Neji Hyuga Love Story: Into the Dark

Chapter 8

A/N: OK I realllllyy wanted to make this chappie longer but ay, it didn't want me to so what can I do. Anyway, hope you like it!! Note: next one will not be just about them XD

Chapter 8

Hanae began to walk back home after her med-nin training session with Sakura. They had almost practiced for five hours, and Hanae could definitely feel it's effects. Ahhhh, she sighed, Sakura sure is strong willed, she thought. I mean I knew it would be difficult but that was rough...
(Flashback)
Hanae showed up at the hospital like Sakura had asked. When she found her, Sakura said they would be going to a training ground. They arrived at the empty training ground, and began. The first two hours were simply learning to gather chakra into your palms, along with knowing which spots were best for healing in your hands. But the last three hours was the hard part. "Pigs?" Hanae questioned as Sakura explained the task. She looked around the field they had come to, and saw at least twenty of them in the mud.
"I know it's silly, but we can't really practice on real people yet." Sakura said as she smiled shyly. "Plus, this is something that Lady Tsunade had me do when I began training!"
"A-alright..." Hanae smiled a little and decided it couldn't be helped. "But what exactly am I doing to them?"
"Well, basically you will be practicing your healing skills on them. The ones with a green dot on them are the ones that have a medical problem that they need help with. You must be able to catch one, assess it's problem, and then heal it. When you've done that, you can come find me and we will be done for the day."
"...come find you? Your not staying?" Hanae asked.
"I'm sorry but no, my lunch break is over and I have to get back to the hospital. However, I have complete faith that you can do this Hanae! Good luck!" Sakura said as she smiled brightly and waved goodbye. Hanae waved as well, a little worried, but if Sakura believed in her, she knew she could do it.
She spent the next couple hours diving, chasing and trying to tackle the pigs. It was much harder than it sounded. She finally wrapped her arms around one of the small pigs with a green spot on it's back, and sat down in the mud. As soon as she did, it's green spot suddenly flew off! "What??" She exclaimed. The apparent green spot, had been a leaf. It suddenly squeezed away and left Hanae on the cold dirt. She felt defeated.
(End of flashback.)
I did catch one though... And Sakura told me I did well in assessing and healing it... She thought. Hanae looked down and saw her clothes covered in scrapes and dirt marks. Oh gosh, I look like a mess! But... I did learn some very useful things, I've almost got the hang of the healing part... Hanae looked up from her thought to see the Hyuga Manner in the distance. It was just about sunset, and she couldn't wait to get back. I can't wait to tell Neji about my new techniques, I might even be able to impress him... She sighed, smiled, and approached the door.
Knock-knock-knock! Neji walked up to open the door. He looked out to see Hanae, covered in dirt and exhausted looking. His eyes grew concerned.
Hanae said lightly, "H-Hi Neji, I'm back, haha!" She sounded a bit nervous as she said this, realizing from Neji's extensive looking up and down her body that she was pretty scratched up.
"Come inside." He said flatly. Hanae followed him in, and barely had time to stop and take off her sandals before she continued following him down the hall.
Neji walked into a room that Hanae soon discovered was the bathroom, a nice one too. It had a large bathing tub and wooden walls and floors, there was even steam. As she admired it, Neji turned around and walked past her into the hallway, and returned a few seconds later with some towels. "Here," he said and extended them to Hanae.
"N-Neji, what are yo-? Wait, there are two towels here, I only need one." She said innocently.
"We are taking a bath aren't we?" He said in all seriousness, never wavering from his cool personality.
"W-what?? No! People don't take baths together, especially not boys and girls!" Hanae claimed and squeezed her towel to her chest as she blushed. Neji simply went to the bathing pool and turned on the hot water.
"What do you mean, why would it matter. All we are doing is sitting in hot water. Plus, you look like a mess. You need help cleaning up." He said obliviously and untucked his shinobi shirt as he did so. He began to lift it over his head, and before she could protest, he exposed his broad chest and flat stomach. Neji's body was lean, but toned and most if not all of his muscles were prominent. Hanae soon quieted and she blushed. Wow... She thought, and as soon as she did she let out a squeal and turned around, facing her back to him.
"N-Neji!" She exclaimed. She could feel her cheeks growing hot. She had seen Neji shirtless before, but, in this circumstance...
