Hinagiku

Author: LonelyWriter42

Summary: The kitten from the rainy day brings a smile to Hinata's face every time she sees it, but she never expected it to bring her and Neji closer together.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

"Come here, Hinagiku," Hinata called, holding out her hands for the kitten to smell. She was sitting on the outside walkway that went between the branch house and the main house trying to get the orange fluff ball that she had rescued off the streets to play with her.

Neji hadn't been home when she came over but his mother had found the kitten for Hinata to play with, a secretive smile on her face.

"Hinagiku," the indigo haired girl sighed when the kitten chased after a butterfly and fell to the ground. "You need to be more careful."

The kitten completely ignored her as it started exploring the ground, fascinated by bugs scurry by and flowers ruffled in the wind. "Hinagiku," she called again.

"Did you change the name of my cat?" Neji called from the shoji where he was about to enter his room.

"Hinagiku is cuter than just plain Hina. She likes it better," Hinata replied, forcing herself not to jump when he suddenly called out.

"Has she come to you when you call that name?" He questioned with a raised brow.

"Not yet," she blushed.

"I figured as much," Neji shook his head. "Just call her Hina."

"I was thinking about taking her to the koi pond," Hinata deflected his comment. "I think she'll like it."

"She'll drown!" Neji scowled, walking over and scooping up the cat. "You are trying to bring harm to my cat!"

"I seemingly remember that you didn't want to take care of her to begin with," Hinata stood up so she could stroke the kitten's soft fur.

"Yeah, well, she's mine now," he clenched Hina closer.

Hinata raised the sleeve of her kimono to her mouth so he couldn't see her smile and also to stifle the giggle threatening to escape. "Nii-san…"

"We can take her on a walk," Neji decided, ruffling Hinata's hair.

"How? She'll run away," Hinata frowned.

"That's why I got her a leash. For when you were determined to come over and play with her," he shook his head. "You would think…"

"Think what?" She asked.

"Never mind," he passed the kitten into her arms and went inside.

"Nii-san is weird," Hinata whispered to Hinagiku. "Where do you think we are going?"

"You said that you wanted to go to the koi pond," Neji shook his head as he slipped the harness over the kitten's shoulders.

"Okay," she gave him a smile.

"You can hold the leash," he held it out to her.

"What, not manly enough?" She teased with a laugh but secretly she was pleased that he would offer to let her walk to kitten. They started walking and she headed toward the Hyūga koi pond but he took her arm and gently led her out of the compound toward the large koi pond on the edge of Konoha. He casually kept his hand on her arm as they navigated the streets and several people turned and looked at them as they passed. When they passed Yamanaka flower shop Ino's jaw dropped open and the plant that she was holding slid from her hands. The gossip wheels in Ino's brain where spinning, Hinata knew, and by tomorrow everyone in Konoha, whether they wanted to know, or even cared, would know that Neji and Hinata had walked through the streets together. In what appeared to be a lover's embrace.

Hinata's cheeks flushed crimson and she sneakily looked up at Neji's face, but he was staring straight forward, not looking at her. Was he playing with her? She had never been able to figure her cousin out and now she was even more confused. What was he trying to do? The Neji she knew as always cold and stoic, but in the recent months that façade had been breaking and now… now he was someone Hinata couldn't figure out no matter how much she wanted to.

Hinagiku pulled against her harness and Hinata turned her attention back to the cat, noticing that she was batting at a leaf. "Hinagiku is silly, isn't she, Nii-san?" Hinata looked up at him but his mouth was set in a stiff line and he released her arm as he bent over and picked up the cat.

"Carry her," he ordered, turning away.

"Nii-san?" Hinata asked in total confusion. Not five minutes ago they had been talking and joke with one another. What had happened that he was now acting like this? "Nii-san," she repeated.

"The lake is up ahead," he said, not turning to look at her.

"I don't understand you!" She huffed as she pushed past him and rushed down the path, not sure why he was irritating her this way. It was true that her Nii-san wouldn't be acting this way; he wouldn't be showing enough emotion to let anyone suspect that he possessed such inferior things, but now… that man was irritating her to her very limits and she wasn't going to put up with it any more.

"Men are so infuriating, aren't they Hinagiku," she sighed as she buried her face in the cat's soft fur. "Why can't they just be straight forward and say what is on their minds? Why do they have to hide it behind cryptic nonsense?"

The kitten blinked at her several times before closing its eyes and starting to purr. "You have it so easy, don't you, Hinagiku-chan." Hinata shook her head.

"Watch where you are going!" Neji yelled, running to catch her arm just before she took a step down into the water. "What is wrong, Hinata? You are usually more observant!"

"Sorry, Nii-san," she bowed her head and didn't look at him.

"Hinata-sama," his sigh was so deep that she wasn't sure if he had any oxygen left in his lungs.

"Yes, Nii-san?" She stared up at him innocently. His jaw tightened and his lips pressed into a thin line and then…she wasn't sure what was going on, all she knew was her brain activity had stopped as Neji pressed his lips to hers.

The kiss wasn't long and it was soft, so soft, like the brush of butterfly wings against her cheek; it was everything she had expected her first kiss to be like and yet, Naruto was supposed to be her first kiss when he declared his love for her. She and Naruto would become girlfriend and boyfriend and every dream she had ever had would come true but this… this…

Neji pulled back and his pale eyes stared straight into hers, eyes that were the same color, that bore the same kekkei genkai, eyes that had always looked on him with friendship but now he was challenging her to make their relationship something more.

"Nii-san," she whispered, blinking back tears. She saw his eyes widen at the tears and saw the deep hatred flare in his eyes, but she knew this time it wasn't directed at her, it was at himself for putting her in this situation.

"I'm sorry Hinata-sama; I should not have done that. I will report myself to Hiashi-sama." He said as he turned away.

"Neji," the word came out of a clenched mouth, angry at him not because he had kissed her, but because he felt the need to apologize to her, that he felt the need to ask to be punished. He turned back to her and she raised her fist a fraction of an inch in an attempt to slap him but what was three feet behind him changed her mind and she pushed him backward into the koi pond. Surprise radiated from his face as he flew through the air and a giant splash occurred as he hit the water.

"That's for thinking you needed to apologize," she said with her hands on her hips. "I admit that I didn't think you thought of me that way and I was surprised that you kissed me, but it's not something you're supposed to apologize for!" She yelled in frustration as Hinagiku, forgotten in the confusion of the last several minutes, butted her head against Hinata's ankle. "Hinagiku thinks you are an idiot, too!"

A slow smile came to Neji's face and he slowly pulled himself out of the water. "Hinagiku does?"

"Yes," Hinata turned her face away from him as she bent down and picked up the kitten. "You are an idiot, Neji."

"I can accept that," he said, dipping his head. "Now you've gone and done it," he shook his head.

"What?" She asked genuinely curious.

"Now I'm calling her Hinagiku."

Hinata let out a giggle. "I told you that was her name."

"Yeah," Neji smiled softly. "Let's head back. I look like I just went for a swim in the koi pond."

"And you smell like it too," Hinata said with a chuckle. His grin was infectious and she started smiling as they walked slowly back to the compound. It would be several weeks before she realized that she had stopped calling him Nii-san on that day, but by that point, he was no longer her brother, he was something more.