傷ついた鳥

Post-War Cannon Divergence Neji Hyūga Blog, Established June 2014, revamped June 2025 Minors DNI. No exception. They/Them for mun. You may call mun Raine

[whydoesthecxgedbirdsing]

Mobile Friendly links to my Rules and About Neji.

About the Muse

Rules

Tags

Check out the open starter tag for premade starters that are always open to mutuals. (For non mutuals please dm me first)

Time zone PTD or PTS depending on the time of years

Typical non active hours: Monday-Friday ~8am to ~7pm. Sometimes will have an hour between 1-2pm for ask answers. Active hours during Monday-Friday will typically be mobile.

Typical active hours for desktop Friday night-Sunday night.

Not mutual exclusive. (Sometimes I just prefer an uncluttered dash. While I am not mutual exclusive, I would like a dm before starting a thread. Ask memes however are always open to all, mutual or not)

Discord available to mutuals.

Dividers created by @cafekitsune

Currently slow/low activity but still here.

[whydoesthecxgedbirdsing]

//Smallest dog I’ve seen yet. 1.2kg fully grown

[sugar-and-spice-roleplay-memes]

Send 🧪 for my muse to take a truth serum and have to answer any question honestly from your muse.

Specify for multi muse blogs.

[rpclefairy]

𝐁𝐆𝟑 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.

a selection of lines from the various companions' banter quotes (not cut scene dialogues!) from baldur's gate 3. these are generally spoiler free and non context specific so they can apply to different settings and dynamics! feel free to change names and the like to customize the prompts.

“Death can't have me. Not yet…”

“Calm yourself. There is plenty of me to go around.”

“Realmspace is vast. Countless worlds to be mapped, kingdoms to be conquered.”

“I have missed this. The adventure. The danger. The kicking of butts!

“Let me guess - you need something.”

“Such attention.. I never realised I was so popular.”

“Let's cook with fire, baby.”

“Do you intend to vocalise every thought?. Or just the most obvious ones?”

“Wherever we go, ye gods let there be something green.”

“Careful, or I will take your toy away from you.”

“Watch your elders and learn.”

“Perhaps try attacking the enemy?”

“So much we don't know, lingering in the furthest reaches of existence.”

“All the world's my stage and you're just a player in it.”

“The shadows are my friend.”

“Yes, yes, have your fun. It isn't you they're trying to kill.”

“Feet planted firmly on Faerûn, please.”

“Admirable stamina, yet terrible priorities.”

“Well you certainly have the 'omnipresent' part down, don't you?”

“I am ready, whatever may come.”

“My faith protects me.”

“Need a throat slitting?”

“Death greets us all - but not today.”

“You need my expertise?”

“Can you feel death's cold grip?”

“So many stars, so many mysteries yet to be discovered.”

“Death comes quietly.”

“And I thought we were going to be friends.”

“Locked tight, but there must be some way to open it.”

“No, you can't die. Get up, damn you!

“You had my attention, now you have my fury.”

“From silence to suffering.”

“So many worlds out there. You'd need a thousand lifetimes to see them all - more.”

“I hope this is important. For your sake.”

“Let them gaze deep into their own abyss, and wonder just what it is they are trying to achieve.”

“I ought to just burn this whole thing down.”

“We have slightly more pressing matters to attend to.”

“You have still have time to surrender.”

“Every kicked buttock, another step on the path.”

“Weave save me. I can't take much more…

“You are right to fear me.”

“Let me look around. Might be something that'll help me crack this thing.”

“Incredible, to think how many worlds exist beyond this tiny speck within a speck I call home.”

“I really wish I could cast a Hold spell on you.”

“I can fawn over my face later.”

“Ready for another round?”

“Keep your blade close.”

“I can't unlock it from here, but there must be a switch or a button somewhere…”

“No, that's not moving. There must be a way to open it somewhere.”

“Battle favours the fearless.”

“Sleep with one eye open, evil. Maybe both.”

