Author Note: Okay, I want to first of all apologize for the long anticipated wait. I told you that I wanted to finish Final Lullaby before I finished this, and that's exactly what I did. But now, I can fully focus on this story! Isn't that great? Anyway, thanks for the reviews and being loyal and patient, of course!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Ages: Neji—18, Hinata—17
Welcome Back
Hinata was in a daze. It had only been barely an hour since her meeting with Neji, and she couldn't get him off her mind and out of her thoughts. Then again, when was that ever possible? Shaking her head, she tried to focus on unpacking her things that she had taken with her to the Land of Water. So far, she had her shirts and pants folded out on the bed. She had already disposed of her dirty clothes and now just had to put away the ones that were clean.
Her room was filled with silence as she went about her unpacking. Slowly and with an occupied mind, Hinata went back and forth putting her clothes back into the drawers of her dresser along with hanging certain clothes in her closet. She went about this with a blank face and glazed eyes, but her mind was a different story all together. She kept replaying what had happened during the short and tense meeting with Neji. The way he looked, the way he talked to her, the way he looked at her…the way he kissed her. Oh yes, she had missed him dearly.
With a sigh, she picked up another pair of pants and walked towards her dresser. Opening the bottom drawer, she moved around a few pairs of other pants in an attempt to find room. As she pushed a pile to the side, her eyes widened at something small that caught her attention in the far corner of the drawer. Dropping the pair of pants she was holding onto the ground, she reached forward with shaking hands and picked up the familiar objects. Cradling them in her palm, she felt her lip tremble at the memories that became evoked just from the two pieces of tied-together thread.
They were made to be imitations of wedding rings from a certain marriage between the younger childish forms of Neji and Hinata. Even though back then, the two had no idea what marriage was, it was the symbolism of the rings that gave them reason to wear the threads as much as they did. That is, until that fateful day that the funeral was held for Hizashi Hyuga. That was when everything fell apart and rippled into their future.
Hinata stroked the rings as she stood up taking notice how used they looked. Despite not being worn or even touched in the past seven years, the fragile threads became frayed and appeared easily breakable, much like the relationship between her and Neji.
Ignoring the strong urge to weep at the lost childhood, she quickly placed the thread-rings on the corner of her dresser before turning back to the leftover clothes on her bed. If she didn't think about it, then she would be safe from crying about it. The last thing she wanted to do on her first day back was cry, especially when she had cried so much before her departure. She loved Neji, but she wasn't sure how many more times she could shed tears because of him without it affecting her more than she would be able to take.
It was strangely true that Neji had certainly changed in the near two years she had been gone. Hanabi was right in saying that he had obviously become colder and more distant than usual, but there was also another change that only Hinata could identify. She wasn't sure what to call it since it was so many things, but she was clearly able to see some deep-rooted emotion floating in his silvery depths every time he looked at her versus someone else. It was soft and warm and comforting, something only meant for her eyes. He could speak to her in that harsh and demanding tone of his, but once she looked into his eyes, there would be such a contradiction. It was like he was trying to be angry with her, but found it impossible to do so since the hidden emotion in his cold white orbs always gave him away.
The only downside to that observation was that Hinata was still in disbelief. That, and even if he wasn't trying to scare her with his ferocious glares, she still ended up flinching and shifting her eyes to avoid his heated gaze. Another deep breath escaped Hinata's parted lips as she came to one final realization. Neji was complicated. She knew him for most of her life—fourteen years to be exact—and even then, he could still pull off being an enigma to her. Although, there were those times when she was able to see emotions, feelings, and thoughts from Neji that no one would ever get a chance to see. It was obvious to anyone, even strangers, that Neji and Hinata had a strange bond between them, one not easily broken, one completely durable. She didn't know about Neji's point of view on the subject, but according to Hinata, the bond she held with him was based on utter love. Well, maybe not mutual love in her opinion, but definitely love was the strength she put behind it. Whatever made Neji train his eyes on her and her alone she did not know, and was slightly afraid to find out.
Sitting down onto her bedside, Hinata clasped her hands into her lap while staring at them numbly. Before she could even attempt to stop herself, she slowly looked over until she was gazing at the rings from her childhood once again. They were still placed at the corner of her dresser as if they had always been there. But she knew…She knew that was not the case. As she stared, her chest heaved with every quickening breath she inhaled and exhaled. Gulping before tearing her gaze away, Hinata buried her face into her hands and begged whatever deity was out there that the pain she had fought so hard against these past couple years wouldn't come back. Please…I don't want to feel that pain anymore…please…no more…
Hinata inhaled sharply and sat bolt upright at the abrupt sound of someone knocking on her bedroom door. Fidgeting for a moment, she stood up and walked toward the door while absently wiping under her eyes to clear any moisture that might've built up there, even though none had. Taking another deep breath, she opened the door and widened her eyes at the unexpected visitor. Her mouth opened, but nothing seemed to come out.
