||My Little Bird|| [Neji Hyuga x OC]

Chapter Eighteen

[Hello, my readers~! :3 Welcome to a new part of My Little Bird! AS usual, here are the announcements!

Okay, voting for the Naruto Wattys start tomorrow, December 1st. Go vote for this story if you really enjoy it~ ^^ I just entered into this competition just to assess my writing skills ^^' though I know this book will need...heavy, heavy revision in the beginning O-o

Alright! Besides that...THE BOOK WILL END SOON. And by soon, I mean in like four to five chapters. My plan is to complete this book, or at least the first arc, by the end of the year, so like...December 31st! I might make a second part, but I haven't decided to actually write it, and to just add it on to this book, or make it into a sequel ^^'

And, that is all! Thanks for sticking with me this far! ^^ After this story, I'm planning to write my Sasuke Uchiha fanfiction >:3 So hopefully that will come soon! Damn, took me a year, BUT I DID IT! I WROTE A BOOK~!

Thanks for reading again, you guys~

-Rei-chan]

~~

Neji laid on his back, a crystallized flower ring in his hand. It was 2:00 in the afternoon, and he hadn't left the room. At all. He could hear the whispers against his paper screen door, outside, occasionally Hinata would come by and ask if he was alright. She knew what happened. And that only fueled his rage against her. It undid every fix and every bridge of kindness Kira had built for him between the side branch and the Main branch. Kira...

It's been three days. Three days since Neji had seen direct sunlight, since he had left his room. This was the effect this girl had on him. Pathetic. He had trained himself to be stronger than this, to overcome any emotional pain. Pathetic, to have a girl like her waltz into his life and break down the barrier that he had so meticulously built around himself.

The crystallized ring that Neji held above him shimmered and sparkled as he held it near a sun beam. The rays fragmented into little lights, decorating the darker side of his room with smaller beams of light. But he wasn't focused on that. He was focused on the little sentimental ring inside.

Neji remembered the first time he met Kira, how cute he thought she was in that little black and gold kimono. It was during the Sakura Festival too. Heh, and he remembered all her clumsy moments, tripping over tree roots and spending their afternoons trying to catch birds with little seeds they left on the tree stump next to the fields of flowers, where they would sit and make flower rings or lay down and watch clouds. Kira was so much more lovable when she was younger, and if she was a stuffed animal, he would be cuddling with her and holding her until time ended.

He didn't notice that he was smiling until someone knocked on the door once more, interrupting him from his thoughts. Probably Hinata. With a heavy sigh and a dark frown, he stood up and pulled open the door.

"Lady Hinata, I don't want to-"

"Neji." A deep voice spoke, stern and commanding. Okay, so maybe there was a 50% chance it would be her dad... Dammit. Neji slowly looked up to Lord Hiashi, his dark scowl and glare wiped away. But as he began to speak, he noticed someone peeking out from behind him. Hinata.

"Yes, Lord Hiashi?" He spoke, cold and callous but formal. "Is something...wrong?"

"What's wrong is that you've been cooped up in your room for three days since the Houra girl disappeared. I know you must be mourning, but maybe this would be a good time to open up to others, like Gai sensei and Tenten. Really, Neji, she was just an exchange student..."

Neji stiffened up. Just an exchange student? "She's one of my closest friends, no, she is my closest friend. With...all due respect, Lord Hiashi, I don't think I should be expected to get over the disappearance of my closest friend within three days."