nejihinata

[nejihinata]

No More Sacrifices

NejiHina | 2,5w | Romance/What If | Read on AO3

For the NejiHina Week 2024. Themes: Wedding, Hyuuga Politics and Confession.

For more information about the NejiHina Week find @nejihinata

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"You don't have to do this, my lady" she heard his whispered voice thorough the paper wall and the amorphous anxiety that had been plaguing her for a week, since the end of the family reunion in which the news were delivered finally took form as simmering rage. 

It was the night before their wedding. Their council ordained wedding. It was also the first time he had actually talked the her, for the past week, every time she tried to have a conversation with him, or even their evening tea, he had something more important to do. It was a double betrayal, because it had been years since Neji, from all people, had made her feel unimportant, and after the feat the pulled in the war... She didn't understand.

Hinata sighed, and closed her eyes and pressed her head against her silk pillows, trying to ignore him, ignore the boiling mixture of feelings threatening to spill from her, because she wasn't sure that, after everything, her feelings would choke and drown her as they used to, as she had molded herself to bottle in and show only propriety and the dignity expected of her would still hold, or if fury would spill from her mouth like a volcano and burn the walls of the compound down.

Maybe that's what should happen.  

"Hinata-sama," they way he called for her, she noticed, after the battlefield, after he laid his life for her and survived only for a miracle, there was something of reverential in it? Or was she imagining it? Was she so desperate for being loved, the she was imaging it? "They cannot force you. And if you wish so, I will tell them I am opposed too."

But are you? She wanted to ask. Hell, she didn't. She didn't want to have to ask. Why couldn't he just say it? She was so tired of begging for clarity, of trying to read between the lines. He had put his body between hers and death so damn fast, and yet it took so long for him to just say what he meant by that. The elders offered her to him on a silver plate and he avoided her as if she had turn into the chore, the chain dragging him down. The same man, no, the same boy that had told Naruto-kun he gave his life for her. 

And it seems she wasn't the only one who read more into his actions and words back them. She didn't think that producing the purest byakugan was the only reason why the elders decided to push the match as fast as they did. Hinata understood the way her father thought, this was his somewhat twisted way of rewarding his brother's son too. It never occurred to him that his way of doing things always forceful, violent, and created resentment instead of gratitude and any semblance of fairness. 

The Hyuuga way, the way that robbed the people involved from all agency, from having any saying in their own lives and fates, could destroy something that was mended with tears and sacrifice, something that still needed time to heal completely.

"Of course," he continued, his voice had dropped had always been low, even as a young boy, and was dropping as he aged, even annoyed as she was with him, it still was something she noticed, something that did something to some ancient instinctual part of herself "my desires don't mean much," that last phase vexed her the most. What on world was he saying? His desires meant everything! Why was he still playing this charade of lady and servant? For crying out loud, he had been her commander in office at the war! "But I can make things hard by showing opposition, I have some leverage now, and I can even pretend ill intent towards you if necessary-"

"Stop it!" She whispered back, through her teeth, and he heard, and he obeyed.

Hinata kicked the sheets from her legs and stood up. She peered from her bedroom door, but there was still servants roaming the corridors, and she didn't want to give excuses. So, she locked, her door and opened, the window. He was nowhere to be seen, but she knew better.

She climbed over the window, and when she was about to jump to the ground, she felt him. His touch on her waist, his hand on hers, was tentative, he knew she didn't actually need help, but still was the noble, most courteous thing to do, to aid his lady in finding footing. 

"Hinata-sama," his touched still lingered as he retreated and stood in front of her, "you are not wearing shoes."

She waited until his gaze rose from her feet to her eyes.

He was pale, maybe it was the moonlight, maybe he wasn't taking his medicine as she should this last week he had been avoinding her and she couldn't make sure - and that could be another reason why she was about to start shouting at him for the first time in their lives - maybe he was simply afraid, it didn't matter after what she was about to make very clear.

"I want to marry you."

He took a step back, flabbergasted. Neji frowned, almost looking angry, as if what she had said betrayed him somehow, and her eyes followed his movements as he touched his middle, exactly where he had been pierced by the largest boulder. 

"What? But you love Naruto-"

Hinata wasn't sure what she wanted to hear after the clear straight statement, but that sure wasn't it.

"Do you t-think you know what I want better than myself?"

"I would never-"

She rose her hand, offended at the blatant lie. Didn't he even know how arrogant he was? How could a genius be so delusional?

