Ch.4.: Pinky Promise
Neji froze for a split second before widening her eyes. Her hand which was groping the chopsticks fisted around them, her knuckles turning white. Sasuke immediately regretted asking when he heard the clattering of the chopsticks falling unceremoniously on the table. Was she going to leave?
Neji's hands raised…and Sasuke wondered if she was so angry that she would try to attack him. He prepared to dodge the gentle fist which she would probably attack him with, but it never came. He looked at her, and in bewilderment, watched her slowly beginning to unbandage her forehead.
First, the girl untied her hitai-ate and placed it on top of the table, then the bandages began to fall, slowly. Sasuke's heart was pounding hard in his chest. She really was going to reveal to him what was hiding underneath the bandages. He was so immersed in the falling bandages that didn't notice when the forehead was finally in sight.
Sasuke's gaze slowly raised till he was looking at her forehead. His lips parted slightly at the sight. On the creamy skin, tattooed, was a bright green symbol. It highly resembled a swastika, but it had tiny hook-like curvatures at the ends, two lines curved in the inside, at the beginning and end stood at each side -flanking it- of the symbol.
He honestly had thought she would be hiding some kind of scar, or maybe another secret Kekkei Genkai but the possibility of what was hidden –being covered- by those bandages was a tattoo, never crossed his mind. A second thought crossed the Uchiha's mind. Since he had met her, she had always worn those bandages, besides, without a parent's authorization it was forbidden for minors –or lower ranked than gennin- to get a tattoo, and if she loathed it so much to cover it, then…it was not just a simple decorative tattoo. He wanted to ask for its true meaning but was not able to find the words.
It wasn't necessary though, the girl explained herself.
"It's what distinguishes us, the Branch Members. They –the Main Branch- mark us like… cattle," Her gaze was cast down, fixated on the table, her hands in fists, the knuckles white and her forearms' veins popping slightly from the strain. "But that's not enough. It is said that the Side Branch's purpose is to protect the Main Branch –the strongest Hyugas or so they say- but they don't realize, or more like don't care, that the name the Hyuga's have bestowed upon themselves is all thanks to the Branch House's efforts." A bitter scoff escaped her lips. "Main Branch. They take the laurels gained with the Bouke's blood and sweat without even lifting a finger." The bitterness and mocking in her voice were palpable as well as resentment and hate. "And we can't complain. If we do" she poked her own forehead with the index finger twice, right in the middle. "They use this as a... control device of sorts. To keep us in check you could say." She laughed dryly.
Sasuke's expression was one of complete, utter disbelief. He was completely mute, not knowing what to say. The girl seemed to notice his predicament.
"You don't need to say anything. Your pity will only insult me. That's why I'm working that hard. I want to prove to them with my own strength what the Bouke really is." She finished. Sasuke looked at her and noticed that she had broken the chopsticks in half. She followed his gaze and dropped them –again.
"Sorry, I..." Neji muttered mildly surprised, denoting she hadn't even noticed when they broke. She was trying too hard to steady her already agitated breathing by taking deep breaths.
"Don't worry." He said standing up and grabbing another pair of chopsticks from the cabinet. Then, he returned to his place and handed her the new chopsticks' pair.
They sat and stared in silence at their food in silence, the tension from the revelation still hanging above them.
"So…how's the Academy?" Neji asked awkwardly, trying to break the tense atmosphere as she tied her headband back in place.
Sasuke smirked a little, relieved from the change of topic even if he felt as if there were words left unsaid.
"Annoying."
Neji chuckled a bit and nodded.
"I know…Or knew since I'm not a student anymore." She added.
"I am counting my days until graduation. Then, fewer steps will be left." Sasuke stated. The unspoken promise being left on the air. Fewer steps for revenge. Fewer steps for killing Itachi.
Neji didn't say anything and instead continued eating her tuna. Soon Sasuke followed her example.
"You know, I think you'll get your revenge. All our fates are set in stone, and I think yours will be as you desire." She said confidently but with a small tinge of melancholy in her eyes.
"So do I. I made a promise, and I'd rather die trying than break it." Since the first time they've met, that was the first time he had talked so openly about his self-bestowed mission.
Neji was silent but paying her full attention to the boy across the table.
"To be honest, I still love Itachi." Sasuke said staring at the window. His gaze was fixated on some point outside, but he wasn't really looking. He was lost in his memories. "That's what makes me hate him even more. For Kami-sama, sometimes I even think of him as my aniki."
Neji didn't have any siblings…or maybe she had…a long time ago, before her father's death. Hinata. The wimp.
Neji looked at Sasuke, and he was already eating his food. He had closed the topic. She wasn't anyone to complain about it.
