"Hiroko," I hear someone call bringing me slowly out of my dreamless sleep.
"Hiroko," the person calls again and waking me up. I slowly open my eyes and see a wall of strong flesh. Out of instinct I pull away, raise my hand and slap the person across the face as I scream at the top of my lungs. It was a panic reaction that comes so naturally when I don't have a weapon and I just wake up.
"Hiroko are you alright?"
"Hiroko what's wrong?" Hiashi was the one that asked first as he rushed into Neji and my room as Hinata rushed in behind him.
"I'm so sorry," I say feeling extremely bad as I look at Neji's red cheek.
"You slapped Neji," Hiashi says looking at Neji for the first time.
"I woke up and just saw someone in bed with me and panicked. I'm not used to having someone in bed with me."
"It doesn't hurt too badly does it?" I ask looking back at Neji again with an apologetic look in my eyes.
"It fine," he says cutting me out completely as he turns his face away from me.
"It was purely a reaction. If I had known it was you I never would of slapped you, I promise." I truly meant every word I said, but I mainly didn't want Neji to be mad at me. When I came back in to the room I had thought that maybe we had found a common ground and that I had gained some ground with him. If we could learn to tolerate or even like each other than the whole situation could be easier on each other. At least that was my hope, but it looks like anything I had gained last night I lost by slapping him and I might have even lost more than I had before I came back from my shower. I now stood in the negatives with my future husband.
Even the thought of Neji being my husband seemed so weird and foreign to me. I had always figured if I was to ever end up married it would be one of my three guys. Naruto was out of the question because I see him more as a annoying little brother, but that still left Shikamaru or Sasuke and I grew up with those three guys. Now I didn't even get a say in the matter and I'm getting married before I even become a Jounin. I'm not even fifteen and that's when a matter like this is normally brought up in my clan.
"It doesn't matter," Neji says as he stands up out our bed and begins to walk to the dresser so he could get dressed.
"I'm sorry," I say looking down at the blanket as my hands began to fiddle with the edge of it. I hated having people mad at me and I felt so guilty right now. I know I should feel guilty because I slapped him, but the longer he was like this towards me the guiltier I began to feel.
"It's alright Hiroko. Neji is normally like this to most people. It's just something you need to get used to," Hiashi says as he puts an arm around my shoulders in an attempt to comfort me.
"No," I say shaking my head lightly, "Even if Neji is normally like this I should not have slapped him. The cause aside it wasn't necessary or right."
"You didn't do it on purposes, Hiroko," Hinata says boldly but then quickly sinks back. "Sorry," she apologizes.
"That doesn't make it any more right."
"Neji," I say causing him to turn and look at me. "Please forgive me for my recent actions. I will take any punishment you see fit." I bow my head deeply as I wait for the punishment that always came for something like this. In my clan if the woman even dares to raise her voice at her husband she normal received a beating or punishment for doing so. Bowing my head like this wasn't deep enough when asking for forgiveness. I had never believed that I would have to perform such an act before, but with our clans so similar I believe this to be the proper way to truly ask for my soon to be husband's forgiveness.
"I told you it doesn't matter."
But-"
"It doesn't matter," he says cutting me off.
"Thank you," I say as I get out of bed myself.
"Do you want to take the first shower," he asks acting as if the other two weren't in the room and it was only us.
"No, you go ahead and take it," I say following his lead.
"Well since everyone seems to be fine I'll leave you two alone," Hiashi says catching the drift. "Let's go Hinata," her father says and Hinata follows behind him.
"Husbands don't beat their wives in this clan and even if we did I wouldn't lay a hand on you," Neji says in that cold voice of his as he turned away from the dresser to me.
"I really am sorry Neji," I say looking up at him and meeting his light purple eyes that all Hyuuga members bear.
"It doesn't matter."
"Have they ever used it on you," I ask referring to his mark as my hand begins to go up to it, but I pull back at the last minute. I wasn't sure if it would be alright because we didn't stand on very good terms as it stood right now and I wasn't sure if he would be alright with it.
His mark was so plainly out there. Without his forehead being wrapped yet or his head band tided around his forehead you could clearly see it. During the Chunin Exams I hadn't gotten a clear look because he was so far away, but now standing only a foot and a half away from him I could see it. He had a blue X surrounded by a blue line on each side of it that curled inwards on itself. (going with the anime design because it's easier to describe)
"No," he tells me as he looks me back directly in the eyes. I nod my head.
"How much does it hurt when you get the mark?"
"You feel a stinging, almost burning sensation, throughout your whole forehead." I nod my head again.
"You should be fine judging by the way your hands were twitching yesterday and you could barely hold your chopsticks." He turns his back to me as he talked to me and began to head out of the bedroom.
"Was it that noticeable," I ask scratching the back of my head with a light laugh.
"No," he says stopping for a moment before continuing on his way.
