Shell
“Brother Neji.”
It was Lady Hinata's voice. He tried to make a sound, say something, but he barely managed to open his eyes. Someone calling the nurse. Darkness. And he kept returning to the loop, over and over, opening his eyes to a new voice each time: Tenten, Lee, Shikamaru, Naruto, a butterfly… But then, the darkness remains. At some point, he stopped feeling, as though he was no longer a body, but merely an entity. Had he perished in the war? Hinata's voice still held its weight, still the most important, and that was no illusion. His cousin was alive.
And sometimes, his mind took him back to the moment when his body became a shield—just another well-conditioned tool of the Branch House. The Main House had done an extraordinary job shaping him, Neji had never hesitated; he existed for them and them alone. "Father…" If Neji was dead, then why couldn't he see him? Of course, a member of the Branch House had no right —not even in death—to receive comfort.
“Lee cries every time he comes, but I told him his whining won’t wake you up.” Tenten was arranging the lavender flowers—it was that time of year when spring gave way to summer. “You know, Neji, you shouldn’t be so stubborn… Just come back to us. You don’t have to be a he—”
“Tenten.” Shikamaru called her, standing by the door. His expression was filled with annoyance —he had just witnessed something troublesome. Shikamaru glanced at Nej i—or what was left of him. His body was as light as a feather; too many snowfalls had melted since the war.
The kunoichi gave him an awkward smile. She had already spent too much time with her comrade, so she made an excuse to leave, but not before saying goodbye to her friend.
“Man, you can’t blame her...” he sighed, because he still didn’t know how to deal with sensitivities. “Well, it’s been a month, I was on a mission and I have some valuable information. You know, a genius like you would probably make sense of it.” His voice grew lower and lower as he got distracted by the flowers. Apparently, Neji was a secret fan of lavender, or so Hinata had told them. He noticed there was another plant, one that was suitable for beetles...
“Shikamaru, you should be resting at home, you just got back from a tough mission.”
“Shizune.”
“You must excuse us; it’s time for his bath.”
He nodded, knowing it —since leaving the Hokage's Tower, it was time for Neji’s bath. But still, he just wanted to make sure Neji was there, that the machines were still registering his heartbeats.
“All right, Neji, I need to wipe down your arms,” she explained, as she always did.
Shikamaru closed the door. He had always wondered how Neji would prefer his medical care in this situation. Neji wasn’t someone who enjoyed physical contact much; on the contrary, he tended to be reserved, even with his teammates. He was never the one to initiate contact. With these thoughts in mind, Shikamaru’s musings were interrupted when a nurse suddenly opened the door he had just closed.
“Shizune! Emergency surgery in room 777,” the nurse announced, clearly something urgent.
“I’m counting on you, Shikamaru. I must go." the woman said as she left.
"I..." he trailed off, understanding the meaning behind the doctor’s look. He remembered the Hokage’s words, the agreement—he was part of Neji’s care team. He had done it many times before, but he had to admit, when it wasn’t in his plans, it felt a little overwhelming.
*-*-*
When the war had ended, when the funerals were over, and when nothing was ever the same again, Lady Tsunade had summoned Shikamaru. The meeting took place in the doctor's office at the hospital. Besides him, Hinata, Tenten, Sakura, Ino, Shizune, and Shino were there. The atmosphere was heavy with tension, to the point that even Lee remained silent, which felt like nothing more than a bad omen.
“As you all know, Neji’s condition is critical,” she didn’t soften the facts. “For now, his life depends on the medical equipment.”
“It’s not fair!” Lee yelled. Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose, exhausted—her dark circles didn’t lie.
“I’m not saying it’s fair, Lee. Nothing in war is fair, but it is what it is.”
Tsunade pressed her lips together; torn between how much she could intervene and how much she should let nature take its course with the Hyūga... His injuries were so severe that she had to resort to some of Orochimaru’s forbidden jutsu. She had never agreed with his methods, but Neji had arrived with a hole in his chest—she had no other choice.
“Lee…” Tenten gently placed a hand on his shoulder. She knew this would be difficult for him; Neji was his eternal rival, his sworn friend… She herself wasn’t sure what to do with all the emotions swirling inside her.
“Tsunade-sama, what exactly is happening?” Sakura spoke up, her voice soft yet tinged with concern. She tried to hide it, but something inside her trembled every time she saw him like this.
“The Hyūga clan requests euthanasia, for my cousin’s name to be included in the war chants, and for this to be carried out with the utmost care.”
