The Dichotomy of Rocks and Water [Naruto, 2/2]
The Dichotomy of Rocks and Water, Part 2/2
Part 1/2
Neji basked in Naruto’s presence as much as he could without being too obvious about it. At times though, it seemed as if the entire village knew about it already, with the only oblivious remaining was the object of his… affections (it was easy to think of kissing Naruto or other… things-he was a healthy teenage boy. But it was harder to envision a domestic scene the words seemed to inspire. Neji nearly choked imagining Naruto dolled up in a presentable manner to the clan, his coughing fit, in fact, made Lee shriek about how he would Save Neji From the Horror and Indignity of Choking on Soft and Slippery Noodles while TenTen just whacked him on the back once and probably saved his life).
He was horribly (because he thought he was being more subtle… that or someone was spreading rumors) aware that Jiraiya had somehow found out, and the only thing worse than a legendary ninja staring at you in a way that conveyed the wish to dissect you was the same legendary ninja giving him books with lecherous winks. He had, of course, heard about Jiraiya’s dabbling as a writer (as well as the subject matter) and had promptly tried to burn the book.
Kakashi had rescued it before it could even singe properly, and lectured him on the proper ways to take care of fine literature. Then the jounin carted off his prize home, cackling something about limited edition and HUGE HUGE *****.
Neji had fled as soon as the second ‘huge’ had been uttered.
In a way though he was content with his current situation (even if it embarrassed him) because it meant that people noticed Naruto now. Before only three knew.
And now? It was hard to find someone who didn’t know.
Well, honestly, only a select few really knew if you counted the entire village. It was just that the few who knew were the ones he interacted with frequently. Of course his clan didn’t know (and wouldn’t for quite some time if he had any say in it, and his very sharp kunai did), but at the very least, most of his peers noticed his sudden increase of interest in Naruto.
It pleased him and agitated him at the same time.
Before, he could spend the entire day with Naruto without anyone really noticing. Now, Kiba stared at them openly, Hinata watched with a resigned smile, Kakashi and Jiraiya both leered, Sakura gave him a bemused look, Iruka a concerned one, and Shikamaru just gave him a knowing glance.
And that was just today.
“Yo, Neji, why are you all bent over with your head in your hands?”
Neji looked up from his hands into bright blue eyes and he straightened abruptly, causing Naruto to laugh.
He liked the sound of Naruto’s laughter. When not forced, it was bright and cheerful. It also caused a low pull in his stomach and a faint answering smile on his face.
“No reason,” said Neji, casually. He was content in watching the large smile spread across Naruto’s face, in the way that Naruto relaxed around him so easily.
Naruto slumped boneless on the ground and leaned against Neji’s legs.
If Neji’s brain was working properly at the moment, he would have realized that they were in a deserted clearing with the only thing to lean onto being about a hundred feet away. He would have thought that he was lucky that Naruto was comfortable enough around him to do so, was comfortable enough to not even mention it or ask for permission (which would be strange, to say the least).
That was, if his brain was working properly.
His brain just stalled and only started again when Naruto looked up at him and gave him a grin.
“You okay, Neji?”
He nodded automatically. The blond haired ninja took that for a sign that no, he hadn’t killed Neji with shock and relaxed again, leaving them with a companionable silence.
It was scenes like this, moments like this, when he realized how much Naruto has changed and how much Naruto has remained the same. In an impromptu meeting with his peers, Shikamaru had said it best.
He’s mellower now. Like he knows his purpose and who he is, but doesn’t feel the need to proclaim it off of rooftops anymore. He’s secure.
This, more than anything else, was what made Neji acknowledge that Naruto was right in going off to train.
Carefully, he let his fingers ghost through the edges of Naruto’s hair, let them touch the wispy strands of gold. Naruto would know, but the ninja would probably pass it off as an accident. For a wild moment, Neji wanted to haul Naruto up and… and…
His mind stalled again.
He gave himself a rueful smile, nobody would see it after all, and kept watch of Naruto and of his surroundings.
As long as Naruto was here with him, he had all the time in the world.
~
“What?!” Neji gave Naruto a sharp glare and clenched his hands. Naruto had just come back for a month, just one month and now this?
Naruto just shrugged, ignoring the fierce look thrown at him. He looked resolute though, like nothing in the world was going to stop him.
Neji wished that he was enough of a reason to stop Naruto.
“Why now? Why not wait a few more months? Why not bring us with you?” Neji didn’t care about the faintly shocked looks he garnered from some of the surrounding ninjas. This was important. This was… this was… Naruto leaving to find Sasuke (Neji never hated someone so much as he hated Uchiha at this moment). Alone.
The other ninja sighed and said, “I’ve got the hokage’s permission, you know.” At Neji’s intensifying glare, Naruto continued, “And I’m not going to be alone. Jiraiya’s coming too.”
“That’s not enough!” Sakura pushed her way to the front, worry etched on her face (though Neji couldn’t help but notice, to his disgust, the faint hope in her eyes).
“Sure it is, Sakura-chan!” Naruto gave her a broad smile. “Remember, Ero-sennin might not seem reliable…” He paused for a moment when Jiraiya cuffed his head, wincing and rubbing at it. “…But he’s stronger than pretty much everyone else. I’ll be fine! And I’ll bring Sasuke back with me!” He gave her a peaceful smile.
“I’ll make sure that the brat doesn’t take unnecessary risks,” Jiraiya said, looking vaguely annoyed at the amount of people pressing around him.
Naruto nodded. “It’s a relatively simple retrieval mission.” He winked at Sakura. “The package is just a little bit louder and more difficult than usual. It’s not like we’re taking on Orochimaru.”
“If you can help it.” Neji frowned.
Naruto threw an uncomfortable glance at Jiraiya before looking back at Neji, something no ninja missed. “We’re pretty sure that we’ll miss him. Intelligence has said that he’s going to be away from his current hideout-”
“-How do you even know where that is?”
“-for a while,” Naruto finished. He glanced at Kiba who had asked. “What do you think Jiraiya and I have been doing for the past three years other than train?”
“I wish you luck, comrades!” Lee grinned and gave Naruto two thumbs up.
Gai grinned broadly, mirroring Lee’s actions. “Best of luck retrieving our Wayward Companion!”
Naruto gave them both an uncomfortable grin.
“When are you leaving?” Hinata’s voice cut through the air, the first time the quiet ninja spoke. She straightened her back and didn’t look down when Naruto met her gaze, even if a faint tinge of pink appeared on her cheeks.
Neji wanted to say that Naruto wasn’t leaving, that Naruto was staying put, and that they’d find some other suicidal ninja to take on the mission. But he knew that no matter what he said, the other ninja wasn’t going to back down.
He thought sourly that even if he tied Naruto down and posted guards, Naruto would still find a way to weasel out of the village.
“Day after tomorrow, just long enough to gather up the supplies and other stuff.”
Neji scowled and only stopped when TenTen touched his arm. He resumed his stoic expression and gave her a slight nod in thanks. She gave him a small, uncertain smile before stepping back.
“So early?” Sakura asked, startled.
Naruto rubbed his head. “Yeah, we want to make sure that Orochimaru won’t come back early and catch us at it.”
“You won’t listen to the contrary.” It wasn’t a question and Neji was almost proud of the fact that his voice didn’t fluctuate at all.
Naruto gave him a serious look and a slow nod.
He refrained from saying anything more and turned around, walking through the small crowd quickly.
So that was that.
~
Déjà vu.
Naruto was only half suspecting Neji to be waiting for him at the same roof he had been at, years before. Even then surprise filtered on his face even as his feet skidded to a halt and he raised a hand in greeting.
“Neji?”
Swiftly the other ninja took several steps forward, the light in his lavender eyes making Naruto wanting to step back. But he assured himself that Neji wasn’t going to kill him or even maim him just to make him stay, and that his friend was just going to-
Neji reached him, grabbed him by his jacket and yanked him forward.
The kiss that resulted was messy, involved way too many teeth for comfort, and dragged on for moments as Naruto hung in Neji’s grasp in shock. He didn’t move, let alone reciprocate, and just stared into Neji’s eyes that glittered at him in an almost challenging way.
A long swipe of his tongue and Neji stepped back, letting go of Naruto just as soon as he made sure that the other ninja could stand.
Naruto’s brain stuttered along with his words, “I…I…”
“I?” Neji parroted back, a brow raised.
He just stared at Neji with wide eyes.
“Just come back.” Neji said finally, his face once more inscrutable. A slight pause and he added, “To me.”
Before Naruto could react in anything other than silence or stutters, the other ninja disappeared from sight.
For a moment he wanted nothing more than to find Neji again and demand answers. But then again, demanding answers would result in him getting answers and he hardly knew about his own thoughts on the… issue.
He could only shake his head to clear it and ran off to where Jiraiya was waiting.
He could think about it after they got Sasuke back.
~
The fates conspired against him once more as Naruto, just a mile or so from Jiraiya, ran into TenTen. She was waiting for him with a serious look (though he can’t remember a moment where she wasn’t serious) and seemed rather stiff.
He halted in front of her warily, ready to leap back if she decided to attack him with her lips too.
“Naruto,” she acknowledged.
