Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Her Own Little World ❯ Sun and Moon ( Chapter 9 )

“Well?”

 

 

Neji raised an eyebrow. “Well what?”

 

 

The bouncy girl glared. “It's the question of the hour Neji-kun, how did you do it? How did you throw the match?”

 

 

“…I didn't.”

 

 

“Yeah, sure.” Hanabi rolled her eyes.

 

 

A Hyuuga woman finished tying the bandage around his knee. “No permanent damage, it'll be sore for a few hours but that's it. The chakra deposited on your spinal cord should be all cleared up. Just rest, you'll be fine.”

 

 

“Arigato Medic-san.” She nodded and left. Hanabi plopped back on the tatami floor eyeing him expectantly. “What is it now?”

 

 

“We're alone.”

 

 

“…I see that.”

 

 

Hanabi growled in exasperation. “You don't have to keep up the act anymore! Tell me how you did it!”

 

 

“Hanabi-chan…I didn't throw the match. Hinata-sama used genjutsu to hide the chakra opening in her lower right arm. The spot I hit was actually a quarter inch above the opening. Then she cast a second genjutsu to make it appear that she activated the Byakugan. By the time I figured out it was just an illusion she had flooded my spinal nerves with chakra. Even I did not expect that.”

 

 

“Hinata-chan…my sister Hinata…actually beat you? On her own? With no help? It's not possible.”

 

 

“She combined her knowledge of medicine with taijutsu. She has been spending time with Haruno-san, so it's natural she'd be learning something. I'm guessing she learned taijutsu from Lee-baka. I'm going to kill him for not telling me he was training her. Where is she now?”

 

 

Hanabi shrugged. “Don't have any idea. She disappeared when the medic came. I haven't seen her since. I guess father saying that you were very kind to allow her to win made her kind of upset. I suggest damage control.”

 

 

With a sigh, Neji pushed himself up. “Crap. Where would she go?”

 

 

“Not sure. When she doesn't want to be followed no tracker can find her. Check the training areas first, then under the front porch. Then you might want to try to roof.” Quickly Neji pulled on his shirt and headed out. “Hey! Before you go, take this.” She tossed him a thin silver chain. Dangling from it was a single, perfect pearl. “It's always good to bring a present. It helps with groveling.”

 

 

He glared. “Where did you get this?”

 

 

“Yuuhi-kun. He bet you'd win. Have to say I'm grateful. I made a killing of your match today. I was the only one who bet on Hinata.”

 

 

“…you're nine years old. You're too young to gamble.”

 

 

“Whatever. Go find Hinata-chan. And try to be nice. I'd help but I still need to collect from a lot of people.”

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxx

 

Tree after tree suffered from her anger and frustration.

 

 

Punch.

 

 

Kick, kick.

 

 

Dodge.

 

 

Punch, flip, punch.

 

 

Tired muscles begged her to stop, or at least to rest. The fight with Neji, immediately followed by an all out dash to get as far away as possible had taken its toll on her body. But she refused to listen. She could still stand. And in her opinion, that meant she could keep fighting.

 

 

Punch.

 

 

Punch.

 

 

Kick.

 

 

Pain shot up her ankle when her foot connected with the wood. Hinata's face crumpled with pain as she lost her balance and fell to the side. She lay in the dirt, tears streaming down her cheeks.

 

 

A small fist slammed against a nearby tree. Hinata pulled herself up into a ball and allowed herself to sob.

 

 

“What is it that troubles the little Lily-blossom?”

 

 

Her head shot up. “L-Lee? Oh, it's n-nothing, n-nothing a-at a-all.” She vehemently rubbed away the tears. “I-I'm s-sorry for d-disturbing you. I-I'll go now.”

 

 

His arm wrapped around the still-shaking shoulders. “If it were nothing, you wouldn't be crying. Come now, crying brings wrinkles that hide your youth. Tell me your problems so I can cheer you up.” Hinata glanced away. “Let me help. A beautiful lily like yourself should not suffer sadness. Would it have anything to do with your victory over my eternal rival Neji-kun?”

 

 

“Y-you know about th-that?”

 

 

“Everyone knows about it. Every chuunin with the exception of Sakura-chan owes your sister money.” He pointed to his legs. “I lost my manly leg warmers.”

 

 

“Oh…y-you b-bet against m-me?”

 

 

“Gai-sensei and I were convinced that Neji-kun would stop the match and proudly declare his youthful love for you. Then you two would marry at the Hokage Mountain and ride into the sunset…”

 

 

He stopped as a giggle burst out of her. “You bet that we'd get married?! Right there!?!” She couldn't help herself. She tried desperately to imagine Neji-kun on one knee proclaiming undying devotion in the middle of the Hyuuga compound. She failed miserably. Lee grinned.

