Musuko
By Dan'yu
Chapter Two: Neji
"Neji…?"
Hinata's wary, questioning voice broke through the silence enveloping the room. Hyuuga Neji stood in the doorway, his arms outstretched to either side of the frame, and Hisoka found himself staring into a strong, forbidding face, a younger, more stoic version of what he remembered of his grandsire, framed by long, dark brown hair pulled back from piercing eyes by the hitai-ate (1) proudly bearing the seal of the Leaf. Coldly handsome, intimidating in the black uniform swathed around his lithe form, Neji let his eyes roam over the room, showing little interest until they came to rest on Hinata's prone figure, lighting up with contemplations Hisoka wasn't sure he could understand.
He let his arms fall, stepping into the room with a fluid grace Hisoka could only describe as feline. He bowed respectfully, speaking softly in a smooth, cultured baritone, "My apologies for my interruption, Hinata-sama (2)."
Hinata seemed to recover then from a majority of her shock, greeting the new arrival with a slight nod of acknowledgement and a tentative smile. "Not at all, Neji. You can understand our shock, however, in seeing you so suddenly."
Neji nodded, his expression betraying no hint of feeling abashed or even remotely awkward. "Again, I am sorry for my intrusion, and that I've come on such short notice. If it's not too much trouble, I would like to speak with you as soon as possible, Hinata-sama."
"Of course. Hisoka, Shino, would you mind leaving us?"
"Not at all," Shino said as he rose to his feet, his manner nonchalant though his eyes bore into Neji. He held out a hand to his stepson, who accepted his offer, letting himself be aided to his feet. Shino then firmly clamped a hand down on the younger man's shoulder, leading him toward the doorway. Hisoka continued to glance back curiously, especially as the two of them suddenly came face to face with Neji. The Hyuuga genius moved to clear the doorway, but Shino grabbed his arm suddenly, and Neji turned his head to meet the Aburame's stern gaze, facing him with a piercing stare of his own.
"Tread lightly, Hyuuga." Shino's voice was viciously soft.
Neji's face tightened with anger. "Are you threatening me?"
"Do you really think I would? It's just a warning, friend to friend. Hinata is as much my concern as she is yours."
Something in his stepfather's tone, which seemed absent of real anger and only filled with steel-like resolve, seemed to put Neji at ease as the other man nodded affirmatively and fully moved out of their way. The two of them left the room, Hisoka's head whirling with unanswered questions.
The room was silent once more as the two slid the door closed behind them, and Hinata glanced up at her visitor once more, finding her gaze returned with unabashed interest. She swallowed hard, motioning for him to kneel with her. He did so, taking the place vacated by her son. She offered him tea, and he accepted graciously, pleased to find the liquid cooled enough to drink without preamble.
"Ano," she articulated softly, a pause in her words punctuated from the drink she took from her own tea, "Neji-san…" She hesitated, unsure how to continue.
He smiled behind the rim of his cup, one of those tiny, almost indecipherable smiles of his, those that dropped like rain, fleeting and unexpected. "Neji-san? Didn't we push passed that years ago, Hinata-sama?"
"Ah, you're right, Neji. But only if you remember your end of the bargain as well."
"Of course…Hinata."
She smiled sheepishly. "Forgive my lapse. It has been a great many years."
He nodded, accepting the excuse with his habitual, nonplussed silence, understanding the undertones without having to speak outright, knowing that formality was something easy to hide behind.
"So then…Neji…what brings you back to Konoha so suddenly?"
"My mission is finally over. Hokage-sama summoned me home just recently."
"I see. But…Neji…five years…wasn't that five years too long?"
For a moment, he said nothing, sipping lightly at the tea, and then he sighed softly, staring down into the translucent liquid. "Iie (3). When Uzumaki…when Naruto took over from the Godaime, I was already stationed in Water Country. He needed me there even more than before to help cement his relations with the nation."
"Aaa," with that soft sound of affirmation, the Hyuuga leader said no more.
Together, they sat in a comfortable, if slightly strained, quiet, sipping from the tea, listening to the melodious sounds of the birds outside the window and the cadence of their own breathing. Neji's eyes continued to stray to her, taking in how more mature, how different she seemed. She truly was the clan's ideal matriarch, strong yet gentle, shrewd yet noble, wise yet fair, beautiful yet modest. He remembered seeing flashes of these traits in the girl who struggled to find her own place in a harsh and forbidding clan who did not wish for her existence, and to see those traits flourishing in this quietly confident woman made his heart swell.
"You've changed." He could not help giving voice to his thoughts.
"Have I?" She paused. "Is it a good change?"
"Hai. I'd like to say-that is, if I'm not crossing over the line-how proud I am, Hinata, of the woman you've become."
She stared at him, startled, and then a delicate blush painted her cheeks, a smile blossoming on her lips that held all the warmth for him as it did so long before. "Arigatou (4), Neji. You have no idea how much that means to me."
"I think I do." He remembered, vaguely, of times when she would tell him similar things that made him want to blush and smile and whoop for joy. Most of those times, he was nothing but a boy, and every little hint of approval or affection she gave him lit up his day. He smiled wryly at the sudden nostalgia of his thoughts, shaking his head as if to clear the cobwebs of the past.
