Cancer (June 22- July 22)
Look back at past experiences and you will find a solution to what you are facing now. Travel or attending a course, seminar or conference will lead to love, intrigue and the possibility of a partnership. Opportunities are present if you make a few changes.
"Fah." Neji said, placing the newspaper down on the table. Hinabi had been reading it the day earlier, saying that she couldn't walk with him to get groceries because her horoscope said it was a bad day to be outside. She told him to read it and he had gotten curious after a while.
Neji stood up, straightened his shirt, and walked out of the house.
He met his teammates and Mumei (A/N: which is my friend doughgirl22's O.C. Go learn about her, she's cool.)
"Hello," he said, trying to ignore the 'cool guy' pose Lee flashed at him. Tenten smiled at him, but Mumei just glanced in Neji's and turned away from him.
"What's wrong with her?" he muttered to Tenten.
"I don't really know," she replied, but she was relatively normal until you showed up.
"Oh, yes, that's great," he groaned, his voice still low.
"I like to whisper too!" Lee butted in. Tenten turned her head away to laugh, and Neji rolled his eyes at the sky, "But seriously," he said, suddenly as serious as Lee could get, "I have continuously seen her go into a conference room everyday. Talk about youthful happiness!"
"Youthful happiness my butt…" Neji said, but he straightened, and began to walk away.
"Where are you going?" Tenten called after him.
"To investigate," He called over his shoulder.
The last thing her heard before he 'poofed' away was Lee turn to Tenten and say, "Investigate? How youthful! Can I go?"
"No, Lee," Tenten sighed.
- - -
Neji arrived at the mansion, and walked up to the row of conference rooms. He stood there, uncertain which one to go to, and sighed.
He opened the first door, and walked into a man shuffling papers in a small room.
"May I help you?" he said, in a n annoyingly calm and slow voice.
"Yes, have you ever talked to a kunoichi named Mumei?"
"Why, I certainly have. She is a very nice woman. Why would you like to know?"
"Could you please tell me why she is coming here?"
"Ah, yes. It is one of the strangest things I have covered. It seems that Miss Mumei's mother died on her birthday, and she has come to me to settle her horrible past."
Neji creased his forehead, thinking hard about what Mumei had told him once…
"My mom died a few hours after I was born from an illness, my dad killed himself after my mom died," she had said.
"Right I heard about that," Neji said, walking briskly out of the room.
He had to do something. Mumei was one of his best friends; he couldn't let her suffer alone. He was reminded too vividly of his own past. He blinked as he walked toward the training grounds again. All of these thought had rushed into his head, but he was definitely not the comforting type.
He stopped at the mouth of the training grounds, considering what to do. His eyes wandered toward Tenten, who was sitting atop a large wooden box, polishing a particularly sharp kunai. Neji walked slowly up to her.
"Tenten," he hissed.
She turned to him, "You're back," she said, "Good. Now go tell Lee why he couldn't dome 'play detective' with you. I swear, I think he won the record of how many times you can put 'youth' in a sentence."
"I will later," Neji said, a small glimmer of merriness in his eyes at the thought of Lee begging to be a detective, "But you've got to help me first. Do you remember when Mumei told us about her parents?"
"Of course."
"That's why she went to the counselor."
"I figured that that was why."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Hey, I can play detective too, can't I?" Tenten said teasingly, "But why are you ask9ng me…whatever you're asking me?"
"Be… uh…because you're a girl."
"Oh. Of course, that explains everything."
"Tenten! Will you please concentrate on what I'm trying to ask you?!"
"Sure. Shoot."
"Well, I guess, since you know why she went to the counseling, what should I do about it?"
Tenten sighed, jumping off the box, "Well," she said, "Since the problem involves the past, maybe you should try to work with the past."
"What?! That doesn't tell me anything!"
"Hey! I'm the oracle here! I give you some relatively useful crap, and you make use of it somehow. Besides, I got that off of a horoscope (A/N: Not really), so it must work."
