Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Bird of the Moon ❯ Prologue ( Prologue )

~{Disclaimer}~

I do not own Naruto, but I did write this fic. Naruto, and all characters, ideas, and techniques belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

 

 

 

 

Shrieks of pain periodically wracked the sky over the training grounds, as Squad 8 continued their daily training regiment. Kiba and Shino looked at each other, breathing heavily as they leaned against a pair of trees. Hinata was sitting on a limb above the two of them, her eyes on the sky.

"She's probably daydreaming about Naruto, again," Kiba whispered over to Shino in between gasps of air. "Lord knows she does enough."

Shino, however, only grunted agreement at the last statement, not entirely convinced Hinata's concern laid where it usually did. 'She seems to be acting differently than she used to,' the bug wielding ninja though to himself. 'I doubt our problem is as simple as our blonde haired knucklehead.'

As if on cue, Naruto burst through the trees and into the open clearing, sparring three-to-one with some of his Shadow Clones. Nearly drenched with sweat, Naruto delivered a punch to one clones jaw, knocking it into a tree before it disappeared in a puff of smoke. Without breaking stride, the blonde shinobi turned to a second clone, and kicked him in the stomach, followed by an uppercut, knocking him into the third clone. While the two attempted to disentangle themselves, Naruto prepared a Rasengan, and drove it into the pair of them as they stood, them going up in smoke as well, before driving it into the ground, creating a mass of soft dirt. Completely exhausted, Naruto fell into the dirt, being consumed by the lack of chakra energy.

All three pairs of eyes snapped to watch the spectacle. Kiba looked up with a smirk to Hinata, but was completely shocked to find that Hinata didn't blush as she usually did when Naruto was around. It seemed she was finally over her obsession, alright, but then why was she so distracted? Shino almost laughed at Kiba's expression. Almost.

Hinata looked down at Naruto and smiled. He was always pushing himself too hard, but she supposed that's why he was so powerful. He never thinks of anything as being impossible, so he always strives to achieve it, the Hyuuga thought to herself. She let out a sigh as she noticed she had stopped going into hysterics every time she was near him.

Kiba walked away from his tree, cracking his neck as he called Akamaru away from barking at some butterflies, and ventured towards Naruto.

"Hey, how's the training going, tough guy?" Kiba asked as he held out his hand for Naruto to take. A smile crept across the beast nin's face as Naruto laughed at him, and refused his help to stand.

"Sorry, dog breath, I don't need your help." Naruto shakily drug himself to his feet, nearly falling over as he stood up. "But training's going well. And you guys?"

Kiba looked behind his shoulder at Hinata again, still amazed that she didn't act any differently. "It's going well for us too. Akamaru's learned a few new tricks, and I'm finally starting to get the hang of that new jutsu."

"Uh-huh. Sure," Naruto replied absent mindedly, hands behind his head. He didn't really feel like listening to Kiba's talking. "Listen, Kiba, sorry to cut you short, but there's a bowl of ramen with my name on it over at Ichiraku's." With a wave, and a 'Later!', Naruto was off, running through the trees towards town.

Thinking he had her, Kiba whipped around one last time, and looked towards Hinata. However, her eyes were skyward once again. 'Damnit, what is she thinking?' Kiba thought to himself.

 

* * * * *

 

"Heads up, Lee!"

Rock Lee looked straight up in time to see a large swirl of weaponry searing through the air towards him. With a few back flips, and a burst of high speed movement, the various tools stuck into the ground harmlessly, as Lee skidded away. Tenten pulled out another scroll and prepared to use a second weapon summoning jutsu.

Neji Hyuuga was standing in the center of the clearing where Lee and Tenten were busy training their reflexes around him. His eyes closed, Neji was training his Byakugan, keeping an eye on the weaponry flying through the air, and sending a few flying awry when it came too close. But what the pair of shinobi couldn't tell about Neji was that he wasn't really concentrating on training. In fact, he was only using enough chakra in his Byakugan to avoid being struck by a weapon. No, his attention was elsewhere, and he knew it. And hated himself for it.

"Why am I letting myself be distracted?" Neji grumbled to himself. Lee heard Neji's question, and stopped dead in his tracks, mid-dodge.

"Lee, watch it!" Tenten yelled as a kunai trimmed a few hairs off of Lee's head. His attention snapped back to the flying tools as three more kunai came his way . With blinding speed, Lee knocked them out of their trajectory.

"What happened there, Lee?" Tenten asked him as she ran up to her green-clad friend. Lee held a finger to his lips, and pointed towards Neji.

"I think there's something up with Neji," Lee whispered. "He said something about being distracted."

"I hope you know that not only can I hear you, I can see you as well," Neji stabbed at Tenten and Rock Lee, turning towards them and opening his eyes. Neji deactivated his Byakugan, and glared at his team mates. "And I will have you know, there is nothing wrong with me. I was just being distracted by Tenten's weaponry, while I was training my eyes."

