#nejiau

[notasliceoflife]

@suck-my-tomato​ replied here

He had liked her, but not like that. Not in the way he could see Sasuke might be thinking he would have liked Tenten. Was Tenten interesting, good looking, and attractive? Of course she was. He was aware of these things. But that did not mean he had a magnetism with her. For him it was just a talk with one he had known for so many years now. Neji and Tenten had hung out recently, after a decently long amount of time apart. So she had taken advantage of it and took many pictures. Which Neji had thought would be nice to show Sasuke. Clearly he thought wrong, it would seem. At the comment on the ice skating pictures he nodded, giving a solemn look "Yes. It was fun. I don't usually get to hang out with the others that often." He glanced down briefly. Though not wanting to let Sasuke see how much he might have hurt him he looked back up, keeping the emotions displayed on his face looking entirely neutral "Do you go ice skating?" Neji then asked.

But his question of the others jealousy the next moment had seemed to get the other males attention more. Neji glanced Sasuke over, the neutral expression remaining on his face as he took in the little actions Sasuke was making. The 'no' certainly a lie in contrast with the Uchiha's expression "Oh." The Hyuga simply just stared at the other in quiet then. Though Sasuke had relented in the next couple of moments, as we expected. Blinking, Neji lift his head up slightly, trying not to get too smug in his knowing the other so well. With their confession voice Neji exhaled sharply "You could have gone with us, I guess. Seems to have escaped me however to ask if you wanted to." Though with Sasuke's current state of mind these days, he should have taken up the responsibility, as the older party. To make Sasuke feel welcomed to come along. Maybe they could have invited others and made a day of it. Neji thought that would have been good for their group.

At the coldness Neji lowered his head back to normal height and just watched Sasuke for a long moment. He wasn't going to blame them. Clearly Sasuke had been having another hard day and he had just rubbed in the others face how much fun he was having, while Sasuke had been doing something that clearly wasn't making him happy today. Reaching out toward the tea he lift it up to his mouth and sucked from the straw, not giving in. The other could mope all they wanted "This show is a good pick, Sasuke. Is this what you've been watching over the weekend? What did you do this weekend?"

[notasliceoflife]

@suck-my-tomato​

Original Post Here

Having heard of recent agitated murmurings surrounding the Uchiha base of operations. Neji had decided, willingly, to continue to keep up routine. Despite having been beaten and shot, along with other injuries and threats to his life since the Uchiha had decided he would be their crux, for some reason or another. Neji continued to tempt fate. To test how far it could truly go to try and destroy him, probably. Treating this day as he normally would have treated it on any other occasion, despise the whispers, he went along with it. It would seem that the Hyuga had also not cared much if he lived or if he had died. Despite him being the best Hyuga in his generation. Though he had not gloated about this since he had been younger.  Hinata had been capable herself, in her own right, after all. Not the genius he had been built up to be. But as the Heiress. Watching his cousins as they went about life. Clearly blissful or uncaring to the predicament that surrounded them and their father. Which every branch member of the family had to carry on their own shoulders, to lesson burdens on the main houses.

Letting out a breath he started to make his way out of the compound only to be stopped when Hinata had decided to start a casual conversation with him for a little while. Neji carried on as usual, carrying on with his usual niceties and friendliness. At least as much as he was allowed to let himself. There had always been that coldness to his personality that would always linger around him, of course. He cleared his throat then and stepped away. Giving her one last goodbye for the third or so time in the last hour or so, trying to pull away from her. She frowned a bit before getting flustered about keeping someone else waiting. Then she turned and ran off. Neji exited the compound moments later, walking down the streets of the city toward the usual spot he would meet up with Sasuke for an evening, if the pair weren't going to meet up at the others apartment anyway. Glancing toward the sky, Neji let out a breath at how clear it was despite living in a city. Eventually he had turned the corner leading to the usual meet up spot.

Catching sight of the other male already having gotten there before him. As he finished turning the corner, the light of the moon shown along the gun Sasuke had pulled out and was now pointing at his chest. Neji paused, blinking in a bit of confusion, cold lavender tented white eyes falling onto the others form. Though he hadn't seemed shocked, not one bit. Letting out a breath then he spoke "Put the gun down." The Hyuga said as if speaking to a child who shouldn't be doing what they were currently doing. Though that was the exact situation as it had presented itself, wasn't it? Neji walked in closer to Sasuke, just a few steps as Sasuke paused to talk back to him " I know-" Neji butted in, glancing toward the ground, thinking for a moment a frown lightly pressed over his lips as he calculated out his next plan for a moment. Then continued to listen to the Uchiha's own reasoning with himself over the situation " I understand, Sasuke." He looked toward the other then " Yes, so they have gone so far as to force their youngest into something like this."

