Note: Hullo, everyone! This chapter is slightly shorter, so I finish it faster for you to read. There isn't much going on this chapter; it's almost like an extra. But are you still kind enough to leave me pretty, little reviews?

The Hyuuga Cousins

Chapter Five The 'Accident'

Everything was hazy…so hazy that all I could see was myself gripping on Father's kimono. It felt as if we had been standing in that same spot for eternity, waiting for someone else. I didn't know who, but I didn't dare to ask either. But suddenly, a figure appeared from the haze—no, there were two of them. A big one and a small one. When they came closer, my grip on Father's kimono tightened.

"Hinata-sama is three years old now," said my uncle, Hizashi.

"Yes," replied Father coldly.

I sensed someone staring at me so I glanced at the little boy standing beside my uncle. His smile made me feels shyer than ever, and I moved to hide behind Father. I allowed a few seconds to pass before I dare to steal a glance at the boy again. He was talking to my uncle now—his father, but I couldn't catch what he was saying at all. That boy was none other than my cousin, Neji. He was a year older and my one and only cousin so far, but this was the first time I saw him.

The haze had suddenly gotten thicker, and when it finally cleared up, I found myself in the Hyuuga compound garden.

"Chichi-ue…" I called out as I looked around to find him, "Chichi-ue, where are you?"

"Hinata-sama," I turned around to find my cousin smiling good-naturedly at me. He reached out and grab a hold of my hand, "Hiashi-sama is there. I'll take you to him."

Before I could say anything else, he tugged on my hand and led me out of the garden. We ran past the compound's gate, out into a seemingly endless road. We ran and ran and ran until I couldn't take it anymore and pulled my hand away from his.

"Neji nii-san…" I panted, "Where are you taking me?"

He didn't say anything; his back was facing me.

"Neji nii-san…" I reached out tentatively to touch his shoulder, but before I could do that, he swiveled around so quickly that he hit my hand. Hard.

"Aw!" I rubbed and blew on my poor hand, but I completely forgot about the pain when my eyes caught the sight of Neji nii-san.

He wasn't the four-year-old Neji nii-san that had offered to take me to Father anymore. The Neji nii-san standing in front of me now wore the Konoha head protector and jounin uniform. The softness in his clear eyes had hardened into a glare as he looked at me.

"Hinata-sama," he activated is Byakugan, looking more intimidating than ever as he charged at me, "I'll kill you!"

No!

I woke up with a start, panting and sweating all over.

Another nightmare? I didn't know if I had to thank God that everything was just a nightmare. For all I knew, if I could choose, I didn't want to have these nightmares haunting my sleep in the first place.

I got up of bed and head towards the bathroom. A long, warm bubble bath after a nightmare sounded good. It was only after I had taken off my clothes and slipped into the inviting warm water that I realized something was wrong.

If my memory wasn't wrong, I had fallen asleep on Neji nii-san's shoulder, so why did I wake up to find myself sleeping on a bed in my room instead?

Oh, don't be stupid, I scolded myself when another realization dawned on me, Neji nii-san must have carried me to my room.

After I was satisfied with the bath, I wrapped a towel (that was already provided) around my body, and went over to the closet to find warm clothing to wear, but as my palm rested on the closet doorknob, I remembered that I hadn't unpacked yet. I had left my bag in the living room couch.

I went to open the bedroom door instead, leaving a wet trail behind me. Imagine my horror when what I found sitting on the living room couch was not my bag. No, not at all. Far from it.

Neji nii-san stared back at me with incredulously wide, clear eyes. I must have interrupted his dinner, since his chopsticks hanged in mid-air, and he was in the middle of slurping his instant cup noodles. He swallowed his noodles as I gulped in nervousness, finding myself at a loss of what to do.

For a moment—a long, long one—all we did was stare at each other; me still rather wet, and wrapped in that tiny, white towel, and him still holding the chopsticks in his right hand and the cup noodles in the other. Only the sound of the clock's moving hand, and maybe, the beating of my heart, sounded in the room.

For the briefest moment, I thought I saw his eyes travel down my body and up again to my face, but I guessed it was just my imagination (Neji nii-san would never look at me that way). Nonetheless, I was blushing all over now, and the sound of my heartbeat was deafening.

"Um…" Neji nii-san cleared his throat, breaking the ice between us, "This is my room."

My hand went to secure the towel, feeling rather confused. "Huh?"

He cleared his throat again. "I didn't want to wake you up, so I let you sleep on my bed instead of taking you back all the way to you room. I didn't know where you put your key, anyway."

"Oh…" My embarrassment had now reached its peak.

"Er, I can help you take your spare clothes if you want," he offered uneasily.

"No, that's okay," I turned around and rushed back into the bedroom, "I-I'll wear my old ones."

My body grew numb when I shut the door and slid to the floor against it, trembling at the memory of me being almost…naked in front of him.

Oh, no. What had I done? Why didn't I notice that this was his room? Hey, but that wasn't entirely my fault! All the rooms had similar designs. He must have understood why I could make this mistake. Right?

I got up and make my way to the bathroom again to find my clothes. Oh gawd, they were kind of wet now (since I had left them carelessly on the floor earlier), but I had no other choice but to wear them. I went over to open the closet door next. Just as I thought, Neji nii-san's clothes were neatly stacked inside. If only I had opened this closet earlier, it might save me from the embarrassment.

When I went out of the bedroom again, with my clothes on this time, Neji nii-san was leaning against the sofa with his arms folded at the back of his head, watching the television. He glanced at me when he noticed my presence in the room.

"How many towels are there in the bathroom?" he asked, to my surprise.

"Huh? Um, only one."

He sighed and mumbled something rather to himself. "So, I'll have to use a wet towel later."

My face flushed as I apologized frantically. "Ah, I'm so sorry, Neji nii-san! You can use my towel if you want. It's not like I'm going to use it anymore."

"That's okay," he replied as he returned his attention back to the TV and went back to his silent mode, making me feel unsure on what I was supposed to do next.

"I'm sorry, Neji nii-san…" I apologized again, my eyes catching a glimpse of his unfinished cup noodles, "I didn't mean to barge on you like that."

"I know," he said rather hoarsely, "Don't worry. I didn't get to see much."

My cheeks flooded with crimson, and I didn't know what else to say so I decided to just leave. I opened the door and hesitated for a while before I turned my head back, the red on my cheeks spreading to my face and neck when I found him staring at me. But as soon as our eyes met, white clashing with identical white, he had turned his head back to the television, as if he couldn't have cared less.

"Neji nii-san…may I come back later?" I asked, trembling slightly at the anticipation of his answer.

He didn't say anything.

I sighed as I moved to close the door behind me, but I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard him say at the last moment, "Whatever you say, Hinata-sama."

I smiled. That was exactly what he said back when I asked him to go to the festival in Shikuba.

As soon as the door was closed, my knees buckled and would have given out beneath me if I hadn't held on to the door for support.