Neji had never cared for many peopl

Neji had never cared for many people in his life. In his opinion, not many people deserve his care and protection and the main family certainly deserved it less. But after the chuunin exam episode, he had to revise his opinion.

And in the process, he had to award his cousin a form of grudging respect. She stood up to him in the preliminaries and fought fairly although she could have won the bout by just making the seals to activate the curse seal. From then onwards, he had re-elected himself to be her champion. Many people says that at 12, it was a little too old for Neji to start having the "older-brother-issues" but not like Neji gave a damn about what people thinks.

Besides Hinata and his mother, the only other girl that he had grown to care a lot about was his former teammate. Her cheery attitude and ambition to be as strong as Tsunade, while he initially found it absurd and ridiculous at first slowly grew on him. And before he knew it, he was madly in love with her.

He smiled a little at the memory of their first kiss. They were on an undercover mission in the Wave country two years ago, impersonating as a couple. A woman had approached him in the bar they were at for gathering information while she headed for the restroom.

Neji futilely tried to extract himself from the woman's clutches. He could have easily knocked her out with a single blow but they were supposed to keep a low profile. Then, the heard Tenten's voice hiss dangerously from behind him, ordering the bitch to get her filthy paws of her man before she knock her into next Sunday.

"You're a dangerous woman, Tenten," he drawled lazily from his sprawled position on the hotel bed. They were sharing a room, to further make their cover more believable.

"Any woman can be dangerous when they're in love," she shot back without thinking from her place at the dresser.

"Oh, so you're admitting that you're in love now?" His reflection in the mirror smirked a little.

"No," she stammered. "I just didn't want people to think that I'm unable to keep my man. We are a couple here after all."

"You're a terrible liar, Tenten," he told her matter-of-factly. "Your face goes all blotchy when you lie."

Her hand immediately shot up to her face and her reflection in the dresser's mirror mimicked her action. She sighed ruefully; he was right – she was blushing and turning pale at the same time, hence the blotchy effect.

"So what if I am?" she asked challengingly. "It's none of your business."

"Can I make it mine?" He moved towards her.

"NO! You cannot make it yours," she told him, scooting out of her seat and walking to the wardrobe to avoid him.

He followed her undeterred. "And if I insist on making it mine?"

"Then you'll find out just how sharp and dangerous my Kunai can be?" she squeaked helplessly, backing away from him. "Neji, what are you doing?" she asked as he continued to approach her, step by step.

"Searching for an answer."

"What answer?!"

"The answer to the question I asked you of course."

"It's a personal question! I have the right to refuse to reply!"

Unfortunately for poor Tenten, a room is enclosed by walls, and it was inevitable that she found herself backed against the wall, with a yeti called Hyuga Neji looming in front of her.

Desperate, she decided to make a break for the exit.

Bad decision, but then again, her entire evening seemed riddled with bad decisions starting from the one which she decided to "rescue" him in the bar.

He grabbed her and spun her into his arms in such an effortless manner that frankly, she felt insulted.

"Hold still," he murmured huskily as he tightened his arms around the struggling girl.

"Don't come near me," she shrieked, pushing against his chest in a futile attempt to put a decent amount of distance between them. She panicked even further when she saw him leaning down. "Don't kiss me! I don't want you to kiss me! Hyuga Neji! Did you just hear...hrmph..." her following words were smothered as his mouth came crashing against hers.

It was warm, soft, and Tenten had to admit to herself, she was lying when she said she didn't want him to kiss her.

She was still too dazed in the aftermath to pay attention. "Huh?"

"It's me," he told her with such arrogance that could only be matched by Uchiha Sasuke. "You're in love with me."

Tenten decided that for his own sake, no matter how much it hurt her to hurt him, he had to be thought a lesson.

"I'm sorry, Neji," she told him firmly. "But you need to be taught some respect for women."

Without further ado, she raised her knee and sent it crashing upwards into where the sun doesn't shine.

