A/N: Hey there! Here's a new chapter. I'll try to keep my schedule of updating every week. Comments are welcome.
About LimeyFruit's question on NejiTen, idk ^^;, I may have to drop a few hints, but I don't want to make it an official NejiTen fanfic. I tend to focus on the pairing rather than the plot at times and I don't want that to happen. There will be moments, I assure you. There will be moments, but don't expect Guy-sensei's Springtime of Youth. ^_^
Chapter II: To Whom It May Concern
To say that it was awkward to sit in the same room as Hyuuga Hiashi was an absolute understatement.
She had seen him on various occasions, particularly during village festivities and gatherings. She had always regarded him as a powerful man.
He had an air of aristocracy about him, by the way he moved, the way projected, the way he carried his clothes as if they weighted nothing, the way his subordinates would cower awhile before reluctantly meeting gazes with those endless depths of white.
They were eyes of a predator, she thought, watching her under his gaze. Like a predator, he would observe his prey, letting her play on his palms, allow her to feel courageous and daring, in control in a way. But if she makes that one big mistake, he would crush her mercilessly without a second thought.
A mighty lion, she deduced before smiling to herself, a mighty lion protecting his den. And beside her was his little adopted cub.
Oh well, she was dragon. As long as she doesn't touch the ground, he wouldn't reach her.
The drawing room they were in was as simple and as elegant as the house's structure. The color schemes were still the same: a careful combination of black, blue, and white. The only notable decoration of the room was the birds of paradise patterns on the rice paper walls, mystical eyes probing and persuading; somehow obligating her to share her secrets to their master.
"You have a very nice house," she said good-naturedly, taking a sip of tea offered moments ago.
The man did not smile, did not move his head, nor made any attempt to do so. He altogether ignored her statement and perhaps even her presence as he directed his words to Neji, "I hope this will be quick. I had a long day and I wish to retire early."
A normal person would have cringed and begged the earth to swallow her whole. But several years of exposure under Neji's stern attitude and the Dynamic Duo's youthful antics had stretched Tenten's tolerance to a considerably high level. She could not have been more thankful of being assigned to Team Guy.
She set down her cup then flashed Neji a reassuring smile, and gestured him to explain their purpose so it could be done quickly.
Neji did not need any more encouragement. "It's about Hinata-sama."
Hiashi made an acknowledging sound at the back of his throat. "What of her?"
Swallowing a lump in his throat, Neji continued, "I am concerned about the progress of her training. She seemed to be overexerting herself these past few weeks. Tenten, here." She bowed which was again ignored. "Tenten has been assigned by the Lady Hokage to plan for our team's training exercises schedule. I believe that her expertise could be some sort of use for Hinata-sama."
Hiashi folded his arms and slid them inside his kimono sleeves, a regal and gallant posture if Tenten ever saw one. "Is that all?"
Neji stiffened, his jaw tightening. "I would also like for Tenten to train Hinata-sama."
"She has been sparring with me for quite some time now," he immediately supplied, wanting to avoid an uncomfortable silence from filling the room, "and has helped me sharpen my techniques. I have trust in Tenten's skills, both as a teammate and as a partner."
Neji had envisioned this scene in a hundred of ways—from fits of anger to words of gratitude. But the man before them did not grant any of those reactions to them. His only offering was that of cold indifference.
"I repeat, is that all?" His lack of concern was disconcerting. It wasn't just in his face; it was also in the manner of his speech and tone of his voice. Seeing that his little treatment had rendered the other occupants hushed, Hiashi attacked once again. "Neji?"
"Yes sir?" Neji went rigid, back straighter and head bent lower.
"You are aware that should you have any concerns regarding Hinata, you should present them to her jounin instructor, Yuuhi Kurenai, are you not?"
"I… I am… Sir."
"Knowing that, you have wasted my time." Already finished with his point, Hiashi moved to stand, but this time, it was Tenten who called his attention.
Neji inwardly cringed when Hiashi's attention was diverted to his teammate. Hiashi was ruthless. And Tenten, for all her good will and determination, would not stand a chance against him. He prayed to his father to send some divine intervention.
A hush fell, and they all waited for what Tenten would like to say.
Taking a long, deep, much needed breath, she willed her vocal cords to vibrate. "We… understand your situation with your daughter. And we are aware that she is not up to your expectations." It was hard to speak when she talking eye-to-eye to a man who seemed to be fancying her as dinner's appetizer—or midnight snack. She focused her eyes on his nose instead. "It's just that… Hinata is your daughter."