"I...uh..." he cleared his throat audibly, "The Hokage has offered me a change to return to the ANBU."
"Really? That's quite an honor. You were only in the squad for a few months before you were called away, correct?"
"Hai (5)." He flicked his eyes to hers, seemingly identical in first view, but hers had always been just a little different, somehow more expressive, more open, a lovely shade of jade white that put his cold, blank grayish pallor to shame. "What I wish to ask of you, Hinata, is that I wonder if there might be a place for me here anymore."
"A place…?" she trailed off quizzically.
"A place," he confirmed, "A place in the clan, here on the estate. I wonder if I am still welcome."
"Neji!" Her face softened, as she reached out and gently touched his hand, "Of course you have a place here! You always do! I can have a room set up for you immediately. This is always your home, please don't question that."
He smiled, cupping his hand over hers to squeeze it lightly. "Of course, Hinata. Gomen (6), for my doubts."
She returns the smile and shakes her head, gripping his hand in return. "It's fine, Neji. I just don't want you to ever think that you're not welcome here."
"Thank you," he said simply as he released her hand and straightened, his face falling into his habitual mask of nonchalance. She watched him for a few moments more, and then she looked away, feeling the subtle change in the atmosphere between them. The familiar sensations rolled over her, and she could almost taste them, see them, feel them, hanging in the hair with tangible presence, stirring, forbidding, nostalgic. She forced herself to look back at him.
"Speaking of places, Neji…"
Hinata watched the shift in his composure, and immediately she shook her head furiously, holding up her hand for silence even as he opened his mouth to speak. "No, Neji," she told him softly, her voice audible as a whisper, firm but gentle, insistent but tender, "You know I can't offer you that. Not anymore. That place belongs to another now."
"I know." His face betrayed no traitorous emotion, yet his voice grew so unbelievingly cold, his eyes full of feelings she could not bring herself to try and decipher.
"I know it's not fair, Neji. Even things could have gone differently-"
"I know," he said again, cutting off her trail of speech, "You don't have to explain yourself to me. We were all victims of manipulation and circumstance, Hinata. There is no reason for blame or explanation."
She sighed, bowing her head as if in exhaustion, falls of raven-black hair falling forward to shield her face. "The place I speak of, Neji, is an alternative to rejoin the ANBU squad. You know, better than anyone else, that I could never have any doubts about your skill, but the ANBU has always been for the most young and spry, and quite honestly, I hate the idea of you in that kind of danger. Perhaps it's merely selfish of me, but after all the time that you've been gone, I'd like to offer something that would keep you close to home and still in a rank worthy of jounin."
"And that would be?"
"Captain of my guard."
"Aaa." And again, he hid a small smile of astonishment behind his cup as he took a healthy swallow from the rapidly cooling tea. Captain of the Guard; to hold such a position was quite the honor, for as captain, he would be her personal protector, her right hand in ruling over the clan. He nodded solemnly, setting the cup down to do something he rarely had ever done: fully bowed before his lady in the utmost sign of respect for her power and authority.
"Thank you, Hinata-sama, thank you. I could never have asked for a greater honor." For if truth be told, he had not really wanted to rejoin the ANBU, for such an empty life with nothing but duty to look forward to seemed truly wearisome now in what he saw as his old age, at least by shinobi standards. Thirty-two was really nothing to blink at, but Hinata was right, he was nowhere near as young or spry as he once was, and ANBU be damned if he finally had a chance to serve her.
It had always been somewhat of an unvoiced dream among the Branch Family that if destiny deigned that they were fated to serve, then they wished to serve a clan head whom did not look down upon them, someone they could respect and admire, even love if the circumstances were right, who gave them the respect He had always wanted that, for he found it in her role years ago as her protector. He had given her his protection and his devotion, and she returned his sentiments with respect and affection, something others rarely thought to give in him.
Something in him craved to feel that again.
She shook her head, her face a-blaze with a vivid flush of mortification as she motioned for him to get up, tugging at his shirt helplessly as she begged him to stop embarrassing her. He grinned, and finally obliged if only to save her from further chagrin, though he could not resist teasingly tacked on a –sama to her name now and then as they spoke. Their conversation fell into more idle matters, how the Clan was functioning for both day-to-day and as a whole, tales from Hinata of her children's exploits, Neji's telling of his life back in the Water Country.
At one point he reached once more, folding his hand over hers as he kissed it gently, almost reverently. "Tadaima (7)," he breathed quietly.
Her eyes softened with a tender light as she brushed her fingers against his forehead, almost unconsciously tracing the familiar shape of the Leaf symbol on his hitai-ate. "Okaeri (8)," she whispered in response, "I missed you."
"And I you."
He was finally home.
xx
(1) hitai-ate- forehead protector
(2) sama- lord or lady
(3) iie- no
(4) Arigatou- thank you
(5) hai- yes
(6) gomen- I'm sorry
(7) tadaima- I'm home
(8) okaeri- welcome home