The Way Into Mist Village (Naruto)

29: The Volcano

[OP: On the Mountain Tall--The Oh Hellos.]

Neji told her the whole story, starting with Naruto.

Niji let him tell it. She sat down after a while and listened very avidly.

Neji wasn't really  used to anyone listening to him for that long. And he actually ha never told the story in its entirety to anyone. 

It was different to tell it all together. From when Naruto had promised to change things and he'd learned the truth about his father, but still felt it wasn't quite complete...and how Hinata had asked the DJs to help him because she was moved by his speech about how unfair it all was, and his father's death on her behalf (Hinata had told him this much later. She had said that on top of the other reason, she owed his father for her life too.) That he had come to see he misjudged Hinata and Hanabi both, that they hated the clan's bondage as much as he did, and they felt trapped by it too. But they had all decided to try to change things too. How he'd been free from the curse mark and freed in how he thought, and his anger had gone away.

How he'd seen more wondrous things that he could explain. And now they were on the mission to unite the nations.

Neji could really be quite eloquent when he tried to be, as when he'd gotten through to Naruto. And Niji was a far less impulsive listener than Naruto, so he go further.

She asked only a few questions, but they were intelligent questions.

She only paused at one point to light a fire in a small fireplace, since it was dark outside now and getting cold.

The fire burned some kind of oil, it might have been made from fish.

Finally, Neji reached the end of the story.

"So...?" he said, feeling a little hoarse. "Do you see why I think there's hope?"

"I...don't think you could invent all that..." Niji said slowly. "It's all true, about the Divine gifts, and...freedom and grace, then, it's...well, I never heard anything like that. But your village doesn't even like it?"

"It's new...new things are suspicious," Neji forgot for a second that he was trying to convince her to leave. "But, the old things are what's killing us. Maybe the village won't like it, but I had to make a change. I was going to go mad if I kept hiding the truth forever, and not letting the others in the clan know there was a way out. Some of them even asked...but, they want to hide that their curse marks were gone. They wouldn't dare to defy the clan openly But, we wanted to make the changes bigger."

"It sounds as if your family would not welcome you back though," Niji said.

Neji might have regretted not have been quite so honest about that part, but he wouldn't eat his words. 

"Well maybe, but, I'll find someone to help," he said. "And at least I have allies who will be willing to assist me. Lord Gaara is a good person...I would not believe what he used to be like."

"The Shukaku...we've heard of the tailed beasts, but they sounded like such tall tales," Niji said. "I guess not. It all sounds...well, wondrous." She shook her head. "I think you're telling me the truth. At least you better be...I would never forgive you if that was a lie."

Considering that he was a total stranger that was almost funny, but Neji would have been livid if someone lied to him about this too.

"Do you think your mother would believe it?" he asked.

"I do know if she would." Niji sighed. "Grandpa us to tell her such stories about the outside world. She might believe him over you. I don't remember him very well. He was a kind enough person, but never very trusting of anyone else. Always told me not to wander too far from the village. But on this island if you walk too far you can fall off the edge. And we can't swim so well."