Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ When Heavens Fall upon the Night ❯ Reverie ( Prologue )

When Heavens Fall Upon the Night

 

A/N:

Finally, here is the reworked version of my first prologue. I gave more details to it, and in the process made it longer. I hope it's not too boring, though. This is the first thing that readers see so I wanted it to be more interesting.

 

This is my first fanfic, and I'm pretty determined to make it a Neji x Sasuke shonen-ai story. I'm not used to writing long stories, because I'm more of a poet, so please bear with me if it takes me a long time to update…

This is a first-person story, voiced by Hyuuga Neji or Uchiha Sasuke, for I want to develop their characters. I especially aim to develop Neji's personality, which is underrated in the TV series.

My knowledge is based on the anime TV series. So, if you know something from the manga that doesn't fit here, treat it as if my story is an alternate version. I mean, I'm creating my own story, but using characters and lingos that you're already familiar with. That's what a fanfiction is all about, ne?

 

I don't own Naruto. Worship its creator, Masashi Kishimoto.

 

In this prologue, I hope to develop Hyuuga Neji's character, having been reformed after the 1st chuunin exams, and I wanted to establish the setting for the story, as well as give a background for it. No Shonen-Ai for now.

 

 

Prologue - Reverie

 

“Okay! That's enough!” Gai-sensei shouted, stopping Sasuke in his tracks. He was about to hit my abdomen. My hands, on the other hand, were about to block his punch and disable his arm movement at the same time. Had Gai-sensei come any sooner, I would have had the raven-haired boy in my clutches. Sasuke had eliminated his momentum, but in the process he was just inches away from me. For an instant, his crimson eyes were locked upon my distant faded ones. You could almost see a sigh of relief and satisfaction. Our training for today was finally over.

 

“That is all for now. You can take the rest of the weekend for your break. We shall meet again with Team 7 on Monday for more training and sparring. Enjoy your youth! It is the springtime of your power!”

 

Gai-sensei was at it again. He was smiling and crying in joy, and his weirdly white teeth were shimmering and almost blinding my vision. His hand gave a thumbs-up sign as he did the ultimate assuring yet inept sign of enthusiasm: the nice guy pose. The palm of my right hand hit my forehead in bitter shame as another speech of useless über-emotional clichés went into one of my ears and out the other. He would do an over-passionate wink of his eye and some rivers of tears would form as he talked about his highly stylized yet highly pathetic springtime of youth theory.

 

Not minding the green beast and his faithful over-enthusiastic student, Lee, I drank some water from the canister I had brought that day. Sparring with the Uchiha was an exhausting and challenging workout. For today however, we ended with a draw, like we always did.

 

As much as Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei are rivals, so were the teams that they supervised. Yes, it seems that as long as both senseis have an unequalled rivalry between them, I, Tenten and Lee would have to train together with that Uchiha bastard, the dobe Naruto and the unfailingly dependent Sakura.

 

But do not underestimate them, no matter how hard I insult them. Those three learn fast and could very well overtake my group's standards if we weren't competitive enough. I have to admit, we underestimated them in our initial sparrings, and they proved to be more than we thought of them. For example, I, Tenten and Lee were bedridden for three days after the first taijutsu training. We slacked off during that time and we shouldn't have let our guard down.

 

But I guess Team 7 has a lot of surprises yet to be discovered. Eversince the Chuunin exams I have come to respect the trio. Uchiha Sasuke - although a lot is expected from the Uchiha heir and survivor, he has always exceeded those expectations. Not to mention, he even has more fangirls than I have. As for Uzumaki Naruto, well it is said that the loudest barker is the weakest, but once Naruto gets serious his attacks are unending and unfaltering. Last but not least, Haruno Sakura has become quite independent and confident in her abilities. She has become a superior medic-nin under Godaime Hokage's tutelage and has also pursued the study of genjutsu. The team is well balanced - Sakura has genjutsu to initially confuse the enemies, and Sasuke and Naruto have enough firepower to change the landscape before the next dawn. Adding to that is Sakura's chakra healing, which they say is an adolescent equivalent of Tsunade-hime's talents. They have really grown-up.

 

But I wouldn't give up without a fight as well. I have learned more odds and ends to the Hyuuga bloodline techniques, heralding my reputation as the genius of the Hyuuga clan. I have developed hijutsu techniques that even Hiashi-ojisan can't use. He still trains me though, and I am indebted to him and Hinata-sama for their hospitality. Our relationships have changed since the Chuunin exams, and they seem to be more like a foster father and sister to me. I was also requested by Tsunade-hime to take up medical jutsu, since Byakugan is very effective in diagnosing wounds and illnesses. I have learned a few, but it is slightly disappointing to admit that I am not as talented in chakra healing as Sakura. I hope that Hinata-sama, who was also asked by Godaime, to make up for me in that department.

 

Tenten and Lee have improved greatly as well. Tenten has increased her weapons proficiency tenfold, and has learned to infuse chakra within her weapons to make them stronger, sharper, or make them almost invisible. She has also learned a lot of ranged ninjutsu. Lee, on the other hand, still sticks to his taijutsu, but his speed has more than doubled even with those weights on. Tactically, our team is more of the hunt-and-kill type. I usually utilize Byakugan to find the enemy. Tenten then uses her expertise in ranged combat to kill the enemy or corner them for Lee and me to dispose of.