He just waited for her to continue, fidgeting in a way that he blamed on being late on meeting Jiraiya.
“Neji likes you, you know.”
He gaped at her straight forward words, and she apparently mistook it for ignorance on his part because she gave him a fierce frown, causing him to step back.
“You can’t have not noticed!” Exasperation lined her face and she leaned forward, a disproving frown at her mouth. “He… He stays around you all the time! He smiles when you’re around, when he thinks that nobody is looking.”
For the first time since he met her, Naruto saw TenTen scrambling for words.
“It’s obvious,” she said finally, calming down, “In a way you can’t miss if you’re friends with Neji.”
By the way she stared at him, Naruto was beginning to feel awful about himself. Because… he had noticed, in a vague way. Sort of. He had just thought that Neji liked being around him for some reason he couldn’t explain, and was grateful just for that. To think that it had been for a greater reason confused him, to think that anyone could like him that much just boggled his mind.
Nobody ever…
“I’m sorry.”
She stiffened even more at his words.
Naruto hastened to say, “No, I mean… I didn’t know. I… how could I?” He said, almost helplessly, except he had sworn himself that he’d be strong when he was younger and damn it, not helpless, not anymore.
“Think about it.” That was an order, and TenTen looked as if she’d skewer him on the spot with her shurikens if he said anything to the contrary.
He nodded.
She turned around and began walking away, apparently satisfied with his response and whatever else she could read from his expression.
Before she jumped down from the building, she paused and turned to look at him once more.
“You’re lucky, you know.”
Naruto gave another nod, striking out his earlier conviction to think about it later.
Neji deserved not to become an afterthought.
~
If Neji was acting more snappish than usual, nobody thought to bring it up to him. He didn’t understand why there was such a large difference between Naruto leaving last time and Naruto leaving this time-
--except for that damnable kiss, what in the worlds was he thinking?--
-but he did acknowledge that he was testier than usual and less forgiving (not that he was very) of mistakes. People walked around him carefully now, have been for the past few days, with the only exception being TenTen who seemed content to let him terrorize people for a while and Hinata who looked more frozen in indecision than terrified.
Now that he was aware of it though (Shikamaru had taken him aside and told him bluntly), he strove to contain his ire. After all, it was nobody else’s fault that Naruto left. Nobody’s fault except for Uchiha. He was aware that he was blaming everything on Sasuke, but found that he did not care. He never really liked the dark-haired ninja anyway.
“Yo, kid.”
Neji gave a sharp glance around him, looking for the idiot who dared to call him a ‘kid’. Seeing nobody, he frowned sharply.
“Down here.”
A flash of orange caught his eyes and he looked down at a... frog. A frog wearing a jacket, which wasn’t that unusual in a ninja village considering that the turtle that Gai summons wore a leaf insignia and Kakashi’s dog summon, Pakkun, wore both.
Neji studied the frog closely, realizing that it had to be one of Naruto’s or Jiraiya’s, and gave it a short nod in greeting.
“Not very vocal, are you?” Gamakichi hopped onto a nearby ledge so that he was closer to Neji’s eye level. “I’m just here to deliver a message.” At Neji’s steady stare, he added in, “From the blond haired idiot.”
Neji wondered if it was customary for all summons to make fun of their... partners, or whether Naruto was just a special case (as always).
“What is it?” He nearly fidgeted, waiting to hear some message about how Naruto doesn’t want to see Neji ever again, or how Naruto thinks it’s gross, or how Naruto just wanted to be friends. Honestly, he would be fine with the last, as long as he could continue to see Naruto.
Gamakichi apparently saw something on his face, for the little frog just waved one webbed hand in the air. “Oi, he doesn’t hate you or anything.”
Some of Neji’s mortification must have showed on his face (Naruto told his frog?), because Gamakichi continued on, “The kid was muttering to himself a lot while giving me the message. Can’t have missed the multiple times he said ‘Neji kissed me’ ya know.”
Neji felt the blood rush to his cheeks and he shook his head as if that would dispel the blush.
“So… the kid said he doesn’t hate you. Then he blathers on about where they are, Jiraiya’s a jerk for pushing them so fast, and other stuff.”
“…Aren’t you supposed to relay the message entirely?”
The frog gave him an amused look, “Do you really think the rest of it mattered to the kid?”
Neji smiled faintly.
“Oh, yeah. And Jiraiya said that it’s about time you finally made a move, something about good material for his next book, and to not mess it up.”
He twitched and Gamakichi snickered before disappearing in a poof of smoke.
Neji tried to stifle the faint hope even as his lips twitched into an involuntary smile. At least he knew that Naruto didn’t hate him.
~
It didn’t take long for Neji to return to his regular self, a fact which swept through his comrades with sighs of relief. He was back to waiting for Naruto to return (for what else could he do?), except now it wasn’t a patient wait. Each day twisted that knot in his chest just a bit tighter, each day was just a bit harder even if he never showed it. The jounin wasn’t sure why things were so much worse now than they were before… nothing changed, right?
Nothing changed except that he told Naruto, or rather showed, his feelings. And even though the blond haired ninja sent his frog to tell him that things were all right, that didn’t mean that Naruto couldn’t change his mind later.
Not only that, Neji was slowly beginning to realize, just from that one kiss (that, admittedly, wasn’t very good considering Naruto didn’t reciprocate, but almost spectacular because it was Naruto he had kissed) that he wasn’t sure if he could ever be content with Naruto just being friends with him.
What was even worse was that the choice was out of his hands. He could influence it, of course, but ultimately, the decision lay with Naruto.
~
After a few weeks of Hinata returning to her earlier habit of looking down shyly when she met him (though thankfully, she didn’t blush nearly as much and her hands were quite calm at her sides) she finally pulled him to the side.
It wasn’t the best of times. Neji had a fairly urgent report to give to the hokage, and he needed to debrief his team. The Sound Village was getting more restless and there had been reports of enemy ninjas lurking several miles (but still too close) to Konoha. He wasn’t sure how things were going on Naruto’s front, but he didn’t like the information he was hearing-did Orochimaru figure out about Naruto and Jiraiya’s mission? Was there a trap waiting for them? Or were the ninjas there by chance?
He couldn’t leave things up to chance. Not with what was on the line.
So he gave Hinata an impatient glare, feeling vague surprise when she just gave him a steady look back and stopped him when he tried to leave again with a hurried, “Later, Hinata-sama.”
“This is important, Neji nii-san,” she said and placed a hand on his chest to stop him from leaving. This was more than just a casual gesture from Hyuugas. “And I won’t take long.” Her voice didn’t tremble the slightest and her mouth was set in a determined line.
Neji stopped, shifting underneath her gentle hand warily. She was firmer now, more confident, but she never stalled him before-not when it was important.
Besides, knowing what those hands could do with just a light tap to his body…
He jerked out of his thoughts as she retracted her hand after making sure he won’t move, body tensing in impatience to get away, but willing to hear her out. She met his gaze fearlessly even as her hands twitched, as if wanting to revert back to her old habit of tapping her fingers together.
“Naruto-kun…”
Neji frowned, and even in the face of that, she still looked at him stubbornly. Still drew herself up proudly. She would make a fine leader, if given half a chance to.
“What makes you think you’re good enough for him?”
The harsh words flashed through him and he nearly took a step back in shock. Neji stiffened his jaw, ignored the faint prick of betrayal, and narrowed his eyes.
“He’s going to be great you know.” Her voice cut into him, relentless and merciless, “They don’t think so now, but he’s going to be someone better than everyone else. He already is going down that road. He’ll end up great, and you’ll always,” her words sliced through him even more sharply, “be a branch family member. That’s all you’ll ever be. You don’t deserve him-”
“-What makes you think that I think I do?” Neji snapped out, finally losing his temper, finally giving into his own fears and releasing them in a barely constrained rage. “What makes you think that I don’t know that already?”
She gave him a victorious smirk, a look so out of place on her face that Neji was jarred into some sort of clarity.
“Then give him up,” said Hinata, giving him a benevolent smile, as if she already knew his answer.
Neji jerked his chin up and snarled, “No.”
“You already said that you aren’t good enough for him!”
“That doesn’t matter! He’s mine,” Neji snapped, fingers flexing as he restrained the urge to form them into fists. “I don’t care if you think I’m not good enough. I won’t leave him alone and I won’t hand him over to you.”
Hinata smiled. Her regular smile, soft and almost shy, but with a hint of pride.
In him? Neji thought in confusion.
“Then I give up.”
He stared at her, taking in her resolute eyes even as it seemed as if something was breaking behind them…
Neji hesitated, not knowing why she was acting this way, but needing to say to her, “Give up?”
She nodded. “He’s good for you, and you’ll be good for him. I can’t be with him; I knew that, not if I was going to try to become the clan’s leader seriously. The elder’s won’t listen if I’m involved with him, no matter how great he gets, no matter how much better than everyone else he’ll become.”
“I just…” she continued on in a slightly broken voice, “I just needed to make sure that you loved him, and I think he’ll love you back, and I…” Hinata kept her hands impossibly still, as if the slightest movement might betray her. “I’m happy. I will be happy. Change is going to come to this village and I want to be there for it. I want to be at the front and let the clan flourish into even more greatness. It won’t happen if I let my feelings get in the way, if I let Hanabe take over, father controlling her every step.”
