(no subject)
So this was finished over a week ago though I'm only not getting around to posting it. Lazy? Me? Neeeeever ^_^ Special thanks to Sintari for squealing over it fangirlishly and giving it her stamp of approval. XP
Title: Uncommon Gifts
Author: BitterEloquence
Rating: PG
Warnings: Tiny bit of Neji/Hina
In a sane world, a world Neji was used to, he wouldn't be asking himself why he was standing in chest deep brackish water that smelled heavily of rotting vegetation and other pleasantly odorous swamp smells.
And he wasn't even getting paid for this!
The man grimaced and tried to pretend he didn't feel something brush against his leg as his sandal got caught in the muddy riverbed for the fifth time in the last fifteen minutes. He pulled the sandaled foot out of the ankle-deep mud and stumbled over some roots buried deep under the water.
He'd pulled the bindings from his hands long ago, unable to stand the soppy feeling of wet and dirty cloth wrapped stiflingly against his fingers like the snake-like tangle of weeds under foot.
Neji was coming to rue the fact that while the Byakugan might give him near 360° vision, it didn't help him very much when the water was muddy and damed near impossible to see through.
The irritated jounin checked besmeared map clutched in his hand and held it desperately above the water once more and saw that he was finally approaching his destination. Having been born in a village surrounded by rich and lush forests with ever present and useful tree-limbs to run through, Neji was disgruntled at being regulated to this slimy swamp.
They didn't call this the Dead Wood swamp just for the hell of it. There was a decidedly eerie and creepy feeling to this long plane of bone-white trees stripped of vegetation and most plant life. He certainly didn't want to be here but he'd set himself on this task and by the Gods, he would finish it.
Grimacing distastefully, Neji's mud-filled sandals found a small island of solid land and he strode forward, making squelching noises with each step. Checking his map once more, Neji followed the tangle of semi-dry land and snaking underbrush until he finally reached his destination.
The tiny plant didn't look like much.
It looked more like a weed actually with it's spiky leaves and slightly bedraggled looking red flowers. They were a pale red color, almost a watered down blood hue, and looked just as ragged as the rest of the plant. Neji had to check the book just to be sure this was the right plant. The horrible little flower that didn't have the good grace to live anywhere else but a stinking swam.
Nope, this was it. Wrinkling his nose distastefully, for it was a little known fact that Neji disliked getting dirty, he gingerly started prying at the roots of the plant with a kunai. Neji grimaced again and slowly pulled it free of the moss and lichen covered ground. "Hrmph." He gave the plant a disdainful look. He carefully wrapped it up in a damp towel and was very careful with the roots until he was satisfied. Neji pulled up a few more plants before he started off back out of the swamp.
The itching started around thirty minutes later, the redness and swelling shortly there after. Neji wasn't sure what had happened but by the time night fell, his hands were red and screaming with pain. Even the stoic Hyuuga man was unable to keep from whimpering softly that night as he tried to treat the angry and itching skin of his hands with the medical supplies he had on hand.
Traditional ointments didn't seem to have any effect at all and by the time Neji stiffly walked back into Konoha the next morning he was exhaused. He'd been unable to sleep and walked the whole night. Reaching the Hyuuga compound, Neji slightly and trying not to look at his hands. Unhappy looking blisters were rising on the pads of his fingers and he tried to just ignore the sorry shape he was in as he walked grimly to Hinata's herb garden.
It was embarrassing that a jounin like himself had trouble opening the door of the drying shed. This was where Hinata stored her herbs and mixed the various ointments she made. Of course, considering the entire flow of this ghastly mission, he shouldn't be too surprised he could barely even complete his mission. Neji found it surprisingly difficult to work the mechanics of preparing a few pots for the transplanted flowers
By the time he was finished, sweat beaded his brow and he allowed himself to sag against the counter. That was how Hinata found him as she opened the door. Seeing her strong and seemingly unbeatable cousin bowed and grimacing in obvious pain had her heart twisting. All her life, people had told her to be more like Neji, to be strong like Neji, to be swift like Neji.