“Gotta be something around here to unlock this thing.”

“Why do beautiful people taste better?. It hardly seems fair on the ugly - they have such wonderful personalities.”

“Oh, calm down. I'm happy to see you too.”

“Just go for the Magic Missile and fire away. Never fails.”

“Still standing, no matter what you heard.”

“Enough waiting. I crave blood.”

“Hang on - I won't allow this. You aren't dead, go it?”

“GODS, it's HOT in here!”

“No rest for the wicked, I see.”

“Better to hide than fight, sometimes.”

“Would that I could hide from you, too.”

“Are you feeling lonely, perhaps?”

“There is no right or wrong, only truth.”

“Battle is afoot - you can poke me once we are safe.”

“What good all this ethereal eladrin blood if I can still get pimples?”

“I should've been a drow. They have such stylish armour.”

“I am armed! Armoured! And entirely sick of your foolishness.”

“Let's have some fun.”

“War is an old woman's game.”

“No rest, be you wicked or wise.”

“I'm getting too old for this nonsense.”

“I would poke you back, but I fear that's what you want.”

“You have my attention - now do something with it.”

“You are insistent, are you not?”

“Do what must be done.”

“Your suffering will be spectacular.”

“Lest I sit down for a rest and not rise again.”

“Better to look evil in the eye. Even if it be very small.”

“I'm not built to crouch.”

“I think I could go another round.”

“Always the same old song.”

“Is perfection too much to ask?”

“Eyes on victory, tummy on dinner.”

“So many places to be.. and I chose Baldur's Gate.”

“I'm not opening that. Not from here, at any rate.”

“What is the point, if not victory?”

“Won't last much longer like this.”

“Let's hope the locals are friendly.”

“Let us show them how it's done.”

“Weapons high. Standards higher.”

“Must everyone be so exhausting?”

“What I would not give for a chunk of fresh honeycomb…”

“Which way to the nearest library?”

“Now this is my happy place.”

“Who shall I silence?”

“Stop, or die.”

“Wear your scars proudly.”

[hiddenvioletsgrow]

Location: Givens Books Little Dickens in Lynchburg, VA, USA

[whydoesthecxgedbirdsing]

~X~——;Close, Neji supposed that they had been. He had slowly started to distance himself from everyone. Watching his friends fall in love and start families together caused something deep within him to ache terribly.

“And if I don’t want to fight for change anymore? If I am too tired to keep fighting and just want to go off into the woods and be left alone? What then?” He gave a half smile to Sasuke.

“Would that make me an awful person? Would I be shunned? I gave everything in the war, and my reward is an arranged marriage in my family to a woman I don’t know.. expected to procreate like cattle.”

“I am tired, and I am afraid none of our friends can see or understand this feeling. If any of them found out what I had done, that I hadn’t planned to live, I think they’d treat me like I was made of glass. Like I was broken..” he looked down at his own hands

‘I wasn’t supposed to live this long either’

That was exactly why Neji had sought out the other. Who better to understand and just listen to how Neji was feeling and not pretend that it would be all okay, to tell Neji that everything would be okay. Who better to understand and not try and fix Neji than someone like Sasuke.

[nikushiimi]

He takes in all of what he's said without judgement. In a lot of ways, they're like two sides of the same coin ; people moved on without him, though it's not like Sasuke had made many attempts to walk with him. Konoha was a prison with an open door to him, only here for the other members of team seven and no one else. Unlike Neji, he was scorned no matter where he went.

It would be easier if he just disappeared. That's an option he does have. From what he knows about the Hyuga clan, that's an option Neji doesn't have.

"I don't know what you want me to say. I'm not sure you want me to say anything at all." Neji is the only one brave enough to go looking for a supporting ear from him. Sasuke's staunchly aware of how helpless they both are in their situations, but him a little less so.

"You're given a shit hand, no reason to believe you're awful for not wanting to bear with it. Fuck what other people think." He looks up at him with a blank expression. "If you can't change it, you have to stand it. Or you can kill yourself, but we've both failed at that already. I wouldn't recommend trying again."

