Title: Diet

Written by: Somnion

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Hinata was rather proud of herself as she looked at herself in the mirror. She had stuck to this new diet for almost a week now and she was seeing results. Of course when a teenage girl says diet, it really means literally starving yourself and satiating your hunger with only a small serving of vegetables. No proteins, no carbohydrates, no excess sugars, just vegetables and fiber. Hinata, being a teenage girl and all, was no exception to this case. But she didn't mind, she saw the results, no way would the other girls be able to tease her about her weight anymore. She would be meeting with them later this evening, but before that she had a training session with Neji in the morning.

Hinata made her way to the training ground. Neji was already there waiting for her. She bowed and apologized for her tardiness. Then again, Neji was always early and had prided himself with punctuality. Putting aside Hinata's tardiness, Neji suggested that they should begin some warm-ups before their practice. As the morning passed, everything went smoothly. Neji had sparred with her and given her a few key pointers concerning her technique. Finally, the sun was now high in the sky, reaching high noon. Hinata had figured everything was going very well until Neji called for a break for lunch.

Sitting down, Neji opened his backpack which he had brought with him to the training grounds. Reaching inside, he pulled out a can of Oolong tea and a box of salmon onigiri (rice balls). Looking over, he noticed that Hinata was not joining him for lunch. Did she forget her lunch?

"Did you forget to bring lunch today, Hinata-sama?" he asked.

This was bad. Hinata knew that if Neji found out that she had been going on these sort of diets, he'd probably blow a fuse and she'd probably get reprimanded for it. Not that it's ever happened but she expected that may have been his reaction. She had to think of something.

"I…actually…"she stammered. "I…actually ate quite a bit during breakfast so…I'm not so hungry…"

Hearing how pitiful she sounded like when she lied made Hinata feel like slapping herself. That was pathetic. Neji would definitely know she was bluffing now. Just as she thought things couldn't get any worse, a deep rumbling was heard coming from her stomach, causing her to blush and to further expose her lie.

Neji, of course, was unimpressed and only raised a single eyebrow when he asked, "Are you on a diet, Hinata-sama?"

Hinata merely nodded her head, unable to speak due to her embarrassment. How embarrassing it was being in this situation, to be caught red-handed for lying. Neji must have probably been disgusted with her for doing that. After three years, despite their previous conflicts, the both of them had reached an understanding of trust and loyalty. Today, Hinata had broken both of those.

Neji watched his young cousin as she tried to hide her eyes from his glare. It was obvious she regretted lying, Neji could tell that much. But reading body language can only go so far. What Neji really wanted to know is why a girl like Hinata, a girl who has never been one to obsess about the way she looks, would suddenly want to go on diet. After awhile, he figured the only way to get the answer to that question was to find out the old fashion way: asking. But before any of that, he figured she better have something to eat; after all, there was no telling when was the last time she had a proper meal.

"Here," he said, as he offered her one of the onigiri that he had brought.

"No…I…couldn't possibly take Neji nii-san's…" protested Hinata.

"It's fine," he assured her.

"But…I…"

Neji, however, would have none of her protests. He simply held the onigiri in front of her, his eyes now focused into a glare. Hinata always dreaded that glare; it reminded her of the time before the two of them had settled their differences three years ago. It also seemed to remind her of her father, how he would glare at her the same way if she misbehaved or did something he was unhappy with. Neji would never use this glare at her nowadays. However, only at times when he disapproved of what she did, which under most circumstances were usually for her own good, would he revert to this stare. Whenever he did though, Hinata would find herself unable to refuse him and she would do as he told her to. Nervously she took the onigiri from her cousin's hand and bit into it.

"You're having another," he said as he took out an onigiri and bit into it. Hinata's eyes widened. At this rate, she would have completely blown her diet. She couldn't possibly take another one, she had to protest.

"But…but…" she protested nervously.

However, no sooner had the protest left her lips, Neji looked at her again, his eyes still locked with its stern glare. As if dumbstruck by his eyes, Hinata lost the will to protest. She knew he was doing this for her own good. Over the years, she noticed that he had become very protective over her and although he would never say it openly, she knew he was always looking out for her best interests. After finishing her first onigiri, she took the second offered by Neji. After finishing the second onigiri, Neji opened the can of tea and passed it to her. Sipping the tea to help wash down the salty taste of the salmon, she passed the can back and shyly thanked Neji for sharing. As usual, he said it was fine as he sipped on the tea. Hinata suddenly realized that both of their lips had touched the same place. Wasn't that an indirect kiss? A blush swept across her face. However, she couldn't dwell on that indirect kiss for too long because Neji suddenly posed a question.

"Why would you go on diet, Hinata-sama?" he asked Hinata, who was still avoiding his eyes.

Hinata stammered, "Well…the truth…is…"

Looking from the corner of her eye, she could still see Neji watching her, expecting an answer. Gulping down as if to swallow her fear; she started to speak her reply.

"Actually…last week…I was out with the girls and they said I…well…I…gained…a little…"

"So," Neji said, shaking his head while coming to a conclusion, "you started this diet, which I may add could have had detrimental effects on your health, simply because some girls said you gained a little weight."

Hinata hung her head down and nodded. As true as it was though, Hinata could not help but feel a little offended by what Neji had said. How could Neji understand? After all, men aren't the ones who are pressured to keep slim in order to remain attractive.

"But… if I don't…I won't look…" she argued

"If you're worried that if you don't diet, you'll look ugly, then you're eyes are even worse than I thought," he said. "You're beautiful as you are Hinata-sama, there's no need for you to starve yourself. So don't go on these diets, understand?"

Hinata's eyes shot wide open as she heard him say those words. Did Neji just say that she was beautiful? Although he probably just said that to get her to stop her dieting but still it was Neji who said it. Furthermore, knowing Neji's personality, she was probably the first one he had ever called beautiful. Fortunately for her, Neji was looking the other way and did not notice the blush on her face. First an indirect kiss and now he called her beautiful, it was just one thing after another. Looking over through the corner of her eye, she looked Neji up and down. Neji was rather handsome and he was nice to her although he never said. When she realized what she was doing, she stopped herself in shock. What was she doing?! This was Neji, how could she be having THOSE thoughts about Neji?! The heat began to rise in her face again, turning her cheeks pink; and this time, Neji did notice the change in color.

"Hinata-sama, are you feeling alright?" he asked.

"I…I'm…f…fine," she squeaked in reply.

"Might be a fever," he stated. "It could happen if you don't eat enough. I better check your temperature."

Placing his hand on her forehead, he leaned forward to check for pupil dilation. This was too much for Hinata. His face was just about less than an inch away from hers; she could have sworn she felt the tip of his nose brush against the tip of her own, his eyes staring deeply into her own and his lips…

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. With a soft squeak, she fainted, her face still burning red. Neji simply shook his head, catching her before her head hit the ground. Now he'd probably have to carry her back. As he propped her on his back, he felt Hinata's nicely 'developed' chest press softly against his back, causing him to blush. He'd been fighting these feelings for some time but with Hinata getting into scrapes like this didn't help. As he began to make his way back towards the estate, Hinata on his back, a smirk spread across his face and he chuckled.

"Why girls go on diets like this, I'll never understand…"

The End

A little short but I hope it entertains. Please read and review. Your opinions are invaluable to my writing. :)