"Hinata-chan!" the flamboyant man greeted with his arms spread out to his sides. "I have not seen you in so long! And, my, have you grown even more beautiful! You are like the blooming lily that—"
Hinata giggled and awkwardly embraced the man clad in green. "Lee-kun! It's been so long since I've seen you last." She pulled back with a happy grin on her face. "How are you?"
Lee beamed with a smile that seemed to sparkle. "I should be asking you that question, Hinata-chan!"
"I'm fine. But, um, what are you doing here?" she tilted her head in slight confusion at his sudden visit. She would've suspected he'd be here at the compound for Neji only.
He opened his eyes wide and planted his fist into the palm of his other hand. "Of course! How could I have forgotten? Naruto-kun has asked me to inform you that he will be picking you up tonight for your welcome home party. He said that he wanted to escort you to Ichiraku ramen himself."
Hinata's smile had yet to fade, and it wasn't surprising when it came to the exuberantly youthful Lee. "Thank you, Lee-kun. Did he say what time he'd be here?"
"He did! He will promptly arrive at no later than seven o'clock this evening."
"Okay, I'll be waiting for him then. Thank you for telling me, but…" Hinata's smile turned sympathetic. "You didn't have to come all this way just to tell me that."
"It was no problem, Hinata-chan. In fact, since I had to come here to tell you about it, I thought I should talk to Neji as well."
"I see."
Lee gave her a thumbs-up. "I shall go now, Hinata-chan. But, I will see you tonight, I promise!"
Hinata nodded. "Okay, see you later, Lee-kun."
He gave her an excited wave before running down the corridors, presumably heading for Neji's office. When he was gone, Hinata's grin slowly faded as she locked her eyes onto the floorboards beneath her. What's going to happen now?
"Why was I not aware of this sooner?" Neji asked sternly as he stared apathetically at his teammate, who sat across from him in his office.
"I believe it was not arranged until only a few hours ago. If I am not mistaken, it was Kiba's idea. Or it might have been Naruto-kun's." Lee replied thoughtfully.
"Hn," Neji grunted as he took a sip from his tea.
"You will come, Neji?" Lee asked hopefully.
Neji envisioned what it would be like with all the men flocking around Hinata at the party, and immediately knew his answer. "I suppose I could make an appearance."
"That is great!" Lee was beaming again without bothering to hide his inner joy. "It starts at seven, but it would be wise if we got there early."
Neji sighed and glanced at the clock on the wall. "In that case, I'll leave in a few hours."
"Then I will accompany you. Hinata-chan will be most pleased about seeing all of us again!"
The corners of Neji's mouth twitched before regaining his emotionless mask. "No doubt." Although, I'm sure she won't be welcomed in quite the same way I welcomed her. He smirked inwardly. That's a privilege only meant for me.
In a few hours time, Hinata was alerted that her best friend was at the compound gates waiting for her. Grinning with suppressed joy, she jogged her way to the gates until Naruto's bright blonde hair came into view. It wasn't until she was officially outside the Hyuga compound territory that she was embraced into a tight hug. Even though it nearly took the breath out of her, she smiled and returned the hug.
Backing away from the blonde, she took notice of another presence next to Naruto. All she saw was a head of pink hair before she was embraced once again, except not as bone crushing. "Hinata-chan! It's so good to see you!" Sakura smiled as the two girls pulled away from each other.
"It's nice to see you too, Sakura-chan."
"Wow, you seem a little different. Then again, it has been almost two years, huh?"
Hinata nodded and noticed the subtle differences in her two friends. They really hadn't changed much, but the growth of their hair and the maturing of their physical features was definitely evidence that time had passed. Of course, Sakura's hair was still in her usual short length, but it framed her face nicely to go along with her added height. Hinata laughed inwardly now that she realized she was back to being the shortest female in the rookie nine. "You've changed too."
"Nah, not us. Time freezes here in Konoha." Sakura winked.
"Oh, Hina-chan! I forgot to tell you!" Naruto grasped her attention with that large smile on his face and his blue eyes gleaming with excitement.
Hinata only raised her brows in wait for what he had to say.