Neji stood there, thinking about that last few words Tenten had said: I got that off of a horoscope.
'Look back at past experiences and you will find a solution to what you are facing now,' it had said. And then something about…going to a seminar!
Neji's eyes widened, and he grabbed Tenten's arm," Thanks a bundle," he said, and once again 'poofed' away.
"Hey, what about Mr. Detective?" Tenten called to thin air, "Jeez, jounins."
- - -
Neji hurried back up the steps, and banged into the conference room again.
"Where's Mumei?" eh demanded at the man.
"I'm afraid I haven't seen her here. Are you alright?"
"No. I mean, yes! I just have to speak to her!"
"I see," he said, "And how do you feel about that?"
"I feel like-aargh! I need to go find her instead of talking to you!"
"Really? Could you tell me why?"
Neji glared at the man, and barged out of the room, only to bump right into a small Genin. In the embarrassing position they had gotten themselves into; the Genin lying right on top of Neji, he got a good look at her. She had black hair with red streaks in it that was cropped short like a boy's. Her face was bright red, and she mumbled an apology, trying to get off of Neji quickly.
Not fast enough.
"Ne-neji?" He heard, and turned, from his position on the floor, to she a surprised Mumei.
"Mumei!" he said, and stood up, facing his comrade, "I know what you're thinking, but…" But Mumei got angry. And when I say angry, I mean angry.
She gnashed her teeth, "Forget about it."
Mumei reached for the handle, and pulled, but it wouldn't budge. She groaned, and stepped back to where she stood before, and punched a large hole in the wall.
"Oops," she muttered. Her anger had caught up to her, and she had acted blindly.
She glared up at Neji, and reached into her green skort, and pulled out a letter. She handed it to Neji.
"Here," she said shortly, and walked through the hole.
Neji stared at the envelope in his hands, and faintly heard the man say," Ah, welcome Miss Mumei."
Neji walked slowly out of the mansion, and sat down at a bench. He opened the letter, and read it. Then he read it again.
Neji, it said,
I guess the fact of where I gave you this shows that you know what I've been doing. Let me tell you this: I get mad at somebody close to me every year at this time. It hurts them, I know, but it's uncontrollable. I'm just asking you to forgive me.
-Mumei
She was sorry, Neji thought, She still wanted to be my friend, and now she hates me.
"Opportunities are present if you make a few changes," Neji murmured
- - -
"I swear that Lee is about to call himself Sherlock Lee any time now," Tenten said when he arrived again.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll make him stop later," Neji said impatiently, "But you have to answer me one more question."
"Really? Shoot."
"Well, I need to apologize to Mumei. What do I do?"
"Jeez, for the best rookie in our group, you're sure not that smart. That one is simple. Talk to her; give her flowers, or something. Just be nice. Now go apologized, and you'd better come back and fix Rock Lee."
- - -
Neji stopped by the Yamanaka Flower shop, buying a few roses. Then he took off, looking for the girl he needed to apologize to. The words, 'opportunities are present if you make a few changes, echoed through his head.
- - -
He found her by the lake, running a small hand through the silky water. She looked up at the sounds of someone approaching. She turned away again, but looked up when Neji dropped the roses in her lap.
"They're beautiful…" she murmured, staring down at them.
Not as beautiful as you… Neji thought.
"Mumei," he said instead, "What happened back there, well, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you."
"Ditto," Mumei said, still looking at the flowers, "That counselor is the most annoyingest man in the world, but he helped. I don't think that that will ever get mad at someone ever again. Not like that, at least. We're still friends, right?"
"Yeah," Neji replied, "Now come help me knock some sense into Sherlock Lee."
Wow. That's probably the longest I've ever written. I had a lot to fit in one chapter. Much thanks to doughgirl22 for letting me use her O.C., and for giving me the idea for this chapter.
Neji – July 3rd
Baki – July 4th
Kin – July 6th
Akamaru – July 7th
Kiba – July 7th
Gemma – July 17th
Kotetsu – July 21st