Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Silver Eyes ❯ Chance Meeting ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

The only characters that are mine in this story are Haruko, Yukio, Kokoro, Saiai, Emiko, and
Arichi. The rest are owned by Masashi Kishimoto, that wonderful, wonderful man.
By: Amanda Smith aka silverwingedwolf
Date started: December 12th, 2007
Date finished: January 1st, 2008
Pairings: Sakura/Lee, Neji/OC, Kiba/Hinata, Shikamaru/Temari
Rating: 18+, for non-consent, minors, incest, blood, gore
*Day 1*
`Oh, wow! I am so glad that mission is finished,' said Rock Lee as he stretched lazily, walking
towards the gates of the Hidden Leaf Village. He looked at his mission partner, Neji Hyuuga. He
was wearing a long white shirt with flared out sleeves, and his hair was tied back as usual. Neji
nodded, looking forward. He didn't want to admit it out loud, but he was just as glad to see the
gates of the Leaf Village as Lee. They had been gone for five weeks to the Village Hidden in the
Mist to do a bit of bodyguard work for a famous actor, and he had never seen so many screaming
fan girls in his life. He just wanted to go home and take the longest shower of his life, then sleep
for five days.
Neji looked at Lee, still sporting his usual forest green jumpsuit and orange leg warmers, but plus
one flak jacket. They were both jonin now, the best of the best, and two of the finest that
Konohagakure had to offer. Even though there were no set teams anymore, Lady Tsunade still
liked to put old teammates together. It was easier to work with someone you've trained with
forever, was the way she had put it, and Neji tended to agree with her. At 20 years of age, Neji
still liked working with Lee. Lee may be talkative and somewhat spirited, but he was a good
fighter, and one of the only people he considered a friend. `Now,' thought Neji, `if only I could
get him to shut up about Sakura.'
They walked on, getting closer and closer to the gates. Lee was chattering away about how he
couldn't wait to see his Cherry Blossom and Neji zoned out, nodding in the right places. It
amused him, there was no doubt about that, but there was only so much one could take of
hearing the same thing, again and again and again.
A rustling in the forest to their left roused Neji from his daze, and Lee stopped talking. They
were so close! Why now, of all times, should there be an enemy waiting to ambush them? The
two men stood side by side, waiting for the person who made the rustling in the bushes to reveal
themselves, whether in the form of an attack or a greeting party, although Neji guessed it wasn't
a welcome wagon.
Neji activated his Byakugan. He scanned the forest in front of him, and he frowned. `My chakra
must be more drained than I realized,' he thought. He deactivated it, focussed all of his chakra,
and activated his Byakugan again. Again, he frowned. There was someone there, obviously, but
his Byakugan wasn't seeing anything. Lee asked him if there was anyone there, and Neji shook
his head, deactivating his eyes.
`Must've been an animal or something,' Neji muttered, unnerved. Lee knew better, however.

---

Even if it were an animal, Neji's Byakugan would've picked up on it. They turned back to enter
the Leaf Village, when a body hurtled out of the forest. They turned and assumed their respective
fighting stances, but dropped them as soon as they saw their assailant.
A girl, roughly their age, came teetering out of the woods, wobbling on her unclothed feet. She
made her way uneasily over to the boys, head down. They noticed that she wasn't wearing much,
a dirty white nightgown, which probably used to look good, but was too torn to look remotely
good now. There were sticks and leaves sticking out of her hair, which was knotted and frizzy.
She clung to a small knapsack on her shoulder. Neji and Lee were horrified to see that the arm
she wasn't clinging to her sack with was jutting out at an odd angle, and her right ankle was
swollen to an outrageous size. What horrified them the most was the amount of blood she was
bleeding. She stumbled forward, and Neji caught her, mindful of her left arm. She struggled her
head up to look into Neji's face, and Neji's eyes widened. Her eyes were a beautiful silver. It
wasn't just silver, though; it swirled around, like a small, silver sandstorm that was confined to
both eyes. There were horrible black marks under her eyes and around her face that resembled
knuckles, and Neji realized that she must have been attacked, and greatly outnumbered to boot.
`Please.... help... me...,' the girl in Neji's arms croaked, and passed out. Neji looked at Lee, not
exactly comfortable with a half-clothed girl in his arms. Lee shrugged, and gathered her pack
from the ground. Neji got the idea: they were not going to leave a defenceless, badly beaten girl
in the middle of the gates of the Hidden Leaf Village. They were tired, but they were fine, and it
was only mid afternoon. They could make a little side trip to the hospital. Neji bundled the girl in
his arms, carefully folding her left arm in on her stomach so it wouldn't flail. Her head leaned
into Neji's chest as he walked, and Neji felt blood pooling out onto his shirt. She was bleeding
more than he had originally guessed, so he and Lee picked up the pace.
***********
The two men walked into the lobby area of the hospital and were greeted by a rush of medic-
nins. Lee held them off and asked for Sakura. Neji didn't complain, because he knew as well as
Lee did that Sakura was the best healer in the hospital. One of the medics shot away and came
back minutes later with Sakura. She grinned when she saw Lee and Neji, but the grin fell away
when she saw the condition of the person Neji held. Without a word, she led Neji into a free
room nearby.
`What happened?' Sakura asked the jonin as she scanned the girl with her chakra.
`We were coming upon the front gates when this girl ran out of the woods,' Neji explained. `She
was in this state when we found her, and she passed out just after. We couldn't get much
information out of her. Then we carried her here.'
Sakura nodded, eyes closed with concentration. When she opened her eyes a minute later, she
sighed. `She's not in any serious danger. Her left arm is broken, her right ankle is badly sprained,
and there's countless bruises on her body, not to mention the amount of blood she has lost. It'll
take me an hour to fully heal her.' When the men didn't make a move to leave, she put her hands
on her hips. `You guys can come in later. Right now, I have to change her into a hospital gown
and clean the blood from her body. Unless you guys want to help...'. She smirked when Lee put
the bag down and rushed the door. Neji remained impassive as he walked towards the door
unhurriedly. Sakura chuckled to herself and set about to her business.

---

*******
About an hour later, Sakura came out, drying her hands on her apron. Lee and Neji had went
home and changed into clean clothes, she saw.
`Oh Sakura, you are truly amazing. That girl probably will not feel a thing when she wakes up,'
Lee gushed as he moved in and swept Sakura into an embrace. Sakura blushed, but made no
move to stop his advances or compliments. Neji rolled his opal eyes, mentally shaking his head
at his friend for his lavish compliments. He didn't want to feel like an intruder on their
`moment'. So he slipped into the hospital room that Sakura had recently came out of.
The window was open, letting a lovely warm breeze flow through the room. It was mid-spring,
when the weather was warm enough to enjoy the breezes without shivering. He made his way
over to the girl's bedside and stood there.
The girl's dark brown hair fell in waves to shoulder blade level, and gleaned in the sun. Her skin
was pale, with a small curved nose and a cupid's bow mouth. `Sakura did a good clean-up,' Neji
thought. She was pretty, really. Neji, however, didn't really take her beauty to heart. He was
more concerned with how she had concealed herself from them. More interestingly, how she had
concealed herself from -him-? Was it her eyes? Some new jutsu that she had mastered? He
shook his head. It had to be something more powerful, because his Byakugan was all-seeing.
Some concealing jutsu was out of the question. He was curious, now, and getting the prodigy of
the Hyuuga family curious was a feat of gargantuan proportions.
As he gazed on, the girl stirred. She stretched, not opening her eyes, a small smile crossing her
face. She yawned lazily, letting her body fall back onto the bed. She opened her eyes, letting her
gaze fall on Neji. Before he could say anything about where she was or who he was, she
screamed. Her right arm lashed out at Neji, and he caught it, although he grunted a bit from its
strength. `She's definitely strong, whoever she is,' Neji thought as he let her arm go, concerned
that he may hurt her. She scuttled back towards the head of her bed, glaring at Neji with eyes that
betrayed her mistrust. As a sign of no threat, he backed away from the bed, hands at shoulder
level, palms forward. She saw this, and relaxed slightly.
Sakura and Lee entered the room, expecting the fight of a life-time, but instead they saw Neji
standing at the side of the girl's bed, arms up in the sign of peace. He turned his face towards
them and said, ` She's awake.'
Sakura giggled. "I gathered that much, Neji,' she said, walking around the bed to the girl. Sakura
started scanning the girl again, just for safety's sake, to see if she had injured anything.
Lee walked to the foot of the bed. `You are in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. My name is
Rock Lee, the girl currently scanning your body is Sakura Haruno. I assure you, you are in
capable hands,' he informed her, noticing the girl's eyes flit to Sakura. When her eyes went to
Neji, Lee said, `and the man that has rudely awoken you is Neji Hyuuga. He is really not that
bad, but he can come across gruff and scary.' Neji glared at Lee, but the girl smiled softly.
Sakura opened her eyes. `Nothing new here,' she reported. Her eyes fell to the girl as she sat on

