That day
The brown haired girl ran along to the training grounds where her team met in the mornings. One of her teammates was already there and he bounced up and down impatiently as he waited. He greeted Tenten with a warm smile before peering out to watch for the others. In a few minutes a boy walked disinterestedly along to the bridge where they waited. His long black hair was tied back and his pale eyes showed no joy. Lee groaned, now they would have to wait the five minutes until training would begin with Hyuuga Neji, their other teammate. The two boys did not get along at all. Tenten smiled to herself; she wouldn't admit it but she had a crush on Neji and liked being around him. When Neji walked over to his team he looked critical. Lee mentally swore. When Neji was in a faultfinding mood he usually picked Lee to be the subject of his flaw hunting.
"You're here early, Tenten," he looked at Lee, " I expected earliness from "I can change my destiny even though destiny is unchangeable'" he smirked widely as Lee cracked his knuckles loudly.
"Just one more time Neji. I swear, next time…" Lee left his sentence unfinished. Neji appeared totally unfazed while Tenten looked annoyed at Lee for picking a fight. Curse him, thought Lee angrily, he's better than me and he knows it. Lee and Neji moved into their respective battle stances. Gentle fist stance for Neji who rapidly activated his Byakugan and strong fist style for Lee who doubled his fists and prepared to launch a high-speed attack. Tenten looked irritated. She walked to Lee and put her hand on his shoulder in a restraining way. Neji smirked slightly as he saw Lee restrained.
"Lee, you better not fight Neji again. You get beaten every time and you know that. What would Master Guy think now?" Lee brushed her arm off him and tensed his muscles. As he was about to run at his opponent he heard a voice behind him.
"Lee, no fighting." the voice belonged to the group's jonin sensei, Master Guy. Tenten looked relieved.
"Master Guy, boy am I glad to see you. You can't know how close to a fight these two were and I'm not strong enough to stop them." Master Guy nodded his head understandingly. Tenten smiled.
"Alright team. Lets go train. You know how we will be training today, right? Lee will practice taijutsu with me. Neji and Tenten will be practicing together, okay? Any questions?" the three genin nodded. Neji and Tenten walked to the clearing where they sparred. The trees there were permanently scarred from kunai and other weapons and several large circular ditches adorned the ground. Tenten looked at Neji, he appeared slightly sad as he gazed at one of the trees with a vacant expression.
"Neji, what's on your mind? Is there something wrong?" she spoke lightly but in her voice was a tinge of concern. He pulled himself out of it, and shook his head.
"Its nothing, it was just today…all those years ago…" his eyes went blank and then he shook himself again and looked normal. "Shall we begin?" she nodded but remained curious about what had ruffled her impassive teammate's feathers. Neji once again assumed the gentle fist stance while Tenten pulled some of her shuriken from her weapon pouch. They always trained with potentially harmful techniques; Tenten knew that Neji would deflect all of her weapons and Neji tried to not hurt her with his fighting style. They began the practice. A few minutes into the match and Neji stiffened suddenly. His face contorted with rage and he shook as his eyes narrowed. Tenten recognized the expression; it was the one that came across his face whenever he encountered his cousin with out warning.
Sure enough, in a few seconds Hinata and her teacher, Kurenai-sensei ran along the path and hid behind some of the bushes near where Neji and Tenten were. It was evident that Kurenai had her team performing tracking exercises. Hinata giggled as she watched Kiba and Shino move off in the opposite direction, following a false trail that they had laid for them. She glanced around her and froze. She had seen the two students just 5 ft away and she had realized that one of them was Neji!
"Hinata?" Kurenai was curious as to what had scared her student. She rapidly glanced around them and was in time to see Neji glare furiously in their direction. Bad, very bad, if Neji was already in a foul mood then he was likely to attack Hinata. She knew why and was prepared to act. But would she be enough to hold back the boy if he were mad with a rage that had been growing for nine years?
Neji breathed hard and fast. Tenten looked at him and decided that today was a bad day. Whatever had made him sad earlier must have to do with his family. She knew that his family was far from perfect and he spent his days in constant anger toward them. Hinata decided that the path of goodwill was the safest.
"He-hello brother Neji. It's a nice day today isn't it?" she looked hopeful but she had picked the wrong words. Neji seethed with fury.
"Today, Hinata-sama, is the anniversary of that day. Today is a bad day. But you wouldn't care about that would you? Whatever happens to the Branch Family has nothing to do with the far superior Main Family right? Me, and my father mean nothing to you and your father? Even when they killed him to protect your father." Tenten felt uncomfortable with the level of bitterness pouring from Neji. She decided to try to calm him down.
"Neji, Hinata couldn't have known about whatever it is that is making you angry. I'm sure she didn't mean to make you upset. Calm down, please. It isn't her fault about whatever happened today." He snorted, completely different from the Neji who had laughed at Lee earlier. Now the fury in him had risen to the top and it was still rising. Soon it would overflow. Tenten didn't know what would happen when he released all of his anger.