I sigh as I lean back against the dresser. I was nervous about this ceremony. I wasn't really a Hyuuga and I never will be even with the Hyuuga caged bird mark branded on my forehead. I'm a Hashimoto and always will be. Branding me as one of them and giving me off to one of them didn't change that fact. I will never have the Byakugan, always the Mikagan. I would also always wear my black because I'm not a true Hyuuga and will probably never be considered one by the other Hyuuga members.
"I'm not a Hyuuga and I can't fool anyone otherwise."
"The shower's yours," Neji says as he dried his hair before wrapping it around his shoulders.
"Thank you," I say standing up and grabbing my clothes that I wish I could wearing today; my black long sleeved button down shirt, black pants, and of course under garments.
I head to the shower, remembering where it was from yesterday when Hinata told me. Again I took a quick shower because breakfast should be done soon after I finish my shower. I get out and towel dry myself off before getting dressed. After I get dress I decide that I should head back to the room to drop my stuff off.
In all truthfulness I didn't want to leave the shower. I wanted to hide away. I wanted to forget this all and go back to a life that I've grown so accustomed to. I liked it when I didn't have to begin to think of a wedding or becoming part of a clan that I didn't belong to. I preferred knowing what to expect day in and day out when I wasn't off on a mission. I liked the adventure of the missions that came with my life style, but when I wasn't out on a mission my life was simple. I would get up early in the morning without someone in the bed with me, get dress and eat after taking a shower, go out to train and then after training with my sensei I would go train with Sasuke normally or maybe Shikamaru if he wasn't being too lazy that day which wasn't very often. After training I might go get a late bite with any three of my guys before I head home. It was the life I like, the life I was acquainted to. It was now the life I missed. This was only my first real day so far in this life style, but I wanted my old life back. I didn't ever want it to change like this.
"Who is in this picture," Neji asks the moment I walk through the door. I look at him for a moment before I put my clothes with the rest of the dirty clothes and walk up behind him.
"It's of my mother and father with me in the middle," I tell him pointing to everyone as I say who they are.
"Where was it taken? I don't think I've ever seen this place before."
"The Mist Village I believe. They had taken me there on a C rank mission with them because it was so close to Christmas and didn't want me to have to spend it without them. It was Ok-ed by the Hokage so I tagged along."
"You actually smiled for once," he says looking closer at the picture.
"It was a time that I still did," I tell him as I looked at the goofy puffy coats that we had to wear to stay warm and the grins on our faces. We looked so happy together, it's sad that we didn't part like that.
"You should smile more often, it looks nice on you."
"Hm," I ask looking at him surprised. I had been thinking back to that day and hadn't even notice that Neji had turned around to look at me.
"I said you should smile more often." He seemed a bit irritated at me because he had to repeat himself, but I know that when he had said it the first time he must have meant well.
"Don't expect me to," I say turning my back to him and hiding a slight ghost of a smile that played with my lips. I don't know how he managed it, but he got it to show. It was probably just because no one had ever told me that I should smile more often and it meant that he did care. It was only the people that I cared about and people who cared about me that usually were able to get me to come close to a true smile.
"Shall we head downstairs for breakfast," I ask as I dottily made my way to the door. He didn't say anything to me as he past me on the way to the door. I rushed after him to catch up to him.
"I'm glad to see you two decided to come down to join us," Hiashi says as Neji and I come into the dining room.
"My apologizes, it's my fault that we are late," I say as I bow deeply to Hiashi and Hinata.
"I brought you into this family Hashimoto I don't want you to mess this up. You have to be on time for everything, even if it is something as simple as breakfast with the family you have to always be on time."
"I know and I should have been down here on time. I'm sorry." I keep my head down and don't dare to make eye contact or even lift my eyes upwards.
"Sit and have breakfast we only have a short amount of time before you're supposed to get ready for the ceremony." I nod my head as I begin to sit down.
"Yes sir."
Everyone ate in silence. There was a thickness it the air that hung there after my short lecture though I think for me it was more of the fact that my thoughts were back onto my ceremony. Hiashi seemed happy about it and look forward to it, but I wasn't. Hinata seemed to hold an apologetic look in her eyes towards me, but I couldn't read what Neji was feeling about all of this. I know that he resents me for the wedding, but I also know that Neji wouldn't wish this path on anyone. The best I could guess on how he felt is that he felt sorry for me.
The door bell rang suddenly causing the first noise in the house since everyone sat down for breakfast. In one motion everyone's heads turned towards the direction of the front door. We all had been brought to alert by a sudden sound.
"I'll get it. Hiroko go up to your room so the preparations can begin. I want you to strip down and wrap a robe around yourself."
"Yes sir," I say as I bow to excuse myself from the dining table before leaving.
When I get to my room I see a robe that wasn't there before I left now waiting for me on the bed. I sigh to myself and strip out of my clothes and slip the robe on.
