"No, no, no. It's not what you think."
Zeyu had already prepared to keep fighting, but when he heard the newcomer call her "Miss Hinata," he took a closer look and realized it was Neji Hyuga.
He shook his head and denied it without thinking.
"What?! Then what were you trying to do just now? And you still dare to deny it!" Neji shot back angrily.
"Uh... well..." Zeyu remembered that he really had been trying to sneak a kiss just then, and suddenly found himself stammering.
Just then, Tenten and Lee came up behind Neji. After hearing the two of them talk, they had a pretty good idea of what had happened.
Seeing Zeyu like this only made Neji angrier. He snapped:
"I'll say it again! Put Miss Hinata down! Or else... I won't go easy on you!"
As he spoke, Neji assumed the opening stance of the Gentle Fist. Veins bulged around his eyes as his Byakugan slowly activated, fixing its gaze on Zeyu.
Behind him, Tenten and Lee instinctively stepped back.
Hmph, that's what you get for messing with Neji. You're done for today. Tenten thought, the corners of her mouth already lifting as she settled in to watch the show.
That man's body... It's clearly been put through the wringer. He must be a Taijutsu expert. Lee sized Zeyu up and thought.
Seeing Neji's stance, Zeyu couldn't help breaking into a cold sweat.
Huh? I'm supposed to fight my future brother-in-law? That doesn't seem right... Why does Hinata's family always try to beat me up whenever I meet them? Zeyu thought. He glanced at Hinata in his arms and could only give a wry smile.
Megumi had also more or less figured out what was going on. She stepped forward and came to Zeyu's side.
"Hand Hinata over to me first," Megumi said to Zeyu.
Zeyu glanced at Megumi, then at Hinata. Realizing she probably wouldn't wake up anytime soon, he handed her over to Megumi.
"Thanks. I owe you," Zeyu said.
Megumi took Hinata, gave Zeyu a disdainful look, and raised the corners of her mouth.
"You'd better worry about taking care of yourself, pervert~"
She glanced at Neji across from them, then carried Hinata over to a bench and sat down.
Left alone, Zeyu was mortified. He could only give a cold laugh.
Then he looked at Neji and said,
"Um... I've put Hinata down now. How about we don't fight? When she wakes up, I'll go apologize to her myself. All right?"
Seeing that Zeyu seemed sincere, Neji stopped pressing him and slowly lowered his hands.
"Hmph, you know what's good for you. Don't let it happen again!" Neji said, crossing his arms over his chest. His Byakugan returned to normal.
Then he added, "Don't try anything funny! I'll be keeping an eye on you! Once Miss Hinata wakes up, I'll deal with you!"
Neji then motioned for Tenten and Lee to find somewhere to rest.
Megumi was already sitting on the bench. Watching them, she thought,
Honestly, can't I get one peaceful day?
Seeing Neji back down, Zeyu let out a long breath and picked up his clothes to put them on.
As the group left, Tenten snorted.
"Consider yourself lucky. If Neji got serious, you'd be saying goodbye to this world~" Once she was farther away, she muttered, "Small fry."
Zeyu heard her and was too embarrassed to respond. He simply continued getting dressed.
"Hey! Stop right there!" Shota shouted, staggering to his feet.
Everyone present was taken aback and turned to look.
Tenten and Lee also turned around, puzzled, and looked at Shota.
"What is it?" Neji asked coldly.
"Hey, you with the bun! Say that about my big brother one more time!" Shota shouted, pointing at Tenten.
Realizing that was what this was about, Tenten said disdainfully,
"What's the problem? Was I wrong?" Then she gave him a look like he was an idiot.
Seeing Tenten's expression and the contemptuous look in Neji's eyes behind her, Shota grew angry and clenched his fists.
From the side, Zeyu gave Shota an approving look, feeling a little touched.
Seeing how angry Shota was, Tenten found it a little funny. She didn't feel like dealing with him, so she turned to leave.
When Shota saw her walk away after insulting him, he lost his temper. He rushed forward and reached out to grab Tenten.
Kiba and Shino, still covering their noses behind them, couldn't help tensing up when they saw Shota charge forward.
What an idiot!
Megumi saw Shota charge in from afar and had just been silently calling him an idiot, but the moment she saw the sharp look in Neji's eyes, she realized something was wrong.
She couldn't help shouting, "Brother, watch out!"
The instant Shota reached out toward Tenten,
Neji spun around at once and moved beside Tenten, thrusting his left palm toward Shota's neck. Lee also quickly reached for Shota's outstretched hand, trying to seize his arm.