Hinata hastened to say, “He means well, but it’s not enough. Hanabe is not enough. And there’s nobody else but me. My duty is to the clan.” She placed a gentle hand on Neji’s chest, only this time he didn’t feel any twitch of uncertainty. “You… you’re freer. I choose my cage willingly. I’m not going to let myself be unhappy. But I want you to be happy and I want Naruto-kun to be happy.”
In Hinata, Neji saw the beginnings of a great leader. Someone who would always put the clan before anyone else-something he would never be able to do.
He cleared his throat and said uncertainly, “I don’t have him yet.”
She laughed. “But you’re not going to give up. We Hyuuga’s never give up on something we want.”
Neji could acknowledge that that was true. After all, she had been the one to harbor a crush on Naruto for far longer than Neji had, even before Neji knew who Naruto was. For Hinata, it was less of giving up and more of choosing what she wanted more. What she wanted most of all was to see the Hyuuga clan through the murky future and devote her loyalties entirely to it.
“I won’t.” The unspoken ‘I promise’ drifted lazily through the air.
Hinata gave him a critical look before nodding and stepping aside.
“Good luck, Neji nii-san.”
He gave her a bemused grin. “We shall forge our own luck, Hinata-sama,” more respect on the last part than ever before. He carefully stored the memory away as he searched for his team to give them the slightly late message.
~
The smell of blood lay thickly in the air.
Neji didn’t stop to think as he whirled around and blocked the incoming attack, retaliating with his own and leaving the enemy ninja with a slashed throat. He absentmindedly wiped his bloody kunai on his pants and looked around sharply, spotting TenTen facing off against another Sound ninja, not needing his help as she almost seemed to toy with her enemy, making teasing slashes with her sword before finishing him off with a quick strike into his stomach.
“They’re tapering off!” she shouted.
He nodded, ducking a group of shurikens and racing towards the female ninja who had thrown them. Neji weaved around her quick strikes and slammed his fingers into her arms, cutting off the chakra flow.
As she spat out curses at him, he hooked a foot around hers and jerked, making her arms flail uselessly as she went down. A quick snap of the neck and she lay on the ground limply.
Neji ignored the slight wounds littering his body, the pain in his shoulder where a kunai had found its mark. Instead, he raised a hand in reply to TenTen’s words-that she’ll take care of the rest, that most of them were retreating anyway-and ran off to towards where the fighting was the thickest.
He didn’t know how many he took down, only that they needed to be dead. The sounds of yelling, screams, and shouted orders were dying down, a good sign that the Sound ninjas were nearly beaten back.
As he stumbled into a clearing-a misstep dodging a flare of fire that turned into an awkward roll and a jutsu that tore out the ground beneath the attacker’s feet and swallowed him whole-his brief scan spotted Kakashi ripping through swathes of ninjas, his sharingan burning a fierce red, and Naruto back to back with…
Sasuke.
He had known that Sasuke was back, that Naruto had dragged in the ninja by the collar into the village. He knew that Tsunade and the rest watched the rogue ninja with wary eyes, even as Naruto jabbered about how great it was that Sasuke was back where he belonged and now all the stupid fucker needed to do was to stay in the village. He knew, intellectually, that while Naruto trusted Sasuke (a little less than before, and it was a fragile thing, but it was still trust) the rest of the ninja population watched him like hawks.
Neji never did because he didn’t want to be around Sasuke. Could never forgive him for taking Naruto away for so long.
That also meant staying away from Naruto, since all the blond ninja seemed to do nowadays was hover around Sasuke like a mother cat worrying over her kitten. To his further ire, Naruto seemed to be avoiding him, or at least ignoring him.
Then, three days after they came back, the Sound ninjas attacked.
They had descended in a tightly organized swarm, Orochimaru slipping here and there with a chilling laugh and scores of Leaf ninjas incapacitated or dead. It had taken a combined effort of no less than twenty of the best to take him out, not counting the lives lost of those who had lured the man into the trap in the first place.
But it had been worth it. They had broken the backbone of the attack and now the Sound ninjas were retreating-those that weren’t getting slaughtered by angered, grieving Leaf ninjas.
None would begrudge them their revenge. It was said that there was no point in revenge, but they were ninjas, they never did listen to common sense other than in battle (and half the time not even then).
Neji swallowed his antipathy for Sasuke and grimly spun and weaved and ripped his way towards Naruto’s side. He slid next to Naruto smartly, not trusting Sasuke not to stab him in the back so he was faced towards the other ninja, and turned his head towards Naruto.
“They’re driven completely out of the village, only those around here are left.”
Naruto grunted in acknowledgement as he parried an attack and retaliated, only to reveal a puff of smoke and a log where the enemy had been. Just as the Sound ninja popped back into view, a kage bunshin of his darted out from beneath a tree and killed him.
“They gave the signal to retreat about fifteen minutes ago,” Sasuke said flatly, eyes blood colored and twisting Neji’s stomach more than blood ever could.
He held back the words that were ready to slash at Sasuke, instead settling on a tight nod.
The dark haired Uchiha spun gracefully, hands forming seals, and spat out a torrent of fire, the heat searing at the side of Neji’s face.
He ignored it as he did his wounds and spoke to Naruto, “The Hokage wants you closer to the village.” He didn’t know why, Tsunade had always been protective of Naruto, but usually not to this extent.
Naruto gave a humorless snort. “She wants to make sure I’m not jumped by some ninjas making a last ditch effort for…” He broke off and shook his head. “I’ll be there in a moment.”
Neji restrained the ridiculous urge to reach out and grab Naruto’s hand, instead turning away. He saw the glint of…
And suddenly he was on the ground, face planted in some dirt, and a warm body lying on top of him. Naruto. He sat up immediately and paled at the sight of the blond who now had several shurikans imbedded deeply into his body, at the blood that slid through his fingers as he frantically tried to get the weapons out of the blond and to stop the blood flow.
Sasuke and Kakashi covered them, this realization only making its way into his mind dimly as he tried to staunch the blood, as he snarled at Naruto to stay awake and to focus.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid, Naruto. Why did you…” He fumbled for some gauze and wished that Sakura was nearby; already calculating the time it would take to get Naruto to a medical nin.
Naruto gazed at him blurrily, voice cracking as he said slowly, “Blind. Spot.”
Neji could almost wring the blond’s neck.
“Did you think that you were the only one training for the years you were away? I could handle it, Naruto. Idiot. I’m a better ninja than you’ll ever be, remember?”
“Shut. Up.” Naruto wheezed and coughed up blood.
Shit. Did some of the shurikens puncture Naruto’s lungs? Neji’s hands scrambled over Naruto even more quickly, ignoring the slick coating of blood over his hands.
“Neji,” Kakashi urged lowly, “We’ll take it from here. Go get someone.”
Neji’s hands stilled and he fought the conflicting urges to stay or go.
“Do you want him to die protecting your ass?” Sasuke snapped out, causing Neji’s head to snap up. “I wouldn’t let that happen so easily.”
For a moment his and Sasuke’s eyes were deadlocked, then a brief flicker of understanding went through him and he broke away. He ran his hand through Naruto’s hair once before getting up, ignoring the slight whine that came from the injured ninja at the loss of contact.
“I’ll be back with help soon,” he said helplessly, pointedly ignoring Kakashi’s curious look. After a final assessing scan of Naruto, he ran off.
~
It wasn’t as if he was avoiding Naruto.
Things after the battle were messy; there were administrative duties to pare off, buildings to be repaired, bodies to pick up, and a mass funeral to prepare. There were also small skirmishes with the left over Sound ninja, the ones too fanatical to Orochimaru’s ideals and too stupid to flee, and the guards had been tripled to deal with the leftover threat.
Neji had volunteered of course. He had nothing else to do having ignored the nagging of TenTen to get some rest, of Lee’s worried eyes as the ninja tried to drag him off to his home (the spandex clad ninja hadn’t even bothered with his usual exulting words, but was rebuffed anyway). It wasn’t as if he had been hurt badly. He had a couple new scars and a bandaged shoulder and if he was tired… well, everyone was tired, but they still did their jobs.
He was not severely injured, not like Naruto…
But Tsunade herself had seen to Naruto, had given a faint smile at him as he demanded to know if Naruto was going to be all right. Naruto was fine. He was going to be fine. His injuries were not as severe as they might have been (as severe as Chouji’s, who had lost an arm, or Ino, whose eyesight was damaged in the same attack). In a way Naruto had come off lightly, with enough bed rest he’d be perfectly healthy, and throwing in his astounding ability in healing… he should be in the hospital for a week or two at most.
So it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Neji didn’t have time to visit and had no pressing reason to anyway (TenTen had argued about friendship, but friends should understand that duties came before visitations, right?). Also, he hadn’t caught any indication that Naruto was asking about him, seemingly content with his steady stream of visitors.
The last, when he heard of it, had come as a surprise. It shouldn’t have. Neji should have known that with the blond’s perseverance and complete bullheadedness he would have won others to his side. That his circle of close companions had widened to an impressive degree. Neji wasn’t the only one watching Naruto and fighting side by side almost always let old barriers fall away-what those barriers were was still a mystery, though he suspected that Shikamaru knew, but wouldn’t tell.
But it didn’t mean that Neji would like it.
So he was selfish, he could admit that to himself easily enough. For a long time he thought that he had been one of the only ones to really see Naruto and now that others noticed, he wanted to yank Naruto to his side and snarl at the rest. He wanted to stake his claim and ward everyone else off. He had no right to do so, but his feelings couldn’t be changed.
Neji quietly scoffed at himself and shifted position to lean against a broad tree, one hand resting lightly on the hilt of a kunai. Even sunk deep into his thoughts he didn’t stop scanning his surroundings, kept categorizing each sound that drifted around him, each twitch of movement, and even the scents that the wind brought him.
He just… needed some time. To sort out his feelings, to decide on a course of action. Naruto had kept him waiting for years after all; it was only fair that he was given a few days.
~
Life was never fair. Most of the time it was ruthless and gutted you quickly and messily; it slowed at the painful parts and sped through the happy ones.
Life, Neji thought viciously, staring at the steady dark eyes in front of him, was a bitch.
“You should go visit Naruto.” Even though the words came out of Uchiha’s mouth, it was obvious that Sasuke didn’t care about what he was saying, was only telling Neji because someone else told him to do so.
It was a greater injustice that Uchiha was uninjured (sparing a few scratches that didn’t even become infected) when the entire mess could be placed on his shoulders. It was even more galling when it was clear that Sasuke didn’t care-as if it was all right that scores of ninjas fought and died for him.
Neji felt himself tensing and barely kept himself from grabbing a weapon, instead blanking his face into one of complete indifference.
“I’m busy,” he bit out and started to turn away. Sasuke grabbed his arm to stop him and he froze in place, pale eyes burning at the spot the other ninja’s skin touched his own. He lifted his gaze slowly until he locked eyes with Sasuke, gritting his teeth as he strove for calm tones, “Let go of me, Uchiha.”
Sasuke let go and folded his arms once it was apparent that Neji wasn’t about to leave again. “Naruto wants to see you,” he said slowly, as if speaking to a dull child.
Neji checked himself, forcing his body to relax instead of letting Sasuke discern how agitated he was. “Tell Naruto that I have my duties that require me elsewhere. I don’t have the time to be playing nursemaid by his bedside.” He knew that his words came out harsher than he wanted, but he couldn’t stop them in the face of Uchiha’s calm gaze.
He broke the gaze, they weren’t children holding staring contests anymore, and let his eyes drift down the hallway and towards the exit. All he wanted to do at this moment was to go back onto patrol, even with Tsunade clucking after him to get some rest, always just shy of an order because Konoha really did need the manpower he could provide.
“You haven’t visited Naruto at all,” Sasuke pointed out, “it is hardly playing nursemaid to go see him.”
Neji rounded on him, temper slipping. “Somebody needs to take care of the village. Though you,” the emphasis on the word made it scornful, “seem to be taking it easy, perhaps revisiting sites that you so carelessly abandoned, the rest of the ninjas have to work overtime for the aftermath of a battle you-” he cut himself off ruthlessly, satisfied by the widening of Sasuke’s eyes before they narrowed into an angry glare.
“Do you think,” Sasuke hissed, “that I led the Sound ninjas to the village on purpose?”
Neji gave a sharp smirk. “Of course not. Not even you would ruin your chances of reintegrating yourself into the village so soon after arrival.”
“And don’t you think that for the same reasons I wouldn’t be allowed to scout? To guard?”
Neji tilted his chin up, refusing to admit that it slipped his mind that Tsunade wouldn’t let Uchiha do anything without a guard-and with his principle guard temporarily out of commission, Sasuke was restricted to the least of tasks. Unsettled from the discovery when he should have known immediately, he didn’t answer.
“I was willing to leave Orochimaru’s grasp, but what I wanted was to leave on my own. I didn’t even think about returning to Konoha,” said Sasuke whose knuckles were turning white. “But Naruto dragged me back, told me that even though I might not want to come back, I had an obligation to everyone I left behind. When I tried to tell him that Orochimaru wasn’t going to let me go so simply, he laughed and told me that what I said was obvious and ‘Are you slipping, Sasuke? Don’t tell me that your time with the snake bastard made you stupider than you already were. Don’t worry, everyone wants to see you.’”
Classic Naruto, Neji thought with a touch of fondness even as his lips flattened into an unhappy line, bluntly heading into the heart of the matter. He had seen that Sasuke had been prepared to run away, afraid of the accusations he would receive. “Why are you telling me this?”
“He wants to see you. I was an obligation of old memories and a promise to Sakura, but he asked to see you.” Sasuke looked frustrated as Neji’s lack of understanding. “He wants to see you for himself.” His arms unfolded, hands clenched into fists at his side.
And finally, finally, Neji understood. That Naruto asked to see him when he wouldn’t ask anyone else. The same Naruto that had yelled at him for leaving him money for a window Neji broke. The intensely prideful Naruto who hated to admit he was reliant on anyone even as others were eventually drawn to him by the golden energy he exuded. His Naruto. The one he knew best.
“You’re going to see him even if I have to drag you into his room,” Sasuke vowed quietly.
Uchiha, who was as dependent on Naruto as the rest of them had slowly become. Naruto had touched each of their lives and left a giant imprint on them all. Even as the ninja forged his own way, the rest of them would follow without asking, to help steer him and to help clear his path.
And Neji, the one Naruto asked to visit him.
~
“You would be a great hokage someday,” Neji said softly by the door, too quiet for the bed’s occupant to catch.
Naruto slowly turned to him and gave him an uncertain smile.
“Hey Neji.”
At a loss of words, Neji nodded in reply and walked to the side of the bed at the slight beckon of Naruto’s hand. The other ninja grinned sheepishly as he sat up, soft white bandages looped around his chest and arms. He didn’t seem to be in any trouble though, his movements fluid even if they were done carefully.
“Jeez, I kept asking Baa-chan to release me earlier but she kept nagging about needing rest and just getting back from a huge mission before being thrust directly into battle.” He grinned at Neji broadly. “I tuned her out after that, too much nagging.”
The smile faded slightly as Neji struggled with a reply, wanting to ask why Naruto asked for him, but not wanting it to come out awkwardly.
A few beats of silence and just as Neji was about to say anything, Naruto blurted out, “I’m selfish!”
Taken aback, Neji blinked and his words froze in his throat. This was apparently fine for Naruto, since the other ninja kept right on going.
“I’m sorry! It’s just that… I…” he trailed off, then visibly rallied himself before trying again, “I’m selfish,” he stated again, blue eyes staring at Neji’s lavender ones earnestly. “I don’t think about your feelings and I’m always leaving. You always stay by me and you don’t say anything, but how can I let you just… wait like that?”
Naruto took a deep breath. “I can’t even give you a proper reply. I don’t even know how I really feel about you yet,” his gaze dropped and his hands twisted in his sheets as Neji’s body grew cold and he longed to make Naruto stop talking before his dreams were killed. But he was frozen and could do nothing but listen to the words tripping out of blond’s mouth.
“B-but… I don’t feel nothing you know?” Naruto looked up hopefully. “You’re more than just a friend, you’re like my best friend but at the same time you’re… special. Special-er.” He finished off lamely.
Neji thawed at the words and he said carefully, “I won’t give up. I’m not about to stop.”
Red crept onto Naruto’s cheeks and he stared at Neji after the bold statement.
Neji could feel a bit of a blush on his face as well, but he willed it away the best that he could, inched closer to Naruto so that his thighs were pressed against the side of the bed. He leaned over to Naruto, watched as the other ninja turned even redder, but didn’t move away. Satisfaction and a hint of anticipation flickered through him and he smiled.
The blond stared at his smile and mirrored it.
“I waited a long time,” Neji murmured.
Naruto fidgeted in apprehension. Neji moved just a bit closer, braced himself with both arms placed to the sides of Naruto on the bed, and let his lips lightly touch Naruto’s. He felt slight tension coming from the blond, but then Naruto relaxed and reciprocated the soft kiss, lips moving together in an almost lazy way-a stark contrast to the first kiss.
Neji broke it after a moment, an eternity, and rested his forehead against Naruto’s. The other ninja looked stunned, but not unhappy.
He pulled away and grinned.
“I can wait.”
Naruto jerked his head up, eyes wide. “Wait, what?”
His grin widened and he reached over and gently clasped Naruto’s hand. “I’ve been patient a long time. I can wait a little while longer.”
He was fairly confident that Naruto would fully cave soon. The blond didn’t seem adverse to the kiss and, as he had said to Hinata, he wasn’t about to give up. Not any time soon. Not ever. He was looking forward to knowing Naruto even better than he did now. Besides, no matter how well he thought he knew Naruto there were always more things to discover, more secrets he’ll slowly earn. It was never ending because people changed with time and there were infinite layers to each person.
Naruto suddenly laughed, eyes conveying a silent thanks, and slowly twined his fingers with Neji’s.
Instead of fate or destiny, Naruto would have to evolve on his own; something Neji had more faith in than anything else.
Naruto helped him to change after all.
Part 1/2
Neji basked in Naruto’s presence as much as he could without being too obvious about it. At times though, it seemed as if the entire village knew about it already, with the only oblivious remaining was the object of his… affections (it was easy to think of kissing Naruto or other… things-he was a healthy teenage boy. But it was harder to envision a domestic scene the words seemed to inspire. Neji nearly choked imagining Naruto dolled up in a presentable manner to the clan, his coughing fit, in fact, made Lee shriek about how he would Save Neji From the Horror and Indignity of Choking on Soft and Slippery Noodles while TenTen just whacked him on the back once and probably saved his life).
He was horribly (because he thought he was being more subtle… that or someone was spreading rumors) aware that Jiraiya had somehow found out, and the only thing worse than a legendary ninja staring at you in a way that conveyed the wish to dissect you was the same legendary ninja giving him books with lecherous winks. He had, of course, heard about Jiraiya’s dabbling as a writer (as well as the subject matter) and had promptly tried to burn the book.
Kakashi had rescued it before it could even singe properly, and lectured him on the proper ways to take care of fine literature. Then the jounin carted off his prize home, cackling something about limited edition and HUGE HUGE *****.
Neji had fled as soon as the second ‘huge’ had been uttered.
In a way though he was content with his current situation (even if it embarrassed him) because it meant that people noticed Naruto now. Before only three knew.
And now? It was hard to find someone who didn’t know.
Well, honestly, only a select few really knew if you counted the entire village. It was just that the few who knew were the ones he interacted with frequently. Of course his clan didn’t know (and wouldn’t for quite some time if he had any say in it, and his very sharp kunai did), but at the very least, most of his peers noticed his sudden increase of interest in Naruto.
It pleased him and agitated him at the same time.
Before, he could spend the entire day with Naruto without anyone really noticing. Now, Kiba stared at them openly, Hinata watched with a resigned smile, Kakashi and Jiraiya both leered, Sakura gave him a bemused look, Iruka a concerned one, and Shikamaru just gave him a knowing glance.
And that was just today.
“Yo, Neji, why are you all bent over with your head in your hands?”
Neji looked up from his hands into bright blue eyes and he straightened abruptly, causing Naruto to laugh.
He liked the sound of Naruto’s laughter. When not forced, it was bright and cheerful. It also caused a low pull in his stomach and a faint answering smile on his face.
“No reason,” said Neji, casually. He was content in watching the large smile spread across Naruto’s face, in the way that Naruto relaxed around him so easily.
Naruto slumped boneless on the ground and leaned against Neji’s legs.
If Neji’s brain was working properly at the moment, he would have realized that they were in a deserted clearing with the only thing to lean onto being about a hundred feet away. He would have thought that he was lucky that Naruto was comfortable enough around him to do so, was comfortable enough to not even mention it or ask for permission (which would be strange, to say the least).
That was, if his brain was working properly.
His brain just stalled and only started again when Naruto looked up at him and gave him a grin.
“You okay, Neji?”
He nodded automatically. The blond haired ninja took that for a sign that no, he hadn’t killed Neji with shock and relaxed again, leaving them with a companionable silence.
It was scenes like this, moments like this, when he realized how much Naruto has changed and how much Naruto has remained the same. In an impromptu meeting with his peers, Shikamaru had said it best.
He’s mellower now. Like he knows his purpose and who he is, but doesn’t feel the need to proclaim it off of rooftops anymore. He’s secure.
This, more than anything else, was what made Neji acknowledge that Naruto was right in going off to train.
Carefully, he let his fingers ghost through the edges of Naruto’s hair, let them touch the wispy strands of gold. Naruto would know, but the ninja would probably pass it off as an accident. For a wild moment, Neji wanted to haul Naruto up and… and…
His mind stalled again.
He gave himself a rueful smile, nobody would see it after all, and kept watch of Naruto and of his surroundings.
As long as Naruto was here with him, he had all the time in the world.
~
“What?!” Neji gave Naruto a sharp glare and clenched his hands. Naruto had just come back for a month, just one month and now this?
Naruto just shrugged, ignoring the fierce look thrown at him. He looked resolute though, like nothing in the world was going to stop him.
Neji wished that he was enough of a reason to stop Naruto.
“Why now? Why not wait a few more months? Why not bring us with you?” Neji didn’t care about the faintly shocked looks he garnered from some of the surrounding ninjas. This was important. This was… this was… Naruto leaving to find Sasuke (Neji never hated someone so much as he hated Uchiha at this moment). Alone.
The other ninja sighed and said, “I’ve got the hokage’s permission, you know.” At Neji’s intensifying glare, Naruto continued, “And I’m not going to be alone. Jiraiya’s coming too.”
“That’s not enough!” Sakura pushed her way to the front, worry etched on her face (though Neji couldn’t help but notice, to his disgust, the faint hope in her eyes).
“Sure it is, Sakura-chan!” Naruto gave her a broad smile. “Remember, Ero-sennin might not seem reliable…” He paused for a moment when Jiraiya cuffed his head, wincing and rubbing at it. “…But he’s stronger than pretty much everyone else. I’ll be fine! And I’ll bring Sasuke back with me!” He gave her a peaceful smile.
“I’ll make sure that the brat doesn’t take unnecessary risks,” Jiraiya said, looking vaguely annoyed at the amount of people pressing around him.
Naruto nodded. “It’s a relatively simple retrieval mission.” He winked at Sakura. “The package is just a little bit louder and more difficult than usual. It’s not like we’re taking on Orochimaru.”
“If you can help it.” Neji frowned.
Naruto threw an uncomfortable glance at Jiraiya before looking back at Neji, something no ninja missed. “We’re pretty sure that we’ll miss him. Intelligence has said that he’s going to be away from his current hideout-”
“-How do you even know where that is?”
“-for a while,” Naruto finished. He glanced at Kiba who had asked. “What do you think Jiraiya and I have been doing for the past three years other than train?”
“I wish you luck, comrades!” Lee grinned and gave Naruto two thumbs up.
Gai grinned broadly, mirroring Lee’s actions. “Best of luck retrieving our Wayward Companion!”
Naruto gave them both an uncomfortable grin.
“When are you leaving?” Hinata’s voice cut through the air, the first time the quiet ninja spoke. She straightened her back and didn’t look down when Naruto met her gaze, even if a faint tinge of pink appeared on her cheeks.
Neji wanted to say that Naruto wasn’t leaving, that Naruto was staying put, and that they’d find some other suicidal ninja to take on the mission. But he knew that no matter what he said, the other ninja wasn’t going to back down.
He thought sourly that even if he tied Naruto down and posted guards, Naruto would still find a way to weasel out of the village.
“Day after tomorrow, just long enough to gather up the supplies and other stuff.”
Neji scowled and only stopped when TenTen touched his arm. He resumed his stoic expression and gave her a slight nod in thanks. She gave him a small, uncertain smile before stepping back.
“So early?” Sakura asked, startled.
Naruto rubbed his head. “Yeah, we want to make sure that Orochimaru won’t come back early and catch us at it.”
“You won’t listen to the contrary.” It wasn’t a question and Neji was almost proud of the fact that his voice didn’t fluctuate at all.
Naruto gave him a serious look and a slow nod.
He refrained from saying anything more and turned around, walking through the small crowd quickly.
So that was that.
~
Déjà vu.
Naruto was only half suspecting Neji to be waiting for him at the same roof he had been at, years before. Even then surprise filtered on his face even as his feet skidded to a halt and he raised a hand in greeting.
“Neji?”
Swiftly the other ninja took several steps forward, the light in his lavender eyes making Naruto wanting to step back. But he assured himself that Neji wasn’t going to kill him or even maim him just to make him stay, and that his friend was just going to-
Neji reached him, grabbed him by his jacket and yanked him forward.
The kiss that resulted was messy, involved way too many teeth for comfort, and dragged on for moments as Naruto hung in Neji’s grasp in shock. He didn’t move, let alone reciprocate, and just stared into Neji’s eyes that glittered at him in an almost challenging way.
A long swipe of his tongue and Neji stepped back, letting go of Naruto just as soon as he made sure that the other ninja could stand.
Naruto’s brain stuttered along with his words, “I…I…”
“I?” Neji parroted back, a brow raised.
He just stared at Neji with wide eyes.
“Just come back.” Neji said finally, his face once more inscrutable. A slight pause and he added, “To me.”
Before Naruto could react in anything other than silence or stutters, the other ninja disappeared from sight.
For a moment he wanted nothing more than to find Neji again and demand answers. But then again, demanding answers would result in him getting answers and he hardly knew about his own thoughts on the… issue.
He could only shake his head to clear it and ran off to where Jiraiya was waiting.
He could think about it after they got Sasuke back.
~
The fates conspired against him once more as Naruto, just a mile or so from Jiraiya, ran into TenTen. She was waiting for him with a serious look (though he can’t remember a moment where she wasn’t serious) and seemed rather stiff.
He halted in front of her warily, ready to leap back if she decided to attack him with her lips too.
“Naruto,” she acknowledged.
He just waited for her to continue, fidgeting in a way that he blamed on being late on meeting Jiraiya.
