Hi there! Welcome!

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Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me, otherwise the NejiTen would be canon.

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Enjoy.

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Chapter 1. Reflex

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He turned the page of the book he was reading, and just at that moment he heard his Slytherin classmates talking about going to prank the Gryffindor primiparous. For his part he only continued with his attention on the book he was reading despite the fact that they were seniors along with several of his classmates of the same year, among those with whom he spent the most time in class and shared a room. However, he didn't even want to look up from his reading, few things seemed less appealing to him than having to get upset over something as absurd as picking on newcomers who were just getting acquainted with the school.

Sasuke insisted once again that he join them and accompany them, Hidan being the one who tapped his book to make him finally see them, so now he verbally expressed his refusal to what they were up to, he found it a thousand times more interesting to keep reading his book because he had an exam the following week. Fortunately they didn't insist, his two roommates just made a sound of frustration before leaving with the group. The common room of his house was empty which he was grateful for in his mind, the silence was always nice as well as the solitude.

He had gotten a couple of chapters into his reading when a new noise appeared, now it was a lot of laughter that made its presence known. It wasn't his year mates and seniors returning after the prank, it was the newbies from his own house who had finished their classes for the day, and in an excessive display of energy found it a fantastic idea to come screaming and running all over the common room. They were rowdy, throwing in the middle of their physical games some objects on the floor without bothering to pick them up or apologize if they broke some decoration, surely they were all convinced that they didn't have to think about some insignificant thing like that because surely some servant would pick it up or blame them if they said something about the broken things.

He wanted to let out a curse, but instead he just clicked his tongue. They were impertinent brats so telling them to turn the volume down was just wasting his time and making them see him badly. It didn't bother him to be seen badly, but knowing that they would increase the volume, it was useless to waste time, so he just put the divider inside the book marking the page he was on, and after closing it he stood up, the most reasonable thing to do was to walk around the castle and look for a new place to have peace.

His first thought was to leave for the Great Hall, the problem was that even if it wasn't lunchtime there were always students swarming around the place, and there was nothing quiet about it. He also had to take into account that he hadn't paid attention to his housemates to know where exactly in the castle the prank they had talked so much about was going to take place and he had no interest in being present when it was carried out. If his uncle found out that he had caused the Slytherins to lose points by the time the vacations came around and he was back at the manor, he was going to get a reprimand, of course the man would initially be happy for the stupid Gryffindor's to get what they deserved, but he would scold him for the points. It was something he'd rather avoid.

His second thought of a possible location was the library, no doubt he would find silence there, the problem in that case was that the librarian didn't hold him in her affections. No doubt the blame was shared between the house he belonged to and his classmates, Hidan particularly didn't usually show any respect for the rule that demanded silence, and more than once he had shouted like a madman, getting himself banned. No matter how much he went alone the woman would give him evil looks and try to get him to leave quickly, that's not to mention the fact that it used to draw attention to a Slytherin being in the place for so long, that meant it was a ruled out option.

He needed to think of a third option then, a place that was quiet, where he could be at peace and thus be able to read, being only with himself for the rest of the afternoon. Who was he trying to fool? Ever since he had left the common room of his house he knew the exact place he wanted to go, he just didn't like to admit it, and so he always fooled himself by telling himself that he was going to look for other options.

He inhaled deeply and exhaled heavily before turning around to head for the stairs, heading for the seventh floor. The Room of Requirement, that room in the castle that presented itself to those who needed it and that had presented itself to him when he was in third year, coincidentally in a similar state of mind to the one he was in at the moment, looking for a place where he could be quiet and meditate in peace. Since then it had become his personal refuge, the place he could go to when he needed to meditate, be quiet and basically recharge himself so he could get on with his life.

Slowly the door began to appear in front of him, as soon as it was complete he moved forward to push it gently and enter the room, closing it behind him. As always when he went, the place was empty, except for one object that stood in the center of the room. He took off his tunic, folding it perfectly as summer was approaching and the temperature was rising, even more so there being completely enclosed. He undid the buttons on the cuffs of his shirt to fold up the sleeves, freeing his forearms. He set the robe on the floor next to the book, sitting down on the floor cross-legged, right in front of the object in the center. It was a huge mirror, but before seeing his reflection in it, he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly to relax a little.

After a few minutes he opened his eyes, staring at his reflection. At first he saw himself, sitting in complete solitude in the middle of everything, but as the seconds passed, little by little the image in him began to change, and it was no longer only him who appeared.

In the image the room had been transformed, he was in the mansion with his father during the Christmas vacations, they were next to a huge decorated tree and under it there were several gifts piled up.

As the images progressed he could barely breathe, trying to contain the emotions aroused by what he was seeing, this unreal event full of happiness. When everything around him went dark he knew it was time to go back to his room. He reached for his wand, making a lumos that lit the tip of it so he could illuminate the place. He stood up again before walking to the exit. He cast the spell to turn off the light from his wand the moment he stepped out into the hallway and it was the streetlights in the hallway that glowed. He wasn't hungry, so he decided to skip dinner and go straight to bed.

