Colors of the Heart
Teaser featured in Intertwined
Written by BokchoiBaboy

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto
I also do not own the lyrics or the song title.
Song: Colors of the Heart
Artist: UVERworld

A/N: This is a teaser for a most-likely future story. (:


Ano hi boku no kokoro wa oto mo naku kuzure satta On that day my heart crumbled in silence
Kowarete saken demo keshi sarenai kioku to
Even though I scream at being broken and inerasable memories and

Kurayami ga hitomi no naka he to nagarekomu Darkness flows into my eyes
Mou iro sae mienai ashita he to shizumu And I sink into tomorrow whose colors can't even be seen anymore
I looked at the marble white stone that was forever planted on the ground of the cemetery, the cherry blossom tree beside the grave in full bloom, showering the marble with pink blossoms and the suffocating scent. The tears that were once always present in my eyes seemed to disappear; I could only stare at the words, the name, written on the marble and hate. It was a week ago that there was a small ceremony for my hero, my idol; for the one that helped me into this life and taught me the pains and all the reality of it. My father's tombstone was given an honorable spot in the Hyuuga's part of the cemetery. He had fulfilled his duty as a Branch House Member; he protected his older brother by a few seconds, and died for him.

Hate.

I loathed the Main House family. They killed my father, for the sake of their own house. I hated how they didn't care that the Branch House and the Main House were all the same; we were all brothers, sisters, cousins, and aunts and uncles.

"Father."

That was all that I was able to say. I was at loss as to what I should say. Should I tell him how lost I was in life? Or should I tell him my new goals?

"I will...get rid of the Branch House."

I continued to stare at the marble letters, trying to find some comfort. When the intoxicating scent of cherry blossoms began to suffocate me, I turned away and began to walk back to the compound, knowing that my new fatherless life has just begun.

It was too much to live in a place that I believed had killed my father. It was hard to live in a place where there was discrimination between our own family members. It was difficult to live there with no family left.

Life is like a boat.

And I think I am sinking.


I turned five, and my uncle, Hiashi, enrolled me into the Academy. On the first day, I grew jealous and envious of all the kids that were with their mothers and fathers, smiling and laughing as if there was nothing wrong in the world. When I walked into the classroom for the first time, I heard all the kids whispering about me. Some girls squealed and whispered how cute I was, and the boys whispered that I must be ... gay. At the same time, most whispered about how scary my eyes were.

I am a Hyuuga. I do not associate myself with people who think the Byakugan is ... scary.

When I sat down, I was met with a young boy, whom I felt had no skills in being a ninja whatsoever. He was on odd one; his eyes were a kind that I had never seen before, and he held a determination that could never be wavered or stopped. He seemed unfazed by my looks, and gave me a blinding smile.

"I am Rock Lee. It is a pleasure to meet you."

I winced. His voice was undoubtedly happy. And I hated hear it.

"Hyuuga Neji," I replied.

He nodded in acknowledgement, and continued to scan the room for anyone else he might want to befriend. I let out a sigh and looked out the window, the sun's warmth penetrating through the glass and seeping into my skin. I seemed to feel new warmth as well, as if my father was wishing my good luck from wherever he was.

"Uhm...is someone sitting here?"

Lee and I both turned to a young girl who seemed to have panda ears. We had never seen her before, and her eyes seemed to be of different descent, as if she were from China. She was petit and skinny, her hands tiny and fragile. Lee shook his head and let of his blinding smile once more, and the girl seemed to be amused by this and let off a shy giggle.

"No, this seat is free," Lee told her.

She smiled and took a seat next to us, her tiny hands drumming the wooden desks absentmindedly. I examined her, and found that she had a few scars on her skin. Her hands seemed to be hard, unlike most gentle girl-like hands.

"I'm Tenten."

Lee once again smiled.

"I am Rock Lee, and this is Hyuuga Neji."

She turned to face me and let off an innocent smile.

"Nice to meet you, Lee, Neji."

Her eyes seemed to linger on mine for a few moments more, and they turned to the front of the room as our sensei walked in through the door.


My eyes scanned the marble tombstone once more, the dead petals of the blossoms lingering onto the innocent, marble surface. It was in the deep summer, and Konoha was met with a large heat wave. I had just turned seven, and I was beginning to grow popular with the girls (which was a nightmare), and with my teachers. I was the prodigy of my class, and it made me smirk when I finished all the exercises without a sweat.

"Father, are you proud of me?" I whispered.

Whenever I came here, a side of fragility that I never showed always overcame me, and my willpower succumbed to its pleas to be released. I felt like I was a five-year-old boy once more, who was still learning the pains and sorrows of the world. I felt like I was a happy little boy, whose father was still alive to guide him.

"Neji?"

I turned around and found Tenten walking towards me. It was two years ago that we had met, and unlike most girls, she didn't try to cling to me or any of that annoying sort. Instead she would just smile and have a nice chat, not once trying to move closer to me – in that way at least. She let off that innocent smile of hers and stood next to me.

"Who are you visiting?" She asked me.

I let my gaze linger on her for a few moments, before I was met with the marble words once more.

"My father."

She nodded and smiled.

"I wish I had family to visit."

In ways she was teaching me things without herself knowing it. She just spoke, smiled, and let all her thoughts flow out in her words and in her tones. Sometimes I envied how she could still smile even when everything was going wrong in her life.

I turned around and began walking to someplace that even I didn't know as of yet, and I heard her slow footsteps following me. I didn't mind; as long as she didn't bother me, I didn't mind. I knew she wouldn't cling to me or try to hug me, or any of those girl things.

