7 Years When I Was Alive (Neji x Reader) Naruto Fan fic

03. Young Hearts Blooming Over The Spring of Dreams

03. Young Hearts Blooming Over The Spring of Dreams

Ever since the day Neji had (sorta) comforted you in the school yard, you had been bursting with more energy than you could ever imagine. Sure, you did not find your forehead protector but you will always have the memories of your mother in your heart and that was something no one could ever steal from you.

You laid on your tummy, stomach against the mattress as you doodled all over your homework. The words ' Neji & [name] 5ever♥ ' were enclosed in large hearts with a kunai going through the middle. You blushed and giggled, wondering if Neji was thinking about you at this very moment.

Of course he is, you thought as you smiled like an evil cat, he definitely likes me! I can tell by the way he glares at me and he even has a nickname for me. 

Your eyes sparkled as you thought of the nickname he had came up for you : Fool.

You hummed a love song, wondering what Neji's favorite food was, what his favorite color was, what is his past, what is his story. You wanted to know more about Neji than you did about yourself!

That's when a brilliant idea popped into your head and light bulb flashes above your long [h/c] hair. 

Maybe you should ask Hinata!!!! They are cousins of course and they live in the same house. Besides, this would also be a great time to bond with her too!

You grabbed your shoes and tugged them on, then you were out the door faster than the speed of light.

In less than a second you had arrived to the Hyuga's traditional Japanese complex. You raised your hand to the door and before you could even knock, the door swung open, revealing Hiashi's natural scowling face. 

"Hello!" You beamed at him. He didn't seem surprised to find you standing there on a Saturday morning. You had been showing up lately to walk Neji to school and Hiashi was growing accustom to seeing you every day.

"Did you come to see Neji?" he asked," he went out training earlier and hasn't came back yet."

"Oh! No," you said, shaking your head vigorously," I came to see Hinata!"

"And why do you wish to see Hinata?" He questioned, slightly surprised. He didn't think you had any interest in the girl.

"Hmm," you tilted your head to the side and grinned," I want to spend time with her unless you're busy training her. I understand she's the heiress to the Hyuga clan so I'll just get going now if-"

"You can see her," he cuts you off and held the door open to let you inside," Hinata is weak compared to her younger sister and is not fit for becoming an heiress to the Hyuga clan so we have dismissed her from becoming the heiress. She has a lot of free time now that she is relieved from her duties."

"Oh, okay," you mumbled, unsure of what to say to the information he had given to you. You bowed your head respectively, kicked off your shoes, stacking them by the door before running inside in search of the blue haired girl.

He had called his own daughter weak, you thought, making your way through the guest room and towards the living room. Hinata was Hiashi's first born daughter therefore she was suppose to be heiress, it was suppose to be her fate but they had transferred it to Hinata's sister because of Hinata's incompetence as a shinobi. 

So maybe it wasn't her fate to be heiress? The thought of this puzzled you as you slid open a paper door and stepped into the backyard to find the blue haired girl standing on the deck by the door.

"[name]," Hinata said shyly, surprised to see you standing there.

"Hey! Hinata!" you threw your arms around her and hugged her tightly," just the person I was looking for!"

"You were looking for me?" her white pupils widened," w-why?"

"There's something I want to know" you said, becoming serious for once as you let go of her," about the Hyuga clan."

A look of sadness and disappointment shadowed her lily white face as she held your gaze," what is it?"

"Tell me about the byakugan and about your family," you said. Hinata nodded and for the rest of the morning she delved into a brief explanation of the kekkei genkai and it's abilities. Then explained to you about the main house, side house, and the cursed seal that branded the side house member's.

"Brother Neji, who was born into the side branch," she whispered, looking down at her hands as you had both sat down on the deck with your legs crossed," he doesn't say anything but he's still very angry at the main house."

Although you didn't get to ask about Neji's favorite food or what his favorite color was, you felt like you had came to understand him at a personal level. You smiled, it also made you like him more. 

"Thanks Hinata," you said politely to the timid girl," you are such a help."

"Do you...perhaps...have a c-crush on Brother Neji?" Hinata asked out of the blue, making you blush a thousand shade of red.

Oh my god! You thought, you didn't make it that obvious did you?!

"Yes! I mean! No! I mean yes," you ran your hands crazily into your hair to ruffle them," I mean! I do but...don't tell him! I'm too young to be in love!"

Hinata giggled," I won't, I promise [name]."

That's when you smiled slyly and leaned into her face," do you like anyone, Hinata?!"

"Me?!" she squeaked, growing redder than a tomato," I don't like anyone named Naruto-kun!"

"Naruto?" you reached over and patted her head comfortingly," it's okay to like someone, ya know? Why don't you tell me all about this lucky guy, Naruto."

"Well...he always gets into trouble. He doesn't have any friends. He's always alone and he failed the clone technique in the academy a few times. He's the class clown and I know he doesn't sound special when I put it that way but...Naruto-kun has a dream. He believes in that dream and I too believe in that dream. Someday people won't be standing with their back towards him," she looked up with determination in her eyes," someday they'll be standing beside him and I too- will be able to catch up and walk by his side!"

A dream. Hinata's speech had struck you. Naruto had a dream to be acknowledge by the village, Hinata's dream was to walk by his side, but what was your dream? 

All your life you had been told you were going to die. All your life you counted down the years, living happily without regrets, living life to fullest knowing you had limited time. In seven years you would die. You don't know how or where or why but you accepted it with a smile, without challenging your fate. 

So the more you thought about it, the more you began to form a hypothesis. If fate was a wall standing between you and your dreams, would you climb over it to reach that dream?

You smiled, knowing you would because 'trying is better than not trying at all'.

"You are right, Hinata, Naruto doesn't sound special when you put it that way," you said raising your head to watch the clouds rolling by. Life is always moving forward," he's beyond special."

The paper door behind you girls slid open and Neji frowned down at the both of you," [name]," he said," I knew I heard your annoying voice."

You stood up and grabbed Neji by the wrist," let's go spar! I have to practice if I want to beat Pinky next week! See you around, Hinata!"

"But I just finished training," Neji complained as he allowed himself to be dragged away by you with a smiling Hinata watching from behind.

Hinata's heart had budded over the spring of Naruto's dream but it had bloomed in the flourishing of her own hopes and dreams.

Your own heart had bloomed in realization that fate was an obstacle you could try to climb over. 

And in your heart, you hoped that Neji too can have a dream. That the caged bird could one day spread his wings and fly.

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