At her last word, the mighty lion's attention snapped back to her with such intensity that the hairs at the back of her stood up. She ignored the tempting drive to shudder.
"She's your daughter," she repeated, slower this time. "And it is only important that we ask for your permission first before anyone else's. So there…"
"I see," Hiashi said; eyes still impassive.
For a few minutes, they sat there with his eyes pinning her under his observation. Tenten was silently imagining that the Byakugan had powers other than its see-through ability. She was half-expecting to shrivel into nothingness or turning into a puddle of mush. Or simply just die.
Finally, Hiashi smirked that arrogant smirk Tenten vowed to erase out of this world, and asked, "What makes you think you can change her, then?"
The question reverberated in the entire room, demanding her silence than her answer, but there was something in the way he spoke that reminded him of Neji from a few months ago. He was cold and angry not because he is, but because it was how he was expected to be. Also there was a tiny hint of gentleness in the way he said it, as though he was afraid to entrust his daughter to another person.
For the first time since she had stepped foot in his household, Tenten met her eyes with his, no longer afraid. "I'm not here to prove anything sir. I'm here to help your daughter. And we humbly ask for your permission." Tenten touched her forehead to the tatami floors, bowing with respect as this man had silently demanded from the very beginning, and was glad that Neji did the same.
"It is also my request, Hiashi-sama," she heard Neji say.
Hiashi considered them for a long passing moment, until Hiashi broke into a mutable sigh. "Very well, if you demand my approval that much, I shall grant it. You shall, of course, be compensated well."
"Oh that's another matter. I'm doing this for free," Tenten made known, ignoring the exchange of glances between the relatives. "Consider it as a thank you gift for all the times your nephew has been a good teammate."
He viewed her in menacing calculation. "If that is what you wish. I trust there is nothing left to discuss." His nephew nodded curtly. He moved to stand, and the two teenagers staggered a bit to do the same, tension getting ahead of them. He acknowledged them briefly, and upon reaching the rice paper doors, he added over his shoulder, voice stern and cold, "Should you wish to drop on this proposition, feel free to do so anytime."
Tenten's reply was her sunshiny smile. "Your concern for my well being is flattering, sir." He raised his eyebrows in a way that starkly reminded her of Neji and left the room shortly afterwards.
When they were sure he was at a sensible distance away, the two sat back down and expelled the tension they had endured. Neji poured her a cup of tea which she drunk in one gulp.
"Your uncle," Tenten started, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "He's something."
"I know." Neji admitted with a small chuckle. "You handled him well though."
Tenten snorted a thank you then changed the topic. "So, you didn't tell me about Kurenai-sensei."
"There was nothing to tell." Neji stood up, and offered his hand to hers. "We still need to talk to Hinata-sama."
She nodded and accepted his outstretched hand and got up. "Thanks."
Comparing Hinata to her father was like comparing a mountain lion to a day-old kitten. They belonged to the same specie but the similarity stops there.
Unlike most the Hyuugas Tenten had seen, Hinata did not possess the same chestnut hair. Its color was a deep dark blue with traces of violet that reminded Tenten of fresh eggplants down on Konoha's supermarket, extending to some fringes that covered her forehead. She had that milky complexion most girls would overdose glutathione-containing products to have, a pair of winged eyebrows over featureless white eyes tinged with lavender, a small nose and pale dry lips—all framed by a heart-shape face.
Tenten wondered how in the world could this girl be associated with a tyrant, almost emotionless iceberg that was Hyuuga Hiashi. Tenten was sure if dinosaurs existed they would have Hiashi's personality.
There was only one explanation Tenten could think of: Hinata's mother must have been an angel, or a saint, or something in combination of both. Because frankly, anyone who could spawn a Hyuuga Hinata and still managed to live with a Hyuuga Hiashi is bound to be was a heavenly creature.
Period.
In contrast to the bloodcurdling ennui they have to endure with her father, Hinata's surprise over their proposition was starkly new. The young heiress blinked rapidly, cheeks flaring a reddish hue, and nearly dropped the teapot she had been holding if Neji did not caught it in time.
"Y-you want to train me?" Hinata did not make an effort to hide her shock, and politely thanked her cousin for catching her teapot.
