There are very few good memories from when I was little. Almost none, in fact. Just once, this once, piercing my thoughts: in the garden, sand billowing every which ways, the "garden" consisting of little desert plants with their rough yellow stalks. Not pretty, but alive. I would make a habit of slowly plucking each stalk off a plant until it couldn't stand it anymore and would just wilt over and die.
I would always be so upset afterwards.
Temari-neesan would come out and maybe scold me a little, not daring to fully assault me and my murderous tactics, that killing plants was bad because plants helped us live. Not like I cared much--I never wanted to live in the first place. After maybe crying a little in my bed I would avoid the garden like the plague for a day, a week, a month, maybe.
But one thing was always the same.
I would always come back.
And start to pick the stalks again, one by one...
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Breaking the Music
By FlightAngel
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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this story: so you steal, I kill
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Extra
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It can not be seven forty. It is just can't. I stare at my alarm clock in rising horror as the seconds slowly tick by.
Seven forty-one.
Damn.
Covers fly, futon is flown halfway across the room and my body, which is still in its night robe, hurls itself into the bathroom in an attempt to fix myself up super speed. After some wrangled tries trying to catch my hair in a ponytail, brush my teeth and take off my robe at the same time, I will myself to calm down. I am calm. Absolutely calm. I am late. Just late. Don't rush. I'm late already, so the damn teacher can wait another ten minutes. It won't kill her.
Slowly I carefully gather my dry, slightly silky (silky… I don't necessarily like silky all too much. It means I didn't take a shower) hair in a tight ponytail slightly below my earlobe, secure it with a white headband, pick up my toothbrush and carefully run it over my teeth, spit, gargle, spit, wash my face with cold splashes of water and some face wash, dry said face, head into my room, sit down on my bed. Silently.
There is absolutely no noise for a good minute or two.
Finally, I scream.
"FREEEEEEAK!"
Screw calm. I panicked. I have never been late before. Never. A trait both Lee and I share, fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it.
Hyuuga Neji is never or should never be late by any means. It is just not possible.
Said Hyuuga Neji is now running down the hall with a some shorts (which he never wears) and Hinata's (He never refer to his main family members as "sama" in his head—he just doesn't) tang top (because it just happened to be in his closet) and a smudge of face wash on his cheek because he hadn't washed it off completely, frantic and very, very panicky as he runs into various rooms.
"Uncle!" I shout crossly when I spot him in the kitchen, hoisting my backpack onto my shoulder, "Why didn't you wake me up? Hell, why didn't Hinata-sama wake me up?" All is wrong in the world when Hyuuga Neji starts to swear. Out loud. Like now. I am still panicking.
"Neji…" Uncle quirks an eyebrow at my attire, "Yes, you are late, but at least take some time for consideration… are you sure you want to wear those clothes?" I blow a fuse.
"Who cares? Who cares about my damn clothes? Everyone knows I'm gay anyways!" Uncle looks very, very surprised that I am shouting at him. Hell, if it was any other normal day I would wake up at exactly six, shower, get dressed, come down for breakfast and say 'hello' politely to my uncle's family, sit down, eat, get back up, get my stuff, walk calmly out the door. Smooth. Graceful. I trip over the border separating the kitchen from the hall and go flying into the wall.
Add a slight bruise on the forehead to my list of things-gone-wrong.
"Neji-chan's late!" calls a sickening sweet voice from behind me. I try to calm myself down again. Breathe in. Breathe out. One, two, one two, yoga. Meditation. Anything to prevent me from strangling my second little girl cousin.
"Hanabi-sama, please go away," I manage gruffly, picking myself up and trying to regain composure. The little middle-school girl-from-hell just smirks.
"Oh, Neji-chan!" she calls out again, sing-song-like, "I never knew you were a girl! And oneechan's tang-top looks so flattering on your form. Are you going on a date with Lee-san or something?"
I do not have the time for this. Instead of stiffly excusing myself and walking (gracefully) on my way, I suddenly grab her by the legs and, with much protest from said leg-grabbed girl, throw her over my shoulder.