[whydoesthecxgedbirdsing]

~X~——; “I don’t think I need you to say anything at all.” Neji finally said after a moment.

“I think you’re the only one I can say these things to and not have you try and fix it, or tell me it gets better or that it was all worth it. Or treat me like I am made of glass about to break.” His lip twitched slightly as he tried to hold on a small chuckle over Sasukes choice of words

“We could always do a double murder, but I think they’d see it as a murder suicide.” The grin was slowly spreading. He really had come to find Sasuke as something more than just Naruto’s best friend.

“I won’t be returning to the village. Not any time soon anyways.” He had long since decided this move. Yet it was only now he spoke of his plans.

“Either they’ll mark me KIA from the mission I’ve finished, or assume I deserted. Hopefully neither leads to a hunting party to bring me back.”

[whydoesthecxgedbirdsing]

“I have a feeling we’re about to become acquainted whether we like it or not.”

~X~——; “Fate seems to have made her victim once again. Making me face the sins of my past. Have I not been tormented enough? Was dying and being brought back not enough!?” He was wondering if this was what a tormented artist felt like.

“I won’t go back home.” He had made that decision long ago. Fate be dammed. Besides what would fate do? Kill him all over again? He happily greet death like an old friend who had long been missed.

“I do not wish to become acquainted with my past once more.”

[rpclefairy]

first meeting sentence starters.

send one to have our muses meet for the first time.

“Sorry, were you just talking to me?”

“I think you dropped this.”

“You look lost. Need some help?”

“I don’t usually talk to strangers, but…”

“You’re sitting in my spot.”

“Whoa! Careful!”

“We’ve never met, right? You seem familiar.”

“Is that seat taken?”

“Sorry, I think I just spilled something on you.”

“You’re blocking the doorway.”

“Were you just staring at me?”

“Excuse me, do you know the time?”

“Wait — are you the person I’m supposed to meet?”

“I’ve been sent to find you.”

“Please don’t be alarmed, but I think we have the same bag.”

“Do you work here?”

“I’m fairly certain that’s mine.”

“You’ve got something on your face.”

“Sorry, I thought you were someone else.”

“Do you know the way to ___?”

“You’re hurt. Do you need help?”

“That’s a fine ___ (cloak/hat/book/etc.). Where did you get it?”

“This might sound strange, but can I hide behind you for a moment?”

“You look like you could use a friend.”

“I think your dog just stole my lunch.”

“Hey, you dropped your coin purse.”

“I think we’re stuck in here together.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to overhear, but…”

“Are you the new neighbor?”

“First time in town?”

“I’m not sure if this belongs to you, but…”

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I’ve been hearing a lot about you.”

“Do you mind if I join you?”

“I think you’re in the wrong place.”

“You seem… out of place.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but are you following me?”

“That was a close call.”

“Not to alarm you, but someone’s watching you.”

“Mind if I walk with you?”

“You look like you’re in trouble.”

“Was that your doing back there?”

“You don’t look like you’re from around here.”

“That was impressive. How’d you manage it?”

“I’m guessing you’re not here by accident.”

“Do I want to know what just happened?”

“You might want to keep your voice down.”

“Is it always this strange around here?”

“I have a feeling we’re about to become acquainted whether we like it or not.”

“Looks like we’re in this together now.”

[chiariuchiha]

Neji seemed even surprised at his own suggestion to befriend her, as if the word had long dissolved into merely a sound, losing all meaning. Something foreign and lost to time.

She had asked the question once before, to another who had defied death, in a different way.

“How long have you been … like this?”

It is intrusive and she knew it, but she wanted to know. Since they had already divulged abandoned identities, the other questions felt like fair game. It would not have surprised or offended her if he had a plethora of his own.

“I can work with this scenario. At least for now.” Risks admitted, she couldn’t warn him any other way. Traveling with one of the remaining Uchiha was its own danger. Even if she had disposed of the burdens of a clan name, she couldn’t escape the blood in her veins nor the troubled wake she left in her escape from imprisonment.

