Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

When I'm Gone	By : tragic.violinist Category: Naruto AU/AR > Het - Male/Female Views: 2134 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: NARUTO and its respective characters were created and are owned by Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended. I make no money from this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 2: Firework A/N Lyrics from Firework By Katy Perry
Hikari did her best to commit the route to the training grounds to memory. It wasn't a long walk and when they got there they found a small group already there training. The lone girl of the trio, with long blond hair pulled in a high ponytail, and striking blue eyes came over to greet them. “Hi Neji, how are you? We'll be out of your way soon, who's this with you?” She asked curiously, it was strange to see Neji out with anyone, let alone a young girl. “This is Hikari, she just moved to Konoha, I'm showing her around,” He explained to her. “It's nice to meet you,” Hikari said offering a small polite bow, “Please don't rush through your training on our account, Neji was just showing me how to get here for tomorrow.” By this time her two companions had come over to join them, “I'm Ino, this is Shikamaru, and Chouji,” she introduced the boys with her, “Welcome to Konoha.” “So you're the Hokage's niece huh? What made you decide to move here?” Shikamaru asked. “How did you know that?” she asked him. “Word travels fast around here,” he answered offering a small smile. “I came here to become a shinobi, I grew up in the country and there were no academies near our home so I had private tutors growing up but in order to make it official I would have to take the exam somewhere and become a part of that village, with my aunt as the Hokage, it was only logical that I choose Konoha.” Shikamaru nodded in contemplation, “That must mean you're Naruto's new teammate, good luck with that, he's troublesome.” “So, I've been told,” Hikari said with a laugh and glanced at Neji. “Hey, we're having a party next weekend for Chouji's eighteenth birthday, you should come Neji, just about everyone will be there.” Ino said brightly. “You're more than welcome to come too, Hikari,” Chouji told her with a smile. “It would be a great time to meet everyone.” “I would love to come, thank you,” she smiled back as him. She glanced at Neji, and noticed he seemed somewhat uncomfortable, probably having something to do with the look Ino was giving him, like she wanted to devour him. “Well shall we go?” she asked him. “Maybe you could show me somewhere to grab a bite to eat?” “Of course, see you guys around.” “It was nice meeting you all. Bye,” she said with a wave. Once they were out of sight Ino rounded on Chouji, “Why did you invite her? She's way to young to be at a party like that, and she's the Hokage's niece if word gets back to her of any underage drinking we'll be in big trouble.” “She's older than you think, she's the same age as you,” Shikamaru informed her, “And it's Chouji's birthday, he can invite whoever he likes.” “How do you know that?” Ino demanded. “I overheard Hanabi talking about her earlier when I was at the academy.” he told her, “Come on lets go have some bbq pork before we call it a day.” Hikari followed Neji into a small cozy restaurant and to a small booth at the back of the place. “Not a fan of Ino? Or just not a fan of people in general?” She asked him. Neji scowled and buried his head in his menu. “Oh come on, they can't be that bad, can they?” she pushed. Just when she had about given up and getting an answer he spoke, not taking his eyes from the menu. “It's nothing against them really, I just don't socialize much.” “Really I never would have guessed,” Hikari said sarcastically and smirked at him. “So it was mostly because of Ino then, that you started acting like you had a stick up your ass again? What is she, your ex-girlfriend or something?” she teased. Neji looked offended at the very thought, “Gods no, never.” “Then what's the problem?” Neji sighed, Hikari wasn't going to drop this without some sort of answer. “Ino is nice enough, and she is a capable kunochi but she can be shallow at times. She and a few other girls used to follow Sasuke around like a bunch of puppies vying for his attention. Well Sasuke left the village for an extended length of time, and during that period she set her sights on myself, then when Sasuke returned she was all over him again.” “Oh I see, so you're jealous,” she poked at him. Neji scowled again, “I am not jealous,” he stated firmly. “Oh lighten up already, you really need to learn when someone is being serious or just trying to get a rise out of you. For someone who comes off cool and collected you are surprisingly easy to rile up.” When he still didn't say anything Hikari turned her attention to her own menu to peruse the selection. A waitress came to take their orders, and as they waited for their food the silence became unbearable. Hikari began to sing under her breath, as she would often do when either nervous or stressed had Neji not been sitting so close he wouldn't have even been able to hear her. Do you ever feel like a plastic bag Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again? Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in? Do you ever feel already buried deep six feet under? Screams but no one seems to hear a thing Do you know that there's still a chance for you 'Cause there's a spark in you? You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine Just own the night like the 4th of July 'Cause, baby, you're a firework Come on, show 'em what you're worth Make 'em go, "Aah, aah, aah" As you shoot across the sky Baby, you're a firework Come on, let your colors burst Make 'em go, "Aah, aah, aah" You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe You don't have to feel like a waste of space You're original, cannot be replaced If you only knew what the future holds After a hurricane comes a rainbow Maybe a reason why all the doors are closed So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow And when it's time you'll know You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine Just own the night like the 4th of July 'Cause, baby, you're a firework Come on, show 'em what you're worth Make 'em go, "Aah, aah, aah" As you shoot across the sky Baby, you're a firework Come on, let your colors burst Make 'em go, "Aah, aah, aah" You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe Boom, boom, boom Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon It's always been inside of you, you, you And now it's time to let it through 'Cause, baby, you're a firework Come on, show 'em what you're worth Make 'em go, "Aah, aah, aah" As you shoot across the sky Baby, you're a firework Come on, let your colors burst Make 'em go, "Aah, aah, aah" You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe Boom, boom, boom Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon Boom, boom, boom Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon Neji caught himself staring at her and quickly averted his gaze back to the table before she could catch him. He had obviously upset her in some way though he wasn't quite sure how. He couldn't decide if he should draw attention to the song she had sung or if he should pretend he hadn't heard her. Judging by the look on her face while she was singing he assumed it was a force of habit and she likely didn't even realize he could hear her. Even after the food arrived the silence continued, he wanted to say something to her but wasn't sure where to start. “So what do you think?” He asked her quietly, and her confused expression he elaborated, “the food?” “Oh,” she smiled in relief, “it's delicious, this may be my new favorite place to eat,” she joked. “I like coming here,” he told her. “It quiet and not many people know about it.” “It has a very cozy feel to it, I'm sorry if I offended you,” she added softly. “Don't worry about it,” he told her honestly, “You're right after all. I just don't spend a lot of time with others in order to have become accustomed to that kind of thing.” Hikari frowned, trying to think of a way to move things along, “So are you going to go to that party they were talking about?” Neji sighed, “I imagine I will have to, Hiashi-sama does not usually approve of Hinata-sama attending things like that without a chaperone. If she decides to go, I will be there as well.” “Well that's good then,” she told him brightly, “At least I know I'll have someone I can talk to, just in case everyone is as insufferable as you seem to thing they are.” “I do not find them....” he caught a gleam in her eyes that showed she was just teasing him again. “You're doing it again.” Hikari smirked and nodded, “At least you noticed this time, you're a fast learner,” she laughed. “So which ones are you friends with? You already shown me that you enjoy playing Shogi so you must play with someone.” “I usually play with Shikamaru, he's the only one to present a challenge, even if he does win every time.” “Every time?” she asked. “Yes every time, the man is a genius, every one says so, he was the first one of our group to become a Chuunin. He seems content with that role though with no drive to further himself beyond that.” “Anyone else?” “Well there's Naruto, he may be a loud mouth, hyperactive, and have the attention span of a goldfish but something about him just draws people to him, it's impossible not to be his friend, trust me, I tried,” he said with a small smile. “You'll see what I mean when you meet him tomorrow.” “Speaking of which, I guess we should head back it's starting to get dark and I don't want to be late tomorrow.” “Alright come on,” he led her out, “Don't worry too much about being late tomorrow, chances are that you will be waiting around for more than an hour regardless. It's like I said earlier Kakashi is always late, for everything.” Hiashi was waiting for them at the gates of the Hyuuga compound when they got back. “I trust you had a good day, Hikari-san?” “Yes thank you Hyuuga-sama, I'll have the village memorized in no time at this rate.” she flashed him an award winning smile. “It's rather late I do hope Neji didn't over tax you by dragging you around too much.” “Not at all, I merely asked him to show me the training grounds and then I insisted on having dinner before we returned.” “Perhaps you would be interested in seeing our personal training grounds, I'm sure that Hinata would be more than willing to practice with you if you wish.” “I would be honored Hyuuga-sama, I must first see what