"She's so cute, 'Tousan."
Four-year-old Hyuuga Neji tugged at his 'Tousan's formal kimono. 'Tousan smiled down at him, but the smile worried Neji because it didn't reach his 'Tousan's eyes.
"That is your cousin... Hinata-sama."
"She's so cute," Neji repeated, unable to take his eyes off her pretty shiny hair. He wanted to comb it or put his fingers in it. It looked so soft.
Hinata-sama pulled at the flap on her okaasan's kimono, trying to cover her face with it. Neji wasn't the only one looking at her, and she looked like she was starting to get nervous.
"Oh-" said her okaasan, and smiled down at her, picking her up.
Hinata-sama made a funny little sound like "Mm-" and promptly buried her face in her mom's neck, eliciting a few "Awwwww"s from the women standing around also staring at her.
'Tousan bent down by Neji.
"It is your duty to protect Hinata-sama with your life."
Neji nodded. He wouldn't mind protecting her. She looked awfully nice.
Then Hiashi-sama said something in a low tone to 'Tousan, who nodded, and he then picked up a startled Neji and carried him to where the "seal ritual" no one had told him about would take place.
The Hyuuga Clan
Is cordially invited to participate
in the Ninja King tournament.
Please send only one representative,
who may be escorted by one companion if necessary.
The date, time, and location of the tournament
will be sent if it is confirmed that The Hyuuga Clan
wishes to participate. Please confirm this by signing the name
of the leader of the clan at the bottom of this letter
and returning it to the messenger who sent it.
Hyuuga Hiashi
Hiashi handed the letter back to the bored looking man in the mask who delivered it.
"Thank you," he said politely.
The man waved his book at Hiashi as both an acknowledgement that he had heard him and as a goodbye before jumping down off the second story windowsill and landing neatly on the ground.
Hiashi went back to his paperwork, having known this day would come since the previous Ninja King, Sarutobi-sama, had passed away last year. He knew who he would send, but he also knew he wouldn't like it.
Unfortunately, as with all other things he didn't like, something worse was to come- a council meeting had to be scheduled to discuss his decisions.
He sighed, and began to send out the invitations for the meeting, setting a very special invitation aside to be hand-delivered.
There was a council meeting that day.
It was a historic first in the city of Konoha- the first day the Head had hand-delivered a council meeting invitation, the first day a Branch Member had been invited to a council meeting and to make it even more historic both had happened at once. And so, all was silent as Hyuuga Neji walked the path to the council meeting room, despite the fact that many people (all Branch members) were watching him, all with pale white eyes. Some of the kinder ones gave him signs of encouragement- a friendly smile here and there, and even a thumbs up from his crazy younger cousin with her crazy blue-streaked hair. Some of the less kind ones gave him dirty glares,and he could see them whispering to each other, and even catch a phrase every now and then.
(Why should he be the one to go? Perhaps they are trying to make him into their tool. Perhaps he is already.)
The door slammed unpleasantly as he shut it behind himself, and it echoed around the still room. A long table with ornate carvings on it and clawed feet was in the middle, and the council was grouped around it in fancy chairs (all while the Branch family lives in mere shacks, Neji thought with a pang of hatred).
He was aware that everyone in the room was... aware of him. It felt like everyone was watching him, though as his eyes darted around- like prey in the presence of a predator, he couldn't help thinking- he saw that no one had their Byakugan activated and no one was directly looking at him.
He also couldn't help notice that nearly every seat was taken.
"Please sit here," the current head, Hyuuga Hiashi, said. He gestured to a chair at the front of the long table. It was the only one that wasn't taken, and it was also right next to- He nearly groaned.
The seat was next to Hyuuga Hinata, his lovely but generally useless cousin. Also, the heir to the clan as Hiashi-sama's eldest child. She would make a good heir for the clan. From what he'd seen of her, she was vapid. The council liked her for her malleability. Neji despised her for her weakness. She was a terrible ninja, one who would have much preferred to stay at home and cook than to fight on the battlefield. Yet she was one.
All sweetness and light, he remembered thinking once as she had played with a puppy. She tended to do cute things like that.
"Neji-san," and Hiashi's voice was considerably more strained, "please sit."
Neji nearly ran for the seat. He'd been staring at Hinata for too long, and they were all going to get annoyed with him in a moment. When he made it to the seat, she tried to smile but she also tried to inch away and failed miserably at both, the first due to her apparent fear of him and the second due to the intricacies of her kimono and obi combined with the narrowness of the chair.
He sent a cold glance her way once, and did not continue it after a moment out of some sort of pity for her and the way that she so obviously squirmed around him.
"Now, let us begin," Hiashi said. Some of the council members nodded absently, the others watched Hiashi intently.
"It is common knowledge that the Ninja King tournaments are coming up soon, and we would like to request something of you."
Despite the fact that it was not a "request" no matter what Hiashi said, Neji couldn't help but hope it was a "request" for him to join the tournaments. After all, he was a strong ninja and it would be great for the Hyuuga clan, though he doubted the village would enjoy putting all their power in the already obviously insane Hyuugas- But of course it couldn't be. He was a Branch member, and they would never let him. Still, though, he hoped.
