I'm sorry for the length! It's kind of short, but in this case I think the quality more than surpasses the quantity. I'm sure that you will all agree with me [and not because you feel my mighty writer wrath]. Anyways. I actually just finished writing this, because I realized I had nothing better to do than write my chapter for you guys! You should be happy :D. I'm in the writing mood, so I might start on 30 as well. Geeze! That's like... a lot of chapters. O.o Alright. -excited- On to the replies to my reviews, and then the story!
Kaulitz-Twins-Fangirl: I'm glad you're so excited. I think you'll like this next chapter.
Clarissa Avila: Well, I updated early just because I love you all that much. I'll see about getting another up late in the week, but school starts again Monday and then we're prepping for exams. -yay-
Lady Phantasmagoric: It's all good. It made me laugh slightly, but then I was feeling a tad bit disappointed. And now it's all good again. :D
Snow'n'Cupcakes: I'm not sure what to say to that. Please don't hyperventillate? Does that work as a response?
Sadly, Naruto and all it's characters [Neji included =/] Don't belong to me. Not even Daichi or Nobori belong to me. =[
Chapter Twenty-Nine – Unexpected
The instant our lips touched his fingers released my wrist. There was nothing holding me in place, save pure and utter shock. Of anything he could have done, this was literally nowhere near the top of the list. After a few long moments of shock and confusion, my knees gave way, physically tearing my mouth from his. I stared up at him, my eyes never leaving his face, with my hands resting on the cool wood of the floor beneath me. His eyes gazed back unblinking, cool and unreadable. There was a short pause before Neji's voice filled the silence.
"Maia, why aren't you shaking? Or crying?" What was he talking - oh. Shaking and crying were my symptoms of a panic attack. Anytime strangers came near me or touched me, or if I even thought I was to be alone with strangers - especially strange men - I'd freak out. My eyes dropped to the floor as my mind raced. I couldn't jeopardize our friendship right now - it would half kill me to lose whatever connection I have to him right now. Because I couldn't admit to my closest friend my deepest secret.
That I was in love with him.
No, I could never admit that to him - not now anyway. My emotional state was so overbalanced that telling him such a thing would almost kill me. It was a risk - and even though I was accustomed to taking risks, I couldn't this time. At best he'd gently blow me off or laugh at me - the worst would mean I'd probably never see him again, and I couldn't bear any of that. After all, this was the Hyuuga prodigy we were talking about - he was aloof from any human emotion for the most part. Not that I wasn't saying he couldn't fake it - he'd done a spectacular job in our last mission. He just didn't show - and didn't really seem to feel - any emotions. It was odd.
"I-" I started to speak, before quickly revising what I was going to say. I have no idea what I was going to say with that beginning, but I was sure it wasn't good. "We're teammates. Lee and Tenten are close, and you and I are close. Closer still since our last mission." I said all of this with my eyes on the floorboards.
"Liar." The word was a whisper of sound. It was almost frustrating how well he could read me - I could read him a bit, but nothing like he had for me. Then again, it went to the whole no-emotion thing. He could read me like an open book, but I could only see a word here or there before the covers snapped shut again. I bit the inside of my lip.
"Then... then I don't know." I said, almost desperate, looking up towards him. His eyebrow merely rose in response and I sighed. He knew I was holding something back, but I wasn't going to give it to him. Not now. Maybe not ever. I didn't want to lose the friendship we had.
I don't know why I thought I could manage the next thing I tried, but I guess I was looking for an easy way out. Too bad I looked in the wrong direction.
I was on my feet and my hand was on the door before the thought had even finished formulating in my head. But before I could tug it further open, arms were around me, keeping me in place. I stiffened up in surprise and fear. The fear was just from what had happened to me and I forced myself to stay in control of it. I have no idea why I was surprised though, honestly. I was a jounin, yes, but I was out of shape. Neji was also a jounin, and he was in shape and his body was a weapon, making him much faster than me. There was no way I could just run out of the room, and I had known it even though I'd tried anyway. His arms dropped from my body, but not before turning me. The movement caused my hand to shove the door even further closed, and my eyes went to the floor once more.
"Maia, look at me." I kept my eyes firmly on the ground. "Please?" I didn't want to, but he'd said please - not something I heard uttered from his lips often - so I had to. My gaze rose to his face, and he nodded. "There. Now, why were you running? I'm not going to hurt you." He raised his hands in a nonthreatening way and took a slight step backwards to give me more space. Even so, I stepped away as well, pressing my back gently against the door.
