A/N: IMPORTANT MESSAGE AT END! PLEASE READ!
#
Neji sat in front of his father's grave. His chin was in his hands as he starred at the inscription of his father's name. The quiet night air was cold but the Hyuuga didn't mind. His eye lids fell half way past his lavender eyes. He couldn't help but remember how kind his father was to him. He smiled a little at the thought of how his father would scold him for being so anti-social all the time.
Neji lifted his face off his hands and wrapped his arms around his knees, pulling them close to his chest and hiding his saddened expression.
He still didn't want to go home. Even if he was able to get past Hinata, his uncle Hiashi would not be so easily. He would push the younger brunette to tell him what was troubling him.
Neji shook slightly as he imaged to look of hate and disgust on his uncle face.
"I knew you'd be here." The voice surprised the long haired male. But he didn't turn around, for one he didn't want the other person to see his current expression and he knew he didn't need to.
Rock Lee walked over to him and sat down next to the Hyuuga, who was still curled up in on himself.
"You always come here when you're upset." His voice was soft but still had that deep tone like it did when he talked normally.
Neji placed his chin on his crossed arms and sighed. He'd regained control and made his expression blank. He turned his head slightly and asked in a similar hushed tone.
"Why are you here?"
Lee smiled but his eyes were sad. Neji watched as his tan skin tone was darker in the dim moon light and his hair could barely be silhouetted against the dark forest. But his eyes were still bright and shined as he leaned against his own arm, one leg laid on the ground while the other held his arm up. He faced the Hyuuga's questioning eyes but let his eyes drop to the ground.
The midnight's silence was broken by the other male's sorrow filled voice. "I was worried about you."
The Hyuuga's stubbornness appeared and he closed his eyes facing his father's grave again, his voice cold like ice. "Thank you, but I don't need your sympathy."
"It's not sympathy." Lee kept his tone the same as Neji opened his lavender eyes and glared at the grave.
"Neji." Lee tried again. The Hyuuga slumped and groaned to himself. Neji mumbled a response.
"What?"
"I wanted to apologize about what happened before." Lee smiled a little as he starred at the long haired brunette. Neji remained hidden in his lap. Lee dropped his smile and reached over very slowly. He watched the Hyuuga's reaction as he ran his hand along Neji's long hair.
The long haired brunette stared at his chest as he felt his teammate's finger intertwined in his long hair. Neji's eye lids lowered as his eye brows lifted. The soft, caring touch was so foreign to him. The chills ran up his spine and a squeezing feeling filled his chest.
"Hey, Neji." The hand stopped and lifted a strand of his long hair. The Hyuuga raised his head and met Lee's eyes. Neji saw a spark of something in the other man's eyes that he'd noticed hadn't been there before.
The goofy, funny Lee seemed to have transformed into a serious and mature Rock Lee right before the Hyuuga's eyes.
The taller green loving male got up and onto his knees, moving closer to Neji. He softly grabbed the Hyuuga's arms and untangled them, pulling them closer to him.
"Neji."
The long haired brunette gulped slightly and turned away as a rush of heat filled his cheeks. Just the way he'd said his name. Neji had trusted Lee above everybody else, but being so close to someone and letting someone inside his head even if it only a little scared the brunette.
The green-lover felt a tug of heat pull at his chest and felt the unyielding urge to show his affection to the other shinobi.
"Can I kiss you?"
That caused the Hyuuga to look back at the other man and wear a confused expression. Sure he and Lee had known each other forever but the Hyuuga had never thought about him in a romantic fashion. The movements of Lee made him uneasy. The fingers wrapped around his forearms seemed to be made of lava, they made his skin burn.
"Kiss? Why would you…?"
Neji gulped loudly and watched as the taller, tanner man moved himself closer so that their chests were pressed against each other. The Hyuuga became extremely warm and the heat made him feel like he was sweating.
But the heat was different; it wasn't a sore irritation. More like there was a steam sauna under his skin.
"L-Lee?" He cursed himself for having stuttered and how weak it'd made him sound. He had a bit of discomfort entered his head. How Lee towered over him and held tightly onto his arms made him remember.
"Come on, Lee. This isn't funny anymore" He tired to sound more like his normal self but it wasn't working. The other man could hear the fear in his voice. This made Lee loosen his grip. The Hyuuga was about to pull himself away but Lee grabbed Neji and pulled him on top of the green loving ninja.
