Under the Sun

Chapter Twenty

Neji once knew a girl during his academy days who was obsessed with her hands. She liked to stare at the lines running across her palms and watch her bones flex underneath taught skin. She was fascinated by the fact that her hands simply knew when to hold on and when to let go, how tight to grasp, how firmly to shake. They moved with subtle direction, spurred on by the impulse to touch and feel. He thought of this girl periodically. He'd forgotten her name now but remembered her small face all too clearly. Bright green eyes embedded in fair skin.

One thing he recalled was how methodical she was about studying her hands. She harbored a deep appreciation for the things she could do with them: pick up objects, scratch an itch, comb through long strands of wavy hair. Everything she could accomplish with her hands she did remarkably well. The rest of her body was nothing to write home about. She had an average figure, was not too tall or too short, and though her legs could carry her far, she had very little stamina to keep her going for long periods of time. But when it came to her hands, the girl became a magician. She had deft fingers, long and thin.

His classmates said that she was strange, introverted. She only spoke when spoken to, and kept zero friends to speak of. The one time Neji had used his byakugan to see into her, he regretted it. Her chakra was unlike any he'd ever seen. It pulsed through her veins in steady, calm waves. It was beautiful in a way that made Neji detest the way that his chakra rushed from point to point, in a frenzy to be freed.

One day, Neji came across her on his way home. She was sitting by herself under a tree, knees tucked into her chest. She held her hands before her face. She looked long and hard at them, expression grave. Then he heard her say, "It hurts that you've betrayed me like this." She never noticed him watching, which was for the best.

The next day, one of the instructors at the academy announced that the girl would no longer be attending classes. She was being transferred to a hospital outside the village to be treated for a sudden illness that had befallen her. Word eventually got around that someone close to the girl had been hurt in a training accident. The details were never discussed openly but it didn't take long for someone as smart as Neji to put two and two together.

There were many things about that girl which Neji was never able to wrap his six-year-old head around. For instance, why she had tried to hurt someone out of the blue or what the point was of sending her off to be treated. He believed, a person as sick as she was, could not be made better. However, years went by and recently he had run into her again, while out on a mission. She had grown into a fine woman, someone. Neji barely recognized. He learned that she worked at a small string of clinics in-between villages and had become a devoted medic. Those same hands that had attempted to hurt, were now working their hardest to heal.

Transformations didn't happen overnight. Neji knew this. He was a witness to how long it takes for a person to undergo impressionable amounts of change. So when it came to his unborn child and the fact that he was a father in the making, Neji tried not to be too hard on himself. He realized that the same hands he used to strike others down in battle could also easily be used to cradle his infant son.

His love for Hinata convinced him of this. She had proven to him that his hands had the power to protect her in a fight, but also the power to pleasure her during their most intimate moments. Still an inkling of doubt took root in his mind. Neji might never grow used to his clansmen wishing him and his family well.

Being sent out on a mission excited him. Neji imagined that the world was waiting for him to explore every inch of it. So, when the council asked for a volunteer to go to the Hidden Sand on matters of clan business, he offered his services. Naturally, the council made a fuss. He couldn't be spared, they said. There was the safety of the clan to consider, Hinata and the baby, and Hanabi was still missing. It was impossible to send him away during such a crucial time. But Neji fought for the mission. He swore that he was not running away. He had considered all these things and did not see them as reasons to stay when someone was needed to step up to the plate. With most of their men away on the hunt for Hanabi, Neji was the most qualified to undertake the mission.