Strangers in the Past, Lovers in the Future, Comrades always

ch. 2: Waiting for you

NEJI

After getting dressed in his white and gray styled outfit, Neji had stepped out of his bedroom only to bump into his cousin, Hyuga Hinata.

"G-Gomen'nasai Neji-kun!" She said embarrassed.

Neji never really had a high opinion of his cousin. Despite her being from the main family, she was much too shy and kind to be the rightful heir. She, like all the other Hyugas, possessed the byakugan, the families kekkei genkai. But to Neji, it almost seemed like wasted potential. She had not used it to its full ability, whether she was scared to or she physically couldn't, Neji didn't know. Hinata was a gentle and sweet person, but she was weak.

He nodded and walked passed her when she tapped his shoulder lightly.

"N-Neji-kun, Lee-San is w-waiting for you a-at the d-door."

"Hn."

"Lee."

"Neji! One of the clans from the village of the hidden grass is here to perform a mission and they brought someone, I heard it was a mysterious person! We should find out and befriend them!"

Lee's over-enthusiastic ideas and bright smile with blinding teeth were not Neji's favorite things to listen and see in the early morning.

"Hn. I do not care to befriend this "mysterious" stranger," Neji said, however he did want to see who it was and he'd be lying if he said it didn't interest him at all.

Lee and Neji had walked the whole way to the gates of Konoha together. . . unfortunately.

"What do you think they look like? Maybe their clan also has a kekkei genkai! I wonder what chakra type they have. If they're from the village of the hidden grass then maybe earth? Or water? Perhaps both?"

Then a moment of silence, which Neji cherished.

"I wonder if the stranger will be our friend? Or enemy? Maybe someone's rival! YOSH! This is so exciting, let's walk faster! If you beat me there, Neji, I'll force myself to do 600 sit ups while hanging upside down from a tree branch!!"

Neji sweatdropped. The last thing he wanted to do was spend the whole day with Lee, he didn't know how he handled it; if it were anyone else, Lee would probably be walking around with his head severed.

Neji ignored Lee and begin to do some questioning to himself. He didn't really care who that person was to him, whether it be a "friend" or a new enemy. It took a lot of time for someone to earn Neji's trust and it was mostly a matter of how worthy they are. As Neji continued thinking, he realized he did not have any friends at all. Lee was probably the closest person to him but he kept secrets from Lee and they hardly knew personal facts about each other. Lee, to Neji, was a close teammate whom he had grown to trust on the battlefield but not at heart.

Neji was of course familiar with the other ninjas who were his former classmates in the academy. Shino and Shikamaru were the most preferable to him because they were smart and quiet. Sasuke was also not talkative and Neji didn't want to sound like his fellow comrade, but there was no other word to describe Sasuke besides troublesome. Sasuke was skilled and he had power, more or less, but him leaving made everything go into chaos. Neji thought back to his mission in the 'Sasuke Retrieval Team' and though Neji had learned many things about himself, Sasuke had just caused too much trouble.

Naruto and Kiba were also skilled but much too loud and rowdy for a more mannered and sophisticated person such as Neji. Neji seldom spoke to the girls, Ino was too girly and though Sakura grew more and was more skilled than her past self, she would always be weak for Sasuke and that limited her to her full potential. Choji and Hinata had some power but in Neji's eyes, they were less useful.

Lee pumped his fist crazily in the air, narrowly missing Neji's face. Neji's head snapped up and he realized they were at the gates already.

And there they were. 

:) Asofue