"NEJI! Let me go! Let me go NOW! I'll tell Daddy! NEJI!" I ignore her and carry her to the nearest closet I can find and shut her in it. She gives a squeal of outrage when I successfully lock the door from the outside with an audible click and hide the key in my pocket before my uncle sees. Yes, do not disturb the awesome Hyuuga Neji when he is on a rampage. He will eat you. Rawr.
I stalk into the garage, stick the keys into my car and am about to ram the thing in reverse when I remember that I have to open the garage door. And Hanabi had just so happened to have stolen my garage opener yesterday as a joke.
…the gods are against me.
After five minutes of shouting at Hanabi through a door I swear is made of the most soundproof wood ever because either she couldn't understand me or she was screwing with my head, I finally locate the opener inside the fluffing of her toy bear (I tore its head off instead of using the nice, well-placed zipper… because Hyuuga Neji becomes murderous when he is almost an hour late for school), start the car, and get my ass to class. Thank god.
Now, let's proceed to the office. Which I have never been in ever before in my life except for scholarship and counselor meetings about "my future". At Harvard. Yeah, wonderful.
Just to let you all know, the idea of leaving good ol' California and its sunshine to dark little Massachusetts with its little four feet deep blizzards isn't exactly what I consider a keen idea. Except for gay rights. You can't forget the gay rights in Massachusetts (I am being sarcastic. I don't give a damn about gay rights anywhere. I deeply apologize if I have offended any serious gay-rights-motivated homosexual out there in the world, but I really don't see the point of it when you can be sipping a cappuccino in Starbucks reading your favorite romance novel. Not that I read romance novels. Really.)
Plus, there isn't much of a Japanese community over there in little New England. Not like here, where Konoha, Suna, and other Japanese "counties" are practically their own state (I mean, people are either Japanese, speak Japanese, are of Eastern Asian Heritage, or are mixed blooded). Of course, on the map, they aren't really called 'Konoha' or 'Suna' (I think it's Westwood and Opallio or something immensely American like that) but that's only what the Americans call us. And yes, I know I just contradicted myself by calling myself a part of California but not an American. Because Konoha is one messed up place.
Moving on.
So anyways, I find my parking space, screech to a halt (which is against what I was taught, but then aren't you catching the extent of my anger/panic/anxiety attack over here?) and storm into the office. The secretary lady looks at me and obviously does not know my face. She adjusts her glasses.
"And what is the pleasure of—"
"Late slip! NOW!"
She squeaks and hands me a little blue form. Clicking a pen I had dug out of my backpack, I scribble, Hyuuga Neji for name, 9:45 for arrival and Miss Nami for my teacher before giving it to the secretary to sign her name. After that is done I grab the slip of paper and take off to my next class.
Miss Nami is stunned (Note: we call her Miss because she is American. Her real name's actually Nancy but as most people in this town can't even start to pronounce that name, we have changed it. She thought she was coming to good old Westwood, California, where she'd fit right in, not some weird little piece of Japan. She is still traumatized after that incident where Lee tried to ask her for a pen in Japanese).
"Hyuuga… Neejie?" She still pronounces my name wrong. It's NEHji not NEEjie. She's annoying. More annoying then Lee.
Everyone stares. Because Hyuuga Neji, Student Council President and Teacher's Pet, has never been late before. And he has never worn such a—such a—girly, purple, form-hugging tang-top ever. And was it even possible for a boy like him to look so good in it? Lee waves from the back of the class.
"Neji!" He whispers very, very loudly as everyone can hear him, "Are you feeling better?"
I narrow my eyes. Love him and all, but can he be any less annoying? I wish I could have stuffed my hammer into my backpack in my rush-for-school this morning. Would've been useful in whacking a certain green-clad freak. Taking my seat, I attempt to pay attention through Writing Skills. And then some other classes. And some more.
Drama, I meet up with Gaara. Headphones locked on his ears, black t-shirt and fishnets (he doesn't often wear fishnet… what's up?), black pants, sulking. A redheaded junior, he comes up to my shoulder, intimidates hordes of people every passing day and likes to eat cookie dough ice cream. Don't tell him I know that.