“That’s…!” Ino stopped, knowing that Hinata and Naruto were the ones who felt the most guilt. They were the ones bearing the weight, even though it wasn’t their fault.
“That is something we will not allow,” Hinata said, her voice calm yet firm, a strength and determination she had found after the conflict. She didn’t raise her voice, nor did she lose her composure—no, she wouldn’t, because she owed it to Neji. She closed her eyes briefly, as though gathering the courage to add what she was about to say. “And maybe what I’m about to ask is selfish, but… we need your support.”
“What exactly are you planning?” Shino finally spoke.
“Normally, nurses, together with the family, take care of the patient, handling both feeding and hygiene,” Shizune explained.
“The Hyūga clan, my clan,” Hinata continued, discomfort flickering across her face. “We uphold certain traditions... traditions I cannot reveal in full. But there are things... no one who is not a Hyūga is allowed to touch one of us. Not unless... they receive permission from the highest authority.”
Shino stayed silent, his eyes hidden behind his glasses, as his mind processed the heir's words. It wasn't just that Neji was standoffish when it came to physical contact; Shino knew well that the Hyūga clan had rigid rules surrounding the "purity" of their bloodline. He recalled a night when Hinata, a little too drunk, had spoken more than she intended. In her childhood, a quiet whisper had circulated in the shadows of the family—secretive talks about the possibility of a pregnancy with Neji. Genetically, he was the ideal match, but the thought of it churned something unpleasant in Shino’s gut.
He’d always viewed Neji’s hostility as part of his standoffish nature, so cold and untouchable. Yet now, he realized that Neji's aggression wasn't just a reflection of his temperament. It was perhaps an unconscious attempt to reject the horrifying idea of being forced to father a child with his own cousin.
“After the mission to retrieve Sasuke, I was in charge of his care…” Shizune continued. “At that time, I made sure to take charge of him, along with two of Neji's clan. The nurses monitored his vital signs, but when it came to more intimate matters…”
“My father did not allow anyone who wasn’t authorized by the Main Branch to touch Neji. My cousin would not tolerate the humiliation of being seen in such a vulnerable state.” She tried to explain, but at the end it was just an attempt to implore for help. “I know this may cause discomfort, I know it sounds like a whim, I know there shouldn't be special treatment, but I don't trust the people from the clan… especially not when there are those who want to disconnect Neji immediately.
None of them knew exactly what to say; it was atrocious how they wanted to repay the man who would have given his life for them. Simply atrocious. Tenten and Lee felt the weight on their shoulders, but their answer was clear: they had no intention of leaving their comrade alone. However, there was one detail, one that burned especially within the members of Team Guy.
“I know this sounds like a burden, but if someone were to hurt him again, I—!”
“We understand, Hinata,” Tenten replied gently but firmly. Someone had to say it. “However, I don’t think Neji would be very happy with Lee or me taking care of that… It’s not that I mind, but when it comes to Neji…”
“Oh no, poor Neji! His youthful freedom has been taken away!” Lee wailed. "I swear, from this day forward, I will do everything within my power—ten times what I’m capable of! No, a thousand times!"
"So… are you saying we should bathe and take Neji Hyūga to the bathroom?" Haruno, while she sympathized with the situation, felt a bit exasperated. She knew she couldn’t say anything, and Hinata had already voiced what she was thinking: why did they have to cater to the whims of the Hyūga? They were the ones in need of help, yet they were still imposing absurd conditions. It really annoyed her how much extra work this situation entailed, but even more, she was frustrated that a war hero—a man who had saved Naruto and Hinata—was now left alone when he needed his family's support the most.
A clan is not a family.
“Please!” Hinata raised her voice in a sudden outburst of helplessness because she knew—it was ridiculous. Her clan had outdated traditions. They were part of the many things that were wrong. But Neji… her cousin… She bowed slightly, her hands on her knees. Her father and she were trying, but changing tradition wasn’t something that happened so easily.
“I don’t know what’s worse, whether they want to disconnect him or expel him from the clan.”
“Hey, hey, hey, they can not do that, he is a hero” Ino said in disbelief.
Lee and Tenten were frozen. The situation was far more complicated than what Hinata was showing. They knew Neji’s uncle had changed his attitude, working hard to support his nephew, but dismantling an entire belief system and convincing old, stubborn elders to relinquish their privileges was neither easy nor something that would happen overnight.
“A Hyūga from the branch family must constantly prove they deserve to be part of the clan and serve it without hesitation.”
“What do we need to do, and when do we start?”
Everyone turned to Aburame. No one had expected his voice to lead the conversation.
