Chapter Nineteen: Temari Vs. Ino

Neji was waiting.

He wasn't sure what he was waiting for or why he was concerning himself with these idiots. However, he knew it was important, and it had something to do with Kin. Looking over to Sasuke Uchiha, he wondered how he'd fare in his match.

It depended on who he fought, Neji supposed.

"So, Neji, you've seemed pretty social lately," said Tenten, coming to stand next to him.

"I am trying to learn more about our enemies in the coming exams," said Neji.

"Why the sudden interest?" asked Tenten.

That was a good question. Why should he care about any of the failures here? What had they ever done for him? Most of them had gotten through by sheer dumb luck. No, no, that wasn't fair. Tenten, Rock Lee, and himself did not appear on the surface as hypercompetent. Yet they were among the strongest here.

No, Team Guy did not appear hypercompetent, but they had only gotten this far because of Neji. Lee had gotten himself beaten by Dosu. And Tenten hadn't actually fought, just stolen a scroll.

It didn't matter.

All of them were failures; Neji had seen their abilities with his Byakugan. He knew that they would not last long in this match against him. So why had he forfeited? Why throw away such an opportunity for a worthless failure like Sakura?

Sakura could not have beaten anyone in this entire arena.

And now Neji had cast aside an easy victory, and for what? So she could be moderately less terrible? Now he was in a situation where Hinata could become a Chunin before him. And he would never be able to humiliate Hiashi by showing the abilities he had learned.

Why did that matter so much to him?

WHY?

Hiashi had murdered his father to escape the consequences of his own actions. And he'd branded Neji as a slave when he should have been the heir. Hiashi deserved to die, so did the Main Clan, and Neji had lost that chance.

Why had he been so stupid?

"...Are you alright?" asked Tenten.

"Yes," said Neji. "I'm fine." It didn't matter. Still, he wasn't about to admit to ignorance. "I believe the information I gathered could be valuable."

Tenten smiled. "I don't buy it. You're trying to earn a lot of positive karma, aren't you?"

Neji scoffed. "Karma? Please, the existence of injustice proves such a thing does not exist." But he didn't believe it.

"Not really," said Tenten. "The whole idea of Karma is that evil deeds naturally come back to haunt one. Maybe you don't get cheered on when you give food to a starving puppy. But people who see you do it judge you. Then maybe the dog comes back to help you when you really need it.

"Not to mention the whole supernatural angle. So karma does sort of exist. Whether it's by someone seeking revenge, or just a guilty conscience."

"I do not have a guilty conscience!" shouted Neji.

Dead silence fell over the room.

Everyone stared at him. Neji stood up and looked at his surroundings, attempting to regain a semblance of dignity. Why had he said that? It was as if he'd said it before, to a very different conversation. What was going on here?

"I know," said Tenten, raising an eyebrow. "Why would you need to feel guilty right now?"

"...Nothing, nevermind," said Neji.

Rock Lee, however, came over to him with furrowed eyes. "You are different, Neji. Very different from how you were a moment ago. This does not seem natural."

"That is absurd, Lee. I am acting exactly as who I was before," said Neji. But he wasn't.

"No, you really aren't," said Tenten. "Are you... trying to make a good impression on the jonin or something? I mean, that doesn't really seem like what you'd do, but-"

"I am not trying to make a favorable impression on anyone," said Neji. "I simply... I am trying to behave as a Leaf Shinobi should."

"Neji," said Guy-sensei. "I'm not saying that any of your actions have been bad. You've probably done a lot of good. But the reason you do things is as important as what you do.

"You've got to ask yourself why you are acting this way.

"If you are pretending, it would be better, to be honest with us. Pretending to be perfect will only cause you to make mistakes."

At that moment, Neji felt two forces in him. One was absolute rage. Who were these failures to tell him how he ought to act? The other was a sort of horror as he looked at his friends. They had been seeing him act in a kind fashion, and they genuinely didn't recognize him at all. Hurt and anger well within him as the computer cycled.

What could he say? That he was not pretending?

How could he say that? He would never have acted this way before a few moments ago. He felt himself stepping back and nearly fell over the railing. It must have shown on his face what was happening because they were looking concerned and afraid for him. But Neji mastered himself, forced himself to focus.

"...You don't have to worry about me, Guy-sensei," said Neji, shifting. "I am... fine." Why was he behaving respectfully to this absolute fool? As if he was good for anything but the taijutsu he wielded. "We should speak of this later. The computer's starting." And by later, he meant never.

Then something happened. Neji wasn't sure what, but something had shifted. He looked around to try and find what it was and saw nothing different. Yet, he felt a sort of breaking inside him.

"I'm hoping I'll go next," said Tenten. "Hey Lee, who are you hoping to fight in your round?"

Lee looked up and smiled broadly, and gave a thumbs up. "I am hoping to fight a worthy opponent. By defeating them, I will prove myself a Splendid Ninja."

And by defeating Neji.

As if that would ever happen. No matter what abilities Lee ever achieved, he would remain a failure. No, why, why was he thinking this way? Lee was his...

