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Neji does not know what has sparked his recent chain of decisions, but he is struggling to justify them even to himself at this point. He should have returned to the Hyuga compound some time ago, yet here he remained, sitting in Guy-sensei’s apartment with his team members, both of whom had fallen asleep some time ago, as the movie that Lee had picked continued to play quietly.
Guy-sensei had left them to it, weeping as he proclaimed nonsense about youth and spring, which had made Lee cry too. Neji never understood them, in that sense, but he had long since grown desensitised to their behaviour.
These combined facts have led to Neji’s current situation, stuck in his own thoughts, in the quiet, dim lighting of someone else's home. Lee grumbles something in his sleep, and pitches to his side, smooshing his face against Neji’s shoulder, and it’s the limit of what Neji can take. He sucks in a sharp breath, attempting to lean away, but that only pushes him towards Tenten. He is stuck. Obviously, he could extract himself, but it might wake Lee, who would inevitably wake Tenten, and Neji- well, he did not want to disturb them. It feels wrong, in a sense, to disturb his team members during their rest, unearned as it presently is.
Neji remains sitting, still as a statue as Lee’s breath puffs against his cheek, and feels his own breaths grow unsteady, a warbling mockery of the peace his teammates so easily achieve. Neji tightens his hands into fists in his lap. He has no reason to be feeling distressed, there was no threat, no one is hurt, and yet, Neji feels so very on edge. His palms are beginning to sweat. He flexes his fingers against his thighs, trying to rid them of the faint trembling he can feel.
The film ends, and the black screen behind the rolling credits dims the room further, and Neji feels his hands fly in the familiar motion before his Byakugan activates. The nearest chakra pathways belong only to his teammates. Yes, there are other shinobi around, but none close enough to pose an immediate threat.
There is nothing here, no danger or reason for his heart to be beating as hard as it is, but knowing this does nothing to ease the tightness in his chest.
Neji’s mind is still not calm, even as he releases his Byakugan. He is being so irrational, he must be paranoid from lack of sleep, a sure sign that he must leave his teammates and return to his own home. Neji looks down at Lee, then to Tenten. He does not want to leave. He does- he does want to leave, no? Neji presses a hand against his chest, feeling as it rises and falls rapidly, increasingly out of sync with the slow, relaxed breaths of Lee and Tenten. He tries to slow it, drawing in a careful breath through his nose, but it catches halfway down.
He must force himself to relax, in his current state, he would be no use to anyone if a threat did appear. Neji reaches for a kunai tucked into his shorts, needing the familiar weight of it in his hand more than he needed to actually draw it, only for a soft grumble from Lee to make him pause.
“Neji?” Lee’s voice is whiny and rough from sleep. “W-What are you doing?” Lee asks through a yawn, sitting up, and Neji is both relieved and mildly disgruntled- for whatever reason- at the loss of contact.
“I’m leaving, the film is finished.” Neji responds, his usual relaxed tone disrupted by the fact that his lungs won’t respond to him properly. “Goodnight Lee.” He adds, standing from the couch the three of them were sharing, but before he could make his escape, a strong hand clamps down on his arm.
Lee, one hand rubbing at his half lidded eyes, is grabbing him. Neji stares down at the point of contact, an odd feeling in his chest. “Do not go, Neji.” Lee grumbles, his voice far too loud for the near silence of the apartment.
“Lee, let go.” Neji whispers at him sharply, eyeing a stirring Tenten. “I want to go to bed, we have training tomorrow morning.” The panic is flaring again, but for a different reason this time. Neji touches his non-grabbed hand to his chest, confusion covering his face. Why were his body and mind betraying him so much?
Lee pulls on Neji’s arm, using far too much strength, and Neji falls back onto the couch.
The sudden movement knocks what little breath Neji had managed to gather from his lungs. He lands awkwardly against the cushions, one hand catching himself against the back of the couch. For a moment, his heart hammers hard enough to make his vision blur, and his hackles raise, but he forcibly shoves down the instinct to fight. It is only Lee, after all.
“What are you guys fighting about now?” Tenten mumbles, and Neji looks at her, feeling guilty. He has woken both of his sleeping teammates.
“Go back to sleep, both of you.” Neji says firmly, trying to pry Lee’s fingers from his arm.
“Neji is trying to leave our super youthful sleepover!” Lee exclaims, which has Tenten covering her ears, and glaring at them both.
“Neji just go to sleep, Lee is only going to get louder if you don’t.” Tenten huffs, kicking his thigh softly as she curls up against the arm rest of the couch. Neji sends her a look, but she’s already closed her eyes. Neji considers arguing, pointing out that this was hardly a reasonable solution. He could simply stand up and remove Lee's hand himself, by whatever force necessary, but… the thought of walking out into the dark hallway makes his chest tighten again. Neij sighs, resigned, and pulls his feet onto the couch, giving Lee a look.
“I w-will not let go until y-you are asleep or else I will do 300 laps arou…” Lee proclaims quietly, his eyes falling shut, though true to his word, his grip remains firm on Neji’s arm. Neji can’t help but let a small smile cross his lips for a second, before tilting his head back and shutting his eyes.