Naruto chuckled and stepped back a few steps to sling his arm around another person Hinata hadn't realized was there until now. Then again, he was wearing mostly dark colors and the sun had already set. Seeing Naruto and Sakura in the dark of night was one thing, but noticing the other would be a completely different scenario. In fact, after setting her eyes on the new person, she felt shock ripple through her body. Naruto's voice brought her attention back to him. "Look who decided to come back home?"
White Hyuga eyes met pure black Uchiha eyes. Hinata smiled in greeting. "It's good to see you back, Sasuke-san."
The quiet dark-haired man only nodded to her with his expressionless face never altering. "Hyuga."
"Well, you ready to get going? Everybody is probably there already." Sakura commented.
Naruto nodded and sped toward the girl's side. His hand quickly reached out for Sakura's hand until he was holding it in his grasp. Before they started walking, he turned back and motioned to Hinata. "Come on, Hina-chan!"
"Okay…" She then started walking behind the couple not really noticing the somber presence walking next to her. Even so, Hinata was finally able to see why Naruto had suddenly seemed so completely happy. She knew that not having his best friend around left an empty void in Naruto's heart. She was content seeing that Sasuke had finally returned allowing Naruto to have his brother back, but it wasn't just Sasuke's reappearance that comprised Naruto's happiness. The two holding hands in front of her was proof of that. Naruto had found someone, someone just for him and someone who would give him the love that he deserved.
It was a new development to Hinata, and she probably would've never known since Naruto usually overlooked things. That was fine, though. The two teammates holding hands was enough of a hint for her, and she couldn't deny how relieved and overjoyed she felt about it.
"It seems those two dimwits forgot to mention that." A monotonous voice sounded from her side.
Hinata glanced over to the silent Uchiha before facing front again where she knew Naruto and Sakura wouldn't be able to hear them. "That's okay. Naruto-kun's always been somewhat…forgetful."
Sasuke snorted. "Only a loser is that forgetful."
Hinata giggled at his attempt at humor, if it was even that. She had never really talked to Sasuke that much in her past. She had only ever known him from the academy and being around Naruto all the time. They were both quiet people, so it wasn't much of a surprise that they never communicated. If anything, they were just acquaintances, and that was solely because they shared a mutual friend.
As she took in Sasuke's appearance, she realized obviously that he had grown as well. He was a good foot taller than she was with his longer black hair in its usual position. He seemed skinnier than she remembered, and his pale skin wasn't much of a contrast from hers. But that wasn't the major change in the last Uchiha. Hinata was able to see that unlike the usual frown that marred his features when they were younger, he seemed…neutral now. Almost like he was at peace with himself.
She half expected him to be irritated just talking to her, but it was more like he just didn't care anymore. She assumed his new inner peace was attributed to that. "Um…" Hinata started, taking notice that they weren't too far from the ramen shop now. "When did you get back, Sasuke-san?"
His eyes glanced at her for a moment before facing forward and shoving his hands into his pockets with a shrug. "About half a year ago."
"Oh," Hinata bit her lip. "Did…they throw you a welcome home party too?"
Slowly, an amused smirk formed on his features. "I suppose you could call it that. I certainly got my ass kicked a couple times. Or, at least, that's what Naruto's interpretation of a welcome back greeting had been."
Hinata laughed lightly again. "I see." She paused momentarily as they finally approached Ichiraku ramen. Naruto and Sakura headed in at once leaving the other two to enter on their own. Before Hinata walked through the opening, she smiled softly back at Sasuke. "You were greatly missed, Sasuke-san. I think that's what Naruto-kun was trying to show you."
Sasuke scoffed. "I'm pretty sure there are other more civil ways of showing how much you missed somebody. I was in the hospital for a week."
As soon as Hinata entered into the newly grown ramen shop, which had now become like a small restaurant, she was bombarded by many of her close friends. Kiba had pounced on her first followed by Ino. Shino nodded to her from across the room, where he stood next to Shikamaru and Choji, who also nodded to her in greeting. She heard a variety of "Welcome back" salutations before her old sensei found her and began talking to her about how much she was missed, along with how proud the red-eyed woman was with her favorite female pupil.
Kakashi and Gai were off in their own corner with the copy ninja reading quietly while the sensei in green spoke to him with "passion", which was obviously ignored. Naruto and Sakura had rejoined the group around Hinata, which consisted of Ino, Kiba, and Kurenai. Sasuke had gone off to sit near the bar where the drinks were being distributed. He wasn't socializing and seemed quite content to just observe everyone else. However, he wasn't the only one at the bar, which made her nearly pass over Tenten.
