Hey guys! Thank you for all of the amazing reviews! Oh, there are two links on my profile to some fan art I made, it would be nice if you could check it out and tell me what you think. Kurohime1024 – thank you for your review – here's your Neji-chan, since he's just too awesome to be left out.
Once at the restaurant, after we'd ordered and our food was delivered, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Akane wasn't as purposely nasty to me as before – although the air of reserved hostility was still there, as was the mutual dislike we held towards each other, but somehow, we were acting… almost civil.
Kaoru was sort of there, but not there at the same time. He would grin or chuckle occasionally, say a few words, then go back to observing what was going on, quietly chewing on his steak. Akane, when he wasn't devouring his BBQ ribs, was milking sensei for any and all stories the jounin was generous enough to provide about his career and what comes with being one of the elite. I could see the excited glint go through the redhead's eyes, and I could bet that in his mind he was the one chasing down all the missing-nins, or escorting the princesses. He seemed to have a very good imagination. Or that could've just been sensei's amazing story-telling.
When everyone was done – Akane having finished his, and Kaoru's meal, since the brunette proclaimed he'd had enough about half way through – and I was done with my dango, having left a generous tip for whoever made it; we left the restaurant.
The main street of Konoha was very busy and bustling with life, since it was just an hour or two past midday and all the shopkeepers were trying to prepare for the upcoming Kyuubi Festival. Izaya-sensei had to put a hand on Akane's shoulder to restrain him from running from stall to stall and going crazy over all of the masks and costumes. To be perfectly honest, I never quite understood the Festival – we were celebrating the attack of a monster and death of one of the most powerful shinobi Konoha had ever seen; what was there to be happy about?
About half-way through our walk Kaoru requested if we could stop by one of the stalls since his mother's birthday was in a few days and he wanted to buy something for her. Curious, I followed after him and stood by his side as he gazed at the necklaces and bracelets on display.
"Which one do you think she'll like?" he asked me quietly and I almost jumped at the fact that he'd actually spoken directly to me. I looked at the jewellery again and wordlessly pointed at a delicate silver bracelet with small ruby stones and a kanji for 'Family' hanging from the main chain.
Kaoru smiled and asked the shopkeeper for it. After paying, we walked back to where sensei and Akane stood, and I stifled a grin at the redhead's pouty face. Seems like he was naturally curious of everything.
We resumed our walk, until I felt sensei stiffen slightly behind me and heard Akane let out a small groan at the increased pressure on his shoulder as sensei's grip tightened. I followed his gaze and saw Hyuuga Hiashi and his daughter walking down the street, accompanied by… Neji?
Only then did I make the connection that yes, Neji was, in fact, still in the Academy, and yes, his father was Lord Hiashi's brother, which therefore makes him the man's nephew. Suddenly Neji's dislike for the Main Clan and its' Head made much more sense.
It seemed Neji had also noticed me as he met my gaze, and I could see a small smirk form on his face and his eyes narrowed in return, probably trying to think of an insult-greeting, before he was reminded of who he was with by a restraining hand on his shoulder and his face was once again a mask of indifference.
Suddenly, I grew angry as I realised how much the Hyuuga Clan Head seemed to control my Neji-chan, regardless of how much Neji claimed he hated the man. With no one to restrain me, I sped up my walk and stopped directly in front of Neji and his uncle. I bowed deeply. "Pleased to finally meet you, Hiashi-sama." I said in forced politeness, before I straightened, ignoring the man's curious gaze (or at least I thought it was curious, I couldn't really tell with his blank eyes and equally blank expression) and turned to Neji. "It's great to see you after so long, Neji-kun. We haven't sparred in a while."
Around that time my teammates and sensei had caught up, and unlike Kaoru, who automatically swooped down into a respectful bow, Akane stood still, gaping at the Hyuuga's eyes, before sensei pushed him into a bow.
"Hyuuga-sama." Sensei acknowledged.
"Izaya-san." The Clan Head replied, his voice icy. "I see you finally have a team to call your own."
I back-pedalled at the hostility in the man's voice, and I could see Akane trying to say something, but the redhead was stopped by Kaoru who, with perfect timing, clamped his hand over the Akane's mouth.
"I do. This is Kaoru Yuhi, Akane Satoshi and Haruno Sakura. They are my little ducklings, Hyuuga-sama. And you should know that I don't share." In that instant I knew my sensei will prove to be one of the most awesome people I could've ever met.
Seeming to ignore sensei's comment, Hyuuga Hiashi's eyes turned to me. "I was under the impression you're familiar with my nephew. Is that true?"
I nodded, trying to fix my expression into that of polite detachment, and replied. "Yes. Neji and I are friends. We spar occasionally and I trust him completely." I tried the word 'friend' on the stiff Hyuuga and was delighted to see him scowl. Neji noticed what I was doing and smirked lightly. Then his eyes fell on the headband still tied loosely around my neck. His eyes widened and he spoke for the first time that day.
