ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴏɴᴄᴇ ᴍᴏʀᴇ // ɴᴇᴊɪ ʜʏᴜᴜɢᴀ

17 | hunting for the devil

    " Konohamaru, where's (Name)? " Hanabi asked when she and Neji returned to the table. The fact that (Name) was nowhere to be seen scared Neji immensely. 
     " She excused herself a while ago. I don't know where she went, " Konohamaru replied, and continued to chat with his friend Udon.
Hanabi sighed, and returned to her cousin. 
     " I think she's somewhere around here. Probably with Hinata-nee, " she murmured. 

Neji's eyes darted around, hoping to catch a glance of the (h/c) girl. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he saw her, and she seemed to be speaking with someone, who's back faced him.
    " Ah, there she is, " he said, pushing through the surrounding crowd to reach her.
Several steps away from (Name), Hanabi grabbed his hand and whispered into his ear hastily.
     " The woman she's talking to is Atsuko! " 

     " Atsuko?! "

Neji rushed over to (Name), and quickly pushed her behind him. " Are you alright? "
She frowned, staring at him oddly.
     " Of course I am. You look like you've been running a marathon."

     " (Name)-san, who is this gentleman right here? " 
Shivers ran down his spine when he heard that voice, and his blood turned cold when he finally looked into Atsuko Sakagami's red eyes.

      " This is Neji, my.. err.. " she couldn't finish her sentence, finding it extremely awkward.

       " I'm her husband, " Neji finished, his usually calm voice dripping with venom.
Atsuko narrowed her eyes at Neji, her full red lips pressed into a thin line.
   
   " Is that so? " she taunted, but (Name) was too innocent to notice the slight change in Atsuko's intonation. 
   " Apparently that's the way it is, " Neji spat, wrapping his arm around (Name)'s torso, and watched Atsuko's reaction. She was unfazed, but Neji was certain that she was cursing under her.

     " (Name)-san, I have to go. It was nice meeting you, " Atsuko gave (Name) a painfully sweet smile, and obliviously, she smiled back.

    " It was nice meeting you too," she replied.
Before Atsuko strutted away, she flashed a glare at Neji. 

Neji, being Neji, of course wasn't afraid of that at all, but the fact that Atsuko had managed to get close to (Name) without him even knowing, terrified him to the very core.
Neji rarely accuses people without evidence,  but he had the gut feeling that Atsuko was behind the car crash incident. He was almost certain, but he had no evidence to put her in jail.

     " (Name), it's best if you don't go near that woman. Nothing good will come out of it, " Neji said as he swept her away to a secluded corner of the grand hall.

    " But why? She's a nice person, " (Name) protested stubbornly. 

    " You knew her barely twenty minutes. That isn't enough to evaluate a person and determine whether they're good or not, " he sighed.

    " Exactly! Unless you've known her before, I find your words very hypocritical."

    " (Name), for once, please listen to me. I grew up in this world, and I know exactly what it's like. But you, you're different. You have no idea what people are like out there. Not everyone is kind and friendly. No one is kind and friendly without a hidden motive."

(Name) knew that he was right, but she could not resist the urge to roll her eyes.
      " Then, teach me all the basics if you're that knowledgeable. Wait, maybe you shouldn't. Someone like you shouldn't waste their time on a peasant like me."

As soon as the words left her words, her forehead dipped into a frown. It was as if she said it on impulse. They never even crossed her mind - they practically just left her lips.
All the displeasant feelings that lingered within her earlier faded, and she felt guilt when she saw how Neji's expression darkened.
        " Neji I -"