“Neji likes you, you know.”
He gaped at her straight forward words, and she apparently mistook it for ignorance on his part because she gave him a fierce frown, causing him to step back.
“You can’t have not noticed!” Exasperation lined her face and she leaned forward, a disproving frown at her mouth. “He… He stays around you all the time! He smiles when you’re around, when he thinks that nobody is looking.”
For the first time since he met her, Naruto saw TenTen scrambling for words.
“It’s obvious,” she said finally, calming down, “In a way you can’t miss if you’re friends with Neji.”
By the way she stared at him, Naruto was beginning to feel awful about himself. Because… he had noticed, in a vague way. Sort of. He had just thought that Neji liked being around him for some reason he couldn’t explain, and was grateful just for that. To think that it had been for a greater reason confused him, to think that anyone could like him that much just boggled his mind.
Nobody ever…
“I’m sorry.”
She stiffened even more at his words.
Naruto hastened to say, “No, I mean… I didn’t know. I… how could I?” He said, almost helplessly, except he had sworn himself that he’d be strong when he was younger and damn it, not helpless, not anymore.
“Think about it.” That was an order, and TenTen looked as if she’d skewer him on the spot with her shurikens if he said anything to the contrary.
He nodded.
She turned around and began walking away, apparently satisfied with his response and whatever else she could read from his expression.
Before she jumped down from the building, she paused and turned to look at him once more.
“You’re lucky, you know.”
Naruto gave another nod, striking out his earlier conviction to think about it later.
Neji deserved not to become an afterthought.
~
If Neji was acting more snappish than usual, nobody thought to bring it up to him. He didn’t understand why there was such a large difference between Naruto leaving last time and Naruto leaving this time-
--except for that damnable kiss, what in the worlds was he thinking?--
-but he did acknowledge that he was testier than usual and less forgiving (not that he was very) of mistakes. People walked around him carefully now, have been for the past few days, with the only exception being TenTen who seemed content to let him terrorize people for a while and Hinata who looked more frozen in indecision than terrified.
Now that he was aware of it though (Shikamaru had taken him aside and told him bluntly), he strove to contain his ire. After all, it was nobody else’s fault that Naruto left. Nobody’s fault except for Uchiha. He was aware that he was blaming everything on Sasuke, but found that he did not care. He never really liked the dark-haired ninja anyway.
“Yo, kid.”
Neji gave a sharp glance around him, looking for the idiot who dared to call him a ‘kid’. Seeing nobody, he frowned sharply.
“Down here.”
A flash of orange caught his eyes and he looked down at a... frog. A frog wearing a jacket, which wasn’t that unusual in a ninja village considering that the turtle that Gai summons wore a leaf insignia and Kakashi’s dog summon, Pakkun, wore both.
Neji studied the frog closely, realizing that it had to be one of Naruto’s or Jiraiya’s, and gave it a short nod in greeting.
“Not very vocal, are you?” Gamakichi hopped onto a nearby ledge so that he was closer to Neji’s eye level. “I’m just here to deliver a message.” At Neji’s steady stare, he added in, “From the blond haired idiot.”
Neji wondered if it was customary for all summons to make fun of their... partners, or whether Naruto was just a special case (as always).
“What is it?” He nearly fidgeted, waiting to hear some message about how Naruto doesn’t want to see Neji ever again, or how Naruto thinks it’s gross, or how Naruto just wanted to be friends. Honestly, he would be fine with the last, as long as he could continue to see Naruto.
Gamakichi apparently saw something on his face, for the little frog just waved one webbed hand in the air. “Oi, he doesn’t hate you or anything.”
Some of Neji’s mortification must have showed on his face (Naruto told his frog?), because Gamakichi continued on, “The kid was muttering to himself a lot while giving me the message. Can’t have missed the multiple times he said ‘Neji kissed me’ ya know.”
Neji felt the blood rush to his cheeks and he shook his head as if that would dispel the blush.
“So… the kid said he doesn’t hate you. Then he blathers on about where they are, Jiraiya’s a jerk for pushing them so fast, and other stuff.”
“…Aren’t you supposed to relay the message entirely?”
The frog gave him an amused look, “Do you really think the rest of it mattered to the kid?”
Neji smiled faintly.
“Oh, yeah. And Jiraiya said that it’s about time you finally made a move, something about good material for his next book, and to not mess it up.”
He twitched and Gamakichi snickered before disappearing in a poof of smoke.
Neji tried to stifle the faint hope even as his lips twitched into an involuntary smile. At least he knew that Naruto didn’t hate him.
~
It didn’t take long for Neji to return to his regular self, a fact which swept through his comrades with sighs of relief. He was back to waiting for Naruto to return (for what else could he do?), except now it wasn’t a patient wait. Each day twisted that knot in his chest just a bit tighter, each day was just a bit harder even if he never showed it. The jounin wasn’t sure why things were so much worse now than they were before… nothing changed, right?
Nothing changed except that he told Naruto, or rather showed, his feelings. And even though the blond haired ninja sent his frog to tell him that things were all right, that didn’t mean that Naruto couldn’t change his mind later.
Not only that, Neji was slowly beginning to realize, just from that one kiss (that, admittedly, wasn’t very good considering Naruto didn’t reciprocate, but almost spectacular because it was Naruto he had kissed) that he wasn’t sure if he could ever be content with Naruto just being friends with him.
What was even worse was that the choice was out of his hands. He could influence it, of course, but ultimately, the decision lay with Naruto.
~
After a few weeks of Hinata returning to her earlier habit of looking down shyly when she met him (though thankfully, she didn’t blush nearly as much and her hands were quite calm at her sides) she finally pulled him to the side.
It wasn’t the best of times. Neji had a fairly urgent report to give to the hokage, and he needed to debrief his team. The Sound Village was getting more restless and there had been reports of enemy ninjas lurking several miles (but still too close) to Konoha. He wasn’t sure how things were going on Naruto’s front, but he didn’t like the information he was hearing-did Orochimaru figure out about Naruto and Jiraiya’s mission? Was there a trap waiting for them? Or were the ninjas there by chance?
He couldn’t leave things up to chance. Not with what was on the line.
So he gave Hinata an impatient glare, feeling vague surprise when she just gave him a steady look back and stopped him when he tried to leave again with a hurried, “Later, Hinata-sama.”
“This is important, Neji nii-san,” she said and placed a hand on his chest to stop him from leaving. This was more than just a casual gesture from Hyuugas. “And I won’t take long.” Her voice didn’t tremble the slightest and her mouth was set in a determined line.
Neji stopped, shifting underneath her gentle hand warily. She was firmer now, more confident, but she never stalled him before-not when it was important.
Besides, knowing what those hands could do with just a light tap to his body…
He jerked out of his thoughts as she retracted her hand after making sure he won’t move, body tensing in impatience to get away, but willing to hear her out. She met his gaze fearlessly even as her hands twitched, as if wanting to revert back to her old habit of tapping her fingers together.
“Naruto-kun…”
Neji frowned, and even in the face of that, she still looked at him stubbornly. Still drew herself up proudly. She would make a fine leader, if given half a chance to.
“What makes you think you’re good enough for him?”
The harsh words flashed through him and he nearly took a step back in shock. Neji stiffened his jaw, ignored the faint prick of betrayal, and narrowed his eyes.
“He’s going to be great you know.” Her voice cut into him, relentless and merciless, “They don’t think so now, but he’s going to be someone better than everyone else. He already is going down that road. He’ll end up great, and you’ll always,” her words sliced through him even more sharply, “be a branch family member. That’s all you’ll ever be. You don’t deserve him-”
“-What makes you think that I think I do?” Neji snapped out, finally losing his temper, finally giving into his own fears and releasing them in a barely constrained rage. “What makes you think that I don’t know that already?”
She gave him a victorious smirk, a look so out of place on her face that Neji was jarred into some sort of clarity.
“Then give him up,” said Hinata, giving him a benevolent smile, as if she already knew his answer.
Neji jerked his chin up and snarled, “No.”
“You already said that you aren’t good enough for him!”
“That doesn’t matter! He’s mine,” Neji snapped, fingers flexing as he restrained the urge to form them into fists. “I don’t care if you think I’m not good enough. I won’t leave him alone and I won’t hand him over to you.”
Hinata smiled. Her regular smile, soft and almost shy, but with a hint of pride.
In him? Neji thought in confusion.
“Then I give up.”
He stared at her, taking in her resolute eyes even as it seemed as if something was breaking behind them…
Neji hesitated, not knowing why she was acting this way, but needing to say to her, “Give up?”
She nodded. “He’s good for you, and you’ll be good for him. I can’t be with him; I knew that, not if I was going to try to become the clan’s leader seriously. The elder’s won’t listen if I’m involved with him, no matter how great he gets, no matter how much better than everyone else he’ll become.”
“I just…” she continued on in a slightly broken voice, “I just needed to make sure that you loved him, and I think he’ll love you back, and I…” Hinata kept her hands impossibly still, as if the slightest movement might betray her. “I’m happy. I will be happy. Change is going to come to this village and I want to be there for it. I want to be at the front and let the clan flourish into even more greatness. It won’t happen if I let my feelings get in the way, if I let Hanabe take over, father controlling her every step.”