Lee pressed his back against the grass as he pulled Neji's head down to meet his gaze. The two sat there for a few seconds, though it felt like minutes to the brunette. The Hyuuga had never thought that Lee would be coming at him like this; he hadn't even known that the other man had feelings for the Jounin.
Lee and Neji stared at each other for a while. The black orbs filled with a sort of longing behind them. The Hyuuga's fingers moved awkwardly on the green lover's chest. The close contact threw him off.
"Lee, stop it." Neji tried to push himself up but the other male grabbed his chin and ran his thumb over the Hyuuga's lower lip. The long haired brunette froze as the trembles ran up his back. Lee smiled softly and moved his hand as he pressed his lips against the Hyuuga's.
The long haired brunette first didn't believe that he and Lee were actually kissing. It wasn't something he could've thought of in a hundred years. Neji began debating if he should punch the other man or simply stay still.
Instead much to the Hyuuga's own surprised, he kissed back slightly and clumsily. Neji's uneasiness left him has he pressed his head down against the other man's. Lee smirked into the kiss and sucked on the brunette's lower lip, biting at it. The Hyuuga gulped nervously as Lee completely diminished his control of his emotions, his hard glare had all but been forgotten as Neji leaned against Lee and continued to kiss him.
The air around them was cold and made the Hyuuga push himself closer to the source of heat that was Rock lee. Neji's mind didn't register what was really going on; the excitement of the moment clouded any usual thinking. All there was the ground, Lee and the interaction they were sharing.
The fear and anxiety were nonexistent as if Lee had pushed them completely from Neji's mind.
"Neji" Lee murmured into the kiss, making the Hyuuga frown vaguely. Neji growled as he broke the kiss for a moment. He didn't want Lee to ruin his momentary bliss.
"Shut up."
Lee found this amusing and hummed in his joking voice. "Only if you make me."
Neji's face turned bright pink making the other man laughed. The Hyuuga brought his head close to Lee's and parted his lips, keeping his eyes shut tight. He all but flinched as he felt Lee's tongue gently press against his mouth.
As he got used to the taste Lee left in his mouth and the way Lee's tongue moved, Neji began to move his own wet muscle back against the other man's.
Soon breathing through his nose wasn't enough and Neji pulled away. He panted quietly and sat up a little. He then felt Lee's hand move to the sides of his chest, massaging softly. He still tasted Lee in his mouth.
"L-Lee."
The other man murmured a 'yes' as he moved himself up so he was sucking under the Hyuuga's ear.
"Stop now." Neji's firmness returned as he pressed himself away from the green spandex loving shinobi. Lee gripped his fingers into Neji's side to make him stay as he moved his lip under the Hyuuga's chin. The brunette had remembered that he was angry at the green-lover not only for treating him like he needed to be pitied but now that the chunin had kissed him.
"Lee, stop it. What's with this sudden urge to kiss me anyways?"The Hyuuga's hard personality was back and Neji argued as Lee moved to pull the turtle neck down.
The Hyuuga's eyes shock open wide and he smacked his friend across the cheek.
The grave site was dead silent in the dark night.
Lee's face had turned to the side from the impact of the hit, he was lucky the Hyuuga hadn't infused it with chakra. But the tanner shinobi's eyes were locked on the long haired brunette's neck. When Neji had hit him he'd pulled the turtle neck slightly down with his fingers that were hook in the fabric to reveal the many marks and bruises that lay underneath it.
The Hyuuga felt the shame overflow in him as he saw Lee piece the puzzle together in his head. He glared as he pushed himself off Rock Lee. He pulled the turtle neck as high as he could against his neck and quickly left the grave site.
All that could run through Neji's head was the humiliation and hatred that pulsed in his head. Now Lee, the only person Neji trusted, knew everything and knew about how the Hyuuga had been so weak that he'd…that he'd…
"Neji! Neji, wait!" Lee called in a panic after the Hyuuga but Neji quickly made the appropriate hand signals and teleported away from his teammate, disappearing in a cloud of puffy white smoke.
#
Panting, Neji was panting. He tried to focus his eyes as the blurry, red images. He looked around slowly; the fuzzy curves of a body became clearer. Neji looked down to see the kunai in his hand. He growled as he recognized the leader of the group. The animalistic instincts took over and he jumped through the air kunai first, plunging it into the black cloth covered neck.