And here he was, her genius of a cousin with his proud head bowed as he shook with exhaustion and pain. This did not seem right, the universe was surely out of whack today. "Neji-niisan?"
Neji's head jerked up with surprise, his eyes wide and Hinata was reminded of just how young her cousin was. Barely even eighteen, he radiated an air of confidence and maturity far pasted his years and she often forgot that he was only a year older then her. "Hinata-sama." The jounin tried to move his hands behind his back much like a child would hide incriminating evidence.
Hinata was far too sharp for that and those pale eyes narrowed fractionally. "What did you do to your hands, Neji-niisan?" She moved forward, trapping Neji in the small confines of her own personal domain. "Sit down and let me look at them." This was the only place in the entire Hyuuga compound that truly felt like it was hers and she had no problem with giving orders in her shed.
Neji cocked a brow at her command but obediently settled into the stool she motioned toward. "I think I got bitten by some insect or something yesterday in Dead Wood swamp." He admitted guiltily as Hinata pulled out a pair of latex gloves from a cupboard and pulled them on.
"Why were you in Dead Wood? Don't you know it's dangerous to go there, Neji-niisan." She gingerly picked up one of his hands in her own smaller ones. Her fingers were long and slender and surprisingly warm through the thin latex barrier of the gloves.
"You said you wanted a live sample of that plant, right?" Neji jerked his head in the direction of where the four raggedy looking plants (weeds in Neji's opinion) sat.
Hinata glanced over at the plant and her eyes widened fractionally with surprise. "I….did but Father forbade it. He said the Dead Wood swamp is too dangerous. I imagine he wouldn't be too pleased with you for going there, Neji-niisan." She now knew what had caused the rash-like burns on Neji's hands and she turned away to fish out a jar of ointment from a cabinet
"Probably, but then Hiashi-sama has rarely approved of me or my actions." Neji's lips twisted just a bit in a bitter smile and she looked at him sadly for a long moment before moving to spread the salve across his fingers.
"Do you still hate us so much?" She ventured quietly as slender hands smoothed the tingling ointment along the reddened skin of Neji's hands. He felt the salve tingle and then blessed numbness ran through him. For the first time in nearly twenty-four hours, he was without pain.
"I don't hate you, Hinata-sama." And that was completely true. He didn't hate her per se. He still hated the differences in the houses that made it so people were destined form birth to be master or slave but he harbored not real animosity towards Hinata. Quite the opposite in fact. His younger cousin had proven herself to be just as sweet natured and kind as he remember from childhood. She was a wonderful person, beautiful both inside and out.
And that was where the crux of the problem lay.
He lov-err….didn't hate her and he wasn't sure what to do from there. Neji wasn't a man practiced in the ways of love or wooing a woman. He considered asking for some romantic advice from Lee or Gods help him, Gai-sensei since that was more along the lines of their specialty.
Thankfully, sanity had returned shortly after that and he'd not made that mistake.
Hinata watched her cousin from beneath lowered lashes as she smoothed the ointment over those raw and angry looking fingers. Neji's word reverberated through her head and echoed there; or was it was the pounding of her heart? "I'm sorry," She whispered softly and began to bandage his hands.
"What?" That shook him out of his thoughts and for a moment, he looked confused and disoriented. Hinata's hands were soothing against his own and the exhaustion of the previous day was beginning to take it's toll. It felt so good to not have his hands burning and on fire. If Neji had a little less self-control, he would have whimpered with relief.
"You got injured. For me, I'm sorry for that." Those expressive, pale eyes did not dare rise for fear of Neji reading too much of her feelings. She swallowed uncomfortably and concentrated on the task at hand. "For future reference, Neji-niisan, those flowers are also called Firedrop flowers and they secrete a slightly slimy feeling layer of protection on the leaves and stem that causes a burning rash in most people. It's quite painful I'm told."