Hinata hastened to say, “He means well, but it’s not enough. Hanabe is not enough. And there’s nobody else but me. My duty is to the clan.” She placed a gentle hand on Neji’s chest, only this time he didn’t feel any twitch of uncertainty. “You… you’re freer. I choose my cage willingly. I’m not going to let myself be unhappy. But I want you to be happy and I want Naruto-kun to be happy.”
In Hinata, Neji saw the beginnings of a great leader. Someone who would always put the clan before anyone else-something he would never be able to do.
He cleared his throat and said uncertainly, “I don’t have him yet.”
She laughed. “But you’re not going to give up. We Hyuuga’s never give up on something we want.”
Neji could acknowledge that that was true. After all, she had been the one to harbor a crush on Naruto for far longer than Neji had, even before Neji knew who Naruto was. For Hinata, it was less of giving up and more of choosing what she wanted more. What she wanted most of all was to see the Hyuuga clan through the murky future and devote her loyalties entirely to it.
“I won’t.” The unspoken ‘I promise’ drifted lazily through the air.
Hinata gave him a critical look before nodding and stepping aside.
“Good luck, Neji nii-san.”
He gave her a bemused grin. “We shall forge our own luck, Hinata-sama,” more respect on the last part than ever before. He carefully stored the memory away as he searched for his team to give them the slightly late message.
~
The smell of blood lay thickly in the air.
Neji didn’t stop to think as he whirled around and blocked the incoming attack, retaliating with his own and leaving the enemy ninja with a slashed throat. He absentmindedly wiped his bloody kunai on his pants and looked around sharply, spotting TenTen facing off against another Sound ninja, not needing his help as she almost seemed to toy with her enemy, making teasing slashes with her sword before finishing him off with a quick strike into his stomach.
“They’re tapering off!” she shouted.
He nodded, ducking a group of shurikens and racing towards the female ninja who had thrown them. Neji weaved around her quick strikes and slammed his fingers into her arms, cutting off the chakra flow.
As she spat out curses at him, he hooked a foot around hers and jerked, making her arms flail uselessly as she went down. A quick snap of the neck and she lay on the ground limply.
Neji ignored the slight wounds littering his body, the pain in his shoulder where a kunai had found its mark. Instead, he raised a hand in reply to TenTen’s words-that she’ll take care of the rest, that most of them were retreating anyway-and ran off to towards where the fighting was the thickest.
He didn’t know how many he took down, only that they needed to be dead. The sounds of yelling, screams, and shouted orders were dying down, a good sign that the Sound ninjas were nearly beaten back.
As he stumbled into a clearing-a misstep dodging a flare of fire that turned into an awkward roll and a jutsu that tore out the ground beneath the attacker’s feet and swallowed him whole-his brief scan spotted Kakashi ripping through swathes of ninjas, his sharingan burning a fierce red, and Naruto back to back with…
Sasuke.
He had known that Sasuke was back, that Naruto had dragged in the ninja by the collar into the village. He knew that Tsunade and the rest watched the rogue ninja with wary eyes, even as Naruto jabbered about how great it was that Sasuke was back where he belonged and now all the stupid fucker needed to do was to stay in the village. He knew, intellectually, that while Naruto trusted Sasuke (a little less than before, and it was a fragile thing, but it was still trust) the rest of the ninja population watched him like hawks.
Neji never did because he didn’t want to be around Sasuke. Could never forgive him for taking Naruto away for so long.
That also meant staying away from Naruto, since all the blond ninja seemed to do nowadays was hover around Sasuke like a mother cat worrying over her kitten. To his further ire, Naruto seemed to be avoiding him, or at least ignoring him.
Then, three days after they came back, the Sound ninjas attacked.
They had descended in a tightly organized swarm, Orochimaru slipping here and there with a chilling laugh and scores of Leaf ninjas incapacitated or dead. It had taken a combined effort of no less than twenty of the best to take him out, not counting the lives lost of those who had lured the man into the trap in the first place.
But it had been worth it. They had broken the backbone of the attack and now the Sound ninjas were retreating-those that weren’t getting slaughtered by angered, grieving Leaf ninjas.
None would begrudge them their revenge. It was said that there was no point in revenge, but they were ninjas, they never did listen to common sense other than in battle (and half the time not even then).
Neji swallowed his antipathy for Sasuke and grimly spun and weaved and ripped his way towards Naruto’s side. He slid next to Naruto smartly, not trusting Sasuke not to stab him in the back so he was faced towards the other ninja, and turned his head towards Naruto.
“They’re driven completely out of the village, only those around here are left.”
Naruto grunted in acknowledgement as he parried an attack and retaliated, only to reveal a puff of smoke and a log where the enemy had been. Just as the Sound ninja popped back into view, a kage bunshin of his darted out from beneath a tree and killed him.
“They gave the signal to retreat about fifteen minutes ago,” Sasuke said flatly, eyes blood colored and twisting Neji’s stomach more than blood ever could.
He held back the words that were ready to slash at Sasuke, instead settling on a tight nod.
The dark haired Uchiha spun gracefully, hands forming seals, and spat out a torrent of fire, the heat searing at the side of Neji’s face.
He ignored it as he did his wounds and spoke to Naruto, “The Hokage wants you closer to the village.” He didn’t know why, Tsunade had always been protective of Naruto, but usually not to this extent.
Naruto gave a humorless snort. “She wants to make sure I’m not jumped by some ninjas making a last ditch effort for…” He broke off and shook his head. “I’ll be there in a moment.”
Neji restrained the ridiculous urge to reach out and grab Naruto’s hand, instead turning away. He saw the glint of…
And suddenly he was on the ground, face planted in some dirt, and a warm body lying on top of him. Naruto. He sat up immediately and paled at the sight of the blond who now had several shurikans imbedded deeply into his body, at the blood that slid through his fingers as he frantically tried to get the weapons out of the blond and to stop the blood flow.
Sasuke and Kakashi covered them, this realization only making its way into his mind dimly as he tried to staunch the blood, as he snarled at Naruto to stay awake and to focus.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid, Naruto. Why did you…” He fumbled for some gauze and wished that Sakura was nearby; already calculating the time it would take to get Naruto to a medical nin.
Naruto gazed at him blurrily, voice cracking as he said slowly, “Blind. Spot.”
Neji could almost wring the blond’s neck.
“Did you think that you were the only one training for the years you were away? I could handle it, Naruto. Idiot. I’m a better ninja than you’ll ever be, remember?”
“Shut. Up.” Naruto wheezed and coughed up blood.
Shit. Did some of the shurikens puncture Naruto’s lungs? Neji’s hands scrambled over Naruto even more quickly, ignoring the slick coating of blood over his hands.
“Neji,” Kakashi urged lowly, “We’ll take it from here. Go get someone.”
Neji’s hands stilled and he fought the conflicting urges to stay or go.
“Do you want him to die protecting your ass?” Sasuke snapped out, causing Neji’s head to snap up. “I wouldn’t let that happen so easily.”
For a moment his and Sasuke’s eyes were deadlocked, then a brief flicker of understanding went through him and he broke away. He ran his hand through Naruto’s hair once before getting up, ignoring the slight whine that came from the injured ninja at the loss of contact.
“I’ll be back with help soon,” he said helplessly, pointedly ignoring Kakashi’s curious look. After a final assessing scan of Naruto, he ran off.
~
It wasn’t as if he was avoiding Naruto.
Things after the battle were messy; there were administrative duties to pare off, buildings to be repaired, bodies to pick up, and a mass funeral to prepare. There were also small skirmishes with the left over Sound ninja, the ones too fanatical to Orochimaru’s ideals and too stupid to flee, and the guards had been tripled to deal with the leftover threat.
Neji had volunteered of course. He had nothing else to do having ignored the nagging of TenTen to get some rest, of Lee’s worried eyes as the ninja tried to drag him off to his home (the spandex clad ninja hadn’t even bothered with his usual exulting words, but was rebuffed anyway). It wasn’t as if he had been hurt badly. He had a couple new scars and a bandaged shoulder and if he was tired… well, everyone was tired, but they still did their jobs.
He was not severely injured, not like Naruto…
But Tsunade herself had seen to Naruto, had given a faint smile at him as he demanded to know if Naruto was going to be all right. Naruto was fine. He was going to be fine. His injuries were not as severe as they might have been (as severe as Chouji’s, who had lost an arm, or Ino, whose eyesight was damaged in the same attack). In a way Naruto had come off lightly, with enough bed rest he’d be perfectly healthy, and throwing in his astounding ability in healing… he should be in the hospital for a week or two at most.
So it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Neji didn’t have time to visit and had no pressing reason to anyway (TenTen had argued about friendship, but friends should understand that duties came before visitations, right?). Also, he hadn’t caught any indication that Naruto was asking about him, seemingly content with his steady stream of visitors.
The last, when he heard of it, had come as a surprise. It shouldn’t have. Neji should have known that with the blond’s perseverance and complete bullheadedness he would have won others to his side. That his circle of close companions had widened to an impressive degree. Neji wasn’t the only one watching Naruto and fighting side by side almost always let old barriers fall away-what those barriers were was still a mystery, though he suspected that Shikamaru knew, but wouldn’t tell.
