Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Life Is Wicked ❯ Ironic ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2: Ironic

 

The story of Naruto and Neji's fight soon spread across the academy, reaching even the ears of Kakashi, which was why Naruto was talking to him when Neji wandered by, a lost look on his face. Kakashi called him over, too, and asked both of them, “Why were you two fighting?” Immediately the grey-haired Jounin regretted asking the question; Naruto looked abashed, and Neji for his own part looked about as close as the `Prince of Ice' would ever get to crying.

 

After a wait of a few minutes, Naruto answered, “Well...I was trying to cheer him up, you know? And he was talking to Gai-sensei, and was looking pretty pissed, and I was trying to be nice, but he got mad at me too, right? And I said that I was just trying to be nice, and then he activated his Byakugan, and he knocked out Gai-sensei and sent me sprawling, okay? And then I had to fight him and all because I didn't want him to hurt anyone else, but he used his sixty-four points of chakra attack on me, and I had to give up because he was too strong, right? So, uh...” Naruto trailed off.

Neji turned his face away from the two of them. “It's that fire that the water-nin put out a few days ago,” he admitted quietly, and the other two could tell that he was ashamed. “My cousin Hirashi died from it...she wasn't burned, but she got...crushed underneath lots of wood, shingles, rocks...it was only her lower body though, so she gave me this before she died...” He held up his right wrist for the Jounin and Genin to examine. On it was Hirashi's lucky hair tie.

 

An old man turned ninety-eight

He won the lottery and died the next day

It's a black fly in your Chardonnay

It's a death row pardon two minutes too late

Isn't it ironic, don't you think?

 

“Hey, she said she'd never give anyone that,” Kakashi half-murmured, half-accused. Neji just nodded weakly. “So why'd she give it to you? It doesn't make sense.” The teenage Hyuuga shrugged, gazing sadly down at his left foot. “Unless...did she love you, Neji?”

Neji's head snapped up, an angry gleam in his lavender eyes. “She admired me, idolized me, fought alongside me, befriended me-but she didn't love me.” Yet, to contradict his words, a sliver of doubt was rising in his voice. “Hirashi knew that Hinata and I were betrothed, and she wouldn't waste her heart on something that would only bring her pain.”

 

Kakashi shook his head. “I don't think so, Neji,” he answered. “You're forgetting that Hirashi used to be one of my students when she was younger. If she loved you, she would give you that.” The grey-haired Jounin pointed to Neji's wrist. Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

 

“Yeah,” the fox demon agreed. “And she made a side reference to me once about you...how did she say it?...`He's a great guy, the only one that really understands me. I'm indebted to him-and so is my heart.' I think we were talking about our heroes.”

 

It's like rain on your wedding day

It's a free ride when you've already paid

It's the good advice that you just can't take

Who would've thought it figures

 

The Prince of Ice stepped back. “She would...never say that,” he stated, a troubled look in his eyes. “Even though I loved her...” Naruto was about to snap out a witty remark when he saw Neji's face. The Hyuuga prodigy was crying; not a sound escaped from his lips, yet tears were overflowing from his eyes like a stream.

 

Naruto stuttered out a, “M-my God, Neji, are you all-all right?”, and quickly realized that his mouth was hanging open. He shut his mouth with a snap; the yellow-haired teen felt really badly for the brown-haired boy by his side because he knew what he would feel like if he lost Sakura.

 

Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly

He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye

He waited his whole damn life to take that flight

And as the plane crashed down he thought

Well, isn't this nice?

And isn't it ironic...don't you think?

 

Just then, Hinata came rushing up. “Neji?” the female Hyuuga whispered; she hugged her cousin and made him sit down. “What's wrong, Neji? Is it...this?” She pointed to the hair tie on Neji's wrist. “Is it her?” Neji only nodded, tears still streaming down his face. Naruto and Kakashi also sat down; Kakashi felt for the male Hyuuga teen, because he knew what losing a friend felt like. But-to lose someone you loved that much...