"So you're the Hashimoto girl stealing MY Neji. Just so you know none of the other Hyuuga members want you. You aren't one of us and never will be." I turn around to look at the person who had been speaking. She had long stunning legs and that perfect curvy, skinny body that every girl would die to have. It was that body that no ninja could ever obtain because of all of our training. Her hair was long and silky with a perfect shine to it. Her facial features were soft and gave her a child like look to her woman body. She was really beautiful, but her attitude could not be made up for by her looks.
"I'm not stealing anyone," I say speaking in a calm voice. "I'm being forced to marry a stranger and I don't expect the Hyuuga clan to accept me. I know that I'm not a Hyuuga. I am and always will be a Hashimoto. Being married into a clan doesn't mean that I'll get the Byakugan because my eyes will forever be Mikagan." My calm manner to all of this seemed to catch her by surprise. She had thought that her words would somehow hurt me or effect me in some form, but they hadn't. I had accepted these facts before she had even showed up here.
"Yo-you did to!" she yells as she regains her strength.
"How if I never wanted this," I ask her still so calmly that it flustered her.
"He was supposed to be mine and then you showed up and are getting married to him!"
"Was this prearranged or are you delusional like Sasuke's fan girls who all think that he belongs to them simply because you want them and you have it in your head that they love you back. The saddest part is that that person wants nothing to do with you because they find you annoying and obsessive and half the time doesn't even know that you exist. If you are number one I am sorry I don't want to hurt anyone and if I could I would give him back to you because you seem to really care. If you are number two I know a really good shrink I'll recommend you to him like I have every other fan girl I've come across." The girl looked at me with such anger and hate in her eyes that seemed to grow with every passing second that she looked at my unresponsive ones. She wasn't affecting me or scaring me like she thought she would and she hated that.
"You're not as pretty as you think you are," she says flipping her hair and walking up to me.
"You're too full of yourself and I know I can't compete in look factors, but at least I can fight." I say with a smile on my face. It wasn't that smile that Neji had said I should smile more often, but one that seemed nice to any outside and burned the person that was the cause of it.
"Where do you get off acting like this? Have you seen your hair? It's so short and instead of going straight down it starts to go out almost as if you have cat ears going off on the side before your hair curves towards your neck! I bet your even hiding something behind that robe of yours!" She yells at me completely pissed off.
Before I could say a word or stop her her hand flies out rips the robe off of me.
"What is going on?" I hear Hiashi say as I turn my back to them in an attempt to cover myself from them.
"Aimi stop!" Out of all the people I expected to raise their voice in my defense I would have expected Hiashi, but it was Neji who held the commanding voice this time. I turn my head to look at the four Hyuuga's staring at each other.
"But Neji she stole you from me and look at her," Aimi says flinging her arm out towards me. "She isn't that pretty and isn't even a Hyuuga! You can't dress someone up and give them a mark and call them something they can never be. She doesn't belong here!"
"Get out Aimi," Neji says in a cold tone. I don't know what the cause of his sudden change in personality was, but I was grateful for it right now. I wouldnt dare to raise my voice at someone else, especially when I wasn't of that family. I wouldn't have kicked her out even if she continued the way she's been to me, because it's not my place.
"But Neji," Aimi cried feeling hurt by the person she claimed to haved loved, but without using the actual word.
"You should go Aimi," Hiashi says causing Aimi to look up at Hiashi in shock but knowing that she can't say anything if Hiashi orders it she bows and leaves.
"Are you alright," Neji asks as he walks up behind me.
"I'm fine," I say pulling up one of the sleeves of the robe that barely still covered any of me.
"Hiroko, I'll get someone to replace Aimi for the preparations for the ceremony," Hiashi says.
All he really cares about is making me one of their stupid little puppets. He doesn't care about me, but that this ceremony continues on. What a great uncle in law, I think to myself as I continue to try and get the robe on properly.
"Where did you get these scares," Neji asks for my ears only as he helped me get the robe on properly.
"If you don't mind I can get myself prepared. All I need to know is how the preparations are supposed to be made." I intentionally ignored Neji's question. I didn't want him to know about the scares because so very few actually know about them and even fewer know the reason behind them.
"You only have an hour and twenty minutes and for an hour you have to bathe and cleanse yourself and in twenty minutes you have to get dressed in the proper wear for the ceremony. Not to mention that the women have to have there make up." Hiashi really didn't like this idea, but I didn't want to have to deal with another one of Neji's fan girls or another hateful Hyuuga clan member that didn't want me here.
"Then I should head to the bathroom and start soaking," I say as I turn around with my robe finally properly put on. I walk past Hiashi leaving him stunned by my sudden change. What I'm doing is considered disrespectful and rude. Normally pulling something so disrespectful would earn me some type of punishment, but I would rather take a punishment then deal with another Aimi. Punishments were something I was used to and I can handle those better than a fan girl.
