Neji shakes his head and says, "The other thirty-one were-"

"I believe that that's sensitive information, Neji," interrupts Yamato as he is seen standing at the front door that he recently came in from.

"I apologize," mumbles Neji.

"Who were the other thirty-one?" you question.

"After all the information that you've already been given about yourself (y/n), I think that's enough. The Hokage doesn't wish for you to bear a bigger burden," states Yamato sternly.

"But it's just a simple question! Neji doesn't even have to specify, he could literally just say, 'Oh, it was some elderly and parts of the Anbu Force'. I'm not a baby- I can handle knowing that I killed innocent people!" you state in protest.

"I'm sorry (y/n), but I cannot let Neji, disclose anymore information," sternly says Yamato.

"Fine, but let me know one thing, is the beast still within me?" you ask.

Without hesitation, Yamato answers by saying, "Yes."

After such a heated discussion that got interrupted by your new bodyguard, Neji decides to go to his house and prepare himself for the next day. You prepare dinner for yourself and Yamato. As you two eat what you prepared; which was teriyaki and rice, you two have a conversation of your own.

"Why'd you have to butt in like that?" you ask.

"As I said before, the Hokage doesn't want you to carry an even bigger burden," answers Yamato.

"I've coped with the fact that I'm an orphan and that I've hurt Neji without even knowing so. I even dealt with the fact that Neji hated me for years until recently now. So, what's the big deal with knowing more? I know that I stole someone dear to Neji, and I'm really sad about it now. Of course, Neji is too, but there's nothing I can do about it. Plus, Neji forgave me-"

Yamato interrupts, "Neji never said he forgave you."

You stop and look at your plate of food. You begin eating again, but this time you had tears streaming down your face.

"I'm sorry that I had to bring that up, but I didn't want you to have the idea that you and Neji are on the best terms at the moment and somehow manage to dig each other in a deeper hole of sadness by acting as if you two were."

"Just how much did you hear out of our conversation before you stopped Neji?" you ask, feeling betrayed.

"Not much, I only heard your question. But, I assumed that he had told you that the beast within you killed his mother since your question was, 'Who were the other thirty-one?' I don't lie (y/n). I always keep my word," says Yamato, making you not feel betrayed anymore. "Plus, I heard the conversation between you and your other two friends. Neji may not have heard, but I did."

You sigh and ask, "So like, are you just gonna play the dad role now?"

Yamato chuckles and says, "Just finish up eating and get prepared for bed. I assume that you have something to do tomorrow, so when should I wake you up?"

"I would appreciate it if you could wake me up at six in the morning," you say finishing off the last of your rice.

"Yes ma'am! I'll also do the dishes while you get prepared for bed, so please come back if you're finished while I'm not," insists Yamato as he takes his and your dirtied plates, silverware, and cups and heads for the sink.

You do as he says and get prepared for bed by doing your daily things such as getting pajamas on and brushing your teeth. Due to your thoroughness when it comes to brushing your teeth, Yamato finishes his task before you finish yours. Once you finish, you head to your room to find Yamato sitting in a chair reading one of the novels you bought at the market in Konoha.

"So are ya gonna watch me while I sleep?"  you ask crawling into bed.

"That's my job," replies Yamato.

You don't bother to tease Yamato by saying that his task is creepy, but decide to close your eyes and try to sleep as soon as possible. You were tired after all you had gone through today and the past weeks. All you ever really wanted at the moment was to have a normal training session with your teammates and learn something for once. As you begin to fall into a deep slumber, you think about Neji and wonder what he is doing at the moment, even though the most logical answer would be that he is sleeping.

. . .

Neji finds himself tossing around in his bed thinking of you and what he told you. He also thinks about the death of his mother. He remembers the day when she told him that she would be back after visiting his uncle and cousin Hinata. He also remembers when his uncle came back instead of his mother telling him that he was in custody of Neji now due to Neji becoming an orphan.

Neji thinks, "I haven't thought about that in a while. It really does still sting. What was going on with my uncle's head when I asked him why I was living with him now. He didn't sugar coat anything. He was straightforward and told me that (y/n) took away my mother from me. Not only did I lose my father at that time, but also my mother in the same month... What is my luck? I shouldn't have treated (y/n) the way I did before. She wasn't in control of herself at the time, nor does she even remember it. Only the beast should remember aside from the older generation."