"I..." I don't even know why I thought to run. I had no other excuses for my reaction, except the truth. So, I chose to run instead of admitting to him what I could not, from fear. "I'm afraid." I whispered in explanation. He couldn't tell me I was lying either, because I wasn't. I was utterly terrified, but not for any reason he would think of.
"There's nothing to be afraid of, Maia. I won't hurt you." Oh, if he only knew the truth. Sure, he wouldn't harm me physically - okay, he wouldn't hurt me unless we were in practice, but even then he's been taking it easy on me - but emotionally was a whole 'nother ball game. No. He would, even if he didn't want to. Because it would kill me to have him tell me no - I'd rather suffer with my secret still a secret than have it in the open. "What's wrong, Maia? You can tell me." He urged, taking a small step forward, causing me to shrink against the door.
Which turned out to be a bad idea, as someone decided to open it at that exact moment, causing me to fall backwards into the hallway. I looked up from my position on the floor to see Tenten looking down at me, a bag of groceries on one arm, with curiosity.
"Sorry, Maia! Are you alright?" She asked, and then Neji was there, offering me a hand up. I accepted it so I wouldn't appear rude, releasing his hand easily once I was steady on my feet. I showed no discomfort at being a few steps from him, unlike before when the door was shut.
"Yeah, I'm alright. I was about to go to the gate to meet you when Neji asked me a question. I'd turned to answer and we ended up talking more and I was leaning on the door." I told her, easily. It wasn't even a lie, really. Because he had asked a question and we were talking when I'd leaned against the door which ended up in my falling in the hall. It wasn't lying, just a manipulation of the truth, right?
"Oh, alright." She said, but I could tell she was still curious. However, she didn't ask any questions and neither Neji or I gave any other word in explanation. Instead, I changed the subject.
"I guess it's time to go home. Would either of you like to join me?" I'd have only offered to Tenten as I was feeling a bit uncomfortable around Neji, but it would be extremely rude to just invite Tenten in front of him. Tenten smiled at the offer, but declined.
"I have to train with Lee still. He's been waiting since we left to spar with me, and if I wait too long he'll make me do something ridiculous after, like run backwards around Konoha until I faint or something equally strange." I smile and nod my understanding - Lee was just like our sensei, Gai.
Neji, on the other hand, accepted. He wouldn't even let me carry my own groceries. The three of us walked out the gate where Tenten parted ways with us. My home wasn't that far away and we traveled in silence. We got to the door, which I promptly unlocked and allowed Neji to precede me into my abode. Maybe this wasn't the best idea... Not like I could change it now.
Ryu's shoes weren't by the door, so I knew he wasn't home. I retreated to the kitchen with the bag of groceries Neji finally surrendered to me. I knew I only had a few minutes before he'd get fed up with this tactic and either corner me in here or call me into the other room. He may be patient, but even he has his limit. After shuffling the groceries around in the cabinets and the fridge, there was nothing left for me in the room. From the lack of noise he would know this as well. I took a breath and re-entered the room that I had last exited.
"Now, should we return to the conversation from before?" He asked, but it really wasn't a question. We were going back to it whether I liked it or not. This was proved as he said, in the same breath, "What is there to be afraid of, Maia?" I shook my head, resting my back against a solid wall - no chance of it opening behind me. This man was so baffling, I didn't know what to do with the situation. Anything I could say could be twisted in a thousand ways, and count on him to think of each and every one.
"I... you... it's confusing!" I exclaim at him from my place across the room, thoroughly exasperated with myself and him. Myself because couldn't find the courage to say what I felt and him for just being him. "What am I? To you, anyway. You seem cold, and then you kiss me. You're utterly perplexing!" I tell him. From the way his brows knit together in thought, this obviously wasn't what he expected me to say to him. Well, good. Let him be confused. Turnabout is fair play, alls fair in love and war, et cetera, so on and so forth.
"Well, for starters, you're my teammate. I can rely on you to have my back, no matter what. Whether we're angry at each other, you'll still be there to protect me until the threat is gone, even if I protest. Someone I can lean on and trust to get me somewhere safe or die trying." He replied slowly, obviously thinking his words through as he went. He paused but it was obvious he wasn't finished, especially as he drew breath to speak again, slowly moving across the room towards me. "You're my friend. I can tell you many things I wouldn't share with Lord Hiashi or Tenten. You understand me, as a jounin to jounin, as one person to another. You help me when I ask, without asking why or for anything in return." Here, he took a long, slow breath. I almost spoke, thinking he was finished, when his voice filled the air again. "You're the person closest to me, Maia. I'm glad, no matter what you may think, that it had been you chosen for that mission. Not because of what happened after I left, but for all the rest." The last bit was added quickly, as if he were afraid I'd get the wrong idea, and his gaze filled with passion and hope.