"Come here. I'll help you with your top." This was Hanae's breaking point. She turned around swiftly as Neji stepped one foot closer, and threw a towel at him while squeezing her eyes shut, and yelled,
"Get out!" Her face was bright red and she was grasping her chest. Neji's face made a plain look and the next thing Hanae saw was him holding the towel to his shirtless chest in the doorway of the bathroom. He slid the door closed and walked away, leaving her by herself; she sighed.
Hanae stepped into the hot bath after she undressed. "Geez..." She thought aloud. "Is he actually that dense...?" Maybe I should have done it... "W-What?! No! What am I saying!" She exclaimed. She tipped her head back and decided she had enough battling for the day, physically and mentally.
After Neji was banished by Hanae, he decided to meditate in his room, but for some reason he couldn't focus. "This is useless." He said to himself, and stood up from his floor mat. He walked around his room a couple times. "What is wrong with me why am I so restless." He said, not expecting an answer. It made him upset that he could not figure it out. It was close to nighttime now, and he could hear the faint rush of water coming from Hanae's bath. "Hanae..." He thought out loud, and said it disappointedly. "I don't understand. Tenten had said that girls and guys take baths together all the time." He thought back to their conversation earlier today. While Hanae was training with Sakura, Neji had decided to train with his team as well.
(Flashback)
"Sooo, how's it going?" Tenten asked, trying to pry an answer out of Neji.
"I don't know what your talking about. I am well if that's what your asking." Tenten sighed.
"Oh Neji. I mean how is living with Hanae?" She brightened up a bit and smiled.
"U-Um," he replied (Did Neji just stutter?? Tenten thought.) "It's fine. She's great." He looked away as he said this, as though he was trying to hide something. "Can I ask you something?" He said flatly.
"Course!" Tenten replied.
(End of flashback.)
Neji was pulled out of his train of thought when he heard Hanae's voice. "Neji?" She said timidly.
"Hm?" He looked up and saw Hanae peaking around the door with her hair up in a messy looking bun, he could only see her head and that she was holding a towel wrapped around her. Neji felt his cheeks growing hot. "W..where are your clothes." He asked irritatedly as he began to blush.
"What? They-," Hanae started to explain how her clothes were still very dirty, when she noticed he was blushly lightly. "Neji... Are you blushing?" She questioned innocently.
"No, of course not. Why would I?" He denied it harshly.
"You totally are! Ha!" Hanae giggled, and stepped out from behind the doorway into his room, standing in only her towel. "I thought you were the one who wanted to take a bath together." She teased.
"That's different." He looked away and argued. "You're going to catch a cold." He could feel his blush growing deeper. This was so upsetting, what's wrong with her... He thought, conflicted.
"Really? What happened to it not mattering?" She said with a smile. Neji glanced up at her from sitting on his bed; Hanae's dirty blonde hair spilled slightly on her face out of her bun, and her skin shinned a little because she was still a bit wet from her bath. Neji sighed, blushing. Stupid girl.
He got up and went to his dresser, pulling out a neatly folded t-shirt of his, walked up to Hanae, a little more closely then she would have liked, and urged her to take it. "Here. You have clothes now. Put some on." He said and looked away. He actually cared... Hanae thought and looked up at him; he was still blushing a little. Neji was about four inches taller than her.
"A-alright." She said softly, looked down, and smiled to herself. Due to her exhaustion from training earlier, Hanae's limbs seemed to be unwilling to follow her command, and when she tried to turn around, she ended up tripping over Neji's feet since he was so close. The next thing she knew, there was a thud, and Hanae looked down to see Neji beneath her, eyes clenched from hitting his head on the ground.
"Ouch," he let out flatly as he rubbed his head, then realized the weight on him as he tried to get up; Hanae had fallen on top of him. His eyes widened at the sight of her blushing and laying on top of him. He could feel himself start to blush again himself, and he hated it. "What are you doing, get off of me." He said.
"I-I can't, if I get up, my towel will come loose!" She almost whispered in embarrassment. Neji then noticed that her towel had in fact come loose, and it was only separating her front side in between them. He sighed. This girl... Neji wrapped his arms around her, and Hanae gasped a little as she felt his strong embrace.
N-neji... She thought. Neji began to lift himself off the ground with one arm wrapped around her, holding her close to him. He got them both up and still with Hanae's towel in between them.
"There. Now fix your towel." Hanae did as Neji said and it was fixed. He let go of her and sighed. "You should really watch where you're going." He said in a stoney voice, and lifted his hand up to his forehead irritatedly. Hanae simply nodded her head, and walked out with the shirt he had given her.