"You would," she rose her chin to say right to his face. "Y-you have. You p-probably will think you know me b-better than I do myself in the future too, and I will have to correct you again. That's not the p-point. I just told you what I want. What do you w-want?"

That took him by surprise. And to his credit, it wasn't something he should be used to hear.

"Not like this," he finally said after holding her gaze for a while. "Not forced."

"I'm not b-being forced."

"Aren't you?"

For some reason she felt her face heating at his question, the way the rose his eyebrow or the proximity of their bodies as they continued their whispered verbal squabble. It occurred to her, that by now, they probably had already been seen, and if nobody was interfering, it was due to their soon to be changing in marital status. No anyone guarding her room that night or even passing by doing normal chores, they probably looked like normal nervous bride and bridegroom.

"No."

He scoffed.

"I am. I'm always being forced."

Hinata hugged herself and broke eye contact. She didn't understand, and he kept refusing to give her a straight answer. She didn't know what else to do. And after what he had just said, any inclination to force the truth out of him vanished. If all he felt he had of his was his secrets, his truth, what right she had to coerce it out of him? 

"I'll tell them that I w-won't marry you, if that's what you want. Neji-nii-san, I d-don't want you to sacrifice anything else for me."

He flinched.

"Don't."

"What?" she gazed at him though her eyelashes, timid and deeply tired.

"Don't call me that."

Hinata sighed.

"I don't understand."

"You asked me what I wanted, I'm telling you. Don't call me that, I hate it, I always hated it."

She bit her lip and noticed him shuffling nervously, her own palms itched to touch him, but she didn't know if she should.

"I'm sorry," it was all she managed to offer, trying hard to keep her own hurt at bay.

"It's a lie," he continued, each word tearing her down further, but she had no right to complain, when she had asked for the truth, didn't her? "Because I'm not, I'm not your older brother, I have no standing to be called like that, Hinata-sama, I'm a lowly bunke member and..."

"I'm sorry," she said again, the tears were flowing freely now and she hated it, hated herself, but she couldn't help it. "I just... I w-wanted to make you feel included."

"I know. It was kind of you, it didn't stop me from hating it.... I don't want to be your brother."

She broke eye contact again, and took a few rattling breaths. Gods, she was so wrong. She was pathetic.

"You could have told me."

"I could," he said, and then, when she was sure he hated her again, when she was certain that the notion that he could have even been in love with her was wishful thinking, Hinata felt him touch her chin, bringing her gaze back to him. The pad of his thumb wiping her tears gently, "but you would look at me like you are right now, and I hate hurting you more than hearing you calling me that."

She swallowed and instinctually walked towards him, they were in all but name embracing now.

"Neji," the name rolled down her tongue without keigo so easily, like it was the most natural thing, stark difference from years for forced familiarity, "I don't understand it. I don't want to force you to say it, I don't want to force you into anything anymore, I don't have the right, I never did, but-"

"I don't want to marry you because your father," he finally explained, "because he feels guilty over mine, and what I did in the war," this other hand joined the first one, framing the other side of her face and Hinata leaned against it with a sigh. "I don't want to be rewarded for my suffering or sacrifice, it's not something meant to have a price tag, and you Hinata-sama... You are not something he can just use as a bargain coin. He has no right."  He leaned towards her, and for a moment, Hinata thought he was about to kiss he, but his cursed forehead touched her clear one, he was so close, his breath fanning over her cheeks and lips. Her arms fell from her self hug and she hooked her hands on the flaps of his haori. "It's my deepest shame and source of agony that there is nothing that I ever wanted more than you. I've wanted you more than my own freedom, but I will not disgrace you like that. You don't have to pay for the flaws in my soul."

And suddenly, he let her go, taking a step back, only her firm grip in his clothes linking the two of them.

Hinata took a few sobering breaths, she was shaking like new bamboo. And then she pulled him back to her, Neji was so surprised, by her actions that he lost his footing and the both of them tumbled down, falling over the patch of jasmine bushes under Hinata's window.

"Hinata-sama!" He called scandalized as his body hit hers as they hit the floor and all he managed was to protect her head with his hands. "What are you doing?"