Neji's jaw had dropped open in shock. How had he not known that…that horrible bunch of weeds was so dangerous!? "Oh, I….didn't realize." Was all he could say. Neji felt his cheeks heat slightly with embarrassment. It wasn't a comfortable feeling to be bested by his own cousin and her apparent more vast knowledge of botany. Not too mention him having been bested by a flower at that! His pride might not survive this intact.
Hinata smiled sweetly, that beautiful face even more beautiful in the early morning light that spilled through the windows. "It's okay, Neji-niisan. Thank you very much for the plants I really did want a sample. And you brought me live samples at that." Hinata was the only girl he knew who could get so excited over plants. It was sort of….endearing really.
Neji felt a smile fighting to tug at his lips. "I thought you would prefer it to flowers." He murmured quietly as exhaustion began to steal over him. Neji felt his eyes grow heavy as he raised a hand that was now fully bandaged and laid it against Hinata's cheek as she finished the other hand as well "Thank you." He murmured briefly. When his lips settled across hers for a brief kiss, Hinata didn't pull away. Neji took that as a good sign but knew better then to press his luck.
Hinata's breath caught in the back of her throat as Neji kissed her and for a startled moment, she had frozen, unsure of what to do. Neji had decided for her by pulling away and the girl looked up at her cousin with a sort of deer in the headlights look in her eyes. "T-Thank y-you." She squeaked and stammered as she felt distinctly like she were twelve years old again.
"I should get some sleep." Neji murmured, thumb tracing along the line of Hinata's cheek. He was unable to feel the rising heat along the young woman's cheek but he knew it was there and that amused him for some reason.
"A-Alright." Hinata's eyes were wide and still surprised looking as she stared at Neji with that dazed look of shock on her face. "Sleep well, Neji-niisan." He left the dazed girl there as Hinata tried to process what had just happened.
Most men gave a woman flowers as proof of their affection, Neji had given her slightly poisonous plants but Hinata wasn't sure she minded that honestly.
"I'm sure I will, enjoy the plant, Hinata-sama." It wasn't quiet normal between them, something had shifted. Something subtle and unnamed but Neji found he didn't mind at all. He walked out of the fragrant shack and felt a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Behind him, Hinata touched her lips as if still not believing the touch.
Nope, he didn't mind it at all.
Title: Uncommon Gifts
Author: BitterEloquence
Rating: PG
Warnings: Tiny bit of Neji/Hina
In a sane world, a world Neji was used to, he wouldn't be asking himself why he was standing in chest deep brackish water that smelled heavily of rotting vegetation and other pleasantly odorous swamp smells.
And he wasn't even getting paid for this!
The man grimaced and tried to pretend he didn't feel something brush against his leg as his sandal got caught in the muddy riverbed for the fifth time in the last fifteen minutes. He pulled the sandaled foot out of the ankle-deep mud and stumbled over some roots buried deep under the water.
He'd pulled the bindings from his hands long ago, unable to stand the soppy feeling of wet and dirty cloth wrapped stiflingly against his fingers like the snake-like tangle of weeds under foot.
Neji was coming to rue the fact that while the Byakugan might give him near 360° vision, it didn't help him very much when the water was muddy and damed near impossible to see through.
The irritated jounin checked besmeared map clutched in his hand and held it desperately above the water once more and saw that he was finally approaching his destination. Having been born in a village surrounded by rich and lush forests with ever present and useful tree-limbs to run through, Neji was disgruntled at being regulated to this slimy swamp.
They didn't call this the Dead Wood swamp just for the hell of it. There was a decidedly eerie and creepy feeling to this long plane of bone-white trees stripped of vegetation and most plant life. He certainly didn't want to be here but he'd set himself on this task and by the Gods, he would finish it.
Grimacing distastefully, Neji's mud-filled sandals found a small island of solid land and he strode forward, making squelching noises with each step. Checking his map once more, Neji followed the tangle of semi-dry land and snaking underbrush until he finally reached his destination.
The tiny plant didn't look like much.
It looked more like a weed actually with it's spiky leaves and slightly bedraggled looking red flowers. They were a pale red color, almost a watered down blood hue, and looked just as ragged as the rest of the plant. Neji had to check the book just to be sure this was the right plant. The horrible little flower that didn't have the good grace to live anywhere else but a stinking swam.