He noticed his white robe bottoms had been replace and were now covered in the enemies' blood. The other in the camp stared with wide eyes and began to shoat things.
Neji let all the rage and hurt fuel his movements. He spent all his energy on killing every last one of his captors. While fighting he'd seen his top to his Hyuuga robes.
He grabbed it and saw the rustling of bushes. His Byakugan activated and he was on the escapee in a flash. Appearing behind the clothed man and hearing the cry begging for mercy.
Neji panted as the adrenaline rush subsided. He searched the area, no signs of any others. A rustling of the trees made the Hyuuga look up and watched the birds fly away. His eyes were fierce and angry. The blood of several other human beings stained the white Hyuuga robes. Neji felt the relief of knowing he'd killed every one of them.
"Neji!" A voice called form above. The Hyuuga held up the kunai to attack but the flash of green and orange made him drop it.
"G-Gai-sensei?" The brunette looked at his mentor and saw the sorrow and guilt in his eyes. Neji looked down at his hands, coated in red crimson. He was suddenly confused, how had he gotten free? Where had the kunai come from?
He mind began to push the memories into the back of his head.
"Why…?" The long haired brunette slumped to the dirt and clawed his fingers into the dirt.
#
The long haired brunette gasped for air as he hit solid ground. His skin was on fire, he couldn't formulate a full sentence. He looked up to see he was a far ways from the grave site and had moved fairly close to the Hyuuga complex.
Lavender eyes burned as he could still see Lee's face in his head. Rock Lee would always give the benefit of the doubt but that pure, raw, fury he'd seen in the black eyes made Neji fear the worst.
Lee would now over react and do something drastic, the chunin wasn't known for keeping his anger under control in extreme situations. The Hyuuga touched the dirt with his hands slowly, a strange fuzzy feeling washing over his body.
Suddenly his hands weren't his and he felt detached from them, he could see he was touching the rocks and soil but there was no dry gravel feeling. The fuzzy feeling made him feel so numb, like he wasn't even inside his own skin.
The Hyuuga took in the moment and felt that sweet delight that came with the blankness of his mind. To be in his own little area in the back of his head made the Jounin feel a bit of his stress release from his shoulders, they'd become so tense lately.
W-What's going on…?
"Neji!" A voice called out the brunette's name but Neji pushed it away, wanted to stay in his state of numbness. But as he remembered why he wanted to stay the memories filled into his head violently.
A hand grabbed his shoulder roughly and the leader of rouge ninja appeared before the Hyuuga.
He moved back, falling on his side starring at the bright yellow eyes staring back at him. The sweat fell from his face as he twitched uncontrollably, the horrid ghost touches all over his skin reminded him of every little violation that he'd had to ender.
He tried to speak as the man came closer, his outside slightly blurry. The rest of the scenery swayed to portray the forest and the camp where the Hyuuga had been taken. Neji began to panic when the man reached his hand out.
"No! Don't touch me!" His shrill voice was full of fear and frustration.
"Neji!" The Hyuuga was hit hard across the face.
Neji sat on the ground as the grass and trees disappeared in an instant as if he was focusing his eyes. He was back outside the main alley way to the Hyuuga complex. He felt the heat rush on the side of his face where he'd been smacked. The Jounin slowly looked at the figure standing in front of him.
"H-Hiashi-Sama?" His uncle didn't look angry despite having hit the long haired Jounin. Usually the elder Hyuuga would only show violence in rage.
But his paler eyes had this incomprehensible look behind them.
"Neji, what is the meaning of you current state? Where have you been?" His uncle waited for an answer and could see the thought trail behind his nephew's eyes. Neji stood shakily, hands twitching as he looked around to make sure he was really where he was.
"Neji!" The shouting brought the Jounin back from his confused condition.
"I-I'm sorry, I must have-" Neji stopped when his uncle held his hand up. Hiashi looked his nephew once over; it was obvious he was on edge. Hiashi had known this the night Neji returned from the hospital, he wasn't the head of the family for show.
"Where are your Hyuuga robes?"
"They were torn badly on my last mission; Hinata-Sama is hemming them for me." The shinobi spoke softly and respectfully to his uncle. He tried to present himself in a more formal fashion but the shivers that ran up his spine kept grabbing his attention.