---

the bed next to her. `What's your name?' Sakura asked.
The girl cleared her throat and replied, `My name is Saiai. I come from the Village Hidden in the
Moonlight.'
The group nodded. It was a tiny Village, about five days from the Leaf Village. It was family run,
and it really didn't have any power to it.
`So, what are you doing around here? That's an awfully long way from here,' Sakura asked.
`I came here looking for help for my Village,' was the reply. The three jonin exchanged glances,
each thinking the same thought, but not wanting to say it.
`If the Village needs help, why doesn't the leader send for help? Surely if the Village were that
desperate, the leader would take action?' Neji asked.
`Well... it's... umm... just... urrr...' the girl muttered. She played with the wrinkles on her sheets
until she finally whispered, `I can't tell you.'
Neji felt annoyance at this response. `Why can you not tell us? We saved you, I think you owe us
a certain amount of explanation.'
Saiai raised her silver eyes to meet Neji's opal ones, her quiet response full of an odd mixture of
defiance and respect. `I thank you for rescuing me. I was far outnumbered and it's amazing that I
made it this far. You've brought me the final few steps to the Leaf Village. It's not that I don't
feel indebted to you, because I do. However, we've only just met, and although you've saved me,
I do not know you, nor do I know your friends. I -will- tell you the full story, if you're willing to
wait until I can talk to the Hokage. I give you my word.'
Saiai's eyes continued to meet Neji's opal ones. What seemed like minutes passed, until Neji
bowed his head and grunted. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was mildly curious. `It's not
everyday a battered, bleeding, hardly clothed girl comes hurtling out of the woods, asking for
your help, then won't tell you her story,' he reasoned.
Saiai sighed. `Thank you. Neji, was it? I know it's unfair, but everything will be told.'
Sakura raised herself off the bed and clasped her hands together. `Well, now that we've gotten
-that- out of the way, I think we should leave the patient to sleep for the night,' Sakura said,
ushering the men out. She winked at Saiai, who gave a small smile and waved at her.
^^^^^^^^
The door closed, and Saiai relaxed into her mattress. She breathed a sigh of relief, and stared out
the window at the setting sun. The moon would be up soon, and she was glad no one would be
able to see her eyes. She flipped over onto her side, her back to the door. She thought of her
sisters, her mother, her father. The days events flew by her mind's eye at amazing speed, but
slowed down when it reached Neji. `His eyes,' she thought, `what are they? They're gorgeous,
but they feel like they're piercing into me.' She pushed this thought away from her mind,
focussing herself on the mission at hand: saving her sisters. But as she fell towards sleep, her
traitorous mind kept bringing back those opal eyes.

---

*Day 2*
Neji was sleeping. A deep sleep, without the cries of fan girls that had plagued him for the last
few weeks. He was warm, the bed was soft, and his muscles were relaxed. He could've slept
longer, if it weren't for that bothersome voice calling him from his doorway.
`Hey, Neji! Wake up! We have to train!' The male voice floated over to his ears and irritated him
out of his sleep. Neji rolled over, away from the assaulting voice, in hopes if he wasn't facing the
man standing at the door, he would go away.
`Neji, wake up! It is 8 o'clock, and we have training to do! You can sleep all you want tonight!'
The male voice was coming closer to the bed. Neji grumbled, grabbing the other pillow on his
bed. He flung the pillow behind him, satisfied as he heard a muffled grunt as the pillow
connected with his intruder's face.
Neji didn't hear anything after the pillow fell, so he assumed his morning intruder left, but that
assumption shattered as he felt two calloused hands grab his bare ankles and pull. Neji's eyes
flew open as he landed roughly on his butt, the hardwood floor cold and hard. He glared at his
attacker, and his attacker smiled back at him, onyx eyes dancing with mirth.
`Lee,' Neji growled, `you had best get out of this room right now, or else you may not be able
walk out of this house.' Lee stood up, laughing and backed away to the doorway, but didn't
leave.
Neji picked himself up from the floor, grabbing his headband from the night stand. He glared at
Lee before he retreated to the bathroom to change. He emerged five minutes later, fully dressed
and ready to fight.
`You can eat your breakfast on the way. We are late enough as it is,' Lee scolded. Neji scoffed,
but grabbed the toast from the table, nodding to his uncle. His uncle laughed, knowing Lee
accomplished his mission. He waved goodbye as the two men walked out the front door.
They walked in silence to the training grounds, Neji munching on toast. The Village bustled with
life. The marketplace was filled with shoppers doing early morning shopping, shinobi and
villagers alike. The air was filled with voices and footsteps, lightly topped with a warm breeze
that shook the overhanging trees. It was going to be a beautiful day to train, even though Neji
refused to tell this to Lee, still sore at being yanked onto the floor half-asleep.
They arrived at the training grounds, happy to see that no one else was there. Lee walked ahead
of Neji, not noticing he stopped walking. Lee beside him, expecting to see Neji, but noticing he
wasn't there, he turned around. He was met with smirking Neji right behind him, then felt the
wind rushing out of him. Lee fell to the ground, his teeth clacking as his butt met dirt.
`-That- was for waking me up,' Neji said, his smirk still plastered on his face.
Lee held his stomach, puffing as he struggled to get up. `You are going to pay for that, Hyuuga,'
he wheezed, taking his stance. Neji's face erased any sign of emotion, and assumed his stance.

---

There was a silence that revolved around the two, which erupted into a blur of motion as the two
started training.
*******
Around 4 o'clock, the two teammates finally sat under a tree, sweating up a storm. The warm
breeze cooled their hot skin as they leaned against the tree, not exactly out of breath.
`Well, we had better get going,' Lee stated, standing up, and brushing himself off.
Neji glanced up from his spot in the shade and raised an eyebrow. `Oh?' he questioned, amused.
`Where are -we- going?'
`To the hospital, of course. To see Saiai,' was Lee's reply.
Neji sighed, exasperated. `You know, Lee, just because we rescued her, doesn't mean we have to
visit her.'
`Oh, come on, Neji. You are just as excited as I am, and do not bother denying it,' Lee said,
turning his back and walking away from Neji. `Come on, it is not like you have anything better
to do. Besides, you know her story is something good.'
`Feh. Fine,' Neji muttered, giving in. Lee knew him better than he thought, and he didn't like it.
He walked off after Lee, and headed towards the hospital.
As they arrived at Saiai's room and entered, they were greeted with a wave and a small smile
from the girl in the bed. `Oh, thank Heaven's, someone I've seen before,' she breathed, obviously
relieved. She was sitting up in bed, and she was looking much better than she had the day before.
Lee took a seat beside her bed, and Neji stood at Lee's side, leaning against the window frame.
Saiai took a good look at them: the man with the bowl cut and the amazingly large eyebrows,
Lee, seemed very kind and gentle. His odd mannerisms and enthusiasm made her want to giggle,
but she didn't. The handsome man with the long chocolate hair and opal, pupil-less eyes,
interested her far more. He was quiet, composed, and didn't exactly look like he wanted to be in
the hospital room at that moment, but there he was. The way he carried himself reminded her of
her father, a dignified sort of stance. She wondered if he came from a high-blooded family like
herself.
`I never got the chance before, but thank you for saving me yesterday,' she said, bowing her head
to them. `And I feel really bad for attacking you, Neji. Please, forgive me.'
Neji waved his hand. `It's understandable. I scared you, you reacted.' Seeing her bow her head,
relieved, Neji ran his assessments of her through his head. Her eyes, of course, held his interest
the most. But now that she wasn't trying to attack him and she looked well rested, he found she
was really quite beautiful. The way she spoke in conversation told him that she was from a
higher ranked family. Her voice was lower, unlike the higher pitched tone that a lot of the local
kunoichi take on. It had a musical quality to it, and authoritative, which denoted that she was
either the oldest of her family, or she was a leader of some sort. She was intelligent, and she was

---

fast, as he could well attest to. She was composed, reserved, choosing her words well. He
realized he was staring at her, but thankfully, she was talking to Lee, so hopefully she hadn't
noticed.
`Neji and I have just returned from a five-week mission from the Land of the Mist,' Lee said.
`And what was that like? Was it hard?' Saiai asked, looking from Lee to Neji.
`Not really,' Lee replied. `But there were fan girls constantly chasing our client, so we had to be
on the move constantly. Not to mention, I think that the girls got on Neji's nerves.'
Saiai lifted her hand to her mouth to mask the small smile that appeared, and Neji found himself
wanting to hit Lee. He didn't, however, as Lee asked the girl to tell them a bit about herself.
She blushed and averted her eyes slightly. `I can't tell you much. My full name is Saiai Tsuki,
and I am 19 years old. I come from the Village Hidden in the Moonlight in search of aide. My
father died about 10 months ago, and I am left with an ill mother and two younger sisters, 18 and
17 years of age. I am a Moonlight shinobi, one of few. I am here on my own accord, to look for
help for my Village and family, and not on request from the leader of the Village.' She spit out
the word `leader' as if it hurt to have it in her mouth, and her normally calm visage turned into
one of hatred. She clapped a hand over her mouth. `I've said too much,' she gasped, her eyes
wide as she looked from Neji to Lee.
`What? What did you say?' Lee pressed, trying to get as much information out of her as he could.
She averted her eyes, stuttering and stammering.
Neji looked at the girl, and he felt a little sympathy for her. `Lee, I don't think she's going to tell
you right at the moment,' he said, looking at the girl. Saiai raised her eyes to Neji, gratitude plain
in her eyes.
`Thank you. Like I said, I will tell you, because you deserve to know, but I can't reveal
everything right now,' she said. Lee looked about to press the subject, but Saiai wasn't finished.
`Ummm... would you happen to know how I could get an audience with your Village leader?'
Neji shrugged and answered, `Well, Tsunade is busy assigning missions and such, but I doubt
that she would turn away a plea for help from another Village. It's just a matter of getting around
to asking her.'
Lee perked up at this. `Sakura is the Hokage's apprentice. She could get you an audience with
the Hokage, more than likely. And she could probably get you an earlier audience, too.' Lee
jumped up and announced that he would search out his `Cherry Blossom' to ask her that favour.
As he rushed out of the room, Saiai looked at Neji and said, `I didn't mean he should do it now. I
could've asked Sakura when I saw her next.'
Neji shook his head at his teammate. `He's normally hasty, but when it comes to Sakura, he takes
any and every chance to see her.'