"You are renowned for excelling in the Hyuuga arts of tenketsu manipulation, and-"
They were- they were going to ask him, weren't they? They must be asking him!
"we would like to ask your assistance-" Wait, that didn't sound right...
"- in training the heir of the Hyuuga clan to become the Ninja Queen."
Neji sat there in shock, unable to say anything, unable to think anything but one word:
HER?!
He couldn't do anything but stare at Hiashi, hoping against hope that the clan leader would grin and say "Just kidding! We want you to become the Ninja King!"
...The laws of the universe would never allow such a thing. More than likely, pigs would fly and crash into him killing him and therefore making him unable to speak the words.
Neji sank back into his chair, horrified.
"We also have another... request for you."
Neji nodded, even though it wasn't expected of him. The council members were still watching him for any sign of disobedience, and he felt that heightened sense of awareness that usually only came from battle.
"We are asking that you be willing to... continue to strengthen the heir during her reign as the Ninja Queen... as her husband. We realize that this might be a difficult decision for you to make-"
Difficult? DIFFICULT?! It's only my entire life!
"-which is why we are giving you two weeks to decide, during which you will be tested for compatibility with Hinata by training with her daily, beginning the day after tomorrow at two o'clock in the afternoon."
Hinata jumped a little. Evidently, she hadn't been told about this.
Neji understood that these two weeks were merely practice... there was no real decision. It was not his place to decide.
"Are there any objections?"
It was clear from the way that Hiashi looked at Neji that Neji did not count. Hinata wouldn't have dared to object anyway. The rest of the council glanced around and, upon seeing that no one else had objections, did not raise any they might have had either.
Hiashi waited a moment. "Good. Now for the other business."
He began to talk about the members of the Hyuuga colony from the north who were visiting to discuss the possible marriages the heir of that group might make, though Neji was not really listening. Eventually, the meeting ended.
"The council and visitors are dismissed."
Everyone began to move towards the door. Neji, being furthest away from the door was forced to wait with Hinata. Hiashi had been let through the crowd because of his status.
It was silent in the back, because Neji didn't feel like cutting in front of a crowd of people who would like nothing more than for his existence to be eradicated and he supposed that Hinata was too cowardly to try anything like that.
"Uh..."
It was Hinata's high, timid voice that broke the silence. If mice could speak, indeed this was what they would sound like.
Neji looked at her, imploring her to finish her sentence. She seemed to draw a meager amount of courage from some place (he couldn't imagine where), and she continued.
"I hope that you and I can... resolve any differences we might have... and make the best of this situation."
She stuck out a hand in a half-hearted attempt at offering a handshake, but Neji ignored it, instead turning back to look at the door. The elders were nearly out.
"I do not like you," he finally said, before she could make another pathetic attempt at peacemaking.
She withdrew her hand. It was shaking.
"I do not trust you or your father. The only reason I tell you this is because I believe you are too afraid to go to the elders for help."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her turn her head to the side quickly. She didn't seem to want to face him anymore. He activated his Byakugan for further intimidation purposes and also to further understand her.
"I know that you don't want to do this. That makes two of us."
"I do- I want to be Ninja Queen-"
"Stop fooling yourself. You'll hate every moment of it. Your father only picked you because as the head of the clan and as Ninja Queen you would carry a lot of power. He chose me to be your husband... probably due to my high intelligence and my prowess at the Hyuuga arts compared to the rest of the clan. Which both you and I- oh, don't try to deny it- will hate."
Hinata made a small sound that might have been a squeak. Neji shrugged.
"Whatever happened or will happen, the elders have all left."
He got up and she stayed where she was. When he got to the door, Neji decided that perhaps if he was forced to marry her, he ought to at least show her he was slightly human.
He held open the door, and she blinked.
"Ladies first," he said, and it came out more sarcastic and flippant than he'd really intended... not that he really cared, although the sentiment was rather the opposite.
After realizing that no, he was not joking, and he was about to become very annoyed very soon, she scooted toward the door and exited, and he followed her out the door and down the hall, where they separated until two o'clock two days later.
YAY! FINALLY! Here you go, cluckyduck. It's only been... Um, several months. D: Anyway, I hope you enjoy. They sort of hate each other right now. BUT THAT WILL CHANGE!
So lately I've been in a slashy sort of mood. :D As in, Eliot/Alec from Leverage. SERIOUSLY. WATCH THAT SHOW. I LOVE IT. Tuesdays at 10 on TNT. AMAZING! :D And also I like Roy/Ed in FMA. :D It makes me happy. But it's so creepy and I'm so weird I creep myself out when I think about it for too long. And despite that, I'm working on a story for them right now. :D Also a few for Neji/Shika.
This will be updated very, very sporadically. Dx I'm sorry. I have a couple of chapters but sheesh, I should be done with this for the time I've spent on it. Anyway, this story is cluckyduck's idea and I love it, I think it's adorable. :D I hope it turns out the way that you want it, cluckyduck!