* * * * * * *3

White eyes fluttered open to stare blankly at the white ceiling.

"Neji..." a voice whispered anxiously.

He identified it as his mother's.

"Hello Neji-kun..." Tenten greeted.

Gai-sensei nodded at him before leaving.

"How are you feeling my dear?"

"I'm fine. What am I doing here?"

"Tenten found you asleep in your training ground. You were deshydrated and wounded so they kept you here, just to be sure you would be fine."

The woman's eyes softened.

"I am fine." he sat up.

"That's what you're saying now." Tenten scolded "I told you not to strain yourself that much, especially under that burning heat, but well, you never----"

"Tenten, I already have a mother there. Two is too much." Neji cut in.

Tenten's eyes widened with embarassment while Neji's mother gave her a sweet smile.

"Well...I...I've got to see Gai-sensei..." she quickly left.

Neji turned to look through the window.

"...Don't be so hard with her. She was worried..."

He shrugged, somehow angry.

In a very exasperating way, people worrying about him did remind him of his helplessness.

It reminded him he wasn't and would never be strong. He had no talent.

"...Neji?"

"What?!"

The woman leaned down to him.

"Are you alright?"

He didn't even turn to her.

He kept gazing at the scenery outside.

"Mom..."

"Yes?"

"...please leave me alone."

The next moment, the woman's eyes were dripping wet with tears.

She silently nodded and exited the room.

It was hot.

His room was stuffy.

He was seriously sweating.

It was so hot.

He thought his body would catch fire and burn.

He was hot. Especially with all these bandages covering his body.

He felt like a mummy. He wished he could tear them off.

He looked at his hands.

He didn't need to use Byakugan or remove the bandages to know how bad his wounds were. He knew how much he had mistreated his body over the past weeks. Training days and days, days and nights, how stupid of him. What a fool he was.

He snickered remembering how many hours he had spent trying to improve his jutsus. In the end, he had only been exhausting himself. For nothing.

He stared at his powerless bandaged arms and legs.

His face became white with anger.

He wished he could rip them off. They were useless. It wouldn't be a great loss.

Tired of the ambient heat, he decided to take a walk outside.

There was some agitation in the hall.

He ignored it and walked past a group of four nurses.

"What, that guy again?" one said.

"Yes, it's the third time this week..."

"But, wasn't he hurt?"

"He IS still in a bad condition." A third nurse answered.

"...He's driving us nut." the fourth one said sighing.

"Just to see him do those push-ups...urgh, it makes me shiver with pain..."

"Those ninjas really..."

Neji's ears perked up at the word.

A ninja?

As he took his first step outside he understood.

Several nurses were gathered around a boy laying on the ground.

"Please, stop, you're hurting yourself..."

"I'm not done with my training yet!" he hissed at the woman.

"Lee-kun, we already told you-------"

"I know. But please let me finish this in peace." he said, dead-serious.

The nurses took a step backwards.

Neji's eyes widened.

Lee, despite his half-dead body, was actually doing his regular taijutsu's moves. Just like in that time when Gai-sensei was training them. As if nothing had happened during the Chuunin tournament prelims. As if his crushed left arm and leg were nothing but a self-inflicted handicap.

Neji felt goosebumps were starting to eat his marble skin. He felt something twitch in his belly.

"Ugh..." Lee moaned falling on the ground.

"Lee-kun!" a nurse shouted.

The nurses rushed to him.

The white-eyed boy turned away from the pitiful scene.

Lee was an idiot. What was he trying to do? Kill himself again? What for? To prove he is still a ninja? Pfeh. Who was he trying to fool? It was all useless. Useless trying to be something he would never be.

Neji looked down once again at his tied arms.

It was useless working himself out, training hard. For he knew he would never make it.

"What, again?" Tenten complained.

"Yes. But I promise next mission will be an exciting one!"

"That's what you said last week..."

"Hum...It wasn't my fault.That Kakashi and his gennins got that special mission I wanted for you..." Gai said, rancour obvious in his tone. "Next time, I'll beat him." he swore to himself, brandishing his fist.

"Still, that's no way to treat shinobis..." the girl scolded. "How do they want use to get any experience then?"

"It'll come, that time will come. But right now, training time for Gai Special Squad!"