 

 

“See! The thought of Neji's love dries up all your tears like a puddle after a light spring shower!”

 

 

“Th-that's not exactly what I'm laughing about…” It took a few moments for her to catch her breath. “Thank you Lee. I really needed that.”

 

 

“It was my pleasure. Do you wish to tell me why you were crying?”

 

 

The pale eyed girl sighed. “Lee, do you think Neji-kun let me win.”

 

 

“…” Lee scratched his head nervously and looked around. The last thing he wanted was to offend her. “I think…I think he went a bit easy on you…”

 

 

“Th-that's what I thought.”

 

 

He hurried to continue. “But it's not his fault! It is love…”

 

 

“You love Tenten-san?”

 

 

“What? Yes, of course I love her.”

 

 

“Do you go easy on her during a spar?”

 

 

“…not exactly.”

 

 

Hinata nodded and turned away. Lee sighed. This was not going well. If only Gai-sensei were here. He would be able to help. His brilliant observations always aided Lee. “Hinata-san, you and Tenten chan are different, just as Neji-kun and I are different. You are a silver-white lily, while she is a golden desert blossom.” He moved to face her. “I'll be right back. I want to show you something.”

 

 

He disappeared in his trademark flash of green. The throbbing in Hinata's ankle had subsided, and she considered heading home. She knew that Lee was going to give her a speech on the power of youth. So far she understood very little of what he said. Within a few moments however, he was back.

 

 

“Thank you for waiting, Hinata-chan. Look at these.” He placed two potted plants in front of her. One a cactus he probably `borrowed' from Shikamaru, care of his Suna not-girlfriend. The other was a tiger lily. “This is you. I couldn't find a white one.” He pointed to the lily. “And the cactus is Tenten-chan. Now Neji-kun and I are different, like night and day. In the day, the hot sun beats down on the cactus. While this causes most plants to whither, the cactus instead sends out lovely flowers. The same way, Tenten-chan has this inner beauty that glows when she and I are in an all out battle, like the cactus blossom and the sun.

 

 

The lily, if put in the desert sun, would wilt and lose its beauty. However, when placed in the gentle moonlight, its radiance shines for all to see. Like you and Neji-kun. Not all flowers bloom under the same circumstances: some need hardships, while others need gentle care. This is why Neji-kun does not throw his entire self into battle when you are his opponent. It is not because he believes you are weak. It is because he wishes to see you bloom, and wants to be the gentle moonlight on your petals.”

 

 

Lee grinned ashamedly. “I guess I made even less sense than usual.” Wordlessly Hinata flung her arms around his neck. “Hinata?”

 

 

“Thank you so much!”

 

 

“It was my pleasure dearest Lily. Now I must return these before Shikamaru-san and Ino-san realize they are missing.” He helped the girl to her feet.

 

 

“You would make a wonderful advisor.”

 

 

“Well Hinata-san, you've had your daily dose of Lee-sunshine. You should probably go find your Neji-moon.”

 

 

“I will. Thanks again.”

 

 

“Oh, and Hinata-san, Neji-kun is right. It's much nicer to talk to you when you don't stutter.”

 

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxx

 

“Hinata?” Neji looked around and his shoulders slumped in defeat. She wasn't there. He had scoured the whole damn compound, even used his Byakugan (against strict orders that the Byakugan was never to be used in the house). She was nowhere to be found. He swung down from the roof, landing neatly on the stone walkway. Where the hell could she be?

 

 

He felt the chakra coming up behind him and spun to face it. A body collided with his and nearly caused him to fall backwards. “Hinata-chan!”

 

 

“I forgive you.”

 

 

“…alright. Now where have you been! I was worri…concerned! You could have been hurt! You can't just run off like that, no one knew where you were.”

 

 

“Talk later. Sleep now.” She snuggled close to his chest and closed her eyes.

 

 

“Hey, don't even think about it. I'm not done yelling at you yet! I know you're not asleep. Hinata-chan? Hinata-chan!” Her head plopped down onto his shoulder and her entire weight rested on him. He caught her as she slid towards the floor. “Damn it, I know you're listening!” The only reply was a soft snore. He sighed and scooped her up.

 

 

Silently he slipped into the house and deposited her on her bed. Moonlight flowed in the window, casting a silver light across her face. She quite frankly looked like an angel. A stutter-prone, painfully shy, naively innocent angel. His angel.

 

 

He leaned forward and brushed his lips against her forehead. Neji smoothed her hair and pulled the blanket over her.

 

 

He paused in the doorway and smirked. “Hinata-chan, I'm still going to yell at you tomorrow.”

 

 

“Alright, just kiss me again tomorrow night and I wont mind the lecture.” Quietly he closed the door.

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxx