Note: Sorry, it takes me sooooo long to update the story. Mainly because I'm busy with part time job now, and I haven't been watching Naruto recently, so I don't have any inspiration to write. But anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thanks a bunch for those who have reviewed. You guys rocks!

Disclaimer: The characters of Naruto doesn't belong to me, but to Masashi Kishimoto.

The Hyuuga Cousins

Chapter TwoThe Attack

When dawn finally arrived, Neji nii-san decided that we should get moving again. And once more, I found myself trying desperately to catch up with him. Just like me, he didn't get a wink of sleep earlier, so why was he still so full of energy?

Don't be stupid, Hinata! Of course he has a strong stamina. He's Neji nii-san after all.

I could feel the sweat trickling down my cheeks, but I didn't bother to wipe them dry. My vision became dangerously blurry as the much-needed sleep that I had lost starting to drug me into slumber. I stopped abruptly, the exhaustion making my feet buckle weakly, and I was glad for the presence of a thick tree trunk nearby, where I could lean my body on.

We had only been running for a few hours, and I was already reaching my limit, all thanks to the lack of training I did recently (a wanna-be bride had many things to do in preparation so it seemed), or maybe simply because Neji nii-san was improving too fast for me to catch up to.

I rest my forehead onto the tree, ignoring the uncomfortably rough surface of the trunk.

Just a few minutes of rest then I will catch up to Neji nii-san…just a few more minutes…

But it seemed as if God really hated me today.

Only after a few seconds since I had stopped, a sudden, familiar rush of wind almost grazed my cheek and cut a few strands of my hair.

Instinctively, I jumped away to land on top of another tree branch, shocked by the shuriken that were just aimed at me. My fingers instantly traveled to my nin-gu bag to grab a kunai. I looked around desperately, a thousand questions bombarding my mind.

Who had attacked me? For what purpose?

I dodged away when I sensed more shuriken being thrown towards me, and at the same time aimed the kunai in my hand towards where the shuriken had come from.

He isn't there!

I heard a faint rushing sound behind me, and before I could react, a kunai had hit my right arm. Immediately, I performed the hand seals which most Hyuuga knew by heart.

Byakugan!

I catch the culprit—at least there was only one of them—running past the bushes just slightly to the west of my position. I grabbed two more kunai and threw them towards him. A thudding sound told me that I had hit the target, only to realize a few seconds later that the culprit had used Kawarimi no Jutsu.

I tried again, and my Byakugan showed me that the culprit was somewhere behind me this time. I threw some more shuriken and used Shuriken Kage Bushin no Jutsu to double up the numbers.

"Agh!" he screamed.

Thank God I managed to hit him—whoever he was—this time.

But I guessed I had been extremely careless when suddenly, I felt some kunai jabbing my leg and arm, which caused me to topple to the ground.

There was another person!

I struggled to stand up and jump away when I suddenly felt strong hands grabbing my waist and flinging me over his shoulder. I yelped, thinking that the opponent had gotten me, and swung my arms and leg to hit him.

"Hey, calm down!" shushed a familiar voice, "It's me."

For the first time in my life, I had never been so glad to hear my cousin's voice.

"Neji nii-san…" I murmured as he ran, "There are at least two of them out here. I don't know who, or what exactly that they want, but—"

"I know," he interrupted, but not in an insulting way.

I watched him perform some hand seals (it was truly amazing to see that he could do that while carrying me at the same time), which I recognized.

Genjutsu? He has found the location of the pursuer?

My doubt was immediately wiped away when I heard a scream, which was definitely wasn't coming from Neji nii-san or me.

"That should be enough," he said as he turned around and continued to run as if nothing had happened.

Feeling somehow relieved that I was now by his side, I rested my head on his shoulder, sensing him tense a little at my action. Because I found it difficult to stay on while he jumped about from tree to tree so quickly (I kept bumping on his shoulder whenever he landed), I decided to shift my position so that I could put my arms around his neck to hold on. He stiffened again when I did that, but chose not to say anything.

To be honest, I didn't understand it myself. The old me would never even dare to stare at him in the eye, let alone putting my arms around his shoulder or resting my head at the crook of his neck like this. But I guessed, I now had enough trust in him to actually be more…comfortable around him.

Isn't that good? This way, the long journey to the Snow Country will be more enjoyable…

I closed my eyes, my eyelashes brushing against his neck (making him squirm again), feeling suddenly drowsy. Maybe, it was because of the lack of sleep. Maybe it was because of how intoxicating was his smell (of clean, evergreen forest and fresh sweat) that had unexpectedly infused my senses. Maybe it was because of how comforting it felt to have his hand positioned firmly under my leg. Or maybe because I realized that he had run at a much faster speed.

We were supposed to reach Otafuku after three days, but I guessed, we would be there much sooner than that.

When night came, we had reached a small village called Shikuba, where Neji nii-san had decided to stay until the next morning. We went straight to rent a room at an affordable-looking hotel, but this was where the trouble starts.

"I'm very sorry for the inconvenience, but we simply do not have enough rooms right now," smiled the kimono-clad manager of the hotel, "So, is it okay for you to share a room? Aren't you two siblings? So, that should be fine, right?"

I couldn't help blushing at her statement, although I couldn't really blame her for mistaking us as siblings. After all, we are cousins, and these Hyuuga eyes of ours didn't help the matter either. But still, sharing a room was a bit too much.

"Well, Neji nii-san," I mumbled, "Maybe, we can check out the other hotels?"

"Oh, but you'll probably face the same problem, Miss!" convinced the manager, "Our village is always crowded during this season. You should be lucky to actually have a room to stay in!"

"But…" I started to argue, but was interrupted by the manager again.

"Oh, come on, what is there to be shy about?" said the manager, her smile as wide as banana, "It's perfectly fine for siblings to sleep in one room."

My face turned a deeper color of burgundy. "That's…that's not the point!"

I heard Neji nii-san sighed. "Very well. We'll take the room."

"Neji nii-san!"

He took the room key from the overly eager hotel manager, and caught me by surprise again when his arms went under my knee to carry me up. "Oh, be quiet! Healing your wound is the first priority. I don't want to waste time looking around for other hotels."

I was now blushing to the root of my hair. "I-I'm fine! You don't need to worry about me…"

But he didn't say anything anymore, meaning that I had to reluctantly drop the conversation. I should have known better than anyone else that it was useless to argue with Neji nii-san. I would never win. And anyway, I had never been good when it comes to arguing in the first place.

The room that we would be sleeping in was much smaller than I expected, with tatami covered floor, and a medium sized futon with blankets. By the side, a pair of the hotel yukata had been prepared. Besides a small, wooden table by the side of the windows and a small bathroom, there was nothing else.

"No wonder it's so cheap," Neji nii-san muttered as he dropped me gently onto the futon.

He proceeded to clean my wounds and apply some lotion. I was lucky that the wound wasn't so serious. Since my clothes were torn (and dirty and soaked with blood), I decided to change into the hotel yukata first, before changing to my other clothes the next morning.

When I left the bathroom, I saw Neji nii-san staring out of the windows and approached him to see what he was so interested in. It was quite late at night, but many people were still outside, enjoying themselves in what seemed to be a festival. No wonder the hotel manager said we were lucky to have found an empty room in her hotel.

"Neji nii-san," I said, feeling a bit uncertain whether I should say what I wanted to say next, "Do you want to go out and see the festival? It seems fun."

He looked up at me in surprise.

"I-I mean, my wounds aren't so serious, and I can still walk," I stuttered, "B-besides, we'll only be here for one night, so why not we enjoy it while it lasts?"

I could feel his intense gaze on me, and against my will, I had started to play with my fingers again.

"Is it because you're scared to be locked in the same room with me?" he asked suddenly, making my head popped up in surprise, and blood to blossom into my cheeks.

"N-no! It's not that!" I waved my hands nervously, "I'm not scared of you, Neji nii-san! I…"

He was quiet as he waited for me to continue.

I tried to gather all the confidence that I had, and raised my eyes so that I could look at him right in the eye.

I had something important to tell him. I must tell him this. I must. He had every right to know. Tell him. Tell him! Say it!

"Neji nii-san, I…trust you."

His clear, white eyes widened in shock.

Somehow, I felt the need to convinced him. "I'm not scared of you at all, Neji nii-san. Not right now. Not anymore. I know that you'll sacrifice your life to protect me until I reach the Snow Country."

This was the first time in a long, long time that I actually smile sincerely at him, as I repeated the magic words, "I trust you, Neji nii-san."

For I moment, an unreadable expression seemed to flash across his countenance, but he soon return back to his normal self—cold and quiet and unapproachable. At first, I thought he would pretend not to hear a single word I had said, and refused to go out to see the festival, so I was surprised—pleasantly surprised—when he came over and lifted me up from the tatami floor, whispering, "Whatever you say, Hinata-sama."

My face matched the color of molten lava again as I assured him to let me down as I could walk by myself.

In reply, he told me that he would let me down once we were outside the hotel, and I wondered if that was a smile I saw playing on his lips.

Note: I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the villages, Shikuba and Otafuku, that I use in this story is actually mentioned in the anime. Go and find it yourself!