"Oh. Fair enough, then. I do hope we did not cause you any dissatisfaction, Neji," Lee apologized to Neji. With a smirk, Neji re-activated his Byakugan, and closed his eyes.

"Don't worry about it. Let's just get back to training."

But Tenten wasn't convinced. She knew Neji for many years, and there was no mistaking there was something tearing at the edge of his mind. She just couldn't figure out what.

'Well, there's no use worrying about it,' Tenten though to herself. 'He'll tell us what's up when he feels like it. He always does.'

 

* * * * *

 

That night, at the Hyuuga complex, there were two young shinobi, restless and fully awake in the wee hours of the evening. Hinata lay on her mattress with her arms over her face to block out the moons rays, the blankets askew on her bed. In his own room, Neji was blindly digging a kunai into the floorboards while laying on his stomach in bed, his mind and thoughts astray.

Hinata stood up from her bed, and strode across her room to the door, glancing outside to see if anyone else was awake. Satisfied there would be no one to interrupt her midnight venture, she stepped outside, dressed in her pajamas, and strode down the hallways for a certain someone's room.

Neji heard the light knock on his door, and stood from his bed to open it. Not surprisingly, a very shy looking Hinata stood in the doorway. After looking at Neji for a moment, Hinata's usual blush deepened considerably. Neji smiled, and then blushed himself as he noticed his lack of clothing, being dressed only in a pair of boxers.

"Won't y-you please enter, L-lady Hinat-ta," Neji stuttered, waving his arm into his moonlight room. Hinata stepped inside, and Neji turned around to pull on a pair of pants.

"I'm s-sorry it's so l-late, Neji-kun," Hinata apologized in her usual stammer as she sat on his bed. "B-but I h-had a feeling you were st-still awake." Neji turned around, a bit less shakey now that he was in decent clothing.

"Don't worry about it. It's probably better that it's late. Most of the house must be asleep by now." Neji strode over to Hinata, and lifted her chin with two fingers. "My dear Lady Hinata, how the moon does draw out your beauty," he complimented her with a smile. "And to what do I owe the honor of your presence this evening?"

Blushing even more furiously, if at all possible, Hinata glanced aside. "Um...Well...It's j-just that..."

Neji took a seat next to Hinata, smiling all the while. "I know what it is. Don't worry. You don't need to say it aloud, if you don't want to." Neji wrapped his arm around Hinata's shoulders, and she tilted her head onto his chest, the two of them looking out the window at the moon.

"B-but I do want t-to say it, N-neji-kun. I j-just. . ." Neji turned Hinata to face him, and looked straight into her lavender eyes.

"You just can't find the words to say it, right?" Neji guessed. "You know what you're feeling, but you can't quite find the way to say it to really make it matter." Hinata looked away, blushing madly again, shocked that Neji managed to read her so clearly. "Don't worry, my Lady Hinata. You'll find the words soon enough, I know you will." Neji drew her close in an embrace, feeling her heartbeat against his own. He looked out the window at the sky, azure blue with the lights of the stars and moon.

"'Oh, what a tangled web we weave, on this starlight night.

For who's to say what shall take thine breath once laid in sight.

A beggar's moon, once seen, cannot be taken in vain.

And the skies will shed their joyous tears, along with the lover's rain.'"

Neji stroked Hinata's hair as he recited the poem from memory, listening to her soft breath on his shoulder. He drew her back, and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.

"'Oh, thine breath be stolen as upon thee I look.

Of many things you've taken, thine breath is the least you took.

For one other thing, you've taken from me, I gladly give to you.

I offer my heart, a sign of love, and hope of love anew.'"

Hinata stared at Neji, entranced by the poem, and slowly, so slowly, leaned closer to the elder Hyuuga. She closed her eyes, and her breath quickened as her lips met with Neji's. The two sat there, locked in each other's arms, engaged in a forbidden kiss, while the moon continued to shed it's rays into the room.

Neji finally broke the kiss, hesitantly, and opened his own eyes to look at his newfound love. "You'd best get going, Lady Hinata. It's getting late, you know."

Hinata stood, not wanting to leave his side, and silently, slowly, strode towards the door. Her hand on the knob, Hinata turned around and smiled.

"You're right, Neji," Hinata said, her stutter mysteriously gone. "I have found the words." She made her way towards him again, and whispered into his ear, before heading for the door again. This time, Hinata did not turn around, but opened the door, and walked out, blowing a kiss as she left.

Neji lay back down on his bed, thinking about what just transpired. Had Hinata really said that?

Only the moon lay witness to the lover's kiss.

 

* * * * *

 

Hinata opened the door to her room, and quietly entered, closing the door behind her. She raised the blankets of her bed, and laid down, setting the blankets over top of her again. After a final look up to the moon, Hinata rolled over in her bed, and fell asleep, dreaming of the one she dreamt of most. Her final words to Neji still danced in her head, and she silently cheered herself for having the courage to say them.

"'My caged bird, I set you free,

while my heart cries with glee.

You are my love, my starry night.

And nothing has ever felt this right."

And still the moon laid witness with quiet reason, never to speak a word.