"W-what I-I'm doing?" She stuttered angrily from under him, still refusing to let go despite their complete impractical position. "What are y-you doing?!" She was marking each of her angry words with a little pull of his clothes, her face a mess of half-dried tears and redness, hair mussed by the fall peppered by jasmine petals, leaves and twigs. It all looked like a dream to Neji, but he didn't mind it, he didn't mind it at all. "You said, you said you wanted me and, and... Are you out of your mind? Who cares if it's too-sama of the devil himself offering, after the war if you know what you want and you can have it, you take it!"

"I won't condemn you to a loveless marriage."

That made her push him off her, and Neji thought she was about to leave and end that madness, but all Hinata did was sit down and look at him from above, her hair falling around her in dark silky waves, smoother than the night sky.

"Who are you to s-say it will be loveless?"

He remained there on the floor, transfixed.

"You can't mean..."

"I love you," she said simply, "I always did. As a brother, as a man. If I never said before it was because I thought you didn't want to hear it..."

"Hinata-sama... But-"

"Things are not b-black and white, they are not as simple as you like to p-pretend they are, yes," she turned her back to him, hugging her knees to her chest, "I fell in love with someone else too, but I still love you. It didn't stop. It won't'," she sighed. Neji rose to a sitting position too. Hinata turned to look at him, it was like she meant to lie her head on her knees, but his face heated when he noticed that she couldn't because of her large breasts "and I want to marry you. You. But only if you want it too. I won't force you. But you don't get to give up on you life like that again. Not in my name."

And then the most miraculous thing happened, Neji leaned in, and finally, finally, kissed her. It was the most caste, most proper touch of lips, and yet, years and years of hopeless longing, of love defying death, of hurt and hope and so much promise fit in that small act.

"Deal," he said against her lips before pulling her for another kiss, this time, Hinata threw her arms around his neck and let him pull her to his lap as she prodded the seam of his lips with the tip of her tongue. She felt her whole body tingle and heat gather in her middle when he let out a soft moan as she invaded his mouth exploring her new domain.

How on earth had him considered denying both of them that? They fit so perfectly, each stimulus rewarded with the most perfect response. 

Was that really happening? Weren't them having a fight nastier than the chunnin exams just a few moments ago? Now she was pulling his hair as her meaty tights hugged his waist with the might of a powerful boar strangle, his lips released hers, as he sloppily spread kisses down her neck, her taste was intoxicating exploding in his tongue. His hands reached for the smooth warm skin of her waist and back, marveling at the thin barriers of resistance, her usual ninja gear was made of so many layers, but she was only in light silk night clothes on his lap and tomorrow night... 

Oh. It was the first time he really considered it. That thought alone could end him, but she chose that moment to rocked in in lap and the pleasure rush was so powerful, he had to hold her hips in place firmly to pull himself back without making a fool of himself.

"Good evening" the heavily charged with sass voice that could only belong to one Hyuuga Hanabi made herself present interrupting the new lovers. "I think you guys will have time and a proper place to do that tomorrow after the wedding."

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I kinda knew this year's NejiHina Week would blow, because... It always does. It's like the last chance the universe has to fuck me over and this year didn't disappoint. But I don't want to talk about it. Well, happy birthday, Hinata. Happy birthday Ray, I wish you were here to read this one even if it's nothing special. I love you forever.

And you reader, leave a comment, will you? It's still free.

[nejihinata]

NejiHina Week 2024

Into the Nothing

Prompt: Tarot/Magic

Sai sat on a low stool beside Neji's bed, his sketchbook balanced carefully on his lap. His pale hands moved swiftly, charcoal gliding over the page in clean, deliberate strokes. A soothing sound.

His presence was quiet yet deliberate, like a brushstroke on canvas.

"Sai," Neji said evenly, breaking the silence. "You've been sitting there for a while."

Sai didn't pause in his drawing. "I came to observe," he said matter-of-factly. "I was told people often find comfort in company during times of… recovery. I didn't want to disturb you."

Neji raised an eyebrow, though his expression remained neutral. "Was it your turn? Please tell Sakura that I don't need comforting. I know what she's doing. She's making you all keep turns, to show me 'the meaning of life'."

Sai chuckled. "Noted. However, I decided to stay. I also brought something that may interest you. They are tools, much like ink and paper - a medium - to help you find clarity."

Neji frowned slightly, his fingers twitching against the bedsheet. "You know I can't see."

"Yes," Sai replied simply, "But I thought you might find meaning in what I've drawn."

There was a soft thud as something was placed on the bedside table - the satchel he always carried.