He'd seen that man again, and he'd looked so real.
"And why do I see you starring off into space in the middle of the road from the yard?" Hiashi's voice was stern but had a tint of what Neji placed as concern.
"I-I…I don't know…" The younger Hyuuga bowed his head slightly, not wanting to met the icy gaze of his guardian.
"What happened on that mission you've just returned from? You have been acting strange." Neji did not want to say anything, he knew that Hiashi was the one person that would be able to get it out of him with little struggle.
"I… don't wish to tell you." The younger Hyuuga braced to be smacked for insubordination but it never came. He glanced but at his elder. Hiashi was staring at him with a face that told the Jounin he was thinking. The older man sighed and folded his hands in his robes.
"You are free to go, but I want you to go straight to the complex and get something to eat."
Neji blinked a bit surprised. Hiashi had never let anything go before. The elder Hyuuga walked away leaving the Jounin trying to understand the older Hyuuga's abnormal behavior.
#
Might Gai awoke to various poundings on his door. The older man yawned and glanced at the clock. It was almost two o'clock in the morning, not that he wasn't up for a little early morning training but he didn't know anyone who'd come to his door this early.
He unlocked the door and it swung open from the outside. There stood a panting and worried looking Rock Lee.
"Gai-sensei, I'm so sorry to wake you from your rest but I need to ask you something!" The younger version of Gai said respectfully and louder than the aging man would've liked this early.
"Of course, my youthful student." He returned the other with his famous sparkle grin.
"Why did you send me to go search for Neji?" Lee asked as his face was crushed in this saddened, worried way.
Gai raised his thick eyebrows before sighing darkly.
He remembered his conversation with the young Hyuuga and after the brunette had left that teacher had tracked down his star pupil.
He'd known for a while of Lee's feelings towards the other male member of their old group. At first Gai thought it was the same rival-friendship relation that he and Kakashi had, but the way Lee carried himself around the other Jounin was different. Lee way much more protective and caring even though Neji ignored him most of the time.
He'd told Lee that the Neji was just stressed out because of the mission and need someone to talk to but would never ask for help it was just how Neji was. Which wasn't a lie; it just wasn't the whole truth. He knew that Lee was going to be the most likely choice for Neji to vent to, and it would give his love-struck student a chance to get closer to the Hyuuga.
The older man had been silent for a few moments as he recollected his thoughts.
"Because Neji needs someone right now…"
"But why? You know what's making him act like this, right?" Lee asked angrily. Gai could see in his pupil's eyes that something had happened.
"I do but I've been sworn to secrecy by the Hokage." Might Gai wasn't all too surprised when Lee latched on to his shirt and pulled him closer, fury seeping from the smaller version of himself.
"Then why? Why are you trying to get me figure it out?" Lee had known his teacher for as long as he could remember and he knew when Gai was planning things.
The older man smiled sadly and removed his student's hands from his shirt. He held them for a moment squeezing them with a parent's love. He met the other green lover's eyes and almost whispered.
"Neji was hurt in a very bad way. A way that many people never fully recover from. I've known a few people in my years that have been killed in missions because the mental injuries they received." Gai paused for a moment to see if Lee was grasping the seriousness.
"He told me he was tortured. But Neji would never be hurt so bad by being beaten, his pride would suffer but not like this."
"Lee-"
"What could've happened that would make a Hyuuga cave under such pressure. The Hyuuga are known for being able to take their secrets to the grave, so they are accustomed to torture. Damn it, Neji said a Hyuuga should rather die than be broken! "
Lee had raised his voice and was once again panting from being overly frantic. Gai starred at his student and spoke slowly and softly. "Why don't you come in and get some rest, we can talk more- "
"I saw his neck." Gai froze and saw the panic flash in Lee by his reaction.
"He looked like he'd been bitten and scratched by an animal! What the hell kind of torture is that!?"
His teacher wore a sadden look in his eyes and the two stood in silence for a few moments.
Gai looked over at Lee before back away a bit, grabbing his door to close it. He replied tiredly. "Neji asked me not to interfere, but Lee I know you're smart enough to piece it together in your head. You just don't want to get to the conclusion that's starring you right in the face."
Lee's brow dipped as he knew what his teacher was trying to tell him.
