tampered | (no subject)

(no subject)

When; End of No Secrets day
Rating; G to maybe PG for language
Characters; Hyuuga Neji cagedbirdflying and Hyuuga Hinata hyuuga_hime
Summary; Hinata wanders out into the night alone, Neji goes to find her.
Log;

Troublesome was NOT the word for this. He had heard his former mission leader and now friend due to circumstances they'd had to face breathe this word more than once. But, that was not a word that he would use at this juncture. No. This was much worse than troublesome. Much Worse.

Hinata-sama had left a small letter, and had left into the night. By herself.

He wouldn't really mind it much if this were Konoha. He'd still not like it, but it wouldn't be as worrisome. But, here, in this place, where he unadmittadly worried for himself, he knew someone like her would not be able to make it.

With a sigh, he wandered out of the house, going to search for the one who held the reigns above his head. He never fancied himself willingly looking for a Soke, but, in this world, stranger things had occurred...

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Neji's hands fell to his sides, eyes looking to the sky. His breath was still heaving, the sensation of chakra still glittering down his nerves, like dying embers. The bodies of those who were assaulting Hinata laid about him, like discarded and broken mannequins, mouths agape, expressions frozen in looks of horror and surprise. Neji brought his head down once more, closing his eyes.

At least she is safe now.

Keeping his back to his cousin, he began to speak, his eyes fluttering back open, surveying the damage his technique had wrought. The veins disappeared into his head, as he retracted the Byakugan, the last residual effects of his assault finally fading away.

"Why were you out here?" His voice was quiet, colored with dark tones, painting his displeasure in an obvious light that his cousin could see. "Especially alone. At this time of night. What kind of job were you hoping to get?! Were these," he motioned with a sweep of his hand, gesturing to all those lying about, "your prospect employers, Hinata?" No formality was given, nor was there any thought of one in his mind, as he regarded her. Right now, he did not think of her as Soke, but rather, as one who had made an ignorant move, that almost got her killed.

You worried me.

She flinched at the harshness of his tone. Though his voice was quiet, level, it did nothing to mask the anger. She felt the blood rush to her face at his allusion to the sort of job one did at this time of night and she bit her lip again, ignoring the fact that all she was doing was making the split in it bleed more. She stared at the ground for a moment, unsure what to say that would make him understand, yet fail to draw his wrath.

"I...n..no, Neji-niisan. I.."

She tried to push the fear she still felt away, to smother it with the relief at his intervention, to try and find the courage that always seemed to elude her. Expression steadying slightly, she looked up at him, pale eyes tracing over his back as she unsteadily gathered her feet under her to stand up on shaky legs.

"I...I went out at 4..I've...been looking for a job since then. I thought that if I went out during dinner-time that there might be more restaurants and such open that would be hiring someone who could just work at the cash register or something else simple like that. But...I got lost..."

As she spoke to him, something strange happened. Perhaps it was still the adrenaline that coursed through her veins, or perhaps it was the knowledge that he was there, and that he had protected her. Either way, she felt her shyness ebb a slight bit and her voice steadied, losing the stutter she always seemed to have whenever she spoke more then a few words.

"I'm tired of being a burden on Tenten-san. Of being a burden on my family. I don't want that. So I thought that if I could get a job, that I'd be able to help out a bit more. I guess...I guess I was wrong..."

Now that the adrenaline rush had begun to fade, she felt her cheeks burn with shame for the obvious risk she had put herself in. No wonder he was angry. She had been foolish. VERY foolish. Hinata felt her newfound confidence begin to evaporate into a pool of shame and self-loathing at the dangerous situation she had narrowly avoided. Thanks to HIM. Not thanks to her own strength or courage. But because, as his duty held him to, Neji had been there to bail her out. No matter that she'd still entertained the childhood dream of him running to her rescue, or that she liked to think that he would always BE there to protect her. The fact still remained that the reason he WAS there was because she was a weak failure.

He probably hates me even more now...Stupid little Soke, can't even get a job by herself without having to be rescued....I'm so pathetic...

She hung her head, unable even to cast her eyes on the back of his head. She knew that if he turned around, she wouldn't be able to face him. She was too ashamed.

Neji sighed, turning away, biting his tongue, though it at the moment was burning with so many scathing words that ate through his mouth like acid. She was soke, of course she would have no idea of how to find work, much less secure it, and perform it. They had always used the Bunke for things like that.

"Hinata-sama, you should have asked me to come with you." He sighed, slipping a hand over his face. "At least then, you would have been safe." And it wouldn't have been so troublesome...I wouldn't have had to rush about, trying to find you...I wouldn't have had to have fought, just to save you.. These thoughts buzzed through his head, as he watched his cousin, and her falling expression. Her weakness. It always bled through in situations like this.

The snowy wind began to howl its lonely song once more, and Neji sighed. "It's getting colder, Hinata-sama. Let's go home. You need to rest." He placed an arm around her shoulders, beginning to lead her away from the scene. "We'll talk more about it then."

