Chapter 6: Tell him, Hinata
"Hinata."
Hinata paused halfway down the staircase, and turned at the sound of her name to see Neji regarding her intently with his Hyuuga eyes.
"Yes, brother?" Hinata said.
Neji said nothing as he followed her down the stairs, eventually stepping down to a lower step than her own so that, despite him being the taller of the two, their eyes were on the same level, "Hinata, I know why you came on this mission."
Hinata looked away and tried to control her furious blushing, "I don't know what you mean brother. I came because, because Leaf Shinobi and because-"
"Hinata," Neji's voice was soft, gentle, not the stinging rebuke that she had expected of him, "please, I know that I have not always been the guardian that my duty as a member of the side branch demanded I be, the attentive brother that our bond of blood should have made me. I have treated you badly, and for that I apologise, but I am not the same Neji Hyuuga of old. Since the Chunin exams I have learnt that even the Byakugan eye may be fooled, and I have come to see a great many things differently."
Hinata blinked, it was true that his behaviour had been less harsh of late, and she had detected no malice or bitterness in him, "How did you know?"
"It was not hard to deduce." Neji said.
"I," Hinata hesitated, "I have asked myself, would I have come were it not for Naruto; I am ashamed by the answer."
"There is no call for shame. Had you not come, that would have been sense." Neji said, "I ought to have counselled you to remain in the village. For that, I crave your pardon once again."
"But I did come." Hinata said.
"But you did come."
"For Naruto." Hinata spoke softly, quietly, as if afraid that if she said the words too loud they would assume a life of their own and run completely out of control. She looked down at her feet, "Is it really that obvious?"
"Yes." Neji said.
Hinata groaned as she imagined what Naruto must think of her.
Neji tilted her chin up with his fingers, so that they were once more looking into one another's eyes, "You are a daughter of the Hyuuga clan, the most ancient and noble of the clans of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Remember that, and hold your head high in the presence of all others. One such as Naruto should think himself fortunate to attract the attentions of a lady such as you."
"It has not helped much so far." Hinata said, "And I do not wish Naruto to notice me solely because I am of the Hyuuga clan."
"Hinata, do you remember your sixth birthday, when you were presented to the males of the clan?"
Hinata nodded slowly, "I remember being nervous."
"You clung to your father's robe." Neji said, "But I thought that you were pretty then, and now that the bitterness has been wiped from my eyes I find that my opinion has not changed. In looks, in nature and in birth you are all that Naruto or any other could ask for."
"And yet," Hinata said, "if he knows, and does nothing, then-"
"Naruto does not know." Neji said, "It is not hard for one such as I, detached and distanced, to work out; but Naruto is different. You will need to be direct with him. He is what is known technically as- a moron."
Neji loaded the last two words with so much hauteur and aristocratic scorn that Hinata could not help but chuckle, and Neji himself broke out a rare smile as he added, "But he is also brave and determined, and I understand what you see in him. Try for him, Hinata, he would be a fool indeed to refuse you."
Hinata nodded, "I, I will try. I will do my best, as he always has."
Neji nodded, and patted Hinata on the shoulder as she went past him and on her way, following the same course she had been taking before he had waylaid coming down from Gryffindor Tower. For a while he stood there, even after she had passed out of sight and sound, before he suddenly said- apparently to the empty air, "Why are you hiding, Tenten?"
Tenten emerged from her concealment with a shrug, as if to say that she felt no shame at Neji having detected her, "It was private, between the two of you. I didn't want to get in the way."
"And yet you listened? How much did you hear?"
"Everything." Tenten said, "It was sweet of you, to talk to her like that."
"Sweet?" Neji said, his voice neutral, "It is not often that I find myself called sweet by anyone."
"I must admit," Tenten said, "that when I think of Neji Hyuuga sweet isn't exactly the first word that springs to mind. Grim, maybe, forbidding, proud-"
"You're making me blush." Neji said with some amusement.
"But it was nice of you to talk to Hinata like that." Tenten said, "The old Neji would never have done it."
"There never was any old Neji," Neji said, "Rather, I was always myself, merely imprisoned beneath years of anger, coldness and betrayal. Until Naruto smashed my prison upon the Chunin exam field, and my true self was able to soar free."
Tenten placed a hand upon his shoulder, "Then I'm glad he did." she smiled, "I like you better this way."
And Neji found himself thinking that he liked the fact that she liked him this way, and that that alone made the change well worth it.
Hinata wandered in search of Naruto, thinking about what Neji had said to her about how she would have to tell him, rather than leaving him to work it out for himself as she had planned. While at least she would know, one way or another, what he thought about her, Hinata was not at all sure that she would have the strength or the courage to tell him what she felt for him to his face. And yet, she knew all the same that it was the only way.
She caught sight of him rounding a corridor just ahead of her, and quickened her pace to keep up with him, but skidded to a halt when she saw two wizards in the green of Slytherin crouching behind a suit of armour as they pointed their wands at him. They were both very big, very ugly, and a little stupid looking.
"Jelly legs." said the slightly larger of the two.
"No, I want to use the Furnunculus." said the smaller.
"Byakugan." Hinata muttered, as her Kekkai Genkai snapped into operation. She could see the two wizards' chakra, or at least what passed for it amongst these people. It was green, and moved a little differently from normal chakra, but it did not change the fact that they were funnelling it through their arms to the wands they held in their hands, storing up chakra for an attack.
"I want to hit him with jelly legs." the bigger one moaned.
The smaller sighed, "How about we use furnunculus and jelly legs. Get hit with that you sprout tentacles on your face."
