Tell |NejiTen

Tell || Part Five

Neji will stay Neji. 

Sorry but Neji is Hikaru now. 

Neji stared at himself in the mirror, eyes full of tears as he realized that he, Neji was slowly fading as if giving way for Hikaru. He tried to remember who was his teammates but whenever he does, a wave of migraine and nausea hits him. Simply put, he couldn't remember them anymore. 

His gray eyes stared back at him as he gazed at the mirror. A tear slid down his cheek and he gritted his teeth in frustration for not remembering. He growled as he grabbed his hair, attempting to hurt himself. 

"Damn it!" He cried, "What am I doing here again? Why am I here? Why? How did I get here? What was I supposed to do? Remember, remember."

As he tried to remember the things that were fading, he hurled to the sink. He coughed and flipped the tap, letting the water run. His tongue tasted disgusting. 

Sobbing, he leaned on the wall and slid slowly to the floor. He felt terribly ill and disgusting. He couldn't remember some things. 

"Remember, remember." He kept on chanting the same word as if it can free him from his dilemma. 

The wind shimmered and there appeared the goddess. She took form of Himawari and it was rather insulting for she was smiling at his state. What's more was he was slowly getting mad at Himawari even if the goddess was just impersonating her. 

"If you think that I gave you that body for incognito, you are gravely mistaken." She smiled.

Neji bolted up but then staggered, "Then what is this for?" He raised his voice.

Her smile faded and was replaced by an eerie grin, "It's for another body." She floated to the air and rested on the curtain rod, "I turned you into another human being so that you'll be tormented more and more. The more you stay in this world, the more pain the world will inflict upon you."

"But why?"

"Why?" She twirled her hair, "You think all your sins will grant you such a fortune?"

Neji's hands were cold and shaking. He tucked them inside his shirt to keep it warm. 

The goddess' eyes widened in rage. She stood and placed her finger under Neji's pale chin. 

"Your sins! DO YOU REMEMBER THEM?" She boomed, "Your behavior towards other people was a pain. You were too full of air. You even managed to hurt your cousin Hinata, not once but for a lot of times just to defend your pride. You looked down on others such as Naruto and Rock Lee. You believed that you were stronger than them but hey, look at you! Defeated by a bunch of twigs." 

"And oh, that's right. You neglected your lover too. Sure, you love her so much but you didn't even look back to her when she needs you. You didn't look back to give her a reassuring smile when she's worried sick about you. So why would you expect that I'll grant you such sweet bliss when you acted like an animal when you were Neji?"

She removed her finger and gave Neji a flick on the forehead, "Neji Hyūga, a proud shinobi. Disgusting and negligent. I'll see you on the other side."

And with that, she disappeared like a bubble popped by a small and curious child. 

Neji felt terrible after what he heard. 

"Me? Disgusting? Negligent?" He laughed like a maniac and retched again. He wiped his lips and gurgled and spat on the sink, "I'm not disgusting. I'm not negligent. I'm great."

Even if his voice was convincing enough, he wasn't convinced. He knew he did it. He knew he was stained with so much sins. Forgivable and unforgivable. Tears swelled in his eyes again and fell on the floor in tiny, little drops. He sniffed and hiccuped. He never felt so conflicted. Be it his first or second life. Never in his two lives that he felt so desperate to get rid of his existence. 

"Save me, save me!" He murmured and buried his face on his dirty hands, "Tenten, Lee, Naruto, Hinata...! I'm sorry. I'm sorry! SAVE ME! SAVE ME!"

He cried the same sentence again and again until his bathroom door burst open. Hanabi stood before the door post, wide-eyed and worried. She ran to her son's side and cupped his pale face with her warm hand.

"Hikaru!" She cried, "What happened to you? Who did this to you?"

Hikaru didn't meet his mother's eyes for he was too busy asking for forgiveness fro the people he didn't even know.

"Naruto," He muttered, "Hinata, Lee, Tenten... I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" He sobbed again heavily. 

Hanabi's eyebrows knitted in confusion. She couldn't understand why her ten-year old son would ask forgiveness from people he never sinned against. The situation was puzzling and nerve-racking. Maybe this included something supernatural. 

Hikaru sobbed hysterically, stopping his sobbing to laugh like a madman. Hanabi's panic rose and she scrambled outside to call for Konohamaru.

∞

"Hanabi, Konohamaru," Sakura spoke, "I'm sorry but we medical nins can't do anything to Hikaru since none of us specializes in mental health. The best thing that we could was to sedate him since he was running wild. I'm sorry and please excuse me."

And with that useless news, Sakura left them alone, hopelessly worried about their son. Konohamaru gazed on his son, now resting on the hospital bed. Hanabi sat beside their son, clutching his hand to hers as if sharing her courage. Small beads of tears formed inside her eyes but Konohamaru was sure that Hanabi didn't want to cry.

"Ne, Konohamaru," Hanabi sniffled, "Do you think someone hurts him in school?"

Konohamaru patted her shoulder in assurance, "No, I don't think so. He's a good boy and I'm sure no one would dare to hurt a Hyūga."

Hanabi turned to look at Konohamaru, "You think so?"

"I think so."

"Who would turn him to be like this? Why is this happening?" Hanabi asked, her voice watery.

Okay, guys. I'm sorry for putting up such a depressing chapter after a fluffy one and I apologize for the long wait.

:p