Chapter 21

Hinata had been in a state of shock since last night. She kept pinching herself to wake up from whatever dream she was stuck in. But... she was apparently awake…

She thought back to her board meeting with the directors of the hospital earlier. It had gone fairly well overall. Now that there was 6 months left to her term here they had started talking about a knowledge transfer plan and a transition plan for her exit. If she had done her job well, the team should be able to continue operating only experiencing the smallest of change management challenges.

She was feeling good about the work that lay ahead. She had a bad habit of working through her lunches, but today she came out to a bench in the gardens behind the hospital to think…

She needed to think about what happened last night.

Neji had confessed his feelings for her and It had been everything she had wanted as an 18 year old girl. If she rewinded time that would have been her wildest dream coming true.

But now… older and wiser, she was sceptical.

It had taken him a while to figure out what he felt about her. He had even told her he hadn't really known how he felt until he got here and saw her. So what's to say that this wasn't temporary? She did appreciate him baring his heart out to her and for being brave enough to put himself in that position of vulnerability.

In hindsight she realized that perhaps she should have told him she loved him before she left Konoha. Maybe that would have made a difference. He had been so conflicted between her and Tenten so perhaps if she had told him what she felt, both their lives would have been different now.

One thing Tenten had done, which she now respected was the fact she had been honest with Neji about her feelings and she had laid all her cards out on the table. In addition, Tenten… had fought for Neji.

Hinata sighed exasperated, feeling like she was losing her mind. What was she doing? … She had finally started to break away from the pain of not having Neji in her life. She had built an identity here that she was proud of and she didn't want to lose sight of that person. She was glad to be this version of Hinata, she wouldn't go back and change anything in spite of the pain it had taken to build this Hinata.

So... now the question was, after all was said and done… what did she still feel for Neji? Did she have any remaining feelings for him? Sure she desired him, they had a natural chemistry. She respected him, she cared for him… but did she still love him?

She wasn't sure.

Hinata received a note from Neji halfway through the day. She scrambled to open the note looking at Gin-san standing across from her awaiting a reply.

Neji had asked her to visit the mountains with him on Saturday, which... was tomorrow. She bit her lips contemplatively… she had promised him, but was it a good idea to spend more time with him?

In the note, he'd mentioned that he had been able to clear most of his day for this excursion and that he was leaving Kumogakure on Monday, so he had limited dates and times to offer her as choices.

Her heart sank as she read about him leaving so soon, but she didn't linger too long on that thought. Instead making up her mind she scribbled back her agreement and asked him to meet her at 9 AM tomorrow.

With that taken care of she put that out of her mind, and focused on the work that lay ahead. She had a long ER rotation still to complete this evening.

The next day she was ready on time with food and drinks packed for their outing. She waited outside dressed in a straight cut boyfriend jeans, and a bright yellow bohemian top that came up to her hips, which was adorned with vividly printed blue flowers and green leaves. She rounded the outfit off with a straw hat and hiking sneakers.

Hinata glanced at her watch while peaking down the road and as she expected she didn't have to wait long for Neji to arrive.

This morning she'd had some time to reflect further on this situation and had decided to make the best of the circumstances. He was leaving soon, so she would spend time with him making the best of whatever… they were to each other at the moment. And once he was gone, she had six months to decide what she wanted to do. She mentally nodded to herself in agreement of the plan and steeled her nerves as he pulled up.

He was in a sleek black town car and upon parking, got out of the vehicle coming over to give her a quick hug and to help her with her backpack full of supplies. After the food was loaded into the car, she passed him a thermos filled with coffee. She had a matching one in her hands as well.

"Thank god" he said gratefully "I really needed coffee right about now".

She smiled and directed him on how best to get on to the route that led up to the mountains.

"So how was your day yesterday, I didn't get a chance to see you?" Neji asked striving for a casual conversational tone. He had promised himself now that he had said everything he needed to, he would try his best to give her space and enjoy this day out without any expectations.

"It was okay. I had a long day at the hospital…" she trailed off looking out the window. Working for a small community like this, she didn't have to deal with loss too often, so yesterday had been especially tough.

"What happened?" he asked after she didn't expand for a while.

"There was a woman that came in sick and emergent… she was older and... frail to begin with, we did everything we could to resuscitate her… but it didn't do any good in the end. I know she had a long life, but it's still tough to lose a patient" she said sadly.