Neji could feel the faint shift in the air, the motion of Sai's hand as he arranged the objects carefully.

"They're tarot cards," Sai explained. "I've been practicing creating my own deck. I thought I'd do a reading for you."

Neji's brow furrowed. "Tarot cards? That sounds very unlike you."

Sai's tone held the faintest trace of amusement. "Sometimes, I surprise even myself."

Neji turned his head toward the faint sound of shuffling as Sai began to deal the cards. "And why do you think I need to find clarity?"

"I cannot claim to know," Sai admitted. "But you've been through something transformative, and it's natural for humans to seek meaning in such experiences. Even if that meaning is only symbolic."

Neji hesitated but gestured faintly with his hand, amused himself. "Go on."

Sai picked up the first card, the faint rustle of paper audible to Neji's keen ears. "The first card represents your past," Sai began. "It's the Eight of Swords."

Neji's lips twitched into a wry smile. "Trapped, bound by circumstances beyond my control. How appropriate."

Sai chuckled once more. "I should describe the visual for you. The swords in the card form a cage, but they do not touch the figure. It suggests the possibility of escape... if the blindfold is removed."

Neji stilled, the irony not lost on him. His caged bird seal had recently vanished, taking away his eyes. "Go on."

Sai placed the next card down. "The second card is your present. It's Death. It's a skeletal figure holding a scythe beneath a rising sun."

Neji's expression remained impassive.

"Transformation," he murmured, recalling the common interpretation. "An end, but also a beginning."

"Exactly," Sai said. "It doesn't signify literal death but rather a profound change. The old must fall away to make room for the new."

"And the third?" Neji asked, his voice quieter now.

The last card was set down with care. "The Moon," he announced. "It represents the unknown, intuition, and the need to navigate through uncertainty. The image is of a pale light above a darkened path, and there are two wolves howling at the sky."

Neji tilted his head slightly, his blindfolded eyes directed toward where he imagined the cards lay. "Fitting," he said after a moment. "I live in darkness now."

"The Moon reminds us that even in darkness, there is light to guide us, if we trust our instincts," Sai explained.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Sai placed the cards back on the table, his gaze shifting to Neji. "Do you believe these symbols mean anything?"

Neji exhaled slowly, his blind eyes turning toward the ceiling. "Meaning, like destiny, is something we choose to acknowledge."

He lapsed into silence for a long moment, contemplating.

"Why did you do this?" he asked finally.

Sai's voice held an honesty that was rare for him. "You've always been a symbol of clarity and strength to others. Sakura told me you're losing sight - pardon the pun - of who you are. I thought it might help you find some for yourself."

Neji allowed a faint smile to tug at his lips, though it didn't reach his eyes. "You've changed, Sai."

"So have you," Sai replied quietly. "But unlike what Sakura thinks, that isn't necessarily a bad thing."

The conversation lapsed into silence once more. Sai returned to his sketches, and Neji sat in the quiet, turning the cards' meanings over in his mind.

"Could you... leave the cards here?" he asked.

"Of course," he said. "You can't see me, but I'm nodding."

He placed the cards neatly beside Neji's bed. "You know, if nothing else, you should consider joining the ANBU," he thought out loud. "Your blindness won't be an issue. We'll make good partners."

Neji's lip curled, but he stayed silent.

Hours later, after Sai had left, the cards remained on the table, untouched yet vividly present in Neji's thoughts.

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Time had lost its meaning. Days blurred into nights as usual, and the world beyond the walls of his hospital room became a distant echo. Neji stopped counting the hours, resigning himself to the monotonous limbo of recovery.

Until the day they came to take him home.

The Hyūga.

He sensed their chakra before the door even opened. Each signature was familiar, a chorus of presences he would recognize anywhere.

They had not visited him during his recovery, for which he was grateful.

The Hyūga valued pride above all else, and their absence had preserved his. They had understood him. In their own way, they honored him not by acknowledging his helplessness but by avoiding it altogether.

But now, they were here.

The calm, disciplined energy of Hiashi Hyūga.

The soft, fluttering hesitance of Hanabi.

And… her.

Hinata.

Before anyone spoke, Neji turned his head toward her, guided by instinct more than sight. His cold, unseeing eyes met hers as if drawn to her presence by some unseen force.

"Hinata-sama," he said quietly, his voice steady but lacking the sharpness it once carried. "I hope you're better."