The big man's face brightened considerably, "Okay. Ninja freak's gonna get it now. One, two,"
Hinata reacted on instinct. They were going to hurt Naruto, and she moved without even having to think about it. She had reached the two as they were framing the words of their spells, and delivered four fists, sixteen palms of the gentle fist technique to the chakra points on their wand arms.
The two howled in pain, their wands dropping to the floor with a clatter as they clutched at their arms.
"I can't feel my arm! I can't feel my bloody arm!" the big one yelled, "What's she done to me Greg?"
"How should I know Vince, she's done it to me as well." Greg replied, in the same howling tones. He pulled back his sleeve to reveal the red marks where Hinata had got him, "What did you do you b-"
"Do you really wanna finish saying that?" Naruto growled, cracking his knuckles menacingly as he stepped forward so that he was level with Hinata, who was holding her hands in front of her and massing chakra in her fingertips.
For all that they looked slow, it didn't take Vince and Greg long to evaluate the situation. They could barely pick up their wands, they certainly couldn't use their normal wand hands, and in front of them were two people who looked quite willing to keep up the fight. They ran.
"Your girlfriend can't protect you forever, ninja freak!" Vince yelled as he fled, "We'll get you for what you did to Flint!"
Hinata and Naruto both blushed, for different reasons.
"Hinata," Naruto said, hesitantly, "there was no need, for you to jump in like that. I can take care of myself."
Hinata was too relieved that the remark about his girlfriend had not stirred any thoughts in Naruto's mind to respond for a moment, before she said, "I know. I always knew that you were the strongest of all of us."
"Really?" Naruto sounded shocked, as if he hadn't thought that anyone had ever had so high an opinion of him.
"From the moment I first saw you." Hinata said.
"Then why?"
"Because," Hinata hesitated, teetering on the brink of saying what she both longed and dreaded to say. Then her nerve failed her, "Because, just because you don't have to rely on others doesn't mean that you can't. Or shouldn't." she began to play with her fingers, "I, I know that you don't need my help, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to be there to help you, Naruto."
Naruto blinked, "I, well thanks Hinata. I want to be there to help you too."
"You have," Hinata whispered, "so much already."
Naruto looked as if he didn't quite know what to say to that, and so he scratched the back of his neck for a while before his face suddenly broke into a huge grin.
"Hey, Hinata, do you wanna see the coolest prank, ever?"
Ron was turning his bed and its immediate environs upside down as he searched for that three quarters completed essay on Transfiguration for McGonnagall that was due in tomorrow. It wasn't a brilliant piece of work, he knew that, but he didn't have time to redo it all over again and if he couldn't find the damn thing then he was going to be in so much trouble. Where was it? Where had he put it? It had to be in here somewhere.
"Hi Ron." Hermione's voice floated in from behind him.
"Hermione, brilliant, I really need your help to look for this-" Ron turned around to see Hermione standing in the doorway, dressed in a crimson dressing gown that was unwrapped, revealing a shiny silver nightgown underneath. She tossed her brown hair back over her shoulders, and smiled alluringly at him. Ron's jaw dropped and he made no effort to pick it up off the floor.
"Hermione?" he murmured weakly.
Hermione continued to smile as she flicked the dressing gown off her shoulders so that it was hanging on by her elbows. Her shoulders and upper arms were left bare, save for the strips of silver satin keeping her nightgown on, and Ron found himself wondering how he had never noticed before what lovely white arms Hermione had.
"We're all alone." Hermione said, her voice a sultry whisper to his ears as she advanced towards him, throwing the red fur lined dressing gown to the floor as she did so, "Just like I hoped we would be."
Ron felt himself beginning to slobber, and hastily sucked it back in as he did his best to recover his lower jaw, "Hermione, am I dreaming? This has got to be a dream, hasn't it?"
One of the shoulder straps for Hermione's nightgown dropped down her arm, "Do you often have dreams like this?"
"At least once a week." Ron confessed.
Hermione's smile broadened, revealing her gleaming white teeth, "Me too, tiger."
She reached back and undid the zip at the back of her nightgown, which dropped silently to the floor. Ron's jaw dropped for the second time and he couldn't stop staring as she pushed him gently onto the bed, and began to climb on top of him. Deftly, she undid his trousers.
"Hermione," Ron was finding it a struggle to think coherently given what was in front of his eyes, but he managed to get a few words out, "you have no idea how much I-"
"Oh my Goddess!"
Ron's head whipped round to see Harry standing in the doorway, looking at the two of them with a mix of horror and a touch of jealousy in his eyes and face. His nose was bleeding gently.
There was a popping sound and when Ron looked again he found himself face to face with Naruto Uzamaki, "Gotcha! Transformation Jutsu!"
Ron gave a strangled yell and shoved Naruto away, his trousers dropping around his ankles as he stood up, "Get out you, you little," he snatched up his wand, "I am going to kill you!"
Naruto laughed again as he ran from the dorm, pushing Harry aside as he disappeared out of sight.
"I am going to get him!" Ron snarled, storming up to Harry, "Out of the way Harry, and if you mention this to anyone, anyone, but especially Hermione then I am going to-"
"Erm, Ron." Harry said nervously, as Ron began to notice a feeling on contact in his nether regions.
Both of them looked downwards at their other wands, and backed away hastily.
"Well let's not do that again." Harry said.
"Too right mate." Ron said, "Wow, yours is visible even through your trousers."
"Well look at yours," Harry said, "I've always thought that your feet were normal size but look at the-"
"All right, all right we get the idea." Ron said quickly, "Let's never speak of this. Ever. Again."
Harry nodded quickly, "I should, um, probably leave you to get dressed again." he turned to go, before looking backwards to say, "Does Hermione really have-"
"Out!" Ron yelled, "Never speak of. Ever."
And as Harry left, both knew they never would.