His mention of home tacked on another question, and she did her best to keep it simple.

“You would still call that home, even now? Or do you mean somewhere else?”

[whydoesthecxgedbirdsing]

~X~——; “Long enough to know that no one should have to suffer this fate.” Was his first response to her questions. Short, perhaps a bit cold. It wasn’t his favorite subject to dwell on. The longer he did, the more his anger got out of control.

“How long has it been since the war?” He offered in return, trying his best to make light of it. If he didn’t joke about it, he would break.

“I was pulled back from death a few years after the war. I spent my time figuring out what I am, and how to use it to my advantage.” He had picked up many new skills along the way. Figured out how to keep his mind busy, keep himself from fully losing it.

“If you are referring to the leaf village, that place has not been home since my death.” There had been some days even in his life he wasn’t sure it was home. More like a cage than anything.

“I speak of a house I built my self deep in the woods by the base of one of the mountains. One of the forest no one dares try to explore if they want to live due to the creatures that call it home and the mountain god.” It was quite peaceful once you befriended both the forest creatures and the mountain god he had found out. Even beast could be won over with good food and time

“I do not think the village would accept me for who I am now or what I’ve become.”

[musedbyalli]

"Okay!" Himawari smiled eagerly. It did make it less stressful not feeling like she had to be super stealthy or risk ruining her uncle's hiding. While she was willing to attempt it, she'd have felt awful if she led to Neji's hiding getting ruined when he wasn't ready to be revealed yet.

"So cute!" An excited squeal escaped the girl at the transformation into a fluffy stoat. It was perfect for a creature that she would take up. Plus, as someone who wasn't in the Academy, she was pretty impressed by the Transformation jutsu. "Let's go!" With that, she quickly grabbed her wallet and a jacket before leaving the house with the stoat by her neck.

[whydoesthecxgedbirdsing]

~X~——; He gave her a small chirp of agreement as he encircled her neck settling in. This would allow him to figure out more about what had changed over the years. Hiding in the shadows and outskirts of the town only reviled so much.

He hummed in amusement taking note of everything that had changed. It was more modern. Bigger stores, more people, more advanced  technology, even more food from other nations being sold. It was warm and comforting. It felt safe. Safer than it had ever felt before.

He made a mental note to try and figure out a way to repay Naruto and their friends for everything they had changed for the better.

He sniffed the air, taking in all the wonderful smells of the food from the new restaurants. Had he needed to eat or even felt the urge of hunger anymore he was sure his stomach would be growling by now.

Soon, they found themselves at the store and Neji traveled down her arm, using his little legs to pat certain items he wanted her to buy.

[sluttysapphie]

Send ⛱️ to find my muse completely nude on the beach!

[whydoesthecxgedbirdsing]

~X~——; He felt more at ease on missions than he did currently. The war had messed with him, with everyone really. Each coming away with some sort of trauma.

Of course Shikamaru understood how Neji was feeling. They had fought side by side. Seen the same horrors. Knew how safe it felt having someone stand guard while the others slept, rotating shifts taking watch.

Perhaps Shikamaru also struggled with similar issues with sleep now that the war was over. Neji wouldn’t push the matter. He’d be told in time if Shikamaru wanted to.

His request for Nejis feet to be put in his lap wasn’t what he had expected. He wasn’t quite sure what he had expected as a reply, or offer, but he wasn’t about to turn it down.

He’d much rather use Shikamaru thigh as a pillow for his head over his feet. Yet he’d not push his luck. Shikamaru was already offering him so much.

The offer of a futon in the other room would mean more space. Would allow for actual cuddling. Yet, it felt the same as having Neji place his head in Shikamaru lap. To intimate for where they stood in their friendship.

“This is more than enough.” Was all Neji gave in reply as he did just as Shikamaru had told. Stretching out and carefully putting his feet in the others lap.