The silence shattered with a choked sob. Though he couldn't see her face, he felt the weight of her emotions crash over him like a tidal wave.

It was as though he could still see her. But he couldn't.

Her chakra, warm and magnetic, pulsed around her. It was a beacon in his darkness - beautiful, unwavering, and strong.

The light.

Hiashi's voice broke the stillness, measured yet unusually soft. "Neji, we are here to bring you home." He paused as though weighing his words. "I will personally oversee your training… to help you adapt to life without your eyes. You are still a Hyūga. Your strength is needed."

The words washed over Neji like water over stone. He nodded faintly but did not respond. He couldn't bring himself to care.

Then her hand touched his.

Soft. Warm. Gentle.

Hinata.

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Her trembling fingers tightened around his, and she spoke, her voice breaking under the weight of her emotions. "Neji-nii… why?"

He tilted his head slightly, his blind gaze meeting hers. "Why what?"

Her eyes flickered to a single tarot card lay overturned on the table beside him. The "Death" card.

There were two other cards, one beneath, one beside, facedown. The image on the back depicted an intricate design of the sun and moon intertwined. They appeared slightly worn, as if Neji had been feeling them regularly.

"Why are you asking about me?" Her voice wavered, tears streaming freely. "How can you care about me when you've lost so much? After all you've been through… after…" Her words dissolved into quiet sobs.

He let the silence stretch between them before answering. "Because it is who I am. It is... was... my Ninja Way."

Hinata's hand shook against his, her tears falling onto their entwined fingers. She looked away, unable to meet his dull, dead eyes for long. She suddenly caught movement in the corner of the room.

A figure loomed, cloaked in shadow, holding a tarot card aloft. She blinked. Was she going crazy?

The air seemed to hum, charged with an energy she couldn't explain.

The Moon.

The figure's voice was a whisper, soft and timeless. "He sees more than you know, child. He always has."

Hinata blinked once more, and the figure was gone. Only the Moon card remained, resting beside the overturned Death card.

Hanabi stood beside the table, apparently having been the one who had turned it.

She hadn't been sleeping well since the war. And now, her mind was playing tricks on her.

Neji's voice pulled her back. "Do not cry for me, Hinata-sama."

"How can I not?" she whispered. "You've lost so much… your eyes, your…" Her voice broke again.

"I've lost nothing of value," he said softly. "My sight served its purpose - to protect you. But you… you carry the light." His fingers pressed hers gently. "You always have. You shine through my darkness, just as you always have."

Hinata's gaze flickered back to Neji's blank stare, her grip on his hand steadying as her tears began to subside. She glanced again at the Moon and Death cards lying side by side, their presence both unsettling and strangely fitting.

Her voice was soft, hesitant. "Neji-nii… if I may ask? Who did this for you? The tarot… the cards…"

Neji's expression didn't change, but there was a faint shift in his tone - a quiet amusement that reminded her of the man he had been before the war as he she reminded him of the tarot cards.

"Sai," he said simply. "He was here a few days ago… drawing."

Hinata blinked, momentarily startled. "Sai? He-he does tarot?"

"Not intentionally, I imagine," Neji replied, a faint smile ghosting across his lips. "He was sketching. When I asked what he was doing, he said something about understanding people through symbols. The cards… they were his medium."

Her brow furrowed, her fingers brushing over the edge of the Moon card. "But... umm... why?"

Neji tilted his head slightly, as though considering the question. "Perhaps he saw something I did not. Or perhaps," he added, his voice laced with dry humor, "he was simply bored and thought this would amuse him."

Despite herself, Hinata let out a soft laugh, her tears still fresh on her cheeks. "That does sound like Sai," she admitted.

Neji's blind gaze remained steady, unseeing yet somehow aware of her. "The cards are just symbols, Hinata-sama. What matters is the meaning we choose to give them."

Her hand tightened around his once more, her resolve strengthening. "Then let them mean this," she said softly, her voice steadying. "That no matter what happens, no matter what we've lost… there's still a path forward. I-I will guide you. I will be your eyes."

For the first time, Neji truly smiled. It was faint, fleeting. "You've always had that strength," he said quietly. "You've always been the light... My light."

Hinata looked back at the cards. Perhaps what she saw had just been a trick of the light.

She needed sleep. Badly.

Or perhaps, as Neji said, it was the meaning she chose to see.