Neji walked a little closer then, taking his right hand and grabbing onto the shaft of the gun, jerking it and Sasuke closer to him as he pressed it toward his chest. With a small tilt of his head he smiled a little bit " So then do it. Shoot me, Sasuke. Right now. Don't hesitate. But if you could, could you avenge me, maybe? Does that seem silly to you?" He laughed a little bit then, glancing away " I give you permission to shoot me, right here, Sasuke. Exactly." He emphasized the spot on his chest by pressing the gun into it a bit more "Let them see me die, and then you are free." Looking toward Sasuke once more, Neji gave a slightly pointed look "Don't miss. If you miss. I'll kill you." A brief pause then, he let the silence soak in, the sounds that haunted the night soon take over before narrowing his eyes "Do it, now."

[notasliceoflife]

@suck-my-tomato​

Original Post Here

Neji hadn't thought about it much at all. He had simply wished to hang out with Sasuke, as the other had sounded like they needed the companionship, and he himself had needed some, too. Sasuke may not have been his only friend, but Neji had so few friends he could tolerate for long periods of time. That's how he got there, that night. He had been chatting here and there with the other, casually before the shot. When he was cut off as the pressure had hit him right in the gut. The pain didn't come then, since his body had immediately went into shock.

Though he had lost his control over his body, and began to drop to the ground. For him it seemed to happen in slow motion until the concrete sidewalk smacked into his head when he had dropped down and the lights went out for a moment. The next thing he heard however was Sasuke turning him over and yelling his name "I'm shot, not deaf, Sasuke..." The Hyuga muttered, calmly. He reached up a hand to the wound, feeling at the hole for a moment, thought the strength he had was waning, he could feel it seeping from him almost as quickly as the blood had pooled out from his stomach.

Clearing his throat, he could feel himself beginning to panic. For the most part, because he was finding it harder and harder to breath " I -I can't-" He paused, looking around for a moment in a bit of a confused state before swallowing, he could only imagine that this was the beginning stages of him dying. What did he know, after all, about dying " I'm dying." The Hyuga stated, slightly losing his calm. To be honest, he had also forgotten for a moment the other was there when he had said this. Though was quickly reminded upon being called a dumbass.

" Alright,...try not to be too mad if I do." He commented a bit more sluggishly, his breathing hitching, and becoming jumpy. When the other tells him not to fall asleep he nodded, looking up toward the sky "Perhaps it is better, to die looking at the sky, rather than my face planted in the dirt." Neji had commented vaguely " How miserable would that be..." He then commented.

[notasliceoflife]

@suck-my-tomato​

Original Post Here

At the other males response to his questioning, Neji gave Sasuke a skeptical look. Then he nodded " Sure..." He answered, he supposed the mess was something that one wouldn't pay much attention to, when they weren't in the best frames of mind. Depression could take on many forms. This was Sasuke’s bleeding out into the surroundings around him. Neji reached out to inspect some of the carelessly forgotten or left out items. Sniffing at the air, it had definitely smelled like a single male had been festering in the home. Lifting a hand up to his nose he rubbed it with his underhand and cleared his throat.

Though when Sasuke asked why it mattered, and then that he was fine, Neji just gave a soft nod " Ah. Yeah." He picked up one of the Chinese food boxes "It would be extremely difficult to simply throw something in the trash." He set the box back down, realizing that because most of the area looked like a trash can, he couldn't actually see one "Hm. Though...I guess I can see the confusion you must be having." Wiping his hand off on his shirt then, he continued to look around.

Continuing to watch the other, he could tell quite clearly they were currently in one of the worst phases of their depression. It wasn't his place to comment on such things, was it? He didn't know. They weren't that close, were they? Neji could be quite self centered, himself. So he had problem, or it SEEMED like he might have a problem noticing most other people having issues of their own. However, he could see quite clearly that the state of the room wasn't quite right. This told him what he needed to know about the others own state of mind. Even if he didn't know their thoughts completely.

"Right. A few days." The Hyuga had responded, still inspecting the mess in front of him. He could, however, understand depression of his own. His hadn't been the kind that took form in the outside world however. Neji's home was immaculate, practically spotless in comparison to Sasuke's home. Neji had never been one to accumulate trash or make messes. Depressed or not. It was just not something his brain allowed to happen. He needed that perfectionism, that minimalism of having nothing. Because he felt like nothing.

