II. Juxtaposition
Hyuuga Neji at three adored speech: patient explanations in answer to his inexhaustible curiosity by Otousan in his deep, warm voice; gruff words of affection by his uncle in a voice so like his Otousan; shy, eager chatter made in clear, bell-like timbres between himself and an equally-aged Hinata-sama.
He had not yet learnt of her significance, or his.
Hyuuga Neji at thirteen resented definitions. He disliked the needless explaining of things that had been already shaped by powers beyond his comprehension or control; he detested specifying roles: shinobi, genius, Branch Hyuuga. Fatherless, deserving clan-heir, impossible, impossible, impossible. Neji had no use for such declarations, and had no desire to hear them voiced out.
He hated that these should have been decided for him when he was not paying attention to his life.
Hyuuga Neji at nineteen lived and moved with silence the ANBU had instilled within him. He had learnt to accept proclamations with reserve, and silent judgement. Cold scorn, for enemies who made wild claims moments before Jyuuken severed them from life; quiet admiration for his nakama who pursued dreams with ferocious tenacity and brash, warm outspokenness.
He had yet to accept the proclaimation his heart was insisting he make, to Hinata.
III. Relation
He was:
A cousin, her second playmate, eagerly admired, branded, a should-be clan heir, strong, cruel, given compassion to, forgiven, a guardian, a companion, a beloved, a husband.
She was:
A cousin, his first playmate, jealously guarded, an undeserving clan heir, vulnerable, ungifted, the enemy, accepted, forgiven, a companion, a friend, a beloved, a wife, deceased.
They had made unspoken vows: he guarded her with his life; she guarded his heart with her love.
It was her, in the end, who had guarded him with her life, left him with her love, and took his heart with her, where he could not follow.