Nope, this was it. Wrinkling his nose distastefully, for it was a little known fact that Neji disliked getting dirty, he gingerly started prying at the roots of the plant with a kunai. Neji grimaced again and slowly pulled it free of the moss and lichen covered ground. "Hrmph." He gave the plant a disdainful look. He carefully wrapped it up in a damp towel and was very careful with the roots until he was satisfied. Neji pulled up a few more plants before he started off back out of the swamp.
The itching started around thirty minutes later, the redness and swelling shortly there after. Neji wasn't sure what had happened but by the time night fell, his hands were red and screaming with pain. Even the stoic Hyuuga man was unable to keep from whimpering softly that night as he tried to treat the angry and itching skin of his hands with the medical supplies he had on hand.
Traditional ointments didn't seem to have any effect at all and by the time Neji stiffly walked back into Konoha the next morning he was exhaused. He'd been unable to sleep and walked the whole night. Reaching the Hyuuga compound, Neji slightly and trying not to look at his hands. Unhappy looking blisters were rising on the pads of his fingers and he tried to just ignore the sorry shape he was in as he walked grimly to Hinata's herb garden.
It was embarrassing that a jounin like himself had trouble opening the door of the drying shed. This was where Hinata stored her herbs and mixed the various ointments she made. Of course, considering the entire flow of this ghastly mission, he shouldn't be too surprised he could barely even complete his mission. Neji found it surprisingly difficult to work the mechanics of preparing a few pots for the transplanted flowers
By the time he was finished, sweat beaded his brow and he allowed himself to sag against the counter. That was how Hinata found him as she opened the door. Seeing her strong and seemingly unbeatable cousin bowed and grimacing in obvious pain had her heart twisting. All her life, people had told her to be more like Neji, to be strong like Neji, to be swift like Neji.
And here he was, her genius of a cousin with his proud head bowed as he shook with exhaustion and pain. This did not seem right, the universe was surely out of whack today. "Neji-niisan?"
Neji's head jerked up with surprise, his eyes wide and Hinata was reminded of just how young her cousin was. Barely even eighteen, he radiated an air of confidence and maturity far pasted his years and she often forgot that he was only a year older then her. "Hinata-sama." The jounin tried to move his hands behind his back much like a child would hide incriminating evidence.
Hinata was far too sharp for that and those pale eyes narrowed fractionally. "What did you do to your hands, Neji-niisan?" She moved forward, trapping Neji in the small confines of her own personal domain. "Sit down and let me look at them." This was the only place in the entire Hyuuga compound that truly felt like it was hers and she had no problem with giving orders in her shed.
Neji cocked a brow at her command but obediently settled into the stool she motioned toward. "I think I got bitten by some insect or something yesterday in Dead Wood swamp." He admitted guiltily as Hinata pulled out a pair of latex gloves from a cupboard and pulled them on.
"Why were you in Dead Wood? Don't you know it's dangerous to go there, Neji-niisan." She gingerly picked up one of his hands in her own smaller ones. Her fingers were long and slender and surprisingly warm through the thin latex barrier of the gloves.
"You said you wanted a live sample of that plant, right?" Neji jerked his head in the direction of where the four raggedy looking plants (weeds in Neji's opinion) sat.
Hinata glanced over at the plant and her eyes widened fractionally with surprise. "I….did but Father forbade it. He said the Dead Wood swamp is too dangerous. I imagine he wouldn't be too pleased with you for going there, Neji-niisan." She now knew what had caused the rash-like burns on Neji's hands and she turned away to fish out a jar of ointment from a cabinet
"Probably, but then Hiashi-sama has rarely approved of me or my actions." Neji's lips twisted just a bit in a bitter smile and she looked at him sadly for a long moment before moving to spread the salve across his fingers.
"Do you still hate us so much?" She ventured quietly as slender hands smoothed the tingling ointment along the reddened skin of Neji's hands. He felt the salve tingle and then blessed numbness ran through him. For the first time in nearly twenty-four hours, he was without pain.