---

`Ah, heh. I see,' Saiai chuckled.
There was a silence between them, not exactly comfortable, but not pressured either. Neji looked
at Saiai, contemplating the situation he had found himself loosely connected to. Here, a girl, (a
rather beautiful girl, his mind put in, and he was shocked at this thought), was found bloody and
beaten outside of the Leaf Village, travelled roughly five days to search help for her Village,
without leave from her leader. Was she a rogue ninja from her Village? Was the leader of the
Moonlight Village proud and refused to ask for help? He realized he was lost in thought when
Saiai was looking at him questioningly.
Neji cleared his throat and asked her what her Village looked like. Saiai was taken aback. `He's
not the type to go around asking people about their personal lives,' she thought.
She sighed, and looked to the ceiling, apparently picturing her Village. `It's lovely. It's a small
Village, surrounded by trees. Every house has glass chimes and coloured glass somewhere
around or in it. Not because there's a lot of wind, or because it looks good in the sunlight; it's
gorgeous at night. Sometimes, when my father was alive, we would sit on the roof of our house
at night, and just take in all the different colours glinting in the moonlight.'
Her face was soft and pleasant with reminiscence, and Neji's heart thumped a little harder than
normal, waking him out of his imagination. `What the hell?' he thought. `It's just a girl.'
`How did your father die?' Neji asked, instantly regretting that particularly conversation piece.
Saiai looked down from the ceiling, eyes closed, frowning. `He was murdered...'
Neji eyes widened, and he was about to ask by who, and why, and how, but Lee came back into
the room. `Sakura said she would ask the Hokage after work today, and then tell you tomorrow.'
Looking at the two people in the room, Lee noticed he may have interrupted something. `What
were you guys talking about?' he questioned.
Neji shook his head, and Saiai yawned. Neji pushed himself of the window frame, noticing it
was almost completely sundown, time to part company. As he and Lee made their way to the
door, a small, tired voice floated over to them, `Will you come back tomorrow?'
Neji was the one to turn around. `Yeah, we will.' He saw that she was already drowsing off, but
her window was open. He walked to the window, closed it, then walked back to an amused Lee.
`What?' an indignant Neji asked as they walked into the hallway. `It gets cold at night, and the
hospital blankets aren't the thickest.'
Lee smiled and nodded. `And what happened to simply being curious?'
`I am still simply curious. Wait, I never I was curious. Never mind that. She's just more
interesting than I had originally thought.'
Again, another smile and nod from Lee.

---

`Lee?'
`Yeah?'
`Shut up.'
`What?! I did not say anything!'
`Just in case.'
*Day 3*
Neji was up and awake by the time that Lee got there, so Lee didn't get the chance to drag the
Hyuuga out of bed. They set off to the training grounds, and cut off just before 4pm, then set off
towards the hospital to visit their `ward'. When they arrived in Saiai's room, they found her out
of bed.
She was sitting in the window in hospital pyjamas, one long leg dangling slowly back and forth
along the wall, looking out of the window. In her lap was her small knapsack, and in one hand
was a headband. She was running her thumb slowly, absently over the steel plate on the
headband. Her other hand was playing with the overly long straps, twirling them around her
fingers. She seemed lost in thought, and didn't notice the two walk through the door. Lee
coughed, hoping to alert her to them without scaring her. Saiai's back stiffened, and something
weird happened.
She turned to see who was at the door, but a split second before that, her chakra, her presence,
completely vanished. Neji frowned, and even Lee felt it. If not for seeing her sitting in the
window, they wouldn't have known someone was there.
`What was that, Saiai? That's not the first time you've used that on us,' Neji said, crossing his
arms. He levelled his gaze at Saiai, who slid down from her perch.
She scratched the back of her head, looking sheepish. `Would you take "you'll find out
tomorrow" as an answer?' she asked, looking hopeful.
`Does that mean you have gotten your audience with the Hokage?' Lee asked. Saiai nodded, and
Lee was lost to reality, ranting about how Sakura pulled through and about how amazing she
was. Neji shook his head, walking closer to Saiai so he wouldn't have Lee babbling in his ear.
`You got your audience quickly. Congratulations, the Hokage doesn't normally make exceptions
for anyone,' Neji said, leaning on the wall in front of Saiai's bed. Saiai muttered a `thank you',
and put her headband in her bag. She pushed off the window ledge to return to her bed, when she
suddenly swooned. Lee stopped rambling and looked over, moving forward. Neji got to her first,
though, and grabbed her by the shoulders to keep her from falling.
`Wow, I must really be out of it,' she stammered, shaking her head, trying to stop the room from
spinning. She closed her eyes, willing the dizziness away. When she deemed herself somewhat

---

stable, she opened her eyes. Her eyes widened when her main focus happened to be Neji's chest.
Suddenly hyper-aware of the overwhelming male presence in front of her, she looked into his
face, blushing an incredible shade of pink.
`Thank you,' she stuttered, backing away, and putting her bag under her bed. Saiai suddenly
wished there was a distraction to break her thoughts away from the silver-eyed man. To her
relief, Sakura walked through the door.
`My Cherry Blossom! You are so wonderful! Saiai would have been waiting for months to get an
audience with the Hokage!' Lee gushed as he gathered Sakura in his arms and twirled her about.
Sakura laughed, and demanded that Lee put her down.
After her feet met the ground again, Sakura flattened the wrinkles in her outfit that Lee so
graciously put there. She lifted her gaze to Saiai, and asked, `How are you feeling today?'
`A little light-headed getting back to bed, but it passed fairly quickly,' Saiai replied. Sakura
nodded, saying that was normal getting up after a recovery period.
Saiai sat on her bed cross-legged as the three Leaf Jonin encircled her bed. `First of all, I want to
thank you guys for rescuing me,' Saiai said, looking each one of them in the face. `My sisters
will thank you, too, eventually. Second of all, thanks to Sakura, I have an audience with the
Hokage at 3pm tomorrow. Will you be willing to attend? As I said before, every question you
have will be gratefully answered.' A nod all around, and Saiai sighed with relief.
`Sakura, is there anyway I would be able to wash my clothes? They're a little... bloody,' Saiai
asked.
Sakura waved her hand. `There's no need for you to do it. I'll get housekeeping to do it for you,
and they'll be back, fresh as new, tomorrow morning,' Sakura replied. Saiai smiled her small
smile, then handed the little knapsack over to Sakura.
Saiai looked down, and lowered her voice. `You've all done so much for me, and I appreciate
you coming to see me every day. Especially you, Neji, because I know you're not exactly the
social type.' Neji's eyes widened slightly, but he nodded his acknowledgement. Saiai continued,
`I have one more favour to ask. I was wondering if anyone could show me a good training
ground?'
Lee's face brightened, then darkened just as quickly. `I would be happy to, but I have to meet
Gai-sensei in 10 minutes for training.' He raised his hand in farewell, twirled Sakura around once
more, then left.
`Tsk, dammit, Lee,' Sakura muttered, smoothing out the wrinkles, yet again. She then looked at
Saiai, and said, with obvious regret, `I'm sorry, I have to work until 6, and I'm meeting Hinata
after work. I can go tomorrow if you'd prefer.'
`Alright,' Saiai said, waving as Sakura left. She looked at Neji, and said, `If you have somewhere
to be, please go. I'll show myself around the town.'
`I assure you, if I had anywhere to be, I would have went by now,' Neji answered, a little more

---

cold than he had intended it to sound. Saiai was a little stung by his words, but she just brushed
them off. `However,' Neji continued, `I don't have anything to do, so if you'd like, I could show
you to the training grounds.'
Saiai perked up. `Really?' She slowly stood from her seat on the bed, steadying herself so as not
to make herself dizzy again. She slipped on a pair of hospital slippers, and followed Neji out to
the street.
The street was busy with people getting food from the vendors for supper. The sun was slowly
heading west for the night, and the sky was slowly turning a pale purple, giving the clouds a
silverish glint. They walked past several houses and shops on the way. Saiai was amazed at the
amount of people in the streets as she walked beside Neji. A couple laying on their backs on the
grass in front of a house, looking at the sky, gave Neji a lazy wave as they passed, which Neji
returned with a short nod. Saiai looked around Neji at the brown haired man in the flak jacket
and the blonde haired woman in a black dress and quad pigtails. They gave Saiai a curious
glance, but turned their heads back to sky-gazing. Saiai was curious as to how they knew Neji,
but she knew Neji wouldn't voluntarily give out information, so she put her head down, and
continued following him
Out of the corner of his eye, Neji saw Saiai's curious glance at the pair, and smiled inwardly
when she put her head down instead of asking him questions. `So she thinks I'm that anti-
social?' he thought to himself. He was slowly, very slowly, warming up to the girl, although he
wouldn't admit it out loud. She wasn't a screaming fan girl, like Sakura, but she wasn't shy, like
Hinata. She was intelligent, and she respected Neji's demeanour, which a lot of people criticized
him for. He was gaining a fair amount of respect for the girl, and he didn't know her entire story
yet. He was surprised at himself, really.
`That's Shikamaru Nara and his girlfriend, Temari,' Neji explained, earning a startled jump from
Saiai. She wasn't expecting him to say anything, but again, he surprised her by acting completely
against her assumptions. She listened as he continued: `He may not look it, but he's the most
intelligent shinobi in the Hidden Leaf Village. He can formulate a plan in the midst of battle, and
not break a sweat. Although, he'd rather lay on his back all day and stare at the clouds than fight.
His girlfriend, Temari, well, there's a completely different story. She's just as intelligent as
Shikamaru, but she'd fight any day. She's from Sunagakure, the Village Hidden in the Sand.'
Saiai nodded as she absorbed this information, but she didn't question Neji. Instead, she
continued walking beside him, taking in the sights of the Village. The came upon a ramen shop
with tables outside. A table of three people waved at Neji, and Neji waved back. The girl in the
group appeared to have the same eyes as Neji, and was with a man with red streaks on his face.
The other person was with a man almost completely hidden in a coat, save for his eyes, which
were hidden in sunglasses. Again, she felt their questioning stares.
Neji explained. `The man in the coat is Shino Aburame. Quiet, intelligent, deadly. He
manipulates bugs, and he is extremely powerful. The man with the red streaks on his cheeks is
Kiba Inuzuka. He's never seen without his dog, Akamaru. The woman with Kiba is my cousin,
Hinata Hyuuga. Her father is my uncle.' Saiai nodded, letting the info sink in.
`What about Lee and Sakura? What's their story?' Saiai asked.