"You're beginning to see the ugly part of the world, maybe too much too quickly. But that is the job of Shinobi, to face the bad things so others can live peacefully. Never forget that you are a shinobi, a protector."
The older man's face disappeared as the door closed.
Lee felt the cold night air whip at his face as he starred at his mentor's door.
#
Neji hadn't dreamed at all. He felt the time pass so quickly almost as if he'd only slept a few moments. He sat up on his futon slowly, his muscles felt sore and tender. The Hyuuga stretched them a bit before seeing his chest was bare and had been rebadged.
Panic filled his stomach as he made the connection that someone had to have seen the marks. He turned to see a set of new white Hyuuga robes laid out of the table. He thought it'd had been Hinata but when he picked up the piece of paper that was next to the robes, he found he was wrong.
"You're strong but you're still my little nephew. Release is not shameful."
Neji read the note aloud softly. His stomach tightened and he gulped, he knew Hiashi was able to find out; he must've done it quietly for the younger man's sake.
A bottle caught the Jounin's attention. It wasn't labeled but there was another note under it. The Hyuuga lifted the white porcine bottle in his hand and read the second note.
"This will help you calm down if it gets too hard. Do not abuse it."
Neji didn't quite recognize the handwriting at first but it did look awfully familiar.
A knocking on his door alerted Neji to his half naked appearance and the view of his bandages. He grabbed one of his, now many, navy blue, shinobi undershirts. Putting it on before sliding his door open to see Hinata.
She was in her shinobi uniform and had a bag over her shoulders.
"Heading out, Hinata-Sama?" Neji asked as he gave her a polite nod. He felt a tug of anxiety.
"Y-Yes, I wanted to see you before I leave." She was smiling; the older Hyuuga felt a bit relaxed as he looked at his young cousin. She really was a pretty girl.
"I hope everything goes well." The older Hyuuga let just a pull of a smile reach his lips. The girl saw this and brightened even more.
"Of course, please enjoy the rest of your time off, Neji-Nii-san." The girl turned to leave and Neji felt his chest clamp shut.
His breath left his lungs and his sides burned. He groaned silently so he didn't alert the girl walking away. He slammed his door a little roughly and locked it.
This sensation was a new one. Every little movement hurt as if he could feel the wounds like they were brand new. He panted shallowly, sweat forming on his face. The conversation between him and Gai entered his head.
"Neji, what would you have done if you were in my position and Hinata-Chan was in yours?!"
The words pounded against his chest and the Hyuuga realized he was having a panic attack. He tried to calm his raising heart rate but the mere thought of his sister figure being hurt anywhere close to how he was made the Jounin physically sick.
Then there was the rage.
Lavender eyes darken as Neji lost control of his emotion.
"Why!?" he yelled, most likely alerting the rest of the complex. His fist crushing into the wall before he released a surge of chakra, so much that his vision was blurred by the blue energy leaving his charka points on his hand.
He felt his eyes sting as he hated himself for being weak. The horrible self-loathing that attacked his conscious made his head hurt. He grunted in fury as he hit his wall again with the other hand, making a torso sized crater in it.
He pushed the dresser closest to him and had it come down with a crash.
The echoing rhythm in his head dulled the fire and the Jounin calmed down. He breathed heavily as he regained control over himself. His eyes scanned the wall and then returned to look at his shaking hands.
"You're losing control, Nephew." Neji turned to the voice but knew it was his uncle before his eyes would focus on the older man.
"I-I don't understand? Do you know why I'm acting so strange?" The Hyuuga used an informal tone, because of his mind state, which he would never use for Hiashi.
"Strange is not the right word, you're scared."
The words from his uncle hung in the suddenly hot air in the younger long haired brunette's room. Neji gulped and felt that familiar anxiety.
"How do I make it stop?"
"Face your problem. Recall everything that happened and recognize that it is the past." His uncle's simple instructions were not that simple to Neji.
"When I do, I lose touch with my conscious…" Neji muttered, eyes glaring at the ground. He was really messed up. This was not the way Neji Hyuuga acted. Neji did not lose his temper; he didn't act like a crazy person and lose touch with reality.
"Then tell someone what happened, tell your story so you can stay focused." Hiashi's words became harsh and Neji recalled Gai saying something similar.
The two men stood Neji's now messy room and let the silence sink in. The Jounin knew that Hiashi would never give fake advice and that it would be foolish to not listen to the elder Hyuuga.
