The Hyuuga Clan of Konohagakure no Sato had always been proud of their special bloodline; even the weakest of the branch families were blessed with eyesight keen enough to rival the hawks.

Therefore it was only reasonable that Neji felt suitably insulted when the number one densest ninja in Konoha told him his vision was defective. After all, he was the Hyuuga genius who had mastered practically all his clan's bloodline limit had to offer.

Actually, Uzumaki Naruto was a whole lot more direct than that. His exact words were, "You're really blind when it comes to her, Neji."

Neji refrained from bristling up indignantly. "My vision is most certainly not impaired," he gritted out. "It is quite obvious that Tenten is not seeing anyone because she wants to channel all her energy into achieving her dream of being the perfect kunoichi, as is expected of her."

Naruto stared at him for a long while before shaking his head slowly. He looked as if he was trying to stop himself from bursting into uncontrollable fits of laughter. "Just… just open your eyes the next time when you're around her, okay?"

The Hyuuga Prodigy opened his mouth to retort but was cut short the arrival of his cousin. The blonde man immediately lit up at the sight of his lovely girlfriend.

Hah. He saw that. He sure as hell wasn't blind.

All the same, he'll just pay more attention to his team mate. Just to prove Naruto wrong of course. Not because of anything else. Not because she was strongest woman he had known after his own mother. And definitely not because he kinda missed her when she's away for missions (he only missed her because he has to deal with both Lee and Gai alone and that can be very trying even for a genius).

And so, he started to watch her more and more.

He began to see how handsome she had become; she was not striking in the conventional sense, but rather her simple strength, warm personality and sincerity shone from within, giving her an air of soft serenity. She no longer walked with the slouch of a gangly teenager, too tall for her age, but with the graceful gait of a lady.

He found her most attractive when she was in battle. Even though her face was shielded by her ANBU mask, he could see the flex of her arm muscles when she throws her kunai and was mesmerised by way her katana seemed to be an extension of her body which she wielded with deadly efficiency.

Soon enough, he began to see her as more than a team mate, more than a comrade and more than a friend.

He saw her as a woman.

His woman.

Neji learnt the meaning of 'perfect vision' when he woke up one day and saw her lying in bed beside him. Her long dark hair fanned out on the white pillow behind her and her long lashes cast crescent shaped shadows on her freckled cheeks. He could see her rosy red lips and the tiny bite marks on the skin of her neck and collar bone, claiming her as his.

His breath got caught in his throat when her eyes fluttered open and she smiled sleepily at him. "Neji," her lips formed a single word.

He bent down and kissed her softly on the lips and felt her respond by parting them slightly. It was then Neji realised you do not need eyes to truly see.