Interlude: Hyuga Neji

He was facing that boy again.

The blonde, untalented dead last of last year.

Not that it was too surprising to the Hyuga.

The boy, Naruto Uzumaki, was an orphan. He was born with no family to call his own, and if there was anything special in his blood, it would never have a chance to flourish.

Not like it really mattered.

Unlike himself, the boy was completely talentless. His grades were abysmal, his skills in Taijutsu were wild and uncoordinated, and the less to say about his shurikenjutsu, the better. He knew not what delusions of grandeur went through the fools head when he decided to become a Shinobi of the Leaf, but it was clear that he, over all, did not belong here.

Alas, it mattered not in the end. Whether the fool would fail the graduation exam or become fodder on the field, what truly mattered was Neji's own goals. Goals that exceeded whatever childish ambitions any in his class held for their future.

Making it to the center of the ring along with the blonde, he unflinchingly stared the boy down, much like he had in all their previous encounters. If he had to give the boy one thing, it would be those eyes that seemed to look right through you, along with that unmoved expression that didn't faulter no matter what he went through.

It still wouldn't save him.

Fate itself was against the Uzumaki, and it was already ordained that the boy would, once again, fall by his hand.

"Alright you two, make the seal of confrontation."

Neji did as his sensei instructed, his fingers connecting with the blonde's. Their arms moved up and down to complete the seal before they separated and took their proper positions 10 feet away. Neji moved his body into the known Hyuga stance while the blonde relaxed into a stance he hadn't seen before.

Arms out in front of him with open fists and spread legs, the boy looked ready to wrestle—a sharp contrast to the tight fists approach of the academy's kata. Strangely enough, despite the Hyuga never seeing it before, it looked good. He actually looked as if he knew what he was doing unlike before, and it made the intimidation factor increase.

Yet it still mattered not. The outcome would remain the same, and he would be victorious.

"Begin!"

Neji charged forward with speed he was sure his opponent wasn't ready for.

A wall of dirt met him halfway. Despite his speed, Neji did not have time to close his eyes before the dirt met his pupils. Blinded, the Hyuga still thrust forward, hoping to hit the insolent disgrace who had just blinded him. To his shock, something connected, but it wasn't his fist. Instead of the pain he meant to inflict, it was he who felt it instead.

Hard and fast the blow came, nearly knocking him off his feet. He knew not what he was hit with, but he knew it was enough to almost send him into unconsciousness. Another blow from behind to his kidney followed after the first, knocking him from the shock and having him instinctively go to cover the offending area.

He paid for the defensive opinion with another hard blow that bent him forward.

Coughing while retreating, Neji furiously rubbed at his eyes until they were no longer impeded. Regaining visibility once more, he glared at where the blonde stood a ways in front of him. He was still in the odd stance from before, looking as if he hadn't moved.

Gritting his teeth, chakra built within the Hyuga, veins appearing around his eyes signaling the activation of his Dojutsu. At once, he had a clear 360° view of his surroundings and knew that even if he fell to the same trick, it wouldn't have nearly the same effect as it did before. Charging forward once more, he made sure to keep an eye on every little movement, making sure he wouldn't fall for any other tricks the honorless cur had up his sleeve.

Fainting a right straight, he watched the Uzumaki fall for it completely and swept a kick to his leg.

The blow connected, and the blonde buckled. Not wasting the opportunity, Neji struck out once again to attack one of the visible chakra points through his all-seeing eyes.

It was deflected.

No time to curse, Neji launched multiple strikes in succession, hoping to gain the upper hand, but the blonde's seemed adamant on blowing away his expectations. He countered the Hyuga's assault, striking back with a few quick and precise blows that Neji was forced to admit would have hit if the blonde was even a bit faster. He continued to hammer away, pushing Naruto back and pushing the limits of his own technique.

In the end, the Neji proved to be the faster of the two.

One mistimed block was enough to be the blonde's downfall. A jab to the arm disabled it completely, allowing the Hyuuga to finally break through the blonde's defenses. With multiple jabs to key chakra points, the blonde came undone. One last palm strike, aimed for the center of the blonde's chest, was sure to be the deciding factor for the fight.

He missed.

Time suddenly slowed for the Hyuuga. The blonde had twisted his body at the last minute to dodge his attack. But how? He should have the strength to-

Something cracking against the side of his head suddenly made the Hyuuga see stars.

His vision became blurry, and Neji was all too aware of how hard it suddenly became to stabilize his legs. Stumbling about, the fear of falling entered his psyche as he fell to a knee-

"M-match!"

Horror filled the Hyuga as he realized what he'd just done. Standing back to his feet as if it would change the decision, Neji looked to his sensei, fear in his heart but defiance on his face. "I-I can still-"

"Winner: Hyuuga Neji!"

Wind whistling through the yard was all that could be heard after the declaration.

Neji, more than anyone, was flabbergasted. How did he win? He knelt. He hit the ground first. That was a clear victory to the Uzumaki, no matter how he meant to protest! The blonde was the clear-

Looking at his opponent, he could now see why such a decision was declared.

The blonde was heaving heavily, standing with one arm limp while the other hovered over a chakra point he'd closed earlier. In front of him was a line—a line he was no longer inside—and Neji finally understood the decision.

He had fallen out of the circle. The blonde had stepped out of the circle, making Neji the winner by a technicality. One would think that would make him happy, yet as he walked back to his oddly quiet classmates, fury burned within him.

He'd won by a technicality, and most definitely would have lost under different circumstances—and to the dead last of all people!

Fury couldn't describe the emotions Neji went through for the rest of the day.

And it only got worse from that day onward.

No one knew what the blonde had done, but he had improved by leaps and bounds. Classmates he'd struggled against previously now either won by the skin of their teeth or were outright decimated. Soon, none other than he was able to challenge the blonde.

Until a year later...

"Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!"

Neji lay still in the dirt he was firmly planted in.

He had been defeated. After years of proving his superiority and demonstrating the difference between him and the bunch of clanless nobodies around him, he had been defeated by one of the very ones he looked down on.

It was almost poetic, in a way. He put so much stock in how fate was decided at birth and how it was inescapable. He was born a Hyuuga, and despite how he hated his family and being a slave to the main branch, he still shared their blood, meaning he was blessed with gifts and opportunities low-borns did not possess, nor would they ever. He, along with every clan, was born to be above them; fated to be so. How else would you explain something so unfair?

Yet, here he lies, defeated by an orphan with nothing other than his name to carry behind him.

Yes, it truly was poetic.

Fate could not be changed...

Unless your name was Naruto Uzumaki.

He was the exception to this twisted world.