Gaara can be sulking for a number or reasons. Like how his sister and Shikamaru are going at it like bunnies on drugs. Or how his brother Kankuro is annoying the hell out of him, even though I actually like that guy (he's nice, funny, and altogether something that's the opposite of Gaara… maybe that's why they don't get along. Or maybe it's because they're brothers). Maybe it's his nonexistent sex drive. He's been talking about that subject a lot. Or maybe he's just angry at life in general and wants to go and kill himself. Whereas I will weep for him for two years and then go off on my merry way.
See how organized I am?
I calmly and gracefully sit down in the chair situated next to the younger boy, whereas immediately Lee sits down on next to me on the other side (during American History he was fascinated by the fact that I shaved my legs… even though he's seen them many times before. I let him run his hand across my thigh three times before kicking him in the foot. Unlike a certain redheaded maniac, Hyuuga Neji is not immune to teenage hormones. He likes having Stupid Boyfriend touch his thigh. However, Hyuuga Neji is a good student. Therefore, letting Stupid Boyfriend grope him in class is not a good idea. Therefore, kicking is the solution. You see? My thoughts go in order. There is logic. I make sense… most of the time).
Gaara's still sulking, headphones almost coming off, which is a big surprise. He keeps putting his fingers to his mouth as if he is about to bite his nails, decides not to, puts them up again, puts them down. It irritates me but I ignore it and instead try to tune in to what the sensei is saying. "…and then the first rehearsal we will have will be next week, Tuesday, so everyone memorize your lines by then. Your first dress rehearsal will be next Thursday. The Fabrics Club and Art Club have been kind enough to make costumes and build the set for us and so if you see one of their members, please say thank you to them. The rest of the period will be a work day and Miranda, can you please come here, I want to talk to you…"
Nothing very important. Lee is hyperactive and jumping up and down shouting something about youthfulness, flowers, and Neji-san in a dress. As usual. I am about to go and inquire my sulky friend about his mood when I stop. Wait, what?
"—and then it is going to be like his bridal dress!" Lee is saying to my "official" girlfriend, Ten Squared (Tenten), "With beautiful flowers and lace strung upon the cleavage area, I think he will make a beautiful woman!" Hyuuga Neji does not like to have his masculinity questioned. There is the fact that I play bottom in my relationship, but I don't think dating Lee has had me question my own manliness. He's girly enough for both of us, at times. I mean, I'm rather feminine, too, but my star swimmer, student council member and "girlfriend" (people really do think that Tenten and I are dating… when I'm really off somewhere with Lee and Tenten's off somewhere with some other guy…) give me a good enough of a reputation to keep the critics from scribbling "fag" all over my locker…
"Lee." Calmly. Hyuuga Neji is a calm, collected person that keeps everything to himself and shows very little emotion. That is how it is. That is how it will always be.
I have fully gained the black-haired bouncing ball's attention. He scoots closer to me so I am so close, his large, round eyes are like large disks of white and black. So maybe Lee wasn't that good of a looker. He's got good points to him as well, however, but I still find it hard to see them all the time, being that half the time he is being so immensely hot-blooded and spontaneous that he is being a total idiot and the other half he is being a klutz and a nerd. At least I know I really, really love him because otherwise I'd label this poor guy as "hopeless" and ship him off to Africa to become some missionary so he wouldn't be so lonely about the fact that no one wanted to sleep with him.
Except me. Because of reasons stated above.
"Yes?"
"…shut up."
"Ok! Under the power of love, youthfulness and all that is right, I shall—oops. Shutting up now." I want to kiss him. Why? Because… I just do.
It's a wonder how Lee is still the dominant one in this relationship. A total wonder. Miracle. Impossible. By all logical means I should be the one to ravish him instead of the other way around, as I am a) taller b) smarter and c) hornier. I admit to that last part. I am only human. But still, somehow, through some loophole in logic, I find myself playing female yet again and have now concluded that it is destiny's joke on my life and moved on. It doesn't do too well to dwell too much on such things.
I stare at Gaara again. He is, as usual, doing in his I hate this world and if I could I wish I can just take a knife and tear it into a million bloody pieces look, headphones now resting on his shoulders, revealing the bottom half of his ears. He's wearing black studs. He must really be feeling down-to-earth today, poor thing. I don't bother trying to nudge an explanation out of him—he always seems to start his own conversations, not liking it when annoying friends bug him with things for half an hour. Except for Naruto. He always makes an exception for Naruto.
I breeze through Drama with minor injuries (Lee is being too sweet for his good again… he sees Tenten's cut from her tripping down the stares and starts gushing about disinfectants. She won't die. Stop worrying about her and come over here and start memorizing lines!) and off to lunch. I am still dressed in Hinata's tang-top and wearing shorts. People stare.
"You shave your legs?"
Naruto stares at my bare calves. I glare at him.
Little blonde fluff ball does not deserve an answer.
The only real logical reason I can come up with on why I am friends with said little blonde fluff ball in the first place is because he is friends with Gaara and Sasuke, both people whom I am also friends with. Thus, according to the Transitive Property of Friendship, he is now my friend too. Gaara gives me his freak, dare not answer him and I will personally fry your eyes out and then skewer them into your privates look and I sigh, sticking a piece of chicken alfredo into my mouth (Hinata is only capable of making chicken alfredo… and because she insists on making my lunch, I always eat chicken alfredo. Logical reasoning).
"I'm a swimmer, Naruto. That's why I shave."
Fluff Ball just stares.
"You swim?"
Sasuke, who is being particularly distracted today, smirks in his charming Uchiha way and prods the blonde in the shoulder, earning the other's full attention. "You idiot, don't you read the school newspaper? Neji's, like, the star swimmer at this school." Naruto looks vaguely annoyed at being called an idiot, but he has more questions.
"But it's not swimming season now… why do you still shave?"
"Habit."
"…but why?"
"Habit."
"That's not an answer! Something other then habit!"
"If he said something other then habit," Gaara breaks out in a rare spurt of conversation, "he'd be lying." I nod, vigorously.
"Thank you, Gaara."
He just nods, moment of conversation past. Really, that boy has got to open up more. I mean, sometimes you get lucky and he tells you so much in one sitting you reel from the shock and other times you want to throttle him by the neck because he just won't talk. Naruto had whispered to me before that it had something to do with how he didn't talk when he was twelve or something because of something traumatic, and I totally understand. It makes sense. As long as things make sense, Hyuuga Neji is ok with the world.
"Sasuke," I address the younger boy fondly. We've known each other since I was seven and he was six, when we met each other at an executives' party at my house and spotted each other in the corner. We bonded after we decided the party was crap and that a better way to spend our time was to sneak into Hinata's room and tear off the heads of her Barbie dolls. But back to present time. He sort of cocks his head in this yeah, I'm listening way. "I won't make it for the study session today… I know we usually go off to your house and study for the next exam together, unlike some people," a glare at Gaara and Naruto, Naruto pouting and Gaara's eyes glazed over as he most probably didn't hear me and was instead thinking to himself again, "but I promised Shikamaru a shogi game yesterday and you know I can't pass that up."
Being the dark and brooding person he is, Sasuke just gives me a sophisticated look that communicates to me about pressure and pleasure. I am about to respond with a complex look of my own when Lee, being the dimwit he is, suddenly bounces towards me with a little stuffed turtle in his hands. I raise a noble eyebrow.
Who gave that to him?
You may have misunderstood my words. That little stuffed thing has got to be the sweetest, cutest, fluffiest, most properly sized turtle ever to be made on this earth, cuddling into Lee's chest with its small, though cute beads for eyes, light green complexion and soft brown shell. He leans forward, big smile and white gleam shining in my face.
"Is not Sakura-san the nicest girl in this school?" he gushes as he shows me his new acquaintance proudly, "She has hand-made such a beautiful gift for me for apparently no reason at all! I am forever in her debt! If I cannot make a doll at the same quality as this one by next month I shall do a hundred push-ups! And if I cannot do that I will do a thousand crutches! And if I cannot do that… I will not have sex for a month and sleep on the couch! "
My eyebrow rises higher in alarm. What?
"Lee."
"Yes, Neji?"
"That last part… don't go so far."
