I still couldn't get over just how much the atmosphere had changed since Neji had made his promise to me— not that that was a bad thing. We continued going by our same daily routine, but, recently, Neji had done something that had caught me completely by surprise:

"Keiden?" he said one day, pausing in the act of getting into one of his more signature stances— Rotation, I remembered.

I wiped my grassy hands on my thighs. "Yeah?"

". . . I think that. . . I mean, would you mind. . ." He trailed off, making me all the more curious.

I kindly prodded him along. "Whaddyou need?"

He took a deep breath. "Well. . . you look bored," he finished lamely.

After all the time I'd spent with him, it didn't take me long to figure out that this rather pathetic statement had, in fact, been an offer; and instead of questioning his reasoning, I simply accepted the fact that he actually wanted to train with me. Elated, I stood up and declared, "Ready when you are, Neji."

Now, a handful of days later, I was on top of him, my hands positioned at his neck. "Again," I commanded, letting him go.

I could sense his frustration— he still wasn't quite used to such a series of defeats— so I provided something I'd gathered from my previous surveillances. "You rely on your eyes too much. Byakugan or not, your other senses are just as important."

Though obvious, he still needed to hear it. Judging by his silence, I figured something was holding him back— my speed, perhaps? Time for a different approach, then. . .

"I want you to close your eyes," I said.

His heartbeat's reaction made it seem like I'd asked him to stab himself. Laughing, I continued. "It'll help. Once properly trained, your ears will be unstoppable." And paired with your eyes, you'll never have to worry about an enemy's sneak attack ever again.

"They're closed."

I smirked at his thoughtfulness. "Good. Now, just take a few minutes, and focus on every sound around you, no matter how small." This would be difficult, but Neji had a lot of potential. I made my way over to him and placed my hand on his elbow, letting him know I wasn't using this as a chance to run away. "Tell me what you hear."

". . . a nest of sparrows, about one-hundred meters to my left. . . the wind in the trees and the grass. . ." He was starting to become tense.

"What else?" I whispered encouragingly.

This being his first time with such an exercise, he'd actually done quite well; however, his heart was discouraged. I could only guess it had something to do with the fact that his sense of hearing wasn't quite on par with mine. Well, if he was going to be impatient about it—

"Fight me," I ordered, releasing his arm. I knew he'd keep his eyes closed.

Without warning, I pounced on him. "Were you even trying?" I asked lightly, getting to my feet once more. Maybe that'll teach him a lesson. I immediately replayed this spar in my head: I'd held my breath while Neji had been listening to our surroundings, simply in order to speed up my heart rate so he could hear me when I'd finally charged at him. This hadn't seemed to help him in the slightest. Did that mean he couldn't hear me at all?

"Hn," he said. "Not all of us were born with a heightened sense of hearing." He hadn't said it to be mean— in fact, his voice had been almost as playful as mine.

A sudden thought popped into my head. "The thing is. . . I don't think I was born this way," I replied.

"What makes you say that?" It was nice that he seemed more attentive toward me— it'd make things much easier in terms of coaching him.

"I know what colors are." They were so ingrained in my brain that it was impossible not to know what they were. "How on earth are you supposed to teach colors to somebody who was born blind?"

Neji had no retort for that.

"So, you see, I had to train my ears, just like you." Even though I have absolutely no recollection of such training. . .

He continued to say nothing, but I interpreted his silence as something along the lines of, "I can't fight off something I can't hear."

"Maybe you're not listening hard enough," I offered.

"Maybe I should take a leaf out of your book and listen with my palms instead." His buh-dummm plopped to the ground. Aw, man, I wish I could see this! Is Neji actually making fun of me?

"I like books," I said randomly.

"You can't read," he countered.

Obviously. "I didn't say I like reading books," I said, sitting next to him. "I just like holding them, thinking about what could be inside." I'd always wondered what words looked like, and the book covers I'd discovered over time had almost been enough to give me a basic idea.

". . ." He wasn't following me? Probably a good time for another quick lesson.

"You should try it sometime," I lectured. "Texture also plays a key role in blind sparring— mainly when it comes to defense. I'll enlighten you." I grabbed his hand and forced it onto my sleeve. "My turtleneck feels a lot like spandex— it's light, and it helps me move faster. When I'm in motion, the looser parts of this shirt create friction against the air, which then produces and extremely high-pitched sound. If I were ever to spar with Lee or Gai-sensei, since they wear spandex, I'd follow these whistling sounds to know where they were aiming."

". . . and my clothes?" Neji asked.

I let go of his hand, only to then place mine on his own sleeve. "The material's much thicker, and there's a lot more of it. When you move, it rustles against itself. It gives you away too easily. I have a pretty good idea of how tall you are, so whenever I hear the rustling of your clothes at my eye level, I can assume you're aiming to attack with your arms. When you crouch, maybe wanting to kick me, the sounds come from a spot either level with or lower than my waist." I took my hand back. "But, like I said, texture's mainly for defense."

"What about offense?" he pressed. Yes, a reaction!

I grinned. "That's the easy part. Once I focus on the sound of my opponent's heartbeat, I'll always know where they are. They can't hide from me." When put that way, it sounded kind of scary— nobody could run, nobody could hide. If I were the enemy, I could easily massacre Konoha, leaving no survivors. I shuddered inwardly, searching for a different topic to delve into.

I guess I can put this lesson into action now. "Don't worry, Neji. I have faith in you." I stood again, happy that he continued to put up with me.

I turned on him, taking in the anticipatory shift of his heartbeat.

"Again," I said.