sort of training schedule my new sensei has in store for me.” Hikari explained politely. “Very well I will speak to Hinata for you. Now you should get some rest I imagine you will have a busy day tomorrow, Goodnight Hikari.” “Goodnight Hyuuga-sama, Neji-san.” she bowed to them both before making her wait towards the guest house. “Neji I would like a word with you, follow me,” he did not wait for a reply before heading towards the house. Once inside he turned to his nephew, “Hinata wishes to attend a party next weekend, you will accompany her, understood.” “Yes Hiashi-sama, as you wish.” Neji said respectfully, his uncle did not say another word just turned and walked away, leaving Neji to let himself out. He had figured Hinata would like to attend Chouji's party, and while normally he would loath being forced to go, Hikari was right, at least there would be one person he could talk to when he tired of the other guests. Hikari entered the house and the first thing she noticed was Neji's Shogi board still sitting on her coffee table, he had left it behind. She had no idea where he stayed so she couldn't return it to him herself, and she wasn't sure if he would come for it tonight. Just in case she placed it on safely on a self, before heading to bed. If he did come she would hear him at the door, that much she was sure of. She had a much easier time falling asleep tonight, she hoped that once she had learned her way around, Neji would possibly want to be friends. Naruto forced himself out of bed early that morning, today they were going to meet their new teammate. They were supposed to meet at the training grounds at eight this morning and normally they would show up just on time if not a few minutes late themselves, there was no point in arriving early when they would just have to wait around for Kakashi-sensei anyway. However it was unlikely the new girl would know about this, and she would most likely show up early trying to make a good impression. So Naruto decided to go keep her company, he would also be able to get an idea of just how much training she had already had. When he got to the training grounds it was only seven-thirty and as first glance he didn't see anyone else around. Perhaps he had been wrong and Tsunade-baba had tipped her off. Just then a kunai came flying out of the trees and embedded itself in the ground at his feet. Naruto jumped back and looked up into the branches, a young girl with light brown hair and copper highlights, stood upside down on a bough, a smirk prominently on her face. “Nice reflexes,” she observed, “So which one are you then?” “The name's Naruto, I'm.....” she cut him off. “Yeah, yeah, I've heard about you already,” she said as she flipped out of the tree landing in a crouch to retrieve the kunai she has thrown. “I've been told you're a loud mouth,” he looked slightly offended, “but I've also been told that you are very kind,” she finished with a smile. “Have you been waiting long?” he asked her. “No I got here just before you did, someone was nice enough to let me in on Kakashi-sensei's habit of being late all the time,” she explained to him. “I'm sorry but I have to ask, just how old are you? You look to be pushing twelve, but you sound a hell of lot more mature than that.” “I'm seventeen,” Hikari laughed, “and don't worry about it, it's usually one of the first questions everyone asks me. I don't doubt I will be answering it many more times until I've met everyone.” Hikari took a seat on a log and Naruto joined her, “So why Konoha? And why now? Not many people I know want to have such a late start.” “It's not really a late start for me, I have been receiving instructions for ten years, though I would have come sooner but my mother and I had conflicting ideas, it took a long time to convince her to let me leave permanently. Sometimes she would let me go off for months at a time to train but she knew I was always coming back, this time she knew she wouldn't see me again. I chose Konoha because of Aunt Tsunade, as long as I came here my mother would allow it because she knew that Aunt Tsunade would keep an eye on me for her.” Before Naruto could ask anything else a pink haired kunochi came bouncing into the clearing. “Hi there, I'm Sakura, I hope Naruto hasn't been pestering you too much, he just can't help himself sometimes. He can be really annoying.” She told Hikari, not even bothering to hide what she thought of Naruto, who looked crestfallen. She began to prattle on about shopping and other girly things and seemed she could go on at great length about Sasuke, who had yet to show up. Hikari was sure Sakura and herself would never be close friends, she was much to perky and pink for her. As for the way she talked about Naruto, Hikari found it to be very rude, no this girl was not starting off of the right foot at all. She tuned her out very quickly, occasionally smiling and nodding to make her think she was still paying attention. Hikari rolled her eyes at Naruto, causing him to burst out laughing. Sakura got offended then and started yelling at him just as Hikari noticed a silver haired Shinobi approaching them, lower half of his face covered by a mask and one eye covered by his forehead protector. He was dressed very similar to the way Neji had been when she had first met