He sighed. As the dobe said, he had really blown it big this time.

"Oi," someone poked him in the stomach. He opened his eyes with effort and looked up to see Naruto looking down at him. The fox-boy had led him out of the Hokage office to the observatory on the roof of the building.

"Aren't you going to go look for her?" Blue eyes gazed into his pearl colored ones.

Neji exhaled heavily. "I don't think she wants to see me now."

Naruto took a seat beside him. "How can you even ask her such a stupid question?"

"I don't know," the long haired man muttered. "We were always very careful, you know, since we both felt that starting a family at this point will only hinder our advancement in our careers. We did use all those contraceptive jutsus, you know."

"Even contraceptive jutsus ain't guaranteed 100 you won't strike lucky. But panties are good contraceptives; she can't get pregnant if she still has her panties on."

Neji shot him a dirty look but he continued his rambling, "but then again, panties can break too, if you're rather... desperate and forceful."

"Well, it seems that I should go buy Lotto now," he muttered glumly. "And it also proves that celibacy is the best option. Remember that."

"Only difference is that I wouldn't have posed such a stupid question to Hinata if we were in your's and Tenten's shoes."

"Oh, if memory serves me correct, you only got together very recently. Why do you place so much faith in her?"

Naruto shrugged and took a seat beside him. "She just isn't the kind of person to sleep around, just like Tenten isn't that kind of person. Even a blind person can see that she loves you very much."

"You never noticed that Hinata-sama liked you when you were younger. Even the blind noticed that."

"It's different now; I'm better at dealing with emotions and feelings now then I was when I was twelve."

"Ahh... I guess it's the same for me. But don't you think you've rushed things a little with Hinata-sama?"

"I don't know," he closed his eyes and image of a smiling Hinata surfaced in his mind's eye. "I just feel very comfortable with her, something that I have not felt for a pretty long time."

Since that incident. Those words hung unspoken between them.

"I think you're wrong." Neji's companion spoke suddenly, startling him out of his reverie.

"Huh?" Neji was confused by the certain shift of topics.

"I think she would want to see you now," Naruto explained.

"I don't know where she is..."

Naruto made a noise of exasperation, "How long have you two been together? You don't even know where she'll go when she's upset?"

Neji thought about it for a moment before snapping his fingers, his eyes shining, "I think I know where she is."

- IV -

"Stupid, stupid man," Tenten lashed out angrily and sent her kunai into respective targets. To her, each of the targets had Neji's face imprinted on it, which fueled her anger and adrenaline even more. It took the last of her energy out and she slumped onto the ground panting heavily.

Hinata sighed and took a step towards the exhausted woman when someone placed a hand and restrained her. She looked up and saw her cousin looking at Tenten. He spoke quietly, "He's waiting for you 100 metres to the east, at the training posts."

Her gaze traveled back and forth from her cousin to the woman on the ground worriedly.

"It's okay," he assured her, squeezing her shoulder lightly. She nodded and headed off.

"Naruto-kun," she called softly and tapped him on the shoulder, when she reached him.

He turned and smiled at her, putting an arm around her waist. "Do you still remember this place?"

Her heart beat a little faster. "Yes."

"You've always had the knack to make me feel loads better," he told her sincerely. "I was really nervous then, but your words were really encouraging. I don't think I would have managed to even reach the stadium if I hadn't met you here"

She blushed a little, "You're exaggerating, Naruto-kun. You managed to beat Neji-niisan with your own strength. I only gave you a little push."

He looked at her, blue eyes staring right into hers, right into her soul. Hinata felt like she was drowning in those crystal blue orbs that seem to hold so many secrets and pain. "I won because of you," he told her quietly.

"Because of me?" She asked, her throat feeling a little constricted.

"I swore in your blood at the preliminaries, that I would take Neji down." He brushed a lock of her hair away from her face. "I was so angry with him then, for his stubborn belief in his crapload of shit about destiny, for him hurting you. I couldn't forget how you suffered in the preliminaries."

