Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!
Hinata ran to Neji's room the first place she could think of: The place where she felt safest in the Hyuuga household. She knocked quickly just hard enough for it wake Neji from his sleep. She heard a gruff mumbling and she felt a tinge if guilt for waking him up not once but twice on a night that she knew he was exhausted because she was exhausted. He snatched the door open to yell at the intruder but his anger softened when he seen Hinata at his door.
He looked into her eyes and seen an emotion that he had not seen in a long time. An expression that he never wanted her to have ever again… Fear. He looked at her with widened eyes what could have caused it? What has happened to her? He felt his blood start to boil he became instantly angry forgetting his tiredness. He was upset and he didn't even know why yet. The reasons would come later; all he cared to do was calm his Hinata.
Neji moved to the side to allow her into the room. She just bowed at him and entered. Her movements were slowed. It seems that her tiredness had finally caught up with her. She sat at his desk and put her head down she looked at him with her head glued to the desk and said.
"Though I know I am safe for the night, I didn't want to be alone."
"For the night? What do you mean for the night?"
Hinata retold the story to Neji. Though Neji was pissed he was not surprised. It had constantly been on his mind when he over heard the man saying he would take matter into his own hands.
Hinata looked at Neji with mixed emotions; He could see fear, pain, and courage in her eyes. She was scared of the physical and mental battle that was to come. She was hurt that it was a huge possibility that it would be a fight between her and her dearly loved sister. And she had the courage not to run away from it all.
Neji asked "Do you know how or when they plan to attack?"
"All I know is that they plan to use Hinabi"
Her eyes were closing and she was struggling to keep them open Neji walked to the closet and got a long T-shirt for her to sleep in.
"Here, Hinata-sama, change out of that, you don't want to ruin your Kimono."
Hinata took the long shirt that he handed her and went into his bathroom. When she came out in the T-shirt Neji blushed it came about 5 inches above her knee. It covered everything but Neji still thought it was inappropriate so he went to the drawer and gave her a pair of his loose fitting shorts. Without going into the bathroom she just slipped them on. At this point she was too tired to care.
Neji got into the bed and turned off the lights. Then he realized that Hinata was just staring at him he jumped out of the bed and turned the lights back on. His cheeks turned slightly red and he said,
"I'm sorry-Hinata Sama; I'm not used to having company… especially this late at night."
Hinata smiled a little in amusement and said,
"It's okay Neji nii-san"
Neji went to the closet and pulled out a futon, an extra blanket, and a pillow and set it up then turned off the lights. To Hinata's surprise Neji got into the futon.
Hinata said "Neji-nii-san… I couldn't possibly put you out of your bed. I'll take the futon."
"It's too late, I'm comfortable now."
Hinata smiled. She knew that wasn't the reason he didn't get up, but she decided not to press the issue so she got into the bed and said,
"Good night, Neji –nii-san."
Hinata lay on the pillow and took in the scent of Neji. He smelled so good to her. She unconsciously gripped the pillow tighter to her body and in a few seconds she dozed of to sleep. Not long after she got to sleep she started to have nightmares. She jumped up screaming…
"Hinabi, don't die!!"
Neji jumped out of his futon in fighting stance in less than 2 seconds. When he seen Hinata sitting up in his bed breathing heavily and sweating he calmed down.
He walked over to the bed sat down and pulled Hinata into his chest (still shirtless I might add ). And asked
"Did you have a bad dream?"
She nodded yes against his chest
"Do want to talk about it?"
Hinata sat silently for moment. She was listening to Neji's heart beat. When he first pulled her into his chest, his heart was pumping fast. Similar to hers and now it slowed as hers did. Hinata whispered.
"I killed her Neji-nii-san. In my dream I killed my own sister…"
Tears started to run down her face as she continued
"I didn't mean to kill her! She was masked and she had blocked one of my Chakra gates so I couldn't tell who it was, and for some reason she was able to sneak up on me and at the last moment, right before she tried a third attack, I killed her with a move that I'm working on now! Mercilessly! Then after I pulled the mask off and realized it was her I pulled her into my chest… like your holding me now… and she died! She died right in my arms Neji-nii-san!"