The rest of the meal went smoothly. As they both were a few words individuals, words were barely spoken between them, the intimacy of their friendship relaying more than anything on actions. Yet when they did, they talked about a variety of things, mainly trivial, such as the Academy, or in Neji's case, her new team.
"They're a pair of losers." She spat.
Both were sitting barefoot at the lake's shore, refreshing their feet on the water from the hot weather.
"The first one cannot use any ninjutsu. At all. He barely made it into the Academy and ended dead last. He barely passed. Such a poor excuse of ninja." Were her cold, disdainful words.
"Hn. He kinda reminds me of Naruto. Always bragging about how good he is when he's the worst." Sasuke scoffed.
Neji cringed at the thought. At least Rock Lee didn't brag about everything.
"The other one, he's really smart. Nothing outstanding since he ended being ninth best, but at everything else he's either bad or average." She said picking on the grass blades.
"Is it the grass' fault that you've been paired up with wimps?" Sasuke teased picking a blade Neji had plucked out and twirling it between his fingers. She let out a soft laugh.
A soft breeze moved the grass and made the girl's long hair and Sasuke's bangs wave.
"It's getting late, I'd better be heading home." Neji said looking up at the sky and standing up.
"Wait a moment. From this spot, the sunset looks... breathtaking. Trust me." Sasuke retorted, grabbing her hand, and pulling her down.
Neji's eyes slightly widened momentarily at the gesture before setting on the ground again.
They sat in silence, the only noise being the breathing of each other and the occasional chirp of a bird. Then, the sun began to set behind the trees.
At first, it looked like any other sunset. Beautiful, but ordinary. Then the colors began to slowly dance on the lake's crystal surface. Alluring shadows started being projected by the majestic trees surrounding them, some as old as the Uchiha themselves, their leaves once green, burning with the sunset colors. Every single wave on the lake reflecting tones of orange, red, yellow and mixes of those as if it were on fire.
Neji's eyes were widened in wonder, her eyes eager to grasp every detail of that majestic scene and store it into her memory.
A couple of birds flew away, free across the sky, their brownish feathers shining orange. The Hyuga watched them with longing part away. Now Sasuke knew the reason. He didn't know what to do, so he did what she had done for him some years ago. Embraced her in a hug.
At first, she stiffened for an instant but then relaxed. He smelled fresh, and she supposed he had taken a bath while she was buying the food. Then she realized she would be smelling of sweat since she had been out in the heat just after an avid training/sparring session. The Hyuga waved the thought away and focused her attention again on the scene before her.
They stayed like that during all the spectacle's duration.
When all that was left were shadows, they broke apart. Looking into each other's eyes.
"Sasuke." She spoke. Sasuke kept staring at her, a simple sign that he was listening.
"You're my only friend. Please don't leave me alone." she requested, a pleading glint shining in her eyes. It was rather out of character for her to be so open, which only flattered Sasuke for being the recipient of such trust.
"I promise. You know I would rather die than break my promises." Sasuke said, raising his pinky. That was a gesture his mother used to do when she promised him anything. Whether it was something trivial such as buying him an ice cream, or something as important as promising to attend his shuriken demonstration. She never broke a promise, and neither would he.
"I'll always be there if you need me, 'kay Sasuke?" She said holding up her pinky too.
They intertwined them and shook them as a way of signing their promise.
The pair laid for a while on the fresh grass underneath the slowly resurfacing stars, each of them thinking of several things, but coinciding on one. That'd be their last time together. Their reunions were secret also because Neji was a branch and she knew secret techniques from the Souke, so if they knew they had been training together she may be punished, being accused of venting the clan's secret techniques to foreign entities. Sasuke didn't know when the next time they held a proper conversation would be…as friends. But one of his traits was if not patience.
Half an hour later, when no light except the moon and stars shining upon the dark night's cloak was visible, Neji stood up, thanked Sasuke for the evening, and left for her home.
"We'll talk sooner than you think, Uchiha." She said before parting towards the Bouke compound.
Sasuke stayed some more time outside, enjoying the fresh air and the trees' murmur.
He entered his house, finished his bathroom's rituals and went to his closet in search of his pajamas.
The Uchiha pulled out a loose dark blue cotton shirt with the Uchiha fan on the back. Then he searched for some shorts. He really needed to pick up his clothes. Where there once were the clothes, all folded or hung now they were on the closet floor, or some piled over each other. Well, he could tidy up any other day. Now he wanted to sleep.
Sasuke began searching through the pile of clothes for his shorts when he felt another texture. He pulled it out and stared at it. Still beige, still warm. If only a little dusty. The jacket Neji had given him when they met. Sasuke stared at it warmly for a little while and then shoved it again under the clothes.
Finally, he found them. Folded on the top shelf. Sasuke almost wanted to facepalm himself. He slid in them and finally slumped in his bed, letting out a content sigh and falling into Morpheus' realms.