She felt the familiar stinging in her eyes and she quickly blinked them away. "Are you okay?" he asked, wiping away the tears that escaped her lids with his hands. Did I say something wrong?"

Hinata shook her head furiously. She found his constant worry of saying the wrong things endearing, when to her; he always says the right things. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"For what?"

"For everything," she responded simply, and kissed him quickly and shyly on the lips. It was her first time initiating a kiss, and she really did not know how to go about it.

Naruto blinked. It happened so quickly, he wasn't sure what happened but he could have sworn she just kissed him. Voluntarily.

"Ahh," he said, interlocking the fingers of his left hand with

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Neji telah tidak pernah peduli bagi banyak orang dalam hidupnya. Menurut pendapatnya, tidak banyak orang layak perawatan dan perlindungan dan keluarga utama tentu layak mendapatkannya kurang. Tapi setelah episode ujian chuunin, ia harus merevisi pendapatnya.Dan dalam proses, ia harus penghargaan sepupunya bentuk dendam hormat. Dia berdiri kepadanya dalam persiapan dan berjuang cukup walaupun dia bisa memenangkan pertarungan dengan hanya membuat Seal untuk segel kutukan. Dari saat itu dan seterusnya, dia telah dipilih kembali dirinya untuk menjadi juara nya. Banyak orang mengatakan bahwa di 12, itu agak terlalu tua untuk Neji untuk mulai memiliki "tua-brother-masalah" tapi tidak seperti Neji memberi damn tentang apa yang orang berpikir.Selain Hinata dan ibunya, hanya gadis lain yang ia telah tumbuh peduli banyak tentang adalah mantan rekan setimnya. Sikap ceria dan ambisi untuk menjadi sekuat Tsunade, sementara dia awalnya ditemukan itu absurd dan konyol di pertama perlahan-lahan tumbuh pada dirinya. Dan sebelum dia tahu itu, dia jatuh cinta padanya.Dia tersenyum sedikit memori ciuman pertama mereka. Mereka berada di sebuah misi yang menyamar di negara Wave dua tahun lalu, meniru beberapa. Seorang wanita telah mendekati dia di bar mereka berada di untuk mengumpulkan informasi sementara dia menuju toilet.Neji futilely mencoba untuk mengekstrak dirinya dari cengkeraman wanita. Dia bisa dengan mudah mengetuk dia keluar dengan satu pukulan, tetapi mereka seharusnya menyimpan profil rendah. Kemudian, Tenten mendengar desisan suara berbahaya dari dia, memesan sundal untuk mendapatkan cakar nya kotor dari suaminya sebelum dia mengetuk-nya ke hari minggu berikutnya."Kau seorang wanita yang berbahaya, Tenten," dia digambarkan malas dari posisinya sprawled di tempat tidur hotel. Mereka yang berbagi kamar, agar lebih lanjut menutupi mereka lebih bisa dipercaya."Setiap wanita bisa menjadi berbahaya ketika mereka sedang jatuh cinta," dia ditembak kembali tanpa berpikir dari tempatnya di lemari."Oh, begitu Anda sudah mengakui bahwa Anda cinta sekarang?" Bayangannya di cermin smirked sedikit."Tidak," ia terbata. "Saya hanya tidak ingin orang berpikir bahwa saya mampu menjaga saya manusia. Kami adalah pasangan di sini setelah semua.""Kau mengerikan pembohong, Tenten," Dia berkata matter-of-factly. "Wajah Anda pergi jerawat semua ketika Anda berbohong."Tangannya segera melonjak ke wajahnya dan dia refleksi di cermin rias menirukan tindakannya. Dia menghela napas ruefully; Dia adalah benar – dia memerah dan berubah pucat pada saat yang sama, maka efek jerawat."Jadi apa jika saya?" Dia bertanya challengingly. "Itu adalah urusanmu.""Dapatkah saya membuat saya?" Ia pindah ke arahnya."TIDAK! Anda tidak dapat membuat itu milikmu,"katanya kepada dia, scooting dari kursinya dan berjalan ke lemari untuk menghindarinya.Ia mengikuti dia tidak terpengaruh. "Dan jika aku bersikeras sehingga saya?""Maka Anda