Neji just held her and rubbed her head gently as she cried then after she calmed down he said
"Hinata-sama, it was just a dream, Hinabi-sama is still alive"
Hinata answered in a little above a whisper
"The only thing about my dreams Neji-nii –san is that on more than a few occasions they've come true"
Neji didn't know what to say. How can a person argue with that?
He started to rock back and forth and before he knew it she was sleeping holding him tight, a grip that he couldn't, or maybe didn't want to, break. He just laid down taking her with him, and fell asleep.
Hinata didn't have anymore nightmares that night
When Hinata woke up at around 8 AM (later than her usual 5 AM) she was holding something large, something soft yet hard at the same time. It felt nice and warm. Curious as to what it was that she was holding she opened her eyes only to see Neji's bare, chiseled chest. She turned red quickly. She was sure the blush had extended down to her feet. She squirmed to get free from Neji's hold and out of his bed.
Once she was free from his grasp she stood up and looked at him. He really was quite gorgeous; she ran her fingers through his hair that was fanned out all over the pillow. He couldn't be real. How could something that perfect exist? Every girls dream, a handsome genius, which apparently was really fun to sleep with and sweet when he wanted to be. Whoever hooked him would be really lucky. She pulled the cover up to his neck and sat at his desk. There was a book on his desk so she picked it up and started reading. After a while she started humming then after humming became boring she started to sing gently.
Neji had woken up when she got out of the bed. But he knew that she would start singing when she got bored so he stayed in the bed to listen, and sure enough she had started singing. He closed his eyes and listened. After a while he figured he couldn't pretend to be asleep anymore because he had to keep up with his daily schedule so he got out of bed and stretched. Hinata looked at him and smiled and said,
"Good morning Neji-nii-san…. I hope you don't mind me reading your book."
"Not at all"
Neji sat down back on the bed and looked at Hinata intently and asked
"Hinata-sama, do you have anything planned for today"
"No, just the normal training"
"Not with friends or anything?"
"No"
"Then maybe you should spend the rest of the day with me… it might not be good for you to be alone now… at least until we figure out their intentions"
Hinata nodded her understanding then she said
"Neji nii-san you get dressed, then we can go down to my room so I can get dressed, then I'll cook you breakfast sound good?"
Neji nodded and went to the bathroom…
After Neji and Hinata were dressed they went to the kitchen and Hinata pulled out the utensils for cooking. It was just a traditional Japanese breakfast but to Neji it was something much better than that. The only time he had food this good was when he went to visit his mother which was not as often as he would like to be able to visit. Hinata finished her food before Neji because she had much smaller portions and she just watched him eat. She admired how he did everything with king like grace. Even while eating his back was strait and his movement were swift but exact and calculated. Hinata figured that his fighting style just spilled over into his everyday life. When Neji finished his food he sat his chopsticks down and looked at her. She smiled and asked
"Seconds?"
"I'm fine Hinata –sama thank you. The food was excellent."
Hinata's smile got a little wider and she said
"Thank you! So where are we headed Neji -nii-San?"
"Well I usually train about this time…"
Hinata smiled "sounds good to me"
They were walking down the hall when they seen Hinabi talking to the two men who were plotting on Hinata. Hinata pulled Neji around the corner so they weren't seen and said in an exasperated whisper
"That's them Neji-nii san! Elder Goro and Elder Soshi."
Neji nodded his understanding and leaned in to hear the conversation.
Goro said to Hinabi "good… so you understand. We've decided it's best to do this after the girl has decided her husband because then she will be a lot more off guard"
Hinabi said defiantly, "I can take her now. She'll never be as strong as I!"
"Yes we know this Hinabi-san, that is why we chose you as heir over your sister, however if you do it before time the plan will be thrown off"
"But that idiot is taking too long to choose a husband! At this rate we will have to wait the remainder of the 5 months!"
"Patience Hinabi-san, when the time is right we will have it all set up for you, all you will have to do it get rid of her. How you decide to do this is up to you."
Hinabi smiled evilly and nodded her understanding. She would finally be rid of her useless big sister and become heir at the same time. At first her plan was to just convince the stupid girl to hand over the title but that would take time and she would have to involve her father into the matter. It would be much simpler to just kill her, that way the title is automatically hers, they would have no choice but to make her head of the family.
