Child of the sea (Neji X OC story)

Chapter Sixteen ~ The Final Phase

~Umiko~

Neji and i met up the next day "I know what you're going to say"he said "Do you?"I asked turning to him "Then do tell me what i'm gonna say"i said crossing my arms "You're going to say i hate you and don't want to see you anymore"he said looking away clenching his fist, i sighed a bit and hugged him pulling him close to me, i could tell he was surprised.

"That wasn't what i was gonna say at all"i said, he said nothing but relaxed in my hold "I didn't like watching that but then i had a thought, if something were to ever happen you can use that same ferocity to protect"i said, he hugging me back.

"So no i don't hate you, i think i like you even more"i said, he smiled at me and chuckled a bit "You have a strange way of putting things, you can twist anything to be positive"he said i giggled a bit "I guess"and smiled, he then kissed me and i kissed back, after that we trained together for the whole month.

~skip~

I stood next to Neji, between him and Gaara, as us finalist waited for the finals to begin, Naruto had just crashed through the gates, "Where's Sasuke?"Naruto wondered looking around "He's probably doing some last minute training with Kakashi"i said.

"Oh okay"Naruto grinned "Hey quit your fidgeting present yourself proudly to the spectators"the proctor said, a new guy who i don't think ever told us his name, i'll call him needle since he's got a needle in his mouth, anyway the hokage made a speech and needle showed us a new format of the tournament.

Bandages was completely out of it and he was the one i was supposed to fight, guess that means he's dead, now i fight whoever wins between Temari and Shikamaru, whatever i guess "Alright listen up, the terrain's different but the rules are the same as before, that is there are no rules, matches continue until one contestant either gives up or dies, that being said if i determine that a match is over i can step in and stop it at anytime and no arguments permitted understood?"he asked.

"Alright, the first match will be Naruto Uzumaki vs Neji Hyuga, you two stay the rest of you will go to the waiting area "Good luck"i whispered to Neji, he gave me a quick smile as i walked off with the others to the waiting area, i wasn't sure who to cheer for sure i told Neji good luck but that's different, anyway i decided to keep quiet and just watch.

The match got started Naruto attacked first trowing some kunai but Neji easily deflected then Naruto went in close and attacked but Neji easily dodged while simultaneously attacking, Naruto went in for another attack but again Neji dodged and blocked Naruto's barrage of punched.

Neji then pushed Naruto away but Naruto went in close again but Neji dodged and attacked barely missing a chakra point, Naruto got up and summoned a few shadow clones evenly splitting his chakra between them so Neji couldn't tell which one was the real one even with his Byakugan.

But Neji beat all the shadow clones easily, then Neji went on his speech about destiny and how it can't be changed, i frowned a bit, i knew why he believed that but that didn't mean i liked it, anyway Naruto summoned more shadow clones and managed to sneak up on Neji but Neji used a secret technique called rotation, something only the main family could do but he had figured out how to do it despite being in the branch family.

Neji then used 64 palms, a technique that blocked all of Naruto's chakra points, Neji then went to tell him what he had told me a while ago, the story of how his father was forced to sacrifice himself to save the life of his uncle, anyway using the nine tails chakra Naruto tricked Neji with shadow clones and beat him surprising literally everyone, well except me, i knew he could do it.

I slipped away from the others and went to see Neji, i found where they were keeping him quickly enough, i smiled walking over as he laid on a bed "Hey, you okay?"i asked sitting next to him on the bed "Yeah, just a wounded pride"he said, i giggled a bit and he smiled, he then grabbed my hand holding it in his, i smiled.

"You were right you know"Neji said "And what was i right about this time?"i asked smirking a bit, he chuckled a bit "A clever bird knows how to pick the lock to their cage, i can change my destiny"he said "Well if i had known beating you would finally hammer that in, i would of done so long ago"i said and he chuckled again and pulled me closer kissing me, i smiled kissing him back and after a while pulled back and cuddled next to him "I'm gonna stay here for a while, you don't mind right?"i asked "Not at all"he smiled, i smiled back and wrapped my arms around him cuddling him.

~Neji~

After a while there was a knock on the door and an excuse me as Hiashi Hyuga, my uncle stepped inside "Can you step outside please?"he asked Umiko, i struggled to sit up completely out of chakra "She's not going anywhere"i said as Umiko helped me sit up, i put my arm around her and notice her blush before glaring at my uncle "Very well then"he sighed a bit walking over.

"Now what do you want?"I asked him "You know that day, well i've come to tell you the truth about what happened"he said, i tightened my grip on Umiko and she squeezed my hand reassuringly "What are you saying?"i asked, i thought back to when i saw my father dead.

"That day, i was fully prepared to die"uncle told me "What? What are you talking about? That day my father was forced to pose as you and was murdered for the sake of the family!"i yelled at him tightening my grip on Umiko a little too hard as she jabbed my side with her elbow, i loosened up and uncle handed me a scroll "The truth you seek, is inside this scroll"he said.

"Of course, it's only excuses for the convenience of the head family"I said not believing him "The person you are now might understand"uncle said, i grabbed the scroll noticing it was in my fathers had writing, opening it up Umiko and i read through it.

"Neji, i'm afraid i only have a limited time left and i want to use that limited time to tell you something, the cloud ninja tried to abduct Hinata but lord Hiashi killed the ninja, however the land of lightning refuse to acknowledge the attempt and only made more trouble for the leaf, the demands for retribution were completely unreasonable" my father then went on to detail the discussion the clan had about the whole situation.

To put it in a nut shell, my father chose to sacrifice himself not to protect the head family but to protect his brother and his village "Forge your own destiny Neji, your fate is something you create with your own hands"he said at the end of his letter.

~Umiko~

Neji was shaking, it seemed like he was about to cry, i squeezed his hand and smiled at him, it was okay to cry, this reminded me of the scroll i had been left with as a baby, maybe it was time for me too to see what it said.

I looked over and saw lord Hyuga bowing, his head nearly to the ground, i was shocked "This is the truth and i should have told you that a long time ago, i'm sorry"he said, Neji managed not to brake down just yet "Please lord Hiashi don't bow to me"he said to him and seemingly went into deep thought as he walked over to the window, i followed and grabbed his hand, he smiled at me and laced our fingers together and leaned his head on me i smiled leaning into him.