akan menemukan hanya bagaimana tajam dan berbahaya Kunai saya dapat?" dia squeaked tak berdaya, dukungan darinya. "Neji, apa yang Anda lakukan?" Dia bertanya karena ia terus mendekati dia, langkah demi langkah."Mencari jawaban.""Apa jawaban?!""Jawaban untuk pertanyaan saya bertanya Anda tentu.""Itu adalah pertanyaan pribadi! Saya memiliki hak untuk menolak untuk menjawab!"Sayangnya untuk miskin Tenten, sebuah ruang tertutup oleh dinding, dan itu tak terelakkan bahwa dia menemukan dirinya didukung ke dinding, dengan yeti disebut Hyuga Neji menjulang di depannya.Putus asa, ia memutuskan untuk membuat istirahat untuk keluar.Keputusan yang buruk, tetapi sekali lagi, malam nya seluruh tampak penuh dengan keputusan yang buruk mulai dari yang dia memutuskan untuk "menyelamatkan" nya di bar.Dia menyambar dan berputar ke pelukannya sedemikian rupa usaha yang terus terang, dia merasa dihina."Masih terus," ia bersungut-sungutlah tentang huskily ketika ia diperketat lengannya di sekitar gadis berjuang."Tidak datang dekat saya," Dia menjerit, mendorong dadanya dalam upaya sia-sia untuk menempatkan jumlah yang layak jarak antara mereka. Dia panik lebih jauh apabila dia melihat dia miring ke bawah. "Jangan kiss me! Aku tidak ingin kau menciumku! Hyuga Neji! Apakah Anda hanya mendengar... hrmph..."kata-kata berikut nya yang tertahan sebagai mulutnya datang menerjang terhadap miliknya.Itu hangat, lembut, dan Tenten harus mengakui dirinya sendiri, dia berdusta ketika dia bilang dia tidak ingin dia untuk menciumnya.Dia masih terlalu bingung di akhir untuk membayar perhatian. "Ya?""Ini adalah aku," Dia mengatakan kepadanya dengan seperti kesombongan yang hanya akan dicocokkan oleh Uchiha Sasuke. "Kau cinta dengan saya."Tenten memutuskan bahwa untuk kepentingan sendiri, tidak peduli berapa banyak sakit dia untuk menyakitinya, ia telah dianggap sebagai pelajaran."Saya minta maaf, Neji," dia menjawabnya dengan tegas. "Tetapi Anda perlu diajarkan beberapa hal untuk perempuan."Without further ado, she raised her knee and sent it crashing upwards into where the sun doesn't shine.He sighed. As the dobe said, he had really blown it big this time."Oi," someone poked him in the stomach. He opened his eyes with effort and looked up to see Naruto looking down at him. The fox-boy had led him out of the Hokage office to the observatory on the roof of the building."Aren't you going to go look for her?" Blue eyes gazed into his pearl colored ones.Neji exhaled heavily. "I don't think she wants to see me now."Naruto took a seat beside him. "How can you even ask her such a stupid question?""I don't know," the long haired man muttered. "We were always very careful, you know, since we both felt that starting a family at this point will only hinder our advancement in our careers. We did use all those contraceptive jutsus, you know.""Even contraceptive jutsus ain't guaranteed 100 you won't strike lucky. But panties are good contraceptives; she can't get pregnant if she still has her panties on."Neji shot him a dirty look but he continued his rambling, "but then again, panties can break too, if you're rather... desperate and forceful.""Well, it seems that I should go buy Lotto now," he muttered glumly. "And it also proves that celibacy is the best option. Remember that.""Only difference is that I wouldn't have posed such a stupid question to Hinata if we were in your's and Tenten's shoes.""Oh, if memory serves me correct, you only got together very recently. Why do you place so much faith in her?"Naruto shrugged and took a seat beside him. "She just isn't the kind of person to sleep around, just like Tenten isn't that kind of person. Even a blind person can see that she loves you very much.""You never noticed that Hinata-sama