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Story: Into the Nothing

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[nejihinata]

This image was created using this picrew

Prompt: Confession

[nejihinata]

NejiHina Week 2024

Into the Nothing

Prompt: Folklore AU

The dream enveloped him swiftly, a soothing tide pulling him away from pain and exhaustion.

It was warm and silken, like stepping into a realm untouched by sorrow. The ache in his chest, the screaming protests of his body - gone. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, he felt… at peace.

He found himself in a strange land, both alien and achingly familiar. The air was crisp, carrying a faint scent of blossoms, and the sky stretched above him, a deep, endless blue punctuated by soft, glowing stars. The ground beneath his feet shimmered with a pale, silvery light, like moonlit water frozen in time.

He opened his eyes, and he could see.

And then, he saw her.

Hinata stood a few paces away, and her figure appeared to be glowing. She wasn't the quiet, timid girl he remembered, nor the resolute woman who had stood on the battlefield.

This Hinata radiated serenity and warmth, her smile soft and genuine, and it pierced through him in a way that left his heart both aching and full.

She stepped closer, her movements graceful, as if the world bent to her presence.

"Dear," she said softly, her voice tender and sweet, like a melody carried on the wind. "Come, let's walk."

The word struck him like lightning.

Dear. Not "brother." Not "Neji-nii."

It wasn't the address of a cousin or a comrade. It was something else. Something he had never dared to hope for in life.

Wordlessly, he took her hand. Her touch was warm, grounding, and yet it felt as if they were floating together in a realm beyond the reach of fate.

As they walked, hand in hand, he began to recognize this place, not in detail, but in essence.

This was a scene from Hyūga folklore, a tale told in hushed tones among the elders.

Generations ago, it was said, the Hyūga had lived alongside celestial beings, the people of the moon.

In those stories, the Hyūga were unbound by the rigid traditions and duties that now defined their lives.

There were no divisions between the main house and the branch house. They were free to choose, free to love, free to live unshackled by destiny.

Here, in this dream, he too was free.

Hinata was not just his cousin, not a figure he was duty-bound to protect. She was his partner, his equal, his wife.

Not by any arrangement - as their clan often made - but by choice.

They laughed together as they walked, their hearts unburdened.

For the first time, Neji understood what it meant to live without the weight of destiny pressing down on his shoulders. It was intoxicating, this freedom, this life where he could simply exist, unmarked by the scars of the past.

To feel the love of the only woman he had ever desired in his life. A woman who had eyes only on him.

A woman he had never hated, never tried to kill.

But as the dream deepened, a flicker of unease stirred in the recesses of his mind.

This world was too perfect, too seamless.

The silvery light, the endless harmony - it was all impossibly ideal, like a painting that dared not include a single flaw.

Wait. He had seen this painting in the Main House.

His heart tightened as understanding dawned. This was the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

The cruel genjutsu spun by the moon's light, offering each soul their deepest desire while trapping them in an endless illusion.

Even as he walked beside her, even as her laughter rang like music in his ears, it wasn't real.

Was this truly freedom? Or was it the cruelest illusion of all?

He glanced at Hinata again, her radiant smile lighting the world around them.

Could he let himself believe, just for a moment, that this dream was real? Or was this a glimpse of something he could never have, a fleeting taste of a fragile paradise.

Of happiness denied to him by fate before it snatched him cruelly away?

He wanted to. Oh, he badly wanted to.

Read the full story!

Story: Into The Nothing

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[nejihinata]

Thank you!

[nejihinata]

NejiHina Year 10: Tarot/Magic

[nejihinata]

NejiHina Week 2024

Into the Nothing

Prompt: Fate/Destiny

Am I dead? Neji wondered.

The thought drifted in the void where he now existed - weightless, timeless, and silent.

He remembered the moment clearly: his body moving before his mind could catch up. A rush of adrenaline had carried him forward, his Byakugan flaring as he intercepted the incoming attack. There hadn’t been time to think, only the instinctual pull of duty as he threw herself in front of Hinata.

The pain came next. Intense, overwhelming pain that radiated through every fiber of his being.

Wooden stakes had pierced his flesh, tearing through him with merciless precision. His chest burned, lungs gasping for air that wouldn’t come. Blood soaked his torn garments, its warmth contrasting with the chill creeping through his body.