"Will…will I get back to normal?" Neji's light lavender eyes met his uncle's paler ones.
"Hopefully…" Hiashi had a bit of a smile curve on his hard face. The elder turned closing Neji's door and spoke from the other side. "You'll be better than normal."
#
Lee hadn't slept; he'd stayed outside of the wall. Giving the gate guards an excuse he was going for an early morning run. Seeing it was Rock Lee they hadn't found it strange.
The green loving ninja laid in the crater he'd made in his wrath. The surrounding trees were much worse; some had even collapsed and fallen down. His knuckles were bloody and had soaked through the make shift protection. He'd wrapped them in a bit of extra bandage he happened to have on him but it hadn't helped much. He sighed and starred at the early morning sky. It was clear, not a cloud in sight. There was no wind and it was relatively warm. Rock Lee breathed in, smelling the fragrance of summer slipping into the forest.
Lee lifted his hand to look at the dried blood that ran down his arm. His usually happy round eyes were slits and red from his hysterical crying. He cried all the time, mostly from over excitement with Gai. But last night the tears were fueled by anger and sadness. The chunin closed his sore eyes and relaxed against the abused ground.
Why hadn't he seen it sooner? Neji gave off the signs, not wanting to stand close to others, the fear of being touched. Rock Lee cringed as he drove his palms into his eyes to stop them from crying again.
He'd wished Neji would've told him but he knew that the Hyuuga could never admit something like that.
The tears were hot on Lee's cheeks. He didn't sob like he had the night before; he'd been screaming and yelling as he beat everything around him. Rock Lee sat up slowly, wiping his face on his sleeve. His poor clothes were covered in dirt and had been torn or ripped at some point in his blind rage.
"Lee!" A feminine voice called out from the surrounding forest.
The green lover recognized Tenten as the girl got closer. He wiped his face again and smiled cheerfully. "Good morning, my youthful teammate!"
Tenten smiled as she made her way through an entrance in the neighboring brush. Her face was happy but she had an underlying sadness as she took in the situation around her.
"Did something happen?" Her voice was soft and gentle, filled with concern as she came and squatted down next to the crater Lee was in.
The other chunin fell silent and starred at his hands. The panda bun haired girl tilted her head giving her teammate a warmhearted smile.
"Is it about Neji?" Lee tensed at the mention of the jounin's name.
"He…" Rock Lee clenched his sore fists and glared at them. Speaking softly as if he was only talking to himself. "I believe he has PTSD or something similar…"
Tenten's brown eyes widened and she waved her hand comically. "You're joking; Neji's too hard headed-"
"He accidently attacked Gai-sensei."
The sound of birds flying from the trees entered the air.
"…I see…" The girl looked away distressingly. She too had seen the change in Neji. Even if the Hyuuga thought he could hide it, those closest to him could tell something was amiss.
"What are you going to do?" The girl asked as she looked back at Lee and leaned over the beaten ground a little. Rock Lee sent a girl a confused look.
"What do you mean, what am I supposed to do?"
"Lee!" The panda girl's yell made more birds fly. The green loving ninja blinked confused at his female teammate's anger.
"W-What?"
Tenten huffed annoyed and groaned a bit. "Seriously?"
She held an accusing finger towards Lee.
"You can get closer to Neji, He needs a shoulder to lean on and you could be that shoulder! Haven't you read any kind of romance novel!?" Tenten explained slightly aggravated.
Lee blushed a bit. Tenten and Gai were the only one who knew about his feelings for the Hyuuga and he planned to keep it that way. He understood that Neji wasn't the type of person that would voluntarily be in a relationship, much less with a man.
But Neji had let Lee kiss him.
The green loving shinobi hid his blushing face as he recalled the scene, the barely visible pink of Neji's pale cheeks; the half lidded lavender eyes and the way the Hyuuga smelled like green tea. Then how it'd turn sour when Lee had over stepped his luck.
The man groaned to himself and clenched his fists. "But Neji's angry at me now…"
"What'd you do? Kiss him or something?" Tenten joked but then was shut up by the look Lee gave her.
"What!" More birds.
#
The Hyuuga followed Shizune into the large office. Tsunade looked up from her lunch annoyed. "What do you want, Neji? I'm busy. I mean even if I am Hokage, can't I have ten minutes to myself."