She continued into Hinata's room, to change into Neji's shirt and to find a pair of shorts. What just happened... She thought. Did he do that just to help us up...? She hoped the answer was no. The truth was, when she felt Neji's arms around her, she could feel a warmth spread across her body, and she didn't want it to stop. The hand holding, the sleeping, and now this? Is he really just doing these things because he has to? Hanae wondered and felt scared that the answer could be yes. She finished changing and went back into Neji's room.
His t-shirt was far to big on her, and it practically covered the shorts she had put on. Neji scolded himself mentally for ever giving it to her when he saw it as she came back into his room. He was sitting on the bed, and layed down on his back in response to her appearance. Hanae didn't know what to say, but she guessed that Neji had claimed his bed back again. "I-I just wanted to say g-goodnight. Night Neji." She said sweetly as she stuttered and began to walk away. Why was she being so shy all of a sudden?
"Where are you going? Neji said in a concerned voice and sat up immediately.
"Oh, I just thought you were sleeping in here now, N-Neji..." Why can't I stop fidgeting? She thought as she fiddled with the end of Neji's shirt that she was wearing. It smelled like him.
"Don't be ridiculous." He turned away. "You are sleeping in here with me." He said flatly and laid down, the lights were out now, and the room was dark.
"What?" Hanae questioned, and blushed a little. Neji didn't reply, and simply waited for her to join him, he wouldn't except no for an answer. She walked over to the bed but didn't sit down yet and continued to fiddle with her shirt. "N-Neji?" She asked timidly. He turned over to look at her.
"Yes?" He said in a stoney voice. Hanae looked nervous about something, and her cheeks grew more red.
"D-do you.... L-like me?" She said in a quiet voice and looked away from his stare. Neji sat up straight and had a very concentrated look on his face.
"What?" He asked coldly. He seemed as though he thought the idea was foolish, and Hanae's nervousness grew.
"I, I just thought... I d-didn't know if, and I f-felt like, when you hugged me," Hanae babbled a little, and Neji watched with an amused expression, almost irritated looking. Hanae's blush grew deeper and she looked scared. Suddenly, he reached up and grasped Hanae's face, pulling it down to meet his own, and intertwined his fingers in her mouse colored hair. Hanae shuttered a little at the contact, but when their lips met suddenly, an unfamiliar warmth rushed over her, replacing any and all other feelings inside of her. Neji pulled his mouth away from her own, and couldn't help but feel his face growing warmer as he noticed how flustered she was. He held her there for a moment, then let go and looked at her. Neji's stoney eyes and long brown hair were illuminated by the night sky outside, and he said very seriously,
"Yes. I do." He thought back to his conversation with Tenten again.
(Flashback)
"Course!" Tenten replied.
"How, how do I get Hanae to like me." Neji said briskly, looking at something out of range, obviously concentrating on the thought. Tenten looked at him and felt herself blush a little when she thought about how serious Neji looked as he asked her, and then smiled.
"I can't tell you, Neji." She answered. He turned to face her immediately.
"What? Why?" Neji questioned. He was obviously irritated by the whole situation. It wasn't often that he, the Hyuga clan genius boy, didn't know what to do. Tenten giggled a little bit at his response.
"Because, no one can answer that question. Feelings... Aren't something that you can calculate a solution for. Nobody knows how they work." Tenten struggled to explain as she smiled sweetly.
"I see." Neji sighed and furrowed his brows. She attempted further.
"And that is why people often show their feelings with actions! Like, holding hands, or, kissing..." Tenten couldn't help but blush trying to explain this to Neji, whose cheeks were growing an invisible blush as well.
"W-what? What are you talking about. I would never embarrass myself like that." He crossed his arms and protested. But on the inside, Neji couldn't help thinking about kissing Hanae. The thought made him blush, and honestly he had always wanted to try kissing.
"Ok, ok," Tenten reassured shaking her hands, a little scared of him.
(End of flashback)
Neji's thoughts faded away and he looked up at Hanae, who was wearing his t-shirt still, her long dirty blonde hair falling just short of her thighs, and her green eyes made clear by the moonlight. She looked a little surprised, and just as Neji was starting to get worried, her expression turned into glimmering smile, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as she fell into him. He was shocked by the action but reluctantly placed his arms around her back as well, and sighed.
"I like you too, Neji-kun." Hanae said sweetly and quietly. He smiled.