"Of course it is her fault. It was her kidnapping that led to my father's death just because her father was more valued. She knows this and she remembers." Hinata looked stricken; evidentially she had remembered what event the day was the anniversary of.
"I'm sorry, really I am, Neji. I didn't remember it was that day at first. I didn't mean it. I really care about you and your family," she burst into noisy tears. Kurenai looked at Neji like the fact that her pupil was crying was his fault. Neji scowled at her as angrily as he had scowled at Hinata. The girl raised her head and looked apologetically at Neji.
"I'm sorry, brother Neji. I know you are suffering from our family's unfair system and I'm sorry for reminding you. Forgive me." he shook harder before launching himself at her with murder in his eyes. He was three feet from her and had his hand; ready to attack, pointed straight at her heart when a hand grabbed him hard from behind.
"Neji, what are you doing?" it was Master Guy; Lee grabbed one of his teammate's arms, the one that was pointed at Hinata and held onto it. Tenten grabbed his other arm and Kurenai had launched herself in front of her student. Hinata trembled as she looked around her teacher to see what was going on. Neji's face was almost unrecognizable with livid rage. It was at that moment when something no one expected occurred. A pair of ninja, an adult man and a seven-year-old girl walked calmly into the clearing and then froze. It was Hinata's father and sister. The man, Hiashi, looked taken aback to be running into his nephew and his team, not to mention his older daughter and her sensei. He appeared ill at ease as Neji turned slowly in his teacher's grip to look at his uncle with even more malice than he had directed at Hinata. Tenten was amazed that Neji harbored so much hatred inside of him.
"Well, so much special treatment for the Main Family. And now there are three of them here, what an unexpected surprise." he twisted round to bow mockingly to the newcomers, "do you need anyone to die to save you today, Hiashi-sama? Like my father?" Neji stared at him bitterly and at Hanabi who had slipped behind her father in alarm. A spasm of guilt that turned to anger flitted across Hiashi's face. He held out an arm with the palm pointed straight at Neji's forehead. The boy clenched his teeth hard and stood deathly still with his body rigid. He understood what was about to happen and was prepared not to show any signs of pain. Tenten could feel all of his muscles tense. She could tell something bad was about to happen to him and that he knew that he couldn't fight back and protect himself. Some of the others realized too, Guy and Kurenai looked horrified. Hinata screamed.
"Father, no! Please don't. Neji didn't mean it; he's just upset because today marks the anniversary of that day. Please don't do that to him, father! He's too young to feel that pain." she jumped from behind the safety of her teacher to grab her father's arm as it pointed at her cousin. She pulled it down and he let it fall to his side limply. She held on to it.
"Hizashi," he murmured, "I can't do that to your son."
Tenten looked confused, she whispered to Lee quietly. "Do you know what they're talking about? I don't have a clue. Honestly." The boy shook his head. Neji, from right next to them, still being restrained, grinned in a joyless smile that showed all of his teeth but no merriment what so ever.
"What, I never told you about the Hyuuga family's inheritance of hatred?" Hiashi made a slight movement, the arm Hinata held balled in to a fist. Neji closed his eyes then opened them and looked pointedly at Lee who held his right arm, "Lee, can I use my arm? I promise I won't try to get free." Grudgingly, Lee accordingly released the arm. Neji, with his eyes fixed on his family, moved it to his forehead. He hooked a finger under his forehead protector and lifted it off. When he had pushed it back the sunlight fell on a strange symbol that appeared to be etched into his head. Tenten gasped slightly, Lee looked shocked. Now it was Hiashi's turn to clench his jaw. Hinata looked sad as she looked at his forehead and her sister poked her head around only to meet Neji's hate-filled glare and to scurry back.
"This is the Hyuuga family inheritance of hatred. The Branch Family curse seal." Lee and Tenten looked instinctively at the foreheads of the other Hyuuga who stood there. There was nothing on any of their heads. Neji threw back his head and laughed harshly. His teammates looked at him as he laughed. "You won't find anything there, that's why, unlike me, they don't wear their headbands over their foreheads. They are from the Main Family as I was saying earlier. The curse seal is only for Branch Family members like me, right Hiashi-sama? No Main Family member would be four when their uncle put one of these on their forehead, huh?" Hiashi's jaw worked convulsively, Hinata looked on edge. Hanabi looked curious but when she saw her father's face she changed it to a more impassive look. Master Guy put his hand over his student's mouth.
"Neji, you gave me your promise that you wouldn't get worked up over this family issue," he said with disappointment in his voice, "Now our team is going to go have a discussion about losing your head in one of these situations." Neji stood perfectly still with out moving at all. Tenten and Lee released his arms and he crossed them in front of him. Hiashi and his daughters still seemed nervous, Kurenai moved to Hinata and she separated to walk to her teacher. The first to move again was Kurenai; she took Hinata by the arm and gently led her off. Hiashi looked for clues on how to act in the eyes of the remaining people. Neji very deliberately closed his eyes. Master Guy still had his hand over Neji's mouth and was looking down at him. Tenten met Hiashi's glance only to look away at Neji with concern. Lee scuffed his foot in the dust. He decided to act out of a lack of knowledge; he pulled Hanabi out of the clearing and moved off. Tenten saw their backs disappear as they re-entered the thicker forest. She tapped her teammate on the shoulder.