The older girl was seated on the opposite end of the bar from Sasuke, and was turned halfway around to face the group. A smile was on her lips, but it looked strained and matched her solemn eyes. This made Hinata furrow her brows in confusion since she had always seen Tenten so happy, but now she looked exhausted and sorrowful for some reason. Hinata stepped forward with the clear intention to approach her, but was stopped when she saw Tenten's eyes glance briefly at another pair of men off to Hinata's left. After the quick glance, the weapons mistress sighed and started looking even more dejected and distraught.
In curiosity, Hinata trailed her eyes to what had obviously made her friend so depressed. She felt her mouth part slightly when she noticed the pair of men. There was Lee talking animatedly to a slightly irritated Neji, and neither had a clue about their female teammate's disposition. "Hina-chan, you alright?" Naruto asked taking notice of her distracted state.
Hinata jumped slightly and faced Naruto with a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. I just…um…" She glanced at the forlorn woman sitting at the bar before staring back at her small group of friends surrounding her. "I'm going to go say hi to Tenten-chan." With that, she skipped away towards the bar.
Naruto had opened his mouth to stop her, but before words could be formed, his best friend had already taken off. He knotted his brows together worriedly and exchanged the same expression with Sakura. "What should we do, Sakura-chan? Will it be okay?"
Sakura gulped and watched as her timid friend took steady steps toward the female from Team Gai. "I think…it will be okay…as long as we keep an eye on them to make sure Tenten doesn't do anything rash."
Naruto opened his eyes wide at that remark. "You don't think she would, do you? I mean…this is Hina-chan we're talking about."
Sakura nodded as her lips tightened into a thin line. "Yeah, but this is also Tenten and her issue with not getting Neji we're talking about as well. Not to mention the fact that Tenten knows why Neji ditched her a few years ago."
Naruto shook his head. "Hina-chan and Tenten got along really well before Neji broke the news to her that there was someone else he favored above all…and that just happens to be my best friend."
"Yeah…Tenten didn't take too kindly to hearing that."
Hinata stood behind Tenten only seeing her back. Hesitantly, Hinata took the seat next to her older friend and delivered a smile to the girl. "Hi, Tenten-chan."
Tenten stiffened in her seat and slowly turned to face the person sitting next to her. Her eyes were wide in surprise at first before fading into a cold frown. "Hinata,"
"How are you?" Hinata asked shakily as she stared at the first frown she had ever received from the other woman.
Tenten sniffed and grasped her drink in one hand. "Fine. Perfectly…fine." The words were grounded out between her teeth before she stood from her seat and moved to walk away. Before she even took a step, though, she glanced at the timid woman from the corner of her eye. "Welcome back. I'm sure everyone missed you. It's so great that you've returned." There was definite sarcasm in her statement as she put one foot in front of the other and sauntered out of the ramen shop.
Hinata stared after her with astonished and hurt opal eyes. She felt so confused as to why her old friend was suddenly treating her so coldly. Did she say something wrong? Did she do something to upset her? If she did, how come she couldn't remember it? Releasing a disappointed sigh, Hinata turned in her seat facing away from the large group of familiar people. As she stared at her hands, which lay on the counter in front of her, she failed to notice another presence taking the empty seat to her right.
She startled when a glass of tea was placed right next to her arm. Slowly turning her gaze to the side, she met with black eyes. "Sasuke-san…?"
Holding his own drink in his other hand, he nudged the drink closer to her. "Take it."
She didn't say anything and only held the drink in her hands and stared blankly into the dark liquid.
Sasuke scowled. "I didn't poison it if that's what you're thinking."
Her gaze snapped up to meet his before she shook her head fervently and gave him a wavering smile. "No, no, that's…I mean…I'm sorry, that's not what I…" she sighed again and finally took a sip of the tea before placing it back onto the counter. "Thank you."
"Hn," There was only a brief moment of silence before he spoke up again without even looking at her. "It seems that not everyone is giving you a warm welcome."
Knowing whom he meant and that he had most likely seen the meeting between her and Tenten, Hinata could only put on that smile she wore even if she was incredibly uncomfortable. "Isn't that the way it is for anyone who returns after awhile? Not everyone can be happy."
"You're unknowingly preaching to the choir, Hinata-san." Then again, I at least knew the reason for not getting a warm welcome.
As soon as Tenten breezed passed her two teammates, Lee's face straightened worriedly before following the girl, hot on her heels. Neji watched this with a lack of amusement and only leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes in relief. Even though it was quiet around him, the rest of the place was far from such solitude. He could easily hear all the meaningless chatter erupting around him, which only managed to make him regret coming in the first place. He hated social events and wouldn't have come if it weren't for his shy caretaker.