Soon he was curled up on his side, back to the wall, curled into the back of the couch, legs still in Shikamaru lap as he slept. Not a single nightmare bothering his slumber.

[nikushiimi]

Sasuke shrugged ineffectually. He won't placate him with empty words, no niche sayings about it being darkest before the dawn. He knows turmoil, he knows pain, he knows what it's like to go into a fight believing wholly that it would be his last.

He does not understand clan politics the way he should, either. He was too young when he was made the successor of Fugaku. He didn't know what it meant, and by the time he was supposed to grow into that role, there was no one left to govern.

"Are they close? Hinata likes you well enough, might as well try to take advantage of what you can. You can probably do it without her if you talk to Naruto about it. Change won't happen instantly but I'm sure he'd support you." He's bound to become hokage and his backing was not something to taken lightly anymore.

Sasuke laid his palm upwards on his lap, contemplating what Neji's motives may be -- true and genuine connection with someone unexpected, or something underhanded that he does not yet fully know?

"You lived. Sometimes that doesn't mean anything. I wasn't supposed to live this long, either."

[whydoesthecxgedbirdsing]

~X~——;Close, Neji supposed that they had been. He had slowly started to distance himself from everyone. Watching his friends fall in love and start families together caused something deep within him to ache terribly.

“And if I don’t want to fight for change anymore? If I am too tired to keep fighting and just want to go off into the woods and be left alone? What then?” He gave a half smile to Sasuke.

“Would that make me an awful person? Would I be shunned? I gave everything in the war, and my reward is an arranged marriage in my family to a woman I don’t know.. expected to procreate like cattle.”

“I am tired, and I am afraid none of our friends can see or understand this feeling. If any of them found out what I had done, that I hadn’t planned to live, I think they’d treat me like I was made of glass. Like I was broken..” he looked down at his own hands

‘I wasn’t supposed to live this long either’

That was exactly why Neji had sought out the other. Who better to understand and just listen to how Neji was feeling and not pretend that it would be all okay, to tell Neji that everything would be okay. Who better to understand and not try and fix Neji than someone like Sasuke.

[kagemaneking]

A month passed. On paper, nothing had changed. Shikamaru still showed up to briefings on time. Still stood at Naruto’s side when strategy was needed. Still signed reports, delegated missions, anticipated threats three steps ahead like he always had.

No one questioned him. No one noticed —but something was…off.

At first, it was small. A hesitation midsentence, like he’d forgotten a word that should’ve come easily. Shadows stretching a second too long after he’d already released the jutsu. A faint delay between thought and action, barely there —but enough to irritate him.

Then came the nights. He stopped sleeping entirely some days, not because he didn’t need to—but because every time he closed his eyes, there was something else there. Watching. Waiting for an opportunity to release itself.

Then there was the fact his shadow began to move without permission. Not wildly and not enough to alarm anyone else. Just… subtle shifts. A twitch here and a pull there—like a leash being tested from the other end.

He adapted. Of course he did. He adjusted chakra flow, limited usage, avoided prolonged shadow techniques —unless necessary. And it worked.

Until it didn’t.

— — —

He hadn’t meant to come here. That’s what he told himself. But his feet knew the path too well. By the time he reached the edge of Neji’s property, he was barly upright. Blood soaked into his sleeve, one hand pressed tightly against his side. His breathing was uneven —not from lack of air, but from the effort of keeping something down.

The shadows around him flickered, unstable. For a second —just a damn second— they rose again, tendrils curling like they wanted to reach for something or… someone?

Then he forced them back with a sharp inhale “Don’t…start…” he muttered hoarsely.

Another step. Then another. Fuck! Just how long could he withstand this pain?

He made it halfway across the garden before his knee gave out, dropping him to one side, catching himself against the ground. The snow beneath him darkening bitterly “…troublesome,” he rasped, a faint, exhausted smirk pulling at his lips despite everything.

And for thr first time since the mission —he didn’t get back up.