 

“Daijoubu desu ka, Neji-kun?” Tenten, pissed from hearing Gai-sensei's obscene advices and Lee's spunky nods and uproars, came up to me to take the time out from the mania the two green-spandex-clothed thick eyebrow dorks have started. I still notice that she still has some sort of crush on me, although I try to be as cold as always. We're teammates, for God's sake! I have no plans of falling in love with a teammate… Not even Lee-kun. No… Lee-kun is definitely not an option… I have my doubts about spandex and lycra fetish.

Wait… Why the hell am I thinking about Lee-kun? He's a guy!!!

 

Tenten had learned to understand to my usual nod. She knows that I intend to say that I'm okay but I'm thinking about something so she should just remain quiet. The projectile weapons specialist was obviously tired. She and Sakura had been training all day. Tenten was training against Genjutsu attacks, and Sakura was training against ranged attacks. Tenten had difficulty preempting Sakura's illusions, which were somehow undetectable since they were often patterned to resemble real life. But soon Tenten would figure out Sakura's illusion and she would hunt her down till they ended up in a ranged battle.

 

Lee, on the other hand, trained with Naruto. The two have become very good friends, and their sparring matches were more friendly than fierce. But that doesn't mean that they don't push themselves over their limit. Naruto had always been slow in Taijutsu, so he was training with Lee to develop speed. Nevertheless, Naruto is good in blocking direct attacks, and Lee has to figure out how to bend his techniques in order to land a punch on Naruto without him detecting it.

 

I sipped the last drop of water from my canister. The sun was setting in the west and it was already twilight. I leaned against an oak tree and glanced over to team 7. It was the usual picture: Naruto was pissed and was radiating his anger towards Sasuke, probably because of one of Sasuke's blunt comments. Sasuke was smirking and had his arms crossed, while Sakura mooned over him yet at the same time she would show an angry, almost haunting face towards Naruto. Of course, Kakashi-sensei was a few feet away, focusing his concentration on the newest Icha Icha Paradise edition.

 

As soon as Naruto's stomach grumbled, the arguments relatively stopped. The Uchiha and the pink-haired girl had realized that they too were hungry. Kakashi was nowhere to be found anymore, he had left on his own whim. Gai-sensei was yakking his last words of precious advice, which no one paid attention to, except Lee, who was faithfully taking down notes.

 

“Neji, would you care to join us for dinner?” Naruto always invited everyone to have dinner with him at Ichiraku. He didn't treat us, but sometimes Kakashi-sensei or Gai-sensei was kind enough to treat all of us. Lee, Sakura and Tenten were already behind him. And Sasuke, with his perpetual scowl-scarred face, was standing silently beside him.

 

I wonder how close he and Naruto really are. They seem to be inseparable. Rivals they are but close friends underneath all those name-calling and sparring.

 

“Sure, I'd love to go.” Surprisingly, our teams' rivalry ends immediately after training, and we often hang out together as good friends. Even though my group is supposedly older, Team 7 is good company.

 

 

“Itadakimasu!” Naruto declared as he split his chopsticks and began gobbling his Miso Ramen. Good thing I was three seats away, lest my hearing would have left me to go around in a drunken state. Yes, Naruto was that loud and obnoxious. Beside Naruto were Lee, Tenten, and then Sakura, me and Sasuke, who was somehow not even minding his Miso Ramen. His elbows were on the table, and his fingers were intertwined, as he rested his chin on his hands.

 

Uchiha Sasuke… The raven-haired, pale-skinned and lithe vampire-ish young man is ever so reticent, ever so coolly calm. His demeanor is strongly similar to mine. Nevertheless, we sharply contrast each other in other departments. We are often paired to train against each other since we both use doujutsu techniques. Sasuke is an aggressive fighter, and he usually attacks you with all possible strikes that he can think of, and yet when you've somehow blocked all of these assaults, he would still have a few tricks up his sleeve. Sasuke exemplifies the theory that the best defense is not giving the enemy an opportunity to attack. To counter, I have to react quickly to his attacks, crack his pattern of assault, and find a suitable counter. I have to strategize in a blink of an eye, before the Uchiha could deliver a fatal blow. Albeit each match so far has ended in a draw, like today, the healthy competition helps to keep the both of us in top shape.