Opening his eyes, he gazed blankly at the ceiling above him as thoughts swarmed his mind. He and Hinata had been through a lot in the past fourteen years. It was no wonder that at this time, Neji was realizing how much more problematic he made those events in their lives. Hinata had unknowingly caused him pain, but that could be easily forgiven compared to what he had done. All the pain he's ever caused Hinata was all done intentionally; although, it was true that he had no intention to actually force her tears. He just wanted to show her how he felt, how hurt he was. He wouldn't be lying when he said that he never wanted it to go as far as it did. Because of his momentary ignorance, a blockading wedge was put between them, and it would take many years of reforming their relationship to remove the wedge completely.
This had occurred to Neji recently, and now that Hinata returned, he had every intention to begin the rekindling of what they once had as children. It would be difficult work, he knew, but it was worth it. He wanted Hinata to be by his side, to stay with him always, to willingly say that she was his and no one else's. Of course, if she asked, he would no doubt say those things to her as well, albeit hesitantly since it wasn't his style. Nonetheless, now that she was back within his capable grasp, he was finally given the chance to regain her trust and love the way he was supposed to.
He sighed wishing that it were as easy as it sounded. But, he refused to back down from the challenge and would not stop until Hinata herself told him to.
Speaking of Hinata, his white eyes glanced around the room to search out her petite figure. Skipping over the ones that didn't count in his eyes, he finally managed to pinpoint her form with her dark hair flowing over her shoulders and back. He couldn't see her face clearly since it wasn't turned towards him, but he recognized the one sitting next to her. Just like old times, he could feel his blood boil with a possessive rage and it took everything he had just to control it. But, oh…he made plans to let the Uchiha know just whom he was dealing with.
"So, you waited for awhile before…returning to Konoha?" Hinata clarified as their conversation gradually escalated and flowed.
Sasuke nodded and drank from his nearly empty glass of tea. "After I killed Itachi, I thought I should wander around for a bit since I was still debating whether or not I wanted to return here." He sighed and pushed his glass away before resting his elbow on the counter and placing his chin in his palm. By now, he was facing her with his free arm lying lazily on the counter separating their bodies. "After three months of deciding what to do, I ended up coming back. Two steps away from even reaching the gates, I was bombarded by at least three teams of ANBU." He rolled his eyes, but stopped when his brows furrowed thoughtfully. "Actually, I think one of those teams was led by Neji Hyuga. He was an ANBU captain, right?"
Hinata bit her lip before shaking her head. "I'm not sure. When I left, he was a jonin. I know that he wanted to become an ANBU captain, but I don't know if he ever did it."
"Huh…I'm pretty sure he was. Although, last I heard, he wasn't anymore."
Hinata shook her head again, except with more finality. "No, he wouldn't be. As soon as he would become Hyuga head, he would be discharged from anymore shinobi activities, including missions."
"Sounds like a shitty deal." Sasuke smirked lightly.
Ignoring his rough vocabulary, Hinata ended up murmuring solemnly to herself even though Sasuke could still hear her clearly. "There's no deal involved. It's a birthright, one you can hardly turn your back on. That's just…the way the Hyuga clan is…"
"From what I recently found out," Sasuke started as he made himself more comfortable without turning away from her face. "My clan wasn't exactly that great either. It was on its way to dying anyway, so Itachi just decided to finish the clan off. Now, it's my job to fix things and build a new clan with a proper foundation."
Hinata smiled softly. "Is that what you plan on doing now?"
He nodded and yawned without bothering to stifle it. "Getting revenge on Itachi was the goal at the forefront of my mind; rebuilding my clan came second. Now that Itachi's gone, all I have left to do is work on recreating the Uchiha clan."
The timid woman did everything in her power to keep from giggling. "And that means marriage and children."
He snorted in mock disgust. "Unfortunately, yes. All those years of avoiding women, and now I have to pick one to be the new Uchiha clan matriarch." His sigh emanated pure frustration. "I'm in deep shit now."
"Why would you say that?" she asked sympathetically. "It shouldn't be hard. I mean…your fanclub is probably still in tact."
"I was kind of hoping I wouldn't have to resort to that." He grumbled. "In fact, until just recently, I already had my ideal choice picked out. All I had to do was begin the courting process."
Hinata's eyes lightened in realization before fading back down to sympathy again. "Oh…I'm sorry. It must have been a shock to find out that the girl you chose…is now with your best friend." She continued not noticing his questionably raised brow. "I'm sure if it had been three or four years ago, Sakura-chan would've agreed without hesitation."