Once he was in the room he climbed into bed and closed the curtains around it, casting a spell so that no one would disturb him, he wasn't in the mood to listen to Hidan's disparaging comments about the prank they had pulled when he got to sleep let alone take any notice if Sasuke brought any female companions into the bed. He rolled his eyes, at least the black-haired had the decency to cast a spell on the curtains as well, and soundproof them in the process.

In that new solitude he took to staring at nothingness as he let his head wander to the images the mirror had shown him that afternoon. He missed his father, that was no mystery and hence the reason why even though the man had passed away when he was only eight years old, he was shown in the visions the mirror of Erised gave him.

He had read about the mirror when he arrived at the castle and found it ridiculous that such an object existed, he didn't even see a use for it. In third year when he discovered it was in the Room of Requirement it had been brought to him and he approached it believing it couldn't show him anything, that it was a silly legend like many others that existed about the school. 'This is not your face, but of your heart's desire' said the engrave on the mirror as it reflected him, still convinced it was idiotic he had seen his image.

He wasn't surprised to see his father in all the visions he had, to see what his life could have been like if it had been the man who had educated him, who received him every time he returned to the mansion for his vacations. What did surprise him a little was that in the images of himself there was a change, and it wasn't about looking happy, it was about the color of his tie and the crest on his robes, which didn't match the ones he wore in his day to day life.

His uncle was a Slytherin, and a very proud one at that so all the while while being homeschooled before being sent to the castle he had heard him repeat to him incessantly that his duty above all else was to carry on the family legacy, to uphold the excellence befitting his family name and stay in the house he belonged in. After all they were Hyūga and their family name was known throughout the magical world for being practically synonymous with perfection, they were the best.

Once upon a time during one of his lessons at home, his governess had explained to him the history of the castle, the biography of each of the founders of the houses and the difference between them. His uncle was nearby, hearing what the lesson was about he had come closer, waiting for the woman to finish speaking to make his comments. Above all else he should never be a mediocre like the Hufflepuff, the magical world had taken it upon itself to absurdly exalt the useless Gryffindor's, he had nothing particularly against the Ravenclaw's even if some looked like bookworms, but more importantly was that Slytherin was the house of the Hyūga's. The Hyūga's had been personal friends of Salazar Slytherin, and since the school was founded the whole family had been of that house, so he had better be elected where he belonged, or he would suffer the consequences.

For that same reason the first day when they arrived at the castle and were directed to the great dining room to wait for the Sorting Hat to classify them, he focused all his thoughts on the fact that he had to honor his last name and stay in the house that was destined for him and his last name. He didn't care to pay attention to the house that the others were sent to, only to himself, he listened from afar to the derogatory comments of some people about how easily the primiparous were surprised, although he tried to ignore them, as well as the applause from the tables every time the name of where the new student would go was mentioned. When his turn came he moved forward with confident steps without stopping what was going through his head.

"Mmmmm," he heard the Sorting Hat pronounce with a meditative tone, "are you sure that's what you want?" as he hadn't paid attention before, he wasn't sure if in any other case the Hat had ever spoken directly to the student, let alone in the murmuring tone it now had, so that no one else would hear what it was saying.

"It's where I belong," he replied in a whisper so that no one but the Hat would hear him.

"No, it's where you've been led to believe you belong," the Hat fell silent, and he feared the worst as he waited, again wishing with all his might that the answer was the right one, " if that's what you want," it said reluctantly in its characteristic tone, raising its voice, "Slytherin!"

He exhaled in relief and walked over to the table where all the students in green ties were applauding, some even patting him on the back clearly proud that he had gotten to where he belonged. Commenting to him in a haughty tone that he had just joined the most important house, according to them, of all.

That was the change in colors that was reflected in the visions given to him by the mirror, the Hat that day had hesitated between Ravenclaw, which was more suitable for his personality and lifestyle, and Slytherin which was the one expected by his uncle. He always saw himself in that ideal world with the blue tie, because that was his true heart's desire, the house where he would be at ease and could truly be himself. Images always showed him that his father would have been proud to have a son who valued knowledge more than cunning.

But his father was dead, and he was a Slytherin.

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Do you remember that on the 22nd day of NejiTen month I said I was going to bring this story out separately? Well, here it is.

This will be the longfic (don't ask how 'long' yet) in which I will extend that fourshot in the Harry Potter world. While there are already the 4 chapters I did in August, I won't leave them as is, I'm going to make some modifications to better extend some ideas, and another planned subplot with the villains. The first chapters will be similar but not exactly the same, if you read that story you know more or less where it's going and that the ending was left open, so it's time to make a closure.

If by any chance you didn't remember that Hidan was mentioned, it's because I decided to change the 'bad guy'. Anyway, we'll see a little bit later why and the little story it will have, I must say that part of the reason is because I already have some Neji vs Sasuke stories (most of them still in Spanish) and I was dying to use Hidan somewhere.

I hope you like it.

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Regards, Sally K.