Friend?

No. No, Lee had never been his friend. None of them were. They were no more than comrades to work with until he found a better team.

"So you will, Lee," said Guy, ruffling his hair.

"What about you, Tenten? Who do you want to fight?" asked Rock Lee.

Tenten considered it. "I'm thinking I want to fight Naruto."

"Why him?" asked Neji. Naruto seemed reasonably nice, if incompetent. No, he was an utter failure who never should have made it through the exams.

What was going on here? Why was his mind in such chaos?

"Well, he's pure taijutsu, isn't he?" asked Tenten. "I figure my ranged attacks will do pretty well against him. And he isn't as skilled as Kiba or Sasuke." Then she looked up as the names began to slow. "Here it comes-"

"Ino Yamanaka Vs. Temari of the Sand," said Neji as he saw the writing. Anything to distract him from this. He felt like two people in one body.

Unfortunately, this would be over quickly.

"Great, and here I was hoping for a challenge," scoffed Temari, pulling up her fan. Neji was surprised he could hear from all this way over. The acoustics in this room must be excellent.

"Look at it this way, Temari," said Kankuro. "It means you'll face someone tough in the main exams."

"Don't waste my time," said Gaara flatly.

Neji looked over to Team 10, where Ino looked very nervous. Choji glanced at him. "So it looks like you're up against the Sand Ninja, huh, Ino?"

"Yeah, I guess," said Ino, straightening her hair.

"What are you so worried about?" asked Shikamaru.

"Well, I mean… Sakura was pretty close to me in terms of strength," said Ino. "I'm not sure I have much of a chance. These guys made it through the Forest of Death without a scratch."

"Well then, just forfeit," said Shikamaru. "This tournament is a drag anyway."

"I can't just forfeit, Shikamaru!" said Ino. "Sakura advanced to the finals!"

"Yeah, but Neji threw that fight," said Shikamaru. "The Sand Shinobi might not be so nice. Seriously, Ino, if you get in over your head, give up."

"And if you get beaten, don't worry," said Choji. "Plenty of people are like that Neji, guy."

"Right," said Ino.

When had Neji become the hero? This was an odd experience for him. He'd never been popular before. He looked at Ino as she walked down to stand across from Temari. The Sand Ninja stood silent with a confident smile. She was leaning on her fan and looked highly unimpressed with Ino Yamanaka.

She was right to be so.

Still, Ino Yamanaka had a unique advantage in this fight. And judging by how confident Temari was right now, Neji suspected she might actually win.

"Done getting your courage worked up?" laughed Temari.

"Well, I figured I'd give you a chance to get yourself together," said Ino, eyes narrowed.

"Cute. Is it true that girl out there was your rival?" asked Temari. "If you think I'll be going easy on you as Neji did for her, you've got another thing coming."

"Yeah, how do you know his name anyway?" asked Ino.

"I... we spoke earlier," said Temari.

"Well anyway, don't judge me until the fight is over," said Ino, taking a stance.

"Match, begin!" said the announcer, and both stood silent.

Temari swung her fan, sending forth a wave of wind toward Ino, who tried to roll aside. However, it rapidly caught Ino, throwing her into the air and slashing at her clothes. Finally, Ino descended downward toward Temari's fan.

Neji stared. If Tenten had been in Ino's place, he would not have been worried. However, Ino was far less flexible. Fortunately, Temari caught Ino on her fan before dropping her down onto the ground. Ino gasped for air, trying to pull herself up, only to be forced down.

The fight was over.

And Neji felt pleased that Temari had done as well as she had, though he felt some sympathy for Ino. But feeling that pleasure and sympathy made him sick to his stomach.

Temari was feeling absurdly pleased, though she wasn't sure why.

She felt as if she'd spent the last century in a never-ending parade of humiliation. And she had finally gotten back at the one responsible. Looking up, she was pleased to see Neji watching and hoped he realized how dangerous she was.

Though why she wanted his approval was odd for her.

"The match is over!" cried the announcer. "Temari is victorious."

Ino dragged herself up. "What... what was that?"

"That was the power of wind style," said Temari, very pleased. "Just because this isn't a real combat situation doesn't mean I'm not going to fight seriously. It's a legitimate strategy."

"How did I get taken out so quickly..." muttered Ino.

"Are you alright, Ino?" asked Sakura.

"Fine, I just... that attack was dangerous," said Ino.

"You ought to have been more careful on the defensive," said Neji, paying all the attention to Ino and not Temari. "Her fan indicated some kind of wind style was likely. You all but gave her a free hit.

"How did you make it through the Forest of Death?"

"Hey, we got here fair and square, just like you!" snapped Ino.

"But how did you do it?" asked Neji. "How can you capitalize on that success? What lessons can you learn from it?"

Ino opened her mouth. "…You know what, you're right. The next time I go through these exams, I am not going to just be fodder."

"I don't care," said Neji, obviously lying to himself.

It took a lot of guts to have a conversation with Gaara while also forfeiting a match he was sure to win. Temari had to admit that she liked him. She liked him a lot.