"Neji, he's gone." The boy opened his eyes again and looked around. He made a few hand gestures. Master Guy tightened his grip on him but Tenten shook her head.
"Byakugan," she said quietly, "he's checking to make sure they are gone." Neji sagged in his sensei's tight grasp. Master Guy released his mouth. He pulled the headband up over his forehead again. His white eyes still held some of the rage from when he had glared at his family but now it was calmer. He sat down at the base of one of the scarred trees and pulled his legs tightly to him. Tenten sat down next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. Awkwardly Lee traced a pattern in the dirt with his toe. When he looked down and realized it was the curse seal he obliterated it immediately. Master Guy stood in front of his students and glared down at the angry black haired boy who had caused so much trouble. Neji looked up with a mocking, devil-may-care, look in his pale eyes.
"You realize what you did correct?" Master Guy still looked enraged. "You tried to kill Hinata, your cousin, because you were angry. I know about your family and I've known it since I became your teacher. It isn't Hinata's fault. She couldn't help that her father was born before yours. So why did you attack?" Neji closed his eyes again.
"If you had been living with something like this," he jerked a hand to his forehead. "And it was just because your father was the younger brother. And then when you were four your father was murdered because of some thing that had nothing to do with him. Hinata's kidnapping was nothing to do with him. That her father killed the kidnapper and had to pay the consequences is destiny. That my father had to die for him is because of his destiny as a younger son. But if that was you and that was your father would you not be angry? Would you not be angry when the Main Family continued with the disregard of your father and that he was sacrificed? Well?" Tenten looked sad, who knew Neji was living with the pain of remembering something like that even if he never said anything about it. Lee continued to scuff the dirt with his foot. The strange atmosphere seemed to strike Master Guy. His face softened and he squatted to put a hand on his student's shoulder. Neji looked up at his teacher. Utter confusion showed on his face for a moment.
"I'll forgive it this time, I know that you were sad. I know that today was the anniversary of that day and I know that Hiashi was about to activate the curse seal you bear before Hinata stopped him. I think you owe Hinata a large debt." He looked amused, "but I won't make you pay it off." Neji nodded. He pulled himself upright and dusted himself off. He walked back to the place where he practiced Byakugan. Lee walked back to one of the dummies he had for practice. Master Guy looked at the student who remained.
"What is it, Tenten?" he asked soberly.
"Well, sensei, you mentioned activating that curse seal… and there was a weird reference to someone called Hizashi earlier… who is or was Hizashi? It sounded like he was Neji's dad but I didn't really hear…"
"Yes?" replied her teacher, "what about it?"
The girl fidgeted with a shuriken, "What would have happened if it was to be activated? The curse seal, I mean."
Master Guy seemed to be hesitating whether or not to respond, "It's Neji's business but since you're his teammate… if that seal was ever to become active, and I hope for Neji's sake that it never does, it could do one of two things: either cause excruciating pain as punishment, which is what probably would have happened, or it could have fatally crushed his brain in an instant. There is nothing he could do to stop it. The Main Family has arraigned it so they have absolute control. The reference to someone called Hizashi was a curious one. Hizashi was Neji's father and Hiashi's twin brother. From what I found out from Neji when our team was first started his father's curse seal was activated at least once; Neji was only four years old when he saw it. Apparently it was Hiashi who had activated it. This happened soon after Neji had that seal branded onto his own forehead. He is very bitter about it, about that and his father's death soon afterwards. I don't know much about it but he regards it as having been deliberate murder. He would be furious if he knew I told you about his past. But all he said to his uncle was real; he did really live through all that. My theory is it broke something inside him. His ability to hope and dream. Neji will tell you more some day. He'll tell you when he's ready to accept his past and move on. I can't tell when and if that day will come. Be ready and be willing to listen when he needs support most. Help him out, Tenten. You're a good teammate and a good person." He sighed slowly and moved back to Lee and appeared to be gesturing his arms wildly in encouragement.
Either cause excruciating pain as punishment, which is what probably would have happened, or it could have fatally crushed his brain in an instant. Either cause excruciating pain as punishment, which is what probably would have happened, or it could have fatally crushed his brain in an instant. The words echoed through Tenten's head, either cause excruciating pain as punishment… She looked at Neji where he sat alone. How could he be brave enough to go on with his life if he had seen something like that and he knew it could have happened to him? That it almost did happen to him. She ran over to him only to be greeted with the customary, "Tenten, you are interrupting my practice. Either say what you want or quickly remove yourself." Tenten smiled to herself, some things never changed and some things she never wanted to change. The day was hot as Neji sat in the shade and Tenten watched him. Conveniently from just outside of the Byakugan's range of course.