A low chuckle reverberated from Sasuke's throat and his shoulders shook lightly. "You're kidding, right?"
Hinata opened her mouth before closing it in confusion.
He shook his head while an amused smirk played upon his lips. "Sakura wasn't exactly high on my list of ideal choices. To be honest, she and Ino were quite close to the bottom, despite it being a short list."
"But…then…?" Her lips pouted in deep thought. Who is he talking about?
Resisting the urge to sigh again, Sasuke told her his answer in a strange type of exhausted groan. "It was you, Hinata-san." He paused to see her wide eyes contained with shock and that same confusion. "Of all the girls I remembered, you seemed to be the best choice." He saw that she was opening her mouth to question him, so he held up his finger and motioned for her to stay quiet so he could continue in that same indifferent manner. "Because…even though I haven't spoken a word to you before today, I knew that you were quiet. You were never apart of my little fanclub, so I could trust that you wouldn't try to rape me the moment I actually did speak to you. Material wise, I could provide anything, but when it comes to the emotional needs, I think I'd be pretty much useless. By observation only, I was able to discern that you could've done without that and not complained once. Of all the females, you came off as one who I could actually…tolerate."
Hinata had a hard time figuring out if she should be flattered or bothered by this new amount of information. She attempted to say something, but nothing would escape her lips. All she could do was gape like a fish and allow confusion to swarm her pale eyes.
Seeing this, Sasuke resisted the urge to chuckle again. It became even more difficult to withhold when he saw the blood rushing to her cheeks in embarrassment. Shaking his head with another deep exhale, he shifted in his seat to gain more comfort. "But, like I said," he began again, drawing her attention back to him. "You were my ideal choice until just recently."
She cocked her head to the side in question.
"Not too long ago, I found out that you were already taken." He watched her eyebrows raise in surprise, which egged him on to continue. "Honestly, that wouldn't have stopped me. Taken or not, if I want something, I usually get it."
"So, then…" Hinata averted her gaze from him and gazed at the countertop blankly. "Are you…still trying to…pursue me?"
He slowly shook his head in reply. "I had every intention of 'pursuing' you as soon as you returned. However, after an observation I made recently, I realized that my attempts would be ultimately pointless and a waste of my time. A claimed woman is one thing…A claimed woman who is enamored with her claimer is something completely different."
"I'm not sure I understand, Sasuke-san." Hinata murmured as guessing thoughts flew around in her mind. "Who are you talking about…exactly?"
Another amused smirk claimed his mouth. "You mean you don't know?"
She only had to gaze at him with a pleading hopefulness dominating every inch of her porcelain face.
This momentarily stunned him causing silence to stain the air between them. Finally, he cleared his throat and looked away from her. "That Hyuga…Neji. He's the one that's claimed you; Naruto told me that much as if I couldn't already guess. I wouldn't have minded taking you away from that bastard, but…that was when I realized that you wouldn't have taken too kindly to that. Neji wouldn't have either—no doubt—but it's not exactly entertaining for me to come in-between two people who have dedicated their lives to each other. He's claimed you, and in return, you've claimed him."
With each word he spoke, her eyes glistened with unshed tears along with a strange pang directed to her heart.
Sasuke ran a hand through his hair in an uncomfortable fashion. "I'm an observant person, and I can easily tell that you two are deeply committed to each other." He raised a brow. "Which means that I'm not allowed to interfere."
Maybe if Hinata were thinking clearly, she would've laughed at this strange occurrence. For one thing, she was having a conversation about her relationship with Neji, and to top it all off, she was having it with Sasuke Uchiha, the number one cold-hearted ninja. The words he had just spoken were words she had never imagined he would even think to say. He seemed comfortable around her, but that might've been because she wasn't exactly like the others and everyone seemed to be comfortable around her. It was odd, but then again, she wasn't really focusing on that. All she could focus on was how others perceived her and Neji. Did they really seem that…bonded?
"You don't believe me?" Sasuke was back to smirking again as if the whole conversation entertained him more than he could remember.
"I…" Once again, Hinata found herself at a loss for words. She wanted to believe Sasuke, and a part of her did wholeheartedly, but could she really hope for that kind of truth? She always knew that Neji had put a claim on her since they were children, but since when did she ever have a claim on him? Was that even possible?
"Try to be more watchful, Hinata-san. Look around you for once and try not to take things so literally. You might see what I've been telling you."