---

Neji sighed, rubbing his temples. `Those two are... something else. Sakura was the apprentice of
the Hokage, and as such, became the leading medic-nin in the Village. Lee... well, he's the
Village's taijutsu master. He has no other form of jutsu to back him up, so he has specified
completely in taijutsu. He's been head over heels for Sakura since he was 13, and he's basically
never stopped talking about her since.'
Saiai was silent for a while, and Neji took her silence to mean that her questions had been
answered. `What about you? What's your story?' The voice shocked Neji back to reality.
`Me? Hmmm... I've never had anyone ask about me before. I really don't know what to tell you,'
Neji replied, honestly. No one had bothered to even try to get to know him, and he never
volunteered any information about himself, so he never gave thought as to how questions like
that should be answered. His respect for the girl raised a notch.
`We're here. The training grounds are ahead,' Neji said as he pointed to a clearing, just past a
gathering of trees. Saiai was shocked to find that she hadn't even noticed that the houses and
shops had faded into the background. They walked past the trees, into the clearing, and Saiai's
breath left her.
The clearing was a large circular area, completely surrounded by trees, and contained small
patches of trees and practice dummies. There was a small pond to their left that caught the
reddish glow of the setting sun, and projected it to the surrounding trees. The red water-reflection
that was caught in the leaves looked like a large-scale version of a kaleidoscope, dancing and
weaving with the different shades of green. The trees that were not close to the lake took on an
orangish hue. Their leaves shook and quivered with the soft breeze, and let loose a musical noise.
Saiai closed her eyes and let the small breeze toy with her hair. The sunset had never seemed so
beautiful to her. Beside her, Neji took in the sight, as well. He had never really paid much
attention to the training grounds, and only ever used them in the morning. This new way of
looking at the training grounds was a shock to him. He looked at Saiai, and the way she relished
the small breeze. `Wow, she's pretty,' he thought, then silently reprimanded himself. `Whoa,
whoa, hang on. It's just a girl, a girl you don't even know. Yes, she's pretty, but don't get your
head stuck on her.'
Saiai finished savouring the breeze, and opened her eyes. She was petrified to see that the sun
had gotten so low and she didn't notice. She turned around to tell Neji that she had to go back to
the hospital soon, when she saw him and stopped. His eyes regarded her impassively with his
own set of silver eyes, that hadn't changed. What caught her now was how the wind caught his
long silken chocolate hair and flung it playfully behind him. His long white shirt rippled in the
wind, and teased her by letting her see the lean muscle that it hid. She was awestruck by his
masculine beauty, and couldn't form the sentence she had to say.
`Ready to go back?' Neji asked, turning to head back to the Village. Saiai nodded dumbly,
inwardly grateful he was the one to speak. She followed him, head down, no longer taking in the
sights. Neji saw this new attitude in the corner of his eye, but said nothing.
They walked in comfortable silence to the hospital, Saiai pointedly staring at the ground. As they

---

arrived at the front doors, Saiai turned to Neji.
`Thank you for showing me to the training grounds, Neji, it was really nice of you,' Saiai
muttered, not looking into his face. `Are you coming tomorrow?'
Neji replied, `Yes, I'll come. 3pm, Hokage's office?'
Saiai nodded, then turned to the hospital doors, bidding Neji a goodnight. Neji raised a hand in
return, and walked off.
******
Once she got to her room, Saiai lifted her head, and let out a sigh of relief. No one had seen her
eyes, and it was a small wonder. She slipped off her hospital-issue slippers, and fell onto her bed.
She sighed, curling up in the flimsy hospital blanket. She ran over the days events in her mind,
and smiled a little. `Neji... hmmm,' she thought. `I think I may be developing a crush on Neji
Hyuuga. Oh dear, what am I getting myself into?" She giggled, but found herself disgusted as the
supposed laugh sounded rusty and unused. She shook her head, turning away from the window,
away from the moonlight, and fell asleep.
*Day 4*
Morning found Neji and Lee sparring in the training grounds again. They sparred lightly, not
really into it. Lee was too busy tossing ideas at Neji as to what the meeting in the Hokage's
offices would be like. Neji, on the other hand, was busy remembering the look of the training
grounds from the night previous. He thought about Saiai, too, and how she looked so happy with
the wind in her hair and her eyes closed, but he pushed that thought rudely away. He found
himself thinking about her more than he wanted to, and he didn't like it.
`So, what do you think Saiai wants to see the Hokage for? Think there will be a mission involved
in it?' Lee asked Neji, striking out with a kick, but not really intending to make contact.
Neji ducked the blow lazily, and responded. `I really haven't put much thought to it, Lee. If a
mission comes out of it, all the better, but I'm not exactly curious.' Although his face remained
impassive, his brain yelled at him, calling him a liar.
They sparred lazily until 2:30pm, then headed over to the Hokage's office. When they got there,
Sakura had already arrived and was chatting with the Hokage. Tsunade motioned for the to have
a seat on the couch in front of her. Sakura sat on one end, with Lee beside her, and Neji beside
Lee.
`You are here at the request of the Moonlight shinobi, Saiai. As you may already know, she has
made the five day journey from the Village Hidden in the Moonlight to ask the Leaf Village for
help. There may be a mission involved in this, so you had best be ready,' Tsunade said. There
was a knock on the door, and Tsunade bid the person to come in.
Neji heard footsteps approach, but didn't bother turning around. `Hey, guys. Thanks for coming,'
a voice that was becoming increasingly familiar drifted from behind them. Saiai stood beside the

---

couch and bowed towards the Hokage. Neji chanced a look out of the corner of his eye that
quickly turned into a full-fledged look.
Saiai had changed into her normal clothes. She had a one-piece, thigh length black dress on, with
the opening deviated to the left hip. It's collar was slightly open, which was then followed with a
series of six clasps. There were no sleeves, and the slits on the side of the dress came to
approximately mid-hip, for allowance of movement. The piping that outlined the dress was
silver. On her left thigh was a strap that held a pair of nunchakus. Her boots were thigh high, flat,
and black. To complete the outfit, she wore pair of black fingerless gloves with a steel plate on
the back. Her hair was in a high ponytail, and at the nape of her neck was a pair of matching
braids that fell to her mid-back. Her feathered bangs framed her face nicely.
`Wow...' was Neji's simple thought. He didn't realize he was staring at Saiai as she took a seat
beside him until Lee roughly elbowed him in the ribs. Neji turned to face Lee, and Lee just
looked ahead of him, slight smile on his face.
`Thank you, Lady Tsunade, for seeing me on such short notice,'Saiai said, as she sat down,
adjusting her gloves.
Tsunade waved her hand, and stared intensely at Saiai. The young girl did not falter under that
scrutinizing look; she simply sat and waited. After she was done, Tsunade folded her hands and
rested her chin upon them.
`This changes everything,' Tsunade muttered. `Young lady... Saiai, if I may. Your eyes have just
been brought to my attention, and if you are who I think you are, then I must test you.' Saiai
nodded her ascent. Tsunade stood up, and closed the curtains behind her desk. The three Leaf
shinobi wondered what tests Tsunade could possibly perform in complete darkness.
`Now, Saiai, I would like you to tell me three of the four objects on the mantlepiece below the
former Hokages,' Tsunade demanded. Saiai turned, her bare arm brushing against Neji. Neji
turned as well, trying to see the object, but not able to.
`A picture of a young blonde boy, a picture of a young man with white hair, and a picture of a
sensei and three children, presumably you and your comrades,' was the reply. The Leaf jonin
waited for the results, and were shocked when Tsunade mumbled her approval.
`Sakura, you are the farthest away from Saiai. I would like you to perform a series of hand seals,
three or four. When Saiai says them out loud, please confirm whether she is right or not,'
Tsunade said, moving behind Sakura.
Sakura made a series of three hand signs: boar, tiger, horse. Saiai announced them, and Sakura
confirmed each time that she was right. The Leaf shinobi were slowly feeling unnerved.
`Now, for the last test. If you are who I think you are, then you should be able to hide well. Neji,
activate your Byakugan, and focus on Saiai,' Tsunade demanded.
Neji nodded, then activated his Byakugan. Four sets of flowing chakra were present, as was
suspected. Tsunade grunted, and Saiai stood up. Her silver chakra flowed through her body, but

