She was almost kissing him.
They both stared at each other. They were bright red, eyes wide, and breathing heavily. Their noses were brushing, and in any other situation (if they actually liked each other), it would have been very intimate.
Mamoru was caught in between horror and intense embarassment. She couldn't move. Her body had frozen in place. No matter how many commands her brain screamed at her muscles, they didn't seem to want to comply.
However, the pervy little goblin in the back of her mind (in other words, her Inner) was jumping up and down and giggling in (what Mamoru decided) sadistic glee.
"He's so cute like this! Man, we should've tried this sooner!"
Mamoru growled inwardly, momentarily forgetting the male trapped beneath her.
"What the hell are you on about?! Have you forgotten who this is?! It's Hyuga! As in, Neji Hyuga! You remember, don't you? Annoying bastard? Ringing any bells?"
"Excuse me." Her Inner put her hands on her hips. "I can't help it if he's really se-"
Mamoru screwed her eyes shut, intent on winning the argument with the goblin inside her head. Well, not really a goblin. She was more like a personality that said and did everything Mamoru would never dream of doing, in normal circumstances. However, her Inner had been known to sometimes take control of her body, and place her in the most awkward situations.
"COME ON! Can you at least try and ki-"
"Are you really dull enough to finish that sentence?"
"DO YOU MIND?! Don't interrupt people when they're talking! Hasn't anyone taught you any manners? Now, where was I? Oh, yeah. As I was saying before I was so RUDELY interrupted, can you at least try-"
"Don't-"
"And-"
"You-"
"Kiss him!"
"That is it! You die, right here!"
"Feel free. But before you do, aren't you forgetting something?"
"What?!"
"Geez, and you call me a dumbass?! Hello?! Neji?!"
"Dammit!"
Neji, on the other hand, had no idea what he was doing, or going to do. This would probably end badly, however it ended, and he'd probably end up worse off than Yoshida. However, Mamoru was still...
He felt his bright blush increase, and cursed himself. He was usually pretty good at repressing things like hormones, but now, said hormones were running around, headstrong, overconfident and looking for revenge for being ignored for so long.
Still, now that she was closer, he could look at her properly. Her skin was clear, her nose was snub, and her eyes were closed. Her lashes were long, and her eyes were screwed shut in concentration. She was... cute. Pretty, even.
He resisted the urge to slap himself. What the hell was wrong with him?
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Hinata padded slowly along the corridor, carrying a tray of medicine Tsunade had prescribed to Mamoru. Herbal tea sat steaming in a jade-coloured kettle, alongside three teacups.
"If Tsunade-sama was right," she mused, "Mamoru-chan should be awake by now. I'm not to comfortable with leaving Neji to watch over her. They might start arguing, and the stress might cause Mamoru-chan to collapse again. I do hope I made the right choice..."
Hinata paused, turning to take in a cherry blossom tree at the side of the walkway. A slight breeze blew up at that moment, causing several petals to fall and land in the lily-pond below. Ripples spread outwards, disturbing the clear water ever so slightly.
Hinata smiled. It was like Mamoru. She'd appeared in the Hidden Leaf as a small child, accompanied by her older sister, and joined the Academy, starting her second year. She'd done exactly what those petals had done to the pond. Mamoru had thrown everything out of proportion, but she'd befriended so many people in the process, it hadn't seemed to matter.
Hinata had noticed the change in herself. And it was all down to two people. Naruto and Mamoru. Sighing gently, she turned and headed down the walkway. This walkway ran around the Inner Garden, where only members of the main family, and choice members of the branch family, were allowed.
Raising a fist, she knocked twice softly on the door. She waited. Nothing. She waited a few more seconds. When there was still no answer, she knocked again. Hinata thought she heard some frantic scuffling and rustling of fabric, but the noise was so soft, she put it down to her imagination.
At that moment, the fusuma panel to Neji's room slid quietly open. Neji stood in the doorway, looming over her. For once, she wasn't intimidated. She had just noticed that Neji seemed slightly pink. It was hard to tell, but he seemed like he was recovering from a blush. What had happened while she'd been gone?
"Come in, Hinata."
"Nii-san, are you alright?"
There was a momentary silence. "Fine. Why do you ask?"
"It's just..." Hinata paused awkwardly,"you're blushing."
This seemed to make her cousin's blush increase. Silently, he stepped to the side, and gestured for her to enter. When Hinata entered, Mamoru was propped up on three pillows. She seemed tired, and her body shook slightly when she sat up, but to Hinata, she seemed to be a little more emotionally stable than yesterday.
"Good morning, Mamoru-chan. How are you feeling?"
"Tired. And sore," the lavender-head managed weakly.
"Tsunade-sama said you'd probably be worn out. She told me to give you these. Here, take them with your tea."
"Thanks."
"I brought some tea for you to, Nii-san."
"Thankyou, Hinata."
Another awkward silence followed as they all sipped herbal tea. Hinata sensed something was off. Her cousin had been acting differently since he lost to Naruto in the Chunin exam finals a couple of weeks ago, but it wasn't that. There was something off... between them.
She glanced between her cousin and her best friend. They both seemed slightly pink, and Mamoru's clothes looked to rumpled to have been just slept in. Her mind ran various scenarios. Then it clicked. The tension. It wasn't tension. It was chemistry.
She almost smirked, but bit her lip just in time. The feeling of devious joy that spread through her was so strange to Hinata, she almost choked on her tea. Still, as she sipped her tea again, her lips twitched as a plan formed in her head. She had no idea how long it would take to pull it off. It might take years. But, still...
"It's time for me to play cupid."
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Hinata playing cupid XD This is going to be fun. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and voted for the last chapter. It's much appreciated :) Anywayz, bear with me. Now that Hinata's gone and done this to me (blame her, not me XD) I have to come up with a whole new plot. Thanks for reading. Sorry the chapter's so short :/ Trust me, there's a reason for that though. The next chappie will be longer :) I promise to update sooner as well. I just wanted to publish every chapter I had lying around, and then I'll start with more. And they're all done, so... yeah. More chappies on the way soon :)
Naida x
