.

THE FALL OF ICARUS

AUTHORS: e. N. Black
DISCLAIMER: Naruto is a product of Kishimoto Masashi
PAIRINGS: Hyuuga Neji + Uzumaki Naruto
WARNINGS: M/M

Chapter 08: Lasting Impression

First there was Hyuuga Neji, Genma was ashamed to think as he stood outside the restaurant patiently waiting for his date to show up. Hyuuga appeared to have that timeless, aristocratic, clean beauty, but one tended to ignore them. Neji had made that impossible. He had given Genma a lasting impression of Hyuuga behaving as though they had normal human emotions. It had floored Genma. He'd taken an interest, first in the outcome of the fight of loser versus genius, and then in Neji's plight of slave versus freedom. After the match was over, when Konoha was rebuilding, Genma had continued to watch Neji as though he had some personal stake in Neji finding the answer. Genma didn't. He'd just been inordinately pleased to see Neji continue his small mutiny of Hyuuga tradition in less destructive ways. Neji worked hard toward perfecting his jutsu. Neji was kind toward his teammates. Neji had quit trying to kill his cousin. And whatever else had happened when Genma hadn't been able to watch, it had created a relatively stable Neji.

All the same, Genma acknowledged that it had been singularly inappropriate for his then thirty-year-old self to be crushing on a thirteen year old kid no matter how mature said kid seemed to be. But he just couldn't let his curiosity over Branch Family Hyuuga go.

Then, fortunately, a couple months later, Hyuuga Tokuma had been promoted to jounin and accepted to the Reconnaissance and Infiltration squad. On the day Genma had seen him, Anko was waltzing around with her team showing off her latest acquisition. And how lucky was she, Genma had wondered, to have gained Hyuuga Tokuma? He wasn't like others of his clan either. One had to be slightly off in personality to work with Mitarashi Anko, and in Tokuma's appearance — sporting a bandanna, long hair in the front, and shorn off spiky curls in the back — one could see a rebellious streak, even if his mannerisms were above reproach. What was really a bonus for Genma, however, was the fact that Tokuma had been of age—eighteen? Nineteen? Legal enough that Genma didn't feel like a lecher for finding him attractive.

As Tokuma walked up to the establishment, the look on his face subtly bespoke harassment, but he looked nice. His kimono was shades of green and lavender that appeared as though he moved through a field of verbena with each step. It was odd seeing Hyuuga all dressed up. Really, depending upon hairstyle it was a guess at gender, which made sense to Genma as he wasn't usually attracted to men. When he thought about it, he became fairly certain the robes were merely a concession to modesty when one had eyes that could see anything. If one was naked no matter what one did, then it made sense to be comfortably clad in what could be considered a bathrobe and footsies.

Still, Tokuma looked elegant as he apologized and bid that they enter the restaurant. They got seated in a private nook and ordered. "I'm not used to my daily routine being interrupted," he was explaining as they waited for their meal. Then he expelled what could only be an exasperated huff of air as his eyes drifted to their corners. "Actually I am used to having my day rearranged, just not so frequently in one afternoon." Tokuma seemed to force a smile. "But enough about me, how are you feeling?"

"Much better, thank you," Genma answered. Whatever it was Nadeshiko put into that tea made it as delicious as it was healing.

"You probably have a few questions?"

Genma's tongue worried at the senbon hanging from his mouth as he thought about how to answer that. The tone of Tokuma's voice implied he could ask anything he wanted, but the questions Genma had weren't all about the Hyuuga Branch family. His first look at the Hyuuga clan had him thinking of prim and proper little dolls whose faces were as blank as their postures were straight. The second had been a glimpse of the rage more than half the clan held in check, usually. And now this third look was of the Branch family who had somehow managed to create their own subculture underneath their jailers' toes. But ultimately he wanted to know about the Hyuuga in front of him.

"I like your kimono," Genma stated, though it had nothing to do with the topic.

It gave the other man pause, quite literally, as Tokuma's head tilted slightly to the left, hands limp on the table as he regarded Genma with those very piercing Hyuuga eyes. And then he blinked. "Thank you." He removed his hands from the table to fold them in his lap. "I had a date."

