A/N: I haven't written much in a long while, so I wrote this to sharpen my skills a bit. I warned you about the NejiHina, so if you don't like it, DON'T READ IT! … Please and thank you.
Disclaimer: Hell, I don't own the Naruto series.
Family Album
It was a stupid idea, it really was. He couldn't quite remember who had brought it up first—Gai or Lee. But that didn't matter at the moment. After all, Neji couldn't possibly find a way out of this one. Sighing, he opened the closet door. The Hyuuga mansion was currently empty except for Hinata, but what could she do? Searching through quite a few medical books and letters, Neji at last came across a thick book. The black leather had beautiful engraved letters on the front, the golden writing spelling out 'Hyuuga Family Album'.
It was the kind of thing he'd never really thought about. Simply put, Neji wasn't the kind of guy who liked to spend his time looking at pictures. The album cover was rather dusty—he supposed no one had looked at it for years.
Neji didn't open it.
He saved it for the next day, when Team 9 was to share their family albums. Lee and Tenten looked forward to it. He didn't. But he would do it.
The next day, when the sun shone bright and not a cloud was in the sky, Neji couldn't think of a better day to be training. However, that wasn't the case.
"A-ah, Neji-niisan…" Hinata said quietly, sitting down on a chair. Neji lifted his head—he'd almost forgotten Hinata was there. She was across from him. "Your t-tea… I-it's finished…" Neji stared at her. He never realized how pale Hinata's skin was. It seemed to fit with her dark blue hair. Neji drank his beverage quickly and left, but not before quickly grabbing the album that had been lying on the table.
He forgot to say thank you.
When he got to the park (their meeting spot for the day), he found that no one else was there yet. Neji asked a passerby for the time. It was eight o' clock in the morning. They were scheduled for nine o' clock. He almost fell asleep on the bench, waiting.
When at last, Team 9 had assembled, Lee volunteered to go first. Gai and Tenten willingly accepted. Neji just sat back and watched them. Lee's sleek green family album contained photos that turned out to be quite interesting. He told them stories about his parents and when he was a child. Gai and Tenten laughed loudly at all of Lee's jokes. It was almost… fun. For Neji, that was. Tenten was next. Her pink, flowery album revealed many pictures of her as a young girl. Holding her first kunai, her first kimono, her at her seventh birthday party… Everyone listened intently, chuckling lightly at many of the cute pictures.
At last, it was Neji's turn. He didn't feel compelled to share, but at any rate, he pulled the album off the bench and laid it gently on the grass. Everyone was silent. "Well, Neji…" said Gai. "It's your turn, so let's get to it!" Tenten and Lee just stared at the album quietly. Neither one had to be reminded of Neji's rather tragic past.
"Just so you know… I haven't looked through this either…" Neji told them. They nodded and inched closer to him, waiting to see the photographs. His fingers slid slowly across the cover, and then he lifted it.
The first picture they saw was of Neji and his father. No one needed explaining. Neji had seen photos of his father before, when he was younger. After he had died, Neji rarely saw them again. He turned the page. The next photo was of Hinata and her father. Neji's insides burned with contempt for Hiashi. "… Hinata's pretty cute, isn't she?" Tenten grinned. "Look at her kimono… It's so pretty!" Lee nodded in agreement.
Neji simply frowned. Flipping to the next page, he saw a picture of him and Hinata sitting together. They were both holding teddy bears—Hinata's with a pink bow and Neji's with a blue. He remembered that bear. The day his father had died, he had come home and hugged it. It had been drenched with his tears. The day after, Neji had thrown it away. He felt no need to tell his team this.
Gai, Lee and Tenten just made sounds every time he turned the page to yet more pictures of him and Hinata. "Awww," they'd go. "Oooh… That's so cute!" Neji was starting to get annoyed to no end, but the pictures were interesting enough. He kept looking. The next picture was of his entire family. There was him, Hinata, Hanabi and their fathers in the middle.
… They were holding hands.
Neji quickly ignored this and turned the page before anyone else could say a word. The pictures from hereon became more recent. However, there were no more pictures of him and Hinata together—they were either with someone else, or apart entirely. He had never noticed until now, but Hinata rarely smiled in these photos. She always looked so sad. She wasn't always like that in real life. She could muster a genuine smile if she wanted to.
He liked her smiles.
Nearing the end of his album, he found one photo of her twelve year old self. Hinata was smiling. Her eyes, though they were white, seemed to stand out as bright as the sun. She was beautiful. He kept flipping, but one picture was missing.
Later, when Team 9 had finished their discussion and Neji had headed home, he returned the album to its former place in the closet. No one saw him sneak that picture of Hinata into his pocket.
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Hinata sighed and rolled over on her bed. It was late at night, but she couldn't sleep. She walked over to her drawer and pulled out a picture. It was old and torn, but she could still see it. It was a picture of Neji. She had taken it from their family album not too long ago. Her fingers expertly traced his face, eyes filled with sadness, mouth curved into a frown. Even so…
He was captivating.
Hinata still wondered why she bothered. Neji hated her. He despised the Main House. He'd practically beaten her to death at the Chuunin Exam! But, she reminded herself, that was a long time ago. Things had changed since Naruto had fought him… But only by a little. Hinata remembered the day he left on the mission to bring back Sasuke. He hadn't said a word. Not even a goodbye. Then he came back, nearly dead, two holes clear through his body. Hinata remembered coming home, running to the washroom and vomiting. She really couldn't stand seeing anyone like that.
That was why her father doubted she could ever become a good ninja. Hinata needed more confidence. Naruto was her motivation. Even so, she had to take a stand. 'Just think of Naruto! Think of what he would do,' thought Hinata. … He'd tell his crush straight-out, wouldn't he? Exactly the opposite of what Hinata would do. She would tell Neji how she felt some day… Maybe.
She fell asleep thinking about him.
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Neji had a day off today. It didn't make much difference to him. He would train as always, and maybe eat dinner at a restaurant with Lee, Tenten and Gai if they invited him (which they often did). He decided to make tea, since it didn't seem that Hinata was up yet. Hell, he'd make tea for her too.
The second he got the water boiling, Hinata walked into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. She gasped when she saw him with the kettle, her pale skin turning even whiter. "S-sorry, Neji-niisan!" stuttered Hinata. "I must have slept too long… I forgot to make your morning tea…"
"Forget it," muttered Neji. He poured the water into cups and handed one to Hinata. "Here… drink it…"
Her grateful face was thanks enough.
She told him anyway. "T-thank you," Hinata said nervously. She never felt comfortable around her cousin. "H-how can I make it up to you?"
"You don't have to," Neji tried to assure her. "You make tea for me every morning."
Hinata, surprised at his sudden change in attitude, smiled her genuine smile. The one that Neji loved so much. "So…" she said, trying to keep things friendly. "What are you going to do today?"
"I'm going to train." Neji stated, as if it weren't obvious enough. "I need more practice." Hinata nodded, and shifted her eyes uncomfortably. Thankfully, Neji kept on talking, and eventually she joined in. They talked for hours about life, their teams, and the usual.
Later, when he got back to his room, Neji flung himself on his bed, grabbed his picture of Hinata and stared at it.
It was the first real conversation they'd had in what seemed like forever. Neji felt like he had finally cleared up that dark aura that had surrounded him whenever he was near Hinata so often. In other words, Neji, the Neji, was happy.
It was progress.
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This is the story of a girl,
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world.
While she looks so sad in photographs,
I absolutely love her when she smiles.
x Story of a Girl - Nine Days x
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A/N: Um, wow. It's probably the longest one-shot I've ever written… Anyway, I hope you liked it enough to get this far… Ehehe…