Ch 2

A Different Perspective

He was on his way to meet up with his cousin Hinata, so she could show him around town when he got sidetracked by a training session. Sure, he'd seen training sessions before, but this one was different. He watched for a moment dazed at how this guy seemed to dodge all these weapons coming from nowhere.

As he moved closer, he noticed that the weapons were being thrown with more speed and accuracy than before, making it harder for the guy to dodge. The guy, Neji noted as he moved even closer, kept yelling at the sky, barely missing another Katana. Finally he was able to see who was behind this dangerous rain.

He stood there, one hand blocking out the suns rays, as he tried to see whom it was. Squinting in the bright light, he saw the silhouette of a girl. He watched and waited for a long moment, wondering if she was ever going to quit, then he heard it. A pink haired girl cried out, horror spreading on her face, "Oh no! Lee! Tenten, what did you do?"

Everything seemed to go into slow motion; Lee, he assumed, had fallen to the ground, quivering in pain. A blonde haired boy ran over to help the pink haired girl take Lee away. Slanting his gaze, Neji looked back towards Lee's teammate.

Slowly, she descended from the sky; her cheeks stained with tears, and fell to her knees. Her brown hair was pulled tightly into two neat buns on top of her head, and her big brown eyes were filled with sorrow, regret, and pain. Hinata, always trying to make the best of a bad situation, rushed to her side, gently telling her, "I'm sure he'll be alright, Tenten."

What happened next confused him; not only did Tenten shake Hinata off and run away, but the most confusing and almost frightening thing was he felt compelled to follow her, but didn't know why…

Following her was a bit more difficult than he thought. Neji had to keep his Byakugan activated to stay a safe distance away, but still close enough to follow her. She moved with grace, her slim figure weaving in and out of the trees, until she slowed down to a stop. Jumping up to a tree branch, he watched as she skipped across the rocks to the middle of a creek, and sat down.

He allowed himself to really look at her, like really look at her for the first time. Her small shoulders relaxed a little as she unwound her hair. The dark brown hair fell to the middle of her back, curling at the tips. Her soft voice sounded like music to his ears as he listened to her talk to herself.

He didn't pay attention to what she was saying, but as he was watching her, his mind began to wander. Catching himself before he could go any farther, he straightened up, severely chiding himself. "You are a Hyuuga! There is no time for girls, especially complete strangers!"

Quickly jumping out of the tree he turned to leave, lost in thought, he stepped on a twig. Looking back, he saw her walls go back up and she reached for her sides. He assumed she was getting ready to attack and she'd probably follow if he ran, so taking a deep breath, he knew there was no going back now.