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"Tell me, am I repulsive?"
He stared hard at the wilted gardenias on the dresser. "No."
"You're lying." She was so still, her thin frame sitting on the bed, facing the window. Her eyes were devoid of any perceptible emotion. "I disgust you."
"I would be lying if I said you weren't beautiful." He looked down immediately, waiting for her inevitable question, one that he had trouble figuring out himself. Why don't you touch me then?
She said nothing. Her unasked question hung in the pregnant air. "I didn't ask to marry you," she said softly, almost a whisper.
The clouds over Konoha grew darker and electricity hung in the air.
"I have to leave for the mission," he said quietly. He picked up his ANBU mask from the bedside table and strode to the door. "You deserve better than me." She couldn't even hear his leaving footsteps.
Konoha's first hailstorm of the year.
:::
3 months earlier
Neji was content. No, that wasn't it. Content couldn't be it. A little apathetic? Perhaps. He's been alive for nearly two decades, and fucking hell, had he ever been in a state of contentedness? Today was no different, and little did he know, it was about to become worse.
He was summoned to the elders. That was never a good sign. After years of coming to terms with his branch-member situation, he and the elders settled into a respectful deference to each other's positions. Nevertheless, a summon to the elders meant reprimands and ominous warnings by old cuckolds who outright refuse the daylight outside of the Hyuga complex.
Neji readied himself before entering the threshold. Upon his first step, he was enveloped into an airless silence that stunk of prestige and old-age. Head bowed, he soundlessly glided forward and sank to his knees, still bowed. "Honorable elder, you have summoned Neji" he said quietly and smoothly.
The head elder, a ancient Hyuga draped in white robes, spoke with a surprisingly deep and rich voice. "Neji, son of Hizashi, member of the Branch, I have called you today to present to you a gift."
Neji's eyes widened imperceptibly. A 'gift' from the Hyuga elder was never simply just a gift.
"You have served the Hyuga Clan and Konoha well at your young age, and have brought pride to both the Clan and he village. In a fortnight you shall have reached your 20th year." Gesturing to the other elders, he continued, "As you know, we have considered marriage prospects for the next generation ever since you have graduated Chunin. You are now of age to produce the next heirs to the Hyuga Branch."
Neji was as still as stone. If he were as flamboyant as Naruto, he would've burst into loud-mouthed protest. He raised his head to meet the eyes of the elder, two white lakes mirroring his own. ""It is for me a great honor to receive your generosity, elder."
The Hyuga elder was noticeably pleased. "Excellent. The Clan's newest bride has been carefully considered and chosen. Her name is Terumi Akira, niece to the Mizukage."
Ah, so perhaps Uncle Hiashi's trip to Kirigakure wasn't all purely for state affairs, thought Neji. Akira, what an unsuitable name for a girl.
The elder hesitated, then continued. "She is a low-level kunoichi, but she carries the Ice Release kekkei genkai."
Neji looked up sharply in surprise. "Had that kekkei genkai not disappeared?"
"A while ago, it was extinct. But some youngsters in the Mist with Yuri Clan ancestors have inherited the kekkei genkai. Akira-kun is only a weak user, but she may pass it down to the next generation of Hyuga."
Neji scoffed inwardly. So that was their careful consideration and selection.
The elder sipped his tea. "Akira-kun will arrive in Konoha tonight, and officially introduced to the Clan tomorrow. We have planned the marriage ceremony in two weeks time. You are dismissed. Please summon Hinata-kun."
:::
Lee's foot came crashing down on Neji's shoulder and he fell flat on his back, breathing heavily and eyes wide open with shock. Lee, stunned, kneeled in front of Neji.
"…Neji-kun? Are you alive?"
"Of course I am, you idiot," Neji muttered darkly between breaths.
Lee stood up, his shadow falling on blocks over Neji's face. "I've won!" Then he helped Neji up. "You know, that was quite unusual of you to leave yourself open."
"Yeah," Neji responded absent-mindedly. "I guess I wasn't concentrating."
Lee gasped audibly, and then proceeded to deliver a lecture on the mechanics of the conscious mind. Neji blocked him out and collected his bag at the foot of a tree, thinking of how his comrades were going to take the news of his engagement.
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Choosing the safest route proved to the longest. Terumi Akira and her bodyguard entourage arrived in Konoha past midnight. The upside was that no one was out to see her flashy high-profile arrival, thank the heavens. Sometimes her aunt, the Mizukage, could be a little excessive.
A subject of the Mizukage took care of the formal greetings of the Hyuga heads and all Akira had to do was bow deeply and utter acknowledgement. Her official introduction wasn't until the next day, so she was quickly led to her room and settled in and left to rest.
With a heavy sigh Akira sat down at the foot of the bed, alone in a stranger's home, in a land far away from home. She lied down in the dark and used her little pool of chakra to form two ice pads from the tea left on the table. She let the two pads rest gently on her closed eyes and tried to fall asleep.
Tossing and turning proved to be of no avail, and before long her room was lit and she was moving about, unpacking some of her things. The room was only temporary, she was told. After the ceremony a new room would be given to the newlyweds.
Akira set to rearranging her clothes, all the while absentmindedly toying with the ice suspended in the air behind her. It was a habit she had developed ever since she had discontinued her ninja training. These days she never did anything with her kekkei genkai except entertain herself and small children.
On the other side of the Hyuga complex, Neji's eyes were wide open. He was awoken by the mumbling commotion caused by the arrival of Terumi Akira. His bride. If it weren't for the stark reality of it he could throw back his head and laugh to the heavens. Or weep, for that matter.
In his dark room he tried to imagine life after marriage. Which of his comrades were married? Only Chouji and Ino, and to each other. Ino was already six months pregnant. And Neji would be the next to marry. Then Hinata, probably. Knowing the elders, they were probably working on a suitor for his cousin at the very moment.
They were strangers who would share a bed within two weeks. He let himself wonder about her. Pretty? Ugly? Meek? Or bold? If so, the elders would grind her to pieces. Uneasily, Neji fell into a light sleep, his shoulder still throbbing in muted pain.
:::
Akira woke up in the morning with parched skin. It must be Konoha's water, she thought…nothing could surpass the softness of Kirigakure's water.
She was brushing her hair when a knock came at the paper door. "Come in, Akira called," expecting a servant girl.
A beautiful young woman about her age entered, carrying a folded white kimono in her hands. She smiled shyly and introduced herself with a little bow, "I am Hyuga Hinata, Neji-kun's cousin."
Akira stood up and bowed. "A pleasure to meet you, Hinata-san. Neji-san is blessed to have such a gentle cousin."
Hinata blushed and placed a gentle white hand on Akira's arm. "Please, Akira-chan, sit. And call me Hinata."
The two young women sat and Hinata took the time to look at her cousin-in-law. Blushing, she remarked, "Akira-chan is indeed a beauty of the Mist, the rumors are true. Your hair…"
Akira touched her long pale lavender hair and smiled slightly. "Do you think Neji-san will like it?"
Akira seems like such a sweet, innocent girl, thought Hinata. She grimaced without answering. "Neji-kun…he is a very…complicated person. When you meet him today, don't be intimidated, though he intimidates most everyone…he will seem colder than ice."
Akira surprised Hinata with a sweet smile that was anything but innocent. "Don't worry, Hinata-Chan. Ice will melt. Why don't you help me into this beautiful kimono?"
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