Genma's lips twitched. This edict was really starting to get on his nerves. On the one hand, Tokuma having to date said that he was available and saved Genma an awkward question, but at the same time Tokuma having to date said that the clan wanted more little Hyuuga running around and thus limited his time to make any kind of move. "So, they got you roped in on that whole Familial Duties thing?"

"Yes. I was dismissed early from my job to go sit with the," he took a sip of his drink, "charming Lady Kikue."

"Wait. The same girl who tried to kill Miss Nadeshiko?"

"Mm." It was the most ambiguous yet irritated sound Genma had ever heard in his life.

"I thought she was supposed to be getting to know Neji?"

"That isn't how it works," Tokuma replied. "In other clans you ask for the whole edict thing for people who are more or less already exclusive, would like to establish themselves as a couple to their clan, and start a family. In my clan, this is when we meet, date, marry . . . . pollinate whoever our partner will be."

The Shiranui was frowning. "No say whatsoever?"

Tokuma shook his head. "No. We have a choice, it's just . . . minimal. We're given a couple candidates The Elders approve of and from there we see which of them are the most compatible."

"I don't see how you guys live like that."

The Hyuuga smiled, leaned forward as he whispered, "That's because we don't. And you have seen how."

Maybe it was because he'd spent many hours slightly off-kilter that it finally came to Genma that he'd almost died. Tokuma was sitting across from him as he'd wanted, but if he thought about it, this date, to his mind, could be the Bunke way of making sure their secret remained as it had been. He hunched forward also, met Tokuma's steady gaze and mumbled, "Yeah, well, I've got bad eyesight. Who knows what I've seen."

His dinner companion smiled in approval and sat back. Genma felt ridiculously accomplished and did the same.

The server arrived with their food.

After she had gone and Genma had eaten a few bites, he decided to satisfy more of his curiosity. "Y'know, I don't mean to pry or anything, but, you made Chuunin by the time you were eleven—what took you so long to make Jounin? I mean, I only ask because Neji did it in two years and it didn't make sense for you to have flown out of the academy but not . . ."

He let the sentence dangle when he noticed Tokuma had that paralyzed look again.

But then Tokuma lifted a corner of his napkin to his lips to wipe off some crumbs. "Neji is different from most Bunke. He spites the Souke by being better than anyone they have to offer—they really hate that. So, it works for Neji, especially considering the circumstances of his birth."

Genma would kill to investigate what those circumstances were but knew that question would go unanswered, so he encouraged Tokuma to continue. "And you?"

"I was in Itachi's class in the beginning."

Genma frowned. "Uchiha Itachi?"

"Yes. People become uncomfortable when they hear the name, but . . . I don't know. At the time, everyone was terrified that we were going to erupt into civil war and it would be clan against clan, and the Elders kept harping on a need for one of us to be able to oppose Itachi. Then they decided that person should be me because I was the best of our clan at that time." Tokuma took a sip of his drink, mulling over his memories, no doubt, before continuing. "But you know what? I actually liked the guy."

Genma choked a bit on his food. "Huh?" he managed to gasp out after a pound to his chest.

Tokuma shrugged, allowed curious eyes to peruse his dinner companion for any further sign of strain without addressing it any further. "We ran missions together sometimes before he got drafted to ANBU. When I was around him . . . I know Hyuuga and Uchiha are supposed to hate each other, but Itachi wasn't like other Uchiha—he was probably the least confrontational person I knew." He took a few more bites of his dinner, chewed slowly and swallowed before finishing his story. "Itachi once thanked me for not making everything a competition between us, and after that it didn't matter what the Souke said—I didn't want to fight him and I don't think I could have beat him anyway, so I slacked off a bit. Took the punishment for it. It wasn't so easy to bounce back from that—you probably understand why."

He met Genma's eyes and for a moment Genma's world was the wrong way as his mind recalled the feel of the Lock. Then Tokuma ate a carrot and the memory collapsed as Genma's brain was stimulated to other things of similar shape that Tokuma could put in to his mouth.

"I get that it sounds strange because Itachi was good at his job," Tokuma continued, completely oblivious to the south turn Genma's thoughts had taken, "but inherently, I think, he was actually very kind."

