[Mizura]

The following is written for my fellow NejiHina fans. Those who wish to defend NejiHina are free to use this essay.

What I love about NejiHina:

How to start... there are so many aspects to this couple, so many layers, that I hardly know where to begin. Neji and Hinata I believe, are the two people with the deepest and most complex bonds in the entire series (save perhaps for Naruto and Sasuke, but for completely different reasons >.>), and because of their past, because of the difficulties they've had to surmount, I believe those bonds to be even stronger, and for both of them to be stronger for it.

The first thing striking about Hinata and Neji's relationship is that there is something undeniably tragic about it. When you look at the flashbacks, you realize how differently things could have turned out. If Neji and Hinata weren't born into the cold and rigid system that is the Hyuuga clan, if their parents weren't twins seperated at birth, if Neji weren't so strong while Hinata was so weak, things would have turned out so differently. When Neji first saw Hinata, he thought that she was cute. When his father first told him that his duty was to protect the shy little girl, he readily accepted the task. Had things turned out differently, Neji and Hinata would have been friends. Like Sakura had Ino, like Chouji had Shikamaru, even like Naruto had Iruka, Hinata would have had her Neji-niisan, who would guide her through her difficulties, be there for her when she's alone, train her to become stronger when her father is too harsh, and maybe, help her grow less shy. Their relationship would have been a close one, one that could have bloomed into more. If things had been a little different.

Instead, the mere minutes seperating Hiashi and Hizashi's birth, and the weight of countless generations of Hyuuga traditions, meant that their destinies would forever be opposites. Hinata had to grow up alone, with no-one to support her, while Neji, himself, was locked in his own cage of hatred. Both victims of an excessively demanding system. Both trapped by destiny.

Yet each in their own way fought against their destiny. Hinata tried to change, she tried to overcome her limits. And while Neji outwardly appeared resigned to his fate, inwardly he was struggling.

All this came out when Hinata and Neji confronted. All this time, Neji seemed to know everything about Hinata. He read her like an open book, said that she was too kind, said that for her own sake, she should remain a genin. He said that people couldn't change, that no matter what, you were trapped in your own destiny. And he said that in order to no longer feel the pain, you should just give up trying....

Yet Hinata saw more. Even when she was barely standing, even when she was near death, even though she was drowning in her own struggles and difficulties in a system far too harsh for her, she could see deeper into Neji. Neji talked of resigning oneself to one's destiny, he spoke of her thus letting go of her pain. He told her to stop struggling, that it was useless to try. But whose pain is he talking about? If he were truly resigned, why did he kept struggling? If he had truly accepted his destiny, why was he the one to suffer? And Hinata saw that, and reached out to him. Beneath the outwardly appearance of a perfect, undefeatable genius, layed a flawed human being. No, the one who was suffering the most was not her, but him. The one trapped by destiny was not her, not quite, but him. But people can change. You can defeat your destiny.

Her words hit their mark. Neji, who had acted cozy all this time in his beliefs, was disarmed faced with her mentality. "Why" do you keep struggling? Why don't you don't give up? Why don't you let go of the pain? Because... people can change. If people fight hard enough, they can change, they can stop the suffering. Giving in is not the solution, it won't erase the pain, it didn't ease Neji's pain. But if you keep fighting, it might be painful, you might be struck down. But you can get up again and keep fighting, fighting to break through the barriers set by birth, fighting to change, and to be free. And the person who suffered the most was not Hinata, but Neji. And Neji-niisan too, could change. Neji-niisan too, could break free.

He had lashed back at her then. For challenging the cage that binded him, the mentality that he has resigned to despite hating it, for showing that she herself could break free of her bindings even as he thought it was impossible, the normally calm Neji lost his cool, and tried to kill her, tried to kill the one who wanted to show him that perhaps, just perhaps, it wasn't hopeless, it is worth fighting for your freedom.

Back then she had failed to get through to him. But she helped lay the foundations. Neji's cage has been rattled, and now it's up to others to show him more. Naruto then finished the job, or rather, he was among those who showed him wrong. All these people around him, who tried to prove him wrong: in the end, they were right. They had better eyes than him. Lee who fought to prove that people could achieve something through hard work. Naruto who proved that people could achieve something through hard work. Genma who told him that a bird could always try to find a way to open the cage. Neji's father, Hizashi, who showed that even with the Curse Seal binding them down, they could still find a way to fly free. And Hinata, who showed that people could change, for showing that while the struggle is painful, in the end, you can achieve something for yourself. For all these people who fought to prove him wrong, for all these people who did prove him wrong, Neji did the same. He finally broke free of the mental barriers he set himself. Neji himself, finally changed, and became free as well.

Because of all these hardships they went together, I believe their bonds to be stronger now. Neji had always known about Hinata, though she has proved him wrong, and he accepted that. Neji let go of his hate. Hinata let go of her fear. Neji accepted his weakness and imperfection, Hinata accepted her strength. For all these hardships, for everything that has happened, I believe the two to have come out stronger, wiser, and more accepting and understanding of each other.

Thanks to Naruto now, the Hyuugas have started changing. But it is only the first step. The physical cage that binded the two houses in a cycle of hate is still in place. Hiashi, by training Neji, is taking the first step against traditions, yet this is the person who failed to save his brother, and who failed to spare his nephew a childhood of pain. There is only so much Hiashi can do, only so much he can accomplish. Naruto, in the same way, have laid the foundations in Neji, but change must come from within.

And I believe Neji and Hinata to be perfect for the role. Hinata, with her newfound strength, Neji with his newfound wisdom. Neji, with his strength, would stand up to all opposition. Hinata, with her compassion and sense of harmony, would instead heal the hatred that has plagued the two houses. As Isentropic said, Neji would be the strong, confident, intelligent one. Hinata would be the kind, caring, unprejudiced one. They were two sides of the same problem. They would be two sides to the same solution. Neji would find strength in Hinata, who all this time, had better eyes than him, and who all this time, has never hated him. For her compassion and forgiveness, he would stand by her side. He'd protect her again, like he promised as a child, and this time, he'd do it through his own free will, because it's the right thing to do. And Hinata could find strength in Neji as well, the one who was always stronger than her, and yet, the living proof that people can change, and let go of their hate. If Neji can be saved, and support her, so can the rest of the clan. To fight on is not meaningless.

Neji is rigid, cold, but softens up around Hinata. Hinata is kind, understanding, soft, but has a will of steel. Each has managed to surmount the cages that binded them. Each will fight against the cages that used to bind them, and still bind others, one with strength, the other with warmth, both with the determination of those who know that freedom is possible, because they've attained it themselves. It won't be easy, they know: the weight of countless generations of tradition are against them. But together they can rid of the hatred forever.

So I see their relation as a serene one. Not one that is flashy or overly romantic, with loud declarations of love under the storming rain. Instead it would be rather plain and bare, the two leaders of the Hyuuga clan. But if you look beneath, you'd see more to it. Understanding, acceptance, made stronger by the struggles they've had to fight. Respect for the other for having overcome his or her own barriers. Admiration for each other's strength, within or without. The kind and compassionate leader, who'd bring harmony with a determination of steel, and the strong and outwardly cold leader, who deep down has relearned compassion. Neji has accepted his weakness. Hinata has accepted her strength. They have accepted each other. For me, it's like watching the sunrise after the storm. Together they can lead the Hyuuga clan out of the shadows of the past, and back into the sunlight.