Neji's Romance

Homecoming

Standing in the circular office of the building she had seen form the top of the cliff, she calmly looked into the singular eye of the white haired man sitting at the table, this pegged him as someone very important in the village, but she could not help wondering, why the face covering? Was he badly scarred or malformed? Whichever it was, she could not tell just by looking at him, who knew, maybe she would find out later, if she managed to stay that long. Introductions had been made, she now knew the names of the people surrounding her, but she had not been able to reciprocate. She pulled herself from her contemplation when she heard the intake of breath, which meant someone was about to speak.

Taking a deep breath, he asked her the one thing she dreaded most, "What is your name?" his deep voice carried easily across the room, and although he asked kindly, she flinched, looking straight at him, she shrugged, struggling with all her might to remember the name she knew must be hers, but which eluded her constantly.

A look of concern flickered across Kakashi's face and seeing her internal struggle, asked her another question to cover the first "where are you from?", little knowing he was making it worse, and she helplessly shook her head and shifted uneasily from one foot onto the other.

Again she saw that flicker of concern and sympathy, and for some reason she felt a prickling sensation of irritation, she was not some poor helpless lost child. Despite the large hole that was forming inside her, slowly filling with questions and emptiness, she raised her chin and looked the seated man right in the eye.

She did not hold his gaze for long though, as Neji moved into her field of vision, she focused on him and slowly the irritation flickered and a slow warm glow spread, temporarily covering the darkness within her.

She did not know why but he seemed to anchor her, and the warm glow within her started taking the shape of the very correct young man standing beside his Sensei's desk. Quickly she tried to erase such foolishness, but it had already taken hold and for a second she felt a slight heat creep up her neck as her green eyes met with his pale ones.

Her eyes snapped back to Kakashi as he resumed speaking, "so, since you are clueless to your identity and it seems it may take time to regain your memory, I wish to offer you a place to stay, however, we do not have many intact homes to offer you."

"Hokage-sama" came a deep voice from her right, eliciting a shiver down her spine, "the Hyuuga house has many rooms that are currently unoccupied and, with lady Hinata's permission, she could stay there for the time being."

She smiled, Neji had just taken authority, something he seemed very familiar with and poor Hinata probably did not have all that much to say about this matter either way.

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The words had erupted before he could check himself, but once uttered, he could not rescind the offer. Why had he had such a surge of sympathy? This was not something one would associate with himself, yes he was loyal and very mission oriented, but he did not often reach out and take someone under his wing. Her stance had pushed him just that bit further, since the lost and unhappy look mirrored the one he used to carry in his recent past, yes, that was it, that was the reason for his action, he identified with her.

Well, either way, he was stuck with her now, thankfully the Hyuga mansion and its accompanying grounds were enormous and had mostly survived the previous disaster intact, so he could avoid her if he wished.

Kind-hearted Hinata would care for their guest and his contact with her would be minimal. Satisfied, he looked over to Hinata, who, without hesitation, agreed to his suggestion and in her soft, kind voice officially offered the stranger a place in her childhood home. She was, after all, the heir to the Hyuuga clan, being from the main branch of the family, and even though you could never tell, actually held all the authority while her father was away.