"Hiashi-sama, could you excuse us for a moment?" he asked, his attention not straying from my headband.
"You're excused." Hiashi's curt tone rang through the air. Not wasting a second, Neji grabbed my arm and dragged me away, leaving my stupefied teammates and affronted sensei behind. I winced at his tight grip on my arm, but Neji didn't loosen it or let go until we were safely hidden behind one of the stalls, away from his uncle's prying gaze and my suspicious sensei.
"Would you like to explain this?" he hissed at me, glaring at the headband around my neck.
I knew that Neji and I weren't on the best of terms, but I was still slightly hurt by the lack of any sort of congratulations. "I graduated, if that's what you're asking about. Thanks for the congratulations, by the way." I replied harshly.
Neji blinked owlishly, before he shook his head, smiling apologetically as he realised what I was getting at. "You're right. I'm… I'm sorry. Well done, it's just- I just thought-" he sighed. "I just wanted something to go according to plan. But as it is, I was outdone by you, of all people," he smirked, though I could see it was forced. "The flea. You can see how that makes me feel."
"That's OK, Neji-chan. You just have to try harder and prove to me that you're better when we spar." I grinned as I teased him about his insecurities. Many would find this mean, but that's just how Neji and I worked. We hated, we loved, and we were both misunderstood by the people around us. One second we would be at each other's throats, and the next one of us would apologise and we would move on.
"You can count on it, flea. No way am I going to ever let you outdo me ever again. I've got my pride." He smirked at me, the cocky glint returning to his eyes.
"Oh yes, you Hyuugas are all prideful little bastards." I grinned, causing his smirk to widen.
"Come on, we should go. My uncle may just barge in here any second. We'd kept him waiting long enough." I nodded, eager to return to my team and get rid of the nagging feeling that we were being watched.
As we walked out, I noticed that my team was in the same place I left them, and Izaya-sensei was engaged in a glaring contest with the Hyuuga, while Akane was trying to get the heiress to speak. Kaoru just stood at the side, eyes flickering between his sensei and teammate, disbelief evident on his features.
I sighed as his eyes met mine.
It seems we have two people with the maturity of a three-year old. And I thought one was too much.
"Why do we have to do this!?" Akane exploded. "I thought you said we didn't have to do stupid D-Ranks! I wanna get to the real stuff, like rescuing princesses or kicking the bad guy's butts! Not painting!"
I barely managed to resist the urge to face-palm, but Kaoru didn't have the same restrains. Sensei just sighed for the billionth time, equally frustrated with the redhead.
"Akane-teme," I ground out through gritted teeth. "Every. Ninja. Has. To. Do. D-Ranks! When we passed, we just saved ourselves from having to do more than the standard amount."
"Then what was the point of even passing? I swear you're taking sick satisfaction from seeing us do something like this!" the redhead accused Izaya-sensei, who was leaning against the part of the fence we'd already painted, but also looked almost ready to snap. Akane ostentatiously finished the last fence plank on his side. "I mean, come on, sensei, we'd finished! Save us from this hell, this is the fifteenth D-Rank we'd done this week! I'm practically dying of boredom! Can we please have a C-Rank? Something even slightly more interesting than watching paint dry! Please?"
"Ugh, fine!" Izaya-sensei relented. "I'll go to the Hokage, see what he has! Just please, shut up already, carrot-boy! You're driving us crazy!"
"Whoo-hoo! Sensei, you're awesome!" Akane cheered as he jumped around the place, spilling paint everywhere.
"Hey, relax! Meet me at the Hokage Tower at 10:00 tomorrow. All of you." He said and winked at Kaoru and I when we raised identical disbelieving eyebrows at him. "Don't look at me like that! It was the only way to get him to shut up."
I smirked while Kaoru chuckled. Sensei was definitely just as crazy and childish as Akane. Only slightly taller.
As I packed, I couldn't help the adrenaline pulsing through my veins. I was excited – hell yeah I was excited! First time ever I could see something outside of Konoha!
The next day, when I arrived at the Hokage Tower I saw that Kaoru was already there, his own duffel bag packed and a jumper thrown over his usually bare shoulders. I smiled at him and his lips twitched slightly upwards in reply. I decided I liked Kaoru, simply for the calm aura which always seemed to radiate off of him and his quiet, reserved personality.
Minutes later, the door to the Hokage's office burst open and Izaya-sensei, surprisingly followed by Akane himself walked out, the redhead grinning from ear to ear.
"We've got a princess!"
Here you are!
An early Christmas present for all of you out there supporting this story
Love you all!~
REVIEW please! Sorry it's so short.