He blinks at me owlishly. "But Neji! I must motivate myself to become a better person! I must prevail through this world of darkness with blinding youth and set perseverance! Without my perseverance, what shall I do? Shall the world end? How can I go on with life without setting punishments for myself to follow?" By this time, he's sobbing. "Neji, I love you, my dear flower, but I must continue if I shall be able to continue loving you! Farewell for today… and do not worry! I will quickly finish my doll in a great burst of success and then come back! Good byeeee!" He sort of dances off in a shower of sparkles, flowers, and tears. I sigh, feeling a migraine coming on.
"Your boyfriend's kind of weird, isn't he?" Naruto says, scratching his head. I want to strangle him for stating the obvious but then, Gaara's giving me one of his touch him and you will definitely find yourself up on the roof with the crows feeding on your body looks so I keep quiet (how does he do that? It's not a touch him you die look… it has so many… gory implications! Even I can't do that!)
"Eh." Step one, provide an answer. Step two, sound interested in something else to change the subject of conversation. "Five days away. Battle of the Bands. You ready?" That was good, Hyuuga. Very good. Give yourself a pat on the back. Naruto's chest swells up in his excitement.
"Yeah! Totally!" Doing a little dance, the junior seems genuinely ecstatic about the whole ordeal, "This is great! If we win, we'll have a real chance to go pro—" He stops. Everyone stops. I feel the crush of a guilty conscience falling on top of my head.
Naruto and Gaara, being the two guitarists and true music fanatics, are seriously considering a career in music. Well… Naruto is, and Gaara's going along because he has nothing else planned, he wants to be near Naruto, and the only thing he seems to be good at besides intimidating people is music. This Battle of the Bands thing can really jumpstart their career, but only if the entire band is present. Unfortunately, I am leaving for Harvard.
As I have stated before.
Therefore, they (we) cannot go professional because I am the lead vocal singer… and companies might not want them switching members too often, because that would be extremely unreliable. Thus, I am a problem.
A problem.
You don't know how many hours I huddled in a dark corner in my room sniffling about how everyone will be better without me. Ok, so it wasn't really a dark corner and I wasn't sniffling, but it was a passing thought that I don't think of very often and it let me snuggle with Lee a little. Being the smart, yet slightly still hormonal, boy (man?) I am, I obviously took advantage of the situation.
I eat another piece of my chicken alfredo before giving it to Gaara, who was looking at it hungrily. He just scowls a little deeper before carefully adding it to the "mashed potatoes" our cafeteria cook seems to serve up every week. Being that I am an organized and practical person, I go over my schedule planned after school to make sure I didn't forget or leave any holes anywhere.
After the bell rings, I head up to the Student Council Meeting Room for some crap discussion about the production of the School Newspaper, which is losing money rapidly because no one is willing to buy, and the upcoming Spring Fling. Not that anyone really cares about the Spring Fling—it's more like a school tradition now then an actual school event. After escaping the meeting, I head into the gym for the swim meet where I swim about fifty laps with Lee's weirdo teacher, Maito Gai, or something, for an hour and a half. Cleaning myself up, I should be able to pick Shikamaru up from his Aikido Practice on my way home and set up the shogi match all before six thirty.
Hopefully we can finish the game by eight. If not, I will have to unlock Hanabi from the closet and apologize to my uncle, which I would hate to do due to my unequivocal and insensible pride. After that, Uncle will probably shift me off to my room to study for some weird scholarship program test for more money to direct towards my Harvard Fund. Blegh.
Don't get me wrong. The reason the family wants to send me off to Harvard is so that there are more family lawyers coming out of the Hyuuga family to help defend the jewelry business. They reason that it'll be a heck of a lot cheaper then hiring a bunch of lawyers that weren't related to the Hyuuga at all.
I do want to become a lawyer, but for a vaguely different reason. Psychiatrists (Gaara's psychiatrist, maybe) might suggest that my thirst for justice might stem from the lack of it in my childhood, specifically focusing on my father and his death. I was very young at the time but even I knew that it was wrong for that not-related-to-us lawyer to suggest the notion of substituting my father in instead of my uncle when he could have instead pressed the case further and perhaps got it turned around so that no one would have to be killed. I think only Gaara and maybe Naruto knows the full story of the whole affair, Gaara because I was the one that spoke to him about it and Naruto because he'd probably heard it from my baby cousin, Hinata.