He looked at the other, sniffling at the thickness of smoke in the air. He wasn't so used to it, even then, after hanging out with Sasuke. Neji still wasn't a smoker, he still wasn't even fond of drugs or drinking too much. Again, he liked to stay at peak condition. He liked that outward appearance of being perfect. It helped keep people from thinking the worst of him. He needed people to not want to help him. He didn't need anyone's help. Neji blinked at Sasuke's words and then gave a shrug " Not much of a problem, really.  I get it, a little bit. Stuff just, build up. Right?" Lifting up some article of clothing, he silently stares at it "I'm sure you're planning on cleaning it up one day." Dropping the clothing back to the floor he smiled gently, turning to face the Uchiha once more.

Clearly he wasn't intimidated by Sasuke's harshness. Though he had in the last couple of days become curious about what the other had been up to. Naruto making a big scene of it as usual, it seemed. How could anyone ignore Sasuke's absence when that guy wouldn't. Though Neji had to admit, he might have also been quite worried, himself, without the prompting from Naruto to begin with " I texted you a few times. But when you didn't answer, I figured I drop by." It was the best thing one could do, after all. Rather than to speculate on the could be's, Neji was always more realistic, of course he would just go straight to checking in on the other when they didn't respond to his messages.

[notasliceoflife]

@suck-my-tomato​

Original Post Here

As the other hissed at him Neji nodded, attempting to be understanding about the others anger. Whether he was or not wasn't the question however. Because he hadn't heard why Sasuke would be jumped, sure it wasn't fun. But Neji was also aware that Sasuke had a horrible way of getting himself into such troubles, deserved or not, sometimes. The slightly elder male had listened however. Glancing down toward the cigarettes he let out a sigh " Ah." He sighed slightly then looked toward the other again, letting them continue telling him what had happened, quietly letting the other explain. A small part of him had felt responsible for the other having gotten in this situation. Since they were waiting on him "Wait, they didn't take the cash? But they still beat you up this badly? The Hyuga question.

It was pretty suspicious behavior. When the other threatened to kill the attackers he nodded "Okay. But in the mean time let's just-" Glancing toward where the other spit he paused for a moment then looked to Sasuke once more " Get inside and see if we can tend to the mess, before the murder attempt, hm?" He offered a kind smile toward the other "I'm sorry. I was later arriving than I planned, I had to do something at home before I could leave." Neji had explained then, still thinking it was somewhat his fault in some way.

[notasliceoflife]

Heavy is The Head That Wears The Crown// Neji & Ino AU

@proudxkunoichi​

Original Post Here

Neji had been standing where he usually stood. At attention, always keeping an eye on guests or others who might have been a threat to the queen. it was always better to be cautious than to let anything slip by on the possibility of nothing nefarious happening. One should not be so foolish and always be on the alert. Though this was the kind of life he had been born into. A life of being someone who watched. Peeked out any sort of threat to the king or queen under his guard. Of course, that had been his entire families role. They were good at it too. He was very young when his father had died. The only parent he had. His uncle had given the former king permission to have Neji protect the princess. Something that the four year old in training really wasn't the biggest fan of. He was told to be Princess Ino's 'companion'. He had spent a lot of his time wondering, then, what good would it be to be close to the princess, when he could spend all of his time training to be a lethal killer instead. Like the rest of the boys. But the rest of the boys were of such low ranking birthright, compared to him. This sort of thing was in his family's blood. His uncle would say to him.

He had never did most of what Ino and her ladies in waiting would do. Spending hours in the gardens playing children's games, even at such a young age had never appealed to him. The girl had made friends a lot easier than he had ever been able. But he was always there, sitting against the tree in the shade, pretending to nap. Silently contemplating to himself. As Ino had made nice with the other children in the Kingdom that would be invited to the castle, or happened to be their due to their own parents status. Neji often stuck out like a sore thumb, even having rejected offers to play by other young boys of the castle. Noble's sons who were far to soft, Neji had thought. Too soft to play any games he would had preferred to play, without crying about it. Neji had remained this way their entire lives. Mind stuck in one focal point. On being a protector to the princess, and now Queen of Konoha. It was a long wait. But one he had been content with. Because this was the sort of thing he was good at. Silent, and deadly.

As he watched the red head be escorted out, Neji had narrowed his eyes on them. The newly appointed King of The Sand Kingdom had quite a bloody reputation. But the boy himself had seemed to be troubled until recently. Within the last few years that is, changing themselves almost entirely, into a fine King. At least that was as much information as Neji managed to gather. However, it was not HIS king, and Gaara was not his worry. Ino was, and he had to think of Ino first, before himself, before anyone else. At her question he continued to look toward the door. Dull pale white eyes locked on it for a moment before he turned his head slightly to look toward her "Most Kings only ever want wars, it is about taking as much as they think they deserve, land, women, the people, the treasures." Neji had said then glances down " Rumors about him have made it to this land, however. The young King once was compared to a 'murderous demon' in his youth... It is best we not take everything he says at face value." Neji informed.