Then came the cursed seal. The mark of servitude he had borne for so long ignited like fire on his forehead. The oppressive weight he had carried for years dissolved in a burst of agony. He felt the seal fade, lifting in his final moments. But instead of peace, it left him hollow. His eyes burned fiercely, as though they were being seared from within. His vision blurred until it faded entirely into darkness.

And then - nothing.

The silence that enveloped him was suffocating, absolute. No sound, no light, no feeling. Just the cold embrace of the void.

Yet, strangely, he wasn’t afraid. There was a kind of satisfaction in the emptiness, a quiet acknowledgment of a life well-spent. He had fulfilled his purpose, his destiny, just as his father had before him. He had protected Hinata. That was enough.

He couldn't wait to meet him. To hear him say how proud he was of him.

But the contentment was fleeting. As his consciousness floated unmoored into the nothingness, the quiet began to crack.

The pain returned, sharper and more relentless than before. It clawed its way back into his awareness, dragging him from the abyss. It was as though the stakes were piercing him again, their jagged edges tearing through his flesh anew.

No. This wasn’t supposed to happen. The pain was supposed to be over.

And then, through the haze of agony, he heard her.

“Neji-nii… Neji-niisan…”

Hinata’s voice, raw and trembling, broke through the darkness. She was crying - no, sobbing. Her grief was palpable, her voice cracking under the weight of her anguish.

No, he wanted to say. Hinata-sama, please don’t cry.

But he couldn’t. His throat was tight, his lips frozen. His body was pinned down by an unseen force, refusing to respond to his desperate will.

Of course, he thought bitterly. He was dead. What more could he do?

Apparently, they lied when they said dying was peaceful.

The pain intensified, sharp and unrelenting, pulling him further away from the void. Sounds of battle filtered through - the clash of steel, explosions shaking the ground, the cries of comrades in the distance.

What was happening? Why couldn’t he just rest?

Then, another voice.

“Neji! Don’t you dare give up on me!”

Naruto. His voice was hoarse from screaming, filled with a desperation that struck Neji like a physical blow.

The world around him trembled. The void fractured. Sparks of light flickered in the distance, faint but growing stronger. A sudden jolt coursed through his body, and his eyes snapped open.

But he saw nothing.

He was blind.

“Stay with me, Neji! Please!” a voice begged. Sakura? Her chakra pressed into him, forceful and unyielding.

His fingers twitched. His arms ached. The burning in his chest was unbearable.

Air filled his lungs in shallow, ragged bursts from her lips, and he coughed violently.

"He's lost too much blood," Sakura was panicking. "Katsuyu-sama, please keep him covered."

“Forget it,” a voice cut through. Sasuke? No, couldn't be. “You’re wasting chakra. He’s too far gone. Have mercy on him and let him die.”

Yes, Neji thought, agreeing with him for once. Let it end.

“The seal is gone,” Hiashi’s voice muttered gravely. “He’s no longer with us. Look at this eyes. Let him rest, child. Hizashi, forgive me.”

But then came a touch - trembling hands gripping his own. Soft. Familiar. Desperate.

“Neji-niisan,” Hinata’s voice broke through the haze. Her warmth pressed against him, grounding him. “You have to live. You’re alive!”

Alive? No, that couldn’t be right.

He had died, and he had died fulfilling his destiny.

He wanted to tell her to stop anchoring him to this world.

But as her hands tightened around his, her voice filled with a mixture of heartbreak and relief, Neji realized the truth.

He was alive. And he would stay alive.

For her.

He couldn’t help but wonder though.

At what cost?

Story: Into The Nothing

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NejiHina Year 9: Choose Me

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This image was created with this picrew.

Prompt: Fake Relationship

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NejiHina Year 8: Confession

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Five ways in which Hinata and Neji try to fool everyone around them, and the one way they discovered they had been fooling no one but themselves.

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NejiHina Year 7: Lady and Knight

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It was a cold winter day the first time Neji saw them together. He had heard the whispers all around the Hyuga compound, how their princess had gotten so attached to her new protector, and although of course it had been bothering him for weeks, it was not enough to break his resolution. But after that first time seeing them together, laughing and playing around in the snow, something deep inside him awoke, something not even near the warmth he used to feel when he saw Hinata. Jealousy.

Full fic on:

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Despite having what could be considered royal blood inside him, there was a little detail preventing him from being with the woman she loved, a detail that had prevented him from professing how immensely and profusely he love her. How eagerly he wanted to be the one waking up next to her every morning and, sitting right next to her during their business meetings, instead he now sat in front of her disputing deals and taxes, going back and forth on the terms and conditions they had to agree, looking for a way to benefit *his* people.