Hyuuga Jewelry Inc. is a flourishing business that is, pride aside here, one of the richest companies in Konoha. We live off of business trades and affairs with other companies and often representatives said jewelry enterprises come to negotiate with us about our market economy and other business-related things which I have never really paid much attention to. One specific company which we have been competing with for a very long time finally bowed its head down and let us sign a collaboration project on some new designs the designers had sent in, sending a representative to Konoha to handle the matter. Everything was well and the Hyuuga family, being the ever-so-generous people we are, even let the foreigner stay in our mansion for the night before he set home with the designs.
Everything was perfect. It was just another business affair. Nothing more.
Not so.
In the middle of the night my uncle caught the representative with my cousin in his arms, attempting to kidnap her. It seems like the enterprise's true goal in this "negotiation" was to abduct the heiress to the company and to ransom her for top-secret metal-mixing and design secrets the Hyuuga always kept safe somewhere deep in a folder of lockers (even I don't know where that was…). Well, so what happened next? The representative pulled out a gun and started shooting at my uncle. Uncle had an instinctive reaction. He pulled out his gun and shot the representative once in the head.
He died.
The representative, not my uncle, idiot.
But anyways, that last part is kind of mashed together—the enterprise was "shocked" by the murder and immediately pressed charges against my uncle. Uncle hired a non-Hyuuga lawyer to defend him in court; they have their first trial, Uncle's argument being that he had shot the other in self-defense, blah, blah, blah, lawyer suggests my father take Uncle's place in the death penalty when the jury has not reached a verdict, Uncle says no because he doesn't want his twin brother to die, Dad says yes, kicks Uncle and is taken by the court when the jury declares that Uncle is guilty. Why did Dad get taken instead of Uncle? What is so important about Uncle anyways?
Well, I would just love to "rant" and "lecture" (words used by Gaara when he snaps and starts to coldly inform me about my "idiotic teaching habits") about my family's cursed Japanese "main family" and the "branch family" tradition where back in the old days it just used to be a sign that made sure everyone in the town knew you were only semi-human. Nowadays they actually put some weird chip in your brain that kills brain cells. Uh… yeah. The only good thing about being sent to Harvard is that without my damn "main family" members hanging over my shoulder I can go get that stupid chip removed. And maybe go to a tattoo artist where they can undo that tattoo on my forehead too.
Lee says he thinks it looks like a mutated tree. I always end up beating the hell out of him every time he even squeaks a word about my branch family status so he has (finally) learned to keep his big mouth shut. I am pulled back to reality. Gaara is staring at me again, piercing jade (cyan? It looks green, it looks blue, his eyes change colors, dammit) eyes scanning me up and down.
"…Gaara?"
"You're wearing that shirt on backwards."
Awkward pause.
Well? What can I do? Take it off and put it back on again in the middle of the cafeteria? Not that I would ever do that as it is against the dress code to run around half naked with only a pair of the tightest shorts ever (these shorts come from two years ago… either that, or they belong to Hinata. The maid is Hyuuga-challenged and always mixes up her and my clothes). I just say, "Ah," and head into the bathroom.
Where I hear noises. Odd noises.
"Aaah! N-no, not h-here…Professor—" Shuffling. More moans.
"What do you mean 'not here' little Silver-kun?" There is a squelching noise and more gasps arise, "You look so hot and sexy against the wall…"
"N-nu…ah!"
I run out, slight blush covering my cheeks. Th-that was… sick. Looking down and realizing that I still have my tang-top backwards problem, I shamelessly go onto the girl's bathroom and lock myself in a stall, to the mortification of the girls in there. There is shouting sounding very much like "Eek! Pervert! Someone get the janitor!" and "Freak, wasn't that the Student Council President?" as I strip myself of the shirt, turn it around, and put it back on.
Back in the bathroom… I would recognize that slithery voice anywhere. I guess I shouldn't be that surprised that Professor Orochimaru was still being in his usual perverted self, seeing as he had tried to coax me into the classroom alone after school for some "science help" freshman year (which I refused because though I didn't know at that time what he was planning for me, my pride forced to me try to do everything without any help at all) but…ugh. And 'Silver-kun'? Sounded a hell of a lot like Professor Orochimaru's Student Teacher, Kabuto… now that is just… blegh.