She flinched at his touch, reflexes still on guard against the anger she had felt certain he would display towards her. After a moment, she felt her tense muscles relax in his half-embrace, allowing herself a momentary surprise that concern, rather then hostility, was directed her way. If it had been someone else, someone like Naruto-kun or Kiba-kun, the sort of concern for her wellbeing would be completely normal. They always worried for her, afterall. But Neji, who was usually so cold and detached, actually seeming to CARE that she had almost come to harm, and caring MORE it seemed then simply as a Bunke serving a Soke, now THAT was something to remark on.
But he always just seems to see me as a burden. He couldn't REALLY care for me beyond his duty, could he?
She spared a quick glance up at the taller Neji, white eyes tracing over the familiar profile, their blanched irises flickering away after a moment as a faint blush stained her cheeks. No, she didn't want him to see her as a burden, to see her as weak. That was the whole reason WHY she had endeavored to find a job. She couldn't retreat back into her shell now. Taking a deep breath, she ducked out from under Neji's warm arm, spinning around to face him, white eyes meeting identical ones without their characteristicly shy expression.

"No."

It was such a simple word, yet it carried so much more weight. It wasn't simply an affirmation in the negative, or even a refusal to accompany him. It was a rejection of the yoke of weakness she had worn for far too long, an attempt to change that fate which the very man she now confronted was convinced couldn't be changed. She stood, feet apart and hands fisted by her side, trembling slightly, and stared him down, mind pleading for her words to reach him.

Don't look at me as just a Soke. SEE me, for once.

Neji sighed, stopping at once in his tracks. He turned to her, as the wind howled about them, biting and strong. Shaking his head, he began to speak, sounding a little more exasperated than normal.

"I want to go home, to get out of this storm. It will do us no good to become ill and incapacitated." He would talk to her later about everything, and everything she wished for him to do. He just did not want to do it standing in a good three feet of snow. Being flu-ridden and having to bother Shizune because of his cousin's antics was not high on his list of things he was desperately wishing to do. If she was deciding to be stubborn, he would just have to vocalize this.

"Come on. I don't want to have to bother Shizune because of your stubbornness, Hinata-sama. I don't want to be bed-ridden. You shouldn't either. Whatever you have to say, it can wait until we reach the apartment." He paused, beginning to walk again. "Or you can tell me on the way."

She felt something flutter in the pit of her stomach as he spoke to her, REALLY spoke to her. Not as a bother, not as a Bunke submitting to a Soke, but as simply Hinata. The way that he spoke to his teammates or othe people. There was certainly no real warmth in his tone, but it also lacked the usual coldness and hostility that he bore towards her. Hinata felt herself flush and glanced at the ground, nodding slightly. It was just as likely that when they got back to the apartment, he would scold her or try to act as if it had never happened, but at the moment she didn't care. The only thoughts that ran rampant through her mind were of the fact that, if only a little, he seemed to finally be acknowledging her. She stepped over to him, eyes not meeting his, and hesitantly took his arm, shivering as a particularly cold breeze blew through her. With a slight whimper, she unconsciously tightened her hold on his arm, burrowing somewhat into his warmth. It had been warm when she'd left earlier....

"I....thank you, Neji-ku..niisan."

She felt her heart lurch and fought the urge to clap a hand over her mouth. No. She hadn't. Hadn't almost referred to him as "Neji-kun". Hinata felt her cheeks start to heat up and made sure that he couldn't see her face, mentally chiding herself for not being careful enough.

Baka! Look what you almost did!

She swallowed hard, hoping that he hadn't caught the slip. That he wouldn't notice her sudden unwillingness to look at him. Neji-kun. That was how she referred to him in her mind, in her heart; the affectionate suffix conveying a level of intimacy that she knew she would likely never receive but still whistfully hoped for. But no matter how she referred to him to herself, she had always been careful not to let it show. She called him "niisan", as she had done since they were children, when he had been the smiling older boy who followed her around rescuing her from imagined perils and playing as loyal knight to his princess. As they had grown up, even though that closeness had shattered, she still persisted in the nickname that had flowed so naturally from her lips. But now...now there was always a mental reminder to herself. A caution to maintain the distance that keeping her secrets required. But now, had that distance been breached? She fell silent, hoping to not draw any additional attention to herself.

Neji had heard the subtle trip in her voice, but had decided to stay his tongue on the matter. He didn't truly mind it, the slip probably came from the trauma she had just been in. Or the terrible cold around them. Whatever it was, on a night like tonight, she could not be blamed for it.

"You are welcome, Hinata-sama." He spoke these words much more warmly than normal, turning his gaze once more to her. She had been through enough tonight, and he didn't need to agitate it further, even if that was what she truly needed.

He would be kinder to her tonight, though, in the morning, it would go back to the way it always was. He would speak to her of this, and make sure she never pulled an idiot stunt like this again. He didn't need her getting killed, for, even if she had been disowned once, she wasn't now, and she was still a Soke and the daughter of Hiashi. If she died, HE would die by Hiashi's hand. Literally. And that was something he didn't want to experience.

"Hinata."

She said it softly, so much that it wouldn't have been audible had he not been standing so close to her. Biting her bottom lip, she glanced away.

"Just...just Hinata...is ok...."

I know that's the best that I could ever hope for. You'd never call me Hina-chan, or Hina-ko, or anything like that. You'd never have a reason to....

Perhaps she had forgotten the curse, and the way it let her thoughts melt into his mind, perhaps she no longer cared. Whether lost in the chaos of the recent events or willingly thrown to the winds, her mind churned out it's products without check, only luck seeming to keep her most carefully-guarded secrets hidden away.

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