---

something was off. Her chakra was slowing down and fading out of Neji's sight. In a few
moments, Neji couldn't sense Saiai at all, even though he knew she had not moved from the spot
she had assumed.
`Impossible,' Neji hissed, although he knew damn well it had happened before.
`I assume she faded right in front of you, Neji?' Tsunade asked, moving to open the curtains. Neji
nodded, narrowing his eyes from the intruding light. All three Leaf ninja looked at Saiai as she
sat down and refused to meet their eyes.
Tsunade sat down in her chair and leaned forward. `So you -are- who I thought you were. You
may want to explain it to your new comrades.'
Saiai sighed, and looked at her hands. `I am Saiai Tsuki, shinobi of the Moonlight Village. My
father was Haruko Tsuki, former leader of the Moonlight Village. In actuality, I am the current
leader of my Village, along with my sisters Emiko and Arichi. However, my father was
assassinated by his brother, our uncle, on my 19th birthday, 10 months ago. Since that time, we
have been imprisoned by our uncle while he rules the Village.'
Neji wasn't exactly stunned by this news, but he wasn't expecting it to be so complicated. He
knew she was not an ordinary ninja by the way she carried herself, but the leader of a Village?
That, he was not expecting.
`And what about your disappearing act? -I- couldn't even sense you with my Byakugan,' Neji
asked, looking at Saiai. When he received a puzzled look, he explained: `My family's kekkei
genkai. When activated, I have a 360 degree field of vision. In addition to that, I can also see my
opponents' tenketsu. Even jutsus cannot hide tenketsu from my Byakugan, so how is it you can
hide yours? Your presence, your chakra, everything?'
`My family, too, has a kekkei genkai,' explained Saiai. `There's no special name for it, it's simply
called Moon Eyes. When activated, I can effectively hide my presence, my tenketsu, from any
enemy. If I use enough chakra, I can hide the presence of my comrades, too. It needs a physical
bond, such as a hand on a wrist, but it can be done.'
`So why are you here? Why do you need our help?' Sakura asked.
Saiai sighed. `I'll tell you the whole story, as I said I would. My father Haruko and his younger
brother Yukio were born into the Tsuki family, and were raised to become the next leaders of the
Moonlight Village. However, my grandfather was not the father of Yukio, as my grandmother
had revealed on his 5th birthday. So, in a rage, my grandfather disowned Yukio, stripping him of
any future leadership possibilities. My father, the eldest, was left as sole successor. When my
father reached his 19th birthday, he received his Moon Eyes, as is normal in my family. In
addition to that, my grandfather passed on his ability to see in the dark, and a long-standing
family jutsu. When Yukio turned 19, he received nothing. Not belonging to my grandfather, he
could not earn his Moon Eyes, and my grandfather had already given up his night vision ability
to my father. This drove Yukio insane with jealousy.'
`When my father inherited leadership after the death of my grandfather, Yukio was invited to live

---

with us. I was 5, and my sisters were 4 and 3. Yukio planned his revenge for 14 years, and acted
on my 19th birthday. That night, after I had officially received my Moon Eyes, my mother went to
say goodnight to my sisters, leaving my father and I alone. He was teaching me the family's
secret jutsu, when Yukio attacked me. It seemed he wanted a pair of Moon Eyes for his own, and
sought to surgically implant my new ones into him. I was seriously wounded, and my father
managed to get me away from Yukio. We had snuck into a bedroom, and he saw that if he didn't
do anything, I would die. So, he used the family's secret jutsu to save me. But the side effects of
the jutsu left him worse off than I was, and time was running out. Knowing if Yukio attacked, he
wouldn't survive, so he entrusted me with the night vision. My mother found us before Yukio,
and he entrusted me to her, to protect me and my sisters.'
Saiai closed her eyes, her face set with anger. `My mother, however, took me into the next room,
instead of taking me and my sisters away like she was supposed to. She ran to Yukio and told
him where my father was. So, while my uncle murdered my father in the next room, we were
forced to hear it while my mother sat there and did nothing.'
Sakura's eyes were wide. `Why would she not do anything?'
`Yukio had seduced her with honey-coated words and promises of a better life if he were to
become leader,' Saiai spat out, balling her hands into tight fists. `He had told her falsehoods and
lies, that he was the true leader of the Village, and that my father was an imposter. He never told
her that he had plans for her daughters, as well. Now that my father was out of the way, he could
complete his quest to gain the Moon Eyes without hindrance. He made the mistake of telling my
mother his entire plan before getting what he wanted. She used a sealing jutsu her family
specified in on me to seal my powers away so he wouldn't be able to get to them.'
`She thought that would have stopped him, but compared to 14 years of planning, another year
wouldn't make a huge deal. My sister Emiko is turning 19 in a little more than a month, and he's
planning to take her eyes when they turn into Moon Eyes.'
`So why could she not use the jutsu again?' Lee asked.
`My uncle has planned for that. Seeing as she can't seal an ability away that hasn't occurred yet,
she wouldn't be able to use her sealing jutsu until the night of my sister's birthday. At that time,
my mother will be sealed away in one of the mansion's cell, until his mission has been
accomplished,' Saiai explained.
`Why have you and your sisters not run away by now?' Neji asked.
`A downside to the Moon Eyes is that we are extremely susceptible to genjutsu. For the past 10
months, my uncle has kept us under a genjutsu that renders us completely under his power to
do... whatever he wants,' Saiai replied, gritting her teeth.
`Whatever he wants?' Sakura asked. When met with an insinuating stare from Saiai,
comprehension fell on the group like a ton of bricks. `Oh... ooooh, oh my gods, Saiai, I'm so
sorry,' Sakura stuttered as she buried her face into Lee's shoulder. Neji stared at Saiai, a whole
new form of respect for her building inside of him. She had endured so much in such a small
amount of time, but was still fighting for her family and Village.

---

`So why has not your mother done anything?' Lee asked, pulling Sakura tight to him.
`My mother has been kept under tight supervision. And a threat was given to her: if she should so
much as help us in any way to escape, there will be dire consequences. Not for her, for us. So, for
fear of our safety, she hasn't tried anything until last week. She released me from the genjutsu,
and formulated a plan with me to go to the nearest Village for help. I pretended to remain under
the genjutsu until I could get my uncle alone and close enough to attack him. So, during one of
his so-called `family sessions', I managed to attack and stun him. He sent some goons after me,
who wounded me quite badly, but I managed to get away, and to this Village.'
Silence fell over the group, save for some sniffling from Sakura. Some silent tears fell from
Saiai, but she became angry with herself and shook them away.
Tsunade had not spoken the entire time. She inhaled a deep breath, and let it out before speaking.
`So, you are here to ask this Village's help to overthrow your current leader?' A nod from Saiai,
and Tsunade closed her eyes. `You have your mission. Your teammates will consist of yourself
and the three shinobi beside you. I suggest you travel in teams of two, one team trailing behind
by one day. That way, should the first team be captured, the second will be able to rescue them or
to give them first aid if need be. Saiai will be on the first team, and Sakura the second, for
reasons I feel are obvious. The men need to decide who goes with who.'
Neji and Lee looked at each other, and knew instinctively who would be on the first team. `I will
be on the first team,' Neji said. `My Byakugan will help give us an advantage. Lee is better at
retrieval than I am.'
Tsunade nodded. `Then it is agreed. You have a month to train, and five days to return to the
Moonlight Village. The infiltration and assassination mission will occur on the night Emiko
Tsuki's 19th birthday.'
Saiai's face lit up in a full-fledged smile. Neji couldn't help but smile, as well. He had never seen
her smile before, except for the small ones she gave when she was amused. A sudden thought
popped into his head. `Saiai, last night, when I showed you where the training grounds were,'
Neji asked, disregarding his teammates unbelieving stares, `you refused to raise your head after
the moon rose. Is there a reason?'
Saiai's silver sandstorms widened, then she blushed. `I was hoping you wouldn't have noticed.
As you have noticed, my eyes are a little strange, in that the irises are not stationary. This is the
sign of my family's kekkei genkai. My eyes were grey before my Moon Eyes developed. In the
moonlight, my eyes sparkle and appear to swirl a little slower. My father said they give off the
impression of a diamond sandstorm. To give you two more examples, my sister Emiko's eyes are
currently the colour of a sapphire, so when she gets her Moon Eyes, they'll turn into sandstorms
of sapphires. Same with my baby sister Arichi, except her eyes are the colour of emeralds. In
essence, I couldn't look at you, Neji, because it would've drawn attention, had anyone seen me.'
Neji nodded to show he understood. He could relate. His own silver eyes were a bit of an oddity,
but he couldn't hide his.