Of course, it was best to avoid war, even if they might have been stronger than King Gaara, there was a lot that went into a war than just bodies. Anyone who wore the crown would eventually need to battle, whether it be with another kingdom, or their own people. Kings, Queens, and anything in between, would not get far without spilling a bit of blood every once in a while. His eyes narrow a little bit " No. But it is always better to be prepared for the worst. Rather than waiting till the last minute when the worst is already happening." Neji had said to her then. At her last question he let out a sigh "Double the guards at the entrances to the castle, make sure The Watch is also doubled around the kingdom. Leaves a little entry points open as possible, to the castle, and to the kingdom itself. Make sure Gaara's guards remain in their quarters with their King, double the guards there." Neji proposed to her then looked away " If he is up to something, he will more than likely try something at our most vulnerable. The night must be treated with greater care than usual."

[notasliceoflife]

@suck-my-tomato​ replied here

It was a typical thing, right? To run someone a bath. At least the Hyuga had thought so. Not that he went out of his way to do what other people expected of him. He was more so focused on being the best at everything, ever. No time to be nice to others. However, noticing the Uchiha's current downward spiraling and bouts of depression he had taken on a motherly persona. Wasn't that just so fucking cute. Neji ran his right hand under the flowing water, testing it's heat, just right for the Uchiha male. Perhaps it was just something one picked up when they were orphaned at a young age. After his getting beat up by Naruto in middle school, Neji was almost completely done being a little shit head. It was often so tiring. Being quiet was,...lonely. Yes. It truly was so very lonely to just stay in the back and be quiet. So, now, what was he to do? Run Sasuke a bath seemed like a nice thing to do. Who in their right mind didn't like a bath being drawn for them? No one! What did a bath for a Uchiha need, something to make it smell nice.

Dashing some oil into the bath Neji tilt his head a bit, just like he would do for his own baths, of course. Inhaling deeply he took in the flowery smell "Just like home."  He paused, his eyes dulling for a moment as a feeling came over him. However continued to fix up the bath for Sasuke none the less. The connection of loss they shared had always been something he had found familiar in the Uchiha. Perhaps that was why he had felt the need to be near. A string of similarity tied them together. They knew of loving someone and losing them, and at a young age. Neji could see when the other had been over taken by their nihilistic feeling of being lost and broken. Even if he had in years changed his own outlook on the stuff, Neji understood it in others, clear as day. Checking the water once more he swished his left hand through the water before glancing over, blinking as the other male had entered the room, a curious look briefly crossing his features before returning to it's regular calm as he watched Sasuke enter the room and thank him "Ah. It is no problem. It would appear that was my intent all along." He gave a wry little smile, blinking graciously before running a hand along the side of his head and through his hair elegantly.

"When I was young it always made me feel comforted and loved when my mother had run my baths. I vaguely remember such things, however." Neji informed very clinically, then. Setting the bottle of oils down he offered a smile "You seemed as though you might have needed this." Blinking then, he glanced toward the laundry basket where the shirt had been tossed and then again to Sasuke, unfazed by the other processing to get nude. What was their to be embarrassed about, the Hyuga wasn't ...so shy. No. No. Not...at all... Inhaling deeply he tried to remain calm, and nodded at the others comment "Right. Yeah. You can. You're a grown man." Neji cleared his throat and turned away, heading then for the door his hair had started getting frizzy any way as the humidity was picking up "I've left some room adding more water if you wish to have it cooled or warmer." He then exited the room with this fact and quietly closed the door behind him to let Sasuke enjoy the bath, alone. Neji stood in the hallway for a moment, wondering what to do then.

The small blush of red on his face soon being waved off as he turned to leave the hall and head for the kitchen. Maybe, he then thought, he should make Sasuke something to eat! That was a brilliant idea! He was a genius! Neji opened the fridge and seen a few gnawed on pieces of meat like food and other containers of left over something or another. As well as Sasuke's favored drinks "Uh...huh. Not much. I should have expected that this kid eats like he's leaving tomorrow." Closing the door to the fridge then he takes his cellphone out of his back pocket and starts looking for good places nearby. Then sighs, not satisfied with any of the take out and other fast food "Nothing to it. I'll just have to pick up something and make him an actual home cooked meal. Not whatever that abomination that's starting to mold at the bottom of the fridge." Making a disgusted face he moved to put on his jacket and headed out the front door.