[whydoesthecxgedbirdsing]

~X~——; Shikamaru lack of visits oddly stirred something in Neji. He had long since assumed he had gotten rid of his desire to keep company with those from his past. Yet as each day passed, he found himself missing Shikamaru Witt and banter. He was one of the few who could challenge Neji in the way he wanted to be challenged.

Yet he didn’t seek out the other. It would only cause more harm than good. Neji wasn’t ready for the potential fall out that could come from others figuring out he was still around (and taking out his own clan one by one)

So he waited. Traveled and continued to do what he did best. Learn and relax. Shikamaru hadn’t sent over the scrolls that he had used, the ones that resulted in his current condition. But that didn’t mean Neji couldn’t venture from his home and get his hands on any material closely related to what had happened.

The day Shikamaru finally did return, Neji just so happened to be out back in his garden, tending to some of the plants there. The snow needed clearing off some of the winter vegetables that he had growing. While they thrived in this weather, to much snow weight and they’d break.

While Shikamaru had been somewhat keyed into Nejis ward, to be allowed in to the safety that his home offered, it still went off alerting Neji that he was there.

Getting up the moment he felt the ward go off, he brushed snow from his hands before turning to go meet Shikamaru at the edge of his garden. Something didn’t quite feel right.

It was almost like someone had come with Shikamaru and was tripping the wards and not tripping them at the same time. Yet, from his view, Shikamaru was alone.

The smell of blood hit him first, a slight curl of his lip forming as the metallic tang hit his nose. This wasn’t good. He watched closely, seeing Shikamaru take a few steps, before collapsing into the snow.

He wasn’t afraid for himself, no, more afraid for Shikamaru. Only one of them here was immortal.

It only took him a few steps to get to the place Shikamaru had fallen into the snow. He crouched down, peering into the pile of snow he had tumbled into.

“You look like shit.” Neji mused softly. He studied the other for a moment, gauging just how much blood he had lost. Neji knew the basics of healing, and then some advanced techniques, but not many. He had thought learning more wouldn’t have been handy to know. It wasn’t like he was hanging out with mortals. But seeing Shikamaru in the snow, his blood turning the snow a beautiful color, he figured he’d brush up on it and maybe learn some new things.

“You’d be better off going back to Sakura and asking for healing than me. Her skills are much more advanced.” He muttered activating his byakugan scanning the other over slowly.

A few hand signs later and the green glow of healing chakra covered Nejis hands as he reached to go over the more damaged part of Shikamaru.

Tendrils be dammed. If they tried to attack Neji they’d have no luck killing him. He’d sit and take the attack if needed if it meant stabilizing someone he once considered a friend

“..I think I’m going soft.” He chuckled looking down and studying Shikamaru again with his byakugan.

“Choutsuki would be proud.” He mumbled softly

[whydoesthecxgedbirdsing]

Am I baking over doing replies again. Yes..

[whydoesthecxgedbirdsing]

//Tag yourself and your muse.

Mun’s B1, B2, B13, B32, B35

Nejis verse 1 is : B7, B14, B32, B34, B35

Neji verse 2 is : B1, B2, B10, B14, B15, B32, B34, B35

[whydoesthecxgedbirdsing]

~X~--; “I am not sure you could call my wandering a journey. Something simply to keep my mind occupied for a while. Something for a change.”

He titled his head at the word friends. Mulling it over. He had been the one to offer the word up on the first place. But it still sounded so strange and  foreign to him.

“Perhaps o am looking for a bit of excitement in what’s become sedentary.” He shrugged slightly at her warning.

“I have traveled enough to pick up new skills when it comes to hiding who, and what I am. Comes in handy when I venture into towns closer to my home village.” Perhaps traveling with her would cause some excitement. Even blood shed. It had been a while since he had been in a good fight.

He gave a small shake of his head

“I see no need to back out. It sounds just like the excitement I need in my life… death? Existence right now.” He grinned at her

“Shall we see where this takes us? I am in no hurry to return home.”