A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. A bird in a cage, wings aching
for flight and voice overwhelmed by the sorrow of captivity isn't worth
very much at all.
Neji was born a caged bird. The very meaning of his existence has been tattooed on his forehead, branded there as fate clipped his wings and confined him to a cage for the main family's convenience. His soul aches for flight and as he grows he stretches his wings, testing the boundaries of his steel-strong cage whose bars are woven of hatred, tradition, fate.
All he can see, all that he lives for is the opportunity to cheat fate and find his own true worth. He doesn't realize that Naruto has unlocked the door to his cage at long last. He has become so accustomed to his confined life that he cannot see that it is up to him to take the final step and rejoin the world he has been kept from.
When push comes to shove, though, Neji – like his father before him – finally understands. At the end, he will choose his own death and damn fate to hell. After all, it is the nature of a caged bird to fly at the first opportunity.
Neji was born a caged bird. The very meaning of his existence has been tattooed on his forehead, branded there as fate clipped his wings and confined him to a cage for the main family's convenience. His soul aches for flight and as he grows he stretches his wings, testing the boundaries of his steel-strong cage whose bars are woven of hatred, tradition, fate.
All he can see, all that he lives for is the opportunity to cheat fate and find his own true worth. He doesn't realize that Naruto has unlocked the door to his cage at long last. He has become so accustomed to his confined life that he cannot see that it is up to him to take the final step and rejoin the world he has been kept from.
When push comes to shove, though, Neji – like his father before him – finally understands. At the end, he will choose his own death and damn fate to hell. After all, it is the nature of a caged bird to fly at the first opportunity.