Maybe I should tell Gaara about this and see if he still wants a sex drive now.
When I am finally aware that I can be put in detention for "sexually harassing" young women (though anyone with a mind could see that I didn't actually do any sexually harassing and that I just wanted to use a stall) I sneak out the room with my awesome martial art powers (Hyuuga Neji is skilled in everything. Why? Because he can) and coolly walk back to my table, where Naruto and Sasuke are squabbling over Naruto's milkshake.
"That's my milkshake, you damn bastard!"
"Since you used my money to buy it it's technically mine you know."
"DAMMIT! Stop taking sips out of it! Stupid!"
"Naruto… language."
"Eh, sorry Gaa—stop that!"
See how these three get without my cool demeanor balancing them out? Unlike Gaara, I usually tamper in other people's business because I can either work it to my advantage, it's best for them, or I'm bored. I sit down, take the milkshake and give it to Naruto, glaring at Sasuke, who is looking pleased with himself, smirk dancing on his face. I'm not stupid, by all means. I know how Sasuke and Gaara were silently competing over the little blonde fluff ball and how Sasuke had just now gotten himself another point, sharing an indirect kiss with the blonde before Gaara. Not that I know, I'm just guessing. If Gaara had gotten a kiss from the fluff ball he'd probably be bouncing in Gaara-like joy (eyes lit up, hair sticking up like two little ears perking upwards, a little smile quirking the edge of his otherwise straight lips) and I'd know.
Lunch bell rings, Naruto and Gaara go off to whatever class they have next, Sasuke heads off to whatever class he has and I go to the Library to write out what I should do about Hinata and that mutt, Kiba. Being that this is my little cousin we are talking about, things that I "should do" about Kiba usually walk along the lines of getting rid of the little punk. Usually. But ever since I caved in to Hinata actually snapping and screaming at me through my paper-screen door that I was a bastard and that I had no control over her and shouldn't tell her what to do and who to date and she wished that I would get the hell out of her life, I have been, grudgingly, thinking of ways to get them together. Even if Kiba is a nose-picking, dog-obsessed, messy-haired, loud, burping freak that needs his head to be snapped off right now because he kept looking at my baby cousin funny.
I mean, for goodness' sake, Hinata didn't even know what a condom was! Uncle had refused to let her in Sex Ed for the six years everyone else sat in class looking at pictures of penises and vaginas because he was afraid she'd get tainted. Either that or he was afraid she'd faint in class and shame the Hyuuga clan. One or the other. But anyhow, Kiba just didn't deserve her, no matter what she said.
Though I was and am still bitter about the conflict between the main and branch families and I do spend at least a quarter of my time at home bullying her into doing what I want, I can get pretty worked up about my family (Hinata). I know the Hyuuga clan was messed up for hell but it was my clan, my cousin and therefore anything that did not fit my standard did not fit in my world. I sound like Gaara… but then, almost everyone in our little group has their own little emo story, even Naruto, so it's no wonder our experiences might sound similar.
I take out a list I had already made and cross out Get Hinata to Invite Dog Boy Over (Do Not Let Hinata Go To Dog Boy's House; Has To Be Hyuuga Residence). Last night they were playing Halo on her Xbox until two in the morning, keeping me up and cranky. Maybe that's why I had managed to sleep through my alarm clock… I must make a note to beat the crap out of Kiba. Saturday morning, eleven o' six, second floor of the Sago Department Store down the street, a blow to the head with one of Lee's smaller mallets, assuming that the Dog Boy has a slightly softer head then my bumbling boyfriend.
And I sit there, cackling, wondering what I should go and do with my life as I wait for the bell to ring so I can go upstairs and argue with Ten Squared about if we should let the newspaper advertise their existence over the loudspeaker or not and if the Spring Fling should have a green theme, a blue theme or both. I don't hate her; the reason I chose her to be my "girlfriend" is because we both are in the student council, we both beat up on Lee when he is being extravagant, and we have very similar interests. Plus, I can weasel a discount on ice cream at the shop she works at as a bonus.