 

Naruto put his hand on Neji's shoulder. “Hey, uh...we're here for you, you know...” he muttered, trailing off. The fox-nin knew that he wasn't good at comforting others, but he could try. Then, seeing Hinata and Neji side by side, an idea hit him. “You don't have to feel so bad, Neji!” exclaimed the ramen-loving teen. “Hirashi's probably kicking herself for making you feel so bad, wherever she is! So don't feel like you have to be sad, because it's not your fault that she's dead! We'll all find the idiot that started that fire and we'll avenge her death together!”

 

It's like rain on your wedding day

It's a free ride when you've already paid

It's the good advice that you just can't take

Who would've thought it figures?

 

Hinata nodded shyly. “Y-yes, and she-she's probably going to be v-very m-mad at whoever did th-this to her...s-so you shouldn't b-be so hard o-on yourself, Neji-nii-san...She w-won't be mad at you...” The female Hyuuga teen timidly put her arm around the male Hyuuga teen's shaking shoulders. “She w-wasn't like that...”

Kakashi smiled at the exchange that the usually-timid Hinata was having with her cousin. He was glad that the girl was getting over her fear of the Prince of Ice; maybe she would actually become a great ninja one day. “Well,” the grey-haired Jounin said, still smiling, “maybe if we can wish hard enough, she'll come back. Who knows-I've heard rumors of it happening in faraway places, like that `Village of Fugitives' that we exile the outcasts to.” Neji nodded, slowly bringing his eyes up to meet Kakashi's.

 

“Do...do you really think that?” he asked, his eyes still brimming with tears, shed or not. “I want to believe that, but...”

 

Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up in you

When you think everything's okay and everything's going right

And life has a funny way of helping you out when

You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up

In your face

 

“Sure!” exclaimed Hinata, Kakashi, and Naruto, all at once. “After all,” Naruto continued, “if there are so many rumors and stories about it, it must be true!” He smiled and jumped up. “In fact, why don't we go there right now and find out? Come on! We're on a mission! Let's get our teams, pack what we need, and set out for this `Village of Fugitives' that Kakashi-sensei mentioned!” Hinata helped Neji stand up; Kakashi kicked Naruto in the ankle bone-lightly-to get him moving; and, as soon as everyone was assembled, they were off.

 

A traffic jam when you're already late

A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break

It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife

It's meeting the man of my dreams

And then meeting his beautiful wife

And isn't it ironic, don't you think?

A little too ironic, and yeah, I really do think

 

~

(Neji Hyuuga's POV)

 

After the talk that Hinata, Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, and I all shared, I was rejuvenated. Sad, yes, still crying, but better off for it all. We were off to the Village of Fugitives, where I hoped to get my dear cousin back. We were, as Naruto said, on a mission.

 

~

 

(Normal POV)

 

Sasuke walked alongside Naruto, his eyes pointed at the ground. He hadn't wanted to come along on this mission, but it hadn't been his choice, as Kakashi-sensei had explained to him. This was to cheer Neji up, not to be a personal rendezvous for everyone else. The Uchiha didn't know why they were doing something that hadn't been done for anyone else in the past; why make an exception for one person that no one even liked? If it had been up to him, he would have just laughed at Neji and gotten on with it, but no; everyone had to feel sorry for the Hyuuga prodigy, the poor caged little bird, the `Prince of Ice'. Sasuke stuck his hands in his pockets and glared at the ground passing below his feet. He knew this was so bloody wrong.

 

It's like rain on your wedding day

It's a free ride when you've already paid

It's the good advice that you just can't take

Who would've thought it figures?

 

After all, Sasuke mused, Neji hated everyone. People kind of picked up on that and returned the favor, and so Neji was almost as disliked as Gaara. The only people that Neji had ever liked were his own father and Hirashi, and they were the only ones that had liked him back. Now that they were both dead, the Uchiha prodigy didn't know why the fifth Hokage didn't just throw Neji away like a mound of bad food; after all, he wasn't needed.

 

Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you

Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out

Helping you out

 

But maybe, just maybe, Sasuke would learn to feel sorry for Neji.

 

~

 

(Neji Hyuuga's POV)

 

Sasuke and I were never friends-until about halfway through that mission. I think-but I'm not going to say that this has to be the reason-that he started feeling sorry for me in his own way. We were a lot alike, Sasuke and I; both of us were aloof and uncaring, we both lost those dearest to us, and we had both been cast out by what little family we had left. I'm just sorry that I waited so long to try to become a friend to him.