The older woman complained as Shizune sent Neji a sympathetic look for her superior's behavior.
"Hokage-Sama." Lavender eyes starred at the ground with a tension behind them.
"Yes?" Tsunade lighten up a bit and remembered that she needed to be a bit gentler with the young Hyuuga shinobi.
"I request that because I seem to have become a hazard to those around me, that I see a professional about my current state." Neji dug his nails into the palms of his hands. He felt so damn worthless, having to ask for help with something he should be able to take care of himself.
"…Of course" Tsunade was a bit surprised. Neji never asked like this, he always did what he was asked and never complained. The Hyuuga never burdened anyone with what was happening with him.
Shizune and the blonde woman looked at each other.
"How soon do you want to leave?" Shizune asked politely, her usual calm smile and Tonton at her feet.
"Leave?" Neji repeated as if the word was in a different language.
"Well yes, the only professional PTSD specialist is over in a small town by the border of the land of Hot Springs. Unless you want to go to the land of Lighting." Shizune explained. She walked over to a shelf of scrolls and began looking for the correct one as Tsunade continued for her.
"It's a small healing town, full of hot springs and medical clinics. I've stopped through there a few times, a very nice place." The blonde woman tired to be positive but it was obvious how uncomfortable Neji was.
"PTSD?" Neji asked, looking over at Shizune, he couldn't met his superiors gaze.
"Yes, I've seen quite I few cases like yours in the past, it's a horrible thing, but it does happen. "
His lavender eyes still wouldn't meet her's and his fingers twitched at his sides.
The Hokage sighed and soften her voice, almost mother-like. "Neji."
The Hyuuga wanted to sink into the ground, now even the Hokage, the leader of the village was giving him sympathy. He felt worse than dirt and just so futile and pathetic.
"I know how stubborn you and the rest of the Hyuuga are, so I'm very proud that you've come and looked for help." She tried to lighten the Hyuuga's gloomy attitude. Neji glared to the side of the room, careful not to disrespect his Hokage.
"I don't want pity, Hokage-Sama."
"Neji, its concern not pity. You'd be wise to learn the difference." Tsunade regained her normal harsh tone.
"Those who care about you do not pity you, they're scared for you. They don't want you to wind up doing something stupid or worse! Do you have any idea how many people end up killing themselves because of PTSD?"
She huffed and fixed her hair a bit before looking over at the still brunette. Shizune looked between the two extremely stubborn shinobi with an awkward silence in the room. She handed her boss the scroll and Tsunade opened, clearly agitated.
"Alright, Hyuuga. Look here." She spread the map of the land of Hot Springs across her desk. She explained where the border of the land of Fire and Hot Springs met and where to cross as well as where to go after that.
"The town is fairly close to a small range of mountains so be careful not to waste time going through the mountains there are plenty of roads that lead into the town. It shouldn't be hard to find." As Tsunade continued talking Neji felt a weird sensation crawl under his skin. The two other people in the room were suddenly too close and he unconsciously stepped backwards.
A cold sweet ran over his chest and back. The images of his incident flash behind his eyes. He saw the rouge ninja standing around the room but they'd disappear before he could focus on them. Several voices began speaking around him. He couldn't place them but he could see the two women starring at him. Then the numbness came.
He could feel nothing, no heat or cold. Not even air or wind. He couldn't feel the tickling sensation of his hair on his cheeks or how he had the dull stiffness of his shoulders, but blissful nothing. He couldn't process thoughts; every time he tried his brain stopped him. Almost as if it wanted him to remain in the wonderful unfeeling state.
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!IMPORTANT PLEASE READ!
Okay, So I've finally got my new pen nibs from Amazon, (THANK YOU FOR TAKING 5EVER) Anyways, I'd love to know what some of your guys' favorite scene are as the story goes on. And I'd love to draw them for you.
Now keep in mind, I'm a junior in high school and I have a part-time job so I can't make a full length comic of this 100+ pages of LeeNeji-ness. (no matter how much I'd love to)
SO please, next time you review or PM me, just say, Hey, I'd love to see "this scene".
I was crap doodling some stuff from Chapter three so if you wanna see it just check my profile for my DA.
LOVE YOU GUYS, Ya'lls' messages made me so freaking happy you have no idea.
More reviews = quicker updates!