"Are you okay?" he asked after a brief hesitation.

She looked at him with a bittersweet smile, "Yes… she lived a good life. I got to meet her family and hear some wonderful stories about her time on earth… it just... must have been her time to go I suppose".

Neji nodded in understanding.

"How was your day?" she asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Good, we've reviewed all the treatise and contracts we needed to. So I can relax a bit today before having to buckle down again tomorrow."

"You are busy tonight though?"

"Yeah" he said smiling in slight exasperation, "I was invited to a dinner tonight actually… at a local Daimyo's house. They are an allied family with our clan so it would be rude not to go".

He sighed thoughtfully drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, "Are you interested in coming along?".

"Ano" she started off waving her hands, "No, umm that's okay I will… pass". It's not that she didn't want to go, it was just that optically that would look weird and she wasn't ready to start attending diners with him again.

After looking at him for a few seconds she saw his mouth quirk up at the side and she realized he had been half joking, so she smiled along with him.

"I am not your fiance, so I can say no to these things now" she teased.

The rest of the car ride passed pleasantly as they caught up on the last year of their lives.

Hinata got to tell Neji all about her hospital implementation. He asked relevant and pointed questions throughout the conversation showing off his interest and well rounded knowledge.

And vice versa Hinata got to hear from Neji about all the challenges he had been up against over the last year as Clan Leader and he made a point to ask her opinion on how he should approach various problems he had been tackling.

She had a different perspective from him on things, so it was good feedback. Neji tended to be analytical and Hinata tended to lead with her heart and the ideal solution often laid in the middle of those two approaches.

They made several pit stops along the way to the mountaintop at scenic viewpoints. They also sampled local cuisine from some of the small food stalls they passed on the way. Hinata came to observe that Neji wasn't picky at all when it came to food, he was willing to try everything at least once. Despite these stops they still made it to their destination in good time, about 2.5 hours after departing from her house.

They parked and got out of the car at the gondola station that was to take them the rest of the way up the mountain.

"This is the first time I've seen you in a hoodie" she commented, taking in his outfit of jeans and a dark green hoodie, paired with Hiking boots.

"I figured I would give it a go... with the milder climate here I noticed a few men wearing these".

"Yeah women too, I have a few favourite hoodies of my own".

He grabbed their backpack and led the way to the ticket stand. She offered to get the tickets but he turned her down quite firmly. "I won't be able to see you for six months, at least let me do this" and she agreed in the end.

The gondola ride up the mountain was magical. The small pod they were in had large windows all around so they had a panoramic view as they went up through the clouds. This was probably the closest she had been to flying, she thought. It was an awe inspiring sight.

She'd been here for a year and a half but this hadn't been one of the tourist attractions she had visited. As they reached the peak of the mountain they got off the gondola and arrived at a scene even more majestic. It felt like they were at the very top of the world.

From this vantage point all that lay around them were rolling valleys and fields of white cloud. It looked like they could jump off and land in one of these fluffy puffs. The further out you looked, peaks of other mountains started to become visible. But it was just the very tops.

This was incredible.

"Wow" Neji said after a while, they had both been speechless for a few minutes. "I didn't know places like this existed outside of postcards".

She murmured her agreement and they watched the scene taking in the meditative quality of the atmosphere.

Soon after, they embarked upon the popular hike tourists often came here for. The hiking trail took them from this mountaintop onto various parts of the nearby mountain range through a series of man made bridges and natural walking paths.

This trail was worth the hype it generated. From time to time they would observe clouds looming up ahead and sometimes the trails took you through the clouds. What seemed like a cotton ball from a distance would dissipate into a thick white fog when you were within it and it felt cold and wet. It was like observing the world through a thick steamy lens.

As they got through the difficult parts of their trail, Neji called out to her a question that had been on his mind. "I've been meaning to ask you about your bracelet,".

"This?" she held out her right hand with the amethyst charm in question.

"Yes… I've noticed you wear it all the time, does it have a special meaning?".

"It's a chakra stone, this is so that Darui can keep an eye on me at long range and If I ever need him all I need to do is pulse chakra into this".

"Oh" Neji said after thinking about it a bit. "I guess that is actually a brilliant solution".

She nodded, and they made light conversation the rest of the way until they arrived upon the midpoint of the hiking trail.

"Should we eat lunch here, it's getting close to noon?" Hinata said looking up at the sky.