Genma dragged his attention back the conversation at that, eyebrow raised. "The guy who murdered his whole clan? Kind?"

The Hyuuga actually cracked a smile, a hand briefly brushing across his forehead protector as he murmured, "They probably provoked him."

Shiranui Genma could just bet they had. He watched Tokuma's face closely and thought he saw something akin to envy; a silent wish that some similar fate would befall their Main House Family. They'd Locked him, Genma thought. And it was so severe that a cup of tea couldn't fix the damage right away. It made him wonder how powerful the Branch Family would be if there were no Seal — how powerful the Hyuuga as a whole would be. As it stood, Branch family members of the Hyuuga Clan probably found it difficult to empathize with the genocide of an entire people. They would be the last to censure Uchiha Itachi for that.

They finished eating and Tokuma paid the bill before Genma could say he'd handle it.

Outside, Tokuma touched his arm and stated, "Don't worry. We Bunke wouldn't do something as drastic as that to wipe out our problems." He indicated with a twitch of his head for Genma to follow him. "There are ways around many of the issues that we go through."

The plan had been dinner and then a visit to The Aviary. Genma had drunk the extra draught Nadeshiko had given him before leaving for the restaurant; he was sure the benefits were still in effect to keep the Reverse Juinjutsu Barrier from Locking him.

"And you're one of those willing to work around them?" he asked as he fell into step beside Tokuma.

"Of course."

Well, here goes. "Aren't you the rebel—next thing I know you'll be telling me you have a lover on the side too."

Tokuma shut down again, like someone had just pulled the plug mid-step. He stumbled, caught himself, flashed a look at Genma, and then concentrated on the ground as though looking for the culprit who'd tripped him. "Um."

It was unexpected, especially when one looked to the Hyuuga as that clan who were always graceful. Genma had to think he'd said something horribly wrong. "Ah. I was out of line—forget . . ."

"It isn't that—I do have someone." Tokuma wouldn't look him in the face at all. "It's just kind of ironic that you fell in to The Aviary and I'm still awaiting permission to bring him."

It was Genma's turn to collapse a little on the inside. "Oh," he choked out even as his mind reprimanded him to keep it together. He and Tokuma weren't an item, no matter what he'd fantasized. Tokuma hadn't even known how he felt so that was at least his saving grace. So he ordered himself to act like a grown-up when he really wanted to demand the name of whoever it was and go kick the shit out them. "That serious, huh?" he asked as though his heart wasn't being sacrificed to the demon of irony.

Tokuma shrugged. "He bugs me." The words were completely noncommittal but his smile was one people in that stage of giddy love do when speaking of their significant other.

Genma hated him already.

"Huh. So, you think he'll be allowed down there soon then?"

"Well. Yes. He's on Hyuuga land all the time, and his Clan is renowned for secrecy. So." They detoured down a side street that led to the woods which would eventually lead to the river if Genma was remembering his topography correctly. "It isn't as though non Branch Family can't come to The Aviary, it just hasn't happened in a really long time," Tokuma was saying.

"Then what happens when you get married—won't your wife be angry with your lover?"

"Why?" Tokuma appeared genuinely confused. "As long as my wife is Branch Family and we're obviously not in love, then it stands to reason that she should have her own lover to worry about."

Genma blinked. "What?"

"It really isn't that complicated. Yes, the Souke have a lot of rules and honestly the consequences for breaking them just aren't worth it. But after marriage the Souke don't pay as much attention. They think we've done everything we're told, we're docile, we're obedient, we are perpetuating the cycle. So as long as you go to your marriage bed pure and your children come from the correct spouse, you can be with anyone you want—they don't know the difference."

"Then how can they tell something like purity in the first place?"

Tokuma released a disgusted sigh. "Oh, they can tell. These eyes are very annoying on old people. Uchiha eyes get worse with age and use; in contrast, Hyuuga eyes see more."

Genma rolled the senbon from one side of his mouth to the other as he thought. "So, then, for all you've been seeing this guy for however long, you're still—"

"Waiting," Tokuma interrupted curtly.

