Naruto: Destiny Freely Chosen
Fandom: Naruto
Characters: Neji (Neji/Hinata implications if you want to squint)
Rating/Status: PG / 265 words, complete
Timeline: Undefined future, no spoilers
Summary: There was a time when Neji had openly cursed his destiny. He hoped now that it wasn't what people would remember.
Author's Note: Originally written for naruto100's "Abandonment" challenge, with a bonus for rain, but I never got around to posting it by the deadline for various reasons. Honestly though, I'm not sure where this came from. I never really thought I'd write a Neji fic. Just goes to show you never know what I may end up writing. :p Btw, I don't necessarily see this as a Neji/Hinata fic, but fans of this pairing can probably let their imagination run if they squint hard.
Destiny Freely Chosen
The irony didn't escape him as he lay there on the muddy ground, staring at the unconscious figure next to him. To begin with, it was his duty to die for her.
Blinking once, twice in the unrelenting rain, Neji wondered if he'd drown first before life managed to drain out of him completely.
"I need help over here! Somebody!"
Desperation.
If he thought he could summon up enough will to do so, he would've told Sakura not to bother. Instead, he laughed, shortly and bitterly. In the end, this was his destiny after all. Just as his father had died for Hiashi-sama, his life was merely a substitute for Hinata's and who she might become.
What would Naruto say to that, he couldn't help thinking.
Death, Neji had always believed, was something he didn't fear. It was such an inherent part of shinobi life that it would be foolish for any ninja to think himself above such a fate. Even now, as he reached over to clasp his fingers over hers, he couldn't say for sure whether he was afraid of his own death. Yet fear was all he thought of right then.
Fear for abandoning her. For how how she would blame herself. For how she would break herself, thinking she wasn't strong enough.
He hoped his Hyuuga destiny wasn't what people would choose to remember. And he hoped his words all those years ago wasn't what she would choose to dwell on. He hoped she would, instead, remember that this was a destiny he had freely chosen.
Perhaps, Naruto would say he died for something worthy.
He would've liked that, he thought.
Characters: Neji (Neji/Hinata implications if you want to squint)
Rating/Status: PG / 265 words, complete
Timeline: Undefined future, no spoilers
Summary: There was a time when Neji had openly cursed his destiny. He hoped now that it wasn't what people would remember.
Author's Note: Originally written for naruto100's "Abandonment" challenge, with a bonus for rain, but I never got around to posting it by the deadline for various reasons. Honestly though, I'm not sure where this came from. I never really thought I'd write a Neji fic. Just goes to show you never know what I may end up writing. :p Btw, I don't necessarily see this as a Neji/Hinata fic, but fans of this pairing can probably let their imagination run if they squint hard.
Destiny Freely Chosen
The irony didn't escape him as he lay there on the muddy ground, staring at the unconscious figure next to him. To begin with, it was his duty to die for her.
Blinking once, twice in the unrelenting rain, Neji wondered if he'd drown first before life managed to drain out of him completely.
"I need help over here! Somebody!"
Desperation.
If he thought he could summon up enough will to do so, he would've told Sakura not to bother. Instead, he laughed, shortly and bitterly. In the end, this was his destiny after all. Just as his father had died for Hiashi-sama, his life was merely a substitute for Hinata's and who she might become.
What would Naruto say to that, he couldn't help thinking.
Death, Neji had always believed, was something he didn't fear. It was such an inherent part of shinobi life that it would be foolish for any ninja to think himself above such a fate. Even now, as he reached over to clasp his fingers over hers, he couldn't say for sure whether he was afraid of his own death. Yet fear was all he thought of right then.
Fear for abandoning her. For how how she would blame herself. For how she would break herself, thinking she wasn't strong enough.
He hoped his Hyuuga destiny wasn't what people would choose to remember. And he hoped his words all those years ago wasn't what she would choose to dwell on. He hoped she would, instead, remember that this was a destiny he had freely chosen.
Perhaps, Naruto would say he died for something worthy.
He would've liked that, he thought.