A/N-I was going to update last night but being...difficult to ay the least. Oo. Anyways...that unpleasant business aside. Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter-Kyiri Makrono, Loku and Duckichan87. This chapter is dedicated to Loku whose birthday is this weekend.
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Disclaimer-I don't own Naruto (but I do own my Gaara Chibi keychain.)
Chapter 31
Mika and Seyann sat in the bushes near where their friend was standing, amazed by the myriad of emotions that skated across her eyes. They could see, as best they could from their distance, hurt, questioning, a little betrayal, love and…what was most strongly evidenced…was her anger. So much so that she literally shook with rage, unconsciously turning on her Sharingan.
"Why…Neji? Why?" Her voice trembled as she asked the question; the anger still hadn't made its way into her voice but tears were in her eyes. Neji didn't answer; he just stood there looking somewhat ashamed. Before he could blink, however, the anger seemed to finally make it's way through her entire being and she whipped out a kunai and hurtled it straight at the Hyuuga. He managed to get mostly out of the way but the kunai still snagged a scrap of his clothes with such force that it tore his ANBU jacket.
He hadn't gotten a chance to recover when a black and white blur slammed into his body, knocking the wind out of him. Before he could gasp for breath, her hand was at his throat, choking him. "Michelle…" he managed. "Stop…" she removed her hand so he could breathe but replaced it with the flat of a kunai blade. Kumiko watched this display in utter horror.
He couldn't look in her eyes. His pale violet eyes were averted from her pain filled red eyes. She took her hand and turned his chin so that he was facing her. "The ANBU that persuaded me to come here. That was you? After you had just invaded my own home…. You wanted me to come where I'd be in close proximity?"
He wasn't even struggling. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "When I came to see you as the ANBU, as I said, it was on Hokage's orders…but you were such a fantastic Kunoichi I knew that the village would be missing out if you stayed there. Plus…I could see how lonely you were…it was kind of my way to compensate for attacking you in your home like I did." He took a deep but restricted breath in before continuing. "But not everything went according to how I planned it out…I didn't plan for you to want to start up a friendship with the ANBU when you came over…I didn't plan to become friends with you and I…." He trailed off and shit his eyes, as if blocking out her pain filled orbs.
Michelle returned her hand to his throat and gave it a threatening squeeze, her anger still at a dangerous level. "Finish your sentence."
He opened his eyes…the Byakkugan was on. "I didn't plan on falling in love with you…." He launched an unexpected kick at the shocked girl, knocking her off of him-not enough to hurt him, merely enough to get her away from him. She was only caught off-guard for a moment or so and in this time, Neji had managed to get far enough away from the angry woman.
"Then why Neji? Tell me. Why did you call me those names?" She said indignantly, throwing the kunai at him-hard. He dodged it and, placing chakra in his feet, ran around the clearing, trying to disorient her-her aim with a kunai was that good.
On his way past one of the bushes in clearing he could've sworn he sensed two very familiar chakra patterns…but he went by so fast it must've been his imagination. So he could answer her question, he skidded to a stop and kept some chakra at the ready in case she decided to throw the kunai. "I called you those names…because of my image."
"You're image." She repeated dully. Her blood red eyes seemed to fade…indeed they did, back to their normal obsidian. Her anger seemed to be leaving her so Neji took a cautious step towards her and when she didn't make a move to attack him again he moved in. "It's not my image…of how other people see me…it's about my image to you. You thought from the beginning…that I, Neji, was bad and hated you…because I had attacked you. But you trusted…even started to care for the ANBU…" He laid his hands gently on her upper arms.
She rested her forehead almost unconsciously on his chest. "But now I don't know which image to believe…one kept hurting me…and I love the other one."
He started to talk, assuring her that he would never hurt her…but she barely heard him. What she had just said was rattling around in her head and she was trying to make sense of why. 'I don't know which image to believe…one kept hurting me…
And I love the other one.' The memories she had attempted to suppress came rushing back.
This jolted Michelle as she realized. This. Was. Like. Him.