“Neji is our comrade, and he is Hinata’s cousin.”
Shino needed no further reason. His teammate was asking him for a favor. Meanwhile, the look he received from Shikamaru did not go unnoticed—it was as if he were trying to see beyond his words. But there was nothing more to it. To him, it was that simple.
“I will take charge. Neji will be placed in a secured room. No one except those present here and a select few will have access to him, including a handpicked group of nurses,” Shizune explained what had already been agreed upon with Tsunade, Hinata, and Hiashi.
“The worst that could happen is that his bath might be delayed if no one is available,” Tsunade continued. “As you all know, it will still be a while before Kakashi takes over as Hokage and I can dedicate myself fully to medicine. But for now, treat this as a mission. From now on, you are part of the Care Unit. And Neji Hyūga is your patient.”
*-*-*
Shikamaru turned on his feet to lock the door, then closed the window and curtains: privacy. That was the first rule. He placed the ceramic container on the small table, a sacred relic of the Hyūga’s clan: using the right tools for purification. The second rule demanded they make the moment a ritual.
“Neji, I’ll start passing the towel over your hands” Shikamaru said, taking on a more focused and careful expression.
Third rule: to inform him of each step aloud, to treat him under the assumption that he had full consciousness… “Though I never know if you hear any of this”, he thought. He wetted one of the cotton towels and began with Neji’s fingers, increasingly thinner each day.
“Your wrists,” he informed, proceeding to the next step. “Arms.” That part was the easiest.
“I need to lift your gown,” he explained, loosening the tie, one of the more complicated parts was when he saw his torso, because he could see all the scars from the daggers that pierced his skin. Neji had been a flesh shield; his organs had suffered to the point that Hinata had donated part of her liver to her cousin. “Collarbones, chest.”
He left that cloth and took the next one.
“Armpits,” at first, it felt strange saying those body parts, it made him nervous, and he often wondered if Neji would hate him for touching him... But over time, he understood that it was that constant concern and ritual care, to which they had agreed to be part of, that allowed them to be part of the Hyūga Care Unit. “Torso.”
Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura, because of their knowledge, were usually the ones in charge of the baths and specific care (as cleaning wounds). That way, they could analyze Neji’s condition. Especially, during the first year and a half when Neji underwent countless surgeries and crises caused by infections or pressure ulcers due to the lack of movement.
The immediate shift was Ino, as the kunoichi had medical knowledge and once a month would check the ninja’s psyche. In fact, she had helped establish the mental health aid project; with Tsunade as the hospital director and Kakashi as Hokage, the village could see its way forward.
In the next line were Shikamaru and Shino, who used to rotate with Yamanaka, after a full year, both had learned to record everything in the medical history of Neji.
The third line consisted of Tenten and Lee, the former Hokage wanted to expose them as little as possible to the trauma of seeing a close one deteriorate… So, they usually support with the therapeutic exercises; they wanted to minimize the muscle atrophy of the Hyūga.
However, during that third year, Neji’s condition was not good… Very few truly believed he would wake up, but no one believed either that his body would withstand the constant trauma of surgeries; he could have died so many times on the operating table...
The last line was Hinata; she mainly took care of her cousin’s safety, she and her father never stopped researching the clan members.
“I need to lift your gown. Hips” he said, now with a new cloth in his hands. “Penis.”
Three years, over two hundred shifts with Neji, and he still couldn’t get used to naming the intimate areas of the genius. And he had to see them because he had to be careful with the catheter Neji had connected to his bladder. When a patient spends so much time bedridden, adult diapers are not viable. Plus, Tsunade did not want to risk any type of infection; they had already had to deal with a few, and the medications often put the patient’s weak body into shock.
“Testicles” it was the most uncomfortable part, but Shikamaru had concluded it was okay, that men had the same parts, and there was no reason to overthink it… Or so he told himself every time; he changed the cloth: “Anus.”
To be honest, that area was always clean because Shizune took care of the bowel evacuation, and this task had not yet reached him, nor Shino, although they had been trained to do it.
“Mgh…”
The small moan made him look at Neji’s face, whenever it happened, hope would touch him, but his mind soon reminded him that coma patients could make moans or noises. Unfortunately, due to the time that had passed, Neji didn’t have the muscular strength to articulate anything further.
“Thighs,” he continued.
The muscles in his legs… the muscles that had once been an attribute of the strong body of the genius —from the constant taijutsu training Guy-sensei made him go through— had completely disappeared. He finished with his legs and took the last towel.
The shell of what had been a hero of Konoha.
—Face.