm sorry."

She took a few steps forward, wobbled, and stumbled. Both Neji and Shinji moved to steady her, and she cast one last look at her cousin, before leaning on Shinji's shoulder. Neji watched her leave without emotion, and the door closed on him once more.

"What was that?" Shinji asked, as they made their way back down the corridor until her bedroom. "I know you usually get a bit volatile after sex, which has never made sense to me, but this was seriously on a whole new level."

"I – I don't know," Hitomi stammered. "Just the sight of him … brought too much back. I realised … I realised I haven't spoken with him properly since he arrived. I think we've both been avoiding it."

"I can see why," Shinji said. He closed the door behind them and helped her settle on her chaise. "Let's go somewhere," Shinji suggested. "Somewhere where it's just us."

Hitomi smiled up at him, tracing her fingers across his face. "What about your dinner?"

"Actually my father brought his newest girlfriend along – an escort younger than me," Shinji said dryly. "I figured I should make good on my promise to spend more time with you."

"Even after I turned into a horrible monster?"

"You weren't a monster, you were angry. People get angry sometimes, even you." He leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers.

Hitomi sighed and felt all of her energy drain out of her. "I'm so tired."

"You can sleep in the car. Come on, you need to leave this place for a while."

"I should have told you everything about Neji," she said suddenly, taking his hand. "If I had told you, maybe I wouldn't have gotten so upset."

"Maybe," Shinji said, with a sad smile. "I thought I was having a heart attack in the elevator, I'm not going to lie. It all made sense when I saw you."

"Let's go," she said softly. "Somewhere, far away." She remembered all the things she had said with sudden fear, and Shinji's grip on her hand tightened.

"Don't worry," he said. "I'm here."

Hitomi could only smile faintly at the irony. "That's why I worry, idiot."