"And . . ." He scratched the back of his ear as he quelled that tiny jolt of optimism the answer had given him. "He's okay with that?" Genma hoped not.

"There are ways around everything," Tokuma repeated cheerfully enough that Genma could infer that the boyfriend was just fine with their arrangement.

Tokuma motioned Genma to follow him over to a patch of moon flowers, to which he then flashed the Seal on his forehead.

As they descended under the ground Genma puzzled through a list of clans the Hyuuga were on good enough terms with to allow access to their territory. There weren't very many. The only pattern being consistent was that Hyuuga tended to work with clans who excelled at tracking. The clans who stood out in that category were Inuzuka — one of whom happened to be their Lady Hinata's teammateand the Aburame — who happened to have members on both Hinata and Tokuma's squads.

"He bugs you," Genma repeated as his brain put it together. "You meant that literally?" He was sure his shock and a minor amount of revulsion was emblazoned all over his face because Tokuma was frowning at him in a way that made Genma wish the ground hadn't closed back over their head, hindering his retreat.

"What?" Tokuma demanded defensively. "Aburame are hot."

Genma didn't know how to respond. It was bad enough he kept falling for people way too young for him on top of everything else he'd gone through since leaving for the Daimyo's home and returning. Now to find out that his competition for the person he liked was from a clan almost all of Konoha agreed was weird was just the kunai in his naval to what had already been a crappy couple of days.

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Uzumaki Naruto had been back in Konohagakure for three days and he still hadn't found who he was looking for. He hopped from roof top to roof top as he searched, sometimes choosing to walk the mostly empty streets when he needed to get his bearings. He'd lived in Konoha his whole life, but leave for a couple years and even he got turned around. Three days, and not one person had been able to point him in the direction of Hyuuga Neji. And by 'point him in the direction of' Naruto meant 'casually mention Neji's name some time during the conversation', because Naruto couldn't outright ask for specific people after two years — it would make him look like he was playing favorites. While he was on the subject, to be honest, he hadn't really been able to dedicate the amount of time to the search for Neji that he'd wanted to.

The first day Jiraiya had turned him over to Kakashi. After that they'd run into Granny Tsunade and Haruno Sakura.

Sakura.

Naruto stopped where he was and sat down on the roof. Legs spread, he rested his elbows on his knees and expelled a tired breath. Sakura was at least one question answered. He'd seen her after two years of separation and . . .

He'd thought nothing of her.

Not a blip on the radar. Not a lingering gaze at her face, or her body. Not a dirty thought about her bust size — though to be fair, anyone standing beside his Granny looked inferior in that department. But still, to Naruto Sakura was the same; he was the one who had changed.

After reaching that unsettling confirmation Konohamaru had found him, and that was probably the best feeling ever to see his 'little brother' again, interact like time had stood still but they'd gotten taller. Until that moment he hadn't realized how much he'd missed the younger boy.

Then, when he hadn't even been back in the village for an hour yet, Kakashi was jingling those stupid bells from years ago in his and Sakura's faces. It was both a nostalgic gesture and a challenge at the same time. Granny wanted to make sure he could function on a team again after so long, and fighting against Kakashi to see if he could hold his own while coordinating attacks was the fastest way to do that. Though he and Sakura had managed to get the bells, Team 7 wasn't reactivated as yet. Something about teammate flexibility — Naruto had tuned out the reason cited, had nothing to do with him anyway.

So after being out all night proving he had learned something in all that time he'd spent with the Old Pervert, they had walked the market street of Konoha. It was almost therapeutic after being dragged from countryside to townscape and back for the last two years. He and Sakura were equally excited about their victory, mostly ignoring Kakashi because his nose was stuck in Jiraiya's boring book.

"Well you have become strong," Kakashi had acknowledged at one point in the conversation. It was the kind of praise Naruto had always wanted from him but rarely got because . . . well, because there was always someone better than him around. "I'm amazed you were actually able to get the bells."

"Yeah," Naruto had agreed, head high, thumb pointing at himself with absolute confidence. His former teacher couldn't take it back now that he'd said it. "Maybe I've even surpassed you Kakashi-sensei!"