him, leading her to the conclusion that this was Kakashi-sensei. Hikari bowed to him respectfully, “Good morning Kakashi-sensei.” Kakashi eyed the girl in front of him, “Welcome to Konoha, from this day forward you are considered a Genin of the leaf village.” He handed her her very own forehead protector. “You are now a member of this three man squad along with Naruto and Sasuke. Your goal is to work together as a team in order to prepare yourselves in time for the Chuunin exams that will be taking place in just over six months from now.” “Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke-kun has yet to arrive,” Sakura told him quietly. “Has he not?” Kakashi asked glancing at the treeline where Sasuke has been sitting in a tree for more than twenty minutes. “Come introduce yourself,” Kakashi told him. Sasuke jumped down from his tree and joined the rest of his team, “Uchiha Sasuke,” he said shortly. Hikari just nodded as him before turning back to Kakashi, “You said a three man squad, so what of her?” she asked gesturing towards Sakura. “She will be your sparring partner for the day, as the outgoing member of the team, I need to know how you stack up next to her so that I can take that into consideration when we are required to complete missions.” “When do we begin?” Hikari asked. “Right now of course,” he told her after directing Sasuke and Naruto to the sidelines. Kakashi himself settled down on a tree branch and took out a book to read. Hikari looked disgusted when she noticed just what book he was reading. “Are you not going to watch and observe us?” she asked. “Don't worry I will be able to see enough,” he informed her. Hikari sighed and turned to face her opponent. They bowed and took up their fighting stances. She quickly noticed that Sakura was a long range fighter, as the medic-nin of the group she was used to keeping enemies at the distance so that she could treat injured comrades. She must have studied under Aunt Tsunade judging from the raw strength she held, unfortunately for Sakura, Tsunade had taught her the same techniques. There were still the other techniques taught to her by her other masters, but she wouldn't need them now, Sakura had already given her everything she would need to beat her, Hikari was merely playing with her, giving Kakashi a chance to see some of what she was capable of. She allowed the mock battle to carry on for a good ten minutes before putting her plan in action. It was quite simple really, she threw a kunai, sending it sailing passed Sakura's head. Sakura looked smug as she watched it fly by, until she noticed that she had not been the intended target to begin with. It continued on is trajectory straight for Sasuke. “Sasuke-kun!” Sakura screamed. Hikari took that moment of distraction and closed the distance between herself and Sakura, from there the battle was over quickly. It took Hikari under a minute to have Sakura pinned to the ground, a kunai held to her throat. “Stop!” Kakashi called and the two girls separated, panting. “Good job, take the rest of the day off, tomorrow we will start working on team building exercises for the three of you. Be here tomorrow at noon.” He informed them before disappearing in a puff of smoke. “What the hell were you thinking?” Sakura demanded, “You almost hit Sasuke-kun!” “Did I?” Hikari asked innocently, turning to look at Sasuke. Sakura followed her gaze, He hadn't moved since the end of their fight, he sat there twirling Hikari's kunai around his index finger. He had caught it without flinching, as Hikari knew he would, as any self-respecting shinobi would have. “You really need to give your teammates more credit,” Hikari told her with a smirk. She began gathering up the weapons she had thrown during their match as Sakura fumed. She took a deep breath to calm herself before approaching Sasuke. “Sasuke-kun,” she said barely above a whisper. “Would you possibly want to walk home with me?” “No,” he said flatly, she looked crestfallen, “We live in two different directions, it would make no sense.” “Oh, yeah you're right, how silly of me,” she said mentally slapping herself. Sasuke just stared at her with a blank expression until she couldn't take it anymore and she hurried off towards home. Hikari watched the scene in amusement, she had a feeling this wasn't the first time Sakura had been turned down by him and it wouldn't be the last. She walked over to him and held out her hand to him, “Can I have my kunai back?” she asked him. Sasuke shrugged and held it out to her, when she grasped it he spoke in a low voice, “What are you doing here?” he demanded. “What's it look like?” she countered matching his tone. They glared daggers as each other for a moment, “Hn,” he grunted before turning to leave, “See you around Hikari-chan.”he said sarcastically, he waved without looking back before disappearing from sight. “Don't worry he doesn't like most people,” Naruto assured her. “Oh I'm not worried,” Hikari smiled brightly at him, “Say you wanna grab a bite to eat?” Naruto stared at her, skeptical for a moment, there was something about this girl. She could be pleasant enough when she wanted to be, but even when she was her smiles just didn't seem to reach her eyes. “Sure why not,” he answered finally. “Did you have somewhere in mind?” “I'm not really familiar