"That mission… it helped to put a lot of things into perspective. When I saw you in a heap on the ground, and then looking down at you, bruised and makeup running down your face, I was angry. I wanted to rip the one who'd done that to you apart. And when you flung yourself on me, as if you really were afraid… I was delighted when you did, because it was me that you needed, even if it was just an act." I dropped my gaze as he tried to meet my eyes, but he wasn't having any of that. He lifted my chin up to make me look at him, because he was standing right before me once more.
"For the longest time, I've felt very protective of you, Maia. Since we were genin, even. I think that, even then, I've been attracted to you." I bit the inside of my lip as he spoke, growing nervous. He'd answered my question, and no doubt he wished the same from me. But I didn't know if I could do it, and it wasn't fair. But there was absolutely no way I was prepared for that. The Neji Hyuuga, aloof and cold, hard as stone, was able to feel something akin to love, and it was towards me. Me. I swallowed hard, my mouth having gone dry.
"Y-yes." I took a steadying breath. I was hyper aware of his fingers still on my chin. "I agree. You're my teammate and friend. I'd trust you with anything: my life, my secrets, everything. You're the only one I can be completely honest with - because you know that we can't always tell the truth. During... during that..." I paused, biting my lip as I thought of how to say this without freaking myself out. "During that mission... before..." I left that hanging and just went on, "I used you, you know, to cry." I mumbled. "The memory of your near... near-death was all that I could use to bring me to tears - nothing else worked. I can't imagine you... you... dying." I barely got the word out and I had to bite hard on my lip to hold back the tears that wanted to force their way down my cheeks. No. Not happening. "I don't know about before the mission, but I know that I have..." I groped for the appropriate word, "feelings for you, Neji." I jerked my chin out of his hand, turning my face away from his.
"It scares me." I whisper to him; I can't help it, the words just spill forth before I can stop them. He doesn't speak, he just lets me talk. He doesn't even force me to look at him once more. "Affection for another? It makes me feel vulnerable... I could be crushed. It's absolutely terrifying." Finally I forced myself into silence. After a few moments, he realized I wasn't going to say anymore.
"Maia, look at me." I closed my eyes, steeling myself for what's to come, before turning to the man barely an arms length away from me. "I told you before, didn't I?" At my bewildered look, he stepped forward and rested his hands gently on my shoulders and leaned in so that he could whisper in my ear. "I will never hurt you." My arms raise to cling to his arms so that I don't collapse again. This is all too much in one day, it really is. This was an unexpected turn of events. I didn't wake up this morning thinking any of this would have happened, not any of it. I'd never have thought I'd attack an innocent man or that Neji and I would be expressing our affection for one another.
After a few tries I finally get my voice to work. "Promise? This isn't just a horrible trick or something like that?" I ask, wary of any malicious intent - even though I know deep down he would never do such a thing.
"I promise. It's not a trick, Maia." His tone was slightly exasperated, but he was just going to have to deal with it. I was wary of most men, but this crazy turn of events had my emotions going even crazier than usual, girlish hormones and all that aside.
"Neji..." I start.
"Yes?"
"If you're lying... I'll never forgive you." I tell him, staring straight up into those pale orbs. After a long moment, he nods. Then, and only then, do I stand up on tip-toe - I wish he wasn't taller than me! - and press my lips against his.
This is completely unlike any of our other kisses in the past. All but one was for an audience - they meant nothing, an act. The one earlier was nothing, too, really. I was too utterly baffled to even register much besides the fact that he was kissing me for no good reason - which ended up in a huge soul-searching thing that led to this.
"This" was a light, innocent kiss that turned not so innocent as he pressed me up against the wall. Not roughly - even now he was careful of me and my mental state - but it was filled with everything that wasn't there before. Before it was empty, meaningless, but now it was passion and need. It left me breathless and flushed, and I was pleased to see his cheeks were tinted a shade of pink as well and he too was regaining his own breath.
After a second kiss, no less heated than the first, we were forced to break apart by the return of Ryu. Though he shot us both a look, what with our slightly disheveled state, but he made no comment other than to inform us he was going to his room to study. As he disappeared down the hall, Neji decided to take his leave.
"I'll see you tomorrow, right?" I asked as I saw him out the door.
"And for many days to come, if I have my way." I smiled brightly at him, closing my door only after he's disappeared from my sight.