The taunt barely got him a flick of attention. "Don't get conceited," Kakashi said, and then he'd laughed good-naturedly. "Anyway, I'm still young and recently I've developed a brilliant new jutsu . . ."

Naruto's stomach had growled noisily.

"I'm starving," he'd announced. "Haven't gone home or to Ichiraku Ramen yet. This is ridiculous, I just got back."

"Yeah I'm a bit hungry after training yesterday too," Sakura had responded.

Naruto leaned closer to her and whispered conspiratorially, "Then it's Kakashi-sensei's treat."

"Yeah!" Sakura agreed. "Sensei, you can . . ."

"Sorry, with this edict going on I have to create and submit a formation of the new teams," Kakashi had interrupted, fingers poised to release his jutsu. "So it's goodbye for now." He'd poofed out of the vicinity.

"Ugh, he ran away," Naruto had complained.

Sakura'd made an annoyed sound. "Blaming the edict." She'd tossed her head. "He's probably just going off to finish that nasty book."

Since things seemed to be a bit more normal between them, Naruto had thought to try one more time to get his feelings straight. Jiraiya was right in that he wasn't very good at figuring things like that out. He should gather more evidence than just his first response. He had to make this work. If he really liked her, like he'd told himself he did then this would be it. Naruto had laughed nervously, thrown a bright smile on his face as he placed both hands behind his neck. "So, if it's just the two of us then it's a da—"

"Ok, but it's your treat," she'd interrupted. And she hadn't looked happy about it. Naruto had turned his back, pulled out his frog coin purse and inspected its contents. He hadn't known then if he was more angry with the fact that he wasn't devastated at her rejecting him again or that she would carelessly put the bill on him when she knew he hadn't worked in over two years.

"Hey, Shikamaru, Temari, look who it is!" Sakura had sounded kind of desperate, as though she'd been looking for a way out of the agreement she had just made. Naruto couldn't help but think they'd both dodged a kunai in that regard and at the same time he'd been so excited to see his friend again that his mouth had run away with him when he'd spotted Shikamaru beside Temari of Sand and automatically assumed that they were courting.

Shikamaru had looked grumpy as hell that morning but he'd been calm about dismissing Naruto's assumption. "Nah, that's not it."

Temari had appeared both amused and offended. "You're joking," she'd stated. "Why would I go out with such a . . . Oh forget it. There's a Chuunin exam coming up and I'm the liaison between the Sand and Leaf."

"And it's troublesome, but I've become an examiner now and we have to work together," Shikamaru had added, his look of long-suffering not something he would feign.

"A Chuunin exam—wow. That takes me back," Naruto had replied. The day just seemed hellbent on nostalgia.

Shikamaru had scratched at the back of his neck. "Yeah. About that—what are you going to do?"

"About what?"

The Nara had given him a look that said he was exercising patience. "It's a Chuunin Exam; do I need to add you to the list? Because right now the only one from our class who hasn't advanced is you."

Naruto had been a little devastated to hear that, eyes seeking out his teammate for confirmation. "Sakura?"

She'd held up a gloating victory sign as she smiled. "Yep!"

Dumbfounded, Naruto'd then wondered how they'd been reacquainted almost twenty-four hours and in that time she'd asked him about her looks and berated him for his childishness, but never mentioned her promotion in the ninja world.

"Plus," Shikamaru'd added, "Neji from the class above us, Kankurou of Sand, and Temari here are already jounin."

That had been the first time anyone had voluntarily mentioned Neji. He wanted to pursue that line of questioning, but at the same time Shikamaru was standing beside Temari and they hadn't updated him about one person at all. "Then . . . Gaara. What about Gaara?"

Naruto came back to himself with a deep frown on his face. He glanced down at the street without really seeing it as something that felt briefly like jealousy, but more like joy and pride at the thought of Gaara becoming Kazekage fluttered in his chest. Gaara was lucky in that he hadn't been targeted by Akatsuki and forced to flee his home. Instead, he'd gotten to stay in Sand and become its primary defender.