"You…." She said in a shaking voice. "You. This is just like…him…you're going to do the same thing as he did…" she started to struggle, in order to wrench herself out of his arms and succeeded when he let her go in surprise. "Just like who Michelle?" She looked at him with panic filled red eyes-the Sharingan had turned itself back on and shook her head mutely. He reached for her to hold her…to comfort her…
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She screamed, smacking his hands away…acting like a trapped and cornered animal. "I will not fall for this again!" She slid a kunai out of her sleeve where she had it hidden and she leapt forward, slashing wildly, a feral look in her eyes. When he didn't move away from the knife swing, he received a slash right in the shoulder. Gasping in pain, he grabbed his shoulder, causing a momentary weakness where Michelle gave him a kick sending him flying across the clearing. "Kumiko! The pack!" she said sharply. The Mist Ambassador scooped up the pack, which was still lying where Michelle had dropped it, in one fluid motion.
Once she was sure that Neji was too incapacitated to follow her right away, she picked up the Mist girl bridal style and, gathering chakra into her feet, took off into the trees.
"Well that went well." Said Seyann dryly from her place in the bushes. "Seyann…this is no time for thatdry sarcastic wit…I feel awful…who's this 'him' she's talking about?" "I don't know…she's never said anything to us about that…"
The girls stepped from the bushes to heal Neji. The Hyuuga looked up and, upon catching sight of Mika, said in a dry chuckle. "I see. So you were the ones who threw the Shuriken." "Yeah…Neji I'm sorry…"
He waved her off with the hand that Seyann wasn't healing. "It's ok. She would've had to find out sooner or later…did she ever mention this 'him' to you?" Seyann shook her head, standing up. "No it's a mystery to us too…" "I'll have to ask her about it." He mused.
Mika stopped and stared at him. "You aren't seriously thinking about going after her. The way she is right now…she'd kill you." Neji shook her head. "I love her. She has to know. If I don't go after her right now, I could lose her forever."
And with that he was gone.
When Michelle finally touched down in a clearing far enough away from Neji that she knew it would take him a while to catch up, she set Kumiko down and dropped to her knees, gasping. Kumiko had seen this girl go from happy to furious to melancholy in a matter of a few minutes but she always managed to keep it together.
This was the first time she had seen the girl-or any ninja for that matter-a nervous wreck.
"Michelle." Kumiko gently wrapped her arms around the distraught girl, brushing the dirty black hair out of the girls face where it had been blown. "What's wrong."
"This happened before. I had a person toy with my emotions…he had two personas. One was polite and friendly to me…the other beat me every two weeks. I didn't know until he took off his mask…and I was so caught off guard…"
She looked up at Kumiko like one who had been scarred beyond belief. "I was so caught off guard that he beat me within an inch of my life and I couldn't stop him. He's dead now but I can't allow something like that to ever happen to me again…I nearly died."
Having composed herself now by talking about it, she stood up. "If I know Neji, he'll be coming after us. I have no desire to so much as look at him. Let's go." Kumiko picked up the pack and followed Michelle away through the forest.
Later on that night at the village, Michelle had to sit through thank-you speeches by the elders and the Mizukage respectively. She had discovered, upon arriving in Mist that…Kumiko was the Mizukage's neice.
No one had mentioned that in the mission contract.
Michelle would've had a good time…if she wasn't always thinking that she saw Neji. First he was getting food…dancing with Kumiko (that annoyed her...until she realized it wasn't him)…standing on the garden wall…
And then he would be gone.
He sat in the tree that was overlooking the garden. He was sure he had been too risky that last time…that she had seen him standing on the garden wall…but he knew he was gone too soon for her to know anything definite.
But…he wanted to know what was so wrong…and apologize for whatever it was that he had done to make her freak out as he did.
A/N-There you go...the chapter. Unless there is popular demand, this will be the last update for about a week. I'm going on a family vacation and there is absolutely no chance of acessing the internet. However...if people really want it, in the next couple days I'll try to update before I leave... Anyways...
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