"You don't have to shout it out loud sensei..." she mumbled, already taking her white ribbon off her forehead. "By the way, where are you always dis---"

Gai had already disappeared.

She shook her head, then turned to her team-mate.

She frowned.

"You still haven't started?"

"Started what?"

"Training of course. Usually, you wouldn't wait for Gai-sensei to finish before starting..."

He wordlessly leaned on a tree.

"Well, as you want..."

She launched at the sand bag.

Neji observed her as she threw severals punchs, making the sand crunch inside. Then the girl started to give sharp kicks, avoiding the sand bag as it came back with full force to hit her. A while later, she was sweating and panting heavily.

"...Tsunade-sama, heh?"

"What?" the girl turned to him.

"You really think you'll become as strong as her?"

"Yes. One day I'll be like her." she said staring off-space. "Tsunade-sama is the strongest Kunoichi of this world, anyone would like to become like her..." she finished with a confident smile.

"Hn...keep deluding yourself."

"Huh? what was that?" she walked to him.

Neji stared straight at her with his white eyes.

The girl arched an interrogative eyebrow.

"Punching some ridiculous bag won't bring you any nearer to Tsunade-sama's strenght."

The girl's face was showing pure shock.

Neji simply started to walk off.

"Wait a minute, Neji-kun..."

"What is it?"

"...you are mistaking." she frowned at him. "I may be far away from Tsunade-sama's strenght right now, but I can only get stronger and stronger. I just need a lot of training..."

White icy eyes glared at the girl.

"Stop being ridiculous. Even if you train thousands years you'll never reach her level. You know that, stop pretending you can do it."

"But I can do it!!" she shouted, then covered her mouth.

He frowned.

"There is no way you can become strong by training." he stated with bitter coldness. "Strenght is something you have or you don't have."

Tenten eye's grew wide.

"Neji-kun, what are you talking about?"

He walked away.

"It's useless. You don't understand..."

Sun had just risen.

He stood here, not knowing why he came in this place.

He hated the place.

It smelled of his sweat and blood.

It reminded him something he wanted to get rid of.

But he had come.

It was hard to get rid of some habits. Especially bad habits.

Now that he was there, at least couldn't he do some moves? It had been a long time since he did. Just some quick moves. But he refused to. He refused to lose himself in some foolish hope he knew would soon be deceived. Trying again and again would only bring him the pain of disappointment. That he couldn't bear.

He wanted to forget. 

But he couldn't. More than having been defeated by Naruto, it was the realization of his weakness that pained him the most. Because he knew he could never do anything against it. He knew it was carved in him. No matter the hard work, the techniques, the clan, he would never get stronger.

Because he wasn't born with the strenght.

He suddenly face-vaulted.

Two pairs of white eyes met.

One frowned. The other widened.

"Neji-niisan..." a girlish voice called.

"Hinata-sama." he greeted without much enthousiasm.

He turned away.

"Neji-niisan..." the girl repeated.

"What do you want?"

"I...I..."

Silence.

"You are wasting my time, Hinata-sama."

"I...I'm sorry, I...disturbed your training." she bowed apologetically.

He frowned even more.

"I was not training..." he spat.

"Ah, well...I..." she mumbled.

"...Only fools would train." he finished somehow more for himself.

Hinata did nothing but look down. Then she raised her head.

"I am training."

Surprised face.

"I am training. Since that day we fought, I've been training. Because...I want to show father, I'm not weak." She paused. "Every morning, I wake up early and run accross the forest. Every day, I'm improving my stamina, and I'm mastering Byakugan better and better. Every day I'm being a shinobi a little more. Do you think I'm a fool...?"

Neji's eyes hardened.

What was that girl talking about? Saying she was improving? That pathetic excuse of a ninja? She who had never been able to stand on her feet in front of him, saying she was improving while he felt he wasn't? She who was a weakling, saying she was becoming strong while he wasn't? Could it be that she was born with the strenght while he wasn't? Could it be that the power was hidden in this frail body...?

It could...She had the Main family blood running in her veins.

But he...

He wasn't from the Main Family.

He wasn't born with the strenght.

"You are a fool." he angrily spat.

Hinata's eyes softened.

Neji's glare loosened in surprise, then hardened.

She was pitying him.

She was mocking him.

"Neji-niisan..." Hinata started.

He didn't bother to wait.

He turned away from that look.

He walked away from her.