Hinabi had never liked her sister. Ever since she was little her sister had been so kind it made her teeth hurt. She was an embarrassment to the Hyuuga name! So what, the girl had gotten stronger, it was just to please the idiots around her. Hinabi was born strong. She was born to be head of the family! She had just been cursed to be born one baby too late. But she would do anything to get what she wanted and she wanted to be family head. Family meant nothing, friends were unneeded. The only thing that matters is power! And if you thought different Hinabi would devour you just as she was about to devour her sister that has those same stupid beliefs.
When they walked away Hinata slumped to the ground. She couldn't cry again in front of Neji at this point she knew he thought she was weak so instead of crying she smiled at him with the brightest fake smile she could muster and said
"Looks like we know their intentions now" Then she added sarcastically "I really can't wait to find a husband now!"
Neji looked at her and said
"When in a battle, Hinata-Sama, it is good to be able to hide you emotions… however when you are not in battle it is unhealthy"
Hinata smiled genially "well you never show any emotions Neji-nii-san!"
He smirked at her and said "I'm exempt from this rule because I'm special"
Hinata laughed. It felt good she hadn't done it in far too long. Neji was really fun to be around and she loved his company. What would she have done if he weren't there? She probably would still be in a state of depression. She's become dependant on him and she didn't even realize it.
Still sitting in the hall Hinata looked at Neji and thought of the question that she had been wondering about since the night after the Chuunin exams. She would ask today. what did she have to loose?
"Neji-nii-san?"
He looked at her to show his acknowledgment
"Do you still hate me?"
Neji eyes widened slightly then he quickly got a hold of his emotions. The question had taken him by surprise. He thought about the answer a simple "no" would not be enough to make her believe, so he said
"I've never hated you Hinata-sama. I hated my position. I hated not having control over my own life… I hated my enslavement. In my eyes then, you represented all of that because one day you would be the head of this twisted family. And in that moment in the Chuunin exams I felt I finally had the chance to control my destiny. If I killed you I would have succeeded in becoming happy. At least that's what I thought then…"
Neji looked at Hinata to see if she accepted this answer. When he looked at her he seen her jumping at him before he knew what was going on she said while holding him.
"I'm so happy that you don't hate me Neji-nii-san! When I become head of the family I promise I will change things. No more enslavement for anyone! How can I keep the only part of the family that loves me enslaved? I'll find a husband as soon as possible so that I can become head! I'll find a way to deal with Hinabi as well. This time Neji-nii-san I won't run away, and I'll stand up for myself!"
Neji felt something different when Hinata mentioned finding a husband. He didn't know what it was. All he knew was that no man was worthy of his Hinata. But he had to suck it up. It was her duty as head of the family to marry someone from the family. He just hoped that whoever she picked was good enough, which he seriously doubted.
Neji kept his emotions in check. He wasn't about to change the way he acted now. He stood up and offered her a hand, and then he said to Hinata
"Hinata-sama, shall we go?"
Hinata nodded and took his hand.
They finally got to the training ground. They went to the one Neji usually trained at deciding it was best that she not be too obvious in her daily activities.
Neji got into fighting stance and Hinata did the same. Her face changed and she went from playful to serious. Neji attacked first using the traditional; family moves. Hinata dodged his attacks flawlessly, attacking in the basic family style as well. Though Neji's form was better than hers and His attacks were more precise and planned out. Hinata did not get hit because her defensive blocks, twists, and turns were flawless. Seeing that she was no match for Neji using the traditional Hyuuga moves she decided to use some of the moves that she created. She did a back flip to give herself more room because the majority of the moves she created were for long distance attacks. Neji not knowing what to expect got into a defensive stance ready to block any attack that she wanted to use.
Hinata called out "ken wo uchiwa no jutsu" (A/N: I'm just now learning Japanese but I'm 90 sure this means "fan of blades technique" ken means blade and uchiwa means fan. Sorry for not being able to speak Japanese properly. I'm working on it though so don't chop my head off please… but if this is wrong and you know the correct way to say it. I'll be more than happy to learn… Back to the story!) And a fan made of Chakra formed. It was as big as her stomach. She waved the fan and parts of the fan came off turning into blades made from chakra. Neji seen it coming and being used to sharp objects coming at him, thanks to Tenten, dodged them flawlessly and gracefully. Hinata tried again but this time she lost her balance slightly. Neji seen this as an opening and quickly took advantage of it. He ran up behind her
Neji Called out "Hakke Kūshō" ("Eight Trigrams Empty Palm" I got this from wikipedia so if this is wrong it not my fault this time )
Hinata was able to block his attcaks barely but she lost her balance again and Neji brought his hand to her a chest and stopped right before he hit her. At ths point Hinata knew she had lost because if it had been a real fight that blow would have killed her. She made a mental note to concentrate on her balance and her defence in her next independent training session.
