Title: Brightest star
Author: Faux Princess
Rating: K
Month: August 2011
Challenge: Ancient Histor
Pairing: Neji - Hinata

"We may be Hyuga but we cannot stretch our wings. For we, are merely branch house members. The caged birds."

Those words haunted me.

Words uttered grimly by my honorable father.

Words had such an impact in my life.

Words that fueled my misery and hate towards the main branch members of the Hyuga.

Words, that caused the pain that not only I suffered from. But it also hurt Hinata-sama.

Not directly, no, but she was hurt nonetheless.

For such a long time I believed it to be true. That I was merely a pawn for the main branch. That I was a servant of my so called-family. That it was my fate.
My fate.

I was too bitter, too miserable that I fought what I thought was my destiny. I trained, trained till my hands bled and my body collapsed from exhaustion. For I am the prodigy. I will make them regret that I was not part of the main branch. I will make them regret that I was not their child, not their heir. I will make them see that to be a branch member was not my destiny.

That was what I thought, what I believed in for so many years before such thinking was literally knocked out of my skull by one Uzumaki Naruto. The dead last of the latest rookie of Konoha. Hinata-sama's most important person. I never really knew what she saw in him until after we fought in my first chunnin exams. But now I know. His determination, even when all the circumstances are against him, his motivation, of being the best hokage so that he can protect the village, and his nindo, to never go back on his words.

He was everything Hinata-sama was not, and everything she wanted to be.

It irritated me. Because Naruto's place in her heart used to be mine. In the past I was her most important person. In the past I used to be everything she wanted to be. I used to be her protector, her playmate and her precious brother.

Even when I hated the main branch, I wanted to be the person who she thought of the most.

That was why I terrorized her so much. Because even if all I could think about was hate, she was the most important person to me. Maybe that's why I hated her so much back then, she was most important so I hated her more than anyone else.

Heh, how childish I was.

After I was beaten by Naruto and after Hiashi-sama talked to me, I thought about what I wanted in my life, what I should have done before, and what I should do from now on.

As Konoha was gripping with the loss of our Sandaime Hokage, I was healed enough to be allowed to go home. It was the first time that I would step foot in the Hyuga compound after the chunnin exams.

I never realized that the compound could look so warm until that moment, with Hinata-sama welcoming me home with her shy smile and present.

"Welcome h-home Neji-nissan." Was what she said to me while she handed me a small wrapped box.

I opened the gift. Curious and not at all expecting what I saw.

She ducked her head shyly and said "It's glow in the dark stickers, nissan. I know that you feel as if you're c-caged by this family. But I w-want you to know and feel that for me, you always h-had wings, that you can fly freely and all you need to do is take the leap."

Glow in the dark stickers. Shaped as stars and the heavenly bodies of the night sky. I was touched by her gift and her words but I kept my tears in check. "A-arigato Hinata-sama. Would it be alright if I ask you to help me put them in my room?"

"Of c-course nissan!I would love t-to help you!"

That made me smile, she didn't change at all. She was still the same old Hinata-sama.

And so, with the both of us smiling brightly, we went in the direction of my room and proceeded to put the stickers in the ceiling and walls.

We fell asleep that night admiring our work, looking at the glowing imitation of heavenly bodies around my room.

And that night I dreamt that I was an eagle, soaring thru the night sky, flying higher and higher towards the brightest star. Towards Hinata-sama.

The end.

A/N.

yep. I'm back with my super mini stories and drabbles...I wonder if I was missed? lol

please review!