---

Sakura spoke up. `You said that the jutsu your father used had side effects. What of them? They
must've been horrible if they left him in that sort of state.'
Saiai nodded. `Our family's secret jutsu is the `Sacrifice Rejuvenation' jutsu. It's a very powerful
medical jutsu that essentially trades the life forces of the two involved. The chakra is forcefully
drained from the body, causing massive damage to the user, in order to fully heal the receiver.
Then, after the jutsu is finished, it leaves just enough chakra in the user's body to live, provided
that nothing bad happens to them. In my father's case, he was forced to defend me, so there was
no way he could live.'
Saiai continued. `There is also a condition that must be met in order to perform the jutsu. Not
anyone can perform it.'
`What is it?' Sakura asked.
`As cheesy as it may seem,' Saiai replied, `love. That's what sacrifice entails. That's someone
loves someone else enough so that they would give up anything they have to save them. It
doesn't have to be family love. It could be a love between friends or a man and a woman, should
their love be great enough.'
There was silence after the explanation. Saiai stood up, and bowed to the Hokage, then turned
and bowed to her new teammates. She then walked to the door, and repeated her thanks.
Lee scratched the back of his head. `Jeez, you are making us out to be heroes.'
`Oh, to my sisters and I, you are,' Saiai said, as she waved and left.
After the door was closed, Tsunade spoke to the three jonin in front of her. `This is a very special
mission that could affect the fate of an entire Village, or more. Those Moon Eyes must not fall
into the wrong hands. Understood?'
The three jonin nodded their understanding. The sun was slowly setting, and they rose to take
their leave. Sakura froze. `Hey, wait a minute. Where's Saiai staying?'
The three jonin looked at Tsunade, who groaned and wiped a hand over her face. `Saiai was
released from the hospital today, so I have no idea where. You may want to find her before
sundown.'
Neji jumped over the rooftops, looking for any sign of Saiai. He, Sakura, and Lee had split up
after leaving the Hokage's office, and planned to meet each other on the Hokage mountain's
platform after they had finished searching their sections. Neji found himself in the middle of the
`party' district, where bars and clubs were dominant, and drunks ran rampant. He was hoping
that Saiai wouldn't have wandered this far to look for a place to stay, but his gut told him that she
probably did.
He was searching the sleazier part of this district when he saw a familiar figure. Saiai was
wandering in the middle of the street, looking from sign to sign, choosing wisely to keep

---

moving. She was in a massive crowd of people, so Neji wisely decided to not jump into the
crowd to catch her. He slowly followed her progress to the end of the street, where three drunks,
all huge, attempted to engage her in conversation. She ignored them and walked faster, out of the
district. Neji smirked, silently complimenting her on her wise choice.
As she walked further away from the crowds, Neji noticed apprehensively that the three drunks
had decided to follow her. She walked faster, ignoring them. She turned down a dead end, and
turned to face the three men who had followed her.
Neji was about to jump in and stop it before anything could get out of hand, but a little voice,
which had become increasingly more forward, told him to stay and watch what she could do. So
he perched on a rooftop, watching and waiting.
*****
As soon as she walked into the dead-end, she knew she was in for a fight. She twirled and faced
her assailants. They were all taller than her, but the tallest was huge and muscular. He was in
front of the other two, and appeared to be the leader.
`Hey, lady, dincha hear us callin' ya? We jus' wanted to talk to ya,' the head drunk slurred,
weaving and reeling towards her. The two behind him didn't seem as drunk as he was, and
Saiai's hopes of winning fell a little. If they were more clear-headed than he was, then they could
fight better. She hoped that they were weaker than he was, and took her fighting stance. It was a
typical fighting stance, left arm in front of the body, right arm slightly lower and behind, and legs
apart. Instead of curling her hands into fists, however, she opted to keep her fingers straight and
pointed. For blows to the face, she curled her hands into fists, but for the stomach and chest
region, she opted for open-handed blows, as they affected the opponent more. Her fingers had
become accustomed to this style of fighting, and had highly developed muscles for lunging and
palming.
`Oh, the li'l girlie wans'a fight, huh?' the head drunk mumbled, looking at his comrades for back
up. When he saw that they were behind him one hundred percent, he motioned for the shortest to
attack first.
****
Neji watched calmly as the first of the attackers attempted to land a blow on Saiai. He was a little
taken aback when he saw she didn't use fists, but immediately saw what her pointed hands were
for. Her fingers were used to drive into the opponent's abdomen and cause serious pain. This
slowed their speed and caused their brain to fog over with agony. She only fisted her hands when
striking the face.
As the first drunk swung at her, she ducked gracefully away from the punch, and came under to
strike a blow to his stomach. The drunk `oof'ed and was driven backwards by a kick to the side
of the head. He faltered, shook his head, then charged at Saiai. She side-stepped him with no
troubles, brought her foot to his shin, and palmed him in the back of the head. He face-planted
onto the ground, and remained motionless.
Neji watched the battle, but kept his attention focussed on the girl. She moved with little effort,
and appeared to be dancing. She was graceful and quick. Not as fast as Lee, but definitely more

---

accurate. He watched as she back-flip kicked the second tallest into the leader. The leader caught
the tallest and threw him aside. His anger was rising, and it was his turn to take a swing at his
target.
He swung, kicked, and threw his body at Saiai, but none of the attempts connected. She danced
out of his reaches every time, and waited for her moment. Neji recognized it as he soon as he had
threw himself a little off balance when he overthrew a punch. She side-stepped, and landed a
flurry of blows to his back He stumbled and turned around in an attempt to protect himself, but
she kept in step with him and started in on his stomach and chest. Eventually she had him pinned
up against a wall, wailing him with her fingers until he simply collapsed. She looked at the two
men sprawled in front of her, then turned walked over to her knapsack. She dusted herself off as
she stood up, and Neji flinched when the big guy managed to sneak up behind her when she was
kneeling and catch her off guard with a powerful right hook. Neji sighed, reminding himself to
tell her to watch out for that later on, and jumped down from his perch.
He walked over to her unconcious body, not minding the three men gathering around her. He
picked the smallest one roughly by the back of the shirt and hurled him into a wall. He bent
down to rearrange her form, so picking her up would be easier.
`Who're you?' demanded the drunk. The second of the group ran over to his unconcious friend,
so he was left alone. `You her boyfriend or sumpin?'
`No, I'm her... teammate.' `Friend' almost came out, but he refrained himself. He admitted
inwardly he felt protective over her now that he knew her whole story, but he still knew virtually
nothing about her. He leaned over, shouldered her backpack, then cradled her in his arms and
stood up. A blinding pain shot through his left shoulder, and he narrowed his eyes at the man,
Byakugan almost activating itself. While he was preoccupied with rearranging Saiai, the man
pulled out a knife. He renewed his grip on Saiai as he backed up to pull the knife out of his
shoulder.
`I don' like people innerfering wif my play-time,' the drunk slurred, weaving and pointing the
knife at Neji.
A haze of anger and rage washed over Neji, and his foot lashed out, connecting the man
underneath the chin, and breaking his teeth on his tongue. Blood and fragments of teeth flooded
from the man's mouth as he dropped his knife and held his mouth. Neji saw the second man rush
his side, and he turned his head to the man. The man stopped in his tracks, obviously frightened
out of his mind by the man with the odd eyes.
`And I don't like people hurting my friends,' Neji growled. He planted another kick to the side of
the leader's head, sending him hurtling into the wall. `You would do well not to bother this girl
again, or you may lose something more precious than your teeth.'
He turned and jumped onto the rooves, heading for the Hokage's platform to meet up with Lee
and Sakura. It was slow going, considering he had a knapsack on his right shoulder, an
unconcious girl in his arms, and an injured left shoulder. The blood flowing out of his wound
irritated him to no extent, but he would have to wait until he saw Sakura to do anything about it.

---

He continued jumping from rooftop to rooftop, enjoying the night breeze, when he felt a hand on
his left shoulder. He almost stopped, but he looked down and saw Saiai with her hand on his
shoulder. She smiled tiredly up at him, her silver eyes slightly unfocused.
He was about to ask her what she was doing, but she closed her eyes and frowned very slightly.
`Don't ask,' she whispered. `It won't take long.' He was confused, and more than shocked when
he felt his shoulder warming up. He looked over, and was surprised to see her hand glowing. He
felt the blood from his shoulder slowing, then stopping. It was slightly itchy, but nothing he
couldn't tolerate.
`So you're a medic-nin, as well,' Neji said. She nodded her head, then leaned her head against his
chest. `Out again,' Neji thought. He mentally kicked himself for not moving his head. He wanted
to see her eyes, but she was out again, and he wasn't about to pry them open to see. He'd just
have to wait.
*** *
`You have found her, Neji. Thank goodness,' Lee stated as Neji arrived on the Hokage's
platform. Neji laid her on a bench, and Sakura looked her over.
`She has a bruised chin, but is otherwise fine,' Sakura announced, making a move to check Neji's
shoulder. He shook his head, and explained to them what she had did.
`Hmmm... Well, she did say something about her father passing on a family jutsu,' Sakura said
pensively.
`Yes, but that jutsu also left him broken and bloody. That wasn't it,' Neji explained. `She has
extensive medical jutsu training, and I think it may come from her mother.'
`Well, what happened out there?' Lee asked. Neji explained the entire ordeal, starting from
seeing her in the shady side of town to her fight to the drunk stabbing him in the shoulder to his
arrival.
`So she -can- fight,' Lee said. `We will have to begin training together tomorrow if we want to
have you two in fighting condition for the infiltration.'
Neji nodded. The three were quiet for a while, gathered around the unconcious girl. Sakura broke
the silence: `Where will she be staying? We never actually asked the Hokage.'
`Well, I guess she can stay at my house,' Neji said. He chose to ignore the surprised glances from
Lee and Sakura. `I have more than enough room, and it's another way to acquaint myself with
my new teammate.' Although they were still shocked, they couldn't argue with his logic. The
Hyuuga estate was huge, and one more person in it would not make a huge difference. They
nodded a good night to Neji and disappeared into the night. Neji stood where he was for a few
moments more, then picked Saiai up and headed for his house.
Once he arrived at his front door, he struggled with the door knob, trying not to drop Saiai. The
door opened as his hand touched it, and Hiashi Hyuuga was standing in the doorway. He looked
from his nephew to the girl in Neji's arms. He raised an eyebrow, but turned around and led the