It was exhausting.

He had known the moment the engagement had being signed and he had become the head of the now independent branch family, he knew they would never be together. He wished he had told her, he wished he had been honest. Pain tugged his heart every time he remembered how angry and hurt she had been, and she had looked so beautiful, yet so sad.

He took the sake bottle and served himself a cup, drinking it in one gulp.

He still remember the only kiss they had shared, brusque, unceremonious, but theirs nonetheless. He wished he had kissed her, oh how he regretted not doing so... but he had promised her that he would make it worth it, or in her own words *'fucking worth it'*, no matter how difficult it got. He had b3rn relentless in his initial negotiations, he had been tired of the main family governing their lives, treating them as if they weren't worth it. It had been a difficult bit necessary process.

But it would be worth it, when little boys and girls ran around the district bearing blank foreheads, not fearing if they were going to be punished for looking at something or someone, a life where they could dream about bring who they wanted to be, and not who they were in regards of who they worked for.

He served himself another cup and got ready to go to bed.

"Neji-sama! Welcome back"

"Thank you Hikari-sama" Hinata's little girl looked just like her, she was 4 years old now. And carried herself with spirit and excitement. Just as a 4 year old should, not with weariness, not with pride. That's what they had sacrificed themselves for, the candor the future generations would not be stolen by the internal conflicts that had plagued their history.

"Good morning, Neji" Hinata was behind her daughter, he sometimes waited for the 'niisan' to slip off her lips, but they were no longer family.

"Good morning, Hinata" And she was not his lady anymore.

They had become politicians.

"Would you care for tea? We have some minutes until the others arrive"

"Yes, please"

"Hitomi-dono sent some, he hopes we can support his trading plans with the Tea Country"

"He want to compensate somehow, in our last letter I told him we would discuss it, since there have been many mercenaries stealing in the trade routes coming from the south, and the bulk and the risk too much for only us to absorb the deal"

"I'd have to present the proposal to the council, and get back to you regarding our decision, we have been managing more volume on our trades as well, so it would not be an immediate operation to run if we accepted"

"That's more than understandable" Hinata guided him towards the room, the tea had been set and Hinata proceeded to brew it, her elegant hands exuded the practice and experience needed to perform the preparation, getting hypnotized by every movement.

"How's Ai doing?"

"Better, she seems to finally have gotten out of that flu. Poor Sakura, she was a midnight call away of serving my head in a silver platter"

"It's normal, I get as neurotic with Hikari. When's her birthday by the way?"

"Next Thursday, but she wants to get flowers and go to the cemetery first"

"She's a very sweet girl. Loosing aunt Nadeshiko at such a young age has been the gravest tragedy for everyone" Ai had been living for less than a year with Neji after her mother's passing. And by an unexpected set of events he had become a father without much preparation.

"She's great, I want her to adapt before I start training her" He saw Hinata smile, she was above smugness but somehow her smile was an *'Of course you ARE going to train her'*

"Just remember she is a little girl"

"Of course, she is my daughter" somehow Hinata's smile went became genuine after listening to his statement. They both sipped out their hot cups filling with emptiness the comfortable silence that had always accompanied them.

Once the meeting had finished everybody stood up and went on their merry way, Hinata always walked him to the door, before bowing to each other and bidding their respective goodbyes. But before he had the opportunity to move forward she took his wrist in a firm hold. He said nothing, he looked at her expecting.

Oh how he wished he could gently lift her chin and kiss her supple lips, it didn't matter how many years went by or the protocols they now had to follow, in his heart she would always be his lady.

"Hinata?"

"You did your part of the deal, even though our families separated and it was at the cost of personal sacrifice, our families are thriving and having prosperous lives. Hikaru will never have to worry about not being good enough or carrying the weight of the family in her shoulders, nor will Ai ever bear the mark or live in fear."

"To me... it was always clear who sacrificed the most from the two of us"

"Your walls are too high Neji, don't close yourself to what could be a good life"

"Are you happy?" He asked. She smiled, a polite one, an expression he couldn't really read.

"Life has been kind to me, I'm grateful for what I've got"

The End

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NejiHina Year 6: Fake Relationship

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NejiHina Year 5: Road to Ninja