 

But let me tell you this: Sasuke has indeed changed a lot. After his trouble with Orochimaru 6 years ago, he acts less of an avenger, and more of a strong heir and rebuilder of his clan. Now 18 years old, his looks, as I have mentioned earlier, have attracted many fangirls, but surprisingly, he just shrugs off the attention. Sasuke is the night - his raven hair is dark as the blackest depths, and his face and skin as pale as the full moon on a lunatic evening. His eyes are an exotic black of the blackest oceans, and most fangirls promote this as his best physical asset. And he is as quiet as the still, windless nights. But when his Sharingan would emerge, it would seem that the night would be painted red in crimson blood. It gives him the look of a passionate murderer caught in his reverie of bloodlust. He wears the darkest clothes, usually black or midnight blue, that contrast strongly against his pale creamy skin. These dark ensembles accentuate his lithe physique, which hides his innate power. He is most strikingly the best assassin of Konoha. He has learned how to deal with shadows and how to hide himself perfectly even during the day, as was taught to him when he ventured into the sound. Sometimes even my Byakugan cannot sense his presence. He can also summon snakes, having been taught by Orochimaru himself. It is doubted if he can perform Kinjutsu, for Orochimaru loved to study such illegal techniques, but he has sworn to the Hokage not to use them while within the village. I have heard though that he is free to use them during external missions.

 

Eventually, during the past 6 years, both of our teams, as a whole, successfully passed our second take in the Chuunin exams, together with Hinata-sama, Aburame Shino, and Gaara from the Sand. We were the most numerous group of Chuunins to have been chosen, and Tsunade-hime and the new Kazekage proclaimed it as a feat in history, with 9 Genins who excelled as never before seen in the Chuunin exams, though it was proclaimed that the Chuunin exam we took was the hardest so far with respect to the examiners' point of view.

 

I was most impressed of Hinata-sama's improvement. She can almost equal to my level of genius. She has mastered most of the mainstream Hyuuga techniques secretly and on her own. Moreover, she has invented a few tricks that are her very own. When Hiashi-ojisan discovered it, he became more confident in choosing her as the Hyuuga heir.

 

Eventually, both the Uchiha and I were promoted to Jounin, after undertaking several harsh ANBU missions and participating as ANBU captains in several sorties and assaults. Hinata has become an ANBU, and was promoted just recently. She is really becoming stronger. The others of the rookie 9 are waitlisted, but I expect that soon they will be promoted easily.

 

In those 6 years of formative growth, many people have come up to me and say I've changed. Appearance-wise, other than looking more mature, I guess I've changed only a little. I still keep my hair long because so many people like it that way. Hyuuga hair is meant to be straight, long and well-kept. I have disposed of those unusual head/hair accessories I wore 6 years ago, and now I keep my hair long and unbound, neatly laid back only by my hitai-ate. I can't believe I wore those bandages… whatever you call them… back then. Nonetheless, my branch family seal is still covered by my hitai-ate. My eyes are still as hazy as ever. Everyone remarks that they could never read a Hyuuga by looking into his eyes. My skin is still pale, no matter how much time I spend under the sun training. It still is milky. My clothing style has changed however, and I have become fonder of wearing white clothes. Once, when I wore a white kimono at the Hyuuga manor, Hiashi-ojisan mistook me for a ghost. Eversince then, I have been developing ghostly hijutsus that reflect such kind of appearance. I am 19 years old right now, but I feel no older than Sasuke and his team. I have grown to be just as effective an assassin as the Uchiha, but my strength lies more in reconnaissance and information-gathering missions.

 

Suddenly, a slug crawls in front of me, touching my fingers on the table. I jerk back in surprise, but calm down as soon as I realize it was Sakura's doing. She is indeed the Slug-tamer's protégé. “Neji-kun? Daijoubu desu ka? You haven't touched your ramen yet and all of us are waiting for you to finish. Jaa, tabette kudasai,” said Sakura warmly. I look around and blush a bit. I feel Sasuke's bored gaze upon me, while Naruto and Lee are busy talking and exchanging pleasantries. “Sumimasen… hai… Itadakimasu…” I hurriedly ate my ramen and paid for it. Then, we were to separate ways, as night has fallen and the dark implied that we should get our rest soon.

 

“Dewa mata! See you guys on Monday!” Naruto went off first, claiming that he had to fix things up in his apartment. Lee followed, and Sakura said her good byes after that.

 

“Ne, Neji…” I was surprised when the Uchiha spoke to me. “See you on Monday… I am looking forward to our next sparring… Ogenki de…” It wasn't a shy tone, just a hushed, almost inaudible one.

 

“Jaa ne.” I said in a low voice as the Uchiha coolly walked off, then disappeared. I went on my way back home. Just like Uchiha, I was already looking forward to Monday's sparring sessions…

 

To be continued!

 

 

So how was it? Please write me reviews. I redid this chapter because I thought it sucked at first. And to think, this is the first thing that you readers read. As said earlier, this chapter is truly meant to be contemplative. I hope it's not too boring as it dwells mostly on Neji's thoughts.

 

Notes:

Dobe - what Sasuke uses in reference to Naruto. Might mean “dead last” or dunce.

Hijutsu - bloodline limit techniques, or techniques that only the user can manifest

Doujutsu - techniques performed by the eye (especially relating to Sharingan and Byakugan)

Kinjutsu - forbidden techniques

Ojisan - honourable title for uncles

Hitai-ate - forehead protector

Daijoubu desu ka? - Are you okay?

Tabette kudasai - please eat

Jaa - well, well then

Sumimasen - sorry for troubling you / excuse me

Itadakimasu - some sort of blessing before meals

Dewa Mata - See you again

Ogenki de - Take care

Jaa ne - See you / Good bye