---

way to Neji's room. He opened the door for his nephew and stood out of the way while he laid
the young girl on his bed.
`Love conquest gone horribly awry?' Hiashi asked with a hint of humour in his voice. Neji shot
him a glare that would've turned most people into puddles of cowardice, but Hiashi just stood in
the doorway, silver eyes meeting silver eyes, slight smirk on his otherwise unreadable visage.
`She's my new teammate,' Neji replied. He then relayed the last four days to his uncle in short
form, while his uncle nodded. After the blonde idiot beat him in the chuunin exams, Neji become
much closer with Hiashi, Hanabi, and Hinata. They had welcomed him into their family with
open arms, and he, for one, enjoyed it immensely.
`So she needs a place to stay for the next month?' Hiashi asked after the entire story was relayed
and explained. Neji nodded, and Hiashi turned. `She can stay here as long as she needs. It's not
everyday you bring a teammate home.'
Hiashi closed the door and left Neji alone. He stripped off his bloody shirt and walked into the
bathroom to clean up. Afer he was finished with his shower, he walked back into his bedroom.
The girl was still out, but she was showing signs of life. He silently cursed himself for not
putting her in another bedroom so he could have his bed. He buttoned his pyjama shirt, debating
carrying her to the spare bedroom. He decided against it and turned to leave.
`Please, don't go,' a small voice wafted to his ears behind him. He turned to the girl on his bed.
She had turned her head towards him, away from the window, away from the moonlight. `Please,
I don't want to be alone. I keep having these nightmares about my uncle torturing my sisters, and
I can't sleep. Besides, my sisters and I share a smaller bed. You won't even know I'm here.' She
could see his face working up an excuse, but couldn't find one. She was relieved when he turned
back towards the bed.
`Ummm... I hate to be a complete bother, but is there any chance of me borrowing some pyjamas
for the night? I'd like to take a shower, and I'd rather not change back into my clothes' she asked
timidly. He pointed towards the shelves, and she blushed, but rummaged to find a pair of
pyjamas.
As she closed the door, Neji turned the day's events over in his mind. He had received a mission,
and rescued his new teammate for a second time. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was
beginning to think of her as a friend. `Anyone I'm willing to get stabbed for is a friend,' he
reasoned. He knew their relationship was moving at an alarming rate, but he couldn't help it. He
tried to keep his emotions under control, but he felt so damned protective over her. She'd been
through so much, and she was going back to the hell hole to save her sisters and Village.
Determination and courage like that cannot go unnoticed. He was snapped out of his thoughts by
the door opening.
Saiai walked out, hair damp, clothes and boots in one hand, other hand scrunching up the pyjama
pants she was attempting to wear. They were much too big for her. Neji watched impassively as
she walked over to where he dropped her bag, fighting constantly to keep her pants up. He was
desperately trying to hold laughter back as she tried different ways to keep the pants up. It failed
when he pants fell to her ankles. He laughed quietly, hand over mouth. Saiai glared playfully at

---

him.
`You know what? I give up. The shirt goes to my knees anyway,' Saiai said, abandoning the
pants in the corner and slipping under the covers. It was the most comfortable she had ever slept
in. She cuddled with the blankets as she turned to the window. She still heard Neji chuckling
behind her, so she threw a punch to his shoulder. `Oh, grow up.'
They were silent, and Neji was almost asleep when he heard Saiai speak again. `Thanks, Neji...
for everything. I really appreciate it. You're a really nice guy, and I'm glad we met.'
He was shocked by these words, but muttered a `no problem'. He waited, and heard her softly
snoring minutes later. He smiled softly, and felt himself slip towards sleep. `She's right, I don't
notice her,' was his final thoughts before sleep overtook him.
Saiai woke up with the sunrise the next morning. It was her first day of training with the Leaf
ninja, and she was a little nervous. She knew they were going to be sensational, and she had
never had any proper academy training.
She got dressed quickly and brushed her teeth before hurrying out of the bedroom. She paused
momentarily to look at the sleeping form of Neji. She was definitely falling for him, and as much
as she tried to avoid it, she couldn't. He had saved her twice, and had taken it upon himself to
train her for the upcoming mission. She knew he wasn't a very social person, that it was hard on
him, and this only made her admire him more. She gazed at his handsome, sleeping face for a
moment longer, then slipped out the door.
She was almost to the front door when she felt an overwhelming presence behind her. She
stiffened, and turned. She was faced with an older version of Neji, and thought that it might be
his father.
`I assume you are Saiai, Neji's teammate?' the older Hyuuga asked. She nodded, and he
continued. `I am Hiashi Hyuuga, Neji's uncle. It's a pleasure to meet you.'
`I am Saiai Tsuki of the Village Hidden in the Moonlight. I apologize for any inconvenience I've
caused you,' Saiai said as she bowed.
`Oh, no worries, dear child, you are more than welcome to stay here as long as you need. I'm
sure Neji will enjoy it, too,' Hiashi said as he waved a dismissive hand. `Out for a bit of early
morning training?'
She nodded. Hiashi reached forward to open the door for her. She smiled to him, then walked out
the door. She marvelled at the hospitality everyone was showing her, then set off for the training
grounds.
****
Neji woke up after sunrise. He stretched a long, wonderful stretch, then got up and did his
morning routine. He walked out of his bathroom, putting his head protector on, and noticed that
Saiai wasn't in the bed. `Must've gotten up for early morning training,' he thought, shrugging his

---

shoulders and walking to the kitchen.
`Good morning, Neji,' Hiashi greeted him as he sat down. Neji nodded his head in greeting, then
fell to his breakfast.
`Would you happen to know where Saiai went so early?' Neji asked as he finished his breakfast.
`She went to the training grounds early,' replied Hiashi. `I assume you're going to orientate her
to fighting today?'
Neji shook his head. ` I don't think that will be necessary. The way she fought last night is proof
enough. Besides, she said she was one of few Moonlight shinobi, and I see no reason to doubt
her.'
Hiashi nodded. `Well, Lee's at the front door, so you had best get going. I'll see you around
supper?' Neji nodded, and waved as he walked to the front door.
Lee looked shocked as Neji opened the door before he knocked. `My uncle knew you were here,'
Neji said as he walked past Lee and headed towards the training grounds.
`So, what is the plan for today? What kind of training are we going to have Saiai do?' Lee asked.
Neji thought. `Well, I have seen her fight before, but that doesn't mean I've seen everything she
can do. I was thinking of testing her by having her fight us.'
Lee nodded his agreement, and the two were silent until they reached the training grounds. When
they reached it, they found that they were the only two there. They walked to their normal spot,
under the largest tree in the grounds.
`Strange,' Neji muttered, looking for Saiai. `My uncle said that she had headed to the training
grounds a while ago. She should've been here by now.'
`Maybe she decided to go exploring the town before training?' Lee suggested. Neji nodded, still
a little worried, but started sparring with Lee anyway.
About a half an hour into the sparring, Neji started to slow. `What's wrong?' Lee asked.
`She should've been here by now. I think we should go looking for her,' Neji said. Lee nodded,
and they started walking from their spot under the tree. They were about 5 steps away when they
heard someone drop from behind them. They whirled to fight, and came face-to-face with Saiai.
`Good morning, guys. I was waiting for you guys to find me, but I guess I hid a little well.' She
said, walking towards them. She added in a conspiratorial whisper, `By the way, I think it's a
great idea to have a test fight against you guys.'
Lee stood there, mouth completely open, while Neji asked Saiai, `Have you been following us
since my house?'

---

She nodded, fixing her gloves unconsciously. `How did you hide from us?' Lee asked. She
pointed to her silver eyes, and Lee remembered. `Ah, yes. Sorry.'
`No worries. Why don't you two fight first so I can see what you guys can do?' Saiai suggested.
Neji and Lee nodded, and Saiai went to sit under the tree. The two men faced each other,
standing in their respective fighting stances.
Saiai watched them fight for a half hour. Lee was much quicker than Neji in speed, but Neji
seemed to anticipate and plan for Lee's moves, and therefore effectively defended or evaded
Lee's attacks. Lee's attacks seemed aimed at brute strength and speed, whereas Neji's seemed to
have a deeper target.
`Lee, I'm going to switch with Saiai, now,' Neji said, standing away from Lee. He motioned for
Saiai to take his spot, and he sat down in the shade of the tree.
Saiai assumed her fighting stance, hands flat and straight. `What kind of stance is that?' Lee
taunted, smile filling his face in mirth.
`I can ask you the same thing, Lee, so don't get cocky,' Saiai retorted, grinning. They ran at each
other, legs and arms lashing out to strike at the other. Neither managed to connect for some time,
until Lee hit Saiai in the jaw. She rolled with the punch, muting the blow a little, and attacked
Lee's exposed torso with her fingers. After a few blows, Lee jumped backwards, distancing
himself a little.
`You know, that really hurts,' Lee said, slightly pouting as he rubbed his stomach.
Saiai rolled her eyes and sighed in mock exasperation. `It's supposed to, that's the effect of my
style.' She rushed at Lee again, aiming for his stomach. He jumped away, and kicked for her
head. He grinned to himself as she dropped to the ground. His plan had worked. He anticipated
she would drop, so he could barrage her with drop-kicks.
He only managed to get one kick down, when Saiai rolled once, then dug her feet into the ground
and lunged at Lee. Lee let an unmanly `eep!' out as he tumbled backwards. Before he fell on his
back, Saiai flipped forward and off of Lee. He fell, legs and arms splayed, and stared at the sky.
He heard a rustling noise from above his head, and soon Saiai invaded his sight.
`Did I do well?' Saiai asked, completely devoid of any smirk as she stared down at Lee on her
hands and knees. Lee stared incredulously up at Saiai and nodded his head, smiling. They turned
their heads towards the direction of the large tree when they heard a strange musical sound. They
were both shocked and amused to see the source of the sound was Neji. He was laughing. Lee
had never heard Neji laugh before; the closest he ever came to seeing the man laugh was the odd
smile that would leak through his impassive visage. Lee's heart warmed over knowing that it
wasn't him that made Neji laugh.
`Wow, Lee, that was hilarious,' Neji said, still chuckling when he reached the two. Saiai helped
Lee up from the ground, and Lee rubbed his rump, a sore look on his face. Lee wandered over to
the tree where Neji had sat, and took his seat.