"It's your cousin's idea." She playfully poked Neji's side with an elbow.
Neji coughed discretely but said nothing.
"W-Why?" she asked, barely audible, almost to herself than to the other occupants of the room.
Tenten scratched her head. "Do I need a reason to help someone?"
Hinata shook her head in a reply. "I-I guess not." Setting the teapot aside, she added suddenly. "W-what if I said no?"
"Why not?" Tenten asked, three-fourths confused and one-fourth interested.
Hinata started with her habit of playing with her fingers and staring down on the floor. She must be doing it to hide her embarrassment. Well, growing up with a dinosaur/mountain lion for a father, who could blame her.
"You see…" Hinata started, twirling with her fingers and making nonsensical patterns, eyes fixed on anything besides hers and Neji's. "I don't want to disappoint you… I'm not as good as my cousin."
She knew that the Hyuuga heiress was the shy type, but this was bordering on introversion and leaning on depressive personality disorder. Hiashi was a man to be feared, sure, but for all his mightiness and austerity, his eldest daughter looked like a lost little kitten in the den of lions.
The poor girl, Tenten thought, extending her hands to cup the young girl's face to raise those featureless eyes to hers. "You know, sweetie, I sincerely doubt any one in this household will ever be your cousin. Your cousin is like a one in a billion shuriken in a field of kunais. It will be a very long time before we might find someone or something akin to your cousin. And thank the Lord for that." She could feel Neji glaring daggers at her back for her last statement. She wisely ignored it. "As for disappointing me, that's my job to know. Don't sweat on it. What I want you to do is to think for yourself, because you matter. You matter the most."
Bringing her hands down and returning to the acceptable distance between host and guest, Tenten waited for Hinata's answer. The seconds ticked into minutes but still Hinata remained wordless. Growing impatient, she poked Neji's side, this time a bit rougher, reminding him that he was and is the mastermind of this plan.
Neji gave her a scowl that would have sent any ninja not belonging to Team Guy filing papers to change his citizenship, but understood what he had to do. "She's good. Tenten's good," Neji said with much conviction and sincerity he could muster. "You can trust her."
Tenten observed one cousin then the other, unsure if there was something being passed on in their eye-to-eye connection. Whatever it was, it appeared to have worked.
"I-I guess it would be a good idea…" was Hinata's whispered approval.
"So that's a yes?" Tenten was glad she let Neji handled the final talk.
Hinata nodded weakly, and Tenten grinned as she hugged her. Behind her, Neji had a tiny smile kicking at the corner of his lips.
After promising to drop by tomorrow and making sure that Hinata would not backed out, the two went out of the compound at last and ventured to the direction of Tenten's home. The walk to her apartment was quiet, but it wasn't awful. It was a peaceful kind of silence they both enjoyed. And for that, no one broke their silence.
When they reach their destination, it was Neji who first spoke. "Tenten." She looked up, waiting for him to continue. "I'll come for you at eight thirty." He looked like he was about to say something else, but his face grew blank, and disappeared without another word.
Tenten, wise to the Hyuuga-Neji language, shrugged and turned the key to its lock. When Neji was ready, he would say whatever it was to her.*
Tenten's apartment vastly resembled a shoebox. All you need is one step to get to another room. The kitchen – it just had to be considering it had a sink and cupboard – stood just one foot away, fixed on her right wall. The sink was empty of dirty dishes – she barely uses them, preferring to buy homemade food from the old lady across the street – and the cupboards were filled with anything labeled canned or instant. She never bought a fridge; she had no need for it.
Two feet adjacent to her kitchen was the bathroom door, the second largest room in her pad. It was about half the size of her room, devoid of any feminine fripperies most girls in her age have and it had a bathtub installed where she could take a dip after a long day. Whenever she woke up late, she used the shower.
The dining room/living room/bedroom occupied the largest space. She had a closet where she kept everything – her clothes, her scrolls, her back pack, important documents, and her TV. In the event that she had visitors, she brings out the TV into the light and places the center table inside the room. The center table also serves as the dining table. When they are gone, she brings the TV back inside the closet and kicks the center table to a corner in the room so she could lay her futon down.
In the days when she couldn't clean or had forgotten to store her weapons inside her scrolls, the walkway served as a temporary bedroom where she lays her futon and promptly plopped to sleep.
It also has a small but beautiful veranda where she could spend her nights gazing at the slumbering Konoha.