He stood, cast about to pick a direction, eyes floating over an alley before eagerly swinging back to it. For a second he'd thought he'd spied his quarry. Hyuuga had a very distinct look to them and this one was standing beside a green covered trashbag that Naruto had come to associate with Shino's new look. He'd reunited with Team Kurenai yesterday after leaving Sakura, Shikamaru and Temari, and after not recognizing Shino right away Naruto dared not approach in case Shino was still cultivating that grudge. He refocused on the alley, eyes cataloguing the unnamed Hyuuga from the distance. Ultimately, he decided the hair was too radically different—bandanna, long bangs in the front tied off into two, cut off in the back. That produced another emotion in his chest that was a bit like betrayal and shock because damn but Naruto hoped Neji hadn't cut his hair. That day in the hospital was one of Naruto's most persistent memories.

He sighed, looked back to the street to see which way he should head.

And there he was.

Naruto's memory made flesh.

Hyuuga Neji.

For a long moment Naruto couldn't breathe; he could hear his heart beating in his ears, feel sweat pooling in his armpits, feel a queasy bubbling in his stomach, but it wasn't bad. It was just . . . Neji.

He was dressed in white, a stain or two on the hem to suggest recent training, but he still looked regal, like an emperor surveying his kingdom while he stood in the street talking to Tenten. Neji was taller and his face was more defined, having lost its childlike roundness. His hair was longer—much longer than Naruto had expected. His expression . . . well, Naruto couldn't say what emotion Neji was feeling because in everyday situations it never showed on his face.

Then Tenten spied him on the roof and enthusiastically waved. Naruto forced himself to draw air into his lungs, put a smile onto his face and leap down.

"Hey!" he greeted.

"Welcome back," Tenten replied. "Saw you a couple days ago but you seemed busy."

"Really?" Naruto seethed a little on the inside—this whole search could have been avoided. He injected cheer into his voice. "You should have said something anyway—I haven't seen you guys in like forever."

Tenten shrugged. "Well, I was busy too. Duty and all, right Neji?" She thumped the Hyuuga on the shoulder causing his eyes to widen briefly, mouth flexing before he nodded agreement.

"It's . . . good to see you again, Naruto." Neji's head was tilted at an angle that hinted that he was watching Naruto but at the same time looking at the road. Naruto thought it was weird for a second, but then recalled Neji doing the same gesture in the hospital, and again the day Neji had treated him to Ichiraku right before he'd left, and even that Hyuuga in the alley hadn't really been looking Shino in the face. For a second he wondered if some Hyuuga were trained to do that - show deference even when they didn't need to.

"Yeah, you too."

"It's really early, Naruto, are you up to something or have you been assigned a mission already?" Tenten asked.

"Oh, no I was just, y'know," Naruto scratched at the back of his neck, "uh, getting used to the place again."

"Uh-huh," Tenten chirped. "Like what you see?"

He couldn't stop his eyes from swinging back to Neji at that question. A hand was rubbing the arm Tenten had offended; Neji's attention was on his shoulder, leaving Naruto to think maybe Tenten too had developed freakish strength.

He was supposed to answer. He smiled widely at Tenten. "Yeah!"

"Uh-huh." Tenten smirked. "Well, if you need a recap of the place, Neji has a couple hours off, I'm sure he would gladly show you around. Right Neji?" She elbowed him in the gut.

Neji blinked, hand moving from his shoulder to his side, but he looked Naruto square in the eye and answered, " . . . Sure."

"Uh-huh." Tenten was practically beaming. "Then it's settled. Naruto—in case you forgot, if you walk a mile down this street and then make a left you'll be at Ichiraku's—you do still like eating there don't you?"

"Of course."

"Uh-huh. Great." She clapped her hands in front of her face. "As long as you guys walk slowly, Mr. Teuchi should be opening his shop by the time you get there. Neji just got paid—he can treat you."

Neji and Naruto both stared at Tenten, then glanced at each other before Neji bowed his head toward the ground again. But he didn't dispute paying for Naruto, and the Uzumaki began to wonder if maybe Neji didn't realize that the way Tenten had offered his services made it sound like a . . . date.

"Wait!" Naruto called out upon realization that Tenten was walking away. "You're not coming?"

Tenten turned back around to wave a hand dismissively at them. "Oh no, I've got to get some sleep. I can only imagine what kind of crazy crap Gai-sensei will have planned for us this afternoon. See you guys later."