At that critical moment, Zeyu suddenly appeared beside Shota.
Without changing expression, he reached out both hands, grabbing Neji's arm with one and Lee's with the other. At the same time, he braced an elbow against Shota's chest, stopping him from moving forward.
Neji and Lee stared at Zeyu in disbelief.
Shota looked at the hand stopped just short of his neck and couldn't help swallowing.
Tenten had also reacted. She turned around and glanced at them from the corner of her eye, a bead of sweat trickling down her cheek.
Neji and Lee tried to push their arms forward, but found they couldn't move. A trembling resistance ran through their arms as they struggled against him.
This guy... He's strong... Neji thought.
Amazing. That strength... Lee thought.
Kiba and Shino were also shocked. They hadn't even seen Zeyu move. He had simply appeared out of nowhere and stopped everything.
Zeyu then pushed Shota back with his elbow and asked,
"Are you all right, Shota?"
Shota stumbled back two steps. Looking dazed, he said, "Ah... I-I'm fine."
Zeyu then looked at Neji, Lee, and Tenten with a bright smile.
"We're all Konoha shinobi, so we're all friends. Whatever the problem is, we can talk it out. There's no need to get physical, right?"
Neji and Lee were still unable to move with Zeyu holding their arms, and they couldn't help breaking into a cold sweat.
Zeyu realized what he was doing and hurriedly let go, then proactively bowed in apology.
Neji and Lee looked at Zeyu as he bowed before them, unsure what to say.
Seeing that Shota was safe, Megumi breathed a sigh of relief in the distance.
Just then, Hinata's brow furrowed slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.
Megumi, sitting beside her, noticed she had woken up and quickly helped her sit up.
"Megumi, what's wrong?" Hinata asked, propping herself up with a puzzled look.
"Good grief, you're still sleeping? Your Zeyu is about to fight your clan members!" Megumi said, pinching Hinata's soft, squishy cheeks between her hands.
"Huh?" Hearing that, Hinata grew anxious at once. Still being pinched, she looked around.
Then she spotted Zeyu and the others gathered together in the distance.
"Thanks, Megumi. I'll go over right now." Hinata removed Megumi's hands and hurried over.
As she neared the group, she saw Zeyu chatting with Neji and the others. When she realized it was her cousin Neji Hyuga across from them, and remembered what Megumi had just said about Zeyu fighting one of her clan members,
she rushed between them, held both sides back with her hands, and cried out,
"Everyone, please don't fight! This has to be some kind of misunderstanding!"
Seeing Hinata arrive, Zeyu hurried over to check on her, then said,
"We weren't fighting. Neji and I were just having a casual chat."
Hinata looked surprised, then turned to Neji and asked,
"Neji, is that true?"
Neji turned his face away and replied coldly, "Yeah."
Neji's brother? Right, he's a year older than me, Neji thought.
Seeing Neji's attitude, Hinata felt a little downcast, but she was relieved that they really hadn't fought.
Zeyu came over and took Hinata's hand to comfort her. Hinata looked at him, relieved, and said,
"That's a relief, Zeyu. I thought you were going to fight."
Neji, who had turned his back to them, suddenly widened his eyes and spun around.
"You're Zeyu Nichiro?"
Zeyu was speechless. So Neji didn't even know who he was. He replied, "That's me."
"You two..." Neji noticed that they were holding hands, then pointed at their joined hands and asked.
Hinata grew embarrassed at Neji's question. She lifted the collar of her clothes with her other hand, trying to hide her flushed face.
Zeyu raised their clasped hands, their fingers intertwined, and scratched the back of his head.
"We're together now. Um... Neji." Hinata nodded too, looking at Zeyu with tenderness in her eyes.
Neji felt as if he'd just been struck by lightning. So he'd interrupted their moment and made such a scene.
Before the exams began, Hiashi had sought Neji out and asked him to look after Hinata. He had also told him to keep an eye on "Zeyu Nichiro." If Zeyu had no talent and was just a good-for-nothing trying to latch onto the Hyuga, Neji was to teach him a lesson.
Now, Neji wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
Looking at the lovey-dovey couple before him, Neji just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
After composing himself, he said,
"Do as you like. I'm leaving."
Neji then led Lee and Tenten to another part of the room, where they found a spot to rest.
Zeyu and Hinata watched Neji and the others leave. They exchanged a glance and laughed together.
Then the two of them chatted. Zeyu told Hinata everything that had just happened and apologized for trying to sneak a kiss.
(Of course, Hinata didn't mind.)