Her eyes found his, and for that moment their eye contact didn't break. "Sasuke-san…I'm—"
"Hinata,"
Both turned around to look at the face that belonged to the cold voice they just heard. Sasuke merely side-glanced the Hyuga impassively while Hinata's eyes widened as she froze to her spot. "Neji-sama…"
He glanced at her before shooting a quick threatening glare to Sasuke. His eyes narrowed and his fists clenched stiffly at his sides. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I…Uchiha?"
Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly and turned in his seat until he was no longer looking at the Hyuga head.
Neji grunted and locked gazes with Hinata once again, except his stare almost seemed…softer. "Hinata, come with me."
She watched as he turned his back to her and began taking slow steps away from her toward the exit of the ramen shop. Not wanting to keep him waiting, she slipped off her chair and was about to trail after him when she remembered the man she had been talking to. Glancing over her shoulder, she called to him quietly. "Sasuke-san?"
With boredom spread over his face, he side-glanced her with a raised eyebrow.
"Um," She smiled uncertainly. "Thank you."
He didn't move for a minute, and when he did, it was a slight twitch in the corner of his mouth before he turned back away from her. "I'm curious to see how this turns out. Good luck."
With a short nod of her head, Hinata turned on her heel and jogged after the departing Neji.
"It's nothing, Lee, just leave me alone." Tenten tried to brush passed him, but he only took a graceful step until he was back in front of her. The two had been doing this since Tenten made it outside Ichiraku ramen with her teammate right behind her. He would continue to ask her what was wrong, and she would only reply that there was nothing wrong and she just wanted to be left alone.
Lee, who dearly loved his female teammate, wasn't the type to let her go if something was obviously bothering her. Now, as they stood near the darkened corner next to the restaurant, Lee had his hands clasped onto her shoulders to keep her from sidestepping him again. Even as she stood there, she still wouldn't look up at him and only stared at the ground, her bangs hiding her shadowed eyes. "Tenten-chan, please tell me what is wrong. I want to help you."
"I'm fine, Lee! Just leave me alone!" Her hands balled into fists.
He carefully stepped closer with his hands never parting from her shoulders. "You are not fine, Tenten-chan. You are sad, and I only want to see you smile."
"Everything's not all 'youth' and smiles, Lee. Haven't you figured that out yet?"
"Perhaps not, but…" His gaze lowered to the ground as well. "If life is not making us happy, then we should do anything we can to allow ourselves to be happy."
Her body tensed before she finally looked up and focused her angry gaze onto him. Her lips were thinned and tears streaked down her face. "I tried that! It didn't work out for me! It will never work out for me! Especially now that she is back!"
Lee's normally round eyes rounded even further. He knew what she was talking about, and all he could do was watch as she broke down into sobs. Letting instincts take over, he pulled her into his arms allowing her to cry into his chest. After only a few minutes, her arms wrapped around him while she continued to shakily cry.
"I don't know what to do anymore, Lee…I tried everything! But…Neji-kun…still won't allow me near him. It's like he's put some kind of huge wall between us that he never wants me to pass. I've loved him for so long, Lee. I just don't understand why he won't love me back!"
He began stroking her back in a calming manner as he tried to think of what to say. "Tenten-chan, I know how you feel—"
Her eyes hit him again with that same bitter anger. "You know how I feel? Since when would you have a clue how I feel?"
"Because I…" His eyes shifted away from hers bashfully before eyeing her once again with determination. "I have loved you for some time now, Tenten-chan. I know what it is like to love someone who will probably never love you back. It hurts…a lot. But I will not let that pain consume me as long as I can see that you are sad. I can not be happy until you are happy, Tenten-chan."
"Lee…" She whispered before their moment was broken by the sound of footsteps coming out of the restaurant they had exited not too long ago. Briefly looking over to see whom it was, Tenten felt that same sting in her chest when she saw that it was Neji and Hinata. In an attempt to avoid the pain all together, she tightened her mouth into a thin line and swiveled around before sprinting down the street and away from the sight. She shouldn't have been surprised that there was another person running alongside her.
Neji led Hinata to a nearby bench only ten feet away from the ramen restaurant. The light emitting from the busy shop barely reached the bench, which allowed for the moonlight to illuminate it instead. This was the kind of atmosphere that Neji preferred. It was silent, mostly dark, barely cold, and a blanket of stars to decorate the night sky. He had only thought of how to get Hinata away from the Uchiha, and decided to just take her away from the party once and for all. Once outside, he didn't really have a clue what to do next.
Hinata watched as her superior just stood next to the bench gazing up into the vast amounts of stars. It didn't look like he was really focusing on anything, so she didn't want to bother his train of thought. With a light gulp, she seated herself on the stone bench and drifted her gaze to her lap where her hands were folded demurely. All that could be heard was the sound of their slightly audible breathing.