Many thoughts were whirling through Neji's mind, but he came to one conclusion which was, in his thoughts, "Reason number three, (y/n) is brave and strong."

. . .

"Good morning my youthful students! Who's ready to learn chakra control?" asks Guy-Sensei as excited as possible.

To you, Guy-Sensei was just as excited as Yamato was when he was finally off his shift so that he could get some rest.

"I'm ready!" you yell excitingly due to barely learning anything since your time with team Guy due to the past few weeks being hectic.

"That's great!" yells back Guy-Sensei.

Guy-Sensei explains the fundamentals of chakra control and has his supposed "rival", Kakashi Hatake, show us how it's done. To your understanding, chakra control can be used to walk on water or trees and to be channeled into objects to make them stronger or whatever you would like them to do.

"Wait!" you yell, getting the attention from your teammates, sensei, and Kakashi.

"Yes?" questions Kakashi.

"Would this be chakra control?" you ask as you throw your fists in front of you and have them surrounded by water to create gloves of water.

Kakashi stares at your hands as he ponders.

"Where did you get the water from?" questions Kakashi.

"I'm not sure," you answer. "It just comes out of nowhere if I put my mind to it- to create these gloves of water I mean."

"It might be from the moisture of your own skin," says Kakashi as he analyzes your gloves of water. "Although, they look as if you are channeling chakra into the moisture to strengthen your gloves of water. In conclusion, you are using chakra control."

"Wow!" exclaims Tenten and Rock Lee as they're amazed at how quickly you learned.

Neji is silent as usual, but seems to be impressed by the gloves of water that he had once insulted a few weeks ago.

"Well, why don't you four split up into the groups that I had assigned you four to be in a while ago. Neji with (y/n) and Tenten with Rock Lee," instructs Guy-Sensei. "I have a rock-paper-scissors contest that I must best Kakashi in!"

Kakashi only sighs as you four split up into two groups. As Guy-Sensei and Kakashi duel it out, you and Neji start practicing chakra control on one side of the field while Tenten and Rock Lee do the same but on a different side of the field. You watch as Neji tries to walk up a tree, but has a bit of trouble, ending with him falling flat on his behind.

"Would you like some help?" you ask Neji as you hold out your hand.

He takes your hand and lets you pull him up from his fallen state.

"I suppose," answers Neji.

"Yes or no?"

"Yes," answers Neji again.

"Well, when I'm controlling my chakra, I kinda just feel a surge of energy rushing through. Like, I just feel it coming out and just use it to the best of my ability," you explain as you walk along the trunk of a tree. "When I first tried it out, I thought about something that made me happy and I just did it. Maybe you should try that?"

Neji nods and thinks of something that makes him happy. After thinking for a few minutes, he tries to walk along the trunk of the tree and manages to reach the top to finish off his victory by sitting on a branch.

"I'm glad you figured it out Neji!" you exclaim.

"Thanks (y/n)!" yells back Neji as he smiles.

You blush at the sight of his smile due to it looking very genuine. You shake your head and smile back.

"What did you think of that makes you happy?" you ask as Neji is halfway down on the trunk of the tree.

Neji ends up falling; however, you end up catching him and holding him bridal style.

"Jeez, sorry that I asked?" you say as you put Neji down. "You really didn't have to fall for me!"

As you laugh at your own joke, Neji blushes intensely. You notice his red face and take it that he is embarrassed.

"Hey, it's okay to mess up once in awhile Neji! I mess up all the time, but people still seem to like me," you say being clueless of the fact that Neji is blushing out of his feelings for you.

In Neji's head, he thought, "Reason number four, (y/n) is charming and beautiful in every way."

"But what did you think about Neji?" you ask once again.

"I, uh..." Neji panics as he realizes that he cannot say his answer out loud.

As he stammers more you say, "Well?"

"Potatoes."

"What?" you question.

"I thought of potatoes," mumbles Neji as his face turns into a tomato.

"Oh, I like potatoes too," you say, not thinking that Neji's answer was weird at all since the thing that made you happy at the time when you were trying to figure out chakra control was Neji himself, so you did not judge him at all.

Although you do not have to think of something that makes you happy when you are controlling your chakra now.

"Yeah, potatoes are great..." mumbles Neji as he realizes that a thing that makes him happy is you. To himself, Neji thinks, "Reason number five, (y/n) is persistent and determined."