The person he most longed to see had appeared at the very moment he was at his most miserable. Every thought in Neji's mind was stripped away.
He had always worked hard to follow the path the other person had shown him, yearning for the day he might earn his approval. Yet they had reunited just after his crushing defeat, after he had completely failed those expectations.
Hailed as the genius of the Hyuga Clan, his only thought at that moment was to vanish from where he stood or find a crack in the ground to crawl into—he absolutely could not let this person see him in such a wretched, humiliating state...
Was this a dream? Yes, this had to be another dream!
That was right... Lord Menma was the mysterious and powerful leader of the Ember Organization! How could he possibly appear at an event like the Chunin Exams...? Yes, just like countless nights before, this was only a dream...
Neji desperately tried to convince himself, attempting to flee from this reality that was too cruel to bear. Menma had never expected the boy's inner turmoil to be so elaborate. Seeing that he still had not reacted, he spoke again.
"What's wrong? Don't you have anything to say now that you've seen me? Hizashi misses you very much. I can't stay here long. Is there anything you need me to bring to your father?"
The words were utterly ordinary, but their meaning was completely different from the course of any "dream" Neji had imagined—there was no acknowledgment, no praise. Like a basin of icy water, they instantly jolted Neji awake from the fantasy he had built for himself!
This wasn't a dream... Lord Menma... had really come...
He had truly appeared before him when he had lost so thoroughly,