Putting his thoughts in order, Neji opened his mouth to speak, but didn't change his stature and position. "Did you know about Naruto's relationship with that pink-haired woman?"
Startled by his sudden voice, Hinata stared at him out of the corner of her eye as she faintly responded. "Yes. I found out when Naruto-kun picked me up for the party."
He frowned and clenched his teeth. "Did it anger you?"
Surprised by the question, she shook her head. "No…I'm not angry. I was shocked at first, but…I wasn't angry. I'm actually…very happy for them, for Naruto-kun."
"Hn," He turned halfway around and stared down at her with his arms crossed over his chest. "I assumed you would be angry considering you two were quite close."
"Naruto-kun and I…were only ever friends." She answered with a small smile.
Grunting again, Neji seated himself next to her even though they were on opposite ends of the bench. "That's not what I remember."
Their supposedly identical eyes locked in a gaze that seemed to exchange memories and thoughts within only a passing second. They had both seen and felt such pain, but to what extent the other's pain was…they didn't know. What they had seen in the past was undoubtedly in a different viewpoint than what the other had seen. They both knew that there was something missing in their chain of memories, but they wouldn't know until they asked each other what they knew.
Finally, it was Neji who broke the eye lock and stared ahead of him instead with his elbows resting on the tops of his legs. He didn't speak anything, but his brows were furrowed in deep thought.
Hinata, on the other hand, continued to look at him with an unreadable gaze. "Neji-sama—" she saw his face snap back to hers with narrowed eyes. Knowing what he meant by it, she quickly averted her gaze and restarted. "Neji…" She gulped again and breathed in deeply. "I-I…I just…"
Neji kept his eyes on her for a sole minute before drifting over her shoulder and towards the ramen restaurant. What he noticed made his features form into a scowl before he quickly stood up. "Not right now, Hinata. We'll talk about this later." He held out his hand to her and stared at her with a promise in his eyes.
Hinata nodded and took his hand to help her stand up. When she was standing straight again, she noticed that Neji hadn't let go of her hand yet. In fact, he held it close to his face while his thumb smoothed over her knuckles. Slowly, his lips descended onto her hand leaving a whisper of a kiss on her silken skin. Even though the whole action came slowly, he released her hand and walked away in one, quick, graceful move. Hinata was left standing there stunned for a short time until she heard what Neji had apparently noticed earlier, which interrupted what she had wanted to say.
Calling and waving to her from the entrance to Ichiraku ramen was Naruto and Kiba. They were both smiling, but their tones of voice sounded slightly worried. "Where have you been, Hina-chan?"
"Yeah," Kiba added. "You just up and disappeared. We didn't know you wanted to go outside?"
"I'm sorry…" Hinata smiled and jogged over.
"Well, don't be sorry and just hurry up and join the party!" Naruto laughed.
Her grin widened as she nodded. "I'm coming!"
As she ran towards her two friends, she saw a darkened figure standing off to the side of the restaurant watching her. Her eyes trailed over and met with a darker shade of Hyuga eyes, eyes that she knew anywhere.
Neji watched her with a hidden intensity as she jogged toward the two idiot friends of hers. She was still gazing at him and only turned away when she finally reached Naruto and Kiba. Even so, for the remainder of the party, he saw how many times she sought him out only to find that he had been watching her the whole time. She didn't appear bothered by this since she would smile faintly and lower her head to hide her well-placed blush. This caused Neji, too, to smile faintly while inwardly hoping no one else saw it.
Oh, yes, Neji knew that based on their past, he would have to start doing things differently if he wanted to fully claim Hinata and have her willingly go along with it. He was done with all the pushing and scheming and working behind others' backs. That only seemed to separate the two further. Luckily, Neji had been doing some of his own planning during the years Hinata wasn't around. The whole reason he was able to quell his anger was because he knew what he had to do when Hinata returned, and he knew she would return…to her home, to her friends, to her family, and to him.
Now all he had left to do was set the plan in motion. The first step to take would be for them to talk about the misunderstandings about two years ago. With an untraceable smirk, Neji reminded himself to alert Izanami, his current caretaker, to prepare not one meal for tomorrow's lunch, but two.
Sorry, but I got to get back in the groove of writing this story. It's been awhile, so I just need to remember where I wanted to take this and how I ordered the events. Anyway, here's the update you've all been waiting for and now I have all the time to completely focus on this story too! Please review and let me know if any of you are still interested in this story! Thanks!