And so Naruto stood in the street beside an impossibly still Neji with his mouth hanging open. Anticipation was coursing from his head to his toes. That queasiness was back in his stomach. This shouldn't have felt awkward, being with Neji again. But it did. It was . . . the way he should have been feeling when he'd been with Sakura—terrifyingly awesome. Hopeful.

"If you have something better to do then you don't have to—" Neji began, ever the gracious one.

But Naruto was already cutting him off. "Ah, nah, nothing like that." He threw his hands behind his head and pointed himself in the direction Tenten had indicated. Tossing a smile Neji's way he said, "It'll be just like old times."

Neji blinked, inclined his head in acknowledgment. "I guess it would be." He fell into step beside Naruto.

And it was silent.

Not because Naruto didn't want to talk—quite the opposite; he just really didn't know what to say to Neji now that Naruto knew for certain that he really liked the Hyuuga. He was sure already that there was no way Neji was thinking that walking him around Konoha on a supposed 'refresher' of the topography was anything more than just two friends getting reacquainted. And if Naruto slipped up and said something like, 'Hey, here's a crazy idea but—I like you, like, like you like you and you should like me like me back' then it could probably go badly.

"I take it your training was a success?" Neji calmly asked while Naruto's thoughts were a mile a millisecond.

Naruto jumped on it. Ninja stuff was an excellent topic. He was fairly certain he was rambling most of the stories he'd accumulated, but Neji only asked polite, pointed questions to keep him on track every now and then; by the time they arrived at Ichiraku's and took a seat, Naruto was finishing up the tale of a fumbled summoning—he was always screwing those up he'd imparted dramatically—that had Gamakichi ending up in the girls' portion of the hotspring, and they'd all run out naked much to the Perverted Hermit's joy.

Neji laughed at that story. It was unexpected. It was nice. Watching his lips curl upward, the detail of his cheekbones visible, the evenness of his teeth. Naruto hadn't thought teeth could be attractive on anyone but Sensei-Huge Brows until that moment. He ordered his usual from Teuchi; Neji only requested a drink.

"You're not eating?" Naruto queried.

Neji shook his head. "Ah, no. I can't eat so soon after training."

"You sure you're not broke or something? Cause if so you don't have to do what Tenten said—"

"No, I've got it," Neji interrupted.

Teuchi placed his food before him and Naruto heartily thanked him before digging in. His mouth was full when he remembered what Shikamaru had said about Neji — the reason why he'd probably have extra money. "Oh, yeah!" Noodle was still hanging from his mouth when he reached over to pat Neji on the back. "Congratulations on making jounin."

If Neji had anything to say about the deplorable table manners it didn't pass his lips because he was smiling again. His white eyes were on Naruto's blue ones, his head slightly tilted in a way that could be deferential or embarrassed as he pushed long brown strands behind his ear.

And just like that, it was two years ago in the hospital, and Neji was making Naruto feel like he was the most amazing person in the world.

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Note: if i'd posted this when i'd first thought to you'd have gotten a note consisting of rant-like qualities. that note is still relevant, but fortunately, i've calmed down since then and can skip to the heart of it, which is simply this: i am a fan just like you are. my preferences for pairings, how a character behaves, who they are attracted to, and my choice of how the story conveys that probably most definitely differs from anything you'd choose. i operate outside of the box. however, that doesn't make my choices any less valid than yours. i write what i want to see in fanfiction because i'm never going see it anywhere else.

Unrelated but Important: i'd like to thank everyone for reading thus far. i really appreciate the comments and encouragement and even the criticism. that being said, i don't know when or if i'll update this story again because i am converting it to an original. yes, it seems cruel, as Neji and Naruto have finally met up, but let's be honest: Neji and Naruto aren't a very popular pairing and this fic suffers for their unpopularity in its current form. and yes, it's a lot of time-consuming work filling in Kishimoto's huge plot-holes, and if i'm going through all the trouble i may as well write my own story. i've altered a lot of the storyline in the conversion, but if you've an interest in reading then friend me on my lj account. i should start posting in August. The title is the same. thank you for your time and support.

Story on Indefinite Hiatus