"Where are you going?" She questioned me.

"I don't know."


"What happened to you?" She cried out.

We were on our way to turning twelve, and I was sitting at a lake, staring at the reflective ripples of the water as an autumn breeze passed us by.

"I crumbled. That is what has happened."

She stared at me with wide eyes, like I was crazy and paranoid. I could see her eyes beginning to shine with tears and the words that she knew she couldn't tell me, and I turned away from her, my eyes continuing to stare at the cold waters.

"Why didn't you tell me from the start?"

I turned to face her once more, a deep scowl on my face. My eyes were narrowed as I bore into her, and I could sense her resolve breaking. We were close friends, but after a few years had past, it seemed that trauma had caught on to me. I was more silent, more arrogant, and colder.

I was a believer of Fate and Destiny.

And because of that, my heart turned to ice and stone.

"Do not be hypocritical with me, Tenten. Do not tell me that 'I should have told you from the start' when you know full well that you should have told me from the start as well."

My voice seemed to come out harsher than I had intended, and she was taken aback by a tone that I had never used with her before. She clenched her fists and bit her lip, her eyes seeming to burn holes onto my pale skin.

"You're living in a dull monochrome, aren't you?"

She seemed to hiss at me, and before I could retort, she stormed away.

I am a believer of Fate and Destiny.

And it was Fate for her to storm away from me.


Now, when we are thirteen and placed onto the same team with Maito Gai and Rock Lee, our relationship was forced to start all over again. We lost most friendliness we held for each other, and we both seemed to push away the icy memories. It was rocky at first, the quarrel that seemed to end our friendship always reverberating through our brains.

But when we needed to spar, we chose the other for partners. We were evened out in our skills, really; she would help me perfect my Kaiten and Jyuuken, while I would help her perfect her Soshoryu and her new techniques that she was always creating.

Our friendship never really ended, but it never really started either. It was suspended in the space between. I was still cold and arrogant, and she was still hidden behind a fake façade.

I wanted to get rid of the cursed Branch House, while she wanted to be as great as one of the Sannin, Tsunade. So basically, us sparring together benefited both of us.

"Neji," she murmured, one day after a hard spar.

We were turning fourteen then, and our relationship was still rocky from our little quarrel that day when we were twelve. I gave her an acknowledging glance, and she stared at me with intense eyes that I hadn't seen since our little 'break-up'.

"Do you know what happens when a mother panda gives birth to two cubs?"

I stared at her and shook my head. For the first time, she had me at loss.

"She must pick one and let the other die."

My gaze lingered on her eyes for several moments, and I turned away.

"And my mom...she picked my brother."

An awkward silence left a heavy weight on the air. I didn't know what to say, and she seemed to sense this, and let off that innocent smile of hers.

"She must pick one and let the other die..." She whispered.

I got up and began walking back to the Hyuuga compound. I stopped when I reached her side, but I didn't move. My body was frozen, trying to process and create a motion that would comfort her. But I couldn't think of anything – I knew that we still hadn't completely forgiven each other for what we had both said.

"That is Fate."

She turned to look at me, and I could feel the sorrow in her eyes. We were the same, without parents, and feeling like we were alone in the world. She smiled, but I knew she was faking it. She got up and began walking towards her apartment, her footsteps seeming to reverberate through the heavy air.

"Yes," I heard her murmur, "Fate."


I awoke on instinct at exactly 4:00 AM in the morning. Tenten and I had a spar for training on a new S-Ranked mission, and we had promised each other that we (or more accurately, she) would not be late.

Perhaps I should go through a quick flashback through my life, up until this exact moment.

After she had told me the story of the mother panda, our friendship had finally picked up where it had left off. It was still rocky, because I am who I am – an arrogant, cocky, genius. I knew that she was trying to regain my trust, and she wasn't fond of my obsession with Fate and Destiny.

After the Chuunin Exams, when my obsession had died down, we began to grow closer and closer. And, well, we went through the ranks like it was nothing. So now, when we are nineteen, we are on the same squad for ANBU – I the captain, she my vice.

I began walking to our appointed training grounds, my hands stuffed in my pockets. The early chill of autumn made me shiver, and my sandals began to grow wet from the morning dew.

"Neji!" She quietly said.

I turned around and waited for her to catch up to me. She gave me her same, innocent smile, and I could only smirk back. She seemed to respect this, knowing all my reasons why I still couldn't show one damn emotion other than anger and the sort.

"Neji, I..."

I turned to face her, knowing what she was about to say. Before I could hear the words and before she could say them, I stopped her.

"Don't say it."

She seemed hurt by this, but she let off another smile nonetheless. I felt the sorrow emit from her smile and her eyes, and I instantly turned around and continued walking. If I stared more, a ridiculous amount of guilt would build up in the pit of my stomach.

"You're still...living in a monochrome, even after all these years?"

I slowed my pace for a second, but instantly picked up my feet and resumed my natural, fast-paced walking.

"That day...I sank."

I walked away from her, knowing that she would follow me. I sensed her linger in her spot for a few moments, but she ran up to me to walk beside me after a few moments of hesitation and deep thought.

Then I will teach you...

...And I will help you regain your colors.


A/N: Okay, so, this IS NOT A DRABBLE, I KNOW. I just need to know what you people think about this. I'm not sure if I should let it be a oneshot, or make a whole story on it.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to make a full story if you guys like it. (:

Thanks for reading!