with the village yet, and I only know one place so far? I'm open to suggestions.” “Sure,” Naruto said excitedly leading the way, “I can show you Ichiraku Ramen they're the best.” Naruto kept an on going commentary on the way there, pointing out everything he could think of. “So how long have you known Sasuke?” Hikari inquired. She knew of him before coming to Konoha, that he had abandoned everyone to study under one of the three legendary, Orochimaru, she was curious as to the reason for his return. Naruto's expression fell, Here we go again, a new member of the Sasuke fan club. He sighed, “We originally became team seven back when we were twelve,” he answered honestly. “Wow that's a long time to be stuck with the two of them, an overconfident ass and his love sick puppy,” she joked sensing that Naruto wasn't fond of worship Sakura seemed to give him. Naruto let out a hearty laugh, or maybe I was wrong, “No, thankfully that whole time wasn't with the two of them. We each had our own things to do as well, I myself traveled, with Master Jiraiya for a couple of years, training.” “Oh because being stuck with him is any better, he usually spends more time peeping on women than instructing,” Hikari stated. She could already tell that Naruto wasn't going to give up more information on Sasuke right now so she might as well talk to him about Jiraiya. “You know pervy-sage?” Naruto was shocked. “Pervy-sage, oh my god please tell me that you've called him that to his face, I would love to see his reaction,” she laughed. “Yeah I know him, I studied under him when I was small, because of his history with Aunt Tsunade he always kept in touch with my mother while on his travels. He's always been like an Uncle to me,” Hikari explained as they reached the ramen stand. “Wow I never knew,” he mused. They spent their meal sharing stories of their time with Jiraiya. Hikari had considerably more as she had known him much longer. “Wait, you used to call him what?” Hikari blushed in embarrassment, “Uncle Fuzzy, I couldn't help it, I couldn't pronounce his name and his hair has always been a big fuzz ball. My mother told me that when I was very small I used to curl up and use it like I pillow,” she remembered fondly. “That is priceless, the next time I see him I'm going to rub that in his face, he'll never be able to live it down,” Naruto snickered as he slurped down the last of his ramen. Hikari paid her bill and hopped down off her stool, “Well I should be getting home, I'll see you tomorrow,” she said with a waved and wandered off in the direction of the Hyuuga compound. After entering the gates she made a beeline for the large koi pond she had made note of during her comings and goings. She reclined on her side watching the fish swim lazily in the shade of a large weeping willow. “Hikari-san?” a small voice said behind her and she turned to see Hinata with Neji standing a few steps behind her. “Neji nii-san and I are going to the small lake on the outskirts of the village, would you like to join us?” she asked shyly. Hikari smiled up at her, “Sounds like fun, just let me go change and I'll be back in a couple of minutes.” “Okay we'll just wait here for you,” Hinata told her as she hopped up and ran towards her lodgings. Hikari quickly dug her bathing suit out of her back pack making a mental note to actually organize her clothes later that night. She slipped on her bathing suit, a small black bikini top and tight black swim shorts before pulling on a large hoodie and another pair of cargo pants, leaving her armbands on. She dumped out the rest of her pack and shoved her brush and a couple of towels into the now empty bag and hurried back outside. “Okay I'm ready,” she announced and they headed off. Once they were out of sight of the main house Hinata stopped and turned to Neji, “I can take the bag now, Neji nii-san,” she offered timidly. “It's okay, I don't mind,” He told her and kept walking. Hinata looked sadly after him for a moment before following after him, Hikari struck up a conversation with the quiet girl, quickly learning that despite her timid nature she was intelligent and strong when she didn't let her lack if self-confidence get her down. She was kindhearted and seemed to have a crush on Naruto, if all it took was Hikari mentioning him to make her flustered. It didn't take them long to reach the lake and when they did Hikari was in awe of the beauty of it. The water was so clear you could easily see the bottom, the lake itself was almost completely surrounded by trees, some branches so long they extended far out over the lake. The girls found a soft patch of grass to spread their towels out. Hinata retreated behind a large tree to change into her bathing suit while Hikari began to peel off her outer layer right there. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Neji avert his eyes to the lake. “Aren't you going to join us Neji?” she asked innocently. “No I'm just going to stay here,” he told her. “Suit yourself,” she said and began to survey the trees looking for a good one to climb. Around this time Hinata emerged from behind her tree in a simple one piece lavender suit. She slowly began to make her way into the water while Hikari finally decided on a tree that contained a branch that extended nearly halfway across the lake. Neji saw what she was planning as she gathered her chakra to the soles of her feet and began her accent. “Oh please be careful Hikari,” Hinata called softly to her. “Don't worry I do this all the time, she informed her as she made her way along the branch as if it was a balancing beam. All the while keeping her chakra focused to aid her balance. She got as far out over the lake as she could without compromising the bough, before executing a perfect swan dive into the lake. Neji felt his breath involuntarily catch in his throat as he tracked her progress from tree to the surface of the water. When she resurfaced he let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding. The girls swam for a while before an idea came to Hikari, she was determined to get Neji into the water. The man was far too tense anyone could see that just by spending a few minutes with him. Over the last couple of days the only time she had seen him completely at ease was when they were playing Shogi. He needed to relax and have some fun. She exited the lake and went back to the same tree as before. Perched on the branch once more she dived in, knowing full well that he was watching her again. Once she sliced through the surface she swam as quickly as she could to hide beneath an overhang of exposed roots due to erosion. She quietly surfaced and took a deep breath now she just had to wait. “Where did she go?” Neji called out from the bank, “Hikari!” “I don't know!” Hinata sounded panicked. They both started calling for her, Neji stripped off his shirt and waded into the water looking for her. Hinata spotted her first, and Hikari put a finger to her lips motioning for her to stay quiet. Neji was almost within grabbing distance. As soon as she had her chance she took it, Hikari's lunged at him and took him under with her. Hikari resurfaced laughing, Hinata looked on in shock and Neji looked furious. “What the hell were you thinking?” he demanded grabbing her by the arms and shaking her. She stopped laughing abruptly and stared at him. “I'm sorry,” she stuttered. “I was just trying to get you to loosen up a bit,” she explained quietly. “By making us think something had happened to you?” he still held her arms in a bruising grip. “Neji, you're hurting me,” she whispered and he released her. “Never do something like that again,” he snapped and began making his way back to their spot. “Enough, let's get dried off and ready to leave.” They followed him out of the water, while Hinata retreated behind a tree to change Hikari just sat on her towel, with her head in her hands mentally berating herself, she was so stupid, he was going to hate her after the stunt she just pulled. Neji looked over at her, he was sorry for snapping at her like that but she had scared the hell out of him, he had only just met her and she was one of the very few people he could stand to be around for more than a few hours and he was looking forward to getting to know her better. He wouldn't have been able to forgive himself if something had happened to either of the girls, he was here to keep them safe. He approached her, knelt next to her and placed a hand gently on her arm. He could already see hand shaped bruises forming where he had grabbed her. “Are you okay?” he asked gently. She looked over at him and nodded, “I'm sorry if I worried you,” she whispered, “I guess I just wasn't thinking.” Neji looked at her thoughtfully, “Just please don't do something like that again okay?” he graced her with a small smile, and she nodded again. “Come on, you should get dried off so we can head back,” he offered her a hand up which she accepted gratefully. She pulled her extra towel out of her back pack and offered it to him, “Thank you,” he said as he took it. He towel dried his hair as he watched her brush the tangles out of her hair and secure it in a high ponytail before pulling her clothes back over top of her bathing suit. When Hinata came back they finished packing up and headed back towards the village. The walk back was a lot more subdued compared to the way out. Hikari apologized to Hinata for worrying her as well and she was more than happy to put the incident behind them. They parted ways at the gates and Hikari went straight home with the intention of meditating for a while and trying to come up with a way to reconcile with Neji. She had only just finished changing her clothed when she heard a knock on the door. She opened it to find Neji standing there, his hair still hung loose down his back and he had yet to put his shirt back on, he held in his had the towel she had given him. “Can I come in?” he asked. “Sure,” she said and took the towel from him, she took the towel to the washing machine and tossed it in along with everything else she had used over the last couple days and started it up before turning back to him. He was sitting on the couch watching her. “Shogi?” he asked her. “Sure,” she retrieved his board from where she had tucked it away and they each began to set up their pieces. They played in silence but it lacked the tension from earlier. “Are we good,” she asked hopefully. He looked thoughtfully across the board as her and smiled, “We're good.” She smiled back at him and moved a piece, “Check mate.”
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When I'm Gone