She could afford a much bigger one considering how well her missions were giving her, but she loved this place. It was close to various distinguishable landmarks such as the supermarket, the hospital, the Hokage building. It was also rather cheap—a definite plus on her part! She mainly uses her money to buy more and more weapons, anyway. It had been her home since her Academy days, and she could not ask for more.
Looking at the empty shoebox that was her apartment, she smiled.
There were moments when she felt utterly contented with what she had. This was one of those moments.
Dropping her backpack, she sighed. She needed a bath before going to bed.
Neji returned within minutes into the compound, smiling politely to Takamichi, the Hyuuga that had been guarding the gate that evening.
To most of the Branch family, Neji was a true genius, a knight in shining armor, a hero – the boy who defying fate and was called forth by the Heavens to save them from theirs. When the news traveled that he was chosen to be trained personally by the clan leader, they rejoiced, whispering words of encouragement and patting him on the back in empty hallways. It was a sign of change, a symbol of hope that perhaps one day the Branch house could be freed from the cursed mark on their foreheads, if not the current members then for the future members to come.
As he reached the clearing to the Branch's House division, he was met a member of the Main House, Hyuuga Hiruma. He was around Neji's age, with the same characteristic featureless eyes and brown hair.
He greeted him with respect, bowing down as dictated by custom.
Hiruma's response was Gentle Fist strike to the stomach, which was followed by another and another. Apparently, Hiruma-sama had learned of Neji's suggestion on Hinata-sama's training, and he wasn't very happy about it.
To most of the Main family, Neji was a sore excuse of a shinobi, trying-to-defy-his-destiny crap and suck his way up into the Main House. When the news traveled that he was chosen to be trained personally by the clan leader, they resented him and made it a point to show him how much every time. Their favorite pastime was slaving Neji with odd sorts of chores while they scoffed and sneered over his whole person within hearing range.
Because Hiruma was from the Main House, the Branch members stood by their rooms and allowed their hero to be persecuted before them. They never attempted to stop such atrocity. They were, after all, Branch members.
Going against the Main House is a sin.
And so they stayed into their rooms, eyes either downcast or closed, and listened through rice paper doors as insults and groans fly about. Some had the courtesy of shutting their doors, turning their back on the awful scene.
Neji took it, word per word, blow by blow.
He never hit back. Never again would he raise his fist to the Main House.
Never again.
When he seemed to have taken his fill, Hiruma let him slid to the floor and grabbed a handful of his hair. "Get this to your head, dog, you will never be one of us. Never," he grounded intently that droplets of spit rained on Neji's face. He released his hold on Neji and went back to his side of the house.
Looking at the slow opening of shoji doors, he frowned.
There were moments when he felt utterly disappointed with what he had. This was one of those moments.
Wiping his face with his sleeve, he sighed. He needed a bath before going to bed.
By the time he had finished scrubbing off and assessing the extent of his injuries, it was already passed his bedtime. Not that he minded. He was used to sleeping late, but Hiashi-sama wanted him to have a complete rest. Tomorrow's training was inside the compound, and he had to be ready. Gathering his things, wincing because his muscles felt raw, Neji slipped out of the bathhouse and met Hinata by the doorway.
He bowed to her. "Was there something you wanted, Hinata-sama?"
"N-Neji-niichan," she greeted, fidgeting on what seemed to be a tiny circular ointment container. "H-here." She offered it to him. Neji caught a whiff of citrus and assorted herbs from it. He did not need to look in her eyes.
She knew.
His hand involuntarily clenched on his sides before accepting the ointment. There were two words he wanted to say to his cousin, but he couldn't seem to find the nerve to tell her. Ironic, considering he was assigned to very gutsy ninja who was oblivious to the terms reservation and moderation.
As her gift was raised from her grasps, she lowered her hand and looked away. "T-Thank you," she said shyly, biting her lower lip to suppress a quiver.
I should be thanking you, he thought, but never said aloud. And I should also be apologizing.
"I-I need to go back now," Hinata whispered before he could say his words, and running to the other side of the house.
Neji stood back, eyes following her retreating form, and sighed.
Someday soon.
* It's not "I love you" okay? Just making it clear for everybody.
Review and give love to the battered Neji-kun! ^_^ He needs love.
Target date of update: Thursday next week (Philippine Time)
08/11/11: Fixed His Response according to Franny Mika. ^_^