A common question I get is "Do you have a part time job?" Answer? Yes. What? I sell prints. Whose? Mine. Where? Over the internet. Why? Because if I finally grow a big enough backbone to stand up to the entire board of Hyuuga and use my Harvard Money to go to Stanford which is almost just as good as Harvard and is still in California, close to where we live, I might want to chose a career of art along with being a lawyer as well. Of course, my guidance counselor nags at me that I can only have one and not both and that I have to make the big decision soon, I'm not sure about that. Plus, Naruto and Gaara need Sasuke and me for their band thing… which means… if my Stay-in-California Plan actually works, I'd be working in three fields at once, increasing my stress threefold.
Stress is bad. It's been scientifically proven that it can shorten your life span.
But would I be happier?
Hell yes.
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Author's Notes: I'm sorry I haven't updated for a long time! And instead of a real chapter I just plug in an extra (bows head in shame). It's because I went on winter vacation with my family to Taiwan and I didn't have access to my story for ten days. And after that I suffered from jet lag and my merciless teachers dumped truckloads of homework right after we got back. However, I have finally finished this! Probably has A LOT of grammar and spelling errors in there-- forgive me! I AM IN SERIOUS NEED OF A BETA! I self-edit all my work and sometimes I'm too lazy or I skip over sections, thus, ending up with incomprehensible phrases! (e.g. I wanted to penetrate porspirate the wall border. What I really meant: I wanted to penetrate the border.)
Don't kill me because of the extra! (avoids rotten tomato) But I felt like all the readers needed a serious break from Gaara's tiring inner monologues and therefore have dumped a short, one-time-only Neji's inner monologue onto you. Neji is a heck of a lot more aware of his surroundings then Gaara: I hope you got a better understanding of the AU world through his eyes . Anyways, I THANK ALL REVIEWERS for supporting me in this! And guess what? I made a new record! Sixty reviews before a flame! YAY! And, by the way, here's a note for all readers:
Note: I do not take well to criticism. I know I need it and when I know I need it I go to my friends and ask them for their advice and/or ask readers/reviewers to start criticising. However, when I am suffering from emo low-esteem problems and believe myself to be worthless, logging onto ffnet and reading a review that tells me my story sucks is not a good thing. It hits hard. Therefore, I appreciate it but can you try to soften it up a bit? I know I sound so amateur right now, but I can only take criticism when it's covered with sugar. Otherwise I might burst out crying and run around in circles for a whole month (I have quit countless sites because of this). Thank you for reading this brief note.
Anyways, I'm working on the next chapter (back to Gaara! Yay for all people who love Gaara!) I also need to put another note in here. Just to make it clear (if it didn't become clear in this extra)
Note: This story is from Gaara's point of view. Therefore, his view on things are distorted. Take Kankuro for example. I love Kankuro. I think he's a cool, all-around, laid-back kind of guy that I wouldn't have any problem hanging out with. However, I must think as Gaara when I write about him. What does Gaara think of Kankuro? Well... he doesn't like him (right now). Therefore, in the story, I have to portray Kankuro as a bad person because Gaara thinks Kankuro is a bad person. And when Gaara and him start getting along Kankuro will start to be portrayed as a good person (for those who love Kankuro, there is a guarentee that this will happen because I am writing it right now). And for all those people who are like: But Kankuro doesn't really Sleep around Like That I promise you it will all be explained next chapter :). Another thing is Gaara is OOC because this is the real world and not ninja-Naruto world. He gets help a heck of a lot faster in this world because there is such thing as Government, Protection Laws, and Therapy in this world. Plus, it is discouraged to kill. Therefore, he will act a little different. AU worlds can't work exactly the same as their counterparts in Ninja Land, no matter how close you can get.
Note: (this is a small note, thus, not in bold) The chapter prologue is in Gaara's point of view. The Extra is is Neji's point of view. Thank you.
(Hands reviewers tickets to the movie: Gaara's Past and his Confession to Naruto) Anyways, I can't thank my reviewers/favoriters/C2ers/alerters enough for supporting me! And hang on to those tickets!