They sparred many times each time both Hinata and Neji learned something that they needed to work on. It was about 6 PM when Neji suggested that they stop and get something to eat. Hinata was so entranced by Her and Neji's training that she did not even notice that she was hungry. Her stomach groweld slightly and she looked at him and blushed. He smirked at her and said
"Hinata- sama it's obvious you're hungry. We really should stop."
Hinata nodded
They walked to the nearest raman shop which happened to be Naruto favorite place they stopped and had a seat. The young woman that worked behind the counter took their order. Neji who didn't really like raman all that much just orderd what Hinata ordered.
After a while of comfortable silence they heard
"look Sakura- chan it's Hinata and Neji!"
Silence was interupprted by the loud yellow haired boy.
Sakura just said her hellos and took a seat Next to Hinata. Sakura looked at Hinata and whispered
"Hinata – chan are you dating Neji-kun?"
Hinata blushed madly and looked at the pink haired girl incredously. She was surpriesed by the question that she had been getting a lot lately. She asked
"S-sakura –san… Why do you ask that?"
The girl replied "I don't mean to be Nosy Hinata- chan but you guys just seem to spend a lot of time together and I know the Hyuuga clan is known to marry inside the family for blood line limit purposes. And you two look so cute together!"
Hinata blushed and Neji, who was silently listening to Naruto rant about how good the raman at the place was, looked at her curiously.
Hianta managed to sputter out
"n-no S-sakura –san we aren't d-dating. Neji-nii-san I-I'm sure h-has better choices"
"better than you?"
"of course! I'm not his type"
"How do you know? Did you ask Him?" Sakura asked. she was starting to calculate a plan. She knew how much Hinata used to like Naruto and she felt a little like it was her fault that Hinata wasn't happy. She also knew that Hinata looked up to her cousin and she thought maybe just maybe, that admiration could turn into love.
Hinata looked at the pink haired girl like she was crazy. She didn't have to ask if she was Neji's type. It was clear that she wasn't… what would Neji, the Hyuuga genius, want with Hinata, the worthless heir? So she said to Sakura,
"asking is not nessassary Sakura-san. It's very clear…"
Sakura looked at her and grinned mischiviosly and said,
"I'm going to ask him"
she got up and started walking towards Neji who was on the farthest end of the bar (he moved down to make space for Naruto and Sakura). Hinata jumped up and put her hands around Sakura's mouth before Sakura even knew she had moved.
Hinata said
"Neji-nii is it okay if I meet you back at the compound.? Neji raised an eyebrow at her but nodded his approval and she looked at Naruto and said
"Naruto-kun I'm going to borrow her for a while I'll return her I promise"
Naruto laughed and said
"amazing Hinata-chan! I can't get her to be quiet for anything" this earned Him a glare and he knew he was in for it later so he siad
"take her for as long as you need her"
Sakura was trying to yell something at Naruto but wasn't able to because her mouth was still covered. With that Hinata pulled Sakura out of the raman shop with the best bow she could produce while still holding the girl that was 3 inches taller than her
They traveled all the way to the park when Hinata realized she was still holding on to Sakura and let her go.
"I'm sorry Sakura –san!"
Sakura was trying hard to hold back a laugh but she failed.
Hinata looked at her with a weird look and said
"what's so funny Sakura san?"
"n-nothing it's just so easy to embarress you!"
Hinata just loooked at her and waited for her to finish her outburst.
After Sakura got done laughing she wiped a tear and said
"okay I'm ready to talk"
Hinata was confused. what was the crazy girl talking about!? She was so random. What was there to talk about?
"Hinata-chan it looks like there is something on you mind"
"no, Sakura –san I'm fine."