"I don't hate you, Hinata-sama." And that was completely true. He didn't hate her per se. He still hated the differences in the houses that made it so people were destined form birth to be master or slave but he harbored not real animosity towards Hinata. Quite the opposite in fact. His younger cousin had proven herself to be just as sweet natured and kind as he remember from childhood. She was a wonderful person, beautiful both inside and out.
And that was where the crux of the problem lay.
He lov-err….didn't hate her and he wasn't sure what to do from there. Neji wasn't a man practiced in the ways of love or wooing a woman. He considered asking for some romantic advice from Lee or Gods help him, Gai-sensei since that was more along the lines of their specialty.
Thankfully, sanity had returned shortly after that and he'd not made that mistake.
Hinata watched her cousin from beneath lowered lashes as she smoothed the ointment over those raw and angry looking fingers. Neji's word reverberated through her head and echoed there; or was it was the pounding of her heart? "I'm sorry," She whispered softly and began to bandage his hands.
"What?" That shook him out of his thoughts and for a moment, he looked confused and disoriented. Hinata's hands were soothing against his own and the exhaustion of the previous day was beginning to take it's toll. It felt so good to not have his hands burning and on fire. If Neji had a little less self-control, he would have whimpered with relief.
"You got injured. For me, I'm sorry for that." Those expressive, pale eyes did not dare rise for fear of Neji reading too much of her feelings. She swallowed uncomfortably and concentrated on the task at hand. "For future reference, Neji-niisan, those flowers are also called Firedrop flowers and they secrete a slightly slimy feeling layer of protection on the leaves and stem that causes a burning rash in most people. It's quite painful I'm told."
Neji's jaw had dropped open in shock. How had he not known that…that horrible bunch of weeds was so dangerous!? "Oh, I….didn't realize." Was all he could say. Neji felt his cheeks heat slightly with embarrassment. It wasn't a comfortable feeling to be bested by his own cousin and her apparent more vast knowledge of botany. Not too mention him having been bested by a flower at that! His pride might not survive this intact.
Hinata smiled sweetly, that beautiful face even more beautiful in the early morning light that spilled through the windows. "It's okay, Neji-niisan. Thank you very much for the plants I really did want a sample. And you brought me live samples at that." Hinata was the only girl he knew who could get so excited over plants. It was sort of….endearing really.
Neji felt a smile fighting to tug at his lips. "I thought you would prefer it to flowers." He murmured quietly as exhaustion began to steal over him. Neji felt his eyes grow heavy as he raised a hand that was now fully bandaged and laid it against Hinata's cheek as she finished the other hand as well "Thank you." He murmured briefly. When his lips settled across hers for a brief kiss, Hinata didn't pull away. Neji took that as a good sign but knew better then to press his luck.
Hinata's breath caught in the back of her throat as Neji kissed her and for a startled moment, she had frozen, unsure of what to do. Neji had decided for her by pulling away and the girl looked up at her cousin with a sort of deer in the headlights look in her eyes. "T-Thank y-you." She squeaked and stammered as she felt distinctly like she were twelve years old again.
"I should get some sleep." Neji murmured, thumb tracing along the line of Hinata's cheek. He was unable to feel the rising heat along the young woman's cheek but he knew it was there and that amused him for some reason.
"A-Alright." Hinata's eyes were wide and still surprised looking as she stared at Neji with that dazed look of shock on her face. "Sleep well, Neji-niisan." He left the dazed girl there as Hinata tried to process what had just happened.
Most men gave a woman flowers as proof of their affection, Neji had given her slightly poisonous plants but Hinata wasn't sure she minded that honestly.
"I'm sure I will, enjoy the plant, Hinata-sama." It wasn't quiet normal between them, something had shifted. Something subtle and unnamed but Neji found he didn't mind at all. He walked out of the fragrant shack and felt a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Behind him, Hinata touched her lips as if still not believing the touch.
Nope, he didn't mind it at all.