Neji was getting hungry himself, so they picked a scenic spot and laid out the blanket she had brought along unpacking the food. There was a spread of sandwiches, fruit and cheese along with a nonalcoholic sparkling wine.

They basked in the warm sun and cool breeze as they ate, and eventually Neji layed down on the blanket looking up at the sky. After observing him for a few seconds she joined him in laying down on the blanket.

"Shikamaru-san loves to watch the clouds, but I never realized how peaceful it was before" she murmured. And Neji hmm'd in agreement.

"I never got to ask you… do you want kids when you get married?" he asked out of the blue. "I mean, we were always expected to have kids, but I never asked if you wanted any."

She turned to him and then realized he was right. They had never openly talked about children.

"Yes" she said after some thought, "I want a few kids hopefully. What about you?"

"Well, I have to have an heir for obvious reasons… but yeah, it would be nice to have a family. I didn't think too much about it before, but I don't think I would want my child to grow up alone" he said almost as an afterthought.

She could tell he was reflecting on his own experience and loneliness growing up. That is also a subject they haven't talked about before, but she decided to leave it alone and instead asked, "do you wish you had siblings?".

"Everyday" he said turning to look at her, "It's just me and my dad, we don't have the most lively family gatherings".

She had to laugh at that thinking about those two somber personalities.

After a few more moments of silent reflection Neji got up and extended a hand to her. She carefully grasped his hand and hoisted herself up.

"It would be nice to take a nap here, but we should probably keep going," he looked at his watch.

So they packed up their stuff and resumed the second half of the hike, leading in a circle back to the peak where they had started. They took the gondola back down and headed to their car, opening the trunk to pack the backpack in.

Neji paused all of a sudden noticing a small stall in the parking lot.

"Ah" he said looking on in interest, "I keep forgetting that these lands are abundant minerals".

"Yes…" she agreed following his gaze, "there is actually local folklore that those stones have magical properties", and she raised her eyebrow mischievously as he looked at her in disbelief.

As if contemplating her words he looked off back at the stall and then started walking towards it. "I may need some magic in my life, let's go check it out".

Inside the stall, Neji took his time observing all the gems and reading up on the descriptions. He focused his attention on reading both the folklore as well as the mineral composition of various stones.

"Are you looking for a gift or for yourself?" she asked curiously.

"I am looking for one for you… and one for me"

"Oh" she said, surprised.

After much deliberation in the end he picked a bright turquoise stone with dark and light hues blended into it. It was beautiful and eye catching. He then also picked up a smooth white clear stone (the size of a pebble) with fractures of black lines cracked through it.

After paying, he handed the blue one over to her and headed towards the car with no explanations.

"What does this crystal stand for?" she finally asked, walking behind him.

"It's called a Chryscolla, It symbolizes a fresh start… or embarking on a new adventure successfully" he called out over his shoulder.

She looked at the stone in her hand contemplatively, "And what about yours?"

"Its…" he looked down at his own crystal uncertainly, "It's a tourmaline quartz stone, and it's supposed to be for mental breakthroughs…but I just liked the way it felt. Plus it reminded me of the lightning these lands are supposed to be so famous for" he shrugged while smiling and held out the stone for her to see.

She moved closer and narrowed her eyes inspecting the stone carefully and had to agree, it was a great memento.

Around 4 PM they arrived back at her apartment block.

"Would you like to come in for some tea?" she asked, readying to get out of the car.

"No" he said glancing down at his watch apologetically, "I've been MIA all day and need to go check in on a few things before the dinner… thank you though" he said, seeming genuinely regretful.

"No problem, well... today was fun" she said unsure if she would see him again before he left.

"It was…" Neji looked at her meaningfully and seemed as if he wanted to say more. But he settled on, "I have a busy day tomorrow. Since we are leaving on Monday I have to ensure all the treatise and contracts are signed and binded and need to oversee the arrangements to have supplies shipped from here to Konoha but…" he trailed off uncertainly, "there is a gala tomorrow night… I don't want you to feel pressured to attend, but if you'd like to come … it's at the Raikage's compound".

"Wow… have you two gotten that close? I am guessing it is in honor of you?"

"Well it's either that or he wants to celebrate me finally leaving" Neji half joked.

She laughed along but agreed to think about attending tomorrow night and before she knew it he was waving at her and driving off.