"I don't mean to be forward but I know you used to like Naruto. Well actually it's more like everone knew you used to like Naruto, except maybe him… and I was thinking that maybe you don't like me anymore because… well because I'm going out with Naruto now…"
"oh no Sakura-san! That's not how it is… I've never stopped liking you!"
"that's good because If we were in reverse positions I don't think I could still like you.. you're such a good person Hinata- chan. I've always thought of you as my friend and I didn't want to stop thinking of you as a friend because of this."
"it's okay Sakura-san you don't have to worry about me. I don't think it was ever really... love that I had for Naruto-kun… it was more like admiration and I confused the two."
Sakura was silent for a while. If she remembered correctly it was the same with her and Sasuke. She thought she loved him but it turned out that she just admired him and she really loved they boy who was too close for her to pay attention to. It was always said that we tend to take for granted the things that we see everyday and you don't know what you have until you look more closely at it.
Sakura looked at her and said
"Well what about Neji-kun?"
"What do you mean Sakura- chan?"
"How do you feel about him? Do you love Him?"
"I refuse to confuse admiration with love again. Last time it almost crushed me"
"What do you mean Hinata-chan"
Hinata looked at Sakura apologetically and said,
"when you and Naruto were, you know, confessing… I was there… I didn't mean to eavesdrop! I was on my way back from training and…"
Sakura turned pink thinking about what happened and the steamy kiss she had planted on Naruto that night… And Hinata saw it. That must have been what she meant by it crushed her. That certainly would have crushed Sakura… but wait! It had to be close to 1 in the morning! Why was Hinata out that late?!
"Hinata-chan it was so late when we… that's why we decided to meet at that time…"
"sorry... I always train that late. I'm not used to seeing people out when I am which is why I went to check and see who was talking" Hinata said looking down at her feet
"I'm so sorry Hinata-chan! I didn't know you were there! If I had known I would have… and you had to go through that all alone!"
Hinata smiled and said
"don't worry about it Sakura- san… I didn't go through it alone. Neji-nii was there and…"
Sakura broke out into a mischivious grin. Hinata stopped and looked at her with a confused face and said
"W-what?"
"so you and Neji-kun are close! I knew it! You should so date!"
"wait Sakura-san! I said before I admire Neji-nii! He's my closest friend, he's always been there… even after the chuunin exams I couldn't help but feel close to him… He's always looked out for me since we we're children."
"so you don't love him?"
"I love him like a friend, family,and ally. It not the type of love your thinking Sakura-san it's admiration."
" so you love him like any other Hyuuga?"
"no he's different from them because…"
"so you love him like you love Kiba?"
"no! Kiba's just…"
"so you love Him like you love Naruto?"
" no Naruto- kun is just how I wanted to be…"
" I don't understand Hinata- chan ! if you love Him different than you love evrybody else then I think it is the kind of love that I'm talking about…"
Hinata blushed and said
"you're wrong Sakura-chan! It can't be that type of love because…"
"When I realized that I loved Naruto it was because I loved him differently than I loved anyone else. Because I couldn't live without him! I don't know how you feel Hinata but if it's similar to what I feel for Naruto then it's love!"
"I can't love Neji-nii-san!!!!" Hinata excalimed in tears
she continued
"His life is hard enough! He doesn't need these problems! I ONLY bring problems! Sakura-san.. Neji-nii deserves better than me. He deserves someone who's like him… He deserves perfection and that's not what I am!"
"nobody's perfect Hinata-chan…"
"I know that… but Neji-nii-san is as close as anyone is ever going to get to it…"
"do you now how he feels Hinata -chan? Have you asked him what he feels for you?"
"no, and I'm not going to. Neji-nii-san deserves someone strong, smart and beautiful like him and Sakura-san I am none of those things… That's why I'm asking... no begging you to keep this to yourself"
Sakura nodded her promise though she didn't quite understand it…
A/n: okay people I'm so sorry! I did not mean for it to take this update that long! Please forgive me!!!!! Anyway… Hinata finally realizes her feelings for Neji! Isn't that sweet… This story is taking wayyyy longer than I had originally thought it was going to take…but please keep reading! reviewing helps me to know where I satnd in the story and lets me know if I'm doing it right so please keep reviewing as well! Love you guys thanx for reading!