Neji's jaw tightened, and it wasn't until Jyuuketh started shifting that he realized he was at risk of snapping again. He breathed, flexed his fingers, and forced himself to calm down. Even so, the reminder of everything he balked at still burned.

While the reactions weren't anywhere near as bad as he'd assumed, it hadn't really helped any and just amplified his paranoia about what everyone was thinking and not saying. The few remarks he got were mostly mild references- casual and inoffensive to most- but with how on edge he'd been, they wound up feeling like sleights anyway.

"Are you just going to antagonize me?"