---

The two new opponents faced each, willing the other to move first. Thinking the other wouldn't
move, they both moved first, at the same time, striking out with powerful strikes and well aimed
kicks. They ducked and leaned, kicked and lunged, each move well timed and graceful. They
moved as if they were dancing, hair twirling and silver eyes flashing.
Lee looked on from his spot under the tree. Saiai and Neji sparred for quite a while, dodging and
lashing out at each other. Saiai wasn't as powerful as Lee, but she was persistent in her attacks,
and that counted for as much as sheer strength. Lee noticed that instead of attacking outright, she
waited until she could get a clear strike to her opponent, then continued with it. It would have
worked for her, but Neji left no chances for her to attack. Instead, Neji took the advantage of
attacking, and put Saiai on the defensive. After five minutes, Neji let his guard lip and over-
extended a strike, and left his right side open.
Saiai kicked with her left foot and followed with a lunge from her right hand. This caused Neji to
step backwards, right side, then left. His chocolate coloured hair shone in the sunlight, and
danced its way up his back like a long snake. He twirled then, his hair encircling him like a
silken shield, his well-defined features like a beautiful statue of a long-lost hero. Saiai was so
caught up in this beautiful picture that she faltered in her attack for a moment.
Neji noticed that Saiai had frozen for a fraction of a second, and he tried to stop his attack, but
the momentum of his palm kept his arm going. His palm connected with her chin, and she was
driven backwards, where she staggered and fell to her knees. He stood, dumbfounded, wondering
why she had faltered like that. She had her hand to her jaw, holding it and moving it around to
make sure nothing was damaged. When she was satisfied with her inspection, she looked up at
Neji and smiled her small smile, with a hint of mischievousness.
`Round one goes to you, Neji. Up for another?' Saiai taunted, wiping a hand over her bleeding
lip. Neji stared for a moment longer, then smirked. He stood in his stance again, and taunted
Saiai to attack first.
****
It was nearing 4pm, and Neji and Lee were having one last spar before they left. It wasn't as
energetic as it was that morning, and they were slowly tiring. Saiai was sitting underneath the
tree, sweating and panting. She had never had a workout like that in her life, and she was already
feeling her muscles tense up. Along with the pain beginning throughout her body, her stomach
had begun to rumble. She tried to hide it, but the guys had heard.
`I think it's time to call it a day,' Neji said, walking over to the tree. He extended a hand to Saiai,
and helped her to her feet. Lee joined the two under the tree, well aware that Neji, although
brought up with good manners, was not the type of guy to go around opening doors, pulling out
chairs, or helping girls to their feet.
`Hey, you guys. Sakura and I are going out for supper. You should accompany us, as a
celebratory meal for receiving the mission and gaining a teammate,' Lee offered.
Neji looked at Saiai, who shrugged. `Why not?' Neji replied. `It's not like we had anything better
to do.'

---

`Then it is decided! We will go to the Ichiraku Ramen shop to meet Sakura now,' Lee gushed,
turning and practically skipping off in the direction of the ramen shop. Neji shook his head and
walked off after him.
Neji and Saiai walked in silence until Neji felt he had to clear something up. `Now that you're
my newest teammate, I feel the need to warn you; I'm not a social person, and I'd rather spend
the day training than going out to supper with friends.'
Saiai nodded, and replied, `Now that I'm your newest teammate, I feel the need to warn you.
Neither am I, but I'm hungry, and Lee's paying, so I'm going to grin and bear it.' Neji was
startled into a chuckle at this. He felt his proverbial wall crumbling when he was around her, and
he found he didn't really want to stop it. Her eyes still held his curiosity, and he felt an
overwhelming need to protect her, although he knew she could very well take care of herself. He
found himself thinking that maybe, just maybe, he was gaining feelings for the girl. He decided
that he was just going to let the events play out, and see how everything ended up. They walked
in silence the rest of the way until they arrived at the ramen shop.
****
`Sakura! My beautiful flower! Did we keep you waiting?' Lee asked when they finally arrived at
the Ichiraku Ramen shop. `I have brought Saiai and Neji, as well.'
`That's fine,' Sakura said, greeting Neji and Saiai as she took her seat. They took their seats, and
ordered. They held idle chit-chat until their food came. Lee immediately plunged into his bowl,
while Neji and Sakura ate with a little more dignity. Saiai, however, stared at her bowl. It was
huge! She had never seen a bowl of ramen that huge. She was used to the meagre bowls that her
uncle made the servants give them. She saddened then, thinking how she was enjoying herself
with her newfound friends while they were suffering at the hands of her maniacal uncle. She
made a resolve, then and there, to bring her sisters to this shop and have dinner with them and
her friends. She relaxed then, and began eating.
After they were finished eating, the foursome parted company for the night, to meet early
tomorrow in the training grounds. The moon was out, and Saiai had her head down as they
walked towards the Hyuuga estate. Again, Neji's curiosity raged, and he held himself back from
forcing her head up. `In due time, she'll show me,' he reasoned, as he arrived at the front door.
Saiai fell in behind him as he opened the door.
As soon as the door was closed, he turned and was very nearly knocked over by a small, flying
body, had it not been for Saiai's hands keeping him up. He looked down to see the assaulting
body, and was greeted by a pair of silver eyes to match his own. He smiled, rolling his eyes.
`Hello, Hanabi.'
`Hello, Neji! Who's that behind you?' Hanabi asked, looking around Neji broad chest. He move
and introduced the two girls to each other. Hanabi's smiled melted away, and she bowed to the
older girl in a display of her most perfect manners. Saiai suppressed a smile as she bowed back.
She was caught off guard when the little girl erupted into a bright smile, grabbed her hand, then
dragged her past Neji and into the kitchen.

---

`Daddy! Hinata! We have a visitor!' Hanabi squealed as she zipped into the kitchen, nearly
pulling Saiai into a chair.
`Yes, Hanabi, that would be Neji's new teammate, Saiai,' Hiashi said kindly. He motioned for
Saiai to have a seat, and Saiai took it gratefully. Neji sat down beside Saiai, smirking, as she
rubbed her wrist.
`Aw, Dad, you suck the fun out of everything,' Hanabi pouted as she plopped into a chair across
from Saiai, beside Hinata.
`So, Saiai, Neji, you two are teammates now? Why don't you fill us in on the mission?' Hiashi
asked. Neji looked at Saiai, his eyes telling her she didn't have to, but she shook her head. She
told them the whole story, leaving out the tortures her uncle submitted her and her sisters to. She
spoke for quite a while. Hiashi and Hinata listened, but Hanabi asked question upon question.
She answered every question thrown at her, but completely sputtered hen Hanabi asked what her
uncle did that was so bad. Her face flushed redder than a fresh apple, and her mouth worked
silently as she tried to come up with an answer that wouldn't scar the poor child.
Hiashi jumped in the conversation and saved Saiai. `Isn't it time you should be getting to bed,
Hanabi? You have your first training session with Kakashi-sensei tomorrow, and he likes to be on
time.'
Hanabi started to complain, but Hinata overrode her comment. `Come on, Hanabi, I have a
mission tomorrow, and I'd like to go to sleep without you coming in and talking wildly about
what you heard. You can ask her later.' Neji marvelled at Hinata's new assertiveness. She finally
managed to get over the blonde idiot, and she found a good guy in Kiba.
After the two left, Hiashi stood and took his leave, as well, bidding them a good night. As soon
as Hiashi left, Saiai let loose an enormous yawn, accompanied by muscle-stretching, smile
inducing stretch. `I'm assuming you're tired?' Neji asked, smirking. Saiai nodded, smiling
tiredly. `Take your shower first.' Saiai nodded, not complaining, and plodded off to the bedroom.
As she stepped in to the hot shower, Saiai mused over her predicament. She was well on her way
to falling head over heels for Neji, and she wasn't even thinking about stopping herself. It had
only been less than a week, but she felt close to Neji. She wished that they could have met under
different circumstances. She dried herself off, put on the nightshirt Neji had given her (Hinata
had offered her something of her own, but truth be told, it was really comfortable), and walked
into the bedroom.
Neji was leaning on his window sill, looking out at the moon. She longed to look at the moon,
the beauty of the night sky, but that would mean revealing the truth of her night eyes, and she
wasn't quite ready yet.
`Finished?' Neji asked, looking over his shoulder. Saiai nodded, plopping herself on her side of
the bed. Neji nodded, and made his way to the bathroom. Saiai busied herself in putting her hair
in its normal arrangement, when she felt sleep overpower her. She gave up the fight, resigning
herself to putting her hair in a ponytail, then gave in to sleep.

---

****
Neji came out of the bathroom, refreshed and pleasantly tired. He saw Saiai sleeping on top of
the blankets, and he inwardly smirked. `Too tired to even get under the blankets,' he thought,
walking over to his cupboard, and grabbing an extra blanket. He threw it over her without a
thought, then walked over to his side of the bed. Crawling into the inviting sheets, he took off his
headband and drifted off to sleep, completely unaware of the huge smile that had plastered itself
on Saiai's face as she snuggled with the blanket.

---