liked you when you were younger. Even the blind noticed that.""It's different now; I'm better at dealing with emotions and feelings now then I was when I was twelve.""Ahh... I guess it's the same for me. But don't you think you've rushed things a little with Hinata-sama?""I don't know," he closed his eyes and image of a smiling Hinata surfaced in his mind's eye. "I just feel very comfortable with her, something that I have not felt for a pretty long time."Since that incident. Those words hung unspoken between them."I think you're wrong." Neji's companion spoke suddenly, startling him out of his reverie."Huh?" Neji was confused by the certain shift of topics."I think she would want to see you now," Naruto explained."I don't know where she is..."Naruto made a noise of exasperation, "How long have you two been together? You don't even know where she'll go when she's upset?"Neji thought about it for a moment before snapping his fingers, his eyes shining, "I think I know where she is."- IV -"Stupid, stupid man," Tenten lashed out angrily and sent her kunai into respective targets. To her, each of the targets had Neji's face imprinted on it, which fueled her anger and adrenaline even more. It took the last of her energy out and she slumped onto the ground panting heavily.Hinata sighed and took a step towards the exhausted woman when someone placed a hand and restrained her. She looked up and saw her cousin looking at Tenten. He spoke quietly, "He's waiting for you 100 metres to the east, at the training posts."Her gaze traveled back and forth from her cousin to the woman on the ground worriedly."It's okay," he assured her, squeezing her shoulder lightly. She nodded and headed off."Naruto-kun," she called softly and tapped him on the shoulder, when she reached him.He turned and smiled at her, putting an arm around her waist. "Do you still remember this place?"Her heart beat a little faster. "Yes.""You've always had the knack to make me feel loads better," he told her sincerely. "I was really nervous then, but your words were really encouraging. I don't think I would have managed to even reach the stadium if I hadn't met you here"She blushed a little, "You're exaggerating, Naruto-kun. You managed to beat Neji-niisan with your own strength. I only gave you a little push."He looked at her, blue eyes staring right into hers, right into her soul. Hinata felt like she was drowning in those crystal blue orbs that seem to hold so many secrets and pain. "I won because of you," he told her quietly."Karena saya?" Dia bertanya, perasaan tenggorokan nya agak kaku."Aku bersumpah dalam darah Anda di mendahuluinya, bahwa saya akan mengambil Neji turun." Dia menggosok kunci rambutnya dari wajahnya. "Aku adalah begitu marah kepadanya kemudian, bagi keyakinannya keras kepala dalam nya crapload kotoran tentang takdir, dia menyakiti Anda. Aku tidak bisa melupakan bagaimana Anda menderita di mendahuluinya."Dia merasa menyengat akrab di matanya dan dia cepat berkedip mereka pergi. "Apakah Anda baik-baik saja?" Dia bertanya, menyeka air mata yang melarikan diri Nya tutup dengan tangannya. Apakah saya mengatakan sesuatu yang salah?"Hinata menggelengkan kepalanya marah. Dia merasa khawatir nya konstan mengatakan hal yang salah yang menawan, ketika kepadanya; ia selalu mengatakan hal yang benar. "Terima kasih, Naruto-kun.""Untuk apa?""Untuk segala sesuatu," Dia menjawab cukup dan menciumnya dengan cepat dan shyly di bibir. Itu dia pertama kalinya memulai ciuman, dan dia benar-benar tidak tahu bagaimana untuk pergi tentang itu.Naruto berkedip. Itu terjadi begitu cepat, ia tidak yakin apa yang terjadi tetapi ia bisa bersumpah ia hanya menciumnya. Secara sukarela."Ahh," katanya, cara mengunci dengan jari tangan kiri dengan