But it didn’t mean that Neji would like it.
So he was selfish, he could admit that to himself easily enough. For a long time he thought that he had been one of the only ones to really see Naruto and now that others noticed, he wanted to yank Naruto to his side and snarl at the rest. He wanted to stake his claim and ward everyone else off. He had no right to do so, but his feelings couldn’t be changed.
Neji quietly scoffed at himself and shifted position to lean against a broad tree, one hand resting lightly on the hilt of a kunai. Even sunk deep into his thoughts he didn’t stop scanning his surroundings, kept categorizing each sound that drifted around him, each twitch of movement, and even the scents that the wind brought him.
He just… needed some time. To sort out his feelings, to decide on a course of action. Naruto had kept him waiting for years after all; it was only fair that he was given a few days.
~
Life was never fair. Most of the time it was ruthless and gutted you quickly and messily; it slowed at the painful parts and sped through the happy ones.
Life, Neji thought viciously, staring at the steady dark eyes in front of him, was a bitch.
“You should go visit Naruto.” Even though the words came out of Uchiha’s mouth, it was obvious that Sasuke didn’t care about what he was saying, was only telling Neji because someone else told him to do so.
It was a greater injustice that Uchiha was uninjured (sparing a few scratches that didn’t even become infected) when the entire mess could be placed on his shoulders. It was even more galling when it was clear that Sasuke didn’t care-as if it was all right that scores of ninjas fought and died for him.
Neji felt himself tensing and barely kept himself from grabbing a weapon, instead blanking his face into one of complete indifference.
“I’m busy,” he bit out and started to turn away. Sasuke grabbed his arm to stop him and he froze in place, pale eyes burning at the spot the other ninja’s skin touched his own. He lifted his gaze slowly until he locked eyes with Sasuke, gritting his teeth as he strove for calm tones, “Let go of me, Uchiha.”
Sasuke let go and folded his arms once it was apparent that Neji wasn’t about to leave again. “Naruto wants to see you,” he said slowly, as if speaking to a dull child.
Neji checked himself, forcing his body to relax instead of letting Sasuke discern how agitated he was. “Tell Naruto that I have my duties that require me elsewhere. I don’t have the time to be playing nursemaid by his bedside.” He knew that his words came out harsher than he wanted, but he couldn’t stop them in the face of Uchiha’s calm gaze.
He broke the gaze, they weren’t children holding staring contests anymore, and let his eyes drift down the hallway and towards the exit. All he wanted to do at this moment was to go back onto patrol, even with Tsunade clucking after him to get some rest, always just shy of an order because Konoha really did need the manpower he could provide.
“You haven’t visited Naruto at all,” Sasuke pointed out, “it is hardly playing nursemaid to go see him.”
Neji rounded on him, temper slipping. “Somebody needs to take care of the village. Though you,” the emphasis on the word made it scornful, “seem to be taking it easy, perhaps revisiting sites that you so carelessly abandoned, the rest of the ninjas have to work overtime for the aftermath of a battle you-” he cut himself off ruthlessly, satisfied by the widening of Sasuke’s eyes before they narrowed into an angry glare.
“Do you think,” Sasuke hissed, “that I led the Sound ninjas to the village on purpose?”
Neji gave a sharp smirk. “Of course not. Not even you would ruin your chances of reintegrating yourself into the village so soon after arrival.”
“And don’t you think that for the same reasons I wouldn’t be allowed to scout? To guard?”
Neji tilted his chin up, refusing to admit that it slipped his mind that Tsunade wouldn’t let Uchiha do anything without a guard-and with his principle guard temporarily out of commission, Sasuke was restricted to the least of tasks. Unsettled from the discovery when he should have known immediately, he didn’t answer.
“I was willing to leave Orochimaru’s grasp, but what I wanted was to leave on my own. I didn’t even think about returning to Konoha,” said Sasuke whose knuckles were turning white. “But Naruto dragged me back, told me that even though I might not want to come back, I had an obligation to everyone I left behind. When I tried to tell him that Orochimaru wasn’t going to let me go so simply, he laughed and told me that what I said was obvious and ‘Are you slipping, Sasuke? Don’t tell me that your time with the snake bastard made you stupider than you already were. Don’t worry, everyone wants to see you.’”
Classic Naruto, Neji thought with a touch of fondness even as his lips flattened into an unhappy line, bluntly heading into the heart of the matter. He had seen that Sasuke had been prepared to run away, afraid of the accusations he would receive. “Why are you telling me this?”
“He wants to see you. I was an obligation of old memories and a promise to Sakura, but he asked to see you.” Sasuke looked frustrated as Neji’s lack of understanding. “He wants to see you for himself.” His arms unfolded, hands clenched into fists at his side.
And finally, finally, Neji understood. That Naruto asked to see him when he wouldn’t ask anyone else. The same Naruto that had yelled at him for leaving him money for a window Neji broke. The intensely prideful Naruto who hated to admit he was reliant on anyone even as others were eventually drawn to him by the golden energy he exuded. His Naruto. The one he knew best.
“You’re going to see him even if I have to drag you into his room,” Sasuke vowed quietly.
Uchiha, who was as dependent on Naruto as the rest of them had slowly become. Naruto had touched each of their lives and left a giant imprint on them all. Even as the ninja forged his own way, the rest of them would follow without asking, to help steer him and to help clear his path.
And Neji, the one Naruto asked to visit him.
~
“You would be a great hokage someday,” Neji said softly by the door, too quiet for the bed’s occupant to catch.
Naruto slowly turned to him and gave him an uncertain smile.
“Hey Neji.”
At a loss of words, Neji nodded in reply and walked to the side of the bed at the slight beckon of Naruto’s hand. The other ninja grinned sheepishly as he sat up, soft white bandages looped around his chest and arms. He didn’t seem to be in any trouble though, his movements fluid even if they were done carefully.
“Jeez, I kept asking Baa-chan to release me earlier but she kept nagging about needing rest and just getting back from a huge mission before being thrust directly into battle.” He grinned at Neji broadly. “I tuned her out after that, too much nagging.”
The smile faded slightly as Neji struggled with a reply, wanting to ask why Naruto asked for him, but not wanting it to come out awkwardly.
A few beats of silence and just as Neji was about to say anything, Naruto blurted out, “I’m selfish!”
Taken aback, Neji blinked and his words froze in his throat. This was apparently fine for Naruto, since the other ninja kept right on going.
“I’m sorry! It’s just that… I…” he trailed off, then visibly rallied himself before trying again, “I’m selfish,” he stated again, blue eyes staring at Neji’s lavender ones earnestly. “I don’t think about your feelings and I’m always leaving. You always stay by me and you don’t say anything, but how can I let you just… wait like that?”
Naruto took a deep breath. “I can’t even give you a proper reply. I don’t even know how I really feel about you yet,” his gaze dropped and his hands twisted in his sheets as Neji’s body grew cold and he longed to make Naruto stop talking before his dreams were killed. But he was frozen and could do nothing but listen to the words tripping out of blond’s mouth.
“B-but… I don’t feel nothing you know?” Naruto looked up hopefully. “You’re more than just a friend, you’re like my best friend but at the same time you’re… special. Special-er.” He finished off lamely.
Neji thawed at the words and he said carefully, “I won’t give up. I’m not about to stop.”
Red crept onto Naruto’s cheeks and he stared at Neji after the bold statement.
Neji could feel a bit of a blush on his face as well, but he willed it away the best that he could, inched closer to Naruto so that his thighs were pressed against the side of the bed. He leaned over to Naruto, watched as the other ninja turned even redder, but didn’t move away. Satisfaction and a hint of anticipation flickered through him and he smiled.
The blond stared at his smile and mirrored it.
“I waited a long time,” Neji murmured.
Naruto fidgeted in apprehension. Neji moved just a bit closer, braced himself with both arms placed to the sides of Naruto on the bed, and let his lips lightly touch Naruto’s. He felt slight tension coming from the blond, but then Naruto relaxed and reciprocated the soft kiss, lips moving together in an almost lazy way-a stark contrast to the first kiss.
Neji broke it after a moment, an eternity, and rested his forehead against Naruto’s. The other ninja looked stunned, but not unhappy.
He pulled away and grinned.
“I can wait.”
Naruto jerked his head up, eyes wide. “Wait, what?”
His grin widened and he reached over and gently clasped Naruto’s hand. “I’ve been patient a long time. I can wait a little while longer.”
He was fairly confident that Naruto would fully cave soon. The blond didn’t seem adverse to the kiss and, as he had said to Hinata, he wasn’t about to give up. Not any time soon. Not ever. He was looking forward to knowing Naruto even better than he did now. Besides, no matter how well he thought he knew Naruto there were always more things to discover, more secrets he’ll slowly earn. It was never ending because people changed with time and there were infinite layers to each person.
Naruto suddenly laughed, eyes conveying a silent thanks, and slowly twined his fingers with Neji’s.
Instead of fate or destiny, Naruto would have to evolve on his own; something Neji had more faith in than anything else.
Naruto helped him to change after all.